When rebuilding a team (DIII), should I play the players I recruited or stick with the better SIM players?

Im doing the same in d2. And I'm playing the better players which ever they are.
My intention is to win as many as I can while building up the new players . Win as many to build up Vision. Higher Vision = Better Players .

Win as many to build up Vision. Higher Vision = Better Players .

nitros

I would start them from the beginning so their Work Ethics go way up as Freshman. It will probably only make the difference in 1-2 wins max, so not a massive effect on your vision, but it will make those players way, way better by the time they are Sr's.

Posted by z32fanatic on 3/5/2017 12:46:00 PM (view original):
I would start them from the beginning so their Work Ethics go way up as Freshman. It will probably only make the difference in 1-2 wins max, so not a massive effect on your vision, but it will make those players way, way better by the time they are Sr's.

My concern is having a losing season and poor vision vs. what you suggest.

If you start a majority of them as Fr you will probably have losing season because of low Form IQ

It's not going to make much of a difference in year 1 if the team is really bad, and I would only do it in year 1 (by year 2 those guys will be justifiable starters so you'll keep starting them all the way through. I just think it gives you a big advantage in year 4 by getting those low vision guys up to a top level. The reason I suggest this is because I tried it in D3 Warner at Millsaps and somehow won the title in year 4, starting at like 1-12 before I took over.

Guess there are different approaches to this game.

I guess it really depends on your division as well. If after 3-4 years you are winning the conference every year with no real competition, you should be starting your Fr/So during the regular season every time, just to build their WEs early on, then just change to your top guys in the conference championship and playoffs. You'll still win all your games just by being better than the SIMs, and it'll make your recruits that much better. Check out St. Olaf, who does this in every world, and as a result is always a top 4 team.

For the record, starting all Fr in the first year of a rebuild, the team went 7-6, then 10-3, then 12-2, and that was in a conference with 4-5 users so more than normal. You'll get the high vision pretty quickly regardless just by having non-SIM players and playing SIMs mostly. As I mentioned, I didn't keep starting new Fr. every year, but those first recruits started all the way through Sr. year, and by the end they were all top guys despite originally being very average (all had high potential of course).

IMO, you need to improve vision first and foremost. So do whatever you need to do to win, win, win. If you don't get the extra vision.....you won't be able to recruit the better players you need for the long term.

If you tinker with things some...during 2H or, every other game, or some arrangement like that....you can get your playing time for the younger guys and also still win. But it takes some tinkering....