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

[JoshNormanMane]

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

Lots of big moves happening around your league. Surprised to see Vince Carter's success as a coach but I suppose anyone who's able to carve out a 10+ year career after they're sapped of their athleticism knows a thing or two about locker rooms and X's & O's.

Good luck with the transition, I've thought about doing it in the future and it seems very daunting.

[studbucket]

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

Lots of big moves happening around your league. Surprised to see Vince Carter's success as a coach but I suppose anyone who's able to carve out a 10+ year career after they're sapped of their athleticism knows a thing or two about locker rooms and X's & O's.

Good luck with the transition, I've thought about doing it in the future and it seems very daunting.

I am shocked by Vince Carter's success. Combining these ingredients didn't seem like a recipe for success:

1. Vince Carter and Carmelo Anthony as coaches
2. KAT and D'Angelo Russell
3. The Timberwolves

Yet somehow they've been one of the better teams in the West for 2 years. Part of it is the addition of Arnold McNurlin as a 3rd scorer, but I think Carter deserves a lot of credit.



Yeah, it's going to be a big a one (the transition). A few things I have to work through:

1. You can't set the year of the MyLeague, so I think I will need to simulate 2 years into the future, then do a bunch of trading and player editing during summer league.
2. The rosters and courts I had in 2K20 for the Sonics and Honu are better than the ones you can download in 2K23 (and the download functionality seems to break all the time). So I am having a modder create the jerseys and courts for me.
3. Decide which players I want to be very precise with when it comes to player ratings and badges and which ones I am good with fudging.
4. Modding tools let me edit things easier and in more detail, including way better player faces. Already having some fun with the "Cyberface Mixer" which lets me randomly generate faces.

I've done the entire NBA offseason and created the draft class. So now I need to actually spend all the time getting the MyLeague set up and doing all the pre-season preview work for NCAA and NBA. So I have plenty to work through and content to help fill the time while I get it set up.

NBA offseason is an exciting one. Free agency and trades change the landscape of the league in an interesting way.

[JoshNormanMane]

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

Oof, that sounds like a car wreck you can't help but look at lol.

You should be able to edit the players onto a roster before you start your MyLeague, although the downside of that is they'll have the stupid nicknames the PA announcer will say.

I think you're picking a great time in your universe to make the swap considering that you still have the majority of teams filled with real NBA players meaning you don't have to create as many CAPs as you would if you were in the year 2028 of your sim.

[studbucket]

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

Oof, that sounds like a car wreck you can't help but look at lol.

You should be able to edit the players onto a roster before you start your MyLeague, although the downside of that is they'll have the stupid nicknames the PA announcer will say.

I think you're picking a great time in your universe to make the swap considering that you still have the majority of teams filled with real NBA players meaning you don't have to create as many CAPs as you would if you were in the year 2028 of your sim.

Luckily the modding tools let me easily set the names, nicknames, PA names, etc. So I don't think that will be a problem.

I was debating about setting the rosters, then simulating 2 years (to get to 2024-25), but I think it may be easiest just to simulate through 2 seasons, make the drafts terrible, then just fix all the rosters in the offseason before 2024-25.

I agree that I'm glad the league is still 80% real players. Makes it easier for sure.

[studbucket]

2024 NBA Draft Lottery Preview

Unfortunately for the league, the teams at the bottom of the league have largely stayed there for the last few years: the Magic, the Spurs, the Kings, the Heat, and the Wizards. It’s been too many years of those teams down there and the league must hope many of those teams can get things turned around, perhaps even via this draft.

Orlando, Cleveland, Seattle, and San Antonio all have the best individual pick chances to get the top selection, but Oklahoma City’s combined odds from picks 5 and 6 ultimately give them the best odds of any team in the draft.

The storylines are quite different for these top 5 teams.

• If the Magic win it, it will give them another lottery pick but they have yet to do anything with all the talent they’ve amassed.
• If the Cavaliers win it, it gives them a chance to rebuild in earnest after trading away many of their talented players this year to kickstart a rebuild.
• If Seattle wins it, it gives them another young talent to pair with Bobby Drake and Sagana Dupree as they build excitement and start to push for a playoff spot.
• If San Antonio wins, they have to decide which player best pairs with their pair of top 2 picks in C Raynell Ere and PF Horace Wolfe.
• If Oklahoma City wins it, the conversation becomes all about trades. Do they trade this pick? Do they trade some of their young talent like Vytas Kowalczuk or Milos Jeffers? Both?

