FBCB2: Coaching Career of Mike Lewis
 

Intro to system, configuration, etc.

I am starting with 2012 league format, so most of the conference re-alignment is in effect. The only exception at this point is TCU to the Big East, the game isn't able to support the 17-team conference.

Coach Lewis will be running a uptempo high-motion offense that relies on having great guard play, specifically a lineup that features two high level point guards. Point guard 1 and Point guard 2 will need to have at least a B for passing and C for handles, while providing some offensive scoring ability but their main responsibility will be making their teammates better. Shooting guard/small forward will need to be a good scorer with decent ball handling skills. Small forward/Power forward will need to a banger, I want a guy that can get offensive rebounds at a high percentage and provide some offensive threat. At center/power forward we want similar to the SF/PF position. All positions need to have at least a C for their defensive responsibilities.

Coach Lewis is starting at Eastern Illinois (20 prestige), so it may be difficult to get the exact type of player. All of his ratings are C+, any skill point improvements will be applied evenly across all ratings.

The goal is to someday get to the Big Ten and compete for national championships, which I've never won before.

2012 - Year 1

Coach Lewis catches a break and inherits a team 5 quality guards, including two freshman with all-american potential squares - Dorian Henley will be a big-time scorer and has B potential for passing and perimeter D. The other is Viktor Kovarik, he isn't quite the scorer but has A potential for passing.

The starting rotation will look like this...
C/PF - 6'10" sophomore Brian Toliver (ORB-A, PSD-C)
PF/SF - 6'7" junior William Conyers (PSD-A+, BLK-A-)
SF/SG - 6'1" senior Douglas Jansen (3PS-A, PSD/PRD-C)
PG2 - 6'3" junior Brian Jaynes (JPS-A)
PG1 - 5'11" freshman Viktor Kovarik (PAS - B+, QKN - A)

November

We start off November with some good news, as we land 6'7" center Andrew Maxwell from Nebraska. He is a 2-star recruit that is ranked #745 overall with B potentials for INS, ORB, and DRB.


Notes:
* We forced 25 turnovers against Longwood, Jaynes had 16 pts, 8 reb.
* Samford killed us on the glass with a 45-32 advantage.
* We shot 48% against Chicago State while holding them to 35%.

We end the month 2-1.

December

We get a commitment from 3-star point guard from Illinois, Alvin Sheets. He's got A potential for PRD and B for HND - he's not the great passer that we like but he'll have to do. He had interest from pretty much every other team in the OVC. We also lost out on SF Sean Inman, he signed with UT-Martin.


Notes:
* #20 Illinois held us to 30% from the field.
* Ill-Chicago killed us on the glass, a 45-28 advantage.
* Iowa held us to 30% from the field.
* We shot 56% against Houston Baptist, Jansen had 26 pts.
* We outplayed Indiana State but they killed us on the glass, 44-29 advantage.
* The trend continues against Illinois State, they dominated the glass w/ a 44-21 advantage.
* Holbrook has 22 pts, 7 reb in the win against SIU-E.
* Tennessee State has the most rebounds I've ever seen in a game, 58, to our 25.
* We led Austin Peay 6-4 after 10 minutes :)

We now stand at 5-7 overall and 1-1 in the conference.

2012 Year 1 - Continued

January


Notes:
* We get killed on the boards but only turn it over 9 times in the win against Tennessee Tech.
* We shot 51% and out rebounded Jax State in the easy win. Jaynes left the game with a sprained knee, but he should be ok for our next game.
* Jaynes goes for 19 pts, 8 rebs in win against Morehead State, despite banged up knee.
* We held EKU to 31% from the field and forced 17 turnovers in the 57-45 win.
* We hold SEMS to 34% from the field and Jaynes goes for 16 pts, 8 rebs in win on the road.
* Great defensive effort continues as we hold UTM to 37% from the field and force 22 turnovers in the win. Holbrook goes down with a broken nose, he shouldn't miss any action though.
* We battle back from 17-0 deficit to start the game against Murray State but let it get away in the 2nd half.
* Jax State's big guy goes for 17 pts, 20 reb and they pound us in the 2nd half.

Overall January was a good month, not happy about the way it ended but we are currently tied with Murray State for first in the conference at 7-3.

February

In search for a warm body we offer a scholarship to 1-star PF Wilson Gilbert from Indiana. He's a decent rebounder and defender with some upside on the offensive end.


Notes:
* Rebounding woes continue in loss to Tennessee Tech.
* Tovar has double-double in win against EKU.
* Morehead State is flawless in their victory, shooting 47% and only turning it over 4 times.
* Turnovers killed us in non-conference game at Portland.
* Conyers has 14 pts, 9 reb as we get back on track with win against SEMS.
* Murray State races out to 10-0 lead and we could never recover but still tied for 1st place.
* We held UTM to 38% from the field and forced 20 turnovers in the win.
* AP gives us a good game but we are able to hold them to 36% from the field in win. Redding left with a bruised jaw.

We finish the month 4-4 but 4-3 in the conference and have a 1-game lead over Tennessee Tech and Murray State for 1st place in the conference.

March

Wilson Gilbert signs, Indiana State was trying to get him to walk-on but he opted for our scholarship. I don't know how much we'll get from him but at least its a body.


* We get destroyed in the 2nd half against Tennessee State after trailing 33-31 at the half.

The loss to Tennessee State puts us in a 3-way tie for first, after the tie breakers we get a #3 seed in the conference tournament.

Conference Tournament


Notes:
* We miss free throws late but hold on against Morehead State.
* Late surge pulls us away from Murray State to advance to finals!
* Tenn Tech shoots 53% and out rebounds us 45-17 in route.

Postseason

We get snubbed from any tournaments and finish the season 17-15 overall and 11-7 in the conference.

Cal beats Xavier to win national championship, 120-89.
Penn State beat Cincinnati to win NIT, 82-71.
Houston beat Kansas State to win CBI.
Charleston beat Kent State to win CIT.

Awards

Kovarik gets named to OVC All-Freshman team, he averaged 6 points and 4 assists.

