By Justin Jarrett
LowcoSports.com
On a Saturday afternoon in July 2022, I received an email from an assistant basketball coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania named Ron Fudala, who was upfront — and correct — about the fact that I didn’t know who he was, and made clear that he knew who I was — and what I had done.
The tone was positive, kind and casual, and his praise of my efforts to preserve local sports coverage in an underserved media market came off as genuine. He gave some background about himself and then cut to the chase: He knew I spent six years at USC Beaufort and wanted to know if it was the place where he could build the program he envisioned.
The conversation we had over the phone later that afternoon left my head spinning. Fudala was everything USCB could dream for in a coach and more. I told a few close friends that they had a slam-dunk candidate, and if he was the floor, there was no ceiling.
Unsurprisingly, Fudala aced the interview process and was announced as the Sand Sharks’ first men’s basketball coach a week shy of three months later. He arrived in the Lowcountry full-time that November and hit the ground running, selling his vision to young men around the country who seemed up to the task of building a program from scratch and enduring the hardships that come with being a pioneer.
“Excited to build something special here and rally the community around a terrific product,” Fudala said in a text on Oct. 14, 2022, the day his hire was officially announced.
His first team did that to a large extent, turning plenty of heads by scoring 357 points in its first three games, albeit against subpar competition, and giving a glimpse of what Fudala’s vision might look like when fully realized.
Then the Peach Belt gauntlet ground them up. Fudala’s freshman-laden squad faltered down the stretch, losing its last nine games after a 10-7 start, and star center Marcus Overstreet and sharpshooting guard Larry Bulluck hit the transfer portal almost as soon as the season ended.
Fudala didn’t flinch.
He and assistant coach Luke Dyer got back on the recruiting trail and built around the returning players who were bought-in. They landed a leader of men in Florida Atlantic transfer Alejandro Ralat, who played in a Final Four for the Owls, and found another freshman phenom in Dominic Eason, among others, and got back in the gym.
When the Sand Sharks knocked off North Georgia in The Cove on Jan. 18 for their first win over a top-25 opponent — a feat that is unheard of for a second-year program — it was only the beginning. USCB finished fourth in the Peach Belt, clinching a first-round home game in the conference tournament with a thrilling 87-83 win over Augusta in the regular-season finale at home, and then the Sand Sharks held off Lander, 62-57, to advance to the semifinals.
Fudala was fired up, at one point pausing our postgame interview on the Sand Shark Gameday Network to let out a primal scream with a collection of raucous USCB baseball players who had done a tour of duty in the student section.
“That’s what I’m talking about!,” Fudala screamed as he pounded his fists on the table in a fit of joyous rage.
The Sand Sharks had one more win in them, and it was the biggest one in program history — so far. USCB shot an incredible 18-for-36 from 3-point range on Saturday to stun top-seeded Columbus State, 91-87, taking down the sixth-ranked Cougars on their home court and snapping their 10-game winning streak. The run finally ended Sunday with a 92-76 loss to USC Aiken in the championship game, but that just gives Fudala more fuel for the offseason.
“Wild ride, my man,” Fudala texted me after he came up for air Monday morning. “Want to keep making our community proud and keep getting better.”
Fudala’s lust for competition is rivaled only by his intellect, and to watch them woven together into the ultimate form of team basketball is pure art. Always dressed sharply in a suit and tie, Fudala assumes various stances throughout the game — sometimes kneeling with his hand to his chin like The Thinker, others jumping and spreading his limbs as though he were a sixth defender. His players are compelled to match his energy, in part because there are a bunch of guys sitting on the bench waiting their turn, but mostly because they believe fully in their leader.
And I get it. I got it the moment I heard him speak about his vision. Ron Fudala is a winner, and we’re lucky he’s building his vision here.
Justin Jarrett is the sports editor of The Island News and the founder of LowcoSports.com. He was the sports editor of the Island Packet and the Beaufort Gazette for 6½ years. He has a passion for sports and community journalism and a questionable sense of humor.
