Ballin' With The Bulldogs: The Dale Connover Story

Re: Ballin' With The Bulldogs: The Dale Connover Story

Postby jksander » Mon Dec 05, 2022 12:55 pm

Code: Select all
Date    Rank  Opponent               Score          W/L Record       Leaders
11/15   #15   @ Providence           W 68-66        1-0              S. Swanson (26 pts 7 reb D. Strong (13 pts 4 reb 1 ast 1 blk)
11/18   #15   (n) Vermont            W 65-57        2-0              G. Bibby (13 pts 6 ast) J. Williams (6 pts 16 reb 3 ast 4 stl)
11/19   #15   (n) Utah               W 88-86        3-0              S. Swanson (22 pts 10 reb) J. Williams (19 pts 10 reb 3 blk)
11/20   #5    (n) #10 Florida St.    W 84-81        4-0              S. Swanson (25 pts 8 reb 5 ast) G. Bibby (15 pts 3 reb 8 ast)
11/22   #5    Boise State            W 78-69        5-0              G. Bibby (22 pts 6 ast) S. Swanson (13 pts 8 reb 3 ast 2 stl)
11/25   #5    @ Illinois             L 62-74        5-1              S. Swanson (22 pts 9 reb 2 ast) D. Strong (18 pts 5 reb 1 stl)
11/29   #6    Ohio State             W 71-61        6-1              G. Bibby (29 pts 3 reb 6 ast) D. Strong (9 pts 3 reb 3 ast)
12/2    #6    @ #15 Maryland         L 83-87        6-2              S. Swanson (25 pts 15 reb) G. Bibby (20 pts 2 reb 8 ast)
12/6    #6    #16 Memphis            L 58-68        6-3              G. Bibby (23 pts 4 reb 5 ast) J. Robins (11 pts 8 reb 1 blk)
12/9    #6    @ #18 Indiana          L 54-64        6-4              S. Swanson (11 pts 9 reb) G. Bibby (8 pts 5 reb 6 ast)
12/13   #11   #12 Clemson            W 80-61        7-4              G. Bibby (15 pts 6 reb 7 ast) S. Swanson (15 pts 9 reb 5 ast)
12/20   #15   @ #22 Purdue           L 72-81        7-5              J. Williams (13 pts 15 reb 5 stl) S. Swanson (11 pts 5 reb)
12/27   #16   @ Iowa State           L 74-79        7-6              J. Williams (20 pts 4 reb 5 ast) G. Bibby (6 pts 4 reb 11 ast)


The month of December couldn’t have gone worse for us, our super-team playing like a bunch of individual, in-for-myself players instead of contributing to a team atmosphere, and we struggled mightily for it. If something doesn’t change heading into the conference slate of games, this is going to be a long long year of disappointments. Or we could figure things out and suddenly be among the best teams to ever play for Georgia. Eighteen games to figure it all out. This pre-conference slog will either inspire us to prove to the world that we’re better than the sum of our individual parts, or the SEC will smash our hopes.
User avatar
jksander
Elite Member
 
Posts: 6445
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2006 1:21 am
Location: Indianapolis, IN

Re: Ballin' With The Bulldogs: The Dale Connover Story

Postby jksander » Mon Dec 05, 2022 1:40 pm

Code: Select all
Date    Rank  Opponent               Score          W/L Record       Leaders
1/3     #24   Florida                L 71-82        7-7 (0-1)        D. Strong (21 pts 4 reb) R. Holmes (12 pts 5 reb 1 ast)
1/6     #24   @ Vanderbilt           L 66-94        7-8 (0-2)        G. Bibby (25 pts 7 reb 5 ast) D. Strong (16 pts 1 reb 1 ast)
1/10          @ South Carolina       L 67-81        7-9 (0-3)        S. Swanson (21 pts 4 reb 4 ast) G. Bibby (21 pts 8 reb 4 ast)
1/13          Alabama                W 72-61        8-9 (1-3)        G. Bibby (24 pts 5 ast 1 blk) S. Swanson (14 pts 8 reb 4 stl)
1/17          @ #22 Kentucky         W 66-59        9-9 (2-3)        S. Swanson (26 pts 6 reb 3 stl) G. Bibby (21 pts 4 reb 6 ast)
1/20          Mississippi St.        L 67-86        9-10 (2-4)       S. Swanson (15 pts 10 reb) J. Williams (11 pts 9 reb 2 ast)
1/24          #2 Tennessee           L 65-75        9-11 (2-5)       G. Bibby (17 pts 6 reb 11 ast) S. Swanson (14 pts 17 reb 3 stl)
1/27          @ Arkansas             L 67-83        9-12 (2-6)       J. Williams (14 pts 8 reb 2 stl 2 blk) G. Bibby (17 pts 9 ast)
1/31          Vanderbilt             W 67-57        10-12 (3-6)      G. Bibby (19 pts 5 reb 10 ast) S. Swanson (13 pts 11 reb 3 ast)
2/3           @ Florida              L 72-79        10-13 (3-7)      J. Williams (15 pts 13 reb 3 ast) G. Bibby (20 pts 7 ast 3 stl)


This season has been nothing short of a disaster. On paper we should be beating just about anyone on any given night, and suddenly I’m at the point where even making one of the postseason tournaments -- ANY ONE OF THEM -- would be a huge boost. Sitting three games below .500 with eight conference games and the conference tourney left ahead of us doesn’t have me feeling very confident about the status of my job come April. How short are the memories of the Athletic Depertment heads? I’ll soon be finding out.
User avatar
jksander
Elite Member
 
Posts: 6445
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2006 1:21 am
Location: Indianapolis, IN

Re: Ballin' With The Bulldogs: The Dale Connover Story

Postby PointGuard » Mon Dec 05, 2022 2:04 pm

Whoa! Yeah, what a surprising season. Pretty hard to understand. Are there many players with poor personalities? What's the player/coach relationships like? Are there a lot of unhappy guys??

