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St. Clairsville Grad Monteroso Goes to Camp

Red Devil alumnus says players who listen are bound for greatness

MONTEROSO

BELLAIRE — Dan Monteroso has many vivid and fond memories of when he was a youngster attending basketball camp.

They all came rushing back to him Thursday inside St. John Central High School when he addressed some 80 campers at the annual Irish Basketball Camp.

“It seems like just the other day I was the kid sitting there listening to the people speak,” Monteroso, a former St. Clairsville star said. “Some campers take (the message) in, but it goes over the heads of some, too. The ones who take it in are the ones that will end up being special (players). The kids who listen and are attentive are the ones who want to be great.”

Monteroso clearly got the message when he was at camp roughly 15 years ago. During a brilliant prep career, Monteroso was multiple-time All-Ohio in both football and basketball, scored more than 2,400 points and earned a football scholarship to Purdue University.

“Some of the kids are probably too young to even remember who I am, but you figure I am four years removed from high school and to me it’s not that long ago, but to these kids it’s a big jump,” Monteroso said.

If they’re too young to remember Monteroso as a prep athlete, they’ll get the chance to refresh their memories since he’s returning to play both football and basketball at West Liberty University starting this fall.

Having completed a workout earlier in the morning, Monteroso, who was invited to speak by St. John Central girls’ basketball coach Bubba Kapral, spoke for 15 minutes about hard work, demonstrated shooting and ball handling drills he used and took a host of questions.

“Coach Kapral called me and I accepted immediately,” Monteroso said. “I love being able to give back to the area in any way I can. I think about all of the people who took time out of their day to give back to me. I almost feel wrong if I don’t try to give back.”

Monteroso has always related well to kids. Kapral supplied him with no parimeters on what topics to address, so Monteroso spoke from the heart.

“Talking in front of people has never been a problem for me,” Monteroso said. “Things come to my head and I just say them. I tried to keep the message light and let them relate to me as much as possible.”

The former Boilermaker thinks he relates well to young people because he has a 7-year-old sister, Claire.

“My sister is honestly one of my best friends in the world,” Monteroso said. “To be honest, one of the best parts of coming home (for school) was being able to see her and my brother (Michael) more. I’ve basically been removed from their lives for three years and it was hard. But, growing up you have to do that at times. It’s nice to be able to see her growing up and now she’s playing sports. She played softball and swam this summer and loved them both. I think she’s going to be better than me (as an athlete).”

Monteroso is now less than two weeks from reporting to his final football training camp. He and the Hilltoppers begin preparations for their season early next month. West Liberty was picked seventh in the Mountain East Conference preseason poll during media day activities held Wednesday.

“I am looking forward to getting to meet my new teammates and get this thing started,” Monteroso said. “I know I’ll be ready. I know what to expect in camp and it’ll be very business-like. We’re there to get a job done.”

Before settling on West Liberty, Monteroso visited Ohio University and Tennessee Tech strictly for football. The attraction of playing basketball, playing where his father, Jeff, coaches and in the Ohio Valley, played into the decision, too.

“The decision I made was strictly business,” Monteroso said. “I love being able to see my family more, but my Dad told me to not let him, my sister or my mom affect my decision. I want to get on the field and make an impact and do anything I can to help the team win.”

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