A Coaching Sim- The Bob Tuggs Journey

[muns]

So as I am just watching basketball all day here, I decided to dust off FBCB and do another dynasty, but with a twist. My last dynasty I tried being the AD with a bunch of school and just hired and fired coaches.

With this one, I am going to be the coach, however, making minor choices(maybe hiring the assistants and redshirts) and seeing where the career goes.

The Universe is the normal college basketball league this year. Injuries are off, academic suspensions are on, all players stay till graduation, transfers play right away, and there are conference prestige changes but no conference movement. There is only the NCAA Tourney, and the NIT tourney, as I have turned off the other 2. If you want to be big time, you gotta make the big tourneys.

That being said, let's see how Mr. Tuggs does

[muns]

Bob Tuggs has 0 Division 1 coaching experience. Bob went to Pitt studied economics and was the team manager. When it came time for Bob to graduate, the Pitt coach was able to secure Bob a GA position on a division 3 squad near Pittsburgh Pennsylvania at Grove City College.

While at Grove City, Bob turned into a hell of a recruiter. He was always able to talk his way into and out of anything and the biggest rumor about Bob was that he was the reason the students stopped getting citations for walking on the grass on campus. If he was able to get the President to agree to that and waive that long standing rule, who knows what kind of ride he was going to take in life.

Lets take a look at Bob

[muns]

While at Grove City Bob was fundamentally schooled in the ways of the zone defense, and the run and gun let it fly style offenses.

Will that ever translate over to big time college athletics? Only time will tell

[muns]

Bob's smooth talking has secured himself a job at Syracuse as the recruiting coordinator. William Campbell liked what Bob had to say on the interview, and it didn't hurt that the Pitt coach gave him a hell of a recommendation.

With the background now set, let's see how Bob and his 100 in recruiting does in the FBCB Universe.

[muns]

Syracuse has a young staff which is interesting. With two 20 year olds guiding other 20 year olds, kind of makes you wonder how things will turn out.

The squad is stacked so maybe Bob will land his own Head gig in a few seasons under Campbell

[muns]

Well that first 2 seasons do not go as planned, as Syracuse loses in the first round of the NIT, and then loses in the first round of the Tourney the second season.

The sophomore class is loaded, but the freshman class isn't that good at all. It might be a while before a head job comes rolling around

[muns]

The third year the Cuse go 24-9 and lose in the 2nd round of the NCAA tourney. The Freshman class was up to snuff this year as we landed the top kid in NY. Another year with no offers, so Tuggs is hoping the Cuse can go deeper in the tourney to get a look at a mid major head job

[muns]

Another year finishes, and I am pleasantly surprised. The Cuse make the final 4 and go 34-6.

Tuggs has a coaching level of 2, so I am one level away more than likely from getting a look, but the winning helps.

Tuggs is rated 100 in recruiting, 16 scouting, 4 in offense, and 20 in defense.

William Campbell retires in the offseason as the head coach so not exactly sure what is going to happen here.

I switch back tugs to see if I get a job offer on the head coaching round and an interesting thing happens

[muns]

Utah Valley is the first school to come a knocking for The Tuggs.

It is an interesting situation because it looks like they do have a decent roster to work with.

I am a little worried about having to replace 5 seniors right off the bat though. If Tuggs strikes out his first year, this career might be over in 4 seasons. That makes me nervous and my gut is telling me to pass.

I look at the Prestige of the WAC an see that Utah valley is a solid third with 36. More than a few behind New Mexico State at 49 and Seattle at 38.

[muns]

Tuggs does pass on the Utah Valley Job.

I hit the head coach button again and Alcorn State offers up. They are in a terrible situation and I'm not even going to post the roster. Their prestige is a whopping 5.

I hit the head coach button and a job comes up that looks really solid. IPFW wants The Tugg to be the head man on their bench.

They have a solid roster. I like them being in Indiana. Lots of good recruits to be able to snake in on, and their prestige is 43 good for third in the conference.

