CJBL: A web-based, FM-style multiplayer College Basketball League has openings

[Comey]

I offered Aube this morning. We'll see what happens.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

I almost certainly won't be offering Metu. Only one spot open & I'll use it on a big unless all of them commit elsewhere & Metu is still available.

Metu committed after Phase 4. It's all coming together for the HB Huskies. Not the UConn Huskies, with their mildly superior dog logo.

[Thomkal]

Coastal got its second recruit. Not a major loss if we don't get a third as the ones I''ve looked at so far have some major drawbacks. We'll see

[BillyNYC]

K State still in holding pattern. Only 2 schollies left tied up by the low 5* SG (at least got into hat day) and the high 4* Russian big.

Latter will be an interesting little bit of a case study. Offered scholarship 2 phases earlier than anyone (alas didn't have money to do a visit that round). And offered visit a round earlier also...and visit was accepted a round before anyone, but he didn't commit.

So you have K State with very high interest, due to getting in early.

And 4 other schools under consideration...all with only average interest. Alas, those schools happen to be Duke, UNC, Indiana and Kansas. *gulp* All except Indiana are already in hat ceremony for 5* bigs, although not sure how much that matters. Will be interesting if KSU hangs on. And he better not go to f'in KU...

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by BillyNYC

K State still in holding pattern. Only 2 schollies left tied up by the low 5* SG (at least got into hat day) and the high 4* Russian big.

Latter will be an interesting little bit of a case study. Offered scholarship 2 phases earlier than anyone (alas didn't have money to do a visit that round). And offered visit a round earlier also...and visit was accepted a round before anyone, but he didn't commit.

So you have K State with very high interest, due to getting in early.

And 4 other schools under consideration...all with only average interest. Alas, those schools happen to be Duke, UNC, Indiana and Kansas. *gulp* All except Indiana are already in hat ceremony for 5* bigs, although not sure how much that matters. Will be interesting if KSU hangs on. And he better not go to f'in KU...

K-State must have a Moscow campus, because I went after a Russian early when I was controlling them. I was almost alone on him for the first 2 or 3 phases then I think Michigan State swooped him up out of nowhere.

And then he transferred (I think) out of there this season.

[BillyNYC]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

K-State must have a Moscow campus, because I went after a Russian early when I was controlling them. I was almost alone on him for the first 2 or 3 phases then I think Michigan State swooped him up out of nowhere.

And then he transferred (I think) out of there this season.

Right, I'd expect similar. He'd get a lot more playing time at KSU. But I can't complain too much...it's realistic enough. Some guys would rather sit on the bench at Duke than start at Kansas State. At least initially.

If I get both guys, will be thrilled. 1/2, I'd be OK but disappointed as have been leading on both. 0/2...well, not so pleased.

[ntndeacon]

Samford got its first recruit. A 6'8" SG ** . We still got a few 3* still waiting to come down to Alabama!

[skrath]

Originally Posted by NoSkillz

I'm enjoying this immensely...and I don't even have my first commitment yet!

As the AD of a mid-major (Buffalo), and one that came into the process just prior to phase three of recruiting, I'm hopelessly behind most of the other teams right now in the scouting process. Lack of funds is another hindrance but I'm making due. I hope to have one or two of my key targets commit soon...

Question for Skrath: I'm going to definitely contribute more articles and press releases on the site but are you opposed to me writing a dynasty about my team here at FOFC?

Might be a fun exercise, especially with so many FOFC members having teams in the CJBL...and it might entice a few more to join us.

Would love if you did a dynasty here! Definitely keen to hear your perspective on how it all shakes out in your first recruiting.

We just hit 179 teams (50%) being human controlled which is a nice milestone to reach. Imagine how competitive recruiting will be if we manage to get to 75-100%...

[Comey]

Originally Posted by Butter

Metu committed after Phase 4. It's all coming together for the HB Huskies. Not the UConn Huskies, with their mildly superior dog logo.

I really miss the old logo.

[weegeebored]

Originally Posted by skrath

We just hit 179 teams (50%) being human controlled which is a nice milestone to reach. Imagine how competitive recruiting will be if we manage to get to 75-100%...

Congratulations on the number of human players. But if any new ADs are like me there really won't be any extra competition for recruits. Oh boy do I need a do-over.

[henry296]

Originally Posted by Comey

I offered Aube this morning. We'll see what happens.

Do you recall his interest before you made your visits? Was he on your call list prior to Phase 4?

