IUP head men’s basketball coach Joe Lombardi announced the addition of assistant coach Ron Fudala for the 2018-19 season.
“I am honored to join Coach Lombardi’s staff and excited to integrate myself into the Indiana Community,” Fudala said. “This is a great opportunity for me to build upon the rich culture and tradition at IUP. I am eager to influence the lives of our players both on and off the court, while coaching and recruiting to the standard of success set by Coach Lombardi.”
Fudala joins assistant coach Allen Payne on Coach Lombardi’s staff for 2018-19.
Fudala comes to IUP after spending the 2017-18 season as the Director of Basketball Operations at Portland State. He helped the Vikings, who play out of the Division I Big Sky Conference, to a 20-14 overall record and a bid to the College Insider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). It was the program’s first 20-win season in nearly 10 years and third most wins in the 22 years as a Big Sky member.
Portland State posted a 10-3 non-conference record – the best in school history – with wins over a pair of PAC 12 schools in Cal and Stanford. The Vikings led the nation in turnover margin, and were second in steals, turnovers forced and offensive rebounds.
Prior to Portland State, Fudala served as Herb Sendek’s graduate assistant coach at Division I Santa Clara University. The Broncos finished 17-16 overall and fell to Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference (WCC) tournament. As the GA, Fudala assisted with player scouting, development, and on-court workouts, while pursing his master’s in business analytics.
From 2013-15 Fudala was the head freshman coach and assistant boy’s varsity coach at Chartiers Valley High School in Bridgeville, Pa. He was responsible for scouting opponents, game preparation, practice management, and individual player development. In 2015, he helped Char Valley win the WPIAL championship and 2014 as a WPIAL finalist.
He has also worked as a volunteer basketball coach for Project CHUCK that served underprivileged children.
Fudala was a four-year starter at Laurel Highlands High School, where he led the team to multiple conference titles and WPIAL AAA playoff victories. He earned all-county and all-conference honors as a sophomore and junior, before tearing his ACL during the first game of his senior season, ending his career just shy of 1,000 points.
While never returning to full health, Fudala went on to play one season at Case Western Reserve University before his basketball playing career was cut short by multiple ACL and knee injuries. He transferred to Carnegie Mellon University and began his coaching career.
He graduated from Carnegie Mellon in December 2014 with a bachelor’s of science degree in economics and statistics.
Story Courtesy: Ryan Rebholz, IUP Sports Information Director
https://iupathletics.com/news/2018/8/1/ron-fudala-named-iup-mens-basketball-assistant-coach.aspx
