The Success/Failure of A Newcomer

[Goliathus]

OOC Info: To start with, I am a newbie to DDS series and myself possess zero college basketball knowledge(not an American) and I would say below average on generic basketball knowledge. Well, let's see how how a complete noob fares in this game. I will be using the vanilla data(with non-real team names I think) and start by being assistant coach to get the world moving a bit before I coach any team. Also, I think it gives my character some real college coaching background.

I love controlled randomization so I did some randomize on my character. A 20-40 roll on every starting stat and 75-100 roll on max stat. I also do some random drawing on the massive amount of job lists to narrow down to a few so I can pick one myself.

IC:

They said a good player doesn't always make a good coach but then the opposite of it doesn't sound true either(at least not for now). I am definitely not a very good player, merely an ordinary no-name SF in an unrelevant DII college until the end of my playing career, which ended together with my college life.

Life sucks more after my college day, I became a PE teacher in an elementary school and man, children can be annoying at times. It just wasn't very fun and challenging enough for me so I left the job after two years. My next job? High school teacher, which I consider a better job personally and the pay is better so I took it. Only when I am on the job they told me that I have to be coach to one of the sport team. Well, seeing that I love basketball more than other on the list, I chose that and the current coach agreed as he was more of a football lover, good for both of us.

While the job might not be lucrative for everyone out there, I actually enjoyed it. Coaching is fun and although I don't think I am doing the best job out there, I helped to improve the school's record by a fair bit, which is better than nothing. Once I got a taste of coaching, I felt I could do much more, I want to be a better coach, much better than I am right now. I just want to be better at one thing in my life and I hope that isn't an outrageous request and so, I went back to my college to ask for an assitant coach spot. They didn't have a spot but the current coach said he could help spread the word. I am not sure how influential he is but he sure has enough power out there and with my below average portfolio, I received five offers:

Pittsburgh Christian - 2nd Asst. - Prestige 42 - $43K, 2 years
Northern Arizona - 2nd Asst. - Prestige 30 - $39K, 2 years
South Philly - 2nd Asst. - Prestige 39 - $41K, 2 years
Utah - 3rd Asst. - Prestige 60 - $18K, 2 years
George Mason - 2nd Asst. - Prestige 35 - $40K, 2 years

I probably could learn more from a school like Utah but I just don't feel like living with that amount of salary, not with my age so that left four schools. The other fours are pretty close in terms of pay so it's more of a preference thing. I took the offer from South Philly, the team is gunning for being the conference champion and that is a mentality I like. It also means that I will be looking at a team that has to do well and hopefully I can pick up more things along the way.

[Goliathus]

School Information
School Name: South Philly
Mascot Name: Blazers
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Arena: South Philly Hall, 2300 seats
Facilities: C+
Academics: B+
Conference: Pioneer Athletic Association
Conf. Prestige: 36
Team Prestige: 36
Minimum SAT Score: 960

Goals
Win Conference Tournament
Win 15+ Games
Improve School Prestige

Staff
Numbers are coach stats: Off/Def/Recruit/Scout/Player Dev

Head Coach - Lionel Jackson(55/34/61/61/30) is a fairly young(age 35) coach, known for his offensive game. He is also a decent recruiter and scout but I am more interested to see his offensive style and how he cover his defensive weakness.
1st Asst. - Richard Masiello(37/32/37/30/32) is like the recruiter of the team. With a lifelong experience(age 62) of assessing talents, he is no doubt the best choice among the assistants to handle that aspect.
2nd Asst. - That's me.
3rd Asst. - Nick Heyward(37/26/27/24/26) is the scout of the team. He is pretty versatile really but since the coach believes that I am the better trainer and Masiello being the better recruiter, he is on scouting.

Personal Info
Name: Andy Sim
Age: 30
Salary: $41,000, 2 years
Reputation: Poor(18)

Ambition: Very High
Academics: Average
Discipline: Average
Temper: High
Integrity: High

Offense: 30
Defense: 40
Recruiting: 26
Scouting: 23
Player Dev.: 36

Well, I don't know what to say but I am officially an assistant coach of a DI team. It's kind of a dream comes true for me and I would like the dream to stay true, for as long as possible.

