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[Wayne23]

Catching up with what other people are doing. I really like that you went with a Promo/Rel association. 5 teams is a LOT to manage. I doubt that I have to tell you this but saving a good amount of money for the spring and going for Jucos and International players is a great recruiting strategy for a low rent school.
Anyway, I'm enjoying this association!

[PointGuard]

Uprising and Reinstatement

All hell broke out after the NCAA penalized Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

First the university immediately appealed the action to the NCAA. Next a class action suit was threatened to be filed by a large group of fans of the Golden Lions who alleged the NCAA’s precipitous and disproportionate action had degraded the value of their season tickets. Then the entire congressional contingent from Arkansas (along with other members of congress who had been upset by how the NCAA had mishandled the scandal from a few years ago that had eventually led to the conference reorganization) said they intended to conduct hearings to consider action about might be taken about the status of the NCAA.

But most significantly, a very well-to-do citizen of the state of Arkansas hired private investigators who began combing through records related to Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The detailed investigation revealed that there was a well-hidden record of reports submitted by Arkansas-Pine Bluff and that some of those reports were now missing from the NCAA’s files. It also found that one of the key NCAA staff members handling those records was an alumni of Presbyterian University, which was the school that got promoted in place of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

As pressure mounted on the NCAA, they reversed their action and again promoted the Golden Lions into Conference V. The NCAA staffer who was a Presbyterian alum was also fired.

[Note of Explanation: Here’s what really happened. After beginning the 2033-34 season and completing the transfer season, I looked more closely at Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s dashboard screen and to my surprise noticed that they were still listed as an “Independent” rather than being in “Conference V” as they should have been since they had the best record of the 5 Independent teams last season. NJIT which had the worst record in Conference V had properly been relegated, but Presbyterian which had the 2nd best record amongst the Independents had been promoted rather than the Golden Lions which not only had the best record but had also gone to the semi-finals in the NIT tournament. But…my game was past May 1 (at which point I could have within the Commissioner page manually adjusted this error). So after a number of choice expletives (since I had really wanted to have all 5 coaches competing in Conference V this season), I created the NCAA’s penalty action report and posted it here a few days ago.

But a day after posting that, I recalled that I had a separate save of the game from just before the end of the 2032-2033 season. I decided to run that save, make the manual correction for promotion of Arkansas-Pine Bluff on the May 1st date within the game and then run through the transfer season again. That necessitated this “Uprising and Reinstatement” post. A definite pain in the butt, but the planets were realigned in my Universe Association.

So…now back to our regularly scheduled posting.]

[PointGuard]

2033-2034 Season

It’s May, 2033 and time for the next season to begin. One of the first steps for our coaches was to take take a look at their rosters to see if they would be pursuing transfer players and look ahead to steps they will be taking related to going after high school and JC recruits in the coming season.

Roster and Recruiting Planning:

Ramon Montez @ Alcorn State: Our roster is full so we’ll be inactive during the transfer period. But with 4 of our players being seniors and graduating following the completion of this season, we’ll actively recruit. We’re going to purchase the basic Southeast regional report and attend the Memphis Hoop Summit camp.

Terry Morillo @ Western Illinois: I’m satisfied by the recruiting budget here. We have one vacant scholarship that we’ll try to fill by signing a transfer player. During the upcoming year, we have 3 scholarships to fill due to graduations. To aid in this we’ll purchase the basic Midwest scouting report and attend the Chicago Prep Revue camp.

Ken Yamoto @ UC-San Diego Tritons: We have a full roster so won’t be going after any transfer players. And we only have one senior who will graduating at the end of this season. So since the recruiting budget here is much higher than at Tarleton State, we will buy the Premium (Gold) edition of the West Scouting Report and attend the Las Vegas Revue and the Georgia Superstar national camps.

