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

[studbucket]

Around the NBA – November 2024 recap

The first month of the NBA season has wrapped up and it didn’t disappoint. Here’s a recap of the key storylines, transactions, and performances.

(Yes, this is not in chronological order – the NBA season is still behind the college season due to my transition to 2K23)

Luka and SGA are Running the League
After 1 month of the NBA season, there’s 1 story that rises above the rest: Luka Doncic (SG, 93 ovr) is averaging over 40 points per game. He has a league-leading 5 triple doubles and is also averaging nearly 12 assists and 9 rebounds per game. He has been effervescent. Here’s just a sampling of 4 of his great games so far:

1. 60 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists in a win over Atlanta.
2. 49 points, 5 rebounds, and 11 assists, shooting 8-10 from three in a win over the Cavaliers.
3. 61 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists in a win over Houston.
4. 64 points, 9 rebounds, 11 assists in a victory at Chicago.

It’s no surprise he’s won the West’s Player of the Month award. The only disappointment in all this: the Mavericks are 11-6 and in 5^th place in the West. He needs his teammates to step up and support this historical season from the Slovenian superstar.

Luka is the #1 story for good reason, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (PG, 89 ovr) is thisclose to being the top story and may be if he hadn’t missed 5 games due to a back bruise. While he’s been in the lineup, the Heat are 10-6 and he’s averaging 38 points, 9 assists, and 5 rebounds per game. While the stats aren’t as good, it’s arguably more impressive than Luka because of how bad the Heat have been the last few years. For them to be playoff contenders is a huge step forward. Miami is 1-4 without SGA, showing how much they miss him when he’s not out there. It will be interesting to see if Pat Riley brings in another star or some more talent to try to capitalize on the great season that SGA and his backcourt mate Juwan Evans (PG, 86 ovr) are having. Evans is leading the league with 13.6 assists per game and has had multiple games of 20+ assists.

Gilgeous-Alexander had a 4 game stretch where he led the Heat to victories over Charlotte, Phoenix, Memphis, and New Orleans, scoring 45, 64, 47, and 50 points respectively in those games. He’s saved his best for big moments and he and Luka are letting the league know that Giannis’ run of MVPs may be over.

SGA and Luka have been super-duper stars so far this season, with November being the best month of their careers.

It’s worth calling out that Donovan Mitchell (SG, 91 ovr) is scoring 36.2 points per game for the Jazz and they are 4^th in the West thanks to his scoring and their league-leading defense.

We also can’t forget about Giannis Antetokounmpo (PF, 97 ovr) who has the Bucks at 16-5, is averaging a 28, 12.6, and 7.6 and leads the league with 19 double-doubles.


How are the Honu This Good?
After finishing last year at 33-49 (12^th in West), and not adding much to their roster, nobody expected the Honu to compete for a playoff spot. Yet somehow they are 14-5, second in the Western Conference, and have the sixth best point differential in the league. They are doing this on the back of the league’s second best defense and outstanding scoring seasons from Tyler Herro (SG, 84 ovr) and Markelle Fultz (PG, 83 ovr). Those 2 are combining for 55 points, 11.5 assists, and 7 rebounds per game.

Defensively, the trio of Fultz, Rashad Konare (SF, 79 ovr), and Louis Zaharias (C, 77 ovr) lead the way, while their bench crew of Artie Tyler (SG, 79 ovr), Jalen McDaniels (PF, 79 ovr), Brant Toole (PG, 78 ovr), and Dorian Finney-Smith (PF, 76 ovr) keep scores low when Herro and Fultz have to take a break.

Many are skeptical that the Honu can keep doing this, but they have a great home court advantage due to travel and have wins over Denver, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Charlotte so far. However, their schedule has not yet included Golden State, New Orleans, Utah, Milwaukee, Boston, or Memphis yet, so they will face challenges over the coming months.

Rashad Konare, Tyler Herro, and Markelle Fultz celebrate Herro drawing a foul.

The Kings, Raptors, Lakers, and Rockets are in Trouble
The Kings are 2-18. Nobody was predicting them to be a contender this year, but fans were expecting respectability and they’ve been anything but. Despite starting Lauri Markkanen (PF, 83 ovr), Domantas Sabonis (C, 84 ovr), Bogdan Bogdanovic (SG, 78 ovr), and Miles Bridges (SF, 82 ovr), they haven’t been good on either side of the ball. They are the league’s worst offense, scoring only 105.6 points per game, but also have the league’s 3^rd worst defense and have a -16.5 point differential: twice as bad as the next worst team (LA Clippers). To make matters worse, the Kings don’t have their pick this year – it was sent to Utah 2 seasons ago.

