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07-18-2015, 12:42 PM
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#51 | |||
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Las Vegas
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It's more about me trying to stay within my 1950's parameter and staying in the northeast. If I allowed myself to schedule outside of that area or if we had 400 teams to schedule instead of 170ish it would be a lot easier. |
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07-18-2015, 02:44 PM
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#52 | |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: May 2006
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Quote:
Thanks, but I'm not as optimistic, for a couple of reasons. First, Tulane has 31 prestige :P. Takes quite a while to move that up. Last year's class was really good but the team still sucks this year due to no frontcourt, next one I expect to be almost as good and help that out a little but it's a long way from that to competing with Kentucky and the bevy of 'mid-major' quality schools in the conference. Four teams in the low-mid 40s are(next-worst) to us and I'll be surprised if we surpass last year's single-digit wins mark. The talent comes with a price too: it's the one coach I have who is recruiting/scouting heavy, which means he's not great at doing all that much with the players once they come. I'm still very pleased(and surprised) at how the recruiting is going there, but I have no illusions about contending for the SEC during my time in the conference  . |
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07-18-2015, 03:29 PM
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#53 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: May 2006
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Question here for the FBCB experts: this is more of a trying to understand the game thing. Two players at Tulane this year:
SF Ricky Schultz(Jr.) -- JuCo transfer, actually runs the point and I funnel him the ball a lot. Shooting 52% on 67 attempts despite having average shooting ratings or just above average and very poor isolation ability(F). SF/SG Kelly Doughty(Fr.) -- Very similar shooting ratings and much better isolation skills of average(C). Also more athletic(quickness/jumping). Shooting 32% on 68 attempts  . My question here is does anybody have any clue as to why? My only guess right now are some hidden 'take-bad-shots' rating or matchup issues(i.e. Schultz has better size compared to players at his position) but it wouldn't seem it would make that much of a difference. Fatigue shouldn't be an issue since, while Doughty is only average in that, he's coming off the bench as the sixth man and only playing 18.6 mpg. Mr. Doughty is basically really annoying me right now . |
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07-19-2015, 03:40 AM
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#54 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Somewhere More Familiar
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I have very little experience with the game so far (this league is literally my only experience), but...
I think the disparity is mostly due to sample size. If I had to pin it on actual reasons: -Age/experience. I have no idea if this is coded into the game at all, but a Junior who transferred from a JuCo should be more polished/prepared (ratings or not). -Schultz is playing nearly twice as many minutes as Doughty. So not only is Doughty jacking up shots more often, he's probably playing with less talented players on the court around him, and being forced to do more with less. Last edited by Vince, Pt. II : 07-19-2015 at 03:40 AM. |
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07-19-2015, 12:41 PM
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#55 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Madison, WI
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Brian, I'd say sample size.
I'll also toss out there that I am considering moving my Oregon coach to the Big Ten once the PCC breaks up. |
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07-19-2015, 09:31 PM
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#56 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Seattle
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I hadn't really thought about the impact of the breakup of the PCC on conference prestige, but it's going to be interesting to watch. Once the breakup happens following the '58/'59 season it will just be Cal, UW, Stanford, USC & UCLA for the next 4 seasons in the new AAWU. All five should be good to really good in terms of prestige (I'm guessing Cal & UW in the 70's and the rest above 60), but I don't know how that will calculate - hopefully it will be enough to keep the conference at 5 (the highest prestige level).
Looks like WSU returns for the '63/'64 season and Oregon and Oregon State return for the '64/'65 season to form what will soon be renamed the Pac-8. How much will they suffer for being independents for that long? |
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07-19-2015, 11:14 PM
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#57 | |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Las Vegas
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Quote:
I would rather be indy with my recruits compared to having my roster unbalanced like with st. Joe. Cupcakes with talent might be the best option to increase the prestige. |
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07-19-2015, 11:27 PM
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#58 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Somewhere More Familiar
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Also, I will be FLOORED if I can get Stanford's prestige up to 60 by then. We're 49 now and looking at a down year before we even get into the conference schedule. The huge prestige bump from last season was absolutely necessary, but I'm unfamiliar with how quickly it can drop again.
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07-22-2015, 04:51 PM
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#59 | |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Baltimore MD
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The National Basketball Report: December 25, 1954
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07-22-2015, 04:52 PM
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#60 | |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Baltimore MD
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The National Basketball Report, January 6, 1955
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07-22-2015, 05:14 PM
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#61 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Baltimore MD
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So that last 2 sims USC has been steady eddy really. We end up going 4-3. That's not going to get us to the promised land, but it's not going to set us back either.
We logged victories over Cornell, Oregon State, Idaho and UCLA We lost to Oregon, #11 Washington, and #18 California. We stand at 10-9 and 3-3 in the PCC. I'm disappointed in our overall win total. I was counting/ hoping on us being 12-7 at this point, but planned on us being 3-3 in the conf so far. I guess if I am being totally honest, I am just damn happy we are actually winning games. In all my years playing this game, I have never tried to play with just 2 real post players on a roster, and was praying it wasn't a total disaster. It hasn't been, so I should be grateful for whatever we end up with. Over the past 2 sims the only 2 games that surprised me were the Oregon and Oregon State games. I would have guessed a win over Oregon and Loss to Oregon State, but we decided to reverse that. That should help us in the event that we pull some miracles off as Oregon State is the better team. As you can see below, that game featured both SG- David Haynes and SF- Hernando Hernandez going off. That, coupled with out bigs not getting in foul trouble has been the times that we have upset someone this season. It also helped that Oregon State got in foul trouble early and had a hard time dealing with those foul issues. Code:
I have made another change in the lineup. Previously, I was playing 6-6 Junior Marvin Grasso as the back up at the Center and PF spots, and have demoted him in favor of freshman 6-7 Benito Lightfoot. Benito walked on at the SF spot, and I figured what the heck, he cant do any worse down low than what Grasso was doing. He has responded well and I am happy to say that he has played better than expected down there. Here's to hoping that can continue. If you want a laugh just take a look at what im working with over here. Code:
Last edited by muns : 07-22-2015 at 05:15 PM. |
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07-22-2015, 05:28 PM
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#62 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Baltimore MD
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The PCC Standings at the moment.
Code:
I said on our ncaa 53 forum that I thought Washington would take the conf and it looks like that is going to be the case. About the only thing that I have predicted that looks like it is going right this year. Cal for whatever reason isn't playing up to expectations. It's not time to panic there, but 3-2 isn't where they should be in the conf. Oregon State pulled off a giant upset there. I feel bad for Stanford. Last years shocking invitee to the big dance for whatever reason hasn't gotten it going this year dispite having some talent on that roster. UCLA had a terrible, and I mean terrible start. They started the year 0-5 and looks like they might have gotten it together winning 3 out of their last 4. However, they got a tough break and Junior Tyler Williamson is out for the next 23 days. Hopefully, they can weather the storm so their prestige doesn't take a huge hit. Oregon State is the surprise of the conf so far. I thought they would be good, but I didn't expect them to be this good. If they didn't lose 4 in a row in the beginning of the year, who knows where they might be at the moment. They are on a roll winning 9 out of their last 10. Will be interesting to see how they navigate Washington tomorrow. That is going to be a huge huge game. We have a shot at getting 3 teams into the big dance this year. I hope we can pull off that feat again like last season. 3 teams in a 32 team field is pretty good with the setup we have. |
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07-22-2015, 05:36 PM
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#63 | |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Baltimore MD
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Quote:
The only thing here that I kick around and debate back and forth is that playing cupcakes hurts your guys development in training camp the next year. Ok I take that back, it doesn't hurt them per se, like they don't regress, but playing stiffer competition helps the players grow more attribute wise in TC. So its one of those things for me to think about if I have some guys I really want to develop. I might want to throw in some decent teams even though that might result in some huge losses in order for me to get more development. Balancing development and Prestige is another fun mini game within the game Last edited by muns : 07-22-2015 at 05:47 PM. |
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07-22-2015, 05:39 PM
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#64 | |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Baltimore MD
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Another great read by the NBR
The National Basketball Report: January 18, 1955 Quote:
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07-22-2015, 06:44 PM
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#65 | |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Seattle
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Quote:
With my two new teams, I decided to lean more towards easy wins vs. some tough games to improve development. My strategy is to build prestige first and (hopefully) get some facilities and coaching ability boosts, and then start throwing in a few "challenge" games to boost SOS. It's less of an issue with Michigan State as the Big Ten sched gives us some tough games with Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Northwestern (and I expect the human-controlled Ohio State and Michigan to rise in the next few seasons), but with Brown I think in a couple seasons I'll need to start adding some tough games and expect the losses, but hope for some benefit in training the next off-season. It's actually not that easy - I tried scheduling a good team for Brown this year and they declined. Sometimes high prestige teams don't want to play low prestige teams and risk dragging their RPI down. If I can build up Brown enough to start contending for the Ivy League title in the next 4-5 seasons I figure I can beef up the OOC. |
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07-22-2015, 06:51 PM
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#66 | |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Seattle
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Quote:
That said, as long as Wexler and Fenton stay healthy (finds the nearest piece of wood to knock on), I do think we have a pretty good shot. Gotta see how we do on the road vs. Oregon State tomorrow. If we win all three in the sim tomorrow our odds will go up significantly. |
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07-24-2015, 10:08 AM
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#67 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Baltimore MD
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USC goes 1-1 in the latest sim. We beat Washington State like we should have, and then quite literally forget how to play any defense against Vince and Stanford.
Stanford just embarrassed us, by beating us 64-53. I am and work so I cant pull up the box score, but just take my word for it. We had 16 turnovers, 23 fouls, shot 41% and ohhh by the way put Stanford on the line for 30 free throws. They made 20!!!! 2 guys fouled out and 2 ended up for 4. Benito Lightfoot- the guy a few posts up I just started to play who isn't all that great, played 20 mins in this game. lol just a comedy of a game that Stanford made us play. Kudos to you Vince. Next up is Oregon, Oregon State and Idaho. I need 2 out of the 3 to be in contention for the NIT. Our RPI sits at 46 right now. Beating Oregon State again would be huge, but doing that again is pretty much slim to none, but we can hope. |
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07-24-2015, 10:14 AM
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#68 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Baltimore MD
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Washington beat Oregon State so they are in the drivers seat for the PCC crown and is 2 games up at the moment. They still have CAL and Oregon State again, so its not a given, but their cushion is nice to have.
I would love to be able to say we are good or even decent, but USC simply isn't. We are so crazy inconsistent it sucks. We beat Oregon State (their only other loss is to Washington) but then lose to Oregon and Stanford who have combined 3 wins in the conference, and 2 of those wins are against US! FOR GODS SAKES that is utterly frustrating!!!!!!! Last edited by muns : 07-24-2015 at 10:15 AM. |
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07-24-2015, 01:26 PM
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#69 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Seattle
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I'm definitely feeling better about UW's chances to take the conference after knocking off Oregon State on the road. Our wins over them and Cal were both on the road, so hopefully we can also handle them at home.
Still, there's plenty of talent in this conference and I'm not at all going to be surprised if the Huskies take some upset losses the rest of the way. All it takes is some untimely injuries... I'm just hoping we can enter the NCAA Tournament in good health unlike last season. With Wexler and Fenton leading the way, I think we can win at least a couple games in the Big Dance. |
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07-26-2015, 02:50 AM
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#70 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Somewhere More Familiar
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Yeah, losing to Stanford this year is not something to be proud of. Not really sure why, but we are a steaming hot mess right now. Hopefully I can cash in on this last recruit and salvage something good out of this year, but eesh has it been a rough go so far.
