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05-17-2023, 09:21 PM
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#251 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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November 14, 2020
@Lafayette 105, Virginia 79 "Small ball" worked well for us tonight, didn't it? Code:
We set a new school record for points in a single game, and we manage to do it with three of our starters battling foul trouble. All the starters do good things while they're in the game, Ben Miele is the Player of the Game in a "sixth starter" role, and Azdrubal Cruz and Jonathan Baldwin both come off the bench to play well. This Virginia team is a sad outfit, coming off a 6-24 season that has its coach, Merrill Moses, on the hottest of hot seats. We didn't help Coach Moses tonight. Record: 1-0. November 19, 2020 Maui Shootout, First Round (5) Lafayette 102, (4) #19 Memphis 69 What's more fun than beating a ranked opponent by 33 points? Doing it in sunny Hawai'i! We score in triple digits again, shooting 57.8% from the floor and draining 14 threes. Tim Hutchinson and Matthew Ackerman score 21 apiece, with Thomas Lucy adding 16 more. Matt Robles, Asdrubal Cruz, and Jonathan Baldwin form a three-headed pivot monster that scores 20 points, claims 16 rebounds, and contributes 4 assists from its Cruz form. I hate turning the ball over, and we do that only 7 times tonight. Well played. Record: 2-0. November 20, 2020 Maui Shootout Semifinal (1) #4 Kansas 87, (5) Lafayette 84 (OT) Today's game is a treat for anyone who likes college basketball. We stand toe-to-toe with one of the sport's premier programs and send the game to overtime when Tim Clutchinson nails a three with four seconds left. Then, we battle for five more minutes before the Jayhawks make two crucial defensive stops to seal their victory. Hutchinson finishes with 22 points, and so does Thomas Lucy. Matthew Ackerman has 15, and Matt Robles 11 (and another 4 fouls). Eight Leopards finish with between 4 and 8 rebounds, and Ackerman has 5 assists. Record: 2-1. November 21, 2020 Maui Shootout, Third Place Game (5) Lafayette 93, (3) #18 Washington 85 We complete our tropical tourney trip with another win over a Top 25 opponent. Matt Robles manages to stay on the floor this time, and he completes a double double with 13 points and as many rebounds. Matt is one of five Leopards starters to score between 12 and 15 points. Right now, Tim Hutchinson, Thomas Lucy, and Matthew Ackerman are all averaging between 16 and 17 per game. Record: 3-1. November 24, 2020 Lafayette 75, @Davidson 72 The Wildcats enjoyed a five-year run early in the 2010s, when they were considered one of the very best mid-major programs in the country. They've fallen from that peak in the last few years, but they're still a very good team, and we have to play well to beat them at their place. This time it's Tim Hutchinson who is limited by foul trouble, so Matthew Ackerman steps up and leads us with 15 points. Matt Robles contributes 14 and 7 rebounds, and Thomas Lucy finishes with 11. Jamie Kelso assembles a points/rebounds/assists line of 7/8/7, and Asdrubal Cruz pairs 8 points with 8 rebounds. Record: 4-1. November 30, 2020 @Mississippi State 72, Lafayette 57 Don't be fooled by that lack of a national ranking. Mississippi State is the defending NCAA champion and the winningest team in this universe's history. Coached first by Douglas Gillum (now at Kansas) and now by James Berube, the Bulldogs simply keep on winning. We didn't play well, but Mississippi State has a way of forcing that upon their opponents. We fire up 34 threes, but make only 7. Tim Hutchinson's 14 points are our game high. Matthew Ackerman and Jamie Kelso pitch in 11 apiece, and Matt Robles snares 12 rebounds. We've done well this month, against a very tough set of opponents. Record: 4-2 (with an RPI of 6). Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 05-18-2023 at 09:17 AM. |
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05-18-2023, 09:28 AM
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#252 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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December 1, 2020
We complete our recruiting class with the signing of three-star prospect Jeffrey Hampton. The Wausau, Wisconsin product is small for a 5, but he's been a productive scorer and rebounder in high school. I see some sleeper potential for him, because his shooting potentials look good. A Yellow player usually turns out to be a valuable member of our rotation...but then again, Daniel Warnock won at least one of his POY awards while he had a Yellow square. |
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05-18-2023, 01:23 PM
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#253 |
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H.S. Freshman Team
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Pistol City
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Enjoying this dynasty, Graham!
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05-18-2023, 02:17 PM
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#254 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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December 3, 2020
@Lafayette 107, Yale 82 After scoring 100 points only twice in eight seasons, this year's Leopards have done so three times. Thomas Lucy contributes 12 of those points, and Matthew Ackerman 16. Tim Hutchinson knocks down 10 of 13 shots and scores 26. Those are all fine performances...and then there's Matt Robles. The freshman center shoots 13-for-16 from the field and 11-for-14 from the line. That's 35 points, friends. He adds 8 rebounds for good measure. We're now the highest-scoring team in the nation, averaging 89.0 points per game. Record: 5-2. December 6, 2020 Lafayette 94, @Creighton 86 We visit another very good team and come away with another victory in a high-scoring contest. We win this one at the free throw line, shooting 58 foul shots (!) and making 45 (!!) of them. Only six times has a team made more in a single game. Tim Hutchinson was a perfect 13-for-13, while Matt Robles accounted for 9 of our 13 misses, shooting 4-for-13. That's a lot of 13s. I hope it's not a bad omen. Robles tied Matthew Ackerman for our scoring honors with 18, and grabbed 9 rebounds. Hutchinson had 17. Thomas Lucy added 13, Jamie Kelso 10. Kelso twisted his ankle again, and he'll be day-to-day for a bit. I won't take chances with his health; Ben Miele is more than ready to step in. Record: 6-2. December 9, 2020 @Lafayette 61, Elon 53 This score looks a bit more like the ones I used to know. Elon isn't anywhere close to the caliber of some of the teams we've played this year, so our lackluster offensive showing surprises me. Tim Hutchinson is the one Leopard who performs up to his usual standard: 15 points, 8 rebounds. A bunch of guys get 6 or 8 rebounds apiece, and Matthew Ackerman dishes out 5 assists. Record: 7-2. December 12, 2020 @Lafayette 98, Maine 74 The Black Bears are off to a rough 1-5 start, and we don't help matters any when they visit the Kirby Center. Thomas Lucy pours in 24 points, the most in his brief career to date, with 9 rebounds. Matt Robles adds 19 more, and Matthew Ackerman contributes 18 with 3 steals. Jamie Kelso returns to the lineup and comes close to a triple double: 8 points, 11, assists, 9 rebounds. Record: 8-2. December 15, 2020 @Lafayette 66, St. John's 65 This game provides the Kirby Center crowd with a finish that sent some blood pressures skyrocketing on both sides. We take a 66-63 lead when Jamie Kelso makes two free throws with 15 seconds remaining. Determined not to allow a game-tying three, we force Kenneth Carreno to drive the lane. Matthew Ackerman gets a piece of him...and Carreno's shot drops. No time remains on the clock as Carreno steps to the line with a chance to send the game into OT. Our student section will claim full credit for Carreno's miss. Ackerman, with his 18 points and 2 blocked shots, thereby retains the hero role. Matt Robles finishes with 14 points and 8 rebounds, Kelso 9 with 5 assists. Carreno had 22 for the Red Storm. The victory is #250 of Graham Sims' career. His record stands at 250-69, and his wins total is 6th all-time. That ranking is fluid, since all the coaches near him in the list are also active. Record: 9-2. December 17, 2020 @Lafayette 86, William & Mary 60 Win #251 is a fairly easy one over the visiting Tribe, who kept it within five points for 20 minutes before we pull away. Matt Robles is making almost 62 percent of his shots this season, and today he makes 8 of 13 en route to a game-high 19 points. Tim Hutchinson (18), Matthew Ackerman (15), and Thomas Lucy (12) follow him in double digits. Jamie Kelso makes only one shot, but hands out 9 assists. Record: 10-2. December 20, 2020 @Pennsylvania 66, Lafayette 57 The Quakers are tough, and they prove it tonight, running their record to 7-1 with a stout defense of their home court. Our .306 shooting percentage, which includes .265 (9 for 34) from three-point distance, does us in. Tim Hutchinson plays well, with 18 points (4-6 from three), but he and Matt Robles (14 points, 9 rebounds) are the only ones who do. Record: 10-3. December 24, 2020 Lafayette 80, @#10 Pittsburgh 72 I would have predicted we'd go 1-1 in a pair of games that included a home date with Penn and an away date with Pitt. Shows you what I know. A return to sound defensive principles and our ability to draw fouls and make our opponent pay for them are the keys to our upset victory. We shoot 29-41 from the line, making 11 more than the Panthers do. That accounts for our margin of victory, plus a few. Tim Hutchinson is Player of the Game, scoring 16 points with 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Credit also goes to Asdrubal Cruz, with his 9 points and 13 rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench, and Thomas Lucy, for his 14 points. Record: 11-3. December 27, 2020 Lafayette 88, @Ohio State 79 All five of our starters reach double digits in scoring, led by Thomas Lucy's 23 and Matthew Ackerman's 19, as we take the measure of the Buckeyes on the road. The "Everybody Rebounds" creed is embraced again tonight; five Leopards grab between 5 and 9, with Asdrubal Cruz and Matt Robles accounting for 9 each. Freshman wing Alexander Schwinghammer plays 14 minutes for Ohio State, scoring two points. I wish I'd spotted him when he was a recruit. I would have tried to sign him for his name alone. (He's actually quite good; he was ranked #151 nationally.) Record: 12-3. |
