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-   -   A TDCB Repeat: The Steve Victory Story (http://forums.operationsports.com/fofc//showthread.php?t=53082)

aztarheel 10-01-2006 02:35 PM

A TDCB Repeat: The Steve Victory Story
 
With basketball season on the near horizon, I thought I would re-post an old favorite from the Tournament Dreams College Basketball boards (which are no longer) over the coming days and weeks.

This is probably my favorite dynasty I've ever put together. It began with a simple premise -- create a coach and see if I could win a championship in TDCB in 15 years. It grew into a mini-phenomenon. The best part was how people joined into story and created their own characters that interacted with mine. I ended up playing the game for more than 30 seasons.

Fortunately, jksander, a moderator from the TDCB boards (I see him now over at WolverineStudios), salvaged most of my Steve Victory story before the boards closed down, and I think I have most of the rest on my computer.

I have two main motives for reposting it here -- one is to keep it in circulation (hey, I'm selfish). And two, I may yet have one more twist on the Steve Victory story before finally putting him to rest for good. Maybe...

And now, from the rerun files: "Steve Victory: NCT Title or Bust" (circa 2003-04):

Just an FYI: In the game Tournament Dreams, NCT = NCAA Tournament and ACT = NIT Tournament. That was confusing to some folks before. Also, I'll include other posters' comments and note who they are as we go along...

Enjoy...

AZ

aztarheel 10-01-2006 02:40 PM

As you might expect from his last name, Steve Victory loves to win. The man just can’t stand not being first.

His friends and family call him the most competitive guy on the planet. He gets sore when he loses in Monopoly or putt-putt. He hates it when people pass him on the freeway or beat him off the line at a red light.

While growing up, Victory channeled his ultra-competitive passion into a respectable prep basketball career. By the time he graduated from his rural high school in Florida, he had earned all-conference and all-state recognition. He got a few looks from D1 schools but settled on a Division II college, where he worked hard and earned all-conference by his junior and senior seasons.

But one thing gnawed at Victory as he surveyed his basketball career – his teams never won the “big one.” Sure, they won a few conference titles but nothing more prestigious. His high school team made it to the state finals twice, but lost both times (including a heartbreaker in double OT in Victory’s senior year). His college team also made it to the Division II Final Four his junior year, but again got sent home without getting to cut down the nets.

Determined to win that elusive championship, Victory got into coaching after graduation from college, first at his college alma mater, then as an assistant at Georgia State, Florida Atlantic and then at the University of Miami. His peers loved him. No one worked harder, stayed later to go over film or recruited more aggressively than Victory.

But Victory struggled being second or third in command. He hated that he never had the last word in the team huddle. He hated that the head coaches sometimes ignored his ideas for their own. He hated that other coaches and players sometimes seemed satisfied and didn’t want to get better. Though he knew his day would come, he craved the chance to lead his own program.

“I’ll bet,” he would often tell his friends and family, “if I became a head coach at Division I program I’d win a national championship in 15 years. Maybe sooner. I don’t care where I started. I can do it…”

Maybe it was his dad’s aloof response to his “15-years-or-bust” mentality. Maybe it was that his friends just chuckled when he told them of his prediction. But Victory became more determined than ever to prove them wrong -- and prove his last name to be true.

“15 years – or sooner – after I take my first D1 head job, I AM going to be cutting down the nets in the NCT title game,” he wrote in his journal. “I will do it.”

The clock started ticking on July 1, 2003. That’s the day the University of Central Florida made the 30-year-old Victory its new head men’s basketball coach...

aztarheel 10-01-2006 02:43 PM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – Preseason One 2003-04

(Note: This dynasty picks up with the start of the 2003-04 season. I used a game save created by TDCB designer Arlie Rahn, which he released before the 2003 NCAA Tournament. A lot of the big-name teams have real players...)

OK, so it wasn’t an ACC program or even a respected mid-major. UCF posted a 4-26 record in 2002-03 and only won two conference games. They were ranked as the worst Division I program in the country (CRI 320). But Victory wanted his chance, and when the Golden Knights came calling for a new coach, he jumped.

“I know you’re head coaching material,” his mentor at Miami had told him. “But this isn’t a great situation at all for you. Stick around here for a few more years and you’ll get some better looks at bigger programs. You’re basically starting at the very bottom rung right now.”

But Victory wouldn’t listen. “Gotta jump ship,” he said. “Gotta take my chance. Fifteen years is calling me…”

While zealous, Victory was no dummy. He knew he would likely never cut down the nets at UCF without a miracle or some major booster payoffs to stud players. So he outlined his plan for achieving his 15-year goal – inking it on a napkin while dining with friends at a popular Miami restaurant. Was it selfish? Sure, but he had to win:

* Spend 3-4 years at UCF rebuilding their program back to respectability, hopefully winning a conference title or two.

*Jump to a mid-major and build a program there for another 3-4 years.

* Jump to a big-time conference by year 6-9 (or earlier if the right situation arises) and hopefully get them championship ready in the following 5 years or so… The dream programs – anyone in the ACC, a select few other schools like Indiana, Kentucky, Arizona or a Florida school like UF, FSU or Miami...

But first, Victory had to prove himself at UCF...

aztarheel 10-01-2006 03:02 PM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – The First Season 2003-04

Victory’s first team at UCF was truly awful. Even the administration at the school thought so and told him to essentially “Go out there and just avoid embarrassment.”

A couple of players from this terrible team did strike Victory’s fancy, however. Junior SG Chris Dube had a mean outside shot, even if he couldn’t do much else. Sophomore center Ben Stout was a stout 7-1 and while not all that skilled yet had the potential and drive to get better. Frosh PG Chris Daniels looked decent as well.

Victory chose to redshirt Stout and Daniels, feeling that this would be somewhat of a throwaway year anyway. If those two had another year to develop without lost eligibility, and he could bring in a few quality recruits, UCF might be one of the top programs in the Atlantic Sun in a couple of seasons (just enough time for him to be whisked away to greener pastures, though he wouldn’t admit that publicly).

Sure enough, things started ugly for the Victory era. UCF opened the year 0-5, with an 81-48 loss to LSU among the worst. But over the next five games, Victory’s bunch matched their win total from all of last year. The victims weren’t all that glamorous – Louisiana-Monroe, William & Mary, Miami of Ohio and Coppin State – but when you only won four games a year ago, a 4-6 record looks pretty good.

The Golden Knights lost 9 of their next 11 games, but made a subtle adjustment on defense (installing the 3-2 zone) to win four of the next five. But the Knights never won again, losing their final three regular season games and then dropping a 53-52 Atlantic Sun tournament opener against Gardner Webb, which had finished second in the North Division. That would have been a coup to get that win… Victory was steamed, as the Knights closed the book on a 10-20 campaign one point shy of advancing to the second round.

“I’m pleased we won 10 games this year, but we have GOT to get better,” he screamed to his returning players in the locker room. “This summer, you had better be prepared to work your tails off.”

Team leaders for season number one:
Points: SG Chris Dube (14.1) and senior SF Robert Ross (11.0)
Rebounds: C Josh Bodden (5.7) – pretty tame
Assists: SG Tim Lazosky (3.2) and Dube (3.0) – tame as well

Mercer beat Ga. State to win the Atlantic Sun tournament.

Nebraska beat Texas Southern in the ACT final 70-59

Marquette beat Kentucky in the NCT championship 65-55 in Tampa. Victory was on hand and drooling over the environment.

“I’ve got 14 more years to get here,” he said, a bit of doubt in his voice. “The NCT feels like another world right now. I’m just trying to get out of the Atlantic Sun cellar.”

Two opportunities arise as conference rivals Stetson (18-13) and Samford (17-11) offer Victory jobs in the off-season. But those teams, while posting better records, seem to have lost a lot of their better players, and Victory would prefer not to jump ship to another school in the league (unless the UCF ship really starts sinking)… Other offers don’t do much for him either…

One interesting note from the season: Texas PG TJ Ford and Syracuse SF Carmello Anthony declare for the NBA draft – a year later than in “real life.” They are the only two underclassmen…

aztarheel 10-01-2006 03:05 PM

Steve Victory JOURNAL — Recruiting Year One

One of the tough parts of being a 30-year-old coach at a college that went 4-26 the year before -- recruiting is a beast. Though Coach Victory had five spots to fill, no one was biting and few were even nibbling. "Sorry coach, I have other plans for next fall" and "I thought Central Florida was Division II" were frequent comments...

One player finally took the UCF plunge in week 8, and four more followed at the start of week 10. Whew! The Golden Knights won't have to fold their hoops program after all...

Unfortunately, Victory's first class wasn't exactly the cream of the crop...

*Center Ryan Radford looks decent and will probably start as a frosh

*PG Kevin Martin might contribute in a year or two

*SF Johnny Armstrong, PG Ferron Wilkerson and SG Torrey Boozer look like busts. Boozer will redshirt with the hopes that something will develop...

aztarheel 10-01-2006 08:00 PM

Steve Victory JOURNAL — Season #2 2004-05

Victory goes into his second season in command hoping to continue last year's upward trend and win at least 15 or so games. Summer training didn't go all that well, however, but here's the lineup:

Starters:
PG Chris Daniels (redshirt frosh -- looks pretty solid)
SG Troy Lindbeck (junior -- a scorer, well-rounded)
SF Tim Lazosky (senior) and Michael Ellis (soph) will split time
PF Ben Stout (redshirt soph -- stands at a menacing 7-1 but can he play?)
C Ryan Radford (frosh -- the only '03-'04 recruit that likely will see lots of PT)

Others:
PG Kevin Martin (frosh)
PG Ferron Wilerson (frosh)
SF Marcus McGee (junior - coaches call him JAG - just another guy)
SG Chris Dube (senior - fell off face of the earth ratings-wise after decent jr. year)
SF Johnny Armstrong (frosh)
C William Bakanowsky (junior -- nothing much here)
SG Torrey Boozer (frosh - redshirt)

The expectations: same as last year, avoid embarrassment. Frosh class rated as "poor"...

aztarheel 10-01-2006 08:02 PM

Steve Victory JOURNAL — Season #2 2004-05

Victory's second year in command starts on a victorious note — the Knights take out Tennessee State on the road 72-69.

