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Old 02-08-2024, 12:24 PM   #601
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
February 17, 2035
@#2 Villanova 98, South Florida 59

Behind Savion Wells' 20 points and 11 rebounds, we roll to an easy victory at the Pavilion.

Chris Woolstenhulme and Connor Baxter each score 14 points; Chris adds 8 rebounds and Connor 6 assists. Mason Reynolds and Eldon Castanon post matching 9-point, 7-rebound stat lines. Charlie Lambert contributes 12 points from the bench.

Louisville finally loses (to Cincinnati), so we're now only a game behind them in the Big East race.
Record: 24-3 (12-2).


February 20, 2035
#2 Villanova 82, @DePaul 64

The Blue Demons defend their home court well for 20 minutes, and we lead by 35-33 at the break. As we often do, we take control of the game in the second half.

Chris Woolstenhulme (14p/11r/3b) and Mason Reynolds (20p/8r/2s) are the headliners, and Eldon Castanon (12p/6r) and Connor Baxter (12p) provide quality support. It's an especially big night for Chris, as he scores his 1000th career point.
Record: 25-3 (13-2).


February 24, 2035
Code:
#2 Villanova 80, #4 Louisville 62 --------------------------------------------------------- Louisville (25-2, 14-2): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Carl O'Neill C 25 8-13 5-7 3 7 1 4 21 Claude Welsh PF 29 1-4 0-0 1 7 0 2 2 John Davis SF 23 1-6 3-4 4 7 1 1 5 Clayton Furman SG 22 2-13 1-4 0 1 2 2 5 Raul Barnes PG 31 3-10 2-4 1 2 3 1 8 Jonathon Larios SF 13 0-4 1-2 0 1 2 2 1 Nathan Anderson SG 15 1-4 0-0 0 2 1 1 3 Duane Copper SF 9 2-3 3-4 1 3 0 0 8 Ernest Lewis PG 5 1-1 0-2 0 1 0 0 3 Jerry McCoy PF 15 1-3 0-0 2 4 0 2 2 Sonny Barraza C 11 2-4 0-0 1 2 0 1 4 Jody Allred SF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 9 (C.Furman 4, R.Barnes 2, N.Anderson 2, D.Copper 1) Blocked Shots: 5 (C.O'Neill 2, R.Barnes 1, J.McCoy 2) Steals: 11 (C.O'Neill 1, C.Welsh 1, J.Davis 2, C.Furman 1, R.Barnes 1, J.Larios 2, N.Anderson 2, S.Barraza 1) 3P FGs: 3-21 (J.Davis 0-4, C.Furman 0-8, R.Barnes 0-1, J.Larios 0-2, N.Anderson 1-3, D.Copper 1-1, E.Lewis 1-1, S.Barraza 0-1) Villanova (26-3, 14-2): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Savion Wells C 29 8-15 4-5 3 15 2 2 20 C. Woolstenhulme PF 24 3-7 2-3 2 8 1 3 8 Mason Reynolds SF 17 3-6 0-0 0 2 3 4 7 Eldon Castanon SG 26 4-7 0-0 1 7 7 4 11 Connor Baxter PG 30 5-9 0-1 0 2 6 3 13 Charlie Lambert SF 25 1-2 6-6 0 4 0 2 8 Max Bennett SG 14 0-2 0-0 0 0 1 1 0 Trey Partridge PG 9 1-4 0-0 1 4 0 1 2 Kyle Gribble PF 20 4-7 1-1 3 4 1 2 10 Charles Peterman SF 5 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Erick Sullivan C 2 0-0 1-2 0 1 0 0 1 Turnovers: 17 (S.Wells 2, C.Woolstenhulme 1, M.Reynolds 3, E.Castanon 4, C.Baxter 2, M.Bennett 1, T.Partridge 2, K.Gribble 2) Blocked Shots: 4 (S.Wells 1, C.Woolstenhulme 2, C.Baxter 1) Steals: 4 (E.Castanon 2, C.Baxter 2) 3P FGs: 8-20 (M.Reynolds 1-3, E.Castanon 3-6, C.Baxter 3-5, C.Lambert 0-1, M.Bennett 0-1, T.Partridge 0-1, K.Gribble 1-2, C.Peterman 0-1) Player of Game: C Savion Wells (VLNV)
This game is understandably billed as a clash of Big East titans, but we employ a varied arsenal of weapons to defeat our visitors and take over the Big East lead.

Savion Wells loses the scoring contest to Louisville's excellent senior center, Carl O'Neill, but he grabs a career-high 15 rebounds to decisively win that battle. And our backcourt pair, Eldon Castanon and Connor Baxter, clearly have the edge tonight.

It gets no easier, as we host Georgetown on Senior Night next.
Record: 26-3 (14-2).


February 28, 2035
Code:
#2 Villanova 98, #10 Georgetown 75 --------------------------------------------------------- Georgetown (22-7, 11-6): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Timothy Johnson C 21 3-5 0-0 1 4 0 3 6 David McDermott PF 15 2-2 0-0 1 4 1 4 5 Brian Bishop SF 32 8-21 2-3 4 8 1 4 18 Ira Tupper SG 27 6-20 2-2 3 6 1 3 18 Douglas Wilson PG 22 3-7 0-0 2 4 3 1 8 Frank Murdoch PG 22 2-8 0-0 0 0 1 1 6 Oscar Duncan PF 21 1-4 0-0 0 2 0 0 2 Stanley Bailes C 21 0-1 0-0 0 6 1 4 0 Larry Bolding SF 9 2-6 0-0 0 0 1 2 6 Roy Powe SG 9 2-4 1-1 0 0 2 1 6 Turnovers: 16 (T.Johnson 3, D.McDermott 1, B.Bishop 2, I.Tupper 1, D.Wilson 3, F.Murdoch 1, O.Duncan 2, L.Bolding 2, R.Powe 1) Blocked Shots: 7 (T.Johnson 1, D.McDermott 2, B.Bishop 1, O.Duncan 3) Steals: 7 (T.Johnson 1, B.Bishop 1, F.Murdoch 2, O.Duncan 2, R.Powe 1) 3P FGs: 12-30 (D.McDermott 1-1, I.Tupper 4-14, D.Wilson 2-4, F.Murdoch 2-6, O.Duncan 0-1, L.Bolding 2-3, R.Powe 1-1) Villanova (27-3, 15-2): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Savion Wells C 28 9-16 4-5 4 13 0 1 22 C. Woolstenhulme PF 28 7-12 2-5 1 10 1 0 16 Mason Reynolds SF 33 5-15 4-5 4 13 7 3 15 Eldon Castanon SG 26 4-7 4-6 0 5 6 3 14 Connor Baxter PG 30 2-4 5-6 0 2 5 1 11 Charlie Lambert PF 20 4-7 1-3 2 3 0 0 11 Max Bennett PG 14 0-0 0-0 0 3 1 0 0 Matt Valentine SG 7 2-3 0-0 0 0 3 0 5 Kyle Gribble PF 10 0-0 2-2 2 2 0 0 2 Charles Peterman SF 3 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 William Collins PF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 19 (S.Wells 4, C.Woolstenhulme 2, M.Reynolds 3, E.Castanon 2, C.Baxter 5, C.Lambert 1, M.Bennett 2) Blocked Shots: 6 (S.Wells 1, C.Woolstenhulme 1, C.Lambert 2, M.Bennett 1, C.Peterman 1) Steals: 7 (M.Reynolds 4, E.Castanon 1, C.Baxter 1, K.Gribble 1) 3P FGs: 8-20 (M.Reynolds 1-7, E.Castanon 2-3, C.Baxter 2-3, C.Lambert 2-5, M.Valentine 1-2) Player of Game: SF Mason Reynolds (VLNV)
A triple double-double featuring two men who are almost certainly appearing before their home crowd for the final time tonight! What a way for Savion Wells and Chris Woolstenhulme to punctuate their careers.

Mason Reynolds produces the kind of game that makes me think he's got a great chance of being named the Big East Player of the Year. Louisville's Carl O'Neill averages a double-double, so he is certainly in the running, too...but I love the many ways in which Mason can influence a game.
Record: 27-3 (15-2).


March 3, 2035
#2 Villanova 101, Providence 85

Take a bow, Connor Baxter.

The sophomore point guard posts his first career double-double, scoring 23 points and handing out 11 assists as we secure Villanova's eighth Big East regular season championship. It's the fifth of the Graham Sims era.

Chris Woolstenhulme (14p/11r) completes a double feature of his own. Savion Wells scores 19 points and grabs 7 rebounds. Mason Reynolds adds 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Providence's Grover Moore, a senior who has scored over 2200 points in his collegiate career, leads all scorers with 29.
Record: 28-3 (16-2).

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-08-2024 at 02:33 PM.
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Old 02-08-2024, 02:45 PM   #602
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
March 8, 2035

The Big East tournament looks like this so far:



Big East Tournament, First Round
(1) #1 Villanova 68, (8) #17 Pittsburgh 64

Every game in the Big East tournament is tough. The Panthers prove this, taking a 33-28 halftime lead and giving us every bit as much as we can handle.

We survive double-doubles from Pitt guards John Warren and James Holler behind 17 points from Connor Baxter, 14 from Mason Reynolds, and 10 from Chris Woolstenhulme. Chris and Savion Wells both grab 9 rebounds.

Mason Reynolds becomes the third Wildcat to score his 1000th career point this year.
Record: 29-3.


March 9, 2035
Big East Tournament Semifinal
(4) #13 Georgetown 82, (1) #1 Villanova 66

The Hoyas cast another spell on us in the Big East tourney, eliminating us with relative ease.

Freshman Brian Bishop, whom we recruited, lights us up for 22 points and 9 rebounds. For us, Savion Wells drops a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double, Eldon Castanon scores a career-best 21 points, Connor Baxter hands out 10 assists, and Mason Reynolds scores 10 points.

We might have just cost ourselves a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Record: 29-4.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-08-2024 at 04:12 PM.
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Old 02-08-2024, 04:11 PM   #603
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
March 11, 2035

Georgetown defeated Louisville to win the Big East tournament yesterday. Despite our loss in the semifinals, we keep the #1 spot in the media poll and remain a top seed in the NCAA brackets. We're off to the South Region; the other one seeds will be Kentucky, Louisville, and Boston College.


March 15, 2035
NCAA South Region, First Round
(1) #1 Villanova 88, (16) Eastern Kentucky 85

The focus of the college basketball world turns to our game, where the winner of a play-in game leads the top team in the nation by five points at halftime and widens that lead to 12 by the 12:00 media timeout of the second half.

We don't draw even until Connor Baxter is fouled attempting a three-pointer and drains all three shots to make the score 82-82...with 2:33 remaining. Mason Reynolds gives us our FIRST LEAD OF THE GAME shortly after, when he knocks down a triple.

Reynolds finishes with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. Savion Wells scores 16, and Chris Woolstenhulme grabs 12 rebounds and scores 7 points.
Record: 30-4.


March 17, 2035
NCAA South Region, Second Round
(1) #1 Villanova 85, (9) Louisiana State 67

The Tigers defeated Lafayette in the first round, but fail to knock off the other program associated with Coach Graham Sims in the second one.

Mason Reynolds (22p/11r/2s) makes sure of that, with help from Chris Woolstenhulme (14p), Savion Wells (11p/6r), Connor Baxter (11p/6a), and Eldon Castanon (10p/6a).
Record: 31-3.


March 23, 2035
NCAA South Region Semifinal: the Sweet Sixteen
(1) #1 Villanova 92, (5) #23 Georgia Tech 86

Code:
--------------------------------------------------------- Georgia Tech (26-10, 9-7): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Ronald Palm C 20 4-8 2-2 1 5 3 5 10 Engelbert Ohrlein PF 24 4-8 0-1 0 7 0 5 8 Chris Cloyd SF 26 8-14 2-3 1 4 2 3 21 R. Crutchfield SG 13 6-7 0-0 0 4 2 4 16 Joseph Doyle PG 36 5-6 0-0 1 3 11 3 14 Thomas Talavera C 24 1-3 0-0 1 3 0 0 2 C. Kirkpatrick SG 28 1-8 2-2 1 3 1 2 5 Royal Barboza PG 6 0-2 0-2 0 0 1 0 0 Nelson Bonney SF 10 1-2 4-4 0 2 0 0 6 C. Gallagher PF 11 1-4 2-2 2 3 1 0 4 Glenn Bracken PF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 15 (C.Cloyd 1, R.Crutchfield 1, J.Doyle 8, T.Talavera 1, C.Kirkpatrick 3, N.Bonney 1) Blocked Shots: 6 (R.Palm 3, E.Ohrlein 1, T.Talavera 2) Steals: 3 (J.Doyle 2, T.Talavera 1) 3P FGs: 12-25 (C.Cloyd 3-6, R.Crutchfield 4-5, J.Doyle 4-5, T.Talavera 0-1, C.Kirkpatrick 1-6, R.Barboza 0-1, C.Gallagher 0-1) Villanova (32-4, 16-2): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Savion Wells C 29 7-10 5-10 1 3 2 2 19 C. Woolstenhulme PF 29 6-11 2-2 4 11 2 2 14 Mason Reynolds SF 36 1-8 2-2 0 4 5 3 5 Eldon Castanon SG 26 1-3 0-2 2 5 5 3 2 Connor Baxter PG 32 6-10 0-0 1 4 8 3 16 Charlie Lambert PF 20 10-13 1-2 0 4 1 2 27 Matt Valentine SG 13 2-5 4-5 0 3 3 1 8 Max Bennett PG 4 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Kyle Gribble PF 9 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 0 1 Charles Peterman SF 1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 Turnovers: 13 (S.Wells 1, C.Woolstenhulme 2, M.Reynolds 4, E.Castanon 1, C.Baxter 2, C.Lambert 2, K.Gribble 1) Blocked Shots: 2 (S.Wells 1, C.Woolstenhulme 1) Steals: 3 (C.Woolstenhulme 1, C.Lambert 1, M.Valentine 1) 3P FGs: 11-21 (M.Reynolds 1-3, E.Castanon 0-2, C.Baxter 4-6, C.Lambert 6-8, M.Valentine 0-2) Player of Game: SF Charlie Lambert (VLNV)
Welcome to Villanova basketball lore, Charlie Lambert.

In 20 minutes of playing time, the freshman sixth man sinks 6 three-pointers and racks up 27 points. The Yellowjackets do a fine job of containing Mason Reynolds, but we simply find another way to win the game.
Record: 32-3.


March 25, 2035
NCAA South Region Final: the Elite Eight
(6) Connecticut 75, (1) #1 Villanova 60

Back in January, we beat the Huskies 81-49. Tonight, they get their revenge, and then some. We never pose a serious threat to UConn's chances tonight. We simply don't play well, and they do.

Chris Woolstenhulme (most likely) ends his Villanova career with a very typical performance: a solid 11 points and 11 rebounds. Savion Wells scores 12 points, grabs 6 rebounds, and blocks 2 shots in (probably) his last game as a Wildcat. Mason Reynolds will be back; he finishes the season with a 15-point, 6-rebound, 3-assist, 4-steal game. Connor Baxter (11p/4a/3s) and Eldon Castanon (7p/4s) acquit themselves well.
Record: 32-5.
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Old 02-08-2024, 04:36 PM   #604
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
April 1, 2035

Recruit Sebastian Roberts starts and scores 11 points for the victorious East team in their 114-106 victory over the West in the High School All-American Game.


April 2, 2035
Pittsburgh brings the NCAA championship back to the Big East with a 72-48 romp over Memphis tonight. Congratulations to coach Blaine Boyd, a contemporary of Graham's, on his first national title.

As we expected, Savion Wells and Chris Woolstenhulme will enter next month's professional draft. Savion is considered the best draft prospect in the Big East, and will almost certainly be a lottery pick. Chris, too, might hear his name called in the top half of the first round.

Code:
2034 OVERALL AWARDS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Player of the Year: SO SF Jack Clary Kentucky 23.6 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2.1 APG 1.3 SPG, 0.3 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR SF Brian Bishop Georgetown 15.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.8 APG 1.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG Coach of the Year: Robert Dyer Memphis 34 - 4 (15 - 1) All-league 1st Team: C JR Douglas Lupo Wichita State 17.5 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.7 SPG, 2.4 BPG PF JR Lyman Thompson Drake 18.2 PPG, 12.9 RPG, 2.3 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.4 BPG SF SO Jack Clary Kentucky 23.6 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.3 BPG SG JR Cody Gonzales Kansas 17.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 4.5 APG, 2.9 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG JR Gary Melo Miami 10.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 6.8 APG, 2.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-league 2nd Team: C SR Carl O'Neill Louisville 13.3 PPG, 11.4 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.4 SPG, 3.1 BPG PF SR Arlie Collins San Francisco 8.8 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.4 SPG, 3.6 BPG SF SO Mason Reynolds Villanova 16.4 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.3 BPG SG SR Grover Moore Providence 20.0 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 3.4 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.3 BPG PG JR Jackson Hemphill Texas Christian 8.4 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 7.7 APG, 2.2 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-league 3rd Team: C SR Ralph Pitzer West Virginia 14.8 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.4 SPG, 3.6 BPG PF SR Britt Friedman Milwaukee 12.4 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.0 SPG, 1.8 BPG SF SO Cody Nieves UNLV 20.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.0 BPG SG SO Gayle Gonzalez Purdue 21.4 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG SR Gerald Brough Boston College 20.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.3 BPG All-freshman Team: C FR Jerrold Brewer Kansas 4.8 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.4 SPG, 1.4 BPG PF FR Delbert Lake IUPUI 11.3 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG SF FR Brian Bishop Georgetown 15.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG FR Jonathan Gilkey Texas Christian 14.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG FR Leroy Velez Lafayette 6.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3.9 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.3 BPG
I was hoping Mason Reynolds' consistently excellent all-around play would earn him some All-American recognition. He's a fine choice for the second team, behind the dynamic Jack Clary of Kentucky.

Here's the list I was really looking forward to seeing.
Code:
2034 BIG EAST AWARDS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Player of the Year: SO SF Mason Reynolds Villanova 16.4 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 4.3 APG 1.4 SPG, 0.3 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR SF Brian Bishop Georgetown 15.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.8 APG 1.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG Coach of the Year: Stewart Gill Louisville 31 - 5 (15 - 3) All-league 1st Team: C SR Carl O'Neill Louisville 13.3 PPG, 11.4 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.4 SPG, 3.1 BPG PF SR James Garrett West Virginia 10.7 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.6 SPG, 2.2 BPG SF SO Mason Reynolds Villanova 16.4 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.3 BPG SG SR Grover Moore Providence 20.0 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 3.4 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.3 BPG PG SO Connor Baxter Villanova 12.8 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG All-league 2nd Team: C SR Ralph Pitzer West Virginia 14.8 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.4 SPG, 3.6 BPG PF JR Chris Woolstenhulme Villanova 12.0 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.5 SPG, 1.2 BPG SF FR Brian Bishop Georgetown 15.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG JR Cardarion Cross West Virginia 13.5 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 5.6 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG SR James Holler Pittsburgh 10.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 5.1 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.0 BPG All-freshman Team: C FR Timothy Johnson Georgetown 4.1 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.6 BPG PF FR Freddie Belisle Syracuse 6.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 0.7 APG, 0.3 SPG, 1.0 BPG SF FR Brian Bishop Georgetown 15.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG FR Jonathon Larios Louisville 7.1 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.3 BPG PG FR Douglas Wilson Georgetown 8.4 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.1 BPG

Way to go, Mason! I'm going to have to look back to see how many Villanova players have been named Big East Player of the Year. There haven't been many. Asher Wise never won it.

And I'm thrilled to see Connor Baxter join Mason on the all-conference first team. Both players will be with us for at least one more year, too.

Chris Woolstenhulme will end his Villanova career on a high note, with his second post-season honor.
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Old 02-08-2024, 04:47 PM   #605
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
April 3, 2035
Code:
#1 VILLANOVA TEAM INFO Current Performance -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team Prestige: 100 Record Vs 1-50: 14-5 Poll Rank: #1 Season Record: 32-5 Record Vs 51-100: 5-0 RPI Rank: #1 Conference Record: 16-2 Record Vs 101-200: 6-0 Home Record: 16-1 Record Vs 200+: 7-0 Team Stats CR NR Opp. Stats CR NR Margin CR NR -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Points 86.4 1 2 Points 67.6 8 125 Points 18.8 1 2 O.Reb 11.8 6 79 O.Reb 11.5 14 251 O.Reb 0.4 9 153 D.Reb 29.1 1 3 D.Reb 23.9 5 79 D.Reb 5.2 1 4 Rebounds 40.9 1 9 Rebounds 35.4 7 127 Rebounds 5.6 3 14 Assists 20.9 1 2 Assists 13.2 7 172 Assists 7.7 1 1 Steals 6.7 5 73 Steals 4.9 4 47 Steals 1.7 5 45 Blocks 4.4 11 61 Blocks 4.3 10 320 Blocks 0.0 10 145 Turnovers 12.7 4 55 Turnovers 15.1 6 56 Turnovers -2.4 5 33 Fouls 17.9 6 54 Fouls 18.8 6 239 Fouls -0.9 5 103 FG% .484 1 4 FG% .389 2 8 FG% .094 1 3 FT% .763 1 2 FT% .702 10 316 FT% .061 1 16 3P% .390 4 15 3P% .316 1 45 3P% .074 1 4 PPS 1.37 1 3 PPS 1.11 3 13 PPS .258 1 3 Adj. FG% .557 1 4 Adj. FG% .444 1 10 Adj. FG% .112 1 3

Offense: Outstanding. We could flat-out shoot the ball, and as I mentioned before, I loved the way we distributed it so unselfishly.
Defense: Good. We did a good job of limiting our opponents' field goal percentages. We don't force a lot of turnovers, but our defense isn't set up to do that.
Margins: Very, very good. We led the nation in offensive efficiency (116.1) and finished 15th in defensive efficiency (91.1).

I'll be back with Farewells in a bit.
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Old 02-09-2024, 12:05 PM   #606
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
2034/35 Farewell

CHRIS WOOLSTENHULME


The decision to recruit Chris Woolstenhulme was an easy one. Harriton High School isn't two miles away from the Villanova campus. He grew up attending Villanova basketball camps and attending Villanova games. And he was good enough to be a high school All-American.

