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Old 01-23-2011, 08:21 PM   #1
Izulde
Head Coach
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Izulde Jestor the Wanderer - FBCB SP Edition

Washed out. Quit. Gave up. Realized I didn't have the talent. Or maybe I was just simply too depressed, too wary to want to go on writing. Well, that and I was never able to shake the depression of not being at an Ivy League school.

I take that back. Of not being at Princeton. The school I've loved since I was 14 years old. The one fear kept me from applying to. Columbia? The later flirtation with Cornell? If I'm honest with myself, they're just cheap substitutes, a wax papering over of the fact that I never tried for the one place I've never fallen out of love with. Whose website I still check at least twice a year, hoping that there will be some glimmer, some spark that will say yes, yes, this is it, *this* is my entry point into Nassau Hall.

But it doesn't happen. I realize that I have little love for the academic world. A doctorate stopped appealing to me a long time ago, and the master's degrees in Near Eastern Studies and Public Policy? I'm more of a Mediterranean Basin guy and, since I'm gushing out the truth like so much blood, I'm far too self-centered to be interested in bettering the world at large.

So it came to pass that in the winter of 2010, just before the winter break, I found myself in various offices, homes, apartments and condos in Las Vegas telling people that yes, I was leaving. No, I wasn't transferring elsewhere. No, I wasn't going abroad. I was just done.

Done with everything ivory and ink and screen and all of it.

In previous years, I would have slunk back to Wisconsin, become again the proverbial broken spirit and unhappy soul in my parents' house. But the trials I've undergone in the recent past have, ironically enough, given me the fortitude to pursue another loved path.

Coaching.

More specifically, coaching college basketball. My resume, I will admit, looked rather weak. A year of U14 girls soccer head coach experience and a fistful of narratives displaying my general manager and organizational skills as the head of a basketball's front office. Oh, and the teaching experience, if you count that.

So my options were limited. I had to take over a program that just wanted the cheap hire, a place so low on the massive totem pole of college basketball, I could beat out all the guys who had poured longer years and more effort into that head coaching dream than I had.

But as they say, sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

Which is how, after a long story that's too involved to detail here, I found myself talking to a fellow Delta Sig in a small Rhode Island town around 9:30 in the morning on what seemed after Las Vegas to be a chilly early March day.

A week later, as Duke was celebrating its umpteenth championship, I was signing the contract naming me head coach of a Division I men's basketball team.

Heaven help the Bryant University Bulldogs and tiny Smithfield, Rhode Island.

They'll need it with me coaching.
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Old 01-23-2011, 11:18 PM   #2
Izulde
Head Coach
 
Join Date: Sep 2004


...Not the best logo on the planet, but it's what I'll be under for at least the next year.

So, some facts about Bryant University. It was founded in 1863 and is a small (3,370 undergraduates, 224 graduates) private liberal arts college whose three masters programs are all in the business field. As you might expect from its graduate degrees, the university's known for business and was listed as one of the Top Undergraduate Business Programs by Business Week. As for its athletics program, 22 D-I sports, including football, which surprised me a bit.

The Bulldogs compete in the Northeast conference, made up of:

Bryant
Central Connecticut State
Fairleigh Dickinson
Long Island
Monmouth
Mount St. Mary's
Quinnipac
Robert Morris
Sacred Heart
St. Francis (NY)
St. Francis (PA)
Wagner

The Northeast is a one bid conference, although for some strange reason, I remember one of the years Monmouth won the tournament. I think I watched the conference tournament final and I thought to myself that Monmouth's court looked like a high school gymnasium. Sounds about right for this level.

News of my hiring was met with a collective shrug. But then again, it makes sense that nobody would care about this bottom-feeder team.

A few It's A Small World notes:
1) I have a friend who works in IT at Central Connecticut
2) Smithfield, RI, where Bryant is located, is 12 miles outside of Providence. Two of my roommates in Las Vegas were both from Providence and both attended the University of Rhode Island, albeit at different times. Both were also poets.

Sven and Lucy, the two poets, have both said they'll visit me next time they're back in Rhode Island. It'll be nice to see them again.

To say that I experienced culture shock after I formally moved to Rhode Island, with the help of my mom, my uncle, and my aunt (Dad stayed home in Wisconsin to watch the dogs), would be a minor understatement. Smithfield feels very Lilliputian after Las Vegas, and in fact feels a lot like Cornell, Wisconsin, even though 20,000+ is still a lot bigger than the minuscule population of that Northwestern Wisconsin town.

But, like Mom said, this is the opportunity for me to live a dream and who knows? Maybe in two or three years, a school from a bigger city will come calling.

Anyway, first things first, which was to assemble a coaching staff. That's not as easy as it sounds. I realized, as I was posting advertisements for it, that I've never actually been in a position where I've had to make a hiring decision. Assign grades? Sure. Set starting lineups and substitutions? Yeah. Interview people? Yep, did that too, mostly during a very brief stint at the University of Wyoming's student rag as a sports writer. Hire somebody? Not at all.

It's hard. There's only three coaching spots available and I have to determine who to interview in the first place, and then based on the question and answer sessions, who to offer those rare, precious spots to. It's a big responsibility, though I have to admit, it feels damn cool being on the other side of the table as it were.

We have a team budget of $155,000. Funny story about that, by the way. Or not so funny.

I discovered, much to my horror, that our jerseys don't have names on the back. As a sports fan, jerseys with no names has always been my biggest pet peeve. It makes it hard to tell who is who, especially in football, and it just doesn't feel as special not to see the names there, proudly proclaiming who you are and what team you belong to.

So I called Matt Schwarzwald, the fellow Delta Sig I mentioned last time.

"Hey, Schwarzy? Izulde here. Yeah, I uh just looked at the uniforms and noticed they don't have names on them. Can we get names put on them?"

He laughed, actually laughed.

"You realize how small the budget is? Tell you what, you get this team to a .500 record, and I'll find the money for you to get your names."

"Conference or overall?"

"Overall. Good luck."

So there you have it. We're stuck without names for the time being.

Anyway, like I was saying, we have a $155,000 budget. Sounds like a lot of cash, but I have to hire my assistants and do all of our recruiting for the entire year out of that money. That means I can only afford to pay each assistant $30,000 a year.

After weeks and weeks of this long, tedious, grueling process, I send out my first three offers. Two of them reject me immediately to take positions at South Dakota and USC-Upstate. Lovely. Although I offered one to be my recruiting coordinator and the other my scouting director, both took scout jobs.

Rejection #3. Backup recruiting coordinator goes to IPFW for the same job spot.

Rejection #4. Backup scouting director takes the same spot at Stony Brook.

Rejection #5. Top coaching assistant choice takes it at Coppin State.

Rejection #6. 3rd string recruiter to South Dakota, the second guy to do that. I made a mental note to schedule South Dakota and kick some Jackrabbit ass.

Rejection #7. 3rd string scout to Grambling State.

Rejection #8, 9, 10. Prairie View A&M, conference foe St. Francis (PA) in a real nutkicker, and Winston-Salem.

And then finally, all at once. It happened.

All three job offers were accepted. I finally had a coaching staff of my own.

Cortez Evan (46) - Recruiting Coordinator
He continued the growing trend of people who laugh when I'm not trying to be funny when I rambled on about how excited I was he took the position. Middle-aged Hispanic guy with more charm than I have. Not that it's saying much.

Malcolm Chance (28) - Scouting Director
Played college ball at Campbell a few years ago and just now breaking into college basketball coaching after serving as a graduate assistant with the Camels and doing some high school assistant coaching. Honestly, he could make it either as a recruiter or a scout. Continues the minority theme of my coach hiring, since he's black.

John Burdick (44) - Coaching Assistant
Interesting story John has. Grew up in Manhattan Beach, California, but went to Southern Mississippi of all schools because his family's originally from there. The only one of our guys with head coaching experience, he was coaching a high school in New Hampshire (He's lived as many places as I have), and doing a damn good job of it, taking them to the state playoffs for quite a few years in a row. I don't think he'll be here long; bigger schools are bound to come calling. Oh, and he breaks my minority trend, being white.

No surprise that we didn't get invited to any tournaments, although I'd liked to have gone.

On to scheduling. South Dakota accepts my offer for a game. I can't wait to play them and show those two jackasses who dissed me they made the wrong choice.

Summer Recruiting
So, things got off to an awkward start, and it had nothing to do with players. It happened when I was talking to Cortez about travel plans and all of that.

Me: "So, um, Cortez, you can go with me on all the recruiting trips, except for the major cities, right?"
Cortez: "Um, why?"
Me: "...I don't drive."
Cortez: "...What?"

Needless to say, it ended in Cortez getting his second loud and long laugh of his employment at my expense. Only this time, he laughed so hard he literally cried. I made him swear not to tell Malcolm or John, which was pretty stupid, since they'll figure it out anyway. In the end, he agreed, with more laughter and a few smart ass remarks I won't repeat here.

We have four scholarships this first season. We're graduating three guards and a big man, our biggest guy on the roster at that.

"So what's your plan of attack?", Cortez asks me when we meet later that week to go over things.

"We don't have much money, so we'll stay local. Guys need to be able to at least handle the ball, if not pass. I hate turnovers more than anything. Other than that, I prefer height in the post. Guards who can steal, bigs who can rebound and block shots."

"And defense? Shooting? Those things are kind of important too, you know."

I shrug, "Eh, fuck it. Low turnovers plus rebounding plus turnover generation equals second chance points and controlling the game."

At least this time he only chuckles.

"Oh, one other thing. I don't want these guys flunking out like I did at two schools. So what do you say to a 2.5 GPA and a 1000 SAT score? That should be easy enough to do with the new SAT format, right?"

Cortez has his turn to shrug, "You're the boss."

Yeah. I am. I am the boss. He better not forget it, either. Not that I could fire him. I've failed students, referred cheaters to judicial boards, all of that. Never actually fired anybody. Hell, I had a hard enough time getting a staff together in the first place.

One final stipulation I came up with. High schoolers only. I don't mind transferring guys from other schools, and will probably end up doing that. But at least there, I have some sort of statistical baseline to work with, rather than trying to figure out the junior college conversion rate.

I'm stunned to discover there are actually good players out there who are interested in Bryant. Seems news of my unusual hiring generated some buzz after all.

I know I planned to wait and see what the scouting reports brought back and I know we need a big and guards, but when 6'6 Thomas Hernandez, Rhode Island's Mr. Basketball, is on the General Netball Ratings Interest Catalogue (GeNeRIC) as having High interest in us, I immediately send a scholarship letter.

Ditto Hollis Odum, a point guard whose 4.45 A/TO ratio and All-State Connecticut status have me convinced he's the real deal, sight unseen.

We also come up with a sliding scale with some give to it. If a kid is over 1000 on his SAT but is just short of the 2.5 GPA, or he's over 2.5 and he's in the 900s on his SAT, then we'll accept him. But players who are just short in both categories, such as New Hampshire's Mr. Basketball, Cletus Toole, won't be contacted by us, although I do put him on the watch list to see where he goes.

17 players made our initial call list, and although I was sorely tempted to break my academic rule to a 2.43 GPA, 1000 SAT 7 footer, I decided my first year was too soon to start making those kinds of exceptions.

Bad news came back after the first month. Thomas Hernandez and Hollis Odum got scholarship offers from Brown and Hartford respectively, and GeNeRIC had those schools both #1, ahead of us.

We have only $6,500 a month to recruit with, and because of NCAA-mandated minimum expenditures for each recruiting activity, we need to decide.

Do we go all in on Hernandez and/or Odum? Or do we forget those 3 star gems and dip into the 2 star recruits we actually might have a better chance with?

Tough decision to make.
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Old 01-24-2011, 12:55 AM   #3
Izulde
Head Coach
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
"Let's be honest. Would -you- turn down a scholarship offer from Brown?"

That's getting a little too close to home, so I don't answer Cortez.

Malcolm rubs his temples, "Look, I gotta agree with Cortez. Both these schools are way more prestigious than we are for basketball and Brown? Shit, Hernandez could get any job he wanted with that degree. That said, we might, -might- be able to outrecruit them, but it'd take everything we have. I'd drop Odum right now, though. I was talking to some other scouts and we can't compete with Hartford in any area."

"Let's look at some of the other guys you broke down, Malcolm", I say.

"All right. Graham Song won't ever be able to pass the ball and he's more of a finesse center. I know you hate those, Iz, so I'd probably drop him. James Smith is raw as hell, but I feel like he can be a great get for us if we can develop him. Problem is, we're not on his Top 5 list. Carroll Griego is raw too. Could be a decent handler, but won't ever pass well or shoot free throws, but I think he could be a sick rebounder. Plus he's 7 foot and we're #5 on his radar right now. Matthew Chiles is a turnover machine, so we'll skip him, even though he's going to be a scoring beast inside and he has us at #3. Ray Williams is kinda like Chiles. Junior Dillard won't ever be too good a handler, but I still gotta plead the dude's case. He could be a great passer, he's got terrific stamina already, and I think he could be an off the hook scoring option, Plus he's Rhode Island All-State and think how huge that would be to be able to say we landed a local All-State kid. We're also #1 right now, with Harvard the only other team showing interest."

"Hell, what is it with all these Ivies up in our guys?" Cortez laughs.

I don't say anything, just motion Malcolm to continue.

"Thaddeus Valdez doesn't look like a great fit for what you're looking for, but we're the only school showing interest. And then you're starting to look at the 1 star guys."

"I say we go after Dillard for sure. You won't have everyone perfect, Iz", Cortez volunteers.

"And I think Hernandez is up to you. I also think you should hit Smith and/or Griego."

I lean back in my chair and think. $6,500. That'd be enough to go all-in on Hernandez, send Cortez for one of the other guys and scout somebody else. Seems like a risky play.

I take a look at the reports Malcolm compiled on our current squad. We've got a couple of really promising underclassmen at point guard, a redshirt freshman and a redshirt sophomore. I particularly like the looks of the sophomore, if he can develop into his potential. Given that, Dillard doesn't make much sense in spite of what my assistants are rapping.

Big man, though, we've got nothing. I mean nothing. There's also a few guys on the call list we haven't scouted yet, notably a 7', 318 lbs beast out of Illinois who has us at #5, just from the calling.

Damn, this is hard.

"We've also got two 3 star guys who are into us now. Undersized PF and a swingman, both from the New England area," Malcom says.

"...Let's go all in on Hernandez and check out the kid from Illinois. Send Dillard a scholarship letter and check out the swingman, too."

I hope I made the right choice. My assistants are looking a little uncertain, and I probably am too.

A month later
The less said about the conversation with Thomas Hernandez, the better. He was polite and listened to Cortez and I and everything, and he agreed to make a campus visit, but I saw a Brown hoodie in his closet and I think he's all but committed there. We're the only two schools fighting for him now, perhaps another sign he's going to be a Bear.

We jumped to the top of Junior Dillard's list with our scholarship offer. Both Cortez and Malcolm are pushing hard for me to go all in on him, especially with Harvard, Hartford, Fairleigh Dickinson, and Army all waiting in the wings. This time I listen to them, because we need all the pure talent on this team we can get.

Illinois guy was a bust. Carroll Griego still doesn't have any scholarship offers and neither does James Smith. You can't teach height, so I throw our remaining offer at Griego and have Cortez visit him.

Time passes
Coppin State jumped in with an offer to Carroll Griego and they zoom to #1. We're now sitting third behind them and conference foe Mount St. Mary's, who hasn't offered yet. Junior Dillard still only has the offer from us, and seemed to absolutely love his campus visit.

Junior's getting a visit from Cortez and I to try and seal the deal. We also make a last ditch effort, inviting Griego to campus and having Cortez go talk to Hernandez again.

Pre-Training Camp
Last ditch effort for Carroll Griego failed. He committed to Coppin State. Ditto for Thomas Hernandez, who signed to Brown as everyone expected.

The good news... PG Junior Dillard, the Rhode Island All-State player from Johnston Senior High in Johnston, committed to Bryant! I was so damned relieved when I got his call saying he was signing with us.

In the grand scheme of things, a 2 star recruit, even an All-State one, isn't a big deal. But on our sad little team, every little bit helps.

Our call list was pretty much wiped out by the early signing period. Cletus Toole, by the way, signed with UMass, spurning interest from Boston College, Providence, and Rhode Island, among others.

The recruiting board is looking -very- bleak now. The guys left who have interest in us either just barely miss our academic credentials (although there's a 2.34/1050 SAT PF with no offers who we're strongly considering, just to get a big man in... but is the SAT score enough over 1000 to justify the 2.34 GPA?), already have offers, or are point guards, which we will have more than enough of with the two underclassmen and Dillard.

Time to get some sleep while I argue with myself about the ethics of 2.34/1050 Ian Oswalt, a 6'10 North Carolinan PF with zero offers who as some interest in us.

Or maybe we should sit back and see what the transfer crop reveals. By the way PG Hollis Odum has not yet committed and is still waffling between us and Hartford.

In any case, I suppose I should feel good about bringing a 2 star All-State player to a school of Bryant's calibre.

And by Bryant's calibre, I mean a whopping 2 prestige.
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Old 01-24-2011, 01:30 AM   #4
hollmt
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
on board...keep it up. all these FBCB discussions lately and new dynasties prompted me to finally create another over the weekend. i should get it started on here sometime this week...

either way...enjoying it.nice story.
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Old 01-24-2011, 10:29 PM   #5
Izulde
Head Coach
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Quote:
Originally Posted by hollmt View Post
on board...keep it up. all these FBCB discussions lately and new dynasties prompted me to finally create another over the weekend. i should get it started on here sometime this week...

either way...enjoying it.nice story.

Thanks. I was getting tired of the summary and article dynasties I've been doing and wanted to get back to something more direct and engaging. Hoping to update tonight, but we'll see. Mondays are my worst days this semester. Up at 6 am and usually don't get home until about 8 pm.
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Old 01-24-2011, 11:17 PM   #6
hollmt
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Quote:
Originally Posted by Izulde View Post
Thanks. I was getting tired of the summary and article dynasties I've been doing and wanted to get back to something more direct and engaging. Hoping to update tonight, but we'll see. Mondays are my worst days this semester. Up at 6 am and usually don't get home until about 8 pm.

yeah i enjoy the story driven ones alot...not that i dont read the others, cause i do, but i like to go slower. i had a couple year dynasty with the first FBCB on the old FBB forums and i had another here as well...coached each game and was very slow. keep it up, ill be reading.

fwiw, i just started mine and took over houston baptist and im from a small town of Arcanum, Ohio...anyway, purely a coincidence but i took over this team and looked at my roster....one dude from my high school on the roster as a junior. i got excited...over a game...i laughed out loud. i feel it will be promising.
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Old 01-25-2011, 12:11 AM   #7
Young Drachma
Dark Cloud
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
You just want them to rename the Golden Scribe the Izulde. Keep up the good work.
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Old 01-26-2011, 09:01 PM   #8
Izulde
Head Coach
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
hollmt: I tend to prefer simming myself, but I understand the appeal in slow-playing it. That's awesome with the high school alma mater connection.

Dark Cloud: Ha! That'd be hilarious and awesome. And thanks.

I've finally got time and energy to update, so that'll be coming a bit later on tonight.
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Old 01-26-2011, 11:07 PM   #9
Izulde
Head Coach
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
After a long discussion with Cortez, Malcolm, and John, I decide to go ahead and pursue Ian Oswalt. He does fit the over 1000/under 2.5 category, and, as John pointed out, "At this point, we simply don't have much choice for big men."

We go the full court press on PG Hollis Odum, since he didn't commit to Hartford and we send Oswalt a scholarship letter. After the press on Odum, we only have enough money to either send Cortez or Malcolm, and with our desperate need for bigs, Cortez gets the nod.

Training Camp
Nobody's willing to redshirt. Not that I would have anyway; I want to get my guys in here, no offense to the athletes already on the team. Since I'm still new to this, I listen to my assistants on their suggestions for what to do as far as training schedules go.

I find out just before the start of the season that PF Ervin Vanzant failed a class and he's out for the fall semester. Great, like we weren't thin in the post already.

Our starting lineup isn't too hard for me to figure out, even if John objects to some of my choices.

PG Dennis Seymour (RS Senior)
Easily the best combination of passing and handling on the roster. I'm feeling good about our bringing in some new blood here next year, even with the hotshot underclassmen we have. He's been elected the team captain and we'll be relying on his leadership. Not a great ballhandler, but his passing ability is unreal for this level.

SG Andrew Hinshaw (RS Fr)
One of the star underclassmen point guards, at 6'2, 207 he's big enough to play the 2 guard. A poor passer at this point in his career, but already the single best handler on the team. Definitely part of the future.

SF Douglas Alberts (RS Sr)
Originally a SG, we're essentially going with a three guard lineup, something that might become a mainstay given our recruiting so far. The best all-around shooter on the squad, he projects as our #1 option on offense. I'll miss him next year.

PF Kerry Penn (RS Jr)
Not a great option by any means in terms of scoring, but he really knows how to hit the glass on offense and his post defense is phenomenal. A little thin at 6'9, 229, but beggars not choosers and so on.

C Roger Redman (Jr)
The Australian is the only non-American native on the roster and his handling ability is what wins him the starting spot over the other contenders. Incidentally, almost all of our players are from Rhode Island, the exceptions being one from NY, one from PA, and one from TX.

As it turns out, the only point of disagreement John and I have is over our starting SG. That makes me happier about my choices and gives me confidence in my ability to be a head coach.

John recommends that we run a pretty fast paced offense with quite a bit of motion and three point shots and a balanced look on offense, with no pressing and no trapping on defense. He also argues we should discard last year's man to man defense and run the 2-3 zone as our base defense. I'm fine with all that.

He also thinks Alberts and Duncan Kumar, a junior who is easily our best three point shooter, should be the primary focal points. I'm a little leery of Kumar because of his terrible handling, but eventually I agree.

Fun Fact
We have 2 players from Providence, RI, 2 players from Tiverton, RI and 2 players from Warwick, RI. Only the two Tiverton guys, Kumar and sophomore Charles Valencia, went to the same high school and played together, though.

The Regular Season
I take a page from football and allow John to be our offensive coordinator, calling the plays. He's a lot better at it than I am, and I largely serve as the motivator and director.

When putting the schedule together, I tried to find as many easy opponents as possible. We're a 2 prestige school. Just trying to get wins is what's important. We're not even close to dreaming of any sort of postseason.

Our first game of the season is also our home opener, and it's against South Dakota, the bastards who stole two of my preferred assistant coaches. And we show the Jackrabbits what for, murdering them 97-72! Douglas Alberts has an unreal game - 29 points and 10 rebounds. Roger Redman just misses a double-double, posting 17 points and 9 rebounds. Kerry Penn surprises me with 11 points to go with his 8 rebounds. And then was Lawrence Fogg, who accepted his 6th man role with grace, hitting all 4 of his shot attempts for 10 points. It was a fantastic victory and it felt good to have a 1-0 career record.

"Hell of a win", John says afterwards. "Hell of a win", I agree and everybody's smiling; coaches, players, fans. It's a beautiful moment.

Next up, Howard, who also won their season opener. This time we're on the road and we crank out a solid 89-76 win to go to 2-0. Douglas Alberts is Player of the Game again with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal. He's really blossomed at the 3 spot so far. Roger Redman continues to show surprising offensive ability, scoring 18. Dennis Seymour scores 16, and our bench was very quiet this game.

Off to the bright lights of New York we go and I really, really want to kick the shit out of the 0-2 Columbia Lions. Fuck them and their overinflated reputation and fuck their non-financial aid giving selves. And of course, we lose a 60-59 heartbreaker. Still 2-1, but damn does this loss hurt. Hell of a game by Kerry Penn with 14 points, 16 rebounds and a block, but they totally shut us down, holding us to 31% shooting. It's a very silent bus ride home, as our unbeaten bubble is popped.

Two nights later, we're back home in our biggest game of the year, but the reason it's the biggest has nothing to do with on-court play. It has to do with recruiting. Hollis Odum is visiting campus today and we're playing against Hartford, our big rival for him in recruiting. Both teams play ugly, but we grind out a 56-47 win. Douglas Alberts has been Player of the Game in our previous two victories and he is here, too, putting 13 points and 9 rebounds to lead our team in scoring, #2 in rebounds behind Kerry Penn's 13 boards.

After the game, Hollis said he was definitely still considering us. Those feel like hollow words to me. Not that I blame him. It was putrid basketball, with nobody able to make a damn shot anywhere. But hey, we're 3-1.

Make that 3-2. IUPUI comes to town on the last day of the month and hands us our first bad loss of the year, 78-61. The score honestly wasn't that close; the Jaguars kicked our asses up and down the court. Everybody was off tonight and it's a sour close to November, even if we still hold a winning record.

My worst fears were right. PG Hollis Odum went with his hometown university, Hartford, anyway. PF Ian Oswalt also opted to stay in-state, choosing UNC-Greensboro over us.

"How's the board look now?" a tired-looking Cortez asks me on a too damn cold December 1st.

"Dead," I answer glumly.

Things are so bad, we offer C Graham Seng (incorrectly reported as Song earlier) a scholarship and the full court. I hate, hate, hate finesse centers, but our need is too great. We're also in a situation where it's getting harder to find guys who meet our academic criteria. There's a SG who falls just short at 2.41 and 1000 SAT and there's a PG whose 2.37 and 1020 SAT who fills our under/over requirement. This sets off another debate and eventually we agree that SG Loyd Gage has worked harder in the classroom and we'll make an exception to the 2.5/1000 rule for him. He gets a letter and Malcolm and Cortez go to talk to him.

Northeast News
Just a few quick hits here. Monmouth was 4-0 in November, Robert Morris 4-2. The two winless teams so far are St. Francis (PA) and Long Island, both of whom went 0-4. I'd have to call Monmouth the favorites right now and not just because of their unbeaten record. They have some great players, like senior PG Weldon Phillips, who's scoring 19 points a game, and RS senior PF Ivory Desouza, who's putting up a ridiculous 13 points, 11 rebounds, steal, and 1.5 blocks a game.

I'm glad both those guys are graduating, or the Hawks would be a Northeast power for years to come, I bet.
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Old 01-27-2011, 12:00 AM   #10
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Join Date: Sep 2004
One thing I've noticed is that student interest in the team is picking up ever so slightly. I'll take small increments at this point. Amazing what a few wins will do for school spirit.

Long road trip to open December. All the way out to Southern Utah to face the 0-3 Thunderbirds. I'd hate to give this team its first win. We don't, winning 82-73 on Douglas Alberts's 21 points, Roger Redman's return to offensive force with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Lawrence Fogg's 10 bench points.

A week later, we trek just down the road to face off against Providence, a game nobody gives us a chance to win. I'm not surprised by the 80-51 blowout. The Friars have a really good looking team this year. At least Douglas Alberts scores 17. Man, I am not looking forward to next year without his point production. He's the heart and soul of this team.

Flagstaff, AZ, our next stop, against the 2-5 Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona. We lose 70-59 and drop to .500 on the year. Our early season form was all smoke and mirrors, it seems. Douglas Alberts was again the only guy to produce, scoring 20. NAU beat us with balance.

We're in Mississippi two days later and Mississippi Valley State is 4-1. Hello, under .500, the Delta Devils beating us 67-57. Solid game by Kerry Penn with 12 points and 8 rebounds, but MVSU shut down Douglas Alberts, holding him to an 0 for 8 night. Damn their constant double-teaming of our star.

Finally home on the 21st... and we play 7-3 Marquette. I'm wondering what the hell induced me to schedule so many Big East teams, but I'm even more stunned when we nearly knock off the Golden Eagles, losing 79-78. Now that's a moral victory, especially with another 0 for 8 night from Douglas Alberts. Nice way for Roger Redman to step up with 15 points and 12 rebounds, even if it wasn't enough to complete the upset.

So tired of all this lengthy traveling, but at least Albany is a comparatively short trip. Sweeter still is the 59-49 win, snapping our four game losing streak. Roger Redman doubles again with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Douglas Alberts is 3 for 14, hideous, but still manages 14 points and 9 rebounds.

We have our Northeast conference opener at Mount St. Mary's. A chance to be .500 again and start Northeast play with a win all in one shot against the 4-6 Mount. The Mount mounts us all right as we piss away Douglas Alberts's 25 points and Duncan Kumar's 10 bench points, losing 72-64.

I punch a locker after the game in frustration.

Northeast home opener against 2-10 St. Francis (PA), one of the teams picked along with us to finish last in the conference. Far closer than I'd like, but we emerge 88-80 winners thanks to balanced scoring led by Douglas Alberts's 21 points.

PF Ervin Venzant returns from suspension. I care not.

C Graham Seng goes to Yale. Fuck the Ivy League. Those elitist pricks have stolen two guys from us now. (I still love you, Princeton!) SG Loyd Gage gets the dream ticket from Duke. What the hell the Blue Devils want with a 2 star player is beyond me.

Nobody left in the 2 star or higher realm who has some interest in us. So we roll the dice on SF Blair Isley of the 2.56 GPA and 960 SAT (over/under rule fits), ignoring his low interest and our North Carolina failure from before. Full court press and the only reason we're gambling is because nobody, and I mean nobody, is talking to him.

We also send a scholarship and Malcolm to SF John Hammock. No way in hell he signs with us, but for a 3 star player, it's worth a try. Besides, I'm not mentally ready to lower myself to 1 star recruits.

Unless of course, he's an All-State player and a native PF, nevermind his 6'6, 242 lbs. undersized state. We don't give Willy Colon a scholarship, but start calling and Malcolm goes to check him out. By the way, Free Willy has a 3.02 GPA. Comparatively smart kid. Might just get himself a free ride.

Remember what I said about Monmouth being the class of the Northeast this season?

Code:
2011 Northeast Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monmouth 2 0 1.000 10 2 .833 209 27 Central Connecticut State 2 0 1.000 5 9 .357 188 33 Mount St. Mary's 1 1 .500 5 7 .417 230 28 Quinnipiac 1 1 .500 4 9 .308 299 28 Bryant University 1 1 .500 6 7 .462 270 2 St. Francis-NY 1 1 .500 4 8 .333 339 20 St. Francis-PA 1 1 .500 2 11 .154 264 11 Wagner 1 1 .500 7 7 .500 227 30 Fairleigh Dickinson 1 1 .500 6 7 .462 116 23 Sacred Heart 1 1 .500 6 7 .462 229 22 Robert Morris 0 2 .000 5 6 .455 158 39 Long Island 0 2 .000 1 12 .077 297 19

...Yeah. If the Hawks don't win the regular season crown, insanity will break out. That said, I like our chances for not finishing last in the conference. Long Island may be my best friend in that regard.

Our player stats:

Code:
Player Pos GP GS Min Pts Orb Reb Ast Stl Blk To Fls +/- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Douglas Alberts SF 13 13 29.4 16.8 1.6 5.8 1.9 0.3 0.3 2.2 2.5 -1.4 Kerry Penn PF 13 13 29.6 9.1 4.3 7.6 1.4 0.4 0.2 1.7 3.0 1.4 Roger Redman C 13 13 32.5 8.8 1.9 8.5 1.0 0.3 0.1 1.2 2.6 -3.1 Andrew Hinshaw SG 13 13 33.8 8.7 1.5 2.2 1.8 0.5 0.0 1.6 2.6 2.2 Dennis Seymour PG 13 13 27.0 8.2 0.5 2.4 4.0 1.1 0.0 1.5 3.2 -0.6 Lawrence Fogg PG 13 0 15.3 5.8 0.9 2.2 1.3 0.5 0.1 0.8 1.0 -0.2 Duncan Kumar SF 13 0 9.5 5.6 0.4 1.9 0.5 0.2 0.0 0.7 1.2 0.9 Richie Evans PF 13 0 14.0 3.8 0.2 2.5 0.3 0.2 1.1 0.9 1.3 1.1 Charles Valencia SF 6 0 3.3 1.3 0.0 0.5 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.5 -0.2 Mark Groves C 12 0 3.8 1.3 0.6 1.3 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.2 0.1 0.7 Jeffery McCarron PG 12 0 3.5 0.7 0.1 0.4 0.4 0.1 0.0 0.2 0.5 -1.8 Chuck Kling C 3 0 1.7 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.7 0.0 -2.0 Ervin Vanzant PF 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Warren Waters SF 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Harland Martin SF 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

We live and die by Douglas Alberts, but you knew that already.
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Old 01-27-2011, 11:22 AM   #11
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Not having a winning record displeases me, but like my mom keeps telling me when I talk to her on Gmail chat, this is a school nobody expected to do anything, so being close to .500 and having a 1-1 record in conference play as 2012 officially begins, without the end of the world, is doing really well.

Hello, again .500. We go to Wagner and whomp them 75-54. Douglas Alberts has the best game of the year, scoring a mind-boggling 33 points. Roger Redman is quietly effective with 7 points and 8 rebounds. He's better than Malcolm gives him credit for.

We host the Northeast conference titans, Monmouth, next. It's the largest crowd we've had yet in my short time here, but the fans leave early as the Hawks blow us out, 104-72. Weldon Phillips eats us for 25 points and although we get good showings from Duncan Kumar with 10 points and 9 minutes, and Richie Evans, who posts 12 bench points and 3 blocks, we stunk it up overall. Evans, by the way, is our team's best shotblocker. 1.2 rejections a game in 14.5 minutes.

Things go much better the next home game, as we rout Quinnipac 99-70. All of our starters were on form today, led by Roger Redman's boomtastic 21 points and 13 rebounds. Andrew Hinshaw scores a career high 18 points and Dennis Seymour produces 8 points and 12 assists. Lawrence Fogg leads the second team with 14 points in as many minutes.

Our see-saw play continues with a 76-67 loss at Robert Morris. Dennis Seymour was on fire with 28 points and 8 assists, but he didn't get much help. Too bad. I really would have liked that win over the Colonials.

I'm beyond embarrassed when we lose 83-80 at home to St. Francis (NY). Kerry Penn grabs 10 points and 10 boards, Douglas Alberts scores 18 and Duncan Kumar powers the bench with 13 points, but it's a frustrating defeat.

We atone for it with a 77-56 home smash of Central Connecticut State. Douglas Alberts puts on a 28 point shooting clinic and Duncan Kumar chips in with 12 points off the bench.

Our last trip to the City ended in major disappointment and this one does too, an infuriating 73-66 loss to an inferior Long Island team. I need a Long Island after our bricklaying, Kerry Penn's 17 points and 9 rebounds notwithstanding.

I have the laugh over Clarissa, my IT friend at Central Connecticut State, as we sweep the season series with the Blue Devils, winning 79-62 on Douglas Alberts's 19 points and 7 rebounds and Duncan Kumar's 11 bench points.

That victory in the final game of the month isn't without cost, though. Andrew Hinshaw, the redshirt freshman who is our starting SG, strains his back and he's estimated out a week. He'll miss two games and Lawrence Fogg will start in his place.

SF John Hammock, the guy I didn't give us any chance of getting, signed with Butler, but that's the only recruiting decision of the month.

John Burdick tells me SF Harland Martin and SF Warren Waters are unhappy about their lack of PT. Neither one has played in a game this season. Watch me not care.

SF Blair Isley is suddenly in love with the idea of playing for us as we're the only school to offer him, although a bunch of other teams have jumped up to show interest. We invite him to campus and because we don't have enough money to send both Cortez and I, it's with some apprehension that I agree to make my first trip alone. I'm only willing to do because Charlotte's a major city with a decent transportation system.

PF Willy Colon is horrid. We've got a couple 7 foot centers to check out, but currently have no money for Malcolm, since we're putting all our efforts into Isley. Not that these bigs have schools interested in their 1 star selves anyway.

Code:
2011 Northeast Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mount St. Mary's 7 3 .700 11 9 .550 151 28 Monmouth 7 3 .700 15 5 .750 196 27 Robert Morris 6 4 .600 11 8 .579 252 39 St. Francis-NY 5 5 .500 8 12 .400 276 20 St. Francis-PA 5 5 .500 6 15 .286 239 11 Long Island 5 5 .500 6 15 .286 288 19 Fairleigh Dickinson 5 5 .500 10 11 .476 165 23 Bryant University 5 5 .500 10 11 .476 230 2 Wagner 4 6 .400 10 12 .455 262 30 Sacred Heart 4 6 .400 9 12 .429 261 22 Central Connecticut State 4 6 .400 7 15 .318 302 33 Quinnipiac 3 7 .300 6 15 .286 271 28

Monmouth's comparative struggles surprise me, as do Long Island and St. Francis (PA) playing .500 ball in the conference. In any case, we're looking really good right now to avoid that cellar dwellar spot, so I've gotten myself another year here. Probably not enough to move out of this small town, though.
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Old 01-27-2011, 01:57 PM   #12
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If we can finish .500 in conference play for the season, I'd definitely take that. I'd also take the end of this ceaseless Rhode Island winter, but that's another story entirely.

Bitter disappointment as we host the Mount and Mount St. Mary's beats us 94-91. 23 points from Douglas Alberts, a great all-around game from Dennis Seymour (16 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists), and Charlie Valencia surprise 10 bench points can't will us to the upset.

Then we lose 99-95 on the road to Quinnipac. Douglas Alberts pours on 33 and Lawrence Fogg has a nice 18 points. Duncan Kumar posts 13 points as well, but our lack of post players is killing us.

Andrew Hinshaw is back to full health, but he'll be coming off the bench, as Fogg has won the starting job.

Our season is derailing. 89-78 home loss to Wagner, Douglas Alberts's 30 points gone for naught.

Four god damned losses in a row, 93-89 at home to Robert Morris. I'm so pissed after the game I break our Gatorade dispenser once the players and the other coaches have left the locker room. That cost me money out of my own pocket to replace, so I'm even more angry. Why the fuck did I take this job again? 28 points from Douglas Alberts, who hates seeing his senior year go down the drain.

We snap the streak, shocking Monmouth 89-84 on their court. The opposing fans are furious as Douglas Alberts torches the Hawks for 35 points and 11 rebounds, and Roger Redman show signs of life inside with 8 points and 12 rebounds. A win we very much needed and I hope it gives us confidence to rebound going forward.

82-61 win at St. Francis (PA) for what feels like only our second or maybe third win streak of the year. Roger Redman hauls in 12 points and 10 rebounds, but Douglas Alberts is our forever Player of the Game with 15 points and 8 rebounds. Dennis Seymour led us in scoring with 18.

Another god damn heartbreaking 95-92 home loss, this time to Sacred Heart. 17 points and 16 rebounds from Roger Redman, 16 points and 12 rebounds from Kerry Penn and Duncan Kumar's 11 bench points mean not a thing. Ugh! We finally get decent big man play and our guards stuff it up.

Fairleigh Dickinson rapes us 84-64. Whatever. Another loss.

C Chuck Kling is now unhappy and SF Warren Waters keeps talking about how he'll transfer. Go ahead, Warren. Too bad, Chuck.

A rare bit of happy news breaks through the February gloom. SF Blair Isley commits! In doing so, he rejected Penn State, George Mason, Davidson, and Old Dominion. He told me on the phone that he almost signed with the Nittany Lions, but he really appreciated we were the first to jump on him and he felt like he had a better shot at playing time right away with us.

Guess my talk with him in a Charlotte Starbucks went well. That gives us two 2 star recruits for the season, a very good haul for this little 2 prestige school.

We add a slew of 1 star big men to our call list and book flights for Malcolm to go scout some of them. Our situation is such that we'll have to use one, possibly both of our scholarships on them, although I'll admit I'm intrigued by the idea of leaving a slot open for a transfer to come in.

Code:
2011 Northeast Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestigetest -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fairleigh Dickinson 13 5 .722 18 11 .621 107 23 Monmouth 11 7 .611 20 9 .690 211 27 Mount St. Mary's 11 7 .611 16 13 .552 152 28 Quinnipiac 10 8 .556 13 16 .448 220 28 Long Island 10 8 .556 11 18 .379 259 19 Central Connecticut State 9 9 .500 12 18 .400 262 33 Robert Morris 9 9 .500 14 14 .500 250 39 Wagner 8 10 .444 14 16 .467 238 30 Bryant University 7 11 .389 12 17 .414 222 2 St. Francis-PA 7 11 .389 8 21 .276 257 11 St. Francis-NY 7 11 .389 11 18 .379 306 20 Sacred Heart 6 12 .333 11 18 .379 275 22

I'm shocked that Fairleigh Dickinson won the Northeast regular season crown. The Knights didn't look like that strong a team to me, particularly compared to the Monmouth Hawks, but they pulled it out.

As you can see, we avoided last place. Barely.

Code:
# PLAYER POS MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TO TEAM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Bradley Garza SG 29.9 20.6 3.0 2.1 1.2 0.3 2.8 Sacred Heart 2 Vicente Schatz PG 28.5 20.3 3.8 2.2 0.7 0.1 3.0 Robert Morris 3 Douglas Alberts SF 30.3 19.3 5.8 2.1 0.3 0.3 2.4 Bryant University 4 Weldon Phillips PG 28.9 18.7 3.7 4.6 1.3 0.2 2.0 Monmouth 5 Gino Parsley SG 27.0 18.4 2.8 1.8 0.6 0.1 3.0 Central Connecticut State 6 Joseph Hurst SG 29.9 16.1 3.4 5.1 0.6 0.1 2.0 Wagner 7 Joshua Armes SG 29.2 15.8 4.0 2.1 0.7 0.2 3.7 St. Francis-NY 8 Alvin Glidden SG 31.3 15.6 3.6 4.3 2.3 0.3 2.8 Robert Morris 9 Carrol Saunders PG 26.3 14.1 1.5 1.3 1.1 0.1 2.1 St. Francis-PA 10 Chris Cherry PG 31.4 14.1 2.6 5.9 0.3 0.2 2.8 Quinnipiac 11 James Smith SF 28.8 13.4 3.4 2.0 1.6 0.2 3.0 Long Island 12 Kip Blume SF 26.9 13.3 4.8 3.5 0.6 0.2 3.3 Fairleigh Dickinson 13 Herbert Froehlich PG 30.1 13.3 2.6 2.4 1.3 0.1 2.4 Wagner 14 Jack Gillespie PG 29.2 12.6 2.4 2.8 1.0 0.0 2.6 Fairleigh Dickinson 15 Thomas Smith C 28.6 12.6 7.9 1.4 0.3 0.9 1.4 Quinnipiac 16 Eric Dinh C 27.2 12.6 5.8 1.0 0.3 0.1 1.6 Long Island 17 Kenneth Marcano SG 27.5 12.5 3.9 1.8 1.0 0.0 1.7 Quinnipiac 18 Bruce Dull C 31.9 12.3 8.9 1.9 0.6 3.1 2.0 Fairleigh Dickinson 19 Robert Zimmermann PF 26.4 12.3 9.4 1.3 0.5 0.5 1.0 St. Francis-NY 20 Gregory Wertz SF 28.0 12.0 4.8 1.2 0.7 0.1 2.0 Wagner 21 Ivory Desouza PF 29.3 11.8 8.2 1.8 0.4 1.0 2.0 Monmouth 22 Mark Chasse PF 30.7 11.6 10.1 1.2 0.4 0.9 1.6 Fairleigh Dickinson 23 Gale Garrett C 27.1 11.2 4.6 1.0 0.6 0.5 1.2 Mount St. Mary's 24 Jack Joiner SF 31.4 10.7 6.5 1.1 1.3 0.8 2.4 Central Connecticut State 25 Jeffrey Shifflett SG 30.3 10.6 3.6 1.9 1.7 0.1 3.9 Long Island 26 Shaun Rosenblum SF 26.6 10.3 4.2 5.5 1.9 0.1 1.7 Monmouth 27 Jarred McElrath SG 31.0 9.9 3.3 3.1 0.6 0.4 3.5 Fairleigh Dickinson 28 David Cook PF 26.6 9.7 6.0 1.4 0.4 1.5 1.5 Mount St. Mary's 29 Loren Crissman SF 22.8 9.7 4.2 2.2 1.4 0.4 0.7 Mount St. Mary's 30 Jerry Jordan SF 27.0 9.7 5.3 1.1 1.1 0.2 1.4 Robert Morris 31 Tyler Metts PF 29.5 9.6 8.3 1.2 0.4 0.4 1.0 Wagner 32 Dennis Seymour PG 28.5 9.6 3.6 5.2 0.8 0.1 1.9 Bryant University 33 Gary Kuhn PG 23.8 9.5 3.1 2.6 0.3 0.1 1.8 Sacred Heart 34 Bryan Philips SF 27.2 9.4 4.7 1.9 0.8 0.2 2.7 Quinnipiac 35 Wilburn Tankersley SG 27.6 9.2 3.2 1.3 0.6 0.1 1.7 St. Francis-NY 36 Kerry Penn PF 29.4 9.1 7.1 1.3 0.2 0.2 1.4 Bryant University 37 Emiliano Pancher C 30.1 9.0 8.4 1.0 0.2 1.0 2.2 St. Francis-PA 38 Berry Forrest PF 21.2 9.0 3.6 0.9 0.4 0.2 1.1 Sacred Heart 39 Roger Redman C 31.9 8.9 8.6 1.1 0.3 0.1 1.0 Bryant University

You can see my impending horror of next season. We're losing the #3 scorer in the conference to graduation. In fact, we're losing our top two point scorers (Note: this is mitigated somewhat by the change in starting SG we had midway through the season). Roger Redman will be arguably our main offensive option coming back.

That's scary.

It's also the end of our season. Only the top 8 teams are allowed in the conference tournament.

Northeast Conference Tournament
Wagner proves me right about the Knights, upsetting the #1 seed 75-74 in the first round. #3 seed Mount Saint Mary's is stunned 65-57 by Central Connecticut State, leaving a wide open path for #2 Monmouth.

...Until Wagner knocks off the Hawks, 77-69, setting up a date with #4 seed Quinnipac, 72-58 winners over Central Connecticut State.

And #8 seed Wagner completes the miracle run, downing Quinnipac 76-70 for the automatic Big Dance bid!

Well-played to the Seahawks, although I wish we'd been allowed in, too. Unfortunately, as a first year coach, I don't have any clout for tournament expansion.

Wagner gets assigned to the play-in game against 11-20 Radford. Seahawks should win easy.

Princeton, my darling, my dream, is the #12 seed in the East, playing #5 Maryland.

Fairleigh Dickinson wins the consolation prize of a #8 seed in the NIT East region, going up against #1 seed Syracuse. Nevada-Reno is also in the NIT as a #3 seed in the South. UNLV played like shit, 16-14 (7-9), and have a lonely March.

March Madness
Wagner wins the play-in game, 74-60 and Fairleigh-Dickinson gets romperstomped by an Orange squad that was very pissed off about being left out of the Big Dance. 97-54 blowout.

I smile with glee when Reno gets the crap kicked out of them, 81-67, by Oklahoma State. Kansas destroys Wagner 98-55 in the official opening round of the NCAA tournament. Princeton pulls off the 61-55 upset of the Terps and it's with mixed emotions that I watch the game.

A dull year for first round upsets. Princeton over Maryland, #10 seed Alabama over #7 seed Marquette and #11 seed South Alabama over an extremely overseeded #6 American were the only shockers.

The Tigers give it a hell of a go, but the Buckeyes are just too mighty, ending Princeton's season 78-74.

#7 Vanderbilt knocks out the #2 seed Longhorns, #6 seed UCLA pulverizes #3 seed UConn, and, in the tournament's biggest upset so far, #8 seed Florida State sends #1 seed Kansas packing. But the Jayhawks weren't the only #1 seed to go home. Tennessee got taken apart by #8 seed Pittsburgh. Then a third #1 seed fell, as #8 Creighton won a 96-94 OT thriller against Georgetown. Wow!

#2 seed Duke also got sent home incredibly early, #7 seed Memphis disposing of the Blue Devils.

Sweet 16
#1 Xavier vs #4 Wake Forest
#7 Vanderbilt vs #3 Louisville
#8 Florida State vs #5 Notre Dame
#2 Wisconsin vs #6 UCLA
#8 Pittsburgh vs #5 Gonzaga
#2 Utah vs #3 North Carolina
#8 Creighton vs #4 Ohio State
#7 Memphis vs #3 Arizona

Wake Forest eliminates the last #1 seed and #7 Vanderbilt kept their amazing run alive, buzzer-beating the Cardinals 74-73.

Great game between Gonzaga and Pittsburgh, with 'Zaga emerging 106-101 winners.

Heh. Creighton stuns Ohio State. I could mention a certain girl I knew who went to Creighton for undergrad after Princeton rejected her, and who is now at Cambridge in England for graduate study, but I won't. I'm bitter enough without bringing up that old ghost.

Elite 8
#4 Wake Forest vs #7 Vanderbilt
#5 Notre Dame vs #2 Wisconsin
#5 Gonzaga vs #3 North Carolina
#8 Creighton vs #3 Arizona

The Fighting Irish upset the Badgers, causing mass agony throughout my home state.

Gonzaga is finally looking like this is this year as they eliminate the royal Tarheels.

I'm calling this the Her Blondeness effect, because Creighton continues its Cinderella season by dispatching the Wildcats. I will never, -ever- cheer for the Blue Jays.

Final Four
#4 Wake Forest vs #5 Gonzaga
#5 Notre Dame vs #8 Creighton

I'm pulling for Notre Dame. The other matchup is a whatever, although I almost applied to Wake Forest for my MA.

Speaking of whatever, the NIT Final Four features #1 Syracuse against #2 Cincinnati and #1 West Virginia vs #2 Virginia. Talk about a War of the Virginias.

The Bearcats end 'Cuse's excuses for not making the Big Dance in a dull game. The War of the Virginias sees the Cavaliers beat the Mountaineers in a very fun, close game.

Less entertaining is watching Virginia handle Cincinnati with ease.

NIT Champions: Virginia Cavaliers

Wake Forest tells us it's not Gonzaga's year and I nearly throw up, as Creighton beats Notre Dame. I suppose it's a good thing Her Blondeness ignores my twice a year Facebook friends request, because she'd be gloating about this, and I still hate her for getting into Cambridge for grad school. Oh, and for breaking up with me, of course.

Before the national title game, I meet with Malcolm to discuss the guys he looked at. Few of them are worth anything, although PF Chris Curtiss, another North Carolinan, looks like he could be passable. He's also 7', 246 lbs and carries a 3.22 GPA and 1540 SAT score. Academic scholarships have come in by the boatload, but he really wants to play basketball, too. So we'll give him that chance, with a scholarship offer, a campus visit, and a chat with Cortez.

We give some consideration to giving our last scholarship to a 1 star player we haven't scouted yet, but in the end, our consensus is that it's better to hold back and play the transfer game, rather than waste a spot on an unknown 1 star.

Everybody except Warren Waters and Chuck Kling goes to Cortez's house to watch the national championship. We're all cheering for Wake Forest to win the title.

But the Her Blondeness Effect is in play and the Blue Jays win 73-62, the first mid-major champion since UNLV way, way back in the day.

Lousy end to a lousy season.

Awards
Northeast 1st Team All-Conference
SF Douglas Alberts (Sr)

Not a surprise to see Alberts get the recognition he deserves in his final season. We'll miss him.

PF Chris Curtiss happily signs at the end of the season, thrilled to have the chance to play.

Chuck Kling, Harland Martin, and Warren Waters all decide to transfer. Kling and Waters don't surprise me, Martin does.

Code:
2011 Recruiting Rankings # Team Conference Best Player Rtg 5* 4* 3* 2* 1* ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 197. Wagner Northeast C James Colon *** 0 0 1 2 0 202. Central Connecticut State Northeast SF Raphael Hollister *** 0 0 1 1 0 250. Long Island Northeast C Theodore Eaddy ** 0 0 0 1 3 274. Bryant University Northeast SF Blair Isley ** 0 0 0 2 1 277. Sacred Heart Northeast PF Gregory Roberge ** 0 0 0 1 1 279. St. Francis-NY Northeast C Ray Belle ** 0 0 0 1 1 286. Mount St. Mary's Northeast PF Duane Guyette ** 0 0 0 1 2 306. Quinnipiac Northeast SF William Hollis ** 0 0 0 1 0 312. Fairleigh Dickinson Northeast C Richard Batista ** 0 0 0 1 1 316. Monmouth Northeast PG Jame Boulware * 0 0 0 0 3 317. St. Francis-PA Northeast C Chris Hysell * 0 0 0 0 2 338. Robert Morris Northeast PF Fritz Marty * 0 0 0 0 2

4th in recruiting class for the conference is pretty darn good. Looks like I made the right move in going after Isley, as he's considered the top get for us.

We also increased in prestige, from 2 to 3. Every tiny bit helps. Schwarzy still wants us to avoid last place next year, which I think we can do, even with all the graduations.

Graduates
SF Douglas Alberts
SG Lawrence Fogg
PG Dennis Seymour
PF Mark Groves

Ouch. That's three starters who have all graduated. By the way, in this timeframe, the NBA and NCAA reached an agreement whereby they'll follow the NFL model, allowing players to declare for the draft after their junior year. Hopefully that'll improve the quality of the college game.
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Old 01-27-2011, 02:37 PM   #13
Izulde
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Join Date: Sep 2004
"We have 11 players."

"What?"

"We didn't fill the fourth scholarship and three players transferred. Ergo, we have 11."

John's news sends the acid shooting out of my stomach, burning into my chest and throat. This son of a bitch is going to need a Prilosec. And that's on top of the three freshmen not looking as good at first glance as Malcolm thought they were.

So there we are, with 3 scholarships to offer for transfers. All will have to redshirt a year, so we can't get immediate help. And nobody expresses interest in coming to Bryant, but that isn't going to stop us from trying.

Then some interest starts bubbling up from scrubs, but we're not interested in them, and the guys we do offer either reject or us or simply leave college basketball.

Four walk-on freshmen bring us to 15, but I cut them all save SG Edmund McMasters, from East Greenbush, NY.

...We have 7 scholarships available to give players.

Yeah, this is going to be a long, long year.
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Old 01-28-2011, 02:08 PM   #14
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Join Date: Sep 2004
My coaches and I are standing outside. Cortez, Malcolm, and I are smoking, John's drumming his fingers on the gym's outer walls.

"You're absolutely sure about this? Five scholarship offers without even seeing the guys?"

Cortez and I both nod at Malcolm, our recruiting coordinator coughing after a drag.

"Our backs are up against it. Those three assholes who got all pissy and left put us in a screwy situation. We've gotta do it."

"And pray for no injuries this year", John dryly adds. "I still think you made a mistake to cut that walk-on center."

I just shrug and turn to stare off into the distance, ashing my cigarette and walking over to throw the spent butt into the receptable by the door. We'll make it work somehow... we've got to.

One Month Later
We're registering on all but one of our prospects top 5 lists. Thanks to our prestige increase, we've got a little over $1,000 more a month to spend than we did last year, but even $7,500 isn't much when we're trying to fill seven spaces, so we're forced to strategize. We choose to put forth as much effort as we can into the most likely center and a small forward whose passing and handling I really like.

30 Days Later
C Freeman Whitesell, easily the most talented offer we have out there, has us at #3, but his interest in waning. We go all in on him because he'd be a major get for us. The other guys, we're in the #1 to #3 spots and they're all very much interested in us.

August
C Freeman Whitsell appears to be leaning towards Holy Cross, and C Enoch Foster, the big man we thought sure we'd be able to get, is yet another recruit likely lost to Brown. SF Wyseth Johnson is a probable commit to Central Connecticut State, our Northeast foe. Holy Cross and Rhode Island have also passed us up for PG Timothy Dozier. Only SF David Lilly has us as #1.

We pay token tribute to Lilly with a Cortez visit and both he and I will try and convince Whitsell and Foster to sign with us. We also throw out a couple of wild card scholarship offers to a couple big men, sight unseen. We need players, badly.

Early Signing Day
C Enoch Foster - Brown
SF Wyseth Johnson - Central Connecticut State
PG Timothy Dozier - Holy Cross

0-3 and not a single damned commit. David Lilly didn't get enough love, I guess.

For the first time ever, we're sending one of our coaches abroad. Cortez is going to France to court C Honore Deffresnes and try to convince him that American University is not the right place for him, but our American university is.

Walk-on Edmund McMasters pulled a fast one on me. Turns out he's not academically eligible to play after failing a summer class he took after graduating from high school in the spring. I give him a dressing down about it, telling him I should have kept somebody else, somebody who would get his shit down in the classroom, and that if he didn't get his shit straightened out, I'd cut his ass ASAP.

He just looked at me sullenly.

I *will* cut him next year.

Bryant Bulldogs 2012-13 Starting Lineup

PG Jeffery McCarron (RS Jr)
The best all-around floor general on the team. Didn't see much playing time last year - only about 4 minutes a game, but he really worked hard in the offseason.

SG Duncan Kumar (Sr)
Moves from the 6th man role to a starting spot because he's an absolute gunner from 3 point range and we need somebody who can actually score. We're really hurting for offensive forces anywhere at the moment and I expect him to be our man guy.

SF Blair Isley (Fr)
John disagreed with me, saying that Isley wasn't ready, but in my opinion, he's the best available choice to be starting at the 3, so that's where he'll be.

PF Kerry Penn (Rs Sr)*
One of two returning starters, he should be a rebounding force this year, and he did excellent work overall at developing some of the weaker parts of his game.

C Roger Redman (Sr)*
The other returning starter, he and Kerry's imminent graduation mean that we'll have new starters here next season. Roger was inconsistent last year, but I'm hoping he can break out in his final season.

Season kicks off with a nauseating 80-78 road loss to Southern, a team we should have beaten. 14 points for Andrew Hinshaw as our 6th man, Roger Redman barely missing a double-double with 11 points and 9 rebounds.

St. Bonaventure schools us 83-61 in the home opener. Bad game all around, although Andrew Hinshaw did score 11 off the bench and Kerry Penn came close to a double with 12 points and 8 rebounds. Roger Redman was even closer, but he was 3 for 14, so forget him.

0-3, following an 80-60 home loss to Hartford. Hollis Odum, one of our first recruit targets, gets 17 points, 9 assists, and 2 steals as their starting point guard. I hate this game of basketball.

At long last, a win! 72-63 victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore on their court. 10 points, 8 rebounds from Roger Redman, but it was Jeffery McCarron's team-high 15 points that won Player of the Game.

What a waste of money. $3,500 down the drain and the Frenchman goes to American University. Cortez barely talks to people for a few days, he's so angry at himself for his failure.

But on the bright side, SF David Lilly signed. Our first commit. 1 down, 6 more to go.
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Old 01-30-2011, 02:23 PM   #15
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Join Date: Sep 2004
So we're in a rough spot, both in terms of recruiting and in terms of our current team talent. We really miss Douglas Alberts and because we have the worst rated facilities in the conference, a fat zero, our chance of developing guys is pretty small too.

But we press on, taking comfort in the fact we beat Yale to David Lilly.

Winless Central Michigan notches its first victory, 96-82, as we're tired from traveling to Michigan. 30 points from Duncan Kumar is great, until you consider he allowed his opposite to score 38.

But then we stun Providence 70-50 on their own turf, a win that's a huge morale boost for our team. The Friars had no answer for Duncan Kumar's 26 points or Andrew Hinshaw's 10 bench points.

Sadly, we can't turn in a win streak, falling 67-60 to Portland State on our court. 18 points from Kerry Penn, 11 bench points form Andrew Hinshaw, as our misery continues.

69-62 road loss to St. Peter's. 19 points, 7 rebounds from Duncan Kumar. Nobody else really showed up.

Another fairly close road defeat, 77-72 at the hands of Loyola-Maryland. Best thing about this frustrating game was Junior Dillard's 12 points and 5 rebounds off the bench. Nice to see one of my signed guys do something.

Our New England road trip plays on, and we get a delightful 72-71 upset win over a far superior, then 6-2 Maine Black Bears team. SG Duncan Kumar leads all scorers with 17 points, but I give props to Roger Redman's 10 points and 9 rebounds.

I don't expect us to repeat the miracle against an unbeaten Penn team, especially in Philadelphia, and sure enough, it's a 79-61 L, despite 19 points and 10 rebounds from Duncan Kumar.

Bad news at the end of the month. Edmund McMasters comes back from suspension and then has the nerve to bitch about playing time. But that's not the worst of it.

SG Warner Tidwell to Xavier, SG James Dennis to George Mason, and C Freeman Whitsell finally quits toying with us and commits to Holy Cross.

But wait, there's more!

PF Kerry Penn failed a fall class and is done for the year.

The season's already lost anyway, so I give true freshman Chris Curtiss the start at PF. Might as well develop our young kids.

At this point, we don't even dick around. We find a couple guys who may actually sign with us who are of somewhat higher level, then start hitting the 1 star big men hard.

It's rough, but we have to do what we have to do.

On the bright side, it's a down year in the Northeast. Only Quinnipac escaped non-conference play with so much as a .500 record.
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Old 01-30-2011, 06:02 PM   #16
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Join Date: Sep 2004
"And so we beat on, boats against the current, borne ceaselessly back into the past." - F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Arguably the greatest closing line of a novel in American literary history. Seems rather fitting for this Bryant Bulldogs team, with all our troubles in my first season and a half.

Northwest play begins with a home against winless Sacred Heart. We need to beat these guys to avoid a last place finish in the conference, I think. Happily, it's an 84-62 rout for the good guys, Duncan Kumar lighting up for 29 points and Junior Dillard adding 10 bench points. Solid game for Chris Curtiss in his first start with 14 points, 7 rebounds, and a steal.

We always have trouble in New York, so I'm not shocked by the 81-70 defeat on the road to St. Francis (NY). 21 points from Duncan Kumar and 8 points, 13 boards out of Roger Redman don't come close.

Horrendous shooting dooms us in a 64-45 beatdown via Wagner on their court. As in, 29.6% team shooting horrible. It doesn't help that Duncan Kumar sprains his wrist so badly, he's out for a week. Cue up Andrew Hinshaw for the starting SG spot.

Without our star guard, we lose 78-71 at home to St. Francis (PA), despite a phenomenal 24 point bench outpouring by Junior Dillard. I'm happy to see him really step up as he has periodically through this season.

We actually pull off an 84-68 road upset of Robert Morris. Really nice 19 point breakout game from Blair Isley and Roger Redman narrowly misses the double-double of 9 points, 9 rebounds.

Duncan Kumar comes back for the home game against Quinnipac, but their talent is way better than ours in a 91-66 blowout. That said, Kumar scored 23 in his first game back.

Whipping Monmouth 85-65 on the road feels great. 3 headed hydra attack with Blair Isley racking up 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, Jeffery McCarron putting in 18 points and Duncan Kumar sandwiching in 17 points and 8 rebounds.

All the joy goes out of it, though, when Junior Dillard hits the court, screaming in agony, clutching his foot. He's rushed to the hospital, where X-rays reveal he broke his foot and is Out 39 Days. Tough, tough blow for the team and for my first ever commit, the kid who fell in love with Bryant. He's also our best jump shooter, making the loss even more crippling.

And so it's with dispirited hearts that we go to Long Island, the New York Curse netting an 85-74 loss. 21 points for Jeffery McCarron, but the sight of Dillard sitting there in that cast really puts a damper on our mood, even though he's yelling and cheering, trying to urge us on.

70-64 loss to Central Connecticut State in front of the home fans. 20 points from Jeffery McCarron, 19 from Duncan Kumar. Our bench has been terrible since Dillard went down, since we don't have his outside shooting to rely on anymore.

No news on the recruiting front this month. A little surprising, but it is what it is.

Code:
2012 Northeast Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quinnipiac 7 2 .778 12 7 .632 176 27 Wagner 6 3 .667 11 9 .550 298 30 Robert Morris 6 3 .667 10 10 .500 149 35 St. Francis-NY 5 4 .556 8 11 .421 225 17 Monmouth 5 4 .556 8 12 .400 338 27 St. Francis-PA 4 5 .444 7 13 .350 274 10 Fairleigh Dickinson 4 5 .444 7 11 .389 294 26 Sacred Heart 4 5 .444 4 15 .211 319 18 Central Connecticut State 4 5 .444 6 12 .333 171 29 Long Island 3 6 .333 6 14 .300 331 20 Bryant University 3 6 .333 6 14 .300 314 3 Mount St. Mary's 3 6 .333 5 14 .263 343 29

We're barely hanging on to avoiding the cellar. Quinnipac has been on a tear this year. They and Wagner both are showing that last season's run to the conference tournament final was no fluke. I think Wagner's on its way to becoming a Northeast power. They won the automatic bid last year, had the conference's top recruiting class last season, and are looking strong now, too.

Code:
1 Duncan Kumar SG 26.3 16.9 5.1 1.6 0.1 0.2 2.6 Bryant University 2 Herbert Froehlich PG 30.2 16.2 4.1 3.4 2.0 0.1 2.9 Wagner 3 Carrol Saunders PG 29.3 16.0 1.3 2.1 0.8 0.1 2.7 St. Francis-PA 4 Alvin Glidden SG 31.2 15.8 4.2 3.8 2.5 0.6 3.0 Robert Morris 5 Chris Cherry PG 31.1 15.2 2.5 6.3 0.6 0.1 2.9 Quinnipiac 6 Michael Montana SG 31.1 15.2 2.3 2.7 0.5 0.1 2.9 Mount St. Mary's 7 Jack Gillespie PG 30.9 14.7 2.1 2.2 1.2 0.1 3.8 Fairleigh Dickinson 8 Kip Blume SF 27.5 14.1 5.8 3.2 0.9 0.2 3.6 Fairleigh Dickinson 9 Kenneth Marcano PG 28.9 14.1 5.3 1.6 1.4 0.1 1.5 Quinnipiac 10 Gary Kuhn PG 24.5 14.1 3.5 1.6 0.4 0.0 1.9 Sacred Heart 11 Todd Mack SG 28.6 13.7 3.0 1.5 0.4 0.3 3.2 St. Francis-NY 12 Robert Zimmermann PF 27.1 12.9 9.1 1.3 0.4 0.6 2.2 St. Francis-NY 13 Daniel Scott C 32.3 12.8 5.7 0.8 0.8 1.4 2.6 Central Connecticut State 14 Rubin Dawson SG 29.5 12.2 4.4 4.4 0.6 0.1 4.0 Robert Morris 15 Raul Shea C 29.1 11.8 6.7 1.0 1.2 0.6 1.7 Mount St. Mary's 16 Jefferey Hamilton SG 30.6 11.6 3.3 2.7 1.4 0.2 3.0 Monmouth 17 Bryan Philips SF 28.3 11.4 5.8 2.2 1.1 0.3 2.2 Quinnipiac 18 Jimmie Storer SF 22.9 11.3 4.8 1.1 0.9 0.1 2.8 Long Island 19 Jason Bailey SF 27.6 11.0 6.8 1.4 0.9 0.1 2.8 Monmouth 20 Charles Lamb PF 30.2 10.9 7.6 1.6 0.3 0.3 1.3 St. Francis-PA 21 Jerry Jordan SF 30.1 10.6 5.0 1.3 1.2 0.4 1.2 Robert Morris 22 Julius Gehrke SF 23.7 10.5 3.9 1.4 0.6 0.2 2.6 Long Island 23 Jeffery McCarron PG 27.1 10.5 3.3 3.8 0.7 0.2 1.7 Bryant University 24 Constant Fauvarcq SG 24.2 10.3 2.7 1.8 0.5 0.3 2.3 Sacred Heart 25 Gregory Wertz SF 30.7 9.9 5.0 1.5 1.1 0.1 2.0 Wagner 26 Ronald Nelsen PG 24.7 9.6 2.2 2.2 0.6 0.1 1.7 Monmouth 27 Jarred McElrath SG 32.9 9.2 3.9 3.7 1.2 0.4 3.4 Fairleigh Dickinson 28 Emiliano Pancher C 31.6 9.0 10.7 1.0 0.5 1.3 1.6 St. Francis-PA 29 Richard Cook C 27.5 8.8 6.9 0.8 0.5 0.3 1.0 Sacred Heart 30 Brooks Gibb C 30.4 8.8 7.5 1.1 0.4 1.1 2.0 Monmouth 31 Weldon Geyer PF 22.8 8.8 4.1 0.9 0.2 1.3 0.8 Quinnipiac 32 Johnie Marshall SF 27.8 8.8 3.1 0.9 0.6 0.2 2.7 Central Connecticut State 33 Blair Isley SF 30.6 8.8 3.5 2.2 0.6 0.2 2.4 Bryant University 34 Michael Brown SG 27.7 8.4 4.6 1.5 0.7 0.1 2.5 Sacred Heart 35 Jerrell Pierce C 33.3 8.4 9.8 1.6 0.5 0.9 1.9 Wagner 36 Clemente Vera PG 30.5 8.3 2.3 4.7 0.9 0.3 2.6 Central Connecticut State 37 Josue Wexler PG 19.6 8.1 2.2 1.5 0.6 0.0 0.8 St. Francis-NY 38 Roger Redman C 28.9 8.1 8.4 1.1 0.5 0.2 1.2 Bryant University 39 Chris Banuelos SG 27.1 7.9 4.5 2.1 1.1 0.1 1.9 Central Connecticut State

We'd be in a ton of trouble without Kumar, and of course, he's a senior. I'm quietly hopeful about Isley, who's tied with Johnie Marshall of Central Connecticut State for the Northeast's leading scorer among freshmen.
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Old 01-30-2011, 07:45 PM   #17
Izulde
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Our bad luck with the French and Cortez continues. Despite sending him there, our assistant reports that we're fifth on Luc Fauvarque's list even with a scholarship offer, and Illinois State and Yale have both offered and made his top two.

"Don't worry about it", I tell Cortez, although I'm secretly starting to have doubts about our recruiting coordinator. He's lost a lot of his chatty witticism in the past year and I think he's starting to hate going to France.

We trek to face the league leading Quinnipiac Bobcats and get routed 92-59. Richie Evans scores 12 bench points, but there's really nothing good to say about this one.

Sacred Heart tops us 66-55 on the road in a display of mutual offensive ineptitude and I'm just watching our season swirl down, down, down the drain.

Robert Morris gets revenge for the earlier loss, beating us 83-72 in Smithfield. Richie Evans with 10 bench points and 4 blocks, near-double doubles from Roger Redman (9 points, 13 rebounds) and Chris Curtiss (11 points, 9 rebounds).

Our first win without Junior Dillard finally comes in a 79-58 home thrashing of Long Island. Blair Isley sparkles with 23 points and Andrew Hinshaw chips in 10 bench points. A victory we sorely needed to try and keep out of the cellar.

Next home game, back to the losing ways, 70-62 to St. Francis (NY), despite 24 points from Jeffery McCarron, 21 points from Duncan Kumar and an earthshattering 18 rebounds from Roger Redman. Our bench scored just 3 points.

Home again does us no good, dropping 83-70 to Fairleigh-Dickinson. Duncan Kumar 23 points, Roger Redman's 11 point, 13 rebound double-double both washed away.

Last date of our five game homestand and we pull off the 71-61 miracle knockout of Wagner. Duncan Kumar and Blair Isley each score 16 and Roger Redman comes close to the 9 point, 14 rebound double-double.

But what a Phyrric victory it is.

Jeffery McCarron - Fractured Hip - Done for the year
Andrew Hinshaw - Sprained Ankle - 9 days

Junior Dillard and Andrew Hinshaw are both questionable for our second to last game of the season, but we have no choice but to play them. Hinshaw takes the starting PG spot and Dillard is our 6th man. 72-56 road loss to St. Francis (PA), handing us our 20th defeat of the year. Afterwards, I tell the team I'm proud of them just for playing at all, despite all our problems this year.

The Frenchman goes to Illinois State and I'm stunned he turned down Yale. Silly frog. We do, however, seal two commits. PG Hershel Gaughan, a 2* player from High Point High in Beltsville, MD and 1* C Gerald Gonzales from Watertown High in Watertown, NY, both ink.

Our final game of the year is at Mount St. Mary's. Win, and we're safe. Lose and we occupy last place. Simple as that. Junior Dillard, who has really shown leadership potential on this team, makes an extravagant speech about winning one for me and all that, but nobody listens to freshmen and we lose 76-66. Nice game by Blake Isley with 18 points, and Junior Dillard plays his heart out with 12 bench points to back up his words, but it's not enough.

Code:
TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quinnipiac 16 2 .889 21 7 .750 133 27 Robert Morris 14 4 .778 18 11 .621 143 35 St. Francis-NY 11 7 .611 14 14 .500 207 17 Wagner 10 8 .556 15 14 .517 305 30 Sacred Heart 10 8 .556 10 18 .357 298 18 Central Connecticut State 10 8 .556 12 15 .444 189 29 St. Francis-PA 8 10 .444 11 18 .379 288 10 Fairleigh Dickinson 7 11 .389 10 17 .370 306 26 Mount St. Mary's 6 12 .333 8 20 .286 342 29 Monmouth 6 12 .333 9 20 .310 336 27 Long Island 5 13 .278 8 21 .276 323 20 Bryant University 5 13 .278 8 21 .276 312 3

Nice comeback by Robert Morris, but Qunnipiac long ago established itself as the Northeast's top team this season.

Code:
1 Duncan Kumar SG 26.9 16.6 5.4 1.7 0.1 0.1 3.1 Bryant University 2 Carrol Saunders PG 29.7 16.3 1.4 1.9 0.8 0.0 2.7 St. Francis-PA 3 Chris Cherry PG 30.8 16.0 2.6 6.6 0.6 0.1 2.5 Quinnipiac 4 Alvin Glidden PG 31.6 15.9 4.0 3.9 2.7 0.5 2.7 Robert Morris 5 Herbert Froehlich PG 29.8 15.7 4.3 3.3 2.0 0.1 2.8 Wagner 6 Kenneth Marcano SG 27.4 15.1 4.9 1.9 1.1 0.1 1.3 Quinnipiac 7 Todd Mack SG 28.7 15.0 2.8 1.8 0.5 0.5 3.3 St. Francis-NY 8 Jack Gillespie SG 30.2 14.6 2.1 2.3 1.2 0.1 3.3 Fairleigh Dickinson 9 Robert Zimmermann PF 28.6 14.4 9.6 1.6 0.5 0.7 2.2 St. Francis-NY 10 Michael Montana SG 29.7 14.1 2.4 2.6 0.7 0.1 2.6 Mount St. Mary's 11 Gary Kuhn PG 24.6 13.9 3.3 1.7 0.4 0.0 1.6 Sacred Heart 12 Daniel Scott C 32.4 13.8 5.9 0.8 0.7 1.3 2.4 Central Connecticut State 13 Kip Blume SF 27.4 13.2 5.9 3.3 0.9 0.1 3.7 Fairleigh Dickinson 14 Jimmie Storer SF 22.7 12.3 4.7 1.0 0.9 0.1 2.8 Long Island 15 Frank Earl SF 26.4 11.9 4.4 1.4 0.6 0.7 1.8 Robert Morris 16 Jerry Jordan SF 29.9 11.8 5.4 1.2 1.4 0.3 1.3 Robert Morris 17 Jefferey Hamilton SG 30.4 11.7 3.0 2.8 1.4 0.1 3.0 Monmouth 18 Rubin Dawson SG 29.0 11.6 4.3 4.1 0.7 0.1 3.8 Robert Morris 19 Bryan Philips SF 28.5 11.6 6.0 1.7 1.0 0.3 2.2 Quinnipiac 20 Raul Shea C 28.6 11.4 6.8 1.2 1.3 0.5 2.0 Mount St. Mary's 21 Jeffery McCarron PG 26.7 11.0 3.3 3.4 0.7 0.2 1.9 Bryant University 22 Jarred McElrath SG 33.1 10.8 4.1 3.7 1.2 0.4 3.2 Fairleigh Dickinson 23 Constant Fauvarcq SG 25.1 10.6 3.4 1.5 0.8 0.3 2.6 Sacred Heart 24 Jason Bailey SF 27.0 10.5 6.0 1.4 0.8 0.1 2.4 Monmouth 25 Charles Lamb C 30.0 10.3 7.8 1.5 0.4 0.3 1.4 St. Francis-PA 26 Johnie Marshall SF 28.1 10.3 3.1 1.4 0.5 0.1 2.8 Central Connecticut State 27 Julius Gehrke SF 23.6 10.0 3.7 1.5 0.6 0.1 2.8 Long Island 28 Gregory Wertz SF 30.6 10.0 5.1 1.5 1.0 0.1 2.1 Wagner 29 Richard Cook C 27.5 10.0 7.0 0.9 0.6 0.4 1.0 Sacred Heart 30 Blair Isley SF 31.8 9.7 3.8 2.1 0.7 0.1 2.6 Bryant University 31 Brooks Gibb C 30.8 9.6 8.1 1.0 0.3 1.2 1.8 Monmouth 32 Ronald Nelsen PG 25.2 9.2 2.0 2.4 0.6 0.1 1.8 Monmouth 33 Ray Belle C 28.8 8.9 5.4 1.2 0.7 0.5 1.2 St. Francis-NY 34 Weldon Geyer PF 22.8 8.8 4.1 0.9 0.2 1.3 0.8 Quinnipiac 35 Emiliano Pancher C 31.7 8.6 11.0 1.1 0.4 1.3 1.6 St. Francis-PA 36 Chris Banuelos SG 28.1 8.5 4.8 2.4 1.2 0.0 2.1 Central Connecticut State 37 Michael Brown SF 27.8 8.5 4.6 1.6 0.8 0.1 2.5 Sacred Heart 38 Clemente Vera PG 30.9 8.4 2.1 4.9 1.0 0.3 2.6 Central Connecticut State 39 Roger Redman C 29.6 7.9 9.1 1.3 0.5 0.2 1.2 Bryant University

Fat lot of good having the Northeast's leading scorer ultimately did us.

Northeast Tournament
#6 seed Central Connecticut State upsets #3 seed St. Francis (NY), but all the other higher seeds advance and it's all chalk as #1 Quinnipiac faces off against #2 Robert Morris in the tournament final. The Colonials continue their hot late-season form, beating the Bobcats 76-67 for the automatic bid.

Selection Sunday
Robert Morris actually gets a 15 seed in the East Region, where they face off against 2 seed Syracuse, making it the second year in a row that the Northeast champion plays the Orangemen in the first round. At least it wasn't a play-in game.

Her Blondeness's alma mater, the defending champion Creighton Blue Jays, are a 4 seed, also in the East, against 13 seed Penn. Princeton sadly did not make it back to the Big Dance and UNLV has yet to make it to the NCAA tournament.

The Runnin' Rebels, did, however, earn a #1 seed in the NIT against 8 seed Missouri in the Midwest Region. Quinnipiac drew the 7 seed in the East against Seton Hall. Hard to believe 21-8 (9-5) Princeton, #2 in the Ivy League, got completely shut out. Nobody at Nassau Hall is happy.

Seton Hall squashes Quinnipiac 96-78 and it takes UNLV everything it has to escape Mizzou 84-83 in a game that nearly made me lose my throat from screaming at the TV.

The Runnin' Rebels have an easier time punching out Purdue 84-79, but it was still too close for comfort.

NCAA Notes
#12 Washington State upset #5 Tennessee, causing Poli to get extremely drunk and depressed. #13 St. Louis upended #4 Miami, but #10 Miami (OH) saved the cause of Miamis by upsetting #7 North Carolina, which in turn pisses off radii.

But nothing was bigger than 16 seed Tulsa's 65-63 upset of 1 seed Maryland for the first time in NCAA history. Later reports would blame it on terpkristin's actually making it a whole week without getting injured, thus upsetting the balance of the universe to the degree that only this monumental an upset could restore it. tk then fractured her ankle throwing a pillow in disgust at the Terps' loss.

Creighton smacked around Penn 87-63.

#12 seed Washington State continued its Cinderella run, taking down #4 seed Duke. In the same region, #7 Marquette and #6 Memphis took down #2 Utah and #3 Ohio State respectively to scramble the West region.

#13 St. Louis ousted #5 Texas A&M in a 68-66 thriller in the Midwest, and in the South, #9 Clemson over #1 Texas (fear the wrath of cartman, Senator, etc., and cheers for CU Tiger), #7 West Virginia over #2 Virginia Tech (Yay, Swaggs) and #6 Kentucky over #3 Xavier, left #5 seed Butler as the highest remaining seed in the region.

#9 Oklahoma State put a quick end to the Tulsa foolishness and get a Sweet 16 date with Creighton in the East.

Sweet 16
#1 Utah State vs #12 Washington State
#7 Marquette vs #6 Memphis
#1 Michigan State vs #13 St. Louis
#2 Pittsburgh vs #3 Arizona
#9 Clemson vs #5 Butler
#7 West Virginia vs #6 Kentucky
#9 Oklahoma State vs #4 Creighton
#2 Vanderbilt vs #3 Syracuse

Vanderbilt, Creighton, Pittsburgh, Arizona, Memphis - Streak of 2 Sweet 16s

No major upsets in the Sweet 16

Elite 8
#1 Utah State vs #7 Marquette
#1 Michigan State vs #2 Pittsburgh
#5 Butler vs #6 Kentucky
#4 Creighton vs #2 Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt, Creighton - Streak of 2 Elite 8s

UNLV beats 2 seed Illinois State 84-78 to advance to the NIT Final Four, while #1 Michigan State beats #2 Pittsburgh (Cheers, Schmidty and Co!) and #4 Creighton upsets #2 Vandy as Her Blondeness's charm spell carries the defending champs back to the Final Four.

Marquette upsets 1 seed Utah State in a great 79-77 game to put a stop to the mid-major craziness, but #5 Butler responds by beating #6 Kentucky.

Final Four
#7 Marquette vs #5 Butler
#1 Michigan State vs #4 Creighton

Creighton - Final Four 2 streak

PF Desmond Royster, Washington D.C. "All-State" commits and so does C Lester Henning of Westbury, NY. Both 1* scrubs.

UNLV destroys Montana 113-94, setting up an All-Mountain West NIT Championship Final with BYU. U-N-L-V GO FIGHT WIN! MacroGuru and BYU 14 and I exchange friendly banter back and forth in the days leading up to the title game.

The Runnin' Rebels rout the Cougars 102-84 in a game that was never even close.

2012-13 NIT CHAMPIONS: UNLV RUNNIN' REBELS

Okay, so I'd rather they were in the Big Dance, but a championship banner is a championship banner.

Schmidty goes apocalyptic as Her Blondeness's magic works a 61-50 Creighton win over Sparty. Meanwhile, Marquette wins 65-55.

National Championship
#7 Marquette vs #4 Creighton

Creighton - NCAA Championship Game 2 streak

Heh. One of the home state schools against Her Blondeness. No team watching party this year. Cortez has been depressed and cancels it. Malcolm is out of town with his wife on a Carribbean cruise, and I frankly don't feel like people around.

Final: Marquette 89 Creighton 49

It's the most bizarre, dull championship in NCAA history. I quit watching early in the second half. The Blue Jays and Her Blondeness have finally been hexed.

Bryant Bulldogs Season Awards
PF Chris Curtiss - All-Northeast Freshman Team
SF Blair Isley - All-Northeast Freshman Team

Isley got robbed of the Northeast Freshman of the Year award. Some asshole from Fairleigh-Dickinson won it. Duncan Kumar also got jipped out of All-Conference recognition.

C Cole Clifford from Tawas City, MI, is our last scrub to sign. We left one scholarship open for a transfer.

Despite our 21 loss season, our prestige stayed at 3. Schwarzy is still content to have me around.

Code:
2012 Recruiting Rankings # Team Conference Best Player Rtg 5* 4* 3* 2* 1* ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 107. Robert Morris Northeast SF Albert Ashcraft *** 0 0 2 1 0 122. Sacred Heart Northeast PG Arthur Stamps *** 0 0 2 0 1 172. Mount St. Mary's Northeast PF Edward Hazelwood *** 0 0 2 0 2 208. Monmouth Northeast PG Michale Duprey *** 0 0 1 2 0 214. Central Connecticut State Northeast SF Wyeth Johnston *** 0 0 1 0 2 223. Bryant University Northeast SF David Lilly ** 0 0 0 2 4 258. St. Francis-NY Northeast C Charles Dowdy ** 0 0 0 1 2 266. Fairleigh Dickinson Northeast PG Daniel Lerch ** 0 0 0 1 2 284. Quinnipiac Northeast C J.C. Taft ** 0 0 0 1 1 293. Wagner Northeast C Richard Lawton ** 0 0 0 1 1 297. Long Island Northeast SF Noah Champagne ** 0 0 0 1 1 331. St. Francis-PA Northeast PG Morgan Morris * 0 0 0 0 2

We slipped in the conference recruiting rankings, but our overall talent should be increasing enough to get us out of last place next year.

...Maybe.

Our coaching staff is all sticking around another year. I almost fired Cortez, but couldn't bring myself to it.

Transfer Phase
There's a senior who has interest in us right off the bat. He has us as his #3 school and it only takes a moment's thought before we offer him our final scholarship.

SG James Zorn from Tennessee-Martin commits to transfer to our school. Yes, we only have him for one season, but he'll be our best 3 point shooter. By far. As in 80/A right now best.

Rough year, but for the first time, we have a full roster of scholarship players.
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Old 01-31-2011, 09:53 AM   #18
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Jim Zorn can also coach the QBs on the Bryant football team. That's a good get!
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Old 01-31-2011, 03:21 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chesapeake View Post
Jim Zorn can also coach the QBs on the Bryant football team. That's a good get!

This is true! To be honest, I have no idea how good/bad the football team is. I'd never heard of Bryant before this dynasty. Their hoops team isn't doing -too- awful IRL this year - at least they're .500 in conference play last I saw.
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Old 02-09-2011, 10:18 PM   #20
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Join Date: Sep 2004
It felt like springtime on this February morning
In the courtyard birds were singing your praise
I'm still recalling things you said to me to make me feel all right


Maybe I've said that before somewhere else. Well, quoted it really. Whatever. In any case, Sophie B. Hawkins' music video for "As I Lay Me Down" was, oddly enough, a primary influence on my wanting to go to school out East. And yet, where have I gone? Midwest, South, and West. Overseas, too, if you count Spain.

I often think about how differently life would have gone for me if I'd applied to more schools, not just settled for Minnesota. But then again, I was pretty screwed up mentally and emotionally in high school, so maybe the eventual chain of events wouldn't have changed all that much.

In any case, here I am again in tiny ass Smithfield, Rhode Island, for my third season. I can't wait to leave.

There's two scholarships available this year and honestly, it's all about the best available players. We've also decided to slightly relax the academic standards, as it's cost us too many good players. They still need to make a 1000 SAT score, with at least a 2.3 GPA, but with some wiggle room on each if they exceed the minimums of one significantly.

We zero in on our two targets right away, PG Hilton Harding, a 3* recruit who would be awesome, and PF Lance Tully, also a 3* recruit who is Rhode Island's Mr. Basketball.

Hilton Harding is quick to tell us that with scholarship offers from Harvard and New Hampshire in hand, we have no chance, so we transfer our efforts to SF Noe Dugan, another 3* recruit.

Only to get burned by Dugan a month later so it's another changeup, to C Jeremy Setser, who at 6'6 is way too short to play the 5 and iffy even for the 4.

...Then everybody jumps on Jeremy Setser and the worst part is, now Brown is creeping up on Lance Tully. Fuck giving up Tully, though. We've fought too damn hard for him. I once again send Cortez abroad, though this time it doesn't really count because he's going just over the border into Canada to take a look at 3* Napoleon Gordon, who I hope will be dynamite and flash fast.

Just before training camp, Cortez bursts into my office, shouting at me to go to Rivals.com's website. I do, and under his frantic orders, I pull up a video of Rhode Island Mr. Basketball, PF Lance Tully, who has hats from Brown and Bryant on the table.

"...And so, after a lot of hard thought, talk with my family and friends, and prayer, I've made my decision."

The audience, Cortez and I all watch with caught breath.

My heart sinks as he starts lowering his hand to the Brown hat, but then he suddenly switches to the Bryant hat and OMG I can not believe this he's putting it on his head!!!!!

"I'm signing with the Bryant University Bulldogs!"

Cortez and I dance around the office, wrapping each other up in a bear hug.

"We did it! We did it!" he whispers fiercely, "We finally got a 3 star and the state's best!"

Yes, finally little 3 prestige Bryant has landed Rhode Island's Mr. Basketball, and the first 3* recruit in Bulldogs' history.

But what makes it most sweet is that at last, we beat Brown for a recruit.

It's such a happy moment I have to post his scouting profile.

Code:
#5 PF Lance Tully -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-7 Weight: 239 High School: Middletown High School Hometown: Middletown, RI GPA: 2.36 Test Score: 1000 Rating: *** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 49 13 31 13 28 20 71 37 39 36 0 26 27 65 45 7 Potential: A F D F D F A B B D D D Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14.6 3.1 9.7 1.2 2.5 0.48 0.4 0.9 3.5 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.1 10.5 .579 2.5 4.6 .549 0.0 0.4 .000 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Bryant University Rankings: East Region #24 PF High School Awards: All-State, Mr. Basketball (Rhode Island) Top 5 Schools: *Bryant University, Brown,

True, he'll always be a horrible handler and passer. But if Malcom's read on Lance is even close to accurate, our new recruit, right now, as a high school senior, is the following:

#1. The team's best offensive rebounder by far
#2. The team's #3 defensive rebounder
#3. The team's #4 inside shooter with not much gap between him and the leader
#4. The team's #4 post defender with again not much gap between him and the leader

This is a huge, huge, *huge* get. It's almost enough to make me want to stay.

...Almost.
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Old 02-16-2011, 12:19 AM   #21
Izulde
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Join Date: Sep 2004
The whole coaching staff goes out drinking in celebration after the Tully signing. We don't talk too much - we're just too thrilled with the get and too happy to want to ruin it by speaking.

Our freshmen all think they can compete for playing time, so none of them want to redshirt. Fair enough.

And of course, PG Hershel Gaughan, our other 2* recruit besides SF David Lilly last year, failed one of his required high school courses in his last semester, so he has to sit out the first half of the season while he gets out of academic probation.

Bryant Bulldogs 2013-14 Starting Lineup
PG Jeffery McCarron (RS Sr)*
Decent but nothing spectacular last season. We'll really be counting on him to show off his passing and 3 point shooting ability in his final season.

SG Andrew Hinshaw (RS Jr)
Started his freshman year, lost starting spot last season and won it back this year with a very solid offseason. One of the best ballhandlers in the entire country, but pretty average skills outside of that.

SF Blair Isley (So)*
Made the Northeast All-Freshman team last year, but he really needs to improve on his shooting accuracy. Shot just 38.4% last year and honestly, if it wasn't for his very solid stealing ability and our overall lack of depth, he probably wouldn't be starting again.

PF David Lilly (Fr)
Undersized and could potentially move to SF next year, his natural position. But our talent is so bad, he's the starting PF by default. Our best inside shooter.

C Chris Curtiss (So)*
Took over the starting PF spot last year after the season was pretty much lost. Also made the Northeast All-Freshman team and arguably our best all-around shooter, except for maybe Hinshaw. Yeah, there wasn't really much to choose from here.

Note: John Burdick wanted me to start Lester Henning at C, but I overruled him. Curtiss is the far superior player.

We start the season with a comfortable 79-68 home win over Chicago State. SF Blair Isley takes the rumors of his almost being sent to the reserves personally, shooting 50% for 19 points on his way to Player of the Game honors. PG Jeffrey McCarron scores 15 and SF Charles Valencia, who almost got the starting spot, scores 11 off the bench.

Our first road game is at St. Joseph's and it's a 94-66 yawner, us the losers of course. Props to C Chris Curtiss for his 15 points and backup big freshman Lester Henning for 10 points, but we just stunk.

A high octane game at Long Beach State, and we nip them 91-89 to go to 2-1 on the season. I can't tell you how long it's been since we've had a winning record this late in the year. PF David Lilly goes off for 22 points, C Chris Curtiss scores 10 points, 10 rebounds and SF Blair Isley chips in 16 points. Fantastic to see guys who were all my recruits be the top stars.

We translate that momentum into an emphatic 82-69 win for the home fans over Stony Brook. C Chris Curtiss bulldozes his way to a 12 point, 10 rebound double-double and PG Jeffrey McCarron scores a team-high 15 points.

3-1 in November. Last time we had a winning record this late was when we were 4-2 partway through December in my first season.

No recruiting news is okay. It means our target hasn't committed elsewhere yet and so we play on.

Playing winless teams always makes me nervous, but an enthusiastic, if small home crowd propels us to a 91-85 win over the Maine Black Bears. C Chris Curtiss continues his dazzling early season form, putting up 17 points and 11 rebounds and all five starters score 11 points or better. I rub it in John's face a little bit about how he wanted to start Henning over Curtiss, but we're all so happy with winning, he just laughs.

Two days later we're in Sacramento and I'm worried about exhaustion. Nope, we buzz Sacramento State 100-80! Our backcourt shot out of its mind. PG Jeffrey McCarron scored 25, SG Andrew Hinshaw 21, and, in my own personal favorite showing, Junior Dillard, my first ever recruit, erupted off the bench for 20 points. A sweet win on so many levels.

A week later, we're back out west to play Southern Utah and the Thunderbirds stop our four game winning streak and get revenge for last year's loss all in one blow, 65-57. Never mind Junior Dillard's 10 bench points, the T-birds played great ball security with only 6 turnovers, and we had trouble with our 3 point shot.

Another week goes by and we're out in South Dakota, facing another .500 team. Maddening 71-69 loss to South Dakota State that ruins C Chris Curtiss's 15 points, 8 rebounds, block, and 2 steals and Junior Dillard's 10 bench points. We shot for shit on free throws and when that happens, you lose close games like this most of the time.

Come the 19th we're finally back home, playing for our above .500 lives against Manhattan. Well not really, as we're 5-3 before the game, but unfortunately it's our third straight loss, an 82-50 shelling we were never in, irrespective of Andrew Hinshaw's 15 points.

I'm not expecting us to win our umpteenth road game out West. Not against a 7-3 Dons team. We give it a hell of a fight, but San Francisco drops us 64-60, SF Blair Isley's 19 points falling just short of leading us to the upset.

Still, I can't complain about a 5-5 record at the end of December. It's the best we've ever done in my career so far.

Small steps.

Like being .500 at the end of December.

Like landing not one, but two 3* recruits in a season. SG Napoleon "Dynamite Flash" Gordon from Delhi, Ontario in Canada, commits to us. We were the only school on him until Marquette made a too little, too late charge for him.

Until this becomes a common occurrence, I'm posting the details, as determined by Malcolm, of every 3* recruit our tiny school lands.

Code:
#15 SG Napoleon Gordon -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 5-11 Weight: 179 High School: Hometown: Delhi, Canada GPA: 2.83 Test Score: 1150 Rating: *** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 29 34 60 66 33 40 28 12 0 31 45 27 63 59 72 1 Potential: D B C A C C B D F D C D Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16.4 2.0 3.4 2.7 2.5 1.06 2.1 0.7 2.9 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.0 14.9 .468 1.0 1.7 .606 1.5 4.6 .319 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Bryant University Rankings: Foreign #18 Overall, Foreign #6 SG High School Awards: None Top 5 Schools: *Bryant University, Marquette,

So that's two Top 500 players, two 3* recruits, in the same year. It may not seem like much until you consider that prior to this, our highest ranked find was David Lilly's #549 status a year ago.

There's also bad news on the horizon, but for now, let's just end by focusing on the good, and the progress we've made.
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Old 02-18-2011, 10:47 PM   #22
Izulde
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Join Date: Sep 2004
In the midst of our recruitment celebrations lie a few sobering realities.

Code:
2013 Northeast Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestigetest -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wagner 0 0 .000 8 2 .800 73 27 Robert Morris 0 0 .000 8 4 .667 24 35 Mount St. Mary's 0 0 .000 6 5 .545 223 24 Bryant University 0 0 .000 5 5 .500 160 3 Sacred Heart 0 0 .000 4 6 .400 242 18 Fairleigh Dickinson 0 0 .000 3 7 .300 258 23 Quinnipiac 0 0 .000 3 8 .273 184 29 St. Francis-NY 0 0 .000 2 8 .200 318 19 Long Island 0 0 .000 2 9 .182 189 16 St. Francis-PA 0 0 .000 2 10 .167 207 11 Central Connecticut State 0 0 .000 1 10 .091 236 28 Monmouth 0 0 .000 0 10 .000 267 24

Wagner and Robert Morris, the first two Northeast conference tournament champions, again look the class of the conference. Part of me feels like we can finally hit the .500 overall record needed to get the names on the backs of the jerseys. The other part of me feels like our .500 non-conference record is deceptive.

Look at how far Monmouth has fallen. Since Dennis Kelley retired after the 2011 season, they've gone 9-20 and are now 0-10 under Jeromy Lowther. Oddly enough, the Hawks' board is satisfied with him.

PG Herschel Gaughan passed all his classes but is mad about being last on the depth chart while he was suspended. PF Desmond Royster and C Gerald Gonzales are also unhappy.

Gaughan should rightfully be the 6th man, so I move him to that spot. Royster and Gonzales get moved to the 10th and 11th man positions, in hopes that will keep them satisfied.

Funny thing. I just realized our two recruits are ranked #483 and #484. Kinda cool.

January 1st, 2014. New calendar year and our first Northeast game of the year, a road game at Robert Morris. We lose 86-64 due to bad shooting (36.9%), and can not be saved by Jeffery McCarron's 21 points or Junior Dillard's 15 bench points. They were also the only two players in double digit scoring.

We make some adjustments prior to our next game, another road trip at St. Francis (NY). Unfortunately, it's an 84-70 loss, Andrew Hinshaw's 18 points the lone bright spot.

Road game #3 at 10-2 Wagner, still the best in the Northeast. Although we lose, it was a close 74-69 defeat. C Chris Curtiss broke through for 14 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals and a block and SF Blair Isley was 50% shooting for his team-high 15 points.

Finally a home game, against Mount St. Mary's. Doesn't make a damn bit of difference. 87-80 loss. 16 points from SF Blair Isley and 10 bench points from Lester Henning.

Back on the road, this time facing 1-13 Monmouth, our best shot at a conference win yet. And we get it, 71-64, thanks largely to Jeffery McCarron's 19 points in an ugly game.

Central Connecticut State next in front of our home fans. We make it a 67-53 win engineered by Jeffrey McCarron's 18 points and 2 steals. C Chris Curtiss shot horribly (2/9) but did have 13 rebounds.

Home game against Quinnipiac. 90-66 blowout loss as we let them shoot 58.5%. SG Andrew Hinshaw was the main even with 18 points in a very lackluster showing on both ends of the court.

We're 7-10, Sacred Heart is 10-7. Battle of inverse records here in Smithfield and it goes as expected in a 76-69 loss. 11 points, 8 rebounds for C Chris Curtiss, all but a single bucket on free throws. Junior Dillard stepped up with 12 bench points, but we again struggle with our shooting (30.2%).

Wagner's now 15-3 and even with homecourt advantage, I don't see us winning. But we pull off the 80-74 upset!!!. Probably the biggest win of my career thus far. C Chris Curtiss had 12 points, 12 rebounds, PG Jeffery McCarron led the team in scoring with 15, and Hershel Gaughan finally had a good game with 11 points and 3 steals off the bench. Player of the Game went to SF Blair Isley with his 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals.

Code:
2013 Northeast Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestigetest -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sacred Heart 8 1 .889 12 7 .632 205 18 Wagner 7 2 .778 15 4 .789 141 27 Robert Morris 6 3 .667 14 7 .667 150 35 Mount St. Mary's 6 3 .667 12 8 .600 265 24 Quinnipiac 5 4 .556 8 12 .400 200 29 Monmouth 4 5 .444 4 15 .211 315 24 Fairleigh Dickinson 4 5 .444 7 12 .368 263 23 St. Francis-NY 4 5 .444 6 13 .316 307 19 St. Francis-PA 4 5 .444 6 15 .286 249 11 Bryant University 3 6 .333 8 11 .421 196 3 Central Connecticut State 2 7 .222 3 17 .150 318 28 Long Island 1 8 .111 3 17 .150 314 16

Great news all around. Not only do we pull off the major upset against Wagner, but we're also not in last place.

And the best news? Everybody is happy now.
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Old 02-21-2011, 09:45 PM   #23
Izulde
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Join Date: Sep 2004
The big win over Wagner propels us to a 65-49 home win over Monmouth to open February. Balanced effort, with PG Jeffrey McCarron's team-high 12 points and C Chris Curtiss's 8 points and 11 rebounds the big highlights.

Then comes the major 90-88 home shocker over Robert Morris that sends the fans into raptures. PG Jeffery McCarron is absolutely unconscious in scoring 31 points. PF David Lilly racks up 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals for the other stupendous performance of the night.

So close to a shot at .500, but Sacred Heart snaps our 3 game win streak, 82-75, on the road. Can't blame Jeffery McCarron (18 points), SF Blair Isley (17 points) or PF David Lilly (15 points), though.

We knock off St. Francis (PA) 73-64 on the road, keyed largely by Junior Dillard's 17 bench points and Lester Henning's 10 bench points. Any road victory is a big one when you're this school.

Third straight road game, second chance at .500, but Fairleigh-Dickinson spanks us 79-66. C Chris Curtiss just misses the double-double with 10 points and 8 rebounds and PG Jeffrey McCarron and SG Andrew Hinshaw each score 14, but we shoot 34.9% as a team.

Our fourth straight game away, but this time we pull out the 81-70 victory over Central Connecticut State. PG Jeffery McCarron leads the way with 25 points and he's aided by C Chris Curtiss's 10 points and 12 rebounds, Hershel Gaughan's 10 bench points and Junior Dillard's 8 point in just 10 minutes.

Shot #3 at .500, and this time we get it, beating St. Francis (NY) at home, 67-63. Our historic win comes via balanced effort headlined by PG Jeffrey McCarron's 14 points and 5 assists and Junior Dillard's 11 bench points.

To illustrate just how huge this win was:

*We're now 13-13 (8-8), the latest we've been .500 in either phase of the record at any point of the season.
*13 wins breaks the record of 12 I set my first season.
*8 conference wins breaks the record of 7, also in my first season.

But there's still a lot to play for. We're not even through February yet and we still have to fight to even get in the Northeast conference tournament or finish .500 or better or anything.

Naturally, we let it all go to our heads and get stunned by Long Island 86-74 on our own hardwood. Forget PG Jeffery McCarron's 18 points; we played like shit and deserved to lose.

A victory would have guaranteed us .500 or better in the conference. Now we need to beat Mount St. Mary's on the road to do it.

March 1st. A .500 conference season all comes down to this. Bulldogs win! Bulldogs win! 74-62!. The players mob me with joy, though they really should be cheering for SF Blair Isley, who came alive for 17 points as our main man.

.500 in the conference in just my third season. That's a very, very sweet feeling. Even better, we clinch a spot in the Northeast conference tournament!

But before that day, we have to play Winston-Salem State on the road, a game it's hard to get the boys focused for. Sure enough, we get sloppy and lose by a single point, 66-65 to an inferior team. Too bad, because SG Andrew Hinshaw had one of his best games of the season with 22 points.

We're now 14-15. That guaranteed .500 overall record and the names on the jerseys could have been mine, damn it, if only we'd won.

But I'm not going to complain. No way in hell. It's been an amazing season so far.

The regular season final standings:

Code:
2013 Northeast Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sacred Heart 14 4 .778 19 10 .655 168 18 Robert Morris 11 7 .611 20 11 .645 157 35 Quinnipiac 11 7 .611 14 15 .483 158 29 Wagner 10 8 .556 19 10 .655 178 27 Mount St. Mary's 10 8 .556 16 13 .552 218 24 Bryant University 9 9 .500 14 15 .483 197 3 St. Francis-NY 9 9 .500 11 18 .379 274 19 Monmouth 9 9 .500 9 19 .321 290 24 Fairleigh Dickinson 7 11 .389 11 18 .379 310 23 St. Francis-PA 6 12 .333 8 22 .267 301 11 Central Connecticut State 6 12 .333 7 22 .241 312 28 Long Island 6 12 .333 8 21 .276 320 16

As a reward for our success, we get the #6 seed in the Northeast tournament and draw Quinnipiac.

The campus is abuzz with excitement in the days leading up to the game. It's been a long time since Bryant Bulldogs basketball had even a shred of relevancy and here I've brought them that tiny bit. Well, I, Cortez, Malcolm, and John have... as well as the players.

Code:
# PLAYER POS MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TO TEAM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Todd Mack SG 30.4 19.9 3.3 1.8 0.4 0.2 2.4 St. Francis-NY 2 Rubin Dawson SG 29.8 17.0 5.5 4.6 1.1 0.1 3.5 Robert Morris 3 Michael Montana PG 31.2 16.3 2.7 3.0 0.8 0.1 2.5 Mount St. Mary's 4 Jarred McElrath SG 32.7 15.9 3.8 3.6 0.7 0.5 3.7 Fairleigh Dickinson 5 Arthur Stamps SG 27.2 15.6 3.4 1.9 1.2 0.1 2.0 Sacred Heart 6 Gary Kuhn PG 29.0 15.0 3.5 3.6 0.7 0.1 1.6 Sacred Heart 7 Jerry Jordan SF 30.2 15.0 7.5 1.7 1.2 0.6 1.4 Robert Morris 8 Herbert Froehlich PG 24.8 14.9 2.8 2.6 1.7 0.1 2.4 Wagner 9 Jeffery McCarron PG 29.6 14.1 3.9 3.9 0.5 0.1 2.4 Bryant University 10 Kenneth Marcano PG 26.8 14.0 4.1 2.1 1.1 0.0 2.2 Quinnipiac 11 Daniel Scott C 30.7 13.9 6.2 1.3 0.9 1.7 1.7 Central Connecticut State 12 Julius Gehrke SF 28.4 12.9 5.7 1.7 0.8 0.3 3.2 Long Island 13 Barney Erskine SG 29.5 12.8 5.1 1.8 0.5 0.2 2.4 Monmouth 14 Jackie Jones PF 28.9 11.9 8.0 1.4 0.5 1.3 1.8 Wagner 15 Jason Bailey SF 29.9 11.6 6.3 1.5 0.6 0.3 3.0 Monmouth 16 Andrew Hinshaw SG 25.6 11.4 3.0 1.7 0.5 0.1 1.0 Bryant University 17 Levi Moore SG 30.9 11.4 3.3 2.4 0.6 0.2 2.5 St. Francis-PA 18 Michael Brown SF 28.7 11.3 5.8 1.9 0.9 0.3 2.5 Sacred Heart 19 Blair Isley SF 24.7 11.1 4.0 1.3 1.0 0.1 1.4 Bryant University 20 Riley Koller SF 29.3 11.0 4.8 1.8 0.5 0.0 2.0 St. Francis-PA 21 Weldon Geyer PF 26.6 10.7 6.1 1.2 0.3 1.6 1.4 Quinnipiac 22 Theodore Eaddy PF 30.9 10.7 5.6 0.8 0.3 0.3 1.7 Long Island 23 Brian Hamlett SF 25.9 10.5 6.0 1.6 0.3 0.0 1.6 St. Francis-NY 24 Warren Worthy SG 24.0 10.5 1.8 1.7 0.7 0.1 3.1 Wagner 25 Johnie Marshall SG 28.0 10.3 4.1 1.5 0.4 0.1 3.3 Central Connecticut State 26 Bryan Philips SF 31.1 10.2 6.8 2.0 1.0 0.2 2.5 Quinnipiac 27 Richard Cook C 29.1 10.2 10.4 1.4 0.6 0.4 1.1 Sacred Heart 28 Tony Libby C 25.2 10.2 8.5 0.9 0.4 1.1 1.1 Mount St. Mary's 29 Mel Kennon PG 30.1 9.9 2.7 3.9 0.9 0.2 2.1 Quinnipiac 30 Larry Petit C 31.0 9.8 6.2 1.6 0.4 0.3 2.8 Monmouth 31 Nicholas Claiborne C 30.5 9.5 6.8 1.5 0.5 1.5 1.5 Robert Morris 32 Daniel Lerch PG 29.9 9.4 3.3 2.9 1.1 0.1 2.4 Fairleigh Dickinson 33 Thomas Baker SF 22.0 9.3 4.4 1.3 0.9 0.3 2.1 Mount St. Mary's 34 Harold Baran SF 24.0 9.0 5.0 1.2 0.8 0.1 1.6 Fairleigh Dickinson 35 Carter Holm C 27.4 8.5 6.3 1.3 0.2 1.0 2.1 St. Francis-PA 36 Steven Rosser PG 22.9 8.4 1.8 3.9 0.7 0.0 1.1 Wagner 37 Jerrell Pierce PF 32.4 8.4 8.8 2.0 1.0 1.0 1.7 Wagner 38 Rudolf Auernhammer PG 25.9 8.3 4.6 2.1 0.3 0.0 1.8 St. Francis-NY 39 Chris Curtiss C 32.7 8.1 8.9 1.4 0.5 0.2 1.4 Bryant University # PLAYER POS MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TO TEAM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 40 Duane Guyette PF 30.1 8.0 6.5 0.7 0.6 0.2 1.2 Mount St. Mary's 41 Gonzalo Herrera SF 27.4 8.0 3.7 1.6 1.2 0.1 1.6 Wagner 42 Cedrick Mills PG 22.8 7.9 2.7 1.9 0.5 0.2 1.6 Sacred Heart 43 Russell Fite PF 25.5 7.9 7.5 1.0 0.3 0.2 1.6 Central Connecticut State 44 David Powell PF 26.0 7.9 6.7 1.4 0.6 0.2 0.6 Robert Morris 45 Morgan Morris PG 29.4 7.8 2.9 2.0 0.7 0.1 2.0 St. Francis-PA 46 David Lilly PF 24.0 7.8 4.9 0.7 0.6 0.1 1.3 Bryant University 47 Ray Belle C 29.9 7.7 7.2 1.3 0.5 0.4 1.6 St. Francis-NY 48 Chris Llamas SG 15.7 7.6 1.5 0.5 0.1 0.3 1.1 Robert Morris 49 J.C. Taft C 25.0 7.3 5.4 1.3 0.6 0.1 1.1 Quinnipiac 50 Charles Wesley SG 21.7 7.1 4.2 1.3 0.8 0.3 1.6 Quinnipiac

Other key Bryant player stats to note:
*Chris Curtiss is #2 in the Northeast in rebounds.
* Jeffrey McCarron is also #3 in the Northeast in assists.
I mean in terms of per-game averages of course.

Two very small, but very vocal fanbases and their teams face off in the first round of the Northeast tournament. Quinnipiac and Bryant both have identical records, but the Bobcats have been here before and are coached by Stephen Wilhoit, a Princeton alum (sigh), who was last year's Northeast Coach of the Year after taking them to a 24-9 (16-2) conference title and a first round NIT loss.

Meanwhile, I'm me. Middle class Midwestern kid, gone to public schools all my life except for when I took this job, and sure I have a Fitzgeraldean attraction to and sensibility about the rich, but I'm the newbie on the block, so I wouldn't be surprised if we get killed.

Sadly, despite holding the Bobcats to 34.3% shooting, we lose 78-65. A 34 to 10 free throw attempt advantage for Quinnipiac sure helped a lot. PG Jeffery McCarron played great with 18 points in his final collegiate game and although we're all disappointed, we can take pride in the fact that this was a landmark season for the Bulldogs in a lot of ways.

In wins. In postseason play. In recruiting.

Monmouth upset #1 seed Sacred Heart in the opening round, but #2 seed Robert Morris took care of them in the semi-final, so the Northeast championship game features the Colonials against Quinnipiac, who knocked out Wagner in the other semifinal.

It's a hell of a game, and Quinnipiac pulls off the 74-73 upset to deny Robert Morris its second straight Big Dance appearance. The Bobcats are going to the postseason for the second year in a row and I have to think Coach Wilhoit is on his way elsewhere after this season.

Quinnipiac earns a 16 seed in the East against Pittsburgh. Sacred Heart is an 8 seed in the NIT West against Houston.

Both UNLV and Princeton are postseason-less this year.

NCAA Notes
I'm just going to be real brief this year because I want to see what next season holds.

Sacred Heart upsets Houston 69-57 in the first round of the NIT. Huge victory for the Northeast! Qunnipiac also does us proud, nearly taking out the Panthers before losing 75-72.

Quiet year for upsets in the first round, although Her Blondeness's #11 seed Creighton upset #6 Indiana as one of the two major stunners.

It's almost all chalk through the Sweet 16, save the Midwest, where #4 seed BYU is the highest one remaining, following #8 Texas A&M upset of #1 Maryland, #7 Notre Dame beating #2 UCLA, and #6 Xavier beating #3 Michigan State. At least Creighton lost to Utah.

Sacred Heart continues their miracle NIT run, beating 4 seed Siena 66-57. 2 seed College of Charleston breaks the Heart, 83-60, though, to win the trip to the NIT Final Four in New York. The Cougars have scored 83+ points in all of their NIT games so far and look unbeatable.

Elite 8
#1 Arizona vs. #3 Ohio State
#4 BYU vs #7 Notre Dame
#1 Virginia Tech vs #2 Florida
#4 Duke vs #2 St. Joseph's

Arizona, Florida, Notre Dame, and St. Joseph's are the winners. Wow, that's hard to believe that Duke would lose.

Final Four
#1 Arizona vs #2 Florida
#7 Notre Dame vs #2 St. Joseph's

By the way, it's Missouri vs Missouri State in one half of the NIT Final Four.

Arizona State beats College of Charleston at their own high-scoring game and Missouri State upsets Mizzou. MBBF, MizzouRah, panerd, and other Tigers fans are reportedly in shock and mourning.

Arizona State wins the NIT in an ugly, 45-44 game over Missouri State. Charleston, meanwhile, easily beat Missouri 91-81 in a much better third place game.

Arizona continues the luck of the state by beating Florida, while Notre Dame stops St. Joseph's to prevent a surprisingly strong run of mid-major success the last few years.

Championship
#1 Arizona vs #7 Notre Dame

Action's heavy on the Wildcats, as most think the Fighting Irish have no business being here.

And indeed, it's an easy 70-53 win for 'Zona

National Champion: Arizona Wildcats

Northeast Season Awards
Code:
2013 NORTHEAST AWARDS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Player of the Year: SR SG Rubin Dawson Robert Morris 16.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 4.7 APG 1.1 SPG, 0.1 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR SG Arthur Stamps Sacred Heart 15.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.9 APG 1.2 SPG, 0.1 BPG Coach of the Year: Thomas Dyson Sacred Heart 21 - 12 (14 - 4) All-league 1st Team: C JR Richard Cook Sacred Heart 9.9 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.4 BPG PF JR Jackie Jones Wagner 11.9 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.5 SPG, 1.3 BPG SF SR Jerry Jordan Robert Morris 14.9 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.6 BPG SG SR Rubin Dawson Robert Morris 16.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG SR Gary Kuhn Sacred Heart 15.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 3.6 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.2 BPG All-league 2nd Team: C SR Nicholas Claiborne Robert Morris 9.4 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.6 SPG, 1.5 BPG PF SR Jerrell Pierce Wagner 8.4 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.0 SPG, 1.0 BPG SF SR Bryan Philips Quinnipiac 10.2 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG SR Todd Mack St. Francis-NY 20.2 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG SR Herbert Froehlich Wagner 15.0 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-freshman Team: C FR David Powell Robert Morris 8.2 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG PF FR David Lilly Bryant University 7.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 0.7 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG SF FR Lewis Cruz Mount St. Mary's 4.2 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 0.8 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.1 BPG SG FR Arthur Stamps Sacred Heart 15.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG FR Daniel Lerch Fairleigh Dickinson 9.4 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.1 BPG

I'm stunned Jeffrey McCarron got shut out of the awards. An absolutely travesty, in my opinion. I'll take David Lilly being named to the All-Freshman team, though McCarron's robbery diminished the pleasure significantly.

Now time to see what the offseason brings.
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Old 03-20-2011, 03:12 AM   #24
Izulde
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Despite getting two 3* players, our recruiting class slides to #248 overall. The plus is that it's the #5 class in the Northeast, continuing the steady climb from conference bottom-feeder to respectable mid-tier team.

Code:
2013 Recruiting Rankings # Team Conference Best Player Rtg 5* 4* 3* 2* 1* --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 135. Robert Morris Northeast PG Joseph Kelsey *** 0 0 1 2 2 208. Sacred Heart Northeast PG Kerry Cherry *** 0 0 1 0 2 231. Central Connecticut State Northeast SG Adrian Knight *** 0 0 1 0 1 233. Mount St. Mary's Northeast PG Francis Dionne ** 0 0 0 3 0 248. Bryant University Northeast PF Lance Tully *** 0 0 2 0 0 255. Long Island Northeast C Leon Jaynes ** 0 0 0 1 3 262. St. Francis-NY Northeast C Scott Baker ** 0 0 0 2 1 292. Fairleigh Dickinson Northeast SG Bradly Tiller ** 0 0 0 1 1 307. Wagner Northeast C Ludger Fink * 0 0 0 0 4 324. St. Francis-PA Northeast C Gerald Kohn ** 0 0 0 1 1 344. Quinnipiac Northeast C Kenneth Jones * 0 0 0 0 1 346. Monmouth Northeast SF Andrew Lheureux * 0 0 0 0 1

No offers from other schools and no change in my job security status here. One season of raised school prestige, from 3 to nearly double that at 5, isn't enough. I retain all my assistants after our best season. Besides which, I've gotten to like Cortez, John, and Malcom as people over the last few years, which would make it even harder to fire them.

With no open scholarships, we pass on transfers and of course nobody wants us for preseason tournaments.

Two scholarships available this year. Although we're losing two shooting guards, our biggest hole continues to be in the post, so Cortez, Malcolm, and I draw up a plan of attack around that. Or so we intended until we were wowed by PG Elvis Martin's numbers and his High interest in us. In fact, two 3* point guards have high interest, the first time there's been three star players that intrigued from the get-go. Our other scholarship we held back, waiting to see how our big man scouting went.

A month later, we met and Cortez said, "We're #2 on Martin's list, so let's keep pushing him hard." Then Malcom revealed his big man findings. The choice was clear: Do whatever it took to sign Spanish sensation C Joaquin Bravo. Cortez happily agreed to take our scholarship offer to Spain. I wanted to go with, but we didn't have the money to send us both, and between you, me, and the lamp post, our assistant needed the confidence boost after his French failures. It helped that we were the first school to notice Bravo. I hoped that would be enough to land him.

Bad news arrived at our next monthly meeting. Elvis Martin was getting wooed by Dartmouth, and it again looked as though we would lose to an Ivy League school, like we had so many times before. The good news was, Joaquin Bravo still had no other suitors, and Cortez was confident he could close the deal.

The status quo held for another month and just as we feared, PG Elvis Martin signed with Dartmouth in the early period. We kept working on C Joaqin Bravo, or more accurately, Cortez did, while everyone switched the PG efforts to Craig Smith, as we really did lack a floor general.

No players volunteered to redshirt, so it was all hands on deck for the coming season.

Bryant Bulldogs 2014-15 Starting Lineup
PG Hershel Gaughan (So)
Wins the starting job by virtue of being the team's best passer. Not my ideal floor general, but he's the best we've got. He has big shoes to fill in last year's team leader, Jeffery McCarron.

SG Andrew Hinshaw (Sr)*
Showed glimpses of the talent that originally made him one of the most hyped players on our team when I first arrived, but he just hasn't been able to put it together. Maybe his last year is when it finally clicks?

SF Blair Isley (Jr)*
He had steady improvement from his freshman to his sophomore year, and I'm hoping he can do the same in his third season as a starter. Great ballthief and good handling out of the 3 spot.

PF David Lilly (So)*
The team's best inside shooter, but that's not saying a whole lot. Didn't really light it up last year, and I'm wondering if he ever will. On an even slightly better team, he comes off the bench probably.

C Chris Curtiss* (Jr)
It's emblematic of our post problems that he's still a starter. Then again, you can't teach 7 feet, and he made some pretty big strides last year, racking up a good number of double-doubles.

So four out of five starters return. We still haven't done .500 overall, but we've at least done .500 in conference play. I'm hoping to get at least .500 overall this year and get names on the jerseys, but it's going to be tough without McCarron.

Our signature this year is going to be our reliance on the 3 point shot. That's our best asset.

76-49 rout loss to St. Peter's on the road to open the season. SF Blair Isley is a highlight reel with 21 points and 2 steals, but everybody else stinks.

The offense continues to embarrass in a 63-43 home opener loss to San Francisco. Freshman Napoleon "Flash" Gordon was our best player with 11 bench points. But that's not at all. PF/C Lester Henning sprains his knee and is going to be day to day for a while, but worst of all is Andrew Hinshaw dislocating his knee and going out for a month. My first ever commit, Junior Dillard, takes his place in the lineup, but it's hard to feel happy about my favorite player getting the promotion under those circumstances.

We finally break 50 points, but still lose, 71-54 at Southern. Junior Dillard scores 14 in his starting debut and Napoleon "Flash" Gordon reprises his 11 bench point performance.

Our first win of the year comes in a shocking 83-64 road upset of St. Bonaventure. Blair Isley scores 23 and Junior Dillard 17 to lead us. I'd say Junior's fairly well won the starting spot even when Hinshaw comes back.

But that's not the best news.

Cortez comes back from Girona, Spain, beaming as he hands me C Joaqin Bravo's signed letter of intent. Going to the homeland of his ancestors every month has done wonders for my recruiting director's mental and physical health. He told me Joaqin was swayed by having a Spanish-language fluent coach in Cortez and a survival Spanish coach in me. Our newest Bulldog also liked that I'd studied abroad in his country. Little things like that can go a long way to winning a young, probably nervous and excited, kid going to another country for his education.

We beat out Pittsburgh for his services, the Panthers coming in too late just like Marquette did last year with Napoleon "Flash" Gordon.

As always with our 3* recruits, the profile:

Code:
#13 C Joaquin Bravo -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-8 Weight: 234 High School: Hometown: Girona, Spain GPA: 2.55 Test Score: 1110 Rating: *** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 62 49 23 18 23 52 53 30 32 15 24 35 39 76 70 73 Potential: A A C F D C A D B F D B Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21.2 4.5 12.0 2.7 1.9 1.46 0.2 2.6 2.7 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9.3 16.1 .578 2.6 6.3 .416 0.0 0.0 .000 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Bryant University Rankings: Foreign #20 Overall, Foreign #3 C High School Awards: None Top 5 Schools: *Bryant University, Pittsburgh

Also, at #435 overall, he officially becomes the highest rank recruit we've ever landed, Lance Tully at #483 the previous high. I should note that Napoleon Gordon was a spot behind Tully in the class at #484.

The fact that we've offered a scholarship pushes us to the top of PG Craig Smith's list, and we schedule a campus visit for the North Carolina native in hopes of locking him up.

December begins with a 73-63 road loss to Kansas State. No shame in losing to a Big 12 team by just 10 points. Junior Dillard continues his hot form with 16 points and 8 rebounds as our only star.

Harvard beats us 71-56 on our turf despite 12 and 11 points from Blair Isley and Hershel Gaughan. As if that wasn't enough Junior Dillard sprains his ankle badly enough that he's going to miss a few games. Napoleon "Flash" Gordon takes over as the starter at SG, our third this season.

We got New York and lose a close, 72-68 game to Columbia, making us 0-2 against the Ivy League this year on the court. Blair Isley just misses a double-double with 18 points and 9 rebounds and David Lilly isn't far behind with 18 points, 8 rebounds. Napoleon "Flash" Gordon shot a horrible 2 of 10 and showed bad nerves in his first start.

Fortunately for all involved, Andrew Hinshaw is back for our next game, and we rout Albany 93-73 in our best outing of the year. Hinshaw erupts for 24 points and Chris Curtiss has his top game in a long time with 14 points and 9 rebounds.

Junior Dillard returns the game after, but I keep riding Andrew Hinshaw's hot hand, and the latter's 14 points and 8 rebounds, and Chris Curtiss's 15 points get us the 70-55 road win over Coppin State.

A rare home victory comes with an ugly 64-46 beatdown of Wofford. The only pleasurable viewing on the court was Blair Isley's 15 points. Bad basketball on display for sure.

New Year's Eve is also our first conference game of the season, a trek to play Robert Morris. The Colonials beat us 85-75 to snap our three game winning streak. Blair Isley played great for 21 points and Junior Dillard didn't miss a shot all night, going 4/4 and 6 of 6 from the free throw line for 16 bench points.

Although I'm disappointed with the loss, our December showing gave me hope this season isn't going to be a trainwreck after all. Furthmore, much like the end of November, the end of December brought good news.

PG Craig Smith of Charles D. Owen High in Black Mountain, NC, committed. In doing so, we beat out his wishlist of Kentucky, Florida, Kansas, and Creighton, the powerhouses who just weren't all that into him.

He, too, is 3*, and would have beaten Lance Tully's recruit ranking record.

Code:
#5 PG Craig Smith -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-3 Weight: 193 High School: Charles D. Owen High School Hometown: Black Mountain, NC GPA: 2.36 Test Score: 960 Rating: *** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 35 9 50 60 34 64 26 21 33 44 7 23 91 24 48 69 Potential: D D B B C B D D C C D C Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13.1 2.0 7.5 7.7 2.3 3.33 0.9 0.9 2.1 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.5 12.1 .450 1.0 1.3 .800 1.2 4.7 .255 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Bryant University Rankings: None High School Awards: None Top 5 Schools: *Bryant University, Kentucky, Florida, Kansas, Creighton

I'll just note that he would already be our best passer, which is the reason why we were so hot to get him.

And finally, the conference standings after the first game:

Code:
2014 Northeast Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sacred Heart 1 0 1.000 6 6 .500 196 22 St. Francis-NY 1 0 1.000 5 6 .455 223 17 Monmouth 1 0 1.000 4 7 .364 148 22 Robert Morris 1 0 1.000 4 8 .333 313 33 Quinnipiac 1 0 1.000 3 7 .300 163 31 St. Francis-PA 1 0 1.000 3 9 .250 240 10 Bryant University 0 1 .000 4 7 .364 93 5 Fairleigh Dickinson 0 1 .000 4 7 .364 242 20 Wagner 0 1 .000 3 8 .273 272 27 Mount St. Mary's 0 1 .000 3 8 .273 326 24 Long Island 0 1 .000 2 10 .167 285 13 Central Connecticut State 0 1 .000 1 11 .083 319 23

Notice we're slowly starting to close the gap between us and St. Francis (PA). We'll also pass up Long Island if their decline of the past few seasons keeps going.
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Old 03-20-2011, 09:37 AM   #25
BYU 14
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Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: The scorched Desert
Quote:
Originally Posted by Izulde View Post
The Runnin' Rebels rout the Cougars 102-84 in a game that was never even close.

Hopefully Tre'von Willis is not reading this, since it is the only thing this season he actually qualifies to talk shit about.

Great stuff Izulde
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Old 03-20-2011, 01:37 PM   #26
Izulde
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Quote:
Originally Posted by BYU 14 View Post
Hopefully Tre'von Willis is not reading this, since it is the only thing this season he actually qualifies to talk shit about.

Great stuff Izulde

Disgusting is the only word to describe that first round loss to Illinois. Fortunately I got roped into a Magic tournament and missed the game or it would have ruined my night.
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Old 03-20-2011, 02:34 PM   #27
Izulde
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Join Date: Sep 2004
I forgot to mention Smith's exact ranking - It's #458.

Gerald Gonzales is unhappy about his lack of PT, but since the sophomore was one of our giant class of scrubby big men, I'm not too worried if he transfers.

Upset 88-79 home loss to 1 win Central Connecticut State. Very much not happy about that, especially when we follow it up with an 84-72 home loss to Quinnipiac, despite Andrew Hinshaw's 18 points.

Another loss, 65-54 to Fairleigh-Dickinson, but at least it's on the road. 17 points Andrew Hinshaw, 15 points Blair Isley, but everybody else was terrible.

Finally a conference win, a too close 72-67 home victory against Long Island. Andrew Hinshaw leads the way with 19 points, followed by Blair Isley's 16 points. Lester Henning came through with a big 10 bench rebounds.

That's followed by a 76-68 road loss to Mount St. Mary's. 19 points from Blair Isley, 12 bench points from Lester Henning. Bad news again. Chris Curtiss gone a month and a half with a torn ligament. Injury problems have been ridiculous. Lester Henning takes the starting C spot and I decide to move freshman Lance Tully to the starting lineup. David Lilly has been a big disappointment.

75-62 road loss to Quinnipiac. 12 points each from Andrew Hinshaw and Junior Dillard.

Happiness is Lance Tully showing why he was Rhode Island's Mr. Basketball last year with 16 points and what I think is a school record 24 rebounds in a 57-55 win over Sacred Heart. Sadness is Hershel Gaughan breaking his foot and out a month and a half. So here we go with Junior Dillard again getting a starting spot, this time at the point.

Tough 73-69 loss to Wagner. 19 and 16 points from Blair Isley and Junior Dillard. The injuries pile on with Andrew Hinshaw breaking his finger and questionable for a week. We need him to play, though.

Our most complete game of the year comes in a 102-89 win against Robert Morris. Junior Dillard scores 18, Lance Tully doubles for 16 points and 15 rebounds, Blair Isley scores 15, Lester Henning 14, and David Lilly headlines the bench with 11 points.

Code:
2014 Northeast Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wagner 7 3 .700 10 10 .500 274 27 St. Francis-NY 7 3 .700 11 9 .550 160 17 Robert Morris 7 3 .700 10 11 .476 317 33 Quinnipiac 6 4 .600 8 11 .421 279 31 Long Island 5 5 .500 7 14 .333 275 13 St. Francis-PA 5 5 .500 7 14 .333 301 10 Central Connecticut State 5 5 .500 6 15 .286 289 23 Sacred Heart 4 6 .400 9 12 .429 253 22 Monmouth 4 6 .400 7 13 .350 272 22 Mount St. Mary's 4 6 .400 7 13 .350 326 24 Fairleigh Dickinson 3 7 .300 7 13 .350 299 20 Bryant University 3 7 .300 7 13 .350 294 5

Currently in last place, but there's definitely an opportunity to move up in the second half of the year.

Unfortunately a 79-76 loss to St. Francis (PA) isn't how it gets done. What a god damned waste of 21 points from Blair Isley, 20 points from Andrew Hinshaw and 18 points from Junior Dillard.

And here's another loss, 79-60 to Long Island. Yay for Junior Dillard's 17 points. Boo for everyone else.

Sacred Heart kicks our ass 84-65, with only Andrew Hinshaw showing up with 19 points. Then we lose by one fucking point, 81-80, to Fairleigh-Dickinson in a game we had to win. Blair Isley bombs away for 31 points and everyone else just fucking bombs.

Another god damned motherfucking close loss, 72-68, to Mount St. Mary's. Screw it, no stats reporting until we win.

Monmouth - 74-66 L

Finally an 82-65 win over St. Francis (NY), but it's far too little, far too late. All five starters scored exactly 12 or 13 points in a strangely balanced game.

Last game in February, we beat Central Connecticut State 66-52, [Andrew Hinshaw taking lead with 16 points. As you can imagine, that's not enough and we're locked in to last place.

Code:
2014 Northeast Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Robert Morris 13 5 .722 16 13 .552 290 33 Wagner 12 6 .667 15 14 .517 254 27 St. Francis-NY 11 7 .611 16 13 .552 183 17 Quinnipiac 11 7 .611 14 14 .500 263 31 Mount St. Mary's 10 8 .556 14 15 .483 277 24 Sacred Heart 9 9 .500 14 15 .483 246 22 Central Connecticut State 8 10 .444 9 20 .310 320 23 Fairleigh Dickinson 8 10 .444 12 17 .414 261 20 Long Island 7 11 .389 9 20 .310 317 13 Monmouth 7 11 .389 10 19 .345 295 22 St. Francis-PA 7 11 .389 9 20 .310 321 10 Bryant University 5 13 .278 9 20 .310 309 5

At this point, I'm hoping I still have a job after the season. Schwarzy won't be too happy with this, as it's a major step back after last year's success. I don't think he'll listen to the injuries excuse.

Wagner owns everybody in the conference tournament, destroying 4 seed Quinnipiac in the final by 30 points, 101-71. So once again we're sending a new team to the Big Dance, although Wagner becomes the first school to have two bids since I've been here.

Their reward is a 16 seed against #1 North Carolina State in the South Region. Robert Morris is an 8 seed against #1 USC in the NIT, and in a fitting irony, UNLV plays Arkansas in the NIT. I'm honestly not sure who to root for. I never did finish at UNLV and while I liked the school at Arkansas, I hated living in Fayetteville.

The Razorbacks ream the Rebels 81-61 and USC rips Robert Morris 83-53. Wagner gets overrun 83-47 by N.C. State.

I skip watching the tournament. It's been too depressing a year.

Highlights:
-Her Blondeness's undergrad school, Creighton, makes it to the Sweet 16 before losing to Kansas.
-Duke, Kansas, Illinois, West Virginia Final Four.
-Duke, the only 1 seed (all the rest were 2 seeds) wins the title, beating WVU 80-71.
-Arkansas makes it all the way to the NIT Final, where the Hogs are slaughtered 78-48 by USC.

Code:
2014 NORTHEAST AWARDS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Player of the Year: SR PF Jackie Jones Wagner 13.8 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 1.4 APG 0.2 SPG, 1.5 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR PG Joseph Routh Robert Morris 10.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.0 APG 0.7 SPG, 0.2 BPG Coach of the Year: Edgar Pecoraro St. Francis-NY 17 - 14 (11 - 7) All-league 1st Team: C SR Richard Cook Sacred Heart 11.8 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.4 BPG PF SR Jackie Jones Wagner 13.8 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.2 SPG, 1.5 BPG SF SR Brian Hamlett St. Francis-NY 11.1 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG SO Arthur Stamps Sacred Heart 18.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.0 BPG PG SR Mel Kennon Quinnipiac 13.2 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 3.9 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-league 2nd Team: C SR Tony Libby Mount St. Mary's 11.9 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.7 SPG, 1.7 BPG PF JR Duane Guyette Mount St. Mary's 9.6 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.6 BPG SF JR Blair Isley Bryant University 13.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG JR Coleman Davis St. Francis-NY 16.0 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG SR Michael Montana Mount St. Mary's 16.3 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 3.1 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG All-freshman Team: C FR John Paine Central Connecticut State 5.0 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.4 BPG PF FR Lance Tully Bryant University 5.9 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 0.7 APG, 0.1 SPG, 0.2 BPG SF FR William Lindgren Mount St. Mary's 4.1 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 0.8 APG, 0.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG FR Francis Dionne Mount St. Mary's 6.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.2 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG FR Joseph Routh Robert Morris 10.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.0 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.2 BPG

Blair Isley becomes the first player recruited by me to win All-Northeast recognition, which is a really nice feeling. I unfortunately forgot to save the team and league statistics, I was so bummed about the season.

We pull in the #228 recruiting class, the best of my tenure here.

Code:
2014 Recruiting Rankings # Team Conference Best Player Rtg 5* 4* 3* 2* 1* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 156. Quinnipiac Northeast PG John Daugherty *** 0 0 1 2 0 193. Mount St. Mary's Northeast SG Edison Connelly *** 0 0 1 0 1 201. Long Island Northeast PG Loren Plumlee *** 0 0 1 1 0 227. Bryant University Northeast C Joaquin Bravo *** 0 0 2 0 0 246. Fairleigh Dickinson Northeast SG James Livesay ** 0 0 0 1 3 252. Monmouth Northeast C Thomas McCulloch ** 0 0 0 1 3 265. Robert Morris Northeast PG John Johnson ** 0 0 0 2 1 274. St. Francis-PA Northeast PG Dino Newman ** 0 0 0 1 2 290. St. Francis-NY Northeast SF Andy Robertson ** 0 0 0 1 2 297. Central Connecticut State Northeast PG Kris Tomblin ** 0 0 0 1 2 299. Sacred Heart Northeast C Oscar Weir * 0 0 0 0 5 326. Wagner Northeast C Allen Gwinn ** 0 0 0 1 0

I still have a job. Schwarzy told me not to worry about last year; the board understood about the injury problems. I need to make sure not to repeat a last place finish, though.

Nobody transferred, despite making noises to.

And so we prepare to press on for another season.
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Old 03-22-2011, 05:35 AM   #28
Izulde
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Join Date: Sep 2004
We dip down a prestige point to 4. Three scholarships this year, but bad news as the only person who's really into us is a grossly undersized center. We fall in love with PG Lamar Dickman right away and offer him even before Malcom goes to scout. C Randy Peterson becomes our second target, SF Rich Demello our third.

Recruiting quickly turns into a nightmare and we're striking out on every single one of our targets, so we pull out on all of them but Randy Peterson and offer PG Rocco Mitchum and C Andrew Robertson as replacements.

PG Rocco Mitchum signs with Hofstra and C Andrew Robertson goes with DePaul in the early signing period. There's no chance on Randy Peterson, so we pull the plug on him, too C Rod Jones and PG Mack Rasmussen are new offers along with PG Grady Chong, already a 2* prospect. That's how bad things are this year.

Once again nobody's willing to redshirt, the fools.

Bryant Bulldogs 2015-16 Starting Lineup
PG Hershel Gaughan (Jr)*
Just barely beats out true freshman Craig Smith for the starting spot. Terrible shooter, but we need his floor generalship for now. I still don't have that ideal floor general I'm looking for.

SG Junior Dillard (Sr)
Half-time starter last year, our best jumpshooter and my first ever recruit finally becomes a full-time starter in his senior year. Played well last season, but he'll also have to replace Andrew Hinshaw, which is a tough gig. I think he can do it, though.

SF Blair Isley (Sr)*
My first ever All-Conference recruit, an All-Northeast 2nd Team last season. I don't have anything in the pipeline to replace him, and the one SF prospect I targeted quickly spurned us. We'll have to run with a three guard set next year and that's going to suck. Here's to hoping he can have a great final year.

PF Lance Tully (So)*
Took over as the starter halfway through the season last year and he simply outplayed David Lilly. Mr. Basketball Rhode Island showed flashes of greatness his first year; now let's see if he can put it all together.

C Joaqin Bravo (Fr)
Quite simply, I believe in the Spainard as the future, so I'm going to ride with him over Lester Henning. We'll see just how well that works out.

This is the first year where I've had all my own recruits, so the pressure is really on.

Scholarship Players by State
Massachusetts: 1
Maryland: 1
Michigan: 1
North Carolina: 3
New York: 2
Rhode Island: 2
Canada: 1
Spain: 1

Interesting. I seem to be building something of a pipeline to North Carolina, and all three of the players (Isley, Smith, Craig Curtiss are either starters, future starters, or have been starters.

Our annual Ivy League setup begins with a frustrating 85-81 loss at home to Yale of all teams. 19 points from Blair Isley, 11 from Junior Dillard. I fear for our future if it's only our seniors who are going to step up this year.

We zip past NJIT 82-76 for our first win of the year. Junior Dillard scores 17, Blair Isley adds 12, Hershel Gaughan 11, and Lester Henning pops off the bench for 10 points.

Our first road game is a balanced 81-68 win over Howard. Blair Isley leads the way with 16 points and 2 steals and he's joined by Junior Dillard's 13 points and 10 points each from Hershel Gaughan and Lance Tully.

Out in California, we destroy CSU-Bakersfield 87-53 on 24 points a piece from Blair Isley and Napoleon "Dynamite Flash" Gordon, who goes gangbusters off the bench.

A triumphant return home sees a 94-81 scorefest over UMBC, keyed by Blair Isley's 28 points on 11/12 shooting. He's joined by Napoleon "Dynamite Flash" Gordon's 12 bench points and 10 points each from Lester Henning, Junior Dillard, and Joaquin Bravo in the freshman's first double-digit scoring game.

4-1 at the end of November. What a fantastic start to the year! Our only loss was a close one, too. Granted, we've been playing fellow bottom-feeder teams, but after one month, we already have almost half as many victories as we had all last season.

We revoke our offer to Rod Jones at the end of the month as he's clearly not interested. SF Gregory Tucker goes on the list as a possible Isley replacement. We're currently in the lead on Grady Chong and Mack Rasmussen, thanks largely to our scholarship offers.

December kicks off with an 89-61 rout of Loyola-Marymount on the road. Blair Isley scores 20 and steals 3, while Lance Tully scores 14 and David Lilly and Craig Smith each chip in 10 bench points. The win's not without cost, though, as Lester Henning stress fractures his way to a little over a month out. I hope this doesn't kick off a rash of injuries now.

I walk the grounds of Princeton University with heartache. Not because of the game, which we won 84-73 on Blair Isley's 32 points and Junior Dillard and Chris Curtiss's 13 and 10 points, but because this still remains the one school I love more than any other in the entire world. I don't linger too long, because Cortez sees me getting depressed and hustles me on to the team bus, distracting me with a lurid tale of coke and whores in the Bahamas.

Oh, how it hurts.

The road trek continues out to pretty Pepperdine, where the Waves crash our six game win streak 99-70. 14 points from Junior Dillard, with a team high 15 points from David Lilly. Chris Curtiss and Napoleon "Dynamite Flash" Gordon each score 12, but Blair Isley was held to 0 of 8 shooting, easily his worst outing of the year.

All these road games are exhausting, and we come out flat two nights later against Maine, losing 82-68. Joaquin Bravo goes down with a 3 week stress fracture of his own. Suiting up at center in his place is Chris Curtiss, who has had a very good season off the bench thus far.

That injury offstrides us and we fall 70-61 to Columbia in our first home game in a long time. Can't blame Chris Curtiss, who put up 18 points and 10 rebounds, or David Lilly, who had 11 bench points.

Back out on the road and a 73-60 loss to Northern Arizona. All the great gains we made have gone, and, outside of Blair Isley's 11 points, we play like shit.

And just like that, we're back at .500 overall, losing 90-82 at home in the Northeast opener to Mount St. Mary's. I'm so disgusted I don't have the heart to record notable statistics.

Code:
2015 Northeast Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige ------------------------------------------------------------------------- St. Francis-PA 1 0 1.000 7 4 .636 61 9 Mount St. Mary's 1 0 1.000 4 7 .364 302 23 Robert Morris 1 0 1.000 4 7 .364 329 32 Wagner 1 0 1.000 3 7 .300 328 29 Sacred Heart 1 0 1.000 3 9 .250 284 22 Fairleigh Dickinson 1 0 1.000 2 10 .167 213 19 Bryant University 0 1 .000 6 6 .500 324 4 Monmouth 0 1 .000 5 6 .455 70 20 St. Francis-NY 0 1 .000 4 7 .364 185 20 Quinnipiac 0 1 .000 2 9 .182 282 30 Long Island 0 1 .000 2 10 .167 223 11 Central Connecticut State 0 1 .000 1 10 .091 293 20

St. Francis (PA) looks like the early favorites, but otherwise it feels very wide open this year.

On the plus side, we get commits from SF Gregory Tucker out of Plymouth South High School in Plymouth, MA and PG Grady Chong from Hagerstown High in Hagerstown, IN. True, they're 2* prospects, but considering how bad recruiting started, I'll take it.

Loss #6 in a row, 84-69 @ Qunnipiac, nevermind Junior Dillard's 20 points or David Lilly's 10 bench points.

Joaquin Bravo finally returns and we snap the streak, 87-79 over Robert Morris. Napoleon "Dynamite Flash" Gordon zips and zags for 22 bench points, David Lilly adds 10 bench points, and Blair Isley and Hershel Gaughan highlight the starters with 17 and 13 points respectively.

We're at .500 in Northeast play following a 67-56 win over Central Connecticut State. Napoleon "Dynamite Flash" Gordon and Lance Tully carry us with 13 and 10 points.

Lester Henning returns but Wagner crushes us 95-58 at their place in our ugliest game of the year. So ugly, I get drunk immediately after and forgot it ever happened.

We come back home and win 81-60 over Long Island to already equal our win total from last year. It's Blair Isley with 22 points and Napoleon "Dynamite Flash" Gordon with 11 bench points, but the big story is Hershel Gaughan with 11 points and 11 assists, which I believe is the first double-double by a PG since I've been here.

67 points is good enough to knock off Sacred Heart on the road, who had 53. Blair Isley is again lead scorer with 15 points, but Junior Dillard's 11 points and Joaquin Bravo's 10 points certainly don't hurt.

We win 87-81 in St. Francis (PA) on Napoleon "Dynamite Flash" Gordon's 19 bench points, Junior Dillard's 17 points, and Blair Isley's 13 points. Great to see.

An 83-74 home win over Monmouth is engineered by Lester Henning's 16 points and 7 rebounds off the bench, fellow second teamer David Lilly's 12 bench points, Blair Isley's 11 points, and Joaquin Bravo's 9 point, 8 rebound, block and steal all-around great outing. The students are really starting to get excited about this year's team now.

Lester Henning is again fantastic off the bench, this time for 20 points and 8 rebounds. Junior Dillard and Blair Isley each score 17, Joaquin Bravo 10, as we lacerate Long Island 91-69 on their court.

As if that wasn't enough, we lock up a 3* recruit for the year in Pennsylvania All-State PG Mack Rasmussen from Frazier High in Perryopolis.

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#21 PG Mack Rasmussen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-5 Weight: 196 High School: Frazier High School Hometown: Perryopolis, PA GPA: 2.38 Test Score: 990 Rating: *** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 42 23 61 59 61 44 41 40 5 13 52 43 93 22 91 17 Potential: C C B C B B B A F F A C Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20.3 1.7 10.8 4.7 2.4 1.94 3.6 1.3 2.5 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.4 18.1 .463 1.9 2.7 .698 1.7 5.3 .324 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Bryant University Rankings: East Region #48 Overall, East Region #9 PG High School Awards: All-State Top 5 Schools: *Bryant University, Drake, Maryland, Syracuse, Boston College

He also breaks the Bryant school record for highest ever recruit ranking at #361! As you can see, he has the size to be able to play anywhere 1-3 and it'll be interesting to see where he ultimately ends up playing for us.

But wait, there's more!

Code:
2015 Northeast Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bryant University 7 3 .700 13 8 .619 266 4 Fairleigh Dickinson 6 4 .600 7 14 .333 239 19 St. Francis-PA 6 4 .600 12 8 .600 174 9 Mount St. Mary's 6 4 .600 9 11 .450 308 23 Quinnipiac 6 4 .600 8 12 .400 275 30 Central Connecticut State 5 5 .500 6 14 .300 320 20 St. Francis-NY 5 5 .500 9 11 .450 272 20 Robert Morris 5 5 .500 8 12 .400 318 32 Monmouth 4 6 .400 9 11 .450 228 20 Sacred Heart 4 6 .400 6 15 .286 322 22 Wagner 3 7 .300 5 14 .263 344 29 Long Island 3 7 .300 5 16 .238 317 11

That's right. Bryant University is currently on top of the Northeast Conference. Absolutely no one, including me, saw that coming. While there was still a whole month of games to be played, we'd never been first in the conference at any point in my time here, or before that, especially not this late in the season.

Other Notes:
-We were 1 win away from tying the school record under me
-We were 3 wins away from a winning conference record, which also would have been a first.

That tie came with a 101-79 road destruction of Mt. Saint Mary's. Hershel Gaughan was terrific with 17 points, 6 assists,and 3 steals. Napoleon "Dynamite Flash" Gordon led us in scoring with 18 points. Blair Isley chipped in 15 points, Chris Curtiss 13 bench points. It was a huge win, especially since the Mount was one of the cluster of teams directly underneath us.

The biggest home crowd of my tenure groaned as our six game losing streak came to an end, 86-82 against Wagner. They just match up really well against us. 18, 16, 12 points from Junior Dillard, Blair Isley, and Napoleon "Dynamite Flash" Gordon[/b], as we stayed in it despite shooting a terrible 37.5%.

Our next home game was much happier, a 71-65 victory over St. Francis (PA) that a) broke my season wins record and b) guaranteed at least a .500 finish in Northeast play, which would tie my best season. Blair Isley scored 16, but Lester Henning's team-high 18 points and 6 rebounds off the bench is what really won us that important game.

We sewed up a winning Northeast record by beating Quinnipiac 89-74 at our place. David Lilly captained a balanced attack with 14 points and a whole host of 10 point players: Blair Isley, Joaquin Bravo, Lester Henning, and Chris Curtiss.

St. Francis (NY) handed our asses to us 86-67 to ruin our guarantee of a winning homestand. David Lilly was great with 15 bench points and Hershel Gaughan was efficient with his 12 points, but we sucked for the most part.

Robert Morris took us out 91-84 in the biggest game of my career on our turf. I was so mad I didn't make note of anything or take to anyone afterwards. Winning that game would have all but guaranteed at least a 2 seed in the Northeast conference tournament. Now we'd have to dig deep to get it, and the title was slipping out of our grasp.

Nerves got to us in an 86-55 road loss to Central Connecticut State and we flamed out 107-89 at Fairleigh-Dickinson to end the regular season on a four game losing skid. Shades of our first two months...

Code:
2015 Northeast Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fairleigh Dickinson 13 5 .722 14 15 .483 164 19 St. Francis-NY 11 7 .611 15 13 .536 234 20 Bryant University 10 8 .556 16 13 .552 292 4 Robert Morris 10 8 .556 13 15 .464 257 32 Sacred Heart 10 8 .556 12 17 .414 300 22 Mount St. Mary's 9 9 .500 12 16 .429 270 23 Monmouth 9 9 .500 14 14 .500 245 20 Quinnipiac 8 10 .444 10 18 .357 299 30 St. Francis-PA 8 10 .444 14 14 .500 228 9 Central Connecticut State 8 10 .444 9 19 .321 317 20 Wagner 6 12 .333 8 19 .296 342 29 Long Island 6 12 .333 8 21 .276 322 11

Still, I couldn't be totally upset. It was the first guaranteed winning overall season in school history, or at least my history and we'd finished in a 3 way tie for third place.

And indeed, we won the #3 seed in the Northeast tournament, only the second time we'd made the conference tournament and the first time as an upper seed.

We played #6 seed Mt. Saint Mary's in the first round and we won 75-65 for my first career postseason victory. There was no way SF Blair Isley was going to let his college ball end there, scoring 21 points. David Lilly played great off the bench with 11 points and 8 rebounds and Napoleon "Dynamite Flash" Gordon matched those 11 points. Lester Henning added 10 points of his own.

Next up was 5 seed Sacred Heart, who'd pulled off a minor upset of Robert Morris. Biggest upset though was Monmouth taking out 2 seed St. Francis (NY). We routed Sacred Heart 91-70 to advance to the Northeast final!! Again Blair Isley rose to the occassion, scoring 26. Fellow senior Junior Dillard chimed in with 16 points and Napoleon "Dynamite Flash" Gordon, as he had so many times in this miracle season, led the reserves with 11 points.

7 seed Monmouth stunned 1 seed Fairleigh-Dickinson for the other half of the final. And so we would be playing the one school whose gymnasium I remembered most when I was a kid.

This was it. The Big Time. A nationally televised game on ESPN2. All my friends, in Las Vegas, on FOFC, all across the country and the world, whether on TV or online feed, watching me, Izulde Jestor, lead my Bryant Bulldogs in the Northeast Conference Championship Final. My parents, too, still in Wisconsin, watching, and all my relatives.

The Bryant campus was abuzz with excitement and frenzy in the days marching up to the championship game. A victory over the Hawks, and we'd be go dancing for the first time in school history.

Shortly before gametime, Schwarzy came in the locker room with a box and a big smile, "I have a present for you guys."

We all turned and looked at him.

He opened the box with a grand flourish and announced, "Congratulations. You all get jerseys with your names on the back of them. Pretty hard for people to tell who is who without names, after all."

The players and coaches laughed, the former queueing up for their jerseys from John while I go over to Schwarzy, "I really appreciate this, but why now?"

"Because you've lived up to your end of the bargain and then some," he said, watching the happy players pull on their new uniforms. "Besides, I thought you guys could use the moment of levity."

I nodded my thanks and after everyone settled down, took a deep breath. Only the most important speech of my coaching career, right?

"I want you guys to know that we can win today. But don't take Monmouth lightly. Remember, this is a team that just knocked off the #2 and #1 seeds in the conference and they did it by pretty damn good margins. Let's just do the good things we've done all year and especially in the last two games. Everything else will take care of itself."

The roar from the sellout crowd as we headed out for the announcement of the starting lineups was stupendous. Even with my bad hearing, I definitely got the lustful energy of the onlookers loud and clear.

Hershel Gaughan. Junior Dillard. Blair Isley. Lance Tully. Joaquin Bravo. Napoleon "Dynamite Flash" Gordon. David Lilly. Lester Henning. And all the rest. All my guys that I, Cortez, and Malcolm scouted and recruited, and that I and John had trained and built up to this moment.

The opening tipoff commenced, and everything else washed away.

What followed was the greatest defensive game we played all year. We held Monmouth to 35.2% shooting, including 2 of 12 from behind the arc. 53 points for the Hawks, but would it be enough? Lance Tully just missed the double-double with 10 points and 9 rebounds and Junior Dillard scored 15 points. But Blair Isley got shut down, scoring just 2 points all night as Monmouth gameplanned around him.

And then, coming off the bench, Chris Curtiss, the senior I'd started three straight seasons over John's objections, and who had filled in admirably in four starts this year. He hit all 5 of his shots finishing with 12 points and earning Player of the Game as we won 67-53 and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everybody was crying happy tears on our bench and the players rushed me, lifting me on their collective shoulders as they carried me out on the court to cut down one of the nets.

I've had a lot of beautiful moments in my life, but few can match the joy I felt as I reached out with scissors and snipped away that gleaming, new net.

Bryant Bulldogs. Northeast Conference Tournament Champions. NCAA Tournament team.

Wonderful.

A few moments later, over on the other side, the three scholarship seniors, Blair, Chris, and Junior, simultaneously cut the other net and hugged each other.

My first recruiting class was going out knowing the thrill of March Madness.

For a small liberal arts college that few have heard of, I could not imagine a sweeter ending.
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Old 03-22-2011, 09:33 AM   #29
BYU 14
Coordinator
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: The scorched Desert
Congrats, great season
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Old 03-22-2011, 01:23 PM   #30
Izulde
Head Coach
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Quote:
Originally Posted by BYU 14 View Post
Congrats, great season

Thanks. I'm sure it's all anti-climax from here, but that's okay.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee
2006 Golden Scribe Winner
Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty)

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Old 03-22-2011, 02:03 PM   #31
Izulde
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Our fate is doubtlessly that of a 16 seed, but we have a team Selection Sunday viewing party anyway.

Sure enough, we're the 16 seed in the East region, playing against 1 seed Maryland. UNLV finally made it back to the tournament, as a 6 seed in the South. Creighton's a 10 seed in the South as well.

Before the game, I tell the guys we have nothing to lose, so just go out there and have fun. It's an even bigger national audience now, but no one expects us to win so we have nothing to lose.

Sure enough, the Terps blow us out 88-50, although Blair Isley had a great final game with 18 points.

Fairleigh Dickinson was an 8 seed in the NIT and St. John's beat them handily, 95-78, in the first round.

An upset-filled tournament led to a Final Four of 5 seed Indiana, 4 seed Ohio State, 2 seed Notre Dame, and 9 seed VCU. VCU shocked the Fighting Irish and then upset Ohio State to become the most unlikely NCAA Champions in history.

UNLV lost to 3 seed Seton Hall in the second round and Creighton just failed in their upset bid of Purdue, falling 72-70.

Code:
2015 NORTHEAST AWARDS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Player of the Year: JR SG Arthur Stamps Sacred Heart 23.0 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.9 APG 1.1 SPG, 0.1 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR SF Fletcher Sydnor Sacred Heart 6.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.8 APG 0.6 SPG, 0.3 BPG Coach of the Year: Izulde Jestor Bryant University 19 - 14 (10 - 8) All-league 1st Team: C JR J.C. Taft Quinnipiac 15.7 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.2 BPG PF SR Theodore Eaddy Long Island 12.4 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.8 BPG SF SR Blair Isley Bryant University 14.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG JR Arthur Stamps Sacred Heart 23.0 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG SO Joseph Routh Robert Morris 12.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.4 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-league 2nd Team: C SR Chris Hysell St. Francis-PA 8.3 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.4 SPG, 1.7 BPG PF SR Duane Guyette Mount St. Mary's 10.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.2 BPG SF SR Ruben Middleton Fairleigh Dickinson 14.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.3 BPG SG JR Chris Llamas Robert Morris 18.8 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.4 BPG PG JR Daniel Lerch Fairleigh Dickinson 9.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG All-freshman Team: C FR Joaquin Bravo Bryant University 5.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 0.7 APG, 0.1 SPG, 0.3 BPG PF FR Bobby Wald Fairleigh Dickinson 5.1 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 0.7 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG SF FR Fletcher Sydnor Sacred Heart 6.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.3 BPG SG FR Mack Williams Long Island 7.4 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG FR Larry Liu Quinnipiac 8.8 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.2 BPG

It felt fantastic when I got the news I'd been named Northeast Coach of the Year. But I was just as happy for Blair Isley becoming my first ever 1st Team All-Conference player.

Blair Isley graduates as the school record holder in career points scored, #4 in the Northeast with 1,478.

Other Isley School Career Records
Offensive Rebounds - 229 (9th in Northeast)
Steals - 139 (4th in Northeast)

Junior Dillard graduates with the school record in Free Throws Made at 196, while Chris Curtiss, our other graduating senior, sets the school record in career total rebounds with 625, good for 11th all-time in the Northeast.

Code:
#14 SF Chris Curtiss - Bryant University - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 7-0 Weight: 281 High School: Fike High School Hometown: Wilson, NC Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 45 66 37 0 46 26 29 58 35 35 29 6 44 83 49 56 2014: 44 63 36 0 43 25 28 55 33 34 28 5 42 77 47 49 2013: 42 59 34 0 40 23 26 48 30 33 27 4 41 72 47 43 2012: 40 56 33 0 38 22 24 42 28 32 26 3 41 67 47 37 2011: 38 52 31 0 36 20 22 38 26 32 26 3 39 55 45 25 Potential: C B C F C D D B D C D 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 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2012 25 18 25.7 5.6 1.4 4.8 1.2 1.2 1.07 0.4 0.1 2.4 2013 30 30 32.5 7.9 1.9 8.7 1.4 1.5 0.93 0.5 0.2 3.0 2014 18 16 27.4 6.4 0.9 5.4 1.0 1.2 0.86 0.4 0.2 2.7 2015 33 4 17.5 6.8 0.8 4.5 1.3 0.8 1.57 0.3 0.1 1.5 Career 106 68 25.4 6.8 1.3 5.9 1.3 1.2 1.57 0.4 0.2 2.4 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2012 2.0 4.7 .427 1.6 2.2 .741 0.0 0.2 .200 1.21 -1.28 2013 3.1 6.5 .469 1.8 2.5 .697 0.0 0.2 .200 1.21 0.00 2014 2.9 6.2 .464 0.7 1.4 .462 0.0 0.0 .000 1.04 -3.22 2015 2.8 5.3 .528 1.2 1.8 .672 0.0 0.2 .000 1.28 -1.36 Career 2.7 5.7 .478 1.4 2.0 .673 0.0 0.1 .133 1.20 -1.27 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2012 25 18 643 141 36 119 31 29 10 3 59 2013 30 30 975 238 56 262 41 44 14 6 91 2014 18 16 493 116 16 97 18 21 8 4 49 2015 33 4 577 225 27 147 44 28 10 3 51 Career 106 68 2688 720 135 625 134 122 42 16 250 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2012 50 117 40 54 1 5 -32 2013 92 196 53 76 1 5 0 2014 52 112 12 26 0 0 -58 2015 93 176 39 58 0 5 -45 Career 287 601 144 214 2 15 -135 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 18 3 10 4 2 1 4 9 19 3 7 0 1 Career 18 6 13 4 2 2 4 9 19 9 10 1 2 Awards & Acheivements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 3 2011 High School: Rated * and #1331 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2012 Freshman All-Conference (Northeast Conference)

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#30 SG Junior Dillard - Bryant University - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 5-10 Weight: 187 High School: Johnston Senior High School Hometown: Johnston, RI Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 29 72 43 57 40 38 27 31 32 46 38 16 87 43 78 95 2014: 27 71 42 55 40 37 25 29 30 41 36 15 87 42 77 88 2013: 25 69 41 53 40 36 23 27 28 37 34 14 86 41 76 81 2012: 24 66 40 51 40 35 22 26 27 34 32 14 85 40 75 75 2011: 22 62 38 49 40 33 20 24 25 30 30 14 83 38 72 55 Potential: D B C C D C D C C C D D Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 70 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2012 19 0 17.6 5.6 0.8 2.4 1.7 1.7 0.97 0.5 0.0 2.1 2013 30 0 15.6 6.3 0.5 1.3 1.0 1.3 0.76 0.3 0.0 1.5 2014 28 15 24.3 9.6 0.6 3.3 1.7 2.3 0.75 0.9 0.0 2.3 2015 33 33 22.7 11.1 0.8 2.8 1.8 2.3 0.77 0.9 0.1 2.3 Career 110 48 20.3 8.5 0.7 2.4 1.5 1.9 0.77 0.7 0.0 2.0 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2012 1.9 3.9 .500 0.9 1.3 .680 0.8 1.7 .485 1.45 -3.63 2013 1.9 4.5 .425 1.6 2.1 .762 0.9 2.1 .422 1.41 -2.30 2014 3.0 7.3 .412 1.9 2.8 .679 1.7 4.3 .388 1.31 -4.04 2015 3.6 8.5 .429 2.4 3.2 .750 1.5 4.5 .322 1.31 0.73 Career 2.7 6.3 .431 1.8 2.5 .726 1.3 3.3 .376 1.34 -2.06 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2012 19 0 335 107 16 45 32 33 10 0 39 2013 30 0 469 189 16 39 29 38 9 1 45 2014 28 15 681 268 17 91 48 64 25 0 65 2015 33 33 749 366 28 94 59 77 30 4 76 Career 110 48 2234 930 77 269 168 212 74 5 225 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2012 37 74 17 25 16 33 -69 2013 57 134 48 63 27 64 -69 2014 84 204 53 78 47 121 -113 2015 120 280 78 104 48 149 24 Career 298 692 196 270 138 367 -227 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 20 3 7 5 3 2 6 6 14 6 9 4 9 Career 24 3 8 6 5 2 6 7 15 7 9 5 10 Awards & Acheivements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 1 2011 High School: Rated ** and #614 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2011 High School: All-State (Rhode Island)

And finally....

Code:
#40 SF Blair Isley - Bryant University - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-5 Weight: 217 High School: West Charlotte High School Hometown: Charlotte, NC Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 47 36 29 71 62 30 36 16 44 9 92 31 53 64 51 67 2014: 44 33 29 70 58 29 35 16 41 8 82 29 53 62 51 63 2013: 42 30 28 66 54 28 34 16 39 7 73 28 52 60 50 58 2012: 39 27 26 61 49 26 33 15 36 6 63 27 52 58 50 54 2011: 37 25 24 57 45 24 31 15 34 6 55 25 52 54 48 44 Potential: C C D B B D C D C F A D Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 40 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2012 29 29 31.8 9.7 1.9 3.8 2.1 2.6 0.80 0.7 0.1 2.8 2013 30 30 24.7 11.0 1.9 4.0 1.4 1.4 1.00 1.0 0.1 2.3 2014 29 29 29.8 13.3 1.9 4.2 1.6 1.6 0.98 1.3 0.2 2.9 2015 33 33 28.5 14.6 1.8 4.1 1.7 1.2 1.47 1.6 0.2 2.9 Career 121 121 28.6 12.2 1.9 4.0 1.7 1.7 1.47 1.1 0.2 2.7 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2012 3.6 9.2 .384 1.0 1.9 .500 1.7 5.5 .302 1.05 -3.28 2013 3.7 9.0 .416 1.6 2.5 .627 1.9 5.5 .349 1.22 -1.00 2014 4.7 10.6 .440 1.6 3.1 .516 2.4 6.4 .371 1.26 -3.03 2015 5.1 10.7 .476 1.8 2.8 .638 2.6 6.1 .423 1.36 1.67 Career 4.3 9.9 .433 1.5 2.6 .576 2.1 5.9 .365 1.23 -1.31 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2012 29 29 922 282 56 111 61 76 20 4 82 2013 30 30 740 329 56 119 42 42 29 4 70 2014 29 29 865 386 56 123 45 46 38 7 83 2015 33 33 939 481 61 135 56 38 52 5 97 Career 121 121 3466 1478 229 488 204 202 139 20 332 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2012 103 268 28 56 48 159 -95 2013 112 269 47 75 58 166 -30 2014 135 307 47 91 69 186 -88 2015 168 353 60 94 85 201 55 Career 518 1197 182 316 260 712 -158 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 32 6 9 4 3 2 3 11 21 5 8 7 12 Career 32 7 10 6 5 2 6 11 21 6 10 7 13 Awards & Acheivements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 17 2011 High School: Rated ** and #589 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2012 Freshman All-Conference (Northeast Conference) 2014 2nd Team All-Conference (Northeast Conference) 2015 1st Team All-Conference (Northeast Conference)

Two of my North Carolina three were part of my first recruiting class, and all three of those guys played a huge role in Bryant's best ever season. I'll miss them all.

Chris Curtiss got accepted into Harvard Business School, and I'm very happy for him. Junior Dillard got a job in Providence, so he'll be able to watch Bryant play whenever he wants. As for Blair Isley, he's moving back to his hometown of Charlotte, where he got a job offer from the Bobcats of all teams, working in their marketing department. Very cool for all three of my first class.

Our prestige skyrockets to 11 after our NCAA appearance. We're no longer the least prestigious program in the Northeast, having shot past Long Island and St. Francis (PA).

Code:
2015 Recruiting Rankings # Team Conference Best Player Rtg 5* 4* 3* 2* 1* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 143. Monmouth Northeast PG James Torres *** 0 0 1 1 0 179. Bryant University Northeast PG Mack Rasmussen *** 0 0 1 2 0 249. Wagner Northeast PG Kenneth Stout ** 0 0 0 1 4 263. Quinnipiac Northeast SF Les Blue ** 0 0 0 1 2 269. Mount St. Mary's Northeast PG Jeromy Edson ** 0 0 0 1 2 284. St. Francis-PA Northeast C Chris Marvel ** 0 0 0 1 2 293. Fairleigh Dickinson Northeast PG Gerald Hammond ** 0 0 0 1 0 298. St. Francis-NY Northeast C James Satterwhite ** 0 0 0 1 1 307. Long Island Northeast SF Abe Dyer ** 0 0 0 1 1 314. Central Connecticut State Northeast SG Randy Tomblin * 0 0 0 0 3 325. Robert Morris Northeast PF Grady Lanier ** 0 0 0 1 0 336. Sacred Heart Northeast PF Robert Pink * 0 0 0 0 1

Our first ever Top 200 recruiting class and the first time we've cracked the top two in the conference.

Better news yet: the board has voted to increase our budget after last year's NCAA tournament appearance. It's money we'll need because we have 6 scholarship seniors. Concurrent with those funds, though, is the requirement that we finish at least .500 in conference.

Oddly enough, the board isn't delighted with me just yet. They're waiting to see if last year was just a fluke.

But then again, there's no guarantee I'll be here next year. I don't feel as good about this squad as I do last season's and with that many scholarships opening up, it's going to be hell on the trail again. Still, I'm not going to sneeze at an extra $17,693, which is what the board manages to raise.

No job offers come through, so I'm in Smithfield for a sixth season. Nobody transfers and no tournaments come calling.

It's amazing what an NCAA tournament appearance will do. Six 3* players say they have High interest in us, the first time that's ever happened.

But Cortez, Malcolm, John and I have a lot of discussion and debating to do before we decide what direction to go in. All I know is, right now is a good time to be the head coach of the Bryant Bulldogs.
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Old 03-23-2011, 04:33 AM   #32
Izulde
Head Coach
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Insomnia strikes me at the most random and often the most inconvenient times, usually when I have to be up very early the next morning.

So it's no surprise that I'm awake at 12:42 am, staring at the list of recruits. We've agreed to go scout the High Six and I have to tell you, it feels amazing going from $7,800 a month to recruit with to $10,519 a month. Wonderful job by our athletic board.

We send out a flurry of offers in Month 2 and Month 3 sees us pull one of our offers, when we realize there's no hope of getting a guy. Cortez is once again hitting Spain for a big man I think has a ton of potential.

Month 4, we're yanking another offer to an Ivy League lock.

And we get brutalized in the early signing period.

PF Thomas Garrow chooses Cleveland State, C Ricky Timmons goes to Vermont, and C Owen Hutchins inks with East Carolina. At this point, we're left with two 3* prospects still in play, one of whom we're fighting Sacred Heart for. The other is the Spanish national, Sofronio Rey, who Cortez is working hard on.

Again, no one redshirts.

All-Time Scholarship Players by State
Indiana: 1
Massachusetts: 2 (+1)
Maryland: 1
Michigan: 1
North Carolina: 3
New York: 2
Pennsylvania: 1
Rhode Island: 2
Canada: 1
Spain: 1

Bold = New State

My Midwest roots have helped us out a fair bit, but as you might expect, the Eastern seaboard is still our greatest source of talent.

Bryant Bulldogs 2016-2017 Starting Lineup
PG Hershel Gaughan (Sr)*
Gaughan again fends off Craig Smith and will finish out his college career as a three year starter. I'm actually happy with our PG depth this year and will miss Gaughan when he's gone.

SG Napoleon "Dynamite Flash" Gordon (Jr)
An invaluable 6th man last season, he steps up to the starting lineup after Junior Dillard's graduation. I expect big things this year from our French-Canadian, especially with his fantastic 3 point shooting.

SF Mack Rasmussen (Fr)
A bit of a gamble here, as he played point guard in high school, but I think Rasmussen has the potential to be Blair Isley's replacement. At 6'5, he'll have the size to play the 3, although our season may hinge on if our highest ever ranked recruit is up to the task.

PF Lance Tully (Jr)*
There's better inside shooters, but Tully's rebounding ability makes me trust him a lot more over the other options we have in the post. Still holds the school and Northeast record for most rebounds in a game with 24.

C Joaquin Bravo (So)*
Vying to become the first four year starter since the recently departed Blair Isley. Right now it looks like he'll do it, as there's nobody challenging him. Furthermore, we played terribly when he was out with injury last season.

The big question of course is how we'll survive without Blair Isley. Look for us to go with a very fast paced, inside orientation offense this season, at least to start the year. It's going to be interesting seeing how it all pans out.

86-79 season-opening loss on the road to Lehigh. 19 points, 7 rebounds for David Lilly off the bench, 13 points for Napoleon Gordon, and a fantastic 11 point, 13 rebound, 5 assist, 2 block outing for Joaquin Bravo. Craig Smith picks up a day-to-day injury, but he insists on playing through it.

A 74-63 road win over Winston-Salem State evens our record and we're led by a host of 12 point players - Napoleon Gordon, Mack Rasmussen, Lester Henning, and David Lilly. Just behind with 11 points is Joaquin Bravo.

Our first home game is against UC-Davis and we let one slip away, 86-80. Hell of a game by Joaquin Bravo with 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Craig Smith stepped up with 11 bench points, but foul trouble kept most of our starters off the court for far too much of the game, and our bench is pretty weak this year.

SF Charles Loucks stabs us in the heart by committing to Sacred Heart, leaving us with just one 3* player. At this point, I'm tempted just to keep the sixth scholarship open for a transfer.

A busy December starts with a 75-65 road win over South Dakota, Hershel Gaughan's 17 points and Napoleon "Dynamite Flash" Gordon's 13 points instrumental in the victory.

I'm embarrassed when 1-6 Hartford beats us 62-59, even if on their court. Napoleon Gordon's 15 points and Mack Rasmussen's 10 points just didn't cut it when we played sloppy ball.

We top Albany 88-81 on the road thanks to Mack Rasmussen's coming out party of 21 points and Joaquin Bravo's 19 points. Maybe Mack can be the new Blair after all.

First trip home in a long time and we win a scrubby 62-51 game over NJIT. Joaquin Bravo doubles for 12 points and 12 rebounds to be our saving grace.

Agonizing 79-78 loss to Seattle in front of the home fans. Not going to discuss it even though we had great performances.

FUCK! Another god damned motherfucking close ass fucking home loss, 100-98 to asslicking cuntfuck Yale. Fucking Yallies.

Even a 91-80 road win over Morgan State can't quell my rage over the waste of our homestand. 13, 12, 10 points for David Lilly, Lance Tully, and Napoleon Gordon. Also a surprise 11 bench points by true freshman Grady Chong.

The Blackbirds of Long Island make us look like fools at home 71-58 in the Northeast opener. Napoleon Gordon (17 points) and Lester Henning (10 bench points) were the only two Bulldogs who played.

89-78 home win over Central Connecticut State we sorely needed to end the month. All five starters score 10 points or better, with Napoleon "Dynamite Flash" Gordon taking the lead at 19 points. David Lilly chips in 11 bench points... right before getting his stupid ass suspended for flunking a class.

Napoleon Gordon's performance was all the more impressive considering he was playing with Blurred Vision.

On a much happier note, we secured three commitments, SG Chris Templeton of Bartram John High School in Philadelphia, PA, C Mike Puentes from Ponaganset High School in North Scituate, RI, and finally, PF Sofronio Rey of Covadonga, Spain. Puentes was Mr. Basketball Rhode Island, but I wouldn't get too excited about that. He's no Lance Tully.

Code:
#2 PF Sofronio Rey -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-10 Weight: 208 High School: Hometown: Covadonga, Spain GPA: 2.73 Test Score: 1210 Rating: *** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 45 8 17 36 0 24 63 21 25 11 5 34 48 57 36 73 Potential: B F F D D D A D C D C B Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14.3 2.7 7.5 1.0 2.6 0.38 0.6 3.3 3.4 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.4 11.1 .575 1.6 2.7 .585 0.1 1.1 .045 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Bryant University Rankings: #33 PF, Foreign #11 Overall, Foreign #1 PF High School Awards: None Top 5 Schools: *Bryant University, Texas A&M, Creighton, Pittsburgh, Tennessee

A lot of teams tried to jump in on him later in the game, but once Cortez got his hooks in, talking up the same line he used with Joaquin Bravo, only with the added bonus of Bravo, it was already too late.

Oh, and a new highest ever recruit ranking is set. Young Mr. Rey is #204 overall.

Code:
2016 Northeast Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fairleigh Dickinson 2 0 1.000 10 3 .769 69 22 Wagner 2 0 1.000 6 7 .462 213 23 Sacred Heart 1 1 .500 9 3 .750 111 21 Mount St. Mary's 1 1 .500 3 9 .250 340 21 Robert Morris 1 1 .500 5 7 .417 326 31 Long Island 1 1 .500 3 10 .231 203 9 St. Francis-NY 1 1 .500 7 6 .538 301 22 Monmouth 1 1 .500 6 6 .500 215 20 Bryant University 1 1 .500 6 6 .500 342 11 Quinnipiac 1 1 .500 4 8 .333 300 26 Central Connecticut State 0 2 .000 1 12 .077 317 16 St. Francis-PA 0 2 .000 1 12 .077 330 9

Fairleigh-Dickinson looks like the early class of the conference again.

The ugliest game in Bryant history - a 47-39 road loss to Mt. St. Mary's. Yeah, not talking about it.

Then another teeth-yanking 94-91 road loss to Robert Morris. 16, 14, 12 points from Lester Henning, Joaquin Bravo, and Herschel Gaughan. Too god damned many close losses this year.

We barely beat Monmouth 85-84 at home, which goes to show much our depth is hurting without David Lilly. Kudos to Joaquin Bravo with 21 points and 14 rebounds, Napoleon Gordon with 16 points, and Lester Henning's 15 bench points. But it was way too close for comfort.

Joaquin Bravo dominates St. Francis (PA) for 22 points and 12 rebounds to ignite an 88-71 road win over the Northeast's worst team. Mack Rasmussen scores 19 and we get 11 and 10 points from Napoleon Gordon and Lance Tully.

Napoleon "Dynamite Flash" Gordon and Joaquin Bravo each score 16 in our 75-69 road win over St. Francis (NY), with 12 and 11 points from Mack Rasmussen and Herschel Gaughan.

91-73 road rout of Quinnipiac is our best game of the season, featuring 29 points from Napoleon "Dynamite Flash" Gordon, 24 points and 12 rebounds from Lance Tully, and 16 points from Mack Rasmussen.

Our win streak comes to an end, 69-60 in Monmouth. Joaquin Bravo and Napoleon Gordon couldn't save us this time with 14 and 12 points.

Back home we play like complete shit in losing to shitty St. Francis (PA) 80-71. I break a clipboard and throw it in disgust against the nearest wall. We can't afford to lose games like that.

PF Jamie Spradlin from Zehner, Canada, signs, but PG Michael Shackleford stuns us by choosing Fairfield at the last minute. PG Britt McKenzie, a 3* PG from North Carolina, has some interest in us, so we hit him hard in hopes that we might grab a steal.

We're at .500 overall and in conference, with Fairleigh-Dickinson running away with the title. They're 9-1 and then it's a crowd of 6-4 and 5-5 teams.

And of course we blow it big time with an 80-65 loss in Long Island. Joaquin Bravo and Lance Tully did okay with 16 and 11 points, but the Blackbirds burned us twice this year.

71-67 home loss to Quinnipiac and I'm ready to throw the towel in on the season. 67-59 loss to Central Connecticut State confirms it.

Upsetting Fairleigh-Dickinson 89-78 to snap the five game losing streak is nice, but not enough. A truckload of double-digit scorers is the winning combination.

92-68 home loss to Robert Morris and goodbye .500 in the Northeast.

Whatever.

81-70 L - vs Sacred Heart
76-64 W - @ Wagner
58-45 W - vs Mt. St. Mary's

Characteristic of our season - 84-55 rout of CS-Bakersfield puts us at 14-15 overall, and Joaquin Bravo (16 points, 12 rebounds), Lester Henning (19 bench points), Lance Tully (10 points, 10 rebounds) and Mack Rasmussen (12 points) all stood out... and three of our players get significantly hurt.

Lester Henning - 8 days
Craig Smith - 8 days
Napoleon Gordon - 23 days (his fourth or fifth injury of the season - I just didn't report some of the minor ones)

Yeah.

Code:
2016 Northeast Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fairleigh Dickinson 14 4 .778 22 7 .759 77 22 Sacred Heart 12 6 .667 20 9 .690 106 21 Robert Morris 12 6 .667 16 13 .552 204 31 Long Island 10 8 .556 12 17 .414 212 9 Wagner 9 9 .500 13 16 .448 260 23 Mount St. Mary's 9 9 .500 11 18 .379 305 21 Monmouth 9 9 .500 15 14 .517 249 20 Bryant University 8 10 .444 14 15 .483 312 11 St. Francis-PA 8 10 .444 9 20 .310 322 9 St. Francis-NY 6 12 .333 12 17 .414 281 22 Quinnipiac 6 12 .333 9 20 .310 290 26 Central Connecticut State 5 13 .278 6 23 .207 324 16

We play just well enough to sneak into the conference tournament as the 8 seed, but I've a bridge in Brooklyn to sell if you think we're winning. And of course Britt McKenzie disses us for Georgia State of all places. Two open scholarships for transfers? Sounds good to me.

Two of our still injured guys play against 1 seed Fairleigh-Dickinson, because really, what choice do we have? Naturally we lose 98-80, but Lester Henning (20 points), Hershel Gaughan (14 points), Mack Rasmussen (13 points), and Joaquin Bravo (12 points) all made it a closer game than most people expected.

Although Monmouth upset the 2 seed for the second year in a row as the 7 seed, Fairleigh-Dickinson handled the Hawks this team and beat 4 seed Long Island to earn the automatic bid.

The Knights earned the 13 seed in the East, the highest ever seeding of a Northeast team since I arrived.

The tournaments can wait. I'm still pissed about how the season went down. Losing David Lilly to academic suspension absolutely killed us. Hope I still have a job after this.
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2006 Golden Scribe Winner
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Rookie Writer of the Year
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Old 03-26-2011, 09:46 PM   #33
Izulde
Head Coach
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
UNLV is again a #6 seed, this time in the Midwest. Creighton is still going, an 8 seed in the East.

Although there were a fair number of first round upsets, Fairleigh-Dickinson wasn't one of them, losing 79-63 to Seton Hall.

Creighton made it to the Sweet 16, where they lost 99-94 to 5 seed Virginia Tech and UNLV made it all the way to the NCAA championship, where they lost in a heartbreaking 92-89 fashion to 1 seed UAB.

Code:
2016 NORTHEAST AWARDS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Player of the Year: SR SG Arthur Stamps Sacred Heart 26.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.0 APG 1.3 SPG, 0.0 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR SF Mack Rasmussen Bryant University 9.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.3 APG 1.1 SPG, 0.3 BPG Coach of the Year: Bill Cutshall Fairleigh Dickinson 25 - 8 (14 - 4) All-league 1st Team: C SR David Powell Robert Morris 9.3 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.8 BPG PF JR Malcolm Brooks Sacred Heart 5.9 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.5 SPG, 1.7 BPG SF SR Daniel Lerch Fairleigh Dickinson 12.5 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.1 BPG SG SR Arthur Stamps Sacred Heart 26.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.0 BPG PG JR Joseph Kelsey Robert Morris 13.7 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.2 BPG All-league 2nd Team: C SO Joaquin Bravo Bryant University 14.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.3 BPG PF SR Tommy Bennington Fairleigh Dickinson 7.1 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.7 BPG SF SR Chris Llamas Robert Morris 16.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 2.4 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.3 BPG SG JR Ali Almeida Fairleigh Dickinson 13.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG SO Loren Plumlee Long Island 11.8 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 2.3 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.0 BPG All-freshman Team: C FR Darell Mackey Long Island 4.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 0.8 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.6 BPG PF FR Eldridge McKean Wagner 6.0 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.2 BPG SF FR Mack Rasmussen Bryant University 9.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.3 BPG SG FR Randy Tomblin Central Connecticut State 5.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG FR Kenneth Stout Wagner 6.2 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.0 BPG

First ever Northeast Freshman of the Year and on top of it, Joaquin Bravo makes the Northeast 2nd Team as a sophomore. Pretty cool.

None of the graduating seniors made a huge impact on the team over their four careers, although Lester Henning is #4 in school history in career points and #6 in career rebounds. Not bad for a player ranked #1331 in his class and who never got more than a half-season of starts. David Lilly started off as a starter, but saw his minutes decline each season until his suspension this year. Did graduate #5 in school career rebounds, though.

Cole Clifford, Desmond Royster, and Gerald Gonzales were as non-entity as their 1* rating and 1000+ ranking suggested they'd be. We did have one player, though, who achieved considerable success, Hershel Gaughan:

Code:
PLAYER DETAILS #1 PG Hershel Gaughan - Bryant University - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-2 Weight: 180 High School: High Point High School Hometown: Beltsville, MD Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 25 58 66 26 54 63 27 31 33 33 27 31 96 40 47 97 2015: 23 54 65 25 51 59 25 29 32 31 25 30 95 39 47 90 2014: 22 51 64 24 48 55 24 28 31 29 23 29 95 38 46 83 2013: 21 48 63 23 45 51 23 27 30 27 21 28 94 37 46 76 2012: 19 44 59 21 43 47 21 25 30 25 19 28 92 35 45 62 Potential: D B B D C B D D C C D C Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 32 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2013 20 0 24.6 4.7 0.5 2.1 2.2 1.8 1.19 0.8 0.1 2.1 2014 20 18 24.2 4.4 0.8 2.2 2.6 2.2 1.21 0.4 0.3 2.6 2015 33 33 27.7 6.4 0.9 3.2 3.5 2.2 1.54 1.0 0.1 3.0 2016 30 30 28.1 7.5 1.2 3.7 3.8 1.9 2.04 0.7 0.1 2.5 Career 103 81 26.5 6.0 0.9 2.9 3.1 2.0 2.04 0.7 0.1 2.6 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2013 1.3 4.3 .306 1.8 2.3 .778 0.3 2.0 .150 1.09 -2.90 2014 1.4 3.9 .351 1.4 1.8 .750 0.4 1.6 .226 1.14 -3.10 2015 2.1 5.8 .366 1.8 2.5 .690 0.4 2.0 .194 1.10 0.64 2016 2.4 6.2 .395 2.1 2.6 .805 0.6 2.3 .261 1.22 0.63 Career 1.9 5.2 .364 1.8 2.3 .752 0.4 2.0 .213 1.15 -0.78 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2013 20 0 492 93 10 42 43 36 16 2 41 2014 20 18 483 88 15 44 52 43 7 5 52 2015 33 33 915 211 31 104 114 74 33 3 100 2016 30 30 844 226 37 110 114 56 20 3 76 Career 103 81 2734 618 93 300 323 209 76 13 269 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2013 26 85 35 45 6 40 -58 2014 27 77 27 36 7 31 -62 2015 70 191 58 84 13 67 21 2016 73 185 62 77 18 69 19 Career 196 538 182 242 44 207 -80 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 17 4 7 9 2 1 5 6 10 9 13 2 6 Career 17 4 11 9 4 1 6 6 11 9 13 2 6 Awards & Acheivements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 3 2012 High School: Rated ** and #584 overall by the FBCB scouting service.

Never a dynamite player, he nonetheless graduates as the school's career assist leader, largely due to the fact of holding down the starting PG gig for most of three seasons.

Code:
2016 Recruiting Rankings # Team Conference Best Player Rtg 5* 4* 3* 2* 1* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 145. Bryant University Northeast PF Sofronio Rey *** 0 0 1 3 0 182. Quinnipiac Northeast PF Huey Clark *** 0 0 1 2 2 191. Mount St. Mary's Northeast SG Luis Lamothe *** 0 0 1 0 3 205. Sacred Heart Northeast SF Charles Loucks *** 0 0 1 0 3 234. St. Francis-NY Northeast PG Chris Govea ** 0 0 0 1 3 244. Fairleigh Dickinson Northeast C Jerry Akins ** 0 0 0 1 2 262. Central Connecticut State Northeast C Thomas Smith ** 0 0 0 2 2 295. Robert Morris Northeast SF Jeffrey Reed ** 0 0 0 1 2 306. Monmouth Northeast SF David Block * 0 0 0 0 3 311. Long Island Northeast SF Agustin Caylor ** 0 0 0 1 1 336. Wagner Northeast C James Krawczyk * 0 0 0 0 2 347. St. Francis-PA Northeast 0 0 0 0 0

Two open scholarships? No problem, as we pull in the Northeast's top class and the first top 150 class of my tenure. Not bad at all, if I do say so myself.

Our prestige holds at 11, but the board is telling me if I don't make .500 in Northeast play this season, I'm done.

Transfer Period
All the players showing initial interest in us are upperclassmen and point guards, and all but one of them were walk-ons. Thomas Dash, a senior from Marist, and the lone one to get a scholarship initially, looks like the best of the bunch, so he gets an offer. I try and convince SG Malik Collins from Arizona to come too.

Thomas Dash agrees right away; Malik Collins goes to DePaul. Dash, by the way, was a Delaware All-State player in his year.

We get our second transfer in C Gary Wilson, a sophomore rebounding specialist from Detroit who actually projects as a SF.

Recruiting
There's a player who definitely wants to suit up for a Northeast school, SG Brian Torres, a Connecticut All-State player who has Sacred Heart and Quinnipiac in his Top 5. He also has high interest in us, so we immediately try to poach him.

C David McGinnis, a Virginia All-State player and massive at 7', is our other target after our initial siftings, as we're aiming high with the second scholarship.

McGinnis rejects us in the next month, as more prestigious Virginia schools step in. We then switch off to C Thomas Steele, as I'm determined to get a legitimately talented 7 footer this recruiting season.

Brian Torres tells us the next month he's deciding between us and Sacred Heart, while Thomas Steele is leaning towards Cleveland State, but has us as his #2.

Brian Torres does pick Sacred Heart, but we're not exactly broken up about it. We're gaining ground in the Thomas Steele race, but it's still too close to call. Mac Murray, Wisconsin All-State SG, is our next target.

We finally get a player willing to redshirt, and that's C Mike Puentes. Mr. Basketball Rhode Island comes in with far better potential than I figured he would, but he's quite raw and could use the extra development time.

All-Time Recruitment By State
Indiana: 1
Massachusetts: 2
Maryland: 1
Michigan: 1
North Carolina: 3
New York: 2
Pennsylvania: 2 (+1)
Rhode Island: 3 (+1)
Canada: 2 (+1)
Spain: 2 (+1)

We're definitely developing our foreign connections, and could Pennsylvania be our new North Carolina?

[u]Bryant Bulldogs 2017-18 Starting Lineup/u]
PG Craig Smith (Jr)
He's been very slow to develop and is a major disappointment so far in his college career. But our PG depth is so weak, he's a starter by default.

SG Napoleon "Dynamite Flash" Gordon (Sr)*
We're expecting a ton out of him this final season. Did decently last year, but he's going to really have to step it up if I still want to be coaching next season.

SF Chris Templeton (Fr)
The true freshman managed to beat out last year's Northeast Freshman of the Year, Mack Rasmussen, by showing off better shooting skills in training camp. It's a sign of just how much this position has been in flux since the days of Blair Isley.

PF Lance Tully (Sr)*
Although never a huge point producer, Tully's rebounding prowess keeps in the starting lineup, even though he's just 6'7. We're also counting on him to break out in his last year.

C Joaquin Bravo (Jr)
Simply put, the star of the team, or at least in my opinion. He made tremendous progress from his freshman to his sophomore season, and if he can make the same sort of leap his junior year, he could even be in the running for the 1st team All-Conference.

Ugly 63-47 loss to Longwood at home to open the season. Mack Rasmussen wins his job back with 10 bench points after Chris Templeton goes 0 for 6.

Columbia whips us 93-69 in New York. I'm struck with depression again, We're an awful shooting team this year.

89-86 loss to Lafayette, one of the worst teams in the country. Kill me now. Joaquin Bravo finally breaks out with 19 points and Chris Templeton matches that off the bench, re-igniting the starting SF controversy.

Heartbreaking 83-80 defeat in Dartmouth. We're playing better, but still 0-4. Lance Tully 11 points and Craig Smith 15, but Napoleon Gordon finally snapping the slump with 22 points is the most encouraging sign.

No decisions, but we've belatedly realized how bad Thomas Steele is. Tough choice now. Then again, Cleveland State pulled their offer, so maybe we should too.
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Old 04-03-2011, 10:12 PM   #34
Izulde
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Join Date: Sep 2004
After a lot of debate, we pull our offer on Thomas Steele. Just too risky with his rawness and projected bad shooting.

We finally get our first win of the year, beating UC-Riverside 82-64. Napoleon Gordon scores 22, Mack Rasmussen hits 12 points, Sonfrio Rey beasts for 14 points and 7 rebounds off the bench and Grady Chong adds 10 bench points.

Rhode Island beats us 63-55, and we just stunk.

Strategy changes give us a 91-67 beatdown of Stony Brook, keyed by double doubles from Lance Tully (18 points, 14 rebounds) and Joaquin Bravo (10 points, 10 rebounds). Sonfrio Rey continues to impress off the bench with 12 points, 7 rebounds and Grady Chong joins him with 10 points. 6 players all told in double-digit figures.

77-62 win over Hartford and we have our first win streak of the year. Craig Smith scores 16, Napoleon "Dynamite Flash" Gordon and Mack Rasmussen each net 13 points and Grady Chong does his usual 10 bench point showing.

Joaquin Bravo scores 20 to lead us to a massive 87-83 upset of then 8-1 Iona. Napoleon Gordon adds 15 points and Chris Templeton scores 12 filling in after Mack Rasmussen sprains his knee and is likely out for the next game.

Our Spanish duo carries us to an 81-68 victory over Hartford. Joaquin Bravo packs on 19 points and 10 rebounds, Sofronio Rey 14 points and 11 rebounds. Props also to Napoleon Gordon's 16 points.

Back over .500 on a season and a Northeast opener on the road at Robert Morris. Napoleon "Dynamite Flash" Gordon erupts for 30 points, Craig Smith scores 14, the same by Lance Tully, and Joaquin Bravo hangs 13 on the Colonials in the 104-93 race.

Napoleon Gordon stays hot with 21 points and Craig Smith chips in 17 points for an 87-61 rout of Fairleigh-Dickinson. Lance Tully just misses the double-double with 14 points and 9 rebounds.

We lose reserve Jamie Spradlin for two weeks with patellar tendinitis, but it's not a huge blow, I don't think.

Recruiting news was split. Wisconsin All-State SG Mac Murray from Onalaska High in Onalaska signed, but C Arthur Garner chose Richmond. Oh well, at least we finally landed somebody from Wisconsin.

We're one of a few teams to start Northeast play 2-0. The others are Wagner, Monmouth, and St. Francis (NY).

Napoleon Gordon does his thing with 20 points, but Lance Tully's 18 points and 10 rebounds, Joaquin Bravo's 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Craig Smith's 16 points and 3 steals deserve just as much credit for our 84-66 triumph over Mount St. Mary's.

Our seven game win streak finally comes to an ignoble 65-58 home loss to Central Connecticut State. Playing shorthanded is tiring our guys out, I think.

79-71 road loss to Quinnipiac follows despite Mack Rasmussen's 19 points. Fortunately, Jamie Spradlin will be back next game.

Sure enough, we win 79-74 next one out over St. Francis (PA). Lance Tully with 16 points and 11 rebounds, Joaquin Bravo with 13 points, and a 7 point, 10 rebound bench outing from Sofronio Rey.

Huge 107-72 home win over Wagner follows. Lance Tully is relentless with 19 points and 14 rebounds, a point total matched by Napoleon Gordon. Mack Rasmussen leads the team with 23 points, and Grady Chong and Sofronio Rey lead the second team with 16 and 13 respective points. The victory is our 10th of the season.

Mack Rasmussen goes on a 25 point tear, Napoleon Gordon adds 16 points and Sofronio Rey bench boosts 11 points and 8 rebounds in an 85-75 road win over St. Francis (PA).

Another road victory, 94-79 over Mount St. Mary's, captained by Joaquin Bravo's 20 points, Craig Smith's 19 points and Sofronio Rey's 10 bench points. I'm very impressed with how this team has responded from our 0-4 start.

We keep the streak going with a 91-73 home win over St. Francis (NY). All five starters score 13 points or more. The two highlights - Lance Tully with 20 points and Joaquin Bravo with 16 points, 14 rebounds.

The month ends on a sour note with an 89-76 home loss to Robert Morris, despite 12+ points from everyone in the lineup except Craig Smith, and Sofronio Rey's 14 points, 9 rebounds off the bench.

We took a flier on C Max Redding, but he dreamt big and went to Michigan instead. Our backup target chose someone else too, so we're left having to dip into the shallow 2* pool, where there's not much left either.

Still, all is not bad.

Code:
2017 Northeast Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bryant University 8 3 .727 13 8 .619 78 11 Wagner 8 3 .727 12 9 .571 133 22 Central Connecticut State 6 5 .545 12 10 .545 93 12 Quinnipiac 6 5 .545 12 9 .571 195 22 Sacred Heart 6 5 .545 10 10 .500 257 23 Mount St. Mary's 5 6 .455 11 11 .500 216 20 Monmouth 5 6 .455 8 14 .364 314 20 Robert Morris 5 6 .455 11 12 .478 226 30 St. Francis-PA 5 6 .455 10 13 .435 136 8 St. Francis-NY 4 7 .364 6 15 .286 299 20 Long Island 4 7 .364 6 18 .250 321 11 Fairleigh Dickinson 4 7 .364 9 12 .429 230 25

We're one game away from clinching .500 in conference play and are tied for the Northeast lead. Of course, we all know what happened a couple years ago, when the team imploded down the stretch, so I'm not holding my breath just yet.

Sweet, 99-68 revenge on Qunnipiac. Once again, all five starters with 12+ points, the big players Napoleon Gordon with 27 points, Lance Tully with 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Mack Rasmussen with 16 points and 10 rebounds. That victory not only guarantees .500 in the conference, but at 14-8, we've already matched last year's victory total.

Joaquin Bravo is lights out with 26 points, but Napoleon "Dynamite Flash" Gordon betters him with 29 points, and Craig Smith scores 19 to tally up a 95-54 win over St. Francis (PA).

Defense and Sofronio Rey's 10 points and 8 rebounds equals an ugly 64-49 road win over Monmouth. We'll take it.

Napoleon Gordon's 23 points and Joaquin Bravo's 17 points and 9 rebounds can't stop an 88-74 road loss to Fairleigh-Dickinson. The Knights aren't the class of the Northeast they've been the last two years, but it's still a decent squad.

78-65 road loss to Sacred Heart and it appears we're once again choking at the finish. Sofronio Rey's 15 bench points are the only highlight in this sad game.

With those three defeats, we've fallen a game behind Wagner... and then lose 72-63 to Central Connecticut State on the road. It's 2015 all over again and I can't count on a tournament run like happened then.

Home was never more welcome as we beat Long Island 74-62. 12 points, 11 rebounds from Joaquin Bravo, 15 points, 10 rebounds from Lance Tully and 15 points from Napoleon Gordon.

And with that win, we clinch our first ever Northeast Regular Season Championship!!!!

Talk about a rebound. When we started 0-4, I thought sure I was out on my ass, but John and I changed things up and we came back for the school's first ever regular season title. Everyone's so happy, Mack Rasmussen's umpteenth sprained knee doesn't bother me, although we do have him off the bench for our final game of the regular season.

And all Mack Rasmussen does with that bench time is 15 points and 9 rebounds in our 86-56 win over Albany. Sofronio Rey chips in 9 points and 8 rebounds as well with the second team. But the legit stars are Lance Tully with 18 points and 15 rebounds, Napoleon Gordon with 19 points and Joaquin Bravo with 12 points, 13 rebounds.

Kent Wilhoit chooses Northeastern over us and Cortez makes an emergency visit to Spain to try and land PG Apolinar Marcos. It's a long shot and we're probably too late to get him, but we'll try.

Gregory Tucker has been unhappy for two months now and will probably transfer. It'd be a shame if he did, but understandable. He's kind of buried on the bench with all our swingmen.

Code:
2017 Northeast Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bryant University 12 6 .667 18 11 .621 97 11 Wagner 12 6 .667 16 13 .552 162 22 Fairleigh Dickinson 10 8 .556 16 13 .552 175 25 Sacred Heart 10 8 .556 14 14 .500 258 23 Central Connecticut State 10 8 .556 16 13 .552 122 12 Robert Morris 10 8 .556 16 14 .533 181 30 Quinnipiac 9 9 .500 15 14 .517 228 22 St. Francis-NY 9 9 .500 11 18 .379 240 20 Monmouth 8 10 .444 11 18 .379 287 20 Mount St. Mary's 6 12 .333 12 17 .414 251 20 Long Island 6 12 .333 8 23 .258 315 11 St. Francis-PA 6 12 .333 11 19 .367 222 8

We face 8 seed St. Francis (NY) in the opening round of the conference tournament. It's a 104-95 track meet, with us the victors. All five starters with 12+ points, standouts being Joaquin Bravo with 22 points, 8 rebounds and Napoleon Gordon with 15 points. Sofronio Rey adds 14 points, 8 rebounds off the bench.

All four higher seeds advance, so the quarterfinal matchup is against 4 seed Sacred Heart... and it's a 70-53 victory keyed by Napoleon Gordon's 19 points, Joaquin Bravo's 16 points and 9 rebounds, and Lance Tully's 11 points.

And with that, we have the first 20 win season in Bryant school history!!!!

The Northeast tournament final pits us against 3 seed Fairleigh-Dickinson, who finished the season hot and looking to reassert themselves as the Northeast's most dominant team. The Knights are, appropriately enough, the closest thing to royalty this conference has had since I've been here.

And so they are again, beating us 104-97 for their third straight postseason bid and second NCAA bid in those last three seasons. Napoleon Gordon scores 29 and Chris Templeton and Sofronio Rey do what they can off the bench with 14 points and 12 points, 9 rebounds respectively, but in the end, we fall just short.

It's disappointing, but hard to be too depressed about it.

Fairleigh-Dickinson draws the 14 seed in the South region, the second straight year the Northeast's NCAA representative gets higher than a 16 seed. The conference's prestige is starting to increase slightly, it seems.

UNLV is a 9 seed in the East and Her Blondeness's undergrad school, Creighton, earns the 2 seed in the Midwest.

As for us? We get shafted with the 8 seed in the East region of the NIT, playing 1 seed St. Mary's. I'm pissed and so are the coaches and players. We deserved better than that.

We play horribly, losing 87-60. Craig Smith's 16 points and Grady Chong's 12 bench points look good, but when we get just 8 free throw attempts to St. Mary's 31, it's pretty clear who's going to win that game. Hell, that's a 23 point differential right there.

Very anticlimactic finish, indeed.

16 seed Coastal Carolina upset 1 seed Duke 54-46 in the opening round. UNLV loses in the second round and Fairleigh-Dickinson gets routed 81-60 by 3 seed Pittsburgh in the first round.

Creighton gets to the Elite 8, where 1 seed Kansas dumps them 84-64 and we take some small consolation in the fact that St. Mary's wins the NIT. We still got screwed in seeding, though.

Final Four is 1 seed UCLA, 4 seed Kentucky, 1 seed Kansas, 1 seed UConn. UCLA vs. UConn for the title and the Huskies win the championship, 77-64.
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Old 04-03-2011, 10:12 PM   #35
Izulde
Head Coach
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Code:
2017 NORTHEAST AWARDS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Player of the Year: SR SG Joseph Routh Robert Morris 18.1 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 2.8 APG 1.0 SPG, 0.1 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR C Sofronio Rey Bryant University 7.7 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.0 APG 0.2 SPG, 0.6 BPG Coach of the Year: Izulde Jestor Bryant University 20 - 13 (12 - 6) All-league 1st Team: C SR John Paine Central Connecticut State 6.7 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.8 SPG, 1.1 BPG PF SR Lance Tully Bryant University 10.8 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG SF SR Adrian Knight Central Connecticut State 18.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG SR Joseph Routh Robert Morris 18.1 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG SR Joseph Kelsey Robert Morris 14.9 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG All-league 2nd Team: C JR Joaquin Bravo Bryant University 11.7 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.5 BPG PF SR Adrian Joseph Robert Morris 12.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.5 BPG SF SO Mack Rasmussen Bryant University 11.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.2 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG SG SR Ali Almeida Fairleigh Dickinson 15.9 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG JR Craig Smith Bryant University 10.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.3 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.2 BPG All-freshman Team: C FR Sofronio Rey Bryant University 7.7 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.2 SPG, 0.6 BPG PF FR Jerry Akins Fairleigh Dickinson 5.4 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 0.7 APG, 0.2 SPG, 0.3 BPG SF FR Agustin Caylor Long Island 3.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG SG FR Bradley Hargrave St. Francis-NY 3.5 PPG, 0.9 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.0 BPG PG FR Arthur Buie St. Francis-NY 7.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 2.3 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.0 BPG

Our most successful season ever from an awards standpoint. My second Northeast Conference Coach of the Year award, Northeast Freshman of the Year, an All-Northeast First Team player and three players on the All-Northeast Second Team. I think Joaquin Bravo got robbed of the first team, but oh well.

We're losing two very important scholarship seniors this year in Lance Tully and Napoleon "Dynamite Flash" Gordon.

Code:
PLAYER DETAILS #12 PF Lance Tully - Bryant University - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-7 Weight: 245 High School: Middletown High School Hometown: Middletown, RI Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 65 14 25 14 33 25 84 57 46 27 8 34 38 79 49 50 2016: 62 13 24 13 32 24 79 54 42 26 8 32 37 76 48 44 2015: 58 13 23 13 31 23 74 51 38 25 8 30 36 73 48 38 2014: 53 13 22 13 30 22 68 47 34 24 8 28 35 71 47 33 2013: 49 13 20 13 28 20 62 43 30 24 8 26 32 65 45 21 Potential: B F D F C D A B C C F D Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 23 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014 29 13 22.8 5.9 2.4 7.0 0.7 1.2 0.59 0.1 0.2 2.8 2015 33 33 16.6 5.0 2.0 4.5 0.7 0.6 1.20 0.2 0.2 2.0 2016 30 30 23.5 7.2 3.1 7.6 0.8 1.2 0.66 0.1 0.4 2.4 2017 33 33 28.0 10.8 2.8 8.2 1.2 1.4 0.84 0.3 0.2 2.7 Career 125 109 22.7 7.3 2.6 6.8 0.8 1.1 0.84 0.2 0.2 2.5 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014 2.3 5.0 .458 1.3 2.4 .536 0.1 0.4 .167 1.19 -5.31 2015 2.1 4.8 .431 0.8 1.4 .565 0.0 0.2 .143 1.03 1.67 2016 2.8 6.2 .459 1.5 2.8 .542 0.0 0.2 .000 1.16 2.13 2017 4.2 7.7 .545 2.4 3.8 .635 0.0 0.2 .000 1.41 5.94 Career 2.9 5.9 .482 1.5 2.6 .580 0.0 0.2 .100 1.22 1.29 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014 29 13 661 171 71 204 20 34 4 5 81 2015 33 33 548 165 66 148 24 20 5 6 65 2016 30 30 705 215 92 227 23 35 4 11 71 2017 33 33 924 356 93 272 38 45 10 6 90 Career 125 109 2838 907 322 851 105 134 23 28 307 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014 66 144 37 69 2 12 -154 2015 69 160 26 46 1 7 55 2016 85 185 45 83 0 5 64 2017 138 253 80 126 0 6 196 Career 358 742 188 324 3 30 161 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 20 5 15 4 1 1 4 9 12 8 10 0 1 Career 24 14 24 4 2 2 5 11 15 8 11 1 2 Awards & Acheivements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 10 2013 High School: Rated *** and #483 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2013 High School: All-State (Rhode Island) 2013 High School: Mr. Basketball (Rhode Island) 2014 Freshman All-Conference (Northeast Conference) 2017 1st Team All-Conference (Northeast Conference)

Great senior season, but he never really lived up to the expectations we had for him when we landed him outside of his final year. That said, he owns the Northeast record for most rebounds in a game with 24, 2nd all-time in Northeast career offensive rebounds, and 3rd in total career rebounds.

Bradley school records - 1st in rebounds and offensive rebounds, 3rd in blocks.

Code:
PLAYER DETAILS #15 SG Napoleon Gordon - Bryant University - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 5-11 Weight: 183 High School: Hometown: Delhi, Canada Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 36 46 58 97 51 36 45 12 5 25 58 34 75 64 74 77 2016: 35 42 54 89 47 34 43 12 4 23 55 32 75 63 74 67 2015: 34 39 51 82 44 32 41 12 3 21 52 30 75 62 73 54 2014: 33 36 48 76 41 31 39 12 3 20 49 29 73 61 73 39 2013: 31 34 46 70 39 29 37 12 3 18 45 27 71 59 72 1 Potential: D C C A C D C F F D C C Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 74 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014 29 1 15.4 5.4 0.9 1.9 1.2 1.1 1.06 0.6 0.0 1.4 2015 33 0 18.7 8.9 0.9 2.2 1.7 1.6 1.04 0.8 0.1 1.8 2016 29 29 26.3 12.5 1.6 3.4 1.7 1.4 1.20 0.9 0.1 2.5 2017 33 33 31.2 15.8 1.9 4.1 2.2 2.3 0.96 1.0 0.1 2.4 Career 124 63 23.0 10.8 1.4 2.9 1.7 1.6 0.96 0.8 0.1 2.0 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014 1.7 4.9 .350 1.1 1.7 .660 0.8 3.2 .250 1.09 -2.03 2015 2.9 6.2 .468 1.5 2.1 .721 1.6 4.4 .375 1.44 0.79 2016 4.2 8.9 .469 1.6 2.2 .734 2.5 5.9 .427 1.40 1.72 2017 5.0 10.2 .488 2.5 3.7 .694 3.3 7.2 .458 1.55 5.82 Career 3.5 7.6 .458 1.7 2.4 .703 2.1 5.2 .402 1.42 1.69 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014 29 1 446 156 27 55 34 32 16 1 40 2015 33 0 616 295 31 73 55 53 26 4 60 2016 29 29 763 362 47 99 49 41 26 2 72 2017 33 33 1031 521 63 135 74 77 33 4 79 Career 124 63 2856 1334 168 362 212 203 101 11 251 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014 50 143 33 50 23 92 -59 2015 96 205 49 68 54 144 26 2016 121 258 47 64 73 171 50 2017 164 336 84 121 109 238 192 Career 431 942 213 303 259 645 209 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 30 6 9 6 3 1 6 9 16 9 11 7 11 Career 30 6 9 6 4 1 6 9 16 9 11 7 12 Awards & Acheivements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 16 2013 High School: Rated *** and #484 overall by the FBCB scouting service.

He never made an All-Northeast team, but this Canadian, in my opinion, really did live up to his Dynamite Flash nickname. In fact, he's #2 in career points scored in Bryant history, behind only Blair Isley. He also was 4th in career offensive rebounds, 3rd in assists, and 2nd in steals. Probably the most underrated player I've ever had.

Cortez finally missed on a Spanish recruit, as Apolinar Marcos chose College of Charleston. We were right up there, though, which was impressive considering we got in so late.

We have two scholarships for transfers because Gregory Tucker did indeed transfer out.

Our budget is once again going up and with it comes the ultimatum to make the NCAA tournament, or else. Gee, thanks. Nothing like pressure.

But I've learned a lot here so far at Bryant. I've become a far better recruiter than I was before and developed a better understanding of the offensive side of the game.

Code:
2017 Recruiting Rankings # Team Conference Best Player Rtg 5* 4* 3* 2* 1* ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 114. Wagner Northeast PG Joseph Bravo *** 0 0 1 2 1 125. Robert Morris Northeast PG Ronald Fuhrman *** 0 0 2 1 3 132. Mount St. Mary's Northeast PG Herb Ceasar *** 0 0 1 0 2 166. Sacred Heart Northeast C Jack Richardson *** 0 0 3 0 0 208. Bryant University Northeast SG Mac Murray *** 0 0 1 0 0 233. St. Francis-NY Northeast SF Joey Spano ** 0 0 0 2 2 256. Long Island Northeast SF Stacey Lord ** 0 0 0 1 3 293. Fairleigh Dickinson Northeast PG Elton Acklin ** 0 0 0 2 0 299. Central Connecticut State Northeast C Christopher Gordon ** 0 0 0 1 1 304. Monmouth Northeast PG Armand Nowlin * 0 0 0 0 3 327. St. Francis-PA Northeast SG Xavier Carlisle * 0 0 0 0 3 331. Quinnipiac Northeast C Jose Child * 0 0 0 0 1

Having only one player killed our recruiting ranking, but that one commit was a darn good one in my estimation.

We also continue our climb up the prestige level, now at 16, which puts us about the middle of the conference.

An extra $19,102 comes in through fundraising. I'm still not high enough on schools' radars to get a job elsewhere. Still, I'm only 39 years old, so there's still plenty of time to advance.

We go from having $8,750 a month for recruiting to $11,910. That's a huge jump.

Transfer Period

SG Mason Kahler, a former walk-on from Norfolk State, is transferring after his freshman year and is interested in us. Nothing more than a reserve, but he's extremely smart, so we offer him the transfer.

He accepts, but flier SG Craig Audley goes to VCU instead. Junior SG Truman Leonard, who walked on at Duke, becomes our second transfer instead.

Transfers by School
Detroit: 1
Duke: 1
Marist: 1
[/b]Norfolk State: 1[/b]
Tennessee Tech: 1

Recruiting
3 scholarships to offer and a number of players interested in us. But that'll wait for later.
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Last edited by Izulde : 04-03-2011 at 10:13 PM.
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Old 04-05-2011, 12:12 PM   #36
Izulde
Head Coach
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
"He expects us to win the conference with literally the worst facilities in the country and two of our best players graduated? That's bullshit."

Cortez nods in agreement with me as we stand outside smoking, "It's hell, but what can you do?"

We've been discussing recruits and there's six players who have high interest in us off the bat. SF Dave Porter, Massachusetts'' Mr. Basketball and 6'8, is an immediate offer, sight unseen. North Carolina All-State PG Gerry Fults is another insta-offer, leaving us our third to hang there.

A month later, PG Gerry Fults is really into us, and for our part, we see him as the floor general PG we've hunted for, for so long, but always lacked. SF Dave Porter looks like a Maine commit already, so we pull back. Instead, it's undersized PF Quentin Seeley and PF Rodrick Gallup we go after.

All of a sudden, PG Gerry Fults gets offers from North Carolina State and East Carolina and we're out of the game. The news is bad elsewhere, too, with Quentin Seeley and Rodrick Gallup not even having us on our radar.

So we pursue two foreign PGs instead, Augusto Lorenzo from Spain and Bohumir Schulz from the Czech Republic, both of whom have no teams knocking at their door yet. Connecticut All-State SF Ulysses Fell, who has an awesome name, becomes our third target.

Sadly, SF Ulysses Fell commits to Rutgers, and the bad news is, none of our foreign recruits signs in the early period.

Nobody's willing to redshirt.

Cortez is getting a long European vacation this November, as he's flying to Spain, the Czech Republic, and Germany, the last where C Ebbe Oswaldt really impressed Malcolm in the game tape.

Unwelcome news after training camp. SG Mac Murray, our lone commit last year, failed one of his high school classes as a senior, so he's on academic suspension until he can make it up.

All-Time Recruitment By State
Indiana: 1
Massachusetts: 2
Maryland: 1
Michigan: 1
North Carolina: 3
New York: 2
Pennsylvania: 2
Rhode Island: 3
Wisconsin: 1
Canada: 2
Spain: 2

Bryant University Bulldogs 2018-2019 Starting Lineup
PG Craig Smith (Sr)*
Prone to bouts of inconsistency last season, Craig had a pretty good training camp and should give us good results this year. He has the highest passing rating of any Bulldog in school history, although that's not saying much.

SG Grady Chong (Jr)
He was lightly regarded as a 2* recruit, but Grady's quietly worked hard and gradually risen up the ranks, to the point where he's now earned himself a starting spot after Napoleon Gordon's graduation. I feel like it's less about him and more about our lack of talent at the SG spot, though.

SF Mack Rasmussen (Jr)*
Mack once again had to fight off Chris Templeton for the starting spot,and he retained it by simply being a better all-around player than the kid a year below him. Made big improvements his sophomore year, so let's see if he can keep it up.

PF Joaquin Bravo (Sr)*
Surprised to see him move to the 4? He has actually has the second best passing ability on the team and with a certain other Spanish player taking over the center slot, Joaquin figures to fill the Lance Tully role this year, only with more scoring. Hard to go wrong with a two-time All-Northeast 2nd Team player.

C Sofronio Rey (So)
Last year's Northeast Freshman of the Year looks to have a great season in the middle and I'm sad that we'll only see him and Bravo together in the lineup for one season. They've been a huge help in filling what is traditionally a weak spot for Bryant.

So three starters return and two seniors in the lineup. I'm not sure that's a Northeast title-worthy team, but we'll see.

We open the season with a heartstopping 83-82 road win over NJIT. Grady Chong surprises with 20 points, Craig Smith has a great all-around game of 14 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, Joaquin Bravo just misses the double with 12 points, 9 rebounds, and Sofronio Rey was everywhere in the court in amassing 16 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals.

Our home opener is a 75-54 laugher over North Dakota, propelled by Mack Rasmussen's 16 points and 9 rebounds, 16 points from Joaquin Bravo, and 14 points each from Sofronio Rey and Craig Smith.

94-77 win over Stony Brook with all five starters scoring 11 points or more. I love watching Sofronio Rey. 26 points, 13 rebounds. 19 points from Mack Rasmussen.

No decisions on the recruiting trail. We also have a very short non-conference season this year because not many people wanted to play us.

December begins with a too close for comfort 78-76 home win over South Dakota State. All five starters in double-digit scoring again, led by Craig Smith's 16 points and Joaquin Bravo's 13 point, 10 rebound double-double.

Our first loss of the season two nights later against Texas-Pan American, 80-73. 15 points Craig Smith, 14 points Mack Rasmussen, and Chris Templeton's 10 bench points don't cut it.

We beat Dartmouth 78-74 to rebound from the defeat, buoyed by Grady Chong's 19 points, Joaquin Bravo's 17 points, Mack Rasmussen's 11 points, and Chris Templeton's 12 bench points.

18 points, 11 rebounds from Sofronio Rey, 15 points and 10 rebounds from Mack Rasmussen, and Joaquin Bravo's 16 points are the frontline assault that power a 73-61 win over Utah Valley. Unfortunately, reserve big Jamie Spradlin picks up a week-long knee injury.

Even despite that, we whip Houston Baptist 84-67 on their turf two nights after. All five starters except Craig Smith scored 16 or more points, with Grady Chong's 23 points the standout performance.

A thrilling game with two teams of good records in Albany and we come out on top, 98-90. All five starters score 13, 15, 16, or 17 points and that's all you really need to know about the balanced attack that carried us to the victory.

Good litmus test, hosting Providence. We lose 84-76 despite Craig Smith's 19 points and Joaquin Bravo's 12 points and 15 rebounds, but I'm not complaining one bit about being 8-2 at the end of December.

Cortez pulls off his magic again and we land Augusto Lorenzo.

Code:
RECRUIT DETAILS #53 PG Augusto Lorenzo -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-0 Weight: 191 High School: Hometown: Gandia, Spain GPA: 2.37 Test Score: 1070 Rating: *** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 27 19 58 22 42 53 25 24 18 35 18 10 95 50 55 61 Potential: A F C B C A D D D B F C Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9.0 1.1 3.2 6.1 2.4 2.60 0.6 0.3 2.5 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.1 9.3 .438 0.7 1.2 .565 0.3 2.4 .104 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Bryant University Rankings: Foreign #13 Overall, Foreign #5 PG High School Awards: None Top 5 Schools: *Bryant University, Illinois,

He's extremely raw, but at #247, he's our second-highest ranked recruit of all time, behind Sofronio Rey's #204. Bryant is starting to get a real reputation in Iberia as a school for players to go. Having Rey and Joaquin Bravo as star players really helps as well.

Mac Murray finally gets off academic suspension and although he could legitimately start, he's going to come off the bench for now. We're 8-2. I'm not messing with team chemistry.
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Old 04-05-2011, 08:42 PM   #37
Izulde
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Bad start to the Northeast season. 81-75 home loss to St. Francis (PA). Mack Rasmussen's 22 points and Joaquin Bravo's 20 points and 13 rebounds don't cut it when everyone else has an off night.

We stomp Wagner 77-56 behind Sofronio Rey's great 17 point, 13 rebound, 3 block, 2 steal performance and 13 points each from Grady Chong and Mack Rasmussen.

First conference road game nets a 76-67 win over Mount St. Mary's. Grady Chong goes off for 22 points and Joaquin Bravo gets the 15 point, 12 rebound double-double. It's also our 10th win of the year.

75-68 victory over Long Island comes via Joaquin Bravo's 27 points, Grady Chong's 14 points, and Craig Smith's 12 points. I continue to be amazed at Chong's contributions this year, especially since he played through a broken finger.

Craig Smith scores 20 in our 84-65 win over Monmouth, but I'm most impressed by Grady Chong's 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks with that finger injury. Credit also goes to Joaquin Bravo's 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists, Sofronio Rey's near-double miss with 9 points and 11 rebounds, and Chris Templeton's 10 bench points.

Things keep right on clicking with a 100-92 road win over Robert Morris. Grady Chong gongs for 24 points and Craig Smith's 18 points and Joaquin Bravo's 16 points complete the three ring attack.

Buzzer-beater kills us in a 78-77 loss to St. Francis (NY), throwing away Joaquin Bravo's 22 points, Grady Chong's 18 points and Sofronio Rey's 15 points and 15 rebounds.

Critical game in Fairleigh-Dickinson for the Northeast lead and we come out with the 69-67 win. 10 points, 12 rebounds from Joaquin Bravo and 11 points from Sofronio Rey in a game that, quite honestly, we didn't really deserve to win, so it balances out the SFNY loss.

We finish off January with a 67-60 win at Monmouth, riding Joaquin Bravo's 18 points and 11 rebounds and Sofronio Rey's 13 points and 9 rebounds.

Bohumir Schulz commits, but we're stunned when Ebbe Oswaldt chooses Canisius at the last second. Harsh to lose the one big man we were targeting, but we now should have a surplus of quality point guards next year.

Code:
RECRUIT DETAILS #12 PG Bohumir Schulz -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-0 Weight: 171 High School: Hometown: Pribyslav, Czech Republic 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: 44 67 25 16 61 51 0 9 14 26 43 6 88 18 45 23 Potential: C B C D B B F C F C A D Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17.4 0.9 3.1 5.1 3.1 1.66 3.2 0.4 3.7 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.9 14.9 .527 1.0 1.8 .556 0.7 3.0 .220 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Bryant University Rankings: Foreign #21 Overall, Foreign #7 PG High School Awards: None Top 5 Schools: *Bryant University, UAB, Connecticut, Texas, Cincinnati

A lot of teams came crashing in the last few months on both these guys, but evidently we could only get one even though we led on both.

Schulz checks in at #411 overall, by the way, which is still good for our prestige level. We're throwing everything we have into SF Paul Porter, one of only two non-PGs left above one star who have even the tiniest sliver of interest.

Code:
2018 Northeast Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bryant University 7 2 .778 15 4 .789 80 16 Fairleigh Dickinson 7 2 .778 14 6 .700 119 27 Wagner 7 2 .778 12 8 .600 187 23 St. Francis-NY 6 3 .667 11 9 .550 177 19 Robert Morris 5 4 .556 10 10 .500 160 28 Sacred Heart 4 5 .444 7 13 .350 257 22 St. Francis-PA 4 5 .444 10 10 .500 194 8 Long Island 4 5 .444 8 12 .400 176 9 Central Connecticut State 4 5 .444 6 14 .300 273 13 Monmouth 3 6 .333 9 10 .474 198 17 Quinnipiac 3 6 .333 7 13 .350 238 20 Mount St. Mary's 0 9 .000 2 18 .100 338 16

Very close race in the Northeast heading into February. The conference overall seems to be having an excellent season and it's no surprise to see Fairleigh-Dickinson and Wagner up there with us.

Grady Chong's 21 points conspire with Joaquin Bravo's 12 points, Craig Smith's 11 points, and, in a rare display off our bench, Jamie Spradlin's 10 points and true freshman Mac Murray's 11 points, for an 84-76 win over Robert Morris.

We avenge ourselves with a 79-74 road win over St. Francis (PA), with all five starters in 10+ points. The big players were Craig Smith with 16 points and Joaquin Bravo with 15 points, 9 rebounds.

A 73-63 scoreline gives us the critical season sweep of Fairleigh-Dickinson and we got it thanks to Craig Smith's 29 points and Joaquin Bravo's 14 points and 9 rebounds.

Our other main challenger, Wagner, whimpers in our 81-60 wipeout. 22 points, 9 rebounds from Joaquin Bravo, 14 points from Grady Chong and 11 points from Sofronio Rey power the victory.

We win 20 games for the second year in a row, beating Quinnipiac 75-58. Joaquin Bravo hauls in 16 points and 11 rebounds, Sofronio Rey 15 points and 10 rebounds, Grady Chong 15 points. Jamie Spradlin comes through with 11 bench points.

73-62 win over Long Island comes via all five starters with 10+ points, save Sonfrio Rey's 8 points and 15 rebounds. Mack Rasmussen tore it up with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals, Joaquin Bravo scores 15 and Jamie Spradlin continues his late season surge with 10 bench points.

We destroy Sacred Heart 74-53, courtesy of Sofronio Rey's 15 points and 10 rebounds and Craig Smith's 18 points, but unfortunately, we don't quite have the Northeast title locked up.

That doesn't happen until a 70-67 road win over Central Connecticut State done with all five starters but Grady Chong scoring 11 or more. Mack Rasmussen's 15 points and Joaquin Bravo and Craig Smith's matching 14 points carried the day.

Our final Northeast game is a 68-54 win over Mount St. Mary's where we hold all but one player under 10 points. Hell, Joaquin Bravo's 23 points and 10 rebounds nearly beats the Mount itself, and Craig Smith's 12 points only adds to it.

Final regular season game is a 72-62 win over CSU-Bakersfield, courtesy of Craig Smith's 25 points, Joaquin Bravo's 12 points and Sonfronio Rey's 11 points.

Code:
2018 Northeast Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bryant University 16 2 .889 25 4 .862 52 16 St. Francis-NY 15 3 .833 20 9 .690 119 19 Fairleigh Dickinson 13 5 .722 20 9 .690 83 27 Quinnipiac 10 8 .556 14 15 .483 198 20 Robert Morris 10 8 .556 15 14 .517 181 28 Monmouth 9 9 .500 16 13 .552 155 17 Wagner 8 10 .444 13 16 .448 216 23 Central Connecticut State 7 11 .389 9 20 .310 245 13 Sacred Heart 6 12 .333 9 20 .310 269 22 St. Francis-PA 6 12 .333 12 17 .414 206 8 Long Island 5 13 .278 9 20 .310 235 9 Mount St. Mary's 3 15 .167 5 24 .172 338 16

Yeah. 25 wins, 52 RPI, 16 conference wins. We've smashed every single Bryant school record already this season.

We roll over Central Connecticut State 86-59 in the Northeast tournament's opening round. Craig Smith and Mack Rasmussen almost beat them by themselves with 24 and 22 respective points, and with Sofronio Rey's 14 points, they do, by a single point. But bad news hits - Joaquin Bravo sprains his ankle.

It's all chalk so 4 seed Quinnipiac is the semi-final opponent. Joaquin Bravo is only 86%, but he insists on playing because it's his senior year. He does and gets 15 points and 9 rebounds. All five of our starters score 12+ points and Craig Smith unleashes a 31 point burning for the 91-77 victory over the Bobcats.

Our old arch-nemesis, Fairleigh-Dickinson, awaits in the Northeast tournament final and once again we go down, 80-77. 13 points by all starters (Sofronio Rey also had 11 rebounds)m save Craig Smith, who was awful, and Joaquin Bravo who scored 18. Thomas Dash, the senior transfer from Marist, has the first great game by a transfer in Bryant history, scoring 13 off the bench. But it can't save us.

And now we grimly wait for Selection Sunday. Our RPI is 52 that morning. But will it be enough?

West Region... no Northeast teams.
Midwest Region... no Northeast teams.
South Region... Bryant is the #7 seed!!!!

OMG! OMG! We got an at-large bid and we're favored!!!!!!!

Fairleigh-Dickinson gets the 12 seed in the East, but we're too damn busy celebrating our placement to care very much.

Ironically enough, we took spots from UNLV and Creighton, who wound up 1 and 2 seeds in the NIT. Princeton's in the NIT, too, in Creighton's bracket as the 5 seed. Arkansas is nowhere to be found.

A lot of hard work and sleepless nights ahead for me, the staff, and the players in the coming weeks. This first round game will be the biggest in Bryant history.
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Old 04-05-2011, 11:00 PM   #38
Izulde
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Tale of The Tape - (7) Bryant vs (10) Louisiana-Lafayette

The Rajin' Cajuns have the #4 scoring defense in the country and rank in the top 10-25 in most defensive categories. Their best player is senior swingman Angelo Wood, noted for his lockdown defense and his well-rounded game, as evidenced by his 11.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.1 steals. On the other hand, Louisiana-Lafayette is very mediocre on offense.

The Bulldogs are the opposite. A Top 25 scoring offense (#21) and team field goal percentage is what marks their game. Furthermore, they're slightly better than mediocre on defense and are led by Joaquin Bravo, the senior big man who averaged team highs in points and rebounds at 15.4 and 8.4 respectively. He was also third in team assists with 1.9 a game.

Izulde Jestor is leading Bryant to its third postseason trip in four years (2 NCAA, 1 NIT), while Louisiana-Lafayette's head coach, Joshua Garrow, has very quickly turned the team around in his three seasons there, taking what was a moribund program to two straight 20+ win seasons and NCAA appearances after having served as scouting director at Notre Dame for five seasons.

Both teams steamrolled through their respective conferences with 16-2 records and both made the tournament with at-large bids after falling short in their conference tournaments, Bryant in the championship to Fairleigh-Dickinson, Louisiana-Lafayette to 13 seed Troy in the semi-finals.

Verdict
It should be a good, close game. But the Cajuns have no answer for Bravo or Sofronio Rey in the post and without the big men to neutralize the Bulldogs' strength on offense, it looks like this one's going to Bryant.

Indeed, most brackets have us picked to make it out of the first round before getting squashed by 2 seed Kentucky, who, ironically enough, is playing 15 seed Eastern Kentucky in the first round.

FOFC, my family, my friends, everyone calls, texts, or posts congratulations over our 7 seed and everyone is watching even the pre-game chatter for our first round game. Lot of pressure. Highest seed ever by a Northeast team since I joined the coaching ranks. A win probably gets me and the rest of the boys calls from other schools. Then the fact we're favored, too.

My locker room speech before the game was short and simple: "Let's go out there and win this thing."

What all the viewers got was a tense, thrilling game. Tied 38-38 at the half, with no clear winner in sight. Sofronio Rey was getting beat hard by John Carreon, the Cajuns' best post defender who they started to try and control our tallest guy. It was working, but Mack Rasmussen kept hitting shot after shot.

In the end, it all came down to Joaquin Bravo's dunk with under a second ago to give us the 75-73 win!!!!. The Bryant fans mobbed the court, FOFC exploded in a postgasm of happiness, and I think everyone else was busy crying.

Mack Rasmussen finished with 15 points and Craig Smith led us in scoring with 16 points. Game-winning dunk aside, Joaquin Bravo played just 17 minutes due to foul trouble and Sofronio Rey got shut down. Between the two of them, they had just 10 points.

Arnold Ruth played terrifically. 20 points, 8 rebounds, a block and a steal as the game's obvious MVP. But in the end, even though Louisiana-Lafayette had one hell of a smart gameplan against us, I can say that I and Bryant University are NCAA first round winners.

Damn, it feels good.

Unfortunately, the play-by-play report got lost in the shuffle. I'd like to have had the memory. Instead, the box score:

Code:
Bryant University 75, UL-Lafayette 73 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts John Carreon PF 19 3-5 1-2 0 4 2 4 7 Thomas Mickel PF 24 4-10 1-1 1 3 1 5 10 Frank Cannon SF 30 3-7 2-3 0 3 2 3 8 Arnold Ruth SG 32 5-8 8-9 4 8 1 2 20 Angelo Wood PG 34 2-6 2-2 1 6 4 1 6 John Kraemer PG 13 3-4 1-2 0 3 1 1 8 Arron Seger SG 7 0-1 2-2 0 1 0 0 2 Gavin Macomber C 21 2-4 1-2 1 4 0 1 5 Jamar Fassett C 11 0-3 2-2 1 1 2 1 2 Caron Pendley PF 7 2-4 1-1 2 2 0 1 5 Brady Willey SF 2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 16 (J.Carreon 3, T.Mickel 1, F.Cannon 4, A.Ruth 1, A.Wood 1, J.Kraemer 2, J.Fassett 1, C.Pendley 1, B.Willey 2) Blocked Shots: 2 (T.Mickel 1, A.Ruth 1) Steals: 5 (T.Mickel 2, F.Cannon 2, A.Ruth 1) 3P FGs: 4-13 (T.Mickel 1-3, F.Cannon 0-4, A.Ruth 2-2, J.Kraemer 1-2, J.Fassett 0-1, B.Willey 0-1) Bryant University Stats: Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Sofronio Rey C 25 2-7 2-3 1 3 0 4 6 Joaquin Bravo PF 17 2-2 0-4 1 4 2 5 4 Mack Rasmussen SF 28 6-9 2-3 0 4 2 3 15 Grady Chong SG 33 3-6 2-2 2 4 2 1 9 Craig Smith PG 34 6-13 0-0 0 4 5 3 16 Jamie Spradlin PF 22 1-3 1-2 0 1 3 3 3 Thomas Dash PG 6 2-3 1-2 0 0 1 0 6 Mac Murray SG 5 1-3 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 Chris Templeton SF 12 1-2 2-2 0 1 2 1 5 Gary Wilson PF 9 2-3 0-0 1 3 0 1 4 Mike Puentes C 7 1-1 2-2 1 3 0 3 4 Erasmo Crossland PF 2 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 Turnovers: 14 (S.Rey 2, J.Bravo 3, M.Rasmussen 3, G.Chong 2, C.Smith 3, J.Spradlin 1) Blocked Shots: 1 (G.Wilson 1) Steals: 6 (M.Rasmussen 2, G.Chong 2, C.Smith 1, E.Crossland 1) 3P FGs: 9-21 (M.Rasmussen 1-3, G.Chong 1-3, C.Smith 4-9, T.Dash 1-2, M.Murray 1-2, C.Templeton 1-2) Player of Game: PG Arnold Ruth (ULLAF)

Nobody gives us a chance in hell against Kentucky, but everyone of course tunes in. We hang around a little bit to just 33-21 at halftime, but then the Wildcats' talent takes over and we get blown out 86-45, shooting just 29.1%.

But we don't feel bad about the defeat. Not when we've just finished a season that exceeded all expectations. Even Craig Smith and Joaquin Bravo, our two graduating seniors, aren't crushed by it. They're damned proud of what they've accomplished this year and well they should be.

Kentucky loses in the Elite 8 to 5 seed Ohio State. UNLV got upset in the first round of the NIT, as did Creighton, while Princeton also lost in the first round.

1 seeds UCLA and Pittsburgh face off in the championship game after beating Big Ten teams 4 seed Wisconsin and 5 seed Ohio State in the Final Four. It's all Panthers in a 65-53 game that wasn't all that exciting.

Code:
2018 NORTHEAST AWARDS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Player of the Year: SR PG Craig Smith Bryant University 13.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 4.3 APG 0.7 SPG, 0.1 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR PG Elton Acklin Fairleigh Dickinson 13.7 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.9 APG 1.2 SPG, 0.1 BPG Coach of the Year: Izulde Jestor Bryant University 28 - 6 (16 - 2) All-league 1st Team: C SO Sofronio Rey Bryant University 11.4 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.6 BPG PF SR Joaquin Bravo Bryant University 14.9 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.4 BPG SF JR Mack Rasmussen Bryant University 11.1 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.3 BPG SG SR James Livesay Fairleigh Dickinson 13.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.3 BPG PG SR Craig Smith Bryant University 13.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 4.3 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-league 2nd Team: C SR Thomas McCulloch Monmouth 8.9 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.3 SPG, 2.4 BPG PF SR Jefferey Ngo Monmouth 7.5 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.4 BPG SF SR Bobby Wald Fairleigh Dickinson 12.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.4 BPG SG JR Grady Chong Bryant University 11.9 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG SR Loren Plumlee Long Island 16.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 3.9 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG All-freshman Team: C FR Quincy Hunley Long Island 2.4 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 0.1 APG, 0.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG PF FR Edward Brown Robert Morris 8.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.3 BPG SF FR Chuck Sadowski Robert Morris 12.0 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.1 BPG SG FR Ronald Fuhrman Robert Morris 9.9 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG FR Elton Acklin Fairleigh Dickinson 13.7 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.1 BPG

Look at that. My first ever Northeast Conference Player of the Year, my second straight Northeast Coach of the Year award, and four out of five starters on the Northeast first team, with my fifth starter on the second team.

Personally I'd have given the Player of the Year award to Bravo, but I'm not complaining at all.

As for our seniors...

Code:
#13 PF Joaquin Bravo - Bryant University - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-8 Weight: 241 High School: Hometown: Girona, Spain Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 77 45 28 0 9 50 80 45 29 25 7 50 42 92 72 73 2017: 76 42 27 0 8 47 73 41 26 24 7 49 41 90 72 70 2016: 70 39 26 0 7 44 65 37 23 23 7 43 40 88 71 67 2015: 66 37 25 0 7 42 59 34 21 22 7 39 39 86 71 64 2014: 62 35 23 0 7 40 53 30 19 22 7 35 39 82 70 58 Potential: B C D F F C A C D D F C Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 47 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015 30 29 16.5 5.7 1.7 3.8 0.7 0.6 1.17 0.1 0.3 1.1 2016 30 30 32.7 14.1 3.3 8.6 1.6 2.2 0.70 0.3 0.3 3.1 2017 33 33 27.8 11.7 2.8 7.6 1.5 1.8 0.79 0.3 0.5 2.7 2018 34 34 30.7 14.9 3.2 8.1 1.9 2.4 0.81 0.3 0.4 3.2 Career 127 126 27.0 11.7 2.8 7.1 1.4 1.8 0.81 0.3 0.4 2.5 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015 2.4 4.4 .542 1.0 1.5 .630 0.0 0.1 .250 1.31 3.53 2016 5.4 10.8 .495 3.4 6.0 .564 0.0 0.1 .000 1.30 1.83 2017 4.4 9.1 .483 2.8 4.7 .610 0.0 0.1 .333 1.28 4.55 2018 5.9 12.6 .468 3.1 5.2 .599 0.0 0.1 .000 1.19 6.79 Career 4.5 9.3 .488 2.6 4.4 .594 0.0 0.1 .167 1.26 4.27 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015 30 29 494 172 51 115 21 18 4 10 33 2016 30 30 980 423 99 259 47 67 9 10 92 2017 33 33 916 385 94 250 48 61 9 15 89 2018 34 34 1044 506 108 277 65 80 10 12 108 Career 127 126 3434 1486 352 901 181 226 32 47 322 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015 71 131 29 46 1 4 106 2016 161 325 101 179 0 3 55 2017 145 300 94 154 1 3 150 2018 200 427 106 177 0 2 231 Career 577 1183 330 556 2 12 542 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 27 7 15 6 1 2 6 13 21 8 12 0 1 Career 27 8 15 6 1 3 6 13 21 10 13 1 2 Awards & Acheivements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 10 2014 High School: Rated *** and #435 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2015 Freshman All-Conference (Northeast Conference) 2016 2nd Team All-Conference (Northeast Conference) 2017 2nd Team All-Conference (Northeast Conference) 2018 1st Team All-Conference (Northeast Conference)

Man, I hate to see Joaquin Bravo go. He was my favorite player I've ever coached here, even more so than Junior Dillard. Our first major Spanish recruit, a four year starter, and our most decorated Bulldog ever. He graduates as the Northeast's career leader in offensive rebounds, #4 in overall rebounds, and #10 in points scored.

His Bryant records include #1 in career points, a mere 8 more than Blair Isley, #1 in career rebounds, #7 in assists and #2 in blocks. Joaquin Bravo is, quite simply, the best player ever to pull on a Bryant Bulldogs uniform.

Code:
#5 PG Craig Smith - Bryant University - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-3 Weight: 208 High School: Charles D. Owen High School Hometown: Black Mountain, NC Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 38 28 69 66 43 72 30 38 22 56 23 34 79 43 49 87 2017: 37 26 62 59 43 66 29 36 21 48 20 33 78 42 49 85 2016: 36 25 59 56 43 63 28 34 20 43 18 32 77 41 49 82 2015: 35 24 56 53 43 60 27 33 19 39 17 31 76 40 48 80 2014: 35 22 50 47 43 56 27 31 19 33 15 31 76 38 48 76 Potential: D D B B C A D C D B D C Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 23 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015 33 0 8.0 2.9 0.3 1.0 1.0 0.6 1.65 0.2 0.0 0.7 2016 30 0 11.8 3.8 0.3 1.6 1.4 1.3 1.13 0.3 0.1 1.5 2017 33 33 29.4 10.5 0.9 3.7 3.3 1.8 1.80 0.7 0.2 2.5 2018 34 34 31.6 13.1 1.1 4.0 4.3 2.4 1.79 0.7 0.1 2.7 Career 130 67 20.5 7.7 0.7 2.6 2.5 1.5 1.79 0.5 0.1 1.9 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015 1.0 2.3 .440 0.6 0.7 .864 0.4 1.2 .300 1.29 -0.42 2016 1.3 3.0 .440 0.6 0.8 .720 0.5 1.6 .327 1.25 0.43 2017 3.6 9.0 .402 1.9 2.3 .805 1.5 4.7 .308 1.18 4.18 2018 4.4 9.6 .457 1.9 2.6 .730 2.4 5.6 .434 1.36 6.88 Career 2.6 6.1 .433 1.3 1.6 .770 1.2 3.3 .364 1.27 2.85 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015 33 0 263 97 11 34 33 20 7 0 24 2016 30 0 354 114 8 49 43 38 10 2 45 2017 33 33 971 348 31 123 110 61 23 5 82 2018 34 34 1073 447 37 136 145 81 23 2 91 Career 130 67 2661 1006 87 342 331 200 63 9 242 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015 33 75 19 22 12 40 -14 2016 40 91 18 25 16 49 13 2017 119 296 62 77 48 156 138 2018 150 328 65 89 82 189 234 Career 342 790 164 213 158 434 371 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 31 5 10 8 3 1 6 11 16 6 6 8 13 Career 31 5 10 8 3 1 6 11 16 8 8 8 13 Awards & Acheivements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 8 2014 High School: Rated *** and #458 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2017 2nd Team All-Conference (Northeast Conference) 2018 1st Team All-Conference (Northeast Conference) 2018 Conference Player of the Year (Northeast Conference)

Ahh, Craig Smith. The kid who was supposed to be -the- floor general for us. Then he didn't even win the job until his junior year and that was only because Hershel Gaughan graduated. Just one season where he dominated, and, luckily for him, he picked the right one. 7th all-time Northeast in career assists, 8 ahead of Gaughan.

Bryant - 1st in assists, obviously. 6th in points scored and 6th in steals.

Smith we won't miss as much, in all honesty. With the two recruits we've got coming in, I think we'll be just fine there.

If other schools don't come calling, that is.
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Old 04-06-2011, 12:27 AM   #39
Izulde
Head Coach
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
We held the lead on SF Paul Porter, but then UConn came and swooped him up.

Code:
2018 Recruiting Rankings # Team Conference Best Player Rtg 5* 4* 3* 2* 1* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 151. Long Island Northeast SG Morton Eckstein *** 0 0 1 1 0 175. Bryant University Northeast PG Augusto Lorenzo *** 0 0 2 0 0 189. Wagner Northeast SF Gavriil Korolev *** 0 0 1 1 1 196. Robert Morris Northeast PF Larry Brown *** 0 0 1 1 0 197. Fairleigh Dickinson Northeast SF Jonathan Negron *** 0 0 1 1 3 226. Sacred Heart Northeast SG James Gordon ** 0 0 0 2 3 237. St. Francis-PA Northeast SG Denny Dunaway ** 0 0 0 2 2 261. Quinnipiac Northeast SG Jody Martin ** 0 0 0 2 1 310. Central Connecticut State Northeast SG Adolph Longoria * 0 0 0 0 3 312. St. Francis-NY Northeast SF John Johnson * 0 0 0 0 2 316. Mount St. Mary's Northeast C Stephen Mong * 0 0 0 0 3 324. Monmouth Northeast PF Tom Rivera * 0 0 0 0 3

I'll take the #2 ranked class in the Northeast. We're proving ourselves to be a very consistent program in recruiting.

I feel as though I've grown as a coach again. Not that I've improved in recruiting, but my offensive understanding of the game continues to improve rapidly, and I've become a little bit better scout and defense coach too, scouting moreso than defense.

Other big news: John Burdick comes to me and says he feels he deserves a raise after all he's taught me about running an offense and all the success we've had. I agree, and grant his request. Cortez and Malcolm are still fine with the money they're making, although I worry schools will pursue them.

And then the biggest and best news.

Schwarzy comes by and says they're finally going to improve the facilities around here. About damned time. The board's opinion of me overall hasn't changed any, but they recognize we're nowhere near as good as we were last season without Joaquin Bravo, so they've lowered their expectations to simply winning the Northeast. This I think we can still do.

In addition, they're again raising more funds for the basketball budget. What was once one of the worst jobs in the country is now becoming a pretty good one with three straight years of budget increases and finally a facilities upgrade. $18,930 comes down the pipeline, which by itself covers John's raise with a little left over.

For the first time ever, a job offer comes my way. And not just one, but three.

Holy Cross
Prestige: 23
Budget: $207,500
Facilities: 36 (4th/8)
League: Patriot
Recruiting Class: #326
Expectation: .500 Conference Record

Lipscomb
Prestige: 22
Budget: $255,000
Facilities: 16 (8th/11)
League: Atlantic Sun
Recruiting Class: #278
Expectation: .500 Conference Record

Florida Gulf Coast
Prestige: 26
Budget: $265,000
Facilities: 9 (9th/11)
League: Atlantic Sun
Recruiting Class: #335
Expectation: Avoid last place

And just for comparison...

Bryant
Prestige: 23
Budget: $226,430
Facilities: 0 - 12th/12 (but with upgrade coming)
League: Northeast
Recruiting Class: #175
Expectation: Win Conference

The breakdown after visits and conversations with all schools:

Holy Cross
Going from our facilities to theirs was like going from a shack to a beautiful home. Really nice for that level of basketball and the Crusaders are very much a mid-tier team in the Patriot League.

I'd be hitting the ground running on the recruiting trail with four seniors on the roster Junior PG Floyd Farmer is the best non-senior, but after his class, the talent level drops drastically. I'd be staying in the New England area, going to Worcester, Massachusetts. I've had a bit of success recruiting in that state, so I think I could make headway pretty quickly, but we'd be in for a couple rough years.

Last winning season was 2014, when they made the NIT. 20, 19, 20, 20 wins the first four years I started coaching, with one NCAA and one NIT bid. Then they fell off the radar and are in need of restoring their former glory. The budget's what I worked with last year at Bryant and I'd be staying at a private school.

On the other hand, it's a religious private university, which I, being non-Christian, am not wholly comfortable with. Plus, if I'm going to change jobs, I want to move somewhere warmer than here.

Finally, the Patriot League is the same prestige conference as the Northeast, so it'd be a lateral move at best.

