A Pennsylvania Story (DDS: CB)

[MoonlightGraham]

Hi, everybody. I'm Graham. I'm back with an idea for a dynasty report that I think will be fun.

I've played Wolverine Sports' games for a while now. While I've enjoyed all of them, my favorite is their Draft Day Sports: College Basketball game. My wife and daughter bought me the latest edition of the game for Christmas, and today I have my first real chance to enjoy it.

At first, I thought I'd write the usual "coach begins at small school and tries to work his way up to a national powerhouse" story. I do enjoy playing this kind of career, but this time I decided to approach it from a different angle.

My coach will spend his entire career coaching in a single state. He won't apply for, or accept, a job offer outside that state's borders.

Which state will I choose? It needs to be home to many Division I programs. Ideally, those programs would be diverse, ranging from very small to mid-major to power conference programs.

I've lived all my life in the mid-Atlantic area, and both sides of my family live on the East Coast. So, while California and Texas offer the largest number of possible teams, I eliminated them from consideration, simply because I'm not as familiar with them Apologies to any Californians or Texans in the audience.

North Carolina was a tempting choice. There's a really good mix of programs and conferences represented among the 18 schools located there. If I were a bigger fan of one of the North Carolina teams besides Davidson, I'd have chosen them.

I ended up choosing Pennsylvania.

Within the commonwealth's borders are 14 Division I programs to choose from:


Three iconic conferences--the ACC, the Big Ten, and the Big East--contain a team from the Keystone State. Seven other leagues contain at least one Pennsylvania school. There are programs with low prestige, and one of the most highly rated programs in the country. A wide range of stories could play out in a career that takes place entirely within Pennsylvania.

I'll be back to introduce you to our protagonist and to announce where he'll begin his coaching journey. I hope we'll all enjoy the story!

[MoonlightGraham]

Let's meet the main character of our story: Coach Graham Sims.



I decided to create Coach Sims with an Average rating, with the potential to grow into a very accomplished coach before he hangs up his whistle. My objective here isn't to "beat the game." I'm telling a story here, and I want to give my protagonist a chance to succeed. His dream job is Villanova, and I want him to be good enough to dream.

You may notice some contract terms on Coach Sims's profile. He's landed his first head coaching job...at Lehigh University!

Lehigh is located in Bethlehem, PA. The Mountain Hawks play their home games in the 6,000-seat Stabler Arena.


The Mountain Hawks' new man is developing a reputation as a solid defensive coach. He's also a hard-working, persuasive recruiter.



Sims is an even-tempered coach who places a very high emphasis on the academic development of his players. He's uncomfortable with the darker arts of his profession. The most distinguishing characteristic of his coaching style is his reliance on a solid man-to-man defense.



Coach Sims' assistants are pretty good, by Patriot League standards. All of them share their boss's insistence on maintaining the team's academic standards. They don't see eye to eye when it comes to their preferred pace of play. Danielson wants to run and gun, while James prefers to take it slow. Arrington shares Sims' preference for something between the two extremes.

Next, we'll take a look at the players Coach Sims will lead into action during the 2021-22 season.

[MoonlightGraham]

Here's the roster Coach Sims inherits as he begins his career at Lehigh:



The Mountain Hawks are led by a pair of seniors: guard Ray Shelton and center Todd Adams.

Shelton, a blade-thin lead guard, could be as good as any player in the Patriot League. He is a reliable ballhandler with a deadly jumper and plenty of athleticism.

Adams is a formidable presence in the post. He's a strong rebounder at both ends of the floor, and he can score with a variety of inside moves.

Junior Jeremy Wallace will start at the other guard spot. Nominally a point guard, Wallace's game is a lot like Ray Shelton's, at a slightly less accomplished level.

Darius Smith, the other wing, is a fairly good shooter, although he lacks a scorer's mentality. He is quite athletic and is considered a team leader.

The fifth starter will be forward Justin Shelton, no relation to Ray. Justin is primarily a perimeter player, despite his 6'8" frame. Sims and his staff consider him a potential star, with two seasons remaining to reach that potential.

