Zach Anderson, a senior with the Martin County West boys basketball team, is one of 40 semifinalists for the McDonald Award, which is presented by the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association.
The award is named in honor of Bob McDonald, the longtime basketball coach in Chisholm.
McDonald coached for 59 years and is the only coach in Minnesota history, and one of only 13 in the nation, to have led his teams to over 1,000 wins. His teams won 1,012 games.
McDonald was also known for instilling the values of hard work, teamwork, a strong moral code, and high academic expectations for the students he served on the court and in the classroom. He is a member of the MBCA Hall of Fame, the MSHSL Hall of Fame, the NFHS National Hall of Fame, and the Minnesota Basketball Hall of Fame.
The award is patterned after college basketball’s Wooden Award. It includes, but is not limited to, qualifications such as exhibiting strength of character, both on and off the court; contributing to team effort; excelling on both offense and defense; and performance over the course of the entire season.
In addition to selecting the Player of the Year; the establishment of the award is also designed to focus attention on the positive aspects of basketball and the role coaches play in the lives of all the student-athletes they represent and serve.
Anderson has signed at attend Wayne State College and play for the Wildcats.
Here is the complete list of semifinalists:
2023 MBCA McDonald Award semifinalists
Soren Anderson, Perham
Zach Anderson, Martin County West
Patrick Bath, Totino-Grace
Matthew Bothun, St. Francis
Owen Carlson, Mahtomedi
Taison Chatman, Totino-Grace
Nate Dahl, Buffalo
Cooper Drews, Princeton
Ibrahim El-Amin, Minnetoka
Nathan Fenske, Lakeview
AJ Greene, Concordia Academy
Isaiah Haugen, Orono
Tommy Humphries, Totino-Grace
Jack Janicki, White Bear Lake
Adam Jenkins, Moorhead
Jobe Juenemann, Duluth East
Boden Kapke, Holy Family
Chet Kloss, Eastview
Ben Kopetzki, Andover
Owen Leach, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton
Alex Mattes, East Ridge
Isaac Matti, Hayfield
Josh Otori, Prior Lake
CJ O’Hara, Park Center
Andrew Levin, Liberty Classical Academy
Will Opsahl, Goodhue
John Pecarich, Brainerd
Anish Ramlall, Rosemount
Erick Reader, New Life Academy
Isaac Severts, Bemidji
Max Shikenjanski, Stillwater
Trey Smith, Osseo
Aeron Stevens, Plainview-Elgin-Millville
Hayden Tibbets, Wayzata
Will Underwood, Mahtomedi
JJ Ware, Park Center
Nolan Winter, Lakeville North
Nasir Whitlock, DeLaSalle
Asher Zubich, Mountain Iron-Buhl