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

[HarkTheSound]

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

Leave it to a Dookie to stir up trouble. Shame on you, Jaan "Franz Wagner" O’Donnell!

[Tovarich]

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

If I had to guess, it was the CPU controlled team that made 3 passes and drilled the tying shot with only 4.4 seconds? I've seen it done even more efficiently...

[studbucket]

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

Leave it to a Dookie to stir up trouble. Shame on you, Jaan "Franz Wagner" O’Donnell!

You caught my re-using Franz's cyberface, I got lazy There was no way I could make the move suggested by the spreadsheet, so I just lowered team chemistry by 10 instead.

If I had to guess, it was the CPU controlled team that made 3 passes and drilled the tying shot with only 4.4 seconds? I've seen it done even more efficiently...

It absolutely was. I lost in season 1 to Robert Morris that way as well. I have been able to reproduce it 1 time, getting a last second win with Stetson (in 2 passes):

[BigDrewio Gaming]

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

I just started reading your dyansty story this is dope!!

[studbucket]

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

I just started reading your dyansty story this is dope!!

Thanks BigDrewio - I hope you enjoy the journey. It's been a blast for me.

[studbucket]

St. Francis 2025-2026 Season Preview

Last year should have been the best year of Dinko’s career. He returned every important starter, had more talent top-to-bottom than anyone in the NEC, and was coming off a 17-1 year in the conference. Unfortunately, the Red Flash went 16-2, finished second to Long Island, and got knocked out by Sacred Heart in the second round of the tournament. Vern Quick had a disappointing senior season, but it did mark the rise of Chris Thompson as the Red Flash’s leading player and the expectations are high for him in his senior season.

Despite the loss of Stephane Diakite, Vern Quick, and Floyd Akindele, the expectations are no lower for the “Gonzaga of the NEC” as the Red Flash are expected to lose at most 1-2 conference games this season and make the NCAA tournament. Dinko has built up a talent pipeline that’s so good that his redshirts would start for most teams in the NEC. Let’s see if a Chris Thompson-led team can meet and exceed expectations this year.

Projected Lineup

The starting lineup for the Red Flash has traded some height for a bit more athleticism and shooting. Erwin Willingham continues his hybrid PG and wing role, using his size and speed to cause problems for the other team, but both E.F. McGuire and Bobby Valdez move into the starting lineup as 3 point specialists. Both can distribute the ball well and are athletic, giving Dinko a well-rounded backcourt with three players who can easily interchange. In the frontcourt 6’9” Taj Hailey provides defense and a good mid-range game alongside the talented Chris Thompson.

The biggest surprise for fans was Dinko red-shirting JuCo sophomore Marius Wells. Why would the Red Flash redshirt their first every 4* recruit and a player who is talented enough to play right away? Because Dinko already has Tanoris Houston and Jameel Clinton who can play point guard and Wells is only 5’11, 165. It gives him an offseason to bulk up and get adjusted to D1 basketball. In addition to the athletic backup guards, Dinko will also be calling on Loui Carlisle and Harlan Cesar for the first time as backup bigs as well as perennial backup Fernandez Markovic.

Freshmen wings Dedric McFadden and Ben Iti also find themselves redshirted and will spend the year learning an growing. This is the last season in Loretto for a quartet of players, all of whom are frontcourt players: Chris Thompson, Taj Hailey, Fernandez Markovic, and Tron Torbert. Torbert is the lone remaining walk-on on the roster, as Dinko reliably cuts them as he likes a “lean and mean” rotation and locker room. It’s a testament to the senior’s tenacity and work ethic.

Season Projection
After the Red Flash, there’s a good 3-way battle for second place in the NEC. The reigning tournament champions Sacred Heart have improved a lot in the offseason and many consider them a real threat to win the regular season as well, but not every Long Island Blackbird graduated: they still have Wilson Barrow (SG, 77 ovr), Dallas Perry (PF, 79 ovr), and Garland Bridges (SF, 71 ovr) on their team. Their biggest weakness is at center, where they are forced to start sophomore Comerlee McBride (C, 49 ovr).

Sacred Heart doesn’t have the same glaring weaknesses that the Blackbirds do, but their best players aren’t quite as good either. They are led by senior Martin Harvey (C, 75 ovr) and junior Leslie Larranaga (SF, 72 ovr). Not far behind are the Mountaineers who feature Louis Krymski (C, 77 ovr) and Terrence Downey (PF, 74 ovr) – who led the conference in rebounds last season – but very limited talent on the rest of their roster.

It’s unlikely that anyone else competes for a top 4 spot, and it’s all but guaranteed that Quinnipiac will be last place. They shouldn’t expect to win more than 2 conference games this season.