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07-26-2015, 09:06 AM
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#71 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Baltimore MD
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The National Basketball Report: January 30, 1955
Where We Answer More Mail NBR Top Twenty 1. Indiana (18-1, LW 1) 2. Kansas (17-1, 2) 3. West Virginia (21-2, 4) 4. Kansas State (15-3, 3) 5. Bradley (20-2, 5) 6. North Carolina (17-2, 6) 7. Kentucky (13-4, 7) 8. Duquesne (19-3, 8) 9. NC State (16-5, 10) 10. Louisville (18-3, 11) 11. Holy Cross (17-6, 9) 12. Washington (16-3, 12) 13. Dayton (18-4, 14) 14. San Francisco (16-4, 13) 15. Michigan State (16-2, 19) 16. Iowa (14-3, 20) 17. St. Joseph's (17-5, 16) 18. Illinois (12-4, 15) 19. Maryland (16-6, 17) 20. Columbia (15-4, 18) Dropped Out: None More Questions From Fans We were so enthralled with the questions you sent us before, we decided to keep going. To be fair, it saves us a lot on travel and hotels. 1) In your last article you stated “In a couple of seasons, this (the Pacific Coast Conference) will probably be the epicenter of collegiate basketball. Fans out west have a treat, and a mystery to fans in the east”. On a normal day I would have agreed with you, however, do you think the ACC could become the center rather than the PCC? The ACC has more of an established top core of teams than the PCC and with some recruit signings the ACC has from its lower rated members, I am starting to wonder if the PCC might become number 2? Looking at the epicenters of basketball, and whether or not they are rising, falling, or staying the course: 1) The state of Kansas. Steady as she goes. The Jayhawks and Wildcats will be at the forefront of the national scene for a long time to come. The Jayhawks, our pick to win it all (preseason) last year, almost went under-the-radar to win the title. Kansas State will have their best chance a year from now, but have a great shot this year. They're going to keep getting stronger. This is THE true epicenter of hoops in America. If you want to be the king, you have to put him down. To do that, you need to travel to Lawrence and Manhattan. 2) Atlantic Coast: Falling. Slightly. A lot hinges on Duke. One has to figure that NC State and North Carolina are going to be very good. Maryland is probably peaking now, because of George Dawkins and that backcourt. Wake Forest is good but not lasting. Clemson could be a good program, but that will take time. The same goes for Virginia. A lot of this conference's staying power relies on Duke. So, really... 2) The state of North Carolina: Steady, ever-so-slightly shaky. 3) Atlantic Coast: Falling. Slightly. 4) Pacific Coast: Rising. Considerably. The potential, the rivalry, the camraderie, and the stories...they are all here, waiting to be put into place. Washington and Cal are established; Southern Cal and UCLA are on their way. Oregon State is a credible threat at all times, and Stanford already has reached the NCAA Tournament. The conference has everything but timezone on its side. 5) Bloomington, Indiana: Steady. They are but just one team. But the Indiana Hoosiers are THE single greatest threat to any recruit, and to any victory, in the nation. And they are going nowhere quickly. 6) Philadelphia. Rising: Out of the Big 5, only Penn has a long road to contendership. St. Joseph's, La Salle, and Temple are already there. Villanova is right at the cusp. It is doubtful, given the competition among the schools, that one of them will ascend above the others. But, if one should, they're going to be really, really good. 7) The state of Kentucky: Falling a bit. Kentucky and Louisville are two of the top programs in the nation, and project to stay there for some time. But the SEC will likely bring Kentucky down a little bit, and Louisville, while a feared program, has some work to do before they become an elite one. They have overachieved this year, at least in our eyes. It is believed they will take a step or two back coming up. 2) Who do you think is the most under-rated team in the land that needs to more pub? I would ask about over-rated but I gather you believe that to be Texas. The most underrated teams, or underpublicized teams, in no particular order: Temple: The Owls came first and foremost in our minds. They get nearly no ink, despite being one of the best defensive teams in the nation (15th in OPPG). Part of this is schedule, as they haven't played the most difficult slate in the nation. But they do own wins against Utah, Duke, La Salle, and Georgia Tech. They'll get a challenge soon, with trips to Holy Cross and Duquesne on the upcoming docket. Bradley: How is a top-five team underrated? They may be more underpublicized, but they deserve a lot more attention. They are beating teams by an average of 20.9 points a game. That is fourth in the nation. They are 2-0 against the bottom of the nation...18-2 against the top 100 teams. They don't duck anyone. They force more turnovers than all but one team in the nation (19.8/g). They have the best turnover margin in the country. They are in the top ten in field goal percentage. And they have the nation's top player in Antonia Dabney. He gets next to no publicity, but he not only plays great, he makes his teammates great. The Braves are on the shortlist of teams who are capable of winning a national championship in our view, along with Indiana, Kansas, Kansas State, and West Virginia. Right now, that's it. That's the list. Utah: Really, really like the Redskins. They have a crackerjack backcourt, led by sophomore Robert Peeler. They aren't as strong as many teams, especially in the frontcourt...but they play well together, play tough teams, and are going to be a headache for one of the higher seeds in the NCAA Tournament, provided they get there. The Mountain State Athletic Conference is difficult this year (and one of the better stories not getting told), with BYU and Utah State forming a fantastic triumvirate atop the conference. Others to see: Rutgers, Villanova, Clemson, Georgia Tech, BYU, Virginia Tech And three overrated teams, not including Texas. Notre Dame: They do less with more than anyone else in the nation. They have top-fifteen talent, but the chemistry of oil and water. Yes, losing two stout point guards, starting Winston Matthews and superfrosh Elvis Cox, haven't helped their depth. But did it really matter when they were healthy? They play an unappealing brand of basketball. uninspired and unworthy of being considered among the who's who in collegiate hoops. Maybe they are finding what Alabama is finding out: That there is room for only one marquee athletic program on campus, and that is football. NYU: We get their record. We just are not buying it. The win against St. Joseph's was maybe the Violets believing they could win. But that was the first team with a winning record they have beaten all season long. The first. They beat a one-win Muhlenberg team by seven...at home. All they have managed to do is beat teams worse than they are, lose to ones better, and schedule a lot more of the former. It would not be shocking to see them not win the conference. While we have them in the tournament at this time, we still favor St. John's to get the bid out of the Metro. The conference won't get two. Mississippi State: For a team with this talent, with one of the top guards in the country (Casey Williams), how are they this poor? They lost to Tennessee at home, at Oklahoma City, to Toledo at home...to Murray State at home! VIrtually all season long, we penciled them in as the second-best team in the SEC, and an automatic NCAA contender. Nevermore. Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech are above the Maroons, in our eyes. Others who cause skepticism: Maryland, Illinois, Oklahoma City, Seattle, Miami (Fl), George Washington 3) North Carolina St @ North Carolina on the 5th. Winner may get the ACC. Who ya got? The key stat is NC State's 5-0 road record, against a 14-1 mark at home for the Tar Heels. North Carolina has only played two games away from home. They are quite comfortable in their own confines, especially offensively. But they are not the strongest defensive team, and this is where things can haunt them. The Wolfpack stops scoring, at least reasonably. They are also fully healthy for the first time since the beginning of the season, and have looked impressive at full strength. They just traveled to Maryland and demolished them, 83-65. In fact, they haven't had a close game since defeating Holy Cross 81-78, back on December 30th. The Tar Heels also demolished Maryland, and also own a win over Duke. But the level of competition the Tar Heels have faced isn't as daunting as NC State. Despite their experience, and talent, and being at home, something leads us away from taking the Tar Heels. PICK: Anton Gonzalez leads a balanced scoring attack, while Angelo Parham leads a solid defensive effort. The Wolfpack reclaims supremacy in the ACC. NC STATE 67, UNC 63 4) Indiana @ Michigan St on the 5th. Winner probably gets Big10. Who ya got? We still believe Michigan State is ever the pretender. They proved something in beating, perhaps, the Pretender King, Notre Dame (a crown of thorns they wear gracefully, but also for such a length of time, one wonders if it could ever be removed). The Spartans are very good offensively, even if that comes against teams who would not give the Spartans much of a fight. However, two things: 1) Joey Barnes, the Spartans' leading scorer and best all-around player, is out for the next three weeks with a head bruise. And the team is still trying to acclimate itself without Tim Earl, their former starting power forward. He ripped up his knee, and will be out for the better part of this calendar year. 2) Indiana. The Hoosiers would defeat the Spartans by fifteen with an all-hands-on-deck Spartan squad. That they are missing their two most important players, and the Hoosiers playing incredible defense, and finally finding chemistry with Enoch Horn on offense. What's coming is education for the Spartans. They would be wise to learn. PICK: A well-balanced effort by Horn, Rene Eckstein, and Mikolas Mares, and a suffocating defensive effort against a team that will struggle to find someone to make shots consistently. It doesn't matter that this is in East Lansing. The Hoosiers will put on a clinic. INDIANA 78, Michigan State 55 5) Washington @ Oregon St on the 3rd for the driver's seat in the PCC. Who ya got? The Huskies dodged a bullet with Dean Wexler, who suffered a minor injury, but didn't miss any time. He is one of just a handful of players averaging a double-double this year, and without him, the Huskies would be toast. That said, it will still be difficult for the Huskies to beat the unheralded Beavers. Despite Oregon State's rather lackluster record against top teams (1-5 vs Top 50), and their mostly cupcake slate (8-1 against the bottom 100), they are very stout defensively. Their 52.4 OPPG is third nationally. They are not the best rebounding team, though, nor are they adept at putting it in the basket themselves. Only one player, guard Gordon Miskin, averages more than ten points a game (13.8). Mark Salazar is the only other who puts up more than eight a game. That leads to diverse scoring by the Beavers, but don't let that fool you. Sometimes, that means they struggle to find the hot hand. However, a lot of Oregon State's struggles came in their four-game losing streak, which they played some quality teams. This is not a basement outfit. So, this game will depend on whether or not Oregon State's commitment to playing closer to the basket on offense, and slowing the game down against the Huskies, will be effective. If the game is more up-tempo, the game swings the Huskies way. Additionally, Salazar has to beat Wexler. The battle between these two skilled big men will be a joy to see for those who get to see it. PICK: Since losing to USC, the Beavers have looked excellent in beating quality opponents, especially Cal and in-state rival Oregon. Likewise, the Huskies have looked rather dominant at times, and continue to climb into the national consciousness (it is difficult to do, being away from media hubs). If the Huskies win this game, they get a two-game cushion (really three, since the tiebreaker), a massive space between them and the rest of the PCC. They won't. Oregon State, with its new philosophy, will be a bit too much of a headache at home. That said, it would not shock if Oregon State wins this, then loses at UCLA a week later. OREGON STATE 61, Washington 59 6) San Francisco @ St Mary's on the 5th in the WCC. Who ya got? The Dons remember last year. It is quite vivid in their memories. San Francisco was dominant to start the year. They were a tournament team, easily. Then, conference play came, and the Dons stunk up the joint. They thought they would walk over everyone. They finished fourth in the WCC, and had to settle for the NIT. This year, they are out to settle things. And, so far, they are. They are 18th in the nation in point differential, beating teams by an average of 10.5 points a game. They are excellent at scoring (19th), and preventing scoring (36th), and disrupting offensive (4th in steals, 17th in blocks, 9th in turnovers). And they are 14-4 against the top 100...2-0 against the bottom portion of the nation. They are playing top teams. The only thing they aren't great at is rebounding. Fortunately for them, St. Mary's isn't good at it, either...though they are best in-conference. The Gaels have a solid record, but a lot of that is against bottomfeeders. They do own wins at Cal and at Washington, which is definitely nothing to thumb ones nose at. They are not adept at passing the ball, though. They average just fourteen assists a game, good for 48th in the nation. They prefer to try and isolate; this plays well into San Fran's hands. They also rely on a true freshman at the point, Rubin Witcher. He has played well, averaging 11.