Guard Damian Welch and small forward Clyde Camby are probably the most game-ready players on Sims's bench, but they're juniors, and they are what they are. A trio of highly-regarded first years: Jeremy Haynes, Alex Richardson, and Ryan Seek round out the Mountain Hawks' predicted rotation. Haynes and Richardson, in particular, are touted as future stars.

[MoonlightGraham]

June 26, 2021

I've always enjoyed recruiting players in DDS:CB. There are a number of changes to the recruiting process in this year's edition, and I'm slowly getting used to them.

Much of the story of Coach Sims's 2021-22 season will focus on recruiting, since the players who will take the court this season were inherited from his successor. This will be Coach Sims's first chance to put his stamp on the Lehigh program.

The Mountain Hawks have three available scholarships to give out during this recruiting cycle. The first thing I did was create a simple chart, showing the players already in the program, listed by class and position. Their star ratings are provided, too.

Here's how the roster looks right now:

Players listed in italics are walk-ons.

It's easy to see that the biggest need this year will be a small forward, preferably one who is ready to start from Day One. Clyde Camby is a junior, and while he has some upside, he's far from a finished product. He might never be better than a rotation player. Kurt Grant, on the other hand, might never amount to much.

The next priority will be a big man. Alex Richardson's potential should allow us a bit more flexibility, as Alex projects to be a starter for us before he's done.

We also have a spot open for a guard. Jeremy Wallace will probably start at the two guard this season, and he can stay there next year if Jeremy Haynes is ready to run the offense. We can look at guards with a variety of qualities this year.

And, because the transfer portal has been added to this edition of the game, we could possibly save a scholarship for a veteran newcomer.

Coach Sims wants to create a team that is very, very hard to score against. I'll be looking for players with the ability and desire to defend tenaciously. We'll see how that goes as the recruiting season gets underway.

[MoonlightGraham]

We began our recruiting efforts by contacting players who indicated an interest in our program, unless their grades were suspect. A player needs a 980 SAT score to be admitted to Lehigh, and Coach Sims will be in trouble if any of his players end up academically ineligible. No player's interest in playing for us is better than Cool at this point in the recruiting cycle.

July 4, 2021
PF Antione Graves visited us this week. He's a slender, 6'7" slasher from nearby Easton. He's an excellent shooter with range and a very good rebounder. He's not a good defender (D), but we'll keep an eye on him.

We liked what we saw from C Vince Robertson on film. He is a massive young man--6'11", 306 pounds--with the inside presence you'd expect from a player his size. He demonstrated the best defensive awareness of anyone whose film we saw. He'll visit us this coming week, along with PF Tyrone Greene and SF B.J. Coffey, the first wing who's caught our eye.


July 11, 2021
Greene and Coffey enjoyed their visits, but Robertson was unimpressed. He still has us third on his list, however, and neither Greene nor Coffey have us in their top ten.

We didn't take a look at SF Barry Kelly right away, because we were a bit concerned about his 2.8 GPA at North Catholic High in Pittsburgh. But after evaluating Barry's film, we began to recruit him in earnest. He looks like a very capable defender with a scorer's mentality. The ranking services aren't impressed; he's ranked #351 among players at his position nationally. Have we discovered a sleeper? We'll bring him to campus this week for a visit.

We also broadened our search to include players who hadn't yet expressed an interest in our program. One of them, SG Ricky Shipley, a two-star talent from Killingly, CT, is coming for a visit. We'll also host another in-state big man, 6'10" Nick Childs.


July 18, 2021
Childs was more impressed with our program than Kelly or Shipley, but Ricky updated his recruiting profile to let us know he's interested. And even though he wasn't dazzled by his trip to campus, Kelly put us fourth on his top ten list.

We continue to text all the players we've brought in for campus visits. We've also established a connection with two talented wing players, SG Marlo Redd and SF Byron Locklier. Byron is from Wilmington, DE, and he's told us he'd like to play close to home. Academics is important to Redd, a Virginia product with a 4.0 GPA. Once the next evaluation period begins in a week or so, we'll step up our efforts to recruit both these players.