The past 3 seasons they have made the NIT, NCAA and then back to the NIT. I can see why their head coach was in demand.

[muns]

I accept the job and immediately start looking to round out my staff.

The Tugg will have his work cut out for him.

[muns]

I am happy about the staff I was able to round up spending 30 K on each.

None have any coaching experience, but Tugg remembers those days. He hopes the guys are as hungry as he was, and if they are they just might have a shot at this.

[muns]

I make an error and forget to switch my stuff from all user control to some human stuff, and all 4 of my freshman on the roster redshirt this year. Not exactly good.

That means ill have to redshirt all 4 of my incoming class to balance out, and there is no way its going to simply work out like that. Tuggs doesn't have luck like that.

so..... onwards and upwards

I didn't sign anyone going into TC, so simming all the way to march. Ill take a look at the recruits then

[muns]

We end up going 18-16, 8-6 in conference.

Not too bad of a coaching start. It certainly could have been much much worse on that front.

Recruiting is 259 in the nation. Good for 2nd to last in the Summit. That couldn't have gone much worse. three 1 star guys and one 2 star guy. Although now that I look at them, I don't mind them. They have their issues, but their strengths are what I would want them to be in so time will tell there.

One guy transferred out which means ill have 2 schoolys to offer out this year. That helps balance things out better, not much but ill take it.

[muns]

Forgot to switch it again, and once again all 4 freshman redshirt. lol. I gotta make a mental note about doing that.

Didn't sign anyone before TC again this year, so simming to March

[muns]

We go 16-14 this year and 9-5 in conf. We screwed up and lost in the first round of our conf tourney so our season ends in disappointment.

We did have the conf freshman of the year though, so that's a positive going forward.

Im estatic about our recruiting this year. landed the 157 class in the nation, good for 3rd in the summit. Things might be looking good around here in a few more years.

2 of our freshman last year that got redshirted transfer out. I cant do much complaining about that because they weren't all that great. So ill have to replace them.

[muns]

The Tugg landed a huge transfer!!!!!!

Big Man Tyler Gattis will have a huge impact on our program going forward, and I can be more excited about him.

Still got one more transfer to go, so Tugg is hopeful there is another Gattis out there

[muns]

Didn't find another transfer, so we will have 4 schollys to use again this year. Remembered to do the redshirts myself, and we do 2.

Once again didn't sign anyone before TC, so simming to march now

[muns]

disappointing season as we go 13-15 and 9-5 in conf. 3 guys getting academically suspended did not go over well.

However, we put together a nice tourney run, won 3 in a row and will play in the play in game in the NCAA tourney.

We play a dartmoth team that is 16-13 and I think we might have real shot here.

and boy was I wrong, they blow us out by 20. 73-53. That was a sad showing, however, hoping we can build off of that next season. I doubt I get an offer to move up, as I haven't won enough yet.

[muns]

Gattis was named freshman of the year. That's 2 years in a row we have had someone win that award

He put up 6.6 points a game and 6.8 rebounds a game.

[muns]

We had the 204 freshman class. Good for 3rd to last in the conf which is irritating. I thought we were starting to build something.

2 more guys transfer out- and one I wish would have stayed.

Not a good start to the offseason. I do get to upgrade tugg though as I get some bonus points to spend.

I even him out so he has 100 recruiting, 20 scouting, and 20 in both O and D

[muns]

I land a transfer that is nothing to write home about. I have 1 school this year.

I like my squad, and I think we will have a shot at getting back to the tourney. my starters are all yellow or green. Don't have a lot of depth which is a glaring weakness, but I am hopeful

[muns]

Vastly wrong with that prediction.

14-17 and 5-9 in conf..... We might be coaching here for a while folks. Thankfully the ad loves tuggy, and we are in the cool stage.

[muns]

Had the 145 best class. That's good for 3rd in the summit.

Nobody transferred out this year, so I have 4 to give out.

There is no reason why we shouldn't get back to the post season this year. I landed a stud C- and combine him with Gattis we should be very solid inside this year.

