Drew McDonald (born September 9, 1996) is an American former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He played college basketball for the

Northern Kentucky Norse The Northern Kentucky Norse are the athletic teams of Northern Kentucky University, located in Highland Heights, Kentucky, United States. NKU is an NCAA Division I school competing in the Horizon League, which it joined on July 1, 2015 after lea ...

. McDonald was named the conference's

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. Born in the

Cincinnati area The Cincinnati metropolitan area and also known as the Cincinnati Tri-State area, or Greater Cincinnati) is a metropolitan area centered on Cincinnati and including surrounding counties in the U.S. states of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. The area i ...

to a high school basketball coach and growing up in the suburb of

Cold Spring, Kentucky Cold Spring is a home rule-class city in Campbell County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 5,912 at the 2010 census, up from 3,806 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky metropolitan area. The orga ...

, McDonald was lightly recruited by

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I programs and unranked by recruiting services despite being a finalist for Kentucky's

Mr. Basketball Mr. Basketball is an unofficial award given to the person chosen as the best high school boys basketball player in many U.S. states, regions, or metropolitan areas. Conversely, the title Miss Basketball or Ms. Basketball is used for the best high ...

award at

Newport Central Catholic High School Newport Central Catholic High School (abbreviated NewCath or NCC) is a coeducational private secondary school in Newport, Kentucky and part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington. It is located in the center of Newport overlooking the Cinci ...

. In four seasons at

Northern Kentucky University Northern Kentucky University is a public university in Highland Heights, Kentucky. It is primarily an undergraduate institution with over 14,000 students; over 12,000 are undergraduate students and nearly 2,000 are graduate students. Northern K ...

(NKU), he has become the school's all-time leader in points and rebounds, and has also been called "the on-court catalyst ushering in the Division I era of Norse Athletics" by Premier Sports Management, the administrator of the annual

Senior CLASS Award The Senior CLASS Award is awarded to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in 10 NCAA Division I sports. An acronym for "Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School," the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete ...

s in multiple NCAA sports.

Early life and high school

Unlike most sons of coaches in men's college basketball, McDonald's coaching parent is his mother. Following a college basketball career at NKU, the former Christie Freppon married former NKU

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player Jeff McDonald, going on to become head girls' basketball coach at Newport Central Catholic (NCC or NewCath) during Drew's childhood. Drew, the only son among the McDonalds' three children, served as a ball boy while his mother was coaching. In a 2018 interview for NKU's student newspaper, McDonald recalled, "It was just kind of a lifestyle. I would just go shoot on the sidelines and go be around the team. I just like being around it. That’s just, the way we lived was basketball. It shaped me into how I am today." He also picked up many of the game's subtleties even before turning 10; in the same story, his mother said, "I think we’ve gone through 20 of them ry-erase boards He would be in the family room with the whiteboard and the marker drawing (plays). He was doing it for hours and everyday." His mother used many of the plays the young McDonald drew up in NewCath games. As McDonald progressed in the sport, his mother remained a vocal presence, with Drew recalling that she was "the

LaVar Ball LaVar Christopher Ball (born October 23, 1967) is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the sports apparel company Big Baller Brand and founder of the now defunct Junior Basketball Association (JBA ...

of Newport Central Catholic." After a major growth spurt in middle school that saw him add 12 inches (30 cm), McDonald went on to attend NCC, where he was a star in both basketball and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

. In basketball, he was initially on the junior varsity team as a freshman, and got to dress for varsity games, but moved full-time to the varsity early in that season after scoring 22 points off the bench in a varsity game. He averaged 11.7 points and 6.5 rebounds as a freshman, and by his senior season had increased those averages to 16.8 and 10.7. During his NCC career, the Thoroughbreds went 129–20 overall, winning state titles in the All "A" Classic, an in-season state tournament for Kentucky's smallest high schools, in each of his last three seasons. In his senior season of 2014–15, he was a finalist for Kentucky Mr. Basketball, also sharing player of the year honors in the

Kentucky High School Athletic Association The Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) has been the governing body of the U.S. state of Kentucky high-school athletics since 1917. It is located in Lexington. Sports The organization sanctions competition in the following sports ...