The Raptors are 6-14 and there are no excuses now. If this don’t turn around by New Year’s, you could see Nick Nurse, the front office, Kawhi Leonard (SF, 87 ovr), and Pascal Siakam (PF, 88 ovr) all gone as Toronto ownership looks to blow the whole thing up. It’s been parts of 3 seasons of this roster not working and it’s hard to point the blame at any one person. It’s just been bad all the way around. One additional factor here is that their 2025 pick is owned by the Clippers, but it’s top 3 protected. Toronto needs to either get into the playoffs or they need to tank hard and guarantee a top 3 pick. Anything else could be a disaster.

Houston is 7-13 and looking their age. After years of performing well the combination of Harden (SG, 89 ovr), Westbrook (PG, 82 ovr), and Randle (PF, 83 ovr) don’t seem to be moving and scoring the way they once did. It’s not panic time yet, but it will be interesting to see how the Rockets respond and what the front office does after this season.

The Los Angeles Lakers are 6-11 and have really struggled for the few games that Anthony Davis (PF, 94 ovr) was missing with a small injury. Milos Jeffers (SG, 80 ovr) is playing well and have the Lakers optimistic that he’s a great player to pair with Davis, but Paul George (SF, 81 ovr) and the rest of the roster are not quite living up to the expected standard of the Lakers. Expect them to look to add talent at the deadline, maybe even from Toronto.


Standings
Below are the league standings. Storylines that didn’t get top billing include:

• The Nets and Pelicans look great after their summer deals.
• Denver has struggled without Jokic (C, 93 ovr) but has managed to keep their head above water despite having the league’s worst defense.
• The Thunder have had moments of brilliance but are a disappointing 9-8.
• It’s been a slow start for Charlotte, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Detroit, but they have worked their way closer to .500.
• R.J. Barrett (SF, 85 ovr) and Goga Bitadze (C, 82 ovr) are showing the league that they can do more than just put up stats as the Wizards are 11-7 and 5^th in the East.

Notable Transactions and Injuries
Around the league, there were a few signings and injuries that could have a meaningful impact on their teams.

• Yunlong Chan (PG, 79 ovr) signed with the Timberwolves. Chan is a former first round pick and started much of the last 4 years for the Bulls. It was surprising he went unsigned this offseason and should provide great guard depth for the Timberwolves.
• Taylor Blount (PG, 77 ovr) signed with the Rockets to provide cover for Russell Westbrook’s short term injury. He’ll slot in long term as the 4^th or 5^th guard on the team, but is a very talented player who hasn’t lived up to his potential. Blount has seen time on 4 different teams already, not sticking with anyone due to his immaturity.
• Nikola Jokic (C, 93 ovr) only played a handful of games before getting knocked out for 6-8 weeks with a high ankle sprain.
• Shaddean Christopher (PF, 81 ovr) of the Heat is out for 6-8 weeks with torn left hammy. This will move Yante Maten (PF, 81 ovr) into the starting lineup for Miami.
• The Grizzlies are seeing their frontcourt depth tested with their starting combo injured. Brandon Clarke (PF, 83 ovr) is out for 2 months with a broken ankle and Dewan Hernandez (C, 82 ovr) is missing a similar time period with a torn calf muscle. Fortunately for the Grizzlies, they have some experienced and talented backups to slot in as Bobby Portis (C, 81 ovr) and Jonas Valanciunas (C, 78 ovr) cover for them.
• DeAndre Jordan (C, 79 ovr) is out for the next 4 months with a torn MCL. The Lakers have already been struggling and this won’t make things any easier for them.

