Following in the footsteps of a Legend (CH2k8)

[Deuce2223]

Re: Following in the footsteps of a Legend (CH2k8)

I'll be following. Looks like your offense is pretty potent this season. I almost went the Big Sky route myself with Sacramento State before I decided to go with Kennesaw State.

Yeah my roster is perfect for the type of offense I like to run. I have 4 solid bigs and my SF's have decent 3pt ratings to go along with a PG and SG who can shoot the lights out.

I have done past legacies with Sacramento State, but decided to go with UNC to make recruiting more of a challenge because when you start out in Cali it's pretty easy to load up on 3* instate kids and build up a decent roster quickly. I was completely shocked when I landed a 4* in Year 1, I honestly don't ever remember doing that in any of my past 20+ legacies.

[Deuce2223]

Re: Following in the footsteps of a Legend (CH2k8)

BEARS FALL SHORT IN STILLWATER

After picking up their 5th win of the season beating LMU (88-62) behind a season/career high from FR N. Forte (21 pts) the UNC Bears took on #16 Oklahoma State for their first matchup vs a Top-25 program.

The first half featured both high power offenses clicking as each team left defense in the locker room. A huge 3pt by W.M. Brady at the buzzer left UNC trailing by just 1 basket as the 1st half ended (50-48)

After hitting 3/7 from 3pt in the 1st half the Bears went cold from beyond the arc going 0/6 in the 2nd half and that was just the break the Cowboys needed as they held on to a 6 point lead for the win.

N. Forte followed up his season high 21 pts against LMU with a team high 18 pts and 9 rebs well adding 3 blks to lead the Bears in the loss. JR A. Thompson also had a solid game with a double double of 15 pts and 11 reb well W.M. Brady added (15 pts) and Cam Atkinson had 11 pts

FINAL SCORE OSU-84 UNC-78

Coach Deuce "We knew going in we would have to play one of our best games. OSU is good and there is a reason why they are a Top-25 program. They took care of business from the line (23-30) and used a solid balanced offense (4 players in double digits)"

UP NEXT UNC HAS A WEEK OFF BEFORE TRAVELING TO (3-4) STANFORD

[Deuce2223]

Re: Following in the footsteps of a Legend (CH2k8)

FEAR THE CLAW!!

Coming off just their 2nd loss of the season, the UNC Bears went on a 5 game winning streak as they finish non-conference play with a 10-2 record

First the Bear Claws came out in full force with a (84-68) win over Stanford, then UNC returned home for just the 2nd time in 8 games to defeat Denver (75-68) before going back on the road to beat (7-2) Washington State (80-73).

Coach Deuce "Picking up 2 wins over solid Pac-10 programs were a huge statement for where our program is heading and how we are playing this year".


The Bears continued their solid road season with a win over Montana in the Big Sky opener defeating the Griz despite a season low 64 pts (64-58).

Cam Atkinson was the only player to hit double digits with 11 pts as everyone scored at least 1 basket.

Coming off their season low Northern Colorado returned home to Buter-Hancock Hall "The Bear's Den" to host the high powered offense of (7-2)Hawaii and JR PF S. Glass (27.2 PPG)

Tied 40-40 at the half with Glass leading all scorers with 12 pts the Bears got a jolt of offense off the bench as K. Crenshaw scored a season high 14 pts (all in the 2nd half) to lead UNC to the 88-81 victory.

Cam Atkinson was named POG as he finished with 20 pts and 9 rebs. T. Sylia added 14 pts and N. Forte had 11 pts 4 reb and 2 blks off the bench.

UP NEXT UNC HOST'S (4-5) WEBER STATE IN THE BIG SKY HOME OPENER

[Deuce2223]

Re: Following in the footsteps of a Legend (CH2k8)

MID-SEASON TOP-25

#1 Wisconsin (9-0)
#2 Duke (9-1)
#3 Michigan State (11-1)
#4 Florida (11-2)
#5 Maryland (10-1)
#6 Arizona State (10-0)
#7 Villanova (10-1)
#8 Syracuse (9-2)
#9 Iowa State (12-1)
#10 USC (10-1)
#11 Seton Hall (9-1)
#12 Texas A&M (10-2)
#13 Pittsburgh (10-1)
#14 Tennesse (11-2)
#15 Texas Tech (10-2)
#16 Oklahoma State (8-3)
#17 UCLA (9-2)
#18 Purdue (10-2)
#19 Notre Dame (10-2)
#20 Louisville (10-3)
#21 Washington (10-2)
#22 Michigan (9-2)
#23 Ohio State (7-4)
#24 Georgia Tech (10-2)
#25 Utah State (11-1)

The Big Story- I think the biggest story of the Mid-Season Top-25 has to be that of Arizona State. The Sun Devils are currently the only team in the rankings with a perfect record and were not even in the Top-25 Pre-Season Poll.

