Bill Russell re-creation

[Wayne23]

This is a re-creation of the Bill Russell, KC Jones San Francisco teams; it will be a four year only association. I start in Russell’s freshman year, and it will end when he graduates.

I have altered the ratings (and renamed the players) of Russell and Jones, but not the others; I tried to be realistic. No stats were kept but Russell is certain he averaged double figure blocks in his last 2-3 years in college.

The game can’t simulate his ability to direct a blocked shot to a teammate, which he did regularly, at least with the Celtics. I saw every game I could when he was playing.

He was also, IMO, the greatest defender in hoops history, and a very good passer. He was a decent shooter. Again, I’ve given him ratings that will hopefully get him there.

I don’t expect the team to get where it’s going until Russell’s Junior year. The Dons won NCAA titles in his Jr. and Sr. seasons.
Okay, I’ve moved them to the U. of Vermont because- well, because I can.

No early exit, no cheating in this league. In fairness the Dons were a premiere team with a winning history at the time and Vermont isn’t, so I may have made this harder than it has to be.

I probably should have done this with USC, or someone like that. If it doesn’t work I may just try again as USC.

The Dons’ coach was a successful veteran so I’ve given him ratings that show that.

Here we go!

I fire all the coaches and bring in my own guys. Terry Carter will be my recruiter and a good one he is. Brandon Peters is my Scout and Idris Anderson my bench coach. The first two are here for 3 years and Anderson for only one.

We have the $ to get the Gold National scouting report, and that’s what I’m doing. We won’t go to any camps because I’m not convinced it does any good and I want my $ to go toward recruiting.

6/26: 4 scholarships to fill, looking at 10 guys.

[Wayne23]

Oh, meant to say that I'm not abandoning my other dynasty. Just downloaded the Valdarix mod and I can't stand to not use it. I'd been planning to do this association anyway so now I'll go back and forth.

[jksander]

Interesting I'll be reading ...

[Wayne23]

Reset. Bill Russell at Vermont? No, what was I thinking! Start over.

Now Berkeley, that’s a place where he would fit in. So it’s a new association and the team is the Golden Bears of the Pac 12.

5/1: I fire all of my assistants. The new guys are Mo Gordon, who will recruit, Ty Davis, my scout, and Cy McClintock, my bench coach. They each have one year contracts.

I buy the National Gold Report.

6/25: I will go to the Indy and the Las Vegas and Houston camps, which will leave me with just under $48,000 for recruiting. I need guards more than bigs, and I have 4 scholarships to fill.

[Wayne23]

6/26: It begins. Looking at 10, 6 PGs, an SG, 2 PFs and a C.

7/11: We run two weeks of kid camps here. It’s great to work with kids but the main reasons are to give my players some summer income and for me to see what my new guys look like, and whether my returnees have been working. Kids and players are coming in today.

I’m encouraged by the response I’m getting from the recruits we’re chasing.
7/25: Most of my best guys are big, Rookie SF Kyle Davis looks like my best.

Returning Junior big men Don Baker and Mark Downs also look like they can play. Steve Tuck is a Senior SF who’ll get lots of minutes, as will Junior Mike Cox. I’m guessing Freshman PG KC Jones will run the Point. He’s not a scorer but he is a terrific looking ball handler and defender.

Rookie Bill Russell is interesting. He does a lot of things, most of them not what I look for in a Center, but at the same time, he does them well. I don’t know whether to be intrigued or appalled. He's a real thinker, analyzes everything, maybe over analyzes, I can't tell yet.

I think Sr. John Kinz will be my SG but I don’t have an SG. I’m hoping rookie guards Brian Beal and Bob Wynn will develop because I NEED guards.

8/7: Kyle Davis is one of the 50 nominees for the Norton Award, #50 on the list.

8/14: Next week we find out which recruits are serious.

[Wayne23]

8/21: I have a PF and a PG who are highly rated and pretty interested. I offer to both. I also offer to two PGs who are long shots.

9/4: Home visits begin next week and recruits can commit.

9/11: No commitments but I feel good about the visits. Let’s see what happens.

9/18: No commitments but I feel like we’re getting really close with all 4, fingers crossed.

We have a schedule. No pre- or early season tourney, which is disappointing.

Not sure how much challenge to give my guys so we’re scheduling a few challenges and some cupcakes. We’ll play 3 ranked teams in the preconference portion and 5 in conference, the last 3 on the road.

9/25: Got ‘em all! #22 PG Jud Kent, #33 PF Jay Korn, #37 SG Aki Paige, and #43 PG Kevin Greer. 2 are Jucos and two are high school Seniors.

[Wayne23]

10/2: Practice starts. These guys have been playing about 2/3 Motion and 1/3 Shuffle on O and we’ll stay with that. On D it’s about 70% man, 30% 2-3.

They press with both man and 2-2-1. Lots of young guys learning the system so I didn’t mess with it much since the guys who’ve been here will know it and can help teach it.

We’re picked 5th in conference, middle of the pack. I hope to do better than that. Our goals are to qualify for the NCAA, finish in the top half in conf., finish above .500, keep everyone eligible and improve school prestige.

We decide to cut a Soph who will never play for us. We offer to #55 PG Tobe Harley. An extra guard wouldn’t hurt.

10/9: Harley commits.

10/23: I have to say that Russell is impressive in his own, completely unorthodox way. He does things I’ve never seen a big guy do. And he’s a real student of the game. He asks some fascinating questions. I hate to admit it but some of them are things I’ve never thought about and he makes me realize I should.

Arizona is #5, UCLA #11, Oregon #18 and Utah #20 in the preseason poll. So finishing higher than #5 in conference may be a dream. Still, who knows? We’re young but we have talent.

[CoachC]

it will be a four year only association. I start in Russell’s freshman year, and it will end when he graduates.

Not to nitpick, Wayne, but Russell's collegiate career was only 3 years long. Freshmen were inelegible for varsity at that time. Still will be an interesting dynasty to watch! Too bad you can't eliminate the shot clock and 3 point line!

[Wayne23]

I thought he preceded the three year rule but you may be right. It's not easy to get stats from those prehistoric times. If that's the case I'll red shirt both guys and sim the season.

[CoachC]

The 3 year rule was in effect almost from the beginning except for a few years during both world wars and the korean conflict. Had he started at SF a couple of years earlier he would have been eligible lol. I did check though to make sure I had my facts straight. He played 79 games in 3 seasons. To have averaged almost 20 pts and 20 rebounds a game all 3 seasons was remarkable to say the least. And if blocks had been awarded back then, he might have actually averaged a triple double! can you imagine that, considering how rare they are?

In any case, I wasn't suggesting you start over or anything. But redshirting the freshman, and simming is a great idea, if you are going to do it. I can't remember but I do think that jv players were allowed to practice with varsity, and in any event, their JV experience would have amounted to about the same anyway.