College Hoops 2k8: A New Challenge

[Eaglesfan27]

15:00 - Very intense defense from both sides. Tied at 5. McCurry has all of our points so far.

14:42 - McCurry picks up his 2nd foul. He'll remain in the game for now.

11:59 - Our starters are tired. Tied at 11 as I bring in the 2nd unit.

7:00 - Over the last 3 minutes, Moye has had 3 dunks. When he is dominating inside like this, we are very hard to beat. We are up 26-20.

5:14 - Pait with a very acrobatic dunk and the foul. He makes the FT. We are up 31-22.

2:10 - I bring back my starters. We are up 35-27.




Halftime: We lead 39-30.


12:42 - We've played very sloppy the last 3 minutes. We lead 48-45. I bring in the 2nd unit.

5:39: Percy Moye fouled out. Byerson hurt his knee on the play. We lead 65-60.

4:10 - I bring back all of the starters minus Blizzard. Pait is on fire and will finish the game. We lead 71-62.


We win the game 82-66. Always fun to beat the Bruins.



Pait was the player of the game with 32 points, 2 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 13 of 19, 5 of 9, and 1 of 1.

Detrick with 0 points, 5 assists, and 5 turnovers. He shot 0 of 1.

McCurry with 14 points, 1 board, 1 assist, and 1 steal. He shot 3 of 8.

Blizzard with 6 points and a board. He shot 2 of 8 and only played 18 minutes as Pait played 24.

Boxley with 4 points and 3 boards.

Enzweiler with 6 points, 9 boards, and a block.

Moye with 9 points, 4 boards, and a block.

Mendoza with 4 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, and 3 steals. He shot 2 of 4.

Didlake with 3 points and 6 assists. He shot 1 of 2.

[hoopsguy]

Looking at the stats, it seems like two different teams when you play the games compared to the PC. Pait is an All-American for you and Detrick is a scrub. Blizzard is a stud for the computer, while he seems like merely a good contributor under your control.

I fully expect to see different results based on your individual playing preferences, but I can't remember it being this stark in any of the other seasons in this dynasty.

[Eaglesfan27]

We are now 21-4 (12-1) and have risen to 3rd in the media poll.

The top 10:

1. Nevada 25-0
2. Miami (FL) 21-3
3. USC 21-4
4. Ohio State 23-5
5. West Virginia 22-3
6. Villanova 23-4
7. Tennessee 24-3
8. Oklahoma 19-4
9. North Carolina 21-5
10. UConn 20-7

Niagara is 20th with a 22-6 record. Nice to see my old team still hanging around.


Feb 22, 2029 -

Today we travel to play ASU. They are 12-12.


As expected, we beat them 82-70. Detrick led the way with 22 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals.

Boxley with 17 points, 5 boards, and 2 blocks.

Blizzard with 12 points, 4 boards, and 3 assists.

Didlake with 8 points and 4 assists.

Pait with 6 points and 3 boards. He shot 1 of 4.



Our 2nd to last regular season game is at WSU. They are 13-13.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by hoopsguy

Looking at the stats, it seems like two different teams when you play the games compared to the PC. Pait is an All-American for you and Detrick is a scrub. Blizzard is a stud for the computer, while he seems like merely a good contributor under your control.

I fully expect to see different results based on your individual playing preferences, but I can't remember it being this stark in any of the other seasons in this dynasty.

Yeah, I don't get it at all. Detrick should be a stud for me. He has 5 bars almost anywhere beyond the arc, but I just seem to be having trouble hitting shots with him despite the fact that I'm fairly sure I'm hitting his release point close to perfect if not perfect. I've practiced with him and can hit his shot perfect in practice. It's not that difficult. His 3 point rating is 93 now and he should be lighting it up, but he isn't. Pait on the other hand has a very very fast release and it should be difficult for me to hit consistently, yet he gets on these amazing streaks where it seems like he can't miss. As for Blizzard, he has a funky release point and I have trouble hitting it consistently, but he was doing good there for me for a few games.

[Eaglesfan27]

16:20 - Detrick draws a 2nd foul on their star center, Snow. We are down 6-4.

14:26 - Boxley gets a 2nd foul on Conroy. We are down 11-6.

10:04 - Sloppy last 4 minutes. We are down 19-13. I bring in the 2nd unit.


3:18 - They were down 29-20, but we are now on a 12-3 run to tie it at 32.


Halftime: We are down 41-39. Terrible defense against a team that isn't this talented.


Gregory, their SG, has 13 and is the player of the half.

Pait has 12 to lead our team.



18:23 - Blizzard with a drive gets a 3rd foul on Snow, their center. We are tied at 43.

11:38 - We are up 59-50. Blizzard and Detrick with a nice 2nd half. I rest my starters.

4:01 - I bring back most of my starters: Detrick, McCurry, Pait, Blizzard, and Enzweiler. We are up 67-63.

Pait misses 2 shots, but we get 2 stops.

McCurry hits a 14 footer from the baseline. 69-63 with under 2 minutes to go.

They make it 69-65 with just under a minute left.

Pait misses a 3 at the buzzer, but Enzweiler gets the board. They foul him. He misses the FT, but they miss a quick 3. Blizzard gets the board and is fouled. He hits the FT's to make the lead safer.


We win the game 73-67.



Pait is the player of the game with 15 points, 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 5 of 11, 3 of 7, and 2 of 3.


Detrick with 9 points, 2 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 2 turnovers.

McCurry with 9 points and 3 boards. He shot 2 of 8.

Blizzard with 11 points and 7 boards.

Boxley with 6 points, 6 boards, and 1 block.

Enzweiler with 4 points, 10 boards, and 1 block.

Didlake with 10 points, 2 assists, and 4 turnovers.

Mendoza with 3 points, 2 boards, and 2 assists.

Moye with 4 points, 6 boards, and a block.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 3, 2029 -

We finish the regular season hosting Arizona. They are 17-13.


We win the game 84-60!

Detrick with 0 points, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 0 turnovers. He shot 0 of 6.

McCurry with 14 points, 3 boards, 2 assists, and 3 blocks. He shot 4 of 9.

Blizzard with 15 points, 6 boards, and 3 blocks. He shot 4 of 8.

Boxley with 23 points, 8 boards, and 2 blocks.

Enzweiler with 5 points, 4 boards, and 1 block.


Didlake led the bench with 12 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists.


We finish the regular season with a 24-4 (17-1) record. That easily wins us the Regular Season Pac 10 Title. Cal came in 2nd with a 10-8 conference record. Stanford and Oregon also finished with a 10-8 conference record. Here is the rest of the conference standings:

5. Washington 9-9
6. Arizona 9-9
7. Washington State 8-10 (surprising)
8. Oregon State 7-11
9. UCLA 6-12
10. ASU 4-14



A look at our leading stats:

Blizzard leads the team with 12.3 ppg. Boxley at 11.1. Pait at 10.8. McCurry at 10.1.

Enzweiler leads the team in rebounding at 6.7. Boxley with 4.6. Moye with 4.4 despite playing many less minutes.

Detrick leads in assists at 4.8. Didlake with 3.4. Mendoza with 2.2

Detrick leads in steals at 1.5. McCurry with 1.3. Didlake with 1 per game.

Boxley leads in blocks at 1.4 bpg. Enzweiler with 1.1.


Pac-10 Leaders:

PPG - Ronald Hanson, Cal 21.1 ppg. Minter, ASU is 2nd at 19.3.

RPG - Moye of UCLA leads at 7.2. Enzweiler is 2nd at 6.7.

APG - Andrea Ward, Cal leads at 5.6. Mustafa Hall took back his starting job at Stanford and is 2nd at 4.8 along with Detrick.

Steals - Ward, Cal leads at 2.1. McCleod, Oregon has 1.7 spg.

Blocks - Samuel Snow, WSU leads the conference at 2.3.

[Eaglesfan27]

We get the 1st round bye in the Pac 10 Tourney. Oregon State beats UCLA to advance to face us. Our overall roster strength has increased to 96, I believe that is the highest I've ever had for any of my teams. Oregon State's is a 86. Here is a comparision at each position:

PG Detrick 6'1 185, 87 > Marcus Blue 5'11 183, 81

SG McCurry 65 238, 85 > J. Woodard 6'5 224, 80

SF JonPaul Blizzard 6'7 248, 90 > Homer Kann, 6'7 220, 80

PF Robin Boxley 6'7 209, 89 > Eugene Bower 6'7 273, 79 (but I'll probably go to my bigger guys early if Bower pushes him around.

C Willis Enzweiler 6'8 284, 84 > Andrea Cassler, 6'9 229, 78


Top 3 bench players:

PG Didlake 6'1 185, 87 > PF Taquan Schneiderman 6'8 275, 78

Brady Mendoza 6'7 246, 86 > PG Erwin Shumate 6'2 200 75

Humphrey 6'8 209, 84 > SG Rico Carson 6'6 226 73

The rest of their bench is rated in the high 60's.

[Eaglesfan27]

15:00 - Good play at both ends from us early. We are up 10-3.

11:00 - Our starters are tiring. We are up 13-9. I bring in the 2nd unit.