[BishopMVP]

Oh wow, things worked out pretty close to perfect for me. TCU grabbed #35 (thanks partially to the state of Kansas having 3 5* this year haha), and Charlotte locked up our (major pitched) #200 PG & a "sleeper" 2* SF who was offered by 3 schools haha. "Lost out" on one of our two reach SF's to NC State, but we're still in play for one & now have a scholarship to play with!

Just can't wait to fire TCU's "Run N Gun" coaches & replace them with either a Post-Centric or Grit N Grind one, then turn the pace down to negative 11 LoL

[PilotMan]

This looks very similar to a college game I played back in the early aughts. Except with a whole lot more and pumped on steroids. I haven't done an online league in years (for any sport) but I think I'm down to give it another go. Is there a list of currently available teams?

[weegeebored]

Try this link PilotMan: CJBL Schools Click the "Available" button. It's an older list but close enough; there's about 5 or so human-controlled teams on it. As long as the school doesn't have the person icon you should be fine. I will say that I was always interested in a game like this but I have never played any multiplayer before, save for small LAN parties back in the day. I play games against the AI because I can stop when I want and don't have to worry about a deadline. But CJBL is damn fun -- an active community, annoying ADs (see Duke ), and a labor of love by the developer. Yesterday was "hat day", a live reveal of 5* commits. I went all-in on one recruit and lost out, so be prepared for some disappointment as well. Hope to see you there!

[Thomkal]

Coastal missed a recruiting phase, but didn't seem to change the few I was looking at for our last scholarship. I decided to make one offer to a big so I have some extra bodies there next season when 4 of them graduate.

[NoSkillz]

So far, so good for Buffalo - we've received three commitments so far, all from *** recruits so they will all play a large role as freshmen.

We've still got three more scholarships available but I plan on holding one (or even two) back in hopes of balancing things out a bit (ie: save a scholarship for next year's class) while also having one available in case there is a good transfer candidate next offseason.

Interestingly enough, I've got a **** recruit visiting our campus right now in a surprising development. I don't expect to sign him but it's nice to see that our little mid-major is starting to gain some respect from the better recruits.

What a fun experience so far...and I haven't even seen our team play yet. High recommendation to anyone out there looking to join...

[PilotMan]

I put in. Just waiting on the official ok.

[Thomkal]

Welcome PM, what school are you taking?

[PilotMan]

My plan is to grab NDSU and NKU both. No need to mix it up with the big boys. They both need a little love.

[BishopMVP]

Ooh awesome, snagged both my 4* SF & the top 150 Australian PG I liked more than my initial PG signee. That gives Charlotte 4 players in the top 218 The 4* will be an interesting study in how positions matter - jblfl.com/cjbl/players-hs.php?pid=32798 is 6'5 205 with a D in Rebounding & Strength... I have no idea why he lists himself as a SF/PF instead of an SF/SG, and I'll see if there's a penalty on court or he gets mad at me if I try to play him at SG. (Worst case I can get away defensively with him at the 3 surrounded by longer players who are good rebounders for their positions, and let him go on offense.)

Now let's get recruiting finalized, activate coach hiring, and get to next season so I can see if they're actually good in action!

[henry296]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Ooh awesome, snagged both my 4* SF & the top 150 Australian PG I liked more than my initial PG signee. That gives Charlotte 4 players in the top 218 The 4* will be an interesting study in how positions matter - jblfl.com/cjbl/players-hs.php?pid=32798 is 6'5 205 with a D in Rebounding & Strength... I have no idea why he lists himself as a SF/PF instead of an SF/SG, and I'll see if there's a penalty on court or he gets mad at me if I try to play him at SG. (Worst case I can get away defensively with him at the 3 surrounded by longer players who are good rebounders for their positions, and let him go on offense.)

Now let's get recruiting finalized, activate coach hiring, and get to next season so I can see if they're actually good in action!

I was in on him as well. Never pulled the trigger primarily because of the size and skill combination. Wasn’t sure what he was and I’m pretty good at small forward for this year.

[Thomkal]

Coach hiring stages have started

[BillyNYC]

K State made 3 offers, got 3 signings. Some level of luck involved, but all 3 make enough sense as to why:
*5 SG: Got in as soon as possible. Offered major pitch/starter/minutes.
*4 Big: International. Offered schollie 2 rounds before anyone else. Visits 1 round before. Offered starter. By time big(ger) guys got in, he was already at very high interest and held on.
*3 PG: Got in early. From Wyoming and only real competition was...Wyoming (sorry for taking him away...). Committed to KSU before anyone else of any prestige saw him.

None of the 3 are even decent at Pick and Roll, which seems ultra important. So trying to figure that out.

