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06-19-2023, 04:08 PM
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#101 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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No surprise - my coaching abilities have grown. I feel like I improved a little bit in every area this time and am now:
Recruiting: 56 Scouting: 11 Offense: 30 Defense: 63 I'm developing a reputation as a pretty good recruiter whose strength is on the defensive end and a rapidly growing awareness of the Xs and Os of the offensive side of the ball. Still can't scout well, though. Code:
Our second best recruiting class in school history behind the six-player Robert Serra and Brian Klingensmith group that is seniors now. Next year is the turnover and new map if I'm still around. Shockingly, Richard Larrabee comes in as Red/Yellow, although already a good post defender with a 3 ball to burn. Nat Freezer will battle senior Bradford Taylor, who has long complained about lack of PT, for the starting PG spot. You already know our wings, and our post will be some combination of Klingensmith and Alfred Beadle probably, if both players can stay academically eligible. In fact, all three of our key big men are rock-dumb and at-risk. It's a really, really good time to jump ship. Our prestige has climbed to 45, which puts us second in the Big West behind UC-Davis by a single point. Wait, what? What happened to UC-Riverside? Conference Movement We haven't had a team move since 2023 - 4 years ago. Now, UC-Riverside has left us and joined the WAC, while Utah State has joined our conference. But that's not the only move. Idaho State joins the Mountain West, while Colorado State, one of the worst teams in the country despite being in a high-major conference, drops to the Big Sky. Lot of movement out west. The AD is meh whatever on our second round appearance and still wants a conference title. I'm over it. 17 job offers hit my inbox. Some really interesting ones, including Kansas, which in this universe has one postseason appearance - an NIT first round exit the first year. They're a prime candidate to get forced out in a season or two. Obviously the only expectation is to avoid last place. Hilariously, Cal Poly and CSU-Fullerton offered me to switch in-conference. [b]Colorado State/b] also wants me to revive the laughingstock program with the #320 recruiting class and take the Rams to .500 in their new conference my first year. Still, the Rams haven't made a postseason in this universe and it's an interesting rebuild project. But getting them back to the Mountain West would involve UNLV, which, no. [b]San Diego/b] is really tempting. My favorite city and the Toreros had a fluke Sweet 16 run in 2022, but otherwise have never made a postseason. But the WCC is a 4 prestige conference and that might be a jump too far. Similar feelings about Western Michigan and I hate the divisional split of the MAC anyway. Central Connecticut State is interesting - .500 conference record request and the Northeast is a 3 prestige conference. They have much better facilities - 37 rated - and a slightly larger budget. But one of my friends works at CCSU and it'd feel weird to be there based on that, so I'm going to have to pass. Radford looks too much like Rutgers in the logo so that's a no. On to Round 2. UC-Riverside got John Mclain poached by Creighton (who offered me in the first round), and the Highlanders offer me the spot to move up with them. Nope, not betraying the Matadors like that. Everything else is a no. And then in Round 3, I get an offer I like. I take it, and it's off to a new adventure. CSU-Fullerton and Cal Poly both hired guys who are God-tier scouts and great defensive coaches, but awful recruiters and offensive coaches. Going to be interesting to see how that pans out for them. Neither of the guys they fired, despite having quality, landed a head coaching gig, so they'll work their way up through the assistant ranks again. As for my replacement? 54 year old Sonny Johnston, who is getting his first crack at the brass ring. He followed his first mentor from North Florida to Loyola (MD) and after they got fired, found a new acolyte at Liberty and moved with him for a single season to New Mexico before he got offered the job with the Matadors. Literally average everywhere but awful as a defensive coach (11). Curiously enough, he was hired as the Lead Scout with both mentors even though his strength is recruiting (58). I think it's a terrible hire, but we'll see how it pans out. Eutropio "Trop King" Rey decided to put in for the assistant ranks.  Level 0 coach, of course. Much as I'd like to hire him, he's just not ready to step in to this position. Hopefully he catches on somewhere as an Xs and Os assistant or a recruiting coordinator. He did great work landing us that excellent-looking class that was my final one at CSU-Northridge. He came to me absolutely thrilled to say he'd landed the recruiting job at Chicago State. 26 prestige program tied for tops in the no-bid Great West. The Cougars have had a few 20-win seasons, but literally none of the teams in the conference has ever made a postseason tournament. Gotta start somewhere. As for me? Next post.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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06-19-2023, 10:33 PM
