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“Happy Ourer back with you on the Linndale Basketball Pregame Show, along with Marshall Richards. Oh boy, Marshall, it’s good to be back!”

“It’s good to have you back, Happy”

“Marshall, everyone with the team seems to be really excited about our biggest addition making his Linndale debut tonight in league play as we watch Floyd Hearn step on to the court for warmups. What can we expect from him tonight?”

“Well Happy, he’s going to improve the interior defense and rebounding. That’s where it starts, but there’s more to it. He’s young, so he ‘ll likely be a big part of the team for the future; this isn’t a buy low, sell high, sell fast deal. He’s only 24. He can score inside, and he’s got some wiggle to him. He can handle the rock and drive. He’s a shot blocker. He makes free throws. He’s a decent passer. He’s got a developing perimeter game, but that isn’t what he’s here for. I can’t wait to see how they manipulate the lineups around him. He’s going to give Coach Pio Reina a few options to play with.”
“Thanks Marshall, and now we go to our newest member on the broadcast and welcome aboard Air Allnite. Air, welcome to the Linndale basketball family!”

“Thank you, Happy! I spoke with recent acquisition Christophe Nguyen and veeran Nick Guevara a few moments ago. They didn’t say much, but they were excited to see Hearn on the floor. Nick specifically said he thinks there may be some combinations we’ve not contemplated. I haven’t been able to ask Coach Reina about that yet, but as soon as I can, I will.”

“Thanks Air, we’ll check back with you later in the show. Marshall, when we come back from commercial break, give us a rundown on the week I missed. Also we’ll check in with Air Allnite once more, and I’ll have a conversation with Art Reese! More Linndale Basketball after the break.”

Haven't been able to watch any college hoops all season, so I didn't fill put a bracket. Second year i a row this has happened, and i don't like it one bit! As long as Duke doesn't win it all, I'm happy.

We had a bracket pool at my job. Of course I say had because mostly everyone's bracket except two are busted. I won't lie yesterday my significant other thought I had fallen or something right after FDU had beaten Purdue. I was screaming that much (and it was in joy) My Duke hate has diminished some with the departure of Coach K. I still have joy when they lose, but not as much joy as I have when Kentucky loses, I never liked Calipari. Tolerated him at UMass, hope he was contained at Memphis and lost all respect for Kentucky for they hired him. A Cal year of No Final Four is all I need.

1.) Houston
2.) Marquette
3.) Alabama
4.) Gonzaga

Yeah I know Gonzaga has not been playing like they have the last few years but Mark Few knows how to get the most from his team and they're in a bracket that while challenging is still within them being able to get through.

Marquette, I've always liked Shaka Smart in a smaller conference situations

Last edited by Coach Stephenson at 3/18/2023 10:28:30 PM

Hunt Mosley:
For three quarters of this game, the San Dominica Warriors were the inferior team. For three quarters of this game, the Tasty Tardicles were the dominant team and were basically knocking the taste out of the mouth of the San Dominica Warriors. After three quarters of this game, the Tasty Tardicles were for all intents and purposes tasting victory.

But basketball is a game of four quarters and in the last quarter, the San Dominica Warriors were the dominant team. Coach in his press conference will likely credit it to stamina, some pundits will agree with him. A good number of others will credit it to luck. There are some who will say the Tardicles lost this game rather than San Dominica won it. And in the end it doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter who you credit it to, somehow, some way the San Dominica Warriors scored 42 points in the fourth quarter and somehow stymied the Tasty Tardicles offense that just needed to do something, practically anything and they would and should have walked away with a victory. Instead the basketball gods found favor on the Warriors and they walked away winners 106-94. And the basketball gods kept giving as the Lion Rebels and the 209’s Most Wanted, both lost. My take hmm, there are no such things as bad wins. A win is a win. Now there will be no bragging points for the Warriors in this win. There are some games where you just walk away with the W and be happy about it. This is one of those games. When we come back, my partner the legendary Brett Rodriguez will break this game down. I’m Hunt Mosley and you’re watching the Warriors Post Game Report. Back after this commercial break.

Last edited by Coach Stephenson at 3/18/2023 10:45:47 PM

“Air Allnite with the Linndale Basketball Post Game Report and I’m here with Coach Pio Reina. Coach, how are you and the team after the win tonight?”