Lipscomb
The Bison impressed me with the budget they were willing to offer. They also have some intriguing underclass talent, most notably sophomore SF Kevin Wells. It's a lot better all-around situation in terms of finances and talent than what Holy Cross offered.

Lipscomb's also in Nashville, which I loved when I was there for a national marketing competition years ago. It's the only city in Tennessee that didn't want to make me slit my throat. On the other hand, I'd also be in the same city as Vanderbilt, and all my old elitist academic jealousies and hurts would spring up. It also has a religious affiliation.

They haven't had a single winning season. That's so damned tempting to me, and honestly, if it wasn't for the religious affiliation and the Vanderbilt thing, I'd probably be telling everyone the news right now. But those are two things I just can't get past.

Florida Gulf Coast
I love the lowered expectations I would have here. Takes a lot of the stress out of it. The hugest budget to work with out of the four schools and the most prestigious, which is also nice. Junior SG Thad Lindholm is the clear-cut star of the squad. Two seniors, though, so not much room to make my imprint right away. The overall talent level is simply awful, to be quite frank about it.

Fort Myers... I'd be on the water in a warm weather state. I don't like the Red Sox and hate the Twins, so spring training wouldn't be a huge draw for me. But water and warmth are. Basketball and baseball are the two big sports here; there's no football, so I could become a very big deal very soon.

The Eagles have had one winning season, two years ago when they went 16-15. No postseason to speak of, so there's a real chance to build myself a legacy here. Also a public school. But would I be willing to fight through some bad seasons and could I survive until I'd built the program up?

Bryant
The administration has been supportive financially far beyond what I ever expected. On the other hand, I hate the cold and I hate living in a small town, even if I've become something of a local hero. While the administration has been supportive, it also, I get the feeling, would be fine with finding someone else after one bad season or two.

The talent I've assembled on this roster easily beats any of the three schools. But there's a huge class of five juniors I'll have to replace soon and I've had a couple weak recruiting classes the last two years relative to what I brought in before them.

Ultimately, it's down to either staying put at Bryant, or going to Florida Gulf Coast.

If I do stay at Bryant, it'd only be for one more season. Once Rasmussen and Chong graduate, not even Rey's senior year could induce me to stay.

Then again, going to FGCU would allow me to move up to a better conference, as the Atlantic Sun is considered 2 prestige. It's been dominated by Jacksonville, clearly the best team in the league year in and year out. Kennesaw State is a rising power, in fact finished third in the NIT last year, but their head coach just took the gig at Kent State.

Very tough choice. Take the job at FGCU and build there like I did here at Bryant, or go one more year in Smithfield and see what other opportunities come up, if any.
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Old 04-07-2011, 12:02 AM   #40
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"You know if we go there, it's probably for a very long time," Cortez tells me as we stand outside smoking on a warm spring day, a Rhode Island rarity.

"I know. Guy before me was only there three seasons, though, and went 45-76 before he got the job at South Dakota State. Then again, he knew he was leaving the cupboard bare."

"I know John's eager to make the move. That boy always looking to move up and he went to Southern Miss, so he'd love to go back South. Malcolm doesn't say one way or the other."

It's funny to hear Cortez call John a boy. They're both in their early 50s now - Cortez 54, John 52. Malcolm's 36. Hell, I'm 40. I've spent most of my 30s here in tiny Smithfield.

Part of me says if I don't go now, I'll never go. The other part of me says give it one more year, build my resume some more, and see if I can't get into better places. Or is Fort Myers and FGCU a destination for me?

"You don't like humidity, do you Izzy?"

"No."

And as silly as it sounds, that right there is the answer.

One more year in Rhode Island.

But then three more offers come through. Colgate, which is a Patriot League team, comes calling. I immediately reject them because I want to move up in conference. Eastern Illinois is back in the Midwest and there's no way I'll ever return to my home region.

The final offer, UT-Chattanooga, is an intriguing opportunity.

UT-Chattanooga
Prestige: 43
Budget: $307,500
Facilities: 50 (4th/12)
League: Southern
Expectations: Win the conference.

Huge budget and gorgeous facilities. Three seniors and almost all of their top talent is underclassmen. I'd be in a very good position to have a lot of early success and sustain it. Chattanooga is a surprisingly pretty city from certain viewpoints, too. But the campus visit left me feeling very cold and so I declined the offer.

Previous Interested Schools - Round 1
Florida Golf Coast - Went with Missouri State's associate coach
Holy Cross - Took the fired scouting director from Texas A&M

I laughed so hard I almost cried a few days later when Fairleigh-Dickinson offered me the position of head coach. Needless to say, I had no problems saying no.

Previously Interested Schools - Round 2
Lipscomb - Hired Indiana's scouting director
Colgate - Hired Kennesaw State's scouting director
Eastern Illinois - Hired Dayton's associate coach
UT-Chattanooga - Hired Fairleigh-Dickinson's head coach

Wow, evidently the Mocs' brass really wanted one of the Northeast's top coaches.

All the assistants stay and we keep a scholarship open because all the transfers interested in us are terrible.

We shoot high in recruiting, simply because we feel like there's nothing to lose. Fortunately only one of our targets goes elsewhere, committing to Radford. It's odd; neither Cortez or I feel really invested in recruiting. We both have the feeling we're not going to be here next year, so why bother trying very hard?

And then Mack Rasmussen fails a spring class and is out fall semester. Good job, dumbass.

All-Time Recruitment By State
Indiana: 1
Massachusetts: 2
Maryland: 1
Michigan: 1
North Carolina: 3
New York: 2
Pennsylvania: 2
Rhode Island: 3
Wisconsin: 1
Canada: 2
Czech Republic: 1
Spain: 3 (+1)

Bryant University 2019-20 Opening Night Lineup
PG Bohumir Schulz (Fr)
While it's true Augusto Lorenzo has the better upside and is more polished in his passing, the Czech is a better all-around player at this stage of development than the Spaniard. Huge drop from Craig Smith, though.

SG Grady Chong (Sr)*
Last year's revelation will be counted on to be a big part of this year's team, as we don't have a lot of great shooters, especially in the first half of the season.

SF Mac Murray (So)
If Chris Templeton could play even a bit of defense, he'd be a starter, but he can't, so it's the highly touted and talented fellow Badger state native taking the reigns. Like I said last year, I really like Murray a lot and think he'll provide a smooth transition from Rasmussen.

PF Jamie Spradlin (Jr)
The one bench player to see a lot of minutes last season, he's almost as good a passer int he post as Joaquin Bravo was. Of course, he's nowhere near the shooter or rebounder our greatest player ever was.

C Sofronio Rey (Jr)*
Worked hard over the summer on his rebounding and I'm really looking forward to seeing what he does this year. He's our only real legitimate inside scoring threat, so there will be a lot of pressure on him to be the man in the post.

Definitely weaker than last year's team, but it should still be good enough to at least challenge for the Northeast title, especially when Mack Rasmussen comes back.

Just two November games. Boston University beats us 69-57 in the opener, Sofronio Rey's 15 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals and Grady Chong's 12 points the only talking points. I foresee a long, long season.

Good news - We beat NJIT 80-79 on the road with Grady Chong's 21 points and 11 rebounds, Mac Murray's 16 points and Chris Templeton's 14 bench points. Bad news - We lose Sofronio Rey for two weeks to a hyperextended knee

More bad news - all three scholarship offers reject us. I am definitely leaving next year.

We stun and whip Providence 67-46 on Grady Chong's 25 points and Gary Wilson's surprise 14 points and 11 rebounds. With that one outing, the Detroit transfer has already done more than all the previous transfers combined practically.

Yale goes down 58-45 in a very strange game where reserve Chris Templeton's 13 points are the only one in double-digit scoring. Gary Wilson pulls down 7 points and 10 rebounds and has been phenomenal.

Sofronio Rey returns for a home match against Towson and picks up 14 points and 9 rebounds. Mac Murray gets 15 points and 11 rebounds and Bohumir Schulz scores 16.

76-57 road loss to Northwestern State. Couldn't do much more than Chris Templeton's 14 bench points.

Bounceback 69-53 win over Hartford, keyed by Mac Murray's 13 points and 15 rebounds, Sofronio Rey's 11 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks, and Grady Chong's 17 points.

Grady Chong's 20 points and Bohumir Schulz's 16 points can't cut the mustard as we drop a 78-60 road loss to Seattle.

Two nights later, again on the road, we trounce Longwood 74-51. Bohumir Schulz unloads for 19 points, Mac Murray scores 16 and Chris Templeton adds 12 bench points.

December tops off with a thrilling 89-86 win over USC-Upstate, who was almost a conference rival of mine. Grady Chong - 25 points, Bohumir Schulz - second straight 19 point game, and double-doubles of 17 points, 12 rebounds and 16 points, 10 rebounds from Mac Murray and Jamie Spradlin respectively.

Our foreign investments continue to pay off dividends. The 2* American recruit we went after rejected us for Penn State, but we snapped up the two 3* foreign pursuits.

Code:
RECRUIT DETAILS #40 PG Friedhelm Ferchl -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-0 Weight: 185 High School: Hometown: Oldenburg, Germany GPA: 2.37 Test Score: 960 Rating: *** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 35 26 36 40 56 48 15 44 0 27 43 0 71 43 48 27 Potential: D D C C A C D B F C C F Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13.8 1.3 5.4 4.6 2.6 1.78 2.4 0.3 2.6 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.4 11.5 .555 0.7 1.2 .609 0.4 1.7 .212 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Bryant University Rankings: Foreign #19 Overall, Foreign #6 PG High School Awards: None Top 5 Schools: *Bryant University, Tennessee, Saint Joseph's,

Code:
RECRUIT DETAILS #5 C Bruno Fremault -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-6 Weight: 233 High School: Hometown: Vannes, France GPA: 2.87 Test Score: 970 Rating: *** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 50 24 32 44 2 16 61 35 13 10 40 18 29 59 37 48 Potential: A D B C F D B D F F D F Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18.9 4.2 10.1 1.0 2.8 0.36 1.0 0.5 3.1 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.7 13.0 .595 3.3 5.2 .635 0.2 1.0 .211 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Bryant University Rankings: Foreign #21 Overall, Foreign #5 C High School Awards: None Top 5 Schools: *Bryant University, Butler, Northeastern, Connecticut, Fordham

Neither of these guys are what I would call future stars, or, in Ferchl's case, even future starters, and they're both in the 400s rankingwise, but we need all the help we can get.

I was wondering how we were going to handle Mack Rasmussen's return from suspension, but Mac Murray solves that problem by failing a fall course. That's two out of four semesters my fellow Badger has been ineligible, the worst rate in program history. Not good.

49-48 loss to Mount St. Mary's to open Northeast play is not cool at all. It was so bad a game I don't even want to talk about it.

We beat Sacred Heart 57-48 on Grady Chong's 19 points to restore some of my sanity, but things have looked very ugly so far. I fear for our year.

Heartbreaking 72-68 loss to Wagner. Nice way to spoil Grady Chong's 18 points. My only faint hope is that we're getting our bad play out of the way with all these road games.

Our first home Northeast game and we beat Long Island 73-63 on Chris Templeton's 18 points and Mack Rasmussen's 13 points and 10 rebounds. At this point, I'll just take every win I can.

64-55 road loss to Central Connecticut State. Just plain ugly.

We beat St. Francis (NY) 53-47 on Sofronio Rey's 18 points and 15 rebounds, but considering Mack Rasmussen is shooting 29%, I'm seriously contemplating making a switch.

25 points, 10 rebounds from Sofronio Rey and 11 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 steals from Jamie Spradlin to go with Grady Chong's 13 points and we have a 70-45 win over Quinnipiac, our best of the conference season thus far.

51-49 win over St. Francis (PA), with Sofronio Rey and Mack Rasmussen scoring 12 and 11 points. Our offense may be ugly this year, but our defense has picked up the slack considerably.

12 points, 13 rebounds out of Sofronio Rey and 12 points from Bohumir Schulz guide us to an all-important 73-65 win over Wagner to close out January. That victory could not have come at a more important time.

At 6-3 in conference play, we're a game behind Wagner, St. Francis (PA), and Robert Morris. I'm shocked to see SFPA there, especially since their school high is 8 conference wins in a season and there they are at 7-2 already.

Fucking Central Connecticut. 61-55 home loss and I smash a locker, bloodying my hand after the game. I think I scared the players, but hopefully that will invigorate them.

We nip Mount St. Mary's 67-64 on Chris Templeton's 21 points and Sofronio Rey's 14 points and 13 rebounds. Every win counts. Bohumir Schulz gets a week-long injury, grr.

As a result, Augusto Lorenzo's first collegiate start is a trial by fire at St. Francis (PA). Naturally we lose 75-66, although Lorenzo was great - 19 points on 7/10 shooting. It's the rest of the team that bedshit.

80-75 road loss to Monmouth and at this point we'll be lucky to finish .500, fuck winning the conference.

82-69 road loss to Robert Morris and we're officially .500 in conference play. Fuck I should have taken the FGCU job.

#%$!$%!%! 81-79 road loss St. Francis NY fuck fuck fuck FUUUUUCCCCK FUCK THIS SHITHOLE TEAM AND THIS SHITHOLE SMALL TOWN

All five starters with 10+ points, led by Mack Rasmussen's 18 points and 12 point, 13 rebound/10 point, 15 rebound respective doubles from Sofronio Rey and Jamie Spradlin. I can not wait to get out of Rhode Island, even though we finally snap the losing streak, beating Sacred Heart 79-61.

Impressive 20 points, 18 rebounds from Sofronio Rey, and there's Jamie Spradlin with 11 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks and 5 steals in a 93-84 win over Fairleigh-Dickinson. 22 points from Bohumir Schulz and 15 bench points from Chris Templeton, as the Knights are reeling this year after losing their coach.

Fuck it. Road game, you know what happens. Bullshit loss to Long Island.

Dissed by a 2* Texas prospect who goes to Texas Tech. Yeah it's that kinda year.

9-9 and we have the 8 seed in the conference tournament. That's weak ass shit.

Code:
2019 Northeast Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestigetest -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Robert Morris 15 3 .833 21 7 .750 104 26 St. Francis-PA 13 5 .722 17 13 .567 139 9 Wagner 12 6 .667 19 10 .655 156 21 Monmouth 10 8 .556 11 17 .393 293 17 Central Connecticut State 9 9 .500 10 19 .345 272 12 St. Francis-NY 9 9 .500 14 14 .500 284 21 Long Island 9 9 .500 10 19 .345 259 7 Bryant University 9 9 .500 16 12 .571 216 23 Fairleigh Dickinson 6 12 .333 10 18 .357 277 30 Quinnipiac 6 12 .333 10 18 .357 335 20 Sacred Heart 5 13 .278 8 23 .258 310 19 Mount St. Mary's 5 13 .278 5 23 .179 345 12

Yeah. That bullshit loss to Long Island and we fuck ourselves out of a 5 seed. Now we get 1 seed Robert Morris.

We rape Northern Colorado 75-42 with Bohumir Schulz's big wang 19 points, Chris Templeton's 11 bench points and Sofronio Rey's 14 points and 11 rebounds.

74-65 first round loss to Robert Morris. 13 points from Jamie Spradlin. Weak shit. Real fucking weak.
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Old 04-07-2011, 04:23 AM   #41
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Old 04-07-2011, 04:24 AM   #42
Izulde
Head Coach
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Wagner upsets Robert Morris in the Northeast final. They draw the 13 seed in the East, where Creighton's a 9 seed, UNLV a 2 seed. Heh. Robert Morris is a 3 seed in the NIT East.

2* Spanish player rejects us. Yeah it's time to get out.

Wagner and Creighton lose in first round. UNLV gets upset in the second round by 10 seed UConn.

Robert Morris makes it to NIT Elite 8 before losing to 5 seed Butler.

6 Syracuse 2 Pittsburgh 1 Kansas 1 Notre Dame Final Four.

Pittsburgh destroys Kansas 89-55 for its second straight NCAA title.

Code:
2019 NORTHEAST AWARDS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Player of the Year: SR PG Kenneth Stout Wagner 8.7 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 5.9 APG 1.3 SPG, 0.1 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR PF Larry Brown Robert Morris 14.5 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.3 APG 0.5 SPG, 0.2 BPG Coach of the Year: Henry Ramos Robert Morris 26 - 9 (15 - 3) All-league 1st Team: C SO Edward Brown Robert Morris 9.2 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.6 BPG PF SR Randall Matson Robert Morris 6.2 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.3 SPG, 2.3 BPG SF JR Gavriil Korolev Wagner 9.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG SR George Greening Robert Morris 11.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG SR Kenneth Stout Wagner 8.7 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 5.9 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-league 2nd Team: C SR Eldridge McKean Wagner 11.5 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.2 BPG PF JR Huey Clark Quinnipiac 12.0 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.4 BPG SF SR Cesaire Sauclon Wagner 14.2 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG SR Grady Chong Bryant University 12.2 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG SR Gerald Hammond Fairleigh Dickinson 14.2 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-freshman Team: C FR Mark Dionne Fairleigh Dickinson 4.3 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 0.6 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG PF FR Larry Brown Robert Morris 14.5 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.2 BPG SF FR Charles Claxton Sacred Heart 1.9 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 0.4 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.1 BPG SG FR Morton Eckstein Long Island 10.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG FR Noel Holmes St. Francis-PA 9.3 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.1 BPG

Wow, talk about a screw job for Bohumir Schulz.

Code:
PLAYER DETAILS #22 SG Grady Chong - Bryant University - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-0 Weight: 194 High School: Hagerstown High School Hometown: Hagerstown, IN Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 31 52 50 72 71 33 44 24 11 37 43 34 77 39 65 84 2018: 29 46 46 66 66 31 39 22 10 34 40 32 77 38 65 79 2017: 28 41 43 61 62 29 37 21 10 32 38 31 76 37 65 74 2016: 27 38 41 58 59 28 35 20 10 31 37 30 75 36 65 69 2015: 25 32 37 52 55 26 33 18 10 29 35 30 74 34 64 59 Potential: D B C B B D C D F C 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 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 29 1 9.3 4.4 0.5 1.2 0.8 0.6 1.44 0.2 0.1 1.0 2017 33 0 14.2 5.4 0.4 1.6 1.3 1.0 1.31 0.5 0.1 1.0 2018 34 34 30.8 11.9 1.6 3.4 2.0 1.9 1.05 1.1 0.2 2.6 2019 30 30 31.4 12.2 1.8 3.9 2.1 2.1 1.00 1.0 0.1 2.5 Career 126 65 21.7 8.6 1.1 2.5 1.6 1.4 1.00 0.7 0.1 1.8 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 1.5 3.2 .467 0.7 1.1 .576 0.8 1.7 .458 1.38 0.24 2017 1.9 3.8 .496 0.8 1.4 .587 0.8 2.0 .385 1.40 2.09 2018 3.8 7.6 .498 2.7 3.5 .767 1.7 4.3 .400 1.58 6.88 2019 3.9 10.0 .391 2.0 3.0 .670 2.4 6.8 .351 1.23 4.20 Career 2.8 6.2 .453 1.6 2.3 .686 1.4 3.7 .382 1.39 3.46 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 29 1 271 127 15 35 23 16 5 2 29 2017 33 0 468 178 14 54 42 32 17 4 32 2018 34 34 1048 406 56 115 68 65 36 7 87 2019 30 30 941 367 54 117 63 63 31 3 76 Career 126 65 2728 1078 139 321 196 176 89 16 224 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 43 92 19 33 22 48 7 2017 63 127 27 46 25 65 69 2018 128 257 92 120 58 145 234 2019 117 299 61 91 72 205 126 Career 351 775 199 290 177 463 436 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 25 8 11 5 4 1 5 8 17 6 11 6 13 Career 25 8 11 5 4 2 7 8 17 10 13 6 13 Awards & Acheivements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 9 2015 High School: Rated ** and #701 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2018 2nd Team All-Conference (Northeast Conference) 2019 2nd Team All-Conference (Northeast Conference)

He did more than I ever expected him to, to be honest. He finishes 5th in Bryant history in career points scored, 8th in offensive rebounds, 7th in assists, and 4th in steals.

Code:
PLAYER DETAILS #23 SF Mack Rasmussen - Bryant University - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-5 Weight: 219 High School: Frazier High School Hometown: Perryopolis, PA Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 37 30 72 70 49 29 34 71 15 31 83 51 90 37 85 59 2018: 33 28 68 69 48 28 32 63 15 29 74 49 88 34 83 53 2017: 29 27 64 68 47 27 30 56 15 27 66 47 87 31 81 47 2016: 26 25 59 63 45 26 28 50 15 25 58 45 87 28 80 41 2015: 24 23 55 59 43 24 26 46 15 23 52 43 87 22 78 29 Potential: C C B B C C C A F D A C Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 30 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 30 30 31.1 9.1 1.2 5.4 2.3 2.6 0.88 1.1 0.3 2.8 2017 33 30 26.4 11.0 1.1 5.2 2.2 2.1 1.03 0.8 0.1 2.5 2018 34 34 28.5 11.1 0.9 5.8 1.9 2.2 0.84 1.0 0.3 2.7 2019 20 20 29.1 9.1 2.2 6.0 1.7 2.3 0.76 1.4 0.5 3.3 Career 117 114 28.7 10.2 1.2 5.6 2.0 2.3 0.76 1.0 0.3 2.8 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 3.1 8.1 .384 1.7 2.4 .704 1.2 3.8 .316 1.12 1.17 2017 3.2 7.5 .431 2.9 3.8 .766 1.6 4.5 .353 1.46 4.03 2018 3.4 8.5 .406 2.6 3.5 .763 1.5 4.9 .315 1.31 6.12 2019 2.7 8.2 .331 2.4 3.0 .797 1.3 4.3 .306 1.11 3.50 Career 3.2 8.0 .394 2.4 3.2 .758 1.4 4.4 .325 1.27 3.81 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 30 30 933 272 35 162 68 77 32 10 84 2017 33 30 871 362 36 173 71 69 25 4 83 2018 34 34 970 376 32 197 63 75 34 11 91 2019 20 20 582 181 43 119 34 45 27 9 65 Career 117 114 3356 1191 146 651 236 266 118 34 323 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 93 242 50 71 36 114 35 2017 107 248 95 124 53 150 133 2018 117 288 90 118 52 165 208 2019 54 163 47 59 26 85 70 Career 371 941 282 372 167 514 446 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 18 7 11 5 3 2 6 7 14 8 9 4 10 Career 25 7 14 8 4 2 6 8 16 14 17 4 10 Awards & Acheivements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 6 2015 High School: Rated *** and #361 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 2015 High School: All-State (Pennsylvania) 2016 Freshman All-Conference (Northeast Conference) 2016 Conference Freshman of the Year (Northeast Conference) 2017 2nd Team All-Conference (Northeast Conference) 2018 1st Team All-Conference (Northeast Conference)

Pissed away his senior year, which I'm still very angry about. 4th in school pints scored and rebounds, 6th in offensive rebounds, 3rd in assists, 2nd in steals and 5th in blocks. A classic example of what might have been had he actually worked hard enough to live up to his talents.

Code:
2019 Recruiting Rankings # Team Conference Best Player Rtg 5* 4* 3* 2* 1* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 103. Fairleigh Dickinson Northeast C Joshua Taliaferro *** 0 0 2 1 0 183. St. Francis-PA Northeast C Abel Beery *** 0 0 1 0 2 209. St. Francis-NY Northeast PF Douglas Jones *** 0 0 1 0 3 225. Bryant University Northeast PG Friedhelm Ferchl *** 0 0 2 0 0 241. Quinnipiac Northeast C Berry Peterkin ** 0 0 0 1 3 277. Wagner Northeast PF Buster Johanson ** 0 0 0 1 2 293. Monmouth Northeast PF Arron Waring ** 0 0 0 1 1 324. Mount St. Mary's Northeast SF Timothy Bass ** 0 0 0 1 0 327. Robert Morris Northeast PG David Dunson * 0 0 0 0 1 329. Central Connecticut State Northeast PG Richard Wallace * 0 0 0 0 2 339. Sacred Heart Northeast C Chris McKeown * 0 0 0 0 1 341. Long Island Northeast C Jerry Brady * 0 0 0 0 2

We're definitely starting to fall back into midpack status. I'm done here, no question about it. I took the Bulldogs as far as I could in my 9 seasons and it's time I moved on while the going is getting good.

...Only there's no offers.

Oh shit. Shit shit shit I fucked up.

I nearly pass out in my office after I realize I'm stuck here another season. Cortez tells me to relax and we tour our new facilities to try and make me feel better. They're up to a 7 grade, which is still second to last in the conference, but it's a big improvement over what we had before.

Also, Schwarzy tells me I'm not on the hot seat. "You bought yourself a few years of goodwill with that second round NCAA appearance a couple years ago. Just right the ship."

Yeah. Right.

SF Joel Desimone, a junior from Western Kentucky, is an immediate transfer pickup. I see him as a potentially huge addition to the squad, given how we're going.

Transfers by School
Detroit: 1
Duke: 1
Marist: 1
Norfolk State: 1
Tennessee Tech: 1
Western Kentucky: 1

Our prestige holds even at 23.

Five scholarships this year, so we're going to have to be very careful with our targets and our money. For the first time ever, we have two 3* prospects with initial Very High interest and one of them has us as his #4 school. Needless to say, we offer both players sight unseen.

One of those Very High prospects immediately drops us for Brown, so we drop him.

We get rejected by one of our targets in the early period, who signs with La Salle. Honestly, I'm expecting at most to get 2 or 3 of our initial prospects when all is said and done.
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Old 04-07-2011, 04:25 AM   #43
Izulde
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Bryant Bulldogs 2020-2021 Starting Lineup
PG Bohumir Schulz (So)*
Robbed of All-Freshman recognition last year, he continues to hold off Augusto Lorenzo for the starting PG spot and in fact, showed significantly improved ball handling skill over the summer.

SG Chris Templeton (Sr)
Finally wins a starting spot in his last year. One of the few bright points in a dismal season as our top bench player. Can he make the transition to successful starter?

SF Mac Murray (Jr)*
One of the biggest reasons we fell apart in Northeast play was the loss of Murray to academic suspension. We need him to stay focused in the classroom so he can do great things on the court.

PF Bruno Fremault (Fr)
Very impressive camp for the freshman, so impressive that he wins the starting PF spot. Undersized at 6'6, sure, but Lance Tully was short, too, and he was a great player.

C Sofronio Rey (Sr)*
Terribly disappointing junior year, where he shot just 43.8%. If we're going to win the Northeast this season, we need him to be more Joaquin Bravo than Mack Rasmussen.

La Salle may have won a recruiting war, but we beat them 69-60 to start the year. Mac Murray scores 22, Chris Templeton 14, and Sofronio Rey just misses a double-double with 8 points and 17 rebounds.

72-67 road loss to Longwood in what I hope isn't a sign of things to come for away games. 18 points from Mac Murray and 14 points from Sofronio Rey are it.

We obliterate Louisiana Tech 107-71. Mac Murray almost gets a triple double with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists. Wow! Bohumir Schulz with 25 points, Chris Templeton with 22. Sofronio Rey with 10 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks and Jamie Spradlin with 8 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Oh, and Augusto Lorenzo with 10 bench points.

17 points from Bruno Fremault, 19 bench points from Augusto Lorenzo and 10 bench points from Jamie Spradlin add up to a 72-67 win over Maine in our final November game.

Mr. Basketball Massachussetts, who we led all summer long on, suddenly switches to UMass and we lose another guy to Towson. On the other hand, we land C Titus Orman, New Hampshire's Mr. Basketball, stealing him away from New Hampshire.

Code:
#14 C Titus Orman -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-8 Weight: 233 High School: Franklin High School Hometown: Franklin, NH GPA: 2.63 Test Score: 1130 Rating: *** Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 38 49 40 15 24 6 18 16 44 52 15 6 28 73 48 63 Potential: A C C F C F B F C C D F Season Stats: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15.6 2.3 5.5 1.2 2.1 0.57 0.3 0.9 2.4 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.3 11.0 .575 2.9 4.7 .624 0.1 0.9 .056 Recruiting Notes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified: Yes Committed to Bryant University Rankings: East Region #66 Overall, East Region #12 C High School Awards: All-State, Mr. Basketball (New Hampshire) Top 5 Schools: *Bryant University,

Major confidence boosting 73-61 road win over Brown. Sofronio Rey leads the charge with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks, while Chris Templeton scores 18.

Harvard beats us 83-70 despite all five starters scoring 11+ points, with the exception of Sofronio Rey's 9 points and 9 rebounds. Mac Murray topped our scoring effort with 16.

A grueling road stretch starts with a 61-58 win over UC-Riverside. Chris Templeton scores 14, Mac Murray 13, and Sofronio Rey is a post presence with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocks.

Winthrop beats us 71-58 where all we have to show is Mac Murray's 12 points and 10 rebounds and Bohumir Schulz's 16 points.

Ugly 63-39 loss to Seattle. Not worth talking about.

Our non-conference record is saved from doom with a 70-52 rout of South Dakota State. Chris Templeton's 18 points and Bohumir Schulz's 10 points bail us out, even as Gary Wilson is out a little over two weeks with patellar tendinitis.

We come back home and get embarrassed 100-65 by Robert Morris in the Northeast opener. Ugh.

Two more scholarship rejections. I swear I'm resigning after this season.

91-84 road loss to St. Francis (PA). WTFE.

21 points, 15 rebounds from Sofronio Rey and 16 points from Chris Templeton for a 67-64 of course home win over Qunnipiac and then Mac Murray breaks his leg and is out two months.

71-46 L @ Wagner
68-65 L Monmouth
73-67 L St. Francis (NY)
83-82 W Sacred Heart
64-62 W @ Mount St. Mary's

Chris Templeton breaks his fucking arm and Bohumir Schulz fucks up his knee. Fuck this cocksucking bullshit.

I'm pleased to see an 82-45 win at Fairleigh-Dickinson, with Sofronio Rey tearing shit up for 33 points and 15 rebounds and Jamie Spradlin with 18 points and 11 rebounds, but even with the three game winning streak, we're not even .500 in Northeast play.

71-69 L @ Monmouth

3 more scholarship rejections. Whatever. I'm resigning after this year.

We have no hope of winning the Northeast title with Robert Morris at 9-1.

67-64 upset win at Robert Morris thanks to 15 points a piece from Jamie Spradlin and Bohumir Schulz.

66-61 win over Mount St. Mary's to put us at .500 in the conference. Sofronio Rey beasts for 24 points and 10 rebounds and Augusto Lorenzo puts up 15 points. He's been starting at PG since the Chris Templeton injury.

68-58 L @ Long Island and Bohumir Schulz breaks his foot. FUCK YOU, FBCB.

77-66 L @ St. Francis (NY)

75-74 win vs St. Francis (PA) on Sofronio Rey's 24 points and 15 rebounds and Augusto Lorenzo's 15 points. I'm amazed we're getting any wins at all considering three starters have broken whatevers.

67-65 loss to CCSU and fuck you again FBCB.

Mac Murray returns and the emotional lift is a 71-43 assraping of Wagner. Augusto Lorenzo scores 20, Bruno Fremhaldt 11, who hasn't been terrrible as the starting SF.

And a 75-61 road loss to Quinnipiac to keep us from .500 in NE play.

We get a 3* Canadian recruit. I don't care. Every single 2 and 3* recruit with even Low interest in us has committed by the start of March, and we're sitting on 3 open scholarships.

67-65 loss to shitass CSU-Bakersfield. And yet...

Code:
2020 Northeast Conference Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Robert Morris 13 5 .722 17 12 .586 112 29 Long Island 12 6 .667 15 14 .517 142 10 Mount St. Mary's 11 7 .611 13 16 .448 178 9 Wagner 11 7 .611 19 10 .655 140 24 Monmouth 11 7 .611 17 12 .586 163 17 Fairleigh Dickinson 10 8 .556 16 13 .552 171 26 Sacred Heart 9 9 .500 14 16 .467 200 16 Bryant University 8 10 .444 14 15 .483 259 23 Central Connecticut State 7 11 .389 10 19 .345 228 11 St. Francis-NY 6 12 .333 12 18 .400 288 20 Quinnipiac 5 13 .278 10 20 .333 277 17 St. Francis-PA 5 13 .278 7 22 .241 320 13

Just enough for the 8 seed.

I throw up after our fucking heartfucking 96-94 loss to Robert Morris. Fuck fuck just fucking what this god damned cocksucking BULLFUCKINGSHIT season has been all about.

I SAY AGAIN, FUCK YOU UP THE ASS WITH A GIANT RANCID GOAT DILDO, FBCB.

UConn beats Illinois 62-53 in the championship.

Code:
2020 NORTHEAST AWARDS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Player of the Year: JR C Edward Brown Robert Morris 12.0 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 1.3 APG 0.6 SPG, 0.9 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR SF Tom Rivera Monmouth 11.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.0 APG 0.9 SPG, 0.2 BPG Coach of the Year: George Hageman Long Island 15 - 15 (12 - 6) All-league 1st Team: C JR Edward Brown Robert Morris 12.0 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.9 BPG PF SR Dean Hoppe Sacred Heart 14.8 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.4 SPG, 2.4 BPG SF SR Gavriil Korolev Wagner 12.1 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.0 BPG SG SO Tony Duffy Monmouth 10.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG JR Ronald Fuhrman Robert Morris 11.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.5 APG, 2.0 SPG, 0.2 BPG All-league 2nd Team: C SR Sofronio Rey Bryant University 13.4 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.4 SPG, 1.7 BPG PF SR Jospeh Aucoin Monmouth 8.5 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.2 BPG SF JR Domingo Navarro Mount St. Mary's 18.5 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.1 BPG SG SR Luis Lamothe Mount St. Mary's 15.2 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.2 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG JR Joseph Dow Sacred Heart 12.6 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-freshman Team: C FR Harold Genovese St. Francis-PA 4.6 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 0.8 APG, 0.2 SPG, 0.3 BPG PF FR Abel Beery St. Francis-PA 5.8 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG SF FR Tom Rivera Monmouth 11.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG FR Friedhelm Ferchl Bryant University 3.7 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG FR Samuel Nester St. Francis-NY 2.0 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 0.6 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.0 BPG

I hand in my resignation because Schwarzy tells me the board is going to fire me.

McNeese State offers me a job, but I have no interest in going anywhere where I have to accomplish something like a .500 conference record.

South Dakota offers, but I pass on them, too.

Then, Robert Morris invites me back to the Northeast and I strongly consider it. Good budget and some pretty nice facilities for the level, 5th in the conference in fact. But I pass on that, too, as I'm not a huge fan of Pittsburgh.
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Old 04-07-2011, 04:25 AM   #44
Izulde
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Join Date: Sep 2004
..... fucking OS bullshit ate the second half of my post.
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Old 04-07-2011, 04:26 AM   #45
Izulde
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Anyway long story short, I sat out two years, took the job at Utah Valley, was doing okay my first season and finally got fed up with the whole thing and quit, ending the dynasty.
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Old 04-07-2011, 10:07 AM   #46
chesapeake
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Location: Arlington, VA
Your meltdowns the past two seasons don't sound like they were much fun for you. But they sure did make for some entertaining reading. Thanks for writing it.
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Old 04-07-2011, 01:19 PM   #47
Izulde
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Thanks. I should have taken the Florida Gulf Coast job like I was tempted to, but oh well.
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