CHOPPA1 wrote:Been playing this series for a long time, don't usually post on the board but I am thoroughly confused about a few things that seem to change with each iteration of the game, or things that just flat out defy logic and make the game unplayable. Was hoping someone would have some input on these two areas because I think I'm about finished with this game and future ones as well.
I will take the time to respond to your question although I would like to begin by saying just because you don't understand/like how the game does something does not make it unplayable. That's not a fair description to someone else who may be interested in the game and may think it has some major problem that makes it not work. Your post is also dripping with sarcasm and hyperbole - I'm hoping that is from being frustrated that you don't understand how the game is working and that you are do really want to enjoy the game and will take my explanation - straight from the guy who made the game - and it will provide you a more enjoyable experience with the game.
1. Scoring ability - So if Im not mistaken, this rating (in practice) is not actually rating their ability to score (which I think most people would associate with the term "scoring ability"), but instead is their willingness to shoot the ball? First of all, I'm no college hoops expert, but how does this make even the slightest bit of sense? If I have a guy that is 10/10 inside shooting, 10/10 outside shooting, but 1/10 "scoring", I would probably tell him to get over his stage fright and share his incredible shooting gift with the world, instead of "looking to make a pass" every single time because he just can't quite find the courage to get a shot up, and vice versa. In my current league, I play as Arizona and have an 8/10 scorer on my team, 1/10 inside shooting (like almost every guard/SF in this game, which is equally ridiculous), 9/10 outside shooting, who averages a whopping 24% shooting from the field, inside and out, has completely run our squad into the ground this season, but is far and away the "best" player on my team according to scouting with 4.5/5 stars overall. The game clearly values "scoring ability" in the overall rating but I run into this problem with nearly every team I run - that problem being that my "best" player is just a guy who is DETERMINED to shoot 20 times a game at a 20% clip, despite having absolutely no inside or outside game whatsoever. I mean, if all we do is go off of "willingness to shoot the ball" in determining who the best players in the league are, I personally might still have a shot at my once-forgotten hoop dreams if all I have to do is chuck 3's all day whether they go in or not, because above all, I am down. to. shoot. Just doesn't make much sense to me. Who the hell cares about how willing a guy is to shoot if hes absolutely terrible at...shooting the ball, he belongs on the bench, 9/10 scoring or not.
The scoring rating is the ability of a player to have scoring opportunities. A low rated player does not have "stage fright" - he just does not have the ability to create offense for himself. In other words if he's rated low then he is not an offensive threat for one of many reasons except being left with plenty of room to shoot the ball. A low scoring rating means he has little to no aggression on offense. He might be an excellent shooter. I myself was a pretty good shooter - by myself just putting up shot after shot in the gym. However that sadly didn't qualify me to play college basketball either because most everyone was bigger and faster and stronger so to even be able to get open let alone get a shot off at that level would have been a challenge since it was when I did get into a game even in HS. On the other side of the spectrum there are players who are high in scoring rating because they don't have any problem getting shots off. Whether those shots are "good shots" or go in the basket is a different story. The kids who dominate high school basketball usually do so because they are taller, stronger and more aggressive than their weaker counterparts - they rack up points either through sheer volume of attempts or by playing largely against competition that has no business being on the same floor. Scouts don't rate that kid as a two star player - he scores 25 points a game he must be a four star player! Most everyone else rates the kid the same way - they're shocked when he comes to college and all of a sudden what worked at one level doesn't translate but they don't reevaluate in most cases - they say there must be something wrong with the coach or he's not focused on college ball and is looking to the pros or whatever.
I pulled up a random league from CB20 and I looked at Arizona. Not one kid who averages more than 14 MPG in this sim is shooting anywhere close to 24%. The lowest is 42 and 43% - I went to ESPN to look at Arizona in real life. They have three (four if you count Doutrive) players with more than 14 MPG shooting 40-43% and one of them is their second leading scorer Mannion who was a 5 star recruit and ranked #9 in his recruiting class. Next I went to NBADraft.net and looked at their 2020 Mock - guess who is #6? Mannion. He was and continues to be extremely highly rated yet seems to be very inefficient as a scorer.
