Philly Gym Rat (The Perry “QM” McMullin Story)

[PointGuard]

Mike Settles returned home to be a part of his dad’s auto dealership in Santa Rosa. California. He’s still needs a few units before he can get his business degree, but plans to finish those up at Sonoma State University. I think his dad plans on grooming him to be able to handle a new auto dealership that the family wants to open in Napa.

David Johnson will be attending the Oregon State University this fall and entering graduate school to work toward his PhD in economics. He wants to eventually go into international finance.

Johnny Chase was hired by BP Oil and has moved to Houston, Texas to work in their offices there. He called me yesterday and said he thought he knew what HOT was after living in Bakersfield, but now that he’s in Houston, he knows what HOT and HUMID is.

Carlos Holmes got his degree in criminology and moved to Sacramento where he is attending the Sacramento police academy.

Bobby Rivera got married immediately after graduating and was hired by the Los Angeles School District to work in their community outreach department where his Spanish language skills will come in exceedingly handy.

Oh…and Greg Bivins, the outstanding PG who ended his eligibility a year ago? He still hasn’t gotten his degree, but is working on it intermittently. He was able to get a spot on an NBA Development League team, but he got little playing time and finally saw that the NBA wasn’t going to ever be knocking on his door. He left the team at the end of the year and is travelling in Europe right now. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him try to get onto a European League team somewhere.

[CoachC]

Jerrel Brown was one and done, hired an agent before the may 31st deadline, thus nullifying his amateur status. He was picked 5th round by the Charlotte Hornets. He was last known to be shopping himself among Israeli club teams.

[PointGuard]

Jerrel Brown was one and done, hired an agent before the may 31st deadline, thus nullifying his amateur status. He was picked 5th round by the Charlotte Hornets. He was last known to be shopping himself among Israeli club teams.

Oh my...yet another undocumented and unfounded posting in the blogosphere. Jerell got a good laugh out of it, though.

[PointGuard]

I sit down with Atheletic Director Benson Jones. He gives me some compliments about the job I’ve done in my first two years at CSU Bakersfield, but confirms my suspicions…expectations are increasing.

He asks me how I think each of the players are progressing. I give him a run-down:

PG Rashun Kamara is making steady progress and played better as the year progressed last year. He’s very good at pushing the ball upcourt and he’s becoming a much better floor general. He’s able to occasionally put some big offensive numbers on the board. He is likely to see some good minutes this year. He has a 3.0 GPA so shouldn’t have any academic problems this year. His relationship with the team and me is strong and he has a good personality and work ethic.

PG Darius Dunn should be a capable handling the 1 for us this year, but my initial impression of him is not as strong as how he was ranked nationally last year. I’m hopeful he can surprise me and become a major component of this team, but he’s going to have to prove himself. He had a 2.4 GPA in JC, so I’m going to be getting a tutor for him over the summer to give him a boost academically. He has a great work ethic and strong personality so I think he will fit in well with the team. His desire for big minutes may cause problems since he may have a tough time making the starting lineup.

SG Jerell Brown is an All-American. Not much to say beyond that except that I think he may score less this year than last since I believe Ali Lyde will put some points on the board for us this year. I’m hopeful that will mean Jerell’s shot selection can improve so his shooting percentage improves. He has some strong passing skills, so he’ll probably improve on the number of assists he dished out to others this year. His exceptional defensive skills will be a key to how we play this year. His personality is exceptional so he’s well-liked by everyone, but his work ethic is low…that could keep him from developing. He has a 3.6 GPA, so no problems there.

SG Kevin Hill will again likely spend a lot of time at PG for us this year. His ball handling is improving and with the experience he gained at the 1 last year, I think he will be a more effective PG than he was last year. Whether he starts at PG is dependent upon how Kamara and Dunn perform once practice begins this fall. Hill lost confidence in his shot last year since he was concentrating on trying to run the team. It’s important he regain his confidence, since 2 years ago he showed he has the touch. His personality and work ethic leave little to be wished for. And his GPA is 3.7 so we have no worried about him academically.

SG Jason Nurse really has improved his skills as the result of redshirting last year. Since we have a number of very good SG’s, Jason will still have difficulty getting a lot of minutes, but as a redshirt sophomore this year, I’m hopeful he continues to improve and thus become a key player after this year in his last 2 years of eligibility. He’s a hard worker so that’s a definite possibility. His relationship with me isn’t that great, but now that he will be active, maybe it will improve. His relationship with the team is good, though. His GPA is 3.6, so he’s solid academically.

SG Andrew Powers is developing well and could be a key player for us this year, most probably as a 6th or 7th man. He shot well from both the 2 and 3 (when we were playing a small lineup) positions giving us a lift at times when we needed it. He’s a hard worker but his off-hand comments occasionally can rub some of the players the wrong way. For his height, he’s a very good rebounder, so playing him at the 3 isn’t a liability on the boards. He’s also a good shot blocker so can defend against taller players. He’s doing well with his classes and has a 3.5 GPA.

SF Justin Williams generally played well last year as a starter, but was inconsistent. He has the capability to be a stalwart for us at the 3. He’s a tremendously hard worker, so I expect him to be stronger this year than last. He’s a good defender and racks up his share of steals and blocks. His GPA is 3.7.

SF Jeremy Jones played a few exceptional games, even though his minutes generally were limited last year. His skills are improving so he could challenge Justin Williams this year to start at the 3. He’s an aggressive rebounder. I’d like him to be a more aggressive shooter also, since he hits shots at a high percentage. He’s a strong defender. He has occasional problems with his relationship with his teammates but has a great work ethic. Jeremy is our star academically, holding a 4.0 GPA.

