The 50 Year Career of Mike Schaplowsky- An FBCB Dynasty
 

Guys, I decided to go ahead and do another single player dynasty with FBCB, especially since basketball season is only a couple months away.

This isn't going to be your play em out type dynasty. I will be focusing on Mike Schaplowsky, who I will be starting out with a coach level of 12, so he'll have some, but not a lot of room to improve. The difference is I'll be simming every game, including tournament games, but I will be handling recruiting, depth chart, and team strategy. I plan on simming the first season then actually taking a job offer, no matter the team or conference prestige, although I'm sure it will be a low prestige team and a low prestige conference. I will look to get job offers with higher prestige conferences and schools. I plan on yearly in depth and detailed reports for this dynasty, and I will use Mike Schaplowsky for 50 years, at which time he will retire and I will see how he fits into the coaching leaderboard.

I will be starting at Eastern Washington, in the Big Sky Conference. They have a prestige of 41, and were 22-12 in the initial season of this dynasty.

I will start sometime next week, as I am getting ready to go out of town for the weekend

Here's a look at how Eastern Washington fared in their first season:


As you can see, I'm inheriting a pretty good program. That loss in the CIT Finals was tough, but shows the potential that is there. A postseason appearance, whether it be CBI or CIT, or the occasional NIT or NCAA, should be a yearly thing.

Here's a look at head coach Mike Schaplowsky and the assistants I'll be using this season. I'm retaining the same staff Eastern Washington had last season.

I have decided to go month by month with this dynasty, but I will be doing months at a time. I'm also not going to worry too much about telling my recruiting plan, I'll mostly only talk about recruiting when I sign someone.

As of November 2016, no recruits have signed yet, so let's take a look at the roster:



As you can see, I'll be relying a lot on Bascom and Baughman every game. There isn't a whole lot to work with behind them.

Here's a look at the depth chart I'll be going off of to start the season.



And finally, a look at the schedule for the 2016-2017 season.



We are the 14th seed in the New York Classic. We'll open with 3rd seed Purdue. If we can somehow win that one, we'll be looking at a Quarterfinal match with either Drexel or Winthrop. Some other key non-conference games on the schedule are against Nevada, at Hawaii, and home against Oregon State. Aside from the New York tournament, we do not have a game west of Kansas (at least I don't think we do), and I wanted it that way for my first season.

November 2016


Very, very disappointed with our last 2 results this month, especially after we played Purdue so tough in the New York Tournament, and beat Rio Grande Valley. Completely different story against Grand Canyon and Cal State Bakersfield. A lot of work to do.

Overall Record: 1-3
Home Record: 0-0
Road Record: 1-2
Neutral Record: 0-1
Rank: NR
RPI: 248

Leaders

PPG

SF Laurence Torrey- 11.3
SG Bret Bascom- 10.5
PG Charles Baughman- 9.3

RPG

SG Bret Bascom- 5.0
C Vincent Ruhl- 4.8
SF Laurence Torrey- 4.8
C Sherwood Bish- 4.8

APG

SG Bret Bascom- 3.8
C Sherwood Bish- 1.5
PG Charles Baughman- 1.3
C Vincent Ruhl- 1.0

Recruiting News

I have just picked up my first 2 signings. First, 3 star PG Clyde Sawicki.


Next, PF Timothy Davis:


Sawicki was a huge signing, as we beat out Gonzaga for him. Davis, not quite as big, as we beat out Denver for him. Both have the potential to be very good, as both have a green rated potential.

December 2016



I knew this would be a tough month, as we had some really tough games scheduled. Even though Hawaii and Nevada don't have records, they still have more talent than we do. The one that hurts the most is Nicholls State. No way should we have lost to them. And we almost lost to Arkansas Pine Bluff too? This could be a long season if somebody doesn't step up.

Overall Record: 3-7
Home Record: 1-3
Road Record: 2-3
Neutral Record: 0-1
Rank: NR
RPI: 351

That RPI is bad, but what would you expect when as a conference the Big Sky conference RPI is 26th out of 32 teams.