's 9th Region (which covers Northern Kentucky). In golf, he won nearly 50 individual titles on Northern Kentucky's junior circuit and more than 50 other individual titles, including an All "A" state championship as a senior.

Recruiting

McDonald was not highly ranked by most recruiting outlets, partly because he had equally talented teammates at other positions. While he received two other Division I

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

offers from UNC Asheville and

Wright State Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in honor of aviation ...

, he was a priority recruit for NKU's coach at the time, Dave Bezold. McDonald's NKU heritage also played into his decision—not only were both of his parents athletes at the school, but a cousin played

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

at both NKU and Xavier, and a late uncle, Bill Aker, had been head

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

coach at NKU for nearly 30 years, and is the namesake of NKU's baseball field. When McDonald verbally committed to the Norse before his senior year at NewCath, he told ''

The Cincinnati Enquirer ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the ''Enquirer'' is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, alth ...

'', "They wanted me and they've wanted me for about two years," adding "I wanted to go somewhere where I was wanted. My dream has always been to play in the NCAA tournament, and what better way to do that then to lead your hometown school to its first March Madness and play in front of all your friends and family." He initially wanted to play both basketball and golf in college, but quickly concluded that the time demands of participating in both sports at the Division I level would be too great, and put his competitive golf career on hold upon his graduation from NewCath.

College career

His freshman season of 2015–16 was NKU's first in the Horizon League. Although mostly playing off the bench, he still averaged nearly 20 minutes per game and finished with averages of 10.5 points and 6.2 rebounds, also amassing five double-doubles. He was twice named the Horizon League's Freshman of the Week, led the Norse in scoring during conference play, and made the league's All-Freshman Team at the end of the season. The following season was the first in which the Norse were eligible for the NCAA Tournament, following the end of the school's four-year transition from

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

. In that season, McDonald led the Norse in both scoring (16.4 points) and rebounds (7.7). His 37 points on January 7, 2017, against

Cleveland State Cleveland State University (CSU) is a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school that had been in operation since 1923. ...

were the most by an NKU player since the school's 2012 move to Division I. McDonald was named to the All-Horizon League first team at the end of the regular season, and was also named to the conference's five-member All-Academic Team for men's basketball; the only other individual named to both teams was conference Player of the Year

Alec Peters Alec Peters (born April 13, 1995) is an American-born naturalized Bosnian professional basketball player for Olympiacos of the Greek Basket League and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for Valparaiso University, where he was an All- ...

of Valparaiso. NKU went on to win the Horizon League tournament, becoming only the seventh Division I men's team overall and the second since 1970 to reach the NCAA tournament in its first season of eligibility; McDonald was named to the all-tournament team. NKU's season ended in the first round of the NCAA tournament with a 79–70 loss to

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. Prior to McDonald's junior season of 2017–18, he was named the Horizon League's preseason player of the year. He again led the Norse in scoring and rebounding (17.0 and 9.6), and also led the conference in double-doubles with 18 as the Norse won the Horizon League regular-season title outright. McDonald was again named to the All-Horizon League first team and All-Academic Team, this time as the only individual to make both teams. The Norse were shocked in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League tournament by

, landing them in the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

as a conference regular-season champion that did not make the NCAA tournament. They would lose 66–58 in the first round at

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

despite a halftime lead and a double-double from McDonald. After the season, McDonald was named as a

Lou Henson Louis Ray Henson (January 10, 1932 – July 25, 2020) was an American college basketball coach. He retired as the all-time leader in victories at the University of Illinois with 423 victories and New Mexico State with 289 victories. Overall, Henso ...

