Two more...

Cody McDaniel (#196 overall, #36 PG) - As usual, it is immensely tough to find good guards. I wound up losing two flips to A+ programs (more on them later), but McDaniel at least provides some sort of depth, and we need that because, other than Mickelsen, there were no guards returning to back up Robert Kinsey and Jason Place next year.

McDaniel, though, is just-OK. He'll wind up being a pretty good point guard thanks to his exceptional passing potential, decent ball handling, and enough outside shooting to where he can't be totally ignored defensively. I also like that he's a pretty good FT shooter, too, and while he's a little slow now, that'll change in time. Defensively, though, he...well, he stinks right now. Thankfully he's got a lot of room to grow in that regard (and at least he knows my M2M set), but I wish his work ethic was a bit higher, because he's going to need a lot of practice time to get there.

For what McDaniel is, he's not a bad get (it also helps that he was cheap and didn't need any promises!). Eventually, he'll be a solid starter, but he's a bit of a project. I wish I could redshirt him and buy him a little more time, but that's probably not going to happen.

Gerald Reeves (JuCo, #123 SF) - Reeves is another "fine for what he is" guy. We'll have him for two seasons, and he comes in as a "jack of all trades, master of none" sort of player. One can get by with players like that getting 10 minutes a game off the bench, though, and that's likely what Reeves will do for us.

From a team-building perspective, though, he actually helps quite a bit (especially given the swings-and-misses of last season and the two lost flips in this one). If he's providing spell time at SF, that means Mickelsen, McDaniel, and anyone else we get (fingers crossed...) can focus on the two guard spots during that time. It's also cool that he's got considerable room to grow, though I'm not sure he'll reach his potential given his limited time with us and a mediocre work ethic.

When I said we were very bubbly, I wasn't kidding, as Richmond was one of the last four teams to make the NT after a 19-win season. There, we gave #4 seed Texas a scare, tying them at the half before running out of gas. There were a few games I'd like to have back, but I can't be too disappointed given the turnaround from the year prior.

Round two of recruiting is underway, and while he's not a star, this guy is going to help us quite a bit...

Darren Ross (#141 PG) - Guard gen remains an issue in recruiting, and that got worse after I lost two expensive battles. Mickelsen will be fine, but I couldn't shake the feeling that McDaniel would be much better off redshirting this year and developing a bit (so that, when he tops out as a senior, he'd have the potential to be a very good starter). In order to do that, I needed a guard that would be a short-term upgrade over him, and I found that in Ross, despite his low ranking.

Ross is topped out defensively, and long-term, that's an issue. Short-term, though, he's better than McDaniel and he knows my defensive set, so he's actually an upgrade. Offensively, he's going to be a very solid pass-first point guard with room to grow. Depending on how high his perimeter potential is, he could see time at both guard spots off the bench as an upperclassman. He'll never be a starter for us, but I see him as a Kenneth White-type from several seasons ago. He was a decent bench player when he was here, and in that role, Ross will be totally fine. If he allows McDaniel to redshirt and develop a year so we're better down the line, that's a huge plus.

- - - - -

RECRUITING GRADE: C/C+.

After the disaster a season ago, I at least filled four of five scholarships and filled a few big needs. Mickelsen, in particular, should help a lot, and he'll play big minutes right away. McDaniel needs some time, but should also turn into a pretty good, useful player, while Reeves is fine as a two-year rental and Ross is fine for eating some minutes off the bench at the PG spot.

Those two battles I lost hurt quite a bit. I was in early on a JuCo guard who would've been a two-year starter, but UConn swooped in and got him in a 70-30 flip. I then focused a lot on a two-star guard and was close to getting him when Michigan came into the picture. He was raw, but would've developed into a very good starter, and losing a 50-50 flip for that guy hurt quite a bit.

The guys I got, though, at least ensure we'll head into the season with some sort of depth. We have to replace quite a bit (Fowler should get drafted, Crespin scored well over 1,000 points, and Seidman developed into a very good two-year starter), and I'm anticipating a step back, but at least it shouldn't be a massive one. If McDaniel is able to redshirt, that would be ideal, and would take this class from "meh" to "slightly above average."

Got a bonus guy I wasn't expecting!

Sean Marsh (#99 C) - Marsh's arrival doesn't move the needle much. He's very slow, he's pretty much topped out offensively, and he'll never start for us. Why, then, did I get him? Well, we've got three soon-to-be seniors in the frontcourt, so depth matters a great deal. I view this similarly to the Darren Ross signing. Like Ross, Marsh will never start, but he does lessen some pressure on next season's recruiting, as we'll at least have a decent rim protector with some experience coming back.

