As a leading Jesuit institution, it is safe to assume that many of Saint Louis University’s alumni are familiar with the Old Testament narrative of the Israelites wandering 40 years in the desert before reaching the Promised Land. After spending the past 20 days waiting for Josh Schertz’s season with Indiana State to finish, it’s equally safe to assume that Billikens fans feel a kinship with the Israelites of the Exodus, having endured a seemingly endless wait for their Promised Coach.
The wait has ended. Josh Schertz is the newest coach of Saint Louis University. The news was first reported by Stu Durando of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Schertz comes from Indiana State, where his fast-paced, ball-movement heavy style of play captured the hearts and minds of basketball fans across the country as the Sycamores won 32 games, the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title, and went all the way to the NIT final after unfortunately being one of the most notable NCAA Tournament snubs in recent memory.
In a press release from SLU, Athletic Director Chris May said, “I am thrilled to welcome Josh, his wife Natalia, and sons Jordan and Jaden to the Billiken family. Coach Schertz has had considerable success throughout his career in the areas connected to our strategic objectives and values. He Educates, Competes and Builds Community at championship levels.”
In the same release Schertz said: “I could not be more excited to be named the head coach at Saint Louis University. From the top-down leadership of President Dr. Fred Pestello, Chairman Joe Conran, Trustee Dr. Richard Chaifetz and Athletics Director Chris May – to the elite facilities, infrastructure, academics and resources – this a place where you can build a sustainable championship-level program.”
“On top of that, the opportunity to work, recruit and live in the great sports city of St. Louis was incredibly appealing,” Schertz said. “I can’t wait to get to work building and developing a program everyone involved with can be proud of.”
Schertz spent 3 years at Indiana State, compiling a record of 66-40 in Terre Haute. Prior to ISU, he was one of the best Division II coaches in the country at Lincoln Memorial University, where he compiled a record of 337-69, good for an .880 winning percentage. His tenure there was marked by consistent improvement, going from 11-20—while receiving criticism from fans who did not like ISU’s decision to hire a Division II coach—in his first year, before improving to 23-13 in his second season. His 32-7 season this year marked the culmination of the program he built in Terre Haute, culminating in the electric run to the NIT final and Schertz receiving the Hugh Durham Coach of the Year Award, which is presented annual to the best mid-major coach in college basketball. Schertz’s success is all the more impressive considering that from a resource standpoint, Indiana State was universally considered one of worst jobs in the Missouri Valley Conference when he took the job.
Schertz’s calling card is his offense. All five of Schertz’s starters—Robbie Avila, Jayson Kent, Julian Larry, Isaiah Swope and Ryan Conwell—were named to an All-MVC team and all of them averaged double digits in scoring. ISU led the NCAA in effective field goal percent and led the MVC in scoring offense, assists, and 3-point field goals made per game.
SLU is flexing its financial muscles in hiring Schertz. Multiple media outlets have reported that Schertz’s deal with SLU is in the range of $2 million per year over 6 years, which is a huge jump over the $350,000 he was making at Indiana State. Terre Haute Sports 10 reporter Rick Semmler reported that SLU’s NIL commitments were also big in wooing Schertz, tweeting that SLU is expected to have nearly $1 million more in NIL than ISU would be able to offer.
Sources tell Sports 10 a key factor in head coach Josh Schertz leaving ISU for St. Louis was NIL. At St. Louis he is expected to have nearly $1 million more dollars in NIL money than he would have had to work with at ISU.
— Rick Semmler (@Rick_Sports10) April 6, 2024
The majority of those NIL resources will likely go to attempting to bring Schertz’s starters at ISU to SLU, should they go into the portal. All five starters have eligibility remaining, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see anywhere from three to five starters follow Schertz. However, it is also likely that many of those starters will be offered enormous sums of cash by various other schools, and it’s never smart to try to predict the actions of 18-22 year olds. However, should any of the starters want to follow Schertz, there certainly will be room for them. SLU graduated two players who are out of eligibility, one player left the program midseason, and four Billikens are in the transfer portal, with more potentially to enter.
Of the players remaining on the Billikens roster, Kellen Thames and Larry Hughes Jr. might be the most intriguing to imagine in Schertz’s system. The 6’5 Thames has a lot of similarties to Jayson Kent, with his elite size and athleticism allowing him to guard multiple positions, and his ability to dribble, pass and shoot fitting in well with Schertz’s system. The 6’4 Hughes has similarly uncommon length for a guard in the Atlantic 10 and has shown the ability to hit three pointers and play both guard spots. Djordje Curcic and Bradley Ezewiro also remain on the roster. Ezewiro established himself as a starter-caliber player at SLU, but I’m unsure of his fit on these Billikens, especially with Robbie Avila likely to follow Schertz. There’s a lot of teams Ezewiro could start on and I’d be surprised if he wants to spend his final season of college basketball as a bench piece. Curcic showed elite shooting ability in his limited playing time at SLU, and could also be an interesting piece for Schertz to work with.
Of the players in the transfer portal, Gibson Jimerson and Cian Medley would thrive in Schertz’s system as well. Jimerson is being courted by pretty much every power conference team in the nation, but if he chose to come back for a 6th year at SLU, his elite shooting would fit like a glove with Schertz’s free-flowing system. Medley, meanwhile, proved himself to be one of the more promising freshmen point guards in the A10 and had a particularly interesting late surge. He’s a great passer and a very good shooter despite being undersized, and can really orchestrate an offense.
Schertz’s arrival at SLU immediately electrifies a program that had fallen into a bit of stagnation under Travis Ford before the bottom completely fell out this season, resulting in a 13-20 record. Ford did a lot of good for SLU in his 8 years, but after no at-large bids, struggles against Dayton and VCU and no victories over top-25 teams, it was time for a change.
In making that change, SLU reminded the national why it is often considered one of the very best mid-major jobs in the country. Schertz was one of the hottest coaching commodities this coaching carousel and many had him tabbed for a power conference job. Instead, SLU identified Schertz early on and locked him down, before having to wait weeks to make it official due to Indiana State’s NIT run. Over the course of the waiting, Schertz turned down job offers from Louisville and his alma mater FAU to come to SLU.
The hiring of Josh Schertz is a testament to the great job that Chris May and SLU’s donors, particularly Dr. Richard Chaifetz and his son Ross, did while conducting this search. May has received his fair share of criticism from me and others in the past, but he did an impeccable job this coaching search and it resulted in SLU getting one of the best coaches in this cycle.
While much work remains to be done with the portal and putting together a coaching staff and schedule, today is an incredibly exciting day for SLU basketball!
Image from SLU’s X account
