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

[studbucket]

2021-22 NBA Season Preview

The Golden State Warriors are the reigning NBA champions, but it’s the Milwaukee Bucks who mysteriously sit atop the power rankings, as Khris Middleton is still injured. Based on his rankings, here are the division projections:

Atlantic	Central	Southeast
Boston Celtics	Milwaukee Bucks	Miami Heat
Philadelphia 76ers	Indiana Pacers	Charlotte Hornets
Brooklyn Nets	Chicago Bulls	Atlanta Hawks
Toronto Raptors	Detroit Pistons	Washington Wizards
New York Knicks	Cleveland Cavaliers	Orlando Magic
Northwest	Pacific	Southwest
Utah Jazz	Golden State Warriors	Houston Rockets
Minnesota Timberwolves	Los Angeles Lakers	San Antonio Spurs
Denver Nuggets	Los Angeles Clippers	Dallas Mavericks
Oklahoma City Thunder	Phoenix Suns	Memphis Grizzlies
Portland Trail Blazers	Sacramento Kings	New Orleans Pelicans

• The Atlanta Hawks are 26^th in the power rankings, which is extremely low for a team that considers themselves contenders.
• Miami is projected to finish first in the Southeast and is 12^th in the power rankings despite everyone assuming they are trying hard to tank this season.
• Teams ranked 2-4 are all in the Pacific division and 5-8 are all in the Atlantic division.

The power rankings predict a rematch of the Bucks and Warriors in the NBA Finals.

[RolePlayer]

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

What was Atlanta’s record last year?

[studbucket]

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

What was Atlanta’s record last year?

50-32 (tied with Boston) and got a 5 seed.

They still have Trae Young, DeMar DeRozan, and John Collins. However, they let first round pick Juan King (81 ovr) walk in free agency and signed Kelly Olynyk (79 ovr) instead. They also let last year's 22nd pick Quentin Stallworth (75 over center) walk, and he's now getting decent playing time in Miami and averaging 10 ppg and 6 rpg.

I don't really get why they did that.

[studbucket]

November 6, 2021 St. Francis vs New Hampshire [Non-conf]

The 2021-22 college season for the Red Flash is kicking off at home against the UNH Wildcats. After a thrilling tournament run brought extra attention and excitement to the St. Francis program, there was more excitement for this season than we’ve seen for years in Loretto. This team was certainly more raw than the last few years, but there was no question that it had talent and several players who were athletic and could play several positions.

The student body may have been excited, but Dinko was a bit wary. He was effectively forced into starting 4 wings and a clumsy big man. Geary Doss’ size would be an asset, but it may not be worth his lack of skills and maybe Dink would find himself starting Von Felder instead. His 4 wing players were talented, especially Mo Payne, but it wasn’t ideal to have a lineup without a natural distributor, only 1 good shooter, and no great rebounder.

The Wildcats are experienced, starting all juniors and seniors, led by SF Ernest Sargent and SG Edgar Miller. Miller is easily their best shooter and who Dinko is most concerned about. Fortunately, all of his wing players are solid defenders and can take turns defending Miller.

New Hampshire rolled out a starting frontcourt of two 6’9” players, but Dinko noticed that nobody on their bench had any size. Perhaps he could take advantage of that? The way the game opened was not promising, however. Geary Doss got the ball in the paint and immediately turned and shot the ball off the back of the backboard, showing very little spatial awareness. Not a great start to the season.

It was a sloppy game early on, with not much defense from either side, but the Red Flash were clinging to a 12-11 lead. NHU was getting all the shots they wanted, but SFU started to gain momentum after Stephane Diakite’s second career basket: a steal and a fast break dunk. The crowd went into a frenzy and the Red Flash saw their lead grow to 7, then carry that into halftime with a 33-26 lead. It should have been larger, possibly as big as 15, but sloppy play from the young team let New Hampshire stay in the game. Vern Quick had 10 points and 2 threes in the first half.

Stephane Diakite with a monster slam on a fast break to give the Red Flash a lead and the momentum.

The second half started out very poorly for the hosts, as the Wildcats quickly cut the lead to 37-36, then took their first lead of 44-43 just a few minutes later. Shortly thereafter, the Red Flash extended their lead to 4 points after a Vern Quick three pointer. Dinko was hoping his boys could stay composed and ahead.