[Goliathus]

PG - Todd Crowley SR 6-1 186lbs 3.5/3.5
The impressive thing about Todd Crowley is his handling and his athleticism. He also has solid court IQ but his problem has always been his defense. He just isn't a good defender at all and his work ethic is questionable.

SG - Ricardo Ross SR 6-3 170lbs 3.5/4.0
Ricardo Ross is the team's best defender. Compared to the rest of the team, his defensive ability is out of the world. He is a great athlete too and has some decent stroke on the jump shots. His problem? Free throws. Skill aside, dude is a good personnel. Great work ethic and doesn't care too much about playing time.

SF - Tim Jordan SO 6-7 225lbs 2.0/2.5
One thing that Tim Jordan does well is shooting. That and he is pretty athletic. He has the weakest defense among the starters so he is kind of a double edge sword out there.

PF - Will Kimbrough JR 6-7 202lbs 2.5/2.0
PF is no doubt the weakest position of the roster and the starter himself is pretty mediocre on this level. He is average on all aspect, undersized so rebound might be a problem and his strength isn't so good either. He did bring a bit of post play into the fray I guess. Defense is a problem though.

C - Scott Lynch JR 6-7 222lbs 3.5/4.0
Man, even the starting C is only 6-7, I am really worried about rebounding now, perhaps I should focus on that in the training. While Lynch can do a bit of everything, he isn't outstanding in any part. He is good in drawing foul actually but his mediocre free throw percentage doesn't help in that situation.

6th - Luke Hawkins PG SR 6-0 201lbs 3.0/3.0
Luke Hawkins is actually decent in defense(and among the team, he is very good) and has a variety of offensive options. He can drive, jump shot and shoot three pointers. A solid 6th man.

7th - Abel Taylor PF FR 6-7 227lbs 2.0/1.5
Taylor has good post play and reasonable rebounding skill(despite the height) and that's about it. Not the best player but one that is needed as the other PFs are not as good as him.

8th - Damian Weaver C FR 6-10 239lbs 2.0/3.0
Dude is a beast on the low block and his ability to draw foul is the best among the team. His size also means that he can grab some rebounds so overall not a bad player but bad work ethic might affect his improvement progression.

9th - Greg Reyes SF FR 6-7 222lbs 2.0/3.0
Has a variety of scoring options and is a decent jack of all trade. His main problem is his lack of court vision and decision making.

10th - Raheem Philips SG SO 6-4 181lbs 2.0/4.0
This kid has potential. Although very raw on the defensive side for now, I could see him getting better there as long as he put effort into training. Decent shooter and a good man to go to for a three point shot.

11th - Lawrence Baxter SG JR 6-3 199lbs 2.0/4.0
Primarily an offensive player, I see him as more of a passer actually. While his dribbling isn't top notch, his court IQ and passing is decent. If he can improve more, then he will a solid player out there that can shoot and pass but he is already a junior so not much time to work with him. Hopefully his work ethic can squeeze out as much as possible before his senior 12year.

12th - Eddie Tucker SF JR 6-3 209lbs 2.0/3.5
Defense will always be his downside but he makes up with his scoring ability. He knows how to draw foul and his free throw is solid. As it is right now, I consider him as more of just another scoring option.

13th - John McCarter PF FR 6-8 214lbs 1.5/4.0
This man can be a solid player in the future. I see him showing his defensive flair once in a while in practice and I will try to get the defensive beast out of him in the future. For now, just a so-so player that is very ordinary.

14th - Marc Jordan PF FR 6-6 196lbs 1.0/3.0
He doesn't seem to have too much use for now. Undersized, has discpline problem on the court and his court IQ is not good. I would say he has some potential in defense but I am not sure if he can be efficient against a bigger opponent.

15th Jason Little PF SO 6-6 222lbs 1.0/3.5
A non-factor at this moment and being a sophomore mean there's less time to develop him. His potential, much like other PF of this team, lies in defense.

