It has been a tough few years 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 have a combined record of 40-55 and haven’t seen the Big Dance since.
Former head coach Dan Engelstad took an assistant coach’s role at Syracuse following the conclusion of the 2023-24 season. The Mount is looking to new head coach Donny Lind to get the program going again.
Lind, once an assistant coach at the Mount, has spent the past several years as an assistant at Radford and UNC Greensboro. Lind believes it was a no-brainer to return to the Mount and did everything in his power to get the position once it came open.
“No-brainer is probably the right word,” Lind said on Glenn Clark Radio April 25. “It did not take very long to get there when I heard the job was available. Thankfully there’s still a lot of people around here that I know, and so I was able to find out pretty quickly what was going on and if I kind of fit the profile of what they were looking for. When I heard that I did, I went guns blazing.”
While Lind has coached in higher-level conferences since leaving the Mount in 2016, he still believes there is no setting he has been a part of like the one at the Mount. Lind is excited to be coaching in front of the Mountaineer faithful again.
“You leave here and you go to some other places that are on a similar level or even a little bit, quote unquote, higher-level programs that are still mid majors and they don’t have the same type of support. It’s not even close,” Lind said. “To be at a game and not to read over Christmas break with those students and there’s 2,000 fans in there going crazy. It’s like, ‘Wow, this is special.’ … The people here just have such an overwhelming appreciation and respect for Mount basketball.”
Given the new era of college basketball created by NIL and transfer portal, Lind realizes there are challenges in not only trying to build a winning program but also in keeping talented players at the Mount. Yet given the environment and support found at Mount St. Mary’s, Lind believes the Mountaineers still have a chance to thrive.
“I think it starts first and foremost with building real and authentic relationships with these young men. As coaches, it’s so easy to get bitter and say it’s just transactional. That’s the nature of college basketball right now,” Lind said. “I still believe that this is a transformational business. And we have an opportunity with these young men to help them become who they really, really intend to be. I just think that if we continue to make that what this is about then you can fight that perception and that belief.”
Lind does not want the Mount to become a program built solely through the transfer portal. He just doesn’t believe it will work given the culture of the school and program. Rather, the coach believes he can use the portal to sustain the Mount’s culture rather than erode it.
“We have to be open to looking at any student-athletes, whether they’re high-major players that didn’t quite crack through or Division II players that are really, really good who are looking to play at a bit bigger stage,” Lind said. “We’ve got to find really, really good players regardless of where they’re coming from. I don’t believe that you can go one route.”
Mount St. Mary’s shifted 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 faces. The Mountaineers have their work cut out for them as they strive to succeed in the MAAC.
However, Lind believes the MAAC offers the Mount a unique opportunity for sustained success it wouldn’t have had in the NEC.
“[In the NEC], you felt like you had to rebuild it every year. I think that there’s an opportunity to have more sustained rosters and continued success in the MAAC. I think there’s some teams that are showing that now,” Lind said. “Quinnipiac brings back basically their whole team from last year this year. And obviously the elephant in the room when it comes to that is the NIL piece and what that’s going to play in that in the retention of student-athletes, but I believe that it’s that the relationships still matter, and that there are there’s still a place for student-athletes wanting to be really, really good players at the right level for them. It’s my job to build those relationships and make sure I’m educating guys on that. “
Mount St. Mary’s has a history of great hoops coaches. Lind had a relationship with Mount legend Jim Phelan, who coached the Mountaineers from 1988-2003. Lind credits Phelan for teaching him not only a lot about coaching but about life. Lind wants to bring many of those lessons with him to the Mount.
“Jimmy taught me that this is about people. We’re not in the business of coaching basketball, we’re in the business of coaching people, and if they feel good about themselves and about their game, they’re going to play better,” Lind said. “Jimmy wasn’t a sophisticated X’s and O’s coach in America, but he was one of the best people persons you’ll ever meet. And our teams overachieved because we had we had guys that were played with a free mind and Jimmy empowered them to be really, really good players.”
It remains to be seen what’s ahead for Lind and the Mountaineers, but Lind is enthusiastic for the promise of what tomorrow holds and is ready to make the most of it.
“I’ve had a desire to be a head coach since late in my career here as a [graduate] manager. And I was hopelessly optimistic, and I’ve remained that way most of my career,” Lind said. “And I’m the same way about what we can do with this program. I think there’s so much ahead for the Mount. It has such a rich tradition, but the future is even brighter, and I’m excited to get to work and try to find a way to figure out how to do it.”
For more from Lind, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Mount St. Mary’s Athletics