Northeast Conference
School	Ovr	Projection	Last Season
St. Francis (PA)	81	1st	2nd
Long Island	72	2nd	1st
Sacred Heart	75	3rd	6th (tourney champs)
Mount St. Mary’s	70	4th	9th
Fairleigh Dickinson	67	5th	5th
St. Francis (NY)	67	6th	10th
Wagner	65	7th	3rd
Robert Morris	65	8th	7th
Monmouth	64	9th	8th
Central Connecticut State	64	10th	4th
Quinnipiac	60	11th	11th

Here are the best-of-the-best players in the NEC.

The Blackbirds lost some talent from last year but still have Perry, who will look to be the team leader this year. He averaged 11 and 7 last year and will need to probably be closer to 20 and 10 for the Blackbirds to repeat, but he should be neck-and-neck with Louis Krymski to be conference Player of the Year.

Louis Krymski was heavily recruited by Dinko and has been very solid for the Mountaineers through his first two seasons. It’s a long shot, but he does have some pro potential thanks to great size and quick and soft hands. He averaged 11 points and 8 rebounds as a sophomore.

Chris Thompson is 1 thick Kiwi at 6’9”, 270, and he uses all of that girth to get buckets in the paint. Despite the other talented big men in the NEC, he’s the best at scoring near the basket like a true throwback big man: the type of player Dinko wanted to be before his injury.

The Pioneers rode the tall and athletic Harvey to the tournament championship last season and will need to ride the senior all season long if they wish to have a chance to repeat.

Dallas Perry’s sidekick this year is Wilson Barrow, the junior shooting guard. He’s not an excellent shooter, but he’s good enough and even put up 26 points in a game last season. He’s also a good defender and will often be tasked with guarding the other team’s best perimeter player.

Louie Carlisle is the best non-redshirt freshman in the conference and will be a key part of the Red Flash’s rotation as they look to take advantage of his strength for some key rebounds and defensive plays off the bench.

Games I’ll Play
I’ll be playing 8 games for each team. For Dinko this will be the Drago Derby, 3 non-conf games, and 4 conference games. I’ll also play alternating postseason tournament games.

1. Nov 13, 2025 vs Vermont [non-conference]
2. Nov 19, 2025 at Penn State [non-conference]
3. Nov 24, 2025 vs Duquesne [non-conference]
4. Dec 5, 2025 vs Long Island [NEC]
5. Drago Derby: December 15, 2025 in Loretto, PA
6. Jan 25, 2026 at Sacred Heart [NEC]
7. Feb 13, 2026 vs Mount St. Mary’s [NEC]
8. Feb 20, 2026 at Central Conn St [NEC]

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Please spend a few minutes to answer the annual Bulgarian Brothers survey. Your answers help to shape the dynasty in a few small ways. https://forms.office.com/r/QbMPc1Fiv1

[Tovarich]

Re: St. Francis 2025-2026 Season Preview

Are the Sacred Heart and Long Island OVR ratings reversed, or are you just picking them out of order? And is it a coincidence you chose to play the other top 3 teams?

[studbucket]

Re: St. Francis 2025-2026 Season Preview

Are the Sacred Heart and Long Island OVR ratings reversed, or are you just picking them out of order? And is it a coincidence you chose to play the other top 3 teams?

I picked them out of order. I normally trust the ratings, but Long Island's top end talent is better than Sacred Heart's, and I'm betting on them over the Pioneers' depth.

Yeah, sort of a coincidence I chose to play them. I usually choose teams based on a narrative and those 2 both had one:

1. Long Island was our toughest competition last year
2. Sacred Heart knocked us out of the conference tourney

Can't remember why I chose Mount St. Mary's (probably variety) and I chose Central Connecticut because Dinko has developed a bit of a rivalry with them, plus I try to play the last game of each season.

[BlindSideNZ]

Re: 2025 NBA Playoffs: Round 1 Recap

It turns out we only had 3 upsets and just 2 series that could be considered close despite all the predictions for something much more exciting. However, there were some thrilling moments in individual games, even if the series weren’t close.

Milwaukee Bucks (4) vs Orlando Magic (0)
The first 3 of the Bucks wins were by the skin of their teeth, and they arguably shouldn’t have won a few of them. They had to come back to get all 3 wins, getting game 1 96-94 thanks to Giannis (see video below) and a slam from Khris Middleton. Game 2 was 118-109, but tied at 99 with a few minutes left, and game 3 was a 117-116 overtime win where Giannis had 31 rebounds (!!) and 45 points. They do close out the series with a 37-point win led by Malcolm Nahra and Khris Middleton combining for 66 points.

