Michigan St. 0-1

In the first game of the regular season, we lose in OT when our star player fouls out.

unranked

posted a day late

Michigan St. 1-2

We beat down on Moorehead State, who is starting off the year poorly.

Michigan St. 1-2
And we get demolished 2nd ranked Mississippi. I think Hoffman isn't handling his scoring duties very well. He's also averaging more than 4 fouls per game.

the Spartans are 2-3 right now...lost to Idaho...it's not one of the good years, we'll see how it pans out.

So it's been a pretty frustrating year as the team progressed.  The team has shifted from a Press to a Man-to-Man, due to the difficulty of running the press with the new engine.  If they win tonight, they will be a 15 or 16 seed in the NT.  If they lose, they will be on the bubble for the PIT.

Posted by colorblind79 on 5/19/2010 6:37:00 AM (view original):
The preseason #17 Michigan State Spartans, beginning of Season 44:

Name	Yr.	Pos.	A	SPD	REB	DE	BLK	LP	PE	BH	P	WE	ST	DU	FT	TOT
Mark Escudero	Jr.	PG	77	72	29	56	20	18	45	84	87	74	71	58	B-	691
Matthew Etheridge	So.	PG	81	96	3	97	3	1	71	98	99	68	79	68	A+	764
Tony Olivo	Fr.	PG	52	74	21	94	5	19	49	85	92	56	71	44	B-	662
Eugene Hoffman	Sr.	SG	93	99	41	98	18	29	98	99	99	60	91	71	C+	896
Matthew Couey	Fr.	SG	56	85	16	70	2	19	68	73	82	51	83	24	C+	629
William Burke	Fr.	SF	75	70	70	93	42	70	80	60	47	41	55	43	B+	746
Howard Henry	Sr.	PF	65	60	90	82	92	89	64	25	44	38	87	67	D+	803
Jeffrey Huff	Fr.	PF	55	56	75	94	53	72	50	10	32	53	68	46	D+	664
Tim Woods	Fr.	PF	64	49	66	52	64	64	28	18	11	75	66	27	C	584
Michael Yarmitsky	Jr.	C	51	50	90	75	80	89	1	1	40	66	61	27	D+	631
William Jameson	Jr.	C	80	59	99	99	100	91	1	23	22	76	74	47	B	771
Robert Allen	Fr.	SF	27	37	33	59	17	23	32	33	24	79	58	35	C-	457
Averages	-	-	65	67	53	81	41	49	49	51	57	61	72	46	-	692

Michigan St. (17-13, 9-7)
Seriously?!?  Wow!  Talk about snatching victory from the jaws of mediocrity.  This team managed to win the CT in the worst year in at least four or five seasons, maybe considerably more.  I am shocked.  That is four CT Championships in a row!

And a very reasonable draw and potential 2nd round matchup for your 14 seed team!  Congrats on the Big Ten crown.

Michigan St. (18-13, 9-7)
Unbelievable!

Michigan St. (19-13, 9-7)
Somewhat more believable, but still great!  Sweet Sixteen!

From:  Corey Napier    To:  Coach colorblind79    Subject:  And then, there were 16!    Sent:       06/30/2010 5:02AM

Coach, congratulations! I guess we showed the WCAA selection committee we deserved a higher seed. Best of luck in the, dare I say, Sweet 16!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Corey Napier Athletic Director Michigan State University

Michigan St. (20-13, 9-7)
Another upset, won in overtime.  This year's version of the Spartans have reached the same heights as two of the versions that were good enough to win the title (but didn't).  I am absolutely shocked.  Elite 8!  We're up against the 1 seed next so the party is almost definitely over (so far, we've beaten a 3, an 11, and a 7).

From:  Corey Napier    To:  Coach colorblind79    Subject:  Holy crap - Elite 8, here we come!    Sent:       07/01/2010 5:05AM

Coach, you know I'm on heart medication and you're not helping me any - just my luck, you'll win 3 more games and the National Championship, but I'll be dead. Corey Napier Athletic Director Michigan State University

Michigan St. (20-14, 9-7)
We put up a fight for a while.  These NT wins were gravy.  Just making the NT this year was enormous.

From:  Corey Napier    To:  Coach colorblind79    Subject:  Still a great season...    Sent:       07/02/2010 5:01AM

Coach, that was a tough matchup for us. The guys did the best they could. We still had a great season, only 8 teams made it this far. Corey Napier Athletic Director Michigan State University

Posted by colorblind79 on 12/17/2009 10:23:00 PM (view original):

Eugene Hoffman
SG|6'2"|185 lbs.|3.4 GPA
Marietta HS|Marietta, OH

SG

730

Athleticism 63 Speed 80 Rebounding 32 Defense 89 Shot Blocking 6 Low-post 30 Perimeter 88 Ball Handling 88 Passing 89 Work Ethic 37 Stamina 76 Durability 52 Previous Season Stats GP MPG PPG RPG FG% FG3% FT% APG SPG BPG 28 24 15.7 1.8 44.0 35.5 70.3 4.8 0.1 1.9 Current Rating Potential Current Rating Potential Athleticism 63 High Perimeter 88 Average Speed 80 Average Ball Handling 88 Average Rebounding 32 Average Passing 89 Average Defense 89 Average Stamina 76 High Shot Blocking 6 Average Durability 52 Average Low-post 30 Average FT Shooting Low

#1 SG, #9 overall, *****; promised 10 minutes. The prize of the class - a well rounded player in a position of need, who is already polished but also has room to grow. About as close to a surefire NBA player as they come.

Hoffman developed well and finally came into his own as a scorer in the new engine.  I think the old one de-emphasized SGs to some degree.  Hoffman did take a few years to become good but he was unquestionably the team's star this year.  If not for him, there is no way the team gets hot and wins 10 games in a row to finish the season and reach the Elite 8.

 

Yr.	GP	GS	MIN	FG%	FG3%	FT%	OREB	REB	AST	TO	STL	BLK	PF	PTS
44	34	34	33.6	.428	.406	.707	1.4	3.7	2.4	2.2	1.2	0.1	2.4	17.0
43	34	34	20.6	.437	.377	.591	0.7	2.6	2.4	1.4	1.2	0.0	1.5	8.8
42	33	33	20.9	.381	.295	.773	0.6	2.5	2.1	1.6	1.1	0.1	1.6	7.7
41	32	32	19.6	.394	.339	.545	0.5	1.7	1.9	1.5	0.9	0.0	2.0	6.4
Averages				.416	.368	.665	0.8	2.6	2.2	1.7	1.1	0.0	1.9	10.1

Yr.	GP	GS	MIN	FGM	FGA	FG3M	FG3A	FTM	FTA	OFF	REB	AST	TO	STL	BLK	PF	PTS
44	34	34	1144	207	484	106	261	58	82	46	125	83	76	41	2	81	578
43	34	34	702	107	245	46	122	39	66	23	87	80	49	42	1	50	299
42	33	33	690	82	215	33	112	58	75	19	82	69	54	35	2	54	255
41	32	32	628	69	175	37	109	30	55	15	55	61	48	28	1	64	205
Totals	133	133	3164	465	1119	222	604	185	278	103	349	293	227	146	6	249	1337

Conference Awards
3rd Team All-Conference once

---
Team Records:

13th in minutes, 10th in scoring, 10th in steals

[edit:]

24.

Miami Heat

Eugene Hoffman 6'2", 185 SG - Michigan State University / Senior

A surprisingly low spot for his skill level but that probably had to do with the team's overall success last season (though you can't argue with an Elite 8).  He was the 5th SG picked.  The Heat got a steal.

Posted by colorblind79 on 12/19/2009 2:32:00 AM (view original):

Howard Henry
PF|6'7"|207 lbs.|3.1 GPA
Marist HS|Chicago, IL

PF

674

Athleticism 54 Speed 53 Rebounding 77 Defense 63 Shot Blocking 80 Low-post 80 Perimeter 46 Ball Handling 28 Passing 39 Work Ethic 29 Stamina 74 Durability 51 Previous Season Stats GP MPG PPG RPG FG% FG3% FT% APG SPG BPG 28 22 20.5 7.0 66.1 27.5 60.2 1.5 0.1 2.2 Current Rating Potential Current Rating Potential Athleticism 54 Average Perimeter 46 High Speed 53 Average Ball Handling 28 Low Rebounding 77 High Passing 39 Average Defense 63 High Stamina 74 High Shot Blocking 80 Average Durability 51 High Low-post 80 Average FT Shooting Average #31 PF, #95 overall, ****; guaranteed 10 minutes. Michigan State beat out Iowa, Minnesota, and (Sim-controlled) Army for the services of Henry. His success ultimately will depend on how high the ceiling is for him on defense. If it tops out in the 90s, he'll probably be the starting center by the time he's gone. If not, he'll probably be a reserve for his entire career, though that does also depend on the rest of the talent on the roster. The high potential in perimeter makes him a very interesting player.

Henry developed okay...he was pretty interesting, really but never became anything spectacular.  His three-point shooting was pretty good as a senior, especially for a PF:

Yr.	GP	GS	MIN	FGM	FGA	FG3M	FG3A	FTM	FTA	OFF	REB	AST	TO	STL	BLK	PF	PTS
44	34	34	847	103	235	15	45	39	62	66	169	25	44	16	26	89	260
43	34	0	669	55	122	0	0	19	30	54	152	19	19	36	25	40	129
42	33	0	495	28	69	0	0	19	31	30	96	10	27	21	16	39	75
41	32	0	481	40	101	0	0	14	28	37	106	6	36	13	25	43	94
Totals	133	34	2492	226	527	15	45	91	151	187	523	60	126	86	92	211	558

No awards, 15th in blocks.