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05-18-2023, 08:05 PM
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#255 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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As the new year begans, I think I'm going to try a different writing style for my dynasty. When I started Coach Sims's story, I honestly didn't anticipate it running even as long as it has. I figured one of these things would happen:
Instead, four months or so after I started it, I'm still enjoying Coach Sims' story very much. He's in his early 40s now, and I think I'd like to follow his career until he retires. With any luck, that might be 30 or 35 "game years" from now. With a story of that scope in mind, I'm going to move away from the game-by-game reports for now, and write about each season more concisely. I'll report on recruiting classes when they're completed, and I might use January 1 as a handy point at which to summarize the season to date before I wrap things up at season's end. I like writing the Senior Tributes, so I'll continue with those. Of course, if I discover the new format isn't fun, I'll go back to the old one, or try something completely different. To any of you who are following the story, thanks for reading, and I hope you continue to read along. |
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05-18-2023, 11:08 PM
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#256 | |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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Quote:
Thanks very much! I hope you'll also like the new format I'm trying. I think the story will move along a bit faster, and readers will have more of a holistic view, rather than a series of closeups. Comments are always welcome, so please feel free to stop back by anytime. |
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05-21-2023, 10:46 AM
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#257 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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February 1, 2021
Here's how the league fared in pre-conference play. I notice the Patriot League lost its Level 3 status somewhere along the way; we're back to Level 2. Code:
The league needs someone besides Lafayette to make a few NCAA tournament appearances. American and Holy Cross have, at various times, been good enough to win 20 games a year. Perhaps this will be the Crusaders' year. Code:
The month begins with a trip to Nashville and a loss to a Vanderbilt team that might not be quite as good as their recent NCAA finalists, but still a formidable one. Matthew Ackerman twists an ankle during our thrashing of American at home, and he's forced to miss about a month of action. Ben Miele steps into the starting five in his place. That Pyrrhic victory is followed by a tough road loss to Navy that exposes our inability to stop teams from scoring. Thomas Lucy's 23 points spark a bounce-back victory at Colgate that starts a five-game win streak. The highlight of this run is a confident performance against Holy Cross. It's the fourth consecutive game in which center Matt Robles scores in double figures. His emergence is one of the best stories of our season. Late in the month, we play a style of basketball that more closely resembles the one Lafayette fans have become used to seeing, one built around tenacious defense that forces opponents out of their comfort zones. We seem to still be searching for our identity as we head into the second half of the conference season. |
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05-21-2023, 11:06 AM
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#258 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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March 1, 2021
Code:
The Leopards run the table during February, and end the month as Patriot League champions once again. We get double-doubles from Matt Robles (10p/11r) and Tim Hutchinson (10p/13r) as we avenge our earlier loss to Navy, and Robles pours in 26 to lead us over American. Matt schools James Zimmer, whom we really wanted to sign as a high school senior two years ago. The highlights of our big win at Bucknell are 23 points from Thomas Lucy and the return to action of Matthew Ackerman, who gives us 12 points in 14 minutes off the bench. Colgate nearly spoils Senior Day for Tim Hutchinson and Jamie Kelso. The next week, we fall behind Army, but we storm back and outscore them 40-17 in the second half. Following that victory, we make our first appearance in the national polls. We clinch the Patriot League title at Lehigh, when Asdrubal Cruz tips in a Tim Hutchinson miss with 14 seconds left, and we get a crucial stop at the other end of the floor. That outcome makes the Holy Cross game more of a victory lap. |
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05-21-2023, 11:40 AM
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#259 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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I'll return to my "old style" reports for the post-season.
March 3, 2021 Patriot League Tournament, First Round (1) #17 Lafayette 66, (8) American 54 We make it three straight over the Eagles with a "vintage" Lafayette performance. Our opponent shoots 4-for-26 from behind the arc and turn the ball over 18 times, while we do enough offensively to win. Tim Hutchinson leads us with 19 points and 9 rebounds. Matthew Ackerman nets 13, Matt Robles 12, and sixth man Ben Miele 11. Record: 26-5. March 7, 2021 Patriot League Tournament Semifinal (4) Navy 64, (1) #17 Lafayette 57 If you want to criticize Graham Sims, you could point out his struggles in the conference tournament. This year, we play terribly against Navy and out we go. We launch 35 threes and make only 10. Matthew Ackerman misfires on 8 of his 10 treys. Thomas Lucy hits only 1 of his 11 attempts from the floor, and misses all four of his threes. Holy Cross goes on to win the tourney, so they'll earn the league's automatic bid. We'll join them with an at-large invitation. Record: 26-6. March 19, 2021 NCAA East Region, First Round (5) #25 Lafayette 76, (12) Winthrop 75 Our opponents, champions of the Big South conference, enter the game with a 25-8 record. They know how to win basketball games. They nearly win this one, too. The Eagles lead after 20 minutes, but we settle down and open up an 8-point lead with 7 minutes to play. Then we allow them to claw their way back into the game and nearly lose it when a shot clock violation allows them one last shot that won't fall. Matt Robles (16 points) and Jamie Kelso (15) lead a group of five in double figures that also includes Asdrubal Cruz (10). Record: 26-7. March 21, 2021 NCAA East Region, Second Round (5) #25 Lafayette 78, (13) Hofstra 70 Do we catch a break when Hofstra routs 4 seed Saint Louis? Perhaps we do. Still, the Pride are tough opponents, led by All-American center Joseph Rosemond. They hold us under 40% shooting, which has happened to us with alarming regularity this season. Rosemond plays like the star he is, scoring 21 points with 16 rebounds. However, we have a senior star, too. Tim Hutchinson puts his team on his back and carries it into the Sweet Sixteen, matching Rosemond's points total and grabbing 17 rebounds of his own. Record: 27-7. March 25, 2021 NCAA East Region Semifinal...the Sweet Sixteen (1) #4 Boston College 84, (5) #25 Lafayette 66 Our season ends at the hands (talons?) of a clearly superior Eagles team. We display the flaws that have plagued us nearly every time we play badly: lousy shot selection (24-for-66) and crappy three-point shooting (an ugly 6-for-28). Matt Robles plays well with 12 points and 12 rebounds. So does Asdrubal Cruz (8p/5r), who has been a key contributor as a reserve big. Record: 27-8. April 5, 2021 Three #1 seeds make the Final Four, and USC wins their second national championship with a thrilling 99-97 victory over Kansas in the final. |
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05-22-2023, 11:20 AM
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#260 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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April 7, 2021
Lots of good news comes out of the Patriot League awards ceremony. Code:
It's Tim Hutchinson's turn to win the Player of the Year prize. A Lafayette player has been the POY for four consecutive seasons, and for six of the last seven. Hutch joins Todd DeHaven, Daniel Warnock, and James Sanders in this selective fraternity; Warnock and Sanders both won twice. This year's How Did He Not Win Something? award goes to Lehigh freshman Marlon Smith. You may remember how actively we recruited Marlon. I had a feeling he was going to be good, and he is. Marlon led the Patriot League in scoring (17.1 PPG) and led his team to its best record ever, including a 10-4 mark in conference play. However, because Marlon is a SF and a freshman, he goes home emptyhanded, while the prizes go to Tanner Dewey and Thomas Lucy. Personally, I would have chosen Marlon for at least one of those awards. Graham Sims takes home his fifth Patriot League COY award. |
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05-22-2023, 11:32 AM
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#261 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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April 7, 2021
Code:
Who says leopards can't change their spots? The Lafayette variety certainly have. Within two years, our winning formula has switched from suffocating defense to wide-open offense. No Graham Sims team has scored as many points as this year's did, and none of his teams have allowed as many. Code:
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Our scoring balance made us tough to beat; if one, or even two, guys had a tough night offensively, there was someone to pick them up. Matt Robles was our most productive scorer and rebounder on a per-minute basis. He led the latter category by a comfortable margin. I'll point out some of our seniors' most significant accomplishments in their tributes, which will be up next. Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 06-17-2023 at 07:33 PM. |
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05-22-2023, 11:42 AM
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#262 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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2020/21 Senior Tribute
JAMIE KELSO Jamie turned out to be exactly the player we thought we'd get when we recruited him: an offensive orchestrator who took very good care of the basketball and kept the scorers on his team happy. Code:
In both his seasons as a starter, Jamie was a first team All-Patriot League player. He led the conference in assists this season, after placing second as a junior. It's rare to see active point guards turn the ball over only one time a game, but Jamie came close to that feat. This kind of stability is a key component of winning teams, like the ones Jamie played for throughout his career. The Bordentown, New Jersey native also matured into a secondary scorer to whom opponents needed to pay attention. He struggled to connect from behind the arc this year, but so did most of his teammates. Jamie was one of the best of a long line of excellent student athletes we've produced. He'll graduate next month with a degree in English, and will attend law school at the University of Virginia. Thanks for the memories, Jamie. Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 05-22-2023 at 11:51 AM. |
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05-22-2023, 12:10 PM
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#263 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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2020/21 Senior Tribute
TIM HUTCHINSON I recruited Tim as the scoring half of a backcourt duo, paired with Jamie Kelso. During his career, we employed Tim as a shooting guard, then as a small forward, and this year, as a power forward. No matter where he played, Tim found ways to make us a better team. What more can you say about a player? Code:
Tim started every game of his career, except when he yielded to an upperclassman on Senior Night. Over his first three years, he evolved into an increasingly dangerous scorer, able to finish at the rim and drive home daggers from behind the arc. Last year, we used Tim as a power forward. He rebounded like a bigger player and, while he shot and scored less than he ever had, he did so many things so well that he was picked as our conference's Player of the Year. No Lafayette player in this universe has been honored as often as Hutch has. He's one of two Leopards (along with Daniel Warnock) to be named to the All-Patriot League first team three times, and he did so while playing three different positions. Tim finishes his career as our second leading all-time scorer and, interestingly, second all time in assists, too. His 690 made field goals ranks first. He also ranks in the top ten in rebounding, steals, and three-point shooting. He's considered the top professional prospect in the Patriot League, and as he awaits Draft Day, he's also actively negotiating with pro teams in Europe. Either way, the versatile baller from the Southern Tier of New York will be playing for a living somewhere next season. Thanks for the memories, Tim. Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 05-22-2023 at 12:11 PM. |
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05-22-2023, 02:10 PM
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#264 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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May 1, 2021
A new season is upon us, and the first news item of the new year is a good one. Tim Hutchinson's name was called on Draft Day! He was chosen 52nd overall, and he'll report to camp soon. The Patriot League recruiting rankings are interesting. Code:
It's hard to see how Lehigh's class is ranked ahead of ours, unless it's the result of their best player, Brendan Meehan, being ranked higher than Byron Shores. Meehan is in the Top 200, while Shores is #221. I'm still very pleased with our class. All three look like they're at least as good as we thought when we recruited them. Our prestige goes up three more points, to 75. The gap between Lafayette and the rest of the Patriot League continues to widen; Holy Cross (49), American (43), and Colgate (39) are the next highest-rated teams. Our Facilities score (53) is also much higher than those of our conference foes. Holy Cross (31) is second best in this category, too. Graham Sims levels up again this spring! He's now a Level 10 coach, and I again distribute his 20 points evenly across his five categories. Code:
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05-22-2023, 02:27 PM
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#265 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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May 1, 2021
As expected, Virginia sacks coach Merrill Moses. The Cavaliers offer the job to Coach Sims, and in another universe with another set of rules, I might take it and see if I could bring UVA up from the depths of the ACC. That's a story for another time, though. Temple also offers Graham their job, after Oregon poaches Clayton Mintz. The Owls' prestige is slightly higher, 78-75, and they have a significantly bigger budget. But when I look at Graham's AD page, he receives a job evaluation that says "Your performance is the stuff of legends." I'm not walking away from that level of acclaim for a comparable job. Graham will return to Lafayette for year 10. Recruiting coordinator Gregg Woods wants us to raise his yearly salary from $100,000 to $120,000. It's costing us quite a bit to keep the band together, but I bite the bullet and say "yes." |
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05-22-2023, 02:38 PM
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#266 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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July 1, 2021
This is the team Graham Sims will lead in his tenth season as head coach at Lafayette: Code:
As usual, we'll take a closer look at them once they graduate from training camp in November. |
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05-22-2023, 05:30 PM
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#267 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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November 1, 2021
Both of the scholarship seniors on this year's team are shooting guards: Matthew Ackerman and Rob Prendergast. But Ben Miele is the only player listed at PG, and he's honestly the only player on the team who has true point guard skills. My recruiting efforts, therefore, centered on guards, and one of them needed to be a ballhandler and passer. As the season draws near, we receive commitments from two guards who should fill those needs well. The orchestrator is Kamari Stone, a three-star prospect from Somerdale, New Jersey. Code:
Kamari's national ranking won't make the experts gasp; he's #463 nationally. His stats don't leap off the page at you, either. I added him to the call list because he was one of a handful of players who showed Very High interest in playing for Lafayette from the beginning. Once our staff evaluated him, I liked his ratings enough to offer him. He projects as a very reliable ballhandler and a clever passer, as well as an eager and talented defender who will often be the quickest player on the court. Kamari could help us regain our reputation as a difficult team to score against. Our other signee is three-star SG Micah Rodriguez. He's a genuine gunslinger from Dallas...Pennsylvania, up the highway from Wilkes-Barre. Code:
Players usually don't make as many of their shots as Micah does without being genuinely good shooters. He's also quick and a great leaper whose highlights feature a number of viral-quality dunks. Micah also appears to care more about defense than many high scorers (see Lien, Joe). We'll have to watch Micah's academics, but the same was true for Lien, who had an Academics rating of 11 and worse high school grades than Micah has. It's also nice to have our recruiting sorted before the season begins! |
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05-22-2023, 08:10 PM
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#268 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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Code:
The combination of a skilled coaching staff and improving facilities is allowing Lafayette players to reach more of their potential. That's exciting to see. Three starters return from last year's team, and all three earned some level of All-Conference recognition. Center Matt Robles was one of the best stories to come out of the 2020/21 season. Now a junior, Robles emerged as a productive scorer and rebounder. Robles, a first team selection, is only a fair defensive player. That can't be said about Asdrubal Cruz, who steps into the starting lineup at the four as Graham Sims' lineup takes on a more traditional look this season. Cruz averaged nearly the same number of points and rebounds last season as the first big man off the bench. Thomas Lucy, last season's Freshman of the Year, returns on the wing. He made 35.5% of his three-point attempts last year, but that aspect of his game improved greatly during camp. He was a second team All-Patriot League selection last season. The other wing will be senior Matthew Ackerman, the team's top returning scorer and the third All-Conference returnee. The English import worked hard on his defense during camp, and has matured into a lockdown defender. Sims trusted junior point guard Ben Miele to cover for injured players during his first two years at Lafayette. Miele made 28 starts over that period, demonstrating the ability to make the offense hum and shooting well enough to remain a threat. He is also a good defender. Freshman Byron Shores looks like he'll be a very good player, and he'll get a chance to show what he can do early on. He and senior Rob Prendergast will be integral parts of the rotation, and they have complementary skills: Shores should be a scorer, while Prendergast is more of a facilitator and defensive anchor. Which reserve big men will make a major impact? Will it be junior Jonathan Baldwin, with his defense and rebounding? Will it be freshman Kurt Ritchie, a more promising version of the same kind of player? Or will it be Jeffrey Hampton, another first year, who has more offensive potential? Carlton McFadden and Rodney Lundgren are also available for reserve duty on the wing. Last year's Leopards were successful, winning 28 games, capturing another Patriot League championship, and reaching the Sweet Sixteen. For all its success, however, that team didn't feel like a Graham Sims team. The 2021/22 Leopards should be more formidable defensively, but at the same time, there are proven scorers on the roster, too. Let's see how it turns out, shall we? |
