Maley follows McCormack as Conant's coach
Jim Maley has been named boys basketball head coach at Conant, succeeding distinguished coach Tom McCormack.
McCormack is retiring after 33 years as a head coach - 32 of them at Conant. He amassed an overall record of 576-342, including 13 seasons with 20-plus wins along with two Elite Eight appearances and five Mid-Suburban League titles.
"In looking for a new coach, we knew we had very big shoes to fill," said Conant Principal Julie Nowak. "Coach Maley brings a combination of expertise, a proven record of success and most importantly a tremendous sense of passion and dedication to his players and the game. He is a modern, thinking-man's coach who is as cerebral as he is athletic. He is exactly what we were looking for to lead our boys basketball program."
Maley, who also will teach physical education at Conant, has been the varsity head coach at St. Laurence High School in Burbank, for the past three years, during which his team's record was 41-49. In the span, the Vikings delivered the school's first winning season in 10 years and won more games than the team had in the previous six seasons - and more Chicago Catholic League games than in the previous 10 years combined.
From 2011 to 2014, Maley was the varsity coach at Kenwood Academy. Under his watch the program became a contenders in the Chicago Public League Red Division and posted a 46-34 record.
Maley began his coaching career at Glenbard West, serving as freshman coach (2008-2009) and varsity assistant coach (2007-2008).
"Conant High School is very excited to welcome Jim Maley as the new head boys basketball coach," said Conant athletic director John Kane. "Coach Maley is aware of the great basketball tradition that has been built by retiring Hall of Fame Coach Tom McCormack. The Conant High School family will certainly miss Coach McCormack, but we also look forward to a new era of basketball under the guidance of Coach Maley.
"Jim is known for both his coaching prowess and his ability to use basketball as a tool to make his athletes better students and community members. He has shown the ability to impact very diverse groups students, and we're excited about the mark he'll make at Conant High School."
Maley played basketball for one season at Northwestern University, starting 11 games as a freshman. He earned his bachelor's degree in sociology from the College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, Mass.), and his master's degree in teaching from Concordia University (River Forest, Ill.).
In high school, Maley was a three-time all-conference and two-time conference player-of-the-year in the West Suburban Silver, helping Lyons Township to a state final four finish in 2001, when he was named to the all-tournament team. In that season, Maley's Lions were defeated by Schaumburg by 1 point in the state semifinals; the Saxons continued on to win the championship.