The Bulgarian Brothers – A College Hoops 2K8 & NBA 2K20 Dynasty

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Quote: Originally Posted by marshdaddy

Loved the player spotlight, really cool to see that and learn about that player. Excited to see who else you do it for. And a huge win to close the season for St. Francis. Based off the standings seems like that was a must-win for you guys? How far do you think each brother can go in the tournament?

Yeah, it was very close to a must-win. Maybe if another team lost it would have been OK, but the way things played out it turned out needing to be a must win.


Both brothers are missing a key player: SFPA is missing starting PG Gerardo Bethel and Stetson is missing SG Lennox Evertsen. This makes it tough for them.

Honestly, I think each brother has a reasonable chance of making it out of round 1. However, both round 2 matchups are looking rough and I don't know if either, let alone both, will make it that far.


If 1 brother were to make the tourney, I'd guess Stetson, but I am worried both will miss this year.

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We’re two months away from the end of the NBA season and about 4 months away from the NBA draft. Many of the hopefuls will have conference and national tournaments to showcase their skills, but here’s how the rankings stack up currently.

Most scouts feel that Jameer Trammell (SF, Kansas State) is the best player in the draft, but a minority (including Draft Express) feel that Horace Wolfe (PF, Kentucky) may be better. Generally, the next group is believed to be headlined by 7’1” Raynell Ere (C, USC). So who is in the running for those players? Here’s the top 7 picks currently:

1. Suns (swap best with Kings)
2. Heat (lottery protected, otherwise to OKC)
3. Wizards
4. Trail Blazers
5. SuperSonics*
6. Honu*
7. Spurs
8. Knicks
9. Thunder (swap best with Clippers)

The Suns are currently in a fantastic place thanks to the trade last spring that swapped Ricky Rubio for Harrison Barnes and included this pick swap. This is looking disastrous for the Kings. The Heat are fortunate to have lottery protection on this pick, which will allow them to get a fantastic player and roll over that pick to next season.

*It’s likely that the 2 new expansion teams will be placed at slots #5 and 6 in this draft, but the exact order is TBD.

Point Guards

Player	Rank	School / Country	Age	Height	Weight	Season Stats
C.W. Wente	3	Michigan State	21	6’1”	188 lbs	20.0 ppg; 4.9 rpg; 5.1 apg; 1.0 spg
Roland Mayes	9	Arizona	18	5’11”	158 lbs	11.3 ppg; 2.9 rpg; 5.4 apg; 1.5 spg
Tudor Filimon	15	Romania	22	6’1”	203 lbs	23.2 ppg; 3.0 rpg; 8.5 apg; 1.5 spg
Devonne Shakur	21	USC	21	5’8”	185 lbs	13.6 ppg; 2.6 rpg; 4.3 apg; 1.5 spg
Kentrell Werch	26	Florida	20	6’4”	190 lbs	11.6 ppg; 4.3 rpg; 5.6 apg; 1.4 spg

Shooting Guards

Player	Rank	School / Country	Age	Height	Weight	Season Stats
Jerald McLaren	5	Duke	20	6’1”	195 lbs	14.9 ppg; 3.4 rpg; 3.2 apg; 1.1 spg
Malcolm Nahra	6	UCLA	21	6’3”	193 lbs	15.9 ppg; 3.0 rpg; 2.9 apg; 1.6 spg
Artie Tyler	13	Australia	23	6’4”	209 lbs	23.8 ppg; 4.8 rpg; 5.0 apg; 2.1 spg
Matthew Carroll	19	Alabama	22	6’3”	186 lbs	16.5 ppg; 3.8 rpg; 3.5 apg; 1.2 spg
Sheldon Newman	20	Duke	19	6’3”	194 lbs	7.6 ppg; 2.2 rpg; 2.3 apg; 1.2 spg