Here's video of Giannis taking over the game for 30 seconds at the end of game 1 to ensure the victory:

Denver Nuggets (4) vs Phoenix Suns (0)
This was very similar to Milwaukee-Orlando in that Denver had to come from behind in each of the first 3 games and even went to overtime in game 3, where Bradley Beal scored 45 points. Bam Adebayo had a great series, scoring around 40 points several times, but his teammates just couldn’t provide enough support. An easy 134-110 game 4 victory closed things out.

Detroit Pistons (4) vs Philadelphia 76ers (1)
Detroit was without Trevor Merchant the first 2 games of the series, but still managed to steal game 1 on the road. They had a 41 point first quarter but let the 76ers come back. Ultimately backup PG Monty Montserez and starting PF Darrall Gosley (30 points, 12 rebounds) were able to close things out. Philly won game 2 easily, but then Trevor Merchant returned. With him back in the lineup, Detroit won 3 straight games: 125-108, 133-125, and 108-91. It’s another bitter defeat for the 76ers who can’t seem to succeed in the playoffs.

Monty Montserez gets a huge steal to seal the game 1 victory on the road without Trevor Merchant.

Brooklyn Nets (4) vs Memphis Grizzlies (1)
Game 1 was a blowout as the Nets won easily thanks to LaVine’s 43 and Kyrie’s 30. Brandon Clarke hurt his knee and will miss the series and the Nets also win game 2 easily at home, 145-118. Game 3 was a tight one, with the game tied at 113 with 31 seconds left, but a Stewart Mobley putback (see gif below) gives Brooklyn the 3-0 series lead. Memphis gets game 4, but the Nets win another close one in game 5 to move on to face the Bucks.

Stewart Mobley tips in the game winning basket in Memphis.

Golden State Warriors (4) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (1)
The Warriors scored 140+ points 3 out of the 5 games, including the first two and dispatched the Wolves quite easily. Games 3 and 4 were close, but the series wasn’t. In game 5, five different warriors scored 21+ points: DeAndre Ayton, Tyler Lydon, Jarrett Pressley, Steph Curry, and Jimmy Butler

Dallas Mavericks (4) vs New Orleans Pelicans (1)
This series looked like it should have been the Pelicans’ over and over again. They won game 1 128-117 and were winning in game 2 before losing it 110-103. They lost game 3 by 4 points and game 4 by 5 points before allowing Luka to score 50 in game 5 and Dallas won 135-117. Zion and Booker were fantastic offensively, but the Pelicans were not able to get the win.

Cleveland Cavaliers (4) vs Boston Celtics (2)
Boston looked better at home in the first two games but only went 1-1. Cleveland came back in the second half of game 1 after both Tatum and Turner fouled out and Gordon Hayward got injured for the rest of the playoffs. The Cavs won games 3 and 4 at home and headed back to Boston up 3 games to 1. Damian Lillard dropped 42 to get the game 5 win, but Cleveland grabbed the series victory at home in game 6 with a 119-100 win. Darius Garland led the way with 38 points and 13 assists while Taquan St. Fort had 20 points and 15 rebounds.

Hawaii Honu (4) vs Los Angeles Lakers (3)
The first 6 games of this series were won by the road team, which was very strange to see. Anthony Davis led the Lakers to 3-point and 2-point wins in Honolulu, then the Honu blew out the Lakers in game 3 before game 4 became the official Tyler Herro game as the shooting guard scored 51 points in a 133-131 victory.

Anthony Davis scored 6 straight clutch points in Hawaii to get a 141-135 win, but the Honu responded in LA with a 128-114 win. Going back to Hawaii for game 7, we saw Jalen McDaniels intercept 2 passes intended for Anthony Davis in the final minute and Tyler Herro shoot 11-11 from the free throw line to win 114-108 and secure the Honu’s first ever playoff series win.

Here was a goosebumps-inducing moment as Honu crowd chants MVP for Tyler Herro as he clinches the series victory with free throws in game 7.

Enjoy these rotating images of moments from round 1.

Round 2 Preview


Milwaukee didn’t look great in round 1 but ended up sweeping the Magic, while the Nets looked dominant in their wins over the Grizzlies. However, we know that Milwaukee is a juggernaut and will be favorites in this series, especially because their strengths – aka Giannis – match up well with the Nets’ weaknesses. Zach LaVine and Kyrie Irving have been a handful and likely will get their points against the Bucks backcourt, but it won’t be easy with Giannis and Capela protecting the rim. T.J. Warren is questionable to return this series for the Nets Bucks in 6.

