He was driven, intense; possessing a competitive nature so great he could motivate an entire team just with his actions. Yet glancing back on his stellar basketball career at Sierra College, Gary Donnell would rather have other people discuss his immense inner drive than extol his own virtues. In 1971, Donnell and his wife Candi went on a two-year mission in Morocco with the Peace Corp, where he helped coach the national team. The couple eventually settled in Rocklin and Donnell found his calling - coaching.
Morocco RPCV Gary Donnell is a slam dunk for Sierra Hall of Fame
Donnell a slam dunk
... for Sierra Hall of Fame
By: Jeffrey Weidel, Press-Tribune Editor
Wednesday, February 1, 2006
Caption: As a basketball player for Sierra College, Gary Donnell always seemed to have the right stuff. Photo: Special to THE PRESS-TRIBUNE
He was driven, intense; possessing a competitive nature so great he could motivate an entire team just with his actions. Yet glancing back on his stellar basketball career at Sierra College, Gary Donnell would rather have other people discuss his immense inner drive than extol his own virtues.
For the modest Donnell, the only drives he cares to expand on are some of the crazy road trips the Wolverines took during his two seasons as a player in 1966-68.
"We had some hellacious trips back then," recalled Donnell, who will be inducted into the Sierra College Hall of Fame on Friday night. "We would have round trips from Susanville and College of the Redwoods, or sometimes we would have a game the next night, so we would drive to somewhere like Marin. We were all over the map on some of those trips. It was the middle of winter and we drove over a lot of snowy roads. It's amazing we didn't have any accidents."
It was no accident Donnell was the driving force in helping turn around the Wolverines in the 1966-67 season. Teammate Don Bransford says the Wolverines won only two games prior to Donnell and several other talented newcomers arriving in the fall of 1966.
Donnell currently teaches physical education at Oakmont High, where he coached the basketball team for 14 seasons before becoming the school's golf coach several years ago.
Tall and lanky, a build he has somehow retained to this day, Donnell probably could have been playing at a higher level the first year after graduating from Roseville High. Oregon State, University of the Pacific, St. Mary's and Sacramento State were all hoping to land Donnell.
Yet Roseville resident George Goto, who coached the Wolverines from 1962-74, understood the proper way to land the fiery Donnell, who let his basketball skills, not his words, speak for him as a teenager.
"Gary was shy, he didn't talk much back then," Goto said. "So I talked to his parents about playing at Sierra for two years."
With Donnell and Bill Penaluna at the forwards and 6-foot-8-inch Ken Harness of Del Oro in the middle, the Wolverines went from worst to first, capturing the Golden Valley Conference in 1967. Despite losing the backcourt of Bransford and Skip Benham the next year, the Wolverines won nearly 20 games and finished second in the GVC.
"Gary was overly passionate about the game, he was very competitive," Bransford said. "He just pulled us along with him at times."
The 6-4 Donnell was known as a complete player. An excellent outside shooter, he could also handle the ball, was a willing passer and possessed the hunger to rebound and play defense. Still, it was Donnell's desire that Goto appreciated most.
"Gary really had tenacity; he was tough. He was one of the best players I ever coached," said Goto, who coached basketball at Roseville High before taking over the Sierra program.
After two years at Sierra, there were choices again for Donnell, who opted out of a letter-of-intent to Gonzaga University and decided on Linfield College, a powerful NAIA college in McMinnville, Ore. Linfield coach Ted Wilson heard about the exploits of Donnell on practically every trip to Roseville while visiting his longtime friend George Sargent.
"I worked at the Texaco station (at Keehner Avenue and Douglas Boulevard) near my house and Ted used to fill up his Orange Thunderbird there," Donnell said. "He was always talking to me about Linfield. I decided not to go to Gonzaga and just showed up at the Linfield campus one day and he got me in."
Just as he had done at Roseville High and Sierra College, Donnell was a double figure scorer whose all-around game helped the Wildcats capture consecutive district championships. Linfield went 24-4 Donnell's junior year and 23-6 one year later.
"Linfield was a fun ride; I had an opportunity to play and be on a winning program," Donnell said.
There was another brief chapter in Donnell's playing days. He was invited to the rookie camp of the then-expansion Portland Trail Blazers. He shared court time and a few dinners with another 6-4 rookie who could shoot, a guy named Geoff Petrie, who is currently the Sacramento Kings president of basketball operations.
While Petrie became NBA Rookie of the Year in 1970-71, Donnell went another direction, turning down an offer to attend the Blazers' regular camp in the fall.
"I had just gotten married and had to finish three classes to graduate, so I went back to Linfield," he said. "It was fun to roll in there for a cup of coffee, but I never looked back on it. Making the team would have been real tough."
In 1971, Donnell and his wife Candi went on a two-year mission in Morocco with the Peace Corp, where he helped coach the national team. The couple eventually settled in Rocklin and Donnell found his calling - coaching.
He was a Sierra College assistant under Goto, and later John Rankin. But Donnell is best remembered for turning out some gritty Oakmont teams, including the 1994 club that went 30-4 and lost in the state Division III finals. Donnell's son Chris was the point guard; he later coached his youngest son, Stephen.
The Vikings typically mirrored their intense coach, diving for loose balls, playing tight defense, making the extra pass, and playing with intelligence.
"I picked up a little bit from everyone," Donnell said. "George (Goto) taught me tenacity and teamwork. It was his way or the highway. Wilson was the same as George, very demanding. He was an old Army drill sergeant. John (Rankin) was the best I'd ever seen at X's and O's. I got a lot from him, too."