We haven't offered scholarships to any players yet. If we had to choose today, we'd make an offer to big Vince Robertson. We'd take a long shot at Ricky Shipley, and we'd bet on Barry Kelly. If Redd or Locklier will visit, things could change...and that's why we haven't made our offers yet.

[MoonlightGraham]

July 25, 2021
We're very happy with the three players who will be visiting campus this week. Byron Locklier is a rangy wing who plays sound defense. Bruising PF Tyron Durham, from just down the road in Newark, DE, will join him. They're both three-star players--admittedly reaches for our program, but why not take the opportunity to sell ourselves?

And while we're reaching, why not reach a bit farther? SG JaTavion Gravitt from Reading, PA, is listed among the top 200 players nationally. When we saw he'd listed us among the schools he's interested in, we invited him to campus.


July 30, 2021
This week we attended the one summer camp on our schedule. The Big Apple Showcase is the Atlantic East regional camp. We knew we'd see Locklier, Durham, and Gravitt there, and we also began recruiting six players whom we saw for the first time at the Showcase. The quality they share is an attention to detail when they're playing defense.


July 31, 2021
None of the three visits went well. Locklier, Durham, and Gravitt all downgraded us to "No Interest." I suppose this is what happens when we try to punch above our weight.

We close out the month by making our first scholarship offer, to Barry Kelly. We still believe he's better than the national "experts" do.

We really like two of the three players who are visiting this week. Nick Walker, a 6'7" forward from Richmond, VA, is built like a tight end. His 238 pounds of muscle allow him to do work down low, and he also flashes a nifty mid-range game.

Steve Spurgeon is from Woodbridge, NJ. Like Walker, we spotted him at the Big Apple Showcase. He didn't impress the big shots there, but we saw in him a player who could help us. A 6'5" wing, Steve isn't tremendously athletic, but he can score both inside and out and he works hard on defense.


August 7, 2021
Nick Walker's visit went very well, but when the national rankings were updated, he absolutely blew up. Now he's among the top 100 players in the country, and those guys don't usually end up in the Patriot League.

On the other hand, the experts fell out of love with Steve Spurgeon. He enjoyed his time on campus, which ended with a scholarship offer.


August 21, 2021
As the fall contact program approaches, we make an offer to big Vince Robertson. He tells us we're in his top three--we're in fact second on his list--but we've discovered Vince won't be calling the shots when it comes time to pick a school. His parents will have a lot to say about his decision.

[MoonlightGraham]

September 11, 2021
The five weekends between September 11 and October 7 will be absolutely crucial to our recruiting cycle. Each week, we can visit up to four players at their homes and deliver our recruiting pitches. Coach Sims is a very good recruiter for his level, and he'll be assisted by his first assistant, Jaret Arrington.

Naturally, we'll visit the three players who have received scholarship offers. We point out to Barry Kelly and Steve Spurgeon how good it will be to remain close to home. We emphasize our strong academic program to Big Vince Robertson, a 4.0 student at Lower Dauphin High School. Hopefully we'll be able to seal the deal with these young men and their families this week.

We can afford to visit a fourth player, so after some deliberation, we head down to Bristol, VA to the home of Clinton Lewis and his family. We first spotted Clinton back in July, when we looked at a listing of players in our region with the best academic credentials. His 4.0 average definitely met that criterion. When we looked at his film, we saw a well-rounded guard with the ability to run his team's offense and create shots for himself. He also showed us a commitment to his defensive responsibilities. He's mentioned he wants to remain close to home. Bristol is about 500 miles from Bethlehem. We wonder if that's close enough? We pitch our academic reputation to the Lewis family.


September 18, 2021
Our trip down the Blue Ridge to visit Clinton Lewis goes very well. We're now #3 on his list.

Vince Robertson upgrades his interest in Lehigh to Warm. We're at the top of his list, and things are looking good.

And Steve Spurgeon sent us the email that every coach wants to see...



The Cool/Warm/Hot interest level scale is new to the DDS:CB series (at least for me), but I have to feel that when a recruit turns up the scale to Hot, he's getting ready to commit. That's what Steve does after our visit.