[Goliathus]

November 16 - South Philly Blazers(0-0) @ Dayton Pilots(0-0)
My team actually plays well in the first half but Dayton puts off some nice fight in the second half. However, their effort comes to a waste as the Blazers seal the deal with a 69-66. Todd Crowley has 7 TOs, that's something he needs to work on. Ricardo Ross is PotG with 19 points and 2 blocks.
Result: Blazers 69 Pilots 66

November 19 - South Philly Blazers(1-0) @ Portland St. Pillagers(1-0)
It seems that the team just can't handle the second half well and that is a problem when a team's target is to win the conference tournament. Clutch performance is important. The opponent cleverly moved their primary offensive player to SF position to avoid Ricardo Ross and scored 15 points. Pillager has 17 turnovers over our 9 yet they still have better shooting percentage. I guess defense really is this team's weakness.
Result: Blazer 64 Pillagers 67

In this week training, I focus more on the passing and ball posession with less speed drill and offensive drill.

November 23 - Kansas St. Cougars(1-1) @ South Philly Blazers(1-1)
Finally, some late game brilliance. I guess being at home helped the team on the final moment. This is a close game with 14 lead changes. The defense doesn't really help, Blazers TO is 17 while enemy has 11 but we dominate with shooting, especially 6/9 from 3 points is really impressive.
Result: Kansas 67 Blazers 76

November 26 - Central Arkansas Grizzlies(2-2) @ South Philly Blazers(2-1)
I have to say that the Grizzlies's SG is one heck of a player. He basically show that he is the best man out there by shooting the lights out over the team's best defender in Ricardo Ross. Ross puts up 3 blocks but that's not stopping Chucky Hunter for scoring 29 points. Ross is 4/16 in the field too, Hunter is just the better man. Still, Blazers has less TO, more assists and a 10/21 on 3PTS %. I guess that's enough to overcome single player's performance. Todd Crowley and Tim Jordan definitely do good out there.
Result: Grizzlies 78 Blazers 84

Training, I decided to just focus more on offensive and just makes the best out of every chance. I also focus on passing to make sure that every possession is used to the full potential. I will try to use the same training for a few weeks and see how's the team performs.

November 30 - South Philly Blazers(3-1) @ Southern Miss Golden Hawks(2-2)
The main problem for Blazers in this one is too many 3 pointers that doesn't go in. Aside from that, my team plays a fair game and edged out the victory.
Result: Blazers 66 Golden Hawks 59

[Tim Moungey]

Good luck and interesting to see how this goes.

By the way, South Philly is the fictional name for Drexel University and the Dragons become the Blazers in this representation.

[Elijah]

I'll be following this.

[Goliathus]

December 3 - South Philly Blazers(4-1) @ #13 Providence Brothers(6-1)
In what is likely the toughest match in the schedule, Blazers doesn't provide the upset. Brothers dominate the offense and when you are an offensive team, you know you are likely to lose when your opponent is even better at that. The good thing is Blazers has less TO but Brothers is killing it with .516 FG% and .706 3PT%.
Result: Blazers 53 Brothers 83

I continue to focus more on shooting and passing in the training.

December 7 - Southwestern Lone Stars(1-6) @ South Philly Blazers(4-2)
Lone Stars proves to be no pushover and actually almost gets to a tie in late second half. However, Blazers spark a 13-0 run at the end to shoot down the Lone Stars. Todd Crowley has aweak game with 0/5 field goal attempts but he has 2 steals and 1 block, can't complaint. Ricardo Ross and Scott Lynch continues to be the offensive star with double-digit scores. More steals and less turnover pretty much decides the game for us. That and solid free throws(20/28).
Result: Lone Stars 53 Blazers 66

Ricardo Ross is injured for 52 days due to a broken nose, that's very bad news for the team and we will see how Blazers go from here. Head coach decided to put Eddie Tucker on the starting SG spot.

