Woo Pig Sooie! An FBCB Dynasty
 

OK. I've had several abortive attempts at dynasties here. Hopefully I can stick with this one. Fast Break College Basketball is the most immersive game I've ever played, so hopefully this will be one I can stick with. I know that I'm not very good at this game based on my previous career I played out of the box, but hopefully this dynasty will make me slow down and learn what the heck I am doing.

I create myself as a coach, Matt Jones (not my real name, but good enough for this exercise!), with a starting skill level of 7. I pick this because it says that is "Normal" and I will need to be at least that to do well in the SEC, I believe. I spread out my points as follows:

Recruiting 100
Scouting 50
Offense 45
Defense 45

Hopefully the high recruiting will allow me to pick and choose the players I want and I can get a good assistant for player development. Obviously I will need a decent scout as well.

I offer three jobs in the first round and two coaches accept. Unfortunately, the assistant, Joseph Gulick took a job at Louisville. I succeed on the second try, but for a much poorer coach. This is what I wind up with:

Recruiting Coordinator:
Thomas Rusch
Rec: 55 Scouting: 39 Offense: 56 Defense: 30

Lead Scout:
Devin Aguilar
Rec: 7 Scouting: 70 Offense: 29 Defense: 54

Coaching Assistant:
Angel Parker
Rec: 41 Scouting: 2 Offense: 65 Defense:54

I've been invited to participate in the Top of the World Invitational as the #4 seed. I decline this invitation as I would like to fully control my schedule the first season. Maybe next year.



Next we will start making our schedule and then move on to recruiting (my favorite part of the game).

This year's roster appears very balanced in terms of age. 4 of each class except freshman (3).

Starters will likely be Scotty Upshaw (PG), Wesley Kenny (SG), Kenneth Cunningham (SF), Denny Tripp (PF), and Gerald Sedillo (C). Some pretty good depth exists, although we seem a bit thin at Center and Small Forward. We have excellent guards and Power Forwards. In fact, Upshaw and Kenny are considerable talents. Tripp is no slacker either. Tripp and Kenny are seniors, so I will need to replace at least one PF and one SG in my recruiting. Probably best available after that.

I will get started recruiting here then we will look at each of my starting five in a little more detail.

My philosophy in recruiting right away will be to try and steal one 4 star player (or equivalent) or better and get the best three stars possible. An initial look shows about 14 players with high interest in my school. All are 3 stars. I'm going to look first for a stealable 4/5 star recruit (hopefully close to home) with Average interest. The most likely candidate is a 5 star player from Whiteface, Texas named Jim Rhodes (SG). He is #16 overall, so he he will attract some attention. It won't cost me a bundle to fire some coaches and calls at him, so I will put him on my list with maybe one or two others in this category. I also flat out offer him a scholarship sight unseen. I don't think this is a stretch considering his national ranking and my need for SGs.

Another player from Alabama named Rusty Medeiros catches my eye (another SG). This guy is #11 overall. I put him down and fire a scholarship at him as well. I put each of the players with high interest in me on my call list and evaluate them.

I tried to mix some stiff competition with a few cupcakes and a few "mid-majors." Here's what I came up with. Not perfect, but I like it.

Well my evaluation and scholarship offers to those two five-star recruits sparked their interest. Wonder if a check in the amount of tuition plus room/board and books for five years would've done any better. Both guys, Rusty Medeiros and Jim Rhodes show up in August with "High" interest in my school. I have my pick of about 12 Very High interest 3 star guys, too. I will find the best 3 or 4 from there and concentrate on them, while absolutely terrorizing the 5 star guys with calls, visits, and SUVs.

October arrives and a check of my mail finds messagesa bout Medeiros and Rhodes opting for the NBA. Drat and I was close on both. I have one four star player left who has me first on his list, and that is Derrick Pierce from Oregon. He is a SF, but I will take it if I can get him. I barrage him with gifts and scholarships in the hopes of landing him. I have one other scholarship to offer now, as well, so I pick out one more high end 3 star player on my list and offer it up. Here are my offers so far:





Hopefully I will get around to giving some detailed reports on this year's starting five in the next message. Recruiting is just so fun to me :)

Scotty is an outstanding ball handler and passer. He is also deadly from beyond the arc. He is a terror on the offensive end of the court. The other side of the court shows his weaknesses, however. I don't think I could ask for a much better floor general than Scotty, though, and I am very anxious to see him in action this season.


