Western Kentucky head coach Kenny McDonald congratulates players Jeremy Evans, left, and Mike Walker, right, after they upset Louisville earlier this season. McDonald's Hilltoppers play in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.

Journal photo / Mark Humphrey

 Taking basketball teams into the NCAA Tournament has become old hat for Al Skinner, Rick Barnes and Rick Pitino. For Kenny McDonald, it is a life-changing event.

 McDonald, the first-year coach at Western Kentucky, joins the ever-consistent group of college coaches with Rhode Island roots who will play in the tournament when the Hilltoppers tangle with Illinois on Thursday night in Portland, Ore. But unlike the others, McDonald is true, blue Little Rhody. He grew up in North Providence, led CCRI into the junior college national tournament and played for Barnes for two seasons at Providence College.

 After following his former coach to Clemson and Texas, McDonald got his chance as a head coach at Western Kentucky, and he’s run with it. The Hilltoppers (24-8) won the Sun Belt Conference regular-season title with a 13-3 record and swept through the conference tournament, which was held in Hot Springs, Ark.

 “It’s a long way from Mineral Spring Avenue,” McDonald said this week. “It’s been a lot of fun, very exciting. I’ve gotten a lot of texts and phone calls from my brothers and sisters and cousins back home.”

 McDonald’s success isn’t a surprise. First, he inherited a good team from Darrin Horn, who left after a 29-7 season to coach at South Carolina. McDonald happily moved to Bowling Green, a city where he had previously worked for five seasons (1998-2003) with head coach Dennis Felton. WKU played in three NCAAs during McDonald’s previous stay, so he knew the chance to win was strong.

 “We had some good players here, like A.J. Slaughter and Steffphon Pettigrew, but we weren’t practicing or working hard enough earlier in the year,” said McDonald. “We were down at home to Southern Illinois and I just put my foot down, and we started playing harder right there. Then Louisville was the next game.”

 When the Hilltoppers shocked Pitino’s Cardinals (68-54) on Nov. 30 at Freedom Hall, McDonald officially had his team’s attention. “We saw how good we can play when we bought into the team concept,” he said.

 McDonald’s success is no surprise to Barnes, whose Texas team plays Minnesota on Thursday night in Greensboro, N.C. The former Friar boss (1989-94) had McDonald by his side for four NCAA tourneys with the Longhorns. “Kenny is as good as any assistant coach I ever had. He was more than ready for his chance,” said Barnes.

 Barnes’ coaching tree snakes across the country. Frank Haith, the University of Miami coach who played PC on Wednesday night in the NIT, was a Barnes assistant at Texas. In fact, McDonald replaced Haith on the Texas staff.

 “What helps us all is Rick Barnes,” said Haith. “He prepared us tremendously and I know Kenny Mac benefited greatly. Kenny is a tough guy and you have to be tough to win in this business.”

 Although Haith and McDonald never worked together at Texas, they are friends. “He bought my house,” said Haith. “He called me a few weeks later and said, `This bathroom is for short guys. You didn’t tell me that!’ ”

 McDonald and Barnes speak frequently, and this week’s calls were filled with celebration and motivation. “Coach Barnes left me a great message. He was very proud,” said McDonald. “Then he said to don’t let the guys settle. He just talked about winning.”

 While this is McDonald’s first NCAA tourney as a head coach, Barnes will lead his 16th team into the tournament. Pitino’s number-one seeded Louisville squad is his 13th NCAA team. Skinner, the ex-URI boss, has led eight teams into the NCAA and his Boston College team will face Southern California tomorrow in Minneapolis. Two other coaches with local connections are American’s Jeff Jones who spent one season as an assistant at URI and Herb Sendek, the Arizona State coach who worked for both Pitino and Barnes at Providence.

kmcnamar@projo.com