Front Office Football Central  

Go Back   Front Office Football Central > Main Forums > Dynasty Reports
Register FAQ Members List Calendar Mark Forums Read Statistics

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 11-30-2023, 12:40 PM   #401
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
November 1, 2027
We have four senior scholarship players this year: guards Devin Guzman and Charles Vancleave, forward Bruno Le Fleurquin, and big man Jose Blanco.

Guzman, BLF, and Blanco have all been starters. There are players behind each of them in the pipeline who should be ready to step in once they leave, but in some cases, they're upperclassmen. Right now, we have only four big men on scholarships, so I decided it wouldn't be a bad thing to bring in multiple post players--especially if at least one of them is athletic enough to slide out to the wing.

As we prepare for training camp, we have three players signed for next season.

Coach Sims has traditionally recruited well in New Jersey. Stars like Joe Lien, Daniel Warnock, and Carter Todd all came to Lafayette from the Garden State. He's kept the Jersey connection strong at Villanova, signing signed five-star prospect Avery Sullivan in his first VU recruiting class. This year's class will include two more Jersey boys.

Code:
#13 PG Blake Norton -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-1 Weight: 171 High School: Palmyra High School Hometown: Palmyra, NJ GPA: 2.37 Test Score: 1010 Rating: *** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 44 17 42 53 52 43 20 26 36 22 55 40 73 17 75 28 Potential: C D C B A B C D A B C C Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15.8 1.5 5.5 7.1 1.3 5.68 3.4 1.1 2.9 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.4 15.0 .427 1.7 2.5 .673 1.4 5.4 .250 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Villanova Rankings: #50 PG, East Region #37 Overall, East Region #9 PG High School Awards: None Top 5 Schools: *Villanova

Blake Norton dreamed of playing for Villanova from the day he first picked up a basketball. He's developed into a solid three-star player, and while some might think a program like Villanova shouldn't pursue the #213 player in the country, I think Blake does enough of the right things to be a very solid addition to our program.

He's not a dazzling scorer in high school, so he probably won't be one in college, either. He's a traditional point guard who concentrates on directing his team's offense, taking care of and distributing the ball. Look at his assist/turnover ratio! I'd prefer Blake to be a lockdown defender-in-the-making, but he won't hurt us when the other team has the ball. Interestingly enough, he's better at defending in the post, despite being only 6'0".

From the town of Somerville, in central New Jersey, we welcome forward Tony Ezell to the Wildcat basketball family. He's the top-ranked power forward in the East, and one of the ten best prospects at his position in the nation.

Code:
#21 PF Tony Ezell -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-7 Weight: 206 High School: Somerville High School Hometown: Somerville, NJ GPA: 2.68 Test Score: 910 Rating: **** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 91 47 30 8 28 8 24 45 54 23 27 27 47 42 42 37 Potential: A C C F D F C B B C C C Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12.9 2.4 9.5 0.5 2.0 0.25 1.2 1.3 2.3 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.5 9.5 .577 1.9 3.3 .585 0.1 0.5 .100 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Villanova Rankings: #48 Overall, #9 PF, East Region #8 Overall, East Region #1 PF High School Awards: All-State Top 5 Schools: *Villanova, Georgetown, Lafayette

Tony is the kind of player I mentioned earlier; he plays the four as a high schooler, but his lean frame might make him better suited to play on the wing for us. He hasn't been a high-volume shooter, but his ability to create shots is already high-major quality. He's also a willing rebounder and defender.

I especially like the fact Tony chose us over Georgetown and Lafayette.

The borough of Cochranton is located in northwestern Pennsylvania. It's home to about 1100 people. Cochranton Junior-Senior High School, home of the Cardinals, has an enrollment of under 400 students, grades 7-12. One of them is Lowell Welter, who happens to be one of the best high school basketball players in the country.

Code:
#42 C Lowell Welter -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-8 Weight: 212 High School: Cochranton High School Hometown: Cochranton, PA GPA: 2.43 Test Score: 1160 Rating: **** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 56 34 17 33 29 9 45 59 36 20 18 35 37 90 16 92 Potential: A C D B A D C A C D D C Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21.2 3.7 16.1 2.0 1.8 1.11 1.7 1.6 1.8 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9.2 17.6 .523 2.1 4.3 .477 0.8 3.0 .250 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Villanova Rankings: #30 Overall, #9 C, East Region #4 Overall, East Region #2 C High School Awards: None Top 5 Schools: *Villanova, Pittsburgh, Boston College, Kansas

Lowell scores with a variety of post moves, but he also displays good form on his jumper and could develop into a very good outside shooter. He is "country strong," a ferocious rebounder who believes every missed shot is his to claim.

He grew up rooting for Pitt, and the Panthers recruited him heavily, too. But there's now a Villanova pennant hanging in Kay's Cardinal Country Restaurant, above the booth where Lowell likes to demolish huge helpings of corned beef hash.


Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 12-02-2023 at 11:41 AM.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2023, 05:09 PM   #402
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
November 7, 2027

Here's the roster for the 2027 national finalist Villanova Wildcats:

Code:
#3 VILLANOVA General Player # Pos Yr Ht Wt Sch Acd Status Hometown ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Devin Guzman 1 PG Sr* 6-0 184 Yes 64 OK Daly City, CA Corey Hicks 3 SF So 6-3 202 Yes 92 OK Riverside, NJ Kelley Van Houten 5 SG Fr 6-4 210 Yes 77 OK Potomac Falls, VA Richard Pray 13 SF Jr 6-3 183 Yes 70 OK Glen Burnie, MD Duncan Sims 14 SG Jr* 6-3 203 Yes 98 OK Easton, PA Mark Jones 20 PF So 6-8 208 No 36 OK Valdosta, GA Jacob Allen 21 SG Jr 5-10 173 Yes 33 OK Franklinville, NY Bruno Le Fleurquin 22 PF Sr 6-8 212 Yes 53 OK Kapuskasing, Canada Caleb Blaney 25 PF Jr 6-9 228 Yes 21 OK Ramsey, NJ Charles Vancleave 30 PG Sr 6-2 189 Yes 84 OK Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Canada Jose Blanco 31 PF Sr 6-9 228 Yes 54 OK Newark, NJ David Betts 32 SF Fr 6-4 211 No 68 Unhappy Plymouth, PA Bernie Pfister 41 C Fr 6-11 254 No 69 OK Westfield, PA Joshua Parkin 42 PF So 6-9 207 Yes 53 OK North East, MD Avery Sullivan 53 C Fr 6-10 238 Yes 77 OK Englewood, NJ

How did training camp go?
Code:
Player Ins Jps Fts 3ps Hnd Pas Orb Drb Psd Prd Stl Blk Qkn Str Jmp Sta -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Devin Guzman 3 10 4 7 11 11 3 3 1 17 0 2 1 1 1 4 Corey Hicks 2 5 7 2 3 3 1 3 3 4 4 0 2 2 1 5 Kelley Van Houten 4 8 4 6 2 8 2 4 4 4 2 2 2 6 2 16 Richard Pray 5 7 4 2 1 3 5 2 3 5 7 3 1 2 2 14 Duncan Sims 2 3 1 4 4 4 1 1 1 4 2 1 2 2 1 8 Mark Jones 1 1 1 0 1 1 3 2 3 1 1 2 1 3 1 5 Jacob Allen 2 15 3 0 4 2 1 2 1 9 6 4 0 1 0 8 Bruno Le Fleurquin 13 2 1 1 2 2 13 13 4 17 9 2 0 3 2 9 Caleb Blaney 2 2 4 4 2 1 1 1 3 2 4 2 0 2 0 4 Charles Vancleave 2 3 0 1 0 3 1 2 1 2 0 1 0 2 0 0 Jose Blanco 3 0 5 0 0 2 10 7 3 1 1 5 1 3 1 8 David Betts 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 1 6 3 22 Bernie Pfister 2 2 2 0 2 2 8 6 6 2 2 4 4 0 1 32 Joshua Parkin 2 5 2 0 3 1 2 6 2 2 1 4 2 5 0 9 Avery Sullivan 10 4 2 2 2 2 6 10 10 4 2 8 2 10 4 16

Coach Graham Sims' first season at Villanova didn't end until the final buzzer of the national championship game. The Wildcats watched Big East rival Georgetown lift another trophy, and it's made them eager to write a different ending to this season's story.

This year's team features four players who started at least 25 games last season. Forward Bruno De Fleurquin delighted 'Nova fans when he announced he'd be returning to school for his fifth year. Not content with last year's successes, the popular French-Canadian star set a powerful example for his teammates with his relentless work in camp. BLF has made significant gains in the most important aspects of his game, and should be one of the Big East's most dynamic stars.

Fellow senior Jose Blanco started 26 games last season, filling in whenever one of Coach Sims' frontcourt players couldn't answer the bell. He was the team's second leading scorer and rebounder (behind BLF in both categories). He might not be relied upon as heavily to put points on the board this year, but opponents will have to guard him honestly.

Another fifth-year senior, Devin Guzman, returns to the point guard spot. This transfer from Stanford, who led last year's team in total minutes played, emerges from camp as an even more creative passer and reliable ballhandler. He's also worked on his shot, which betrayed him for much of last season.

The fourth returning starter is junior guard Jacob Allen. After a season in which he improved his field goal percentage by 50 points from the year before, he's refined his trademark skill even more. Allen is far from a specialist shooter, though; he will also do his part on defense.

Going into camp, Coach Sims hadn't committed to giving highly touted freshman center Avery Sullivan a place in the starting five. Sullivan, however, made such strides in preseason that he locked down his spot. The five-star recruit seems well on his way to achieving his potential as a dominant inside force. He's already being talked about as a future lottery pick.

Redshirt junior Duncan Sims came from Lafayette with his dad, and after sitting out a year, will serve as the Wildcats' sixth man. He's a versatile guard who, like Allen, is best known as a shooter but can also run the point and defend tough opponents.

Corey Hicks will also get some run as a reserve wing. He'll spend another year as a valued reserve, and Coach Sims fully believes his patience and hard work will pay off in a starring role in his last two years as a Wildcat. Corey is a particularly promising three-point shooter.

Through no real fault of their own, Charles Vancleave and Richard Pray will find playing time tougher to come by. Vancleave, a senior, could find his way to the court as a defensive stopper. Junior Pray is, simply, a less accomplished version of the same sort of player as Allen, Sims, and Hicks.

Frontcourt depth could be this team's Achilles heel. If Caleb Blaney can begin to deliver on the potential that made him a highly regarded recruit in the Class of '25, he'll go a long way to solve this problem. Caleb is more of a finesse big who doesn't rebound like a big man.

First year guard Kelley Van Houten and sophomore post Joshua Parkin round out the cast of scholarship players.



Poll voters are high on the Wildcats, and after looking at their roster, it's easy to see why. There's a Blue player at every position in the starting lineup and Green guys filling out the rotation. Coach Sims has the personnel to run his trademark man-to-man defense, with some matchup zone mixed in.

If this team can stay healthy, it might be cutting down the nets next April.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 12-03-2023 at 01:16 PM.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2023, 08:25 PM   #403
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
November 14, 2027
Philadelphia Invitational, First Round
(2) #3 Villanova 75, (7) Arkansas 62

The opening game in the Philly Invitational doesn't go according to plan, but we pull out a win over a pesky Arkansas team.

Bruno Le Fleurquin, Jacob Allen, and Duncan Sims combine for a total of 9 points. Fortunately, Jose Blanco cuts loose for 24, with 8 rebounds, and Caleb Blaney asserts himself with 11 off the bench.

Avery Sullivan enjoys a quiet, efficient first game, making 4 of 7 shots, scoring 8 points, and grabbing 6 boards. Devin Guzman (8p/7a) provides a steady hand.
Record: 1-0.


November 16, 2027
Philadelphia Invitational Semifinal
(2) #6 Villanova 87, (3) Missouri 60

We fall three places in the polls, dropping behind several teams that have already won three or four games, and it seems to inspire the boys to punish the Tigers for this slight.

Jose Blanco (23p/11r) plays like a grown man again tonight, and this time BLF (15p/13r) is just as assertive. Jacob Allen (11 points) and Duncan Sims (11p/3a, 6-6 from the line) also play better.

We commit too many turnovers and miss quite a few shots, but when the game ends, the scoreboard still looks very good.
Record: 2-0.


November 18, 2027
Philadelphia Invitational Championship Game
(2) #6 Villanova 81, (4) Ohio State 73

A delighted crowd at the Wells Fargo Center watches the Wildcats defeat Ohio State to lift the Philly Invitational trophy.

The Buckeyes, who upset North Carolina to earn a spot in the final, have problems unlocking the Villanova defense. They shoot 33.8% from the field and miss 13 of their 21 three-point tries. Meanwhile, Villanova gets 20 points and 9 rebounds from Bruno Le Fleurquin, 6 points and 10 boards from Avery Sullivan, and 14 points off the bench from Duncan Sims. Caleb Blaney (9p/2s) again plays well.
Record: 3-0.


November 21, 2027
@#6 Villanova 98, #17 Lafayette 75

Hoops fans in eastern Pennsylvania have come to treasure Villanova-Lafayette matchups. To their credit, Villanova fans are more charitable to the Leopards than they are to many opponents, for which Graham Sims is very appreciative.

The warm feelings don't prevent the 'Cats from asserting their will, however. Jose Blanco (23p/9r) and Bruno Le Fleurquin (18p/10r) win most of their battles against Lafayette big men Porter Prado (16p/10r) and Bret Bryant (14p/6r/6 turnovers). Corey Hicks has his first big game, with 15 points, and Charles Vancleave adds 10 more. Duncan Sims (7p/4a) also plays well on his return to his home town.
Record: 4-0.


November 24, 2027
@#1 Villanova 96, #6 Kansas 78

Villanova fans greet Kansas coach Douglas Gillum, Villanova '84, with a heartfelt standing ovation. Older fans remember Gillum as a player. Many of them know him as a respected, Hall of Fame-worthy coach, and they're proud of his connection to their university. Coach Gillum just turned 65. How many more times will he visit his alma mater as an active coach? Is this the last one?

At the same time, they are even more proud of the Wildcats' #1 ranking. Graham Sims has coached a national champion, but he's never coached a top-ranked team. There's something about entering a game as the nominal best team in the country.

Then we go out and play like that team. It's 58-41 at halftime, and the crowd cheers wildly as the players leave the court for the locker room. Kansas plays better in the second half--we win that half 38-37--but they can't cut the lead any more than that.

It is as complete a performance as any of Graham's teams have ever delivered, and it happens on a very big stage.

Code:
Villanova 96, Kansas 78 --------------------------------------------------------- Kansas (3-1, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Vince Lawlor PF 18 2-4 0-1 1 1 0 4 4 Brian Cazares PF 9 3-3 0-0 0 0 0 4 6 Brian Rex SF 27 4-9 2-2 3 5 1 4 13 Cyril Macias SG 32 7-14 0-0 0 9 1 3 18 David Edmond PG 32 5-15 0-0 1 3 11 2 12 Charles Rumph SF 9 1-3 0-0 1 2 3 4 3 Dallas Brundage PG 14 3-9 0-0 1 1 2 0 7 Domingo Bravo SG 3 0-0 0-0 1 1 0 0 0 Scott Lapointe PF 28 0-3 3-4 5 8 2 3 3 Jamie Kendall C 19 4-6 2-2 1 4 1 3 10 Long Campbell SF 2 0-0 2-2 0 1 0 1 2 Errol Otten PF 6 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 John Kalendek C 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 13 (V.Lawlor 1, C.Macias 6, D.Edmond 3, D.Brundage 1, S.Lapointe 1, J.Kendall 1) Blocked Shots: 4 (B.Cazares 1, S.Lapointe 3) Steals: 7 (C.Macias 2, D.Edmond 2, J.Kendall 2, L.Campbell 1) 3P FGs: 11-32 (B.Rex 3-7, C.Macias 4-11, D.Edmond 2-5, C.Rumph 1-3, D.Brundage 1-5, E.Otten 0-1) Villanova (5-0, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Avery Sullivan C 21 4-8 4-6 2 3 1 0 12 Jose Blanco C 36 8-12 4-7 4 7 5 1 20 B. Le Fleurquin PF 28 5-8 3-5 2 9 2 3 13 Jacob Allen SG 20 4-10 2-2 1 4 1 0 13 Devin Guzman PG 28 0-2 5-8 0 4 5 1 5 Duncan Sims SG 21 5-7 2-2 1 3 3 2 15 Corey Hicks SF 27 2-5 2-2 1 5 2 2 7 Charles Vancleave PG 8 1-2 0-0 1 1 0 1 2 Caleb Blaney PF 9 2-2 1-2 0 0 0 1 7 Richard Pray SF 2 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 1 2 Joshua Parkin C 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 12 (A.Sullivan 1, J.Blanco 1, B.Le Fleurquin 1, J.Allen 1, D.Guzman 2, C.Hicks 3, C.Vancleave 2, C.Blaney 1) Blocked Shots: 5 (A.Sullivan 2, J.Blanco 1, D.Guzman 1, C.Vancleave 1) Steals: 1 (J.Allen 1) 3P FGs: 9-18 (J.Allen 3-7, D.Guzman 0-1, D.Sims 3-5, C.Hicks 1-2, C.Vancleave 0-1, C.Blaney 2-2) Player of Game: PF Jose Blanco (VLNV)
Record: 5-0.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 11-30-2023 at 08:37 PM.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2023, 09:40 PM   #404
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
December 1, 2027
The town of Apolda is located in the Thuringia region of Germany. It's the birthplace of Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann, a local tax collector who was the first to breed the protective, intelligent breed of dog that bears his name.

Apolda is also the birthplace of Clemens Schwaiger, a large young man who puts the power in "power forward." As of today, Clemens is also the fourth and final member of our recruiting class.

Code:
#41 PF Clemens Schwaiger -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-11 Weight: 318 High School: Hometown: Apolda, Germany GPA: 2.59 Test Score: 1070 Rating: **** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 39 7 38 13 14 34 45 52 46 18 33 30 20 80 35 51 Potential: B C C F C C C A A D C C Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17.3 4.1 13.5 1.9 3.1 0.62 1.5 2.2 1.9 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.3 11.9 .609 2.8 5.3 .528 0.0 0.0 .000 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Villanova Rankings: #19 Overall, #3 PF, Foreign #1 Overall, Foreign #1 PF High School Awards: None Top 5 Schools: *Villanova, Georgetown, Michigan State

Clemens is a classic big man who does most of his work close to the basket on both ends. He is most definitely a work in progress, but we believe he can--and will--develop into a well-rounded player who can shoot midrange jumpers, handle the ball and pass it, while still dominating the low block.

With Schwaiger, Tony Ezell, and Lowell Welter, we're balancing out our roster with three young big men. They'll join Avery Sullivan to create a deep, versatile frontcourt in the seasons to come.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-01-2023, 10:50 AM   #405
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
December 2, 2027
#1 Villanova 94, @Drexel 72

We travel 11 miles down the Main Line to Drexel, where a capacity crowd watches the Dragons play a bit better than the score line might indicate. They make half their shots, and are actually better from three-point range than we are (9-18, while we're 7-18). We force 22 turnovers, however, and commit only 8 ourselves.

All five of our starters hit double figures, plus sixth man Duncan Sims. Bruno Le Fleurquin is high man with 21, while the others all finish with between 11 and 14. Devin Guzman hands out 8 assists, Sims contributes 5 more, along with 5 rebounds.
Record: 6-0.


December 4, 2027
@Stanford 96, #1 Villanova 93

Two days later, we travel 2,894 miles to Palo Alto to play Stanford, who joined us in the Final Four last March. Perhaps because we've just traveled across the continent, we fall behind 54-38 at halftime. A spirited second-half comeback falls just a bit short.

The Cardinal's sophomore point guard, Carl Young, amasses 16 assists, which is probably the most any player has recorded against us. Jacob Allen leads us with 21 points; BLF adds 17; Corey Hicks and Avery Sullivan contribute 10 each. Duncan Sims scores 7 with 5 assists.

We'll probably lose our #1 ranking when next week's polls come out. It was fun while it lasted.
Record: 6-1.


December 12, 2027
@#6 Villanova 98, Brown 48

Graham welcomes his former assistant, Chris Kiger, back to Finneran Pavilion, but the niceties don't last much longer than an initial handshake and hug.

The Bears have no answers for the power duo of Jose Blanco and Bruno Le Fleurquin. The senior forwards combine for 59 points (31 for Jose, 28 for Bruno), shooting 26-for-35. Blanco also grabs 13 rebounds, blocks two shots, and makes two steals.

Brown drops to 2-7, and Coach Kiger's seat is, unfortunately, growing very warm. His record in Providence is now 28-42.
Record: 7-1.


December 16, 2027
@#5 Villanova 92, Siena 82

Thomas Liang, however, has his Saints team playing very well this year, and they bring an 8-1 record to town a few days later. A member of Graham's original staff at Lafayette, Coach Liang prepares his team well, but they simply don't have quite enough talent to upset us.

Bruno Le Fleurquin (18p/15r) and Jose Blanco (17p/12r) continue to play well, but Jacob Allen (22p/2b/2s) is even better tonight.

We're averaging 90.4 points per game, the most in the nation. Our team shooting percentage of .530 also ranks first, and our .454 mark from three-point range is third.
Record: 8-1.


December 21, 2027
@#4 Villanova 87, Bucknell 56

At the beginning of the season, Jose Blanco was projected as a second-round pick in the upcoming professional draft. I wonder if the experts are rethinking his potential now?

Jose records his fourth double-double in 10 games (19p/12r). Only two Big East players have more; they each have five. Jacob Allen (18 points), Duncan Sims (13) and Avery Sullivan (11) provide scoring assistance, and BLF just misses a double-double of his own (9p/11r).
Sims and Sullivan each contribute 6 rebounds, and Devin Guzman adds 7 assists.
Record: 9-1.


December 27, 2027
@#5 Villanova 77, Eastern Kentucky 65

I like scheduling Graham's former assistants' teams, and new EKU coach Zane Lockhart is the latest protégé to come back for a visit. The 3-8 Colonels put up a game fight, trailing by only four points at halftime.

Coach Lockhart's team also frustrate us with annoyingly good defense. We shoot only 43.4%, and we make only 8 of our 25 three-point attempts. Jose Blanco, Jacob Allen, Bruno Le Fleurquin, and Devin Guzman all finish with between 13 and 10 points. BLF adds 11 rebounds.
Record: 10-1.


December 31, 2027
@#5 Villanova 90, Virginia 70

We bid farewell to 2027 with a comfortable victory over the Cavaliers at Finneran Pavilion.

Our scorers score (Jose Blanco 21, BLF 18, Jacob Allen 14). Our rebounders rebound (Blanco 12, BLF 8). Our passers pass (Devin Guzman 5, Blanco 5, Duncan Sims 3). It's a nice way to close out the calendar year.
Record: 11-1.


January 4, 2028
Code:
2027 Big East Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige -------------------------------------------------------------- #1 Georgetown 0 0 .000 13 0 1.000 17 100 #4 Villanova 0 0 .000 11 1 .917 1 95 #20 Notre Dame 0 0 .000 11 2 .846 51 89 West Virginia 0 0 .000 10 2 .833 154 86 Louisville 0 0 .000 9 2 .818 5 82 Rutgers 0 0 .000 8 4 .667 29 85 Seton Hall 0 0 .000 8 4 .667 33 55 Syracuse 0 0 .000 8 4 .667 49 75 DePaul 0 0 .000 8 4 .667 189 60 Marquette 0 0 .000 8 3 .727 291 67 Providence 0 0 .000 7 5 .583 68 73 Cincinnati 0 0 .000 6 5 .545 43 63 South Florida 0 0 .000 6 6 .500 74 65 St. John's 0 0 .000 6 6 .500 116 65 Pittsburgh 0 0 .000 4 8 .333 311 93 Connecticut 0 0 .000 1 9 .100 152 63

Graham Sims hasn't been at Villanova for long, but Georgetown has already established itself as his primary antagonist. They're certainly a traditional rival; many 'Nova fans consider the Hoyas their biggest rival of all, and almost all would put them on the short list. And they're so good right now. Graham has lost seven games at Villanova, and three of those losses were inflicted by Georgetown. Save the date: we'll play them, at their place, on February 16.

We've nosed in front of Pitt to become the second most prestigious program in the conference, behind those Hoyas. And speaking of Pitt, what's going on there? They've lost at Tennessee State and Presbyterian, and Illinois State beat them by 27 points at home.

And speaking of prestige, which programs rank highest in this category, after nearly two decades' worth of history in this universe? Let's peek at the editor and find out:


While we're in the editor, let's see where Coach Sims stands among the coaches who have reached the highest levels of their profession:


Many of these names are somewhat familiar, aren't they?

Not surprisingly, Douglas Gillum stands alone at the top, our universe's only Level 14 coach. I wonder if some of the outstanding coaches who were older when my game was created and have already retired reached Level 14. I'm thinking Floyd Bartley might have, and perhaps Stephen Rubalcaba.

Below Coach Gillum is a group that contains some of the former Bright Young Things who have rivaled Graham for the title of "best young coach," such as Joseph Owens, Blaine Boyd, and Tracy Norton.

Who's the most talented assistant coach in our universe? It's Larry Smith, who is now Zack Lott's right-hand man at Stanford. Coach Smith, age 54, was the head coach at Duke for years, and won 359 games there. He's a sidekick with more game than most superheroes.

Graham's recruiting coordinator, Edward Volkman, is one of five assistants who have reached Level 10. Coach Volkman (age 33) is also the second most talented coach in his thirties, behind Lance Lamb, the 37-year-old Level 11 head man at Pacific.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 12-02-2023 at 11:52 AM.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-03-2023, 01:19 PM   #406
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
January 5, 2028
@4 Villanova 91, Pittsburgh 51

Blaine Boyd's Panthers come to the Pavilion and receive a beating that's similar to the ones Graham's Lafayette teams occasionally laid on the weaker members of the Patriot League. It hasn't been a great year for Coach Boyd or his team.

We shoot 60 percent from the floor, and a giddy 68.2 percent (15-22) from distance. Jacob Allen (28 points, 7-9! from three) and sixth man Duncan Sims (18 points, 3-5 from three) are the leading sharpshooters. Devin Guzman achieves a career high with 10 assists, and Avery Sullivan (11p/7r) plays quite well in his first Big East game.
Record: 12-1 (1-0).


January 8, 2028
West Virginia 64, @#4 Villanova 60

May I redistribute the 154 points we scored this week in a different way, please? As well as we shoot on Wednesday, we shoot badly today: 32.8% and 27.3%, overall and from three point distance, respectively. We also turn the ball over 18 times, which I really don't like. Six of our players end the game with at least four personal fouls, which limits how aggressively we can defend the Mountaineers. When you play this way against a good team like WVU, you're going to lose, and we do.

