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

[CoachC]

good news for you, PG! after the tragic bus crash, all the surviving members of my top 20 UNM team want to transfer to your school. Some of these guys can play!

[PointGuard]

good news for you, PG! after the tragic bus crash, all the surviving members of my top 20 UNM team want to transfer to your school. Some of these guys can play!

Cool...we don't have much money up in New Hampshire, so...they can use their old jerseys...just leave the "NEW" in place and past "HAMPSHIRE" over "MEXICO".

With regard to "tragic bus crash", your players will probably fit right in since my coaching has often been likened to a "train wreck".

[CoachC]

rotfl!

[PointGuard]

Here's how the 2019 Pro Draft unfolded:

[PointGuard]

We have 4 scholarships to fill. We hope to pick up a guard, small forward, and 2 big men but also will consider the best player we can get regardless of position. We prefer to recruit high school seniors but also will be looking at JC players.

Again the pickings are slim for high school recruits from New Hampshire. And the highest rated high school prospects from New Hampshire are weak academically. There are a couple good JC power forwards in New Hampshire, but I don’t expect them to commit early, so will focus on them after the summer.

We attended the Indy Elite Camp. 27 of the recruits on our initial list of prospects were at that camp.

Later in the summer we attended the Big Apple Showcase. 32 of the recruits on our initial list of prospects were at that camp.

We go after some big fish to start and get shot down by 3 of the 4 to whom we make offer. We lose a few more as the early commitment period continues, but we’re losing them to strong programs. In early October, we finally land our first recruit:

SF DeVante Smith, 6-8 HS Sr, Burlington, NC, 3.0 GPA. Last year’s stats: 19.0 ppg, 0.7 apg, 3.2 rpg, 0.5 spg, 0.3 bpg. A very good scorer with both good inside and outside shooting skills, a weak rebounder (particularly for his size), athletic, a hard worker, was in the top 25 at the Big Apple Showcase. Ranked 164th highest recruit in the nation. Overall Rating: B

We still have scholarship tenders out to 3 other players (2 high school seniors and a JC player). They are showing interest but don’t seem ready to commit.

[PointGuard]

SG Bobby Havens has been nominated for the prestigious Norton Award.

[PointGuard]

We schedule a much more challenging pre-conference schedule this year:

Home Pre-Conference Games: St. Francis, Washington State, Bowling Green, Purdue, Penn State, George Washington, Wyoming

Away Pre-Conference Games: #25 New Mexico, Massachusetts, Seton Hall, Mississippi State

[PointGuard]

I would like to redshirt two freshmen, PG Heinrich Neubauer and SG Rashun House, but there is so little depth at the guard positions that I am forced to keep them on the active roster.

[PointGuard]

We have a strong first five and some good inside depth. But the depth at our perimeter positions could present us with problems this year, particularly when we get into foul trouble or if there is an injury.

Starting Lineup:

PG—Vernard Strickland, 6-0 Sr, Stuarts Draft, VA, 4.0 GPA, 4.0/4.0 stars (durable player , very good passer and ball handler, strong defensively, good jump shot but doesn’t shoot much or well from outside the arc, 10.4 ppg, 3.5 apg, 2.8 rpg last year)

SG—Bobby Havens, 6-2 Sr, Waterford, WI, 3.6 GPA, 3.5/4.0 stars (after playing two strong years at Wisconsin, Bobby transferred to New Hampshire and improved on his previously very strong offensive production (23.8 ppg), won the America East Player of the Year award and was 1st Team All-Conference, a Norton Award nominee this year, pure scorer mentality)

SF—Bryon Windlan, 6-7 So, St. Johnsbury, VT, 4.0 GPA, 2.0/3.0 stars (transferred from Western Carolina where he played well coming off the bench as a freshman, good shooter who hopefully will put some points on the board for us this year, a scrapper on the court with outstanding durability)

PF—Jake Watson, 6-8 Sr, Petersborough, NH, 3.3 GPA, 2.0/3.0 stars (a natural center, but played well for us last year at both center and power forward, 2.3 ppg and 2.4 rpg last year, good shot selection, good rebounder, excellent shot blocker)

C—Andrew Kresse, 6-10 Jr, Stanley, WI, 4.0 GPA, 3.0/4.0 stars (transferred from Notre Dame after a very solid freshman year there, played well for us last year, particularly late in the year, very strong in the post, rebounding skills are improving, 7.0 ppg and 5.7 rpg last year)

Bench:

PG—Heinrich Neubauer, 6-3 Fr, Stuttgart, Germany, 3.2 GPA, 1.0/3.5 stars (great secondary school player in Germany last year, excellent shooter, but will have to work hard to learn the American game this year, extremely durable with great athleticism)

SG—Andrew Smith, 6-3 Sr, Millbury, MA, 3.9 GPA, 2.0/3.0 stars (likely will also fill in at the point this year, has had minimal time on the court in his first 3 years at New Hampshire, but we need him to step it up this year, great durability and athleticism, 1.3 ppg, 0.6 rpg last year)

SG—Rashun House, 6-3 Fr, Langdon, NH, 3.6 GPA, 1.0/4.0 stars (very strong player at the high school level last year, aggressive shooter with good jump shot, driving, and outside shooting, probably at least a year away from becoming a very good college SG)

SF—Brad Reid, 6-6 Fr, Erie, PA, 3.7 GPA, 1.5/4.0 stars (redshirt last year, developing quickly, not afraid to take shots so hopefully will produce well coming off the bench this year)

SF—Aaron Jones, 6-5 Sr, Pembroke, NH, 3.3 GPA, 1.5/1.5 stars (walk-on, can play well in the post, good rebounder, not likely to be a big scorer, plays bigger than he is)

PF—Vinston O’Conner, 6-7 Jr, Exeter, NH, 3.7 GPA, 2.0/4.0 stars (redshirted as a freshman, then played sparingly the last 2 years, not a big scorer but a strong rebounder, 1.0 ppg, 1.2 rpg last year)

PF—Kory Finley, 6-7 So, Bear, DE, 3.6 GPA, 1.0/3.5 stars (redshirt last year after playing little as a freshman, good insider shooter, but still developing his over-all game)

C—Chris Babul, 6-10 Sr, Exeter, NH, 3.0 GPA, 1.5/1.0 stars (walk-on, playing time has diminished due to our bringing in more talented young players, but a valuable player for us off the bench, good rebounder who can occasionally surprise with strong offensive games, great at drawing fouls, 1.1 ppg and 2.1 rpg last year)

Ineligible due to transferring:

PG—Kueth Kirtz, 6-0 So, Taylorville, IL, 3.7 GPA, 3.0/3.0 stars (very strong player at Southern Illinois last year as a freshman, won The Valley Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman Player of the Year Awards plus was 1st Team All-Conference, excellent scorer (17.4 ppg) and strong rebounder (4.1 rpg), gppd 3-point shooter, excellent passer but needs to work on his ball-handling skills, will be a big asset next year when he’s eligible to play for us)

SG—Albert Howard, 6-5 Jr, New Martinsville, WV, 3.2 GPA, 3.0/4.0 stars (transferred from Virginia where he scored 12.3 ppg as a freshman and then was academically ineligible his sophomore year, good shooter from all parts of the court, strong rebounder, good defender)

[JMD]

And entering this season, we have so many questions:
When will UNH rise above?

When will Albany fold?

Why are UNM students suddenly deciding to go to UNH?