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Old 01-31-2024, 08:55 AM   #551
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
2032/33 Senior Tribute

JUSTICE STAFFORD


November 1, 2028 should be remembered as one of the greatest days in Villanova basketball history.

It doesn't measure up to those dates in early April when the Wildcats cut down the net to celebrate a national championship. But, on that day, three high school seniors committed to play basketball at Villanova. They were Kris DeMello, Asher Wise...and Justice Stafford.

Code:
#10 PG Justice Stafford - Villanova - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 5-9 Weight: 170 High School: Trinity Episcopal School Hometown: Midlothian, VA Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 41 69 71 79 83 98 31 31 41 75 68 11 81 47 72 87 2031: 38 60 62 79 81 96 28 28 39 64 65 10 80 46 71 83 2030: 36 47 49 66 70 85 26 26 37 52 53 9 80 45 71 79 2029: 34 38 40 57 60 75 24 24 35 44 45 8 79 44 71 76 2028: 32 32 34 51 50 65 22 22 33 38 39 6 75 42 68 64 Potential: C B B B B A C D C B B F Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 92 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2029 35 0 17.8 6.3 0.6 1.8 3.1 1.7 1.80 1.4 0.0 1.3 2030 38 34 27.9 8.8 1.1 3.2 5.2 1.9 2.66 1.3 0.0 1.6 2031 37 36 27.3 8.1 1.2 3.5 6.2 1.6 3.77 1.5 0.1 2.4 2032 39 39 31.7 14.6 0.7 2.7 8.2 2.3 3.65 1.6 0.2 2.3 Career 149 109 26.4 9.6 0.9 2.8 5.7 1.9 3.65 1.4 0.1 1.9 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2029 2.2 4.7 .470 0.8 1.1 .675 1.1 2.9 .379 1.34 5.57 2030 2.9 6.9 .424 1.6 2.3 .670 1.4 4.3 .331 1.28 9.55 2031 2.8 6.0 .457 1.2 1.6 .754 1.3 3.6 .366 1.34 13.30 2032 4.9 10.1 .485 2.0 2.4 .811 2.9 6.7 .427 1.45 16.69 Career 3.2 7.0 .461 1.4 1.9 .736 1.7 4.4 .384 1.37 11.42 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2029 35 0 622 222 21 62 108 60 48 1 46 2030 38 34 1059 335 42 123 197 74 51 1 62 2031 37 36 1011 299 45 128 230 61 54 2 88 2032 39 39 1237 569 28 106 321 88 62 6 90 Career 149 109 3929 1425 136 419 856 283 215 10 286 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2029 78 166 27 40 39 103 195 2030 111 262 59 88 54 163 363 2031 102 223 46 61 49 134 492 2032 190 392 77 95 112 262 651 Career 481 1043 209 284 254 662 1701 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 29 3 10 15 4 1 6 10 20 8 9 6 12 Career 29 4 11 15 5 1 6 10 20 8 9 6 12 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 28 2028 High School: Rated ***** and #10 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2028 High School: All-State (Virginia) 2029 Freshman All-Conference (Big East Conference) 2030 NCAA Champion 2031 2nd Team All-Conference (Big East Conference) 2032 3rd Team All-American 2032 2nd Team All-Conference (Big East Conference)

Justice was Mr. Everything at Trinity Episcopal School in Richmond, VA. He won eleven varsity letters as a three-sport athlete. As a senior, he caught 13 touchdown passes from a quarterback who went on to earn All-ACC recognition at North Carolina, and he placed third in the long jump at the state track and field meet. He graduated second in his class and scored 5 (the highest score) on four different Advanced Placement exams.

After backing up the talented Blake Norton for a season, Justice earned the starting point guard spot as a sophomore. He went on to start over 100 games for the Wildcats, and the 3,929 minutes of court time he logged in a Villanova uniform is the highest total achieved by a player Graham Sims has coached here.

No player on the roster worked harder than Justice. He developed his skills to the fullest extent possible. He took pride in his defense, and is our program's career leader in steals. And Justice is the greatest playmaker in Villanova history, with no pretender to his title.
Code:
VILLANOVA PLAYER CAREER RECORDS: ASSISTS # POS PLAYER SEASON RECORD ---------------------------------------------- 1 PG Justice Stafford 2032 856 2 PG Severiano Tipaldo 2014 543 3 PG Douglas Slaton 2020 510 4 PG Heliodoro Jimenez 2021 415 5 SG Lionel Riley 2018 378 6 PG Blake Norton 2031 378 7 PG Devin Guzman 2027 370 8 PG Alan Audley 2018 359 9 SF Asher Wise 2031 329 10 SG Jacob Allen 2028 328
Justice's best single season total would fall only seven assists short of making this leader board. Only one player in Big East history has recorded more helpers, and only five in all of college basketball.

As adept a facilitator as he was, Justice could also put the ball in the basket himself. He made himself into a fine shooter, and after Reed Weisberg went down with a knee injury, Justice was the team's leading scorer for the rest of his senior season.

In May, Justice will graduate with a degree in Philosophy and a Phi Beta Kappa key. If his name is called on Draft Night, he'll play professional basketball. If it isn't, he has an acceptance to graduate school at the University of Richmond and a position as an assistant basketball and football coach at his high school alma mater.

Thanks for the memories, Justice.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 03-01-2024 at 05:25 PM.
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Old 01-31-2024, 10:00 AM   #552
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
April 9, 2033

Two Wildcats are chosen in tonight's pro draft. Michael Petit just misses the lottery; he's taken with the #14 pick. Peter Segal, drafted at #50 will place his plans for law school on hold for a while as he pursues his hoop dreams.

Justice Stafford's name wasn't called. He'll finish his semester and move back to Richmond, studying and coaching in his home town.

Four Big East players you might know were lottery picks. Georgetown's Jed Spicer was the #1 pick, and his teammate, Damarion Logan, went at #4. Grover Jenkins of Notre Dame (#10) and the underrated Nathan Smith of St. John's (#11) also hear their names called early.

Code:
2032 Recruiting Rankings # Team Conference Best Player Rtg 5* 4* 3* 2* 1* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Tennessee SEC SF Everett Pulliam ***** 2 2 0 0 0 2. UNLV Mountain West SF Cody Nieves ***** 1 2 2 0 0 3. North Carolina ACC SF Blake Phillips ***** 3 0 0 0 0 4. Vanderbilt SEC PF Otto Cain ***** 3 1 0 0 0 5. Villanova Big East SG Mason Reynolds ***** 1 2 1 0 0 6. Kentucky SEC SF Jack Clary ***** 2 0 2 0 0 7. Lafayette Patriot League SG Charles Loy ***** 1 2 1 0 0 8. Southern California Pacific-10 C Thomas Brown **** 0 4 0 0 0 9. Temple Atlantic 10 SG David Mortenson **** 0 3 1 0 0 10. Miami ACC SG Angelo Davis ***** 1 1 1 0 0 11. UCLA Pacific-10 PG Malcolm Polley ***** 1 2 0 0 0 12. Providence Big East PG Matthew Wortman **** 0 2 3 0 0 13. Oregon Pacific-10 SG Jack Erwin **** 0 3 2 0 0 14. Texas Big 12 C Art Watson ***** 1 1 1 0 0 15. Texas Tech Big 12 SF Anthony Arzola **** 0 2 1 1 1 16. Memphis Conference USA C Robert McMillin **** 0 3 0 0 0 17. Baylor Big 12 SF Albert Finkelstein ***** 1 0 2 0 0 18. Pittsburgh Big East SG John Warren ***** 2 0 0 0 0 19. Georgetown Big East PG Frank Murdoch ***** 1 1 1 0 0 20. Saint Louis Atlantic 10 PG Jess McDougal **** 0 1 4 0 0
I remain delighted with our recruiting class, even if the experts rank four classes better than ours.

Tennessee snagged the #4 and #6 players in the class, Everett Pulliam and SG Foster Simpson. They're both wings, so the Vols' perimeter game should take a big step forward this season.

North Carolina and Vanderbilt each land three five-star players. Blake Phillips, whom we courted heavily, is the top player in the class. They also signed North Carolina's Mr. Basketball, big man Robby Kantor, and a chiseled athlete from Ohio, 6'5" wing Sydney Rundell.

The prizes in Vanderbilt's class are small forward Otto Cain, center John Stevens, and in-state point guard Charles Robinson. We took a very long look at Stevens.

Lafayette pulled its class from New York and Massachusetts. Charles Loy is a high school All-American.

Code:
2032 Recruiting Rankings # Team Conference Best Player Rtg 5* 4* 3* 2* 1* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Villanova Big East SG Mason Reynolds ***** 1 2 1 0 0 12. Providence Big East PG Matthew Wortman **** 0 2 3 0 0 18. Pittsburgh Big East SG John Warren ***** 2 0 0 0 0 19. Georgetown Big East PG Frank Murdoch ***** 1 1 1 0 0 25. St. John's Big East PG Frank Hoey **** 0 1 3 0 0 28. Louisville Big East PF Jerry McCoy ***** 1 1 1 0 0 29. Marquette Big East SF Frank Quiles **** 0 1 3 1 0 30. Connecticut Big East SF Bud Rollins **** 0 2 1 0 0 36. Notre Dame Big East PG Edward Adamson **** 0 2 1 0 0 92. West Virginia Big East C Joel Hogan **** 0 1 0 0 0 102. Cincinnati Big East PG Matthew Clark *** 0 0 2 0 0 120. DePaul Big East PG Tony Cherry *** 0 0 1 2 0 128. South Florida Big East PG Burt Foster *** 0 0 2 1 0 163. Rutgers Big East SG Shawn Tait *** 0 0 3 0 0 187. Seton Hall Big East C Issac Shedd *** 0 0 2 1 0 267. Syracuse Big East PG Tony Millner *** 0 0 1 0 0

Mason Reynolds is considered the best newcomer in the Big East this season. Right behind him is Pitt guard John Warren, the #8 recruit in the nation. The Panthers also signed 7'2" center Charles Cunningham, who's also a five-star player. Our Kyle Gribble is promising, but raw. Connor Baxter's color blocks are better, but he's not as highly regarded.

Our Prestige (100), budget ($800,000) and facilities (86) remain unchanged.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-10-2024 at 11:43 PM.
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Old 01-31-2024, 10:26 AM   #553
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
April 10, 2033

Graham Sims has leveled up for the last time. He's now a Level 15 coach, with perfect 100 scores in all four coaching categories.

Georgetown's Wallace Hastings is the only other Level 15 master in our universe. Three coaches--Ervin Gadson of Boston College, Joseph Owens of West Virginia, and Brooks Runyan of Kentucky--are at Level 14. Coach Owens is the youngest of the group at age 53, and Coach Hastings, who turns 60 this year, is the oldest.

Graham is 54 now. How time flies...

If you're wondering where USC icon Kenneth Burroughs is, he is retiring this season. More on Coach Burroughs later.


We're over 20 seasons into our college basketball universe now. Which teams have won the most games? Can you guess who's at #1?
Code:
Stats Leaders # Team Wins Losses Pct Conference Champs Conference Tourney Champs ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 Kansas 652 132 .832 16 6 2 Lafayette 619 150 .805 17 11 3 North Carolina 615 149 .805 8 8 4 Villanova 605 170 .781 7 8 5 Southern California 605 176 .775 6 6 6 Georgetown 603 167 .783 8 6 7 Boston College 593 177 .770 8 3 8 Kentucky 584 192 .753 6 3 9 Vanderbilt 583 191 .753 6 2 10 Texas 557 197 .739 4 2

Here's the membership roll of the 500 Club, the coaches with at least 500 career victories.
Code:
Coach Wins Records # NAME SEASON RECORD CURRENT TEAM ------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Graham Sims 2033 667 Villanova 2. Wallace Hastings 2033 613 Georgetown 3. Kenneth Burroughs 2032 605 Retired 4. Ervin Gadson 2033 593 Boston College 5. Brooks Runyan 2033 583 Kentucky 6. Benton Brimmer 2033 551 North Carolina 7. Joshua Williams 2033 546 Kansas 8. Thaddeus Dorton 2033 544 Texas 9. Tracy Norton 2033 537 Oklahoma 10. Blaine Boyd 2033 534 Pittsburgh 11. Joseph Owens 2033 519 West Virginia 12. Daniel Chouinard 2029 508 Retired 13. Larry Ramirez 2033 506 Miami 14. J.C. Barker 2033 500 Florida

The next initiates will be Clayton Mintz of Oregon (497 wins) and Hans Gatewood of Tennessee (491).

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 01-31-2024 at 10:27 AM.
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Old 01-31-2024, 11:04 AM   #554
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
May 1, 2033

Kenneth Burroughs is the biggest name among the coaches who have decided to hang up their whistles, but Notre Dame's Paul Gilbertson has also enjoyed a highly respected career. He retires with 473 career victories to his credit.

Both Southern California and Notre Dame honor Graham with job offers, but he politely declines. The chance Graham will ever coach anywhere but Villanova again is very, very close to zero. He won't leave for another job willingly, and if Villanova were to fire him, he'd almost certainly retire instead.

George Doyle becomes the latest member of the Villanova staff to move on to a head coaching position of his own. At the age of 60, the veteran assistant finally gets the big whistle. He's the new coach at Toledo.

Notre Dame poaches their new coach from a Big East rival. Rupert Frazee will move to South Bend from Cincinnati. The new man at Cincinnati? None other than Dario Ferreira, who spent four seasons as Graham's right hand man at Villanova before coaching at Davidson for three seasons. Coach Ferreira went 58-52 with the Wildcats. Now he'll match wits with one of his mentors in the tough setting of the Big East.

It's frankly difficult for us to fill our Coaching Assistant position. The first three coaches I attempt to hire turn us down, and end up taking huge bags from other schools. One of them, DeWitt Keaton, goes to Georgetown instead.

*snarl*

We end up taking a chance on venerable Frank Timberlake. Coach Timberlake is one of the oldest men still prowling the sidelines; he's now 69. His coaching itinerary includes Western Kentucky, Saint Louis, Vanderbilt, Central Florida, Old Dominion, Saint Louis (again), and Arkansas. He's got an NCAA championship ring, which he won with the Commodores in 2018/19.

Coach Timberlake is a Level 6 coach with ratings of 31 for Offense and 100 for Defense. He'll earn a very reasonable $131,000/year on a three-year deal.
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Old 01-31-2024, 11:26 AM   #555
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
May 1, 2033

Michael Petit's decision to leave school early gives us a scholarship to offer during the transfer period. And, to our delight, there's a fine player in the portal who plays a position where we aren't absolutely stacked.

Code:
#4 PG Eldon Castanon - Villanova - Sophomore -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-3 Weight: 212 High School: Montgomery Blair High School Hometown: Silver Spring, MD Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 28 57 47 51 52 63 35 41 7 46 41 16 80 37 63 80 2032: 26 51 43 45 48 57 33 37 5 42 37 14 79 33 61 58 Potential: D B C B C A C B F B C D Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Redshirting Academics: 42 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2032 2 0 1.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 1.00 0.0 0.0 0.0 Career 2 0 1.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 1.00 0.0 0.0 0.0 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2032 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.5 .000 0.0 0.0 .000 0.00 0.00 Career 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.5 .000 0.0 0.0 .000 0.00 0.00 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2032 2 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Career 2 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2032 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Career 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2031 High School: Rated **** and #84 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2031 High School: All-State (Maryland) 2031 High School: Mr. Basketball (Maryland) 2031 High School: All-American 2032 Transfered from Lafayette

Eldon Castanon's high school achievements were considerable: All-State, All-American, and Maryland's Mr. Basketball. I remember seeing him on our recruiting lists, but he didn't express much interest in playing for us. He ended up at Lafayette instead.

Looking at his development, it seems the Leopards coaching staff made him spend training camp running on a treadmill. His Stamina improved quite a bit, but his basketball skills did not. After playing three minutes, grabbing an assist, and missing a free throw, Eldon entered the portal. Now he's moving 68 miles down the road to Villanova.

Eldon is an athletic point guard with considerable potential, especially as a passer. He'll sit out a year, after which he'll have three seasons of eligibility.
We expect he'll contend with Connor Baxter at the one in 2034/35.

Welcome to the team, Eldon!
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Old 01-31-2024, 12:49 PM   #556
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
July 1, 2033

Our roster contains five seniors: walk-ons Darius Pettway and Chris Ramos, and scholarship players Reed Weisberg, Ernest Adcock, and Noah Gardner.

All three of the scholarship seniors are perimeter players, so it's logical we'll want to restock the wing cupboard. Picking up transfer Eldon Castanon makes the need to find a point guard less urgent.

There's a chance that graduation and defections to the pros could leave us without a single big man on our roster after the 2034/35 season. That makes it imperative for us to get a good post player or two into the pipeline.

I'm thinking our best possible shopping list would contain:
  • a big man who projects as an All-Big East player and a future pro, maybe a three-year player
  • a small forward/shooting guard who could be a star and might play four years
  • another perimeter guy, possibly a rotation player

There's one five-star player who expresses Very High interest in playing for Villanova. He's Timothy Johnson, a 6'8" power forward from western Maryland. Another Maryland big man who likes us a lot, Dan Roesch, is given three stars, even though he's a high school All-American. Both those players deserve a good, long look.

Two highly-regarded local players are very interested in playing for us. Pennsylvania's Mr. Basketball, Max Bennett, is a four-star shooting guard. Robbie Blades, the #100 player in the Class of 2034, is a power forward. We're the first choice for both Max and Robbie.

I think I'm going to trust the experts' judgement and the stats on Max Bennett, and offer him a scholarship before we evaluate him. I'd like to lock him down quickly. I can always retract our offer if his evals don't look good.

I'm tempted to do the same thing with Timothy Johnson, but he currently prefers two top-tier programs over Villanova. I don't remember ever winning a battle for a player when we had to come from behind and pass two elite teams.

Here is our initial call list:
Code:
#2 VILLANOVA Recruiting Name Pos Ht Wt Rating Interest State --------------------------------------------------------------------- Timothy Johnson PF 6-8 229 ***** Very High Maryland Max Bennett SG 6-2 178 **** Very High Pennsylvania Allan Hagan PF 6-5 206 **** Very High Pennsylvania Keith Eskridge SF 6-7 220 **** Very High Michigan Jack Blankenship PG 5-11 158 **** Very High Michigan Kim Murray PG 6-3 184 **** Very High New York Dan Roesch PF 6-9 210 *** Very High Maryland Robbie Blades PF 6-8 224 *** Very High Pennsylvania Fredrick Delano SF 6-7 242 *** Very High Delaware Joseph Keys SG 6-4 194 *** Very High New Jersey Jarrett Brundage PF 6-9 259 *** Very High Delaware Shaun Bath SG 6-6 188 *** Very High UK Brian Bishop SF 6-6 225 ***** High Maryland Luis Williams SG 6-3 171 ***** High New York Leroy Velez PG 6-1 178 ***** High New York Tyrese Russell SF 6-7 203 **** High Pennsylvania Matthew Valentine SG 6-1 181 **** High Delaware Douglas Wilson PG 6-2 177 **** High Maryland Colin Ratchford PG 6-0 176 **** High New York

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 01-31-2024 at 12:53 PM.
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Old 01-31-2024, 02:38 PM   #557
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
August 1, 2033

My first response to July's recruiting efforts: Bleh.

Max Bennett's head was turned by an offer from Georgetown. He downgrades his interest in playing for us to Average.
Code:
#25 SG Max Bennett -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-2 Weight: 178 High School: Penncrest High School Hometown: Media, PA GPA: 3.46 Test Score: 1280 Rating: **** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 28 51 57 47 35 52 19 20 35 44 35 12 59 36 47 54 Potential: C B B A D B D D D B C F Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16.1 1.6 5.7 5.0 1.8 2.78 2.2 0.3 2.2 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.8 12.5 .542 1.7 2.0 .846 1.0 2.9 .333 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Current interest in Villanova: Average Rankings: #49 Overall, #14 SG, East Region #7 Overall, East Region #2 SG High School Awards: All-State, Mr. Basketball (Pennsylvania) Top 5 Schools: *Georgetown, *Villanova, St. John's, Boston College, North Carolina
Max is a fairly unpolished player with considerable upside. The potential for him to turn into a useful player who can shoot, pass, and play defense is certainly there. Let's see if a full recruiting effort--visits from Coaches Sims and Twombly, and an official visit to campus--will move us back to the top of Max's list.

