A rookie coach: from the bottom to the top
 

Mike Schaplowsky is just a mere 22 years old, fresh out of college. He had a standout high school basketball career at Wichita West High School, where he was named all-state 3 years in a row. He translated that into a 2 year career at Butler County Community College, then went to Wichita State for his final 2 seasons.

Many thought that he would wind up playing pro ball, either in the NBA or overseas, but the world was shocked when he announced his retirement just 1 day after signing a free agent contract with the Chicago Bulls, saying "I don't have the passion to be a player anymore. I want to be a coach."

But Mike didn't just want to coach any old team, he wanted to coach in NCAA Division 1. "I don't care where, I don't care who, but I want to be a D1 coach. Give the young guys a shot."

So the word was out about Coach Schaplowsky, but he knew he would have to be a spectator for the 2013-2014 season, as no jobs were available. So he would sit and wait....

This is the dynasty that I started over at the greydogsoftware forums, that I'm going to also post over here as I've had a couple people say they would like to see it. I really wanted to start a single coach dynasty of my own along with the interactive dynasty.

Some house rules I'm using, I have the current 2013-2014 conference alignment in the game, but no real coaches or players files.

I have turned full conference movement on, as I want a promotion/relegation feel to this dynasty report.

I will be honest, my time is limited, so the basis of this dynasty will be sim only. I will, however, coach out any tournament games, whether it be a season tournament, conference tournament, or postseason. Hope you all enjoy.

Gardner Webb hires Schaplowsky

Mike Schaplowsky got his wish, and he is the new coach at Gardner Webb. After former coach Eric Profit left to take the job at IPFW, the board at Gardner Webb reached out to young Schaplowsky, who was quoted as having a lot of passion for the game. With some of his players as old, if not older than him, it's going to be quite an adjustment to see how both players and coach alike react. Gardner Webb has high expectations this season, as the board would like to see them in the NCAA tournament.

Here is a look at the coach card for Mike Schaplowsky:

Here's a look at the Gardner Webb roster for the 2013-2014 season:

And the 2013-2014 Schedule:

Nov. 18-24, 2013

Nov. 19, 2013

Gardner Webb (0-0) @ Cal Poly (0-0)

Well, my coaching debut didn't start so well, as we shot just 38.3% from the field and just 1-13 from 3 point land. Dan Warden and Charles Keys led us with 12 points each, but we lost 67-47.

Nov. 23, 2013

Kennesaw State (0-1) @ Gardner Webb (0-1)

Getting outrebounded 41-29 really hurt us tonight, as they got a lot of second chance points. David Bemis had 21 points for us, but we lost 62-54.

Nov. 25-Dec. 1, 2013

Nov. 27, 2013

Gardner Webb (0-2) @ Alabama (2-2)

This one went about how I expected. We trailed by 14 at halftime, shot 28% for the game, and lost 73-40.

Dec. 2-8, 2013

Dec. 2, 2013

Marshall (2-3) @ Gardner Webb (0-3)

A better effort tonight, but defensively we struggled. Antwan Erickson had a nice double double with 13 points, 10 boards, but we lost 65-58.

Dec. 5, 2013

Gardner Webb (0-4) @ North Carolina A&T (1-2)

We made a few defensive adjustments, increasing our full court pressure, along with adding more double teams and traps. We will also be playing a lot more man this game. I'd like to think those adjustments were the key tonight, as we got our first win of the season, and my first win as a coach, 57-48. Antwan Erickson was a man beast on the boards tonight, pulling down 17.

Dec. 8, 2013

North Florida (0-5) @ Gardner Webb (1-4)

We really got going offensively tonight, shooting 56.7%. Unfortunately our defense was once again horrid, as they shot 49.2%. They had no answer for Dan Warden who had 24 points and Charles Keys who had 28 points, and we won 87-77.

An update for everyone, I have decided to coach all games. It doesn't really take that long to get through a game. I'm also going to make my reports month by month, so the reports will be less, but also less frequent. I am going to try to get 1 or 2 posts (season months) up a week, along with my other 2 projects I have going on here. So it may not be the quickest moving dynasty, but it'll get its fair share of attention.

I should have the rest of December up tomorrow if all goes well.

