Matt McCall is calm. Or at least he sounds calm sitting in his Champions Center office late into Monday evening.

He knows the scope of what he’s taken on. The new UMass men’s basketball coach’s family is still in Tennessee as he’s living out of a suitcase in a hotel, focused on three things: 1. Building a relationship with his new players; 2. Building a staff; 3. Recruiting players for the newly opened spots on his roster.

“Things are good I’m just trying to get settled in,” he said. “Things are going well.”

While three players have already announced their intention to transfer and Donte Clark’s status remains undetermined, McCall said he’s encouraged by his interaction with the rest of the roster.

“We’ve tried to dive in and develop some serious relationships with these players. Get on the floor and work with them and let them get a taste of what we’re going to be doing,” McCall said. “I’ll watch some tape yes, but for me, it’s more getting a feel for them down on the floor. That’s how you build trust with players, getting down on the floor and working with them. You get a better feel for players when you’re doing that than watching a bunch of film. My biggest thing is not getting a preconceived notion of someone.”

While McCall didn’t speculate whether or not there’d be any more departures, he’s felt like he was getting a feel for what his returning roster would look like.

“I think I’m starting to (know who is staying). If you’re not showing up to individual instruction and team meetings, I have a pretty good feel for who is not staying,” said McCall, who declined to mention who hasn’t been at workouts. “We have to start working with guys we know are going to be here. Am I going to guarantee every one I’m working out is going to be here next year? No. But do I get a good feeling from the guys that are working hard every day? Yes I do.

“I’m pleased how they’ve taken to the coaching,” he added. “It’s only been two weeks, but the feedback from the players have been very positive. Hopefully we’re going to be able to build off of that.”

McCall said, while his team will press and play up-tempo, he looked at the presence of three capable centers — Rashaan Holloway, Malik Hines and Brison Gresham — as an asset and will tweak his style accordingly.

“We’ll play to win. If we have to adjust our style based on the personnel, we’ll do that,” McCall said, citing his early career under Billy Donovan at Florida. “When we had (Joakim) Noah and (Al) Horford, we didn’t press. Those guys had to be on the floor. We’ve got three guys who are all really good who can all be considered fives, which means two of them are going to have to play together at times. Rashaan, Malik and Brison all bring something different to the table, but they’re all terrific frontcourt players.”

Not knowing who else would stay makes recruiting a bit of a challenge. There’s a difference between adding the final piece to a puzzle if most or all of the freshmen and sophomores return, and looking for foundation pieces if they leave. McCall can’t comment on any unsigned player, but UMass has been linked to graduate transfers who’ll be eligible immediately, other transfers who’d have to sit out a year and high school seniors.

“There’s no question these next two weeks are big to see if anyone else is planning on leaving. It does make recruiting challenging,” he said. “You have to balance you’re recruiting based on your roster. If there’s some more turnover that opens up some more spots. You have to recruit based on who you feel like has really bought in and wants to be here and move forward from there. Going into the end of April and the beginning of May, we’ll know who is going to be here and there’s time to recruit and bring guys on campus in May.”

He’s interested in transfers either way.

“There’s high-level transfers out there that we want in our program. There’s no question about that. If everyone comes back we’re still going to have seniors leaving next year,” he said. “To have one, two and three high-level transfers developing in your program only helps you moving forward.”

Whether he gets a transfer who’ll sit out or someone immediately eligible, McCall would like to add a shooter and point guard.

“I think we have to add some shooting somewhere, a guy that can drill shots consistently from the perimeter. I’m not saying these guys can’t make 3-pointers, but I think it’s a need,” he said. “When you’re running an offense like we are that’s going to be fast-paced, and running a lot of high pick and roll like we are, you have to have shooting out on the floor in multiple spots. I think we’ve got some guys who are playmakers and can make some plays, but even so, a true point who can run your team and give you multiple ballhandlers out on the floor would be beneficial.”

He’s been pleased with the feedback from potential recruits so far.

“We’ve gotten ourselves involved with some very talented players,” he said. “The feedback we’re getting back from recruits right now is very, very positive.”

McCall’s coaching staff hasn’t been entirely determined yet and UMass administrative rules prevent him from announcing even the coaches he has decided on.

Sources confirmed Sunday that Peter Gash, who was an assistant under McCall at Chattanooga, and former VCU assistant Rasheen Davis are already on board. The third assistant has yet to be determined.

In addition to future Minutemen, McCall said he’s made connections with former players and coaches. In addition to Travis Ford, whom, like him, is close with Billy Donovan, he’s spoken to Julius Erving, John Calipari, Rick Pitino and Marcus Camby.

“Those guys meant a lot to this university and this program and really laid the foundation,” McCall said. “They’ve all been great and supportive.”

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage

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