List your favorite team that you've coached, it doesn't have to be a season where they went all the way..mine would probably the first team I went the NT with, I've had better teams since then, but it was the first team where I had a nice balance, went two deep and they made a lot of upsets. That team had my best PF & C ever. The best set of wing defenders, and one of my favorite PGs, plus an excellent transfer. they only went to the second round but it was probably my favorite team. also..only two seniors on that team!

D-III - D'Youville - season 35 - Crum

D2- Minnesota State, Mankato- Season 57 -Tark
Just got into the game and got MSUM to A prestige for the first time with a Sweet 16 run. Played some really good games that season.
Really got into the basics of the game and running a program. Been hooked ever since.

D-III - University of New England (Season 23) Tark

- It was the first time I reached the final four and I thought I had a real shot at reaching the NC game. I remember logging on every game of that run and feeling like my stomach was going to drop if I had lost. Ultimately I have reached two final fours and a couple sweet 16's, so it still stands on record as my best season to date. I also set a number of team records with those teams while at UNE.

I think my current New York Tech team just because Gary Guidry is by far the best player I have ever had and its just so much fun to watch him tear people up on a nightly basis.

My favorite team is probably still my first national tournament team with Maine-Presque Isle (Naismith 45). It was my first recruiting class reaching its senior season and it came in the first season under the new HD engine. The first player I'd signed when I joined the game was a PG named Nimmo...high-potential defender (I want to say he graduated with a Def of 92), but he sucked offensively, largely because I was unaware that LP was a throwaway category under the old engine when I signed him (a fact my conference mates pointed out quickly). Nimmo had been a spot player that lived on the bench for three seasons and provided spot minutes to spell my starter every now and then since he could at least defend well.  I had convinced myself that it was time to admit my mistake and cut him as a senior when the new engine was announced and it was said that LP now mattered for guards. He had a fairly high LP (as far as guards go), so I figured what the heck and I'd use him as a test case to see the difference from the old to new engine with regard to guard performance. He'd scored 168 points in a 3-year career going into that season, he scored 300+ as a senior.

I also had a sophomore SG by the name of Higham. I'd toyed with the idea of redshirting him as a FR, opted to RS another kid and kicked myself when Higham struggled his entire freshman year to do anything productive. Higham went absolutely nuts as a soph and was actually the highest single-season scorer I'd coached until I finally topped it with a kid a few seasons back. (20+ game seasons elapsed).

We finished 26-5 and got knocked out in Round 2 of the NT. Would have made the Sweet Sixteen, but blew a 7-point lead with four minutes and change to play when we failed to score another point down the stretch. Yes, that one still stings a bit...

D-II - Findlay - Season 50 - Allen ...

that team was just flat out smooth.  Won the Nyack Invitational http://nyackinvitational.com/  - We cruised to the Elite 8 -  then lost by 11.  Was totally outcoached ...  Was too cute and too overconfident and made coaching errors which I learned from, that game still makes me bash my head in the wall.  Was a great season, and really enjoyed watching all those players develop.  All 5 of those starters are sprinkled on the Findlay Record board and earned their place in Oiler Legend ... how I miss them, but have moved on ... it's been difficult to let go *sniff*

D 1 - Mississippi Valley State - Season 8 - Tark

William Williams is still the all time leading scorer, by 161 points.  He was obviously way pre-potential and had ridiculous ath/speed at the center position.  80's for both, if I remember right.  70's at the very least.  It was my 1st experience with a FB/FCP team and I fell in love(hate) with it. 

Either DIII - DePauw - Season 12 - Knight or DI - Texas, San Antonio - Seasons 53 and 54 - Smith

Posted by hogstench on 2/28/2012 1:55:00 PM (view original):
D-II - Findlay - Season 50 - Allen ...

that team was just flat out smooth.  Won the Nyack Invitational http://nyackinvitational.com/  - We cruised to the Elite 8 -  then lost by 11.  Was totally outcoached ...  Was too cute and too overconfident and made coaching errors which I learned from, that game still makes me bash my head in the wall.  Was a great season, and really enjoyed watching all those players develop.  All 5 of those starters are sprinkled on the Findlay Record board and earned their place in Oiler Legend ... how I miss them, but have moved on ... it's been difficult to let go *sniff*

How does someone set up their own out of conference tournament? 

(TIE) -

My first season at Redlands (D3, Naismith). I had one other team, W Conn State in Allen, didn't know what I was doing and signed a guard with 1 sp (the FAQ told me I should be emphasizing bh and pa!) Redlands was my do-over, if that had gone poorly, who knows if I would've even kept playing. I inherited a very strong team, signed a highly-ranked class and made the S16, and that was the beginning ...

Tark, Western Michigan, Season 10-ish. This was just before the elites were human occupied. We had an awesome group of coaches in the MAC. I knew as soon as I signed my first class there that they would be awesome (remember, we were taking studs away from sim BCS programs). Ended up winning the NT with WMU, which obviously is diluted due to lack of competition, but it was still a ton of fun with a stacked team running press and having the MAC dominate. Just a fun season with players I liked.