We had high hopes for Chris, and he met them.
Code:
#12 PF Chris Woolstenhulme - Villanova - Junior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-9 Weight: 232 High School: Harriton High School Hometown: Bryn Mawr, PA Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 80 58 59 18 31 24 78 73 59 30 21 63 47 86 74 62 2033: 78 54 58 17 29 22 76 73 57 28 19 61 44 80 74 54 2032: 68 50 54 16 26 19 68 65 50 26 17 54 43 74 73 47 2031: 58 46 50 14 24 17 60 57 44 24 15 48 42 64 71 33 Potential: B C C D D D B B C D D C Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 78 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2032 39 9 24.4 7.9 1.9 6.5 1.4 1.3 1.06 0.4 0.8 2.5 2033 37 0 23.9 9.9 2.0 6.7 1.4 1.7 0.81 0.3 0.9 2.3 2034 37 37 27.6 12.0 2.2 8.4 1.8 1.6 1.10 0.5 1.2 2.5 Career 113 46 25.3 9.9 2.0 7.2 1.5 1.5 1.10 0.4 1.0 2.4 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2032 2.9 5.9 .485 2.2 2.8 .771 0.0 0.1 .000 1.33 10.00 2033 3.5 8.3 .428 2.7 3.4 .787 0.1 0.2 .500 1.19 10.30 2034 4.3 9.2 .469 3.4 4.3 .780 0.0 0.0 .000 1.30 13.57 Career 3.6 7.8 .459 2.7 3.5 .780 0.0 0.1 .333 1.27 11.27 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2032 39 9 951 308 73 253 53 50 15 31 99 2033 37 0 886 365 74 248 51 63 12 34 84 2034 37 37 1023 444 83 310 65 59 19 46 92 Career 113 46 2860 1117 230 811 169 172 46 111 275 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2032 112 231 84 109 0 2 390 2033 131 306 100 127 3 6 381 2034 160 341 124 159 0 1 502 Career 403 878 308 395 3 9 1273 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 19 5 17 5 2 3 6 8 19 10 10 0 1 Career 19 6 17 5 2 4 6 8 19 11 12 1 2 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 7 2031 High School: Rated **** and #16 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2031 High School: All-State (Pennsylvania) 2031 High School: All-American 2032 Freshman All-American 2032 Freshman All-Conference (Big East Conference) 2034 2nd Team All-Conference (Big East Conference)

Chris spent his first two years in a three-man frontcourt rotation with classmate Savion Wells and Zach Cohen, a pure center who was a year ahead of them. Chris was usually the "odd man out" as far as the starting five was concerned, mainly because he was versatile enough to pair effectively with either Savion or Zach.

Most comfortable in the "scorer" role at first, Chris became strong and tough enough for the "dirtier" work of rebounding and defense. He was also an excellent free throw shooter, shooting nearly 80 percent for his career.

Chris will almost certainly hear his name called in the first round of next month's pro draft, possibly among the lottery picks. He is well on his way to completing a degree in Biology, and he has talked about how important finishing that degree is to him. First, however, he's anticipating a successful professional career.

Thanks for the memories, Chris.
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Old 02-09-2024, 12:19 PM   #607
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
2034/35 Farewell

SAVION WELLS


This seven-footer played high school ball for Loomis Chaffee, a boarding school in Connecticut. The top-rated center in his class, you would think Connecticut and Boston College would have recruited him heavily from the start, but neither New England powerhouse offered him a scholarship. Savion made his desire to play for one of those programs quite clear.

I wonder if those coaches regret those decisions now?
Code:
#41 C Savion Wells - Villanova - Junior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 7-0 Weight: 251 High School: Loomis Chaffee School Hometown: Windsor, CT Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 88 53 58 39 34 30 74 78 60 27 24 52 39 91 52 59 2033: 85 48 57 37 32 28 72 78 55 25 22 51 38 83 51 51 2032: 73 44 53 35 30 26 63 69 50 23 20 46 38 75 50 43 2031: 65 40 49 33 28 24 57 63 44 21 18 40 35 59 47 27 Potential: A C C C D D B B C D D C Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 87 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2032 39 39 23.5 8.6 1.4 5.4 1.0 1.2 0.89 0.4 0.4 2.5 2033 37 36 25.3 12.2 2.1 6.3 1.5 1.4 1.12 0.4 0.5 2.7 2034 37 37 27.5 14.4 2.3 8.1 1.7 1.8 0.94 0.5 0.8 2.6 Career 113 112 25.4 11.7 1.9 6.6 1.4 1.4 0.94 0.5 0.6 2.6 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2032 3.4 5.8 .582 1.8 2.4 .737 0.1 0.3 .364 1.49 12.08 2033 4.2 8.5 .491 3.8 5.5 .693 0.0 0.1 .000 1.43 11.70 2034 5.3 10.7 .496 3.8 5.4 .707 0.0 0.0 .000 1.35 16.73 Career 4.3 8.3 .515 3.1 4.4 .707 0.0 0.1 .308 1.41 13.48 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2032 39 39 916 336 54 209 40 45 15 16 99 2033 37 36 936 452 79 234 56 50 16 19 101 2034 37 37 1017 534 86 300 63 67 20 30 96 Career 113 112 2869 1322 219 743 159 162 51 65 296 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2032 131 225 70 95 4 11 471 2033 155 316 142 205 0 2 433 2034 197 397 140 198 0 0 619 Career 483 938 352 498 4 13 1523 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 25 8 15 4 3 3 4 11 19 9 12 0 0 Career 28 8 15 5 3 3 4 12 19 9 13 1 2 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 14 2031 High School: Rated **** and #19 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2031 High School: All-State (Connecticut) 2031 High School: Mr. Basketball (Connecticut) 2031 High School: All-American

Savion Wells started 112 games in his three-year Villanova career. He played the four as a freshman and sophomore, before inheriting the center position after Zach Cohen left for pro basketball.

A close look at Savion's career statistics reveals the steady improvement he made over the course of his career. He led the nation in field goal percentage as a freshman, but he also kept his percentage high after he became a more integral part of our offense, a player against whom opposing teams began to plan to stop.

He would have been an All-Conference player in almost any league other than the Big East, where he's had to contend with players like Carl O'Neill and Ralph Pitzer. Savion is considered a better pro prospect than either of those two All-Americans. That says something to me.

Most mock drafts have Savion coming off the board with the fifth pick. He'll certainly be chosen in the lottery, and a bright future awaits him as a pro. He's also been an exceptionally good student, majoring in Computer Science. Like his classmate and friend, Chris Woolstenhulme, Savion is determined to complete his degree.

I'm glad he decided Villanova might not be so bad, after all.

Thanks for the memories, Savion.
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Old 02-09-2024, 02:45 PM   #608
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2034/35 Senior Tribute

WILLIAM COLLINS


William Collins played a total of eight minutes for Villanova over the last two seasons of his three-season career. His teammates unanimously decided that William should receive the same keepsakes for the Big East conference championships they won as everyone else. That tells me how highly they valued his contributions to their team.
Code:
#20 PF William Collins - Villanova - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-5 Weight: 234 High School: Avoyelles High School Hometown: Moreauville, LA Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 9 23 32 0 15 35 49 84 89 22 48 67 43 78 40 94 2033: 9 22 32 0 14 34 46 79 88 21 46 64 42 76 39 86 2032: 9 20 30 0 13 32 43 72 82 20 44 59 42 74 38 78 2031: 9 19 29 0 12 31 40 67 77 19 43 55 42 72 37 70 2030: 9 18 28 0 11 30 38 63 72 18 42 51 41 70 36 61 2029: 7 16 26 0 11 28 33 54 62 16 40 43 40 64 32 37 Potential: F D D F F C C A A D C B Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 75 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2032 27 0 7.8 0.9 0.4 2.0 0.4 0.4 0.92 0.1 0.4 0.9 2033 3 0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00 0.0 0.0 0.3 2034 3 0 1.7 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.00 0.0 0.0 0.3 Career 33 0 6.6 0.7 0.3 1.7 0.3 0.4 0.00 0.1 0.3 0.8 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2032 0.3 0.8 .364 0.3 0.4 .700 0.0 0.0 .000 1.05 4.30 2033 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.0 .000 0.00 0.67 2034 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.0 .000 0.00 -0.33 Career 0.2 0.7 .364 0.2 0.3 .700 0.0 0.0 .000 1.05 3.55 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2032 27 0 211 23 11 55 11 12 3 11 25 2033 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2034 3 0 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Career 33 0 219 23 11 56 11 12 3 11 27 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2032 8 22 7 10 0 1 116 2033 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2034 0 0 0 0 0 0 -1 Career 8 22 7 10 0 1 117 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career 7 2 6 2 1 2 3 3 4 2 2 0 1 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2029 High School: Rated *** and #370 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2030 Transfered from Louisiana State

William joined us as a transfer from LSU. We identified in him the potential to become a plus-plus defender and rebounder, despite standing only 6'5". William appeared in 27 games as a redshirt sophomore and impressed us with his ability to crash the boards.

Had William possessed a signature skill on offense, he would have carved out a more significant role in our program. However, he never seemed to develop that part of his game. Instead, he went at guys like Savion Wells and Chris Woolstenhulme every day in practice, defending them as well as anyone they would face in the Big East.

William will graduate next month with a degree in Human Resource Management, and he's entering the management training program for a large corporation headquartered in Philadelphia.

Thanks for the memories, William.
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Old 02-09-2024, 03:19 PM   #609
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Draft Night goes well for basketball fans in eastern Pennsylvania.

Savion Wells is the first to hear his name called, chosen at #4. Four picks later, Chris Woolstenhulme comes off the board.

Lafayette center Dani Geisler is chosen immediately after Chris. Then, at #19, another Leopard, guard Chris Willman is chosen. All four of these players are juniors; in fact, only one of the first 20 picks is used to draft a player who completed his eligibility.

Code:
2034 Recruiting Rankings # Team Conference Best Player Rtg 5* 4* 3* 2* 1* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. West Virginia Big East SF Jack Edwards ***** 3 2 0 0 0 2. Stanford Pacific-10 SF Thurman Hodges ***** 2 1 1 0 0 3. Kentucky SEC C Jack Sitton ***** 2 2 0 0 0 4. Duke ACC SG Lorenzo Merrick ***** 1 1 3 0 0 5. Pittsburgh Big East PF Alonzo Hale ***** 1 3 0 0 0 6. Boston College ACC PG Taylor Murray ***** 2 0 1 0 0 7. Memphis Conference USA PG Charles Holloway ***** 1 2 1 0 0 8. Georgetown Big East SG Ahmad Ashworth ***** 3 0 0 0 0 9. Vanderbilt SEC PG Fletcher Watkins ***** 1 1 2 0 0 10. Miami ACC C Beau Magness ***** 1 2 1 0 0 11. North Carolina ACC SF Eric Purnell ***** 1 1 1 0 0 12. Tennessee SEC SF Waylon Dang ***** 1 2 0 0 0 13. Kansas Big 12 C Timothy Aceves ***** 2 0 2 0 0 14. Villanova Big East SF Luke Christensen ***** 2 0 0 0 0 15. Utah Mountain West C Norris Wright **** 0 2 2 0 0 16. Washington Pacific-10 PF Cletus Watterson ***** 1 0 1 0 0 17. New Mexico Mountain West PG Liam Martin **** 0 2 2 0 0 18. Michigan Big Ten PG Charles Phinney *** 0 0 5 1 0 19. Connecticut Big East SG Clifton Bowe **** 0 3 0 0 0 20. Fresno State WAC C Kenneth Stumpf **** 0 2 2 0 0

When your recruiting class numbers only two players, you can only rise so high in the national rankings. Both our incoming freshmen, SF Luke Christensen and C Sebastian Roberts, keep their five stars, but we fall behind programs who brought in more players.

West Virginia combines quality and quantity in a fearsome recruiting class, fronted by wing Jack Edwards. He's a western PA kid I wish we could have convinced to move east.
2034 Recruiting Rankings
Code:
# Team Conference Best Player Rtg 5* 4* 3* 2* 1* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. West Virginia Big East SF Jack Edwards ***** 3 2 0 0 0 5. Pittsburgh Big East PF Alonzo Hale ***** 1 3 0 0 0 8. Georgetown Big East SG Ahmad Ashworth ***** 3 0 0 0 0 14. Villanova Big East SF Luke Christensen ***** 2 0 0 0 0 19. Connecticut Big East SG Clifton Bowe **** 0 3 0 0 0 22. Louisville Big East SF Rocky Hornback **** 0 2 1 0 0 28. DePaul Big East SG Warren Jordan **** 0 1 3 1 0 38. Rutgers Big East PF Andrew Jackson **** 0 1 2 0 0 66. Cincinnati Big East SG Sterling Ott *** 0 0 2 1 0 70. St. John's Big East SF Walker Smith **** 0 1 0 0 0 131. Seton Hall Big East C Helmut Blininger *** 0 0 2 0 0 146. Syracuse Big East PG Willy Bellinger *** 0 0 2 0 0 186. Providence Big East C Andrew Smith *** 0 0 2 1 0 230. Marquette Big East SG Jason Calvert *** 0 0 1 1 0 265. South Florida Big East C Denver Tellez *** 0 0 1 0 0 344. Notre Dame Big East 0 0 0 0 0

A strong incoming class might have DePaul climbing the Big East standings in a year or two. Meanwhile, teams like Syracuse and Providence will have to hope for a sleeper or two to arise.

Our Prestige remains at 100, and our budget holds at $800,000/year. The Facilities upgrade that was announced last year has raised our score to 90.
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Old 02-09-2024, 03:44 PM   #610
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Two notable coaches announce their retirements today. Louie Smith, most recently at Penn State, completes his career with a lifetime total of 458 wins. And Kansas coach Joshua Williams, whose 604 career victories place him sixth on the all-time list, is also hanging up his whistle.

Eleven programs offer Graham Sims their head coaching jobs, including Penn State and Kansas, but he won't do more than open their emails. Kansas hires Graham's friend Blaine Boyd, who surprisingly leaves Pitt after 24 seasons there.

Oklahoma surprises many by firing head coach Tracy Norton, a veteran with 587 wins to his credit. Also among those now looking for work is Gregg Woods, Graham's former Recruiting Coordinator at Lafayette. Albany fires Coach Woods after ten seasons, over which he posted a 148-198 record.

Speaking of Recruiting Coordinators, we'll be looking for a new one. Tyler Twombly becomes the latest of Graham's lieutenants to get a chance at a head coaching job, hired by IPFW to replace the retiring William Foster.

I decide to take a chance on an unproven, but superbly talented young coach to fill Coach Twombly's shoes. Tom Caballero is only 30 years old, and he's never worked at the Division I level. However, The Knight has a perfect 100 score for Recruiting, and he'll accept a three-year contract at $202,799/year. Coach Caballero is from Harbor Springs, Michigan, and he's a Michigan alumnus. Welcome to the team, Coach.

We don't see anyone in the transfer portal we'd like to sign.
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Old 02-09-2024, 04:37 PM   #611
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We currently have two scholarships to offer this season. One will be vacated by graduating senior PG Trey Partridge, and I cut a disgruntled walk-on to open up a second.

There are now only three big men among the scholarship players on our roster, so it would probably be a good idea to bring one in. We also need to find the heir apparent to point guard Connor Baxter, who is a junior. He's not likely to turn professional after this season, but his classmate, Mason Reynolds, probably will.

Fortunately, there are two very good point guards playing their high school ball in our area, and both of them like Villanova a lot. Gary Fairfield, from Burlington, NJ, is the #9 player in his class, and the #3 point guard. His high school stat line indicates an elite playmaker; he averages 9.6 assists and 1.2 turnovers per game. Delaware's Mr. Basketball, Dane Barlow, is ranked right behind Fairfield: #10 overall, #4 at his position. Dane is an All-American who profiles as a lead guard, averaging over 21 points, nearly 7 assists, and nearly 5 rebounds per game. I'm going to take an extremely close look at both Gary and Dane.

The most intriguing big men are Ohio PF John Turner and two Pennsylvania players, C Demetrius Reed and PF Jalen Christian. We probably have the best chance to land Reed, a Philly guy who averages 17.5 points and 8.5 rebounds a game and makes nearly 53 percent of his shots.

I can still cut another walk-on and make a third scholarship available, and I'm seriously considering that option. I'll make that decision after our staff has had a chance to establish contacts with the players on our call list and evaluate them.

In the meantime, I think I'll make a "sight unseen" offer to Dane Barlow. Dane is also a fantastic student, which I admittedly like to see in our recruits.

Here's our call list:
Code:
#1 VILLANOVA Recruiting Name Pos Ht Wt Rating Interest State --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dane Barlow PG 6-2 183 ***** Very High Delaware Gary Fairfield PG 5-9 152 ***** Very High New Jersey John Turner PF 6-9 240 ***** Very High Ohio Isiah Cook PF 6-8 268 ***** Very High New York Demetrius Reed C 7-1 272 **** Very High Pennsylvania Jalen Christian PF 6-10 222 **** Very High New Jersey Josh Medley SG 6-0 178 **** Very High Virginia Brian Grammer SF 6-5 208 **** Very High New York Johnathan Brown PG 5-11 154 **** Very High Pennsylvania Don Fernandes SG 5-11 185 **** Very High South Carolina Nick Spencer PG 5-10 163 *** Very High Pennsylvania Chester Eisenberg PG 5-2 151 *** Very High Pennsylvania Ethan DeLuca PF 6-8 222 ***** High Ohio James Beckley PG 6-1 174 ***** High Maryland Eimantas Fetkevicius SF 6-7 202 **** High Virginia Will Pearson SG 6-5 189 *** High Virginia Jelani Obasie C 6-11 233 ***** Average Massachusetts

It features recruits requested by my daughter and one of my friends. My daughter's creation, Jelani Obasie, isn't too excited about playing for Villanova. My friend's contribution, Eimantas Fetkevicius, is showing a bit more interest.
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Old 02-09-2024, 06:32 PM   #612
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After getting a look at Dane Barlow's scouting report, I'm glad I offered him a scholarship.
Code:
#3 PG Dane Barlow -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-2 Weight: 183 High School: Salesianum School Hometown: Wilmington, DE GPA: 3.53 Test Score: 1330 Rating: ***** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 54 71 55 52 62 63 12 14 11 40 32 8 62 47 65 53 Potential: C A B B A B F F D B C F Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21.4 1.6 4.6 6.8 1.7 4.12 2.3 0.4 1.9 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9.4 18.0 .521 0.9 1.6 .581 1.8 5.0 .350 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Current interest in Villanova: Very High Rankings: #10 Overall, #4 PG, East Region #5 Overall, East Region #2 PG High School Awards: All-State, Mr. Basketball (Delaware), All American Top 5 Schools: West Virginia, *Villanova, *Pittsburgh, Boston College, Kentucky
Dane does have the qualities of a lead guard. He's a very good shooter with some ability to create his own shot. He already handles and passes the ball well, and he has the upside to be even better. While Dane doesn't profile as a lockdown defender in the mold of Ernest Adcock, he certainly doesn't neglect that aspect of his game.

Dane's interest in West Virginia is annoying me. Let's see if a full recruiting effort, including visits from Coaches Sims and Caballero and a visit to campus, will impress him.

Our staff don't think Gary Fairfield is nearly as ready for college ball as Dane Barlow is. Still, it's easy to see why Gary is a top prospect.
Code:
#15 PG Gary Fairfield -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 5-9 Weight: 152 High School: Burlington City High School Hometown: Burlington, NJ GPA: 2.41 Test Score: 1010 Rating: ***** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 22 53 27 17 70 56 30 27 25 50 24 4 81 35 60 54 Potential: C C D C A B C D D B D F Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17.1 2.1 4.9 9.6 1.2 8.35 1.5 0.0 2.9 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.6 15.9 .478 0.6 1.2 .522 1.3 3.9 .321 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Current interest in Villanova: Very High Rankings: #9 Overall, #3 PG, East Region #4 Overall, East Region #1 PG High School Awards: All-State, Mr. Basketball (New Jersey) Top 5 Schools: Boston College, Villanova, West Virginia, North Carolina, Duke
Gary is a very athletic player with extremely good ballhandling and passing skills. He's a willing defender, too. Gary's probably never going to be much of a scorer, so his role will naturally be keeping the shooters on his team well-fed.

Like Dane, Gary lists a rival from whom he hasn't received an offer yet ahead of Villanova. Boston College just signed Taylor Murray, the best point guard in last year's senior class. They don't really need a playmaker this year.

I like what I see in Demetrius Reed, too.
Code:
#32 C Demetrius Reed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 7-1 Weight: 272 High School: William Penn Charter School Hometown: Philadelphia, PA GPA: 3.38 Test Score: 1340 Rating: **** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 30 25 43 18 10 17 62 49 53 28 34 59 33 95 27 28 Potential: C C C D D D A B B D C B Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17.5 3.1 8.5 1.0 3.2 0.30 1.1 2.3 3.4 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.7 14.6 .527 2.1 3.5 .594 0.0 0.2 .000 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Current interest in Villanova: Very High Rankings: #64 Overall, #10 C, East Region #17 Overall, East Region #3 C High School Awards: None Top 5 Schools: Villanova, Georgetown, Syracuse, St. John's, Maryland
Graham Sims had considerable success with a center from Penn Charter, back in his Lafayette days. Todd DeHaven turned out to be a Patriot League Player of the Year and a professional draft pick. Demetrius is expected to be even better than Todd was.

He keeps it simple on offense, operating in the paint and making free throws when he's fouled. But when Demetrius's team doesn't have the basketball, he really shines.

Do we really need a scoring wing who doesn't play a lot of defense? My answer is often "no," but Eimantas Fetkevicius appeals to me anyway.
Code:
#21 SF Eimantas Fetkevicius -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-7 Weight: 202 High School: Virginia Episcopal School Hometown: Lynchburg, VA GPA: 3.08 Test Score: 1150 Rating: **** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 50 52 62 48 12 20 31 29 30 24 38 9 61 39 70 44 Potential: B B B B C C C C D D C C Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19.5 2.1 8.7 3.9 1.9 2.11 1.6 0.8 2.4 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.1 16.5 .489 1.6 1.9 .865 1.8 5.5 .318 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Current interest in Villanova: High Rankings: #36 Overall, #5 SF, Southeast Region #9 Overall, Southeast Region #2 SF High School Awards: All-State, Mr. Basketball (Virginia) Top 5 Schools: North Carolina, West Virginia, Villanova, Tennessee, Pittsburgh
The native of Lithuania boards at a school in Virginia, so he's expressed interest in several schools closer than we are to his American base. We are on Eimantas' list, however, and nobody has offered him yet.

There are enough intriguing players in this year's class that I'm going to cut another walk-on and free up a third scholarship. With two in hand, I'm going to make an offer to Demetrius Reed. He'll naturally receive the full recruitment package.
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Old 02-09-2024, 09:41 PM   #613
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Dane Barlow must have enjoyed his visit to Villanova. He's moved us to the top of his list, which he's also narrowed to us and West Virginia. We'll continue to send Coaches Sims and Caballero to woo him this month.

Demetrius Reed received an offer from Syracuse too, so he's moved the Orange up to the second spot on his list. We're still in the pole position, though. He also has an offer from Maryland to consider. Again, we'll recruit him as heavily as we can.

An offer from West Virginia turned Eimantas Fetkevicius' head this month. The Mountaineers now top his list, and we've already invited him to campus. We're also trailing Tennessee for his affections. I was on the verge of offering him a scholarship, but now I'm not so sure.

