I'd like to know what others would do in this situation. In Knight, my Kentucky team won the NT last year. This year, we are undefeated, at 24-0 so far and ranked number 1. This is in spite of me messing up and guaranteeing a start to two very good freshmen - Joseph Myers, who is currently starting at SG and Richard Strickland, who is currently starting at SF. I could start Krupa at SG and Hillman at SF and it would be an upgrade at each position, once we get to the CT and NT. They are both over 900 overall. And if I started them, all 5 starters would be over 900 overall.

But would this be a wise move, since we are currently undefeated, and this allows those two players to come in off the bench? It would be a stronger starting rotation though. Krupa, can play effectively at PG,SG, and SF, and Hillman can play SG, SF, PF and C effectively. So this gives me a great player at every position. I just wonder if it is better to leave it like it is, or to go with the absolute best starting 5. I think I will experiment with it a little since I've already given enough starts to those guys anyway, but I would just like to see what others would do.

That is an amazing team you have.  8 of your 10 scholarship players were ranked in the 3 at their position as recruits, including your entire starting 5!

Thanks bro. It has definitely been a nice few years in recruiting at Kentucky. Things just seem to have fallen into place. Six of the 10 guys were Mr. Basketball in their state, and 9 of 10 were 5 star recruits, except for Krupa, who was a 4 star but is one of the best players. The other thing that is striking about this team is that the worst rebounder is Myers at 36, but the starting 5 if I go with the best lineup  would have these ratings for rebounding:
PG - 56
SG - 68
SF - 83
PF - 92
C - 92
I wish I could say I planned all of this out, but it just all kind of fell together this way. It's definitely the best team I have ever had in HD. Hopefully I won't figure out a way to blow it - LOL.

I like Myers better than Krupa as a backup at the 1, so I'd start Krupa and use Myers as the third guard.  Similarly, I like Strickland better than Hillman backing up the guards because of his speed and passing, so I'd start Hillman since you need that extra guard depth.  Given your lack of depth, I would say these are the most significant concerns.  If you wanted to go the opposite directions because of IQ, however, I wouldn't argue with you.  It's nice to have the better IQ starting, but arguably more important to stack better IQs at the guard positions and especially PG.  Some of that obviously is going to depend on matchups.  I would definitely lean toward starting the veterans if their matchups are 15+ PPG scorers as you move through the tournament.  Of course, the IQs of the freshmen really aren't too bad at this point.

Thanks for the insight. I took your suggestion and made Strickland be the 4th in line at PG instead of Hillman. Hillman is a better ball handler, but not as good at passing and slower. Neither one is a very good option at PG so hopefully they won't play there much.

Posted by chapelhillne on 10/31/2015 10:43:00 PM (view original):
Thanks bro. It has definitely been a nice few years in recruiting at Kentucky. Things just seem to have fallen into place. Six of the 10 guys were Mr. Basketball in their state, and 9 of 10 were 5 star recruits, except for Krupa, who was a 4 star but is one of the best players. The other thing that is striking about this team is that the worst rebounder is Myers at 36, but the starting 5 if I go with the best lineup  would have these ratings for rebounding:
PG - 56
SG - 68
SF - 83
PF - 92
C - 92
I wish I could say I planned all of this out, but it just all kind of fell together this way. It's definitely the best team I have ever had in HD. Hopefully I won't figure out a way to blow it - LOL.

That's a real life Calipari type of team. Crazy talented

Myers PG
McCarthy SG
Krupa SF
Schultz PF (passing)
Wagner C

But you could switch Schultz and Wagner, don't think it makes a lot of difference.

This would be my starting 5.

Hillman could start at SF, you have so much depth it's scary.

Posted by zorzii on 11/1/2015 2:41:00 PM (view original):
Myers PG
McCarthy SG
Krupa SF
Schultz PF (passing)
Wagner C

But you could switch Schultz and Wagner, don't think it makes a lot of difference.

This would be my starting 5.

Thanks - That might not be a bad idea to switch Schultz and Wagner since Schultz also has better PE or does that even matter for a PF versus a Center. The other question is, do I play at a slow pace to leave the best players in longer, or do I go normal. I have been going at Normal most of the year, but that has been with the two freshmen starting. It's a really versatile lineup, which I think is one of the things that has helped us. Most of the players can play several positions, and I have most players playing backup at 2-3 positions. I hate to change around too much though since it has worked so far, and I don't want to outcoach myself. Right now I have my most experienced lineup starting. The only drawback of Myers starting is that he is a Freshman and his IQ is B-
PG - McCarthy - Senior
SG - Krupa - Senior
SF - Hillman - Junior
PF - Wagner - Sophomore
C - Schultz - Senior