Right now my class size for next season will be....

4 Seniors
2 Juniors
0 Sophomores
6 Freshmen

My Juniors and Seniors are good enough that I can win my weak conference easily (should go undefeated) and make the NT and next season I will be strong enough to win it again, but I won't have a chance to do much in the NT.

At the pace I'm on, I should have a 2 year run of having a chance to get to the sweet 16 and a legit title contender every 4 seasons, with the downside of having a season or 2 of mediocre success.

I'd like to spread the balance around, but there aren't a lot of JUCO players that I can get at D3 that will be much help to try and balance out the recruiting classes. Is it worth sacrificing the strength of my team with walkon players to spread the scholarships out? or should I just keep making my team as strong as I can regardless of class size?

(Side note: During recruiting session 1, I was thinking this class would be super weak because I didn't like the talent, then realized only having used 1 true freshman the past 2 seasons just really spoiled me and the guys I'm getting are actually pretty good..... I got super spoiled)

At D3, I like the 4-4-4. It should be reasonable with a 6 person class. D2 jucos are a little easier to find and get at D3, FWIW.

Empty classes are ridiculously inefficient...makes no sense to me.

Posted by cubcub113 on 7/31/2020 3:44:00 PM (view original):
Empty classes are ridiculously inefficient...makes no sense to me.

What’s being wasted, in your view? Scholarship resources? You can (should) use them to scout for potential upgrades for the 12th guy on next years roster.

Empty classes mean you have a deep roster, and maybe that’s what you mean, if you’re not playing press. There is quite a bit of value though, when you get to the postseason, and everyone is at B and up IQ. At D3 for sure, where so many are playing press, having a 12 deep team of B and up IQ players, and 8 at A- and up, is not an insignificant thing in the tournament.

There isn’t a set formula. Obviously having 1-2 openings can make things a bit more difficult for recruiting purposes, but do whatever you think gives you the best chance at a deep NT run and whatever makes the game fun.

Posted by cubcub113 on 7/31/2020 3:44:00 PM (view original):
Empty classes are ridiculously inefficient...makes no sense to me.

I love the 4-4-4-0 shoe mentioned above (go figure).

The empty class is a good range finder in my opinion. For example, I've always ran that at Coker. 3 years you are top contender. The year you have 0 Srs, is the only year you are not a contender, but it tells you a lot about your development. Last time I was able to make a S16 I think. And I followed that up with 3 straight finals appearances. This time around, my "0" is right now. And we might not even make the NT. Telling me that my team is in serious trouble. Honestly I think we'll get it turned around in the future tho.

One other benefit that i feel gets overlooked with the 4-4-4 set up, is familiarity. Anytime you do something over and over again in life, you tend to get a feel for it and get better at it. When I have 2 openings and then 6 openings, my recruiting is all over the place. The end result tends to be fine. But my methods getting there are different. The approach needed to sign 2 can be different than the approach needed to sign 6.

With 4 openings every time, I have the same AP, same budget, same approach. Over and over and over. I just notice when I recruit that way, I do better. And the BEST part is the season I have 0 I can just sleep thru recruiting!!!! (For those of us like myself who hate it)

In addition, 99.999% of us aren't winning 4 titles in 4 seasons. So why not load up on 3 seasons. It's ok to have a down year every now and then

Posted by topdogggbm on 8/1/2020 4:46:00 PM (view original):

Posted by cubcub113 on 7/31/2020 3:44:00 PM (view original):
Empty classes are ridiculously inefficient...makes no sense to me.

I love the 4-4-4-0 shoe mentioned above (go figure).

The empty class is a good range finder in my opinion. For example, I've always ran that at Coker. 3 years you are top contender. The year you have 0 Srs, is the only year you are not a contender, but it tells you a lot about your development. Last time I was able to make a S16 I think. And I followed that up with 3 straight finals appearances. This time around, my "0" is right now. And we might not even make the NT. Telling me that my team is in serious trouble. Honestly I think we'll get it turned around in the future tho.

One other benefit that i feel gets overlooked with the 4-4-4 set up, is familiarity. Anytime you do something over and over again in life, you tend to get a feel for it and get better at it. When I have 2 openings and then 6 openings, my recruiting is all over the place. The end result tends to be fine. But my methods getting there are different. The approach needed to sign 2 can be different than the approach needed to sign 6.

With 4 openings every time, I have the same AP, same budget, same approach. Over and over and over. I just notice when I recruit that way, I do better. And the BEST part is the season I have 0 I can just sleep thru recruiting!!!! (For those of us like myself who hate it)

In addition, 99.999% of us aren't winning 4 titles in 4 seasons. So why not load up on 3 seasons. It's ok to have a down year every now and then

I love how top and I literally don't agree on anything in this game but still manage to be successful, haha. Almost like you can be successful in many different ways in this game.

Just wasting the base resources for a year. Would much prefer a 4-4-3-1 so you don't lose the base AP/$.

Posted by shoe3 on 7/31/2020 6:06:00 PM (view original):

Posted by cubcub113 on 7/31/2020 3:44:00 PM (view original):
Empty classes are ridiculously inefficient...makes no sense to me.

What’s being wasted, in your view? Scholarship resources? You can (should) use them to scout for potential upgrades for the 12th guy on next years roster.

Empty classes mean you have a deep roster, and maybe that’s what you mean, if you’re not playing press. There is quite a bit of value though, when you get to the postseason, and everyone is at B and up IQ. At D3 for sure, where so many are playing press, having a 12 deep team of B and up IQ players, and 8 at A- and up, is not an insignificant thing in the tournament.

Would just prefer you have 11 of B and up and 8 at A- and up so you don't waste ~540 AP and 5k/3k/1k bucks with the empty class.

Posted by cubcub113 on 8/1/2020 5:03:00 PM (view original):

Posted by topdogggbm on 8/1/2020 4:46:00 PM (view original):

Posted by cubcub113 on 7/31/2020 3:44:00 PM (view original):
Empty classes are ridiculously inefficient...makes no sense to me.

I love the 4-4-4-0 shoe mentioned above (go figure).

The empty class is a good range finder in my opinion. For example, I've always ran that at Coker. 3 years you are top contender. The year you have 0 Srs, is the only year you are not a contender, but it tells you a lot about your development. Last time I was able to make a S16 I think. And I followed that up with 3 straight finals appearances. This time around, my "0" is right now. And we might not even make the NT. Telling me that my team is in serious trouble. Honestly I think we'll get it turned around in the future tho.

One other benefit that i feel gets overlooked with the 4-4-4 set up, is familiarity. Anytime you do something over and over again in life, you tend to get a feel for it and get better at it. When I have 2 openings and then 6 openings, my recruiting is all over the place. The end result tends to be fine. But my methods getting there are different. The approach needed to sign 2 can be different than the approach needed to sign 6.

With 4 openings every time, I have the same AP, same budget, same approach. Over and over and over. I just notice when I recruit that way, I do better. And the BEST part is the season I have 0 I can just sleep thru recruiting!!!! (For those of us like myself who hate it)

In addition, 99.999% of us aren't winning 4 titles in 4 seasons. So why not load up on 3 seasons. It's ok to have a down year every now and then

I love how top and I literally don't agree on anything in this game but still manage to be successful, haha. Almost like you can be successful in many different ways in this game.

Just wasting the base resources for a year. Would much prefer a 4-4-3-1 so you don't lose the base AP/$.

Hahaha agreed! (But don't tell anyone that we agree or this will screw up our rhythm!)

I do think it just comes down to your D1 brain and my D2 brain in this case tho. At D1, 1 opening plus base resources equals a lot. At D2, I can lose an all in roll, sift thru the remaining players, and find one just as good for free, minus a point or two here or there. To be honest, I can see your point at D1. But it's just not as important in D2 in my opinion. I'd rather have 12 non freshman for my title run. The "1" I would sign (in a 4-4-3-1) won't do anything on that title run. And when he's a lone senior, we're gonna suck anyways with only him leading the way.

Posted by cubcub113 on 8/1/2020 5:04:00 PM (view original):

Posted by shoe3 on 7/31/2020 6:06:00 PM (view original):

Posted by cubcub113 on 7/31/2020 3:44:00 PM (view original):
Empty classes are ridiculously inefficient...makes no sense to me.

What’s being wasted, in your view? Scholarship resources? You can (should) use them to scout for potential upgrades for the 12th guy on next years roster.

Empty classes mean you have a deep roster, and maybe that’s what you mean, if you’re not playing press. There is quite a bit of value though, when you get to the postseason, and everyone is at B and up IQ. At D3 for sure, where so many are playing press, having a 12 deep team of B and up IQ players, and 8 at A- and up, is not an insignificant thing in the tournament.

Would just prefer you have 11 of B and up and 8 at A- and up so you don't waste ~540 AP and 5k/3k/1k bucks with the empty class.

8.0.3

I don’t understand viewing the baseline resources as a waste. By the same logic, it’s a waste to sign any “early” session guy at D1. The resources aren’t worth nearly so much, in my opinion, to concern yourself so much with getting the most mileage out of them.

Like I said above, you can always find ways to use baseline resources to improve your team by replacing the worst player; especially at lower levels, where the red light gives you a full recruiting session to lock someone in, and decide on someone to cut. A coach should think about doing that every single season where that opportunity presents itself, IMO.