Sportswire03/09 02:14 AM

bomberball - ready for challenge at Wake Forest - named as new head coach. Officials at Richmond shocked by departure.

I didn't have a return to major-conference HD on my bingo card, but when Wake Forest came available, I had to apply. The Demon Deacons return everybody from a 19-win team, boast a B+ prestige, and should have every chance to be competitive in a top-tier conference right off the rip.

I'll have three walk-ons to replace in round two of recruiting. If I can get a rotational guy or two, I'll be pretty happy. As it stands now, though, I think we're in position to make some noise next season, and I'm happy to be here.

We did...okay this season. Not great, and we lost quite a few close games (my Richmond luck, or lack thereof, carried over), but we're at least on the NT bubble (if faintly so) with a 15-11 regular season in the books.

My first round of recruiting at the high-D1 level in many years, however, got off to a solid start...

Brian Dejohn (**, #104 overall, #25 C) - Dejohn is underrated by WIS because he was initially ineligible. However, he got his test scores up, and I'm pleased to have him. He's already a decent player, and he'll grow quite a bit in some areas that really matter. He'll wind up a very good athlete, a top-notch rebounder, a strong defender, and even a solid FT shooter for a big man. From a "key skills" standpoint, there isn't much to nitpick here. He's a hair raw in some ways, but his potential is strong.

I do wish he knew my sets, and he's not a great passer (which may be annoying in the motion offense). With two bigs graduating, he'll play quite a bit next season, probably more than he should (I promised 15 minutes, and he'll get that). However, down the road, he'll be a very good player, if not quite a star. I fended off a brief challenge from Auburn, and I'm happy to have him in the fold.

Alan Waldman (#237 overall, #49 C, Washington DC Mr. Basketball) - Waldman was the other frontcourt body to sign early, and everything about him screams "role-player." Defensively, he's already very, very good. He's a great athlete who knows my sets and is already strong on that end of the floor in every possible way. He's a true rim-protector, and those are valuable.

Offensively, however...he stinks. While he'll get a little better down the road, there's just no way around that. However, while he'll get 10 minutes per game as a freshman, he doesn't need to start, and he shouldn't ever need to. He's the guy who'll consistently be the #3 or #4 big on the team who can step in and get blocks and rebounds, and there's value to that (especially since I landed him pretty cheaply following a brief skirmish with West Virginia). For what he is, he's fine.

We got bounced out of the PI very quickly and finished at 15-13. Two guys getting drafted (one EE) meant our prestige stays at B+ for another year, and we did land a pretty big fish in round two of recruiting...

Matthew Zirkle (****, #37ish overall, #8 C, VA Mr. Basketball) - I've been on vacation and wasn't able to post his recruit profile before round two ended. I'm not sure of his exact ranking other than somewhere in the high-30's, but I've got the other information, and almost all of it's good.

Zirkle is going to be a pretty outstanding big guy. He's a very good athlete who'll only get better there, and he'll turn into a top-notch rebounder and on-ball defender. He's not a great scorer right now, but he'll turn into a very good one in due time, and his ball-handling and passing skills are solid for his position, too. They, combined with not-terrible speed, actually give him enough versatility to potentially move to SF, if we need him to do that.

The one bit of bad news: He's ineligible and won't play this season. That's a bit of a bummer because he's a legitimately good prospect who would've seen time this year. In fact, I promised him a start and 25 minutes in recruiting to ward off my old friends at La Salle, and while he'd have been a LITTLE out of place starting the year, he'd have developed pretty quickly and not been a liability by the end of the season (that now happens next year, where he'll start at either SF or PF). I expect him to get drafted, and I wouldn't be totally shocked if he left a year early.

- - - - -

RECRUITING GRADE: B.

The good news is that we set up our frontcourt for success in the years ahead. Zirkle's going to be very good, Dejohn's going to be solid, and Waldman is a perfect #3 big that will be able to protect the rim and give our guys a breather. That was one of my main objectives, and I don't think I could've done a much better job than I did.

The bad news is that I struck out on guards. Miami descended upon my top initial target, who I'd have gladly started at SF this year while he learned the ropes. When that didn't work, I focused on a *** guard and wound up in a three-way battle that was ultimately won by St. John's. He wouldn't have been elite or anything, but he'd have been a solid player that would've gotten a lot of time this year with our relative lack of depth in the backcourt. Because of that, I've taken two walk-ons, and, more importantly, will be under some pressure in recruiting this time around.

What we got was pretty good, and I can live with it. Another piece would've taken this class from "good" to either "very good" or "great," though, and that stings.