I waited for the season to finish before posting this, maybe in hopes that he would improve.

I don't have a link but Senger, my senior SG (playing at SF), just had a horrible year. I have seen threads before where senior slumps can be explained through tougher schedules, starting vs. backup, etc. However, I cannot seem to explain what went wrong with him. He started nearly every game since his sophomore season, averaging over 20 min and shooting great from the field and beyond the arc (actually in Springfield's record books for percentage until his senior year). Between Junior and Senior years I changed nothing, same distro, same fatigue level, same position. But the first 8 games he shot only in the high .200s and even worse from the 3pt with massive TOs. I also tried playing him more at SG with no luck. I benched him for the rest of the season and continuously lowered his distro, but his shooting never really improved. (obviously slight improvement in conf. play vs. non-conf. play)

Any ideas for his senior slump year are welcome

The next season starts in a couple days and he obviously graduates so i'll post his stats, ratings and what ever else too.

Efrain Senger SG Sr. 6'6"

Athleticism 45

Speed 40

Rebounding 28

Defense 61

Shot Blocking 17

Low-post 45

Perimeter 61

Ball Handling 52

Passing 52

Work Ethic 33

Stamina 88

Durability 51

FT Shooting B+

Triangle IQ A

Man to Man IQ A-

Yr. GP GS MIN FG% FG3% FT% OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF PTS
42 30 8 19.0 .347 .294 .833 1.1 3.5 1.6 1.0 1.0 0.2 1.7 4.1
41 30 30 23.9 .440 .429 .780 1.0 4.0 2.1 1.7 1.1 0.2 1.9 9.4
40 31 30 22.9 .436 .368 .729 0.6 3.0 1.8 1.4 0.9 0.3 1.5 8.1
39 26 0 5.2 .417 .429 .824 0.1 0.7 0.7 0.4 0.2 0.1 0.4 1.0
Averages .418 .380 .773 0.7 2.9 1.6 1.1 0.8 0.2 1.4 5.8

I have a similar situation going INTO my next year. My team is pretty good, started out ranked #2. My best player by far is George Fedor, a SG playing SF just like yours. He scored just over 15 ppg last year, which is a little higher than your guy. In meaningful categories: 46 ath, 64 speed, 46 reb, 24 def, 14 LP, 80 per, 60 BH, 44 PA, 89 Sta, B FT. It looks like you stopped starting him after 8 games, all of which were very good, top 50 rpi teams. In one exhib game (huge sample size, I know) Fedor scored 22 points, 7-8 from 3, which is where all of his shots came from. I have a hunch that the senior slump doesn't happen to shooters, but rather slashers. I have absolute no data to back that up. What I'd like to know, whether it be here (because you already ended your season) or sitemail, what the distro you had on him was and what 3pt he was set on?

Did you take a big hit at the pg spot between seasons? That's the only logical thing I can think of.

I've noticed it happening too, where almost everything about the team will stay the same, but a guy will just plummet his sr year. And (coincidentally?), it's always a sg.

ummmm.... 9 points a game and shooting 44%? Thats like going 3-7, 1-3 3pt, and 2-3 FT

That isn't exactly amazing #s from anyone so a slump really doesn't mean much.

Also, why did you sit him after 8 games? You said that you kept playing him, well he wasn't starting like he had in the past so I assume that could be part of the reason he has worse #s as well. Usually conference play boosts #s for players.

the ppg and other main #s didn't bother me much. What really confused me was the shooting percentage (mid-.200s throughout non-conf). He had performed fine the the previous 2 years in non-conference. Starting as a Soph and Junior he shot almost 45%. If his shooting percentage increased I planned on fitting him back into the starting lineup. But in conference play his shooting percentage didn't return anywhere near his career averages, even as a backup facing poor conference opponents.

Coming into his senior year i was expecting him to really become one of my stars after losing 2 big men. I kept the same PG tho who this season had a (nearly) all-american year. My backup SF was good which is why i didn't really hesitate to replace him as a starter.

I remember his average distro his soph year was in the low to mid teens, and his junior year I had him up to between 16-18 without seeing any hit on his shooting or assist/TO ratio. This year I started him between 16-18 but had him down below 10 by the 8th game when I benched him. My backup SF was playing really well by then and was a Jr which is why I replaced him so early. I understand the first 8 games were tough, but I don't get why I still didn't see any improvement from there on out. From the bench he still averaged nearly 20 min, plenty of playing time and shot attmepts

His whole career I've had him on a '0' 3pt because half his shots were 3pt attempts and both shooting percentages remained rather high.

I have the senior slump with one of my PF- Ronald Sharon. I have been starting him at center most of the season he like 10ppg, 6.6rpg only shooting 38% coming off back to back seasons of 49% from the field.

Coming into his senior year i was expecting him to really become one of my stars after losing 2 big men. I kept the same PG tho who this season had a (nearly) all-american year. My backup SF was good which is why i didn't really hesitate to replace him as a starter.
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This is probably the reason then. If you lose 2 big men not just 1 big man teams are keying more possibly on your Perimeter players and going + when they used to be - to account for you inside play. Even if they are playing you -1 they possibly were playing you -3 last year.

It would be impossible to say, also did you have the same strength of Non-Con opponents?

I would bet that losing your 2 big men though affected him more than you think.

Quote: Originally posted by piratesfan23 on 3/23/2010I have the senior slump with one of my PF- Ronald Sharon. I have been starting him at center most of the season he like 10ppg, 6.6rpg only shooting 38% coming off back to back seasons of 49% from the field.

Yours is easy, 6 new freshman, a few starts between them. Also Sharon is your only Upperclass BigMan.

Also, 1 of your players started 30 games last year another 20 games and everyone else very few or none. So you really lost 2-3 starters which could explain why someone who was down on your depth chart for touches last year now is not performing when being a primary target for the teams you play to defend.

That's true. Schroedess. I guess a drop to around 40% from field is probably expected now that i look at his minutes and starts he did come off bench 13 times last season.

yeah i'm sure thats a good part of it. relatively similar non-conf schedules the last 3 seasons. Still against conference Sim AIs he missed a lot of baskets tho. Oh well I was just trying to get some opinions on it, and it was probably better I ended up getting my Jr SF some playing time cuz i'm really going to be counting on him next season.

One other thing did you play that SG at the SF position last year as well? Usually the SF position is the most well rounded player with both ATH and SPD so the defensive players he's playing could do that as well.

I don't have a clue if the senior slump exists or not, just throwing ideas out there on your two guys. We shall see what happens when the new engine is released.

yea he's played the SF his whole career, with his specific ratings that's what I recruited him for. I just thought it was so weird to see such a drastic drop after a very consistent soph and junior year.

also, as much as people are dreading the new release, i think there are a few things its addressing that should be beneficial. does anyone know a release time-frame? i.e. 2 months, 3-4 months, 6-12 months, more?

6-12 I would think at least. It really depends on what problems come up with it, but it takes a while to test it.