Not that I can get there any time soon, but I have grown frustrated with how my LR team plays. I know Reinsel is looking to get in this year so I may apply for his W GA job. His team is setup well so within 2 season I would think I would be qualified for an MVC job. No real preferences on a team, but I think I am ready to try to move up (not sure if me being there will help your goal or not though :) )

Frae ~ Please take West Georgia if I get Wichita State. They are a lock for a NT berth this season, and probably the one after that. Which is all it took for me to be qualified for Wichita State & Drake and GWebb this season. Plus, with more humans in the MVC, the sims will get worse, making it easier for people to qualify for them.

Yeah,,, cummon up Frae,,, glad to have you guys ASAP.



Valley Power... it's catchin on!

Hey Mizzou, if I do end up getting Wichita State, I'd appreciate any tips you can give me on D1 recruiting or anything else. I've never had a D1 team before.

I am thinking that Wichita's best hope is recruits that Kansas & K State don't want, maybe Oklahoma and north Texas. Not sure though.

So I am thinking this will be a good place to relay my experiences as a new D1 coach. Seems like this is the big jump. After 12 successful seasons at D3 and D2 I have taken the plunge with Wichita State.

They are terrible, and have 7 open scholarships. I am going to try to fill 5 or 6, since competition is so fierce in D1, and my prestige is so poor (D+), I don't really think I will be able to get 7 recruits without sacrificing quality. And I plan to end Wichita State Press defense, so I don't need as many bodies.

I only have 2 decent players on the whole roster, a Sr PG and a So PG, so recruiting some big men will be a very high priority.

One of the fun things about D1 is getting a couple kids that have you as their favorite school. One seems actually pretty decent and I'll probably make a run at him...he's the #126th best PG in the country and only 120 miles away, so I think I should be able to pick him up pretty cheap.

The only other schools in KS or OK are in the Big 12, and I can't see them stealing such a crappy player from little old me, and anyone else will have to come more than 200 miles I think, which gives me the favored school and distance advantage, which should be enough to avoid any wars.

The rest of recruiting targets are going to be a bit more secret, so I will fill you all in later....wish me luck.

Good Luck,,, great to have Reinsel and sslats join us. Sslats took over Gardner Webb, which was one of the schools no-one was hoping to land.... so works very nicely into the long-range plan.

I believe next season we may be able to land 3-4 more.

Elmo or RC to Mizzou St.

Floyd to SIU

Sinatra to Ill St.

and if Elmo can make the jumb to the Bears... TeamRC will prolly head to the Hill-Toppers so he and I are not in the same area or bracket of the conference.

those 4 will bring us to 10.... Valley Power !

So continuing the running blog.....things in D1 ARE different. A ton more activity in the first couple of cycles. Interesting to see teams jump on the same recruit in the same cycle.

Then one of a few things happen. Either both back off, both pour more $$ in, or one backs off. I think the decision making process here is very critical. I had this happen on a nice SF recruit in Nebraska. Both my school (Wichita State) and Denver jumped in at the same time. Denver is 160 miles away and a C+.....we are 340 miles away and a D+. Needless to say, that was a waste of $800 for a home visit and a scouting trip.

But the bigger mistake I think would be to throw more money onto what could only be a loser. I'd have to outspend Denver two to one in order to overcome the prestige & distance factors, and the SF isn't THAT good. So $800 down the drain is bad, but not crippling when you start with $95,000 like I got to with 6 open scholarships.

So with only 3 cycles done, I've gotten 5 or so guys considering me, and luckily only had 1 run in with another school. Hopefully that continues on through the night and I can save my big bankroll to poach someone last minute. Or maybe a 3-star player that no one wants (HA).

Oh and Mr. Reeves from above is thrilled to play for his favorite school. Too bad there are no others like him. Doesn't everyone grow up dreaming of playing in Wichita?

So one of the biggest differences I am noticing at D1 is kind of obvious....no drop downs. I mean, Wichita State could theoretically recruit 3,4,5 star guys if there were no other teams, but there are only 50 or so of each of these, so in every case there is a team that has higher prestige, a bigger bankroll and is probably closer, so I just have no shot.

So Wichita State has gone for players in the #45-135 at their position range. This works out to 225-675 overall.

None of the Big 12 teams want a player in this range as a #1 option. But the worry is that they lose a ton of battles, have a lot of cash over, and are happy to spend 10K on one of the recruits I have targeted. And with their prestige advantage, I might have to spend $30k to keep him.

I can afford to do that once or twice, but if I started with $95k, and need 6 players, I am going to run out of money if I have to defend 3 or more players. That is why avoiding the first battle is so important, because it leaves you more vulnerable to the next one and so on. So a good recruiting session can quickly turn into a disaster of 6 walkons. Not that I see that happening, since I still have 3/4ths of my bankroll after getting 6 people interested in me.

Had a similar situation in the night to the SF with Denver, except this time it was San Diego. They are a B- prestige, and 900 miles away vs my D+/340, but it still doesn't seem to be a battle worth fighting.

I had a vet tell me the key in low D1 (low prestige) is to only recruit half at a time so no one sees you as an easy mark. The problem with this is if you don't recruit early, you could really be shut out. Your strategy of trying to stay under the radar is a good one. Also, if you ever plan to cut a player, do it early so hopefully it goes unnoticed. That could leave a coach thinking you have more money than you actually do.

I am keeping notes and will post a complete blow by blow analysis of my first D1 recruiting experience after signings have started.

Its interest how much different teams affect you. Kansas and Nebraska have 2 battles going on, and depending on how they end up, I could have one of them coming after me. Hopefully they go for broke and my $30k is enough to defend someone. Luckily they are 'only' B prestige, so if I triple spend them, plus offer minutes and starts that they can't, I might be able to win.

This is really the first time in my career I have been able to offer real minutes to freshman, which is kinda cool. And a sign we are in trouble this season.

But I haven't really had to defend anyone yet, so I still have 2/3rd my money remaining. Hopefully that will be enough.

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