Dec. 2013

12/10 vs. South Carolina - L 88-79 (2-5) -- Led by 7 at halftime but couldn't hold on, as David Bemis left the game due to injury early in the second half and we couldn't recover. He's out for 2 weeks with a pulled hamstring.

12/12 vs. Jacksonville - L 76-72 in OT (2-6) -- A complete letdown to start the game, as we trailed by 18 at halftime. By the time we recovered and started to play basketball, it took everything out of my guys, and we were worn down by overtime. Ugh, that was Jacksonville's first win of the season.

12/15 at VMI - L 65-58 (2-7) -- The key of this game was free throws as they MADE 10 more free throws than we attempted. We were 5-11 from the line, they were 21-34. Not saying anything about the officiating.. but we dominated in every other statistical category.

12/19 at UMBC - W 54-43 (3-7) -- Finally! A much needed win to get that taste of the VMI screw job... I mean game... out of our mouths. James Woodland led us with 18 points tonight.

12/25 at Radford - L 67-64 (3-8, 0-1) -- Charles Keys was all everything for us tonight, scoring 28 points and pulling down 11 boards. Unfortunately it wasn't enough, as we left one of their best shooters open to drain a buzzer beating three pointer, ruining my debut in the Big South Conference.

12/27 vs. Tennessee Tech - L 72-56 (3-9, 0-1) -- This game wasn't even close. We committed 17 turnovers and trailed by 21 at the half in this non-conference battle. The good news is that we will have David Bemis back for our next game, and we need him!

December Numbers

Overall Record: 3-9
Conference Record: 0-1
Home Record: 1-5
Road Record: 2-4
Rank: NR
RPI: 346

December Leaders

PPG

SF Charles Keys- 12.8
SG David Bemis- 11.7
PF Dan Warden- 9.3

RPG

C Antwan Erickson- 8.6
PF Dan Warden- 5.1
SF Charles Keys- 4.3

APG

SG David Bemis- 3.3
PG James Woodland- 2.2
SG Jarrod Taggart- 1.8

Jan. 2014

Terrible news to begin the year of 2014, as 2 of our players are done for the season. PG Jerry Scott and PG James Woodland have both been suspended for the rest of the season do to poor academic performance. Scott isn't a big loss because he was only averaging 2.6 minutes a game, but Woodland was our starting PG. To fill this role, David Bemis will move from SG to PG and be the starter. Look for more guards to get playing time.

Recruiting News

C Elias Dykstra has committed to play for us next season, while PF David Harris declined our offer and will go to UNC Wilmington.

Games

1/1 at Liberty - W 70-62 (4-9, 1-1) -- Chris Jones had a great performance off the bench scoring 15, but Charles Keys led the way with 16.

1/4 vs. High Point - W 83-57 (5-9, 2-1) -- Tommie Diller earned a start off the bench, as he scored 16 points, had 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. He'll start at PG next game, while PF Dan Warden had a double double with 19 points, 10 boards as we blow out High Point.

1/8 vs. SIU Edwardsville - W 74-63 (6-9, 3-1) -- David Bemis had 16 and Tommie Diller and Jarrod Taggart each had 12 and we shot 55.1% from the field.

1/11 at Presbyterian - L 71-69 (6-10, 3-2) -- Overconfidence got us tonight, as we came on cocky after winning our first 3 games this month. Ugh. They forced 17 turnovers on us. Charles Keys had another nice game with 19 points.

1/14 at East Tennessee State - L 74-56 (6-11, 3-2) -- A mid-week non-conference game against a hot team was a huge mistake, as we shot just 28.8% and were completely outmatched.

1/18 vs. Longwood - W 85-77 (7-11, 4-2) -- 4 players scored in double digits for us, led by Tommie Diller with 15 points and 10 boards.

1/25 vs. UNC Asheville - L 57-46 (7-12, 4-3) -- Scoring only 14 first half points doomed us tonight. Never could get on track offensively. 16 turnovers and them getting quite a few easy baskets off those turnovers didn't help either.

1/29 at Coastal Carolina - L 62-54 (7-13, 4-4) -- Again, turnovers continue to be an issue. We had 17 tonight, and a change in offensive strategy might be in the works.

