We're about halfway through the season, and if you'd told me I'd be 9-4 after 13 games, I'd have taken it with open arms. That's where we are after going 7-3 in non-conference play and winning two of our first three NEC games. Our three non-league losses came to Yale (who has a SG that went for 33 despite being double-teamed the whole game), Rice, and Alabama, and they're all good teams. In that stretch, we beat Rutgers, Iowa State, and South Carolina. None of them will make waves in their leagues, but they're power-conference teams, so that felt good.

More recently, we got the horrid dice roll of all horrid dice rolls against Stony Brook. Kenneth Candelaria has become our starting small forward, and he played just two minutes due to injury in a game we lost by 10 points. It exposed a weakness there; Mleczynski is a decent backup, but no more than that, and Tickle and Koeller need more time. Thankfully, he didn't miss any more time than that, and I'm hoping we'll stay on the right track.

Jerrold Young remains our leading scorer at nearly 17 points per game. Frank Taveras, meanwhile, has added 15 points and nine rebounds per contest, while James Lamm has been a force off the bench as the biggest part of our second unit. We're a decent team, and while we do lose a very good point guard after this season, we'll likely be even better overall a season from now. I sincerely hope that holds true!

Good news all around, as we're now 18-4 on the season. We're not blowing teams out, but with the exception of the Stony Brook game, we've won every game we've been expected to win. Here's hoping that continues, and in more good news, recruiting's going well.

Ronald Johns (#279 overall, #54 PG) fills the first of two scholarships, and while I'm hoping he redshirts as a freshman, he's a very good get for us. Two of our three best outside shooters will be seniors next year, so it was important for me to find another one this time around. Johns reminds me a lot of Jerrold Young. Both were PG's in high school that will play SG for me, and both are knockdown shooters. The tradeoff here is that Young's a far better passer than Johns will be, but Johns will be a significantly better defender with more offensive ability close to the basket. I like him a fair bit, and he'll be Young's understudy for two seasons until he's ready to step into the starting lineup for two or (hopefully) three seasons himself.

Our second and final scholarship has just been filled!

David Bass (#83 C) seems insanely under-ranked. It's not like that matters a whole lot, but I find it hard to believe there are 82 centers in his class better than he is. He's going to turn into an excellent rebounder and a solid scorer, and he'll also be an above-average defender that can move the ball very well for a big man (he'll have ball-handling and passing totals in the high-30's at a minimum, which is very good for a low-D1 center).

I wish he was a little more athletic and a bit faster, but that's why he's going to Central Connecticut State and not Connecticut! His athleticism will at least improve somewhat, which is good. He won't play much as a freshman, but with Taveras and Godleski about to be seniors, he'll have every chance to see the floor a lot beginning in his sophomore year.

RECRUITING CLASS GRADE: B+. Bass was the only big guy I had on my radar, and I got him without much of a fight (Binghamton showed up, but didn't spend anything). I had three guards ranked higher than Johns in my queue. One's almost certainly going to A- prestige St. Bonaventure, another is being fought over by Seton Hall, UConn, and Villanova, and the third signed with Providence. I think I made the right call not battling with those schools! :)

The class isn't perfect, and both guys have their shortcomings. However, none of them will stop Johns and Bass from becoming very good starters at this level. Johns should start as a redshirt sophomore or actual junior, while Bass will be either the #2 or #3 big as a sophomore after learning the ropes his first year. I did well, and I'm satisfied with how I'll plug the holes left by two graduating seniors after this season.

If you were to tell me, before this season started, that I'd end up with 23 wins, I'd have probably been pretty happy. I assumed this would be a "step back" year after going 20-10 and losing three starters who ranged from "very good" to "excellent."

We did indeed win 23 games (including three over power-conference opponents), but we dropped an 84-81 heartbreaker in the conference tournament final to Wagner. I went with a HCP/3-2 zone to counter their outside shooters, and that worked, but we wound up giving up a lot of offensive rebounds and 19 second-chance points. That, unfortunately, made the difference.

