The Not-So-Grand Experiment

[Bryan Swartz]

2012-2013 Cambridge Reds

It's not a disaster, but there's nothing on the squad that's particularly impressive. Junior swingman Dan Correa(6-6, 214) looks like the best player, good but not better than that. The backcourt looks solid with junior Kirk Dickerson(6-1, 197) and the only starting underclassman, sophomore Troy Baxter(6-5, 217). Baxter works pretty hard on his game and could well become better than any player on this roster can currently lay claim to before his time here is done.

A pair of seniors man the lane, 6-7 forward David Coffey and monstrous Lawrence Lawson(7-0, 255). Lawson's size is the biggest(bad pun merely coincidental) thing he has going for him, he's serviceable but that's about it.

Nobody looks worth mentioning off the bench, they're all just good enough not to completely embarass themselves. There's a couple of talented freshmen: G/F Roy Sims is too lazy to ever amount to anything most likely, but there are high hopes for guard Adrian Hein. Hein and F/C Jermaine Freymond will redshirt.

TEAM EVALUATION

This section is something new that I haven't done before. I've put together a few indexes as a way to measure perceived ability and intangibles to compare year to year. The starters are weighted more heavily because they'll be on the court more, etc. All are a 100-point scale, not to be confused with the ratings in the game, I always use the Limited Ratings option.

Talent: 30
Potential: 37
Experience: 49
Avg. Size: 6-6, 219

Durability: 76
Work Ethic: 58
Maturity: 49

Composite(Overall): 50

So yeah, they could stand to have some better attitudes, but mostly we just aren't very good. Which I could have told you already, but I think it will be interesting to compare how these evolve in future seasons.

MEDIA OUTLOOK

WSSN thinks we aren't very good either. We've been picked dead last in Conference S, expected to begin our journey to the bottom of the nation right away. Boiling Springs, Cal St. Northridge, and Texas-Arlington are also figured to be ripe for the drop, with Loretto, Texas-San Antonio, Morehead State, and Hartford looking ready to promote.

The schedule's pretty non-descript, 6 home and 5 away, including one hilarious reach in an away game at #24 Louisiana State. What's that for, to teach us humility, AD Pitts?

[Bryan Swartz]

RECRUITING

Ah yes, the fun begins. 35 players made the initial cut. Anybody 3.3 or above is a good bet, 3.1-3.2 is basically 50/50, 3.0 or below and they have almost no chance of getting past the SAT qualification. Which means over half of the pool can get dumped immediately.

By the time September rolled around, there were 11 players left. One of them was ranked in the Top 1000, and the staff didn't think much of him. Some mistakes were made ... I suppose I shouldn't have expected to have it all figured out as a rookie coach, but it's still a bit frustrating.

My top target was a center from North Carolina, Mario Meekins. He told us to shove off, but as of the end of the summer he still hadn't committed anywhere. He just knew he wasn't coming here. 6-10, 247, decent talent and a no-stop engine, I have a feeling there could be some envy coming down the pike when we see how his career turned out.

We needed a center and a power forward to replace the starting seniors ... only filling two spots isn't half-bad. We got one right away, a player we didn't need but had a couple too many positives to ignore. PG Derrick Smith(6-4, 215, 3.6 GPA) of Red Lion, PA has good size, good grades, and good passing/ballhandling/athleticism. Defense is decent, and his ranking has been all over the map, anywhere from 600 on down. We've got him pegged as a slightly above-average 3-star prospect. That's the range we need to get players from consistently in order to build some depth.

I'm less pleased with the other guy. Criminally undersized C Anthony Robinson(6-7, 222, 3.2 GPA) of Hillsdale, NJ might not make the SAT cut, but after we lost Meekins to wherever he's going, Robinson was literally the only frontcourt player left to even try to pursue. He's notably average across the board, subpar defensively, and I'm not entirely positive we're better off with him on the roster than a third walk-on. A hair below-average, but definitely, not horrible 3-star player.

If I'm fortunate, we got enough here to keep the program from going backwards, but I'm definitely hoping to do better the next couple of years.

[huangwei0716]

Thank you for your help.








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