Game of the Week-. All eyes will be on the matchup of #2 Duke vs #4 Florida. The Blue Devils have won 2 straight since their (82-73) loss to Marquette including a (123-66) victory over Morehead State. The Gators had won 6 straight before falling to Kansas (89-75) for the 2nd loss of the season.

[Deuce2223]

Re: Following in the footsteps of a Legend (CH2k8)

BEAR'S CLIMB TO #8 IN MID-MAJOR POLL!!

With a (10-2) record the Northern Colorado Bears are having the nation take notice. On the verge of their 3rd straight season with 20+ wins Coach Deuce has put UNC on the map of college basketball. What is even more exciting is the Bears currently own the 8th best RPI in the nation.

With 7 of the teams 10 victories coming on the road including wins over Stanford, Washington State, Colorado and LMU as well as home wins over Air Force and Hawaii the Bears are just 2 very tough loss's away from a perfect season.

Well the Big Sky is not normally known for producing a strong RPI, a very strong performance by UNC during the regular season could very well see the Bears finish with a RPI in the Top-40 and a spot into the NCAA tournament without a Big Sky Championship automatic bid.

Coach Deuce-"We are excited about our current ranking and it is nice to think we could make the tournament without a conference title, but to be honest at this point our goal this season is to just keep playing good basketball and put ourselves into the best possible situation come tourney time. If we manage a #6-7 seed then we believe we could have a viable chance at making a Sweet-16 run. A #8-#9 seed put's us playing the #1 seed in our bracket in the 2nd round an personally that is not something we want to do."

[Deuce2223]

Re: Following in the footsteps of a Legend (CH2k8)

UNC BEARS WIN BIG SKY CHAMPIONSHIP!!

For the 2nd time in 4 seasons at the helm, Coach Deuce has guided the UNC Bears to their 2nd straight Big Sky regular season title. The title came down to the last game of the regular season against Montana as both teams came into the game with a 13-2 conference record..

Montana led the game at the half (46-39) but a strong 2nd half on both sides of the ball gave Northern Colorado the double digit victory (96-83).

4 players scored in double digits led by Juniors Cam Atkinson (25 pts 6 reb) and Aron Thompson (20 pts 7 reb). Well Sophomore SG W.M. Brady hit 4/5 from 3pt scoring 14 pts.

It was a sad night for the Bear's lone Senior. SG N. Boatner was the key 6th man his Freshman season for Coach Deuce and was a starter the next season averaging 12.8 PPG, but over the past 2 seasons have seen his minutes disappear to the point that he averaged just 3.8 PPG this season. In his final game in Greely, Boatner logged just 7 minutes after picking up 2 early fouls and a 4th early in the 2nd half. He finished with just 2 points coming from the F.T after missing his only 3pt attempt of the night.

UNC will have a 1st Round Bye going into the Big Sky Tournament and will play the winner of Weber State/Portland State in Round 2. Montana will also receive a bye in Round 1 and will face the winner of Sacramento State/N. Arizona in Round 2.

Montana State and Eastern Washington both will miss the tournament after going just 4-12 in the Big Sky and 6-22 Overall.

[Deuce2223]

Re: Following in the footsteps of a Legend (CH2k8)

BUBBLE WATCH

Going into Conference Tournaments where teams look to lock up their automatic bids by become champs, other teams will just look to improve their current Bubble standings.

Despite a (23-4) current record and a RPI of #40, the UNC Bears currently are off the bubble and will most likely need to secure the auto bid for a 3rd straight year.

Currently project as a #8 seed playing in the South against #9 Alabama (currently 20-9), UNC would then have to face projected #1 seed Miss State (25-5).

So well UNC mostly likely needs a win, some teams to keep a eye on come tourney time is..

Providence (19-11) current RPI 28
Bucknell (24-4) current RPI 60
Tennessee (19-10) current RPI 32
Ohio State (18-11) current RPI 49
NC State (17-13) current RPI 31
Pittsburgh (17-12) current RPI 39
West Virginia (17-12) current RPI 29
Xavier (21-9) current RPI 46
Purdue (19-10) current RPI 47
UCLA (17-12) current RPI 44
USC (17-11) current RPI 48
UALR (23-9) current RPI 74
Creighton (21-7) current RPI 82
Bowling Green (19-9) current RPI 78
C. Connecticut (24-6) current RPI 67

(I am not sure how UNC is not on the bubble watch being how my RPI is higher then 10 teams on this list, but to be honest I rather just keep my 10 game winning streak going and go into the NCAA tourney as a #6 or #7 seed) then lose and have to play the wait and see game)

[Deuce2223]

Re: Following in the footsteps of a Legend (CH2k8)

BEARS WIN 3RD STRAIGHT BIG SKY TOURNEY !!