They did stay ahead and managed to win, 61-60, but it should not have been that close. After being up 58-52 and forcing UNH to intentionally foul, Mohamed Payne made three bewildering decisions. First, with plenty of time left on the shot clock, Payne launched a deep three. He drained it, the crowd went nuts, but Dinko had his head in his hands. What was his team captain thinking? Payne then stepped out of bounds and had a bad pass, turning the ball over twice in a row to the Wildcats.

In so many ways, this should have been a 10-20 point runaway win, and the Red Flash continually made their life harder than it should have been. This team desperately needs more discipline, and they need that modeled from their senior leader, who should not be making three bad decisions in 20 seconds.

Geary Doss was an absolute disaster defensively, ending up in poor position over and over again. However, he led the team with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Gerardo Bethel was solid at point guard, playing a well-rounded game.

Around the NCAA

• #1 Louisville lost their opening game to Wichita State, 66-71. With all the prospective NBA players on Louisville, this was a shock. Nobody else in the top 25 has lost.
• Jacoby Buboltz is clearly headed to Bowling Green, so Dinko withdrew his scholarship offer. Same with Clark Essengue (Canisius), and Coy Devonish (NC A&T)

Around the NBA

• The Indiana Pacers are off to a very hot start, sitting at 8-2 and winners of 5 straight games. Their schedule has been easy so far, playing many East bottom feeders, but it’s still an encouraging start. There is nobody who is exploding on their roster, but 5 players are averaging over 10 ppg, including backup Goga Bitadze.
• With their players healthy, Mike D’Antoni at coach, and 2^nd year player Ernesto Parkinson getting even better (18 ppg, 27.3 PER) the Brooklyn Nets are 2^nd in the East at 6-1.
• The Timberwolves and Jazz were both very disappointing last year, but find themselves tied for first in the West at 6-2. This is unexpected and onlookers don’t expect it to last, but perhaps they finally figured out a formula for success.
• On the flipside, the Sacramento Kings have lost 8 straight games (1-8 overall), the Memphis Grizzlies (last year’s 2 seed) are 1-6, and the New York Knicks are 0-7.
• The Spurs’ new shiny toy, Michael Porter Jr. is out for 2-4 months with a torn meniscus.
• The Warriors will miss DeAndre Ayton for 4-6 weeks due to tendonitis in his right knee.
• Fred VanVleet joined the Cavaliers on a 3 year, $29M deal.
• The Hornets now have the league’s best group of point guards, as they signed Lonzo Ball to a 4 year, $65M contract. He will play alongside De’Aaron Fox, Collin Sexton, Devonte Graham, and Malik Monk, who all can play or prefer playing the 1.

[RolePlayer]

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

Love the music on the highlight video,

Great for Dink to start off the year with a win.

Just reading the box score you'd be excited about Geary Doss but that defense does concern me, he has great height you'd think he'd be able to hold his own inside. Anyways 18pts from your 2star freshman is pretty fun even if he ends up being a turnstile.

Interesting to see the T-Wolves at the top of the west but things could change very fast. You have to think the Hornets may want to trade some of their guards to fill out some other positions or maybe they'll run one of the most unique offenses ever.

[studbucket]

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

Love the music on the highlight video,

Great for Dink to start off the year with a win.

Just reading the box score you'd be excited about Geary Doss but that defense does concern me, he has great height you'd think he'd be able to hold his own inside. Anyways 18pts from your 2star freshman is pretty fun even if he ends up being a turnstile.

Interesting to see the T-Wolves at the top of the west but things could change very fast. You have to think the Hornets may want to trade some of their guards to fill out some other positions or maybe they'll run one of the most unique offenses ever.

Yeah, Doss is going to have his ups and downs for sure, and I think with a team full of freshman, Dinko is OK with that. He'll almost certainly be replaced in the starting lineup next year by a new recruit and can be brought in for a few minutes to use his size.

The Hornets are interesting, I agree. Bridges starts at the 3, Jerry Sparks at the 4, and Richaun Holmes at the 5. Trey Lyles is about the only decent big on the bench. We'll see how they fare, and if a trade or an early 2000s Suns style 3 PG lineup is something they'll try.

If they are willing to give up a bit of size, I suppose they could have Monk or Sexton play the 3 for some stretches. They could go really small and put Sparks at the 5 as well and just get insane.

