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Women's NCAA Tournament is on Flanagan's home turf

By Iliana Limón
Saturday, March 17, 2007

Many of Don Flanagan's childhood basketball games took place at Martin Park in East Hartford, Conn., where he was a member of the Flanagans All Stars team.

Photo by Craig FritzTribune

Tribune

Many of Don Flanagan's childhood basketball games took place at Martin Park in East Hartford, Conn., where he was a member of the Flanagans All Stars team.

With some of the same backboards and hardwood in place, the former East Hartford High School gymnasium hasn't changed much since Don Flanagan played there in the 1960s. The school is now East Hartford Middle School.

Photo by Craig FritzTribune

Tribune

With some of the same backboards and hardwood in place, the former East Hartford High School gymnasium hasn't changed much since Don Flanagan played there in the 1960s. The school is now East Hartford Middle School.

Mark Valentin, 13, hides his face while counting in the cold as he, his brother Seville (right) and a friend play hide-and-seek in the old stomping grounds of Don Flanagan, the University of New Mexico women's basketball coach. Flanagan grew up on the same street, Higbie Drive, in the Mayberry Village neighborhood of East Hartford, Conn., some 30 years ago.

Photo by Craig FritzTribune

Tribune

Mark Valentin, 13, hides his face while counting in the cold as he, his brother Seville (right) and a friend play hide-and-seek in the old stomping grounds of Don Flanagan, the University of New Mexico women's basketball coach. Flanagan grew up on the same street, Higbie Drive, in the Mayberry Village neighborhood of East Hartford, Conn., some 30 years ago.

The Flanagan file

Name: Don Flanagan

Age: 62

Hometown: Cambridge, Mass.

College: Fort Lewis College, where he was a four-year basketball letterman and member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference All-Academic team.

UNM record: 263-112 in his 12th season . . . Owns most wins among all men's and women's basketball coaches in school history . . . Seven NCAA Tournament appearances, including six in a row . . . Nine 20-win seasons, including seven straight.

High school record: 401-13 record in 16 years at Eldorado High, winning 11 state championships . . . His teams went undefeated nine times, with winning streaks of 77, 74, 69, 66 and 60 games.

Honors: 2004-05 Mountain West Conference coach of the year . . . 2005-06 Russell Athletic/WBCA Region Seven Coach of the Year . . . Inducted into the Albuquerque Sports Hall of Fame, East Hartford Connecticut Explorers Tip-Off Club Hall of Fame and Fort Lewis College Hall of Fame.

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — He just wanted to be like his big brother, Donny.

At age 6, Kevin Flanagan was willing to do anything to impress his 15-year-old brother, Don Flanagan.

"Everything was a competition with us, and one time, he bet me I couldn't run around the block barefoot in the snow," Kevin said. "I was 6 and swore I could do it. So, I took off out the front door, made it about 100 feet and ran back into the house crying my eyes out. Don was in the living room falling over laughing at me. I ran straight to my mom and said Donny made me do it."

Long before Don Flanagan became the most successful basketball coach in University of New Mexico history, he was an ultracompetitive star athlete in New England, prone to pulling pranks both with and on his five siblings.

His roots in the blue-collar Mayberry Village neighborhood in East Hartford, Conn., made an indelible mark on Flanagan's life and approach to coaching.

Flanagan is back home this weekend, taking his coaching career full circle. The eighth-seeded Lobos (24-8) will face ninth-seeded Wisconsin-Green Bay (28-3) Sunday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Hartford Civic Center, 4.8 miles away from the house where Flanagan grew up.

"It's always special when you get a chance to go home," Flanagan said. "I'm glad we'll have an opportunity to play in front of my family and old friends. I hope they bring us some good luck."

All sports, all the time

Don was born in Cambridge, Mass., but spent his formative years at 45 Higbie Dr. in East Hartford.

It was a 920-square-foot red-brick house with white trim in Mayberry Village, a federal housing development created for World War II veterans.

James and Barbara Flanagan, Don's parents, moved into the area after James was discharged from the Army.

"It was a housing project, but it was such a great place to grow up," Don said. "There were so many kids around. We had six, but it wasn't unusual to have 11 in one house. So we'd always have a game going in some sport. We'd play tackle football without helmets. You name the sport, we played it."

There were no well-groomed fields or basketball courts, so the Flanagans and their neighbors made up their own sandlots and used iced-over ponds as hockey rinks.

They hurled whiffle balls and tennis balls off their front steps, taking out countless nearby screen doors.

"My mom was a terrific gardener who always had flowers blooming, but she never planted them at the front of the house because that's where we played and she knew we would trample them," Dave Flanagan said. "She had them all on the sides and the back of the house. It looked funny until you saw us tumbling around and understood nothing in our path was safe."

The federal government has since sold Mayberry Village housing, but it remains a working-class neighborhood. It is now a much more diverse population, with black and Hispanic families taking over the once-dominant Irish neighborhood. Splashes of mauve, periwinkle and buttercup siding have replaced the uniform red and white structures.

"I think the spirit of the area is still the same, and I love coming back here," Dave said as he drove by the old house.

Dave leads the physical education department for East Hartford Public Schools, staying the closest to the old neighborhood.

He recalls Don rising early to fish and trap animals in a creek that ran near the family's home.

"My mother would have to remind him he couldn't start knocking on doors until 7 o'clock trying to get a game going," Dave said. "Don was an early riser, and he always wanted to compete."

