And that's a wrap! The long July recruiting period has ended, as multitudes of college coaches, high school players, AAU coaches, and parents finally get to slow down from the hectic pace of the last month. Last week brought me to Richmond, Orlando, Virginia Beach, and finally, Washington, D.C. for AAU tournaments.

The recruiting at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex was fruitful, although Mickey Mouse managed to elude me during my time down there. The long drive back to Virginia from Orlando certainly was an expedition. I managed to complete it unscathed, save for the constant spasms/cramping in my calf muscles for the following two days. July recruiting – only the strong survive. 

While the days can drag on at times, once the July recruiting period ends it always seems to have gone by in a flash. I really enjoyed my travels throughout the eastern part of the United States. Besides the primary purpose of identifying and evaluating recruits, July recruiting always provides other benefits for college coaches. For one, you get to spend time with some of your best friends. Many of a college basketball coach's closest friends are fellow coaches, but because of the nature of the profession you don't get the chance to see these people very often. July is a great time to enjoy catching up with friends who coach at other schools.

I also love experiencing all of the different places that the recruiting trail takes us coaches. From major cities to rural backwaters, July recruiting provides one with a whirlwind tour of the diverse geographical and cultural areas of our country. In what other job can you go to Reading, PA, Philadelphia, Morgantown, WV, Richmond, Orlando, Virginia Beach, and Washington D.C. all in a span of three weeks? Of course, not all of these places are destinations on people's bucket lists, but every one of them puts its own unique mark on the journey.

Finally, after having racked up a few thousand miles on my Jeep Compass and Chevy Impala rental cars, I've heard that Enterprise is considering naming one of its store branches in my honor. So I got that going for me…which is nice.

Overall, July was a productive month for the CNU men's basketball program. We as a coaching staff feel that we have identified and started to build relationships with a number of young men who could one day become quality members of our basketball team and CNU community. The next steps in the process are to host these prospective recruits for on-campus visits, while continuing to build relationships with them and their families through phone calls, home visits, mailings, and in-person contacts at high school workouts and Fall leagues.

Now, it is time for coaches to return to their respective campuses and gear up for the start of the new academic year, with which comes the start of preseason workouts. After an entire month full of fast food meals, hotel stays, endless traveling, and lots of sleep depravation, it will be nice to get back to a more routine (and sane) daily schedule. In two weeks our incoming freshmen will arrive for their orientation, and soon after that classes will begin. It is a fresh and exciting time, and  

I am certainly looking forward to it.

Before all that though, over the next couple of days I'll be recharging my own mental and physical batteries. Somewhere out there is a beach chair with my name on it; accompanied by Bruce Springsteen on the iPod, Ron Paul's latest book, and a steady flow of ice-cold Shirley Temples…enjoy the final weeks of summer!

Running tally for the month:

Total Days on the Road:            19
Total Miles Driven:                     3, 762