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[studbucket]

2024 NBA Draft Lottery Results

Everything went according to plan for the first 7 balls drawn (picks 16-10), and then something happened that has happened before: the Kings fell and the Knicks jumped into the top 4.

After that Oklahoma City ended up with picks 6 and 7, which was disappointing given they had decent chance of ending up with a top 4 pick, but it is solid draft capital that they could use for getting better or making moves this offseason.

At pick 5, the Sonics number came up, meaning they fell out of the top 4, leaving the Knicks, Spurs, Cavaliers, and Magic vying for the top pick.

The Knicks grab the top pick and can add some real talent to pair with Brandon Ingram, while the Magic, Cavs, and Spurs have a plethora of choices in a draft that is a bit muddy near the top. Cleveland has 4 picks in this draft, and it will be interesting to see how they use them.

Here’s how DraftExpress is mocking out the top 10 picks of this year’s draft.

1. Knicks – Kordel Cleaves, PF, Kansas
2. Magic – Marcello Barber, PF, Duke
3. Cavaliers – Roland Mayes, PG, Arizona
4. Spurs – Keston Mendoza, PF, Stanford
5. SuperSonics – Angelo Braswell, PF, UNLV
6. Thunder – Taquan St. Fort, C, DePaul
7. Thunder – Ashton Uthoff, SG, Australia
8. Pacers – Kim Pait, SG, Pittsburgh
9. Kings – Dan Diaz, PG, Arizona State
10. Honu – Eric Valencia, C, Wisconsin

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[RolePlayer]

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

Caught back up on your dynasty, always a lovely read. I'm as shocked as everybody else Duquesne didn't even take a look at Dinko. Maybe their AD is being cheap, hiring the less hot coach whose more willing to move to save money, who knows, they'll likely be searching for a new coach in a few years.

This is a great move for Oggy IMO, the WCC is a great conference to be in for recruiting and competition. This will be a much bigger challenge year in and year out to compete at the top of the league.

[studbucket]

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

Caught back up on your dynasty, always a lovely read. I'm as shocked as everybody else Duquesne didn't even take a look at Dinko. Maybe their AD is being cheap, hiring the less hot coach whose more willing to move to save money, who knows, they'll likely be searching for a new coach in a few years.

This is a great move for Oggy IMO, the WCC is a great conference to be in for recruiting and competition. This will be a much bigger challenge year in and year out to compete at the top of the league.

Thanks Roleplayer!

Admittedly, the Duquesne snub is great for storytelling. For the first time in this dynasty Dinko has a real chip on his shoulder, a reason to be angry. Both brothers have Duquesne on their schedule this year and both have the game circled. I'm hoping those games are bloodbaths. The Dukes do have the reigning freshman of the year though. I still don't foresee much success for them in a tough Atlantic 10.

I am so excited for Oggy. I wanted a bigger job, but the history of LMU is really cool and Oggy has a chance to be a legend there if he brings them some glory once again. It also brings a brother out to the West coast for the first time in the dynasty. That means the Midwest / great plains are really the only unexplored area for the brothers.

[studbucket]

Coaches’ Corner: Episode 8 (June 26, 2024)

It is KDKA Channel 2’s distinct privilege to present Coaches’ Corner with Pittsburgh’s adopted son, Ognyan Dragomirov. Live from Los Angeles, California, here is the new head coach of Loyola Marymount University.

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Oggy:
Welcome and ‘zdraveyte’. This is our second show from Los Angeles, but this time Dinko has to call in from Pittsburgh. How much do you think the quality will dip now that we have to do split-screen Skype video?

Dinko:
I’m surprised the ratings were good after viewers had to deal with watching both of us in the same shot.

Oggy:
But they’re here and they’re back with some more good questions! Today we have 3 questions: a personal one for each of us and then a basketball question for both of us to answer. We’ll start with the most serious question: a personal one for you.

This one is from Mary Anne in Santa Ana, California: “Dinko, I know you were in an accident at some point in college and it ended your playing career. However, I don’t know much about it and its toll on you. Can you describe what the car crash was like? How much pain were you in? What was the emotional and physical toll afterward?”

