You got the Navy job in May. It was certainly late in the game from a recruiting perspective, so what was your first move?

Well my first move was to make sure all the kids were still committed to the Academy. Immediately, once I accepted the job, I just called all the kids and talked to all of them. We kept the dialogue going through the rest of May and June. All the kids stayed with their commitment to Navy. They all arrived here in June for plebe summer and are all doing well. In the course of the summer we got a chance to meet them and their parents, and we’ve had an opportunity over the course of the summer in July and August to see them every day, talk to them and watch them play. We’re allowed to do that over here as part of the plebe sports period. Then [we’ve just been] building relationships. Recruiting is all about relationships. We’re trying to build them over the course of time here.

How much of the class was already compiled when you got the job?

All the guys were committed and had their appointments. My job was just to make sure they all still came and were still committed. We were able to do that.

Donya Jackson’s a local guy who led Calvert Hall to a BCL title and followed that up with a strong prep year at Mercersburg Academy. What are you expecting out of him?

Well first of all, it’s really hard because I haven’t had a chance to see the kids a lot. I didn’t watch them in a high school situation. I watched some tape we have laying around here on some guys. But Donya is a very, very talented young man. I think, first of all, he’s gifted athletically. He really shoots the ball well and he’s competitive. He loves to play. I think he’s going to be a very, very good player here and hopefully in the Patriot League. But he has a high skill-set and he has a high, competitive motor. He just loves to play. He loves to compete and he’s very athletic.

Kevin Alter is an undersized point guard who came to Navy straight out of high school. What are you looking for from him?

He’s a very tremendous shooter, a great communicator, has great leadership skills and handles the ball very well. And he’s just a tough, competitive kid and a competitive person. But he makes shots. He just makes open shots. He makes the other guys on the team better.

Wes Clark is an Annapolis native who seems to be steeped in the Academy’s traditions. What do you like about him?

Well, I think he’s got leadership skills and a certain level of toughness to him. Again, he’s a competitive person. I think he’s a good perimeter shooter. He’s a combo guard that we can play in a couple different places.

Chall Montgomery teamed with Jackson at Mercersburg. What does he bring to the table?

He’s very, very athletic. He’s a high-energy guy, a strong, tough kid who can score off the dribble. He’s more of a drive-to-the-basket type of player right now. He can be a very good rebounder and a very good defender. He’s got long arms and he’s just a tremendous athlete. He brings that aspect to our program. So he’s kind of a kid who can play multiple positions.

Jon Ward-Adams is another incoming point guard. What do you like about his game?

He’s had some injuries with an ankle, but he’s a kid that’s a natural point guard in the sense that he tries to make other guys better. He can make open shots and he’s strong. He about 6-foot, 6-foot-1 and strong. But he’s had some ankle issues that we hope to get cleared up there. We want to get him on the floor. I haven’t seen as much of him as some of the other guys.

What’s the role you see Worth Smith filling as a freshman and down the road?

He’s like 6-7, a long, athletic guy who blocks shots and shoots the ball from the perimeter. He’s just a hard-working kid. Again, he’s like a face-up 4 that can play some 3. He has a pretty good skill-set and he makes plays. He just makes plays out there. He seems to have a nose for the basketball.

Smoot’s the biggest guy on the team at 6-10. Will he be counted on right away in the post?

Well he’s a big kid, takes up a lot of space and is very good around the basket. He’s a very competitive kid. He wants to do well. He’s strong, a big kid at 6-11, 245 or so. He’s a big kid, is strong, can run and jump and can block shots. He has got very good timing and he’s a very good shot-blocker. I think he’s a kid that will continue to get better and better. He’s a kid that you walk in and you kind of go, ‘Wow.’ He’s a very, very promising looking young guy.

Overall, are you pleased with this incoming group? Are there any needs that weren’t addressed?

Well, it’s a little more difficult [to assess] because you can’t watch [the whole team play]. The plebes, we’re allowed to watch them during the summer a little bit. We have a feel of what they can do. I really don’t have a feel of what the returners can do. We start classes next Monday, then individual workouts with the guys. We just met as a staff, talked about individual workouts and evaluations to see what the returning guys can do, skill-wise, and what they can’t do. Once we figure out what guys can do, we can better prepare for the season offensively and defensively. It’s kind of a learning process for us as coaches as well. We’re trying to figure out what guys’ strengths are.

How much has your past in the Big Ten helped in recruiting?

It’s paid off for us. We’re involved with some pretty good kids that we’ve been able to gain interest from, so I think that’s really helped out. As a staff, we have Kurt Kanaskie and Dan Earl, two of my assistants from Penn State with great connections. Jason Crafton stayed from the previous staff, as well as Aaron Goodman. Our other young guy, D.J. Black, came from Penn State as a film guy. So we have a pretty experienced group and we’ve been able to get involved with some kids. We’ve had several unofficial visits already. But people certainly know about you, and parents come to campus and read all about that stuff and what we’ve been able to accomplish as coaches. It’s been good that way. One thing we’re going to try to do where they maybe haven’t been doing at the level I’d like to see is really work with the prep school, NAPS, up in Newport, and try to use that to our advantage trying to recruit guys and really talk to them about the benefit of playing at NAPS. Basically, you’re getting that year of maturity and development under your belt before coming here to the Academy.

What are your expectations for your first season in Annapolis?

Well we want to win. The expectation is going to be a Patriot League championship and get to the NCAA tournament. That’s winning three games in March. I think we’ve got a couple seniors -- like Jordan Sugars -- who have played a lot of minutes and are proven players. We have a couple sophomores who have proven themselves, like Isaiah Roberts and J.J. Avila. J.J. was an all-Patriot League player. We’ve got very good building blocks. We’ve got to develop some guys, but put [the newcomers around the returners] and I think we can be pretty successful. It’s sort of an unknown, but that’s the fun in it for us as a staff. We look forward to it. We’re really excited about it and we’re looking forward to the season and hope good things come our way. We’re not going in saying, ‘Hey, we’ve been there.’ But our expectation is to be good and our expectation is to win and our expectation is to get to the NCAA tournament. Whether it’s Year 1 or Year 2 or Year 3, whenever it may be, that’s what we want to do.

Photo 1: U.S. Presswire / Ed DeChellis / Feb. 24, 2009

Photo 2: Handout photo of Navy's freshmen class courtesy of William Russell