Both of these teams were underdogs in round 1, but really nobody was that surprised to see them win their series. Folks expected Philly to put up more of a fight, but the Pistons can hang with anyone in the league. Cleveland has been a great story and has upset more talented teams like Boston, but the Pistons probably match up better at every single position and ultimately Trevor Merchant will probably be too much for Garland to handle on both ends. Pistons in 6.

Luka Doncic has been the best player in the NBA this year, but the Denver Nuggets have been the best team. With DPoY Jonathan Isaac tasked with smothering Luka and the rest of the Nuggets providing help off ball, it’s going to be important for other Mavericks to step up, and we’re not sure they can. Nuggets in 5.

On paper, it’s hard to imagine how the Honu can keep up with the Warriors, but they’ve done it all season. The series between these two teams is split 2-2 and the Honu managed more wins this regular season than the Warriors. However, Hawaii struggled in some of these games against the Lakers, not being able to slow down Anthony Davis. Fortunately for then, DeAndre Ayton is no AD, but Steph Curry, Jarrett Pressley, and Jimmy Butler are better than any guards or wings the Lakers had at their disposal. Herro and Fultz will cause problems for Golden State and they will need big games from Ayton and Butler to win this series. Honu in 7.

I’ll report back when I’ve caught up on the rest, but that Honu court insane. Way too good to not comment on. Herro seems to be living his best life out on the island!

[studbucket]

Re: 2025 NBA Playoffs: Round 1 Recap

I’ll report back when I’ve caught up on the rest, but that Honu court insane. Way too good to not comment on. Herro seems to be living his best life out on the island!

All credit to Kyu! He was great to work with.

Herro has been amazing for them. I hope he and Fultz can keep it up.

[studbucket]

2025 NBA Free Agency Results

Embiid to Dallas in blockbuster 3-team trade
After years of disappointment centered on the Simmons-Embiid-Harris trio, Philadelphia has decided to rebuild on the fly around Ben Simmons, jettisoning both Joel Embiid (C, 91 ovr) and Tobias Harris (SF, 80 ovr) in a deal with the Mavericks and Bulls that involved Kristaps Porzingis (PF, 88 ovr) heading to the 76ers in a sign-and-trade. With limited draft capital, the Mavericks had to find a partner who could benefit from players in the trade and send picks to Philadelphia.

They found that willing partner in Chicago. Partially spurred on by Guerschon Yabusele’s pleading and pressure, the Bulls sent a questionably large number of assets out in order to add Matisse Thybulle (SG, 80 ovr), Tobias Harris (SF, 80 ovr), and rookie big man Keonta Alloway (C, 79 ovr). However, they also added Bol Bol (PF, 85 ovr) and Collin Sexton (PG, 82 ovr) in free agency and they became somewhat of a destination for the first time in years. So maybe overpaying was worth it, because they are now a relevant team in the East again, even if they likely aren’t title contenders.

Getting back to the major components of this deal, Joel Embiid is going to be a monster paired Luka and even though the Mavericks have largely nuked any bench depth they had and have two first rounders the next 5 years. To help with this, they made a second trade with the Warriors (after the Butler deal) by sending them former Duke star Seth Oneil in exchange for Jordan Poole and a top 10 protected pick. The Warriors get cap relief and the Mavericks actually get a first rounder.

They also sent Maxi Kleber (PF, 79 ovr) to the Jazz in exchange for John Wall (PG, 78 ovr) who will be competing for minutes at point guard.

Tired of nearly a decade of postseason disappointment with Joel Embiid, the 76ers have decided to surround Simmons with stretch bigs and smart veterans. They made a second trade the next day, sending some frontcourt depth to the Celtics in exchange for Gordon Hayward. Like the Mavericks, the 76ers may lack bench depth, but have a more interesting bench unit led by Kentrell Werch (PG, 77 ovr) and Mitchell Robinson (C, 82 ovr).

Here are the approximate lineups for all 3 teams after the trade and free agency signings.

Dallas Mavericks	Philadelphia 76ers	Chicago Bulls
Jordan Poole (78 ovr)	Ben Simmons (89 ovr)	Collin Sexton (82 ovr)
Luka Doncic (93 ovr)	Bruce Brown (78 ovr)	Matysse Thybulle (80 ovr)
Jimmy Butler (79 ovr)	Cedi Osman (78 ovr)	Tobias Harris (80 ovr)
Bryce Gilbert (81 ovr)	John Collins (85 ovr)	Bol Bol (85 ovr)
Joel Embiid (89 ovr)	Kristaps Porzingis (88 ovr)	Keonta Alloway (78 ovr)

James Harden heads to Seattle; Brandon Ingram to Atlanta
In a shocking move, James Harden (SG, 85 ovr) has left Atlanta after just a few months and signed with the league’s worst team in Seattle. Claiming he loves the city and wants to play with Bobby Drake (SF, 79 ovr), Harden joined the SuperSonics for 3 years, $123M. This move had a few major ramifications, with the Sonics now unable to retain Gordon Cousinard (SG, 83 ovr) just months after trading for him as he joined the Clippers.