Small Forwards

Player	Rank	School / Country	Age	Height	Weight	Season Stats
Jameer Trammell	2	Kansas State	21	6’6”	234 lbs	18.6 ppg; 5.4 rpg; 0.9 apg; 0.9 spg
Ndudi Colter	10	Oklahoma State	23	6’6”	204 lbs	15.9 ppg; 5.1 rpg; 1.6 apg; 1.5 spg
Troy Jameson	14	Duke	21	6’6”	248 lbs	11.5 ppg; 5.8 rpg; 1.4 apg; 0.8 spg
Shawan Guzman	16	Arizona	19	6’8”	215 lbs	16.8 ppg; 7.6 rpg; 1.4 apg; 0.9 spg
Enrique Rivera	23	Argentina	20	6’7”	203 lbs	22.0 ppg; 5.2 rpg; 3.9 apg; 1.2 spg

Power Forwards

Player	Rank	School / Country	Age	Height	Weight	Season Stats
Horace Wolfe	1	Kentucky	22	6’10”	247 lbs	16.8 ppg; 8.3 rpg; 0.4 apg; 1.5 bpg
David Bruff	7	Duke	20	6’10”	252 lbs	13.5 ppg; 5.8 rpg; 1.2 apg; 2.3 bpg
Roy Grady	12	Texas	22	6’8”	268 lbs	18.9 ppg; 8.6 rpg; 0.4 apg; 1.2 bpg
Keston Mendoza	18	Stanford	18	6’8”	205 lbs	13.4 ppg; 5.8 rpg; 1.1 apg; 2.3 bpg
Jave Ibikunle	24	Florida	21	6’10”	219 lbs	17.9 ppg; 5.1 rpg; 0.8 apg; 0.4 bpg

Centers

Player	Rank	School / Country	Age	Height	Weight	Season Stats
Raynell Ere	4	USC	22	7’1”	249 lbs	24.6 ppg; 7.9 rpg; 0.4 apg; 2.9 bpg
Delvon Archie	8	Texas A&M	20	7’0”	271 lbs	23.6 ppg; 7.8 rpg; 0.1 apg; 2.7 bpg
Lamar Olson	11	Ohio State	22	7’0”	281 lbs	22.8 ppg; 5.9 rpg; 1.2 apg; 1.4 bpg
Stephan Maclies	17	NC State	21	6’9”	272 lbs	22.6 ppg; 7.7 rpg; 0.2 apg; 1.3 bpg
Lou Park	28	Kansas	22	6’11”	261 lbs	16.3 ppg; 4.7 rpg; 0.2 apg; 0.4 bpg

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As we head into the last week of play and have conference tournaments kicking off, let’s take a look at where the major conferences stand and who is likely to make it into the NCAA tournament.

Conference Standings
ACC: The #2 Duke Blue Devils are 2.5 games ahead of the 2^nd place (and unranked) UNC Tar Heels. The #7 Maryland Terrapins are only 8-6 and 5^th place in the conference.

Big East: The Big East is strong as usual, but there’s a big surprise near the top. In first place is #9 Syracuse, but just half a game back are the unranked Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Just behind them are #18 Pittsburgh and #13 Cincinnati. In second-to-last place in the conference are the UConn Huskies. Perhaps that upset loss to Dinko in last year’s tournament was a harbinger of things to come.

Big 10: The top of the Big 10 may be the strongest in the nation, as they have 5 of the top 11 teams. #4 Iowa is in first place, with #10 Illinois just behind them. #6 MSU, #11 Wisconsin, and #5 OSU are the remaining teams with winning records in conference play. No other teams are ranked.

Big 12: #12 Kansas State and top prospect Jameer Trammell lead the conference, with #14 Kansas and $15 Iowa state fighting for second.

Pac 10: #3 Oregon finds themselves in second place as it seems that #8 Washington has likely locked up the conference. It's surprising to see #20 Arizona still ranked as they are 7-9 in the conference (17-11 overall) and in 7^th place.

SEC: #1 Florida owns this conference. They are 14-0 in the conference, the only ranked team, and should expect to roll through the postseason as well.


Top 25
Here are the top 25 teams in the country the week before the big conference tournaments kick off. The country’s two most talented teams find themselves at the top, though it’s shocking to see Duke’s 5 losses. Surprise contenders Oregon and Iowa are in the top 4 and look like they are for real. Only three teams in the country are undefeated in their last 10 and one of them is now ranked 25^th: the Creighton Blue Jays.

