Wake in 53 a continuation of an MP Dynasty - Page 2

Brian Swartz · 03-23-2017, 02:04 PM

1965 Santa Clara Season Preview

Another year of mediocrity, coming right up!!

Starters

We'll start with the obvious; senior Paul Husted(13.8 ppg, 4.2 apg, 2.9 topg, 1.8 spg, 45% fg, 4.0 +/-) running the show and rewriting the school record books in his final season. He's already #1 in steals here and should become the leader in points and assists by the time the year is over. He's a good defender as well, but the growth in his game this year is expected to be on the offensive end. F Henry Carter(10.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 46% fg, +3.03) is another fourth-year starter. He's always been a stalwart defender, and should improve his rebounding contribution most this year. Shot selection was a big issue for him, but it looks like he improved that last year. I hope it sticks. Junior Darin Bilodeau(6.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 42% fg, +2.63) slides over from power forward to center this season. A good rebounder who is solid as a post-up option or positional defender, he's lacking badly in rim protection, athleticism, and ball skills but still the best option in the pivot.

A couple of new starters step in, and we're cautiously optimistic about them. Junior Robert Daumeyer isn't what was hoped for as a recruit, and he's no Milton Garrow, but the 6-3 wing improved on both ends of the court over the off-season and will hopefully build on last year's 5.3 ppg, 46% fg results as a reserve. An excellent athlete who is a bit of a defensive liability, he needs to produce in other areas in order to be successful. The new forward is sophomore Theodore Dodge(11.6 mpg, 2.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 42% fg, +0.9). The staff doesn't agree, wanting the more experienced Westphal here. Dodge is a good rebounder though esp. on offense, and an elite post defender. We have no real shotblockers, but he gives the team a second top-level defender along with Carter(and Husted is pretty good also) to make things tough on the opposition. Scoring isn't terrible but probably limited for Dodge.

Key Reserves

The majority of the available minutes will be on the wing, making the presumptive sixth man a true freshman, George Bocanegra(6-5, 188). Mr. California was recruited for precisely this role. He's an adequate defender and fine athlete with excellent accuracy from the mid-range area. Still a lot of work to do on his game, but Bocanegra has the stamina to play significant minutes if needed. This will probably be the only year he's not a starter. Senior Chris Flanagan played only six games last year, and played poorly, but he's by far the best option as the backup point guard. Solid offensively for the role, defense is his weakness. F/C Daniel Westphal(9 mpg, 2.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 46% fg, +0.18) is another senior, and he has an argument for being a starter as a good shotblocker and rebounder. Offense is underwhelming and defense worse, and he's never gotten himself in good shape either. That's why he's on the bench, but he could be promoted if Bilodeau or Dodge falter.

End of the Bench

** C Fletcher Garrison(6-11, 230, Fr(RS)) -- Garrison is already a plus post defender and could become an elite one. Problem is that offensively and as a rebounder he's enough of a liability to keep him off the court. It seems likely that he may never fulfill his potential, but he'll be forced into a reserve role at some point, and it's hoped that his defensive abilities will be enough to keep him from completely embarassing himself. Much like Andrew Brown before him, only now we have better options available.

** F Arnoldo Mann(6-6, 224, FR(RS)) -- Mann is in a very similar situation; he figured to be the backup forward and then take over for Carter, but Bocanegra's emergence has pushed him to the back of the line. Good defender in the post and adequate on the perimeter, accurate at the line and a decent jumper, above-average rebounder ... there's a lot to like about his game but like Garrison he's not ready yet and it's not at all certain that he'll ever get the playing time to get there.

Both players do provide a decent insurance policy against injuries, aside from that they are at least a year away from contributing.

Redshirts

There are some good ones this year.

** G Luther Sansom(5-10, 165, So) -- Sansom is a walk-on who had to fill in as backup PG last season when Flanagan was injured. That option remains this year, but hopefully he can take the year this time.

** G Flavio Marcos(6-4, 203) -- Marcos looks like Husted part 2, the future star of the team leading from the point spot. He's a better shooter, not as good of a rebounder, but much is similar. Good athleticism, defense, and ball skills. He has the luxury of redshirting which his predecessor doesn't. I don't know that he'll equal Husted's career, but he should be in the same ballpark and is a decent player already; there's just not a spot for him this year. Almost certainly he's the starter from day one next season.

** C Tony Wilburn(6-8, 224) -- Wilburn could still be turned into a wing. Good rebounder, perimeter defender, shotblocker, and slasher. Passing is decent but has little to no range and can't guard in the post. Too good not to contribute eventually, not good enough to be a star. As a slasher SF with some serious size he could be quite nice though, and I think that's where he ends up. Marcos/Bocanegra/Wilburn would be a heck of a perimeter trio down the road.

** F Chris Enoch(6-7, 225) -- A local boy, Enoch turned out not to be as good as expected and is probably a reserve long-term. Having said that he's not useless. Versatile on offense, just enough rebounding, ball skills, and defense to be competent, and a good athlete. He'll find a place but with the other players in position it's hard to see him ever starting.

Outlook

This year will depend greatly on the wings. Carter and Daumeyer both improved significantly, and Bocanegra will have the key bench role. This should still be a good defensive team but not as good as in past years, rebounding should improve ... the key is not stumbling out of the gate offensively like last year. They can't wait till late January or February to figure things out this year. Husted will do his thing, but there won't be much firepower coming from inside like usual, which means the offense needs to run efficiently.

In the final analysis, it's probably more of the same. Above-average in the WCC, just missing the post-season. NIT is the goal once again, but things will need to go well for that to happen.

Brian Swartz · 03-23-2017, 02:27 PM

b]1965 WCC Outlook[/b]

1. San Francisco/Saint Mary's

This is the first year I haven't been able to say the Dons are a clear favorite. That's as big a surprise to me as anyone else, and if a gun was put to my head I'd say McElhaney & Jarmyn still give the defending national champs the edge. It seems they know it's going to be a down year, as a few players who could help them are redshirting this season. Saint Mary's has a high-quality point guard in junior Emile Cravens and a bevy of productive seniors, Leonard Render(12.9 ppg) being probably foremost among them. JC transfer F Michael Brooks looks like a serious customer on the boards as well. All of this high-quality balance gives the Gaels a legitimate spot as the WCC's '1B' ... ready to take the title if San Fran stumbles even a bit.

3. Santa Clara

The Broncos don't have a lot of depth, but Paul Husted plus just enough to hold off their rivals this year. This is never an easy team to score on.

4. San Jose State

The Spartans could make fools out of us and make another challenge this year, but I just don't think they have quite enough back. Daniel Johnson(14.4 ppg) isn't the only threat with Wood a outsanding point guard on both ends and Ibanez ready to take on a much bigger role, but there's enough changes to have them slipping just that little bit. Depth is the strong point here.