December 14 - South Philly Blazers(5-2) @ Jacksonville St. Roosters(3-4)
The head coach decided to put Eddie Tucker on SF and the current SF, Luke Hawkins, to SG but I guess that doesn't affect too much of the outcome. Eddie Tucker really isn't in the starting caliber and he is trying too hard out there, shooting only .231(3/13, 1/9 3pts) is just bad for the team. Other teammates should have been more aggressive with shots. Roosters has better second chance scoring too, by a lot I would say and that is with the same offensive rebound amount. Blazers needs to work on putback. The main problem is still Eddie Tucker.
Result: Blazers 48 Roosters 67

I adjusted the training regime a bit, focusing even more on shot selection and creating shots. Hopefully that would solve the problem.

December 21 - South Philly Blazers(5-3) @ #7 Cal-Los Angeles Bears(8-1)
Not really a good game to evaluate the training adjustment as Bears is simply on another level. Their C, Andy Prewitt is really crazy with 6 blocks and their inside game is just too good. The only thing Blazers does better is fast break points.
Result: Blazers 45 Bears 75

That marks the final match of the pre-conference schedule.

Harrisonburg Noblemen, 7-2, RPI Rank: 31
George Mason Americans, 5-4, RPI Rank: 45
South Philly Blazers, 5-4, RPI Rank: 90
Towson Lions, 5-4, RPI Rank: 125
Hempstead Lions, 5-4, RPI Rank: 220
VA Commonwealth Goats, 5-5, RPI Rank: 122
Delaware Roosters, 4-5, RPI Rank: 144
Williamsburg Braves, 4-5, RPI Rank: 221
Georgia St. Jaguars, 3-6, RPI Rank: 190
Old Dominion Kings, 3-6, RPI Rank: 216
NC-Wilmington Seahawks, 3-6, RPI Rank: 331
NE Boston Snow Dogs, 2-7, RPI Rank: 319

Blazers is doing pretty well in the pre-conference with 3-0 home win and 2-4 on the road. I think we would have gotten 3-3 on the road if the opponents aren't as tough as the top seeds. Well, it's the past now, moving on...

December 28 - South Philly Blazers(5-4, 0-0) @ Georgia St. Jaguars(3-6, 0-0)
Man, what a tough lose. Blazers has 15 more rebounds than Jaguars and is better at second chance scoring and also fast break but when there's no fast break, Jaguars's defend is tough to break. With 5 blocks and 8 steals, Jaguars is really good on the D. Blazers play the correct strategy of focusing inside but Jaguars's outside offense kind of balanced it.
Result: Blazers 67 Jaguars 68

December 31 - South Philly Blazers(5-5, 0-1) @ NE Boston Snow Dogs(2-8, 0-1)
Another tough road game and when you are against the weaker teams of the conference on the road, you really need to secure the win and Blazers did just that, barely. Foul trouble is a huge problem in this game, especially when Snow Dogs is dropping .850(17/20) from the line. Free throw aside, my team is playing the better offense, more assists, more second chance and fast break, a well-grinded win. Damian Weaver is actually starting in this match as the PF and he did an excellent job out there with 20 points(8/9 FG), 9 rebounds(3 OR) and 2 steals. What a solid game for this young man! I guess that means the coach is putting Will Kimbrough to the bench for now, which I agree actually.
Result: Blazers 73 Snow Dogs 71

I decided to tweak the training a little bit and focus more on the actual shooting than shot creating. Others remain the same.

[Goliathus]

January 4 - Towson Lions(6-5, 1-1) @ South Philly Blazers(6-5, 1-1)
A heartbreaking game. While Blazers is leading in the first half, Lions pounces back in the second half and the game is close till the end. The fans are shocked and disappointed when Lions' player blocked the final shot and that's it. Blazers continue to do good on the turnover side but the lack of height means a weaker rebounding game. Blazers has good FT shooting(19/23) but field goal is just not as good as Lions. 3pts, very weak with only .231(3/13) while Lions is shooting a .500(8/16). Our guards are just so weak in defense and the opponent is taking their chances out there. That's going to be an issue all season long I guess.
Results: Lion 67 Blazers 66