Projected Bracket and Bubble Watch
With over a week until selection Sunday, here’s the projected bracket.

Here are the teams on the bubble, with several talented teams that are underperforming such as UCLA and Miami showing up here.

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Small conference tournaments have a way of being weird, but Oggy does not like how the Atlantic Sun is weird: the entire thing takes place over 3 days on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday over a week before selection Sunday. Why shove it all into three days? Why the weeklong break before postseason tourneys? He didn’t have the answer but he did have a matchup with SC Upstate, and at least it was at a neutral facility: Lipscomb’s Allen Arena in Nashville.

The Hatters were 2-0 against the Spartans this season with a 78-74 win on the road and a 91-72 at home. Brendon Pocius had 26 points in the first matchup and Lennox Evertsen scored 37 in the second, showing that SC Upstate is vulnerable to talented wing players.

The Spartans are 4-3 in the month of February, including a win over conference leaders Lipscomb last week. They are led by junior Caron Monserez (SG, 72 ovr), senior Carl Blackshear (PG, 68 ovr), and senior Dawud Blalock (SF, 68 ovr). They will be missing starting power forward Kory Cortez (PF, 68 ovr) who is out for the rest of the conference tournament with a separated shoulder. Blackshear is the #1 threat for Oggy to worry about, as he’s their best scorer, three point shooter, and playmaker.

The Hatters have a clear height advantage and with Evertsen out another three weeks they will need to heavily rely on that in this game. This could be the very last game for Daron Wagner and Adam Baynes, so Oggy hopes that the seniors show up motivated and ready to dominate.

Oggy decided to place Marko Neville exclusively on Blackshear, hoping to use his quick hands, quick feet, and sound defense to pressure him all game long. He also has a help defender waiting anytime Blackshear enters the lane. He hoped that by forcing the rest of the team to beat the Hatters, Stetson could advance to the next round.

Stetson started the game off with two dunks in the first 10 seconds and then added a few offensive rebounds, steals, and layups to bring the lead to 10-4. If Stetson was going to score a lot, it was going to need to continue to be in that way as the Spartans ran a 2-3 zone, sitting back and packing the paint.

However, that didn’t continue. Stetson let their foot off the gas and SC Upstate started grabbing easy offensive rebounds and getting back in the game. Oggy was not happy and called a timeout to regroup his team.

Coach Ognyan was not pleased with the effort he saw from his team.

The timeout seemed to work and the Hatters built up a 21-15 lead and had the momentum, causing SC Upstate to call timeout. It had been a fast-paced game so far and quite clean. Only three total turnovers and fouls between both teams so far. Blackshear had 4 assists but hadn’t scored yet. Caron Monserez was the main beneficiary of this as the guard had 9 points. Oggy made a quick adjustment, tell the Hatters to pick him up as soon as he crossed halfcourt, not giving him any space to shoot. He didn’t believe the rest of the team would be able to put up the points to beat them.

At halftime the score was 31-26 in favor of the Hatters. Their best, and sometimes only, offense had come from the pick and roll between Neville and Wagner. Nothing else was working well as they were shooting less than 50%. Monserez hadn’t scored again and had 9 points while Daron Wagner had 10 points for Stetson.

The Hatters came out with 1 thing in mind: to run the pick and roll until the Spartans could stop it. It worked. Even when they weren’t running the pick and roll, Neville was in the zone and dropping dimes, leading the way to a 44-33 lead.

Neville was in a zone, dropping dime after dime

However, the Spartans showed grit and resolve and worked their way back into the game, cutting the lead to 3 points with 4 minutes left. The game stayed close until Daron Wagner grabbed a key offensive rebound, put it back, and gave the Hatters a 5 point lead. Shortly after that he tipped in the ball off of a missed free throw and gave the Hatters an insurmountable lead: 8 points with just 15 seconds left.

The game finished 65-56 and the Hatters were onto the second round to face Mercer who had defeated top-ranked Lipscomb in the first round. What a major break for Oggy.

