Dave Close
Dave Close grew up among heroes in his own home. Dave’s family moved to Stow when he was five years old. The first thing his parents Don and Peggy did was to install a basketball court for Dave and his older brothers, Don and Doug. Don became a well-decorated player at Stow before playing at the University of Florida. Doug also exceled at basketball before serving in the Navy. Close credits his family members for his first lessons in work ethic, character and service.
After high school, Dave competed in basketball and track at Taylor University (IN). Upon graduating in 1980 with a Math/Education degree, Dave remained at Taylor to coach, serving two years under Hall of Fame Coach Paul Patterson. Close then accepted a two-year position at Kent State under Jim McDonald while earning a Master’s Degree in Sports Psychology. After Kent, Dave served a year as an assistant to Biff Lloyd at Maple Heights High School. Close credits these three coaches, Patterson, McDonald and Lloyd, for giving him a solid foundation in coaching. In 1985, Close accepted his first head coaching job at Painesville Riverside, serving for three years. In 1988, Close became the head coach at his alma mater, Stow-Munroe Falls High School, where he recently retired after 37 years.
Close’s head coaching record of 667-274 ranks 1st in Summit County history and 11th in Ohio history. His teams won 15 league, 28 sectional, 7 district and 2 regional titles. Close’s teams had nine 20-win seasons, a 20-0 regular season, a three-season regular season record of 57-3, and 18 consecutive seasons winning at least 14 of 20 regular season games. Stow reached the Final 4 twice (1990, 1993) and the Elite 8 five times. Stow won Ohio AP Poll championships in 1993 and 1994 and finished 2nd in 1992 and 3rd in 2023. Stow finished 1st in Ohio in the final Martin RPI Poll in 2023. Stow was ranked nationally twice, reaching 10th in 1993 and 5th in 1994 in the USA Today National Rankings. Dave was fortunate to coach 36 players who earned All-Ohio honors. Close’s Stow teams sought great competition, having played against four teams ranked 1st in the country, a team ranked 2nd nationally, 15 state champions from five states and more than 15 future NBA players.
In his career, Close garnered 39 Coach of the Year honors including five Ohio Coach of the Year awards: the 1993 AP Award, the 1993 and 1994 Coaches Poll Award, the 2023 OHSBCA Award, and the 2022 NFHS Award. Close’s all-star game coaching was highlighted by the 1994 NHSCA National East-West All-Star game in Atlanta, the 1995 OHSBCA North-South game and the 2019 Ohio-Kentucky All-Star Game. Close was recently awarded the John Wooden Legacy Award by the NHSBCA and OHSBCA. The OHSBCA had previously honored Dave with both the 2018 Paul Walker and 2020 Bob Arnzen Awards. Close was active in numerous coaching associations. In the late 1980s, Dave was one of the founders of the Greater Akron Basketball Coaches Association and twice served as its president. He was inducted into the GABCA Hall of Fame in 2024. Close currently serves as a mentor in the OHSBCA Mentorship program.
Close emphasized community service in his programs. Over the years his teams served annually at a Christmas food pantry, helped build community playgrounds, spread mulch in the community, wrote to and met with elementary school pen pals and often worked with community youth. Stow played numerous games for causes: Coaches vs Cancer, V Foundation, MLK Day, Military Appreciation, Youth Nights and Alumni Nights. In 2015 the Akron Beacon Journal recognized Close for school, team and community service by presenting him with their Clem Caraboolad Coach of the Year Award.
Close credits his faith, a loving family, committed players and assistants, supportive administrators and outstanding player parents for his programs’ success. Dave currently resides in Munroe Falls with his wife of 40 years, Patricia, who is a highly respected educator in the Stow Schools. Close thanks Pat for “carrying him” during basketball seasons and in a sense, raising their three children behind the Stow bench. Over the years their entire family was involved in the program in various ways. Their three children were all outstanding students and multi-sport athletes at Stow. Their son Cameron is currently a principal engineer for Relativity Space in California. Their daughter Angela is a Doctor of Physical Therapy for Akron Children’s Hospital. Their daughter Jacquelyn is in an administrator for Lifeline Youth and Family Services in Indiana. The Closes enjoy four grandchildren: River, Stella, Benaiah and Willow.