Dinko:
It was a winter evening in Pittsburgh and a rear tire on a tractor blew out. With the road a bit wet, the semi jack-knifed and swung into the left lane – and despite my best attempts to stop – pinned the car in between it and the guardrail. The rear axel of the trailer smashed through the passenger side of my car and resulted in much of Stephanie’s lower extremities being broken.

The damage was much less severe on my side, but it was enough to fracture the tibia and fibula in my left leg, damage some nerves in that area, and my right hand was smashed by the same parts of the trailer that pinned down Stephanie.

In the moment, the adrenaline kept me from feeling the pain for some time. I lost track of what was going on, so I don’t know for how long. But when I was able to see and hear Stephanie crying, I started to realize that my left leg and right hand were on fire. Like the worst sprained ankle you’ve ever had, but in both places. Things became a blur for a while after that, but it was several months before the pain from recovery and surgery fully subsided.

Afterward, the emotional toll ended up being far worse than the physical one. I couldn’t play basketball anymore competitively. I couldn’t run, and I lost much of the soft touch on my shots. But the worst situation was Stephanie. We were planning a wedding, we were going to visit Bulgaria, she loved doing active things. It was all stopped. She couldn’t walk down the aisle, and the prospect of a life bound to a wheelchair was devastating to her.

We’re past it now. Our families, our church, our neighbors, they have all been wonderful, but it was extremely difficult for her.

Oggy:
I couldn’t believe it when it happened. You were on the cusp of being considered for a starting spot. You had this awesome situation with Stephanie, and all of a sudden you two were helpless for weeks. I’m just glad you all recovered and you’re doing great. Apparently you don’t need all your fingers to work to be a fantastic basketball coach.

The next question is for me, and it’s not from mom, I promise. Carrie in Pittsburgh, PA asks “Oggy, how are you settling into LA? Do you have family? We hear all about Dinko’s family but I know nothing about your family.”

Dinko:
Yeah Oggy, why don’t you tell them about the paramour that you are.

Oggy:


Thanks for asking Carrie. I’m settling into LA. The traffic and congestion is a bit tough for me, but I am close to campus and the beach and can walk most places I need to be. When I am not getting into my car, I am loving it here. The weather is great, the campus is beautiful, the tacos are delicious, and the administration is hungry for success.

In terms of my own life, you’re right I’ve been quiet about it. I have been very career driven and Dinko’s got the more interesting family story. I am not married, however I do have a fiancé, Kate. We met last summer in Orlando and recently became engaged. She still lives in central Florida, but is moving to the LA area this fall, and I’m grateful for that.

Dinko:
The kids are so excited. They’ve been able to meet Kate once and they are smitten.

Oggy:
So am I.

This brings us to our last question from Brandon in Seattle. “Drago boys, I love your hoops minds and I love the NBA. The top of the draft seems pretty muddy this year. Who do you think the top 3 players are?”

Dinko: you first, so I can find a way to disagree with you.

Dinko:
This is a fun question. I love analyzing and ranking things. I think #1 is pretty easy. Kordel Cleaves of Kansas goes there. He’s not the slam dunk top pick we’ve seen in previous years, but I think there’s a gap between him and the next group.

That next area is a group though. It’s really muddy based on the coverage I’ve seen. However, there are 2 guys that stand out to me, because I love their shooting and all around games. J.B. McCroskey and Kim Pait.

Everyone is focused on the big guys in this draft, but McCroskey of Hartford really stood out to me this year and I think he’s not just a shooter, he’s a bit of a junkyard dog. I love his attitude. For Pait, I’m a bit biased as he played at Pitt so I got to see him in person, but I love his off-ball movement and confidence. I could see him being an All-Star at the 2 someday.

Oggy:
I’m surprised. I can’t strongly disagree, other than I actually do think this is a big man draft and your two – after Cleaves – are more in the 5-10 range.

So as I referred to, it’s Cleaves #1. I’m not going to throw out a crazy zag here. At #2, I just can’t get over the game of National Player of the Year Marcello Barber from Duke. He’s so athletic at the 4, has 2 national championships, and know show to be a role player or a star. I think whoever gets him is going to love it. Think of him like a Nordstrom version of Tim Duncan. He’s not Tim, but he’s not “Dollar General Tim Duncan” either.

