I picked up a team to see what this game is like. It seems like a fun game. BUT ... I was a 37 point favorite and won by 1. That is not a misprint. Would anyone be so kind as to look at this game and tell me where I went wrong? Thank you.

I would start Whitton at SG or at least have him be your first sub at both PG and SG. He is easily your second best guard and should be getting a lot more minutes.

Gregg is a major liability due to his 1 DEF and 13 ATH and you should try to limit his minutes as much as possible. I would play slowdown and set Abel to Getting Tired. Unfortunately, I don't think you will be able to bench him completely because you only have 4 post players but he is really bad.

It is definitely a fun game and hopefully you stick around.

also keep in mind, the spreads are very unreliable - not good indicator

You have a guy with 1 Defense playing 15mpg. Yowza!

This is what I'd do for a lineup

PG - Brohrer (getting tired), Bab,
SG - whitton (getting tired), Goodwin,
SF - Jones, Moses, Hogle
PF - Abel, Anderson
C - Haynes, Anderson

Play slowdown to maximize minutes for starters.

I would probably cut Gregg after the season ends. In addition to the 1 Def, he has an Ath rating of 13, which is scary bad for a PF. If you cut him before the second session, you will get more recruiting dollars for him. Also, when it comes time for recruiting, be sure to focus on D1 players with maybe a few D2. Also, you will be able to move up to Division 2 after this season, if you want to. I personally prefer D2 because there is more recruiting and scouting money. If your goal is to move to division 1 eventually, it would be a good move. In my opinion, there is not much difference in terms of strategy between D3 and D2. Good luck - it's a fun game. You should have a fairly successful season because you have a lot of upper classmen, and the IQs are good. Zone, to me, is the most difficult defense to succeed at.

Posted by fd343ny on 12/10/2017 4:44:00 AM (view original):
also keep in mind, the spreads are very unreliable - not good indicator

The spreads are a joke. One season I finished 33-2 and won the National Title and one of those two losses was to a Sim team that I was a, wait for it......wait, 62 point favorite. Yes, 62! And ended up losing by two. But still won every other game except one (which was a loss on a tip-in at the buzzer to a top five human coached team in non-con play). To this day I still can't figure that one out.

Wow, sincere thanks, everyone. That gives me a lot to chew on.

1. Slow down. Thanks, I have changed it.
2. Then it would be okay to use "getting tired" as a setting? I guess desperate times call for desperate measures.
3. Is it okay to only fill three of the four depth chart slots at a position? (the starter is set to "getting tired")
4. I might be here at Menlo for another season or two before I move up. D1 isn't my goal, fun is. Or I might go to D2 right away, I don't really have a feel for that. But since I might be here for a while, is it more important to cut a totally useless sophomore (Koberg, who will never improve) or a defenseless big who will graduate in another season (Gregg)? I don't necessarily want to cut them both because it seems like a class of six would be cumbersome.
5. I don't think I care for zone either, but that's what they played before, and IQ is important, right? I think I can maybe even learn a bit playing a season or two of zone.

Posted by StillWaters on 12/10/2017 3:18:00 PM (view original):
Wow, sincere thanks, everyone. That gives me a lot to chew on.

1. Slow down. Thanks, I have changed it.
2. Then it would be okay to use "getting tired" as a setting? I guess desperate times call for desperate measures.
3. Is it okay to only fill three of the four depth chart slots at a position? (the starter is set to "getting tired")
4. I might be here at Menlo for another season or two before I move up. D1 isn't my goal, fun is. Or I might go to D2 right away, I don't really have a feel for that. But since I might be here for a while, is it more important to cut a totally useless sophomore (Koberg, who will never improve) or a defenseless big who will graduate in another season (Gregg)? I don't necessarily want to cut them both because it seems like a class of six would be cumbersome.
5. I don't think I care for zone either, but that's what they played before, and IQ is important, right? I think I can maybe even learn a bit playing a season or two of zone.

2. It's definitely ok to use getting tired. Fairly fresh is ideal, but if you have a few players who are significantly better than their backup it makes sense.
3. Yes. I never have all 20 of my depth chart positions filled. By having a couple of open spots you can have more control over the substitution patterns of your bench.
4. Cut both. Having 6 openings will give you the max amount of scouting and recruiting resources. You also don't need to have 12 players, especially if you are playing zone. With zone, 10 players is more than enough (could even do 9).
5. Zone is more complicated to run than Man but it can be good. Unless you plan on staying at Menlo for several years I recommend just sticking with zone. You will have the most success this year if you run zone because IQ is very important.

Keep in mind that you can recruit 6 or more if you want. You can target juco in recruiting. I just signed 6 guys. 2 juniors, 4 freshmen, and one of those freshmen will be redshirted. That splits 6 signees up into 3 different classes.

Spreads don't mean much. Love to see the community and a lot of well known coaches coming to help.

KVegas, I agree, I appreciate everyone's advice.

I have another question. I'm starting out with two teams. Both my starting PG's got injured, one day apart. Is that unusual? Did I do something to cause that?

Posted by StillWaters on 12/22/2017 12:19:00 PM (view original):
KVegas, I agree, I appreciate everyone's advice.

I have another question. I'm starting out with two teams. Both my starting PG's got injured, one day apart. Is that unusual? Did I do something to cause that?

Chalk it up as a random quirk. Injuries, in general, are pretty rare in the game. You'll find that you typically go more seasons without them than you do in which you get one over time. That you had two on two teams in back-to-back nights is just one of those statistical oddities that pop up from time to time if you do something long enough.

Welcome to the game!!