By Robert Herrington
Basketball coach Dave McCollough earned his 300th win at Noblesville High School when the Millers defeated the McCutcheon Mavericks on Jan. 11. On April 16 it was announced that McCollough’s coaching contract would not be renewed for the 2014-15 season.
The Millers were 14-7 last season and lost in the sectional semifinals to Hamilton Southeastern. It was the 19th consecutive season at or above .500 for Noblesville under McCollough’s leadership.
McCollough was suspended for the Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 games for throwing a ball that hit a player during practice. Assistant Coach Rich Conley filled in for McCollough for those two games at the request of administration. NHS Athletic Director Michael Hasch and school administration did not comment at the time, calling it a “personnel matter”.
In a statement released to the media, McCollough said: “An incident occurred at basketball practice earlier this week in which, out of frustration during a drill, I threw a basketball and the ball hit a player. My actions were unacceptable and I greatly regret that I allowed this to happen. I am sorry and publicly apologize to my players, families and fans. This is not the behavior that I want to model for my players and it will not happen again.”
McCollough is the winningest coach in Noblesville history. In his 20 seasons at Noblesville, McCollough went 308-138 and won eight sectional titles, a regional championship and 10 conference titles. In his 31-year career as a high school coach McCollough is 465-233.
