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D3 Coach Q&A - Ryan Mee (Vassar MBB) · The Student Athlete Sessions

0:00
SPEAKER_02: Okay, we are back with our D3 head coach Q&A series here.
0:07
SPEAKER_02: This weekend we have a very special guest coming in from Vassar College in New York State.
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SPEAKER_02: Coach Ryan Mee,
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SPEAKER_02: he is both a former D3 athlete himself,
0:19
SPEAKER_02: a D3 assistant coach who has now worked his way up the ranks to
0:23
SPEAKER_02: a D3 head coaching position.
0:25
SPEAKER_02: And Ryan, we're happy to have you join the program.
0:28
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for having me, Carl.
0:29
SPEAKER_00: I've known you for a long time and just love what you're doing for D3 Hoops and happy to help.
0:35
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, appreciate it.
0:37
SPEAKER_02: As a reminder to everyone in the chat,
0:40
SPEAKER_02: we have some people joining, see some familiar names, some new names.
0:46
SPEAKER_02: If you have a question, tonight's format is a Q&A.
0:50
SPEAKER_02: So coach me and I will be having a conversation,
0:53
SPEAKER_02: but feel free to just drop your So, yeah,
0:56
SPEAKER_02: I think just to get things kicked off, we are in the early stages of the D3 season.
1:00
SPEAKER_02: Some teams have started practicing.
1:01
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:17
SPEAKER_02: Your class of 2026 is on campus.
1:19
SPEAKER_02: I'd love to just start with kind of your reflections on recruiting that class.
1:24
SPEAKER_02: Maybe start with just some things that impressed you that led to authors in the class of 2026.
1:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we just have had our four practices.
1:35
SPEAKER_00: We're excited to have another one.
1:37
SPEAKER_00: We do like one of them.
1:39
SPEAKER_00: So it's great going through the recruiting process,
1:42
SPEAKER_00: but it's even better getting a chance to work with them before October 15th.
1:47
SPEAKER_00: So like some of the first years, we brought in a class of four.
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SPEAKER_00: So we have Lawrence Lamb from San Diego.
1:55
SPEAKER_00: We have Chris Ferrari from New Jersey.
1:58
SPEAKER_00: Ishan Kulkarni from New Jersey as well.
2:02
SPEAKER_00: And then Arthur Shevik has joined us through the Westchester area, Fox Lemon High School.
2:08
SPEAKER_00: I just want to thank Division 1 and then 2AA for making the talent level
2:14
SPEAKER_00: in D3 continue to increase with free agency and all of the things in the fifth year.
2:23
SPEAKER_00: It's really hard to find a roster spot right now.
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SPEAKER_00: So the quality of player that we were recruiting,
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SPEAKER_00: you know, eight years ago to start at Vassar continues to increase.
2:32
SPEAKER_00: And that's some with our production and being able to be more competitive
2:37
SPEAKER_00: and others just because it's really hard to be recruited as a high school player.
2:42
SPEAKER_00: I gave a shout out to Coach Willard at Villanova saying,
2:45
SPEAKER_00: yeah, we're not really recruiting any high school players.
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SPEAKER_00: And that's great for people to hear because that's how hard it is it's getting.
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SPEAKER_00: And now that's a different level, but the trickle down effect
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SPEAKER_00: And so we will continue to have really high level players that might have been in
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SPEAKER_00: the Ivy League or the Patriot League.
3:05
SPEAKER_00: And we're getting a chance to compete with them at Vassar College,
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SPEAKER_00: which is really helpful for us as a program.
3:14
SPEAKER_02: Mm hmm.
3:15
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and it shows, it translates, the translation has been pretty immediate for Vassar.
3:20
SPEAKER_02: You guys have had some incredible seasons.
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SPEAKER_02: First 20-win season last year as a program,
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SPEAKER_02: second conference title since you've been coaching,
3:29
SPEAKER_02: and you also had an All-American in Shea Fitzgerald.
3:32
SPEAKER_02: So, I mean, I think very quick translation onto the court for the Brewers, but yeah.
3:41
SPEAKER_02: What advice,
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SPEAKER_02: I guess,
3:42
SPEAKER_02: would you give to someone who's maybe a good D3 recruit coming out of high school
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SPEAKER_02: but is not getting that interest that they feel like they should?
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SPEAKER_02: What is there to do?
3:53
SPEAKER_00: Something that helps streamline stuff for our program in general
3:57
SPEAKER_00: when academics continue to be the forefront,
4:01
SPEAKER_00: just having your unofficial transcript with your senior courses available
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SPEAKER_00: and be ready to share that with the schools that you're interested in.
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SPEAKER_00: For Vassar, it's like we're trying to see if you can get in.
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SPEAKER_00: But for a number of schools,
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SPEAKER_00: they want to see if you earn a merit scholarship or an academic merit scholarship.
4:19
SPEAKER_00: So those are things that are helpful.
4:22
SPEAKER_00: And then just for the talent side of things,
4:26
SPEAKER_00: I think it's really helpful for you to have a highlight clip because even
4:30
SPEAKER_00: the coaches, our attention span continues to deteriorate.
4:34
SPEAKER_00: So having something to get our attention along with a full game table
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SPEAKER_00: that we can see how you do on every possession.
4:42
SPEAKER_00: So like at Vassar, we're still test optional in the application process.
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SPEAKER_00: And why I appreciate that is because we get to see our whole body of work.
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SPEAKER_00: It's not just down to one weekend schedule.
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SPEAKER_00: It was actually this weekend the SAT was going on,
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SPEAKER_00: but it tells you what you did day in and day out.
5:02
SPEAKER_00: And that's what we want from our recruits because we want to see what you do on
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SPEAKER_00: a daily basis because that consistency is what separates a good player from
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SPEAKER_00: a great player
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SPEAKER_01: and those habits.
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SPEAKER_01: So can you be as consistent as possible?
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SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
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SPEAKER_00: Those are some of the bigger things.
5:19
SPEAKER_00: But then after the highlight tape and the full game,
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SPEAKER_00: you can also say what else you do or why you want to be at that school.
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SPEAKER_00: It's so easy with AI and ChatGPT to just say, hey, I want to go to that school.
5:36
SPEAKER_00: But if you have some personal reasons of why you're interested in that school, share them.
5:41
SPEAKER_00: Because coaches perceive that.
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SPEAKER_00: At least 40 emails a day from prospects and saying at least is generous.
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SPEAKER_00: And so how are you standing out?
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SPEAKER_00: Like what is your main thing?
5:56
SPEAKER_00: But to make them as calculated and,
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SPEAKER_00: you know,
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SPEAKER_00: as to the point that you can is essential to get that traction,
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SPEAKER_00: to get interest in the schools that you care about most.
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SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
6:10
SPEAKER_02: Right.
6:11
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
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SPEAKER_02: Heard that a lot.
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SPEAKER_02: Something doesn't have to be crazy,
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SPEAKER_02: but something that shows you've done some real research,
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SPEAKER_02: something that shows you're actually interested, not just spamming.
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SPEAKER_02: Because coaches, as you point out, get plenty of that on a daily basis.
6:27
SPEAKER_02: Is there one thing that you can or one example you remember of someone who did
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SPEAKER_02: that well or something that someone said?
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SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like it's just somebody they know.
6:39
SPEAKER_00: Our resources and our network are so important.
6:42
SPEAKER_00: But like, hey, Coach,
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SPEAKER_00: I worked out with someone,
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SPEAKER_00: you know, like that new Coach Booker, you know, at this time.
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SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
6:55
SPEAKER_00: Two seasons ago,
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SPEAKER_00: I was able to attend that camp at Stanford and I know you,
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SPEAKER_00: you know,
7:00
SPEAKER_00: Coach Elkin well,
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SPEAKER_00: you know,
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SPEAKER_00: like there's just,
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SPEAKER_00: if you're able to try to place a time and a place where you were working
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SPEAKER_00: on getting better that would have a connection to the coaching staff,
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SPEAKER_00: I think that's really important.