All along, we've figured we had a great shot at landing Barry Kelly, whose ranking among players in the Atlantic East region has remained in the high 300s all summer long. He was the first player to receive an offer from us, and we've kept recruiting him steadily, even as we've also looked at more highly rated players.

After we visit Barry and his family, he tells us he can't see himself playing for us. We wish him the best, withdraw our offer, and move along.

I bet you can tell what we do with the newly-open scholarship offer.

We turn around and extend it to Clinton Lewis.

This week, we visit Lewis, Spurgeon, and Robertson again, and travel across the Delaware to the home of PF Jamie Robinson. We know Vince's parents want their 300-pound baby boy to stay close to home, so we pitch location to them this time.


September 25, 2021



Good news! I'll tell you more about these players once their letters of intent are on file. They're both good students--Lewis, in particular--so they shouldn't have a problem scoring 980 on the SAT and earning admission.

We visit Vince Robertson and his family again. He keeps telling us we're number one on his list, but he won't commit. We are starting to worry about this one.

Jamie Robinson commits to Delaware, so he's no longer a great option.

We visit Nick Walker this week, too. And now that Big Vince's hesitation has convinced us to look at other bigs, we head up to New Hampshire to pay a call to Al Wolfe. Al's not quite as large as Vince (6'10, 277 pounds), but he's still a force to be reckoned with. He's fallen in the national rankings and lost the third star he had in September, probably due to a lack of athleticism. We see a skilled big who looks to score with a wide array of post moves, a very good passer, and a responsible defender.

If the Robertsons dither much more, we'll hand that offer to Al Wolfe and never look back.

[Young Drachma]

following!

[MoonlightGraham]

@Young Drachma: Thanks for stopping by. I hope I can give you a story that's fun to follow.


October 2, 2021
Vince Robertson emails to tell us that his parents weren't impressed. They think there are better options for him, and want him to meet some other coaches. We're Vince's top choice, but I don't suppose that matters to his parents. We withdraw our offer, and wish him the best of luck.

This hurts, because Vince offers something that very, very few of the big men we're recruiting have: a good defensive rating. I want to make defensive excellence part of the DNA of our program, so a good grade for defense is one of the first things I look for in a recruit. Big Vince's grade is C-, which is actually not bad for the players we can realistically attract to our program.

We offer a scholarship to Al Wolfe. We think he's an even better defender than Robertson, grading him at B+ Right now, Al isn't showing a tremendous amount of interest in us. He's the only big we're all that thrilled about right now. We'll look at some other big men, hoping to find a sleeper, because there's really no Plan B for that spot right now.

Practice begins today, so it's time to set up our practice plan. Here it is:



Our veteran players know the 5 Out offense well. Apparently, it's what Coach Sims's predecessor ran. I'm phasing it out, because I want to make better use of Todd Adams's ability as an inside scorer.


November 13, 2021
There hasn't been much to report lately. Practice seems to be going well; the first year players are already twice as proficient with our Motion offense as they were a month ago.

We continue to recruit Al Wolfe. I'm concerned that he has us at #6 on his list, but his interest in our program is now Warm. His high school coach tells us he's a great leader, on and off the court.

None of the other big men whose film we've evaluated impress us much. For now, it's ride-or-die with Al.

Coach Sims makes his coaching debut on November 16, when Canisius visits Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks are picked to finish fifth in the Patriot League.



In case you haven't memorized all ten Patriot League logos, here's the projected finishing order:

1. Holy Cross
2. Army
3. Navy
4. Bucknell
5. Lehigh
6. Lafayette
7. American
8. Colgate
9. Loyola (MD)
10. Boston University

[Chas in Cinti]

Following!

[MoonlightGraham]

@Chas in Cinti: Thanks for following! I've had fun with the game and the story so far. I hope any of you who are reading are enjoying it, too.

November 16, 2021
Lehigh 84, Canisius 63
Coach Sims's debut is a smashing success, as the Mountain Hawks roll to a surprisingly easy victory at Stabler Arena. Guards Ray Shelton and Jeremy Wallace combine to shoot 22-25 from the floor, making 8 of 10 threes. Shelton finishes with 28 points, Wallace with 24.


