Sportswire03/09 02:14 AM

bomberball - ready for challenge at Wake Forest - named as new head coach. Officials at Richmond shocked by departure.

I didn't have a return to major-conference HD on my bingo card, but when Wake Forest came available, I had to apply. The Demon Deacons return everybody from a 19-win team, boast a B+ prestige, and should have every chance to be competitive in a top-tier conference right off the rip.

I'll have three walk-ons to replace in round two of recruiting. If I can get a rotational guy or two, I'll be pretty happy. As it stands now, though, I think we're in position to make some noise next season, and I'm happy to be here.

We did...okay this season. Not great, and we lost quite a few close games (my Richmond luck, or lack thereof, carried over), but we're at least on the NT bubble (if faintly so) with a 15-11 regular season in the books.

My first round of recruiting at the high-D1 level in many years, however, got off to a solid start...

Brian Dejohn (**, #104 overall, #25 C) - Dejohn is underrated by WIS because he was initially ineligible. However, he got his test scores up, and I'm pleased to have him. He's already a decent player, and he'll grow quite a bit in some areas that really matter. He'll wind up a very good athlete, a top-notch rebounder, a strong defender, and even a solid FT shooter for a big man. From a "key skills" standpoint, there isn't much to nitpick here. He's a hair raw in some ways, but his potential is strong.

I do wish he knew my sets, and he's not a great passer (which may be annoying in the motion offense). With two bigs graduating, he'll play quite a bit next season, probably more than he should (I promised 15 minutes, and he'll get that). However, down the road, he'll be a very good player, if not quite a star. I fended off a brief challenge from Auburn, and I'm happy to have him in the fold.

Alan Waldman (#237 overall, #49 C, Washington DC Mr. Basketball) - Waldman was the other frontcourt body to sign early, and everything about him screams "role-player." Defensively, he's already very, very good. He's a great athlete who knows my sets and is already strong on that end of the floor in every possible way. He's a true rim-protector, and those are valuable.

Offensively, however...he stinks. While he'll get a little better down the road, there's just no way around that. However, while he'll get 10 minutes per game as a freshman, he doesn't need to start, and he shouldn't ever need to. He's the guy who'll consistently be the #3 or #4 big on the team who can step in and get blocks and rebounds, and there's value to that (especially since I landed him pretty cheaply following a brief skirmish with West Virginia). For what he is, he's fine.

We got bounced out of the PI very quickly and finished at 15-13. Two guys getting drafted (one EE) meant our prestige stays at B+ for another year, and we did land a pretty big fish in round two of recruiting...

Matthew Zirkle (****, #37ish overall, #8 C, VA Mr. Basketball) - I've been on vacation and wasn't able to post his recruit profile before round two ended. I'm not sure of his exact ranking other than somewhere in the high-30's, but I've got the other information, and almost all of it's good.

Zirkle is going to be a pretty outstanding big guy. He's a very good athlete who'll only get better there, and he'll turn into a top-notch rebounder and on-ball defender. He's not a great scorer right now, but he'll turn into a very good one in due time, and his ball-handling and passing skills are solid for his position, too. They, combined with not-terrible speed, actually give him enough versatility to potentially move to SF, if we need him to do that.

The one bit of bad news: He's ineligible and won't play this season. That's a bit of a bummer because he's a legitimately good prospect who would've seen time this year. In fact, I promised him a start and 25 minutes in recruiting to ward off my old friends at La Salle, and while he'd have been a LITTLE out of place starting the year, he'd have developed pretty quickly and not been a liability by the end of the season (that now happens next year, where he'll start at either SF or PF). I expect him to get drafted, and I wouldn't be totally shocked if he left a year early.

- - - - -

RECRUITING GRADE: B.

The good news is that we set up our frontcourt for success in the years ahead. Zirkle's going to be very good, Dejohn's going to be solid, and Waldman is a perfect #3 big that will be able to protect the rim and give our guys a breather. That was one of my main objectives, and I don't think I could've done a much better job than I did.

The bad news is that I struck out on guards. Miami descended upon my top initial target, who I'd have gladly started at SF this year while he learned the ropes. When that didn't work, I focused on a *** guard and wound up in a three-way battle that was ultimately won by St. John's. He wouldn't have been elite or anything, but he'd have been a solid player that would've gotten a lot of time this year with our relative lack of depth in the backcourt. Because of that, I've taken two walk-ons, and, more importantly, will be under some pressure in recruiting this time around.

What we got was pretty good, and I can live with it. Another piece would've taken this class from "good" to either "very good" or "great," though, and that stings.

This season...not good. Nine wins, lots of close losses. Recruiting...only slightly better so far.

Elmer Motley (*, #137 overall, #25 PG) - My class starts with a rant. I was all-in on a four-star player that went to a 60-20-20 flip. I had the 60% odds after promising quite a bit and maxing out visits...and I got beat by a D- prestige school that had no business being in on him.

After getting off of tilt (which, to be frank, took over a week), I snagged Motley in round two of recruiting. He's not a finished product, and he'll have to play way too much early on. However, he's a decent prospect. He'll get much faster and turn into an excellent defensive player, and while he's topped out in passing (annoyingly), he's a good one that will turn into a guy that can play either guard position down the road. I'm not sure he'd be a starter on an ACC-caliber team, but as a backup option, I could've done much worse.

James Lawrence (**, #102 overall, #18 SG) - At his original position, Lawrence is wildly overranked. He's slow, he can't score, and while he's very athletic and a strong defender, he's a liability. However, what I needed was a backup SF, not a SG, and at that position, he could be an asset.

Changing him to SF means he's nowhere near as slow for his position, and while his offensive limitations are annoying, his abilities as a passer (which now become strong for his position) and defender mean he'll be able to contribute a bit from the jump. His very high work ethic also means we'll see gains right away, and if his scoring potential is as high as it could be, he might wind up being a very good find.

I had to poach him from William & Mary (the current team helmed by the longtime Wake Forest coach), and I didn't like doing that. I also had to promise him a little time as a freshman. However, he'll get that as our #2 SF, and down the road, I think he'll be a solid starter.

Jarek Zedian (international, so unranked) - We addressed the frontcourt last season, but Zedian isn't a bad bench player. He knows my defensive set, he'll turn into a very good scorer, and while he won't be a star elsewhere on the floor, he'll be a decent all-around player...provided he shows up.

Yep, Zedian's ineligible, but that's okay. This wasn't an immediate need I had to fill this time around, so if he doesn't suit up this season, I don't lose anything. He wouldn't play much this year if he WAS eligible, so him sitting a year before playing as a sophomore (after a graduation or two thins the ranks) doesn't hurt me. Add in that he was pretty cheap, which helped after the four-star saga blew up at the end, and there are at least some things to like.

EDIT (5/15): This was it for this recruiting class; I tried to get lucky and land a fourth guy, but none were worth taking a flyer on that late in the recruiting process.

Recruiting grade: C-. Losing out on that four-star really hurt; if I get him instead of Motley, it probably drives the grade up a full letter. Motley's not terrible, and as mentioned above, won't be a bad player in the long term, but the other guy would've given us a lot more right away at both guard spots. Lawrence and Zedian, meanwhile, are both OK for what they are (and Zedian did show up, so we're OK there), though by no means stars.

I'm giving myself one more year to get a legitimately good recruiting class in here. We've still got some talent, and we return four starters from a season ago, so there's some reason for optimism. However, we're going to need some guys that can start on day one, and that's a tall order.