The Wausau Ice Donkeys (BasketPulse)

[Izulde]

Team Logo

So I opted to give BasketPulse a try (see brett32z's dynasty for more details).

Say hello to the Wausau Ice Donkeys. Thus far, we've only played one game since I took over, but more on that in a second.

PG Tristian Outlawe (25) - 6'5, 64 current/81 peak
Best skill is 3 point shooting (5). Everything else is 3s and 4s.Signed through the end of the season for 400 euros. Shot 100% for 10 points, 2 assists, and 3 steals in our opener, but was limited to 10 minutes because of fouls.

SG Thayer Arcadia (16) - 6'0, 71 current/365 peak
Our franchise player in both current and potential, consequently signed to 5 years at 600 euros a season. He played SG in our first game, but because of his height, I'm switching him to PG and the big guard Outlawe is shifting to SG. Currently 4s in everything. Team captain. 10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals in the opener, with a 60/33/50 shooting line. Obviously The Man.

SF Saul Follywolle (23) - 6'9, 56 current/88 peak
Previously played for the disbanded New Jersey Nets2 in World League 6.20 as a 13 MPG reserve, where he put up good shooting numbers. Won Player of the Match in our opening win despite unworthy numbers because he made a key play or something. IDK. PotM logic needs reworking imo. Anyway, all 3s and 4s here. Expiring 400 euro contract.

PF Ronin Merden (25) - 6'9, 44 current/67 peak
I'm going to replace this dude as soon as possible. Absolute garbage player with okay 4s and 3s athletic skills for this level, but 2s and 3s elsewhere. He won't be back next season.

CE Jamal Stepney (25) - 6'11, 59 current/76 peak
Stretch five with 5 in 3 point shooting and a surprising 4 in passing. Scored 26 points in our win, though was 33% from the line (3/9) and actually had a -2 Individual +/-, but he also played 29.1 minutes (Note: games in this league are 40 minutes rather than 48)

Our bench players are mostly trash, save for:

SG Jovanni Cockanye (23) - 6'0, 61 current/93 peak
5 in Contesting Shots and shot 75% for 7 points and 4 steals in our first game.

Ope, as I was typing this...

Signing: PF Francisco Walton (24) - 6'9, 63 current/86 peak - 5 years, 755 euro a season
His market value is 753 euro, so I overpaid slightly to get a massive upgrade at the 4. He has a 5 in Speed, making him instantly our fastest player on the roster. Averaged 5 points on low shot attempts the last two seasons for the now-defunct Summer in World 6.7. Immediate starter.

I spot a guy in the free agency market who would instantly become our best player by a long shot and would hopefully go far in getting us off the bottom rankings of the league power ratings (12th/dead last in US league, 32nd and what I can only presume is last in International league).

I strongly recommend also following brett32z's dynasty, as he's far more advanced and can explain the mechanics better. This is just you getting to see the ground floor of a scrub team and the build-up

BTW, this reminds me a *lot* of Rocking Racquets, and maybe I should have done what Brian Swartz did and take over a team in say, Morocco, but too late now

[brett32z]

So I opted to give BasketPulse a try (see brett32z's dynasty for more details).

Following and excited to see your progress!

BTW, this reminds me a *lot* of Rocking Racquets, and maybe I should have done what Brian Swartz did and take over a team in say, Morocco, but too late now

There is a definite Rocking Racquets vibe. One thing I would say is that the smaller countries appear to be mostly bots in their national leagues which takes away some of the fun for me. Plus, the USA isn't "The USA" in this game world so you're kind of getting the Moroccan experience anyway.

Which league are you in?

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by brett32z

Following and excited to see your progress!




There is a definite Rocking Racquets vibe. One thing I would say is that the smaller countries appear to be mostly bots in their national leagues which takes away some of the fun for me. Plus, the USA isn't "The USA" in this game world so you're kind of getting the Moroccan experience anyway.

Which league are you in?

US 3.1

World League 6.20

[DavidCorperial]

I also started playing today I'm in US 3.2 and World League 6.29 as the Stamford Cyberams

[Izulde]

vs Red County Fighters (International League Match
We break the game open in the second quarter and though they got hot in the third, we never seriously looked losing after that. Jamal Stepney takes PotM honors with 14 points, 9 rebounds, a block, and a +20 Individual Net. Tristian Outlawe leads us in scoring with 21 points and 2 steals, and Francisco Walton has an excellent 13 point, 8 rebound, 2 block debut with 7 fouls drawn. We're a balla AF 3 point shooting team I've noticed in our first two contests.

...And we add to that with our latest free agent signing.

SF Dante Griffin (23) - 6'9, 134 current/197 peak - 5 years, 1,600 euros/season
Say hello to The Man currently. 6 Jumping and Speed, 5 Toughness. 4 Close Range/7 Jumper/7 Three Point, and 5 in every Defense and Offense category bar rebounding (4). He played for two different teams in the International League over the last couple years (including at the 5th level), where he was a reserve and particularly shined as a 6th man at the 6th level.

Rebounding is still something we'll need to address, though I may want to wait until the end of the season, because I love Stepney's 67% shooting from the 3 point line and his natural scoring instincts.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by DavidCorperial

I also started playing today I'm in US 3.2 and World League 6.29 as the Stamford Cyberams

Looking forward to seeing how you go!

[Izulde]

vs Whispers (International League Match)
Top to bottom probably the most solid team we've faced so far (Red County has two excellent players for the level they curiously don't have in their lineup, or they would have probably beaten us last game).

Doesn't matter. First quarter is a dogfight, but we break it open in the second quarter and never trailed the rest of the way. Dante Griffin destroys them singlehandedly, scoring 33 points with 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, and 8 fouls drawn. He's proving every bit as good as I'd hoped, and we won 89-73.

Thayer Arcadia didn't shoot well, but was disruptive anyway in picking up 14 points, 6 assists, 3 steals, and a block in our other notable statline action.

So we're now 3-0 since my takeover.

Free Agent Signing

SG Francis Damsell (22) - 6'7, 93 current/171 peak - 3 years, 900 euros/yr
My first competitive bid I won (how Griffin didn't get competition, I'll never know). Signed to a three-year deal because I'm not sure he'll be a long-term player and Walton I overspent on because it was my first signing. Anyway, 4s across the board, save for a 5 in three-point shooting and contesting shots. He's an upgrade over Tristian Outlawe without sacrificing any outside shooting. A full-time starter for Storm in 6.26 the last two seasons (and was beaten like a rented mule last year at 39.2 MPG!). Averaged 14.9 points, 2.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks with a +14 Net and strong shooting over those two seasons for the Storm. Obviously our new SG.

Thus, we've got four of our five starters locked up for at least three years, and three of them for five. There isn't anyone in the marketplace I have any interest in signing this go-round, and I'd be content to ride out with this group for the rest of the season. Then we'd need to find a new center and build a new bench - possibly looking for a more-ready PG and a further upgrade at PF.

[Izulde]

vs San Antonio Spurs (US League)
*laughs in Dante Green: 43 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals. Francis Damsell surprised me by scoring 25 with 6 assists. Not one other player scored more than 3 points, and we won 82-57.

Nothing new to report on the signings and scoutings front. There's a dude I'd *love* to have, but he would eat our entire budget, so I pass on him. On the second cycle, there's an intriguing 17 year old point guard, but he has 5 offers on him already and he's 5'10, so that's a no from me.

Scouting has been trash and more trash.

We'll probably lose our next US League game against the top team Celtic Saints. Dante Green would be their second or third best player. But we've two International League matches before then.

Right now, we're second in the division behind the Celtic Saints and have leapt to the 5th ranked team in 3.1 in both strength and fan support. Hoping we can establish a Fan Club next week.

[Izulde]

So, stupid me finally figured out that the reason I was only seeing American players in the marketplace was because it defaults to United States. You have to select All Countries from the dropdown menu to access international players.

One thing that's abundantly clear - Centers are damn hard to find, and it's the position that I was most looking at. I wanted someone who would match the rest of the window of the players I have (bar 16 year old Thayer Arcadia), who had a balanced skillset and wouldn't break the bank. After a lot of digging, I finally found my target shortly before deadline and successfully signed him.

C Jules Veldeman (25, Belgian) - 6'10, 110 Current/133 Potential - 5 years, 1,200 euro per season
Clocks in at 5-4-5 Jumping/Speed Toughness, 6-5-4 Close/Midrange/3 Point, all 4s in defensive stats, and an impressive for this level 5-5-6 Dribble/Pass/Offensive IQ. While, we're downgrading slightly on the 3 point shooting from [b]Jamal Stepney, we're getting a starter who is strictly better than him in pretty much every other area.

It also balances out our offense by getting a massive upgrade at inside shooting (not even the loved Dante Green is higher than a 4 there), and he could shift over to PF in the unlikely event I find another center I absolutely love.

Our most experienced player, he appeared in 81 games for the closed down Gotham Dark Knight. Although his +/- numbers are worryingly mediocre, considering the International level is 6 (the same we're at), my sense is he played on a poorly managed roster.

The Minnesota Muskies beat us out on Taiwanese coach Yu-Hung Ha, so we got some FOFC fighting over the same guy. I bid 700, they bid 1025, as we both sought to upgrade our training abilities.

[Izulde]

Want to know how utterly batshit the coaching market is right now? Found a Brazilian guy I liked. He wanted 729 euros. I bid almost double that at 1,400 euros. Winning bid? 3,000 euros! Yeah, good coaches are so scarce it's an overpay market for anyone decent.

@ Liverpool (International League Match
Like us, they have a SF they rely heavily on - 6'9 Lithuanian Sigutis Kluonius of a whopping 182 current rating! He's an 8/5/5/5 Athleticism, Accuracy, Defense, Offense, so the 25 year old who plays for the Taiwanese club relies on his physical ability to overpower opponents. The rest of their roster is... not great. Typical beginner team stuff with the 17 year old raw wunderkind PG we have (though I'm mad he's 6'5 compared to our 6'0). Even weirder? They only have 8 players on their roster.

Unfortunately, the game does not start well for us. They do an excellent job in the first quarter of drawing fouls and hitting timely 3 pointers, and it's only a buzzer-beating 3 pointer by Dante Griffin that keeps it reasonably close at 18-23.

Second quarter sees us turning the ball over like CRAZY and they're hitting enough of their shots (esp. from 3 point range) to expand their lead at half to double digits: 33-44, with only Francis Damsell's back-to-back bucket and buzzer block stopping bleeding from even worse.

We march our way to the lead midway through the third quarter thanks to Dante Griffin and Jules Veldeman tag-teaming hot hands and becoming my new favorite duo. Then we get cold and they go back in the lead. A bunch of free throws get traded. I'm seeing a lot of opponent screwups due to their players being exhausted. THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU RIDE YOUR STARTING LINEUP TOO HARD, SON! End of the third, we're all tied up, and I'm feeling confident because this horribly mismanaged team is wiped.

Here's a sample from the beginning of the fourth quarter:

4Q 9:44 Liv Player is in good situation due to tiredness of the defending player: s. Mo
59:61 4Q 9:43 WIDS logotipas Mid-range 2PT shot: T. Arcadia ( Good situation)
Players skills' ratio: -1; Shot quality ratio: 1 Defender: s. Mo
4Q 9:37 Liv logotipas Turnover. Tiredness is disturbing player's performance: T. Liu
4Q 9:36 Liv The ball went out from the player: T. Liu
4Q 9:18 Liv Player is in good situation due to tiredness of the defending player: C. Kang
4Q 9:17 WIDS Missed 3PT shot: D. Griffin ( Good situation)
Players skills' ratio: 4; Shot quality ratio: -4 Defender: C. Kang
4Q 9:15 Liv Defensive rebound: J. Feng (Nearest opponent: J. Veldeman)
4Q 9:13 Liv Proper chance for fast break but player is tired and starts positional attack: S. Kluonius
4Q 9:05 Liv Because of tiredness player didn't catch the ball and missed a good chance to attack: J. Feng
4Q 9:01 Liv logotipas Turnover. Tiredness is disturbing player's performance: s. Mo
4Q 9:01 WIDS Steal: D. Griffin
4Q 8:44 WIDS Missed 3PT shot: F. Walton ( Average situation)
Players skills' ratio: 2; Shot quality ratio: -2 Defender: T. Liu
4Q 8:43 Liv Defensive rebound: C. Kang (Nearest opponent: D. Griffin)
4Q 8:41 Liv Proper chance for fast break but player is tired and starts positional attack: s. Mo
4Q 8:32 Liv Missed close range shot. Tiredness is disturbing player's performance: J. Feng ( Good situation)
Players skills' ratio: -1; Shot quality ratio: 2 Defender: J. Veldeman

The closest they can get once Dante Griffin rips off 5 point on B2B possessions is 3, and we close out an ugly 79-69 win:



Note: I did *not* name the default coach Bray. But I'm delighted every time I see the Ice Donkeys being coached by Bray. Anyway, as you can see Dante Griffin Show yet again. And yeah, see the Tiredness level of our opponents? These guys were EXHAUSTED. And how is SK not taking over the offense? If I were them, I'd be running Isolation offense (Note: Our own offense is set to On Guards, despite what the box score looks like. Might not be the most efficient setup, but oh well!)

We also add our second foreign player

PF Guillermo Martinelli (26 - Uruguayan) - 138 current/153 peak, 5 years, 1,763 euros/year
Our new highest-paid player is a 7-6-5 Jumping/Speed/Toughness, a fascinating 4-4-8 Close/Mid/3 Point, 4-6-4 Rebounding/Contesting Shots/Defensive IQ, and 5-5-6 Dribbling/Passing/Offensive IQ. Major upgrades in the jumping and shot contesting areas, and he's very much a stretch 4. The last two seasons, he was with Hungarian squad Újszentiván Bikák in World 6.18 and 5.5, showing increasing statistical improvement despite the jump up. I'm kinda excited to have him, as my first signing, Francisco Walton, was not very good, and so I'm quite happy to move him to the bench.

We don't have the horses to switch to a 3 point offense, but a 7-8 combo of Griffin and Martinelli is something I'm loving to see at this level, with Veldeman just good enough inside to keep opposing defenses honest. Might even think about switching to On Big Men. Not sure yet.

I'm still not in love with our defense

[Izulde]

vs Den Bosch Dragons (International League)
Long story short: Dante Green only plays 8 minutes due to foul trouble and we get whipped 52-99. They opened with a 7-0 run and never looked back. I expected this loss - even their reserves are capable of challenging our starters. Small wonder they're at the top of the league. The Dragons' best player makes about as much as our entire starting lineup - that's how large the talent disparity is.

We finally landed a coach!

Mathias Vähätalo - 47 - Finnish - 800 euros a season
5s in all the training coaching skills except for 6 in Offense. He's absolute trash as a tactician, but that's okay because Bray will lead the way.

Celtic Saints are up next and we'll probably lose our second straight game. Hoping to keep it close at least.

[brett32z]

We march our way to the lead midway through the third quarter thanks to Dante Griffin and Jules Veldeman tag-teaming hot hands and becoming my new favorite duo. Then we get cold and they go back in the lead. A bunch of free throws get traded. I'm seeing a lot of opponent screwups due to their players being exhausted. THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU RIDE YOUR STARTING LINEUP TOO HARD, SON! End of the third, we're all tied up, and I'm feeling confident because this horribly mismanaged team is wiped.

I saw a team last year that invested all of his money into 5 really good starters and played them 40 minutes a game. Every game they went into the 4th quarter up by at least 25 and then got killed over the last 10 minutes. They still won most of their games and almost won the league.

It was kind of genius honestly.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by brett32z

I saw a team last year that invested all of his money into 5 really good starters and played them 40 minutes a game. Every game they went into the 4th quarter up by at least 25 and then got killed over the last 10 minutes. They still won most of their games and almost won the league.

It was kind of genius honestly.

Eh, too much risk for mine. Is the site down for you as well? Been lost in a game the last several days and haven't logged in. Tried just now and it was no go.

[brett32z]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Eh, too much risk for mine. Is the site down for you as well? Been lost in a game the last several days and haven't logged in. Tried just now and it was no go.

No, I haven't had any issues the last few days.

[DavidCorperial]

Same, no issues for me either

[Izulde]

Long story short, we did indeed lose to Celtic Saints, but have swept our first round opponents in USA 3.1 playoffs. We'll doubtless get swept in turn in Round 2 - their lowest rated player is better than Dante Griffin. In fact, that team should win the whole thing.

International League wise, playoffs start soon. We're facing a Spanish team ironically called American Eagles2 and we should have absolutely no difficulties sweeping them. We're the 5th seed of the Top 8, so I suspect we'll have a Round 2 bowout.

We've signed a 21 year old player for next year - a Spanish kid to a 5 year deal who will step in the starting lineup to replace Francis Damsell, even though our new player has a noticeable weakness area. I'm hoping I can fix that with the right training.

Teamwise, Dante Griffin is still our clear star scorer, Jules Veldman our top rebounder and #3 scorer. Guillermo Martinelli is our #2 scorer and between him and Griffin, we've got two guys who have been playing great 3&D with scoring knack for this level. I'd say Martinelli is actually our best player overall, even though Griffin appears to have higher scoring instincts.

Not sure how much I'll push in for next year just yet. Have to wait and see how it goes.

[Izulde]

We were indeed swept in Round 2 of the US 3.1 playoffs - by 22 and 35 points respectively, so we're playing a team for third place that we should beat handily.

In the International playoffs, which is a best of 5, we actually took the top team in the league to 3-1, winning Game 3 by a point, and we additionally shocked by only losing by a point in Game 2. Encouraging signs for next season there to be sure. We'll probably finish 4th - the other semi-final is currently knotted up 2-2 and both teams could squash us.

[Izulde]

As expected, we're in the process of sweeping Fire, with two 20+ point victories headlined by Dante Green and Guillermo Martinelli each scoring 22+ points in the wins.

In other news, we've signed our first player from scouting: 7'1 21 year old Jovanni Camden. He played college ball before joining our squad and is 109/169 current/potential - an upside far beyond that of Jules Veldeman while being 4 points lower. His statline? 5/7/4 Jumping/Speed/Toughness; all 4s in Accuracy; 4/5/5 Rebounding/Contesting Shots/Defensive IQ; All 5s in Offense Categories. Signed for 6 years at 1,182 euros a season.

He's instantly the fastest player on the team, and while Veldeman is a much better shooter inside the arc - especially the paint - and has better offensive IQ, Camden is better defensively, four years younger, and has a lot higher upside. So Camden moves to the starting lineup while Veldeman takes over as the 20 MPG 6th man PF/C. That's already going to be a huge upgrade over Francisco Walton and Jamal Stepney at those slots