I thought I'd use this as a place to keep track of my Arizona rebuild in this world. I came in before the second recruiting session at the end of season 123. I wasn't able to land any difference makers for this season, so I went after a couple of very low rated players with higher potential.

The class consists of:

• Corey Bennett - PG - 504 overall
• Von Mosakowski - SF - 526 overall
• Thomas Murdock - SF - 622 overall
• Hans Zachery - C - 497 overall

Since I had more than three openings when recruiting ended, Simmy gave me Kelly Tanguay

I'm most certainly going to go 0-27 this season, with not having many players on the roster, so I am not really worried about that.

I'll have four openings coming up for recruiting. I'll probably go ahead and cut a guy or two during the second recruiting session for season 124 to try and even out my classes moving forward.

That's it for the time being. Scouting will start this evening and recruiting starts on March 26th, so I'll try to come up with a strategy to get this program back on track.

Phase 1 of recruiting signings have started and I was fortunate enough to win two battles so far. Here are the recruits for Phase 1 for Arizona:

• Odell Frey
• David Flynt
• Karl Fitzgerald

Frey is 834 overall and the kind of guy that I need to help pull this team out of the cellar of the Pac12. Arizona won't be very good next season either, due to the makeup of the roster and the youth, so hopefully I have Frey for a couple of seasons to help bridge the gap. I won Frey on a 45 to 55 split with UCLA.

Flynt is going to have to play PG unfortunately. He has very high potential in ball handling and passing, so he should develop nicely there. Unfortunately, his lack of speed will hurt him. I won Flynt with 49% over San Diego State (35%) and San Diego (16%).

Fitzgerald is a guy that isn't a "typical" Arizona recruit when they are at the top, but right now, Fitz fits with six core categories at high or very high. With stamina and durability also being high and very high, he will be a player that we can depend on as a four year player in the fastbreak and full court press. He's one of those guys that your rotation will need when running this kind of offensive and defensive combo.

Phase 1 ends this evening. Once phase 2 starts, I'll probably cut a player or two in order to open up some spots for next season.

Phase 2 just started this morning. I cut two guys to give me three openings right now. If I manage to fill any/all of the spots, that will be a bonus, but if I do not, then I'll have 5 openings for next season.

Ended up cutting two guys to give me three openings for the second session. That extra recruiting money helped me secure Victor Ellerbe

With the signing of Ellerbe, that brings my class total up to four players now with Frey, Flynt, Ellerbe, and Fitzgerald.

This will class will definitely provide me a good foundation for the 1 through 3 spots on the floor. Still more work to be done before I'll feel comfortable about this rebuild.

Looking at my first class and following up on them, here is how they grew:

• Corey Bennett
• Von Mosakowski
• Thomas Murdock
• Hans Zachery

Bennett started at 504 overall and grew 78 points on the season. Most notably, he grew 11 points in both ATH and SPD. Started all 27 games and averaged 22.6 minutes per game.

Mosakowski is a very intriguing prospect still with all of his potential, but his 17 Work Ethic really puts a damper on his progress. He only grew 37 points on the season, playing 24.9 minutes per game. He still has High ATH/SPD/DEF and Very High REB/PER. He'll be a good rotational player once I fill this roster, but I don't imagine he'll see his full potential.

Murdock was a 3 star prospect with no real growth potential, but he came in at 622 overall and filled a much needed hole on the roster. Solid season, growing 58 points overall and averaged 7 points per game in 27 starts.

Hans Zachery came through in a big way with his growth this season. He started at 497 overall and ended up with 89 points of growth, including 14 in rebounding, 10 blocking, and 10 in perimeter. He also had 8 speed, 8 defense, and 8 ball handling. With plenty of growth potential left, I'm actually optimistic about his role on this team moving forward. He won't be a world beater, but he will be a guy that I can definitely use in the FCP/FB rotation as we get the roster filled up.

The Season 125 first recruiting phase has just finished. We came in with 4 openings and plenty of talent in Arizona, but I was quickly eliminated from contention from several of those prospects, just due to preferences and prestige. I again targeted players with high potential and have signed three, with another sitting and waiting as a late signee.