5. Pacific

At this point the quality of the top players starts to drop off a fair bit. Dwayne Funches(15.4 ppg two years running) doesn't figure to have quite enough help.

6. Pepperdine

Carrol Alton plus several decent players; the Waves could unseat Pacific but I doubt it.

7. Loyola U of Los Angeles

Cedric Kessler(9.2 ppg, 41% fg) is their best and he didn't impress last year. The Lions are the one WCC team that just hasn't been able to bring in enough horses.

8. Cal-Santa Barbara

This could be the final year at the bottom for the Gauchos. They aren't that far behind Loyola U right now; Vidal, Ruhl, and Springs need more help but they are bringing in quality consistently. For a team that has just six scholarship players, they should be significantly improved. Just haven't quite gotten the critical mass yet, but it's coming.

Brian Swartz · 03-23-2017, 02:29 PM

1965 Western Michigan Season Preview

A rebuild is expected after this year; it's a final chance to get back to the Dance before that happens.

Starters

Everything starts with the dynamic backcourt, which will be the best in small-conference play. Seniors Irvin Jean(8.1 ppg, 7.5 apg, 48% fg, +1.47) and Clifford Paschall(11.4 mpg, 6.1 ppg, 1.1 spg, 47% fg, +1.17) will be very tough to contain at this level. Jean is as good as they get at running the offense and his shooting should improve this year. Paschall can't guard anyone but is essentially a 'second point' and has been a dynamic bench scorer since he arrived. This year is his chance to shine.

Another senior, Charles Hunter(5.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 50% fg, -0.23) is the 7-foot starter in the middle basically by default. He's versatile, but not particularly good at anything and could have been a lot better if he'd worked more on his defense and conditioning. For a big man he has good ball skills which is the reason he was brought in.

The other two starters are new. Junior Roosevelt Cornell(12.2 mpg, 3.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 39% fg, +1.47) gets a chance to prove himself after what has been a disappointing first half of his career. A decent rebounder and adequate defender on a good day, his post game is slowly coming along which should boost that accuracy. It better. The small forward spot was hemmed and hawed on till almost the last minute. Freshman Blair Dillman(6-5, 226) takes the spot for now. He's definitely the future of the position, but raw and there were other options that are slightly better. Ultimately he was deemed 'close enough' though, and the need to get him playing time won out. It's a decision that could easily change.

Key Reserves

Sophomore J.C. Hurtado(10.3 mpg, 2.1 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 56% fg, -2.67) is another 7-footer. He improved some but not a lot, but is overall the best option for all of the minutes Hunter won't be able to play. True freshman Dante Ake, more a scorer than a defender, is the only vaguely passable option as backup point and he'll forego his redshirt year for that reason. Sophomore Paul Edwards(6.8 mpg, 2 ppg, 54% fg) was a bright spot last year and will see more minutes this year as the primary backup on the wing. It's also expected that the third tower, freshman Kirk Barbieri, will take his more versatile game to the court as Cornell's backup.

End of the Bench

** G/F Cary Hage(6-4, 189, Fr(RS)) -- Hage is the staff choice for starting small forward and that could still happen, or Edwards could snag the spot. He's a good athlete, decent defender and shooter, but ball skills are a weakness and he doesn't figure to be better than a reserve long-term. He's simply a lot more complete than Dillman at this point.

** G Israel Cass(5-11, 164, Jr(RS)) -- Cass is quick and a fairly good shooter, but size and being a defensive liability have sidelined his talent and probably will continue to. Edwards at the very least is simply a better option right now.

Redshirts

** G Claud Rojo(6-3, 175) -- If the Broncos find a suitable point guard to go with him, Rojo is going to fill up the bucket. He'll have his moments anyway. An elite shooter from mid or at the line, and he has reasonably decent range. Good athleticism will help him a bit in getting open, and he should defend a little above-average also. Doesn't pass well which is a big black mark in the Durden system, but enough skills that there's no way we could pass him up. Esp. as a an All-Stater from our home state.

** C Aaron Kinser(6-7, 238) -- Kinser is a guy who will exceed expectations. The pundits didn't like him as a recruit(**, 403) and they still don't(R/O). He has no individual post game which is the issue, but a good mid-range game ensures he can play the stretch four. rebounding, ball skills, defense are all potentially decent or better, and he adds elite shotblocking as well. Even better jumping ability than most low-ranking forwards. A lot of people were just plain wrong on him.

Outlook

It's all going to be about the dynamic backcourt. Eventually we'll see what the best option is at forward, but they've got to create enough chaos and opportunities to make the frontcourt look better than it is. With two playmakers like this on the floor, opposing defenses will have a relative nightmare on their hands. But, like last year, will they be able to stop anybody? There are no good defenders on this team and only a couple of adequate ones(Jean, Hunter). Expect a lot of fireworks, but it's definitely going to be a challenge to win the MAC without more toughness on the other end.

Brian Swartz · 03-23-2017, 02:29 PM

1965 MAC Outlook

1. Western Michigan

Perhaps it's the kiss of death, but it says here that Irvin Jean and Clifton Paschall will have just enough help to lead the Broncos back to the top of the conference. Much rides on their ability to do so.

2. Bowling Green State

The insolent Falcons stole away recruit Timothy Hay, and Carl Baillergeon(12.7 ppg) is one of few guards in the league who can hang with WMU's tandem. He heads a strong senior class, and BGSU cannot be overlooked.

3. Ohio

Dukes and Reynolds are a good inside-outside combo, but they don't have enough help to seriously challenge.

4. Marshall

If you're looking for a long-shot, look no further than the Thundering Herd. They've got depth, and this is already Normand Purvis's team after a strong freshman year(10.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 44% fg).

5. Kent State/Toledo

Two teams going in opposite directions. A big fall for the Golden Flashes, while the Rockets are recovering from one but need at least another year to climb out of the abyss.

7. Miami-0hio

As they almost always are. The rebounding and defense of Louis Hutson are nice, but you can't build a team around just that. Well you can, but it'll suck, and these Redskins figure to be stuck in single-digit wins for the fourth straight year.

muns · 03-25-2017, 02:43 PM

Wake

Wake starts off the season with hushed expectations. I think we are going to be good, but I'm playing it down to myself because I thought last year were should have been good, and was very disappointed when we really weren't. Granted we still won 20 games and a tournament game, but it was a let down to where I thought we should have been. Last year I thought was going to be Wake's national coming out party.