It makes me wish one of the Bulgarian brothers was coaching them - I think I'd have a blast playing with them.

[studbucket]

November 14, 2021 Stetson vs UNC Asheville [Non-conf]

The Stetson Hatters won their first game under Oggy in dramatic fashion. Playing against VMI, the game went to overtime with Stetson winning 72-71. SF Freddie Brazzle was huge off the bench, scoring 15 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

For their second game, they face UNC Asheville, who is famous for their mountain of a man center Darryl Restrepo. Restrepo is 7’6” and 386 pounds and does whatever he wants no matter who is guarding him. Unfortunately, he’s not surrounded by much talent at all.

Oggy was in awe of the human being that is Restrepo, but also felt that his team had some clear advantages here, especially when it came to the power forward position, as Adam Baynes should be able to dominate whomever the Bulldogs throw out there.

It was a wonderful start for the home crowd as they watched the Bulldogs miss shot after shot after shot. Restrepo was not playing with any confidence or strength and the Hatters picked on every non-Restrepo player as they worked the ball into the paint. Stetson was up 13-4 before UNC Asheville called a timeout to regroup.

The timeout didn’t help. Stetson was absolutely dominant inside, led by SF Brendon Pocius, who used his size and body control to get whatever he wanted in the paint. Rex Fischer was hitting his threes, while Jerimie Scott and Adam Baynes were doing relatively well guarding Restrepo. All this led to a comfortable 40-23 halftime lead.

In the locker room, Oggy exhorted his team to keep the foot on the pedal and not to let up. Keep working the ball into Pocius, taking what the visitors gave them.

The Hatters came out focused in the 2^nd half, after Kann and Fischer nailed some threes, the Hatters got to work inside and extended their lead to 25 points: 52-27.

From there, the home team cruised to victory, winning 76-58.

Brendon Pocius finished with 21 points, almost all of them coming from backing down anyone who drive to guard him and then hitting a beautiful turnaround jumper, hook shot, or up and under.

Stetson did have twice as many turnovers as UNC Asheville, which was problematic and something to work on in the future.

Around the NCAA

• Dinko got some bad news, learning that Stephane Diakite broke his hand and will miss a month. However, SFU still managed to put together a great stretch:
  • They beat #20 Cincinnati 77-66. The Bearcats went 2-22 from three and SFU won despite having 19 turnovers.
    • Mo Payne had an absolutely dominant stretch of games:
    • 25 points, 11 boards vs Cincinatti (Win)
    • 25 points, 11 boards vs Montana (Loss)
    • 22 points, 12 boards vs Toledo (Win)
    • 30 points, 9 boards vs Wyoming (Win)
  • Those last three games were part of the Polar Bear Tip-Off Classic in Cheney, Washington on the campus of Eastern Washington University.
• Darryl Sparrow scored 40 points for #15 UConn in loss to #4 Tennessee.
• Louisville is now 0-2 after losing to Purdue 75-62 and has fallen from #1 to #14.

[studbucket]

Drago Derby #3 – Preview

Note: this post was written based on your responses to the pre-season survey. Thanks to those who responded!

Drago Derby #3 is nearing but it looks a bit different than in years past. The third annual coaching matchup between twin brothers Kostadin and Ognyan Dragomirov no longer features Northern Colorado, but instead has Stetson University facing off against St. Francis of Pennsylvania. Oggy (as Ognyan is called) made the move this offseason from Greeley, Colorado to DeLand, Florida to the consternation of some and confusion of many.

The Post-Gazette polled several hundred basketball fans from Western Pennsylvania, Northern Colorado, and central Florida, asking several questions about the Dragomirov brothers. One of the questions we asked the respondents was “What do you think of Oggy’s decision to leave Northern Colorado?” Overwhelmingly, the decision was viewed in a negative light: 89% viewed the decision as “shortsighted but understandable”.

What do you think of Oggy's decision to leave Northern Colorado?

The survey responses represent a general souring on the former Robert Morris player, as last year there was a near dead heat when asked who their favorite Dragomirov brother was. Things are vastly different this year as Dinko (as Kostadin is called) is favored by 84% of respondents. Dinko’s level-headed approach is the most cited reason for this change.

“I started out as an Oggy fan”, said one fan from the Pittsburgh area. “But Dinko has quickly become my favorite brother due to his personality. He seems more level-headed and thinks long term. I think another year or two would have made sense for Oggy at Northern Colorado, but he instead jumped ship for Stetson.”

