By Michael Del Genio
Troy Tonsil was a standout guard for the men’s basketball team at Dominican. Now, 17 years later, Tonsil is the head coach and is looking to bring back the winning to the Dominican Stars.
The Stars are now 2-1 through their opening homestand with tight competitive games with a recent win against Greenville University.
Tonsil is still in the early goings with a strong mind for the game and a passion to win. The program is working hard to move forward in the right direction, and it all starts with the little things.
“If you take care of what you need to take care of, wins and losses take care of themselves,” he explained.
Having been part of the last winning season for the Dominican Stars, Tonsil is one of the few in the program that knows what on the court success feels like, specifically being eliminated in the quarterfinals in 2007.
Communication lies at the core of Dominican basketball’s culture, making it a vital aspect of their game and team.
“If we can’t communicate on a consistent basis, then we’re not going to be anywhere,” he says.
Tonsil has a vision for the program success, which is wanting the Stars to be discussed with some of the best Midwest teams.
“I don’t see a reason why we can’t be there. We have the character, coaching, resources, and personnel,” he explained. “It’s going to take a good deal of effort. Rome wasn’t built in a day. We have to continue working on it.”
Senior Camron Scott says Tonsil is “a defensive-minded coach” who emphasizes “that defense is what drives our success on the court.”
Senior Danny Nennig said he thinks “this is the time to start winning” and believes the team is going to achieve this.
“This year, a lot of the guys are seniors [and] we just want to win,” he said. “Build that culture and flip that culture. The guys push me a lot, mainly the older guys. I couldn’t give up on Cam, Dre, the older guys, and even the younger guys.”
The Stars were flying up and down the court as they adapted Greenville University’s aggressive style of play. Huge plays were being made on defense by Scott, who logged four blocks in the scorecard at the end of the stretch, while Nennig led the team in points with 23 including the game-winning shot to put Dominican ahead in the final seconds.
The Stars have high hopes to bring home some hardware this season.
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