The Slippery Rock University men’s basketball team saw its long-time head coach Kevin Reynolds suspended prior to the start of the 2018-19 campaign.

With speculation to the reasoning behind the suspension vague, The Rock turned to nine-year assistant coach and Cranberry Township resident Ian Grady to step in as acting head coach while the university sorted things out.

“I think there are difficulties all the time, especially when change happens,” Grady said on his transition from assistant to head coach. “It’s never really smooth. You kind of do it on the fly and make adjustments. I enjoy coaching this group and working with them on a daily basis.”

On Jan. 25, the university officially parted ways with Reynolds and three weeks ago the interim tag was removed from Grady.

Grady now carries the title as the head coach of SRU men’s basketball team.

Grady came to SRU prior to the 2009-10 season, after finishing his collegiate career at Fairmont State University. There he averaged 7.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game during his senior year.

He left Fairmont State with a bachelor’s degree in business, and completed his masters degree in sport management in 2011 at Slippery Rock University.

Grady settled in Cranberry Township.

“I like the area, I love the school, the university, the town here in Slippery Rock,” Grady said. “It means the world to me so I bleed green and white. The surrounding area of Western Pennsylvania is beautiful, Cranberry is a nice area, but I think the community here in Slippery Rock, the people who work at the university and the student body is what makes this place something special.”

Grady’s first taste of head coaching was a bit rocky.

Early in the season, The Rock hit a few bumps, compiling a 1-4 record.

Grady, who was installed as the interim head coach only a few weeks before the season tipped off, said that was part of the reason for the slow start.

“We didn’t have enough practice time and scrimmages against the other teams to fix things,” Grady said. “There was a bit of rust so to speak, but that first weekend the guys played very hard and we had late leads in those games. We had to look ourselves in the mirror and see who we are and get an identity as a team.”

The Rock started 2-6 under Grady before the team found its identity.

SRU kick-started a 12-game win streak that lasted nearly two months. The winning streak included a 74-69 upset win over then No. 3-ranked Indiana (Pa.) University.

“I think it was just a collective decision, we at a certain point put everything out on the table with each other,” Grady said. “We had to communicate, get everybody on the same page and when they made the decision to do the things we needed to do to win.”

Shortly after the winning streak ended, SRU saw its top player, Micah Till, leave the game with a leg injury in the first half of a 77-48 loss to IUP to a leg injury. Till didn’t see the floor again, which left Jared Armstrong and John Warren II to fill in the void.

The Rock averaged 83.6 points per game before losing Till, and saw its production drop to 72.5 points per game. However, the Till injury didn’t stop The Rock from compiling a 12-3 record at home.

“It’s just tough to win on the road,” Grady said. “We had a slip-up early at home and the guys really made a commitment to not let that happen again and we obviously had two slip-ups recently here down the stretch.”

The Rock’s season came to a close Wednesday night in the second round of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoffs in a 73-68 setback at home to Mercyhurst University.

SRU had beaten the Lakers twice during the regular season.

“Mercyhurst is a good team, well coached, just hats off to them,” Grady said.

SRU ended its season with a 19-10 overall record, and 16-5 in conference play.