Bringing Back the Buzz: Zo & '92-93 Hornets

[studbucket]

A Preview of Coach J's Offseason Targets

Note: the intricacies of the NBA salary cap are unknown to me, as I’m more of an NFL/MLS fan. So I have read the Wikipedia article on the NBA cap, but that doesn’t mean I fully understand it. If I get something wrong, feel free to correct me.

With first place in the East almost locked up, Coach J turned his attention to some possible offseason moves he could make to pick up some veterans for the team this offseason. Which players will be sticking around next year? Which will he let walk? He’s assuming there will be at least a $10 million cap increase, up to $80 million, and the luxury tax level should be above $90 million.

So given the contract situation, how does the roster break down?

Essential

• Alonzo Mourning - $16,700,000
• Larry Johnson - $16,700,000
• Kendall Gill - $10,200,000

These 3 make up the core of the team and will hopefully be in Charlotte for the next 10-15 (or 20) years. All three contracts expire in 2018, so the Hornets will need to make sure that there’s plenty of cap space available in 2 years.

Useful Players

• Avery Bradley - $8,270,000
• Dell Curry - $6,500,00

These players have added a lot of value this year and would be nice to keep around. However, their deals expire at the same time as the guys above. Curry is getting older and should look for less money, but Bradley is on the rise and could ask for a deal similar to what Kendall Gill is expecting. Charlotte may only get another 2 years of Bradley before they trade him or let him walk.

Expiring Deals

• Taj Gibson – $8,950,000

Gibson has been wonderful for the Hornets this year, but $9m is a lot of money for a backup PF, and Coach J has aspirations to upgrade other positions. There should be teams willing to take on his expiring contract and allow the Hornets to pursue their offseason targets.

Team Options

• Kelly Olynyk - $3,090,00
• Andre Roberson - $2,180,000
• Bryce Cotton - $980,000

Kelly Olynyk will definitely be coming back, as his $3 million price tag is a bargain to be a sharp shooting backup big man. Roberson has been very valuable this year, but he’s such a liability on offense, the Hornets will let him test free agency before bringing him back. Bryce Cotton will be lucky to be on a roster next year, but does have a decent 3 point shot.

Player Options

• Cole Aldrich - $1,230,000

It would be great if Aldrich chooses to come back, but at a number that low, it would be a shock if he doesn’t test the market.

Free Agents

• Kenny Gattison, PF
• Ramon Sessions, PG
• Robert Williams, PG

Gattison and Williams will be let go. Sessions will be a nice backup PG, but Coach J wants to see how the draft and free agency goes before committing to him.

So, if all goes according to plan, these will be the Hornets players sticking around (in a depth chart format):
PG – Avery Bradley
SG – Dell Curry
SF – Kendall Gill
PF – Larry Johnson
C – Alonzo Mourning
6 – Kelly Olynyk

That leaves a lot of spaces to fill. The Hornets need at least 2 more big men and 3 more guards/small forwards. Coach J knows that at least one of those will come in the draft, but there isn’t a ton of cap room to sign another 5-6 players.

Targets
Who will the Hornets pick up via trades or free agency to supplement the returning players? Coach J will assume he has about $61,500,000 in salaries, which leaves $18.5 million in cap space to sign players.

Free Agency
In priority order, here are the players Coach J wants to go after. You’ll notice that he’s going after his former Wisconsin players.

1) Joey Fletcher, PG, 22
Fletcher has had an amazing rookie year and the Hornets need a true point guard. Will he be willing to leave New York? Can he be even better running a fast-paced offense and away from Carmelo’s black hole? Coach J wants to go all-in to get the young PG, but we’ll see what’s possible.

2) Wallace Anrin, SG, 27
Anrin’s foot should be mostly healed, but he’ll need to get back into games shape. The biggest concern may be his high salary demands. Despite sitting out a year, he still may be asking for more than $8 million a year. Anrin would immediately slot into the starting lineup alongside Kendall Gill, moving Dell Curry to the bench if signed.

3) Paul Noonan, SG, 29
Paul Noonan would give the Hornets another deadly 3 point shooter…provided Noonan can stay clear of his previous life troubles. Coach J believes he can surround Noonan with positive influences and

4) Romain Martin, SG, 29
Martin would provide a solid shooter off of the bench and could play the 2 or the 3. Coach J would like to sign him regardless, but Martin does play like a poor man’s Wallace Anrin, so is a decent consolation prize. He also may be able to fit into the mid-level exception.