Daron Wagner had a monster second half and finished with 29 points and 8 boards. Marko Neville had 9 assists, and Brendon Pocius added 9 rebounds.

Carl Blackshear was held to 9 points this game, though he did have 7 assists. Limiting him was a big part of the victory, forcing others to step up. PF Maynard Elliot had 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Spartans.

Around the Atlantic Sun

• Mercer 81 – Lipscomb 77. The 8-seeded Bears shocked the Lipscomb Bison as they led much of the game before getting a four point victory. Cheyne Knox (PG, 66 ovr) played 34 minutes and scored 26 points, had 5 rebounds, and 7 assists for Mercer. This is great news for Stetson, who now get a matchup with Mercer instead of Lipscomb.
• Campbell 72 – Belmont 68. The Bruins scored 41 first half points and had a 12 point lead, but blew it by only scoring 21 points in the second half and then falling in overtime. E.J. Acker (PF, 64 ovr) had 18 rebounds for the Camels and Ulrich Stivers (PF, 76 ovr) had 24 points, 13 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 3 steals in the loss.
• Jacksonville 70 – North Florida 55. It was an easy win for the Dolphins, who led the game wire-to-wire.

[kibaxx7]

Those GIFs!!!

[studbucket]

Quote: Originally Posted by kibaxx7

Those GIFs!!!

I rather enjoy them myself, lol.

[studbucket]

The Inside Scoop is based on TheDominator273's awesome spreadsheet to add random events to your MyLeague.

Marquese Chriss will miss 25 games for violating league drug policy
The Kings’ center is just 25 years old and has some promise (78 ovr), but things seem to have gone downhill after he was part of the Wiggins and Bagley trade from the Pistons last year. This has culminated with his suspension, opening the door for rookie Reid Ziri (C, 76 ovr) to get more playing time and perhaps render Chriss unnecessary in the future.

Chriss was already out with a dislocated patella, and it appears that his injury contributed to a narcotics addiction that will cause him to most, if not all, of the rest of the season.

George Hill is an old, old man
George Hill has had a good career, but that long career seems to be catching up to him as it’s been reported out of San Antonio that he is coming into and out of every practice and game with ice packs, braces, and wraps. The 36 (nearly 37) year old is privately concerned with how his body is holding up and this may be the final season for the 2008 draft pick out of IUPUI.

[studbucket]

Dinko wasn’t supposed to, but he couldn’t help but look at the scores around the conference. Fairleigh Dickinson had won their game, as was expected, so the Red Flash would have a tough round two matchup against the second seed…but first they needed to make it there.

The NEC tournament was spread over a very reasonable 7 days, but for some insane reason the lower seed got home court in the games. Dinko did not understand it, but it benefits his team this tournament so he just appreciated it for now.

Monmouth was a solid team and had a better season than the Red Flash. With that acknowledged, they were just 1 game better in the conference standings and the two teams had split the season series. The first game was an easy 20 point win at home for the Red Flash, while the second was a 2 point win for the Hawks.

Dinko will need to slow down their center, 7’2” Jay Challed (67 ovr) and their point guard, P.J. Pjevcevic (67 ovr) to win this game. Fortunately, only Pjevcevic is a good shooter, so hopefully the Red Flash can afford to sag off others and play good help defense against him.

This had been Dinko’s worst season as St. Francis coach and he was hoping that a good run in the conference tournament could redeem this frustrating season.

Vern Quick drained a three to kick off the game and then St. Francis didn’t score again for four minutes. They were committing a lot of fouls and missing easy shots and were fortunate to only be down 12-5 and knew they could get back into the game.

They eventually brought the game to 4 points and then got sloppy letting the lead extend to 10: 26-16. Dinko called his second timeout and tried to get his team to play smarter and with more composure. They came out crashing the boards and aggressively double teaming. This worked, briefly. The Hawks adjusted and pulled ahead by 12. However, at half the lead was cut down to 31-26.

A 5 point deficit was not bad at all for how terribly the Red Flash had been playing. Monmouth was 11-17 from the free throw line while the hosts were 0-4. The Hawks kept driving into the lane and putting pressure on St. Francis and the Red Flash would need to reciprocate if they want to get back into the game.

