It seems like once every year, I get an itch to return to HD. This time around, I scratched it by returning to Phelan, where I've had some success in the past. Several years ago, I coached St. Olaf, Northwest Missouri State, Jacksonville State, and Texas Tech, only to be rewarded with a major case of burnout once I reached the high-D1 level. I enjoyed doing tracking threads as I went along, and I plan on doing the same thing for as long as I'm at ISU.

A quick summary of the Redbirds: They're a D+ prestige program in the MVC, and one that had a decent amount of success last year, going 19-8. The B+ homecourt advantage was a big draw, and we only lose three players from last year's team. There's some talent left on the roster, and I'm excited to get started.

A quick look at my career.

Season 29: Texas Tech 
10-17 (overall)/1-15 (conf), RPI: 141

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Season 28: Jacksonville St. 
24-6 (overall)/15-1 (conf), RPI: 47

Regular Season Conference Champion
Conference Tournament Champion
National Tournament - 1st Round
Conference Coach of the Year

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Season 27: Jacksonville St. 
21-8 (overall)/16-0 (conf), RPI: 37

Regular Season Conference Champion
National Tournament At-large Bid
National Tournament - 1st Round
Conference Coach of the Year

Season 26: Jacksonville St. 
15-14 (overall)/12-4 (conf), RPI: 104

Regular Season Conference Champion

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Season 25: Jacksonville St. 
22-7 (overall)/15-1 (conf), RPI: 61

Regular Season Conference Champion
Postseason Invitational - 2nd Round
Conference Coach of the Year

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Season 24: Jacksonville St. 
22-6 (overall)/14-2 (conf), RPI: 59

Regular Season Conference Champion
National Tournament At-large Bid
National Tournament - 1st Round

Season 23: Jacksonville St. 
22-8 (overall)/14-2 (conf), RPI: 82

Regular Season Conference Champion
Postseason Invitational - 1st Round
Conference Coach of the Year

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Season 22: Jacksonville St. 
18-12 (overall)/12-4 (conf), RPI: 112

Regular Season Conference Champion
Conference Tournament Champion
National Tournament - 1st Round

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Season 21: Jacksonville St. 
17-11 (overall)/12-4 (conf), RPI: 130

Regular Season Conference Champion

Season 20: Jacksonville St. 
22-6 (overall)/14-2 (conf), RPI: 113

Regular Season Conference Champion

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Season 19: N.W. Missouri St. 
17-13 (overall)/9-7 (conf), RPI: 36

National Tournament At-large Bid
National Tournament - 2nd Round

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Season 18: N.W. Missouri St. 
16-13 (overall)/11-5 (conf), RPI: 65

National Tournament At-large Bid
National Tournament - 1st Round

Season 17: N.W. Missouri St. 
19-12 (overall)/9-7 (conf), RPI: 25

National Tournament At-large Bid
National Tournament - 2nd Round

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Season 16: N.W. Missouri St. 
22-9 (overall)/10-6 (conf), RPI: 31

National Tournament At-large Bid
National Tournament - 2nd Round

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Season 15: N.W. Missouri St. 
19-13 (overall)/9-7 (conf), RPI: 38

National Tournament At-large Bid
National Tournament - 2nd Round

Season 14: N.W. Missouri St. 
17-14 (overall)/8-8 (conf), RPI: 76

Postseason Invitational - 2nd Round

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Season 13: St. Olaf #4
29-3 (overall)/15-1 (conf), RPI: 17

Regular Season Conference Champion
National Tournament At-large Bid
National Tournament - Final Four

A look at the current ISU roster before graduation.

Goals in recruiting:

1) Shore up the SG spot

Four-fifths of our lineup actually look pretty solid in Grinder, Marble, Smith, and Warriner. The lone glaring weakness is at shooting guard, where neither Heller nor Bevan are capable starters (depending on how recruiting goes, one or both of them may very well be cut). I'll need to grab at least one shooting guard, possibly more considering we'll need someone to play SF in two years (when Marble graduates).

2) Depth, depth, depth

This team presses, so we need bodies. It's good that some of our players are versatile; Porter may see some time at PF since he can rebound a bit, for example (he looks like a decent stretch-PF given his shooting ability). With the press, though, we'll need a deep, talented bench.

Here we are before recruiting.

College Sports Network

Illinois St. announces David Bevan's scholarship has been rescinded.

03/01 03:01 PM

Bevan's skillset just didn't measure up, even to some of the recruits in this season's pool, and the low work ethic ensures he'd never reach his ceiling (which was already pretty low).

Oh, goody, recruiting has started and my non-conference schedule has been generated! Let's go take a look and see...OH MY GOD.


So of the 10 non-conference games I'll play, five are against power conference teams. That includes a date with Virginia Tech, who has made three NT championship games in a row, as well as games against A+ prestige Maryland and A prestige Cal.

Well, strength of schedule won't be a problem!

	Current Rating	Potential			Current Rating	Potential
Athleticism	45	Average		Perimeter	84	Average
Speed	68	Low		Ball Handling	61	Average
Rebounding	15	Low		Passing	77	Average
Defense	42	Low		Stamina	79	Low
Shot Blocking	1	Low		Durability	68	High
Low-post	42	High		FT Shooting		Average

My first of four recruits that signed when the signing period started is probably the most important one. Tony Merrell isn't ranked, and he comes in after two years of JuCo ball, but he will play a big role here. I promised him 15 minutes, and chances are he'll start at SG this season given our lack of depth there. He knows the flex/press we run, which is a huge plus, and he instantly becomes one of our best scorers (with his high potential in low-post, he'll get considerably better there, too). I wish he was faster, and that might hurt us out-of-conference against teams with quicker guards, but all in all, I like him just fine.

