College Hoops 2k8: A New Challenge

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by rjolley

No, the years don't have to match up. Except for the first two years, since I started out with real players and wanted to see them drafted, I only export classes with my players in them. That definitely wasn't every year when I was at small schools. NBA 2K8 imports them with no problems.

Great, I might do a mini-dynasty in the near future just following the careers of Hannan and Atchinson.

[rjolley]

The only thing to watch out for is importing the same class more than once. I usually save the game to a different name, then import my class, just to make sure. I've also started naming my game saves the same as my classes. That helps me keep them in line as well.

[Eaglesfan27]

My staff suggests a starting lineup of:

PG Bennett
SG Bowman
SF Kou
PF Brickens
C Lamptey

Top bench guys: Riddick, Malone, and Medina. I decide to go with their suggestion for now.



We win our first game 83-62 although our backup PG, Dixon, is injured and will be DTD for 2-3 weeks. Bennett with a surprising game as he led us with 27 points, 8 assists, and 3 boards. He shot 9 of 13, 5 of 9, and 4 f 4.

Lamptey was our other star with 20 points, 5 boards, and 2 blocks on 8 of 16 shooting.

[Eaglesfan27]

Our next game in the tourney is against Marshall who is much closer to us in talent level..

Before that game, I decide on who to focus on in recruiting. There is less time this week, so we have to make some tough choices. I fly to the home of the guy most interested in us, C Marion Peterson.

I also send my assistant to Sterley's home. I don't want to waste any visits on guys I know I have a realistic chance to get, but I'll send my assistant to these dream guys just in case I get lucky.


We beat Marshall 77-63. Bennett seems to be loving my offense. He has 25 points, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 4 turnovers. He shot 8 of 10, 3 of 4, and 6 of 8.

Lamptey was in foul trouble and only played 18 minutes. He finished with 6 points and 4 boards.


Our next game is hosting Drexel who is slightly less talented than we are. We beat them 86-55. Bennett with 14 points and 5 assists this game. Lamptey with 19 points, 8 boards, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. 8 other guys with at least 4 points.


After the visit, Marion Peterson is up to 97% interest. He still has Rutgers higher but we are 2nd on his list. For some surprising reason, Rutgers has not offered him a scholarship yet. Maybe they are trying for a bigger fish?

Hollis has responded very well to our visits and has up to 94%, but Penn State has offered him a scholarship and is higher on his list


Falls has us at 91% but Rutgers has offered him a scholarship and they are #1 on his list.

Dobbins is at 85% but Pitt has offered him a scholarship and is #1 on his list.

Sterley has been offered by Marquette, Duke, and Pitt. We never would have had a chance.

Surprisingly, Dominick Vanttaja hasn't been offered yet, but our chances are very slim on him regardless and they always were.

[Galaxy]

A weird question, but could coaching at Niagara have any impact on your recruiting ties? Seems like a lot of highly interested kids in Wake Forest are coming from Toronto, NY/NJ, and Pennsylvania.

[Eaglesfan27]

This week, I fly out to Peterson's home again to try to seal the deal for at least 1 great player.

Maybe stupid, but I also fly out to Vanttaja's home.

I also take another trip to Hollis' home.


Our next game is against Michigan State in the Pre-season Tourney. They are 16th in the nation and are very well coached. They are the 1st team we've faced that is clearly better than us.


We pull off the upset! 79-78 win! Lamptey was the key as he had 20 points, 10 boards, 3 blocks. He shot 4 of 10, 10 of 12 from the line.

Bennett with 9 points, 3 assists, 4 steals.

Brickens with 10 points and 5 boards. Malone had 13 points off the bench and Riddick had 9.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

A weird question, but could coaching at Niagara have any impact on your recruiting ties? Seems like a lot of highly interested kids in Wake Forest are coming from Toronto, NY/NJ, and Pennsylvania.

I'm wondering the same thing. I've never heard of that, but I wouldn't say anything is out of the realm of possibility. 2k obviously put a lot of thought into the legacy mode even with its issues. It certainly seems that way.. more kids interested there than from North Carolina.

[Eaglesfan27]

We are in the Final of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic Pre-season Tourney! We play Duquesne now. They are about equal to us in talent level..

and we win again! I wasn't expecting this! 92-82 win. The guys seem to love my fast tempo attacking offense and pressing defense. Lamptey with 30 points, 6 boards, 5 assists, and 2 blocks! He shot 8 of 12, 1 of 3, and 13 of 16 from the line.

Bennett with 20 points, 6 assists, and 2 steals. He shot 6 of 12, 3 of 6, and 5 of 5.

Brickens added 15 points and 7 boards.


Now onto the next week...

[Eaglesfan27]

Marion Brickens is at 100% interest now, but Rutgers is still above us. If they offer him a scholarship, he is going there. Otherwise, he is ours.

Hollis looks like he is Penn State all the way.

Ditto for Falls to Rutgers and Dobbins to Pitt


Still, we have Dobbins come to campus to visit.



Our next game is hosting 1-4 Iowa. They have a bad record, but they are a very talented team. As expected, they beat us 71-56.

Lamptey led us with 16 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, and 2 blocks.



Next up is hosting James Madison. They are a much weaker team than us. We beat them 77-75. Lamptey with 21 points, 10 boards, 4 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals. He shot 7 of 13 and 6 of 6 from the line. Riddick added 11 and Malone 8 off the bench.


Now, we start the early recruit signing period.

[Eaglesfan27]

Tons of bad news, but all of it expected:

Sterley spurred Duke and went to Marquette.

Dobbins to Pitt, Falls with a surprise move goes with Saint Joes, Hollis goes to Penn State as expected.

Rutgers recovers nicely by getting Callans, the 5 star stud!

Bragg, a great 4 star player who I never got too serious about because he as in Arizona chose to go to Arizona.



Now for the good news, we got Marion Peterson from NJ!!! The 7'0 247 pound 4 star center from Newark, NJ averaged 7.5 ppg and 4.9 rpg in the ABL, but I think that was due to ball hogs He is rated 66th overall and 3rd among centers. Our staff believes he has "A" potential. They believe he already has a refined array of inside scoring moves and is a powerful dunker. They also believe he is a speedy guy for his size who is a tremendous shot blocker. If most of that is true, I'll be very happy. He knew he could start right away next year with Lamptey's graduation and I think that was a key in us getting this potential star.


With 3 scholarships open, we start sorting through the recruits again:

Dominick Vanttaja is a weird case in that he hasn't been offered yet despite clearly being a stud. We offer him hoping we somehow get lucky. We immediately jump to #2 on his list, behind only Duke.

There are no closer good PG's available, so we offer Stetson Abbott from Buffalo NY.

We are a longshot for him, but we start pursuing a fairly local kid in Devon Lenzly. He is a 6'3 179 pound SG from Macon, GA. He is a 4 star player ranked 40th overall. Alabama and FSU are our main competitors.

[Eaglesfan27]

Our next game is at NC A&T. They are 3-4 and are a much weaker team. We win the game 68-63. Lamptey led the way with 14 points and 12 boards along with 2 blocks.


Now our first conference game and it is a big one. We host North Carolina. However, their freshman have struggled. As a result, they are 2-5!

We beat them 79-55. Lamptey with 17 points, 3 boards, 2 blocks. Brickens with 15 points, 7 boards, and a block. Riddick and Malone each had 13 off the bench.

The early recruiting signing period ends with us losing 2 of our 3 new targets as Abbott signed with Pitt and Lenzly surprises everyone by signing with Southern Miss.

Worse yet, Duke has officially offered Dominick Vanttaja a scholarship. He isn't signing with them early, but all signs are that he will eventually sign with them. Even if he doesn't, Rutgers has offered and has jumped to his #2. We are #3 on his list.


For SG, we go for a reach by trying to get a West Coast guy to come here. Matthew Bland expressed some interest in us despite being from Fullerton, CA. He is also interested in UCLA (who hasn't offered yet), and SDSU. Her is a 6'4 205 pound 4 star SG.

We also try to reach west for a PG. Rico Lovelace is a 5'11 165 pound Mr. Basketball from Utah. We are competing with Arizona, Oregon, and Washington, none of whom have offered him yet.


Our next game is hosting an inferior Miami of Ohio team. We beat them 69-65. Lamptey led us with 15 points and 5 boards.


We are now 9-1! Hopefully, I won't have to worry too much about being fired in the 1st year with this start.

[Eaglesfan27]

Our next game is against a weak UL-Lafayette team.. My AD made us a nice schedule this year

We beat them 81-72. Lamptey led us with 16 points, 10 boards, and a block.


Next up is a solid 6-3 VCU team. We beat them 77-73 despite Lamptey fouling out in only 15 minutes. Bowman led us with 18 points and 7 assists.


Our next game is a very weak 8-8 Texas-Pan American Team. We beat them 88-48. Lamptey with 21 and 8.

Our next game is at George Washington. They are 10-2 and one of the strongest teams in the country. They are ranked #15. We lose 83-69. Lamptey fouled out in 21 minutes.


Our last OOC game is against 3-8 Navy. I really have to be thankful for this very easy 1st year schedule which I didn't touch (or even look at.) We beat them 87-52. Lamptey with 14 points, 4 boards, and 4 blocks.

We go into conference play with a 13-2 record. Much better than I was expecting considering the team didn't get 13 wins all of last year.

[Eaglesfan27]

We start the heart of conference play with a tough game at BC. They are 12-3 and are much more talented. We lose 91-71. Lamptey with only 8 points and 2 boards before he fouled out in 20 minutes.

Our next game is winnable hosting VT. They are 9-3 but aren't that much more talented than we are. I'm surprised as we easily beat them 89-65. Lamptey with 21 points and 6 boards. Brickens with 20 points and Riddick with 20 points. Bennett with 10 points and 10 assists.

Our next game is at Georgia Tech. They are 16-2 and 11th in the polls. They are much more talented than we are.

CRAP! Kason Bennett goes down in the game with a strained achilles and will be out for 3-4 weeks. That hurts bad. We lose the game 79-73 as he played most of the game before going down. They held Lamptey to 7 points, 5 boards, and 4 blocks.


Matthew Bland, the SG from CA, finally agrees to come to the campus for a visit. He likes us a lot now, and only SDSU is ahead of us.


Our next game is hosting 12-4 North Carolina State. They are much better than we are in talent level and without Bennett I don't like our chances. We lose 83-79. Lamptey with 21 points, 3 boards, and 3 blocks. Riddick with 17 and 8 off the bench.


We are now 14-5. Still a very good season.

Time for a quick look at Niagara with about 2/3 of the season done:

They are 13-6 overall and 7-3 in the conference good for 3rd behind Siena and Loyola (MD.) They are starting Simmons at PG, Blizzard at SG (came in at a 76, better than Simmons even), Cox at SF (I always liked him there), Willis at PF, and new C Matera.

They have had some very good wins including beating Maryland 72-68 and Ohio State 85-69. With Hannan gone, they aren't scoring as much, about 72 ppg now. Simmons leads the team in scoring at 13.4 ppg. He is also leading them in assists at 4.4 per game. He is shooting 42% from the arc, averaging 4 attempts per game from the arc. Gilson Willis is 2nd in scoring at 11.7 ppg. Blizzard is putting up 8.5 ppg, 3 5. rpg, 2.1 apg, and 1.5 spg. He is shooting a team leading 44% from the arc.

Li has become the top scorer off the bench. Gill is the 2nd leading scorer off the bench.

[Eaglesfan27]

Our next game is hosting 11-7 Duke. Their young players are developing very quickly and they are now more talented than we are by a fairly wide margin (and quickly catching up to the rest of the conference.) We lose the game 84-69. Lamptey led us with 15 points, 4 boards, and a block.


Next up is a game at 12-6 Miami which has really developed their talent into a fearsome group. We win a shootout 102-90, but Kou goes down with a shoulder issue. He'll be out 2-3 weeks. Medina who replaced him at SF led our team with 17 points! 4 players had 14 (Brickens, Dixon, Lamptey, and Riddick.)


Recruiting is not going well. Bland seems resistant to traveling so far from home.. his interest keeps waxing and waning. Lovelace has been offered by Arizona which he is almost certain to accept. Vanttaja to Duke seems like it is a foregone conclusion now.


Our next game is at North Carolina. Their Freshman aren't developing quickly at all! They are now 5-15!! We are about equal in talent to them. However, the injuries have hit us too hard. We lose 90-74. Lamptey fouled out in just 14 minutes.

Next up is hosting #9 Maryland. They are 15-4 and are now the most talented team in the conference. However, we somehow pull off the upset! 87-85 win. All 5 stars were in double digits. Lamptey led us with 18 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks.


Next up is at North Carolina State. They are 15-6. We pull off another upset 81-78. Lamptey with 22 points, 6 boards, and a block. Bowman with 18 points, 8 boards, and 8 assists at the PG spot.

Next up is hosting 14-10 Virginia who we are close to in talent.. We beat them 82-81 but lose another bench guy to injury. Brickens led us with 21 points and 8 boards.

Bennett is now back from his injury at least.


We have Lovelace up to 100% interest, but he still has Arizona above us I'll keep him offered since it is so late, but I doubt they will withdrawl their offer.


Next up, we host 19-6 BC. As expected, we lose 73-60. Lamptey held to 9 points.

Our next game is very winnable against Clemson at their place. They are 16-7. Macklin, their SG, goes off for 37 points! We lose 92-72. Lamptey fouled out in 16 minutes.

Kou comes back from his injury and our staff recommends leaving Medina as the starter... I agree.


We win our next game at VT, 91-74. 4 scorers with 15 or more for us including Bennett, Brickens, Lamptey, and Dixon. We are now 19-9 and have a shot at 20 wins in the regular season which is completely unexpected.

Florida State has completely choked this year with their talent and we continue their downfall with a 100-75 win at our place! Riddick with 22 and Dixon with 21 off the bench. Medina with 17 and Lamptey with 14.


The recruiting period is over and it looks like we may only have the 1 star and will have to scramble for some role players. We have 1 final game against Duke and then it is tourney time.

[Eaglesfan27]

We lose our game at Duke 86-76. We are now 20-10 going into the conference tourney. I may make the Big Dance which we weren't expecting, but no matter what I'll stick with our plan of simming the games this year until I can get 1 of my guys on the squad.

Our first tourney game is against Virginia who we should beat.. but they upset us 80-77. Lamptey led us with 18 points but only Brickens provided any other scoring.

Despite the disappointing regular season, Florida State rolls through the tourney beating Duke 87-66, Miami 83-67, Maryland 86-72, and Clemson 75-73.


Here are the ACC Standings:

1. Maryland 21-7 (12-4)
2. BC 22-9 (11-5)
3. Clemson 21-10 (10-6) - most surprising
4. Miami 20-11 (10-6)
5. North Carolina State 20-10 (9-7)
6. Georgia Tech 23-9 (9-7)
7. Wake Forest 20-11 (8-8)
8. FSU 21-11 (7-9)
9. Virginia 17-16 (7-9)
10. Duke 15-15 (7-9) - rough 1st year for the new head coach
11. VT 13-15 (4-12)
12. North Carolina 8-23 (2-14) - Shocking, but I knew those freshman weren't that talented and they started 4. They should be much better next year.

[Eaglesfan27]

Quick Recap of NCAA Selection Show:

#1's are Florida, Arizona, Washington, and Temple.

Niagara is in as a #12 seed. They finished 21-9 (12-6).

We aren't in. We are in the NIT. Duke and North Carolina aren't in either.

USC is out as well.

Siena is out as they lost the conference tourney to Niagara.


NIT news:

We beat Missouri State easily in the 1st round 87-63. We had 4 players with 15 or more points.

Our next game is against Southern Cal! Maybe I can show them I'll be a good coach for them

We beat them 93-82. Riddick led us with 20 points and 11 boards off the bench. Lamptey with 14 and 9.

We lose our next game to DePaul 67-62. Lamptey held to 6 points and 6 boards.


Now a look at the Sweet 16...

[Eaglesfan27]

Niagara was beat by Michigan State in the 1st game 91-52 They held Simmons to 0 of 7 shooting and Blizzard to 2 of 10 shooting.


Ok, now the Sweet 16 matchups:

#1 Florida vs #4 Texas
#3 LSU vs #7 FSU

#1 Arizona vs #5 LaSalle
#2 Saint Louis vs #3 Nebraska

#1 Washington vs #5 Michigan State
#7 UNLV vs #11 Oregon

#1 Temple vs #5 Pepperdine
#3 Texas A&M vs #7 North Carolina State


The Final 4 is #1 Arizona vs #4 Texas
#5 Pepperdine vs #5 Michigan State

Arizona beats Texas 105-75.

Pepperdine beats Michigan State 92-71.

In the National Championship Game, Arizona beats Pepperdine 104-66.

Arizona's center had 29 points, 12 boards, and 3 blocks.




We didn't win any of the awards this year.

[Eaglesfan27]

Guys that are graduating:

Bowman (surprisingly good this year finished at 74 overall rating), Medina (gained 3 points this year and was a big contributor), Lmaptey (80 and was our undisputed star), and Malone (75 and a key contributor.)


Coaching Carousel: I'm not eligible due to just arriving at this team. Fortuantely, I'm not fired either.

Maryland's coach retires and they hire Pepperdine's coach.

No other changes of coaches in the ACC.


I keep my staff together.


I'm disappointed to see that Gill decided to transfer from Niagara to Northern Illinois.


Now it is time to recruit!

As expected, it is a very disappointing 1st day of recruiting:

Lovelace chose Arizona, Vanttaja chose Duke, and most disappointingl Bland chose SDSU over Wake Forest I really thought we could get him if UCLA didn't get involved.

I wasn't planning on doing this, but with 3 scholarships and very few prospects I offer J.R. Sockwell who still wants to come here. He can be part of our twin tower offense or he can be our competent backup center considering we don't have 1 right now.

As long as Marquette doesn't offer, he should be ours. Of course, if I had offered him weeks ago, there would be no doubt.

We also try a hail mary in going after Travis Toumou. Our staff thinks he has tremendous A potential and he is a 4 star PG who hasn't been offered yet, but has interest from GW and Pitt. If they don't offer, I might sneak a bargain.

We also take a blind leap to try to jump on a guy who is highly ranked but is getting any recruiting love at all. Vidal Chancler is a 4 star SG from Fort Worth, TX who is ranked 95th overall and 30th among SG's. I don't get why he has no schools after him unless all of his pursuers just filled other needs and just dropped him.

[rjolley]

One thing I've noticed about Wake Forest is the difficulty in getting top recruits to actually sign. I've had the lead on Top 5 recruits going into the early signing period and have been spurned almost every time. I'm not sure if it's me or the school, but it has been annoying to say the least. I'm curious to see if you have better luck.

[Eaglesfan27]

GW offers Travis Toumou and he accepts their offer. I also lose the 3 star PG who I was keeping as a backup plan after Penn State signs him.

GU has also now offered Sockwell, but I have such a big lead in recruiting him that I think I can finish out the deal.

Now, Chancler has 5 teams after him, so I guess I got in at just the right time. It will be a battle to see who gets him.


A week later, we hear word that J.R. Sockwell has signed with us! We've got our twin tower offense.

A week later, Vidal Chancler lets us know that he has chosen us over Oklahoma State. We pull the Texas kid out east!

We are now fighting with Oklahoma State for a kid who slipped off my radar completely, but I saw in the ABL. Apparently, he slipped off most team's radars. PG Donny Bosley is interested and it is a 2 team race between us and Okalhoma State....


WTF!?! I'm looking through more PG's for last minute backup plans and I see that after I left, Niagara got a 5 star Mr. Basketball from Cleveland Ohio to sign with them!!! Unbelievable. He is ranked 14th overall and 4th among PG's. Yes, I guess they got a good coach to replace me I wonder if he starts over Simmons?

Oklahoma State beats us out for Donny Bosley. However, I think it is for the best. I'm the lone pursuer of a guy who just fell through the cracks! I started pursuing Michael Singleton last week and he is about to become our PG. He isn't quite as highly ranked as Bosley, but our staff likes his skill set more on tape. They think he is a great defender, great passer, and great shooter whose's only knock is that he doesn't have top end potential.

We get Singleton to sign on the last day of recruiting.


Time for a summary of the class:

PG Michael Singleton is from Rialto, CA. He is 6'0 174 pounds and is a 4 star player ranked 71st overall and 29th among PG's. He isn't the most athletic player, but he is a good defender with good instincts who is a good midrange shooter and ok 3 point shooter. He is a good passer and he has B+ potential.

SG Vidal Chancler is a 4 star SG from Fort Worth, TX. He is a 6'4 208 pound player who is ranked 95th overall and 30th among SG's. He isn't very fast either, but is considered a good defender with great passing lane instincts. He is good at posting up smaller guards. He has A- Potential.

J.R. Sockwell is a 7'1 250 pound center from Indianapolis, IN. He is a 3 star player who is ranked 113th overall and 6th among centers. He is a fast athletic big man who can dunk it very well. He is a decent post defender who is a good help side shot blocker. He has B potential.

Marion Peterson is a 7'0 247 pound center from Newark, NJ. He is a 4 star player who is ranked 66th overall and 3rd among centers. He is a better shot blocker, with the potential to be dominating. He is also a strong finisher around the rim with a more refined post game. He is also a better overall defender in the post and is generally stronger. He has A Potential.

Overall, a great 1st class

[Eaglesfan27]

It is dinner time, but I couldn't resist advancing and seeing the class rankings:

We've assembled a top 20 class!! Specifically our class grades out to 13th best with the 3 4 stars and 1 3 star player.

Then again, the rankings are screwy. Niagara is 112th despite getting the 5 star guy. Then again, their only other recruit is a 2 star player. Sheesh, I still can't believe they got such a highly ranked player who wasn't even immediately local.

The OOC schedule looks easy again except for the preseason tourney, but 1 or 2 good teams are in there and I don't touch it.

I decide to sim the ABL.. we just aren't good enough to get top recruits on demand yet, and I don't like taking advantage of the bonuses it gives if that is the only reason I'd be doing it. Plus, I admit I'm anxious to get a glimpse of my current new guys before I head downstairs for dinner (which will be ready in 3 minutes.)


First thing I realize as I look over the roster is that we are a senior laden team.. as a result I have 7 scholarships to offer this year!!!

Next thing I notice isthat I got a bonafide stud in Peterson and a very good freshman in Sockwell!!! We are going to be strong on the interior.. full roster report later tonight or more likely tomorrow.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm not going to get a chance to play with them tonight, but here is a quick look at the roster now:

SR PG Kason Bennett has developed into a good player. He is 5'10 176 pounds. He has improved his fitness and has good speed and excellent defense. Great hustle and the ability to shoot well off the dribble is the key to his success. He is rated 78 overall. His biggest weakness is inconsistent 3 point shooting. He projects to start the year as a starter at PG.

Freshman Mike Singleton is 6'0 176 pounds. He is about the same speed as Kason. He is also a very good defender and should become an elite defender with time. He isn't as good of a passer and needs to improve that part of his game. He is a much more consistent 3 point shooter but doesn't do as well off the dribble. His biggest weakness is lack of hustle and stamina. He'll probably start the year as the primary backup PG. He is rated 73 overall and now that he is here is believed to have a "C" for potential.

SR PG Hendrik Dixon is 6'4 203. He did well as the backup PG last year. He is a solid 3 point shooter who isn't as good defensively as either of the guys aforementioned. He is an overall of 72 and projects as a trash minutes guy or if we need to guard a big PG he may get minutes in that situation.

SR Tony Collins is rated 61 overall and doesn't project to get any time.


Recruiting needs: 1 elite PG to start and 1 very good PG to backup, however, may only sign 1 depending upon the class.

FR SG Vidal Chancler is 6'5 218 and is a good midrange shooter, an excellent postup scorer, and a solid 3 point shooter. He is slower than I hoped or anticipated, but his defense is solid. He is a good passer and projects as a starter. His biggest weakness is his lack of initial burst. He is rated 73 overall and is now believed to have B- potential.

Walk-on SO SG Iker Yeager is 6'4 211 pounds. He is the best 3 point shooter on the roster and that is all he does very well, but he isn't too weak in any area. He projects as the primary backup SG. He is rated 69 overall.

SO SG Martin Daniel is 6'3 195. He is best at posting smaller guards up. Doesn't excel in any other areas. Weakest in his tendency to commit fouls. Projects to be on the bench most games. Rated 67 overall.

FR Walkon SG Kory Watts is a 64 rated player from Glendale CA. He is rated 64 overall and projects to redshirt to see if he can develop.


SG Needs: 1 elite SG to start or 1 very SG to backup. Would like to get both.


SR SF Laurence Kou is 6'6 217. He is a solid defender who doesn't excel anywhere else. His best ability is his quick first step. He is rated 74 overall. His biggest weakness is tendency to get in foul trouble. He will be battling for a starting SF spot. He is rated 74 overall.

JR SF Roscoe Radenovic is a 6'6 209 pound player who is a better shot blocker and a better post scorer than Kou. However, he is weaker in the intangibles such as hustling. He is a bit quicker than Kou. He will battle for the starting spot. He is rated 73 overall.

SF Needs: 1 Elite SF or 1 very good SF to start. Wouldn't mind getting 2.

SR PF Andre Brickens may play some SF in our big lineup if we go that route. He has decent foot speed and is a good enough perimeter defender that we should be able to get away with it from that end. He is also a fairly decent perimeter shooter and can be a threat out there. He is a tremendous rebounder and a good shot blocker. His biggest strength is that he is always hustling out there. He is going to get a lot of minutes either at PF or SF. He is rated 80 overall which is our highest.

SR PF Clyde Riddick is also a candidate to play some SF as he is slight at 6'9 209. He also has better foot speed and is a passable perimeter defender. If we go big, he'll get minutes there. Otherwise, he'llcontinue to get minutes as the backup PF. He is a capable inside scorer and has great leaping ability. His biggest weakness is his low post defense. He is raed 77 overall.

Recruiting Needs: 2 PF's. 1 to backup and 1 to start.


Center Marion Peterson only has a "B" for potential now, but I don't care as he is already very developed. He comes in with a 95 inside scoring ability which is the highest I've seen. Cornette got up to 95 just before he graduated. He has a 92 standing dunk and a 88 dunk overall. He has a 85 shot blocking ability. He has a 91 strength rating. He is a strong post defender and a very good rebounder. He has a good vertical as well and good speed for a big man at 71. His only weakness is relatively low stamina. He is 7'1 254 now and he will be a beast. He is definitely our starting center. He is rated 78 overall.

J.R. Sockwell is 7'1 259 pounds. He is also an accomplished interior scorer with a 90 rating. He is a better midrange shooter. He is a strong dunker with a standing dunk of 84 and an overall of 75. He has a bit of ability to shoot the 3. He is a better passer. He isn't as good of a shot blocker but is still decent. He is faster with a speed of 77 and has tremendous hustle! His biggest weakness is that he is a poor perimeter defender and he is a bit soft on the defensive boards. His low post defense should be better for his size as well. He is rated 76 overall. He projects as either a starting PF if we decide to go big or the backup center. Either way, he is going to see some minutes at PF and many more at center when Peterson needs a break.


SR C Andre Fulton is a 6'11 237 walkon who is rated 56 overall and will never see the court again barring masive injuries to our front court.


We are set at Center, but I will still grab 1 if the feel is right.


With all of the graduating players and 7 scholarships, I definitely have some latitude in recruiting.

[Balldog]

I cant imagine going up against those two centers!

[Galaxy]

Looks like Brickens is your best player, with the power forward positions being one of the strengths on your team. So it’ll be tough to work the twin towers in together without taking away from your top players. Hopefully you can get Brickens, Sockwell, and Peterson on the court at the same time.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

Looks like Brickens is your best player, with the power forward positions being one of the strengths on your team. So it’ll be tough to work the twin towers in together without taking away from your top players. Hopefully you can get Brickens, Sockwell, and Peterson on the court at the same time.

I agree Brickens is a very good player who is my best ratings wise, I'm seriously considering seeing if he can play SF, but that probably won't play to his strengths. However, size makes up for lower ratings to a fair degree, so he may not be my best overall. Regardless, we have a lot of flexibility and talent at the PF and C position. I'm kind of hoping my wife falls asleep soon so I can get a game in with them tonight before I get too tired.. then again with vacation might just play even if it is really late.

[Eaglesfan27]

Time to start the yearly recruiting routine. I'm scouring recruits now with 7 slots open (probably will only offer 6 or actually will offer at least 3 dream guys who I probably won't get. I expect to have 1 for a transfer player.)

Not going to go too in depth with descriptions of any of these guys until we get further into the process:

PG Stuart McCormick is the best player with the highest interest in me. The 6'1 173 pound 5 star PG has a 76 interest in me. However, he is definitely a dream guy as he is from Detroit and Michigan State is very interested in him.

PG Raitis Baldwin is a 4 star Mr. Basketball of Ohio. He is 6'2 182 pounds and has 86% interest in us. We are #1 on his list right now.. Maryland and Louisville are on his list. I'm going after this guy hard.

SF Chakowby Pardon is a 4 star 6'6 205 pound SF from East Orange, NJ. GU, Seton Hall, and Connecticut are all in the mix for him.

I'm also taking a close look at PG J.D. Swain who is a relatively local kid from Charlotte, NC. He is Mr. Basketball for NC. His top schools are Wake, Maryland, Alabama, and FSU. He is a 4 star player.

We are also going hard after Antwcan Zamore from Philly. He is a 4 star Mr. Basketball from PA. He is a 6'8 215 pound PF.

I'm also going after 4 star SG Vince Geart from Detroit, Michigan. Shockingly, the top of his list is Niagara!


On a side note, I've never done well in the defensive drills.. until now. Peterson has such good quickness, leaping, and blocking ability that he is blocking tons of shots and gets the goal easily in his 1st attempt. Since his block rating is already high, this doesn't get him much improvement, but still nice to see him in action. Sockwell doesn't do quite as well, but he still beats the drill. His shot blocking isn't quite as refined, but it's still better than any player I've ever had.


After the first 2 weeks of practice, my coaches are suggesting the starting lineup be: PG Karon Bennett, SG Vidal Chancler, SF Laurence Kou, PF Andre Brickens, and Center Marion Peterson. I decide to go with that suggestion, but Sockwell won't be limited to 14-16 minutes like my previous backups were. He'll play some minutes each half alongside Peterson with Brickens at SF.


Back to the recruiting:

The recruiting of Raitis Baldwin is going very well. I've flown to his home in Ohio personally 3 times and he seems to like me. We are 1st on his list with Michigan State Louisville close behind. There are still 3 weeks left until recruits can sign, but I really like my chances to close him out.

I'm not as confident with SF Chakowby Pardon. He seems like a Villanova lean right now, but we are in the mix along with UConn.

We are a longshot with PF Antwcan Zamore. He is leaning towards coming down this way but to play for Duke.

SG Vince Heard continues to lean towards Niagara! Although Indiana, Louisville, and we are in the mix.


After another week of recruiting, Raitis Baldwin has told me he is 100% Wake Forest. However, Michigan State still hasn't offered a scholarship and there are now 3 weeks (I miscounted before) until any recruit can sign. Things could change, but a brief synopsis of our impressios of him. The 6'2 182 pound PG is a 4 star Mr. Basketball from Columbus Ohio. He is a slower PG, but has an excellent shooting touch and is a physical defender. He is ranked 62nd overall and 31st among PG's. Gis biggest weakness is his stamina and first step. I see him as being a backup who comes in to shut down the opposition when needed and leading the 2nd unit.


We also in the lead for Virignia's Mr. Basketball, Colin Sutton. he is a 6'4 203 pound PG from Virignia Beach, VA. He is being pursued by Maryland and FSU as well. He averaged more points and assists in the ABL and was one of the top performers with 15 ppg and over 6 assists per game. He is a bit quicker, a bit better shooter, but not as good defensively according to our staff. Neither of these guys will be elite penetrators, but they are well rounded PG's. He is ranked 81st overall and 34th among PG's.


Our first game is against Idaho at home. We are much more talented than they are. They are 0-1 this year. They are bad at PG and SG and are strong at PF and center. Their starting center had 30 points in his lone game of the year - I'm thinking we can bring that down significantly. Their PF had 14 points in their loss. Low, their SF is a 3 point specialist who doesn't do much else well. They prmarily run a 2-3 zone defense which is probably the defense that will give us the most trouble this year with our lack of great outside shooters.

[Eaglesfan27]

Before I start the game, I've been meaning to look at Niagara's roster for a bit.

Simmons has developed nicely and is rated 82 overall now. That should be enough to keep his starting job considering he is tbe best rated player of the team. In fact, he started Niagara's 1st game and had 12 points and 4 assists. Blizzard is rated 79. Their 5 star PG is rated 75 overall right now. He played 23 minutes in their first game and 7 points, 4 assists, and 4 boards. He isn't as good of a shooter or as fast as Simmons. In fact, his ratings don't look that spectacular at the moment, but he does have "A" potential.

[Eaglesfan27]

It looks like we have a good crowd at today's home opener. We'll of course be trying to pound it inside a lot this game as that is the clear strength of this team. Hopefully, Vidal and Karon can hit some of the open shots I'm sure they'll get. Idaho does have a big center, and I see why he got 30 points last game. He is 7'0 270 pounds and has some skills. Should be a great matchup.


Beye is actually very tough and they hold each other down low pretty well. At the 10:55 mark, we are up 16-15. Have to mention my biggest shock of the game was seeing that huge mascot out there on the floor

I bring in our entire second unit: Freshman PG Singleton, Yeager, SF Radenovic, Riddick, and Sockwell (let's see what he can do against their tired center if they leave him in.)

Sockwell with the first spectacular block, but it is called a goal tending

On the other end, Beye blocks his first shot attempt.

Beye has been giving us fits and they go on a 6-0 run before we get a fastbreak which is finished by a monstrous Sockwell dunk. Down 23-18.

With 6:36 to go, we go to our big lineup of Bennett (Peterson is bigger, but Bennett is better for now), Chancler, Brickens, Sockwell, and Peterson. Beye is finally leaving the game for a rest.

Brickens shows he can play the 3 spot by drilling a 3 on a kickout from Sockwell. Next possession, Peterson backs down the smaller man and gets a dunk and the foul! Unfortunately, he is a terrible FT shooter and he misses it.

With 2:52 to go, we rest Sockwell and go back to our initial starting lineup. We are down 27-25. Great rebounding, good defense, but the outside shooting is hurting and they are collapsing in the paint.

With 1:55 to go, Peterson finally his first huge block. It ignites a fast break, but Kou misses the dunk

With 1:30 to go, Beye returns.

We are down 31-27 at the half. Iker might get more PT with the starting unit if Vidal doesn't pick it up. We desperately need an outside shooter to hit some shots to stop them from collapsing inside.


Beye is the player of the half with 10 points and 5 boards along with a block.

Brickens is our leading scorer with 7 points.

Peterson has 4 points, 8 boards, 2 assists, and a block at the half.

Sockwell with 4 points and 3 boards.

3 minutes into the half, Peterson gets 2 back to back fouls on Beye who now has 3 and sits

With the smaller man against him, Peterson starts coming up with some big blocks as does Brickens which ignites some transition baskets. 38-33 with 14:27 to go, we lead.

When our transition game doesn't click, we are pounding it inside to Peterson who is scoring well against the smaller defender. 50-40 with 10 minutes to go as they bring back in Beye. Our starters are tired so we bring in the 2nd unit.

First play, Sockwell is doubled and kicks it out to Iker who drills his first shot attempt, a 3 from the corner!

We are up 68-50 with 3 minutes left and our bench is playing great, so I'm letting them finish it out.

I loved Hannan's firepower, but there is something thrilling about winning with very good defense and knowing that the defense should be consistent every game. I know Idaho isn't a powerhouse, but that was fun. We win the game 74-52.

Peterson is the player of the game with 12 points, 11 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, and 4 turnovers. He shot 6 of 12 from the floor and 0 of 2 from the line.

Sockwell with 13 points, 7 boards, 3 assists (all on kickouts to Iker), and 2 blocks. He shot 5 of 11, and 3 of 4 from the line.

Iker Yeager and Kou each had 11 points. Iker was a huge part of the run. He shot 4 of 4 for the game and 3 of 3 from the arc - all wide open shots in the corner from Sockwell passes.

Kason Bennett had 7 points and 6 assists. He shot 2 of 7, 1 of 5 (missed plenty of open looks), and 2 of 2.

Chancler with 9 points and 2 boards. He shot 3 of 8.

Kou had 2 points, 1 steal, and 1 block along with the 11 points.

Brickens with 9 points, 8 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 big blocks.

Riddick didnt have any points (0 of 4 shooting) but he had 5 boards and played tough defense.

Singleton with 2 points and 2 assists in his debut.

[Eaglesfan27]

SF Chakowby Pardon is letting us know that if Villanova and UConn don't offer him a scholarship soon that he will sign with us.

PG Raitis Baldwin is "totally committed to us." I'll believe it when he signs. Michigan State still worries me in his recruitment.


3 of the other kids that we are pursuing are all coming to the campus for a visit this weekend.


Our next game is against Brown in a pre-season tourney. They are a poor team that I will be disappointed if we allow to score more than 50. Ideally, I'd like to see us hold them under 40. Their only good player is their center who is only 6'8 228 pounds.

[Eaglesfan27]

Peterson gets a BS goal tending on his 1st block attempt. However, he comes down at the other end, backs his man down, and slams it over him!

Ouch.. I guess we were way too overconfident. Down 14-11 with 12 minutes to go as we turn to the bench. Their motion plays are killing us.

Their center leads them with 7 points and he stays in the game until Sockwell immediately gets a 2nd foul on him.

Our bench lets it get out of hand, until they respond with an 8-0 run of their own. We're down 23-21 with 6:24 to go. I bring back the starters but Sockwell is staying in at PF with Brickens playing SF.

Sockwell had already been playing well and the first play with the starters he beats everyone down the floor after we got a stop.. he finishes the play with a huge slam. Sockwell with 11 points now.


The defense isn't where I want it, but the combo of Peterson and Sockwell are unguardable for this team. They dominated offensively don the stretch. We are up 36-32 at the half.

Sockwell is the player of the half with 17 points (including 1 12 foot jumper), 5 boards, and a block. He has shot 5 of 7 and 7 of 9 from the line.

Peterson has 10 points, 3 boards, 1 assist, and 1 block at the half. He has shot 5 of 10.

2 minutes into the half and their top 2 centers each had 3 fouls.


With 16:30 to go in the game, I rest Sockwell so he'll be ready to spell Peterson in a few minutes. We are up 44-34 and now our defense is really clicking. One thing I forgot to do that I need to remember is to tell all of my guys to play tight defense on the perimeter each game.. no reason not to when I know that if they get beat our shot blockers are probably going to clean up the mess.

Chancler hurts his ankle on the fast break and we bring in Iker.

I played my starters longer than expected, but they were playing so well, especially Peterson who shook off a slow start down low to start playing with great skill. He had 3 or 4 dunks over his smaller defender and helped us build a 66-46 lead. 7:42 left as my 2nd unit comes on, likely for the rest of the game.

We've had 4 goal tendings called against us this game.. quite a few bogus ones.

Our defense played great until about 4 minutes left. Then, we got sloppy. We had held them to 49 at that point, but we allow a 8-0 run on 2 turnovers. Then, they start hitting tough shots that they weren't making before. Still, I can't complain too much about a 86-62 win.

Our team set a record for dunks for my user profile. I'd guess that Peterson and Sockwell each had at least 5.

Sockwell was the player of the game 29 points, 10 boards, 2 assists, and a block (he would have had a few more if goal tending wasn't called on them.) He shot 10 of 16 and 9 of 12 from the line.

Peterson had 24 points, 5 boards, and an assist. He didn't have any blocks that registered (sometimes the game doesn't correctly register blocks - which is one of my bigger annoyances with it.)

Radenovic with 10 points, 1 board, and 1 block. He shot 4 of 5, 1 of 2, and 1 of 2.

Bennett with 2 points and an assist. He shot 1 of 5.

Chancler with 0 points, 1 board, and 3 assists. He also had a steal. He only took 2 shots which he missed before the injury.

Lou with 8 points, 4 boards, and a steal. He shot 2 of 2, 2 of 2, and 2 of 2.

Brickens with 6 points, 6 boards, 3 assists, and a block. He shot 3 of 7, 0 of 1 from the arc.

Iker with 3 points on 1 of 3 shooting.

[Eaglesfan27]

Our next opponent in the Hawaiian Invitational is Cal. They are very evenly matched with us in overall team talent. They are 1-0. They have a very balanced starting lineup with their only relative weakness being at PF. Their PG and C are the stars of their team. Sylvester Bowers their PG is a fast player who is a good 3 point shooter and he leads the team with 15 ppg. Justino Mbanugo is a 6'9 240 pound center who is a very good shot blocker and an accomplished post scorer. Hopefully, the height advantage will allow us to negate him. He scores 14 ppg. The rest of the their squad is talented but very small. I hope to overwhelm them with our size. I'll play this game tomorrow.

[Eaglesfan27]

A quick look at the team ratings in the ACC this year (at least to start):

Boston College starts a great senior PG, Nouha Tinsley, and has no weakness except for their freshman center who isn't as good as either of my guys. They are still rated better than us at an 89 overall rating.

Clemson is on of the weaker teams in the conference at this point. They have a star SF, Konrad Warden, but the rest of the team is a bit shaky and their bench depth isn't great. They are rated 84 in overall talent.

Duke has 4 seniors who have developed nicely and they should be a power this year with an overall rating of 90. They are 25th in the polls right now. The star of their team appears to be SF Marcel Craven.

Florida State has lost 2 of their star players. Still, they have 3 talented seniors and are ranked 86 in overall rating to avoid being the worst ranked. They have started the year 4-0 with an easy schedule.

Georgia Tech has a real stud in Freshman PF Scooter Gross. They also have a veteran senior PG who is a great player and 3 other talented players around them. Overall rating of 93. Despite that, they have started the year 1-2.

Maryland again contends for the title of best team in the conference. They have the best freshman in the conference in center Chrisman Volpenhelm who is rated 86 overall. They also have 2 great seniors in SG Jeb Tyler and PF Irakil Blanchard who are each rated 88 overall. Overall rating of 94 thanks to a deep bench and no weaknesses in the starting 5.

Miami is coming along nicely behind star SR SF Elijah Shehan. They also start a freshman center who is rated 79 overall and that is their lowest rated starter. They have an overall rating of 91.

North Carolina continues to flounder as their freshman aren't developing well. The fab 4 of last year have all been replaced in the lineup by older players except for sophomore PF Rashaun Konare who is the star of the team despite "only" being rated 82 in overall talent. Overall rating of 84. They have started the year 3-0 against some easy opponents so at least the record isn't looking as dismal as last year.

North Carolina State has a stud senior center, 2 good juniors, and 2 very good seniors around him. This experienced team is rated 89 in overall talent.

Virginia has 2 quality seniors surrounded by some suspect players. Their SR SF is only rated 71 in overall talent and their freshman PF is also rated 71 in overall talent. Overall as a team, they are rated 83.

Virginia Tech has the worst talent in the conference with a starting freshman at SF and center who aren't as good as what I had at Niagara. They do have a very good PG in Deron McCants and a solid JR PF. Overall rating of 81 (lower than my Niagara team.)

Wake Forest. Our overall rating is an 85 right now.


My projected regular season standings at the end of the year:

1. Maryland
2. Duke
3. Georgia Tech
4. Miami
5. BC
6. North Carolina State
7. Wake Forest
8. FSU
9. Clemson
10. North Carolina
11. Virginia
12. VT


A quick update on Niagara - They have started the year 4-0. I think I need to get them on the schedule next year for Simmons' senior year. Interesting starting 5 now: Simmons, Blizzard, Li, Cox, and Matera which is a small lineup that can really shoot well. They are winning every game so far by 20 plus points, but don't have any tough opponents for a few more weeks when they play West Virginia. Simmons is leading the team in scoring with 13.3 ppg and assists at 5.8 apg.

[Galaxy]

When you set your fatigue sliders, do they re-adjust for the time of halfs?

[Eaglesfan27]

I don't think so, but I play 20 minute halves and the slider set that I based those off of were also 20 minute halves.

[Balldog]

I've been using your sliders, they work great...I might lower inside shooting though. I'm getting higher FG%s than I'd like for me and the CPU. Thanks for sharing them!

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Balldog

I've been using your sliders, they work great...I might lower inside shooting though. I'm getting higher FG%s than I'd like for me and the CPU. Thanks for sharing them!

Cool. Glad they are working for you. I had inside shooting lower, but Cornette who had a 93 or 94 inside scoring at the time would never make shots. It almost seems like that slider is hypersensitive. Then again, maybe I didn't look closely enough at his other attributes such as shooting in traffic, vertical, low post offense, etc. I might lower it a bit more if my 2 big guys dominate too much against good centers, but that 1st center did a good job against them.

[Galaxy]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I don't think so, but I play 20 minute halves and the slider set that I based those off of were also 20 minute halves.

I'll have to play around with them. Your dynasty has inspired me to launch a career at Maine (12 minute halves). I just need to figure out why my sound keeps cutting out.

[Eaglesfan27]

Cal starts off with a 8-0 run thanks in part to 2 steals from their PG, but just 3 minutes into the game, Peterson draws a 2nd foul on their center and they are now going to be very undersized in the middle.

Tied at 15, we go to the bench with 12 minutes left in the half. Our defense has played very well since giving up 10 points (6 off turnovers) in the first 3 minutes.

Vidal Chancler is a bit banged up so we go to a really big lineup with 6:40 to go: Bennett, Kou, Brickens, Sockwell, Peterson. We are down 27-25 thanks to their great 3 point shooting, but we are getting them into serious foul trouble with the physical play.

Sockwell gets tired, so with 4 minutes to go, we go back to our initial starting lineup. We are down 36-30, they are torching us from the arc.


At halftime, we are down 45-43. We are 19 of 22 from the line. They are living off the perimeter game and 8 of 16 from the arc.

Peterson is the player of the half with 16 points, 5 boards, and 2 blocks. He has shot 5 of 8 from the field and 6 of 6 from the line.

With 10:01 to go, we take our first lead of the half at 66-65 on a Brickens short range jumper. Our starters get a break despite having the momentum as they are tired.

After that, they go on a 8-0 run


With 5:08 to go, we are down 79-70 as their SF Wafer is just hitting shot after shot. I decide to put Brickens on him and get my big lineup out there.

We are scoring every time on the inside, but they are making almost every perimeter shot. Down 90-84 with 35 seconds left and no choice but to foul.

They miss both FT'S!!

I put in Yeager for his 3 point shooting (although he has missed every attempt from the arc today.)

Yeager comes off a screen from Sockwell and hits a 3! 90-87 with 22 seconds left.

This time they hit both FT's

We hit a quick inside shot from Sockwell, but they make both FT's. Iker misses his next 3 attempt and it is over.

We lose the game 96-89. So much for our defense. They had way too any perimeter scorers for us to stop.

Wafer proved something to me today, the shoot in traffic rating is much more important than any of the shooting ratings. Hannan had a very high one at 88 or thereabouts. This kid had a 91 in the rating and we just couldn't stop him no matter what we did. He hit fadeaway 3's (despite only having a 78 in 3 point rating), he hit jumpers from midrange (76 there) and he was the star of the game with 31 points, 6 boards, 3 assists, and 1 steal. He shot 10 of 18, 6 of 8, and 5 of 5.

However, so many guys hit 3's against us. Crumbley, their 6'9 backup SF had 11 points on 3 of 3 shooting from the arc. Bowers had 10 points and 11 assists and was 2 of 3 from the arc.

Reid and Lemons their backup PG and SG were each 1 of 1 from the arc. As a team, they shot 13 of 21 from the arc and hit ever 2nd half shot from there. Terrible, and I did have everyone trying to play tight defense. I guess I might be a bit more reluctant to go to our big lineup in the future.


Offensively, Peterson led us with 30 points, 6 boards, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. He shot 11 of 15, 0 of 0, and 8 of 9. He had at least 4 dunks that I counted including 1 huge offensive putback jam.

Brickens with 14 points, 8 boards, and 2 assists. He shot 4 of 6, and 6 of 6 from the line.

Kou with 12 points and 3 boards. He shot 4 of 8, 2 of 3, and 2 of 4.

Chancler with 8 points and 2 assits on 3 of 4 shooting.

Bennett with 4 points and 8 assists on 1 of 4 shooting.

Sockwell led the bench with 11 points, 5 boards,3 assists, and a block. He shot 2 of 8, 7 of 10 from the line.

Yeager was 1 of 4 from the arc today.





Our consolation game in the Hawaii tournament is against Seton Hall. They are a closely matched team that is playing up tempo this year. The superstar of their team is PG Laurie Badu, a senior from the Bronx. He probably will be 1st round pick next year. He is a lightning quick PG who can hit from anywhere on the court. He is a great on ball defender at 6'2 180 pounds as well.

PF E.J. Sanders is another star who is a tough interior player despite only being 6'8 216. He can also shoot the 3 with great skill.

They have 4 guards who can all fly and all shoot the perimeter shot fairly well. However, they are very small on the inside an their best center, Freshman Vinnie Madera is hurt and questionable for the game. He is their only player over 6'9. Only one other player besides Madera is over 230 pounds. We should be able to pound it inside again, but I'm sure their perimeter players will give us a great challenge.

[Eaglesfan27]

I've decided I'm going to sim every 3rd or so game this year. In the meaningless game against Seton Hall for the consolation prize of 3rd in the Hawaiian Invitational, we lose 87-83. Riddick led us with 14 points and 6 boards. Sockwell had 10 points, 7 boards, and a block. Peterson got into early foul trouble and only played 13 minutes. He had 3 points, 2 boards, and 2 blocks. Brickens was the 4th leading scorer with 8 points, 5 boards, and a block.


Now, at 2-2, we start a string of easy non-conference games. First up, we host Samford which is a much weaker, much smaller, much less athletic team. Their best player is PF Yannick Cooley who is 6'9 250 and is their lone skilled big man. Their center is 7'0 but he is a complete stiff.

[Eaglesfan27]

Tremendous defense to start the game. They don't score for the first 5 minutes. We are up 12-2.

Up 17-6 with 11:32 to go as we bring in our bench players. We have rarely gone to Peterson as our perimeter players are executing well today. He's getting touches, but he only has 3 points.

Our bench doesn't give up a point for 5 minutes before they get tired and sloppy and give up a quick 6 points We are up 28-12 wioth 5:07 to go as our starters return.

At halftime, we are up 33-21. We'll go a bit more inside in the 2nd half to make sure we put it away, but I wanted to try to get my perimeter players going as we'll need the balance later in the year.

Brickens is the player of the half with 7 points, 3 boards, and a block. He shot 3 of 4.

Chancler, Kou, and Peterson each had 5 points.


Peterson dominates inside and we are up 47-29 with 9:58 to go as we bring in the bench players.

The bench finishes the game. 68-42 win. Iker lit it up in 2nd half.



Peterson is the player of the game with 15 points, 9 boards, and a block. He shot 7 of 10 and 1 of 2 from the line.

Bennett with 2 points and 6 assists. He shot 1 of 4.

Chancler with 5 points and an assist. He shot 2 of 6, 1 of 5, and 0 of 0.

Kou with 7 points and 3 boards. He shot 3 of 6, 1 of 3.

Brickens with 7 points, 5 boards, and a block. He shot 3 of 7.

Yeager led the bench with 11 points, 1 board, and 1 steal. He shot 4 of 6, 3 of 5 from the arc, and 0 of 0.

Sockwell with 10 points, 5 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 4 of 10 and 2 of 2 from the line.

[Eaglesfan27]

Our staff reports to us that Singleton is showing remarkable growth as a PG. They have never seen a player develop so quickly. We may want to backup the number of PG"s we are recruiting because they think he might be special after all (despite only "C" potential.)


Recruits can sign at the end of this week (after 2 more games) and 2 recruits look set to sign with us on the 1st day: PG Raitis Baldwin and SF Chakowby Pardon. I'm worried that Pardon could change his mind, but I think we feel very good about our chances on finishing out on Raitis.

We also have an outside shot on getting PG Colin Sutton on the 1st day. Despite my staff's believe in Singleton, I'm not pulling any scholarships and I hope we get Colin.


Our next game is hosting Penn State. They are the toughest of the 5 teams we face in this early stretch of the season, however, we still have a nice advantage over them. They are currently 2-3 and play a very slow style of basketball. They are averaging just over 60 ppg. Their top player, PF Maceo Brice, is questionable for the game with a thigh injury. Their next best player is Sophomore Jorge Gogerty who could gve us problems with his speed and passing ability. SG Sylvester Hollis who I really wanted and almost got is starting for them as a freshman. He isn't rated much higher in overall than Chancler, but he is a very good shooter. However, he is a defensive liability. They are another small team on the inside with Bruce being their biggest player at 6'10 229.

[Eaglesfan27]

Hollis starts the game off well for Penn State after getting a steal and a quick 3 on the other end. We respond with a 12-0 run before our guys get tired and start playing poorly. With 10:14 to go, I rest them. We are up 15-11.

We go back to our starters (except Sockwell at PF) with a 19-15 lead and 4:42 to go.

Suddenly, they start hitting their 3's and we start scoring quickly inside. We are up 30-29 at the half.


Peterson with a great half - 9 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, and 3 blocks.


A strong 2nd half for our entire starting offense. We are up 58-46 with 8:11 to go before I rest the starters.


Sockwell and company finish off the game very strong. we win the game 77-61.

Peterson is the player of the game with 17 points, 9 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 4 blocks. He shot 5 of 11, 0 of 0, and 7 of 8 (I guess his FT shooting is better than I thought.)

Sockwell also had 17 points along with 5 boards.

Brickens with 11 points, 5 boards, 1 assist, and 1 steal. He shot 4 of 5 and 3 of 3 from the line.

Bennett with 5 points and 6 assists.

Chancler with 10 points, 2 boards, 1 assist, and 1 steal. He shot 3 of 7, 1 of 3, and 3 of 4.

Kou with 8 points, 4 boards, and an assist.


If we can get him some consistent outside scorers this class, and our big guys don't leave too early, I think we have a good shot at winning a championship here.

[Eaglesfan27]

I sim the game at Elon which is one of the worst teams on our schedule all year. It's closer than expected, but we win 95-77.

Brickens led us with 21 points, 9 boards, and a block. Peterson had 17 points, 7 boards, and 3 blocks.

Sockwell had 10 points, 2 boards, and a block. Chancler with 10 points and 5 boards. Bennett with 9 points and 6 assists.


Now, the early signing period begins!


We get our first Mr. Basketball of my career in PG Raitis Baldwin from Columbus, Ohio! The 6'2 182 pound PG is ranked 62nd overall and 31st among PG's. He averaged 9.5 ppg, 6 rpg, 3.6 apg, and 2.9 spg in the ABL. He shot 37% from the field and 30% from the arc. Our staff believes he has B+ potential and is a good defensive point guard right now. He is a solid outside shooter who is comfortable shooting quickly off the dribble. He isn't the most athletic, but has enough speed that he should hang with any but the quickest guards.

We also officially have Chakowby Pardon, the 6'6 205 pound SF from East Orange, NJ. He is also a 4 star player. He is ranked 88th overall and 18th among SF's. He isn't as good from the arc as Raitis but he is a better slasher. He needs to work on his defense, but he has the potential to be a great shot blocker from the position. He is an excellent finisher around the hoop and is a good rebounder for the position. He has "B" potential according to our staff right now.


We lost out on 5 star All-American PG Stuart McCormick who went to Michigan State, which is why I suspect they didn't go harder after Raitis. He is frm Detroit Michigan.

4 other guys who we were pursuing to some extent also signed:

4 star PG Corey Timmons from Alabama signed with Alabama.

SF Jamual Braun, a 4 star SF who was Mr. Basketball in Indiana signed with Kentucky.

Calvin Allen, a 6'8 210 pound SF from Cleveland Ohio who is one of the top 5 SF's in the country siged with Georgetown.

Marco Collier, a 4 star Juco SG, who is one of the best shooters in this class signed with his homestate school, South Carolina.



Guys who we have offered who are still considering:


PG Colin Sutton has us 1st on his list. He is the Mr. Basketball from Virginia and a very big PG who can shoot at 6'4 205. He is considering signing early, so I fly out to his house this week to try to close the deal.

PF Antwcan Zamore, the Mr. Basketball from Philly, is a long shot for signing early. He appears to want to wait and see if Duke offers him. However, we have a slim shot so I fly out to visit him as well.

SG Vince Heard probably won't sign with anyone early unless Indiana offers him, but I fly out to his home in Detrot to visit with the sharp shooter.

Those are the only 3 I've offered scholarships to out there. I decide it is time to offer 1 more of our 2 scholarships available. Time to look at some candidates...

[Eaglesfan27]

Oh yeah, the #1 player in the class, SG Keena Dillon from Lafayette LA, signed with LSU on the 1st day possible. The 6'6 200 pound SG is amazing from 3 point range.

I look at a bunch of options, but it is time to reach for this last scholarship that I'm going to offer (going to keep 1 open for a possible transfer player.) I'm going to start scouting Damian Bruce, a 4 star SG from Australia who we've heard is a great shooter. The only knock on him is that he is short at 6'1. He is being considered for the scholarship..

Andres Crawford is a 4 star 6'5 SG from Flint Michigan who is supposed to be an excellent shooter. We take a closer look at him by sending my assistant out to watch a game of his.

We also start recruiting a very long shot. SG Clement Gabler from Los Angeles, CA is the #5 SG in the country. The 4 star SG led the ABL in scoring at just under 20 points per game.

Finally, we start looking more closely at Hal McGuire, a 6'4 4 star SG from Birmingham, Alabama who averaged 14.5 ppg and 7 apg in the ABL.


Edit to add: Chakowby was impressive in the ABL as well. I'm really excited to see what this kid can do for us. In the ABL, he averaged 13.4 ppg (20th among all scorers), 8 rpg, and 2 blocks per game.

[Eaglesfan27]

Our next game is hosting 5-3 Northwestern. They are slightly lower rated than we are. The star of thier team is 6'8 PG Raul Vasquez who will be a tough matchup for us. The junior is fast, big, and a decent shooter. He isn't the best passer, but he isn't bad in any area. Sophomore SF Joel Sonn is one of the best 3 point shooters we've faced this year and he has good size at 6'7 240. SG Hiram Pope is an excellent athlete, but isn't much of a shooter. Center Rashid Udeogalanya is a big man at 6'11 256 and he has good speed, but his offensive game is lacking and he isn't nearly as good at defense as either of my big men. Their PF Jesse Bragg is 6'11 220 and is more of a finesse player who isn't that good of a shooter.

[Eaglesfan27]

Within 3 minutes, Peterson draws 2 fouls on their center who leaves the game.

Peterson scores every one of our first 18 points, but he is absolutely exhausted by the 10 minute mark. He has 4 dunks already and is just dominating inside. Unfortuantely, nobody is hitting the outside shots when he kicks it out for open jumpers. We are down 19-18 with 10:02 to go as our bench comes onto the floor.

We are down 36-30 as the starters return with 3:20 to go. Their backup SF has a great combo of outside shooting and slashing ability. He has 11 against our backup SF.


At halftime, we are down 38-37.

Peterson with an incredible half. 22 points, 7 boards, 1 assist, and 1 block at the half.


They are collapsing en masse into the paint when Peterson touches it, but now our outside guys are hitting the wide open jumpers from outside! We are up 55-49 with 11:45 to go as the starters rest.


With 4:51 to go, our starters return. We are up 65-63.

A defensive struggle for the next 2 minutes until Peterson splits a double team and gets a dunk. A minute later, he has a block that ignites a fastbreak 3 pointer! 70-63 with 2:02 to go.

Our defense is absolutely perfect for 4 minutes until they get sloppy with 33 seconds left and give up an open 3 to Sonn. We are up 72-66 after that basket and they are fouling.


We win the game 76-69.

Peterson is the player of the game with 24 points, 12 boards, 6 assists 2 blocks, and a steal. He shot 11 of 17 (6 dunks if I counted correctly), 0 of 0, and 2 of 2.

Bennett with 4 points and 5 assists.

Chancler with 11 points, 2 assist, and 2 steals. He shot 4 of 8, 3 of 6 (all on kickouts from Peterson)

Kou with 15 points, 3 boards. He shot 5 of 10, 2 of 6, and 3 of 4.

Brickens with 0 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block. He shot 0 of 6.

Sockwell led the bench with 12 points, 3 boards, and a block.

[Eaglesfan27]

The end of the early signing period was not good news:

We didn't get Colin to sign early, so we'll have plenty of competition for him throughout the year.

Furthermore, we lost Antwcan Zamore to Duke who finally offered him a scholarship.

We also lost Vince Heard to Indiana.

We started too late on Gabler, the kid from Los Angeles didn't get an offer from UCLA who was his top choice, so he decided to sign with Oregon.

We also came in too late on Hal McGuire who is staying close to home at Memphis.

Finally, we were too late for Andres Crawford who signed with Pitt.