November 19, 2021
Today, we officially welcome Steve Spurgeon and Clinton Lewis to the Lehigh basketball family! They sign their letters of intent this morning.





Spurgeon has been a productive scorer at Woodbridge (NJ) High School, and not simply because he’s more athletic than anyone else on the floor. The mechanics of his jumper are solid, and he’s shown some ability to get to the rim. Steve also demonstrates the ability and the desire to play hard-nosed defense. Nominally a shooting guard, we’ll probably shift him to small forward once he arrives on campus next year.





Lewis is an even more explosive scorer than Spurgeon, making use of his impressive quickness and bounce to score in transition and scoring from range with a smooth release. His handle and passing ability aren’t ideal for a point guard at the next level, but he has the offensive chops to play the two. Clinton is also a fundamentally sound defender.

We’re very excited about these two players. Their national rankings–two stars–don’t seem impressive at first sight, but no program in the Patriot League has signed any player ranked more highly.

Lewis is exactly the kind of guard we were looking for. He should be able to join our rotation as a freshman, and with Wallace and Jeremy Haynes on the roster, we won’t need Clinton to run our offense.

Spurgeon should fill our need for a wing player who can compete for playing time as soon as he arrives on campus. In a perfect world he’d be two inches taller, but when we saw his scouting grades, we moved quickly to recruit him.

Both Lewis and Spurgeon should help make our team increasingly difficult to score against.

[Young Drachma]

That D rating and shooting one from Spurgeon is really nice

[MoonlightGraham]

Originally Posted by Young Drachma

That D rating and shooting one from Spurgeon is really nice

I didn't start recruiting Spurgeon until Coach Sims went to the Big Apple Showcase at the end of July. I'm almost positive Steve was a three-star recruit then, and I hadn't felt confident in our program's ability to attract a player with that high a national ranking. Once we saw him, we moved quickly, and offered him within a week.

Spurgeon can put points on the scoreboard--he's averaging 17.8 points/game now. His defensive ability is harder to evaluate, since steals and blocks are rated separately from general defensive ability. That skill is the one I'm focusing on during the recruiting process.

I'm still learning how a player's recruiting grades will match up with his skills once he's on our roster, and I'm aware of the fact there could be some scouting error involved at both stages of our evaluation. Still, unless we're WAY off, Spurgeon ought to be ready to contribute as a first year.

Lewis is actually the higher-rated player, with an overall rating of B to Spurgeon's B-. He's more athletic and a better natural scorer than Spurgeon is. Like Spurgeon, he caught our eye at the Big Apple Showcase. Both of them look like they should be effective perimeter defenders at the collegiate level, and they should develop into productive offensive players, too.

Now we need to land a big man. Al Wolfe, are you listening?

Thanks for stopping by!

[MoonlightGraham]

November 19, 2021
Lehigh 86, Miami (OH) 64
A 42-point outburst in the second half allows us to turn a tight game into a romp over the visiting Redhawks. Ray Shelton is plagued by foul trouble, and he and Jeremy Wallace score only 10 points between them, after firing in 52 last time. However, Darius Smith (23 points) and Todd Adams (22) pick up the slack. Justin Shelton ads a double-double: 10 points, 10 rebounds. We shoot 56% from the floor.


November 23, 2021
Lipscomb 82, Lehigh 73
Our first road game takes us to Nashville to face Lipscomb. We lose this one in the first half; we battle back to make the scoreline look decent, but we never feel like we are in it. Darius Smith and Ray Shelton lead us with 16 points. Freshman Alex Richardson plays well off the bench, grabbing five rebounds in 14 minutes.
Record: 2-1.


November 26, 2021
Lehigh 86, New Hampshire 71
We return to Stabler Arena and vary the story line a bit, running away from the Wildcats in the first half. Four of our starters score in double figures, led by Todd Adams’s 20. We’re particularly accurate from three-point land (9-15) and control the glass (+15 rebound margin).
Record: 3-1.


