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Basketball: Dragons name McDade head basketball coach
By Justin Thomas, jthomas@starlocalnews.com
The last time basketball coach Eric McDade accepted a head coaching vacancy, the athletic director he was going to work for [Kevin Ozee] accepted a different position on the same day.
Three years later, McDade and Ozee will finally get their chance to work together.
The former has accepted an offer to become the head boys basketball coach at Southlake Carroll, where he will unite with Ozee, who hired McDade at Duncanville the same day he was hired for the AD position in Southlake.
McDade leaves a Duncanville program where he compiled a record of 66-35. However, the Panthers lost in the second round of the playoffs in each of the past three years. On each occasion, the Panthers were eliminated by Marcus, which went on to reach the state tournament in each season, including consecutive state titles. Ironically, former Marauders' head coach Danny Henderson has left Marcus to fill the vacancy left at Duncanville.
McDade -- who grew up in Denison -- also coached at Crowley before opening up Mansfield Timberview and manning the bench for five seasons, eventually leading Timberview to the Class 4A State Tournament. He has a career record of 270-159.
"They were all great experiences," McDade said. "I've been very fortunate to work with some great programs and that continues now with Carroll."
In addition to the strong athletic tradition at Carroll, McDade was impressed with the quality of students he will be coaching.
"It's a very solid opportunity," he said. "But it's really about the kids. I remember we had the chance to scrimmage against Carroll a couple of years ago when I was at Duncanville and I was very impressed with the kids. It's a great place and they've done a great job of not only developing athletes, but great people.
"The success they've had across the board in other sports just speaks volumes about the school and the students and faculty there. They have a great tradition and I look forward to getting there. I hope we can achieve that level of success and it's great to see the support they receive from the school and community."
But before success on the court, McDade and his staff need to figure out what they are working with.
"The first thing we want to do is to get in there and build relationships and see where we are," he said. "Our biggest priority before anything on the court is just to get to know the kids. Figure out what type of people they are and what they do well."
On the court, McDade will adjust on the fly based on the talent Carroll has.
"We're going to continue to do the things we believe in," he said. "We have to evaluate the current players and see where they fit in. But everything starts with playing great defense and getting after it."
The Dragons will look to find success in District 4-5A, which includes Haltom City, Keller, Keller Central, Keller Fossil Ridge, Keller Timber Creek, Richland and Northwest.
"I've had the opportunity to play in some very tough districts and this is going to be the same," McDade said. "They're established programs with great traditions and players."
The Dragons will also look to play a challenging non-district schedule under McDade.
"Our schedule next year is already complete, so we're going to honor the commitments we've made,"
he said. "We'll take it step-by-step and continue to make improvements. But I've always liked to play a competitive schedule and we'll take those steps as we move along.
"It's been a great experience so far. I'm already feeling the support."
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