Athleticism	29
Speed	67
Rebounding	1
Defense	48
Shot Blocking	1
Low-post	32
Perimeter	69
Ball Handling	62
Passing	51
Work Ethic	58
Stamina	81
Durability	90

GP	MPG	PPG	RPG	FG%	FG3%	FT%	APG	SPG	BPG
31	27	34.2	2.1	62.4	58.0	78.0	5.2	1.1	1.9

	Current Rating	Potential			Current Rating	Potential
Athleticism	29	High		Perimeter	69	Average
Speed	67	High		Ball Handling	62	Average
Rebounding	1	Low		Passing	51	High
Defense	48	Low		Stamina	81	Average
Shot Blocking	1	Low		Durability	90	Average
Low-post	32	High		FT Shooting		Average

Harry Giles (#95 PG) screams combo guard. Like Merrell, he's going to be a good scorer with a high low-post attribute for guards, and while his passing is a little lower than I'd like, that'll change in due time. He shoots free throws well, and he'll eventually turn into a strong athlete that should thrive in the press. His GPA is a bit of a concern in the short-term, but he should turn into a fine player.

Athleticism	53
Speed	19
Rebounding	68
Defense	48
Shot Blocking	63
Low-post	79
Perimeter	19
Ball Handling	19
Passing	10
Work Ethic	97
Stamina	62
Durability	48

GP	MPG	PPG	RPG	FG%	FG3%	FT%	APG	SPG	BPG
22	23	37.5	8.7	70.0	17.8	63.4	1.0	0.3	2.8

	Current Rating	Potential			Current Rating	Potential
Athleticism	53	High		Perimeter	19	Low
Speed	19	Average		Ball Handling	19	Low
Rebounding	68	High		Passing	10	Average
Defense	48	High		Stamina	62	Average
Shot Blocking	63	High		Durability	48	Low
Low-post	79	Low		FT Shooting		High

In addition to depth in the backcourt, it was important to me to grab a big, especially considering no returning frontcourt player is younger than a junior. Forrest Villanveva (#96 C) is a bit raw, but a very good prospect. While his scoring won't improve, it's already at an acceptable level. The high potential in athleticism and rebounding could turn him into an imposing low-post presence, and his ultra-high work ethic means he could develop very rapidly. I wish he was faster and that his stamina was a bit higher, and I don't necessarily know how much he'll play this year, but he's a guy I'm excited to see grow and mature.

Athleticism	37
Speed	71
Rebounding	14
Defense	55
Shot Blocking	1
Low-post	2
Perimeter	72
Ball Handling	60
Passing	55
Work Ethic	55
Stamina	67
Durability	67

GP	MPG	PPG	RPG	FG%	FG3%	FT%	APG	SPG	BPG
25	24	32.6	2.9	62.7	58.0	66.9	4.7	2.2	0.3

And HERE is the wild card. I spent a decent amount of money trying to pry another JuCo player away from D- prestige Sim Robert Morris, but that proved to be a mistake. After looking around, I found Drazen Zam (international so therefore unranked), and I liked what I saw. Here are the potential-related email notes about him.

- Definitely wasn't the best athlete on the floor - unless I'm an idiot and/or this is the laziest kid ever, we can *dramatically* improve his athleticism.
- Has nothing inside unless he beats his defender off the dribble - don't see much more upside.
- Really poor rebounding fundamentals - I don't see any upside here.
- Can knock the outside shot down if open - not expecting any improvement.
- Decent passer - with more experience I expect to see TREMENDOUS improvement.
- Decent dribbling ability - he has the raw skills to make me think he has *tremendous* upside.
- Excellent student in the classroom and on the court.

So high potential in athleticism, ball handling, and passing, low potential in rebounding, low-post, and perimeter, and unknowns everywhere else. I wish I knew about his speed and stamina, though the high potential in athleticism has me optimistic. Also, he knows the flex, which helps.

Down the line, I have visions of him potentially being a scoring point guard, and he could also play some SG, too (despite the low potential in perimeter, that's already at a pretty nice level). He'll compete with Giles for minutes, and I can see them becoming a pretty fair starting backcourt at ISU some day.

RECRUITING THOUGHTS

When I left HD many moons ago, my main criticism was that it had become very difficult for low-D1 schools to recruit. That's still true (seriously, it shouldn't be hard to knock lower-prestige Sim AI programs off of players), but all in all, I don't think this is a bad class. It has its shortcomings, but for a D+ prestige program, these are four decent signings, all of whom will make the team better in the long run.

None of these guys are budding superstars, but they'll play valuable minutes and fill crucial roles going forward. To run a press well, you need depth, and that's what these guys give me. Merrell should be a fine low-D1 starter, Giles and Villanveva will develop nicely, and Zam's ceiling could be pretty high once I find out his potential in areas I don't know about yet.

Right now, I'll give this class a B- grade. Again, no superstars or anything, just a decent, solid group of guys who should see playing time right away. The class could improve to a B, I suppose, but only if Drazen Zam turns out to be the reincarnation of Drazen Petrovic.

I like Vallveva and the INTL. Curious to see what his speed and def potentials are. 

recruiting low DI is the hardest in the game IMO

Hey, trobone! I remember you following my old Jacksonville State thread years ago; happy to see you're still around.