The way the second half started it looked like there would be no way that St. Francis would get back into it. They were down by 15, 45-30, and Monmouth had been making great passes and getting easy baskets the entire half. Dinko was starting to get a sinking pit in his stomach. Maybe this would just wasn’t his year.

However, the Red Flash decided to turn things around. They went on a 10-2 run to make the game 47-40, spurred by 2 threes from Vern Quick. The Hawks then turned the ball over and St. Francis got another bucket. It was now a 5 point game and St. Francis was starting to get some hope.

However, they did have some concerns. Both Vern Quick and Floyd Akindele had four fouls and the Red Flash were playing far too physically. However, both players still had a role to play in this game, including Akindele’s up-and-under followed by a Tanoris Houston layup that brought the game to within 3 points with 5:30 left.

A Willis Holman and Chris Thompson unorthodox pick-and-roll brought the game to 51-50 and Monmouth called time as the crowd went crazy. St. Francis has gone on a 20-6 run and it’s anyone’s game.

A Thompson dunk and-one tied the game at 53, but then Floyd Akindele fouled out. With just two and a half minutes left, the game was tied at 55. With a minute left, the Hawks had a 3 point lead, 60-57. This was when St. Francis decided to get heroic.

Vern Quick caught a pass on the wing, pump faked and got his defender in the air. A quick sidestep to the left and a nothing-but-net three later and the game was tied. What a clutch shot from the sophomore, who now had 21 points.

Thirty seconds later the game was tied at 62 and Monmouth had the ball on the sideline to inbound it with 36 seconds left. Their inbound pass was tipped, deflected off of the inbounder and went out of bounds. This meant that with just a half second difference between the shot and game clocks, the Red Flash could ensure they took the last shot of the game.

They inbounded the ball and immediately stood 40 feet from the basket, wasting time. With 10 seconds left, Houston dribbled right and then passed the ball to Stephane Diakite, who was in the short wing area. He caught the ball with 6 seconds left and turned his back to the basket. He began backing in, got to the edge of the paint and spun toward the baseline, faking the shot with his right hand. He then stepped through and flipped the ball up with his left hand, swishing it. With only 1.5 seconds left in the game, the Hawks were forced the chuck the ball the length of the court and easily missed.

Three very important shots to help the Red Flash get the win.

The bench, the fans, and Dinko went nuts. It was pure, unadulterated chaos as popcorn flew, people screamed, and students rushed the floor. It was almost three years to the day from when Robert Morris knocked out the Red Flash on a last-second shot and Dinko was glad to pay it forward to Monmouth.

Later that night, Dinko would reflect that even if the season ended after this game, this memory would make it a “good season”. It’s a team full of freshman and sophomores – to show this level of resilience is a very good sign, especially without senior guard Gerardo Bethel.

For now, it’s a bit of celebration, then onto Fairleigh Dickinson in the semifinals.

The Red Flash were a miserable 1/5 from the free throw line, while Monmouth was 18/28. St. Francis will need to be far more aggressive on the offensive end and controlled on the defensive end. The Red Flash were also poor at grabbing rebounds.

Vern Quick led the way with 21 points and Chris Thompson added 15 for St. Francis.

Rick Falu had 15 points, P.J. Pjevcevic had 13 points and 9 assists, Jay Challed had 14 points, and Jacoby Benjamin had 8 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks.

Around the Northeast Conference

• Fairleigh Dickinson 94 – Sacred Heart 85. Kevin Duggins (SG, 67 ovr) scored 27 points as FDU managed a relatively comfortable win over the frisky Pioneers.
• Central Connecticut State 83 – Robert Morris 63. Robert Morris isn’t good, and that was clear as they were down 21 at halftime. Tommy Victor (SG, 71 ovr) has his career continue for at least 1 more game as he scored 24 points, dishes out 6 assists, and grabs 5 rebounds in the win.
• Quinnipiac 78 – Long Island 67. Quinnipiac jumped out to a big first half lead and held on for the win thanks to Issa Matela (PG, 67 ovr) and Gene Cranford (SG, 73 ovr).