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

[kibaxx7]

Re: March 12, 2020 Northern Colorado vs Portland State [Big Sky Tournament]

72 percent from the field, no way you would lose. Congrats on the title!

[studbucket]

Conference Tournament Recap

The Selection Show airs in just a few hours and all conference tournaments have been wrapped up. Let’s take a look at how the NEC, Big Sky, and major conference tournaments turned out.

Northeast Conference
After their last second victory over the Red Flash, Dinko watched Robert Morris easily defeat Monmouth and Fairleigh Dickinson on their way to a conference title and NCAA tournament berth. Seeing them win had to be a tough pill for him to swallow, as his team had that game in hand and could have defeated Monmouth and Fairleigh Dickinson.

Oggy was sad for his brother, but thrilled to see the Colonials finally make the tourney again.

Big Sky Conference
We’ve seen this story play out already, but it’s worth re-hashing what happened. Northern Colorado knocked off the #5, #1, and #2 teams in the Big Sky to win the conference tournament. His players probably only have 1 game left, but they can be very proud of what they’ve accomplished.

Major Conferences
ACC – #8 Duke Blue Devils
Duke beat #25 Georgia Tech, Virginia, and #6 Clemson (regular season champions) on their way to winning the tournament. #4 North Carolina made it to the semifinals before falling to Clemson.

Big East – Syracuse Orange
After finishing in 6^th place and just above .500 in conference play Syracuse managed to upset #2 Louisville and #7 Georgetown before defeating Seton Hall in the championship game.

It was a very disappointing tournament for Louisville, who have gone 6-6 after starting the season 20-0. Regular season champion UConn lost to Seton Hall by 15 points in their first game, while #10 Marquette lost to #13 Pittsburgh in their first.

Big 10 – #9 Indiana Hoosiers
Indiana won both the regular season and post-season conference championship for the Big 10, and come into March Madness with swagger and momentum. They defeated #12 Michigan State in the championship game.

Big 12 – #3 Kansas Jayhawks
KU won both Big 12 titles, with Baylor being the runner up in both cases. No other teams in the Big 12 were even ranked, so this sort of seemed like a foregone conclusion.

Pac 10 – #17 Stanford Cardinal
The Stanford Cardinal defeated #15 Arizona in the Pac 10 championship game, dispatching Arizona State and #10 Oregon along the way as well.

SEC – #19 Kentucky Wildcats
The Wildcats also “did the double”, getting both championships for the SEC after defeating Arkansas 87-69 in the championship game. The tournament, just like the third place regular season finish, was disappointing for #16 Tennessee as they lost in their first game to Arkansas. The Volunteers are chock full of NBA talent, but haven’t been able to perform this year.

[trekfan]

Re: Conference Tournament Recap

Wow, what a run for Oggy and his team! That one-point squeaker was too close, man, too damn close, but you guys absolutely STOMPED the Vikings in the conference tourney. Whatever team you face, I got on upset alert -- momentum is tilting heavy Oggy's way.

[studbucket]

Re: Conference Tournament Recap

Wow, what a run for Oggy and his team! That one-point squeaker was too close, man, too damn close, but you guys absolutely STOMPED the Vikings in the conference tourney. Whatever team you face, I got on upset alert -- momentum is tilting heavy Oggy's way.

Yeah, the tourney run really had everything and showed all sides of this team. Getting the 30 point win over PSU was huge given how the regular season went.


In regards to the NCAA tourney, wait 'til you see the draw *gulp*

[RolePlayer]

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

I had a feeling at least one of the brothers would see the tourney in their first year. Was rooting for both but I think I might be in the Oggy fan club.

Hopefully, you're not a sixteen seed.

[studbucket]

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

I had a feeling at least one of the brothers would see the tourney in their first year. Was rooting for both but I think I might be in the Oggy fan club.

Hopefully, you're not a sixteen seed.

I had never thought of readers choosing a "preferred brother" and cheering for them. You've given me something to think on, to see if there's more I can do here: more stories, interactive questions, bringing out more about their personality or motivations. I have a set of principals for them that drive their career decisions (very different) and we'll see how that impacts their career.

