Should I abandon Savannah State???

[Ben E Lou]

The moment-of-truth e-mail:



The last five seasons in the Southern Conference...

 Coaching History:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Season Team					 Position	 W L CW CL Postseason
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2041 Savannah State		 Head Coach 26 7 13 3 Loss in NCAA Tourney Round 2
2040 Savannah State		 Head Coach 28 6 13 3 Loss in NCAA Tourney Round 2
2039 Savannah State		 Head Coach 23 9 14 2 Loss in NIT Round 3
2038 Savannah State		 Head Coach 24 9 14 2 Loss in NCAA Tourney Round 1
2037 Savannah State		 Head Coach 25 8 12 4 Loss in NIT Round 3

My most recent recruiting class at Sav. State was dismal. I overshot early, and got snuffed out: #300 overall. The Dawgs haven't been to the Big Dance since 2023. They went 21-15 last year, and made it to the NIT--the first postseason appearance of ANY kind since 2023, and first winning season since 2033. Coach Dooley's expectation at this point is modest: "Avoid last place in the conference."

The rest of the Sav. State particulars:

Prestige: 59
Southern Conference (Level 2)
Budget: $347,500

Should I head up to Athens now, or continue trying to push Savannah State into basketball's elite?

[KevinNU7]

Man that is a tough one.

It would be cool is the game let you squeeze your program for more money with the threat of leaving

[JonInMiddleGA]

I believe this is the moment you've been waiting for -- go for it.

[Eaglesfan27]

You've earned it. It's time to live the dream.

[KevinNU7]

In 15 seasons wouldn't you feel happier winning a National Championship with SS then Georgia?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by KevinNU7

In 15 seasons wouldn't you feel happier winning a National Championship with SS then Georgia?

Great! Thanks for making this decision even tougher.

[Ksyrup]

I don't know your historical particulars in this game, but...after 40 years? Pack up your depends and move to Athens.

[John Galt]

Hope are your coaching skills right now? Going into a big conference with low or average coaching skills is a recipe for disaster. Otherwise, I say, "go for it."

[BigJohn&TheLions]

What, you're not considering Drexel?

[Peregrine]

I'd take the move up, Skydog. You don't get it very often. Sounds like Georgia has slipped a bit but has a strong recruiting class, looks like a good opportunity.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by John Galt

Hope are your coaching skills right now? Going into a big conference with low or average coaching skills is a recipe for disaster. Otherwise, I say, "go for it."

COACH DETAILS
Ben Lewis - Head Coach - Savannah State
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Age: 64
Current Level: 8
Career Record: 710 - 446
Recruiting: 84
Scouting: 50
Offense: 63
Defense: 63


I've never played in a major conference before. (Actually, I've never played with any team OTHER than Savannah State. I've started and abandoned three or four other careers with them.) What kind of skills should I be looking for?

[KevinNU7]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

Great! Thanks for making this decision even tougher.

And don't forget about the kids, they are going to have to transfer to a different High School.

And what about Sally, you know she wanted to go to Savanna State to become a teacher. Now she's going to have to move away from home AND pay for school because she doesn't get daddy's tuition break from being part of the school adminstration.

And you know Georgia has a terrible teaching program so don't give me that bullshit

[WSUCougar]

Jump!

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

I'd take the move up, Skydog. You don't get it very often. Sounds like Georgia has slipped a bit but has a strong recruiting class, looks like a good opportunity.

Well, I have gotten a Level 5 offer each of the last couple of seasons. My leaning right now is that it would be more fun to try to keep playing with Sav. State and try to get them into the SEC or ACC eventually. Going to look around at the current coaches in the SEC to see how I match up.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

... and try to get them into the SEC or ACC eventually. Going to look around at the current coaches in the SEC to see how I match up.

Planning on coaching until you're what? 108 years old?

[KevinNU7]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

COACH DETAILS
Ben Lewis - Head Coach - Savannah State
Career Record: 710 - 446

I see some records are being approached

[Neuqua]

I will most likely be in a similar situation in the future as I've started to build Western Illinois into a somewhat reputable program (42 prestige from 12.) For me, I want to win at WIU and I plan on sticking with them even if the University of Illinois job ever opens up.

[Buzzbee]

Sure, get a bad recruiting class and decide to bail. Nice commitment to your players.

Stick with Savannah State. As Kevin said, victory will be much sweeter with State. My deciding factor would be...which will be more difficult for you to make a run in the dance, or win a Natl Championship? That's the challenge I'd want.

[albionmoonlight]

Show loyality to the small school. Stay. You are getting to the dance with them now. Sweet 16 is probably just five years away.

[GoldenEagle]

I found that jumping kills interest in that particular game for me. I move to another team and I am like my old team is so much better, even if the results did not show it. I am in the mood to pull out FBCB now.

[Ben E Lou]

			HEAD COACH SKILLS
	PRESTIGE		RECRUIT	SCOUT	OFFENSE	DEFENSE
Vandy	57		22	100	70	8
Kentucky	76		33	53	34	100
USC	87		12	24	84	100
Tennessee	71		100	13	48	59
Florida	81		35	58	98	49
Bama	100		21	96	91	12
Auburn	71		56	100	44	0
LSU	53		66	49	32	13
Mississippi St.	67		74	46	13	87
Ole Miss	46		49	100	30	41
Arkansas	41		39	100	9	32

[Ben E Lou]

I've decided to stay. Thanks for all the input. The deciding factor is that I'm playing in the Big Dance with a budget $150,000 less than UGA's right now. I think I like the challenge. I'll try to find a Juco transfer or two to help cover for the awful class I just brought in.

Note: I DID do a "Save As" and called it "moment of truth," so if things go really sour or get stale at Savannah State, and can come back to this point some time in the future.

[KevinNU7]

Sally thanks you

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by KevinNU7

Sally thanks you

Heh. Decided to stay, and we promptly got our first preseason tourney invitation. #8 seed in the San Juan Classic.

[Buzzbee]

Originally Posted by KevinNU7

Sally thanks you

And Georgia Tech thanks you.

[John Galt]

Good choice. I think with those offense and defense skills, you may have been hurting in an elite conference.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Buzzbee

And Georgia Tech thanks you.

FYI, my records versus the in-state teams:

Georgia		 0 0 .000 1 4 .200

Georgia Southern 0 0 .000 8 5 .615
Georgia State	 0 0 .000 9 2 .818
Georgia Tech	 0 0 .000 0 7 .000
Mercer		0 0 .000 10 4 .714

[Franklinnoble]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

Note: I DID do a "Save As" and called it "moment of truth," so if things go really sour or get stale at Savannah State, and can come back to this point some time in the future.

I was going to suggest that...

Your coaching info says you're 64... is there an upper limit for how "old" you're allowed to get in this game? Or do you just possess Methuselah-like longevity?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Franklinnoble

I was going to suggest that...

Your coaching info says you're 64... is there an upper limit for how "old" you're allowed to get in this game? Or do you just possess Methuselah-like longevity?

No clue on that one. If there is an upper limit, I'm starting at age 3 next time.

[Peregrine]

I wish I knew how you did it Skydog. I don't have the patience to run those Independent programs. Everytime I try, I give up after like 7 straight losing seasons with little hope of improvement, I just can't seem to get the quality recruits with the small budgets. Plus playing almost all your games on the road just sucks.

[Wolfpack]

You have 260 coaching points, which is pretty comparable to a major college coach, probably middle of the pack SEC, perhaps slightly better. (I'm going by what coaches are randomly given at the start of a new game based on reputation of the schools, rather than what the SEC actually has right now.)

Digressing, this sort of thing is what finally baited me into buying the game. When I played the demo, I took Montana State. Played three years and in all three contended for the conference title and won it the last year. Got bounced in the first round of the NCAA. Coaching offers come in and I am confronted by the possiblity of going to Texas Tech. Jump to the Big XII or stay where I am? I felt the team was getting somewhere, so I ultimately turned down the offer. (By this point, the demo period had run out and I de-installed the game because I wasn't certain I wanted it yet.) Now starting with Stephen F. Austin and having created a coach to play as, I'm looking forward to figuring out how his career will go.

[kingnebwsu]

I would have taken the offer In my TCY dynasty, I've played as my alma mater for 50 years, just waiting for the offer from Ohio State. It's never come. I'll probably pick the game up again this fall for football, but I don't think I'll ever be a Buckeye coach til TCY 2 comes out.

Is there an upper age limit on FBCB? Good question.

I DL'ed the demo/3-day trial of FBCB last night. I'll probably fiddle with it in April, because March has so many games. I got UT 2004 yesterday and I'm getting Splinter Cell 2 for Xbox next week.

I think I may have to get FBCB eventually though. Any word on FBCB 2 coming out?

[spleen1015]

Like Skydog, I have only played the game as one of the Independants, IPFW. I am 17-46 after 3 seasons. I won 9 games my 2nd year!

I see the recruits getting better, I think.

Just an FYI, I think I am starting to share the feeling that this game is better than TDCB. I'm glad I picked this up.

[RPI-Fan]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

No clue on that one. If there is an upper limit, I'm starting at age 3 next time.

There's no limit for humans. HR thought about adding it, but (wisely, IMO) decided if a player wants to do that, they can do it on their own anyways.

[RPI-Fan]

Originally Posted by kingnebwsu

...Any word on FBCB 2 coming out?

Not any time in the near future.

[RPI-Fan]

SkyDog: What level coach did you start as?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

I wish I knew how you did it Skydog. I don't have the patience to run those Independent programs. Everytime I try, I give up after like 7 straight losing seasons with little hope of improvement, I just can't seem to get the quality recruits with the small budgets. Plus playing almost all your games on the road just sucks.

1. Scheduling--Early on, I made sure to schedule the worst prestige schools around, and clump games early in the season to build up the defensive abilities. At first, I'd do all of the away games first, then home games, against teams with slightly higher prestige--with my defenses up to 100. Also, I found this important--scheduling a few top-tier teams on the road each year helps your players develop. I'd schedule the first four road games with team of Prestige >90 early on. I lost 'em all by huge margins, but it helped in player development, and also helped me learn defenses early in the season.

2. Recruiting--With the crappy teams I was playing against early on, I figured one good player could make a huge difference, so that's what I focused on in my first few classes. I'd pour all my resources into the best player from GA/SC/north FL (ie...guys who only cost 500 to evaluate) who had "Average" or better interest in me.

Doing things that way, I won 14 games in year 4, and 21 in year 5, and my prestige was on the rise (and this was pre-patch). At that point, I could focus on bringing in more well-rounded classes. I got my first NIT bid in year 11, and got there five out of seven years from 2013-2019. The next 8 seasons were tough. I was trying to schedule better opponents to help players develop, and earn that NIT bid. I was in the 13-18 win range for most of 2020-2026, with no NIT bid during that time. The patch was applied in 2023, which bumped up my prestige 10 points from 30 to 40. That was a nice boost to recruiting, and it paid off with a 20-win season in 2027, and NIT births in 2028 and 2029. At that point, my Prestige was up to 43, and it was just a matter of time (and Southern Utah finally losing their conference) until I got an invite into a conference in 2036. Winning the conference is a nice prestige boost. I've gone from 43 to 59 in just 6 seasons--but five of those seasons saw me either regular season champ, tourney champ, or both.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, I also started with the lowest-level coaching skills that I could. No "cheating" that way here.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

SkyDog: What level coach did you start as?

Cross-posted there...but as you've probably noticed, Level 0. I wanted it to be as difficult as possible.

[HeavyReign]

Good call on staying. I've never heard of anyone taking one of the Indy's all the way to the highest level. It will be even more impressive doing it with limited movement on instead of full movement.

[nol]

What do you have to do to gain a level as a coach?

[rexallllsc]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

Just an FYI, I think I am starting to share the feeling that this game is better than TDCB. I'm glad I picked this up.

I like it more. Although the interface isn't as good, it's not that far behind, and IMO, the gameplay is much better...so is the recruiting now that I think about it. The recruiting in TDCB is a bit too hot/cold for me. One week Ucla, Arizona, Kansas and Duke are recruiting a kid...and the next week it's just Fordham, Murray State, and Florida A&M. Although that can happen in real life (kid has a really bad AAU summer or something), it happens too frequently in TDCB. Anyone agree?

This thread got me back into the game (I stopped after the 3 day trial because I just got CM 03/04, which is awesome, btw). I think I'll start a career w/ Long Beach State w/ intentions of getting hired @ Ucla.

If the dude who wrote the game focuses a ton of time on it, and incorporated CM-esque features (media interaction, deep team attitude, etc), this would be my fav. game, hands down.

[HeavyReign]

Originally Posted by nol

What do you have to do to gain a level as a coach?

You gain experience points based on your accomplishments and when you have enough points, you'll go to the next level.

[rexallllsc]

HR - Is the file on the games official site the most recent one? I saw a new one posted on a thread here the other day.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by rexallllsc

HR - Is the file on the games official site the most recent one? I saw a new one posted on a thread here the other day.

I *think* the one posted here is the newest one--sort of an early-bird release of 1.08. It is in the "Limited Conference Movement" thread, I think. Try downloading both and checking the build date.

[MizzouRah]

I voted to goto Georgia, since I'm doing the same and my goal is Missouri, you've reached what you've wanted all along, the Georgia job.

You've earned it buddy.


Todd

[HeavyReign]

Originally Posted by rexallllsc

HR - Is the file on the games official site the most recent one? I saw a new one posted on a thread here the other day.

The most recent is here:

http://www.fbbgames.com/FBCB108.exe

It isn't final yet but it has most of the changes I've made so far for the next patch.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by HeavyReign

The most recent is here:

http://www.fbbgames.com/FBCB108.exe

It isn't final yet but it has most of the changes I've made so far for the next patch.

Is this more recent than the one you posted in the thread? Also, what are the changes?

[Easy Mac]

Sure Harrick, go to Georgia and the money... abandon the team that gave you job security for 40 years.

[HeavyReign]

I added a few more things since the other one was posted. Here is the list for the patch so far:

CHANGES:
*Adjusted the late game AI for computer coaches using autofoul.
*Adjusted the criteria the game uses to determine quality wins.
*Changed the conference coach of the year award so that it focuses more on confernce record than total record.
*The next and previous buttons will now be disabled when they can't be used.
*Coaches now get more credit for their tourney success with lower schools when determining new job offers.
*Added a listing under the history menu to view conference movement.
*Increased the prestige bonus for lower conference teams when they make the sweet 16 or better.
*Increased the odds of teams getting off a shot when inbounding the ball with 5 or less seconds on the clock.
*Added a confirmation dialog when running training camps.
*Added the ability to sort the players on the injuries screen.

FIXES:
*Fixed an error 400 when viewing the polls screen.
*Fixed a bug that caused the suspension setting to reset when you went to the league options screen.
*Fixed a bug that could cause the save game option on the team screen to not respond when it was clicked.
*Fixed a bug that caused some awards to not be displayed on the player screen if the player had a large number of them.
*Fixed an error 6 that could occur when selecting a team for an exhibition game.
*Fixed an error 9 that could occur when clicking the team schedule option in the offseason.
*Fixed a case where players in early foul trouble wouldn't be removed from the game.
*Prestige updates for independent teams should now work properly.
*Recruits created in the future recruits section should now have stats when they are added to the recruit pool.
*Fixed a bug in the end of season prestige calculations.
*Editing a players draft status will no longer cause you to get a message saying they are leaving early their senior year.
*Fixed an error that could cause the conferences.dat file to become corrupt after you edited the conferences in the default league.
*Fixed a bug that could block attribute development for coaches who started as human coaches and were converted to cpu coaches using the current league editor.

I believe the stuff in red was all added since the last one you downloaded.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by HeavyReign

*Added a listing under the history menu to view conference movement.

I think I want to have HR's baby.