Wake entered the season with 4 starters back, and 4 bench guys that played. We also have 2 freshman redshirts that could step in for some major playing time this year, so our rotations will be interesting for the first few sims while we feel out guys in positions.

Since we thought we would be ok we got into the "Chuck Taylor All Star Classic" which historically has been a good preseason tournament to get into in terms of other good teams also being in there. The hope was we would play some good teams to help the RPI since the schedule was a bit softer than it typically is.

First up was Villanova and we down them 80-69. It was a good start and David Olivarez went for 22 and 7 boards.

Next up was Drake and we down them 76-63. Andrew Weise had 19 and 11 this game, and picked up his 2nd straight player of the game award.

3rd game was against Oklahoma City. More of a challenge but a team we still should have handled, and we did winning 77-69. SF- Charles Oubre woke up from the first two games and went off for 26 points and his first POTG award this season.

The championship game was going to be our Test. We played Indiana who was ranked in the top 10 and this was the reason we came to a tournament like this. Ill leave the box score up for you guys to see what happened first

Code:

Wake Forest 82, Indiana 80

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indiana  (3-1, 0-0):
Player            Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Ollie Monzon      C    33  4-10   4-4   4   8   4  3  12
Burton Kennedy    PF   32  2-10   0-1   2  11   2  3   4
Lambert Boutry    SF   34  6-12   6-6   1   9   0  1  18
Trenton Boykin    SG   20   5-8   0-0   0   3   1  5  10
Derek Domingo     PG   28  9-14   0-0   1   3   4  3  18
Chris Armstead    SG   22   6-8   2-3   0   1   2  4  14
Brett Shelton     PG    6   1-2   0-0   0   0   0  0   2
Andrew Rieger     PF   16   0-2   0-0   0   4   0  1   0
John Blakley      SG    8   0-1   2-2   0   0   2  0   2
David Beauregard  C     1   0-0   0-0   0   0   0  0   0

Turnovers: 20 (O.Monzon 4, B.Kennedy 3, T.Boykin 3, 
 D.Domingo 4, C.Armstead 2, B.Shelton 2, A.Rieger 2)
Blocked Shots: 7 (O.Monzon 1, T.Boykin 2, C.Armstead 1, 
 A.Rieger 3)
Steals: 11 (O.Monzon 1, B.Kennedy 2, L.Boutry 3, 
 T.Boykin 2, B.Shelton 1, A.Rieger 2)
3P FGs: 0-0 

Wake Forest  (4-0, 0-0):
Player            Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Andrew Wiese      C    28  4-11   0-0   8  12   1  3   8
David Olivarez    PF   30   5-7   6-6   4  10   3  3  16
Charles Oubre     SF   31  6-23   1-4   1   4   0  3  13
Patrik Dusek      SG   34  5-15   0-0   0   3   7  0  10
Winston Robinson  PG   30  6-14   0-0   1   2   5  4  12
James Hart        SF    9   3-3   0-0   0   0   0  0   6
Arthur Baily      PF   18   3-3   1-2   2  10   2  1   7
Mel Chasteen      SF    1   0-0   2-2   0   0   0  1   2
Douglas Philips   SG   17   2-5   2-3   1   3   3  2   6
David McCarty     C     5   1-2   0-0   1   2   0  0   2

Turnovers: 18 (A.Wiese 1, D.Olivarez 4, C.Oubre 3, 
 P.Dusek 1, W.Robinson 6, J.Hart 1, A.Baily 1, 
 D.Philips 1)
Blocked Shots: 12 (A.Wiese 4, D.Olivarez 1, C.Oubre 1, 
 P.Dusek 1, A.Baily 4, D.McCarty 1)
Steals: 8 (A.Wiese 1, C.Oubre 1, P.Dusek 2, A.Baily 2, 
 D.Philips 2)
3P FGs: 0-0 

Player of Game: PF David Olivarez (WAKE)

Honestly, we prob shouldn't have won that game. IU had every advantage that game in the stats department with the exception of Rebounds, Assists and Turnovers. They had 2 more turnovers than us. Where we won this game was in the possession department. IU shot 22-67 and We shot 35-83. Ill take the win, and ill also take the # 4 ranking in the game.

Our last game this sim was against Brian and his Georgia Tech squad. GT has been interesting over the past few seasons. I cant quite figure them out. They have the talent, but last year seemed to underachieve, and wasn't sure which team we were going to get here. The team that went to the Elite 8 two seasons ago or the team that went .500 last year. We take the game 86-67 and go undefeated during the first sim. Being ranked #4 in the nation is also pretty cool.

On the Recruiting front we have signed 2, but our 3rd still hasn't committed yet. We are hoping he does so soon.

muns · 03-25-2017, 03:36 PM

IOWA

Iowa is the exact opposite of Wake. I come into the season thinking we are a national championship contender and I expect us to play accordingly. We enter the preseason NIT tourney, where historically the best teams usually are. This year however, that isn't the case. We only had 4 human controlled teams which was a disappointment, but one of them is Washington. Washington is obviously the team we would want to play in a title game if we make it that far because Washington is also a title contender. I am guessing we have about 5 teams that could seriously take home the title this year realistically, and U-Dub is certainly one of them.

First game is William and Mary and we dispose of them 76-62. Not a giant blowout, but a win is a win. PF- Whitney Gullett is the POTG going for 12 and 11 in the game.

2nd game up is Mississippi. We take them 68-55. C-Kirby Croom goes for 15 and 10 to take home POTG honors here.

3rd game is San Jose State and we beat them in more of a typical fashion of what I expect from a title contender 88-66. SF- Paul Bass finally had enough and exploded for 30 in the game. He took home POTG in this one easily.

4th game and for the right to be called the preseason NIT champs is the matchup that I wanted, and is the BIG dog (literally) in the league Washington. With 4 National Titles on their resumes in the past 11 years, its really easy to see why they are the program everybody else lines up with to gague how good they are. This match up is no different for us. We want to see how we stack up, and where we can improve upon going forward.

The game didn't exactly play out like the nail bitter, and every possession matters game that I was picturing in the my head.