Numbers through Jan. 2014

Overall Record: 7-13
Conference Record: 4-4
Home Record: 4-6
Road Record: 3-7
Rank: None
RPI: 311

Stat Leaders

PPG

SF Charles Keys- 12.5
SG David Bemis- 9.7
PF Dan Warden- 9.0

RPG

C Antwan Erickson- 8.7
PF Dan Warden- 5.6
SF Tommie Diller- 4.7

APG

SG David Bemis- 2.7
PG James Woodland (suspended)- 2.2
SF Charles Keys- 1.8

Not a good sign at all when one of our suspended players is in our top 3 of APG. Got to get more team ball in the mix.

Feb. 2014

No recruiting news this month, as no players either accepted or declined our scholarship offer last month.

Games

2/1 vs. Presbytarian - L 77-61 (7-14, 4-5) -- 4 players scored in double digits for us but it wasn't anywhere near enough, as our slide continues.

2/5 at UNC Asheville - W 71-57 (8-14, 5-5) -- We finally got one! I made some changes on the defense end that seems to have done wonders, at least for this game. PG Brian Ratcliffe shined tonight with 15 points.

2/7 vs. St. Francis (PA) - W 70-49 (9-14, 5-5) -- We might have played our best game of the season against St. Francis, as we committed just 6 turnovers. Charles Keys led the way with 19 points.

2/12 at SIU Edwardsville - W 70-62 (10-14, 6-5) -- A pretty even game here, but we made some key free throws down the stretch to win our 3rd straight.

2/15 vs. Radford - W 63-48 (11-14, 7-5) -- A great defensive effort tonight as we held them to just 29.8% shooting. David Bemis led us in scoring with 17.

2/19 at Longwood - W 86-68 (12-14, 8-5) -- This game was won in the first half, as we scored 60 in the first 20 minutes and led 60-31 at halftime! David Bemis was THE MAN tonight, scoring 37 on 12-17 shooting. He did leave the game late with a migraine, but he should be available for our next game.

2/22 vs. Liberty - W 74-55 (13-14, 9-5) -- we went on a huge 11-0 run late in the second half to put this one away. Dan Warden led us with 19 points, 5 boards. We've lost Tommie Diller for the rest of the month, as he left with a bruised jaw. He will miss the last 2 regular season games.

2/26 vs. Campbell - L 57-46 (13-15, 9-6) -- We knew the run would have to end sometime, and tonight it did. 2-24 from the 3 point line did us in. Next practice is going to be tough on the guys, as we are going to absolutely drill post play into their heads.

Feb. 2014 Wrap-Up

Overall Record: 13-15
Conference Record: 9-6
Home Record: 7-8
Road Record: 6-7
Rank: None
RPI: 270

Statistical Leaders

PPG

SF Charles Keys- 11.6
PG David Bemis- 11.4
PF Dan Warden- 9.4

RPG

C Antwan Erickson- 8.5
PF Dan Warden- 5.5
SF Tommie Diller- 4.5

APG

PG David Bemis- 2.7
PG James Woodland- 2.2
SF Charles Keys- 1.8

James Woodland hasn't played for 2 months yet he is still 2nd on the team in APG? Pathetic.

March 2014

Games

3/2 at High Point - L 67-56 (13-16, 9-7) -- Shooting percentage did us in tonight, they shot 44.6%, we shot 32.8%. David Bemis scored 17 points, but took 18 shots.. never a good sign.

Big South Tournament

1st Round Results

(6) High Point- 78, (11) SIU Edwardsville- 57
(7) UNC Asheville- 64, (10) Longwood- 58
(8) Liberty- 78, (9) Coastal Carolina- 76

Quarterfinal Matchups

(8) Liberty vs. (1) Presbyterian
(5) Gardner Webb vs. (4) Radford
(6) High Point vs. (3) Charleston Southern
(7) UNC Asheville vs. (2) Campbell

3/6/2014 vs. Radford - W 71-60 (14-16) -- Tommie Diller returned to the lineup tonight and scored 8 points, but we forced 15 turnovers while committing just 9. David Bemis had a much better shooting night, scoring 16 on 5-10 shooting and 5-5 from the charity stripe.