The 4* big I'm going to have fun trying to figure out how to best fit in. Text scouting says these 4 things back-to-back:
"Incredibly thin for his height...Needs to pack on the pounds to play at pro level...Incredibly strong...Can overpower a defender with pure strength"

He's 6'11 209. But he's A+ strength, so maybe doesn't need to be "bigger".

Also "One of the best shot blockers the league has ever seen" is fun. (5.5 BPG were most of ANY high schooler this year.)

[collegesportsfanms]

I'm interested! Where do I sign up?

[Thomkal]

Coastal did end up signing a third recruit, he of the 4.0 GPA. So that leaves us with:

SF/SG Dalton Lumpkin #348
C Caesar Conti #373
PF Ahmaad Wright JR #463

Of the three I think Lumpkin will turn out to be the best but we shall see.

How'd you guys do?

[skrath]

Originally Posted by collegesportsfanms

I'm interested! Where do I sign up?

You and anyone else who is interested can use this link to our Slack: Create Account | Slack

The link will expire eventually -- if it's expired, PM me for a new link.

Once you get into our Slack I can set you up with an account and assign your team. Pick an available team from here: CJBL | Schools (Available tab)

Recruiting is basically over and the season will start next week. As a few teams have struggled during recruiting (somewhat due to the huge influx of new users throwing out the delicate ecosystem), I am completely overhauling it with help from the community to be more of a mix of the current system and other recruiting games like NCAA 2014 with more RPG-like player interactions. Jump in now if you want to help test through the season!

We're starting the backend work for the rest of the world, so you'll be able to control any Tier 1 team around the world in a few seasons.

[weegeebored]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

Coastal did end up signing a third recruit, he of the 4.0 GPA. So that leaves us with:

SF/SG Dalton Lumpkin #348
C Caesar Conti #373
PF Ahmaad Wright JR #463

Of the three I think Lumpkin will turn out to be the best but we shall see.

How'd you guys do?

Not very well, but I learned a lot about recruiting. Of course, it's all going to change but that's ok. I have only signed one recruit: Jeremy Havens SF #38. I missed out on other 4*s and even 3*s, which is pretty embarrassing for Louisville. I need an SG and it wouldn't hurt to have a 3rd PG so I am scrounging around in the 2* realm. It won't bother me not to get either as long as my current guards/wings don't get injured. I also think I am going to lose a really good assistant coach, too. Such is (virtual gaming) life.

[NoSkillz]

We've stalled somewhat after scooping up three *** recruits by Hat Day but I'm thrilled to add those three to Buffalo:

PG Benjamin Cokley *** (176th in Nation)
PF/C Shaun Rakocevic *** (145th in Nation)
PF Matt Cristiano *** (243rd in Nation)

Those were our three biggest holes. My scouts think Cokley is a 3.5 star player so we'll see once we get through training camp. Cristiano is a pure scorer while Rakocevic is more of a versatile big man who is likely best suited to a defensive role.

I've struck out in the last three stages and I need one more big man to provide cover for Rakocevic, Cristiano and last year's freshman sensation Jordan Gailey.

I think I'll probably get one or two of the last three scholarships filled in this stage and if so, I'll be happy to head into the season with 13 or 14 players.

I also just had to fire my head coach - someone from the pro JBL league was going after my superstar assistant so I had to promote him in order to keep him. It will likely mean a philosophy change is coming (moving from balanced to perimeter-centric) but I think it's worth it. We seemingly have the horses to adapt well to this stylistic change.

I'm also "running" Chicago State but in actuality, my son is making the decisions on that team while under my guidance. He's a basketball loving (and dad loving) 11 year old (turning 30...haha) and I thought this game could provide some additional bonding time.

It's provided that in spades. Thanks again to Skrath - what an amazing game!

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

How'd you guys do?

Mixed bag for me across my 3 schools:

Utah: Didn't experience some of the issues other big schools did this year, but that was with only 3 scholarships on offer and not really having many needs with 5 returning starters. I swung for the fences on some 5* and 4* guys, surprisingly landed a top 10 5* recruit C and another top 75 4* big. However promised both of them starting roles, and return two starters in the frontcourt from last season, so probably going to piss at least someone off and I'll lose a player or two to transfers next offseason.