Other Standout Performances
Listed in order of the date they happened:

1. Minnesota blew out Denver in their first game of the season, with Karl-Anthony Towns (C, 92 ovr) dropping 41 points. This was before Jokic left with an injury and was a bad sign for Denver’s defense.
2. The Celtics had a big early season matchup with the new look Thunder and Jason Tatum (PF, 90 ovr) showed up the biggest, dropping 44 in a big win over OKC.
3. R.J. Barrett (SF, 85 ovr) scored 44 points to hand the very talented Pelicans their first loss of year. New Orleans looks like a top 5 team in the NBA this year, and this win looked like a portend of the Wizards possibly contending for a playoff spot this year.
4. Tyler Herro (SG, 84 ovr) and Markelle Fultz (PG, 83 ovr) combined for 78 points as they outdueled Simmons and Embiid (combined 57 points) in a big win for the surging Honu.
5. After missing most of the early season with an ankle, Bam Adebayo (C, 91 ovr) returned with a 41 point, 17 rebound performance in a loss to Golden State. Phoenix desperately needs him as they look to dig out of an early season hole.
6. The Timberwolves scored an unholy 172 points in regulation to beat the Nuggets by 40 – showing they have Denver’s number. The league’s “best defense” (Denver) has not even been close to good this season. D’Angelo Russell (PG, 85 ovr) scored 52 in the win. Minnesota was 28-39 (72%) from three.
7. The Hornets got a much needed overtime win, 137-136 over the Lakers. They had 5 players score 20+ points: De’Aaron Fox (PG, 89 ovr), DeMar DeRozan (SF, 80 ovr), Jerry Sparks (PF, 88 ovr), Jaren Jackson Jr (C, 83 ovr), and B.A. Guasco (SG, 77 ovr). This win overshadowed Milos Jeffers (PG, 81 ovr) dropping a career-high 46 points, giving all that he could with Anthony Davis (PF, 94 ovr) out due to injury.
8. Trevor Merchant (PG, 90 ovr) had a 29, 12, 10 triple double with 6 steals and a block to lead Detroit to a big 124-97 win over the Celtics.
9. Giannis Antetokounmpo (PF, 97 ovr) showed the Knicks who was boss 39, 24, 15 in win over Knicks, and he wasn’t done. Next game he had 40, 13, 11 in win over Grizzlies.
10. Both Devin Booker (SG, 92 ovr) and Zion Williamson (PF, 92 ovr) scored 40+ points in a big win over the Spurs.
11. It was the Marvin Bagley (C, 86 ovr) and Trevor Merchant (PG, 90 ovr) show as the two combined for 79 points, 23 rebounds, and 14 assists as the Pistons destroyed Denver 158-119.
12. Trae Young (PG, 92 ovr) had 49 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists in a win over the Bulls.
13. The Warriors and Pelicans played in a triple OT game with Golden State winning 165-153. Zion Williamson had 49 points and 24 rebounds. Steph Curry (PG, 94 ovr) led the Warriors with 38, 7, and 12.
14. D.J. Chambers (PG, 77 ovr) of the Spurs won the Western Conference Rookie of the Month. Chambers went undrafted in 2022 out of Mississippi State. He seemst to have caught on in San Antonio as he splits time with the Spurs 2022 first round pick Lorenzo Cummings (PG, 76 ovr) – and they both keep 2024 first rounder Roland Mayes (PG, 71 ovr) buried on the bench. Chambers is averaging 15.3 points and 3.5 assists per game.
15. Out East, the Rookie of the Month award winner was not a dark horse: 3^rd overall pick Taquan St. Fort (C, 82 ovr) has been scoring 13.2 points and grabbing 8.9 rebounds per game as the Cavaliers sit at 10-11: far better than expected for them.

Zion and the Pelicans have been a cut above this season, including this slam over Porzingis and Drummond.

I’m sending you out with a 1 minute montage of Trevor Merchant running pick-and-roll with Marvin Bagley III and Darrall Gosley. Enjoy!

[HarkTheSound]

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

On the Next Gen NBA 2K23 engine, Doncic was a cheat code in the simulations. Was toned down a good bit in 2K24 but yeah, I expect his career to really take off on 2K23. I remember seeing him post 35-point, triple double seasons on the regular in multiple associations I tested.

[studbucket]

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

On the Next Gen NBA 2K23 engine, Doncic was a cheat code in the simulations. Was toned down a good bit in 2K24 but yeah, I expect his career to really take off on 2K23. I remember seeing him post 35-point, triple double seasons on the regular in multiple associations I tested.

Good to know. PC is last gen, but I'm sure there are similarities.

His stats have been good, but the Mavs have been inconsistent and Porzingis was often their best player. They've made it to 2 NBA Finals and lost to the Bucks, but also miss the playoffs sometimes.