Jose Blanco scores 15 of our points, with 7 rebounds. Devin Guzman scores 13 with 4 assists before fouling out.
Record: 12-2 (1-1).


January 12, 2028
#6 Villanova 73, @Louisville 63

A trip out west to Kentucky puts us back on the winning track, as we open up an 18-point lead in the first 20 minutes and cruise to victory.

Bruno Le Fleurquin (12p/7r), who had been struggling so far in conference play, picks it up a bit today. Jose Blanco (15p/8r) and reserves Corey Hicks (10p/5r/3a) and Duncan Sims (10p/4a) provide quality assistance.

Shout out to Charles Vancleave, who hands out 4 assists in 13 minutes of court time.
Record: 13-2 (2-1).


January 15, 2028
#6 Villanova 60, @Pittsburgh 49

A quirk of the Big East schedule has us traveling west to Pittsburgh today, which means half of our conference games have featured the Panthers. They're 6-10 this season, which makes this quirk not so bad. We hold Pitt to a total of 100 points in two matchups this season.

With the exception of big man Scot McCarty (14 points), whom we recruited when Graham was at Lafayette, we lock the Panthers down defensively. Meanwhile, Panther nemesis Jacob Allen scores 16 for us. Devin Guzman adds 11 with 7 assists, and Corey Hicks produces 10 with 5 rebounds in a reserve role. BLF scores only 4 points--he hasn't done much offensively in a while--but he dominates the boards with 13.

We are in a group of six teams who are 3-1 in Big East play so far, right behind--you guessed it--Georgetown.
Record: 14-2 (3-1).


January 19, 2028
#5 Villanova 85, @Connecticut 82

Connecticut is to the Big East as Virginia is to the ACC: a team whose performance in my universe doesn't approach its real life achievements. The Huskies' prestige is 63, which places them in the lower reaches of the conference. They're 4-11 this season, which won't help that mark.

UConn is, however, still capable of playing good basketball, especially at home. It's all we can do to squeak out a three-point victory.

Will we look back and identify this game as the coming-out party of Avery Sullivan? The freshman center scores a career-high 17 points, his 9 rebounds are one short of another career best, and he blocks 2 shots. Jacob Allen (18p/4a), Jose Blanco (15p/6r), and Bruno Le Fleurquin (10p/9r) make up a solid supporting cast.

The outcome spares Duncan Sims' blushes. With 10 seconds left, the 6'3" guard attempts to put an exclamation point on the victory with a dunk. He misses it, much to the delight of the UConn fans.

"That looked like me out there," his dad Graham says. "I remember dunking exactly once."

"Duncan's actually pretty good," Corey Hicks adds. "He can't jump like I can, but he's had some good dunks here and there.

"We might call him No More Duncan now, though."
Record: 15-2 (4-1).


January 22, 2028
@5 Villanova 73, @#16 Notre Dame 63

While we were beating Connecticut earlier this week, the Fighting Irish were knocking off Georgetown, 61-60, at the Joyce Center. As a result, five teams enter today's play atop the Big East table, all with 4-1 records.

Two of them are us and Notre Dame, which makes this big win even bigger.

Jose Blanco sets the tone for us: 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block. Bruno Le Fleurquin (14p/8r), Duncan Sims (12p) and Jacob Allen (11p) play well, too.

Now there are three teams sharing the top spot: Georgetown, West Virginia, and Villanova. We've lost to WVU, and they've lost to the Hoyas, so we're technically in third place.
Record: 16-2 (5-1).


January 26, 2028
@#4 Villanova 72, Cincinnati 58

Jacob Allen drains 6 threes, en route to a 28-point performance, as we take care of business against the struggling Bearcats.

Allen is ably supported by Jose Blanco (19p/9r), Corey Hicks (10p/7r), and Devin Guzman (5a/0to).
Record: 17-2 (6-1).


January 29, 2028
#4 Villanova 73, @Syracuse 57

We've tightened up our team defense considerably in Big East play. Tonight, we hold the Orange to 31 percent shooting, including 18 percent from behind the arc, and pull away to a tidy victory.

23 more points from the red-hot Jacob Allen spark our offense. Our only other double-figure scorer is Devin Guzman, with 12. Big men Avery Sullivan and Jose Blanco score only 10 points between them, but they each snare 10 rebounds.

The unsung hero is walk-on center Bernie Pfister, a 6'11" freshman from Cowanesque Valley High School in Westfield, PA. Big Bernie plays 5 minutes and rejects 2 shots.

Notre Dame goes to West Virginia and hands the Mountaineers an 86-82 defeat. This leaves us and Georgetown alone atop of the Big East standings.
Record: 18-2 (7-1).
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-03-2023, 10:07 PM   #407
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
February 2, 2028
@#4 Villanova 96, Seton Hall 67

Another struggling Big East team comes to the Pavilion and finds Graham Sims' team more than they can handle, at least tonight.

Jacob Allen continues to score at a high volume; tonight he drops a career-high 34 points on the Pirates. Included are 7 three-pointers in 12 attempts. Jose Blanco (16p/13r) completes a solid double-double, and Bruno Le Fleurquin (13p/8r) falls just short of one. Duncan Sims scores 10 points with a Villanova career high 6 assists off the bench.
Record: 19-2 (8-1).

Code:
TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige ----------------------------------------------------------------- #2 Georgetown 8 1 .889 21 1 .955 4 100 #4 Villanova 8 1 .889 19 2 .905 1 95 #11 Notre Dame 7 2 .778 18 4 .818 12 89 #18 West Virginia 7 2 .778 17 4 .810 21 86 St. John's 6 3 .667 12 9 .571 59 65 Connecticut 6 3 .667 7 12 .368 55 63 Rutgers 5 4 .556 13 8 .619 60 85 Marquette 4 5 .444 12 8 .600 205 67 Syracuse 4 5 .444 12 9 .571 28 75 Louisville 4 5 .444 13 7 .650 18 82 Providence 3 6 .333 10 11 .476 90 73 South Florida 3 6 .333 9 12 .429 121 65 Pittsburgh 3 6 .333 7 14 .333 202 93 DePaul 2 7 .222 10 11 .476 232 60 Seton Hall 1 8 .111 9 12 .429 63 55 Cincinnati 1 8 .111 7 13 .350 79 63

It really is so much fun to be part of a competitive conference.

It might be a good time to check out the polls, too:
Code:
Top 25 # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Kentucky (72) 20-1 1800 1 Southeastern Conference 2. Georgetown 21-1 1714 2 Big East Conference 3. Kansas 20-1 1651 3 Big 12 Conference 4. Villanova 19-2 1584 4 Big East Conference 5. Florida 18-2 1497 5 Southeastern Conference 6. Wake Forest 18-2 1455 6 Atlantic Coast Conference 7. Michigan State 18-4 1305 7 Big Ten Conference 8. Texas 17-4 1284 11 Big 12 Conference 9. North Carolina 19-2 1242 8 Atlantic Coast Conference 10. San Diego State 20-1 1185 9 Mountain West Conference 11. Notre Dame 18-4 1032 17 Big East Conference 12. Boston College 20-2 1019 12 Atlantic Coast Conference 13. New Mexico 18-4 937 15 Mountain West Conference 14. Texas A&M 17-4 852 10 Big 12 Conference 15. Tennessee 17-4 788 19 Southeastern Conference 16. Lafayette 20-4 723 13 Patriot League 17. Oklahoma 17-3 709 18 Big 12 Conference 18. West Virginia 17-4 569 16 Big East Conference 19. Mississippi State 15-7 507 14 Southeastern Conference 20. UNLV 16-6 436 22 Mountain West Conference 21. California 15-5 284 NR Pacific-10 Conference 22. Louisiana Tech 18-3 236 21 Western Athletic Conference 23. Memphis 17-4 230 NR Conference USA 24. Vanderbilt 14-7 96 23 Southeastern Conference 25. Siena 19-3 61 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Others Receiving Votes: Stanford 15-5 42 Pacific-10 Conference New Mexico State 16-4 38 Western Athletic Conference Oregon 16-5 28 Pacific-10 Conference Texas-San Antonio 17-3 26 Southland Conference Miami 14-6 25 Atlantic Coast Conference Texas Christian 15-6 25 Mountain West Conference North Carolina State 16-5 10 Atlantic Coast Conference Washington 15-6 5 Pacific-10 Conference Florida State 16-5 3 Atlantic Coast Conference Cal State Fullerton 15-4 1 Big West Conference Towson 16-6 1 Colonial Athletic Association

The beat goes on at Lafayette, where Douglas Richbourg's Leopards remain the standard by which all mid-major programs are judged. This year's stars are junior center Porter Prado (19.2 PPG, 7.9 RPG), senior forward Bret Bryant (14.8 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 4.8 APG), and sophomore guard Tod Quiroz (13.5 PPG). Bryant makes his way onto a lot of mock drafts as a second round pick.


February 5, 2028
#4 Lafayette 65, @#18 West Virginia 52

We win a tough road game in a fashion that fans of fundamental basketball would approve.

We execute our offense methodically, taking 57 shots and making 26 (45.7 percent). We're selective but accurate from behind the arc (8-for-14). We don't let a good team force us to turn the ball over (12 turnovers), while we force them into mistakes (22 turnovers forced). We hold the Mountaineers to 37 percent shooting. Center Don Jones, who destroyed us the last time we played against him, only takes 4 shots all night and finishes with 3 points.

Bruno Le Fleurquin scores 16 for us, and he complements his scoring with 7 rebounds and 4 steals. Devin Guzman hands out 8 assists, and Jacob Allen adds 13 points.

The victory over West Virginia gives Graham Sims a string of 16 consecutive 20-win seasons. His first Lafayette team went 18-14, and his streak began the next season. There are several coaches whose teams have won at least 20 games every year in our universe, but not many.
Record: 20-2 (9-1).


February 9, 2028
@#4 Villanova 89, DePaul 64

Back at the Pavilion, the Wildcats take a 54-34 lead into the locker room at halftime and build their advantage a bit more after the break.

Five players reach double figures: Jose Blanco (24p), Devin Guzman (17p/5r), Jacob Allen (14p) BLF (13p/16r/2s), and Duncan Sims (12p). Avery Sullivan grabs 9 rebounds and blocks 2 shots.

After the game, Graham gets some bad news from Lafayette. Bret Bryant went down in the Leopards' game against Bucknell and had to be helped off the floor. He's torn his ACL, and his storied Lafayette career is now over.
Record: 21-2 (10-1).
Code:
BIG EAST CONFERENCE BUBBLE WATCH Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Villanova 21-2 .660 (2) 8-2 6-0 5-0 1-0 19 Lock Georgetown 23-1 .638 (5) 6-1 6-0 5-0 5-0 104 Lock Notre Dame 18-6 .609 (14) 6-3 4-0 3-2 5-0 31 Lock West Virginia 18-5 .607 (15) 2-3 7-0 4-1 4-1 28 Lock Louisville 14-8 .588 (34) 3-5 2-1 5-1 4-0 37 Lock Rutgers 15-8 .564 (55) 1-6 5-1 5-1 3-0 68 In Syracuse 12-11 .599 (21) 3-5 3-1 2-3 4-1 1 Out St. John's 12-11 .558 (62) 1-5 2-3 3-2 6-0 72 Out Marquette 13-9 .480 (207) 2-3 2-3 3-0 5-3 293 Out Seton Hall 10-13 .564 (52) 1-8 1-2 3-0 5-2 8 Out Providence 10-13 .508 (146) 2-5 1-4 4-3 3-0 81 Out South Florida 11-12 .528 (104) 0-5 2-3 2-3 6-1 83 Out DePaul 10-13 .471 (238) 0-4 3-3 4-4 3-1 217 Out Cincinnati 9-13 .531 (93) 0-7 0-4 4-1 4-1 14 Out Connecticut 8-13 .545 (75) 1-5 2-4 2-2 2-2 7 Out Pittsburgh 8-15 .513 (137) 2-4 1-3 1-5 4-2 25 Out


February 12, 2028
@#4 Villanova 90, Syracuse 66

We celebrate Abraham Lincoln's birthday with an honest 24-point victory over the visiting Orange.

Jose Blanco scores 11 of his 21 points at the free throw line and adds 5 rebounds. Lincoln was our 16th president, and Duncan Sims honors him with 16 points. Jacob Allen (14p), Bruno Le Fleurquin (11p/6r), and reserve Corey Hicks (8p/6r in 23 minutes) also acquit themselves well.
Record: 22-2 (11-1).


February 16, 2028
@#2 Georgetown 80, #4 Villanova 74

We visit the Capital One Arena with a chance to knock the Hoyas from the top spot in the Big East.

With a national TV audience watching, we fall behind, 50-39, at the half. Graham Sims and Wallace Hastings trade strategic adjustments, and the 'Cats claw their way back into the game. A three from Bruno Le Fleurquin cuts Georgetown's lead to 78-74 with 22 seconds left, but that's as close as we can come.

We know we can't bang the ball inside against the Hoyas' Twin Towers, 7'3" Dwayne Ecker and 7'0" Jimmy Cahoon. We shoot 16-for-30 from behind the three-point line, and 10-for-27 inside it. Given that focus, it's not surprising that our reserve sharpshooters are our high scorers; Duncan Sims and Corey Hicks finish with 15 points each. Hicks goes 5-for-6 from distance, Sims 4-for-5.

The Hoyas force us into 20 turnovers, and that's probably the deciding factor. We're now 0-4 against them since Graham arrived at Villanova.
Record: 22-3 (11-2).


February 19, 2028
#4 Villanova 94, @Marquette 59

We bounce back strong with a satisfying victory in Milwaukee, with solid contributions from everyone in Graham Sims' rotation.

Jacob Allen leads us with 24 points and 6 assists, matching Devin Guzman's total. Jose Blanco nets 20 points and grabs 7 rebounds. BLF (15p/11r) posts a double-double. Avery Sullivan (11p/7r/4b/3a) demonstrates his wide variety of basketball skills. Corey Hicks comes off the bench to score 13. Duncan Sims' shot isn't falling, but he contributes 3 assists, a steal, and his second blocked shot of the season.

We hold the Golden Eagles to 33.9% from the field and harry them into 20 turnovers. It's fun when things come together like this.
Record: 23-3 (12-2).


February 23, 2028
#5 Villanova 88, @St. John's 74

We slip a place in the polls after our loss at Georgetown, and fall behind by three points at St. John's before getting back on course and seizing a victory.

Bruno Le Fleurquin (19p/11r) records his seventh double-double of the season. Jacob Allen adds 15 points, and three reserves (Duncan Sims 9, Charles Vancleave 9, Corey Hicks 7) combine for 25 points.
Record: 24-3 (13-2).


February 26, 2028
@#5 Villanova 80, Providence 68

Behind 23 points from BLF and a balanced double-double from Jose Blanco (14p/14r), we dispatch the Friars at the Wells Fargo Center.

A dominant Avery Sullivan scores 7 points, snares 6 rebounds, and blocks 6 shots. We're getting contributions from a wide range of players as we head into March, and that's a good thing.
Record: 25-3 (14-2).


March 1, 2028
@#4 Villanova 86, Rutgers 82

We pull out a hard-fought victory against a tough Rutgers team, while Georgetown loses a wild one at Connecticut, 99-96...in their first game after moving back to the #1 spot in the polls.

Bruno Le Fleurquin fires in 23 points. Jacob Allen adds 13 and 7 assists. Sixth man Duncan Sims scores 11. Avery Sullivan rejects 3 more shots.

We'll need some help from Rutgers, who host the Hoyas in their final conference game, but there's a chance we can end the season as Big East champions.
Record: 26-3 (15-2).


March 4, 2028
@#4 Villanova 68, South Florida 53

Bruno Le Fleurquin saves the best for last, scoring a career-high 28 points in his final home game as we celebrate our seniors with a victory over South Florida. He adds 10 rebounds for good measure.

BLF's classmates play with honor too. Jose Blanco scores 14 points and snags 7 rebounds. Devin Guzman scores 8 points, with 5 assists and 4 rebounds. Charles Vancleave would like a redo, however; foul trouble limits his effectiveness in his 15-minute stint.

We shoot terribly (2-for-18!!) from three-point distance, but our inside play carries us across the line.

Behind 30 points from Louis DiCarlo on his Senior Day, Georgetown routed Rutgers, 93-69, so the Hoyas win the Big East regular season title and will take the #1 seed into the conference tournament.
Record: 27-3 (16-2).

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 12-03-2023 at 10:10 PM.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-04-2023, 11:40 AM   #408
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
March 9, 2028
Big East Tournament Quarterfinal
(2) #3 Villanova 105, (7) Connecticut 73

We have a double bye in the Big East tourney, so we don't take the court until the third day. When we do, we score more points than any Villanova team Graham Sims has ever coached. A 62-point second half turns a close game into a rout.

Three Wildcats score over 20 points: Jose Blanco (26p/7r), Jacob Allen (22p/4r/4a), and Bruno Le Fleurquin (21p/8r). Devin Guzman supplies the scorers with 7 assists. In nine minutes of action, Richard Pray explodes for 11 points.
Record: 28-3.


March 10, 2028
Big East Tournament Semifinal
(2) #3 Villanova 61, (6) Pittsburgh 47

The semifinal is a very different game, a gritty, defensive contest with a Pitt team that upset West Virginia the night before. Neither team makes 40 percent of its shots.

Jacob Allen (18 points) and BLF (15p/10r) are our only double-figure scorers. Avery Sullivan stuffs the scoresheet with 9 points, 7 rebounds, a block, and a steal.

Georgetown defeats Louisville in the other semifinal, so it's us against the Hoyas in the final...again.
Record: 29-3.


March 11, 2028
Big East Tournament Championship

Code:
(2) #3 Villanova 74, (1) #1 Georgetown 73 --------------------------------------------------------- Villanova (30-3, 16-2): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Avery Sullivan C 29 2-5 0-0 2 10 0 3 4 Jose Blanco PF 26 5-13 2-3 2 6 3 4 12 B. Le Fleurquin SF 19 3-8 1-2 2 5 0 5 7 Devin Guzman PG 31 2-5 4-4 0 4 7 1 10 Jacob Allen PG 25 3-10 5-7 1 3 2 4 13 Duncan Sims SG 19 4-6 5-5 0 1 2 1 16 Corey Hicks SF 26 1-3 4-4 0 5 0 0 7 Richard Pray SF 6 1-2 0-0 1 2 1 0 2 Caleb Blaney PF 8 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 Charles Vancleave PG 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Kelley Van Houten SG 1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Joshua Parkin PF 6 0-0 0-0 0 2 0 0 0 Bernie Pfister C 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 1 0 Turnovers: 13 (A.Sullivan 1, J.Blanco 1, B.Le Fleurquin 3, D.Guzman 1, J.Allen 3, D.Sims 2, C.Hicks 1, R.Pray 1) Blocked Shots: 3 (J.Blanco 1, B.Le Fleurquin 1, R.Pray 1) Steals: 2 (J.Blanco 1, C.Hicks 1) 3P FGs: 9-18 (D.Guzman 2-4, J.Allen 2-7, D.Sims 3-4, C.Hicks 1-2, C.Blaney 1-1) Georgetown (31-3, 16-2): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Dwayne Ecker C 32 4-10 2-3 4 8 1 3 10 Jimmy Cahoon PF 21 3-6 8-9 1 7 0 4 14 Tony Rabe SF 28 6-14 0-2 3 7 3 4 12 Louis DiCarlo SG 32 4-15 1-3 2 4 3 3 12 William Bogard PG 32 3-7 1-1 1 5 3 4 7 Lance Moore SG 18 4-6 0-0 0 1 0 1 12 Terrence Jones PF 17 0-1 0-0 3 4 0 3 0 Jeffrey Thai PF 9 0-3 0-0 1 4 1 1 0 Edward Sturgeon PG 6 1-2 1-2 0 1 1 0 3 Peter Henry SG 4 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 3 King Baca PF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 12 (D.Ecker 2, J.Cahoon 2, L.DiCarlo 1, W.Bogard 1, L.Moore 2, J.Thai 2, E.Sturgeon 2) Blocked Shots: 8 (D.Ecker 5, J.Cahoon 1, T.Jones 1, J.Thai 1) Steals: 3 (D.Ecker 1, T.Rabe 1, E.Sturgeon 1) 3P FGs: 8-21 (T.Rabe 0-1, L.DiCarlo 3-13, L.Moore 4-5, P.Henry 1-2) Player of Game: SG Duncan Sims (VLNV)

It takes five tries, but Graham Sims and the Wildcats finally get the better of the Georgetown Hoyas, and they get to lift the Big East tournament championship trophy.

Georgetown leads by five at the half. The Hoyas' big men, Dwayne Ecker and Jimmy Cahoon, limit Jose Blanco and BLF, and the 'Cats are slow to adjust.

The teams emerge from their locker rooms and lock in; the Wildcats' solid man-to-man defense holds the Hoyas scoreless until the first media timeout, and after the pause, Le Fleurquin knocks down a 12-footer from the left baseline to tie the score at 46.

Over the next seven minutes, Villanova opens up a five-point lead, our biggest of the game. Georgetown bounces back, as you'd expect the #1 team, with a coach like Wallace Hastings, to do. With three minutes remaining, we lead 69-68.

Jose Blanco makes one of two free throws with four seconds left to put us ahead, 74-70. Lance Moore's last-second three can only bring the Hoyas to within a point.

The Player of the Game is Duncan Sims, whose long-range shooting keeps us in the game in the first half and helps us hold the lead in the second. He hits three clutch three-pointers and made all five of his free throws on the way to a game-high 16 points in 19 minutes.

Jacob Allen adds 13 points. Jose Blanco finishes with 12, and Devin Guzman contributes 10 with 7 assists.

The victory gives Coach Sims his sixth consecutive 30-win season: four with Lafayette, and the last two here at Villanova. It also ought to clinch a #1 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament.
Record: 30-3.

MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-04-2023, 12:08 PM   #409
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
March 12, 2028
Our victory over the Hoyas impresses the pollsters.
Code:
Top 25 # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Villanova (53) 30-3 1781 3 Big East Conference 2. Georgetown (1) 31-3 1677 1 Big East Conference 3. Kansas (11) 30-3 1667 2 Big 12 Conference 4. Wake Forest (7) 29-3 1643 4 Atlantic Coast Conference 5. Texas 29-5 1485 8 Big 12 Conference 6. Florida 25-5 1444 5 Southeastern Conference 7. Kentucky 25-6 1359 6 Southeastern Conference 8. Michigan State 27-5 1276 7 Big Ten Conference 9. North Carolina 28-4 1264 9 Atlantic Coast Conference 10. San Diego State 28-4 1114 13 Mountain West Conference 11. Tennessee 26-8 1031 12 Southeastern Conference 12. Boston College 27-7 1010 14 Atlantic Coast Conference 13. Oklahoma 25-6 962 10 Big 12 Conference 14. New Mexico 26-6 856 11 Mountain West Conference 15. Vanderbilt 24-10 815 20 Southeastern Conference 16. Louisiana Tech 29-4 739 19 Western Athletic Conference 17. Lafayette 28-6 651 15 Patriot League 18. California 25-7 580 17 Pacific-10 Conference 19. Memphis 25-6 494 16 Conference USA 20. Texas A&M 23-10 423 22 Big 12 Conference 21. Mississippi State 22-10 340 18 Southeastern Conference 22. West Virginia 22-9 299 21 Big East Conference 23. UNLV 22-10 192 25 Mountain West Conference 24. Miami 21-10 130 NR Atlantic Coast Conference 25. Texas Christian 21-9 59 23 Mountain West Conference Others Receiving Votes: Texas-San Antonio 26-6 54 Southland Conference Louisville 21-10 17 Big East Conference Washington 22-9 15 Pacific-10 Conference Stanford 22-9 12 Pacific-10 Conference Siena 25-7 7 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Towson 23-8 4 Colonial Athletic Association

The last time we were ranked #1, we promptly lost our first game. Let's hope that doesn't happen again!

We're seeded first in the East Regional. If we win, we could face Siena, coached by Graham's former assistant Thomas Liang. Lafayette is also in the East, seeded #7.


March 17, 2028
NCAA East Region, First Round
(1) #1 Villanova 73, (16) South Alabama 46

There's no drama in our opening game, as we dispatch the Jaguars, as expected.

Jacob Allen leads the way with 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. Bruno Le Fleurquin scores 13, Corey Hicks gets 10 off the bench, and Jose Blanco (10p/10r) barely completes a double-double.

Siena can't get past Mississippi State, so our reunion with Coach Liang unfortunately won't happen.
Record: 31-3.


March 19, 2028
NCAA East Region, Second Round
(1) #1 Villanova 77, (7) #21 Mississippi State 57

We punish the Bulldogs for eliminating Coach Liang's team from the tournament.

The stars include Jacob Allen (20p), Jose Blanco (14p/7r), sixth man Duncan Sims (13p), BLF (10p) and Avery Sullivan (5p/9r/4b).

Lafayette will join us in the Sweet Sixteen. They won an overtime thriller against Towson, 99-95, and rout Bryant by 20 today. They face West Virginia next, while we'll meet Boise State.
Record: 32-3.


March 24, 2028
NCAA East Region Semifinal...the Sweet Sixteen
(1) #1 Villanova 94, (5) Boise State 60

We have little trouble with a good (25-10) Boise State team, forcing turnovers, playing stout defense, and scoring in a variety of ways.

We're led by Jacob Allen, whose 29 points include 6 threes and a perfect 7-7 from the line. Jose Blanco (23p/10r), Corey Hicks (12p/5r), Devin Guzman (10p/5a) and Avery Sullivan (11r) are also shine.