Code:

Iowa 94, Washington 67

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Washington  (3-1, 0-0):
Player            Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Jose Lykins       C    27  4-11   0-1   6   9   0  2   8
Arthur Jaquez     PF   24  4-10   0-0   5   8   1  1   8
Stanford Fall     SF   21   3-7   0-0   3   3   0  2   6
Charles Stokes    SG   17   2-5   0-0   0   0   0  4   4
John Lantz        PG   28  5-10   1-2   0   4   7  1  11
Gaylord Mitchell  PG   15   1-3   0-0   1   1   4  3   2
Lindsey Yancey    SG   17   2-5   0-0   0   0   3  2   4
Clement Simpson   SF   18   5-9   3-4   2   4   1  1  13
Titus Evans       C    16   1-1   1-2   2   3   0  2   3
Scottie Johnson   PF   14   2-2   0-0   0   2   0  3   4
Paris Almazan     SG    4   2-3   0-0   0   1   1  3   4

Turnovers: 25 (J.Lykins 4, S.Fall 4, C.Stokes 2, 
 J.Lantz 3, G.Mitchell 3, L.Yancey 4, C.Simpson 2, 
 T.Evans 1, S.Johnson 2)
Blocked Shots: 3 (J.Lykins 2, S.Johnson 1)
Steals: 6 (S.Fall 1, J.Lantz 2, L.Yancey 2, P.Almazan 1)
3P FGs: 0-0 

Iowa  (4-0, 0-0):
Player            Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Kirby Croom       C    29  5-11   3-3   4   9   5  3  13
Whitney Gullett   PF   28   4-6   2-2   2   7   1  2  10
Paul Bass         SF   29  7-14   2-2   3   4  10  2  16
Tony Abad         SG   30  8-14   4-4   0   2   3  1  20
Stephen Fung      PG   28   5-8   1-2   1   1   6  2  11
Carl Manning      SF   20   4-6   0-0   0   0   3  3   8
Roman Steward     SG    7   1-3   4-5   0   1   0  1   6
Jack Kilburn      PF   12   3-4   2-3   1   2   0  0   8
Jack Richardson   C    11   0-0   2-2   2   6   0  0   2
Stanford Arthur   PG    6   0-0   0-0   1   1   0  0   0

Turnovers: 13 (K.Croom 1, W.Gullett 2, P.Bass 5, T.Abad 
 3, C.Manning 1, S.Arthur 1)
Blocked Shots: 3 (K.Croom 3)
Steals: 10 (K.Croom 1, W.Gullett 1, P.Bass 3, T.Abad 1, 
 S.Fung 2, C.Manning 2)
3P FGs: 0-0 

Player of Game: C Kirby Croom (IOWA)

I suspect if we play them again, and we will, January 10th on the schedule, that this game is played much differently.

We turned Washington over 2 times and had them in a big of foul trouble which is why the score ended up being what it was. Shooting 56% also didn't hurt the cause either.

No matter, I expect the 2nd game to be different, and am looking forward to that next match up as I think this was just the perfect cocktail; everything that could have went wrong for them did, and I don't expect that will happen again.

muns · 03-25-2017, 03:46 PM

IOWA Recruiting

We came out better than we thought and finished our class with two 5 star guys. We can't be happier about what we ended up with.

Code:

 RECRUIT DETAILS

 #15 SG Jason Parker
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Height:       6-2
 Weight:       172
 High School:  Gainesville High School
 Hometown:     Gainesville, FL
 GPA:          2.38
 Test Score:   980
 Rating:       *****
 
 Attributes:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Type       INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Current:    16  10  11  15   6  14   8   7   4   5   3  10  15  10  19  13
 Potential:   A   C   B   A   D   B   C   C   C   B   D   B                
 
 Season Stats:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  PTS OREB  REB  AST  TOS   A/T  STL  BLK  PFS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 22.8  2.7  7.6  5.0  3.2  1.55  1.0  1.0  3.1

 Shooting Averages:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  FGM  FGA   FG%  FTM  FTA   FT%  3PM  3PA   3P%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  8.9 16.6  .538  3.0  4.7  .638  2.0  5.0  .394
 
 Recruiting Notes:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Qualified: Yes
 Committed to Iowa                                                              
 Rankings: #10 Overall, #3 SG, Southeast Region #2 Overall, Southeast Region #1 SG
 High School Awards: All-State, Mr. Basketball (Florida), All American
 Top 5 Schools: North Carolina State, *Iowa, Michigan State, Florida

Code:

RECRUIT DETAILS

 #14 PG Jean Gilmore
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Height:       6-2
 Weight:       176
 High School:  Bellefontaine High School
 Hometown:     Bellefontaine, OH
 GPA:          2.66
 Test Score:   1040
 Rating:       *****
 
 Attributes:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Type       INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Current:     9  14   8  11  11   8   6   2   4  11   8   7  18   6   9   2
 Potential:   B   B   B   B   C   B   C   F   F   C   D   C                
 
 Season Stats:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  PTS OREB  REB  AST  TOS   A/T  STL  BLK  PFS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 21.5  2.4  4.9  6.1  2.1  2.88  2.6  1.1  2.3

 Shooting Averages:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  FGM  FGA   FG%  FTM  FTA   FT%  3PM  3PA   3P%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  9.7 18.2  .532  0.8  1.1  .682  1.5  3.9  .377
 
 Recruiting Notes:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Qualified: Yes
 Committed to Iowa                                                              
 Rankings: #23 Overall, #3 PG, Midwest Region #8 Overall, Midwest Region #1 PG
 High School Awards: All-State, Mr. Basketball (Ohio)
 Top 5 Schools: Michigan State, *Iowa, Syracuse

muns · 03-25-2017, 04:05 PM

WAKE

Next sim comes and Wake hit a road bump. We go 2-1 that sim with wins over Montana and Manhattan, but we lose to the power house that is Tulane. We lost that game 74-65. Not a good game for us.

Overall, Wake is in an alright situation at the moment. We are 7-1 ranked 10th in the country.

Code:

#10 WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS TEAM INFO

Current Performance
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Team Prestige:        77   Record Vs 1-50:      1-0   Poll Rank:           #10   
Season Record:       7-1   Record Vs 51-100:    3-0   RPI Rank:            #22   
Conference Record:   0-0   Record Vs 101-200:   3-1 
Home Record:         0-0   Record Vs 200+:      0-0 


Team Stats         CR  NR  Opp. Stats         CR  NR  Margin             CR  NR  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Points       78.0   1  10  Points       68.0   8 113  Points       10.0   4  25  
O.Reb        13.1   1  18  O.Reb         9.4   3  60  O.Reb         3.8   1  18  
D.Reb        27.3   3  32  D.Reb        27.0   8 154  D.Reb         0.3   6  86  
Rebounds     40.4   1  18  Rebounds     36.4   5 129  Rebounds      4.0   2  43  
Assists      21.4   2   6  Assists      16.1   7 141  Assists       5.3   2  13  
Steals        9.0   5  16  Steals        4.9   2  43  Steals        4.1   3  13  
Blocks        7.4   1   7  Blocks        5.1   6 177  Blocks        2.3   1  25  
Turnovers    12.8   1  46  Turnovers    17.4   5  26  Turnovers    -4.6   3  16  
Fouls        18.9   3  76  Fouls        19.8   2  92  Fouls        -0.9   2  85  
FG%          .466   3  81  FG%          .463   7 103  FG%          .003   7  85  
FT%          .689   7  74  FT%          .662   6  77  FT%          .027   7  77  
3P%          .000   1   1  3P%          .000   1   1  3P%          .000   1   1  
PPS          1.16   5 101  PPS          1.13   5  64  PPS          .033   5  75  
Adj. FG%     .466   3  81  Adj. FG%     .463   7 103  Adj. FG%     .003   7  85