Recruit Rankings

Our class is ranked 234th overall and 6th in the conference.

2013 - Year 2

Our prestige goes up from 20 to 24 and the hot seat rating goes to cool, with the AD expecting at least a .500 record in the conference.

Lewis gets job offers from UNC-Wilmington, IPFW, Georgia State, James Madison, and Arkansas State but decides to stay put.

We bring in Thomas Spalding, a SF from Bradley during the transfer period. He will sit out this year but he has some nice upside with A potential for PSD and B for DRB and PRD, pretty much everything else is C so he could be a good pickup.

After training camp we find out Brian Jaynes (12.8 ppg) is suspended due to academics, he was our leading scorer last season. Andrew Maxwell will redshirt So our rotation this year will look like this:

C - Brian Tover, 6'10" senior, 7.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg last year.
PF - William Conyers, 6'7" senior, 5.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg last year.
SF/SG - Edward Redding, 6'2" junior, 3.0 ppg last year.
SG/PG - Dorian Henley, 6'3" sophomore, 2.5 ppg last year.
PG - Viktor Kovarik, 5'11" sophomore, 6.4 ppg, 3.8 apg last year.
6th - Alvin Sheets, 5'9" freshman
7th - Allan Maes, 6'5" senior, 9 gp last year.

November

We start the month with 2 signings - the first is 2-star center Burt Burks, he's got A potential INS and ORB but he's pretty raw. The second is 2-star point guard Aldo Edmonds, he's got a nice offensive game but a liability on the defensive end.


Notes:
* Kovarik had 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists in the win against WIU.
* Tovar had 14 points and 13 rebounds in the win against VWI.
* Turnovers killed us against Kent State, we had 20. Henley also left with a stiff neck, but he should be fine for our next game.
* Henley went for 30 in the OT win against Colgate!

Very surprised by the 3-1 start to the season but we start December with 6 straight road games, could be a rough month.

December

We get another commit, this time from 2-star center Timothy Ellis. He's got B potential for INS, JPS, and PSD with A potential for 3PS. He should be tough to stop offensively. Indiana was starting to pick up some steam but they never offered.


Notes:
* Henley scores 21 in loss to Chicago State.
* We shot 51% but committed 18 turnovers in loss to Illinois State.
* DePaul holds us to 29% from the field and out rebounds us 49-28.
* We only committed 5 turnovers in the loss to Indiana State but blew a double digit lead.
* SIU pounded us on the glass 52-19 in the rout.
* Kovarik has 9 points and 11 assists in loss to WMU.
* Kovarik had 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assist in win over EMU.
* Tennessee State kills us in the first half 51-20 and dominates the glass 46-23.
* Kovarik had 17 points, 11 assists, and 5 rebounds in win over AP.

As expected it was a rough month, disappointed with the lost to Tennessee State at home though. Kovarik is averaging 9 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds - not bad for a sophomore. Jaynes should return to the rotation next month, he will give us a nice boost offensively.

2013 - Year 2 Continued

January

PF Wilson Gilbert is suspended for the upcoming semester, he's played in 12 games but isn't much of a factor.


Notes:
* Kovarik had 16 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds in win against Jax State.
* Tennessee Tech killed us on the glass 47-31.
* We shot 65% in the win against SEMSU.
* We held Murray State to 30% from the field and forced 17 turnovers in the win.
* Kovarik had 9 assists in win against UTM.
* EKU killed us on the boards 46-27.
* We shot 24% from the field and had 19 turnovers in rout by Morehead State.
* We led the entire second half against TN Tech until they took the lead in the final minute.

Frustrating end to what was becoming a great month, we now stand at 9-12 overall and 5-5 in the conference. We have a favorable schedule in February so hopefully we can make a run to towards the top of the conference.

February


Notes:
* We lose on a buzzer beater 3 by Jax State, their PG had 36 points and 7 assists.
* Tover had 10 points and 11 boards, and we shot 49% in the win at SEMSU.
* We scored just 22 in the 2nd half against UTM but held on for the win.
* We shot 35% to Murray State's 50% in the loss.
* Morehead State killed us on the glass 41-26 in the loss.
* Kovarik had 15 points and 10 assists in the win against EKU.
* We almost overcome a 20 deficit against AP but can't close it out.

We now stand at 12-16 and 8-9 in the conference, we've clinched a birth in the conference tournament but face one of the best teams in the league in our last change to get to .500

March


Notes:
* As expected we get destroyed on the boards 50-28.

Conference Tournament

We get the #6 seed in the conference tournament, while Tennessee Tech gets #1 and Tennessee State gets #2.


Notes:
* We score just 15 points in the first half on our way to a first round exit against Morehead State.
* Morehead State goes on to win the conference championship by beat Austin Peay 62-43. They were easily the best defensive team in the conference, holding us to 30, 50, and 42 in our 3 meetings. They were ranked #1 in the conference in 9 of the 14 tracked categories and #2 in the nation in points allowed per game at 56.5

Postseason

We finished the season 12-18 overall and 8-10 in the conference so now postseason tournaments for us.

Clemson won the National Championship, they beat Texas 72-61 in the finals. They also beat Morehead State in the first round.

North Carolina won the NIT.
Louisville won the CBI.
Ohio won the CIT.

Awards

We had no award winners. I thought Kovarik would maybe get 2nd team all-conference, he finished averaging 9 points and 6 assists. Other than him we had no candidates.

Recruiting

Our class was ranked #268 overall and 9th in the conference, not a good class according to the reports but I think both Burks and Edmonds have some ability.

Year 3 - 2014

Our subpar performance in Year 2 gets us a much need facility upgrade and a prestige increase from 24 to 25. Our assistant coach has retired, we replace him with Alexander Smith...who was about our 6th choice.

Lewis's hot seat rating declines to average and the AD's expectation is 0.500 record in the conference again. This should be achievable, we hope to compete for the championship because we will have great guard play.

November

We get hit by yet another academic suspension, this time 2 of them for the first semester. Returning starter Edward Redding (Sr., 11.4 ppg) and freshman Burt Burks get hit with suspensions. A big blow to our depth.