While your season has sucked, I liked the number of very close games that you had in pre-conference play. For my teams, I always like to see a bunch of close games rather than having too many blowouts. It really makes playing out the games a lot more exciting and fun.
Dynasty Threads:
Fedora-CB;Town Crier-CB;FIve Friends/Foes-CB;Media Perspective-CB;Whatever It Takes-CB;Who's Bret Vandergard-CB;Gym Rat-CB;Repairman-CB;S. Mastroani-TPG;V. Stevenson-TPG
User avatar
PointGuard
DDS:CB Support Squad
 
Posts: 13265
Joined: Mon Dec 17, 2007 1:14 am

Re: Ballin' With The Bulldogs: The Dale Connover Story

Postby jksander » Mon Dec 05, 2022 2:39 pm

PointGuard wrote:Whoa! Yeah, what a surprising season. Pretty hard to understand. Are there many players with poor personalities? What's the player/coach relationships like? Are there a lot of unhappy guys??

While your season has sucked, I liked the number of very close games that you had in pre-conference play. For my teams, I always like to see a bunch of close games rather than having too many blowouts. It really makes playing out the games a lot more exciting and fun.


Not particularly bad overall, I just think it wound up being too many blue chip players fighting for glory, and they never really gelled with the team overall. Three players leaving for the NBA in one year, going to be interesting to see if I lose more spots to late transfers later too. Gonna work my ass off in the final weeks of recruiting to at least not wind up with a total rebuild.


Code: Select all
Date    Rank  Opponent               Score          W/L Record       Leaders
2/7           Auburn                 W 78-72        11-13 (4-7)      G. Bibby (28 pts 6 reb 7 ast) S. Swanson (26 pts 7 reb 2 stl)
2/10          @ Mississippi          W 77-69        12-13 (5-7)      S. Swanson (30 pts 3 reb) G. Bibby (25 pts 8 reb 8 ast 2 blk)
2/14          LSU                    W 83-51        13-13 (6-7)      S. Swanson (31 pts 17 reb 2 blk) G. Bibby (15 pts 5 reb 6 ast)
2/17          @ Texas A&M            W 85-81        14-13 (7-7)      J. Williams (23 pts 11 reb) S. Swanson (24 pts 9 reb 3 ast)
2/21          @ #9 Missouri          L 65-95        14-14 (7-8)      S. Swanson (17 pts 7 reb 3 ast) G. Bibby (12 pts 5 ast 2 stl)
2/24          South Carolina         W 81-72        15-14 (8-8)      G. Bibby (19 pts 9 ast 3 stl) S. Swanson (22 pts 8 reb 2 ast)
2/28          @ Alabama              L 61-75        15-15 (8-9)      S. Swanson (21 pts 6 reb 1 ast) G. Bibby (18 pts 3 reb 5 ast)
3/3           #22 Kentucky           W 67-56        16-15 (9-9)      G. Bibby (31 pts 5 reb 2 ast) S. Swanson (10 pts 6 reb 2 ast)


Our 6-2 February saved the season from abject mediocrity, but we are entering the conference tournament seeded 7th because Florida owned the tiebreaker after beating us twice. So though we avoid playing in the tourney’s first round, we don’t have our usual double-bye, and at 16-15 we’re only barely post-seaosn eligible at this point. Surprisingly we’re not officially “on the bubble” -- WSSN projects us currently to be a 10th seed if the bracket was built today. But we need at least a win or two in the SEC Tourney to be truly safe, and even then I think it’s a toss-up. Lose in the first round and we don’t deserve to be considered.

Shane Swanson will be a 2nd Team All American at the very least, finishing 10th on the Norton Finalists list. He, Garrett Bibby and Jerome Williams are leaving early for the NBA, and I suspect we’re going to need to hit the transfer portal hard in the spring, though we plan to target some of the remaining four star players in the southeast region to attempt to fill the suddenly open scholarships without having to rely on transfer luck.
User avatar
jksander
Elite Member
 
Posts: 6445
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2006 1:21 am
Location: Indianapolis, IN

Re: Ballin' With The Bulldogs: The Dale Connover Story

Postby jksander » Wed Dec 07, 2022 12:59 am

SEC Tournament
Code: Select all
Date    Opponent               Score          W/L Record       Leaders
3/8     (10) Vanderbilt        W 59-56        17-15            G. Bibby (19 pts 2 reb 3 ast) P. Holmes (7 pts 11 reb 1 ast)
3/9     (2) Mississippi St.    W 95-80        18-15            G. Bibby (25 pts 6 reb 10 ast) S. Swanson (23 pts 12 reb 6 ast)
3/10    (3) Missouri           W 81-68        19-15            J. Williams (14 pts 13 reb 3 ast 2 stl) S. Swanson (20 pts 5 reb)
3/11    (1) Tennessee          L 74-77        19-16            G. Bibby (21 pts 8 ast) P. Holmes (10 pts 8 reb 1 blk)


Crushing loss to Tennessee aside, I think this team is coming into its own down the stretch! It will be interesting to see where we come out in the seedings, because a lot of teams are going to take us lightly early on based on our overall record.

The following teams in the SEC made the NCAA Tournament:

Cleveland: (4) Mississippi St.
Cleveland: (10) Georgia
San Jose: (1) Tennessee
San Jose: (4) Missouri
San Jose: (10) Kentucky

South Carolina and Florida made it into the NIT.
Alabama was invited to the CBI.
Vanderbilt and Arkansas squeaked into the CBT.