At #3, a lot of people have Taquan St. Fort there. Maybe I’m overly influenced by our 1 game against him, but I just expected more from a top 5 pick in the draft. As far as bigs go, I’d put Washington’s Darius Lovelace over him. But Darius isn’t my pick – it’s Florida State wing Joey Robbins. He’s got unlimited swagger and athleticism and I think you could see him really surprise people on draft day.

Dinko:
You gotta respect Barber. It’s hard to doubt a player of his pedigree. Robbins surprises me, but I should never doubt your ability to be tempted by athleticism and confidence.

Oggy:
What can I say? It’s my weakness.

With that boys and girls, it’s a wrap for another Coaches’ Corner. Have a wonderful rest of the summer!

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And with that, I’ve now answered every question submitted in last year’s survey (and a few more). If you want to submit questions for the show and give feedback on the dynasty, please do so here.

[marshdaddy]

Re: League Meetings

As I am moving to NBA 2K23 on PC (from 2K20 on console), this opens some new things, including the play-in tournament. More details on this move coming later. I have the draft class created, but I need to move over every roster and draft pick. This will take some time.

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Please spend a few minutes to answer the annual Bulgarian Brothers survey. Your answers help shape the dynasty in a few small ways. https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=DQSIkWdsW0yxEjajBLZtrQAAAAAAA AAAAAMAAII8-q9UQ09WUTJPOE1YQkpYWVZFSUhCVE1ZVUJXRC4u

Good luck my man. Having done this twice, it sucks. It's boring. It's monotonous. But it's worth it. It gives the game a longer lifetime, it's more enjoyable in the long run, and I actually like how some players went from busts in the previous game to being stars or at least starters in the new one. It's fun from that perspective. Enjoy the grind!

[studbucket]

Re: League Meetings

Good luck my man. Having done this twice, it sucks. It's boring. It's monotonous. But it's worth it. It gives the game a longer lifetime, it's more enjoyable in the long run, and I actually like how some players went from busts in the previous game to being stars or at least starters in the new one. It's fun from that perspective. Enjoy the grind!

Yeah, I am excited, but it's gonna be a lot.

I love doing this on PC because of all the modding tools. That part definitely makes it easier for me.

It also means I can make the draft picks look more like humans and less of the "weird cheeks big lips" look they always have.

[studbucket]

2024 NBA Mock Draft

With the lottery done, here is the final mock draft before the real deal kicks off.

Kordel Cleaves going first overall is expected, but the next 6 or so picks could go any direction. This mock draft has the order of Barber, Mayes, Mendoza, Braswell, St. Fort, and Diaz. It’s all a very reasonable order but it really depends on team need and how much the teams are better on potential vs current talent.

Rumors are that the Magic like Braswell better at #2 because of his size and current ability to translate to the NBA. That would allow Barber and both top point guards to fall into the laps of the next few teams. Word around the league is that both Diaz and Mayes are viewed as long-term starting point guards but may take longer to adapt to the league than the big men who they are competing with at the top of this draft.



CHoops Recruits – Draft Prospect Update
We’re now far enough into this dynasty that all players entering the NBA draft are ones that have been generated as recruits and been through a few years of college.

• The 2020 class has seen a few players go pro already (Malcolm Nahra to the Bucks, Reid Ziri to the Kings, and Sheldon Newman to the Clippers are examples). But how about the rest of the top 20. Are they showing up in this draft?
  • Marcello Barber was the #2 prospect and Roland Mayes was the #3 prospect in this class, so their talent has produced results.
  • Dan Diaz was the #20 ranked prospect, so he has leapfrogged many of his peers.
  • This includes a few players who aren’t likely to get drafted, including #7 prospect Danko Matthews (PG, Arkansas) and #18 prospect Paul Clifton (SG, Washington State).

The 2021 class has already seen David Bruff drafted by Portland, and it looks like Kim Pait (SG, Pitt), Joey Robbins (SF, Florida State), and Teddy Ali (PG, North Carolina) may join him this year.

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[JoshNormanMane]

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

I always like a good draft leadup, two 6'7 Power Forwards and a sub 6-foot PG leading the charge is pretty intriguing as well considering they all must have elite skillsets.

Just curious, and my apologies if you've touched on this before but what's the end-game for ole Oggy and Dinko? Do you envision them making the jump to the NBA level and trying to land a HC job one day or will they stay at the collegiate level and try to become a fixture at a prestigious D1 program? This also might be a TBD as you progress as well.