5) Veteran big man (David West, Nene, Larry Sanders)
Coach J will need another player to come off the bench alongside Olynyk (and maybe Aldrich). Whoever Coach J can get for cheap would work fine here.

6) Chief Bing, C, 25
It would be great for Coach J to get “The Chief” but he expects his price to be a bit high, and Chief is good enough he likely won’t want to sit behind Mourning. Of course, if he does sign in Charlotte, Coach J could start Mourning and Bing and move Larry Johnson to SF.

7) Tommy Camper, C, 25
Similar to Chief Bing, Coach J doesn’t expect Camper to be available, but if he is and the price is right, Coach J will make it work. Camper would likely be thrilled to learn from Coach J again, and he wouldn’t have to guard Mourning anymore.

8) Hope Law, SG, 22
Hope Law looks like he’ll be one of the hottest free agents on the market this summer, and the chances for Coach J to get him are slim. If Coach J wants to break the bank for Law, that could mean the Hornets say goodbye to Dell Curry and may not be able to keep Kendall Gill long term.

9) Kevin Martin, SG, 33
A veteran with a great stroke, Coach J would be happy to add Martin to the bench for 15 minutes a game of sharpshooting.

10) Giannis Antetokounmpo, SF, 21
11) Andrew Wiggins, SF, 21
It’s unlikely that either of these players are available (although the Greek Freak has been moved to 6th man in Milwaukee), but if Coach J misses out on his previous targets, he may choose to swing for the fences and get a super talented SF and move Gill to SG.

Trades
Dennis Schroder, PG, ATL
Schroder’s deal is expiring in ATL and he hasn’t seen a lot of playing time behind all the guards there. The Hornets may be able to unload Taj Gibson or some draft picks to get Schroder as a backup PG, and perhaps a PG for the future if the Hornets are unable to sign Fletcher.

Khrys Middleton, SG, MIL
Indicative of the ineptitude in Milwaukee, Middleton has been on the bench most of the year, with OJ Mayo starting over him. If the Bucks don't value his shooting, Coach J will.

[studbucket]

February 26 win at Atlanta

We’re 61 games into the season, and I’ve probably played 15-20 of those games. I love 2K16 and the sliders I started out with, but I think a few changes need to be made for next season. I can’t help that I keep winning all these simulated games, but I can make the games I play a bit tougher. Starting next year, I will do the following:

• Use 11 minute quarters, not 12. This will help with the high scores I’ve been seeing.
• Tweak the sliders so my players don’t randomly throw the ball out of bounds as much. It’s happening 3-5 times a game, and I don’t believe awful passes just sail out of bounds that often. I’m good enough at throwing the ball away, I don’t need help.
• Tweak the sliders so the CPU shoots a higher percentage for 2 point shots.

I may also look into increasing the difficulty and/or dropping sliders that impact my shooting (although my high % is because I get a lot of fast breaks and points in the paint).

Charlotte heads into Atlanta as winners of 35 straight, but the Hawks are good in their own right. They currently sit 4^th in the East, just a half game behind the Bulls for the 3^rd spot. They are a great shooting team, with Jeff Teague, Hope Law, and Kyle Korver just a few of the team’s sharpshooters. However, former Coach J mentee Hope Law is day-to-day with an injury and the Hawks aren’t letting people know if he’ll see the floor tonight or not.

Hope Law didn’t play, but early on, the Hawks didn’t miss him. Kyle Korver went 4-4 on easy buckets without even needing to take a three, taking advantage of some lazy defense. However, the Hornets were on fire and playing like a team in the first quarter and Atlanta only went 1-6 from deep. Larry Johnson had 8 points and 6 rebounds in the first quarter.

The Hornets put the game away in the 2^nd quarter, despite some stretches of sloppy play and Atlanta hitting several threes. The rest of the game was much the same, with the most noteworthy events being Charlotte starting missing 4/5 shots to start the 3^rd quarter, with all the misses being failed layups or dunks. One of them was Kendall Gill’s 3^rd missed alley oop dunk of the game. If it weren’t for that, Charlotte likely would have been up by a lot more than 18 heading into the 4^th.

