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

[studbucket]

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

I just got a 2K8 for PS2 and I'm loving everything, changing the schedule, the random generated players, the recruiting process, the season preview & selection sunday shows... Wow.

I think I'm gonna try a CH/2K blend like this in the future if that's OK with you, Stud. Thanks for the inspiration!

Amazing! I am so glad you got the game. It is such a masterpiece of a sports game. It has its quirks, but is so fun and deep.

I would love to see more CH and NBA blends. You don't need my permission, you've been doing dynasties long before I started Can't wait to hear more about your experiences.

[studbucket]

January 29, 2021 Northern Colorado at Northern Arizona [Big Sky]

The Bears’ reward for beating Idaho State with a walkoff dunk? Two straight games against conference-leading Northern Arizona. On Saturday, Northern Colorado was destroyed by 24 points at home. NAU had 5 players in double digits, with star PG Karl Lloyd leading the way with 22 points. Oggy was hoping that this game would be more like the Big Sky tournament game last year that saw UNC winning by a single point in a thrilling contest.

At 8-12 overall with 9 games left, it’ll be tough for the Bears to reach .500. However, they are 3-4 in the conference and Oggy could very reasonably expect his team to be .500 or higher in the conference.

However, this NAU team is quite talented. Led by the senior guard trio of Karl Lloyd, Ricardo Lathum, and B.A. Diggs. Most of their 3 point shooters are on the bench, but they have three players averaging double digits in points.

As the teams lined up for opening tip, Oggy couldn’t help but notice the matchup between the two freshman centers: Laurie Galloway and Taron Guy. That will be something these fans will be seeing for the next few years.

It started off rough for the Bears. NAU clearly had the talent advantage and was up 12-5 early on. Northern Colorado was finding it tough to make baskets and Brandon North hadn’t even touched the ball yet. Sensing that this was going to be a slog, Oggy decided to double down on defense and tried to bait the Lumberjacks into lower-percentage shots. They started clogging the lane and dropping far off of star PG Karl Lloyd, who is fantastic but is not a great shooter. Lloyd used that space and took all the shots he wanted, most of which didn’t go in.

On offense, the Bears started trying to get the ball to Brandon North and crept back into the game, making it 16-14 midway through the half. After Rene Uduzue tipped an inbound pass to Bingo Burnett for the steal, breakaway, and Uduzue layup, UNC found themselves up 19-18.

Oggy kept using that strategy the rest of the 1^st half to good effect. The Bears were up 32-28 and had held the Lumberjacks to 44% shooting and had forced 6 turnovers. Karl Lloyd was leading the game in scoring with 10 points, but was only 4-10 from the field and 1-6 from three. Oggy was very happy with that arrangement. Lloyd was most dangerous when passing the ball, so shooting was generally not good for his team. For the Bears, Taron Guy had 10 points, Brandon North had 8, and Andres Swanson had 7 points – all from the free throw line.

The home crowd was nervous given the blowout they expected, and they were dead quiet just a few minutes into the half. Brandon North hit a three to give the Bears a 10 point lead and completed deflated Walkup Skydome. Taron Guy was completely outworking the Lumberjacks and UNC had 9 offensive boards, which kept them in control of the game.

With four minutes left, UNC found themselves up 13, but NAU woke up and worked back into the game. The lead was down to 5 with just two minutes left and Coach Ognyan was getting a bit worried. Would his inexperienced team collapse at the end?

After his team extended the lead to 6, Oggy looked up and saw Lloyd hit a three pointer, cutting the game to just three. This was a problem. He crossed his arms and hoped for the best.

And the best did come from the place it usually does: Brandon North. He hit a three pointer to put his team up 6, then Zygis Martinez stole the ball on a fast break, getting it to Swanson for a layup to put the Bears up 8. Oggy screamed with joy and then yelled to the players on the court “Hold on boys, you’ve got this!”

And have it they did, as they got a 74-64 victory over one of the best teams in their conference.

Brandon North led the game with 26 points on 8-13 shooting and was supported by Andres Swanson who had 19 points and was fouled an astounding 8 times. NAU’s Karl Lloyd had 21 points, but was 8-16 from the field and 4-11 from three with just 6 assists. A respectable game, but was exactly the kind of volume shooting Oggy hoped to see from Lloyd.

