As Drexel students, we are all hurtling toward graduation at an uncomfortable pace. Then we are all thrust out into the real world to see what half a decade of experiential learning and a Drexel diploma are worth. Now imagine that ten years after you graduate, someone asks you whether or not to go to Drexel. Would you advise them to follow in your footsteps through University City?
Frantz Massenat, assistant coach of the Drexel men’s basketball team, not only recommends that aspiring student-athletes come to Drexel, but he has also started a new chapter in his life, devoting part of his time to recruiting athletes for his alma mater.
And why not? His degree from Drexel University led to a ten-year career in Europe’s top basketball league, spending six years in Germany and one season each in France, Spain and Italy. But when coach Zach Spiker offered him the opportunity to join his coaching staff, Massenat decided to end his playing career a few seasons early and move on to the next chapter of his life: coaching.
Massenat just completed his first season as a coach and is learning what it takes to be a coach at the highest college level.
Looking back on his freshman year, Coach Massenat said, “I had a lot to learn. Basketball was the easy part, but you learn that it’s a lot more than just basketball. Off the court, it’s really a 24-hour job, every single day. When it’s something you love, though, you can do it with your eyes closed. Coach Spiker did a great job giving me the time to learn at my own pace. I’m thankful for that because if I had just been thrown in without knowing what to do, it would have been very stressful and made it hard to grow as a coach.”
Now that he is preparing for the preseason, Massenat feels better equipped to make an impact in the program.
“Because I was no longer just focused on getting things done, I had the opportunity to get to know our players better, learn our systems and styles, and figure out how to make an impact in games and training. Last year was a really good year to find my voice as a coach.”
As a graduate of the program, Massenat has become a key figure in coach Spiker’s recruitment.
Additionally, Massenat needed to understand what realistic expectations for the Drexel program might look like and how he could use his unique perspective to gain a competitive advantage.
“I have a really good eye for spotting talent. I’ve seen so much basketball and so many players. I can look at players and tell what they can do within seconds. Everyone probably thinks that way, but I think having only been playing professionally for a decade, I have a certain advantage to see more of a potential team. Another thing I’ve learned is that we might not get the guys that look really good and have all the coaches at their games. Finding players that you really see great potential in has been good for me because I’ve learned a lot this summer and seen a lot at the tournaments.”
As soon as a player catches Massenat’s attention, the real work begins.
“Coach Spiker makes sure we do our homework on a player. First, we look at academics. If they don’t have that, they can’t come to our school, so don’t waste our time. Second, there’s basketball. We look at what we need, and then we look at how they could play in our system. Third, it’s not something we really work with, but we know that players who want $100,000 or more just aren’t going to go after it. When those things work out, we start talking to the people around them, like trainers, coaches and teammates. Sometimes even janitors, cafeteria ladies and a teacher or two can really give you insight into the character of players behind the scenes.”
Although Massenat specializes in recruiting high school players, he couldn’t ignore the proliferation of the transfer portal. Today, student-athletes can move from one program to another with very few restrictions. While this grants student-athletes the same freedom of movement as any other college student, it creates headaches for college coaches.
“It’s like recruiting players all year long. You might have a player that you don’t let play a game or two and suddenly his head is a little messed up and suddenly he’s in the portal. You can’t really prepare for it, but you can’t ignore it either… we just focus on the players that we know are leaving because they’re graduating. We know that if we do a good job, the players don’t really want to go anywhere. But if we also notice that a player is having a really good season and we see the possibility that he could leave, which we can understand, we might have to look elsewhere as well… you just have to always be ready and have someone else next in line.”
This offseason, Drexel lost its two best players, Amari Williams and Justin Moore, to the transfer portal. For many high-major college programs, the mid-major level has become a sort of farm system where players can iron out their rookie mistakes before moving up. Ideally, the mid-majors would like to see some sort of reciprocity, with disillusioned high-major players seeking bigger roles at smaller schools. While that has happened elsewhere, even within their own conference, Drexel has not seen that come to fruition for them. Instead, they have brought in the majority of their transfers from the junior college level.
“We’re really just looking for guys that fit our system, but we know, for example, we don’t have any guys this year that started last year, so what would help us a little bit more? Having guys that have college experience… we’re happy that we have a core of freshmen from high school, but we also want a mix of JuCo because they already have experience. The way the game goes, people just trade players that are leaving for other guys that are college-ready. In our situation where it’s hard to pay players, the JuCo route helps us a lot, as does bringing in freshmen from high school,” Massenat explained.
Massenat is coming off his first full offseason and looks poised to play a critical role in the Drexel program going forward, using his expertise to navigate the turbulent and increasingly complex collegiate sports landscape.