Youngstown News, Struthers' Mcfadden Doesn't Regret Switch To

Youngstown News, Struthers’ McFadden doesn’t regret switch to hoops http://www.vindy.com/news/2013/oct/18/twice-in-a-lifetime-opportunity/

Friday, October 18th, 2013 JOBS WHEELS HOMES CLASSIFIEDS

News Opinion Sports Entertainment Classiﬁeds Records Discussions Community Contact Neighbors

Opinion How We See It Letters Bertram de Souza David Skolnick Stirfry Louie Free Years Ago Ernie Brown Todd Franko Weblogs Polls

Comment Email Print

Tweet 1 Recommend 0 0

Published: Fri, October 18, 2013 @ 12:06 a.m.

Struthers’ Rick McFadden switched from football to basketball in college, and never regretted it

By ryan buck Most Commented Most Emailed Popular

[email protected] Americans may accept Obamacare just as they (48) did with Medicare akron Congress forges another last-minute deal to (46) Struthers native Rick McFadden is almost certain he has done something no avert default other athlete has been able to do. What's next? (39) Poland teacher charged in robbery (25) “I always thought about this,” said McFadden, who is now an assistant basketball coach at the University of Akron. “The experience of being in the Scientists seek sites to pump fracking wastes (53) Ohio State-Michigan game as a player and playing in the Dean [Smith Center at North Carolina] as a basketball player, I’ve got to be the only person that’s ever done that.”

It takes a unique athlete to pull it off and McFadden was just that. Caretaker He was a true two-sport athlete, or more appropriately, a star.

Coming out of Struthers High in 2000, McFadden had options, to say the least. Animal Charity of Ohio, Boardman, Ohio He was an all-state quarterback and all-state forward for the Wildcats, having led both teams on runs through their respective OHSAA postseasons.

Under coach Gary Zetts, McFadden led the Wildcats to consecutive 8-2 seasons Groupleader/Supervisor his sophomore and junior years. As a senior, he drove them to the state playoffs and a 7-5 overall record. Tifton Aluminum Extrusions. Inc., Tifton, Georgia On the basketball court, the Wildcats were even more successful. With longtime Struthers coach Joe Fuline, Struthers won the old Metro Athletic Conference title in 1998 and advanced all the way to the regional finals in 1999. In 2000, Maintenance Technician they fell to rival Canfield in an epic district semifinal clash.

McFadden considered his college suitors to be a who’s who of “high-major Vista Window Company, Warren, Ohio football and mid-major basketball” programs, and several schools offered him the chance to do both.

“My highest percentage of being a pro athlete was in football with the rewards SALES CONSULTANT at the back end,” McFadden said. “I dedicated my whole life to sports.”

McFadden admitted basketball was always his first love, but in the end, his ASHLEY FURNITURE HOMESTORE /

1 of 3 10/18/13 9:20 AM Youngstown News, Struthers’ McFadden doesn’t regret switch to hoops http://www.vindy.com/news/2013/oct/18/twice-in-a-lifetime-opportunity/

scholarship offer from Ohio State and then-coach John Cooper won out. GOLDSTEINS FURNITURE & BEDDING, Boardman, Ohio As a redshirt freshman, McFadden experienced the coaching change in 2001 that brought Jim Tressel to Columbus. Even with an open quarterback Browse | Submit a Resume | Post a Job competition with Craig Krenzel, Scott McMullen and incumbent Steve Bellisari, McFadden knew the odds were stacked against him. - Advertisement -

“From the day I got there, you knew it would be hard to unseat him,” McFadden said of Bellisari, who went on to win the starting job.

Having no guaranteed playing time and still having that love for basketball, thoughts were racing through his 20-year-old mind.

“I felt that at the end of that second year, if I transferred I could still play three years of basketball. I could go and play something I enjoy just as much or more and get three years to play [basketball] versus gambling on maybe playing quarterback as a senior [at Ohio State],” he said.

He landed at Akron, where he played from 2003 to 2005. He averaged 8.4 points per game as a senior and set the school record for 3-point field goal percentage.

He insists the switch to basketball, where he treasured the simple backyard feel of the game, was the right move.

“Once I got the bug for basketball, I always thought of it as a sport you can get better individually,” McFadden said as he compared it to football, where a week of practice builds up to the weekly game. “You can be competitive every day in it. Even when I was at Ohio State I missed that.”

With an education degree in hand, McFadden moved right into coaching. He was Akron’s director of basketball operations for three years, then transitioned to his current position under Coach Keith Dambrot. The Zips have won more than 22 games for eight straight years and have played in seven of eight Mid-American Conference tournament finals.

“In the back of my mind, I though it would be pretty fun to coach basketball,” he said, describing his love for the continuous opportunities to grow in his profession. “This job allows you to be competitive every day. It’s about as close as you can get to playing.”

As his basketball ties were never broken as an OSU football player, he is sure his Mahoning Valley ties are even stronger. He married Zetts’ daughter, Christie, in 2005 and their families still live in Struthers.

Local sports are never far from his mind.

“That’s the topic of conversation at any family function,” McFadden said. “Sports are in your blood.”

And he intends for it to remain that way.

“I told my wife recently, ‘Most people don’t understand that kind of peace of mind,’” McFadden said. “Most people don’t get that opportunity to stay at one place for nine years. That’s so rare in coaching and I’m in no hurry to jump into anything.

“It’s amazing how your life kind of plays out.”