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#102 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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 Portland Pilots Prestige: 46 Conference: Big Sky (Demoted from WCC in favor of Portland State in 2021) NCAA Appearances: 2 (1959, 1996 - both 1st round exits) NIT Appearances: 1 (2027 - last season - 1st round exit) 3* Recruits in Universe History: 5 (3 of them were in the WCC era) Top-Ranked Recruiting Class: #108 (WCC era - 2017) Facilities: 24 (8th in conference Budget: $355k+ (For context, CSU-Northridge is $340k+) The Pilots' only two winning seasons have come in the last two years, including last season's 21-victory campaign. All of which is to say, this program has had a nice mini-run recently, but it looks to be ending soon without some fresh blood. Joseph Cogswell was the previous coach. If the name sounds familiar, it's because he built Hawaii into a winning program in three seasons, then got hired by Portland, where he coached here for six seasons and gradually improved the team to its current state. Phenomenal coach (100/100 Offense/Defense) and a decent recruiter (54). Like me, he can't scout worth a damn (4!). He got lured away by Bradley. Evidently the AD figured he hit with one Big West coach - why not go and get another one? The roster he left behind isn't horrible, but not great either. Two Yellow/Green junior guards: Alvaro Haughton, who was 1st Team All-Big Sky last season and Big Sky Freshman of the Year - an underrated 2*, and Sid Johnson, one of the five 3* recruits in school universe history. This is workable, and a quick color glance around the league before training camps suggests .500 in the Big Sky is feasible. The Pilots have recruited heavily out of Washington, with a few recruits from the home state of Oregon, a couple from California, and one guy from the Czech Republic. My first target, a 7' big man from California, goes to St. Mary's instead. I go with my assistants' recommendations for training camp, because none of these guys are mine and I don't care.  For my debut, we head to Northridge to play my old team, the Matadors. I'll have a four-year series with them until this year's recruiting class graduates. What happens next shocks me: Code:
Bruce Boyd is our lone senior, by the way, so getting a big man with our scholarship is critical.  You can see why I was shocked. The Matadors are worlds better than we are, and the fans were booing Sonny Johnston as we ran them off the court in a building I've spent the last 15 years in. I caught dinner with the guys afterwards and they all said Sonny was a horrible coach, and Derrick Ferreira, who'd been an assistant at CSU-Fullerton and moved with the head coach to Northern Arizona before getting fired after three years, was just an average coach - not an offensive genius like Jason Dillman. I feel bad for them, but I made the right call. We actually get ranked #21 in the Mid-Major Top 25 poll after the win, which is hilarious. We came back to force OT against Mount St. Mary's, but we lost that one as we just ran out of steam. Losses don't upset me at this point. We're just a really bad team defensively right now, so this is to be expected. That's a good thing, too, as we drop one in Hartford as well due to bad D. The Gauntlet goes as you expect. 1-5 in my first month in Portland. Rough start.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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06-20-2023, 03:11 AM
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#103 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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We finally pick up our second win, an easy 75-56 romp over Georgia Southern. It's Arthur Rodriguez as PotG with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal. Alvaro Houghton scores 17 as well with 5 rebounds, Sid Johnson has a bad shooting night but grabs 10 points, 7 assists, a block, and 2 steals. Bruce Boyd scores 11, and Heath Wagstaff, our best rebounder, has 8 points, 12 rebounds, a block, and a steal off the bench.
