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Tom “Whatever It Takes” Bradbury

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During my interview for the head coaching job at Memphis, Steve Forester, the AD, said he was tired and the alumni were tired of Memphis playing 3rd fiddle to Kentucky and Louisville. The more we talked, the more I realized that this was my opportunity to make a huge jump from a very low mid-major in the coaching ranks to an up-and-comer. Steve said he wanted a coach who would “do whatever it takes” to make Memphis a powerhouse team. Not only does he want the Tigers to best Kentucky and Louisville, he wants a national championship, and better yet, multiple national championships. And he wants it as quickly as possible.

It’s obvious he’s familiar with my background (very high ambition, very low academics, low discipline, low temper, and very low integrity)....so he realizes I’m not adverse to “doing whatever it takes” to get the job done. In other words, he’s found his man.

So a marriage officiated by the devil was cemented and I became the new head coach of Memphis. 

Steve’s goals for me and the team this season: (1) sign a 4-star recruit; (2) win 20+ games; (3) win the American Athletic Conference tournament; (4) reach the Sweet Sixteen; and (5) improve school prestige. Obviously a tall order since the Tigers hadn’t gotten close to reaching any of those last season. 

My first task was to hire Ray Schau, a top-notch recruiter, Mike Hampton, who is very adept at developing players, and Kelvin Chadwick, a talented scout, as my assistants. Not only are they good at what they do, but I know each one and like me, each will “do whatever it takes” to get things done.

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Recruiting
 
Ray and I went all out on recruiting. With just 2 scholarships to offer, we needed to sign 2 impact players. We both realized that it would be tough to compete for Top 10 players against the likes of Duke, Arizona, Syracuse, North Carolina, UCLA, and Michigan State. 

So not only did we work our asses off and used every tool we had to our maximum advantage. We did “whatever it takes”...and that meant offering a bribe. Well, not a bribe...we offered bribeS with a capital S...lots of them. In total we made eleven “offers” to guys rated from #1 to #25 in the nation. 6 bribes of $10,000 each, 3 of $5,000 each, and 2 of $2,000 each. We made sure to offer to those players whose families weren’t well off. In fact, some of them were dirt poor. 5 liked the $10,000, 2 liked the $5,000, and 1 liked the $2,000. One player turned us down on the $10,000 offer (Mr. Goody Two Shoes), one was upset by how low our $2,000 offer was (Mr. I Want More), and one wasn’t too sure what to make of our $5,000 offer (Mr. Duhhhhh). 

End result: 

1. We signed the #10 player in the nation, a fantastic rebounder, defender and scorer. We didn’t offer a bribe to this guy since his family was pretty sound financially. We got him the old-fashioned way, phone calls (lots of ‘em), watching film, school visit by the player, scouting games, and finally multiple visits to his home). While this guy was too good to pass up, it was a lot of work. In the future, maybe a bribe will short-cut things on guys like this.

2. We lost the #1 player in the nation (to whom we had offered a $10,000 bribe in which he was very interested) to Duke. Did Duke offer a bribe also? Probably not, since they likely didn’t have to. Note to self for the future...offer more to the #1 (and maybe the #2). Stick it to Duke.

3. We signed the #8 player in the nation, a PG who not only distributes the ball like a magician, but is an outstanding scorer, a very strong rebounder, a talented defender who can block like a 12-foot wall, and steal like a thief. We offered him a $10,000 bribe and he went for it like a trout chasing morning Mayflies. He made sure to let us know that if he were to accept our offer, he damned well expected us to “show him the money”.

I can’t wait to get these guys on our team.

[NOTE: This dynasty has been created to test how cheating (in the form of bribes to recruits) works when employed by the human player in CB3. We know that AI teams occasionally get placed on probation in CB3 due to recruiting violation. But: (1) Does the offering of bribes significantly improve the signing of highly rated recruits by the human coach? and (2) Does CB3 levy penalties on the human coach for offering bribes? Since an occasional bribe offer might go under the radar (whether it be by the AI coached team or the human coached team), Coach Tom “Whatever It Takes” Bradbury will bribe egregiously. His aim in the future will be to get the highest rated recruits in each and every recruiting class. Since he’s not at an elite school, that means that bribes will flow like the water in the Nile.]

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Where did the top 10 recruits go?
 
1. Duke
2. Michigan State
3. UCLA
4. Arizona
5. Syracuse
6. Stanford
7. Connecticut
8. Memphis
9. Wake Forest
10. Memphis

Not bad for a team on the Mississippi River from the American Athletic Conference and from a town mostly known for Elvis Presley. 

And yes, Connecticut is also from our conference. But when we’re through bulldozing our way to the top, UConn won’t be getting Top 10 recruits anymore.

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"You dirty, cheatin', lower than a snake's belly varmint!"

 

[Copied from post by Wayne23 in Wolverine Studios Forums]

 

 

Did I hear my name called?

 

******************************************************************

 

"A scoundrels "scoundrel"..."

 

[Copied from post by Emark in Wolverine Studios Forums

 

 

bwahaha

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Schedule
 
I made a couple changes to toughen things up for us and get more ranked opponents, thereby improving our chances of having a good RPI.
 
 
Our starting 5
 
PG Howie Tyler, 6-4 Fr
SG Dalaron Jones, 6-5 Jr (he’s been nominated for the Norton Award)
SF Eric Dersch, 6-7 Sr
PF Mark Byams, 6-8 Sr
C Rob Ferguson, 6-8 Jr.

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[NOTE: Since this is a dynasty devoted to bribery during recruiting, our games will be simmed and the AI will run the practices and decide upon the depth chart and sub matrix.

Game #1 @ #7 Louisville: Louisville takes a 46-42 halftime lead, but we shoot the lights out in the 2nd half and come away with a 93-86 victoryDalron Jones scores 28 points, Mark Byams scored 12 and pulls down 8 boards, Rob Ferguson scores 10 and grabs 7 rebounds, and Jeff Hill comes off the bench to score 14. Great win over a team we want to dominate. But...bad news as well, as Rob Ferguson breaks his hand. That’s going to make for a short bench for our interior men. (1-0)

Game #2 @ #20 Oregon: Due to Ferguson’s injury, we move Byams to C, Dersch to PF and put 6-5 So Johnnie Campbell at SF. The first half is nip and tuck with the Ducks coming away with a 38-37 lead at the break. But they eviscerate us early in the 2nd half, taking a 23 point lead. We made a big comeback but there isn’t enough time and we lose 87-76Dalron Jones scores 27, Mark Byams has 11 points and 7 rebounds, Eric Dersch adds 10 points, and Antonio Greer substitutes at PF and scores 11. (1-1)

Game #3, #22 Michigan: Antonio Greer earned himself a start at PG after his last game. Michigan takes a small lead early in the game but by the end of the half, we are on top 41-32. It’s all us in the 2nd half and we smash the Wolverines 84-57. Dalron Jones hits for 16 points, Johnnie Campbell nets 15 points, and Eric Dersch and Antonio Greer both add 10 points.(2-1)

Game #4 @ #20 Georgia Tech: We fall behind 39-28 at the half. Our guards carry us in the 2nd half, we clamp down defensively, and regulation ends with the score tied 71-71. We catch fire and open a 10 point lead in the OT and win 89-80Dalron Jones scores 32 and Antonio Greer tosses in 22 while Mark Byams scores 7 but grabs 10 boards. (3-1, Ranked 24th)

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Game #5 @ #23 Ohio State: The game see-saws back and forth in the first half and we go to the locker room with a slim 28-27 edge. Ohio State takes control in the 2nd half, but we make a run that nearly is enough, but we lose 71-67Dalron Jones doesn’t shoot well, but gets to the line a lot and scores 30. Howie Tyler comes off the bench to add 9, but we get beat big time inside. (3-2)

Game #6, #1 UCLA: We surprise ourselves by taking a 45-40 halftime lead. The 2nd half is nerve-wracking but we hold the up-to-now unbeaten Bruins off to get a huge 85-80 winover the #1 ranked Bruins. Dalron Jones drops in 20 points as well as hauling down 7 boards, Antonio Greer scores 17, Johnnie Campbell adds 14, Eric Dersch scores 11, and Mark Byams gets 9 points and 7 rebounds. (4-2, Ranked 24th, RPI: 8th)

Game #7 @ Alabama: We shoot poorly and Alabama comes away with a 35-26 lead at the half. We are unable to make up the difference in the 2nd half and lose 77-66 in a game in which we just never could click. Antonio Greer scores 21, Mark Byams scores 15 while grabbing 9 rebounds, and Chris Adams comes in off the bench to add 10. Dalron Jones has an off-night and scores just 8 points (actually 'bama put a lock-down defender on him). (4-3, unranked but RPI: 3rd)

Game #8 @ #9 Tennessee: We’d really love to upset the Volunteers. But it was not to be. Tennessee dismantled us to take a 44-28 halftime lead and hand us a 92-71 drubbing. Dalron Jones leads our scoring with 15, Eric Dersch has 14, and Antonio Greer nets 11 while Mark Byams scores 8 and pulls down 9 rebounds. (4-4)

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Game # 9, Arizona State: Home-cookin’ is good. We hold a 37-25 halftime lead and expand the lead in the 2nd half to win 78-72. Dalron Jones scores 17, Antonio Greer gets 16, and Johnnie Campbell adds 10. (5-4, unranked, RPI: 3rd)

Game #10 @ Wake Forest: The first half is close the entire way, but we lead 42-40 at the half. Our defense improves in the 2nd half and we come away with a 85-75 victory. Dalron Jones scores the nets for 38 points and Mark Byams has a nice double-double (12 points and 10 rebounds)(6-4, unranked, RPI: 1st) Later that week, we find out SF Johnnie Campbelldidn’t maintain a 2.0 GPA and is academically ineligible for the rest of the season. I should have bribed some of the profs. I wanted to just cut Campbell, but all 3 of my assistants argued for getting him a tutor. I grumbled a lot about mollycoddling players, but relented and hired a tutor for the dummy.

Game #11 @ Tulsa: Chris Adams will replace Johnnie Campbell at SF. In our first conference game, we come back from a 34-28 halftime deficit to throttle Tulsa defensively in the 2nd half and win 68-61. Antonio Greer leads our scoring with 14, Mark Byams adds 13, Dalron Jones scores 12, and Chris Adams gets 10 points. (7-4, 1-0, 1st place tie)

Game #12, #15 Houston: Big game for us. We jump out to an early lead and never look back, taking a 42-31 lead at the half, and winning 80-65Antonio Greer is our top-scorer with 24, Mark Byams tosses in 10 and pulls down 8 boards, Terry Jones subs for 13 points, while Dalron Jones and Chris Adams add 9 apiece. (8-4, 2-0, 1st place tie, ranked #24, RPI: 1st)

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Game #13 @ Temple: We jump out on top and never give up the lead. After leading by a 47-26 score at the half, we finish with an 88-73 winDalron Jones has another big game with 34 pointsAntonio Greer scores 18 plus has 8 assists, and Chris Adams is making us forget Dummy Campbell by scoring 17. (9-4, 3-0, 1st place tie)

Game #14, Central Florida: We play tough defensively, taking a 36-24 halftime advantage. We then pull away for an easy 72-53 winDalron Jones scores 17 while hauling down 8 rebounds, Mark Byams muscles up 16 points, and Chris Adams adds 11. We now have a 6-game win streak(10-4, 4-0, 1st place, Ranked 21st, RPI: 2nd)


Game #15 @ SMU: We lead early in the game but SMU came back to go on top 35-31 at the break. The refs sent SMU to the line 14 more time where they scored 13 more points than us. That was the difference in this game, as we lost 70-58Antonio Greer had 24 points, Dalron Jones scored 14, and Mark Byams added 9. (10-5, 4-1, 1st place tie)

Game #16, Tulane: Tulane came into this game tied for 1st and sporting an 11-3 record, but we came onto the court with blood in our eyes, cruising to a 40-31 halftime lead and an eventual 85-69 winDalron Jones scored 25 and had 7 boards, Antonio Greer had 19 points, Mark Byams scored 13 and Chris Adams dropped in 11 points. (11-5, 5-1, 1st place tie, Ranked #21, RPI: 5th)

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Game #17 @ South Florida: We opened the scoring and held the lead throughout. But while we were up 31-21 at the half, South Florida put a scare into us in the 2nd half. We held on though for a 62-56 victory. Our guards, Antonio Greer and Dalron Jones scored 18 and 15 points, respectively. (12-5, 6-1, 1st place tie)

Game #18 @ Connecticut: Our defense faltered, allowing Connecticut to take a 49-37 halftime lead. The Huskies continued the beat-down and we lost 94-69Our starting guards scored 40 points (Antonio Greer-21 and Dalron Jones-19). Chris Adams added 9. (12-6. 6-2, 3rd place, Ranked #22, RPI: 6th)

Game #19, Cincinnati: This game was close the entire way. We held a 41-37 lead at the half. And after 15 lead changes and 8 ties, we escaped with a 76-70 winDalron Jones popped in 23 points, Chris Adams added 15, and Eric Dersch scored 8 plus had 8 rebounds. (13-6, 7-2, 2nd place tie)

Game #20, Tulsa: Rob Ferguson recovered sufficiently from his broken hand to step back in as starting C. Mark Byams shifted to PF and Eric Dersch to SF. We overcame an early lead by Tulsa to move out to a 42-33 advantage at the break. We then pulled away in the 2nd half to score an 81-65 victoryMark Byams scored 19 while pulling down 7 rebounds, Dalron Jones had 16 points, Howie Tyler came off the bench to add 15, Antonio Greer scored 11 and Eric Dersch had 9. (14-6, 8-2, 1st place tie, Ranked 18th, RPI: 7th) (Dalron Jones was named as a Quarterfinalist for the Norton Award)

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Game #21 @ #13 Houston: Houston is tough, particularly at home. The Cougars spurted out to a 47-35 halftime lead. We fought hard in the 2nd half, but couldn’t overcome their lead, finishing with a 71-62 loss. Dalron Jones scored 17, Chris Adams hit 13 substituting at SF, and Mark Byams scored 7 while grabbing 11 rebounds. (14-7, 8-3, 2nd place tie) (Antonio Greer sprained his knee)

Game #22, TempleHowie Tyler returned to the starting lineup at PG replacing the injured Antonio Greer. The first half was close but we took a 36-30 lead going to the locker room. We came out strong in the 2nd half, opening a 23 point lead and winning by a 77-58 score. Mark Byams, Dalron Jones, and Chris Adams each scored 13 points with Mark Byams also latching onto 10 rebounds. (15-7, 9-3, 2nd place tie, Ranked 19th, RPI: 7th)

Game #23 @ Central Florida: Antonio Greer, although not quite 100%, returned to start at PG. This was a hard-fought game. Central Florida had a 39-37 edge at the half. But following 20 lead changes and 12 ties, we pulled away at the very end to record a 74-68 victoryDalron Jones tossed in 26 points, Rob Ferguson scored 16, and Antonio Greer scored 14 plus dished out 7 assists. (16-7, 10-3, 2nd place)

Game #24, SMU: We absolutely bottled up the Mustangs. At the half we led 31-13 and then, after holding SMU’s shooting to 20%, we rolled over them by a 66-30 score. Dalron Jones led our scoring with 16 points, Antonio Greer had 13, Mark Byams scored 10 plus hauled down 11 rebounds, and Eric Dersch scored 9 and had 8 rebounds. (17-7, 11-3, 2nd place, Ranked 19th, RPI: 8th) (Dalron Jones was named a semi-finalist for the Norton Award)

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Game #25 @ Tulane: Tulane applied a staunch defense in the 1st half and ran away to a 46-26 lead at the break. We shot well in the 2nd half but couldn’t stop Tulane and fell 87-68.Dalron Jones led us offensively with 20 points, Rob Ferguson scored 14, and Mark Byams hit 11 points while pullding down 9 rebounds(17-8, 11-4, 2nd place tie)

Game #26, South Florida: We started slowly but by the end of the 1st half had a 30-23 lead. We then expanded that lead in the 2nd half and won 61-44. Rob Ferguson and Dalron Jones shared high-point honors with 12 each, Chris Adams came off the bench to score 10, and Antonio Greer and Howie Tyler both scored 9. (18-8, 12-4, 2nd place tie, Ranked 19th, RPI: 9th) (Antonio Greer sprained his wrist)

Game #27, ConnecticutHowie Tyler started at PG in place of the injured Antonio Greer. The two teams raced up and down the court in the first half. We went to the locker room with a 51-50 lead. The pace didn’t abate in the 2nd half as defense was absent on both ends of the court. We managed to get the upper edge , 102-95Dalron Jones netted 31 points with Howie Tyler and Mark Byams each scoring 13, and Chris Adams chipping in 9. (19-8, 13-4, 2nd place)

Game #28 @ Cincinnati: Howie Tyler started again since Antonio Greer is still nursing an injury. To avoid dropping back into a tie for 2nd place, we needed to win this game. Our players continued their offensive onslaught from the previous game by scoring 52 first half points but held Cincinnati to 32 points. We slowed it down in the 2nd half and came away with an 86-64 victoryDalron Jones scored the nets for 25 points, but Howie Tyler scored a surprising 21Rob Ferguson and substitute Trey Frazier each scored 12 points and Mark Byams added 11. Rob Ferguson achieved a double-double by also pulling down 10 boards(20-8, 14-4, 2nd place, Ranked 17th, RPI: 6th)

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American Athletic Conference Tournament
 
Game #29 vs Tulsa: Our offense continued to perk. We shot extremely well and took a 51-39 lead at the half. In the 2nd half we opened a 22 point lead and won the game 86-68. Rob Ferguson, Dalron Jones, and Antonio Greer each scored 15 points. But the MVP of the game was Mark Byams with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 10 steals! We move on to the semi-final game. (21-8)

Game #30 vs Connecticut: Following our earlier drubbing at the hands of the Huskies, we had a point to prove. But Connecticut out-played us in the 1st half to take a 40-35 lead at the break. We came out determined to change things and gradually pulled even and then away to win 79-68. Dalron Jones topped our scoring with 17 points, Rob Ferguson and Mark Byams both scored 13 (and Byams achieved a double-double by grabbing 13 rebounds), and subs Chris Adams and Howie Tyler scored 10 and 9 points, respectively. The win moved us on to the Tourney Championship game. (22-8) (Terry Jones sprained his toe in this game)

Game #31 vs #5 Houston: Our defense was stellar in the 1st half, allowing us to take a 43-23 lead to the locker room. We continued our dominance in the 2nd half and won going away and crushed Houston, 78-53Mark Byams was our top scorer with 19 points, Dalron Jones score 18, Rob Ferguson had a strong double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Antonio Greer added 13 points. The Memphis Tigers are American Athletic Conference Champs! (23-8, Ranked 15th, RPI: 6th)

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Player and Team Stats
 
Player Stats:

PPG: Dalron Jones-20.2, Antonio Greer-12.1, Mark Byams-9.9, Johnnie Campbell-8.1, Chris Adams-7.3.
RPG: Mark Byams-6.9, Terry jones-4.6, Eric Dersch-4.3, Johnnie Campbell-4.0, Rob Ferguson-3.9.
APG: Howie Tyler-2.5, Dalron Jones-2.5, Antonio Greer-2.4, Johnnie Campbell-2.0, Eric Dersch-1.6.

Team Stats:

PPG: Memphis-76.5, Opponents-69.3
RPG: Memphis-31.4, Opponents-28.7
APG: Memphis-15.0, Opponents-13.5
BPG: Memphis-3.3, Opponents-2.9
SPG: Memphis-8.8, Opponents-7.4
TO: Memphis-14.6, Opponents-15.6
FG%: Memphis-46.2, Opponents-42.0
3P%: Memphis-42.2, Opponents-33.4
FT%: Memphis-77.6, Opponents-74.5

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NCAA Tournament Selection Show
 
Top Seeds: UCLA, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Arkansas.

Memphis is 3rd Seed in the Minneapolis Region and will play 14th seed Harvard.

Connecticut is 9th Seed in the Minneapolis Region and will play 8th seed Michigan.

Houston is 2nd seed in the New Orleans Region and will play 15th seed Delaware State.

Cincinnati is 11th seed in the New Orleans Region and will play 6th seed Louisville.

Tulane is 9th seed in the New Orleans Region and will play 8th seed Western Carolina.

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NCAA Tourney, Round 1:
 
Game #32 vs Harvard: We completely stymied Harvard in the 1st half and opened a 42-17 halftime lead. We continued to build upon that lead and won with ease, 73-40.Rob Ferguson scored 20 points and pulled down 9 rebounds, Mark Byams scored 17 points and had 8 rebounds, Dalron Jones scored 10 points and had 6 assists. (24-8) The win sets up for our 2nd round game against #6 seed and 18th ranked Brigham Young.

Michigan-76, Connecticut-74

Houston-59, Delaware State-46 (the Cougars will play #10 seed Marquette in the 2nd round)

Louisville-77, Cincinnati-72

Western Carolina-72, Tulane-59

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NCAA Tournament, Round 2
 
Game #33 vs Brigham Young: The first half was back-and-forth as evidenced by the halftime score of 37-37. We opened an 11 point lead in the 2nd half but then had to hang on for a tight 71-67 win. Antonio Greer was our top scorer with 16 points, Dalron Jones had 15 points, 9 rebound, and 5 assists, Rob Ferguson scored 11 and pulled down 10 rebounds(25-8) In the Sweet Sixteen we will be matched against #2 seed and 7th ranked Kentucky. 

Houston-90, Marquette-74 (Houston scored 67 points in the 1st half) Houston’s next opponent with #3 seed and 13th ranked Oregon.

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NCAA Tournament, Round 3
 
Game #34 vs Kentucky: Interestingly we started the season with a win over Louisville, now we get a chance to knock off Kentucky. We out-played the Wildcats in the first half, but not by much and held a 45-42 lead at the half. The game was tight throughout the 2nd half. After 9 lead changes and 5 ties, we dropped a heart-breaker, 77-76. Antonio Greer had 18 points, Dalron Jones scored 17 with 9 rebounds and 6 assistsRob Ferguson had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, Mark Byams scored 10 and pulled down 7 boards, and Howie Tyler scored 9 points. A valiant effort that came up the slimmest of differences short. 

Oregon-70, Houston-52

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Tournament Championship Games
 
CBI Tournament: Mercer-64, South Dakota State-57

NIT Tournament: Arizona State-56, Buffalo-55

NCAA Tournament: UCLA-100, Virginia-68

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Recruits
 
PG Valder Greene, 6-0 HS Sr, Dawsonville, GA, 3.2 GPA (1040 SAT). 24.9 ppg, 11.1 apg, 8.0 rpg, 7.1 spg, 4.7 bpg. Outstanding scorer, passer, rebounder, shot blocker, stealing, outside shooter. Excellent ball handler and defender and strong athleticism. Hard worker who, while not a leader, doesn’t cause problems. Top 5 player at East Coast Jam Camp. Ranked 8th best in nation with Overall Rating of A. (And yes, we surreptitiously transferred the $10,000 to a clandestine bank account that Valder can access.)

C Joey Brown, 6-8 HS Sr, New Martinsville, WV, 2.8 GPS (1030 SAT). 21.3 ppg, 6.8 apg, 14.3 rpg, 5.5 spg, 2.6 bpg. Outstanding scorer, passer, rebounder, defender, and stealing. Strong athleticism. Top 10 player at Indy Elite Camp. Tremendous work ethic. Ranked 10th best in nation with Overall Rating of A.

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Year 2, Memphis Tigers
 
Last season we met all 5 goals (sign 4 star recruit, win 20+ games, win conference tournament, get to Sweet Sixteen, improve school prestige) this past season. Our goals for this year aren’t much different.

My 2nd assistant moved on to greener pastures, but I hired a replacement at the 2nd Assistant position who has excellent Player Development skills. His name is Evan Jackson. I also extended the contracts of Ray Schau, my 1st Assistant (recruiting) and Kelvin Chadwick, my 3rd Assistant (scouting). A little costly, but I think we can afford it. 

We still have $128,100 left for recruiting (and “whatever it takes”) this season. We will have 3 seniors graduating. Ray and I get together and decide that since it was so easy last year, we might as well go after the top dawgs with any and all ammunition we can fire at them. Hell, a bribe doesn’t cost us anything until the guy accepts our scholarship.

The list of the Top Recruiting Classes for last season comes out and we had the 4th best. Only Duke, Arizona and Wake Forest topped us. I think that if we’d had a 3rd scholarship to offer, we would have moved up a notch or two.