Wesley is a bit more of a defender than his backcourt mate, Scotty Upshaw, but his offensive skills are not lacking. While he doesn't have quite the long range accuracy as Scotty does, he can knick it down consistently from all over the court. Add to this his quickness and ability to jump out of the gym, and this backcourt will be tough to handle.


Cunningham is not quite the scorer I would like him to be, but he is a man on the boards. His primary role will be to crash the boards and get us some extra shots. His inside game is lacking quite a bit on offense and defense, but his rebounding should give us a boost.


Denny is a horse on the inside. Very strong and has excellent hands and low post moves. His hands seem to be everywhere on defense as well, frequently knocking passes back out of the middle as well as blocking shots. One of our more well conditioned athletes as well.


Another monster on the boards, but with a pretty decent inside scoring game, too. Not the shot blocker that Denny is, but he is also a terrific defender. Exceptionally strong as well.

There's the starting five for my first season at Arkansas. With the introductions out of the way, we will hit the season hard next.

Forgot to mention I landed three of those four recruits. Jerry Wilson indeed headed to UCLA. This was not unexpected so I will be chasing some long shots to replace him and hope we get lucky. Probably won't waste a scholarship on someone with little skill or potential. We will see how it shakes out.

Arkansas is ranked #23 in the preseason AP poll. The season begins at home against Holy Cross, and it is the season opener for both teams. Holy Cross has a pretty weak inside game, a little bit of shooting from the guards and not much defense. I anticipate a a quick tempo to the game since quickness in the backcourt seems to be their main strength. Players to watch:

Harland Standridge (SG)
Daniel Sun (PG)

Holy Cross (0-0) at #23 Arkansas (0-0)

It takes over 5 minutes of game time before Arkansas gets their first points of the season. Silas Gehrke gets the honors on a shot from the left baseline. Parker Trantham picks up the assist. One out of the first nine shots from the field goes down and Arkansas trails 8-2 with 5 minutes gone. The Hogs storm back to tie it at 12 after Gehrke gets a steal and a breakaway dunk. The halfcourt trap and full court press start to work a bit and with 6 minutes to go in the first half, the lead is out to 9 points at 26-17. Quite a large number of turnovers lead directly to fast break layups and dunks and the score at the half is Arkansas 42-19. 13 Holy Cross turnovers in the first frame have proven crippling. Only two turnovers for the Hogs at the midway point.

This contest was decided in the first half, and the players knew it. The second half proved to be sloppy with lots of missed shots. Arkansas cruises to its first win of the season, 77-41. Scotty Upshaw (PG) is player of the game with 15 points and 4 rebounds.

Why in the world is the format so screwed up in my posts? Any help on that?

Well, the AP was impressed with our debut. We moved up to #17 with the win.

Looking ahead to San Jose State from the Western Athletic Conference. They will open their season at Bud Walton Arena against the #17 team in the country. The talent and team makeup of this team seems to be pretty comparable to Holy Cross. Very quick guards with average hands and passing skills, Weak up front with a decent rebounder underneath. James Cabrales (C) seems to be strong but not much of an offensive threat. The prime scoring threat will likely by Don Otten (PG).

San Jose State (0-0) at #17 Arkansas (1-0)

A much faster start to this game. In the first five minutes Arkansas jumps out to an 18-4 lead, shooting 87.5% from the floor. The lead quickly balloons to 27-6 on the strength of hot shooting and some SJSU turnovers. However, some weak play by the bench including several turnovers allows the game to get back within reach, as SJSU pulls back to within 10 points, 33-23 with just over 8 to play in the first half. The starters push the lead back into the comfort zone, as the half ends with the score of 52-29 Arkansas. Denny Tripp is having a strong game with 14 points and 4 rebounds.

The second half is a coast with Wes Kenny and Scotty Upshaw coming on strong to finish with 18 and 19 points respectively. Denny Tripp only added 3 rebounds and no points to his totals from the first half, and for the second straight game, Scotty Upshaw wins the Player of the Game Award. Arkansas remains undefeated with the 92-63 final score.