4:06 - Pait is the only 2nd unit player who got it done. We are up 24-22. I leave Pait in and bring back all of the starters except for Boxley.

2:20 - Enzweiler picks up his 3rd foul. We bring back Moye. We are up 31-26.



Halftime: We lead 31-29. Disappointing first half.


Pait is the player of the half with 11 points and he'll start the 2nd half.

Detrick with 6 points and 3 assists.



13:30 - My favored 5 started to pull away, but over the last 2 minutes they have closed the gap. We lead 43-35. I rest Pait and Moye.

9:32 - Blizzard picks up his 4th foul. I bring in Didlake, Humphrey, Pait. I leave Boxley and Enzweiler in the game. We lead 48-40.

4:11 - We pushed the lead to 14 before they went on a 8-0 run. Pait is having a bad half including just missing a breakaway dunk. I bring back all of the starters except for Boxley who sits down. We lead 56-50.


2:18 - Enzweiler fouls out. Boxley returns to the game. We lead 56-52.

2:05 - Blizzard posts up his man and draws the foul. He makes both FT's.

1:15 - Woodard hits a 3 to make it 58-55.

53 seconds - McCurry hits an open 12 footer.

:44 - Woodard misses a quick 3. Moye gets the board for us. He hits 1 of 2. 61-55.

:35 - Kann hits a 3 over Blizzard.

:33 - Detrick makes both FT's. We lead 63-58.

:29 - Detrick steals it from Blue. He makes both FT's to seal it.


We win the game 69-58.

Detrick is the player of the game with 17 points, 6 assists, 4 steals, and a board. He had 3 turnovers. He shot 3 of 8, 3 of 7, and 8 of 9.

McCurry with 13 points, 2 boards, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 5 of 8.

Blizzard with 6 points, 6 boards, and 2 assists.

Boxley with 2 points and 5 boards.

Enzweiler with 6 points, 9 boards, and 1 block.


Pait led the bench with 14 points, 3 boards, 2 assists, and a steal. He shot 6 of 15, 2 of 7, and 0 of 0.

Didlake with 4 points and 1 assist.

Moye with 3 points and 8 boards.

Mendoza with 2 points and a board but he only played 10 minutes. I need to get him a few more minutes next game.

[Eaglesfan27]

Washington beat Oregon 87-81 and will face us next.

Two of Washington's starters are recovering from injuries. Theo Adams has a pulled hamstring. Damir Boxley has a toe injury.

FR PG Gason Hornsby starts but doesn't play too many minutes per game. He was the 22nd player overall last year in H.S. He is 6'0 183 and is rated 80 overall. He's averaging 3.6 ppg and 2.1 apg.

SR SG Pete Rios is 6'6 222 and is rated 89 overall. He is the complete package and is expected to be a lottery pick. He's averaging 16.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.5 apg, and 1.6 spg.

JR SG/SF Damir Boxley is 6'3 232 and is rated 86 overall. He's a tremendous 3 point shooter and I imagine if the experts picked the best 3 point shooter in the conference now, they would pick him. He's averaging 14 ppg, 3.8 rpg, and 3.8 apg.

SR PF Theo Adams is the best player in the conference. He's only 6'7 227 but he has so many ways he can beat a team. He's rated 93 overall. He has a dominating post game for his size and can shoot it out to 12-14 feet. He has tremendous athleticism, he can defend the perimeter very well and is a solid post defender. Hopefully, his injury will really slow him up. He's averaging 18 ppg, 6 rpg, and 1.7 bpg.

FR C Lance Appleby is going to be a PITA for as long as he remains in the conference. He is 7'1 260 and is rated 81 overall. He was the 4th best center in last year's class. He has already developed a strong post game and he's almost impossible to move out of the paint. Despite that, he's not having a huge year yet as he tends to defer to his teammates. He's averaging 7 ppg, 5.5 rpg, and 1.4 bpg.


The bench is strong:

JR PF Delbert Jahnke is 6'8 261 and is rated 84 overall. He's averaging 8.2 ppg and 4.2 rpg.

JR PF Mick Bradshaw is 6'8 250 and is rated 84 overall. He's averaging 3.6 ppg and 2.3 rpg.

SO SG Tamal Appleby is 6'3 204 and is rated 84 overall. He has the best speed on the team. He's averaging 6.1 ppg, 2.7 apg, and 2.5 rpg.

Superfrosh SG Bryant Kohn is 6'6 207 and is rated 83 overall. He was the 12th player overall in last year's class and he's already a sharpshooter. He's averaging 5.3 ppg in relatively limited minutes.

The rest of the bench is in the low-mid 70's.

[Eaglesfan27]

16:52 - Rios has gotten 2 quick fouls on McCurry. We are down 5-2. I leave him in for now. Appleby already has 2 blocks including a dunk attempt by Blizzard.

13:48 - Blizzard is able to post up his man at will. Appleby with the help defense is the only thing stopping him from scoring at will, but Appleby just took a seat. We are tied at 9.

9:24 - Back and forth game with Blizzard dominating on the offensive end. We are tied at 18 as I rest my tired starters.

8:18 - Mendoza gets a 2nd foul on Lance Appleby. We are tied at 20.

7:20 - Mendoza gets a 2nd foul on Theo Adams. We are tied at 22.

4:23 - Didlake gets a 2nd foul on Hornsby. We're up 34-26.

2:26 - I get most of my starters back, but keep Mendoza in at PF. He's playing a heck of a game. We are up 37-28.

A great run to end the half.



Halftime: We are up 46-31.


Blizzard is the player of the half with 14 points, 2 boards, and 1 assist.

Detrick with 7. Mendoza with 8. Pait with 6. I'm leaving Mendoza in at PF to start the 2nd half.


14:02 - I call timeout and chew out the team. They are playing like crap. I bring back Boxley. We are up 52-46.

12:30 - Detrick and Blizzard on the fastbreak.. beautiful alley-oop dunk for Blizzard. That gets our crowd going. 56-46.

9:48 - We lead 60-50. I rest my starters for a few.

8:08 - Moye with an offensive board, he is fouled by Appleby but still slams it home! 65-54.

6:36 - Moye gets a 4th foul on Lance Appleby. We are up 70-58 as we are running and gunning.

2:30 Our 2nd unit is getting tired. I bring back the starters to finish it out. We lead 78-67.


We win the game 82-71.


Blizzard is the player of the game with 18 points, 4 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 3 turnovers. He shot 7 of 14, 1 of 4, and 3 of 4.

Detrick with 11 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 turnover. He shot 3 of 8.

McCurry with 6 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals. He shot 3 of 9.

Boxley with 0 points and 4 boards.

Enzweiler with 8 and 8.

Mendoza led the bench with 13 points, 4 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals. He shot 4 of 4 from the field and 5 of 6 from the line.

Pait with 8 points on 1 of 5 shooting, 6 of 8 from the line. I hope he isn't going to have all down games now that the pressure of post-season play is on him.

Moye with 9 points, 4 boards, 2 assists and 1 block.

[Eaglesfan27]

Stanford beat Arizona 79-69 to advance to play us in the conference final. Stanford is 24-8 and the next highest ranked Pac 10 team in the media poll at 15th.

Super freshman Dedric Finn is now rated 85 overall. He's 6'0 178. He's avearaging 10 ppg, 4 apg, and 1.6 spg.

SR SG Jason Guinn is rated 91. He is 6'5 213. He's averaging 13 ppg, 3.9 rpg, and 3.1 apg.

JR SF Mire Holden is rated 84. He's 6'8 218 and he's given us a tough time in previous games. He's averaging 9 ppg and 2.4 rpg.

JR PF Vernon Tobias is slowed by a hip pointer but will play. He's rated 84 overall. He's 6'9 235. He's averaging 6 ppg and 4 rpg.

SO C Kurtis Byerson is rated 81 overall. He's 6'11 248. He's averaging 10 ppg, 5.5 rpg, and 2.2 bpg.


The bench is led by SR SG Vernard Buckendahl who is 6'3 201 and is rated 87 overall. He's averaging 11.1 ppg and 3.4 rpg.

SO PG Mustafa Hull is playing major minutes off the bench as well. He's 5'10 178 and is rated 84 overall. He's averaging 8.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, and 4.9 apg.

SO SG Gerrod Annen is 6'3 202 and is rated 80 overall. He's averaging 4 ppg.

SR SF Happy Cambridge is 6'5 188 and is rated 79 overall. He's averaging 4 ppg.

FR PF Randy Stivers is 6'9 229 and is rated 78 overall. He's averaging 1.5 ppg and 1.2 rpg in very limited minutes.

The rest of the bench is in the low 70's.

[Eaglesfan27]

17:47 - Boxley gets a 2nd foul on Tobias. We lead 1-0.

14:53 - Best 5 minutes of basketball I've seen from these starters all year. Great crisp ball movement, wonderful defensive rotations, hustle plays. We lead 12-3.

11:41 - We are up 16-6 as they call a timeout. I'm thrilled with how the team is playing this game.

4:31 - Our starters played so incredibly brilliant that I didn't want to pull them out, but they are absolutely exhausted now (and still hustling and playing hard.) This team has had so many defensive lapses, but I just saw the best defensive effort I've ever seen out of any of my teams. (Remember, I use "player lock" like feature on defense.) Not one single shot from them was uncontested. Brilliant. We lead 33-13.



