BuzzerBeater Forums

New season, new faces, new opportunities. It's a time of excitement! The league certainly did not get any easier. Good luck to all!

*surveys the landscape of the Great 8*

...and I land in this meatgrinder? We're gonna have our work cut out for us. Already seeing rosters that give me a bit of pause...

OK; I'm over that. Time to get to work. There's plenty of it to be done.

*peeks at the Big 8*

It's just weird being in a Great 8 after what seems like an eternity in the Big 8. I don't remember the last time I was in a Great 8...

Good luck to everyone!

It’s funny, because the Great 8 was 8-56 against the Big 8 last season. The Big 8 lost its powerhouse, but overall looks a little deeper than last season. The Great 8 probably added $300k in salary just by replacing the relegated teams with you guys though. Going to be competitive for sure!

It’s funny, because the Great 8 was 8-56 against the Big 8 last season.

That's gonna have to change. Gonna have to try and 4 wins against the Big 8 myself. And since I'm putting a target on my back...

*looks at new rival, and rest of Great 8*

Going to be competitive for sure!

Agreed. Season goals (for now): beat Nanooks of the North and make playoffs. Early prediction: a playoff worthy team in the Great 8 will not make the playoffs.

Is anyone planning to do any league write-ups or anything like that? I try to be active, and I try to chronicle what I imagine is going on with my team.

My (current) cast of characters include:

Coaching staff: Pio Reina - head coach
Byron Helm – assistant head coach/defense/big men
Marshall Richards – assistant coach wings/offense/defense
Air Allnite – assistant coach guards/shooting/ball security
Roberto Gurgone – General Manager

Announce team: Happy Ourer – tv play by play guy,
Joshua Doe - tv color guy/analyst
Sam Dunkley - tv analyst/contributor to The Basketball Times
Jimmy Buckitts – beat reporter/sideline reporterfor tv/radio broadcasts

and of course, the players on my roster.

I was just posing the simple buzzer-manager recaps for a time but got tired. Feel free to write what you like, the more active the league the better!

I'll have those posted no later than 24 hours after the games are done. Usually the same night; we'll see how the real life job cooperates. It shouldn't be a problem most of the time.

Linndale GM Roberto Gurgone looks at the trophy case in the team complex.

“I know what you’re thinking,” head coach Pio Reina said to his longtime friend and teammate. “Enjoy it, but don’t dwell on it. We still have work to do.”

“Yeah,” Roberto replied. “We still haven’t won a thing in Division III. I suppose we ought to get down to business. Let me guess, Byron has the bigs, Marshall has the wings, Air has the guards, and we’re getting the entire squad. No rookie meeting?”

“Not this year. Time for men to be men and leaders to lead. We’re going to find out which of our veterans can lead. It’s time for some guys to show up or grow up…”


At a local restaurant in a private dining room…

Happy Ourer sat at a table with his colleagues Joshua Doe, Jimmy Buckitts, and Sam Dunkley. “Alright,” Happy said, “Jimmy, what do you see from the bigs?”

“Happy, the team upgraded the center position, but we don’t know what it actually looks like yet. Renato Corro was ineligible for the playoffs. The team grabbed him with an eye towards this season. This move puts a target on the back of Ondrej Lecian. He needs to starting showing up and showing out. Rookie Duane Carlson is a non factor. Pere Vendrell should continue the strong development path he was on once he was acquired. I think he forces his way into a prominent role. Gian-Luca Twaruschek is the guy to watch. He or Vendrell should anchor the second unit, likely with Rafet Ozver, who should not be slept on. Linndale is deeper up front than they ever have been. We all know what Joy Beko brings to the table. This is as deep a group as we’ve seen in Linndale top to bottom.”

On the practice courts…
Byron Helms looked at the group. “Team assignments on the board. Rookies sub in for whichever team calls you, so pay attention. If you guys aren’t in shape we’ll find that out fast. Full court, first team to 100 wins, myself, coach Allnite, and coach Richards will call the fouls. Point guards, run your squads...



At the restaurant…

“Joshua,” asked Happy, “you can’t be serious about that, can you?”

Joshua calmly spoke. “Happy, I said what I said. This is the best and deepest roster I’ve ever seen here, but there are some serious concerns here. Inside offense is a concern. Who is that guy that has to be stopped? Who’s starting with Beko? Corro makes the most sense, but I suspect it’s a contest between Ozver, Twaruschek, and Vendrell. This season has to be about Linndale fundamentals; defense, rebounding, and ball security. We’re going to have to outwork everyone, and don’t get me started on the shooting!”