[JoshNormanMane]

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

Trevor Merchant doin Trevor Merchant things.... although I hate that it's at the expense of my Wiz.

The West is tight to begin the year which really makes the Honu's rise even more impressive / unexpecting. I assume being an expansion franchise and not having major payroll implications yet they could take a swing at a big-time player, maybe Kawhi or Pascal would be the ideal target for them.

[studbucket]

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

Trevor Merchant doin Trevor Merchant things.... although I hate that it's at the expense of my Wiz.

He really is Ja Morant, but with 90% of the athleticism, 20% more rebounding, 10% more shooting, and 15% more passing.

The West is tight to begin the year which really makes the Honu's rise even more impressive / unexpecting. I assume being an expansion franchise and not having major payroll implications yet they could take a swing at a big-time player, maybe Kawhi or Pascal would be the ideal target for them.

Yeah, it really is surprising and cool. Somehow they've put together an awesome defense and are just relying on Herro and Fultz to score loads of points and it's working.

How do they make a deal without disrupting that defense and chemistry? Also, is this fluky and they should hold off and do a big offseason move?

They'll also be competing with all these teams, who are also looking to make moves:

1. Become real contenders:
   1. Jazz
   2. Pistons
   3. Blazers
   4. Lakers
   
   
2. Things are better than expected, make a move to become a bigger threat:
   1. Wizards
   2. Heat
   
   
3. It's been a rough start, what do we change?
   1. Hawks
   2. Rockets
   
   
4. We're miserable, let's change something:
   1. Kings
   2. Knicks
   
   

But I think Kawhi or Pascal would fit in great with what the Honu want to do.

[JoshNormanMane]

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

He really is Ja Morant, but with 90% of the athleticism, 20% more rebounding, 10% more shooting, and 15% more passing.

And a 100% reason to remember the name

Sorry I had to.....

[studbucket]

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

And a 100% reason to remember the name

Sorry I had to.....

Oh no, I walked right into that one. LOL! I quickly responded in my few minutes between meetings at work and didn't even think about it.

Relevant Mike Shinoda gif:

[studbucket]

Drago Derby Preview

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

It’s time for the sixth annual showdown between twin brothers Ognyan and Kostadin Dragomirov – know affectionately as Oggy and Dinko. The matchup is called the “Drago Derby” and generates a bit of excitement around Pittsburgh and amongst the college basketball community.

Both brothers were born in Sofia, Bulgaria – a sister city of Pittsburgh – and moved to the area to play college basketball. Dinko at Duquesne and Oggy at Robert Morris. Unfortunately for the brothers, neither had much of a playing career. Dinko had a career-ending and life-altering injury and Oggy just wasn’t skilled enough to play much.

However, they’ve both managed to carve out a promising start to their careers as basketball coaches. Both have been to the big dance more times than they haven’t by winning multiple conference tournaments. Their paths when coaching look drastically different however. Dinko is the epitome of loyal: he is staying in the Pittsburgh area to better care for his disabled wife and two parents and is not actively looking to leave St. Francis – though he’d jump to Duquesne in a heartbeat. Oggy is already at his 3^rd stop, now coaching at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles.

As the brothers have gone on their coaching journey, so has the public’s perception of them. This is the 5^th year of our survey and you can see how sentiment regarding the brothers has fluctuated over time. In year 6 of their existence as coaches? We’re right back where we started in a dead heat of sentiment. Oggy’s numbers seem to take a dip every time he moves to a new team but rebound as he brings success there. It will be interesting to see if that trend holds.

As movement seems to be what drives public perception of Ognyan, it’s interesting to see what the public thought of his move away from Stetson after three seasons as he took the Loyola Marymount job in Los Angeles. Despite the dropping sentiment for Oggy perception of his move to LMU was universally positive with hardly anyone saying the move was “unwise” or “dumb”. Fans seem to understand his rationale for the move as there’s an acknowledgement of the bigger conference, SoCal market, and the history of Loyola Marymount.

On the topic of coaching moves, many were expecting Dinko to make a move this offseason as his alma mater Duquesne fired their head coach Keith Dambrot. Dinko was just down the road, has had massive success at a tiny school, and has beaten Duquesne several times. Despite this, he wasn’t even interviewed by the Dukes which caused its own minor media cycle and drama. Asking the public about this, opinions were quite mixed – though slanted a bit negatively toward Duquesne.

