Dynasty with FSU

[FSU_Nole15]

Hello Everybody,

Earlier this week, during self-isolation, I picked up DDSCB and immediately fell in love with it, putting in multiple hours a day, recruiting, scouting, etc.. I did not know until a couple of days later that there was a Dynasty Reports page on these forums after I already started, so I figured I’d wait to start mine until I got to the NCAA Tournament. I don’t have the best grammar, but hopefully, you enjoy the read! I would love any advice you have to help make your experience while reading this more enjoyable. For the first few, I am going to switch between first and third person, quickly summarizing all that has happened this season.


Breaking News! Leonard Hamilton will retire immediately from Florida State University, and young and upcoming assistant, Coach Otis will take over on an interim tag. Coach Otis takes over the preseason 23rd ranked Seminoles. He will have at his disposal a well-balanced team filled with promising youth and strong veterans. The team is led by Sophomore point guard Marlin Morrison from Jamestown, Tennessee and Junior center Johnny McQuay from Hinesville, Georgia. The rest of the roster is listed below:

PG - 5’11 SO Marlon Morrison 4.5/5 *
PG - 6’0 SO Tom Powell 4/4.5 *
SG - 6’1 SO Ryan Gardner 2/2 *
SG - 6’0 SO Michael Kelly 3.5/5 *
SG - 6’1 SR Elton Trombloy 3.5/3.5 *
SF - 6’3 JR Clark Diamond 1.5/3 *
SF - 6’6 JR Brad Woollum 2/4 *
SF - 6’8 FR Lee Punt 2/2.5 *
PF - 6’8 SO Michael Higgins 1/4 * (Redshirt)
PF - 6’7 SR Mark Welch 3/4 *
PF - 6’8 SR Ken Holland 2.5/3.5 *
C - 7’1 JR Johnny McQuay 4.5/5 *
C - 6’8 SR Jim Lay 1.5/3
C - 6’10 SR Troy Small 3.5/3.5 *
C - 6’10 FR Andre Mason .5/3.5 *

Coach Otis’ Noles started the 2020 season 7-0 playing only one ranked team during that span. They then lost their next two games to top 5 ranked UCONN and Florida, by 20 and 4 points respectively. They won the next 5 after that and then lost an ACC road game to Louisville. That loss seemed to spark the Noles, only losing 2 of their remaining games leading them to a 25-5 (17-3) record and a #2 seed in the ACC Tournament, where they defeated the Undefeated #1 seed Syracuse Orange 64-57. Ironically, the Noles earned a 2 seed in the NCAA tournament in the Boston Region where the Orange are the 1 seed. Below is listed the starting 5 and their averages:

Marlon Morrison - 15.2 ppg, 4.5 apg, 3.2 rpg
Michael Kelly - 12.8 ppg, 1.7 apg, 3.8 ppg
Michael Welch - 15.1 ppg, 1.2 apg, 6.4 rpg
Ken Holland - 6.0 ppg, 1.1 apg, 4.3 rpg
Johnny McQuay - 5.8 ppg, 1.9 apg, 7.3 rpg

The Noles will open up the 2020 NCAA Tournament against the 15th seeded Montana Grizzlies from the Big Sky Conference. Montana finished up the year 18-14 (13-7). This is their first ranked opponent of the year. They are led by SG Stephen Hughes who averaged 12.5 ppg. Stay tuned for a report on this game...

[FSU_Nole15]

Noles Hot From Behind the Arc

Tampa Bay, Florida

The 2nd seeded Florida State Seminoles started off cold against the upset-minded 15th seed Grizzlies from Montana. The Seminoles found themselves down 16-7 after the second media timeout and Coach Otis let his team hear it. “I told them to wake up. I told them that all the work they put in throughout the season would mean nothing if we don’t wake up and perform the way we can.” After the timeout, the Seminoles went on an 11-1 run, taking an 18-17 lead before the Grizzlies coach called a timeout. Coach Otis then switched his team from a Man-to-Man defense to a 2-3 zone. “I felt like we were giving up too much in the lane. They did a great job beating our man off the dribble so I felt like we wanted to clog the lane and force them to beat us from the outside”. This turned out to be a great decision as Florida State then went on a 14-0 run to go up 32-17. They never looked back after that. The Noles shot 50% from the field and 16-34 from three, a sizzling 47%. “We are a great three-point shooting team, and when we are hitting our shots, no one can beat us,” said coach Otis. It wasnt just an offensive display from Otis’ Noles, they also tallied 13 blocks to help them pull away from the Grizzlies for an 87-54 victory. The Noles were lead by Welch and Morrison who both tallied 19 points in 29 minutes. Center John McQuay had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Back up guard Tom Powell had to play more minutes than usual after Mike Kelly was in foul trouble the whole game. The Noles will play #7 seed Valparaiso who defeated #10 seed Creighton 75-65. Coach Otis spoke about Valpo, “We know they are a good defensive team. They have small, quick guards who like to jump into the passing lane and force many turnovers. We have to be smarter with the ball than we were today in the first half, we have to value our possessions.”


