After battling cancer, Northwood’s Tim O’Brien returns to lead team in summer

Coach Tim O’Brien leads the Northwood team during a summer game Monday at Century. (Photos courtesy Harrison Zhang, For OC Sports Zone)

Tim O’Brien is back on the bench, doing what he loves to do.

The long-time Northwood boys basketball coach, who took a year off from coaching to battle Acute Myeloid Leukemia, a form of cancer, was coaching the Timberwolves Monday in a summer league tournament at Century against Capistrano Valley Christian.

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“I’ve been here the whole summer league and I’ve been coaching first chair (where head coaches sit),” said O’Brien in an interview before the game. “I nap all day so I got my three-hour window to coach and then I go home and go to bed.”

O’Brien, who has coached for 35 years in Orange County, said he’s been cleared by doctors to coach and in February he indicated he was cancer free. O’Brien was Northwood’s first coach in 1999 and has been the head coach for 13 of those years over two stints with 262 wins so far.

He indicated he has made tremendous progress but there is a ways to go for a full recovery. O’Brien said he had a bone marrow transplant on July 13, 2018.

“Every day is a challenge, there’s always something that flares up,” he said. “I’m about a year out of transplant, but I’ve got doctor’s clearance and God’s blessing, and only one that matters to me.”

O’Brien remained involved with the Northwood program last year, but said he missed being with the team as he recovered.

“That was hard coaching from behind a computer,” he said. “I was never live, it was always a taped delayed kind of coaching. This is good, this is where I belong.”

O’Brien said he intends to coach Northwood during the regular season and his assistant coach will be former Foothill coach Zach Johnson.

“I don’t see that changing,” he said. “I’ll just get bigger and stronger and keep working.”

Yousof Etemadi, who was Northwood’s acting coach filling in for O’Brien, has been named the head coach at Foothill.

“Yousof recommended Zach so I have Zach with me,” O’Brien said. “I love Yousof, but Zach does a great job too, he’s a head coach so that really helps me when I have to miss and I have to go take a lot of tests. I love being in first chair, I like Northwood, I like my team, beat cancer. I’m a lucky guy.”

O’Brien, one of the most respected coaches in the county, will be welcomed back by many coaches. Century’s first year Coach Andres Hernandez, who has been helped by O’Brien, was one of them.

“It’s great to see a Southern California basketball legend out here, not only is he doing well, but he’s great for the game and he’s great for the kids,” Hernandez said. “You can just see the level of respect his kids have for him every single year. What separates the good coaches from the great coaches is the relationships that they build and Coach O’Brien is one of the best to do it.”

Hernandez said that O’Brien was generous with his time when Hernandez was a freshman coach at Century and in the early stages of his career.

“He has been extremely helpful,” Hernandez said. “I guess God puts in front the toughest challenges for the toughest people. He’s definitely one of the toughest people I’ve ever met. He’s a phenomenal guy.”

In the fall, O’Brien will be able to build on what he’s done so far. O’Brien has recorded 470 wins, nine league titles, one CIF title and one state title. Two of his teams had CIF runner-up finishes.

In the past couple of weeks, O’Brien has had a chance to take a look at his team, which defeated Capo Valley Christian 51-48 in overtime Monday night.

“When we shoot it, we’re pretty good, but everybody can say that,” O’Brien said. “We got some shooters. We will be solid. We will be a tough out. I like the team.”

O’Brien said he continues to work on his full recovery.

In an interview in February with OC Sports Zone before he was to be inducted into the Southern California Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Saturday, O’Brien emphasized his greatest victory.

“Biggest win ever occurred in the summer of 2018 when after being diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (cancer) on April 10 2018, to be cancer free on July 30, 2018. Best victory of all.”

O’Brien said Monday he is appreciative of the well wishes he has received.

“Everybody has been supportive, it’s been great,” he said. “Just be patient, but I’m committed to getting bigger and stronger and better. All is good, green light so far everywhere.”

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com