Wrapping things up, we once again asked about the brothers’ future success, seeing what expectations were for them around NCAA or NBA success. As Oggy has moved to a larger program, you can see that faith in his ability to achieve success has grown. It’s a dead heat between the two when it comes to making a Sweet 16, but Oggy is the clear favorite when it comes to winning a title at any level.

Game Preview
Looking forward to tomorrow’s game, we see two teams that seem pretty close when it comes to raw talent, but the Red Flash have had a far more successful season so far and looked like the better basketball. Whether it’s the eye-test or a statistical analysis, the Red Flash should be the favorites in this game, even on the road at a bigger school. You also cannot ignore Dinko’s 4-1 historical advantage over his brother and the cohesion and trust this roster has for one another.

The team comparison below shows the statistical difference between the two teams and the clear advantage St. Francis seems to have.

And the fans very clearly agree as well, with 2/3rds of them picking Dinko to win the game. One fan summed up their thoughts in this way, praising Dinko’s loyalty to St. Francis: “Dinko has a solid squad at St. Frans, it will be some time before Oggy can match his brother again. Maybe that's why Dinko has the upper hand in the Derby so far, because he hasn't changed schools?”

So how can the Lions get a win here at home? After an 0-4 start, they are 4-1, showing they have started to jell as a team and are playing better. The game is also in front of their home crowd, which should be a slight boost. Ultimately if they want to win, they need Immanuel Kahrimanovic to play better. So far this season his shot has been completely off and he hasn’t been scoring, especially from deep. If he can step up and score 15+ points and we get good games from Herbert Nashif and Reid Christensen, LMU should be very competitive in the game. They’ll also want to slow down St. Francis’ fast-paced offense and force them into primarily shooting threes as the Red Flash are best when attacking the basket and feeding the post.

We’ll wrap up with my prediction. I think Dinko and the Red Flash get their 5^th Drago Derby victory, 77-70.

[studbucket]

Responding to Survey Feedback

Thank you so much to everyone who responded to the survey. Largely due to me leaving it up for so long as I transitioned to NBA 2K23 we got an all-time high number of responses. My wife can’t believe that people read this and actually respond to surveys. She’s beside herself lol.

As you just read, I used a lot of the data in the Drago Derby preview. I also took all the questions you asked and have catalogued them for Coaches’ Corner episodes. They will get answered over the course of this next season.

However, I did want to address some of the comments that were left in the “what feedback or questions do you have?” section. 18 of you filled out the survey, but there were 3 comments that all expressed a similar sentiment and I wanted to note the feedback:

1. Please don't sim playoffs anymore. I know it's more realistic if you lose some, but especially now, when both brothers need to build a resume, losses in conference tourneys really hurt the dynasty.
2. Disappointed that both brothers got knocked out in the bracket so early. Maybe don't Sim but play the games ar a higher difficultly?
3. Please stop swimming playoff games. Dinko and Oggy should have both made the tournament this year. Maybe play at a higher difficulty level instead of simming?

I have spent some time marinating on this, and I really appreciate the feedback. After thinking on it, I don’t think I’m going to change anything. It comes down to me valuing 2 things:

1. Playing fewer games.
2. Taking my time and losing a bit.

I know it can be frustrating, and maybe Dinko would have gotten the Duquesne job if I didn’t sim, but ultimately the losses can be just as good as the wins for telling a story, and I honestly want to look back at this dynasty 10 years from now and be grateful for the journey.


Happy Father's Day!

[LoSpecialOne]

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

Your wife is right but it's better not to tell her that.

[studbucket]

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

Your wife is right but it's better not to tell her that.

Haha, she can't be too right. These dynasties are too much fun.

[studbucket]

Drago Derby: Dec 28, 2024 St. Francis at Loyola Marymount

The sixth Drago Derby visits its fourth location for the annual showdown, as the dragon head trophy makes its way from Loretto, PA to the City of Angels. Though many consider the Red Flash to be strong favorites, the spectacle of the first Drago Derby combined with 4 wins in their last 5 games has brought many fans to the game in Los Angeles. This included the whole Dragomirov family. With the game happening between Christmas and New Years, Dragomir, Zhivka, Stephanie, and all 3 kids made their way to LA for a sunny beach Christmas with Oggy and his fiancé Kate.

