A Lifelong Bond Forged Through Basketball

Some say sports build character; others say sports reveal it.

Truth is, it's a little bit of both. And so much more.

David DiLeo and Kevin McKay arrived on the Central Michigan campus as freshmen in 2016.

DiLeo was a 6-foot-8 sharpshooter from Iowa City with an envious basketball pedigree; McKay came out of suburban Detroit's Clinton Township and Warren's De La Salle High School, a muscular 6-5 that suggests he surely could have been a star in one of the state's top prep football programs had he chosen to pursue that game.

Basketball was their passion and their calling, Mount Pleasant where their respective paths crossed. Their lives have meshed for four years, first as the young building blocks of coach Keno Davis' CMU men's basketball program, and then as the foundation upon which the program would rest.

Today they are seniors, poised to play their final regular-season game at McGuirk Arena on Friday night when the Chippewas entertain rival Western Michigan. They'll go out just as they came in -- together.

In a few months, they will walk across a stage in the same arena to receive their diplomas.

Boys to men.

Making Their Mark
David DiLeo has made more 3-pointers than any men's basketball player in Mid-American Conference history. More than half of the shots Kevin McKay has attempted as a Chippewa have hit their mark. This season, he is making six of every 10 he shoots. He's among the most efficient shooters in the nation.

DiLeo will finish his career as one of the top-10 scorers in program history, McKay one of the top 20.

Their teams have been competitive in the MAC but have never won a league championship. Sports can be every bit as cruel as they can be rewarding.

Yet, as they say, it's the journey and not the destination that is truly important.

DiLeo and McKay have one more chance as the Chippewas head into the MAC Tournament next week. Winning it would take some major doing. CMU is likely to finish among the last four teams in the MAC overall standings and will therefore have to begin the tournament on the road on Monday night.

If they win that game, they'll go to Cleveland needing three victories against higher-seeded teams to pull an improbable championship ring out of the fire.

Enduring
The Chippewas enter Friday's game against Western having lost nine straight games. They show up, lace 'em up, keep working. It's one basketball season, one year in life.

There may be only a game or two or three left in a Chippewa uniform for David DiLeo and Kevin McKay. But there's a long way to go in life.

"No matter what happens you've just got to keep going," McKay says. "If you're going through a slump you've got to endure it and eventually it gets better. I feel like I can apply that lesson to pretty much anything in life, whether it be a job in the future – if things aren't going my way, don't quit. Just keep going."

Says DiLeo: "You've got to show up every day and bring it to practice, bring it every day in the classroom no matter what's going on in life. You've just got to continue to power through and know that you've got a good support system that has your back whether it's your teammates, your parents, your coaches, everyone."

Boys to men.

A Basketball Life
If any Chippewa was born to ball, it was David DiLeo.

His dad, Frank, played at Lafayette where he was coached by Dr. Tom Davis, Keno Davis' dad. Dr. Tom eventually landed at Iowa where he put the Hawkeyes on the basketball map. David attended Iowa City West, the same high school that Keno attended.

Frank served as an assistant coach both at Virginia and then under Tom Davis at Iowa before becoming a scout with the Philadelphia 76ers. David's mother, Kay, coached women's basketball at Indiana State and also coached at Iowa City West.

David was born in the '90s, when the Nike television ad featuring the catchphrase, "Chicks Dig the Long Ball" was en vogue. Different sport, but the same idea. A young David dug the long ball, hoisting shots from beyond the arc as a kid long before he was strong enough to get the ball anywhere near the basket.

His parents, knowing the ins and outs of the game, encouraged David to develop a complete game. Rebounding, ball handling and defense were, they told him, just as important as the home-run ball.

So too were off-the-court traits, like being a good person and school work. David DiLeo wouldn't be just a 3-point shooter or just a basketball player.

"Coming from your dad," DiLeo says, "you don't always like to hear that in certain situations, but looking back on it he's definitely been a big part, as has my mom, telling me what I need to work on, how to improve -- big part of who I am as a player."

And, unquestionably, as a person -- a person who came to Mount Pleasant a boy. And is about to leave as a man.

More Than the Game
Kevin McKay is majoring in sociology with an emphasis on youth studies. It's telling that he has chosen to pursue such a career path. He's 6-5 with a stoic don't-mess-with-me look. It belies a golden heart underneath.

The success rate in that professional endeavor is probably a lot lower than McKay's career shooting percentage. Yet he sees the entire court and beyond. The opening tip isn't the beginning and the final buzzer isn't the end.

He was CMU's top rebounder a year ago and should finish his senior year in the same spot. Rebounding takes grit, work, a little savvy. It can be dirty work and it can hurt.

If Kevin McKay doesn't go down low and rebound -- if he doesn't open his hands, and his heart, to kids who need it – who will?

Central Michigan, he says, has "broadened my horizons," which is exactly what college is intended to do. It gives a person perspective, and it tells him or her an awful lot about who they are, where they are, where and what they come from, and where they are going.

He says he aspires to do "something that helps youth that are struggling with some sort of substance abuse, alcoholism or something like that. Just try to make a positive impact on people who are struggling."

Because, he says, he's seen it first-hand.

"For me personally I've had a lot of people in my life who have struggled with some sort of substance abuse or something like that," he says. "Whether it be family or friends, I've had a lot of people who've fought that demon.

"Not everyone has come out a better person; some people are still fighting it. Just seeing that as a kid growing up, and even now, it kind of lights a fire under me to try to help those people close to me and other people I don't know that are going through the same thing."

A Lifelong Bond
Kevin McKay and David DiLeo aren't necessarily best friends. But they have become close, teammates who came in together in pursuit of a goal. They've grown up together, celebrated the ups and endured the downs. They are the defining common denominators in the program over the past four years, first carrying the long-term hopes and then embracing the onus of leading by example. They're four-year guys, veterans who will forever share that bond.

They've learned about one another and from one another. They've congratulated each other on their accomplishments and accolades, picked up one another when they've need it.

"Dave's one of those guys, he puts so much work into his craft – he's a great shooter and he works on it every day," McKay says. "Just watching him do that has been motivating to me. Definitely pushed me to become a better player."

In a broader sense, the two are shining examples of what teammates should be: A bond is hardened by the euphoria of triumphs, and the calcification of hard losses.

"Wins are great, losses suck," DiLeo says. "Regardless, it's just the game of basketball. For life I've got a bunch of brothers now that are going to stick with me for the rest of my life. I'm going to keep in contact with my teammates and coaches and I know I have some great friends for the rest of my life."

Players Mentioned

David DiLeo

Kevin McKay

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