Two of the big men we mentioned, Dan Roesch and Robbie Blades, have taken us completely off their lists. That means we can't invite them for campus visits.
Code:
#3 PF Dan Roesch -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-9 Weight: 210 High School: Loch Raven High School Hometown: Baltimore, MD GPA: 2.76 Test Score: 1150 Rating: *** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 60 36 45 0 50 29 28 39 41 16 53 44 22 75 52 16 Potential: B C C F B D C A B D A C Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17.9 2.4 8.7 0.7 1.9 0.35 2.7 1.6 3.1 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.2 11.7 .618 3.5 4.5 .767 0.0 0.0 .000 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Current interest in Villanova: Average Rankings: #64 Overall, #8 PF, East Region #11 Overall, East Region #2 PF High School Awards: All-State, Mr. Basketball (Maryland), All American Top 5 Schools: St. John's, American, *Richmond, *Colgate, George Mason

Code:
#35 PF Robbie Blades -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-8 Weight: 224 High School: Episcopal Academy Hometown: Newtown Square, PA GPA: 2.64 Test Score: 1270 Rating: *** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 53 43 21 0 3 21 23 32 62 42 41 48 26 56 22 81 Potential: A C D F F D C B A B A B Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16.3 1.6 7.5 1.2 2.7 0.45 1.4 1.5 2.7 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.0 11.0 .632 2.4 4.6 .527 0.0 0.0 .000 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Current interest in Villanova: High Rankings: #100 Overall, #19 PF, East Region #16 Overall, East Region #4 PF High School Awards: None Top 5 Schools: Temple, *Lehigh, *Delaware, Fordham, Bucknell
I can see why both players are ranked among the best power forwards in their region. Both players are eager defenders and rebounders, and they both make a high percentage of their shots at the high school level.

I wonder if Robbie and Dan are focusing their attention on less prestigious programs because they don't have offers from power conference schools. I think I'm going to bet on both of them. Will offers from Villanova, and visits from both coaches, rekindle their love for the Wildcats?
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Old 01-31-2024, 02:54 PM   #558
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
September 1, 2033

We're now in a two-way competition for the signature of Max Bennett. Georgetown still holds the pole position. I'm going to fight a little longer for him.

Robbie Blades now holds four offers: Temple, Lehigh, Delaware, and Villanova. And, because we're now on Robbie's list, we can invite him to campus. Having that card to play makes me feel better about our chances.

Five schools have now made offers to Dan Roesch: St. John's, American, Colgate, Richmond, and Villanova. Again, we're fifth on the list, but we're there. That means we can issue the campus visit invitation if we like.

Why am I hesitating to continue our pursuit of Dan Roesch? Because another intriguing player has moved us up his list: Matthew Valentine.
Code:
#31 SG Matthew Valentine -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-5 Weight: 181 High School: Middletown High School Hometown: Middletown, DE GPA: 2.40 Test Score: 1040 Rating: **** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 79 54 42 53 40 36 7 39 32 15 11 25 78 33 53 37 Potential: A B B B A A F D C D F C Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18.3 0.9 4.8 4.5 2.2 2.09 1.0 0.8 2.7 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.4 14.5 .581 1.0 1.9 .500 0.6 1.5 .379 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Current interest in Villanova: Very High Rankings: #92 Overall, #22 SG, East Region #15 Overall, East Region #3 SG High School Awards: All-State, Mr. Basketball (Delaware) Top 5 Schools: Villanova, Pittsburgh, *Duquesne, Georgetown, Boston College
Delaware's Mr. Basketball is a dynamic offensive player who can get to the rim, score from outside, and run his team's offense. He hasn't shown us much potential as a defender, so he'll need some teammates who aren't afraid to do what it takes to protect their house.

I liked Matthew's scouting report enough that I invited him to campus last month. I decide to retract Dan Roesch's offer and present it to Matthew instead.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-01-2024 at 09:41 AM.
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Old 01-31-2024, 03:41 PM   #559
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
November 1, 2033

The last player to receive a scholarship offer is the first to accept it. Welcome to the Villanova basketball family, Matt Valentine!

Matt is more of a lead guard than a pure one or two. Connor Baxter, Mason Reynolds, and Eldon Castanon are all good defensive players, and they're the guys who will be sharing the perimeter spots with Matt, so Matt's reluctance to D-up won't be a fatal flaw.

Unfortunately, Robbie Blades decided to pursue his basketball dreams at Temple. At least we won't have to play against him in the Big East, like we will when Dan Roesch and St. John's appear on our schedule.

Our hopes of signing Max Bennett remain alive. So do Georgetown's. Something is keeping Max from making his decision. Coaches Sims and Twombly don't have to travel far to visit the Bennett family, so that will remain a priority during November.

What to do with our open scholarship? Timothy Johnson hasn't said yes to the Hoyas yet, either. Do we aim for the stars and offer him? Or, do we concentrate on a target that might be easier to hit?

I like the looks of two players who haven't received scholarship offers yet: SF Keith Eskridge, a four-star recruit from Michigan, and PF Charlie Lambert, a four-star player from Maryland.

I'm not really in the mood to potentially deal with losing two players to Georgetown, who have emerged as my arch-nemesis in this dynasty. I'm going to offer Charlie Lambert instead. I'll post his "hero card" if we end up signing him.
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Old 01-31-2024, 08:49 PM   #560
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
November 6, 2033

Let's meet the 2033/34 Villanova Wildcats!
Code:
#10 VILLANOVA General Player # Pos Yr Ht Wt Sch Acd Status Hometown --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Noah Gardner 0 SF Sr 6-5 215 Yes 80 OK Jenkintown, PA Ernest Adcock 1 SG Sr 6-1 207 Yes 68 Injured Pasadena, MD Trey Partridge 2 PG So 5-8 170 Yes 40 OK Warwick, NY Eldon Castanon 4 PG So 6-3 213 Yes 42 Redshirt Silver Spring, MD Mason Reynolds 5 SG Fr 6-4 202 Yes 98 OK Alexandria, VA Kyle Gribble 11 SF Fr 6-8 224 Yes 92 OK Lakewood, CA Chris Woolstenhulme 12 PF So 6-9 223 Yes 78 OK Bryn Mawr, PA William Collins 20 PF Jr* 6-5 234 Yes 75 OK Moreauville, LA Connor Baxter 22 PG Fr 6-2 193 Yes 98 OK Slippery Rock, PA Darius Pettway 23 SF Sr* 6-8 245 No 29 OK Copenhagen, NY Charles Peterman 25 SF Fr 6-7 226 Yes 62 OK Thompson, Canada Chris Ramos 34 C Sr 6-10 240 No 53 OK Warwick, NY Savion Wells 41 PF So 7-0 252 Yes 87 OK Windsor, CT Zach Cohen 44 C Jr 6-10 227 Yes 64 OK Edison, NJ Reed Weisberg 55 SG Sr 6-5 190 Yes 54 Injured Colonia, NJ

And how did they do in training camp?
Code:
#10 VILLANOVA Training Results Player Ins Jps Fts 3ps Hnd Pas Orb Drb Psd Prd Stl Blk Qkn Str Jmp Sta ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Noah Gardner 3 5 5 5 2 2 3 3 2 5 2 2 1 2 1 4 Ernest Adcock 3 1 4 0 1 4 3 3 5 5 1 1 1 3 1 9 Trey Partridge 1 3 2 1 6 4 1 1 1 3 2 2 0 1 0 12 Eldon Castanon 1 2 2 2 1 5 1 3 0 4 3 1 0 1 1 9 Mason Reynolds 4 4 6 2 4 4 4 4 4 6 4 2 2 8 1 36 Kyle Gribble 8 6 8 4 4 4 6 2 4 2 4 2 1 8 3 30 Chris Woolstenhulme 10 4 4 1 3 3 8 8 7 2 2 7 1 6 1 7 William Collins 0 2 2 0 1 2 3 7 6 1 2 5 0 2 1 8 Connor Baxter 4 6 6 0 8 8 2 2 2 8 6 2 1 4 1 10 Darius Pettway 0 3 2 0 2 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 0 5 Charles Peterman 2 4 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 6 6 2 1 4 2 8 Chris Ramos 1 1 0 0 1 1 6 6 6 1 1 8 1 2 1 7 Savion Wells 12 4 4 2 2 2 9 9 5 2 2 5 0 8 1 8 Zach Cohen 2 3 2 0 1 2 12 12 11 1 1 14 1 3 1 14 Reed Weisberg 2 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 2 1 1 3 1 3 0 11

This year's team will take on a different quality right about the time Big East play begins. That's when two senior stars will return from the injury list.

Reed Weisberg and Ernest Adcock might have decided to turn professional if their junior seasons hadn't been cut short by serious knee injuries. Now they're back at Villanova for one more dance.

Weisberg averaged over 21 points per game over the 14 contests in which he appeared last season. The 6'5" wing is quite possibly the best shooter in the nation, with almost unlimited range and a gunslinger's mentality. Reed is far from a one-dimensional shooter, however; he'll pursue rebounds willingly, and he'll play solid defense.

After serving an apprenticeship under peerless point guard Justice Stafford, Adcock will be ready to lead the team himself. Ernest is an elite athlete with incredible quickness and a secure, creative facilitator. And coach Graham Sims calls him one of the best on-ball defenders he has ever seen.

Assuming their skills return unabated, these players should form our starting backcourt. In the meantime, those positions will be in the hands of freshmen Connor Baxter and Mason Reynolds.

Baxter will run the point. He worked hard on his ballhandling and passing during camp, and he's ready to have the keys of the offense as the season begins. Connor also made a commitment to becoming a better defensive player.

Reynolds graduated from the same high school as Coach Sims, where he broke Graham's record for career three-pointers. This five-star recruit has no single eye-popping skill; he does everything well. We'll need him to provide perimeter scoring while the master, Weisberg, mends.

The other wing will be a senior, Noah Gardner. He shot his way into the rotation last season, carving out a role as a provider of instant offense. Noah will probably return to that role once we're healthy, but he'll have a month or so to demonstrate what he can do as a starter.

The same three players who provided a solid rotation in the post last year return for another round. Zach Cohen, now a junior, is the starting center. He's not huge for a center--6'10", and under 230 pounds--but he is as strong as they come. Zach has shown a bit of offensive skill in the past, but his calling cards are rebounding, shot blocking, and defense.

Savion Wells worked hard on his inside game and his rebounding in camp. There's a need to replace about 40 points of scoring a night now that Justice Stafford, Peter Segal, and Michael Petit are gone, and we're hoping that this seven-foot sophomore can help reduce that deficit. Savion made 58 percent of his shots last season. We're hoping he can approach that mark while he plays a larger role in our offense.

The third man made Freshman All-America while starting only nine games. That's Chris Woolstenhulme, another Wildcat who had a very productive training camp. There are 80 minutes available for post players, and Woolstenhulme, a plus player at both ends of the floor, should get his share of them.

Sophomore Trey Partridge gives us another reliable point guard who can shoot a bit. Freshman Kyle Gribble looks like he could be the next in a growing line of Villanova sharpshooters. The rest of the players will have to earn their court time by producing when they have opportunities; first year Charles Peterman is the best example of these.

We begin the season ranked #10, which is the lowest we've been in the opening poll in years. Three Big East teams--West Virginia, Pitt, and Georgetown--rank ahead of us. I don't mind playing the role of "hunter" while we prepare for the return of our injured seniors. We'll be fine in their absence, but we'll be better when they're back.
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Old 01-31-2024, 09:43 PM   #561
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
November 10, 2033
Preseason NIT, First Round
(1) #10 Villanova 72, (16) Dartmouth 50

It's not pretty to watch, but we open our season with a win in the first round of the Preseason NIT.

Three Wildcats start their first career game, and all score in double figures: senior Noah Gardner (13p/6r) and freshmen Connor Baxter (13p) and Mason Reynolds (11p/6r). Savion Wells adds 12 points and 9 rebounds. But the big star is Zach Cohen, who combines 9 points with 10 rebounds and 5 blocks.

We do much of our damage from the free throw line, where we shoot 25-for-30. We'll need to play better, but it's a start.
Record: 1-0.


November 12, 2033
Preseason NIT Quarterfinals
(1) #10 Villanova 77, (9) Saint Louis 53

Behind 16 points and 8 rebounds from Noah Gardner, we dispatch the Billikens and advance to the semifinals.

All three frontcourt starters grab 8 rebounds, and sixth man Chris Woolstenhulme does them one better. Savion Wells scores 11 points, and Zach Cohen adds 13 more. Mason Reynolds completes the double figures club with 10.

We haven't made 40 percent of our shots in either game we've played, but we're holding our opponents to under 35 percent, and we're not turning the ball over. How will we fare against stronger opposition?
Record: 2-0.


November 19, 2033
Preseason NIT Semifinal
(1) #6 Villanova 72, (4) #15 Missouri 39

We fare very well against stronger competition today, don't we?

Our defense steps up again, limiting Mizzou to 16 made field goals. That enables us to turn the game into a rout, even though we hit only 5 three-pointers (very low for us) and don't make quite half our shots.

Chris Woolstenhulme plays the starring role off the bench (14p/11r). Noah Gardner (14p/7r), and Zach Cohen (11p/10r) play major supporting roles. Guards Mason Reynolds and Connor Baxter hand out 5 assists each.
Record: 3-0.


November 21, 2033
Preseason NIT Championship

Code:
(1) #4 Villanova 100, (3) #7 Memphis 96 --------------------------------------------------------- Memphis (3-1, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts DeWitt Oliver C 29 3-7 1-1 3 6 3 2 7 Rocco Mendez PF 30 3-6 2-2 6 11 1 5 8 Abraham Skipper SF 25 7-14 5-5 3 5 1 0 23 Harry Mallory SG 21 3-10 0-0 0 1 5 4 8 Ronnie Galindo PG 34 8-20 0-0 4 8 11 4 19 Tim Porter SF 23 7-12 1-2 1 4 0 2 21 Frank Hann SG 9 2-5 0-0 0 0 1 0 6 Robert McMillin PF 18 1-1 0-0 3 6 1 5 2 Keith Book C 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 George Watson SG 5 0-4 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Chris Pham SF 1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Jonathan Mannino PG 1 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 2 Turnovers: 11 (A.Skipper 1, H.Mallory 2, R.Galindo 2, T.Porter 5, R.McMillin 1) Blocked Shots: 3 (D.Oliver 2, R.Mendez 1) Steals: 2 (H.Mallory 1, T.Porter 1) 3P FGs: 17-39 (D.Oliver 0-1, R.Mendez 0-1, A.Skipper 4-9, H.Mallory 2-7, R.Galindo 3-7, T.Porter 6-10, F.Hann 2-2, G.Watson 0-2) Villanova (4-0, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Zach Cohen C 32 1-4 5-9 2 12 2 2 7 Savion Wells PF 34 8-12 9-10 4 7 1 3 25 Noah Gardner SF 28 4-7 5-5 2 4 5 4 14 Mason Reynolds SG 34 7-14 3-4 3 7 6 0 21 Connor Baxter PG 34 5-8 2-2 0 3 5 2 14 C. Woolstenhulme PF 18 5-9 2-2 2 6 2 2 12 Trey Partridge PG 10 1-4 0-0 0 0 2 0 2 Kyle Gribble SF 7 1-4 0-0 0 0 0 2 3 Chris Ramos C 2 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 0 2 Turnovers: 11 (Z.Cohen 1, S.Wells 2, N.Gardner 2, M.Reynolds 1, C.Baxter 1, C.Woolstenhulme 3, T.Partridge 1) Blocked Shots: 6 (Z.Cohen 3, S.Wells 1, C.Baxter 2) Steals: 7 (N.Gardner 1, M.Reynolds 3, C.Baxter 1, T.Partridge 2) 3P FGs: 8-22 (N.Gardner 1-3, M.Reynolds 4-9, C.Baxter 2-4, T.Partridge 0-2, K.Gribble 1-4) Player of Game: SG Mason Reynolds (VLNV)

Another test passed, as we defeat a Top Ten team in a shootout and capture the Preseason NIT trophy. We win it at the free throw line, where we're shooting just over 76 percent for the season.

Mason Reynolds delivers the multi-faceted performance we envisioned when we recruited him, and Savion Wells scores a career-high 25 points.
Record: 4-0.

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Old 02-01-2024, 08:41 AM   #562
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Join Date: Sep 2022
November 25, 2033
@#4 Villanova 82, Butler 48

The Bulldogs visit the Finneran Pavilion and leave with their stubby tails held low. Our defense swarms them from the opening tip, holding them to 29 percent shooting and 3-for-18 from behind the arc.

Savion Wells and Noah Gardner lead us with 17 points each. Zach Cohen scores only 7 points, but he achieves career highs in rebounds with 17 and blocked shots with 6. Mason Reynolds has 5 assists. But it's Chris Woolstenhulme who wins Player of the Game honors for his 15-point, 9-rebound, 3-block performance.
Record: 5-0.


November 30, 2033
Code:
#1 Kentucky 93, #3 Villanova 88 --------------------------------------------------------- Villanova (5-1, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Zach Cohen C 31 2-6 2-2 5 13 1 0 6 Savion Wells PF 33 3-8 3-9 1 5 2 4 9 Noah Gardner SF 31 10-18 0-2 2 5 4 4 26 Mason Reynolds SG 33 7-13 3-3 1 4 4 4 20 Connor Baxter PG 33 1-6 6-6 2 3 3 3 9 C. Woolstenhulme PF 18 4-10 3-4 2 7 2 2 12 Trey Partridge PG 12 1-2 0-0 0 1 2 1 3 Kyle Gribble SF 7 1-3 0-0 0 1 0 1 3 Chris Ramos C 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 18 (Z.Cohen 1, S.Wells 1, N.Gardner 4, M.Reynolds 3, C.Baxter 6, C.Woolstenhulme 1, K.Gribble 2) Blocked Shots: 4 (Z.Cohen 2, C.Woolstenhulme 1, C.Ramos 1) Steals: 6 (N.Gardner 5, M.Reynolds 1) 3P FGs: 13-29 (Z.Cohen 0-1, N.Gardner 6-11, M.Reynolds 3-8, C.Baxter 1-4, C.Woolstenhulme 1-2, T.Partridge 1-2, K.Gribble 1-1) Kentucky (6-0, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Ezra Love C 28 3-5 0-0 4 9 0 3 6 Frank Stanger PF 25 3-7 1-3 0 3 2 4 7 Jack Clary SF 29 7-14 5-6 3 7 1 3 22 Daryl Babcock SG 32 5-10 6-6 1 4 4 1 18 Joaquin Kimura PG 18 1-6 5-6 0 1 2 4 7 David Crawford SG 21 5-10 0-0 1 3 3 3 14 Rudy Ober PF 22 4-6 2-2 0 2 2 2 12 Sammy Jamerson PG 12 1-2 0-0 0 1 3 2 3 Ronald Gifford SG 4 0-0 2-3 0 2 1 0 2 Larry Murray C 8 1-2 0-0 0 4 1 2 2 Turnovers: 16 (F.Stanger 3, J.Clary 2, D.Babcock 3, J.Kimura 3, D.Crawford 2, R.Ober 1, S.Jamerson 1, R.Gifford 1) Blocked Shots: 4 (E.Love 1, J.Kimura 1, R.Ober 2) Steals: 8 (J.Clary 1, D.Babcock 2, D.Crawford 3, R.Ober 1, L.Murray 1) 3P FGs: 12-25 (J.Clary 3-4, D.Babcock 2-6, J.Kimura 0-3, D.Crawford 4-6, R.Ober 2-4, S.Jamerson 1-2) Player of Game: SF Jack Clary (KY)
A Feast Week journey to Rupp Arena to face #1 Kentucky is a memorable moment for any college player or coach. It's even more memorable if you win, and we came close to doing just that.

In fact, we lead by 11 points at halftime, before the Kentucky breed of Wildcats reel off a 13-2 run in the first five minutes of the second half. That comeback reinvigorates the sellout crowd, and from that point forward the game is a classic.

Noah Gardner pulls off a very satisfactory imitation of prime Reed Weisberg. Kentucky's star freshman, Jack Clary, adds to his 20 PPG average. Big men Zach Cohen and Ezra Love battle like gladiators in the post. There's a lot of good basketball on display.

No loss is fun, but this loss is a noble one.
Record: 5-1.
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Old 02-01-2024, 09:41 AM   #563
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
December 1, 2033

A new batch of high school seniors make commitments today. Who will visit us this month? St. Nicholas or Krampus?

We must be on the nice list.

First of all, we learn that Charlie Lambert will be playing for us next season. Here's a closer look at him:
Code:
#14 PF Charlie Lambert -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-9 Weight: 212 High School: DeMatha Catholic High School Hometown: Hyattsville, MD GPA: 3.06 Test Score: 1110 Rating: **** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 36 51 52 80 26 23 34 39 22 33 33 56 53 35 67 49 Potential: C B B A D C C C C C C B Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15.8 0.7 5.9 1.8 3.3 0.55 1.4 2.2 2.2 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.3 12.9 .490 1.3 1.7 .766 1.9 4.6 .413 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Villanova Rankings: #57 Overall, #17 PF, East Region #24 Overall, East Region #10 PF High School Awards: All-State Top 5 Schools: *Villanova, Georgetown, Notre Dame
In modern basketball parlance, Charlie is a stretch four, willing and able to pull jumpers from behind the three-point arc. He's not strictly a perimeter player, however; he's comfortable near the basket, finishing at the rim, rebounding, and altering shots. He can guard four positions decently.