Lafayette trounces West Virginia, 78-42. You'll remember we lost to the Mountaineers at home back in January. One of the teams you know well will therefore make the Final Four, at the expense of the other one.
Record: 33-3.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-04-2023, 12:21 PM   #410
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
March 26, 2028
NCAA East Region Final...the Elite Eight


Code:
(1) #1 Villanova 69, (7) #17 Lafayette 61 --------------------------------------------------------- Lafayette (31-7, 11-3): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Porter Prado C 19 5-11 2-7 1 5 1 5 12 Finn Mills C 35 3-6 2-2 1 7 1 5 8 Mike Wong SF 34 3-11 4-4 3 7 1 4 10 Caleb Hamilton SG 30 3-9 2-2 0 10 6 1 9 Paul Clough PG 35 6-13 1-2 0 2 5 2 15 Tod Quiroz SG 17 0-4 2-2 0 2 1 2 2 Garth Hartsfield PG 3 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 David Bowen PF 12 1-4 3-3 2 6 1 2 5 Brian Quirk PF 12 0-0 0-0 2 3 0 1 0 David Farrell PF 2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Henry Virgil SG 1 0-0 0-1 0 0 0 1 0 Turnovers: 16 (P.Prado 2, F.Mills 1, M.Wong 2, C.Hamilton 4, P.Clough 2, T.Quiroz 3, B.Quirk 2) Blocked Shots: 3 (P.Clough 1, T.Quiroz 1, B.Quirk 1) Steals: 9 (P.Prado 1, F.Mills 2, M.Wong 3, C.Hamilton 1, P.Clough 2) 3P FGs: 3-18 (P.Prado 0-2, M.Wong 0-2, C.Hamilton 1-4, P.Clough 2-4, T.Quiroz 0-4, D.Bowen 0-1, D.Farrell 0-1) Villanova (34-3, 16-2): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Avery Sullivan C 27 3-6 1-1 2 9 2 3 7 Jose Blanco PF 28 2-9 9-11 1 9 3 3 13 B. Le Fleurquin PF 34 10-20 1-3 1 8 1 4 21 Jacob Allen SG 33 1-6 4-4 0 4 3 0 6 Devin Guzman PG 34 4-8 3-7 1 3 6 2 11 Duncan Sims SG 13 2-4 4-4 0 3 1 3 8 Corey Hicks SF 23 0-1 1-2 1 5 2 2 1 Richard Pray SF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 Caleb Blaney PF 5 1-3 0-2 0 0 0 1 2 Joshua Parkin C 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 Turnovers: 14 (A.Sullivan 2, J.Blanco 2, B.Le Fleurquin 5, J.Allen 2, D.Guzman 1, D.Sims 2) Blocked Shots: 5 (A.Sullivan 1, J.Blanco 2, B.Le Fleurquin 2) Steals: 3 (D.Guzman 1, D.Sims 2) 3P FGs: 0-10 (J.Allen 0-5, D.Guzman 0-1, D.Sims 0-1, C.Hicks 0-1, C.Blaney 0-2) Player of Game: PF Jose Blanco (VLNV)

Graham Sims' current team eliminates his former team and earns its second consecutive trip to the Final Four.

It's a much closer game than the regular season matchup between these two teams, which ended with a 98-75 Villanova victory. The Wildcats overcome a bizarrely bad day of three-point marksmanship, as they miss all 10 of their long shot attempts.

Bruno Le Fleurquin, who's had a rough tournament so far, bounces back with a strong game, and the reliable Jose Blanco does Jose Blanco things.

Caleb Hamilton, a juco transfer who arrived at Lafayette as Graham Sims was leaving, completes his collegiate career today. And it's a poignant moment for his classmate Bret Bryant, who watches the game from the bench, a heavy brace on his surgically repaired knee. I can't help but wonder if the presence of Bryant, now a 7'0" small forward with a wide array of skills, would have changed the outcome of today's game. Bret's best friend is Duncan Sims, who embraces him warmly after the final buzzer sounded.

The Final Four is now set, and it's full of great storylines. We'll face Douglas Gillum's Kansas team, while Georgetown takes on Texas on the other side of the bracket.
Record: 34-3.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 12-04-2023 at 12:22 PM.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-04-2023, 12:38 PM   #411
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
April 1, 2028
NCAA National Semifinal...the Final Four


Code:
#1 Villanova 96, #3 Kansas 88 --------------------------------------------------------- Villanova (35-3, 16-2): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Avery Sullivan C 27 5-8 4-7 1 2 1 2 14 Jose Blanco PF 35 6-11 5-7 5 12 1 3 17 B. Le Fleurquin SF 35 9-17 3-3 5 11 3 3 21 Jacob Allen SG 33 6-12 7-8 0 0 2 2 22 Devin Guzman PG 22 2-2 3-4 2 3 7 4 8 Duncan Sims SG 21 2-7 1-2 0 2 2 2 5 Corey Hicks SF 19 1-2 4-4 1 2 1 2 7 Richard Pray SF 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Caleb Blaney C 5 0-2 2-2 0 0 0 0 2 Charles Vancleave PG 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 12 (J.Blanco 1, B.Le Fleurquin 3, J.Allen 3, D.Guzman 2, D.Sims 1, C.Hicks 1, R.Pray 1) Blocked Shots: 2 (J.Blanco 2) Steals: 8 (A.Sullivan 1, J.Allen 2, D.Guzman 2, D.Sims 2, C.Hicks 1) 3P FGs: 5-15 (J.Allen 3-8, D.Guzman 1-1, D.Sims 0-3, C.Hicks 1-2, C.Blaney 0-1) Kansas (34-4, 15-1): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Vince Lawlor C 27 3-6 1-2 0 3 0 3 7 Brian Cazares PF 23 5-6 3-3 1 4 3 5 13 Brian Rex SF 31 6-12 2-2 2 6 2 4 18 Cyril Macias SG 31 4-6 5-7 0 3 3 3 14 David Edmond PG 25 5-7 5-6 0 1 6 2 15 Charles Rumph SF 18 5-7 0-0 2 5 2 2 14 Dallas Brundage PG 12 0-3 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 Domingo Bravo SG 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 Scott Lapointe C 17 2-3 3-3 0 1 0 4 7 Jamie Kendall C 7 0-0 0-0 0 2 1 4 0 Long Campbell SF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Errol Otten PF 3 0-1 0-0 1 1 0 1 0 John Kalendek C 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 18 (V.Lawlor 1, B.Cazares 3, B.Rex 1, C.Macias 5, D.Edmond 1, C.Rumph 2, D.Brundage 3, S.Lapointe 1, J.Kendall 1) Blocked Shots: 6 (V.Lawlor 1, B.Cazares 2, S.Lapointe 2, J.Kendall 1) Steals: 7 (V.Lawlor 2, B.Rex 3, C.Macias 1, D.Edmond 1) 3P FGs: 9-18 (B.Rex 4-9, C.Macias 1-2, C.Rumph 4-5, D.Brundage 0-2) Player of Game: PF Jose Blanco (VLNV)

We advance to the national championship game for the second straight year with a victory over the powerful Jayhawks.

Our three senior starters play like men who don't want their collegiate careers to end. Devin Guzman conducts our offense like a maestro, generating more turnovers than he commits and setting up 7 baskets. Bruno Le Fleurquin uses his size and strength against his smaller opponents, scoring 9 baskets, all inside the paint. And Jose Blanco adds to his reputation as one of the best big-game players I've ever seen.

When Coaches Douglas Gillum and Graham Sims embrace at the conclusion of the game, Coach Gillum leans close and says something, very quietly, to his younger counterpart. Only these two men know what Coach Gillum's message is.

Texas beats Georgetown, 85-69, so we won't have yet another Villanova-Georgetown battle in the championship game. Forgive me for not being sorry about that.
Record: 35-3.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 12-05-2023 at 02:50 PM.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-04-2023, 02:43 PM   #412
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
April 2, 2028

Let's take a look at our opponent, on the eve of the national championship game.

Code:
#5 TEXAS General Player # Pos Yr Ht Wt Sch Acd Status Hometown -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Roscoe Olivo 0 PF Sr 6-7 231 Yes 71 OK Houston, TX James Clary 1 C So 6-10 264 Yes 65 OK Magnolia, TX Charlie Nicholson 2 PG Sr 5-9 155 Yes 65 OK Elmore City, OK David Van Scoy 3 SF Fr 6-8 228 Yes 58 Unhappy Rio Vista, TX Monty Sosa 5 SG Jr 6-5 218 Yes 28 OK Reno, NV Robert Glidden 12 PG Jr 6-1 203 Yes 23 OK Garrison, TX Dustin Montano 13 PG So 6-4 193 No 86 OK Waco, TX Jonah Tuck 20 SG Jr 6-5 215 Yes 38 OK Sugar Land, TX Leoncio Montero 24 SF Sr 6-4 239 Yes 67 OK Austin, TX Greg Bono 32 SG Sr 6-5 208 Yes 42 OK Longview, TX Dennis Smith 33 C Sr* 6-10 209 Yes 70 OK Hickory, NC Odis Dana 34 C Fr 6-8 232 Yes 58 Unhappy Lufkin, TX Leslie Lewin 35 PF Jr 6-6 233 Yes 77 Unhappy Brackettville, TX Jimmmy Sewell 43 SF Sr 6-7 240 Yes 63 OK Rio Vista, TX Andre Harker 44 C So 6-10 256 No 54 Unhappy Houston, TX

Longhorns coach Thaddeus Dorton has been on the job in Austin since our universe began. His 2011/12 team won the national championship and lost in the final in 2016/17. A string of disappointing seasons in which the Longhorns never made it out of the first weekend of the tournament followed, and their prestige dropped from 100 to 89. Last year's team made it to the Elite Eight, raising their prestige back to 91.

The Longhorns play tenacious defense, ranking among the nation's top teams in many defensive categories. Point guard Charlie Nicholson and power forward Roscoe Olivo are especially good defenders.

A balanced offense is led by another senior, Leonicio Montero (14.9 PPG). Nicholson (12.8 PPG, 4.2 APG) and sixth man Robert Glidden (10.5 PPG) can also find the basket, and teams have to defend James Clary (10.1 PPG, 8.2 RPG), Greg Bono (9.4 PPG) and Olivo (9.1 PPG, 7.4 RPG) honestly, too.

The Longhorns are a poised, veteran team. Ten of their scholarship players are juniors or seniors; six are in their final season. But, at the same time, they have some weaknesses that Graham Sims and his team hope to exploit. The Longhorns take a lot of three point shots, and only Bono and Glidden are especially good at making them. Forcing Texas to try to win the game that way could work well for the Wildcats.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-04-2023, 03:17 PM   #413
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
April 3, 2028
NCAA Championship Game

Code:
#1 Villanova 85, #5 Texas 81 (OT) --------------------------------------------------------- Villanova (36-3, 16-2): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Avery Sullivan C 37 4-8 4-4 4 8 2 3 12 Jose Blanco PF 40 6-11 7-8 5 9 2 1 19 B. Le Fleurquin SF 14 3-6 0-0 0 4 1 5 6 Jacob Allen SG 37 7-15 0-1 0 5 1 3 17 Devin Guzman PG 36 5-8 3-5 3 9 5 4 16 Duncan Sims SG 17 3-4 2-2 0 1 1 0 10 Corey Hicks SF 31 1-7 0-0 2 6 3 0 3 Richard Pray SF 3 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 Caleb Blaney PF 8 1-2 0-0 0 1 0 2 2 Joshua Parkin C 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 21 (J.Blanco 4, B.Le Fleurquin 1, J.Allen 3, D.Guzman 8, D.Sims 2, C.Hicks 3) Blocked Shots: 2 (A.Sullivan 1, J.Blanco 1) Steals: 6 (J.Blanco 1, J.Allen 3, D.Guzman 1, D.Sims 1) 3P FGs: 9-17 (J.Allen 3-8, D.Guzman 3-4, D.Sims 2-2, C.Hicks 1-3) Texas (34-6, 13-3): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts James Clary C 34 6-13 1-1 2 6 1 3 14 Roscoe Olivo PF 22 1-2 0-0 0 2 0 4 2 Leoncio Montero SF 28 10-18 6-6 2 5 1 3 28 Greg Bono SG 38 2-6 1-5 1 3 8 3 6 Charlie Nicholson PG 31 4-11 2-2 1 2 4 2 12 Robert Glidden SG 27 1-6 4-4 0 4 4 1 7 Jonah Tuck SG 6 2-2 0-0 1 1 0 0 5 Dennis Smith C 24 1-1 0-0 0 1 0 2 2 Leslie Lewin PF 10 2-2 1-4 0 2 0 0 5 Jimmmy Sewell SF 4 0-1 0-0 1 1 0 0 0 Turnovers: 15 (R.Olivo 1, L.Montero 2, G.Bono 5, C.Nicholson 2, R.Glidden 3, J.Tuck 1, L.Lewin 1) Blocked Shots: 8 (J.Clary 4, R.Olivo 2, L.Lewin 2) Steals: 10 (G.Bono 2, C.Nicholson 8) 3P FGs: 8-20 (J.Clary 1-2, L.Montero 2-5, G.Bono 1-4, C.Nicholson 2-5, R.Glidden 1-3, J.Tuck 1-1) Player of Game: PF Jose Blanco (VLNV)

The Villanova Wildcats are the 2027/28 NCAA Division I men's basketball champions!

It's the first national championship for the Wildcats, and the second for their coach, Graham Sims.

An exciting first half sees the lead change hands several times. 'Nova takes a 43-38 lead into the break, as Duncan Sims sinks a three and hits two free throws in the final 66 seconds of the half.

The 'Cats hold their lead until the 5:25 mark of the second half, when Robert Glidden ties the score by hitting both ends of a one-and-one. Neither team can open up a lead of more than two points during the remainder of regulation time. With ten seconds left and Texas leading, 74-72, Longhorn defenders lose track of Bruno Le Fleurquin. Sims spots him, gets him the ball, and BLF scores on a nifty baseline drive. Leonicio Montero tries a game-winning three and misses. On to overtime we go.

Again, the teams pass the lead back and forth for much of the extra period. Jonah Tuck gives the Longhorns a 79-76 advantage when he rebounds Greg Bono's missed free throw and slams it home.

On our next possession, Avery Sullivan demonstrates his top-tier athletic ability. He misses a short jumper from the left side, bursts past two Longhorns, grabs the ball, and dunks with authority to cut the lead back to one. Then, Jacob Allen swipes a pass and takes it all the way for another dunk. With 1:04 on the clock, we have the lead, and we don't relinquish it again.

Jose Blanco scores the final basket of our season a moment later, when Allen gives the ball to him on a 2-on-1 break. Jose finishes with a team-high 19 points, and combined with his other achievements, it's enough to earn him Player of the Game honors.
Record: 36-3.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-04-2023, 03:29 PM   #414
Chas in Cinti
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Awesome, Congrats!
__________________
Email: [email protected]
Chas in Cinti is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-05-2023, 09:47 AM   #415
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chas in Cinti View Post
Awesome, Congrats!

Thanks, Chas! I was fortunate that the Villanova roster I inherited was set up to allow me to coach the team the way I wanted. In fact, that was a big reason why I made the move when I did. I could tell the core players would work well in the kind of system I used at Lafayette.

I'm not sorry Texas took care of Georgetown for me in the other semifinal. I don't think our team matched up well with the Hoyas. They were so good defensively--it was hard to find a way to attack them, because they could defend both the post and the perimeter so well.

William Bogard, a junior guard who gave us fits, is entering the draft. I was hoping their center, Dwayne Ecker, would turn pro too, but he's returning for his senior season. Oh, well; it's fun to have a worthy arch-rival to contend with.

Thanks for following along and commenting. I hope you'll enjoy the story as it continues!
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-05-2023, 10:01 AM   #416
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
April 4, 2028

Let's look first at the national awards.
Code:
2027 OVERALL AWARDS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Player of the Year: JR SG Fredric Garrett Mississippi State 19.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 4.6 APG 1.9 SPG, 0.4 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR SG Harley Scarberry Alabama 17.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 4.2 APG 0.6 SPG, 0.0 BPG Coach of the Year: Lincoln Adorno San Diego State 30 - 5 (13 - 3) All-league 1st Team: C SR Broderick Harder Milwaukee 16.6 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.6 SPG, 2.9 BPG PF SR Edmundo Hathorn Indiana State 12.6 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.0 SPG, 3.1 BPG SF SR Bret Bryant Lafayette 14.7 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 4.6 APG, 1.0 SPG, 1.1 BPG SG JR Fredric Garrett Mississippi State 19.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 4.6 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.4 BPG PG JR Eliseo Sylvia Michigan State 12.9 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 7.4 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-league 2nd Team: C SR Jose Macpherson Memphis 12.8 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.1 SPG, 1.1 BPG PF JR Whitney Alexis Missouri 13.7 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.8 SPG, 2.8 BPG SF SR Tony Welch New Mexico 17.1 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG SR Conrad Endsley Oklahoma 16.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 6.1 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG SR Thomas Whitlock Oklahoma State 19.3 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 6.3 APG, 2.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG All-league 3rd Team: C SR Kevin Perry Boston College 9.2 PPG, 11.4 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.6 SPG, 3.8 BPG PF SR Cliff Aker South Carolina 16.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.6 APG, 0.9 SPG, 1.8 BPG SF SR Adrian Adamson St. Bonaventure 15.6 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.8 APG, 2.4 SPG, 0.3 BPG SG JR Thomas Gervais Florida 23.5 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.0 APG, 2.2 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG JR David Edmond Kansas 14.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 5.7 APG, 3.0 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-freshman Team: C FR Avery Sullivan Villanova 7.2 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.5 SPG, 1.4 BPG PF FR Chris Evan West Virginia 6.4 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.5 SPG, 2.0 BPG SF FR Tony Rabe Georgetown 12.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.5 BPG SG FR Harley Scarberry Alabama 17.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 4.2 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.0 BPG PG FR Nathaniel Pettus Notre Dame 13.0 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG

The Big East was the home of outstanding first-year players this year. And I think the positional designations hurt Georgetown's freshman big man Jimmy Cahoon here. Jimmy was listed as a center, but started every game for them at PF. His numbers (10.2 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 1.8 BPG) were very good. No offense to Chris Evan, but I'd probably have voted for Cahoon over him.

And I'm so proud of Bret Bryant, first team All-American. I hope his knee injury won't curtail his professional career too much. Seven-footers who can do the things Bret can do are very rare.

Code:
2027 BIG EAST AWARDS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Player of the Year: JR PG Thomas Abbott Marquette 11.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 8.4 APG 1.1 SPG, 0.3 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR SF Tony Rabe Georgetown 12.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.1 APG 1.7 SPG, 0.5 BPG Coach of the Year: Graham Sims Villanova 36 - 3 (16 - 2) All-league 1st Team: C SR Phil McAfee Rutgers 17.5 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.6 BPG PF SR Clarence Silva Syracuse 17.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.7 BPG SF FR Tony Rabe Georgetown 12.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.5 BPG SG SR Louis DiCarlo Georgetown 13.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG JR Thomas Abbott Marquette 11.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 8.4 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.3 BPG All-league 2nd Team: C SR Don Jones West Virginia 8.2 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.6 SPG, 3.9 BPG PF SR Jose Blanco Villanova 14.9 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.8 BPG SF SR Rickie Monger Seton Hall 11.2 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.3 BPG SG JR Gerald Todd Notre Dame 17.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.2 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG JR William Bogard Georgetown 13.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 4.1 APG, 2.1 SPG, 0.2 BPG All-freshman Team: C FR Avery Sullivan Villanova 7.2 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.5 SPG, 1.4 BPG PF FR Chris Evan West Virginia 6.4 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.5 SPG, 2.0 BPG SF FR Tony Rabe Georgetown 12.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.5 BPG SG FR Lance Moore Georgetown 11.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG FR Nathaniel Pettus Notre Dame 13.0 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG

Winning Big East honors is a notable accomplishment, so warmest congratulations are due to Jose and Avery for jobs well done.

Graham has now been voted Coach of the Year in his conference eight times: seven in the Patriot League, and now in the Big East, too.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-05-2023, 10:22 AM   #417
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
April 8, 2028

Code:
#1 VILLANOVA TEAM INFO Current Performance -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team Prestige: 95 Record Vs 1-50: 13-3 Poll Rank: #1 Season Record: 36-3 Record Vs 51-100: 10-0 RPI Rank: #1 Conference Record: 16-2 Record Vs 101-200: 11-0 Home Record: 15-1 Record Vs 200+: 2-0 Team Stats CR NR Opp. Stats CR NR Margin CR NR -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Points 82.5 1 3 Points 66.0 7 89 Points 16.5 2 4 O.Reb 11.6 7 100 O.Reb 9.9 8 93 O.Reb 1.7 6 63 D.Reb 27.9 2 14 D.Reb 23.1 2 55 D.Reb 4.8 1 4 Rebounds 39.5 2 18 Rebounds 33.0 2 46 Rebounds 6.5 2 8 Assists 18.4 1 4 Assists 14.4 11 284 Assists 4.1 1 11 Steals 5.5 8 187 Steals 5.5 7 140 Steals -0.1 7 161 Blocks 3.5 10 112 Blocks 4.6 12 337 Blocks -1.1 13 274 Turnovers 13.7 8 136 Turnovers 15.9 3 34 Turnovers -2.3 3 46 Fouls 18.5 7 66 Fouls 20.6 2 62 Fouls -2.1 3 38 FG% .485 1 6 FG% .413 5 46 FG% .072 2 7 FT% .718 4 35 FT% .661 2 74 FT% .057 2 20 3P% .423 1 2 3P% .327 4 102 3P% .096 1 2 PPS 1.39 1 2 PPS 1.15 6 33 PPS .242 1 5 Adj. FG% .553 1 5 Adj. FG% .467 5 50 Adj. FG% .086 2 6

First in the polls; first in RPI; national champions. What a wonderful season!

This year's Wildcats had one of the most productive offenses in the nation. Michigan State could also make a claim for the top spot. We were good defensively, too, and that combination was enough to win us a national championship.

Code:
#1 VILLANOVA Averages Player Pos GP GS Min Pts Orb Reb Ast Stl Blk To Fls +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jose Blanco PF 39 39 30.9 14.9 3.3 8.2 1.6 0.5 0.8 2.0 2.7 15.1 Bruno Le Fleurquin PF 39 39 27.6 14.2 2.2 8.3 1.9 0.6 0.2 1.8 3.3 13.0 Devin Guzman PG 39 39 26.6 7.5 1.1 3.0 5.1 0.7 0.2 1.8 2.1 12.3 Corey Hicks SF 39 0 25.0 7.2 0.9 4.5 2.1 0.6 0.2 1.7 2.5 10.5 Jacob Allen SG 39 38 24.5 15.3 0.7 3.2 2.1 1.1 0.1 1.6 1.9 11.8 Avery Sullivan C 39 39 24.2 7.2 1.9 6.3 1.5 0.5 1.4 1.4 1.9 8.8 Duncan Sims SG 39 0 18.8 8.3 0.5 2.1 2.2 0.8 0.1 1.4 1.9 7.0 Charles Vancleave PG 36 1 7.6 2.4 0.3 1.0 1.1 0.2 0.1 1.0 0.8 1.4 Caleb Blaney PF 39 0 7.0 3.0 0.3 0.8 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.5 0.7 1.6 Joshua Parkin C 36 0 4.3 0.7 0.2 1.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.3 Richard Pray SF 37 0 4.1 1.8 0.4 0.8 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.3 1.2 Bernie Pfister C 20 0 2.1 0.2 0.0 0.5 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 -0.5 Kelley Van Houten SG 13 0 1.8 0.7 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.3 0.2 0.7

Code:
#1 VILLANOVA Totals Player Pos GP GS Min Pts Orb Reb Ast Stl Blk To Fls +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jose Blanco PF 39 39 1206 580 127 319 62 20 31 77 105 590 Bruno Le Fleurquin PF 39 39 1075 555 84 325 75 22 8 70 128 506 Devin Guzman PG 39 39 1036 294 41 118 200 28 7 69 80 478 Corey Hicks SF 39 0 976 280 37 176 83 23 9 67 98 408 Jacob Allen SG 39 38 957 597 26 123 83 43 5 61 76 462 Avery Sullivan C 39 39 944 282 73 247 59 19 53 55 76 345 Duncan Sims SG 39 0 734 324 20 83 85 33 5 53 74 274 Charles Vancleave PG 36 1 275 86 11 36 41 6 2 36 28 51 Caleb Blaney PF 39 0 274 118 13 33 11 8 4 18 27 61 Joshua Parkin C 36 0 156 24 8 38 4 2 10 7 13 11 Richard Pray SF 37 0 153 66 13 31 10 8 2 14 10 44 Bernie Pfister C 20 0 42 4 0 10 2 0 2 3 5 -9 Kelley Van Houten SG 13 0 23 9 0 2 3 1 0 4 2 9

Code:
#1 VILLANOVA Shooting Player Pos Fgm Fga Fg% Ftm Fta Ft% 3pm 3pa 3p% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jose Blanco PF 204 414 .493 172 237 .726 0 0 .000 1.40 Bruno Le Fleurquin PF 225 436 .516 103 160 .644 2 3 .667 1.27 Devin Guzman PG 98 214 .458 52 78 .667 46 110 .418 1.37 Corey Hicks SF 84 174 .483 57 74 .770 55 120 .458 1.61 Jacob Allen SG 197 428 .460 82 105 .781 121 306 .395 1.39 Avery Sullivan C 109 234 .466 64 105 .610 0 2 .000 1.21 Duncan Sims SG 98 198 .495 71 77 .922 57 121 .471 1.64 Charles Vancleave PG 22 68 .324 29 36 .806 13 46 .283 1.26 Caleb Blaney PF 42 67 .627 16 21 .762 18 30 .600 1.76 Joshua Parkin C 9 15 .600 6 11 .545 0 0 .000 1.60 Richard Pray SF 26 52 .500 12 21 .571 2 5 .400 1.27 Bernie Pfister C 2 3 .667 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 1.33 Kelley Van Houten SG 3 6 .500 2 3 .667 1 2 .500 1.50

I love how balanced this year's team was. I could adjust our game plan for different challenging opponents, because we had so many weapons. Jose Blanco and BLF could run rampant over teams that didn't feature a strong post presence. Jacob Allen, Corey Hicks, and Duncan Sims feasted on teams that lacked perimeter defenders. Devin Guzman made sure the right people got the ball in position to score. Everyone did his part on the boards, and everyone played D.

I hadn't planned on writing Senior Farewells yet, but I also didn't plan on winning a national championship. These men deserve one last chance to take their bows.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-05-2023, 11:16 AM   #418
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
2027/28 Senior Farewell

CHARLES VANCLEAVE


It couldn't have been easy to be Charles Vancleave.