Other Quarterfinal Results

Presbyterian- 76, Liberty- 62
High Point- 75, Charleston Southern- 61
Campbell- 56, UNC Asheville- 36

Semifinal Matchups

(5) Gardner Webb vs. (1) Presbyterian
(6) High Point vs. (2) Campbell

3/8/2014 vs. Presbyterian - W 58-53 (15-16) -- After scoring just 16 points in the first half, we turned up the heat in the second half, shooting over 60% and going on a 12-1 run late in the game, advanced to the Big South Championship!

Campbell- 83, High Point- 59

Big South Championship

3/9/2014 vs. (2) Campbell - W 89-82 (16-16) -- What a great couple months it's been! This team looked dead to rights going into February, but a remarkable turnaround. David Bemis scored 30 points for us on 7-9 from the field and 11-12 from the line. We are headed to the NCAA Tournament!

2014 Big South Postseason Selection

We will be playing in the 2014 First Four, facing off against McNeese State for the right to earn a 16 seed and a game against (1) Georgetown.

Other Big South teams continue their season include:

Campbell- #1 seed in the CIT
Presbyterian- #8 seed in NIT Midwest Region
Fairfield- #15 seed in CIT

2014 NCAA Tournament First Four

3/18/2014 vs. McNeese State - W 65-49 (OT) (17-16) -- We have won an NCAA tournament game, again taking care of business in the second half and outscoring them 18-2 in OT. Defensively we were outstanding, holding them to just 27.3% shooting. David Bemis scored 21 points.

2014 NCAA Tournament Second Round

3/21/2014 vs. (1) Georgetown - L 88-38 (17-17) -- This one went about how I thought it would go, as we were totally outclassed. That's ok though, the fact we were even able to play in this game is amazing considering how we started the season!

Michigan St. ended up beating Florida for the NCAA title, I'm not too worried about recapping the other tournaments. Next post will have season recap.

Nice little run there... good start.

Final 2013-2014 Summary

Final Stats


Season Awards

We were shut out of this department this season, hoping for better next year.

Departing Players

PG Tommie Diller (graduation)
C Antwan Erickson (graduation)
PF Dan Warden (graduation)
SF Charles Keys (graduation)

Final Recruiting Class

C Elias Dykstra (6'8'', ***, #195 overall)
PG Bobbie Robertson (6'3'', ***, #501 overall)
SF Cedric Hampton (6'5'', *, #1587 overall)

We had the 127th best class in the nation, and tops in the Big South. Dykstra could play a huge role next season, while Robertson should get decent minutes. Hampton may redshirt.

Conference Movement

2014-2015 Preseason Overview

Current Goal: Win the conference championship
Job Evaulation: The board is delighted with my performance, high approval.
Training Facility Rating: 32, good for 3rd in the conference.
Team Prestige: rises from 32 to 37. Yes!

No tournament invite this season, bummer!

We have 3 scholarships available for us, and will for sure be losing PG David Bemis, PF Jose Turner, and SG Chris Jones next season.

Wow, that's some wicked conference movement. Georgia Tech to the Missouri Valley? Florida Gulf Coast to the WAC? Cool. And I had to smile when I saw that Auburn was leaving the Missouri Valley for the Colonial. :)

That's why I use Limited Conference Movement rather than Full. Full you get too much movement like that

Izlude, normally I would use limited conference movement, but I wanted a euro soccer type theme to this dynasty, with the promotion/relegation stuff. I know it's a lot of conference movement to take in, but bear with me. I may decide to change it at some point, but right now I just want to keep it the way it is. Thanks for reading.

Here is a look at the 2014-2015 Gardner Webb roster:


And the schedule:

Nov. 2014

11/18 at Utah Valley - W 92-54 (1-0) -- 3 players scored in double figures as we turned a 13 point halftime lead into a 38 point win. Bobbie Robertson led us with 23 points and 8 boards.

11/23 vs. Jacksonville State - W 74-66 (2-0) -- Elias Dykstra was huge off the bench with 18 points on 6-7 shooting and 5-5 from the line, he also had 7 boards. Another performance off the bench like that may earn him a starting role.