Some statistical notes:

Early in the season, Wesley Kenny is tied for 5th in the SEC in scoring average with 18.0 pts per game. Carl Gray of Alabama leads the SEC with 27.0 pts per game. Scotty Upshaw is 9th with 16.5.

Wisconsin-Milwaukee is up next. This team appears to be more talented than our first two opponents. Quite a banger inside, Jon Allison, helps out two strong rebounders at the Power Forward position: Joaquin Frechette and Normand Price. Couple of guards with decent outside shooting, and a very creative PG, Timothy Hillman, who leads the team in assists. Looks like Hillman's backup, Richard Cureton could be even a better passer. There are many scary things about this team, honestly, but overall our edge in talent should win out.

Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2-0) at #20 Arkansas (2-0)

Arkansas again comes out shooting well, over 57%, for the first ten minutes of the game and opensup a 10 point lead at 24-14 midway through the first half. Silas Gehrke catches my eye as being very strong off the bench for the third consecutive game. He is making a bid to win Tripp's starting spot. At the half, Arkansas leads by 14, 49-35. The difference in this one is rebounding (ARK 21-10) and Steals (ARK 4-1). Both teams are shooting well (ARK 53.3%-48.1%).

The second half continues much like the first with Arkansas opening up several 30 point leads. Denny Tripp appears to be challenged by his backup and has a very strong second half, finishing with 24 points and player of the game honors. Tripp also had 8 rebounds. Final score, Arkansas 91, Wisconsin-Milwaukee 66.

This formatting thing is VERY frustrating. I need help. I am just copy/pasting the notepad text into the reply window between code tags. Am I missing a step? Everyone else's looks so freakin aligned. HELP ME.


Looks like I may have it. Switched editor types in the User Control Panel for this board. Should be good to go from now on.

The Hogs open Wichita State's season next. The Shockers look pretty weak. Their best player may be Dominique Rees, who is a very quick Point Guard, especially on defense. Not much of an inside game, but they do have some quickness. I decide not to change our up-tempo trapping and pressing style for this game because it looks like they can be harassed into some turnovers. This will allow our athletes to take over the game.

Wichita State (0-0) at #20 Arkansas (3-0)


Wichita State comes out and hangs with us for the first part of the game, but the Hogs open up a 10 point lead, 20-10 midway through. Surprisingly, Arkansas has more turnovers at this point than Wichita State (6-3). This game is the first poor shooting outing for the Razorbacks, and the Shockers take advantage, pulling within just a point, 30-29, with 2 minutes remaining in the first half. Wesley Kenny steps up and drills a trey with 7 seconds left to put the lead back to 4 at the break (33-29).

I decide to step up the defensive pressure level for the second half, since I still think they can be harassed into turnovers, and I am stubborn. The players respond and immediately score 6 points to jump out to a 10 point lead. The lead hovers around 9 to 11 for quite awhile, as the game turns into quite a shootout. With about 5 minutes left in the game, the Hogs have opened up the lead to 18 points, 71-53. The Shockers have started to turn the ball over to our press a bit more. A valiant effort by Wichita State, and the first time I've been worried at all this season so far. Final score, 79-63. Center Gerald Sedillo takes player of the game tonight.

As December rolls around, we get our final recruit committment, Hartmut Dirr, from Germany. He is a Power Forward ranked in the top 100 overall. I was pretty pleased to pick this guy up. Our recruiting class looks like this:

Derrick Pierce (SF) #32 overall
Hartmut Dirr (PF) #90 overall
Carter Skinner (SG) #120 overall
Joseph Rubino (PG) #199 overall

Not my best class but I think it has a chance of being top 25. I picked up players at positions I needed, so I think this was a good showing. Didn't miss having one of those miracle classes by much, with two 5 star recruits showing lots of interest, but ultimately bolting for the NBA.

November was a pretty good month for my club, with four good wins.



Looking ahead to December, we have some of our tougher non-conference tests coming up.



I think we are about to see how good we are. Incidentally, the media now believes we are the 16th strongest team in the nation.

Go Hogs!

Missouri is undefeated...my god, why cant this be real life!

dola, and go our border rivals!

A reader!

EDIT:

Woops Multiple Readers!

I lived in Arkansas for almost half of my current life.

and i once drove through arkansas...

Good enough! Welcome aboard!