Our rotation will look like this:
C - Brian Tovar, 6'10" senior (8.9 ppg, 8.5 rpg)
PF - Timothy Ellis, 6'9" freshman
SF - Thomas Spalding, 6'6" sophomore (transfer)
SG/PG - Dorian Henley, 6'3" junior (12.3 ppg, 3.5 apg)
PG - Viktor Kovarik, 5'11" junior (8.7 ppg, 5.7 apg)
6th - Alvin Sheets, 5'9" sophomore (3.6 ppg)
7th - Aldo Edmonds, 6'0" freshman
8th - Andrew Maxwell, 6'7" freshman


Notes:
* We somehow manage to hold Sac State scoreless for the final 3 minutes to get the win. Edmonds sprained his knee, he should be ok for our next game.
* Kovarik had 14 points and 7 assists in the win over NW State.
* Kovarik had 13 points and 11 assists in the win over Presbyterian, Henley added 28 points.
* Sheets has 19 off the bench in the win over Ball State.

Pretty happy with the 4-0 start but we didn't exactly beat anyone, more excited that we did it without two guys that should be in our rotation and we out rebounded our opponents in 3 of the 4 games.

December

We land 3 commitments heading into December. The first is a 2-star center from Canada, Adam Shaw. He has A potential for DRB and B potential for PSD. The 2nd is a JUCO transfer, 3-star SF Elvis Jude. He will likely play PF, but he is a great defender on both PRD and PSD - he also has a nice offensive game inside. The 3rd is another JUCO transfer, 3-star PG Lorenzo Creamer. Creamer is a dynamic guard who can score from anywhere, he isn't quite the passer we look for but he is to talented to pass on. We are really making a push for a big season next year with bringing in the JUCOs to compliment with what we will have returning.


Notes:
* Kovarik had 10 assists in loss to #1 Marquette.
* We went cold in the 2nd half in the loss to IUPUI after scoring 52 in the first.
* Kovarik had 23 and Henley 25 in the OT win at St. Louis.
* Purdue had 6 in double figures in the rout.
* 24-4 deficit out of the gate against Indiana dooms us.
* Henley has 19 in loss at Northwestern.
* Henley has 23 in win against Murray State.
* 10 minute drought costs us against UTM.

Overall we are 6-6 and 1-1 in the conference, can't complain but looking forward to getting a full compliment of players next month.

January


Notes:
* We can't overcome a slow start and lose big to TN Tech.
* Spalding has 16 points, 14 rebounds in win at Jax State.
* We allow TN State to shoot 56% in loss.
* Henley has 22 in loss to AP.
* We add the 2-3 zone to our gameplan and it pays off against EKU. Henley has 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.
* Henley goes down with a torn ligament in loss to Morehead State, he's expected to miss roughly one month.
* Kovarik has 9 assists, 7 rebounds, and 6 points in loss to Illinois State.
* We let SEMSU shoot 71% in the first half but still get the win.
* Redding has 18 points and 7 rebounds in win against Jax State.
* Spalding and Redding combine for 37 in win against TN Tech.

We end the month with a nice 3 game winning streak to stand at 11-11 overall and 6-5 in the conference. The addition of the 2-3 zone has really helped our struggling defense.

February


Notes:
* Horrible start at AP kills us.
* Spalding goes for 16 points and 9 rebounds in win at TN State.
* We let Morehead State shoot 52% and they continue their dominance of us.
* Struggles at home continue in loss to EKU.
* Redding and Spalding combine for 35 in win against SEMSU, Henley returns with 9 points and 6 assists.
* We commit 20 turnovers in loss at Murray State.
* Henley scores 21 but we lose in OT to UTM.

We finish the regular season at 13-16 overall and 8-10 in the conference, failing to meet the AD's expectations for the 2nd year in a row.

Conference Tournament

We enter the OVC tournament as the #5 seed, Morehead State gets #1 and Austin Peay #2.


Notes:
* We get bombed by Murray State, their starting guards combined for 36.
* Morehead State goes on to win the conference championship for the 2nd year in a row. Their defensive was in the Top 10 in the country in PPG and FG%.

Postseason

We fail to qualify again for any tournaments.

* Marshall was 30-1 going into the tournament and a #1 seed before losing to #16 seed Oral Roberts. That has to hurt.
* Syracuse wins the National Championship by beating Louisville 72-66.
* Minnesota won the NIT.
* Mississippi State won the CBI.
* Buffalo won the CIT.

Awards

Henley was named to 1st Team All-OVC after averaging 15.3 ppg, he also shot 51% from the field.

Spalding was named to 2nd Team All-OVC after averaging 10.9 ppg and 7.6 rpg.

Timothy Ellis was named to the All-OVC Freshman Team after averaging 6.3 ppg and 4.2 rpg.

Recruiting

Our class was ranked #139 nationally and #1 in the conference, obviously the JUCOs helped. Not something we want to do every year but we need the influx in talent.

Year 4 - 2015

Coach Lewis gets job offers from SD State, William & Mary, Loyola (MD), FIU, Northern Illinois, North Texas, New Orleans, and Ark-Little Rock. After considering the Northern Illinois job he decides to stay put.

Coaches' Hot Seating Rating is now at Warm after failing to meet the AD's expectations 2 years in a row, the expectations remain the same for this season - at least .500 in the conference. Prestige again gains a point to 26 now.

November

Before training camp we get two recruits to commit. The first one is 3-star C Jerald Maxwell from Indiana. He has B potential for INS, FTS, DRB, and PSD. He had offers from Indiana State and Tennessee State, so we are lucky to get him. The 2nd is 2-star PG Davis Hale from Indiana, he has A potential for PAS and B potential for JPS, FTS, PSD, and PRD. Hopefully our scout is right on him, we need a great passer when Kovarik graduates. We have 1 other offer out there, 3-star SG Walker Gladden appears to be considering the recent offer he got from DePaul.