Columbia: Coming off 5 wins and a fairly empty cupboard as far as talent goes. Landed my top overall target in PG Kris Poster (3* #143), and another key target in PF Devon Willis (3* #343), but after those guys it was a couple of 3rd or 4th options at PG/SF/C after missing out on guys. The Ivy League 3.0 GPA restriction is fun but brutal, as so many Ivy teams were all in on the same guys. I targeted one-dimensional scorers basically (Poster and Willis aside) as they tended to have less heat on them than the more rounded guys as you'd expect. Don't know if it will lead to wins, but I think Columbia was my most successful school as far as exceeding the expectations I had going in.

Northwestern State: This has been brutal. Last two seasons I've fed on mid-tier 3* guys or hidden gem 2* players that scout as 2.5/3.5 stars, but with the growth of human ADs these guys were swarmed with offers early on. I've ended up with almost entirely 4th/5th/6th options across all positions except one very undersized PF/C, and did a late veer towards the one-dimensional offensive players ala Columbia just to snag some signings. I'll still be riding heavily on the underclassmen I've recruited over the last two seasons so it's not the end of the world, but I'm going to take a different approach with my Very Low prestige school next recruiting phase.

[Butter]

Coming into the offseason, all 3 of my teams needed point guards.

The homerun team of my 3 is Houston Baptist, an Extremely Low prestige team. Signed two top-300 players including a PG. 5 of the 6 players are from Texas, and all are 2* or higher. My strategy there was basically to just hit the home state very hard, and it generally worked, even though I lost my major pitch PG by Phase 5. Couldn't be happier with that group (unless my MP had worked).

Wright State, I have a PG on the roster who has good ratings but was a disaster on the court. Was able to pick up a top-200 OVR PG, and a couple of flexible and high upside 2* players who are combo players that can cover any of the remaining 4 spots on the floor. Still trying to fill one more scholarship to improve the overall talent level.

Dayton: A little disappointed here, as I couldn't gain traction with any highly rated recruits. After I struck out on everyone above #200, I used my major pitch on #226 PG DJ Uhlar. I only promised him 14 minutes a game, so no problems there though he did take a while to finally commit. Even after the early issues, I ended up with four top-300 players, and the #457 OVR PG who will be a spot duty type of guy. PG was the big hole on this team last year despite making it to the 2nd round of the CJBL tournament. High hopes for this team if the PG spot performs.

[collegesportsfanms]

Originally Posted by skrath

You and anyone else who is interested can use this link to our Slack: Create Account | Slack

The link will expire eventually -- if it's expired, PM me for a new link.

Once you get into our Slack I can set you up with an account and assign your team. Pick an available team from here: CJBL | Schools (Available tab)

Recruiting is basically over and the season will start next week. As a few teams have struggled during recruiting (somewhat due to the huge influx of new users throwing out the delicate ecosystem), I am completely overhauling it with help from the community to be more of a mix of the current system and other recruiting games like NCAA 2014 with more RPG-like player interactions. Jump in now if you want to help test through the season!

We're starting the backend work for the rest of the world, so you'll be able to control any Tier 1 team around the world in a few seasons.

I just signed up for my slack account, but I haven't really done anything with it. What now?

[henry296]

Originally Posted by collegesportsfanms

I just signed up for my slack account, but I haven't really done anything with it. What now?

Wait until this evening (US) when commish wakes up (he's in Australia) and he can setup your account on the site and you can pick your team.

[collegesportsfanms]

Originally Posted by henry296

Wait until this evening (US) when commish wakes up (he's in Australia) and he can setup your account on the site and you can pick your team.

Thanks

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Butter

The homerun team of my 3 is Houston Baptist, an Extremely Low prestige team. Signed two top-300 players including a PG. 5 of the 6 players are from Texas, and all are 2* or higher. My strategy there was basically to just hit the home state very hard, and it generally worked, even though I lost my major pitch PG by Phase 5. Couldn't be happier with that group (unless my MP had worked).

Yeah you knocked it out of the park with Houston Baptist, top 100 ranked class to boot! With your class and the emergence of SFA last season, my Demons have some competition in the Southland!

[ntndeacon]

I'm looking forward to the regular season starting this evening!
Go Deacs!
Go Bulldogs!

[PilotMan]

Yep, I am really excited too.

Go Bison! Go Norse!

I really hope it looks like I made some improvements not awful failures in the offseason.

[Comey]

The preseason Quad went up, and will be pasted in the dynasty forum.

[Izulde]

Pressure is rightfully on us at UNLV. Two straight conference championships (both regular season and conference) with second round Big Dance exits. Only important guy we lost to graduation was a reserve/part-time big man.

