Head coach of the men’s basketball team Patrick Tatham has had an illustrious career. While he was an athlete he played Division 1 basketball at Cleveland State University. He moved on to play overseas for the Sions Herens Basket in Switzerland and the Itzehoe Eagles in Germany, with brief stints in Qatar and Syria.
Following his playing career, Tatham transitioned to coaching. This included jobs with Stoneridge Preparatory School in the states and the Maine Red Claws of the NBA G League. After five years of being assistant coach for the Ryerson University Rams, Tatham became interim head coach from 2015-2016. Now, he is the head coach of our McMaster Marauders. Simply put, the man has seen it all.
Taking part in so many positions was a huge learning experience for Tatham. His ability to transition with ease is one of the reasons for his accomplishments.
“It’s been a nice journey. When I was at Stoneridge I had no clue what I was doing. I just did what I thought I knew to do based off my coaches at Cleveland State. Then coming back home to Stoneridge I took whatever we learned at Cleveland state to try and help the culture at Ryerson because there was no culture at all, we were one of the worst teams in Canada. It was like rolling the dice, you have nothing to lose. Just roll the dice and see what works and what doesn’t work and then make the necessary changes,” said Tatham.
As the saying goes, fortune favours the bold, and it certainly did with Tatham’s coaching style. When he began coaching at Ryerson, the team was struggling. However, the rough patch presented an opportunity for growth given that the team was willing to take risks and innovate.
“I use that blueprint now, here at Mac, there’s already a base and foundation here but it’s about me cleaning up a few things. Just doing all the necessary stuff to make sure all the guys are successful, not just on the court but in the classrooms,” said Tatham.
Tatham’s journey from high school to Division 1 basketball was quite different than what you see nowadays. Typically, top Canadian basketball prospects are noticed either before high school or midway through. Then they go to a preparatory high school in the United States. If they’re good enough, they go to a top college. However, this is not always the case, and it wasn’t for Tatham. He went to Chinguacousy Secondary School in Brampton and from there attended Cleveland State University.
Young Canadian athletes are often told that if they want to follow their dreams, they have to leave Canada. Fewer and fewer Division one scouts are looking to the north for elite-level talent, as the United States is already filled to the brim with talented basketball players. As a result, top Canadian hoopers tend to relocate to the U.S. during high school. Tatham was able to stay home for high school and then play for a top school down south, and he’d like to see more Canadian athletes do the same. In order to accomplish this, Tatham says that U sports needs to do more to incentivize young Canadian athletes to stay at home.
[pjc_slideshow slide_type="basketball-feb-6-2020"]
‘’If we want to retain some of these kids to stay home and play at the U sports level, which is pretty high in my eyes, U sports has to take it upon themselves to really find a way to make the entire playing field very balanced. Offering a little bit more money even if it’s only to five or six scholarship athletes, but I think someway somehow we’ve got to get to a point where we can retain some of these kids that go south . . . and instead get them on a scholarship for four or five years [at home],” said Tatham.
Retention of top Canadian athletes would bring U sports to another level. Can you imagine a league where Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played for McMaster or RJ Barrett played for the University of Toronto? This would bring another degree of respect not only to U sports, but to Canadian athletics in general.
Beyond his vision of a brighter future for Canadian university sports, Tatham focuses on his coaching style. He aims to ensure that his coaching staff is setting a high bar for their program and other programs around the league. He and his staff choose a philosophy of leading by example, setting a precedent of excellence for the team to follow.
“I think within our culture it’s really from the head, heading all the way down to the players and managers. I’ve got to be as consistent as I possibly can and then hopefully my coaches can follow suit and then after the coaches follow suit we all put it down to the players and then the players can follow suit,” said Tatham.
Tatham, or PT as his players know him, uses tough love when it comes to coaching, making sure to always tell players what’s on his mind, whether it’s good or bad. This transparency ensures mutual respect between the coach and team—they always know what he’s thinking, and the team can focus on improving.
Outside of performing on the court, the program has a strong presence in the community. The team holds a yearly summer camp where kids from over Hamilton can come and learn from some of the city’s best athletes. It presents an opportunity for growth, not only for the kids who come to learn how to hoop better, but also for the team and coaches.
“This is the only university in the city of Hamilton so being able to have 200 kids coming to camp for two weeks is something special,” Tatham said. “A lot of the younger kids are going to look up to some of our players and when our players graduate maybe some of those young kids will come to play at Mac. Being able to do the program is not just a great thing for our program but for the city because I think the city needs more basketball camps and I’m just grateful to be a part of it.”