One big reason why is the love we continue to get from Gary Fairfield. Gary has offers from Boston College and Duke, but he still lists Villanova as his top choice. Do I dare offer scholarships to two point guards who are used to being the Alpha Dog? (or Cat, in the case of our program)

Or, do I pursue this player, a three-star recruit who does a lot of the things Gary does, and just about as well?
Code:
#11 PG Nick Spencer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 5-10 Weight: 163 High School: Perkiomen Valley High School Hometown: Collegeville, PA GPA: 3.14 Test Score: 1230 Rating: *** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 33 42 62 47 76 55 14 15 8 41 40 12 63 26 41 62 Potential: C C A B A B D D D A C D Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9.1 1.2 3.6 5.4 1.7 3.27 1.5 0.2 2.5 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.0 8.0 .500 0.8 0.8 .938 0.3 1.2 .250 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Current interest in Villanova: Very High Rankings: #34 PG, East Region #31 Overall, East Region #8 PG High School Awards: None Top 5 Schools: Villanova, *La Salle, *Colgate, Seton Hall, Maryland
Gary looks like he might end up being a slightly better shooter--he's better now, if we're scouting him accurately--but Nick is his equal as a facilitator. And while Gary is a bit more advanced defensively, Nick might eventually be the better defender. Gary is more athletic, and that seems to be the biggest difference between the two players.

Nick holds offers from La Salle and Colgate. Villanova is, by far, the biggest program on his list. I have a good feeling about Nick, and I think I'm going to offer him a scholarship, along with all the recruiting I can do.
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Old 02-09-2024, 09:48 PM   #614
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This month's recruiting efforts went well. Dane Barlow and Demetrius Reed have both taken all the other schools who were pursuing them off their lists. I think we'll get good news from both young men in a month.

Nick Spencer continues to consider La Salle and Colgate, but he seems to prefer his offer from Villanova more.

Let's hope we get good news from Nick next month, too.
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Old 02-09-2024, 10:15 PM   #615
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Good news!! Dane Barlow and Demetrius Reed announce their commitments to Villanova basketball today!

Dane is Delaware's Mr. Basketball and a high school All-American, and he's ranked fourth among point guards in his class. Demetrius is the #10 center in his class, and the third best in a region that has produced a bumper crop of big men this year.

Even better, though, is the fact that both players look well-suited for roles I want them to play. Depending on who his backcourt partner is, Dane looks like he'll be able to serve as a facilitator or a scoring point guard. Demetrius and his Blue Collar Man vibe should be comfortable paired in the post with the offensively gifted Sebastian Roberts, who will be one year ahead of him.

I'm excited to add both these players to our program!

Meanwhile, Nick Spencer removed his other suitors from his list. It looks like he'll be joining us in a month.
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Old 02-10-2024, 01:35 PM   #616
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I think it's time to meet the 2035/36 Villanova Wildcats, defending champion of the Big East.
Code:
#1 VILLANOVA General Player # Pos Yr Ht Wt Sch Acd Status Hometown --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trey Partridge 2 PG Sr 5-8 174 Yes 40 OK Warwick, NY Eldon Castanon 4 SG Jr* 6-3 216 Yes 42 OK Silver Spring, MD Mason Reynolds 5 SF Jr 6-4 213 Yes 98 OK Alexandria, VA Max Bennett 10 PG So 6-4 197 Yes 96 OK Media, PA Kyle Gribble 11 PF Jr 6-8 224 Yes 92 OK Lakewood, CA Charlie Lambert 14 PF So 6-9 229 Yes 64 OK Hyattsville, MD Connor Baxter 22 PG Jr 6-2 203 Yes 98 OK Slippery Rock, PA Charles Peterman 25 SF Jr 6-7 230 Yes 62 Suspended Thompson, Canada Sebastian Roberts 30 C Fr 7-0 249 Yes 99 OK Frenchtown, NJ Matt Valentine 31 SG So 6-6 204 Yes 36 Unhappy Middletown, DE Luke Christensen 34 SF Fr 6-4 196 Yes 64 OK Philadelphia, PA Erick Sullivan 35 C So 6-10 273 No 87 OK Wilmington, DE Derek Lamb 41 PF Fr 6-6 212 No 73 Redshirt Latham, OH
Preseason training went very well.

Code:
#1 VILLANOVA Training Results Player Ins Jps Fts 3ps Hnd Pas Orb Drb Psd Prd Stl Blk Qkn Str Jmp Sta ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trey Partridge 2 3 2 1 5 4 2 2 1 3 2 2 1 1 1 9 Eldon Castanon 3 1 4 5 1 11 3 7 0 12 8 1 1 2 1 4 Mason Reynolds 9 10 0 0 1 5 2 9 9 0 1 5 0 2 0 0 Max Bennett 3 5 5 4 6 6 2 2 1 6 4 1 1 3 1 5 Kyle Gribble 10 5 7 4 4 3 8 3 7 1 1 0 0 3 1 11 Charlie Lambert 10 5 6 6 2 2 7 10 10 3 2 10 0 3 1 8 Connor Baxter 6 14 3 2 2 7 3 3 3 9 2 1 1 3 1 7 Charles Peterman 1 3 1 1 3 2 2 1 4 3 3 2 0 2 0 4 Sebastian Roberts 10 6 4 6 2 2 10 5 6 2 2 4 3 14 5 14 Matt Valentine 6 3 0 3 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 2 1 9 Luke Christensen 10 6 8 2 2 2 2 6 4 6 8 4 1 4 2 7 Erick Sullivan 3 1 2 2 1 1 3 6 6 1 1 3 1 3 0 0 Derek Lamb 4 2 4 0 2 2 4 2 8 2 2 4 3 6 1 34

This is a milestone year in our story for several reasons.
  • It's Graham Sims' 25th year as a head basketball coach.
  • It's Coach Sims' tenth year at Villanova, after 15 successful seasons at Lafayette.
  • It's the final year for the Wildcats at the Finneran Pavilion and the Wells Fargo Center, before the brand-new Wawa Arena opens on campus in time for the 2036/37 season.

The Wildcats return three starters from last year's team, all of whom play on the perimeter. Among them is the reigning Big East Player of the Year, Mason Reynolds. The 6'4" junior led the team in scoring while rebounding like a player 6 inches taller and averaging over 4 assists per game. There's nothing Reynolds can't do on a basketball court.

Point guard Connor Baxter is a junior now, too. He, like Reynolds, was a first team All-Big East player last season. Connor made great strides as a shooter last year, while retaining his ability to coordinate the offense. He worked hard on his shot during camp, so he should be an even more dangerous weapon.

Baxter will team with Eldon Castanon in the backcourt. The Lafayette transfer started all 37 games last season, and he gives the Wildcats a third perimeter player who can score and distribute.

Charlie Lambert, who did well as a sixth man as a freshman, will move into the starting five this season. He emerges from camp with a greater understanding of what Coach Sims wants him to do defensively, and he's demonstrated a greater ability to find opportunities to score.

Highly-regarded freshman center Sebastian Roberts looks like he's ready to start right away. Right now, Sebastian's offensive game is ahead of his defense, but he's far from a liability as a defender, rebounder, and shot blocker.

The Wildcats lack depth in the post. Kyle Gribble is the only other big man on scholarship, and while Erick Sullivan is actually decent for a walk-on, we could be in trouble if one of our bigs gets hurt.

There's plenty of depth on the perimeter, though. Senior Trey Partridge is a traditional, pass-first point guard. Sophomores Max Bennett and Matt Valentine are good shooters and active defenders, and Bennett can run the offense if necessary. First-year Luke Christensen shows promise, but he might also have to show patience this year.

We're ranked #1 in the first poll of the season, and if we can avoid injury and keep our best players on the court most of the time, we should be among the best teams in the nation again this year. Mason Reynolds is certainly talented enough to be the biggest star on a Final Four team. Veteran guards like Connor Baxter and Eldon Castanon can take a team a long way.

It would be great to mark Graham Sims' silver jubilee with a season to remember.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-13-2024 at 08:08 PM.
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Old 02-10-2024, 01:58 PM   #617
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
November 11, 2035

Let's meet Vanderbilt's freshman guard, Charlie Sutton.
Code:
#3 SG Charlie Sutton - Vanderbilt - Freshman -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-6 Weight: 200 High School: Decatur Central High School Hometown: Indianapolis, IN Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 50 64 79 77 47 32 16 21 16 30 27 14 57 37 39 64 2034: 46 58 73 71 41 28 14 19 14 27 24 12 57 31 38 53 Potential: C B A A B C D D D C C D Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 82 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2034 High School: Rated **** and #62 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2034 High School: All-State (Indiana) 2034 High School: Mr. Basketball (Indiana)
Charlie is a sharpshooter, and he comes out of camp with an SEC-ready jumper that is accurate out to the logo. The Commodores have a talented junior shooting guard, Steve Albrecht, who was a four-start recruit coming out of high school. There won't be any immediate need for Charlie to be a star, but he should be able to shoot his way into the Vanderbilt rotation.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-10-2024 at 02:00 PM.
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Old 02-10-2024, 05:53 PM   #618
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Join Date: Sep 2022
November 15, 2035
Preseason NIT, First Round
(1) #1 Villanova 94, (16) Savannah State 56

We have very little trouble in our opening game, as we advance with a win over Savannah State. Shooting 33-for-53 will lead to this kind of outcome.

All five starters score in double figures, led by Mason Reynolds (18p/8a/7r), who picks up where he left off last year. Eldon Castanon (17p/4a/4r), Connor Baxter (17p/3a), and first-time starters Charlie Lambert (10p/9r/2b) and Sebastian Roberts (10p/6r) provide quality assistance.
Record: 1-0.


November 17, 2035
Preseason NIT, Quarterfinal
(1) #1 Villanova 94, (8) Penn State 62

We continue to shoot the ball well, hitting 57% from three point range and 58% overall, and we move on to the semifinal.

Connor Baxter leads the way with 26 points and 4 steals, while Mason Reynolds and Eldon Castanon provide 17 apiece. Baxter and Castanon each have 7 assists. Charlie Lambert blocks 3 shots, and Erick Sullivan ties for the team lead with 6 rebounds in 11 minutes of action.
Record: 2-0.


November 24, 2035
Preseason NIT Semifinal

Code:
(1) #1 Villanova 96, (4) #6 Texas 67 --------------------------------------------------------- Texas (2-1, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Art Watson C 19 0-2 5-6 1 6 1 2 5 Norbert Davis PF 27 8-16 4-9 1 3 0 3 20 Robert Cottingham SF 25 1-2 0-0 2 5 0 2 3 Chase Adams SG 26 2-5 0-0 0 2 7 3 6 Larry Morton PG 29 3-14 1-2 1 2 1 2 8 Glenn Fortney C 9 2-5 0-0 1 1 1 5 4 Marco Nieto C 18 2-4 1-2 2 7 2 1 5 Inocencio Rey SG 12 1-2 0-0 1 3 0 5 2 Dave Mallon SF 10 3-3 0-0 0 3 1 0 7 Lawrence Torres PF 6 0-2 0-0 0 1 2 1 0 Dennis Conaway SG 11 1-3 0-0 1 1 1 2 2 Hassan Poole PG 7 1-3 2-2 0 0 1 0 5 Turnovers: 18 (N.Davis 2, R.Cottingham 4, C.Adams 4, L.Morton 3, G.Fortney 2, D.Conaway 1, H.Poole 2) Blocked Shots: 3 (A.Watson 1, N.Davis 1, I.Rey 1) Steals: 7 (R.Cottingham 1, C.Adams 1, M.Nieto 1, I.Rey 1, D.Mallon 2, L.Torres 1) 3P FGs: 6-21 (R.Cottingham 1-2, C.Adams 2-5, L.Morton 1-6, I.Rey 0-1, D.Mallon 1-1, L.Torres 0-1, D.Conaway 0-2, H.Poole 1-3) Villanova (3-0, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Sebastian Roberts C 18 3-3 3-3 0 7 0 4 9 Charlie Lambert PF 27 5-9 2-2 2 7 2 2 13 Mason Reynolds SF 31 3-9 7-8 2 5 6 1 15 Connor Baxter SG 30 7-16 6-8 1 5 5 1 22 Eldon Castanon PG 31 6-11 2-2 0 2 7 1 17 Max Bennett SG 14 3-5 2-2 1 3 0 2 10 Trey Partridge PG 4 0-0 4-4 0 0 0 0 4 Matt Valentine SF 9 0-1 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 Kyle Gribble PF 22 1-5 2-2 2 4 0 3 4 Erick Sullivan C 12 1-2 0-0 1 6 0 2 2 Turnovers: 14 (S.Roberts 1, M.Reynolds 4, C.Baxter 5, T.Partridge 2, M.Valentine 1, E.Sullivan 1) Blocked Shots: 6 (C.Lambert 5, K.Gribble 1) Steals: 6 (M.Reynolds 2, C.Baxter 3, T.Partridge 1) 3P FGs: 10-30 (C.Lambert 1-3, M.Reynolds 2-5, C.Baxter 2-9, E.Castanon 3-8, M.Bennett 2-4, K.Gribble 0-1) Player of Game: PG Eldon Castanon (VLNV)
Our third straight big win puts us in the championship game of the Preseason NIT. This time, our victim is a top 10 team.

I like the way all our players are contributing: scoring, rebounding, making plays, defending. Charlie Lambert, for example, has developed into an excellent rim protector, especially considering he's a generous 6'9". And, while it's still early days, we're averaging over 21 assists a game again.
Record: 3-0.


November 26, 2035
Preseason NIT Final

Code:
(1) #1 Villanova 113, (3) #5 Miami 103 --------------------------------------------------------- Miami (3-1, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Beau Magness C 20 2-6 2-2 2 6 1 4 6 Thomas Caro PF 28 3-5 4-5 1 9 2 1 10 Jason Baca SF 31 8-16 2-2 1 3 2 1 21 Angelo Davis SG 32 12-17 2-2 2 3 3 3 32 Gary Melo PG 33 2-4 0-0 1 7 7 4 5 Lou Dunagan PF 18 4-13 2-2 3 5 0 3 10 Mitchel Velazquez C 13 1-4 5-5 1 3 0 2 7 Thurman Bowes PF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Ronald Hightower SG 21 4-7 0-0 1 2 6 4 12 Jeff Resendez SF 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Joseph Bahr SG 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 15 (B.Magness 1, T.Caro 2, J.Baca 4, A.Davis 2, G.Melo 2, L.Dunagan 1, R.Hightower 2, J.Resendez 1) Blocked Shots: 3 (B.Magness 1, T.Caro 1, L.Dunagan 1) Steals: 2 (A.Davis 1, G.Melo 1) 3P FGs: 14-19 (J.Baca 3-5, A.Davis 6-7, G.Melo 1-2, R.Hightower 4-5) Villanova (4-0, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Sebastian Roberts C 25 0-5 0-1 4 8 3 2 0 Charlie Lambert PF 25 3-4 7-9 0 2 0 3 14 Mason Reynolds SF 34 20-30 3-3 6 12 5 2 52 Connor Baxter SG 31 3-7 0-0 2 3 7 1 7 Eldon Castanon PG 27 5-7 4-6 0 4 1 4 15 Max Bennett SG 16 2-5 0-0 0 3 8 0 5 Trey Partridge PG 5 0-1 1-2 0 0 1 0 1 Matt Valentine SF 8 3-5 1-2 0 0 0 1 10 Kyle Gribble PF 22 2-9 5-6 5 9 3 2 9 Erick Sullivan C 7 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 Turnovers: 13 (S.Roberts 2, M.Reynolds 3, C.Baxter 1, E.Castanon 4, M.Bennett 2, T.Partridge 1) Blocked Shots: 3 (C.Lambert 1, M.Reynolds 2) Steals: 6 (C.Lambert 1, M.Reynolds 1, C.Baxter 1, E.Castanon 2, K.Gribble 1) 3P FGs: 16-35 (S.Roberts 0-1, C.Lambert 1-1, M.Reynolds 9-17, C.Baxter 1-3, E.Castanon 1-1, M.Bennett 1-3, T.Partridge 0-1, M.Valentine 3-4, K.Gribble 0-4) Player of Game: SF Mason Reynolds (VLNV)
Mason Reynolds enjoys the day of a lifetime as we outscore the Hurricanes in an exciting Preseason NIT championship game.

Mason shatters our school records for points in a game; the previous high was 37. He wipes out the records for field goals made and attempted; the old records were 14 and 24. He ties a record for threes made in a game that's held by several Wildcats.

His 52 points is four short of the NCAA and Big East record, held by West Virginia's Daniel Kilby, who scored 56 one night in 2028. His 20 field goals made ties an NCAA mark that's held by five other players.

He's certainly not the only player who plays well tonight, but this game is his.
Record: 4-0.

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Old 02-10-2024, 08:15 PM   #619
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
December 1, 2035

A third piece of good news comes our way from the recruiting front, as Nick Spencer announces his commitment today.

The experts aren't dazzled by Nick, whom they consider the #34 point guard in his class. He isn't tall, and he isn't dazzlingly quick, and he's not a great shooter or scorer. But he takes care of the ball like it's his most prized possession, and when you have it, he does his best to make sure you can't score.

I think Nick will fill his role well, and he really wants to play for Villanova. I'll take guys like that any day.

Welcome to Villanova basketball, Nick.
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Old 02-11-2024, 12:24 AM   #620
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December 1, 2035
@#1 Villanova 92, Lehigh 54

It's Sebastian Roberts' coming-out party tonight, as the freshman center scores 21 points and grabs 8 rebounds.

We score 31 baskets and record 27 assists. I love that. I love the fact we have only 5 turnovers even more. Connor Baxter led us with 10 helpers, to go along with his 18 points. Mason Reynolds (15p/9r/5a) and Charlie Lambert (10p/7r/2b) also play well.
Record: 5-0.


December 5, 2035
@#1 Villanova 106, Canisius 79

If Mason Reynolds hadn't broken the Villanova single game scoring record earlier this year, he would have tied it today. He drops 37 points on the Golden Griffins at the Pavilion. Mason adds 10 rebounds and 4 assists.

Connor Baxter posts his second straight game in double figures for assists, handing out 11 to go with 18 more points. Charlie Lambert scores 10 and rebounds 7.
Record: 6-0.


December 9, 2035
Code:
#13 Vanderbilt 86, #1 Villanova 85 (OT) --------------------------------------------------------- Villanova (6-1, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Sebastian Roberts C 34 1-5 0-0 2 6 2 4 2 Charlie Lambert PF 34 3-11 4-6 3 8 2 2 13 Mason Reynolds SF 23 4-9 3-4 1 5 3 5 12 Connor Baxter SG 24 5-10 2-2 2 3 3 4 15 Eldon Castanon PG 34 7-10 1-2 0 3 3 0 18 Max Bennett SG 25 5-10 1-2 1 2 5 1 15 Luke Christensen SF 21 4-9 0-0 0 2 3 2 8 Matt Valentine SG 8 0-3 0-0 0 1 0 1 0 Kyle Gribble PF 17 1-6 0-0 2 4 1 2 2 Trey Partridge PG 1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 Erick Sullivan C 5 0-0 0-0 0 2 0 0 0 Turnovers: 13 (S.Roberts 2, M.Reynolds 1, E.Castanon 2, M.Bennett 2, L.Christensen 3, M.Valentine 1, K.Gribble 1, E.Sullivan 1) Blocked Shots: 6 (S.Roberts 1, C.Lambert 3, C.Baxter 1, K.Gribble 1) Steals: 9 (M.Reynolds 5, C.Baxter 1, E.Castanon 1, L.Christensen 1, M.Valentine 1) 3P FGs: 14-31 (S.Roberts 0-2, C.Lambert 3-5, M.Reynolds 1-4, C.Baxter 3-5, E.Castanon 3-4, M.Bennett 4-7, L.Christensen 0-2, M.Valentine 0-1, K.Gribble 0-1) Vanderbilt (4-1, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts John Stevens C 38 2-11 6-6 3 17 1 1 11 Otto Cain PF 36 3-5 5-6 2 9 1 3 11 Cristopher Bowker SF 24 2-6 2-2 2 5 2 5 7 Steven Albrecht SG 34 7-12 1-1 3 7 3 3 18 Charles Robinson PG 39 7-16 3-4 3 4 4 1 17 Charles Mahler SF 29 7-13 1-2 1 2 3 4 18 Matthew Applegate SG 7 0-3 0-0 1 1 1 0 0 Fletcher Watkins PG 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 2 0 0 Charles Phillips PF 14 2-4 0-0 1 4 1 0 4 Chris Calderon SF 2 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 Turnovers: 19 (J.Stevens 2, O.Cain 1, C.Bowker 6, S.Albrecht 1, C.Robinson 2, C.Mahler 6, M.Applegate 1) Blocked Shots: 10 (J.Stevens 3, O.Cain 4, C.Bowker 2, C.Mahler 1) Steals: 8 (J.Stevens 2, C.Robinson 5, C.Mahler 1) 3P FGs: 8-20 (J.Stevens 1-1, C.Bowker 1-3, S.Albrecht 3-5, C.Robinson 0-5, C.Mahler 3-6) Player of Game: PG Charles Robinson (VNDY)
Our trip to Nashville doesn't go as well as we'd like, but we can hold our heads up after an overtime loss in a very good team's gym.

The last seconds of regulation play are very exciting. After Connor Baxter sinks two free throws to tie the game at 76, we press full-court, and Mason Reynolds steals a pass. Vandy's Otto Cain makes a fantastic play to deny Charlie Lambert at the rim and preserve the tie.

You might notice Charlie Sutton doesn't appear in today's game. Commodores coach Chris Box hasn't seen enough of his freshman guard to give him any playing time yet, preferring to use sophomore Matthew Applegate with his second unit. If this continues, I'll keep an eye on Charlie's happiness level.
Record: 6-1.


December 13, 2035
@#5 Villanova 92, Gonzaga 72

The highest-scoring team in the nation falls five points shy of its season average, but we still put 92 on the board against a talented Gonzaga team.

Four starters score in double figures, but oddly enough, the odd man out is Mason Reynolds (7p/7r). Eldon Castanon (15p/6a), Sebastian Roberts (13p/8r), Connor Baxter (12p/5r/4a), and Charlie Lambert (11p/2b) are joined by reserves Luke Christensen (13) and Kyle Gribble (13). Max Bennett hands out 5 assists.
Record: 7-1.


December 16, 2035
@#5 Villanova 106, Sacred Heart 59

The torrid offensive pace continues, as we break the 100-point barrier again.

Mason Reynolds leads the way with 25. Eldon Castanon follows with 19, adding 7 assists. Connor Baxter (14p/6a), Sebastian Roberts (11p/12r), and reserves Luke Christensen (11p/5r) and Kyle Gribble (10p/5r) also hit double figures. Charlie Lambert hauls in 9 rebounds and blocks 4 shots.

Fun fact: Our nine games this season include three of the ten highest-scoring games in Villanova history.
Record: 8-1.