I'm not dissatisfied with the season. 23 wins is a heck of a total, especially considering we had to replace a lot of production from a 20-win team that went to the NT. Still, I got my hopes up for a CT title after the run we went on, and that didn't happen because of a lousy dice roll in a game that could've gone either way.

We lose two starters from this year's team, including a very good point guard (I'll have senior retrospectives up in the next few days). However, we're deep enough to where neither of those losses are going to hurt us too much, and the three starters we have coming back happen to be our three leading scorers. I'm anticipating a big season ending in an NT appearance, and given that we'll have a bunch of seniors suiting up, it's entirely possible I see what else is out there after it ends.

Tempted as I've been to apply elsewhere, I'll be back for at least one more season. I debated applying for the Mississippi State job, which the former Yale coach wound up getting, and B+ prestige DePaul coming open was unexpected and definitely attractive. However, I like where I'm at, I've got a good team coming back next season (three top scorers and James Lamm, who was the NEC's Freshman of the Year), and I decided not to venture somewhere else.

With that in mind, here's senior stuff from this past season.

Joseph Milam - Milam exits as one of the top point guards in CCSU history. The one big regret I have about this team not making the NT is that it left Milam three assists shy of the program's career record. By comparison, the player who holds the record played 380 more minutes than Milam did, so that's a real gut punch. He was an excellent distributor who could also score a bit, and while we'll be fine at the PG position with Fisher next year and Buchholtz after that, there's no denying Milam did great work while he was here.

Records: 2nd in assists (529)

James Ballenger - Ballenger came on board after the prior coach left, but before I arrived. He played a lot in each of his last three years before starting as a senior. He was never all that much of a scorer, but despite a fairly low work ethic, he did develop into an excellent rebounder who pulled down more than eight boards a game. He's not irreplaceable (the Taveras/Lamm frontcourt next year is going to be FUN), but he did his job well.

Records: None.

Between my long hiatus and the fact that I've always been prone to overscheduling in non-conference play, it's been a long, LONG time since I've gotten a note quite like this one.

"Coach, I know you're hearing this all over the place and I don't mean to add to the hype, but the campus is going crazy about your start to the season! No matter what happens, you can't take away a perfect start to the season, although I'm sure you'll be just as disappointed as the rest of us if C. Connecticut State doesn't win a conference title.

Alan Andrews
Athletic Director
C. Connecticut State"

That's right, we're 10-0 as NEC play starts this evening. It hasn't always been pretty; we escaped by the skin of our teeth against a few Sim AI teams due to bad FT shooting nights, but we did beat both South Carolina and Oregon State, along with another top-100 RPI team in Binghamton that will win a bunch of games in another weak league.

We've done it with an uptempo style that has put us 14th in the country in both points (85.3) and assists (20.5) per game. We're also 18th nationally in made threes per game (9.2) and 23rd in three-point percentage (43.6%). All five starters are averaging double-digit points per game. Jerrold Young's average of 19.3 leads the conference, and four starters are among the top eight scorers in the NEC.

All of this is for naught, though, if we don't do well in conference play, and the NEC isn't a one-horse race this year. Stony Brook and Fairleigh Dickinson are Sims we SHOULD beat, but they're top-100 RPI teams with some talent, so that's not a given. If we're the #1 seed out of our division, it's likely we'll need to beat them both, in succession, in the CT.

The bad news is, we've lost a few games we shouldn't have due to key players getting into foul trouble. The good news is, we're still 20-4, we're assured of a #1 seed in the CT, and all of our losses have come on the road (in some cases going to places with decent HCA's), so there's reason for optimism moving forward.

Speaking of optimism, we've filled two of four openings to this point in recruiting. Here are the new arrivals.

