Submitted Photo McDaniel College basketball coach Bob Flynn yells to his players during his team’s Nov. 25, 2006, game against Salisbury at the Provident Pride Tournament.

Pacing the sideline with his trademark red towel draped over one shoulder and lifting players’ spirits with encouraging words, McDaniel men’s basketball coach Bob Flynn profoundly affected many people during a coaching career that spanned 25 years.

Flynn died suddenly late Friday night at St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore after suffering a massive heart attack at his Catonsville home. He was 49 years old.

He is survived by his wife, Tina, his daughter, Caitlin, 16, and his twin sons, Michael and Ryan. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Friends and players said Flynn was a selfless, upbeat, enthusiastic and caring person, the kind who was skilled at making people feel good about themselves.

He used that skill to shape a successful career, motivating young players of all ages — from small children new to the sport to high school youths at Cardinal Gibbons to college players at Mount St. Mary’s, St. Mary’s (Md.) and McDaniel.

“He’s just that special person that connected with everybody,” said Green Terror junior Brett Foelber, who also played for Flynn at Gibbons. “He was a father figure. Coach is going to live through us, no matter what. … The hardest thing is going to be not having him there, not hearing his voice.”

Flynn, who grew up in the Baltimore area, was in his second year coaching at McDaniel and had led the team to a significant turnaround. The team went 5-20 the year before Flynn arrived before going 9-16 his first season. The Terror are off to a 7-6 start, emulating the hardworking, love-for-the-game style Flynn imparted to his players.

Flynn came to McDaniel from Cardinal Gibbons High School in Baltimore, where he compiled a 103-76 record from 1999-2005. Before that, Flynn coached Division III St. Mary’s from 1994-99 after working as an assistant at Mount St. Mary’s, his alma mater, under legendary coach Jim Phelan from 1984-94.

Flynn served as head basketball coach and athletic director at North Carroll High School from 1982-84.

Flynn also co-directed basketball camps with former DeMatha Catholic High School coach and Hall of Famer Morgan Wootten. Wootten said Flynn was his “right-hand man” for all the years he has operated overnight camps.

The news of Flynn’s death came as a shock to his players, assistant coaches and friends.

When Foelber called senior captain Joe Hunter to tell him Flynn had a heart attack, Hunter gathered the rest of the team together. The team found out together that Flynn passed away when Foelber called a second time with the news.

“We basically just sat in my room for a half-hour in silence,” Hunter said.

Saturday’s game against Ursinus and Wednesday’s game against Washington (Md.) have been postponed, allowing the players time to grieve.

“At the same time, we’re still champing at the bit to get that first game back in memory of him and just play as hard as we can,” Hunter said. “We’re just waiting for that opportunity.”

McDaniel assistant Kevin Selby will coach the team for the remainder of the season.

“I will not fill his seat. I can’t be Bob,” Selby said. “The team’s going forward. Bob had a vision for this program and we’re going to do everything we can to meet that vision.”

For the rest of the year, the Terror players will honor Flynn by wearing a red patch on their jerseys, symbolic of his red towel.

While Flynn dedicated his life to basketball, players and coaches said they most appreciated the life lessons he taught.

Foelber said that on the way home from McDaniel’s latest road game, the team bus was passing an accident on Md. 140 when Flynn stood up and talked about putting basketball into perspective.

“He was always talking about how precious life is and how family is so much more important than anything else,” Foelber said.

Flynn’s colleagues, Phelan and Selby, said they believed Flynn to be in perfect health. They said he ran and exercised often, ate a healthy diet and never smoked.

“It’s unbelievable,” Phelan said. “I just can’t believe that he’s not with us anymore.”

Phelan has felt a special connection to Flynn since their days at the Mount, and not just because they spent so much time together game-planning. Flynn’s 12-year-old twin sons were born a few hours apart from Phelan’s twin granddaughters.

“We said, ‘What a great matchup,’” Phelan remembered.

Phelan described Flynn as someone who always kept everything light and enjoyable, was fun to be around and treated basketball only as a game.

Phelan said Flynn’s combination of basketball knowledge, excitement, coaching ability and humor made him an excellent coach.

“It’s kind of hard to do and he did it so well,” Phelan said.

Wootten, who has known Flynn for decades, said it was a terrible loss for Flynn’s family, players, friends and colleagues but they won’t experience the greatest loss.

“The ones that are really going to be affected are all these kids in the future that won’t have the opportunity to hear Bob Flynn,” Wootten said.

“I’ve never seen a coach or any person touch more lives than Bob touched.”

Reach staff writer Josh Land at 410-857-7875 or jland@lcniofmd.com.