Hedrick hired as new men's basketball mentor

Lemont Furnace, PA - Penn State Fayette has hired Andy Hedrick as its new men's head basketball coach.

A longtime veteran of the sidelines, Hedrick has 21 years of head coaching experience at the high school level (Everett, Blackhawk and Connellsville), but he brings much more than that to the table.

"I wanted to coach at the college level and Fayette gives me the opportunity to do that," said Hderick. "I am bringing 31 years of overall coaching experience and I have been a high school administrator, so I am aware of what high school kids are looking for in a college."

When Marcus Thomas resigned as the head coach in September to take over the program at Mount Aloysius, it put Fayette Director of Athletics Steve Oberly in a bind.

 "Coach Andy Hedrick is joining our staff as the new head men's basketball coach after being brought on as an assistant this past summer," Penn State Fayette Director of Athletics said. "He brings a wealth of knowledge to the program and a strong conneciton with the campus community.  We're excited for his vision for the future of Fayette basketball."

Hedrick also spoke about his late hiring.

"We are definitely behind in being able to do things because of when the job opened up," he said.  "We are trying to adapt on the fly and get prepared as much as possible."

While Hedrick and the team are still getting to know each other, he is full speed ahead with the style of play and system they will play.

"We are a very guard-oriented team and we will benefit from playing a game that gets up and down the floor as opposed to a grind it out style of game," he said. "Short term, I would like to do the best we can this year.  Long term I would like to get the program more recognized in the program where people want to come out and watch us play."

For more information on the men's basketball team, go to https://www.psfathletics.com/sports/mbkb/index or follow us on Instagram @fayetteathletics.

Written by Bill Hughes