NCAA Tournament

Code: Select all
Date    Opponent               Score          W/L Record       Leaders
3/16    (7) Georgia Tech       W 91-69        20-16            G. Bibby (32 pts 8 reb 7 ast) J. Williams (14 pts 12 reb 7 ast)
3/18    (2) VCU                W 83-76        21-16            S. Swanson (24 pts 8 reb 4 ast) P. Holmes (15 pts 7 reb 4 blk)
3/23    (3) Oklahoma St.       W 76-65        22-16            G. Bibby (20 pts 3 reb 11 ast) S. Swanson (24 pts 10 reb 2 stl)
3/25    (1) Duke               W 66-64        23-16            G. Bibby (25 pts 6 ast 2 stl) S. Swanson (17 pts 9 reb 4 ast 2 blk)
4/1     (1) West Virginia      W 87-81        24-16            S. Swanson (21 pts 7 reb 2 ast) J. Williams (19 pts 12 reb 3 blk)
4/3     (1) Arizona            L 73-84        24-17            G. Bibby (27 pts 3 reb 7 ast) S. Swanson (22 pts 7 reb 1 stl)


On Thursday, Mississippi State opened the NCAA Tournament proceedings by whipping (13) Evansville 101-84, while we had our own solid outing against in-state rival Georgia Tech by a 91-69 margin to advance as well. The next afternoon Tennessee handled (16) Cal State Northridge easily enough 75-63, Missouri stomped (13) Milwaukee 75-52, and Kentucky bested (7) Virginia 78-63, keeping our first-round record as a conference perfect! The next afternoon, however, (12) Michigan State upended Mississippi State 65-78, while we handled our business against (2) VCU in a solid 83-76 upset -- Sweet Sixteen bound after a one-year absence! On Sunday Tennessee destroyed (9) Houston 99-69, Kentucky fell against (2) Northwestern 54-63, and (4) Missouri earned a solid defensive win over (5) Baylor 66-56. Three out of five SEC programs which entered the tournament are now heading to the second weekend!

We were the lone SEC tournament team playing on Thursday the 23rd, up against Oklahoma State with a shot at the Elite Eight on the line. And though we trailed slightly at the half, down 39-40, we outscored the Cowboys 37-25 in the second half to win handily 76-65! The marquee matchup for SEC fans, however, came Friday evening when (4) Missouri took on (1) Tennessee for the final spot in the next round. Unable to fight back from five points down at the end of the first half, Missouri was blown away in the second half as Tennessee blasted the Tigers 92-67. They’re looking particularly dominant at this stage of the year, and having lost to them ourselves by ten at home and by three on a neutral court, there aren’t many who think we’ll fare as well if we meet again in THIS tournament.

But to even get that chance we’d have to find a way past (1) Duke, the same team that knocked us out in the Regional Finals two years ago. The Blue Devils wanted another shot at a title, this time under their first-year head coach, and they came in favored by 12 points with most Vegas oddsmakers expecting close to 160 points to be scored in the game. But we held them down defensively, building up a 34-23 lead in the first half and then hanging on for dear life. We won the game 66-64 after Bibby nailed a pair of free throws with just seconds left in regulation, sending us to our third Final Four in five years!

Unfortunately for Tennessee fans, (2) Northwestern appears to be a juggernaut, the best program in that school’s history by far! The Volunteers were down only by a pair at the half, 28-30, but Northwestern dominated down the stretch in the second half, ending Tennessee’s Final Four hopes 61-75.

Vanderbilt went on to win the CBT Tournament by besting Columbia in a defensive beatdown, 58-42. The Commodores will be hoping to make it to the NCAA Tournament next season for the first time since 2017.

We made it back to the Final Four and wanted to be sure it would really count for something with this incredible starting lineup only existing for as long as we could stay in front. We dominated the first half, laying down 51 points en route to what became a 87-81 victory over the Mountaineers in the end, putting us in the title game for the first time, against (1) Arizona and their juggernaut head coach Tim Davis (National Titles back to back in 2025 and 2026, .882 winning percentage). They’d gotten to this point by winning by an AVERAGE of 25 points per game in the tournament, and they were expected to treat us similarly. We managed to hold them closer than all that, giving them their most competitive game of the tournament, but we fell behind at the end of the first half and never recovered. They’d go on to beat us by 11, winning Davis his third National Title.

Team Leaders
Scoring: Garrett Bibby (17.0 ppg) Shane Swanson (16.6 ppg) Jerome Williams (7.9 ppg) Paul Holmes (7.0 ppg)
Rebounding: Jerome Williams (8.9 rpg) Shane Swanson (8.2 rpg) Paul Holmes (5.6 rpg) Garrett Bibby (3.8 rpg)
Assists: Garrett Bibby (7.2 apg) Shane Swanson (2.4 apg) Brandt Gunn (2.3 apg) Jerome Williams (1.9 apg)
Steals: Jerome Williams (1.9 spg) Shane Swanson (1.5 spg) Garrett Bibby (0.8 spg) Jeff Robins (0.6 spg)
Blocks: Jerome Williams (1.9 bpg) Paul Holmes (0.8 bpg) Shane Swanson (0.6 bpg)

Graduating Players
Damian Strong (4.0 GPA) 9.2 ppg 3.5 rpg 1.8 apg 0.8 spg 0.5 bpg (101 games, 79 starts)

Leaving Early
Garrett Bibby (2.9 GPA) 17.0 ppg 3.8 rpg 7.2 apg 0.8 spg 0.2 bpg (35 starts)
Shane Swanson (2.9 GPA) 16.6 ppg 8.2 rpg 2.4 apg 1.5 spg 0.6 bpg (35 starts)
Jerome Williams (3.4 GPA) 7.9 ppg 8.9 rpg 1.9 apg 1.9 spg 1.9 bpg (35 starts)

Awards
2nd Team All American: Shane Swanson
1st Team All SEC: Shane Swanson
2nd Team All SEC: Garrett Bibby