We can be patient with Charlie, since Savion Wells and Chris Woolstenhulme will be around for at least one more year.

Then, we discover we've beaten out Georgetown for the commitment of Max Bennett! The Hoyas made an offer to another player at Max's position, five-star recruit Brian Bishop. Perhaps Max and his family have decided he'll have a better chance for playing time over the course of his career at Villanova. Either way, I'm delighted that he's staying home and playing for us.

Welcome to the Villanova basketball family!

How did we do at hitting our recruiting targets? We landed a big man, Charlie Lambert. He's not a traditional post player, and he's not the kind of player we assume we'll have for only three years, but he could certainly be a starter for a Final Four team. Matt Valentine is listed as a shooting guard, but he has the skills to run our offense, and he can guard players in the post. He looks like a plug-and-play guy whom we can utilize in a variety of roles. Max Bennett projects as an offensive threat from the perimeter, a player who is likely to play for four years and develop into a key player.

We don't have a headline-grabbing, highly-touted recruit in this class, but I like the guys we have.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-01-2024 at 09:51 AM.
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Old 02-01-2024, 12:57 PM   #564
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
December 3, 2033
@#3 Villanova 94, Siena 56

Junior center Zach Cohen scores 22 points, grabs 13 rebounds, and turns back 4 shots in a comfortable victory over Siena.

Mason Reynolds (18p/6a/5r), Noah Gardner (15p/4a) and Chris Woolstenhulme (13p/6r) also perform well. We make almost 57 percent of our shots, a season's high mark, and hold the Saints to 6-for-24 from behind the three-point line.
Record: 6-1.


December 9, 2033
@#7 Villanova 56, Richmond 52

We survive a scare from a solid Spider team who takes advantage of our sloppy play. We shoot 39 percent, take only 13 threes and make only 3 of them, and commit 19 turnovers. If we do those things against most Big East teams, we're going to get smoked. Fortunately, our defense saves our blushes with an extremely good effort. Zach Cohen (4 blocks) and Connor Baxter (3 steals) stand out on that end of the floor.

Noah Gardner misses 4 of the 5 long shots he tries, but he finishes with 16 points anyway. Savion Wells hits 8 of 9 foul shots en route to a 14-point, 9-rebound day. Mason Reynolds just misses a double-double: 10 points, 9 boards.
Record: 7-1.


December 12, 2033
@#5 Villanova 94, Bucknell 51

Savion Wells scores 21 points, collects 12 rebounds, and is named Player of the Game for the second straight time as we play much better against the Bison. This time, we shoot .526/.450/.781, commit only 11 turnovers, and record assists on 28 of our 30 baskets. (Our school record is 30 assists in a game, recorded four times).

Mason Reynolds (18p/7r/5a) continues to grow into a productive, all-action wing. Noah Gardner (18p/6r/4a) is making a claim for extended playing time, even after our roster is back to full strength. Chris Woolstenhulme is thriving in the sixth man role Graham Sims likes to employ, playing it in the style of Tony Ezell. Freshman Connor Baxter conducts the show well (9p/9a).
Record: 8-1.


December 16, 2033
@#5 Villanova 93, Pennsylvania 88

Full credit to the Quakers for battling back to make a game of it after we lead by as many as 22 points. The result is an entertaining contest between two old Big Five rivals.

Tonight's big star is Connor Baxter, who tosses in 26 points, the best of his young career. He unselfishly adds 6 assists. Another firstie, Mason Reynolds, scores 19, with 5 assists and 3 steals. Noah Gardner (15p/6r) and Savion Wells (13p/9r) score in double digits, and Zach Cohen (7p/8r/5b) does Blue Collar Man things. Bench warrior Chris Ramos blocks 2 shots in 5 minutes of play.

We need every one of those contributions to ward off a tough Penn team tonight.
Record: 9-1.


December 21, 2033
@#4 Villanova 79, Lafayette 54

It feels a bit unusual to play an unranked Lafayette team. The Leopards lost to a very good Miami team, which is understandable. They also lost to Air Force and a bad Indiana team, which is not. These Leopards aren't as fierce as they've been in the past. I want a better fate for Graham's former assistant, Thomas Liang.

The frontcourt does most of the damage for us tonight. Zach Cohen scores 12 points, hauls down 15 rebounds, and blocks 4 shots. Savion Wells finishes with 15 points and 10 boards. Noah Gardner comes within a rebound of giving us three double-doubles (19p/9r), and Chris Woolstenhulme (8p/8r) doesn't miss by much giving us four.

We set a new team record for rebounds in a single game with 58.
Record: 10-1.


December 27, 2033
@#5 Villanova 27, Princeton 48

Zach Cohen becomes the second player in Villanova history to collect at least 20 rebounds in a game tonight. He also sets a new career high in blocked shots with 8, and scores 14 points.

Noah Gardner scores 21, Connor Baxter 18, and Savion Wells 15. Wells grabs 8 rebounds, Baxter has 5 assists. Mason Reynolds makes up for a forgettable 1-for-11 shooting performance with 3 steals.

Remember that rebound record we set the other night? We tie it today, as every player who is at least 6'4" grabs at least four caroms, regardless of how few minutes he plays. The most productive rebounder is Chris Ramos, who hauls in 4 in 6 minutes.
Record: 11-1.


January 1, 2034
Penn State's coach, Louie Smith, has had an interesting coaching journey. He was once regarded as one of the best coaches in the business. He took Illinois, and then Duke, to the Final Four. Then, after several disappointing seasons in a row, he lost his job at Duke and spent three years as an assistant at Michigan State and Stanford.

Gonzaga offered him their head coaching job in 2027. He won 15, then 19, then 20 games, and when Thomas Liang left Penn State for Lafayette, the Nittany Lions called on Coach Smith. He brings a very good team with a 10-3 record to the Wells Fargo Center today.
Code:
Penn State 79, #5 Villanova 75 ---------------------------------------------------------- Penn State (11-3, 2-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Jerome Brand C 32 5-5 0-0 0 8 2 3 10 Lincoln Herron PF 27 3-5 4-4 2 8 3 3 10 Jon Higdon SF 26 2-8 0-1 1 6 2 3 4 Kevin Schall SG 24 0-2 3-4 0 3 1 0 3 Wendell Neal PG 25 6-13 4-4 4 6 2 4 19 Hollis Lower PG 16 3-6 2-2 1 3 3 2 9 Garland McKinley PG 11 2-6 2-2 0 1 1 1 7 Michael Harrison SG 3 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Andreas Martinez SF 14 4-7 4-6 0 1 1 0 13 Travis Thomson PF 15 2-4 0-0 1 5 1 1 4 Scott Edwards C 7 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 Turnovers: 14 (J.Brand 2, J.Higdon 3, K.Schall 1, W.Neal 4, H.Lower 1, G.McKinley 1, A.Martinez 1, T.Thomson 1) Blocked Shots: 4 (J.Brand 1, L.Herron 2, J.Higdon 1) Steals: 4 (L.Herron 1, A.Martinez 1, T.Thomson 2) 3P FGs: 6-14 (J.Higdon 0-1, K.Schall 0-1, W.Neal 3-5, H.Lower 1-1, G.McKinley 1-4, A.Martinez 1-1, S.Edwards 0-1) Villanova (11-2, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Zach Cohen C 31 2-4 0-2 2 8 1 1 4 Savion Wells PF 32 7-15 6-10 3 4 1 3 20 Noah Gardner SG 31 5-17 3-3 3 5 3 4 15 Mason Reynolds SG 35 4-11 1-2 1 5 5 3 13 Connor Baxter PG 19 2-4 0-0 1 2 2 5 6 C. Woolstenhulme SF 19 4-10 1-1 2 5 3 3 9 Trey Partridge PG 18 2-7 0-0 1 5 0 1 6 Kyle Gribble SF 9 1-2 0-0 0 2 1 0 2 Chris Ramos C 7 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 Turnovers: 8 (S.Wells 4, N.Gardner 1, M.Reynolds 1, C.Woolstenhulme 1, C.Ramos 1) Blocked Shots: 3 (C.Baxter 1, C.Woolstenhulme 1, T.Partridge 1) Steals: 6 (Z.Cohen 2, M.Reynolds 1, C.Woolstenhulme 2, T.Partridge 1) 3P FGs: 10-30 (N.Gardner 2-9, M.Reynolds 4-9, C.Baxter 2-4, C.Woolstenhulme 0-1, T.Partridge 2-7) Player of Game: PF Lincoln Herron (PA ST)
Coach Smith is as good a tactician as there is, and he matches wits with Graham Sims all game long. It's a master class that neutral fans find as intriguing as those with more skin in the game.

In the end, it's the Lions who come out on top. We're uncharacteristically inaccurate from the free throw line, and Penn State's defense forces us into taking shots we don't like.
Record: 11-2.


January 4, 2034
Code:
2033 Big East Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige ----------------------------------------------------------------- #9 Louisville 0 0 .000 13 0 1.000 2 87 #5 Connecticut 0 0 .000 13 0 1.000 17 69 #3 Pittsburgh 0 0 .000 12 1 .923 19 84 #12 Villanova 0 0 .000 11 2 .846 3 100 #6 Georgetown 0 0 .000 11 1 .917 8 100 #20 Providence 0 0 .000 11 1 .917 28 67 Cincinnati 0 0 .000 9 2 .818 11 67 #15 West Virginia 0 0 .000 9 2 .818 206 94 Notre Dame 0 0 .000 8 4 .667 31 87 Syracuse 0 0 .000 7 5 .583 36 65 South Florida 0 0 .000 7 5 .583 96 69 Seton Hall 0 0 .000 7 5 .583 128 57 Rutgers 0 0 .000 6 6 .500 93 76 St. John's 0 0 .000 6 6 .500 108 76 Marquette 0 0 .000 6 5 .545 204 59 DePaul 0 0 .000 4 8 .333 101 56

I'm not used to looking this far down the list of Big East teams to find Villanova. That's what losing two out-of-conference games gets you in a year when the conference is as loaded as it seems to be this year.

We've hung in there very well without Ernest Adcock and Reed Weisberg. Both seniors should be back in action within two weeks. In their absence, six Wildcats are averaging between 9 and 17 points per game. Five average at least 5 rebounds per game. I'm looking forward to having Ernest and Reed back, but I'm proud of the way the other players have stepped up in their absence.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-02-2024 at 11:52 AM.
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Old 02-01-2024, 01:04 PM   #565
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
January 4, 2034

Love Watch: Kentucky is undefeated (14-0), the unanimous choice as the #1 team in the nation. One of those victories, of course, came at Villanova's expense. We're the only currently ranked team UK has beaten, but they also have notable wins over Notre Dame and Creighton.

Junior center Ezra Love has started all 14 games. He's averaging 5.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game.

Here's a list of the top 10 professional prospects among juniors, who will be eligible to declare for the next draft:
Code:
# Pos Name Team Ht Class Entering Draft ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. PF Ezra Love Kentucky 6-9 Jr No 2. SF Sam Marshall Boston College 6-9 Jr No 3. PF Reggie Johnson Pittsburgh 6-11 Jr No 4. C Steven Lucia Louisiana State 6-9 Jr No 5. SG Chadwick Steinmetz Stanford 6-8 Jr No 6. C Zach Cohen Villanova 6-10 Jr No 7. PG DeQuinn Baldwin Georgetown 6-3 Jr No 8. C Jerrell Thomas Kansas 6-11 Jr No 9. PF Sheldon Daniel Ohio State 6-9 Jr No 10. C Daniel Ervin Tennessee 6-9 Jr No
There are some familiar names on this list, aren't there? That should tell you how bright Ezra's future is: he's ranked at the top of this list of star players.

Code:
#30 PF Ezra Love - Kentucky - Junior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-9 Weight: 252 High School: William Henry Harrison High School Hometown: Evansville, IN Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 54 35 61 18 57 33 100 100 93 47 36 89 40 100 55 49 2032: 49 32 56 15 51 30 100 93 85 44 34 87 38 96 54 41 2031: 42 30 52 13 47 28 87 80 71 41 32 73 37 90 52 34 2030: 36 28 48 11 44 26 77 70 61 39 30 63 34 78 47 22 Potential: C D C D C D A A A C C A Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 84 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2031 37 37 24.3 4.6 3.1 7.4 1.1 0.8 1.40 0.6 1.2 1.8 2032 36 36 25.8 5.7 3.0 8.6 1.3 0.8 1.50 0.8 2.4 1.9 2033 14 14 27.1 5.3 2.7 8.6 1.0 0.9 1.17 0.9 2.6 2.1 Career 87 87 25.4 5.2 3.0 8.1 1.2 0.8 1.17 0.7 1.9 1.9 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2031 1.7 4.1 .414 1.2 1.6 .733 0.0 0.0 .000 1.12 10.84 2032 2.3 4.4 .516 1.2 1.8 .683 0.0 0.0 .000 1.31 14.50 2033 2.3 5.4 .427 0.7 0.9 .833 0.0 0.0 .000 0.99 14.86 Career 2.0 4.4 .458 1.1 1.6 .719 0.0 0.0 .000 1.17 13.00 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2031 37 37 898 170 113 273 42 30 22 46 68 2032 36 36 930 205 107 308 45 30 27 85 70 2033 14 14 380 74 38 121 14 12 13 37 29 Career 87 87 2208 449 258 702 101 72 62 168 167 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2031 63 152 44 60 0 0 401 2032 81 157 43 63 0 1 522 2033 32 75 10 12 0 0 208 Career 176 384 97 135 0 1 1131 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 12 7 16 2 4 7 3 5 11 3 4 0 0 Career 15 7 20 6 4 9 4 6 11 7 7 0 1 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 8 2030 High School: Rated ***** and #3 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2031 Freshman All-Conference (Southeastern Conference)

Ezra has worked tirelessly to develop his skills. His battle with our Zach Cohen was a clash between two big men with maximum Strength.
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Old 02-01-2024, 01:42 PM   #566
Chas in Cinti
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Wow... if only he were a bit quicker with some stamina... he'd have double the rebounds per game...
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Old 02-01-2024, 05:35 PM   #567
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January 4, 2034
@#12 Villanova 75, #20 Providence 67

Welcome to Big East basketball, Mason Reynolds!

Our freshman guard scores 25 points, grabs 11 rebounds, and makes 2 steals as we defeat a very good Providence team at the Pavilion.

Chris Woolstenhulme adds 17 points and 5 boards from the bench. Zach Cohen is good for 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Noah Gardner has 10 points and 9 rebounds.

This team is really good at rebounding. We grab 55 today, our third game in two weeks in which we've had at least 50.
Record: 12-2 (1-0).


January 7, 2034
#12 Villanova 82, @#9 Louisville 75

The beat goes on for Mason Reynolds and the Wildcats. Mason scores another 25 points and leads us to another crucial road win.

Other notable performances include those by Noah Gardner (13p/8r), Chris Woolstenhulme (12p), and Savion Wells (7p/10r). Zach Cohen (12p/9r/4b) scares us when he goes to the floor, holding his knee...

The diagnosis is fairly good, however. Zach has a less severe sprain, and he's listed as day-to-day. We'll see what he can do when Rutgers comes to call this week.
Record: 13-2 (2-0).


January 11, 2034
Code:
#7 Villanova 77, Rutgers 57 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rutgers (7-8, 1-2): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Ellis Gray C 25 0-3 3-4 3 8 0 0 3 Norman Marshall PF 28 3-9 5-6 2 5 0 4 11 Jed McAnally SF 28 4-9 2-3 2 3 4 3 12 Arthur O'Conner SG 27 5-10 1-2 0 2 2 1 14 Jeramy Applewhite PG 30 2-6 0-0 1 1 2 1 5 Jason Mazza C 21 1-4 0-0 2 7 0 2 2 H. Baskerville PG 10 1-2 0-0 1 3 1 2 2 Joe Woods SG 12 1-2 0-0 0 1 0 2 3 Shawn Tait SF 10 1-3 2-2 0 1 0 0 5 Charles Searcy PF 9 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 15 (E.Gray 2, N.Marshall 2, J.McAnally 7, A.O'Conner 3, J.Applewhite 1) Blocked Shots: 12 (E.Gray 6, N.Marshall 2, A.O'Conner 1, J.Mazza 2, C.Searcy 1) Steals: 2 (J.McAnally 1, H.Baskerville 1) 3P FGs: 8-22 (J.McAnally 2-6, A.O'Conner 3-6, J.Applewhite 1-4, H.Baskerville 0-1, J.Woods 1-2, S.Tait 1-2, C.Searcy 0-1) Villanova (14-2, 3-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Zach Cohen C 29 0-6 0-0 2 9 1 1 0 Savion Wells PF 20 5-11 0-0 0 0 1 5 10 Noah Gardner SF 29 8-11 8-8 4 7 3 3 26 Mason Reynolds SG 25 2-8 0-0 3 4 3 4 4 Connor Baxter PG 33 3-7 0-0 1 2 6 0 7 C. Woolstenhulme PF 25 2-5 2-3 2 6 1 0 6 Trey Partridge SG 19 6-7 0-0 1 5 2 0 16 Kyle Gribble SF 9 1-3 0-0 0 1 1 0 3 Chris Ramos C 6 0-0 0-0 0 3 1 1 0 Charles Peterman SF 1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Reed Weisberg SG 5 2-3 0-0 1 1 0 0 5 Turnovers: 8 (S.Wells 1, N.Gardner 3, C.Baxter 1, T.Partridge 1, C.Ramos 1, R.Weisberg 1) Blocked Shots: 6 (Z.Cohen 3, N.Gardner 1, C.Ramos 2) Steals: 3 (N.Gardner 1, M.Reynolds 1, C.Woolstenhulme 1) 3P FGs: 9-20 (N.Gardner 2-4, M.Reynolds 0-4, C.Baxter 1-3, T.Partridge 4-4, K.Gribble 1-3, R.Weisberg 1-2) Player of Game: SF Noah Gardner (VLNV)
I included the box score of this otherwise routine game for one reason. Look who the last player listed for Villanova is...

One year and two days after he last played, Reed Weisberg returns to action tonight! Authentic as can be, Reed pulls the cord on two triples in 5 minutes, hitting one of them.

Noah Gardner pays tribute to his classmate and teammate with a Weisbergesque 26 points, featuring a perfect 8-for-8 at the line.
Record: 14-2 (3-0).


January 14, 2034
#7 Villanova 70, @Seton Hall 55

And Ernest Adcock returns to action today, starting at point guard and scoring 16 points in a successful visit to Seton Hall. The senior guard also hands out 4 assists and makes 2 steals.

Reed Weisberg shows signs of rust in his first start of the year. He takes only 5 shots, making one (a three) and scores 5 points. Mason Reynolds (16p/10r/4a) plays especially well. He's remaining in the starting lineup for now, with Noah Gardner joining Chris Woolstenhulme and Connor Baxter to form a scary-good reserve squad.
Record: 15-2 (4-0).


January 18, 2034
#2 Villanova 93, @Marquette 64

For the first time in over a year, the "Player Notes" section of my game screen doesn't contain the name of an injured Villanova player. Our fully healthy team travels to Milwaukee and routs Marquette.

Again, it's first year Mason Reynolds who provides the spark. He finishes with 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals. Reed Weisberg shows signs of finding his range, scoring 15 points and hitting 3 of 9 three-point attempts. Zach Cohen (13p/8r/3b) and Chris Woolstenhulme (11p/4r) deliver the kinds of performances we've come to expect from them.
Record: 16-2 (5-0).


January 21, 2034
@#2 Villanova 85, St. John's 56

Savion Wells is one of the key players in the gameplan I've created for the Wildcats. Tonight he redeems my choice, scoring a career-best 28 points on 12-for-17 shooting as we knock off the Red Storm.

The 7'0" forward also snags 8 rebounds, second on the team to Zach Cohen's 11. Cohen blocks another 5 shots, too. Reed Weisberg scores 14 points, and Ernest Adcock hands out 5 assists.

While we're at it, Syracuse is at Georgetown, beating the Hoyas in a gnarly 57-43 contest. We end the day's action in sole possession of first place in the Big East. And, guess where we're going next?
Record: 17-2 (6-0).


January 25, 2034
@#8 Georgetown 80, #2 Villanova 69

By halftime, the game is a rout, with the Hoyas leading 51-28. Their fans howl their delight as they watch their favorites smack their rival in the face.

We don't concede, however, and we rally back to within 8 points with five minutes to play. That's as close as we can come.

We shoot 23-for-69, and an even uglier 8-for-32 from three-point distance. We turn the ball over 18 times. The Hoyas to do us what we to do opponents when we're playing at our best.