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SPEAKER_00: And just,
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SPEAKER_00: Finding out,
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SPEAKER_00: like we do with our prospects,
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SPEAKER_00: we want to find out as much as we can about our prospects.
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SPEAKER_00: Like, hey, we'll ask people that we know in the area, hey, have you ever seen this kid play?
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SPEAKER_00: So I want the prospects to use that same question.
7:29
SPEAKER_00: Type of research method to find out about the coaches and the programs.
7:33
SPEAKER_00: So it's really impressive when a recruit shows up on campus and knows what we did as
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SPEAKER_00: a program or where we came from and just is able
7:42
SPEAKER_00: to drop those little subtle like hints.
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SPEAKER_00: That makes us know as a staff that this recruit cares about basketball.
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SPEAKER_00: He knows our program.
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SPEAKER_00: He's done his research.
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SPEAKER_00: And that's just a form of respect that really kind of gets people's attention,
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SPEAKER_00: especially mine in this adventure.
8:01
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
8:02
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
8:02
SPEAKER_00: Well said.
8:05
SPEAKER_02: I want to take it back.
8:06
SPEAKER_02: I see we have a couple more people joining, including one person.
8:10
SPEAKER_02: Ori me, maybe you know.
8:16
SPEAKER_02: But as a reminder, this is a Q&A.
8:19
SPEAKER_02: So if you have questions,
8:20
SPEAKER_02: drop them in the chat below and we will answer those in the order they come in.
8:27
SPEAKER_02: But while we're waiting for our first question, I want to take it back to your playing days.
8:31
SPEAKER_02: I mentioned you played Division III basketball at the University of Rochester in the UAA.
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SPEAKER_02: Very decorated career.
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SPEAKER_02: Multiple NCAA tournament appearances, all UAA honors.
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SPEAKER_02: What was your own recruiting process like and why did you end up picking Rochester?
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SPEAKER_00: This was a tough one.
8:52
SPEAKER_00: I came from a baseball family, and my brother played baseball in Notre Dame.
8:57
SPEAKER_00: My sister played softball in Notre Dame before she...
9:01
SPEAKER_00: So I always call myself a smart one that played an indoor sport,
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SPEAKER_00: but that was because I wasn't good enough to play in Notre Dame for baseball.
9:11
SPEAKER_00: So when I was doing it,
9:12
SPEAKER_00: I was trying to look for schools where I could potentially play baseball
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SPEAKER_00: and basketball in college, and I could do that at the Division III level.
9:20
SPEAKER_00: And that was still my thought as I was going through it.
9:25
SPEAKER_00: I was talking to some baseball coaches and mostly basketball,
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SPEAKER_00: but it was halfway through my senior year where I decided,
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SPEAKER_00: you know, I'm going to play basketball.
9:34
SPEAKER_00: And it was after I practiced.
9:35
SPEAKER_00: It was a rough practice.
9:37
SPEAKER_00: And I just was like, I need to do this.
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SPEAKER_00: And I really was committed to playing basketball in college.
9:43
SPEAKER_00: So that helped me narrow my search to a handful of schools.
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SPEAKER_00: In New York, for the most part, like Empire 8, some Liberty League, some UAA.
9:55
SPEAKER_00: And it ended up,
9:57
SPEAKER_00: I thought I was going to go as far away as possible, and I ended up in my backyard.
10:01
SPEAKER_00: Coach Neer was an impressive coach.
10:06
SPEAKER_00: He had been there for over 20 years.
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SPEAKER_00: They won a national championship in the 90s.
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SPEAKER_00: And it's funny, he...
10:13
SPEAKER_00: The D3Direct Newsletter.
10:29
SPEAKER_00: I ended up wanting to go to Rochester because of the national brand.
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SPEAKER_00: And I would be able to go to school with people from all over the world.
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SPEAKER_00: And like my freshman teammates,
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SPEAKER_00: Matt Conacher from Sydney,
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SPEAKER_00: Australia,
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SPEAKER_00: Makita Oise,
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SPEAKER_00: who's from the Bahamas,
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SPEAKER_00: one of my great friends now, Brian Jones, who's from San Francisco.
10:52
SPEAKER_00: And my classmates were from all over.
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SPEAKER_00: So we, like,
10:57
SPEAKER_00: John Aniruka,
10:57
SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, I missed your Hall of Fame, you know, this induction this week.
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SPEAKER_00: He was a freshman when we were graduating.
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SPEAKER_00: But a couple of my teammates,
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SPEAKER_00: Gabe Perez and Seth Haubin and Brendan McAllister,
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SPEAKER_00: They were from Corpus Christi, Texas, Newton, Massachusetts in Pittsburgh.
11:14
SPEAKER_00: So that's what drew me there was Coach Neer's success and track record,
11:19
SPEAKER_00: the academic level of the school.
11:23
SPEAKER_00: And it was really neat.
11:23
SPEAKER_00: It was unique to think about flying around to different places,
11:27
SPEAKER_00: you know, and just having some experience and to play that competitive league.
11:31
SPEAKER_00: So I got lucky when I got there with my classmates and,
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SPEAKER_00: you know,
11:36
SPEAKER_00: some of the upperclassmen were there to continue, you know, an upward trend.
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SPEAKER_00: And we had a heck of a first year as freshmen and we lost,
11:46
SPEAKER_00: we went to the Final Four, lost an OT in the semifinals.
11:49
SPEAKER_00: So it was a really nice spot.
11:53
SPEAKER_00: That's how it came to be.
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SPEAKER_00: It wasn't anything I was looking for.
11:57
SPEAKER_00: And it was just, hey,
11:58
SPEAKER_00: what had these things,
12:00
SPEAKER_00: the academics,
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SPEAKER_00: the basketball portion, and the social atmosphere where I felt at home?
12:06
SPEAKER_00: Because there was a classman, Ryan Kalabowski, I went to high school with.
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SPEAKER_00: And he was a junior at that time.
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SPEAKER_00: And Kyle Leach, who I work with and lives in the Hudson Valley here.
12:17
SPEAKER_00: So it's been a U of R get-together here in Poughkeepsie, New York.
12:23
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
12:24
SPEAKER_02: And as I said,
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SPEAKER_02: we talked about the impact of the Division I talent pool trickling down to D3 and
12:32
SPEAKER_02: the reflection,
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SPEAKER_02: I guess,
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SPEAKER_02: the impact that's had on your program and the heights you've now taken it to.
12:38
SPEAKER_02: But I think there is something that I want to connect to,
12:41
SPEAKER_02: which is I think your own experience playing at a high level You mentioned
12:46
SPEAKER_02: the run you guys made your first year.
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SPEAKER_02: You also made the same Final Four run in 2005.
12:52
SPEAKER_02: And you made the tournament every year.
12:53
SPEAKER_02: So this is something I think as a player, I'm sure for you guys, it just became normal.
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SPEAKER_02: This was the standard.
13:01
SPEAKER_02: And it feels like you have now brought that same standard to Vassar,
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SPEAKER_02: which like Swarthmore,
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SPEAKER_02: my alma mater was not a winning program, at least in basketball for a long time.
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SPEAKER_02: And it's great to see that You know,
13:16
SPEAKER_02: second Liberty League title, second NCAA appearance under your tenure.
13:22
SPEAKER_02: And that to start to be an expectation maybe at your program now as a coach.
13:30
SPEAKER_00: Yes, like that's exactly what we're trying to do.
13:33
SPEAKER_00: And it's really hard to do that.
13:35
SPEAKER_00: To be clear, my first year, I was an awesome scout team member that was preparing for classmen.
13:41
SPEAKER_00: And a couple of my classmates were very talented freshmen.
13:45
SPEAKER_00: But that really kind of helped develop my playing career.
13:49
SPEAKER_00: And it helps me as a coach because I was a scout team player.