11/26 vs. N.C. State - L 72-70 (2-1) -- A gallant effort against a good, solid major conference team, but we missed 2 chances to win at the end. Still a great performance, led by David Bemis with 19 points.

11/28 vs. Kent State - W 81-76 (3-1) -- There is a nice key win against a good mid-major team, as David Bemis scored 25 points, had 6 boards and 6 assists. Great job! 1 down spot is that we did lose James Woodland for about 2 weeks, he sprained his wrist tonight. Jarrod Taggart will take his place in the starting lineup.

Nov. 2014 Wrap-Up

Overall Record: 3-1
Conference Record: 0-0
Home Record: 2-1
Road Record: 1-0
Rank: NR
RPI: 104

We are receiving 3 votes in the mid-major polls, thanks to our strong performance against 2 solid teams to end the month.

Stat Leaders

PPG

SG David Bemis- 18.5
SF Bobbie Robertson- 14.0
C Elias Dykstra- 10.5

RPG

C Dennis Cowans- 9.5
PF Jose Turner- 6.8
SF Bobbie Robertson- 5.3
C Elias Dykstra- 5.3

APG

PG James Woodland- 3.7
SG David Bemis- 2.0
SF Bobbie Robertson- 2.0
PF Jose Turner- 2.0

Dec. 2015

We went 1 for 2 in recruiting last month. PG Daren Keim signed with us. He's only a 2 star recruit but I think he will see some minutes. SG Calvin McCrae turned us down unfortunately, instead choosing to sign with Georgia State.

Games

12/2 at Kennesaw State - W 78-62 (4-1) -- We forced 17 turnovers in this one, and both Jarrod Taggart and David Bemis scored 18. Elias Dykstra had 14 off the bench, with 7 rebounds. Dennis Cowans had another double digit rebounding game with 12.

12/6 vs. Wofford - W 76-63 (5-1) -- If you wanted to see a clinic on how to take care of the basketball, this was NOT the game to watch. We committed 24 turnovers, and they committed 22. Fortunately, we shot 53% to their 40% and that was the difference. David Bemis and Bobbie Robertson were the leading scorers with 15 a piece.

12/8 at Davidson - L 74-73 (5-2) -- James Woodland reentered the lineup tonight, moving Taggart back to the bench. David Bemis led us with 20 points, but we fell just short as they got a buzzer beater to win the game. Ugh!

12/11 vs. The Citadel - L 65-44 (5-3) -- We led by 2 at halftime but couldn't find the basket in the second half, scoring just 12 second half points and shooting 28.8% for the game. On top of that, we've lost Dennis Cowans for a week due to a dislocated finger. Welcome to the starting lineup Elias Dykstra!

12/15 at Seattle - W 71-67 (6-3) -- We really stepped up the defense in the second half after trailing by 7 at halftime. I wanted presses and traps at every opportunity, and we forced 13 second half turnovers, and 20 for the game. I'm disappointed in our free throw shooting though, 15-32 from the line is unacceptable, and almost allowed them to come back in this game.

12/18 vs. North Carolina A&T - W 93-70 (7-3) -- The inconsistency of this team continues to shine, this time in a good way. We had just 3 turnovers tonight.. Yep, that's right, just 3. We were able to get some good minutes for the bench in this one. Chris Jones had his first double digit game with 11, but David Bemis again led the way with 19.

12/24 at Nebraska Omaha - W 77-74 (8-3, 1-0) -- We welcomed Nebraska Omaha into the Big South conference by scoring the first 12 points of the game, but this is a scrappy team. Chris Jones again scored in double digits with 13, and David Bemis and James Woodland had 17 and 16, respectively.

12/26 at Savannah State - W 71-60 (9-3, 1-0) -- A very bittersweet win tonight, as David Bemis left the game very early after hitting his head hard on the floor diving for a loose ball. He suffered a concussion and will be out for about a month. Bobbie Robertson was also injured tonight, as he took an inadvertent elbow to the mouth and left with a bruised jaw. He'll be out for a week. Fortunately, Chris Jones continued to step up, scoring 20 points. He will be in the starting lineup for our next game.