Reed Weisberg (18 points) and Mason Reynolds (14) are our double-figure scorers.

We're 17-3, and we'll end the week ranked in the top 10 again. It's far from dark days, but the loss still stings.
Record: 17-3 (6-1).


January 28, 2034
@#2 Villanova 62, #15 West Virginia 36

For the first time since his return, I feel like we get to see some vintage Reed Weisberg. The senior sharpshooter hits 5 of his 11 triples, scores 22 points, and grabs 5 rebounds.

Zach Cohen's 5 blocks and Ernest Adcock's 3 steals highlight a defensive effort that thwarts the Mountaineers again and again. We force this very good team into 23 turnovers.

Cohen also has 9 rebounds, Adcock hands out 6 assists, and Savion Wells scores 14 points.

Making the day even nicer is the news that Louisville beats Georgetown in a battle of Top 10 teams. The Hoyas are a game behind us again, and now we're sharing the top spot with Pittsburgh...whom we play next.
Record: 18-3 (7-1).

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-02-2024 at 11:53 AM.
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Old 02-01-2024, 07:53 PM   #568
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Originally Posted by Chas in Cinti View Post
Wow... if only he were a bit quicker with some stamina... he'd have double the rebounds per game...

Indeed! As I recall, the only truly bad rolls I made when I was creating Mr. Love were his Quickness and Stamina scores. Looking back, I must have rolled a 4 for his original Quickness score and a 2 for his Stamina.

Otherwise, I rolled up a colossus of a player. Even with his "weaknesses," he'll possibly still be the #1 player in the next professional draft.

If you'd like to create another recruit to follow, please do. I'll put him into the pool of high school seniors the year after Ezra finishes his collegiate career.
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Old 02-01-2024, 07:56 PM   #569
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Love Watch: Kentucky suffered their first loss of the season this month, stumbling at Ole Miss. Still, the 20-1 'Cats continue to hold the top spot in the weekly polls. The consistent excellence of Ezra Love is a big reason why. Ezra averages 9.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots per game.

Is Love the quintessential Blue Collar Man? Ezra blocks almost as many shots as he makes himself, which is definitely a BCM move, one exemplified by Samuel "Big Sazzy" Davis, Lafayette '19. However, Ezra is a far better rebounder than Davis was, and unlike Big Sazzy, Ezra absolutely refuses to attempt a three-point shot. He's taken one in over 2400 minutes of action. Davis pulled 231 of them...over a third of his field goal attempts. While that's not a shot profile reminiscent of Reed Weisberg or Duncan Sims, it's very atypical of the post-loving BCM.

Ezra seems to be the purest example of the type I've seen, and quite possibly as good as it gets.
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Old 02-02-2024, 09:36 AM   #570
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February 1, 2034

Today, ground was broken for the new home of Villanova Wildcats basketball.



Wawa Arena will be a state-of-the-art, 12,500 seat arena. It's designed to provide the best possible atmosphere for Wildcats games. The arena will be built on a tract of land adjacent to campus, close enough for students to walk there and convenient for fans who are traveling to campus to watch their team.

The name sponsor is a popular chain of convenience stores, founded and headquartered in metropolitan Philadelphia.

Wawa Arena should be ready for the opening game of the 2036/37 season. It will replace the old Finneran Pavilion, which is now almost 50 years old, and will end the practice of playing home games at the Wells Fargo Center.

Note: This plot line has been inspired by a proposal for a new arena presented on a Villanova basketball fan site by a poster called "NovaDave" some time ago. I ran across it last night, and thought I would incorporate it into the story.
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Old 02-02-2024, 10:09 AM   #571
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February 1, 2034
@#2 Villanova 84, #4 Pittsburgh 67

Did the groundbreaking ceremony for their new home inspire the Wildcats tonight, as they rock the Pavilion with a big win over Pitt?

Reed Weisberg, who unfortunately won't get to play in Wawa Arena, completes his comeback with a vintage performance (25p/6r/4a). His classmate, Ernest Adcock (16p/9a/3s) also seems to be good as new.

Their efforts are backed by Chris Woolstenhulme (15p/7r), Savion Wells (11p) and Zach Cohen (7r/4b).
Record: 19-3 (8-1).
Code:
2033 Big East Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige ---------------------------------------------------------------- #2 Villanova 8 1 .889 19 3 .864 1 100 #8 Louisville 7 2 .778 20 2 .909 5 87 #4 Pittsburgh 7 2 .778 19 3 .864 7 84 Notre Dame 7 2 .778 15 6 .714 26 87 Syracuse 6 3 .667 13 8 .619 23 65 #9 Georgetown 6 3 .667 17 4 .810 3 100 #18 Connecticut 5 4 .556 18 4 .818 28 69 Rutgers 5 4 .556 11 10 .524 41 76 #14 West Virginia 5 4 .556 14 6 .700 47 94 Providence 4 5 .444 15 6 .714 21 67 Cincinnati 4 5 .444 13 7 .650 45 67 Seton Hall 3 6 .333 10 11 .476 75 57 St. John's 2 7 .222 8 13 .381 63 76 Marquette 1 8 .111 7 13 .350 163 59 South Florida 1 8 .111 8 13 .381 79 69 DePaul 1 8 .111 5 16 .238 133 56


February 4, 2034
@#2 Villanova 72, #8 Louisville 67

We complete a string of four straight games against ranked opponents with a 3-1 record, edging the visiting Cardinals at the Wells Fargo Center.

We have to come from behind to do it, riding the hot hand of Reed Weisberg, who scores 19 of his 26 points in the second half. Reed hits six threes over those 20 minutes, part of his 8-for-11 performance from long range. As a team, the Wildcats hit 14 of 24 triples.

Mason Reynolds, back in the starting lineup after coming off the bench while a nagging calf injury heals, posts a double-double (11p/10r/5a). Ernest Adcock scores 13 points.
Record: 20-3 (9-1).


February 8, 2034
@#2 Villanova 86, Providence 51

There's some bad news to mar an otherwise wonderful day, as two Villanova players are bitten by the injury bug.

Hapless Ernest Adcock rolls his ankle, spraining it painfully. He's listed as day-to-day, and he should be back to full strength in a week.

Freshman Kyle Gribble is in worse shape. He takes an elbow to the face, which fractures his cheek. He'll be out for at least two weeks.

On the court, Reed Weisberg's torrid streak continues. Today, he sinks 8 of his 13 three-point tries and scores 28 points. Savion Wells contributes 19 points and 8 boards, and Chris Woolstenhulme posts a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double.

Connor Baxter will start our next game at point guard; we'll be hosting DePaul on Saturday night.
Record: 21-3 (10-1).


February 11, 2034
@#2 Villanova 71, DePaul 61

The Blue Demons have struggled again this year. They enter tonight's game with a 1-10 conference record that is the mirror image of ours. Tonight, they fight us more tenaciously than several better teams have done.

Their senior wing, Billie Vargas, locks down on Reed Weisberg and holds him to 13 points. Reed doesn't get as many good looks as usual, shooting 3-for-10 from behind the arc. Sixth man Chris Woolstenhulme records another double-double, with 11 points and 10 boards. Savion Wells scores 14 points. Connor Baxter adds 10 with 4 assists and 4 rebounds. We get 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks from Zach Cohen.

It's a pleasing team effort against an opponent that makes us work hard for 40 minutes.
Record: 22-3 (11-1).
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Old 02-02-2024, 01:16 PM   #572
Chas in Cinti
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Originally Posted by MoonlightGraham View Post
Indeed! As I recall, the only truly bad rolls I made when I was creating Mr. Love were his Quickness and Stamina scores. Looking back, I must have rolled a 4 for his original Quickness score and a 2 for his Stamina.

Otherwise, I rolled up a colossus of a player. Even with his "weaknesses," he'll possibly still be the #1 player in the next professional draft.

If you'd like to create another recruit to follow, please do. I'll put him into the pool of high school seniors the year after Ezra finishes his collegiate career.

Sweet... Charlie Sutton.. Indianapolis, IN... Decatur Central High School
SG - Sharpshooter
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Old 02-02-2024, 01:56 PM   #573
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February 16, 2034
@Rutgers 66, #2 Villanova 63

As cliché as it sounds, in a league like the Big East, anyone can beat anyone. The Scarlet Knights, a .500 team, demonstrate this today with an upset victory.

Rutgers senior Jed McAnally hits a career-high 24 points, and he and his teammates go 11-for-22 from three-point distance. Meanwhile, we make only 7 of our 20 triples, and miss a third of our 15 foul shots. If we shoot more normally from the line and from behind the arc, we win the game.

Reed Weisberg's 16 points lead a quartet of 'Cats in double figures. Zach Cohen rips down 14 rebounds.
Fortunately, other Big East front-runners are beating up on each other, so we remain atop the standings.
Record: 22-4 (11-2).


February 18, 2034
#2 Villanova 63, @Notre Dame 43

We play suffocating defense and make it possible for us to win on another night when our shooting touch seems elusive.

Reed Weisberg shoots 5-for-12 on three-pointers and finishes with 17 points, but he's the only Wildcat who seems immune to the problem. Savion Wells and Chris Woolstenhulme score 10 points each; they're the only other players in double figures.

Our rebounding superiority asserts itself again, as we claim 54 boards--it's our fourth game this season with 50 or more. Five players have 6 or more, led by Zach Cohen with 12. Our average of 43.9 RPG is the best in all of Division I.
Record: 23-4 (12-2).


February 22, 2034
@#2 Villanova 61, Syracuse 47

Despite our loss, we remain in the #2 position in the polls, behind Kentucky, who are coming off two straight losses. All the best teams in the country seem to have flaws which tough opponents can exploit.

Again, it's our defense that wins the game for us tonight. Syracuse shoots only 29 percent, and 3-for-15 from three-point territory, which means we can win with a score in the low 60s.

The "designated shooter" tonight is first year Mason Reynolds. He goes 5-for-9 from distance and scores 18 points. Savion Wells and Reed Weisberg score 10 apiece, Ernest Adcock scores 7 with 6 assists, and Zach Cohen combines 8 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
Record: 24-4 (13-2).


February 25, 2034
#2 Villanova 84, @Cincinnati 57

And when the offense and defense are both on point, we win Big East road games by 25.

Four Villanovans score between 13 and 19 points, led by Reed Weisberg. Chris Woolstenhulme notches a double-double (15p/11r), and Mason Reynolds (9p/9r/6a) and Zach Cohen (9p/8r/6b) don't miss by much.

We're two games ahead of Pitt in the Big East race now.
Record: 25-4 (14-2).


February 28, 2034
Love Watch:
The 28-3 Kentucky Wildcats are battling #8 Florida for the SEC East lead. The Gators are one of the teams who beat UK last week, and they're 13-2 in conference play, a game ahead of Kentucky.

Ezra Love continues to do the dirty work his team needs. He averages 9.2 rebounds per game, a career-best mark. He recently blocked the 200th shot of his collegiate career. Ezra is shooting more than he ever has, averaging nearly six field goal attempt per game, but his percentage is lower than last year's (.431 to .516). He's a very good foul shooter, especially for a big man; he's making 80 percent of his charity tosses.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-02-2024 at 01:57 PM.
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Old 02-02-2024, 01:59 PM   #574
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Originally Posted by Chas in Cinti View Post
Sweet... Charlie Sutton.. Indianapolis, IN... Decatur Central High School
SG - Sharpshooter

You got it. I'm almost positive Ezra will declare for the draft this spring. The scouts think he's the best prospect among players who could be drafted.

I'll put Charlie Sutton into the graduating class of 2034.
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Old 02-02-2024, 06:00 PM   #575
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March 1, 2034
@#3 Villanova 96, South Florida 59

Coach Sims has five seniors to honor during the last home game of their careers. Four of them will start, among them walk-on Chris Ramos. Another walk-on, Darius Pettway, will come off the bench early. Weve clinched the Big East title, so we can have some fun tonight.

The special lineup works like a charm! Senior Noah Gardner leads all scorers with 25 points. Senior Ernest Adcock scores 13 points, hands out 10 assists, and makes 4 steals. Senior Reed Weisberg encounters foul trouble and finishes with only 8 points, but Finneran Pavilion crowds have had plenty of chances to cheer his exploits. Senior Chris Ramos snares 6 rebounds and blocks a shot. Senior Darius Pettway scores 4 points and makes a steal. Neither walk-on misses a shot.

And a good time was had by all.
Record: 26-4 (15-2).


March 4, 2034
#3 Villanova 92, @#16 Connecticut 71

The six Wildcats who play the most today all score in double figures, as we end our regular season with a victory over a UConn team that's on its way to the Big Dance.

Reed Weisberg knocks down 5 threes and scores 22 points. Chris Woolstenhulme records a pair of 11s: points and rebounds. Ernest Adcock scores 10 points with 6 assists. But the Player of the Game is Mason Reynolds, who fills 26 minutes with 12 points with 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.
Record: 27-4 (16-2).
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Old 02-02-2024, 06:26 PM   #576
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March 9, 2034

Here's how the Big East tournament has gone so far:



There has been exactly one upset so far: the one that eliminated 6 seed Notre Dame.

Big East Tournament Quarterfinal
(1) #2 Villanova 79, (8) Cincinnati 55

Reed Weisberg leads the way with 21 points (5-12 from three) and 7 rebounds as we advance to the semifinals.

Savion Wells adds 13, 9 of which come from the free throw line. Ernest Adcock and reserve Kyle Gribble each contribute 10, and Chris Woolstenhulme hauls in 11 rebounds.

Once again, all the better seeds advance, so we'll face Georgetown next.
Record: 28-4.


March 10, 2034
Big East Tournament Semifinal

Code:
(4) #10 Georgetown 84, (1) #2 Villanova 80 (OT) ---------------------------------------------------------- Georgetown (26-6, 13-5): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Jacody Hinton C 33 3-6 1-2 6 7 2 2 7 Florian Fleurkin PF 39 6-14 5-9 0 5 2 2 17 Oscar Duncan SF 31 5-9 3-5 3 4 1 1 13 Ira Tupper SG 35 6-18 4-4 0 5 4 2 19 DeQuinn Baldwin PG 38 4-9 12-12 1 7 5 1 20 David McDermott PF 15 0-2 0-0 1 7 1 3 0 Frank Murdoch PG 19 0-0 1-2 0 6 1 2 1 Ronald Holcombe C 10 3-3 1-2 0 1 2 3 7 Roy Powe SG 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 19 (J.Hinton 1, F.Fleurkin 1, O.Duncan 2, I.Tupper 3, D.Baldwin 5, D.McDermott 1, F.Murdoch 5, R.Powe 1) Blocked Shots: 8 (J.Hinton 1, F.Fleurkin 4, O.Duncan 1, D.McDermott 2) Steals: 6 (J.Hinton 1, O.Duncan 1, D.Baldwin 1, D.McDermott 1, F.Murdoch 1, R.Holcombe 1) 3P FGs: 3-19 (F.Fleurkin 0-1, O.Duncan 0-1, I.Tupper 3-12, D.Baldwin 0-4, D.McDermott 0-1) Villanova (28-5, 16-2): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Zach Cohen C 23 3-5 0-0 1 6 1 5 6 Savion Wells PF 30 2-5 4-6 0 5 1 3 8 Mason Reynolds SF 32 6-7 3-3 1 4 3 3 19 Reed Weisberg SG 30 4-11 0-0 1 4 2 4 12 Ernest Adcock PG 33 1-10 0-0 1 4 7 4 3 C. Woolstenhulme PF 30 5-13 0-0 6 10 2 2 10 Connor Baxter PG 12 2-3 3-3 0 0 1 1 8 Noah Gardner SG 18 3-10 3-3 0 4 0 3 9 Kyle Gribble PF 13 1-4 3-3 0 0 0 3 5 Charles Peterman SF 3 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 Chris Ramos C 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 22 (Z.Cohen 3, S.Wells 2, M.Reynolds 2, R.Weisberg 4, E.Adcock 5, C.Woolstenhulme 5, C.Peterman 1) Blocked Shots: 5 (Z.Cohen 5) Steals: 7 (M.Reynolds 1, R.Weisberg 1, E.Adcock 3, C.Woolstenhulme 1, C.Baxter 1) 3P FGs: 10-29 (M.Reynolds 4-4, R.Weisberg 4-8, E.Adcock 1-8, C.Baxter 1-2, N.Gardner 0-5, K.Gribble 0-1, C.Peterman 0-1) Player of Game: PG DeQuinn Baldwin (GTOWN)
It had to be Georgetown, didn't it?

We lead, 39-33, at halftime, but we play carelessly in the second half, missing shots we should make and turning the ball over. If you commit 22 turnovers against a team as good as the Hoyas, you're going to lose, and that's what we do.

Still, we have chances to pull out the victory in the end. Kudos to Mason Reynolds for a fine performance under pressure, including a basket with 30 seconds left in regulation that ties the score at 66. The game was still even with 1:08 remaining in the extra period, before DeQuinn Baldwin takes over and puts the game on ice.
Record: 28-5.
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Old 02-02-2024, 09:18 PM   #577
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March 12, 2034

Louisville, who beat Georgetown in the Big East tournament championship, is awarded the top seed in the NCAA East Region. The other one seeds are Stanford, Florida, and Kentucky.

We're seeded second in the South Region, the one that includes Ezra Love's Kentucky team.


March 17, 2034
NCAA South Region
(2) #3 Villanova 88, Liberty 74

The first half is freewheeling, with the teams combining to score 100 points. The second half is grinding, and we manage to do enough to win...despite missing a slew of three-pointers (9-for-29).

Reed Weisberg leads a group of five Wildcats in double figures with 18 points. Reserve Noah Gardner is among them, tossing in 10 in 17 minutes of court time. Zach Cohen supplements his 14 points with 6 rebounds and 6 blocks. The Player of the Game is Mason Reynolds, author of a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double.

Duke beats Tennessee in a 100-99 classic, so we'll face the Blue Devils next.
Record: 29-5.


March 19, 2034
NCAA South Region, Second Round
(2) #3 Villanova 96, (7) Duke 70

We have less trouble with our ACC opponent than we did with a feisty mid-major. Interestingly enough, we and the Blue Devils combine for exactly 100 points, too, but we have 62 of them.

Reed Weisberg knocks down 6 of his 11 three-point shots, all 5 of his two-pointers, and a pair of free throws. That gives him 30 points. Zach Cohen scores 11 points and grabs 14 rebounds, but he doesn't block a single one of the 66 shots Duke players take. That's odd.

Ernest Adcock (13p/5a/4r), Chris Woolstenhulme (12p/4r), Mason Reynolds (8p/7r/6a), and Noah Gardner (11p/4a) each do their part to help us advance to the Sweet Sixteen and give Graham Sims another 30-victory season.
Record: 30-5.


March 23, 2034
NCAA South Region Semifinal: the Sweet Sixteen
(2) #3 Villanova 74, (3) #11 Southern California 56

Joseph Renshaw has huge shoes to fill: those of the magisterial Kenneth Burroughs, who led the Trojans to 605 victories before retiring last May. Taking a team to the Sweet Sixteen is a good start, but we prevent him from going farther with an especially tough defensive effort.

For twenty minutes, the Trojans match us, stop for stop, and we take a 29-27 lead to the break. Then Savion Wells begins to assert himself in the post. He scores 12 of his 14 points in the second half, making all 6 of the shots he takes despite the efforts of John Wood, one of the nation's toughest interior defenders.

Zach Cohen pulls down 10 rebounds and blocks 3 shots. Reed Weisberg posts a double-double, with 17 points and 10 boards. And Mason Reynolds does more than a little of everything: 9 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals...and only 1 turnover.
Record: 31-5.