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05-22-2023, 08:14 PM
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#269 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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One more stats drop before the season begins:
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Strong team + meh conference = top spot on this leader board. It's still pretty cool, though.  |
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05-25-2023, 10:26 AM
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#270 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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January 5, 2022
Code:
We're off to a winning start this year, facing a schedule that isn't quite as demanding as the one we took on in 2020/21. Code:
I'm sharing the box score from the Wisconsin game. The Badgers were ranked #15 before our visit to Madison. Code:
Byron Shores is fire that day, and it's not the only time the sweet-shooting freshman puts on a show. More on him later. After our victory, we appear in the polls for the first time. We rise as high as #15 before our rather shocking loss to Yale. The biggest story of the season so far has been the emergence of Matthew Ackerman as a big-time scorer. He opens the season with 27 points against Cornell, and follows that performance up with several other big games: 27 against La Salle, 32 against Fairfield, 30 against NJIT, 26 more at North Carolina A&T. The senior leads the Patriot League in scoring and ranks in the top 20 nationwide. The return to a more traditional lineup, one that features two post players, has paid off. Center Matt Robles has picked up where he left off last year, averaging 12.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Asdrubal Cruz has seamlessly adjusted to his new role as a starter. He ranks right below Robles with 8.2 RPG, and while he doesn't shoot often, he makes just under half the shots he does take. The other new starter, Ben Miele, is thriving, too. He's third in the Patriot League in assists (4.1 per game) and scores a crazy-good 1.97 points per shot...the product of his otherworldly shot selection. Byron Shores is just plain fun. He's averaging nearly 11 points per game as our sixth man, with a special knack for hitting threes. Byron fires off four per game--in 20 minutes of action--and is making 44.6% of them. One such three-ball with 0:04 remaining on the clock sends Delaware down to defeat. We pull out another victory in the closing minute against a tough Siena team. This time it's Thomas Lucy who does the honors. Lucy is the fourth player who scores in double figures (11.9 PPG). The only loss of the season--at home, to Yale--happens because we turn the ball over too often on a night when our shooting touch abandons us a bit. That night, we make 9 of our 25 three-point attempts; that might not sound bad, but we're hitting 43.2% for the season, third best in the nation. The other piece of bad news arrives when first semester grades are released. Reserve big Jonathan Baldwin is sidelined for the remainder of the season with an academic suspension. Jonathan, a junior, had been a productive member of our rotation, playing 12 minutes a game as our first big man off the bench and shooting 55.6% from the floor. You might have noticed how well he played in our big win at Wisconsin. Baldwin's Academic rating is 72, for Aristotle's sake! Lack of ability is surely not his problem. Freshmen Kurt Ritchie and Jeffrey Hampton will take Baldwin's minutes as we head into conference play. Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 05-25-2023 at 10:28 AM. |
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06-17-2023, 03:22 PM
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#271 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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I'm back, after a few weeks away from the game...
March 2, 2022 Code:
We win the conference via tiebreaker over a very good Holy Cross team. Code:
Army's Damon Resnick lights us up for 28 points and 15 rebounds, but Thomas Lucy puts up 28 and 8 of his own as we come from behind to win. Our victory lifts us to #4 in the Mid Major poll. I notice there are four Big Ten teams in the Mid Major rankings; the Big Ten has fallen to a Level 4 conference. Holy Cross shows us that they're the real deal, and after a comfortable victory at Colgate, we blow a lead and lose at home to American. At this point, I wonder if it's going to be a long, frustrating season. Then, Coach Sims's boys reel off seven straight wins. Byron Shores comes off the bench to drop 24 points on Navy, while Asdrubal Cruz grabs 15 rebounds. We hold Marlon Smith to 8 points on 2-11 shooting as we rout Lehigh. As we head into February, we're tied with Army for second place in the conference, behind Holy Cross. The Crusaders are 6-1 in league play, with a loss to the Black Knights of the Hudson. We break our tie with Army on February 2, behind 16 points and 16 boards from Matt Robles. That sets up our biggest game of the season, as Holy Cross comes to the Kirby Center. Code:
The Crusaders do a very good job of neutralizing Matthew Ackerman, challenging him on defense and forcing him to the bench with foul trouble. His teammates pick up the slack, however, and Ben Miele orchestrates a very rewarding victory. Holy Cross had just lost to Lehigh, so we take the Patriot League lead after our victory...and we promptly lose to Colgate when we come out of the halftime break unable to shoot or defend. Still, the Patriot League championship is ours to lose. Matt Robles decides not to let that happen, as he dominates American with 6 blocks and posts a 23-point, 10-rebound double double against Navy. Matthew Ackerman and Rob Prendergast celebrate Senior Night with a victory over Lehigh, but we lose Asdrubal Cruz to a bruised hip that will limit his effectiveness as we move into the conference tournament. It's a wild ride, but it ends with Graham Sims' ninth consecutive Patriot League regular season championship. The Leopards' 11-3 record in conference play represents our worst performance since 2012/13, when we went 10-4 and finished second. We'll face Colgate in the first round of the Patriot League tourney. |
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06-17-2023, 05:34 PM
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#272 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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March 2, 2022
Patriot League Tournament, First Round (1) #19 Lafayette 75, (8) Colgate 73 We very nearly sleepwalk to an embarrassing first round loss. Our first lead comes at the 13:41 mark of the second half, and from there to the end, it's a sloppy, scrappy contest that we finally win on a pair of Ben Miele free throws with 1:04 remaining. The last 64 seconds feature more crappy basketball, as neither team manages to score. Thomas Lucy (15 points) and Matthew Ackerman (14) are the only Leopards in double figures. Kurt Ritchie plays 37 minutes in his first collegiate start, and grabs 9 rebounds. Lucy is named Player of the Game, but I would have chosen Matt Robles: 9 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists. After the game, we learn that iron man Ritchie was playing through a dislocated finger. He's Day to Day, at 89% efficiency. That means Asdrubal Cruz, who's at 90% right now, will have to return to the lineup. #2 seed Holy Cross and #3 seed Bucknell held serve, and #5 Lehigh routed #4 Army. We'll face the Black Knights next. Record: 26-4. March 6, 2022 Patriot League Semifinal (1) #19 Lafayette 72, (5) Lehigh 58 Marlon Smith reminds us why we wanted so much to sign him, scoring 27 points, but we ground the other Mountain Hawks and advance to the final. None of our players take as many as 10 shots in a balanced, efficient offensive performance. Matthew Ackerman scores 19, shooting 6-for-9, and Thomas Lucy collects 14, sinking 5 of 6 shots, 4 from behind the arc. Holy Cross easily eliminates Bucknell, 64-45, so we'll face the Crusaders in the tournament final. According to the Bubble Watch, Holy Cross (23-8) has to win to make the Big Dance, while we're considered a Lock no matter what happens. Record: 27-4. March 11, 2022 Patriot League Tournament Final (1) #17 Lafayette 61, (2) Holy Cross 56 Both teams roll up their sleeves and play lunch-pail basketball, and we manage to out-grind the Crusaders and win the fourth Patriot League tourney of Graham Sims's career. Holy Cross's starting five, featuring guys like 6'9", 253-pound center Chung Hills and 6'8", 249-pound "small" forward Will Davis, resembles the bruising teams Sims has often employed at Lafayette. Meanwhile, we're starting no player taller than 6'8" Matt Robles and using 6'4" Thomas Lucy as a forward, while Asdrubal Cruz, a relatively svelte 229 pounds, is the heftiest man in the lineup. Ben Miele is 5'11" and 166 pounds, six inches shorter and 35 pounds lighter than the man he's guarding. The lithe Leopards don't let themselves get pushed around, however, losing the rebound battle by a respectable 37-34 margin. And, while we don't shoot well, we don't let the Crusaders get into their offensive rhythm, either. Matt Robles leads all scorers with 18 points, and Asdrubal Cruz notches a double double (11 points, 12 rebounds). Record: 28-4. |