I happen to have chosen VA Commonwealth in this sim as the team I was in charge of. You say almost every G/SF in the game is a 1/10 inside shooting. Out of the 10 PG/SG/SF on this roster 3 are 1/10, 3 are 2/10, 3 are 3/10 and 1 is 4/10. Any other team I look at that I have scouted in the game has a similar distribution of ratings. There is no place I can find "almost every guard/SF" rated 1/10 for FGI.
You also say that if the kid is shooting 24% that no matter what his scoring rating he belongs on the bench.....well, BINGO! You are the coach so put him on the bench. That's what the entire purpose of the game is. You're working with the information you "think" about a player and you see the cold, hard facts...the results. It's your choice whether or not you continue to go with what the world thinks about the kid or what you are seeing in the results. Look at Arizona - they have a top 10 recruit who is supposed to be a high NBA lottery pick and they're a whopping 16-7 with ONE ranked win (#20 Colorado). Maybe they would be worse without Mannion just like you might be worse sitting your alleged superstar but maybe not. Maybe they would have been better off with a lower rated recruit who actually turns out to be a better player. You seem to want the game to say "Johnny is rated #1 so he's the best player" and have nothing else matter but the game is nowhere near that cut and dry.
2. The inside shooting thing - Every time I start a league, why does half of my squad have a 1/10 rating on inside shots? I play as (supposedly) good teams, so why are they all F- on layups? I find that very hard to believe. I haven't checked the numbers, but getting blocked 10+ times a game seems like a regular occurrence, as we just continue to pound the ball inside, but in reality we have about a 50% success rate on breakaway layups. Are my players THAT bad? I, in real life, never having played at the collegiate level, appear to be MUCH better than every one of my G/Fs when it comes to shooting within 3 feet of the basket. That's a game ruiner. I've played with all the settings I can think of, etc. so if anyone else has ever had this problem please share what worked for you. Also, a 1/10 inside shooting rating with a 5/10 potential in that same rating or something, what's up with that? "True, the guy airballs layups now but if he really works hard, I bet in a couple years if he really works hard I can see him hitting one every once in a while"...how does that work? And going back to the scoring thing, if a guy has 3 scoring ability now but 10 potential is that like a "man, this guy is absolutely HORRIFIED by the thought of hoisting a jumper against U-Green Bay, but I bet in a few years he will be chucking 30 3-pters with his eyes closed in the natty against duke... i just hope he makes one"?
Again, half of your squad does not have a 1/10 on inside shooting. I just troubleshot a CB19 league file and they were using MSU. I pulled it up and they have 4 1/10s out of 15 players. You are also taking this rating FAR to literally (no they are not F- on making a layup) First of all the inside scoring rating takes into account all scoring "inside" aka the paint. You made a number of references to layups - this has nothing to do with making a layup. Every kid at the college level can make a layup at least most of the time. The inside scoring rating is a formula that takes into account their shooting percentage from inside the paint as well as their desire to shoot inside. So when you see a PG with a 1/10 it doesn't mean that he can't make a layup to save his life - it means that he's not going to be an inside scoring threat. He's not going to be a guard that is trying to post up. If he does end up in the paint with the ball unless its a clean layup he's probably not going to score. Short guys who get into the paint often are going to lose FG% points on a shot when challenged by a much taller player - it's suddenly a much more difficult shot. This is why those other ratings are important (and why the game is complex - there's not just one rating you can look at and have an answer). Look at the kid's play style tendencies. Is there anything for post? If not he's going to be a 1 or 2 out of 10 most likely because he's not an inside scorer. A 5/10 potential means he might develop into a better scorer inside. He might learn how to drive better and get to the rim for more layups. He might develop a nice floater when he gets into the paint. This is literally ZERO to do with the ability to make a shot 3 feet from the basket.
The game is a very deep game and I or some of the other vets around here are always happy to answer questions. I can promise you though that if you look at things as they are intended they will make much more sense and provide a more enjoyable experience for you.