Despite the decreasing favor for Ognyan, there was an increase in those who thought he’d win an NCAA or NBA title before his brother, perhaps due to his perceived ambition.

Question	Dinko (SFU)	Oggy (STET)
Who is your favorite Bulgarian brother?	84%	16%
Which brother will be the first to make the Sweet 16?	81%	19%
Which brother will be the first to win an NCAA or NBA title?	39%	61%

Last season’s upset victory in round 1 and the good recruiting class has many respondents confident in Dinko’s ability to be the first family member to win two NCAA tournament games.

Game Preview

The first two editions of the Drago Derby have been completely dominated by Dinko and St. Francis, with both of them being 16 point victories for the taller of the two brothers. The Red Flash have almost a completely turned over roster and Oggy has a brand new set of players at Stetson, but many people expect a similar outcome. The game is at home, St. Francis is led by Muhamed Payne, and there’s a sense that many believe Kostadin is the better in-game coach.

However, both teams have played quite well so far this season. Our hosts, the St. Francis Red Flash, are 5-2 with wins over Cincinnati and Oggy’s old team: Northern Colorado. They are led by Senior Muhamed Payne who is averaging 22 points and 9 rebounds a game and he’s supported by 6’7” freshman SG Vern Quick who is shooting 48% from three and scoring 11.4 ppg. Unfortunately, they are missing Stephane Diakite, who has been starting at power forward as he’s out for 2 more weeks with a broken hand.

Oggy has been off to a good start as well. He’s only played 4 games, but the Hatters are 3-1 in those 4, though competition hasn’t been stiff (VMI, UNC Asheville, Appalachian State, and Radford). The Hatters aren’t as exciting as the Red Flash, but are more well-rounded. Rex Fischer, Atila Kann, and Brendon Pocius are all averaging over 11 ppg and Freddie Brazzle, Jerimie Scott, and Adam Baynes can all get points when needed.

St. Francis is at home and on paper seems like the better team. They are better shooters, and if they get open looks they should win. However, Stetson has a definite size and experience advantage and if they win it will be because Scott, Baynes, and Pocius dominate the paint and regularly get buckets inside and take advantage of Geary Doss’ lack of talent and the rest of the team’s lack of size.

[studbucket]

College Hoops Tonight – November 22, 2021

It was an interesting week in college basketball this week as top-ranked Duke fell to Oregon State. This week’s College Hoops Tonight also features the top ten mid major teams.

[RolePlayer]

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

Yeah I was one of those that switched sides from team Oggy to team Dinko. Gotta root for both of course but Dinko’s story combined with last seasons run won me over.

[studbucket]

Drago Derby #3 –November 24, 2021 Stetson at St. Francis

It is very unusual for the eyes of the nation, let alone the state of Pennsylvania, to descend on Loretto, Pennsylvania. However, that was the case tonight as ESPN2 chose to air the Drago Derby in an effort to fill airtime on a Tuesday night before Thanksgiving. There wouldn’t be many viewers, but neither team had received anything resembling national coverage during the regular season in the past and there were about three times as many reporters in town and covering the game compared to what was usually seen.

In a treat for the press, both brothers were made available for a joint press conference on the morning of the game. Here are a few highlights.

Myron Medcalf, ESPN: “Coach Kostadin, last season your team had an amazing upset in the first round of the tournament but have seen nearly your entire starting lineup turn over. What are your expectations for this season?”
Dinko: “We have a lot of youth and talent. We’ll likely win some games we aren’t supposed to, like that game against the Bearcats and then lose some frustrating ones. I expect us to make the conference tournament and be a threat to make the title game and the tournament.”
Oggy: “Don’t forget who made it to the NCAA tourney first.”
Dinko: “I won’t. I also won’t forget who has a losing record as a coach.”


Damian Runk, The Troubadour (SFU student news): “Coach Ognyan, you’ve lost both matchups with your brother so far. Why have the games been so lopsided and how can tonight be different?”
Oggy: “Ha! Of course the student newspaper is going to rub in the last 2 year’s losses. You’re right, I’ve lost on here in Loretto and in Greeley by 16 points each time. Quite honestly, I think Dinko had some mismatches and took advantage of them. His team had several sharpshooters and was strong and experienced. Their composure and shooting did us in and I made a tactical mistakes.

