Marauders announce new head coach of men’s basketball team

McMaster University’s Men’s Basketball Team is getting a new coach. Patrick Tatham, already an OUA champion and U SPORTS medalist and one of Canada’s rising coaching stars, is joining the Marauders to lead one of the country’s top basketball programs.

Tatham’s coaching staff will include Amos Connolly, the current head coach, who will assume the role of Recruiting Coordinator and Player Development Specialist.

Entering his first full-time head coaching position in U SPORTS, Tatham brings a wealth of experience to the role, including six seasons on the sidelines of the two-time defending Wilson Cup champion Ryerson Rams. He joins the McMaster staff after spending the 2016-17 season as an assistant coach with the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League, while on a professional development leave from Ryerson.

Tatham helped guide the Rams through the most successful period of their program’s history, after being added to the Rams staff as an assistant coach in 2010. He assumed the duties of interim head coach in 2015-16, leading the Rams to a 17-2 regular season record and finishing atop the OUA standings for the first time. The team’s successful campaign continued into the playoffs, where the Rams captured their first Wilson Cup title as OUA champions. His effort in the interim role earned Tatham OUA Coach of the Year honours, and he became the first Ryerson coach to be awarded the Stu Aberdeen Trophy as U SPORTS (then CIS) Coach of the Year.

“We are very pleased and excited to have Patrick Tatham as our Men’s Basketball Head Coach,” said McMaster Director of Athletics and Recreation Glen Grunwald. “Patrick has established himself as one of the rising stars among all Canadian basketball coaches and we are looking forward to his building on the great tradition of McMaster Marauder basketball.”

Tatham credited the opportunities he had been afforded for development under world-class tutelage.

“I’m very thankful for the progression and the learning that I’ve received at Ryerson, as well as with Scott Morrison at the Maine Red Claws,” said Tatham. “Now it’s time for me to put everything I’ve learned to use.

“I’m really excited to be doing that at McMaster.”

Connolly completes a successful seven-year tenure as head coach with a career record of 151-66, having guided McMaster to the top of their division for three consecutive seasons between 2013 and 2016.

He was named as the OUA West Coach of the Year in 2014, after leading Mac to conference bronze.

Connolly’s new role is designed to maximize his demonstrated strengths as a recruiter and player developer.

“This is an exciting time for the McMaster men’s basketball program, myself, Coach Tatham and our families,” said Connolly. “Changing roles, while it may be unconventional, provides me the opportunity to stay connected to this great program in a way that lines up with my strengths and goals as a coach.”