December 22, 2035
Code:
#3 Villanova 116, #24 Lafayette 91 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lafayette (9-2, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Jon Jordan C 21 1-2 0-2 1 3 0 2 2 Harald Grimmig PF 20 0-2 1-2 0 0 1 4 1 Rex Ambriz SF 23 9-16 3-6 0 2 2 1 27 Charles Loy SG 23 4-9 6-7 1 4 1 2 14 Leroy Velez PG 32 4-4 6-6 0 4 3 2 18 Owen Sutton SF 19 4-8 1-3 1 2 2 5 9 Charles Bodine SG 13 3-3 0-0 0 1 5 3 6 Emery Liu SF 9 2-2 2-2 0 1 0 5 7 Q. Derryberry C 25 3-7 1-2 0 1 0 3 7 Grant Pang PF 14 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 Richard Bookman SG 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Jason Winkelman PF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 11 (H.Grimmig 1, R.Ambriz 2, L.Velez 5, Q.Derryberry 2, G.Pang 1) Blocked Shots: 4 (R.Ambriz 1, O.Sutton 1, Q.Derryberry 2) Steals: 4 (C.Loy 1, L.Velez 1, O.Sutton 1, E.Liu 1) 3P FGs: 11-18 (R.Ambriz 6-8, C.Loy 0-3, L.Velez 4-4, O.Sutton 0-2, E.Liu 1-1) Villanova (9-1, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Sebastian Roberts C 26 4-7 1-2 4 11 1 1 9 Charlie Lambert PF 27 2-6 2-3 2 3 3 3 6 Mason Reynolds SF 30 8-16 5-6 1 7 5 4 24 Connor Baxter SG 27 6-9 6-6 2 3 4 2 20 Eldon Castanon PG 20 6-6 8-9 0 2 4 4 22 Max Bennett SG 23 0-0 2-2 1 2 3 3 2 Luke Christensen SF 14 4-11 4-4 2 3 1 1 15 Matt Valentine SG 6 1-1 5-6 0 2 0 0 7 Kyle Gribble PF 15 1-2 2-2 1 2 2 2 4 Erick Sullivan C 11 2-3 3-3 1 3 0 3 7 Turnovers: 10 (S.Roberts 1, C.Baxter 4, E.Castanon 2, M.Bennett 2, K.Gribble 1) Blocked Shots: 1 (M.Bennett 1) Steals: 6 (M.Reynolds 1, C.Baxter 1, E.Castanon 2, L.Christensen 2) 3P FGs: 10-24 (S.Roberts 0-1, C.Lambert 0-2, M.Reynolds 3-7, C.Baxter 2-5, E.Castanon 2-2, L.Christensen 3-6, K.Gribble 0-1) Player of Game: PG Eldon Castanon (VLNV)
Make that four, as we break our all-time record by scoring 116 against the visiting Leopards.

We don't shoot as many three-pointers as usual tonight. We lead the nation with 29.8 triples per game, and we make 12.5 of them, which is also the highest. And we improve our nation's best .824 team free throw percentage, sinking in 38 of 43. Connor Baxter has been the best at this skill so far, missing only twice in 30 attempts. I deliberately look to recruit good free throw shooters.
Record: 9-1.


December 26, 2035
@#3 Villanova 104, Virginia 73

The six Wildcats with the most playing time all score in double figures as we top the 100-point mark again.

Mason Reynolds goes 5-for-10 from behind the arc en route to 23 points. Charlie Lambert is right behind with 20. Max Bennett (14), Eldon Castanon (11), Sebastian Roberts (10) and Connor Baxter (10) are the others in double digits.

We're now averaging a crazy-high 99.8 points per game. The highest single-season mark in our universe's history is 87.08, set by Kentucky last year. We're not likely to stay on our arcade game pace once the Big East season begins, but I wonder if we'll stay close enough to it to break the record?

P.S. Our 86.38 mark from last year ranks third all-time.
Record: 10-1.


December 31, 2035
@#3 Villanova 87, Kent State 51

The Golden Flashes escape without allowing us to hit triple digits. One of the keys to their success was to avoid fouling us. We attempt only 9 free throws and make only 4 (!!).

Mason Reynolds (19p/7r/5a/3s) wins the PotG award. Sebastian Roberts (10p/12r/3b) would have been a fine choice, too. Or, you might choose Charlie Lambert (12p/9r/5b). Connor Baxter finishes with 10 points and 4 assists.
Record: 11-1.
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Old 02-11-2024, 12:20 PM   #621
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
January 1, 2036

We ring in the New Year with some news from the academic front. Charles Peterman, who managed to get himself in trouble for bad grades despite a 62 Intelligence rating, has returned from suspension...but Trey Partridge's report card contains bad news. He's academically ineligible for second semester. Trey is a senior, so his college basketball career is over.

The players we were recruiting have all committed now, so let's see where some of them will play their college ball:
  • Gary Fairfield: Boston College
  • Jelani Obasie: Connecticut
  • Jalen Christian: Lafayette
  • Ethan DeLuca and Don Fernandes: North Carolina
  • Isiah Cook and Josh Medley: Georgetown
  • John Turner: Louisville
  • Eimantas Fetkevicius and Johnathan Brown: West Virginia
  • Brian Grammer: Syracuse

Man, a lot of them are going to play in the Big East. I'd just as soon not have to see them quite so often.
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Old 02-11-2024, 02:01 PM   #622
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Join Date: Sep 2022
January 5, 2036
Code:
#3 Villanova 127, Dartmouth 81 -------------------------------------------------------- Dartmouth (1-10, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Linwood Hackler C 28 4-8 5-10 1 7 1 3 13 Ike Choe PF 20 4-8 1-2 1 5 0 4 9 Ronald Sanchez SF 21 2-3 6-6 2 5 2 1 12 Carson Saunders SG 23 1-2 3-5 0 2 2 3 5 James Connors PG 21 3-5 2-2 0 1 2 1 8 Kyle Kempf C 21 1-3 1-2 0 3 3 3 3 Charles Stauffer SG 14 1-3 2-2 1 4 0 0 4 Vernon Ramos SF 14 2-7 0-0 0 1 3 1 4 Lucas Walker PG 14 2-5 4-5 0 0 1 3 10 Jake Huber PF 12 1-1 0-2 1 1 1 1 2 Theron Olivo SF 11 3-4 1-2 1 3 0 1 8 Eric Tobias SF 1 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 Turnovers: 26 (L.Hackler 1, I.Choe 1, R.Sanchez 2, C.Saunders 4, J.Connors 4, K.Kempf 3, C.Stauffer 2, V.Ramos 4, L.Walker 3, T.Olivo 2) Blocked Shots: 1 (C.Saunders 1) Steals: 2 (C.Saunders 1, C.Stauffer 1) 3P FGs: 6-18 (R.Sanchez 2-3, J.Connors 0-1, K.Kempf 0-2, C.Stauffer 0-2, V.Ramos 0-2, L.Walker 2-5, T.Olivo 1-2, E.Tobias 1-1) Villanova (12-1, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Sebastian Roberts C 26 2-7 2-3 4 11 0 4 6 Charlie Lambert PF 8 2-4 0-0 0 1 2 4 6 Mason Reynolds SF 28 7-17 4-4 1 6 5 4 19 Connor Baxter SG 20 7-14 2-3 2 2 4 4 19 Eldon Castanon PG 28 3-7 0-0 3 7 5 2 6 Max Bennett SG 22 7-11 6-6 1 3 4 2 25 Luke Christensen SF 17 9-10 5-5 2 6 2 2 23 Matt Valentine SG 5 2-3 0-0 0 1 0 0 5 Kyle Gribble PF 16 2-4 2-4 1 1 5 5 7 Charles Peterman PF 22 2-3 2-3 1 2 0 1 6 Erick Sullivan C 8 1-1 2-2 0 1 2 0 5 Turnovers: 11 (S.Roberts 1, C.Lambert 1, M.Reynolds 1, C.Baxter 1, E.Castanon 3, M.Bennett 1, L.Christensen 3) Blocked Shots: 2 (C.Lambert 1, M.Reynolds 1) Steals: 12 (M.Reynolds 3, C.Baxter 2, E.Castanon 1, L.Christensen 5, K.Gribble 1) 3P FGs: 14-33 (S.Roberts 0-2, C.Lambert 2-4, M.Reynolds 1-5, C.Baxter 3-7, E.Castanon 0-1, M.Bennett 5-9, L.Christensen 0-1, M.Valentine 1-1, K.Gribble 1-2, E.Sullivan 1-1) Player of Game: SF Luke Christensen (VLNV)
There goes the school record again. We shoot .543/.424/.833 on high volume; we take 81 shots, four short of our record.

The bench squad lights it up tonight. Max Bennett does much of his damage from long range, but freshman Luke Christensen, the Player of the Game, misses the only three he takes.

We're averaging 100.9 points per game. I've never seen anything like it. The Big East season begins soon. This has to end then...doesn't it?
Record: 12-1.

Here's how the teams in our conference have fared in early season play.
Code:
2035 Big East Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige -------------------------------------------------------------- #1 Georgetown 0 0 .000 13 0 1.000 12 100 #3 Villanova 0 0 .000 12 1 .923 1 100 #10 Louisville 0 0 .000 10 1 .909 26 92 #25 St. John's 0 0 .000 10 2 .833 30 72 #15 Pittsburgh 0 0 .000 9 2 .818 55 93 Providence 0 0 .000 9 2 .818 65 70 South Florida 0 0 .000 9 2 .818 70 63 Notre Dame 0 0 .000 9 3 .750 147 88 Connecticut 0 0 .000 9 2 .818 155 78 Seton Hall 0 0 .000 8 3 .727 64 57 West Virginia 0 0 .000 8 4 .667 128 97 Cincinnati 0 0 .000 7 5 .583 2 70 DePaul 0 0 .000 7 5 .583 5 55 Syracuse 0 0 .000 6 6 .500 138 68 Rutgers 0 0 .000 5 7 .417 47 70 Marquette 0 0 .000 5 6 .455 298 55


January 9, 2036
#3 Villanova 74, @Marquette 46
Suddenly, when a Big East team comes to the Pavilion, we forget how to shoot the basketball. Our 8-for-35 performance from behind the arc would possibly have cost us the game if our defense hadn't shown up with a vengeance.

Mason Reynolds and Connor Baxter lead us with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Reynolds also grabs 5 rebounds, and Baxter makes 5 steals. Luke Christensen continues to provide a spark off the bench. On a night when we don't shoot well, he's the exception, making 5 of 7 shots and scoring 11 points.
Record: 13-1 (1-0).


January 12, 2036
@Syracuse 80, #3 Villanova 79

We lose a squeaker at the Carrier Dome, as the shooting woes that plagued us in Milwaukee come east to New York with us.

Mason Reynolds does fine, making 5 of 10 threes and finishing with 22 points. But Connor Baxter misses 6 of his 7 triples and only scores 17 points because he takes 15 shots. Eldon Castanon (11p/7a) is the only other Wildcat in double figures. Sebastian Roberts grabs 9 rebounds, and Charlie Lambert snares 8.
Record: 13-2 (1-1).


January 16, 2036
#3 Villanova 89, @South Florida 73

That's more like it! We still don't shoot well from three-point range (9-for-29), but we make up for it from inside the arc (26-for-45).

Connor Baxter's performance is typical. He misses 4 of the 6 threes he tries, but he makes all 9 of his two-pointers and scores 24 points to lead all scorers. He adds 7 assists for good measure. Charlie Lambert pairs 14 points with 13 rebounds, and turns back a career-high 7 shots. Sebastian Roberts scores 12 and rebounds 9, and Matt Valentine hits for 11 off the bench.

Mason Reynolds doesn't score much (6 points) but he contributes in other ways (7 assists, 5 rebounds).
Record: 14-2 (2-1).
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Old 02-12-2024, 11:28 AM   #623
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
January 19, 2036
#3 Villanova 90, @Notre Dame 83

We snap out of our three-point shooting slump, hitting 13 of 28 against the Fighting Irish in South Bend. We need those threes, too, because we allowed the Irish to drop 83 on us, seven points more than their season average.

The hard work Connor Baxter put in this fall is paying off, as he's turned into a top-tier scorer (16.9 PPG for the season). His 25 points tonight include five threes and a perfect 6-for-6 at the line. Mason Reynolds scores 22, and Charlie Lambert adds 12, all of which come on his 4 three-balls in 4 tries. Baxter, Reynolds, and Eldon Castanon all hand out 6 assists.
Record: 15-2 (3-1).


January 23, 2036
@#3 Villanova 74, #23 St. John's 59

This one feels a bit more like the performance of a vintage Graham Sims-coached team, stingy on defense with just enough scoring.

Mason Reynolds (14p/13r/4a) and sixth man Max Bennett (14p) share the team lead in scoring. Eldon Castanon (10p/7a) and Connor Baxter (10p/5a) join them in double figures. Sebastian Roberts grabs 11 rebounds, and Charlie Lambert rejects 3 shots.
Record: 16-2 (4-1).


January 26, 2036
@#3 Villanova 84, #20 Pittsburgh 66

We take another victory from a ranked visitor, breaking open a close game with an assertive second half.

The main man is Mason Reynolds, who makes 9 of 11 shots, including 5 of 7 threes, and all 10 of his free throws to finish with 33 points. He also claims 11 rebounds and hands out 4 assists. The Big East's leading scorer (20.8 PPG), Mason also ranks in the top 10 in assists and steals, and in the top 15 in rebounds.

Eldon Castanon finishes with 9 assists to go with his 7 points. The team's leading rebounder, Sebastian Roberts, grabs 8 tonight, right on his season average. And our top shot blocker, Charlie Lambert, nudges his 2.7 BPG up a bit by turning back 3 shots.
Record: 17-2 (5-1).


January 30, 2036
Code:
#3 Villanova 94, West Virginia 65 -------------------------------------------------------- Villanova (18-2, 6-1): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Sebastian Roberts C 28 5-9 3-5 5 10 0 3 14 Charlie Lambert PF 28 3-6 5-6 1 3 3 0 13 Mason Reynolds SF 30 6-14 0-1 0 5 4 3 14 Connor Baxter SG 31 11-18 0-0 1 3 6 1 28 Eldon Castanon PG 28 5-8 0-0 0 5 7 2 12 Max Bennett SG 18 2-3 0-0 0 2 2 1 4 Luke Christensen SF 10 1-2 0-0 1 2 1 1 2 Matt Valentine SG 4 1-2 0-0 0 1 0 1 3 Kyle Gribble C 16 0-2 4-4 1 3 1 2 4 Charles Peterman PF 8 0-2 0-0 1 3 0 0 0 Turnovers: 11 (C.Lambert 1, M.Reynolds 3, C.Baxter 2, M.Bennett 1, L.Christensen 1, C.Peterman 3) Blocked Shots: 8 (C.Lambert 7, K.Gribble 1) Steals: 10 (M.Reynolds 3, C.Baxter 4, E.Castanon 2, K.Gribble 1) 3P FGs: 14-29 (S.Roberts 1-1, C.Lambert 2-4, M.Reynolds 2-7, C.Baxter 6-12, E.Castanon 2-4, M.Valentine 1-1) West Virginia (12-7, 4-3): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Wendell Cairns C 20 0-2 2-4 0 4 0 4 2 Joel Hogan PF 6 0-0 0-0 0 3 2 0 0 Jack Edwards SF 30 5-14 4-5 4 9 5 1 17 Larry Red SG 23 3-8 0-0 2 4 2 4 7 Linwood Damiano PG 32 5-13 0-0 0 2 1 1 13 Rod Brinkman SG 19 1-4 0-2 0 1 2 0 2 Joe Lamoureux C 30 5-6 1-2 0 5 1 3 11 Ronald Colon PF 23 1-7 0-0 5 8 2 3 2 Allan Hagan PF 1 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Maynard Kershner PG 11 2-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 6 Merlin Odom SF 4 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 2 Zane Welborn SG 1 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 Turnovers: 21 (W.Cairns 1, J.Hogan 1, J.Edwards 6, L.Red 5, L.Damiano 4, R.Colon 4) Blocked Shots: 3 (W.Cairns 1, J.Lamoureux 1, R.Colon 1) Steals: 5 (J.Edwards 2, J.Lamoureux 2, R.Colon 1) 3P FGs: 10-23 (W.Cairns 0-1, J.Edwards 3-11, L.Red 1-2, L.Damiano 3-4, R.Brinkman 0-1, A.Hagan 0-1, M.Kershner 2-2, Z.Welborn 1-1) Player of Game: SG Connor Baxter (VLNV)
We close out the month with a successful trip to Morgantown that features a lot of players doing a lot of good things...scoring, assisting, stealing, rebounding, blocking shots.

It's a big night for Connor Baxter, who scores the 1000th point of his Villanova career.

Someone needs to beat Georgetown, who are a perfect 20-0. Syracuse and Louisville share second place in the Big East with us; we're all 6-1 in conference play. Our one-point loss at Syracuse puts us officially in third place.
Record: 18-2 (6-1).

On the last night of the month, Graham makes a trip to suburban Harrisburg, where he watches a Lower Dauphin High School team that features a talented junior big man named James Sanders, Jr. If you've been following this story for a while, you'll know James Jr's father.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-12-2024 at 11:31 AM.
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Old 02-12-2024, 12:20 PM   #624
Chas in Cinti
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Location: Cincinnati, OH
Did anyone else notice that Vandy has 4 players named Charles/Charlie? LOL
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Old 02-12-2024, 02:26 PM   #625
MoonlightGraham
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I'm going to step out of character to post some of my thoughts about the future of my story.

I got a direct message here from a reader who noticed that Graham Sims is no longer a young coach. He's completing his 25th season as a head coach, and he's now 56 years old. The reader wondered how long I planned to let Graham's career continue.

I suppose it's possible to have a coach go on and on for decades, staying at their post until they're a century old, or older. I'm not going to do that. The game retires aging AI coaches at realistic points in their careers, and I'm going to handle Coach Sims' retirement realistically, too.

Some of the most accomplished coaches in my universe were removed from active duty when they were fairly young. Wallace Hastings retired at 61. I don't think any of the big names were still active at 70.

A peek into the editor shows me that the oldest head coach currently on the job in my universe is James Madison's Bill Rudd, who is 69 years old. Coach Rudd, however, spent eight years as an assistant before getting his first head coaching job, which he held for seven years before getting fired. Six more years as an assistant followed before JMU gave him another chance to run his own program. This is his fourth year in Harrisonburg. Coach Rudd has spent more time as an assistant than as a head coach.

It turns out that the oldest active coach who has been a head coach continuously throughout my dynasty is Miami coach Larry Ramirez. Coach Ramirez is 64. He's also the oldest coach who has reached Level 10 or higher in his career.

If we look only at the most accomplished coaches in our world--those who have hit Level 11 or higher--we see that the oldest among them are 61 years old now. That's the age of Erwin Gadson (Boston College, Level 15), Zack Lott (Stanford, Level 14), Benton Brimmer (North Carolina, Level 13), and Luther Kiely (Iowa State, Level 11). Gadson and Brimmer have been head coaches throughout our dynasty. I'll be paying attention to when these veterans decide to retire.

So, the game seems to start making the most accomplished AI coaches start considering retirement when they hit their early 60s. Within a few years, the best of the best have been sent off to enjoy the rest of their lives. The game doesn't seem to reflect the mindset of most all-time great coaches in the real world, who usually stay active into their seventies.

I'm planning to follow the customs of the game with Coach Sims. In a few years, I'll start taking stock of how things are going for him at the end of each season, and decide if it's a good time for him to hang his whistle up.

However, I'm still having so much fun with my college basketball world. Once Graham Sims retires, I'll start a new coach's story, based in the same world. I already have some ideas about who that coach might be, and where he might want to begin his career.

For now, however, Coach Sims is still excited to continue the legacy he's building at Villanova.

-MG
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Old 02-12-2024, 02:29 PM   #626
MoonlightGraham
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chas in Cinti View Post
Did anyone else notice that Vandy has 4 players named Charles/Charlie? LOL

I didn't notice that until you pointed it out! I wonder if the coach is keeping Charlie Sutton on the bench because, unlike his teammates, he refuses to be known as Charles?

The Vanderbilt coach's name is Chris Box, and he has players named Cristopher and Chris on the roster. I'm sure they call Box "Coach." I hope they have nicknames for the name-alikes on the roster.

Thanks for stopping by!

P.S. Charlie Sutton still hasn't appeared in a game. His roster status is "Unhappy." If Charlie decides to transfer this spring and he's interested in playing for Villanova, I'll offer him a scholarship if I have one available. I'm thinking I will; I can't imagine Mason Reynolds will decide to return for his senior year. Of course, I'll be delighted if he does, but he's the #7 prospect among draft-eligible players. That's why I expect to have a scholarship available for an incoming transfer.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-12-2024 at 02:35 PM.
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Old 02-12-2024, 04:06 PM   #627
MoonlightGraham
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February 2, 2036
@#3 Villanova 97, Providence 86

Mason Reynolds' double-double (23p/10r) sparks a victory over the Friars at the Wells Fargo Center. Mason also blocks 2 shots and hands out 4 assists.

Freshman Luke Christensen comes off the bench to score 16 points, and fellow reserve Kyle Gribble adds 11 more. Charlie Lambert (11p/6r/2b) and Eldon Castanon (10p/6r/6a) also score in double digits.

We set a new Villanova record by hoisting 40 three-pointers. Unfortunately only 13 of them go in, which is 31 percent.

Louisville beats Georgetown today, so this is what the Big East standings look like now:
Code:
2035 Big East Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige ------------------------------------------------------------- Syracuse 7 1 .875 13 7 .650 15 68 #9 Louisville 7 1 .875 17 2 .895 10 92 #1 Georgetown 7 1 .875 20 1 .952 2 100 #3 Villanova 7 1 .875 19 2 .905 1 100 #19 Pittsburgh 5 3 .625 14 5 .737 24 93 St. John's 4 4 .500 14 6 .700 11 72 Cincinnati 4 4 .500 11 9 .550 7 70 Providence 4 4 .500 13 6 .684 60 70 West Virginia 4 4 .500 12 8 .600 35 97 Notre Dame 3 5 .375 12 8 .600 54 88 DePaul 3 5 .375 10 10 .500 41 55 Connecticut 2 6 .250 11 8 .579 99 78 South Florida 2 6 .250 11 8 .579 93 63 Seton Hall 2 6 .250 10 9 .526 84 57 Marquette 2 6 .250 7 12 .368 132 55 Rutgers 1 7 .125 6 14 .300 81 70
Wow. Just wow.
Record: 19-2 (7-1).


February 6, 2036
@#2 Villanova 105, South Florida 57

Remember when I told about our new school record for three-point attempts? Now, four days later, it's the old record. We launch 42 triples tonight, and 19 of them go in. That, by the way, is one short of our record.

Mason Reynolds accounts for 11 of the attempts and 7 of the makes. He finishes with 35 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists, passing the 1500-point barrier in the process. He's the sixth Wildcat to reach 1500 for his career.

Eldon Castanon (15p/8r/5a), Charlie Lambert (14p/6r/4b/3s), Sebastian Roberts (12p/9r) and Connor Baxter (8p/8a/5s) also play notably well.

Syracuse stumbles at Cincinnati, so Louisville moves to the top of the Big East.
Record: 20-2 (8-1).


February 9, 2036
@#2 Villanova 101, Rutgers 65

It's a career night for Charlie Lambert, who scores 29 points as we unseat the Golden Knights.

It's far from a one-man show, though; the rest of the starting five, plus Max Bennett, all score between 10 and 13 points. Mason Reynolds also contributes 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals.

