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Edition 31.04 - Manager Interview
With the Unicorns far outperforming expectations and holding a playoff spot in the Big 8, Unicorn manager Cletus Robinson is extremely pleased with the team's progress this season.

"Almost everything has gone smoothly this year. A couple wins really got us rolling and I praise the players and coaches for their level of preparedness before games and effort during games."

Robinson remains grounded and expects some bumpy moments before the season comes to an end.

"We've come thru conference play healthy and drawn well in the cup. There are some tough games against the Great 8 coming up and I imagine a couple clubs we defeated will be back for vengeance before the playoffs arrive."

Robinson has kept the roster intact despite the jump in competition.

"The boys have really banded together and played well as a unit. Changes are inevitable, but right now there's little for me to do but sit back and watch them win some more games."

Two players that Robinson believes exemplify leadership are Patryk Drelichowski and Dionýz Gažúr.

"Both have put maximum effort out there, and aren't afraid to take the hard shots come crunch time. They have that superstar ability but also put the team first. They know we win as a team and lose as a team."

Not to be left out, Robinson points out that the team's staff are all part of the Unicorn's success as well.

"Trainer Patrik Wilkman really puts our trainees through hell in the gym and on the practice floor. Doctor Roger Mannubens keeps the players healthy with his legendary Spanish preventative health technique as well as treating all the smaller bumps and bruises each week.

The last staff member, Nasser Touahria, has the easiest job of all!

"Yes, Nas is doing a great job on the PR side of things. Making sure there are lots of contests and giveaways at games to keep the people coming out. Which is not difficult because we have the best fans in Canada rooting us on."

Robinson seems to have a magic touch with the Unicorns. They sit comfortably in 3rd place while employing the roster with the league's lowest salary.

"We will continue to play to our strength but also spend a lot of time looking at our opponents to exploit their weaknesses as well. We think we have identified games we think are key to winning using more effort or a creative strategy versus knowing our limits and taking a loss against a league powerhouse."

In regards to the rest of the season, Robinson said, "I’m really looking forward to seeing how the guys match the new bar of success we've attained through the first eight games. It's an exciting time to be involved with or a fan of the Unicorns and the future looks bright for the franchise."

The Unicorns are back on the court this evening, facing minnows BADBOY50 in the fourth round of the Kumiko Cup.

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Player highlights:

Drelichowski - 100 ft% (t-1st), 61.7 fg% (4th)
Gažúr - 100 ft% (t-1st)
Fiorentini - 53.3 3p% (5th)

Team highlights:

stl - 8.3 (1st)
opp turn - 13.9 (1st)
fouls - 13.3 (1st)
opp fouls - 18.6 (2nd)
opp reb - 42.9 (3rd)
opp off reb - 10.3 (3rd)
opp ppg - 82.0 (4th)
opp fg% - 38.6 (5th)
opp blk - 3.4 (5th)

Edition 31.05 - Season 32 Recap
15-7 http://www.buzzerbeater.com/league/130/overview.aspx
4th in Big 8 Conference - 5th Overall
Lost 1st round vs Auto-Pilot Inc.

REGULAR SEASON
The Unicorns had a successful but unassuming season on the court. The regular season went about as planned, and a good cup run into the 8th round added to the bank account. The main goals of training the SFs and building the arena were reached. The Lascaux Cave bleachers and lower tiers now stand at 83% completed, with the goal of 100% completion next season.

The high point of the season would have to be the two games in one week against Webfoots. A close 75-73 win at home (87466986) in the cup was followed by a convincing 106-82 win on the road (85604984) in league play.

As the season drew close to an end it became apparent Auto-Pilot Inc. was stacking up the roster to push for promotion. The management of Dead Unicorns decided to stick to the status quo, not make any big moves, and not stand in the way of the league leaders. Best to have them promote and not have to contend with them next year.

The season concluded with a 115-98 loss (87592254) at the API Training Facility, leaving just a few scrimmages for the squad before golf vacations start.

Again the team played team ball, with no real standouts, "go to" scorers, or huge salary monsters.

LEAGUE LEADERS (Top 10 included)
FT Shooting - Patryk Drelichowski - 42-44 (95.5%) - 4th
FT Shooting - Dionyz Gazur - 68-74 (91.9%) - 9th
AST/G - Bijunas Stanskis - 5.9 - 7th
STL/G - Juan Gilberto Klimowickz - 1.7 - 7th

TEAM HIGHLIGHTS (Top 5 included)
Opp PPG - 77.2 (2nd)
Opp FG% - 33.7 (2nd)
Opp 3PT% - 24.8 (3rd)
FT% - 77.0 (3rd)
AST/G - 23.8 (2nd)
Opp AST/G - 15.0 (4th)
OREB/G - 13.5 (3rd)
REB/G - 53.6 (2nd)
Opp REB/G - 43.9 (4th)
BLK/G - 7.5 (3rd)
Opp STL/G - 4.6 (4th)
TURN - 8.8 (4th)
Opp PF/G - 16.6 (2nd)

Salary - $230,306 (8th)

TEAM LEADERS
Minutes/g - Juan Gilberto Klimowickz - 36.1
Field Goals - Patryk Drelichowski - 130-257 (50.6%)
3 Pointers - Irving Watts - 13-36 (36.1%)
Free Throws - Patryk Drelichowski - 42-44 (95.5%)
Rebounds/g - Patryk Drelichowski - 9.5
Assists/g - Bijunas Stanskis - 5.9
Steals/g - Juan Gilberto Klimowickz - 1.7
Blocks/g - Daniel Spirau - 1.4
Points - Juan Gilberto Klimowickz - 16.0
Rating - Bijunas Stanskis - 13.3

GDP GUESSES
Unicorns vs Opponents - 27/27 (100%)
Opponents vs Unicorns - 0/2 (0.0%)

Things were quiet this year until a very unassuming game on the schedule became a battle for the ages.

The final minute of regular time AND the final minute of OT are insane.

link to final minute of 4th: http://www.buzzerbeater.com/match/87796511/reportmatch.as...
link to final minute of OT: http://www.buzzerbeater.com/match/87796511/reportmatch.as...

Last edited by U21 CAN Cletus at 12/16/2015 2:19:23 AM

Legend is a bit much but thanks :)

I will apologize in advance, the Cup is my focus this season so you will see my starters. Plus an addition of the market does not get the best of a player I am looking at.

It was a pretty even matchup but HCA just too strong. One better PF/C and I could have withstood the barrage inside a bit better.

Work has begun on the final 750 seats of the arena. From now on, funds will be all be going towards players (and staff when cost per week rises above a replacement + winning bid.) Look out II.2.

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