Edition 36.01 - Season 36 Recap
11-11 in Canada Naismith
3rd in Big 8 Conference - 9th Overall
Playoff Result: TBD
REGULAR SEASON
The Unicorns not only survived their first season in Canada's top division, but reached the playoffs with a huge win on the road on the final day of the season. A strong conference record of 10-4 kept the team from the dangerous relegation games, avoiding a crossover series with the stronger Great 8. The Unicorns were battered 7 out of 8 games against those teams.
Making these results even more satisfying was the minimal roster salary the Unicorns employ, paying the league floor of $389,692 for all but 3 weeks of the season. Frugal manager Cletus Robinson packed the roster with salary efficient players who could play and defend at multiple positions, able to come up with surprising upset wins except when faced with the strongest of Naismith foes.
A wide array of tactics were used during the league schedule, keeping other teams on their toes and unable to make a single GDP guess all season. Offensive choices included: Princeton (6 games), Push the Ball (5), Patient (4), Look Inside (3), Motion (2), Base Offense (1), and Low Post (1).
The Unicorns enjoyed a great cup run, making it to the semi-finals before running into arch rival Quebec Pugs. The Pugs prevailed all three meetings this season, including two important revenue producing TV games!
The fully maxed, 20549 seat Lascaux Cave was rocking all season long. Support from the community has been huge, and the Unicorns boasted the second highest attendance in the league this season with an average gate receipt of $542,057 per game. Only league leader, cup champion, defending league champion, and BBB powerhouse Saskatoon Storm could claim higher attendance.
The near $6 million pulled in during this campaign has set the Unicorns up very well for the future. With an eye on the transfer market, and the continuing training of three Canadians on the roster, the Unicorns look to be a front runner in the seasons to come.
The regular season produced many fine moments, the best of which would have to be the narrow cup quarterfinal win over II.4's East York Thunder. The 125-117 OT thriller against a team that crunched was satisfying to say the least. Leading the way, as usual, was Irving Watts with 26 pts, 15 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal.
LEAGUE LEADERS (Top 10 included)
3pt% - Irving Watts - 55.6% - 1st
FT% - Charles Skinner - 95.0% - 1st
FT% - Irving Watts - 87.8% - 5th
STL/G - Todd Swafford - 1.5 - 7th
Best players (efficiency) - Irving Watts - 20.9 - 9th
TEAM HIGHLIGHTS (Top 5 included)
none!
TEAM LEADERS
Minutes/g - Felipe Guil - 34.8
Field Goals - Irving Watts - 129/255 (50.6%)
3 Pointers - Irving Watts - 30/54 (55.6%)
Free Throws - Charles Skinner 19/20 (95.0%)
Assists/g - Felipe Guil - 4.7
Points/g - Irving Watts - 18.0
Rebounds/g - Huangfu Shuowei - 11.6
Steals/g - Garrett Curtin - 1.0
Blocks/g - Duncan Arsenault - 1.1
Rating - Huangfu Shuowei - 13.8
GDP GUESSES
Unicorns vs Opponents - 17/21 (80.9%)
Opponents vs Unicorns - 2/2 (100%) (congrats to Squares in our cup game)
Last edited by U21 CAN Cletus at 11/21/2016 4:30:18 AM