McKinley takes different route to the Convo

David McKinley is much like your typical walk-on.

He’s tough and a hard worker but spends most of game day on the bench.

However, the way McKinley ended up on a Division I roster…that’s a little different.

Being 5-foot-9, McKinley has faced adversity since he was the “shy, kind of chubby kid” that his girlfriend Kelsey Warren has known since middle school.

“He’s the same. It’s just unreal, going from watching him play in middle school to this DI gym playing…or even sitting,” Warren said.

It was Kelsey Warren’s older sister, Aly, who helped give McKinley that shot.

Near the end of his senior year, McKinley wasn’t sure he would be able to play DI basketball. Though he drew some interest from DIII schools, he had his mind set on one school.

“I had a conversation with David near the end of spring quarter last year and asked him if he had ever considered playing a sport in college. He said he would love to play basketball, but really wanted to go to OU and didn't think he could play Division I,” the elder Warren said.


He didn’t know it at the time but it was that conversation that started it all for McKinley.

Aly Warren played soccer during her four years as an undergrad at Ohio and later, helped as a student assistant coach for the varsity team. As a student-athlete and coach, Warren was in the Convocation Center a lot and exposed to all of the coaches and staff every day.

With her connections, she decided to see if she could help McKinley’s dream come to fruition.

It was a Saturday morning when Aly Warren sent head coach John Groce an e-mail. Less than an hour later, she was on the phone with him.

“He was full of energy and told me that it was crazy that I had emailed him because they were actually looking for a walk-on guard after losing someone on their roster that spring,” Warren said.

The Bobcats had actually lost two guards, with both Frankie Dobbs and Stacey Waters transferring after their freshman seasons.

From there, Warren acted as a liaison, helping McKinley, Groce and his staff communicate. Groce also had a relationship with McKinley’s high school coach at Dublin Scioto, Tony Bisutti. But it was Warren who paved the way for it all.

“He really has Aly Warren to thank because she’s the one that gave me his name and started the process of us initiating some conversation, trying to figure out if it was going to work,” Groce said.

But it was McKinley who had to put in the work to make it happen.

“In the summer, he invited me down to go to whatever open gyms I wanted. In the fall, it was like an extended tryout. I did the fall program of lifting, running, open gyms, workouts and at the end of the five weeks they told me I made the team,” McKinley said.

The process through which he made the team is not the usual.

“It was a lot different than most walk-ons. It’s usually just a one-day or two-day tryout for walk-ons,” McKinley said.

Groce is glad McKinley was there to fill a spot when the Bobcats needed it.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with him and what he brings to our team. He really brings an energy about him, a toughness and intelligence about him,” Groce said.

But it’s not just about what he does in practice or when he sees time on the court. McKinley, referred to as D-Mac by both Groce and teammates, is a favorite off the court.

“He’s just goofy off the court. Not a lot of people would think he’s a jokester but he definitely is off the court. When you just meet him it takes a while to get comfortable with you and that’s when the real D-Mac comes out,” teammate Ivo Baltic said.

“He’s such a good teammate. He connects with everyone on our team, whether they’re big or small, scholarship or not scholarship, freshman or senior or junior. They all like him. They all want him to do well,” Groce said.

The same held true of McKinley in high school.

“I know that what he did for us went far deeper than just what he did on the court. He was a good friend and teammate to guys off the court. That aspect in addition to what he did on the court, I’ll always be grateful for,” Bisutti said.

Way before high school, McKinley’s interest in basketball, particularly Ohio University basketball, began. His father Joe graduated from Ohio and had season tickets, so McKinley was exposed to the Bobcats from a young age.

“We’d come down here every weekend pretty much when I was younger. I remember back when I was little watching Gary Trent and Geno Ford and all the way up to last year I’d come down to games still with my dad,” McKinley said.

Now, it’s McKinley playing at the Convo against Ford, who is Kent State’s coach.

“I watched so many games on that court and to be able to play on it was pretty surreal,” McKinley said.

Like the 5-foot-8 Ford who he watched as a kid in the Convo, McKinley too has had to overcome his diminutive size.

“If you don’t play like you’re bigger than you are, then you won’t succeed. Just doing little things like taking charges or diving on loose balls, that’s how a smaller person like me can contribute,” McKinley said.

When you look at Ohio’s Attack U team poster, McKinley is the little guy flanking the left side. Bisutti says his first thought upon seeing the poster was that he looked like “a middle schooler amongst the trees.”

While McKinley does not have the elite size or speed, his dedication and hard work gave him a chance this season.

“I’ll be honest with you, he’d probably tell you the same thing, he played a lot more this season than he or I would have been able to foreshadow at the point that we took him last fall. The great thing about him is I always know he’s ready and I can throw him in there and he’s pretty poised. He’s extremely valuable to our team,” Groce said.

McKinley is still your typical walk-on.

He played just 44 total minutes in his freshman season. But it was that one break, knowing that one right person, that gave him a chance to live a dream, and he’s open to whatever may come next.

“I would like to get more playing time and I’ll do everything to. But we have so many talented players that’s it’s going to be tough. I’m just going to do whatever I can, whatever the coaches need me to do to help the team,” McKinley said.