The game features the teams most likely to attempt a three-point shot in all of Division I basketball. We combine to hoist 63 of them (33 by Rutgers, 30 by us), which is very close to a typical output for us this season.
Record: 21-2 (9-1).


February 13, 2036
@#2 Villanova 74, Seton Hall 41

A combination of our good defense and their bad luck limits the Pirates to only 41 points at the Pavilion tonight. The visitors try 11 threes and miss every one.

Meanwhile, Connor Baxter scores 19 points, Mason Reynolds adds 17, and Charlie Lambert pitches in 12 and blocks 4 shots. Sebastian Roberts pulls in 12 rebounds.

All three Big East leaders win their 10th conference match of the season.
Record: 22-2 (10-1).
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Old 02-12-2024, 04:35 PM   #628
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
February 16, 2036
Code:
#2 Villanova 77, #1 Georgetown 75 (OT) --------------------------------------------------------- Villanova (23-2, 11-1): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Sebastian Roberts C 34 1-2 1-2 3 12 2 4 3 Charlie Lambert PF 35 6-11 0-0 3 7 2 2 16 Mason Reynolds SF 40 7-17 6-8 3 11 3 4 21 Connor Baxter SG 36 3-13 0-0 0 2 2 3 7 Eldon Castanon PG 34 4-8 1-1 0 3 7 3 11 Max Bennett SG 16 3-4 1-1 0 1 1 1 7 Luke Christensen SF 6 0-1 1-2 0 0 0 2 1 Matt Valentine SG 3 1-2 0-0 0 1 0 0 3 Kyle Gribble PF 16 3-5 2-2 1 2 0 2 8 Charles Peterman PF 3 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 1 0 Turnovers: 19 (S.Roberts 2, C.Lambert 2, M.Reynolds 6, C.Baxter 4, E.Castanon 1, M.Bennett 3, K.Gribble 1) Blocked Shots: 10 (S.Roberts 1, C.Lambert 6, E.Castanon 1, M.Valentine 1, K.Gribble 1) Steals: 7 (M.Reynolds 2, C.Baxter 2, M.Bennett 2, K.Gribble 1) 3P FGs: 9-29 (S.Roberts 0-1, C.Lambert 4-7, M.Reynolds 1-4, C.Baxter 1-9, E.Castanon 2-5, M.Bennett 0-1, L.Christensen 0-1, M.Valentine 1-1) Georgetown (23-2, 10-2): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Timothy Johnson C 27 3-5 2-3 1 3 2 3 8 David McDermott PF 35 4-15 3-5 1 8 1 1 11 Brian Bishop SF 37 5-8 3-4 3 13 0 3 13 Frank Murdoch SG 34 5-9 1-2 0 3 5 0 15 Douglas Wilson PG 35 2-8 3-3 0 1 6 3 7 Oscar Duncan PF 16 2-4 0-0 2 4 1 1 5 Stanley Bailes C 11 3-5 1-3 2 3 0 1 7 Brent Taylor C 8 2-3 1-1 2 3 0 0 5 Ahmad Ashworth SG 16 1-5 2-3 1 2 1 4 4 Bernie Johnson PG 2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Larry Bolding SF 4 0-1 0-1 0 0 0 1 0 Turnovers: 18 (T.Johnson 3, D.McDermott 3, F.Murdoch 5, D.Wilson 3, A.Ashworth 4) Blocked Shots: 7 (T.Johnson 1, D.McDermott 2, F.Murdoch 2, D.Wilson 1, S.Bailes 1) Steals: 7 (B.Bishop 2, D.Wilson 2, O.Duncan 1, A.Ashworth 1, L.Bolding 1) 3P FGs: 5-20 (D.McDermott 0-2, F.Murdoch 4-8, D.Wilson 0-2, O.Duncan 1-2, S.Bailes 0-1, A.Ashworth 0-3, B.Johnson 0-1, L.Bolding 0-1) Player of Game: PF Charlie Lambert (VLNV)
Late in our game against Seton Hall earlier in the week, Kyle Gribble painfully jammed a finger. The injury was serious enough for the training staff to list Kyle as day-to-day, but there is no way the junior forward would miss this matchup.

Nor does he miss the free throws he shot with one second left in overtime to provide the winning margin in one of the biggest regular season games in our history.

We trail the Hoyas by eight points at halftime, but by the 12:00 media timeout of the second half, we pull even once again. Like skilled boxers, we trade punches for the remainder of the half. With 20 seconds left, Georgetown wing Brian Bishop drives to the hoop, and Mason Reynolds fouls him. Bishop makes both foul shots. Both teams miss chances to win the game in regulation time.

Charlie Lambert's 16-point, 7-rebound, 6-block performance earns him the PotG.

Our victory takes on even greater meaning when Connecticut defeats Louisville in Hartford, leaving us in first place in the Big East.
Record: 23-2 (11-1).
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Old 02-13-2024, 08:51 AM   #629
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
Code:
Top 25 # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Villanova (64) 24-2 1792 2 Big East Conference 2. Kentucky (7) 23-2 1728 3 Southeastern Conference 3. Georgetown (1) 23-2 1664 1 Big East Conference 4. Vanderbilt 20-4 1578 4 Southeastern Conference 5. Texas 21-3 1465 6 Big 12 Conference 6. Louisville 20-3 1368 5 Big East Conference 7. Boston College 20-4 1343 11 Atlantic Coast Conference 8. Tennessee 19-6 1316 8 Southeastern Conference 9. Utah 23-2 1282 10 Mountain West Conference 10. Miami 20-5 1191 7 Atlantic Coast Conference 11. Kansas 19-5 1053 9 Big 12 Conference 12. Washington 20-4 1044 12 Pacific-10 Conference 13. Baylor 20-5 952 14 Big 12 Conference 14. Southern California 19-6 799 19 Pacific-10 Conference 15. Houston 20-4 793 15 Conference USA 16. Pittsburgh 16-7 651 16 Big East Conference 17. Mississippi State 20-5 609 17 Southeastern Conference 18. Memphis 19-6 608 13 Conference USA 19. UNLV 17-6 574 18 Mountain West Conference 20. Duke 17-6 446 21 Atlantic Coast Conference 21. Illinois 19-5 350 24 Big Ten Conference 22. Florida 17-8 214 20 Southeastern Conference 23. Temple 18-5 196 NR Atlantic 10 Conference 24. North Carolina 18-6 171 NR Atlantic Coast Conference 25. Lafayette 20-7 43 22 Patriot League

February 20, 2036
@#1 Villanova 79, DePaul 69

Charlie Lambert defends our house emphatically tonight. He blocks 10 shots, which is the highest total ever recorded by a player coached by Graham Sims. Extra points for being a dynasty lore-master if you guess the previous record holder was Samuel Davis of Lafayette, who blocked 9 in an NCAA tournament game against Wisconsin in 2019.

The Villanova record is 12, set by Larry Vanegas in 2021.

Charlie completes a double-double with 16 points, falling 3 rebounds short of a triple-feature. Mason Reynolds (20p/10r) and Connor Baxter (20p/7a) lead us in scoring. Sebastian Roberts grabs 12 boards, and Eldon Castanon has 6 rebounds and 5 assists.
Record: 24-2 (12-1).


February 23, 2036
@#1 Villanova 108, Marquette 75

Another overwhelming offensive output buries the Golden Eagles. We set a new single-game record with 33 assists.

Connor Baxter is our top playmaker, with 9; Eldon Castanon (8) is right behind him. Mason Reynolds and Max Bennett add 4 each, and eight players set up a teammate at least once.

Mason leads us in scoring with 32 points. Charlie Lambert finishes with 22, and blocks 5 more shots. Baxter (15p) rounds out the double-digit scorers.
Record: 25-2 (13-1).


February 27, 2036
#1 Villanova 111, @Cincinnati 78

Led by Mason Reynolds and his 38 points, we drop 111 on the Bearcats in Cincinnati. Reynolds makes 6 of 12 three-pointers, 6 of 8 two-pointers, and 8 of 10 free throws. He also finishes with 7 rebounds and 7 steals.

Jack Clary of Kentucky (24.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG) will probably repeat as National Player of the Year, but Mason (21.8 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 4.5 APG) has to be in the conversation.

Three reserves score in double figures: Max Bennett (18), Luke Christensen (11), and Kyle Gribble (10). Connor Baxter pitches in 13, with 6 boards and 6 assists.
Record: 26-2 (14-1).


March 1, 2036
@#1 Villanova 101, #9 Louisville 76

Tonight, we play our final game at the Wells Fargo Center, as we'll move into our new on-campus home next season. Connor Baxter makes it one to remember. The junior guard goes 10-for-12 from three-point distance and finishes with 32 points. He adds 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals.

Mason Reynolds also says goodbye in style: 19 points, a season-high 14 rebounds, and 7 assists. So does Charlie Lambert: 13 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks. Eldon Castanon contributes 6 assists.
Record: 27-2 (15-1).


March 5, 2036
@#1 Villanova 90, Syracuse 81

Our last game at Finneran Pavilion is an even more emotional occasion. The Finn has been the Wildcats' home for 50 years, and it's been the scene of countless memorable moments. Former players, young and not-so-young, are present to bid farewell to the arena they called home.

It would be Senior Day, but the team's only senior is academically ineligible.

The alumni watch Eldon Castanon score 20 points, dish out 5 assists, and make 2 steals. They enjoy a double-double from Sebastian Roberts: 11 points, 10 boards. They appreciate a 12-point, 7-assist performance by Connor Baxter. And they leave impressed with Mason Reynolds and his 14 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals.

So long, Finn. It's been a great 50 years.
Record: 28-2 (16-1).


March 8, 2036
#1 Villanova 62, @Connecticut 39

How strange is it that, in a season marked by record-setting offensive production, we end the Big East regular season with a shut-down defensive effort...and our worst shooting performance?

The less that is said about our 3-for-30 "accuracy" from long range, the better. Connor Baxter finishes with 19 points, despite missing 9 of his 10 treys (he made 8 of 10 two-pointers). Mason Reynolds does Mason Reynolds things: 19 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds, 3 steals. Charlie Lambert scores 8, rebounds 7, blocks 4.

The defense forces 22 Huskies turnovers, which helps us hold them below 40 points. We'll enter the Big East tournament as its regular season champion; it's the sixth such championship of Graham Sims' Villanova career.
Record: 29-2 (17-1).

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-13-2024 at 10:15 AM.
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Old 02-13-2024, 09:16 AM   #630
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
March 13, 2036


We earn another double bye, and enter the tournament in the Quarterfinals.

Big East Tournament Quarterfinal
(1) #1 Villanova 84, (8) Providence 73

Tournament basketball just feels different. It's often edgier, grittier, more of a street fight. Tonight's game definitely feels that way. The Friars are within four points until the game's closing moments, when we put it away at the free throw line.

Connor Baxter leads us with a 17p/10r double-double. Mason Reynolds scores 19 points, adding 8 rebounds. Sebastian Roberts (10) is our only other double-digit scorer, but three other Wildcats finish with 8 points.

It's not pretty, but it's enough to put us through to the next round, and that's what matters.
Record: 30-2.


March 14, 2036
Big East Tournament Semifinal
(1) #1 Villanova 96, (12) Rutgers 75

Rutgers is up next, a Cinderella who have already sent Pitt and Louisville home. We end their party with a classic '36 Villanova game: allow more points than I'm used to seeing us allow, but drop 90-something on them and take the win.

A bout of foul trouble keeps Mason Reynolds on the bench for much of the game, and that allows Matt Valentine to shine. The sophomore swingman plays 28 minutes and scores 25 points, easily a career high.

Connor Baxter supports him with 17 points, 9 assists, and 5 rebounds. Charlie Lambert finishes with 14 points and 6 boards, and in his 16 minutes of time, Mason manages to log 10 points and 7 rebounds.

Once again, it will be Villanova vs. Georgetown for the tournament trophy.
Record: 31-2.


March 15, 2036
Big East Tournament Championship

Code:
#1 Villanova 106, #3 Georgetown 86 --------------------------------------------------------- Georgetown (31-3, 16-2): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Timothy Johnson C 24 2-7 3-5 2 4 1 1 7 David McDermott PF 19 3-8 4-4 5 12 1 4 10 Brian Bishop SF 24 3-11 2-3 0 1 1 4 8 Frank Murdoch SG 21 4-6 0-0 2 4 4 3 10 Douglas Wilson PG 29 6-13 1-2 0 1 8 1 15 Oscar Duncan SF 15 2-4 0-0 0 1 0 2 4 Stanley Bailes C 13 1-4 0-0 3 7 2 1 2 Brent Taylor C 10 2-3 0-0 0 1 0 0 4 Joshua Lee PF 11 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Ahmad Ashworth SG 16 3-7 0-0 0 2 1 4 7 Bernie Johnson PG 8 2-2 0-0 0 0 1 0 6 Larry Bolding SF 12 5-8 0-0 3 3 0 1 13 Turnovers: 14 (T.Johnson 1, D.McDermott 1, B.Bishop 2, F.Murdoch 3, D.Wilson 1, O.Duncan 2, A.Ashworth 1, B.Johnson 2, L.Bolding 1) Blocked Shots: 4 (D.McDermott 1, B.Bishop 1, S.Bailes 1, B.Johnson 1) Steals: 6 (B.Bishop 3, F.Murdoch 1, B.Taylor 1, J.Lee 1) 3P FGs: 10-26 (F.Murdoch 2-4, D.Wilson 2-7, O.Duncan 0-1, S.Bailes 0-2, A.Ashworth 1-5, B.Johnson 2-2, L.Bolding 3-5) Villanova (32-2, 17-1): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Sebastian Roberts C 30 3-6 5-6 2 9 1 3 12 Charlie Lambert PF 25 5-8 2-2 0 2 0 2 16 Mason Reynolds SF 26 9-15 1-2 1 7 3 2 25 Connor Baxter SG 31 6-11 5-5 1 5 7 3 21 Eldon Castanon PG 30 4-7 0-0 2 6 13 1 9 Max Bennett PG 12 2-3 0-0 0 0 1 0 5 Matt Valentine SF 15 1-4 4-4 1 1 3 0 7 Luke Christensen SF 6 2-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 5 Kyle Gribble PF 17 1-7 2-2 2 4 0 2 4 Charles Peterman PF 8 1-2 0-0 2 4 0 0 2 Turnovers: 14 (S.Roberts 1, M.Reynolds 2, C.Baxter 3, E.Castanon 6, M.Valentine 1, K.Gribble 1) Blocked Shots: 3 (C.Lambert 1, C.Baxter 1, E.Castanon 1) Steals: 9 (M.Reynolds 2, E.Castanon 4, M.Bennett 2, L.Christensen 1) 3P FGs: 19-38 (S.Roberts 1-3, C.Lambert 4-6, M.Reynolds 6-9, C.Baxter 4-8, E.Castanon 1-3, M.Bennett 1-1, M.Valentine 1-2, L.Christensen 1-1, K.Gribble 0-4, C.Peterman 0-1) Player of Game: SF Mason Reynolds (VLNV)
In another game that has '36 Villanova stamped indelibly upon it, we outscore the Hoyas and claim a double victory: regular season and tournament champions of the Big East.

Ten players get into the game for us, and all ten of them attempt a three-point shot. Charlie Lambert, Mason Reynolds, and Connor Baxter make most of theirs.

We score 34 baskets, and assists are recorded on 29 of them. I've mentioned before how much I love this. Eldon Castanon is especially generous and skillful today. He becomes the fourth player to earn a spot on the leader board for assists in a single game; most of the spots are taken by Justice Stafford and Severiano Tipaldo, with a single appearance by Duncan Sims.

Mason Reynolds finishes the game with a season total of 714 points. That's enough to break the school record of exactly 700, held by Asher Wise.
Record: 32-2.

Now, it's time to get ready for the Big Dance.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-13-2024 at 10:15 AM.
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Old 02-13-2024, 11:02 AM   #631
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
March 16, 2036

We're headed to the West Region this year, as its top seed.

The other 1 seeds are Georgetown, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky. The Commodores could possibly face Lafayette in the round of 32 if both teams win their first games.


March 20, 2036
NCAA West Region, First Round
(1) #1 Villanova 92, (16) Presbyterian 48

The Blue Hose's season is a fun story. They entered the Big South tournament as the #8 seed in an eight-team seed. They upset top seeded Liberty, knocked off UNC-Asheville, and won the final by two points over two-seed Gardner Webb. Then, they edged out South Carolina State, 67-64, in the play-in game that landed them in the tournament field proper.

Led by senior point guard Weldon Raynor and junior wing Terrence Ripley, the Blue Hose aren't here to sightsee. Still, Ripley admits, "About halfway through the first half, I think to myself that I'm guarding Mason Reynolds."

Mason finishes with 21 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals, but he's put up far better numbers against players who were five-star recruits and are future professional standouts. Raynor battles Connor Baxter, and while Connor scores 15 points and dishes out 11 assists, Raynor hangs tough with 11 and 7, respectively. Charlie Lambert scores 15 points, but he can't manage to block a Blue Hose shot. Eldon Castanon (13), Kyle Gribble (11) and Matt Valentine (10) round out our double figure scorers.

The final score makes it look like a rout, but it's a more interesting game than meets the eye.
Record: 33-2.


March 22, 2036
NCAA West Region, Second Round
(1) #1 Villanova 95, (8) Colgate 68

If I went back through every post in the dynasty, I could figure out Graham Sims' career record against Colgate. I do know that Lafayette leads the all-time series, 48-11, and that quite a few of those wins are Graham's.

The Red Raiders got here by defeating one of this universe's glamour teams: Southern California. Their season ends tonight, however, as Eldon Castanon and Mason Reynolds lead us to a victory that sends us to the Sweet Sixteen.

Eldon scores 16 points, grabs 5 rebounds, hands out 7 assists, makes 2 steals, and doesn't turn the ball over once. Mason's 26 points and 8 rebounds lead all Wildcats.

Charlie Lambert (12p/3b), Connor Baxter (11p/6r/3s), and Max Bennett (10p) also score in double figures.
Record: 34-2.


March 27, 2036
NCAA West Region Semifinal: the Sweet Sixteen

Code:
(1) #1 Villanova 112, (4) #16 Tennessee 66 -------------------------------------------------------- Tennessee (23-11, 9-7): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Paul Bower C 16 2-9 1-3 0 3 0 4 5 C. Carpenter PF 21 2-4 1-3 1 5 0 2 5 Everett Pulliam SF 26 1-6 3-4 2 3 1 1 5 Foster Simpson SG 21 4-5 4-4 1 1 1 2 13 Galen Rollo PG 26 1-6 0-0 0 1 5 2 2 Stephen Leland PG 11 0-3 2-2 0 1 0 1 2 Delbert Rumph SG 12 0-2 2-2 0 3 2 2 2 Waylon Dang SF 17 4-9 7-8 1 5 1 4 18 Michael Schauer PF 16 1-2 0-0 1 1 1 1 2 Andrew Colter SG 8 2-3 1-2 1 1 0 3 6 Jonathon Herrera C 21 1-2 3-4 0 1 0 2 5 Lloyd Carey C 6 0-1 1-2 1 3 0 0 1 Turnovers: 19 (P.Bower 1, C.Carpenter 2, E.Pulliam 3, F.Simpson 4, G.Rollo 1, S.Leland 3, W.Dang 1, M.Schauer 1, A.Colter 2, L.Carey 1) Blocked Shots: 5 (C.Carpenter 1, E.Pulliam 1, J.Herrera 3) Steals: 5 (C.Carpenter 1, G.Rollo 3, S.Leland 1) 3P FGs: 5-15 (F.Simpson 1-2, G.Rollo 0-3, S.Leland 0-1, W.Dang 3-6, A.Colter 1-2, L.Carey 0-1) Villanova (35-2, 17-1): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Sebastian Roberts C 28 5-10 2-2 5 8 1 3 12 Charlie Lambert PF 27 7-13 3-4 1 6 0 2 21 Mason Reynolds SF 29 10-17 0-0 3 12 6 4 25 Connor Baxter SG 15 3-6 1-1 2 3 7 4 8 Eldon Castanon PG 28 4-9 0-0 4 6 8 1 9 Max Bennett SG 24 4-6 1-2 1 1 1 3 10 Matt Valentine SF 17 4-5 4-6 0 3 2 4 13 Luke Christensen SF 7 0-1 7-8 0 2 1 2 7 Kyle Gribble C 13 2-4 3-3 0 3 1 1 7 Charles Peterman PF 11 0-1 0-0 0 3 1 3 0 Turnovers: 14 (S.Roberts 3, M.Reynolds 3, C.Baxter 2, E.Castanon 3, M.Bennett 1, K.Gribble 2) Blocked Shots: 6 (C.Lambert 6) Steals: 15 (S.Roberts 3, C.Lambert 1, M.Reynolds 2, C.Baxter 4, M.Bennett 3, K.Gribble 2) 3P FGs: 13-26 (C.Lambert 4-8, M.Reynolds 5-7, C.Baxter 1-3, E.Castanon 1-5, M.Bennett 1-1, M.Valentine 1-1, C.Peterman 0-1) Player of Game: SF Mason Reynolds (VLNV)
By halftime, we're ahead 71-33, and from there, we can almost coast home against a good Tennessee team that wanted to avenge an early exit from the SEC tournament.

We shoot .542/.808/.500 for the game. I'm happy to share that this level of accuracy from the line is actually lower than our season average. We're hitting 82.2 percent for the year.

Kansas beats Utah, 63-62, in the other regional semifinal, so we'll face the bluest of blue bloods for a spot in the Final Four.
Record: 35-2.


March 29, 2036
NCAA West Region Final: the Elite Eight

Code:
# Team Wins Losses Pct --------------------------------------------------- 1 Kansas 739 151 .830 2 Villanova 704 183 .794 3 Lafayette 697 174 .800 4 Georgetown 693 186 .788 5 North Carolina 686 178 .794 6 Boston College 685 192 .781 7 Kentucky 677 207 .766 8 Southern California 673 208 .764 9 Vanderbilt 653 221 .747 10 Texas 631 223 .739

This is a clash of titans. Kansas has won the Big XII championship 17 times, and captured 8 conference tournaments. We've taken 10 Big East regular season titles, and 9 tournament championships. (Lafayette has 19 and 13, respectively).

Kansas coach Blaine Boyd has been Graham Sims' friend for decades. Until this season, Coaches Boyd and Sims met frequently in the Big East; Coach Boyd spent over 20 seasons at Pitt. The coaches' combined records: 1385 wins, 384 losses. That's right; between them, they have over a thousand more victories than defeats.

