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It is how you finish

Girard’s O’Hara named PAC Player of the Year

Submitted photo Former Girard High School standout, Dylan O’Hara, left, ended his career as one of Westminster College’s best.

Dylan O’Hara wasn’t sure if he would ever play in the Presidents Athletic Conference after his freshman season, let alone be named player of the year.

The former Girard High School standout had his college career begin with a devastating injury. He then transferred out of Waynesburg University and was away of basketball for a year.

When he returned, more injuries surfaced, and the wear and tear started to take a toll on him, mentally and physically.

O’Hara never lost faith, and his persistence paid off with a phenomenal senior year at Westminster College.

“It has been really great to see it because I know how much hard work, and all the players know how much work he has put in,” Titans coach Kevin Siroki said. “He’s not one of those natural, gifted athletes. He’s a grinder and has to put in all the time to get where he’s at, so again, just to see the smile on his face when he walks into my office is the best part.”

That smile took some time to form.

O’Hara started at Waynesburg after graduating from Girard in 2015, and he was having a solid freshman year when he tore the labrum in his shoulder. That ended his season, and essentially his career at Waynesburg. O’Hara had to sit out a year, and he first transferred to Youngstown State before joining the Titans. It wasn’t long before the injury bug bit him again.

In his first game at Westminster, O’Hara tore the medial collateral ligament in his knee and missed the majority of his sophomore season. He finally came back 100 percent as a junior and averaged 10 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.

“I had that whole year off, and I was ready to play, and I got hurt again, so I basically missed that whole year (too),” O’Hara said. “It wasn’t really until last year, my junior year, that’s when I started to feel like myself again.”

Bigger things were yet to come for O’Hara, the son of former Liberty and Girard head basketball coach, Bryan O’Hara.

Dylan spent the final two years of his career reforming his body. He admitted he rarely worked out in high school, so as he matured through college, he tried to combat the injuries with a healthier approach. In doing so, he transformed his body and his game.

He went from a finesse player with a good shot to a do-it-all 6-foot-3 guard who could score in a multitude of ways.

“He’s more physical than a lot of other players, especially going in and rebounding,” Siroki said. “He can do a lot of different things, and he’s hard to guard. He leads the league in scoring and he hits a lot of 3s for us, so teams will put smaller guys on him, so they can defend the 3, but if they do, we put him in the post. He does a heck of a job of posting up, and if he gets fouled, he’s a great free-throw shooter as well. If they put a bigger guy on him, he’s able to get around him and get to the hoop.”

Versatility turned O’Hara into the PAC’s best player.

He led the conference in scoring (18.8 points per game) and free-throw percentage (82 percent) to go along with 4.2 rebounds and a team-high 49 steals. He also shot nearly 40 percent on 3-pointers. His confidence grew the more he played, and while he missed five games with a calf injury, he was mostly healthy.

The Titans finished third in the PAC with a 10-6 record and were 16-12 overall. O’Hara was named the conference player of the year.

“Last year we lost in the conference championship game, so that was motivation,” O’Hara said. “And I just knew this was my last go-round, my last of everything, so I just gave it all I had this summer. It was nice to see all the hard work pay off.

“It definitely felt good, to end on that note. We didn’t win the championship, but just the other accolades that came with it.”

O’Hara plans to follow in his father’s footsteps after graduation.

The early-childhood education and special-ed major was a 4.0 student through most of college. He admits his dad, a former teacher who is now superintendent of Girard City Schools, provided inspiration for his career path, but he also knew early on in college he wanted to be involved in education — and coaching.

“He definitely influenced me with how he was able to teach and coach,” O’Hara said about his dad. “That’s the path I want to go as well. Probably after my freshman year of college I realized I wanted to stay around the game of basketball, and the easiest way to do that was to teach, and then I’d be able to coach as well.”

After being around the game since the age of 4, O’Hara has plenty of wisdom to pass along.

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