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06-17-2023, 06:11 PM
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#273 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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March 13, 2022
 We're assigned to the East Region as the #8 seed. The bracket makers aren't convinced this year's team is quite as good as some of Coach Sims' earlier products. We'll face Alabama-Birmingham in the first round. This contest will be a repeat of our first game in the 2015 tournament, with both teams seeded exactly the way they were then. We won that one, 68-50, with James Sanders and Dana Broughton scoring 14 points each. Holy Cross secures the #3 seed in the NIT West Region. Bucknell will appear in the CBI tourney, as its #7 seed. March 18, 2022 NCAA East Region, First Round (8) #16 Lafayette 77, (9) Alabama-Birmingham 61 This game is a 30-30 deadlock at halftime, but we pour it on after the break and roll into the next round. Matthew Ackerman fires in 29 points, ensuring his Lafayette career will not end tonight. Byron Shores adds 12 from the bench, while Blue Collar Man Asdrubal Cruz takes only two shots from the field, makes them both, hits three free throws, and snares 12 rebounds. Our next opponent will be second-ranked Boston College. Record: 29-4. March 20, 2022 NCAA East Region, Second Round (1) #2 Boston College 79, (8) #16 Lafayette 67 More than a few TV viewers watch this game, which is closer than the score indicates until the final few minutes. We turn the ball over 26 times, making our task much, much harder. When we do get a chance to shoot, we do it well; we sink 26 of our 49 field goal attempts. Matthew Ackerman closes out his Lafayette career with 20 points. Byron Shores sizzles with 17 points in 16 minutes. Matt Robles scores 8 with 10 rebounds; Asdrubal Cruz scores 10 with 7 rebounds. Holy Cross is still alive in the NIT after a 69-58 defeat of Creighton. Record: 29-5. March 2, 2022 Holy Cross is routed by Temple, 95-58, ending their NIT tournament run. March 4, 2022 Kentucky defeats Boston College, 58-51, to win the NCAA tournament. It's the Wildcats' first championship; they lost to Vanderbilt in the final game in 2019. The other semifinalists are Mississippi State and North Carolina. It's the Bulldogs' sixth trip to the Final Four. The Cats' junior center, Richard Beyer, (10 points, 17 rebounds) is named Player of the Game. |
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06-17-2023, 07:24 PM
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#274 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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April 5, 2022
The Patriot League awards are announced today: Code:
Matthew Ackerman extends our streak of producing POYs to five seasons. He also earns his second All-League First Team bid, an accomplishment matched by Matt Robles. Thomas Lucy moves up from the second team to the first team this season, and Byron Shores is named to the All-Freshman Team. Byron loses the Freshman of the Year prize to Lehigh's fine point guard, James Perry. Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 06-17-2023 at 07:25 PM. |
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06-17-2023, 07:39 PM
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#275 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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April 5, 2022
Code:
This year's team turned out to be deceptively good. We were outstanding shooters from anywhere on the floor; only two teams made a higher percentage of their shots, overall and from three-point distance. Strangely enough, we were terrible free throw shooters. We also forced our opponents to miss a lot of shots. That's why our shooting percentage and PPS margins are so good. Code:
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Ben Miele led the league in assists, and he would have also finished first in field goal percentage and points per shot had he qualified. Matthew Ackerman led in the latter category instead, and he finished second in FG% and 3P%. Thomas Lucy's 11.46 plus/minus average was, by far, the best in the league. Ackerman and Matt Robles finished second and third. Next: the Senior Tributes. |
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06-17-2023, 07:51 PM
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#276 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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2021/22 Senior Tribute
ROB PRENDERGAST It's not Rob's fault that we mis-scouted him so badly. When we signed him, we envisioned him as an Orange/Blue player, a future star who would graduate with a slew of post-season honors. What we got instead was a solid, capable Yellow/Yellow role player who worked hard in practice and wore the jersey with pride. Code:
Prendergast became a regular member of the rotation as a junior, filling in at both guard positions and providing exceptionally good defense. He started seven games this year and acquitted himself well, taking good care of the basketball and locking down his opponents. Rob will graduate next month, and he'll return to Pottsville, where he'll work for the insurance company his grandfather founded 50 years ago. Thanks for the memories, Rob. |
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06-17-2023, 08:06 PM
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#277 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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2021/22 Senior Tribute
MATTHEW ACKERMAN Graham Sims has recruited two players from outside the United States. The first was Venceslás Castillo, one of the most popular players in Lafayette history. The other one was this dynamic scorer from Staffordshire who leaves the program as the Patriot League's reigning Player of the Year. Code:
One of the most highly regarded recruits we've signed, Matthew still had to wait his turn before becoming a starter. He earned First Team All-Patriot League honors in both his years as a regular. Matthew lived up to his potential as a three-level scorer, especially during his senior season; his 615 points are the fourth-highest single season total in the program's history. Matthew's name appears several times on our all-time lists: sixth in scoring, fifth in steals, sixth in field goals made, fifth in three-pointers made. He appears in a few mock drafts as a late second-round pick, and if he doesn't hear his name called on Draft Night, he'll return to his native England and play professionally there. Thanks for the memories, Matthew. |
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06-17-2023, 08:25 PM
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#278 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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May 1, 2022
Code:
A host of promising first year players are arriving in the Patriot League this year. All but one of the conference's eight teams welcome at least one three-star player. Lafayette's Micah Rodriguez wasn't as highly ranked as some of the other newcomers, but he arrives as the conference's only freshman with Blue potential. Our prestige remains at 75 for the second consecutive year. Holy Cross (51) remains second in the league in this category, and American is still third, but the Eagles are now merely "the best of the rest." The Patriot League, as a whole, is still struggling to gain respect. We need a few of our conference opponents to step up their games. Either I misread last year's Facilities score, or our facilities actually got worse over the course of the year. We're now at 51, down two points from 53. |
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06-17-2023, 09:01 PM
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#279 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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May 1, 2022
The opening Head Coach round sees 26 job offers appearing in Graham Sims' mailbox. One of them, and only one, is worth commenting on. Penn State has fired Benedict Balch after six seasons, only one of which saw him lead the team to a winning record; his 2019/20 Nittany Lions went 18-17. Last year, the team went 7-11 in Big Ten play, and that's as good as their conference record has ever been. The Nittany Lions' prestige is 56, and their Facilities score is 40. Neither of those scores are close to Lafayette's. Still, this job intrigues me. I wonder if Coach Sims has taken the Lafayette program as far as it can realistically go. The Leopards are, far and away, the premier program in the Patriot League. We've won at least 26 games for nine consecutive seasons, and we've won the conference championship in each of those seasons. Only two active coaches have a higher career winning percentage than Graham's .790. Graham has earned Legendary status on the Lafayette campus. But how much does the lowly status of the Patriot League hold the Leopards back from their fullest potential? Penn State, on the other hand, is among the Big Ten's weaker teams. Only Michigan and Iowa are less prestigious, and their facilities are the worst in the league. But the fact remains that the Big Ten is a Level 4 conference. The Nittany Lions have a lot of catching up to do, but how high might their ceiling be? The Penn State AD wants the new coach to avoid finishing last in the conference. Their recruiting class ranks #56 in the nation, comparable to Lafayette's incoming class. Is it time for Graham Sims to make a move? What do you think? Please feel free to offer your opinions! |
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06-18-2023, 02:29 AM
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#280 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Indiana
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Hey, if you feel like you have pretty much done all you can at Lafayette, Penn St is not a bad opportunity. Going to be tough road for while, but, if you do it, I will be interested to see how you/staff move to Nittany Lions, and how things work out. Good Luck no matter what you decide.