For the 3rd straight year the UNC Bears have won the Big Sky Automatic Bid as they will go into the NCAA Tournament with a 12 game winning streak and a 25-4 record.

Northern Colorado opened the tournament with a (91-84) win over Weber State as Cam Atkinson led the team with a double double of 22 pts 10 reb.

In the Championship game, UNC took on Sacramento State who came into the tournament as a #6 seed. With a 12-17 record the Hornets were hoping to end a disappointing season with another shocking win, but came up short as they trailed the Bears (48-38) at the half and never closed the gap as UNC wins the game (79-71).

UNC saw all 5 starters score double digits led by Atkinson and Thompson with 14 pts each. Sylia/Brady/Conway each scored 10 pts. FR N. Forte led the team with 11 rebs and had a career high 5 blocks.

[Deuce2223]

Re: Following in the footsteps of a Legend (CH2k8)

IOWA STATE #1 Overall Seed??

The Iowa State Cyclones finished the year as Big 12 Champs winning both the regular season title and tournament title with a (30-4) record. Just knowing that information would make most think so whats ?? for. Well the reason why is because ISU is currently #6 in the Media Poll and #9 in the Coaches Poll.

Joining ISU as #1 seeds, will be the Florida Gators who finished with the same Overall record (30-4) and finished as the #1 team in the nation in both the Media Poll and Coaches Poll, Duke (24-7) and Michigan State (28-5)

Florida, Duke and MSU all finished their seasons as both the regular season and conference champs.

[Deuce2223]

Re: Following in the footsteps of a Legend (CH2k8)

BEARS GET #8 SEED IN MIDWEST

Going into the season, Coach Deuce's #1 goal was a trip to the Sweet 16. That goal will now have to be accomplished by beating the #1 seed in the Midwest Regional which happens to be the Duke Blue Devils. The same Duke Blue Devils who were the Pre-Season #1 team in the country. The same Duke Blue Devils who has 4 Pre-season All-Amercians in their starting lineup and a starting lineup that has all 5 players scoring in double digits.


However before they even have to think about playing and beating Duke, the Bears first will need to get past #9 Pittsburgh. The Pitt Panthers snuck into the tournament finishing with a Overall record of (20-13) after making it to the semi finals of the Big East tournament before losing to Providence. With a starting lineup that includes 4 Seniors and a very talented SO PG J. Tigert (83 Overall), UNC can't go in thinking to far ahead, or their season will be over before they know it.

[Deuce2223]

Re: Following in the footsteps of a Legend (CH2k8)

WILL COACH DEZARON LEAVE UNC AT THE END OF THE SEASON??

With a Overall record of 85-37 in 4 seasons, Coach Ryne Derozan II "The Deuce" has quickly become a name in the coaching ranks as a man who can recruit and turn around programs quickly.

With 3 straight 20+ win seasons and 3 straight trips to the NCAA tournaments several Mid-Major programs are hoping that Coach Deuce will be the man that turns their program around.

Rumors are currently that Fordham (8-22 Overall, 6-10 A-10), North Texas (13-15 Overall, 8-10 Sun Belt), Buffalo (6-23 Overall, 4-12 MAC), and Northern Illinois (5-24 Overall, 4-12 MAC) have all already contacted UNC about buying out Coach Deuce's contract.

Rumors are that Gonzaga also has Coach Deuce's name #1 on their list should their current coach Mark Few decide it's time to move on and try taking on a higher caliber of competition in a Power conference.

The Zag's typically a Mid-Major power house who dominates the WCC has fall on tough times recently. Despite finishing 24-10 Overall and winning the WCC going 11-3, Gonzaga found itself on the outside looking in come tourney time as they lost their chance at the automatic bid and had to put their faith in the bubble where #51 RPI left the off the bubble.

Coach Deuce-Obviously right now my #1 priority is to have my team ready to beat Pittsburgh and then prepare for Duke, however it's always a good feeling to hear your name being mentioned at schools like Gonzaga, North Texas, Fordham, ect.. It's every coaches dream to one day coach in a power conference and have his team a Top-25 staple and have a legit chance taking his school to a Final 4 and win a National Title.


Should Coach Deuce move on Gonzaga would seem to make the most sense being how he is a Northwest native and the Zag's would be returning SO SG Kenny Tate (81 OVR) however the rest of the roster would be very young as Gonzaga graduates 5 players. Looking at UNT and N. Illinios roster's both schools would be returning the bulk of their starting lineups and the majority of the current rosters are made up of Juniors meaning Coach Deuce would have alot of scholarship's to offer in his first year at the helm.