Commmitted Recruits -- Final List
6’0” PG Rob Wilkes (HS Senior, Homerville GA) 2.9 GPA (#11 Ntl, #4 Reg) 24.6 ppg 7.1 rpg 9.3 apg 4.5 spg 0.4 bpg
6’7” PF Ricky Granberry (HS Senior, Atlanta GA) 2.9 GPA (#19 Ntl, #6 Reg) 20.9 ppg 12.4 rpg 1.8 apg 4.6 spg 5.2 bpg
6’7” SF Brian Dyer (HS Senior, Franklin TN) 3.2 GPA (#149 Ntl, #38 Reg) 16.3 ppg 5.0 rpg 3.0 apg 2.0 spg 1.8 bpg
6’2” SG Corey Phillips (HS Senior, Prichard AL) 3.5 GPA (#346 Ntl, #46 Reg) 14.2 ppg 5.3 rpg 3.9 apg 3.3 spg 2.7 bpg
6’1” SG Steve Elder (HS Senior, New Port Richey FL) 2.8 GPA (#355 Ntl, #60 Reg) 15.4 ppg 6.8 rpg 5.1 apg 4.2 spg 2.3 bpg

I decided we need a significant improvement to our scouting department. I’ve let Brian Thunell go as our third assistant. And Brooks Jackson, our AHC and lead player development coach, accepted the head coaching position at New Mexico. I’ve promoted Jeremy Morris (Recruiting) to AHC and gave him a $40,000 raise, but for the next three years he’s still costing us $40,000 LESS than Jackson was, which allowed us to make competitive hires for our open positions.

Associate HC: Jeremy Morris (51, $65,000 / 3 yrs) - Recruiting: 67%
2nd Assistant: DeWy Campbell (50, $57,950 / 4 yrs) - Development: 66%
3rd Assistant: Benjamin Scott (55, $45,750 / 5 yrs) - Scouting: 64%

The Board of Directors was ecstatic about the trip to the title game, but they were a bit concerned about the route we took to get there. The end result of the season was a significant boost to our program’s prestige, but they said I need to show we can be more consistent if we want a facilities upgrade. I expect a significant contract extension after this coming season, at which point I will continue to push for the systematic development our program will need to remain in title contention year in, year out. I was within a game of my goal of a National Title for Georgia, and I can smell it coming this season if we can stay on the right track.
User avatar
jksander
Elite Member
 
Posts: 6445
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2006 1:21 am
Location: Indianapolis, IN

Re: Ballin' With The Bulldogs: The Dale Connover Story

Postby jksander » Wed Dec 07, 2022 2:38 am

SEASON EIGHT
2029-30


Coach Information
Name: Dale Connover
Age / Record: 43 (181-77, .702)
Conf. Titles: 1 (2025)
Conf. Tourney Titles: 2 (2025, 2026)
National Coach of the Year: 0
SEC Coach of the Year: 2 (2025-2026)
National Titles: 0
National Title Appearances: 2029
Final Fours: 3 (2025-2026, 2029)
Elite Eights: 4 (2025-2027, 2029)
Sweet Sixteens: 5 (2024-2027, 2029)
Reputation: 96% (+2)
Contract: $491,000 / 2 years
Offense: 81%
Defense: 64%
Recruiting: 94%
Scouting: 76% (+2)
Development: 95%

School Information
School: Georgia Bulldogs
Location: Athens GA
Conference: SEC
Arena: Stegeman Coliseum (10,523 Cap)
Budget: $251,000 ($168,700 Assistants / $82,300 Recruiting)
Facilities: B+
Academics: B (SAT Min: 940)
School Prestige: 77% (+9)
Conf. Prestige: 80% (+2)

Top 5 Recruit Classes
1. Syracuse
2. Kansas
3. Maryland
4. Arizona
5. Georgia

Top 5 SEC Recruit Classes
5. Georgia
11. Florida
18. Mississippi St.
32. Vanderbilt
34. Alabama

Scouting Reports
Southeast Premium ($30,000)

Transfers
Paul Holmes
Ray Kurtz
Jeff Robins

Transfer Recruits
6’4” JR PG Jack Dudley (Florida St.) - solid four star recruit, lost his starting spot last year
- excellent shooter, passer and overall scorer, with the ability to steal consistently
- high on-court IQ and superior athleticism -- wants to play and be a leader of this team
6’4” SOPH SG Todd James (Alabama) - wanted more playing time, never got to start, averaged just over 4 ppg
- decent shooter and overall athlete, but needs time to develop his game beyond scoring
- will redshirt this season with the hopes of being able to compete for playing time next year
6’7” JR SF/PF Barry Wright (Kentucky) - was a regular starter, had issues with his coach and wanted a fresh start
- overall a solid athlete, three-star player by my evaluation
- good rebounder, defender and shot blocker, raw but with potential

Camps
Indy Elite ($5,000)
Memphis Summit ($3,700)

Recruiting Budget Remaining: Approx. $41,000 (after transfer recruiting)
Scholarships Available: 1

We only have one scholarship to fill officially, but it’s important that we keep good regional players on our radar in case of early exits, as we’ve developed a solid repuation for placing players in the top levels of the NBA. Georgia is now officially a “pipeline state” for us in recruiting, and Florida is almost there. Will that help us this year, as the nation’s top player is from Georgia (Evans to be exact)? Only time will tell.

NBA Draft
#7 - Shane Swanson
#10 - Jerome Williams
#12 - Garrett Bibby

Norton Nominees
None.

Committed Recruits
6’8” C Angelo Milton (HS Senior, St. Petersburg FL) 2.8 GPA (#33 Ntl, #11 Reg) 17.6 ppg 12.0 rpg 1.7 apg 2.4 spg 2.8 bpg

Alas, Derrick Boschee, the #1 recruit in the nation, went to Florida. And for some reason blue-chip players weren’t biting this year, though I’m really happy with the player we did net for our scholarship, filling a real need at center. Sometimes the right player is staring you in the face and everyone else isn’t looking in the right direction.

