McLaughlin Has Stonehill Men's Basketball Program On Solid Ground

Now in his sixth season, head coach Dave McLaughlin is the only coach in school history to lead Stonehill to three seasons with at least 20 wins.

By Jim Fenton, Brockton Enterprise Staff

EASTON - He was placed in charge of the Stonehill College men's basketball program during a turbulent time in January 2004.

David McLaughlin, who had been an assistant coach for 31/2 years, suddenly found himself named interim head coach just nine games into the 2003-04 season.

At the age of 29, he was elevated to the position when Kevin O'Brien was relieved of his duties, and McLaughlin was learning on the fly in the remaining 17 games.

Five years later, Brockton native McLaughlin has established himself as one of the best coaches in the history of the program, climbing over the 100-win mark earlier this winter and guiding the Skyhawks to three 20-win seasons.

On Saturday night in Brookville, N.Y., McLaughlin will be on the bench when Stonehill plays in the NCAA Div. 2 tournament for a second time in his tenure. The Skyhawks (21-7) meet Assumption College in the quarterfinal round of the East Regional at 8:30 p.m.

With a career record of 107-60 in five-plus seasons, McLaughlin ranks second on the all-time list at Stonehill behind Ray Pepin (171-141) after passing Tom Folliard (102-68) earlier this season.

After playing at Colby College and serving as an assistant coach at Suffolk University and Wesleyan University, McLaughlin has found happiness at a college right down the road from his hometown of Brockton.

"I love it. It's great,'' said McLaughlin. "My son (Ryan) turns one (this week), we have a 2-year-old daughter (Sydney) and we (wife Jenna) live right in Easton. It's great being here.

"When I get asked by recruits (about coaching at Stonehill), I say there are only so many coaching jobs, and beyond that, there's only so many good ones, and beyond that there's only so many special ones.

"I consider Stonehill one of those special ones in terms of the ability to win, in terms of recruiting great young men and the ability to have support from an awesome school and to be able to sell this product. I have no problem selling Stonehill at all. I don't have to dodge any corners. I don't have to not show guys things on campus.''

McLaughlin and Stonehill have been the right fit since the beginning in the middle of that '03-04 season of upheaval.

He went 5-12 as the interim coach and was named the head coach a short time after the final game. Stonehill went 20-8 in McLaughlin's first full season of 2004-05, then had a season to remember in 2005-06, setting a school record with 27 wins and coming within one victory of being in the national championship game in Springfield.

The Skyhawks have had five straight winning seasons under McLaughlin, getting at least 16 wins in each.

He is the program's only coach to have three 20-win seasons.

"His X-factor is he works as hard as any coach in college basketball,'' said senior co-captain Matt Hall. "He's very dedicated. He never lets any of us down as far as not showing effort and being there 100 percent all the time, going at it.

"He hasn't changed at all. It's been the same attitude every year, whether we're losing or winning. He's always dedicated. You have to admire him for that.''

A 1999 graduate of Colby who attended Boston College High School, McLaughlin has provided a steadying influence to the Stonehill program.

"He really cares about each person as an individual,'' said senior Nick Smith. "He really puts the time in to talk to you individually. We have team activities. He's a great guy and he'll do anything for you.

"He really turned it around here. I feel like we have the talent and the coaching to keep that going after we graduate.''

The highlight of McLaughlin's coaching career came during the fabulous run in '05-06 when Stonehill won three games in the Northeast Regional to reach the Elite Eight for the first time ever.

The Skyhawks defeated Tarleton State in the national quarterfinal round and held a halftime lead over Winona State before losing in the semifinal round.

Stonehill is back in the NCAAs for the first time since that memorable appearance, and the experience from 2006 will come in handy. McLaughlin learned a lot during Stonehill's run deep into the tournament, and it helped him on the sidelines.

"It's amazing how coaching is almost like playing,'' said McLaughlin. "You look back as a player in college and you look back at the end of your sophomore year and say, ‘Geez, I wish I knew then what I know now,' and I think coaching is the same way.

"I think that's a challenge, to increase your knowledge of the game, the ability to make certain decisions, The one thing I love about this profession is the constant development, constant change from a personal standpoint and then dealing with the guys.

"Every year, you learn those things, how to get yourself better prepared as a coach and how to deal with young men in certain situations as they pop up.''

McLaughlin has Stonehill winning consistently, and he is looking for more as the program bids to be a regular participant in the NCAAs.

"I'm happy, but I wouldn't settle for this,'' said McLaughlin of where the program is now. "We'd like something like this to be constant, year in and year out. That's the goal. With the turnover in the program, the goal is not to lose a beat.

"I think with 10 scholarships, you've got to be really smart in recruiting and not make any mistakes and make sure you getting the right quality guys in here, and if you can do that consistently, with the support we have here, we're really close to that.''