Code:
#30 PG Charles Vancleave - Villanova - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-2 Weight: 189 High School: Hometown: Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Canada Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 27 76 44 50 49 58 28 34 31 84 5 14 86 45 62 100 2026: 25 73 44 49 49 55 27 32 30 82 5 13 86 43 62 100 2025: 22 68 44 48 49 51 24 29 28 71 5 12 85 41 62 90 2024: 19 63 42 44 49 47 21 26 26 60 5 11 85 40 62 80 2023: 17 57 40 40 49 43 19 24 24 50 3 9 82 36 60 52 Potential: D B C C C C D C C B F F Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 84 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024 33 14 17.8 3.8 0.4 1.9 1.7 1.5 1.14 0.2 0.1 1.1 2025 33 1 19.5 4.8 0.6 2.1 2.2 1.1 1.92 0.5 0.1 1.7 2026 37 0 5.3 1.6 0.1 0.7 0.4 0.6 0.73 0.1 0.0 0.4 2027 36 1 7.6 2.4 0.3 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.14 0.2 0.1 0.8 Career 139 16 12.3 3.1 0.3 1.4 1.3 1.0 1.14 0.2 0.1 1.0 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024 1.2 2.8 .441 0.9 1.6 .577 0.5 1.4 .326 1.37 -0.03 2025 1.5 4.4 .349 0.8 1.2 .683 0.8 2.7 .303 1.08 2.52 2026 0.5 1.1 .439 0.4 0.5 .750 0.2 0.7 .333 1.46 -0.05 2027 0.6 1.9 .324 0.8 1.0 .806 0.4 1.3 .283 1.26 1.42 Career 0.9 2.5 .379 0.7 1.1 .685 0.5 1.5 .308 1.24 0.94 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024 33 14 588 127 13 62 57 50 8 2 35 2025 33 1 644 157 19 69 71 37 15 2 57 2026 37 0 197 60 3 25 16 22 4 1 13 2027 36 1 275 86 11 36 41 36 6 2 28 Career 139 16 1704 430 46 192 185 145 33 7 133 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024 41 93 30 52 15 46 -1 2025 51 146 28 41 27 89 83 2026 18 41 15 20 9 27 -2 2027 22 68 29 36 13 46 51 Career 132 348 102 149 64 208 131 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 10 3 3 5 1 1 4 3 5 7 8 2 4 Career 13 3 5 7 3 1 6 4 11 7 8 3 9 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2023 High School: Rated *** and #344 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2024 Freshman All-Conference (Big East Conference) 2027 NCAA Champion

Recruited out of Canada as a three-star player by James Glazier, Charles started 14 games as a freshman and earned a spot on the Big East All-Freshman Team. Playing for a new coach, Mark Pulliam, as a sophomore, Charles didn't start, but played more minutes. Unfortunately, Charles wasn't as productive his second year. The arrival of Devin Guzman and the emergence of Jacob Allen forced Charles into a much less prominent role.

To his credit, Charles complained very little, and I found a way to get him into most games for a few minutes. He did his job well, allowing our starting guards to catch their breath while playing exceptionally good defense.

Charles is an intelligent, congenial man who has always represented Villanova well. He plans to stay here and complete a master's degree in education.

Thanks for the memories, Charles.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-05-2023, 11:24 AM   #419
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
Senior Tribute 2027/28

DEVIN GUZMAN


After playing a total of 17 minutes in two seasons at Stanford, Devin Guzman decided to leave the familiarity of his native California, travel across the country, and join the Villanova basketball program. Devin arrived at the same time Coach Sims did, and I'm very glad it happened.

Code:
#1 PG Devin Guzman - Villanova - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-0 Weight: 184 High School: Westmoor High School Hometown: Daly City, CA Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 34 77 42 51 71 75 39 23 10 86 8 29 86 43 46 97 2026: 31 67 38 44 60 64 36 20 9 69 8 27 85 42 45 93 2025: 30 64 37 42 56 60 35 19 9 64 8 26 84 41 44 89 2024: 29 61 36 40 52 56 34 18 9 59 8 25 84 40 44 85 2023: 28 58 35 38 48 52 33 17 8 54 7 24 84 39 43 81 2022: 26 52 33 34 40 44 31 15 7 44 5 22 84 37 42 72 Potential: C B C C B B C D F A F D Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 64 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2023 3 0 1.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00 0.0 0.0 0.0 2024 6 0 2.0 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.7 0.0 4.00 0.0 0.0 0.7 2026 38 38 30.4 8.0 1.1 2.9 4.4 1.9 2.31 0.5 0.1 2.6 2027 39 39 26.6 7.5 1.1 3.0 5.1 1.8 2.90 0.7 0.2 2.1 Career 86 77 25.7 7.0 1.0 2.7 4.3 1.6 2.90 0.6 0.1 2.1 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2023 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.0 .000 0.00 0.00 2024 0.3 0.8 .400 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.3 .000 0.80 2.33 2026 2.6 6.5 .402 1.5 2.1 .691 1.3 3.9 .347 1.24 9.45 2027 2.5 5.5 .458 1.3 2.0 .667 1.2 2.8 .418 1.37 12.26 Career 2.3 5.4 .428 1.3 1.8 .679 1.1 3.0 .375 1.30 9.90 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2023 3 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2024 6 0 12 4 0 0 4 0 0 0 4 2026 38 38 1155 305 41 112 166 72 20 5 98 2027 39 39 1036 294 41 118 200 69 28 7 80 Career 86 77 2208 603 82 230 370 141 48 12 182 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2023 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2024 2 5 0 0 0 2 14 2026 99 246 56 81 51 147 359 2027 98 214 52 78 46 110 478 Career 199 465 108 159 97 259 851 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 17 3 9 10 3 1 8 6 12 5 8 4 8 Career 19 3 9 10 3 1 8 7 12 6 8 4 8 Awards & Acheivements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 2 2022 High School: Rated *** and #109 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2024 Transfered from Stanford 2027 NCAA Champion

A quick look at Devin's progression reveals his commitment to being the best player he could be. He developed into an ideal point guard--featuring a solid handle, creative passing, and hard-nosed defense. Devin also worked on his jump shot until it became a weapon, too, making almost 42 percent of his three-point attempts as a senior.

Despite only playing two seasons in Villanova colors, Devin ranks fifth in career assists as a Wildcat in this universe.

Devin would like to play pro basketball, and he's open to the possibility of playing overseas. Perhaps another journey lies ahead for him.

Thanks for the memories, Devin.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 12-05-2023 at 11:26 AM.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-05-2023, 12:09 PM   #420
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
2027/28 Senior Tribute

BRUNO LE FLEURQUIN


At the end of his junior season, the player who's perhaps better known as BLF was considered a likely first round selection in the pro draft. However, after playing in the national championship game--and losing--Bruno Le Fleurquin decided to return to the Main Line for one more dance.

Now he and his teammates will have a national championship ring, and Bruno's performance was a big reason why.

Code:
#22 PF Bruno Le Fleurquin - Villanova - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-8 Weight: 212 High School: Hometown: Kapuskasing, Canada Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 100 26 38 31 36 35 85 92 56 84 55 38 41 91 42 75 2026: 87 24 37 30 34 33 72 79 52 67 46 36 41 88 40 66 2025: 78 22 37 28 32 31 63 70 49 56 40 34 40 85 39 57 2024: 67 21 36 27 31 30 52 59 44 52 38 32 38 81 39 45 2023: 56 19 34 25 29 28 41 48 38 48 36 28 38 74 37 23 Potential: A D D D D C B A C A C C Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 53 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024 33 0 14.2 4.5 0.8 3.1 0.6 0.7 0.86 0.3 0.2 2.0 2025 33 0 16.7 6.8 1.5 4.6 1.2 1.5 0.75 0.4 0.2 1.6 2026 35 35 31.4 13.5 2.4 8.2 1.9 1.9 1.00 0.8 0.5 2.7 2027 39 39 27.6 14.2 2.2 8.3 1.9 1.8 1.07 0.6 0.2 3.3 Career 140 74 22.8 10.0 1.8 6.2 1.4 1.5 1.07 0.5 0.3 2.4 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024 1.6 3.2 .500 1.3 1.9 .656 0.1 0.2 .400 1.42 -0.30 2025 2.3 5.3 .443 2.1 2.8 .753 0.0 0.1 .000 1.29 2.42 2026 5.4 12.1 .447 2.7 4.6 .580 0.0 0.1 .000 1.12 9.43 2027 5.8 11.2 .516 2.6 4.1 .644 0.1 0.1 .667 1.27 12.97 Career 3.9 8.2 .478 2.2 3.4 .645 0.0 0.1 .308 1.23 6.47 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024 33 0 470 150 28 102 19 22 9 7 67 2025 33 0 552 224 51 152 38 51 14 7 54 2026 35 35 1098 474 85 286 67 67 28 16 93 2027 39 39 1075 555 84 325 75 70 22 8 128 Career 140 74 3195 1403 248 865 199 210 73 38 342 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024 53 106 42 64 2 5 -10 2025 77 174 70 93 0 2 80 2026 190 425 94 162 0 3 330 2027 225 436 103 160 2 3 506 Career 545 1141 309 479 4 13 906 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 28 6 18 5 4 2 5 13 20 7 10 1 2 Career 28 6 18 5 4 3 5 13 20 12 17 1 3 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 15 2023 High School: Rated ***** and #8 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2027 NCAA Champion

Bruno arrived on campus as one of the most highly touted recruits in Villanova history, a five-star talent who was considered one of the top ten players in his class. The Quebecois forward spent two seasons as a valuable reserve before Graham Sims elevated him to the starting lineup.

BLF's size and strength made him difficult for smaller wings to cover. When the other team had the ball, he could lock down dangerous perimeter players, and we often matched him against our opponent's best wing.

He leaves as our fourth all-time leading scorer, and our second all-time leading rebounder. He fully expects to hear his name called on Draft Night. We wish him well as he represents us in "the league."

Thanks for the memories, Bruno.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 12-05-2023 at 12:10 PM.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-05-2023, 12:26 PM   #421
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
2027/28 Senior Tribute

JOSÉ BLANCO


In 17 years as a head coach, Graham Sims has never coached a player who showed up for big games as impressively as José Blanco. (In about the same number of real-time years as a sports simulation player, I've never coached a player who showed up for big games as impressively as José Blanco.) It's therefore fitting that José ends his career with a championship ring, after playing like a champion in the biggest games of his life.

Code:
#31 PF José Blanco - Villanova - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-9 Weight: 228 High School: Weequahic High School Hometown: Newark, NJ Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 92 21 49 0 9 33 76 57 74 17 21 45 17 100 35 84 2026: 89 21 44 0 9 31 66 50 71 16 20 40 16 97 34 76 2025: 87 20 41 0 9 30 61 46 64 15 19 37 15 94 33 68 2024: 78 19 38 0 8 29 54 42 56 14 18 34 14 90 32 59 2023: 68 17 34 0 6 27 46 36 48 14 18 30 13 83 32 42 Potential: A D C F F D B C B D D C Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 54 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024 33 0 12.8 4.3 1.0 2.8 0.5 0.6 0.95 0.3 0.2 1.4 2025 33 0 9.7 4.1 0.8 2.1 0.4 0.4 0.92 0.2 0.4 1.0 2026 38 26 28.9 12.3 2.4 7.6 1.4 2.1 0.65 0.3 0.7 2.3 2027 39 39 30.9 14.9 3.3 8.2 1.6 2.0 0.81 0.5 0.8 2.7 Career 143 65 21.3 9.3 1.9 5.4 1.0 1.3 0.81 0.3 0.5 1.9 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024 1.5 3.5 .431 1.2 1.9 .625 0.0 0.1 .250 1.22 -1.79 2025 1.4 3.0 .480 1.3 1.9 .667 0.0 0.0 .000 1.39 1.33 2026 4.1 9.0 .455 4.1 5.8 .698 0.0 0.0 .000 1.36 7.29 2027 5.2 10.6 .493 4.4 6.1 .726 0.0 0.0 .000 1.40 15.13 Career 3.2 6.8 .471 2.9 4.1 .698 0.0 0.0 .167 1.36 5.96 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024 33 0 422 141 32 93 18 19 11 5 46 2025 33 0 320 136 27 70 12 13 6 13 34 2026 38 26 1097 467 90 288 52 80 13 26 86 2027 39 39 1206 580 127 319 62 77 20 31 105 Career 143 65 3045 1324 276 770 144 189 50 75 271 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024 50 116 40 64 1 4 -59 2025 47 98 42 63 0 1 44 2026 156 343 155 222 0 1 277 2027 204 414 172 237 0 0 590 Career 457 971 409 586 1 6 852 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 31 9 14 5 2 3 8 13 19 11 14 0 0 Career 31 9 15 5 3 3 8 13 22 11 17 1 1 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 21 2023 High School: Rated *** and #171 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2027 NCAA Champion 2027 2nd Team All-Conference (Big East Conference)

José was a respected prospect as a high school senior, but not a "can't miss" future star. Perhaps that's why my predecessors at Villanova didn't use him much. I admit I first envisioned him as my seventh man, the first big off the bench. He got his chance to start when Bradley Christmas, and then BLF, got hurt. José took his chance and never looked back.

Through hard work, José became a top-tier physical force, the strongest man in our program and one of its leaders in our fitness testing. He also polished his inside moves until he could get his shots against the toughest post defenders in the Big East. He is our sixth all-time leading scorer, and our fourth all-time rebounder.

Recent mock drafts list José as a likely second-round pick, and he'd like to continue playing basketball at the professional level. But even if he doesn't, he'll always have this season, and his reputation as the man who balled out when his team needed him most.

Thanks for the memories, José.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-05-2023, 02:23 PM   #422
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
April 8, 2028

Draft Night brings enjoyable news to Villanova Nation. Bruno Le Fleurquin is a lottery pick, going 7th overall. And José Blanco, whom the "experts" were listing as a mid-second-round choice, hears his name called in the first round instead, at #21!

Graham Sims is also delighted to discover that two players he recruited and coached at Lafayette are also professional draft picks. Despite his injury, Bret Bryant impresses pro scouts enough to be the #25 pick. Center Porter Prado, who's entering the draft as an underclassman, is taken at #54. Bret, of course, was a first-team All-American and the Patriot League Player of the Year. Porter joined him on the all-conference first team.

Let's look at the national recruiting class rankings this time.
Code:
2027 Recruiting Rankings # Team Conference Best Player Rtg 5* 4* 3* 2* 1* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Michigan State Big Ten SG Reggie Johnson ***** 1 4 0 0 0 2. Texas Big 12 PF Joseph Higa ***** 1 3 2 0 0 3. Mississippi State SEC SG Timmy Juan ***** 1 2 1 0 0 4. Florida SEC PF Douglas Lundquist ***** 1 2 1 0 0 5. Georgetown Big East SF Steven Waites ***** 2 1 0 0 0 6. Villanova Big East PF Clemens Schwaiger **** 0 3 1 0 0 7. North Carolina ACC C Heath Brill ***** 1 1 2 0 0 8. California Pacific-10 SF Kory Dougherty ***** 1 0 3 0 0 9. Miami ACC PG William Tompkins ***** 1 0 3 0 0 10. Texas Christian Mountain West C Ronald Runyon **** 0 3 1 0 0 11. Notre Dame Big East SF Charles Wells ***** 1 1 2 0 0 12. Ohio State Big Ten SF Bryon Mattson ***** 1 1 2 0 0 13. Kentucky SEC SG James Wolfe ***** 2 0 1 0 0 14. Missouri Big 12 PF Richard Hill **** 0 3 0 0 0 15. Wake Forest ACC PG Robert Helms **** 0 3 0 0 0 16. Pittsburgh Big East C Orval Juan ***** 1 1 0 0 0 17. Florida State ACC SF Horace Berryhill **** 0 1 4 0 0 18. Illinois Big Ten SG Maynard Tracy **** 0 3 0 0 0 19. Louisville Big East C Brett Hummer **** 0 1 3 0 0 20. Stanford Pacific-10 SF Jason Gordon ***** 1 1 0 0 0 21. St. John's Big East PF James Pompey **** 0 2 2 0 0 22. Lafayette Patriot League SF Ellsworth O'Reilly **** 0 1 3 0 0 23. Boston College ACC SF Don Mahan **** 0 2 1 0 0 24. UCLA Pacific-10 SF Joseph Ellis ***** 1 1 0 0 0 25. Alabama-Birmingham Conference USA PF Jonathan Johnson **** 0 2 2 0 0

This year's class doesn't include a five-star player (I would have guessed the #19 player in a class would earn a fifth star, but apparently not).

The top player in the class is Orval Juan, a 6'8" post player from Ohio who has signed with Pitt. Guard Eugene Storm was rated more highly, but he failed to qualify academically. I'll look to see if he enters the game as a junior college recruit in two years.

Georgetown's class is highlighted by wing Steven Waites, the #6 player in the class. And look at Lafayette, with a solid class headed by guard Ellsworth O'Reilly, ranked #67 overall.

Six of the 21 most highly-regarded classes were recruited by Big East schools. Unless we're all wrong about these players, the Big East will continue to be one of the nation's most competitive conferences for several years to come.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-05-2023, 02:43 PM   #423
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
May 1, 2028

Our national championship resulted in a boost to our prestige. It now stands at a perfect 100. Our Facilities score is an excellent 92, which ranks fifth in our league.

Successful programs often see their assistant coaches move on to better positions. This year, it's our scouting director, Chris Hogue, who accepts the head coaching job at IPFW.

Our board has approved a budget of $800,000 for the season, and we use $180,000 of it to hire one of the most promising young coaches around. Daniel Bryant is only 25 years old, but in the three years since he graduated from Wisconsin, Coach Bryant has developed a remarkable ability to evaluate basketball talent. For that more-than-comfortable salary, our program will get a 100-level scout.

Graham Sims levels up this year. He's now a Level 13 coach, and after I max out his Recruiting and Defense scores, I distribute the rest of his points evenly between the remaining two categories.

Code:
COACH DETAILS Graham Sims - Head Coach - Villanova -------------------------------------------------- Age: 49 High School: St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School Hometown: Alexandria, VA Alma Mater: Villanova Current Level: 13 Career Record: 496 - 104 Recruiting: 100 Scouting: 78 Offense: 82 Defense: 100 Coaching History: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Team Position W L CW CL Postseason -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2027 Villanova Head Coach 36 3 16 2 NCAA Champion 2026 Villanova Head Coach 32 6 14 4 Loss in NCAA Championship Game 2025 Lafayette Head Coach 33 4 13 1 Loss in NCAA Elite Eight 2024 Lafayette Head Coach 35 3 13 1 NCAA Champion 2023 Lafayette Head Coach 32 4 12 2 Loss in NCAA Sweet Sixteen 2022 Lafayette Head Coach 30 5 12 2 Loss in NCAA Round of 32 2021 Lafayette Head Coach 29 5 11 3 Loss in NCAA Round of 32 2020 Lafayette Head Coach 28 7 13 1 Loss in NCAA Sweet Sixteen 2019 Lafayette Head Coach 30 5 14 0 Loss in NCAA Round 1 2018 Lafayette Head Coach 34 4 13 1 Loss in NCAA Final Four 2017 Lafayette Head Coach 31 5 13 1 Loss in NCAA Sweet Sixteen 2016 Lafayette Head Coach 28 7 12 2 Loss in NCAA Round of 32 2015 Lafayette Head Coach 27 6 14 0 Loss in NCAA Round of 32 2014 Lafayette Head Coach 27 6 12 2 Loss in NCAA Round of 32 2013 Lafayette Head Coach 26 7 12 2 Loss in NIT Round 2 2012 Lafayette Head Coach 20 13 10 4 Loss in NCAA Round 1 2011 Lafayette Head Coach 18 14 7 7 Loss in CIT Round 2 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2027 Conference Coach of the Year (Big East Conference) 2027 NCAA Champion 2025 Conference Coach of the Year (Patriot League) 2025 Patriot League Champion 2024 National Coach of the Year 2024 NCAA Champion 2024 Patriot League Champion 2023 Patriot League Champion 2022 Conference Coach of the Year (Patriot League) 2022 Patriot League Champion 2021 Patriot League Champion 2020 Conference Coach of the Year (Patriot League) 2020 Patriot League Champion 2019 Conference Coach of the Year (Patriot League) 2019 Patriot League Champion 2018 Patriot League Champion 2017 Patriot League Champion 2016 Conference Coach of the Year (Patriot League) 2016 Patriot League Champion 2015 Patriot League Champion 2014 Conference Coach of the Year (Patriot League) 2014 Patriot League Champion 2013 Conference Coach of the Year (Patriot League) 2013 Patriot League Champion Job Movement: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Move -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026 Hired by Villanova (Head Coach) 2026 Quit job with Lafayette to pursue another position. 2011 Hired by Lafayette (Head Coach)

Sometime early in the 2028/29 season, Coach Sims should celebrate the 500th victory of his coaching career. Barring a catastrophe, he'll reach that milestone before he turns 50.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-05-2023, 03:35 PM   #424
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
May 1, 2028

When Douglas Gillum whispered to Graham Sims after his Jayhawks lost to Sims' Wildcats in last month's Final Four, he told Graham something only a few people--his wife, his children, his AD, and his players--knew. That game was Coach Gillum's farewell, as he announces his retirement a few days later. He retires with a career record of 491-104. His victory total and career winning percentage (.825) both rank second in our universe's history.

Coach Gillum is not the only legend to retire this spring. Mervin Heron of North Carolina also hangs up his whistle. Coach Heron completes his career with a 481-109 record and a .821 winning percentage, posting the third most wins and the fourth highest winning percentage.

Kansas turns to another veteran, the well-traveled Joshua Williams. Coach Williams, 63, spent eight seasons at Florida; before that, he had the head jobs at Wyoming and Miami (Ohio). Coach Williams boasts a career record of 386-184. Forgive Gator fans for feeling betrayed right now; Coach Williams is a Florida alumnus.

The new man at North Carolina will be Benton Brimmer, who moves to Chapel Hill from the University of Tennessee. Coach Brimmer, 54, has a career record of 417-169, and he took two Vols teams to the Final Four.

Second place on the leader board for career victories among active coaches now belongs to Kenneth Burroughs of Southern California. Coach Burroughs has a career mark of 475-128 and, like Graham, he's won two national championships.


May 1, 2028
Two rising sophomores have decided to transfer from our program. One is a walk-on, David Betts, who didn't get in a game last season. The other is guard Kelley Van Houten, whom I was excited about signing in the fall of 2026. Kelley V would have played more this season, but he grew impatient and chose to leave. He'll try his luck at Nebraska this season.

I offered a scholarship to Jack Pilkington, an Aussie guard whom I saw when we played West Virginia last season. He decided to transfer to Texas, where there will be a well-defined role for him on a roster depleted by graduation.

Pilkington was the only player I liked who was interested in coming to Villanova. We'll have a slew of scholarships to offer to recruits this season.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-05-2023, 09:03 PM   #425
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
November 1, 2028

We began our recruiting season with five scholarships to offer, so we could basically field a full team with players from the Class of '29. As the defending national champions, we attracted attention from several of the top players in the country...including one who lives six miles from campus.

Three players have committed to us already. Let's meet them, shall we?

The first comes to us from across an international border. Coach Glazier had significant success recruiting in Canada, where he found Charles Vancleave and Bruno Le Fleurquin. We think we've found a Canadian star, too: power forward Kris DeMello.

Code:
#5 PF Kris DeMello -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-9 Weight: 232 High School: Hometown: Grimsby, Canada GPA: 3.06 Test Score: 1080 Rating: **** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 51 39 26 28 29 16 53 36 46 18 14 54 42 86 52 32 Potential: B C D D D D B B B D D A Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15.4 3.8 10.1 1.7 1.9 0.89 0.9 1.9 2.9 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.1 14.4 .493 1.1 2.1 .537 0.2 1.7 .088 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Villanova Rankings: #74 Overall, #13 PF, Foreign #3 Overall, Foreign #1 PF High School Awards: None Top 5 Schools: *Villanova

There's nothing fancy about Kris. He doesn't venture far from the basket on either end of the floor. He has a repertoire of no-frills post moves on offense, and we believe he could develop a decent mid-range game. He is an active rebounder and defender, and he is good at blocking shots.

Kris might have to be patient and pay his dues as a younger player before he's ready for Big East basketball. That plan worked well for players like José Blanco, who is now playing basketball for a living.

On the same day DeMello gives us his commitment, we hear good news from a very promising guard from Virginia.

Justice Stafford is from suburban Richmond. Despite being generously listed at 5'9" and 162 pounds, he's a consensus five-star recruit and one of the best players at his position in the Class of '29.

Code:
#10 PG Justice Stafford -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 5-9 Weight: 162 High School: Trinity Episcopal School Hometown: Midlothian, VA GPA: 3.48 Test Score: 1330 Rating: ***** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 29 32 63 48 50 62 38 22 33 54 29 6 85 42 68 64 Potential: C B A A A B C D C B B F Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20.8 0.8 4.0 7.5 2.4 3.17 2.5 0.3 1.9 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9.0 17.5 .514 1.3 1.4 .926 1.5 4.3 .349 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Villanova Rankings: #10 Overall, #3 PG, Southeast Region #5 Overall, Southeast Region #2 PG High School Awards: All-State Top 5 Schools: *Villanova, Kentucky, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, North Carolina

Justice's well-rounded skill set will enable him to fill varied roles in our lineup. With some diligent work, his jumper could develop into a fearsome weapon. He dribbles and passes well enough to serve as a facilitator. An intelligent player, Justice plays very sound fundamental defense.

Our roster is thin at PG, so there's a chance Justice might start for us from Day One, perhaps teamed with current first-year Blake Norton.

A perfect storm comes together this summer. A year after Villanova wins the national championship, the best high school player in the United States is a senior at a school fifteen minutes from campus.

Code:
#4 SF Asher Wise -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-6 Weight: 208 High School: Conestoga High School Hometown: Berwyn, PA GPA: 3.11 Test Score: 1170 Rating: ***** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 30 65 49 65 58 35 40 50 47 42 23 17 67 43 74 40 Potential: C A B A B C D C B C B D Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 31.3 2.3 7.8 4.4 1.1 4.00 2.7 0.8 2.1 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14.1 23.2 .609 1.3 2.0 .667 1.8 3.8 .467 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Villanova Rankings: #1 Overall, #1 SF, East Region #1 Overall, East Region #1 SF High School Awards: All-State, Mr. Basketball (Pennsylvania), All American Top 5 Schools: *Villanova, Georgetown

Asher Wise's father played college basketball at Haverford, and his mother played soccer at Mount Holyoke. Early on, it became obvious their only son was destined for greater things athletically.

There are few things Asher can't do on a basketball court. He enjoys playing defense, so we won't have to forsake our team's identity to accommodate his talent. He can handle the ball and passes it unselfishly. However, Asher's premier skill is his ability to shoot. His stroke is smooth and deadly, with range well beyond the three-point line. By the time his collegiate career ends, he might be the best shooter in the nation.

