Warren Harding’s Bubon takes over as interim coach at Point Park
By Brian Dzenis
After 12 years as an assistant coach, Warren Harding graduate Gabe Bubon has the chance to lead his alma mater.
Bubon was appointed interim head coach of the Point Park men’s basketball team this season. Bubon played for the Pionners and holds the team’s record for points in a game.
He started out as a volunteer assistant with the Pioneers before becoming head coach Bob Rager’s assistant. He took over Point Park’s men’s and women’s golf teams seven years ago, allowing him to coach for a living.
“When you start off in coaching, you start out at the bottom sometimes and I started out at the very bottom — you live a tough life,” Bubon said. “Sometimes it’s tough to get by, but I was doing something I loved. I always felt this was my calling in life, so you have to pay your dues and I think I’ve done that.”
Bubon has the interim title because Rager is currently on a six-month leave of absence while undergoing surgery on his knees. Rager’s future with the team is murky. Bubon said it is possible that Rager could retire.
“I’ve been at Point Park for a long time, coached their golf teams and I have a good relationship with the school and everybody, but I’m playing the waiting game,” Bubon said. “We’ll see what happens.”
Bubon has been in charge since the start of the school year and the Pioneers — an NAIA Division II — are 2-4 on the season. He has no assistant coaches and at least six newcomers on his team. Bubon described his team as being a “deer in headlights” in his head-coaching debut, a 112-89 loss to Washington Adventist.
The Pioneers lost to St. Francis (Ind.), the No. 1 NAIA D-II team in the nation, 104-89, during a four-game losing streak to open the season. But Point Park then won back-to-back games — away and at home — against Penn State-Fayette.
“Our first four games [were] tough, we have four national tournament teams,” Bubon said. “We were in that game [against St. Francis] for most of it —we just ran out of gas.
“We have six or seven new guys and we’re trying to get them used to our style, but I don’t really care about wins or losses at this point, we’re just trying to get better each game,”
The Pioneers have five locals on the team: Kenny Strong (Chaney), Asim Pleas (Liberty), Jaylen Mann (Liberty), T.J. Lanier (Howland) and Jerahome Williams (Campbell).
“I feel like it’s my area so I give kids there a chance,” Bubon said. “I like our area. There’s some tough-nosed kids from the Youngstown and Warren areas. They’re some hard workers.”
Bubon has already proven he can be a head coach of Point Park’s golf teams and now has a shot to prove himself with a team for which he once played.
“It’s a good opportunity for me,” Bubon said. “I’ve been waiting 12 years for this.”