__________________
TC Dale "Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud - Sophocles" |
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06-18-2023, 09:55 AM
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#281 | |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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Quote:
You hit on the question I'm asking myself too, hoosierdude. We've made a Final Four, and if I hadn't done that, I wouldn't think about leaving. There are things I haven't accomplished at Lafayette. We've never been ranked in the Top Ten. We've never signed a four- or five-star recruit. And while making a Final Four was incredibly satisfying, it also makes me want to take the last two steps and cut down the nets. It's Father's Day, so I decided to ask my daughter what she thinks. She likes basketball, and she occasionally sits beside me on the couch while I play FBCB. She voted "stay at Lafayette." I seemed to remember that the "real" Lafayette College had a long-tenured men's basketball coach, so I looked it up, and I was right. Fran O'Hanlon came to Lafayette in 1995 and retired after the 2022 season. That's 27 seasons, and it appears Coach O'Hanlon turned down numerous offers to go elsewhere. O'Hanlon is also a Villanova alumnus, like Coach Sims--a fact of which I wasn't aware when I created my coaching alter ego. Bob McKillop built an even longer and more storied legacy at Davidson before retiring at the end of the 2022 season. Both O'Hanlon and McKillop are institutions at their respective universities, with good reason. "Young coach climbs the ladder to a national powerhouse" can be a compelling, entertaining story. So can "Young coach builds a program and leads it for decades." I think I'm going to try to write the latter story with Coach Sims. There is one job I'll most definitely consider if it ever becomes available. If Villanova ever offers Graham the opportunity to return to his alma mater, it would be very, very difficult to turn it down. But, for now, Coach Sims will remain at Lafayette. |
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06-18-2023, 10:30 AM
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#282 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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My daughter gave me another idea when I was talking with her about Coaches McKillop and O'Hanlon. Bob McKillop was succeeded at Davidson by his son, Matt, who also played for his father in the mid-2000s.
"That's really cool," she observed. Then she got an idea. "Can you make players in your game?" she asked me. When I told her I could, she said "You should make me a brother." "That's a good idea," I replied. So, I'm going to go into Tools mode to create a future recruit. In our story, Graham Sims is now 43 years old. If I wait another year before I create an 17-year-old son for Graham, he would have become a father at the same age I did in real life. I'll make Graham's son good enough to play for Lafayette, but not so good that he "breaks" the simulation. Then I'll recruit him and see if I can sign him. Then, after he graduates, I'll decide if I want him to follow his dad into college coaching like Matt McKillop has done. I think this will be a fun storyline to follow! |
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06-18-2023, 10:37 AM
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#283 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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May 1, 2022
I knew it was going to happen at some point. In fact, I hoped it would. Donn McClinton, Graham's valued scouting director, has left the program to become the head coach at Massachusetts.  Coach McClinton is ready. He's a Level 6 coach, and it seems that even elite programs have assistants on their staffs who are less developed than Coach McClinton is. Thanks for 11 great years, Coach. Good luck at UMass, and perhaps we'll see you on the court sometime. |
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06-18-2023, 10:50 AM
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#284 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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May 1, 2022
Donn McClinton's departure creates an opening on our staff for a new lead scout. I realize I've allowed our coaching budget to expand quite a bit in my efforts to keep Coach Sims' staff together, and since it appears our budget isn't increasing at the same pace, I'm going to take the opportunity to cut back a bit. Our new lead scout is Chris Kiger. He's 37 years old, and he's spent eleven seasons as an assistant at Sacred Heart, Oral Roberts, and Indiana State.  We're trading a Level 6 assistant for a Level 2 coach, and that carries with it a certain amount of risk...but unless our AD raises our budget, we can't keep giving our assistants the raises they're asking for. |
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06-18-2023, 11:43 AM
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#285 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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May 1, 2022
Forward Rodney Lundgren has decided to transfer. I don't blame him; his playing time dwindled over the course of three years at Lafayette until he didn't see the court at all as a junior. I wish him well, wherever he ends up. Now we have a scholarship available to offer in the transfer round. And there's a very, very good player who's expressing serious interest in playing for us! Kenton Lashley came out of Savannah, Georgia as a five-star recruit, ranked #9 nationally. He was an All-State player, and Georgia's Mr. Basketball in 2021. Kenton signed with North Carolina, where he played a total of seven minutes in four games. He's a Yellow player with Blue potential. Lashley projects as an exceptionally good shooter, and he is a tenacious defender who can guard players on the perimeter and in the post, despite standing only 6'2". He ranks Lafayette first on his list of preferred destinations, ahead of Nevada, Texas, Southwest Missouri State, and California. I don't hesitate a moment before I offer Kenton a scholarship. One click later, Kenton Lashley is a Leopard! Code:
I mean no offense to Rodney Lundgren, but we just traded up here, in a major way. Kenton is a true baller. Players like him don't consider signing with programs like ours straight out of high school. He'll sit out a year, working on his game, and step into our backcourt in 2023/24. Because he's such an excellent student, Kenton won't need additional academic tutoring; he'll be able to devote more time and energy to developing his basketball skills. Rodney Lundgren accepted an offer from Butler, so he's found himself in a very good place to spend his senior year. Again, I wish him lots of luck. |
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06-18-2023, 11:55 AM
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#286 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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July 1, 2022
Here's the roster for your 2022/23 Lafayette College Leopards... Code:
You can see five scholarship seniors on the roster, so Graham and his staff will have an especially busy recruiting season this year. |
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06-18-2023, 12:42 PM
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#287 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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November 1, 2022
Two three-star recruits have committed to play for Lafayette so far. Let's meet them now. Carter Todd is a well-rounded big man from New Jersey. If we've scouted him accurately--a reasonable concern, now that the talented Donn McClinton is no longer our lead scout--Carter projects as a good scorer, rebounder, and defender. Code:
Charles Allen plays point guard for his upstate New York high school, but I think he'll probably switch to the wing as a collegian. He profiles as a dangerous outside shooter, and he's responsible enough on the defensive end of the court. Code:
Carter and Charles are both Red/Green recruits, and those guys usually develop into valuable rotation players, at the very least. Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 06-18-2023 at 12:43 PM. |
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06-18-2023, 01:08 PM
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#288 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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November 6, 2022
Training camp went well, and the Leopards are ready for action. Code:
Graham Sims will put a veteran team on the floor this season. Four starters return from last year's team. Senior center Matt Robles (Green/Green) has made the most of his ability and will provide us with an inside scoring threat and a rebounding presence at both ends of the floor. He'll be joined inside by classmate Asdrubal Cruz (Yellow/Yellow), a Blue Collar Man who will guard our opponent's best inside player. After making a significant impact as our sixth man last year, sophomore Byron Shores (Green/Blue) will start on the wing this season. Byron is developing into a reliable defender, and his scoring credentials are already well-established. Professional scouts already list him on mock drafts, even though he's not eligible to leave college for another year. Shooting guard Thomas Lucy has blossomed into a Blue/Blue player as a junior, and will be one of the focal points of our game plan. Will he be the next Lafayette player to be recognized as the Patriot League's Player of the Year? Thomas is also being mentioned as a potential professional draft pick, if he chooses to forgo his final season of eligibility. The point guard will be senior Ben Miele (Green/Blue). The reigning league assist leader, Ben is also a capable shooter who can't be left unguarded. He is also a very good on-ball defender. Coach Sims often uses a promising, dynamic freshman as his sixth man. This year's choice is Micah Rodriguez (Yellow/Blue). M-Rod is quick and athletic, and possesses a scorer's mentality. The first big man off the bench will be sophomore Kurt Ritchie (Yellow/Green), a hard-nosed defender. Freshman point guard Kamari Stone (Yellow/Green) will get some run as Miele's caddy this season. Sophomore Jeffrey Hampton (Yellow/Green) moves ahead of senior Jonathan Baldwin (Orange/Yellow) on this year's depth chart. And, waiting in the wings is transfer Kenton Lashley (Green/Blue), who will challenge his teammates in practice each day and prepare for his Lafayette debut next fall. Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 06-18-2023 at 01:11 PM. |
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06-20-2023, 11:23 AM
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#289 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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January 4, 2023
Tonight marks the beginning of conference play in the Patriot League. How have we done so far? Code:
