By Jeff Patrus
Sports Writer
In his first year at the helm of the Brandon varsity basketball program, Tim Donnan hopes to build a foundation for the future.
Donnan, Brandon’s junior varsity basketball coach last year, was hired in July after the resignation of last year’s coach, Denny Butcher. Last year, the Blackhawks went 7-14 overall and 6-6 in the Flint Metro League.
The Blackhawks will be an inexperienced bunch this year, with only two players, senior Brandon Olejnik and junior Adam Howard, returning from last year’s team. Donnan said junior Andrew Koenig, a newcomer to the varsity, should play a key role for the Blackhawks this season.
Donnan said the fact he coached seven of this year’s varsity players on the junior varsity is a plus as he begins his first year as the varsity coach, even though he had a relatively late start to building the program.
‘They know what I expect and have bought into that,? he said. ‘I think we’re getting on the same page as far as what we expect. We didn’t have any summer ball this year, because I didn’t get hired until July.?
His first priority as coach is making sure the Blackhawks compete to the best of their ability each time they hit the court.
‘We want to establish a good work ethic and expectations for this program,? he said. ‘We want to burn home the idea that we’re going to play real hard each game and play good defense.?
Donnan said so far, the Blackhawks have shown a solid work ethic and have been scrambling after loose balls in practice. He also said the team has shown good outside shooting ability.
As far as the Flint Metro is concerned, Donnan said Lapeer East is probably the team to beat this year, but after that, the race should be wide open.
‘Lapeer East has a lot of good players coming up from the junior varsity,? he said. ‘They’re big, experienced, and well-coached. After that, the league has a lot of parity. On any given night, anyone can beat anyone else.?
The Blackhawks open their season Tuesday, Dec. 6 when they travel to Goodrich for a 7 p.m. contest.