Mike McMillan @ MD-Eastern Shore: Two of the players on this year’s squad are seniors. Since we didn’t fill all our scholarships last year, we’ll be a player in the transfer season. We can sign up to 4 transfer players. Whatever we do less than that will just add to the number of recruits we will be going after this season. I’d like to buy the regional scouting report and attend the Big Apple camp, but we’ll save our limited budget to go all out in the transfer season and to maximize our recruiting activities.

Dontell Spencer @ Arkansas-Pine Bluff: We have 4 scholarships that are unfilled so will see if we can land any transfer players. On top of that we have 5 seniors on the team who will be graduating. Landing 5 recruits this coming season will be tough. Making matters worse is that our budget is rather limited when we have so many scholarships to fill so we can’t afford to buy any scouting reports or attend any camps. It would be great if there is a bumper crop of in-state recruits this year. We will need to strictly control our expenditures and be very focused in our recruiting efforts…and lucky as well.

[PointGuard]

Transfers:

3 of the 5 coaches have unfilled scholarships and went after transfer players to attempt to fill those vacancies on their rosters and reduce the number of recruits they will have to pursue this coming season.

Terry Morillo @ Western Illinois: We landed 6’7” C Jamar Curtis who started every game for Kent State the two years he was there. Last season he scored 13.7 ppg and pulled down 6.2 rpg. We’re very pleased, expecting him to come up big for us after he sits out this season.

Mike McMillan @ MD-Eastern Shore: We signed 4 transfer players: (a) PG Ewald Leitenberger is a 6’2” sophomore PG from Germany who transferred from Lehigh where he played little as a freshman but has a very good work ethic so will benefit from the year he has to sit out but can practice with our team; (b) 6’4” sophomore SG Edouard Gaultier who is from France and transferred from Mississippi Valley where he played little as a freshman. He likes to put up shots and also is a very strong defender; (c) 6’8” PF Dwayne Bullitt who as a freshman last season started every game for Belmont and averaged 7.1 ppg and 5.2 rpg; and (d) C Romolo Pantini who is a 6’8” center from Italy and who started every game the two years he was at Tennessee Tech. Last season he averaged 13.5 ppg and 5.5 rpg. These four players will give our program a big boost a year from now.

Dontell Spencer @ Arkansas-Pine Bluff: We picked up 4 transfer players: (a) 6’0” sophomore PG Antony Gunn who was a starter his entire freshman season at NJIT where he averaged 13.1 ppg; (b) SG Kwame Mickens is a 6’0” junior who transferred from North Florida where he started all games both seasons, averaged 17.9 ppg as a freshman and 21.2 ppg as a sophomore, was the Conference S freshman of the year and 2nd Team All-Conference in his first year and 1st Team All-Conference last season, and has strong skills across the board; (c) SF Henry White, a 6’5” sophomore who came off the bench as a freshman at Southern Illinois, scoring 6.9 ppg while playing 13.3 mpg; and (d) PF Antonio Gailey, a 6’7” center who transferred from William & Mary where he started every game as a freshman and averaged 8.8 ppg and 5.8 rpg. The transfer activity cost us more than we would have liked and left our budget for recruiting even smaller.

Ramon Montez, Alcorn State: I was very interested to see how the transfer season would go for Dontell, Mike, and Terry. I must say that I think all 3 of them did a great job. They each picked up players who will step in and give them a nice boost when they become eligible a year from now. I must say, I’m envious. And they all filled holes in their roster that will develop following this season. While it means that their teams will be more challenging opponents for us, I was happy that each of my friends was so successful.

[PointGuard]

Recruiting Goals:

Ramon Montez, Alcorn State: If possible I want to sign 2 SF’s and a SG. We would then have one more scholarship to fill and it can be the best available, SG, SF or big man.

Terry Morillo, Western Illinois: 3 scholarships available…prefer to get a PG, a SG, and an interior player.

Ken Yamoto, UC-San Diego Tritons: Just one scholarship this year to fill. Want to go after a very strong recruit, preferably a PG or a SG who can also play PG. For the first time in my collegiate coaching career, I have the budget to do decent recruiting.

