",[1] he battled against New York playground legends such as The Terminator, Master Rob and Pookie Wilson as well as future NBA stars Rod Strickland and Mario 'The Jedi' Elie.
[2] After hearing about the young point guard, Texas A&M coach Shelby Metcalf travelled to Harlem in 1985 to see McDonald play on the playgrounds.
His neighbourhood in Harlem was very dangerous, and McDonald's brother had in fact been shot and killed by robbers in early 1985.
After agreeing to attend Texas A&M, McDonald spent the first few days of his stay in College Station in his dorm room, convinced that the number of gun racks he saw on pick-up trucks throughout town meant the area was as dangerous as the place he had left.
With superb instincts, McDonald had a knack for stealing the ball but had difficulty playing straight-up defence.
[4][6] The Melbourne Tigers quickly picked him up, and he served as a backup to Andrew Gaze and Lanard Copeland for two seasons,[6] earning NBL Best Sixth Man honours in 2004.
[6] McDonald helped lead the Tigers to the 2006 championship, outclassing many of his younger opponents along the way including starting Australian Boomers point guard CJ Bruton.
He retired after Game 5 of the 2007–08 Grand Final series win over the Brian Goorjian coached Sydney Kings.
From 2007 onwards McDonald has served as the coach of the Wesley College Firsts boys' basketball team.
[7] McDonald served as the head coach of the Melbourne Tigers during the 2010–11 season when Al Westover was sacked.