Longtime Bessemer City basketball coach Danny McDowell steps down
After spending much of his adult life in basketball gyms throughout North Carolina, Danny McDowell is ready to see what else life has in store.
McDowell announced last week he was stepping down as Bessemer City boys basketball coach.
“It isn’t getting any easier to stay (at the school) daily until 8:30 p.m., 9 p.m.,” he said. “The job now demands more of our time and that includes the summer which is so important for building a team on and off the court. I just felt this was the perfect time for a changing of the guard and the program to get a new voice.”
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McDowell departs after 13 seasons, his 195 wins trailing only Jackson “Ace” Parker (223 wins) in program history.
Six Yellow Jackets scored at least 1,000 points under his watch, topped by all-time leading scorer Randall Pettus. The Northern Kentucky signee finished with 2,078 points and 463 steals at the end of this season. Pettus also holds Gaston County’s single-game scoring record with 60 points against Piedmont Community Charter in February 2021.
Pettus – along with Keyshawn Adams, Jameer Holmes, Nazari Smarr and Terrance Smith – was part of a Bessemer City core which won 66 games over four seasons and claimed a share of the 2021-22 Southern Piedmont 1A/2A title. The group also led the Yellow Jackets to their deepest playoff run in school history, advancing to the 1A West semifinal round in 2022.
According to McDowell, their departure weighed heavily into his decision.
“This group graduating certainly helped push me in that direction. They were a talented group and we won a bit too,” he said. “We wanted to win a championship, but with those (private and charter schools) in 1A it’s almost impossible to win one.
“I also don’t see anyone (in Gaston County) getting a group like we had the next four years. We had a great run, and I wasn’t eager to have to (rebuild a program) again.”
Prior to taking over in Bessemer City, McDowell spent five seasons at Kings Mountain, where he won 75 games and three consecutive Southwestern Foothills 3A titles (2002-04). He also served as Charlotte Christian girls basketball coach for the 2009-10 season.
In all, McDowell won 301 games as a head coach, missing the playoffs only once — during the 2021 COVID-shortened season — in 19 seasons. He was inducted into the Kings Mountain Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.
The longtime coach also won an AAU national title in Kings Mountain, twice finishing as national runner-up, and garnered 10 consecutive state AAU championships.
“Seeing guys succeed in sports and life is the biggest reward you can get,” McDowell said. “It was truly a blessing to have been the head coach at three different high schools. I want to thank (Bessemer City High principal Dr. Sheila Wyont) for giving me the keys to the bus and trusting me enough to drive it.
“I was able to do it my way; and what’s so special, I was told, ‘You can stay as long as you want.’ That speaks volumes. I want to thank everyone for your support throughout my career; I am forever grateful.”
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: NCHSAA boys basketball: Bessemer City coach Danny McDowell steps down