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. But he'll be matched up against the cream of the conference, likely WCC POTY Stephen Ferrari (11.5 points, 5.7 assists, 2.6 rebounds). If Witcher cannot slow down Ferrari, the Gaels have no chance. PICK: Witcher can't. SAN FRANCISCO 67, St. Mary's 58 7) So much on February 5th...is there anything else to look forward to? Well, let's see: South Carolina at Maryland: The Terrapins are sliding, while the Gamecocks will likely have lost four in a row heading into the game. This is a chance for Maryland to right its ship, so to speak. Clemson at Duke. Duke has been lackluster this year, but has shown glimpses of getting back to what they once were. Clemson is flying under-the-rader. Will Duke continue their trek back up, or will Clemson arrive on the nation stage? Vandy at Mississippi State: Major implications in this game in the SEC. This is, essentially, an elimination game from NCAA consideration. Neither can afford to lose. Tensions will be highest here. Arkansas at TCU: Trap game for the Razorbacks, who will look for cushion in the Southwest. Texas at Baylor: Upset alert. We don't buy Texas in the slightest. While the Bears have underachieved thus far, they are quite capable of beating Texas. NYU at Notre Dame: A team making believers out of skeptics against a team making skeptics out of believers. Which Irish team will show up? Illinois at Purdue: This Illinois team has not been as good as advertised, and Purdue is ready to pick one of these teams off. If you want to take an upset flyer, perhaps you'd be best to take it here. That's a snippet of things on the 5th. Seems like a pretty hectic day across the nation. The Under-The-Radar Gang: The National Recruiting Bureau Special Report The people at the National Recruiting Bureau wanted to name a few players who haven't made a name for themselves in recruiting, but may be underrated at their ranking. Without further ado... 1. SG- Dennis Allen- This Louisville Commit is fascinating to me. As a general rule of thumb, I do not recruit any guards below 6'0, unless I am at a very low prestige school where I have to take anybody I can get. However, Allen is extremely intriguing. He is ranked a 3 star recruit and at 154 overall, and as I already mentioned short as he is listed at 5'11. When you look at his stats though the interest meter goes through the roof. His is 3rd out of all the recruits in assists at 9.5 a game. He is 5th in scoring at 29.6 per game. He is 55th in steals at 3.1 per game, and is in the top 100 for lowest turn overs per game at 1.7. He shoots it at a 53% clip and if you look at his bombs, they are at 42%. If his attributes come in at anything his stats seem to be hinting or in his case screaming at, Louisville might have one of the biggest steals of the recruiting period. 2. Matthew Cordoba- This 6'2 Harvard signee is a 1 star recruit ranked 460. What is intriguing is that he shoots the ball at a 61% clip making 9.5 shots out of every 15.5 attempts. Clearly, his 61% isnt for a lack of shooting. He also boards well averaging 6.4 total per game with 1.5 of them being on the offensive side. Are his stats due to athletic ability, or does this kid have the attributes to match the stats? Either way, Harvard might have found a gem that they can be celebrating come roll over roster time. 3. Garth Mercado- Interesting development here. Garth is our 2nd Louisville commit within this article. At 6'7 this 3 star 179th ranked recruit has a body and the stats to back it up. He only averages 10.6 points per game but shoots it at 53%. There is potential for growth there. What jumps off the stat sheet however, is the fact that he averages 14 boards of which 2.7 of those are on the offensive side of the ball. Not imprssed yet. he also averages 2.4 steals a game. He can clearly play both ends of the floor stats wise. So with 2 guys on the list I wonder if Louisville goes hunting by stats? That could only mean Coach Barrett might have a heck of a class, or go down burning by playing statistics roulette. 4. Renato Medina- This 6'6 232 pound beast of a SF ended up in the middle no where at the Municipal University of Witchia. He is ranked 112 (on the high side of the list) but is still only a 3 star kid. Did the big boys miss an opportunity here? He averages 18.5 points, 10.1 rebounds (2.8 on the offensive side of the ball) and shoots it at a 50% clip. If his ratings come in at the stats suggest they should, this kid could easily be playing 28 mins a game next year in the middle of nowhere USA. Coach Mike Schaplowsky must have an ace up his sleve to land this kid. 5. Michael Rowles- This gigantic man has his sights set on the ivy group and eating the Quakers of Penn out of house and home. His 6'11 301lb frame is a 2 star recruit ranked 296. He averages 21.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 1.5 blocks and ohhh by the way shots it at 61%. How did this stat sheet stuffer end up at Penn? What, nobody likes BIG BIG men that he ends up at PENN??? All joking aside, with big guys always at a premium Coach Dawkins might have somehow snuck the Giant passed the entire NCAA field. Tell the people how you did it coach! 6. Kenneth Courtney- Coach Vanderhoff is beginning to get a reputation at Tulane for being able to recruit his butt off, so this signing has caught my attention. Kenneth is 6'9 and at 221 weighs about as much as most Small Forwards. He is ranked at 389 and is a 1 star recruit. Noting special yet right? However, stats wise this kid puts in work on the boards. Is 2nd in all recruits for rebounds at 15.7 a game, and 3.7 of those are on the offensive side. Clearly, the kid has hustle and guts. An ya know has no problem digging into you on the defensive side of the floor. At 2.9 blocks a game, this 1 star recruit might be bannging eveybody Tulane goes at next season. Does Vanderhoff know something the rest of us dont? Looking forward to seeing how this kid grades out, and proving that Vanderhoff is a genious that hasnt gotten much pub for his recruiting prowless. 7. Michale Olvera- Coach Reed Ammons is under the radar producing a class that nobody even realizes yet. Along with 170th rated recruit Andrej Sedlacek, St. Joe's has 2 guys that everybody else might be crying they should have seen it coming. Olvera is our first 7'0er to make the list and this guy based off the stats is a strong strong man. He averages 18.6 points on a WHOPPING 65% shooting, has no issues on the boards grabbing 12 per game and gives people his indifference for their shooting, with 3.9 blocks per game. He is a 3 star kid ranked 178. How does this guy get by some schools in the New York/ Jersey area for goodness sakes? Mark my words, St. Joes is coming people. 8. Richie Vaden- Another ivy group bound recruit. Richie is ranked 254 and is a 2 star recruit from Hew Hampshire, Is actually their Mr. Basketball. Brown just might have a gem on its hands. He averages 17.5 points, 8.3 boards, 1.4 steals, and 3.9 blocks. At 6'10 putting the ball in the hoop isnt a problem for him as he shoots it at a 68% clip. I'm loving the amount of guys on this list heading to the Ivy. Looking forward to seeing this Vaden/Rowles match up play out over the next 4 years. Howard Stone just needs to keep fidning potential guy like this to catch up on the class he missed last season. Vaden should go along way to help if those stats pan out for him. 9. Charles Strouse- Speaking of Coach Stone and Brown, Mr. Strouse is the 2nd Brown recruit on the list. At 6'4 this kids stats are pretty damn impressive for a 1 star kid ranked 604. He averages 20.2 points, 7.2 boards of which 2.1 are on the offensive side, 6.1 assists and shoots 47%. He might be the best overall guard nobody has heard of this year with those stats. While he doesnt offer much in terms of steals at 6'4 all Charles has to do is be in range, and let his length take over from there. Kudos Coach stone, if your stats sheet guys play out..... I'll just knock on that wood for you. 10. Chris Marsh- This Rutgers bound Recruit is a 1 star kid ranked at 463. His stats however, do not suggest he plays at the 1 star level. Another guy that boards from the guard position at 8 a game, but also seems to have good handles for a SG. he averages 3.4 assists per game for an assist/turnover ratio of 1.29. And yes he plays some defense at 2.8 steals per game. Dont put him on the free throw line either, as his 79% is top notch. He only averages 13.8 per game but this all stater from Mississippi doesnt mess around and is committed on getting Coach Browne to the NCAA. Let's hope his attributes come into fruition so that the plan happens for them sooner rather than later. The NBR NCAA Tournament Projection 1 Kansas State West Virginia 1 8 Connecticut W. Kentucky 8 5 Iowa Maryland 5 4 St. Joseph's Michigan State 4 East South 3 NC State Louisville 3 6 Columbia Temple 6 7 Niagara Arkansas 7 2 Bradley North Carolina 2 1 Indiana Kansas 1 8 Toledo Arizona 8 5 California Illinois 5 4 Dayton San Francisco 4 Midwest West 3 Holy Cross Washington 3 6 Oklahoma A&M La Salle 6 7 NYU Utah 7 2 Kentucky Duquesne 2 Last edited by muns : 07-26-2015 at 09:09 AM. |
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07-26-2015, 09:35 AM
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#72 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Baltimore MD
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Well folks there goes are shot at any type of tournament play with that sim. We needed to win 2 out of 3 to keep our NIT hopes alive and kicking. I thought that was going to be hard, especially since we played Oregon State for the 2nd time (beat them the first) and they clearly are a good time.
So what do we decide to do. We flipped it. We go 1-2 with loses to Oregon (again), Idaho (just a bad loss here) and then we beat Oregon State. So really all we did was potentially hurt the conf, as our looses on the Oregon State resume do not exactly look good. I would rather 3 PCC teams make the tourney vs. us getting 1 more win. Oregon State still has a shot though. They play both Cal and Washington again, and who knows what a few wins there might do for them. Here is what they look like Code:
As you can see the lowest bubble team currently in has a record of 5-2 against the top 50. Oregon State needs a few more top quality wins for a shot Code:
Last edited by muns : 07-26-2015 at 09:36 AM. |
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07-26-2015, 09:43 AM
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#73 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Baltimore MD
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PCC looks like this
Code:
Our schedule looks like this for the remainder of the year UCLA Washington @Cal @Washington State Stanford With the way we seem to be playing i'm guessing we are going to lose 3 out of those 5. Realistically, we should lose the Cal and Washington games, but figure the Washington State game is the 3rd we will lose because we suck on the road. This roll over cant get here fast enough so I can get another 3 recruits in here to keep this roster growing with some talent. |
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07-26-2015, 10:05 AM
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#74 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Las Vegas
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I love how the game sends me an email at St Joseph's telling me we are in every week and then I look at bubble watch and we are out.
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07-26-2015, 10:11 AM
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#75 | |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Baltimore MD
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Quote:
Have you or anyone else seen this in single player? This was my first experience seeing that here, and I wonder if there is something with controlling a few teams and things are getting mixed up in game. That's just where my first reaction goes. |
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07-26-2015, 03:29 PM
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#76 | |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Las Vegas
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Quote:
My guess was we play in a 32 team tournament and the game is probably is looking at it from a 64 team perspective. |
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07-26-2015, 04:16 PM
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#77 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: May 2006
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I'm firmly in 'is it 1955 yet?' mode with all three teams in last place. The future prognosis looks good at Tulane and is at least mixed in Michigan/Harvard, both of whom have had their recruiting issues either this year or last. Realistically though it's probably another year to 1956 before I see any significant improvement. At least with the Crimson, I've equaled last year's nine victories even if the Ivy results have been underwhelming.
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07-26-2015, 06:49 PM
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#78 | |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Seattle
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Quote:
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07-30-2015, 08:25 AM
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#79 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Baltimore MD
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With the latest sim USC has officially given up on the season.