Redshirts
Todd James and Bryan Dyer will be redshirting.

Schedule
11/14 - @ Georgia State
11/21 - Toledo
11/24 - Pepperdine
11/28 - Evansville
12/1 - Ball State
12/5 - Hartford
12/8 - @ Green Bay
12/13 - @ #16 Clemson
12/19 - Tulane
12/23 - (n) Fresno State - Hoops For Troops
12/26 - Dartmouth

Could this be a way of the AD telling me they’re planning to pay for facilities upgrades via terrible buy games? All I can say is if we don’t run the table on this one I don’t expect us to be ranked high come conference season unless the AP voters are out of their minds. Not sure that this will do us much of a favor come SEC season, but my job is to coach the players in the games on our schedule.

Roster
PG - Brandt Gunn (6’2” 193 lbs Jr) Columbia SC (A.C. Flora HS) 4.0 GPA (3.5/4.0) 4.4 ppg 2.5 rpg 2.3 apg 0.2 spg 0.2 bpg
SG - Corey Finley (6’5” 172 lbs Jr) Jonesboro GA (Jonesboro HS) 3.0 GPA (4.0/4.5) 5.4 ppg 1.9 rpg 0.9 apg 0.5 spg 0.1 bpg
SF - Barry Wright (6’7” 221 lbs Jr) Nahunta GA (Brantley County HS) 3.4 GPA (3.0/4.0) incoming transfer
PF - Ricky Granberry (6’7” 237 lbs Fr) Atlanta GA (Westlake HS) 2.9 GPA (4.0/5.0)
C - Derick Thomas (6’6” 215 lbs Fr RS) Ocilla GA (Irwin County HS) 3.2 GPA (1.5/4.0)

6 - Rob Wilkes (6’0” 175 lbs Fr) Homerville GA (Clinch County HS) 2.9 GPA (2.5/5.0)
7 - Jack Dudley (6’4” 172 lbs Jr) New Port Richey FL (Mitchell HS) 3.3 GPA (4.0/4.0) incoming transfer
8 - Cedric Bryant (6’4” 206 lbs Sr RS) Portsmouth NH (Portsmouth HS) 3.1 GPA (3.0/4.0) 2.2 ppg 0.9 rpg 1.3 apg 0.3 spg
9 - Paul Dumic (6’7” 210 lbs Fr RS) Oxford MS (Lafayette County HS) 3.3 GPA (1.0/4.0)
10 - Corey Phillips (6’2” 196 lbs Fr) Pritchard AL (Blount HS) 3.5 GPA (1.0/4.0)
11 - Steve Elder (6’1” 186 lbs Fr) New Port Richie FL (Gulf HS) 2.8 GPA (1.0/3.5)

RS - Todd James (6’4” 218 lbs So) Fulton KY (Fulton City HS) 3.3 GPA (2.0/4.0) incoming transfer
RS - Brian Dyer (6’7” 218 lbs Fr) Franklin TN (Centennial HS) 3.2 GPA (1.5/3.0)

Phillips and Elder almost certainly will not get much non-garbage time this year, they’re just not up to SEC standard at this point, but they are practice bodies we definitely can use during the season. Neither expects playing time, so that should work out, and if they aren’t happy they can transfer in the spring. Dumic is going to at least get a few minutes due to his height -- SOMEONE has to spell Granberry and Thomas when they need to rest. But he’ll have to prove he’s improved enough or he’ll not be happy with the time he gets on the court. Right now Wilkes, Dudley and Bryant look to be our strongest bench contributors, and they each should log significant minutes. This is a very young team, and nothing at all like the talent juggernaut we had last year. Maybe that will mean the players will be able to gel better as a team. We’ll soon see.
User avatar
jksander
Elite Member
 
Posts: 6445
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2006 1:21 am
Location: Indianapolis, IN

Re: Ballin' With The Bulldogs: The Dale Connover Story

Postby jksander » Wed Dec 07, 2022 5:09 am

Code: Select all
Date    Rank  Opponent               Score          W/L Record       Leaders
11/14         @ Georgia State        W 63-59        1-0              R. Granberry (19 pts 9 reb 2 ast) C. Finley (20 pts 5 reb)
11/21         Toledo                 W 77-66        2-0              C. Finley (16 pts 5 reb 1 ast) R. Granberry (13 pts 7 reb 3 ast)
11/24         Pepperdine             W 82-61        3-0              C. Finley (23 pts 3 reb 1 ast) B. Gunn (14 pts 5 reb 5 ast)
11/28         Evansville             W 75-70        4-0              R. Granberry (20 pts 15 reb 3 blk) C. Finley (13 pts 2 reb)
12/1          Ball State             W 70-53        5-0              B. Wright (20 pts 3 reb) R. Granberry (12 pts 8 reb 3 blk)
12/5          Hartford               W 75-46        6-0              B. Wright (18 pts 4 reb 1 ast) R. Granberry (10 pts 9 reb 3 blk)
12/8          @ Green Bay            W 71-64        7-0              C. Finley (15 pts 2 reb 1 ast) R. Granberry (11 pts 7 reb 4 blk)
12/13   #21   @ #22 Clemson          W 73-66        8-0              R. Granberry (23 pts 18 reb) J. Dudley (14 pts 3 reb 3 ast)
12/19   #17   Tulane                 W 89-65        9-0              R. Granberry (16 pts 13 reb) R. Wilkes (15 pts 2 reb 3 ast)
12/23   #17   (n) Fresno State       W 70-56        10-0             B. Wright (17 pts 3 ast 5 stl) J. Dudley (12 pts 4 reb 1 ast)
12/24   #17   (n) Nebraska           L 67-82        10-1             B. Wright (14 pts 4 reb) C. Finley (13 pts 2 reb 2 ast 1 stl)
12/26   #13   Dartmouth              W 73-51        11-1             R. Granberry (12 pts 10 reb 5 blk) D. Thomas (10 pts 5 reb)


A solid start to the year -- we beat Clemson on the road, that’s always fun, and Nebraska and Dartmouth actually boosted our resume, as Nebraska then went on to beat Clemson in the finals of the Hoops for Troops tournament, and Dartmouth came into our house with nine wins at the time. It was still a lot of lower prestige teams, so I’m sure we’ll learn quickly where we stand especially since ten of our 18 conference games are on the road. In the SEC home-court advantage can mean everything.

