I'm new and terrible. I'm having trouble figuring out what combos and players are working / not working apart from the obvious offensive stats. I assume there's no easy way to do plus / minus? Any advice on how to evaluate my team?

I'm a big fan of advanced stats but you're probably overthinking it at this point. Let's start with the basics.

- You have guys taking 3s that have no business taking 3s. SIM defaults to 0 for everyone on 3 point frequency. First thing to do is set everyone to -2 that is below 60 PER. 60-70 can maybe go -1. You don't have anyone over 70 per so you shouldn't be shouldn't many 3s.
- don't always pay attention to the listed position. Even though it says SG, you can play him at PG. Like your Redd guy on Baruch. He's your best PG. I'd swap him and Beegle.
- You just need to recruit your own guys and cut these SIM guys asap. Playing M2M defense, you can't have guys with single digit Def like you have on Baruch. Single digit ATH is real bad too. You want these guys to be in the 40-60 range, min.
- Another example of moving players around is on your whitman. Fox and McDaneld are your best Bigs. They both need to be starting even though they're both listed as C. Start Fox at PF.

Whitman doesn't look TOO bad but Baruch is a mess with just terrible SIM recruiting. I'd actually move on to a different team and try to get one that at least is somewhat decent and gives you something to work with.

Thank you so much. I wish I would've hit you up earlier! Beegle and Redd are both graduating and I had them in the wrong position all season. Doh. I've been trying to transition Whitman from a press defense to zone. Dumb move? Nobody on the team is fast and I don't feel like I have much depth.

Well, changing a team's Offense or Defense takes a lot of time usually and means you'll be mediocre at best. But your logic does make sense about speed/depth although 80 speed is pretty solid. I personally really like press at D3 so I'd stick with it.

But if you really want to play zone, I'd just change a team that already plays that and already has some good players.

Do you have any personal attachment to these teams? If not, you can look at dropping them and getting a new team. The job period in Allen is coming up soon so you'll be able to switch in a couple days. There are a few teams that look like they'll be available for you to grab that had human coaches and good prestige


https://www.whatifsports.com/hd/TeamProfile/Ratings.aspx?tid=7737
https://www.whatifsports.com/hd/TeamProfile/Ratings.aspx?tid=7615

https://www.whatifsports.com/hd/TeamProfile/Ratings.aspx?tid=7764

Another one that could work.

Thanks, Benis. I am oddly attached to Baruch. I've got four recruits coming in. I know it'll be a long slog but I'm up for it. Whitman.. no attachment. But I'd like to know what I'm doing before starting another team so I can hit the ground running.

Good decision. Switching teams will not help you learn the game. Build it on your own!

Posted by rudyrude9 on 1/24/2017 12:45:00 PM (view original):
Good decision. Switching teams will not help you learn the game. Build it on your own!

Bingo. If you want to get a gut level feel for how ratings, IQ's, and settings work and how they function within the sim engine, there's no better way than to build some teams from the ground up.


Edit: spelling

Posted by kashmir75 on 1/24/2017 1:16:00 PM (view original):

Posted by rudyrude9 on 1/24/2017 12:45:00 PM (view original):
Good decision. Switching teams will not help you learn the game. Build it on your own!

Bingo. If you want to get a gut level feel for how ratings, IQ's, and settings work and how they function within the sim engine, there's no better way than to build some teams from the ground up.


Edit: spelling

Eh, I could go either way I suppose but I don't think taking over a good team hinders you in learning the game. When you have completely terrible players, it's hard to learn what works or doesn't work because they're so far off of what you'd actually have once you get your own guys.

I think the benefit to taking over a team that is already decent is that you can see what good players look like. You can look at who your studs are on your team and then try to recruit similar players. If you take over a team with guys with 10 ath/def then you don't know if that is truly awful or if you need 20 or 30 or what.

Plus, it takes a long time and may not be very fun losing for several months. But that part is totally up to the coach and what they want to do and how long they're willing to spend rebuilding.

Posted by Benis on 1/24/2017 1:31:00 PM (view original):

Posted by kashmir75 on 1/24/2017 1:16:00 PM (view original):

Posted by rudyrude9 on 1/24/2017 12:45:00 PM (view original):
Good decision. Switching teams will not help you learn the game. Build it on your own!

Bingo. If you want to get a gut level feel for how ratings, IQ's, and settings work and how they function within the sim engine, there's no better way than to build some teams from the ground up.


Edit: spelling

Eh, I could go either way I suppose but I don't think taking over a good team hinders you in learning the game. When you have completely terrible players, it's hard to learn what works or doesn't work because they're so far off of what you'd actually have once you get your own guys.

I think the benefit to taking over a team that is already decent is that you can see what good players look like. You can look at who your studs are on your team and then try to recruit similar players. If you take over a team with guys with 10 ath/def then you don't know if that is truly awful or if you need 20 or 30 or what.

Plus, it takes a long time and may not be very fun losing for several months. But that part is totally up to the coach and what they want to do and how long they're willing to spend rebuilding.

A lot of truth to that. As a complete noob, you may not even realize what's happening as you gradually get better. As an experienced coach, I see it with different eyes though. And it doesn't usually take me very long to put a team back on track. I'm generally winning by season 2, and NT entry level by season 3 at the latest.

Coming to the forums and asking or reading, maybe both, are the best thing a new coach can do, unless they come because a friend brought them in and is walking them through. Maybe even then too.

I don't think taking a good team hinders you learning the game either, but I do think that if you always go that route, you are probably cheating yourself of an opportunity to learn from a different perspective.

It's not like the ratings are a secret on the very good teams in your world. You can click it and compare the #3 team to your 7-18 teams and, if you're feeling froggy, check the projected 137 team. Doesn't really matter if your team is good or bad. You have access to all the ratings of every team.

Posted by kashmir75 on 1/24/2017 1:48:00 PM (view original):

Posted by Benis on 1/24/2017 1:31:00 PM (view original):

Posted by kashmir75 on 1/24/2017 1:16:00 PM (view original):

Posted by rudyrude9 on 1/24/2017 12:45:00 PM (view original):
Good decision. Switching teams will not help you learn the game. Build it on your own!

Bingo. If you want to get a gut level feel for how ratings, IQ's, and settings work and how they function within the sim engine, there's no better way than to build some teams from the ground up.


Edit: spelling

Eh, I could go either way I suppose but I don't think taking over a good team hinders you in learning the game. When you have completely terrible players, it's hard to learn what works or doesn't work because they're so far off of what you'd actually have once you get your own guys.

I think the benefit to taking over a team that is already decent is that you can see what good players look like. You can look at who your studs are on your team and then try to recruit similar players. If you take over a team with guys with 10 ath/def then you don't know if that is truly awful or if you need 20 or 30 or what.

Plus, it takes a long time and may not be very fun losing for several months. But that part is totally up to the coach and what they want to do and how long they're willing to spend rebuilding.

A lot of truth to that. As a complete noob, you may not even realize what's happening as you gradually get better. As an experienced coach, I see it with different eyes though. And it doesn't usually take me very long to put a team back on track. I'm generally winning by season 2, and NT entry level by season 3 at the latest.

Coming to the forums and asking or reading, maybe both, are the best thing a new coach can do, unless they come because a friend brought them in and is walking them through. Maybe even then too.

I don't think taking a good team hinders you learning the game either, but I do think that if you always go that route, you are probably cheating yourself of an opportunity to learn from a different perspective.

Yeah I agree. I think it's also more rewarding when you win with your own players than someone else's but to each their own.

Definitely asking questions and learning how to game works is priority #1.

I spent my first season at Roanoke in Wooden, I just picked it because it is near where I live, then after a season I went to Rutgers at Newark which I remain now. I recruited some decent players at Roanoke, after I left they made it to the PIT then NT with the players I recruited, so they weren't terrible. But the team I went to was a A- prestige team coming off of a 2nd round NT exit. I enjoyed being able to take over a team full of good guys and then putting my own guys in the mix and got to the NT my first season there. I was able to learn how to run a successful team quicker than had I stayed at Roanoke. But to each his own.

Posted by MikeT23 on 1/24/2017 3:29:00 PM (view original):
It's not like the ratings are a secret on the very good teams in your world. You can click it and compare the #3 team to your 7-18 teams and, if you're feeling froggy, check the projected 137 team. Doesn't really matter if your team is good or bad. You have access to all the ratings of every team.

very good recommendation - look at good teams. Pay attention to things like

- what offense and defense do they run and what are their IQs
- do they have a long history of success (or does the coach)
- who are their best players - look at both ratings (including IQs) and stats
- how does the coach use the players - who starts - who comes off the bench - who gets lots of minutes and who gets little