It's good to see Bucknell playing so well. If the Patriot League is going to gain more respect on a national scale, two or three other teams have to become consistent winners. Code:
I forgot to contribute to the construction of the non-conference schedule, so I ended up with a soft one. That's good for our win-loss record, not so good for our RPI. Thomas Lucy (19 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists) stars in our victory over UCLA in the opening round of the Paradise Shootout. That sets up a matchup against a very good Nevada team, who get the better of us. Matt Robles has a 13/15 double double, and sixth man Micah Rodriguez scores 16. Micah follows that up with 18 more in a blowout victory over Syracuse, who were ranked #25 at the time. Kurt Ritchie contributes 10 points and 12 boards in a reserve role. This victory is #300 for Graham Sims. His career record is 300-80, and he ranks fourth in the universe's history in wins and winning percentage. We go out to Long Island next. That game is an instant classic that deserves a post all to itself. Our crazy run of road games continues with a lucky win at Binghamton. We take a lot of shots and don't shoot very well; just enough of them find the mark. Asdrubal Cruz pulls in 15 rebounds in a routine win at Monmouth. Before our next game, we welcome the third player to our recruiting class: forward Carl McGriff. Code:
Carl is a very solid three-star player (#219 in his class). If we're scouting him accurately, he has a somewhat funky skill set; he's a very good post defender, but he doesn't block shots or pound the defensive glass. He can create his own shot and flashes a solid jumper, and he's athletic for a big dude. Carl could very well move inside to power forward at some point in his career. Micah Rodriguez's 20 points keys our victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore, and then it's finally time for our first home game. We host the Penn State team I thought about coaching, and beat them by eight. Kurt Ritchie blocks 7 shots, the most ever in a game by a Lafayette player not named Samuel Davis. We completely forget how to play defense in a horrid loss at Rider. Then, we barely eke out a win against a surprisingly good Fairfield team, whose RPI (41) is 40 points better than our own. Matt Robles (19p/13r) and Thomas Lucy (17p/6a) are the stars. Robles again asserts himself with 20 points and 14 rebounds against La Salle. Then, we give a fine demonstration of the art of long-range shooting against Manhattan, knocking down 12 of our 25 treys. Byron Shores, who's adjusted perfectly to a starting role and has been scoring 15 unspectacular points or so per game, busts loose with a career-best 31. Another player who has been doing his job without much fanfare is point guard Ben Miele. Never much of a scorer, Ben tallies 15 points against Liberty and follows it up with 16 more against Pennsylvania. His career high game, incidentally, is 17. More typical are the 8 assists he hands out in each of those contests, and he adds 9 rebounds for good measure against the Quakers. Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 06-20-2023 at 02:33 PM. |
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06-20-2023, 11:55 AM
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#290 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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November 20, 2022
An Instant Classic Code:
We trail, 75-72, with 25 seconds remaining in the second half. Micah Rodriguez coolly knocks down a three from the right corner to send the game into overtime. Neither team can pull ahead by more than a single point in the extra session. LIU's Jason Kubiak steps to the free throw line for two shots with 0:27 on the clock and the Sharks ahead, 80-79. Kubiak clanks both shots. Kurt Ritchie clears the boards, and on the ensuing possession, Thomas Lucy elevates for a dunk and is fouled hard by Kubiak, who had no other option. Thomas calmly makes both shots, and we lead 81-80 with 17 seconds to play. Sharks coach Tom Cowan, a very good tactician, decides his team's best chance involves getting the ball inside to Kubiak. The 6'11" center gets to the rim, and he's fouled by Matt Robles. The clock shows all zeroes as Kubiak lines up for two shots. The first is good. One more like it, and Kubiak sends the Sharks followers home happy. He misses. Five more minutes. With 2:12 remaining, Boyce Eslinger strips Ben Miele and throws down a vicious two-handed dunk to put his team ahead, 87-86. Eslinger taunts our bench on the way back up the floor, the way Alvaro Kinard used to enjoy doing. But we get the last laugh. Again, the hero is Micah Rodriguez. With 14 seconds on the clock, Micah drops in a floater. Barton Russ's attempt at an answer falls short, and we ride home from Long Island with a very satisfying victory. Several Leopards play like heroes tonight. Matt Robles battled the much larger Jason Kubiak tenaciously and effectively for 43 minutes; both big men produce solid double doubles. Byron Shores demonstrates why defenders must contest him every time he catches the ball behind the three-point arc. Thomas Lucy again plays much bigger than 6'4" with a double double of his own. But the biggest story of all is the poise under pressure demonstrated not once, but twice, by Micah Rodriguez. Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 10-16-2023 at 06:29 PM. |
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06-20-2023, 01:30 PM
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#291 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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March 1, 2023
The Patriot League tournament begins today, and here's how the standings look at the conclusion of regular season play. Code:
Coach Sims has won his 10th consecutive Patriot League regular season title, and it was a more difficult process than the standings might indicate. Holy Cross and American faded down the stretch, after battling the Leopards for much of the conference season. Code:
Matt Robles' 15 points and 13 rebounds inspire a victory against Army at the Kirby Center. Next up is Lehigh, and Thomas Lucy sparks us with a 27-point, 12-rebound performance. The January 8 polls have us at #11, which is our highest-ever national ranking. We're also sitting at #2 in the Mid Major poll, behind Michigan State (LOL). The undefeated Spartans, incidentally, are also #2 in the "big" poll. Bucknell, ranked #7, gives the Patriot League a second team in the Mid Major rankings. Five Leopards score in double figures in our win against Navy, and then we suffer our first Patriot League loss of the year at the hands of former recruit James Zimmer and American. We waste a 23-point game from Thomas Lucy. Lucy stars in our victory over a badly-fading Bucknell team, scoring 26 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Byron Shores adds 20 more points. Going into the games of January 25, we're one of three teams with 4-1 conference records; American and Holy Cross are the others. That day, we beat Colgate, behind 25 points from Shores and a 12p/16r game from Matt Robles. Meanwhile, the Crusaders lose to Bucknell and fall off the pace a bit. We basically eliminate Holy Cross from contention three days later, but we lose Asdrubal Cruz for 10 days with an ankle sprain. Kurt Ritchie replaces him in the starting five. Three years ago, we heavily recruited Marlon Smith, only to lose him to Lehigh. The scholarship we'd earmarked for Smith was then offered to Thomas Lucy. I'm not sure if Thomas knows this, but I do know he always brings his A game when we play Lehigh. Perhaps it's simply because the Mountain Hawks are our biggest rival, but Thomas approaches a triple double (8p/10r/9a) and holds Marlon Smith to ONE POINT. Marlon's averaging 21 per game, so that's a huge defensive effort. Micah Rodriguez, who has slumped a bit after starting his career on fire, bounces back with 21 points. Our victory moves us into first place in the league, and Matt Robles helps keep us there with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks against Army; it's his second double double against the Black Knights this season. Byron Shores goes off for 35 points in our victory over American, and he nets 21 more against Navy. The Navy game is Senior Night, and we send our five seniors out in style. We can clinch the Patriot League championship against Bucknell, but Bison forward Larry Chronister makes two free throws with eight ticks left on the clock to sew up a 68-67 victory. Part of me isn't sorry; that win might end up being enough to earn the Bison an at-large ticket to the Big Dance. Matt Robles (16p/12r) and Asdrubal Cruz (10p/10r) lead the way against Colgate, with help from Byron Shores and his 18 points. Shores pours in 26 and Cruz grabs 18 rebounds as we close out the regular season with a win at Holy Cross. Our recruiting efforts have stalled, big time. We're looking at a pair of foreign players who haven't attracted much attention so far, but neither of them have signed yet. |
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06-20-2023, 01:55 PM
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#292 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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March 1, 2023
Patriot League Tournament, First Round (1) #11 Lafayette 85, (8) Lehigh 52 We win our first round game with an efficient performance, shooting nearly 60% from the field and keeping Marlon Smith largely under wraps. Smith scores 14, but Byron Shores (23) and Micah Rodriguez (15) more than match his output. The down side: Ben Miele's sprained knee, which will sideline him for the time being. Ben scored 9 points and handed out 8 assists before limping off the floor. Army upset Bucknell, and they'll be our next opponent. I hope they didn't just knock the Bison out of the NCAA tournament, too. Record: 27-4. March 5, 2023 Patriot League Tournament Semifinal (1) #11 Lafayette 65, (5) Army 60 Matt Robles loves to play against Army. Today, he scores 12 points and snags 15 rebounds (his third double double against Army this year) and leads us to a gritty, hard-fought victory. We play outstanding defense and hold the Black Knights to 19-for-62 shooting. We don't shoot well, either; our offense lacks cohesion without Ben Miele at the controls. Byron Shores leads us with 17 points. Six-seed Navy upsets Holy Cross, so they'll face us for the championship. Record: 28-4. March 6, 2023 The new rankings are out today... Code:
We're in the Top Ten! Michigan State occupied the top spot in both polls last week, but their loss dropped them to #7. They're still regarded the best of the Mid Majors, however.  March 10, 2023 Patriot League Championship (1) #9 Lafayette 73, (6) Navy 70 The Navy won't be going dancing, as Lafayette wins their fifth Patriot League tournament championship of the Graham Sims era. Ben Miele wasn't at 100 percent, but there was no way the senior co-captain wasn't going to play today. He led his team with a career-high 18 points, making all 10 of his free throw attempts, and had 3 steals. The other senior co-captain, Matt Robles, added 16 points and 7 boards, while Thomas Lucy finished with 14 and 7 of his own. Record: 29-4. Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 10-16-2023 at 06:38 PM. |
