I need help coaching a sorry squad...

[dsdeckard1104]

I decided to give myself a challenge and took up a job at Merrimack. In CB24 they are ranked 352 when you first start.
Basically, NONE of them can score and NONE of them can defend. What they do have is some athleticism.

Because they are decent athletically and because I sensed we'd need to slow games way... wayyyy down, I started them on a 2-2-1 press just to keep possessions low and maybe eat some of the opposing teams shot clock. This worked pretty well in our first game against Univ. of California as we actually managed a second half lead for a few minutes despite being completely outmatch. I also have them swap into a 1-2-2 zone as it defends the perimeter well and as my team would get hosed by a High School team if we tried to defend 1-on-1.

Offense is also a complete nightmare. They all came in with a knowledge of flex and shuffle offenses. Basically the 2 worst offenses for my squad. They don't pass well at all so we're not running flex, and although I actually do like shuffle in some cases, you have to recruit for it/ we don't have inside scoring guards. So I've been trying to bring up their motion as it allows for some offensive rebounding and a mix of inside/ outside shooting (we have a few good outside shooters).

So, basically I'm curious - have any of you guys tried starting out with a team this far down food chain and if so, what did you try?

[SteveVictory]

I am currently playing with Stonehill College. They were "0" prestige at the start. I am in year two.

Somehow I ended up 20-12 in the first season, making the CIT. Not sure what levers I pulled to make it all happen, though

I tried to take advantage of what my guys knew already, which was Five out, High Post and Flex. Mostly man-to-man on defense. All my guys liked the three, so we played outside in. Thankfully, we hit enough to win games. I put the tempo on full blast, and 12-13 guys played every game.

I think the game injects some life into Stonehill at the start because in a previous sim, when I was playing as a different team, they made in the NCAAs in year one...

My ultimate aim is to build a team that goes fast, uses motion offense, lives on the boards and plays inside out. We'll see if all my tinkering to make that happen turns out worse than just leaving things alone ...

To answer your question, I think your players will play better when they are in systems that they know. If you have a young team for starters you may have to take some lumps in the early years to get them up to speed. Find guys in the portal after year one who know your system ... One of the drawbacks of CB2024 is that few high school players, at least the ones that I have signed, have much knowledge of any kind of set...