By Sam Federman
Once the dust of the coaching carousel settles, the new staffs around the country have to move quickly to build even a respectable roster. With the amount of players that enter the transfer portal following a coaching change, and the speed with which the transfer portal moves, it's impossible to have any downtime. A new head coach must put together his staff, and move to fill up the remaining scholarships, many of whom need to fill eight, nine, or even ten or more spots on the roster. Because of the number of players that need to be added to a roster, it's extremely difficult to build a coherent roster in year one on the fly without some sacrifice, and there are more examples of teams just throwing rosters together than putting together one that will compete at the top of the conference. However, here are a few coaches who defied the odds.
Josh Schertz - Saint Louis
For Saint Louis' new head coach Josh Schertz, the midtown rebuild began with bringing two of his stars from his previous stop, Indiana State, with him. Robbie Avila will continue to delight the masses on social media with his goggles while providing a unique skillset at the five that is crucial to the system that Schertz will implement. Isaiah Swope led the Missouri Valley in three-pointers made playing as a hybrid combo guard in a backcourt that moved the ball around like a hot potato.
As bad as Saint Louis was last year, three players from that team will return, including sixth-year sharpshooter Gibson Jimerson, who had initially entered the portal and garnered interest from top-tier high-major programs but decided to return to SLU.
Perhaps my favorite of SLU's additions is Brown transfer forward Kalu Anya. A maniac on the glass, Anya was the only non-center in the Ivy League's top five total rebounding leaders. He played his best basketball toward the end of the season, scoring key baskets and grabbing huge rebounds during Bruno's surge.
AJ Casey, Josiah Dotzler, and Kobe Johnson come down from the high-major level, and should all contribute as well.
John Jakus - Florida Atlantic:
Replacing Dusty May is no easy task, but John Jakus has assembled a tremendous staff and a talented roster to help keep FAU's momentum rolling. With a step-up in basketball spending and donor interest, May dragged the job from one of the worst in Conference USA into a desirable American Conference position.
Jakus hired Gannon (D2) head coach Jordan Fee, who engineered one of the most impressive coaching jobs in all of college basketball this season, taking GU from a three-win team to 32-3 and the Elite Eight. The former Jim Crutchfield assistant returns to South Florida after just one season in his native Erie.
While he was, predictably, unable to retain the core of the Owl roster, Jakus added a plethora of impact players from the mid-major ranks. Leland Walker, one of ASUN champion Eastern Kentucky's big three, will run the point in Boca Raton. He's joined in the backcourt by All-CUSA combo guard KyKy Tandy, who broke out as a dynamic scorer at Jacksonville State after spending four seasons at Xavier. AJ Staton-McCray was arguably the second-best player on a team that came inches away from 30 wins and a first-round upset of Kansas.
Kaleb Glenn had a solid freshman season at Louisville and will add athleticism to the frontcourt. The Owls also are the rumored favorite for Florida State transfer Baba Miller, an athletic 6-11 forward who could start at center for FAU. Should Miller commit, the starting five transfers would have the Owls as a projected contender in the AAC.
Preston Spradlin - James Madison:
Former Morehead State head coach Preston Spradlin has made a strong impression with his debut roster at James Madison. While 32-4 probably isn't repeatable, at least not right away, this still looks like a group that should have a ton to say about who gets the Sun Belt's automatic bid.
The top player on Spradlin's 2022-23 regular season champion group at MSU, OVC Player of the Year Mark Freeman, follows his coach after missing the entirety of last season with an injury. Freeman gives JMU a confident and proven presence at the point guard position who is extremely familiar with Spradlin's system.
Also coming from Morehead State, 6-7 wing/forward Eddie Ricks was one of the top freshmen in the OVC and is bound for a strong sophomore campaign.
He'll have to earn his minutes, as Luke Anderson, Division II All-American at Florida Southern, will likely start at the four spot. Additionally, Spradlin brought in Southern Indiana wing AJ Smith, a physical double-digit scorer, and Syracuse wing Justin Taylor looks to bounce back from an abysmal sophomore slump coming closer to home.
Returning guard Xavier Brown would've been a good starter, but will excel as Freeman's backup and potentially play a bunch of minutes at the shooting guard spot.
In the middle, Elijah Hutchins-Everett surprisingly left Seton Hall, where he would've been the starter, for JMU, and Ebenezer Dowuona comes in from Georgia Tech.