Summary: "After my second year with the Tigers Lindsay retires, Drewey retires, Copes and Bradtke went on to Brisbane and Chris Anstey had come in. I hadn't talked to anybody and nobody came and spoke to me so I signed a deal with Wollongong" - Darryl McDonald shares how he agreed to play with Wollongong Hawks prior to winning his two NBL Titles with the Melbourne Tigers In this episode of the Aussie Hoopla podcast we interview three-time NBL champion Darryl McDonald, the man legendary coach Brian Goorjian has called "the greatest American ever to play in the NBL". No matter whether you remember him winning a title for the North Melbourne Giants in his rookie NBL season, running the point for the Victoria Titans or playing alongside Andrew Gaze or Chris Anstey at the Tigers what everyone remembers is the pure entertainment D-MACK brought to every game. The man who earned the name "Mr Excitement" on the playgrounds of New York City is open and candid about the Melbourne Tigers plans for next season, including his thoughts on; Chris Goulding's chances to make the NBA How the Tigers plan to make use of the new Marquee Player rule What players the Tigers are looking to sign to be a part of next season and his thoughts on being a potential coach of the second Melbourne team tipped to enter the league next season D-MACK is open, candid and honest, going as far to speak about his family, the trials and tribulations he faced in bringing his children into the country in 1995 and how proud he is of their individual success in life. Additional topics discussed include; His thoughts on the Bobbito Garcia film "Doin it in the Park" What it was like to play at Rucker park in its heyday Why he respects Kevin Durrant Memories of his college days playing against Duke in the NCAA tournament and against a strong Oklahoma team which starred Ricky Grace and Mookie Blaylock His attempts to make the NBA in the nineties. He discusses the greatest players he faced playing in the NBL How close he came to playing for the Wollongong Hawks and the Cairns Taipans But perhaps the most interesting story is hearing D-MACK talk about how it felt when he was cut by the Victorian Giants front office because he was too old to lead that team to a championship in the next 3-5 years and would need to retire before being signed by the Melbourne Tigers and leading them to two NBL titles in 5 years while the Victorian Giants folded the year after the released him.
