Former John Carroll men's basketball coach Mike Moran already likes his view for 2022-23 season
Oct. 16—On Oct. 15 — the first day of practice for the John Carroll men's basketball team — one interested spectator sat just off mid-court in a chair that seemed reserved for him.
If the Blue Streaks were playing a game, he would situated right around the spot where usually he sits for every home game — directly behind the JCU's bench.
On this morning, he watched intently, and with good reason. There's plenty of buzz for the 2022-2023 Blue Streaks' men's basketball program.
Just a few feet away from where he was sitting was the inscription — "Mike Moran Court."
Mike Moran is the patriarch of JCU's men's basketball program. His son Pete is the head coach, with two other sons Pat and Matt serving as assistant coaches this season.
Moran hasn't coach basketball since stepping down after the 2016-17 season. It was time, he said. Since then, his view for every home game hasn't changed much.
Former John Carroll coach Mike Moran watches with the Carroll Crazies during the Blue Streaks' OAC tournament win on Feb. 24, 2017 over Ohio Northern. (Tim Phillis ??
The buzz that's building around the program? It's thanks in part to a group of more than 10 new faces that includes seven transfers and incoming freshman, along with returners from a season ago.
Moran's view? He's liking it — albeit after just one practice.
"When you're watching players out there like Lukey, and of course you've got your sons out there, I'm pretty proud of the condition the program is in," said Moran following JCU's first practice Oct. 15.
"Lukey" is Mentor grad and Mike's grandson Luke Chicone, who is among a group of talented transfers on the Blue Streaks' roster. There's also Lake Catholic graduates Luke Frazier and Luka Eller, plus VASJ grad Jerry Higgins — all from the Division I-level — and others.
"A lot of smiles watching these kids," said Moran. "I was telling (assistant) Spencer (Roule), 'You became a great defensive coach after just one practice.' "
That was said with Moran's typical smile and wit, but things are about to get serious with this JCU team with the season approaching. The Blue Streaks' first game is 7 p.m. at home Nov. 12 against Wittenberg.
Moran doesn't attend every JCU men's basketball practice, but the season's first was one he wasn't going to miss. The buzz that's building with the Blue Streaks centers around plenty of "home-grown tomatoes," as the former coach likes to say.
"That what makes it neat," said Mike. "Any coach from the area, any fan of basketball from the area can come here, watch a game and recognize or three or four (players) immediately. It's an easy team to root for if you're from the Cleveland area."
Higgins is excited to be home after four years at Liberty and now a graduate assistant in JCU's biology department. Higgins' legacy at VASJ is one branch of a large tree of excellence in boys basketball.
As a senior for the Vikings in 2017-18, Higgins was a finalist for the first Clark Kellogg Award, given to The News-Herald boys basketball player of the year, and was a two-time Associated Press Northeast Lakes Player of the Year. As a junior in 2016-17, he was The N-H's boys basketball player of the year.
He graduated as VASJ's winningest player as part of 87 victories, four league championships, four district championships, three regional titles and two state championships.
Higgins is part of a legacy that includes a crowded group at VASJ, where Clark Kellogg dominated in the 1970s when the school was St. Joseph. There was also the likes of Treg Lee, Tony Miller, David Lighty and many others.
Higgins' final stop for basketball — he has two years of eligibility remaining as a graduate assistant in JCU's biology department — might seem similar to his time at VASJ, where the program has historically produced top basketball talent.
There are All-Ohioans on JCU's roster. There are district players of the year, candidates for Mr. Basketball and News-Herald Players of the Year. Now, it's making all that talent come together.
"We knew no matter where we came from, everything was going to be different for all of us," said Higgins after JCU's first practice. "Everyone is going to sacrifice, 1 though 20. That's something all of us know. We're just trying to find the right pieces, and making things family-oriented."
And of course, there was Moran at VASJ. There, he won two state titles before leaving for JCU. When he walked way in 2017, he amassed 684 victories — 460 at JCU and 224 at VASJ.
He knows talent isn't the only thing that produces a winner, but Mike is confident the coaching staff can mold that talent at JCU into one. He can't wait to watch it unfold this winter — in his usual spot in the bleachers just behind JCU's bench.
"We'll tell you March of next year how it went," said Mike. "The excitement though is there. It should be fun."