But then UCF doesn't win again during the non-conference campaign. They push Houston before falling 67-66. They give Western Kentucky a good battle but lose that one 68-66. The rest of the non-league games are pretty awful — Fairfield (L 58-77), UMass (L 54-84), Davidson (L 59-87), Cleveland State (L 44-64), etc.

Can you get fired midseason in TDCB? For a time, UCF’s CRI is 320 — worst in Division 1. Ouch.

The biggest problem: UCF’s inside game is almost non-existent. Center Ben Stout may be 7-1 but he only weighs 180 pounds (not so stout). Opponents shove him around with ease. He gets a few rebounds now and then but just doesn’t know how to score (or shoot for that matter). Ryan Radford proves pretty tame as well and eventually ends up on the bench.

Guard Troy Lindbeck is a pleasant surprise, averaging about 16 ppg. Daniels is a capable PG (11.2 ppg, 5 apg), and Michael Ellis eventually wins the PF job over Radford, putting in about 9 ppg. But the lack of a post presence just kills any hopes of winning most games.

A ray of hope emerges at the start of the Atlantic Sun campaign. Lindbeck pumps in 35 points, and the Knights trounce Troy State 97-76. UCF loses at Stetson but then beats Mercer 64-62 and Samford (Victory wishes it were Stanford) 69-66.

But that ray disappears pretty quickly, and Knights only win three more games (Troy State and Mercer again, plus a victory at Jacksonville State). The final regular season record: a very unsightly 7-21, 6-10 in the Atlantic Sun.

Victory’s 15-year quest takes a step backward instead of forward.

"He looks the part of a stellar coach," one newspaper columnist writes. "But a Steve Lavin haircut and Bobby Knight scowl have yet to translate into bundles of wins for the 31-year-old – and aging quickly – head coach."

aztarheel 10-01-2006 09:27 PM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – Recruiting Update Year 2 (2004-05)

The recruiting trail proves as tough as the season for Victory. Scholarships get offered – scholarships get turned down. But the frequent rejections prove a blessing in disguise for UCF. Victory finds two gems late in the process.

The first is a maverick PF named Tim Weaver from Simpsonville, S.C. He boasts the pedigree to play for a big-time program (.400 has him listed #72). But his grades and his off-the-court troubles ("Coach, I got suspended from school again") keep his top choices like Memphis, Oklahoma State and Marquette from making offers.

Victory uses this to his advantage when courting Weaver. "We’ll help you get those grades up at UCF. And frankly we can use somebody like you on our team to rough things up. We’re too passive right now. You’ll probably start."

In week nine, Victory discovers that few schools are looking seriously at SG Greg Martin despite his ranking with the scouting services (#67 by Hoops Galore and #72 by .400). The Washington DC product has great stats (29.5 ppg and 7 apg) and a great GPA (3.16). Yet, his top choices (ironically also OSU, Marquette and Memphis) shy away.

Both sign with UCF in the final week. This could be the break that Victory needs to move the Knights up a few rungs in the Atlantic Sun…

aztarheel 10-01-2006 11:35 PM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – Postseason 2004-05

As 10th-seeded Central Florida prepares for its Atlantic Sun tournament opener against #7 Samford, Victory frankly is worried about his job. A couple wins in the tourney, plus his solid recruiting catch, should be enough to keep him around another year. A quick exit, and he could have plenty of time to play golf with buddies Matt Doherty and Larry Eustachy.

Practice leading up to the Samford game proves as intense as ever. Fortunately, the Golden Knights respond when Thursday rolls around, winning their post-season opener 79-72 — in overtime. Troy Lindbeck scores 29 points and grabs seven rebounds. Lazosky, Ellis and Daniels also reach double figures in scoring. Finally!

Victory’s bunch surprises again the next day, knocking off #2 Jacksonville 78-74. Lazosky, a senior, scores 24. Lindbeck pumps in 20. Daniels dishes out nine assists. The Knights reach the Final Four (well, at least one kind of Final Four). Two more wins, and no doubtin’, UCF is NCT-bound!

Unfortunately, the run ends there. Central Florida blows a 33-17 lead in the semifinals and falls to #6 Stetson 58-54. The second half is much like the regular season – outscored 41-21. But at least Victory has something to hang his hat on heading into year three of his NCT quest…

Top seeded Belmont wins the Atlantic Sun tournament 71-49.
Ohio State beats St. Peter’s 82-60 in the ACT final.
Notre Dame overcomes North Carolina and Oklahoma in the NCT Final Four. Again, Victory is in the stands (this time in Denver) dreaming of his day, while watching the Irish cut down the nets following their 66-55 triumph over the Sooners…

2004-05 Central Florida Leaders:
Points: Junior SG Troy Lindbeck (16.4), Frosh PG Chris Daniels (11.2)
Rebounds: Soph C Ben Stout (7.3-he did get a little better), Soph SF Michael Ellis (4.7) – it’s weight room time for these two in the summer
Assists: Daniels (5.5), Lindbeck (4.4)
Blocks: Stout (1.7)

No one from UCF makes all-conference... only Lindbeck deserved a look...

aztarheel 10-01-2006 11:38 PM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – Spring/Summer 2005

Maybe it’s his potential. Maybe it’s the way he wooed two solid recruits to come to struggling Central Florida. Maybe he just has everybody fooled. Regardless, Steve Victory is a pursued man even though he has only 19 career wins to his credit in two seasons at UCF.

Eleven different schools contact him with job offers, including four rivals from the Atlantic Sun. None had winning records the season prior, but one school does warrant a closer look – the College of Charleston.

The Cougars finished 11-18 in ‘04-’05, not much better than UCF’s 9-22 mark. But the school does have better prestige than UCF (10 points higher), and the previous coach built a pretty solid foundation. The sophomore class – seven strong – was listed as "good" by the folks at .400 Software when they came in as freshmen. Five of the seven have good ratings already and great potential. That's the best part -- they should get even better.

Victory steals away for a weekend visit to Charleston. By Sunday, he’s being offered the job. He didn’t expect to be moving on so soon, but this looks like a great step for man driven by one quest – to win an NCT title before he turns 45 (now only 13 years away) . After an early evening walk on the beach, he accepts.

He tells school officials and his returning players Monday morning. By Tuesday, he’s packed and on the road to South Carolina. The Golden Knights are stunned, especially recruits Weaver and Martin, who had started hanging around campus to get a jump on their first year in college. Victory doesn’t look back as he pulls away from Orlando, his steely eyes focused now on making the College of Charleston Cougars the best they can be…

aztarheel 10-01-2006 11:40 PM

posted by jksander:

Good luck at College of Charleston! Thirteen years to go in what must be the first dynasty in a long time that I've been compulsively reading

aztarheel 10-04-2006 10:53 AM

Steve Victory JOURNAL — Preseason 2005-06

Victory has a little more spring in his step as he gets ready for his third season as a head coach. The first two were a grind, and the frequent losses took their toll.

Though the move to Charleston was widely criticized, Victory likes his new team a lot. The situation feels much better than UCF. Coaching should be fun again. The lineup is much more talented and much more balanced. Best of all -- there is only one senior, and he's a role player. The future looks bright for the Cougars.

Victory didn't entirely leave Central Florida in a lurch. Even he was surprised to see .400 Software name his recruiting class of PF Tim Weaver and SG Greg Martin fifth in the nation. Fifth! Both should start as freshmen. Too bad they couldn't come with him...

Here's the lowdown on Victory's new team at Charleston:
Prestige: 31 out of 100
Expectations: Keep the games close
Freshman class: rated poor
Overall talent: Below average (at least they're not awful like UCF)

The lone senior is PG Miles Pittman, a decent backup.

The junior class includes SF Luke Desmond, SF Lamont Johnson and PF Carlyle Zimmerman. All three will start with Desmond moving into the SG slot (the old coach left Victory only three guards in all, and no SGs. Guess what position Victory will recruit?

The sophomore class, the one Victory is most excited about, includes PG Augustinas Dmitrovic (a starter from Waterloo, Ontario), C Bobby Robin (another starter but low GPA), C Matt West, C David Qualls, C Maurice Fisher, PG Jordie Fitz and SF Andrew Blackwell.

Frosh SF Teron Watkins and PF Rodney Boykin (academic problems) likely won't play much early on...

Victory sets a goal of winning at least one SoCon title before his sophomores graduate. He'd like to see this group make it to the post-season every year, be it the ACT or NCT. That, of course, will get his name circulating with even bigger programs and keep him on pace for his NCT championship goal...

aztarheel 10-04-2006 10:59 AM

Steve Victory JOURNAL - Season THREE (2005-06)

Here's the kind of man Steve Victory is: He ditches Central Florida in a flash, then calls a few weeks later to schedule a game with them as the new coach at the College of Charleston. UCF officials stammer, then say yes. Then Charleston bumps them off the schedule a few weeks after that in favor of a regional rivalry game with South Carolina... Oh well...