[muns]

We shall see how this works out

[muns]

Well we did what I thought we would do, only issue is we would have been better if a starter wouldn't have gotten academically suspended.

We go 20-9 and 9-5 in conf. 2nd place for the conf tourney. Tuggs has the fingers crossed. We make the tourney and there might be some offers to move up. Huge few days here.

[muns]

Sigh...... We win the first game easily, but lose the 2nd game...

We make the NIT as the 8 seed and play the 9th seed Norfolk state. Their guards look like they are gonna be too much for me, so the hope isn't there.

We get beat by 3 and with that the season is over.....

[muns]

We have ton of awards including schick being conf freshman of the year. and the player of the year in Senior Jon Richardson.

Gattis also makes first team.

[korme]

Go Tuggs!

[muns]

Im 83-73 in 5 years here with 1 NCAA an 1 NIT. Not exactly ripping it up, but not sucking either.

Not sure whats going to happen here.

HOLY COW...... just as I was moaning TUGGY pulls in the 33rd best class in the nation, good for 1st in the summit by like 100, including a 7'2 center.

[muns]

Originally Posted by korme

Go Tuggs!

lol thanks korme

[muns]

I get no offers, still keep all the same assistants, and am looking forward to seeing what happens here at TC. We have 2 offers to hand out this year, and I landed a 200 ranked transfer from Indiana. Nothing great, but will add solid depth this year.

[muns]

im thinking we can be really good this year. I red shirt 3 of the 4 freshman, and the one I don't redshirt looks to start.

If I can get by with nobody being suspended, I really think its tourney time this year.

[muns]

Well once again we under perform. Seems like that is what we do all the darn time.

We finish 14-14 and go 9-5 in conf. Good for 2nd. So there is still a chance for the tourney but we weren't as good as I thought we should be.

[muns]

We have a shot. In the final for the conf tourney playing the 4 seed in south Dakota state and of course we lose 64-61.

just sick.....

[muns]

We basically waste tyler gattis career. he avered 11 boards and 1.4 blocks this year....... another first team performance.

Just frustrating.

[muns]

and my 7'2 redshirt freshman transfers. The news just keep getting worse. Tuggy should be ok this year, but I have no idea what to expect. I cant figure out this team.

[muns]

15-15 and 7-7 in conf. Lost in 2nd round of conf tourney.

2 more guys transfer out, and we are taking a nose dive!

[muns]

Well we just cant seem to bring it together. We go 24-9 and 9-5 in conf but lose in the title game, and we make the NIT. Lose first round and im sitting here Praying I get an offer to get the hell out of here lol

[muns]

I get a whopping 2 offers, UNC Greensboro and Sienna.

The UNC offer is by far better so Tuggy is heading south to a warmer climate, better team, better conference and a better budget.

Hopefully this stop turns out better than the last one.

Until next time

[muns]

I decide to keep all three of my assistants despite the minor budget upgrade I have. Something about loyality. They have been with me since the start and I do not think they are hurting me at the moment. We have 26k to spend recruiting wise since I didn't upgrade any coaches. We were around 15-20 at the last stop, so it should be a decent upgrade in scouting.

I landed a transfer from Ohio state for depth. With 5 seniors leaving me recruiting is going to be tough. That added body will help if recruiting fails miserably.

I redshirt 2 freshman and the season should start.

I have no idea what this team is going to be like, but with 5 seniors I can at least hope we will be in the middle of the pack. The AD wants us to win the conference title, and I don't see that happening anytime soon, so this is the year to take a crack at it.

[muns]

We go 15-14 and 7-9 in cof and lose in the first game of the conf tourney. I can only hope that recruiting went a lot better

[muns]

And it sure as heck did. We land the 65th best class in the country which is tops in the Southern Conf. All guys that we landed were from outside the country which I also found interesting.

We had a staff retirement which was odd, so ill be looking for a new coaching assistant. I select a dylon mcclain who has been an assistant at Eastern Kentucky the past 3 seasons. Not much winning going on down there though.