I got Marsh because human-coached Dartmouth (the only school to offer him) had already signed six incoming freshmen. Marsh hadn't signed yet, so he was in purgatory where it showed him as very interested in Dartmouth, but would never play for them. I put my AP's into him thinking it wouldn't be a big deal if he didn't show up (a walk-on wouldn't be the end of the world). However, he signed, and his presence does make things a little easier from a recruiting standpoint next year (even if he's not going to play much at all as a freshman).

It's been chaotic on my end, but for the best possible reasons. Amidst a wedding and honeymoon, Richmond is 21-6 going into the A-10 tournament semifinals. The projection report has us on the right side of the bubble, which is pretty cool since I thought we'd take a step back from last year.

Recruiting's been an adventure, but I filled two of four scholarships in round one...

Tom Conway (#177 overall, #35 SG) - Conway wasn't my biggest priority, as I lost a flip for a five-star guard who would've been an immediate starter. However, he'll be a solid depth guy who'll see plenty of time at SF next year (he's listed as a guard, but his so-so speed makes him a way better fit at SF). His work ethic is strong and there's plenty of room for growth. Down the road, he'll be a very good scorer, a solid rebounder for his position, and a pretty good passer. I wish his defense would be better, but if that gets to around 60, he won't be too much of a liability.

I don't know how much he'll play next year, but at a minimum, he's a good prospect. I wish I didn't have to steal him from a human-coached program (that's just not the way I like to recruit), but I had to do that in this case, and at least it got me a solid player.

William Green (#73 PF) - Sometimes, the WIS rankings make no sense, and that was the case with Green. He's pretty low-ranked, but he's already a solid player who'll get much better in all the key areas. In fact, he'll be our first big off the bench next year, and I'm expecting him to fit right in. Down the road, he'll be a top-notch rebounder and inside scorer, as well as a very solid defender.

His "wing" stats won't be great, save for decent passing down the road, and I wish he'd be a hair more athletic. However, that's picking nits, as while he won't be a star, he'll prove far more useful for us than his ranking indicates.

We made the tournament, but got blown out by a horribly-underseeded UC Riverside team that hadn't lost all season. Oh well, still a solid year on the court.

Recruiting, however, was a struggle, and we finish out our class with a JuCo depth guy.

Dennis Malcom (#199 PG) - Losing that five-star guy hurt. It's always worth going after guys like that, even if you lose the flip, but if you lose, you're scrambling, and that's what happened here.

Malcom won't start for us, but he'll be a decent combo guard off the bench for two years. He'll be very solid offensively in small doses, and while he's not a defensive ace, he's also not a liability (and it helps that he knows the M2M set, too). I poached him from the same school that was also recruiting Conway, and again, I don't feel good about it, but one has to do what one has to do sometimes. Promising 10 minutes per game isn't anything massive, so I was fine with that, and at a minimum, this ensures we've got a bit of depth.

- - - - -

RECRUITING GRADE: C-.

I don't love this group, but it's not a disaster. Green should contribute a bit right away and develop into a very good frontcourt player (I still don't know how he was so low-ranked, but WIS does that sometimes). Conway, meanwhile, will be fine with some time, and Malcom won't be a liability off the bench. We'll need to take a walk-on, but that's fine.

After the whiff two seasons ago and two "meh" classes, we really need to hit a homer soon. Otherwise, we run the risk of backsliding to where I need to look for another job, and I don't want to do that because I'm having a blast in the A-10. Thankfully, our prestige went back up to B with the NT appearance, and that should help a bit in recruiting next season.

It's been a rough year for Richmond. We're 8-14 after dramatically overscheduling our non-conference play, and the combination of losing a few impact seniors and having a couple of "meh" recruiting classes has really hurt us. However, we kick off recruiting by landing a big fish...

Chris Speidel (****, #54 overall, #12 C) - I wound up in flips for my top two prospects. One is still ongoing (fingers crossed...), and this was the other. Fortunately, I won a 50/50 flip with Duke to land a big guy who spawned right here in Richmond.

Speidel knows our sets and is already a fantastic defensive player. He's only going to get better there, too. Offensively, he's...a project, which is why, I imagine, I only had to fend off one higher-prestige program. He's got high low-post potential, which is great, but it'll take a season or two to get him rolling there given his relatively-low work ethic. On the plus side, though, that could be the reason he comes back as a senior. If he was a better scorer, he'd be a big candidate to leave early for the draft.

I had to promise him the world, but he's going to be our starting center for, hopefully, the next four seasons. I really, really like him, and he's got potential to be an elite player.

Brian Edgar (#265 overall, #62 SG) - If you see Edgar as a SG, you see a slow player almost topped out in ball handling. However, if you've followed this thread, you know I love taking slower players that aren't quite fits at SG and moving them to SF. Do that, and you have a guy who's going to be a very good athlete, a top-notch on-ball defender, and, potentially, a versatile scorer who can get points inside and outside. His speed becomes much less of an issue, and he actually becomes a very good distributor from that position.