The game lives up to the hype.
Code:
(1) #1 Villanova 89, (3) #6 Kansas 81 -------------------------------------------------------- Kansas (29-7, 12-4): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Max Dicken C 29 4-11 2-6 3 7 5 3 10 Jerrold Brewer PF 34 0-5 0-0 4 11 3 1 0 Chadwick Lassiter SF 12 0-1 0-0 1 1 1 4 0 James Bible SG 35 11-25 1-4 4 6 3 2 26 Miloslav Larionov PG 32 6-12 3-4 0 1 3 5 15 George Oubre SF 25 2-6 2-2 1 4 1 1 6 Timothy Aceves C 12 2-2 3-3 2 4 0 2 7 Jesse Eady C 6 3-3 1-1 1 1 0 0 7 Dudley Curtin SG 14 5-6 0-2 1 5 0 0 10 Kennith Withers PF 2 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 Damien Turner SF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 14 (M.Dicken 3, J.Brewer 1, C.Lassiter 1, J.Bible 4, M.Larionov 2, G.Oubre 2, D.Curtin 1) Blocked Shots: 2 (J.Brewer 2) Steals: 13 (M.Dicken 1, J.Brewer 3, J.Bible 1, M.Larionov 3, G.Oubre 3, D.Curtin 2) 3P FGs: 3-14 (J.Brewer 0-2, C.Lassiter 0-1, J.Bible 3-8, M.Larionov 0-3) Villanova (36-2, 17-1): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Sebastian Roberts C 25 2-3 4-7 0 7 1 4 8 Charlie Lambert PF 32 3-9 0-0 3 9 0 3 7 Mason Reynolds SF 36 13-24 2-3 4 13 3 1 34 Connor Baxter SG 33 6-10 6-6 2 2 7 2 22 Eldon Castanon PG 32 2-9 2-2 1 1 7 4 6 Max Bennett SG 13 1-1 0-0 1 3 3 0 3 Matt Valentine SF 6 1-2 1-2 0 0 0 1 3 Kyle Gribble PF 12 2-4 0-0 1 1 2 5 4 Charles Peterman PF 9 1-1 0-0 0 3 0 0 2 Erick Sullivan C 2 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 Turnovers: 19 (C.Lambert 3, M.Reynolds 5, C.Baxter 4, E.Castanon 4, M.Bennett 2, K.Gribble 1) Blocked Shots: 6 (S.Roberts 3, C.Lambert 2, M.Valentine 1) Steals: 6 (C.Lambert 1, M.Reynolds 1, C.Baxter 1, M.Bennett 1, K.Gribble 1, C.Peterman 1) 3P FGs: 12-31 (C.Lambert 1-5, M.Reynolds 6-12, C.Baxter 4-7, E.Castanon 0-6, M.Bennett 1-1) Player of Game: SF Mason Reynolds (VLNV)
The game offers an intriguing contest of styles. Kansas prefers to work the ball inside. Junior Max Dicken is projected to be a first round draft pick; few players we've seen approach his repertoire of low post moves. Senior guard James Bible is the team's only three-point shooter, and he'd rank fourth among Villanova players in attempts from long range. Meanwhile, we have nine players who can, and will, fire away from behind the arc.

Seb Roberts and Charlie Lambert do a great job containing Dicken, who averages over 17 points per game. We have our hands full with Bible, but we can also take advantage of his rather cavalier attitude regarding defense.

And, we have Mason Reynolds, and Kansas does not.

So, we're off to the Final Four.
Record: 36-2.
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Old 02-13-2024, 11:57 AM   #632
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
April 5, 2036
NCAA National Semfinal: the Final Four

Code:
#1 Villanova 88, #4 Vanderbilt 77 --------------------------------------------------------- Vanderbilt (32-5, 13-3): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts John Stevens C 34 5-12 2-2 4 12 0 2 12 Otto Cain PF 35 8-13 4-5 6 9 1 4 20 Cristopher Bowker SF 32 5-19 4-5 3 5 3 1 16 Steve Albrecht SG 31 4-6 5-5 1 3 6 1 14 Charles Robinson PG 35 2-9 0-0 2 4 5 2 5 Charles Mahler SF 15 1-3 0-0 1 6 1 2 2 Matthew Applegate SG 8 2-5 0-0 0 0 1 1 5 Fletcher Watkins PG 2 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 Charles Phillips PF 8 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 0 1 Turnovers: 14 (C.Bowker 4, S.Albrecht 2, C.Robinson 3, C.Mahler 4, F.Watkins 1) Blocked Shots: 3 (J.Stevens 1, C.Bowker 1, C.Phillips 1) Steals: 5 (J.Stevens 1, S.Albrecht 2, C.Robinson 2) 3P FGs: 5-24 (J.Stevens 0-1, C.Bowker 2-13, S.Albrecht 1-2, C.Robinson 1-3, C.Mahler 0-2, M.Applegate 1-2, F.Watkins 0-1) Villanova (37-2, 17-1): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Sebastian Roberts C 30 3-6 2-3 0 9 2 3 10 Charlie Lambert PF 28 1-5 0-0 2 7 4 2 3 Mason Reynolds SF 36 9-18 3-4 4 8 2 0 25 Connor Baxter SG 32 7-12 0-0 1 4 2 2 19 Eldon Castanon PG 30 4-9 0-0 1 3 6 1 10 Max Bennett SG 14 0-1 0-0 1 1 1 3 0 Matt Valentine SF 7 2-4 3-4 0 1 0 1 8 Kyle Gribble PF 17 4-5 2-2 2 3 1 2 11 Charles Peterman PF 4 1-3 0-0 1 1 0 0 2 Turnovers: 16 (S.Roberts 2, C.Lambert 4, M.Reynolds 4, E.Castanon 3, M.Bennett 2, C.Peterman 1) Blocked Shots: 3 (C.Lambert 2, M.Reynolds 1) Steals: 11 (M.Reynolds 3, C.Baxter 1, E.Castanon 5, M.Bennett 1, C.Peterman 1) 3P FGs: 16-29 (S.Roberts 2-4, C.Lambert 1-4, M.Reynolds 4-7, C.Baxter 5-7, E.Castanon 2-5, M.Valentine 1-1, K.Gribble 1-1) Player of Game: SF Mason Reynolds (VLNV)
We advance to the championship game with an exciting victory over one of Graham Sims' favorite opponents.

It's a very good game. During the first half, we keep losing track of Vanderbilt's excellent big men,John Stevens and Otto Cain. I really wanted Stevens to be interested in us coming out of high school, but he never considered our program. We looked at Cain, too; like Stevens, he wanted to remain closer to his Georgia home. Their big men have 22 points between them in the first 20 minutes, and the Commodores lead, 45-43.

After the break, our three-point shots begin to find the range. Connor Baxter hits 4 of the 5 triples he attempts in the second half. Otto Cain, who is a fine defender, gets in foul trouble, and reserve Kyle Gribble takes advantage of the Vandy man's absence.

And we have Mason Reynolds, and Vanderbilt does not.

Once again, Vanderbilt freshman Charlie Sutton watches the game from the bench. Charlie has, in effect, taken a redshirt year, but it's one he won't get back because he wasn't "officially" redshirted. I wonder if he's thinking about making a change?

Coach Sims will make his seventh trip to the championship game. He's seeking his fourth victory. And guess who stands in his way?

Georgetown.
Record: 37-2.
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Old 02-13-2024, 12:05 PM   #633
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April 6, 2036

Today's High School All-American game is interesting. Several players we recruited, including one who signed with us, played on the East team.
Code:
West 122, East 117 --------------------------------------------------------- Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Jelani Obasie C 31 4-12 4-4 1 3 1 3 12 Jalen Christian PF 30 4-9 6-6 3 10 3 4 14 Morris Thiele SF 25 5-12 3-3 0 5 1 3 15 Dane Barlow SG 30 7-10 5-7 1 3 7 4 23 Jake Joyce PG 29 6-12 4-5 1 8 7 2 18 John Williams SF 16 5-6 4-6 1 4 0 2 14 Saul Scharf C 12 2-5 1-1 0 1 2 0 5 Don Fernandes SG 16 4-6 4-4 3 6 1 3 14 Emanuel Trotter PF 5 1-1 0-0 0 3 0 0 2 Bo Waters SF 7 0-3 0-0 0 1 0 1 0 Turnovers: 16 (J.Obasie 1, J.Christian 2, M.Thiele 2, D.Barlow 4, J.Joyce 3, J.Williams 1, D.Fernandes 2, B.Waters 1) Blocked Shots: 0 Steals: 3 (J.Obasie 1, J.Christian 1, M.Thiele 1) 3P FGs: 10-23 (J.Obasie 0-2, J.Christian 0-1, M.Thiele 2-3, D.Barlow 4-6, J.Joyce 2-6, D.Fernandes 2-3, B.Waters 0-2) West: Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Richard Alvarado C 13 1-3 1-2 2 2 1 4 3 Aurelio Pena PF 28 5-14 6-7 4 13 3 3 16 Ahmed Way SF 32 10-18 1-4 2 7 6 3 26 Chris Berkowitz SG 25 9-15 2-4 4 6 2 2 25 Virgil Cooper PG 21 3-9 3-4 1 1 2 4 11 Charles Sundberg SG 25 8-15 0-1 1 8 4 4 20 Ahmad Steed C 30 6-11 0-0 2 6 2 3 12 Daniel Moynihan SF 10 1-4 2-2 2 3 0 4 5 Thomas Sasser PF 14 1-4 0-0 3 5 0 2 2 John Turner PG 2 1-2 0-0 1 2 2 0 2 Turnovers: 9 (R.Alvarado 1, A.Pena 1, A.Way 3, C.Berkowitz 1, A.Steed 3) Blocked Shots: 0 Steals: 7 (A.Way 3, C.Berkowitz 2, C.Sundberg 1, A.Steed 1) 3P FGs: 17-35 (A.Pena 0-2, A.Way 5-11, C.Berkowitz 5-9, V.Cooper 2-6, C.Sundberg 4-5, D.Moynihan 1-2) Player of Game: SG Chris Berkowitz (West)

Three members of the East starting five--Jelani Obasie, Jalen Christian, and Dane Barlow--were on our recruiting short list. Dane, of course, will be a Villanova Wildcat next year. Had the East won, Dane might very well have been Player of the Game.

Well done, Mr. Barlow. We'll see you on campus soon.
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Old 02-13-2024, 03:24 PM   #634
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April 7, 2036
NCAA Championship Game

Code:
#1 Villanova 92, #3 Georgetown 58 --------------------------------------------------------- Georgetown (36-4, 16-2): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Timothy Johnson C 23 2-3 0-0 1 6 0 0 4 David McDermott PF 24 3-8 3-4 3 5 1 3 9 Brian Bishop SF 29 7-15 1-3 0 0 3 2 15 Frank Murdoch SG 19 3-8 0-0 0 4 0 4 7 Douglas Wilson PG 27 1-4 2-2 1 5 8 2 4 Oscar Duncan PF 13 1-5 0-0 2 3 0 0 2 Stanley Bailes PF 10 0-1 0-0 1 1 0 3 0 Brent Taylor C 11 1-2 0-0 0 2 0 1 2 Joshua Lee PF 5 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 Ahmad Ashworth SG 22 3-13 0-0 1 3 1 1 8 Bernie Johnson PG 9 1-3 0-0 0 0 1 1 3 Larry Bolding SF 9 1-2 0-0 0 0 1 2 2 Roy Powe SG 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 20 (T.Johnson 1, D.McDermott 3, B.Bishop 3, F.Murdoch 1, D.Wilson 4, O.Duncan 1, B.Taylor 1, J.Lee 1, A.Ashworth 4, B.Johnson 1) Blocked Shots: 5 (T.Johnson 2, D.McDermott 1, O.Duncan 1, J.Lee 1) Steals: 8 (T.Johnson 1, B.Bishop 1, D.Wilson 2, S.Bailes 2, A.Ashworth 2) 3P FGs: 4-21 (D.McDermott 0-1, F.Murdoch 1-3, D.Wilson 0-3, O.Duncan 0-2, B.Taylor 0-1, A.Ashworth 2-9, B.Johnson 1-2) Villanova (38-2, 17-1): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Sebastian Roberts C 27 3-4 0-0 3 11 0 3 6 Charlie Lambert PF 28 3-3 0-2 0 6 2 1 9 Mason Reynolds SF 31 6-15 1-3 2 9 6 1 14 Connor Baxter SG 30 8-15 2-2 1 4 7 1 21 Eldon Castanon PG 27 7-10 0-0 0 3 6 0 16 Max Bennett SG 15 1-2 2-2 0 1 2 3 4 Matt Valentine SF 11 0-0 2-2 0 1 1 1 2 Luke Christensen SF 5 1-1 0-0 0 1 0 0 3 Kyle Gribble PF 18 6-7 1-2 0 3 1 1 16 Charles Peterman PF 7 0-1 1-2 0 0 0 0 1 Turnovers: 20 (S.Roberts 3, C.Lambert 1, M.Reynolds 5, C.Baxter 2, E.Castanon 3, M.Bennett 2, M.Valentine 3, K.Gribble 1) Blocked Shots: 3 (C.Lambert 2, M.Reynolds 1) Steals: 6 (M.Reynolds 2, M.Bennett 2, M.Valentine 1, K.Gribble 1) 3P FGs: 13-27 (S.Roberts 0-1, C.Lambert 3-3, M.Reynolds 1-6, C.Baxter 3-8, E.Castanon 2-4, L.Christensen 1-1, K.Gribble 3-4) Player of Game: SG Connor Baxter (VLNV)
Another shining moment for Graham Sims and the Villanova Wildcats. Our victory today gives Villanova its third national championship. Kansas is the only other program with three national titles.

It's Coach Sims' fourth NCAA title: three at Villanova, one at Lafayette.

They say it's hard to beat the same team three times in a season, and that's the task we faced against Georgetown this year. We turn the adage on its head, by widening our margin of victory from 2 to 20 to 34 points.

We commit 20 turnovers today, but we mitigate their effects by forcing Georgetown into an equal number. And, as we've done all season long, we take and make a lot of three-pointers, while limiting our opponent's ability to do the same.

The Hoyas do a very good job of controlling Mason Reynolds. It's obvious they don't want him to win the game for us. Georgetown holds him to 14 points, and he turns the ball over 5 times. But Mason can, and will, affect a basketball game in all kinds of ways besides scoring. Tonight, he does those things, while his teammates pick up the scoring slack.

Mason's fellow juniors--Connor Baxter, Eldon Castanon, Kyle Gribble, and Charles Peterman--all distinguish themselves tonight. Connor is a deserving Player of the Game. In the midst of the post-game celebrations, Graham shares a quiet moment with each of these upperclassmen. He thanks them for their contributions to their common victory, but he deliberately doesn't talk about next season.

Tonight, Graham and his players will celebrate this season instead.
Record: 38-2.
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Old 02-13-2024, 07:37 PM   #635
MoonlightGraham
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April 7, 2036

It's awards time!
Code:
2035 OVERALL AWARDS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Player of the Year: JR SF Mason Reynolds Villanova 21.5 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 4.3 APG 2.0 SPG, 0.5 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR PG Taylor Murray Boston College 8.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 5.2 APG 1.7 SPG, 0.1 BPG Coach of the Year: Chris Box Vanderbilt 32 - 5 (13 - 3) All-league 1st Team: C JR Max Dicken Kansas 17.4 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.8 APG, 0.6 SPG, 1.4 BPG PF SR Harvey Caswell Elon 19.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, 0.3 SPG, 1.0 BPG SF JR Mason Reynolds Villanova 21.5 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 4.3 APG, 2.0 SPG, 0.5 BPG SG SR Lorenzo Holmes Bucknell 26.3 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.4 BPG PG JR Jacobo Cruz Washington 16.8 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 3.4 APG, 2.3 SPG, 0.0 BPG All-league 2nd Team: C JR Keven Fisher East Carolina 15.1 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.9 SPG, 2.5 BPG PF JR Otto Cain Vanderbilt 12.2 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.8 SPG, 2.4 BPG SF JR Jack Clary Kentucky 23.3 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.1 BPG SG JR Gayle Gonzalez Purdue 23.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 2.9 APG, 2.3 SPG, 0.3 BPG PG JR Malcolm Polley UCLA 9.9 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 9.2 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-league 3rd Team: C JR Charles Cunningham Pittsburgh 13.6 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.3 SPG, 2.7 BPG PF SR David McDermott Georgetown 13.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.5 SPG, 2.6 BPG SF JR Cody Nieves UNLV 19.4 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.4 BPG SG JR Connor Baxter Villanova 16.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 5.9 APG, 2.0 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG SR Gary Melo Miami 9.9 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 6.1 APG, 2.0 SPG, 0.2 BPG All-freshman Team: C FR Joseph Arthur Purdue 7.1 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.5 BPG PF FR Ivory Ambriz Toledo 15.8 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.3 BPG SF FR Jack Edwards West Virginia 12.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.3 BPG SG FR Eric Searles Wichita State 13.5 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG FR Taylor Murray Boston College 8.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 5.2 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.1 BPG
Way to go, Mason. I was hoping the voters would honor the wide range of his contributions and his role on a national champion.

Sometime during the season, I must have switched Connor to SG in our depth chart. It worked out well for him, didn't it?

The Big East awards are fun to see, too.
Code:
2035 BIG EAST AWARDS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Player of the Year: JR SF Mason Reynolds Villanova 21.5 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 4.3 APG 2.0 SPG, 0.5 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR SF Jack Edwards West Virginia 12.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 2.8 APG 1.3 SPG, 0.3 BPG Coach of the Year: James Robinett Syracuse 23 - 12 (14 - 4) All-league 1st Team: C JR Charles Cunningham Pittsburgh 13.6 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.3 SPG, 2.7 BPG PF SR David McDermott Georgetown 13.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.5 SPG, 2.6 BPG SF JR Mason Reynolds Villanova 21.5 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 4.3 APG, 2.0 SPG, 0.5 BPG SG JR Connor Baxter Villanova 16.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 5.9 APG, 2.0 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG JR Eldon Castanon Villanova 11.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 5.7 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-league 2nd Team: C JR Joel Hogan West Virginia 8.9 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.4 BPG PF SO Charlie Lambert Villanova 11.9 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.5 SPG, 3.1 BPG SF SR Roland Schoen Providence 20.3 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.4 BPG SG SO Jonathon Larios Louisville 17.8 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.9 APG, 2.2 SPG, 0.5 BPG PG JR Darrel Custer Notre Dame 15.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.8 APG, 2.5 SPG, 0.3 BPG All-freshman Team: C FR Sebastian Roberts Villanova 7.9 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.2 SPG, 0.4 BPG PF FR Alonzo Hale Pittsburgh 9.4 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.3 BPG SF FR Jack Edwards West Virginia 12.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.3 BPG SG FR Clifton Bowe Connecticut 11.9 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.5 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG FR Michael Mancini Connecticut 9.7 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG
Mason becomes the first player in Villanova history to be named Big East Player of the Year twice. Notre Dame's Grover Jenkins and Marquette's Thomas Abbott are the only other players in conference history to earn that distinction.

Every member of our starting lineup earned All-Big East recognition at some level. I'm thinking Sebastian Roberts must have been a close runner-up for a spot on the Freshman All-American team, too.

We also learn that Mason Reynolds will, to nobody's surprise, pass up his final season of college eligibility and enter the draft. I wondered if Connor Baxter might join him, but Connor has decided to come back for his senior season.
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Old 02-13-2024, 08:12 PM   #636
MoonlightGraham
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April 7, 2036
Code:
#1 VILLANOVA TEAM INFO Current Performance -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team Prestige: 100 Record Vs 1-50: 16-2 Poll Rank: #1 Season Record: 38-2 Record Vs 51-100: 8-0 RPI Rank: #2 Conference Record: 17-1 Record Vs 101-200: 8-0 Home Record: 17-0 Record Vs 200+: 6-0 Team Stats CR NR Opp. Stats CR NR Margin CR NR -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Points 93.9 1 1 Points 69.5 10 190 Points 24.4 1 1 O.Reb 11.8 6 81 O.Reb 9.7 7 65 O.Reb 2.1 6 49 D.Reb 27.8 1 17 D.Reb 23.6 4 76 D.Reb 4.2 1 7 Rebounds 39.6 1 20 Rebounds 33.3 5 45 Rebounds 6.3 3 11 Assists 23.5 1 1 Assists 15.1 15 330 Assists 8.4 1 1 Steals 8.2 3 16 Steals 5.6 6 152 Steals 2.6 4 25 Blocks 5.0 6 49 Blocks 3.1 1 127 Blocks 1.9 3 31 Turnovers 13.3 4 110 Turnovers 18.3 2 2 Turnovers -5.0 2 8 Fouls 18.0 8 55 Fouls 18.1 12 300 Fouls -0.1 9 178 FG% .498 1 1 FG% .422 7 101 FG% .076 1 1 FT% .815 1 1 FT% .680 4 217 FT% .135 1 1 3P% .399 1 11 3P% .353 13 248 3P% .046 3 36 PPS 1.42 1 1 PPS 1.19 7 74 PPS .236 1 2 Adj. FG% .592 1 1 Adj. FG% .480 7 109 Adj. FG% .112 1 1
The 2035/36 Villanova Wildcats were the most prolific offensive team in our universe's history. We set new NCAA records for points per game and assists per game, beating the former record by over seven points.

I can't find the record for highest free throw percentage for a season, but the runner-up in this category this year shot .769. For that reason, I'm thinking our mark must be one of the best ever.

Our margins look fantastic, too, largely driven by our high-powered offense. We led the nation in offensive efficiency (121.0) and finished 13th in defensive efficiency (90.3).
Code:
#1 VILLANOVA Averages Player Pos GP GS Min Pts Orb Reb Ast Stl Blk To Fls +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mason Reynolds SF 40 40 30.5 21.5 2.4 7.9 4.3 2.0 0.5 2.5 2.5 19.7 Connor Baxter SG 40 40 29.8 16.1 1.3 3.2 5.9 2.0 0.2 1.8 2.4 18.5 Eldon Castanon PG 40 40 29.0 11.1 1.1 4.1 5.7 1.5 0.1 2.4 2.0 17.7 Charlie Lambert PF 40 40 28.0 11.9 1.7 6.2 1.5 0.5 3.1 1.4 2.1 18.0 Sebastian Roberts C 40 40 26.5 7.9 2.3 7.9 1.0 0.2 0.4 1.4 3.1 17.3 Kyle Gribble PF 40 0 16.8 6.9 1.3 3.3 1.2 0.5 0.3 0.8 2.2 9.1 Max Bennett SG 40 0 15.6 6.7 0.5 1.8 2.2 0.8 0.1 1.4 1.4 8.9 Luke Christensen SF 32 0 10.2 6.7 0.8 2.3 1.0 0.7 0.1 1.0 1.1 6.4 Charles Peterman PF 28 0 8.0 1.1 0.4 1.8 0.2 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.7 5.5 Matt Valentine SF 39 0 7.1 4.9 0.2 1.1 0.6 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.5 3.3 Erick Sullivan C 22 0 6.3 1.0 0.4 1.9 0.2 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.6 1.1 Trey Partridge PG 7 0 4.1 1.9 0.0 0.6 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.9 0.7 0.1

Code:
#1 VILLANOVA Totals Player Pos GP GS Min Pts Orb Reb Ast Stl Blk To Fls +/- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mason Reynolds SF 40 40 1219 858 95 314 172 78 19 100 101 788 Connor Baxter SG 40 40 1191 645 53 129 237 78 6 72 95 740 Eldon Castanon PG 40 40 1158 445 43 164 227 59 5 96 78 706 Charlie Lambert PF 40 40 1119 477 68 249 60 18 122 57 84 720 Sebastian Roberts C 40 40 1060 317 91 315 41 9 15 54 125 691 Kyle Gribble PF 40 0 671 275 51 131 46 20 11 30 88 363 Max Bennett SG 40 0 624 267 20 73 89 33 3 57 54 357 Luke Christensen SF 32 0 326 213 24 73 31 21 4 32 36 204 Charles Peterman PF 28 0 224 32 12 49 6 4 9 10 20 153 Matt Valentine SF 39 0 278 190 6 41 22 8 2 15 21 127 Erick Sullivan C 22 0 138 23 9 42 5 0 3 3 14 25 Trey Partridge PG 7 0 29 13 0 4 2 1 0 6 5 1

Code:
#1 VILLANOVA Shooting Player Pos Fgm Fga Fg% Ftm Fta Ft% 3pm 3pa 3p% PPS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mason Reynolds SF 311 600 .518 111 131 .847 125 285 .439 1.43 Connor Baxter SG 235 506 .464 68 76 .895 107 299 .358 1.27 Eldon Castanon PG 163 301 .542 56 68 .824 63 161 .391 1.48 Charlie Lambert PF 155 327 .474 89 108 .824 78 183 .426 1.46 Sebastian Roberts C 116 240 .483 65 92 .707 20 70 .286 1.32 Kyle Gribble PF 93 200 .465 69 87 .793 20 56 .357 1.38 Max Bennett SG 89 170 .524 46 54 .852 43 95 .453 1.57 Luke Christensen SF 74 141 .525 50 56 .893 15 44 .341 1.51 Charles Peterman PF 10 30 .333 11 16 .688 1 5 .200 1.07 Matt Valentine SF 60 103 .583 48 64 .750 22 36 .611 1.84 Erick Sullivan C 7 17 .412 8 10 .800 1 6 .167 1.35 Trey Partridge PG 2 5 .400 8 10 .800 1 4 .250 2.60

I remember writing about how we could be one of the best teams in the nation if we could remain healthy. The same five players started all 40 games for us this year, and they, and their teammates, ended the season as national champions.