With Harden having left Atlanta, the Hawks were happy to take Brandon Ingram (SF, 84 ovr) away from the Knicks and pair him with Trae Young. Atlanta also lost Paul George (SF, 78 ovr) in free agency as he joined the Spurs. Their big 3 lasted just 4 months.


The Fox-Sparks combo is done in Charlotte as De’Aaron signs with Toronto
Jerry Sparks (PF, 89 ovr) and De’Aaron Fox (PG, 88 ovr) were not a winning combo in Charlotte. Many folks are quick to blame either or both, but Fox’s decision to join a bad Raptors team feels like confirmation to many that he’s just not a winning player. The Hornets hope that’s the case as they plan to slot Dan Vignale (PG, 82 ovr) into the starting lineup and signed OG Anunoby (SF, 84 ovr) to join Sparks and Jeron Jackson Jr (C, 85 ovr) in the starting 5.


Andrew Wiggins joins the Cavaliers
After his trade request, the Raptors dealt Andrew Wiggins (SF, 82 ovr) to the Cavaliers for the 15^th pick in last year’s draft, former Tar Heel Warren Mayes (PF, 77 ovr). Wiggins will likely slot into the Cavs’ starting 5, and as much as Mayes has potential, he wasn’t going to see the floor much for Cleveland.

4 of the impactful players that changed teams this offseason

Several big names return to their teams
After Bol Bol signed with the Bulls, there was concern the Nuggets would completely see their core dissolve. However, both Jamal Murray (PG, 86 ovr) and reigning DPoY Jonathan Isaac (SF, 86 ovr) re-signed with Denver and will be returning to the Mile High City.

We also saw Kyrie Irving (PG, 88 ovr) and Damian Lillard (PG, 86 ovr) return to the Nets and Celtics as they make another run at the NBA Finals.


Other notable signings
Here are some other players that changed teams and should have a meaningful impact in their new homes.

New York Knicks
Chandler Hutchinson (SF, 83 ovr) leaves Washington to join New York. There is a lot of excitement around the team as euro-stashed star Mirko Bosnjak (PG, 89 ovr) joins the team alongside Andre Drummond (C, 86 ovr).

Golden State Warriors
The Warriors’ re-tooling continued as they signed Michael Porter Jr (SF< 82 ovr) from the Spurs to replace Jimmy Butler.

Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers added three very solid role players in free agency. First they added Ja Morant’s backup in Issa Leslie (PG, 82 ovr). The former UCLA Bruin has been biding his time and finally got a $60M payday from the Lakers and should run their offense alongside Anthony Davis (PF, 92 ovr) and Milos Jeffers (SG, 82 ovr). They also added Massimo Janning (SG, 79 ovr) from the Wizards and Sagan Dupree (PF, 79 ovr) from the Sonics.

Dallas Mavericks
Dallas added two guards in Tyrone Dowdell (SG, 78 ovr) from Portland and Devonne Shakur from New Orleans (PG, 78 ovr) as well as Dave Tran (PF, 79 ovr) who played last season for the Honu.

New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans brought back Kyle Kuzma (SF, 80 ovr), but likely replaced him in the starting lineup with Mikal Bridges (SF, 81 ovr), who spent time on Chicago and Utah last year. They added Frank Kaminsky (C, 80 ovr) as a starting center and KY Bowman (PG, 78 ovr) from the Mavericks as starting point guard. They also signed Archie Holbrook (PF, 78 ovr) and Skal Labissiere (PF, 77 ovr) as frontcourt depth.

Denver Nuggets
Replacing Bol Bol is world champion Jaxson Hayes (PF, 79 ovr) and the Nuggets added more backups for him and Jokic by signing journeyman Andre Rice (PF, 78 ovr) and Robert Williams (C, 77 ovr).

Washington Wizards
Speaking of world champions changing teams, Tommy Swain (SG, 81 ovr) decided to leave the Cavaliers to get a payday from the Wizards and pair with R.J. Barrett (SF, 86 ovr) to make up a pair of sharpshooters for Washington.

Hawaii Honu
The Honu hope to have another 50+ win season and needed to replace the departed Jordan Bell (PF, 79 ovr) and Rashad Konare (SF, 79 ovr). They brought in the Lakers’ Mfiondu Kabengele (C, 80 ovr), Atlanta’s Rod Douglas (SG, 79 ovr), Utah’s Trevor Nelson (SF, 77 ovr), and San Antonio’s Ulf Enqvist (SG, 77 ovr).