13:53
SPEAKER_00: I was a reserve.
13:54
SPEAKER_00: I was, you know, like the third leading scorer on the team.
13:58
SPEAKER_00: I went 25-1 or 25-2.
14:00
SPEAKER_00: And then my senior year, that transition to coaching happened when I got injured.
14:05
SPEAKER_00: And I tore my AC out at the beginning of the year.
14:08
SPEAKER_00: But because I have no explosive muscles in my body,
14:11
SPEAKER_00: I can just shoot threes and feed the post, I was still able to play.
14:15
SPEAKER_00: So I played without an ACL my senior year, and I think it helped motivate the team.
14:21
SPEAKER_00: Um, because they couldn't complain about it because I didn't miss a practice and we,
14:25
SPEAKER_00: we lost on the last day that we could be playing as a D3 team in
14:28
SPEAKER_00: the national championship.
14:29
SPEAKER_00: So, uh, it was a memorable thing,
14:31
SPEAKER_00: but that was where I,
14:33
SPEAKER_00: I had a chance to coach, uh, my,
14:35
SPEAKER_00: the underclassmen,
14:36
SPEAKER_00: like Jeff Geron and Tim Brackney were some of the guards
14:39
SPEAKER_00: that were taking my minutes,
14:41
SPEAKER_00: but they were a heck of a lot more productive than I was doing.
14:44
SPEAKER_00: Uh, so it was,
14:45
SPEAKER_00: it was fun to kind of just root them on and have a different piece, um,
14:50
SPEAKER_00: But in terms of your alma mater at Swarthmore,
14:54
SPEAKER_00: I actually pulled up Landry's,
14:56
SPEAKER_00: Coach Kozmowski's track record, and that's what we're trying to model here.
15:01
SPEAKER_00: Coach McKillop did a great job of trying to foster...
15:06
SPEAKER_00: So many different things at Davidson in terms of building a program and trying
15:10
SPEAKER_00: to have just the focus on books and ball.
15:13
SPEAKER_00: And the run that Swarthmore had while he was there was unprecedented.
15:19
SPEAKER_00: And that's what we're trying to do is we've gotten the two tournaments and want
15:23
SPEAKER_00: to continue to try to be building on those expectations and set these standards
15:30
SPEAKER_00: that will help us.
15:30
SPEAKER_00: But it's so tough.
15:32
SPEAKER_00: The margins are so seen for success.
15:36
SPEAKER_02: For sure.
15:37
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I want to get back to that culture building piece and expectations.
15:41
SPEAKER_02: We do have our first two questions here.
15:43
SPEAKER_02: First one comes from Gabriel.
15:45
SPEAKER_02: He asks,
15:46
SPEAKER_02: how much emphasis do you personally place
15:48
SPEAKER_02: on circuits versus high school games versus prospect camps?
15:53
SPEAKER_02: How do you weight those in your own evaluation of recruits?
15:59
SPEAKER_00: Each school is different.
16:00
SPEAKER_00: At Vassar,
16:01
SPEAKER_00: our recruiting budget is pretty small for the most part comparatively
16:04
SPEAKER_00: to recruit nationally on a regional budget.
16:08
SPEAKER_00: So we do a lot on the film, but the prospect camps where there's like...
16:16
SPEAKER_00: A surplus of high academic players where we can get their information and try
16:20
SPEAKER_00: to evaluate them is where we have to go,
16:23
SPEAKER_00: like to make sure we see enough bodies and guys who can play.
16:28
SPEAKER_00: That's a great place for us to build up our database.
16:33
SPEAKER_00: And then we try to get a little bit more specific in it as we go along in the process.
16:37
SPEAKER_00: So all of June, July,
16:41
SPEAKER_00: but the circuit for us isn't as effective because when we walk in,
16:46
SPEAKER_00: the people running the gate are charging you $200,
16:50
SPEAKER_00: and we just don't want to donate money to the people of AU
16:55
SPEAKER_00: that are running those tournaments.
16:56
SPEAKER_00: So we try to be mindful of those.
17:01
SPEAKER_00: We'll be calculated in a couple of tournaments that we'll go to,
17:04
SPEAKER_00: but those are mostly for just finding out individuals who are interested
17:08
SPEAKER_00: in high academics, and then we try to get specific.
17:11
SPEAKER_00: And then this fall is when we're starting to try to get guys to campus,
17:15
SPEAKER_00: have overnights,
17:16
SPEAKER_00: and then see if they could be a good fit here with the basketball and the culture.
17:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
17:23
SPEAKER_00: It's hard.
17:24
SPEAKER_00: I don't think – and the high school is great because there's been recruits in my past.
17:28
SPEAKER_00: I've been coaching – this is my 21st season coaching college basketball.
17:33
SPEAKER_00: It's – there's been recruits that have looked great with their AU team
17:38
SPEAKER_00: that don't look good with their high school team.
17:40
SPEAKER_00: At a prospect camp,
17:41
SPEAKER_00: they look amazing,
17:42
SPEAKER_00: but they can't walk and chew gum sometimes in
17:44
SPEAKER_00: the controlled competitive environment.
17:47
SPEAKER_00: So, like, to be really effective, we have to take those pieces.
17:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
17:52
SPEAKER_00: But it's us learning about you.
17:54
SPEAKER_00: So the first question is the transcript.
17:55
SPEAKER_00: And then we try to take all the information we've gathered throughout the summer.
17:59
SPEAKER_00: And then we're trying to do the follow up now.
18:03
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
18:04
SPEAKER_02: And just on this note,
18:06
SPEAKER_02: Gabriel,
18:07
SPEAKER_02: Vassar doesn't check me on this,
18:09
SPEAKER_02: Coach Me, but you guys, your prospect camp is October 11th next week.
18:13
SPEAKER_02: Is that right?
18:14
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we have one in August,
18:16
SPEAKER_00: but October 11th is our camp because we want to find people that are serious
18:21
SPEAKER_00: about Vassar that could be a good fit.
18:24
SPEAKER_00: We cap it at 40, so it's still a personal experience.
18:27
SPEAKER_00: We've got about 22 registered right now.
18:31
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
18:31
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I've heard it feels, I mean,
18:35
SPEAKER_02: I love your input here,
18:36
SPEAKER_02: but it does feel like at more of the high academic level,
18:42
SPEAKER_02: Schools with very strict academic standards,
18:44
SPEAKER_02: entrance,
18:45
SPEAKER_02: admission standards,
18:46
SPEAKER_02: UChicago,
18:47
SPEAKER_02: Carnegie Mellon, Vassar, that second camp has been moving further and further back.
18:53
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I have a hypothesis,
18:56
SPEAKER_02: but is that just so you guys can really vet interest,
19:01
SPEAKER_02: do the pre-read,
19:02
SPEAKER_02: have time for it,
19:03
SPEAKER_02: and know that those people at that second camp are really serious prospects?
19:07
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
19:08
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
19:11
SPEAKER_00: We started doing it because the Ivy League started taking June and August,
19:17
SPEAKER_00: and that's some to be able to find their targets.
19:21
SPEAKER_00: So it presents an awesome resource for us as Division III schools,
19:24
SPEAKER_00: but it's also to help pay some of their staff.
19:27
SPEAKER_00: So with us, it's important to be able to find the people that are serious.
19:33
SPEAKER_00: And we pushed it back because it is a food chain.
19:36
SPEAKER_00: So like some of the camps that are able to get great numbers,
19:40
SPEAKER_00: if it's,
19:40
SPEAKER_00: you know,
19:41
SPEAKER_00: the best school,
19:41
SPEAKER_00: if it's MIT or Topkins or some of those guys are able to load up their camps.
19:47
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
19:48
SPEAKER_00: Those are great,
19:50
SPEAKER_00: but we know that we need to push it back,
19:53
SPEAKER_00: and we found a weekend that worked for us that wasn't competing against a number
19:57
SPEAKER_00: of different things, and we've kind of stuck with it.