William Sheely (#152 overall, #31 SF, *) - I usually don't target SF's in recruiting. I've done OK with converting slower SG's to SF's in the past, and I'd planned to do that this time around until I realized the guard pool was pretty shallow. Sheely, however, is a great get for us. He's already a really good scorer, he's an outstanding passer for someone who isn't a guard, and he knows our offense right away (it says he played M2M in high school, but he preferred a team that pressed, so maybe he knows half my defense, too). I promised him 10 minutes a game, and he'll get that as our #2 SF for two years before starting for two more. SF's usually aren't featured players in my offenses, but I really like Sheely and think he could be a high-impact player down the line.

David Allums (#73 C, Vermont's Mr. Basketball) - We're graduating two bigs this year (one starter, one key reserve), so we needed to fill those gaps. I'm not done doing that just yet, but Allums will be a pretty good player. He's already an excellent rebounder and will be a solid scorer with some wing skills, though I wish he had more potential to grow his passing. His athleticism/speed aren't top-notch, so he'll probably be limited to playing center for us rather than power forward, and while he's a good shot-blocker, his on-ball defense might be a problem. He also probably won't play a lot until his junior year with the way the depth chart is structured, so I may consider redshirting him to buy him some time. However, even with all of that, there are definite positives he brings to the table, and he'll likely turn into a better version of Luka Godleski, one of the seniors who's graduating this year. Plus, given how close he was to CCSU, he was REALLY cheap, and that matters.

Signee #3!

Dwight Pittman (#171 overall, #27 PG) - Pittman wasn't in my top tier of guards initially. However, the pool of PG's and SG's was very, very shallow, even moreso than in recent seasons. My first primary target was a project that got snatched up by St. Joseph's, and I got swooped in on my second target (an ineligible PG) by Army, a program a full prestige grade better than mine.

However, as consolation prizes go, Pittman's a darned good one. He's going to be very fast, and he'll be a complete guard that can be trusted as both a scoring option and someone who can run the offense. I do wish his ball handling and passing were a wee bit higher, though. They'll top out at around 80. Having said that, though, his high potential in both scoring columns balances some of that out, and I also like that he'll be an excellent rebounder for his position. It's possible he redshirts next year, as he won't get much playing time if he doesn't and he'd benefit from a season of development. He'll fit in well here, and I'm pretty happy to have come away with a solid prospect in a year where there weren't many guards that earned that distinction.

Recruiting's been completed, and I'm pretty excited about this group!

Terry Cohn (#209 overall, #46 C) - Cohn was my primary frontcourt target this time around, and there's a lot to like. He's already a very good scorer, and while his low post numbers won't go up, he'll turn into a far better shooter and passer. This will make him a versatile big that can impact the game in a lot of ways. He'll be a good (though not great) rebounder, and I like that his athleticism, speed, and defense have room to improve. This could make him a perfect fit for the HCP we run.

I promised Cohn 10 minutes per game, and provided I'm here, he'll get that easily as the primary backup PF. I envision a frontcourt with Tickle at PF, Lamm at C, Cohn slotting in behind Tickle, and David Bass being the primary backup at center (with David Allums picking up a few minutes here and there behind both of them). The heavy minutes from an early stage should up his work ethic a bit, and that'll ensure he hits his lofty potential by the time he's done. I really like him, and I'm pretty happy I didn't have more in the way of opposition from other teams.

- - - - -

RECRUITING THOUGHTS

I don't know if I'll be back next season. We lose a lot of talent (four seniors, three of which start), and there will certainly be a bit of issues with depth as we look to fill those gaps. However, this was almost as good a recruiting class as I could've asked for. I know recruit rankings are mostly aesthetic and don't really matter, but it's cool to have landed two top-200 guys and a third that sits at #209. That's not the kind of class a C- mid-major program is supposed to get.

Sheely and Cohn will play big minutes right away, and they'll both turn into really, really good players. Sheely, in particular, could be a star given how strong a scorer he already is. Pittman and Allums will both be solid in the long run, though Pittman needs a little time and Allums may be restricted to center. It's not like any of these guys are perfect, but there are some real gems for the level here, and I don't see how I could've done a whole lot better.

