Fang Mitchell admits he has his work cut out for him this season.
The longtime Eagles coach, who has guided Coppin to four NCAA tournament appearances, suffered through an 8-22 season last year. Now just four players remain from Coppin's 2009-10 roster: sophomore power forward Branden Doughty, senior point guard Vince Goldsberry, junior shooting guard Michael Harper and senior center Ceslovas Kucinskas (Mount Carmel).
The exodus of Eagles did allow Mitchell to remake his roster, adding eight scholarship players. The newcomers on Coppin's roster are Tony Gallo, a 6-foot, 190-pound guard from Cabrillo College in Aptos, Calif., Akeem Ellis, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound forward from Herkimer (N.Y.) Community College, Michael Simpson, a 6-foot-6, 185-pound forward from Winslow Township, N.J., Michael Murray, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound guard from Edison Academy (N.J.), Collin Johnson, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound guard from Edison Academy (N.J.), Logan Wiens, a 6-foot-7, 230-pound forward from Merced (Calif.) College, Osman Olol, a 6-foot-9 center from Monroe (N.Y.) Community College and Antonio Williams, a 6-foot-6 forward from Monroe (N.Y.) Community College.
Mitchell spoke to Recruiting Report last week about Coppin's 2010 recruiting class.Gallo had great career at Cabrillo, scoring more than 1,000 points in two seasons, including 38 in his final game. Are you counting on him for some scoring punch?
Well we're looking to him for a multitude of things. When we had an opportunity to see him, we recognized that he had the ability to score, but also he was a tremendous point guard and showed a lot of leadership qualities. We struggled a little bit last year at the point. We didn't have enough depth and we also needed someone to take control. I think this year he'll be one that will give Vince Goldsberry a fight for that spot. We wanted to create some situations where they battle [for a starting spot] more.
Ellis was the conference player of the year as a sophomore and had other DI options. What's your take on his game and how he fits in with Coppin?
Put it this way – he was a first-team All-American. He was on the [national junior college] all-tournament team and he scored 24 points in the all-star game against Division II and Division III [JUCO competition]. So I think we captured a very, very good one. He played basically five spots, from the point guard to the 5-man. He can score, he can rebound, and above all he showed a tremendous amount of leadership. Based on the immaturity that we might have had in the past, I think that becomes very important to me. The fact that he has leadership qualities [is huge]. So he'll bring scoring to the table, and we had a tremendous need for scoring after last year. And I addressed that in recruiting. We addressed rebounding and scoring.
Simpson was a guy you discovered in April at an all-star game in New Jersey. What caught your eye with him and what does he bring to the table?
Well, he was just so athletic. [Athleticism] was another area we were looking to improve. Simpson is a very athletic guard. He brings some size to the table. He can play the 2 or the 3. We were looking to improve our size last year. He can shoot the ball from 3 as well as take it to the basket. We felt very fortunate to be able to get him right out of high school because he was one of the top players in New Jersey.
You landed two big guards from Edison Academy in Murray and Johnson. Are they similar prospects, and how did they fare this past year?
Well I think Murray's about 215, 220 and stronger. He can shoot the 3 and take it to the basket. I really feel like the best years are ahead of him. He understands the game and will rebound and play defense. He brings a lot of things to the table. And he's a really good student-athlete. I'm very happy with him, also.
Collin is more of a 3-man, but they had him play the 4 spot last year. He was a real good rebounder in high school at Timber Creek. He can shoot the 3. We're going to look, more or less, to bring him along more at the 3 spot than looking at him playing the 4. He's a very basketball-savvy type. He definitely understands the game.
Olol looks like a big man with potential. What do you see from him?
He led Monroe in blocked shots last year, so I look for him to be able to do that. And his shot was somewhere between 35 and 38 percent from 3-point range. So he can score from the outside. We're looking to develop him into a complete player. He does have potential. He's athletic. We were basically looking to get more athletic, and he filled the bill in order for us to try and turn things around. And he came from a school where he played two years. Winning is very important to me. That team was ranked No. 1 going into the [national] tournament. We definitely need people like him who look at winning as being important, just like Ellis, whose team was ranked No. 3 going into the tournament. These types of players will help turn our situation around.
Williams is another big guy from Monroe who fared well as a sophomore. Talk about his game.
Well again, we needed some help inside. He played inside and is strong inside. He has a variety of moves inside and he can rebound with the best of them. He led the team in rebounds at 11 a game. We definitely need someone like that. What he also brings is that leadership quality. We definitely need people who are going to be leaders and understand what it's all about. Antonio was an all-region player on the first team.
How have you been so successful in landing guys from Monroe?
Well, I'm originally from junior college. And they were well aware of what we've done at Coppin, and they had some respect for our program. So we've been very fortunate to get players of that type, especially when you're talking about a junior college that plays at the national level. Coach [Jerry] Burns is one of the premier junior college coaches in the country. He's done a tremendous job. And I love getting players from him because they understand the game.
What does Wiens bring to the table and where did you discover him?
Wiens is from Merced College in Merced, Calif. He's 6-7 and he can shoot the basketball with the best of them. He's great from 3-point range. He needs to work a little more on his rebounding. But he'll bring the ability to stretch the floor for our team. He averaged basically 11 points each year and shot somewhere in the area of 39 percent last year and 36 percent on 3-pointers this year. I love shooters, and he brings that to the table. And we're just really looking to get better on the offensive end and have players who can put the ball in the basket.
Which of these guys are you counting on to be part of the rotation?
Well I would hope all of them could come in and give me some work right off the bat. But I understand that some of the guys are more experienced. You can never take away from the fact that guys have played on the national level and played in the national tournament. When you have guys that have that experience – Ellis being one of those guys, plus Olol and Antonio Williams – of being in the spotlight of the national tournament, occasionally you would look to those types of guys to step up first because they know what this is all about. I know I need some leadership and need some people that will make winning contagious to all our younger guys that we have. I'm looking for some of those guys to step up and set an example that we'll be able to follow. People like Gallo, who's experienced some success and had some prestigious honors, he's going to step in and show that leadership quality that we need.
Adding eight new guys is essentially a wholesale transformation of the roster. How will you handle that situation?
It is a situation that I know I'm going to have to worry about in chemistry with the old guys and the new guys and finding the right mix. But it still should be all about winning – winning in the classroom as well as on the basketball floor. If their mindset is there, then this transition won't be that difficult. It's up to me to be [in control] of what we're supposed to do. We've had some difficulties in the past, some disciplinary problems. But we're going to address these things and get young people to understand what this is all about and how we can be successful, on and off the floor. It takes some time, but as long as I can get it done by March, it'll be good.
Looking back, why didn't it work out with some of those guys?
We did lose quite a few student-athletes last year for various reasons. I'm old school. Academics have always been the No. 1 priority with me dealing with young people. And respect is another thing that has always been a priority to me. We know we had to address some academic issues. There was a lack of support from the director of athletics. We had kids that were one [season at Coppin] and done. They didn't get it done the first time. But we're moving on from that. Hopefully we don't have as much turnover this year. But it's a learning experience this year. I'm trying to do the best we can to get these kids on the right path. My major problem last year was that some kids, they were just disrespectful at times, and I'm not going to tolerate that. I've been at this for a long time, and I'm just not going to tolerate that. Hopefully those things can change and those things can be fixed. I'm not going to give up on my guys.
Baltimore Sun photo / Feb. 12, 2005