Leaders

PPG

C Vincent Ruhl- 9.8
SG Bret Bascom- 9.5
SF Laurence Torrey- 8.8
PG Charles Baughman- 8.7
PF Tony Espinosa- 8.6

These 5 combine for 73.3% of the teams point production. Gotta have more production from the rest of the team.

RPG

SF Laurence Torrey- 6.3
C Vincent Ruhl- 5.2
SG Bret Bascom- 4.8
PF Tony Espinosa- 4.8

APG

SG Bret Bascom- 4.1
PG Charles Baughman- 1.2
PF Tony Espinosa- 1.2
C Sherwood Bish- 1.2

January 2017



Ugh! Just brutal. We absolutely can't win on the road. Fortunately for us, neither can a lot of other teams. We're smack dab in the middle of the conference, and 4 other teams are 3-5. If we can defend our home turf and steal a few on the road, we can still finish .500 in the conference. With this roster, that's the goal right now.

Overall Record: 6-12
Conference Record: 3-5
Home Record: 4-4
Road Record: 2-7
Rank: NR
RPI: 349

The Big Sky has dropped to 29th in conference prestige.

Leaders

PPG

C Vincent Ruhl- 9.7
PG Charles Baughman- 9.6
SF Laurence Torrey- 9.5
SG Bret Bascom- 9.4
PF Tony Espinosa- 8.9

And the dropoff begins from there. The next highest PPG total on the team? 4.6. Yuck!

RPG

SF Laurence Torrey- 6.1
PF Tony Espinosa- 4.7
C Vincent Ruhl- 4.7
C Sherwood Bish- 4.7

February 2017


A great, great month, as we go 7-1 and put ourselves in title contention, and contention to finish the regular season with a winning record. The only way we have a chance to win the Big Sky regular season title is to win both our remain conference games, and hope the teams in front of us lose. It's probably not going to happen, but never say never. Still though, an amazing turnaround.

Overall Record: 13-13
Conference Record: 10-6
Home Record: 7-5
Road Record: 6-7
Neutral Record: 0-1
Rank: NR
RPI: 296

Woo-hoo! Our RPI is out of the 300 range. We can thank a great February for that.

Stat Leaders

PPG

C Vincent Ruhl- 10.3
SF Laurence Torrey- 10.3
SG Bret Bascom- 9.8
PG Charles Baughman- 9.8

RPG

SF Laurence Torrey- 5.7
PF Tony Espinosa- 5.0
C Vincent Ruhl- 4.9
C Sherwood Bish- 4.3

APG

SG Bret Bascom- 3.3
SF Laurence Torrey- 1.6
PG Charles Baughman- 1.4
PF Tony Espinosa- 1.3

We had 2 more conference games to begin March, and here's a look at how those went:


Excellent! We finish off the regular season on a 6 game wining streak and finish in a 2 way tie for 3rd place in the Big Sky. Here's a look at the final Big Sky standings.


Simply put, the Big Sky is a 1 bid league. Whoever wins the Big Sky tournament will be dancing. In fact, it's likely the Big Sky only sends 2 teams into the entire postseason. If Weber State doesn't win the Big Sky Tournament, they may actually get a bid to the NIT. Sacramento State and Montana are the best other chances to send teams to the postseason. As for as, we have to win the Big Sky Tournament or my first season as a college head coach is over.

The Big Sky Tournament takes all 12 teams, with the top 4 teams getting a bye into the Quarterfinals. The First Round sets up as follows:

(9) Northern Colorado vs. (8) Idaho (Winner takes on (1) Weber State).
(12) Montana State vs. (5) Montana (Winner takes on (4) Sacramento State).
(10) North Dakota vs. (7) Northern Arizona (Winner takes on (2) Idaho State).
(11) Southern Utah vs. (6) Portland State (Winner takes on us).