Atlanta’s biggest mistake was likely not getting the ball to Horford or Millsap. Both are great shooters from inside and out, and could have stretched the floor and gotten open looks. However, Atlanta’s guards rarely looked to get them the ball.

This is Charlotte’s 50^th win, and they have a set of very winnable games coming up before needing to face the Pelicans and Rockets in the same week.

[trekfan]

Re: February 26 win at Atlanta

WHEW. Well, say goodbye to the Lakers legendary streak, Charlotte now has it and looks to continue to build on it. What a way to perform in the last stretch of the season. This team will be a monster in the playoffs, assuming no injuries hit.

Those free agent thoughts are certainly interesting -- I'd be very hesitant to do too much with this team, seeing how well they're performing, but they're only going to get better with Larry Johnson and Mourning, that's for certain.

[studbucket]

Re: February 26 win at Atlanta

WHEW. Well, say goodbye to the Lakers legendary streak, Charlotte now has it and looks to continue to build on it. What a way to perform in the last stretch of the season. This team will be a monster in the playoffs, assuming no injuries hit.

Those free agent thoughts are certainly interesting -- I'd be very hesitant to do too much with this team, seeing how well they're performing, but they're only going to get better with Larry Johnson and Mourning, that's for certain.

Yeah, the streak has really been remarkable.

Fletcher is probably a pipe dream, but I'd love to get 2 out of Anrin, Noonan, and Martin and then supplement with Sessions/Roberson/Aldrich-level players. Some of my other thoughts are probably too ambitious and I don't want to stretch myself too thin financially because I will want to keep my big 3 guys.

[studbucket]

Coach J and the Wisconsin Badgers: 2012-2017

This is the 3^rd in a series of posts about Coach J’s college career. To see the 2^nd post about Boise State, click here.

After putting the country on notice with some remarkable Boise State teams, Coach J took his talents to Madison, Wisconsin to take over the Badgers for a retiring Bo Ryan. Those are huge shoes to fill. Can Coach J fill them? Can he finally get that national title that has eluded them?

No rebuilding project was needed here. The Badgers were already a good team and among the favorites to win the Big 10 title. Led by the twin towers Tommy Camper and Chief Bing, no teams in the country could match up with the Badgers front court. The backcourt was filled with solid, but not great, 3 point shooters, although young PG Chris Callahan wasn’t even good enough to start for Coach J’s EIU teams, which wasn’t a positive sign. With Bing and Camper being Juniors, Coach J was hoping he’d have 2 full seasons with them and that some impact freshman could be brought in for next season.

2012-2013 Season
In his first season at Wisconsin, Coach J found success. Riding his big men and some 3 point shooting from Hilton Hart & Brian Delgado (who holds the Wisconsin record with 6 three pointers in a game), the Badgers won the Big 10 regular season title and got a high seed in the dance.

However, Coach J couldn’t repeat his success from the previous year at Boise State and only won 2 games before getting knocked out in the Sweet 16. Wisconsin finished with a 27-7 record.

2013-2014 Season
In the 2013-14 season, Coach J welcomed aboard his signature recruiting class in PG Joey Fletcher and SG Hope Law, giving the Badgers a backcourt to match their All-American frontcourt. They were young, however, and the consistency and chemistry wouldn’t be at optimal levels. Coach J would have to make due, as expectations were sky high. Junior Hilton Hart was 6^th man, bringing great shooting off of the bench, but it was a frustrating season for the Badgers. They did end up (barely) winning the Big 10, and did have a few highlights. PG Joey Fletcher set a school record by averaging 5.8 assists per game. Tommy Camper also used his athleticism to get to the line over and over again and make a school record 154 free throws.

However, the Badgers turned things on in the tournament and made it to the Elite 8 and finished with a 26-10 record. People were beginning to question if Coach J was really all people said he was, given two underperforming years with the nation’s best big man tandem. Coach J would silence his doubters, however, as this 10-loss performance would be the worst of his career.