[studbucket]

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

I always like a good draft leadup, two 6'7 Power Forwards and a sub 6-foot PG leading the charge is pretty intriguing as well considering they all must have elite skillsets.

It's a weird draft. There's definitely talent here, but all the top end talent is:
1 - a stretch 4
2 - a Draymond-style undersized big
3 - a very smart, talented, undersized, and raw PG
4 - a traditional center

We're missing out on hyper-athletic wings, great shooters, and NBA ready guards. Those players are in the draft, but are not clearly a top 5-10 talent and I think this is one where we'll end up seeing some lower ranked prospects being the best players in this draft.

Personally, I think players like J.B. McCroskey and Joey Robbins are being undervalued in this draft.

Just curious, and my apologies if you've touched on this before but what's the end-game for ole Oggy and Dinko? Do you envision them making the jump to the NBA level and trying to land a HC job one day or will they stay at the collegiate level and try to become a fixture at a prestigious D1 program? This also might be a TBD as you progress as well.

There's 2 parts to this question. The simple answer: I don't completely know as I can't really orchestrate NCAA moves as it's a "closed legacy" in CHoops 2K8.

However, I have given both brothers some personality traits that generally guide their decisions:

Dinko values family, especially caring for his parents and wife, loyalty, and consistency. He will take a new job, but it needs to either a) be better for his family or b) be such an amazing opportunity it's worth the cost to his family. It's why not getting the Duquesne job was such a gut punch.

Oggy values success above all else. He wants to be remembered for greatness and to him, at least for now, that's defined as winning titles in college and in the pros. He learns along the way (he burned some bridges in Northern Colorado, so his exit from Stetson was far more gracious), but he's still ambitious.

To peel back the curtain, I basically expect both brothers to be NCAA coaches until they end up being very successful at D1 programs. Oggy may want to taste greatness (or come close) before leaving for the pros, whereas Dinko may take the pro job if it represents a good opportunity even if he's never made it past the Sweet 16.

With Dinko being the better in-game coach and Oggy being the better recruiter, you could argue that Dinko may be a better NBA coach anyway. But we just finished year 5, there's a lot of time for that to change.

[studbucket]

Pre-Draft Trade

As we neared the draft, a few teams made a serious move that will change the structure of the league.

Durant Returns to Oklahoma City
Since their NBA title a few years ago, the Brooklyn Nets have struggled to get back atop the East. Kevin Durant (SF, 91 ovr) is still a talented player but he saw his scoring drop all the way to 19 points per game this season. As an aging star, the Nets could tell that there wasn’t a future title in their sights.

So they decided to find a way to build a deeper team around Ernesto Parkinson (SG, 85 ovr) and Kyrie Irving (PG, 90 ovr), looking for some players that will allow them to stay relevant and maybe get some picks as well.

They found some willing partners in the Hornets and Thunder, 2 teams that are brimming with talent and deeply underachieving based on that talent. The Thunder had a lot of excess draft capital, but weren’t enamored with the options at pick 6 or 7 and knew they’d also need to clear up their talent logjam as they just had too many guys.

Kevin Durant heads back to his first team in Oklahoma City and will be surrounded by a bunch of talented young players and veterans. He can bring that championship pedigree and will undoubtedly make OKC a more attractive destination for free agents or trades this offseason.

The Hornets joined in to help make the salaries work out and were able to unload tantalizing-yet-underwhelming Zach LaVine (SG, 84 ovr) and got back the 6^th pick in the draft and an exciting and talented point guard in Dan Vignale (PG, 81 ovr). The 2020 second rounder can jump out of the gym, has good court vision, and is a great perimeter defender. With the Hornets being one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA, Vignale should immediately help this team, whether as a starter or a backup.

The Nets replace Durant with the 7^th pick in the draft, T.J. Warren (SF, 86 ovr) and Zach LaVine (SG, 84 ovr). This gives them 4 very capable scorers in their rotation and some assets to continue to improve their team with. They probably aren’t a title contender this year, but they may be a better team and they are better set up for the future.

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Please spend a few minutes to answer the annual Bulgarian Brothers survey. Your answers help shape the dynasty in a few small ways. https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=DQSIkWdsW0yxEjajBLZtrQAAAAAAA AAAAAMAAII8-q9UQ09WUTJPOE1YQkpYWVZFSUhCVE1ZVUJXRC4u