We went 1-3 with loses to UCLA, Washington, and Cal. Our lone victory was against Washington State. Our last game of the year will be against Stanford, and with our stellar record of 3-8 in our last 11, we aren't exactly hopeful for that game either. That puts us at 13-15 and 6-9 in the PCC. Just a terrible year. But that being said, if we would have started out playing like that, I wouldn't have had as much hope. Darn Freshmen showed glimpses, but that and with no Forwards, doomed us. The PCC looks like this. Washington and Cal will both get into the NCAA tourney, and Oregon State looks like its heading to the NIT. I don't see Oregon going anywhere, so 3 teams in tourneys this year was a bad showing and the NBR might have got it right when they said our OOC schedule hurt the PCC. Code:
Last edited by muns : 07-30-2015 at 08:27 AM. |
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07-30-2015, 08:28 AM
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#80 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Baltimore MD
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The National Basketball Report, February 23, 1955
NBR Top Twenty 1. Indiana (24-1, LW 1) 2. Kansas (22-1, 2) 3. West Virginia (27-2, 3) 4. Kansas State (20-3, 4) 5. Bradley (26-2, 5) 6. North Carolina State (22-5, 6) 7. Kentucky (20-4, 7) 8. North Carolina (21-4, 8) 9. Duquesne (23-5, 9) 10. Washington (21-4, 10) 11. San Francisco (21-4, 13) 12. La Salle (22-6, 15) 13. Iowa (18-5, 16) 14. Louisville (21-7, 11) 15. Dayton (22-6, 12) 16. Holy Cross (19-9, 14) 17. Idaho State (21-6, 19) 18. Oklahoma A&M (19-5, 20) 19. Temple (20-5, 18) 20. California (18-6, NR) Dropped Out: Illinois (17) With the NCAA and NIT Tournaments looming, a lot of teams are jockeying for few spots. And, with teams attempting to pad their resumes for inclusion in the former, there is a lot of misinformation floating about. We decided to try to sift through some of the claims, and decipher whether they are facts...or merely fiction. Fact or Fiction: The best team on the west coast is the San Francisco Dons. Fiction, though it's hard to say that. Truth is, the west is down this year. The entire PCC is not as good as last year. The top teams, Washington and Cal, are not nearly as good as last year's offerings. While they will be better next year, this is about right now. The WCC is also nowhere near as good...not that it was great last year; it was severely helped by San Francisco's downfall. The Dons are helped by the WCC's downturn for this season. This does not take away from the notion that San Francisco is a really good team. They are. Stephen Ferrari and Perry Wilson are one of the best in-out combos in the nation. And they are very, very good defensively. But three of the teams in the WCC are offensively ranked 82nd and below. Additionally, of their four losses, two were to Washington and Cal...the others were to Pittsburgh and Northwestern, both at home. They have beaten Dayton, NYU, and BYU. But the latter two aren't going to be in the tournament, and Dayton is fading fast. The rankings in the West, from where we sit, and we believe this is reflected in the NCAA projection... 1. Washington 2. San Francisco 3. California 4. Oregon State 5. Utah Fact or Fiction: The Columbia Lions will win the Ivy Group. Fact. Columbia is a game and a half up on Cornell, and a game up in the loss column. The Big Red cannot afford another conference loss, or they may be playing for nothing by the time the Lions come calling on March 7. They also have Yale and Dartmouth at home leading up to that game. It should be a razor thin margin for Cornell leading up to potentially biggest matchup in the league this year. They have been a top team all year...two losses to heated rivals in conference have not caused us to think otherwise. Fact or Fiction: The national title will either end up in the state of Kansas or North Carolina. This is a nearly impossible question to answer. We picked Kansas State over Indiana in the title game, but have had Indiana atop every poll but the first one. Kansas State has been in the top five all season long, too, but they have shown cracks. Of course, this also depends on the road each team has to take to get a chance at the title. It's beginning to look more and more likely that these teams will have to go through the likes of Bradley, West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Duquesne, Washington, San Francisco, and Louisville just to get to the national semifinal. The road in the regional semifinal and final is so hard... ...but, truth be told, we like Indiana better right now. Fiction, but we reserve the right to reverse course. Fact or Fiction: North Carolina State will end up with a #1 seed. Fact. We now believe NC State will secure a top seed at the expense of West Virginia. That thought is crazy, given that the Mountaineers have beaten Bradley and remain the only team who has beaten Indiana this season. But they haven't really played anyone in quite a while, and NC State's run through the ACC has been amazing (though it wouldn't be a surprise if they lost at Chapel Hill on March 5th). What NC State has shown they are capable of, when healthy, is worth a top seed. There are five legitimate top seeds...unfortunately, one has to be a #2. West Virginia will get shipped East, as of now. Of course, that is assuming Kansas State beats Kansas in the rematch. Fact or Fiction: Both Kansas and Kansas State will end up with #1 seeds. Fact...for now. If Kansas State avoids any more losses, they'll beat Kansas, and take the #1 in the West. If they lose to Kansas again, they'll likely slide to a #2, presumably also in the West. A lot, obviously, hinges in the balance of that matchup. Fact or Fiction: Indiana and Kansas will both suffer at least one more loss. Fiction: Indiana should run its slate, with the biggest hurdle March 9th at Champaign. They do have Michigan State again, who will be looking to avenge a 95-50 loss at home (they won't), and a trip to Wisconsin, who will make their return tilt tougher (the first was an 86-52 laugher). This is the only matchup between Indiana and Illinois this season, though, and the Fightin Illini have something to prove. That will be difficult. Kansas, meanwhile, will fall in Manhattan on March 9. Fact or Fiction: St. Joseph's will end up in the NCAA Tournament. Fiction. There is a lot of speculation, and many conflicting reports, regarding the Hawks' standing. They are 22-6, ranked 18th in the AP poll, but only 42nd in coveted RPI. They have games at St. John's (soon-to-be Metro champion...we told you so) and at Lehigh (17-8). They are competing with Temple, Idaho State, Michigan State, California, Georgetown, BYU, and Louisville for one of the final spots. And they appear to be behind them. They also won't get much of a chance to pad their resume, though beating St. John's will hold a bit of weight. Expect St. Joseph's to be a #1 seed in the NIT. Unless many dominos fall, they won't be attending the ball. Fact or Fiction: Arizona will make the NIT. Fact: Absolute fact. Texas Tech has to lose two games in-conference, one of them to Arizona, for the Wildcats to have any shot. And they don't have a resume good enough, despite a RPI of 26, to get to the ball. So, Arizona will likely be a #2 seed out West in the NIT, behind Oregon State. The Wildcats were the darlings of the early season, but if you cannot sustain the thoughts of voters' minds, you will fade. Ask St. Joe's how that feels. Or Miami. Fact or Fiction: A #4 or lower seed will make the National Semifinals. Fact. Some team will surprise, in part because the Independents are deep, and will be scattered throughout the bracket. A team like Iowa, or Illinois, or Cal, will end up with a 4-5-6 seed and surprise a couple of teams. The biggest chance for this is a six-seed, someone like an Idaho State, Temple or Iowa, where they don't have to go through one of the top seeds, and will likely avoid Kentucky, West Virginia or Bradley (probably going through UNC or Duquesne). The nation is very, very top heavy...but right underneath the heavens, there lies a chance to climb. Fact or Fiction: Independents will get more at large bids than conferences. Fact. Independents will grab at least eight bids. Bradley, Duquesne, Dayton, Holy Cross, La Salle, and Idaho State are likely locks. Louisville is probably in, despite their late slide. Temple is a likely lock as well. St. Joseph's, despite what we just said about them, still stands a chance, as does Georgetown. Out of the conferences, North Carolina, Kansas State, Iowa and Illinois will get at-large bids, for sure. So will Cal. Duke might get in, giving the conferences six teams. Michigan State needs to close strong, likely beating Indiana, to have a chance. The interesting cases are with Brigham Young, NYU, St. Louis, Oregon State, at St. Mary's. BYU: Good record (18-7), great RPI (17th), 7-6 against the top fifty...and not out of the MSAC race just yet. They may just get in by winning the conference, but if not, they are the best shot to get an at-large. Destination: NCAA NYU: Good record (18-9), have faded badly in the Metro, sitting two games back of St. John's. Their RPI (62nd) and strength of schedule (136th) is nowhere near good enough to get them in. Destination: NIT St. Louis: Good record (17-8), bad RPI (81st) and SOS (147th). Nope. Destination: NIT Oregon State: Tougher test...good record (17-8), okay RPI (37th), bad SOS (80th). They've won at Idaho State and at Cal, but have lost at Washington, against BYU, and Arizona. In the end, they have to sweep Cal and win at Washington to get back into the conversation. Chances are, they are a top-seed in the NIT. Destination: NIT St. Mary's: 17-7 record, great RPI (28th), iffy SOS (67th). They are just 2-4 against the top fifty teams in the country. They have won at Washington, but don't have any other marquee win on their resume. Destination: NIT Unless things drastically change by our next issue, our NCAA field is likely set. Of course, there are conference tournaments.... Fact or Fiction: Enoch Horn will win National Player of the Year. This is a call-back to our preview, when we said Horn would be a transcendent player, one who the likes of college basketball would not see again for a generation. Hold that thought. Horn got off to a slow start, then got injured...not enough to sideline him, but enough to hamper him. The scoring has been there, though it has had to pick up steam as the season has gone on. He is not a selfish player, though, and has found his assists going up as the season has gone on. He also takes very good care of the ball (just one turnover a game). Right now, there are a few players ahead of him for this honor. 1. Timofei Malakhov, Kansas. He is likely for this award. Averaging 19.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 2.8 steals a game for the Jayhawks. The Cold Warrior, as he has come to be called, has dazzled fans and given scouts pause as to who the #1 professional prospect in the country is. 2. Murray Dodd, Kentucky. Averaging 19.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.6 steals. His game is not as complete at Malakhov's, as he is more of a scorer and less of a defender. 3. Otokar Schulz, Louisville. The seven-footer is averaging 18.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists for the Cardinals. The Czech Wall has proven himself quite well as the centerpiece of a program, and deserves the recognition. Then, Horn. So, fiction. Next year, though...we still believe all of the propaganda and promotion that precedes him. And we believe next year will be very, very special...not that this year hasn't been. It's just that, next year, he will be top man in college basketball, bar none. Fact or Fiction: Arkansas will win the Southwest. Fact. We never believed anyone other than Arkansas would win it. Texas has always been a sheep in wolf's clothing, even when the AP was parading them around as a top-tier team. Arkansas is one-dimensional, but what a dimension it is. That backcourt of Kerry Groves and Eddy Jarrell is one of the best in the nation. And they'll both be back next season. Fans of Texas, SMU or Baylor won't be pleased, but fans of good basketball will. Arkansas holds a one-game lead on SMU and their own crackerjack backcourt of sophomore Charlie Garay and redshirt junior Blake Hynes. The Mustangs still have to go to Baylor and Colorado, then close the year with Texas Ag and Arkansas on the road. Add in Texas and TCU, and the Mustangs have a difficult slate to clear. They likely won't get through it undefeated...and their in-conference loss is to Arkansas. So that's as good as a two-game lead for the Razorbacks. In other words...this conference is Arkansas' to lose. They also lost it last year. NCAA Projection 1 Kansas State NC State 1 8 Connecticut Morehead State 8 5 Holy Cross Temple 5 4 La Salle Oklahoma A&M 4 East South 3 Duquesne Louisville 3 6 Columbia Duke 6 7 Niagara Arkansas 7 2 Bradley West Virginia 2 1 Indiana Kansas 1 8 Toledo Texas Tech 8 5 Idaho State California 5 4 Dayton Iowa 4 Midwest West 3 San Francisco Washington 3 6 Illinois Utah 6 7 Brigham Young St. John's 7 2 UNC Kentucky 2 |
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07-30-2015, 08:35 AM
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#81 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Baltimore MD
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Will be interesting to see who takes home Freshman of the year in the PCC.