Tonight will be tough, he’s a good coach. However I like some of my personnel. He’s got a young team and is missing Diakite. I think Brendon Pocius may be the best player on the floor tonight, all due respect to Muhamed Payne, and I trust Jerimie and Adam to play well and use their size and strength. Dinko’s got a long one in Geary Doss, but he’s still super raw and may struggle with more refined post players.”


John McGonigal, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Last season, both of you made some rookie mistakes in recruiting and struggled. Things were much different this time around with both of you (and Oggy’s former school) nabbing several quality recruits. What was different this time?”
Dinko: “I can speak for both of us to say that we learned a lot. We naively thought that our European connections would help us bring in some international prospects and we totally underestimated the complexity of this and were ignorant of some of the realities of recruiting in the US.

For our second offseason, we spent a lot of time talking about our approach, what risks to take and which to avoid, and even talked about our approaches and prospects…except when we were trying to get the same guy…ha ha. I think you’ll continue to see us use this more pragmatic approach going forward and I hope that both of us can bring in some very talented prospects and help our programs grow and succeed.”


Dana O’Neil, The Athletic: “Can each of you describe your approach to your career and what your goals are?”
Dinko: “I’ll go first because I think my answer is easier and shorter. My #1 priority is being close to my wife, daughter, and parents. For reasons I think you all understand, we’re relatively tied to Pittsburgh right now. Sure, I’m an hour drive away but we have a pretty good system worked out. With that in mind, I haven’t thought much about career aspirations. I would love to be at St. Francis for 10 or more years and build them into the Gonzaga of the East. Of course, I’d be hard-pressed to say no if my alma mater Duquesne, or even Pitt came and offered me a job. But those are fantasies at this point and not worth dwelling on.”
Oggy: “I appreciate Dinko. He was a better basketball player than me but never let his ambition get the best of him. As people seem to have noticed, I’m not like him. A lot of people have second-guessed my move to Stetson, and I get it. However, I have aspirations to win championships. There are different ways to measure success. Dinko is going to be wildly successful, I have no doubt. Maybe even win a national championship someday…but that’s not his primary measurement of success.

For me, it is just that: championships at the highest level. I want to learn, grow, and improve my skills until I can be trusted to lead and guide the world’s best athletes in the NBA. I want to win an NCAA and NBA title. Heck, maybe an Olympic title too.

So my approach is all about learning and growing. Stetson gave me a great opportunity to learn and grow. It’s a whole different recruiting game out here, I’ve got more students and fans in the stands, and the playing style and quality is different in the Atlantic Sun than it was in the Big Sky.

In the spirit of learning, I know I should have left Northern Colorado in a different way. I didn’t mean to, but I think I burned some bridges. For that I am genuinely sorry, but I’m also going to learn from it. When the time comes to leave Stetson, it is certainly going to be on better terms. That’s all part of growth. Hopefully you see me grow into a champion.”

Oggy managed to avoid losing a third straight game to his brother by 16 points…but that’s because he lost by 17. The difference in talent, and perhaps coaching, shone through in this contest.

Early on, the Red Flash came out with a different approach than was expected: get the ball to 7’3” Geary Doss. It was only mildly effective as Doss took each of the first 4 shots of the game, making one plus a free throw. As you can imagine from a start involving Geary Doss, the game was sloppy and disjointed early on for both teams.

Some of the team’s new stars grew tired of this and immediately stepped up as Vern Quick hit 2 threes, followed by Brendon Pocius getting two quick baskets to cut the lead to two. That was the pattern for much of the first half. The game was fast and loose and every time that St. Francis pulled away, Stetson brought it to within a few points. As the first half neared its completion both teams heated up and drained threes and we went into the break with the Red Flash up 5, 34-29.

The difference so far has probably been Stetson’s 7 fouls to St. Francis’ 1 foul. In a game where we thought that the Hatters would have a strong interior advantage, it’s been very surprising to see how little the Hatters have gotten to the line. The Red Flash have been better most of the half, but the game is still within reach for the visitors. If Oggy wants to get his first victory over his brother he’ll need Pocius to get going and get Rex Fischer some open shots. Adam Baynes has been quite poor despite getting good looks.

St. Francis opened the second half with a Mo Payne triple and saw Jerimie Scott pick up his 3^rd foul for the Hatters and go to the bench. They took advantage of that, grabbing nearly every rebound en route to an 11 point lead, which grew to 13 after a Gerardo Bethel slam.

From there the home team coasted to victory. Their lead was as large as 18 before settling into the 77-60 win.

The biggest star shone on this biggest stage as Mo Payne took offense to Oggy’s words that he may not be the best player on the floor tonight. He had 23 points and 8 rebounds and the Red Flash had 9 offensive rebounds compared to the Hatters 2. St. Francis won the rebound battle 28 to 15 and shot 50% from three compared to 28.6%.

Vern Quick was 4-7 from three and had 16 points while Brendon Pocius had 20 points in the loss and had very little help. Rex Fischer only took 1 three.

Oggy heads to Ole Miss tomorrow, but may not want to play another game after an embarrassing loss to brother. Dinko heads to Pittsburgh to take on his alma mater Duquesne on Friday.

[marshdaddy]

Re: Introduction

Surprised to see Dinko say what he did about other schools offering him and his interest. Seems a little out of character but I appreciate his candidness. And clearly he’s off to the better start between the two, another win for what seems like the better equipped coach.

[studbucket]

Re: Introduction

Surprised to see Dinko say what he did about other schools offering him and his interest. Seems a little out of character but I appreciate his candidness. And clearly he’s off to the better start between the two, another win for what seems like the better equipped coach.

In my headcanon (which I suppose is actual canon since I'm the author), Dinko really aspires for greatness but he's also grounded enough to know that he has constraints on his life. He appreciates the sacrifice his parents made to bring he and his brother over here and understands that the car crash forever changed he and his wife's life.

As such, staying in/near Pittsburgh is the top priority. Loretto is about an hour away, so manageable for him. But if he could go to his alma mater and build a powerhouse there or get trusted to run a Big East school (Pitt) in the area, it would be really hard to say no.

Oggy, despite being "older" (by a few minutes) has sort of rode his brother's coattails when coming over here. It was Dinko who got the Duquesne scholarship and played. Oggy was fortunate to get a deep bench spot on Robert Morris. So while Dinko feels a deep gratitude and commitment to his parents, Duquesne, and Pittsburgh, Oggy just views it as a nice step in his life.

He was a tagalong for the Pittsburgh journey, and while he has no ill-will, his focus is on being as successful as he can. Growing up in Bulgaria, European soccer is probably the highest profile influence when it comes to how teams and coaches behave, and you can probably see a bit of that in how he behaves.


With the game, I really wanted it to be close, but no matter which side I played as (I play a quarter of the game and then switch sides) St. Francis was clearly pulling ahead.

[studbucket]

November 27, 2021 St. Francis at Duquesne [Non-conf]

It was the day after Thanksgiving and the extended Dragomirov family was full of food and well rested. Even Oggy was in good spirits as he bounced back from his brother’s drubbing with a 73-70 road win over Ole Miss. After that win, he flew back to Pittsburgh and had a few wonderful days with Zhivka, Dragomir, Kostadin, Stephanie, and their daughter Sofia, who was now 8 years old. He was even going to be able to spend Friday watching the Red Flash take on Dinko’s alma mater Duquesne on Black Friday.

However, that was not the most exciting news in store for Oggy that day. As they were finishing off some pumpkin gnocchi, Stephanie smiled at Oggy and said “guess what?” Oggy raised an eyebrow. “We’re expecting!” she shouted. Oggy nearly choked on his food as Dinko let out a roar. The car crash rendered Stephanie unable to bear children, so Oggy was astonished at her statement. As he recovered, she continued “…we’re expecting to adopt two young boys.”

Stephanie went on to explain that Muhamed Payne’s teenage sister got pregnant and his family was in no shape to care for 2 young boys. As Mo confided in coach Dinko a plan came together for he and Stephanie, who wanted a few more kids in their household and knew they’d have a wonderful older sister, grandma, and grandpa to help raise them. The twin boys were due in April of 2022 and Stephanie had worked out all the details to officially adopt them shortly after birth.

Oggy was thrilled. Mo Payne was a wonderful young man and player and this likely meant that he and his family would stay connected with Dinko for a lifetime. It was still being worked out how involved Amelia, Mo’s younger sister, would be in the lives of the twins, but her hometown of Baltimore was not terribly far away from Pittsburgh.