2014-2015 Season
In 2014-15, Coach J had his first season without Camper and Bing, but the Badgers would make up for that with 4 great shooters:

• Joey Fletcher, PG, Sophomore
• Hope Law, SG, Sophomore
• Brian Delgado, SG, Senior
• Hilton Hart, SG, Senior

And 4 freshman big men:

• Varney Shepard, 7’3” Center
• Eto Ruffin, well-rounded PF
• Cam Nuuallitia, stretch 4
• Mamadou Banjo, athletic undersized Center

It’s an interesting mix, but a very talented team as the 4 freshman Coach J brought in were all highly regarded and ready to contribute…and contribute they did. Coach J’s Badgers went 28-9, won another Big 10 championship and made it all the way to the Final Four before losing. It was heartbreaking to get so close and lose it, especially for Seniors Delgado and Hart, but the future looked bright for the huge frontcourt. Joey Fletcher set a school record with 97 steals and Eto Ruffin averaged 5.4 rebounds a game as a freshman.

2015-2016 Season
Expectations were sky high for the 2015-2016 season. The backcourt were now juniors, the 4 big men were sophomores, and Coach J added 2 athletic swingmen (Jerret Carmichael and Everson Wade) and a promising backup PG (Freddy Tobias) in this recruiting class. This team went 30-5, getting more Big 10 championships and entering the tourney with a high seed. Unfortunately, the Wisconsin team crashed and burned in the 2^nd round of the tournament. Unable to get their post game working and not hitting their shots, it was a disappointing exit for the team.

2016-2017 Season
Would 2016-17 turn out to be the magical season for Coach J? Most of the starting lineup were now upperclassmen, with only Sophomore Jerrett Carmichael being younger. Draft buzz was heating up around Junior Varney Shepard and Senior guards Fletcher and Law and Coach J would need to work hard to keep the players focused on this college season.

Wing man Everson Wade was redshirted, and Coach J only had 2 new minor additions to his rotation. Wingman Johnny Clark and 7’5” freshman from Philadelphia, Rusian Pierce. This meant better team chemistry than Coach J has seen in his previous 4 years in Madison, and it showed up on the court. Here’s just a sampling of the school records set during the 2016-17 season:

• Points per game: Varney Shepard (26.25)
• Field goal percentage: Eto Ruffin (71.7%)
• Three pointers made: Jerret Carmichael (72)
• Three point percentage: Jerret Carmichael (42.9%)
• Rebounds per game: Varney Shepard (7.9)
• Assists per game: Joey Fletcher (7.25)
• Pointers per game: 87.0
• Three point percentage: 39.6%
• Free throw percentage: 78.4%
• Rebounds: 1108
• Assists: 769
• Steals: 456
• Points, single game: Varney Shepard (47)
• Rebounds, single game: Varney Shepard (15)
• Assists, single game: Joey Fletcher (15)
  • Note, this was in the national championship game against Duke
  
  
• Points in a game: 114 vs Clemson

The Badgers rolled to a 37-4 record on the season and finally cut down the nets, beating Duke for the title. Madison, WI was in a near frenzy and some students even tried (unsuccessfully) to dye the lake red.

With a national title in the bag, Coach J was looking forward to defending the national title. Next year’s team had a much different look. Carmichael was the only great shooter on the team, and nobody in the starting 5 was taller than 6’10”, but all 5 of them could shoot 30% from three and were highly athletic. He was especially excited about what 6’8” SF Everson Wade could do, as he was extremely quick off the dribble and was a ferocious dunker.

However, Coach J received an offer he couldn’t refuse later that summer as he was invited to join the staff of the Charlotte Hornets and mold that young team into a contender.

Wisconsin Badger Single Game – Team Records

Wisconsin Badger Single Game – Player Records

Wisconsin Badger Season – Team Records

Wisconsin Badger Season – Player Records

Wisconsin Badger Career – Player Records

[studbucket]

Re: Coach J and the Wisconsin Badgers: 2012-2017

As I was typing up that last report, I realize I had completely forgotten to include Varney Shepard in the drafted/free agent players. He left after his Junior year and was a beast. I'll come up with a backstory for him (injury, missionary work, something else) and will probably slot him in this year's draft. Or I'll edit a free agent at the end of the season.

[studbucket]

March 5, 2016 vs New Orleans

The Hornets are sitting on 40 straight wins, but Alonzo Mourning just got injured, bruising his tailbone and putting his status at day-to-day. It's unclear if he will play much over the next week, or if he'll sit. Asked about Zo's status, coach J said "I'm going to leave it up to him as to whether or not he's ready to play. If he does play, I'll likely keep a close eye on his minutes. I know that Taj, Kelly, and Cole are more than capable of filling in."

