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08-29-2024, 01:30 PM
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#1 | ||
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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Coach Toby Whittaker: Audet Somniare, Parat Laborare (FBCB)
Hi again, everyone.
I had so much fun with my Graham Sims dynasty for Fast Break College Basketball that I decided to return to this wonderful game for another story. The laptop on which I played Coach Sims' save has been retired, and I installed a "clean" copy of FBCB on my new computer. I've spent some time over the past month or so editing the database to create the college basketball world in which my new story will take place. Our main character will be Coach Toby Whittaker, whose career had just begun when my story ended. I've magically turned the clock back three decades or so, giving Coach Whittaker a chance to begin his career in the 2010s. I've added two conferences to Division I for this story: the New England Conference and the Centennial Conference. Both leagues are closely based on real Division III conferences. Here's a look at their membership: New England Conference: Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Hamilton, Middlebury, Trinity, Tufts, Wesleyan, Williams. Centennial Conference: Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, Gettysburg, Haverford, Johns Hopkins, McDaniel, Muhlenberg, Swarthmore, Ursinus, Washington (MD). Our story will begin in the spring of 2013. Coach Whittaker is 25 years old. He grew up in Falls Church, Virginia, and after a successful high school career at St. Stephens & St. Agnes School, Toby walked on at the University of Virginia. In his four years in Charlottesville, he saw just over 100 minutes of court time in 19 appearances. He completed his B.A. in History with the Class of 2010. Toby knew his talent would take him only so far as a player. He was still in high school when he first expressed his interest in coaching, and his coaches at UVA encouraged and fostered his interest in the profession. Head coach Tom Schumann offered Toby a position as a graduate assistant, and for two seasons, Coach Whittaker worked on the Cavaliers' staff while he completed his M.A. in Higher Education. Now, Coach Whittaker is teaching and coaching at St. Anne's-Belfield School in Charlottesville. While he loves what he's doing, he dreams of heading a college program of his own one day. As the 2013/14 season begins, we join Coach Whittaker as he waits for an opportunity to enter the Division I coaching ranks. Game Notes: I added about 250 high schools to my game's database, mostly independent schools from the Northeast and Middle Atlantic states. I let a random number generator choose the school where Coach Whittaker is coaching high school ball; it picked STAB, and I constructed Toby's backstory from there. The Latin motto of the title roughly translates to "He dares to dream, he prepares to work." My apologies to my high school Latin teacher if my translation is a bit off.  Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 08-30-2024 at 01:41 PM. |
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08-29-2024, 01:41 PM
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#2 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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I'll begin the tale of Coach Whittaker's universe by fast-simming through a season or two, or three, or four. At the end of each season, I'll look at the offers Toby has received. If one of them looks like a good fit for him, I'll have him take it.
Coach Whittaker will begin his career as a Level 5 coach. That will make him roughly as talented as the coaches at most smaller programs. For example, all the coaches in the Centennial and New England Conferences are Level 5. |
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08-29-2024, 01:48 PM
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#3 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Cincinnati, OH
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Following...
