New ISU coach Schertz keeps busy with transition

Apr. 14—One of the first things that Indiana State men's basketball coach Josh Schertz has noticed about living in Terre Haute is something all Hauteans can relate to — the trains.

Schertz is temporarily living in an apartment near one of Terre Haute's busy rail lines and let's just say it can be tough to sleep, especially when you're not used to the blaring horns and rumble of the steel wheels.

Not that Schertz is doing a lot of resting anyway. The Tribune-Star caught up with Schertz on Tuesday and as Schertz grows into his new job, many have already spoken about the long hours he's taking on and his near-constant presence at the ISU athletic facilities. There's no in-person recruiting allowed at present, so being in the gym is where Schertz's time is best spent.

"Hopefully this is an anomaly, but not the norm, as if it is, I'll probably be divorced, but I'm in here around 7:30 in the morning and then leaving somewhere between 11 and 1 a.m.," said Schertz, who said his wife, Natalia, came up from Tennessee to help his move, but went home after it became apparent Schertz's long hours meant he wouldn't be seen much.

"Taking over a job, there's a lot of moving parts and a lot of my day is filled up with stuff that is beneficial for the program, but stuff that needs to be done. Evenings are spent with recruiting Zooms and watching film because we can't go anywhere," Schertz added.

Roster-wise? ISU has already announced that three of Schertz's Lincoln Memorial players — Cameron Henry, Xavier Bledson and Simon Wilbar — will be transferring in.

"Those are guys we thought could fit here. I wasn't going to recruit anyone from LMU, I didn't think it was fair, but if guys could help us and they reached out to me as something they wanted to do? I was going to act in the best interest of Indiana State. All three wanted to come here," Schertz said.

"They bring a level of corporate knowledge and how we want to do things. Henry and Bledson were No. 1 and No. 3 in our league in assists. Together, they average 10 assists per game. Wilbar? We'll see. He's 6-11 and has the highest ceiling of any player I've had — Emmanuel Terry, who played in the NBA, included. He's got four years to touch that ceiling. I have faith in who he is as a person and the fiber and character he has," Schertz explained.

Wednesday marks the first day of the Division I regular signing period. ISU cannot comment on players it intends to sign yet, but Gary's Quimari Peterson, and Hoover, Ala.'s, Cameron Crawford have indicated via social media that they're coming to ISU. Both are guards.

Schertz indicated that players from the 2021 roster that should return include Julian Larry, Randy Miller Jr., Kailex Stephens (who missed the 2021 season with an Achilles tear), Nick Hittle and walk-on Sam Mervis.

"The two boxes I wanted [returning] players to check to return to Indiana State were that they had to be bought into and want to be part of the culture and vision we have for Indiana State basketball. I told them it would be different, not better. They had to be OK with that. The second box was that they had to fit systemically into how we wanted to play," Schertz said.

Not returning, besides Jake LaRavia and Tre Williams, who already announced their moves to Wake Forest and Duquesne, respectively, will be Cobie Barnes (who announced he's headed to John Logan Junior College), Tobias Howard Jr., Cam Bacote, Jared Hankins and Ndongo Ndaw. In addition, Lincoln Hale and Drew Calderon — incoming freshman-to-be for the 2021-22 season — were given their releases.

The only player Schertz did not talk about on-record was Cooper Neese, who is in the transfer portal. Neese is not currently listed on ISU's roster.

One player who is on the roster is Tyreke Key, who despite being a senior in 2021, can play another season with the amnesty given to seniors by the NCAA to play another season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key has participated in every ISU workout Schertz has conducted so far. Schertz is giving Key his space to sort out his professional prospects and the door is wide open for the All-MVC First-Teamer to return to the fold if he chooses.

"We're giving him his space to make a decision, he's earned that right. He's an unbelievably accomplished player and a great kid and already an all-time great at Indiana State. He's quiet. He's not talkative, but incredibly observant. We're not giving him a deadline or timeline. He's at every single workout and works as hard as any player I've coached in 23 years. He's a great kid and whatever his decision is? We'll respect it," Schertz said.

Schertz bore no ill will towards the players who did not decide to stay with the ISU program.

"I chose Indiana State, I chose to come here. None of those players in the locker room chose me. They didn't choose to play in my system or culture, so I completely respected their decision," Schertz said.

Schertz is looking for shooters with his three remaining available scholarships.

