Northwood High officials try to replace legendary basketball coach Tim O’Brien

Former Northwood coach Tim O’Brien talks to his players during a game last December. Zach Johnson (far right) was his lead assistant. (File photo: Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone)

Northwood High School officials are working on how to replace legendary boys basketball coach Tim O’Brien, who died on Thursday, Oct. 8 after a battle with cancer.

“We are still working to identify a plan on how to move forward without Coach O’Brien,” said Brandon Emery, co-athletic director at Northwood in an Email Wednesday to OC Sports Zone.

Northwood officials have some time to find a new coach. Under the CIF plan, revised because of the coronavirus pandemic, boys basketball is not scheduled to begin until March 12, 2021 and state and local health officials would have to give approval. Boys basketball normally starts in November.

Zach Johnson, the lead assistant on last year’s team, could be a candidate. Johnson ran the team when O’Brien was unable to. It is not known if he’s interested in taking over for O’Brien.

Yousof Etemadi filled in for O’Brien on an interiim basis in 2018 but he is now the head coach at Foothill and was excited about taking over the program last season.

The new Northwood coach will take over for the popular O’Brien, who coached high school basketball in Orange County for 35 years and was the first basketball coach for Northwood High.

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