March 25, 2034
NCAA South Region Final: the Elite Eight

Code:
(1) #1 Kentucky 95, (2) #3 Villanova 87 --------------------------------------------------------- Villanova (31-6, 16-2): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Zach Cohen C 30 3-7 1-1 3 6 3 4 7 Savion Wells PF 25 3-10 3-4 2 3 2 3 9 Mason Reynolds SF 28 4-7 2-2 1 4 5 3 13 Reed Weisberg SG 33 7-10 7-7 0 4 3 2 27 Ernest Adcock PG 32 3-8 3-4 3 6 4 2 10 C. Woolstenhulme PF 25 3-9 2-2 2 5 0 4 9 Connor Baxter PG 4 0-0 1-2 0 0 1 0 1 Noah Gardner SG 13 3-8 2-3 1 2 1 1 9 Kyle Gribble PF 8 1-4 0-0 1 3 0 1 2 Charles Peterman SF 1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 Chris Ramos C 1 0-0 0-0 2 2 0 0 0 Turnovers: 16 (Z.Cohen 3, S.Wells 3, M.Reynolds 2, R.Weisberg 1, E.Adcock 4, C.Woolstenhulme 3) Blocked Shots: 2 (Z.Cohen 1, S.Wells 1) Steals: 9 (Z.Cohen 1, M.Reynolds 3, R.Weisberg 1, E.Adcock 3, C.Baxter 1) 3P FGs: 12-28 (S.Wells 0-1, M.Reynolds 3-5, R.Weisberg 6-9, E.Adcock 1-4, C.Woolstenhulme 1-2, N.Gardner 1-6, K.Gribble 0-1) Kentucky (34-3, 13-3): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Ezra Love C 28 3-4 0-0 5 10 1 1 6 Frank Stanger PF 16 1-4 0-0 0 1 0 4 2 Jack Clary SF 31 10-13 4-7 1 10 2 4 28 Daryl Babcock SG 26 6-12 0-0 1 3 2 4 15 Joaquin Kimura PG 31 6-10 2-3 1 3 11 2 17 Rudy Ober PF 27 4-6 1-2 2 4 2 2 10 Sammy Jamerson PG 15 1-4 0-0 0 3 0 2 3 Ronald Gifford SG 9 2-3 3-4 0 0 1 1 8 Larry Murray C 14 1-3 4-7 1 2 1 1 6 Jason Lefler C 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 1 0 Robert Thorne PF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 17 (E.Love 2, F.Stanger 4, J.Clary 4, D.Babcock 2, J.Kimura 3, R.Ober 1, S.Jamerson 1) Blocked Shots: 4 (E.Love 2, R.Ober 2) Steals: 5 (E.Love 1, F.Stanger 1, D.Babcock 1, J.Kimura 1, R.Ober 1) 3P FGs: 13-28 (J.Clary 4-5, D.Babcock 3-9, J.Kimura 3-6, R.Ober 1-3, S.Jamerson 1-4, R.Gifford 1-1) Player of Game: SF Jack Clary (KY)
When I saw the NCAA tournament brackets, I was both excited and dismayed about the fact Villanova's road to the Final Four went through Kentucky. I thought another matchup with Ezra Love, before he almost certainly turns pro, might be fun. I also thought it would probably end Villanova's season.

This feels like Kentucky's year. They maintain a lead of six to ten points throughout the game. We're never out of it, but we're never truly in it, either.

Graham Sims shares quiet moments with each of his seniors as he substitutes for them in the game's closing minutes. Each of them, from walk-ons to players who started over a hundred games, have contributed to the program in their own ways.

Another player who has likely played his final collegiate game, Zach Cohen, battles with his opposite number, Ezra Love. Both men acquit themselves well.

Kentucky next faces another Big East foe: West Virginia, one of two 10 seeds to reach the Final Four. Boston College faces the other, UNLV.
Record: 31-6.
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Old 02-02-2024, 09:46 PM   #578
MoonlightGraham
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April 3, 2034

As it turned out, it wasn't Kentucky's year, either. The Wildcats lost to West Virginia, 82-65, in the national semifinal. Ezra Love fouled out after 20 minutes, but he packed those minutes with action. He scored only 4 points, but he grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked 5 shots.

Boston College defeats West Virginia in the championship game today by a 77-74 score. Sam Marshall scores 23 points and snares 7 rebounds to earn Player of the Game honors.

After the game, Zach Cohen announces he will be leaving Villanova to enter the professional draft. Among the other juniors who are turning pro early are Boston College's Sam Marshall, Stanford's Chadwick Steinmetz, Georgetown's DeQuinn Baldwin and Jacody Hinton, Pitt's Reggie Johnson...and Kentucky's Ezra Love.

Code:
2033 BIG EAST AWARDS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Player of the Year: JR PG DeQuinn Baldwin Georgetown 17.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 6.0 APG 1.5 SPG, 0.2 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR SF Mason Reynolds Villanova 12.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 3.6 APG 1.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG Coach of the Year: Graham Sims Villanova 31 - 6 (16 - 2) All-league 1st Team: C JR Reggie Johnson Pittsburgh 14.3 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 2.1 APG, 0.8 SPG, 1.0 BPG PF SR Thaddeus Boudreaux Pittsburgh 16.4 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.4 SPG, 3.5 BPG SF SR Jonathan Newton Louisville 21.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG SR Noble Burwell Notre Dame 15.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 2.8 APG, 2.1 SPG, 0.6 BPG PG JR DeQuinn Baldwin Georgetown 17.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 6.0 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.2 BPG All-league 2nd Team: C SR Gerry Bristow Louisville 8.5 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.6 SPG, 2.7 BPG PF SR Nathaniel Bradshaw Providence 8.3 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 2.3 APG, 0.5 SPG, 3.1 BPG SF FR Mason Reynolds Villanova 12.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG SR Reed Weisberg Villanova 17.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.1 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG SR Devin Collum Louisville 10.2 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 5.3 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.3 BPG All-freshman Team: C FR Charles Cunningham Pittsburgh 6.4 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.3 SPG, 1.5 BPG PF FR Randell Manley Connecticut 3.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.4 SPG, 1.0 BPG SF FR Mason Reynolds Villanova 12.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG FR John Warren Pittsburgh 9.9 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG FR Matthew Wortman Providence 10.2 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 2.7 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.3 BPG

No Villanova player earned national honors this season. I thought Mason Reynolds might stand a chance, but he lost out to Kentucky's Jack Clary, who was a second team All-American. No shame there.

Mason's fine season does earn him some well-deserved accolades at the Big East level. And it's wonderful to see Reed Weisberg on the Big East honors list, after both his junior and senior seasons were marred by injury.

The Coach of the Year Award is Graham Sims' third Big East prize, and his tenth overall.
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Old 02-02-2024, 11:33 PM   #579
MoonlightGraham
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April 3, 2034

Code:
#3 VILLANOVA TEAM INFO Current Performance -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team Prestige: 100 Record Vs 1-50: 16-5 Poll Rank: #3 Season Record: 31-6 Record Vs 51-100: 2-0 RPI Rank: #1 Conference Record: 16-2 Record Vs 101-200: 7-1 Home Record: 16-1 Record Vs 200+: 6-0 Team Stats CR NR Opp. Stats CR NR Margin CR NR -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Points 79.8 1 7 Points 62.7 4 23 Points 17.1 1 4 O.Reb 13.4 1 10 O.Reb 9.6 5 62 O.Reb 3.8 1 9 D.Reb 29.5 2 2 D.Reb 23.6 3 72 D.Reb 5.9 1 2 Rebounds 42.9 1 1 Rebounds 33.2 3 44 Rebounds 9.7 1 1 Assists 17.2 1 12 Assists 13.8 10 256 Assists 3.4 4 16 Steals 5.3 11 196 Steals 5.3 5 113 Steals 0.0 9 156 Blocks 6.0 7 17 Blocks 4.6 10 333 Blocks 1.4 8 55 Turnovers 12.9 2 89 Turnovers 14.2 10 103 Turnovers -1.3 6 84 Fouls 16.9 4 15 Fouls 19.4 5 187 Fouls -2.5 4 24 FG% .447 4 49 FG% .380 2 2 FG% .067 2 8 FT% .752 1 2 FT% .678 7 199 FT% .074 1 8 3P% .377 2 35 3P% .315 1 56 3P% .062 2 17 PPS 1.31 1 34 PPS 1.08 2 3 PPS .226 1 3 Adj. FG% .517 2 41 Adj. FG% .438 1 4 Adj. FG% .078 2 8

We were an extremely good rebounding team, a very good defensive team, and a good offensive team, despite injuries to two dynamic offensive players.

Our offensive efficiency (111.1) and defensive efficiency (87.8) both ranked sixth in the nation.

Code:
#3 VILLANOVA Averages Player Pos GP GS Min Pts Orb Reb Ast Stl Blk To Fls +/- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zach Cohen C 37 37 29.5 7.9 3.0 10.1 1.5 0.4 3.2 1.2 1.6 14.4 Ernest Adcock PG 22 20 29.2 8.9 0.8 3.2 4.6 1.8 0.1 2.1 2.0 12.8 Reed Weisberg SG 22 21 28.5 17.6 0.6 4.7 2.1 0.5 0.1 2.6 2.5 12.2 Mason Reynolds SF 37 35 28.4 12.2 2.0 5.7 3.6 1.3 0.2 1.5 2.0 13.2 Savion Wells PF 37 36 25.3 12.2 2.1 6.3 1.5 0.4 0.5 1.4 2.7 11.7 Chris Woolstenhulme PF 37 0 23.9 9.9 2.0 6.7 1.4 0.3 0.9 1.7 2.3 10.3 Noah Gardner SF 37 18 20.6 10.8 1.5 4.0 1.7 0.6 0.2 1.9 2.3 9.3 Connor Baxter PG 37 17 17.6 5.6 0.6 1.4 2.1 0.5 0.1 1.1 1.3 7.9 Trey Partridge PG 16 0 15.8 5.1 0.8 2.3 1.6 0.5 0.2 0.9 1.0 5.5 Kyle Gribble PF 31 0 9.2 2.7 0.6 1.9 0.5 0.1 0.2 0.5 1.2 0.6 Chris Ramos C 32 1 4.4 0.6 0.3 1.2 0.2 0.1 0.7 0.2 0.3 2.1 Darius Pettway SF 13 0 3.3 1.2 0.1 0.7 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.2 0.4 -0.4 Charles Peterman SF 16 0 3.2 0.4 0.1 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.5 -0.1 William Collins PF 3 0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.7

Code:
#3 VILLANOVA Totals Player Pos GP GS Min Pts Orb Reb Ast Stl Blk To Fls +/- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zach Cohen C 37 37 1090 292 112 373 54 13 117 46 60 533 Ernest Adcock PG 22 20 643 195 18 71 102 39 2 47 44 282 Reed Weisberg SG 22 21 628 387 13 103 47 11 3 58 54 268 Mason Reynolds SF 37 35 1049 450 73 211 135 48 7 56 73 489 Savion Wells PF 37 36 936 452 79 234 56 16 19 50 101 433 Chris Woolstenhulme PF 37 0 886 365 74 248 51 12 34 63 84 381 Noah Gardner SF 37 18 763 398 56 148 64 22 6 71 85 343 Connor Baxter PG 37 17 652 206 24 50 79 18 4 39 47 291 Trey Partridge PG 16 0 252 82 13 36 25 8 3 15 16 88 Kyle Gribble PF 31 0 284 84 20 58 15 4 5 17 38 20 Chris Ramos C 32 1 141 20 11 39 5 3 21 6 8 66 Darius Pettway SF 13 0 43 16 1 9 2 1 0 2 5 -5 Charles Peterman SF 16 0 51 7 1 8 0 0 0 7 8 -1 William Collins PF 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2

Code:
#3 VILLANOVA Shooting Player Pos Fgm Fga Fg% Ftm Fta Ft% 3pm 3pa 3p% PPS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zach Cohen C 116 264 .439 60 93 .645 0 1 .000 1.11 Ernest Adcock PG 65 151 .430 40 45 .889 25 86 .291 1.29 Reed Weisberg SG 123 278 .442 52 59 .881 89 213 .418 1.39 Mason Reynolds SF 155 323 .480 62 81 .765 78 188 .415 1.39 Savion Wells PF 155 316 .491 142 205 .693 0 2 .000 1.43 Chris Woolstenhulme PF 131 306 .428 100 127 .787 3 6 .500 1.19 Noah Gardner SF 132 291 .454 69 87 .793 65 167 .389 1.37 Connor Baxter PG 65 162 .401 48 62 .774 28 93 .301 1.27 Trey Partridge PG 27 64 .422 14 19 .737 14 38 .368 1.28 Kyle Gribble PF 28 75 .373 17 21 .810 11 31 .355 1.12 Chris Ramos C 7 11 .636 6 11 .545 0 0 .000 1.82 Darius Pettway SF 6 11 .545 4 6 .667 0 0 .000 1.45 Charles Peterman SF 2 10 .200 3 4 .750 0 5 .000 0.70 William Collins PF 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 0.00

I like how balanced this year's team turned out to be. I like the way several players stepped up to cover for their injured teammates. Noah Gardner averaged over 15 PPG as a starter while Reed Weisberg was out. Connor Baxter demonstrated his ability to run the offense while we waited for Ernest Adcock to return to action.

I'll be writing about almost half the team this time around, with a Farewell and five Senior Tributes on the agenda.
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Old 02-03-2024, 10:24 AM   #580
MoonlightGraham
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2033/34 Farewell

ZACH COHEN


These Farewells, which I write for juniors who leave the program for the professional ranks after three years, are bittersweet. I'm sorry to see very good players leave us with a year of eligibility left, but I'm also glad to recognize the fact that they developed enough in their time with us to be such influential players.

Code:
#44 C Zach Cohen - Villanova - Junior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-10 Weight: 226 High School: Edison High School Hometown: Edison, NJ Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 69 48 24 20 19 28 87 92 60 12 11 90 26 100 44 57 2032: 67 45 22 20 18 26 75 80 49 11 10 76 25 97 43 43 2031: 61 42 20 20 17 24 67 72 41 10 9 65 24 94 43 33 2030: 55 40 18 19 15 22 61 66 33 10 9 53 22 82 43 1 Potential: B C D F D D A A B F F A Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 64 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2031 36 8 13.2 2.8 1.6 4.4 0.5 0.6 0.74 0.3 0.3 1.2 2032 39 39 24.6 8.0 2.0 6.8 1.1 1.2 0.91 0.3 1.9 2.4 2033 37 37 29.5 7.9 3.0 10.1 1.5 1.2 1.17 0.4 3.2 1.6 Career 112 84 22.6 6.3 2.2 7.1 1.0 1.0 1.17 0.3 1.8 1.8 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2031 1.1 2.8 .402 0.5 0.9 .559 0.0 0.1 .250 1.00 4.17 2032 3.5 6.6 .527 1.0 2.0 .500 0.1 0.1 .400 1.21 11.26 2033 3.1 7.1 .439 1.6 2.5 .645 0.0 0.0 .000 1.11 14.41 Career 2.6 5.6 .469 1.1 1.8 .576 0.0 0.1 .300 1.13 10.02 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2031 36 8 476 102 59 158 17 23 9 12 44 2032 39 39 960 311 78 264 43 47 12 76 92 2033 37 37 1090 292 112 373 54 46 13 117 60 Career 112 84 2526 705 249 795 114 116 34 205 196 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2031 41 102 19 34 1 4 150 2032 135 256 39 78 2 5 439 2033 116 264 60 93 0 1 533 Career 292 622 118 205 3 10 1122 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 22 11 20 3 2 8 4 10 13 7 9 0 1 Career 22 11 20 3 2 8 4 10 15 7 9 1 2 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 6 2030 High School: Rated **** and #23 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2030 High School: All-State (New Jersey)

I'm a little surprised that Zach Cohen decided to leave early. I thought he'd be a four-year guy when I recruited him. And, while he saw significant playing time as a freshman and started for two years--on excellent teams--he never earned a post-season honor, and he doesn't have an NCAA championship ring. Zach is leaving things on his "to-do" list as he leaves the Main Line.

Still, his body of work is that of an impact player. An excellent rebounder and shot blocker, he's sixth and fifth in those categories all-time at Villanova, respectively. And I can't always figure out if players who suited up before Graham Sims came to Villanova played for three or four years. For example, I know that two of the five players with more career rebounds than Zach played four years. I'm almost positive a third player did, too. Avery Sullivan and Lowell Welter, whom Graham coached, are the only players I know to grab more rebounds than Zach in three seasons. And, with another typical year, Zach would move to the top of the leader board.

While I wish he'd return for a fourth season, I'm grateful for the contributions Zach made in the three years he was here. I hope he goes on to a long and productive professional career.

Thanks for the memories, Zach.
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Old 02-03-2024, 10:43 AM   #581
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
2033/34 Senior Tribute

DARIUS PETTWAY


There's something very special about a player who plays four seasons as a walk-on. A man who takes a redshirt so he can be a part of our team for a fifth year is even more special. That's what Darius Pettway did.

Code:
#23 SF Darius Pettway - Villanova - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-8 Weight: 244 High School: Copenhagen High School Hometown: Copenhagen, NY Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 57 51 53 18 57 29 16 28 26 20 25 34 48 66 48 93 2032: 57 48 51 18 55 28 16 27 25 19 24 33 47 64 48 88 2031: 56 45 49 18 53 27 15 26 24 18 23 32 47 62 47 83 2030: 55 41 46 17 51 26 14 25 23 17 22 31 46 60 47 78 2029: 54 38 44 16 49 25 13 24 22 16 21 30 46 58 46 73 2028: 50 32 40 14 45 23 11 22 20 14 19 28 43 48 45 57 Potential: C B C F C D F C D D D C Health: Good Scholarship: No Status: Active Roster Academics: 29 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2029 7 0 2.0 0.9 0.4 0.4 0.0 0.1 0.00 0.1 0.0 0.1 2030 1 0 6.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00 0.0 0.0 1.0 2032 17 0 3.2 1.4 0.2 0.5 0.1 0.2 0.25 0.1 0.1 0.4 2033 13 0 3.3 1.2 0.1 0.7 0.2 0.2 1.00 0.1 0.0 0.4 Career 38 0 3.1 1.2 0.2 0.6 0.1 0.2 1.00 0.1 0.1 0.4 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2029 0.3 0.7 .400 0.3 0.3 1.000 0.0 0.1 .000 1.20 -0.57 2030 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.0 .000 0.00 0.00 2032 0.5 0.9 .563 0.3 0.4 .714 0.0 0.0 .000 1.44 -0.88 2033 0.5 0.8 .545 0.3 0.5 .667 0.0 0.0 .000 1.45 -0.38 Career 0.4 0.8 .531 0.3 0.4 .733 0.0 0.0 .000 1.41 -0.63 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2029 7 0 14 6 3 3 0 1 1 0 1 2030 1 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2032 17 0 55 23 3 9 1 4 1 2 7 2033 13 0 43 16 1 9 2 2 1 0 5 Career 38 0 118 45 7 21 3 7 3 2 14 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2029 2 5 2 2 0 1 -4 2030 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2032 9 16 5 7 0 0 -15 2033 6 11 4 6 0 0 -5 Career 17 32 11 15 0 1 -24 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 4 1 3 1 1 0 1 2 2 2 2 0 0 Career 10 2 4 1 1 1 1 3 4 4 4 0 1 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2029 High School: Rated * and #1295 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2029 Walked on at Villanova 2030 NCAA Champion

The tiny village of Copenhagen, New York sends roughly 120 students to school each day in a single school building. It had never seen a basketball player like Darius, who passed up the opportunity to be a star at a Division II or Division III program in order to attend and play basketball for Villanova.

Darius is so shy that he usually lets people mispronounce his name, calling him "DARE-ee-us" rather than correcting them; he and his family pronounce it "Da-RYE-us." Darius was an assertive presence when he appeared on the basketball court, however. He made over half the shots he took during his career, and if you look at his statistics on a per-game basis, he averaged roughly nine points and five rebounds a game. That's a basketball player.

While Darius was providing quality opposition for players like Asher Wise and Savion Wells in practice each day, he was completing a degree in Electrical Engineering. He'll graduate next month, and there is a job waiting for him up the road in Reading.

Thanks for the memories, Darius.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-03-2024 at 10:44 AM.
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Old 02-03-2024, 10:58 AM   #582
MoonlightGraham
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2033/34 Senior Tribute

CHRIS RAMOS


We had two senior walk-ons this season, players who kept earning their jerseys year after year until they are no longer eligible to play. One of them appeared in almost 100 games for us, and averaged nearly six minutes per appearance. If Chris Ramos were an actor, we'd give him a role with a name.

