A Brief History:
A stroll down memory lane will provide a past filled with ups and downs, notably under AD Stina’s stint running the school from 2012-2029, the Shockers rose as high as division 1 tier 3 basketball and a few notable victories in division 2 tournament play. With Head Coach Loyd Michaels departure in 2023, the team began to lose some of it’s identity as a tough nose defense first team, and ultimately led to the dismissal of Stina as the AD. A period of instability followed, with multiple AD’s coming and going due to various issues ranging from personal problems that forced resignations to abruptly realizing the task at hand was too tall an order. Through this time Dan Atkins job has been scrutinized, but he’s never yet to see the pink slip as his ability to keep the team in division 2 tier 5 basketball was rather impressive given pundits concerns over the talent being brought in. However, that also may come to in end soon as many Speculate new AD Greg Belevere will want to put his own stamp on the school’s now maligned basketball program.
Initial Assumptions & Statements:
Much of Greg’s background lends itself towards a business degree rather than one filled with an understanding of college basketball, but the change in approach to recruiting has been noticed by media outlets and some of the assistant coaches of schools both local and out of state. Notably, it looks like the school is taking a few looks at some troubled kids that other schools have shied from recruiting as heavily, perhaps looking for the chance to pick up a player that could be slightly more talented at the cost of whatever the baggage might be. Greg has been quiet on many of the specifics of the recruiting trail, but was adamant that any player with a checkered past would be fully investigated prior to the commitment being made from the school, and only those the school was comfortable with would be signed.
The wide net strategy appears to be the only major announced change under the new leadership. This season, the coaching staff contacted no fewer than 30 seniors, JUCO sophomores, and international talents preparing to make the jump overseas. Belevere announced that they would no longer persue players in such a long volume going forward, but did not specify how many players per season were likely to be contacted.
The team in the first few games since the AD change have gone with a smaller more agile lineup, which could be a sign of the direction the coaching staff is being instructed to go or it could simply be Atkin’s attempts to salvage a few wins in hopes of keeping his job. The Shockers also have nobody over 6’6” on the team, so it likely was the only option all along.
Whats Next:
The shockers have a few conference games left to play before the conference tournament. With a team deficient in scholarship players it is expected that the seniors will get their chance to showcase their skills on the way out, as the school has not been very proficient at producing Pro talent in Hardwood Basketball Sim and this season appears to be no different. After the conference tournament and potential invitiational games, the amount of inbound recruits will be more likely to have been decided on and signed, and we’ll look towards the potential offseason changes Belevere puts into place.