After some early struggles, it looked like the Hornets would run away with the game and run away with the "Lob City" moniker from the Clippers. Oop after oop to Gill and Larry Johnson allowed the Hornets to build up nearly a 20 point lead.

However, Anthony Davis stepped up his game in the 2nd half and Eric Gordon was on fire, finishing with a game high 33 points (and a +/- of 17). With just a few seconds left, the Pelicans actually closed the gap to just 1 point, but some key free throws from Dell Curry sealed the game for Charlotte.

Mourning played 25 minutes, but still managed to get 13 points, 10 rebounds, and get to the line 4 times. It was those trips to the line that most had Coach J worried. "I know that Zo says he's fine, but every time he got hacked, I held my breath. I'm glad we got the win, but we may want to give him a few days off this week."

Coming up the Hornets take on Andrew Drummond and the Pistons and then invite the Rockets to town. Fortunately for Coach J and his team, James Harden is injured, making that game a lot less threatening than it looked previously.

[studbucket]

League Update Through 65 Games

It’s 65 games into the season, and the two big stories remain the same:

1. The young Hornets have kept up a remarkable pace and may break even more records.
2. The longtime Western Conference favorites have fallen and are fighting for playoff spots at the bottom of the ladder.

Standings
The West continues to be surprising, top to bottom, things aren’t as expected.

• The Grizzlies have squeezed one more year out of their aging core and are tied for first in the West with the Rockets.
• The suns are sitting 3^rd in the West and are within a game of the 1^st seed. Even after trading away Tyson Chandler, they’ve continued to win at the same pace.
• The Warriors are currently at the 5^th seed, but have finally started playing better and are only 2.5 games out of first.
• The Thunder sit at the 6^th seed, and likely won’t go any higher.
• The Brow and the Pelicans are barely above .500, not having made the leap that was expected.
• The Blazers are still in the playoffs…barely. The Tyson Chandler move seems to have been a good one, but injuries to 3 other big men have really hurt them.
• The Spurs are sitting 2.5 games out of the playoffs and several key injuries make it unlikely they get in.
• The Mavericks can’t get another magic year out of dirk and are sitting 3.5 games out of the playoffs.

In the East, not much has changed all season. The Hornets are running away with the East, but the Cavs are doing great and the fight for the bottom of the East remains tight as the Bucks have fallen 1.5 games behind the Celtics for the 8^th seed. The Wizards continue to be awful and the Raptors disappointing.

Charlotte Hornets
During their 43 game winning streak, the Hornets have had their share of close calls. Interestingly enough, most of them have come against bottom dwellers. The Nuggets, Lakers, and 76ers all played very close games against Charlotte, and the Nets even looked like they were going to win until the Hornets rallied to force overtime.

3 games ago, Alonzo Mourning bruised his tailbone and was limited for several games. The Hornets experienced some close calls in those games as well. After barely beating the Pelicans with a hobbled ‘Zo, the Hornets went without Mourning for the next 2 games and beat the Pistons 94-89 and the Harden-less Rockets 89-85. You can see the impact Mourning has on the Hornets offense.

• Mourning and Johnson continue to average double-doubles.
• Johnson is also 2^nd on the team in assists with 5.9 per game
• Gill and Curry are great supporting cast members, both averaging something approximating a 15/5/5 each game.
• Even though he comes off the bench, Ramon Sessions is leading the team in assists
• Despite being the starting PG, Bradley is more of a scorer than a distributor, averaging just 3.2 APG
• Johnson and Curry have both dipped to below 40% three point shooting. However, the team does have 5 players shooting 32% or better from deep

League Awards
The award races still remain extremely tight, with several interesting storylines.

• Larry Johnson has wrestled the top spot from LeBron, even though his stats are slightly down and LeBron’s are slightly up, the voters must really value the Hornets' record.
• Kevin Durant is going to get the scoring title, but that’s not enough to get him the MVP as the Thunder have struggled relative to expectations.
• Alonzo Mourning has come out of nowhere and is now 3^rd in MVP voting. He vaulted up after his recent 45 point performance. Despite this, he’s still 2^nd in Rookie of the Year.
• Damian Lillard has dropped out of the top 5 as the Trailblazers have continued to struggle and are barely hanging onto their playoff hopes.
• Rajon Rondo and Reggie Jackson are in a tight race for 6^th man of the year, as both players are averaging something approximating at 10/5/7 with 1 steal each game.
• DeAndre Jordan has seemingly had a lock on defensive player of the year the whole season. 17.2 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game is remarkable.
• Mason Plumlee has been a revelation for the Blazers this season, and his injury has been a big blow for them.

