From the days of playing youth basketball together in fourth grade, Fairview guard Colin Meany and forward Jacob Rehor bonded to be great friends and teammates.
On May 11, the Division III All-Ohio talents of the duo culminated to become college basketball signees.
“We have been playing ever since fourth grade. We have been best friends. It’s great that we both get to end up going to college together,” Meany said.
A new path was made for the duo, but a path each must make on their own, as Rehor will play for Adrian College and Meany will go to Bethany. They were also joined by Fairview baseball player Jack Burke, who will attend Mount Union University.
“(Signing) is amazing. There is not really a feeling like this,” Rehor said. “You are able to continue what you like doing. Basketball is a big part of my life. To be able to keep playing is really special.”
On the court, the duo had what Fairview boys basketball Coach Ryan Barry called an unteachable chemistry.
“The hardest thing to coach is chemistry,” he said. “It is something that has to naturally happen. You can’t force it. It really helps when you have players come up through our youth program and they’ve played together and they stay together (at Fairview). When we have kids that stay together since they’ve played before middle school, those have been our best teams.”
Meany had a roller-coaster career with Fairview that started with a sprained MCL, which kept him on the freshman team and halted his development.
He had to work his way up the roster, until he received playing time for the 2021-22 Division III Wooster District final team. Meany made it a goal to become an impact player for his senior season.
“That summer going into senior year, was really personal for me. I worked really hard and it showed,” Meany said.
On his visit to Bethany, he enjoyed the family environment they presented.
Fairview went 11-13 (6-8 in the GLC West), as a Division III team in a landscape full of bigger schools.
The tougher schedule was pivotal to reach a district semifinal. Fairview was a 54-50 loss to Smithville to appear in back-to-back district finals.
Meany and Rehor were named Division III All-Ohio honorable mentions for the 2022-23 season.
“They had selflessness and cared for others, which I know is the same thing, but they mean different things,” Barry said. “Selfless in the fact they will do whatever it takes to win. They cared for other to help freshmen get minutes. They were instrumental in helping them get ready to play for varsity basketball. It didn’t matter who was on the team, they wanted us to be the best team possible.”
Seeing players moving on to play collegiate sports is great to see not only as a coach but as a person who has watch the kids grow up to become young adults.
“(Playing college sports) was something that they really wanted,” Barry said. “I coach middle school (physical education). I watched them from sixth, seventh and eighth grade; all the way (through high school) to pursue a goal. It’s really neat, because not everybody reaches that goal. I’m confident that if they work really hard at it, they will get themselves the opportunity to do it.”
In Barry’s program, players are known to be technically sound, which speaks to their coachability.
“The skill level of the kids that we have (at Fairview) starts with our youth program. You don’t build that skill when they are freshmen in high school,” Barry said. “I have nothing to do with it. I help to cultivate it and move it forward. These kids, skill-wise, are extremely prepared for college basketball. They may lack in some physical tools. They make for being skilled.”
Batting clean-up for the Warriors’ baseball team. Burke was a force at the plate. Baseball coach Zak Broschk thought he was a special player.
“(Burke) had a huge impact,” he said. “Every time he came up to bat, you know something special will happen or can happen. He is the spark that we need, especially with the season that we’ve had this year.”