“I’m here because I’m contractually obligated to be here; don’t get it twisted. I do not like you. That said, we’re feeling pretty good right now. Hustlas is always a tough matchup for us, but we got it done tonight and it was our defense that did it.”

“Coach, it’s surprising that Kyle Knowles only took 7 shots and only played 22 minutes. Was there a reason?”

“Kyle Knowles didn’t score much but he didn’t have to, and he was fantastic. Shooter was phenomenal backing up both guard spots; specifically I think he played well when running the point. Mantas Petriukstis was solid. We were able to get strong minutes from our guards without needing them to score, and we were able to get Nguyen some time on the court. That was good to do. More to the point, we were up by 30 after 3; did you think we were going to leave the guys out there or try to get some young guys some in game action?”

“That was an interesting lineup you used out there. How did you think Floyd Hearn looked out there?”

“Floyd Hearn was impressive playing at the power forward. We talked about this when he arrived, and while he’s not going to be playing forward full time, he will see time there. Sanz Garcaa looked solid playing next to Hearn. Datler was solid as usual. That trio was impressive.”

“Daniil Kamp seemed to have control of the game and appeared to benefit the most from the big front line you used.”

“Daniil Kamp was impressive and efficient. Even when his shot isn’t falling, he’s been very good for us.”

“Guevara and Reese did not have their best games at all. Mann and Reynolds didn’t get much court time. Any thought to changing things up with regards to them?”

“No. We have a plan for Reynolds and we’ll stick to it. Reese had a rough game, but he’s progressing. Mann has had a solid season so far. Not as good as we were hoping, but we’re not giving up on him either. Guevara is solid. Just a bad day at the office for him today.”

“Thanks for your time, Coach. Congratulations on the win tonight, and we’ll see you when you get back home on Tuesday.”

Coach walks into the GM’s office and takes a seat next to Pio Reina, concern on his face.

“Whoever hired that Air Allnite character is playing with fire,” Coach said to no one in particular. “He’s a problem.”

“All I can say is I don’t like him”, replied Pio. His disdain for Allnite was widely known.

“Duly noted, gentlemen. Coach, welcome back. It’s always a pleasure, but we don’t have a lot of time so we need to get down to business. I asked for this meeting because I don’t believe we can wait for the All Star break as we had previously scheduled. We’re tied with Philly and Carolina at 6-5 for the last playoff spot. Due to tiebreakers, we’re in 6th place. In essence, we’re two games out of a playoff spot. All things being equal, that’s not too bad for us given the retooling we’ve had to do. Having said that, we know what the standard is. What OUR standard is. We need to determine if we need to go all in and chase that playoff spot or deal with relegation and set ourselves up for next season. Coach, you have the pros. Pio, you have the cons. I’ll name the player and you respond. Christophe Nguyen.”

Coach: “Long term play, at worst JUST a backup PG. A 19 year old rookie who is *thisclose* to being ready for a bigger role. You may have gotten yourself a steal at that price.”

Pio: “No disagreement.”

GM: “Kyle Knowles.”

Coach: “Keeper.”

Pio: “No disagreement.”

GM: “Shooter.”

Coach: “That kid is gonna be special.”

Pio: “His defense needs work.”

Coach: “You say that about everybody. You know I’m right and you believe it, too.”

GM: “Mantas Petriukstis.”

Coach: “Another good pickup. I hear what point guards with his skill set are going for.”

Pio: “He’s not a point guard, and he needs confidence.”

GM: “So we’re in agreement the guard room is not the issue?”

Coach: “We’re in agreement that the guard room is in a nice spot. You have a weapon in Kyle. You have 2 more developing in Shooter and Mantas. Both should be able to play the point full time soon. You have a rookie who will likely claim the backup point guard job outright no later than just after the all star break. When he does, and that’s not an if, Shooter will be the least accomplished defensive guard on the team”

Pio: “I can play with these guys. You know Shooter was my pet project, but I have to tell you Mantas is that guy now. One of those two will wind up being THE point guard.

GM: “Given development, what does Nguyen need to do to become that guy?”

Pio: “Free throw shooting needs to improve. He becomes a liability at the end of games without that. His outside shot needs work, but if he can get to the rim and finish, you can surround him with shooters and he’ll find the open guy. He’ll draw the defense when he attacks the rim.”

GM: “And as Coach indicated, point guards with the skill set we seek are not cheap.”

*secretary interrupts via intercom*

“Excuse me, sir, but you will want to see this.” *turns on television via remote*

“I’m Air Allnite, and this is your state of the Linndale basketball team. It sucks. This is not playoff team. The GM is out of his league. The coach is short in experience and bad in temperament. The organization seems to be well run, but that’s a facade. It’s run well enough to not fail, and even then they come close. Just utterly ridiculous!”

Coach: “Called it.”

Pio: “Any further questions?”

GM: "We'll deal with that later. We have to continue the self evaluation. We have to see where we can continue on plan and where we need to make a course correction. Coach, you and I will meet with Alejandro Jayo, the new PR manager."

Coach: "Does that Allnite character work for the team, or our broadcast partners? That has to affect the response."

GM: "Duly noted. We'll deal with that later. Let's order dinner and get back to our self evaluation. On to the forwards..."

“I’m Air Allnite, and this is your state of the Linndale basketball team. It sucks. It’s hot garbage. It’s bad for the environment. It’s toxic. This is not a playoff team by any standard. The GM is out of his league. He’s too busy trying to be the smartest guy in the room. The coach is short in experience and bad in temperament. The organization seems to be well run, but that’s a facade. It’s run well enough to not fail, and even then they come close. Just utterly ridiculous!”

“Moving on to the players, why is the GM allowed to construct the roster? Why does he even have a job? Chistophe Nguyen shouldn’t be near any playoff team’s roster. He’s a developmental type who they hope can turn into a backup point guard. Kyle Knowles is a stud, but how long is he here for? You have to think Trenton Tovar was brought in to replace him. Mantas Petriukstis was brought in to be the point guard, or so they thought. He ticks a lot of the boxes on paper, but he’s just not ready and his performance shows that. The bigger problem is that only Nguyen is a true point guard. If you took elements from each one, you could have a nice point guard. That’s not how this works. The guard position is saved from being a total failure by Kyle Knowles and the admittedly surprising performance of Trenton Tovar.”

“Moving on to the forwards, Daniil Kamp feels like an overpaid, underperforming player, the kind that should be a star but isn’t. It feels like he should average 20 a night, but he’s not good enough to. It feels like he should average 7 or 8 rebounds, but he’s not good enough. It feels like he should be better than a 30 percent shooter from the three point line, but again, he’s not good enough. Then there’s Nick Guevara; this guy seems like he should be doing 15 and 8 off the bench, while killing opposing bigs from the three point line. Instead, he falls short on the points and boards, and doesn’t shoot enough to be concerned with outside. It’s astounding to watch. Rolland Reynolds they say they have a plan for. What is it? Really, what is the plan. Do they even know? Art Reese is solid defensively. That’s it. He should be playing on a D4 team somewhere in a place where they can give him all the time he needs; and trust me, he needs a ton of time. Don’t even get me started on Harrison Mann; he’s good enough to intrigue you, but then you get him and he disappoints the crap out of you. Want proof? 6 double doubles, and not a single one against a quality opponent. He’s not even good enough to be a quality role player. He’s so good at power forward, they brought in a center to play the position.”

“Center, by accident happens to be the only position they got right. Hearn looks to be really tough if they ever put him there. Ramon Sanz Garcaa, if he could score, would be impressive. Balthasar Gebhardt Datler looks like a pure money play; they got him and bet on his potential and have watched him slowly grow into something very nice. They’ll sell him off, I’m sure.”

“Who’s the guy you absolutely have to not let beat you? Who’s the coach that can make this team a threat? Who’s the GM that can build the roster this fan base deserves? Why does ownership do nothing when changes are so desperately needed? This is why the fans don’t care anymore.”

“I’m Air Allnite, and the state of Linndale basketball is awful from where I sit. Thanks for watching, and good night.”

I'm pulling for Houston since that's where I'm from
& they have such a solid program these days.
Their defense is A++.
Also pulling for Texas, but only one of them can advance since they're in the same region.

But Gonzaga is always a threat and I could see Tennessee or UCLA winning it all too.

I think whoever wins the right side of the bracket will win it all since those two regions are so stacked right now up and down the list. The left side is where the underdogs keep sneaking through.

Last edited by ascent at 3/20/2023 4:37:48 AM

I actually did a couple of brackets - I don't pay much attention to college ball just because I don't have a strong affinity with any particular school, though my alma matter was actually in (lost to Kansas St in round one). My final four for my best bracket (I filled out three) is:
Houston
UCLA

Alabama
Tennessee

I'd picked Arizona for my first bracket and UCLA in my 2nd. I've got Houston winning in my third bracket. I actually did a women's bracket too and it's going pretty well so far, but losing both Stanford and Iowa State hurt. I had LSU, Iowa State, South Carolina and Iowa in the final four with Caitlin Clark winning the 'ship for Iowa.

Day 11 (Saturday 18 March 2023) : Performances by (https://www.buzzer-manager.com)

Night results
209’s MostWanted 76 - Żubr Białystok 104
Flamin' Flamingos 73 - Miami Cleo 90
Lion Rebels 58 - The White Walkers 84
Carolina Rebels 132 - Cincinnati Slammers 38
Philly Dribble 121 - The Beer Bellys 100
San Dominica Warriors 106 - Tasty Tardsicles 94
Linndale 101 - Hustlas 86
Fondy Cardinals 118 - STG on MCU 104

Best collective performance of the evening
Points : 132 : Carolina Rebels
Rebounds : 75 : Carolina Rebels
Assists : 28 : Carolina Rebels, Fondy Cardinals
Steals : 13 : The White Walkers
Block Shots : 13 : Carolina Rebels

Personal best performances of the evening
Points : 35 : N. Williams (Hustlas)
Rebounds : 22 : G. Locus (Miami Cleo)
Assists : 7 : T. Tovar (Linndale), Y. Georgoulis (The Beer Bellys), M. Anwander (Fondy Cardinals), J. Muñoz (Fondy Cardinals)
Steals : 4 : L. Arevalo (Carolina Rebels), J. Muñoz (Fondy Cardinals)
Block Shots : 4 : P. Cheatle (Miami Cleo), D. Allen (Carolina Rebels)

Top 5 of the evening
Point Guard : J. Muñoz (Fondy Cardinals) (22 Points, 4 Rebounds, 7 Assists, 4 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 28
Shooting Guard : B. Buijtels (Carolina Rebels) (31 Points, 5 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 31
Small Forward : L. Arevalo (Carolina Rebels) (30 Points, 10 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 4 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 41
Power Forward : M. Anwander (Fondy Cardinals) (24 Points, 16 Rebounds, 7 Assists, 2 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 39
Center : G. Locus (Miami Cleo) (18 Points, 22 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 0 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 34

MVP of the evening
L. Arevalo (Carolina Rebels) (30 Points, 10 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 4 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 41

The bad performance of the evening
U. Barbarossa (Cincinnati Slammers) (0 Points, 10 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : -13

All kinds of statistics
The player who forgot to remove his mittens : A. San Miguel (STG on MCU), T. Kuykendall (Lion Rebels), M. Stott (Lion Rebels) : 6 Turnovers

Player targeted by the referees : B. George (Carolina Rebels), L. Baião (San Dominica Warriors), C. Wui Kwong (Tasty Tardsicles), D. Conaghan (Tasty Tardsicles), A. San Miguel (STG on MCU), A. Fornos (The White Walkers), R. Dargels (The White Walkers), G. Kostezer (Fondy Cardinals), Z. Carr (Cincinnati Slammers), D. Christopher (Cincinnati Slammers), U. Barbarossa (Cincinnati Slammers) : 5 Personnal Fouls

The iron-man : G. Locus (Miami Cleo), K. Brown (Lion Rebels), S. Hatch (Żubr Białystok), R. Ainsworth (Cincinnati Slammers), B. Rivas (Cincinnati Slammers), Z. Carr (Cincinnati Slammers), D. Christopher (Cincinnati Slammers), U. Barbarossa (Cincinnati Slammers) : 48 Minutes

The shooter : P. Fasselli (Philly Dribble), L. Baião (San Dominica Warriors), À. Casadevall (STG on MCU) : 5 Three points

The best performer : V. Papageorgiou (The White Walkers) : Rating : 18.5

The worst performer : Z. Carr (Cincinnati Slammers) : Rating : 2.0