Selfless relationships, connection with one another driving force behind Donny Lind’s first-year success at Mount St. Mary’s

Donny Lind has guided Mount St. Mary’s to 10-5 record in first season as head coach. (Photo by the Marietta Daily Journal)

NEW YORK — At 38 years old, Donny Lind ranks among the younger coaches in the nation, and THE youngest in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

But what Lind lacks in age and life experience compared to his coaching brethren, he more than makes up for by being an old soul, and a throwback to a coach from what becomes more of a bygone era with each passing day.

Lind, in his first season as a head coach after succeeding Dan Engelstad at Mount St. Mary’s, is a rare breed in the transactional nature of the business today. A branch of the Shaka Smart tree from his decade-plus alongside fellow former Smart assistant Mike Jones at Radford and UNC Greensboro, Lind has learned in the same vein the importance of relationships off the floor and development of self more than skill. The holistic emphasis has translated well at The Mount thus far, to the tune of a 10-5 record and 3-1 mark in MAAC play, highlighted by a non-conference win over Miami.

“It’s easy to care about these guys,” Lind gushed after the Mountaineers picked up a road win at Manhattan Friday. “We spent a ton of time getting to know each other and really trying to develop real relationships, and these guys are willing to do that. There’s a lot of guys in college basketball right now that just want to be coached for two hours a day and left alone, and we’ve got a group of guys that value relationships with each other and value relationships with us as coaches, and see the value that we bring to them. We see each other as way more than basketball players, and I think that connection that we’ve built shows on the court.”

“It feels amazing,” Xavier Lipscomb said of being trusted with the responsibility of leading the Mountaineers. “Last year, I was out with the foot injury but it feels great to be back out there with the guys, reunited and competing every day. It varies. Some days, I need to be more vocal than others and sometimes I need to lead by example, but I’m very honored to lead this group of guys into battle every day. I just try to give maximum effort whenever I’m out there. If that means I need to score or facilitate for my team, whatever they need me to do to win games. It’s just building relationships on and off the court. Once we have trust in each other, we can go out and win games.”

Xavier Lipscomb has been integral piece to Mount St. Mary’s attack as point guard. (Photo by Mount St. Mary’s Athletics)

What makes the relationship between Lipscomb and his coach unique is the history each had with one another before Lind arrived in Emmitsburg. Although Lind followed Jones to UNCG in the 2021 offseason, he recruited Lipscomb to Radford, where the point guard remained before transferring to The Mount. Still, Lipscomb listened intently when his new coach addressed the team for the first time in April, crediting Lind’s desire to establish a connection behind a veteran core that also includes the likes of Dola Adebayo, Terrell Ard and Jedy Cordilia to the early returns of what could be a positive first step this season.

“It’s awesome, but that speaks volumes to Coach Lind,” Lipscomb said of the fulfillment of returning to The Mount. When he first came in and talked to us as a group, he just wanted us to be a family. He wanted all of us to come back. He had an open-door policy, and it’s just awesome.”

“X is my guy, I love this guy,” Lind gushed. “We’ve got a long history together, and so to see him have success and see the growth he’s had—as a person and as a player—is awesome. When he can have success in big moments, I just have ultimate confidence when the ball’s in his hand. He’s gonna make the right play. Sometimes that play means for him to score, sometimes it means for somebody else to score, but he’s gonna give maximum effort and just try to make the right play for our team. And we’ve got a bunch of guys that are willing to do that. We’ve got a bunch of guys that want to be the guy, but everybody’s okay with somebody else being the guy in that moment. It’s rare in today’s day and age that guys are willing to do that and be unselfish. I’m fortunate that they listen to what we tell them to do, and that they’ve bought into the culture we’re building. We’ve got a long way to go, but if we can continue to trust each other and care about each other, we’ll be alright.”