Around the NCAA

• The Red Flash were up by 5 at half, but Fairleigh Dickinson controlled the 2^nd half and won 72-67. FDU has swept the season series.
• #10 North Carolina sits atop the ACC with a 5-1 conference record.
• #4 Providence is leading the Big East (8-0), with #1 UConn right behind them at 8-1.
• In the Big 10, #5 Indiana is 8-1 and atop the conference.
• The Big 12 only has 2 ranked taems, including #17 Texas, who is leading the conference at 5-1.
• The top of the Pac 10 is a battle, with 5 ranked teams all very close to the top, but right now #16 Stanford is 6-2 and ahead by half a game over UCLA, Washington, and USC.
• #24 Florida finds themselves atop the SEC at 5-1.
• Notre Dame center Sidney Dunnington leads the nation in scoring at 27.8 ppg.
• German walkon PF Vladimir Schmidt of the NJIT Highlanders is the nation’s top rebounder with 11.4 rpg.
• Nobody finds open shooters better than UConn’s senior PG Jay Herman, and he’s a big reason for their success this year with 8.3 dimes each game.
• Prairie View boasts the best thief in the nation as Ramod Tucker steals 3.8 steals a game.
• Winston Works is leading Gonzaga and leading the nation with 3.5 blocks per game.

[studbucket]

2021 NBA All-Star Draft

Giannis and Steph faced off in an All-Star draft for this year’s game in LA.

[studbucket]

February 14, 2021 Northern Colorado vs Eastern Washington [Big Sky]

Northern Colorado had gone 1-2 over the last two weeks with consecutive losses to Montana and Weber State following a victory over Montana State. Oggy was hoping to even things up in the conference as his team sat at 5-6 and was welcoming Eastern Washington. The Eagles were a reasonable 5-7 in conference play but didn’t have a single win outside of the conference, meaning they were 5-16 on the season.

At 10-14, the Bears had a respectable, though mediocre, record. There was no chance to hit .500 on the season, but if they could stay in the top 6 they’d be able to make the conference tourney and perhaps go dancing again. Oggy believed in his team in a tournament setting as they had shown the ability to play with anyone on the right night.

In their first matchup this season, the Eagles won by 5 at home, completely dominating the paint. Their physicality and smart defense forced Alvarez and Guy to shoot a combined 2-16. Oggy was hoping things would be different this time, though EWU center Lunzaya Grant was quite strong and tough for Taron Guy to push him around. However, his biggest concern was PG Dannorriss Tucker – the PG was the leader of their team and a good shooter. The Eagles were 1-7 over their last 8 games and were vulnerable, Oggy hoped to take advantage of their uptempo play and force them into bad decisions.

The game was run ‘n gun from the opening tip and it was a close one. A 9-9 score turned into 15-15, with UNC matching EWU basket for basket. However, Brandon North struggled to get involved and the Eagles started to hit some threes and pull away. With two minutes left the score was 28-21 and Brandon North hadn’t made a shot. The Bears made a concerted effort to get him going before the half was over, hoping for a change in fortunes.

On one hand, North made a three. On the other, the Bears found themselves down by even more at half: 37-28. UNC had been poor defensively and made bad decisions on offense. Oggy knew his team had to play smarter in the second half.

In the second half, a few things changed:

1. The Bears started to play better defense.
2. Brandon North started getting open looks

But one thing didn’t change: North couldn’t make a shot. However, Oggy’s boys clawed their way back into it via close buckets and the free throw line, getting the score to 46-43. After two more missed threes from North, but two offensive rebounds from the frontcourt, the Bears cut it to a 1 point game.

They then went on a small run. They stole the ball, hit a layup on a fast break, and then North came down and hit a Steph Curry-style floater. UNC was up 49-46 and how outscored the Eagles 21-9 so far in the half. Oggy was thrilled. However, the elation was short-lived. Monserraz hit a three pointer to tie the game up for EWU, then Tucker hit two straight baskets to put the Eagles up 4; their experience was showing through as they were not shook by the UNC run.

The Bears showed some resolve however and managed to tie the game back up with just 90 seconds left. After a minute with no scoring, Taron Guy got the ball in the post but was double-teamed and forced into a jump ball. EWU got the ball with 23 seconds left and what was likely the final possession of the game.

Dannorriss Tucker hit a clutch layup with 4 seconds left. The Bears inbounded the ball, got quickly downcourt and got Taron Guy a layup…which rolled off the rim for a 55-53 loss for Northern Colorado.