Our rotation will look like this:
C - Timothy Ellis, 6'9" sophomore (6.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
PF - Elvis Jude, 6'7" junior (JUCO)
SF - Thomas Spalding, 6'6" junior (10.9 ppg, 7.6 rpg)
SG - Dorian Henley, 6'3" senior (15.3 ppg)
PG - Viktor Kovarik, 5'11" senior (8.6 ppg, 7.4 apg)
6th - Lorenzo Creamer, 6'1" junior (JUCO)
7th - Alvin Sheets, 5'9" junior (9.3 ppg)
8th - Burt Burks, 6'8" sophomore (5.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg)

This team has some nice star power with Henley and Kovarik both having blue rating squares.


Notes:
* Kovarik has 17 points and 10 assists in loss to Drake in opening round of BTI Invitational.
* We shot 57% but still manage to lose to No. Colorado.
* We blow a double digit lead and lose in double OT to UMKC.
* We blow another double digit lead but hold on in OT to beat SIU. Kovarik has 10 points, 10 assists, and 9 rebounds. His 4th game in a row with at least 10 assists.
* We hung tough with #1 Missouri, Jude had 28 points and 8 rebounds.

A rough start to what we thought was going to be a special season, it still might be - offensively we are deadly but we are horrible on defense. We rank #2 in the country with 22.8 assists per game.

December

We get some good news as Gladden commits, he has A potential for JPS and PRD but his ball handling skills are pretty bad.


Notes:
* We shoot 51% but can't recover from slow start in loss to UNC-G.
* Jude goes for 29 points and 12 rebounds in rout of IUPUI.
* Kovarik scores 22 in win against SIU-E.
* We shot 55% against Purdue but can't stop them from scoring.
* We shot 53% against Illinois and led by 10 at one point before getting blown out.
* We blow another double digit lead and lose to TN State, Henley had 27.
* Henley scores 28 in loss to AP.
* We finally hold on to a lead and Kovarik goes for 15 points and 9 assists in win against TN Tech.

A disappointing month again, we are now 4-9 and 1-2 in the conference. We are averaging 83.5 points per game which is good enough for 4th nationally and 21.2 assists which is 3rd, we also have six players averaging double figures. However, we are last in the nation in PPG allowed at 86.8 and assists per game allowed at 18.2

January


Notes:
* Jude and Spalding combine for 33 points and 24 rebounds in the win over Jax State.
* Morehead State kills us on the glass as they continue to dominate us.
* Jude and Henley combine for 37 in win over EKU.
* Kovarik goes for 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists in win over SEMSU.
* Spalding has 19 points and 9 rebounds in win over UTM.
* Spalding has 18 points and 8 rebounds in win over Murray State.
* We shoot a season-low 39% in loss to Jax State. We lose Creamer for 3 weeks with a knee injury.
* We shoot 56% and score 60 in the first half but still lose to TN Tech.

I thought we had something going there when we won 4 straight but then lose the final two of the month, we are now 9-12 overall and 6-5 in the conference. Our offense has cooled down a little but we are still 8th in scoring and 4th in assists nationally.

February


Notes:
* We blow a 10 point lead in the final 2 minutes to lose to EKU.
* We jumped out to a 22-4 lead and cruised to finally beat Morehead State. Jude, Spalding, and Henley combined for 56 points.
* We shoot just 34% from the field against Illinois State and they destroy us.
* We held SEMSU to 26% from the field and play just good enough to get the win.
* Henley goes for 25 but we lose to Murray State.
* Jude has 12 points and 14 rebounds in OT win over UTM.
* Henley goes for 24 and we knock off AP.
* Kovarik and Henley combine for 50 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists on senior night rout of Tennessee State.

We end the month emphatically with a rout of the regular season champs to end the season at 14-15 overall and 11-7 in the conference.

Conference Tournament

We end up with the #3 seed in the OVC Tournament, Tennessee State has #1 and Murray State has #2.


Notes:
* We jump out to a 21-5 lead and cruise past UTM.
* We hold Murray State to 34% from the field and advance to the OVC finals.
* We led TN State the entire game but blew it, they took their first lead with 30 seconds left.

Postseason

We once again fail to qualify for any postseason action but finish the season at 16-16 overall.

* Clemson wins the national championship 81-51 over Louisiana Tech.
* Interesting note that Washington State has been a #1 seed each of the last two seasons.
* Michigan State won the NIT.
* Vanderbilt won the CBI.
* New Orleans won the CIT.

Awards

Elvis Jude was named All-OVC 1st Team, he averaged 12 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

Dorian Henley was named All-OVC 1st Team, he averaged 17.3 points and 4.7 assists per game. He shot 51% from the field and 42% from deep. He finished his career with 1307 points.

Viktor Kovarik was named All-OVC 1st Team, he averaged 10.4 points and 7.5 assists per game. He shot 48% from the field and 40% from deep. He finished his career with 1057 points and 755 assists.

Recruiting

Our class is ranked #195 overall and #4 in the OVC.

Year 5 - 2016

Offseason

All 3 freshman come in with green potential squares, so that is a nice start.

We get a much need budget upgrade after last season's performance. Assistant coach Alexander Smith has retired, he must have saw the writing on the wall because he was getting fired. He was the main cause of our poor defense the last two seasons. Our prestige raises from 26 to 30.

Coach Lewis's hot seat rating cools down to average but the AD raises his expectations, its time to make the NCAA Tournament now.

November

We have 2 recruits turn us down for Chicago State and Western Illinois respectively. Guard Brendon Watkins signs with us though, he's a 2-star with A potential for INS and PAS. We have 4 more scholarships to offer but will probably only offer 2 more to try and balance our classes again.

