The past few years have been tough for Mount St. Mary's men's basketball. Since qualifying for the 2020-21 NCAA Tournament and losing to Texas Southern in the First Four, the Mountaineers are 40-55 overall and haven't seen the Big Dance since.
Former head coach Dan Engelstad took on an assistant coaching role at Syracuse after the 2023-24 season. The Mounties are counting on new head coach Donny Lind to restart the program.
Lind was previously an assistant coach at the Mount and has been an assistant at Radford and UNC Greensboro in recent years. She believed Lind would easily return to the mount and did everything in her power to take the position once it became available.
“Never get lost is probably the right word,” Lind said on Glenn Clark Radio on April 25. Thankfully, I still knew a lot of people around here, so I was able to quickly find out what was going on and if I fit the profile they were looking for. When I heard that I had done so, I fired wildly. ”
Lind has coached in higher level conferences since leaving the Mount in 2016, but he still believes there's no conference he's been in like the one he attended with the Mount. Lind is excited to be coaching in front of his loyal Mountaineers again.
“If you leave here, you're going to go somewhere else that's at the same level or even a higher-level program, without even a little citation, that's still a mid-major and doesn't have the same kind of support. It's not even close,” Lind said. “It's not like you're going to a game and reading with students over Christmas break and there's 2,000 fans going crazy. You're like, 'Wow, this is special.' …People here have an overwhelming appreciation and respect for Mt. Basketball. ”
Given the new era of college basketball created by the NIL and the transfer portal, Lind realizes there are challenges not only in building a winning program, but also in keeping talented players in the mount. Ta. But given the environment and support at Mount St. Mary's, Lind believes the climbers still have a chance to grow.
“I think first and foremost it starts with building real, authentic relationships with these young men. As a coach, it's very easy to be bitter and think it's just a transaction. That's what college is now. It’s the nature of basketball,” Lind said. “I still believe this is a transformative business. And we have an opportunity to work with these young people and help them become the people they really, really want to be. But if we keep insisting on what this means, I think you can fight against that perception and belief.”
Lind doesn’t want the Mount to become a program built solely through the transfer portal. He doesn't believe it will work given the culture of the school and program. Instead, the coach believes he can use the portal to preserve the Mount's culture, rather than erode it.
“We have to be open to looking at any student-athlete, whether it’s a major league player who hasn’t broken through yet or a really, really good Division II player who wants to play on a slightly bigger stage. ” Lind said. “We have to find players who are really, really good, regardless of where they come from. I don't believe you can go down one path.”
Mount St. Mary's moved from the Northeast Conference (NEC) to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) ahead of the 2022-23 season, enhancing the caliber of opponents the Mount will face. The Mountaineers are striving for success in the MAAC.
But Lind believes MAAC offers the Mount a unique opportunity for sustained success that it didn't have at NEC.
“[In the NEC], it felt like I had to rebuild it every year. In the MAAC, I think we have a chance to maintain a larger roster and continue to have success. I think there are some teams that are showing that right now,” Lind said. “Quinnipiac is bringing back basically the entire team from last year this year. And obviously, the issue when it comes to this is the NIL issue and how that impacts student-athlete retention. That being said, I believe that relationships are still important and relationships still exist. There's a place for those student-athletes who want to be really, really good players at the level that's right for them. It's my job to build it and educate everyone about it.
Mount St. Mary's has a history of great hoops coaches. Lind had a relationship with Mounties legend Jim Phelan, who coached the Mountaineers from 1988 to 2003. Lind credits Phelan with teaching him a lot about life, not just coaching. Lind hopes to take many of these lessons back to the mountains.
“Jimmy taught me that this is a human issue. We're not in the business of coaching basketball, we're in the business of coaching people, and if they think about themselves or their When they feel better about the game, they’re going to play better,” Lind said. “Jimmy wasn't one of the most sophisticated X's and X's coaches in America, but he was one of the greatest human beings I've ever met. And we had a team of players who played with free spirits. , Jimmy has developed them into really, really good players, and we were able to do great.”
What the future holds for Lind and the Mountaineers remains to be seen, but Lind is enthusiastic about tomorrow's commitments and ready to make the most of it.
“I had a desire to be a head coach late in my career here. [graduate] manager. And I was hopelessly optimistic, and I've remained that way for most of my career,” Lind said. “I feel the same way about what this program can do. I think there’s a lot in store for the Mount. We have a very rich tradition, but the future is even brighter, so we’re going to get to work and do it.” We are excited to find a way to make this happen.”
For more on Lind, listen to the full interview here.
Photo courtesy of Mount St. Mary’s Athletics.