Marching to Madness

Coach McCasland comes to the Red Raiders after taking the North Texas Mean Green to the NIT Championship while the 31 wins last season were the most in a season in NT history. Coach McCasland's defensive acumen makes him one of the top coaches in college basketball and he now takes his philosophy to Lubbock. The Red Raiders also look forward to the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas in November when they open with Villanova.

Topics of discussion include:

• Leading North Texas to the NIT title as well as the 31 wins
• The ability of Pop Isaacs, who looks forward to continuing as a Red Raider
• Incoming transfers in Darrion Williams, Warren Washington and Joe Toussaint
• Competing in the Battle 4 Atlantis

… And Much More!

Coach Chris Gerlufsen talks about his initial year as the head coach at USF. He piloted the Dons to 20 wins which was the sixth time in seven seasons that USF won at least 20 games. Coach Gerlufsen also discusses his offensive coordinator assignments when he was an assistant to Eran Ganot at Hawaii. Khalil Shabazz and Tyrell Roberts graduated as this was the second time in as many seasons that the Dons had two first-team WCC basketball players.

Topics of discussion include:

• How Shabazz and Roberts were able to push the Dons' image higher
• Studying, game-planning, and scouting opponents
• The return of Marcus Williams, Saba Gigiberia, and Josh Kunen
• Adding USC transfer Malik Thomas

… And Much More!

Coach Micah Shrewsberry takes over the Fighting Irish after leading Penn State for two seasons as he was able to place the Nittany Lions into the NCAA Tournament where the win over Texas A&M in Round 1 was the Lions' first 'W' in NCAA play since 2001. Shrewsberry will work on developing an uptempo and three-point offensive attack with the Irish. He has brought in a transfer class that features former Seton Hall Pirate Tae Davis, Penn State transfer Kebba Njie, and Julian Roper, a guard from Northwestern and also four freshmen.

Topics of discussion include:

• How six seasons as a Celtics assistant helped him prepare for the move from Penn State to Notre Dame
• The influence of Purdue head coach Matt Painter
• How the inside-outside attack is a staple of his offensive philosophy
• Potential influence of Tae Davis and Kebba Njie

… And Much More!

Coach Odom moves to VCU and the A-10 after leading the Utah State Aggies for two seasons. Utah State finished 26-9 in Odom's second year as the Aggies lost the Mountain West Tournament championship to Final Four participant San Diego State, 62-57, but USU made it to the NCAA Tournament. Coming into VCU, he saw a group of Rams leave, but added a solid group of transfers into the program. Guard Zeb Jackson is the lone returnee who played major minutes last season.

Topics of discussion include:

• The winning element at VCU
• Implementation of the transitional pace and three-point game
• Max Shulga and Sean Bairstow transferring from Utah State
• Other transfers into the program

… And Much More!

Coach Paris makes his debut on "Marching to Madness" as he took over the South Carolina basketball program last season. Paris will look at building the offense into a more sustainable part of the program as he brings in a solid transfer class for the upcoming season. Coach Paris built Chattanooga back into the NCAA Tournament as they played Illinois in 2022 NCAAT and lost a tough 54-53 decision to Illinois. He had 20 years as an assistant coach at Akron and Wisconsin as well as D-2 IUP, and DePauw, and D-3 Wooster.

Topics of discussion include:

• Early August trip to Bahamas
• The ability and approach of guard Meechie Johnson
• The transfer class which will help upgrade the level of the squad
• Changes in recruiting that he has seen since he became an assistant in the late 1990s

… And Much More!

Coach Monson was able to push The Beach back into a winning record after losing two of his top three scorers and then leading scorer Joel Murray was lost for the season with a wrist injury. LBSU led D-1 basketball by taking 48.2 two-point field goal attempts per game. Coach Monson also discusses key returnees plus his two seasons as head coach at Gonzaga in the late 1990s.

Topics of discussion include:

• Leading the nation with 48.2 two-point field goal attempts per game
• The return of Marcus Tsohonis
• Lassina and Aboubacar Traore and their impacts on LBSU roundball
• Coach Monson's first head coaching job at Gonzaga in the late 1990s

… And Much More!

UMass head coach Frank Martin visits "Marching to Madness" as he will begin his second season with the Minutemen in the '23-24 season. Coach Martin led UMass to an 8-1 start last season before injuries derailed the team with six players out for nearly 40 games and that made the Minutemen struggle in the Atlantic 10. Although the injuries left them in peril, UMass returns with leading scorer Matt Cross as well as eight freshmen and two transfers on the season's roster.

Topics of discussion include:

• Working on the rebuild to make UMass an A-10 contender and consistency in making the NCAA Tournament
• Returns of Matt Cross, Keon Thompson, and Rahsool Diggins to the Minutemen
• The effects of the injury-riddle opening season
• The knowledge and support of his wife Anya

… And Much More!

Florida Atlantic head coach Dusty May is back as his Owls flew into the Final Four in March. The Owls keep their players together for this upcoming season as Michael Forest was the only senior on the team. FAU won 35 games, the high for any D-1 team this season, and they return Johnell Davis and Alijah Martin, who are the team's top two scorers.

Topics of discussion include:

• Care and loyalty keeping the squad together
• How to take the 35 wins and find the next step to go even further
• Emphasis in summer practices
• The impact of the returning players with Davis, Martin and Boyd comprise a stellar backcourt.

… And Much More!

Coach Johnson is building the Lions into a major competitor in the WCC. This past season's wins over Wake Forest, Nevada, Gonzaga, BYU and Saint Mary's defined how far the team has come in his three years. We also chatted about his perceptions of summer workouts as well as coaches' meetings.

Topics of discussion include:

• The 68-67 win at Gonzaga
• Cam Shelton's next move in his basketball career
• Kelli Leaupepe as the leading returning scorer
• What needs to happen for the Lions to take the step into NCAA Tournament play

Cal State Fullerton Titans head coach Dedrique Taylor is back as a guest on "Marching to Madness". Coach Taylor once again led CSF to the Big West championship game after winning 10 out of it's last 11 games to finish the season. He discusses the Titans' emergence as well into 44-22 record in the past two seasons as they won the tournament last year and made it to the NCAA Tournament, but lost to UCSB in this season's championship outing.

Topics of discussion include:

• Leading scorer Latrell Wrightsell, Jr., and his transfer to Alabama
• The emergence of Max Jones as a scorer
• The idea of defending and forcing turnovers and its influence on possession length
• New Titans for the upcoming 23-24 season

… And Much More!