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Dustin begins his first year as the coach of the Senators on Wednesday when they open at Staples. McMahon went 5-16 last season under Mo Tomlin, who resigned shortly after the season. The Senators went 17-6 in 2010-11, but they have had just two winning seasons since 2005. Dustin is hoping to change that.
“I always have high expectations,’’ he said. “If you don’t go into a season with high expectations, you shouldn’t be coaching. My expectations are that we’ll be competitive in every game.”
McMahon underachieved in recent years, particularly on the defensive end. Dustin, a former freshman coach at McMahon, plans to emphasize defense.
“If you don’t play defense, you can’t win games,’’ he said. “To me, defense is whether or not you want to do it. You don’t have to be the most skilled player. If you can move your feet, you can play defense. It’s a question of wanting it, not a question of how good you are. You can have the best basketball players, but if you don’t play defense, there’s no chance to win.”
The Senators’ top returning player is senior guard Larry McKinney, who earned honorable mention honors in the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference last winter. Senior point guard Andy Mitchell returns as does sophomore Tim Hinton, who saw considerable time as a freshman. Hinton, a small forward, played for some outstanding youth teams for the Carver Center.
“We have the talent,’’ Dustin said. “I’m still gauging who’s going to contribute and where.”
Dustin, who also coached soccer at McMahon, coached the current crop of seniors as freshman. They encouraged him to pursue the head coaching job, and now he has the chance to re-establish the Senators as a league force.
“We’ll focus on getting back to basics, playing hard-nosed defense, making sure we box out and winning 50-50 balls,’’ he said. “That may have gotten away for us. The boys have done a fantastic job of responding to me. It’s nice to see them respond to my high expectations. My work ethic will hopefully show within their game.”
McMahon's schedule is available online.
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