We will almost certainly have Asher with us for only three years. But if he lives up to his potential, they'll be a lovely three years.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 01-31-2024 at 08:03 AM.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-06-2023, 09:29 AM   #426
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
November 5, 2028

The defending NCAA champions' roster looks like this as we begin the 2028/29 season:

Code:
#2 VILLANOVA General Player # Pos Yr Ht Wt Sch Acd Status Hometown -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corey Hicks 3 SF Jr 6-3 206 Yes 92 OK Riverside, NJ Blake Norton 4 PG Fr 6-1 174 Yes 31 OK Palmyra, NJ Lowell Welter 5 C Fr 6-8 217 Yes 43 OK Cochranton, PA Ronald Verdugo 11 SG Fr 6-4 207 No 91 OK Groton, CT Richard Pray 13 SF Sr 6-3 183 Yes 70 Unhappy Glen Burnie, MD Duncan Sims 14 PG Sr* 6-4 205 Yes 98 OK Easton, PA Mark Jones 20 PF Jr 6-8 209 No 36 OK Valdosta, GA Jacob Allen 21 SG Sr 5-10 173 Yes 33 OK Franklinville, NY Caleb Blaney 25 PF Sr 6-9 228 Yes 21 OK Ramsey, NJ Tony Ezell 31 PF Fr 6-7 209 Yes 58 OK Somerville, NJ Clemens Schwaiger 33 PF Fr 6-11 320 Yes 44 OK Apolda, Germany Bernie Pfister 41 C So 6-11 264 No 69 OK Westfield, PA Joshua Parkin 42 C Jr 6-9 207 Yes 53 OK North East, MD Avery Sullivan 53 C So 6-10 241 Yes 77 OK Englewood, NJ
Code:
#2 VILLANOVA Training Results Player Ins Jps Fts 3ps Hnd Pas Orb Drb Psd Prd Stl Blk Qkn Str Jmp Sta -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corey Hicks 3 6 9 3 4 4 1 6 3 6 6 0 2 3 2 6 Blake Norton 2 2 4 6 10 8 2 2 2 2 6 2 2 4 3 34 Lowell Welter 8 2 2 2 4 2 8 10 6 2 2 6 1 4 2 8 Ronald Verdugo 2 2 2 4 2 2 2 4 4 6 6 2 4 8 1 26 Richard Pray 4 4 1 1 2 3 4 2 2 4 5 2 1 1 1 8 Duncan Sims 6 8 3 10 8 8 1 3 2 8 3 1 2 2 0 7 Mark Jones 1 0 1 0 1 1 3 2 3 1 1 2 1 3 1 5 Jacob Allen 4 11 0 0 1 2 0 4 1 7 5 4 0 1 1 8 Caleb Blaney 1 2 3 3 3 2 1 0 4 2 3 2 1 2 1 4 Tony Ezell 8 2 2 1 4 2 2 6 6 2 2 6 2 6 1 30 Clemens Schwaiger 8 2 2 0 2 2 10 10 12 2 2 6 2 0 1 8 Bernie Pfister 0 1 1 0 1 1 3 2 3 1 1 2 1 0 2 16 Joshua Parkin 2 3 1 0 3 1 2 5 3 2 1 5 0 4 1 8 Avery Sullivan 11 5 3 1 3 3 5 11 12 5 2 9 2 5 0 8

A year ago, Graham Sims knew precisely what each of his most important players could do, because he'd seen them play their roles before. This season, Coach Sims and his staff have many more unanswered questions.

Jacob Allen is as close to a sure thing as anyone in a Villanova uniform this season. He should be; he's started 108 games in his collegiate career. Allen is the very definition of a shooting guard, with a smooth jumper that is accurate from long range. He was the team's leading scorer last year (15.3 PPG). Jacob is also the team's best perimeter defender.

The team's other returning starter is sophomore center Avery Sullivan. Sully largely lived up to the hype he received as a high schooler, starting every game and making the national All-Freshman Team. Last year's team relied heavily on José Blanco and Bruno Le Fleurquin for inside scoring. Both those men were first round picks in the last pro draft, so Sullivan will be relied upon to play a more important role this season. We're looking forward to discovering if the improvement Sully made in camp will translate to results on the court.

Redshirt senior Duncan Sims will get his first opportunity to start this year. He's made his reputation as a shooter, primarily from behind the arc, where he's a career .435 marksman. Sims spent camp refining his shot, but he also dedicated himself to the core skills a point guard in his father's system needs: ballhandling and defense. Some draft gurus are pointing to Duncan as a sleeper choice in the next professional draft.

The remainder of the starting five is a work in progress. Senior Richard Pray has earned the right to have the first shot at the small forward position. He's as much of an unknown quantity as a senior can be; he's never averaged 10 minutes per game for a season. In his limited appearances, Pray has been a solid player, making nearly half his shots and providing some sound defense.

If Pray falters, junior Corey Hicks will move into the starting five. Hicks averaged 25 minutes per game last year, basically serving as a sixth starter. Like Sims, Hicks has made his mark as a dangerous shooter off the bench; also like Sims, he pays more attention to guarding his opponent than most players of this type.

Which of three freshmen will be the starting power forward? Tony Ezell is the most advanced offense player. Clemens Schwaiger is the most resolute defender. Lowell Welter is the most balanced player. All three worked hard in camp, and all three will receive playing time, The winner will be the one who shows the highest degree of readiness for Big East action.

Freshman guard Blake Norton and big men Caleb Blaney and Joshua Parkin will comprise the rest of the reserve corps. Norton is an apprentice facilitator. Blaney is an unusual athlete, a 6'9" player who will not rebound. Parkin hasn't developed very well, so the talented young big men Coach Sims has recruited have passed him by.

Here's the roster, including each players' potential:


A year ago, the Wildcats could field fully-developed Blue players throughout the starting lineup, and brought Green guys off the bench. This year's squad is undoubtedly talented, but it's younger and far less seasoned.

I slipped up and let the computer AI create our non-conference schedule and it gave us a very easy one. "Oh, great," I thought...until I remembered how many questions we still need to answer about this year's team. It might be better to experiment against Fairfield and Wofford than Kansas and Vanderbilt.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-06-2023, 10:14 AM   #427
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
November 5, 2028
Coaches' Invitational, First Round
(1) #2 Villanova 103, (16) Loyola Marymount 51

Corey Hicks comes off the bench to score 23 points, highlighting an easy victory in the first round of the Coaches' Invitational.

Hicks also provides 6 assists and 5 steals in 23 minutes of action. Jacob Allen knocks down 6 threes, scores 21 points, and makes 3 steals. Avery Sullivan just misses a double-double (12p/9r). Duncan Sims runs into foul trouble and doesn't shoot well (3 points), but he dishes out 7 assists and grabs 5 rebounds.

The "unknown quantities" play well, too. Richard Pray scores 11. Lowell Welter (12p/9r/2b), Tony Ezell (12p), Clemens Schwaiger (4p/4r/2b), and Blake Norton (5p/5a in 14 minutes) enjoy successful collegiate debuts.
Record: 1-0.


November 6, 2028
Coaches' Invitational, Quarter Final
(1) #2 Villanova 80, (9) Tulane 63

Jacob Allen continues to play like a star, with 21 points and 3 steals as we advance to the semifinals.

Duncan Sims is the only other Wildcat in double figures (14p/5a/5r), although his shooting touch is still AWOL (2-for-11 from distance). Avery Sullivan scores 6 points and claims 11 rebounds.
Record: 2-0.


November 12, 2028
Coaches' Invitational Semifinal
(1) #2 Villanova 100, (12) Xavier 76

We hit the century mark for the second time in three games, eliminating the upset-minded Musketeers and moving on to the tournament championship game.

Avery Sullivan plays the best game of his career to date: 23 points, 10 rebounds. Jacob Allen adds 18 points more. Duncan Sims scores 11 and records a career-high 9 assists. Richard Pray scores 10 points with 8 rebounds.

We commit only 9 turnovers, a major improvement over our first two games.
Record: 3-0.


November 13, 2028
Coaches' Invitational Championship
(1) #2 Villanova 73, (2) #4 Southern California 69

We pass our first tough test of the season, knocking off Kenneth Burroughs' Trojans to win the Coaches' Invitational.

Code:
Villanova 73, Southern California 69 --------------------------------------------------------- Southern California (3-1, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Mateo Sanz C 30 2-7 1-2 2 7 2 2 5 Michael Stewart PF 31 4-12 2-2 3 8 2 2 10 James Barnum SF 34 6-11 6-6 1 7 4 0 20 James Jackson SG 33 5-14 3-4 1 3 5 2 16 Walker Sterner PG 26 1-5 0-0 1 3 4 5 2 Daniel Hostetler PG 18 3-6 0-0 0 1 3 1 9 Edward Jones C 11 1-1 1-2 1 1 0 5 3 Gerard Navarrette PG 4 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Matthew Verduzco SF 5 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Bryce Avent C 6 1-2 0-0 1 1 1 0 2 Marcellus Clayton PF 2 1-1 0-0 0 1 0 0 2 Turnovers: 12 (M.Sanz 4, M.Stewart 1, J.Barnum 4, J.Jackson 1, D.Hostetler 1, G.Navarrette 1) Blocked Shots: 1 (M.Sanz 1) Steals: 7 (M.Sanz 2, M.Stewart 1, J.Barnum 2, W.Sterner 2) 3P FGs: 8-25 (M.Sanz 0-1, M.Stewart 0-1, J.Barnum 2-4, J.Jackson 3-11, W.Sterner 0-1, D.Hostetler 3-6, G.Navarrette 0-1) Villanova (4-0, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Avery Sullivan C 31 6-9 3-4 0 10 4 3 15 Lowell Welter PF 24 2-4 1-2 2 5 2 2 5 Richard Pray SF 22 2-5 2-2 0 4 1 4 6 Jacob Allen SG 34 3-8 1-2 0 1 3 1 10 Duncan Sims PG 28 7-10 2-3 1 4 3 3 21 Corey Hicks SF 24 2-4 0-0 0 1 1 1 5 Tony Ezell PF 21 1-4 3-4 1 5 1 1 5 Clemens Schwaiger C 6 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 Blake Norton PG 6 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 3 Caleb Blaney SF 2 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 Ronald Verdugo SG 2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 16 (A.Sullivan 1, L.Welter 3, R.Pray 3, J.Allen 3, D.Sims 2, C.Hicks 3, T.Ezell 1) Blocked Shots: 2 (A.Sullivan 1, T.Ezell 1) Steals: 5 (D.Sims 3, C.Hicks 2) 3P FGs: 11-23 (L.Welter 0-1, J.Allen 3-8, D.Sims 5-8, C.Hicks 1-3, B.Norton 1-1, C.Blaney 1-1, R.Verdugo 0-1) Player of Game: PG Duncan Sims (VLNV)
Coaches Sims and Burroughs enter the game with a combined total of 979 career victories. Graham comes out ahead this time, and it's the 500th victory of his coaching career. Graham's career record now stands at 500-104.

Even better, he gets to share the moment with his son Duncan, whose play was a major reason for the victory.
Record: 4-0.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 12-06-2023 at 10:16 AM.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-06-2023, 12:07 PM   #428
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
November 20, 2028
@#2 Villanova 72, Buffalo 56

Veteran fans say they've never heard a crowd at the Finneran Pavilion make so much noise. Even the hardest-hearted among them smile, and more than a few wipe away tears, as they watch the 2028 NCAA championship banner rise to the rafters.

When the game begins, Duncan Sims takes over. His 25-point, 7-rebound, 5-assist, 2-steal performance helps the 'Cats pull away from a feisty Buffalo team. Jacob Allen adds 13 points, and Avery Sullivan contributes 10. The seven players with the most playing time all grab at least 4 rebounds.
Record: 5-0.


November 22, 2028
@#2 Villanova 98, Hartford 78

Five Wildcats score in double figures as we defeat the Hawks.

Richard Pray leads the way with a career-high 18 points. Joining him are Duncan Sims (14p/4a/3r/2s), Jacob Allen (13p/5s), and Corey Hicks (12p/5r/3s). We commit 18 turnovers, which is too many, but we force the Hawks into 27 of their own.
Record: 6-0.


November 26, 2028
#2 Villanova 72, @Wofford 56

Our trip to South Carolina goes well, and we return with a 16-point victory that features balance.

Avery Sullivan (14p/8r/3s) is our leading scorer. Tony Ezell (12p/6r) plays well in his first career start. Duncan Sims (10p/5a), Corey Hicks (10p) and Richard Pray (10p/7r/4a) join them in double figures, and it's Pray who is named PoG for his all-around contributions.
Record: 7-0.


November 29, 2028
@#2 Villanova 80, Fairfield 72

Jacob Allen emerges from a mini-slump to lead us to victory over the Stags at the Pavilion.

Allen scores a game-high 22 points with 3 steals. Avery Sullivan (12p/7r/3b), Duncan Sims (11p/4r), and Corey Hicks (10p/5r/4a) provide solid support.

We've scored almost at will so far this season, but our defense has been less impressive than our usual standard. Hopefully this won't spell trouble once the Big East schedule gets underway.
Record: 8-0.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-06-2023, 12:51 PM   #429
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
December 1, 2028

There's more good news from the recruiting front. Coaches Sims and Volkman have worked more of their magic, and we've secured a commitment from five-star guard Peter Segal.

Code:
#15 SG Peter Segal -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-3 Weight: 176 High School: Fort Lee High School Hometown: Fort Lee, NJ GPA: 3.33 Test Score: 1160 Rating: ***** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 50 44 43 63 34 38 6 25 46 71 7 0 73 43 78 26 Potential: C C C A C B F D A A D F Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12.6 0.8 3.9 4.9 3.2 1.54 0.9 0.1 2.5 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.9 10.6 .462 1.9 2.8 .691 0.9 3.1 .279 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Villanova Rankings: #14 Overall, #5 SG, East Region #4 Overall, East Region #1 SG High School Awards: None Top 5 Schools: *Villanova

At first glance, it might be difficult to see how Peter could be one of the top guards in the country. He isn't a big scorer; he's not a dazzling ballhandler and passer; he doesn't leap out of the gym. But he does all these things fairly well, and he plays better defense than any guard I've ever recruited. He never seriously considered playing anywhere else, but he took his time with his commitment, just to be extra sure.

Peter is quick and athletic enough to lock down the most talented perimeter players. And even though he's 6'3" and slender, his solid fundamental skill enables him to defend much larger post players, too.

We shouldn't need Segal to score much, not with players like Asher Wise in his class and other scorers, like Tony Ezell and Avery Sullivan, in the classes just ahead of his. If Peter, the latest in a string of New Jersey prep stars to play for Graham Sims, can neutralize our opponent's top player, he'll more than suitable for purpose.

We have one more scholarship available, and we're still hoping to add another post player

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 12-06-2023 at 12:52 PM.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-06-2023, 02:34 PM   #430
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
December 4, 2028
#2 Villanova 86, @Maine 58

It's cold in Maine in December, and our shooters never seemed to warm up completely tonight. Jacob Allen was a notable exception, and his 17 points (including 3-for-5 from long range) led all scorers.

Lowell Welter scored 15, doing all his damage within five feet of the basket. Duncan Sims scored 11, but he needed 12 shots to do it. Avery Sullivan added 10 more.
Record: 9-0.


December 9, 2028
@#2 Villanova 96, Drexel 62

Six 'Nova players scored at least 10 points in another pleasing, balanced victory.

Avery Sullivan (17p/5r), Duncan Sims (14p/6r/5a), Richard Pray (12p/4a), Jacob Allen (12p), Corey Hicks (11p/4r/4a) and Lowell Welter (10p/6r) all make positive impacts. When everybody is doing something, nobody has to do everything.
Record: 10-0.


December 15, 2028
#2 Villanova 93, @Illinois State 47

Duncan Sims missed a free throw tonight, but that's just about the only thing he did wrong. The senior tied a Villanova record with 9 three-point baskets (in only 10 attempts) and scored a career-high 31 points. Sims contributed 3 assists and 4 rebounds.

Jacob Allen was nearly as dominant, scoring 27 points of his own and hitting 8 of 10 treys. Taken together, the Villanova backcourt shot 20 threes at an .850 pace.

Lowell Welter (12r) and Avery Sullivan (10r) reached double figures in rebounds. Blake Norton packed 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists into 22 minutes of action.
Record: 11-0.


December 17, 2028
@#2 Villanova 73, George Mason 71

A scrappy George Mason team that starts no player taller than 6'6" came into the Pavilion and nearly upset the #1 team in the nation. The Patriots' Heri Suarez misfires on a late three-pointer that would have given his team the victory.

The Wildcats' high scorer is Tony Ezell, who finishes with a career-high 16 points. Jacob Allen adds 14; Richard Pray contributes 10; Avery Sullivan barely misses a double-double with 9 points and 11 rebounds.
Record: 12-0.


December 20, 2028
#1 Villanova 98, @St. Francis (NY) 48

The newly crowned #1 team in the nation closes out calendar year 2028 with a romp over the Terriers in Brooklyn.

Jacob Allen balls out, scoring a career-best 35 points. He attempts 16 threes, making 9 of them to tie the record his teammate Duncan Sims recently also tied. Sims makes 3 of 5 from distance, en route to 13. Richard Pray also nets 13, Tony Ezell 11, and Avery Sullivan 10.

Allen also leads us in rebounds with 7, and Sims has the most assists with 5.
Record: 13-0.


December 31, 2028
Code:
2028 Big East Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige ---------------------------------------------------------------- #2 Villanova 0 0 .000 13 0 1.000 4 100 #1 Georgetown 0 0 .000 12 0 1.000 32 100 #7 West Virginia 0 0 .000 12 0 1.000 35 88 #8 Pittsburgh 0 0 .000 11 1 .917 43 88 Connecticut 0 0 .000 10 3 .769 1 64 Louisville 0 0 .000 10 3 .769 6 85 Cincinnati 0 0 .000 10 2 .833 19 62 #19 Marquette 0 0 .000 10 1 .909 122 67 #16 Notre Dame 0 0 .000 9 2 .818 3 88 Seton Hall 0 0 .000 9 3 .750 86 54 St. John's 0 0 .000 8 5 .615 26 67 South Florida 0 0 .000 7 5 .583 14 64 Providence 0 0 .000 7 4 .636 191 71 Rutgers 0 0 .000 7 5 .583 266 83 DePaul 0 0 .000 5 6 .455 140 58 Syracuse 0 0 .000 4 8 .333 286 71

The voters swap us with Georgetown atop the polls again this week. The Hoyas finish the voting with 1779 points to our 1743. Stanford is third, with 1647.

There are FOUR Big East teams in the top 10. Two more are ranked in the top 20. The conference season is going to be a series of epic battles.

We'll have to fight them without Richard Pray. Despite an Intelligence rating of 70, Richard receives word that due to his poor academic performance, he will be ineligible to play for the remainder of the season. Since Richard is a senior, this suspension ends his Villanova career.

Richard had established himself as a solid member of our starting five, averaging 9.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

Corey Hicks will move into the starting lineup, which now features three guards.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-08-2023, 09:17 AM   #431
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
January 3, 2029
@#2 Villanova 87, #7 West Virginia 72

Calendar year 2029 begins with a big Big East win against a Top Ten opponent.

Duncan Sims again demonstrates how far he's come in his journey to becoming a true lead guard. He scores 22 points, sinking 4 of his 10 three-point attempts. He grabs 6 rebounds, makes 3 steals, hands out 6 assists, and commits only 2 turnovers. Corey Hicks scores 15 in his first career start; it's his 90th appearance for us. Jacob Allen adds 15 more, and Caleb Blaney contributes a career-high 13.

We catch up with Herschel Middlebrooks, whom we recruited at Lafayette. He's transferred to WVU, where he's a reserve point guard. Hersch leads his team with 15 points off the bench.
Record: 14-0 (1-0).


January 6, 2029
#2 Villanova 65, @Cincinnati 63

A Duncan Sims three-pointer with 29 seconds left turns out to be the game-winning basket, as we barely escape defeat on the road.

Duncan finishes with 13 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds, a point short of team leaders Tony Ezell and Corey Hicks. It's not a pretty game for us by any means; Sims commits 5 turnovers and we make only 5 of our 23 three-point tries.

Still, a win is a win.
Record: 15-0 (2-0).


January 10, 2029
@#2 Villanova 89, Providence 82

The Friars have struggled a bit this season, but they come into the Pavilion with an attitude. After falling behind by 11 at halftime, they battle back and nearly spoil our evening.

Jacob Allen (18p/6r/4a) and Duncan Sims (18p/3s) are joint high scorers. Blake Norton scores 13 in only 12 minutes, and Avery Sullivan (9p/5r/4b) and Tony Ezell (7p/7r) control the inside.
Record: 16-0 (3-0).


January 13, 2029
#2 Villanova 90, @Syracuse 65

The Orange haven't had a great season, either, but they are still a tough opponent, especially at home. That's why this victory feels especially satisfying. We shoot 59 percent overall, and 47 percent from distance.

Tony Ezell has made the most of his opportunity as a starter; today, he scores 21 points, collects 10 rebounds, and blocks two shots. Avery Sullivan adds a forceful double-double: 14 points, 15 rebounds. Caleb Blaney is carving out a role as an explosive scoring option off the bench, and today he nets 14 points in 18 minutes.

There's been a different star every night, and I like that vibe.

Meanwhile, Georgetown loses at Seton Hall, so we take over first place in the Big East.
Record: 17-0 (4-0).


January 17, 2029
@#1 Villanova 95, DePaul 71

Several minutes into the second half, Tony Ezell draws a charge and goes down hard. When he comes up, he's holding his wrist and grimacing. The freshman forward doesn't return to the game, and we later learn he'll be out for approximately two weeks.

That news dampens an otherwise positive mood, as we celebrate our new #1 ranking with another decisive victory at the Pavilion.

Jacob Allen leads all scorers with 22 points. Caleb Blaney steps up again with 14 more, and Avery Sullivan matches him, while also contributing 8 boards and 2 blocks. The biggest honors go to Duncan Sims, who gives us his first career double-double: 14 points and 13 assists, with 6 rebounds and 2 steals, too.

Duncan's assist total ties him for second all time. Severiano Tipaldo, our program's all-time assist leader, handed out 14 helpers twice and 13 on two other occasions.
Record: 18-0 (5-0).


January 20, 2029
#1 Villanova 83, @#12 Pittsburgh 64

Jacob Allen isn't considered a pro prospect, and I can't figure out why.

He torches the Panthers for 28 points, adding 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Avery Sullivan (18p/7r), Duncan Sims (18p/8a/6r, 4-8 from three), and Corey Hicks (5 steals) all play well, and Lowell Welter pulls in 7 rebounds in his return to the starting five.

USC's Kenneth Burroughs records career victory #492 tonight, moving him ahead of Douglas Gillum into second place on the leader board.
Record: 19-0 (6-0).


January 24, 2029
@#1 Villanova 62, St. John's 61

A very good St. John's team comes to the Wells Fargo Center, and forces us to hit a game-winning three with 22 seconds left.

The hero is Jacob Allen, whose dagger gives him 17 points for the night. Duncan Sims (15p/5a/4r/2s) and Corey Hicks (10p/3r/3a) join him in double figures.

There's more bad news from the trainers' room, however. Avery Sullivan rolled his ankle, and he's expected to miss our next two games. Unfortunately, the first of those two contests is a trip to #2 Georgetown.
Record: 20-0 (7-0).


January 27, 2029
Code:
#1 Villanova 69, #2 Georgetown 68 ----------------------------------------------------------- Villanova (21-0, 8-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Clemens Schwaiger C 29 1-2 0-0 1 4 0 3 2 Lowell Welter PF 29 1-4 1-3 1 3 1 2 3 Corey Hicks SF 20 4-7 1-2 0 5 0 4 12 Jacob Allen PG 32 6-17 6-9 0 4 1 1 19 Duncan Sims SG 32 4-12 4-4 2 7 3 2 16 Blake Norton PG 11 0-1 4-4 1 3 2 0 4 Tony Ezell PF 18 1-2 0-1 1 4 0 1 2 Avery Sullivan C 4 0-0 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 Caleb Blaney SF 24 2-6 3-3 1 2 2 1 9 Joshua Parkin PF 1 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 0 2 Turnovers: 17 (C.Schwaiger 1, L.Welter 2, C.Hicks 3, J.Allen 4, D.Sims 5, B.Norton 1, C.Blaney 1) Blocked Shots: 1 (L.Welter 1) Steals: 6 (L.Welter 1, J.Allen 2, D.Sims 2, C.Blaney 1) 3P FGs: 10-31 (C.Hicks 3-5, J.Allen 1-9, D.Sims 4-10, B.Norton 0-1, C.Blaney 2-6) Georgetown (18-2, 6-2): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Dwayne Ecker C 36 4-12 2-3 4 12 2 2 10 Terrence Jones PF 29 5-9 0-2 4 14 0 3 11 Tony Rabe SF 21 5-10 2-2 2 4 1 4 12 Lance Moore SG 29 4-11 4-5 4 6 2 4 14 Edward Sturgeon PG 27 3-6 0-0 0 1 5 4 6 Jeffrey Thai PF 11 2-2 0-0 2 5 0 1 4 Shelton Davis C 4 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 1 0 Steven Waites SF 11 0-4 2-2 1 1 1 4 2 Boyce Sutton PG 10 1-2 0-0 0 1 0 2 2 Peter Henry SG 11 2-7 2-2 1 1 0 1 7 Joey Beaty SF 11 0-5 0-0 1 2 0 1 0 Turnovers: 19 (T.Rabe 4, L.Moore 3, E.Sturgeon 5, S.Davis 1, S.Waites 2, B.Sutton 1, P.Henry 2, J.Beaty 1) Blocked Shots: 8 (D.Ecker 1, T.Jones 4, J.Thai 2, J.Beaty 1) Steals: 5 (T.Rabe 1, L.Moore 3, B.Sutton 1) 3P FGs: 4-15 (T.Jones 1-1, L.Moore 2-5, E.Sturgeon 0-1, S.Waites 0-2, P.Henry 1-4, J.Beaty 0-2) Player of Game: PG Duncan Sims (VLNV)

These rival programs, the two best teams in college basketball deliver the kind of close game you'd expect from them. Both teams are limited by injuries to outstanding young post players, which forces their teammates to stand and deliver.

For a moment, it looks like Duncan Sims would be on the hook for a mistake the Hoyas would never let him live down. After Lowell Welter sinks a free throw to put us ahead, 69-68, with 1:13 remaining, we make a key defensive stop. On the ensuing possession, Sims throws a terrible pass that sails out of bounds, giving the home team a full 30 seconds to set up a game-winning basket.

First, freshman Lance Moore fires up a three and misses. His 7'3" teammate, Dwayne Ecker, grabs the rebound and the Hoyas reset. The Villanova defense bears down and forces the Hoyas to take a shot they don't want: a twelve-footer by Ecker from the right baseline. It misses, and that's the ballgame.

Two sophomore stars play very small roles today. Georgetown's Jimmy Cahoon misses the game with a sore knee. Our Avery Sullivan insists on suiting up and plays four minutes.
Record: 22-0 (9-0).