Farewells follow.
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Old 02-13-2024, 08:43 PM   #637
MoonlightGraham
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2035/36 Senior Tribute

TREY PARTRIDGE


I wish Trey Partridge's story had a better ending.

Code:
#2 PG Trey Partridge - Villanova - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 5-8 Weight: 174 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: 30 68 49 68 85 52 32 36 10 48 24 40 79 46 48 77 2034: 28 65 47 67 80 48 30 34 9 45 22 38 78 45 47 68 2033: 27 62 45 66 74 43 29 33 8 42 20 36 77 44 45 56 2032: 26 59 43 65 68 39 28 32 7 39 18 34 77 43 45 44 2031: 24 53 39 59 60 33 26 30 7 35 16 32 73 41 43 16 Potential: D B C B A B D C F C D C Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Academic Suspension Academics: 40 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2032 38 0 4.5 1.4 0.2 0.6 0.4 0.4 1.00 0.1 0.0 0.5 2033 16 0 15.8 5.1 0.8 2.3 1.6 0.9 1.67 0.5 0.2 1.0 2034 17 0 10.4 3.9 0.4 1.4 1.4 0.4 3.29 0.2 0.3 1.0 2035 7 0 4.1 1.9 0.0 0.6 0.3 0.9 0.33 0.1 0.0 0.7 Career 78 0 8.1 2.8 0.3 1.1 0.8 0.6 0.33 0.2 0.1 0.7 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2032 0.4 1.1 .405 0.3 0.4 .688 0.2 0.7 .321 1.29 0.29 2033 1.7 4.0 .422 0.9 1.2 .737 0.9 2.4 .368 1.28 5.50 2034 1.2 2.6 .467 0.8 1.3 .636 0.6 1.6 .357 1.47 6.71 2035 0.3 0.7 .400 1.1 1.4 .800 0.1 0.6 .250 2.60 0.14 Career 0.9 2.0 .429 0.6 0.9 .701 0.4 1.3 .347 1.38 2.74 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2032 38 0 172 54 8 22 15 15 5 0 20 2033 16 0 252 82 13 36 25 15 8 3 16 2034 17 0 177 66 6 23 23 7 3 5 17 2035 7 0 29 13 0 4 2 6 1 0 5 Career 78 0 630 215 27 85 65 43 17 8 58 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2032 17 42 11 16 9 28 11 2033 27 64 14 19 14 38 88 2034 21 45 14 22 10 28 114 2035 2 5 8 10 1 4 1 Career 67 156 47 67 34 98 214 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 4 0 2 1 1 0 2 1 3 4 4 1 3 Career 16 3 6 4 2 1 5 6 8 4 4 4 7 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2031 High School: Rated *** and #233 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2035 NCAA Champion

We recruited Trey out of upstate New York to fill a particular role: a backup point guard with good vision and handle, a player who could give us solid minutes in relief of our starter and understand that he would probably always be the understudy, not the star.

Trey played that role very well, especially during his first two years. As a sophomore, he spent time as our sixth man while we went through a spate of injuries, and he handled that duty effectively.

The arrival of transfer Eldon Castanon cost Trey some playing time, but he continued to play productive basketball when he got the chance. And, then, he received his grades for the first semester of his senior year, and that's where the story ends.

Fortunately for Trey, his family has the money to finance the last semester of his Villanova education, so if his spring semester grades are up to par, he'll return next fall to complete his degree in Sociology. We wish him well.

Thanks for the memories, Trey.
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Old 02-13-2024, 09:51 PM   #638
MoonlightGraham
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2035/36 Farewell

MASON REYNOLDS


St. Stephens & St. Agnes School in northern Virginia contains a much higher proportion of Villanova basketball fans than one would ever expect. The Saints come by their passion for Wildcat basketball honestly. Their school has produced two Villanova icons: a star player and his coach.

Code:
#5 SF Mason Reynolds - Villanova - Junior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-4 Weight: 213 High School: St. Stephens & St. Agnes School Hometown: Alexandria, VA Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 66 77 86 68 66 66 59 63 61 69 62 37 70 70 88 100 2034: 57 67 86 68 65 61 57 54 52 69 61 32 70 68 88 100 2033: 51 60 77 68 58 54 51 48 47 58 54 29 68 64 88 87 2032: 47 56 71 66 54 50 47 44 43 52 50 27 66 56 87 51 Potential: C B B B B B C C C B C D Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 98 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2033 37 35 28.4 12.2 2.0 5.7 3.6 1.5 2.41 1.3 0.2 2.0 2034 37 37 30.6 16.4 2.5 7.4 4.3 1.9 2.22 1.4 0.3 3.0 2035 40 40 30.5 21.5 2.4 7.9 4.3 2.5 1.72 2.0 0.5 2.5 Career 114 112 29.8 16.8 2.3 7.0 4.1 2.0 1.72 1.5 0.3 2.5 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2033 4.2 8.7 .480 1.7 2.2 .765 2.1 5.1 .415 1.39 13.22 2034 5.8 12.2 .470 2.5 3.0 .839 2.3 6.1 .376 1.34 17.14 2035 7.8 15.0 .518 2.8 3.3 .847 3.1 7.1 .439 1.43 19.70 Career 6.0 12.1 .493 2.3 2.8 .824 2.5 6.1 .412 1.39 16.76 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2033 37 35 1049 450 73 211 135 56 48 7 73 2034 37 37 1134 605 94 272 160 72 50 10 112 2035 40 40 1219 858 95 314 172 100 78 19 101 Career 114 112 3402 1913 262 797 467 228 176 36 286 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2033 155 323 62 81 78 188 489 2034 213 453 94 112 85 226 634 2035 311 600 111 131 125 285 788 Career 679 1376 267 324 288 699 1911 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 52 7 14 8 6 2 6 20 30 10 11 9 17 Career 52 7 15 12 6 2 6 20 30 10 11 9 17 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 36 2032 High School: Rated ***** and #7 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2033 2nd Team All-Conference (Big East Conference) 2033 Freshman All-Conference (Big East Conference) 2033 Conference Freshman of the Year (Big East Conference) 2034 2nd Team All-American 2034 1st Team All-Conference (Big East Conference) 2034 Conference Player of the Year (Big East Conference) 2035 NCAA Champion 2035 National Player of the Year 2035 1st Team All-American 2035 1st Team All-Conference (Big East Conference) 2035 Conference Player of the Year (Big East Conference)
When we recruited Mason Reynolds, our expectations for him were high. He was ranked third at his position nationally, and a top ten player overall. When he arrived on campus, two of our starting guards were injured. We needed Mason to start right away, but I envisioned him moving into a reserve role once Reed Weisberg and Ernest Adcock were ready to play.

Mason refused to let that happen. He played so well that we shifted him to small forward, and that became his home for the next three seasons.

No player Graham has coached has done more different things to help a basketball team win games than Mason has. The 858 points he scored this season is the highest single season total in school history, and it's not even close. His 1913 career points are third highest, behind men who played four seasons. Mason is our fifth all-time leading assist man and our seventh all-time leading rebounder. And, although he has never been known as a great defensive player, he ranks fourth all-time in steals.

I was tempted to simply let Mason's list of achievements stand alone. Take a look at them again. He's achieved every honor a college player can earn, including a National Player of the Year award and a national championship ring.

Mason enjoys being a student, too, and he's been extremely good at it. His plans to complete his degree in Communication will be delayed while he pursues his professional basketball career.

He probably won't be one of the first four or five players drafted this spring, but he'll certainly hear his name called quickly on Draft Night. The team who chooses him will be glad they did, because he'll undoubtedly represent them as well as he has Villanova University.

Thanks for the memories, Mason.
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Old 02-13-2024, 10:39 PM   #639
MoonlightGraham
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April 12, 2036

Mason Reynolds is selected with the #8 pick in tonight's pro draft.

As expected, Kentucky's Jack Clary is the number one pick. Mason is the second Big East player to come off the board; Pitt center Charles Cunningham went immediately after Clary.

Code:
2035 Recruiting Rankings # Team Conference Best Player Rtg 5* 4* 3* 2* 1* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. North Carolina ACC PF Ethan DeLuca ***** 2 2 1 0 0 2. West Virginia Big East SG Marquis Battista ***** 2 2 1 0 0 3. Kentucky SEC PG Jeffrey Cowley ***** 1 3 0 0 0 4. Kansas Big 12 PG John Ferreira ***** 2 0 2 0 0 5. Tennessee SEC C Luther Brown ***** 1 3 0 0 0 6. Boston College ACC SF Michael Smyth ***** 2 0 1 0 0 7. New Mexico Mountain West SG Bryan Frampton **** 0 4 0 0 0 8. Connecticut Big East SG Morris Thiele ***** 2 1 0 0 0 9. Washington Pacific-10 PG Tyler Anders ***** 1 1 1 0 0 10. Louisville Big East C Richard Alvarado ***** 2 1 1 0 0 11. Utah Mountain West SF Angelo Evans ***** 2 0 1 0 0 12. Florida SEC PF Emanuel Trotter **** 0 3 1 0 0 13. Duke ACC PF David Aucoin ***** 1 2 0 0 0 14. Villanova Big East PG Dane Barlow ***** 1 1 1 0 0 15. Memphis Conference USA SG Cornelius Hames **** 0 3 1 0 0 16. Texas Big 12 C Saul Scharf **** 0 2 2 0 0 17. California Pacific-10 C Aurelio Pena ***** 1 1 2 0 0 18. Vanderbilt SEC PF Justin Hui ***** 1 0 3 0 0 19. Georgetown Big East PF Isiah Cook ***** 1 1 0 0 0 20. Mississippi State SEC PF Charles Santiago **** 0 2 2 0 0 21. Louisiana State SEC PF Colin Baylor ***** 1 0 3 0 0 22. Texas A&M Big 12 SF Henry Caines **** 0 2 2 0 0 23. UNLV Mountain West PF Thomas Sasser **** 0 2 2 0 0 24. Maryland ACC SF John Williams **** 0 2 1 1 0 25. Iowa State Big 12 PF Thomas Logue **** 0 1 2 0 0 26. Miami ACC C Tony Caulfield **** 0 1 2 0 0 27. Pittsburgh Big East SF Carl Bias ***** 1 1 1 0 0 28. Georgia Tech ACC SF Bo Waters **** 0 2 1 0 0 29. Baylor Big 12 SG David Jolly **** 0 1 3 0 0 30. Lafayette Patriot League C Hugo Adams **** 0 2 1 0 0

Again this year, we bring in a recruiting class that I like better than the experts do.

Dane Barlow turns out to be not quite as fully developed as we thought, but since Connor Baxter and Eldon Castanon are still here, we can be patient with Dane.

Demetrius Reed is a better defender than we believed, and Nick Spencer has the potential to be a real lockdown guy.
Code:
2035 Recruiting Rankings # Team Conference Best Player Rtg 5* 4* 3* 2* 1* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. West Virginia Big East SG Marquis Battista ***** 2 2 1 0 0 8. Connecticut Big East SG Morris Thiele ***** 2 1 0 0 0 10. Louisville Big East C Richard Alvarado ***** 2 1 1 0 0 14. Villanova Big East PG Dane Barlow ***** 1 1 1 0 0 19. Georgetown Big East PF Isiah Cook ***** 1 1 0 0 0 27. Pittsburgh Big East SF Carl Bias ***** 1 1 1 0 0 33. South Florida Big East SG Mitch Hiller **** 0 1 3 1 0 36. St. John's Big East C Jack Chartier **** 0 1 3 0 0 44. Notre Dame Big East SF Coleman Burns **** 0 2 0 0 0 52. Marquette Big East PG James Shaw **** 0 1 2 1 0 68. Syracuse Big East SF Brian Grammer **** 0 1 1 1 0 115. Providence Big East PG Joseph Roney *** 0 0 2 0 0 141. Cincinnati Big East C Jose Wall *** 0 0 2 0 0 156. Rutgers Big East PG Chester Eisenberg *** 0 0 2 0 0 174. Seton Hall Big East PF John Thompson *** 0 0 1 0 0 251. DePaul Big East C Michael Andrade *** 0 0 1 0 0

West Virginia ended up signing JUCO center Wendell Cairns. He's their second five-star player, and he's already a grown man. They also have Eimantas Fetkevicius, a high four-star recruit.

UConn's top player, Morris Thiele, is the #7 player in the class. They've got Jelani Obasie, too, and he's going to be a star.

Georgetown guard Isiah Cook is the top-ranked Big East recruit: #5 overall. Thiele is next, and then Dane Barlow.

Our prestige (100) and budget ($800,000) remain unchanged. But our Facilities have maxed out at 100 now! Wawa Arena must be really something.
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Old 02-13-2024, 11:03 PM   #640
MoonlightGraham
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May 1, 2036

Veteran coach Luther Kiely has retired from his position at Iowa State, at age 62. Coach Kiely is one of the talented veterans whose career decisions I'm following.

Graham's former assistant, Donn McClinton, has been hired as the head coach at Morehead State. Coach McClinton spent the last four seasons as an assistant at Houston. He's been a head coach before, but not a successful one; his career record is 81-160.

We'll have an opening on our staff this year, too. Our former Scouting Director, Jacob Bryant, is getting the opportunity to try his luck as a head coach again. He'll be the new boss at Navy.

Replacing him will be the peripatetic Gregg Haddad. Coach Haddad was recently fired by Lipscomb after seven seasons as their head coach; he compiled a 89-122 record there. He's had significant success as a scouting specialist, however; he's worked at Duke and Georgia Tech, and in the Big East at Marquette and Providence. Coach Haddad is a Level 5 coach, but he's a top-tier, 100-rated scout. His three-year deal will pay him $188,435/year.

Charlie Sutton surprises me by deciding to stay at Vanderbilt. I don't see a player in the transfer portal I'd like to sign.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-13-2024 at 11:08 PM.
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Old 02-14-2024, 09:08 AM   #641
Chas in Cinti
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Location: Cincinnati, OH
Darn, was hoping he might be interested in a transfer...
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Old 02-14-2024, 10:03 AM   #642
MoonlightGraham
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July 1, 2036

Two things open today. First, the basketball offices and training facilities at the Wawa Arena.



The other is a recruiting season that shapes up to be a busy one.

We have four seniors on scholarship this year: combo guards Connor Baxter and Eldon Castanon and power forwards Kyle Gribble and Charles Peterman.

We brought in two point guards in this year's class; Dane Barlow shows enough potential as a scorer to be classified as a "combo" or "lead" guard, and Nick Spencer is more of a pure point guard. So, unless one of the nation's very best point guards begs us to give him a scholarship, we won't be recruiting a one this year.

I usually think of centers and power forwards as being basically interchangeable. I've also been known to move a big player who's listed as a SF into the PF spot. So I usually recruit "big men" as a group, looking at players who are listed at PF and C. There's a tough, Blue Collar Man-type big, Demetrius Reed, in our freshman class.

So, as I look at our projected depth chart for the next two seasons, I see a need for two wing players. Ideally, one will be a long, athletic natural "three," and the other will be a marksman, possibly a "two." We need at least one big man, the heir apparent to Sebastian Roberts, a player we will probably need to be a solid, Blue or Green starter by his sophomore year. The fourth player might be a swingman who can play "three" or "four."

There's a big man in Pennsylvania whom I know we'll be looking at closely. He's James Sanders, Jr., the son and namesake of Lafayette legend James "Big Colonel" Sanders, class of 2016. James Junior isn't quite as big as his dad was; very few high school boys are 6'11" and 319 pounds. But he's a better prospect than his father was, a five-star power forward who averages almost 22 points and over 12 rebounds a game.

And we have an early inside track on Zayden Calhoun, a high-scoring, 6'5" wing from New Jersey. Zayden is the top player at his position in the country, scoring over 27 points a game and doing his share as a rebounder and playmaker. Unless our evaluations reveal weaknesses we can't overlook, we'll be offering scholarships to James and Zayden in a month.

Here's our call list as it stands today:
Code:
#1 VILLANOVA Recruiting Name Pos Ht Wt Rating Interest State ---------------------------------------------------------------------- James Sanders, Jr. PF 6-10 272 ***** Very High Pennsylvania Zayden Calhoun SF 6-5 194 ***** Very High New Jersey Tony Flaherty SF 6-7 223 ***** Very High New York David Getty C 6-9 212 ***** Very High New Jersey Lucas Sheehan SG 6-1 192 **** Very High Kentucky Gus Dean PG 6-3 204 **** Very High New Jersey Garret Crockett PF 6-6 245 **** Very High Maryland Harris Rouse PF 6-6 239 **** Very High Maryland Ellis Torres PF 6-7 201 **** Very High New York Stevie Chesser PG 5-5 160 **** Very High New York David Stern SG 5-10 182 *** Very High Pennsylvania Justin McIntosh SF 6-4 214 *** Very High Delaware Mark Rotz C 6-10 270 ***** High Virginia David Lovett SG 6-3 188 ***** High Wisconsin Erasmo Martinez SF 6-4 197 ***** High Ohio Chris Vogt SG 6-1 180 ***** High Georgia Andrew Modlin SF 6-7 217 ***** High Florida Helmfrid Vorbach SG 6-5 197 **** High Germany James Boucher SG 6-5 189 **** High New Jersey Tanner McLaughlin SG 6-2 186 **** Average Pennsylvania

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-14-2024 at 03:54 PM.
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Old 02-14-2024, 10:11 AM   #643
MoonlightGraham
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chas in Cinti View Post
Darn, was hoping he might be interested in a transfer...

I was, too. I need a player like Charlie at Villanova now, in fact.

I did break into the editor to give Charlie a chance. I know the AI coaches will sometimes make a logical change in a player's position in order to put a team's best players on the floor. I took a look at Vanderbilt's roster, and they are pathetically weak for a top-tier team at SF. Meanwhile, their three best players, all at least Green/Green guys are guards, and two are listed at SG, like Charlie.

If Mr. Sutton moves to SF, he becomes the most talented option there, and by far the most promising. If I were coaching Vanderbilt, I'd make that change in a hot second. I'm willing to play Basketball Deity to give a bespoke player like Charlie a fighting chance.
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Old 02-14-2024, 04:36 PM   #644
MoonlightGraham
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August 1, 2036

It turns out that James Sanders, Jr. is a similar player to his dad, perhaps a bit more talented.

Here's a look back at our initial scouting report on James Sr. when we recruited him at Lafayette.
Code:
Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 55 31 55 47 20 21 38 39 26 21 52 21 41 70 24 11 Potential: B C C B D D C B C C C D

And here's a look at James Jr. today:
Code:
#42 PF James Sanders, Jr. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-10 Weight: 272 High School: Lower Dauphin High School Hometown: Hummelstown, PA GPA: 3.42 Test Score: 1380 Rating: ***** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 55 28 58 27 12 21 42 48 24 19 12 52 33 68 44 19 Potential: B D B C D D C B C D D A Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21.9 3.1 12.3 1.4 1.6 0.88 0.6 2.3 2.1 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.6 14.8 .580 4.8 5.8 .826 0.1 0.7 .077 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Current interest in Villanova: Average Rankings: #22 Overall, #4 PF, East Region #4 Overall, East Region #1 PF High School Awards: All-State, All American Top 5 Schools: Georgetown, West Virginia, Villanova, Boston College, North Carolina

James Sr. turned out to be a slightly better defensive player and a slightly poorer shooter than we thought; our scout at Lafayette in 2012 wasn't as talented as our guy now.

Senior was a three-star player, ranked #274 in his class. Junior is much more highly regarded, but I'm not convinced he's *that* much better than his dad was. He's also not as enamored of us as I hoped he would be. I'm going to offer him a scholarship and recruit him heavily, but I can envision myself withdrawing the offer if we can't convince him that we're a good fit...as much as I'd like to coach Big Colonel's son. (I created him for this purpose, after all.)

I made a late decision to offer Zayden Calhoun before I advanced the game, and I'm glad I did. He's the real deal.
Code:
11 SF Zayden Calhoun -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-5 Weight: 194 High School: Lawrenceville School Hometown: Princeton, NJ GPA: 3.54 Test Score: 1290 Rating: ***** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 42 60 57 58 28 36 36 33 24 47 30 27 73 47 83 46 Potential: B C B B D B C C D B D D Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27.6 1.9 5.6 5.6 2.4 2.38 1.7 0.5 3.0 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.9 21.5 .551 2.5 3.6 .704 1.4 4.8 .295 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Current interest in Villanova: Very High Rankings: #3 Overall, #1 SF, East Region #1 Overall, East Region #1 SF High School Awards: All-State, Mr. Basketball (New Jersey), All American Top 5 Schools: *Villanova, Georgetown, Connecticut, Kansas, Syracuse
Zayden's high-volume scoring at the high school level is backed up by skill. He can create his own shot, and he can catch and shoot, with three-point range. He passes the ball unselfishly, rebounds willingly, and enjoys playing defense. Coaches Sims and Caballero will pull out all the stops as they recruit him this month.

