Roster and recruits ready, WIU men wade into offseason – McDonough Voice

MACOMB It has been a whirlwind year for the Western Illinois mens basketball program.

In the last year, Rob Jeter and his staff took over the program and had to completely overhaul the roster, adding 15 new faces, all while battling COVID-19.

A year later, COVID-19 is still here and protocols are still in place, but with the roster about filled out and a new recruiting class signed and ready to go, Coach Jeter believes things are starting to get closer to normal, especially when it comes to recruiting and the offseason.

Nothing really changes, we just all adapt, the coach said. A lot of games are on TV or some kind of streaming platform so you can watch recruits play that way.

The guys we have coming in are three transfers and a freshman, so we were able to evaluate and do things the way weve always done in recruiting.

When it comes to recruiting, theway coaches see and contact players may change, there are still some things that always stay the same, and for Coach Jeter, its those tried and true methods that always make the difference.

Its all about relationships, its always going to be about relationships and were always going to recruit that way, the coach said. It (streaming) does make it easier, it helps you identify players but when there is a relationship, that helps the recruit understand who you are.

Weve done that and thats what makes us excited about the guys were bringing in.

Jeter and the Leathernecks have added four players to the current roster, bringing in transfers Luka Barisic (Texas-San Antonio), Quinlan Bennett (Lamar) and Trenton Massner (Northwestern State) as well as freshman KJ Lee (Fort Zumwalt North).

With the majority of his team back from last year, Jeter had the luxury to recruit need and fit, instead of trying to fill out a roster, like last year.

Looking at our team last year, our guard play left something to be desired, it took us until the second part of the season to find a point guard in Colton and the guys we were bringing in off the bench were all new to us, Jeter said. We didnt really have complementary pieces, we had a lot of good bodies and guys who can play, so we put together a team thinking we knew what we had.

This second year, we know what we have, we have a core and now its about finding strong pieces who fit, more guard play, adding a stretch big, adding depth with the bigs we have in Tamell (Pearson) and Adam (Anhold). Now we have something new that we needed.

And while Jeter likes his roster, he admits the program may not be done with additions.

Western does have one scholarship available, but with plenty of capable players already in tow, the coach is plenty comfortable with his team as is.

We still have a scholarship, Im not quite sure what well do with it but ithas to be a piece that fits if that happens, he said. But you look at the guys we have, you want to make sure you give them a chance to show you they can be that piece. You dont want to over-recruit and create your own problems.

For us, we feel really good about where we are, we dont have a true point guard, but Colton did a good job with that and I think Trenton can come in and help us out there and KJ Lee as a true freshman has some experience there, so they could possibly be that piece. If not, I think we can be open to seeing what we can find if there is something out there.

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Roster and recruits ready, WIU men wade into offseason - McDonough Voice