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Jerrod Calhoun is about relationships. He got off to a great start to his recruiting -- for the class of 2019.
The new Youngstown State University men's basketball coach utilized his strong Cleveland ties to offer a scholarship to 6-9 sophomore Brison Waller from Garfield Heights, according to a tweet last week from Garfield Heights coach Sonny Johnson.
However, Calhoun couldn't get Duane Moss, a 6-foot-7 recruit from Carolina Forest, to stay committed to the YSU program.
The Sun News in Myrtle Beach, S.C., stated in an April 3 article that Moss is decommitting from YSU. Moss is scheduled to have back surgery this month, according to an earlier Sun News article.
Moss originally signed with YSU in November with retired coach Jerry Slocum's staff. Moss' Twitter account, while he was signed by the Penguins, had a picture of him with Slocum.
Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, Middle Tennessee and South Carolina were some that offered Moss prior to him signing with YSU.
Moss told Joe L. Hughes II of The Sun News: "I had a relationship with the old staff that's no longer there. So if I'm going to give them the same opportunity to recruit me, I'm going to give everyone the same chance, because I'm back to not knowing where I'll end up."
It's about relationships. Moss had a relationship with Slocum, associate coach Mike Wernicki -- who was a great recruiter for YSU -- and the former Penguins staff.
It'll be interesting to see who YSU picks up in the late signing period. The Penguins, under the old regime, made scholarship offers to two 6-7 players -- shooting guard Brandon Horvath (175 pounds) from Harwood, Md., and small forward Kendrick Gray (200 pounds) from Burlington, Vt., according to verbalcommits.com
It'll be curious if YSU goes that route or will go elsewhere.
The late signing period starts April 12 and ends May 17.
Considering Calhoun has strong ties in northeast Ohio, he may have the inside track on players Cleveland State, Akron, Kent State or other Mid-American Conference or Horizon League schools may want as well.
CSU's leading scorer Rob Edwards (6-7) and post player Jibri Blount (6-7) both asked for their release after the Vikings signed Dennis Felton as coach to replace the retired Gary Waters. The sophomores are free agents, along with a couple of Akron players after Keith Dambrot left that program for Duquesne. Akron is still looking for a replacement. There is turmoil in the land of the Zips and Vikings, which could be to YSU's benefit.
"We've got to protect our home turf," Calhoun said during the March 28 YSU news conference to announce his hiring. "There's some very good players locally. We can't get into names. We've got to protect our turf. We've got to start inside out.
"There's plenty of players in northeast Ohio, all the way from the Valley to Cleveland. We've got to protect that land. We've got to get them on campus immediately."
This might be the perfect storm for YSU with the upheaval in area Division I basketball and the fact that there are five Penguin scholarships available right now.
Calhoun interviewed some prospective coaches at this weekend's Final Four, also serving as the annual NCAA coaches convention. He has Paul Molinari on staff, but he hasn't been officially named by YSU.
How soon can Calhoun solidify his staff and build relationships with prospective recruits?
The Penguins have a good core returning, but to run an up-tempo offense and defense you need depth. Filling most of those five scholarships the best you can, considering Calhoun just became coach a week ago, goes a long way to doing just that.
Nobody said coaching YSU was an easy job, but I have a feeling Calhoun is more than willing to put in the time to make this a desirable position.
His successful track record at Fairmont State and assistant coaching jobs at Cincinnati, Walsh and West Virginia support that theory -- winning wherever he went.
He may convince Moss to come back to YSU, or not. But maybe it's time to keep the Penguins' focus around areas like Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati and places closer to YSU?
I like taking a chance with Calhoun. He's built relationships in most of those areas while leading Fairmont State to 124 wins in five seasons.