Code:
#34 C Chris Ramos - Villanova - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-10 Weight: 240 High School: Warwick Valley High School Hometown: Warwick, NY Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 14 20 33 0 30 17 67 61 62 25 19 81 21 77 33 80 2032: 13 19 33 0 29 16 61 55 56 24 18 73 20 75 32 73 2031: 12 18 32 0 28 15 57 51 52 23 17 68 19 72 32 64 2030: 11 17 31 0 27 14 52 46 47 22 16 62 18 69 31 54 2029: 9 15 29 0 25 12 44 38 39 20 14 52 17 61 30 28 Potential: F D D F D D B B B D D A Health: Good Scholarship: No Status: Active Roster Academics: 53 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030 26 0 4.3 0.7 0.3 1.0 0.1 0.3 0.29 0.1 0.2 0.5 2031 8 0 3.3 0.3 0.8 0.9 0.3 0.3 1.00 0.0 0.1 0.4 2032 32 0 8.7 1.1 0.5 1.8 0.3 0.4 0.62 0.1 0.8 0.8 2033 32 1 4.4 0.6 0.3 1.2 0.2 0.2 0.83 0.1 0.7 0.3 Career 98 1 5.7 0.8 0.4 1.3 0.2 0.3 0.83 0.1 0.6 0.5 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030 0.2 0.5 .462 0.2 0.3 .667 0.0 0.0 .000 1.38 -0.35 2031 0.1 0.8 .167 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.0 .000 0.33 1.13 2032 0.5 1.1 .429 0.2 0.2 .714 0.0 0.0 .000 1.00 3.09 2033 0.2 0.3 .636 0.2 0.3 .545 0.0 0.0 .000 1.82 2.06 Career 0.3 0.7 .446 0.2 0.3 .630 0.0 0.0 .000 1.15 1.68 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030 26 0 112 18 8 27 2 7 2 6 14 2031 8 0 26 2 6 7 2 2 0 1 3 2032 32 0 279 35 15 59 8 13 3 27 26 2033 32 1 141 20 11 39 5 6 3 21 8 Career 98 1 558 75 40 132 17 28 8 55 51 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030 6 13 6 9 0 0 -9 2031 1 6 0 0 0 0 9 2032 15 35 5 7 0 1 99 2033 7 11 6 11 0 0 66 Career 29 65 17 27 0 1 165 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 3 2 6 3 1 3 2 1 2 2 2 0 0 Career 7 3 6 3 2 5 2 2 4 3 4 0 1 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030 High School: Rated * and #1264 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2030 Walked on at Villanova 2030 NCAA Champion

Chris was a coach's dream: a big, strong player who was willing to work hard to develop his talent as a rebounder, defender, and shot blocker to the point that he was able to challenge young men who would go on to play basketball for a living. As Zach Cohen put it, "if you mess around in practice, Chris will kick your butt. He's a player."

Villanova crowds roared with delight when Chris performed his specialty: blocking shots. He turned back as many as five in a game; as a point of comparison, he never scored more than seven points.

Next month, Chris will receive his degree in Chemistry. He plans to work for a year and study for his MCAT, preparing for medical school and a career as a primary care physician.

Thanks for the memories, Chris.
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Old 02-03-2024, 11:14 AM   #583
MoonlightGraham
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2033/34 Senior Tribute

NOAH GARDNER


The story of Noah Gardner is what happens when I get careless and recruit too many of the same kind of player. At least one of them doesn't get to play very much, and that was the case with Noah for too much of his career.

Code:
#0 SF Noah Gardner - Villanova - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-5 Weight: 214 High School: Abington Friends School Hometown: Jenkintown, PA Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 49 71 68 62 33 28 48 41 31 73 34 24 68 61 81 74 2032: 46 66 63 57 31 26 45 38 29 68 32 22 67 59 80 70 2031: 44 63 60 54 30 25 43 36 28 65 31 21 66 56 80 65 2030: 41 60 57 51 28 23 40 33 27 61 29 20 65 53 79 60 2029: 37 54 51 45 26 21 36 29 25 53 27 18 63 47 77 50 Potential: C B B B C D C C D B C D Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 80 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030 24 0 7.2 3.7 0.5 1.4 0.2 0.5 0.33 0.2 0.1 0.6 2032 39 0 9.5 5.8 0.6 1.6 0.4 1.1 0.36 0.3 0.1 1.1 2033 37 18 20.6 10.8 1.5 4.0 1.7 1.9 0.90 0.6 0.2 2.3 Career 100 18 13.1 7.1 0.9 2.4 0.8 1.3 0.90 0.4 0.1 1.4 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030 1.3 2.7 .469 0.5 0.7 .765 0.7 1.3 .500 1.39 1.13 2032 2.0 3.7 .552 0.7 0.9 .829 1.0 2.2 .476 1.59 4.10 2033 3.6 7.9 .454 1.9 2.4 .793 1.8 4.5 .389 1.37 9.27 Career 2.4 5.0 .484 1.1 1.4 .799 1.2 2.8 .428 1.43 5.30 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030 24 0 172 89 12 33 4 12 5 3 15 2032 39 0 371 227 24 62 16 44 13 2 41 2033 37 18 763 398 56 148 64 71 22 6 85 Career 100 18 1306 714 92 243 84 127 40 11 141 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030 30 64 13 17 16 32 27 2032 79 143 29 35 40 84 160 2033 132 291 69 87 65 167 343 Career 241 498 111 139 121 283 530 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 26 4 9 5 5 1 5 10 20 8 9 6 11 Career 26 4 9 5 5 2 5 10 20 8 9 6 11 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 2 2029 High School: Rated **** and #30 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2029 High School: All-State (Pennsylvania) 2030 NCAA Champion

Noah grew up locally and rooted for Villanova as a boy. He leapt at the chance to play for us, knowing he'd have to wait his turn while another local product, Asher Wise, was around.

But there was another player like Noah in his recruiting class, one you'll meet in a few moments, a player who became a starter his freshman year. Meanwhile, Noah didn't play at all as a sophomore.

To his credit, Noah stuck with us, and he played a key role as a junior. He began his senior season as a starter, and he averaged nearly 16 points a game over that stretch. That's precisely the player I hoped we'd get when I recruited him: a dangerous scorer who could also play solid defense.

Noah is an excellent student who is planning to remain at Villanova and pursue a master's degree in English. He'd like to teach and write and coach some basketball, and he doesn't plan on moving too far away. I suspect we'll see him at quite a few games.

Thanks for the memories, Noah.
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Old 02-03-2024, 11:28 AM   #584
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2033/34 Senior Tribute

ERNEST ADCOCK


When Ernest Adcock was a junior, a radio commentator for a Big East rival called him "the best backup point guard in college basketball." Until his senior year, that's exactly what Ernest was, because of the fact that he was a year behind Justice Stafford. Unfortunately, by the time Justice had moved on to a professional career, Ernest was rehabilitating a knee injury. Sometimes life is very unfair.

Code:
#1 PG Ernest Adcock - Villanova - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-1 Weight: 208 High School: Chesapeake Senior High School Hometown: Pasadena, MD Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 27 81 92 41 66 75 25 26 44 91 65 16 100 34 59 80 2032: 24 80 88 41 65 71 22 23 39 86 64 15 99 31 58 71 2031: 21 75 83 40 59 65 19 20 36 77 57 14 97 29 58 63 2030: 19 71 79 39 54 60 17 18 33 70 52 13 96 26 58 54 2029: 17 65 73 37 48 54 15 16 29 60 44 11 94 20 57 34 Potential: D B A C B B D D C A B F Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 68 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030 38 2 9.0 2.1 0.4 1.1 0.9 0.9 1.09 0.3 0.0 0.8 2031 37 0 13.3 3.9 0.3 1.1 1.9 0.7 2.67 0.7 0.1 1.4 2032 23 6 21.8 7.0 0.7 2.3 3.6 1.5 2.34 1.0 0.1 2.0 2033 22 20 29.2 8.9 0.8 3.2 4.6 2.1 2.17 1.8 0.1 2.0 Career 120 28 16.5 4.8 0.5 1.7 2.4 1.2 2.17 0.8 0.1 1.4 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030 0.7 1.7 .397 0.4 0.5 .850 0.3 0.9 .324 1.24 0.79 2031 1.2 2.5 .468 1.0 1.3 .776 0.5 1.5 .352 1.54 4.65 2032 2.7 5.8 .470 0.9 1.2 .778 0.6 2.9 .209 1.20 12.17 2033 3.0 6.9 .430 1.8 2.0 .889 1.1 3.9 .291 1.29 12.82 Career 1.6 3.7 .446 1.0 1.2 .823 0.6 2.0 .286 1.31 6.37 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030 38 2 342 78 14 42 36 33 10 0 32 2031 37 0 493 145 12 42 72 27 25 2 51 2032 23 6 502 161 15 54 82 35 24 3 46 2033 22 20 643 195 18 71 102 47 39 2 44 Career 120 28 1980 579 59 209 292 142 98 7 173 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030 25 63 17 20 11 34 30 2031 44 94 38 49 19 54 172 2032 63 134 21 27 14 67 280 2033 65 151 40 45 25 86 282 Career 197 442 116 141 69 241 764 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 16 3 6 10 4 1 6 6 12 7 7 3 8 Career 16 3 6 10 5 2 6 6 13 7 7 3 8 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 1 2029 High School: Rated ***** and #3 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2029 High School: All-State (Maryland) 2029 High School: All-American 2030 NCAA Champion

Mean, small-minded people might call Ernest a "disappointment." A Maryland product, he was a high school All-American and the top-rated point guard in his class. He didn't start a collegiate game until his junior year, and his career numbers, while good, won't turn anyone's head.

Ernest's knee injury prevented him from taking his star turn. Devastatingly quick, Ernest was one of the best on-ball defenders the Big East has seen in years. He could handle the ball, pass it, and shoot it. He wasn't Justice Stafford--no Villanova point guard has ever been--but he was certainly good enough to man the controls for an elite college basketball team.

Ernest will hear his name on Draft Night, probably late in the first round. He's worked tirelessly to rehabilitate his knee, and he appears poised for a significant professional career. He will also have a degree in Global Interdisciplinary Studies in his hand. I hope the universe is kind to Ernest Adcock from now on. He deserves it.

Thanks for the memories, Ernest.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-03-2024 at 11:29 AM.
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Old 02-03-2024, 12:25 PM   #585
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2033/34 Senior Tribute

REED WEISBERG


One look at Reed Weisberg shooting a basketball was all it took to convince Graham Sims. We couldn't pass on those projected A shooting grades, not when he was already rated in the 70s and 80s as a high school senior. Reed was recruited to shoot and score, and shoot and score he did.

Code:
#55 SG Reed Weisberg - Villanova - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-5 Weight: 189 High School: Colonia High School Hometown: Colonia, NJ Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 40 93 93 93 25 8 7 60 27 59 20 51 83 67 57 75 2032: 38 93 92 92 23 8 7 59 25 58 19 48 82 64 57 64 2031: 35 92 91 91 20 8 7 52 22 51 18 43 81 61 56 52 2030: 32 84 89 89 16 8 6 47 19 45 17 38 81 58 56 40 2029: 30 78 83 83 14 6 4 43 17 41 15 34 78 50 53 10 Potential: C A A A D F F C D C D C Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 54 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030 40 40 29.5 15.2 0.8 4.6 2.3 3.4 0.68 0.7 0.3 2.4 2031 37 37 28.4 16.8 0.9 4.8 2.2 2.9 0.76 0.9 0.2 2.2 2032 14 14 25.6 21.9 0.4 4.1 1.6 3.0 0.55 0.7 0.2 2.5 2033 22 21 28.5 17.6 0.6 4.7 2.1 2.6 0.81 0.5 0.1 2.5 Career 113 112 28.5 17.0 0.7 4.6 2.2 3.1 0.81 0.7 0.2 2.4 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030 4.6 10.9 .420 3.0 3.3 .895 3.1 8.0 .386 1.40 10.93 2031 5.4 11.9 .457 2.4 2.7 .889 3.5 9.0 .392 1.41 13.11 2032 7.2 12.6 .571 2.8 3.0 .929 4.6 9.2 .504 1.73 17.86 2033 5.6 12.6 .442 2.4 2.7 .881 4.0 9.7 .418 1.39 12.18 Career 5.4 11.8 .457 2.6 2.9 .895 3.6 8.8 .410 1.44 12.74 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030 40 40 1179 609 31 185 93 137 28 13 97 2031 37 37 1050 621 35 178 82 108 35 9 83 2032 14 14 358 306 5 57 23 42 10 3 35 2033 22 21 628 387 13 103 47 58 11 3 54 Career 113 112 3215 1923 84 523 245 345 84 28 269 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030 183 436 119 133 124 321 437 2031 201 440 88 99 131 334 485 2032 101 177 39 42 65 129 250 2033 123 278 52 59 89 213 268 Career 608 1331 298 333 409 997 1440 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 30 2 10 5 2 1 5 11 18 7 7 8 16 Career 37 4 12 6 3 2 9 12 24 11 13 9 20 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 28 2029 High School: Rated **** and #55 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2030 NCAA Champion 2030 Freshman All-Conference (Big East Conference) 2033 2nd Team All-Conference (Big East Conference)

A lean, 6'5" wing from New Jersey, Reed shot his way into the starting lineup for a team that won the NCAA championship. He spent his sophomore year proving his performance was no fluke, and he took his game to another level during the first two months of his third season. As I said last year, there was no better shooter in college basketball than Reed Weisberg.

Then came the knee injury that ended up robbing Reed of a season's worth of games.

Weisberg's career statistics are superb. He is the second leading all-time scorer in Villanova history, and he ranks 14th in all of the Big East. He's also second in three pointers made and attempted at Villanova. But what if he'd never been injured?

For the sake of this exercise, we will assume Reed wouldn't have turned pro after his third year if he'd been healthy. It's not an unreasonable assumption; he wasn't regarded as one of the top pro prospects in his class at the beginning of his junior year. We'll also assume a healthy Weisberg would have played in every Villanova game. Reed played every game in his career, except for those he lost to his hurt knee.

Reed missed the last 25 games of his junior season, and the first 12 of his senior season. Let's suppose Reed averaged 17 points a game over those 37 games. That's his career average. Now, let's do some math.

At that rate, Reed would have scored 629 points during those missing games. If you add those points to the 1923 he did score, his total becomes 2552. That's considerably more than Jacob Allen's Villanova record of 2073. The Big East record is held by David Sullivan of St. John's, who scored 2573 points in a fabulous career that ended in 2017. Reed would have been one productive game short of that record.

Projecting Reed's three-point basket total provides an even more intriguing result. At his career rate of 3.6 made threes per game, we'd add another 133 to his career total. With 542 triples to his credit, Reed Weisberg would be the most productive three-point shooter in NCAA history.

Sharp eyes might notice that Reed was outscoring his career averages as a junior and a senior, even after his injury, so we're possibly underestimating his totals. However you look at it, it's safe to say we might never again see another shooter like Reed Weisberg.

Reed and his fiancée will be watching the draft at his parents' New Jersey home. If he isn't drafted, Reed will possibly try to sign with a team in Europe. Reed is a citizen of the world; he and his friend, Ernest Adcock, were students together in the Global Interdisciplinary Studies program. His jump shot will travel anywhere in the world.

Thanks for the memories, Reed.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-03-2024 at 12:27 PM.
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Old 02-03-2024, 12:51 PM   #586
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April 8, 2034

Draft Night ends up being a lot of fun for 'Nova Nation. Zach Cohen demonstrates that it was smart of him to bet on his professional prospects, as he's a lottery pick: #8 overall. Not much later, Ernest Adcock hears his name, announced as the #19 choice.

Then, as the draft is nearing completion, Team Weisberg rejoices, as Reed is chosen with the #56 pick.

Zach is the third Big East player to come off the board, following center Reggie Johnson of Pitt (#3) and point guard DeQuinn Baldwin of Georgetown (#8).

However, the happiest news of all is celebrated in the city of Evansville, Indiana. Their favorite basketball son, hard-working Ezra Love of the University of Kentucky, is the #1 pick in the professional draft.

Congratulations to all these players as they begin their professional careers.

Code:
2033 Recruiting Rankings # Team Conference Best Player Rtg 5* 4* 3* 2* 1* ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Kansas Big 12 PF Jerrold Brewer ***** 2 2 1 0 0 2. Texas Christian Mountain West SF Michael Langford ***** 3 1 1 0 0 3. Georgetown Big East SF Brian Bishop ***** 2 1 0 0 0 4. Southern California Pacific-10 SG Felix Livesay ***** 2 2 0 0 0 5. Stanford Pacific-10 SG Clarence Gilson ***** 1 2 1 0 0 6. Oklahoma Big 12 SF Jeremiah Moore ***** 2 1 0 0 0 7. Pittsburgh Big East PG Jack Blankenship **** 0 4 0 0 0 8. Louisville Big East SG Jonathon Larios ***** 2 1 0 0 0 9. Boston College ACC SG Luis Williams ***** 1 0 3 0 0 10. St. John's Big East SF Dusty Ung **** 0 2 2 0 0 11. Villanova Big East PF Charlie Lambert **** 0 3 0 0 0 12. Mississippi SEC C Monte Roos **** 0 3 1 0 0 13. San Diego State Mountain West SG Cornelius Hughes ***** 1 0 3 0 0 14. Missouri Big 12 PF Harold Rosenbaum ***** 1 1 2 0 0 15. UCLA Pacific-10 SG Ismael Vidal ***** 1 1 1 0 0 16. Notre Dame Big East SG Richard Adam **** 0 3 0 0 0 17. Alabama-Birmingham Conference USA SF Iago Gil ***** 1 0 3 0 0 18. Baylor Big 12 SF Lyman Ward ***** 1 1 1 0 0 19. Virginia Tech ACC PG Joseph Cromwell **** 0 1 3 0 0 20. Lafayette Patriot League PG Leroy Velez ***** 1 0 2 0 0

Should we worry that our class of three four-star recruits is considered the fifth-best in the Big East?
Code:
2033 Recruiting Rankings # Team Conference Best Player Rtg 5* 4* 3* 2* 1* ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Georgetown Big East SF Brian Bishop ***** 2 1 0 0 0 7. Pittsburgh Big East PG Jack Blankenship **** 0 4 0 0 0 8. Louisville Big East SG Jonathon Larios ***** 2 1 0 0 0 10. St. John's Big East SF Dusty Ung **** 0 2 2 0 0 11. Villanova Big East PF Charlie Lambert **** 0 3 0 0 0 16. Notre Dame Big East SG Richard Adam **** 0 3 0 0 0 36. Syracuse Big East PG Colin Ratchford **** 0 1 2 0 0 54. West Virginia Big East PF Allan Hagan **** 0 1 1 0 0 73. Rutgers Big East PG Kim Murray **** 0 1 2 0 0 79. Connecticut Big East SF Matthew Palermo **** 0 1 1 1 0 133. DePaul Big East PG Trevor Eagle *** 0 0 3 1 0 135. South Florida Big East SG Jody Bay *** 0 0 2 0 0 141. Seton Hall Big East SF Merlin Smith *** 0 0 3 0 0 145. Providence Big East SG Barton Curcio *** 0 0 2 0 0 187. Cincinnati Big East SF Tony McFall *** 0 0 1 3 0 220. Marquette Big East C Joseph Allen *** 0 0 1 1 0

Georgetown signed two of the top five players in the nation: Brian Bishop (#3) and Timothy Johnson (#5). Pitt's haul of four-star talents include two we looked at closely: Jack Blankenship and Tyrese Russell. I'm still pleased with our guys. All three of them fill roles we needed to fill.

Our Prestige remains at 100, and our budget holds steady at $800,000. The board has announced a facilities upgrade for next year (maybe it read my post about the new Wawa Arena).
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Old 02-03-2024, 01:28 PM   #587
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May 1, 2034

Today comes the news that Wallace Hastings has retired from his position as head coach at Georgetown University. Coach Hastings is only 61, but he has always said he couldn't envision coaching much past his 60th birthday. He retires with a career total of 641 victories, second all-time to Graham Sims' 698.

Then, we learn that Thomas Liang has stepped down from his position at Lafayette! This shocks me. Coach Liang has just completed his second season back on College Hill, where he spent over a dozen years as Graham Sims' lead assistant. His record at Lafayette was 50-18, and while the Leopards were eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament, it's hard to say Coach Liang's tenure was disappointing. The thing that surprises me most, however, is the fact that Coach Liang is so young: he's 57.

Coach Liang is the most successful member of Graham's coaching tree. I can't tell you what his career record was, because he didn't win enough games to make the Top 50, but I know he posted a winning record.

Georgetown offers Graham their job. Nope. I'm flattered by the offer from Vanderbilt, who's also looking for a new man after their incumbent, Jed Settle, retires. But I'm not going anywhere.

There's an excellent coach up for hire this year: Clayton Mintz, who has a 510-256 career record, has been fired by Oregon. I'm thinking either Georgetown, Vanderbilt, or Lafayette will snap him up, but they don't. All three programs go with less established coaches.

Lafayette's new man, Daniel Turcotte, is 54-year-old, journeyman Level 6 coach with a career record of 257-458. He has the third most losses of any coach in history. Georgetown hires promising Clint Grams, 48, fresh off a 27-victory season at Houston. Vanderbilt's new man is Chris Box, formerly at Clemson.

The plot thickens a bit. Graham's veteran Coaching Assistant, Frank Timberlake, decides to retire. When I look at the list of coaches who are seeking positions, I see both Clayton Mintz and Blake Petitford, another veteran coach who's just been fired from the head job at Georgia Tech.

I decide to offer Coach Petitford the job; he's willing to work for much less than Coach Mintz, and his ratings are almost as good. He turns down my offer, however, and ends up accepting one at Kentucky. I don't blame him; the Wildcats offered him about $75,000 more than I did.

