A New Journey (Closed Legacy 2K8)

[Deuce2223]

2014-2015 COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW




TOP-25 PRESEASON POLL

#1 LOUISVILLE (93 OVERALL)
"A #1 seed last year that finished Ranked #4 Overall, are armed with the #1 Recruiting Class and ready to make some noise"

#2 TEXAS TECH (88 OVERALL)
"Finished Ranked in the Top-10 last year, this team has 7 SR's including 4 of them starting"

#3 UNLV (91 OVERALL)
"Lost in the National Championship game last year, they return all 5 starters including star PG SR B. Brophy and SR SG D. Byrd"

#4 WEST VIRGINIA (89 OVERALL)
"Coach Huggins always has a team ready to challenge against the nation's best"

#5 ARIZONA (93 OVERALL)
"Armed with the #1 incoming FR and a returning squad that has SR SG P. Riddle that led the Wildcats to a National Title 3 years ago, Coach Miller is ready for a repeat"

#6 SAN DIEGO STATE (88 OVERALL)
"Coming off a 30+ win season and #2 seed in the NCAA tourney some say this could be Coach Fisher last year. With 5 SR's and 5 Sophs they are set up to win now and later"

#7 UCONN (90 OVERALL)
"Coach Few led them to a title just 2 years ago and a Elite 8 last season. Wth 3 SR's including AA SG D. Tucker (87). They are ready to challenge yet again"

#8 VILLANOVA (91 OVERALL)
"They lost 2 years ago to Uconn in the Finals. Now with 5 SR's on their team they will battle for the Big East crown and a National Crown yet again"

#9 VANDERBILT (90 OVERALL)
"Coach Stallings has quietely built them into a SEC power, now he want's the nation to take notice"

#10 OREGON (89 OVERALL)
"Coming off a Pac-10 Regular Season Title, the Ducks had to settle for the NIT. Hopefully not again this year"

#11 UTAH STATE (89 OVERALL)
"Could this be the year for this Mid-Major powerhouse to challenge the big boys for a National Title"

#12 ILLINOIS (89 OVERALL)
"Coming off a Big Ten Title and #1 seed in the NCAA rankings. The Illini are ready to fight yet again"

#13 TEXAS (89 OVERALL)
"Coming off a #1 end of the year ranking, a #1 seed in the NCAA, a Final 4 loss to the Hornets and a #5 Recruiting Class, The Longhorns will look for a repeat and better showing this year"

#14 WASHINGTON (91 OVERALL)
"With 6 SR's (3 starters) and a All-American backcourt that features last year's FOY SO SG M. Dahi (85) and SO PG I. Anders (83). The Huskies will look to repeat their NCAA showing"

#15 MISSOURI (88 OVERALL)
"Coming off a #1 seed in the NCAA, the Tigers will look to repeat with another strong year"

#16 ALABAMA (88 OVERALL)
"With 4 SR starters the Tide could be going out"

#17 SETON HALL (85 OVERALL)
"Like Alabama, its now or never for the Pirates who have 7 SR's on the roster"

#18 IOWA (91 OVERALL)
"Always under ranked, The Hawkeyes will look to make some noise in both the Big Ten and the nation.

#19 MEMPHIS (89 OVERALL)
"Once considered a Mid-Major, they became a Powerhouse. Now with a Top-10 recruiting class they look to stay there"

#20 KENTUCKY (89 OVERALL)
"Having fallen on tough times,they missed the NCAA last year. With 6 JR's including 3 starters, they still might be a year away"

#21 GEORGIA TECH (88 OVERALL)
"Armed with the #8 recruiting class and 2 talented Sophs (SG J. Newton-81, and C D. Gill-81). The Yellow jackets will look to sting people"

#22 DUKE (88 OVERALL)
"Like Kentucky, the Blue Devils have fallen on tough times. Normally they are ranked in the Top-5, now they are lucky to just be in the Top-25. With 7 Soph's (including 3 starters) they might still be a year away"

#23 INDIANA (88 OVERALL)
"2 years ago they were a #1 seed in the tourney. With 5 JR's (3 starters) and 2 Soph's starting, they might have to wait another year before repeating that honor"

#24 ARKANSAS (88 OVERALL)
"With 4 JR's starting, it could be just wait until next year for the Hogs"

#25 MARQUETTE (89 OVERALL)
"With the #4 Recruiting Class and 2 Soph starters (SF T. Clayton-80, PF-A. Starkey-81). They too could be saying just you wait"

[Deuce2223]

WEST COAST CONFERENCE PREVIEW

(In Order of PreSeason Ranking)

RATED 87 OVERALL

"The Bulldogs have a new coach in Ryne Young, who is coming off guiding the Sacremento State Hornets to a National Title. They have All-American and future Top- Pick JR PG S. Rivers (89) (Voted Top-Player,Best Shooter, Best Playmaker and Best Pro Prospect) and they have the #7 recruiting class coming in to help"

(You will learn more about the Zag's in the Team preview)

RATED 84 OVERALL

"With Coach Bennett's decision to stay, the Gaels will once again look to challenge Gonzaga for the Top spot in the WCC. Just 2 years removed from a Nationally Top-5 ranking and #1 seed in the NCAA tourney, the future looks bright for SMC, as they are led by FR PG J. Sherrod (78 Overall) "Voted Best Freshman" and Sophs' SF Kl Padilla (77) and SO R. Kuhle (75)

RATED 82 OVERALL

"With 6 Juniors including 3 starters (SG E. Gai-79, PF T Oliphant-79, and C C. Radziejewski-68) the Waves could be a year away from making a big splash in the WCC"

RATED 81 OVERALL

"Like Pepperdine it might be another year before the Lions are battling for a top spot in the WCC. Loaded with 5 JR's including 3 starters (SF D Finn-80, PF M. Burton-80 and C T. Hooks-78"

RATED 80 OVERALL

"With 5 Sophs including starters (SG S. Banks-72, and SF M. Jarrell-75) and 3 Freshman including starters (PG E. McIntosh-73, C B. Hopes-75) the Toreros could be another year or 2 away"

RATED 79 OVERALL

"The Broncos will rely heavily on SR C K. Shepard (80) until their one of their 6 Sophs are ready to contribute."

RATED 79 OVERALL

"Leb by SR SF Fab Woods (74) the Don's are very young with (5 incoming freshman). Woods will need help from JR's PG A.W. Humphrey (74) and PF L. Slaughter (76) if they are going to finish in the Top half of the WCC"

RATED 78 OVERALL

"The Pilots are led by JR C K. Gansey (77) and like the Don's are very young with (5 incoming freshman) including starting SG T. Barlett (72). They will be hard pressed not to finish last in the WCC, but with 4 SR's and a year of develope among those Freshman they could get good quickly."

[Pitfighter87]

Lovin the dynasty so far Deuce.Im really enjoyin the detail and your whole layout.I cant read one page without makin me wanna start workin on mine lol.Good look at Gonzaga i know your gonna have alot of success.Is this the final stop you think?I know sometimes ill work my way up to the best school possible but sometimes i land a job like that in my 3rd or 4th year and wind up spendin my entire career there.Either way good luck,cant wait for the next update.

[Deuce2223]

GONZAGA TEAM PREVIEW

COACH YOUNG SIGNS ONLY A 2-YEAR DEAL ???

Normally when you recruit the Head Coach you just won a National Title, you would think that the A.D. would offer them more then a 2-year contract, but that is not the case with Gonzaga. After Coach Few left for UConn, the Zags signed then Oral Roberts Head Coach S. Sutton to a 2-year deal. After that contract was over, Sutton shocked the program by turning down a 5 year contract extenstion only to follow Coach Few to the Big East taking over at the University of Cincinnati.

Now just 2 years last, the Zags are at it again offering Coach Young just a 2 year contract. Leaving many around the nation scratching their heads.

JR PG S. Rivers "I don't know what the AD is thinking. I thought it was strange when they only signed Coach Sutty to a 2 year deal and it's definetly weird they are doing it again. If Coach Young has the type of success here that he did at CSUS, they it won't be long before a power house school is offering him a job as well"

COACH YOUNG BIO

Age-29 Years Old

82-49 OVERALL RECORD

RATED

B OVERALL
B+ OFFENSE
C+ DEFENSE
B TEACHING
B SCOUTING
A CHARISMA
C- DISCIPLINE

Coach Young led the Hornets to 3 consecutive seasons of 20+ wins and will look to do it again with the Zags.

COACH YOUNG HIRES 2 NEW ASSISTANTS

Anytime you guide a team to a National Title, you become a little more well known around the league and other coaches want to join your staff. This happend with Coach Young as he replaced both assistants on his staff. Here is a look at the new coaches.

Ralf Robbins (36 years old)
Rated B- Overall (B Scout, B- Charisma)

"I brought in Coach Robbins to help me recruit, that will be his main responsibility"

Scott Cruz (34 years old)
Rated B- Overall (A Offense B- Defense)

"Coach Cruz is a X and O's guy. He will assist me in our gameplan. That will be his main responsibility"

TEAM ROSTER

STARTERS

PG- JR 6'1 Stephon Rivers (Rated 89 Overall/86 3pt)-Spokane WA

"Orginally a 5* AA Mr BB WA, Ranked #4 Overall/#2 PG. Rivers is considered a Top-Pick in this year's class. He has Avg 11.0 PPG 4.4 RPG 4.7 APG 1.2 SPG and hit 81/214 3pt (38%) starting 57/57 games played"

SG- SO 6'3 Whitney Warden (Rated 84 Overall/80 3pt)-Modesto CA

"A 5* AA Ranked #13 Overall/#6 SG, Warden was named to the WCC All-Conference team last year Avg 6.3 PPG 3.5 RPG 2.1 APG 1.6 SPG well hitting 29/85 3pt (34%), starting in all 33/33 games played"

SF- SR 6'4 Keegan Hyland (Rated 75 Overall/84 3pt)-Sengal Africa

"A walkon, Hyland has appeared in 90 games over 3 seasons Avg 1.4 PPG 1.3 RPG hitting 8/21 3pt attempts"

PF- FR 6'7 Levi Freeman (Rated 76 Overall/88 Close)-Spokane WA

"A 3* Rated #178 Overall/#22 PF"

C- JR 6'8 Jean Niparavicius (Rated 84 Overall/90 Close)-Everett WA

"Orginally a 3* prospect. Nip started all 33/33 games last season Avg 4.6 PPG 4.0 RPG 1.5 BPG. As a Freshman he appeared in 29 games Avg 5.3 PPG 3.3 RPG and 1.2 BPG"

THE BENCH

PG- FR 6'1 Eliz Seegars (Rated 78 Overall/78 3pt)-Los Angeles CA

"A 5* AA Rated #12 Overall/#9 PG"

SG- SR 6'3 Shavilk Taylor (Rated 82 Overall/78 3pt)-Spokane WA

"Orginally a 4* Rated #76 Overall, Started 32/32 games as a Freshman Avg 4.6 PPG 3.4 APG before losing his job to Rivers. As a Soph/Junior, he Avg 8.2 PPG 2.4 RPG 3.0 APG 1.0 SPG and shot 35% 3pt as the 6th man"

SF- JR 6'4 Darrell Braun (Rated 77 Overall/79 3pt)-Seattle WA

"More of a tradiation SG, Braun will be asked to defend bigger opponents (76 DAWR) highest on the team. Has appeared in 62 games never starting, Avging 2.6 PPG.. Hit 13/24 3pt (54%) as a Freshman."

PF- JR 6'11 Taylor Olaiya (Rated 71 Overall/85 Close)-Seattle WA

"High School teammate of Braun's. Has appeared in 62 games for a total of 190 mins. Avging 1.3 PPG .8 RPG"

C- SO 7'1 Dennard Ma (Rated 69 Overall/82 Close)-Vancouver CN

"Appeared in 9 games last season playing 33 mins. Averaged .9 PPG .4 RPG"

REDSHIRTS

PG FR 6'1 Lonny Harrington (Rated 71 Overall/71 3pt)-Bellevue WA

"3* Rated #134 Overall/#44 PG. Former Mr BB WA"

PG FR 6'1 Jeff Duhon (Rated 67 Overall/78 3pt)-Spokane WA

"3* Rated #200 Overall/#62 PG. Former High School teammate of PF L. Freeman"

TEAM SCHEDULE

11/3 2K SPORTS COLLEGE HOOPS CLASSIC A
"Opening Round vs Kansas"
Other teams in the A bracket-(W. Kentucky/Grambling)

11/15 HOME OPENER VS EASTERN WASHINGTON
(CITY RIVALARY)

11/17 VS IDAHO
(BORDER RIVALARY)

11/23 VS WASHINGTON STATE
(INSTATE RIVALARY)

11/26 @ #14 WASHINGTON
(INSTATE RIVALARY)

11/30 @ #3 UNLV
(REMATCH WITH COACH KRUGER)

12/3 vs Nevada
(Mid Major Battle)

12/6 vs Boise State
(Battle with former Zags Assistant Coach Rice)

12/12 @ #7 UConn
(Battle against former Zags Coach Few)

12/13 @ Cincinnati
(Battle against former Zags Coach Sutton)