12/30 at VMI - W 77-56 (10-3, 1-0) -- Chris Jones was late to a couple practices this week, so I decided to start Brian Ratcliffe instead. All he did was score 19 points on 6-7 shooting, including 3-3 from behind the arc. James Woodland led us with 21 points off the bench.

Dec. 2014 Wrap-Up

Overall Record: 10-3
Conference Record: 1-0
Home Record: 5-2
Road Record: 5-1
Rank: NR
RPI: 265

That RPI is the result of playing a lot of teams with very poor records in December. Conference play probably won't help that much, but such is the life of being in a low prestige conference.

Stat Leaders

PPG

SG David Bemis- 15.2
C Elias Dykstra- 9.6
SF Bobbie Robertson- 9.3

RPG

C Dennis Cowans- 8.5
PF Jose Turner- 7.3
C Elias Dykstra- 5.5

APG

PG James Woodland- 2.6
SG David Bemis- 2.1
SG Jarrod Taggart- 1.8

Jan. 2015

We again went 1 for 2 in the recruiting wars. PF John Hemingway rejected our offer and decided to go to Wofford. However, SG Daniel Bibbs committed to play for us. He is a 3 star recruit and passed up offers from Syracuse and UConn, instead choosing to play for us. Not that he's not a solid player, but let's be honest, he will see a lot more PT here than he ever would at Syracuse or UConn.

Games

1/3 vs. High Point - W 74-64 (11-3, 2-0) -- As seems to be the standard for FBCB (not that I'm complaining, mind you) there was a huge discrepancy in free throws. We shot 39, they shot 10. Which worked well for us, because we needed them after committing 19 turnovers.

1/7 vs. Radford - L 70-62 (11-4, 2-1) -- Brian Ratcliffe left this game early and is DTD, but that didn't cause us to lose. Again the issue was free throws, as they only missed 2 all game. We missed 5, and we were outrebounded 37-29. Other than that it was a pretty even game.

1/10 vs. SIU Edwardsville - L 82-69 (11-5, 2-2) -- Again it comes down to shooting. No way can we let teams continue to shoot 53% and expect to win. Embarassing loss. There will be some changes in the starting lineup for next game.

1/14 at UNC Asheville - L 86-52 (11-6, 2-3) -- James Woodland was back in the starting lineup tonight, but it didn't make a difference. We were totally outclassed and embarrassed tonight. We trailed 50-17 at halftime and shot only 23.2% for the game. They, on the other hand, shot 61.2%. Jose Turner was the only guy in double figures for us, with 10.

1/17 at Charleston Southern - L 77-63 (11-7, 2-4) -- We actually led at halftime, and held them to just 38.8% shooting. The problem is we only shot 36% and committed 21 turnovers. Offensively, we are in a funk right now. A double double for Dennis Cowans who had 12 points and 10 boards.

1/24 vs. Liberty - L 73-63 (11-8, 2-5) -- We welcome back David Bemis to the starting lineup. Hopefully he will be the spark that gets us out of this funk. Unfortunately it was not to be. This time the free throw discrepancy went the other way. They were 25-34 from the line, we were 13-20. That was the difference. Another double double for Dennis Cowans with 11 points, 12 boards.

1/28 at Radford - L 71-63 (11-9, 2-6) -- Just can't seem to get anything going offensively, with another night of shooting below 40%. This is getting ridiculous. Cowans led us again with 16 points.

1/31 at Campbell - L 70-69 (11-10, 2-7) -- A heartbreaker tonight, as we wasted our best shooting effort in a long time, letting their backup point guard backdoor us for a layup at the buzzer. We won just 1 game in January. That's unacceptable. I know this team is better, and I've already got lots of eyes on me. We've got to have a good February. Oh yea, Cowans dominated again, 12 points, 14 boards.


Jan. 2015 Wrap-Up

Overall Record: 11-10
Conference Record: 2-7
Home Record: 6-5
Road Record: 5-5
Rank: NR
RPI: 297

Stat Leaders

PPG

SG David Bemis- 13.1
SF Bobbie Robertson- 9.4
C Elias Dykstra- 8.4

RPG

C Dennis Cowans- 8.8
PF Jose Turner- 7.1
C Elias Dykstra- 5.0

APG

PG James Woodland- 2.6
SG David Bemis- 1.8
SF Bobbie Robertson- 1.5
SG Jarrod Taggart- 1.5

Feb. 2015

Not much on the recruiting front this month, we still need a PF to replace the one we'll be losing after this season, right now we've got a schollie offer to a 2 star recruit, better than nothing.

