Penguins are excited about new-look roster
Calhoun recaps YSU’s recruiting, transfer portal efforts, says there’s ‘a buzz’ about the class
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YOUNGSTOWN -- It's been a busy offseason for YSU head coach Jerrod Calhoun and his staff.
The Penguins added five players to their roster, four via the transfer portal and one traditional high school recruit. From the portal, they picked up senior forward Malek Green (Canisius), senior guard Bryce McBride (Eastern Michigan), senior forward Adrian Nelson (Northern Kentucky) and junior guard Brandon Rush (Fairleigh Dickinson). Freshman forward John Lovelace also is joining the team.
YSU still has one scholarship to give, but Calhoun said he isn't sure what direction the program will take yet.
"It's been a really, really productive offseason as far as our men's basketball program," Calhoun said. "We're really excited about the five kids we have coming in here to YSU. I can't thank my staff and our players enough. I thought our players did a tremendous job of showing these guys what Youngstown State University has to offer and then also our men's basketball program."
Calhoun feels this class will bring versatility and depth, and also said it addresses some of the needs the program had after the season ended and some pieces exited either due to graduation or the portal.
"We feel like we've done a little bit of both," he said. "And then in the process, we've become older. I think that's the name of the game in college basketball is to get a little bit older throughout your roster."
In addition to Nelson taking on YSU with the Norse, Green faced the Penguins last season at the Beeghly Center. He scored 19 points, but YSU won against Canisius, 71-43. Calhoun also was familiar with Rush, who played AAU basketball with Calhoun's son.
"With all of these guys ... we feel that we're much more athletic, very versatile," Calhoun noted. "I think the common theme with all these guys (was) number one, they wanted to be here. They saw the vision; they saw the success the last three years."
In terms of style of play, he added, "With Adrian and Malek, that style of play with our frontcourt players. With Brandon and Bryce, what they saw was our style of play with pick and rolls and the way we play multiple guards on the floor. All these kids really fit to what we needed."
Adding to Calhoun's excitement is what YSU knows it's bringing back.
The Penguins return All-Horizon League Third Team selection Dwayne Cohill, as well as multiple players who saw playing time last season: Will Dunn, Shemar Rathan-Mayes, Chris Shelton and Myles Hunter. Cohill is one of just five returning players from last year's all-league teams.
"I think the most important recruits you have are the ones you have inside your program," Calhoun said. "We have really, really good players coming back. ... To be able to add some of the versatility some of the guys and the frontcourt guys (have) ... has been really, really good, and our guys are excited. The returning guys are excited about what they see."
The Penguins will begin offseason workouts in June. Until then, there are a lot of moving parts, Calhoun said.
"It's not as easy to transfer as everybody thinks it is," he added. "It's our job as coaches to kind of make it a really, really smooth transition. You bring them in the summer, you only get eight weeks to work them out -- we'll probably use seven. But they're all ready to go, (asking), 'Coach, when can we move in?'"
When they do get here, Calhoun said understanding philosophies will be key for the newcomers. Meanwhile, his staff will be keeping an eye on how the additions will affect YSU and how things will look.
"That'll be determined a lot in the summer, and I'm excited to sit back and watch (open gyms)," Calhoun said. "I'm excited just to watch for a few days, and then we'll certainly implement our style of play. Really, it's just getting those guys to play to their strengths. I think each guy brings a lot of value to our basketball team, and I think with the returning guys, they're only going to get better."
As such, there's an energy inside the program.
"Certainly on paper, there's a buzz about our recruiting class ... It's a good time to be a Penguin," Calhoun said. "I think it's going to be really exciting."