__________________
Email: [email protected] |
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08-29-2024, 05:34 PM
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#4 | |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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Quote:
It'll be great to have you along, Chas! Hopefully Coach Whittaker's story will be as much fun as Coach Sims' was. Toby has landed his first job, and I'll be back soon to set the stage for the beginning of his coaching journey. |
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08-30-2024, 01:17 PM
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#5 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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May 1, 2019
Toby Whittaker was announced today as the new head men's basketball coach at Amherst.  The Mammoths have struggled throughout the six-year history of my universe. Code:
A 58-126 mark over those six seasons cost coach Donny Baker his job. The resulting loss of Prestige--from 12 to 9--has dropped Amherst to the tenth-lowest mark in all of Division I. Coach Whittaker has quite a job ahead of him. |
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08-30-2024, 01:41 PM
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#6 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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May 1, 2019
I couldn't afford to spend more than $30,000/year on assistant coaches' salaries, but I ended up being able to find three coaches I'm fairly happy with.  Our staff is at least as good as most of the other programs in the New England Conference. Forrest Gill is a Level 1 coach, and the Davids are both Level 0. |
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08-30-2024, 09:06 PM
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#7 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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July 1, 2019
Recruiting season is about to begin. We have $7,819 to spend each month, and we have four scholarships to offer. We will have to concentrate our efforts on players who live close to home. After projecting our depth chart for the next two years, I've identified our recruiting priorities. We need a big man and a point guard who will be ready to step in right away. We need another big man with whom we could be patient, and we could probably use a wing. Ideally, they'll all be good defenders--we're way too easy to score against--but the PG absolutely must be. |
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08-30-2024, 09:51 PM
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#8 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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August 1, 2019
Amherst has recruited about as successfully as you'd expect a school with ratings for 9 in Prestige and 10 in Facilities, and a budget of less than $10K/month to do. There are 367 Division I schools in our universe. The Mammoths' recruiting classes have ranked #338, #367, #313, #317, #168, and #356 (the class that placed last had no recruits). The Mammoths have signed two three-star players, both arriving via the JUCO ranks with the Class of 2018. If Coach Whittaker is going to raise the standard of the Amherst program, he'll need to attract more players of this quality. One very promising prospect, New York big man Richard Zamudio, expressed Very High interest last month. I liked his stats (23.6 PPG, 9.8 RPG, #196 national ranking) so much that I offered him a scholarship right away. Unfortunately, Richard caught the eye of at least five more prestigious programs, all of whom offered him, too. Richard took us completely out of his top five list, so we'll probably move along. We're in better shape with another post player, three-star center Carson Shears. Code:
In a perfect world, Carson would be a better defender than he projects to be. He's got some good inside moves, however, and he's comfortable handling the ball. He's worth keeping an eye on, and he likes us a lot. Josiah Pennington is a 6'4" wing with a lethal jump shot and a willingness to challenge the opposing team's best player on defense. Code:
Nobody has offered Josiah a scholarship yet, but we're about to change that. We'll also recruit him heavily; until I look at the finances more closely, I don't know how heavily. The most intriguing defensively-talented point guard on our list is Doyle Cannon. Code:
I decide to bring Shears, Pennington, and Cannon to campus for a visit, and I also invite another big man, Michael Grigsby. Coach Whittaker will visit Cannon, and his recruiting assistant, David Getty, will visit Shears. We can't afford to do anything else. Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 08-31-2024 at 02:50 PM. |
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08-30-2024, 10:07 PM
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#9 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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September 1, 2019
I'm pleased with how our recruiting efforts went last month. Carson Shears still has us at the top of his list, and none of his other favorites have made him an offer. The same is true of Josiah Pennington. We'll be in a battle for the commitment of Doyle Cannon, who holds offers from Yale, Amherst, Trinity, and Colby. That's how Doyle ranks the four programs right now. The most promising news of all might be coming from very, very close to home. Local boy Michael Grigsby looks like he could be a great fit for us. Code:
I'm sending Coach Whittaker to visit all four of the guys who hold offers from us. I can afford to send Coach Getty to the Cannon residence, taking what might be one last shot to pry Doyle out of the clutches of Yale. Wish us luck... Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 08-30-2024 at 10:07 PM. |
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08-30-2024, 10:19 PM
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#10 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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October 1, 2019
Oh, dear. First, the good news. Carson Shears still likes us best. We're the only program who has offered him a scholarship, so that might be the reason why. Still, I'm high on him, and I hope we get good news from him on Decision Day next month. Two of our other targets had their heads turned by offers from more prestigious programs. Wesleyan (Prestige 20) is courting Josiah Pennington. Bates (Prestige 20) is trying to lure Michael Grigsby away from his hometown school. And Doyle Cannon has cut his list to two, but we still trail Yale (Prestige 26). Pennington and Grigsby have lowered their expressed interest in us to High. Is it worth pursuing these three guys any longer? There are quite a few players on our call list who don't have any offers in hand, and several of them don't have any program on their list but Amherst. Unfortunately, they look about as good as the guys who would sign up as walk-ons. What should I do? I have some thinking to do, don't I? |
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08-31-2024, 08:16 AM
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#11 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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October 1, 2019
After thinking over our position a little more, I took a closer look at the players on our call list. I had been asking myself "Are they good enough to dominate the NEC?, and if my answer was "I don't think so," I was disregarding them. That wasn't a very helpful attitude. Amherst is one of the least significant programs in the country right now. Now, when I look at a recruit, I'm asking myself "Can he do anything that can make us a better team?" Even if that "thing" is "give us a better option for ten minutes off the bench," that's an improvement. I acquired that mindset honestly; it was the result of my experience with my last FBCB save. Graham Sims' first recruiting class at Lafayette contained Rhett King, Venceslás Castillo, Hubert Song, and James Sanders. The recruiting rankings gave King one star, Castillo two, and Song and Sanders three each. That four-man class gave the Leopards 394 starts and 13,078 minutes of basketball. They earned seven spots on the All-Patriot League teams between them, each of them gaining that recognition at least once. Sanders, the Big Colonel, was Patriot League Player of the Year twice and a professional draft pick. Coach Sims' first recruiting class transformed the Lafayette program and propelled him into a Hall of Fame coaching career. I'm in a very different position now. When Coach Sims started at Lafayette, the Leopards' Prestige was 27, and Coach Sims was 10 points better at Recruiting than Coach Whittaker is now. I can't expect to attract players as highly regarded as those in Coach Sims' first class. But, on the other hand, Coach Sims and I found a hidden gem in one-star Rhett King, the original rebounding/shot blocking/defending Blue Collar Man. If I can mine more King-like treasures, who do two or three things well, Amherst will start winning more games. I decided to stick with the four players I had offered for one more month, because I discovered some guys on my list who seem to be able to do a few basketball things fairly well and who don't have any interest in playing for anyone but us. If our first choices turn us down, I'll pursue some of these backup plans. |
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08-31-2024, 10:36 AM
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#12 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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November 1, 2019
Decision Day Today, Carson Shears becomes the first recruit of the Toby Whittaker era at Amherst. Carson's potential as a shot blocker, an inside scorer, and a forceful rebounder--especially on the defensive glass--should earn him significant playing time as a freshman. Welcome to the Amherst family, Carson! Josiah Pennington announces his commitment to Wesleyan, but our other two targets are still making up their minds. Michael Grigsby still prefers Bates and Doyle Cannon still lists Yale first, but we remain in the running for their signatures. Should I give them another month's worth of recruiting effort, or should I move on? Shears' commitment checks one item off our "to-do list," a big man who should contribute early. We really need a lockdown perimeter defender; is there a likely candidate on our call list? Bryan Currin is a promising option. He's a rangy, 6'4" guard from New York with a secure handle and the potential to develop into a good shooter and a fairly good defender. We're the only team on Bryan's list. When I look at the players who have some interest in playing for us whom we haven't contacted, I see a few intriguing players. One of them is an Aussie point guard named Claude Audley, who averages almost four steals per game. He might be worth considering. There's also Hans Fluegel, a "small" forward from Germany who packs 253 pounds on a 6'6" frame. His stat line suggests a versatile player who, not surprisingly, is comfortable playing close to the basket. Evaluating Audley and Fluegel would cost us more than half of our recruiting budget. Neither of them have been spotted by any other programs yet. I've decided to take one more shot at signing Grigsby and Cannon. We'll also offer a scholarship to Currin, and invite him to campus for a visit. I've added Fluegel and Audley to our call list, and we'll evaluate them next month, when we have the funds to do so. Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 08-31-2024 at 02:51 PM. |
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08-31-2024, 11:36 AM
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#13 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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Here's the roster for the 2019/2020 Amherst Mammoths:
Code:
How did their first training camp with Coach Whittaker go? Code:
The team's star is senior point guard Jesse Scott. He's a highly skilled ballhandler and a creative passer, and he significantly improved both aspects of his game in camp. Jesse is one of the few Green players in the NEC, and we expect him to be among the league's top guards. He averaged 5.1 APG last season; don't be surprised if he surpasses that mark this year. He'll be joined in the backcourt by junior Perry Jordan. Perry has started 61 games for the Mammoths, the most of any player on the roster. He's been a potent scorer; he averaged 16.1 PPG and should score his 1000th career point before the New Year. We'll have to keep an eye on Perry's academic standing, because he's a fairly indifferent student. Senior Matthew Kennedy will start at small forward. Like Scott, he arrived as a JUCO transfer last season, and he made an impact from Day One with his scoring. Matthew is especially deadly from behind the arc (37.9% last season). His 14.2 PPG was second on the team. Drew Lehr started 19 games last season, and he'll return to the starting five at power forward for his senior year. He's an aggressive rebounder, and he led the team with 7.8 RPG in 2019. Drew has some post moves in his toolbox, but he's a weak defender and a weak student. Seven-foot sophomore Pierre Chauvin will be the starting center for the second straight season. Despite his Francophone name, he's from just across the border in eastern New York. Pierre's offensive ability and a knack for blocking shots sets him apart from the other bigs on our roster. We're much deeper in the backcourt than we are up front. Junior David McQuiston and sophomore Alan Rasberry are the most talented reserves, but they'll possibly find playing time scarce with Scott and Jordan ahead of them. McQuiston is the better shooter and defender; Rasberry the better distributor. The best of the reserve bigs is Dominic Moss. The redshirt junior started 12 games last year. He's a superb rebounder who averaged 7 boards per game last season. First years Spencer Lund and Anseleme Catoire are raw, but at least one of them will have to play. Lèon Hespel can provide an offensive boost off the bench. Catoire and Hespel are French imports. The fact that last year's 12-win team was almost the best in Amherst history says a lot about the program. The Mammoths return all five players from last year's preferred starting lineup, so there's a chance we might be better this time around. Our AD expects us to avoid last place in the league, and I feel fairly confident of our chances to do that. I'd be delighted with a .500 season and a winning record in the NEC. Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 08-31-2024 at 11:37 AM. |
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08-31-2024, 12:56 PM
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#14 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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November 17, 2019
Code:
We recovered from the shock of a 7-0 run by the Mules that sent the game into overtime, winning the extra period 14-6. Record: 1-0. November 21, 2019 Code:
Matthew Kennedy once again lights up the scoreboard, but it's the all-around excellence of Pierre Chauvin that makes him the PotG. We score in the nineties again...without much contribution from Perry Jordan, who is 2-for-16 from behind the arc. Perry entered the season shooting 40 percent from deep for his career, so I'm not concerned yet. Record: 2-0. November 24, 2019 Code:
Perry Jordan begins to awaken from his offensive slump, and Matthew Kennedy continues to find the basket with regularity. Meanwhile, Drew Lehr is averaging a double-double; he steps up tonight to cover for a rough night from Pierre Chauvin. Record: 3-0. November 29, 2019 Code:
The Wildcats do a much better job defending us, holding us to 21-for-65 shooting and 5-for-21 from three-point range. We're going to have to tighten up defensively, or we'll find ourselves losing to teams, like tonight's opponent, who can slow our roll. Record: 3-1. |
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08-31-2024, 09:55 PM
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#15 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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December 1, 2019
Persistence pays off this time, as Doyle Cannon announces his commitment to play for us today! If we've scouted Doyle's defensive ability accurately, he would be the second-best perimeter defender on the team right now. Unless we've mis-evaluated him really badly, he'll be good enough to join our backcourt rotation from Day One. Michael Grigsby is still making up his mind. He continues to prefer Bates, and he rates his interest in our program as High. Bryan Currin is also still waiting to decide, although we're the only program he has on his list. I'm looking forward to seeing what our scout sees in Claude Audley and Hans Fluegel, both of whom we're paying the money to evaluate this month. Both are given only one star by the recruiting experts, but (1) they could be wrong and (2) even if they're not, Claude and Hans might still be very useful players. If Michael and Bryan commit next month, it might not matter. |
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09-03-2024, 11:03 AM
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#16 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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December 1, 2019
Code:
All five starters make significant contributions, especially Pierre Chauvin, who does a little bit of everything. Record: 4-1. December 7, 2019 Code:
Matthew Kennedy is electric, the big men play well, and Jesse Scott leads the band like a maestro. More of this, please. Record: 5-1. December 9, 2019 Code:
Matthew Kennedy moves into 9th place on the national scoring leaderboard with another productive game. He's the NEC's leading scorer; we also boast the top rebounder (Drew Lehr) and assist man (Jesse Scott). Our seniors are playing like men, and that bodes well for our continued success. Record: 6-1. December 11, 2019 Code:
They miss Lèon Hespel's five points in five minutes and an eye-popping dunk from Dominic Moss, but they probably wouldn't have enjoyed those events anyway. I wonder if we'll appear in the Mid-Major poll next week? Record: 7-1. |
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09-07-2024, 01:09 AM
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#17 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Looking forward to my annual return to this game in the fall.
__________________
FBCB / FPB3 Mods |
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