I think its between UCLA's Jean Beckner and our very own Hernando Hernandez. Code:
Code:
Hernando scores and rebounds more, and Jean takes care of the ball and plays more D. Obviously, I want my boy to win, but its encouraging to see him leading the PCC freshman in scouring. Another freshman for us J.C. Quiles leads the freshman in rebounding as well. So maybe our future looks decent. Just need to get rid of these terrible first few seasons. |
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07-30-2015, 08:38 AM
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#82 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Baltimore MD
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The National Basketball Report: March 7, 1955
NBR Top Twenty 1. Indiana (28-1, LW 1) 2. Kansas (25-2, 2) 3. West Virginia (24-3, 3) 4. Kansas State (24-3, 4) 5. Bradley (27-2, 5) 6. NC State (24-6, 6) 7. Kentucky (23-4, 7) 8. North Carolina (25-4, 8) 9. Duquesne (24-5, 9) 10. San Francisco (24-4, 11) 11. Washington (24-5, 10) 12. Louisville (22-7, 14) 13. California (21-6, 20) 14. La Salle (22-7, 12) 15. Dayton (22-6, 15) 16. Idaho State (23-6, 17) 17. Temple (22-6, 19) 18. Illinois (20-6, NR) 19. St. Joseph's (23-6, NR) 20. Columbia (22-5, NR) Dropped Out: Iowa (13), Holy Cross (16), Oklahoma A&M (18) The next page is here for the contender, who are followed by the spotlight. The end is near for the pretender, who are swallowed up by the night. The 1954-55 season has reached its apex. The NCAA and NIT bids will be handed out within the next week. With that in mind, we thought we would give you a short primer as to what news still has to be decided before then. NCAA: Two open bids By our count, there are 24 "locks" for the NCAA Tournament...the seventeen that recent auto-bids by their conferences, as well as, in order of conference, North Carolina, Kansas State, California, Bradley, Duquesne, La Salle, and Dayton. Those that are "likely" to make the tournament include Duke, Illinois, Iowa, Holy Cross, Idaho State, and Temple. There are people inside the tournament committee who believe Holy Cross is out, but we don't believe it. That leaves two bids open. For those two bids, there are but a few contenders. Those who declare themselves as inside the industry claim that Michigan State and Louisville have the pace on those two spots. We tend to disagree with the former. We think Louisville will get in, but along with St. Joseph's. They have the wins, and while they don't have the strength of schedule that other teams do (118th), they are battle-tested enough that they deserve inclusion. Michigan State played virtually all losing teams leading up to Big Ten play, and then played even-ball in a down year for the conference. Miami has a bit of the stats, but they haven't beaten a single ranked team this season. As you'll see in our final projection, Louisville and St. Joseph are the final teams into the ball. You should also know, St. Joseph's game against Lehigh (20-8), in Bethlehem, is a play-in game for the Hawks. If they lose, everything we just said is invalid. NCAA: The Battle For The Top (Seed) There are six teams worthy of being #1 seeds in this year's tournament. Bradley, Indiana, Kansas, Kansas State, NC State, and West Virginia are all stout teams, all credible contenders for the top spot in each region. Unfortunately, only four get a nod. Even more unfortunate, two of those top seeds will get whoever doesn't get selected in their bracket. From where we sit, it is positive that Indiana, Kansas, and Kansas State will get top seeds. They have done more than enough to warrant it. That leaves one spot for three teams. Bradley: 27-2 overall; #5 RPI. 9-2 vs top fifty, 13-0 vs 51-100. Losses to West Virginia and at St. Joseph. Wins at NC State, at Dayton, at Holy Cross, against Vanderbilt, , and St. Louis. Boast one of the game's best players in Antonia Dabney, and one of the game's most pleasing offenses. The only downside may be not enough games versus top competition. NC State: 24-6 going into the ACC Tournament. 13-1 in ACC, arguably the best conference in the nation this year. Also had wins against holy Cross, West Virginia, Duquesne, La Salle, at Illinois. Only conference loss was in finale against North Carolina. Heavy favorite to win ACC Tournament. The only downside was a three-game losing streak, including a game to St. Bonaventure. But three key players were hurt. West Virginia: 32-2, won Southern Conference. Losses to NC State and Georgia Tech. Wins against Bradley, Indiana, at Pitt, vs Holy Cross, and at Notre Dame. Boast one of the game's best rosters, as well as a crackerjack defense. If North Carolina State wins the ACC Tournament (more on that in a second), they'll get the top seed in the South. No doubt on that. If they don't, it probably opens the door for West Virginia. Bradley may be relegated to a #2 seed, regardless of the outcome in the ACC. They will probably be placed in the East bracket, where Kansas State is the likely top seed. What a reward. The Stories Yet Told There are several conferences that do not have a set outcome yet. ACC: NC State, North Carolina, and likely Duke are in. But the ACC Tournament has not been decided. Not only could another team steal a bid, but they could steal Duke's bid. Big 7: The race between Kansas and Kansas State, tied after beating each other in the regular season, is still strong. Kansas has games at 5-22 Oklahoma and at 15-12 Colorado. Kansas State has to travel to 12-17 Iowa State, and go to 17-11 Missouri. Big Ten: The race already settled (Indiana is your champion), but the race for the at-large bids are still on. Illinois and Iowa are likely settled, though they could greatly better their resumes by beating the Hoosiers, who come calling to end the year. Michigan State has Ohio State and Illinois to finish the year. They need both wins to get in. Additionally, if Illinois loses to Indiana, the game against the Spartans could be a play-in game for a bid. Loser falls to the NIT. Border: Decided; Texas Tech (20-7) is in. Ivy: Things get interesting here. Columbia (22-5) holds a one-game edge on Cornell (15-12), and have to travel to Big Red, before finishing at Harvard. Obviously, if they win that game, they win the league outright. Frankly, we're not sure what happens if Cornell wins, though. The Lions won the first matchup, 68-64. For a team with the pedigree of the Lions, a loss, and potential loss of a bid, would be devastating. The Ivy is not prestigious enough, ironically, to get a second team into the ball. If Columbia loses out, they're heading to the NIT. Metro: St. John's is in...as we predicted all season. MAC: If Bowling Green (10-17) wins out, and Toledo (15-12) loses both of their games, the Falcons will steal the MAC bid on the final day of the regular season. Missouri Valley: Tulsa (13-15) is currently 8-1 in the conference, a game ahead of St. Louis (20-8) and a game and a half ahead of Oklahoma A&M (19-7), which choked away the lead last week. However, the Cowboys can still take the title. If they beat Tulsa at home, and then beat Houston, we believe they'll still get the league title, and NCAA bid. They probably won't get in if Tulsa wins the bid, however. Saint Louis is NIT-bound, we believe. Mountain State: Utah (19-7) is your likely champion. Though, if they drop their final two, including one to Utah State (17-10)...things get interesting. That said, expect to see the Redskins in the NCAA Tournament, while the Aggies and BYU (18-9) head to the NIT. Ohio Valley: Morehead State (18-13) is in. Pacific Coast: Cal (21-6) has tied Washington (24-5) for the conference lead, with two games to go. Washington will still probably take the conference title, but for seeding (both are headed to the NCAA), that will make things interesting. Oregon State is NIT-bound; so is Oregon if they can find one more win. SEC: Kentucky (23-4) is your champ, and likely #2 seed in the NCAA. Georgia, MIssissippi State, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech are all playing for the NIT. Southern: West Virginia (32-2) is in. Southwest: Arkansas (22-5) beats TCU (14-13), they're your SWC champion. If they don't, but beat SMU (15-13), they're your SWC champion. If they don't do either of those, well, it depends on others. The Mustangs still have a chance at the NCAA or NIT bids, but they need wins and others to lose. Texas (22-6) is NIT-bound, as everyone knew all along. Except the Associated Press, we mean. WCC: San Francisco (24-4) is in. WNY3: Niagara (20-8) wins against Canisius, they're in. If they don't, and St. Bonaventure (14-14) wins, they're in and the Purple Eagles are NIT-bound. Yankee: Connecticut (18-10) is in a very precarious position. They are up one game on New Hampshire (11-16) and Vermont (13-14) with two to play. They need to win against Massachusetts (12-16), then travel to Vermont, to secure the conference title. They're also without three starters, including likely Yankee Player of the Year, Jessie Calvert. If they lose, they're headed to the NIT. This will be a very interesting time in the Yankee, for sure. These are just a few of the things we'll be watching this week. We believe any fan of college basketball should feel like it's Christmas in March. Final NCAA Projection, 1954-55 Season 1 Kansas State NC State 1 8 Connecticut Morehead State 8 5 Temple Iowa 5 4 La Salle Louisville 4 East South 3 Duquesne Dayton 3 6 Columbia Duke 6 7 Niagara Arkansas 7 2 Bradley West Virginia 2 1 Indiana Kansas 1 8 Toledo Texas Tech 8 5 Holy Cross Illinois 5 4 California Idaho State 4 Midwest West 3 San Francisco Washington 3 6 St. Joseph Oklahoma A&M 6 7 Utah St. John's 7 2 North Carolina Kentucky 2 |
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07-31-2015, 03:38 AM
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#83 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Somewhere More Familiar
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1954-55 Wrap Up: The Stanford Indian Post-Mortem
Prestige: 49 Record: 13-17 Conference Record: 6-10 RPI: 123 vs. Top 50: 1-7 vs. 51-100: 4-6 vs. 101-200: 8-4 Points per Game: 61.9 Points allowed per Game: 61.1 Season MVP: SG Aldo Granados (Sr.) - 17.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.4 blocks 1954 Recap After a brilliant inaugural season, the Stanford Indians took a huge step back in season two, going from an unlikely NCAA tournament berth to a three way tie for last place in the PCC South. Turns out, a three way tie for last place in the PCC South is also a three way tie for second place (USC, UCLA and Stanford all ended the year 6-10 in conference play)...but yeah, still not all that great. The season started off well enough, with a 6-2 open...unfortunately the season would go on to prove that those 8 teams would be a combined 80-157 on the year. From there, things went completely south. A 2-point loss @ Arizona on December 10th started a skid of epic proportions, and the team would wake up on February 2nd a woeful 7-13, having gone 1-11 in December and January (the only win against a woeful Pacific squad that would finish the year 6-23), including 6 straight conference losses to open PCC play. A win over USC on February 5th got us on the board in the PCC for the first time, but we would immediately embarrass ourselves against 9-19 Washington State with a 20 point loss in the next game. Somehow, the 20 point loss must have invigorated the team, as we would close the year 5-3 with two of those losses coming to #11 Washington and #9 Cal, and both by single digits (ignore the 65-35 loss to Oregon in there, because...well, because I said so). Hard to say 'what might have been' with a 13-17 (6-10) record, but there were an awful lot of close games in that record. Going to take that as the silver lining for this season. Senior SG Aldo Granados was everything for the Indians, and is a contender for PCC player of the year as the PCC points leader (6th in the nation) who was no slouch at rebounding (13th in the conference) and defense (6th in the conference in steals). Unfortunately, he was largely a volume scorer as other teams realized that there wasn't much offense behind him. SF Dino Winner was inconsistent at best as a second option, but much more efficient. Granados was a weak .396 from the floor, while Winner shot .537. Try as we may, we couldn't find a way for anyone else to step forward and be that solid second option. There were high hopes for young Sophomore C Andreas Fontes, but while his rebounding was impressive (7.1 per game, good for 7th in the PCC), his 7.4 points and lackluster defense (0.3 steals and 0.3 blocks out of a 7-footer with a 14/A rating in Post Defense) were certainly not impressive. Hopefully next year he can show some improvement, because this year he was the fourth scoring option behind Granados, Winner and Bingham. Speaking of Bingham (that's Junior PG Mark Bingham), he had a solid, if unspectacular year. 8.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists (versus only 1.8 turnovers) and 1.3 steals on .444 shooting. His defense is a little too aggressive (3.1 fouls per game), but we like that enthusiasm. He'll be the most veteran player on the team next year, and will have a LOT of youth to work with. The bench...was almost undoubtedly the downfall of Stanford this season. Only seven players averaged more than 5 minutes per game, and the two main bench players (SF Leif Paredes and 7'0" PG Major Clarke) were hardly impact players, averaging 5.0 and 2.6 points per game respectively. Next season will see more talent on the bench, and hopefully a reduced workload for the starters. Young Guns Report: The 1954 season saw the first ever NCAA53 recruits hit the floor. Stanford's 1953 Recruiting class didn't see much action, however; #181 ranked C Robert Coil and # 355 ranked SF Erik Plant both took a redshirt this season, as they figured to be the 9th player at best if they were to play this season. Turns out, they might have been useful had they been playing. That left #249 C Annibal Jeanlouis and walk-on centers Thomas Willaims (6'10") and Major Clarke (7'0"). Jeanlouis held down the starting PF position all season long, and did ok for a young man surrounded by pretty decent talent. In 28 minutes per contest, Annibal averaged 5.