Here are the recruits so far:

• Louis Kozak - PF - 572 overall
• Dylan Monks - PF - 557 overall
• Christopher Roth - SG - 586 overall

Kozak and Monks were two of my original targets.

Kozak is Very High in Defense and Stamina, while he has High potential in Athleticism, Speed, Rebounding, Shot Blocking, and Low-Post. With his 92 Work Ethic, this is going to be a guy that will be a very good player by the time he graduates. He has a preference of Fast Break, so he will fit in well offensively.

Monks doesn't have the Work Ethic (31), but he has solid starting core ratings and potential that will help turn him into a player that I can use for the next four seasons. Very High Athleticism, Speed, and Ball Handling. High Rebounding, Shot Blocking, and Low-Post. With preferences of Fast Break and Fullcourt Press, he will fit my schemes nicely.

Roth is a very intriguing prospect. With 99 Work Ethic and five categories of Very High potential (Rebounding, Defense, Low-Post, Perimeter, and Ball Handling) and three categories at High (Speed, Shot Blocking, and Stamina), with everything else at Average, this is a kid that could become one of the best players on this team in three seasons. He has a preference of Fullcourt Press, so he will fit right in on defense and will really help with a deep rotation moving forward. I'm very excited to see the type of player he becomes.

The conference tournament just started this morning and we were bounced out, as expected. This ends our season at 5-22, an improvement from last season's 0-27 record. The program only had 13 wins in the previous three seasons before I came in. I feel like we are on track to top that total next season. With IQs rounding out, it is really all about making the PI next season to get our prestige up. Once we do that, we can start bringing in some higher level talent to the desert.

Second session of season 125 is under way and I had one opening left to fill. Looking at my roster, I was going to have everyone for two seasons, unless Frey left. Looking at the roster I was quickly reminded of a lack of true PG, so I went ahead and cut Mosakowski. His Work Ethic was holding him back and he wasn't going to hit that potential with me, so I went ahead and moved on from him. Roth is a better version of Mosakowski right now and will have the ability to take his minutes right away. I won't look to replace his spot this session.

My last signing of this class is Ernest Bourque. At only 501 overall, he isn't a big time recruit, but with Very High Athleticism, Rebounding, and Passing and High Speed and Shot Blocking, I feel he can become a very solid player for me. With his 63 Work Ethic and the ability to log a lot of minutes on this team, he'll have every opportunity to grow to his full potential, quickly.

So far, here is how the team looks with the rebuild:

Incoming Juniors

• Corey Bennett
• Thomas Murdock
• Hans Zachery

Incoming Sophomores

• Odell Frey
• Victor Ellerbe
• David Flynt
• Karl Fitzgerald

Incoming Freshmen

• Luis Kozak
• Dylan Monks
• Christopher Roth
• Ernest Bourque

The goal this next season is to find a way to make the PI, just to get a little prestige bump. Then, in season 127, the NT is the goal. This team is nowhere near finished with the rebuild though.

Phase one of recruiting signings has started. I had one opening and was able to fill it with Marvin Taylor. Not a great recruit, but one that will grow into a very solid player. He will also give me some much needed ball handling and passing.

He has Very High Defense and Ball Handling. He has one High category in Speed and most everything else is Average. With an 89 Work Ethic, He will be a guy that can max out in 4 years.

Current record is 9-16 with the last game of the season this afternoon. I need to win this one and two in the CT to make it back into consideration for the PIT. I don't see that happening, so I am looking at next season at this point. The main question is going to be, will Odell Frey stay? If he does, we could be an NT team next season. If he leaves, I think we will have enough talent to make the PI and raise our prestige enough to help fill our openings next season.

Season 126 is officially closed now. The Wildcats finished 9-18, so just a few games short of where I had hoped we would be. Missed the PIT by a few spots.

Bright spots:

1. Odell Frey is staying! Currently 970 overall, but close to maxed out, with just a few categories at average still. He will most likely be a top 5 pick next season.
2. Christopher Roth and Louis Kozak both improved over 100 points with 103 and 101 respectively. Both have a lot of potential left as well!
3. Landed Marvin Taylor in recruiting. A much needed PG that I can develop.