Final

#2 Florida State - 87
#15 Montana - 54

[FSU_Nole15]

McQuay and Noles Squeak by Valparaiso

Tampa Bay, Florida

It came down to the final seconds, but Johnny McQuay helped book the Seminoles’ place in the Sweet 16. This was a game that Florida State really had no business winning. Florida State found themselves down for 34 of the 40 minutes. Foul trouble was once again a crutch for the Noles, with SG Mike Kelly fouling out for the second game in a row. Valparaiso shot 17 free throws in the first half which helped them run out to a 41-39 half time lead. They continued their run and extended the lead to 10 in the first 5 minutes of the second half after five straight turnovers by the Noles. “Their 1-2-1-1 full-court press hurt us and it took us a while to get used to it” explained coach Otis. After some hot three-point shooting, the Seminoles’ saving grace, they found themselves down 54-51 at the under-8 media timeout. The game then went back and forth with Florida State’s defense making things difficult for the Crusaders. This stifling defense helped Florida State gain their first lead of the second half with:20 to go with a steal by McQuay and after he was fouled, hitting two free throws. McQuay followed up his two big free throws with a game-saving block on a dunk attempt giving Florida State a 64-60 win. Johnny McQuay had another double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Noles will now go on to face the #3 seed Wildcats of Kentucky in the Sweet 16. Elsewhere around the tournament, two number 1 seeds fall (Uconn and Gonzaga) while #1 overall seed Syracuse barely held on to defeat Minnesota. Below are the Sweet 16 matchups:


East Region (Boston)
#1 Syracuse vs #13 ETSU
#2 Florida State v #3 Kentucky

North Region (Columbus)
#1 Villanova v #5 Nevada
#2 Michigan State v #3 Ohio State

South Region (San Antonio)
#9 Miami v #4 Oklahoma State
#2 Kansas v #3 Xavier

West Region (Seattle)
#9 UNC v #5 Duke
#2 Florida v #11 VCU

[FSU_Nole15]

Seminoles feeling Elite!

Boston, MA

The Seminoles had the TD Garden crowd feeling like they were watching a Bruins game with their ice cold start from the field in the first half. The Seminoles started off the game 0-8 from the field, but the Wildcats of Kentucky were no better, fairing only 1-9. The high-powered Wildcat offense, in which every starter averaged over 10 ppg leading into the contest, eventually pushed their lead to a 34-23 score at half. The Seminoles didn’t help their cause, turning the ball over 16 times in the first half and allowing the Wildcats to have 9 offensive rebounds. Only one Seminole had multiple field goals in the first half, which was evident in their 23% field goal percentage in the first half. But the second half was a different story. The Noles started off hot, hitting their first four out of six shots. But for every Seminole run, it was countered by a Wildcat flurry. The Seminoles looked like they were going to end their season in Boston but then starting point guard Marlon Morrison hit a couple of big shots and the lead was down to 7 with 6 minutes left. The game was then back and forth with the Noles hitting a few more shots and they found themselves tied with the Cats with 1:50 seconds left at 61-61 when starting center John McQuay fouled out of the game. During their next possesion, Mark Welch hit a big three-pointer from the top of the key which gave the Seminoles their first lead of the game. Par for the course, the Wildcats went down and hit a three of their own, tying up the game at 64-64 with :50 seconds left. The Noles went for a 2 for 1 with a quick layup attempt by Mike Kelly but that was swatted away and Kentucky went down the other end with :40 and milked the clock. After a missed shot from the elbow with :10 left, coach Otis called a timeout. It was during this timeout that Coach Otis set up a play for his leader Morrison. Coming out of the timeout, Mike Kelly received the inbounds pass. Morrison ran from the baseline, used a pick that was set up by Johnny Welch, caught the pass and banked in a three-pointer. The pro-Kentucky crowd was stunned and the Florida State bench all came out to celebrate with their team thinking the game was over. However, the referees put back on 1 second, but it would not matter as the last second hail mary shot was way short and the Noles squeaked out with a 67-64 win. The Seminoles will now face the #1 seed Orange from Syracuse for a chance to reach the Final Four in Atlanta.


