Now former IPFW athletic director,
Tommy Bell did not waste any time in naming Dane Fife’s
replacement. But this time, the decision wasn’t ludicrous to me. We
didn’t need months of build up, months of searching: Tony Jasick
was the right man at the right time for IPFW.
Jasick is part of what Dane Fife did so
right when he blew up the dark years and brought on the new dawn of
the program. Jeff Tungate, Jermaine Kimbrough, Tony Jasick: all
terrific hires that Fife made. While time will still tell, Jasick may
have been the best. He was young, he was hungry, he had a diverse
background already coaching at North Alabama, Newberry College and
most recently Middle Tennessee State. Tony Jasick was a diamond in
the rough and he took on his role at IPFW at full throttle.
For the program to continue what Dane
Fife started, Tony Jasick had to be the guy. The day I found out that
Dane Fife was leaving, casually and not for any story, I text a
former player of mine, Justin Jordan. Justin, who played locally at
North Side High School and then at St. Louis, had transferred to IPFW
to play for Fife. Fife and Jasick recruited Justin hard in high
school, so getting him as a transfer is something I knew they hung
their hat on. Like he had for me, I know Dane Fife had grown on
Justin, hence the transfer, but what became apparent in that short
conversation with JJ was that for all Fife was, Jasick was absolutely
the perfect evolution for the program. I don’t know that I have
ever heard Justin as jazzed about anything as he was about playing
for Tony Jasick.
The praise from one of his future
players was clearly justified. In his first year, Jasick took a step
back from where IPFW had been but that was expected. He still won 11
games and competed in a tough Summit League. A year later, he
improved to 16-17. Through 19 total games this year, he sits just two
wins away from tying that mark. Considering he’s already led the
Dons past conference favorite North Dakota State, that doesn’t seem
like a very big hill to climb.
As of the time I write this, Jasick has
won 41 games at IPFW over his two and a half seasons. That is the
fourth most ever for an IPFW men’s basketball coach. If his
coaching career ended today, only one coach in the program would have
a better IPFW career winning percentage.
It has been years since I have been to
an IPFW men’s basketball game. There is a disconnect between me now
and what I know about the program on a deep level. Both of those are
unfortunate because I used to live on knowledge about IPFW
basketball, whether out of want or need. But it makes me smile every
time I see them win, because they all did it: Jasick, Jordan, Fife,
David Carson, Scott, Bell, Pope, Campbell, Pechota, Simon, Noll,
Collins…all of those names and hoards more put IPFW in the position
they are today.
It has been fun to watch over the years. I really need
to get myself over to the Gates Center and see more.
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