State Champs! Sports Network

Troy boys hoops coach Gary Fralick is one of the good guys in this world. He’s all about his players, his community, education and teaching the game of basketball the right way. And he’s been doing it for 40 years.

 

On Tuesday, Fralick will be making his first appearance in the state quarterfinals when his Troy Colts tangles with West Bloomfield at Calihan Hall in the Class A elite eight. The Colts are 21-4 and won the OAA White this winter. Fralick took over the Troy program in 1994. He was pacing the sidelines at Redford Thurston and Royal Oak Kimball before that.

 

To see Fralick finally breakthrough to the quarters is heartwarming – Troy brought home the team’s first regional since 1989 with a 48-40 downing of Warren De La Salle last week. Nobody is more deserving than ‘Coach G.’ He’s the definition of a class act and what you want in a role model for young men on the hardwood.

 

Hopefully, this tourney run is just a precursor to another special season in 2018 considering the current stable of Colts are mostly juniors. If seeing Coach G getting to the quarters warms the heart, imagine if TroyCageNation punches a ticket to the Breslin Center and the final four? That would be a true scorcher and a fitting tribute to a career on the bench deserving of pride, praise and emulation.