McDonalds hold family reunion at state

Every Christmas, when the first family of Minnesota high school basketball gathers on the Iron Range, the same scene emerges. Bob McDonald, who has been a head coach for 53 years and owns more victories than any basketball coach in state history, heads to the Chisholm gym ... followed by his 17 grandchildren.

Bob's six kids -- who all became basketball coaches -- and their spouses stay back to let Grandpa and the grandkids have their time together.

"He works with each and every one of them, critiques them, pats them on the back," said Bob's daughter, Sue Tesdahl. "That goes back to his love for the game and his love of family. Family is very important to him."

The McDonalds will hold a different sort of gathering this week during the boys' state tournament, but as usual, everything will center on basketball and family. Here's the lineup:

• Bob's Chisholm team has qualified for state in Class 1A.

• Crosby-Ironton (with grandsons Bryce and Brock Tesdahl on the roster) will play in 2A.

• Cambridge-Isanti (coached by Bob's son, Mike) is in the 4A field.

The McDonalds nearly made it a four-class sweep, but Hibbing -- coached by Bob's son, Joel -- lost a one-point decision to Grand Rapids in the 3A, Section 7 championship game. (For good measure, another of the McDonald boys -- Paul, the men's basketball coach at Vermilion Community College in Ely -- will work as a referee at the tournament.)

Bob McDonald, 74, who has won three state championships (in 1973, '75 and '91) in 47 years at Chisholm, is making his ninth trip to the state tournament and first since 1995. But this is the first time he has been accompanied by relatives on other teams.

"We all had a decent amount of success and we hoped something good would break," he said.

McDonald's four sons (Tom coaches at Ely High School) all played for him at Chisholm, and Joel ranks third on the state's boys' career scoring list. McDonald's daughters, Sue and Judy, are former girls' coaches at Crosby-Ironton and Fairmont, respectively.

Darlene McDonald, Bob's wife of 43 years, died of cancer in 1997. In 2000 he married Carol Tiburzi, who also had lost her spouse.

If family members want to watch all their relatives coach and play this week, it might take some magic. Cambridge-Isanti meets St. Cloud Tech at noon today at Target Center, at the same Crosby-Ironton faces Rockford at Mariucci Arena. Chisholm opens against Norman County East on Thursday at 5 p.m. at Mariucci.

The best-case scenario is seeing all three teams advance to Saturday's championship games at Target Center.

Mike McDonald, 51, is in his 21st year at Cambridge-Isanti. He made his only other trip to state with the Bluejackets in 1991. Before that, he won a South Dakota state title at Lyman High School in 1985. He played on his father's Chisholm teams that won state titles in 1973 and 1975.

As busy as Mike has been in preparing for the tournament, he appreciates his father's accomplishment.

"He had a chance some other years, and finally it came true for him," Mike said. "I don't know how many years he'll continue to do this, but I was just hoping he would get back one more time."

The younger generation also knows how special it is to see Grandpa return to the tournament.

"He's had a major impact on my game," said Bryce Tesdahl, a Crosby-Ironton senior. "From when I could barely walk and was up at the gym, he'd always make corrections and he still does. He's one of the best, if not the best, basketball minds in the state."

A few days after Bob McDonald and his grandkids spent time in the gym over Christmas, Cambridge-Isanti defeated Chisholm at a tournament in Hibbing. As the players and coaches shook hands, Mike McDonald asked some of the Chisholm Bluestreaks to do him a favor: Get my dad back to state.

"Even though you're trying to kick their butt during the game, the point is that I'm still a Bluestreak through and through," Mike said. "And from what they showed me, I thought they could probably have a chance to get to the state tournament. And they did.

"I'm very proud of my dad."

John Millea • jmillea@startribune.com