Davis Hale is willing to redshirt, so we'll go ahead and take him up on it. We've got a nice team this year with a lot of depth and no real superstar, after training camp we only have 2 players with red rating squares. Everyone else is orange or yellow, except for Lorenzo Creamer. Here is what the rotation will look like this year:

C: Timothy Ellis, 6'9", Junior (7.7p, 4.9r)
PF: Elvis Jude, 6'7", Senor (12.0p, 6.7r)
SF: Thomas Spalding, 6'6", Senior (11.3, 7.6r)
SG: Lorenzo Creamer, 6'1", Senior (8.9p)
PG: Alvin Sheets, 5'9", Senior (3.8p)
6th: Aldo Edmonds, 6'1", Junior (1.1p)
7th: Burt Burks, 6'8", Junior (4.8p, 3.2r)
8th: Andrew Maxwell, 6'7", Junior (2.1p, 2.7r)
9th: Walker Gladden, 6'4", Freshman
10th: Andrew Shaw, 6'7", Sophomore

This year we are going to try to play more people to try to keep some of the younger guys happy, mostly Shaw and Jerald Maxwell. Once conference play starts we will probably tighten things up.


Notes:
* We trailed almost all game but when on a late run to beat Saint Louis. We dominated the glass but turned it over 20 times.
* We only turned it over 8 times at DePaul, and Spalding had 18 points and 12 rebounds.
* We beat Utah in OT, only turned it over 9 times. Spalding had 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists.
* We shot just 24% in the lost to UIC.

We finish the month at 3-1 with three decent wins and a horrible loss but I'm intrigued, this team has a lot of veterans and could be poised for a nice season.

December

We get bad news as we lose 2 more recruits, this time to Northwestern and Austin Peay respectively. We have 2 more offers out there to 2 3-star point guards, it looks like they should sign this month.


Notes:
* Creamer has 26 in the loss to Valpo.
* IUPUI shots 59% and pulls away late.
* We shot 50% and only turned it over 10 times in the win at IL State.
* NW pulled away late after shooting 54% on the night.
* We lose another late, this time to Evansville. Spalding had 16 and 10.
* Jude has 20 and 11 in the win against TN State.
* Spalding has 20 and 13 in the loss to AP.
* We turn it over 18 times in loss to Jax State.
* TN Tech scores 54 in the 2nd half to beat us.

Well that month was a disaster and we are now 5-8 overall and a dreadful 1-3 in the conference. I think its time to squeeze the rotation some.

Year 5 - 2016 Continued

January
We lose one of the guys we are after when Valpo offers a scholarship, he wasn't as good anyway. The good news is Douglas Carl signs with us, he is a 3-star point guard from Illinois. Iowa State, Bradley, Saint Louis, and Drake were all looking at him. He has B potential in INS, 3PS, PAS, ORB and A potential in DRB. Unfortunately Jerald Maxwell is complaining about playing time and is a risk to transfer, we don't want to lose him but there aren't enough minutes for him this year. Hopefully he doesn't give up on us because next year he will get a lot of PT.


Notes:
* Another solid non-conference win, this time over Memphis. Jude led the way with 22 pts and 10 rebs.
* We hold off a late charge by SEMSU behind another double double from Jude, 17 pts and 10 rebs.
* Our defense is improving as we hold Murray State to 35% from the field in the win.
* Creamer has 25 in the win against UTM.
* Sheets has 21 in the win against EKU and we held them to 33% from the field.
* Sheets has 21 again in the win against Morehead State.
* Sheets has 14 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds in rout of TN Tech.
* We came back from 10 down and fall short against Jax State.
* Creamers has 22 in the win against Oral Roberts.

A nice rebound month puts us 1 game out of first in the conference at 7-4, there is a 3-way tie for first between Austin Peay, Murray State, and Jacksonville State all at 8-3.

We stand at 13-9 overall. Four guys are averaging double figures - Creamer (15.4p, 4.9r), Sheets (13.1p, 3.5a), Spalding (10.8p, 7.7r), and Jude (10p, 6.8r).

Year 5 - 2016 Continued...

February

Jerald Maxwell is again complaining about playing time, I just realized he hasn't played at all despite our depth chart settings so I've switch him in the rotation with Andrew Maxwell. He should now get close to 8 minutes per game, hopefully that is enough to keep him around.


Notes:

• SEMSU beats us for the first time in 5 years.
• Spalding has 15 points and 14 rebounds in lost to UTM.
• We force Murray State to commit 24 turnovers in the win.
• Spalding has 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists in win against Morehead State.
• EKU holds us to 36% from the field in the loss.
• We have six in double figures but still lose to AP.
• Sheets goes for 19 in win at TN State.

We finish a frustrating regular season at 16-13 overall and 10-8 in the conference, good enough for 4th place.

OVC Tournament

We have the 4th seed and open against the fifth seed Morehead State, Austin Peay is 1st seed and Jacksonville State is 2nd seed.


Notes:

• We shot 37% and committed 19 turnovers in loss to Morehead State.
• Murray State beats Austin Peay 68-54 to win the OVC Tournament.

Posteason

• We fail to reach a postseason tournament for the fifth season in a row.
• USC beats 10 seed Illinois for the NCAA Championship, 75-50.
• Wichita State beats Miami (FL) for the NIT.
• Virginia wins the CBI.
• UT-Pan American beats Jacksonville State to win the CIT.

We finish the season at 16-14, failing to meet the AD's expectations.

Awards

Thomas Spalding is named to 1st Team All-OVC after averaging 10.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game.

Lorenzo Creamer is named to 2nd Team All-OVC after averaging 14.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. He also shot 45% from behind the arc.

Graduating Players

This is the first class where coach Lewis has recruited every player and there are five players graduating, including our top 4 scorers.

Year 6 - 2016

Offseason

Our recruiting class is ranked 193rd nationally and 4th in the conference. Both freshman come in with green potential squares.

Lewis gets offers from Toledo, San Francisco, Old Dominion, Hofstra, Fairfield, Drexel, IPFW, Arkansas State, and Rider but decides to stay put.

Gus Hughes is let go after 1 year as the Assistant Coach, he is replaced by Vernon Hinton who is a definite upgrade.

Our prestige improves from 30 to 31 and the AD's goal remains the same, make the NCAA.