Utah Jazz
Utah continued their rebuild with a few interested talents. They grabbed talented scorer B.A. Guasco (SF, 81 ovr) from Charlotte and tall distributor Elmer Okpalobi (PG, 79 ovr) from Indiana. They attempted to move off of Rudy Gobert (C, 79 ovr), but his contract and declining skills meant there was very little interest in him.

San Antonio Spurs
Though he likely would have started for the Warriors, Kelly Oubre Jr (SG, 81 ovr) decided to join the up-and-coming Spurs.

Sacramento Kings
Rashad Konare (SF, 79 ovr) decided to leave sunny Hawaii for hot and dry Sacramento on a 3 year deal.

Houston Rockets
Tremont Waters (PG, 84 ovr) is now the leader in Houston due to all the roster turnover there. He’s spent the last few seasons in Utah as a backup.

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Please spend a few minutes to answer the annual Bulgarian Brothers survey. Your answers help to shape the dynasty in a few small ways. https://forms.office.com/r/QbMPc1Fiv1

[BlindSideNZ]

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

Dude, so much to catch up on.

What a fascinating few pages of events. That new lineup in Dallas sounds dangerous on paper, but there’s a real irony with Embiid becoming a Maverick after real life feelings towards availability/durability.

Looks like some stellar recruiting from both of ours brothers this season too. I’m somewhat biased but seeing a fellow Kiwi potentially having such a massive role is rather exciting.

I’m going to need to see those new expansion reveals asap. Consider me well and truly teased by the post.

Also, shout out to the one and only Trek for his guest appearance!

[studbucket]

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

Dude, so much to catch up on.

What a fascinating few pages of events. That new lineup in Dallas sounds dangerous on paper, but there’s a real irony with Embiid becoming a Maverick after real life feelings towards availability/durability.

Thanks!

And yeah, I made that trade before the Luka deal went down and it is extra funny to compare with real life happenings.

Looks like some stellar recruiting from both of ours brothers this season too. I’m somewhat biased but seeing a fellow Kiwi potentially having such a massive role is rather exciting.

Heading into year 7, they both seemed to have figured some things out, or maybe their reputation is starting to help them. I'm definitely excited to see if Chris "Thicc Kiwi" Thompson can build on last year's breakout season. The Red Flash don't need him to be a star, but if he can be a 20+10-type player, they may even win some March Madness games.

I’m going to need to see those new expansion reveals asap. Consider me well and truly teased by the post.

Also, shout out to the one and only Trek for his guest appearance!

Yeah, I am so excited to share them. Just got my hands on the new Vancouver court and updated Montreal jerseys last night. Full reveal probably coming next offseason, which hopefully isn't 6+ months away. Almost done powering through the offseasn. It's a lot of posts to type (and a lot of data entry in the backend for the draft).

[studbucket]

Loyola Marymount 2025-2026 Season Preview

Last year was both a success and a disappointment. Oggy was frustrated by the lack of production and depth on the roster and it was likely the most trying year of his coaching career. But he also hit 100 wins, made the conference tournament final, and coached the Lions to 9 more wins than they had the previous season and was almost .500 in conference.

This season’s biggest challenge will be replacing the talent and production of Herbert Nashif, who was the backbone of this team last year. However, he had a great recruiting class and sees all 3 freshman in his top 7 rotation and it’s very likely that Lucious Estrada could be his team’s leading scorer as a freshman. He’s thrilled with this class and expects the Lions to have a winning season and should aim for the post-season, whether it’s the NIT or NCAAs. Oh, and there’s this little thing called the Drago Derby that he really, really wants to win.

Projected Lineup

Once again Oggy will be going with a short bench for most of the season. Logon Myers (his predecessor’s only recruit last season) and Ervin Brooks return to the team but will largely be around to play during blowouts or because of injury. The top 8 consists of 4 freshman and 4 seniors, making the roster a true mix of youth and experience. Oggy will be looking to Immanuel Kahrimanovic and Skip Salow to provide consistent shooting – something they did not provide last year.

But he’s most excited about the pairing of Lucious Estrada and Allen Wentt. Estrada looks like he may be the best player Oggy has ever coached and he hasn’t even played a game yet. Oggy’s already heard rumors of NBA scouts planning to attend some of his games this season as Estrada has great size, is deadly from anywhere inside the arc, and not half bad outside of it. He’s not a great athlete, but has all the other offensive skills you might want in a wing. Wentt is still raw, but at 7’1” he provides the type of size and rim protection that the Lions didn’t have at all last season and will allow Reid Christensen to match up with players more his size.