NBA League Leaders - Updated: Mar 14, 2016
MVP		MVP	Rookie of the Year		RotY
	1. Larry Johnson	25.1 PPG		1. Jahlil Okafor	17.6 PPG
	2. LeBron James	26.5 PPG		2. Alonzo Mourning	20.3 PPG
	3. Alonzo Mourning	20.3 PPG		3. Joey Fletcher	8.8 APG
	4. Kevin Durant	29.3 PPG		4. Karl-Anthony Towns	15.9 PPG
	5. James Harden	25.7 PPG		5. D'Angelo Russell	16.1 PPG
Sixth Man of the Year		6th	Defensive Player		DPoY
	1. Rajon Rondo	7.6 APG		1. DeAndre Jordan	17.2 RPG
	2. Reggie Jackson	10.8 PPG		2. Anthony Davis	1.0 SPG
	3. Nerlens Noel	9.3 RPG		3. Rudy Gobert	11.9 RPG
	4. Nikola Mirotic	12.3 PPG		4. Joakim Noah	12.0 RPG
	5. Rodney Stuckey	11.7 PPG		5. Andrew Drummond	14.2 RPG
Most Improved Player		MIP	Player of the Month (East)		PotM E
	1. Mason Plumlee	15.2 PPG		1. LeBron James	Nov
	2. Mike Conley	8.5 APG		2. Larry Johnson	Dec
	3. Jonas Valanciunas	10.6 RPG		3. Derrick Rose	Jan
	4. Dante Exum	10.9 PPG		4. Larry Johnson	Mar
	5. Cory Joseph	5.8 PPG		5.
Player of the Month (West)		PotM W	Rookie of the Month (West/East)		RotM
	1. Kevin Durant	Nov		1. Okafor/Russell	Nov
	2. Damian Lillard	Dec		2. Mourning/Towns	Dec
	3. Anthony Davis	Jan		3. Fletcher/Russell	Jan
	4. Kevin Durant	Feb		4. Okafor/Towns	Feb
	5.			5.

Injuries
As players fatigue and the miles pile up, the injuries have started to mount. Joe Johnson, Dion Waiters, and a few other players have joined Ersan Ilyasova on the season-ending injury list.

Several big name players are also banged up, as James Harden, Carmelo Anthony, Draymond Green, Kawhi Leonard, and Mike Conley are all currently on the injury report.

There’s also a few teams that have been completely rocked by injuries.

• The Bulls are without Butler and Rose for the next 2 months
• The Heat are down their first two shooting guards
• The Knicks have also lost their #2 scoring threat in Porzingis (in addition to Anthony)
• All of the Magic’s young backcourt is hurt, with Oladipo, Payton, and Harris on the injury report
• Nobody can compare with the Spurs injuries. They are unlikely to get Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker, or Manu Ginobli back before the season ends, unless the miraculously make the playoffs
• The Blazers may be struggling, but it’s good they traded for Tyson Chandler, given that Ed Davis, Mason Plumlee, and Chris Kaman are all injured
• Harrison Barnes has joined Draymond Green on the injury report

Upcoming Games
With 17 games left in the season, the Hornets are just looking to stay healthy and in good form for the playoffs. Several games that would be challenging are less so due to injuries, but fans can look forward to games vs the Mavs, at Cleveland, and at New York.

[trekfan]

Re: League Update Through 65 Games

Go Grizzlies! You can get that # 1 seed!

As for the injuries ... wow. Man, the Bulls are in some serious trouble. Not to mention the Magic. I suspect the East playoff picture will shift a bit.

And the Hornets, OMG. They have 17 games left and, if they can avoid losing more than one, they'll break the 72-10 Bulls record. Already legendary, this team is looking to be HOF worthy.

[studbucket]

Re: League Update Through 65 Games

Go Grizzlies! You can get that # 1 seed!

As for the injuries ... wow. Man, the Bulls are in some serious trouble. Not to mention the Magic. I suspect the East playoff picture will shift a bit.

