WHEELING — He is certainly not taking over a basketball program in the best of situations.

Regardless, John Peckinpaugh is still excited about his new job, that being the head men’s basketball coach at Wheeling Jesuit University.

The position brings with it pros and cons.

The good?

The Cardinals boast a rich tradition in men’s hoops.

The bad?

The man who help to build much of that tradition — Danny Sancomb — was fired unceremoniously in May for what still are questionable and nebulous reasons.

Sancomb’s shocking termination has spawned much discontent within the Cardinal Nation. Although none of it is of John Peckinpaugh’s doing, the 29-year-old is stepping into a precarious situation.

He comes from Division I Purdue-Fort Wayne where he has served as an assistant coach. Peckinpaugh inherits a WJU program that went a sparkling 26-6 last season in winning the Mountain East Conference Tournament title while making its third-straight NCAA Division II Atlantic Region appearance.

Despite the Sancomb fallout, the Muncie, Ind. native remains undaunted as he works earnestly to rebuild a numbers-strapped roster.

“I am real excited with this opportunity. Wheeling Jesuit has a great basketball tradition with great academics and great people. Rudy (Athletic Director Yovich) has been super,” Peckinpaugh said. “I am not sure what happened here but Danny was very successful. I will try and build on his success”My first order of business is taking stock of our returning players. The program graduated a great class and some other players have chosen to leave,” he added. “So we are thin on numbers right now and need to restock the roster. We will do it the right way. We may take some lumps early.”

Peckinpaugh has invested countless hours scouring the landscape for players, be it recent 2018 high school grads or college transfers. While his first year at WJU may be one lean on competitive D-II talent, the personable mentor knows what type of team he plans on rolling out onto the Alma Grace McDonough Center hardwood.

“We want to build our foundation this year as a team that plays with toughness. We will stress defense but I also want a team that scores a lot. We will move and cut and play with great spacing and pace on offense,” Peckinpaugh said. “We will be an exciting team that I expect to out-hustle every team we play. We will be a team our fans can be proud of off-and-on the court.

“The Mountain East is a great basketball conference. We want to be in the conference title mix every year,” he added. “After that we want to win an NCAA Tournament game and build on it. I want to hit the ground running.”

Prior to being part of Purdue-Fort Wayne staff this past year, a season which saw the Mastodons trounce the Indiana Hoosiers by 20 points, Peckinpaugh spent the previous three seasons (2013-17) at the Indiana Tech helm. He was named the 2015-16 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after leading Tech to 23 wins and an NAIA National Tournament berth.

Peckinpaugh played collegiately at Purdue Fort Wayne from the 2008-12. He started 61 games, helping the Mastodons finish over .500 during his sophomore and junior years, which were the first two winning seasons as a Division I member in school history.

LEGENDS TAB

A VERY special section will be contained in Friday’s edition of The Times Leader. Dave Bruney and Jay Circosta are two Ohio Valley football coaching legends who recently retired on the same day.

The Times Leader is commemorating their outstanding careers, which encompassed more than 90 years on the sidelines and 600-plus combined victories, with a tab that will include in-depth interviews with both coaches, several feature stories, including one with their wives, as well as a look back at some of the special games and players in their respective careers. A myriad of stats, records and photos will also be included.

It is all included in a unique design. The must-see publication will boast double covers with each coaching icon being featured and the inside information contained in a unique reading style.

BUBBA’S BITS

EMMA TECCA is a senior basketball star at Bishop Hoban High in Akron. She is also the granddaughter of OVAC boys’ basketball coaching icon Rich Saffield. Tecca recently committed to play hoops at the University of Akron. Her sister, Rachel, is one of the greatest hoopsters in Zips’ history. The Tecca sisters are the daughters of Gib and Kelly Tecca. Their grandmother, Patty Saffield, still resides in Shadyside. Kelly is a St. John Central grad while Gib was a 1,000-point scorer for the University of Wooster.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL is on the rise as 778 colleges and universities will offer the grid sport this fall — a record high.

THERE IS no truth to the rumor that Union Local High is planning to change its nickname to Black Bears.

MAJOR LEAGUE Baseball hit a grand slam with its Home Run Derby contest Monday. It delivered great theater punctuated by Bryce Harper’s amazing title run.

WHEELING CENTRAL Catholic is looking for a head volleyball and head hockey coach. If anyone is interested they should contact Maroon Knights’ athletic director Donnie Murray via email: dmurray@cchsknights.org. Interested candidates should contact Murray as soon as possible.

THE BIG 12 Conference held its football media days this past week in Frisco, Texas. One of the jerseys on display was that of WVU standout tackle Colton McKivitz. The Union Local grad was also tabbed as one of the top 10 returning players in the conference. McKivitz logged a team-high 986 snaps last season. The Mountaineers were predicted to finish second behind Oklahoma.