Victory's first game as the Cougars' new coach goes perfectly. Charleston destroys visiting Lehigh 94-56. All five starters score at least 13 points. At last, a team that can score!

In game two, the Cougars hang right with #18 Rutgers before falling late 84-81. SF Johnson scores 27 points. "It's never satisfying to lose a game," Victory tells the press. "But this is as close as you can come to being satisfied. This team has a great future."

Charleston finishes the non-conference campaign with an 8-5 record, winning their last four games. They played decent in a 76-63 loss to South Carolina (CRI 55) but got drilled as expected by #3 Arizona 84-54. The most notable win -- over Oregon State 74-62. They also beat a few of Victory's old Atlantic Sun rivals, Florida Atlantic (83-52) and Jacksonville State (74-61).

Lamont Johnson emerges as the leading scorer, averaging about 17 ppg. Desmond pumps in about 12, and Robin and Zimmerman score about 11 each. Dmitrovic is a great point guard, averaging 7.4 assists per game, including a whopping 15 against Jacksonville State.

"Hey, lets go out there and get our Southern Conference title this year," Victory tells his young troops. "Why wait till some of you guys are seniors?"

aztarheel 10-04-2006 11:00 AM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – SoCon Schedule 2005-06

Though one of youngest head coaches around, Victory has been involved in basketball long enough to know conference play is always a lot tougher than early-season games against non-league foes. Everybody seems to play on a higher level. Opponents have scouted your team for years and years, and know your tendencies. Rivalries bring out more fans.

"We’re off to a decent start but if we don’t step things up another notch or two, this could go downhill fast," Victory tells his team before its Southern Conference opener against Furman.

Unfortunately, Victory’s team doesn’t exactly heed the message. After dispatching of the poor Paladins (CRI 302) by an 82-68 score, the Cougars lose six of their next seven games. Two losses are by 1 point. One other is by 5 and still another by 8.

Charleston does rebound a bit to finish the SoCon schedule 4-4, and they do conclude the regular season with a pleasing 81-72 win at Georgia Southern (CRI 91). But by that point the damage has been done. Another year in the cellar for a Victory coached team – eighth place in the 12-team conference with a 6-10 record, 14-15 overall.

The big problem – Victory’s boys can’t play defense. They frequently score in the 70s and 80s but can’t stop anybody, especially in the front court. Opposing teams have a field day breaking down the thin Charleston guard lineup. Reserve PG Miles Pittman provides a little defensive spark but isn't the offensive player starter Augustinas Dmitrovic is. Then Pittman goes down with an injury (out 3-4 weeks) and misses most of the conference slate...

The only way the Cougars will make the post-season this year – run the tables in the SoCon tournament… And that’s a long shot as the lower seeds must win four-straight…

aztarheel 10-04-2006 11:03 AM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – Recruiting update 2005-06

With only one scholarship to offer, Victory holds nothing back when he goes on the recruiting trail.

"What do I have to lose by calling the top prospect in the country and offering him a free ride to a beautiful campus with a chance to start right off the bat?" he tells an assistant before a trip to see highly regarded guards Charlie Sagester and Nathan Webber.

Sagester and Webber eventually opt to go pro, and several other top-notch recruits ink elsewhere, but Victory feels pretty good about his catch when SG Jabari Tucker from New York inks in week nine.

Tucker had a great senior year in high school, pumping in 29 points and dishing out 4 assists for his NY prep squad. But the big question Victory finds himself asking – can he play defense?!?

aztarheel 10-09-2006 08:29 AM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – Post-season 2005-06

Victory couldn’t have asked for a better performance from his Cougars in the SoCon tournament opener. Charleston avenges two close losses to ninth-seeded Wofford in a big way – 74-51. SF Lamont Johnson scores 19 points. C Bobby Robin has one of his best games, adding 14. PF Carlyle Zimmerman adds 11 boards. PG D. Augustinas dishes out 15 assists.

"Boys, if we play like this all weekend, we’ll win this tournament and sail right into the NCT," Victory says in the locker room after the rout.

Unfortunately, the Cougars left everything on the floor Thursday night and came out as flat as the beaches along the Grand Strand in Friday’s game against top-seeded Western Carolina. The Catamounts (what exactly is a Catamount anyway?) roll 76-54. Again, no defense and this time not much offense either. Luke Desmond (20 points) is the only Charleston player in double figures.

The final tally after Victory’s third season of college coaching: a 15-16 record. It’s the most wins he’s had, and the first time he’s won in a conference tournament, but again no ACT or NCT berth. Victory laments that he’s not Jonathan Sanders, who squeezed Kentucky into the ACT a few years back despite a losing record… "This team had the potential to do some damage in the post-season, but we were too inconsistent and it cost us," he said.

What made Victory seethe more – Central Florida had a great year (18-11 regular season), led by none other than freshman PF Tim Weaver, a first-team all-Atlantic Sun Conference pick, who averaged about 17.5 points and 8 rebounds per game. Arggg… At least UCF didn’t win the conference tournament, or make the NCT or ACT.

aztarheel 10-09-2006 08:36 AM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – Summer 2006

Cleaning up the 2005-06 season:

Fourth-seeded Georgia Southern bounces #1 Western Carolina from the SoCon tournament, then gets the league’s NCT berth with a 69-63 win over UT-Chattanooga. And to think, College of Charleston beat Ga. Southern on the final night of the regular season… sigh…

TCU beats SMU 74-50 in an all-Texas ACT championship. Oklahoma outlasts Duke in the NCT championship 70-60. Victory’s a bit depressed as he schmoozes with fellow coaches from around the country at the Final Four in Memphis. "Where do you coach again?" several prominent coaches ask. "I thought Charleston was Division II or something."

Victory’s latest team did have a few record-breakers. Zimmerman set the new single-game and season Charleston record for blocks (7 and 55, respectively). Augustinas set a new Cougar mark for assists in a season (251). Let’s hope he can break the record for steals next season – CoC needs some defense!

Atlantic Sun athletic directors must really like Victory. He gets offers from five different A-Sun schools during the off-season. Central Florida is not on the list, however, content with its new chief and recent successes.

The most intriguing offer comes from north of the border – East Carolina. Victory ponders the jump to Greenville one Sunday afternoon, taking another long walk on the beach. It would be a chance to coach in Conference USA and play games against more respected foes like Louisville, Marquette and Cincinnati. But it’s ECU – not Louisville, Marquette or Cincy. Maybe he would go for it in football, but not hoops. This just isn’t a good move, plus imagine the howling if he left another program so quickly… Nope, he’s sticking with Charleston… "I've got to prove myself here," he says...

aztarheel 10-09-2006 08:39 AM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – Preseason 2006-07

Three summers ago, Steve Victory set out on a personal quest. He believed, though most around him scoffed, that he could win an national championship within 15 years of taking his first Division I college coaching job.

Now here he is — one-fifth of the way through his self-imposed deadline. Is he going to make it? While the journey so far has featured numerous potholes – three losing records, no post-season appearances, one job change – Victory remains as determined as ever. In his mind, this fourth season at the helm stands to be his breakout year. "Time to jump the learning curve," he said.

At least on paper, Victory does have a chance to advance his coaching career greatly with this bunch at the College of Charleston. The Cougar lineup will be Victory’s most talented team yet — and his most experienced.

Three seniors will lead the way – SF Lamont Johnson, PF Carlyle Zimmerman and SF Luke Desmond. Zimmerman and Johnson (last year’s leading scorer, 17 ppg) will start. Desmond (12.7 ppg) will be among the first off the bench (Z beat him out for a starting job).

The junior class is solid as well. Starting PG Augustinas Dmitrovic is back, and looks to be better defensively. Bobby Robin has developed into a solid starting PF (moving Zimmerman to SF and Johnson to SG). David Qualls looks like one of the top rebounders in the conference and will probably start in the middle. The bench is deep with juniors, especially in the paint: C Matt West (great rebounder as well), C Maurice Fisher, SF Andrew Blackwell (JAG) and PG Jordie Fitz (he may surprise if he earns some minutes).

Sophomore PF Rodney Boykin looks to be the top young guy and will get some PT this season. SF Teron Watkins is a space-filler. The lone freshman, SG Jabari Tucker, will ride the pine quite a bit but has the potential to contribute in a year or two – or if injuries befall the front court this go-around.

Expectations: Keep the games close
Prestige: 34 out of 100 (moved up a few notches from 2005-06!)
Overall talent: Solid
Freshman class: Awful (only one player taken into account but coach Victory disagrees with this assessment. "Give him some time to get seasoned to the college game, and I think he’ll be pretty good.") Victory would have redshirted Jabari Tucker this season if the roster wasn’t so thin in the guard spots… ??Victory’s personal goals: win at least 20 games, finish in the top 3 in the Southern Conference and make the post-season (ACT or NCT). His unwritten aim: to get noticed by bigger programs… the clock is ticking…

aztarheel 10-09-2006 08:43 AM

Steve Victory JOURNAL Season #4 (2006-07)

Victory’s fourth year at the helm begins on a heartbreaking note. The Cougars travel to North Texas and fall to the Mean Green 78-77 in overtime. UNT sticks in the winning points in the final seconds…

For a minute after the loss, Victory looks like he’s going to self-destruct. He storms off the court, then walks a lonely corridor in the bowels of the Super Pit arena. "I can’t go through another losing campaign," he says to himself. "It’s going to kill me."

But he quickly pulls himself together. The season is still young. The key is to learn and move on. When he arrives in the locker room, Victory’s players are as mad as their coach had been. They, too, have dreams of 20-win seasons, winning conference titles and making NCT plans, and this wasn’t the start they had envisioned either.