Games

2/4 vs. Longwood - W 64-62 (OT) (12-10, 3-7) -- We had a 10 point halftime lead and almost lost it. It took a David Bemis 3 pointer to even get us to overtime, where Dennis Cowans had a rebound and putback with 5 seconds left, and defensively we didn't allow them to get off a shot. Hopefully this win will spark these guys to a strong finish of the season.

2/7 at SIU Edwardsville - W 83-70 (13-10, 4-7) -- A strong start in this one gave us a 16 point halftime lead, and we shot 58%, never tested in this one despite committing 21 turnovers. David Bemis led us with 19 points.

2/11 vs. Coastal Carolina - W 95-74 (14-10, 5-7) -- We absolutely rolled in the second half, shooting 53.3% from the field and committing only 9 turnovers. 12 players saw the floor tonight, and 11 scored. That will be huge for some of the guys that normally don't get to play much.

2/14 at High Point - W 70-59 (15-10, 6-7) -- We continue to roll after getting some favorable calls to start the second half which led to the ejection of a High Point player (2 technicals). Elias Dykstra led us off the bench with 18 points and 7 rebounds.

2/18 vs. Charleston Southern - W 83-76 (16-10, 7-7) -- The streak is 5 now, as we beat South division leader Charleston Southern tonight. This game took FOREVER to play, as 50 fouls were called, leading to 80 free throws. Yikes! They had 2 guys foul out, while Dennis Cowans fouled out for us. We had 5 guys in double figures, led by Bobbie Robertson with 16.

2/21 at Liberty - W 90-78 (17-10, 8-7) -- This was a come from behind victory, as we picked up the pace in the second half, forcing 20 second half turnovers, and 26 for the game. Bobbie Robertson was a man possessed this game, as he had 22 points, 3 boards, and 3 assists.

2/25 vs. UNC Asheville - W 73-45 (18-10, 9-7) -- Total control in this one, as we allowed them just 18 points, forced 20 turnovers, and they shot just 30%. A great way to finish off the regular season. Bobbie Robertson again led us with 17 points, 8 boards, and 4 assists. Chris Jones had 16 off the bench. We go into the conference tournament with a winning record this season, unlike last year when we went into it 13-16, although we do still have a road non-conference game on the schedule before the Big South Tourney.

Feb. 2015 Wrap-Up

Overall Record: 18-10
Conference Record: 9-7
Home Record: 10-5
Road Record: 8-5
Rank: NR
RPI: 232

Stat Leaders

PPG

SG David Bemis- 13.0
SF Bobbie Robertson- 10.6
C Elias Dykstra- 9.0

RPG

C Dennis Cowans- 8.5
PF Jose Turner- 7.0
C Elias Dykstra- 5.0

APG

PG James Woodland- 2.4
SG David Bemis- 1.9
SF Bobbie Robertson- 1.6

March 2015

Games

3/2 at Southern Utah - W 70-54 (19-10, 9-7) -- Bobbie Robertson led us with 16 points, while Jarrod Taggart scored 12 off the bench as we finish off the regular season on an 8 game winning streak! We are the #3 seed in the Big South Tournament.

Big South Tournament

1st Round Results

(11) UNC Asheville- 70, (6) Liberty- 54
(7) SIU Edwardsville- 70, (10) Longwood- 60
(8) High Point- 76, (9) Coastal Carolina- 60

Quarterfinal Matchups

(8) High Point vs. (1) Charleston Southern
(5) Nebraska Omaha vs. (4) Radford
(11) UNC Asheville vs. (3) Gardner Webb
(7) SIU Edwardsville vs. (2) Campbell

3/5/2015 vs. UNC Asheville - W 89-63 (20-10) -- No problem in this one as we scored 13 of the first 15 points and only turned the ball over 9 times. Bobbie Robertson had 24 points and David Bemis had 23. Elias Dykstra added 14 points and 7 boards as we roll into the conference semifinals.

