Five Friends/Foes

[PointGuard]

Over the years through premier youth basketball, AAU basketball, and college basketball, five players became friends. Sometimes they were on opposing teams and at other times they played on the same teams.

After graduating from college, all five eventually became assistant coaches.

In 2016, college basketball realigned into twenty-two 16-team conferences. These were set up based on the present strengths of the 352 teams with the 16 best teams in Conference A, the next 16 best teams in Conference B, and all the way down to the lowest rated 16 teams being in Conference V.

Due to this drastic change, many coaches left or were fired so there were many colleges needing to hire coaches. The five assistants, who had continued to communicate regularly, decided the time was ripe for all five to apply for head coaching jobs. Since they would be rookie head coaches, they realized that they would have to aim for head coaching jobs at lower rated programs. They wanted to try to get jobs where they would be in direct competition with each other as much as possible. Since many of the colleges in Conference U had openings, they decided to focus on applying for jobs at colleges in that conference. During the spring of 2016 the five friends each landed a head coaching job at a college in Conference U and therefore, while remaining friends, were now also foes.

DJ Brower became the head coach for the Chicago State Cougars in Chicago, IL. Academics at Chicago State are rated as C- and its facilities are rated D+. Their team prestige is 13 and minimum SAT score is 860.

Kyle Anders landed a job with the Wofford Terriers in Spartanburg, SC. Academics at Wofford are rated B+ and facilities are rated C. Team prestige is 13 and the minimum SAT score is 960.

Monroe Thurlow became the new head coach for the Cal-Davis Aggies in Davis, CA. Academics at Cal-Davis are rated B and facilities are rated C. The minimum SAT score is 940.

Parsons Nyland is now the head coach for Jacksonville Dolphins in Jacksonville, FL. Academics at Jacksonville are rated C and facilities are rated B-. The minimum SAT score is 880.

Vernell Strom was hired to coach the Texas State Bobcats in San Marcos, TX. Academics at Texas State are rated C+ and facilities are rated C. The minimum SAT score is 900.

[This dynasty was developed to test the game’s multi-coach component. Therefor this dynasty report will focus mostly on how each of the coach’s teams are doing rather than developing a detailed story line. All team functions are being handled by the AI and games are being simmed to avoid favoring one coach over another.]

[PointGuard]

Chicago State—3 scholarships to fill; no recruits signed.

Wofford—1 scholarship to fill, verbal acceptance by PF Ron Leonard, a HS senior from Duncan, SC, a good defender and scorer who is ranked as the #593 best recruit nationally.

Cal-Davis—4 scholarships to fill, no recruits signed.

Jacksonville—2 scholarships to fill, verbal acceptance by PG Josh Jones, a HS senior from Daytona Beach, FL, a good ball handler and passer as well as a strong defender and good scorer who is ranked as the #1437 best recruit nationally.

Texas State—4 scholarships to fill, verbal acceptance by PG Collin Jackson, a HS senior from Lorenzo, TX, an excellent passer and good ball handler who is ranked as the #1441 best recruit nationally.

Obviously the five rookie head coaches and their assistants sucked with their recruiting efforts (well, with the exception of Kyle Anders at Wofford who had just one scholarship to fill but did so and seems to have gotten a fairly solid recruit). But since the other 4 programs only filled 2 of 13 available scholarships, that puts the onus on those 4 head coaches to do some heavy duty work over the winter and particularly in the spring.

[PointGuard]

Lamar is expected to top the conference, but with respect to the teams being coached by the Five Friends, Texas State is predicted to finish in 2nd place followed by Chicago State in 3rd and Cal-Davis is 4th. Jacksonville is pegged to finish 8th and Wofford 11th.

[Myles Nelson]

You've always amazed me with your multi coach dynasties. I know this one is going to be more of a test but still, it's outstanding

[PointGuard]

Thanks! We'll see.