January 7 - Hempstead Lions(6-6, 1-2) @ South Philly Blazers(6-6, 1-2)
A second Lions come into town and this one is tamed. Blazers plays some good ball and forced a good amount of turnover. Nice shot selection too and this one is in the bag. Eddie Tucker is actually the PotG in this one, let's hope he maintain this level of play.
Result: Lions 60 Blazers 75

January 11 - South Philly Blazers(7-6, 2-2) @ Delaware Roosters(6-7, 2-2)
Just a typical road game. The lack of 3 pointers accuracy pretty much cause the game. The team really should be taking shots they are comforable instead of trying to shoot three all the time. Roosters only need their starters to score and Blazers doesn't have a good game.
Result: Blazers 62 Roosters 69

January 14 - George Mason Americans(10-4, 5-0) @ South Philly Blazers(7-7, 2-3)
An insane offensive game I must say. While Americans has 15 more shot attempts than my team, they simply can't sink them well enough as the visitor. Blazers is clever on the 3 pointers this time with .444(4/9) against Americans's .235(4/17). Shot quality is the factor here. Head coach also did some good job rotating the players to be the team that grants Americans their first conference loss.
Result: Americans 81 Blazers 83

Same training, I migh change it next week if it continue to not provide the result. The team really needs to push hard to at least get the 15+ wins goal down.

January 18 - South Philly Blazers(8-7, 3-3) @ VA COmmonwealth Goats(7-9, 2-4)
As a game that I feel Blazers can and should win on the road, they definitely put on a good show. Again, the shot selection is excellent with .561(32/57) FG% and .556(5/9) 3PT%. I am actually surprised that my team is getting 13 more rebounds than Goats. The starters are doing their fair share of work and the standout is Todd Crowley with 19 points and 6 assists(but with 4 turnovers, need to cut that down).
Result: Blazers 88 Goats 77

January 21 - South Philly Blazers(9-7, 4-3) @ Williamsburg Braves(4-12, 0-7)
I am real scared of Blazers choking in thsi game and they sure did a little bit by pushing it to overtime. The stats aren't much different, Blazers is better at fast break while Braves is the team on three points shots. Well, at least the team did it on the OT, no complaint.
Result: Blazers 86 Braves 84

Same training again, let's see how it goes.

January 25 - Georgia St. Jaguars(8-9,5-3) @ South Philly Blazers(10-7, 5-3)
Blazers is really blazing in this one and in front of the home court fans. Blazers dominate the rebound with 40 total rebounds and 14 from the offensive side. Some good steal performance too. Fast break is clearly one thing that the team is good at.
Result: Jaguars 66 Blazers 78

January 28 - Harrisonburg Nobleman(12-6,5-4) @ South Philly Blazers(11-7, 6-3)
The team did good in the first half but the second half is nothing but a disaster. 52-34 in the second half, how is that good? While the team did their best on the defensive side with 6 blocks and 9 steals, the field goal attempts are equal. Nobleman pretty much control the possession amount with their rebounding and just pour on the offense till the end. The team needs to hold off the lead better. Ricardo Ross is back but the opponent SG is still doing a ton of damage with 28 points.
Result: Nobleman 79 Blazers 75

Same training, the team is doing good so far so I will keep the current regime.

[Goliathus]

February 1 - NC-Wilmington Seahawks(8-11, 5-5) @ South Philly Blazers(11-8, 6-4)
A game with only 4 turnovers, Blazers is really doing good out there tonight. The amount of possession means that the team can afford to miss more and they really took too many 3 pointers from what I see. That aside, the defensive and offensive of Blazers is just better. One standout is Lawrence Baxter. Coming off the bench, he scored 20 points out of nowhere.
Result: Seahawks 78 Blazers 89

February 4 - South Philly Blazers(12-8, 7-4) @ Old Dominion Kings(11-9, 8-3)
I am not sure if shooting more three than inside shots is a good idea. Blazers just doesn't get things going all game long and the result is there to prove that. The opponent's starters don't score as much but their subs sure kill it from off the bench. I guess a deeper bench is the factor here.
Result: Blazers 54 Kings 66

I change a bit of the training to focus also on the passing a little bit.