You're old enough to drive? :)

A quick glance at Boise State's roster does not show any weapons. Their PG, Leo Gregg is their leading scorer. My gameplan for this game seems to be about the same as the previous four as they seem to have some pretty weak ballhandling guards. Gregg can shoot it however, so we will have to keep an eye on him. If he hurts us too badly, we can make some changes such as doubling him outside without losing too much down low I think. This will be a watch and react situation. Obviously if the initial game plan is working, changes won't be made. I'm very interested to see how our team reacts on their first road trip, which I tried to make a bit tougher than most cupcakes, but still probably winnable.

#16 Arkansas (4-0) at Boise State (1-1)

Well the reaction isn't exactly what I had hoped. A 28.6% from the field start leads to a 12-11 defecit on the scoreboard about midway through the first half. The turnovers are coming (8 BSU turnovers) but the shots are not falling. Several blown layups on fast breaks and just plain bricks from the field are holding us back. Some shots finally start to fall and the Hogs open up a 26-17 lead on back to back three pointers. The press begins taking its toll, and turnovers and some three pointers finally going in allow the lead to balloon to 44-29 at halftime. Shooting has improved dramatically since the cold start (43.2% FG, 41.2$ 3P). BSU's star, Leo Gregg is held to just 4 points in the first half, so I don't believe there is much need for change.

The pressure defense continues to harass BSU into turnovers, and the lead is quickly up to 20, at 51-31. The lead remains near 20 for much of the second half and the Hogs maintain a nice shooting pace to win 77-56. Sedillo again captures MVP honors.

Our next opponent is the always tough Texas Longhorns. We will host this game fresh off of moving up to #11 in the latest media poll! Texas is#12, themselves. Should be an outstanding contest.



Another statistical note. Scotty Upshaw, our star PG, currently has a 6.2 to 1 assist to turnover ration. His 6.2 assists per game is good for 16th nationally, and 3rd in the SEC. The two players ahead of him in the SEC have much lower ratios (3.3 to 1 for Joseph Villar of Georgia, and 1.1 to 1 for Bert Woods of South Carolina), so he leads the SEC in assist to turnover ratio.

Incidentally, I routinely output the full html from this dynasty, so if you are interested in browsing it, you can use this link:

Woo Pig Sooie Dynasty Info

Ouch...ive been driving for a year and a half march 28th...but i havent driven any aircraft carriers like im sure you have, so im not sure if it still counts...last time i support an AE dyansty :p

Preparing for the first true test of the season.

The Texas Longhorns seem to have a decent inside game, with Chung Perez (C) and Colby King (PF) being tough to handle. Charles Patel (SF) adds to the frontline with a great shooting touch for a 6'10" guy, and a mean inside game as well. The backcourt looks tough as well with many great guards that are quick. Ballhandling looks a little suspect, so our press and trap may cause some problems. I hope so anyway, because this team has some horses. The team is just as tough on the defensive end of the floor.

I am hoping our home crowd can make a big difference in this game, because this team is more talented than ours.

#12 Texas (2-1) at #11 Arkansas (5-0)

A back and forth game right out of the gates finds the teams tied at 8 with 14 to play in the first half. A quick 8-0 run gives the Hogs a 16-8 lead which is stretched to 10 at 20-10 with 12 minutes to go. The press/trap is really starting to bother the Longhorns, and the crowd is roaring when Gehrke hits a trey from the top of the key to extend the lead to 28-15 with 8 and a half left. Both teams are shooting over 50% from beyond the arc for the game, and both are shooting well from all over. However, Arkansas has a big lead in rebounds at half (22-16) and turnovers (4-8), which spells trouble for Texas. 54-37 at the half.

In the second half, the turnovers begin hurting Texas and the lead balloons to 24 at 70-46 with a Wesley Kenny steal and breakaway dunk. Texas tries to make a comeback attempt near the midpoint of the half with several three-pointers, and are back within 13 at 83-70 with 7 minutes to play. Arkansas calls a timeout with the lead down to 8, 83-75, and Scotty Upshaw hits a trey out of the TO to get it back over 10. Texas is a very tough team and just will not go away, even though Arkansas is playing a stellar game all-around. Wesley Kenny pushes the lead back to 16 with another 3 and has 22 points for the game. With 96 points on the board and a minute to play, the home crowd wants 100. It's not meant to be, but Sedillo gets an old-fashioned three-pointer with 2 seconds to go, and the final score is 99-84. Outstanding game! Wesley Kenny, as expected, gets MVP.