Another wing we're looking at closely is this five-star player from New York City.
Code:
#40 SF Tony Flaherty -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-7 Weight: 223 High School: Dalton School Hometown: New York, NY GPA: 2.92 Test Score: 1330 Rating: ***** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 54 60 41 32 17 39 28 29 38 48 41 38 55 43 41 56 Potential: B B C B C C D C B B B B Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16.5 1.9 7.1 3.0 2.4 1.28 1.6 1.9 1.8 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.3 13.0 .564 1.7 2.8 .589 0.3 1.1 .238 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Current interest in Villanova: Very High Rankings: #14 Overall, #4 SF, East Region #3 Overall, East Region #2 SF High School Awards: All-State Top 5 Schools: Villanova, Georgetown, Duke, Kansas, Connecticut
Tony Flaherty can do almost every basketball thing well. There isn't one thing he does superbly, as well as any high school player in the country, but that was true of Mason Reynolds, too. And he turned out pretty well.

The top player in the class is Chris Vogt, a shooting guard who would fill the "marksman" role as well as any player we've ever seen. He lists us third among his top schools, but he has an offer from Kentucky, one of the schools he prefers. We certainly won't forget about Chris yet, but we've identified a similar player who likes us better: David Lovett.
Code:
#33 SG David Lovett -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-3 Weight: 188 High School: Mount Horeb High School Hometown: Mount Horeb, WI GPA: 3.19 Test Score: 1050 Rating: ***** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 41 54 36 42 32 17 17 13 16 34 56 24 83 54 100 22 Potential: A B B C C D C D D A A C Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30.5 1.5 4.1 3.8 2.7 1.42 3.7 0.7 2.4 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13.6 25.5 .531 2.0 3.6 .563 1.4 4.7 .290 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Current interest in Villanova: High Rankings: #23 Overall, #5 SG, Midwest Region #6 Overall, Midwest Region #1 SG High School Awards: All-State, Mr. Basketball (Wisconsin), All American Top 5 Schools: Kentucky, Villanova, Utah, *Northwestern, Missouri
David takes nearly a shot per minute for his high school team, but over half of them are going in. He isn't an elite three-point shooter, but opponents can't neglect him, either. I really like his willingness to play defense, though; many high-frequency shooters like him won't do that. And he causes a lot of turnovers, too.

I'm going to offer Flaherty and Lovett scholarships, too. They'll both visit campus, along with Sanders and Calhoun, and they'll get visits from as many coaches as we can send. We'll spend the rest of our cash wooing players we haven't featured yet. Perhaps one or more of them will rise to the top of our wish list.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 03-21-2024 at 10:31 PM.
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Old 02-14-2024, 05:17 PM   #645
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
September 1, 2036

Zayden Calhoun
received an offer from Georgetown last month. He still likes us better, and he's narrowed his list to us, the Hoyas, and Kansas. I remain confident he'll be in Villanova blue next season.

It seems that Tony Flaherty liked his visit to campus. Duke has made him an offer, but we remain at the top of his list.

We're in a similar position with David Lovett; his third choice, Northwestern, has offered him, but we're his favorite right now.

And then there's James Sanders, Jr. We're in a battle with Georgetown for his commitment, and the Hoyas are ahead right now. There is a part of me that never wants to concede a player to Georgetown, even if the Hoyas are the favorite. We've come from behind and landed a player or two that way. But is this the battle to fight?

I have a nickname picked out for James Jr., but he can't have it if he signs with Georgetown.

But here's the problem. I don't have the inside track for any other big guys. David Getty, a five-star center, prefers Boston College, and he's got an offer from the Eagles. Would he flip to us if we offered him? Mark Rotz, another top center, seems pleased with an offer from Kentucky...but would he prefer one from us?

When I'm stuck like this, I often check to see if there's a foreign player who likes us and could fit our needs. Oh, look! There is! His name is Jordi Ballester, and he's from Spain. He lists New Mexico as a favorite school; perhaps that's because they've contacted him. I cut someone from our call list and add Carlos, and prepare to evaluate him. Would you like to visit Spain this month, Coach Sims?

I'm going to keep my offers in the hands of the same four players this month. If Jordi Ballester looks like a player and James Jr. keeps wearing Georgetown gear around his high school campus, that might change.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-23-2024 at 09:26 AM.
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Old 02-14-2024, 05:53 PM   #646
MoonlightGraham
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October 1, 2036

The best news comes from the Flaherty household. Tony has one school on his list, and it's Villanova. Maybe he'll have even better news for us in a month.

Zayden Calhoun and David Lovett have us in the "favorite" position, with one rival listed below us. For Z, it's Georgetown; for David, it's Kentucky. There's no reason to feel uneasy about these guys...yet.

James Sanders, Jr. also has two programs on his list, but we're still listed behind the *expletive deleted* Hoyas. And now we know what kind of player we're looking at with Jordi Ballester.
Code:
#4 PF Jordi Ballester -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-7 Weight: 245 High School: Hometown: El Prat de Llobregat, Spain GPA: 3.49 Test Score: 1330 Rating: **** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 41 49 23 19 52 5 30 67 42 32 50 36 9 75 45 93 Potential: C A D F C F B A B C C C Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16.6 2.2 12.8 0.4 1.9 0.18 1.6 1.2 3.0 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.5 13.1 .571 1.7 3.4 .485 0.0 0.0 .000 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Current interest in Villanova: Very High Rankings: #40 Overall, #9 PF, Foreign #1 Overall, Foreign #1 PF High School Awards: None Top 5 Schools: Villanova, New Mexico, Washington, Oklahoma
There are things Jordi cannot do, and probably won't ever do very well. He shows no aptitude for passing, and he doesn't seem to have any inclination to shoot threes. But there are other things Jordi does well. He has a nice touch on his jumper, he'll play defense willingly, and he'll crash the boards hard. Jordi is strong, fairly quick for a big man, and can run all day. And, most of all, he responded very positively to our visit.

Perhaps Big Colonel's son wants to avoid the comparisons he might face if he plays for the coach who guided his dad back in the 'teens. Now he won't have that problem. I'm pulling his offer and giving it to the Catalan big man we've recently discovered. Coaches Sims and Caballero--and their lovely wives--are going to Barcelona this month.

P.S. Sharp eyes who read the previous post as soon as it dropped might notice that Jordi Ballester was previously known as Juan Pablo Jimenez. When I looked up the player's home town, I discovered it's right outside Barcelona. I decided to give Jordi a classic Catalan name instead.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-20-2024 at 02:29 PM.
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Old 02-14-2024, 06:20 PM   #647
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Join Date: Sep 2022
November 1, 2036

It's Decision Day for many of the nation's top young basketball players. We get three pieces of good news.

The first comes from Zayden Calhoun. I'm sure Georgetown made a late push for him, but he remains true to his first love. The crush is mutual, too. He's the top player at his position in the nation, New Jersey's Mr. Basketball, and a high school All-American. Programs are built around recruits like Zayden.

Then we learn David Lovett has picked Villanova, too. He and Zayden are both the highest-scoring high school player in their states. Will they be able to share the ball? I think they will; Zayden is a notably good passer, and David likes to drive and slash. I can envision them playing well together. I believe they'll be playing against each other in the high school All-American game first.

And we also discover we'll be seeing Jordi Ballester on campus next year, too. Jordi is less polished than his American classmates, but we'll be able to play the long game with him. Sebastian Roberts will be a junior next year, and Demetrius Reed a sophomore. If Jordi can fill the role of "third big man" as a freshman, we'll be delighted with that.

I thought Tony Flaherty was almost ready to commit to us, but he's taking another month to think. He's put Georgetown, Kansas, and Kentucky back on his list, but none of those programs have made him an offer.

Tony would put the finishing touches on a recruiting class I really like a lot.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-20-2024 at 02:28 PM.
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Old 02-15-2024, 10:48 AM   #648
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November 9, 2036

Here's the Villanova team that will inaugurate the brand-new Wawa Arena this season:

Code:
Player # Pos Yr Ht Wt Sch Acd Status Hometown ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dane Barlow 3 PG Fr 6-2 199 Yes 87 OK Wilmington, DE Eldon Castanon 4 PG Sr* 6-3 217 Yes 42 OK Silver Spring, MD Max Bennett 10 SG Jr 6-5 206 Yes 96 OK Media, PA Kyle Gribble 11 PF Sr 6-8 225 Yes 92 OK Lakewood, CA Nick Spencer 12 PG Fr 5-10 173 Yes 72 OK Collegeville, PA Charlie Lambert 14 PF Jr 6-9 234 Yes 64 OK Hyattsville, MD Connor Baxter 22 SG Sr 6-2 204 Yes 98 OK Slippery Rock, PA John Maroney 24 SF Fr 6-8 239 No 41 OK Montville, NJ Charles Peterman 25 PF Sr 6-7 231 Yes 62 OK Thompson, Canada Sebastian Roberts 30 C So 7-0 251 Yes 99 OK Frenchtown, NJ Matt Valentine 31 SF Jr 6-6 205 Yes 36 OK Middletown, DE Demetrius Reed 32 C Fr 7-1 279 Yes 91 OK Philadelphia, PA Luke Christensen 34 SF So 6-4 197 Yes 64 OK Philadelphia, PA Erick Sullivan 35 C Jr 6-10 275 No 87 OK Wilmington, DE Derek Lamb 41 PF Fr* 6-6 213 No 73 OK Latham, OH

A new, state-of-the-art training facility and one of the best coaching staffs in all of college hoops means preseason training will go well. #gains
Code:
#1 VILLANOVA Training Results Player Ins Jps Fts 3ps Hnd Pas Orb Drb Psd Prd Stl Blk Qkn Str Jmp Sta ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dane Barlow 4 8 6 6 8 8 2 2 2 8 6 2 2 4 0 10 Eldon Castanon 3 2 2 9 2 12 3 8 0 11 2 1 1 2 1 0 Max Bennett 6 7 2 5 5 5 3 3 2 7 5 1 0 3 1 5 Kyle Gribble 13 8 2 5 5 3 10 1 9 0 1 0 1 3 0 3 Nick Spencer 4 4 4 4 8 6 2 2 2 12 6 2 2 2 2 10 Charlie Lambert 10 6 8 2 4 4 2 10 11 5 2 3 0 3 0 9 Connor Baxter 2 0 0 0 1 0 4 5 5 2 1 2 2 3 1 7 John Maroney 2 2 2 2 2 4 2 2 4 2 6 2 1 6 1 8 Charles Peterman 2 3 1 1 3 1 4 2 5 2 2 2 0 2 1 4 Sebastian Roberts 16 6 4 6 2 2 16 3 9 2 2 6 0 6 0 6 Matt Valentine 4 3 0 3 3 3 1 1 3 2 1 2 1 2 0 11 Demetrius Reed 2 2 4 2 2 2 10 8 8 2 2 10 1 5 4 12 Luke Christensen 1 6 8 2 2 1 1 2 3 6 8 3 0 2 0 0 Erick Sullivan 1 2 3 3 1 1 3 6 7 1 2 4 0 3 0 0 Derek Lamb 2 1 2 0 1 2 2 0 4 1 1 2 1 2 1 12

All but one player returns from the 35/36 team that won 38 games and a national championship. Yes, that player happens to be the National Player of the Year, but Graham Sims can still field a formidable team.

The backcourt is in the hands of two seniors, both of whom have earned first team All-Big East recognition at least once. Connor Baxter averaged 16.1 points and 5.9 assists per game last season, earning his second consecutive first team berth. He was joined by Eldon Castanon (11.1 PPG, 5.7 APG, 4.1 RPG). Connor and Eldon are both able to swing between scoring and playmaking roles, and they're both very good defenders. They are perhaps the best backcourt duo in the nation.

Junior Charlie Lambert, a second team All-Big East player, returns to the frontcourt after a fantastic training camp. He's a versatile player, a three-level scorer who hit 78 three-point shots last season. Charlie is also a formidable shot blocker.

The fourth returning starter is sophomore center Sebastian Roberts, who was an All-Big East freshman team selection. The team's leading rebounder last season (7.9 RPG), Sebastian was our fifth option offensively--but he's capable of filling a much more essential role. He's an athletic seven-footer who is considered one of the top three pro prospects in all of college hoops.

Kyle Gribble will get the first opportunity to fill out the starting five. He's earned it; he's a senior whose role has gradually expanded over the course of his career. Kyle can score with a variety of post moves, and his jump shot is becoming more and more of a weapon. He's also become a very good post defender.

If Gribble doesn't start, Matt Valentine probably will. He's a 6'6" wing with a scorer's mentality. He's not a poor defender, but he offers less at that end of the floor than most of our players do. Max Bennett, a talented combo guard, and Luke Christensen, a wing who was one of our most productive players on a per-minute basis last year, will also be key members of the rotation.

We can be patient with our three incoming freshmen: guards Dane Barlow and Nick Spencer, and big man Demetrius Reed. I hope they'll be patient too, because all three are exciting talents. Barlow is the most developed player of the group, a skilled facilitator with a sneaky-good shot. Spencer is a pure point guard whom we believe will develop into a lockdown defender. Reed, a very, very large man, is a fierce rim protector-in-training.

Also available are senior Charles Peterman and junior Erick Sullivan, who is one of the best walk-ons I've ever seen.

This year's team is loaded with veterans, fully developed players who are ready to shine. We can go ten-deep with Green guys, and the freshmen are potentially just as good as their older teammates.

We'll miss Mason Reynolds. Any team would. However, the fans who make their way to the sparkling new Wawa Center should see one of the nation's top teams in action once again.

Coach Sims enters the season with 768 career wins to his credit. I think there's a very good chance he will celebrate win #800 sometime in March.
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Old 02-15-2024, 03:18 PM   #649
MoonlightGraham
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Join Date: Sep 2022
November 9, 2036
Coaches Invitational, First Round
(1) #1 Villanova 95, (16) Idaho State 68

A commanding performance by Connor Baxter (17p/8r/8a) sets the tone for a victory in the first round of this highly-regarded preseason tournament.

Matt Valentine scores 21 points off the bench. Charlie Lambert (17p/7r/5b), Kyle Gribble (14p/9r), and Max Bennett (10p/4a) also enjoy productive season debuts.
Record: 1-0.


November 10, 2036
Coaches Invitational Quarterfinal
(1) #1 Villanova 92, (8) Penn State 84

Eldon Castanon makes all 7 of the three-pointers he attempts to lead us into the Coaches Invitational semifinal. Eldon's 28 points are a career high, and he adds 8 assists.

Connor Baxter scores 11 points and hands out 10 assists. Sebastian Roberts also has a double-double: 13 points, 10 rebounds. Charlie Lambert finishes with 11 points.

We've shot 25-for-50 from behind the arc so far. That won't last, but it sure is fun.
Record: 2-0.


November 16, 2036
Coaches Invitational Semifinal
(1) #1 Villanova 86, (5) Fresno State 71

The Bulldogs battle us hard tonight, and we do just enough to secure the win and a spot in the tournament championship game.

The biggest stars are Connor Baxter (18p/11r/6a) and Charlie Lambert (20p/8r/4b). Kyle Gribble also reaches double figures (10p), and Eldon Castanon fills his stat line (8p/7r/5a). Max Bennett contributes 4 assists and 3 steals in 14 minutes of action.

New Mexico beats Memphis in the other semifinal, so we'll face the Lobos in the championship game.
Record: 3-0.


November 17, 2036
Coaches Invitational Championship

Code:
(1) #1 Villanova 96, (3) #8 New Mexico 69 -------------------------------------------------------- New Mexico (3-1, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Jamar Penn C 25 3-7 4-8 4 7 1 2 10 Bernard Deliot PF 21 0-3 0-2 1 5 0 4 0 Bryan Frampton SF 24 6-16 0-0 1 2 2 2 17 Charles LaTour SG 31 6-12 4-4 2 3 4 0 21 Brendon Hansen PG 30 3-9 2-2 1 3 3 2 9 Liam Martin SG 12 0-3 0-0 0 0 0 3 0 Silvester Pezold PG 6 0-1 2-2 0 0 1 2 2 Clay Shirley C 15 1-3 0-2 2 4 0 3 3 Anthony Cookson SF 19 2-6 0-0 1 4 1 0 5 Steve Tam C 12 1-2 0-0 0 1 0 1 2 Bret Gary SF 3 0-2 0-0 1 1 0 0 0 Toby Woolsey PF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 15 (J.Penn 2, B.Frampton 1, C.LaTour 3, B.Hansen 3, L.Martin 1, S.Pezold 1, A.Cookson 3, S.Tam 1) Blocked Shots: 4 (J.Penn 2, B.Deliot 1, S.Tam 1) Steals: 7 (J.Penn 1, B.Deliot 2, B.Frampton 1, B.Hansen 1, A.Cookson 2) 3P FGs: 13-34 (B.Frampton 5-11, C.LaTour 5-9, B.Hansen 1-4, L.Martin 0-2, S.Pezold 0-1, C.Shirley 1-1, A.Cookson 1-4, B.Gary 0-2) Villanova (4-0, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Sebastian Roberts C 27 6-8 1-1 1 9 0 2 14 Kyle Gribble PF 25 4-8 6-7 4 6 0 3 15 Charlie Lambert SF 29 8-12 0-1 3 12 3 2 18 Connor Baxter SG 31 6-10 0-0 1 2 7 1 13 Eldon Castanon PG 24 2-5 2-2 1 4 9 4 6 Max Bennett SG 18 3-5 0-0 0 4 5 1 7 Dane Barlow PG 7 1-3 0-0 1 1 0 0 3 Matt Valentine SF 25 6-11 6-6 0 3 4 3 20 Luke Christensen SF 1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 Demetrius Reed C 10 0-0 0-1 0 2 0 2 0 Erick Sullivan C 3 0-0 0-0 1 2 0 0 0 Charles Peterman PF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 16 (C.Lambert 2, C.Baxter 3, E.Castanon 3, M.Bennett 1, D.Barlow 2, M.Valentine 4, D.Reed 1) Blocked Shots: 5 (S.Roberts 2, C.Lambert 3) Steals: 7 (S.Roberts 1, C.Lambert 1, C.Baxter 2, E.Castanon 2, M.Valentine 1) 3P FGs: 9-23 (S.Roberts 1-2, K.Gribble 1-3, C.Lambert 2-3, C.Baxter 1-5, E.Castanon 0-1, M.Bennett 1-3, D.Barlow 1-2, M.Valentine 2-4) Player of Game: SF Charlie Lambert (VLNV)
While our seniors play well, it's the players from our Class of 2038 who take he spotlight as we win the Coaches Invitational with an impressive victory over a ranked team.

Matt Valentine scores at least 20 points in a reserve role for the second time this young season. Charlie Lambert spices up his double-double with an extra helping of rejected shots.

We don't shoot particularly well from distance, but we find other ways to win.
Record: 4-0.




November 26, 2036
The Wildcats move into the Wawa Arena tonight, and a capacity crowd of 12,500 watches the 2035/36 NCAA championship banner descend from the rafters. Then, they watch their team defeat their visitors from Vermont.

Here's the box score from the first game in the new home of Villanova basketball.
Code:
#1 Villanova 90, Vermont 58 --------------------------------------------------------- Vermont (1-2, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Jonathan Mason C 26 2-3 0-0 3 6 2 2 5 Terrence Kerrigan PF 24 2-5 0-0 1 2 1 2 5 Moses Halliday SF 25 1-5 1-2 3 8 1 4 4 Emery Hermosillo SG 29 7-12 0-0 0 1 2 0 18 Jonathan Walker PG 27 4-9 1-2 0 3 5 4 9 Lyman Johnson SF 25 4-10 1-2 0 3 0 0 10 Michael Pettway PG 14 1-4 0-0 1 1 1 1 2 Charles Waters PG 6 1-4 1-1 1 1 0 2 3 Fritz Dunford PF 14 0-0 1-2 0 4 0 0 1 Glen Warner C 7 0-1 1-2 0 0 1 0 1 Mark Carter SF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Don Delgado C 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 20 (J.Mason 2, T.Kerrigan 1, M.Halliday 2, E.Hermosillo 2, J.Walker 4, L.Johnson 4, M.Pettway 2, F.Dunford 3) Blocked Shots: 1 (T.Kerrigan 1) Steals: 4 (E.Hermosillo 1, J.Walker 1, L.Johnson 1, M.Pettway 1) 3P FGs: 8-24 (J.Mason 1-1, T.Kerrigan 1-1, M.Halliday 1-4, E.Hermosillo 4-5, J.Walker 0-4, L.Johnson 1-6, M.Pettway 0-1, C.Waters 0-2) Villanova (5-0, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Sebastian Roberts C 27 3-8 1-1 0 3 1 1 8 Kyle Gribble PF 24 4-7 3-3 0 1 1 4 12 Charlie Lambert SF 26 3-7 0-0 2 8 4 4 8 Connor Baxter SG 32 3-6 3-3 0 3 6 0 10 Eldon Castanon PG 27 4-9 2-2 1 4 5 2 14 Max Bennett SG 14 5-6 4-4 0 0 2 1 19 Dane Barlow PG 7 0-0 2-2 1 2 1 0 2 Matt Valentine SF 24 4-7 2-2 0 3 3 2 10 Demetrius Reed C 11 1-2 0-0 1 4 0 0 2 Erick Sullivan C 6 2-2 0-0 0 3 0 1 5 Charles Peterman PF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 13 (S.Roberts 2, C.Lambert 2, C.Baxter 3, E.Castanon 2, M.Valentine 3, D.Reed 1) Blocked Shots: 1 (D.Reed 1) Steals: 7 (K.Gribble 4, C.Baxter 2, E.Castanon 1) 3P FGs: 15-28 (S.Roberts 1-3, K.Gribble 1-2, C.Lambert 2-5, C.Baxter 1-3, E.Castanon 4-9, M.Bennett 5-5, E.Sullivan 1-1) Player of Game: SG Max Bennett (VLNV)
I love the way different players step up when we need them. Tonight it's Max Bennett, who packs an incredible amount of action into 14 minutes of court time.

I also love the high percentage of made baskets that are assisted--23 out of 29 this time--and the fact we went 17-for-17 from the free throw line.
Record: 5-0.

Sutton Watch: Charlie Sutton emerged from his second training camp at Vanderbilt an improved player. Here's how his attributes look as he heads into the season:
Code:
Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 52 67 82 80 50 34 17 22 17 32 29 15 58 40 40 69 2035: 50 64 79 77 47 32 16 21 16 30 27 14 57 37 39 64 2034: 46 58 73 71 41 28 14 19 14 27 24 12 57 31 38 53 Potential: C B A A B C D D D C C D

After an incredibly frustrating season in which he didn't play a single minute, Charlie surprisingly returned to Vanderbilt. A position switch (from SG to SF) has worked wonders for the sharpshooting sophomore.

Starting all six of Vandy's games, Charlie is leading the Commodores in scoring at 20.5 PPG. He's really heated up lately, too, scoring 26, 28, and 26 points in his last three contests, all Vanderbilt victories.

Charlie is establishing himself as a deadly three-point shooter. He knocked down 19 of 27 triples over his three-game hot streak, and he's making 46 percent of his threes for the season.

It's taken him a year, but Charlie has become a key player for coach Chris Box's team.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 02-15-2024 at 03:20 PM.
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Old 02-16-2024, 03:15 PM   #650
Chas in Cinti
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Location: Cincinnati, OH
Wow... Sutton looks good....
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