Halftime: We are up 41-15! This is championship quality basketball against a very good team.

McCurry is the player of the half, but every player is getting it done today. McCurry with 13 points, 2 boards, 1 assist, and 1 steal. He's shot 5 of 7. He's held their star SG to 2 of 8 shooting.

Detrick with 4 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals at the half. Finn has had 6 points on 2 of 6 shooting against him.

Blizzard with 6 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, and 3 steals. He's shot 2 of 4. He's held Holden to 0 of 4 shooting.

Boxley with 4 points and a board.

Enzweiler with 6 points and 9 boards at the half. He's held Byerson to 4 and 4.



14:43 - The defense isn't as good, but it's good enough. We lead 49-24.

9:09 - The starters have done a great job. I decide to rest them, likely for the rest of the game. We lead 60-33.

3:19 - Pait has given up 4 3's to Holden, but he has answered with 3 of his own. We lead 70-46.

Pait gave up a ton of points, but he's scored a bunch in 9 minutes as well. Him and Holden keep trading 3's.


We win the game 83-55. Spectacular job, guys!


McCurry is the player of the game with 22 points, 3 boards, 2 assists, and 1 steal. He shot 8 of 13, 4 of 8, and 2 of 5.

Detrick with 4 points, 9 assists, 3 steals, and 1 turnover. He shot 0 of 4 from the field, but 4 of 6 from the line.

Blizzard with 12 points, 4 boards, 3 assists, and 4 steals. He shot 4 of 8, 3 of 3, and 1 of 2.

Boxley with 4 points, 3 boards, and 3 assists.

Enzweiler with a rare double-double, 10 points and 14 boards. He shot 3 of 4 and 4 of 4 from the line.


Pait with 17 points (14 in the 2nd half), 3 boards, and 1 assist. He shot 6 of 7, 5 of 6 from the arc.

Didlake with 5 points and 2 assists.

Mendoza with 6 points, 2 boards, and 2 assists.

Moye with 3 points and 2 boards.





I'm fairly sure we are a #1 seed, but can't wait to see if which bracket we are in...

[Eaglesfan27]

The Selection Show Highlights:

We are now #2 in this final media poll. Nevada is #1, but their schedule is soft as can be..

Washington is the only Pac-10 team on the bubble.


We are the top #1 seed which means we are put in the East.

The other #1's: Villanova (south), Nevada (midwest), and Miami (FL) (west.) Silly bracketing.


We'll play the play in winner first. As long as we don't play down to our weaker opponent like we did earlier in the year, it should be an easy win.

The rest of our bracket:

#8 Hofstra (26-6) vs #9 Arkansas (23-10)

#5 Boston College (22-9) vs #12 Coastal Carolina (20-9)

#4 Siena (24-5) vs Penn (18-12)

#6 Baylor (21-11) vs #11 Mount St. Mary's (29-4)

#3 North Carolina (24-7) vs #14 Vermont (24-6)

#7 Mississippi State (23-11) vs #10 Alabama (22-9)

#2 W. Virginia (27-4) vs #15 Central Michigan (18-12)



Highlights of the south:

#8 Colorado (22-12) vs #9 LSU (21-9)
#5 Niagara (27-6) vs #12 George Mason (23-9)
#6 Cal (19-10) vs #11 Nebraska (20-11)
#7 Saint Joseph's (25-8) vs #10 Washington (20-12)

Midwest:

#8 Oregon (20-11) vs #9 Pepperdine (24-6)
#5 Stanford (24-9) vs #12 UCF (22-11)
#2 Ohio State (27-6) vs #15 Wright State (19-13)


West:

#8 BYU (26-9) vs #9 Kansas (21-10)
#5 Texas A&M (20-9) vs #12 Michigan State (20-11)
#3 Duke (24-9) vs #14 San Francisco (22-6)


8 Big 12 Teams are in, 6 for the ACC and SEC, 5 for the Pac-10, 4 for the Big East, 3 for the MWC and Big Ten, 2 for the WAC, WCC, C-USA, A-10, and MAAC.

[Eaglesfan27]

Jacksonville State beat Sam Houston State to advance to play us. Jacksonville State finished 17-15 (11-9) and have a team strength of 69. They do have 2 good players and the rest are very bad:

JR C Robby Pitta is 7'0 227 and is from Tuscaloosa, AL. He is rated 79 overall and is a very good shot blocker. He's averaging 16.3 ppg, 7.6 rpg, and 2.4 bpg.

SR PF Maynard Minoff is 6'8 206 and is rated 79 overall. He's from Atlanta. He's averaging 12.6 ppg, 8.7 rpg, and 1.9 bpg.

The next highest rated player on the roster has an overall of 56. All of our guards should be able to penetrate at will unless they plan a good zone scheme.

[hoopsguy]

Congrats on the strong finish and great (pre-NCAA) season overall. Looking forward to seeing your guys make a run worthy of their talent and performance up to this point.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by hoopsguy

Congrats on the strong finish and great (pre-NCAA) season overall. Looking forward to seeing your guys make a run worthy of their talent and performance up to this point.

Thanks. I feel like this team has the best chance I've ever had to get me my first title.

[Eaglesfan27]

14:51 - Not a great first 5 minutes, but a good first 5 minutes. We are up 10-4. Detrick is the only one hitting shots right now.

11:40 - Boxley picks up his 3rd foul. I bring in Moye. We lead 21-10. McCurry and Blizzard are scoring now.

8:12 - Our offense is really clicking but our defense very sloppy the last 3 minutes as guys tired. We lead 30-19 as I bring in the 2nd unit.


I'm thrilled with the performance of the 2nd unit. Great offense from everyone.


Halftime: We lead 52-27.

Detrick is the player of the half with 10 points and 5 assists.

McCurry with 9, Blizzard with 11, Pait with 11, Didlake with 6.


Minoff has 12 for them and Pitta with 8.


15:02 - We are on cruise control now. 66-34. Blizzard is lighting it up.

9:32 - We've been running and gunning, having a blast. 83-46 lead as I pull my starters.

I wonder if fans get Chulupas for 100 in Tourney games? I have a feeling we are going to find out as I'll slow the pace, but my 2nd unit will probably keep doing their sharp shooting.. I feel kind of bad, it was kind of classless for me to keep my guys running for so long.


Took longer then I thought, but with 1:43 to go, we break 100 on a 3 by Pait. I get Lang and Novakovic into the game for the final 2 minutes.

Novakovic with an assist to Lang for a 3.



We win the game 107-63.


Blizzard is the player of the game with 27 points, 8 boards, 2 steals, and 1 turnover. He shot 9 of 16, 3 of 7, and 6 of 7.

Detrick with 10 points, 13 assists, 1 steal, and 1 turnover. He shot 2 of 6, 0 of 4, and 6 of 6.

McCurry with 17 points, 2 boards, and 1 assist. He shot 4 of 6, 1 of 3, and 8 of 8.

Boxley with 6 points, 4 boards, and 2 assists. He shot 3 of 4.

Enzweiler with 0 points, 10 boards, and a block.


Didlake with 8 points, 7 assists, and 3 steals. He shot 3 of 4.

Mendoza with 8 points, 3 boards, and 2 assists. He shot 3 of 3.

Humphrey with 6 points, 6 boards, and a block. He shot 2 of 2 both behind the arc.

Pait with 17 points, 2 boards, 2 assists, and a steal. He shot 5 of 13, 4 of 9, and 3 of 4.

Moye with 6 points and 9 boards.

Land with 2 points and an assist.

Novakovic with 1 assist.


Good job getting it done men.

Now to see who we face next...

[Eaglesfan27]

#9 Arkansas embarassed Hofstra just as badly as we did to Jacksonville State. They won 102-59. Looks like they could be a big challenge and this looks like it has the potential to be a high scoring affair..

Arkansas finished 3rd in the SEC's regular season. They finished the year 24-10 (10-6.) They have a 88 roster strength. They have a solid but not spectacular starting 5:

SR PG Jean Richards is 6'0 193 and is rated 85 overall. Defensively, he is suspect, but offensively he is a very gifted player who has great ball skills and is a very good shooter. He's averaging 15.4 ppg, 5.9 apg, and 2.9 rpg. He is projected to be drafted in the 1st round.

JR SG Dreike Beck is 6'4 207 and is rated 81 overall. He doesn't excel in any area but he is good in most. His biggest weakness is his on ball defense. He's averaging 10.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, and 3.1 apg.

SO SF Vincent Wood is 6'6 227 and is rated 79 overall. He is their best perimeter defender. He's a decent shooter. He's averaging 7.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg, and 1.7 spg.

JR PF Joey Holcomb is 6'6 241 and is rated 82 overall. He mostly relies on a good midrange jump shot. He is perhaps the best midrange shooter on their team. Defensively, he's not very good. He's averaging 14 ppg, 6.2 rpg, and 1.3 bpg.