Other Quarterfinal Results

(1) Charleston Southern- 82, (8) High Point- 65
(5) Nebraska Omaha- 58, (4) Radford- 51
(7) SIU Edwardsville- 71, (2) Campbell- 61

Semifinal Matchups

(5) Nebraska Omaha vs. (1) Charleston Southern
(7) SIU Edwardsville vs. (3) Gardner Webb

3/7/2015 vs. SIU Edwardsville - L 84-75 (20-11) -- The great run comes to an end as we couldn't overcome their hot shooting. It also doesn't help that we had 30 fouls called on us and they only had 16, but that's the breaks I guess. Another big game from David Bemis with 23 points, 7 boards, 5 assists. Now we sit back and wait to see if we get to play more basketball this season, and I think we will.

(1) Charleston Southern- 74, (5) Nebraska Omaha- 46

(7) SIU Edwardsville beat (1) Charleston Southern 66-62 to win the Big South Championship.

2015 Big South Postseason Selection

We will get to play at least 1 more game this season, as we were selected as the 15th seed in the CBI. Our first game will be against (2) Stony Brook.

For the second straight season, the Big South Tournament Champion will play in the NCAA First Four. SIU Edwardsville will take on St. Francis (NY) for the right to be the 16th seed in the Midwest Region, which a game against (1) Baylor on the line.

Campbell was selected as the #8 seed in the NIT East Region and will travel to (1) LaSalle in the first round.

And in some totally ridiculous scheduling, Charleston Southern is the last team out of the Big South to make the postseason. They get the (10) seed in the CBI and will travel to (9) Lehigh. If they win their game, and we win our game, we will meet in the second round of the CBI. That's ridiculous.

2015 CBI First Round

3/18/2015 at (2) Stony Brook - W 76-64 (21-11) -- 5 players scored in double figures for us, and we forced 14 turnovers. A balanced offense gets us to the next round as we were led by Dennis Cowans with 14 points, 8 boards.

2015 CBI Second Round

3/23/2015 at (7) Lehigh - W 85-79 (22-11) -- We raced out to a 44-28 halftime lead then I bit most of my nails off as they made a furious comeback late, but we were able to hit our free throws down the stretch. David Bemis had 20 points and Bobbie Robertson threw in 17.

2015 CBI Semifinals

3/25/2015 at (14) Wright St. - L 79-70 (22-12) -- Our great run came to an end tonight as we couldn't overcome 20 turnovers that led to 17 extra shots for them. Hard to beat teams that get 17 more shots than you, especially when they make most of those shots in transition. Nevertheless, I am very proud of this group and what they accomplished this season.

Final 2014-2015 Summary

Final Stats


Season Awards

Lots of awards this season, as FR Bobbie Robertson got Big South freshman of the year, All-Big South 1st Team, and Big South All-Freshman Team. He was joined on the Big South All-Freshman Team by FR Dennis Cowans. Making All-Big South 2nd Team was SR David Bemis.

Departing Players

SG David Bemis (graduation)
PF Jose Turner (graduation)
SG Chris Jones (graduation)

Final Recruiting Class

SG Daniel Bibbs (6'4'', ***, #355 overall)
PG Daren Keim (6'1'', **, #614 overall)

We had 1 scholarship that we didn't fill, and we will try to look for a good transfer to fill it. Our recruiting class was tops in the Big South again, but only #223 in the nation.

Transfers

There was nobody worth our time as far as transfers go. The ones we wanted were far too good to play for Gardner Webb.

Also, I am changing conference movement back to limited. There is just far too much movement when I have it set to full. The question is, do I want to reset every team back to the conference they originally played on when I started this dynasty (which could take a while), or just leave it as is with some of the weird conference alignment?

2015-2016 Preseason Overview

Current Goal: Win the conference championship.
Job Evaluation: The board is still delighted with my performance, still high approval.
Training Facilities: No change, still rated 32, good for 3rd in conference.
Team Prestige: Stays at 37

Again we weren't invited to any tournaments, bummer.

We will have 4 scholarships to fill this season, and hoping to do better than we did last season in the recruiting wars.