19:59
SPEAKER_00: We love it just because it's before we start our season and go every day,
20:04
SPEAKER_00: so there's opportunities to potentially play with our guys,
20:08
SPEAKER_00: but that To be able to coach you and be able to try to find out what's underneath
20:12
SPEAKER_00: or what's inside your chest is what we do during that day.
20:16
SPEAKER_00: And we try to give you a full day in the life of a Basser student.
20:20
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think that's good.
20:23
SPEAKER_02: And I would just say advocating for players, if you're on the fence, there's no better...
20:32
SPEAKER_02: I know Coach Me referred to this earlier.
20:35
SPEAKER_02: They're trying to evaluate you as a person,
20:37
SPEAKER_02: trying to understand what makes you tick, your grades, the whole picture.
20:41
SPEAKER_02: But on the flip side,
20:42
SPEAKER_02: you should be trying to evaluate the coaching staff,
20:45
SPEAKER_02: the other players, the campus environment, the student body.
20:49
SPEAKER_02: While you have that opportunity on campus, check it out.
20:53
SPEAKER_02: Try it on.
20:53
SPEAKER_02: Does it feel good?
20:55
SPEAKER_02: Good for you is a place you could envision yourself.
20:58
SPEAKER_02: And I think sometimes kids forget that.
21:00
SPEAKER_02: They go there and they're like, I need to play basketball.
21:02
SPEAKER_02: I need to play well and perform here this day.
21:05
SPEAKER_02: And they forget to widen their lens a little and look around and be like,
21:10
SPEAKER_02: this is going to be way more than basketball for four years.
21:13
SPEAKER_02: Let me think about this holistically.
21:16
SPEAKER_02: So just a plug there to get on campus,
21:19
SPEAKER_02: whether it's for a prospect camp or something else, and just take that look around.
21:25
SPEAKER_00: It's hard to do, but like, yeah, that's it.
21:29
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
21:31
SPEAKER_02: Our next question here from AJ.
21:34
SPEAKER_02: He said,
21:34
SPEAKER_02: with your nod to Division I program talent pools impacting D3 in a positive way,
21:41
SPEAKER_02: what is a realistic expectation for a true freshman recruited by Vassar?
21:45
SPEAKER_02: So I'm taking that as like,
21:47
SPEAKER_02: what type of player are we talking like all conference at high school?
21:55
SPEAKER_02: Or maybe it just depends.
21:58
SPEAKER_00: Good question, AJ.
21:59
SPEAKER_00: What's going on?
22:02
SPEAKER_00: With us, it's...
22:06
SPEAKER_00: We've had a wide variety of talent levels, and a lot of it depends on your current roster.
22:11
SPEAKER_00: When you're winning a lot of games,
22:13
SPEAKER_00: sometimes it's really hard to get into that lineup,
22:16
SPEAKER_00: especially early in your four-year career.
22:19
SPEAKER_00: But there's more and more people that have been taking post-grads that are coming
22:23
SPEAKER_00: in earlier,
22:24
SPEAKER_00: even for Division III, so they could have a better impact when they get here.
22:29
SPEAKER_00: It used to be you would only reclassify if You knew you were going to go to
22:34
SPEAKER_00: a scholarship level,
22:35
SPEAKER_00: but now there's been a trend of people reclassing to go to a really high academic.
22:41
SPEAKER_00: And so it's certainly unique.
22:44
SPEAKER_00: But expectations for us in our specific program this year,
22:48
SPEAKER_00: we're graduating seven players and our seniors are a great class.
22:55
SPEAKER_00: And so that opportunity when you're graduating 90% of your minutes from
23:03
SPEAKER_00: the guard play and 90% of your scoring, there's opportunities to be had.
23:09
SPEAKER_00: So we have that class of four that came in and we have a couple other guards
23:16
SPEAKER_00: that are in the mix,
23:17
SPEAKER_00: but we expect at least two or three of our freshmen to be playing next year
23:22
SPEAKER_00: of our 2027s.
23:26
SPEAKER_00: Who knows kind of what the future holds,
23:29
SPEAKER_00: but we always are like rooting for our player development and it's a bit hard,
23:35
SPEAKER_00: but as a first year,
23:38
SPEAKER_00: College coaches are trying to compete at the highest level and they want to win.
23:42
SPEAKER_00: Like if we're going to play the game, we're going to play hard and smart.
23:46
SPEAKER_00: We're going to try to compete to win.
23:48
SPEAKER_00: So your job as a player is to not only earn the trust of the coaching staff
23:54
SPEAKER_00: by knowing what you're doing, but it's also earning the trust of your teammates.
23:58
SPEAKER_00: So that's the beauty of us at the high academic school.
24:01
SPEAKER_00: It's like we have a lot of selflessness in our program and sacrifice.
24:07
SPEAKER_00: Because we're a pretty smart team in terms of,
24:11
SPEAKER_00: hey, that's what our program needs in this lineup.
24:14
SPEAKER_00: And guys have been willing to do it.
24:16
SPEAKER_00: And our role definition has really helped us get to some places that we haven't been before.
24:22
SPEAKER_00: So you still have to be really talented.
24:24
SPEAKER_00: You still have to be an ultra-competitor.
24:26
SPEAKER_00: But the knowing and the self-awareness and
24:29
SPEAKER_00: the coachability really can help our program continue to grow.
24:35
SPEAKER_02: When you say role definition, define that in the context of your program.
24:39
SPEAKER_02: What does that mean?
24:42
SPEAKER_00: Trying to play to your strengths.
24:44
SPEAKER_00: So just helping each other out and knowing.
24:47
SPEAKER_00: You mentioned Shape as Cheryl, who was able to be first team all-conference the last two years.
24:52
SPEAKER_00: And that's a really strong player that makes a lot of good decisions.
24:56
SPEAKER_00: Or Avery Lee,
24:57
SPEAKER_00: who was our leading scorer before he got injured,
24:59
SPEAKER_00: or Parkin Newhouse, who was a force in the middle.
25:03
SPEAKER_00: Getting those guys touched and realizing,
25:06
SPEAKER_00: hey, sometimes if you have a couple of guys who are going, how do I fit into that?
25:13
SPEAKER_00: As your high school program,
25:15
SPEAKER_00: a lot of the times you're probably dominating the ball and you're able
25:18
SPEAKER_00: to help your teammates get better and you're probably taking tested shots,
25:22
SPEAKER_00: maybe a double team here or there.
25:24
SPEAKER_00: But in college,
25:25
SPEAKER_00: it's great because you have that secondary defender coming and you can hit
25:30
SPEAKER_00: the open guy.
25:31
SPEAKER_00: And then it can be an even more efficient shot than you shoot him over to.
25:35
SPEAKER_00: And that's what we're trying to do in terms of figuring out how to get a great shot for us.
25:42
SPEAKER_00: It's not my shot, it's our shot.
25:44
SPEAKER_00: And so...
25:45
SPEAKER_00: That rule definition,
25:46
SPEAKER_00: a couple of our guys were really good at cutting off the ball,
25:49
SPEAKER_00: and they just embraced that.
25:50
SPEAKER_00: Hey, how can I get on the court?
25:52
SPEAKER_00: How can I get our team extra possessions?
25:55
SPEAKER_00: Getting some loose balls, getting stops, you know, like rebounding the basketball.
26:00
SPEAKER_00: Is one way we try to emphasize of trying to get some more possessions
26:03
SPEAKER_00: to have more opportunities to score, get more stops.
26:06
SPEAKER_00: So that's just playing into your strengths because you've got to have something
26:11
SPEAKER_00: that separates you from the other thousands of kids who are trying to play for one
26:15
SPEAKER_00: of the 400 plus D3 teams.
26:19
SPEAKER_00: It's hard,
26:21
SPEAKER_00: but if you're going to do something,
26:22
SPEAKER_00: you've got to be
26:22
SPEAKER_01: really good at it and to
26:24
SPEAKER_00: stand out.