Don eventually became a good student, but he was a bit of a dreamer in his early days.

His mother was the disciplinarian, while his father was an independent traveling salesman who traversed the New England area selling hardware.

"Don was a bit of a black sheep when we were growing up, but we had great parents who straightened him out," said Jay Flanagan, Don's older brother who is the track and field coach at Arkansas State. "I think sports kept him from getting into too much trouble."

Those who knew Barbara Flanagan say she planted the seed of Don's coaching style, which emphasizes positive thinking and visualization over fire and brimstone speeches.

"When we got into trouble, the punishment was usually to go to your room and think about what you did," Dave said. "And when you came out, you had to explain what you would have done differently. Don and I spent a lot of time in our room, but I think we finally got the message."

The six Flanagan children were separated by 22 years, but the oldest kids often returned home to visit the crowded family home. Jay is now 64, Don is 62, Dave is 59, Lynne is 57, Kevin is 53 and Jon is the baby at 42.

"Looking back, I don't know how we didn't get claustrophobic living in that house all together," Don said. "But I think it ended up making us a much closer family."

Odd woman out

Don grew up respecting the potential of female athletes thanks to his younger sister, Lynne Flanagan.

"Lynne was such a great athlete, but there were no sports for her to play," Don said. "She could have excelled at just about any sport, but the only thing she could do at the time was cheerleading."

He reached out to Lynne by including her in the Flanagans' timed sprints around the block, which was roughly a quarter of a mile circle.

"He took it all very seriously," Lynne said. "He would let me know my times, then often tell me he thought I could do better. He always said he was training me for the Olympics. Now, I always tell him I was training him for coaching."

Lynne went on to play in a competitive softball league in her 20s. She said she isn't surprised her brother made a career out of coaching women's basketball.

"My brothers always worried I had a miserable experience growing up the only girl with five brothers, but I had a great time," she said. "I always wanted a sister, but I couldn't have asked for better brothers. And Don was always a great big brother. I missed him so much when he left home, and I cheer for his team every chance I get."

Flanagan's All-Stars

As Don grew up, the family took on more serious competition and organized sports.

He was an avid tennis player, following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father.

He also took up football, track and field, and baseball in school. But he made the biggest splash playing basketball.

"I think Don definitely was the best athlete in our family," Jay said. "We all played sports, but it seemed like he was good at everything he did."

Don played at East Hartford High through his junior year before heading off to prep school. The old high school has since been converted to a middle school, but Dave said the gym hasn't changed. It still has the same hardwood floors and dead spots.

"Don was a terrific rebounder and averaged about 10 or 12 points a game his junior year," Dave said. "Then he went off to prep school and really became a scorer."

After prep school, Don worked in the area and served in the Korean War. He kept playing basketball until he figured out he still had four years of college eligibility left and followed a remarkable number of Mayberry Village residents west to Durango, Colo., and Fort Lewis College.

He met his wife, Wahleah, at college. They briefly returned to Connecticut but opted to raise their family in New Mexico. Don returns home every summer, often fishing at the family's home in Maine.

During his first decade away from home, it was basketball that lured Don back to Mayberry Village.

The neighborhood kids grew up to form a successful summer team that Don played on until his early 30s.

The team was called Flanagan's All-Stars because it had no official name and there happened to be three Flanagans on the roster.

"I was our coach, but I was terrible because I always got too involved in the game to substitute anyone," Don said. "I would play all 40 minutes, and guys on the bench would be furious with me."

The group dominated summer league games at Martin Park. The team also was a competitive preliminary matchup for semi-professional teams touring the area, facing off with future pros in the old East Hartford High gym.

"This tiny gym was always packed and some amazing players came through here for those games," Dave said. "Bob Cousy and Wilt Chamberlain played here, and Flanagan's All-Stars held their own."

The team also took on minimum and maximum security prisons in the area, with at least one game ending with a brawl. The team was whisked away by security guards.

"We had a lot of fun playing those prison games," Don said. "There were always guys in there from Mayberry Village who knew we could play and would bet cigarettes on us winning."

Perfect homecoming

Don's siblings and friends from Mayberry Village have become diehard Lobos fans and track his team via the Internet.

All of his siblings have seen games in The Pit.

His mother died 20 years ago. His father was a huge Lobos fan until he died three years ago, often planning four months in advance for his trip to Albuquerque to see UNM play.

The family held a reunion this March in Las Vegas, Nev., during the Mountain West Conference tournament and had such a good time they plan to make it an annual event.

Kevin and Dave have been lobbying ultrasuccessful Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma to schedule a game with the Lobos for years.

"It's pretty funny, but both those guys respect each other and were real reluctant to set up that game," Kevin said. "I think Don wanted to make sure his team was ready to play back here and make a good impression. I think Geno was real nervous about playing the Lobos.

"So, we're all really excited to finally get Don's team out here. If everything goes right and both teams win their first-round games, we'll get that perfect New Mexico-UConn matchup."

The Flanagans estimate they will have at least 50 fans at Sunday's game. The group will include relatives and a lot of old friends from Mayberry Village.

"We're all thrilled about this," Dave said. "We couldn't be prouder of Don and everything he has accomplished. This is really special for all of us. It's not necessarily the matchup or the seeding he wanted, but we're glad he's finally bringing a Lobos team back home."