Behind them on the bench are last year’s starting PG Evan Harris, freshman J.J Giles, and walkon Vakeaton Mbaha Moute. Oggy was shocked when the 6’10” Cameroonian-American showed up on campus in July asking to try out for the basketball team. He won’t add much offensively, but the big kid from Chicago has good length, great strength, and will grab rebounds. Plus he’s just happy to be aware from Chicago winters.

Season Projection
San Francisco lost a player – and lost in last year’s conference tournament – but should still be expected to finish atop the WCC as they are led by the senior combo of Joshua Berrelleca (SF, 83 ovr) and Jabahri Tobias (PF, 80 ovr). However, they are neck-and-neck with Gonzaga led by returning stars Benjamin Barley (SF, 82 ovr) and Mack Fitzgerald (C, 82 ovr). Falling all the way to the bottom of the projections is San Diego, who lost Martin Fisher and 2 other seniors and saw their talent drop off a cliff.

Fighting for the middle of the conference are three teams featuring several underclassmen: Saint Mary’s, Loyola, and Pepperdine. Oggy could optimistically finish second this season, and he can’t imagine how his team would be worse than last year.

Northeast Conference
School	Ovr	Projection	Last Season
San Francisco	84	1st	1st
Gonzaga	83	2nd	4th
Saint Mary’s	81	3rd	3rd
Loyola Marymount	82	4th	6th
Pepperdine	81	5th	5th
Portland	77	6th	7th
Santa Clara	77	7th	8th
San Diego	76	8th	2nd

Here are the best-of-the-best players in the WCC.

Berrelleca is the most tantalizing player in the conference, but also a disappointment. The 6’10” wing is also one of the fast players in the conference and a great free throw shooter, but has never scored more than 9 points per game. In this final season he will need to step up in a big way to help the Dons win another regular season title.

Benjamin Barley is the first of Gonzaga’s 2 exciting frontcourt, and the lanky wing is a well-rounded player who should be looking to score 15-20 points per game this year, especially with attention on Fitzgerald and his supporting cast a little better this year.

Mack Fitzgerald is undersized for a center, but uses his excellent athleticism and consistency to wear down opponents and make a great impact on the game. He averaged 6.5 rebounds per game as a freshman, but that dropped to just 5 last year. He’ll need to get that number above 7 this year to help Gonzaga make the dance.

Pepperdine’s Alejandro Finley is viewed as the best pro prospect in the conference, even ahead of Berrelleca. The 6’6” SG is solid from outside but excels at getting to the basket and finishing there.

Sollie Burnstein has taken exception to the claims of Lucious Estrada being the best freshman in the conference and will be looking to shine for the Gaels. The 6’7” stretch 4 has a great mid-range jumper and is very well rounded.

The WCC’s other freshman phenom, Estrada has left the tropics of Hawaii for the smog of LA, and should immediately compete to be the Lions leading scorer as a freshman.


Games I’ll Play
I’ll be playing 8 games for each team. For Oggy this will be the Drago Derby, 2 non-conf games, and 5 conference games. I’ll also play alternating postseason tournament games.

1. Nov 16, 2025 vs Sacramento State [non-conference]
2. Dec 12, 2025 vs Stetson [non-conference]
3. Drago Derby: December 15, 2025 in Loretto, PA
4. Jan 18, 2026 at Santa Clara [WCC]
5. Jan 25, 2026 vs San Francisco [WCC]
6. Feb 15, 2026 vs Saint Mary’s [WCC]
7. Feb 24, 2026 at Portland [WCC]
8. Mar 3, 2026 vs Pepperdine [WCC]

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[studbucket]

Early Recruiting Update

As we kick off the season, the brothers are in the midst of preparing for their games, implementing their systems, and trying to recruit new talent for the future. This is going to be a major offseason for Oggy as he has 8 scholarships to fill and this could end up being a program-changing recruiting class for the Lions. Dinko only has 3 scholarships, but will need to find replacements for Chris Thompson, Taj Hailey, and Fernandez Markovic.

Here’s a preview of the top prospects each brother is targeting.

Loyola Marymount
With 8 scholarships and not much returning talent outside of Wentt and Estrada, Oggy is looking to get any and all kinds of talent and is being aggressive with several of the scholarships. Here’s his top 10 targets.