[PointGuard]

Jacksonville @ George Washington—Jacksonville fell behind immediately and never caught up, losing 83-68. SG Rowland Bolton scored 20 for Jacksonville but the Dolphins allowed 4 of George Washington’s starters to score in double figures. (0-1)

Troy @ Cal-Davis—Cal-Davis led by 13 points at the end of the first half, but let Troy go on a scoring spree in the 2nd half. Troy eventually overtook them to saddle the Aggies with a 63-61 loss. C Jeremy Wolthers led their scoring with 13 points. (0-1)

Wofford @ Boston College—Wofford was over-matched in this contest, never leading and falling by a final score of 73-55. C Jamaal Hobbs scored 12 points for Wofford. (0-1)

Eastern Illinois @ Texas St.—Texas State held a slim 36-35 lead at the half, but couldn’t hold off Eastern Illinois in the 2nd half, losing 73-61. PG Gilbert Lemeke dropped in 19 points for Texas St. (0-1)

Chicago St. @ Eastern Michigan—This was a back-and-forth game with 17 lead changes and 13 ties. But Chicago State lost a squeaker, 59-58 when they couldn’t get their last second shot to fall. PG Steve Greer led Chicago State with 16 points. (0-1)

So all of the five friends started their head coaching careers with a loss.

Tennessee State @ Jacksonville—Jacksonville played well in the first half and held a 45-41 halftime advantage. But their offense sputtered in the 2nd half which resulted in an 84-69 loss. SF Morgan Moore and reserve C/PF Ross Walker both scored 14. (0-2)

Minnesota @ Cal-Davis—This was a close game from start to end with 19 lead changes. Coach Monroe Thurlow’s underdog Aggies pulled out an exciting 68-66 win. C Casey Givens scored 14 for Cal-Davis. (1-1)

Wofford @ Troy—While Cal-Davis was unable to beat Troy earlier in the week, Wofford took control early and came away with a nice road win over Troy by the score of 67-55. SF Brandon Detmer, C Jamaal Hobbs, and SG Antuan Lackey each scored 11 points for Terriers to give Kyle Anders his first victory. (1-1)

Texas St. @ Florida International—A tale of two halves. Florida International came away with a 29-20 lead at the half, but Texas State outscored their opponents 31-18 in the 2nd half to pull out a 51-47 victory for Coach Vernell Strom. SG Terry Deng scored 12 points and C John DePina had a double-double (11 points and 11 rebounds) for the Bobcats. (1-1)

Akron @ Chicago St.—Both teams had substantial leads at various points in the gam, but Akron held on toward the end of the game to down the Cougars 78-73. PF Robert Allocco scored 20 and SF Garvin Johnson scored 12 while pulling down 12 boards for Chicago State. But the Cougars let SG Andre Sales pump in 30 points for Akron. (0-2)

[Wayne23]

Jay-SUS! This is quite an undertaking!

[PointGuard]

Jay-SUS! This is quite an undertaking!

LOL...yeah, trying to do a short write-up for each game so I can try to maintain a link with each team and its players...but if that gets to be too much, i'll figure out another way I want to do this. Simming the games, so that goes quickly....not sure how long simming will work for ME, but we'll see.

[PointGuard]

Baylor @ Jacksonville—Jacksonville led by as much as 12 points in the first half, but then let their lead slip away in the 2nd half. The lead shifted repeatedly in the latter stages of the game, but SG Michael Frederick launched a 3 that slipped through the silk to give Parsons Nyland his first win as a head coach by the score of 67-64. Frederick finished with 16 points, but again reserve PF/C Ross Walker came up big with 17 points. Jacksonville’s Reggie Scholl and Justin Hartfield combined for 10 assists at the PG position. (1-2)

Illinois State @ Cal-Davis—The game was close early in the first half, but then Cal-Davis took control and was able to maintain a small lead throughout the rest of the game to come away with a 70-63 victory. PF Jeremy Wolthers scored 15 points to go along with his 7 rebounds to lead the Aggies. (2-1)

Wofford @ #4 Utah—This was a mismatch from beginning to end. Utah had as much as a 28 point lead and won easily 74-55 with their PG Charles Grant scoring 26 points while dishing out 7 assists. C Jamaal Hobbs led Wofford with 18 points. (1-2)

Utah St. @ Texas St.—This game was close only in the early moments. Texas State then began pulling away and led 37-23 at the half. Their lead expanded to 17 early in the 2nd half and the Bobcats were never seriously threatened before finishing with a 58-50 triumph. SG Terry Deng and PG Gilbert Lemeke both scored 10 points. (2-1)