SF Ammer Self continues to develop but still has quite a ways to go before he can get many minutes on the floor. Defensively he’s weak. He’s not yet become confident enough to play at the level to which he is capable. At best, I see him as a role player. His relationship with me needs strengthening and he also needs to fit in better with his teammates. His GPA is now 3.8.

PF Ali Lyde should be a key player for us this year and really strengthen us on the inside. I expect him to take on a big part of the scoring for us and he’s a strong rebounder as well. He’s an exceptionally strong defender. He has a good personality so will fit in well on this team and is a hard worker. He had a 2.5 GPA at his JC, so we will be using a tutor to give him a good start academically here.

PF C. J. Galloway didn’t gain much from redshirting during his freshman year and as a redshirt freshman didn’t have the skills to play much last year. He’s still not developed and I have my doubts that he will ever really be able to contribute much for us. I’m tempted to cut him and may do so if there is a very good transfer player this year that I think we have a good shot to get. He has yet to establish a strong relationship with me, but he gets along well with his teammates. He has a 3.4 GPA.

C Marcelle Pastner is a bit more raw than I had hoped. It’s possible I may redshirt him this year, but I’m not yet sure since we have so little depth up front this year. Offensively he looks to have well-developed skills, but he needs to work on his rebounding and defensive skills. He has the innate abilities though, and because he’s a hard worker, I expect him to be a key player upfront for us in the future. He has an exceptional personality so should be a good team builder for us. He had a 2.9 GPA, so I’m going to use tutors to get him on track here.

C Josh Brown redshirted last year as a sophomore. I think he benefitted from that. We will need him to develop quickly because we need him to be able to become an anchor for us upfront. He has yet to develop consistency and become confident that he can take on the starting role at the 5 for us. He’s a tough guy who is very durable. He gets along well with everyone and works hard. His GPA is 3.6.

Since both of our walk-ons graduated last year, we need to fill those slots, hopefully with at least one player who can contribute upfront immediately.
We discuss scheduling and I ask him to try to get us a few good teams at home. He says that will be difficult to do, but he will do his best. I don’t think we are yet ready to take on strong teams when we’re playing on the road.

He asks about my brother, Sean. I tell him he’s doing better than I expected in his new job as a farm worker, but time will tell.

[PointGuard]

We have $74,200 in our recruiting budget. We buy the basic Western Report and the basic National Report since we plan to venture outside California this year to go after some high school seniors. I know it will be difficult, but recruiting will be critical this year since we have 5 scholarships to fill. I’d like to get some good high school players but know we will also have to look at JC players.

We decide to travel to just one summer camp, the Las Vegas Revue. This leaves us with a recruiting budget of $54,500 for recruiting.
As the recruiting season begins I’m hopeful to pick up a PG, SF, and C, then get the two best other players we can recruit.

In early September we make an offer to the top recruit from California (and #7 rated player in the nation). He’s shown some interest in us, so while I feel it’s a long shot, I decide to make an early offer to him. He informs later that week that he’s chosen Kansas but that it was close. I think he was just trying to let us down gently.

During the summer we had drummed up interest in some recruits, but not white hot interest in any of them. On September 11, we make offers to 5 of those players (4 HS seniors and 1 Juco player), and I visit 4 of them and making a pitch to them and their parents. 2 of the players choose to go elsewhere (one to Gonzaga and the other to UCLA). Two others indicated they were not interested in us. Obviously we overshot, but we decided to take a shot at some high flyers. We refocused and over the next 4 weeks visited the maximum permissible number of recruits, issued more scholarship offers, rescinding them if the player showed no interest. We end up getting no verbal commitments, but have a couple scholarship offers pending that may be accepted, but probably not until spring. The rest we will hold until spring and see who is available then. Meanwhile we will try to build interest in a number of recruits so will be ready to come to us this spring.

[PointGuard]

After looking at the list of transferees, I seriously consider cutting C. J. Galloway so that we can go after one. I call C. J. in and let him know I an concerned that he won’t be able to contribute enough to get many minutes. He says he really wants to play for us. After an extended conversation, I tell him I’m going to give him a chance, but really need him to step up since we don’t have much depth inside this year. He says he’ll go all out to improve and contribute.

I decide not to cut him and reluctantly forego the opportunity to pursue a transfer player.

[PointGuard]

We add a walk-on PF and a PG to fill out our roster.

PF Terrance Wiatre, a 6-8 sophomore, adds some depth inside and should seem some minutes even though he probably won’t give us much offensively.

PG Michael Curry, a 6-3 sophomore, is unlikely to play much but adds some depth at the point.

[PointGuard]

The nominations were announced for the prestigious Norton Award. We’re proud that two players on our roster were nominated:

SG Jerell Brown

PG Ali Lyde

[PointGuard]

We have a slightly more difficult schedule this year than last, scheduling some better teams at home, but trying to keep the competition level in check so we have a chance in all the games.

Pre-Conference Schedule

COLORADO STATE
@ UC Irvine
GEORGIA ST.
@ Stephen F. Austin
CENTRAL FLORIDA
HOFSTRA
@ Davidson
ALABAMA A&M
@ Iona
@ Furman
@ Florida International
@ Bowling Green
IOWA ST.

Conference Schedule

@ Utah Valley
CHICAGO ST.
@ North Dakota
HOUSTON BAPTIST
@ TX Pan American
NEW JERSEY TECH
@ Seattle
UTAH VALLEY
@ Chicato St.
NORTH DAKOTA
@ Houston Baptist
TX PAN AMERICAN
@ New Jersey Tech
SEATTLE

[PointGuard]

Walk-on PG Michael Curry apparently felt he needed to get overly aggressive to try to show he’s ready to play. After he lit into two different players, I called him into my office and told him he needed to chill out a bit. He apologized and said he will settle down and try to get along with the other players. He was true to his word…no more problems out of him during the pre-season practice period.