SR C Allen Spooner is 6'8 230 and is rated 79 overall. He has excellent 3 point shooting for a big man. In fact, he's up there with a lot of guards. He has a nice ability to put it on the floor and drive/dunk as well. Shooting in traffic doesn't seem to bother him at all. He's their leading scorer at 17.7 ppg. He's also averaging 5 rpg and 1.4 bpg.


The best bench player is JR SF Barney Gooden who is 6'7 213 and rated 78 overall. He's averaging 4.6 ppg.

FR PG Skip Munyagi is 6'5 208 and is rated 75 overall. He's a very good 3 point shooter. He's averaging 9.5 ppg but only 1 apg. He's their leading scorer off the bench.

The rest of the bench is rated in the high 60's-low 70's.

They play a very fast tempo and are averaging 85 ppg. Their offensive efficiency is 20th in the nation. Defensively, they are weaker and are 119th in the nation.

I'll play them later this week.

[TonyR]

Good luck, here's to a long tournament run.

[Eaglesfan27]

14:52 - The defense has been passable. The offense has been great. Blizzard is posting his man up with great skill. We lead 11-7.

10:19 - Their fast pace has gotten Enzweiler and Boxley into foul trouble. We lead 21-17 as I bring in the 2nd unit.

Such a great offensive outburst from the 2nd unit that I left them in for the entire rest of the half. Pait is generating great looks for other guys on the floor.


Halftime: We lead 54-38.


Pait is the player of the half. He has 13 points and 2 assists. He shot 5 of 10.

Blizzard with 10 points, Moye with 6. 4 players with 5.



My starters return for the 2nd half. We are going to slow down the tempo a bit.

A strong first 8 minutes, but I left my starters in for 3-4 minutes too long and they allow a 23 point lead to shrink to 15.

8:21 - We lead 75-60 as I turn to the 2nd unit.

5:49 - Pait with a thunderous dunk, but he falls to the floor and starts holding his knee We lead 79-67. We bring back Boxley and slide Mendoza to SF.


We win the game 89-74 as they never get closer than 12. Hopefully, the MRI shows good news on Pait's knee.


Blizzard is the player of the game with 17 points, 4 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals. He shot 6 of 10, 1 of 1, and 4 of 4.

Detrick with 8 points, 6 assists, and 1 turnover.

McCurry with 7 points, 4 boards, and 1 assist.

Boxley with 6 points, 6 boards, and 2 assists.

Enzweiler with 4 points and 10 boards.

Didlake with 9 points, 5 assists, and 2 boards.

Mendoza with 10 points, 5 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.

Humphrey with 5 points, 2 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

Pait with 17 points and 2 assists. He shot 6 of 12, 3 of 5, and 2 of 2.

Moye with 6 points, 6 boards, and a block.

[Eaglesfan27]

We just got the MRI on Pait. No ligament damage, just a sprained knee. He'll be able to play in our next game, but the doctors estimate he won't be 100% for 1-2 weeks.

Speaking of our next game, we are playing Penn! As a 13 seed, they upset #5 Boston College to advance to the Sweet 16. They went 20-12 and (14-0) in the Ivy League. They have a roster strength of 78. They have 2 star players who have powered their run:

SR SG David Vale is a 6'4 222 pound player from the Bronx. He is rated 85 overall. He is dominating the Ivy league with a 17.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, and 4.9 apg average.

RS C Ismail Smith is a 6'11 256 pound center from Philly. He has a very nice post game and is a very strong player. He's averaging 18.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.3 apg, and 1.3 bpg.

The rest of their lineup is average at best:

JR PG Haris Cuffee is the only "pure" PG on the roster and he starts for them. He is rated 46 overall :O He is slow, can't shoot, can't pass, and can't defend.

SR SF Darrian Williamson is a 6'8 227 pound player from Camden, NJ. He is rated 74 overall and is a decent athlete but a terrible shooter. He's averaging 3 ppg and 3 rpg.

SR PF Irving Harrison is 6'10 260 and is rated 71 overall. He's averaging 8 ppg and 5 rpg.

They have 2 backup centers rated in the high 60's. The rest of their roster is in the high 40's to low 50's.

Penn averaged 61 ppg this year. They play a slow paced offense. They play a 2-3 zone primarily. Their offensive efficiency is 128th in the nation. Their defensive efficiency is 124th.


Now to look at the rest of the Sweet 16..

[Eaglesfan27]

We will play the winner of #2 West Virginia and #3 North Carolina (assuming we beat Penn )

In the West:

#1 Miami (FL) vs #12 Michigan State
#14 San Francisco vs #10 UNLV!

South:

#1 Villanova vs #4 Florida State
#2 Oklahoma vs #3 Pitt

Midwest:

#1 Nevada vs #5 Stanford
#6 Texas Tech vs #10 SMU (which spanked #2 Ohio State 100-55!)

[Eaglesfan27]

12:03 - Our starters are playing very well. We lead 16-6. Blizzard has 8 points.

9:41 - Our starters are getting sloppy. We lead 20-12. I bring in the 2nd unit.

The bench extends the lead and plays the rest of the half. We lead 49-33.


Pait is the player of the half with 12 points.

Blizzard with 10, McCurry with 6, and Detrick with 5.



10:05 - We are cruising. I rest my starters and slow down the pace. We lead 68-44.

5:04 - They are closing the gap and I consider bring back starters, but I give my 2nd unit a chance to get it going again as I call a timeout. We lead 76-60.

Great closing burst from Mendoza who hits 2 big 3's.


We win the game 86-68.

Blizzard is the player of the game with 18 points, 6 boards, and 2 assists. He shot 8 of 13, 2 of 6, and 0 of 2.


Detrick with 10 points, 6 assists, and 1 steal.

McCurry with 10 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals. He shot 2 of 9.

Boxley with 6 points and 6 boards.

Enzweiler with 7 points, 7 boards, and a block.

Pait with 14 points to lead the bench. Mendoza with 10. Humphrey with 6.

Very solid win to advance us to the Elite 8. Who will we face?

[Eaglesfan27]

North Carolina beat West Virginia 74-58 to advance to play us. It should be a great game.

The rest of the Elite 8:

#1 Miami (FL) will face #10 UNLV.

#1 Villanova will face #2 Oklahoma. Oklahoma crushed Washington 88-63.

#1 Nevada will face #6 Texas Tech. Nevada barely beat Stanford 77-74.



A look at North Carolina's squad:

Overall roster strength is only a 87. They are 27-7 with a RPI of 6. We are 30-4 with a RPI of 3. 3 of their players are out for the game with injuries:

Their top freshman, PF R.J. Jackette has a torn ACL suffered during an early tourney game.

Their #2 freshman who was their starting C Lonny Miles has a severe back sprain and is out for this game.

Their SR backup SF Stefon Becker is out with a broken wrist.

Their starting SG has a bruised hip but will be able to play the game.

A look at their starting 5:

SR PG Chris Corner is 6'1 212 and is rated 78 overall. He doesn't excel in any area and is clearly a step slower than both of my top point guards. He is averaging 6 ppg and 3 apg.

SR SG Cavell O'Brien is their best player despite the injury. The 6'5 203 pound player is rated 82 overall. He is their fastest player and is a dynamic dunker. He's also a decent shooter. He's averaging 16.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg, and 2.2 apg.

SR SF Parker Freeman is 6'7 218 and is rated 82 overall. He is the best midrange shooter on their team and the best dunker. He is averaging 15.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, and 1.5 apg.

SO PF Branden Thibodeaux is 6'10 235 and is rated 77 overall. His best aspect of his game is his midrange shot. He's averaging 7 ppg and 5 rpg.

JR PF Gregory Kowalczuk will start due to the injuries. He's 6'7 219 and is rated 81 overall. He's a good midrange shooter. He's averaging 7 ppg, 2 rpg, and 1 apg.


SR SG Stan Conklin is the only good player left on the bench. He's 6'5 223 and is rated 80 overall. He's averaging 7.1 ppg and 2 rpg.

The rest of the healthy bench players are rated in the low 70's.

They are averaging 71 ppg. They play a mid tempo game. They are playing mostly a 2-3 zone this year. Their offensive efficiency is 42nd in the nation. Defensive efficiency is at 48th in the nation. They are only allowing opponents to score 63 ppg. I hope to shatter that by a wide margin..

[Eaglesfan27]

18:35: Blizzard has drawn 2 fouls with post up moves on Freeman. We lead 3-0.

16:27 - Enzweiler draws a 2nd foul on Thinodeaux. We lead 9-6.

14:01 - Blizzard draws a 2nd foul on Kowalczuk with a nice drive into the lane. We lead 16-11.

11:48 - Detrick gets a 2nd foul on Corner. We lead 18-15. Both sides go to their 2nd units.

9:31 - Pait with 7 quick points. We lead 25-15. He has made a 3, a dunk, and a 12 footer.

6:01 - Our 2nd unit has dominated theirs. We lead 31-18 as they bring back their starters.

3:29 - Pait has gone ice cold after a very hot start. He's missed his last 4 shots and their starters are getting them back into it. We lead 33-26 after Mendoza hits a 10 footer.

3:08 - O'Brien with another 3. I get my starters back into the game.


Halftime: We lead 38-29. A strong finish in the last 3 minutes.

