Hi all, I'm still pretty new at this and I could use a little bit of help. I've finished recruiting and got one guy I like and one guy who is ok. Now, going into my second season I'm wondering how best to utilize the players I have. If anyone can answer some or all of my questions I would greatly appreciate it.

1) How much distro should I give Smykowski? Eugene Tompkins will once again be the team's distro leader. Last year his distro bounced around between the upper teens and mid-20s based on matchups and he shot 44% from beyond the arc on a +1 3 Pt. while leading the team in scoring. Smykowski shot 42% (poor from 3, but I have him on -1 and he mostly shoots from inside the line). However, it seemed like when I asked him to shoot more his performance dropped. He has good athleticism which I would expect to combine with his ball handling to make him a decent scorer on the dribble drive. How high can I push his distro without compromising his percentage? Would it be unreasonable to give him a distro in the 14-16 range? It seems like it would make sense to give my best ball handlers and passers (Tompkins and Smykowski) the lions' share of the distro to maximize the team's A/T ratio.

2) Should I push Tompkins to +2 3 Pt.? He's already taking about 85% of his shots on threes. He's slow and has mediocre athleticism, so I don't really want him driving. Also, can he support consistent mid-20s distros with his low speed and athleticism?

3) Where should I play Woodhouse? Last year he led the team in minutes played as my starting SF. He's also the only true SF on the roster. Playing SF, however, he shot only 33.5% from the field. Most of his misses seemed to be on perimeter shots. If I give him some minutes at the PF position would he be able to score more effectively? With a low post over 60, I would think he should easily shoot over 40% in D3. He has good enough rebounding to support that change, but it would probably push rebounding from a team strength to a weakness.

4) If I play Woodhouse at PF, who takes over the minutes at SF? Robbins is reasonably athletic and has the best rebounding of my available guards. His perimeter shooting is scarcely better than Woodhouse's, so he wouldn't be much of a scorer, but he might not lose us a lot of games playing SF. Last year Swarthout was the backup while Robbins was redshirting. It seems clear to me that Robbins leapfrogs him in the SF depth chart. Am I wrong?

5) Who are my starting bigs? Last year Smith was a better scorer than Piscitelli while Piscitelli was a better rebounder. Smith is much more athletic. New recruit Thomas Brooks already has the best ratings of the three, but I don't yet know anything about his IQs. Should I go with Smith as my starting PF and Piscitelli starting at C with Brooks backing up both? Or should I be using Woodhouse at PF as per question 4? Where does Meas fit in? This brings me to

6) Should I redshirt Alvin Meas? Based on my numerous scouting trips pulling him down it sounds like he has at least average potential in everything but low post and has high potential at least in rebounding. He could probably be my starting PF right now, but would I be wasting a year of his best talent? If I do redshirt him, am I forced to give Woodhouse at least some minutes at PF or can I get by with just the three centers playing both post positions?

7) Do I have even an outside shot at making the PIT this year? This has a major impact on question 6. If I have a shot at it, it might make sense to play Meas now. If not, it might be smarter to redshirt him. My conference is definitely weak this year, but Chicago and Brandeis are a solid level above Rochester and winning the CT is at best a very long shot. I'd have to play my way into the PIT by winning in the regular season. My schedule isn't exceptionally difficult but perhaps a bit more so than last year.

8) Who is my #2 SG? I like Dail 2nd best of my PGs, but I think that Disalvo and Dail are significantly better than any of the other Gs I have. I can make Disalvo my backup PG and Dail the backup SG and avoid using my weaker Gs any more than necessary.

9) I don't think Grose is going to play any appreciable minutes. What about Swarthout? Where/when does he play? Should he be playing at all? I inherited him and don't exactly know how to use him. He has enough defense, speed, athleticism, and passing not to be a major liability on the court. On the other hand, he probably can't score very much and won't contribute a whole lot positive.

Got feedback from one other owner. Anybody else that can give me any opinions? I could really use the help.

more people would respond if you posted you players ratings

They're all posted in the Knight forum. I can copy it over if you actually think that would help.

Returning Players:

PG Joseph Smykowski:

Athleticism	61
Speed	44
Rebounding	21
Defense	40
Shot Blocking	21
Low-post	22
Perimeter	36
Ball Handling	76
Passing	62
Work Ethic	36
Stamina	77
Durability	51
FT Shooting	C+

PG Henry Disalvo:

Athleticism	32
Speed	51
Rebounding	1
Defense	75
Shot Blocking	3
Low-post	23
Perimeter	22
Ball Handling	49
Passing	47
Work Ethic	41
Stamina	93
Durability	50
FT Shooting	D-

PG Bill Dail:

Athleticism	15
Speed	49
Rebounding	6
Defense	33
Shot Blocking	3
Low-post	1
Perimeter	45
Ball Handling	55
Passing	62
Work Ethic	43
Stamina	78
Durability	66
FT Shooting	C

PG Ryan Grose:

Athleticism	13
Speed	43
Rebounding	14
Defense	32
Shot Blocking	3
Low-post	9
Perimeter	30
Ball Handling	48
Passing	45
Work Ethic	51
Stamina	80
Durability	67
FT Shooting	C+

SG Eugene Tompkins

Athleticism	29
Speed	29
Rebounding	17
Defense	50
Shot Blocking	10
Low-post	1
Perimeter	59
Ball Handling	52
Passing	60
Work Ethic	26
Stamina	71
Durability	54
FT Shooting	D-

SG Clinton Swarthout

Athleticism	32
Speed	50
Rebounding	13
Defense	39
Shot Blocking	14
Low-post	23
Perimeter	29
Ball Handling	38
Passing	49
Work Ethic	62
Stamina	90
Durability	95
FT Shooting	B-

SG Chad Robbins

Athleticism	43
Speed	25
Rebounding	31
Defense	28
Shot Blocking	16
Low-post	24
Perimeter	38
Ball Handling	27
Passing	40
Work Ethic	73
Stamina	79
Durability	84
FT Shooting	C+

SFDavid Woodhouse:

Athleticism	19
Speed	39
Rebounding	41
Defense	44
Shot Blocking	12
Low-post	63
Perimeter	31
Ball Handling	25
Passing	30
Work Ethic	43
Stamina	82
Durability	27
FT Shooting	C

C Solomon Piscitelli

Athleticism	14
Speed	21
Rebounding	66
Defense	26
Shot Blocking	54
Low-post	44
Perimeter	4
Ball Handling	15
Passing	37
Work Ethic	40
Stamina	73
Durability	93
FT Shooting	C

C Terry Smith

Athleticism	37
Speed	17
Rebounding	56
Defense	30
Shot Blocking	47
Low-post	44
Perimeter	23
Ball Handling	19
Passing	16
Work Ethic	64
Stamina	80
Durability	53
FT Shooting	C-

New Guys:

PF Alvin Meas:

Athleticism	41
Speed	32
Rebounding	53
Defense	29
Shot Blocking	35
Low-post	42
Perimeter	19
Ball Handling	31
Passing	16
Work Ethic	66
Stamina	53
Durability	29

C Thomas Brooks

Athleticism	31
Speed	22
Rebounding	66
Defense	39
Shot Blocking	59
Low-post	56
Perimeter	2
Ball Handling	1
Passing	20
Work Ethic	13
Stamina	67
Durability	55