Mike McMillan, MD-Eastern Shore: We have just 2 scholarships available. We need a good interior player and then either a SF or the best available recruit we can land.

Dontell Spencer, Arkansas-Pine Bluff: We have 5 scholarships to fill and would like to land 3 big men, a PG and a SF. Our biggest impediment is that our budget is much too limited when we have so many recruits to land. We just have to do everything we can to limit our expenditures and identify some likely candidates as quickly as we can and really concentrate on them. In-state recruits definitely have to be in the picture for us this year.

[PointGuard]

Who’s UP, Who’s DOWN?

As the result of last season’s results here’s which teams were promoted and relegated:

Promoted from Conf B to Conf A: West Virginia, Arkansas, Seton Hall, Clemson
Relegated from Conf A to Conf B: North Carolina, Duke, Gonzaga, Texas
Promoted from Conf C to Conf B: Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Kansas State, Michigan
Relegated from Conf B to Conf C: Connecticut, Kansas, North Carolina State, Florida State
Promoted from Conf D to Conf C: Temple, Iowa State, Utah, Georgetown
Relegated from Conf C to Conf D: Oregon, Louisiana State, Iowa, Virginia Commonwealth
Promoted from Conf E to Conf D: St. Bonaventure, Boise State, Missouri, Nebraska
Relegated from Conf D to Conf E: Southern Methodist, Indiana, Belmont, Houston
Promoted from Conf F to Conf E: Auburn, Vermont, Dayton, Colorado State
Relegated from Conf E to Conf F: Stanford, Colorado, Saint Louis, Mississippi
Promoted from Conf G to Conf F: Rutgers, George Mason, Northwestern, Yale
Relegated from Conf F to Conf G: Southern California, South Carolina, DePaul, St. Johns
Promoted from Conf H to Conf G: Illinois State, Wright State, Western Kentucky, Toledo
Relegated from Conf G to Conf H: Akron, Fresno State, Nevada, East Tennessee State
Promoted from Conf I to Conf H: Wyoming, Harvard, LaSalle, Western Michigan
Relegated from Conf H to Conf I: Saint Josephs, Duquesne, George Washington, Northern Iowa
Promoted from Conf J to Conf I: Milwaukee, Green Bay, Hofstra, Bowling Green
Relegated from Conf I to Conf J: San Francisco, Miami (OH), Santa Clara, Texas Christian
Promoted from Conf K to Conf J: Marshall, Pennsylvania, Loyola Marymount, Furman
Relegated from Conf J to Conf K: Charlotte, Valparaiso, Northeastern, Montana
Promoted from Conf L to Conf K: Detroit Mercy, Lehigh, Wofford, Rider
Relegated from Conf K to Conf L: Bucknell, Southern Illinois, Cleveland, Iona
Promoted from Conf M to Conf L: Chattanooga, Portland State, Stony Brook, Long Beach State
Relegated from Conf L to Conf M: Fairfield, Mercer, Oakland, Rice
Promoted from Conf N to Conf M: Towson, Morehead State, MD-Baltimore County, Colgate
Relegated from Conf M to Conf N: Austin Peay, Georgia Southern, East Carolina, Siena
Promoted from Conf O to Conf N: Florida Gulf Coast, Albany, Southern Utah, Cal State Fullerton
Relegated from Conf N to Conf O: San Diego, NC-Wilmington, Cal State Bakersfield, Manhattan
Promoted from Conf P to Conf O: Marist, Niagara, Florida International, Portland
Relegated from Conf O to Conf P: Brown, Delaware, Lipscomb, Eastern Kentucky
Promoted from Conf Q to Conf P: Jacksonville State, Cornell, Cal Poly, Idaho
Relegated from Conf P to Conf Q: Northern Kentucky, Fordham, Texas State, Monmouth
Promoted from Conf R to Conf Q: SE Louisiana, Long Island, Norfolk State, Mount Saint Marys
Relegated from Conf Q to Conf R: New Orleans, Quinnipiac, Western Carolina, Purdue Fort Wayne
Promoted from Conf S to Conf R: Kansas City, Stetson, Sacramento State, Navy
Relegated from Conf R to Conf S: Cal St. Northridge, Lafayette, Montana State, Texas-Rio Grande
Promoted from Conf T to Conf S: North Carolina A&T, Grambling, South Carolina Upstate, Campbell
Relegated from Conf S to Conf T: Charleston Southern, UC Davis, North Florida, Southern
Promoted from Conf U to Conf T: Massachusetts-Lowell, South Carolina State, Bethune Cookman, Incarnate Word
Relegated from Conf T to Conf U: Central Connecticut, Dartmouth, Omaha, Eastern Illinois
Promoted from Conf V to Conf U: Kennesaw State, Chicago State, Houston Baptist, Harvard
Relegated from Conf U to Conf V: Seattle, Maine, Coppin State, NC-Central
Promoted from Independent to Conf V: Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Relegated from Conf V to Independent: NJIT