In the next two weeks, the Cougars respond big time – topping East Carolina 77-65, Delaware State 81-62 and Eastern Michigan 68-58. Then, Victory gets the first real breakthrough moment he’d been looking for.

LSU agrees to a post-Thanksgiving meeting in Charleston, and the Cougars eat ‘em up like a turkey dinner. Final score: College of Charleston 88, Tigers 65. Bobby Robin scores 27 points. Victory glows after his best win yet – LSU came in with a CRI ranking of 51.

The Cougars brim with confidence three nights later as they visit Raleigh, N.C. for a showdown with N.C. State. Both teams are 4-1. State is ranked #25 in the nation. Charleston is supposed to be an easy victim on "Throwback Night" – the one game of the year the Pack plays in the old Reynolds Coliseum (they now have their own 21,000-seat arena).

Victory’s bunch dreams of playing spoiler on the court where folks like David Thompson, Thurl Bailey and Jim Valvano once roamed but loses a hard-fought contest 73-62. Victory doesn’t feel so bad. He finds himself dreaming of coaching in the ACC one day as his players board the bus for home. "Though I grew up a Tar Heel fan, if this job ever comes open I’m going for it," Victory tells an assistant…

Charleston boasts a CRI of 96 after two more wins: 84-66 over Western Kentucky and 78-67 over William & Mary. But now comes the "Murderers Row" stretch in the schedule. Four straight road games before the start of conference — at St. Bonaventure, at Kansas, at Florida State, at #19 South Carolina.

Victory would love a sweep, but even a 2-2 record against these four would be a breakthrough for his young club...

aztarheel 10-09-2006 08:44 AM

posted by jksander:

So, Victory, if you didn't get offered the NC State job, but you got an offer from lowly Florida State, would it still be good enough to move you up?


posted by aztarheel

Coach Victory would love a job anywhere in the ACC... even "lowly" Florida State... ;)

nfg22 10-16-2006 03:30 PM

Update PLZ>>>

aztarheel 10-18-2006 03:10 PM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – More Season #4

Victory does get to crow a little bit after the four-game road trip – his Charleston bunch wins two of the four games.

The Cougars jump out to a 37-21 lead on St. Bonaventure then hang on for the 63-62 triumph. At Kansas, Charleston falls behind by 16 in the first half – maybe because Victory is drooling over the hoops environment in Lawrence and around Allen Fieldhouse – but rallies late to make it interesting (69-76 loss).

After dropping a 75-61 decision at Florida State (CRI 59), the Cougars get a huge in-state win at South Carolina, 75-70. The Gamecocks came into the contest with a CRI of 19 and a record of 7-3.

Victory’s not feeling too bad about taking an 8-4 record into the Southern Conference campaign, especially considering two of those defeats were to ACC schools and another was to Kansas, among the most storied programs in the land…

aztarheel 10-18-2006 03:12 PM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – Recruiting Notebook 2006-07

Once again, recruits leave Victory hanging until the final few weeks of the process. The Charleston coach has three spots to fill, and it looks on paper at least like he snagged one solid prospect, one middle-of-the-road guy and one lemon.

Victory was about ready to go postal on the folks at Hoops Galore after signing PF Erazem Lekivicius out of Philadelphia in week 8. He appeared to be a decent enough player on reports the one-star scouting service had sent over (17 ppg, 5 rpg). But after inking his name on a letter of intent to come to Charleston, a gross mistake was found in Hoops Galore’s material. Lekivicius in fact was only averaging 6 ppg and just 1 rpg. He might not even be good enough to play intramural ball at Charleston, let alone Division I. Good grief.

Fortunately, Victory more than makes up for this potential bust by signing 7-0 center Kyle Johnson out of Ankeny, IA in week 10. Unlike Ben Stout of Central Florida, who stood 7-1 but only weighed 160 pounds, Johnson boasts a 266-pound frame – and great high school stats. He finished his senior year averaging 27 ppg and 11 rpg. How did Notre Dame, Wake Forest and Louisville pass on this guy? Maybe it was the broken index finger he suffered during the season...

The third catch is a bit of a mystery – SF Damon Bailey out of Baltimore. He’s got decent stats (21 ppg, 3.8 rpg) but didn’t get a lot of attention from his top choices Penn State or Virginia Tech... Wonder why?

aztarheel 10-18-2006 03:15 PM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – SoCon Season 2006-07

League play begins just like the regular season – with Charleston suffering an overtime loss. Furman outscores the Cougars 15-11 in the extra period for the 74-70 triumph. Fortunately, Victory remains steady this time (unlike at UNT), and the Cougars rebound with five straight wins.

Charleston starts with a 72-61 decision over The Citadel, which had the highest CRI of any Southern team at 54. The Cougars then take out Georgia Southern, last year’s tournament champion, by an impressive 85-61 margin. The other three games prove close with CoC prevailing at Wofford (70-65), against East Tennessee State (71-68) and at Western Carolina (77-71).

Victory’s team stumbles unexpectedly at UNC-Greensboro 71-69 and loses again at UT-Chattanooga 71-68. But then the young coach makes a subtle change in his strategy. Victory had been trying to pound opponents with a strong inside game. But noticing that many of his teams points were coming from the small forward and shooting guard spots, he opted to be more perimeter-oriented. Bingo – Charleston clicks off eight straight wins!

The Cougars blow out Furman in the rematch 82-58. They pummel Appalachian State 84-45. They beat The Citadel again 69-58 (this time on the road) and get revenge against Chattanooga 80-68. Davidson falls 80-67, VMI slows it down but can’t win (55-54 Charleston) and Wofford goes under 75-60.

SF Carlyle Zimmerman and SG Lamont Johnson prove a dynamic duo, with both going over 20 points several times. PG Augustinas Dmitrovic pumps in 22 points and has 10 assists against Wofford. PF Bobby Robin is steady with 11 ppg and 7 rpg on average. C David Qualls pulls down another 8 boards a night or so.

Charleston’s streak sets up a winner-take-all meeting with Georgia Southern on the final night of the regular season. To the victor goes the spoils, in this case the SoCon’s regular season championship banner and a number-one seed for the upcoming league tournament. Victory’s bunch is ready. Zimmerman pours in 22 points, and the Cougars roll on the road 72-64.

Victory has to take a deep breath afterward – though the official conference title (and automatic NCT berth) goes to the tournament winner, the 33-year-old has just directed his first championship team. OK, so it’s not the NCT yet or even the ACC. But in just four years Victory has gone from coaching the worst team in college basketball (Central Florida’s 2003-04 CRI was 320) to leading the College of Charleston to a conference crown.

Victory literally runs instead of walks during his next trip to the beach. Along with the SoCon regular season championship, he’s achieved his goal of winning 20 games for the first time. There is still work to be done to make the NCT or ACT, but a 21-7 record (13-3 in the conference) sure looks a lot better than 10-20 or 9-22…

"If we play like we're capable I don't think anyone can beat us," Victory tells the press the night before the SoCon tournament opens. "Of course, anything can happen this time of year. We'll have to be at our best..."

aztarheel 01-02-2007 04:38 PM

Steve Victory JOURNAL - Postseason 2006-07

Unfortunately, Victory's first season to get excited about ends in a resounding thud. Eighth-seeded Davidson upsets the regular season champs 70-69 during Friday's tournament quarterfinals. Wildcat Brian Truscott takes the Cougars to task, scoring 23 points.

Charleston rallies from an 8-point halftime deficit but can't quite overcome it. Just like the season opener at North Texas — a 1-point loss. This one hurts worse.

Victory knows this is the end of his team's NCT chances, and he is right. #3 Georgia Southern wins another trip back to the Big Dance with a 66-57 win over #4 Citadel in Sunday's championship game. No one else gets in from the SoCon.

Fortunately, the ACT tournament comes calling for both Charleston and The Citadel. Strangely enough, if both teams manage to win their openers -- the Cougars draw Georgia State and the Bulldogs draw North Carolina (wow!) -- they would play each other in the second round.

Victory knows all about Georgia State. He had been an assistant there for a few seasons and then competed against them as Central Florida's coach for two years before coming the Charleston.

GSU scouted Victory's bunch well, and the Cougars came out extremely flat. Charleston suffers a first-round ACT defeat 65-53. Ugg. Victory and company had riden a wave for so long, 13 wins out of 15 final regular-season games. Then, just like that, two losses and the season is over...

The final tally: 21-9 record. Regular-season SoCon championship. ACT ouster in the first round. Bitter-sweet.

The Citadel also loses its ACT opener to the Tar Heels. Ole Miss outduels Tulsa 73-61 for the ACT title.

Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Wake Forest and Dayton draw #1 seeds in the NCT, but none make it to the Final Four in Minneapolis. The Mississippi State Bulldogs cut down the nets after a 67-55 win over Texas. Creighton (which beat Georgia Southern in the opening round) and Syracuse were the other two in the Final Four... Great season for the state of Mississippi basketball, winning both tournaments...

aztarheel 01-09-2007 11:29 AM

(Finally figured out some of my formatting issues with my one saved copy of this dynasty -- hopefully will be able to update more frequently now...)

Steve Victory JOURNAL — Wrapup 2006-07

Victory sulks for awhile after the tough ending to the season but as the initial sting wears off, he realizes he did take a big jump forward in his 15-year quest to win the NCT. Bigger programs had to know he was out there now. After all, he had beaten LSU and South Carolina, and given Kansas and N.C. State great games in their home arenas. Plus, he won a conference regular season title — in Victory’s opinion, much tougher than a weekend tournament.