We had 2 upsets in the Big Sky First Round, and here are the results:
(8) Idaho- 70, (9) Northern Colorado- 64 (overtime)
(5) Montana- 57, (12) Montana State- 48
(10) North Dakota- 67, (7) Northern Arizona- 58
(11) Southern Utah- 61, (6) Portland State- 54

March 9, 2017

Big Sky Quarterfinals
(11) Southern Utah (7-23) vs. (3) Eastern Washington (15-13).

The fact Southern Utah is even in this game is amazing. We only played them once in the regular season and beat them 66-57. They have pretty much 1 player on their roster that is a scoring threat. We shouldn't have a problem in this one.

And as expected, we didn't. The final score was eerily identical to the first time we played them, as this time we won 67-58. Crazy!


Other Big Sky Tournament Scores:

(1) Weber State- 82, (8) Idaho- 70
(5) Montana- 80, (4) Sacramento State- 63
(2) Idaho State- 66, (10) North Dakota- 53

March 10, 2017

Big Sky Semifinals
(3) Eastern Washington (16-13) vs. (2) Idaho State (17-13)

This is a big time revenge game for us, as they beat us twice in the regular season, including handing us our only loss in February. Both games were close, so we know they are beatable, and it's very hard to beat a team 3 times in the same season. And revenge we got! We only led by 6 at halftime, but went on a huge run early in the 2nd half to take a commanding lead and coast to an 81-60 victory! 4 guys were in double figures for us, including a guy named Randal Sifuentes who is really starting to step up his game.


Other Big Sky Tournament Scores:

(1) Weber State- 69, (5) Montana- 58

So it'll be us and Weber State for the right to dance in the NCAA Tournament.

March 11, 2017

Big Sky Championship
(3) Eastern Washington (17-13) vs. (1) Weber State (24-8)

This team is good. Very good. Not Duke or Kentucky good. But for a small major team, they are solid. They are beatable though, as we split with them in the regular season. We won by 5 at our place, and lost by 3 there to open Big Sky play. They've got 3 guys on their roster that are green overall, so they are a very talented squad. Not talented enough though, as we held them to just 5 field goals and 19 points in the first half, taking a 30-19 halftime lead and holding on for dear life late. At one point this season, we were 3-8. Since then, we've gone 15-5 and beat Weber State 59-54 in the Big Sky Championship to clinch a bid to the NCAA Tournament! I never would have thought in a million years the team would have rebounded like this, but I am so proud of them. We've won 9 in a row and 12 of our last 13 going into the NCAA Tournament, where we'll almost assuredly be a #16 seed, or in the First Four.


2017 Selection Sunday

I am still cleaning up the mess at my house hours after the selection show. Tables were flipped, glass was broken.. I am not a happy camper. As expected, we will be playing in a First Four game for a #16 seed. We'll be in the East Region. If we win, we'll be playing (1) Kentucky. All good so far, right? Then.. our First Four opponent was announced... Oregon...frikking....State, of the Pac 12. Really? Really? (on a side not, this is my biggest complaint about FBCB, when it comes to postseason tournaments, the game IMO does a horrible job of pairing and seeding teams. This isn't the first time I've seen a power conference team either as a 16 seed or in a First Four game for the right to be a 16 seed. I could understand it a lot more if Oregon State was like 5-24 or something like that, but they are 19-15 with an RPI of 31!!!!! No way should they be fighting for a 16 seed. This is the biggest flaw in this game, by far.)

Ok, rant over. We'll deal with it, it's not gonna change. We'll do what we do. Moving on, the Big Sky did much better than I expected them to do, as 4 other teams got postseason berths.

Weber State got the #8 seed in the NIT Midwest Region. They travel to (1) Syracuse.

3 teams got into the CIT.

Montana got the 8th seed and will host (9) UAB in the First Round.
Idaho State got the 15th seed and will travel to (2) Radford in the First Round.