Blizzard is the player of the half with 10 points. Pait also has 10 points.



19:14 - Blizzard draws a 3rd foul on Thibodeaux with a nice drive into the paint.

18:12 - Blizzard gets a 3rd foul on Freeman. We lead 41-29.


16:00 - Boxley with a tremendous dunk.. that is negated by a charge. That is his 3rd foul. A minute later O'Brien hits a pair of 3's.

14:30 - Conklin with a 3. We lead 46-38.

13:14 - They hit another basket before Detrick hits a 3 to end their run. We lead 49-40.

12:42 - McCurry with a block and that sets up a 3 by Blizzard.

12:21 - McCurry with another block that sets up a fastbreak by Blizzard who is fouled before he can dunk it. He misses both FT's.

9:51 - Sloppy play over the last 2 minutes. We give up a few 3's. We are up 54-47.

9:10 - After a block by Moye, Didlake and Mendoza with a 2-on-1 break, Didlake to Mendoza for a monster dunk. The crowd goes wild.

8:45 - Freeman gets 2 more quick fouls trying to guard Pait. Freeman fouls out. We lead 58-47.

8:02 - Pait with a drive gets a 4th foul on Thibodeaux.

4:17 - We are on a 9-0 run and I'm going to let my reserves try to finish this out. We lead 67-52.

3:39 - Humphrey with a breakaway dunk. Our portion of the crowd is going crazy.

That gets him going. He hits a pair of 3's and then assists on 2 baskets by Pait. We finish the game with a huge flurry.


We win the game 84-52.

Pait is the player of the game with 23 points, 4 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block. He shot 9 of 13, 2 of 5, and 3 of 3.


Detrick with 10 points and 5 assists.

McCurry with 8 points, 2 boards, 1 assist, and 3 blocks.

Blizzard with 18 points, 7 boards, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. He shot 6 of 11, 1 of 4, and 5 of 11.

Boxley with 0 points, 7 boards, and an assist. He shot 0 of 6.

Enzweiler with 3 points and 7 boards.

Didlake with 6 points and 9 assists.

Mendoza with 8 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He shot 4 of 6.

Humphrey with 10 points, 2 boards, and 2 assists. He shot 4 of 8.

Moye with 0 points, 10 boards, and a block.


We are going to the Final Four!

[hoopsguy]

Congrats on the FF run!

I was pretty surprised to see the low ratings for the UNC players on a team that was #6 in the RPI and that plays in (I assume) a major conference.

[Eaglesfan27]

#1 Miami (FL) beat UNLV 75-66 to advance to face us.

#2 Oklahoma beat #1 Villanova 72-64 to advance.

They will face #1 Nevada who beat #6 Texas Tech 83-79.


Miami is the first team we've faced all year that matches us in roster stregnth at a 96. They have a 30-4 record and the #1 RPI.

They are completely healthy. They are thin at C, but otherwise are a very dangerous team:

JR PG Sylvester Daley is from St. Petersburg, FL. He is 6'1 185 and is rated 87 overall. He was the 28th player in his class. He's a great shooter, great ball handler, and a good defender. He's averaging 14 ppg, 5 apg, and 3.1 rpg.

SR SG Josip Gary is from Plantation, FL. He is 6'4 222 and is rated 87 overall. He is a tremendous defender who plays absolutely smothering defense. He is just decent as an offensive option. He's averaging 4.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.9 spg, and 1.2 bpg.

SR SF Fab Hollis is from Deltona, FL. He is 6'5 255 and is rated 90 overall. He was the 53rd player in his class. He is a tremendous athlete who is an amazing physical specimen with great speed, agility, and strength. He is an elite dunker. He is a tremendous defender. He is a below average shooter who mostly scores by getting to the rim. He's averaging 11.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.8 spg.

JR PF Raef Cage is from New Orleans. He is 6'11 225 and is rated 90 overall. He was the #5 player in his class. He is expected to be a top pick if he goes pro. He has a very refined post game. He is also an elite shot blocker who is a very good post defender. He's averaging 15.8 ppg, 9.1 rpg, and 2.9 bpg. He'll likely start at C for them.

SR PF Steve Rose is a 6'9 240 pound player from Biloxi, MS. He is rated 87 overall. He also has a very good post game. He isn't as good defensively, but he is a much better midrange shooter. He's averaging 14.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, and 1.4 bpg.

The bench is led by 2 guys who could be big time stars on other teams:

JR SF Laurence Fordham is from Palm Bay, FL. He is 6'8 225 and is rated 86 overall. He is a good post up player, a great dunker, and a tremendous athlete who is a smothering defender. He's averaging 6.3 ppg and 3.1 rpg.

JR SG A.B. Nystrom is 6'4 194 and is rated 86 overall. He's from Plantation, FL. He's a very good shooter and a great slasher. He's averaging 10.5 ppg.

They also have 3 good role players on the bench:

SO PG Jim Howell is 6'1 176 and is rated 80 overall. He's the best 3 point shooter on the team. He's averaging 6 ppg.

JR PG Pearson Hamilton is 6'5 205 and is rated 78 overall. He's slow so he doesn't play many minutes, but he is a very good 3 point shooter.

FR Aaron Reeves was a starter earlier in the year. He's 6'11 206. He's the only "true" center on the roster. He's rated 78 overall. He's from Charlotte, NC. He primarily a defensive player who is a very good shot blocker. He's averaging 1 ppg, 3 rpg, and 1 bpg.

I'll finish out the tourney tomorrow.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by hoopsguy

Congrats on the FF run!

I was pretty surprised to see the low ratings for the UNC players on a team that was #6 in the RPI and that plays in (I assume) a major conference.

I was too. They have/had excellent cohesion. We also have great cohesion, the best I've ever seen on any of my teams in fact, 96. That combined with our roster strength makes me feel really good about my chances of finally cutting down the nets..

[Eaglesfan27]

As far as RPI Rankings of the Conferences this year:

1. ACC (6 teams in the tourney, a #1 seed, 2 3 seeds, a 4, 5, and 6 seed.)
2. PAC-10 (5 teams in the toruney, a #1 seed, a 5, 6, 8, and a 10 seed.)
3. Big 12 (8 teams in the tourney, 2 2's, a 5, 2 6's, a 8, 9, and 11.)
4. SEC (6 teams in the tourney - 3, 4, 7, 2 9's, and a 10.)
5. Big East (4 teams in - a 1, 2, 3, and 4.)
6. Western Athletic (2 teams in - Nevada at #1 and New Mexico State at 11.)
7. Mountain West (3 teams in - SDSU #7, BYU #8, and UNLV #10)
8. Big Ten (Ohio State #2, Penn State #7, and Michigan State #12)
9. West Goast (Pepperdine #9 seed, San Francisco #14 seed)
10. C-USA (#10 SMU, #12 UCF)
11. A-10 (#7 Saint Joseph's, #13 Fordham)
12. MAAC (#4 Siena, #5 Niagara)
13. Colonial (#8 Hofstra, #12 George Mason)
14. Sun Belt (#11 Florida Atlantic.)

Rest of the conferences also only got 1 team in.

[Eaglesfan27]

This Miami game is going to be very difficult. Their team unity is almost as high as ours. Very evenly matched teams:


17:44 - Rose scored first for them. Blizzard just scored for us on a post up. Tied at 2.

15:06 - After a slow start, both sides have been trading baskets. Enzweiler just picked up his 2nd foul. We bring in Moye. We are down 8-6.

13:09 - We are tied at 8 after Detrick steals it and has a breakaway dunk.

10:16 - Detrick with another breakaway dunk. We lead 15-12.

6:00 - I've pushed my starters hard. I call a timeout and rest them. We lead 24-20.

3:51 - Mendoza and Pait with 3's. We lead 30-24.

2:36 - We are spreading the floor with all of our 3 point shooters. Humphrey with a 3. We lead 33-26.

1:19 - Enzweiler picks up his 3rd foul. Moye will finish this half and start the next half. He's playing better than Enzweiler anyway. We lead 36-29 after Mendoza hits another 3.




Halftime: We are up 38-32. Our shooting from the arc is the difference at this point.

Blizzard is the player of the half. He has 8 points (all from posting up his man), 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block. He's held Hollis to 5 points on 2 of 6 shooting.

Detrick with 7 points, Mendoza with 6, Moye with 5.




16:04 - Daley and Hollis just executed a great alley-oop and their portion of the crowd is going crazy. We lead 42-39.

11:21 - They tied it at 42 thanks to a nice basket by Rose from 12 feet (where he has been hurting us the entire 2nd half), but we respond with a Moye dunk, and 2 midrange jumpers by Boxley! We lead 48-42 as both sides go to their 2nd units.

8:58 - Pait with 2 quick baskets, but he has allowed his man to hit 2 3's. We lead 52-48.

8:24 - They put Hollis and Rose back into the game.

7:45 - Pait fakes out Hollis, drives, dunks it and is fouled. He makes the FT! 55-48.

5:42 - Pait misses his next 3 shots. They are closing in. 55-53.

5:12 - Didlake with a steal, a breakaway dunk, and the foul. He makes the FT.