1. Ingo Civi. 3* 6’6” SF from Milwaukee, WI. #124 overall and #20 SF. Competing with Western Michigan and Marquette.
2. Russ Sterley. 3* 6’11” PF from Union City, CA. #310 overall and #56 PF. Competing with Stanford and San Francisco.
3. Erroll Bronson. 5* 5’11” PG from Victoria, TX. #15 overall and #7 PG. Competing with Louisiana-Monroe, Southern Florida, and Louisville.
4. Dajuan Adams. 3* 5’9” PG from Glendale, CA. #392 overall and #98 PG. Competing with USC and UC-Riverside.
5. Reece Bronson. 4* 5’8” PG from Oxnard, CA. #54 overall and #25 PG. Competing with UNLV, Arizona, USC.
6. Major Evans. 3* 6’10” PF from Stockton, CA. JuCo sophomore. Competing with San Francisco.
7. Ontario Jefferies. 4* 6’8” PF from Dallas, TX. #92 overall and #16 PF. Competing with SMU, UT-Arlington, and TCU.
8. Borislav Van Weerdhuizen. 4* PG from Missouri City, TX. #48 overall and #22 PG. Competing with Tulane, Texas A&M, and Houston
9. Conor Augustin. 3* PF from Houston, TX. #115 overall and #22 PF. Competing with Baylor.
10. Torry Assel. 4* PG from Denver, CO. JuCo Sophomore. Competing with Colorado State and Denver.

St. Francis
Dinko needs to replace his starting frontcourt and will use his 3 scholarships to do that. Here’s his top 5.

1. Barney Bennett. 3* 7’0” C from Baldwin Park, CA. JuCo freshman. No competition.
2. Atwcan Elliot. 3* 6’8” PF from Wilmington, DE. #117 overall and #23 PF. Competing with Delaware State and James Madison.
3. Michel Detrick. 3* 6’10” C from Stillwater, OK. JuCo freshman, competing with Oklahoma State, Arkansas State, and North Texas
4. Lamont Daniel. 3* 6’5” SF from Lansing, MI. JuCo sophomore, competing with Butler, Detroit, and Wright State.
5. Rich Danelius. 3* 5’10” PG from Springfield, MA. JuCo sophomore, competing with Rhode Island, UMass, Siena

Top Prospects
Here are the top 5 prospects at each position, making up a rough top 25, since CHoops seems to make the actual top 25 nothing but guards.

Prospect Name	Pos	Rank	Hometown	Top Schools
Dominick Hope	PF	1	Kalamazoo, MI	Duke, Michigan State
Sean Jeanpierre	SF	2	Austin, TX	Texas, Texas A&M, Louisville
Major Mutombo	SG	3	West Palm Beach, FL	Duke, Florida, Miami, Florida
Ljubisa Hines	PG	4	Hempstead, NY	Northeastern, Seton Hall, Hofstra
Bracey Grace	PF	5	Columbus, OH	Louisville
Reed Gary	PG	6	Brownsville, TX	Texas, Texas A&M, Arizona
Lodrick Minnifield	SG	7	Savannah, GA	Duke, North Carolina, NC State
Deng Covington	SG	8	San Antonio	Texas, Arkansas, Texas A&M
Booker Petkunas	PG	9	Atlanta, GA	North Carolina, Florida State, NC State
Pearson McKnight	PG	10	Toronto, CN	Michigan, Syracuse
Jairus Tinsley	SF	11	Aurora, CO	Air Force, Colorado, Arkansas, Kansas State
Artem Olson	SG	12	Bronx, NY	Boston College, Maryland
Roy Bermudez	PG	13	Indianapolis, IN	Maryland, North Carolina, Louisville
Ernesto Dawson	PF	18	Reno, NV	Oregon, Washington State
Willie West	SG	19	Toronto, CN	Canisius, NC State
Jeraldo Rollins	SF	27	Brookings, SD	Michigan, Illinois State, Air Force
Monty Logan	SF	28	Boston, MA	Boston College, Villanova, UConn, Maryland, Duke
Matthew Steele	SF	30	Houston, TX	Tulane, Texas, Florida State, Texas A&M
Femi Burrell	C	34	Ogden, UT	Minnesota, Iowa State, Texas Tech, Washington
R.J. Crites	PF	36	San Bernardino, CA	Arizona, Oregon, UNLV, Colorado, UCLA
Desmond Winston	C	37	Billings, MT	Minnesota, Iowa State, Kansas State
Gary Phelps	PF	38	Round Rock, TX	Louisiana-Lafayette, Texas, Texas A&M, LSU
Manourou West	C	45	Burnsville, MN	Missouri, Iowa State
Harry Klatsky	C	88	Miramar, FL	Florida, Miami
Robin Patrick	C	119	Sacramento, CA	Nevada

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Please spend a few minutes to answer the annual Bulgarian Brothers survey. Your answers help to shape the dynasty in a few small ways. https://forms.office.com/r/QbMPc1Fiv1