The Coaching Career of Damien Richards (CH 2K8)

[vicebeliever42]

Coaching Career of Damien Richards


Ready for Big Things

Reporter: “It’s official coach! You made school history winning back-to-back State Championships! What are you feeling right now?!”

Damien: “Are you kidding me?! Forget me! It’s all about these players that I’ve been coaching! I couldn’t do this without their cooperation! It’s been a blast since the first day I started coaching the varsity team 4 years ago! All the supporters and fans out there this one’s for you!”

Reporter: “Maybe one of the most skilled high school coaches in the state of Indiana, congrats to the Lawrence North High Wildcats on winning their second championship under Coach Damien Richards!”

Damien Richards was top 10 in his class when he played high school basketball having stellar years. Instead of being like the traditional top high school player and commit and play in D-1 competition he decided to stay home and go to a community college and pursue his dream of being a coach. Damien was very passionate about the “X’s and O’s” always spending time with his coach learning all he can about coaching. After graduating high school he started his first coaching job at the age of 18 coaching the junior high/middle school level. Finally getting the head coaching job at Lawrence North High School, the high school he graduated from, at the age of 23.

Making his presence known in the coaching world he gave the fans and students of Lawrence North what they needed most; hope. First year as the varsity head coach after the Wildcats coming off a terrible season Lawrence North Varsity Basketball Team made it to the semi-final round of the State Playoffs. He’s not great at game planning but when it comes to anything going on during the game he was considered a genius. At the age of 25 he was the youngest high school coach to win a state championship and the youngest to win back-to-back championships. With his rise into coaching stardom many small D-1 colleges wanted him to coach their team, but he turned them down until now.

Summer of 2007…



AD: “There’s no doubt that I’m excited to bring this man in to coach our school. Everyone in attendance I proudly present to the new head basketball coach of the Eastern Illinois Panthers…Mr. Damien Richards!”

Damien walks to the conference table and stands with the athletic director shaking hands and exchanging a few friendly words.

They finally sit and continue with the press conference.

AD: “This man has made history in the state of Indiana. He turned around a school that couldn’t stay up to par with what it use to be and brought it back to it’s winning ways. Just turning 27 in March I see a bright future for our program.”

Damien: “It’s good to be here and working with this program. I turned down many schools and honestly I nearly turned this one down as well, but after thinking things through…coming to Eastern Illinois University is an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I always dreamed of coaching D-1 basketball and now this is my chance. I’m ecstatic to be here. I’ve told the athletic director what I plan on doing while I’m here and I’m going to announce it to you all…Give me one second.”

Damien sits back and reaches into his suit jacket and pulls out a few note cards.

Damien: “I, Damien Richards, the new head basketball coach of the Eastern Illinois Panthers declare that I will turn this program around into a school that can compete. I can’t promise that I will turned this program around my first year coaching like I did my first year coaching high school ball. This is the collegiate level, I know how difficult this will be and I am aware of the hard work I have to put in to fulfill my goals. With my assistant coaches Deshaun Woodard and Angel Badu I will grow. People profile me as a man with high charisma, though young, I am great at taking authority-I know how to handle my players. I know that I’m average at game planning but once out there on the sidelines in the midst of the game I know what needs to be done. I promise you after an 10-20 season this program is gonna go nowhere but up starting with being involved in the postseason either a NCAA tournament bid or playing in the NIT…I don’t know if it’s saying much but this is what I told the athletic director.”

AD: “It doesn’t matter it’s enough for them because it was enough for me…that’s why I hired him. We agreed on a 2 year contract for now but depending on how well he turns this team around we may add another year or two…who knows.”

Damien: “Sir, I won’t let you down, I won’t like the players down, and I certainly won’t let the fans down.”

[vicebeliever42]

The Start of Something New




2007-08 Preseason Outlook

Coach Damien Richards
Coaching Record: 0-0

Richards’s Coaching Attributes
Overall: C
Offense: C-
Defense: C-
Teaching: C
Scouting: C-
Charisma: B-
Discipline: C

Coach Richards’ abilities consist of being able to recognize talent, a charismatic recruiter able to convince kids to commit, and he gets players’ attention and keeps them focused on the game. However he'll have to rely on his assistant coaches for game planning and offensive and defensive strategy. Coach Richards still has a lot to learn about college basketball.

Assistant Coaches
Deshaun Woodard
Ovr: C-
Off C+
Def F
Tea D
Sco C+
Cha C-
Dis D
Amb A

Angel Badu
Ovr: C-
Off D
Def C
Tea D
Sco F
Cha C
Dis B-
Amb B+

Eastern Illinois 2007-2008 Roster

Coach Richards went on to take the team through a trial to see these players’ strengths and weaknesses, so that he can be prepare for what to watch out for and prepare for. This would also allow him to choose his starting five but it was a hard decision to make, choosing the starters, but he was able to keep his players focused and together because he has faith in all his players for he will be going 12 man deep this year who knows what will happen.

Eastern Illinois Panthers 2007-08 Roster
#	NAME	POS	HT	WT	CLASS	HOMETOWN
23	Mike Robinson (70)	PG	5'11"	180	JR	Naperville, IL
15	Julio Anthony (67)	SG	6'4"	190	SR	Durham, NC
10	Romain Martin (66)	SG	6'3"	190	SO	St. Paul, MN
14	Bobby Catchings (62)	SG	6'6"	200	SR	Chicago, IL
13	Jon’Tee Willhite (62)	SG	6'1"	180	SR	Detroit, MI
32	Matt Dorlack (61)	C	6'11"	235	FR	Green Bay, WI
45	Dusmane Cisse (60)	C	6'8"	250	SO	Cameroon
2	Tyler Laser (58)	PG	6'1"	185	FR	Detroit, MI
12	Billy Parrish (58)	SF	6'4"	200	JR	Mount Prospect, IL
41	Jake Byrne (57)	C	6'8"	240	SR	Springfield, MD
30	Justin Brock (57)	PF	6'8"	240	SO	Chicago, IL
5	Gino Myers-Kyles (56)	SG	6'4"	190	SR	Huntsville, AL
54	Bobby Jolliff (56)	PF	6'8"	215	SO	Indianapolis, IN

Starters:

M. Robinson – Best player on the team hands down. He has a good all-around game. Good ball handling skills and exceptional offensive and defensive awareness, he’ll surely be Coach Richards’s “Coach on the Floor” for sure. He can hit the mid-range jumper not only if he’s left up but with a hand in his face as well. He has very quick hands possibly the best defender on the team. Robinson is 5’11 and to be 5’11 he is a good rebounder for his size, this will help him to go coast to coast if necessary thanks to his mind blowing speed.

R. Martin – It was a very difficult for Coach Richards to start the sophomore Martin over senior Julio Anthony, but he’s defensive presence bested Anthony. That along with his great shooting ability he is rewarded the starting spot. Look for Martin to showcase his offensive ability this season.

B. Catchings – Catchings is a guard who can not only guard his own position but the forward position as well, this is why he finds himself a spot on the starting five. Though he only has a below average jump shot he makes up for it in his athletic presence. He’s fast and can leap with the best of them able to crash the boards like a forward. Though he starts his minutes won’t be too high because of his inconsistency.

D. Cisse – The bigman from Cameroon is a rebounding monster. He even snatches rebounds from Dorlack who’s taller than him by 3 inches. He crashes the boards like he’s a 7 footer, but he’s 6’8. You can try to drive towards him or post him up but his big body makes thing quite difficult. Sadly, he’s defensive presence is the only thing noticeable since he can’t make a basket unless he’s 5 ft from the rim.

M. Dorlack – A 6’11 freshman who is very dominate down low. He’s so strong that even if you try to bump him he can still finish. You can’t even foul him because he is an exceptional free throw shooter. It’s a shame he’s not consistent, but he’s only a freshman the more he develop in Coach Richards’s system the better he’ll become.

[vicebeliever42]

2007-08 Season Outlook

Coach Richards might be eating those words about him turning the program around after an outlook of the conference has them tied for last and Austin Peay being the favorite to win the Regular Season Conference Championship while the Best Pro Prospect JR SG Bruce Price and Tennessee State try to put their name in the hunt.

Preseason Ohio Valley Conference
Austin Peay 76
Tennessee State 74
Morehead State 73
Murray State 73
Tennessee Tech 73
Tennessee-Martin 72
E. Kentucky 72
SE Missouri State 71
Jacksonville State 71
E. Illinois 70
Samford 70

OVC 2007 Preseason Accolades

Best Overall Player:
Lester Hudson JR, SG (80) Tennessee-Martin

Best Freshman & Best Defender:
Kenneth Faried FR, PF (71) Morehead St

Best Shooter:
Joe Bailey SO, SG (56) Tennessee-Martin

Best Playmaker:
Deandre Bray JR, PG (67) Jacksonville St

Best Pro Prospect:
Bruce Price JR, SG (79) Tennessee St









Eastern Illinois November Schedule

11/13 vs. Loyola (IL)
11/20 at W. Illinois
11/24 at Arkansas St
11/27 at UW-Green Bay
11/30 Hawkeye Challenge (vs. Rice)

[mpejkrm]

I'd assume it's OK to post now, if not lemme know and I will delete this.

Anyway, looking forward to another CH2K8 dynasty! Looks like a solid squad and the November schedule doesn't seem too tough at all. Best of luck! Are you playing in coach mode by the way or playing your games?

[vicebeliever42]

Quote: Originally Posted by mpejkrm

I'd assume it's OK to post now, if not lemme know and I will delete this. Anyway, looking forward to another CH2K8 dynasty! Looks like a solid squad and the November schedule doesn't seem too tough at all. Best of luck! Are you playing in coach mode by the way or playing your games?

Yeah you can post now.

Oh bout that I decided the first year of the dynasty I'm going use the schedule that they already had made. To answer your question about playing in coach mode or playing I will be playing my games but only what I feel are key games (i.e. tournament games, games against ranked teams, etc) the others will be simulated but its only a few games that will be simmed.

[vicebeliever42]

Preseason AP Top 25

NCAA Hoops Rankings - AP Top 25 - Updated: Oct 17, 2007
RK	TEAM (VOTES)	RECORD
1	Kansas	0-0
2	Memphis	0-0
3	North Carolina	0-0
4	UCLA	0-0
5	Georgetown	0-0
6	Louisville	0-0
7	Pittsburgh	0-0
8	Duke	0-0
9	Wisconsin	0-0
10	Tennessee	0-0
11	Marquette	0-0
12	Michigan State	0-0
13	Texas	0-0
14	Arizona	0-0
15	Oregon	0-0
16	Ohio State	0-0
17	Texas A&M	0-0
18	Washington State	0-0
19	Southern Illinois	0-0
20	Maryland	0-0
21	West Virginia	0-0
22	Stanford	0-0
23	Xavier	0-0
24	Notre Dame	0-0
25	Kentucky	0-0

Preseason All-Americans
First Team
PG Derrick Rose FR, PG Memphis
SG Eric Gordon FR, SG Indiana
SF Brandon Rush JR, SF Kansas
PF Tyler Hansbrough JR, PF North Carolina
C Kevin Love FR, C UCLA

Second Team
PG Ty Lawson SO, PG North Carolina
SG DeMarcus Nelson SR, SG Duke
SF Sam Young JR, SF Pittsburgh
PF Darrell Arthur SO, PF Kansas
C Roy Hibbert SR, C Georgetown

Preseason Consensus Player of the Year:
Tyler Hansbrough JR, PF North Carolina

[vicebeliever42]

Martin has 30, but Ramblers top Panthers



Loyola (IL) Ramblers vs. Eastern Illinois Panthers
Charleston, IL
November 13th, 2007

Charleston, IL – The day has finally come for Coach Richards and his Eastern Illinois Panthers take their first game of Richards’s coaching career and the Panthers’ first of the season. No one was more excited then SO SG Romain Martin who before the game said, “I’m excited to be under Coach Richards not only did he give me a chance to start unlike the last coach, he has faith in us. We can’t let him down, he fueled us up with the speech he had when we was in the locker room. I can’t speak for everyone else but he got me fired up. Look out Loyola here I come.” The Panthers were ready to show what they were capable of doing in their first game of the season.

Loyola (IL) showed why they’re not to be underestimated, but it could have been Eastern Illinois’ poor defense and lack of offense that allowed the Ramblers to go on a 6-0 run in the beginning of the game. Unsuspectingly Coach Richards decided to call a timeout and talk to his starters. Whatever he said in the timeout got his team focused. After allowing a 6-0 run Eastern Illinois went on a 15-0 run to take the lead and grow it to cause Loyola to be behind by 10 points. Loyola was playing catch-up the rest of the half as the Panther Duo, JR PG Mike Robinson and SO SG Romain Martin, lead the team. Robinson who was named Player of the Half had the game high in scoring with 11 points with Martin behind him scoring 10. Though Eastern Illinois caused Loyola to turn the ball over 9 times the Ramblers were shooting an impressive 63% from the field. Rebounding would be a huge factor to determine the winner of this contest, because both team were neck and neck in total rebounds both teams allowing the opposing team to grab a significant amount of offensive boards. Each Coach is going to have to change up their gameplan to get their team to get an advantage on grabbing more defensive rebounds.

From the start of the second half to the end of the game it was a complete different story. Eastern Illinois followed their coach’s gameplan and so did Loyola, but the Panthers decided to take another approach that caused Coach Richards to pull his hair out. Causing a total of 19 turnovers to Loyola and only turning it over 11 times themselves, Eastern Illinois seemed as if they should have took this game. However the Panthers would foul Loyola a total of 27 times causing Loyola to shoot 43 free throws making 31 of them. 8 players had 3 or more fouls 2 of them had 4 nearly fouling out the game. Out of these 8 players who were in foul trouble all of the Eastern Illinois starters had 3 or 4 fouls. This caused the Panthers to lighten up on defense and try to play catch-up. Eastern Illinois’ Romain Martin tried to ignite a spark in his teammates shooting 44% from three making 7 out of 16. He finished the game with 30 points but it wasn’t enough to stop the Ramblers from taking a victory.

Loyola (IL) Ramblers at Eastern Illinois Panthers
Nov 13, 2007	1ST	2ND	SCORE
Loyola (IL) (1-0)	41	53	94
Eastern Illinois (0-1)	46	38	84

Loyola (IL) Ramblers
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
J. Cerasoli	30	3-4	1-1	9-14	2	2	2	0	6	16
J. Blount	30	5-8	1-3	6-6	5	3	0	1	5	17
T. Robinson	28	5-8	0-0	3-3	3	3	2	1	2	13
L. Young	23	5-11	0-0	8-10	9	0	0	1	2	18
A. Polka	27	8-11	0-0	3-5	8	0	3	0	1	19
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
C. Horton	15	1-1	0-0	1-2	2	2	0	0	1	3
T. Levin	17	1-3	0-0	0-0	6	2	1	1	0	2
G. McCammon	8	2-3	1-2	0-1	0	0	1	0	1	5
K. Thomas	1	0-1	0-0	1-2	1	0	0	0	0	1
R. Sterling	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	1	0
D. Telander	-- DID NOT PLAY --
R. Forman	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		30-50	3-6	31-43	36	12	9	4	19	94
TEAM TOTALS		30-50	3-6	31-43	36	12	9	4	19	94

Eastern Illinois Panthers
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
M. Robinson	20	6-16	2-8	0-0	0	4	2	0	2	14
R. Martin	24	10-21	7-16	3-3	3	0	1	0	2	30
B. Catchings	23	1-5	0-2	2-2	5	0	0	1	2	4
O. Cisse	24	0-1	0-0	1-2	3	0	2	0	1	1
M. Dorlack	20	1-4	0-0	4-6	8	1	0	2	0	6
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
J. Anthony	12	2-6	0-1	2-2	0	0	2	0	0	6
J. Byrne	12	2-6	0-1	2-2	2	2	3	0	1	8
B. Parrish	3	0-0	0-0	1-2	2	0	0	0	0	1
J. Willhite	11	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	4	1	0	1	0
J. Brock	11	4-5	0-0	0-0	2	0	2	0	0	8
T. Laser	15	2-6	2-6	0-0	2	2	3	0	2	6
B. Jolliff	5	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	2	1	0	0	0
TEAM TOTALS		29-71	11-33	15-19	27	15	17	3	11	84

Coach Quote:
Richards: "I honestly don't know what happened in the second half but all those fouls killed the whole gameplan. I do appreciate (Romain) Martin's 30 points they were greatly needed because with (Mike) Robinson in foul trouble he couldn't get in rhythm. Heck, no one could get in rhythm Martin and Robinson were the only ones who were in double figures. As much minutes I'm spreading around this shouldn't be happening. Some players might be losing some minutes in future games."


UP NEXT: @ Western Illinois 11/20

[vicebeliever42]

Panthers rip in-state rivals Western Illinois for Richards’s 1st


Eastern Illinois Panthers (0-1) vs. Western Illinois Leathernecks (0-1)
Macomb, IL
November 20th, 2007

Charleston, IL – “We had all the rest of last week to prepare for this game. We tweaked some things and we changed up the way we play defense because we can’t have another game like we did against Loyola. Next to turnovers fouls are the root of evil in the basketball world in my view,” explained Eastern Illinois’s head coach Damien Richards. This game was crucial for EIU to win because they were going against their rivals Western Illinois at their home court. Both teams knew going into this that they were going to give it their all. Not only because both teams were playing to get their first win of the season but because this game is the only time they would face each other this season. A victory against your rival would go a long way when contract talks come around.