GRADE: A.

We finished 23-5 last season, with a gut-wrenching overtime loss in the conference tournament. That's the first time I've genuinely felt stung since coming back, as we had a team that deserved to play postseason ball and didn't get there.

I went through the job-change period and decided to stay. There just weren't opportunities in active, higher-level conferences that interested me. Also, the more I looked at what other schools had done in recruiting to this point, the more impressed I became with the group I brought in this past season. We'll need to retool a little bit this season, but we've still got some pieces in place, and I think we'll be okay.

Senior retrospectives are coming soon from a really strong group that'll be tough to replace.

So senior retrospectives from last season's group never happened because I got swamped by work and real-life stuff. That's unfortunate, because that group deserved better, but alas, priorities and such.

This year's team is good; not great, but good. As of this writing, we're 17-6, and while we've taken a step back from the last couple of years, it's not like the cupboard's bare. Far from it, as Jerrold Young became CCSU's all-time leading scorer (and has an outside shot at 2,000 career points depending on how many postseason games we play) and James Lamm is averaging 16 points and nine rebounds per game. We've got a shot at an NT berth, which would be pretty cool.

However, I'm writing this because recruiting is in full swing, and that's quickly become my favorite part of the game. I love the strategy that goes into team-building, especially at the low-D1 level. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: In this system, when you're at the low-D1 level and sign an impact player, it's a great feeling, and my first signee inspired a fist pump when I saw he committed.

Jay Ronning (**, international so therefore unranked) was my primary target this time around, and I'm pretty surprised he didn't land with a power-conference team. With Young set to graduate after this season and Ronald Johns preparing to step into the starting lineup as a redshirt sophomore, I needed another shooter, and few in the class were better than Ronning. He may not improve much in that category, but he's already a great shooter for this level, so he doesn't need to. He'll grow by leaps and bounds in athleticism and low-post scoring, which may make him a candidate to get minutes at SF down the line, and while he'll never be a truly great defender, he's got plenty of room to improve there, too.

I promised him 10 minutes per game, and that may have been a reason I was able to fend off a late challenge from Iowa State (it wound up being a 50-50 flip that went my way). He'll start off as one of our first guys off the bench, and it wouldn't be a surprise if he overtakes Johns as the starting shooting guard once he learns our sets (his lack of motion/HCP-zone knowledge is probably his only weakness, at this point). It's a longshot, but it's not impossible he becomes a fringe draft prospect as an upperclassman. I love him, and while Young is an all-time great player for the program, Ronning's signing ensures that his graduation won't be a crippling blow for the team.

And I'm done recruiting with a gigantic 1-2 backcourt punch coming to fruition!

Daniel Levenson (**, #108 overall, #27 PG) has a gigantic overall rating that's a bit inflated due to his huge work ethic and durability. The latter category doesn't matter, but the first one ensures he'll hit his potential (and do so fairly early).

Despite being overrated and probably overranked by WIS, Levenson is an excellent low-D1 prospect. He's already fast, he knows my offense and at least half of my defense, and he's a good enough distributor that he'll be my backup point guard right away. This was how I was able to promise him 10 minutes a game as a freshman, and while I was initially a bit hesitant to relegate Dwight Pittman to mop-up duty as a redshirt freshman, Levenson's going to be far better at running the offense, even as a true freshman. As an aside, the thought of a Levenson-Pittman-Ronning trio at PG-SG-SF their senior year? YIKES.

Levenson will also be a solid scorer, and he'll wind up with a perimeter rating in the mid-to-upper 70's. His only hole is that he isn't a great defender, but he'll wind up with about 50 defense, which will at least stop him from becoming a total liability (his speed will also be handy in the HCP and mitigate some of that). He's not perfect, but I really like him and he'll play a considerable amount of minutes from the moment he steps on campus.