Pretty soon Zhivka turned the attention back to Oggy. “So, mlad muzh (young man), when are you giving me some full-blooded Dragomirov babies, hmm?” Oggy stammered “well, uh, I…” and trailed off, blushing.

On cloud 9 from a great week, Dinko came into this game at 6-2 and playing quite well despite his youth. His alma mater was just 2-2 and not as talented as years past. They were a slightly better team, but SFU certainly had a chance behind Mo Payne, who was clearly the best player in this matchup. The Red Flash need to watch out for the shooting of junior shooting guard Patrick Owensworth, but the Dukes were mostly wing players and had very few ball handlers and big men…sort of like the Red Flash.

Dinko walked onto the court to a warm welcome from the Duquesne fans. He was very glad to be back at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, but it would be even better if he could get his first victory over his alma mater.

Things certainly started off well for the Red Flash as Vern Quick hit a three just 5 seconds into the game. That portended how much of the first half would go as the teams shot well. Duquesne’s athleticism was clear as they got several fast break buckets and tied the game up at 9-9 early on.

Duquesne’s Bruce Hines hit a three pointer shortly after that to extend the Duke’s lead to 5 points but St. Franics answered right back with a Vern Quick three and then forced a turnover that resulted in Quick hitting a short jumper to tied the game at 16 before we were even at the midpoint of the first half.

After that the game slowed down a lot and got cagey. It was 20-20 and both teams started looking tired. The Red Flash took a small lead, then lost it as Duquesne went up 28-24. The Dukes wouldn’t score again in the first half as St. Francis worked hard and scored 7 straight to go into the break with a 31-28 lead. Vern Quick had 13 points and Mo Payne added 8. The Red Flash desperately needed to get more rebounds if they wanted to hold onto their lead.

In the second half it felt like the Hines vs Quick show as both players were having a game. Twice St. Francis got themselves a 5 point lead then let the Dukes pull ahead by 1. With 2:15 left in the game and the Dukes up 57-56, it felt like their experience and home court advantage may propel them to a victory. However, Gerardo Bethel drilled a three and Dinko was relieved to have someone aside from Quick step up for the team.

Duquesne immediately responded with two baskets and found themselves up 2. With just 43 seconds left, Gerardo Bethel showed he had ice in his veins and hit a corner three to put the visitors up by 1. Fernandez Markovic had a bad reach in foul at the other end to send Toussaint to the line for a 1 and 1; Toussaint made both to give Duquesne the 1 point lead with 30 seconds left.

St. Francis had the last shot and patiently waited and then got the ball inside to Geary Doss…who inexplicably took a 10 footer…and was even more inexplicably fouled. With just a few seconds left, the team’s worst free throw shooter was at the line to tie or win the game. Doss made about 40% of his free throws in practice and Dinko was not optimistic.

Of course, Doss drained them both and the Red Flash won the game 64-63. Dinko felt such a surge of joy when Doss made the shots and as the clock hit zero, the big man was mobbed by his teammates.

Vern Quick was clearly the player of the game with 24 points. Gerardo Bethel and Geary Doss showed a maturity beyond their years with a few huge clutch moments. Bethel’s only points the entire game were the 2 three pointers in the last 2 minutes of the game.

Around the NCAA

• The signing window opened shortly after the Red Flash defeated Duquesne and both brothers will be working hard to use up their scholarships.
• Florida is #1 at 8-0 and has a team of all juniors and seniors. Their best win is an 89-80 win over Notre Dame and reigning Player of the Year Sidney Dunnington.
• Texas finds themselves 2nd at 7-0. They only have 1 ranked team on their schedule all season: #13 Kansas. The Big 12 is awful and they scheduled cupcakes so it will be hard to know how good this team truly is.
• The Atlantic Sun’s own Sam Zeigler (from Campbell) is leading the country with 30.3 ppg.

[studbucket]

December 1, 2021 Stetson at Northern Colorado [Non-conf]

Stetson is sitting at 4-2 and well rested coming off a big win last week against Ole Miss. However, the schedule makers have another emotional road game scheduled for Ognyan: a return to Greeley, Colorado to face his former team Northern Colorado.

