February 1 - NC-Wilmington Seahawks(8-11, 5-5) @ South Philly Blazers(11-8, 6-4)
A game with only 4 turnovers, Blazers is really doing good out there tonight. The amount of possession means that the team can afford to miss more and they really took too many 3 pointers from what I see. That aside, the defensive and offensive of Blazers is just better. One standout is Lawrence Baxter. Coming off the bench, he scored 20 points out of nowhere.
Result: Seahawks 78 Blazers 89
February 4 - South Philly Blazers(12-8, 7-4) @ Old Dominion Kings(11-9, 8-3)
I am not sure if shooting more three than inside shots is a good idea. Blazers just doesn't get things going all game long and the result is there to prove that. The opponent's starters don't score as much but their subs sure kill it from off the bench. I guess a deeper bench is the factor here.
Result: Blazers 54 Kings 66
I change a bit of the training to focus also on the passing a little bit.
February 8 - NE Boston Snow Dogs(5-16, 3-9) @ South Philly Blazers(12-9, 7-5)
Blazers continues to hit the fast break like a boss and the best thing tonight is there's only 3 turnovers. While both team has the same amount of field goals made(same amount of 3PT too), foul trouble from Snow Dogs and Blazers hitting the shots from the charity stripe means that the win is on my team. Eddie Tucker seems to be good on the starting spot now, scoring 21 points and also 8 rebounds in this one.
Result: Snow Dogs 71 Blazers 87
February 11 - South Philly Blazers(13-9, 8-5) @ Towson Lions(9-13, 4-9)
Lions has the better offensive game and it's a rare game that I see Blazers struggle in fast break. Lions shoot better and with everything else almost equal, that's enough to win. Lions' starters are doing decent work while Blazers only has Ricardo Ross that really put on a decent performance. Others are just meh at best.
Result: Blazers 70 Towson 89
Same training regime, gotta need more than one match to see training's effect.
February 15 - South Philly Blazers(13-10, 8-6) @ Hempstead Lions(9-14, 4-10)
Blazers has better rebounding performance and shot selection. That and some nice fast breaks over the course helps to secure the road victory. All the starters put on some nice moves out there so it's definitely a team win.
Result: Blazers 74 Lions 65
February 18 - Delaware Roosters(11-13, 7-8) @ South Philly Blazers(14-10, 9-6)
Losing by the last second is just heartbreaking. The game is back and forth and everything seems to be real close. Same fouls, same offensive rebounds, same assists, same fast break points, it's just so identical that it is 74-74 by the end but the the opponent's PG, Jeff Capel confirmed his status as the team's hero of the day with a three point buzzer beater that stabs into the depth of Blazers' heart.
Result: Roosters 77 Blazers 74
I have adjusted the training a little bit, the passing isn't a focal point anymore. I revert it back to the previous version with more training on shot creation.
February 19 - Cleveland St. Raiders(12-13) @ South Philly Blazers(14-11) [Bracket Breaker Sunday]
I am worried about the conditioning as the players pretty much get no rest after yesterday's game. The players really aren't doing a good job out there and even by having 8 less turnovers than the opponents, they just can't put the ball into the right place. Sure, the team loses in rebound but we have 8 extra field goal attempts to do something with. Our outside players just don't shoot like they could and only the PF and C are scoring efficiently. Todd Crowley broke his toe in this game so he will miss the next two games, bad news for the team as we really need him to get the 15th win.
Result: Raiders 81 Blazers 70
February 22 - South Philly Blazers(14-12, 9-7) @ #25 George Mason Americans(19-7, 14-2)
When you are searching for a win, you just have to push through it even against a team as good as Americans. and the team sure did that by securing the first half with a score of 31-30. However, Americans come back hard in the second half and just dropping the shots from everywhere and put on some nice defense for the visitor. A mere .333(19/57) just isn't something you want when you want a win. Luke Hawkins played 40 min straight and it is just too tiring. He provides 7 assists on the field but his 0/6 shooting and 4 turnovers are bad. I am not in the position to question the head coach but I feel he could have rotate some fresher players in.
Result: Blazers 53 Americans 66
February 25 - VA Commonwealth Goats(16-12, 10-7) @ South Philly Blazers(14-13, 9-8)
This is the final match and we really need that 15th win and with the team at home, we have the advantage. The head coach looks stress throughout the match but the players sure calm him down by putting one heck of a performance on the court. While Goats has the better shooting and they are knocking down some nice threes, their foul trouble(21 fouls) and Blazers' consistency on the line(30/33) put this match out of reach for Goats. Goats is amazing with their blocking though(6 blocks) but they just foul a bit too much when doing it. On Blazers' side, Todd Crowley and Ricardo Ross really needs to refine their shot selection. Overall, A good game to end the series and the team celebrates the victory at night in some fancy restaurant.
Result: Goats 69 Blazers 79
George Mason Americans, 16-2(.889), 21-7(.750), RPI Rank: 18, Rank: 23
Old Dominion Kings, 13-5(.722), 17-11(.607), RPI Rank: 82
Georgia St. Jaguars, 13-5(.722), 17-11(.607), RPI Rank: 59
Harrisonburg Noblemen, 11-7(.611), 18-10(.643), RPI Rank: 66
South Philly Blazers, 10-8(.556), 15-13(.536), RPI Rank: 143
VA Commonwealth Goats, 10-8(.556), 16-13(.552), RPI Rank: 100
Delaware Roosters, 9-9(.500), 13-14(.481)
NC-Wilmington Seahawks, 7-11(.389), 10-17(.370), RPI Rank: 310
Towson Lions, 6-12(.333), 11-16(.407), RPI Rank: 270
Hempstead Lions, 5-13(.278), 10-17(.370), RPI Rank: 318
NE Boston Snow Dogs, 4-14(.222), 6-21(.222), RPI Rank: 337
Williamsburg Braves, 4-14(.222), 8-19(.296), RPI Rank: 308
While I would like to remain optimistic, I don't think the team as it current state has a good shot at the conference tournament. I would be happy to just advance as far as possible. The school really needs to be more realistic with the goals or it's just unnecessary pressure on the coaching team.
I compared to stat of the conference fine-tune the training plan. Blazers is very good in points(#1), assists(#2), rebounds(#3, what a surprise), FT%(#3), turnovers(#1) but bad in 3PT%(#12, worst) and steals(#9). For opponent performance, good in preventing steals(#1) but below average in everything else, especially rate of being blocked is the worst of the conference at #12. I am not sure if I should focus more on defense or just try to make them shoot better, especially at three-point range.