Some final tallies on the season:

Leading scorers: SF Carlyle Zimmerman 16 ppg, SG Lamont Johnson 14.8 ppg
Leading rebounders: C David Qualls 7.7 rpg, C Bobby Robin 6.7 rpg
Leading assists: PG Augustinas Dmitrovic 7.7 apg

Dmitrovic does get on the all-Southern Conference team. Victory is surprised Zimmerman doesn’t get on, but there were some strong PFs and SFs this season around the league.

Final CRI: 58 (best in the SoCon)
Central Florida update: They started strong but finished 16-15, 6-11 in the Atlantic Sun. Tim Weaver led the scoring as expected...

No one from Charleston gets drafted to the NBA...
And, for a change, no tempting job offers from other schools arrive in the in-box. No need for intense walks on the beaches to ponder moves this summer for coach Steve Victory...

aztarheel 01-09-2007 12:01 PM

Steve Victory Career File
 
I didn't do this in my original dynasty, but I thought I'd add this in after each season to help folks keep up with Victory's career.

Some of the info is incomplete, and I'll need to check back with the original game file:

Steve Victory By The Numbers

Year School Overall Conference
2003-04 Central Florida 10-20 ??
2004-05 Central Florida 7-22 6-11
2005-06 College of Charleston 15-16 7-11
2006-07 College of Charleston 21-9 13-4
Totals 53-67 (.442) 26-26 (.500)

Victory's All-Conference Players
2007 PG Augustinas Dmitrovic (College of Charleston)

Victory's Teams in the Post-Season
2007 ACT College of Charleston 0-1

Victory's NBA Draft Picks
None

National Champions
2004 Marquette
2005 Notre Dame
2006 Oklahoma
2007 ??

ACT Champions (i.e. NIT)
2004 Nebraska
2005 Ohio State
2006 TCU
2007 ???

aztarheel 01-09-2007 12:45 PM

Steve Victory Journal – Season #5 (2007-08)

The headline at the top of the Charleston Post & Courier sports page makes coach Steve Victory smile as he guzzles his customary two cups of black coffee on the morning of the first day of practice.

Cougars poised for magical season
Victory, College of Charleston pursue coveted NCT berth

A lengthy article goes on to describe how 2007-08 looks to be *the* year for men’s hoops at the College of Charleston – to repeat as SoCon champs, to win the SoCon tournament, to upset some big name opponents and to do some damage in the NCT tournament.

“You can’t ask for more than to have seven seniors leading the way,” writes columnist Jeff Wilt. “Coach Victory seems to die a thousand deaths when his teams don’t make the Big Dance, but he shouldn’t have to experience that anguish this March if the Cougars live up to expectations.”

No pressure there, eh?

Those seven seniors were a big reason Victory came to Charleston three years ago. Of the seven, four will start on opening night against Fairleigh Dickinson – PG Augustinas Dmitrovic from Waterloo, Ontario (an all-conference performer a year ago), SG Jordie Fitz, PF Bobby Robin (a true center) and C David Qualls. Fellow senior centers Matt West and Maurice Fisher will be early off the bench. SF Andrew Blackwell is the only senior who likely won’t play very much.

Sophomore SG Jabari Tucker, Victory’s first recruit at CoC, earns the other starting spot. Junior PF Rodney Boykin will see some minutes off the bench. Junior SF Teron Watkins and new recruits SF Damon Bailey, PF Erazem Lekivicius and C Kyle Johnson will probably just keep the bench warm, only getting into games when the scores are out of hand… Johnson, who stands at 7-0, looks promising but is playing behind four other senior centers this season. Next year he’ll be the man…

The Outlook:
National prestige: 38 out of 100 (up 3-4 notches)
Freshman class: solid
Overall talent: good
Game challenge: normal (wow - an improvement!)
Chances of Victory moving on to a bigger program if things go well: likely

aztarheel 01-09-2007 02:48 PM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – Season #5 (2007-08)

The season doesn’t exactly get off to a magical start for the Cougars. Six minutes into the opener, starting PG Augustinas Dmitrovic, a returning all-conference player, collides hard with a Fairleigh Dickinson player. The word from trainers – a fractured wrist. He’ll likely be out 3-4 weeks. Two minutes into the second half, the injury bug strikes again. This time, it’s PG Jordie Fitz. Fortunately, he only turns an ankle, but he’ll still miss the rest of this game and probably one or two more…

That leaves only one true guard, Jabari Tucker, to finish out the contest. The Cougars hang in but lose in front of an expectant home crowd, 55-54. Yeesh – another 1-point loss to start the season. Victory doesn’t need that again…

Tucker starts at PG, and SF Andrew Blackwell steps in at SG in game two at Stephen F. Austin. Rodney Boykin starts at SF. The combination works well enough to secure a 64-61 win. Whew! Charleston wins again in game three (with Fitz back), knocking off Belmont 78-70. It’s in this game that Victory discovers Rodney Boykin is more of a player than he appeared at first glance. He scores 20 points on 9-for16 shooting from the field, dishes out three assists and has seven rebounds.

Boykin nails down a starting job for good in Charleston’s fourth game of the season – a stunning 69-40 victory against North Carolina. Yes, that North Carolina. The storied Tar Heels. In Chapel Hill, no less. Boykin scores 27 points to completely silence the Dean Dome crowd, including three 3-pointers. The Heels aren’t having the greatest of seasons under coach Roy Williams, and it shows as the Cougars outscore the boys in baby blue 38-16 in the second half. Charleston gets a nice mention on SportsCenter later that night. Victory quietly hopes the right athletic directors are tuning in…

The Carolina triumph is part of a 10-game win streak for the Cougars. Dmitrovic returns halfway through it, and Fitz becomes the trusted sixth man again. Here are the other victims:
@Rutgers – W 80-74
Howard – W 69-58
@ West Virginia – W 80-74
Weber State – W 67-42
Chicago State – W 67-63
@ Wichita State – W 69-54
@ Delaware State – 75-67

The final games of the non-conference slate are rematches from the season before — at LSU and at #20 Kansas.

The Tigers, remembering the thrashing they got the year before in Charleston, earn revenge 70-63. But Kansas crumbles much like North Carolina did a few weeks prior.

Victory gets a huge victory over the nationally ranked Jayhawks at Allen Field House – 72-54. Boykin (17 points), Tucker (14) and Fitz (13) lead the assault. Charleston moves on to conference play with an amazing 11-2 record. Just how good can this team be?

aztarheel 01-09-2007 11:41 PM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – SoCon Season 2007-08

Knowing his team has a habit of crashing in conference openers, Victory talks about Davidson (CRI 270) like they are Duke or Kentucky. “Let’s take it to them, boys,” he says. “We might be making a name for ourselves nationally by beating Kansas and Carolina, but we are still good ol’ College of Charleston to the Wildcats. They probably don’t take you too seriously.”

Fortunately, the Cougars avoid the upset hex this time and win 71-52. They also take care of Wofford 80-57 and UT-Chattanooga 68-54. But those last two victories come at a price. SG Jabari Tucker breaks his jaw after taking a hard elbow and will be out 3-4 weeks. Fitz, a fan favorite as a hustling sixth man, tears ligaments in his knee and is lost for the season. Though not a starter, that could be a blow too hard to overcome for the guard-thin Cougars… The last senior on the bench, Andrew Blackwell, will get his chance to prove himself…

The Cougars stumble against UNC-G without two key guards 70-65 but manage to reel off another nice win streak after that, beating seven SoCon teams in a row. The 74-73 win over Georgia Southern proves the biggest. The Eagles are keeping pace in the conference standings, and both have CRIs (TDCB equivalent of RPI) in 30-40 range. Tucker returns just in time for this game (excellent trainer!), televised regionally by ESPN2, scoring 15 points. Boykin, suddenly the man again, adds 21.

After an 82-69 win over Furman, the seventh in a row for the Cougars, Victory wakes up to read that his team has been ranked in the top 25 – 23rd by the folks at .400 sports and 25th by the writers at IP. Like a little kid, Victory cuts out the rankings from the local paper and puts them in a scrapbook.

The rematch with Georgia Southern brings the Cougars back down to earth a bit. The Eagles are ready this time and take it to CoC 66-52 in front of their home crowd. The conference standings are tied once again. Charleston thumps VMI (62-46) and UT-Chattanooga (81-44) but then totally disappears in the rematch with Wofford, which pins an 83-55 loss on the Cougars. Where did that come from? Victory hopes it’s just an anomaly.

Fortunately, The Citadel helps Charleston by beating Georgia Southern, and the two SoCon heavyweights finish in a tie for the regular-season title with 13-3 records. It doesn’t feel quite as good as an outright title, but Victory won’t complain. It’s better than eighth or ninth… It looks like the SoCon tournament will decide who the true champ is…

aztarheel 01-09-2007 11:47 PM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – Recruiting update 2007-08

It’s one thing to recruit for one or two positions. Try filling seven spots. That’s the challenge Victory faced this season – the downside of having a team with seven seniors.

The biggest catch Victory reels in for the Cougars – SG Chad Driver from Queens, a five-star prospect listed as the 10th best player in the nation by Hoops Galore and 17th by .400 Sports. His stats are eye-popping: 37.5 points per game, 5.5 assists and 5.7 rebounds. How did Charleston get him?