Code:

#10 WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS Averages

 Player              Pos  GP  GS   Min   Pts  Orb  Reb  Ast  Stl  Blk   To  Fls   +/-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Patrik Dusek         SG   8   8  32.9   8.1  1.1  5.6  5.3  2.0  0.1  2.3  2.9   6.8
 Andrew Wiese          C   8   8  31.5  11.8  5.0  9.1  2.3  0.6  3.0  1.4  2.1   8.8
 David Olivarez       PF   8   8  29.8  17.1  2.6  9.0  1.5  0.3  1.0  2.5  3.1  10.1
 Winston Robinson     PG   8   8  28.9   7.6  1.1  2.6  6.4  1.3  0.3  2.1  3.5   9.1
 Charles Oubre        SF   8   8  28.8  18.1  1.1  3.8  1.5  2.1  0.6  1.9  3.1   6.5
 Douglas Philips      SG   8   0  15.6   4.5  0.1  1.4  1.6  0.8  0.3  0.8  2.5   3.3
 Arthur Baily         PF   8   0  15.3   4.0  1.0  5.3  1.6  1.5  2.0  0.5  0.1   2.8
 James Hart           SF   8   0  11.4   4.6  0.6  2.4  1.1  0.5  0.0  1.3  1.1   3.3
 David McCarty         C   8   0   4.0   1.0  0.3  0.9  0.0  0.0  0.1  0.1  0.0  -1.6
 Mel Chasteen         SF   6   0   3.2   1.5  0.2  0.5  0.2  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.5   1.5
 Boyce Gonzalez       SF   0   0   0.0   0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0   0.0
 Vernon Barfield      PF   0   0   0.0   0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0   0.0
 Johnny Xiong          C   0   0   0.0   0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0   0.0
 Damion Woodman       PG   0   0   0.0   0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0   0.0
 Arthur Darden        SG   0   0   0.0   0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0   0.0

Our stats look alright. I would love to get David McCarthy some more mins but just not sure how to do that without giving up some quality mins.

Overall I think thinks are ok. Our RPI is at 21 at the moment, and will prob slip for a bit until we get into conf play.

Cant complain though. Still looking to sign our last recruit of the year.

muns · 03-25-2017, 04:09 PM

IOWA

Iowa goes 4-0 this past sim, and sits at #1 in the nation. We are alight, and there isn't a whole lot for me to do except to get out of the way and not screw it up.

Code:

#1 IOWA HAWKEYES TEAM INFO

Current Performance
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Team Prestige:        83   Record Vs 1-50:      5-0   Poll Rank:            #1   
Season Record:       8-0   Record Vs 51-100:    1-0   RPI Rank:             #8   
Conference Record:   0-0   Record Vs 101-200:   2-0 
Home Record:         1-0   Record Vs 200+:      0-0 


Team Stats         CR  NR  Opp. Stats         CR  NR  Margin             CR  NR  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Points       84.9   2   2  Points       57.4   4  23  Points       27.5   2   2  
O.Reb        11.3   5  61  O.Reb        11.0   5 124  O.Reb         0.3   5  84  
D.Reb        27.0   8  38  D.Reb        20.5   2  16  D.Reb         6.5   4  10  
Rebounds     38.3   7  36  Rebounds     31.5   5  40  Rebounds      6.8   5  17  
Assists      25.4   2   2  Assists      14.5   8  96  Assists      10.9   2   3  
Steals        8.6   4  24  Steals        4.0   1  12  Steals        4.6   2   9  
Blocks        6.5   3  12  Blocks        4.1   8 144  Blocks        2.4   5  23  
Turnovers    12.6   4  41  Turnovers    19.9   1   5  Turnovers    -7.3   2   6  
Fouls        18.6   6  66  Fouls        20.8   4  58  Fouls        -2.1   7  56  
FG%          .543   3   6  FG%          .399   7  12  FG%          .143   3   3  
FT%          .753   2  14  FT%          .713   7 148  FT%          .040   6  58  
3P%          .000   1   1  3P%          .000   1   1  3P%          .000   1   1  
PPS          1.34   3  11  PPS          0.98   5  12  PPS          .360   2   3  
Adj. FG%     .543   3   6  Adj. FG%     .399   7  12  Adj. FG%     .143   3   3

Code:

#1 IOWA HAWKEYES Averages

 Player               Pos  GP  GS   Min   Pts  Orb  Reb  Ast  Stl  Blk   To  Fls   +/-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Kirby Croom            C   8   8  30.1  11.9  1.5  7.3  2.3  0.5  3.3  0.9  1.9  23.5
 Whitney Gullett       PF   8   8  30.1  11.5  3.0  7.9  1.1  0.4  2.4  2.0  2.1  20.1
 Tony Abad             SG   8   8  28.8  10.3  0.8  3.9  6.9  1.5  0.0  1.5  2.9  20.6
 Stephen Fung          PG   8   8  28.0  11.3  1.5  3.9  6.1  1.0  0.0  2.1  2.9  16.6
 Paul Bass             SF   8   8  26.8  16.8  1.5  5.1  5.1  2.1  0.1  2.9  3.3  22.4
 Carl Manning          SF   8   0  18.9   9.9  1.3  2.1  2.1  1.6  0.0  1.5  2.4  15.6
 Jack Kilburn          PF   8   0  12.0   3.9  0.3  3.0  0.8  0.1  0.1  0.4  0.9   7.0
 Roman Steward         SG   8   0  10.6   5.3  0.5  1.3  0.5  0.5  0.4  0.4  0.8   4.8
 Jack Richardson        C   8   0   7.8   1.8  0.9  3.3  0.4  0.0  0.1  0.3  0.8   4.4
 Stanford Arthur       PG   8   0   4.4   1.5  0.1  0.3  0.0  0.6  0.0  0.6  0.5   0.5
 Frances McMurray      SF   6   0   3.3   1.3  0.0  0.5  0.2  0.3  0.2  0.2  0.5   2.7
 Alvaro Wagner         PG   0   0   0.0   0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0   0.0
 Eric Wedge            SF   0   0   0.0   0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0   0.0
 Harland Ray           SF   0   0   0.0   0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0   0.0
 Emmanuel Morrison      C   0   0   0.0   0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0   0.0

I like our depth and the way our mins are lined up at the moment I like it. Hopefully we continue to roll.