4:45 - Humphrey with a breakaway dunk after a long outlet pass off a rebound by Enzweiler. We lead 60-53.

3:59 - We lead 60-55 as I bring back my starters (and Moye) to finish this out.

3:35 - McCurry with his first 3 of the game.

3:21 - McCurry with a block.

2:49 - Boxley with a 3! 66-55.

2:30 - Moye with a block!

1:25 - Rose with a 12 footer. Blizzard with a 6 foot fade away from the post.

They shoot a quick 3 which misses. Detrick with a quick open 3. They miss another quick 3. Their spirit seems to be broken, they aren't even fouling. We work the clock down.



We win the game 71-57!

Blizzard is the player of the game with 12 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

Detrick with 10 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 3 turnovers. He shot 3 of 4.

McCurry with 5 points, 1 board, 2 assists, and 1 steal. He shot 1 of 4.

Boxley with 9 points, 4 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. He shot 3 of 5.

Enzweiler with 2 points and 8 boards.

Didlake with 3 points and 3 assists.

Pait with 10 points, 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 3 of 8.

Moye with 7 points, 4 boards, 1 assist, and 2 blocks.

Humphrey with 7 points and 2 boards. Mendoza with 6 points and a board.


Let's see who we will be playing in my first National Championship Game appearance..

[Eaglesfan27]

Oklahoma beat Nevada 85-70 to advance to face us.

Oklahoma is 30-5 (15-1) and has an RPI of 11. This is their 6th Final Four appearance. They have 0 championships. They are start 5 talented seniors and are a very well balanced team. Their starting C, Marvin Harmon, has a sprained ankle but will play through it today.

They average 78 ppg despite generally playing a slow tempo. They are extremely efficient with the ball. They play a high pressure M2M defense and will run the full court trap from time to time. Their national offensive efficiency is #1 in the nation! They hold opponents to 65 ppg and are 14th in defensive efficiency. Hmm, we are #2 in the nation in offensive efficiency but only 102nd in defensive efficiency. A look at their starting 5:

SR PG Keith Murphy is 6'1 208 and is rated 85 overall. He is an excellent passer with all of his other skills being good. He is averaging 9.1 ppg and 6.2 apg. He is from Tucson, AZ.

SR SG Sam Parkinson is 6'4 204 and is rated 87 overall. He is from Topeka, KS and was the 27th player in his class. He is a lights out shooter. He's averaging 19.5 ppg and will likely be named first team All-American. He's also averaging 3.5 ppg and 2.7 apg.

SR SF J.J Erickson is 6'6 246 and is rated 85 overall. He is from Lawton, OK. He is good in almost every area but doesn't truly excel in any. He is averaging 7.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, and 1.2 spg.

SR PF Pat Polk is 6'9 291 and is rated 85 overall. He is the best shooting big man we've faced all year and has legitimate 3 point range. He is a subpar post player for a big. He's averaging 11.5 ppg and 8.2 rpg. He is from West Valley City, UT.

SR C Marvin Harmon is 6'9 240 and is rated 87 overall. He is from Loveland, CO. He is a tremendous rebounder and has a nice post game. Great speed for his size. He's averaging 13 ppg, 7.5 rpg, and 1.7 bpg.

The bench is led by 2 senior guards:

SR SG Torey Sky is from Overland Park, KS. He is a 6'7 227 pound SG who is rated 81 overall. He is a slashing guard who is their best defender. He's averaging 5.6 ppg and 2.4 rpg.

SR SG Calvin Smith is from Fort Worth, TX. He is a 6'6 218 pound SG who is rated 81 overall. He is a solid 3 point shooter. He's averaging 6 ppg.

The rest of the bench is in the mid 70's.

Time to play the final game of the year..

[Eaglesfan27]

19:17 - Detrick fakes out his man and draws a foul on Harmon and will shoot 2. We lead 2-0 after he makes them both.

19:00 - Murphy hits a 3 over Detrick. 3-2.

17:45 - Detrick with a 3. We lead 5-3.

16:36 - Murphy with another 3. We are down 6-5.

16:02 - Detrick with another 3.

14:42 - Everyone else is missing, but Detrick hits another 3. We lead 11-6.

13:26 - Detrick with another 3! He has all of our 14 points.

12:59 - Sky with a 12 footer.

12:36 - Murphy fouls Detrick in the process of shooting a 3. He makes 2 of 3. We lead 16-8.

12:08 - Lindeman, a backup PF, draws a foul down low on Enzweiler. He makes 1 of 2, but Harmon with the offensive board and the dunk. 16-11.

10:18 - Polk with an offensive board and the putback. 16-13.

9:45 - Everyone on my team is missing shots. Detrick misses his first shot after his hot streak. I call a timeout and put my 2nd unit in the game.

8:12 - Humphrey with a very nice weakside block down low.

7:50 - Pait hits his first 3. 19-13.

7:30 - Erickson blows by Pait and dunks it.

7:02 - Humphrey with a long 2.

6:35 - Sky with a 3. We lead 21-18.

5:45 - Lindeman, a backup PF with an interior basket.

4:32 - Pait has his 3 blocked. Erickson has been playing him well.

3:58 - Didlake with a drive into the lane draws a foul. He makes them both.

3:42 - Polk with a quick dunk. We lead 23-22.

2:45 - Polk with a fadeaway in the post. They lead 24-23. I call timeout and get my starters back into the game.

1:45 - Detrick hits a 12 footer.

1:12 - Harmon with an interior basket.

5 seconds left - After missing yet another basket, Blizzard at the other end with a huge block.


Halftime: We are down 26-25.


Detrick is the player of the half with 18 points. He has shot 5 of 6, 4 of 5, and 4 of 5.

Every other starter is having an 0'fer including Blizzard's 0 of 7.

Pait is 1 of 4. Will my other guys turn it around in the 2nd half?

[hoopsguy]

Wow, that is one mature team. If they don't have 100 cohesion I'm not sure who would.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by hoopsguy

Wow, that is one mature team. If they don't have 100 cohesion I'm not sure who would.

They do have 100 cohesion. Going to be a tough 2nd half. They play great team defense..

[TonyR]

Good luck in the 2nd half!

[Eaglesfan27]

19:40 - Murphy starts the half with a long 2.

18:44 - Detrick misses a 3 and Harmon with an interior basket. Down 30-25.

18:06 - After a quick miss by Blizzard, they go for a quick interior basket which Enzweiler blocks. McCurry and Boxley on the fastbreak, McCurry to Boxley for the dunk! 30-27.

16:50 - Blizzard with a 3 at the buzzer and he swishes it! Tied at 30.

16:30 - Murphy with a quick 3.

14:56 - Erickson blocks a Blizzard post shot and then hits a 3 at the other end. Down 36-30.

14:35 - Detrick beats his man and draws a foul on Harmon. He makes both FT's.

14:20 - Polk with a quick dunk inside. Time to bring Moye in soon..

13:48 - McCurry with a 3 on a nice drive and dish by Detrick. Down 38-35.

13:22 - Parkinson with a 12 footer.

12:49 - McCurry with another 3 on another assist by Detrick. Down 40-38.

12:05 - McCurry beats his man, drives into the lane and gets a foul on their backup PF. He makes both FT's. Tied at 40.

11:20 - Erickson draws a foul on Enzweiler. He makes both FT's.

11:07 - Blizzard returns the favor with a quick crossover and drive into the lane. He makes 1 of 2, but Boxley gets the offensive board.

10:40 - Detrick with a 12 footer.

10:22 - Detrick with a steal. He and Blizzard with a 2-on-1 fastbreak, Detrick passes it to Blizzard behind the arc. He shoots and scores! We lead 46-42.

9:46 - Polk with a nice 14 footer.

8:36 - Detrick with a steal and breakaway on which he is fouled. He makes both FT's. We lead 48-44. They call a timeout and I rest all of my starters.

7:55 - Parkinson with a 12 footer.

7:45 - Pait with a quick drive and dish for a 3 by Humphrey. We lead 51-46.

7:30 - Didlake with a steal and breakaway dunk!

6:45 - Mendoza with a nice postup move for an interior basket.

6:22 - Mendoza with a beautiful block coming from the weakside.

6:00 - Humphrey with a long 2.

5:40 - Smith with a 12 footer.

4:12 - Smith a 3. We lead 57-51.

3:30 - Mendoza draws a foul down low and will shoot 2. He makes them both.

3:05 - Mendoza with a block. I call timeout to get my best 5 in the game: Detrick, McCurry, Blizzard, Mendoza, and Moye.

2:30 - Erickson with a quick 12 footer after Blizzard missed a shot.

1:45 - They steal a pass by McCurry, but Murphy misses the quick 3.

1:10 - Detrick makes a 3 at the buzzer! We lead 62-53.

52 seconds - They miss the 3. They foul Mendoza who makes both FT's.

39 seconds - Detrick steals a pass and has a breakaway dunk.

21 seconds - Parkinson hits a 3.

17 seconds - They foul Detrick. He makes both FT's.

8 seconds - Parkinson misses the quick 3.





We win the National Championship, 68-56!




Detrick is the Player of the Game with 31 points, 4 assists, 1 board, and 3 steals. He shot 8 of 10, 5 of 7, and 10 of 11.