PG Scott Fields from West Virginia is listed as a 4-star guy by Hoops Galore, averaging 22.5 ppg and 11.2 apg. Both could start right off the bat next year (moving Jabari Tucker to SF?). But Fields may be an academic casualty, sporting a very low GPA and just barely sneaking into college. Victory feels he’s worth taking a chance on…

Victory lands two other guards – PG Jeryl Cage (16 ppg, 5 apg) and PG Austin Jarvis (22.5 ppg). Charleston won’t be guard-thin for a while, that’s for sure. The Cougars also get two in-state players – C Antwan Blackshear from Hanahan, S.C. and PF Antonio Hillier from Blacksburg, S.C. (19 ppg, 7 rpg). SF Wade Clemmons rounds out the class. He doesn’t look so good. He started his senior year of high school well but faded at the end…

Victory will be interested in knowing how .400 Sports will rank this class at the start of next year – and if he’ll be around to see any of them play…

aztarheel 01-10-2007 01:49 PM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – Post-season 2008

Charleston draws a number one seed for the SoCon tournament (not sure how that happened) and opens against UNC-Greensboro, one of three league teams to earn a win against them in the regular season. Of course in that game, two of the Cougars’ top guards were hurt. This time, there are no struggles as the Cougars advance to the semifinals with a 64-43 triumph. Rodney Boykin plays big with 19 points.

Round two brings another chance at redemption for Victory’s crew. To advance to the SoCon championship, they must get by Wofford, a surprise team that engineered an 83-55 upset of the Cougars a few weeks prior. The Terriers had won 18 games coming into the post-season and boasted a CRI of 98, so Victory knows they aren’t a fluke. His worries prove true as Wofford stuns CoC again, this time by a 77-69 count. Troy Nilson makes 10-of-12 shots from the field, and the Cougars are forced to sweat out Selection Sunday rather than play for a spot in the NCT...

Things get even more bleak when Wofford knocks off Georgia Southern in the SoCon title game 74-69. The two best teams from the SoCon regular season might be watching the fifth-place Wofford Terriers out of Spartanburg carry the league banner into the NCT. Wouldn’t that be dreadful (unless you cheer for Wofford)?

Amazingly, the NCT selection committee doles out three bids to Southern Conference teams. Charleston gets a number nine seed in the South, facing Portland State. Georgia Southern is the #10 seed in the same region, opening against Oklahoma. Wofford must go out West as a #15 seed against Illinois...

Finally, Victory has done it. Five years into his coaching career he has taken a team to the NCT (i.e. the Tournament Dreams equivalent of the NCAA Tourney). And, with just one NCT victory during Friday’s opening round, coach Victory gets to take his team up against the mighty Kentucky Wildcats, the #3 team in the land.

“Hey, we’ve beaten Kansas and Carolina this season,” Victory muses to the Charleston press. “Why not take out Kentucky as well?”

aztarheel 01-11-2007 12:39 PM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – NCT Tourney 2008 (yee-haw!)

Of course, there is this matter of Portland State, the number eight seed in the bracket alongside the Cougars. The Vikings have an identical overall record as Charleston (25-6), and they went 16-1 in their conference, the Big Sky.

The game proves everything you might expect from an 8-9 match-up – lead changes, numerous momentum shifts, great hustle on both sides. Charleston leads by 4 at the half 36-32. Unfortunately, they can’t hold on at the end, going down 64-60. It isn’t the greatest of games for the seniors. Only Augustinas Dmitrovic manages doubles figures in scoring, and he just gets 11 points. Bobby Robin scores 9 points and has five blocks.

The Charleston locker room proves a somber place afterward. No one wants to see this magical season end. Everyone had dreams of College of Charleston being this year’s Cinderella story. The glass slipper didn’t quite fit, however. Now, Portland State would try to make it till midnight.

“You will never know how proud I am of you guys, each and every one of you,” an emotional Victory says. “This was the most fun I’ve ever had being associated with the game of basketball. The basketball world took notice of the College of Charleston Cougars this winter…”

“Coming back next year, coach?” sophomore guard Jabari Tucker asks during a moment of silence.

Victory smiles and says nothing, putting an affirming hand on his player’s shoulder. “Good question,” he thinks to himself. “Am I?”

aztarheel 01-11-2007 12:42 PM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – Cleaning up 2007-08

Coach Victory stays around for the Kentucky-Portland State game on Sunday. It turns out to be all Wildcats. In fact, the NCT is all Wildcats the rest of the way as Tubby Smith’s crew earns yet another national championship for the already glory-rich school.

“It would have been tough, but I think we could have given Kentucky a good game,” Victory muses to his assistants. “Our players weren’t the blue-chippers that Kentucky has, but they really didn’t fear anyone all season.”

[Author’s note: for the heck of it, I re-simmed the Portland State-Charleston game from a previous game save. Charleston won on the second re-sim but then lost to Kentucky by about 18-20 points. I was just curious to see how the Cougars would do against the eventual NCT champs]

Cleaning up the 2007-08 campaign:
• Fordham knocks off Wisconsin in the ACT finals.
• Georgia Southern gives Oklahoma a great run in the NCT opening round before falling 76-74. Greg Gumble goes crazy during the CBS “Live Look-in”.
• Wofford gets walloped by Illinois in its opener. Oh well, at least three SoCon teams got in... that in itself is a bit of a miracle...

Victory is a bit miffed when he sees the conference awards list. No one from Charleston (or Georgia Southern) is on there. Jabari Tucker’s injuries probably kept him off the list. Despite his ailments, he finished averaging 14.2 points per game – a team high. The all-conference SG from Furman only averaged about 9.5 ppg but did have more assists.

“You would think the TDCB sportswriters would give an edge in all-conference balloting to a player or players from the regular-season championship team,” Victory says in the latest Post & Courier. “Who cares if a guy averages 15 points a game if his team finishes 5-11 in the conference? How valuable is that?”

Ironically, it’s the underclassmen who lead the Cougars in many stat categories this season. After Tucker’s 14 points a game, junior Rodney Boykin (who was thrust into a starting job because of injuries) comes in with a 13.5 ppg average. Augustinas Dmitrovic is the top senior with a 10 ppg average and leads in assists with 7.2 per game.

David Qualls had a monster year on the boards, grabbing nine rebounds a game to go with his 9.7 ppg. Robin averages 7.1 rebounds per contest. Qualls, Robin, Boykin and Matt West get at least one block per game.

No one from Charleston gets picked in the NBA draft, though a couple guys with size like Robin and Qualls may try to get on in Europe.

Victory is pleased to see his top two recruits from his Central Florida days, Tim Weaver and Greg Martin, both get picked in the first round. Weaver goes 10th, and Martin 22nd. Both are leaving school after their junior seasons (wow- I guess Victory is a pretty talent evaluator). That will leave Central Florida in a lurch no doubt. The Knights finished in the middle of the Atlantic Sun pack this season – no post-season for them…

beargrowlz 01-11-2007 03:20 PM

Catamount
 
A catamount is a large powerful wild cat (Felis concolor) of mountainous regions of the Western Hemisphere, having an unmarked tawny body. Also called catamount, mountain cat; Also called panther, puma; also called regionally cougar, painter.

The word "catamount" is actually short for "catamountain."

I think it's a cool name for a team.


-Bear

aztarheel 01-11-2007 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beargrowlz (Post 1354987)
A catamount is a large powerful wild cat (Felis concolor) of mountainous regions of the Western Hemisphere, having an unmarked tawny body. Also called catamount, mountain cat; Also called panther, puma; also called regionally cougar, painter.

The word "catamount" is actually short for "catamountain."

I think it's a cool name for a team.


-Bear


agreed -- thanks for stopping by ...

aztarheel 01-11-2007 04:12 PM

Steve Victory Career File

After Five Seasons

Year School Overall Conference
2003-04 Central Florida 10-20 5-12
2004-05 Central Florida 7-22 6-11
2005-06 College of Charleston 15-16 7-11
2006-07 College of Charleston 21-9 13-4
2007-08 College of Charleston 25-7 14-4
Totals 78-74 45-42

Victory's Teams in the Post-Season
2007 College of Charleston 0-1 in ACT
2008 College of Charleston 0-1 in NCT

Victory's All-Conference Players
2007 PG Augustinas Dmitrovic (College of Charleston)

Victory's NBA Draft Picks
None

National Champions By Year
2004 Marquette
2005 Notre Dame
2006 Oklahoma
2007 ??
2008 Kentucky

ACT Champions By Year (i.e. NIT)
2004 Nebraska
2005 Ohio State
2006 TCU
2007 ??
2008 Fordham

beargrowlz 01-11-2007 04:44 PM

PC
 
Pulling for Steve to end up at Providence College and take them back to the Final Four. :)

-Bear

aztarheel 01-12-2007 08:35 AM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – Summer 2008

Coach Victory comes back from his latest Final Four trip eager to see what’s waiting in the e-mail in-box. More specifically, what schools out there want his services.

Victory believes his recent track record warrants some looks from bigger programs out there. Maybe a struggling Big East, ACC or SEC team — Alabama for instance had a really crappy year and has a prestige now of just 36 — would turn to this 35-year-old rising star to lead their team out of the ashes.

There had been rumors that Clemson was looking for new blood. That would be a logical move for an upstart coach from Charleston. All Victory knows is that something has to happen this summer if he wants to keep on pace to meet his NCT-championship-in-15-seasons goal. He has to milk this great 2007-08 season for all it’s worth.

Alas, Victory is bummed when he scans the offers. Grambling? Appalachian State? Belmont? CENTRAL FLORIDA?

Yes, Victory’s replacement at UCF has himself moved on after three winning seasons in Orlando. For the heck of it, UCF’s athletic director buzzes Victory to see if he wanted his old job back. Thanks, but no thanks.

