O’Neill has a few words for NBA officials. In his “Mad Dog” Redmen days of the 1970s, he, like Vince Carter, wore number 15.

A native of small-town Chateaugay, New York - approximately 50 miles from Montreal - O'Neill attended McGill from 1975 to 1979, playing every year but his last for the Redmen. In his sophomore season, the Redmen reached the Canadian Interuniversity Sport national championship tournament, posting a 28-5 mark, which was a school record.

"I had a great time at McGill," recalls O'Neill. "I enjoyed everything about my experience." And he still visits Montreal frequently. "I just love that city," he says. "I go there at least three to four times every summer - to baseball games or just to dinner. I love going up there. It's got great restaurants, and no matter if you're up on Mount Royal or what you're doing, it's a pretty place to be."

A bright student of the game, and of life, O'Neill later earned his master's degree in secondary education from Marycrest College in 1983. He began a 20-year college basketball coaching career in 1981 at North Country Community College in Saranac Lake, New York. His final 11 years in the college ranks were spent as a Division I head coach, taking over floundering programs at Marquette, Tennessee and Northwestern, and turning them around with his defence-first philosophy.

Marquette went to the Sweet Sixteen when he was their head coach, and Arizona went to the Final Four when he was an assistant there. During his college career, O'Neill also built a reputation as a talented recruiter; he was named the nation's top recruiter in 1989 in a poll conducted of 294 Division I coaches by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Just as he had as a player, coach "Mad Dog" O'Neill only knew one speed. University of Arizona head basketball coach Lute Olson (with whom O'Neill worked as an assistant from 1986-89) once said, "Kevin is the most energetic coach I have ever known." Another one of O'Neill's lifelong McGill friends is Butch Staples, who coached the Redmen from 1974 to 1983. Staples recalls watching one of O'Neill's first games at North Country Community College.

"Talk about intensity," says Staples, now director of tennis at an athletic club in Weston, Florida. "He was standing on his chair with his pant legs rolled up, screaming at his players... Kevin's intensity and passion are his trademarks."

The fiery brand of basketball and lifelong love of the game that O'Neill brings to the court are exactly what the Toronto Raptors were looking for following the laissezfaire attitude of his predecessor, Lenny Wilkens, who was once described by the Toronto Star as "near-comatose."

Having worked so much with young players and helping them mature both on and off the court, O'Neill seemed the perfect coach for the Raptors' rookie Chris Bosh - selected fourth overall in the 2003 NBA Draft. Bosh improved all season and was one of the top rookies in the league. The product of Georgia Tech told the Canadian Press in a late January interview that "I love having him (as my first NBA coach) because he has a lot of confidence in me, and he demands hard work."

As his good friend Gibson says, "Kevin reached the pinnacle of his profession because he knows the game as well as anyone, his preparation for every game is extremely comprehensive, he has high expectations for every player on the team, and he is probably the hardest-working person I know."

O'Neill's daily routine during the NBA season didn't leave much time for relaxation. "My schedule was a little hectic," he says. "I'm an early morning guy. I'd get into the office early, so I'd be at work between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. I'm also a daily mass guy - I go to 7 or 8 o'clock a.m. mass. On a game day, I'd come back to the gym after mass and we'd have a shoot-around. Then, I'd go back to the hotel, rest for a couple hours, then get to the arena about 4 or 5 o'clock for a 7:30 game."

He did make time for some post-game socializing in March of this year to greet alumni who raised a 25-foot sign reading "McGill Loves Coach O'Neill" that was displayed on the Air Canada Centre's big screen. Following the game, and despite the fact that the Raptors lost, O'Neill joined his spirited supporters at a reception at the Hot Stove Club. The charismatic coach spent 45 minutes mingling with the more than 150 fans - signing autographs, posing for pictures, talking basketball, sharing a beer and reminiscing about University days with everyone from recent Redmen basketball grads to more senior alumni. Peter O'Brien, MA'85, Director of McGill's Ontario Regional Office and one of the organizers of the reception, says the guest of honour was quite a draw. "It was one of our best-attended Toronto alumni events ever. Coach O'Neill was great with everyone, from kids who were there with their parents to guys who had played basketball at McGill 30 years ago. Everyone really liked him."

During the 2003-04 season, O'Neill rarely left the court; the love of basketball burned as fervently as ever within his soul. When he was not in a hotel room in one of the 28 NBA cities studying videotapes of Raptors' opponents, he was pacing the sidelines, barking plays, yelling encouragement, and standing stoically with his arms crossed. His hair always looks a little frazzled, and he looks more the part of the mad professor than basketball guru; his looks mirror the intensity with which he coaches.

"I have coached at every level," he says. "I think the number one key to any success in anything is hard work. I've always believed that hard work pays off and always will believe that."

Fans make their opinions known as rumours swirl about O’Neill’s fate.
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