January 31, 2029
#1 Villanova 69, @#22 Louisville 63

After a frightful first half in which we score only 22 points, we rally to defeat the Cardinals in Louisville tonight.

Jacob Allen makes only 4 of his 13 three-point attempts, but that qualifies as "good shooting" for us tonight. Our other high-volume shooter, Duncan Sims, misses all 7 of his threes. Allen finishes with 26 points, and although Sims scores only 5, he finds other ways to contribute (5a/5r).

We ease Avery Sullivan and Tony Ezell back into the starting lineup, because both are listed at 90% efficiency or higher.
Record: 23-0 (10-0).

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 12-08-2023 at 09:20 AM.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-11-2023, 09:18 AM   #432
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
February 1, 2029

Code:
2028 Big East Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige ------------------------------------------------------------------- #1 Villanova 9 0 1.000 22 0 1.000 2 100 #2 Georgetown 7 2 .778 19 2 .905 14 100 #20 Connecticut 6 3 .667 16 6 .727 1 64 St. John's 6 3 .667 14 8 .636 6 67 Rutgers 5 4 .556 12 9 .571 158 83 #24 Notre Dame 5 4 .556 14 6 .700 33 88 South Florida 5 4 .556 12 9 .571 25 64 Cincinnati 4 5 .444 14 7 .667 22 62 #16 West Virginia 4 5 .444 16 5 .762 19 88 #22 Louisville 4 5 .444 14 8 .636 7 85 Marquette 3 6 .333 13 7 .650 64 67 Providence 3 6 .333 10 10 .500 182 71 Syracuse 3 6 .333 7 14 .333 203 71 #15 Pittsburgh 3 6 .333 14 7 .667 53 88 Seton Hall 3 6 .333 12 9 .571 65 54 DePaul 2 7 .222 7 13 .350 101 58

This year's standings contain some data points that reveal just how tough a conference the Big East really is. Three ranked teams who rolled through November and December have losing records in conference play.

We're in control of our own fate when it comes to the conference championship. We end our regular season with a trip to UConn, but we're otherwise finished playing against the top contenders.


February 3, 2029
#1 Villanova 75, @#16 West Virginia 57

Balance, balance, balance.

All five starters score at least 9 points. All three frontcourt players grab 8 rebounds, and a guard pitches in with 5 more. Corey Hicks (15p/8r/2s) is named Player of the Game, and he deserves it. His 15 points are our team's high total, one more than Avery Sullivan contributes. Sully blocks 3 shots for good measure.
Record: 23-0 (10-0).


February 4, 2029
We're a unanimous choice for the #1 ranking in the latest media poll.
Code:
Top 25 # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Villanova (72) 23-0 1800 1 Big East Conference 2. Georgetown 20-2 1725 2 Big East Conference 3. Stanford 21-2 1650 3 Pacific-10 Conference 4. Kansas 20-2 1556 4 Big 12 Conference 5. Southern California 21-3 1505 5 Pacific-10 Conference 6. Boston College 20-2 1471 6 Atlantic Coast Conference 7. Vanderbilt 19-2 1377 8 Southeastern Conference 8. Tennessee 18-4 1216 7 Southeastern Conference 9. Texas Christian 21-2 1212 10 Mountain West Conference 10. North Carolina 17-5 1186 9 Atlantic Coast Conference 11. Wisconsin 17-4 1124 11 Big Ten Conference 12. California 17-5 960 12 Pacific-10 Conference 13. Utah 18-5 959 13 Mountain West Conference 14. Texas A&M 18-5 866 14 Big 12 Conference 15. Miami 16-4 767 18 Atlantic Coast Conference 16. Texas 18-5 664 19 Big 12 Conference 17. Lafayette 19-5 600 21 Patriot League 18. West Virginia 16-6 511 16 Big East Conference 19. Wake Forest 18-4 392 NR Atlantic Coast Conference 20. Utah State 18-4 354 NR Western Athletic Conference 21. Mississippi 16-7 348 17 Southeastern Conference 22. Memphis 18-4 265 NR Conference USA 23. Louisville 15-8 227 22 Big East Conference 24. Washington 17-6 209 NR Pacific-10 Conference 25. Oklahoma 17-6 177 NR Big 12 Conference Others Receiving Votes: Pittsburgh 14-8 114 Big East Conference Connecticut 17-6 31 Big East Conference Missouri 14-7 28 Big 12 Conference Texas A&M-CC 18-3 27 Southland Conference Nevada 16-4 24 Western Athletic Conference Duquesne 17-4 19 Atlantic 10 Conference Temple 17-5 12 Atlantic 10 Conference UNC Wilmington 19-5 6 Colonial Athletic Association Florida A&M 19-3 5 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Penn State 16-5 4 Big Ten Conference Louisiana Tech 18-5 3 Western Athletic Conference North Carolina State 16-6 3 Atlantic Coast Conference Notre Dame 14-7 3 Big East Conference

It's fun to see Lafayette is still producing good teams. The Leopards' record since Graham Sims left is 79-19, and they're 30-6 in the Patriot League. They look like they'll romp to another conference championship this season, too.


February 7, 2029
@#1 Villanova 87, Cincinnati 60

Behind 30 points from Jacob Allen, we storm to a 27-point victory over the Bearcats. Allen lifts his career total to 1828 points, passing Titus Pound '25 (1812) and moving into second place on the all-time list. He's on pace to take the lead away from James Martin '22 sometime this month; Martin finished his career with 1887 points.

Allen adds 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Tony Ezell (11p/4r), Avery Sullivan (10p/4b), and Duncan Sims (10p/5a) join him in double figures. Corey Hicks makes 5 steals.
Record: 24-0 (11-0).


February 10, 2029
@#1 Villanova 66, Rutgers 60

Rutgers does a very good job of keeping our high-flying offense in check, and nearly pull off an upset at the Wells Fargo Center.

Jacob Allen (15p/4a) finds just enough room to score. Avery Sullivan (12p/5r/2b) and Tony Ezell (12p) are quietly efficient; Sully does much of his damage from the line, where he goes 8-for-9. In fact, it's free throw shooting that wins this game for us. We make 29 foul shots, to the Scarlet Knights' 5.

The rest of the Big East keep beating each other up, and that allows us to open up a three-game lead in the conference race.
Record: 25-0 (12-0).


February 14, 2029
@#1 Villanova 82, Marquette 87

Cupid is a bit of a trickster. Did he try to work his mischief at the Pavilion this Valentine's Night?

Some Villanova students' post-game dates might have been spoiled if the Wildcats had squandered much more of the 16-point halftime lead they established. Corey Hicks (25p/9r/4a) undoubtedly picks up a few more crushes, and Avery Sullivan (13p/11r) and Duncan Sims set some hearts aflutter, too.
Record: 26-0 (13-0).


November 17, 2029
@#1 Villanova 86, Notre Dame 65

Nine three-pointers (in 16 attempts)and 32 points from Jacob Allen give the 'Cats another conference win. Jacob passes James Martin to become our all-time leading scorer.

Duncan Sims (14p/4a/3r) and Corey Hicks (12p/5r/3a) also score in double figures. Tony Ezell (9r) and Avery Sullivan (7r/2b) do big man things well.
Record: 27-0 (14-0).


November 20, 2029
#1 Villanova 73, @South Florida 63

We clamp down defensively on the Bulls, forcing them to launch 35 threes. They hit only 10 of them, which is a big reason for our victory.

Avery Sullivan (13p/12r) posts another double-double, and adds 4 blocks for good measure. Tony Ezell leads us with 15 points, and Jacob Allen and Duncan Sims score 14 each. Duncan's final basket gives him 1001 points for his career, with the first 298 coming in a Lafayette uniform.

With three games remaining, we clinch at least a share of the Big East regular season championship.
Record: 28-0 (15-0).


February 24, 2029
@Providence 69, #1 Villanova 66

The Friars defend their home court tenaciously tonight, and snap our winning streak at 42 games. Our last defeat happened over a year ago, on February 16, 2028, when we lost at Georgetown.

We had a chance to send the game to overtime, but the Friars made sure the man who took the last shot was unlikely to hurt them. Avery Sullivan, who has taken three shots from behind the arc in his career without success, missed, and that was it.

Duncan Sims (16p/5r/4a) leads the 'Cats in scoring. Jacob Allen adds 15, and Caleb Blaney 11 more off the bench. Sullivan blocks 4 shots.

We shoot 36.5% for the night, and only 61.5% from the line. It's hard to win games in the Big East when you shoot like that.
Record: 28-1 (15-1).


February 28, 2029
@#1 Villanova 71, Seton Hall 63

We send our three seniors out in style, coming from behind to win their final game at Finneran Pavilion.

Again, we don't shoot well, and the Pirates lead us, 38-36, at the half. Fortunately, we play solid defense all night long, and our shots start falling in the second half.

Senior Duncan Sims splashes 4 of his 8 threes, scoring a game-high 19 points; he adds 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Senior Jacob Allen, closing in on 2000 career points, finishes with 12 points and 5 boards. Senior Caleb Blaney runs into foul trouble and finishes with 6 points and 3 rebounds. Avery Sullivan contributes 10 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
Record: 29-1 (16-1).


March 3, 2029
#1 Villanova 83, @Connecticut 73

The Huskies are tough at home, and they give us a run for our money in our final Big East regular season game.

If I ran the world, Jacob Allen would be a professional prospect. I don't care that he's 5'10". Tonight, he sinks 5 of 7 three-point tries, scores 23 points, and adds 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Some professional team, somewhere in the world, will take a chance on Jacob Allen, and one day they'll be glad they did.

Duncan Sims (16p/5a/3r), Tony Ezell (11p/7r), and Avery Sullivan (10p/7r/3b) do their usual good jobs in support of Allen's star turn. I had a hunch about leaving Caleb Blaney in the starting lineup, and I like the results: 9 points, 6 boards.
Record: 30-1 (17-1).

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 12-13-2023 at 10:13 AM.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2023, 10:51 AM   #433
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
March 8, 2029
Big East Tournament Quarterfinal
(1) #1 Villanova 91, (9) Connecticut 73

After our double bye, we face the Huskies again at Madison Square Garden. There, away from the Huskies' vocal fans, we have an easier time of things.

Our senior guards combine for 44 points: 23 from Jacob Allen and 21 from Duncan Sims. They make 7 of their 15 threes and combine for 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Caleb Blaney adds 17 points, Avery Sullivan 13.

Ten-seed Pitt shocks Georgetown, 66-55, so the Hoyas will head home and await the NCAA tournament selection committee's verdict.
Record: 31-1.


March 9, 2029
Big East Tournament Semifinal
(1) #1 Villanova 63, (4) #10 West Virginia 57

We come back from a 7-point halftime deficit to defeat the Mountaineers and advance to the championship game.

Both teams contest every possession, and we find it hard to get good shots. Jacob Allen (18) and Duncan Sims (11) are our only double-figure scorers. Duncan is named Player of the Game; he adds 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and a steal.

St. John's wins the other semifinal, 62-52, so we'll face the Red Storm in the championship game.
Record: 32-1.


March 10, 2029
Big East Tournament Championship
(1) #1 Villanova 57, (6) St. John's 54


Code:
#1 Villanova 57, St. John's 54 --------------------------------------------------------- St. John's (21-14, 10-8): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Denis Freed C 34 3-11 0-0 2 10 0 4 6 James Pompey PF 31 0-2 0-0 2 9 1 4 0 Garth Ussery SF 33 4-15 2-2 0 4 6 2 10 Romeo Meek SG 32 4-10 1-2 3 7 2 2 10 Mack Radcliff PG 20 2-5 2-3 0 0 0 5 6 Lorenzo Imhoff SG 19 2-7 2-2 0 1 2 0 8 Angelo Moritz SF 11 0-0 1-2 1 2 2 0 1 Robert Walcott PF 13 1-2 4-4 0 3 2 4 6 Boris Conant SG 4 2-3 0-1 0 0 0 0 4 Brian Easterling PG 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Franklin Snyder PF 2 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 Turnovers: 13 (J.Pompey 2, G.Ussery 1, R.Meek 3, M.Radcliff 2, L.Imhoff 1, A.Moritz 2, R.Walcott 1, B.Conant 1) Blocked Shots: 7 (D.Freed 7) Steals: 8 (G.Ussery 4, R.Meek 2, A.Moritz 1, F.Snyder 1) 3P FGs: 4-15 (J.Pompey 0-1, G.Ussery 0-3, R.Meek 1-3, L.Imhoff 2-5, R.Walcott 0-1, B.Conant 0-1, F.Snyder 1-1) Villanova (33-1, 17-1): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Avery Sullivan C 30 4-8 2-4 2 9 1 2 10 Tony Ezell PF 31 2-9 5-7 2 8 2 2 9 Caleb Blaney SF 29 3-7 2-3 3 6 1 2 8 Jacob Allen SG 24 4-13 0-0 0 1 1 5 9 Duncan Sims SG 31 3-6 0-0 2 8 5 0 8 Blake Norton PG 22 1-4 2-4 0 5 3 3 5 Corey Hicks SF 11 0-3 1-2 2 2 0 1 1 Lowell Welter C 16 3-4 0-1 1 4 0 1 7 Clemens Schwaiger C 2 0-0 0-0 1 2 0 0 0 Ronald Verdugo SG 3 0-1 0-0 0 1 0 1 0 Turnovers: 16 (A.Sullivan 1, T.Ezell 2, J.Allen 3, D.Sims 4, B.Norton 1, C.Hicks 2, C.Schwaiger 1, R.Verdugo 2) Blocked Shots: 6 (A.Sullivan 4, T.Ezell 2) Steals: 6 (C.Blaney 1, J.Allen 1, D.Sims 1, B.Norton 1, C.Hicks 2) 3P FGs: 5-18 (C.Blaney 0-3, J.Allen 1-5, D.Sims 2-4, B.Norton 1-3, C.Hicks 0-2, L.Welter 1-1) Player of Game: C Avery Sullivan (VLNV)
The Johnnies slow the pace down and play tight defense, especially against three-point shooters, so I'm not surprised when the game takes this shape.

Avery Sullivan works hard for his PoG honors, battling St. John's tough senior center, Denis Freed, all evening long.

Their long tournament run makes the Red Storm a lock for the NCAA tournament. As many as nine teams from the Big East might make the Big Dance.

Colgate (22-11) wins the Patriot League tournament, so they'll be dancing, too. Lafayette (24-8) was upset by Lehigh in the semifinals, but their record will be good enough to earn an at-large bid.
Record: 33-1.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2023, 02:54 PM   #434
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
March 11, 2029
We're awarded the #1 seed in the East Region, which is what I thought would happen. Our first opponent will be the winner of the Mercer-Toledo play-in game.

We could possibly meet Lafayette in the second round, if we win and the 9-seed Leopards beat Ohio State.

The other top seeds are Georgetown (South), Tennessee (Midwest), and Stanford (West).


March 15, 2029
NCAA East Region, First Round
(1) #1 Villanova 72, (16) Mercer 61

Mercer sticks around long enough to make things interesting. Our 11-point winning margin is five points fewer than our average, and that reflects well on the Bears' effort. In fact, they outshoot us, 42% to 40%.

We win the game by dominating the post. Avery Sullivan (19p/11r/2b) is more than Mercer's bigs can handle, and they struggle to contain Tony Ezell (14p/11r) too. Jacob Allen (12p/5r/3a) and Duncan Sims (10p/5a, 0-6 from three) scuffle a bit.

Lafayette easily disposes of Ohio State, 59-42, so we'll face the Leopards again.
Record: 34-1.


March 17, 2029
(1) #1 Villanova 69, (9) #24 Lafayette 60

Code:
-------------------------------------------------------- Lafayette (25-9, 10-4): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Finn Mills C 34 1-9 0-0 2 13 0 2 2 David Bowen PF 32 5-8 0-0 3 9 0 3 10 Mike Wong SF 24 2-6 0-0 3 7 1 3 4 Tod Quiroz SG 34 6-12 6-8 1 1 3 1 22 Paul Clough PG 30 2-8 0-0 1 2 5 3 5 Garth Hartsfield PG 14 1-3 2-2 0 0 2 0 5 Kevin Wells SF 15 1-5 2-2 0 0 1 2 5 E. O'Reilly C 9 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 Brian Quirk PF 7 3-3 1-1 1 5 0 1 7 Jack Herold PF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 19 (F.Mills 2, D.Bowen 4, M.Wong 4, T.Quiroz 3, P.Clough 5, G.Hartsfield 1) Blocked Shots: 6 (F.Mills 3, D.Bowen 1, P.Clough 1, B.Quirk 1) Steals: 2 (T.Quiroz 2) 3P FGs: 7-22 (F.Mills 0-1, M.Wong 0-1, T.Quiroz 4-9, P.Clough 1-3, G.Hartsfield 1-2, K.Wells 1-4, E.O'Reilly 0-2) Villanova (35-1, 17-1): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Avery Sullivan C 30 3-9 3-3 1 6 2 2 9 Tony Ezell PF 30 3-8 1-2 1 9 1 3 7 Caleb Blaney SF 29 2-9 1-2 0 0 2 3 5 Jacob Allen SG 33 7-12 2-2 1 2 5 3 20 Duncan Sims PG 28 4-10 2-2 0 2 4 5 12 Blake Norton PG 12 0-3 0-0 1 3 2 0 0 Corey Hicks SF 13 2-3 2-2 1 6 2 2 8 Lowell Welter PF 12 3-5 0-0 2 3 0 0 6 Clemens Schwaiger C 8 1-1 0-0 1 1 0 1 2 Ronald Verdugo SG 4 0-0 0-0 1 1 0 0 0 Turnovers: 12 (A.Sullivan 1, T.Ezell 4, C.Blaney 2, J.Allen 4, C.Schwaiger 1) Blocked Shots: 3 (A.Sullivan 2, T.Ezell 1) Steals: 7 (T.Ezell 1, C.Blaney 1, J.Allen 4, D.Sims 1) 3P FGs: 8-24 (C.Blaney 0-4, J.Allen 4-8, D.Sims 2-7, B.Norton 0-3, C.Hicks 2-2) Player of Game: SG Jacob Allen (VLNV)
We play well for 20 minutes, leading the Leopards 45-29 at the break. Then, we're terrible for 20 minutes and nearly let a good team pull off an upset.

Jacob Allen is the only Wildcat who should be pleased with his performance. His classmate, Duncan Sims, is mired in a shooting slump, but he's finding other ways to contribute. Still, if we don't play better, our season will end very soon.
Record: 35-1.


March 22, 2029
NCAA East Region Semifinal...the Sweet Sixteen
(1) #1 Villanova 82, (5) #16 North Carolina 69

Did the Tar Heels expend too much of their energy in the 85-84 victory over Vanderbilt that propelled them into this game? Perhaps that's the case, as Graham Sims and the Wildcats beat the 'Heels with room to spare.

A shooting master class from Jacob Allen (29 points, 7-11 from long range) is the biggest key to our victory. Avery Sullivan (13p/10r/3b), Duncan Sims (13p/4r) and Tony Ezell (12p) also play well.

We tie the Villanova record for victories in a season, set just last year. Next up: Wisconsin.
Record: 36-1.


March 24, 2029
NCAA East Region Final...the Elite Eight
(7) #11 Wisconsin 73, (1) #1 Villanova 65

The other side of the East bracket has been riddled by upsets. First, 15-seed
Canisius sent 2-seed Boston College packing. Then, after eliminating the Golden Griffins, the Badgers took care of 3-seed Duquesne. Wisconsin then claims their second straight victory over a Pennsylvania team in the regional final.

The Badgers simply shoot the lights out, on a night when our shots won't fall. Eight different players score at least 10 points, but the four Wisconsin players all score more than our four do.

All three of our seniors can leave with their heads high. Caleb Blaney, who returned to his reserve role for the NCAA tournament, makes 2 of his 3 treys and scores 10 points. Duncan Sims scores 11 and hands out 8 assists in his final collegiate game. Jacob Allen, guarded closely all game long, finishes with 12 points. Jacob ties Avery Sullivan for team scoring honors.
Record: 36-2.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2023, 03:31 PM   #435
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
April 1, 2029
One of our incoming recruits, Asher Wise, plays for the East in the annual High School All-American Game. Wise leads the East in scoring with 15 points, grabs 7 rebounds, and hands out 3 assists. The West wins the game, 84-68.


April 2, 2029
Tennessee defeats Texas Christian, 78-70, in the NCAA championship game. TCU reached the Final by defeating Connecticut, a 6-seed who hit their stride late in the season.


April 2, 2029

Code:
2028 BIG EAST AWARDS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Player of the Year: SR SG Harris Withers Connecticut 14.7 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 7.4 APG 1.5 SPG, 0.2 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR SF Ronald Chavis West Virginia 9.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.2 APG 1.4 SPG, 0.2 BPG Coach of the Year: Graham Sims Villanova 36 - 2 (17 - 1) All-league 1st Team: C SO Jimmy Cahoon Georgetown 14.2 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.4 SPG, 2.0 BPG PF SR Dwayne Ecker Georgetown 10.1 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.6 SPG, 3.7 BPG SF JR Kenneth Teets Connecticut 17.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.2 SPG, 1.1 BPG SG SR Harris Withers Connecticut 14.7 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 7.4 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG SR Thomas Abbott Marquette 8.9 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 7.9 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.3 BPG All-league 2nd Team: C SR Scot McCarty Pittsburgh 7.2 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.6 SPG, 3.8 BPG PF JR Frederick Frizzell Cincinnati 17.0 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.4 BPG SF SR Morris Ward Connecticut 19.5 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 4.3 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG SO Nathaniel Pettus Notre Dame 15.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG SR Duncan Sims Villanova 13.6 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 4.6 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-freshman Team: C FR Orval Juan Pittsburgh 8.8 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.7 BPG PF FR Tony Ezell Villanova 9.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.6 BPG SF FR Ronald Chavis West Virginia 9.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG FR Joe Huber Marquette 7.9 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.0 BPG PG FR Blake Norton Villanova 3.8 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 2.4 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG

The Big East awards ceremony is a fun night for the Sims family. Duncan earns a spot on the All-League Second Team, and Graham is named Big East Coach of the Year for the second straight year.

A pair of our talented first years, Tony Ezell and Blake Norton, are voted onto the Big East All-Freshman Team.

Georgetown's Twin Towers, Dwayne Ecker and Jimmy Cahoon, follow up their All-Big East recognition with spots on the All-American third team. Kenneth Teets from UConn makes first team All-American.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2023, 03:42 PM   #436
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
April 2, 2029

Code:
#1 VILLANOVA TEAM INFO Current Performance -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team Prestige: 100 Record Vs 1-50: 16-1 Poll Rank: #1 Season Record: 36-2 Record Vs 51-100: 7-1 RPI Rank: #1 Conference Record: 17-1 Record Vs 101-200: 8-0 Home Record: 13-0 Record Vs 200+: 5-0 Team Stats CR NR Opp. Stats CR NR Margin CR NR -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Points 79.7 2 8 Points 64.7 3 67 Points 15.0 1 4 O.Reb 10.4 13 201 O.Reb 10.2 5 115 O.Reb 0.2 10 164 D.Reb 27.1 5 29 D.Reb 25.4 10 200 D.Reb 1.7 8 70 Rebounds 37.5 10 88 Rebounds 35.6 8 170 Rebounds 1.9 9 91 Assists 16.4 6 31 Assists 13.7 4 246 Assists 2.7 5 31 Steals 7.6 2 22 Steals 4.7 1 15 Steals 2.8 2 9 Blocks 3.9 9 93 Blocks 3.8 7 277 Blocks 0.1 8 133 Turnovers 12.8 2 54 Turnovers 16.7 2 8 Turnovers -3.9 2 6 Fouls 17.4 3 24 Fouls 19.1 6 233 Fouls -1.7 4 64 FG% .462 3 27 FG% .408 4 43 FG% .054 4 17 FT% .696 8 90 FT% .683 9 235 FT% .013 9 129 3P% .395 1 10 3P% .297 1 9 3P% .099 1 4 PPS 1.35 1 12 PPS 1.12 4 19 PPS .228 1 6 Adj. FG% .544 2 7 Adj. FG% .459 4 31 Adj. FG% .086 1 4

It was a wonderful year. We spent much of it ranked #1 in the nation, and I felt like we were the best team in college basketball this year. Full credit to Wisconsin for beating us and ending our season--they were the better team that night--but congratulations to the players for a season well played.

Last year's team won it all, and the one before it lost the final. Still, I'm not convinced this year's team wasn't better.