It was a far better second half, but the Bears couldn’t quite hold out for the victory. After allowing 37 first half points, they held the Eagles to 18 in the second, which was fantastic. Taron Guy and Randy Alvarez redeemed themselves from the awful 2-16 showing last time these teams faced off, going 14-18.

Around the NBA

• The 76ers traded SG Shake Milton to the Hornets for SF Cody Martin.
• Joel Embiid and Kristaps Porzingis were the January Players of the Month.
• The January Rookies of the Month were Pistons PG Trevor Merchant and Golden State PG Jarrett Pressley.
• The Trail Blazers unloaded SF James Ennis to Indiana for PF T.J. Leaf.
• Jonas Valanciunas has dislocated his left patella and will be out 2-4 months. This is a big blow for the 37-17 Grizzlies who are second in the West.
• The Heat have signed Jahlil Okafor to a 1 year deal.

[studbucket]

February 14, 2021 St. Francis at Quinnipiac [NEC]

Over the last 2 weeks, St. Francis has been a disappointing 1-3 with losses to Fairleigh Dickinson, Wagner, and Monmouth. The lone bright spot was a 31 point victory over Robert Morris last Friday. Now they travel to Hamden, Connecticut to face Quinnipiac and hope to continue their positive play.

The Red Flash won the first meeting between these two teams and they have the size and shooting advantage, but it’s always tough to win on the road. They are sitting at 7-6 in the conference and 13-12 overall, so a win keeps them above .500. Dinko felt good about their chances. The Bobcats’ only shooter was Issa Matela and the Red Flash had a height advantage. Quinnipiac played slow as well, and Dink hoped that he could get out and run and bait everyone but Matela into taking shots.

From the opening tip at TD Banknorth Sports Center, it was clear that it was going to be the Red Flash’s evening. The Bobcats spent much of the first few minutes building a brick house. A 14-5 St. Francis lead turned into 28-12 and then 38-23 at half. Quinnipiac was shooting a paltry 34% from the field.

It was more of the same in the second half as the Red Flash shellacked the Bobcats, 80-53. It was satisfying to see a plan executed so flawlessly.

With most of the starting lineups being seniors, Muhamed Payne is going to need to carry the offensive load next season. He’s already leading the team in points and rebounds and had another standout performance tonight with a 23-8-4 statline, and managed to get to the free throw line for 14 shots.

Around the NCAA

• St. Francis of New York (aka Fake Francis) snapped a 21 game losing streak by beating Monmouth 79-62.
• The top of the polls have been very volatile this year, with the top teams beating up on each other, especially in the Big East. #1 UConn lost to #4 Villanova, but the Wildcats then lost to 3 other top teams in the Big East. Joining the Huskies and Wildcats in the top 5 is the 21-5 Providence Friars at #5 overall.
• Stewart Mobley and UCLA overcame Washington thanks to 30 points from Mobley. Both teams now 20-4, and UCLA is #9 while Washington drops from 6^th to 10^th in the rankings.

Casey Tyler was feeling it.

[studbucket]

Muhamed Payne Dunkfest

Muhamed Payne’s posterizing 180 was something to behold.

[kibaxx7]

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

[marshdaddy]

Re: Introduction

Good lord that’s a vicious dunk

[dfsJunkie]

Re: Introduction

I'm going to second that... that dunk was sick. Your screens are really clean, how are you capturing those?

[studbucket]

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

Good lord that’s a vicious dunk

I'm going to second that... that dunk was sick. Your screens are really clean, how are you capturing those?

Yeah, Mo Payne has had 2 posters this season. Been fun to unlock some of his playing style.


In terms of capturing, there are 2 things I do.

1. For Xbox 360, I use this cheap-ish capture card and a laptop. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...=operasport-20
2. For Xbox One, I either use the built-in game DVR functionality or I use the Xbox app on Windows to stream my game to my PC and I use Game Bar (Windows + G) and the screen snipper (Win+Shift+S) to get videos and screenshots.

[studbucket]

2020-2021 NBA Season – All-Star Break Update

There are just under 30 games remaining in the NBA season and we’re starting to see the wheat separate from the chaff. Milwaukee is dominant in their attempt to defend last year’s title while the Lakers seem to be struggling to even make the playoffs with their two highly paid superstars.

