D'Alesio instills Chaney tradition

You can take the boy out of the West Side, but you can't take the West Side out of the boy.
Don D'Alesio believes strongly in that. Maybe that's why he has returned to his roots to start something special at Chaney High.
A 1981 graduate of Chaney, D'Alesio has taken over the reins of the Cowboys' boys basketball program, hoping to establish some stability.
D'Alesio, who signed a one-year contract, is Chaney's third coach in the past four seasons. He succeeds Scott Grover and Jim Stickel.
Coming back
When he recalls his playing days at Chaney, D'Alesio chuckles. He describes himself as a 5-foot-7 guard who was slow and couldn't jump.
But the man, nicknamed "Bam" since age 2, was and continues to be dedicated to his alma mater.
"This is the only job I ever wanted as a head coach," said D'Alesio, 39. "I don't think there are any jobs out there that are better."
D'Alesio's first objective is to instill in his players the importance of Chaney's tradition.
"You have to be part of it to understand it," he said. "That's what we're trying to bring back in the program -- the Chaney attitude, Chaney tradition and Chaney pride."
During a recent open gym, D'Alesio unveiled the Cowboys' red and gray uniforms. He even had his players wear them, hoping they too would understand the importance of the moment.
When the jerseys came off, D'Alesio told his players, "Now, you have to earn them."
Decade of learning
D'Alesio is not new to the Chaney program. In fact, the 10 years he served as an assistant under former head coach Jim Mullally may have been his most important time in his development as a coach.
"What he taught me, more than anything, is not so much about winning and losing but about preparing the kids for the next step in life," D'Alesio said of Mullally's influence. "Winning is great, but our job as coaches is to prepare the kids for the next level, to teach them to get good grades."
D'Alesio was Mullally's "right-hand man" who worked with the team's defense. That will become the focus of the 2002-03 Cowboys.
"When we walk off the court, we want teams to know that they were in a battle," said D'Alesio, who was an assistant under Grover at Hubbard last season.
Chaney plans to do that by playing a fullcourt man-to-man pressing defense. In describing that, D'Alesio borrows coach Nolan Richardson's philosophy at Arkansas -- 32 "minutes of hell."
If the Cowboys are able to execute that defense, it will lead to D'Alesio's desired uptempo style of offense.
"It's almost a run-and-gun type style," he said. "We might look helter skelter at times, but for the most part we'll be organized. We're going to have some fun."
Contributing to that style this season will be seniors Chris Childers, Keilen Dykes, Ed McElroy, Adrian Richardson and Kevin Stewart, among others. It will be D'Alesio's job to mold them on and off the court.
"This brings me back to when we coached together," said Mullally, now Chaney's athletic director. "I think this is a comfortable fit -- not that the other two coaches weren't. We've been moving in the right direction and Bam will continue that."
Another set of eyes
With D'Alesio working as a general supervisor at Delphi Packard in Warren, Mullally will have an indirect role with the team.
"Jim will be my eyes at school to make sure the kids are behaving," D'Alesio said. "I expect him to be my biggest critic all year long."
D'Alesio will be assisted by Al Thorne, also a Chaney graduate, and Bernie Carpenter, who played on Brookfield's state-qualifying team in 1976.
Because of D'Alesio's one-year contract, the future of Chaney basketball is on the clock. Bam is planning to make his time count.
Brian Richesson covers high school sports for The Vindicator. Write him at richesson@vindy.com.