New Basketball Award Named for Bob McDonald

Legendary Chisholm Coach Honored by MBCA Following Mr. Basketball Controversy

HIBBING, Minn. – The Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association announced it was naming a new award for legendary Chisholm High School coach Bob McDonald.

The Bob McDonald Award will be given to the top senior boys basketball player in Minnesota, replacing the Mr. Basketball Award.  Many coaches sought to distance themselves from Mr. Basketball after award chairman Ken Lien posted racist messages on social media.

McDonald’s son Joel, the head coach at Hibbing High School says this was the right decision.

“I respect them for the stance that they took, I’m fully behind that stance as well,” said McDonald.

The criteria for the McDonald award is similar to college basketball’s John Wooden award.  According to a press release, the McDonald Award will go to a senior who best exemplifies qualifications such as exhibiting strength of character, both on and off the court; contributing to team effort; excelling on both offense and defense; and performance over the course of the entire season.

The younger McDonald is proud to have his father compared to the legendary UCLA coach.

“To have them in the same sentence is amazing,” said McDonald.  “But I think in a lot of ways, on a national and local level, they’re much in the same for what they stood for.”

The inaugural Bob McDonald award is set to be presented in the spring of 2018.