Younger kids from the Hamilton area however are not the only ones being mentored and inspired. Players on the men’s basketball team have access to a mentorship program where men’s basketball alumni come in and talk about life after Mac. The alumni share how the skills they learnt through the basketball program helped them later on in life.
“We’ve been doing a mentor panel for two years. I think that’s been the biggest success in my two years, I think the guys really enjoy the mentor panel and I think alumni enjoy coming back and talking to the current players. So far that’s been the most gratifying thing,” Tatham said.
All in all, the program is in great hands. From competing at an extremely high level as a player to competing for greatness as a coach, Tatham has seen it all. His level of experience and understanding, as well as his connection with fellow staff and players, will be key for the team this season and the years ahead.
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By: Coby Zucker
Looking at the McMaster men’s basketball roster, the word “young” comes to mind, as nine of the 16 players on this year’s squad are rookies. With the addition of third-years Damiann Prehay and Yaw Antwi-Boasiako, and the return of Connor Gilmore, only four current players were on the roster last year.
Despite solid contributions from core veterans Matt Quiring and David McCulloch, this drastically different roster makes it is easy to see how top contenders might overlook the team. Even still, despite the youthful lineup, the Marauders are not interested in taking the path of least resistance and slapping the “growth” and “rebuilding” tags on the season.
🏀 FINAL: McCulloch's 23 points leads the way, as @MacMensBball pulls away in the fourth quarter to record the 97-80 win over Guelph!
Mac is 2-0 in the New Year, and improves to 6-7 in conference play. #GoMacGo pic.twitter.com/LKmkJ3UgAO
— McMaster Marauders (@McMasterSports) January 12, 2019
“Yeah, I know that there’s a lot of first-years,” said junior forward, Kwasi Adu-Poku. “But at the same time, I’m feeling like this is a really good chance for us to do something big. We wouldn’t really see it as a growth year because [head coach Patrick Tatham] brought in a lot of people who are ready to work, ready to go hard, already have a good idea of how to play and everything.”
Coach Tatham’s confidence in his rookies certainly shows. Freshman guards Tristan Lindo, Sefa Otchere and Jordan Henry are averaging 26.1, 20.3 and 25.6 minutes per game respectively, accounting for 28.2 points per game together.
The confidence is paying off, and the rookies are looking to keep up the trust and continue to earn the right to lengthy minutes in their first season of university-level play.
“[Coach Tatham] expects me to be more aggressive, play with confidence, be solid defensively and offensively, and just play with a lot of heart and effort,” said Otchere.
For Otchere, despite his solid numbers in the first half of the season, the adjustment to university ball has taken time.
“You want to do a lot of things because you’re not used to this level yet,” Otchere added. “But just trying to more composed, more relaxed, just understanding you don’t need to rush, everything will just come to me on the court.”
The amount of inexperience within the Marauder’s system has also catapulted the few returning players into leadership positions. Adu-Poku, only in his third year, is already finding himself in the veteran role.
“It’s a bit weird to process at times,” said Adu-Poku, “because I still feel like I’m pretty young myself. When I come into practice and see a lot of first-year guys kind of eager to learn, I realize I could at least give them a bit of mentorship in that respect. So I’m realizing that I’m more of a leader than I think I am.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BpUla7-hwWd/
Adu-Poku was also quick to stress that leadership spots are not just doled out to the players who have been in the system the longest.
“I think with [coach Tatham’s] culture right now… I think he’s just really trying to show that anyone can be a leader in the sense that, if you’re willing to step up and fit the idea of what he wants to get done and just do what you do best, he’ll use you as someone that people could get advice from,” Adu-Poku explained.
In all, there is a pervasive sense that this Marauders squad, containing the few core veterans supported by a cast of motivated rookies, are still more than capable of putting together a strong campaign.
While the dominant Carleton University and Ryerson University teams might still be out of reach for the time being, the Marauders continue to gain university-level experience and build chemistry. Only getting better, the Mac men will look to continue to prove they are capable of knocking down teams previously thought to be well beyond striking distance as the season progresses.
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Marauders basketball has been off to a great start this season. With a fresh new team and home opener win, things were starting to look up when the McMaster men’s basketball team defeated the nationally-ranked Brock University Badgers, giving them a 3-0 record.
This success is a result of head coach Patrick Tatham’s 2018-19 season changes. After having a slow start to the 2017 season losing nine games straight, Tatham learned a lot of lessons, but he also knew big changes needed to be made in his second year of coaching at Mac.