Chicago St. @ #17 Arkansas—Chicago State hung with the Razorbacks for most of the 1st half but then Arkansas’ defense clamped down and Chicago State fell 75-59 making DJ Brower the only one of the friends to be without a head coaching victory. PF Robert Allocco played a solid game (14 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 4 blocks). (0-3)

Jacksonville @ Columbia—The game was extremely close with 13 lead changes and 7 ties, but Columbia used their home court advantage which resulted in 6 more attempts and points at the line to plant a 74-70 heartbreaking loss on the Dolphins. PF Maurice Braun was imposing for Jacksonville with 18 points and 12 rebounds. C Fred Smith twisted his ankle early in the game limiting him to just 9 minutes of play which contributed to Jacksonville’s loss. (1-3)

Cal-Davis @ Holy Cross—The Aggies opened a 10 point lead in the first half, but slumped late to go to the locker room with just a 33-30 advantage. Holy Cross came out on fire in the 2nd half and jumped out to a 15 point lead. Cal-State made a game of it towards the end, but still lost 71-64. SF Adrian Ballard hit for 20 points but the rest of the Aggies could only hit 33% of their shots. Reserve C Angelo scored 22 points and grabbed 7 boards in just 16 minutes of play for Holy Cross. (2-2)

Bryant @ Wofford—Wofford put 47 points on the board in the first half and led by as much as 17 points midway through the 2nd half before cruising to an easy 82-74 thumping of Bryant. PG Alton Johnson tossed in 24 points while SG Antuan Lackey posted a double-double (12 points and 11 rebounds). (2-2)

Texas St. @ Eastern Washington—Texas State pulled away early and led by as much as 18 points before Eastern Washington trimmed their lead late. The Bobcats won 79-73. C John DePina topped the scoring for the Bobcats with 17 points, but Eastern Washington’s C Byrant English topped all scorers with 24 points. (3-1)

Chicago St. @ Lehigh—Chicago State stayed close in the first half but completely fell apart in the 2nd half to suffer a 97-77 beatdown. SG Jason Simmons blitzed the Cougars with 32 points. PF Robert Allocco led the Cougars with 21 points. (0-4)

Chicago State’s dismal early start is partially due to playing 3 of their 4 games on the road. Their fortunes are unlikely to soon improve as their next 3 games are away games and are against higher ranked teams.

Chicago State’s PF Robert Allocco was selected as the Conference U Player of the Week. In this week’s two games, Allocco scored 35 points, pulled down 13 rebounds, and had 4 assists, 3 steals, and 5 blocks.

[PointGuard]

DJ Brower (Chicago State Cougars)—DJ is 30 years old and was the most talented player of the 5 friends. But the NBA showed no interest following his graduation from St. Louis University. His major strength is player development. He likes to employ a tenacious defense, have his team crash the offensive boards, and play a deep bench. He probably has the highest amount of ambition of the 5 friends and has a high degree of integrity.

Kyle Anders (Wofford Terriers)—Kyle is 33 years old. He played at and graduated from New Orleans. His major strength is evaluating defense. He likes his team to crash the boards on both ends of the court, prefers a rather deliberate style of play, and likes to use younger players. He isn’t very ambitious but places a very high degree of emphasis on academics.

Monroe Thurlow (Cal-Davis Aggies)—Monroe is also 33 years old. He played college ball at and graduated from UC Irvine. He had a strong college career, but sustained a broken ankle midway through his senior year. His main strength is recruiting. He is pretty middle of the road in all coaching philosophies. His personal qualities are also pretty average, although he doesn’t place a lot of emphasis on discipline.

Parsons Nyland (Jacksonville Dolphins)—Parsons is 32 years old. He played for WIsconsin as a freshman but after getting little playing time, he transferred to Rhode Island where he played for 3 years and graduated. He’s main strength is scouting. He prefers to play veteran players, use a shallow bench, and likes to use a zone defense. Discipline is very important to Parsons but he doesn’t worry too much about academics.

Vernell Strom (Texas State Bobcats)—Vernell is 31 years old. He played ball for Texas Southern and graduated Summa Cum Laude. He main strength is recruiting. He prefers man-to-man defense, likes to use a deep bench, and likes his team to crash the offensive boards. He is ambitious, is very concerned about academics, and discipline is very important to him.