Code: Select all
Date    Rank  Opponent               Score          W/L Record       Leaders
1/2     #12   Alabama                W 72-47        12-1 (1-0)       R. Granberry (12 pts 17 reb 2 ast) B. Gunn (12 pts 6 reb 4 ast)
1/5     #12   @ Auburn               W 80-64        13-1 (2-0)       B. Wright (18 pts 8 reb) J. Dudley (19 pts 3 reb 3 ast 1 stl)
1/9     #11   #5 Missouri            W 94-61        14-1 (3-0)       R. Granberry (23 pts 4 reb 1 ast 2 blk) B. Gunn (14 pts 4 ast)
1/12    #11   @ South Carolina       W 79-69        15-1 (4-0)       C. Finley (20 pts 5 reb) R. Granberry (13 pts 11 reb 3 blk)
1/16    #10   Texas A&M              W 84-73        16-1 (5-0)       D. Thomas (10 pts 6 reb 5 ast) B. Gunn (12 pts 5 ast 1 stl)
1/19    #10   @ Alabama              W 79-62        17-1 (6-0)       C. Finley (23 pts 3 reb 2 ast) R. Granberry (14 pts 7 reb 2 ast)
1/23    #8    Auburn                 W 79-70        18-1 (7-0)       C. Finley (18 pts 5 reb 1 ast) B. Wright (18 pts 4 reb 3 ast)
1/26    #8    @ Mississippi St.      W 75-73        19-1 (8-0)       D. Thomas (24 pts 12 reb 2 stl) R. Granberry (9 pts 8 reb 6 blk)


It felt amazing to get my 200th win while we were playing on the road, undefeated, and, with Mississippi’s loss against Florida, 60-78, in posession of a 2-game lead in the conference race! The Rebels are in second with a 14-5 (6-2) record and we play them next with a chance to put a pretty tight lock on the outright conference title we’ve been wanting to win for decades (our title in 2025 was shared). It’s setting up to be a killer final five weeks to the season!
User avatar
jksander
Elite Member
 
Posts: 6445
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2006 1:21 am
Location: Indianapolis, IN

Re: Ballin' With The Bulldogs: The Dale Connover Story

Postby jksander » Thu Dec 15, 2022 2:13 am

Code: Select all
Date    Rank  Opponent               Score          W/L Record       Leaders
1/30    #5    Mississippi            W 67-60        20-1 (9-0)       C. Finley (21 pts 7 reb) R. Granberry (14 pts 8 reb 2 blk)
2/2     #5    @ Florida              L 55-67        20-2 (9-1)       D. Thomas (14 pts 6 reb 3 stl) R. Granberry (11 pts 6 reb 3 blk)
2/6     #5    @ Vanderbilt           W 66-55        21-2 (10-1)      B. Wright (14 pts 3 reb 2 stl) D. Thomas (12 pts 3 reb 3 stl)
2/9     #5    LSU                    W 75-65        22-2 (11-1)      R. Granberry (25 pts 9 reb 1 ast) C. Finley (12 pts 2 reb 1 ast)
2/13    #4    @ Kentucky             L 69-72        22-3 (11-2)      B. Wright (11 pts 3 reb 2 ast) J. Dudley (15 pts 2 reb 1 ast)
2/16    #4    Tennessee              W 74-59        23-3 (12-2)      R. Granberry (17 pts 11 reb) J. Dudley (18 pts 4 reb 8 ast)
2/20    #4    @ Arkansas             W 85-79        24-3 (13-2)      J. Dudley (19 pts 1 reb) B. Wright (16 pts 4 reb 4 ast 2 stl)
2/23    #4    @ #6 Missouri          L 52-76        24-4 (13-3)      J. Dudley (19 pts 3 reb) R. Granberry (10 pts 11 reb 5 blk)
2/27    #5    South Carolina         L 69-76        24-5 (13-4)      J. Dudley (23 pts 2 reb 6 ast) B. Wright (14 pts 3 reb 1 ast)
3/2     #5    @ Texas A&M            L 71-81        24-6 (13-5)      R. Wilkes (15 pts 4 reb) R. Gunn (18 pts 4 reb 2 ast)


Corey Finley broke his arm during the loss against Kentucky on the 13th, which forced us to move Jack Dudley into the starting five as our shooting guard for the remainder of the season. And though he performed admirably, we struggled down the stretch, losing our significant conference lead and entering the final game of the season needing another team to lose in order to not share (or, worse, lose) the title yet again, having split our two games against Missouri, the team with the other share. And in stunning fashion we managed to do just that -- losing badly against A&M on the road while Missouri beat up LSU while playing at home. And with that, Missouri won the outright conference title and we’re left holding the bag heading into the SEC Tournament.

This has been an incredible year for the SEC when it comes to parity. Nine of the 14 teams in the conference finished with winning records, and a tenth (Vanderbilt) was just under, at 17-12 (8-10). Missouri leads the NET rankings, with us at #2, but Florida, Mississippi and Tennessee are in the top 20, and Kentucky, Arkansas and Mississippi State are in the top 50. If Vanderbilt and Texas A&M do well in the conference tourney it is quite feasible that 11 of 14 SEC teams could play postseason basketball.

Ricky Granberry and Rob Wilkes have declared for the NBA draft.

