Where There's a Wil, There's a Way

[Wayne23]

Great stuff!

[3manweave]

September 18th, 2020

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) -- Youngstown State has just released their full 2020-2021 men's basketball schedule to the public. It's been known for several months that the team would be playing at Nebraska to begin the season, but the schedule was finalized late last night.

In addition to Nebraska, they will also be hitting the state of Colorado twice in the span of a couple of weeks, once at Colorado State on November 26th, and then again on December 10th. Kasten will also return to San Diego on December 3rd to face off against the Toreros. He began his college coaching career there as an assistant in 2015.

They'll play non-conference home dates on November 23rd against Richmond, November 30th against Troy, and they'll face off against Montana State on December 14th. They begin the conference portion of the schedule on December 28th against Wright State at home.

"We're pretty happy with the schedule. Scheduling is never perfect, but I think there's some really tough tests for us this year in the non-conference that will get us ready for Horizon League play," said head coach Wil Kasten. "(Athletic Director) Nathan (Scott) and (basketball SID) Britani (Benson) have been instrumental in helping me get this done."

Here is the schedule in its entirety (Horizon League games in bold):

November 16, 2020 -- @ Nebraska
November 19, 2020 -- @ Eastern Illinois
November 23, 2020 -- vs. Richmond
November 26, 2020 -- @ Colorado State
November 30, 2020 -- vs. Troy
December 3, 2020 -- @ San Diego
December 6, 2020 -- @ Cornell
December 10, 2020 -- @ Colorado
December 14, 2020 -- vs. Montana State
December 17, 2020 -- @ East Carolina
December 21, 2020 -- @ Quinnipiac
December 28, 2020 -- vs. Wright State
December 31, 2020 -- @ UI-Chicago
January 4, 2021 -- vs. Valparaiso
January 7, 2021 -- @ Cleveland State
January 11, 2021 -- Oakland
January 18, 2021 -- @ Green Bay
January 21, 2021 -- vs. Milwaukee
January 25, 2021 -- @ Detroit
January 28, 2021 -- @ Wright State
February 1, 2021 -- UI-Chicago
February 4, 2021 -- @ Valparaiso
February 8, 2021 -- vs. Cleveland State
February 11, 2021 -- @ Oakland
February 18, 2021 -- vs. Green Bay
February 22, 2021 -- @ Milwaukee
February 25, 2021 -- vs. Detroit

[3manweave]

[October 1st, 2020 - Wil's office, Beeghly Center]

After a morning meeting to discuss the beginning of practice tomorrow with my assistants, I called walk-on point guard Darrell Williams to come to my office as soon as he could. Darrell was a popular, well-regarded student on campus; he was a three-year starter at quarterback for the Penguins' football team, was a representative in YSU's student government, and was an engineering major. However, he had completed four years of football eligibility and completed his degree in less than four years. In recent years, it has become popular for football players (especially quarterbacks) to play out their final year of eligibility at another school (a la Russell Wilson), but Darrell decided to stay at Youngstown to pursue his master's degree.

I offered him a spot several months ago with no guarantee soon after Jared Jackson decided to transfer, and he still was interested enough to take it. But throughout summer workouts, he has shown great leadership and I've grown to trust the other players' judgment when it comes to their peers since I couldn't see for myself. So, when he arrived, I had him sit down. "You're going to want to be sitting down for this," I told him. "I met with the coaching staff, and we're offering you a full year of graduate tuition, and we want you to come in and be our starting point guard."

Being the low-key, professional person he was, he bluntly said, "Coach, I don't want the job handed to me...I appreciate the scholarship offer, but I want to work for my playing time."

Jackpot. I made the right decision here. I needed someone that is a "glue" type player, and has some pull within the student-athlete community here. With Jared Jackson gone, I don't have anyone that can play the point and be the on-court leader. Darrell came along, and he fits the bill perfectly.

"So, is that a yes?" I asked. He smiled and said, "Of course. Thanks, Coach!"

[3manweave]

[October 9th, 2020 - Wil's office, Beeghly Center]

Practice had just wrapped up for the day, and I had just settled into my office to pour over some notes, when I heard an excited yell from the next office over, which was Brian's office. "Coach, good news - Shaun Hayes just called and said that he's committing to us, and signing in November." He had just came roaring into my office with the good news. "He wants to speak with you, Wil." He handed me his cellphone.

I stood up and fist-pumped as I grabbed the phone from him. "Shaun! How are things?"

There was a pause at the other end. "Coach, I just wanted to let you know that my visit a few weeks back went really well, and I've made my decision. I'm committing to your program, and shutting down my recruitment. I'll be signing with you in the early period," he said.

"That's the best news I've heard today, or in a very long time," I said. "To be curious, what was the factor for you choosing our scholarship offer?"

"I just felt a comfort level with you and your staff that I didn't feel anywhere else," he said. "Plus, it's close to home and my parents can come see me play."

"Well, no matter the reason, we're thrilled that you've decided to come to Youngstown," I said excitedly. "We're going to be really thin on the frontcourt next year, and we're also hoping to bring in some others around you to help us out."

"Keep me posted, Coach. I'm looking forward to getting there next season. I'll talk to you later." He then hung up.

[JMD]

CONTENT REMOVED BY MODERATOR

[3manweave]

[October 26th, 2020 - Horizon League media days, Cleveland]

Walking into Quicken Loans Arena for the first time for the Horizon League media meeting was a surreal feeling - I had never been to a media day as a player or coach. Each member school was allowed to bring two players. I brought Alan Gailey, a senior forward, and Darrell Williams. Nathan also had Britani tag along to help me out.

It was our turn in front of the cameras first up, so I didn't really have time to shake off the nerves. I had been on the radio several times, and even out in public promoting the program. Getting in front of a TV camera was a different beast. During the session with the media, I felt my phone vibrate.

Once the session was over, I looked to see who had called, but I didn't recognize the number. I opened the voicemail that was left, and it was Nathan Scott's wife, Bethany. She had gotten my number from his phone that he had left at home, and called to tell me that he left last night and didn't return. She also filed a missing person report, according to the voice mail.

I immediately pulled Alan and Darrell away as soon as I could, and told the reporters in attendance that we had an emergency that we needed to attend to. I found Britani and gathered the other two around.

I let out a sigh before speaking. "Nathan's wife found my number, and she called to let me know that he's been missing for twenty-four hours, and just got back from the police station to file a missing person report," I said. "His car is gone, he left his phone at home, and he didn't have any prior engagements at the time he left."

Britani looked horrified. "What do we do about the media days? I hate for us to leave, but we can't in all good conscience stay here," she said.

"We don't have a choice," I said. Two damn weeks before the season opener...man, I hope he's okay. "I've already told the officials in charge here that we have an emergency to take care of, so we're good to go." We piled into the van, and headed back towards Youngstown.