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Big Eight Preview:

Favorite

Visionaries:
Despite a season-opening loss, Visionaries come into the season as the favorite to take the #1 seed in the Big Eight. Pel's squad has always found a way to finish near the top of the Big Eight standings. He can match up well with almost anyone.
Player to Watch: Former U21 player Jeffrey Havens is a versatile wing that does a little bit of everything. One of the better rebounding guards in the league, he makes a difference even when his shot is not falling.


Returning:

EDH Wolves:
EDH is coming off a solid third-place finish in the Big Eight last season. An inside-oriented team, the Wolves look to wear down the opponent by pounding them inside and playing solid D.
Player to Watch: Egyptian PF Hafiz Bdeir is the most important cog in the Wolves machine. A double-double machine, Bdeir makes the offense work by shooting a very efficient percentage.

The Death Star:
The Empire will look to strike back this season after losing in the first round of the playoffs. A prolific Run-and-gun offense makes this one of the top scoring teams in the league, but The Death Star has one weak point...a two meter exhaust vent in the middle of its defense.
Player to Watch: Roberto Santa Cruz brings a unique set of skills to the table. The Spanish PF shoots well enough to contribute to the Emperor's outside attack, while also holding his own on the boards.

Shock Wave:
Coming off of a 9-13 season, the Wave appear destined for another middle-of-the-pack campaign in the Big Eight.
Player to Watch: Ken Dozier can be seen at the bottom of the league page as the record-holder for the top scoring performance in II.3 history. He set the record all the way back in Season 6!!

Gingersnaps:
The 'snaps went 9-13 last season with point differential sending them to a relegation series, which they survived. Gingersnaps is currently training up a few guards to get the ball inside to the two stars, Lonnie Keeler and Andrea Gattoni.
Player to Watch: Trained from nothing into a U21 and NT contributor, Lonnie Keeler leaves it all on the floor for Gingersnaps.


Newcomers:

Swampdonkeys:
Off to a wonderful start with a win over preseason favorite Visionaries, things will get tougher for this Team on the Rise!! Smart management should allow GM-Swampdonkey to stick around long enough to make an impact.
Player to Watch: Turhan Aysu may have led the way on offense against Visionaries, but his real value comes on the other end of the floor.

The Illusion:
The Illusion started their DII career off right with a tough road win over Gingersnaps. If they can keep getting 50-point performances from Utt Abu-Mansour, they will be much more than an illusion.
Player to Watch: Egyptian NT guard Utt Abu-Mansour dropped 54 on Gingersnaps in his DII debut.

King Drive Ballers:
Five cup championships, five NBBA titles, and three trips to the B3 quarterfinals. This is the legacy of KDB. Thankfully for League II.3, brian is just passing through as he trains and saves up for another run to the top of the BB universe.
Player to Watch: Colin Harrell was a USA NT star while playing for KDB. He's not on this team anymore, but there is nothing to see here...

Final Standings Predictions:
1 EDH Wolves
2 Visionaries
3 The Death Star
4 Swampdonkeys
5 Gingersnaps
6 Shock Wave
7 The Illusion
8 King Drive Ballers

Preseason All-Big Eight Team
PG Néstor Abril, Shock Wave
SG Utt Abu-Mansour, The Illusion
SF Jeffrey Havens, Visionaries
PF Hafiz Bdeir, EDH Wolves
C Andrea Gattoni, Gingersnaps

Preseason Big Eight MVP
Hafiz Bdeir, EDH Wolves

Last edited by BFiddy at 4/25/2011 2:49:48 AM

Great Eight Preview:

Favorite

Hunterkirualeorio:
After going 18-4 a season ago, Hunter seems to be the favorite for promotion this season.
Player to Watch: Mark Richardson is one of the highest-salaried guards in DII.3 and he shows why on the court. Even when he is not scoring in bunches, his rebounds, assists, and great defense lead the way for Hunter.


Returning

Raleigh Roughriders:
The Roughriders surprised a lot of teams last year by finishing second in the Great Eight. The reigning scoring leaders kept up the pace by scoring 166 points in their opener.
Player to Watch: On a team loaded with talent, Kostas Smeros stands out as the star. When the physical big man can stay on the floor, he is an automatic double-double.

Lovable Losers:
As the three seed last season, DIII promotee LOL came within 3 points of promoting straight to the NBBA. With two new starters, LOL will try to climb up the regular season standings this year.
Player to Watch: After being shuffled all over the court for his whole career to train for the U21 team, Elroy Barrow will finally be able to settle in as the starting SF for LOL.

Milwaukee Lethargy:
Another promoting team in Season 15, Lethargy took down regular season champ Hunterkirualeorio in round 1 of the playoffs. This defensive juggernaut (1449 Point Allowed in S15) will look to set the bar even higher (lower?) in Season 16.
Player to Watch: This team is built on defense, but someone has to score occasionally. Alejandro Garabalde will need to put it in the hole.

Contortionists:
Outoing U21 Manager Jelme's squad has undergone some changes in the last season. With SG Evaristo Pérez and C Félix Capoeira in the fold, the shift from Welsh to Brazilian has been almost completed...but how good is Jelme's Portuguese?
Player to Watch: Félix Capoeira was brought in to provide an inside presence. The Contortionists expect him to help in some of their traditionally tough match-ups.

UCR Highlanders:
JFlores may be throwing in the towel. With the sales of Frédéric Valot and Philip Fitch, the squad is looking a little threadbare. What will UCR do?
Player to Watch: One of the highest-paid players in the league, Janis Vilks is almost the last man standing for UCR right now. If no help is brought in, he will be asked to carry a heavy load.


Newcomers

Purdue Boilers:
The Boilers made a big statement by starting their DII tenure off with a 1-point home win over Jelme. A slow-paced, defensive team, Purdue will try to emulate the success that Milwaukee had as a promoting team last season.
Players to Watch: Nigerian James Wada was the team leader in points and assists in Division III.

The Blue Stars:
Inside offense and outside defense. It is not a groundbreaking recipe, but it has brought the Stars this far. A dominant DIII team (+647 PD last season), it remains to be seen how well TBS will adapt.
Player to Watch: A TBS draftee, Johnnie Chamberlain was the leading scorer for the Stars last season.

Final Standings Predictions:
Hunterkirualeorio
Lovable Losers
Milwaukee Lethargy
Contortionists
Raleigh Roughriders
Purdue Boilers
The Blue Stars
UCR Highlanders

Preason All-Great Eight Team
PG Mark Richardson, Hunterkirualeorio
SG Evaristo Pérez, Contortionists
SF Elroy Barrow, Lovable Losers
PF Alejandro Garabalde, Milwaukee Lethargy
C Kostas Smeros, Raleigh Roughriders

Preseason Great Eight MVP
Mark Richardson, Hunterkirualeorio

Last edited by BFiddy at 4/25/2011 2:52:19 AM

Great job Fiddy!!!! I hope i can do as well as you predict, but it will take a LOT of work!

Wow, quite a breakdown! But like I said after "My Centennial Top 3 Lists" (181085.20)

I consider my team an offensive powerhouse & would appreciate everyone else do the same. Thanks.

My Great 8 Predictions would be:
1. Lovable Losers
2. Hunterkirualeorio
3. Raleigh Roughriders
Then a moderate drop-off for the next 3 slots.
4. Milwaukee Lethargy (11-12 wins) / 5. Contortionists (11-12 wins, but miss on PD)
6. Purdue Boilers
7. The Blue Stars (If no further acquisitions)
8. UCR Highlanders

I consider my team an offensive powerhouse & would appreciate everyone else do the same. Thanks.

Ahh yes, my mistake...I must have been thinking of some other team. For some reason I thought you scored <1,800 points last season, but my memory is not so good.

My Great 8 Predictions would be:
1. Lovable Losers
2. Hunterkirualeorio
3. Raleigh Roughriders
Then a moderate drop-off for the next 3 slots.
4. Milwaukee Lethargy (11-12 wins) / 5. Contortionists (11-12 wins, but miss on PD)
6. Purdue Boilers
7. The Blue Stars (If no further acquisitions)
8. UCR Highlanders

If there is a drop-off, it's not very big and it comes after the top 5, not the top 3....but that is only my opinion...

Yea I don't really have a plan, I have a ton of $ so I might reload and try to stay up. Definitely planning to buy a young Center or Power Forward.

Ahh yes, my mistake...I must have been thinking of some other team. For some reason I thought you scored <1,800 points last season, but my memory is not so good.

Hmm, swore I scored > 2800 points. Maybe it just seemed that way? Regardless, I have a new high power offense in place this season! Instead of a backup being the leading scorer (true story last season) a starter might. Novel idea, i know. Game 1 my starting SG lit it up for 12 points on only 23 shot attempts!! (ok, please ignore the backup guard with 30 pts)

If there is a drop-off, it's not very big and it comes after the top 5, not the top 3....but that is only my opinion...

Oops, meant to include another drop-off between 2nd and 3rd place. I think 1st and 2nd will be about equally dangerous. Then a slight drop-off to 3rd. And another to 4-5-6.

Hunterkirualeorio will be good again for sure. But think that with your new $100k center, you'll at least challenge for 1st. Already you picked up 1 extra win for your team, and 1 extra loss for him vs. last season. Both of you are a full step above the rest IMO. I put Raleigh Roughriders 3rd, based entirely on them getting 14 wins last season. Not sure at all how strong they really are. Have the next 3 teams maxing out at around 11-12 wins. All of which are another 1/2 to full step down in terms of how dangerous they are.

Last edited by shikago at 4/26/2011 4:06:08 AM

Nice preview, love the Harrell mention.

Hopefully the guys im training will follow in his footsteps in making some clutch shots in big games. With the introduction of the player salaries floor I'm considering trying to avoid relegation later in the season. Will see, trainees still need a lot of work to be able to hold their own as starters and I'd hate to spend on a positions I'm building for.

Great workup Fiddy,
I think you have it pretty much correct. Nice to be in a league with managers that take to time to evaluate and then destroy you :) Should be a fun season.

Actuall all-stars

Big 8
PG: Rocha, Abril
SG: Abu-Mansour, Serre
SF: Ricker, Havens
PF: Bdeir, Keeler
C: Soltani, Picart (Fiddy's call: Gattoni, transfered out of league)

Great 8
PG: Nikou, Perez (out of position, Fiddy's call: Richardson)
SG: Cardenas, Wada (Fiddy's call: Perez, allstar at PG)
SF: Barrow, Dusak
PF: Garabalde, Smeros
C: Zito, Capoeira

I think that's actually pretty good predicting! 5/10 exactly right, 2 backups, one out-of-position backup, one mulligan, one wrong (Richardson came in 3rd in PG voting so he fell short of swapping Perez's spot).



Last edited by Peluin at 6/6/2011 11:21:29 PM