SEC Tournament

Code: Select all
Date    Opponent               Score          W/L Record       Leaders
3/9     (7) Mississippi St.    W 96-74        25-6             B. Gunn (19 pts 8 reb 4 ast) B. Wright (16 pts 7 reb 3 blk)
3/10    (3) Florida            W 82-73        26-6             J. Dudley (18 pts 9 reb 2 ast) B. Gunn (20 pts 3 reb 4 ast 1 stl)
3/11    (1) Missouri           L 71-94        26-7             R. Granberry (14 pts 5 reb 2 ast) B. Gunn (12 pts 3 reb 3 ast)


Texas A&M won three games in a row before losing to Missouri by five points in the semifinals. But we lost the rubber match, badly, against a Missouri Tigers team that seems destined to get deep into this tournament under fifth-year head coach Tahriq Webb, who has been to the second weekend three times in a row.

SEC Teams in the NCAA Tournament:

Dayton: (12) South Carolina -- plays into the Detroit Region
Philadelphia: (1) Missouri
Philadelphia: (3) Georgia
Philadelphia: (4) Florida
Philadelphia: (11) Arkansas
Philadelphia: (9) Kentucky
Detroit: (7) Tennessee
Detroit: (9) Mississippi
Anaheim: (9) Mississippi State

Nine teams from the SEC made the dance, but the powers that be totally f---ed us in the ass by putting five SEC teams in the Philadelphia bracket and not even bothering to spread us out. Missouri clearly is the favorite of the pack, but they were done no favors. They’ll have to potentially face down (9) Kentucky in the second round, (4) Florida in the Sweet Sixteen and potentially us in the Elite Eight. I call it a dick move on the part of the committee … no one wants to see a bracket turn into a second consecutive SEC Tournament.

Texas A&M and Vanderbilt made it into the CBT Tournament.
User avatar
jksander
Elite Member
 
Posts: 6445
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2006 1:21 am
Location: Indianapolis, IN

Re: Ballin' With The Bulldogs: The Dale Connover Story

Postby jksander » Thu Dec 15, 2022 3:28 am

NCAA Tournament
Code: Select all
Date    Opponent               Score          W/L Record       Leaders
3/16    (14) Milwaukee         L 69-82        26-8             R. Granberry (15 pts 9 reb 5 ast 2 stl) J. Dudley (20 pts 3 reb 2 ast)


Memphis beat South Carolina in the Dayton play-in game by two points when the Gamecocks missed an off-kilter jumper that could otherwise have forced an overtime.

Mississippi State got to watch on Thursday while the rest of the SEC teams took to the court. And it was absolute carnage. We were quickly humbled in our early-afternoon game against Milwaukee’s Panthers, trailing by three at the half and never finding our footing in the second frame, losing by 13 in a game we should have dominated. But hell, it was insane all over the place! Missouri barely outlasted the East Tennessee State Buccaneers, winning 81-75 in a game that looked like a potential 16/1 upset through most of the second half as ETSU fought back from an eight-point halftime deficit to tie it with 8:34 to play, though they never led. Tennessee lost to (10) Florida State 67-73, and Mississippi was blown out of the water, crashing and burning against Oregon 51-80. It wasn’t all bad -- Florida reamed out (13) Winthrop 80-57, Arkansas got a solid upset over (6) NM State 69-60, and Kentucky handled business against (8) Villanova 64-50. But it felt like a disaster for the conference. On Friday Mississippi State kept the trend going, losing 70-80 against a Bradley team that looked far better than the 10-point win would indicate.

So things were certainly looking tough for our conference heading into the weekend. Missouri started out nicely against UK in their second-round matchup, handling the Wildcats well defensively and winning their way into the Sweet Sixteen 69-56. And Arkansas kept rolling, winning a solid battle over Milwaukee 67-64 to advance as well. But Florida shat the bed against (5) West Virginia, blowing a 33-26 halftime advantage to lose 50-62 -- you read that right, they were outscored 36-17 in the second half! Epic fail.

That meant Missouri would face (5) West Virginia in their next game, while Arkansas had to battle (2) Louisville, representing the SEC as the last two conference teams standing. Missouri took the Mountaineers down easily enough, winning 83-76 in a game where WVA was forced to foul incessantly down the stretch to even keep it within double digits. But Arkansas was not up to the Cardinals’ challenge, falling hard 55-77 and setting up a 1/2 matchup in the Elite Eight. And Louisville proved to be the far stouter team overall, dismantling Missouri in the second half 69-55 after being tied 33-33 at the break.

Louisville would go on to face down (1) Arizona in the National Championship Game, getting absolutely destroyed 51-89 as the Wildcats won their second repeat title in the last decade, and fourth title overall under head coach Tim Davis. Can their dynasty even be stopped at this point? It’s a depressing thought. So much for anti-Pac 12 bias.

Team Leaders
Scoring: Corey Finley (13.7 ppg) Ricky Granberry (11.8 ppg) Barry Wright (11.0 ppg) Jack Dudley (9.9 ppg)
Rebounding: Ricky Granberry (8.5 rpg) Derick Thomas (4.8 rpg) Barry Wright (4.2 rpg)
Assists: Brandt Gunn (4.2 apg) Jack Dudley (2.7 apg) Cedric Bryant (2.5 apg) Rob Wilkes (2.5 apg)
Steals: Derick Thomas (1.8 spg) Barry Wright (1.4 spg)
Blocks: Ricky Granberry (2.2 bpg) Derick Thomas (1.0 bpg)

Graduating Players
Cedric Bryant (3.2 GPA) 4.4 ppg 1.9 rpg 2.6 apg 0.5 spg 0.2 bpg (133 games, 34 starts)

Leaving Early
Ricky Granberry (2.9 GPA) 11.8 ppg 8.5 rpg 1.4 apg 0.6 spg 2.2 bpg (33 starts)
Rob Wilkes (2.9 GPA) 7.7 ppg 2.2 rpg 2.5 apg 0.3 spg (33 games) <-- 17.8 mpg off the bench

Nothing Wilkes showed me suggests he’s got what it takes to be a long-term NBA player, but I can’t blame him for chasing the dollar signs as long as his agent hasn’t been steering him wrong. He would have been assured a starting spot as a sophomore, and never seemed to care much about playing time, so I’m surprised he’s jumping so quickly.

