By Cort Reynolds
FROM ADA ICON - With basketball season just around the corner, Ada boys head coach Dre White surprisingly announced he was stepping down from his post after four seasons as Bulldog mentor this week.

"First and foremost I would like to thank Ken Jochims, the AD at the time I was hired, for taking a chance on a young coach back then," said White. 

"Coaching here the last four seasons is an experience I will value and cherish," he continued. "It was not how I envisioned my time at Ada to conclude."

The Bulldog cagers won 24 games in his tenure as head coach, with 10-14 in 2019-20 being the best campaign. The Bulldog varsity won four, four and six games during his first three seasons at the helm.

But the program had shown greatly improved competitiveness since the final section of his third season. Eight of the 14 losses last year against a tough schedule came by less than 10 points.

"I know it is abrupt timing and I am disappointed that I won't be able to continue the growth we have shown," he noted.

White said that at this time he did not have another coaching job in mind. "I want to take some time off to spend with my wife and two-year child," he explained. "When the time is right, I will get back into coaching.

"We strived to put the team first in my four years here and the program deserves and reflects that. Right now, this is the best move for me and my family." 

White informed the team of his resignation at a Tuesday meeting after school. He said that the locker room was very emotional, and featured many tears and hugs.

"It was emotional and a difficult decision to deliver to 15-16 young men," he recalled. "I hurt the most for the guys, past and present, who played here for me. I look forward to carrying those relationships forward. The brotherhood I preached here means a lot."

Ada basketball suffered some key off-season transfers since last winter, with starting senior guard Zac Swaney moving to Kenton. Promising sophomore Will McBride also transferred to Shawnee after a knee injury midway through the 2019 football season wiped out his freshman campaign. 

"We had a good deal of player movement the last six months but my decision was not based on that," said White. "I love my guys, and I respect them and their decisions."

Ada varsity assistant Rick Sherrick, a long-time coach in the area, also resigned. 

"I want to thank Rick and my staff; the growth of a program takes a village," said White. "I had an awesome coaching staff. I can't explain how much I learned from him and the other coaches.

"A veteran guy like Rick helping me was invaluable," he continued. "He was always a Mustang before we converted him to a Bulldog the last four years."

Jochims served as Bulldog junior varsity coach last season but no choice to replace White and Sherrick is immediately imminent. Darren Gilbert was also a successful JV coach at Ada under Chris Sautter, and before that for years at Kenton.

With the start of practice looming in a few weeks, a hiring decision will have to be made soon by the school and athletic department.