All-American as one of the top 30

mid-major Mid-major is a term used in American NCAA Division I college sports, particularly men's basketball, to refer to athletic conferences that are not among the "Power Five conferences" (the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC), which are alternativ ...

players in Division I men's basketball. During the 2018 offseason, McDonald represented the US in the inaugural

FISU The Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire (FISU, en, International University Sports Federation) is responsible for the organization and governance of worldwide sports competitions for student-athletes between the ages of 17 and 25 ...

America games for university athletes in the Americas, held in Brazil, with the USA winning the gold medal. His senior season of 2018–19 saw him named again as the Horizon League's preseason player of the year. McDonald was also named as one of 20 preseason candidates for the

Karl Malone Award The Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate power forward. Following the success of the Bob Cousy Award which had been awarded s ...

, presented by the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

to the top Division I men's power forward. Early in the season, he was named one of 30 candidates for the men's basketball version of the Senior CLASS Award, and was later named as one of the 10 finalists for that award. During the season, he became the all-time rebounding leader for the Norse in a loss to

Eastern Kentucky Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

on December 8, 2018, and surpassed the 1,000-rebound mark in a win over Detroit Mercy on February 7, 2019. At the time, he was one of only nine active Division I men's players with 1,000 or more rebounds, and only the sixth player in Horizon League history to reach the milestone. On March 2, in his final regular-season college game, a win over Green Bay that secured a share of the Horizon League regular-season title, he surpassed the 2,000-point mark and became the school's all-time scoring leader. As of the end of the regular season, McDonald again led the team in scoring (19.3) and rebounds (9.6). McDonald was also named to the Horizon League All-Academic team for the third time. On the opening day of the Horizon League tournament, he was named the conference's

Post-college

Following the close of his college career, McDonald did not pursue a professional basketball career. Instead, he accepted a role with the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce as a membership representative.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

Northern Kentucky Northern Kentucky is the third-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, and its cities and towns serve as the de facto "south side" communities of Cincinnati, Ohio. The three main counties ...

, 30 , , 2 , , 19.4 , , .482 , , .280 , , .730 , , 6.2 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , .4 , , 10.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 35 , , 30.1 , , .473 , , .384 , , .738 , , 7.7 , , 1.7 , , .4 , , .5 , , 16.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 32 , , 30.6 , , .464 , , .337 , , .802 , , 9.6 , , 2.3 , , .5 , , .5 , , 17.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 33 , , 30.6 , , .472 , , .394 , , .798 , , 9.4 , , 2.8 , , .5 , , .4 , , 18.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 131 , , 102 , , 27.9 , , .472 , , .367 , , .768 , , 8.3 , , 2.0 , , .4 , , .4 , , 15.8

Personal life

McDonald's athletic pedigree goes well beyond his NKU family connections. Christie's father and brother, Tom Freppon Sr. and Jr., respectively played basketball at Xavier and

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...

. In addition to the aforementioned cousin, two of his aunts played college volleyball, one at

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

and the other at Midway. McDonald extensively volunteers with local children's organizations, among them his former elementary school, the

Ronald McDonald House Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) is an independent American nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to create, find, and support programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children. RMHC has a global network of c ...

, and

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) is an academic pediatric acute care children's hospital located in the Pill Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. The hospital has 652 pediatric beds and is affiliated with the University of ...

. His Senior CLASS Award nomination additionally mentioned an episode during the aforementioned FISU America games. After one of Team USA's games, two Brazilian reporters sought an interview with him. When McDonald showed up for the interview, he noticed that the stool normally found in the room was absent. He excused himself and quickly returned with the stool, setting it up for the interview. According to Premier Sports Management, "While this was a simple act of kindness, it is indicative of McDonald’s humility and helpfulness that is always on display."

Footnotes

References

External links

College statistics
at Sports Reference CBB {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Drew 1996 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Kentucky Centers (basketball) Newport Central Catholic High School alumni Northern Kentucky Norse men's basketball players People from Campbell County, Kentucky Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from the Cincinnati metropolitan area