We rebounded after our slow start, finishing the regular season 15-11, 12-4 in-conference. It was good for our third straight division title, and we won our first CT game this afternoon.

After wins over Samford, Morehead State, and Tennessee State, we clinch our first NT berth under my watch. We only got a 16-seed, and I'm predicting a beatdown of the highest order tonight against #1 Illinois, but it's nice to get this far. It may have additional benefits, too; Murphy's a borderline draft prospect at an 838 rating, and I know playing in the NT boosts draft chances.

And a beatdown we got, falling to Illinois 72-38. Senior retrospectives will be up within a few days.

Our prestige went up to C on the rollover. Here are the seniors...

Larry Wong
PF | Senior | 6'9" | 234 lbs. | 3.2 gpa
Needham Broughton HS Raleigh, NC | Recruited By: Sim AI
PF
684

Athleticism 54
Speed 34
Rebounding 87
Defense 61
Shot Blocking 83
Low-post 79
Perimeter 15
Ball Handling 11
Passing 33
Work Ethic 65
Stamina 95
Durability 67
FT Shooting C-

Larry Wong was by no means a force. But for his last two years, he was a valuable reserve, and this season, he played 19 minutes a game on an NT team. He won't be remembered, but for what he was, he wasn't bad.

Peter Murphy
SG | 5th Year Senior | 6'4" | 189 lbs. | 3.1 gpa
Kents Hill HS Kents Hill, ME | Recruited By: Sim AI
SG
838

Athleticism 81
Speed 98
Rebounding 41
Defense 63
Shot Blocking 16
Low-post 16
Perimeter 99
Ball Handling 96
Passing 100
Work Ethic 58
Stamina 94
Durability 76
FT Shooting B

Peter Murphy, however, WILL be remembered. He was a tremendous two-guard who was one of the premier offensive players in the conference. If he doesn't get drafted, his defense is probably the reason why. Still, he leaves a massive hole.

RECORDS: 6th in points (1,050), 11th in assists (300), 13th in steals (78), 12th in FG% (47.3%), 2nd in 3PT% (45%)

Murphy was not drafted.

The two recruits for this year signed at the deadline. The first is Frederick Roskovensky (#268 overall, #52 PG, **). I'll never get used to typing his name, but he'll play as the primary backup to Taylor at PG this year. He comes in with a fairly-polished skillset, including great speed and solid pass-first fundamentals. He'll never be a scorer, but I can get that production elsewhere in the lineup. The NBA isn't in his future, but he'll be a perfectly useful low-D1 starter down the line.

Frederick Roskovensky
PG | 5'11" | 188 lbs. | 2.7 GPA
Atlantic HS | Delray Beach, FL
77.5% FT shooter (low potential)
564

Athleticism 34
Speed 92
Rebounding 24 (low potential)
Defense 67
Shot Blocking 1
Low-post 1
Perimeter 38 (low potential)
Ball Handling 86
Passing 80
Work Ethic 47
Stamina 66
Durability 28

The second recruit is Alexander Bowles (#71 C, **). He was close to J-State, at just 100 miles from campus, and, like Roskovensky, he's polished coming in. He's got his limitations, namely the bad FT shooting and mediocre athleticism, and he won't play much early on. However, with time to grow as a pure center, he'll be quite good.

Alexander Bowles
C | 6'10" | 231 lbs. | 3.0 GPA
Brookstone HS | Columbus, GA
57.2% FT shooter (low potential)
602

Athleticism 43
Speed 32 (low potential)
Rebounding 86
Defense 52 (high potential)
Shot Blocking 80
Low-post 90
Perimeter 1
Ball Handling 10 (low potential)
Passing 36 (low potential)
Work Ethic 42
Stamina 74 (high potential)
Durability 56

THOUGHTS ON RECRUITING

Firstly, HUGE thanks are in order for piratesfan23, who stood in for me for a few cycles early on while I was at work without internet access.

In terms of the actual class, it's slightly above-average. Bowles could be a very good pure center, and while Roskovensky isn't a potential star, he'll be very solid and play a lot every year he's here. I wish I could have done better, but the local Big 6 schools reached further down for talent, and the two of us recruiting for J-State had to adjust.

I'll give the class a B-. It's not bad, but it's unremarkable due to situations beyond our control. Again, thanks to piratesfan, without whom this class may not have been nearly as successful.

I'm going to try to be a bit more involved with the thread from this point on. I don't know how regular Windows access will be, but we'll see.

Anyway, 69-43 win at Jacksonville to open our season. The defense was rock-solid, especially in the second half, where we built on a ten-point halftime lead to win big. Interesting stat: Their shooting guard shot 7-of-10 from the floor. The rest of the team shot 8-of-40.

(boxscore)

86-47 win over Illinois State. An easy, expected win where we played well in every facet of the game.

(boxscore)

4-2 after 6 games, with losses coming to good human-coached teams in CSU Northridge and Tulsa. We aren't bad, but our guards are expected to be sound with the ball, and when they haven't been, we've lost games (at Tulsa, they scored 25 points off turnovers).

We finish the regular season 20-6, with a share of the division title. We've won with rebounding, with an average edge of 40-26 per game. The CT is a three-team race, with us, Tennessee State, and Eastern Kentucky head and shoulders above the rest of the league. Should be an interesting bracket. RPI 92, SOS 211.

We beat Eastern Kentucky in the CT semis, and now face Tennessee State in the CT title game. Obviously, we need to win to make the NT, but if we lose, we may have an outside shot at the PI. RPI 73, SOS 184.

Lost in the finals, but made the PI as a 5-seed. That's higher than I thought, and we get a tough Syracuse team in the first round.

We lost 53-42. Wilcox rolled his ankle three minutes in and didn't play after that. Had he, maybe this is a closer game. Senior retrospectives are forthcoming.