Career Highlights: In only three seasons at North Central, scored 504 field goals (eighth most at NCC) for 1,258 points (ninth at NCC) while shooting .532 from the field (sixth highest at NCC); 1983-84 NCAA III All-American after being named Midwest Region First Team; two-time National Association of Basketball Coaches Midwest Region All-Star; three-time CCIW All-Conference selection; three-time North Central Team MVP.
As a prep, Mike McFadden ’84 played at Lane Tech High School in Chicago, one of the premier basketball programs in the city. Another of the city’s top programs during that time was Morgan Park, coached by fellow North Central Hall of Famer Bill Warden ’54. Warden took the head men’s basketball coaching position at North Central in 1981, and McFadden’s high school coach, Ken Olson, called his former rival from the south side to tell them about his former pupil, who was torching the nets at Loop Junior College (now Harold Washington College). The rest is history.
During McFadden’s three years as a Cardinal, the forward scored 504 field goals (eighth most at North Central College) for 1,258 points (ninth) while shooting .532 from the field (sixth highest at the College). He was a two-time National Association of Basketball Coaches Midwest Region All-Star and 1983-84 NCAA III Midwest Region First Team. He was also a three-time College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) All-Conference selection and three-time North Central team MVP.
“All of the honors and other stuff aren’t what I remember,” McFadden said. “It was the time I spent with the guys and lifelong friendships that I made.”
McFadden and Coach Warden helped turn around a program that went 54-203 in the 10 years prior to their arrival. Their teams went 47-23 in their time together, including a 30-18 mark in the CCIW. McFadden’s final two seasons resulted in second-place finishes in the league with an 11-5 record as a junior and 12-4 mark as a senior. Also as a senior, the school received its first-ever bid to the NCAA III Tournament.
After graduating with a degree in psychology, McFadden served as an assistant coach to Warden while also working for Naperville Ready Mix Inc. and fellow Hall of Famer and Naperville resident Dick Wehrli ’56. In 1995, McFadden became a sales manager for Southern Wine & Spirits of Illinois Inc.