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.4 steals and 0.4 blocks per game. Impressively, and despite a lackluster Handling skill, he turned the ball over less than every other starter. Clarke laughably clocked the most minutes this season at the PG slot, where he was marginally effective. Less than half a turnover per game, nearly an assist per game, and all of this in less than 15 minutes per. Willaims only clocked 5 minutes per game, but was somewhat impressive in the time he had, shooting 56% from the floor and absolutely choking at the free throw line despite a decent rating there. Happy Trails Report: Graduating this season are PCC Player of the Year Candidate SG Aldo Granados, second leading scorer SF Dino Winner and warm body SF Mitchell Neill. Neill logged all of 39 minutes all season, so he will not be missed. However, Granados and Winner were quite possibly the two best players on the floor this season. Which means 1955 could be a LOOOONG year. Granados will retire with 1,002 career points for Stanford, which will be the school record for at least a few years until we can get some players with multiple seasons under their belts. New Faces Report: Stanford's recruiting class is quite a bit more prestigious this season, as we weren't afraid to throw the weight of our conference's reputation around while recruiting. The jewel of this year's class is Four Star Frenchman Romain Dehalle. The #40 overall recruit, the PF clocks in at 6'6" and our scouts like him an awful lot. His jumper could use some work, and he'll turn the ball over a fair amount...but he's already adept at creating his own shot, should be a monster on the boards and definitely has a nose for blocking shots. He's a little undersized for the front court at 6'6", but his athleticism should help a whole hell of a lot. Right behind Dehalle is PG Chris Mohler, the #100 recruit in the nation and an All-State basketball player from Arizona. He is amazingly quick, already a ballhawk on defense, and projects to eventually be a plus shooter from the field. The only knock on Mohler is his size: at 5'8" some of the cheerleaders are taller than he is. Tremendously physically gifted, we're hoping he can find a way to make it work. Our third and final scholarship has been committed to by #133 prospect SF Stan Dyer out of Australia. A bit more of a project, Dyer appears to have a lot of room to grow on the defensive side of the ball. He also projects to be a decent shooter from range eventually, though he has a lot of work to do there as well. He DOES seem to be a stellar free throw shooter, so he's got that going for him. Between Plant, Paredes and Webb next season, Dyer will more than likely redshirt his freshman year, simply because we don't have a spot for him. All in all, this was a much stronger recruiting class than in 1953 (at least on paper), and that is a huge sigh of relief after the disastrous season on the court the Indian faithful had to endure in 1954. 1955 Preview: C Andreas Fontes (Jr) PF Robert Coil (Fr*) SF Erik Plant (Fr*) SG Romain Dehalle (Fr) PG Mark Bingham (Sr) 6th Anibal Jeanlouis (So) 7th Leif Paredes (Jr) 8th Chris Mohler (Fr) In '55, Stanford looks to be a little deeper than they were last season, but they also don't appear to have the top end talent they did with Granados and Winner on the floor. The team looks to be a LOT bigger; PG Bingham will be the shortest player on the court at 6'4", and Dehalle will be manning the 2 guard spot at 6'6". Plant is 6'9", Coil is 6'8" and Fontes a towering 7'0". That's an average height of 6'7.8"! Hopefully we'll be able to parlay that size into a nice advantage for ourselves. Cal will still be the class of the PCC South, but USC and UCLA look to continue to be at Stanford's level in terms of talent on the floor, so anything goes in the PCC next year. If Fontes takes a step forward offensively (his stats/ratings say this isn't a crazy hope), Dehalle is as good as advertised, and '54 redshirts Coil and Plant aren't awful, the team could be an underdog to watch. Unfortunately, all those if's, but's and maybe's could very easily make Stanford all hat and no cattle come 1955. Last edited by Vince, Pt. II : 07-31-2015 at 01:55 PM. Reason: Formatting, editing. |
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07-31-2015, 03:32 PM
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#84 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Somewhere More Familiar
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1954-55 Wrap Up: The Dartmouth Indian Post-Mortem
Prestige: 33 Record: 11-19 Conference Record: 6-8 RPI: 151 vs. Top 50: 0-4 vs. 51-100: 3-6 vs. 101-200: 8-9 Points per Game: 61.8 Points allowed per Game: 65.4 Season MVP: SF Sonny Freeman (Fr.) - 15.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.5 blocks 1954 Recap Dartmouth was all over the place this year. The season opened with an absolute demolition of Drake in the MSG Holiday Festival, followed by close losses to #20 St. Joseph's (4 points) and Syracuse (8 points). Freshmen frontcourt duo Charles Smith and Sonny Freeman immediately made their presence known, averaging 17.3 and 17.0 points per game in the tournament, giving Indian fans a lot of hope for what could be a fantastic Ivy League season. Unfortunately, inconsistency was the theme of the whole year. Outside of a signature (and inexplicable) victory over Columbia, Dartmouth did not beat a single team with a winning record all year. There were, of course, plenty of close losses to quality teams (St. Joseph's, St. John's, Cornell twice), but there were also inexplicable losses to cellar dwellers like Hardin-Simmons (3-26), Brooklyn (4-25) and Maine (9-19). The culprit? Defense. Dartmouth was near the bottom of the entire NCAA in points, rebounds and fouls against. Despite leading the Ivy in steals and being third in blocks, they simply gave their opponents too many opportunities. What is heartening is that they were getting the steals and blocks - as the very young team matures, hopefully the egregious fouls (we're looking at you, Sonny Freeman) and turnovers will lessen, and the steals and blocks will mean more. On the plus side, Freeman and Smith are not at all afraid to bang around under the basket, and helped Dartmouth draw the 3rd most fouls in the entire nation. When it comes to individual performances, look no further than freshman SF Sonny Freeman. Despite being only the #222 ranked recruit in the nation last year, he lit up the Ivy League in his freshman year, coming in 3rd in scoring, 5th in rebounding, 10th in steals and 9th in blocks. Even more impressive is his efficiency - he managed all of this on .454 shooting. He should easily win Ivy League freshman of the year, and has a pretty legitimate argument for player of the year as well (though in all honesty we expect Columbia SF Chris Telles to pull down that honor). With all that being said, Freeman is a fouling machine and turns the ball over with some regularity - something we can attribute to his youth, but hopefully will be cleaned up as he grows. One has to wonder how disappointed Yale is to watch Freeman - they seemed to have the upper hand in recruiting him, being tops on their list early in the season despite interest from Dartmouth...until he flipped Yale for us in August. Freeman isn't the only reason for optimism for the Indians, as fellow frontcourt freshman PF Charles Smith had a stellar introductory year as well. Ranked #540 in the US coming out of high school, Dartmouth got him on the call list early, and started courting him in earnest in July. Largely overlooked early in the year, by September he was garnering a lot of interest, most notably from Cornell. Early investment was key, however, and he ended up coming to Dartmouth. If not for Freeman, he might easily have been the Freshman of the Year in the Ivy League. His 13.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game were good for 6th, 8th and 8th in the conference respectively. Like Freeman, he turns the ball over and fouls a little excessively (though not as bad on either count as Freeman), but we'll hopefully attribute this to his youth. The biggest disappointment of the season for the Indians was without a doubt Junior PG David Bratcher. Despite solid ratings across the board, he struggled both offensively and defensively, turning the ball over nearly twice per game and only managing 2.5 assists per contest despite having both Freeman and Smith to distribute to. Not only that, he managed a meager 6.7 points per game on .328 shooting - simply unacceptable numbers. He'll have to show some pretty big improvement in the offseason; the only reason Bratcher didn't lose his job this year was the lack of an alternative. The bench was, like Stanford, a weakness. Unlike Stanford's two-deep bench, Dartmouth went three deep, and had two other guys with decent minutes. Unfortunately, the talent just simply isn't there. In 1955 Dartmouth will have four new recruits and will also get the services of 1954 redshirt Marin Dutries, so hopefully will not have to lean on the starters as much. Young Guns Report: There isn't much to be said that hasn't been said about Dartmouth's impressive youth. The 'other two' recruits from the 1953 class, #196 PF Marin Dutries out of Canada and #307 SG Rodrick McFall out of North Carolina, show equal signs of promise. Dutries is a defense first big who will be a tremendous add to a team starved for defense this year. He redshirted in 1954 and has shown some impressive development thus far. At 6'8", he's a bit undersized, but will probably be the starting center come the fall. McFall actually played more minutes than anyone on the team in 1954, manning the starting SG slot all season long. He had a solid, if unspectacular, year that would garner a lot more attention had he not been overshadowed by the stellar performances of his fellow freshmen. 7.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 0.9 steals on .455 shooting as a freshman is a line to be proud of. We had two walk-on freshmen as well - SF Ike McMullen was a mediocre contributor off the bench, and PG Kenny Hansen actually looks like he has some talent...not realizing Bratcher was going to be so awful, we let him redshirt in 1954, so he'll look to take the floor in 1955 and challenge Bratcher for that starting slot. Happy Trails Report: After watching fan favorite German Vargas ride off into the sunset with fellow All-League 1st Teamers Neal Vanderpool and David Molloy last season, this year Dartmouth fans get to watch...no one of real note leave. Starting center Andres Theodore was quietly underrated all season despite being the only player on the team to post a positive +/- for the season. Other than Theodore, graduating seniors Hickman, Keefe and Fletcher played a combined 225 minutes all season long, with the bulk of that going to SF Charles Hickman. None will be missed. New Faces Report: Like Stanford, Dartmouth aimed a little higher on the recruiting trail this season. Despite garnering recruits 196, 222, 307 and 540 last year, this year we look to bring in #'s 134, 201, 204 and a player-to-be-named-later (who looks to be ranked lower than the rest of the recruits). #134 is C David Omara out of Florida. He's undersized for C at 6'7", but weighs in at a robust 248 and is strong as hell. Our scouts...well, they actually kind of hate him. But what do our scouts know?!!? He projects to be a defense-first big with a decent mid-range jumper. #201 is 6'6" SF Christopher Morehead. Mr. Basketball from Maine, Morehead was a nice snag to steal him from Harvard who led on him all the way until October. Perseverance paid off, and now he wears the Dartmouth green! He looks to be a solid all-around player eventually, who is slightly more polished on the defensive end at this point (could you tell there was a theme to recruiting this season?). The #204 recruit is SG David McMullin, who played high school ball against current freshman Rodrick McFall. Also, we may be looking into changing from the Indians to the Irish, considering our roster next year (McMullen, McMullin, McFall and McLaughlin). David is another all-rounder who projects to have a dangerous outside shot once all is said and done. There's still one scholarship to fill, and we have a pretty good idea who it will be...but we'll wait until it's a lock to mention him here. One player to keep an eye on - we went after SF Douglas Russell hard for a lot of the year, and he was simply not moved by our overtures. He signed with Brooklyn, and we'll definitely be keeping an eye on him. We'll more than likely play him next season, as we definitely want revenge for the loss to them this season. 1955 Preview: C Marin Dutries (Fr*) PF Charles Smith (So) SF Sonny Freeman (So) SG Rodrick McFall (So) PG David Bratcher (Sr) 6th Tony Buford (Sr*) 7th Kenny Hansen (Fr*) 8th David Omara (Fr) 9th Christopher Morehead (Fr) 10th David McMullin (Fr) Returning four starters in 1955, Dartmouth looks primed to be a whole hell of a lot better than they were in 1954. Dutries looks to be an outright upgrade over Theodore. Smith, Freeman and McFall are all going to have an extra season of development, and Bratcher will have Buford and Hansen breathing down his neck if he doesn't clean up his act. There's a good chance one or more of the recruits (likely Morehead) gets a redshirt, if only because we have much more depth (and sort of a logjam in the frontcourt). The unfortunate thing is that we have lost any semblance of size. Our biggest player next season will be 6'9" 215 pound Charles Smith...who plays like a stud, but not exactly an interior-dominating behemoth. The talent will have increased significantly, so hopefully that can offset the size discrepancy we're likely to face a lot of the time. As for the rest of the Ivy, Columbia looks to be taking a huge step back in terms of talent on the floor. They lose their #2 and #3 scorers in Creekmore and Evans, and their first two players off the bench in Jackson and Davidson. They've got some decent young talent, but not a lot of it has seen much action, and it frankly doesn't look like they will be a team of the same caliber next season. Cornell loses two starters and their sixth man, but only Reams was a true impact player. Jones, Garrett and Martin will be back with some more development. They could be trouble again next season. Brown is in...trouble. They lose Schmuck and Long, so they better hope Lindstrom is as good as advertised. Harvard is losing any semblance of talent they may have had on the roster to begin with outside of Unknow. Then we get to the interesting teams: Penn, Princeton and Yale. Between the three of them they're only graduating one or two seniors who were impact players, and each of them has a young cadre of players who are already getting important minutes. With a few recruiting bumps, any of these teams could kick up to the top tier of the Ivy. 1955 should be an interesting year for our little brainiacs. |
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07-31-2015, 04:52 PM
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#85 | |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Las Vegas
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Quote:
Best way to describe how we played.  Last edited by murrayyyyy : 07-31-2015 at 04:53 PM. |
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08-02-2015, 09:26 AM
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#86 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Baltimore MD
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And as expected, USC takes a loss to Stanford 68-61 in the last game of the year for us.