One offer does get Victory’s interest, if only for the conference this team plays in. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (not Chapel Hill unfortunately) calls on Victory about coming north of the border. The 49ers play in Conference USA. Their school prestige is lower than Charleston’s (36 as compared to 38) but the conference itself has much more clout that the Southern (Marquette for instance won the NCT in 2004).

Victory pays a weekend visit to the Queen City, but this time he doesn’t shake hands on the deal right away. He’s got to think this one over first. The decision isn’t as clear, not like the decision to jump from Central Florida to Charleston three years ago.

Here’s the dilemma:
If he goes to Charlotte, he’ll take over a truly awful team. Since the recruiting the previous few seasons was pretty bad as well, Victory won’t really have a base to work from (like he did when he came to Charleston). It will take a lot of time to turn the 49ers around, maybe too much time to meet his 15-year goal.

But Charlotte does play in a more well-known conference. Getting good kids to come to Conference USA will probably be easier than luring them to the SoCon (where most teams have a prestige of 23-25 out of 100).

If he stays in Charleston, he will continue on with a pretty solid team. Jabari Tucker and Rodney Boykin will be back. Kyle Johnson, his 7-foot prospect, will finally have the chance to prove himself. And a couple of hot shot recruits like SG Chad Driver (top 20 in the nation according to .400) should be enough to put the Cougars in the NCT hunt again – if not this year then the following winter. Yet, CoC plays in the Southern Conference. Will staying a coach in the Southern hurt his chances to climb the ladder to bigger and better programs (and derail his 15-year timetable)?

Victory returns to Charleston and spends a lot of time on the beach, walking and thinking… Internet chat rooms heat up with speculation. He was seen playing golf yesterday with Charlotte boosters, one writer claims. But he went back home to Charleston to think it over, another retorts. Charlotte plays in a better conference, someone writes. But Charleston has a better *program*, comes yet another retort.

Cloudy the future is...

aztarheel 01-12-2007 08:37 AM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – Decision 2008

“I’m staying,” Coach Victory announces at a press conference that bears a striking resemblance to one held by Roy Williams in Lawrence, Kansas several years prior.

Only this press conference comes from Charleston, S.C. And while it doesn’t generate the headlines or attention that Williams did when deciding between the Jayhawks and Tar Heels, it is a bold step for a 35-year-old coach who wants to win an NCT title by the time he turns 45.

Victory is spurning his second offer to be a coach in Conference USA, this time saying no to UNC-Charlotte.

“This was a very hard decision,” Victory tells media members. “I went back and forth for several days. Early in the process I was sure I was going to Charlotte. I even starting planning some summer training and started scouting opponents in the conference. But I just couldn’t ever bring myself to close the deal.”

While the move may appear to be loyalty on Victory’s part – and he does genuinely like coaching at College of Charleston – it’s mostly selfish in nature. He believes he can advance the Cougars more over the next 2-3 years – and thus draw better offers from bigger programs – than if he “started over” at Charlotte. The base for success just doesn’t appear to be there in 49er country.

Time will tell whether Victory made the best decision. The reality is, while he may have a decent program at CoC, he’s still coaching in the Southern Conference. His biggest rivals are still foes like Wofford, Georgia Southern and The Citadel and not bigger names like Marquette, Cincinnati and Louisville.

“Charleston fans need to remember,” writes Post & Courier columnist Jeff Wilt, “that Victory is a man eager to move up the coaching ladder and put himself in a position to coach at a higher level. We’re living on borrowed time right now. Each season he stays here – be it one year or 21 years – should be savored.”

aztarheel 01-12-2007 08:40 AM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – Season #6 (2008-09)

Season number six in the Steve Victory era – his fourth at College of Charleston – plays to mixed results.

The Cougars thank their coach for not bolting to Charlotte by losing their first two games – to UNC-Wilmington (63-77) and Southern Miss (60-78). But then they beat instate rival Clemson 73-68. There’s a 1-point loss to winless Middle Tennessee State (ugg – they have a CRI of 314), but then a couple of impressive triumphs over TCU (83-68) and South Carolina (73-62 – USC’s CRI is 59).

All told, Victory’s bunch gets through the non-conference slate with a 6-6 record. It’s here that the young coach realizes just how good he had it last season with seven seniors. This winter, Charleston is starting two freshmen – PG Scott Fields and SG/SF Chad Driver – as well as one sophomore, 7-0 center Kyle Johnson. Only senior PF Rodney Boykin and junior SG Jabari Tucker logged any real quality minutes the year prior.

Driver has proven himself to be quite the player. He’s twice been named freshman of the week for the conference already. He pumped in 25 points against Memphis (another nice win, 73-68 over a team with a CRI of 112). Driver also scored 23 on Middle Tennessee and 21 against South Carolina. Victory puts him up there with Central Florida standouts Tim Weaver and Greg Martin as his best finds. And Driver doesn’t seem to mind playing out of position, small forward instead of shooting guard. (How long will he stick around?)

Victory has had to experiment plenty with sets and sliders (how you establish your offensive and defensive game plans in TDCB). Turnovers have been a problem. So has fatigue. His latest move, to dump the motion offense and switch to high post and some triangle, seems to have paid off. The Cougars followed up their wins over TCU and South Carolina with a 64-62 triumph over Furman to start the SoCon campaign, raising the record over .500 for the first time. (Victory’s teams have a habit of losing that conference opener, so the coach is pleased).

“Hey, we’re still on pace to be state champs,” Victory quips. “We’ve beaten Clemson, South Carolina and now Furman.”

While Victory would love for his team to three-peat as SoCon regular season champions, he knows simply an upper division finish is a more realistic goal. The Cougars’ CRI is over 200 this year as opposed to being in the 30s, 40s and 50s a year ago… Victory can’t help but wonder if he made the right decision by staying… “Can’t look back now,” he thinks. “Wonder how the 49ers are doing anyway?”

aztarheel 01-12-2007 08:43 AM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – SoCon Season 2008-09

As a matter of fact, Charlotte is doing pretty decent, better than Victory expects to see. The 49ers open the 2008-09 campaign with a 9-4 record, including a big 35-point win over Victory’s alma mater, Miami. Yeesh. It figures. If nothing else, Victory is determined to have a better record than the team he turned down.

Charleston’s conference schedule can be described as nothing less than nerve-wracking and nail-biting just about every night. Of the Cougars’ 16 SoCon games, 10 are decided by 7 points or less. Three go to overtime. Victory looks as if he’s about to have a heart attack every outing.

Fortunately, Victory’s crew does OK despite its youth, finishing the SoCon schedule a respectable 10-6 – good enough for second place in the South Division behind new power Wofford and fifth place overall in the 12-team conference. There is one stretch where Charleston tops Davidson, UNC-Greensboro and UT-Chattanooga by scores of 68-66, 69-66 and 67-66. Victory is hunched over exhausted after each contest.

A four-game win streak over East Tennessee State, The Citadel, Chattanooga and Western Carolina actually puts the Cougars in position to three-peat as regular season champions. But alas, Charleston drops its final two regular season games to Wofford (who else?) and Georgia Southern. Ga. Southern escapes by 2 points, though Wofford took it to Victory’s team by about 20.

Chad Driver continued to drive the team during the SoCon schedule. The Fabulous Frosh SF scored about 15 points per game and only failed to reach double digits three times. He even played a few weeks at point guard when freshman Scott Fields went on academic probation. SG Jabari Tucker and PF Rodney Boykin made for a powerful trio along with Driver, adding 14 and 12 ppg respectively. Sophomore SF Damon Bailey had a couple of monster games when inserted into the lineup with Fields out – getting 19 points against both VMI and Davidson.

The final tally heading into the post-season – Charleston owns a 16-12 overall record. A half-game better than Charlotte (16-13) for those keeping score at home.

Nothing short of a four-game sweep in the SoCon tournament will put the Cougars into the NCT. They’ll likely need to make it to Sunday’s championship game to even garner an ACT berth. Both are long shots — but stranger things have happened during Victory’s six-year coaching career.

aztarheel 01-12-2007 09:41 AM

Originally Posted by: Zorro25

GO TERRIERS GO!! GO TERRIES GO!! HECK YEAH!!!!!

Sorry, I lose control sometimes

aztarheel 01-12-2007 09:43 AM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – Recruiting Update 2008-09

Charleston has just two spots to fill this season, and coach Victory thinks he’s going to get a stellar power forward in Brandon Pepper out of Florida (33 ppg, 11 rpg) to take one of them. Pepper would be the perfect replacement for Rodney Boykin and a great compliment to SG Chad Driver and 7-0 center Kyle Johnson.

There is only one problem. The prep standout spends a little too much time playing Tournament Dreams College Basketball on the computer and not enough time in the books. He fails his entrance exams for college and must go the JUCO route. Rats. He had shown interest since the early weeks. No wonder N.C. State and Vanderbilt backed off (especially Vandy).

Victory does get two decent-looking players late in the game. PF Ryan Washburn (11.5 ppg, 11.5 rpg – good potential, according to a 3-star scouting service which is usually accurate on these matters) and SF Senecca Mitchell (#87 player in the land, according to 3-star gurus, averages 16 ppg, 9 rpg). Victory had fun recruiting a JUCO player out of Las Vegas named Vegas Card. He was averaging 28 ppg but signed with Boise State instead of Charleston. He barely made the entrance requirements (GPA 1.82). Actually, I'm not sure how he made it in there...

aztarheel 01-12-2007 09:47 AM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – SoCon Tournament 2008-09

Conference tournaments have been the one sore spot for coach Steve Victory in his first five years as a head coach. He’s had at least some sort of success in most every other arena – recruiting, big non-conference games, important conference games, job offers – but only once has his team even made it to the semifinals of a league tourney (last season Wofford picked them off as the number one seed in the semis).

