Transition game working well for Pat Moran

Ex-Madison coach is an assistant to his brother at John Carroll

Coaching basketball will always be a part of Pat Moran’s life. As will be teaching. For 15 years, the two have intersected Moran’s life at the high school level — until this season. Moran is dipping his toes in college basketball waters, and it’s working just fine.

He hasn’t forgotten about Madison High School, and never will. Now he’s making time for another school, his alma mater John Carroll.

The former Madison boys basketball coach stepped down after 11 seasons last year, and joined his brother’s staff at JCU, where Pete Moran has the Blue Streaks off to an impressive 10-2 start.

Pete Moran is in his first season as JCU coach. He’s a former Blue Streaks assistant, and is the successor to his father Mike, who spent 25 seasons at JCU.

As a JCU assistant, Pat’s responsibilities include film breakdown of opposing defenses, skill development and recruiting.

“Really it’s whatever Pete wants me to do,” said Pat, who’s 40 and lives in Mayfield Heights with his wife Lori and three children.

“He’s basically our offensive coordinator,” said Pete.

That is the most notable change for Pat, who for the first time in 15 seasons, is not a head coach. He’s not complaining.

“It’s amazing the stress that’s lifted off your shoulders by moving one seat down on the bench,” he said with a smile.

The move to JCU has meant not one but two transitions for Pat. The first was being an assistant for the first time in 15 seasons (he spent four seasons as Berkshire’s coach before his stint at Madison). The second was the switch to the Division III college level.

Coaching in college has been a dream for Pat. When he graduated from JCU, he had hoped to become a student-assistant for his father but school rules did not allow it. Pat got his first high school assistant gig at Berkshire when he was a college sophomore. He was also an assistant at Hawken and West Geauga.

While in college, Pat and Lori had their first child Michael (a Lake Catholic senior who plays on the boys basketball team under Pat’s brother Matt), and reality soon sank in for the couple. “I wanted to take a shot at climbing the college ranks, but with my son being born it was important for me getting a job,” said Pat.

He eventually landed the head job at Berkshire, and then moved on to Madison, where he teaches ninth- and 10th-grade social studies. He’s been a teacher there for 17 years.

“I’ve always wanted to be a teacher, and I love Madison,” said Pat. “With this, I get the best of both worlds.”

Logistically, balancing both jobs is a bit of a challenge. JCU is just a few miles from Pat’s family home. The drive to Madison High School is about 45 minutes.

“It’s a little easier during the holidays,” said Pat.

His teaching schedule is from 8:10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It gets even busier for Ohio Athletic Conference road games. On Jan. 3, the Blue Streaks played at Heidelberg, located in Tiffin, which is about a two-hour drive there and back. The only other midweek game for JCU more than two hours is Jan. 31 at Otterbein.

“It’s worked out pretty well,” said Pat, Madison’s all-time leader in coaching wins with 198.

So has joining a staff with his younger brother at the helm. It’s the first time Pat and Pete have been on the same staff since Pete was an assistant during Pat’s first season as Berkshire coach.

The tables are turned and that’s fine with the brothers, especially Pete.

“The first thing I think of about Pat is his work ethic,” said Pete. “It’s his film study preparation. He puts the time in, and he got that from our father. He loves watching film, and finding defensive tendencies. He’s just a basketball junkie. Having him on board is a huge asset.” The JCU coaching staff — which also includes Frank O’Brien, Spencer Roule, Conor Donelon and grad assistant Tim Ludlow — is a close-knit group. O’Brien has been at JCU the longest, as he’s now in his 14th season there. The staff leans on each other, including the head man.

“It’s not about me telling Pat or anyone else what to do,” said Pete. “It’s a collaborative effort. There’s no egos on this staff.”

Still, there’s no denying JCU’s newest coach has been a hit with the players. Senior forward and NDCL graduate John Cirillo said Pat’s presence and influence have been felt since the first day of preseason practices.

“He’s awesome,” said Cirillo, JCU’s second-leading scorer at 14.0 points per game. “He’s brought in a lot of new drills that’s really helped us. He looks out for us, and we’re able to just talk to him. He’s really good at communicating with us.”

Pete isn’t surprised the impact his brother has made with his players. That’s because he expected it.

“One of the big questions you always hear is, ‘How do you get your players to play hard?’ ” said Pete. “When kids see coaches that work hard, put the time in with film study, prepare scouting reports, I think they want to play hard for coaches that prepare hard.”

That’s been Pat’s makeup as a coach for as long as Pete can remember. It’s the reason why Pete pursued Pat, who said it wasn’t a tough sell.

“This is something I always thought about and coaching with your brother, that’s what makes it fun,” said Pat.

MARK PODOLSKI — THE NEWS-HERALD Pat Moran is in his first season as a John Carroll men’s basketball assistant after 11 seasons at Madison’s head coach.