Coach Deuce-"I am not going to lie I looked at current rosters and both UNT and NIU have some great benifits. Obviously recruiting in Illinois and Texas is alot easier to find some solid 4* gems and potentially land a 5* Blue chip recruit. Both schools also offer great arena's to play in (N. Texas-Super Pit capacity of 10,500) and (N. Illinois-Convocation Center-10,000) and neither school has a history of making the NCAA tournament (UNT has been 2 times most recent 2006, NIU has been 3 times most recent 1995), which would allow me to really build a strong foundation but again my time at Northern Colorado is not done yet, so I am going to leave it at that"

[Deuce2223]

Re: Following in the footsteps of a Legend (CH2k8)

Hope you guy's enjoy the recaps so far. I post alot of info tonight because I am going to be pretty busy most of the week. I picked up extra hours at work the next 2 weeks and this week my only day off will be spent traveling.

I am looking forward to playing the tournament and trying to beat Duke will be a massive undertaking.

Well I really like my team and have some really good players who fit my style of play, I am really torn on what to do at the end of the season. I would love to return and actually coach Cam Atkinson in his Senior season. He is the first 4* recruit that I can ever remember landing in my 1st season as a HC at a small school, however I am not sure I can turn down the chance to move on to a school like Gonzaga. I am actually hoping that no one retires so Coach Few will just stay. However I must admit both UNT and N. Illinois have some things that really have me drawn to them as well with UNT having the slight lead (52/48). I also simmed once and had the opportunity to go to Creighton and Southern Illinois however both schools are coming off solid season and they would've offer the chance to rebuild as quickly. Only reason why I wouldn't choose Fordham is because Much to Learn has already put his name in the record books there and I tend to like to go to schools that havn't been posted about much. I honestly can't remember to many people spending much time in the Sun Belt Conference.

[pfeifere1]

Re: Following in the footsteps of a Legend (CH2k8)

I've been digging this recap style...pumps so much information into a nice, concise post.

IF you decide to leave, joining the MAC would be an awesome thing. I'd lean to Northern Illinois. Again that is IF you decide to go, however if you stay at UNC that would be great as well. I would probably say this NCAA Tournament should determine what you do. If ousted in round 1 I think you should stay to try and achieve that sweet 16 trip with the team you've built from the ground up.

GOOD LUCK!

[southernmetalhead]

Re: Following in the footsteps of a Legend (CH2k8)

North Texas would be pretty cool, but Gonzaga might be hard to turn down. Of course staying at Northern Colorado wouldn't be terrible either. I look forward to your decision.

[Deuce2223]

Re: Following in the footsteps of a Legend (CH2k8)

BEARS PULL OFF UPSET!!!

After opening the NCAA tournament with a (72-61) victory over #9 Pitt in the opening round, the Bears set up a 2nd round matchup with #1 Duke.

The Blue Devils came into the tournament as a favorite to win it all. With all 5 starters averaging double digits and a roster with 4 players projected to go in the Top-10 picks of this years NBA draft, this was a game of David vs Goliath.

With both schools averaging over 80 points a game most expected this game to be a offensive fireworks display but it was nothing of the sort. Tied 30-30 at the half, excitement was high in the UNC locker room. Despite having 3 players (Bray,Thompson and Atkinson) battling foul trouble in the 1st half, the Bears were still in this game.

The 2nd half opened up with the Bears making 3 straight baskets including a 3pt by SF K. Conway, as UNC builds a 7 point lead. Chants of "Fear the Claw" could be heard throughout the stadium as anyone not wearing Dukie Blue was getting behind this 2nd round upset.

Duke would cut the lead to just 4 with a 3pt just one of 3 they hit the entire game, but Conway answers with one of his own and then the Bears add another basket to increase the lead to 9 which was the deciding margin. K. Conway was named POG as he finished with a double double of 16 pts and 11 rebs hitting 3/5 from 3pt. Freshman N. Forte added 11 pts 7 reb and a career high 5 blks off the bench for the Bears.

FINAL SCORE #9 UNC-63 #1 DUKE-54

Coach Deuce-"Holding a team like Duke to just 54 points in the NCAA tournament is unreal. We came into this season with a goal of a Sweet 16 appearance and I am excited for this team to be able to full fill that dream. Does this mean I will be leaving Greeley after the season? Well that's not something I want to think about right now. Right now my focus is on the next game."


Before the game the Bears learned their Sweet 16 opponent would be none other then the other UNC, as #4 North Carolina had beaten #5 Providence (90-83) earlier. After the game Coach K and most of the Duke team was overheard, giving congrats to Coach Deuce and the Bears and wishing them luck against their #1 rival."


The Rest of the Field of 16 looks like this

#1 Michigan State vs #4 Arizona
#11 Miami FL vs #10 UCLA
#6 Utah State vs #7 Wisconsin (winner will face winner of the UNC/UNC game)

#1 Iowa State vs #12 UNLV
#14 S. Illinois vs #2 Louisville
#1 Florida vs #12 VCU
#3 Seton Hall vs #2 Maryland