Playoff Picture

• DeMar DeRozan has been a great addition for the Hawks. With he and rookie Juan King added to the supporting cast, Trae Young is leading the Hawks to a great record and are currently 3^rd in the East.
• There’s a 3-way race to be destroyed by Milwaukee in round 1 between Cleveland (24-31), Orlando (24-32), and Detroit (23-34).
• The bottom of the East continues to be atrocious, with the usual suspects of Chicago, Charlotte, New York, and Washington being joined by the recently blown up Miami Heat.

• Memphis continues to be the story of the year, though they will be hard hit by the loss of Jonas Valanciunas for a few months.
• The Pelicans seem to be figuring things out. The addition of Steven Adams seemed to add a valuable veteran presence as they sit 4^th in the West.
• Golden State and Denver have benefited from the mega trade, slowly climbing up the West standings. It hasn’t been so kind to Phoenix who are 2 games out of the 8^th seed and sit at 25-30.
• Portland is at the bottom of the West because Damian Lillard has been out all season with an ACL injury, though he will return for the last 15-20 games of the season. If they can get the #1 overall pick, the combination of Lillard, McCollum, and Sparks would make them immediate contenders.

League Leaders

Points: Giannis Antetokounmpo (30.2 ppg), Steph Curry (29.9 ppg), Anthony Davis (29.9 ppg)
Rebounds: Andre Drummond (14.4), Joel Embiid (14.1), Derrick Favors (14.0)
Assists: Lonzo Ball (9.6 apg), Luka Doncic (8.3 apg), Ricky Rubio (8.1 apg)
3 point %: C.J. McCollum (.464), Markieff Morris (.460), James Harden (.459)
+/-: Giannis Antetokounmpo (12.7), Kawhi Leonard (11.5), Eric Bledsoe (10.0)
Double-doubles: Joel Embiid (45), Nikola Jokic (44), Andre Drummond (43)
Triple-doubles: Luka Doncic (10), Nikola Jokic (5), Russell Westbrook (2)
PER: Giannis Antetokounmpo (32.5), James Harden (28.7), Anthony Davis (28.3)
Efficiency: Giannis Antetokounmpo (37.7), Anthony Davis (36.6), Joel Embiid (34.0)
GameScore: Giannis Antetokounmpo (27.6), Anthony Davis (26.6), LeBron James (24.6)
Usage Rate: Lou Williams (33.7), Giannis Antetokounmpo (32.6), Steph Curry (32.1)
Estimated Wins Added: Giannis Antetokounmpo (18.0), James Harden (15.7), Anthony Davis (15.7)

Once again, Giannis is simply dominant, leading the league in PPG, +/-, PER, Efficiency, GameScore, and EWA.

Award Races

• For the MVP race, Giannis, Joel Embiid, and Kawhi Leonard are the front runners, with both Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis splitting votes for their great work in Dallas.
• Rookie of the Year is a 2-person race between Pistons PG Trevor Merchant and Nets SG Ernesto Parkinson.
• 6^th Man of the Year is a tight race between Toronto’s Mark Gasol, OKC’s Lou Williams, and Utah’s Jordan Clarkson.
• Defensive Player of the Year is being led by Kawhi Leonard, with Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid both having strong arguments for the award.
• There have been a lot of players greatly improve their quality of play this season, but there are 5 who seem to be getting the most attention for their improvement. Deandre Ayton, Chris Boucher, Ja Morant, Terence Davis, and Tyler Herro have all stepped up in a big way this season.

[studbucket]

2021 NBA All-Star Weekend – Rising Stars Game

In a game that should have been an easy win for team USA, the World team came away with a 1 point victory.

[studbucket]

2021 NBA All-Star Weekend – Three Point Contest

James Harden, Steph Curry, C.J. McCollum, Trae Young, Klay Thompson, and Ja Morant faced off in the Three-Point Contest.

In the first round, Steph only missed 1 shot, getting an amazing score of 33. However, Trae Young caught fire with a 31 in the final (after barely making the final via winning a tiebreaker round).

[studbucket]

2021 NBA All-Star Weekend – Dunk Contest

Zion Williamson repeated as slam dunk champion, winning a tiebreaker over rookie LaForest Mance. The tiebreaker was mysterious and Mance was miffed, but only he can be blamed for a lackluster final dunk that saw Zion outscore him by 7, causing the tie.

[dfsJunkie]

Re: 2021 NBA All-Star Weekend – Dunk Contest

Love that all star weekend update