We hire Clayton Mintz's lead assistant, instead. He's John Gruber, a 41-year-old Level 5 coach who joined the Oregon staff in 2024. Coach Gruber's rating for Coaching Offense is 53, and his score for Coaching Defense is 86. He'll do just fine. We'll pay him $142,099/year on a three-year contract.
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Old 02-03-2024, 07:21 PM   #588
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July 1, 2034

There's one senior scholarship player on this year's roster: power forward William Collins. However, two of our juniors--Savion Wells and Chris Woolstenhulme--have in the past been identified as future pro draft picks. Both Wells and Woolstenhulme are big men, too.

I cut a lousy walk-on who would probably never go to class, so I can offer two scholarships this season. One will have to be a big man. The other should probably not be a guard, or we'll have a problem with players not getting court time in a year or so.

Across the Delaware River in New Jersey, there's an excellent big man who likes Villanova a lot. We're going to recruit Sebastian Roberts energetically from the start. Sebastian is a high school All-American, a seven-footer who averages 24 points and 12 rebounds per game. He's also an excellent student. We'll take a closer look at him after our evaluation is done.

I'm going to offer Roberts a scholarship right away. I've learned that players don't seem to commit until November 1, so nothing we do this month will be set in stone.

Pennsylvania's Mr. Basketball is Joshua Lee, a 6'7" forward who averages 27 points and 13.5 rebounds. He's a five-star recruit who, despite his state of residence, lists no Pennsylvania schools among his top five. We'll take a close look at Joshua anyway.

I don't usually look much at junior college players, but there's one who intrigues me this time around: 7'2" center Wendell Cairns from Virginia.

We're still evaluating some wing players, including a high-scoring four-star player from Indianapolis, Charlie Sutton. The title of Mr. Basketball means as much in Indiana as it does anywhere, and Charlie currently holds that title. He averages 21 points a game, shooting .517/.423/.958.

Charlie lists North Carolina, Kansas, Kentucky, Boston College, and West Virginia in his top five. He's apparently open to the idea of heading East to play college ball, so we're going to investigate him closely.
This is our initial call list:

Code:
Name Pos Ht Wt Rating Interest State -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sebastian Roberts C 7-0 235 ***** Very High New Jersey Joshua Lee PF 6-7 209 ***** Very High Pennsylvania William Pittman SF 6-5 198 ***** Very High New Jersey Dion Medley C 6-9 202 **** Very High New Jersey Zachariah Brown SF 6-4 194 **** Very High Pennsylvania Burton Brister C 7-0 255 **** Very High Michigan Andrew Jackson PF 6-5 238 **** Very High New York Cornelius Jones PF 6-10 247 **** Very High New York Gregory Spector SG 6-2 204 *** Very High Pennsylvania Jack Norman PG 6-0 190 *** Very High New Jersey Wendell Cairns C 7-2 244 ***** High Virginia Jack Edwards SF 6-6 191 ***** High Pennsylvania Jack Sitton C 6-9 235 ***** High Ohio Taylor Murray PG 6-2 172 ***** High Virginia Bernie Johnson PG 6-2 175 ***** High District of Columbia Lorenzo Merrick SG 6-3 184 ***** High New York John Simon C 7-0 242 **** High Virginia Charlie Sutton SG 6-6 184 **** High Indiana Michael Mancini PG 6-0 175 **** High New Jersey Chris Williams PF 6-9 223 **** High Virginia
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Old 02-03-2024, 09:31 PM   #589
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August 1, 2034

I'm glad I went ahead and offered Sebastian Roberts a scholarship. His high school stats are supported by a solid set of ratings.
Code:
#30 C Sebastian Roberts -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 7-0 Weight: 235 High School: Delaware Valley Regional High School Hometown: Frenchtown, NJ GPA: 3.58 Test Score: 1410 Rating: ***** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 47 44 48 43 28 22 56 81 73 21 14 28 41 61 54 30 Potential: A A C B D D B A B D D C Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24.0 3.0 12.1 2.1 2.6 0.81 1.6 1.6 2.4 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9.9 16.8 .589 3.3 5.3 .613 0.9 2.6 .346 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Current interest in Villanova: Very High Rankings: #12 Overall, #3 C, East Region #4 Overall, East Region #1 C High School Awards: All-State, Mr. Basketball (New Jersey), All American Top 5 Schools: *Villanova, Georgetown, *Lafayette, West Virginia, St. John's
He's also received an offer from Lafayette and their new coach, Daniel Turcotte, but he still prefers us. And he pays the requisite homage to Georgetown, but their new man, Clint Grams, hasn't made him an offer. We're going to invite Sebastian to campus this week, and Coaches Sims and Twombly will visit his family's home.

If we want to bring in another big man, Cornelius Jones might be the one.
Code:
#1 PF Cornelius Jones -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-10 Weight: 247 High School: Middletown High School Hometown: Middletown, NY GPA: 2.66 Test Score: 1120 Rating: **** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 40 21 27 0 6 15 27 42 47 28 35 17 41 79 38 77 Potential: B B D F F D D B B D C C Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20.4 2.2 11.2 1.5 2.9 0.52 2.7 0.9 2.8 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.3 13.7 .608 3.8 8.4 .446 0.0 0.0 .000 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Current interest in Villanova: Very High Rankings: #75 Overall, #15 PF, East Region #19 Overall, East Region #4 PF High School Awards: All-State Top 5 Schools: Villanova, Lafayette, St. John's, Rutgers, American
Cornelius is a productive high school scorer who operates best close to the basket. He's not as polished a player as Sebastian Roberts, but we've identified some potential for growth in his rebounding and defense.

If we want a rim-protecting Blue Collar Man type with an extra helping of offense, there's Virginia's John Simon.
Code:
#44 C John Simon -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 7-0 Weight: 242 High School: St. Anne's-Belfield School Hometown: Charlottesville, VA GPA: 3.12 Test Score: 1280 Rating: **** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 35 19 62 12 34 10 58 56 59 20 12 70 43 70 39 18 Potential: D C B C D F B B B F D A Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20.0 3.7 13.7 1.6 2.1 0.78 1.6 3.8 2.4 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.1 13.9 .583 3.8 6.6 .573 0.1 0.5 .111 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Current interest in Villanova: High Rankings: #48 Overall, #10 C, Southeast Region #15 Overall, Southeast Region #4 C High School Awards: All-State Top 5 Schools: *Wake Forest, West Virginia, Virginia, Georgetown, Villanova
John holds an offer from Wake Forest, and there are schools closer to home who are interested in him. He's from the home of the University of Virginia, and if the Hoos make an offer, he might find it hard to decline.

And, if we want to consider a wing, Will Pittman has attracted our interest.
Code:
#15 SF Will Pittman -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-5 Weight: 198 High School: Bound Brook High School Hometown: Bound Brook, NJ GPA: 2.77 Test Score: 1140 Rating: ***** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 39 44 49 58 37 56 67 26 22 28 56 42 66 50 62 59 Potential: B C A A B C A C D C A B Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10.5 2.7 7.0 3.4 2.7 1.26 4.0 1.7 2.6 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.6 9.3 .492 0.6 1.0 .600 0.8 2.7 .296 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Current interest in Villanova: High Rankings: #6 Overall, #4 SF, East Region #2 Overall, East Region #2 SF High School Awards: All-State Top 5 Schools: Boston College, Villanova, St. John's, Connecticut, North Carolina
Normally a top recruit like Will has at least one or two offers in hand by August. His stats aren't head-turning, but he's athletic and projectable.

Charlie Sutton doesn't show much interest in playing for us, and that's a shame.
Code:
#3 SG Charlie Sutton -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-6 Weight: 184 High School: Decatur Central High School Hometown: Indianapolis, IN GPA: 3.28 Test Score: 1290 Rating: **** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 55 65 73 71 58 28 14 19 14 34 24 12 43 31 38 51 Potential: C B B B B D D D D B C D Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21.1 1.3 5.2 2.8 1.9 1.51 1.4 0.5 2.6 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.5 16.4 .517 1.2 1.2 .958 3.0 7.1 .423 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Current interest in Villanova: Average Rankings: #62 Overall, #13 SG, Midwest Region #12 Overall, Midwest Region #3 SG High School Awards: All-State, Mr. Basketball (Indiana) Top 5 Schools: *Vanderbilt, *Northwestern, North Carolina, *Illinois, Tennessee
It looks like Vanderbilt has the inside track with a player who can step in and provide three-level scoring as a freshman.

After some contemplation, I decide to offer a scholarship to Will Pittman. We'll make a full recruiting pitch to him, bring him to campus, and see what happens.
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Old 02-03-2024, 10:00 PM   #590
MoonlightGraham
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September 1, 2034

Sebastian Roberts has eliminated all but two schools from his list: Villanova and Georgetown. The Hoyas haven't offered him a scholarship, so I like our chances. Perhaps we'll have really good news in two months or so.

Will Pittman's recruiting blows up in August, as four other schools offer him. Among them is Boston College, Will's preferred school. They're also the front-runners for Taylor Murray, a talented point guard from Virginia. Taylor and Will are the #5 and #6 players on the national lists.

We're still leading the Cornelius Jones sweepstakes, although he's been offered a scholarship by Holy Cross.

If I decide two big men are one too many, I might offer that scholarship to Luke Christensen.
Code:
#34 SF Luke Christensen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-7 Weight: 194 High School: St. Joseph's Preparatory School Hometown: Philadelphia, PA GPA: 2.93 Test Score: 1110 Rating: **** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 73 39 66 37 22 12 31 21 33 48 63 27 45 55 46 93 Potential: A A B B D F C C C B A D Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13.2 2.0 6.9 1.1 2.1 0.51 5.0 0.9 2.1 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.8 11.9 .483 1.1 1.8 .629 0.6 2.7 .226 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Current interest in Villanova: Very High Rankings: #40 Overall, #10 SF, East Region #14 Overall, East Region #4 SF High School Awards: None Top 5 Schools: Villanova, St. John's, West Virginia, Kentucky, Pittsburgh
Luke is a lean wing with a sweet jumper and a sense of responsibility on the defensive end of the floor.

Now it's decision time. I have a good feeling about Luke Christensen, so I decide to leave the pursuit of Will Pittman and offer Luke a scholarship. He's already visited campus, and Coaches Sims and Twombly will be visiting again this month.
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Old 02-03-2024, 10:26 PM   #591
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October 1, 2034

While Sebastian Roberts has also expressed interest in West Virginia and Stanford this month, we're still tops on his list...and the only program who's made him a scholarship offer. Do AI coaches concede when they "think" the battle is over? And if they do, is this what they've done with Roberts?

An offer from Kentucky causes them to move up Luke Christensen's list, but only to second place.

Meanwhile, Charlie Sutton lists Villanova as his second choice, behind Vanderbilt. I'm tempted for a moment to take a shot at poaching him, but Charlie is a pure guard. We already have several talented players of the same type on our roster.

Max Bennett and Matt Valentine are promising first year players. Point guards Connor Baxter and Eldon Castanon are point guards, and Trey Partridge is a junior. Mason Reynolds is listed as a small forward, but he's 6'4", and that says "guard" to me.

Luke Christensen looks like he will be a different kind of player, one who's comfortable operating a little closer to the basket sometimes and switching onto bigs when needed. I'm going to stick with Christensen and hope we can secure his commitment soon.
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Old 02-03-2024, 11:13 PM   #592
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November 1, 2034

It's Decision Day, and it's a happy one in 'Nova Nation. Sebastian Roberts and Luke Christensen will be playing their college ball in Wildcat colors.

Christensen is the first to make his commitment. He's the son of Villanova alumni; in fact, his parents knew Graham and Mary Kate Sims as students back at the turn of the century. St. Joseph's Prep is a Jesuit school, and Villanova is an Augustinian university, but Luke ought to be comfortable on campus anyway.

Roberts' good news arrives soon after. Sebastian is an exceptionally good student who plans to take advantage of the educational opportunities he'll receive, even if he pursues a professional basketball career after three years. It's a real possibility for him.

Welcome to the Villanova family, Luke and Sebastian!

A number of other players we recruited make their decisions today, too.
  • Charlie Sutton: Vanderbilt
  • Joshua Lee: Georgetown
  • Jack Edwards and Wendell Cairns: West Virginia
  • Taylor Murray and Will Pittman: Boston College
  • Andrew Jackson: Rutgers
  • John Simon: Wake Forest
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Old 02-04-2024, 01:28 AM   #593
MoonlightGraham
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November 5, 2034

It's time to meet the 2034/35 Villanova Wildcats...
Code:
#5 VILLANOVA General Player # Pos Yr Ht Wt Sch Acd Status Hometown --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trey Partridge 2 PG Jr 5-8 173 Yes 40 OK Warwick, NY Eldon Castanon 4 PG So* 6-3 216 Yes 42 OK Silver Spring, MD Mason Reynolds 5 SF So 6-4 211 Yes 98 OK Alexandria, VA Max Bennett 10 SG Fr 6-2 190 Yes 96 OK Media, PA Kyle Gribble 11 PF So 6-8 223 Yes 92 OK Lakewood, CA Chris Woolstenhulme 12 PF Jr 6-9 232 Yes 78 OK Bryn Mawr, PA Charlie Lambert 14 PF Fr 6-9 225 Yes 64 OK Hyattsville, MD Carroll Wainwright 15 C Fr 6-9 229 No 52 OK Syracuse, NY William Collins 20 PF Sr* 6-5 234 Yes 75 OK Moreauville, LA Connor Baxter 22 PG So 6-2 202 Yes 98 OK Slippery Rock, PA Charles Peterman 25 SF So 6-7 229 Yes 62 Unhappy Thompson, Canada Matt Valentine 31 SG Fr 6-5 197 Yes 36 OK Middletown, DE Erick Sullivan 35 C Fr 6-10 270 No 87 OK Wilmington, DE Savion Wells 41 C Jr 7-0 251 Yes 87 OK Windsor, CT

Here's how training camp went:
Code:
#5 VILLANOVA Training Results Player Ins Jps Fts 3ps Hnd Pas Orb Drb Psd Prd Stl Blk Qkn Str Jmp Sta ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Trey Partridge 1 3 2 1 6 5 1 1 1 3 2 2 1 1 2 12 Eldon Castanon 1 3 2 3 1 4 1 3 0 4 3 1 1 1 0 7 Mason Reynolds 6 7 9 0 7 7 6 6 5 11 7 3 2 4 0 13 Max Bennett 4 8 8 6 6 6 2 2 2 6 4 2 2 4 4 12 Kyle Gribble 8 4 6 3 3 2 6 2 4 1 2 0 2 4 1 15 Chris Woolstenhulme 2 4 1 1 2 2 2 0 2 2 2 2 3 6 0 8 Charlie Lambert 8 4 6 6 2 2 6 8 8 2 2 8 1 10 1 28 Carroll Wainwright 6 4 2 0 4 2 6 6 2 2 2 8 3 10 3 38 William Collins 0 1 0 0 1 1 3 5 1 1 2 3 1 2 1 8 Connor Baxter 3 8 8 1 8 8 2 2 2 8 5 1 1 2 0 5 Charles Peterman 1 2 1 1 3 1 2 1 3 3 3 1 0 2 1 4 Matt Valentine 8 8 4 6 4 4 2 2 4 2 2 2 2 6 1 30 Erick Sullivan 6 2 4 4 2 2 6 10 10 2 2 6 2 10 2 18 Savion Wells 3 5 1 2 2 2 2 0 5 2 2 1 1 8 1 8


Could this really be Graham Sims' ninth season at Villanova? Since he arrived on the Main Line, the Wildcats have a record of 270-33, and a 125-19 mark in Big East play. Sims' teams have won the Big East regular season title and the Big East tournament four times each. Under Sims, they've been to the national championship game five times, and they've won it twice.

This year's team is looking to add to this winning legacy without a senior who has played significant minutes. Its leaders are a pair of junior post players, Savion Wells and Chris Woolstenhulme.

Wells inherits the center position from Zach Cohen, a lottery pick in last April's draft, after starting at the four for two seasons. Savion is one of the team's two leading returning scorers and its second-leading rebounders. We think he can still take a step forward in what is likely his final year at Villanova.

Woolstenhulme moves into the starting lineup this season, after spending most of the last two years as the sixth man. He is a strong, athletic 6'9" forward who is most effective near the basket. Chris's skills complement Savion's well; both can hold their own against strong opponents inside, while Savion can draw his man from the basket with his deceptively good outside shot.

Mason Reynolds was the Big East Freshman of the Year and a second team All-Conference choice. He's undersized for a small forward at 6'4", but his versatile skill set enables him to move inside and out with ease. There is little Reynolds can't do on a basketball court, and he might emerge as one of the best players in the Big East this season.

Point guard Connor Baxter started 17 games as a freshman, and then moved into a reserve role once Ernest Adcock returned from the injured list. Baxter emerges from camp with a more consistent shot, a better sense of what we're trying to do defensively, and a more confident hand on the controls of the offense.

The other guard will be Eldon Castanon, eligible this season after transferring from Lafayette. The powerfully built redshirt sophomore was a high school All-American. Can he live up to that promise with us? He is a good shooter with some range, a slick passer, and a reliable defender.

Freshman Charlie Lambert impressed us with his hard work during camp. Our Villanova teams have generally featured at least one serious threat from three-point distance. There's not a player like that in the starting five, so Lambert's ability to stretch the floor could come in very handy. Kyle Gribble is also available for reserve duty in the frontcourt, and there's a walk-on center, Erick Sullivan, who actually has the potential to be good. Charles Peterman didn't show much improvement after camp, which hurts his chances of making more than cameo appearances.

Trey Partridge, now a junior, has developed into a useful backup guard. He might cede some playing time to freshmen Max Bennett and Matt Valentine as the year goes on. It bodes well for the future if Max and Matt are ready for meaningful minutes.

As I mentioned, this year's Wildcats don't have a player whose reputation as a scorer precedes him. Wells, Woolstenhulme, and Reynolds will be the focal points of the offense, which might be less dependent on long-range shooting than recent Villanova teams have been. It's a young team; Wells, with 75 career starts, has more than twice as many as the next most frequent starter. Only three current Wildcats have played as many as 1000 minutes of college basketball.

The Big East, however, is a fairly young league this year. Among the perennial contenders, West Virginia is the only team that can rely on seasoned players. If our youngsters can play like grown men, we could win 30 games, challenge for another Big East title, and make a deep run in the NCAA tournament. If they can't, it could be a long season.
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Old 02-05-2024, 08:50 AM   #594
MoonlightGraham
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November 9, 2034
Preseason NIT, First Round
(1) #5 Villanova 93, (16) Jacksonville State 88 (OT)

The Gamecocks nearly pull off a stunning upset in the first round of the Preseason NIT.

They lead us, 44-37, at halftime. We rally and take the lead, but we can't pull away from the pesky Gamecocks. Their center, Graham Goetz, scores a basket to tie the score at 77 with 30 seconds left, and on our final possession, he blocks a Chris Woolstenhulme shot to preserve the tie.

Both teams are led in scoring by men named Mason. Mason Zarate, a junior guard, scores 44 points for Jax State. I'm almost positive that's the most an opposing player has ever scored against a Graham Sims team. Our Mason Reynolds finishes with 21, adding 9 rebounds and 6 assists.

Connor Baxter (19p/6r/3a) and Chris Woolstenhulme (14p/8r/2s) reach double figures, and so does sixth man Charlie Lambert, who knocks down 3 triples, scores 16 points, and blocks 4 shots.
Record: 1-0.


November 11, 2034
Preseason NIT Quarterfinal
(1) #5 Villanova 99, (8) Charlotte 58

Today's victory is the 700th of Graham Sims' coaching career. He reaches this milestone early in his 24th season on the bench. His record now stands 700-128.

The game goes much more according to plan. We never expect to win by 40, but it's awfully nice when we do.

Mason Reynolds posts career highs of 30 points and 15 rebounds, and adds 3 steals and a block. Chris Woolstenhulme contributes a double-double (18p/14r/2b). Starting guards Connor Baxter and Eldon Castanon each have 6 assists, and Trey Partridge adds 15 points from the bench.
Record: 2-0.


November 18, 2034
Preseason NIT Semifinals
(1) #5 Villanova 86, (4) #8 Texas 69

We record a quality win over a fine Texas team to advance to the Preseason NIT championship game.

The Longhorns run at our shooters when they spot up behind the three-point line, and for a half, it works quite well. We're ahead by a single point at the break. After the intermission, we concentrate on getting the ball inside with much better results.

We get another excellent game from Mason Reynolds (19p/12r/5a) and near double-doubles from Chris Woolstenhulme (9p/11r) and Savion Wells (15p/8r). Connor Baxter chips in 16 points, and Eldon Castanon has 6 assists and 8 rebounds.


November 20, 2034
Preseason NIT Championship
(10) #22 South Carolina 79, (1) #4 Villanova 78

We lose a heartbreaker, as USC's Clement Linden converts an old style three-point play with two seconds left.