Not so bright spots:

1. Kozak went from High to Average in rebounding before he even gained a point of growth, so that really puts a damper on the kind of player he can turn into. He did gain 9 points in rebounding, but that only puts him at 49 now. I was really hoping he'd be around 55 at the end of the season with off season growth pushing him to around 60. Wishful thinking now.
2. Turnovers, opponents shooting, and lack of rebounding. However, with IQs being boosted, this should start to turn the corner here.

Outlook for next season:

I built a pretty solid schedule for non-conference play, with nine away games. The lone home game is against Colorado, who should be a very tough team again next season. Entering season 4, this team needs to make the NT. I'll lose four with Frey leaving as a JR and then three seniors graduating, so a boost to the prestige is really needed in order to take the next step in this rebuild. Phase 1 of the rebuild is done with this fourth recruiting class coming in. Phase 2 is to get the prestige bumped back into the B/B+ range and get some higher tiered players to come in.

My season is officially over now after a run to the Sweet 16! Finished 24-6 on the season and those 24 wins are more than the combined total of wins over the last 5 seasons (20).

The first phase of recruiting came and went. I was after all Late signees, so nothing to report there.

With this Sweet 16 appearance, I am hoping the prestige goes up to a B+, but I would imagine it will just go up to a B. Maybe Odell Frey leaving and getting drafted will bump us up to B+.

Frey is currently listed as the top prospect on the Draft Board, so I'd imagine he will be a top 3 pick in the draft.

With Frey and the three seniors leaving, we lose about 30 points per game. Plenty of firepower coming back though, so I'd imagine we can patch that 30 points back in.

If I can land a couple of solid recruits, then another NT appearance is likely, but if not, we will have to struggle for the PI.

Prestige bumped from C+ to B. With Odell Frey leaving for the NBA, that puts me at 4 openings now.

Here is a look at the roster that will be coming back:

• Marvin Taylor - PG - lost some Work Ethic, because I didn't hit the promised minutes mark. Not a big deal, but did stunt his growth just a little.
• Karl Fitzgerald - PG - will be the starter next season. He has progressed nicely. Hope to max out on a few areas before he leaves. Ideally, he is a guy that I would have red-shirted, but with this rebuild, I did not have that luxury.
• Christopher Roth - SF - This guy continues to grow at a rapid pace. 209 points in two seasons and still going.
• Victor Ellerbe - SG - has been very solid for me so far. SR season coming up, so I expect some bigger numbers from him.
• David Flynt - SG/SF - here is another guy that I'll need big numbers from next season. Very stable player with excellent ball handling and passing from the wing positions.
• Louis Kozak - PF/C - His rebounding has not progressed as I had hoped, but he is still a solid rotational player off the bench.
• Dylan Monks - PF/C - Has a long way to go to reach his potential still. He will remain a starter next season, most likely.
• Ernest Bourque - PF/C - Has come a long way in two seasons. At 141 points of growth already, he has quite a bit more to go before he maxes out.

Overall, we lost 29.4 points per game with our three seniors graduating and Frey leaving early. Here is a look at those players:

• Thomas Murdock - Came in as a 622 overall rated SF. Wasn't highly ranked, but he was a guy that helped me with my first class. Not a program changer in the sense of what kind of player he actually was, but he helped fill a ton of minutes and really helped push me forward. 800+ career points and 105 steals.
• Corey Bennett - Another guy that filled a lot of minutes early on for this program. Didn't see the floor much this season, so he had a big decline in work ethic. 600+ and 100+ steals for his career.
• Hans Zachery - Came in as a 497 overall rated center from Russia. Leaves at 760 overall. Started 55 games the last two seasons and provided some great rotational help. 574 points and 561 rebounds for his career to go along with 86 blocks and 57 steals. This is the kind of contribution a Fastbreak/Fullcourt Press team needs at the end of their bench.
• Odell Frey - JR (early entry) - I was really sweating it out last season. If he left, I don't have a 24-6 season this season and I definitely don't make the national tournament. Ended up at 1011 overall rating and is easily the main player that has helped turned this program around. While his stats don't really blow you away, I had to play him at point guard this season, to help get others built up behind him. Averaged just under 11 points per game for his career here, leaving with over 900 points scored, and 300+ rebounds in 84 career starts. He will be a top 3 pick in the draft.

This is great at really helpful. Thanks for writing this up!