Not much to celebrate this year with the exception of what we hope to be another good recruiting class. This is how we looked Code:
When you are ranked at the very bottom of the conference in just about every statistical category, well I guess you could say that I am happy that we won 13 games. We finished up in a three way tie with Stanford, and UCLA at 6-10 in PCC Play. Code:
The three teams that are going to tournaments are Washington and Cal, both to the NCAA and then Oregon State to the NIT. Oregon State is going to start to become a concern of mine. They are at a Prestige of 53 and I cannot afford them to be hopping right up the Prestige chain and we sit in our on suckitude. Next year is going to be a big year for us in terms of trying to get some wins and I am not sure we are going to be able to do it. We are so stinking young. We might start all Freshman and Sophmores next year. Bright spot, we will have 4 guys in the post, plus Benito Lightfoot got some experience down there if we need a 5th guy. Hopefully that will help solve some of our issues. Time will tell on that one though. Looking forward to seeing how Cal and Washington do in the NCAA bracket. Cal the 3rd seed draws a dangerous Illinois squad. Not sure how that one will go. Washington (4 seed) drew Dayton the 5th seed. If Wexler and Fenton show up, I like them to win. Either way I would like some wins so we can keep our money as that is crucial to me bringing in decent classes at the moment. |
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08-02-2015, 10:38 AM
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#87 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Jul 2001
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Quote:
Making the second round will be good for them, don't think they get any more than that  I did the best I could recruiting for my Idaho squad this year and have put them on complete auto pilot since. I'm not really happy with my recruiting this year, we'll see if we start getting some small incremental improvements when my redshirts from this year start playing. Its going to be so insanely difficult to rise up in this conference with everyone in it. |
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08-02-2015, 11:12 AM
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#88 | |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Somewhere More Familiar
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Quote:
I don't know if that was such a given this season. |
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08-02-2015, 12:24 PM
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#89 | |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: May 2006
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Quote:
I can feel your pain there. Even with a somewhat kinder prestige situation Harvard is looking at a lot of struggles in the Ivy. |
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08-02-2015, 12:25 PM
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#90 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: May 2006
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Crimson Focus: 1954 Review
Final Record: 11-18(4-10), 144 RPI, last place Team Leaders: Points: Small(12.3), Black(8.6), Unknow(8.3) Rebounds: Black(6.2), Winner(5.8), Cave(5.8) Assists: Unknow(2.7), Small(1.9), Black/Osborne(1.8) Steals + Blocks: Unknow(1.3), Small/Winner/Cave(0.8) Harvard was a hard-working team this year that was just a little bit overmatched. They rebounded well by committee, but didn't shoot it well enough, especially from the free-throw line, didn't defend well enough, and gave up way too many freebies at that end themselves. They pushed the tempo a bit more than the others in the cerebral Ivy; at just under 70 possessions a game, they were 35th in the nation in terms of pace. Overall, the offense ranked 5th in the Ivy and 77th in the nation; defensively they were 6th and 132nd. That's definitely the end where they need the most work. Graduates Four players depart this year, two starters and two reserves, contributors all. It'll be a significantly different group taking the hardwood next year. G Charles Small -- 12.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.9 apg, 2.8 topg, 43% fg, 67% ft Small was a volume shooter, and not a particularly efficient one, but he was the best offensive threat the Crimson had these past couple of years. This was both the fault of a limited offense forcing him to take too many shots, and also the fact that he wasn't the type of guy to put the work in on his shot which really could have become a more accurate weapon. He was also a plus defender, and that will really be something that is missed next year. G Ronald Osborne -- 18.2 mpg, 6.1 ppg, 41% fg, 75% ft Osborne was the top backcourt reserve the past couple of seasons, improving considerably at running the offense to post a positive assist-to-turnover ratio this year. A good shooter and athlete but a disaster defensively. F William Black -- 8.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 44% fg, 62% ft The team's best rebounder and a solid complementary option, Black rarely turned the ball over and was as good as anyone on the team at getting his own shot when necessary. He was also the best perimeter defender the Crimson had. With himself and Small graduating, any semblance on defense on the outside may well be flying away with them. F Arthur Black -- 8.9 mpg, 2.9 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 49% fg, 74% ft Black saw his first significant time as a minor bench contributor in his finalk season. He was an accurate shooter and another guy who guarded well on the perimeter. 1955 Outlook The hope is that Don Unknow(8.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.7 apg, 44% fg) continues his progression as he heads into his junior season. Even though he was a very good rebounder this year that's actually the area we expect him to continue to grow the most in, along with hopefully becoming a bit more accurate shooting the ball. Alongside him in the backcourt will probably be incoming freshman Matthew Cordoba, who combines very good isolation skills with passable ball skills and defense and has the athleticism to contribute right away according to the early reports. The frontcourt will probably determine how much Harvard does. They should be deeper than before but nobody that's really particularly good and the talent level in the Ivy is increasing all the time. Sophomore Bobby Cunningham(15.4 mpg, 5 ppg, 47% fg) probably gets the swingman spot, and the interior pairing of Kenneth Winner and Shane Cave would be the presumptive starters inside. However, it's likely that one of them will be displaced by another sophomore, Bennett Anderson, who has shown himself to be the best interior defender on the team despite being limited in size(6-7, 206). Both Anderson and Cunningham should get at least somewhat better, while the senior pairing has basically already peaked. Then there are big men So. Marvin Maroney and redshirt freshman William Ingram, neither of whom saw the court in their first year. Harvard should still have plenty of rebounding to go around, but how much will they be able to put with it? There are high hopes for not only Cordoba but also guard Lawerence Bailey of Georgia, and if New York forward Clay Davis ever finally commits he could do someething eventually perhaps. Both Bailey and Davis need seasoning though, and not much is expected of them next year. The Crimson are probably treading water here, doing little more than replacing what they are losing if that. In the increasingly competitive Ivy Group, that probably means another last-place finish. It does appear that there is more talent coming in this year than last, and if they can continue that trend, a more competitive future may well be possible. It's likely to be a long and bumpy road however. |
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08-02-2015, 12:26 PM
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#91 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: May 2006
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With a couple years in the books, there's enough history to start looking at my 'other' programs now that they have some history built up with the players. This here is a look at the Tulane Green Wave, who ... uh ... have a cool nickname. At least I think so. They haven't got much else. While head coach Hal Vanderhoff has been mentioned multiple times for his surprising recruiting success in no less a periodical than the prestigious National Basketball Report, his record currently stands at 13-47 with a .217 winning percentage after two years on the job. This year they were 5-24, 2-12 in the SEC, with a 162 RPI. That means the computers think there were only seven teams in the entire country who were worse.
