In the five years since Todd MacArthur became the Winthrop boys varsity basketball coach, the Ramblers have steadily climbed, one rung at a time, back into what many in their home town believe is their rightful place among the top programs in Class C.
Though he was schooled in the ways of winning basketball at Lawrence by legendary coach Mike McGee, MacArthur has a deep appreciation for Winthrop’s rich history on the hardwood. He also knows that for Winthrop to recapture its past glory he needs to look forward.
“We want to get this program back to being what Winthrop was 10, 15, 20 years ago,” MacArthur said. “For the program’s sake, we always talk about what’s next.”
What was next for the Ramblers after they bowed out in the Class C West semifinals in 2015 was hardly crystallized. They were losing seven players, including four starters, to graduation.
MacArthur felt confident that he had the pieces to put together a winning puzzle for the 2015-16 season. The question was how those pieces would fit together.
By the final month of the season, he had assembled a cohesive and resilient team. With a rebuilt starting lineup and role players who blossomed into valuable contributors, the Ramblers eclipsed their win total from the year before and continued moving up the Class C tournament ladder by reaching the regional final.
For his efforts, MacArthur is the Kennebec Journal Boys Basketball Coach of the Year.
In some ways, MacArthur saw this season as a benchmark for the program he was building. He had taken it over when last year’s seniors were freshmen and nurtured them through their four years.
Together, they built the program up from 3-15 in their first year to a playoff participant their second. By their third year in 2014, the Ramblers were making their first trip to the Augusta Civic Center since 2009. Their four-year journey ended with their first appearance in the regional semifinals since the 2008 state championship team.
With those seniors passing the torch to a new generation, MacArthur was eager to find out if the philosophy that had made the first generation so successful was now deep-rooted in the program.
For the new generation, there was no mistaking where that philosophy starts.
“Defense always comes first with him,” junior guard Jacob Hickey said. “If you’re not playing defense, he’s going to take you out.”
“It’s our staple. What we stand behind is our defense,” added senior center Anthony Owens, the lone returning starter this year. “I don’t think that will ever change as long as MacArthur is here.”
Winthrop’s opponents averaged a paltry 41 points per game. They reached or exceeded 50 points just four times.
Clearly, MacArthur gets his players to buy into the defense-first ethic. It was the most seamless part of the transition from the first generation to the current one, and a big reason why the Ramblers finished 17-4 and within three points of a trip to the state championship. Players such as Bennett Brooks, Spencer Steele, Nate Scott and Garrett Tsouprake, who saw their roles increase this year, played it with the same awareness, intensity and tenaciousness as their predecessors.
As Hickey explains it, the players buy in because MacArthur invests his time in them.
“He works so hard for us,” Hickey said. “He’s up until 3 in the morning watching tape. I don’t think a lot of coaches can say that. He puts in so much time because he wants us to succeed. And he supports us no matter what we’re doing. You’ll see him at our games in the fall and spring.”
This spring, MacArthur will bid farewell to just two seniors, including one starter in Owens. A talented and now tournament-tested junior class will return to see if they can continue the steady rise and take the next step, which would have them playing for the Gold Ball.
“These kids are kind of the second wave going through, so they’re continuing the success of what we’re trying to accomplish,” MacArthur said. “We want to be (in Augusta) every year. We want to make a run every year. I’m just proud of them for pushing forward and doing the things that make the program stand out.”
Randy Whitehouse — 621-5638
rwhitehouse@mainetoday.com
Twitter: @RAWmaterial33
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