And the Hornets, OMG. They have 17 games left and, if they can avoid losing more than one, they'll break the 72-10 Bulls record. Already legendary, this team is looking to be HOF worthy.

Yeah, it's crazy. Frankly, I think the sim engine is in love with the Hornets. Another 2 close wins that I just simmed:

[studbucket]

New sliders?

I'll be testing them out in a fantasy draft MyLeague to see what I think, but given that the games I play have gotten pretty easy, I may start using That Michigan Fan's sliders for the 2016-17 season.

If anyone has thoughts, let me know.

http://www.operationsports.com/forum...m-sliders.html

[studbucket]

March 14, 2016 vs Mavericks

The Hornets are fully healthy and facing a stretch of struggling and non-playoff opponents, which means we could see their streak go on for a while. Not only that, the Bulls’ 72-10 record is definitely in danger of being broken by this team, which is remarkable given the 14-8 start and early churn and struggles they experienced. However, they’ve stayed mostly healthy and really meshed as a team and been a force offensively and defensively.

Charlotte fans quickly figured out firsthand why the Mavs have struggled so much this year.
1) They can’t rebounds
2) They can’t play interior defense
3) They aren’t great at perimeter defense either

So while their three point shots were falling at a reasonable rate (33%), they let the Hornets run all over them. Charlotte grabbed over twice as many rebounds (67 to 30), had 9 times as many fast break points (35-4), and 54 more points in the paint (86-32).

Charlotte was led by Alonzo Mourning, who got 28 points and 14 rebounds in just 23 minutes. Larry Johnson also held his own, getting 12 points and 9 rebounds in the first half alone before finishing with 18 and 13.

[studbucket]

2016 NBA Draft Update

I just wanted to give a quick update on the upcoming draft and how some of Coach J’s former players will factor in.

NCAA Season Update
For the first time in 6 years, the Badgers entered the college hoops season without Coach J at the helm. However, his fingerprints were all over the program. Every player had been recruited by him, they had a very solid team returning, and his former assistant Clive Benjamin had taken the reigns.

Coach Benjamin and his talented starting 5 ended up finishing 2^nd in the Big 10 at 12-6 and were gifted a 7 seed in their tournament. Many thought that was low, but the Badgers had regularly lost to teams with losing records, showing a lack of focus and consistency that shouldn’t exist with all the upperclassmen on their roster.

In round 1, the Badgers easily dispatched of Pepperdine 88-64, with Jerret Carmichael racking up 27 points and shooting 5-8 from deep and 8-10 from the line. He gave scouts a glimpse of his inside/outside game that many think can translate to the next level.

That victory gave them a game against 14-seed Siena in the round of 32. This game ended up being a ridiculous barn burner, finishing with a 114-109 Badger victory. Carmichael was again huge, with 29 points and 7 rebounds, getting to the line for another 10 free throws as well. He was helped by Freddy Tobias (13 points, 8 assists) and Eto Ruffin (16 points).

The next game was supposed to be where Wisconsin bows out, but it turned out to be their biggest win of the tourney as they thrashed UNLV by 31 points. Carmichael was again fantastic, but Eto Ruffin stepped up in the spotlight of the Sweet 16 with a double-double, going to the line for 21 free throws and converting 16 of them.

However, the Elite 8 is where they would fall flat. They were no match for the top-seeded Cardinal and the Badger bench was rendered invisible and the starters were pedestrian. Carmichael was solid again, but didn’t get much help offensively.

Going 30-9 and leaving in the Elite 8 isn’t terrible, but it was a big letdown given the sky high expectations and level of talent on this team.

Wisconsin Players in Draft
Fans were right to be frustrated with the season, as the Badgers saw 4 of their 5 starters declare for the NBA draft (leaving only Everson Wade behind). Who are the 4 starters who are leaving?

*Note: Because I chose to use a 2K-created class, I am not able to edit anything about the class until the players get drafted. For each Badger listed below, I will mention the 2K auto-generated player they will be taking the place of. I chose the player based on how they looked and where they ranked on big boards. I will edit the stats somewhat to make the playstyle match that of the Badger guys, but will try not to drastically alter the stats.

**Note #2: Because of a CHoops 2K8 bug, these guys didn’t win some awards they should have, because their stats would get screwed up around game #30 of the season, and they’d drop down to averaging 6 ppg instead of 18. On the flipside, some random mid-major would win PotY with 56 ppg due to the same bug.

