Thursday, September 4, 2003

Fanning the Flames (Or, More From .400)

In an effort to spread myself even thinner than I already am, I got the idea to do a diary for a new Tournament Dreams College Basketball game I've started. I *heart* this game. It puts you in charge of the D-I college basketball program of your choice, and it's one of those open-ended games where you can set whatever goal you want. Maybe you want to win a metric assload of championships, or turn your alma mater into a national power. You can do all of that. Control recruiting and scheduling all the way down to team strategies and individual players' roles.

The team I randomly selected: The University of Illinois-Chicago Flames of the Horizon League.

Why, yes, I AM a glutton for punishment. Thanks for asking!

Preseason/Week 1:

Head Coach: Chris Mills (age 34, Temple ’90)
Assistants: Eric Gearhart (40, Valparaiso ’83), Alonzo Blossom (48, Drake ’75), Kerry Cherry (36, Oral Roberts ’88)
Trainer: Clarence Smiley (56)

Starting Prestige: Very Low (27)
Starting Expectations: Avoid Embarrassment
Freshman Class: Below Average
Overall Talent Level: Below Average

Total Recruiting Budget: $7503/week
Scouting Service: Cole Scouting (2 stars) $5008/week

Roster
Starters
PG - #11 Rashun Cooper (freshman, 6’1”, 162, Crawfordsville, IN)
SG - #15 Clyde Miller (junior, 6’3”, 185, Harding HS, Fort Wayne, IN)
SF – #41 Danny Jones (senior, 6’7”, 205, St. Xavier HS, Cincinnati, OH)
PF - #52 Glendon White (junior, 6’10”, 273, Cook Secondary, Cook, MN) (role set to Rebounder)
C - #21 Damon Williams (senior, 6’6”, 210, Northside College Prep, Chicago)

Bench
C - #20 Larry Greer (junior, 6’7”, 218, Joliet, IL)
PF - #4 Adam Fields (sophomore, 6’5”, 205, Mitchell, IN)
PG - #5 Noel Scott (sophomore, 5’10”, 153, Community HS, Forest City, IA)
SG - #1 Kiwane Jefferson (sophomore, 6’1”, 167, Brookhaven HS, Columbus, OH) (role set to 3-point shooter)
SF - #45 Mark Correa (senior, 6’4”, 194, Vantaa, Finland)
PF - #30 Vidal Muhammad (freshman, 6’10”, 210, St. Thomas More HS, Milwaukee)
SF - #12 Will Wagner (freshman, 6’8”, 189, Hammond-Morton HS, Hammond, IN)
C – #14 Chris Mardis (freshman, 6’9”, 213, Bellevue West HS, Bellevue, NE)

At least my predecessor realized we needed size and got me some before his ass got bounced.

My head assistant, Gearhart, seems to think that most of these guys aren’t going to amount to much this season, especially the freshmen. Jones is probably my best player, but he’s a senior. Thankfully, Cooper’s my second-best player and a true freshman, so I’ll have something to work with.

Preseason No. 1’s:
Arizona – IP Poll
Florida - .400 Sports Poll

Oddities:
Wisconsin-Milwaukee's got this guy:
PF - #33 Greg Morrill (freshman, 6’7”, 192, Indiana School For the Blind, Indianapolis)

(Maybe he's only legally blind.)

Personal/Selfish Note:
Two fictional players from my high school (Rancocas Valley Regional; Mt. Holly, NJ) are being recruited:
C - #5 Ronny Largent (6’6”, 212, 16.3 ppg, 11.9 rpg)
PG - #3 Chris Simpson (5’11”, 156, 11.4 ppg, 7 apg)

Should be interesting. Or absolute hell.

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