Scouting Iowa

Iowa looks to have little to no inside scoring ability, though they are strong and good on the boards, particularly Korey Brown (C). Dave Ling (SF) looks to be a gem of a scorer and rebounder. SG Kenny Parr and PG Alvin Bandy make a nice backcourt with deadly shooting accuracy. Overall this is a nice team and should provide a challenge. Bandy seems competent and may be able to break our press. In fact, the team is a strong ballhandling team. I believe we will start out with the press on as normal, but we will be prepared to back off if it is ineffective (and I sort of suspect it will be).

#11 Arkansas (6-0) at Iowa (6-2)

Poor shooting marks the start of this game, and it is 6-4 Arkansas after 5 minutes of play. Seems to be pretty nip and tuck. Frank Centeno opens his big mouth and gets called for the T, helping Iowa take a 4 point lead with 10 to play in the first half, 17-13. The Hawkeyes push the lead out to 9, 22-13 and I call a timeout. We have gotten a few turnovers and I want to see if I can get a few more. I actually increase the amount of pressing we are doing. I want to evaluate this change and maybe change again at halftime. Well the halftime score is 41-21 Iowa, so I'm assuming my experiment did not work. However, Arkansas is only shooting 26.9% from the field so I'm not positive that the press is not working, since we have 7 steals in the first half. However, I decide to back off the press somewhat and play a more straight up defense.

Iowa maintains their lead throughout the second half, and Arkansas maintains their abyssmal shooting percentages. 33.3% from the floor is actually the highest that the FG % was at any point during the game. Iowa wins 67-49. Very disappointing and ugly game.

I've decided for my next game, against Tulsa, to shake up my starting lineup a bit. I have been very impressed with two of my players off the bench: Frank Centeno and Silas Gehrke. I think putting one of these guys in and seeing how the team reacts would be good for one game. Tulsa comes into Fayetteville with a 3-3 record and decent talent, but since this game is at home, I think some experimentatoin is not too bad. I decide to try Frank at the SF slot.

Tulsa (3-3) at #18 Arkansas (6-1)

Tulsa surges to a 12-3 lead out of the game, and once again the Razorbacks are stone cold from the field. Tulsa is all over the boards at the outset, getting many second chances at the hoop. Tulsa actually gets the lead up to as many as 13 points. Midway through the first half, the score is 22-17 Tulsa, as Arkansas finally starts to hit some shots. Tulsa is getting a lot of steals, and this will have to be fixed for the second half. The Golden Hurricane continue to shoot well from the field, including 54.5% from beyond the arc, and cruise to a 6 point lead at the half, 45-39.

I make some adjustments at halftime, including lowering the motion setting a couple of notches to try to reduce turnovers, and lowering the 3p usage. I also made it a point to get Denny Tripp involved in the game. I bumped up our use of the press one notch from 4 to 5. This boat needs to be turned around before we get too far off course.

The team responds and takes the lead with a Wesley Kenny dunk at 46-45 with 16 minutes to go in the game. I anticipate a tight game from here out. The increased pressure seems to bother Tulsa a bit, and the Hogs are extending the lead a bit, out to 6, 56-50, with 10 to play. Scotty Upshaw hits a 3 pointer to extend the lead to 9 points, 65-56, and gets a technical foul for taunting Tulsa's bench. Nice touch HR :). Oh and nice touch Scotty :(. Tulsa cuts the lead to 3 at 65-62 largely due to this blunder. Wes Kenny fouls out with 3 minutes to play and the score at 68-66 Arkansas. Denny Tripp misses the front end of the one and one with 47 seconds to go, and Tulsa gets the ball down by one, 68-67. Tony Hamilton, of Tulsa, fires up a bad 3 pointer from the right corner with 5 seconds to go in the game and misses, giving the game to the Hogs. A very close game indeed! Exciting to the end. Final score, 70-67 Arkansas, MVP: Scotty Upshaw with 18 points.