12/22 vs Sacremento State
(Battle against Coach Young's former team)

1/7 WCC Play starts @ Portland
1/14 @ Loyola Marymount
1/16 @ Santa Clara
1/21 VS Saint Mary's (Home Opener)
1/23 vs San Francisco
1/28 @ San Diego
(Battle against former Zags Assistant Coach Grier)
1/30 @ Pepperdine

2/4 @ Saint Mary's
2/6 vs Portland
2/11 vs Santa Clara
2/13 vs Loyola Marymount
2/20 @ San Francisco
2/25 vs Pepperdine
2/27 vs San Diego
**Senior Night**

[Deuce2223]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pitfighter87

Lovin the dynasty so far Deuce.Im really enjoyin the detail and your whole layout.I cant read one page without makin me wanna start workin on mine lol.Good look at Gonzaga i know your gonna have alot of success.Is this the final stop you think?I know sometimes ill work my way up to the best school possible but sometimes i land a job like that in my 3rd or 4th year and wind up spendin my entire career there.Either way good luck,cant wait for the next update.

Thanks for following. Glad I am inspiring you to continue working on yours. Always great to have other basketball legacies to read..

I don't think Gonzaga will be my final stop, in fact I doubt I stay for more then 4 years. The move will get me like 5 attribute points this year, which should make me a A- Overall, and make me a top canidate for a power program. What I would like to do is take a job in the ACC or Big East for 4-8 years, then work my way back to the West Coast taking a job in the Pac-10, with my dream obviously to take over at Washington State.

My only other dream job in which I could see myself going to, would be Boise State toward the end of my career and try and build them up to a National Power with multiple Titles.

However with NCAA12 Football coming out next week, basketball will take a back seat for awhile.

[Deuce2223]

Wow. I don't post anything for 2 days and get 70 views, but not a single comment. I will assume people are enjoying and will keep plugging away, but won't be around for the next 4 days. Going camping...

[Deuce2223]

ZAGS DROP SEASON OPENER TO KANSAS

The Gonzaga Bulldogs started the Coach Young era off on a sour note taking on the Kansas Jayhawks in the opening round of the 2k Sports Classic.


The Bulldogs would actually lead at the half 32-27, as SR K. Hyland making his 1st start in his career opened the night hitting 4/4 3pt to lead the Zags with 12 pts.


However Hyland would grow cold in the 2nd half missing all 5 3pt attempts and 6'6 Freshman All-American Elmore Axton would use his size advantage over 6'1 JR S. Rivers, to score 24 pts in his college debut including the game winning 3pt with 2.8 seconds to play to give Kansas the victory.

FINAL SCORE GONZAGA-74 KANSAS-77

KEY PLAYERS

S. Rivers-16 pts 5 asst 3/5 3pt
K. Hyland-12 pts 5 reb 4/9 3pt
S. Taylor-14 pts (Bench)

FR E. Axton-24 pts 5 reb
(Ranked #2 Overall/#2 PG, 5* AA Mr BB KS)





GONZAGA REBOUNDS WITH WIN OVER GRAMBLING

The Bulldogs jumped out to a commanding lead and went into the locker room up 52-34.

5 players would score in double digits as SR K. Hyland and JR J. Niparavicius led the Bulldogs with 18 pts each.

FINAL SCORE GONZAGA-99 GRAMBLING-62

KEY PLAYERS

K. Hyland-18 pts 9 reb 3/6 3pt
J. Niparavicius-18 pts 3 reb 3 blks
S. Rivers-15 pts 3 asst 3 stls
S. Taylor-14 pts 3 stls 2/3 3pt (Bench)
FR E. Seegars-11 pts 5 reb 3 asst 1/3 3pt (Bench)

Coach Young after the game- "It was great to see the guy's rebound after a tough loss with such authority. Going into the season I knew that Rivers would be a guy we could count on for 15-20 pts a game, but Hyland is sorta a unknown. He really amazed me with his 3pt ability as well as the ability to put the ball on the floor and take it to the hoop. I knew S. Taylor would be a huge asset for us off the bench. If it wasn't for Rivers and Warden (Both 5* AA) he would be in the starting lineup. I was happy we got such a big lead because it gave me a chance to get Seegars some minutes and he showed he will be a big time contributor in the future.

[Deuce2223]

THE KENNELL IS CRAZY AFTER 3-0 START

VS

The Bulldogs opened their home stand against crosstown (sorta) rivals EWU. The Eagles have never made a big name for themselves in basketball but still local loyalites are torn as the Eagles take on the hometown favorite Bulldogs.

GU would dominate though taking a 54-25 lead at the half, and never let up making some inside "The Kennell" think Coach Young was rubbing it into the face of EWU, a team he has faced 10 times over the past 4 seasons well coaching at Sacremento State.

FINAL SCORE GONZAGA-98 EWU-46


KEY PLAYERS

JR S. Rivers-23 pts 7 reb 3 asst 3/4 3pt
SO W. Warden-13 pts 3 reb 3 asst 4 stls 2/5 3pt
FR L. Freeman-12 pts
JR J. Niparvicius-15 pts 7 reb
Bench-31 pts 13 reb 14 asst (Seegars led the team with 6 assts)

JR SF E. Valentine-12 pts 10 reb 4/22 FG 3/12 3pt
SO PG JS Briggs-5pts 1/8 3pt

Coach Young-"Some may think I should of let up earlier in the game and have something against EWU, but that is not the case. I like the Eagles and when I lived in Spokane I cheered for them. Tonight was just a bad night for them. They struggled from 3pt (7/33) and we took advantage of it getting rebounds and pushing the ball up court. We also got to the line alot (32/44 FT) and when you do that you are going to win alot of games.

VS

This was a game of 2 halfs. For those who watched the 1st half it was a battle back and forth as the Zags clung to a 43-42 lead going into the locker room.


But in the 2nd half, the flood gates opened as the Bulldogs shot 68% scoring a season high 60 pts as they demolished the Vandals. All 5 starters scored in double digits but was led by 6th man S. Taylor's 15 pts.

FINAL SCORE GU-103 IDAHO-72


KEY PLAYERS


S. Rivers-14 pts 7 reb 8 asst 2/2 3pt
W. Warden-10 pts 5 asst 2/4 3pt
K. Hyland-12 pts 2/3 3pt
L. Freeman-15 pts 5 reb 3 blks
J. Niparavicius-14 pts 4 reb 4 blks
S. Taylor-15 pts 3/4 3pt (Bench)


SR B. Newton-10 pts 11 reb 3/12 FG
SR 7'2 M. Turek-13 pts

Coach Young "Again it was great to see the team play so well in the 2nd half, as they played truely as a team. No one forced shots, as everyone got into the scoring action. Taylor did a great job coming off the bench to once again show he is more then capable to be a starter. Should anything happen to Rivers/Warden or Hyland even. Taylor would step in."

VS #17

GAME PREVIEW

Anytime you take on a Top-25 ranked team on your home court it's a big deal. However in Washington it's even a bigger deal when the 2 teams playing is Gonzaga vs Washington State.

Coach Ken Bone has quietly kept the Cougars in the hunt for a Pac-10 Championship and on the National Radar even after Coach T. Bennett left for Virginia, and with several Top-25 recruiting classes over the past several years, the Cougars are ready to show they have the talent to win this year.

(Roster has 5 SR, 5 JR and 3 SO. All 5 starters are rated 81 Overall or higher)


THE GAME

Unlike the Idaho game and more like the EWU game, Gonzaga jumped out to a ealry lead and went into the locker room feeling pretty good about themselves (48-30 lead).


But WSU would battle back and with 3 minutes to play they had erased the lead down to just 2 points. However back to back 3's with under a minute to play by FR E. Seegars would put the Zag's up by 9 with less then 10 seconds to play.

FINAL SCORE GONZAGA-74 WSU-63

KEY PLAYERS

K. Hyland-12 pts 1/3 3pt
J. Niparavicius-12 pts 4 reb 3 blks
W. Warden-11 pts 1/4 3pt
E. Seegars-11 pts 2 asst 3/7 3pt (Bench)
T. Olaaiya-11 pts 9 reb (Bench) (Career/Season High)

SR S. Poole-19 pts 4 reb 4 asst 3/6 3pt
(Transfer from Kentucky. Was Pac-10 POY last year Avg 18.1 PPG)

JR S. Tchuisu-11 pts 5 reb
(3* who transfered from San Diego State)

JR A. Neale-10 pts 3 reb
(Former 4* Ranked #99 Overall)

Coach Young comments "This was a huge win for us. We have a very difficult schedule coming up with #13 Washington and #2 UNLV on the road. So to go in on a 4 game win streak will hopefully give the guy's some confidence and help us continue our strong play. Every game it seems like different people step up and give us big plays when we need them. Tonight it was Seegars and Olaiya off the bnech.