Indiana State Basketball: Josh Schertz’s coaching genius making Sycamores a MVC contender

 Relationships Are King

Indiana State basketball is filled with talented players and has a coach with a brilliant mind, but his players say that relational values are what rule the program. Avila says Schertz is like a second father. 

“He's the smartest coach I've ever met,” said Avila. “He knows exactly what to do. He knows how to read situations and what defenses are doing. But the relationship piece as well. He's, he's a great guy. He really cares, you know, it's like I said, he's like a second father.”

Sixth man Xavier Bledson echoes those thoughts. 

“Our bond is that he's like he's like another ‘pops’ to me,” said Bledson. “It's not even about going to court for me. It's just the things you do off the court like staying in touch with my mom and things of that nature and keeping up with my family. It's not just about basketball.”

Larry has learned a great deal from his head coach. 

“Number one, he is a great basketball mind,” said Larry. “I mean, being with him, you learn so much about basketball and you just see the game different. And he's really big on relationships with the guys, the staff, you know, everybody is at the same level.”

Bledson came to Indiana State with Schertz from LMU. Larry was a holdover from the Greg Lansing regime. Avila was a high school recruit and Kent, Swope and Conwell were transfers. Schertz has built Indiana State basketball one piece at a time and hasn’t followed one conventional path. 

His thirst for knowledge and improvement is obvious. At LMU his student-athletes set academic records as well as athletic ones. His Sycamore players are doing the same. His coaching genius goes beyond basketball, he’s looking for ways for his players to succeed in life.