November

We get a commitment from 3-star point guard Shannon Taylor, he should be a good one. He picked us over Southern Illinois. We only have 10 players on the roster this year and not much experience returning, it should be a long season. All ten guys will get minutes, here is the rotation:

C: Timothy Ellis, 6'9", Senior (6.6p, 5.6r)
PF: Burt Burks, 6'9", Senior (4.5p, 2.3r)
SF: Walker Gladden, 6'5", Sophomore (4.5p, 2.5r)
SG: Aldo Edmonds, 6'1", Senior (7.4p, 43% 3p)
PG: Douglas Carl, 5'11", Freshman
6th: Andrew Maxwell, 6'7", Senior (2.4p, 2.3r)
7th: Adam Shaw, 6'7", Junior
8th: Davis Hale, 6'3", R Freshman
9th: Jerald Maxwell, 6'9", Sophomore
10th: Brendon Watkins, 6'5", Freshman

• Gladden scores 15 and pulls down 7 boards in the win against WIU.
• Vanderbilt torches the nets in the rout.
• We upset #20 Louisville behind Gladden's 28 points and 7 boards!
• Ellis has 10 points, 13 boards, 7 assists in win against Cal Poly.
• We out rebound Wright State 59-34 in the win.
• SIU dominates in every way possible.

Couldn't be happier with the 4-2 start, with both losses coming on the road against good programs. We might not be all that bad, but we've seen this kind of start before. Our RPI is 30th.

December
We get another commit, this time from 3-star guard Robert Pride. He has B potential in PRD and STL, A potential in 3PS, everything else is C. We still have 5 more scholarships to offer if we choose.

• Gladden scores 22 in the loss to Indiana State.
• Defensive woes continue, Bradley shoots 47% from beyond the arc in the loss.
• Edmonds goes off for 28, shooting 9 of 10 from the field in the win at IUPUI.
• We shot 33% in the loss to UI-Chicago.
• We hold UTM to 35% in route to the win.
• 2nd half drought costs us against Murray State.
• Offensive woes continue in loss to Morehead State.
• Shaw has 12 points and 13 boards in the rout of EKU.

December always seems to be a rough month, we are now 7-7 overall and 2-2 in the conference. We are very balanced with 7 guys averaging over 6.5 points per game, with no one average over 11.

Year 6 - 2016 Continued

January
We sign 2 more recruits, Bill Erickson a 3-star forward from Australia with A potential for DRB, PAS and B potential for JPS, ORB, and PSD. He played small forward in high school but he will likely play at power forward for us. Ohio State and Baylor were also interested in him but had yet to offer. The other is Ernest Anderson a 3-star guard from Missouri. Missouri State, Florida State, and Western Kentucky were also pursuing him. Our scout thinks he is overrated, I'm hoping he's wrong.

• Edmonds scores 30 in the win at TN State.
• We aren't able to overcome a 20-4 deficit to start the game in the loss to Austin Peay.
• We hold SEMSU to 24% shooting in an ugly win.
• We blow a 10 point lead in the 2nd half in the loss to TN Tech.
• Shaw and Burks combine for 26 points and 25 boards in the win against Jacksonville State.
• We forced EKU into 22 turnovers in the win.
• Five score in double figures in OT win at Morehead State.

We rebound nicely from a tough December, we are now 12-9 overall and 7-4 in the conference. We are 2 games out of first behind Morehead State, tied with Murray State for 2nd. The league seems to have a lot more talent this year than in previous years, there were a lot of good non-conference records.

February

• We were within striking distance all game but could never get on a run to take the lead against Austin Peay.
• Edmonds has 29 in the win against TN State.
• We shoot just 33% in non-conference loss to Savannah State.
• Edmonds has 17 points and 6 assists in the win against SEMSU.
• Late surge gives Jacksonville State the win.
• TN Tech shoots 52% from the field in the loss.
• We shot just 37% in the loss to Murray State.
• Offensive struggles continue against UTM.

A brutal 4-game losing streak kills us, we finish 7th in the conference at 9-9 and 14-15 overall. We were one of the best rebounding teams in the country in the top 25 in both offensive and defensive rebounding.

OVC Tournament

Morehead State is the top seed and Jacksonville State is the 2nd seed, we will face Jacksonville State in the first round.

• We allow Jacksonville State to shoot 59% from the field and they blow us out.
• Jacksonville State goes on to beat Murray State 81-76 to win the tournament.

Postseason

• North Carolina wins the National Championship.
• Massachusetts wins the NIT.
• Drake wins the CBI.
• Lamar wins the CIT.

Awards

Adam Shaw is named to 2nd team All-OVC after averaging 7.0 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.

Douglas Carl is named to Freshman All-OVC after averaging 9.3 points and 2.6 assists per game.

Graduating Players

Year 7 - 2017

Offseason
Our recruiting class is ranked 87th nationally and 1st in the OVC. All four freshman come in with green potential squares, nine out of our ten players are now green potential square players. If we can develop them, we have a bright future ahead.

Lewis gets offers from Western Michigan, UNC Wilmington, Towson, St. Peter's, Central Michigan, North Texas, and IUPUI. He elects to stay put for another season, he's definitely interested in advancing but there hasn't been anything that has come open that he has been interested in.

Robby Jacques a junior from Cal State Bakersfield has transferred to Eastern Illinois, he has a lot of upside and can add some depth for next year.

The board is getting impatient, they expect a NCAA Tournament bid this season again. Our prestige holds at 31.

We have 3 scholarships available to offer, we will focus on the big men. We only have 1 guy taller than 6'7" this year and he is a senior.

Gosh, I hope you can get an infusion after losing all of those seniors. At least some kids who can do something right enough to get you into a better opportunity for post-season play even if it's just the CIT. Playing with that bare a cupboard has to be difficult and you'd wonder if he'd get that long in real life to turn it around.

Not that you aren't trying...and Lord knows I wouldn't be up for coaching in Charleston for real or for fake. ;)

Just posted before you wrote this.

Well seems like you're finally getting a group of kids that might be able to do something. Maybe you ought to pad the non-conference better to register some more wins so if all can go .500 in-conference you guys can make the post-season and Mike gets to keep his job?