Coach Kudjo Legans took over the team from Oggy and they are only 3-4 but have a win over Oklahoma State. Brandon North is in a 6^th man role but is averaging 16 points per game, good enough to lead the Big Sky in scoring. 4 of Oggy’s recruits can be found in the starting lineup:

• PG: Freshman Tim Martin
• SG: Freshman Fernando Santos
• SF: Junior Timothy McCurry
• PF: Senior Andres Swanson
• C: Sophomore Jayce Fisher

Jayce Fisher is considered by many to be the most talented player in the conference, though he is currently only scoring 6 points and grabbing 5 rebounds per game. Fernando Santos is scoring 11.3, getting 5.3 rebounds and adding in 2.6 assists per game and the ever steady Andres Swanson is perfectly balanced, with 7.4 ppg and 7.4 rpg.

This was going to be a tough game, both on the court and emotionally. He hopes his players are ready for what should be a tough atmosphere.

As the team walked out on the court at Butler-Hancock Hall, the student section was angry, jeering and taunting him. It hurt Oggy…but he knew this was his fault. He tried to smile, wave, and be gracious but he’s not sure how convincing he was. He settled down on the bench and got ready for the opening tip.

The game started off with a bang. In just 90 seconds, the score was 8-8 and both teams were hitting everything. Atila Kann had already nailed 2 threes as the Bears doubled everything in the paint, forcing Stetson to play to their weakness: shooting. Northern Colorado looked like the better team for the first part of the game, staying ahead and making the Hatters work for their points. However, Stetson got their first lead after SG Aron Cleveland was fouled on a layup and made the “And 1” free throw to go up 20-18, followed by Kann hitting another three to stretch the lead to 5.

Northern Colorado called a timeout and the crowd was silenced. Oggy took a deep breath and then stepped into the huddle with his team. This was going OK, hopefully it could go even better soon.

Coming out of the huddle the Red Flash were in complete control and extended their run to 10-0 until Taron Guy made a free throw, but that was not the end of it. Atila Kann shot 6-7 from deep and Stetson went into halftime up 38-22 as UNC was falling apart. The Bears were shooting only 34% from the field as they went ice cold after the quick start.

The second half was just a continuation of the first as the lead got as big as 20 before finishing at 74-57. The arena was nearly empty and the fans were grumbling on the way out as their old coach easily and clearly bested them. The Hatters dominated on the inside, outscoring the Bears 40-22 in the paint and outrebounding them 23-17.

Jerimie Scott had 22 points, Atila Kann had 21, and Brendon Pocius had 19 in a masterful offensive performance for the Hatters.

Around the NBA

• After winning 3 Player of the Week awards, it’s no surprise that Giannis Antetokounmpo is the East’s Player of the Month for November. Giannis is leading the league with 32.2 ppg and grabbing nearly 14 rebounds per game as well. His PER of 35.8 is easily the league’s best
• James Harden won the award for the West. He’s averaging 30.9 ppg.
• The November Rookies of the Month are Jerry Sparks (PF, Charlotte) and Christophe Perben (PF, Portland). Sparks is the league’s best rookie, as expected, but Perben has been a pleasant surprise for Portland. His fellow rookie Gordon Cousinard is outscoring him by 2 points per game, but Perben is nearly averaging a double-double starting for Portland.
• Wendell Carter Jr is out for over a month with left knee tendonitis.
• The top of the East is significantly better than the rest of the league. The Milwaukee Bucks are 16-2 (without Khris Middleton) and the Brooklyn Nets are 15-2. After that, the next closest teams from any conference are 11-7 (Celtics, Rockets, Jazz).
• Trevor Merchant is leading the Detroit Pistons up the East standings as they’ve won 5 straight games and are at 6^th place in the East.
• The tank continues in Miami, as the Heat are 5-12 and last in the East. With their pick, the Wizards pick (top 5 protected), and the Warriors pick (top 3 protected), they are on track to get the 2^nd and 5^th picks as the Wizards are 7-12 and the Warriors are 7-10. This is looking like a very deep and talented draft at the top and the Heat’s tanking blowing it all up 2 years ago may have paid off.
• Speaking of Golden State, they definitely have a championship hangover. The loss of De’Andre Ayton for a month seems to have rattled them, and Steve Kerr can’t seem to decide if he wants to start Jimmy Butler or Kelly Oubre starting at SF. They have lost 4 straight, all to the Eastern Conference (Raptors, Hornets, Nets, and Knicks) and need to get things straightened out.