Code:
#1 VILLANOVA Averages Player Pos GP GS Min Pts Orb Reb Ast Stl Blk To Fls +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Duncan Sims PG 38 38 29.9 13.6 1.1 3.9 4.6 1.7 0.1 2.4 2.5 12.6 Jacob Allen SG 38 38 29.2 18.0 0.8 3.4 2.7 1.4 0.2 2.0 2.6 10.4 Avery Sullivan C 38 37 28.1 10.6 2.0 7.6 1.2 0.5 1.9 1.9 2.1 11.7 Tony Ezell PF 36 29 25.0 9.0 1.5 5.3 1.0 0.5 0.6 1.3 1.8 10.2 Richard Pray SF 13 13 24.0 9.5 2.1 4.5 2.0 1.2 0.2 1.8 1.8 10.9 Corey Hicks SF 38 18 23.5 8.3 1.1 4.3 2.1 1.2 0.0 2.0 2.6 8.7 Lowell Welter PF 38 7 18.7 5.7 1.3 5.1 0.7 0.3 0.4 0.6 1.6 8.1 Blake Norton PG 38 0 12.7 3.8 0.3 1.7 2.4 0.8 0.2 0.7 1.3 5.2 Caleb Blaney SF 38 7 12.3 5.5 0.8 1.5 0.8 0.7 0.1 0.7 1.3 5.0 Clemens Schwaiger C 35 3 7.8 1.5 0.7 2.2 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.5 0.7 1.9 Joshua Parkin C 15 0 7.1 0.6 0.3 1.8 0.3 0.0 0.4 0.3 0.5 -0.5 Ronald Verdugo SG 34 0 3.6 1.1 0.2 0.7 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.2 0.1 0.6 Bernie Pfister C 1 0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -4.0

Code:
#1 VILLANOVA Totals Player Pos GP GS Min Pts Orb Reb Ast Stl Blk To Fls +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Duncan Sims PG 38 38 1137 517 40 147 175 65 2 92 94 477 Jacob Allen SG 38 38 1109 685 31 130 101 55 7 75 97 397 Avery Sullivan C 38 37 1068 402 76 288 47 19 74 71 81 444 Tony Ezell PF 36 29 901 323 53 189 37 18 21 48 66 366 Richard Pray SF 13 13 312 123 27 59 26 15 2 24 24 142 Corey Hicks SF 38 18 894 314 41 165 80 44 1 77 99 331 Lowell Welter PF 38 7 712 215 49 194 25 13 15 21 61 309 Blake Norton PG 38 0 484 144 11 64 90 29 6 26 51 198 Caleb Blaney SF 38 7 467 209 31 58 30 25 5 26 48 189 Clemens Schwaiger C 35 3 274 51 25 78 6 0 7 16 26 65 Joshua Parkin C 15 0 106 9 4 27 4 0 6 4 8 -8 Ronald Verdugo SG 34 0 122 38 7 25 3 4 1 8 5 20 Bernie Pfister C 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -4

Code:
#1 VILLANOVA Shooting Player Pos Fgm Fga Fg% Ftm Fta Ft% 3pm 3pa 3p% PPS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Duncan Sims PG 169 384 .440 87 99 .879 92 249 .369 1.35 Jacob Allen SG 224 474 .473 96 123 .780 141 325 .434 1.45 Avery Sullivan C 151 328 .460 100 147 .680 0 2 .000 1.23 Tony Ezell PF 113 246 .459 97 156 .622 0 1 .000 1.31 Richard Pray SF 49 114 .430 21 28 .750 4 15 .267 1.08 Corey Hicks SF 103 217 .475 52 68 .765 56 142 .394 1.45 Lowell Welter PF 83 166 .500 31 68 .456 18 38 .474 1.30 Blake Norton PG 45 109 .413 32 51 .627 22 69 .319 1.32 Caleb Blaney SF 66 132 .500 48 59 .814 29 71 .408 1.58 Clemens Schwaiger C 20 35 .571 11 23 .478 0 0 .000 1.46 Joshua Parkin C 3 10 .300 3 5 .600 0 0 .000 0.90 Ronald Verdugo SG 13 32 .406 6 12 .500 6 19 .316 1.19 Bernie Pfister C 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 0.00

Next: the Senior Farewells.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 12-13-2023 at 03:43 PM.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2023, 05:08 PM   #437
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
2028/29 Senior Farewell

RICHARD PRAY


Last December, I thought I'd have fun writing Richard's Farewell. I planned on telling the story of how, after voicing his displeasure about his playing time and seriously considering leaving our program, Richard decided to stay, worked hard, and was rewarded with a big role on this year's team.

Unfortunately, when Richard's first semester grades came out, his story's ending changed.

Code:
#13 SF Richard Pray - Villanova - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-3 Weight: 183 High School: Glen Burnie Senior Hometown: Glen Burnie, MD Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 72 71 54 37 35 37 50 24 52 50 62 45 72 48 58 100 2027: 68 67 53 36 33 34 46 22 50 46 57 43 71 47 57 92 2026: 63 60 49 34 32 31 41 20 47 41 50 40 70 45 55 78 2025: 59 56 47 33 30 28 37 18 45 37 44 38 70 43 54 64 2024: 53 50 43 31 28 24 31 16 42 31 36 35 68 39 52 31 Potential: B B C C D C B D C C B C Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Academic Suspension Academics: 70 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025 31 0 5.9 2.5 0.3 0.9 0.4 0.4 0.92 0.3 0.1 0.2 2026 38 0 9.3 3.7 0.6 1.4 0.8 0.8 0.91 0.6 0.2 1.0 2027 37 0 4.1 1.8 0.4 0.8 0.3 0.4 0.71 0.2 0.1 0.3 2028 13 13 24.0 9.5 2.1 4.5 2.0 1.8 1.08 1.2 0.2 1.8 Career 119 13 8.4 3.4 0.6 1.4 0.6 0.7 1.08 0.4 0.1 0.7 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025 0.9 1.9 .483 0.5 0.7 .727 0.1 0.2 .400 1.27 1.00 2026 1.5 3.2 .475 0.6 0.8 .759 0.1 0.4 .250 1.17 0.71 2027 0.7 1.4 .500 0.3 0.6 .571 0.1 0.1 .400 1.27 1.19 2028 3.8 8.8 .430 1.6 2.2 .750 0.3 1.2 .267 1.08 10.92 Career 1.4 2.9 .465 0.6 0.8 .710 0.1 0.3 .293 1.17 2.05 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025 31 0 183 76 10 28 11 12 8 3 7 2026 38 0 354 140 22 53 29 32 21 6 39 2027 37 0 153 66 13 31 10 14 8 2 10 2028 13 13 312 123 27 59 26 24 15 2 24 Career 119 13 1002 405 72 171 76 82 52 13 80 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025 29 60 16 22 2 5 31 2026 57 120 22 29 4 16 27 2027 26 52 12 21 2 5 44 2028 49 114 21 28 4 15 142 Career 161 346 71 100 12 41 244 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 18 5 8 4 4 1 4 7 14 4 4 1 4 Career 18 5 8 5 4 2 4 7 14 5 6 2 4 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 2 2024 High School: Rated **** and #65 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2024 High School: All-State (Maryland) 2027 NCAA Champion

A consensus Top 100 player coming out of Glen Burnie, Maryland, Richard also boasted strong academic credentials, and he did well in school for three years. He also made progress on the court, and earned a starting job his senior season. Richard validated our decision, averaging nearly ten points a game in pre-conference play.

Then came the news of the academic suspension that would end his season and, along with it, his Villanova career.

Richard's roommates say he didn't go out all that much. Instead, he spent hours at his gaming console, and more hours simply scrolling through his phone and texting. We hope he'll return to campus and complete his Political Science degree; he can do so with one more semester's worth of work.

Thanks for the memories, Richard.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2023, 05:22 PM   #438
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
2028/29 Senior Farewell

CALEB BLANEY


Honesty compels me to admit I might not have recruited Caleb coming out of high school. Six-foot-nine post players who don't rebound or block shots don't tend to impress me. Or, perhaps I would have converted him to a shooting guard, if our team didn't have plenty of them already. It took some time, but I eventually found a role for our unicorn from the Jersey hills.

Code:
#25 SF Caleb Blaney - Villanova - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-9 Weight: 228 High School: Ramsey High School Hometown: Ramsey, NJ Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 56 46 75 66 36 26 29 9 48 48 59 25 64 67 49 100 2027: 55 44 72 63 33 24 28 9 44 46 56 23 63 65 48 96 2026: 53 42 68 59 31 23 27 8 41 44 52 21 63 63 48 92 2025: 51 40 65 56 29 22 26 7 39 42 49 20 62 61 47 88 2024: 49 36 59 50 25 20 24 7 35 38 43 18 61 57 45 80 Potential: C C B B C D D F C C B D Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 21 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025 14 0 2.5 1.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.3 0.00 0.0 0.0 0.1 2026 28 0 3.8 0.9 0.1 0.5 0.1 0.5 0.29 0.0 0.0 0.3 2027 39 0 7.0 3.0 0.3 0.8 0.3 0.5 0.61 0.2 0.1 0.7 2028 38 7 12.3 5.5 0.8 1.5 0.8 0.7 1.15 0.7 0.1 1.3 Career 119 7 7.4 3.1 0.4 0.9 0.4 0.5 1.15 0.3 0.1 0.7 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025 0.3 0.8 .364 0.4 0.4 1.000 0.1 0.4 .400 1.36 -0.64 2026 0.3 0.5 .533 0.3 0.5 .615 0.0 0.1 .500 1.67 -1.75 2027 1.1 1.7 .627 0.4 0.5 .762 0.5 0.8 .600 1.76 1.56 2028 1.7 3.5 .500 1.3 1.6 .814 0.8 1.9 .408 1.58 4.97 Career 1.0 1.9 .533 0.6 0.8 .786 0.4 0.9 .463 1.63 1.61 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025 14 0 35 15 2 2 0 4 0 0 2 2026 28 0 107 25 3 14 4 14 1 0 7 2027 39 0 274 118 13 33 11 18 8 4 27 2028 38 7 467 209 31 58 30 26 25 5 48 Career 119 7 883 367 49 107 45 62 34 9 84 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025 4 11 5 5 2 5 -9 2026 8 15 8 13 1 2 -49 2027 42 67 16 21 18 30 61 2028 66 132 48 59 29 71 189 Career 120 225 77 98 50 108 192 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 17 3 6 3 3 2 3 7 9 5 7 2 6 Career 17 3 6 3 3 2 5 7 9 5 7 2 6 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024 High School: Rated **** and #69 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2024 High School: All-State (New Jersey) 2024 High School: Mr. Basketball (New Jersey) 2027 NCAA Champion

Caleb arrived as a solid four-star player, but it turned out that he was already just about as good as he would ever be. Recruited by one coach and mentored by another as a freshman, Caleb couldn't break into a frontcourt that featured Bruno Le Fleurquin, Bradley Christmas, and José Blanco. Nor did I find a spot for him until all three of those players had graduated.

Basically, Caleb shot his way into a prominent role, first as a source of instant offense, and then as an occasional starter. He's a Spanish Studies major, and he'd like to try his luck playing professional basketball in Spain or South America before pursuing a career as a Spanish teacher and high school coach. I'm pulling for him.

Thanks for the memories, Caleb.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 12-13-2023 at 05:22 PM.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2023, 05:59 PM   #439
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
2028/29 Senior Farewell

DUNCAN SIMS


Playing college basketball for your father can be a complex experience. It certainly was for Duncan Sims, whom his dad recruited twice, for different programs.

Code:
#14 PG Duncan Sims - Villanova - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-4 Weight: 205 High School: Wilson Area High School Hometown: Easton, PA Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 50 71 98 88 69 63 15 32 24 69 34 14 72 40 63 86 2027: 44 63 95 78 61 55 14 29 22 61 31 13 70 38 63 79 2026: 42 60 94 74 57 51 13 28 21 57 29 12 68 36 62 71 2025: 38 54 86 55 48 42 11 26 19 50 26 10 58 32 58 59 2024: 36 48 78 47 40 34 11 24 17 44 24 10 56 28 57 51 Potential: C B A A B B D D D B C F 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 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024 35 0 3.7 1.9 0.0 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.53 0.1 0.0 0.2 2025 37 3 18.5 6.3 0.4 2.4 1.7 0.9 1.83 0.5 0.0 1.5 2027 39 0 18.8 8.3 0.5 2.1 2.2 1.4 1.60 0.8 0.1 1.9 2028 38 38 29.9 13.6 1.1 3.9 4.6 2.4 1.90 1.7 0.1 2.5 Career 149 41 18.0 7.6 0.5 2.2 2.2 1.3 1.70 0.8 0.1 1.6 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024 0.6 1.1 .500 0.3 0.3 1.000 0.5 0.8 .552 1.65 -0.37 2025 2.0 4.8 .420 1.1 1.2 .909 1.2 3.2 .370 1.32 4.70 2027 2.5 5.1 .495 1.8 2.0 .922 1.5 3.1 .471 1.64 7.03 2028 4.4 10.1 .440 2.3 2.6 .879 2.4 6.6 .369 1.35 12.55 Career 2.4 5.4 .452 1.4 1.5 .904 1.4 3.5 .403 1.43 9.75 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024 35 0 131 66 0 9 8 15 3 0 8 2025 37 3 684 232 15 88 64 35 18 1 55 2027 39 0 734 324 20 83 85 53 33 5 74 2028 38 38 1137 517 40 147 175 92 65 2 94 Career 149 41 2686 1139 75 327 332 195 119 9 231 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024 20 40 10 10 16 29 -13 2025 74 176 40 44 44 119 174 2027 98 198 71 77 57 121 274 2028 169 384 87 99 92 249 477 Career 361 798 208 230 209 518 912 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 31 4 8 13 5 1 8 11 16 7 8 9 11 Career 31 4 8 13 5 1 8 11 16 7 8 9 11 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 10 2023 High School: Rated *** and #118 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2024 NCAA Champion 2025 Transfered from Lafayette 2027 NCAA Champion 2028 2nd Team All-Conference (Big East Conference)

The Ivies recruited Duncan heavily, and he considered playing at Temple before he accepted our offer from Lafayette. As a freshman, Duncan and Graham became NCAA champions together. His career was progressing well; he earned significant playing time the next season, backing up Kenton Lashley and Kamari Stone and confirming his reputation as a dangerous shooter.

Then, Graham accepted the job at Villanova, and Duncan accepted an offer to follow him there. He redshirted and continued to develop his skills.

Duncan would certainly have started at Lafayette as a junior, but would he even see the floor at Villanova? We were pleased to discover that Duncan's game would translate to the tougher environment of the Big East. Understudying another pair of talented guards, Devin Guzman and Jacob Allen, Duncan thrived as the team's sixth man. He was the MVP of 'Nova's victory in the Big East tournament final, and contributed meaningfully to our drive to the national championship.

As a senior, Duncan became a starter for the first time. His shooting percentages fell a bit--an unsurprising result, given the tougher matchups he faced as a well-known quantity. However, Duncan demonstrated the ability to run his team's offense and help us win in a number of different ways. He was the only Wildcat to earn full All-Big East recognition this season. He completes his career with a three-point shooting percentage above 40% and a free throw percentage over 90%. Those are a shooter's marks.

Now a powerful, 6'4" point guard with a textbook jump shot, Duncan has turned himself into a professional prospect. He's likely to hear his name called on Draft Night. If he doesn't, he'll contemplate playing overseas before he finds a use for his degrees in History and Theology and Religious Studies. He will leave Villanova with two NCAA championship rings and a Phi Beta Kappa key.

Thanks for the memories, Duncan.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 12-21-2023 at 01:16 AM.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2023, 06:38 PM   #440
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
2028/29 Senior Farewell

JACOB ALLEN


Jacob Allen was the centerpiece of a recruiting class that featured three four-star talents. He was expected to be a cornerstone player, but he turned out to be even better than that.

Code:
#21 SG Jacob Allen - Villanova - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 5-10 Weight: 173 High School: Franklinville High School Hometown: Franklinville, NY Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 43 91 68 89 60 34 9 38 14 75 53 41 95 50 65 86 2027: 39 80 68 89 59 32 9 34 13 68 48 37 95 49 64 78 2026: 37 65 65 89 55 30 8 32 12 59 42 33 95 48 64 70 2025: 35 54 57 78 51 28 7 30 11 50 36 30 94 47 64 62 2024: 33 46 51 70 47 26 5 28 11 44 32 28 92 45 61 42 Potential: C A B A C D F C F B C C Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 33 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025 33 32 23.5 9.8 0.4 1.7 2.0 2.0 0.98 0.6 0.1 2.4 2026 38 38 26.0 12.3 0.3 2.2 2.1 2.0 1.04 1.1 0.1 2.3 2027 39 38 24.5 15.3 0.7 3.2 2.1 1.6 1.36 1.1 0.1 1.9 2028 38 38 29.2 18.0 0.8 3.4 2.7 2.0 1.35 1.4 0.2 2.6 Career 148 146 25.9 14.0 0.6 2.7 2.2 1.9 1.35 1.1 0.1 2.3 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025 3.0 7.3 .415 2.1 2.7 .767 1.6 4.3 .373 1.34 5.45 2026 4.0 8.7 .465 1.5 2.2 .683 2.8 6.3 .446 1.43 8.11 2027 5.1 11.0 .460 2.1 2.7 .781 3.1 7.8 .395 1.39 11.85 2028 5.9 12.5 .473 2.5 3.2 .780 3.7 8.6 .434 1.45 10.45 Career 4.6 9.9 .458 2.0 2.7 .758 2.9 6.8 .417 1.41 9.10 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025 33 32 777 322 12 57 65 66 21 4 79 2026 38 38 987 469 13 84 79 76 40 5 88 2027 39 38 957 597 26 123 83 61 43 5 76 2028 38 38 1109 685 31 130 101 75 55 7 97 Career 148 146 3830 2073 82 394 328 278 159 21 340 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025 100 241 69 90 53 142 180 2026 153 329 56 82 107 240 308 2027 197 428 82 105 121 306 462 2028 224 474 96 123 141 325 397 Career 674 1472 303 400 422 1013 1347 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 35 4 7 8 5 1 4 11 19 7 10 9 16 Career 35 4 7 8 5 2 6 11 20 7 10 9 16 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 27 2024 High School: Rated **** and #28 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2024 High School: All-State (New York) 2027 NCAA Champion

A small-town boy from south of Buffalo, Jacob's quickness, shooting ability, and willingness to defend the other team's best player marked him as one of the nation's top high school guards. He was a starter from Day One, and he delivered exactly what we expected of him, and then some.

While he finishes his Villanova career ranked in the top ten for career assists and steals, Jacob will be forever remembered as a scorer. His 597 points last year is the third-highest single season total in our annals, and this year's total of 685 takes over the top spot from Heliodoro Jimenez. Jacob is the first Villanova player to score over 2000 career points, and he ranks fifth all-time on the Big East career list. He's the first Big East player to attempt 1000 three-point shots, and the first to make 400 of them. He ranks 16th all time in three-pointers made.

Pro scouts look at his listed height (he's not really that tall) and don't see a professional player. Jacob wants to prove them wrong, and I won't bet against him. He's completing his degree in Finance, and when he needs them, his Villanova connections will serve him well in business, too.

Thanks for the memories, Jacob.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2023, 07:31 PM   #441
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
May 1, 2029
Draft night is a joyous occasion at the Sims home. It's always exciting when Graham hears the name of one of his players. It's a dream come true when that name is his son's.

Duncan Sims is chosen with the #21 pick in the first round. Georgetown's Dwayne Ecker is perhaps the next most familiar name among the first round picks; he's taken at #19.

Here are the national recruiting rankings for the Class of '29:
Code:
2028 Recruiting Rankings # Team Conference Best Player Rtg 5* 4* 3* 2* 1* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Villanova Big East SF Asher Wise ***** 3 1 0 0 0 2. Oklahoma Big 12 C Arron Yingling **** 0 3 2 0 0 3. Vanderbilt SEC SG Marlon Messinger ***** 1 3 0 0 0 4. Kentucky SEC SF Timothy Hanrahan ***** 1 3 0 0 0 5. Notre Dame Big East SF Derek Stines ***** 1 2 1 0 0 6. Texas Big 12 C Broderick Hagood ***** 3 0 0 0 0 7. Southern California Pacific-10 SF Alfredo Brown ***** 1 1 2 0 0 8. Missouri Big 12 SF Lawrence French ***** 1 2 1 0 0 9. North Carolina ACC PF Rolland Hyde ***** 1 1 2 0 0 10. Lafayette Patriot League SF Tracey Burger ***** 2 0 0 0 0 11. Georgetown Big East SG Damarion Logan ***** 1 1 1 0 0 12. Michigan State Big Ten SF Garret Driver ***** 1 1 1 0 0 13. Mississippi State SEC SF Steven Luna ***** 1 2 0 0 0 14. St. John's Big East PF Michael Burke **** 0 3 1 0 0 15. Oregon Pacific-10 SF Justin Woody **** 0 2 4 0 0 16. New Mexico Mountain West SG Parsifal Gyron ***** 2 0 0 0 0 17. Wake Forest ACC C Laurence Drummond **** 0 3 1 0 0 18. California Pacific-10 C Conrado Rubio **** 0 3 0 0 0 19. Utah Mountain West SF Preston Jones ***** 1 0 3 0 0 20. Ohio State Big Ten SG Gaston Young **** 0 3 0 0 0 21. UCLA Pacific-10 SG James Breazeale ***** 1 0 3 0 0 22. Southern Mississippi Conference USA PG Ismael Damon ***** 1 0 3 0 0 23. Boston College ACC C Daniel Hinojosa ***** 1 1 1 0 0 24. Tennessee SEC PG Jerry Cousins **** 0 2 2 0 0 25. UNLV Mountain West PG Jacob True **** 0 2 2 0 0

I will freely admit we got lucky with this year's class. Asher Wise (#1), Justice Stafford (#10), and Peter Segal (#14) give us three of the nation's elite players, and Kris DeMello (#74) is no slouch, either.

And look at Lafayette! Tracey Burger is the #2 player in the class, and he's on his way to College Hill. I took a long look at Burger, but I preferred Asher Wise. Burger's 9 Academics rating scared me away, too. The Leopards' other recruit, PF Joshua Dent, is the #19 player in his class. He's also an academic risk, with a 24 rating.

Code:
# Team Conference Best Player Rtg 5* 4* 3* 2* 1* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Villanova Big East SF Asher Wise ***** 3 1 0 0 0 5. Notre Dame Big East SF Derek Stines ***** 1 2 1 0 0 11. Georgetown Big East SG Damarion Logan ***** 1 1 1 0 0 14. St. John's Big East PF Michael Burke **** 0 3 1 0 0 26. Providence Big East SF Charles Stallworth ***** 1 0 2 0 0 31. Pittsburgh Big East PF Olen Davis **** 0 2 1 0 0 33. Louisville Big East C Israel Choi ***** 1 0 1 0 0 34. West Virginia Big East SG Edward Trueblood **** 0 2 0 0 0 40. Cincinnati Big East SF Stuart Pratt **** 0 1 2 1 0 51. Marquette Big East SF Corey Fancher *** 0 0 3 0 0 55. Seton Hall Big East SG Steve Casey **** 0 1 2 0 0 68. Rutgers Big East SG Jerry Marrufo **** 0 1 1 0 0 91. DePaul Big East PG Gary Kittrell *** 0 0 1 2 0 147. Connecticut Big East C John Barnes *** 0 0 2 1 0 156. South Florida Big East SG Jackson Hayes *** 0 0 1 2 0 249. Syracuse Big East PF David Nevarez *** 0 0 1 1 0

Big East teams tend to recruit well, and this year is no exception. We did pursue Notre Dame's prize catch, Derek Stines, and we offered Damarion Logan the chance to choose us instead of staying close to home and playing for Georgetown.

Our Prestige score remains at 100, but our Facilities rating drops to 90 from 92. I've never seen that happen in FBCB. It's not a large drop, but still.

Our budget for the season looks like it will remain at $800,000. Vanderbilt's is $820,000, but that's the only program I know of with more money to work with than we have. The "blue bloods" like UNC and Kansas, and the elite programs of our universe, like Georgetown and Southern California, have the same budgets as Villanova. Lafayette's is up to $587,000 now.

There will be a new team in the Patriot League this season, one that could give Lafayette a run for its money. Duquesne, coming off a 30-5 season, has moved up from the Atlantic 10, trading places with hapless Army.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 12-13-2023 at 07:38 PM.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2023, 08:41 PM   #442
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
May 1, 2029
When you have talented assistant coaches on your staff, you must prepare to watch them leave you for head coaching positions of their own.

I know Graham's Recruiting Coordinator, Edward Volkman, has the right stuff. Today, he accepts the head coaching position at the Citadel. Coach Volkman just helped us land the top recruiting class in the nation, and he's got an NCAA championship ring on his finger. It's time.

To replace him, we hire Weston Wells. Coach Wells is 33, and he's a graduate of Columbia by way of Canandaigua, New York. We're offering him his first college coaching position.

Coach Wells' Recruiting score of 100 equals that of Coach Volkman, so we won't give up any talent there. He'll accept a three-year contract with a salary of $198,333/year.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2023, 11:03 PM   #443
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
November 1, 2029

FBCB allows me to have 13 scholarship players at a time. Right now, my Villanova roster has 11 scholarship guys, along with three walk-ons. I don't mind having a smaller roster, because I have only 200 minutes to go around. Long rosters mean too many players who can't get onto the court as much as they'd like, and they become unhappy and transfer.

Wing Corey Hicks and big Joshua Parkin are the two scholarship seniors on this year's team. We can offer up to four players this year, and we've already secured commitments from three.

The first to sign is Noah Gardner, a 6'5" wing from nearby Jenkintown, PA.
Code:
#0 SF Noah Gardner -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-5 Weight: 191 High School: Abington Friends School Hometown: Jenkintown, PA GPA: 3.21 Test Score: 1110 Rating: **** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 37 54 37 38 46 21 30 23 25 53 27 8 63 47 77 50 Potential: C A B B C D C C D A D D Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19.8 2.1 6.4 2.4 2.6 0.94 1.6 0.4 2.4 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.4 16.8 .500 2.1 3.0 .712 0.9 3.1 .279 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Villanova Rankings: #30 Overall, #6 SF, East Region #7 Overall, East Region #2 SF High School Awards: All-State Top 5 Schools: *Villanova, Vanderbilt

Noah is a "three-and-D" wing, one of the East's top players at his position. There are players in his class who are more ready to play college basketball right now than Noah is, but we're signing him for the player we think he can be. We can be patient with him, because we have players like Tony Ezell and Asher Wise a class or two ahead of him.

Noah considered Vanderbilt, but he's wanted to be a Wildcat for years. He's the kind of student-athlete we want on our campus.

The next player to give us a "yes" is another 6'5" wing, Reed Weisberg from Colonia, NJ.
Code:
#55 SG Reed Weisberg -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-5 Weight: 188 High School: Colonia High School Hometown: Colonia, NJ GPA: 2.59 Test Score: 1020 Rating: **** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 30 78 69 83 14 6 4 54 29 41 15 23 78 50 42 10 Potential: C A A A C F D C D C D C Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25.4 0.8 7.6 0.8 3.0 0.27 1.3 1.4 2.0 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10.4 20.4 .511 1.8 2.5 .720 2.8 7.0 .403 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Villanova Rankings: #55 Overall, #10 SG, East Region #12 Overall, East Region #3 SG High School Awards: None Top 5 Schools: *Villanova, Georgetown, Boston College

The term "shooting guard" was invented with players like Reed in mind. His gaudy scoring numbers are partially the result of his team letting him shoot 20 times a game, but we think his underlying skill is real. He has one of the most natural-looking jumpers we've ever seen, with a smooth release and plenty of range.

It's easy to envision Weisberg as a source of instant offense in a sixth man role, at the very least. Again, like Gardner, we can afford to let him develop, if he's patient enough to wait for his chance.

The third commit is the most highly ranked of the group: All-American point guard Ernest Adcock, from Pasadena, MD.
Code:
#1 PG Ernest Adcock -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-1 Weight: 194 High School: Chesapeake Senior High School Hometown: Pasadena, MD GPA: 2.86 Test Score: 1030 Rating: ***** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 17 76 92 32 48 54 15 7 29 60 44 11 94 20 57 31 Potential: C A A C B B D D C A A F Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21.9 1.6 4.8 7.6 1.9 3.97 3.8 0.3 2.1 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9.8 19.7 .496 1.0 1.1 .909 1.4 4.1 .333 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Villanova Rankings: #3 Overall, #1 PG, East Region #1 Overall, East Region #1 PG High School Awards: All-State, All American Top 5 Schools: *Villanova, Georgetown, Boston College

If Ernest wanted to, he could play high-major college football; he was regarded as a top recruit as a dual-threat quarterback and a defensive back until he stopped playing football in tenth grade. On the basketball court, Ernest uses his quickness and vision to excel as a true lead guard, equally able to score and facilitate.

