Ivan Carrillo's career as Hoops coach.

[Icy]

I'm going to start from the bottom in a closed dynasty. My first team will be USC Upstate, a new team into Div I. My goal is to convert them into a top team, but i might switch teams in the future to gorw as coach. My dream would be to coach one day USF and to make them a championship team, but that dream is so far from here.

Coach name: Ivan Carrillo
Age:32
OVERALL: C
OFFENSE: C
DEFENSE: C
TEACHING: C
SCOUTING: C-
CHARISMA: C
DISCIPLINE: C

[Icy]

USC UPSTATE SPARTANS 2007/2008 SEASON PREVIEW

The USC Upstate men’s basketball team embarks on a new era and uncharted territory when it opens the 2007-08 season. Gone are the days of NCAA Division II and the Peach Belt Conference. The Spartans open a new era as a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Upstate will open the 2007-08 campaign counting on the leadership of two senior guards in Jeremy Byrd and Luke Payne, son of head coach Eddie Payne, as well as 7-2 sophomore center Nick Schneiders. The Spartans signed nine players in its recruiting class. They are good students with good character and will provide the program with a solid foundation as Upstate makes its transition to Division I.

Upstate will have its work cut out for itself in its first season in Division I. Not only will the Spartans face a difficult A-Sun schedule, but Upstate opens the season with several road games against some of the nation’s top programs.

The Spartans open the season at Utah, will travel to Alaska for the Top of the World Classic, and have games against Wake Forest, Cincinnati, SMU, Duquesne, and Iowa State prior to the start of the demanding A-Sun slate.
The nine newcomers will have to meld with the returning players to form a cohesive unit. Many of the newcomers will be expected to step in immediately and contribute. Playing a tough non-conference schedule early on is one way to facilitate building team chemistry, head coach said.

Byrd and Payne are senior leaders who return to pace the team. They are quality players who have combined to win over 60 games and two league championships with two NCAA Tournament (Division II) appearances in their three seasons at Upstate. Their experience in the back court should help ease the transition to Division I. The duo is undoubtedly the strength of the team.

Byrd is an electrifying player with exceptional speed. He can score (10.8ppg) and distribute (4.6 apg), running the offense like a grizzled veteran. His best quality, though, is his ability to disrupt the opponent’s offense. He is a tenacious defender and is just two steals shy of the school’s all-time steals record of 276. He proved himself against the next level when he scored a team-high 14 points to go along with five steals, five rebounds, and two assists in an exhibition loss at Kentucky last year.

Payne is the quintessential coach’s son. He is the best fundamental player on the team and enters the season just 67 points shy of becoming the 17th player in the history of the program to reach 1,000 points. He led the Peach Belt Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio as a sophomore and ranked second a year ago. He plays all three guard positions. He ranks among the all-time leaders in three-point and free throw shooting and has moved into the top 10 in assists at Upstate. He averaged 11.2 points, 3.1 rebounds,
and 3.3 assists a year ago.

Byrd and Payne make up 79 percent of the scoring returning to the team this season. Center Nick Schneiders, who has played just three years of organized basketball, came on midway through the season and averaged 2.1 points per game, while reserve guard Zac Rich averaged 4.3 points per game a year ago.

Upstate will have to replace the scoring void left, in particular, by Jay Free, Daniel Quinlan and Ante Pikunic. Free, a senior last year, averaged 19.2 points per game before suffering a season-ending knee injury in early January. Quinlan averaged 13.9 points per outing last year, but transferred to Division II Columbus State for the 2007-08 season. Pikunic was the Spartans’ main threat down low last year, averaging 7.8 points and a team-high 6.4 rebounds per game. He has also graduated and is pursuing a professional career in Europe.

Upstate has used a three-guard lineup in the past, making use of its preference for the three-pointer. The move to Division I may or may not force a change in that philosophy.
The coach likes to force tempo when it is available, but also possesses the ability to work set plays in the half court offense. With Byrd at the point, he has one of the quickest players to lead the break. Byrd and Luke Payne team to form a strong back court presence in the half court set.
Defensive pressure is a key to starting an up-tempo offense and Payne uses a mix of man-to-man and zone defense to keep opponents off balance.

The strength of the Spartans should be its guard play. Four of the five returning players are guards and the Spartans have recruited solid talent outside. Upstate also worked on strengthening the inside play in the recruiting process.

The A-Sun does have some familiar faces in North Florida and Kennesaw State, both former members of the Peach Belt Conference and strong rivals to the Spartans. Upstate can learn a lot from the transition each of those institutions made to Division I just two years ago.

Guard
Perhaps the strength of the team lies at the guard position. Seniors Jeremy Byrd and Luke Payne return to lead the unit that has tremendous depth with seven players battling for playing time at two positions.
Byrd (5-11, 172, Sr., Greenville, S.C.) led Upstate with 4.6 assists and 90 steals a year ago. He possesses tremendous defensive skills and proved last year that he can score as well, finishing the year with a 10.8 ppg average. His experience and leadership should be key as he runs the team from his point guard position.

Wing Guard
Head coach likes to use a three-guard lineup with the use of the wing position. The spot will be up for grabs between two newcomers,
though Luke Payne has also played the position during his stint in the program. Regardless of who starts at the position, both Gabor Boros and Mezie Uzochukwu will see significant playing time.

Power Forward
The power forward position will have a new look this season. Ante Pikunic, who was the main force down low for the Spartans a year ago, graduated. Three other players at the position from a year ago are also no longer with the team. Bobby Davis, a junior college transfer from Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, is expected to step into the starting role.

Center
The center position is in the hands of 7-2 red-shirt sophomore Nick Schneiders, though Greg Maugle could also spend time at the position. Maugle has the size and ability to log minutes down low. Schneiders (7-2, 250, So., Rietberg, Germany) had only 14 months of
playground experience in Germany prior to being recruited by Payne. He red-shirted his first year at Upstate in 2005-06 to develop his skills. He came on midway through last season, becoming a solid role player and a crowd favorite. The development of his skills and agility has been tremendous and he is expected to continue to improve on a daily basis. He averaged 2.1 points and 2.4 rebounds per game last year in just over eight minutes per game.

TEAM RATINGS:

Overall: 68
Offense: 68
Defense: 65
Team Unity: 28

SCHEDULE

OPPONENT

at Utah

------------------------------- BP Top of the World Classic at Akron

IUPUI

at Oregon St

---------------------

at UNC Greensboro

at Cincy

at W Forest

at SMU

at UTEP

at Duquesne

at Iowa St

at E Tenn St

Gardner Webb

Campbell

at Lipscomb

at Belmont

at North Florida

Jacksonville

Kennesaw

Mercer

at Stetson

at Florida Gulf Coast U

Lipscomb

Belmont

at Campbell

at Gardner Webb

E Tenn St

[Icy]

First i had to bring 2 assistants with me. I decided to choose the Two caoches who helped me in my high school coaching years:

D.Keller is a 37 years old coach, his main attributes are defense and charisma, he is very ambitious so i'm not sure how much years he will stay with me, i undrestand he needs to keep improving and his goal will be to be the main coach in another college in the future.

C.Dillingard is a 39 years old coach, his main attributes are teaching and scouting. He is less ambitious than Keller.