Ben Ostrow

The D2 takes I’m seeing surrounding the @trigonis30 post are wild to me. So many people, including people in the college basketball industry, have no clue what is going on at high level D2. I’ll make 3 points that might help: 1. Just as D1 has levels- D2 has levels. The levels aren’t as clearly associated with leagues like D1, though there is still some correlation. But there are HM D2’s just like there are HM D1’s. Saying “D2” coaches shouldn’t be at an event lumps everyone together. Thats like lumping together OVC schools and Big 10 schools. There may be some D2’s who have just 3 scholarships who should not be spending time at that event. However, there are also a bunch of D2’s who now have 6 figure NIL budgets and should absolutely be recruiting EYBL guys. Yes those EYBL guys “want” to go D1. They don’t all get what they want, obviously! Also, a big part of what some of the best D2 coaches are doing is recruiting for 2-3 years down the road. Build a relationship. Let them go D1. Be there with a scholarship open when they hit the portal and are hungry for more playing time. 2. The number of D2 to D1 transfers is rapidly increasing. Would love for someone out there to share the stats this year. How close is D2 to D1 transfers getting in relation to Juco to D1 transfers? It has to be getting close, if not already surpassed? I now get calls and texts all year long from D1 friends. “Who should I be looking at in your league.” The recent success of guys like Schertz and McCollum who both brought their “D2” players with them and dominated mid-major D1 leagues has opened a lot of eyes. Side note: that’s been happening. Who did Farleigh-Dickinson upset Purdue with? In our league- the 2025 SAC Championship game featured Lincoln Memorial and Lenoir-Rhyne. Let’s look at the guys who played in that game and where they have gone: LMU- Their staff did an AMAZING job identifying and developing guys D1’s missed. Elyjah Freeman- Texas Wes Enis- Creighton Thomas Allard- Penn State Osmar Araujo-Garcia- Liberty EJ Smith- Presbyterian Lenoir-Rhyne- Ziare Wells- Oakland Hantz Louis-Jeune- South Alabama Tay Smith- North Dakota State Conrad Luczynski- Central Michigan Julian Dozier, our PG, started his career in the A10 and had offers to go back D1 under the table, but decided to stay with us. If I counted right that makes 10 “D1” guys playing in a “D2” game. Obviously, if you want to win this league you better have D1 level talent. Hint: That means we need to look where the D1 players are. 3. To say some of these low major D1’s belong and high D2’s don’t shows that you have no idea what these levels look like. LM and MM D1’s will not play high level D2’s. We have begged every D1 in a 500 mile radius to play us. A high major might be willing, though Lenoir-Rhyne did beat a sub par Louisville team a few years back. We email literally all of them and call and text ones we know for regular season games, exhibitions, or scrimmages. From the MM/LM we get 0 takers but tons of email and text responses that essentially say, “You guys are really good. We know there is a chance we could get beat in a game like that and we can’t risk our fans or administrators finding out that happened.” (^If any D1 currently needs a game DM me. We will be in.) We all understand that usually kids don’t grow up dreaming about playing or coaching D2, but it is part of the journey for a lot of really good players and coaches. Max Strus and Derrick White who have made $150 million in the NBA come to mind. Time in D2 worked out well for a guy like Joe Mazzula 🤷‍♂️. I’m blessed to be at a great D2 and so are our players…. and A BUNCH of EYBL guys would be blessed to receive a scholarship and the kind of experience we provide at this level.