26:27
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
26:28
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's good advice.
26:30
SPEAKER_02: And what it's making me think of is kind of highlight tapes
26:32
SPEAKER_02: and how recruits sometimes frame themselves in those.
26:36
SPEAKER_02: You already mentioned the volume of inbound emails you're getting,
26:40
SPEAKER_02: tape you're being asked to watch.
26:42
SPEAKER_02: I think when I hear you talk about roles and owning your role as a player,
26:48
SPEAKER_02: what it makes me think is recruits...
26:50
SPEAKER_02: Just should think about how do I show what I'm really good at in my tape and do it early?
26:57
SPEAKER_02: Because I've seen way too many highlight tapes where it's just seven three-pointers
27:03
SPEAKER_02: in a row off of a pass or something.
27:07
SPEAKER_02: And I feel like at this point, everyone in college can shoot.
27:09
SPEAKER_02: And if you're a guard,
27:11
SPEAKER_02: unless you're a pure point guard,
27:12
SPEAKER_02: there's pretty much an expectation that you should be able
27:14
SPEAKER_02: to knock down open threes.
27:16
SPEAKER_02: But the different plays are...
27:19
SPEAKER_02: Diving for a loose ball and then running back in and getting a rebound or something.
27:24
SPEAKER_02: Or like those plays where it shows a little bit more of your character on the court.
27:30
SPEAKER_02: Maybe you make a bad pass,
27:32
SPEAKER_02: but you hustle back and you get a chase down block or you,
27:36
SPEAKER_02: you know, force a turnover, whatever it is.
27:38
SPEAKER_02: But I just think in that definition and in what you're valuing, yes,
27:43
SPEAKER_02: there are always going to be the Stars,
27:44
SPEAKER_02: the Averys, the Shays, but It's those niche kind of role players.
27:50
SPEAKER_02: That's how you actually get minutes and being able to demonstrate that as
27:53
SPEAKER_02: a recruit is a good way to get a coach's attention.
27:57
SPEAKER_00: Something that's on our mind as a staff right now is to be able to find guys
28:03
SPEAKER_00: who are willing and able to defend at a really high level.
28:06
SPEAKER_00: So we're graduating Creek Court,
28:09
SPEAKER_00: who is Ian,
28:10
SPEAKER_00: and Sebastian Medina,
28:12
SPEAKER_00: and they've been able to try to guard the other team's best guys.
28:16
SPEAKER_00: And so that's a huge thing for us is to, hey, that's something you can hang your hat on.
28:22
SPEAKER_00: Because if you can go out and shut down a guy or just be a really tough defender
28:27
SPEAKER_00: and disrupt rhythm, that's something that's super valuable.
28:30
SPEAKER_00: But I couldn't agree more with you like showing like, hey,
28:34
SPEAKER_00: that extra play or after you had some adversity or made a bad play,
28:39
SPEAKER_00: continuing to play through it.
28:41
SPEAKER_00: Those things are things we're looking for.
28:44
SPEAKER_00: Like when I tune in and watch some highlights with Coach Klivanoff, And we're looking at it.
28:50
SPEAKER_00: We're looking at where are the rest of the people on the court?
28:53
SPEAKER_00: What do we think this competition level is if we're not familiar with the school?
28:57
SPEAKER_00: So when you're able to do that,
29:00
SPEAKER_00: hey, when you're making shots, are you on the move or are you just able to...
29:05
SPEAKER_00: Is it just catch and shoot?
29:07
SPEAKER_00: How's your footwork?
29:07
SPEAKER_00: Is it coming off a pin down or is it on like a DHL or a zoom action?
29:12
SPEAKER_00: Because that puts the degree of difficulty in the shot.
29:16
SPEAKER_00: But like those are the things where some of the guys are playing in a tough position.
29:21
SPEAKER_00: A bad high school league,
29:22
SPEAKER_00: and that's where you can get some better competition in your AAU circuits
29:26
SPEAKER_00: or vice versa.
29:27
SPEAKER_00: So maybe I'm going to be the guy on my AAU team because my high school role is to be
29:32
SPEAKER_00: an incredibly solid role player that can help space the floor or defend or
29:37
SPEAKER_00: to be able to get knocked down open shots.
29:39
SPEAKER_00: So that's a really good point to help craft your highlight tape and kind of tell your story.
29:49
SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm.
29:50
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
29:52
SPEAKER_02: We got our next question in here from a parent.
29:55
SPEAKER_02: They say, Coach Mee, you played 20 years ago.
29:57
SPEAKER_02: You've been a head coach at Vassar for almost 10 years.
29:59
SPEAKER_02: And you mentioned you've been coaching for 21 years.
30:04
SPEAKER_02: How has the recruiting process and the recruiting landscape changed the most over
30:08
SPEAKER_02: the past 10 to 15 years?
30:12
SPEAKER_00: Good question.
30:12
SPEAKER_00: Thanks, Dave.
30:15
SPEAKER_00: It's just so much more information.
30:17
SPEAKER_00: The players are so much more talented,
30:20
SPEAKER_00: but We had five guys coming in for a visit this past week,
30:24
SPEAKER_00: and they're from Seattle or NorCal, Hawaii, Colorado.
30:32
SPEAKER_00: I don't think that was happening at such a high cliff.
30:37
SPEAKER_00: I think there were people visiting there because that's where the interest for
30:40
SPEAKER_00: the Vassar student body was,
30:42
SPEAKER_00: but
30:45
SPEAKER_00: I'm just in awe of some of the people and the name that Vassar is able to draw.
30:50
SPEAKER_00: So like we're able to evaluate guys at a much higher level than the grainy VHS tapes
30:57
SPEAKER_00: or the DVDs that we used to have to communicate with and try to evaluate
31:01
SPEAKER_00: and cut up film.
31:03
SPEAKER_00: So that,
31:05
SPEAKER_00: It is harder to stand out with the talent level
31:07
SPEAKER_00: because everybody's increased their skill development so much.
31:12
SPEAKER_00: I mean, we're in the timeline and the era of the ball handlers because when
31:17
SPEAKER_00: the kids were locked up and they're encoded,
31:19
SPEAKER_00: all you could do is dribble a ball in your house
31:21
SPEAKER_00: and now their ball handling skills are really impressive.
31:24
SPEAKER_00: But now that we want to see how do you play with your teammates and that's something
31:28
SPEAKER_00: that With so many skills and drills, guys,
31:33
SPEAKER_00: we need to know how you can play in two-man games and three-man games
31:37
SPEAKER_00: because that's what basketball is to us.
31:39
SPEAKER_00: Like, hey, how do you know how to cut?
31:42
SPEAKER_00: Are you successful in setting a screen?
31:44
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I'll ask our guys, hey, what grade would you give for the screen you just set?
31:50
SPEAKER_00: And like, oof, that was probably a 40.
31:52
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, yeah, you're right.
31:53
SPEAKER_00: You failed that screen.
31:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
31:55
SPEAKER_00: Can we do better next time?
31:56
SPEAKER_00: So just trying to have those standards,
32:00
SPEAKER_00: those are the things that I would like to see some of the guys get back
32:04
SPEAKER_00: because now there's so many games to be played.
32:07
SPEAKER_00: Can you continue to have the increased skill set And show the IQ on the court.
32:12
SPEAKER_00: And it's tough because a lot of the travel ball in the summer is not high IQ stuff
32:18
SPEAKER_00: because you don't have enough time to practice.
32:21
SPEAKER_00: But when you're picking a team like that,
32:23
SPEAKER_00: similar to your college program,
32:25
SPEAKER_00: can you make sure that they value some of those things?
32:29
SPEAKER_00: Or is this going to come across on my tape?
32:31
SPEAKER_00: Ooh, that's a good way to read a split action, right?
