McNeil boys basketball coach Darrell Hagemann retires after three decades at school
High school basketball in the Austin area will lose another coaching titan with the impending retirement of McNeil coach Darrell Hagemann, the only coach the Maverick boys have had since the school opened in 1992.
Hagemann, 59, told the American-Statesman that he will retire following the end of this school year. He will join his peer and friend Celester Collier, Bowie’s coach who will also retire this school year following 31 years leading the Bulldogs.
Brandon Greene, the boys head coach at Taylor, will replace Hagemann.
“You know when it’s time, and it’s time to have a new voice in the program,” Hagemann said. “I’ll work a camp or two this summer, but then I’ll just hang out and find something to do.”
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All Hagemann has done for the past three decades is win basketball games, as evident by a remarkable streak at McNeil. He has an overall record of 605-394 with 23 playoff appearances in his 30 years as a head coach, which includes one season at Lake Travis in 1991-92. From his second season at McNeil in 1993-94 through the 2018-19 school year, the Mavs only missed the playoffs twice while winning seven district championships and qualifying for four regional tournaments as well as the 1996 state tournament.
Hagemann also helped McNeil produce some of the best players to ever come out of the Austin area, including former Texas star A.J. Abrams, current Toronto Raptor Armoni Brooks and current University of Tennessee player Victor Bailey Jr.
“Thankfully we’ve had a great run of players,” Hagemann said. “And we’ve had some really good kids, too; they’ve been very coachable and have come from some great families.”
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When Hagemann took over the McNeil program, the school was on the northwestern edge of the Austin suburbs, with cedar trees outnumbering the stoplights. Hagemann, who spent several years as an assistant at Westwood before taking his first head-coaching job at Lake Travis, liked the potential of what was then the third high school to open in the Round Rock school district.
“There wasn’t much out here at all,” he said. “The city kind of came to us.”
Playing without a senior class in Hagemann’s first season, the Mavs took their lumps during an 8-22 campaign that didn’t include a single district win. But Hagemann turned things around quickly; his second team at McNeil went 21-12 and won a playoff game, and the Mavs reached the state tournament in Hagemann’s fourth season.
“Everyone thought they were going to beat the crap out of us again in that second year, but we had some neat kids who were just basketball junkies,” Hagemann said. “And that (1996) trip to the Drum (the Erwin Center in Austin) set the foundation for what we were able to do.”
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Although Hagemann coached many stars during his time at McNeil, a dedication to the basics of coaching may be his most enduring legacy. He favored a controlled tempo over fast breaks and defensive fundamentals more than full-court presses.
“I always preached that this is the style that will get us to the Drum,” he said. “At the Class 5A or 6A level, pressing and running won’t often get you there; you have to be able to execute a half-court offense and a half-court defense. And credit the kids because they bought in.”
After spending decades coaching basketball, Hagemann says he’ll finally take the time to enjoy holiday breaks with his family. And the Llano native may also get the chance to do what’s a rite of winter for many Texans who don’t have to work the long hours of a basketball coach.
“I have never been skiing,” he said with a chuckle. “I think that’s something I need to try and do.”
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: McNeil boys basketball coach Darrell Hagemann retires after 30 years
