Five new college basketball coaches hot on recruiting trail

The college basketball coaching carousel produced more than 50 new hires last spring. But the honeymoon period in Division I hoops is short and the pressure to recruit well and win will be immediate in most cases.

Steve Lavin of St. John's was the recruiting king of first-year coaches in 2010-11, finishing behind only Kentucky in MaxPreps' look at the nation's top classes last spring. Lavin inked nine players from seven different states, as well as junior college big man God's Gift Achiuwa, a native of Nigeria. That group took a hit recently when three signees were ruled ineligible for at least half the season.

It's unlikely that any first-year coach will have the same type of recruiting success that Lavin did this year, but several new faces in new places are off to a hot start in the talent-acquisition game.

Let it flow
It hasn't taken long for this group of five new head coaches to begin piping in talented prospects.



{PAGEBREAK}ED COOLEY, PROVIDENCE
Previous stop: Fairfield (head coach)
2012 verbal commitments: No. 10 overall prospect Ricardo Ledo (6-6, 190, SG/SF), No. 25 Kris Dunn (6-2, 170, PG), Joshua Fortune (6-5, 180, SF)
Breakdown: Cooley has set the bar high for new hires on the recruiting trail. With pledges from two of the Top 25 players in the country, the former Boston College and Rhode Island assistant will eventually add sizzle to a roster badly lacking star power. Cooley promised to 'win big' at his introduction press conference back in March and has a chance to deliver if he keeps recruiting like this.
{PAGEBREAK}MARK TURGEON, MARYLAND
Previous stop: Texas A&M (head coach)
2012 verbal commitments: No. 24 Shaquille Cleare (6-9, 280, C), No. 56 Jake Layman (6-8, 190, SF/PF), Seth Allen (6-2, 185, SG)
Breakdown: With Big East heavyweights Pittsburgh and Syracuse on the way, things just got a whole lot tougher in the Atlantic Coast Conference and Turgeon will have to recruit at a high level to compete in what will become a basketball super-conference. Cleare and Layman are positive indications early on and the 2010 Big 12 Coach of the Year has even more blue-chip talent in his crosshairs, including five-star prospects Mitch McGary and Amile Jefferson.
{PAGEBREAK}BILLY KENNEDY, TEXAS A&M
Previous stop: Promoted from assistant to head coach at Texas A&M
2012 verbal commitments: No. 52 J-Mychal Reese (6-1, 170, PG), No. 54 Alex Caruso (6-4, 180, SG)
Breakdown: Taking over for Turgeon, Kennedy hasn't gone far to land a pair of quality guards. Reese averaged more than 28 points per game as a junior at Bryan (less than 10 miles from Texas A&M's campus). Caruso was one of the summer's breakout stars and hails from A&M Consolidated – less than five miles from Aggieland. Coincidentally (wink), Reese's father, John, was hired as an assistant last month. Kennedy also landed a surprise commitment from Chicago junior Kendrick Nunn, a guard from state and national powerhouse Simeon.
{PAGEBREAK}DAVE RICE, NEVADA-LAS VEGAS
Previous stop: Brigham Young (assistant)
2012 verbal commitments: No. 35 Katin Reinhardt (6-4, 200, SG), DaQuan Cook (6-1, 160, PG), Demetris Morant (6-8, 210, PF/C)
Breakdown: While all the attention is on the pursuit of local boy and No. 1 prospect Shabazz Muhammad, Rice already has a nice class in the works if he can't keep the Bishop Gorman star at home. Reinhardt is a deadly 3-point shooter and central piece for one the nation's top high school programs at Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.). Morant is an athletic forward who happens to be a teammate of Muhammad's at Bishop Gorman – where Rice's brother, Grant, is also the head coach.
{PAGEBREAK}BRIAN GREGORY, GEORGIA TECH
Previous stop: Dayton (head coach)
2012 verbal commitments: No. 87 Marcus Hunt (6-5, 210, SF), Chris Bolden (6-2, 185, SG)
Breakdown: After five 20-win seasons in eight years at Dayton, Gregory wasted no time tapping into Georgia's deep talent pool for a pair of commitments. Hunt was a Class AAAA All-State selection as a junior at North Clayton (College Park), while Bolden helped Norcross win a state title in 2010-11 before moving on to North Gwinnett (Suwanee).