Tech hoops staff gearing up for busy recruiting month

RUSTON – It's July, and that means Louisiana Tech is about to embark on its most important recruiting month of the year.

Starting next week, Tech's basketball coaching staff will embark on a road trip with stops from Atlanta to Las Vegas to seek out 2016 and 2017 recruiting targets.

"July is a critical month for any program," Tech coach Eric Konkol said earlier this week. "We want players that are athletic, tough, play with a lot of energy and then certainly have a type of production. We're going to have an opportunity to see so many players this summer all over the country."

The full list of destinations is too long for Konkol to remember, but the staff will hit Myrtle Beach, Charlotte, Atlanta, Augusta, St. Louis, Houston, Dallas and Las Vegas, among others, in the next few weeks.

July's significance is centered on showcase tournaments, like the Peach Jam in Augusta, or a Top 100 junior college event in St. Louis. The sheer size of these tournaments allows programs to evaluate hundreds of players at once, which helps a school like Tech with the lowest recruiting budget in Conference USA.

"We've been spending a lot of time on the phone getting to know people that we're looking forward to watching and getting a feel for their situation to see what their immediate interest level is in Louisiana Tech," Konkol said. "We're going to see those players immediately to see just how much they fit out program."

Tech still has two scholarships left for 2015, and there's always a chance to reel in a late transfer, but the Bulldogs might end up with four openings in 2016 and three in 2017. Tech will lose seniors Alex Hamilton and Qiydar Davis after this season with Erik McCree, Merrill Holden and Da'Shawn Robinson set to depart in 2017.

With the four openings, Tech wants to recruit two guards and two "bigger" forwards to create balance.

"I'd be happy to sign three players in the fall if that's the way it shook out. Three right guys and save on a scholarship for the spring," Konkol said. "I've always liked doing it that way having a scholarship for the spring just for whatever reason to see what opportunities may come up."

Tech's affinity with athletic, lanky, defensive-minded big men should continue under the new regime. The former staff brought in forwards like Michale Kyser and Merrill Holden, and while the jury is still out on Holden, the blueprint for traditional big men hasn't quite worked out.

Gilbert Talbot, Isaiah Massey and Leo Edwards — three players with considerable beef — have transferred out in the past two years after failing to find a defined role.

Konkol said he wants to look at defense — the ability to trap, press and switch on screens — first when recruiting big men.

"To do that, you're going to need your bigger guys to be mobile and be able to slide their feet laterally and be able to block shots and so forth," Konkol said. "I always want our big guys to do that.

"My experience tells me those real big guys have a hard time doing some of the things you'd like to do defensively."

Konkol and his staff have been at Tech for less than two months, but they already have an idea of potential targets in 2016 and 2017. Some of the knowledge is from previous stops — Konkol at Miami, assistant Duffy Conroy at UW-Milwaukee, assistant Corey Barker at Bowling Green and assistant Tony Skinn at the AAU level on the East coast.

Konkol lauded the job of all three assistants, but Skinn has brought the most name value in recruiting. The first-time head coach recalled a story from a recent unofficial visit when he mentioned how Skinn was a part of George Mason's memorable Final Four run in 2006.

"The (recruit) said, 'Oh! That was you?'" Konkol said. "It strings up all types of conversation. Parents especially, the kids were 8, 9 years old at that time. Parents remember that run at George Mason. Some of them remember the crossover against James Harden. He's just a really good person, too, so they gravitate to his energy and his kindness."

The connections have helped, but it won't prevent Tech from trying to stretch its dollars. Since Tech will spend a sizable amount of its recruiting money just in July, the staff needs to zero in on what types of recruits they go after in order to maximize resources.

"You try to find players that you feel fit you and you feel will help your program," Konkol said. "You also really have to evaluate who you have a great shot of landing because if you take second place 20 times in a row in the summer, then you're in rough shape.

"You can't hit a home run if you don't swing hard. We want to have some of those too."

Connect with Sean Isabella on Twitter at ST_IsabellaTNS