I couldn't offer anyone to transfer as nobody was interested so that will go into the pot and ill be able to sign 3 guys recruiting this period.

I redshirt 4 out of the 5 freshman and hope this will be a good season.

[muns]

15-15 and 6-10 in the conf. Won the first conf tourney game but lost the 2nd. We are extremely young, and me redshirting everybody doesn't help that. Hoping we can continue to hang in there without the AD putting TUGGY on the chopping block.

We are doing really well recruiting however. we landed the 44th class in the nation this year, which was good for first in the southern again. Western Carolina was 2nd with a rank of 77th.

With no transfers this year we have 2 offers to hand out.

another interesting note. 2 out of our 3 freshman are from out of the country again.

I redshirt 2 out of the 3, and hope we can improve on last years record. One of our starters is out on academic probation already, but at least its for the 1st semester rather than the second.

Lets see where the sim takes us this year.

[muns]

finished up 17-13 and 7-9 in the conf. Lost in the first round of the conf tourney and that once again ends another season.

If we have another good class, we could be in for some good things in the next few years here.

We landed the 110 best class this year which was good for 2nd in the southern. These guys really need to start improving, because the rankings are there and seem to be setting us up for a good run in the conf over the next few years.

No transfers and we have 3 offers to hand out this year.

Our AD is not happy with us, and we are in the danger zone, so this year should be it. Do or Die!!

I redshirt 2 out of the 3 freshman, and just from the color bars alone we should be much better than we have been. Tuggy needs a hell of a season or its back to a lower job.

Heres hoping these guys step up and play like they should.

[muns]

Well we had a good year. I cant remember the last time I have wrote that.

We finished up 20-8 and 11-5 in the conf, which was good enough for 3rd place.

We won in the first round of the conf tourney, but lost in the second round.

Not sure how the AD is going to feel about this. We do have an invite to the NIT as the 3 seed, so I really would like a decent showing here, to hopefully get me another year with these guys. I do think this is a team that can do some damage in the next few years. Tuggy built them so he should get the chance to keep it rolling

We end up losing in the first round of the NIT. Not the showing that I wanted. So ill hit the end season button and hope for the best.

Well I didn't get fired, but im still in danger.

Chatonnoga offers me their job, and I decline. But this is where it gets really interesting for the Bob Tuggs story

[muns]

Virginia
Portland
San Jose State
Purdue
Pacific
New Mexico
George Mason
Fresno State
Drake
Davidson

That is the list of teams that want TUGGY to be their next head coach. Im gonna weed through the immediate No's first and then we can go from there.

[muns]

Virginia- Keeping them on the list at the moment. They aren't built for the future, have a decent junior and senior classes but that's it. AD wants them to make a tournament which is a huge stretch. Leaning towards no, but the allure of the ACC is always there.

San Joese- no

Portland- no

Purdue- Entire roster sucks, but the AD just wants to avoid last place. not sure but staying on the list.

Pacific- Hasn't been below 18 wins in the last 5 years. Strong roster, AD wants to win the conference title, but their freshman class is very weak. Being in CALI is appealing recruiting wise. Keeping them on the list.

New Mexico- Very interesting history. Never been below 16 wins. Historically a good program, that has trouble going over the hump. Won the NIT last year. AD wants to win the conf title. Staying on the list.

George Mason- ok roster- Ad wants them to play in the post season. Stretch there. Not sure how I feel about them. Leaning towards no.

Fresno State- Team that has sucked the worst historically. But has the best roster and they are primed for the future. Very interesting choice. Staying on the list. AD wants them to avoid last place in conf.

Drake- No

Davidson- Ok roster. Has some nice freshman. Ad wants to win the conf. Not sure. Keeping them on here, but leaning towards no.

Ball State- No

[muns]

I cut

George Mason and Davidson

That leaves 5 programs on the list

Virginia, Purdue, Pacific, New Mexico, Fresno State

[muns]

Virginia

Budget of 521,625

AD wants post season

Freshman class of 127

Prest is a 56

ACC

Roster is below