I switched all my teams from combo to just one defense just recently and they seem to do better that way as well

Maybe its hitting D-1 teams differently. After seeing so much consensus, I went back and re-checked my numbers and here's what I've got for my D-III team in Naismith:

Season 42- This was my first season and I didn't record my final team ratings, but we were s-l-o-w. I added the press component so my IQ's sucked and depending on the matchup, I didn't even run the press half of things in some games.  TO's forced per game-15.3, Steals per game 7.2.

Season 43- Ath. 44, Spd. 36, Def. 46...16.17 TO pg, 9.13 Spg

Season 44-Ath. 47, Spd. 42, Def. 47...16.68 TO pg, 9.06 Spg

Season 45 (new engine) -- Counting my two exhibition games, I've played 15 games under the new engine, so far I'm averaging 16.47 TO pg, very much in line with the two previous seasons (My current values are 49 Ath, 42 Spd, 44 Def.). My steals per game have fallen to 7.57, but again, this supposedly was going to occur across the board to some degree to move the totals back in line with their actual incidence in NCAA basketball. The turnover number, so far, has stayed consistent.

Posted by kybjones on 6/30/2010 10:17:00 PM (view original):
Not sure how much better they can get than two of my Auburn guards... 100 ath, 100 spd, 100 def...... and they STILL can't run it without fouling out.

Exagerrate much? Combined those guys have fouled out once the whole season and average a combined 3.5 FPG one of them hasn't committed more than 2 fouls in the last 12 games and in that same time the other has committed more than 2 fouls 3 times and all 3 of the times he committed 3.

Definitely seeing the effects on my D2 team, press/zone. Defense is terrible, steals are WAY down (2-3 a game?), fouls are WAY up averaging about 20-25 free throws against a game.

so...APPARENTLY my new gtown team was probably underachieving. meh.

Posted by kmasonbx1 on 7/1/2010 6:27:00 PM (view original):

Posted by kybjones on 6/30/2010 10:17:00 PM (view original):
Not sure how much better they can get than two of my Auburn guards... 100 ath, 100 spd, 100 def...... and they STILL can't run it without fouling out.

Exagerrate much? Combined those guys have fouled out once the whole season and average a combined 3.5 FPG one of them hasn't committed more than 2 fouls in the last 12 games and in that same time the other has committed more than 2 fouls 3 times and all 3 of the times he committed 3.

I quit running the combo.

Posted by jetwildcat on 7/2/2010 12:13:00 AM (view original):
so...APPARENTLY my new gtown team was probably underachieving. meh.

Nah, that was my ISU squad. You'll see them underachieve tomorrow against your Hoyas. Should be fun.

Posted by doomey on 7/2/2010 3:50:00 AM (view original):

Posted by jetwildcat on 7/2/2010 12:13:00 AM (view original):
so...APPARENTLY my new gtown team was probably underachieving. meh.

Nah, that was my ISU squad. You'll see them underachieve tomorrow against your Hoyas. Should be fun.

That would be quite convenient, actually

ouch. shoulda gone +2

Alright, you out-underachieved me... but I did have an OVR of 40 on you (with a walkon and a scrub project). Great game, but I'm still saying me or the new engine made a total waste of the talent I collected.

I run a combo and I'm currently in the national championship game with only 1 SR he is maybe my 7th best player. We seem to be doing okay running it. 

same here.  And I start a freshman PG. 

Posted by kybjones on 6/29/2010 10:45:00 PM (view original):
It doesn't seem like the press is running at all in combo defenses (halfcourt press + zone or halfcourt press + man).  Anyone else seeing this occur?  Going through my play-by-plays, I'm not seeing any steals during the first 10 seconds of the shot clock either.

The half-court press in not in the back-court but the front-court.

Also, I am not an expert by any means (nor do I claim to be one :D) ... but most real teams do not run this kind of defense for the whole game, but would run a pressing type defense in certain situations to try and generate steals (like when behind toward the end of the game).

I would expect more fouls and more turnovers while playing this defense.  Both of these things are good if you are losing, since fouls stop the clock even if they score and turnovers are obviously good. If you run this kind of set for the whole game though, it might lead to foul trouble.  And that looks like my observation in the new engine (more fouls and more steals), it is also what I would expect of this kind of D in real life.

Hughes, I know it's been said that the halfcourt press is run in the front court, not the backcourt.

So I'm wondering: Does that mean that the hcp is literally only run for a couple of seconds -- once the offensive team crosses halfcourt and until they get into their base, halfcourt offense?

Because if that's the case, that seems like a huge waste to me ... and if it's not the case, then I have no idea what could be going on with hcp/m2m or hcp/zone.

From the Hoops 101 section: 

"Halfcourt Press/Man to Man (Zone)
Summary
In this defense, teams will press until the ball crosses half-court and then will setup in a man to man (zone) defense. "