McCurry with 8 points, 3 boards, 1 assist, and 2 steals.

Blizzard with 7 points, 3 boards, 2 assists, and a block. He shot 2 of 13.

Boxley with 2 points and 3 boards.

Enzweiler with 0 points and 6 boards.


Didlake with 4 points, 1 assist, and 2 steals.

Mendoza with 6 points, 1 board, 1 assist, and 2 blocks.

Humphrey with 7 points, 2 boards, 1 assist, and 1 block.

Pait with 3 points and 2 boards on 1 of 6 shooting.

Moye with 0 points, 5 boards, and a block.

[Eaglesfan27]

SR C Aly Sparks, Ohio State was selected as player of the Year. The 7' Center averaged 22.4 ppg, 7.9 rpg, and 1.9 bpg.

SR SF Wil Brooks, Buffalo was selected Mid-Major Player of the Year. He averaged 25.2 ppg, 7.9 rpg, and 1.2 spg.

I was named Coach of the Year!

Sparks was named Big Man of the Year.

PF robert Hawkins, West Virginia, was named Freshman of the Year. The 6'9 250 pound player averaged 8 ppg and 7.2 rpg.

1st Team All-America:

SR PG Chrisman Bryan, Maryland - 17.9 ppg, 4.9 apg.
SR SG Caron Mack, Duke - 21.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg, and 3.0 apg.
SR SF Lee Boggan, George Washington 21.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg.
SR PF Isaac Devance, Iowa State, 22.5 ppg, 9.3 rpg.
SR C Sparks

Pait made the All-American Freshman Team. Finn of Stanford also made the team.

SR C Ronald Hanson, Cal was the Pac-10 Player of the Year. He averaged 21.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg.

Finn was the Freshman of the Year in the conference. He averaged 8.7 ppg and 4.2 apg.


Blizzard made first team All Pac-10. He finished with 13 ppg and 4.2 rpg.

Detrick made the 2nd team. He finished the year averaging 9.5 ppg and 4.9 apg.


Draft Results:

Detrick was drafted 2nd overall.

Blizzard was drafted 8th overall.

Boxley was drafted 28th overall.

Didlake was not drafted.

No one left early although Mendoza put out some feelers.



I get offered a bunch of jobs including LSU, FSU, Tennessee, and Louisville. I turn them all down.


No one is transferring out or in for our team.

[Eaglesfan27]

We strike out badly on the first day of the signing period:

5 star SG Brent Wooten chose Stanford over USC.

3 star PG Carson Sparrow chose Cal over USC.

Everyone I was targeting went somewhere else. I still have 3 scholarships to offer. All I've signed so far is 5 star SF Teddy Sowers and 3 star C Wallace Rollins.

Time to re-group. Clearly, I need a starting PG and that is my top priority.

Screw it. It's a very long shot, but I decide to go after the best PG who is still uncommitted. Dane Blackett is the #4 player in the country. He's from Queens, NY. He's considering Maryland and Duke as his top choices.

I fly out to his home for a lengthy visit.

While I'm out there, I visit the home of E.J. Baldwin and offer him a scholarship as well. He's the 34th player in this class and is a 6'2 192 pound PG.


A week later:

Blackett enjoyed the visit, but he chose to stay close to home and will play for Maryland.

E.J. Baldwin is going to play for Seton Hall.


Quality options are quickly drying up. I offer Kerry Stephenson, a 4 star PG from Philly and Corwin Locklier a 4 star SG from Alexandria, VA.

A week later:

Locklier signs with Virginia.

I'm a tough battle with Syracuse for Stephenson.


A week later:

Stephenson chose to remain close to home and is going to Syracuse.

I offer two of the top 3 star players that are left:

Mitchell Hodge is a 6'3 194 pound PG from Santa Rosa, CA. He is ranked 287th overall and 95th among PG's. He averaged 7.8 ppg and 2.6 apg in the ABL. Our staff thinks he has average skills now, but the potential to become an above average player. He might end up our starting PG next year.. scary thought.

We also offer 3 star SG Bernard Mack. He's 6'4 210 and is rated 180th overall and 40th among SG's. He averaged 14 ppg and 5.6 rpg in the ABL. Our staff thinks he is a good shooter with good potential.

They both accept almost immediately. I decide to save my last scholarship as there is no one else I think is worthy that is still available.

[Eaglesfan27]

The top classes:

1. Miami (FL)
2. Maryland
3. Georgia Tech
4. UNC
5. Xavier
6. Texas
7. Stanford
8. UCLA
9. Cal
10. Texas Tech

Could be a rough couple of years if we don't bounce back. We signed 1 5 star and 3 3 stars.

A quick summary:

5 star SF Teddy Sowers was the best local kid and I got him. He is ranked 9th overall, my highest recruit ever. He's from Anaheim, CA and could be a huge star and bring in big crowds. Our staff thinks he will be very aehletic, a very good shooter, and a decent defender right off the bat. They think he has the potential to become great.

3 star FR SG Bernard Mack is ranked 180th overall. The staff thinks he will be an athletic slashing guard who could become a solid contributor.

3 star C Wallace Rollins is ranked 403rd overall, but our staff loved his size and think he will be a good post scorer.

3 star PG Mitchell Hodge is the one our staff is the most iffy on. He was something of a desperation pickup. Our staff doesn't really love any of his skills, but I didn't want to only have 1 true PG on the roster and he was the best of what was left. Hopefully, the staff is right about his "B" potential..

[Eaglesfan27]

Now, that we are done the fall practices, I'll take a look at the roster. Sowers is definitely impressive. The rest of the freshman, not so much.


RS JR PG Sead Novakovic is the clear starter. He's 6'0 172 and is rated 77 overall after a nice offseason. He's quick, but he gets sloppy with the ball and isn't a very good passer. He has a nice mid range shot, but is bad from the arc. Defensively, he isn't bad.

FR Mitchell Hodge is very disappointing. He's 6'4 198 and is rated 66 overall. He doesn't excel in any areas and is below average in most. Yet, he'll probably get a few minutes per night as the backup PG.

SR Walk-on PG Ben Iti is 5'11 190 and is rated 62 overall.


Getting a starting quality PG is our top priority this upcoming year.


SR SG Calvin McCurry has developed nicely over the years. He's now 6'5 240 and rated 86 overall. A streaky shooter who has very nice athleticism. He's become an above average defender. He'll definitely start.

RS SO Friedrich Lang is developing nicely. He's 6'5 220 and rated 79 overall now. He may actually get some minutes at backup PG ahead of Hodge. He's become a very good defender.

FR SG Bernard Mack could become a nice player. He's 6'4 220 and is rated 72 overall now. He has some good speed and quickness. I'm considering redshirting him.


SR SF Brady Mendoza is 6'7 248 and is rated 88 overall. I'm considering starting him at PF to let Pait into the starting lineup. He's got the rebounding and strength to be a good PF and he's a very good midrange shooter. He will start at PF or SF.

RS JR Kareem Humphrey is 6'8 215 and will get more minutes this year. He's rated 86 overall. He's an excellent 3 point shooter and has become a very solid defender. He has the speed to play SG. In fact, his presence makes me feel very confident about redshirting Mack. Humphrey did very nice playing minutes at the backup SG. He'll get minutes at both backup SG and SF this year.

SO Branden Pait has had the most explosive ratings burst of the offseason. He's now 6'6 215 and rated 84 overall. He is the top rated 3 point shooter on the team with Detrick being gone. He's a great finisher around the rim and has developed a very quick first step. Defensively, he is still below average.


Freshman Teddy Sowers might be the best freshman in the conference. He's one of my highest rated ever at a 79 (I think that ties one of them from previous years.) He's 6'5 207. He has an excellent first step, he's an excellent midrange shooter, he's a decent 3 point shooter, he's a decent defender, and he's a great dunker. He'll play a lot of minutes this year. Our staff believes he has elite potential.

We don't have a true PF on the roster.


SR C Willis Enzweiler has the best ratings, but he isn't going to hold on to his starting job. He's 6'8 284 and is rated 85 overall. He still isn't a good low post offensive player, but he is quick and can drive if he gets an open lane. His best attributes are his low post defense and his rebounding. He's also becoming a good shot blocker.

JR C Percy Moye has won the starting job with a very nice season of improvement. He's now 7'0 243 and he's put on a lot of muscle this year. He's rated 82 overall. He's the strongest center on my roster, the best dunker, and the best mid range shooter of the group. He also has the best post moves offensively.

FR C Wallace Rollins is 6'11 250 and is rated 71 overall. He is the 2nd best low post scorer right now and could become a GREAT low post threat. He's strong and has some nice moves. Defensively, he is a mess right now. He also has no type of offense away from the rim and he is a plodding runner.

Walk-on RS FR C Bennett Hahn hasn't developed much. He's 6'10 230 and is rated 69 overall. His best attribute is his hustle and rebounding. Probably won't ever see the floor.


6 players will be graduating this year, but 2 are non-scholarship players Recruiting priorities:

1) Starting PG
2) Starting SG
3) Starting PF
4) Backup G or F.

