Now what?

UCLA is losing its assistant who built its pipeline of international recruits. The next step is crucial. Plus, a bold move by Mike Young and the team crossing their fingers for waivers.

Author

Tristan Freeman
June 30, 2023

Good assistant coaches are essential on the sideline and on the recruiting trail. Great assistant coaches elevate your program.

What happens when an essential assistant leaves?

1. UCLA’s international pipeline may have burst

Everyone recruits. Most hit the transfer portal. Some are able to go beyond U.S. borders. UCLA’s done just that the last few years. This season, it added three key pickups. One was Utah transfer Lazar Stefanovic, along with a pair of 4-star guards from overseas in Jan Vide and Ilane Fibleuil.

The point man of those recruitments was Ivo Simovic, an assistant on the Bruins staff and one of the sport’s top international recruiters. His work rivals the connections overseas to that of Tommy Lloyd, who has landed a ton of international prospects at both Gonzaga and Arizona.

Simovic will join the Toronto Raptors’ staff. How UCLA responds could dictate next season’s success, and will certainly affect its future recruiting approach. He’s only been with the Bruins for two seasons, but he helped shape the entire 2023-24 roster. How would UCLA continue this international approach without Simovic? First, they have to worry about this season.

All three commits have signed National Letters of Inter, but those aren’t ironclad. Plus, as former Gonzaga commit Alex Toohey recently did, international players can always just stay home and play professionally.

Fibleuil told 247 Sports that he was happy for Simovic, but admitted he’ll be sad to see him leave.

Vide has certainly had his moments in the FIBA U19 World Cup, including 17 points for Slovenia against Team USA. The guard dropped 20 points versus Lebanon, but did struggle against Canada, scoring 12 points on 4-of-17 shooting from the field.

Additionally, UCLA has been recruiting Aday Mara, a projected top-30 prospect. It wanted the 7-foot center to add to frontcourt depth. It’s unclear if they’ll remain in the mix.

Figuring out how to retain those players should be doable. But finding an assistant who can fill Simovic’s specific skill set is the most challenging aspect. At this point, it’s likely UCLA’s pulls back slightly on its international approach.

2. A rare coaching reunion (of sorts)

Throughout the offseason, non-conference games are completed and announced online. Most don’t mean much since they’re usually “buy” games. Some are more compelling.

Mike Young spent 17 years as the head coach at Wofford, winning 299 games and making the NCAA Tournament five times. He led the Terriers to a program-record 30 wins in 2019 and another postseason appearance, becoming the hot name in the coaching carousel. He was hired that following offseason by Virginia Tech, where he’s gone 73-51 in four years and two trips to the Big Dance.

It’s rare when coaches agree to play their former teams and/or assistants. It can be a distraction, or worse, fray the relationship. Sometimes you can’t avoid it — Grant McCasland talked to Rob Dauster about facing his friends Scott Drew and Jermone Tang as regular Big 12 games — but if it’s a coach, you find another option.

Coaches frequently operate like this belief, especially when it comes to playing mid-majors. But Young is willing to play his former team and Dwight Perry, who joined the staff after he left and was named the full-time coach this offseason.

The Hokies will be favored vs. Wofford. There’s a chance they lose. That’s a significant risk for Young to accept. But you have to admire the move.

3. Five teams tied to waiver requests

The NCAA is reportedly cracking down on second-time transfers. They’ve denied many football players thus far, and could do the same when it comes to basketball.

Here are five teams that might be nervous.

Florida State (Primo Spears)

After losing both Matthew Cleveland and Caleb Mills, the Seminoles need of a major scoring boost. Spears averaged 16.0 ppg and 5.3 apg at Georgetown, and would be a massive offensive upgrade over Jalen Warley as a lead guard. If he’s not eligible, former La Salle guard Josh Nickelberry becomes a go-to option next to Darin Green in the backcourt.

Ole Miss (Moussa Cisse and Brandon Murray)

The Rebels have two players in need of waivers, both of whom would be projected starters. Cisse was the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year at Oklahoma State and an elite interior defender. Murray averaged 13.5 ppg and 3.2 apg at Georgetown, including a career-high 29 points against DePaul. Ideally, he’s the starting guard next to Matthew Murrell and Allen Flanigan.

The good news for Ole Miss is that coach Chris Beard has add contingency plans. 7-5 center Jamarion Sharp led the country in blocks and was a 2-time CUSA Defensive Player of the Year. Plus, two other ball-handling transfers (Austin Nunez and Jaylen Murray) could play more minutes. Still, not having Cisse or Murray would be a blow to their depth and NCAA tourney hopes.

Cincinnati (Aziz Bandoago)

The 7-1 center, another former Defensive Player of the Year, averaged a double-double at Utah Valley. The Bearcats need as much talent as possible for their jump to the Big 12, and Bandoago would be essential to that. He’s mentioned “mental health” as a possible reason to transfer, which is a reason the NCAA says is acceptable.

LSU (Jalen Cook)

Cook didn’t play much in his first go-around with LSU, but became a star at Tulane, averaging 19.0 ppg and 4.1 apg the past two years. The Walker, Louisiana native would be closer to home at LSU, which has been a waiver precedent before. Whether the NCAA views New Orleans vs. Baton Rouge as a significant distance is TBD. If Cook isn’t available, the Tigers will rely on Trae Hannibal to run the offense, along with 4-star freshman Mike Williams.

VCU (Joe Bamisile)

Bamisile struggled at Virginia Tech as a freshman and Oklahoma last season, but excelled at George Washington as a sophomore, averaging 16.3 ppg and 5.0 rpg. He’s back in the A-10 and would be one of the top guards in the league next season. His waiver decision could single-handedly change the outlook of the conference at the top next season

Tough call

Its summer, which means the usual cadence for the DTF pod is all out of whack. But they finally took the time to weigh in on Josh Eilert replacing Bob Huggins as the interim coach at West Virginia. How does it play out after this season? What are the chances he becomes the official head coach?

Links as NPOY big man Zach Edey looks to beat the “short” allegations.

Thanks for reading The Field of 68 Daily! If you have a news tip or feedback, email us at [email protected].