I'm playing with Human Coach Firing turned off, otherwise I think I would've gotten fired after season 5. Its hard to say though because I think in real life terms for the most part we've been above 0.500 in conference play every year and have one of the lower prestige ratings and our facilities are pretty bad. It does seem like we have peaked with the strategy I am using right now, I think its time to seriously consider something different - specifically recruiting a lot better defensive players. In the system I am trying to run I need A rated passers to go to the next level and they just aren't available with our level of recruiting.

We've always been one of the better scoring teams in the conference but always one of the worst defensively. I was able to correct the rebounding issue, that first few years was brutal and now last year we were one of the best in the country but I suspect a drop off this year.

I haven't been scheduling the non-conference games, I've been letting the CPU do that and I've been quite pleased with the games scheduled so I hope to continue to go that route. In the past I've used the pad the non-conference method to build up teams, I'm trying to really limit myself.

Year 7 - 2018

November 2018

We lose out on a couple recruits we wanted but signed 2-star center Daniel Holliday from Illinois. He has blue square potential according to our scout, he has A potential for INS and B potential for HND, DRB, and PSD. Here is our rotation:

C: Jerald Maxwell, Jr., 6'9"
PF: Adam Shaw, Sr., 6'7" (7p, 10r)
SF: Walker Gladden, Jr., 6'5" (12p, 6r)
SG: Davis Hale, So., 6'3" (7p, 3r)
PG: Douglas Carl, So., 5'11" (9p, 3a)
6th: Brendon Watkins, So., 6'5" (3p)
7th: Bill Erickson, Fr., 6'6"
8th: Shannon Taylor, Fr., 5'11"
9th: Ernest Anderson, Fr., 6'2"
10th: Robert Pride, Fr., 6'3"

• We lead all game against Southern Miss but go the final 3 minutes without scoring, Gladden had 17 points and 12 boards.
• We go on a big run in the 2nd half to take the lead and never look back against DePaul, Gladden had 18 points and 5 boards.
• As expected we get drilled by Utah State, Hale had 16 points and 7 boards.
• Purdue beats us with a bucket with 13 seconds left, we led the entire game and blew it. Gladden had 24 but missed a jumper with a chance to win it.

Tough month, losing 2 games we could've won but I'm optimistic that this might not be as bad as I thought we'd be. Gladden is averaging 17 points and 8 boards a game.

December 2018

We get a couple surprises as 2-star center Luis Mahon from Oklahoma signs with us, he has A potential for INS and B potential for PSD. 3-star forward Marcus Thorne from Indiana also signs, he picked us over Illinois State! I think our scout is undervaluing him, he has A potential for PSD but dominated the glass in high school.

• We shot 56% from the field in the win at Western Kentucky, Erickson added 15 points off the bench.
• We give SIU-E their first win of the season, for some reason these guys always play us tough. We shot just 7 of 16 from the free throw line.
• Western Michigan beats us on a buzzer beater, Carl had 18 points and 4 assists.
• IUPUI runs us out of the gym, Carl had 17 points.
• Illinois State shoots 54% in the rout, Shaw has 15 points and 13 boards.
• Our offensive funk continues against Western Illinois, Gladden broke out of his slump with 17 points and 8 boards.
• Another horrible 2nd half against Miami (OH), Gladden has 23.
• We killed TN Tech on the boards, 52-13 on our way to a blow win. Gladden had 28 points and 8 boards.
• We blow a double digit lead against Jacksonville State but Gladden finds Hale with 26 seconds left and we hold on for the win. Gladden had 15 points and 10 boards.

Before our last two games I adjusted our tempo setting from 8 to 0 and it seems to be paying off, we'll see what January brings. We currently stand at 4-9 overall and 2-0 in the conference. Gladden is averaging 16 points and 6 boards.

January 2019

• Austin Peay kicks our butts behind 33 points and 9 boards from their big guy. Gladden left the game win a fractured jaw, he will be out for around 2 weeks.
• We shot 30% and got killed on the boards against Tennessee State.
• SEMSU beats us for only the 2nd time in Lewis' career, hopefully Gladden will be back soon because we can't score without him.
• Gladden comes back and we are able to right the ship with the win against Eastern Kentucky. Gladden had 14 points and 9 boards.
• We blow another double digit lead and lose to Morehead State. Gladden had 19 points and 7 boards.
• Murray State pulls away late, Gladden continues to play well adding 20 points. Jerald Maxwell left the game with a sprained ankle, he should be ok for our next game.
• We blow another lead and this time lose in OT to UT-Martin. Gladden led us with 12 points and 7 boards.
• We hand on to beat Tennessee State, we held them to 38% from the field. Carl had 16 points.

We are now 6-15 overall and 4-6 in the conference.

Year 7 - 2018 Continued

February 2019

• We absolutely crush Austin Peay, who was in 1st place . Gladden has a career high 31 points and pulled down 7 boards.
• Another heart breaker as SEMSU hits 2 free throws with 8 seconds left to beat us again. We were 9 of 18 from the free throw line.
• We can't convert with a chance to win it and lose another nail biter, this time to Morehead State. Gladden scores 19 and pulls down 5 boards in the loss.
• We overcame a double digit deficit in the first half and knock off Eastern Kentucky. Gladden scores 20 while Maxwell scores 14 and grabs 10 boards.
• UT-Martin built a 20 point lead by half and we could never get it back to striking distance in the 2nd half. We killed them on the glass but they shot 53% from the field.
• We went on a scoring drought for five minutes against Murray State in the 2nd half and loss again. Gladden scores 21 and pulls down 11 boards in the loss.
• We give Jacksonville State a fight but in the end they were too much. Carl went for 24 in the loss.

We now stand at 8-20 overall and 6-11 in the conference, we need a miracle to qualify for the conference tournament. We are 1 game out with 1 to play.

March 2019

• Tennessee Tech puts us out of our misery with another loss. Maxwell had 12 points and 12 boards.

We finish the season at 8-21, by far the worst season of Lewis' career so far.

OVC Tournament

• Morehead State beats Austin Peay 78-62 to win the Championship.