[PointGuard]

Phone conversation between Terry Morillo and Mike McMillan:

Mike: How’s things going with your new job?
Terry: I like it here at Western Illinois. Even though it’s not a basketball powerhouse, it really feels like a step up from Dixie State.
Mike: I’m glad to hear that. I felt like Dixie State was sort of a dead end street for you. for Western Illinois should give you a lot more opportunity.
Terry: Well, at least there’s a little more money for recruiting.
Mike: Hey, don’t talk to me about a lack of a decent recruiting budget. The administration at Maryland-Eastern Shore seems to feel that all it takes is a few phone calls to get any recruit. I’m having to limit almost all my efforts to in-state to keep my costs down.
Terry: Yeah, recruiting is a huge investment in both money and time. I’d really like to be doing more coaching and less recruiting. When we were coaching high school ball, the guys just automatically came to us from the junior high schools and it was just
Mike: I agree that it’s laborious. I thought I’d be better at it than I have been. I’m hoping that the more bumps and bruises we get from it the better we will eventually get at doing it. I’m tired of getting so many “no’s”.
Terry: I hear ya, man. Even with more money to spend, I’ve not been doing well so far this summer. Maybe some of these guys we’ve been trying to entice will eventually just have pity on me and decide to become Leathernecks.
Mike: If some of the guys you’re going after decide that they want to come further east, let me know and I’ll go after them. I need all the help I can get.

[JMD]

A Pro-Rel save, this is interesting, sad that you couldn't turn Dixie State around, but it happens sometimes.

[PointGuard]

NOTE from PointGuard:

I have to admit to my biggest DDSCB screw up (there have been many, but this has been my dumbest, I think):

I started this association with the intent to SIM all the recruiting. So the AI would do all the recruiting for all 5 coaches' programs. When after the first 3 seasons I was upset that the AI had not been filling all the available scholarships for some of my 5 coaches' programs, I made a fateful decision to DO THE RECRUITNG FOR ALL FIVE PROGRAMS MYSELF. Bad freakin' decision! While it's certainly possible to do this, it is horribly time consuming to go in every week, check to see what the focus was for each program and then do all the recruiting actions for FIVE teams.

So I got to August 7th and my frustration peaked. To switch back to letting the AI recruit at this point in the recruiting season would mess up the recruiting for these teams even more than what had happened the previous 3 seasons. So I took the easy way out, punted, and shelved this association for the past 7 months.

Today I decided that I needed to man up and muscle my way through doing the recruiting for the 5 teams through each week in August, September and October. Plod, plod, plod. Then after the primary recruiting period is over, I will shift the recruiting for the rest of this season and any forthcoming seasons to the AI and let it sim merrily along....and let the recruiting chips fall where they may (even if I don't like them).

To be honest, at this point (Aug 7 in my association) I'm not impressed by my personal success thus far in getting recruits interested in these 5 low prestige colleges, so I probably should have just left things as they initially were with the AI handling all the recruiting. But let's see how it pans out.

[Wayne23]

Happy to see that the hair shirt still fits...