Official USA South Conference Thread Topic

Vickie Dee's Preseason Predictions

That Division -- 1. Greensboro (duh), 2. Chowan, 3. Averett, 4. Methodist, 5. Ferrum, 6. Christopher Newport

That Other Division -- 1. LaGrange, 2. Piedmont, 3. Palm Beach Atlantic, 4. Shenandoah, 5. Oglethorpe, 6. North Carolina Wesleyan
3/9/2011 9:41 AM
I must say that I was surprised when I got the call from Christopher Newport to come here and be their next Men’s Basketball head coach. After mulling it over for 24 hours I decided to accept. With the strength of the returning coaches and the prowess of the new ones entering the league I decided to accept the offer to become the 13th (including SIM AI) head coach in Christopher Newport’s 55 year history.
Upon arriving at campus it was easy to see why this program is ranked 371 out of 384 teams in terms of wins and 373 out of 384 in terms of winning percentage. The facilities, well I have seen better at some High Schools I have been to. And the current players… well lets not get into that. So to say this is going to be a challenge is a drastic understatement, but that was actually part of the appeal of this job.
My first week was a whirlwind to say the least. With the makeup of this team containing 1 Sr. 2 Jr’s and 8 So’s, it leaves 1 open spot to fill during recruiting. After some evaluating I determined my first course of action was to cut 2 of the weaker So’s from the team. 8 So’s is way to many and in an attempt to balance class size and begin to bring in players that better fit my system some casualties were to be expected. So this leaves me with 6 So’s and 3 spots to fill on 1 scholarship’s worth of money.
Armed with just over 1 Scholarship worth of money to play with for 3 positions I fully expected and was willing to accept the prospect of taking on 1 if not 2 walk-ons. Upon hitting the recruiting trail I scouted several states within 300 miles only to find that the talent was seriously lacking.
After making dozens of calls to DII prospects and their coaches, and getting little positive feedback I knew this was going to be a wait and see type of year. Then I found a Sr transfer that was willing to talk to me. He had good numbers and would give me another open scholarship to recruit with next season so I went after him. I offered a start which he accepted but he did not want to accept the guaranteed minutes I was offering. He was considering me then another school jumped in on him and I was done. I spent $1740 on him only to have to walk away empty handed. That was a rough blow.
I still had several backup targets that I was waiting on to drop so patience became my ally. As players began to fall to me I began to go to work. I was not overjoyed with any of them but here’s to hoping they will at least be better than what I have currently.
 
 
Recruit #1
Melvin Compton (dropdown)
PF | 6'7" | 225 lbs. | 3.2 GPA
Freedom HS | Morganton, NC
PF-416
 
Athleticism
25
High  
Speed
24
Low  
Rebounding
50
Average  
Defense
16
Average  
Shot Blocking
39
High  
Low-post
48
Average  
Perimeter
1
Low
Ball Handling
30
High
Passing
44
Average
Work Ethic
39
 
Stamina
59
Average
Durability
41
Low
FT Shooting
65.4
Average
 
Recruit History
3/6/2011 scholarship offer $100 
3/6/2011 home visit $435 
3/4/2011 call current coach $10 
3/4/2011 phone call $10 
Total $555 
Melvin is a player that will be an average scorer at best. He will be very good with the ball in his hands for a big man. He will be able to distribute from the low post and will not be a liability against FCP teams. His defense is lacking as is his stamina so his court time will be limited throughout his career. He may never become a starter but he will be a solid backup. And for a cost of $555 he fills a roll.
 
 
Recruit #2
Paul Wright (dropdown)
SF | 6'6" | 213 lbs. | 2.1 GPA
Bridgeport HS | Bridgeport, WV
SF-435
 
Athleticism
23
Average  
Speed
25
High  
Rebounding
43
Low  
Defense
10
High  
Shot Blocking
31
Low  
Low-post
44
High  
Perimeter
28
Low
Ball Handling
28
Low
Passing
14
Average
Work Ethic
48
 
Stamina
66
High
Durability
75
Low
FT Shooting
73.9
Low
 
Recruit History
3/6/2011 scholarship offer $100 
3/6/2011 home visit $426 
3/6/2011 phone call $10 
Total $536 
 
Paul is a tough player to judge. He has high speed and LP which should allow him to be able to slash to the basket and score on a consistent basis. He has decent Reb skills but no upside. I wish his BH was better as well as his pass. He will never make the All-Conference teams but he has potential to become a solid contributor.
 