32:34
SPEAKER_00: Like, hey,
32:35
SPEAKER_00: I get a couple actions in here that our offense does in high school,
32:40
SPEAKER_00: and that's effectively twofold because it shows you something that you can do
32:44
SPEAKER_00: and it helps you prepare for the season.
32:49
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, good question, Dave.
32:53
SPEAKER_02: Just pause here for two seconds to remind everyone there are a couple of new people
32:57
SPEAKER_02: who are like,
32:58
SPEAKER_02: If you have a question,
33:00
SPEAKER_02: just drop it in the chat below and we will get to that as soon as we can in
33:05
SPEAKER_02: the order that they come in.
33:07
SPEAKER_02: But Coach Mia,
33:09
SPEAKER_02: I want to go back to,
33:10
SPEAKER_02: we were talking about standards and program standards and how you set those
33:15
SPEAKER_02: because you mentioned the margin is so thin between success
33:21
SPEAKER_02: and maybe just missing
33:23
SPEAKER_02: the cut of making the conference playoffs or Winning or losing the conference final
33:28
SPEAKER_02: and getting that NCAA berth.
33:29
SPEAKER_02: So what are some of the things that you guys do as a program that help to set
33:36
SPEAKER_02: that level and that team culture that brings this shared standard of success along
33:41
SPEAKER_01: through different classes?
33:50
SPEAKER_01: I lost your sound here.
33:57
SPEAKER_01: Hmm, maybe it's on my end.
34:00
SPEAKER_01: If someone in the chat, can you guys hear coach me?
34:06
SPEAKER_01: Let's see.
34:13
SPEAKER_01: Maybe try again.
34:18
SPEAKER_01: Oh, no, AJ says no.
34:24
SPEAKER_01: All right, Rocco, no.
34:35
SPEAKER_01: Bear with us.
34:36
SPEAKER_02: We're doing this live, so no IT staffs to help us out.
34:40
SPEAKER_02: I cannot yet.
34:42
SPEAKER_00: Am I back?
34:43
SPEAKER_02: Nope.
34:44
SPEAKER_02: There you go.
34:44
SPEAKER_00: Now you're back.
34:45
SPEAKER_00: Got it.
34:46
SPEAKER_00: Nice.
34:46
SPEAKER_00: My AirPods must have died.
34:49
SPEAKER_00: Thanks, guys.
34:50
SPEAKER_00: So refresh the question again.
34:52
SPEAKER_00: Where were we at?
34:54
SPEAKER_02: We're talking about shared standards of success.
34:57
SPEAKER_02: You mentioned a couple of things when you were a player at Rochester.
35:00
SPEAKER_02: You guys have now built this culture of winning at Vassar.
35:03
SPEAKER_02: How do you ingrain that in each successive class so that it carries forward?
35:09
SPEAKER_02: You can go from being a perennial losing program,
35:13
SPEAKER_02: like I was at SWAT, to this expectation of, we're going to make playoffs every year.
35:19
SPEAKER_02: We're competing for NCAA berths.
35:21
SPEAKER_02: What do you instill in your players?
35:25
SPEAKER_00: The majority, I've been thankful to have like really good leaders in the recruitment process.
35:31
SPEAKER_00: One of my favorite recruiting stories was with Avni Mustafa from Fordham Prep.
35:36
SPEAKER_00: It was my first recruiting class.
35:38
SPEAKER_00: I coached him at a hoop group academic event.
35:41
SPEAKER_00: And so I drafted him and he, on the evaluation games, I was, I hated him.
35:48
SPEAKER_00: I did not, he was the worst player on my team.
35:52
SPEAKER_00: So, And this was back when camps were like four days.
35:58
SPEAKER_00: So over the course of the camp, by the end of the camp, he was our best player.
36:03
SPEAKER_00: Because he realized I was trying to help him get better.
36:07
SPEAKER_00: And he got better each day.
36:09
SPEAKER_00: And we were finally getting to a point where he was understanding that coaching
36:14
SPEAKER_00: and pushing himself.
36:15
SPEAKER_00: And then he ended up helping lead our program,
36:19
SPEAKER_00: him and Zach Johnson, along with the rest of that class.
36:22
SPEAKER_00: He was able to help us win the conference championship.
36:26
SPEAKER_00: And it was a guy that I did not like at first sight the first time.
36:29
SPEAKER_00: And it was that coachability.
36:31
SPEAKER_00: But one of his biggest traits was just that leadership and the drive and trying
36:36
SPEAKER_00: to hold his teammates accountable.
36:39
SPEAKER_00: And that's where...
36:41
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
36:41
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
36:41
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
36:56
SPEAKER_00: That same path has come with this group of seniors.
37:00
SPEAKER_00: And it's just trying to develop those.
37:03
SPEAKER_00: And we had conversations with our other classes of like,
37:06
SPEAKER_00: hey, who's going to carry that torch when the senior class has moved on?
37:11
SPEAKER_00: Who's going to hold each other accountable and try to make sure we set that standard?
37:15
SPEAKER_00: Because it's easy to slip.
37:17
SPEAKER_00: Once you start winning a little bit, you think it's just going to happen.
37:21
SPEAKER_00: And to not get soft.
37:23
SPEAKER_00: And to just keep being able to push each other and have that competition,
37:28
SPEAKER_00: the healthy competition in your program.
37:30
SPEAKER_00: So the other pieces that was always helpful,
37:34
SPEAKER_00: I love Tony Bennett's quote about finding guys that you can lose with
37:39
SPEAKER_00: before you can win.
37:40
SPEAKER_00: Like nothing was more embarrassing than having that loss to UMBC.
37:45
SPEAKER_00: And then the next year they come back and win the national championship.
37:48
SPEAKER_00: And so that form of humility and just the bond that kind of grows with those players
37:55
SPEAKER_00: after failure is huge.
37:58
SPEAKER_00: So those are the things,
38:00
SPEAKER_00: the resilience is some of the pieces that we do,
38:02
SPEAKER_00: but we try to have honest conversations all the time.
38:05
SPEAKER_00: I will say, yeah, hey guys, we're terrible at this part right now.
38:09
SPEAKER_00: We got to get better if we want to really make this jump.
38:13
SPEAKER_00: And this is really important for us to be successful.
38:15
SPEAKER_00: And the majority of the time our team has seen that when we're able to show it
38:19
SPEAKER_00: and verify it on film of why it could help.
38:22
SPEAKER_00: And then it's the team concept is buying it and then they're pushing the cart.
38:27
SPEAKER_00: It can't just be the coach.
38:28
SPEAKER_00: So it's finding those, trying to find those leadership characteristics and recruiting as well.
38:34
SPEAKER_00: But.
38:35
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
38:36
SPEAKER_02: No, it's so true.
38:37
SPEAKER_02: It is a tempting thing to just think once you get the win,
38:41
SPEAKER_02: once you get that taste of success, that it will continue.
38:43
SPEAKER_02: But it's a very good point.
38:45
SPEAKER_02: It is not a given.
38:49
SPEAKER_02: It does not come for free.
38:51
SPEAKER_02: So, yeah, that continued work is important.
38:54
SPEAKER_02: One thing I want to hear from your words,
38:57
SPEAKER_02: you mentioned this player you coach at camp who ends up,
39:00
SPEAKER_02: you don't like at first, but ends up becoming a This standard bearer for you guys.
39:05
SPEAKER_02: What was it,
39:06
SPEAKER_02: behavior-wise,
39:08
SPEAKER_02: gameplay-wise, what was it that made you say, wow, I don't like this guy?
39:14
SPEAKER_00: Coach McKillop has the five rules of offense.
39:18
SPEAKER_00: One was dribble with a purpose.
39:20
SPEAKER_00: It's really hard.
39:21
SPEAKER_00: Don't get me wrong.
39:22
SPEAKER_00: Who proved academic?
39:24
SPEAKER_00: Or any of the A, B events when you're with random four guys.
39:29
SPEAKER_00: You're with a random team.
39:30
SPEAKER_00: It's really hard to play basketball and look like you're on the same page.