Fortunately, Charleston, a number five seed, does an about face this season. Victory’s Cougars get red hot and reel off four straight wins to capture the 2009 SoCon tournament championship – and thus the league’s only automatic berth into the NCT.

Unbelievable!

Four nights. Four games. Four wins. (Sorry Wofford fans, the Terriers get knocked out by Western Carolina in the semifinals – probably a good thing for CoC; they can’t seem to beat those guys).

Here’s the lowdown on each game:
#5 Charleston 63, #12 UNC-Greensboro 54: The Cougars erase a 36-31 halftime deficit with a 32-18 run in the second half. Rodney Boykin grabs 14 rebounds to go with his 12 points. Scott Fields and Chad Driver also add a dozen points each.

#5 Charleston 76, #4 East Tennessee State 75 (OT): Again, the comeback Cougars erase a halftime deficit. The big three – Boykin, Driver and Jabari Tucker – reach double figures as does reserve PF Erazem Lekivicius, who adds 12 points in 17 minutes. Delicious.

#5 Charleston 74, #8 Western Carolina 61: The Catamounts (or Catamountains?? -- ;) ) do Charleston a huge favor by upsetting favored Wofford the night before. Fortunately, they have nothing left, and the Cougars win rather easily. Tucker and Boykin get 19 points each. Chad Driver drives and dishes for eight assists.

#5 Charleston 74, #3 Appalachian State 62: The Cougars fell behind again in the first half but roared past the Mountaineers with a 40-24 second-half explosion. The stat sheet for Driver and Tucker is amazing. Driver scores 28 points, including four-of-five 3-pointers. Tucker pours in 22 points and also manages to dish out 10 assists. Backup PG Jeryl Cage steps in for starter Scott Fields, who got hurt against WCU, and doesn’t score – but provides seven key assists and no turnovers. Nice!

Victory again looks like a kid on Christmas morning as he ascends the ladder to cut down the nets. Chad Driver, Jabari Tucker and Rodney Boykin take turns hugging on the tournament trophy and giving interviews to local media outlets. Victory mugs for the cameras, throwing both arms into the air with the drama of the winner of the Tour de France bike race.

“We did it! We did it!” he keeps saying to anyone within earshot.

Even if Victory doesn’t reach his 15-year NCT goal, he’ll always have this – a “rebuilding” team, which snuck up on the favorites and stole a championship. :D

aztarheel 01-12-2007 09:49 AM

Steve Victory JOURNAL - NCT 2008-09 (surprise!)

Charleston’s reward for winning the SoCon – a date against Louisville in the first-round of the NCT tournament. The Cougars garner a #15 seed in the South, meaning Rick Pitino’s Cardinals are the #2. CoC missed out on its chance to play Kentucky in last year’s tournament because they couldn’t get past Portland State. Now, they do get a chance to play against the other storied program from Blue Grass country. Louisville won the NCT in 2003.

Ironically, the team Victory chose not to coach this season (UNC-Charlotte) helps out with some scouting. The 49ers upset Louisville, currently ranked 11th in the country, by slowing things down to a crawl on one of the last nights of the regular season. The final score: an unsightly 46-42 decision that made you wonder if someone forgot to turn the shot clocks on.

Victory knows his bunch can’t run with the Cardinals. So he, too, opts to try and slow things down. For a half, the ploy works OK. Charleston is still hanging around, trailing just 30-28. Will this be another episode of the Cardiac Cougars show? Will the CoC take off after the break and turn a small deficit into a huge win (and a huge upset)? Afraid not.

While Louisville isn’t able to blow things open completely, they do jump to a double-digit advantage and cruise home 68-53. Jabari Tucker leads the Cougars with 18 points. Chad Driver has a bit of the “deer in the headlights” look in his first NCT appearance and gets just 7 points on a poor night of shooting.

Victory isn’t too upset about this game, however. He knows his Charleston bunch overachieved just to get to the NCT (sending regular-season champ Wofford to the ACT – sorry Zorro). And they gave a decent showing against one of the top programs in the land. This should make the returning guys hungry for more next season…

aztarheel 01-12-2007 09:51 AM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – Cleaning up 2008-09

Wofford, steamed over getting snubbed by the NCT selection committee, drills UCLA in its ACT opener 73-53 and then knocks off Holy Cross to advance to the quarterfinals. The run ends there for the Terriers as they are beaten by eventual runner-up Texas Tech. (Maryland knocks off the Red Raiders in the title game).

Louisville got bounced from the NCT in the next round by Texas. St. Joe’s, Mississippi State, Cal and Arizona make up the Final Four cast in Seattle. St. Joe’s absolutely dismantles MSU in the semifinals by an 81-38 count, then edges Cal 62-59 for the NCT crown. So much for the Southeastern Conference being able to boast of having the NCT champ three years in a row (MSU, then Kentucky in 2007 and ’08).

Amazingly Charleston SG/SF Chad Driver gets snubbed in the all-conference balloting – not even a mention on the all-freshman team even though he led Charleston in scoring. Voters apparently didn’t like that he didn’t have more assists or rebounds (his shooting percentage was pretty stellar). Somehow PG Scott Fields does make the all-freshman team – as a SF, which is where Driver played all season. Fields averaged about 9 ppg and 8 apg, though he missed four weeks due to academic issues.

“I’m not even going to try and make sense of that one,” Victory says. “I’m glad Fields got some recognition, but I think they just put names in a hat and pull them out for these awards. They sure don’t look at a player’s impact when voting. Like his last name suggests, Driver drove this team this year.”

Rodney Boykin inks his name on a couple of Charleston records as he prepares to graduate – getting 10 blocks in a single game and finishing the season with 66.

aztarheel 01-12-2007 09:55 PM

Steve Victory JOURNAL – Off-Season 2009

As Steve Victory made his rounds at the Final Four, it seemed the same old faces approached him about job opportunities. How many times does he have to say “no” to programs like Campbell, UNC-Greensboro and Florida A&M anyway? He’s surprised Central Florida doesn’t come after him yet again (the Golden Knights finished 12-18 this season).

Then, while checking e-mail as he waited for his flight back to South Carolina, Victory gets an intriguing message. The subject header says simply “Coaching Position.”

We have been following your performance at College of Charleston and would like to talk to you about considering a head coaching position at Alabama. We were 9 - 21 last season, while playing in the SEC. We feel that our university can offer you a fresh start and a chance to build a winning program from the ground up. We are looking towards the future and feel you are the coach that can take us to the next level.

Alabama A.D.


Victory is floored. He gets goose bumps right there in the airport coffee shop.

Alabama? The Crimson Tide? The place where Bear Bryant once stalked football sidelines? He’d never even really considered ‘Bama as a basketball school. Now, as he waits for his plane, the Crimson Tide is all he can think about.

This is it, Victory realizes. This is his big chance to jump into a major conference – the SEC, winners of two of the last three NCT titles. OK, Alabama’s program is in shambles right now and no where near Kentucky or Mississippi State (the Tide's prestige has dropped to the mid-30s - top programs like MSU and UK are in the 70s and 80s). But Victory’s 15-year plan, which seemed derailed a bit last season by the lack of quality job offers, is now ahead of schedule. Victory didn’t think he’d be in a major conference until years eight or nine of his career – or later. Or ever.

The coach doesn’t hesitate to reply to the Alabama A.D. He changes his flight itinerary right there in the airport and agrees to meet with ‘Bama school officials the following morning in Tuscaloosa.

By that afternoon, the deal is finalized, and the morning after that the 36-year-old is announced as the new head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Steve Victory is on the move again, thanking his lucky stars he didn’t take that job at UNC-Charlotte last season after all. And, of course, grateful for everything he’s learned and gained while at the College of Charleston...

aztarheel 01-14-2007 08:05 PM

Posted by: jksander

Rock on! Alabama? That’s a helluva jump from CoC!

Posted by: AZTarHeel
QUOTE

Originally posted by jksander
Rock on! *Alabama? *That’s a helluva jump from CoC!


Yep, I was totally floored... But their program really stinks big-time... prestige is only 34 and only a handful of wins each of the past 4-5 seasons... Big task ahead for Mr. Victory... Makes for good dynasty story-telling, though, eh?


aztarheel 01-14-2007 08:15 PM

Steve Victory Career File

After SIX Seasons

Year School Overall Conference
2003-04 Central Florida 10-20 5-12
2004-05 Central Florida 7-22 6-11
2005-06 College of Charleston 15-16 7-11
2006-07 College of Charleston 21-9 13-4
2007-08 College of Charleston 25-7 14-4
2008-09 College of Charleston 20-13 14-6
Totals 98-87 59-48

Victory's Teams in the Post-Season
2007 College of Charleston 0-1 in ACT
2008 College of Charleston 0-1 in NCT
2009 College of Charleston 0-1 in NCT

Victory's All-Conference Players
2007 PG Augustinas Dmitrovic (College of Charleston)

Victory's NBA Draft Picks
None

National Champions By Year
2004 Marquette
2005 Notre Dame
2006 Oklahoma
2007 ??
2008 Kentucky
2009 St. Joseph's

ACT Champions By Year (i.e. NIT)
2004 Nebraska
2005 Ohio State
2006 TCU
2007 ??
2008 Fordham
2009 Maryland


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