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“We’re going to have to course correct. We need to make a few adjustments.” Roberto Gurgone was disappointed to even have to think this thought. Saying it out loud in a room with people was a gut punch to his ego.

Pio wanted answers. “What do you mean course correct? You’ve given us a group of guards we have to coach up. We have bigs we need to continue coaching up. We have a small forward who hasn’t realized he’s a guard, another who’s learning how to play offense, a third who thinks passing the ball is a crime, and a power forward who is gifted in every way imaginable that does not involve scoring. What is this course correct you speak of?”

Air Allnite’s temper flared a bit. “Let me see if I got this right. You bring in a 20 year old, then a 19 year old who was better than the two 19 year olds you drafted, get rid of those draftees, and then move the 24 year old starter? AND I’M GETTING ANOTHER KID TO COACH UP?!? [Takes deep breath] We gotta have at least one voice of experience in the guard room. Never mind the fact I only got one shooting guard. I’m running a kindergarten at point guard; this is insane!”

Pio was nonplussed. “Air, shut up. Marshall, you have any grievances?” Marshall thought aloud, “Well, our best current small forward gets moved to guard... That means we have to get Enfes up to par passing; we can do that this season. Pasman isn’t any better passing, and he needs so much work on offense. We also just lost our best finisher at the rim and defender at guard. Defense first… Nah, I’m good.” Marshall smiled. He knew another move was coming and was certain it was a guard or someone who could play guard.

“Byron, anything to add,” Pio asked.

“MacNeur doesn’t defend or score enough, but that man can rebound. That counts. Beko doesn’t score. Pemwieser doesn’t rebound or defend enough to get the playing time his offense seems to deserve. Lecian should help with depth at forward defensively; not so much on offense right now. Hatfield is a defensive first big. His rebounding isn’t good enough to overcome his lack of offense yet. Gotta get some internal improvement out of that crew. A big ain’t coming unless another Hearn situation falls into place. That ain’t likely.”

“You’re right”, Roberto replied. “I think we have the bigs we need and the guy to coach them up. Each guy brings something the others don’t have or complements what’s there. We just gotta polish the group a bit and then unleash them. That goes for all the position groups.”

Pio spoke again. “Defense first. The defense will be fine. When are we going to get that guy on offense? Leao isn’t ready to be that guy, but he flashes. Shooter isn’t a lead scorer. Enfes and Kops aren’t there yet, but both of them could be soon. MacNeur isn’t a lead scorer the way we play. Beko’s not a scorer, and Pemwieser could be, but isn’t there yet either. We need that scorer. We have weapons to put around that guy. We have defensive players. We need that man of offense.”

Roberto stood up. “So what I’m hearing is you guys understand you have to coach guys up, you think the defense is close, and you’re worried about finding enough points to score. Is that right?” Nods all around, except from Pio.

“Pio, aside from a scorer, what’s the concern,” Roberto asked.

“Point guard. The lack of depth scares me. Shooter can handle it if needed. Uzek isn’t ready for duty there. We need another point guard.”

“Pio, I hear you. Finish getting that defense together. Byron knows he’s got work to continue with the bigs. The scorers will show themselves eventually; they always do. Keep working. You’re all doing yeoman’s work and it hasn’t gone unnoticed. That concern of yours will get handled.”

Week Six Power Rankings
Just over halfway through interconference play and on the cusp of the All-Star game, this week we'll present each team's potential (if any) all stars. These calculations are based on a combination of Average Rating (AR) and Average Efficiency (AE) wherein, the score is calculated by valuing AR as it is represented but adding weight to AE by multiplying it by two and then adding the two numbers together. This is based on a scale of 100 because I'm basing AR on the theory that it's max possible score is 20 and the max possible score for AE is 40 (I'm treating Efficiency on the concept of Player Efficiency Rating (PER_ - a season of 35+ would be All Time Great). So, 40 * 2 + 20 = 100. So, no commentary this week, just potential all stars and then I'll finish out with my All-Star Predictions. Each player's "Score" in my all-star calculations will be listed behind their proposed position.

1. Lion Rebels
Last Week's Ranking: 2
EFFG: 135.8
OPP EFFG: 68.6

Potential All Stars
Terry Armstead (PF) 67
Mario Watkins (C) 50.4
Kurt Brown (SG) 48.1

2. Super Sonics
Last Week's Ranking: 1
EFFG: 137.8
OPP EFFG: 83.6

Potential All Stars
Morris Craig (PG) 60.6
Zoran Levin (SF) 59
Stanislaw Fabis (C) 53.2

3. F.Day Internet Lovers Club
Last Week's Ranking: 4
EFFG: 125.8
OPP EFFG: 83

Potential All Stars
Igor Tabrizi (PF) 68.1
Paco Pardo (C) 64.2
Luca Melucci (PG) 58.4
Ermenegildo Piana (SG) 45.1

4. Tasty Tardsicles
Last Week's Ranking: 3
EFFG: 131.2
OPP EFFG: 88.8

Potential All Stars
Marco Jimenez (C) 57.5
Algis Nikitinas (PF) 54.2
Chik Wui Kwong (PG) 52.1
Stéphane Bachelier (SG) 41.4

5. San Dominica Warriors
Last Week's Ranking: 5
EFFG: 121.8
OPP EFFG: 83

Potential All Stars
None (WHOA, be careful now boy!)
I will say this, the Warriors top three players (by AR and AE) are Otcigin (Score of , Granja, and Begin. Neither of those three are in the top 20 in either AR or AE so far. The 20th ranked AE player is at 20.3 EFFG and the 20th ranked AR player is at 13.8. But, this calculation is most definitely an imperfect science, so for Coach Stephenson's sake, here's what they would've scored:
Otcigin - 52.6 (23rd overall)
Granja - 49 (26th overall)
Begin - 47.1 (27th overall)

6. Shandong Golden Lions
Last Week's Ranking: 7
EFFG: 115
OPP EFFG: 82.8

Potential All Stars
Cheung Choi Kwan (C) 58.9
Randy De Calice (PF) 57.7
Daniel Gay (PG) 55.3
Jia Zhizhuo (SG) 43.3

7. Mindless Zombies
Last Week's Ranking: 6
EFFG: 124.9
OPP EFFG: 87.4

Potential All Stars
Amor Carečina (C) 62.7
Thomas Freeman (PG) 59.3
Macario Coedo (C) 58.5
Warner Acevedo (PG) 52.4

8. Linndale
Last Week's Ranking: 10
EFFG: 110.8
OPP EFFG: 119.3

Potential All Stars
Josh MacNeur (If he's still on the team!) (PF) 53.6

9. Fort Wayne Pistons
Last Week's Ranking: 11
EFFG: 117.3
OPP EFFG: 127.3

Potential All Stars
Ulises Jaén (SG) 65.2
Simón Aranda (SF) 56

10. Dragmort Dragons Utd
Last Week's Ranking: 12
EFFG: 92.9
OPP EFFG: 115.3

Potential All Stars
Sidney Kang (SF) 55

11. Jumpstop Jumpers
Last Week's Ranking: 9
EFFG: 87.8
OPP EFFG: 95.7

Potential All Stars
John Valentin (PF) 58.4

12. CB Bethesdorf
Last Week's Ranking: 8
EFFG: 107.6
OPP EFFG: 123.3

Potential All Stars
Gerardo Nuñez (PF) 58.4

Last edited by Baine at 1/13/2024 11:38:12 AM

Week Six Power Rankings - Part Two

13. 209's MostWanted
Last Week's Ranking: 15
EFFG: 89.3
OPP EFFG: 134.2

Potential All Stars
Ioannis Kavoukas (PF) 58.6

14. VileOnes
Last Week's Ranking: 13
EFFG: 67.3
OPP EFFG: 128.8

Potential All Stars
None - closest bet:
Jordi Bover (PG) 49.2 (26th Overall)

15. Muffin Men
Last Week's Ranking: 14
EFFG: 66.7
OPP EFFG: 131.7
Potential All Stars
None - closest bet:
Carlos Webber (PF) 46 (27th Overall)

16. Balls to the Walls
Last Week's Ranking: 16
EFFG: 69.7
OPP EFFG: 148.6

Potential All Stars
None - closest bet:
Dennis Hilliard (PF) 43.3 (Tied 28th Overall)

Full All-Star Predictions
Average Rating (AR) and Average Efficiency (AE)
Great 8
PG Morris Craig | AR: 15.4 | AE: 22.6
PG Thomas Freeman | AR: 17.9 | AE: 20.7
SG Ulises Jaén | AR: 12.6 | AE: 26.3
SG Stéphane Bachelier | AR: 14.8 | AE: 13.3
SF Zoran Levin | AR: 13.6 | AE:22.7
SF Simón Aranda | AR: 10.2 | AE: 22.9
PF John Valentin | AR: 11.6 | AE: 23.4
PF Gerardo Nuñez | AR: 13.4 | AE: 22.5
C Amor Carečina | AR: 12.5 | AE: 25.1
C Macario Coedo | AR: 14.7 | AE: 21.9

Big 8
PG Luca Melucci | AR: 13.8 | AE: 22.3
PG Daniel Gay | AR: 14.7 | AE: 20.3
SG Kurt Brown | AR: 16.3 | AE: 15.9
SG Ermenegildo Piana | AR: 13.9 | AE: 15.6
SF Sidney Kang | AR: 14.0 | AE: 20.5
SF Mario Granja | AR: 13.2 | AE: 18.1
PF Igor Tabrizi | AR: 15.1 | AE: 26.5
PF Terry Armstead | AR: 16.4 | AE: 25.3
C Paco Pardo | AR: 15.0 | AE: 24.6
C Cheung Choi Kwan | AR: 16.1 | AE: 21.4

Great Big Snubs
There's always a handful of snubs - I'm counting 10 of them this season, with two of them being pretty big snubs based on AR/AE. This will be listed in order of their Overall Rank compared to both conferences and their position rank in parenthesis behind their name.
10th: Ioannis Kavoukas PF (3rd)
15th: Randy De Calice PF (6th)
16th: Marco Jimenez C (5th)
20th: Algis Nikitinas PF (7th)
21st: Josh MacNeur PF (8th)
22nd: Stanisław Fabis C (6th)
23rd: Warner Acevedo PG (5th)
24th: Chik Wui Kwong PG (6th)
25th: Mario Watkins C 7th)
29th: Jia Zhizhuo SG (4th)

I'm tabbing Ioannis and Chik as the biggest snubs of those bunch. Ioannis's 23.3 EFFG is ranked 7th overall, and while his 12.0 AR hurts him, the other problem is that EFF generally favors big men, so there's always a surplus of PF/C in the list I pull from top stats. Chik Kwong is an opposite story, however, with his 3rd overall AR of 16.3 getting snuffed out because of his 25th ranked EFFG of 17.9. Overall, this was one of the most complete list of available all stars. Typically, I have to do a lot more work, especially for small forwards, and occasionally the guards. The Warriors Granja sneaks in thanks to my lone vacancy from my initial list was at backup SF.

Good luck tonight and I hope you can't wait (like me) to find out on Monday how wrong I am about these predictions!

Happy Ourer: Happy Ourer, Joshua Doe, and Sam Dunkley here for the Linndale basketball Pre Game Show, and in this pre All Star game edition, we have ourselves a very special in studio guest, Linndale GM Roberto Gurgone! Roberto, thanks for joining us!

RG: Thanks for having me!

JD: Roberto, I gotta ask this one right off. What kind of team should the fans be expecting to see?

RG: If you’re looking for style of play, I leave that to Pio Reina and his coaching staff. I’m not going to speak on that. If you’re looking for characteristics, we’re bringing back that hard nosed, smothering defense. We don’t want to just make things difficult, we want to make things miserable for our opponents. John Valentin’s recent performance against us spurred us to make some changes. At no time was he uncomfortable on the court. That can never happen again.

SD: You’ve remade the roster in a short amount of time. Take us into the thought process and tell us about the new players.

RG: Again, after the debacle against the Jumpstop Jumpers, it was clear that we needed to upgrade the defense immediately across the board. That actually started before that game when we got Joy Beko. He’s young, versatile, and can play any position and play them well. Staying in the frontcourt, Ondrej Lecian is a young player who is a capable defender. Walt Pasman is a defender in the mold of Joy Beko. One of those two is the best all around defender on the team, and we’re not sure who it is. Throw Cafer Enfes in there; he’s only been here a month. Another well rounded defender. Young point guard Ercan Uzek is a defender we’re excited about because with his size he can guard 3 positions, and he’s just a rookie. Leandro Leao is another young point guard; he’s been impressive. The newest point guard, Carlos Frias, is raw, talented defender. The perimeter defense has been improved dramatically and the interior defense has improved also.

JD: That sounds great, but they’re young, you can’t play everyone, and they need to learn how to play together. You also haven’t mentioned offense.

RG: You’re right, Joshua. They are young. Frias is the elder point guard at 22. Leao is 20, and Uzek 19. Enfes and Pasman are both 22, and Midas Kops, whom we didn’t mention, is 23. Joy Beko is 22 and Ondrej Lecian is 21. As for not being able to play everyone, we can. We have youth and versatility.

SD: Versatility can’t put that ball in the hoop. You need scorers.

RG: Sam, we still have Trenton Tovar. Frias we think will become a scoring option. Leandro Leao is on the way to being an option. Kops looks like he’s ready to assume that burden, and Enfes as well. Don’t sleep on MacNeur and Pemwieser, and when Beko gets his jumper to start falling, look out.

HO: Roberto, we still have to talk about the game tonight. At 5-7, Fort Wayne is in contention for a playoff spot.

RG: They have two of the top seven scorers in the league and the top assists man. They’re 5th overall in shooting, 2nd from beyond the arc, tops from the charity stripe, they take care of the basketball, they’re number two in steals, and they’re fifth in blocks. They take care of the ball, make shots, and don’t waste opportunities. They are definitely going to be a test for our newly constructed defense.

JD: Last question; you know I can’t let it slide. You said you were eyeballing San Dominica to unleash the new defense. Why them, and with so many moves is such a short time, will the defense be ready?

RG: San Dominica because we know them. We know they’re a test. If it plays well against them, we’re doing something right. Will the defense be ready? We’ll see. Tonight’s game should give us an idea.

Jimmy Buckitts: Jimmy Buckitts with The Basketball Times and the Linndale Basketball Radio Network, and I’m here for a rare one-on-one interview with assistant coach Byron Helm. Thanks for your time, Byron. Let’s talk about last night’s game. It was a different, and some might say unusual lineup used by Pio Reina. Why did Pemwieser get the start?

Byron Helm: We thought he would be able to help with spacing on offense with his outside shooting, contribute on the boards and inside offensively, and do a solid job on defense. When he hit that 3 ball with 15 seconds left, we thought we were going to overtime. He did what he was supposed to do.

JB: That was one of the bigger lineups we’ve seen Linndale use in quite some time. Two 7-footers, a 6-10 guy, a 6-7 guy and a 6-5 guy. Was that a design or just happenstance?

BH: A bit of both. We wanted to attack inside and control the boards. We controlled the boards. MacNeur was a monster, Pemwieser was solid, and Beko was a beast on the offensive boards. However, we gave up too many dunks and layups, and we missed too many on our end. Cleaning that up is a point of emphasis.

JB: Pio Reina, and in fact the entire Linndale organization, preaches defense, rebounding, and ball security. Why those three things specifically?

BH: It’s our thing. You don’t last here long as a player if you don’t do those things. We can control our defensive effort. We can control our effort on the boards. We can control the decisions we make with the basketball. Turnovers on offense work against ball security and the defense. Rebounding helps the offense, defense, and is a direct form of ball security. Defense leads to offense. It’s all related, but these are things we can directly control.

JB: With the renewed emphasis on defense, how tough was this loss to take?

BH: All losses are tough to take. This one hurts because things we can control cost us the game.
We make some free throws, we win this game. We make a few more layups or dunks, we win this game. We defend a nit better, we win this game. This one is tough to take. Seeing how hard the kids took it lets us know they’re all in on the message.

JB: Your defense gave up 34 points in the first quarter and 36 in the fourth. How would you grade the defense overall, and would you call it a successful outing?

BH: No one is calling a loss a success. Are we on the right track? Yeah, we are. The third quarter they scored 19 points. I want to see us do that more often, and I believe the talent is here to do it. I graded the defense a D overall.

JB: Your GM said that Enfes and Pasman were two of your better defenders. Why did they only play 11 minutes each in this game if you’re going defense first?

BH: They both have ball security issues we are working on. If you can’t play defense you don’t play. They played. If you can’t take care of the ball, that hurts the defense. Neither turned it over. They played their roles well.

JB: The lineup and rotations were quite different.

BH: We used a new lineup. We’re trying to find the best combinations. We had Frias and Kops at guard, Pemwieser at center, Beko at small forward and MacNeur at the power. We thought it was a good opportunity to get Beko on the wing. We wanted to get our best defenders on the perimeter.

JB: That’s not what the official score sheet says.

BH: Jimmy, watch the tape. Look at the defensive alignment. Use your head. What small forward is Pemwieser going to guard right now? Nothing in the rules say the guard you guard had to be the one guarding you. Defensive versatility is a weapon.

JB: Byron, I’d love to talk more with you. Come back again! Thank you for your time, and good luck the rest of the way. Folks, we’re out of time. See you Saturday on the Linndale Basketball Radio Network.

Day 13 (Saturday 13 January 2024) : Performances by (https://www.buzzer-manager.com)

Night results
Tasty Tardsicles 96 - Dragmort Dragons Utd 79
VileOnes 35 - San Dominica Warriors 114
Jumpstop Jumpers 57 - Lion Rebels 110
Super Sonics 114 - Shandong Golden Lions 125
Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️ 92 - F.Day Internet Lovers Club 111
Fort Wayne Pistons 116 - Linndale 114
Balls to the Walls 101 - Muffin Men 111
CB Bethesdorf 134 - 209’s MostWanted 124

Best collective performance of the evening
Points : 134 : CB Bethesdorf
Rebounds : 69 : Linndale
Assists : 38 : San Dominica Warriors
Steals : 13 : Shandong Golden Lions
Block Shots : 15 : San Dominica Warriors

Personal best performances of the evening
Points : 40 : I. Tabrizi (F.Day Internet Lovers Club)
Rebounds : 29 : J. MacNeur (Linndale)
Assists : 16 : G. Izaza (Fort Wayne Pistons)
Steals : 5 : J. Zhizhuo (Shandong Golden Lions)
Block Shots : 6 : Q. Yu zi (Dragmort Dragons Utd)

Top 5 of the evening
Point Guard : D. Gay (Shandong Golden Lions) (34 Points, 3 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 3 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 30
Shooting Guard : S. Bachelier (Tasty Tardsicles) (37 Points, 2 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 3 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 30
Small Forward : M. Granja (San Dominica Warriors) (17 Points, 9 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 1 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 30
Power Forward : J. MacNeur (Linndale) (28 Points, 29 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 53
Center : K. Brown (Lion Rebels) (30 Points, 11 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 0 Steals, 4 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 34

MVP of the evening
J. MacNeur (Linndale) (28 Points, 29 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 53

The bad performance of the evening
A. Pérez Ruiz (VileOnes) (1 Points, 2 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : -7

Triple-Double of the evening
A. Suprianto (Shandong Golden Lions) (12 Points, 11 Rebounds, 12 Assists, 0 Steals, 1 Block Shots)

All kinds of statistics
The player who forgot to remove his mittens : J. Graf (VileOnes), T. Hearn (Super Sonics), S. Fabis (Super Sonics), I. Kavoukas (209’s MostWanted) : 5 Turnovers

Player targeted by the referees : S. Huerta (Lion Rebels), Z. Levin (Super Sonics), S. Fabis (Super Sonics), T. Freeman (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️), M. Coedo (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️), A. Carečina (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️), U. Jaén (Fort Wayne Pistons), S. Aranda (Fort Wayne Pistons), C. Rankin (Balls to the Walls), V. Hyötyläinen (Muffin Men), C. Pla Llorente (Balls to the Walls), T. Cartaxo (CB Bethesdorf) : 5 Personnal Fouls

The iron-man : Q. Yu zi (Dragmort Dragons Utd), A. Pakzat (Dragmort Dragons Utd), L. Miller (VileOnes), J. Valentin (Jumpstop Jumpers), L. Praznik (Jumpstop Jumpers), R. De Calice (Shandong Golden Lions), A. Suprianto (Shandong Golden Lions), L. Melucci (F.Day Internet Lovers Club), A. Guilla (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️) : 48 Minutes

The shooter : G. Azheli (209’s MostWanted) : 8 Three points

The best performer : M. Watkins (Lion Rebels), S. Hollins (Lion Rebels), T. Freeman (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️) : Rating : 17.5

The worst performer : L. Praznik (Jumpstop Jumpers) : Rating : 5.0

Post game Warriors vs VileOnes

Stephenson:
A good win. Allowed us to see what we’re doing well in terms of preparation and game planning. Last game against the Tardiscles, we the coaching staff didn’t give the team what was needed to finish the game and get the win. That was on me. We’re on the right steps I think in addressing that problem.

Sam Walsh:
What does this win mean for you guys in terms of the playoff preparation?

Stephenson:
This allowed us to stay a game ahead of Shandong. Assured us that we’re not yet at the point of having to push the panic button going into All-Star Week.

Sam Walsh:
We’ve seen some lineup changes during this session of interconference play. What is it you’re trying to find lineup wise?

Stephenson:
Most coaches will probably agree, interconference play serves two purposes: keeping pace and fine tuning your team. Hmm, everything leads up to the 27th. That date is circled. It’s the start of the final stretch of Big 8 play and cementing a spot in the playoffs


Last edited by Coach Stephenson at 1/15/2024 7:45:19 PM

Charles Sanborn:
That was Coach Stephenson’s post game interview with our own Samantha Walsh followng the Warriors 114 to 35 win over the VileOnes. I’m Charles Sanborn here with the legend himself Bret Rodrigues. And you are listening to the Strategy Room, where you get a bit on the recent Warrior game and a look forward to what the Warriors will do in the next game coming up. Not a lot you can learn from a game like this. It’s a game you’re suppose to win if you’re in a position like the Warriors and you’re suppose to win big. If this game had been close we’d all be asking a completely different set of questions and very likely would be pushing a panic button.

Brett:
Right, not a lot that the Warriors can learn from this game in terms of important questions. Has O’Brien figured out a way to stay out of foul trouble. Has Vrana and even Blanchet taken that turn that is expected from a Coach Stephenson point guard. We didn’t get any answers to that Saturday

Charles Sanborn:
Now I do agree with everything Coach said about interconference play and the importance of January 27, which for those of you who do not know, is when the Warriors go to the Speedway to take on Linndale. Why do I agree regarding interconference play? Well you can’t clinch anything in interconference play. You can make headway, you can fall behind but at the end of that second seventh game stretch nothing is clinched. You’re not assured a playoff spot. Now two games into that final seven game stretch things to start to fall in place and you have a picture of how things likely are going to end in the Big 8. Now I know some of you are like hey the Supersonics game tell us a lot and it can. But I’ll be honest. Stephenson would rather lose to the Supersonics and beat Linndale than beat the Supersonics and lose to Linndale. Now Stephenson would rather win them all if possible but he'd rather the former than the latter

Bret:
I agree with that assessment completely. Lose to the Super Sonics and that’s just a Redland loss. Linndale is Blueland. Blueland losses are way more damaging.

Charles Sanborn:
Right, first of all its the first game of the final seven game stretch. Warriors defeated Linndale to open conference play, they would go on a three game win streak and finished the first stretch 5-2. A repeat of that pretty much assures them a playoff berth. Second its Linndale. Not only because its a rivalry game but it is one of the few games where the coaching is completely neutralized. Pio and Stephenson, good coaches, know each other well. But they both know that no matter how well they scheme …

Bret:
that its going to come down to the play on the floor. And you’re right. With the exception of maybe four teams, Coach Stephenson usually thinks if we can do ABC it will lead to XYC and that will equal a win. The reason I think Coach Stephenson was so glad this rivalry didn’t go away was because Linndale is one of those four teams where ABC doesn’t always lead to XYZ and even if it does. It doesn’t guarantee a win. You can’t scheme a win against teams like Linndale, it just comes down to the basics. Our guys are either gonna make the crucial shots, make the crucial stops and win the game. And those are the games I truly believe he gets up in the morning for.

Charles Sanborn:
Yeah those victories are the ones he’s most estatic about. 739-277-4674 is the number to call. This is the Strategy Room with Charles Sanborn.


Last edited by Coach Stephenson at 1/15/2024 8:09:59 PM

Josh MacNeur (If he's still on the team!) (PF)

After a dominant performance in a loss, MacNeur is leaving the organization. We appreciate his contributions to the team. His rebounding will leave a huge void to fill, but we will press on.

Officially making my longest tenure in the tournament this season. Tough matchup Thursday with a recently relegated NBBA team, so not counting my chickens before they hatch, but we'll see.

Roberto Gurgone: I went out and sold MacNeur, then turned around and got you your scorer. He’s not finished. A raw, unfinished scorer, but he’s the best scorer on the roster effective immediately. Say what you want, but you ask for things and I deliver!

Pio Reina: You said unfinished. Explain.

RG: We need to bring him up to speed on defense. Air and Marshall will get it done. Marshall likes beating up on the guards.

PR: We need a defensive big. One who is a shot blocker.

RG: You wanted a shot blocker. You got one, your new scoring guard. Get Uzek trained properly and you got 2 in the back court. Frias has room to develop; maybe he becomes a third. Cafer Enfes of Kops could be that guy also. Pasman is promising, and there’s Beko, Lecian and Hatfield also. You have anumber of potential shot blockers already. I get you want a defensive big; we’ll get that addressed in due time. Pio, unless somebody comes available that fits our style and budget, we’re not making anymore significant moves. If that guy comes available, I’ll grab him, but it’s gonna cost us a player. You’d better have an idea about who. In the mean time, Air can work with Frias, Leao, Enfes, Kops, and Pemwieser on adding range. Enfes and Kops will prove to be scorers very soon. Pemwieser, too. Leao will be fine; just needs time. Same for Frias. I want that kid in every range drill we have. Offense will stop being a concern, and we have enough defense.

PR: If I gotta choose, it’s Hatfield. Lecian mostly provides what he does. The 2 year age gap accounts for most of their differences in ability. His ball skills aren’t as good, but he’s a far better passer. At age 23, he’ll be better than Hatfield is now, and we’ll have a big man problem to address. We’ll have too many.

RG: Get me that problem. I’ll deal with it then. In the meantime, tell Byron to kick things up a notch with the bigs. Replacing MacNeur on the boards is going to be a team effort. Bow look at the file on your new guard.

PR: I see three issues. Ball security, defense, and rebounding. You can’t be that size and not rebound.

RG: You don’t have to rebound if you don’t miss. 27 points per game on 50% shooting, and 51% from deep. Tell Shooter he’s got to step it up. Now you’ve got options. Why don’t you get to the lab and figure out how you want to use the new guy?

PR: I’ll do that. I’m coaching the scrimmage tomorrow also. I want to eyeball the new guy up close. Air’s gonna have his hands full with the ball security initiative. Pasman, Enfes, and Bolibok have a lot of work to do