- - - - -

RECRUITING THOUGHTS

I genuinely don't see how this class could've been any better. Daniel Levenson is a two-star point guard that will be a key reserve for two years and start for two more, and he's not even the best recruit in his class. It's a genuine rush to be able to put a class together like this, and it shows that I at least SORT OF know what I'm doing in recruiting.

Ronning could be an offensive powerhouse. Levenson will look an awful lot like Joseph Milam, who graduated a few seasons ago and almost set the school's career assists record. Add in Douglas Buchholtz, Ronald Johns, and Dwight Pittman, plus Michael Koeller (a guard converted to SF), and you've got a backcourt that's going to be very, very tough to contain. This is exciting, for sure.

GRADE: A+.

We finished the season at 21-7 with a loss to a 6-22 team in the CT. This is one of the worst ones I've ever seen. My starting backcourt fouled out after less than 20 minutes apiece, and Jerrold Young will end his career with...1,999 points. Just disgusting.

I can't say I'm displeased with a 21-win season, especially after we graduated four guys who all got significant playing time. Still, it's a really lousy way to end things, and Young deserved better. Senior retrospectives will hopefully come over the next few days.

Okay, I'm not making the same mistake two seasons in a row. Senior retrospectives are coming up!

Jerrold Young - He's the best guard to ever come through the program, full-stop. He would've been a decent player for a major program, but somehow, he fell to me during recruiting and I got no opposition for him. My guess is his then-PG position was a turn-off, but once he became a full-time SG, he turned into a force. Even though we've reloaded the backcourt, and even though we're going to be pretty darned good next year, Young will be missed, and it will grind my gears to no end that he came up one point shy of 2,000 for his career.

RECORDS: 1st in points (1,999), 1st in FGA (1,429), 1st in FGM (657), 1st in 3PTA (1,161), 1st in 3PTM (517), 4th in minutes played (3,130), 11th in 3PT% (44.5%), 16th in assists (398), 17th in FT% (78.9%)

Hans Mleczynski - Hans was the very last player I signed in my first CCSU recruiting class, and he came after I got knocked off of several guards that went to programs that swooped in on me. Was he any great shakes? No. However, he was decent enough to play meaningful minutes off the bench for three years after a redshirt, and he started at point guard as a redshirt senior on the grounds of "he won't turn the ball over and he's not a bad shooter." In hindsight, I probably should've redshirted Tobias Fisher given how good he turned out to be, but it's not like Mleczynski was a waste of a scholarship or anything. He is, however, a far easier player to replace than his backcourt colleague.

It's been a pretty good season to date, as we're 19-3 to this point in the season and have already clinched a #1 seed in the conference tournament. That's usually my undoing, so I'm guarded, but James Lamm has emerged as a frontcourt force and Walter Tickle, Michael Koeller, and Ronald Johns are all shouldering loads as complementary pieces in the offensive attack.

Recruiting is in full swing. We've got three guys to replace, and the first of my scholarships has just been filled.

Kenneth Brown (#52 C) - This is a case of WIS's ranking system actually getting it right, as Brown is going to be a pretty good (though probably not spectacular) player despite a fairly low overall rating to start. He'll turn into an excellent rebounder, scorer, and defender, and while his ball handling and passing skills won't improve much, they're already fine. I do wish he had a higher athletic ceiling, and his mediocre work ethic isn't ideal, either, but those are the reasons I got him without much of a fight. In addition, he was less than 30 miles from campus, so it was a pretty cheap signing of a player who should develop into a very good (if probably not star-level) frontcourt player.

Depending on how the rest of recruiting goes, he might not play much as a freshman (I'm also weighing the idea of redshirting him). However, he'll have every chance to earn some playing time as either a redshirt freshman or true sophomore, once David Bass graduates and the center spot opens up for either him or David Allums (who's fine, but no standout). Brown's not the sensational player I've gotten a few times over the last couple of recruiting periods, but he's a very good get.