Delaware Valley - Crum - season 24.

My 6th season there. Had reached the S16 and the F4 the past 2 seasons, and first ones with all my own recruits, but this season I had a blast as I felt I was truly putting myself on the map as the dynasty to beat in this world's DIII. We ran away with the RPI crown, and even after the national tournament with an SOS somewhere in the top 10, I don't remember exactly what off the top of my head and don't have the files with me right now, had an average margin of victory of close to 35 points. The team featured the two most dominant players I ever had and was led by Frank Busby, great name, who both was the national player of the year and defensive player of the year that season. I also had 2 future defensive players of the year coming off the bench for that team as little youngins, ...ahhh. Nothing beats taking everyone's attention and yelling, "I've arrived." Definitely my most fun season. It was also memorable because despite being a big favorite in the national title game, I was upset by Cyben5150's Johnson St squad which spawned my favorite rivalry and "best hd friend" as we continued to meet something like every other season in the NT and on multiple occasions jumped on recruits early that the other really wanted. Great times.

Posted by jsajsa on 2/28/2012 4:19:00 PM (view original):
Delaware Valley - Crum - season 24.

My 6th season there. Had reached the S16 and the F4 the past 2 seasons, and first ones with all my own recruits, but this season I had a blast as I felt I was truly putting myself on the map as the dynasty to beat in this world's DIII. We ran away with the RPI crown, and even after the national tournament with an SOS somewhere in the top 10, I don't remember exactly what off the top of my head and don't have the files with me right now, had an average margin of victory of close to 35 points. The team featured the two most dominant players I ever had and was led by Frank Busby, great name, who both was the national player of the year and defensive player of the year that season. I also had 2 future defensive players of the year coming off the bench for that team as little youngins, ...ahhh. Nothing beats taking everyone's attention and yelling, "I've arrived." Definitely my most fun season. It was also memorable because despite being a big favorite in the national title game, I was upset by Cyben5150's Johnson St squad which spawned my favorite rivalry and "best hd friend" as we continued to meet something like every other season in the NT and on multiple occasions jumped on recruits early that the other really wanted. Great times.

Thats an awesome story...any one on that team set new team records??

Kinda funny, looking at that Redlands team of mine from above ... I coached there seasons 13-21 (and actually made the E8 that first season, one round better than I remembered, lol). Three guys that I signed in my first two seasons there are still in the top eight all-time in scoring there; four in the top 12 in rebounding; the pg I inherited was first in assists and then one I signed that first season is 4th; and they are 1-2-3 all-time in steals. Surprised they've stood up so well over all those seasons, kind of fun to see ...

Posted by sbravo1 on 2/28/2012 5:02:00 PM (view original):

Posted by jsajsa on 2/28/2012 4:19:00 PM (view original):
Delaware Valley - Crum - season 24.

My 6th season there. Had reached the S16 and the F4 the past 2 seasons, and first ones with all my own recruits, but this season I had a blast as I felt I was truly putting myself on the map as the dynasty to beat in this world's DIII. We ran away with the RPI crown, and even after the national tournament with an SOS somewhere in the top 10, I don't remember exactly what off the top of my head and don't have the files with me right now, had an average margin of victory of close to 35 points. The team featured the two most dominant players I ever had and was led by Frank Busby, great name, who both was the national player of the year and defensive player of the year that season. I also had 2 future defensive players of the year coming off the bench for that team as little youngins, ...ahhh. Nothing beats taking everyone's attention and yelling, "I've arrived." Definitely my most fun season. It was also memorable because despite being a big favorite in the national title game, I was upset by Cyben5150's Johnson St squad which spawned my favorite rivalry and "best hd friend" as we continued to meet something like every other season in the NT and on multiple occasions jumped on recruits early that the other really wanted. Great times.

Thats an awesome story...any one on that team set new team records??

Busby and Hosey (the other dominant guy) are still 2 and 3 on the school's scoring list, and back then it was harder than it looks to be now to just feed 1 guy and let him take over so they did good work. Hosey is still 2nd on the rebounding list. The backup PG, then a redshirt fr, is still 2nd on the assists list. Busby also ended his career near the top of the DIII all time steals list (I think he retired as #2). He's also still the DVC leader in minutes played for what it's worth, having been a 4 year starter and playing in a lot of postseason games.

I really loved my time at Shaw (D II Rupp) and we did win my only NT there, and my leading scorer from that time is still the #2 all time D II scorer, but my favorite team is Valdosta State (D II, Heartland Conference, Knight). We never won it all (although curiously that Shaw NT title came as part of back-to-back championship game appearances - while that was happening/overlapping Valdosta also went to back-to-back championship games, but lost both) but I've been there a looong time, and had a lot of success and really made an effort to grow the conference. Had a kid drafted from there too, that was cool - even my Shaw superman didn't get drafted...