High School

Newton North (Massachusetts) names John McNamara as boys basketball head coach

Two months after Paul Connolly stepped down, the Tigers have found their replacement

Tyler Rourke

Newton North's Jose Padilla dribbles under pressure from North's Amir Jenkins during an MIAA Division I Final Four game. Jose Padilla Amir Jenkins
Newton North's Jose Padilla dribbles under pressure from North's Amir Jenkins during an MIAA Division I Final Four game. Jose Padilla Amir Jenkins / Cameron Merritt/Taunton Daily Gazette / USA TODAY NETWORK

Massachusetts boys basketball is still a ways away, but that has not stopped the elites from thinking about the upcoming season.

In Massachusetts, there are a few teams as decorated as the Newton North Tigers. They have sent many players to the Division I college level, and most recently fell to Franklin in the MIAA's D-I state championship.

In mid-March, their long time head coach Paul Connolly stepped down, after 2 decades of coaching the team. Connolly had been recognized as one of the best individuals in the state and accumulated 456 total wins in 24 years with the team and won back-to-back state titles in '05 and '06.

Now nearly two months later, the Tigers have chosen their replacement. Newton North has tabbed John McNamara, a current physical education teacher at the school, as the head varsity boys hoops coach per the Boston Herald's Danny Ventura.

Prior to ever coaching, McNamara was actually a player for Connolly, but in 2012 was the freshmen coach and witnessed the highly decorated coach earn his 200th career victory. In 2005, McNamara was a captain on Newton North's state championship team.

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Tyler Rourke
TYLER ROURKE

Tyler is a Digital Media and Journalism student at Endicott College, expected to graduate with his Bachelor's degree in 2026. He has experience covering a variety of sports for multiple newspapers. including The Salem Times and Gloucester Daily Times. He began contributing to High School On SI in 2025.

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