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Collingswood's McMonagle an inspiration on basketball court

The best moment of the Collingswood basketball season wasn't a three-pointer by Karon Waller or a dunk by B.J. Jones.

The best moment of the Collingswood basketball season wasn't a three-pointer by Karon Waller or a dunk by B.J. Jones.

It wasn't a steal by Jermaine Feaster, a block by Julian Welsh-White, or a no-look pass by Chris Michael.

It was a layup by Jimmy McMonagle.

McMonagle has autism. He is a senior who is playing organized basketball for the first time, although he has participated in other sports.

On Tuesday night, McMonagle made the shot of the season for the Panthers. His basket late in a victory over West Deptford brought a roof-raising reaction from the home crowd, as well as the players on the bench.

"It was wild," said Jones, the Panthers' senior forward. "I've never seen anything like it."

In the locker room, Collingswood coach Joe McLoughlin asked Jones to name a most valuable player of the game.

"That's easy," Jones said. "Jimmy is the MVP."

McMonagle's teammates started chanting, "MVP, MVP," and exchanging high-fives with him.

"I was the MVP of the game," McMonagle said the other day at practice.

McLoughlin, whose teams have won Colonial Conference as well as South Jersey Group 2 titles in recent years, said he's rarely seen as much excitement on the bench as there was when McMonagle scored the first points of his career. McMonagle made another basket to finish with four points.

"It brought tears to my eyes," McLoughlin said. "When we have a big lead, the players always are nudging me, 'Put Jimmy in.' When he got the ball, I had to tell them to sit down because the whole team was standing up and screaming."

One of the best things about team sports is the way it can bring together athletes of different backgrounds, united in pursuit of a common goal.

This situation goes way beyond that. McMonagle's mother, Connie, said she's been overwhelmed by the way the Collingswood players have accepted her son.

But it works both ways. The rest of the Panthers, who have a 13-3 record and are strong contenders for conference and sectional titles, have gained something from their association with McMonagle as well.

"Jimmy is an inspiration," said Welsh-White, a senior forward. "He's a great kid with a great personality. He works so hard in practice, it makes us work harder."

Connie McMonagle said she was surprised when Jimmy, who has participated in more individual sports such as track and swimming, told her he wanted to try out for basketball.

"He read about basketball in a book," Connie McMonagle said. "He said he wanted to try it. We tried to talk him out of it. We thought he might get cut."

McLoughlin, a special-education teacher in the Collingswood middle school who has special-needs students serving as his "water crew," said there was no chance of that.

But McLoughlin said McMonagle is more than just a token member of the team. He's the "team motivator" whose job is to fire up the team in the locker room.

"I tell them, 'We have to beat them,' " McMonagle said.

Asked about basketball, McMonagle said: "It offers me a challenge. I like the running part."

McMonagle had appeared in a couple of games before Tuesday night without scoring a point. He was determined to break through on his next chance.

"The last time he missed a shot," Welsh-White said. "He told me and B.J., 'Next time I'm taking it to the rack.'

"That's just what he did. It was unbelievable."