So, our only very likely target to sign is PG Colin Sutton and we have 4 more scholarships to give out (well only 3 I intend to give out.)


Guys that I'm going to offer this week:

PF Chris Dillon from Augusta, Georgia. He is only 6'7 210 but he is the 51st player overall and 6th among PF's. He averaged 12 ppg and 10 rpg in the ABL. He is a 4 star player whose top schools are Clemson, Miami, FSU, and Wake Forest.

SG Damian Bruce from Australia. I haven't seen the kid in person which I don't like, but we are going to take a chance on the 4 star player and hope our staff is right about what they see on tape. His top choices are Georgia, NCST, and Wake.

We also start scouting out SG Cherokee Birley, a 6'1 175 pound SG from the Bronx. He averaged just over 16 ppg in the ABL.

We also start looking at one of the better 3 star players, PF Kurt Hicks, who is also from Flint, Michigan (quite the hotbead of talent in this class.) He averaged 10.9 ppg, 8.2 rpg, and 2.5 bpg in the ABL. I want to add some more solid defenders.

We have a week off of games, so I get a better look at those guys as well as taking a really close look at Sutton who I realize I really want. Our staff thinks he is going to be a star.

They also really like Chris Dillon after a closer look. He isn't that good of an offensive player, but he is a dynamic defender they feel. Miami is going to be hard to beat out for him.

Our staff LOVES Homer Chadwick from LA after taking a closer look at him. However, they believe he is all Oregon and say we shouldn't even put any further effort into him.

Our staff also loves 3 star PG Rodolfo Munir from Lincoln, Nebraska. He is the Mr. Basketball for the state and our staff believes he is more of a natural SG with a shoot first tendency. He hits from anywhere on the court. I decide to take a closer look at him with the plan to possibly play him at SG. Then again, I really need 1 more PF.





I decide to sim the game against 0-9 Maine which is the worst team we've faced all year. We beat them 74-52. Bennett led us with 18 points and 6 assists. Riddick also had 18 off the bench. Peterson only played 24 minutes due to foul trouble but had 9 points, 6 boards, and 2 blocks.



Our next game is at a very good 8-1 Rutgers. We've been fighting them for recruits and they got a good one in Filiberto Callans who I really wanted. He is already an overall of 79 but still coming off the bench for their talented team. Despite that, the freshman is averaging 7 ppg and 4 rpg. Stefan Alford is a SR SG who is a great shooter. JR SF Benny Sykes is an even better shooter and is the star of the team. PF Smush Hollins is undersized at 6'7 225 but he is an athletic dunker who is a very good rebounder for his size. PG Shane Broermann is a machine from behind the arc and is a capable assist man. The only position they are lacking is center. In fact, they don't have a true center on the roster and will often go to a 3 guard lineup. Their biggest player is Smush. Hopefully, we can take huge advantage of the size mismatch. I'll play this later tonight or tomorrow.

[Eaglesfan27]

Again, we are missing all of our open outside shots. Meanwhile, Rutgers is deadly from the arc. They all have all 15 of their points from the arc. We have all 12 of our points from Peterson despite trying to get others involved. Down 15-12 with 10:28 to go as we turn to our subs.


Callans has looked really good the last 6 minutes

We are down 27-22 with 3:32 to go as our starters return.


We go into halftime tied at 30.


After that first 10 minutes, we didn't allow another basket from beyond the arc.

Alford leads them with 8 points (6 on 3 pointers). Callans is 2nd on the team with 6 points and 3 boads in just 7 minutes.

Peterson is the player of the half with 15 points, 8 boards, a steal, and a block.

To try an end a 8-0 run, I call a timeout and put in my bench with 13:14 to go in the game. Down 45-38.

It works as Sockwell has an inside dunk, a block, and then hits a 8 foot shot to make it 45-42.

We are both in the penalty with 9 minutes to go.. we are missing most of our FT's while they are hitting theirs. That could be the decisive factor today.


With 6:12 to go, Sockwell fouls out. He tried to do too much to slow down their perimeter shooters and was floating out there a lot.

We put back in our starters right after that. Down 57-51.

2 more missed FT's by Chancler and 2 more made by them extends the lead to 8.

Chancler makes up for that with a nice drive into the lane where he draws contact and makes the shot. We get a stop and Brickens scores down low on an offensive board. Brickens with the steal and a quick shot where he is fouled. He only makes 1 of 2... Peterson with an offensive board.. he goes right back and slams it home, but is called for the offensive foul under the rim!!

Still, we've closed the gap over the last few minutes to 61-59.

They get a 2 from Alford to make it 63-59. Peterson misses down low, but makes up for it at the other end with a block. That ignites a fastbreak layup by Chancler who is fouled on the play... he hits the FT!!! 63-62. 2:01 to go.


Alford hits a 12 footer to make it a 3 point lead and then Bennett misses an elbow jumper. Peterson intimidates their shooter who misses the shot. We call timeout with 49 seconds left and get Yeager in there at PG for the 3 point option..

He gets a screen from Brickens and hits a quick 3! Tied at 65.

Kou with good defense on the shooter and they miss. Peterson with the miss. We get it across midcourt and call timeout with 6 seconds left to set up a play.

We set up Yeager for a quick corner 3.. he buries it! They have 2 seconds left. They attempt a quick 3 but it is missed.

We win the game 68-65.

If Yeager could just play defense a bit, he would see the court a lot more for us. Still, he is the hero even if Peterson was the player of the game.

Yeager with 9 points, 1 board, and 1 assist off the bench in 14 minutes. He shot 3 of 4 all from beyond the arc.

Peterson was the player of the game with 19 points, 14 boards, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

Bennett with 3 points and 4 assists.

Chancler with 11 points and 1 assist.

Kou with 3 points, 3 boards, and 2 assists.

Brickens with 3 poiints, 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.

Sockwell led the bench with 12 points, 2 boards, 1 assist, and 1 steal.

[Eaglesfan27]

We now have over 2 weeks off until our next game which is against Harvard. Plenty of time to focus on recruiting..


I decide to offer all of my scholarships after all. I expect to miss out on a few of these kids and I might as well take a wide ranging approach. Here are the 5 I have offered (besides the 2 who already committed.):

PG Colin Sutton - Very likely to accept our offer.

SG Cherokee Bailey - Unlikely to accept. Probably going to a school close to his home in the Bronx. Likely schools are PSU, Maryland, and Joes.

SG Damian Bruce from Australia - Wide open recruitment. Schools against us are Georgia, NCST, and SFLA.

PF Chris Dillon from Augusta, GA - Miami will be very tough to beat and they are the school in the clear lead for him now. Would be a big get for us.

PF Kurt Hicks is our only 3 star we are going to offer at this time. Our staff thinks from watching him on tape and scouting his game that he could become the 2nd best 3 point shooter on our team behind Yeager next year. At 6'8 and 202 pounds, I could envision using him like I used Bowers at Niagara. We are likely to get him I think, with the biggest competition being Bowling Green.


Speaking of Niagara. They are currently 10-0! Simmons has held off their 5 star recruit and their starting 5 is better than ours at least in overall ratings. Simmons is leading them at 14.3 ppg and 5.2 apg. The star freshman is averaqging 6.6 ppg and 3.4 apg off the bench. Wouldn't it be something if he got mad about that and transferred to come join me. Regardless, I need to remember to add Niagara next year so that I can see Simmons play one last time.

One other big recruit we are working on a fair bit is Lamont Sherrod. He is a 5 star Junior who is expected to be in the top 5 next year. He is from Pasadena, TX. He is a 6'6 197 pound SF this year. We are in his top 5, but so are Texas, LSU, Texas A&M, and FSU.



Harvard is 6-6 and much lower rated than we are. I decide to sim that game. We beat them 90-61. Balanced scoring with 4 starters in double digits led by Brickens who had 15 points, 6 boards, and 2 blocks. Sockwell had 12 and 5 off the bench.


Our next game is at #4 Saint Louis. They are 11-1 and have a tremendously talented team.

SG Kirk Parkinson is a senior star. He is the best 3 point shooter we've faced this year (rated 95 in that category!) He is also a quick player who is a tremendous shooter off the dribble and he can create his own shot. He is averaging 21 ppg this year. He is rated 88 overall.

PF Tahj Massogo is a 6'7 260 pound senior who is also a star on the team with an overall rating of 86. He is a phenomenal inside scorer who is fast, strong, and can really leap. He is also a great rebounder and passer. He is averaging 16 and 10 this year.

Senior PG Hilton Harmon is another great 3 point shooting option who is averaging 10 ppg and 6 apg. He is rated 84 overall.

At SF, junior Walker McClinton is a slasher who is a strong finisher around the rim. He is also a capable defender who is rated 82 overall.

Center is their only position of weakness. They are starting a 6'8 225 pound freshman who is very raw and is only rated 72 overall.

The bench is strong with 3 guards rated over 78.

I'll play that game tomorrow.

[Balldog]

Is Rick Majerus still at St Louis?