Meet Tom McNichol

Motivational speakers are adamant, stressing the development of a life plan with adherence to it via a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly check-off list. Yes, that is one way towards success and certainly a valid approach.

However, don't shortchange serendipity because sometimes, kismet happens, despite the opposite being so vividly pronounced on certain bumperstickers.

Especially if a foundation has been put in place to take advantage of an opportunity.

Tom McNichol has worked hard to get where he is, that being men's assistant basketball coach and an English teacher at City College of San Francisco (CCSF). But being a member of an ultra-successful hoops program as well as a college instructor, well, such wasn't necessarily part of any grand plan

Originally from New Jersey, McNichol was a high school basketball player being heavily recruited by the late Jim Valvano, who was then the head coach at Bucknell University. "He was hilarious, a fun guy," McNichol recalled. "My father said go with this guy."

It was a done deal.

But Valvano abruptly moved on to Iona College in New Rochelle, New York while McNichol stayed at the Lewisburg, Pennsylvania school. 

He graduated after captaining the basketball squad and earning a degree in Comparative Literature (Spanish/English).

After heading to the Bay Area after college, McNichol was walking by CCSF Mission Street campus one day in 1984 and saw a notice indicating a need for a bilingual English tutor.

"I dropped in and they said 'we need you.'"

Thus began his climb through academia.

"Eventually, it became apparent I needed a higher degree." That resulted in McNichol enrolling in a Master's of English program at San Francisco State which allowed him to move higher up in the instructional ranks.

His post-college hoops involvement consisted of participating in the San Francisco Pro-Am League during the summer.

But in 1999 through a friend, McNichol connected with CCSF Head Basketball Coach Harry Pantazopoulos. "He needed someone to help guys with individual workouts."

Soon after, Pantazopoulos said, "I would love to have you on my staff."

McNichol's Ram basketball tenure continued on after Pantazopoulos left and Patrick Springer succeeded him. When Springer eventually took the head coaching job at Mt. San Jacinto College in southern California, Justin Labagh took over at the helm and McNichol remained on the coaching staff.

Away from campus, McNichol saw a community need and selflessly filled it. He began pro bono tutoring high school basketball players deficient in their Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) outcomes. In order to earn a college athletic scholarship, players had to score at a certain level and many were not achieving the necessary numbers.

"I worked with Antonio Kellogg, John Winston, Dior Lowhorn, Quentin Thomas and many others," McNichol recalled. "It's hard to catch up if you fall behind."
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He doesn't see himself as any sort of a miracle worker, more a "I can help them go up a couple hundred points, say from 900 to 1,100 or 800 to 1,000. My math knowledge won't take you very far but my English background will help."

As he modestly described himself, "I'm a basketball and an English guy."

As well as a good guy.