Big sim coming up as we have Bradley, #20 NC State, and #2 Kansas. Things get real real quick here.

muns · 03-26-2017, 07:43 AM

RICE

Rice has started off the year 2-2 and we are .500. Might be the only time we aren't in last place in the conf. It's all about the baby steps here.

What we are excited about is expanding on recruiting from last year and we took an important first step. Our first recruit has signed, and he is going to be a guy that makes an immediate impact his freshman year (after we redshirt him of course.

Rafa will be able to do everything we need as a guard, and will has the potential to be a first team all SWC straight out of the gate.

Code:

RECRUIT DETAILS

 #41 PG Rafa Vazquez
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Height:       6-2
 Weight:       189
 High School:  W.H. Adamson High School
 Hometown:     Dallas, TX
 GPA:          2.78
 Test Score:   1210
 Rating:       ***
 
 Attributes:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Type       INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Current:    15  11  10  11  13   9   7   4   4  12   4   0  17   8  13  13
 Potential:   A   C   C   C   B   D   D   D   D   B   C   F                
 
 Season Stats:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  PTS OREB  REB  AST  TOS   A/T  STL  BLK  PFS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 13.5  1.5  4.1  3.6  2.6  1.38  1.9  0.1  2.0

 Shooting Averages:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  FGM  FGA   FG%  FTM  FTA   FT%  3PM  3PA   3P%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  6.1 11.4  .535  1.0  1.9  .526  0.3  1.4  .185
 
 Recruiting Notes:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Qualified: Yes
 Committed to Rice                                                              
 Rankings: Midwest Region #61 Overall, Midwest Region #19 PG
 High School Awards: None
 Top 5 Schools: *Rice, Oklahoma, Wichita State

We lost our 2nd recruit to Kirk and Brown. If we would have landed him plus the guy we still lead on, Rice might have had a top 50 recruiting class. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. I gotta decide on which back up makes the most sense for us, but again excited about what he we did land.

muns · 03-26-2017, 07:45 AM

ASU

We are 3-2 and haven't really played anybody yet. We lead on our recruit, which would be a nice pick up for us, but not a whole lot going on here to update quite yet. More than likely will be a few game years before I get into writing up anything significant for them.

muns · 03-26-2017, 07:52 AM

Code:

Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Iowa (72) 8-0 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Kansas 5-0 1728 2 Big Eight Conference
3. Kansas State 2-0 1654 3 Big Eight Conference
4. Washington 6-1 1533 6 Athletic Association of Western Uni
5. Duke 4-0 1488 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
6. Indiana 6-1 1454 7 Big Ten Conference
7. Michigan State 5-0 1392 8 Big Ten Conference
8. Illinois 4-0 1308 10 Big Ten Conference
9. Purdue 2-0 1219 9 Big Ten Conference
10. Wake Forest 7-1 1127 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. California 4-0 1091 11 Athletic Association of Western Uni
12. Kentucky 1-0 965 12 Southeastern Conference
13. Minnesota 5-0 960 14 Big Ten Conference
14. Virginia 5-0 898 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
15. Southern California 5-0 777 16 Athletic Association of Western Uni
16. San Francisco 4-1 698 17 West Coast Conference
17. Temple 5-1 589 19 Mid-Atlantic Conference
18. South Carolina 4-1 490 20 Atlantic Coast Conference
19. Alabama 4-0 444 21 Southeastern Conference
20. North Carolina State 3-2 362 22 Atlantic Coast Conference
21. North Carolina 2-2 317 13 Atlantic Coast Conference
22. Arkansas 5-1 235 23 Southwest Conference
23. Wisconsin 5-0 200 25 Big Ten Conference
24. Colorado 4-1 186 24 Big Eight Conference
25. North Texas State 5-0 106 NR Missouri Valley Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Fordham 4-0 95 Independent 3
Duquesne 3-1 86 Independent
Iowa State 2-0 76 Big Eight Conference
Missouri 3-1 63 Big Eight Conference
Georgetown 4-0 30 Independent
Ohio 3-0 14 Mid-American Conference
Stanford 1-1 8 Athletic Association of Western Uni
Oklahoma 3-2 7 Big Eight Conference

It will be interesting to see what occurs here when teams like Kansas State actually start playing games. KSU might be the most talented starting 5 in the game, but their depth is very limited. If an injury occurs to them, they might be in some trouble.

Illinois, Indiana, and Cal are also some other schools to keep an eye on here.

