CHESTNUT HILL'S MCFADDEN DOES IT ALL FOR TEAM AND HIS SON

Courtesy of Mike Kern, Philadelphia Daily News

THIS IS A STORY about love. Doing the right thing. Responsibility. And family values.

It's about a young man growing into adulthood. In a hurry. Not necessarily because he felt obligated, but because he wanted to.

Because that's the way he was raised.

Still, one of the best parts of the story is Julian McFadden doesn't really think what he's doing is that special.

He's just being a father. The fact that he's a junior at Chestnut Hill College who plays basketball and has a 3.3 grade-point average in marketing and holds two jobs so his 2-year-old son can have a better life are simply details to him.

"It's hard, but who shouldn't go above and beyond for their child," McFadden said. "Sometimes it can be kind of overwhelming. But when he looks at me and smiles, it makes everything all right."

"He" would be Julian Jeremiah, the light of his father's world. He's the reason McFadden works the 4:30-9 a.m. shift at the airport with the Transportation Security Administration, then goes to classes for 4 or 5 hours, before heading to practice or games. Hopefully he gets to spend some time with young Julian when he finally returns home at night. He does the the same thing 5 days a week.

On weekends, when Julian goes to be with his mother, McFadden cooks at a restaurant chain, having moved up from ice-cream scooper. And on Sunday mornings he's a drummer in the church choir.

"There's no handbook, that's for sure," he said. "I learned how to time-manage as much as I possibly can. You get used to it. I'll be eating lunch and reading a book, or whatever. When your friends want you to go out at night, you have to tell them that you have to get up for work in like 4 hours. They understand a lot more now."

The first thing McFadden will tell you is that he couldn't do this alone. His mother Cheryl and older sister Tiffany, who's married without children, are always there to lend a hand when needed. His dad, Hartwell, a Baptist pastor, passed away from the effects of juvenile diabetes when McFadden was a freshman at Chestnut Hill Academy.

"I know he's watching me," said McFadden, a starting point guard who averages a team-leading 12 points a game. "I think that's really like the basis of why I'm doing what I'm doing. He instilled that in me.

"My mom tells me all the time that he's proud of me. Besides everything else, that keeps me going."

Cheryl McFadden, who naturally admits to spoiling her grandson, says she's practiced mostly tough-love with her son through all of this.

"I told him I would support him, but I wasn't the one having the baby," she said. "It was maybe 7 months before I changed a diaper. I told him he owed me 20 bucks, because I changed the poop. He couldn't be a father whenever it was convenient. And he took that to heart. At the end of the day, when the baby was crying, he needed to do something about it.

"I've got to give it to him. For the most part, he's doing it on his own. And his son knows. As soon as daddy walks through the door, everything changes. It's really something. I love to see that.

"I can appreciate what he's going through. It's tough for adults to make ends meet. But he finds a way. I was worried he would become a statistic. But here we are."

McFadden recently moved into his own place, even though his mom wanted him to stay with her for a while longer. He's already looking for a preschool for Julian, who attends a day-care program.

It's not easy. But it's not supposed to be.

"I like being independent," he explained. "I understand that my mom has bills just like I do. I didn't want to be more of a burden than I already was. I'd just turned 21. I just felt like it was time to go, regardless of how hard it was for me, or how hard it was for her to let me go. It was something I had to do.

"There's times when I can't pay that bill, or I'm late with this one. But it always works out. I just know that he depends on me, for everything. That's what hit me when I first got to hold him. I just want to take care of him, and see him be happy. He can make those losses a lot easier to take."

Chestnut Hill closed out its regular season Tuesday night with a double-overtime, 74-73 loss at Goldey-Beacom in Wilmington. But the Griffins (6-21, 5-11 in the Central Athletic Collegiate Conference) qualified for the playoffs; they will play at Philadelphia University in the CACC quarterfinals on Tuesday. Not bad for a program in just its second season in Division II, and sixth season overall. Until then, it had been an all-girls school.

So there's a good chance little Julian may be at upcoming practices as the team prepares for the playoffs. Head coach Jesse Balcer, a father of three and Philadelphia U. alumnus, wouldn't have it any other way.

"That baby didn't choose to come into this world," he said. "There was never a doubt in my mind [McFadden] would take control of the situation. That little boy absolutely adores him. There've been times when he's struggled with it. But I spent 9 years working as a probation officer. So, I've seen things go the wrong way.

"But he doesn't see what he's doing as being any big deal. He just wants to set a good example. I'll remind him once in a while, 'What would your dad say? Your son is watching everything you do. Even when you think it's something minor, it's major to a little kid. You're everything to him.' He really gets that."

McFadden found a way to splurge for a Wii game, which not surprisingly keeps Julian occupied for hours. And gets him tired for bed. But it's not about the material stuff. What they both will remember most are those moments they'll share, the bonds they'll develop.

Try and put a pricetag on that.

"Having him was the best thing that could have ever happened to me," McFadden said. "It was a wake-up call. He's been a blessing. I have bad days. And so does he. But when he says, 'Daddy, I love you,' that just makes everything not as bad anymore.

"I know people who have it a lot worse than I do. It shouldn't be a pity party or anything. These are the cards I was dealt. I have to make it work. I think we're doing pretty good at it.

"Right now, I just let him be him. He doesn't have a clue what's involved in all this. He shouldn't have to. I just want him to be able to say, 'That's my dad right there.' It's not about me. I'm just trying to keep my spirits high and stay humble. I might have made my path a little bit harder, but I can't take that out on him. It's going to be OK."

How's that for a statistic?