The People: Home for the Holidays for the McGuff Family
12/23/2023 9:11:00 AM | General, Women's Basketball, The People
Wonderful time of the year has Kevin McGuff coaching in a game against his daughter, Kilyn
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The goal wasn't to schedule an easy win for Ohio State heading into the holiday break.
If it had been, Belmont probably would have been pretty far down the list of options for Kevin McGuff.
Instead, the Buckeye women's basketball coach was trying to find a different kind of feel-good opportunity — one that would work for both his team and his family.
It was the combination of a quality non-conference opponent and the presence of one of its leading scorers that made for a perfect match for Ohio State three days before Christmas. And as the Belmont bus packed up to leave Value City Arena, a junior guard lingered behind outside the Buckeyes' locker room making plans to go watch her younger brother play in a freshman game, fill out the list of movies to watch with her family and make sure their recipe for the shortbread cookies was prepped for Santa Claus.
Kilyn McGuff was already home for Christmas, a perfect present after some clever scheduling from her dad.
"I'm friends with their coach, I know him pretty well, so we talked about it on the road recruiting," Kevin McGuff said after the 84-55 win over Belmont on Friday. "I kind of thought about it and kicked it around back and forth. I just thought this would be a pretty cool idea.
"And although it was going to be a little nerve-wracking and maybe odd, I thought the benefits would outweigh any of that. Overall, this was a great experience for our family."
The McGuff crew certainly made the most of the opportunity, even if only one of them could actually win the game itself.
The Buckeyes were able to hold the familiar face under her scoring average, though Kilyn McGuff did still add six rebounds, a pair of assists and a steal that she turned into a coast-to-coast layup. That moment was certainly part of the conflicting emotions of scheduling a family affair, since those bright spots during the 40 minutes of action offered an unusual mixture of fatherly pride and coaching frustration when they came at the expense of Ohio State.
But at the buzzer, Kevin McGuff wrapped his daughter in a huge hug in the postgame handshake line. A pair of younger sisters waited patiently outside the visiting locker room, both passing on the standard Ohio State gear in favor of a Belmont colors for the afternoon — including a personalized jersey with McGuff's No. 12, which matched the one her mom Letitia wore. And after hanging around in the empty gym for a bit longer, the celebration moved on to the next game featuring a McGuff.
"Every kid wants to have a game back at their home," Kilyn McGuff said. "This one just happened to be a little bit more special because my dad's the coach.
"It's a pretty good Christmas gift. I think my dad had that in mind when he was scheduling the date for this."
The idea worked out perfectly, and no extra travel was required to get her back home with the rest of the family.
Kilyn McGuff didn't get the victory, but she'll head back to Belmont for practice a couple days after Christmas recharged after some quality time at home — and maybe with the new iPad she asked for under the tree.
Kevin McGuff and his 10-2 Buckeyes did come out on top. And he already got his holiday wish.
"It was a little surreal being on the other side of the court, but it was fun," Kevin McGuff said. "But the plan was for her to play well and for us to win."
Then everybody could move on to the kitchen together to bake a few batches of shortbread cookies.
#GoBucks
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