By Matt Florjancic
MaxPreps.com
EATON TOWNSHIP, Ohio – Though former Midview basketball coach Bob DiFranco was taken from his family by a heart attack nine years ago, his memory is never far away. One of Bob’s sons, Troy, is now the head coach at Midview. Troy proudly led his team into the Kubuski Gymnasium Tuesday night in the consolation round of the 9th annual Bob DiFranco Memorial Holiday Tournament.
“All the credit goes to Stan Hughes,” Troy said of the tournament. “He was the athletic director at that time. Stan came up with the idea and got together with some guys like Jim Couch and Ed Adelsberg and helped put this together and make it the success it is today.
Though the Middies lost to Southview in the consolation round, scores at the end of a game did not decide winners and losers of the tournament. The fans saw four area basketball teams (Midview, Lorain Southview, Amherst Steele and North Royalton) battle for 32 minutes while players tested their skills against one another.
The two-day boys basketball event includes varsity and junior varsity tournaments and raises scholarship money for Midview students.
“The DiFrancos are a big part of the community,” Midview athletic director Bob Maver said. “Even though their father taught at North Ridgeville, he was still big in the community with his sons. When he passed away, it was sad throughout Lorain County and throughout the coaching community.
At all levels of athletics, wins and losses often determine the success or failure of coaches. While Bob DiFranco wanted to win games, his main goal to mold the next generation of student-athletes into just that, students first, athletes last.
“My dad was a special guy,” Troy said. “He was in his 31st year of teaching. You ask him how many years he’d been teaching and he didn’t really know off the top of his head because he enjoyed what he did and he loved kids."
Troy’s collegiate alma mater, Heidelberg College, is roughly an hour and 20 minutes from Midview High School. Even with long road trips to Ohio Athletic Conference rivals, Troy always played under his father’s watchful eye.
“Even though he coached and knew a lot about sports, every game no matter how bad I played, he was there to shake my hand and tell me ‘Good job,’” Troy said. “When I played basketball at Heidelberg, we played on Wednesdays and Saturdays. He went to every, single game in my four years there. He would travel to Marietta on Wednesday night and travel back and teach the next morning."
St. Vincent-St. Mary Travels South
While some tournaments raise scholarship money, many are played in support of other charitable endeavors. Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia will host the Cancer Research Classic sponsored by the Urologic Research Institute Saturday, Jan. 3.
Five games will be played with teams coming from Washington D.C., Baltimore, Maryland, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New York City. The Fighting Irish of Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary will also participate in the event.
The Fighting Irish will play Neumann-Goretti of Philadelphia in the day’s fourth game.
Though basketball is the main component of the event, men’s health issues will be promoted during the contests. Health care screenings will be available.
200 Wins for Mussery
Toledo Bowsher (3-5) boys basketball coach Dennis Mussery led his team to a 45-42 victory over Maumee Monday night, but it was not an ordinary win.
It was Mussery’s 200th career victory. In the win, Taylor Brown scored 21 points and collected ten rebounds for Bowsher.
Scoring, Defense Lead Southview
Behind a strong defensive effort and four players scoring in double figures, Sylvania Southview defeated Toledo St. Ursula Academy 57-30 earlier this week in girls basketball action. The Southview defense forced 28 turnovers.
Krissy Rowe and Ariel Gatson scored 12 points each while Jenna Vermilya (11) and Taylor Hall (10) also finished in double figures.
Matt Florjancic currently works as a freelance reporter and sports announcer for WOBL and WDLW Radio.