Awards
1st Team All SEC: Ricky Granberry

In a huge upset, Tahric Webb won National Coach of the Year for Missouri, proving how sick we all are of Tim “Basketball God” Davis.

Commmitted Recruits -- Final List
6’8” C Angelo Milton (HS Senior, St. Petersburg FL) 2.8 GPA (#34 Ntl, #11 Reg) 18.0 ppg 8.5 rpg 5.0 apg 2.6 spg 3.5 bpg
6’6” SF James Tucker (JuCo Sophomore, Prestonburg KY) 2.6 GPA (#112 Ntl, #24 Reg) 16.5 ppg 4.1 rpg 4.2 apg 2.2 spg 2.1 bpg
6’7” PF Jeff Davis (HS Senior, Dublin GA) 3.7 GPA (#136 Ntl, #27 Reg) 13.1 ppg 5.5 rpg 3.8 apg 2.2 spg 2.3 bpg

We didn’t win the conference tournament, we lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, we blew a shot at the SEC regular season title, and the board is pissed that, as they claim, I’m moving the program backward. But they still offered me a pay bump to $515,000 per year for the next six years. But I asked how much they were willing to put into this program if they really see Georgia as being able to challenge Arizona for universal supremacy, and they blew me off.

And it just so happened I’d been keeping one thing close to my vest.

Michigan State head coach Tyron Daniels had chosen this to be his final season, and the school had been following me and felt I was the man to finally get the Spartans back to the Final Four -- though Daniels had personally led the program to three Sweet Sixteens in the last eight seasons while leading the program beyond the Tom Izzo era, he’d been unable to replicate Izzo’s deep tournament runs. The last time Sparty made the Final Four party was 2018-19, and they haven’t been to a national title game since 2009 (losing that year but winning in 1979 and 2000).

The job means a serious pay bump and the chance to lead a program with a history of winning and the financial means to recruit nationally (though my recruiting abilities in the south will certainly help as well). The Spartans were 29-8 this past season, finishing in a two way tie for second in the Big Ten with Indiana and only two games behind Purdue, and they made the Sweet Sixteen. So I’m not taking over a rebuilding program, I’ll be expected to put my stamp on things quickly and run with it. They’ll be paying me $1,415,000 per year for four years to get the job done.

Associate HC: Jon Fox (51, $201,000 / 4 yrs) - Recruiting: 91%
2nd Assistant: Ed Williams (63, $75,000 / 5 yrs) - Scouting: 81%
3rd Assistant: Alexander Olmstead (58, $47,500 / 5 yrs) - Development: 54%

I kept Jon Fox because he’s a solid AHC who can help me jump in feet first to this new job and succeed straightaway, particularly with his grasp on recruiting here in the upper midwest. I brought in my own assistants at the lower levels, and Williams will make a good lead assistant if Fox should choose to jump to a head coaching job next year as is likely -- he’s been AHC now under Daniels since 2022-23, so he’s definitely just looking for the right opportunity.
User avatar
jksander
Elite Member
 
Posts: 6445
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2006 1:21 am
Location: Indianapolis, IN

Re: Ballin' With The Bulldogs: The Dale Connover Story

Postby jksander » Thu Dec 15, 2022 4:33 am

SPARTY AIMS HIGH WITH BASKETBALL COACHING HIRE
by Riley Cosgrove, Staff Writer


EAST LANSING, Mich. - When Tom Izzo abruptly retired prior to the start of the 2022-23 basketball season for health reasons, Michigan State was left holding the ball and wondering whether they'd be able to properly follow the greatest coach in school history. They did their best, promoting from within and giving longtime assistant Tyron Daniels the chance to lead the program through the transition.

Eight years later, the Spartans have weathered the storm, advancing in this new "free agent" era and proving to be, if not an annual Final Four contender, at the least a formidable NCAA Tourney contender which can be counted on to make the second weekend each March.

Still, last season's 29-8 campaign which saw the team tie for second in the Big Ten, and the 2028 campaign which saw Sparty win the Big Ten Title outright, the program has been stalwart but rarely more than dependable in the conference, something which fans say is going to have to change under new leadership if the program is going to make its first Final Four trip in more than a decade.

Competing for and winning a National Title for the first time in more than a quarter century? That seems like a pipe dream.

Or at least it did until the Athletic Department announced their gangbusters hire in Dale Connover.

Connover took over a middling Georgia program that hadn't won consistently since the 1980s and turned them into a perennial powerhouse. Seven consecutive NCAA tourney trips? Check. Five second-weekend appearances, three Final Fours and a trip to the title game against eventual champion Arizona? Check, check and check. In toto, Connover put together seven 24+ win seasons in a row and won 207 games for the Bulldogs, and the kicker?

He's only 44 years old!

A recruiting guru who knows the Southeast like his own backyard, Connover should be able to hit the ground running here in the Midwest with the help of Associate Head Coach Jon Fox, who has kept this program stocked with top-tier talent for close to a decade now. And if he can build on last year's success with our talented returning roster, there's no reason to think the Spartans won't be fighting for that outright Big Ten title in the spring and a chance to dethrone the reigning Goliaths of Arizona.

The expectations are high. The requisite coaching talent is right here in East Lansing.

Now we just need our new young coach to manifest some very big things.
User avatar
jksander
Elite Member
 
Posts: 6445
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2006 1:21 am
Location: Indianapolis, IN

PreviousNext

Return to DDS: College Basketball Dynasty Reports

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests