I played HD a long time ago and just got a team. Might not have made the best team choice, but so be it. Interested in any thoughts surrounding depth charts and game planning given my team. I'm just starting to look into these things; only thing I've done so far is switch Swindler to SG (was PG) and Eatmon to (SG), and redshirt Stucker.

Game planning should be interesting with only two guys in 60+ for either perimeter or low post (Boeding/McCurty). Wish there was a way to dictate defensive matchups with Swindler being such a good defender (if there is, I don't see it). Would love to put him on the opposing team's best scorer.

PG: Joseph Boeding | Joseph Eatmon
SG: Douglas Swindler | Reginald Portis
SF: Michael Granados | David Plummer
PF: Samuel Moll | Kyle McCurty | Robert Smith | David Clark
C: Donald Pellot | Carlos Stucker (R)

Swindler is better suited as a SF due to his low BH IMO. He gives you very little on offense.

but you play M2M so you can put him at SG or SF depending on who the other team has as primary scorer. I wouldnt put him at PG though.

I think swindler can play and score at the 2. High ath guards with lp over like 10 can score a little, just make him a -2.

I wouldn’t have any problem putting Swindler at 1, 2, or 3. He has obvious deficiencies wherever you put him, but that’s life in your first year with a sim recruited D3 team. Your instincts for using him as a defensive stopper are right on. Put him where you think your opponent’s best perimeter scorer will be, and let him do what he is meant to do.

He’ll be a good scorer, too. Doesn’t utilize the perimeter focus of flex, but he’ll get to the line and make a lot of free throws. I’d probably set him just under Boeding in distribution against most teams. Probably Boeding at 10, Swindler and Moll at 7-8, the other starters lower, in the 2-3 range.

I’d consider moving McCurty to backup sf, and make him your primary bench scorer, set distribution to 7-8, with Smith just below him at 5-6.

Boeding is probably the only guy I would use to shoot 3s with, unless you are going for a good perimeter preference for recruits, which is not a bad idea (but your team will not perform well this year).

Posted by Trentonjoe on 3/22/2018 8:33:00 AM (view original):
I think swindler can play and score at the 2. High ath guards with lp over like 10 can score a little, just make him a -2.

He will probably get some scoring done but he'll turn it over a lot and shoot under 50%. So he won't be very efficient.

But on that team, he's probably one of your best options.

Thanks a lot for the help. I'm guessing McCurty becomes my "Zach Randolph" bench guy (only good for low post/rebounding); wonder if I should ever start him. Anyway, yeah, rebuilding team for sure. Six recruiting spots so hopefully I can get a good core. Stucker has some potential, so maybe he'll be a decent player in a few seasons.

Off-topic question. I've read some guides and tips, and see some people who recommend waiting until phase two for recruiting actions. Wise at D3 or for my situation (6 openings/$27k scouting/$7k recruiting)?

If you mean visits, then yeah, it’s usually best to wait until RS2 to spend visits. The worst thing that can happen to you in an individual battle is to go all in on a guy, only to see a D2 come in and put in just enough effort to sign him before he will consider you (you’re listed as moderate at best when recruiting up a division, until you have gotten to the second session, he won’t sign with you until you get high or very high). If it’s a D2 projected player, you are usually safe to invest at the end of RS1, especially if you’re potentially battling another D3 for the guy.

As for scouting and attention points, you definitely want to get most of your scouting done (I usually reserve a few k, just in case) and be using all your attention points every cycle once recruiting starts. That’s your advantage. You’ll be able to get a good amount amassed on 2-3 players, and you’ll be in good position to hold off other clubs looking for backups later.

"If you mean visits, then yeah, it’s usually best to wait until RS2 to spend visits."

Yes, especially if you can tell which recruits that you would have liked to sign were practically locked up by other teams in RS1, at least to the extent that they gained an almost insurmountable lead. That way, you can just cheerfully kiss those recruits good-bye and move immediately to the second and third choices that are left. Just because other teams aggressively secure many of the best players in RS1 doesn't mean that you need to do the same. You can learn a lot about game planning from trying to win with a bunch of second and third choice recruits.

Wait a minute, upon re-reading this, are we sure that it is a good idea to blanket wait until RS2 to actively recruit with something besides AP's? Might it be better to selectively recruit some guys in RS1 whom you believe will benefit your team but be somewhat safe from interest from higher division teams?