How a Northern Virginia high school coach studied at the feet of a college legend, and earned a mention in his book.
McCool's offense was built on Dean Smith's four corners; his identity was built on the discipline he saw in Chapel Hill.
For years, by one former player's account, more than three decades of summers, Don McCool made the pilgrimage to the University of North Carolina to watch Dean Smith run practice. He studied the Tar Heels' famous four-corners spread offense and brought it home to Northern Virginia, pairing it with his own relentless full-court pressure.
The combination was perfectly suited to his rosters. The 1979 Mount Vernon state champions had no true post player, their tallest starter was 6'2", so they spread the floor with the four corners and pressed bigger teams the entire length of the court until they broke.
The connection ran both ways. In his memoir A Coach's Life: My Forty Years in College Basketball (Dean Smith with John Kilgo and Sally Jenkins, Random House, 1999), Dean Smith mentioned Don McCool by name, admiring how McCool and a number of Northern Virginia coaches would learn from his practices and translate that into success in their own programs.
The reference is confirmed through Connection Newspapers' reporting. The exact page and wording are being located from the book itself, the full text is available to borrow through the Internet Archive, and will be quoted here with a precise citation once verified.
It's a remarkable place in basketball history: a high school coach in Fairfax County, studying so seriously and so often that one of the most influential figures in the sport singled him out in print. It speaks to the preparation and humility that defined McCool's whole career, always learning, always bringing something back to his players.
Sources: Connection Newspapers (2015); Dean Smith, John Kilgo & Sally Jenkins, A Coach's Life, Random House, 1999.