Welcome back to Western Illinois’ quest for greatness in College Hoops 2K8. You can find a full explanation of exactly what we’re doing here + spoiler-free links to previous seasons on the About page of this website. Share it with a friend!
Not sure about starting Fulton. Moving Dupre to PF for now and letting Fulton come off the bench until is offensive awareness comes up might be a good idea.
Or, start him, but don't give him the 30+ minutes a game like the other starters? Maybe give him around 20-25 minutes?
Hmmmm. Good points. Dupre drops one to 84 when moved to PF. While Medina is currently a point better than Fulton, Fulton has a big advantage in potential (B+ to C) and should fly past him by the end of the year. A couple other things to consider:
- Is Fulton less likely to leave early if I don't start him this year?
- Does Fulton ultimately switch to small forward after Frye graduates after this season?
- Do we have enough shooting on the floor with the Dupre-Jorts frontline?
Fulton had a much lower OFF Awareness than Dupre, correct? How much of a factor is the awareness value over the various shooting ratings?
Could always have Fulton on the bench, but if those A+ teaching assistant coaches get him to blow up, promote him to a starting role in midseason and move Dupre back to the bench (and maybe back to C)
The Nelk Man is my fav 'Neck so he was my first pick. Bud was a sentimental pick, so he was my next. Ballinger was a beast, so I grabbed him next. Leaving $4, Haynes was the pick at PG (and honestly, I'd probably grab him over anyone but Assel anyway) and that left $2 so went with Willis over Messy.
Kleinzweig and Grimes were excellent players, but this squad was missing someone with a killer instinct who could just take over games by sheer force of will. In the end, it cost the team in the tourny. Tough way to go out.
I'll remember AK as maybe the biggest 'what if' player in program history. I really loved watching him cook on offense and force TOs on defense. Wish I got another year with him, but I guess we'll just have to draft him in Seattle.
Hoyer (C), Richards (PF), Draughan (SF), Assel (G), Amous (G). If that breaks the sacred rules of picking a $15 lineup, I am fine going with Waller at SG and Assel at PG.
I'm starting to come around to the idea of you taking a new job at some point. The underdog element of the WIU journey has been great, but I think taking a new job could add a bit to the series.
If you do take a new job, the best landing spot in my opinion would be a shitty program in an excellent conference - ideally maybe a school that has had some past glory. I'm thinking a school like Wake Forest, Washington (easy Sonics tie-in), Marquette, Georgia Tech. Just spit-balling here. I don't know what conference are looking like in your Dynasty these days.
Adding the intrigue of potentially being on the bubble would be a nice change of pace, as would the possibility of recruiting 5* Seniors. At a school like WIU it's virtually impossible. Conference tourneys would be super meaningful and the ceiling of your big dance seeding would go way up - a 1 seed could be attainable.
I'm still very much enjoying the WIU experience but I think if you do jump ship it can be done in a way that doesn't alienate too many of the people that have followed since season 1 while also broadening the appeal to potential new readers.
Agree about potential teams to switch to. It should be an unsuccessful team so that we keep the underdog element, but from a big conference so that we have a tough conference schedule and so we can get good recruits.
Hoyer is so silky inside, Byfield is good in support, and that back court would be a holy terror inside and out. Powell is an absolute beast and first to leave early. Hatten will always have the power of the high socks, and I don't know if we'll ever turn out a PG as good as Assel again.
Not sure about starting Fulton. Moving Dupre to PF for now and letting Fulton come off the bench until is offensive awareness comes up might be a good idea.
Or, start him, but don't give him the 30+ minutes a game like the other starters? Maybe give him around 20-25 minutes?
Hmmmm. Good points. Dupre drops one to 84 when moved to PF. While Medina is currently a point better than Fulton, Fulton has a big advantage in potential (B+ to C) and should fly past him by the end of the year. A couple other things to consider:
- Is Fulton less likely to leave early if I don't start him this year?
- Does Fulton ultimately switch to small forward after Frye graduates after this season?
- Do we have enough shooting on the floor with the Dupre-Jorts frontline?
Fulton had a much lower OFF Awareness than Dupre, correct? How much of a factor is the awareness value over the various shooting ratings?
Could always have Fulton on the bench, but if those A+ teaching assistant coaches get him to blow up, promote him to a starting role in midseason and move Dupre back to the bench (and maybe back to C)
Ballinger, Bud, Willis, Nelke, Haynes.
The Nelk Man is my fav 'Neck so he was my first pick. Bud was a sentimental pick, so he was my next. Ballinger was a beast, so I grabbed him next. Leaving $4, Haynes was the pick at PG (and honestly, I'd probably grab him over anyone but Assel anyway) and that left $2 so went with Willis over Messy.
Haynes, Lubos, Draughan, Richards, Jorts
Kleinzweig and Grimes were excellent players, but this squad was missing someone with a killer instinct who could just take over games by sheer force of will. In the end, it cost the team in the tourny. Tough way to go out.
I'll remember AK as maybe the biggest 'what if' player in program history. I really loved watching him cook on offense and force TOs on defense. Wish I got another year with him, but I guess we'll just have to draft him in Seattle.
Hoyer (C), Richards (PF), Draughan (SF), Assel (G), Amous (G). If that breaks the sacred rules of picking a $15 lineup, I am fine going with Waller at SG and Assel at PG.
Man, a loss every time I miss the stream. Well, I have to be better.
I'm starting to come around to the idea of you taking a new job at some point. The underdog element of the WIU journey has been great, but I think taking a new job could add a bit to the series.
If you do take a new job, the best landing spot in my opinion would be a shitty program in an excellent conference - ideally maybe a school that has had some past glory. I'm thinking a school like Wake Forest, Washington (easy Sonics tie-in), Marquette, Georgia Tech. Just spit-balling here. I don't know what conference are looking like in your Dynasty these days.
Adding the intrigue of potentially being on the bubble would be a nice change of pace, as would the possibility of recruiting 5* Seniors. At a school like WIU it's virtually impossible. Conference tourneys would be super meaningful and the ceiling of your big dance seeding would go way up - a 1 seed could be attainable.
I'm still very much enjoying the WIU experience but I think if you do jump ship it can be done in a way that doesn't alienate too many of the people that have followed since season 1 while also broadening the appeal to potential new readers.
Agree about potential teams to switch to. It should be an unsuccessful team so that we keep the underdog element, but from a big conference so that we have a tough conference schedule and so we can get good recruits.
Hoyer, Byfield, Powell, Hatten, and Assel.
Hoyer is so silky inside, Byfield is good in support, and that back court would be a holy terror inside and out. Powell is an absolute beast and first to leave early. Hatten will always have the power of the high socks, and I don't know if we'll ever turn out a PG as good as Assel again.