WARREN HARDING BASKETBALL Bubba, 52, succumbs to pneumonia

By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
WARREN -- Frank Bubba won the battle, and the fight he waged will be his legacy at Warren Harding High.
Basketball can offer many challenges. So can cystic fibrosis, which challenged Bubba throughout his life.
In the end, pneumonia, with which Bubba was stricken, was too much to overcome in his condition as he died Thursday morning in Trumbull Memorial Hospital at age 52.
A community, which has grieved since the passing of Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Korey Stringer to heatstroke last summer, was dealt another blow with Bubba's loss.
"Not many people knew that he was in this battle," said Warren Harding athletics director Paul Trina, who knew Bubba for 18 years. "His mission was to get up every day with his game face on, let everybody know that he was OK and he was going to do his job 100 percent."
That's what made Bubba's life so special.
Carried on: Despite suffering from the disease that attacks the lungs, Bubba carried on with what was most important to him -- the kids, the community and basketball.
"He did a great job of building relationships with our kids," Trina said. "Our kids understood what he was going through, but you never heard him complain."
Bubba, who was in his fifth year as head coach of the Raiders, began taking oxygen toward the latter stages of his career when it became more difficult for him to breathe.
"We knew it was bad, but we didn't know it would end this soon," said Prescott Burgess, a junior on the basketball team, who labeled Bubba a father figure.
"He took me as his son. He was my best friend," Burgess said. "If we needed anything, we could come to him."
In addition to coaching, Bubba was involved in a number of student-service activities, which included helping students prepare for the proficiency test.
"The problem with us as high school teachers is oftentimes we're very content-oriented," said Warren Harding principal Bill Mullane. "Frank picked the content apart and gave the kid that little piece he or she needed.
"He approached proficiency like he approached coaching," Mullane said. "You have an opponent -- here's how you beat it."
A native of Farrell, Pa., Bubba grew up a basketball fan and watched the teams coached by the legendary Eddie McCluskey. Some day, Bubba thought, he would be a coach, too.
Bubba, who earned his bachelor's and master's degree in education from Edinboro State College in 1971 and '75, got his break as an assistant coach at Warren Western Reserve High. Bob LaRicca was also an assistant on the staff before becoming head coach in 1980 and retaining Bubba as an assistant.
Conflict, comedy: "When I needed to talk to somebody, he was the guy I talked to," LaRicca said. "You couldn't have had a better assistant coach; you couldn't have had a better friend.
"We would fight with each other sometimes, like husband and wife," LaRicca said. "Then an hour later, he'd look at me, I'd look at him and we'd start laughing."
When Western Reserve and Harding merged in 1990, LaRicca remained head coach and Bubba an assistant. Bubba then took over as head coach in the 1997-98 season.
"He turned down other head coaching jobs because his life's dream was to be the head basketball coach at Warren Harding," Trina said, "so he got to live his dream."
With an 11-1 record and a No. 5 ranking in the Associated Press Division I poll this season, the Raiders are off to one of their best starts.
Bubba compiled a 62-37 record during his tenure and would have coached his 100th game tonight at Ursuline. The players and coaches met Thursday afternoon with Bubba's wife, Ruth, and decided the game should be played.
"I know this a football-rich community," Ruth said, "but Frank always loved his basketball."
Garry Rowland, who was an assistant under Bubba, will take over as head coach and will be assisted by Steve Arnold and Dan Bubon.
Together, they will help Warren Harding carry on without Bubba.
"He left us with the goal of trying to win a state championship," Trina said. "We just need to rally around his spirit, knowing what he stood for. We believe he'll be watching us."
Calling hours will be from 2-6 p.m. Sunday in the Warren Harding gymnasium, with the funeral at 10 a.m. Monday at Christ Our King Catholic Church in Warren.
richesson@vindy.com