[studbucket]

2020 Selection Sunday

Anticipation has been building and fans have their pencils ready. What will the matchups be?

Memphis is the top overall seed and has been #1 in the country for the last month. The other three #1 seeds are #5 UConn, #2 Louisville, and #10 Oregon. The selection committee was widely criticized for those last three #1 seeds, as none of them won their conference tournaments and Oregon was #10 in the country. It’s baffling, and teams like #3 Kansas or #8 Duke have to be wondering why they weren’t considered.

Teams with rightful grievances include #4 North Carolina, who received a 4 seed and #3 Kansas who got a 2 seed.

The East bracket looks like a beast, with Memphis, Kansas, Marquette, and Michigan State as the top 4 seeds. Unfortunately for Oggy, that’s where his first NCAA tournament game is, as a 15 seed vs Kansas.

Top NBA prospect Ernesto Parkinson, projected lottery pick Freie Holt, senior PG Arthur Acker, and a slew of other talented players await Oggy, who will do well if he can score 60 points and keep the game within 20.

Amongst the major conferences, it was a down year for the Big 10 and ACC, while the Atlantic 10 and Mountain West Conferences managed to each get 4 tourney berths. In the Pac 10, 8 of the 10 teams made it, with only USC and Oregon State missing out.

Of the top NBA prospects, several will be sitting at home, which can’t help their draft stock.

• Trevor Merchant, PG, Mississippi State –Merchant looks like a top 3 pick in the upcoming draft, and will get a chance to “shine” in the NIT.
• Stephen Bathie, C, Nebraska – the big man never had much of a chance of getting in on a bad Cornhuskers team, but probably should have been able to lead the Huskers to a better than last place record. He did manage to score over 22 points a game and add 7.6 rebounds.
• Robby Laudato, PG, Virginia – Laudato, who has seen his stock falling lately, will do his best to leave a mark in the NIT, though he’s been hampered by a broken finger.
• Dana Bright, PF, UNC Greensboro – Bright wasn’t able to make the dance, but will also bring his undersized tenacity to the NIT to attempt to impress against bigger competition and rise up the draft.
• Raitis Engle, SF, Texas Tech – The athletic SF couldn’t bring the Red Raiders to the tournament this year, but did well, scoring 19 points a game on 50% shooting.
• Zachary Hunt, SG, Colorado – The well-rounded 2 guard is known for being clutch, but had limited opportunities this season. We’ll see what he can do in the NIT.
• Gilson Mulholland, PG, New Orleans – The under-sized slashing guard dominated the Sun Belt conference, scoring 25 points and grabbing 7 rebounds a game (at just 6 feet tall), but couldn’t lead them to the post-season.
• Marquis Huffman, PG, Boston College – An injury derailed Huffman’s season, and even though he played 30 games, he was not the player many expected him to be. He led the Golden Eagles with 11 points and 6 assists per game.
• Brandin Eaton, PG, Ohio State – Brandin Eaton was fine this season, but the Buckeyes greatly underperformed.
• Zakee Roberson, PF, Rider – Rider competed in the Metro Atlantic, but did not get to play further into March. Zakee Roberson used his size effectively to score in that conference, but projects to be more of a defensive force in the NBA.

[kibaxx7]

Re: 2020 Selection Sunday

Wow I LOVED that Selection Sunday show. Now I understand why you all say CH2K8 was incredible.

[RMJH4]

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

College Hoops rules!! That was so impressive! Love your layout and last post! Tough game for N.Colorado but what an impressive tourney win!!The suspense waiting on your team to be called was fantastic!!

[studbucket]

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

Wow I LOVED that Selection Sunday show. Now I understand why you all say CH2K8 was incredible.

College Hoops rules!! That was so impressive! Love your layout and last post! Tough game for N.Colorado but what an impressive tourney win!!The suspense waiting on your team to be called was fantastic!!

100%. Hard to believe the game is 13 years old with all it does well. The gameplay is not as "sim" as more modern games, but the whole package is amazing. There are a few customization tools that NBA2K has that I wish CHoops had, but it was so far ahead of its time.