Postseason

• California beats Texas to win the National Championship.
• Virginia wins the NIT.
• Tennessee wins the CBI.
• Bowling Green wins the CIT.

Awards

Bill Erickson is named to the OVC All-Freshman Team, he averaged 5.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.

Ernest Anderson is also named to the OVC All-Freshman Team, he averaged 4.3 points per game.

Departing Seniors

Ugh 8-21. I hope the recruiting class finds their sealegs for you next year.

Year 8 - 2019

Offseason
Our recruiting class is ranked #179 nationally and #3 in the conference. Holliday and Thorne come in as green square potentials and Mahon is a yellow.

Surprisingly Lewis is offered jobs at Loyola (MD), Arkansas-Little Rock, Santa Clara, Marist, Delware, and Louisiana-Monroe. He turns them all down despite the writing on the wall. He enters season 8 with a Danger rating and will get fired if he doesn't make it to the NCAA Tournament.

November 2019
Shannon Taylor and Luis Mahon are both willing to redshirt this year so we will take them up on it. This will help balance out our classes as well. Our rotation will be as follows:

C: Daniel Holloway, Fr., 6'10"
PF: Jerald Maxwell, Sr., 6'9" (7.6p, 6.3r)
SF: Walker Gladden, Sr., 6'5" (15.5p, 6.3r)
SG: Davis Hale, Jr., 6'3" (9.7p, 4.2r, 3.0a)
PG: Douglas Carl, Jr., 5'11" (10.3p)
6th: Ernest Anderson, So., 6'2" (4.3p)
7th: Robert Pride, So., 6'3"
8th: Brendon Watkins, Jr., 6'6"
9th: Marcus Thorne, Fr., 6'7"
10th: Bill Erickson, So., 6'6" (5.1p, 3.9r)

We will be playing strictly a 2-3 zone this year.

• We get steam rolled by Towson, allowing them to shoot 57% from the field. Gladden has 15 points and 8 rebounds.
• Oklahoma State gives us fits on offense allowing us to shoot just 33% for the game.
• Citadel jumps out early and we have to battle back but can't overcome the early deficit. Gladden has 21 points and 8 rebounds.
• 19 turnovers kills us at #25 DePaul,

Ouch, a painful 0-4 start to the season. Coach Lewis might want to put that house up for sale.

December 2019
We land a nice 3-star center Charles Bilodeau from Illinois. He has B potential for INS, FTS, DRB, and PSD.

• We let up a school record 114 points to Southern Illinois.
• Gladden scores 21 against Iowa State but we let them shoot 50% from the field in the loss.
• Hale has 21 in the loss to IUPUI.
• Gladden scores 30 in the first half on his way to a school record 44 as we end our 11 game losing streak with a win against Western Illinois.
• Gladden misses most of the game due to foul trouble but Hale steps up for 29 points in the win over Illinois-Chicago.
• We get annihilated by Illinois State in a 23-point loss that wasn't even that close.
• Hale has 15 points and 8 rebounds in the loss to Eastern Kentucky.
• We pull off a comeback of our own against Morehead State and get the win behind 19 points and 8 rebounds from Gladden.

We ended the month winning 3 out of the last 5 to finish 3-9 overall and 1-1 in the conference heading into January. Coach Lewis looks like he will be tightening up the rotation to try and maximize his talent.

January 2020

• Gladden scores 26 in the loss to Tennessee Tech.
• Defensive struggles continue in the loss to Jacksonville State, Gladden scores 25.
• Hale has 19 points and 11 boards in the win over UT-Martin.
• We shot just 25% from the field in the loss to Murray State.
• Austin Peay kills us on the boards and we lose again.
• We make a furious comeback to take the lead 65-64 but then lose 70-65 to Tennessee State.
• Gladden has 28 and somehow we manage to upset Gonzaga in a non-conference game.
• Hale and Gladden combine for 36 in the win against SEMSU.
• We get an offensive explosion and run past Jacksonville State - Gladden, Hale, and Carl each score over 19. Thorne dislocates his shoulder and it looks like he will miss most of the remainder of the season.

We end the month strong again, this time with a 3-game winning streak. We are now 7-14 overall and 4-6 in the conference. We have some work to do to at least get into the conference tournament.

February 2020

• We manage to blow a 14-2 start and lose to a bad Tennessee Tech team for the 2nd time this season. Gladden had 23 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists.
• It takes everything we have in us to not blow a 20 point lead against Murray State and we barely hold on for the win.
• With Gladden in foul trouble the rest of the starting lineup combines for 69 points in the win at UT-Martin.
• We get a beat down by the hands of Tennessee State on our home court.
• Hale and Gladden combine for 36 in the win against Austin Peay.
• We hammer SEMSU behind Holliday's 14 points and 10 rebounds.
• We go ice cold late and lose to Eastern Kentucky.
• We get a hard fought road win at Morehead State, Gladden had 19 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists.

We are now 12-17 overall and 9-9 in the conference and qualify for the conference tournament.

OVC Tournament
We end up with the #7 seed in the tournament, while Murray State is the #1 and Morehead State is the #2. We have beat both teams this season.

• We pull off a mild upset and beat #2 seed Morehead State in the first round behind 21 points from Gladden.
• We lead by 8 then went ice cold and next thing you know were down by 20 and lose to Austin Peay.
• Austin Peay goes on to beat Murray State 72-64 to win the conference tournament.

Postseason

• Texas beats Oklahoma to win the National Championship.
• Illinois wins the NIT.
• Weber State wins the CBI.
• St. Francis (NY) wins the CIT.

Awards

Walker Gladden is named to 2nd Team All-OVC after averaging 17.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.

Davis Hale is also named to 2nd Team All-OVC after averaging 12.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game.

Departing Seniors

Gladden leaves as the school's all-time leading scorer.

After 8 years of what seemed like torture at times Coach Lewis has decided to call it quits. The program seemed to have a lot of talent but not alot to show for it lately and its back to the drawing board for me.

I'll likely start again with a different philosophy. I to often ignored defense and it killed some of my very good teams.

It was fun while it lasted :)

I think I may start a D2 career soon