Our star player (#10 overall recruit) PG, Kendall Houston Jr, opted to come back for his sophomore season, and we landed the #2 overall recruit in Quinn Oakley. The combination has everyone picking us to not only threepeat in the Mountain West, but finally break through to the second weekend and beyond. Sweet 16 is the minimum expectation, the Quad has us Elite 8, and at least one other person has us as a Final Four sleeper.

[ntndeacon]

Samford got some much needed quality 3*s so i was pleased with their recruiting.
Wake was second a lot in recruiting. But we got a decent point guard. That will help.

[skrath]

The 2029 season has started! After a tough recruiting period, Duke has started off strong. OSU gained the #1 prospect in Darius Moncrief and is also off to a flyer.



Over 52% of the league (187 teams) are human controlled. Baylor, Virginia Tech, Boston College among the higher prestige teams still available.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Yep, I am really excited too.

Go Bison! Go Norse!

I really hope it looks like I made some improvements not awful failures in the offseason.

You can call me CHAMP/CHAMP baaaaaay-beeeee!

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

You can call me CHAMP/CHAMP baaaaaay-beeeee!

Congrats PM! And I'd say it was a fairly successful year across the board for FOFC members. Lot of conference champs & going to be a lot of NCAA tourney teams represented from here!

[ntndeacon]

Just took a third team!
Cal St. Northridge

[PilotMan]

I did to by grabbing George Mason at the end of the year. I'm looking forward to getting to do full recruiting for my teams this year, instead of just getting the dregs and cast offs from everyone else's leavings last year. Thankfully, that still worked out for us.

[Sublime 2]

Our lone real bright spot between Nevada and Boston University is BU freshman PF Darren Suggs leading the country in scoring at 25.1ppg on fairly efficient shooting. He's got significant holes in his game, but the kid can put the ball in the basket.

[Young Drachma]

I think Subby, et. al. have convinced me to sign up for this league because I've got a hankering to play online again. How does one get registered?

[britrock88]

Originally Posted by skrath

Unfortunately all of the main pages are hidden behind a login (as everything is run through a scouting "fog of war") so you won't be able to see them without an account. The screenshots above do a good job of showing the interface. However, if you'd like to see what teams are available, you can access this page without a login:

CJBL | Schools

Human teams have a user icon next to them.

Anyone who would like to sign up - just PM me your email so I can invite you to our Slack and send you the signup link.

Other links that are relevant as a general guide (aimed at the pro league, JBL):
JBL | Rules
JBL | Rules

Originally Posted by Young Drachma

I think Subby, et. al. have convinced me to sign up for this league because I've got a hankering to play online again. How does one get registered?

PM skrath--see the quoted post above.

[britrock88]

Interesting learning curve in my first season at the helm.

Mississippi State couldn't notch 10 wins. Bright spot was senior PG Bjorn Fuller who posted an insane assist/turnover ratio of 6.8:0.4.

Loyola Marymount notched an upset over Gonzaga, but was middling in the WCC.

Dartmouth actually finished with a winning record at 13-12, but missed the selective Ivy tournament.

[weegeebored]

Congrats to PM; he obviously did a great job. This is a fun league, and the more human-controlled teams the better. I took a second team after the games had already started. I did not have the same results as PM as Air Force only had 9 wins. In my defense the roster is pretty bad. Big ACC conference tourney game for my other team, Louisville. Facing Syracuse tonight, a team that I beat fairly easily on my home court but got dominated by them in NY. I probably need to get to the conference finals to get a CJBL tournament bid. No pressure.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by ntndeacon

Just took a third team!
Cal St. Northridge

Oh god, we lost another one to the #BigBest cult

If the guy running UMass does have to step away in the offseason due to time crunches I'll try and take over that, at least as a placeholder until he wants it back.

I think Charlotte is safely in, and all the pods talk about the S.o.S. but end up at the same conclusion I do - 30/31-3 with 8/9 Quad 1/2 wins & 3 losses all to Quad 1 teams would make it. Big two games for seeding though - I could see anywhere from a 6/7 if I win both to a 12 & possibly even a play-in game if I lose tonight to Skynet LaTech. Gonna beef up the schedule even more next season after rematches with Dayton & Buffalo - if any Power teams want to play LMK, I'm willing to travel

TCU blows, but I guess we did improve from RPI 297 to 161, so we're up to run of the mill bad. Defense actually got worse, though I recruited more for talent than system fit (star FR post isn't great on D, my only PG is short & not a great athlete) so I'll either need to focus on system fits now that I have enough competent talent coming back or give up on trying to be the GnG of the Big XII, even though I think that's TCU's best shot at being a contender since they can't recruit vs the top 5 teams.