Connor Baxter's 15 points lead a contingent of four Wildcats in double digits, including sixth man Charlie Lambert (11). The Gamecocks make 16 free throws to our 4, and that explains a lot.
Record: 3-1.


November 24, 2034
@#4 Villanova 92, Fairfield 45

We often follow up a loss with a particularly emphatic win, and that's what happens on our Finneran Pavilion opener. A .557/.462/.800 shooting performance is a big key to this result.

Mason Reynolds, held to 7 points by South Carolina, bounces back with 25 tonight. He adds 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals. Eldon Castanon (16p/6a), Connor Baxter (10p/5a), Savion Wells (10p), and Chris Woolstenhulme (10r) all play well, too.
Record: 4-1.


November 28, 2034
@#9 Villanova 85, #21 Lafayette 53

If this were English football, we'd probably call this matchup the Graham Sims Derby. It's usually a better game than this. It's close for a while--we lead 40-33 at halftime--but the Leopards only score 20 points after the intermission, while we tally 45.

Mason Reynolds hits 5 of 10 three-point tries, en route to 23 points. His 9 rebounds and 5 assists are very close to his season averages. Eldon Castanon adds 14 points and 5 helpers. Connor Baxter nearly matches him, with 14 and 4. Chris Woolstenhulme contributes 12 points and 8 rebounds.

We hold Lafayette to 32% shooting, only 4-for-24 from long range.
Record: 5-1.
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Old 02-05-2024, 08:50 AM   #595
MoonlightGraham
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December 2, 2034
#9 Villanova 84, @#18 Vanderbilt 57

All five starters finish in double figures as we travel to Nashville and defeat the Commodores, giving us another road win against a ranked opponent.

Our high scorer is once again Mason Reynolds (15p/7r/2s). He's followed by Savion Wells and Chris Woolstenhulme (12p/6r each), Eldon Castanon (11p/4a) and Connor Baxter (11p). Woolstenhulme blocks 2 shots, and Charlie Lambert adds 9 points and 7 rebounds off the bench.

Our defense limits Vanderbilt to a .333/.346/.444 shooting line, and forces 21 turnovers.
Record: 6-1.


December 8, 2034
@#7 Villanova 98, Gonzaga 75

Behind 25 points from Savion Wells and 21 more from Mason Reynolds, we turn back our visitors from Washington State. Wells adds 9 rebounds, while Reynolds collects 8 rebounds and 4 assists.

Sixth man Charlie Lambert scores 13 points, and Chris Woolstenhulme fills his stat line with 8 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Record: 7-1.


December 12, 2034
@#5 Villanova 97, Davidson 53

It's Connor Baxter's turn to shine, as he reaches a career high with 20 points and hands out 8 assists in a home victory against Davidson.

Savion Wells supports him with a double-double (16p/11r), Mason Reynolds (18p/7r/6a) and Chris Woolstenhulme (16p/4r/2b/2s) are also notably effective.
Record: 8-1.


December 16, 2034
@#5 Villanova 105, Pennsylvania 54

We roll to a 65-29 halftime advantage and coast home from there, in a game against our local rival from the Ivy League.

Savion Wells scores 20 points, claims 5 rebounds, blocks 3 shots, and makes 3 steals. Connor Baxter makes it two straight games with exactly 20 points, adding 6 assists. Mason Reynolds has a double-double (17p/12a/6r); he's now had two different varieties of doubles this year. Chris Woolstenhulme just misses one (15p/9r).
Record: 9-1.


December 26, 2034
@#6 Villanova 100, Buffalo 58
Scoring in triple digits again, we win in decisive fashion on Boxing Day at the Pavilion.

Eldon Castanon wins the PotG award, on the strength of 14 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and 0 turnovers. The award could have gone to Mason Reynolds (19p/7r/7a/1t), or Savion Wells (21p/7r/1s), or Chris Woolstenhulme (12r/6a/2b). We shoot a gaudy .633/.526/.737 and hold the Bulls to 36 percent shooting.

Happy holidays, indeed.
Record: 10-1.


December 30, 2034
@#6 Villanova 101, #25 Virginia 76

Another 100-plus scoring night sends us into the New Year, as we defeat a ranked Virginia team at the Wells Fargo Center. The Cavaliers enter the game with an 11-1 record, just like ours.

Again, a variety of contributions from Mason Reynolds is a big reason why. He combines 20 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals, while committing a single turnover. Savion Wells has a double-double of his own (18p/10r). Chris Woolstenhulme (14p/7r/3b/2s) plays well at both ends of the floor, and freshman Max Bennett scores a career-best 13 points in 15 minutes.

Virginia center Trystan Maddox, whom we recruited heavily, scores 13 and rebounds 12.
Record: 12-1.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-05-2024 at 03:38 PM.
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Old 02-05-2024, 11:14 AM   #596
Chas in Cinti
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Thanks for adding the additional player... adds a bit for me at least...
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Old 02-05-2024, 05:56 PM   #597
MoonlightGraham
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Originally Posted by Chas in Cinti View Post
Thanks for adding the additional player... adds a bit for me at least...

You're welcome! I'm happy to do it. I enjoy following the players you request, too.
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Old 02-07-2024, 09:36 AM   #598
MoonlightGraham
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January 3, 2035
Code:
2034 Big East Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige ---------------------------------------------------------------- #3 Villanova 0 0 .000 12 1 .923 1 100 #5 Louisville 0 0 .000 11 0 1.000 3 89 #1 West Virginia 0 0 .000 11 0 1.000 18 96 #7 Georgetown 0 0 .000 11 1 .917 35 100 #17 Connecticut 0 0 .000 11 0 1.000 44 72 #8 Pittsburgh 0 0 .000 11 1 .917 67 86 #25 Syracuse 0 0 .000 10 1 .909 12 65 Notre Dame 0 0 .000 9 3 .750 61 89 Providence 0 0 .000 8 4 .667 24 71 Rutgers 0 0 .000 8 4 .667 45 73 Cincinnati 0 0 .000 6 5 .545 143 69 South Florida 0 0 .000 5 7 .417 48 66 St. John's 0 0 .000 5 7 .417 157 74 DePaul 0 0 .000 3 9 .250 248 55 Seton Hall 0 0 .000 3 8 .273 279 58 Marquette 0 0 .000 3 9 .250 297 57

At first glance, it looks like the Big East schedule will be another series of heavyweight bouts, one after another. However, after peeking at our rivals' non-conference schedules, it's fair to ask how good some of them really are.

We've played more good teams than any of the other ranked Big East teams. We lost to a South Carolina team that's now 11-3. We beat Texas (14-2), Lafayette (14-2), Virginia (11-3), and a 9-3 Vanderbilt team who have lost to three opponents with an aggregate record of 35-4 and beat a team with 11 wins. The only bad team we've faced is Davidson (3-11).


January 3, 2035
#3 Villanova 77, @South Florida 48

Sunny Florida treats us well, and we open 2035 with a victory that again features relentless defense. USF has only 16 points at halftime.

The Bulls have no answer for Chris Woolstenhulme (16p/9r/3b), and while they hold Mason Reynolds to 10 points, they lose track of Connor Baxter (15p/6a). Eldon Castanon adds 11 points.
Record: 13-1 (1-0).


January 7, 2035
@#7 Georgetown 65, #3 Villanova 56

We lose a rock fight to the Hoyas, a game no basketball purist would want to watch. We make only 4 of 22 three-point tries, and we only make 17 baskets all night.

Savion Wells leads us with 14 points. Connor Baxter finishes with 11, and Eldon Castanon has 10. Both teams miss a lot of shots. We're outrebounded 50-41; Mason Reynolds leads us with 10.
Let's hope this is a one-off, and not what we're going to see throughout the Big East season.
Record: 13-2 (1-1).


January 10, 2035
#5 Villanova 82, @Notre Dame 66

Much better! Chris Woolstenhulme's 18-point, 13-rebound double-double keys a greatly superior performance out in South Bend.

Chris is supported by Mason Reynolds (19p/5r/3a), Eldon Castanon (10p/4a/3s), and especially sixth man Charlie Lambert (13p/9r/3b). Eldon has slotted into the lineup seamlessly after spending a year redshirting, and Charlie is playing the sixth man role in a very Woolstenhulmian manner.
Record: 14-2 (2-1).


January 17, 2035
@#3 Villanova 84, #12 Pittsburgh 64

Pitt has built a very solid young roster, with several players we know well; we recruited some of them when they were high school seniors. We have to play well to beat them, and we do.

Chris Woolstenhulme shoots a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line, accounting for most of the 14 points he combines with 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block. Mason Reynolds (11p/8r/7a), Eldon Castanon (11p/5r/5a) and Charlie Lambert (13p/8r) make varied contributions. Connor Baxter scores 19 to tie Pitt big man Charles Cunningham for top honors.
Record: 16-2 (3-1).
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Old 02-07-2024, 12:50 PM   #599
MoonlightGraham
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January 20, 2035
@#3 Villanova 81, #14 Connecticut 49

I'm expecting to rout a UConn team that enters the game with a perfect 5-0 mark in Big East play, but that's what happens. We delight a big crowd at the Wells Fargo Center with an extremely well-played game.

Our defense holds the Huskies to .276/.286/.688 shooting, which makes winning a lot easier. We are on point offensively, too, with five double-figure scorers.

Player of the Game Savion Wells scores 12 points, claims 8 boards, and rejects 3 shots. He also scores the 1000th point of his Villanova career.
Connor Baxter leads our scorers with 13, adding 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Chris Woolstenhulme (12p/10r/2b), Eldon Castanon (11p/7r) and Charlie Lambert (11p/9r/3b) make an impact, too.
Record: 17-2 (5-1).


January 24, 2035
#3 Villanova 88, @Cincinnati 71

Another big game from big Savion Wells (23p/13r) powers us to victory over the Bearcats.

Mason Reynolds (16p/8r/5a/2b/3s) turns in another of his trademark scoresheet-packing performances. Chris Woolstenhulme posts his fourth double-double of the year (16p/10r). He's tied with Reynolds in that category, one behind team leader Wells. Connor Baxter continues to play well (15p/6r).

We stay on the heels of Louisville in the Big East race. The Cardinals are ranked #2 behind a West Virginia team that's holding on to the #1 position, despite two Big East losses.
Record: 18-2 (6-1).


January 27, 2035
@#3 Villanova 79, Syracuse 72

It's Eldon Castanon's turn to be the star. He scores 19 points, with 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal.

Eldon's backcourt mate, Connor Baxter, scores only 4 points, but he hauls down 6 rebounds and makes 4 steals. Mason Reynolds scores 16, Savion Wells contributes 18, and Charlie Lambert adds 10.
Record: 19-2 (7-1).

Code:
Top 25 # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Villanova (54) 19-2 1781 3 Big East Conference 2. Louisville (17) 19-0 1693 2 Big East Conference 3. Tennessee 17-4 1637 4 Southeastern Conference 4. West Virginia (1) 16-3 1634 1 Big East Conference 5. Stanford 19-3 1431 5 Pacific-10 Conference 6. Kentucky 18-4 1430 9 Southeastern Conference 7. Kansas 18-3 1344 6 Big 12 Conference 8. Memphis 16-3 1265 7 Conference USA 9. New Mexico 18-3 1229 12 Mountain West Conference 10. Washington 17-2 1203 10 Pacific-10 Conference 11. Boston College 17-2 1101 8 Atlantic Coast Conference 12. Texas 17-4 1026 13 Big 12 Conference 13. Georgetown 17-3 964 11 Big East Conference 14. Lafayette 21-3 910 14 Patriot League 15. Pittsburgh 15-5 759 16 Big East Conference 16. Miami 16-4 683 19 Atlantic Coast Conference 17. Texas Christian 18-4 636 17 Mountain West Conference 18. Vanderbilt 15-5 560 18 Southeastern Conference 19. North Carolina 14-4 505 22 Atlantic Coast Conference 20. UCLA 16-5 428 NR Pacific-10 Conference 21. Duke 15-5 312 23 Atlantic Coast Conference 22. Connecticut 16-3 287 15 Big East Conference 23. Cal State Fullerton 19-2 200 21 Big West Conference 24. UNLV 16-5 141 25 Mountain West Conference 25. Florida 15-5 105 NR Southeastern Conference Others Receiving Votes: Ohio State 16-4 53 Big Ten Conference Southern California 13-7 25 Pacific-10 Conference Texas A&M 17-4 23 Big 12 Conference East Carolina 17-4 14 Conference USA Georgia Tech 14-5 5 Atlantic Coast Conference Notre Dame 14-6 5 Big East Conference Houston 15-5 4 Conference USA Tulane 15-5 4 Conference USA Clemson 16-4 2 Atlantic Coast Conference San Francisco 15-5 1 West Coast Conference

A shakeup at the top of the polls brings us back to the top spot. I can't help feeling like there's another loss in our future; we face West Virginia, Louisville, and Georgetown in February, and although we'll play them all at home, running that gauntlet without a misstep will be tough.

Lafayette has put together another very good team, led by a pair of juniors-- center Dani Geisler and shooting guard Chris Willman--whom pro scouts rate very highly.


January 31, 2035
@#1 Villanova 89, Notre Dame 73

Eight Wildcats score at least 7 points tonight, and we complete a sweep of two games against the Fighting Irish.

The high man is Mason Reynolds (18p/6r/3a). Savion Wells completes another double-double (14p/10r), and Eldon Castanon (8p/8r) doesn't miss by much. Charlie Lambert (12) and Connor Baxter (11) score in double digits.
Record: 20-2 (8-1).

We're now at the halfway point of the Big East schedule.


Code:
2034 Big East Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige ------------------------------------------------------------------ #2 Louisville 9 0 1.000 20 0 1.000 7 89 #1 Villanova 8 1 .889 20 2 .909 1 100 #13 Georgetown 7 2 .778 18 3 .857 13 100 #4 West Virginia 6 3 .667 17 3 .850 19 96 Syracuse 5 4 .556 15 5 .750 25 65 Notre Dame 5 4 .556 14 7 .667 43 89 #22 Connecticut 5 4 .556 16 4 .800 15 72 #15 Pittsburgh 5 4 .556 16 5 .762 48 86 Providence 4 5 .444 12 9 .571 41 71 Cincinnati 4 5 .444 10 10 .500 79 69 St. John's 4 5 .444 9 12 .429 80 74 Rutgers 3 6 .333 11 10 .524 91 73 South Florida 2 7 .222 7 14 .333 57 66 Seton Hall 2 7 .222 5 15 .250 170 58 DePaul 2 7 .222 5 16 .238 229 55 Marquette 1 8 .111 4 17 .190 289 57
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Old 02-08-2024, 10:59 AM   #600
MoonlightGraham
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February 3, 2035
@#1 Villanova 80, Marquette 64

Savion Wells continues to demonstrate why pro teams covet him. Tonight he scores 23 points to lead a group of four Wildcats in double figures as we beat Marquette at the Wells Fargo Center.

Wells also leads the team with 11 rebounds. Mason Reynolds finishes with 18 and 9. Eldon Castanon, who's a very good rebounder for a 6'3" guard, hauls in 9 with 6 assists and 2 steals. Chris Woolstenhulme and Connor Baxter each score 12 points.
It's a very solid win that demonstrates our team's balance.
Record: 21-2 (9-1).


February 7, 2035
Code:
#3 West Virginia 94, #1 Villanova 82 --------------------------------------------------------- West Virginia (19-3, 8-3): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Ralph Pitzer C 29 4-6 10-13 4 9 2 4 18 James Garrett PF 32 6-9 4-5 2 14 4 1 16 Luther Turner SF 27 5-8 6-10 1 7 0 4 19 Cardarion Cross SG 32 7-13 6-6 0 2 6 2 25 Linwood Damiano PG 33 3-7 0-1 1 4 6 3 7 Hugh Cull PG 15 0-1 0-0 0 1 2 0 0 Brooks McChesney PG 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Joel Hogan C 14 1-3 2-2 0 4 0 1 4 Larry Red SF 9 2-3 0-0 0 0 0 2 5 Allan Hagan PF 6 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Merlin Odom SF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 16 (R.Pitzer 1, L.Turner 3, C.Cross 3, L.Damiano 6, J.Hogan 1, L.Red 1, A.Hagan 1) Blocked Shots: 11 (R.Pitzer 7, J.Garrett 2, L.Turner 1, L.Damiano 1) Steals: 4 (C.Cross 1, L.Damiano 1, L.Red 2) 3P FGs: 10-20 (L.Turner 3-5, C.Cross 5-9, L.Damiano 1-4, H.Cull 0-1, L.Red 1-1) Villanova (21-3, 9-2): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Savion Wells C 32 4-19 4-6 1 5 2 3 12 C. Woolstenhulme PF 11 1-5 0-0 1 3 2 4 2 Mason Reynolds SF 34 11-18 3-3 7 11 2 5 30 Eldon Castanon SG 28 0-4 2-2 1 3 3 1 2 Connor Baxter PG 30 2-7 0-0 0 1 5 3 5 Charlie Lambert PF 24 5-7 1-3 1 4 1 2 15 Max Bennett SG 16 4-7 0-0 1 1 0 2 9 Trey Partridge PG 4 1-2 0-0 1 1 3 2 2 Kyle Gribble PF 15 1-2 0-0 1 4 0 3 3 Charles Peterman SF 3 1-3 0-0 1 1 0 1 2 Erick Sullivan C 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 12 (S.Wells 3, M.Reynolds 3, E.Castanon 3, C.Lambert 2, M.Bennett 1) Blocked Shots: 4 (C.Woolstenhulme 1, E.Castanon 1, C.Lambert 2) Steals: 6 (M.Reynolds 2, E.Castanon 1, M.Bennett 1, K.Gribble 1, E.Sullivan 1) 3P FGs: 12-29 (M.Reynolds 5-9, E.Castanon 0-4, C.Baxter 1-4, C.Lambert 4-5, M.Bennett 1-3, T.Partridge 0-1, K.Gribble 1-2, C.Peterman 0-1) Player of Game: C Ralph Pitzer (WVU)
Two very good basketball teams, playing a very good game of basketball.

Cardarion Cross and Mason Reynolds both play exceptionally good games, demonstrating their own interpretations of perimeter play. Cross emphasizes creativity tonight, and Reynolds features physicality.

However, it's Ralph Pitzer who makes the difference. He's an excellent shot blocker for a 6'8" player, and his presence frustrates us all night long.

I'd like to think we'll see the Mountaineers again this spring. Maybe we'll have something different to show them.
Record: 21-3 (9-2).


February 10, 2035
#1 Villanova 99, @Seton Hall 72

We don't shoot exceptionally well from long range (9-for-27), but we do almost everything else right as we avenge our loss against the hapless Pirates.

I'll simply paste our half of the box score, so you can see how many Wildcats contributed in how many ways to our victory:
Code:
Villanova (22-3, 10-2): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Savion Wells C 27 3-5 5-12 3 8 4 3 11 C. Woolstenhulme PF 29 5-8 4-6 1 6 3 0 14 Mason Reynolds SF 22 7-12 1-1 1 5 2 4 17 Eldon Castanon SG 19 3-5 2-2 0 3 5 4 10 Connor Baxter PG 30 6-11 3-4 1 4 5 3 18 Charlie Lambert SF 23 1-7 2-2 3 4 0 0 4 Max Bennett SG 19 2-6 4-4 0 0 2 1 10 Trey Partridge PG 5 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 Matt Valentine SG 4 1-2 0-0 1 1 0 0 2 Kyle Gribble PF 16 3-3 3-3 1 5 1 1 9 Charles Peterman SF 5 2-2 0-0 1 2 0 0 4 Turnovers: 14 (S.Wells 3, C.Woolstenhulme 2, M.Reynolds 1, E.Castanon 3, C.Baxter 3, M.Bennett 1, T.Partridge 1) Blocked Shots: 3 (S.Wells 2, C.Woolstenhulme 1) Steals: 5 (S.Wells 1, M.Reynolds 1, E.Castanon 1, M.Bennett 2) 3P FGs: 9-27 (M.Reynolds 2-5, E.Castanon 2-4, C.Baxter 3-7, C.Lambert 0-4, M.Bennett 2-6, M.Valentine 0-1)
Fun stat fact: We're second in the nation in assists per game (21.0), and no player on our team averages more than 4.6 APG. I love how unselfish we are.
Record: 22-3 (10-2).


February 14, 2035
#2 Villanova 89, @St. John's 63

Mason Reynolds' 26 points account for the margin of victory in today's trip to the borough of Queens.

He's supported well by Connor Baxter (17p/7a/5r), Savion Wells (14p/12r), and Chris Woolstenhulme (10p/7r/3b). Max Bennett makes good use of 16 minutes of playing time, scoring 7 points and handing out 4 assists.

We barely exceed our season's field goal percentage (.493 to .491), which ranks third in all of Division I.
Record: 23-3 (11-2).

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-08-2024 at 11:28 AM.
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