Our first home game is against Rider, and the fans are dismayed at a 3 point loss when our offense dies at the most inopportune times in the second half. RPI tanks almost 100 places as a result of the upset. We finally win our first single-digit decider, 79-70, over College of Charleston, when four out of five starters score 11+ points, keyed by Sid Johnson's 22 points and 2 steals. Alvaro Houghton scores 17 with 8 rebounds. But then we score 2 points in the final 5 minutes against Wichita State and drop a winnable one. The reverse happens vs Western Michigan, with every starter but one scoring 12+ points in a 75-65 win. Dominique Judson, usually the odd man out, is PotG with 15 points, 9 rebounds, and a block. Sid Johnson is our lead scorer with 17. CSU-Northridge has a midseason OOC game, but they finish the first portion 4-6. So either 5-6 or 4-7 - pretty decent considering their schedule, I'd say. Sid Johnson is flourishing under our scheme and scores 18 points in a 58-39 beatdown of Northern Colorado in the conference opener. But it's Dominique Judson's 11 points, 12 rebounds, and a steal that wins PotG. We finally flip a close game our way, narrowly outpointing Arkansas-Little Rock 66-65, Sid Johnson scoring 17 to be PotG, Alvaro Houghton scoring an inefficient 18 points and 6 rebounds, and Arthur Rodriguez putting up 11 with a steal. A road back-to-back against Montana and South Dakota which is just weird for conference games. We're back to .500 overall and undefeated against ursine conference foes as we take down the Grizzlies 78-69. Four of five starters in double-digit scoring, helmed by Alvaro Houghton with 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals. Then we shoot 36.1% against North Dakota and lose pretty easily to end the month and record our first Big Sky loss.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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06-20-2023, 03:53 AM
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#104 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
So who are we? I don't actually know yet. Gun to my head, I'd say Colorado State is the class of the conference this year, weird as that sounds considering they've been so bad for so long. Meanwhile we pull off a massive nonconference upset over 75 prestige Portland State in a rivalry game, 71-68 as we make a huge comeback and Alvaro Houghton bangs in a clutch trey with 6 seconds left. He scored 16, while Arthur Rodriguez had 19 points and 5 rebounds. PotG went to Viking, though. Second game with Montana next because the Big Sky doesn't believe in logical schedules like the Big West. The Grizzlies beat our asses this time because we go into a shooting funk again. Another back-to-back? Wow, I hate this conference. Familiar tale of the tape on the road in Arizona: Code:
We don't have a bench to speak of, so we're top-heavy. Next night, we score 5 points in 10 minutes, and that's more than enough for Eastern Washington to see us off. 83-73 road win over Montana State in a wild, swingy, streaky game. We were down by almost 20 after the Bobcats didn't miss a single shot in the first 10 minutes. Sid Johnson again - 20 points, 7 rebounds, and a steal. Alvaro Houghton scores 17, Bruce Boyd 13. And we have our first bench showing in a victory, with Gary Hine scoring 11. Either way, we're guaranteed to have hit at least the .500 conference goal in the first half. I'd really like a buffer. We get it, but it requires going to OT and Arthur Rodriguez to nail a 3 point shot as time expires for the 80-78 win vs Southern Utah. This is definitely a cardiac team. Every starter except Dominique Judson scores 13 or more, with Rodriguez winning the game ball for his gamewinner, 14 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Even better, we FINALLY land our second choice big man. Code:
He kept holding out for a bigger school to offer before at last signing. Raw in a lot of areas, but I'm pretty excited about his defensive upside if the scouting is legit. As it stands, our new Frenchman's only real competition will be true freshman Heath Wagstaff, who is honestly probably best suited to SF because he's a good perimeter defender, but terrible at post defense. Also, the 6th 3* in school universe history, the third since becoming a Big Sky member, and the first of my regime. I wish I had a second scholarship to offer PG Tony Smith, an Oregon All-State who is raw, but looks great. I didn't though, so he signed with conference foe Eastern Washington. Hope that doesn't come back to haunt me in the following years.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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06-20-2023, 05:22 AM
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#105 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
