Filling A Tall Order At Age 31 And 5-Foot-9 With Shoes On, Mahon Never Stops Attacking

He’s back at his desk at the credit union this week, a little more sore for the experience but with his game validated one more time.

Ronn McMahon outgrew the Mickey Rooney jokes a long time ago but as a left-handed, 5-foot-9, 31-year-old, he always has something to prove when he ventures out among the basketball trees.

So here we go again: Ronny McMahon - in 1990 a star at Eastern Washington - still looks a little like a vintage Mickey Rooney. The size (“I think I’m pretty close to 5-9, with shoes on,” he says), the shock of blond hair and the can’t-sit-down buzz of energy contribute to the Rooneyesque image.

Yet as a star in another contentious Hoopfest, when the sound of the fury was often a whine, McMahon did what he’s always done - dish it and take it with only an occasional yelp.

His class alone makes him a standout but that’s not what attracts the people-watchers who cruise Hoopfest. Many on the way to nowhere in particular stop to check out the little guy.

He was, arguably, the most entertaining player in this weekend’s seventh annual 3-on-3 street tournament.

When the sun got higher and the shots got longer, Mahon never stopped attacking with the dribble. The quickness and daring was still there Sunday, after a dozen games in two days, six with two teammates from his Eastern days and another six or seven games with his 6-foot-and-under team.

If Hoopfest organizers, ever alert for marketing angles, were to send a rep team on the road they could do no better than start with McMahon at the point.

“It’d be fun,” said McMahon, who with Dave Castiel, Steve Helm and Allen Simon Cree played and lost in the finals of the 6-foot-and-under Open Division. (Even McMahon has an “E” on his gas gauge). “They have these things all over the place. They’re big everywhere.”

Hoopfest is biggest, but for all the sweat and contact that goes into it, it’s hardly the most serious.

“Last week I was with some guys from Seattle,” McMahon said. “We played in a tournament in Vancouver and won $6,000. I made a little money out of that.

“I’ll probably lose a week’s pay after this one because I won’t be able to go back to work for a while.”

The 6-and-over crowd is tougher but the under-6 game is changing, too.

“They can’t get any taller in 6-foot-and-under,” McMahon said, “but they’re starting to get wider.”

He laughed, seeing the end of a long weekend. At the time Sunday his 6-and-under team was a win away from the championship. This was after McMahon, Greg Olson and John Garrison made it well into the losers’ bracket on their court Sunday in the 6-foot-and-over Open Division.

Not even McMahon is quick enough to be in two places at once. There were no scheduling conflicts but playing in two competitive divisions kept him on the move.

If he’s lost a step you can’t tell because on the streets it doesn’t matter as much. “On these courts there aren’t that many steps to take,” McMahon said. “Every court - every street - is totally different. The ball bounces different. The funny bounces are a little hard for someone who counts on knowing where the ball’s going to be.”

The little guy, he means. It’s harder on the little guy. That’s understood.

McMahon has done a lot in his time. There was a year and a half in the CBA with Yakima. His Canadian Olympic team toured for nearly a year - he has dual citizenship. He did a season in Hong Kong, another in Mexico and most recently played a tournament in Korea. His career may be winding down but it’s still not over.

He was good enough at a tryout camp at Seattle University to be put on notice by Japanese interests, who tell McMahon he’s one of four they’re considering to play in that country, presumably for decent money.

He shrugs.

“Who knows, but that’s what they’re telling me,” he said. “I had a good run. For an under-6-foot white guy I feel pretty lucky. I could go somewhere and not make any money, just to play, but I had my run at that. With a family it’s different.”

He and his wife Lisa live in Tacoma with their 4-year-old daughter, with No. 2 due in late August. He works at the credit union, she attends law school.

He’s settling in while keeping his basketball options clear.

“If by some miracle I had a good opportunity it wouldn’t take much convincing,” he said. “I came over here and killed myself for nothing. I guess I’d be willing to do it for money.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo