The Coaching Legacy of Milton Mackay (College Hoops 2K8)

[VandyRedskins21]

Just saw this for the first time today and read through it all.. Great win against SFA! Good luck in the semis.

[CalBears]

Quote: Originally Posted by gsutiger

Great stuff here..got me thinking about doing one on my NCAA Basketball 10 Dynasty with Grambling

Quote: Originally Posted by VandyRedskins21

Just saw this for the first time today and read through it all.. Great win against SFA! Good luck in the semis.

Well it's been a while guys...but I'm back. Work and going away for college (didn't take the 360 with me) meant this thing got off the rails, but Christmas Break is here and I should be able to at the very least get us into Year 2. It's good to be back!

[CalBears]

Texas State to the conference finals!!
McNeese State and their seemingly unstoppable star Diego Kapelan have finally been vanquished. It took overtime and an all-around team effort from the Bobcats to do it, but the Bobcats have taken down their rivals for a spot in the conference championship, 68-63.

This was a game a power conference would have been proud of, an emotional, back and forth contest where both teams fought for their lives. No better reflection existed than the first half, where neither team had a lead larger than 5. Kapelan continued to give both John Bowman and Ryan White problems, and a late Cowboy surge gave McNeese a 27-25 lead at the half.

An 8-0 McNeese State run early in the second half put the Bobcats on the brink, and they continued to carry a comfortable lead for much of the second half. It took a 3 from Uriel Segura, who shot 20% from that distance this year, to cut the gap to 4 at the 5 minute mark. Kapelan would extend the lead to 6, but a pair of fastbreak layups from Eddie Rios and White made it a one possession game. In the final minute White was fouled going to the line. With his career on the line, White coolly sunk both free throws to tie the game. Kapelan would miss on the Cowboys final possession, and Rios couldn’t get his fadeaway to fall at the buzzer. It would go to overtime.

Shockingly, the overtime would go easily for the Bobcats, who would shut down the Cowboys. McNeese State would score just 4 points in the first 4 minutes of the extra period and the Bobcats would run out to a 14-9 advantage in the overtime for a 68-63 win. Kapelan, who had been so hot in regulation, seemed out of gas and did not make a field goal in overtime. He would crumple to the floor when the final buzzer sounded, exhausted from carrying the team on his back during his 31 minutes. The Canadian’s career ended with a 23 point night, but it made no difference as the Bobcats ran around the court in jubilation.

“We did it again!!!” was all Coach Mackey could say. “One more to go!”

“I am honored to play basketball for these four years,” said Kapelan after the game. “Texas State gave us a great game both times this year, they deserved to win. I would’ve loved to advance, but I am content with what I accomplished. I left all I had on the floor, and that’s all I could ever ask of myself. I’m gonna miss playing this great game.”

Texas State 68-McNeese State 63 (OT)
Key Bobcats
Johnson 12 points
White 11 points
Bishop 9 points
Sloan 8 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists
Key Cowboys
Kapelan 23 points, 7-17 FG, 8-10 FT
Martin 9 points
Alawoya/Konate 11 rebounds

[CalBears]

Texas State All-Access: Year 1, Update 4
A pair of underdogs would square off for the Southland title. Texas State, plagued by inconsistency and a slow adjustment to their new coach’s scheme, and Nicholls State, plagued by injuries and underachievement, would fight to decide the conference’s NCAA Tournament representative. Neither team would play in the postseason without a victory. Both teams are senior laden, with Texas State boasting 6 and Nicholls State starting backcourt and star Anatoly Bose set to exhaust their eligibility.

The game, as to be expected, was characterized by nerves. Even the coaches seemed a bit out of sorts before the game, neither having coached in a game with such high stakes. Mackey, usually the reserved customer on the sideline, screamed in the face of his shooting guard Ryan White after an errant 3.

The first half was a back and forth affair, with neither team willing to let the other go too far ahead. Nicholls State was able to quicken the pace enough to make both Mackey and his team uncomfortable, leading to a higher scoring game. The Bobcats shooters went ice cold, going 3 for 12 in the first half. Matt Staff, usually solely an interior threat, hit one of those threes, showing how poorly White, Rios, and Bishop were shooting the ball. Still, they were able to keep the game close, trailing by just 4 at the half, 31-27.

Mackey had calmed down by the halftime pep talk.

“Boys, we shot 3 for 12 from 3 in that first half. They can’t miss from behind the arc. Both of those are going to change in the second half. Shooters, stay confident. You’ve hit these shots all year, that’s not going to change tonight. You’re about to break out in this second half.”

“Defensively, I know what our scouting report said. We preferred 3s from their guards rather than drives. That’s obviously not right tonight. Push up a little bit, but they’re not gonna make those in crunch time. Keep playing hard. They’ve made some really tough shots, I don’t think they can keep it up. If they can’t, then we’ll win this. Even if they can, we can still defend enough to make it more difficult on them. Nothing easy.”

“Don’t worry about the stakes. 20 minutes of solid basketball and we win this game, this game. This game is the only thing that matters. Let’s go out and get this.”

The team seemed to buy into the team talk, but whatever Mackey’s opposing number said also worked. Texas State still could not buy a shot from 3, and would end up shooting 0 for 9 from that range in the second half. Still, baskets were there on the interior and Nicholls State wasn’t playing perfectly either. Both teams were going back and forth.

Anatoly Bose proved to be the difference. The senior Australian forward, who had missed the Bobcats January victory over the Colonels, would not let his team lose in his potentially final game. His two 3 pointers with 5 minutes left to play ignited an 8-2 run that gave his team a comfortable 8 point lead. Mackey had to call a timeout with 4:30 to play in order to calm his team’s shell shocked nerves, ice cold and backs against the wall.

“Boys, we need to play well, and we haven’t yet. Give me your best 4:30. If we can’t hit from the outside, pound them inside. We have 4 inches on them in the paint. Take them to school.”

The Bobcats tried. Unable to hit from the perimeter, they went to the inside, which had kept them in the game. When they needed it most, though, it wasn’t there. That 8 point lead maintained, only broken by Bose, of course, hitting a celebratory 3 as the buzzer sounded. The Aussie finished with 20 points, including 4 3 pointers. While Texas State’s seniors shied away from the big moment, Nicholls State’s leading man had come through.

Tears were shed as Texas State went through the ending handshake and watched the Colonels cut down the nets. For the six graduating seniors, it would be their last time taking off their collegiate uniform.

“I let you guys down,” White told his teammates through the tears. “This is on me man. I let you down.”

Mackey was quick to comfort his team.

“I know how disappointed you guys are, and to be honest I’m with you. We set a goal at the beginning of the year to make it to the Tournament and we didn’t. It hurts like heck. Sometimes the shots don’t fall. That’s life.”

“Embrace each other now. Nothing is the same as the family of a team. We win together, we lose together. No individual is responsible for any of our results. Remember what we accomplished this year, remember the upsets in non-conference, remember how we overcame disappointment, remember how we knocked off the #1 seed. Remember the practices where you felt like quitting and remember the times you spent with 10 of your best friends. There’s nothing better than a team, and you guys will be special to me. Thanks for putting up with me. I’m just sad to say goodbye. I love all of you.”

Nicholls State (14-19) 63-Texas State (12-19) 52
Key Colonels
Bose 20 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 7-12 FG
Hunter 12 points
Talkington 8 points, 8 rebounds
Key Bobcats
White 12 points, 5-16 FG, 2-10 3
Rios 10 points
Johnson 9 points, 8 rebounds
Staff 9 points, 5 assists

[Ebraam101]

That was not the ending we expected but a great talk in the end, Coach.

[CalBears]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ebraam101

That was not the ending we expected but a great talk in the end, Coach.

Thanks! Lot of emotion in honor of a 12-19 team. They were my first, though, and they were a good little squad. Just never could find out the release on Johnson, or how to score with him really. That cost us dearly as he was (supposedly) our go to guy.

[CalBears]

Texas State All-Access: Year 1, Update 5
Milton Mackey informed everyone he wasn’t a top recruiter coming in. St. Louis had made a living winning with less, and Mackey didn’t even handle recruiting for Rick Majerus. Still, he had high hopes for this class, but they took a hit going into the final week of recruiting.

Two of Texas State’s top targets had decided to go elsewhere, when Mackey and his assistants thought he had them locked up. The first of those, Ty Clark, had hurt the must. Clark was everything Mackey wanted, a good kid with a 3.8 GPA. He played defense at a high level and competed every time he stepped on the floor. A small forward, the only thing he lacked was a top shooting stroke, but Mackey had faith he could develop it. Clark had told Mackey in private he was going to Texas State. Two days letter, he signed his letter of intent to UT Pan-American. High school kids, right?

The other target, Stanley Paulding, was a point guard, one that also fit the bill. Paulding was a 3.1 student out of the Bronx. He had fought the death of his brother to achieve scholarship offers and would now escape his hometown. Toughness ran through his veins; Mackey felt he would butt heads at times but Paulding would be an incredible player. On the court, Paulding was a true floor general, with great handles and passing ability, averaging 11.6 assists per game for his high school squad. Texas State was late in on Paulding, who opted to go to Monmouth who had recruited him since his junior year.

Jay Modica signed his letter of intent early on, to nobody’s surprise. He figured to be a solid centerpiece to the defense off the bench. He could block shots and gather boards, if the coaching staff could instill toughness into him. Mackey thought they could.

Sidney Ellis also signed on, a shooting guard to back up John Bowman for Bowman’s senior year and then hopefully replace him. Ellis could hit the occasional 3, but he his main asset was his defense. Under Bowman’s tutelage, Ellis could become a true stopper, a lockdown defender.

Still Mackey needed another guard, a point to back up Eddie Rios, and a small forward, one who could either start over Basil Brown or be his understudy. Forward Kahrimanovic, Mackey could tell, wanted to come to Texas State. He hadn’t mentioned anything about the phone call, or anything of that sort. All he said was that he had a lot of pressure to turn pro in his homeland. While he waited for Cassiano, he looked to the junior college ranks for a just in case option, and to California for a new point guard…

[baccVols]

man, i hate losing recruits i really really want!!!!! good luck