03-25-2017, 02:43 PM	#55
muns Pro Starter Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Baltimore MD	Wake Wake starts off the season with hushed expectations. I think we are going to be good, but I'm playing it down to myself because I thought last year were should have been good, and was very disappointed when we really weren't. Granted we still won 20 games and a tournament game, but it was a let down to where I thought we should have been. Last year I thought was going to be Wake's national coming out party. Wake entered the season with 4 starters back, and 4 bench guys that played. We also have 2 freshman redshirts that could step in for some major playing time this year, so our rotations will be interesting for the first few sims while we feel out guys in positions. Since we thought we would be ok we got into the "Chuck Taylor All Star Classic" which historically has been a good preseason tournament to get into in terms of other good teams also being in there. The hope was we would play some good teams to help the RPI since the schedule was a bit softer than it typically is. First up was Villanova and we down them 80-69. It was a good start and David Olivarez went for 22 and 7 boards. Next up was Drake and we down them 76-63. Andrew Weise had 19 and 11 this game, and picked up his 2nd straight player of the game award. 3rd game was against Oklahoma City. More of a challenge but a team we still should have handled, and we did winning 77-69. SF- Charles Oubre woke up from the first two games and went off for 26 points and his first POTG award this season. The championship game was going to be our Test. We played Indiana who was ranked in the top 10 and this was the reason we came to a tournament like this. Ill leave the box score up for you guys to see what happened first Code: Wake Forest 82, Indiana 80 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Indiana (3-1, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Ollie Monzon C 33 4-10 4-4 4 8 4 3 12 Burton Kennedy PF 32 2-10 0-1 2 11 2 3 4 Lambert Boutry SF 34 6-12 6-6 1 9 0 1 18 Trenton Boykin SG 20 5-8 0-0 0 3 1 5 10 Derek Domingo PG 28 9-14 0-0 1 3 4 3 18 Chris Armstead SG 22 6-8 2-3 0 1 2 4 14 Brett Shelton PG 6 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 Andrew Rieger PF 16 0-2 0-0 0 4 0 1 0 John Blakley SG 8 0-1 2-2 0 0 2 0 2 David Beauregard C 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 20 (O.Monzon 4, B.Kennedy 3, T.Boykin 3, D.Domingo 4, C.Armstead 2, B.Shelton 2, A.Rieger 2) Blocked Shots: 7 (O.Monzon 1, T.Boykin 2, C.Armstead 1, A.Rieger 3) Steals: 11 (O.Monzon 1, B.Kennedy 2, L.Boutry 3, T.Boykin 2, B.Shelton 1, A.Rieger 2) 3P FGs: 0-0 Wake Forest (4-0, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Andrew Wiese C 28 4-11 0-0 8 12 1 3 8 David Olivarez PF 30 5-7 6-6 4 10 3 3 16 Charles Oubre SF 31 6-23 1-4 1 4 0 3 13 Patrik Dusek SG 34 5-15 0-0 0 3 7 0 10 Winston Robinson PG 30 6-14 0-0 1 2 5 4 12 James Hart SF 9 3-3 0-0 0 0 0 0 6 Arthur Baily PF 18 3-3 1-2 2 10 2 1 7 Mel Chasteen SF 1 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 1 2 Douglas Philips SG 17 2-5 2-3 1 3 3 2 6 David McCarty C 5 1-2 0-0 1 2 0 0 2 Turnovers: 18 (A.Wiese 1, D.Olivarez 4, C.Oubre 3, P.Dusek 1, W.Robinson 6, J.Hart 1, A.Baily 1, D.Philips 1) Blocked Shots: 12 (A.Wiese 4, D.Olivarez 1, C.Oubre 1, P.Dusek 1, A.Baily 4, D.McCarty 1) Steals: 8 (A.Wiese 1, C.Oubre 1, P.Dusek 2, A.Baily 2, D.Philips 2) 3P FGs: 0-0 Player of Game: PF David Olivarez (WAKE) Honestly, we prob shouldn't have won that game. IU had every advantage that game in the stats department with the exception of Rebounds, Assists and Turnovers. They had 2 more turnovers than us. Where we won this game was in the possession department. IU shot 22-67 and We shot 35-83. Ill take the win, and ill also take the # 4 ranking in the game. Our last game this sim was against Brian and his Georgia Tech squad. GT has been interesting over the past few seasons. I cant quite figure them out. They have the talent, but last year seemed to underachieve, and wasn't sure which team we were going to get here. The team that went to the Elite 8 two seasons ago or the team that went .500 last year. We take the game 86-67 and go undefeated during the first sim. Being ranked #4 in the nation is also pretty cool. On the Recruiting front we have signed 2, but our 3rd still hasn't committed yet. We are hoping he does so soon.

03-25-2017, 03:36 PM	#56
muns Pro Starter Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Baltimore MD	IOWA Iowa is the exact opposite of Wake. I come into the season thinking we are a national championship contender and I expect us to play accordingly. We enter the preseason NIT tourney, where historically the best teams usually are. This year however, that isn't the case. We only had 4 human controlled teams which was a disappointment, but one of them is Washington. Washington is obviously the team we would want to play in a title game if we make it that far because Washington is also a title contender. I am guessing we have about 5 teams that could seriously take home the title this year realistically, and U-Dub is certainly one of them. First game is William and Mary and we dispose of them 76-62. Not a giant blowout, but a win is a win. PF- Whitney Gullett is the POTG going for 12 and 11 in the game. 2nd game up is Mississippi. We take them 68-55. C-Kirby Croom goes for 15 and 10 to take home POTG honors here. 3rd game is San Jose State and we beat them in more of a typical fashion of what I expect from a title contender 88-66. SF- Paul Bass finally had enough and exploded for 30 in the game. He took home POTG in this one easily. 4th game and for the right to be called the preseason NIT champs is the matchup that I wanted, and is the BIG dog (literally) in the league Washington. With 4 National Titles on their resumes in the past 11 years, its really easy to see why they are the program everybody else lines up with to gague how good they are. This match up is no different for us. We want to see how we stack up, and where we can improve upon going forward. The game didn't exactly play out like the nail bitter, and every possession matters game that I was picturing in the my head. Code: Iowa 94, Washington 67 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Washington (3-1, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Jose Lykins C 27 4-11 0-1 6 9 0 2 8 Arthur Jaquez PF 24 4-10 0-0 5 8 1 1 8 Stanford Fall SF 21 3-7 0-0 3 3 0 2 6 Charles Stokes SG 17 2-5 0-0 0 0 0 4 4 John Lantz PG 28 5-10 1-2 0 4 7 1 11 Gaylord Mitchell PG 15 1-3 0-0 1 1 4 3 2 Lindsey Yancey SG 17 2-5 0-0 0 0 3 2 4 Clement Simpson SF 18 5-9 3-4 2 4 1 1 13 Titus Evans C 16 1-1 1-2 2 3 0 2 3 Scottie Johnson PF 14 2-2 0-0 0 2 0 3 4 Paris Almazan SG 4 2-3 0-0 0 1 1 3 4 Turnovers: 25 (J.Lykins 4, S.Fall 4, C.Stokes 2, J.Lantz 3, G.Mitchell 3, L.Yancey 4, C.Simpson 2, T.Evans 1, S.Johnson 2) Blocked Shots: 3 (J.Lykins 2, S.Johnson 1) Steals: 6 (S.Fall 1, J.Lantz 2, L.Yancey 2, P.Almazan 1) 3P FGs: 0-0 Iowa (4-0, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Kirby Croom C 29 5-11 3-3 4 9 5 3 13 Whitney Gullett PF 28 4-6 2-2 2 7 1 2 10 Paul Bass SF 29 7-14 2-2 3 4 10 2 16 Tony Abad SG 30 8-14 4-4 0 2 3 1 20 Stephen Fung PG 28 5-8 1-2 1 1 6 2 11 Carl Manning SF 20 4-6 0-0 0 0 3 3 8 Roman Steward SG 7 1-3 4-5 0 1 0 1 6 Jack Kilburn PF 12 3-4 2-3 1 2 0 0 8 Jack Richardson C 11 0-0 2-2 2 6 0 0 2 Stanford Arthur PG 6 0-0 0-0 1 1 0 0 0 Turnovers: 13 (K.Croom 1, W.Gullett 2, P.Bass 5, T.Abad 3, C.Manning 1, S.Arthur 1) Blocked Shots: 3 (K.Croom 3) Steals: 10 (K.Croom 1, W.Gullett 1, P.Bass 3, T.Abad 1, S.Fung 2, C.Manning 2) 3P FGs: 0-0 Player of Game: C Kirby Croom (IOWA) I suspect if we play them again, and we will, January 10th on the schedule, that this game is played much differently. We turned Washington over 2 times and had them in a big of foul trouble which is why the score ended up being what it was. Shooting 56% also didn't hurt the cause either. No matter, I expect the 2nd game to be different, and am looking forward to that next match up as I think this was just the perfect cocktail; everything that could have went wrong for them did, and I don't expect that will happen again.