1954 Team Leaders Points: Eusebio Williams(12.8), Michael Brooks(10.7), Ricky Schulz(8.0) Rebounds: Daniel Bolin(6.4), Ricky Schulz(5.1), William Tyler(4.5) Assists: Ricky Schulz(3.3), Eusebio Williams(2.0), Michael Brooks(1.5) Steals + Blocks: Randal Markus/Michael Brooks(1.3), Ricky Schulz(1.2) When you consider that top scorer Eusebio Williams and versatile Ricky Schulz were part of his first recruiting class, it certainly looks like Vanderhoff has been bringing in some better talent. It just hasn't been nearly good enough yet. Michael Brooks is a nice player he inherited and he still has a couple years to go as well. Tulane will be seeing a lot more of almost everyone listed above, which bodes well for the next couple of years being at least better than the disaster this season was. Problem #1 for the bottom three teams in the SEC(Alabama, Tennessee, and Tulane) was that in this conference, if you don't rebound, you don't have much of a chance. And Tulane didn't rebound. At all. They were dead last on both ends in that category, and 165th overall. I mean it doesn't get much more pathetic than that. They bested only LSU in initial defense(46.3% fg allowed), didn't get nearly enough of the times they did miss, and then topped it all off by sending their opponents to the line an SEC-worst 23.9 times a game. Add it all up and it's by far the worst defense in the conference(99.6 efficiency) and tied for 158th nationally. Offensively, despite a horrid 166th in offensive rebounding, they were not nearly so bad. They did shoot a solid 45+% from the field(3rd in the SEC, 56th overall) and were subpar but not horrible in the turnover department. Graduating Players Four leave, but a couple of them were dead weight. C William Tyler -- 5.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.6 bpg, 43% fg, 61% ft Tyler is the lone departing starter, an early-season lineup change due to his ability to block shots and play a vague semblance of post defense. Since none of the other options could rebound anyway, it didn't hurt to have a bit of resistance in there. G Phillip Patel -- 9.5 mpg, 3.3 ppg, 1.3 apg, 51% fg. Demoted from being a starter his junior year with the arrival of Williams and Schultz, Patel was the best passer on the team and possibly should have seen more time in his final season. He couldn't spell defense though, and with the players that are incoming I can't imagine he'll be too difficult to replace. G Colin Hadfield was reduced as well, from super sub to a garbage-time role, while G David Phipps was actually elevated from glorified cheerleader to garbage-time sub. 1955 Outlook If you look at the returning talent around the SEC, without factoring in the new recruits, Tulane is still at the bottom. LSU probably is in about the same boat with at least three good players gone, Florida looks a little better, but most of the conference is still in another stratosphere. But about half of the dead weight on the roster is departing and being replaced by what appear to be much better players. The Green Wave are getting better; the question is, will it be enough to matter? Quite possibly that won't happen for at least another year. Queried about the rebounding struggles, Coach Vanderhoff stated simply that he will be looking to get the best out of every player, not trying to make them into something they are not. On the one hand this is a sensible approach; on the other, if they don't hit the glass a lot harder next year and a third straight 20-loss compaign results, the fans are not likely to be amused no matter what the experts say of his recruiting. JC transfer Charles Garrett is expected to be an impact player just like Schultz was this year, though admittedly he isn't ranked as highly by the publications. He's a good athlete though not particularly strong with excellent one-on-one skills and a good jumper, but when it comes to defense or handling the ball ... yikes. Most likely he'll be offense off the bench along with sophomore Kelly Doughty(21.1 mpg, 7.7 ppg, 38% fg). The starters will probably be senior Ricky Schulz(8.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.3 apg, 50% fg), sophomore Eusebio Williams(12.8 ppg, 0.7 spg, 45% fg, 81% ft), and junior Michael Brooks(10.7 ppg, 52% fg) running the same three-guard attack that they did this year. That part of the team worked fine. The lone quality rebounder -- that's worded intentionally, I didn't mean to say merely 'best' -- is back in senior Daniel Bolin(7.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 45% fg). In his third year as a starter, he'll be hoping for some help on the inside. The most likely source is another senior, Randal Markus(21.6 mpg, 3.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 43% fg) who can defend and block shots a bit but was basically a poor man's version of the departed William Tyler and lost the starting job early in the year. The hope is he'll learn from the experience. There is more help on the way. While there are no players that jump out as the guys every school wanted, lightning-quick G Leslie Schroeder of Texas was coveted by Houston and he's coming to Tulane which will keep the backcourt loaded after Schultz graduates. F Xavier McHale is expected to bring long-range shooting, rebounding, and general defensive disruption, while C Kenneth Courtney(6-9, 221) may be a beanpole and he's never going to score much, but he's strong as an ox and looks to have the ability to become an elite rebounder and eventually a quality defender. All of them look like they'll need some time before they can contribute, but rebounding help looks like it's on the way ... at some point. Last edited by Brian Swartz : 08-02-2015 at 12:29 PM. |
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08-02-2015, 12:31 PM
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#92 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: May 2006
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'Victors' the current Michigan Wolverines certainly are not. This is a football school, enamored with the rose-colored vision of the past in memory of Fielding H. Yost's 'point-a-minute' gridiron greats, and Tom Harmon's many talents in winning the Heisman trophy a decade and a half ago central among them. On the hardwood, it's been another story. Since his arrival two years ago, Paul Maloney has seen the Wolverines struggle to maintain mediocrity in the Big Ten. And at Michigan, that simply will not do. Michigan expects champions.
It's got to be one step at a time here though. Beating Purdue, Wisconsin, and Northwestern consistently comes first. Right now Michigan is not only not a champion, but the Sporting News considers them the worst basketball program in the conference, well behind even that farmer school from East Lansing and the school that shall not be mentioned south of the border. After a 15-14 season was at least respectable in '53, the Wolverines suffered injuries to their best two players and despite a solid finish recorded a 12-17(5-9) mark this last year. The RPI was kinder, ranking them 68th in the nation, but there is still much work to be done. Team Leaders Points: Jarvis Sarabia(15.2), Daniel Criner(10.6), Brian Whisler(9.4) Rebounds: Homer McDonald(6.6), Daniel Criner(6.4), Jeff Sandlin(5.4) Assists: Brian Whisler(3.9), Gayle Tovar(3.0), Jarvis Sarabia(1.9) Steals + Blocks: Jeff Sandlin(1.9), Daniel Criner(1.7), Homer McDonald(1.3) The biggest problem this year was injuries that kept Sarabia and Criner, unquestionably the team's best two players, out for over a month each. By the time they were back Michigan had lost the first seven games of the Big Ten schedule and their season was dead. They won four of six to end the year to avoid a last-place finish and hopefully minimize any further damage to the school's reputation, but it was still a disappointing year. All teams have injury problems from time to time, and just as much of an issue is that Michigan, while possessing decent depth, didn't have enough to survive the loss of their stars. In the nuts and bolts of it, the Wolverines were a middle-of-the-pack offensive team but dead last in the Big Ten on defense. Only Purdue gave up more than their 47.1% shooting allowed, and nobody in the conference was close to putting their opponents on the line as much as the 23.2 times per game they averaged; only the Boilermakers managed more than 20! So really it comes down to discipline, particularly with the seniors out. Graduating Players There's a lot of talent walking out the door -- it doesn't figure to get any easier for Coach Maloney. G Jarvis Sarabia -- 15.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 45% fg. All those who say a short guard(5-9) can't be a premier scorer in college basketball, Sarabia would invite to take a look at his career. Combining quickness, a fast and accurate mid-range game, and fantastic handles, he was the Michigan offense the last couple of years, the cog that made everything else work by the pressure he put on the defense. F Daniel Criner -- 10.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.1 spg, 0.6 bpg, 49% fg, 79% fg There isn't much that Criner didn't do at least fairly well. Another undersized guy, but you can't argue with the results. Only Wisconsin's Chris Leon rebounded better at 6-4 or shorter in the conference. Playmaking wasn't really his thing, but everything else pretty much was and he was an excellent perimeter defender. G Gayle Tovar -- 20.7 mpg, 6.8 ppg, 3.0 apg, 45% fg, 70% ft Tovar started nine games with Sarabia out and was the playmaking engine of the second unit the rest of the year after seeing the court rarely prior to his final season. He never made the most of his physical abilities, didn't defend much and wasn't much of an individual offensive threat, but his passing made a considerable impact this year. F Henry Parker -- Not much to say, two years as a garbage-time player. 1955 Outlook Maloney's initial class was savaged as a failure but this was not entirely a fair analysis. One of the players(James Beane) made significant contributions this year and while none of them could significantly improve on a turnstile in their defensive prowess, they do have other contributions to make and the goal was just to get talent on the roster. In one out of two, he succeeded. Junior Brian Whisler(9.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.9 apg, 0.7 spg, 52% fg) showed this year that he'll be a fixture in the backcourt. He's as important as any of the returning starters and a serviceable effort on defense is expected to get better the next couple of years. The other guard is a question mark though. Local All-Stater William Harrison's lack of scoring potential scared away a lot of potential suitors but as a defender and distributor Michigan really likes him. That's down the road though, he isn't expected to be ready from prime-time right away and neither is the much less heralded Chris Strobel. Redshirt sophomore James Hunnicutt(14.8 mpg, 4.3 ppg, 39% fg) will probably get the call and he handles the ball well enough and can shoot it from deep and rebound, though defense is quite suspect. The frontcourt is in better shape with junior Homer McDonald(8.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 0.9 spg, 45% fg) and senior Jeff Sandlin(5.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.2 bpg, 47% fg) both providing physical play inside. There really isn't a serviceable swingman though and newcomer Emile Patel doesn't fit the bill, nor does sophomore James Beane(18.7 mpg, 8.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 41% fg) whose strength is attacking the basket inside. Hunnicutt is the best option there although undersized, but they'll need early contributions from one of the young guards if that's going to happen. Either way, there is going to be a hole in the lineup somewhere unless something unexpected develops. The biggest news, both literally and figuratively, came when Ervin Session(7-0, 284) decided to come from Georgia to play for Michigan. He relies more on size than athletic ability, but projects as an elite interior scorer and shotblocker with very good hands for a big man and enough skill on the defensive end not to be a liability. It all depends on how much work he puts in, but Maloney views Session as a legitimate program-changer, the literal centerpiece around which he plans to build the Wolverines into a program that the powers of the conference can no longer safely ignore. Looking around the conference right now before the freshmen come in, Michigan probably has more coming back than Minnesota or Wisconsin but they are still expected to struggle against the rest of the Big Ten. That picture will gradually change though if they pull in another class or two like this one. They'll pretty much lose only Sandlin after next year, so if Maloney plays his cards right, they could start making a bit of noise in a couple seasons. |
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08-02-2015, 08:01 PM
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#93 | |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Seattle
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Quote:
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08-03-2015, 10:03 AM
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#94 | |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Baltimore MD
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4 more years is good enough to get decent to good depending on classes, especially if its Radi, but you make a good point that I think we all keep forgetting about. I am interested in seeing what some guys do once some shake-ups happen in the conferences. It will be interesting to see who decides to keep coaches where. I think Britrock is already on record somewhere saying once Oregon leaves he is switching his coach to the Big 10. We need a few more new guys to come in so we can fill up all the big conferences. I think we are pretty close now, but need some more. |
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08-03-2015, 10:05 AM
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#95 | |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Baltimore MD
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lol, well I only had 2 post players so...... I think its safe to say we both sucked this year |
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08-03-2015, 10:09 AM
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#96 | |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Baltimore MD
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I think that's what makes this league so fun. Although, I will say I think we are all trying not to step on each others toes at the moment. Meaning once we are on recruits where someone else is we drop off and find a new one. I think I have only had one time so far in 2 seasons in the PCC where Oregon State stayed on a kid that I lead with to try and mess with me and then after a sim bounced off. Once we have our rosters filled with guys we recruited I wonder if we will start to see more recruiting battles taking place early on. |
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08-03-2015, 10:24 AM
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#97 | ||
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Head Coach
Join Date: Jul 2001
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I have very little experience in bringing up a bad team in this version. Though I do have a lot of experience recruiting in general so maybe once I get a better feel for how to do it on a crappy team I'll figure it out, we'll see. Quote:
I actually didn't look ahead at all when I chose my teams. I suspect I'll always keep NC State and try to win titles, I'll probably keep Houston, Idaho I may ditch in favor of another conference full of human opponents, since I imagine Idaho and Houston may end up being very similar circumstances in different parts of the country after the shakeup. |
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08-03-2015, 11:45 AM
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#98 | |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Las Vegas
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What did you expect me to do with all that money after the CPU hired me crap coaches?  |
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08-03-2015, 12:04 PM
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#99 | |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Las Vegas
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Can't wait for that rough Mid-Atlantic schedule to come up for St. Joseph's. LaSalle 3 times a year! |
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08-03-2015, 02:08 PM
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#100 | |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Seattle
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Quote:
If britrock does indeed abandon Oregon when they go independent we'll need someone to take them over once they're invited into the AAWU. Unfortunately it will take a while until Arizona and ASU are invited in. Either one of those teams would be an interesting one to run - Arizona is already in a pretty good position in the BIAA, and a human coach running that team could likely have them winning that conference regularly (and then later the WAC) and set them up to be in a good spot in terms of prestige once 1978 finally rolls around. |
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