And now I go back to griping, as Sacramento State got the 7th seed and will host (10) Hawaii. If they were to win and Idaho State somehow won, they'd be playing in the Quarterfinals. I don't agree with that at all. Oh well, it is what it is.

March 14, 2016

NCAA Tournament First Four

Oregon State (19-15) vs. Eastern Washington (18-13)

We're playing a team we should not be playing in the First Four, and I had my big rant about it in an earlier post. We'll just go out and do the best we can. The Beavers have 3 players in their starting lineup that we need to really worry about, but if we can get them in foul trouble, we have a great shot to get into their bench, which isn't too spectacular. We'll see. And if we could have just played the second half like we played the first half, we'd have won an NCAA Tournament game. We led 34-22 at halftime, but went ice cold in the second half, hitting just 4 shots and scoring just 14 points. On the other hand, one of their studs lit us up for 23 points. We contain him and make some shots in the second half, and we win. As it stands, we ended up losing 51-48. A total letdown as we had it in the bag, but still a great season for us.

2017 Offseason

Postseason Recap- Southland Conference

Weber State was one and done in the NIT Tournament, losing their First Round Game in the Midwest Region to top seed Syracuse, 77-59.

Idaho State also went one and done, losing big time in the CIT, as they travelled to 2nd seed Radford in the First Round and lost 77-39.

Sacramento State hosted 10th seed Hawaii in the First Round of the CIT and lost 76-69.

Montana was our 3rd and final conference representative in the CIT, and was the only school to win a postseason game. They hosted 9th seed UAB in the First Round and won 58-41, then hosted 16th seeded Hampton in the Quarterfinals, winning that one 66-60. Their run ended in the Semifinals as they travelled to 4th seed Wofford and lost 71-58.

Season Awards

Only 1 award for our players, as SR Laurence Torrey made the Big Sky 2nd Team.

Departing Players

PF Tony Espinosa- graduating
SF Laurence Torrey- graduating
SG Bret Bascom- graduating

Obviously losing Torrey is a huge blow, since he was 2nd team all-conference. In fact, let's be honest, we are going to be replacing a huge chunk of our scoring next season, as all 3 of these players were in our top 5 scoring leaders for the team, pitching in 28.6 PPG. Torrey and Espinosa also were good for a combined 11.2 RPG. It's going to be tough to replace this, and I'm hoping our recruiting class was at least decent as far as the Big Sky goes.

Final Recruiting Class

HS PG Clyde Sawicki (***, #323 overall).
JC transfer SG Philibert Ducoulombier (**, #597 overall).
HS PF Timothy Davis (*, #940 overall).

Obviously Sawicki is the star of this recruiting class, but he actually may not start next season. In fact, there's a good chance he may get redshirted as we'll already have 4 point guards on the roster. Ducoulombier will be our starting SG barring a major improvement in our other shooting guards, of which we only have 1 on the roster. Davis is a definite redshirt candidate. What I like about this class, if they all live up to their potential, which is green (which means they are projected to be very good), then we could be really good in a few years.

Our class was ranked 171st in the nation, not bad at all for a low prestige conference school. Unfortunately, 2 schools in the Big Sky were pegged to have better recruiting classes than us, but that's only because their best player was rated higher overall than Sawicki.

None of our players got drafted, no big surprise there, but I'm hearing that Torrey has already gotten a D-League offer. Unfortunately, our prestige took a huge hit, as it was 41 last season, now it's down to 38. Ouch! You would think a trip to the NCAA Tournament would have meant something, but I guess not.

Conference Movement

No changes in the Big Sky, no surprise there.

Job Offers

Not surprisingly, no offers came my way. No big surprise at all, as this was only my first year on the job.

We have been invited to participate in the 2017 Paradise Jam as the #1 seed. If we are going to be the #1 seed, then I can only imagine what kind of competition we will have. Offer accepted!

Reading yours in part because I've kind of stalled with doing anything other than simming in mine, looking for inspiration.