On the practice courts…

“Well Marshall, Pio is in midseason form.” Byron was amused.

“Think we ought to step in and be the voice of reason,” asked Marshall.

“Nope. We’re gonna have to ride this group hard, Marshall. I got 7 bigs. I‘m gonna have to lean on 2 and make the others force their way into our plans. They have to.”

“Well, I got 4 wings. I might need to borrow a couple of your guys on occasion. Looking in the backcourt, I don’t know that Frias will be made available to me this season, and Air is gonna have to use Kops and Bodura a lot. Gonna need to get Uzek more court time somehow. Ultimately, everyone is going to have to step it up. Even us coaches.”

Air Allnite walked over to Marshall and Byron. “Marshall, we’ll talk who’s available and where with Pio. Byron, expect the same deal as last season. Staff meeting after practice, boys.”

Last edited by Speedtraps at 9/19/2024 12:41:28 AM

Happy Ourer: Welcome one and all to Linndale’s return to D3 basketball! We’re gonna jump right in and go straight to Joshua Doe! Joshua, we’re coming in hot! What does Pio Reina’s squad have to do get the win tonight?

Joshua Doe: Make it ugly and lean on depth. Get Eternityz Rostah into foul trouble early and make them play short handed. They don’t have numbers, but they are supremely talented. Hope that the age on the roster shows, and not the experience. You’re not going to run them out of the gym and you’re not going to bully them. Keep it close and let the chips fall where they may. The bigs are going to have to show up, and not just one of them. It’s going to take all of them, but Linndale has some talent and depth up front. Sam?

Sam Dunkley: I don’t disagree, but you have to slow down Toru Mizoguchi as well. Asking that Linndale defense to slow the Rostah attack down is going to tell us a lot about how far the defense has improved. Offensively, Linndale has been consistenly inconsistent, never able to put it all together for a full game or multiple games.

HO: Sam, Joshua, let’s go down courtside to see what Jimmy Buckitts has to say. Jimmy, where do you weigh in on this?

Jimmy Buckitts: Linndale shed their most explosive scoring threat because he didn’t play defense well enough. Pio Reina demands that from his teams. This is a proven, championship caliber defense. To have a shot at an upset, he’s going to have to throw caution to the wind and see what happens. He might have to sacrifice defense in some spots to get some offense on the floor. Linndale always defends the floor at the expense of offense. What does it look like for them to make the opposition defend the floor? What’s the best offensive unit the can put on the floor? We need to see that.

JD: I played with Pio Reina. So did two of his assistants, Marshall Richards and Byron Helms. Sacrifice defense?!? I know those men. I battled with those men. Sacrificing defense is not in him. But Jimmy is wrong on one point. This is a D4 championship defense. That defense isn’t going to be good enough to win a D3 championship. Pio knows that, too.

HO: Joshua has a point there. We’re going to see how this defense holds up.

SD: Jimmy, are you hearing anything about who’s playing tonight?

JB: Sam, I spoke with associate head coach Byron Helms, and he states the obvious. The rookies, second year man Luis Isarre, and Ercan Uzek are inactive for tonight’s game.

SD: That sounds like they’re going to try and pound it inside.

JB: Pio is on record as stating they want three ball handlers on the floor at the same time at all times. He’s never clarified what that means or who those ball handlers are.

JD: Come on, Jimmy! We know who the ball handlers are!

SD: And we know who the scorers are. We’re going to get a decent read on how far the offense has come. If Pio Reina and his staff hasn’t fixed the offense, he’d better make sure it’s on its way or this will be a long season.

JB: The shooters are going to have to make shots. I’m not sure they will be able to.

HO: Score predictions?

JD: I have faith in Pio to keep it close. Rostah 102 Linndale 97

SD: I don’t. Rostah 120 Linndale 89.

JB: Linndale 111 Rostah 108.

HO: And I’m picking Rostah 115 Linndale 104. Jimmy's the only one picking a Linndale win, and Joshua isn't picking a win but is picking a close game. We'll be back after the break with a look around the league.

Happy Ourer: We’re back for a look around the league, to give fans an idea of what to expect. Let’s take a look at Linndale’s conference, the Great 8.

Joshua Doe: It feels weird to hear that. It’s sick and wrong. There’s a whole generation of fans who grew up knowing nothing of Big 8 pride and dominance, and now we’re asking them to change their ways? That’s just sick and wrong, man.

Sam Dunkley: Let’s kick this thing off by looking at the Andersonville Alligators. They’ve got a lot of point guards, 7 to be exact, but the ones to watch are 20 year old Sanjin Vujadin and 22 year old Andreas Van Staey. In the front court, they have some depth. Arnaud Roche and Warner Lemons are a problem, while Mikey Cummings and Basil Jenkins are intriguing. They look very thin on the wings, and that’s going to be an issue. We’ll see how they get around that. I hear they don’t much like the new teams in the league, with a particular distaste for Linndale.

HO: Sam, what can you tell us about the Cleveland Heat Lakers?

SD: I hate the name. I’m a Cleveland kid, and everybody knows that there are only 2 pro basketball teams in that area. The Cavaliers gonna let ‘em know in the NBA, and the big brothers here in Linndale.

HO: Sam, it could be Cleveland, Texas, or Cleveland Mississippi…

JD: Ain’t nobody trying to hear that nonsense! Even you don’t believe that!

SD: They’re gonna to go only as far as Lou Salisbury can take them. How important is he? Without him their roster’s payroll is roughly $90,000. He more than doubles it by himself. If he misses any time, it’s not going to be good for them. Maybe Lucius Law develops quickly for them, but they only go where Lou can take them. And Happy, Joshua is right; even you don’t buy that.

JD: Next up, the Duke Devilz. That team is a problem. With Antonio Silva and Benedetto Marsili up front, they’re strong inside. Antonio Timpanaro and Ryan Lian take care of the wings. Matas Levickis is the head of that snake. Their problem is the lack of any kind of depth. If they miss one player, they’re probably fine. 2 or more? Things get hairy real fast. That’s an injury and a foul out, or ejection, and it turns a game they should win into a probable loss. I can’t believe I just said a nice thing about Duke. I need confessions for my sins... (part 1 of 2)

HO: While Joshua recovers from that bit of trauma, let’s look at Linndale’s opponent for tonight, Eternityz Rostah. They have a short roster, but it is a very talented one. Toru Mizoguchi will play a leading role for them, but don’t sleep on George Purcell. I say don’t sleep on him because with the experienced and talented crew around those two, that team is good enough to win no matter who is having an off night. Their depth could be an issue, but I wouldn’t bank on it. That’s just a gut feeling I have.

SD: Happy, it’s always a good idea to trust your instincts. Right now, mine are telling me to go to Jimmy Buckitts. Jimmy!

Jimmy Buckitts: Sam! Everything that describes Eternityz Rostah can be said about Organization XIII. The Organization is probably a bit stronger inside, but if you think that means they can’t get it done in the backcourt, allow me to introduce you to Ansari Harrari. When you’re playing this team, you do so with the understanding that your A game might not be enough. Expect them and Eternityz Rostah to fight for the top spot in the playoff seeding.


HO: That brings us to Nanooks of the North. Adnon Stadnichenko has few players around him. He’s being asked to be a miracle worker. Can they beat you? Yes. Should they? No.

JD: Happy, say it like you mean it! Say it with your whole chest! Put some stank on that!

HO: Shouldn’t you be in confession right now?

JD: If I’m confessing sins, I might as well get them all out there! I don’t think there’s a worse team in the Great 8. It is what it is!

HO: Clearly Joshua is feeling some kind of way today.

JD: It’s the season opener! Basketball is back baby!

HO: Sam, bring us home. What can you tell us about the final team in the Great 8?

SD: K8be4L are a younger team, they have depth, and they look a lot like Linndale from a few seasons ago in that they’re good enough to beat if you’re not careful. They could sneak up on a lot of teams, or they could get beat by them. Hard to get a read on them, but they will go as far as Ralf Landherr can lead them.

HO: Who's the MVP of the Great 8?

JD: Too early to say, but if I have to make a choice it's gonna be Lou Salisbury.

SD: No way they win enough for that to happen. I'm going with Toru Mizoguchi.

JB: I'm gonna pull out a sleeper pick. Walt Pasman develops on offense and plays incredible defense to steal MVP.

JD: Now, look Jimmy. We all know Walt can play, but that is a ridiculous take, man.

HO: I think we all know the MVP isn't coming from Linndale. No one is going to get the numbers needed to do that. Pio runs a team effort where everyone contributes and no one dominates.

JD: Maybe that needs to change to a point. Let your best players go do their thing, and the other guys will find their roles and fill them.

HO: Have you told him that?

JD: (laughing) Nah; that's a job for someone much bigger than me! Pio is the toughest person I know, and i know Byron Helms!

SD: We're gonna have to take this to the commercial break folks, and when we come back Happy will have the call and Joshua is riding shotgun!


Last edited by Speedtraps at 9/21/2024 7:42:00 PM