Elite 8 Matchups:

East Region
#1 Syracuse vs #2 Florida State

Midwest Region
#1 Villanova vs #2 Michigan State

South Region
#2 Kansas vs #4 Oklahoma State

West Region
#5 Duke vs #11 VCU

[FSU_Nole15]

[PointGuard]

Liking the dynasty story...keep it going!

Good luck in the tourney.

[FSU_Nole15]

Seminoles Season comes to an end

Boston, MA

The Seminoles great season came to an end in Boston yesterday at the hands of a 74-68 loss to Syracuse. The Seminoles started off hot, extending their lead to 24-13 in the first half, however, Syracuse’s stout defense came to life and they started hitting their shots and they went on an 11-0 run to tie the game. It was a back and forth affair in which the Noles led by 2 at HT, 34-32. The Noles started off the second half 2-9 from the field and the Orange took advantage and extended their lead to 69-62 with 2:00 to go. Coach Otis’ men then hit two three-pointers in a row and had the ball down one 69-68 with:30 left but Welch missed a three which would be the final shot they took all season. Seminoles fell 72-68.

Leaving the Seminoles will be Starting SF Mike Welch, Starting PF Ken Holland, backup SG Elton Trombley, and backup C Troy Small. Welch was second on the team in ppg averaging 15.2, Holland averaged 5.9, Trombley 4.5 and Small 3.4. The Noles have a great recruiting class coming in with 5* PF Vandarel Meyers leading the way. Also coming in are 4*’s center Dee Dang and small forward Tony Landry. The Noles still have one scholarship available so it is unknown if they will use it on a recruit or a possible transfer.

The title came down to Michigan State vs Duke in a battle of behemoths. The winner was …. Michigan State.

[FSU_Nole15]

2020-2021 Season (Year 2)


After a very successful year of making it to the Elite 8, I will lose some key contributors with not much depth to replace them. Returning are 2 Norton Award Watch members, point guard Marlin Morrison and center Johnny McQuay. Below is my starting 5, my new players, and my recruits who gave a verbal for next season. During the regular season, I will be updating this a few games at a time, I hope you enjoy!

Starting 5 with star rating and last years stats

PG - Marlin Morrison (Jr) 5* 15 ppg, 4.5 apg
SG - Mike Kelly (Sr) 4* 12.8 ppg, 4 rpg
SF - Clark Diamond (Sr) 2* Redshirted
PF - Vandarel Meyers (Fr) 4.5* Freshman
C - Johnny McQuay (Sr) 5* 6 ppg, 7 rpg

Current Freshman

PF - Vandarel Meyers 4.5*
C - Dee Dang 4*
SF - Tony Landry .5*

Next Years Recruiting Class

SG - Seth Thompson , National Rank: 6 Position Rank: 2
SG - Kareem Linton , National Rank: 13 Position Rank: 5
C - Nigel Sanders , National Rank: 58 Position Rank: 9
PG - Josh Barnes , National Rank: 75 Position Rank: 18
SF - LaSean Nelson, 4* Incoming Transfer

[FSU_Nole15]

Season Update

#18 Florida State Seminoles 3-1 (0-0)

W - UC Santa Barbara 73-51
W - Louisiana Tech 63-51
L - @ Seton Hall 79-76 (SHU shot 15/18 from three)
W - @ #10 Oregon 80-59

Starting 5 Update:

PG - Marlon Morrison (jr) 17.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 3.8 apg, 1.8 bpg
SG - Mike Kelly (sr) 15.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.3 spg
SF - Lee Punt (so) 7.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.5 apg
PF - Vandarel Meyers (fr) 12.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.0 apg
C - Johnny McQuay (sr) 4.3 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 3.8 apg, 3.0 bpg

Next 4 games:

vs Murray State
vs Arizona
@ #7 Florida
vs St. Bonaventure (tournament)

[jksander]

Keep up the good work! Me and Point Guard have been on these forums the longest, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'm probably the recruiting guru, that's the area of the game I most enjoy. Hard to believe my 14th anniversary on the forums is in a couple weeks lol! Life moves fast ...