November 30, 2021
Howard 95, Lehigh 80
The Bison play at a frantic pace. They take 79 shots, and hit enough of them to put 95 points on the board. So, while we play well offensively–another quartet of double-figure scorers, and a 50% performance on 26 threes–we take the loss. Recruiting good defensive players looks like a better idea, doesn’t it? Darius Smith (20 points) and Todd Adams (17) lead our scorers. Good thing the trip back from Washington, D.C. is short.
Record: 3-2.


December 3, 2021
Lehigh 88, Elon 83
Back home again, Darius Smith pours in 28 points to lead us to a victory we nearly let slip away with a sloppy second half. Lamar Kurtz finishes with 26 for the Phoenix, the largest total we’ve allowed an opponent to score against us this season. We allow other teams to take too many good looks at our basket.

Darius wins the Patriot League Player of the Week Award.
Record: 4-2.


December 7, 2021
Rutgers 74, Lehigh 56
I wouldn’t expect us to win an away game from a Big Ten opponent. I wouldn’t expect it to be this ugly. We shoot terribly; Ray Shelton misses all 12 of his attempts and ends up with zero points in 32 minutes. Again, we let a guard torch us: Michael Smith doubles his scoring average with 23 points. Time to turn the page.
Record: 4-3.

[Izulde]

Interesting to see what kind of offense you end up switching to if the Outside shooting ratings for your recruits end up being accurate

[MoonlightGraham]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Interesting to see what kind of offense you end up switching to if the Outside shooting ratings for your recruits end up being accurate

I was wondering that myself. I admit to being somewhat strategically challenged in DDS:CB. Perhaps it's the result of playing it sporadically and never really learning its intricacies. I've tried things that I thought would work, only to have them turn out terribly.

Here's the way I interpret the way the ratings affect a player's/team's ability to run different offenses correctly. If your big men are only comfortable down low, 5 Out isn't a good choice. If they can pass and handle the ball, Flex and Princeton are options. If they have more traditional big man skills and like staying close to the basket, the other offenses are better suited to your team.

I've been running Motion, because that's the offense I know best. Lehigh also runs some 5 Out, because the players are familiar with it; Coach Sims's predecessor used it.

The Offensive Focus and Offensive Set Usage settings seem intuitive to me. What I'm not exactly sure about is how my players' Offensive Proficiencies and Court IQ ratings affect the way they play.

I'm thinking that Offensive Proficiency affects the player's ability to run the offense, and Court IQ affects their ability to decide when to freelance and how effectively they'll apply their skills. A player with low Proficiency would make mistakes running the offense, but if he's got a high Court IQ, he'd make things happen in the open court or when he decided to do his own thing.

If my thoughts are correct--and if the incoming freshmen can stroke it from outside like their scouted ratings indicate--I'll devise an offense that focuses on outside shooting and lets bigs be bigs.

I have lots to think about, and it's going to be fun. Thanks for stopping by, Izulde.

[MoonlightGraham]

December 10, 2021

Good news! Al Wolfe commits to play for us next season!



I nearly gave up on Wolfe. He upgraded his interest level to Warm several weeks ago, but we never moved higher than sixth on his Top Ten list. Even more alarmingly, Al continually refused our offers to visit our campus. I started looking for alternatives, and couldn’t find any big men who care about playing defense and were interested in playing for us. I was about to resign myself to saving the scholarship for a player from the transfer portal.

Then, this week, Wolfe changes his mind and travels from his New Hampshire home to visit us. His visit goes well, and I let myself enjoy the faintest glimmer of hope.

Today, Al gives us his verbal commitment.

I’ll gush about him a bit now that he’s (almost) ours. He’s not a great rebounder or rim protector, but he’s got real potential as a stretch big. He can and will shoot from range. And, best of all, he grades out as the best defensive big man we’ve seen.

Let’s take a look at how our recruiting class is shaping up, compared to the other teams in the Patriot League.



Holy Cross comes out ahead of us on this scale, because it’s based on the total score of all the players in each recruiting class. They have four recruits, and we have three. If you compare our average recruit scores instead, we're on top: 3.1 to 2.8.

I wonder how our recruiting efforts compare to other programs in Pennsylvania? I took a look at their incoming classes to find out.