Also in attendance was Muhamed Payne, the former St. Francis standout who has been playing professionally in Europe and training in LA this offseason. He’s had a few workouts with NBA teams, but nothing has stuck.

These reunions were a joyous thing for the brothers, but today was all about business. More was at stake for Oggy – losing here would make him 1-5 in the Derby and drop him further below .500 before conference play starts. However, Dinko is looking to make this season magical for his group of talented seniors and hold onto his top 5 mid-major ranking, maybe even sneaking into the top 25. Winning games like this are essential if he wants to do that and get a better seed in this year’s March Madness.

After some light banter while the teams warmed up, both coaches returned to their benches and got ready for the opening tip.

The game opened exactly how the St. Francis fans would want it to: with 2 big dunks from Akindele. Floyd throwing the ball down would be a theme of this game. However, Loyola responded well and the game was very back and forth for much of the first half. Both teams were playing quality basketball with offensive and defensive plays that were worth cheering for.

The only player that seemed to be playing sloppy early on was Stephane Diakite. The 4 year starter for the Red Flash had 3 turnovers in the first few minutes, which was very uncharacteristic for him and Dinko sent him to the bench to settle him down. The sub worked and the Red Flash grabbed a 4 point lead, 18-14, after another thunderous dunk from Akindele. Oggy called a timeout to strategize, and the Lions immediately responded, getting the game back to 20-20.

Just one of many slams for the SFPA big man.

With just under 3 minutes left in the first half, it was a very close 29-28 game, and then St. Francis broke things open.

Outscoring the Lions 15-7 in the last few minutes, St. Francis took a solid lead going into half-time. Loyola couldn’t get their shots to fall and the Red Flash were making theirs. At half time, the visitors were shooting 62% to LMU’s 44%. Floyd Akindele led all scorers with 12 points, while Skip Salow had 9 for Loyola Marymount.

This side-by-side shows the different attitudes of the coaches and benches, as Oggy can only shake his head in disappointment at the St. Francis run.

Things did not get any better to start the second half as 2 Vern Quick three pointers extended the lead to 54-38 and the Lions were done for; Dinko’s team had blown the game open and were coasting toward another victory. Every time LMU made a couple shots and go close to a respectable deficit, St. Francis would respond with a steal or a big shot and pull away again.

It just felt like a St. Francis victory was inevitable and there wasn’t much Oggy could do. This roster just didn’t go deep enough or include enough consistency for the team to do well. It was discouraging, but Oggy has seen what he’s done in Greeley and Deland, and knows that with 2 more seasons his team will be in a much better place.

The game finished with a final score of 78-60 as the St. Francis players celebrated with a few traveling fans, including fan favorite Mo Payne.

Bobby Valdez lets the crowd know who the winners were in this game.

Dinko moves to 5-1 in the Drago Derby, with every one of those wins being by 14-18 points. Through 6 games, his teams have outscored his brother’s teams 442-369, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get much better next season.

Floyd Akindele had 21 points on 10-11 shooting and the Lions had no answer for him this game. Vern Quick added 19 points and made a great outside partner for Big Floyd, stretching the Lions thin as they had to cover the entire court.

Loyola Marymount shot only 38.5% from the field, including 28.6% from deep. Skip Salow led the way with 16 points, but didn’t have a single rebound or assist.

[JoshNormanMane]

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

Great Drago Derby (or Bulgarian Brother Battle)! Akindele really set the tone early to the point that it opened the game up for Vern Quick and the other guys.

This made me reminiscence about why the college game can be better than today's NBA at times, but that discussion is for another time lol.

[studbucket]

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

Great Drago Derby (or Bulgarian Brother Battle)! Akindele really set the tone early to the point that it opened the game up for Vern Quick and the other guys.

This made me reminiscence about why the college game can be better than today's NBA at times, but that discussion is for another time lol.

Yeah, I almost made a gif out of all of Akindele's dunks. He was just getting whatever he wanted all game. Which makes sense given his ~6 inch height advantage on Christensen. You can see a lot of the plays in the highlight video though.

The Bulgarian Brother Battle is a good one!

The college game has a tendency toward deeper and more varied storylines and more variance of outcomes, though the pro game definitely has it's great points too.

[studbucket]

Some bonus pictures from the Drago Derby

Here’s some pictures I got from the Drago Derby that I couldn’t fit into the previous post.

Oggy yells instructions.

Akindele towers over the Lions for a slam.