Edgar's one weakness is in rebounding, and he's a bit overrated because of durability, which doesn't really matter. However, for what he is, he's a very strong prospect, even if he may not play much his first year. In fact, depending on how recruiting goes, he may redshirt. Down the road, though, I think he'll be a very good starter. He just needs some time to grow out of being a little raw coming in.

11-17 last season, and it couldn't end fast enough. Round two of recruiting, however, did at least see us fill our last two scholarships.

Scott Johnson (#168 overall, #30 C) - With the way my team is laid out, Morgan's almost certainly moving to SF next season, which means we need depth up front. Johnson isn't a star, but he's got some abilities that will make him a solid role player. He's going to turn into an excellent rebounder, which is great, and I like that he's got room to improve his wing stats. Down the road, he'll have plenty of speed for the position, as well as pretty strong court vision for a big (which is a plus).

He'll never be a big-time scorer, and while his on-ball defense is solid to start, he won't be a stopper. However, the Green-Speidel combination should be a pretty good one, and if he tops out as our #3 big, that's far from a bad thing, because he'll be reliable in that role and bring some strong things to the table. For what he is, he's fine.

Bruce Daddario (#122 C) - Daddario, meanwhile, won't play much for us this year, and probably not much any seasons after that, either. However, in the vein of Sean Marsh from a few seasons ago, he alleviates some pressure and gives us a bit more depth. I was flying blind here, as my scouting budget got exhausted before finding him. I noticed a few low-D1, human-coached programs were in on him, so I took a gamble.

All told, it's not like he's awful. He'll actually be a pretty solid defender, with OK rebounding abilities and decent athleticism. He won't start for us, but as a depth, "better than taking a walk-on" guy goes, I could've done worse (and if I'm in position to cut him down the line, I'm not afraid to do that, either).

- - - - -

RECRUITING GRADE: B.

There's more good news than bad news here. Most obviously, Speidel is a stud. He'll slide right into the starting lineup, stay there for several seasons, and give us stability. Edgar needs time, but once he develops, he'll be a defensive stopper and a good complementary scorer on offense. Johnson wasn't a bad pickup, either, and as a depth guy, he'll be perfectly acceptable.

If I got those three guys, plus a guard I REALLY wanted, we'd be talking about an A-/A class. However, I lost a coin flip to Maryland for that guy, and he would've been a legitimate four-year starter. I have no regrets about going after him, as I gave myself every chance, but losing out on him certainly hurt.

We're going to need guards in a big way next season, and if I don't get them, I may be looking (I lost out on Florida State this time around; I didn't expect them to come open, but the former East Tennessee State coach beat me out for it). This at least gives us something resembling a foundation, though, so it could've been a lot worse.

I had no hopes for this season, but we've at least clawed out a winning record at 15-11. Recruiting, however, was a major challenge, and it may ensure this being my last season here. We had two spots to fill. The good news is we filled them. The bad news...

Nicholas Vogel (#89 PG) - In the past, I've said a few crops of recruits are bad. This crop, however, is the worst I've ever seen. Power programs were coming way, way down to poach players, and that squeezed out everyone below them. I had three prospects in the "get at least one and we'll be OK" tier. Two of them had multiple power programs come in on the first cycle. I battled for a third and lost a 55-45 flip as a slight favorite to James Madison, and while he was alright, it's not like he was a star.

This meant I had to scramble and settle. Vogel, thankfully, was right in Richmond, so it's not like I had to go far, and it's not like he has no redeeming qualities. He's a decent shooter that will turn into a solid (if unspectacular) defender, and he'll get better in distributing/taking care of the ball. The downsides are that he's topped out athletically and as a shooter, so his ceiling is pretty low. As a second-stringer, he likely won't be overwhelmed. If he ever starts, we've got a problem.

Howard Taylor (#180 PG) - Taylor, meanwhile, is an all-caps "PROJECT." He's raw, and he needs time to develop. On the plus side, the potential is there for him to eventually be a useful player. He's going to get far more athletic, he's got at least some room to grow everywhere, and depending on just how "very high" his potential is in shooting and passing, he could turn into a pretty solid combo guard.

If I'm around, he'll redshirt next year, sit as a redshirt freshman the year after, and get plenty of room to grow. If that happens, he could turn into a valuable sixth man/"fifth starter" type of player. He's not ranked highly, but he's also not a terrible get.

- - - - -

RECRUITING GRADE: C-.

Every school had to scramble, to some extent, because of how terrible the recruit gen was this time around. I'm a bit relieved to have found two guys who aren't wastes of scholarships, and that's enough for at least a passing grade. However, it also probably means I'm job-hunting at the end of the season. There are some pieces left here (Chris Spiedel will be great, William Mickelsen will be a senior, William Green won't be bad, and there are a few other decent role-players who may get better), but it's a far cry from a few pages ago when we were competitive at a national level.