His most notable skill, however, is his ability to shut down opposing guards. Ernest can lock them down with solid fundamental defense, or rob them blind with his court sense and quick hands.

If Ernest isn't quite ready to play in the Big East from Day One, we'll probably be just fine. Blake Norton, Justice Stafford, and Peter Segal should all be available next season. It's hard to imagine Ernest not getting some run as a first year player, however.

It's realistic to think that some of these players will fall short of their potential. Others might turn out to be better than we think. Championship teams have enough depth to account for the "misses," and that's what we're hoping to build here on the Main Line.

P.S. I'm delighted to snag Weisberg and Adcock away from Georgetown, too.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-14-2023, 03:01 PM   #444
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
November 11, 2029

Here are your 2029/30 Villanova Wildcats!
Code:
#2 VILLANOVA General Player # Pos Yr Ht Wt Sch Acd Status Hometown -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corey Hicks 3 SF Sr 6-3 206 Yes 92 OK Riverside, NJ Blake Norton 4 PG So 6-1 174 Yes 31 OK Palmyra, NJ Lowell Welter 5 PF So 6-8 217 Yes 43 OK Cochranton, PA Justice Stafford 10 PG Fr 5-9 162 Yes 92 OK Midlothian, VA Ronald Verdugo 11 SG So 6-4 207 No 91 OK Groton, CT Asher Wise 13 SF Fr 6-6 208 Yes 77 OK Berwyn, PA Peter Segal 15 SG Fr 6-3 176 Yes 78 OK Fort Lee, NJ Mark Jones 20 PF Sr 6-8 209 No 36 OK Valdosta, GA Darius Pettway 23 SF Fr 6-8 221 No 29 OK Copenhagen, NY Tony Ezell 31 PF So 6-7 209 Yes 58 OK Somerville, NJ Clemens Schwaiger 33 C So 6-11 320 Yes 44 OK Apolda, Germany Kris DeMello 40 PF Fr 6-9 232 Yes 58 OK Grimsby, Canada Joshua Parkin 42 C Sr 6-9 207 Yes 53 OK North East, MD Avery Sullivan 53 C Jr 6-10 241 Yes 77 OK Englewood, NJ

Let's see how well they did in training camp.
Code:
#2 VILLANOVA Training Results Player Ins Jps Fts 3ps Hnd Pas Orb Drb Psd Prd Stl Blk Qkn Str Jmp Sta ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corey Hicks 3 6 0 2 3 3 1 5 3 1 5 0 1 3 2 6 Blake Norton 3 2 3 5 9 7 1 1 2 2 6 2 1 2 0 17 Lowell Welter 9 2 1 3 3 2 9 12 7 2 2 7 0 2 1 0 Justice Stafford 2 6 6 6 10 10 2 2 2 6 6 2 4 2 3 12 Ronald Verdugo 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 4 4 1 1 4 1 13 Asher Wise 6 8 6 8 8 4 2 4 6 4 4 2 3 6 1 12 Peter Segal 4 4 4 8 4 6 2 2 6 10 4 2 3 4 0 20 Mark Jones 1 0 1 0 1 1 3 2 3 1 1 2 1 3 0 5 Darius Pettway 4 6 4 2 4 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 10 1 16 Tony Ezell 10 3 3 0 4 1 3 8 6 2 2 6 1 3 2 15 Clemens Schwaiger 6 1 2 0 1 2 7 7 9 1 1 4 0 0 0 4 Kris DeMello 8 2 2 2 4 2 8 8 6 2 2 10 2 10 2 20 Joshua Parkin 2 3 1 0 2 1 2 5 3 2 1 5 0 4 2 8 Avery Sullivan 4 7 4 2 3 3 7 14 2 6 2 7 0 5 2 8

It's often said that a basketball team takes on the personality of its most influential senior. If that's the case, this year's Villanova team will be patient, hard-working, and very easy to like.

That's a perfect description of shooting guard Corey Hicks, who begins the season as an unquestioned member of the starting five for the first time this year. Like Duncan Sims did last season, Corey will face the challenge of having opponents pay more attention to him in their game plans, but after spending time in camp refining his already-dangerous jump shot, he looks like he'll be up for it.

The team's biggest star will probably be junior center Avery Sullivan. He's lived up to the hype that accompanied him as one of the top high school players in the nation. Avery demonstrated his ability to dominate games last season. This year, we'll need him to do it even more regularly. This is almost certainly his last season on the Main Line, and he is ready to make it a special one.

Joining Sully on the low block will be sophomore Lowell Welter. He averaged 19 minutes per game and started seven times, and he flashed a bit of outside game along with the big man things he did. We think Lowell is ready for an enhanced load.

Classmate Blake Norton will have the first opportunity to start at point guard. He understudied in the role last season, when he led the team in assists per 30 minutes. We won't need Blake to shoot much. If he takes care of the ball, distributes it, and does his part defensively, we'll be delighted with him.

The fifth starter will step immediately into the spotlight, a local hero who could have played his college ball anywhere and chose to stay home. You don't recruit the top high school player in the country to sit on the bench, but Asher Wise earned his spot. He approached camp with humility and worked hard. Coach Sims considers Asher his second option offensively, behind Sullivan, but don't be surprised if the freshman's talent makes him a focal point before long.

Tony Ezell started 29 games as a freshman last season, and this year he'll play a starter's minutes as our sixth man. He might trade spots with Welter once we see how things play out. Either way, he'll make an impact with his inside scoring and post presence.

First year Justice Stafford will be the first guard off the bench. He's also a five-star recruit, and his first-class ballhandling and passing abilities have impressed us so far. He's got more upside as a scorer than Blake Norton, and the two point guards will both play a lot.

Young big men Kris DeMello and Clemens Schwaiger will compete with senior Joshua Parkin for playing time, and freshman Peter Segal gives us even more depth in the backcourt.

How will this team handle the rigors of a Big East campaign? Sullivan and Hicks are known quantities, but their freshman and sophomore teammates will all be facing new challenges. The youngsters are unquestionably talented, and it's possible that some of them will play like champions right away. But last year at this time, we could turn to men like Jacob Allen and Duncan Sims, who had played over a hundred games of college basketball. We begin the season ranked #2, right behind Georgetown. If we're there at the end of the season, it will be because the young Wildcats grew up fast.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-17-2023, 02:54 PM   #445
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
November 18, 2029
@#2 Villanova 85, Virginia 63

The poor Cavaliers continue to struggle in my universe. Their 55 Prestige might have them on the verge of relegation from the ACC to a mid-major conference; they're 10 points lower than any other ACC program, and they'd rank in the middle of the Patriot League.

The Hoos' assortment of Green and Yellow players can't hang with us tonight. But one of them, senior forward Doug Smith, absolutely blows up, scoring 44 points. Doug is from York, PA, and I recruited him when I was at Lafayette. Fortunately for us, his teammates give him very little help.

Avery Sullivan (23p/9r/5b) is Player of the Game. Corey Hicks scores 15, Lowell Welter adds 10 with 10 boards, and sixth man Tony Ezell pitches in 10 more. Blake Norton has 9 assists. And the Pavilion crowd goes home satisfied with their first look at Asher Wise, who contributes 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals in his debut.
Record: 1-0.


November 22, 2029
Maui Shootout, First Round
(2) #2 Villanova 82, (7) American 49

Our former Patriot League opponent faces us in the first round, and after making it a close game for 26 minutes, they yield in the face of Wildcats runs of 14-2 and 11-0.

Tony Ezell stars in a reserve role, with 21 points and 9 rebounds. Avery Sullivan scores 12 and rebounds 14. Corey Hicks (19p/4r) and Blake Norton (10p/7r) play well, and so does freshman guard Justice Stafford, who scores 6 points and hands out 4 assists in 16 minutes.
Record: 2-0.


November 23, 2029
Maui Shootout, Semifinal
(2) #2 Villanova 88, (6) Air Force 62

The Air Force upset Ohio State in the first round, but we send them back stateside with a decisive victory.

Avery Sullivan posts another double-double (21p/10r) and blocks 2 shots. Corey Hicks pitches in 15 points and 7 boards, and Kris DeMello makes the most of 9 minutes on the court by scoring 12 points, including two three-balls.
Record: 3-0.


November 24, 2029
Maui Shootout Championship
(2) #2 Villanova 72, (4) California 57

Villanova haters will point out that other teams did most of the heavy lifting in this tournament; the Golden Bears upset top-seeded Tennessee in the other semifinal. Still, you can only beat the teams you play, and we'll be returning from sunny Hawai'i with a trophy for our collection.

Corey Hicks is the star; he scores 18 tonight and grabs 7 rebounds. Avery Sullivan scores 11, and sixth man Tony Ezell finishes with 10 points and 6 boards. Asher Wise struggles a bit tonight; he makes only 2 of 7 shots and scores only 4 points. He does help out with 6 rebounds. Blake Norton hands out 5 assists.
Record: 4-0.


November 27, 2029
#2 Villanova 92, @Vanderbilt 79

What a crazy game! The Commodores play at a frenetic pace. Tonight, they toss up 88 shots, including 34 from behind the arc. For a while, it works well; they lead us 37-27 at halftime.

After the intermission, our shots begin to fall, and Vanderbilt players can't stop fouling us. We finish 24-for-32 at the line. The Commodores keep firing away, and now they can't find the basket. Thanks to a 65-point half, we return to the Main Line with a big road win.

We pull down 54 rebounds, two shy of our school record. Avery Sullivan (15p/10r) and Corey Hicks (13p/10r) achieve double-doubles, and if Tony Ezell (25p/9r) and Lowell Welter (11p/9r) had grabbed one more carom each, they'd have doubled up, too. Asher Wise scores 15 with 7 rebounds.

Ezell is thriving in his role, so for now, I'll roll with the starting five I've been using.
Record: 5-0.


November 30, 2029
#2 Villanova 79, @Rider 76

Behind a career-high 19 points from sophomore Blake Norton, we escape the trap set by a tenacious Rider team.

Avery Sullivan (13p/15r/6b) makes it even more clear that he'll be ready to turn pro this spring. Tony Ezell continues to come off the bench and score at will. Lowell Welter (6p/10r/3b) plays with heart and makes things happen. Norton hands out 6 assists when he's not scoring himself.
Record: 6-0.

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 12-17-2023 at 08:03 PM.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-17-2023, 03:12 PM   #446
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
December 1, 2029

We complete the restocking of our scholarship player cabinet with the signing of our fourth incoming freshman, four-star guard Michael Petit, from the Delaware Valley community of Medford, NJ.

Code:
#11 SG Michael Petit -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-5 Weight: 180 High School: Lenape High School Hometown: Medford, NJ GPA: 2.72 Test Score: 1140 Rating: **** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 43 51 77 67 29 33 34 58 19 31 32 46 78 54 51 45 Potential: B B B B C C C A C C A C Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18.6 1.9 8.4 4.7 2.8 1.71 1.8 1.0 2.4 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.8 16.0 .484 1.4 1.8 .771 1.8 4.9 .361 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Villanova Rankings: #18 Overall, #4 SG, East Region #5 Overall, East Region #1 SG High School Awards: All-State Top 5 Schools: *Villanova

Michael is listed as a shooting guard, but his true position is "basketball player." I don't recall ever seeing a recruit with a skill set as balanced as Michael's. He has the potential to be pretty good at everything a player can do.

He's an efficient offensive player, scoring at all three levels and putting up nearly 20 points a game without taking a gazillion shots. He plays unselfishly, passing the ball to his teammates, playing defense, and rebounding. He's athletic enough to run a leg on one of the best 4x400m relay teams in New Jersey.

We envision Michael as a player who will do anything we need him to do, filling any role we need him to fill. He's also likely to stay with us four years, too.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-17-2023, 09:49 PM   #447
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
December 2, 2029
@#2 Villanova 69, Detroit 53

We play good defense and take good care of the basketball, committing only 7 turnovers, and that's enough for a win on a night when we don't shoot terribly well.

Avery Sullivan leads a group of four 'Cats in double figures (15p/10r/3b). Joining him are Corey Hicks (14p/3a/3r/2s), Lowell Welter (10p/5r), and Asher Wise (11p/4r). Blake Norton makes 3 steals, and Justice Stafford fills up the scoresheet in 18 minutes of reserve duty (9p/4r/3a).
Record: 7-0.


December 7, 2029
#2 Villanova 75, @Fordham 54

Tony Ezell leads us to another victory, but he sprains his knee in the process. We'll have to find a way to win without him and his 13.5 PPG off the bench for about two weeks.

Our bench contributed 32 points tonight, with Justice Stafford leading our scorers with 15. The first year guard also has 4 assists. Asher Wise scores 14, Avery Sullivan 12 with 8 rebounds and 4 blocks, and Corey Hicks 11 with 7 rebounds.

Peter Segal looks to gain some playing time while Tony heals up.
Record: 8-0.


December 13, 2029
#1 Villanova 74, @Lehigh 61
Graham Sims
is used to coaching against Lehigh from his days in the Patriot League. This year's edition of the Mountain Hawks bring an 0-6 record into the game, and leave with one more loss, at the hands of the nation's new #1 team. )We polled four more points from the voters than Georgetown (6-0) this week.)

Lehigh starts a walk-on center, and Avery Sullivan rolls him for 22 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Blake Norton adds 15 points, and Justice Stafford contributes 12 more.

The injury bug bites us again, and this time he takes a more vicious chomp. The victim is Lowell Welter, whose painfully dislocated knee will put him out of action for a month. Freshman Kris DeMello will start our next game.
Record: 9-0.


December 15, 2029
@#1 Villanova 81, Delaware 73

The Blue Hens' senior guard, Lyle Wysocki, wins an individual scoring battle over our Avery Sullivan, 28-27. However, our supporting cast has a better night than theirs does, and that's enough to secure the win.

Corey Hicks (17p/4r/4a) plays another good, all-around game. Blake Norton scores 10 points. Justice Stafford doesn't score, but he notches a team-high 5 assists.
Record: 10-0.


December 19, 2029
@#1 Villanova 75, Drexel 70

All five Villanova starters score at least 9 points as we edge a tough Drexel team in our last game of the calendar year.

Senior Corey Hicks leads the way with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Asher Wise matches Corey's 15 points, and adds 7 rebounds. Avery Sullivan (12p/8r/4b), Kris DeMello (13p/8r/2s), and Blake Norton (9p/6a) make lots of positive plays. Also worthy of mention: Clemens Schwaiger's 6 rebounds in 11 minutes.
Record: 11-0.


January 5, 2030
@#2 Villanova 70, #20 Lafayette 63

The last three players Graham Sims recruited to Lafayette make the trip down to the Wells Fargo Center, where they and their teammates put up a fight before falling short.

Code:
Villanova 70, Lafayette 63 --------------------------------------------------------- Lafayette (10-3, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Brian Quirk C 17 2-3 3-3 2 3 1 5 7 David Bowen PF 31 5-11 2-4 2 8 1 3 12 Mike Wong SF 24 5-15 1-2 2 6 2 2 12 Tod Quiroz SG 33 4-6 0-1 2 7 1 4 10 Garth Hartsfield PG 34 3-9 1-1 2 4 6 1 9 Kevin Wells SF 15 1-9 4-4 0 1 0 1 6 E. O'Reilly C 6 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 4 0 Joshua Dent PF 21 1-4 0-0 0 8 1 1 2 Tracey Burger SF 10 1-7 0-0 1 2 0 2 2 Jack Herold PF 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 Paul Helms SF 2 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 0 1 Daniel Bandy PG 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Ervin Duren C 6 1-2 0-0 2 3 0 1 2 Turnovers: 19 (B.Quirk 1, D.Bowen 1, M.Wong 3, T.Quiroz 7, G.Hartsfield 3, J.Dent 3, E.Duren 1) Blocked Shots: 3 (B.Quirk 1, D.Bowen 1, J.Dent 1) Steals: 6 (B.Quirk 1, D.Bowen 1, M.Wong 1, G.Hartsfield 2, J.Herold 1) 3P FGs: 5-19 (M.Wong 1-1, T.Quiroz 2-4, G.Hartsfield 2-4, K.Wells 0-6, J.Dent 0-1, T.Burger 0-3) Villanova (12-0, 0-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Avery Sullivan C 34 4-12 8-12 0 8 0 2 16 Tony Ezell PF 25 3-9 3-4 1 4 2 2 9 Asher Wise SF 34 4-8 6-6 3 7 2 3 15 Corey Hicks SG 36 4-6 7-10 1 8 3 3 17 Blake Norton PG 27 2-7 1-2 1 2 4 4 5 Justice Stafford PG 18 1-3 0-0 2 4 4 1 2 Kris DeMello PF 17 1-4 0-0 0 5 1 3 2 Peter Segal SG 6 1-1 0-1 0 1 0 0 3 Clemens Schwaiger C 4 0-1 1-4 0 1 0 1 1 Turnovers: 18 (A.Sullivan 3, T.Ezell 1, A.Wise 3, C.Hicks 5, B.Norton 5, J.Stafford 1) Blocked Shots: 4 (A.Sullivan 4) Steals: 7 (A.Sullivan 2, T.Ezell 1, A.Wise 1, C.Hicks 2, K.DeMello 1) 3P FGs: 4-13 (A.Wise 1-3, C.Hicks 2-4, B.Norton 0-4, J.Stafford 0-1, P.Segal 1-1) Player of Game: SG Corey Hicks (VLNV)

Coach Sims' three recruits--David Bowen, Mike Wong, and Tod Quiroz--are the three Leopards who score in double digits. Quiroz scores the 1000th point of his career.

Asher Wise rises to the challenge with a very solid game, while Avery Sullivan and Corey Hicks are as good as usual.
Record: 12-0.

Code:
2029 Big East Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige ---------------------------------------------------------------- #2 Villanova 0 0 .000 12 0 1.000 2 100 #6 West Virginia 0 0 .000 11 1 .917 5 89 #5 Louisville 0 0 .000 11 0 1.000 17 88 #1 Georgetown 0 0 .000 11 0 1.000 69 100 #19 Syracuse 0 0 .000 11 1 .917 72 67 #12 Providence 0 0 .000 11 0 1.000 82 70 South Florida 0 0 .000 10 2 .833 4 64 #9 Pittsburgh 0 0 .000 10 1 .909 23 86 Cincinnati 0 0 .000 9 3 .750 116 65 St. John's 0 0 .000 9 2 .818 220 71 Notre Dame 0 0 .000 8 3 .727 77 86 Marquette 0 0 .000 8 2 .800 188 66 Connecticut 0 0 .000 6 5 .545 62 71 Seton Hall 0 0 .000 6 6 .500 103 55 DePaul 0 0 .000 5 6 .455 39 56 Rutgers 0 0 .000 4 6 .400 132 79

Holy hoops! What a conference!

The team that emerges from this battle as Big East champion will be a worthy victor. If it's us, we'll have to survive a schedule that includes games against all six of the other ranked teams in the league. We'll play Georgetown home-and-home, and visit four of the other top teams.

Hang on, everyone. It's going to be quite a ride.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-18-2023, 12:36 PM   #448
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
January 9, 2030
@#2 Villanova 94, DePaul 83 (OT)

Avery Sullivan posts career highs in points (28) and rebounds (15), and we need overtime to defeat the Blue Demons at the Pavilion.

Avery also has 2 assists, and one of them is absolutely crucial He spots Tony Ezell cutting for the basket with six seconds left in regulation, and Ezell lays it in to tie the score at 79. The final score doesn't reflect how close a game it really is.

Asher Wise turns in a complete performance, with 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Classmate Peter Segal adds 12 off the bench, and Blake Norton 10. Justice Stafford contributes 7 assists.
Record: 13-0 (1-0).


January 13, 2030
Code:
#2 Villanova 81, #1 Georgetown 78 --------------------------------------------------------- Georgetown (12-1, 1-1): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Jimmy Cahoon C 35 5-18 0-5 2 9 3 3 10 Jeffrey Thai PF 30 3-4 1-2 1 6 2 2 7 Tony Rabe SF 21 7-13 2-3 1 5 1 0 16 Lance Moore SG 33 7-13 2-3 2 5 4 3 19 Edward Sturgeon PG 34 6-9 3-4 3 5 5 3 15 Shelton Davis PF 12 1-2 0-1 1 3 1 2 2 Steven Waites SF 24 4-10 0-0 2 3 2 2 9 Boyce Sutton PG 6 0-0 0-0 0 0 2 0 0 Joey Beaty SF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Nick Dishman PF 2 0-0 0-0 1 2 1 1 0 Turnovers: 13 (J.Cahoon 2, J.Thai 1, L.Moore 2, E.Sturgeon 6, S.Waites 2) Blocked Shots: 5 (J.Cahoon 2, J.Thai 2, S.Davis 1) Steals: 6 (J.Cahoon 1, J.Thai 2, T.Rabe 2, E.Sturgeon 1) 3P FGs: 4-10 (L.Moore 3-8, S.Waites 1-2) Villanova (14-0, 2-0): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Avery Sullivan C 30 7-12 4-4 2 7 2 4 18 Lowell Welter PF 33 2-7 1-2 2 13 0 4 6 Asher Wise SF 35 5-8 0-0 4 9 4 4 12 Corey Hicks SG 33 7-18 2-4 1 5 0 3 23 Blake Norton PG 28 2-8 0-0 0 1 4 1 6 Tony Ezell PF 17 1-3 3-4 1 2 0 0 5 Justice Stafford PG 16 2-3 2-2 0 1 2 2 8 Kris DeMello PF 3 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Peter Segal SF 2 1-1 0-0 0 1 0 0 3 Clemens Schwaiger C 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 18 (A.Sullivan 3, L.Welter 1, A.Wise 2, C.Hicks 4, B.Norton 2, T.Ezell 3, J.Stafford 2, P.Segal 1) Blocked Shots: 9 (A.Sullivan 6, L.Welter 1, A.Wise 1, T.Ezell 1) Steals: 5 (A.Wise 2, B.Norton 1, J.Stafford 2) 3P FGs: 15-32 (L.Welter 1-2, A.Wise 2-5, C.Hicks 7-17, B.Norton 2-5, J.Stafford 2-2, P.Segal 1-1) Player of Game: C Avery Sullivan (VLNV)
The reputation of the Big East has been created by matchups like this one. Traditional rivals, ranked #1 and #2, playing before a capacity crowd and a large national audience...and creating a storyline that keeps viewers glued to their devices as Blake Norton drains a three with 14 seconds remaining that makes the Wells Fargo Center explode. Then, the Wildcats dig down deep and play such relentless defense that the Hoyas can't get off a game-tying shot.

After falling behind, 42-30, at halftime, we begin to heat up from long distance. Corey Hicks, in particular, starts counting by three. Lowell Welter returns from injury and immediately begins to get to work, leading both teams with 13 rebounds.

Avery Sullivan and Jimmy Cahoon have been linked since they were in middle school. They grew up in adjacent states--New Jersey and Pennsylvania, respectively--and were teammates for two years on the grassroots circuit. Jimmy became the #1 recruit in the country, while Avery was ranked #3. Graham Sims recruited both boys, and ended up choosing Avery because of his slightly greater talent for playing defense.

Cahoon has, perhaps, been the better collegiate player overall, but the difference between them is slight. Tonight, Avery gets the better of his friendly rival. He blocks 6 shots, a new career high that he'll proudly say was achieved against as tough an opponent as there is.
Record: 14-0 (2-0).

Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 12-22-2023 at 07:38 PM.
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-03-2024, 02:48 PM   #449
MoonlightGraham
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
January 16, 2030
#1 Villanova 77, @South Florida 65

The Bulls keep it close through the first half; we lead 41-38 at the break before pulling away in the second period. Despite a decent points total, we aren't sharp offensively, and we manage to win anyway.

Avery Sullivan scores 21 for us, and Corey Hicks adds 20. Sullivan grabs 12 rebounds, and Lowell Welter compensates for his 2-for-12 shooting by claiming 15 boards.
Record: 15-0, 3-0.


January 19, 2030
#1 Villanova 100, @DePaul 65

We bounce back with an assertive performance in Chicago, which features Corey Hicks scoring the 1000th point of his Villanova career.

Five Wildcats score in double figures (Hicks 20, Avery Sullivan 19, Asher Wise 18, Lowell Welter 13, Tony Ezell 12). Sully adds 8 rebounds and 3 blocks, and Blake Norton contributes with 9 points and 6 helpers.

West Virginia keeps winning, too, and we share the Big East lead with the Mountaineers.
Record: 16-0 (4-0).


January 23, 2030
#1 Villanova 83, @Connecticut 76

The Huskies are a solid team, and they're always hard to beat at home. Tonight, we open up a nice lead and let them claw their way back into the game before we close it out.

It's another big night for Corey Hicks. The senior guard goes 8-for-9 from three point range and scores 35 points, tying Jacob Allen for the highest single game total of the Graham Sims era.

However, as significant as Corey's achievement is, he has to yield the brightest spotlight to Avery Sullivan. Avery finishes with 26 rebounds. His mark is a new Villanova and Big East record, and ties Navy's Stephen Collins for #2 all-time on the national leader board. The national record is 29, held by Derek Dee of Long Beach State.

Sullivan also scores 13 points, and Lowell Welter finishes with 11 rebounds.
Record: 17-0 (5-0).


January 26, 2030
#1 Villanova 83, @Providence 75

Another victory, on the road against a conference opponent, by an almost identical score. Along the way, Avery Sullivan scores the 1000th point of his Wildcat career.

Sullivan posts his second dominant performance in a row: 27 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks. His points total is one shy of his career best. Asher Wise adds 15 points, and Lowell Welter joins Sullivan with a double-double (11p/10r). Blake Norton takes only one shot and misses it, but he hands out 7 assists.
Record: 18-0 (6-0).


January 30, 2030
@#1 Villanova 75, Marquette 49

We return to the Finneran Pavilion and make short work of our visitors from Milwaukee. Our defensive effort is excellent; the Golden Eagles shoot 31% overall, and make only 2 of 15 three-point tries.

Once again, Avery Sullivan is the star, with 21 points, 13 rebounds, and a block. Lowell Welter (13p/8r) plays well, too, and we hold the Marquette bigs to 10 points and 8 rebounds combined.

West Virginia slips up, losing 80-72 at DePaul. We're now in sole possession of the Big East lead.
Record: 19-0 (8-0).
MoonlightGraham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-03-2024, 03:08 PM   #450
Chas in Cinti
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Had Providence really dropped off? They were #12 in your pre-conference post... and no ranking by end of Jan?
__________________
Email: [email protected]
Chas in Cinti is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:34 PM.



Powered by vBulletin Version 3.6.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.