[Eaglesfan27]

Early Recruiting Targets:

1) Lou Dodd - He's the #1 C in the nation, even though I envision him at PF. He's 6'8 212. He's from Anaheim, CA. He averaged 10 ppg and 11 rpg in the ABL while shooting 45% from the field. His top choices are UCLA, Stanford, and USC. He's a UCLA lean and I don't want to lose him to them.

2) Donatas Kleinzweig. He's a 6'3 188 pound SG who could play the point from Oakland, CA. He's the 5th ranked player overall in this class. Oregon and USC are his top two choices.


A week later:

Dodd has made it clear he is going to UCLA. Fool.

New #1 Target) Lowell Crosswhite - He's a 5'10 166 pound All-American guard from Boise, ID. He's made it clear that he wants to get away from home. USC and Oregon are his top 2 choices. Washington is a distant 3rd.

3) Dameon Nelke - a 4 star PF from Toledo, OH. I'm pursuing him over another PF from Nevada who wants to come to USC but is slightly lower ranked and is 4 inches shorter. Dameon is 6'10 210 and is very athletic. His top 2 are Michigan State and USC.

I bring all 3 of these kids in for a visit the first weekend that I can.

I also offer a scholarship to my 4th target:

PG Rashard Galbreath from Modesto, CA. He's a 4 star who is ranked 38th overall. Our staff thinks he has elite speed and quickness.

[Eaglesfan27]

After the visit:

Dameon Nelke "had the time of his life" and seems like he is a lock for USC. I just hope he doesn't get home sick. Ohio State is making a late strong play for him.

Lowell Crosswhite had a great time, but he is going to Oregon this upcoming week. It's going to be a fight for him.

Donatas Kleinzweig had a great time, but he is going to Oregon next weekend as well. It's going to be a fight for him as well. All 3 of these kids seem determined to sign in the early period.


Our first game of the year is in the NIT Season Tip-Off. Our first opponent is NJIT!?! We are ranked #7 in the nation with a roster strength of 91. They have a roster strength of 71. Should be an easy blow out. I'll play that later tonight.

[hoopsguy]

Nice job bringing home the championship. Nice to see you break through after having a number of good squads in the past that were not quite up to the task.

Looks like UCLA may be coming up quickly, however. Top ten class last year and beating you out for the C this year. It does not seem like you are hitting recruiting out of the park right now. Are there adjustments that need to be made, either in terms of your staff or your approach in going after kids? Or do you think the last couple of classes have just been the wrong side of variance and that it should pick up without making meaningful changes?

[Eaglesfan27]

I've been thinking about how to best utilize the talent on my team, and I've installed a high post offense that will flow through Mendoza at PF. I think he'll be our best chance to generate the most offense.

Sead will start, but if he doesn't play well, I will play McCurry some at the point. He's a very good ball handler for a 2. If I do that, I may get Sowers some minutes at SG, he is explosively quick enough to manage those minutes. He'll also get minutes at SF.

NJIT doesn't have any quality starters to worry about, and I'll hopefully be able to build a big lead and try some different looks in our first game.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by hoopsguy

Nice job bringing home the championship. Nice to see you break through after having a number of good squads in the past that were not quite up to the task.

Looks like UCLA may be coming up quickly, however. Top ten class last year and beating you out for the C this year. It does not seem like you are hitting recruiting out of the park right now. Are there adjustments that need to be made, either in terms of your staff or your approach in going after kids? Or do you think the last couple of classes have just been the wrong side of variance and that it should pick up without making meaningful changes?

A little bit of some bad luck with local kids not being that great and also a need to make some mild adjustments. I think I made that adjustment this year and am anxious to see the results. I need to be more careful about only pursuing kids if they have a high interest at the very start of their senior year. With talented kids, if I'm not in their top 3 at least by the start of their senior year, I need to stop pursuing them. I'm very anxious to see if that adjustment pays off like I think it will with a strong class this year.. then again, I might still get beat out on these kids..

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

As far as my staff, my main assistant should be a top notch recruiter. I'm hoping that the NC might increase our recruiting chances as well.

[Eaglesfan27]

12:10 - Our offense is flowing so smoothly, but our defense has been a disaster early. Pait is getting burnt repeatedly as is Sead. We lead 20-15.

8:13 - We lead 26-18. Sowers and Rollins get on the floor for the first time. Here is my lineup: McCurry, Humphrey, Sowers, Enzweiler, and Rollins.

7:45 - Sowers first touch, he spins away from his defender and hits a 12 foot fadeaway.

7:08 - Sowers 2nd touch, he fakes his man out and drives to the rim and is fouled.

6:07 - Sowers blows by his man, drives under the hoop and kicks it out to Humphrey for a wide open 3. We lead 33-18.

2:52 - We lead 36-20. Sowers is doing very well, albeit against weak competition.


Halftime: We lead 46-23.


Pait is the player of the half with 13 points and 2 boards.

Mendoza has 5 assists.

McCurry with 11. Humphrey and Sowers each have 10.



13:12 - Our defense is crap with Sead in the game. He may be a much worse defender than I thought at first. McCurry is exhausted. I give him his first break of the game. Hodge comes in at PG and Sowers at SG. We lead 62-43.

9:44 - We lead 66-47. I bring in the rest of my 2nd unit. Hodge has played better than expected so far.

3:32 - They are on a run. We lead 74-61. I bring back most of my starters and 1 player who hasn't played yet: McCurry, Lang, Pait, Mendoza, and Moye.


We win the game 82-64.

Pait is the player of the game with 20 points, 2 boards, and an assist. He shot 7 of 13, 4 of 8, and 2 of 2. On the negative side, he allowed his man to score 20 points 7 of 13 shooting. He needs to play better or Mendoza might become the starting SF.

Sead with 5 points, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 turnover. He shot 1 of 1. However, he allowed their below average PG to score 17 and put up 8 assists. Another game like that and he'll be losing his starting job.

McCurry with 16 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, and 1 steal. He shot 4 of 5, 2 of 2, and 6 of 6. Played good defense against both their PG and SG.

Mendoza with 5 points, 2 boards, 8 assists, 2 steals, and a block. He shot 2 of 8. Other than the poor shooting, he had a brilliant night as our high post point forward. He also held their PF to 3 of 8 shooting.

Moye with 5 points, 8 boards, and 2 blocks.


Humphrey with 13 points and 1 board. He shot 4 of 7, 3 of 6, and 2 of 2. His defense wasn't good tonight though.

Sowers with 10 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals. He shot 2 of 7, 1 of 5, and 5 of 8. His defense was solid.

Enzweiler with 0 points and 8 boards.

Rollins with 0 points and 4 boards.

Lang with no stats during his 3 minutes.

Hodge was the surprise of the night. He finished with 8 points, 1 assist, and he played decently on the defensive end. He shot 2 of 2 from the arc and 2 of 2 from the line.

[Eaglesfan27]

Our next game is in the tourney against High Point. They are 1-1 with a team rating of 77. Ours is a 91.


We beat them, but it is closer than I expected. We win 75-70.

McCurry led the team with 18 points, 6 boards, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. He shot 7 of 13.

Pait with 16 points, 3 boards, and 2 steals. He shot 4 of 10.

Sead with 3 points, 1 assist, and 3 turnovers. He shot 1 of 3.

Mendoza with 12 points, 6 boards, 4 assists, and 3 turnovers. He shot 5 of 8.

Moye with 2 points, 8 boards, and a block.


Humphrey led the bench with 13 points and 4 boards.

Sowers was more reluctant to shoot tonight, but he scored 6 points as he shot 3 of 3. He also had 4 boards, 1 steal, and a block.




The 2 wins drop us 1 spot in the media poll. We are 2-0 and 8th in the poll. One other thing worth mentioning is that if we have a good year, I could reach the 500 win milestone this year.




Our next game is hosting UMass. They have a roster strength of 79. 4 of their players are banged up but all will play.

They have a good PG, SF, and PF. The rest of their team is questionable:

SO PG Woody Ma is a 5'10 172 pound player from NYC. He is rated 77 overall. He is going to quick Sead problems with his quickness. He's averaging 10 ppg and 4 apg.

SR SF Derek Ahvennemi is 6'8 236 and is rated 79 overall. He's their top player. He is a good athlete, but isn't as fast as any Sowers or Pait. He's averaging 8.3 ppg and 6.5 rpg.

JR PF Ellis Holmes is 6'9 231 and is rated 73 overall. He's a very good rebounder. He's averaging 7.5 ppg and 11 rpg.

The rest of their team is in the low to mid 60's.

[Eaglesfan27]

Recruiting updates:

Dameon Nelke looks like he is a still a strong USC lean, but Ohio State is making up ground fast. They worry me..

Lowell Crosswhite has suddenly pushed Texas Tech way up on his board. They appear to be his #1 right now and we are #2. I doubt we get him

Galbreath has us firmly in the lead. If our staff is correct in the evaluation of him, he'd become the starting PG next year almost certainly.. For that matter, Crosswhite would definitely be starting material as well.

Donatas has us as his top choice, but Oregon and Stanford are definitely in the race still.

[TonyR]

Great NC but tough luck on the end of season recruiting. Here's hoping the NC brings in some quality recruits this year.