Photo taken from Aadil Naik’s Twitter – @aadilnaik
When Jaime McLean was in his graduating year at Sir Robert Borden High School, he was told by his basketball coach that he probably would not get recruited by any Universities to play at the next level. With that criticism came acknowledgement that he had a great understanding of the game, and encouragement to start coaching. “I took that advice seriously and coached the Sr. Girls basketball team that year (2002-03),” said McLean.
McLean was born and raised in Ottawa and played club basketball for the Nepean Bobcats (now the Nepean Blue Devils) and Ottawa Guardsmen.
When McLean was President of the Ottawa Elite basketball club and coaching the U19 Women’s team, he was told by his predecessor at Algonquin College to consider applying to be Head Coach of the Women’s team. “It has always been one of my dreams to become a full-time coach and I thought this would be a great next step in preparing myself to get a full-time position somewhere.”
McLean has focused on recruiting local players for the benefit of being able to train together year-round and not losing players over the summer. The off-season training schedule includes two team practices per week and three workouts that can be done on the players own time.
Currently in his 4th year, McLean has led the Algonquin Women’s program to two East Division Regular Season Titles. With their 66-45 win over Lambton on Saturday, the Wolves advanced to the OCAA final four for the second time during his tenure.
“We wanted to make sure that life was not easy for their guards. One of the things we did well in the 1st quarter was buy in to that disciplined defense and we made them uncomfortable.” Algonquin jumped out to a 24-7 lead after the 1st quarter, but the visitors from Sarnia stormed back in the 2nd to take a 30-27 lead into halftime.
“We found every option we wanted in the 1st quarter through our game plan and execution. We went off script in the 2nd to see what else would work. The discussion at the half was as simple as going back to the original game plan and to take the easy looks they were giving us. We were able to take back control of the game in the 2nd half.
Rookie standout Dasia McDonald led the Wolves in scoring on Saturday with 25 points. McDonald logged 37 minutes on the floor and added 7 steals and 6 rebounds. “One of the nicest kids I have ever coached, a positive outlook on the game and a hard working athlete,” McLean spoke of McDonald. “I had a brief conversation with her after our game on Wednesday against Loyalist about not being afraid to take over a game. She’s always looking to score, but she’d rather distribute the ball and make sure her teammates get an opportunity to contribute.”
McDonald is a graduate of St. Mother Teresa High School in Barrhaven and will attend Algonquin for at least 2 more years.
The Wolves semi-final game will take place Wednesday at 6pm in Windsor against the host school St. Clair. The game will be broadcasted online at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ocaa/.
“The Saints are a hard working team that will press. Logan and Jana Kucera are two of the better players in our league that can take over a game and put you away early. It is definitely a game we can win, but it will be important to keep our composure and stay disciplined defensively.”