February 8 - NE Boston Snow Dogs(5-16, 3-9) @ South Philly Blazers(12-9, 7-5)
Blazers continues to hit the fast break like a boss and the best thing tonight is there's only 3 turnovers. While both team has the same amount of field goals made(same amount of 3PT too), foul trouble from Snow Dogs and Blazers hitting the shots from the charity stripe means that the win is on my team. Eddie Tucker seems to be good on the starting spot now, scoring 21 points and also 8 rebounds in this one.
Result: Snow Dogs 71 Blazers 87

February 11 - South Philly Blazers(13-9, 8-5) @ Towson Lions(9-13, 4-9)
Lions has the better offensive game and it's a rare game that I see Blazers struggle in fast break. Lions shoot better and with everything else almost equal, that's enough to win. Lions' starters are doing decent work while Blazers only has Ricardo Ross that really put on a decent performance. Others are just meh at best.
Result: Blazers 70 Towson 89

Same training regime, gotta need more than one match to see training's effect.

February 15 - South Philly Blazers(13-10, 8-6) @ Hempstead Lions(9-14, 4-10)
Blazers has better rebounding performance and shot selection. That and some nice fast breaks over the course helps to secure the road victory. All the starters put on some nice moves out there so it's definitely a team win.
Result: Blazers 74 Lions 65

February 18 - Delaware Roosters(11-13, 7-8) @ South Philly Blazers(14-10, 9-6)
Losing by the last second is just heartbreaking. The game is back and forth and everything seems to be real close. Same fouls, same offensive rebounds, same assists, same fast break points, it's just so identical that it is 74-74 by the end but the the opponent's PG, Jeff Capel confirmed his status as the team's hero of the day with a three point buzzer beater that stabs into the depth of Blazers' heart.
Result: Roosters 77 Blazers 74

I have adjusted the training a little bit, the passing isn't a focal point anymore. I revert it back to the previous version with more training on shot creation.

February 19 - Cleveland St. Raiders(12-13) @ South Philly Blazers(14-11) [Bracket Breaker Sunday]
I am worried about the conditioning as the players pretty much get no rest after yesterday's game. The players really aren't doing a good job out there and even by having 8 less turnovers than the opponents, they just can't put the ball into the right place. Sure, the team loses in rebound but we have 8 extra field goal attempts to do something with. Our outside players just don't shoot like they could and only the PF and C are scoring efficiently. Todd Crowley broke his toe in this game so he will miss the next two games, bad news for the team as we really need him to get the 15th win.
Result: Raiders 81 Blazers 70

February 22 - South Philly Blazers(14-12, 9-7) @ #25 George Mason Americans(19-7, 14-2)
When you are searching for a win, you just have to push through it even against a team as good as Americans. and the team sure did that by securing the first half with a score of 31-30. However, Americans come back hard in the second half and just dropping the shots from everywhere and put on some nice defense for the visitor. A mere .333(19/57) just isn't something you want when you want a win. Luke Hawkins played 40 min straight and it is just too tiring. He provides 7 assists on the field but his 0/6 shooting and 4 turnovers are bad. I am not in the position to question the head coach but I feel he could have rotate some fresher players in.
Result: Blazers 53 Americans 66

February 25 - VA Commonwealth Goats(16-12, 10-7) @ South Philly Blazers(14-13, 9-8)
This is the final match and we really need that 15th win and with the team at home, we have the advantage. The head coach looks stress throughout the match but the players sure calm him down by putting one heck of a performance on the court. While Goats has the better shooting and they are knocking down some nice threes, their foul trouble(21 fouls) and Blazers' consistency on the line(30/33) put this match out of reach for Goats. Goats is amazing with their blocking though(6 blocks) but they just foul a bit too much when doing it. On Blazers' side, Todd Crowley and Ricardo Ross really needs to refine their shot selection. Overall, A good game to end the series and the team celebrates the victory at night in some fancy restaurant.
Result: Goats 69 Blazers 79