Jerret Carmichael

6’7”, 251 lbs, Junior, SF
Awards: First-team American (Jr), First team all-conference (Jr), Second-team all conference (So), National Freshman of the Year (Fr)
Strengths: 3 point shooting, athleticism, driving to the basket.
Weaknesses: Average defensive player and rebounder
Projection: Lottery
Player Replacing: Abraham Barrett

Eto Ruffin

6’9” 228, Senior, PF
Awards: Second Team all-conference (Sr), Second Team all-conference (Fr), Freshman All-Conference (Fr)
Strengths: shooting from all spots on floor, defense, durable & tough
Weaknesses: Average offensive rebounder, lacks quickness, foul prone, average effort
Projection: First round
Player Replacing: Antoine Murray

Freddy Tobias

6’5”, 209 lbs, Junior, PG
Awards: Freshman All-Conference (Fr)
Strengths: Great shooter at close range, creates shots, good free throw shooter
Weaknesses: Average athlete, average passer, gets lazy on defense at times
Projection: Top 5
Player Replacing: Ed Moore

Mamadou Banjo

6’10”, 220 lbs, Junior, C
Awards: None
Strengths: Great shot blocker, great offensive rebounder, strong, motor never stops
Weaknesses: Below average defender, OK hands, soft dunker
Projection: Late first round/early second
Player Replacing: Dexter Pierce

Top Prospects
Here are the top 5 prospects at each position and their big board rank, along with how the 4 players above fit in.

Point Guard
1) Ian Thomas
2) Arthur Rodman
3) Freddy Tobias (Ed Moore)
4) Eugene Eisley
5) Mel Schayes

Shooting Guard
1) Dale Banks
2) Billy Delk
3) Corie Wear
4) Toby Becker
5) Trent Booth

Small Forward
1) Doyle Jamison
2) Hakan Basturk
3) Wayne Paxson
4) Richard Kirkland
5) Francis Schmidt
6) Jerret Carmichael (Abraham Barrett)

Power Forward
1) Javier Palermo
2) Jake Sharp
3) Tom Swanson
4) Eto Ruffin (Antoine Murray)
5) Jeff Perkinson

Center
1) Greg Houston
2) Don Harris
3) Wallace Montgomery
4) Blake Boyd
5) Ronald Dillon
9) Mamadou Banjo (Dexter Pierce)

Varney Shepard
I had forgotten about 1 player who left Wisconsin as a Junior the year before Coach J won the title. That was Varney Shepard, a 7’3” center who has decent skills on both ends of the court. So I need to add him to the league, which I will do this offseason.



So what’s his story? He declared for the draft, was training for it, looking to be a top 5 pick. Unfortunately, a major car accident shattered his leagues and the healing was complicated by compartment syndrome. He has spent 2 years working his way back and still has his height and soft touch, but it remains to be seen if his athleticism will return or if his feet and legs can hold up. Will anyone be willing to offer him a contract?

[studbucket]

March 25, 2016 vs Pistons

Detroit hadn’t been having a great season while Charlotte had been steamrolling the league, but you couldn’t tell in this game. Detroit started the game off by raining down threes and led the game all the way into the 4^th quarter. Alonzo Mourning played only 20 minutes as he was in foul trouble all game before fouling out in the 4^th, and the Hornets had 29 turnovers.

Despite all that, Dell Curry and Larry Johnson kept the Hornets in the game and they pulled out a nervy win at the Palace.

Reggie Jackson and Brandon Jennings were on fire early and often for Detroit. Jennings went 6-8 from three, had 9 assists, and finished with 24 points. The Pistons went 15-27 from deep and only had 7 turnovers. All that would normally lead to an easy victory. Unfortunately for them, they couldn’t make many shots inside the arc, going 29-74 on those, and only shooting 18-29 on free throws. Once Charlotte started locking down the perimeter, Detroit couldn’t get their points.

The Hornets charmed season continues, as they pick up their 50^th straight win and only have 2 challenging games left on the schedule: April 3 at Cleveland and April 6 at New York.

[trekfan]

Re: March 25, 2016 vs Pistons

Pistons got CLOSE there. When Jennings gets hot, he's near-unstoppable, but if his shot isn't falling, it's not good. Good win, nice highlights, but that one was close.