"We need guys to stretch the floor and keep the defense honest. So much of what we do is about opening the lane... your spacing is your shooting. If your shooting isn't respected, the lane gets packed in. We had elite shooting at various positions and it opened up the lane for drives and cutting," Schertz said.

Whomever makes up the numbers, Schertz believes the get-to-know-you portion of his transition is vital. Schertz feels the workouts the Sycamores are undergoing give the forum to do this.

"That's the best way to build relationships. The players need to know you care about them and that takes time. They have to know it's an authentic deal and they have to know they can trust you and you're going to be honest with them. Being on the court helps to communicate that," Schertz said.

"They need to know you're competent and that you can help them individually and the group collectively reach its potential. In today's world? You don't walk in the door, bang your first and say 'I'm the head coach' and everyone automatically respects and trusts you. You have to earn their respect and trust, it's not a given based on your title. I wanted to build a level of respect and trust among the players who want to be back here," Schertz added.

Schertz detailed quite a few challenges in moving from the Division II to the Division I level. Recruiting works differently. Division II doesn't recruit as far in advance as Division I does. The pandemic is also providing challenges. Schertz said he typically will not offer a scholarship unless he sees a player live and if they've visited the campus. COVID-19 has made that an impossibility.

"It's harder to build relationships and not have shotgun weddings," Schertz said.

Then there's the make-up of Schertz's staff. Kareem Richardson will stay from Greg Lansing's staff and Switz City native Matthew Graves was officially announced on April 1. Schertz values their Division I experience and spoke of Graves, his first hire he didn't inherit.

"Matthew brings a tremendous amount of experience and he's very measured. He's been through a lot and seen a lot. He worked for one of the best coaches in the world under Brad Stevens. He's sat in this chair [at South Alabama]. When you're a head coach and you go back to being an assistant? If you have a level of humility and self-awareness? You're a better assistant. Matthew has both of those things and he's well-connected in Indiana. We want to prioritize Indiana in our recruiting," Schertz said.

Then there's Terre Haute native Jake Odum, who was on Lansing's final staff as an unpaid assistant. Schertz wants Odum back, but it's not as simple as keeping him in the same position.

"We're working on the logistics of that. We want to keep him, but it's not as seamless as everybody would think. He's a phenomenal guy. He has a great way about him. He loves Indiana State. He's been at every workout and I've enjoyed getting to know him," Schertz said.

"There's a balance when hiring the staff. You have to balance what your weaknesses are and have people fill your gaps, but also have a comfort level with people you know. Jake is just starting his coaching journey. Maybe he doesn't fill some of my gaps as far as recruiting, but he's someone we want associated with Indiana State basketball. We're going to do everything in our power to keep him on-staff. I 100% want to keep him in some capacity," Schertz added.

Schertz indicated that there's Title IX and fundraising aspects involved in whether Odum stays on-board. Schertz should be completing his staff on May 1.

Once Schertz navigates the roster and his staff — the transfer portal makes that task much-tougher than it was in previous seasons — he intends to get involved in selling the program to the community. Schertz indicated he wants to do meet-and-greets with the community, to the degree the pandemic will allow it. Schertz said he wants to open up the program, including practices, and run a program that's transparent.

—Schertz compensation — ISU provided the Tribune-Star with the memorandum of understanding regarding Schertz's coaching contract via a public records request.

Schertz will receive — including media payments and retention compensation — a total of $300,000 per year. His contract is a five-year deal that runs through the end of the 2026 season.

The buyout clause if Schertz were to leave before the contract expires works as follows: before the second year of the agreement, 75% of Schertz's base salary of $248,000 would have to be paid back. Before three years, it's 50%. After that, it's 25%.

Schertz has incentives built in. He will receive $15,000 for each NCAA Tournament win, winning the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament or an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Schertz will get $10,000 for winning the MVC regular season title outright or a national coach of the year award.

Compensation is $7,500 for a NIT appearance and/or a season with a winning percentage of .820 or better. Schertz earns $5,000 for a MVC Coach of the Year honor and/or a co-conference championship and a winning percentage of .780-.819. A winning percentage of .750-.779 will fetch Schertz $4,500 and .710-749 is good for $3,500.

Schertz earns $2,500 with a winning percentage between .680 and .709 and if ISU has a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better.

The winning percentage bonuses are not cumulative and will not take into account non-Division I games.

The memorandum of understanding also mentions a competitiveness clause that will set forth ISU expectations of program success, but those expectations are not included in the memorandum.