Walsh and Mount Union basketball build with Stark County players
MASSILLON, Ohio — 鈥淭he Federal League is one of the better leagues in the state of Ohio. The coaches are some of the best in the state. The league has quality programs that coach quality kids,鈥� said Jeff Young, Walsh University鈥檚 head coach for the past 19 years.
Stark County is known as a hotbed for high school football players. However, Walsh University and the University of Mount Union have found tremendous success building conference championship and playoff teams using Stark County basketball players.
鈥淚 think basketball is underrated in Stark County,鈥� said Mike Fuline, former Jackson High School coach and Mount Union鈥檚 current coach for the past 12 years. 鈥淢cKinley and Jackson have won state championships, and GlenOak made the Final Four. There is unbelievable talent in the county.鈥�
Fuline went on to say that early on in his tenure at Mount Union, he drew a circle around Northeastern Ohio to recruit. 鈥淥ur success is built on recruiting kids within a 25-mile radius of our campus (Canton, Akron, and Youngstown). My staff and I build relationships with the families. Our philosophy is to create a family atmosphere.
鈥淪ince I coached in Stark County in the Federal League, I have a relationship with the coaches and programs. I trust the coaches and athletes.鈥�
Coaches Young and Fuline are both able to establish a potential pipeline at an early age in seeing Stark County鈥檚 better basketball players. Young and Fuline both live in Jackson Township, where each of their kids have been involved in the youth basketball league, which travels to other local travel tournaments in Stow, Tallmadge, Lake, and GlenOak.
鈥淭he kids in Jackson are fortunate,鈥� said Young. 鈥淢any programs try to model their youth basketball after Jackson. Jackson High School Head Coach (Tim) Debevec does nice work with the young kids every day.鈥�
Fuline added, 鈥渋t helps people see JY (Jeff Young) in the community watching these youth games. It provides great interaction. It provides us a chance to be in the community and talking to people.鈥�
In the summer, both coaches have basketball and skill camps. This again provides coaches a chance to know a potential recruit at a young age.
鈥淲e have run camps at Walsh for ten years,鈥� said Young. 鈥淎 couple of my assistant coaches also run 1 on 1 private lesson sessions. Our camps bring 250 kids and parents to campus, sometimes for the first time. Over time, watching a kid develop can be the first step in the recruiting process.鈥�
At Mount Union, Fuline said, 鈥渨e see kids from 22 different schools. It is a nice way to meet players. One of our current players, Colin Gurley, came to camp in fifth grade. We are not necessarily looking at the camps for recruiting, but it is nice when one or two kids end up in your program.鈥�
Both coaches said having local players on the rosters helps with having fans in the stands on game day. And an added bonus is players who are not from the area can often go home with a player over a break or just for a home-cooked meal.
This year, one-third of each school鈥檚 varsity roster is made up of Stark County players. Local players on Walsh鈥檚 roster include: Drue Moore, Carrollton; Garrison Keeslar, Ryan Smith, and Zach Oddo, Green; Quentin Toles, Perry; and Brent Walker, McKinley.
Local players for the University of Mount Union are: Jack Davis, JJ Mucci and Christian Parker, GlenOak; Jonah McCartney, North Canton Hoover; Logan Hill, Jackson; Adam Chaney, Carrollton; and Tyler Pratt, Tuslaw.
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