39:35
SPEAKER_00: But Av was just dribbling around up top with his head cut off and nobody else knew what to do.
39:41
SPEAKER_00: And so just that take of,
39:43
SPEAKER_00: hey, dribble with a purpose and try to attack space, that really helps.
39:48
SPEAKER_00: Because then everybody, hey, am I going to cut here?
39:51
SPEAKER_00: Maybe I can screen away.
39:53
SPEAKER_00: I can come for a handoff.
39:54
SPEAKER_00: But just,
39:56
SPEAKER_00: you know,
39:56
SPEAKER_00: digging with the ball and not being able
39:58
SPEAKER_00: to let your teammates know what you're doing was the part that completely got me off
40:03
SPEAKER_00: of his train.
40:05
SPEAKER_00: So like...
40:06
SPEAKER_00: James Harden is an incredibly talented player, but I think he dribbles too much.
40:10
SPEAKER_00: And so to let the ball dance and have the people moving is the style of play
40:15
SPEAKER_00: that I truly like as a coach with our program.
40:18
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
40:20
SPEAKER_02: That's good to hear.
40:20
SPEAKER_02: I feel like that's something that I think recruits don't get.
40:25
SPEAKER_02: They know what good play is.
40:26
SPEAKER_02: They're like, I need to make shots.
40:27
SPEAKER_02: I need to do this.
40:29
SPEAKER_02: But I think in that context,
40:31
SPEAKER_02: hearing that being coachable was something Something that registered as
40:36
SPEAKER_02: a real positive for you and that not dribbling with a purpose was something that was
40:40
SPEAKER_02: a big downer.
40:42
SPEAKER_02: Hard sell.
40:44
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
40:46
SPEAKER_02: This is reminding me of a story.
40:48
SPEAKER_02: I went to the,
40:52
SPEAKER_02: I think it was an all-academic event,
40:53
SPEAKER_02: and I saw you and Coach Duran on the side,
40:57
SPEAKER_02: and we were catching up,
40:58
SPEAKER_02: and you guys were It was one of the first times,
41:02
SPEAKER_02: I knew this happened,
41:03
SPEAKER_02: but it was one of the first times where I just saw you guys trading notes.
41:07
SPEAKER_02: And it reminded me that even if,
41:10
SPEAKER_02: and I've tried to tell this story to recruits a ton,
41:12
SPEAKER_02: but I think with you here, Maybe you can add some context of other situations.
41:17
SPEAKER_02: But, you know,
41:18
SPEAKER_02: Coach Geron was saying, oh,
41:19
SPEAKER_02: maybe this is not a,
41:20
SPEAKER_02: we don't need this guy right now, but this could be good for you guys.
41:24
SPEAKER_02: And you're good friends,
41:26
SPEAKER_02: you know,
41:26
SPEAKER_02: you played in college together,
41:27
SPEAKER_02: and you're just, you didn't see a guy, but you trust his judgment.
41:33
SPEAKER_02: How much,
41:33
SPEAKER_02: how tight is that coaching network,
41:35
SPEAKER_02: and how many times are you getting recommendations or tips from other people
41:41
SPEAKER_02: in your circle?
41:44
SPEAKER_00: Nonstop, Constantly.
41:46
SPEAKER_00: So, like,
41:47
SPEAKER_00: with your coaching circle,
41:49
SPEAKER_00: I mean, the fraternity, the coaching, like, circle is very tight-knit.
41:54
SPEAKER_00: And, like,
41:54
SPEAKER_00: you definitely have your coaching trees because with Coach Neer,
41:58
SPEAKER_00: Luke Fikertzi at Rochester,
42:00
SPEAKER_00: and, you know, with Coach Duran and the rest of us, it's those...
42:06
SPEAKER_00: We know what I think can help us have winning programs.
42:10
SPEAKER_00: And so everybody does things a little bit differently.
42:13
SPEAKER_00: You got to adapt to whatever program or school that you're at to get the most out of it.
42:18
SPEAKER_00: But that recommendation from somebody you trust is everything because you can't see them all.
42:24
SPEAKER_00: You can't see everybody.
42:25
SPEAKER_00: So Over those 20 plus years of coaching,
42:29
SPEAKER_00: I try to find the people that I trust in those areas of the country.
42:35
SPEAKER_00: And so, hey, can you see this guy on this Wednesday or something?
42:41
SPEAKER_00: Could you go over and check out a workout or a game?
42:44
SPEAKER_00: And I've done that multiple times throughout my years.
42:47
SPEAKER_00: And it's so helpful for us.
42:49
SPEAKER_00: Because...
42:51
SPEAKER_00: As you build that network, you know there's guys that are going to oversell their player.
42:55
SPEAKER_00: You know there's guys that undersell.
42:58
SPEAKER_00: And you know there's guys that hit it on the nose.
43:00
SPEAKER_00: And so our job as coaches is to find those guys that you trust
43:04
SPEAKER_00: that can potentially see you in person.
43:07
SPEAKER_00: Because this is a great one.
43:10
SPEAKER_00: One of our incoming freshmen,
43:11
SPEAKER_00: Eshawn, Coach Stone was my first recruiting call from University of Rochester.
43:19
SPEAKER_00: And then he left to take the job at Hun School.
43:22
SPEAKER_00: He's been there since, since 2000.
43:25
SPEAKER_00: So, like, I've known him forever.
43:30
SPEAKER_00: But he's like, hey, I think he's trying to be great for you.
43:34
SPEAKER_00: And we had an opportunity and went down and saw a workout in the spring or in,
43:39
SPEAKER_00: like, those winter months before he committed.
43:41
SPEAKER_00: And I saw him with my own eyes, and he was faster than I thought he was on tape.
43:47
SPEAKER_00: And like the speed or the size of somebody or the strength
43:50
SPEAKER_00: of somebody sometimes doesn't translate on film.
43:53
SPEAKER_00: So to be able to see those people in person or hear it from your teammates.
43:58
SPEAKER_00: Hey, a couple of our guys were like, wow, you know, Preston's a lot stronger this year.
44:03
SPEAKER_00: And like, oh, that's great.
44:05
SPEAKER_00: It's great to hear those things because I can't feel it, thankfully, because I'm getting old.
44:10
SPEAKER_00: But like, I don't want to be able to.
44:14
SPEAKER_00: The strength and the speed are what separates the divisions, right?
44:18
SPEAKER_00: The size, strength, and speed is what separates the division one, two, and three.
44:23
SPEAKER_00: So to be able to have that knowledge and that referral system is so huge.
44:31
SPEAKER_00: So that's why I said do some research.
44:33
SPEAKER_00: If you know a coach that knows a school that you really want to go to,
44:36
SPEAKER_00: see if you can be that point of reference for them.
44:41
SPEAKER_02: Great point.
44:41
SPEAKER_02: And recruits, don't be afraid to utilize that.
44:45
SPEAKER_02: It's not sucking up.
44:47
SPEAKER_02: It's not trying to be a teacher's pet.
44:51
SPEAKER_02: It's utilizing your network and your connections.
44:54
SPEAKER_02: So go for it.
44:56
SPEAKER_02: And again, as Coach Meade points out, having that familiarity with someone can be a big leg up.
45:02
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
45:04
SPEAKER_02: Just want to remind the chat, I saw a couple of new people join, Rocco and Leo.
45:09
SPEAKER_02: If you guys do have questions,
45:10
SPEAKER_02: we're probably going to go for another five to ten minutes here,
45:13
SPEAKER_02: but get those in as soon as possible so we can get them addressed.
45:18
SPEAKER_02: No bad questions.
45:21
SPEAKER_02: Just this is your chance to talk directly to coach me and get his insight.
45:26
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
45:27
SPEAKER_02: While we wait for that, I'll just ask expectations for the season.
45:31
SPEAKER_02: What are some things you're looking forward to?