Recruit #3
Justin McKowen (dropdown)
SG | 6'1" | 197 lbs. | 3.5 GPA
Midland Trail HS | Hico, WV
SG-406
 
Athleticism
18
Average  
Speed
56
Average  
Rebounding
1
Low  
Defense
16
Average  
Shot Blocking
1
Low  
Low-post
13
High  
Perimeter
36
High
Ball Handling
44
Average
Passing
37
Average
Work Ethic
69
 
Stamina
67
Average
Durability
48
High
FT Shooting
65.4
Average
 
Recruit History
3/8/2011 guaranteed starting spot $10
3/8/2011 declined guaranteed minutes - (15) $10
3/8/2011 pending scholarship offer $100
3/8/2011 phone call $10
Total $130
 
Justin was a last minute attempt to add an outside presence to my team. His Per is High and with good worth ethic, combined with speed projected around 70 he could become a nice scorer for my team. I offered him a start and minutes which he declined mainly because I had no money left to recruit with, and they were my only options, and he ended up signing after all was said and done with recruiting last night.
 
Considering the money I had to work with I think I did fairly well. None of my recruits are going to become stars but they all fill a roll and if they grow properly in some key categories they can become consistent contributors. This is going to be a tough year for CNU, but I guarantee the needle is finally pointing north for this team.
3/9/2011 10:19 AM
Posted by helloflyers on 3/8/2011 10:12:00 PM (view original):
Does anyone think Evans for dahs will ever be a scorer? 
Evans gonna be a pretty nasty scorer by his JR/SR year. high - high in spd, lp, per and bh, thats nuts. So we are looking at something along the lines of 48 ath, at least 70 spd, lp and per both in the 60s (high-high lp and per grows extremely fast and generally have higher ceilings. I have seen guys gain 20 points in the shooting categories, and personally had players gain 38 lp in one year) with at least 50 (and probably 60+ bh). Scoring machine. 
3/9/2011 11:28 AM
pajama inc not planning on playing defense this year i guess
3/9/2011 12:22 PM
hey tiany...how many minutes of practice do you have to give him to go up 30points in a year....Ive been playing for like 65 seasons and haven't ever had that happen
3/9/2011 12:24 PM
Posted by helloflyers on 3/9/2011 12:24:00 PM (view original):
hey tiany...how many minutes of practice do you have to give him to go up 30points in a year....Ive been playing for like 65 seasons and haven't ever had that happen
I had 2 SRs gain almost 40pts in LP in their final season, when everything else is almost maxed out. They ranged from 22-35 min of practice. 

Here is one C, who gained 10pts in 9 games, 22min in LP:

http://whatifsports.com/hd/PlayerProfile/Ratings.aspx?tid=0&pid=1755202
3/9/2011 12:59 PM
That's 11 games - you forgot about the preseason matchups.
3/9/2011 1:27 PM
Still a pretty impressive growth rate, though...
3/9/2011 1:27 PM
Randall Holt on my Rochester team has grown 17 points in LP this season with 11 minutes of practice.  I have another guy who's grown 26 with 20 minutes as well.  In the past I had a guy go close to 40, but he had 25 minutes at the beginning of the season and 40+ by the end.
3/9/2011 1:29 PM
Defense, we don't need no stinking defense. Heck we aren't going to be able to score on offense either. This team is a mess, I might have to look at scheduling games against the 10 worst teams in DIII then maybe I will achieve a .500 NC record. Like I said this is going to be an extremly rought year for CNU.
3/9/2011 1:44 PM
Posted by dahsdebater on 3/9/2011 1:29:00 PM (view original):
Randall Holt on my Rochester team has grown 17 points in LP this season with 11 minutes of practice.  I have another guy who's grown 26 with 20 minutes as well.  In the past I had a guy go close to 40, but he had 25 minutes at the beginning of the season and 40+ by the end.
good point about the 11 games for my mcmurry team, overlooked that. I had a SG on the same team go from single digits in LP to 60 in his JR and SR season, since he was pretty much near maxed out everywhere else. This is one of the reasons I stopped recruiting players with high lp/per and focused on other categories. As long as the player is high-high in lp/per, they will grow to the needed levels by their JR/SR year, when they are needed to take on more distro. 
3/9/2011 2:05 PM
Because we love to hate them...

Vickie Dee's Preseason ODAC predictions

Kinda-Sure Division -- 1. Bridgewater, 2. Emory & Henry, 3. East Mennonite, 4. Hampden-Sydney, 5. Lynchburg, 6. Guilford

Complete Toss-Up Division -- 1. Washington & Jefferson, 2. Roanoke, 3. Randolph-Macon, 4. Washington & Lee, 5. Bethany, 6 Virginia Wesleyan (I feel comfortable with the top two here, but could flip the order...No. 3-6 seriously could finish in any order. This'll be a fun race to watch from afar!)

[Edit: I compiled this before peeking at the Top 25 so as to not be influenced. I was feeling pretty good reading through the rankings until I came across Virginia Wesleyan at No. 36 -- yipes! No disrespect meant mike -- I've always run two sets of numbers to try and rank schools pre-season. Apparently neither are close to how WIS calculates its rankings pre-season. Consider this bulletin board material I guess and I'll be interested in seeing how it shakes out 27 games from now.]

3/9/2011 4:52 PM (edited)
Thanks for the love rednu, but I don't anticipate finishing that high with only 2 seniors and 1 junior.  In two years though, look out!
3/9/2011 6:44 PM
USA South Preseason Coaches' Awards Ballot

Please vote for your top 3 in each category.  You may not list any of your own players as #1 in any category.  Write- ins are acceptable.  4 points will be awarded for first place votes, 2 for second place, and 1 for third.  You may vote either using numbers of by emphasizing first place in bold, second in italics, and third place with underlining.

All-Conference Team:

Point Guard:

Jefferson Marriott - Sr., La Grange
Eric Natale - Jr., La Grange
Glenn Garlovsky
- Sr., Methodist
James Betty - Sr., Greensboro
Kevin Murphy
- Jr., Greensboro
Taylor Moore
- Jr., Greensboro
Arthur Twitchell
- Jr., Averett

Shooting Guard:
Michael Flowers - Jr., North Carolina Wesleyan
John Potter - Jr.,  Chowan
Lance Heath - Sr., Chowan
Brian Kelley - Sr., Averett
Samuel Delapaz - Jr., La Grange

Small Forward:
Mathew Lauver - Jr., Piedmont
Rafael Hobbs - So., Piedmont
Daniel Kepner
- Jr., Ferrum

Power Forward:
Edward Alejandre - Sr., Oglethorpe
Richard Hawkins - Sr., Wesleyan
Jon Robinson - Jr., Chowan
Jeffrey Caple - Sr., Chowan
Antoine Maurer - Sr., Averett
Paul Hobby
- Sr., Averett

Center:
John Peters - Sr., Palm Beach Atlantic
Bryan Wright - Sr., La Grange
Wilbur Sheets - Sr., Greensboro
Victor Matney - Sr., Greensboro


Freshman of the Year:
Please keep in mind that this is not an award for potential or future returns.  You are voting for the players you think have the best chance to be the most productive this season.

David Somers - C, La Grange
Charles Fisk - SF, Shenandoah
Jim McCadams - C, Methodist
Joseph Randall - C, Methodist
Thomas Majors - SG, Greensboro
John Hendricks - PG, Greensboro
Glenn Freitag - C, Greensboro
Mark Serrato - SF, Chowan
Ronald Pearson
- PF, Chowan


Defensive Player of the Year:

William Anderson - Jr. C, La Grange
Bryan Wright - Sr. C, La Grange
Samuel Delapaz - Jr. SG, La Grange
David Tankersley - Jr. SG, Methodist
John Potter - Jr. SG, Chowan
Antoine Maurer - Sr. PF, Averett
Brian Kelley - Sr. SG, Averett


Conference Player of the Year:

Please list your top 3 candidates for CPOY.  They should be chosen from among those you have already voted on for the All-Conference teams.


Recruiter of the Year:
This award will be given to the coach voted for by his peers as the best recruiter of the season.  Give consideration to both quantity and quality of recruits signed as well as taking walk-ons, filling team needs, etc.  Given the great importance of recruiting in this game this award should be considered very prestigious and on par with the postseason Coach of the Year award.  Please list your top 3 candidates.  Do not vote for yourself in any position (1-3) for this award.


3/9/2011 8:31 PM (edited)
Ok I started ranking these guys and realized how frustrating it is to vote without a strictly-defined criteria to work from. Firstly, as I mentioned in the cc most positions have guys listed that will play elsewhere. Am I  to rate the SGs as SGs, or am I to rate them as the probable PGs/SFs that they are? BPA, regardless of position? Then, do we go by WIS standards of rating players for awards, by probable minutes+opportunity, the numbers they can/will rack up on that team? Or should I rank them purely by ratings/talent/effectiveness? The guys you would most want on YOUR team?  Is context nothing, am I voting in a vacuum? Or is context everything, and I need to do research on previous performance, who else is on that team, who is going to get shots(yikes!)? Do I factor in IQs and system?

It all got horribly confusing. My head hurts.

This ranks right up there with awards shows, fight judging, all-star voting, etc. ; )

Anyway, I'm lazy and I gave up. Greensboro abstains.

3/9/2011 11:17 PM (edited)
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