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Gabe Bubon can't explain how he became interim head basketball coach at Point Park University, but he sure is glad it happened.
Bubon, a 1995 Warren G. Harding graduate, was the Pioneers' associate head coach for the past eight years under longtime mentor Bob Rager, who was entering his 28th season. For an undisclosed reason, Rager won't be back this year.
Bubon was named the interim coach the weekend of Nov. 5, which was somewhat surprising considering Rager's 368 career wins are the most for any coach at a four-year university in Pittsburgh's history.
"Bob Rager, who was the head coach, he's just not there right now," Bubon said. "We kind of knew this was going to happen, but it's really weird because there's no good way to explain it. We're not supposed to talk about it."
University officials did not immediately respond to interview requests.
Either way, Bubon, 39, is in a position he has longed for since he got into the coaching business.
A 2000 Point Park graduate, Bubon set the single-game scoring record for the Pioneers with 45 points against Shawnee State back in February of 2000. It wasn't too long after his playing career ended that Bubon got into coaching. He started as a Point Park volunteer assistant in 2003 before being named an assistant coach in 2006. He remained an assistant for the past 10 years before the sudden news of his promotion.
"I've been waiting 12 years for this," Bubon said. "Coaching is what I do. I can't see myself doing something else. I love recruiting. I love the day-to-day process of it."
A lot of his recruiting centers around the Youngstown area. Two former Liberty players, Asim Pleas and Jaylen Mann, are key parts to this year's team. Mann, a senior, is in his second year at Point Park after transferring from Pace University (N.Y.). He is a starter for the Pioneers. Pleas just recently transferred after a short stint on the Youngstown State football team. He has been coming off the bench for PPU.
"It's nice to have guys where you're from," Bubon said. "You kind of know what you're getting.
"Two Liberty guys, and it's kind of funny because they both played for my brother (Dan Bubon) at Liberty."
Dan is now the boys high school coach at Howland. Gabe is enjoying college athletics too much to leave.
Aside from being the interim basketball coach, Gabe Bubon also is the men's and women's golf coach at Point Park. He admits balancing the three is difficult, especially since he doesn't have an assistant basketball coach, but he's determined to make it work.
"It's a bit of a grind because it's just me," he said. "I'm running 16 kids by myself, so it's a little overwhelming at times. There are certain things you want to do, but it's just hard to keep 16 guys engaged. They're going to allow me to get an assistant coach within the next week or two, so that will help a lot just with the day-to-day process of everything.
"Like I said, I've been waiting for this, and I'm going to make it work. Whatever happens, happens, you've just go deal with it. I'm trying to embrace it as much as possible because this is what I do."
The Pioneers have started the season 2-4, and have played three schools ranked in the top 20 of the NAIA, including the top- and seventh ranked teams.
Point Park plays at a pace that's faster than most other teams in the nation, constantly chucking up 3-pointers and looking for fast breaks. Bubon doesn't intend on changing that style now that he's in charge. He simply wants to instill a more methodical approach to reaching goals.
"We're more freelance with Bob there, so I guess it's just more structured, but the style is the same," he said. "The biggest thing is we're just trying to change the culture a little bit. We have morning lifting, a lot more video sessions. There's a lot more individual work, things of that nature."
Bubon expects to remain head coach for the foreseeable future, but he admits it's hard to know exactly how the situation will play out.
"We thought it was going to be a leave of absence," he said of Rager's vacancy. "That's what I thought it was, but they're not saying right now. They're just saying that I'm the interim head coach, and that's what we're going to roll with."