Not surprisingly, Villanova is bringing in the most illustrious recruiting class. Guards Michael Kenna and Mobi Obleajula are four-star recruits, both among the top 50 players in the Class of 2022. Temple is the only other school in PA who landed a four-star player: wing Kris Mullahon.

Pitt’s only recruit was a three-star player, and no other Pennsylvania program has a commitment from a player that highly regarded nationally. So our haul of three two-star guys ranks us below only those four programs. Rival Lafayette has only one scholarship available, and it’s going to C Eric Bell, whom we recruited for a while, too.

[MoonlightGraham]

December 14, 2021
Clemson 77, Lehigh 71
Most people would expect the Tigers to blow us out of Littlejohn Arena. Twenty minutes in, that’s precisely what is happening. To their credit, however, our guys come out swinging in the second half, and with three minutes to play, we trail 70-69. In other words, we force Clemson's Jason Johnson to coach his team.

Ray Shelton authors one of the strangest stat lines I’ve ever seen. For the second time this season, Ray fails to score. He takes nine three-point shots. He misses them all. He shoots three times from inside the arc. He misses them all. He attempts six free throws. He misses them all. However, when Ray chooses to pass to his teammates, good things happen. He ends up with 11 assists.

Todd Adams completes a perfectly balanced double-double: 12 points, 12 rebounds. Justin Shelton leads all scorers with 18.
Record: 5-4.


December 21, 2021
Mount St. Mary’s 96, Lehigh 91
We suffer our first loss at home when our shooting suddenly goes cold midway through the second half. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers are finding the range 71 percent of the time. I’ve said it before: we let our opponents have too easy a time on offense.

Justin Shelton puts up 18 points again, while Darius Smith, the Patriot League’s third leading scorer, hits his average with 17. Ray Shelton is in Shooter mode this time, knocking in five of six attempts, good for 11 points.
Record: 5-5.


December 22, 2021
I receive an email from assistant coach Jarret Arrington about an incident in our locker room.

Jeremy Haynes took a cheap shot at Damian Welch, and according to Jarret, “it’s already all over social media.” He adds, “Good luck trying to sort this one out.”

I take a look at the players’ profiles, because Jarret senses both players’ attitudes have soured. Welch, a junior, seems like a solid dude, with an Average personality. But look at freshman Haynes:



He’s a Disruptive Force! No wonder his teammates can’t stand him.

I text Jeremy to talk about his attitude. He tells me he’s not the one with the problem. I text him back to tell him he’s suspended for a week. I’m about to find out what happens when I discipline an unpopular player.

I missed the screen shot, but Jeremy tells me I’ll see some attitude now.

With two guards coming into the program next year, you might want to watch your mouth, Mr. Haynes. Merry Christmas to you.

While I'm checking the scores of other games from around the country, I notice this festively named player on Stanford's roster:




December 28, 2021
Pittsburgh 73. Lehigh 62
Our last game of the year brings a big-name opponent to Stabler Arena. The Panthers aren’t a great team. They’re predicted to finish last in the ACC. Having said that, they’re still a Power Five team, led by outstanding guard Michael Fuller, who dropped 38 points on Wake Forest earlier this week.

We hold Fuller to 13, eight below his average, and give the Panthers all they can handle. Darius Smith nails four treys and finishes as the game's leading scorer, with 16 points.

Who knows? If Justin Shelton and Todd Adams stay out of foul trouble, we might pull this one out. As it stands, our record drops below .500 for the first time all season.

Troublemaker Jeremy Haynes misses this game, our last of the non-conference season.
Record: 5-6.

[MoonlightGraham]

I haven't posted in my thread for a while. Here's why.

Not too long after my last post, I encountered a problem with my save file. I'm almost positive it was something I did, rather than a problem with the game. At any rate, I lost so much progress on my game that I got frustrated and set it aside for a while.

Rather than go back and edit every post dated after early October 2021 (in-game time), I've decided to start over. I like the concept a lot, and I was having fun with it, so I'd like to give it another try.

I might dust off my copy of FBCB and use it as the basis of the story this time, too. Either way, I'll be back soon with a new thread.