[studbucket]

March 20, 2020 Northern Colorado vs Kansas [NCAA Tournament]

Oggy may be passionate and a bit brash at times, but he’s not dumb. He knew this was where their run ended, but he couldn’t come right out and say it. So he spent some time talking to his players, just a few at a time. He pulled aside Delvon, Donovin, and Brandin first, letting them know that he loved coaching them and he wished he had more time with the three of them. He set expectations that this was going to be a tough game, but they had nothing to lose. All the pressure was on KU. So treasure what is possibly the last game of their career, play free, and shoot the lights out.

He talked to the rest of the team too, but it was mostly about supporting the seniors, playing up to the competition, and soaking in the moment. He hoped to get them back here next year, but that was a long ways off. He hoped that Brandin, Brandon, and Delvon wouldn’t struggle too hard against the all star trio of Freiedrich Holt, Ernesto Parkinson, and Arthur Acker.

A few hundred Bears fans made the 10 hour drive to Omaha (home of Creighton), but they were easily drowned out by the horde of Rock Chalk Jayhawk supporters. If the Bears were going to have any chance, they’d need to rely entirely on slowing the game down and hitting their threes.

It went well for the first minute, as KU missed 2 free throws and Delvon Jahnke drilled a three to score his first points in the tourney. The Bears then broke the press and Donovin Mascoll made a layup and got fouled (though he missed the FT) to take a 5-2 lead. That was the last time they could say that. Holt got to the basket, Acker nailed a three, and followed that back up with a breakaway layup to take a 9-5 lead.

Turnover after turnover was racked up as the Bears couldn’t handle KU’s press, and the game was 23-7 before Oggy knew what happened. At half, it was 44-24, and the Jayhawks were basically getting their practice time in.

At half, Oggy pulled Delvon Jahnke to the side. “Delvon, I know we probably won’t catch back up…and that sucks, but let’s make the most of this: go crazy out there. Make them remember your name. You’ve already got your stroke going and you are almost leading the game in scoring. Get that. Shoot 50% from deep. We’ll get you the ball, you shoot the lights out.”

The Bears played better in the 2^nd half, only losing 72-50 and being sent off by their fans to a standing ovation and cheers.

Jahnke did lead all scorers this game, by a sizeable margin. His 24 points were 9 better than Acker and Holt, though the 6-17 volume shooter from three stat line wasn’t the greatest look. After the game, Oggy congratulated the players and spent some time lingering with his seniors before heading back to the bus to ride home.

[trekfan]

Re: March 20, 2020 Northern Colorado vs Kansas [NCAA Tournament]

Man, when I saw you guys drew Kansas I said, "Oh God" and Kansas definitely proved that reaction was right. Tough loss, but moral victory -- you scored 50 points -- so it wasn't egregiously bad. That team WAY outperformed expectations and Oggy may get some serious looks from high-tier programs this offseason.


If he could do that with the talent available to him at Northern Colorado, what could he do at a bigger school in need of a reboot? Gonna be interested to see if he jumps.

[studbucket]

Re: March 20, 2020 Northern Colorado vs Kansas [NCAA Tournament]

Man, when I saw you guys drew Kansas I said, "Oh God" and Kansas definitely proved that reaction was right. Tough loss, but moral victory -- you scored 50 points -- so it wasn't egregiously bad. That team WAY outperformed expectations and Oggy may get some serious looks from high-tier programs this offseason.

If he could do that with the talent available to him at Northern Colorado, what could he do at a bigger school in need of a reboot? Gonna be interested to see if he jumps.

Yep, KU had more pro-ready talent than any other team in the country (though Tennessee has an argument here) and it was just a rough draw. But the experience is invaluable for Oggy and he'll learn from it.

Regarding jumping ship, some "behind the curtain" info: CHoops 2K8 closed dynasties do not allow you to change teams after 1 year. It effectively starts you on a 2 year contract and you can shop after that or re-sign. Oggy is in Greeley for at least 1 more year, if not more.

[RMJH4]

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

Yikes. Tough loss but not totally shocking. Jahnke showed he belonged. Really good season to build on. Let's see what he can bring in now to supplement the core. Kansas were crazy strong, no shame in losing to them!

[kibaxx7]

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

Definitely no shame in losing to Kansas, the pressure was definitely on them. Can't wait for the offseason.