03-23-2017, 02:27 PM	#52
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	b]1965 WCC Outlook[/b] 1. San Francisco/Saint Mary's This is the first year I haven't been able to say the Dons are a clear favorite. That's as big a surprise to me as anyone else, and if a gun was put to my head I'd say McElhaney & Jarmyn still give the defending national champs the edge. It seems they know it's going to be a down year, as a few players who could help them are redshirting this season. Saint Mary's has a high-quality point guard in junior Emile Cravens and a bevy of productive seniors, Leonard Render(12.9 ppg) being probably foremost among them. JC transfer F Michael Brooks looks like a serious customer on the boards as well. All of this high-quality balance gives the Gaels a legitimate spot as the WCC's '1B' ... ready to take the title if San Fran stumbles even a bit. 3. Santa Clara The Broncos don't have a lot of depth, but Paul Husted plus just enough to hold off their rivals this year. This is never an easy team to score on. 4. San Jose State The Spartans could make fools out of us and make another challenge this year, but I just don't think they have quite enough back. Daniel Johnson(14.4 ppg) isn't the only threat with Wood a outsanding point guard on both ends and Ibanez ready to take on a much bigger role, but there's enough changes to have them slipping just that little bit. Depth is the strong point here. 5. Pacific At this point the quality of the top players starts to drop off a fair bit. Dwayne Funches(15.4 ppg two years running) doesn't figure to have quite enough help. 6. Pepperdine Carrol Alton plus several decent players; the Waves could unseat Pacific but I doubt it. 7. Loyola U of Los Angeles Cedric Kessler(9.2 ppg, 41% fg) is their best and he didn't impress last year. The Lions are the one WCC team that just hasn't been able to bring in enough horses. 8. Cal-Santa Barbara This could be the final year at the bottom for the Gauchos. They aren't that far behind Loyola U right now; Vidal, Ruhl, and Springs need more help but they are bringing in quality consistently. For a team that has just six scholarship players, they should be significantly improved. Just haven't quite gotten the critical mass yet, but it's coming.

03-23-2017, 02:29 PM	#53
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	1965 Western Michigan Season Preview A rebuild is expected after this year; it's a final chance to get back to the Dance before that happens. Starters Everything starts with the dynamic backcourt, which will be the best in small-conference play. Seniors Irvin Jean(8.1 ppg, 7.5 apg, 48% fg, +1.47) and Clifford Paschall(11.4 mpg, 6.1 ppg, 1.1 spg, 47% fg, +1.17) will be very tough to contain at this level. Jean is as good as they get at running the offense and his shooting should improve this year. Paschall can't guard anyone but is essentially a 'second point' and has been a dynamic bench scorer since he arrived. This year is his chance to shine. Another senior, Charles Hunter(5.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 50% fg, -0.23) is the 7-foot starter in the middle basically by default. He's versatile, but not particularly good at anything and could have been a lot better if he'd worked more on his defense and conditioning. For a big man he has good ball skills which is the reason he was brought in. The other two starters are new. Junior Roosevelt Cornell(12.2 mpg, 3.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 39% fg, +1.47) gets a chance to prove himself after what has been a disappointing first half of his career. A decent rebounder and adequate defender on a good day, his post game is slowly coming along which should boost that accuracy. It better. The small forward spot was hemmed and hawed on till almost the last minute. Freshman Blair Dillman(6-5, 226) takes the spot for now. He's definitely the future of the position, but raw and there were other options that are slightly better. Ultimately he was deemed 'close enough' though, and the need to get him playing time won out. It's a decision that could easily change. Key Reserves Sophomore J.C. Hurtado(10.3 mpg, 2.1 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 56% fg, -2.67) is another 7-footer. He improved some but not a lot, but is overall the best option for all of the minutes Hunter won't be able to play. True freshman Dante Ake, more a scorer than a defender, is the only vaguely passable option as backup point and he'll forego his redshirt year for that reason. Sophomore Paul Edwards(6.8 mpg, 2 ppg, 54% fg) was a bright spot last year and will see more minutes this year as the primary backup on the wing. It's also expected that the third tower, freshman Kirk Barbieri, will take his more versatile game to the court as Cornell's backup. End of the Bench G/F Cary Hage(6-4, 189, Fr(RS)) -- Hage is the staff choice for starting small forward and that could still happen, or Edwards could snag the spot. He's a good athlete, decent defender and shooter, but ball skills are a weakness and he doesn't figure to be better than a reserve long-term. He's simply a lot more complete than Dillman at this point. G Israel Cass(5-11, 164, Jr(RS)) -- Cass is quick and a fairly good shooter, but size and being a defensive liability have sidelined his talent and probably will continue to. Edwards at the very least is simply a better option right now. Redshirts G Claud Rojo(6-3, 175) -- If the Broncos find a suitable point guard to go with him, Rojo is going to fill up the bucket. He'll have his moments anyway. An elite shooter from mid or at the line, and he has reasonably decent range. Good athleticism will help him a bit in getting open, and he should defend a little above-average also. Doesn't pass well which is a big black mark in the Durden system, but enough skills that there's no way we could pass him up. Esp. as a an All-Stater from our home state. C Aaron Kinser(6-7, 238) -- Kinser is a guy who will exceed expectations. The pundits didn't like him as a recruit(, 403) and they still don't(R/O). He has no individual post game which is the issue, but a good mid-range game ensures he can play the stretch four. rebounding, ball skills, defense are all potentially decent or better, and he adds elite shotblocking as well. Even better jumping ability than most low-ranking forwards. A lot of people were just plain wrong on him. Outlook** It's all going to be about the dynamic backcourt. Eventually we'll see what the best option is at forward, but they've got to create enough chaos and opportunities to make the frontcourt look better than it is. With two playmakers like this on the floor, opposing defenses will have a relative nightmare on their hands. But, like last year, will they be able to stop anybody? There are no good defenders on this team and only a couple of adequate ones(Jean, Hunter). Expect a lot of fireworks, but it's definitely going to be a challenge to win the MAC without more toughness on the other end.

03-26-2017, 07:45 AM	#61
muns Pro Starter Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Baltimore MD	ASU We are 3-2 and haven't really played anybody yet. We lead on our recruit, which would be a nice pick up for us, but not a whole lot going on here to update quite yet. More than likely will be a few game years before I get into writing up anything significant for them.

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