George Mason Americans, 16-2(.889), 21-7(.750), RPI Rank: 18, Rank: 23
Old Dominion Kings, 13-5(.722), 17-11(.607), RPI Rank: 82
Georgia St. Jaguars, 13-5(.722), 17-11(.607), RPI Rank: 59
Harrisonburg Noblemen, 11-7(.611), 18-10(.643), RPI Rank: 66
South Philly Blazers, 10-8(.556), 15-13(.536), RPI Rank: 143
VA Commonwealth Goats, 10-8(.556), 16-13(.552), RPI Rank: 100
Delaware Roosters, 9-9(.500), 13-14(.481)
NC-Wilmington Seahawks, 7-11(.389), 10-17(.370), RPI Rank: 310
Towson Lions, 6-12(.333), 11-16(.407), RPI Rank: 270
Hempstead Lions, 5-13(.278), 10-17(.370), RPI Rank: 318
NE Boston Snow Dogs, 4-14(.222), 6-21(.222), RPI Rank: 337
Williamsburg Braves, 4-14(.222), 8-19(.296), RPI Rank: 308

While I would like to remain optimistic, I don't think the team as it current state has a good shot at the conference tournament. I would be happy to just advance as far as possible. The school really needs to be more realistic with the goals or it's just unnecessary pressure on the coaching team.

I compared to stat of the conference fine-tune the training plan. Blazers is very good in points(#1), assists(#2), rebounds(#3, what a surprise), FT%(#3), turnovers(#1) but bad in 3PT%(#12, worst) and steals(#9). For opponent performance, good in preventing steals(#1) but below average in everything else, especially rate of being blocked is the worst of the conference at #12. I am not sure if I should focus more on defense or just try to make them shoot better, especially at three-point range.

[Goliathus]

March 3 - Williasmburg Braves(8-19, 4-14) @ South Philly Blazers(15-13, 10-8) [PAA Tournament Day 1]
Man, I must say that you just can't underestimate anyone here. Braves truly are just like their name said, braves as they really take the game to Blazers. My heart is beating so fast in the final four minutes of the second half and Blazers are down by as much as 7. Eddie Tucker rallies the team back in with a three and then an alley-oop later puts the spirit back to the crowd and the entire team. Braves nails a two but Eddie Tucker, again, jams in a three to bring it within striking distance. Some back and forth and eventually Blazer tie it up with a dunk by Ricardo Ross. Braves puts one in but Todd Crowley nails two free throws to equal the game again with 18 seconds on the clock. We are buying for overtime but the big man, Scott Lynch steals the ball and jam it in on a fast break with 3 seconds left. Center with a steal and a fast break dunk? Now that's awesome. Braves missed the prayer and Blazers steals the win.

As much as I am happy with the end result, the team needs to toughen up to get a win in day 2. A 2 points win over the last team in the conference is not a good sign. I am impressed by Todd Crowley's 10 assists in this game, it's good that he is feeling the rhythm of the team.
Result: Braves 83 Blazers 85

NE Boston 67 @ VA Commonwealth 77
Hempstead 76 @ Delaware 56
Towson @ HC-Wilmington 62

March 4 - South Philly Blazers(16-13, 10-8) @ Harrisonburg Noblemen(18-10, 11-7) [PAA Tournament Day 2]
Well, we are out before I can fine tune the training plan. Noblemen is taking the game from the get go and Blazers is merely chasing behind Noblemen. Rebound gap of 20(24 vs 44) simply isn't good and with Noblemen shooting .500(31/62) from the field, the game is just out of reach. Noblemen SG, Dante Demory is vicious in this one with 30 points, 4 assists and 8 rebounds.
Result: Blazers 63 Harrisonburg 78

Towson 61 @ #21 George Mason 89
Hempstead 59 @ Old Dominion 72
VA Commonwealth 51 @ Georgia St. 73

PAA Tournament Day 3
Harrisonburg 49 @ #21 George Mason 64
Georgia St. 70 @ Old Dominion 49

PAA Tournament Final
Georgia St. 56 @ #21 George Mason 67