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06-20-2023, 02:24 PM
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#293 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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March 12, 2023
We fall to #10 in the polls, leapfrogged by ACC champion Duke. And we're off to the NCAA South Region this time, where we're seeded #5.  Bucknell made it to the Dance, too. They're playing South Florida in the East Region 11-seed play in game, for the right to face Memphis in the first round. Holy Cross will play the College of Charleston in the NIT's West Region, where they hold the 2 seed. March 17, 2023 NCAA South Region, First Round (5) #10 Lafayette 83, (12) Brown 69 Ben Miele felt the bone in his arm crack, and he knew immediately he'd played his last minute of college basketball. Miele leaves the game five minutes into the second half with six assists already to his credit. His classmate Matt Robles, visibly shaken by his friend's injury, then puts his team on his back and carries them to victory. Robles finishes with a season-high 27 points, 8 rebounds, and two blocked shots. Micah Rodriguez (13), Thomas Lucy (12), Byron Shores (12), and Asdrubal Cruz (10) all score in double figures as Lafayette advance to the next round. They'll have to advance without their orchestrator, however. And Vanderbilt awaits them. Record: 30-4. March 19, 2023 NCAA South Region, Second Round (4) #13 Vanderbilt 70, (5) #10 Lafayette 61 Beating a team like Vanderbilt was probably too much to ask for the Leopards, minus Ben Miele. However, we keep it very close until the Commodores' depth wears us down. Makeshift point guard Thomas Lucy struggles a bit against Vandy's veteran backcourt, turning the ball over 4 times and scoring 5 points. Senior Joseph Hubbard scores a career-high 11 points. Byron Shores leads us with 18, and Micah Rodriguez contributes 11 more from the bench. Matt Robles has 5 points and 11 rebounds in his final collegiate game, and Asdrubal Cruz finishes his final contest with 2 points and 7 rebounds. Record: 30-5. Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 10-16-2023 at 06:37 PM. |
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06-20-2023, 02:27 PM
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#294 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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April 3, 2023
We can take some consolation in the fact that the Vanderbilt team that beat us didn't lose again until they fell to North Carolina, 65-58, in the championship game. Kentucky and Georgetown were the other teams in the Final Four. Bucknell and Holy Cross both lost their first tournament games and went home before we did. On the day of the final, we learn that Thomas Lucy will forfeit his final year of college eligibility and enter the professional draft. Lehigh's Marlon Smith, with whose fortunes Thomas's have been so often entwined, will also enter the draft. Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 06-20-2023 at 02:29 PM. |
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06-20-2023, 02:46 PM
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#295 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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April 3, 2023
Several Leopards are recognized in the Patriot League yearly awards: Code:
I'm absolutely thrilled to death for Matt Robles. He adds his name to the list of Lafayette players to be crowned Patriot League Player of the Year, extending our streak to six seasons in a row. Robles also joins Daniel Warnock as the only Lafayette players to earn All-League First Team honors for three seasons. He's joined on the First Team by Thomas Lucy, a two-time selection. Byron Shores moves up from the All-Freshman Team to the All-League Second Team, and Micah Rodriguez earns a slot on this year's All-Freshman squad. Oscar Joseph of Colgate, another of the fine first year players across the league, pips Micah for FOY honors. I can't figure out what the awards committee hates about Marlon Smith. Take a look at his career profile. Code:
Marlon has never won any postseason honor of any kind. He's been a minus player throughout his career, but that's more of a function of the terrible Lehigh teams he's played for than his own ability. No wonder he's going pro. Graham Sims makes room in his trophy case for his sixth Coach of the Year award. Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 06-20-2023 at 02:55 PM. |
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06-20-2023, 06:49 PM
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#296 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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April 3, 2023
Code:
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Much of the credit for Lafayette's success this season goes to the team's medical staff. With the exception of Ben Miele's injury in the NCAA tournament, Coach Sims' players remained remarkably injury-free. Lafayette players dominated the plus/minus category, but otherwise, none of them led the Patriot League in any individual statistical measure. Invariably, however, the team leader in a stat was among the league's best. I'll use Matt Robles as an example. His 9.1 RPG was second in the league, behind the dominant 11.1 average of Bucknell's Charles Moncrief. Three Leopards were among the league's top six scorers. |
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06-20-2023, 06:59 PM
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#297 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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April 3, 2023
Code:
Once again, we send our fans home happy from each contest at the Kirby Center. I know we've had at least one other season with a perfect home record. Over the last few seasons, I've begun to recruit players with more questionable commitments to playing defense, provided they are explosive scorers. Joe Lien was the first player of this type I remember signing. Tim Hutchinson was another, and Thomas Lucy is the best example of a current Leopard with those spots. I surround the offensive stars with hard-nosed defenders, and the desired result is a team like this one: a team that can score while doing a good job of preventing our opponents from making shots. Our margin stats that pertain to shooting and scoring all look good. We were also a very good rebounding team this year, another quality I like to see. I'll be writing a Tribute for almost half the players on this year's team. They're up next. Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 06-20-2023 at 07:00 PM. |
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06-20-2023, 07:13 PM
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#298 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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2022/23 Farewell
THOMAS LUCY Delaware's Mr. Basketball, Thomas is the most highly ranked recruit Graham Sims has ever signed. He lived up to his potential, developing into a Blue/Blue talent, a two-time All-League First Team player who believes he's ready to go pro a season early. Code:
Strong, quick, and athletic, Thomas lined up as a shooting guard, a small forward, and as a makeshift point guard when Ben Miele was injured. He was an excellent rebounder for a 6'4" player. Thomas departs as our seventh all-time scorer, after only three years in the program. He's also taken and made the fourth-most three point shots, and he's fifth in assists. If he doesn't hear his name called on Draft Night, Thomas will pursue opportunities to play pro ball in Europe. He's also a very good student with an interest in law, so he might continue his education once he hangs up his sneakers. Thanks for the memories, Thomas. Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 10-16-2023 at 02:33 PM. |
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06-20-2023, 07:30 PM
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#299 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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2022/23 Senior Tribute
JONATHAN BALDWIN Jonathan's story is not a happy one. Code:
We really liked him when we recruited him in the fall of 2018, and he liked us, too. Still, he waited until January to commit, even though almost every other school had yielded the floor to us. Jonathan arrived with a reputation as a rugged rebounder and the potential to play elite post defense. He found ways to get on the floor as a freshman, and built on that foundation the next year, becoming a very useful rotation player. The Baltimore native made over half his shots, and he could step back behind the arc and do damage from long range. He started his junior season in the same way, but when his first semester grades were released, we discovered he was academically ineligible. This was puzzling, as Jonathan certainly had the ability to succeed in the classroom. It turned out that Jonathan couldn't say no to a party. Handsome and outgoing, he had no trouble finding one. When he returned to action as a senior, he found his spot in the rotation usurped by younger, harder-working players. Jonathan will leave school in May, still several credits short of his degree. He will enter an alcohol and drug rehabilitation program in Virginia. Hopefully, this talented, engaging young man will overcome his challenges and realize his potential. Best wishes, Jonathan. |
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06-20-2023, 07:42 PM
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#300 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2022
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2022/23 Senior Tribute
JOSEPH HUBBARD Joseph transferred to Lafayette after spending a year at Oregon State. I handled him weirdly, which is my fault and not Joseph's. Code:
Joseph sat out a year, as required, and played in 25 games as a redshirt sophomore. He did nothing wrong; in fact, he did a lot of things right. Somehow, I didn't find a way to get him into a single game as a junior. We did have a lot of talented wing players that year, but Mr. Hubbard deserved better. I rectified my error this year, and Joseph, who never complained about being stashed on the bench, gave us six minutes of consistent effort every game. He started on Senior Night, and was greeted warmly by the Kirby Center crowd. After he graduates, Joseph will return to Linden, a small town in California's San Joaquin Valley. There, he'll work as a banker, and perhaps he'll pursue an MBA one day. Thanks for the memories, Joseph. |
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