It's a very tight conference this year after the first half. Any one of 6 of the 11 teams could realistically make it. (Weird that we only have 16 conference games - should be 20). Down in Northridge, everybody's pissed. The Matadors are 9-11 (5-4) and 5th in the conference. Robert Serra was complaining to me the other day, and I'm just like, y'all lost two All-Big West 1st Team guys and Sonny should have moved you to PG and put Richard McGowan at SG, or even Nat Freezer (the Brit is Yellow/Green as a true freshman). Four straight weeks of B2B games. That's just how this conference rolls. Alvaro Houghton goes OFF for 29 points and 7 rebounds as we steamroll Colorado State 91-77 in a key positioning fight. Sid Johnson scores 16 with a steal, and Dominique Judson rounds out with a near double of 14 points, 9 rebounds. Next night we host Montana State and wallop the Bobcats 76-57, putting us one win away from meeting the AD's goals already. This time our frontcourt does the damage - 18 points, 10 rebounds for Bruce Boyd as PotG, 14 points, 10 rebounds, a block and a steal for Dominique Judson. Sid Johnson scores 13 with 5 rebounds. We have an epic collapse late in the game to cost a win against Sacramento State, but hit the season target in a gritty 61-48 victory over Northern Colorado sparked by Alvaro Houghton's 25 points and 8 rebounds. Bruce Boyd scores 10 and Arthur Rodriguez grabs 10 boards with a steal. Awful first half against Eastern Washington, but miracles happen in the second: Code:
Sid Johnson scores 25 with 5 rebounds and a steal, but that isn't PotG-worthy in a nailbiter 69-66 win over Weber State on the back end. Bruce Boy scored 13, Dominique Judson added 10 points. Heading into the final B2B of the regular season, it's still anyone's game for the title. The absolute worst we can finish is 5th, and might even have 4th sewn up. It is so, so satisfying to deliver sweet, sweet payback to North Dakota, demolishing them 70-44 on 14 points, 7 rebounds from Dominique Judson, 13 points and a steal from Sid Johnson, 12 points from Alvaro Houghton, and 9 points, 12 rebounds from Bruce Boyd. Sacramento State takes a half-game lead on Eastern Washington, and I don't know who owns tiebreaks or what. Things are really messy at the top of the table. We simplify things by shooting 31% against Northern Arizona in our worst shooting night of the season. The Eagles crashed and burned. End result? Next post.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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06-20-2023, 05:35 AM
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#106 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
Fourth year in a row a team of mine has finished third in the conference. Can we find conference tournament magic? Big Sky Conference Tournament Harsh to lose out on second place, which would have guaranteed a bye to the semifinals. But this is a league that believes in only sending its best - just the Top 6 seeds make it, so we're headed to square off against Montana State. We fall apart down the stretch and are upset 73-81. It happens. Probably knocks us out of NIT consideration. I take solace in Northern Arizona knocking out Eastern Washington, so in like two weeks, the Eagles went from ruling the Big Sky roost to first round upset victims. It's 5 vs 6 - the two lowest seeds in the championship, as both the Bobcats and Lumberjacks upset Sacramento State and Montana by a single possession, respectively. The Lumberjacks fell the Bobcats with ease to earn the auto-bid. Over in the Big West... Code:
I don't know that Robert Serra and Co. can be too terribly mad about this. They were due for a dip back and still finished 4th in a competitive as hell conference. Side note: Last year, the Pilots were 21-11 (10-6) and graduated their starting frontcourt, both of whom made the All-Big Sky teams - one each for 1st and 2nd - including Portland's career leader by far in rebounds, offensive rebounds, and blocks. He was basically their Thomas Hadden. So to finish 17-13 (11-5) the next year is pretty damn impressive - even improving on their conference mark by a game. Go me!!! The Matadors knocked off Utah State in the first round before they got humiliated 35-58 by UC-Davis, who faces off against 8 seed Cal Poly in the championship, where the Aggies end the Mustangs' Cinderella run. NCAA Tournament Quick Hits Northern Arizona is a 16 seed, UC-Riverside is in the 13 seed play-in game, Portland State is an 8 seed, there's a hilarious Tennessee vs East Tennessee State 3/14 first round matchup in the West. My predecessor took Bradley to an 8 seed, Central Connecticut State made it as a 12 seed, UC-Davis is a play-in game for the 16 seed. Sacramento State is a 7 seed in the NIT, UC-Santa Barbara an 8 seed. Everyone I just mentioned above? All first round exits except Bradley (second round loss), CCSU (second round loss), and obviously Tennessee, who actually made it to the Final Four. Villanova beat Kansas for the NIT title in a battle of top seeds. JIMGA will be very happy to know Tennessee beat top seeded Georgia in the Final Four, while tk will be sad to know Maryland lost to Virginia in the other half in a battle of 2 seeds. Cavaliers win a 104-90 shootout over the Volunteers. Sorry, Jon! Code:
If you squint really hard, you can *maybe* see why Wagstaff won. Maybe. It's Alvaro Houghton's second straight 2nd Team nod, while Robert Serra made the 2nd Team All-Big West. I won't cover Bruce Boyd's departure - no one cares. Instead, I'll spotlight Serra.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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06-21-2023, 02:35 AM
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#107 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Just a note that this one will go in hiatus for a couple weeks - busy prepping for a move
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-06-2023, 12:09 PM
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#108 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
One of the most decorated players in Matador universe history, he finishes second in team career scoring to Major Ramirez, 6th in rebounds and 9th in offensive rebounds as the best boarding guard ever to play for CSU-Northridge, 2nd in assists behind Eutropio Rey, and 4th in steals. A rare four-year starter and just a complete player - the best SG in school history, who supplanted Dennis Luther in that spot. Little wonder the Matadors had the run they did to close out my last years there - between the Trop King, Ramirez, and Serra, they had the three best to ever play for us. Only Thomas Hadden and Reinaldo Gonzalez of the All-Time starting five played outside that, and there's an argument to be made that Jeremiah Hardie should be the SF over Gem.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-06-2023, 01:42 PM
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#109 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Happy moving. Nice being in Portland!
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07-07-2023, 01:40 AM
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#110 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
RR no doubt feels a little slighted, but it's worth noting by himself he's still the best recruiting class since Sid Johnson, Alvaro Houghton, Dominique Judson, etc. came to Portland. Eutropio Rey had a very successful first recruiting season - five 2* to finish with the #195 ranked class despite a second straight 12-20 (3-5) season. That was good for 2nd in the Big West. CSU-Northridge pulled in the greatest class in school history, and the best in the Big West - the #57 ranked class, including four 3*s! One was a Juco, but they're all from California, reverting back to what I did before to have success. Andrew Morgan wants another raise to $60,000. Sure, why not? Robbie Jay is on thin ice, though. But as long as he's happy making $30,000 a year, I'll keep him. Our prestige inched up from 46 to 48 and the AD is thrilled with our title challenge last year. They still only want .500 in conference, thankfully. Coach Movement Stuart Robertson, who has coached North Dakota for 16 years, was finally fired. 63 year old Brian Gonzales, a coaching guru (100 Coach O/70 Coach D) who sucks everywhere else, was hired from the Iowa assistant job. Southern Utah's head coach retired and they hired Thomas Smith, an ace Offensive coach (100) with good recruiting ability, and bad everywhere else. The 50 year old spent the last two years in Eastern Michigan and USC, as a result of getting poached from Niagara and then following his new mentor from the Eagles to the Trojans. Thankfully not too scary a hires... Transfers We have a scholarship open because a guy transferred out. Brian Bailey, a promising defensive big sophomore, is interested, but he goes to Eastern Washington. That's twice now they've taken guys I was interested in. So we grab 6'5, 220 lbs Chris Montgomery, a sophomore PF who transferred from Purdue. Great defender and shotblocker who is an academic risk and strikes me more as a SF since he can't rebound. He's Red/Orange but I've seen guys glow up in potential and current from that before after TC.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-07-2023, 01:41 AM
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#111 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
Sadly, moving isn't happening yet. Problems have come up repeatedly so I'm still not sure when I'll get my stuff shifted over.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-07-2023, 08:20 PM
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#112 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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For the first time ever, I'm invited to a preseason tournament. We're the 2 seed in the Hukilau Tournament.
We go a disappointing 0 for 2 in our initial recruiting efforts and it looks like it's going to be a terrible year with four scholarships to fill.  Not a great camp either for our new guys, but Rainier Roussell has weak enough competition that he's able to secure the starting center spot anyway. Hukilau Tournament We guarantee at least a second place that matches our seeding (it's a small four-team tournament) by beating Winthrop 78-68. They shot 51.1%, but we rode Alvaro Houghton (27 points, 2 steals) and Sid Johnson (18 points, 5 rebounds, a steal) to the win. Then we get an even uglier 63-51 victory over North Texas to take home the trophy. Arthur Rodriguez scores 18 with 6 rebounds as PotG and Heath Wagstaff puts up a tremendous 8 points, 15 rebounds off the bench. It's the Pilots' first ever trophy in universe history and our RPI is at a ridiculous 8. All five starters score 8 or more points, highlighted by Sid Johnson's 20 points and 2 steals in a 74-51 rout of Idaho. Gary Hine scores 10 off the bench. Colgate shoots 59.5%, we shoot under 40%. Yeah, you already know how that game went. Our first loss of the year. Bound to happen. The less said about our games in the two team juggernaut (Baylor and Oklahoma) the better. And we're officially 0 for 3 in our first rounds of targets. Awful, awful stuff.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-07-2023, 08:53 PM
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#113 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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All five starters score 9+ points, with the highlights 12/10 from Dominique Judson, 20 points, 5 rebounds from PotG Sid Johnson and 10 boards, 1 block for Heath Wagstaff off the bench in a tight 76-68 road win over Stetson, as the Hatters nearly mounted a comeback.
The road portion of our non-conference play ends with an easy 84-67 win over Wichita State, fueled by Alvaro Houghton's 25 points and 2 steals, Sid Johnson's 12, and a rare bench double-double of 10 points, 12 rebounds and a steal from Heath Wagstaff. We also saw Gary Hine contribute 14 points and a steal to lead the reserves. Blowout loss to Samford to start at home - one of those games where they hit everything and we hit nothing. We fight Colorado hard, but can't get enough to close the gap for the win. Finally we get a victory for our home fans, crushing Memphis 72-46. Weird selection of Dominique Judson for PotG with 9 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal. I really thought it was going to Alvaro Houghton's 26 points, 6 rebounds, and a block. 22 points, 2 steals from Sid Johnson and 15 points, 2 steals from Gary Hine off the bench carry us to a closer than it looks comeback 77-69 win over Cincinnati. In besting the Bearcats, we clinch a winning non-conference record. The Matadors came ready to play but we ground them out in the second half and won going away, 85-59. Arthur Rodriguez's 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals earns PotG, though Alvaro Houghton led all scorers with 21 points, 6 rebounds, and a steal. Jeremiah Hardie playing just 6 minutes due to foul trouble sure helped. Lot of guys complaining after the game about how the juco transfers they brought in have taken over the ones who were here as freshmen, and it's a justifiable complaint, given CSU-Northridge is 3-7. No decisions from any of the recruits we're targeting. Tough, tough season.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-17-2023, 08:41 AM
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#114 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
I'd consider Northern Arizona the favorites to win the conference this year, but it's really hard to say. This is the highest RPI any of my teams has ever had, so that's pretty cool. What's not cool - a bogus 3 point loss buzzer-beater at home to Southern Utah, which looks like one of the weakest teams in the conference. Especially since Sid Johnson is out 27 days. F-ing Thunderbirds. Gary Hine, one of our best reserves, steps up to the plate... and promptly gets a DTD injury in our loss to Sacramento State. LOL. It's the start of a string of losses that doesn't end until we beat Northern Colorado in OT. How scary was it? Code:
Yeah. Weird, weird, ugly game. After another loss, we finally get mostly healed Sid Johnson back to try and dig us out of this 1-5 hole. Alvaro Houghton scores 20 with a steal, Dominique Judson 16, with Gary Hine adding 11 bench points and a steal, and we whip Montana by almost 30 at their place. It's a snapshot of how dire our situation will look starting next year without the backcourt. Especially since we still can't get anyone to sign with us.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-17-2023, 09:19 AM
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#115 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Oh look, we blow a 17 point lead and lose on a last second three point buzzer-beater for the second first game of the month in a row. Seriously, fuck that noise.
29 points from PotG Sid Johnson, a great game of 25 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, a steal by Alvaro Houghton, 10 points and a block out of Rainier Roussel, with 11 bench rebounds, a block, and steal courtesy of Heath Wagstaff, and we blowout Southern Utah 100-61. Alvaro Houghton stepping up with 26 points, 7 rebounds, and a steal, and Sid Johnson scores 20 as we top Montana again, 79-63. It's our first win streak of the Big Sky season, and maybe we can salvage this shithole year yet. Six players in double-digit scoring, keyed by Alvaro Houghton (22 points, block, steal), PotG Sid Johnson (24 points, steal), with 13 rebounds and a block by Rainier Roussel, and we escape Eastern Washington with a 92-89 OT win. 25/7/1/1 from Sid Johnson and 24/7 by Alvaro Houghton as we run roughshod over Weber State 72-50, and we're at .500 in the Big Sky finally. Doubtful we'll be playing in the conference tournament, but that's perfectly fine. Not fine - pissing away a win against Montana State, though our defense slaps Northern Arizona around 80-56 with no real standouts to speak of - just a lot of guys in double-digit scoring. One says no, but we finally land a recruit. Code:
Should be a worthy replacement for Sid Johnson, and I'm hopeful he can beat out Gary Hine for the starting job from Day 1 if this has any accuracy at all. Our shooting dies the last two games and we end the year on a bad note, dropping both contests and ruining our star backcourt's senior season. It's technically a winning season at 15-14, but I'm so disgusted, I just skip the postseason entirely. We got a guy I think is a steal to finally commit in April Code:
IMO he's underrated at Red/Yellow. Our other two guys? Still sitting out on us. Code:
Fitting. Alvaro Houghton smashes the career points record with 1,834, 10th all-time in the Big Sky (5 of them have 2,000+ career points). I can understand why Sid Johnson didn't make it due to games missed, but Houghton averaged 18.1 points and he doesn't even make the 2nd Team? Skip that. Code:
Meh.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-17-2023, 09:40 PM
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#116 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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We do secure the two guys we were waiting on, and it's a magical result...
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It's the greatest recruiting class in Pilots' universe history and it's not even close. First Top 100 class. Cal State-Northridge pulls in the 103rd ranked recruiting class. Chicago State hauls in the 193rd. The Matadors (who finished 16-15, 11-7) have the best in the Big West. The Cougars (16-15, 3-5) were 2nd in the Great West. Our prestige crashes to 42. I fire two of my coaches, elevating Andrew Morgan to the recruiting coordinator. Colorado State moves back to the Mountain West, Idaho State coming back down. UC-Riverside joins the WAC, with Utah State downshifting to the Big West. Eastern Washington, Northern Arizona, and Weber State all end up with coaching vacancies, and all of them hire defensive-minded coaches. Great. There goes my differentiation. We find a couple cheap coaches to replace my fired ones. Our recruiting will still be better next year, though we've experienced some slight downgrades as a result of having to take budget options. Recruiting is tough again - the good players of my initial targets all go elsewhere, and the one guy we land I'm not exactly thrilled about... Code:
Shooting was a real weakness for us last year, so I grabbed him anyway despite my heavy reservations about his lack of defense.  Well isn't that just hunky-dory. Campos was intended to be a starter at SG, but he gets suspended for grades. My coaching staff wanted Dowell at SF, which, lolno. Hine was their pick for PG, but I liked true freshman Martin better. Still, I kinda like this year's lineup. We're running a lot slower pace, but our perimeter defense is going to be A+, and we should have good rebounding. We get off to a roaring start with a 63-49 win over Louisiana-Monroe. It's Heath Wagstaff as PotG with 15 points, 8 rebounds, though it's Arthur Rodriguez who leads in scoring with 21 points and a steal. Michael Martin, our Australian pickup, dishes 10 assists with a steal, and Gary Hine scores 10 to lead our 3-man bench. Arthur Rodriguez plays hero ball with 33 points and we clamp down on Western Carolina, 66-55. Maxwell Malyon rewards my faith in him with 12 points, a block, and a steal. Good way to begin the year before we hit the gauntlet.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-19-2023, 02:55 AM
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#117 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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We nearly upset Baylor in the gauntlet, but can't quite get it done. On the positive side, we land a second commit:
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We spend all our energy coming back to tie Fairleigh-Dickinson and collapse in the last minute. But then a wild second half sees Gary Hine explode for 28 points and 2 steals in 18 minutes to lead a thrilling 86-82 win over Towson. Second is Rainier Roussel with 18 points and a block[/b]. Heath Wagstaff scores 12, and Maxwell Malyon adds 14 by living at the charity stripe. Our first home game of the season is an asskicking at Air Force's hands, and we drop a 3 point heartbreak to Troy next. Ugly 38-45 loss to Iona and I'm wondering if I scheduled too aggressively. Or maybe we just suck - bullshit buzzer-beater loss to the Matadors to lose to CSU-Northridge for the first time in Portland. We're just that bad. Our losing streak continues the next two games. Silver lining? We grab the best international center. Code:
I'm excited to see this kid play - especially once he develops.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-20-2023, 10:42 AM
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#118 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
Big oof. I think I like Colorado State to win the conference this year, first loss aside. Despite Desidoro Campos finally coming off suspension, we lose by 30 in our opener to North Dakota. Yeah. We finally snap our 7 game losing streak, edging Colorado State 62-60 as Arthur Rodriguez scores 19 with 2 steals, Heath Wagstaff grabs 10 boards with a block and a steal, and Michael Martin scores 11 with a steal. Four out of five starters score 10+ points, led by Arthur Rodriguez's 17 points and block in a narrow 82-76 victory over Montana State. Richard Sadler scored 33 points with 10 rebounds for the Bobcats. A lengthy drought in the second half dooms us in a loss to Northern Arizona and another god damn buzzer beater costs us the win vs Southern Utah. I'm deeply regretting coming to Portland as we tank again in the second half in losing to Weber State. And then there's a 1 point loss to Colorado State. Hurt against the Rams and out 17 days is Maxwell Malyon, who is one of our better defenders.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-20-2023, 12:09 PM
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#119 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Yet another loss before we finally snap this losing streak with a 54-46 win over Sacramento State on strength of Arthur Rodriguez's 17 points, 7 rebounds. Rainier Roussell has 12 boards and 3 blocks, while Desiderio Campos and Michael Martin each score 11, with 1 and 3 steals respectively.
Oh, look, a win streak! 67-56 as Arthur Rodriguez puts up 19 points with 2 steals. Heath Wagstaff scores 14, and Rainier Roussell is everywhere with 9 points, 9 rebounds, a block, and a steal. Weber State finally lost to us. Side note: We're 1-10 at home, 6-6 on the road. What homecourt advantage? I sure am tired of these second half collapses as we lose to Montana. Then 26 points and a steal from Arthur Rodriguez key us to a 74-65 win over Eastern Washington. It's Heath Wagstaff (12) and Desiderio Campos (10) who provide scoring support, while Michael Martin dishes 10 assists and steals 2. Our buzzer-beater 3 pointer doesn't land because of course it doesn't against Northern Arizona and now we have to win out to make .500 in the conference. Arthur Rodriguez scores 32 with 6 rebounds and 4 steals as we hammer Northern Colorado 64-40 with Heath Wagstaff also scoring 12 with a block. Typical second half cold spell against Southern Utah and that faint dream is done. 15 points and a steal by Arthur Rodriguez and 10 rebounds and a steal by Rainier Roussell allow us to eke out a 41-39 win over North Dakota - one of the rare times a buzzer-beater doesn't snipe us. A second straight 7-9 conference season and I again don't care about the postseason. Our last recruit target rejects us, so I'm just going to roll over the scholarship. Code:
At least we're consistently pumping out dudes on the All-Freshman team. Code:
Two straight years we're one win away from our target. It's gross.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-20-2023, 12:45 PM
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#120 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
Not a fantastic recruiting season by the rankings and our prestige craters to 36 - another 6 point drop. The hate on our freshmen is justified - no one looks all that great right now TBH. We have to schedule a couple OOC games late in the season due to how things are set up. I hate this conference and calendar. Naturally the only great looking recruit turns us down.  Vastly improved team from last year, with Carl Cress our offensive star and a kid I'm honestly excited to see now though he can't play defense worth a damn. Alastair Camber is my overruling the staff that wanted Heath Wagstaff back in the starting lineup. My recruited guys > previous dudes. And indeed Carl Cress scores 11 in his debut with a steal, and Rainier Roussell hauls 11 rebounds with 2 blocks and a steal. But it's Michael Martin's 14 points and a steal that ekes out PotG in the 60-56 win over Maine that we damn near gave away as per usual. Tennessee-Martin stomps us, as does the gauntlet. Please fire me kthx bai.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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