Christopher Williams
C | Senior | 7'0" | 263 lbs. | 3.9 gpa
Reuben Mccall HS Tallulah, LA | Recruited By: bomberball
C
770

Athleticism 66
Speed 44
Rebounding 93
Defense 88
Shot Blocking 100
Low-post 98
Perimeter 21
Ball Handling 3
Passing 53
Work Ethic 78
Stamina 80
Durability 46
FT Shooting C+

First impressions (page 2): He's a rebounding and conditioning project, but his scoring is first-rate for a freshman. Once he gets his rebounding up, he'll be a valuable addition to the team.

Final impressions: Williams was a three-year starter for us, and was a really efficient big. He was never a star, and his rebounding rating not getting to the mid to high-90's was a bit frustrating, but as a low-D1 big, he had a nice career and helped us win ballgames.

RECORDS: 10th in rebounds (639), 9th in blocks (143), 10th in FT% (70.4%)

Michael Horsley
C | Senior | 6'10" | 237 lbs. | 3.6 gpa
Pine Bluff HS Pine Bluff, AR | Recruited By: bomberball
C
741

Athleticism 67
Speed 40
Rebounding 98
Defense 58
Shot Blocking 93
Low-post 96
Perimeter 23
Ball Handling 1
Passing 59
Work Ethic 36
Stamina 86
Durability 84
FT Shooting C+

First impressions (page 2): He's low-ranked due to his low defense, but everything else about him is quite solid. There's nothing to really say about him; he's very solid in everything, and he'll continue to improve over the next few years.

Final impressions: Horsley was a victim of circumstance. He didn't play a whole lot his first three years, but was a very solid starter this past season, even winning OVC Player of the Year honors (despite Williams having pretty much the same 10 point-8 rebound-1.5 block per game statline). The only bad thing about him was his timing, really.

RECORDS: 4th in FG% (50.6%)

Our prestige went to C+ on the rollover.

I applied for the vacant South Carolina job. I feel like I've essentially hit the mid-major glass ceiling, and the feeling of one bad loss crippling you all season gets really old. We'll see if I get it.

No dice, I'm back for another season. It's no problem at all, though. We've got nine guys coming back, and while we've got a lot to replace, this year's team will actually have a few advantages from last year. Namely, Roskovensky may not be as good a shooter as Kile, but he's faster, and ditto for White coming in at power forward with 67 speed. It should be a cool year.

Finally filled all three spots. The first was filled by Richard Schaefer (#262 overall, #52 PG, **), who will see playing time this season as Roskovensky's backup. He's got great potential in all the right areas, and will turn into an excellent pass-first PG. The lone gripes I have about him are his rebounding and FT shooting, but those are minor. I really like him, and while he won't be an NBA prospect, he'll be excellent for the system here.

Richard Schaefer
PG | 5'8" | 169 lbs. | 2.8 GPA
Northwest Cabarrus HS | Concord, NC
61.2% FT shooter (low potential)
582

Athleticism 46
Speed 76 (high potential)
Rebounding 1
Defense 59 (high potential)
Shot Blocking 3
Low-post 2
Perimeter 44
Ball Handling 77 (high potential)
Passing 92
Work Ethic 68
Stamina 69 (high potential)
Durability 45 (high potential)

If I had not landed John Fuller (#132 overall, #32 C, ***), this class would have been a failure. He was a primary target from the get-go, and I spent over $29,000 on him in battling Alabama State. I had to promise him 15 minutes, but in the end, I got my guy. Simply put, he's a phenomenal prospect for a zone team. Not only is he an offensive force, but he also has an insane touch from the FT line. I'm very happy to have him, and he'll be a dominant player down the road.

John Fuller
C | 6'9" | 216 lbs. | 3.3 GPA
Huntsville HS | Huntsville, AL
82.7% FT shooter (low potential)
623

Athleticism 60 (high potential)
Speed 44
Rebounding 80
Defense 49 (high potential)
Shot Blocking 80
Low-post 88
Perimeter 3
Ball Handling 16 (low potential)
Passing 37
Work Ethic 53
Stamina 61 (high potential)
Durability 52

Birmingham-Southern outdueled me for my ideal third scholarship-filler, so I had to settle for a backup. Fortunately, Joseph Fiorillo (#102 PF, *) is a decent prospect who I snagged for cheap. He's listed as a PF, but he'll be a 3-4 hybrid for us due to his decent speed and "wing" stats. I wish he had high potential in low-post, but as it stands now, he's a good prospect. He won't play much his first year, but he'll eventually be a solid member of this team.

Joseph Fiorillo
PF | 6'11" | 255 lbs. | 2.5 GPA
Chiefland HS | Chiefland, FL
67.3% FT shooter (low potential)
597

Athleticism 37 (high potential)
Speed 56 (low potential)
Rebounding 60 (high potential)
Defense 67 (high potential)
Shot Blocking 66 (high potential)
Low-post 61
Perimeter 32 (low potential)
Ball Handling 23 (low potential)
Passing 25 (low potential)
Work Ethic 57
Stamina 70 (high potential)
Durability 43 (high potential)

RECRUITING ANALYSIS

Here, we have two-thirds of an A/A+ class. Fuller is a stud, while Schaefer will be a very good pass-first guard. Fiorillo may not be impressive now, but in time, he'll be a very good role player, so I'm satisfied with the signing even though I didn't get one of my primary targets (I'll post him below).

I had to use my entire war chest, but it was worth it. We reloaded the frontcourt, and got a nice PG prospect. If my primary target had signed, this is probably an A or A+ class. As it stands now, though, I can't go higher than an A-.

Here's James Neher (#193 overall, #53 C, ***), the one I missed out on.

James Neher
C | 6'9" | 239 lbs. | 2.5 GPA
Tuscaloosa Christian HS | Cottondale, AL
58.4% FT shooter
600

Athleticism 61 (high potential)
Speed 29 (low potential)
Rebounding 70 (high potential)
Defense 82
Shot Blocking 72 (high potential)
Low-post 78 (high potential)
Perimeter 4
Ball Handling 4
Passing 21 (low potential)
Work Ethic 66
Stamina 72 (high potential)
Durability 41 (high potential)

6-4 through ten games, with two losses coming to Florida State and Michigan State. RPI 36, SOS 45.

Won our first seven conference games. These are all really exhibitions until the CT, but none of the games have been close. The closest it's gotten were a 61-41 win at Austin Peay and a 76-52 win over human-coached Eastern Kentucky at home (the only non-Sim we play in-conference). Fortunately, the numbers haven't crashed yet; RPI 37, SOS 105.

Up to 11-0 in-conference, but the numbers are crashing. RPI 63, SOS 196, receiving top-25 votes.

Finished 15-1 in-conference, with a bad loss in the season finale. Still, we won the division, and we're in decent shape for at least a PI berth provided nothing disastrous happens in the CT. RPI 50, SOS 194.

Lost in the CT against a team we beat by 30 on the road during the season. Just another bad loss in a big game here. We did win the first-round game of the PI as the 3-seed.

Conference awards: Bowles won OVC POY, and Fuller was the freshman of the year. Hill and Bowles made the first team, Roskovensky made the second team, Weaver made the third team, and both White and Fuller were honorable mentions.

We lost in the second round. Senior retrospectives will come later today.