Texas Christian (2-6) at #16 Arkansas (7-1)

Some solid basketball at the start of this game. Not too many turnovers, and decent shooting from both clubs. Arkansas leads 21-17 at the midpoint of the first half. Every time it looks as if the Hogs will pull away, TCU puts together a claw-back-into-it run. The lead gets as high as 9 points (26-17), but TCU jumps back into it with some good shooting and timely rebounds. A barrage of three pointers at the end of the half helps Arkansas open up a 10 point lead, which TCU cuts to 7 with a trey just before the half. The teams head to the locker room with Arkansas leading 51-44.

Just into the second half Robert Gunn goes down with an injury. We will have to check on how he is doing after the game. The Hogs respond to this set-back with a 7-0 run to lead 58-44, but again TCU climbs back into it on the back of their outstanding center, Tyler Hamby. Wesley Kenny shows why we pay him the big buc...er, gave him a scholarship by responding with a few threes and timely steals, pushing the lead back over 10, after TCY had cut it back to 1 point. With five minutes to go in the contest, the lead is 10 at 73-63. The last five minutes are nothing exciting and the Hogs win it 91-86, with TCU closing with a too little, too late flurry. An interesting note: TCU's Cletus (yes, Cletus) Mulligan missed an alley-oop dunk as time expired.

Turns out Robert Gunn pulled his groin against TCU. He's expected to be out for 9 days.

Providence (4-3) at #16 Arkansas (8-1)

Another slightly slow start for the Hogs allows the Friars to jump out 5-0, but Arkansas scores the next 8 points of the game. Providence shoots a strong percentage over the next 7 minutes and with 10 minutes to go in the half takes a 21-18 lead. Wesley Kenny ties it up with a 3 shortly after and Gehrke gets an old fashioned 3 pointer and Arkansas retakes the lead. The remainder of the half is nip and tuck with several lead changes, and the teams head to the locker room with the score 46-38 Arkansas on the strength of Wesley Kenny's 16 points in a late first half surge.

In the locker room, I decide that this team is a bit vulnerable to some trapping and decide we should crank up the pressure.


Out of the gate, Providence is called for a technical foul for arguing a call, allowing the Hogs to push the lead to 11 at 54-43 with 18:30 left in the game. A very fast pace with some hot shooting to start the second half. Both teams are over 50% from both the field and three point land. The score gets to 59-47 and stays that way for several minutes. The scoring pace slows considerably as the shooting percentage drops for both teams. The lead is up to 13 at 67-54 with 9 to play. As we enter the last 5 minutes of the game, the doldrums have passed and the percentages pick back up. The teams trade baskets, and even trade three-pointers. The lead stays between 13 and 9 for the remainder of the game and the game ends at Arkansas 82, Providence 69. Scotty Upshaw notches another MVP award.

Bradley (5-5) at #12 Arkansas (9-1)

The Hogs come out and dispatch Bradley in ho-hum manner. After a tight first couple of minutes, the lead quickly hits double digits and stays there throughout a fast paced game. Arkansas 100, Bradley 85 is the final score.

A look back at December shows a pretty successful month. We had some big wins and one very disappointing loss. The win over Texas was the highlight of the month, and hopefully we will start January off with an even bigger win as we are scheduled to host #5 Michigan State!



After the game with the Spartans we start the SEC season with a bang against Kentucky and then on the road for Alabama. No more tune-ups, that's for sure.

Wow. This team is strong. In the middle, Olen Hewett is a force, and a very good backcourt threatens to light it up at any time. Martin Rios and Rex Chambers look to be the most talented guards we've faced yet. The bright side is they do turn it over on occassion, so our playing style may hurt them somewhat. The Spartans leading scorer is Danny Weidner, a SF. We will be prepared to stick a double team on him if he goes off early. Well, it's game time.

#5 Michigan State (8-3) at #12 Arkansas (10-1)


Michigan State comes out pressing and our guards gladly give up the ball left and right. The Spartans jump to an early 16-5 lead. Meanwhile, State breaks the Hog pressure with relative ease. I decide we should back off the pressure and slow things down a bit. The lead has been extended to 16, 38-22 with just 5 minutes left in the first half. There doesn't seem to be much way of slowing down their shooters. A slight change in strategy near the end seems to have results. We decide to double their prime threat on the perimeter, and have pulled back within 10 at the half, 51-41.

