OT-FBCB Strategy

[jetpunk2000]

OK, I've been toying with the game on and off for about a month or so now, and everytime I play, I get into it for 2-3 seasons and then all of a sudden, boom, my team sucks ass for like 5 years and I give up hope. It seems to happen no matter how prestigious of a program I take over. I lose coaches and staff like crazy and it's almost impossible to replace them with decent talent. I lose out on mediocre players who have a high interest in my program, and it seems that no matter how good my recruits are, it doesn't translate onto the court. I like the game a lot, but I don't think I've gotten a handle on "how to play." Any suggestions for recruiting or maintaining success or even having a consistent team? I've noticed I'll have a lot of teams storm out of the gate (my most recent team was coming off 9-20 and started out 10-4 and all of a sudden lost 8 straight.) :mad:

[SirFozzie]

Make sure you tailor your style of play to the players you recruit.

In FBCB, it's very hard to recruit players for the style of play you prefer. Much easier to tailor your strategy for the type of players, rather than vice a versa

[Balldog]

I am not really experiencing this, generally the first year or two my team will struggle until I get the kind of players via recruiting that fit my style of play. Basically if you do not have defensive potential of B or better you don't get looked at.

I tend to go with a lot of full court pressing and trapping, as well as an fast breaking offense.

I do see a lot of streakiness in my teams though, there are seasons were I will go from 0-3 to 9-3 then to 9-10. Some of this has to do with SOS, injuries, suspensions, etc.

Also when you are recruiting try and have some balance, what I mean by this is try to recruit at least one gaurd, forward, and center. And if I have 5 scholarships available I hardly ever use them all at once, I would rather use 3 this year then have more available next year instead of having to keep signing 5 guys every 4 years.

I have had a fair amount of success in my most recent career taking a 2 prestige team to a 27 in 5 years and winning the conference twice and the conference tournament once. Including a 25-7 season, I simulated from 1930 to the beginning of 2003 to have some history and that was the best season in school history.

[Balldog]

Make sure you tailor your style of play to the players you recruit.

In FBCB, it's very hard to recruit players for the style of play you prefer. Much easier to tailor your strategy for the type of players, rather than vice a versa

I agree with this as well, I have to do this every year even though I try my best to get guys that fit my style it rarely works. Things like motion, 3pt usage, offensive balance, etc. are things I have to adjust every year.

[John Galt]

First off, getting coaching talent is all about knowing how good your school is. If you are at a top program, you can get anyone, but you have to pay more than they are asking to get them. If you are at a crappy school, getting a C (or C-) scout and recruiting assistant at the lowest price possible is probably best (I don't use number ratings so I don't know how those translate). For an assistant, I think you should try to get one of the D-/A or A/D- types. I usually make my personality more defense oriented so I get a coaching assistant who is better at offense to start.

Second, in recruiting, don't shoot too high, but don't go too low either. When I'm playing a crappy school, I only recruit 3 star players in my region. I scout a bunch, find the best with good potential at key attributes and go at them full force. If, after a few weeks, they like someone else's scholarship better, I cut bait, and find someone else. You can also try to scavenge some of the foreign 3 star players because they attract less interest. I never recruit less than 3 star players and that means I get stuck with some walkons until my team gets going, but as soon as you can field a 3 star set of starters, you will usually dominate your crappy conference.

Also, don't be afraid to tinker with your lineup - the suggested ones aren't usually the ones I choose. I tend to overemphasize defense so I can play man-to-man and so I need to change from the defaults. I especially overvalue SF's who are both good perimeter and inside defenders.

I'm sure others here have found other paths to success, but the above ideas are how I approach the game.

[jetpunk2000]

OK, I think my problem is really two-fold. One, ratings-wise, what would be considered solid. 70+? 60? Because I've seen some players who have been up there with their ratings and just aren't very good. Which brings me to another question. Those ratings are through the scouting director's eyes? And if so, what role does the recruiting guy play? If my recruiting coordinator is rated highly, does that mean I'll have a better chance of convincing players to play for me or does it mean I'll have a better chance that the players will be as good as the ratings tell me?

[John Galt]

I believe the recruiting director determines your success in getting a recruit to come to your school.

Early on, I think it is wise to pay attention to the star ratings and overall rankings because your scout sucks. And I think it is also important to make sure the good ratings are in the key categories for a position (my careers always seem to have a lot of SG's that are A inside defenders and F perimeter ones - and at 6'1", that isn't much good).

[jetpunk2000]

OK another question, if you're looking at a recruit, are you more interested in potential or current skill level. In other words if you have 2 players and one is average to pretty good but his potential is average or below average, and the other is below average but his potential is high, which is the better route?

[mgadfly]

The Scout rating (of your head coach and your Scout) is what affects how close the recruits ratings appear to be, to what they actually are.

The Recruit rating (of your head coach and your Recruiting Coordinator) is what affects whether a player will decide to come play for you.

