The Quarantine Dynasty: The Career of Fatty McFat

[KC15]

Well, it seems there is some good news. As bad as my team is, it seems half the Atlantic Sun is god awful as well. We pull out 5 wins in our first 6 conference games, then lost 4 of 5 before rebounding for 2 more wins. We move into February at 13-7. Georgia St continues to be the class of the conference.

We continue to be up and down through the rest of the regular season, beating a solid Belmont team and getting swept by a bad Troy team. We finish the season at 17-10, 12-8 in conference, which makes us the 4 seed in the conference tournament.

[KC15]

Upset alert! Georgia St falls to 8 seed Central Florida in the first round of the conference tourney. We squeak by Mercer, 67-62, to set up a matchup against UCF.

Led by 18 from Randle and 14 from Blair, we ease past UCF. We’re now a win away from going dancing. If we can somehow knock off 25-4 Jacksonville, it would by far surpass expectations. Maybe my stingy AD will actually give me a budget that isn’t a complete joke.

[KC15]

GOING DANCING!!! 20-10 and in the tourney in only my second year! Fluke? Hell, yeah, but I don’t care!

We’re in the play-in game against Grambling. Winner plays top seeded Arizona.
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And the season is over. We lose, 64-51. Grambling goes on to lose 101-62 to Arizona, who then gets beat by 8 seed USC by 18, who then loses to 13 seed Iona by 15, who then loses to 2 seed Illinois by 26. I got nothing. Michigan St wins it all.

Blair makes first team All-Atlantic Sun, Randle makes second team.

[KC15]

I’m offered a five-year extension. I accept. If only I could bargain for a better budget.

I sign Simmons, Kinsey, and Spencer. I expect Simmons to contribute. Not sure on the other two.

The Atlantic 10 offers the chance to replace Richmond. I turn them down. We’re not ready.

Summer recruiting.....I go into Georgia for 3 star SG Tierney Sandoval and Mississippi for 3 star C Chris McCray. I stay in NC for 3 star SG Julian Soto and 3 star PF Derek Haley.

[KC15]

McCray, Soto, and Haley are in. Gotta get rid of a couple of the old scrubs to bring in these new stars.

No, wait, they’re scrubs as well. McCray is a huge pickup, as he walks into the starting lineup as a 61. Fellow freshman Simmons and Soto make the starting five as well.

C McCray, fr, 61, 6’11, 235
PF Randle, so, 56, 6’10, 212
SF Simmons, fr, 56, 6’8, 211
SG Soto, fr, 6’5, 205
PG #11, sr, 76, 5’10, 160
Bench
SG #1, sr, 59, 6’7, 225
PG #10, jr, 57, 6’2, 180
SF Blair, so, 55, 6’8, 221
PF Haley, fr, 54, 6’8, 206
SF Vilma, fr, 50, 6’6, 223
C Kinsey, fr, 47, 7’0, 254 - redshirt
PF Spencer, 47, 6’10, 208 - redshirt

Uh, oh. PG #11, by far our best player, is a senior. We haven’t been able to recruit anything close to his level. McCray is our highest ranked recruit so far (61 rating, 390th in the country. Our recruiting class is ranked comparatively to Mount St Mary’s, Hofstra, Rider, and Texas St. Ouch.

[KC15]

My team discipline is still terrible (ranked a D from A-E), so I put half my points there. Recruiting budget goes up to 157.

I get my first interest from 4 star recruits. Anthony Raines is a PG from La Grange, GA and Tim Simmons is a C from Sawmills, NC. Raines is also getting interest from Georgia State, and UNC Wilmington. Simmons is considering the Citadel and Boston College. I’d be thrilled to get either one. I go all in recruiting them. As a back up plan, I go after Jason Garner, a 3 star 7’0 center from Covington, TN.

[KC15]

We haven’t even played any games yet and Velma is already a pain in my ass. He was caught cheating on an exam with a cell phone. I suspend him for five games.

My team prestige has moved up to 2. A long way to go.

I start off year 3 with a win over Pacific. I’m still in the running for both Raines and Simmons

SG#1 gets into a fight. I suspend him for 5 games.

I lose heartbreakers to Tulsa and James Madison (5 points combined) before beating Idaho St.

Simmons commits! My first 4 star recruit. I expect him to immediately become my best player.

[KC15]

December flies by, as I have no recruiting budget left and only three games this month. PG #11 is whining about his teammates. I suspend him three games for being annoying. Raines commits. I think he was sold on being able to play right away. Soto gets into an altercation at a club. He gets three games. My discipline points are starting to run low.

We sneak by Rice before getting crushed by New Mexico and Nebraska. We’re 3-4 going to conference play.

[KC15]

Man, January is crazy. Two-three games every week. Harley breaks a team rule, but I have no idea what it was. He’ll sit a game. Stupid Soto is faking paperwork to get out of study hall. Second suspension as a freshman. He gets three games. Vilma is in trouble again. I don’t even care why. I make up my mind to cut him at the end of the season.

I am making some waves in the Atlantic Sun. I breeze through January, pulling out wins against Belmont, Florida Atlantic, and Troy and twice each against Stetson, Lipscomb, Jacksonville and Gardner Webb. I slip up and lose to Mercer and split with top ranked Georgia St.

[KC15]

Randle, my starting PF, walks out of practice. Can’t have that. I sit him two games. I’m out of discipline points. Good thing there’s only a month left. NCAA interest is almost half full.

McCray is complaining about teammates. I can’t do anything. Good news is I win out. I’m starting to think about pulling out of the Atlantic Sun. I’m 21-6, 18-2 in conference play, and go into the conference tourney as the 2 seed.