State pushes the lead to as many as 20 early in the second half, and it stays around 15 for most of the second half. No amount of gameplan tweaking was going to help here, I feel. I tried just about everything, but this team just ran over us. Weidner got his points, the team shot over 50% from the field and from the arc, and got 12 steals to our 7. Just out played, final 96-79.

#11 Kentucky (9-3) at #17 Arkansas (10-2)

We open the conference season hosting the tough Kentucky Wildcats.

Arkansas comes out pretty hot and opens a 7 point lead, 19-12, midway through the first fram. Not a terribly high scoring affair, with lots of possession changes early on. Arkansas maintains their edge, actually extends it to double digits a couple of times before settling for a 6 point lead, 43-37. The pace picked up quite a bit in the last 5 minutes of the half.

The hogs look a lot moer comfortable in this outing than they did against Michigan State, shooting nearly 70% from the floor a good bit into the second half. The lead hovers between 5 and 10 for much of the next 10 minutes as the teams exchange baskets. Midway through the final frame, the Razorbacks have extended it to 12, at 61-49. Kentucky's Jaime Johnson is almost single-handedly keeping the Wildcats within striking distance, scoriing his 17th point on a follow slam-dunk to get the lead under 10 points again. The Wildcats pull back to within 5 with a minute to play, and even get back to within 2 when Whitney Weaver hits two free throws with 25 seconds to play, 70-68. The Cats foul Scotty Upshaw, who hits only one of two free throws, giving Kentucky a chance to tie it up. Whitney Weaver indeed delivers with about 15 seconds to go in the game, hitting a three pointer from the top of the key to tie up the game! Weaver then proceeds to taunt his defender and is charged with a technical foul and ejected from the game! This of course sends Gerald Sedillo to the line, where he hits two free throws to put the Hogs back on top. Arkansas gets the ball back because of the technical foul, and Scotty Upshaw hits one of two to extend the lead to three. Sedillo rebounds Upshaw's second miss and adds one of two free throws to provide the final count, Arkansas 75, Kentucky 71.

PHEW! What an ending!

A sad footnote to the Kentucky win. SG Parker Trantham is likely lost for the season with a torn ligament. He is estimated to be out 104 days. This shouldn't affect the depth chart too much, but Trantham was a solid contributer and will be missed.

A question for those of you that are following this dynasty:

1. Who are you? Id like to know who my readers are, if any.

2. What format changes would make this more interesting? Should I move faster, slower, stay the same? More pregame scouting? More news from around the country?

3. What are your predictions for the season? :) I feel like we can meet the AD's goal of sweet sixteen with a little luck!

#15 Arkansas (11-2) at #19 Alabama (11-2)

Another scary road trip. The Hogs go to Tuscaloosa to face an Alabama team with an identical 11-2 record. The defense is keyed up for this one, knowing that the Tide have a propensity to turn the ball over. Sure enough, Arkansas comes out and forces Alabama into many turnovers in the first half and streak to a double digit lead, 39-27 at the half. Neither team shoots particularly well, but the Hogs have the edge because of the turnovers. Alabama dominates the boards in the first half, 24-15, giving us something to work on.

The lead hovers between 10 and 14 for most of the next 10 minutes of the game, and with 10 minutes to play, Arkansas still leads 57-46. Bama storms back to within three points behind strong play from SG Arnold Sizemore at 57-54, but Arkansas holds them off, finishing the game off with a flurry, winning 71-62. Scotty Upshaw's strong showing, with 13 points and 9 assists earns him player of the game.

Well due to lack of readership, I have decided to let this one die. A quick update on the rest of my season 1: We finished the regular season with 5 losses, lost to Vanderbilt in the first round of the SEC tournament, and got into the SEC tournament as a 4 seed. We blew out East Tennessee State in the first round and lost by one in the second round to Louisville (I think).

Just ended the season and started season 2 and thought those that were reading along might be interested to know that that recruiting class was ranked #7 in the nation!

I might give periodic updates on my career progress here if anyone shows interest. Wish me luck.

I have been reading off and on, I don't follow dynasties every day anymore but when I get bored at work I catch up on all the FBCB dynasties and a few other choice ones that I've been reading.

Punk. Why are you killing this?

Because Arkansas lost to Alabama in the walk-on dynasty. Its all your fault punk.

I was shocked to see that as well. If that's any consolation.