[John Galt]

OK another question, if you're looking at a recruit, are you more interested in potential or current skill level. In other words if you have 2 players and one is average to pretty good but his potential is average or below average, and the other is below average but his potential is high, which is the better route?

I tend to go with potential especially because I redshirt all my freshmen (even moreso early on when it is tempting not to). However, an F actual with an A potential isn't that helpful with a crappy team because you probably have a crappy assistant and crappy facilities. I tend to look for C- or above in actual with a B or above in potential.

[jetpunk2000]

Thanks for the feedback. Maybe I can get some enjoyment without being frustrated beyond belief now. =o)

[Radii]

Another thing I'd suggest, and that I intend to actually pay some very close attention to in the next few seasons, is that I'd request a facility upgrade every single season. I have gotten my Campbell team from a 11 facility rating to about 32 in 15 or so seasons by requesting the upgrade every year, I only actually get the upgrade once every 3rd or 4th year but it seems to have a major impact on player improvement.

[mgadfly]

If I had to complain about the game, even though I love it, it would be:


1) Coaching movement, especially assistant coach movement, happens way too much. I don't know how long I've been able to hold onto a good assistant coach, but it is nowhere near how long assistants will stay at a place in real life. So, get used to replacing your assistant coaches, almost every year.

2) The game is too easy. (I know a lot of people find it very hard, so it is probably just about right, but, even though I find it massively addicting, and fun to build a program up, I have found that I'm able to follow the same basic plan to success in almost every career I play)

Here's how:
Hiring Coaches:
1-Hire the best assistant coach possible. Over pay, even if you are at a small school. You get $5,000 to recruit with no matter what, so get that top-flight assistant even if you have to shell out the big bucks.

2-Don't waste money on a scout, buy the cheapest one you can get your hands on. This is $30,000, so get the best one available at that price.

3-Get the best Recruiting coordinator you can get with whatever money you have left. I'm often stuck with a pretty crummy one early on, but not always. If you have no scholarships available for the upcoming year, pile all your money into the assistant coach because the recruiting coordinator doesn't do anything for you. If you have 5 scholarships, cut back on the assistant coach and get a better recruiting coordinator. I use all five schollys if I can because I want the imbalance so that one year I don't have to recruit at all and can put all my resources into the assistant coach.

4-A CHEAT (I personally have a home-rule against this): Hire the most expensive Assistant and Rec. Co'dnator you can without hiring a scout. Sim 7 or so rounds of assistant coach hirings. Fire your assistant and Rec Co'dnator and hire them back for their minimum asking price, hire a scout that does not have a team (if you hire one from another team, they might out bid you for one of your newly rehired assistants)

Scheduling:
5-Schedule as many good teams as possible. This is a balance because you don't want to get crushed every game, but (I think) that by playing better competition, your team improves more in later years. Additionally, if you can win some it is often times easier to get an at large bid.

6-Schedule as many home games as possible. Try to get good competition to play you on your court. A quality win is nice to have, and you have a better chance of pulling it off at home.

7-Schedule games early in the season. Your team improves in its ability to play the defenses after each game of the season. If you have played 8 games and your opponent has only played 4, you have an advantage. The risk here is frontloading too much, getting a player injured, and then having him miss a lot of games. So be smart about frontloading the schedule, but it can help.

Recruiting:
8-Recruit for your style. (Unlike some of the other advice on this thread, I always play the same style). I press, trap and double team the entire game. What I need on the floor is the best 7 or 8 players in steals in the country (in a championship season I usually average around 15-17 spg as a team). I go after a balance of stars (this depends on the level of my team, but early on it is 4 star players) but I do not limit myself to only players above 3-stars in recruiting. The most important factor for me is the players stats, and in particular their steals per game. I also look very closely at their scouted defensive ability, and after that everything else is a bonus. I once had a four year starter who was a 1-star recruit and I won the national championship twice while he was there.

9-Recruiting balance is important. Make sure you always have the right assortment of players to fill out a roster. Make sure you have a PG/wings/C for example. The most important for me is PG because when I don't have a good one, I always have a hard time.

10-Recruit locally. Money is important, especially if you are a small school, so begin by recruiting from your region. The less cost per visit per player, the better for the school.

11-In January, look for players who just qualified academically. If you have a scholarship left in January, sometimes a very good player will have noone recruiting him because he was originally disqualified because of academics. These players can be steals.

12-Foreign recruits are sometimes overlooked. Grab a foreigner if you can, but be careful with the costs. I only go after them when my more regional options don't pan out, or when I have a school that has a truck load of cash to recruit with. But sometimes there is less competition on these guys, which makes them a good way to land a contributor.

13-Go all out. For a lot of recruits with heavy competition, you'll have to go all out if you want a chance to land them. This is very difficult if you have less than $10,000 to work with, but more often than not, spending the money for only an assistant coach visit is usually inviting the recruit to go somewhere else, which is wasted money. That isn't always the case, but if there is a guy you really want, and he's favoring you, don't let up and have him sneak away.

14-Don't offer scholarships until October. No one signs until then, so don't put a scholarship on a guy that ends up not liking you.

15-Don't save scholarships. Even if I don't want to use all 5 scholarships in a season, I always offer five in October, figuring that not everyone I want is going to sign with me.

16-No when to say when. If it is September or October and the kid still hates you, you are probably throwing your money away. In fact, if a player doesn't at least have an "average" view of me after my initial contact, I usually do not pursue them.

Training:
17-Make sure you train them in the right areas. For example, I train almost everyone on my team heavily in perimeter defense because I need them all to be able to get steals. I only train SF, PF, and C in interior defense because that rating doesn't play a huge role for PG and SG. I also never train bad offensive players in offensive categories unless they have a very high potential in that area.

Setting your roster:
18-Make sure you have the proper players for your style on the court. Every season the computer wants me to start the most well-rounded players, but I always put in those players that will get me the most steals and give up the fewest points. It is also important to have a PG that can handle the ball, and big guys that can board. In my full-court style, I get lots of fast breaks and dunks, so shooting is the least important rating.

19-Redshirting is a good idea. Especially when you are at a small school, where there is no chance the player will go pro, red-shirt as many schollarship players as possible. It is tough to start doing, because you want your new recruits to use in the games, but you end up trading their impact as an untrained freshman for a season where they have had an extra year of training.

20-Resting players. For my style I never have a starter set to playing time = 10. I've found that players get very tired and stay in the game way too long. I usually set them between 6 and 8.

Coaching:
21-Find a style that is right for you or your players. But because it is fairly easy to get good players that fit into an uptempo style of defensive play, I've always been fond of the full court, always trap and double team style. I change the pace depending on the quality of my PG/rest of teams hands and passing skills. I change the 3P usuage depending on the teams ability to shoot threes. I keep the motion set at 6, but this is the one setting I have the least amount of experience with. I also try to attack with an inside game.

22-At most, use 3 defenses. I don't like to limit myself to just man to man because sometimes I feel like there are teams that I don't stack up to. However, I never go to more than 3 defenses because your teams efficiency at running them grows too slowly (for me).

Generally:
23-Pay attention to your team. If they aren't getting it done, don't be sold on an individual player or style. Experiment and try to find a combination that works for you.

[Balldog]

I am pretty sure your Coaching Assistant also effects your recruiting.

[RPI-Fan]

Balldog: Coach asst. has NO effect on recruiting.

Here's what each coach does:

Assistant: Helps player development and in-game performance, ONLY.

Recruiting: Helps attract recruits to your school, ONLY.

Scout: Helps evaluate talent of recruits, ONLY.

Head coach: Contributes to all of the above 50% (not positive on that number).

Players on your ROSTER and other ROSTERS show their TRUE ratings - the scouts are NOT a factor here.

[Balldog]

The only reason I suggested so is because I thought it was mentioned here that Asst. coach does have an effect. In addition my assistant in the FOFC FBCB had a ZERO for recruiting while my recruiting guy had a 100 and I have a 75, I was unable to get anyone to sign.

[John Galt]

This would be good to know if true - I've never once paid attention to my coaching assistant's recruiting rating.

Also, I didn't know you got the true ratings of your own players. Very interesting.

[Ben E Lou]

Also, I didn't know you got the true ratings of your own players. Very interesting.HR confirmed this at some point. It would take up too much system resources to "filter" every player on 300+ teams through every scout's eyes. :eek:

[John Galt]

HR confirmed this at some point. It would take up too much system resources to "filter" every player on 300+ teams through every scout's eyes. :eek:

I guess so, I just never thought about it. I've even made decisions assuming my scout was in control - usually when one of my bench players is going pro, I assume he must be better than I'm seeing and give him more play. Next time I'll leave his ass on the bench. :D

[Wolfpack]

I had thought perhaps Jim pulled it off because he does the filtering for 125 teams and 60 players a team. Doing the math, perhaps no.

125 scouts * 125 teams they look at * ~60 players per team = 937,500 scout ratings

327 scouts * 327 teams they look at * 15 players per team = 1,603,935 scout ratings

This is of course besides the ratings for all the recruits in both games.

[Ben E Lou]

I had thought perhaps Jim pulled it off because he does the filtering for 125 teams and 60 players a team. Doing the math, perhaps no.

125 scouts * 125 teams they look at * ~60 players per team = 937,500 scout ratings

327 scouts * 327 teams they look at * 15 players per team = 1,603,935 scout ratings

This is of course besides the ratings for all the recruits in both games.Yes, but keep in mind that you only see overall current and overall future ratings in TCY...not every individual rating. Multiply those two ratings kept by your number and you get 1,875,000 scout ratings. On the other hand, there are 17 current ratings and 12 future ratings in FBCB that would need to be filtered through a scout. Take 29 ratings and you get 46,514,115 ratings that need to be tracked--almost 25 times more than TCY.