As the game begun it was as though EIU was going to have a repeat of last game. The Panthers would finish the first half with 11 fouls to the Leathernecks’ 6, along with allowing their in-state rivals Western Illinois to shoot over .500 from the field. Coach Richards was very frustrated on the sidelines including EIU’s SR SG Julio Anthony who nearly was called for a technical after he fouled WIU’s SR PF Jerrych Owens-Murray when he went up for a layup. He was quickly calmed down by his teammate as though it looked like Anthony wanted to exchange fists. While WIU was scoring easily EIU was having a tough time getting the ball in the basket. Even the man who scored 30 points last game could only make one basket out of four. After a timeout called by Coach Richards the Panthers would rally to come back and take their first lead of the game with 4 minutes left in the first half with a 10-0 run. They would finish the half causing their rivals to turnover the ball 13 times while shooting a horrid 35% from the field falling behind by 10 points. FR PG Tyler Laser, who played only the final 4 minutes of the half, would be named Player of the Half scoring 6 points off of 2 threes making him 2 for 2 from behind the arc. SR C Jake Byrne would also contribute 6 points shooting 3-5 from the field during the 7 minutes he was out on the court.

In the second half EIU looked like the team that Coach Richards truly coached. Immediately the Panthers would go on another 10-2 run dominating defensively and on the boards. They would get a plus 10 margin on the boards and caused WIU to cough up the ball 12 times as the bench would step up for the starters who were struggling to get anything going. The Leathernecks had a total of 27 turnovers to EIU’s 18 this gap would push the Panthers’ lead to 30 points it was as though WIU was giving the ball up purposely. With all the good there still was the bad, but just one bad; one player had to continue to get into foul trouble. With 4 fouls Coach Richards had no choice but to take his starter SR SG Bobby Catchings out and replace him with their sixth man SR SG Julio Anthony. With the second most minutes played on the team Anthony, who was named player of the game, would score the game high 14 points helping to cruise the Panthers to notch up Coach Richards’ first victory as head coach on the collegiate level.

Eastern Illinois Panthers at Western Illinois Leathernecks
Nov 20, 2007	1ST	2ND	SCORE
Eastern Illinois (1-1)	37	47	84
Western Illinois (0-2)	27	26	53

Eastern Illinois Panthers
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
M. Robinson	33	3-10	3-6	3-4	6	7	3	0	6	12
R. Martin	25	2-7	1-3	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	5
B. Catchings	12	2-3	2-2	0-0	1	0	0	0	2	6
O. Cisse	22	2-4	0-0	1-4	5	3	4	0	3	5
M. Dorlack	22	2-7	0-0	2-2	7	1	2	1	1	6
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
J. Anthony	30	5-9	1-2	3-4	3	1	2	0	3	14
J. Byrne	17	5-8	0-0	3-3	5	1	0	0	0	13
B. Parrish	12	2-4	0-0	5-5	0	0	0	0	0	9
J. Willhite	9	0-0	0-0	4-4	4	1	0	0	3	4
J. Brock	2	1-3	0-1	0-0	2	0	0	0	0	2
T. Laser	6	2-2	2-2	0-0	0	1	0	0	0	6
B. Jolliff	3	1-1	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	2
TEAM TOTALS		27-58	9-16	21-26	34	16	12	1	18	84

Western Illinois Leathernecks
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
J. Washington	28	3-9	2-4	2-2	1	5	0	0	5	10
D. Jackson	34	1-6	0-0	1-2	6	1	2	0	7	3
C. Gonzalez	31	1-5	1-3	1-2	7	0	0	0	10	4
J. Owens-Murray	28	3-4	0-0	4-6	1	0	4	0	2	10
L. Johnson	26	3-7	0-0	1-3	4	2	0	0	2	7
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
D. Nurse	18	4-7	1-3	0-0	0	0	1	0	0	9
D. Dubois	13	1-6	0-1	3-4	3	0	0	0	0	5
C. Clark	8	1-3	1-3	2-2	1	1	0	0	1	5
P. Stoudamire	6	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	1	0	0	0	0
J. Granstra	3	0-0	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	0
J. Rivers	3	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
N. Bodic	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TEAM TOTALS		17-48	5-15	14-21	24	10	7	0	27	53

Coach Quote:
Richards: "It's a great accomplishment to get my first win as a coach in the NCAA. It couldn't of got it without the team, so this one belongs to them. They played a good game...there's still a lot they gotta learn. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt though because they turned a bad start into a great finish. I'm proud of how (Julio) Anthony turned things around in the second half especially after that incident in the first..I question (Romain) Martin's consistency though he scored 30 last game I have no clue what happened this game all he had was 5 points.

UP NEXT: @ Arkansas State 11/24