“One thing that I did learn is that there’s a ton of highs and lows in one program,” said Tatham. “Also, understanding how much works need to be done during the offseason, like recruiting players of different years.”
For Tatham, the one thing he enjoyed from last year’s up-and-down season was the one thing that remains constant: the support. No matter how much they were winning or losing by, the Hamilton community and the people that support their games would still come out. So, it was a nice treat for these loyal fans when the new and improved men’s team came out strong this October.
“We brought in nine new players. A mixture of young guys, transfers and a returnee, Connor Gilmore, who has helped a great deal,” said Tatham. “We’ve also added an assistant coach who used to play here, so that has been a great addition.”
Other off the court changes he has been passionate about was the formation of a social media team. For Tatham, in a world that is so social media driven, a strong social media presence is the best way to build hype for his team, win or lose.
“You kind of have to go with the mainstream or get lost in the shuffle,” said Tatham.
Back on the court, he has already seen an immense deal of improvement from his new recruits.
“We’ve had about six of the new guys here all summer and you can see their progress already,” Tatham said. “Guys like Tristan Lindo, Jordan Henry, Maliek Gordon and Connor Gilmore have all had wonderful growth, but we have to continue to grow.”
[spacer height="20px"]Unfortunately for the Marauders, their first road trip weekend put an end to their early undefeated record. Falling short to the Nipissing University Lakers and the Laurentian University Voyageurs who are led by the 2018 BLG Award for U Sports Male Athlete of the Year, Kadre Gray. For Tatham, these losses were due to a combination of a number of factors.
“For the first-year guys, sometimes they don’t really understand how hard it is to get regular season wins on the road,” said Tatham. “But at the same time, I think that the approach for last week was a little tricky. We had yet to play back-to-back games for the first time, so guys we’re still just really understanding the magnitude of a road trip.”
The key for the team to bounce back is simply going back to the basics.
“Just getting back to all the little things that we were doing before,” said Tatham. “Rebounding, playing with our hands, getting deflections; playing with great pace and getting defensive stops. We’re excited [for our next game]. I think the guys are up to the challenge of taking the No. 2 team. But we’ll see what happens tonight.”
Being able to bounce back against the No. 2-ranked Ryerson University Rams is no easy task. The Marauders were able to hold their own for the first quarter, leading 19-17 with three minutes to play in the first, but Ryerson quickly reminded us why they were national contenders after going off on 10-0 run and Mac was never able to catch up.
Although the game’s results were expected for Tatham, former interim head coach of the Ryerson Rams, he will always take their matchups more personal than others. Having taken current Rams players to nationals in 2017, it always makes it an interesting experience for him to coach against them.
“They’re a team where I basically learned all my coaching from over the last six years,” said Tatham. “J.V Mukama — a Hamilton local, whose younger brother Jesse happens to play for the Marauders — is probably the one guy on the team that I considered a young son to me, and I also work with [Ram’s head coach] Roy [Rana] with the senior men’s national team. So, it should be a special night no doubt.”
Having to wear the two hats of friend or father figure and opposing team’s coach is not always easy for Tatham, but it has to be done.
“It’s funny because we’re going out to a Raptors game even though we’re going to play each other in two days,” Tatham said. “But I’m always ready to put that other hat on when it’s time to compete.”
The night may not have ended in the Marauders’ favour, as Ryerson took home the dub in typical Rams’ fashion 102-70, but it was a night to remember for Tatham regardless.
.@JvMukama put on a show for his hometown crowd with 28pts & 15 reb to help @RyersonRamsMBB to a 102-70 win over @McMasterSports pic.twitter.com/MKVLoppz49
— Alex D'Addese (@alex_daddese) November 17, 2018
The Marauders bounced back as expected the following night, and defeated the University of Toronto Varsity Blues 89-77, thanks to veteran David McCulloch and a breakout night for the rookie and newly-named starter, Sefa Otchere.
Up next, the Marauders are headed to Ottawa to first face the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees and then the No. 1 nationally-ranked Carleton University Ravens.
“The Carleton one is an interesting one simply because we play them on the second night of a back-to-back. So right now, we are focused on if we can take care of what’s in front of us,” said Tatham. “Win, lose or draw, I think it will be a great experience for our guys because in the end, we’re focused on one thing, and that’s winning the West.”
Only time will tell if the Marauders can put this goal to fruition, for now, they are on to Ottawa.
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