45:35
SPEAKER_02: What are some of those next steps as a program that you want to hit beyond just
45:41
SPEAKER_00: wins and losses?
45:44
SPEAKER_00: Now, this year, there's so much to be excited for.
45:46
SPEAKER_00: To have some continuity with Coach Klibbenoff is back.
45:51
SPEAKER_00: To have some consistency at the assistant spot has been amazing.
45:56
SPEAKER_00: He's really helped our program take a jump.
45:59
SPEAKER_00: And then...
46:02
SPEAKER_00: We're going to Greece.
46:03
SPEAKER_00: We're taking our international trip, October 16th to the 24th.
46:08
SPEAKER_00: Vassar has a week-long fall break.
46:10
SPEAKER_00: So this is going to be my third trip since getting here.
46:13
SPEAKER_00: So we're going to be able to play through.
46:16
SPEAKER_00: We have three teams out there and compete and get used to those international rules.
46:20
SPEAKER_00: I expect at least 10 travels from our guys because the footwork's a little bit different.
46:26
SPEAKER_00: But we're very excited to be able to have guys have opportunities.
46:31
SPEAKER_00: And my complete drive to try to take the international trip once every four years is
46:37
SPEAKER_00: because that's the commitment and sacrifice you make as a student athlete.
46:41
SPEAKER_00: Basketball goes through both semesters, so you don't have that opportunity to go.
46:46
SPEAKER_00: So that is something that's very special.
46:51
SPEAKER_00: So it's not just about the competitiveness of hoops,
46:54
SPEAKER_00: that is to have the opportunity to be cultured and see the world and have,
47:00
SPEAKER_00: that's what we do.
47:00
SPEAKER_00: What we do as coaches is to try to have basketball work for us and be able
47:05
SPEAKER_00: to take us places that we never thought was capable.
47:09
SPEAKER_00: And then after that, unfortunately, I scheduled a crazy non-conference schedule.
47:17
SPEAKER_00: We only have seven games because we have 18 league games in the Liberty League,
47:22
SPEAKER_00: which is really tough.
47:23
SPEAKER_00: Competitive league, the parity is insane.
47:26
SPEAKER_00: But Our non-conference,
47:27
SPEAKER_00: we're going up to Rochester to play Denison and hopefully either Allegheny
47:32
SPEAKER_00: or University of Rochester.
47:33
SPEAKER_00: And then we have Williams coming back on the 18th.
47:37
SPEAKER_00: And then we go down to the Governor's Challenge, which I'm excited about.
47:41
SPEAKER_00: It became recommended.
47:45
SPEAKER_00: And we get a chance to play Randolph-Macon and Notre Dame College of Maryland.
47:49
SPEAKER_00: And then we're in a tournament during the winter break where we play Stevens and Cortland.
47:55
SPEAKER_00: And both those teams are in the NCAA tournament as well.
47:58
SPEAKER_00: So it's the hardest non-conference schedule that I've put together.
48:01
SPEAKER_00: We only have one home game in 2026.
48:03
SPEAKER_00: We get Williams at home and the rest were at neutral sites or on the road.
48:07
SPEAKER_00: So the expectations are high,
48:09
SPEAKER_00: but the reality of it is we're going to be battle tested by the time we get ready
48:14
SPEAKER_00: to play Ithaca and Hobart that first week in December.
48:17
SPEAKER_00: So it'll be exciting,
48:19
SPEAKER_00: but also to keep like it's the process over results
48:23
SPEAKER_00: to just make sure we keep getting better and learn things
48:25
SPEAKER_00: in these non-conference games.
48:27
SPEAKER_02: Mm-hmm.
48:28
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think that's such a good strategy.
48:34
SPEAKER_02: Prep for the NCAA tournament to play those neutral site games two in a weekend.
48:40
SPEAKER_02: Simulate that style because you don't get that from league play typically.
48:45
SPEAKER_02: And it's for the kids as well as the staff to have to scout a different team.
48:52
SPEAKER_02: I've heard that being so beneficial, and you mentioned being battle-tested.
48:57
SPEAKER_02: It makes me think back to close this out with the connection back to Davidson days.
49:04
SPEAKER_02: I feel like,
49:04
SPEAKER_02: and correct me if I'm wrong,
49:06
SPEAKER_02: but the year that Davidson made the run,
49:09
SPEAKER_02: they had that super hard non-conference schedule and actually ended up losing a lot
49:13
SPEAKER_02: of early season games.
49:15
SPEAKER_02: UCLA on the road, I remember, with Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love.
49:21
SPEAKER_02: They were up big and they blow that game.
49:27
SPEAKER_02: But all of those hurt in the moment,
49:30
SPEAKER_02: but all of those moments coalesced together to result in a great run in a team
49:37
SPEAKER_02: that wasn't scared of anyone.
49:38
SPEAKER_02: So I love that strategy.
49:40
SPEAKER_02: I think it'll pay off with not only some success in the Liberty League,
49:45
SPEAKER_02: but hopefully a deep tournament run come 2027.
49:50
SPEAKER_00: That would be amazing to get there.
49:51
SPEAKER_00: That's what our focus is, but we know it's so hard.
49:55
SPEAKER_00: So we will keep working and aspiring to do that.
49:59
SPEAKER_00: So I just want to thank you.
50:02
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
50:03
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
50:04
SPEAKER_00: What were you going to say, Carl?
50:06
SPEAKER_02: Go ahead.
50:07
SPEAKER_00: No, I just want to thank you for what you do.
50:10
SPEAKER_00: There's nothing in NCAA sports like Division III athletics and to do it
50:17
SPEAKER_00: in basketball where you have, it's one of the biggest divisions with over 400 teams.
50:22
SPEAKER_00: The competitiveness is off the charts,
50:25
SPEAKER_00: but I have worked in Division I and now being back in Division III as a head coach,
50:32
SPEAKER_00: there's nothing better.
50:34
SPEAKER_00: I don't have to start every conversation with how much you need for your NIL deal.
50:39
SPEAKER_00: I'm just trying to make sure you're going to have a great education and a great job
50:44
SPEAKER_00: when you leave.
50:45
SPEAKER_00: And it's a product that I truly believe in here at Vassar College.
50:48
SPEAKER_00: So it's...
50:50
SPEAKER_00: And the best part was the camaraderie with the coaches because we don't have scholarships.
50:58
SPEAKER_00: You're in the driver's seat and try to find the product that fits you.
51:01
SPEAKER_00: If Vassar's for you, that's amazing.
51:05
SPEAKER_00: Let's get it done.
51:06
SPEAKER_00: But if it's not, there's 300, 400 other schools that you could potentially find a good fit.
51:12
SPEAKER_00: So do not get discouraged to keep shooting your shot and email and contact.
51:18
SPEAKER_00: There's a ton of opportunities out there, but you got to work for it.
51:21
SPEAKER_00: So thank you, Carl,
51:23
SPEAKER_00: for continuing to inform and educate the population because it's a tough,
51:28
SPEAKER_00: tough job to find a roster spot here.
51:32
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it takes a lot of work, takes a lot of time.
51:35
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, but I appreciate your insights here and joining the program tonight.
51:41
SPEAKER_02: Any final thoughts?
51:43
SPEAKER_00: That was pretty much all of them.
51:46
SPEAKER_00: Keep working hard.
51:48
SPEAKER_00: When you do your work and you keep improving your skill-wise,
51:52
SPEAKER_00: and I want to believe the rest can take care of itself.
51:55
SPEAKER_00: But just trying to get better every day is something we try to do.
52:00
SPEAKER_02: All right.
52:01
SPEAKER_02: Well, we thank Coach Mee for his time.
52:03
SPEAKER_02: Thanks for the questions, guys, in the chat.
52:05
SPEAKER_02: And we will see you on the next one, I believe.
52:07
SPEAKER_02: It's with the head coach of Bates Women's Basketball.
52:11
SPEAKER_02: Thanks, Carl.
52:12
SPEAKER_02: Appreciate it.