Looking over the team this year, we should be stronger than last year with the addition of freshman PG Valder Geene and freshman center Joey Brown. We’re weakest at SF, but we’ve got a couple big guards who can step in at the 3.

We blow $10K on the National Report and $5K on the Southeast Report. The basic reports are fine with me. No need wasting money on the gold reports...we may need the bucks for “other things”. We decide to go to the Indy Elite Camp...might as well check out the studs.

Reviewing the transfer pool, there are a couple very good transfer players who from Georgia Tech and Missouri who are sniffing us out plus there’s guy from Michigan we probably would have a chance at since we played the Wolverines last season. But we don’t have any vacant scholarships and I don’t really want to cut anybody plus I think we can get better with high school recruits this year than the available transfer players.

We have a bunch of players on our roster with GPA’s in the low 2’s, including last season’s ineligible player, Johnnie Campbell (now up to 2.2 GPA). My assistants think we should hire some tutors for some of these guys. But hey, they guys are big boys and should be able to take care of themselves, so no tutoring. I tell my assistants they just need to find out who the profs for our players are and let them know where their bread is buttered.

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Fall Recruiting
 
Recruiting Violations and Probations

The NCAA has not investigated our program.

One team was placed on probation though: Georgia Tech (no post-season tourneys for 2 years and no scholarships for 3 years).

Recruiting

We have 3 scholarships to offer this year.

A lot of Tennessee high schoolers are showing interest in us this season since we made it to the Sweet Sixteen last year. But most aren’t high enough rated for me to want. We put two of the better ones on our list, but even they probably won’t make the cut.

We add about 5 from the Southeast region...again not enough good players down here this year.

Looking over the international players, there’s a good PG, but hey, I got a superstar PG so decide to pass.

So we next look at the national crop. The #1 player in the nation already is showing interest in us, but he’s got a 2.1 GPA, so taking him would be a big risk since he likely won’t meet even our SAT minimums. We put him the list, though, and will get a little more information about him. We add most everyone in the top 25. Seems as though our academic standards (or lack thereof) attract a lot of the guys with GPA’s in the very low 2’s.

Since Dalron Jones will be graduating this year, I’d like to pick up a top-flight SG to replace him. Alternatively, Antonio Greer could take over his spot next season, but even though he’s a natural SG, Antonio is a bit smaller (at 6-0) than I’d like at the 2. I definitely want at least one talented big man, and maybe even two. But we probably should try to nail down a stellar SF with our 3rd scholarship.

Our ultimate goal is to fill all 3 of our scholarship with Top 10 recruits, but that may be more than we can do in our 2nd year. But they say, money talks.

Ray slips me the wrong list and I end up making some calls the first week of recruiting to a few guys outside the top 10. I ream Ray out, but hell, we have so many lists, that it’s easy to make a mistake. A couple of the top 10’s I get ahold of turn out to be from extremely wealthy families and I swear under my breath when I find that out from them.

After developing some interest, we were ready to put out our bait. So at the end of July and in early August, I made bribe offers to 13 players:

Name, ranking, relative family wealth--bribe--palyer's response and interest level (school they eventually chose)

Rowher,1, moderately poor--20K apt--No
Anderson,2, very poor -20K apt-No (Kentucky)
Mociler, 3, very poor-20K apt-tempting/factor in decision---interest immediately from + to +++. (NC)
Dudley, 4, fairly poor,-20K apt--tempting/factor in decision--interest immediately from + to +++ (Kansas)
Thurman, 11, very poor-no interest, 10K cash-No 
Manion,5, very wealthy, $10k cash,--No--went from + to - (Michigan St)
Robins,6,Fairly poor, $10K cash--tempting/factor in decision-interest immediately from + to +++ (UCLA)
Owens, 7, Pretty wealthy, $10K cash--Tempting/factor in decision, interest immediately from + to +++ (UCLA)
Alexander, 9, middle class, $5K hang with celebrity, tempting/factor in decision, immediately from + to ++ (Oklahoma)
Crispin, 10, lower middle class, $5K hang with school celebrity--tempting/factor in decision, immediately from + to ++ (Virginia)
Banks, 12, very poor, $5K hang with school celeb--No, Immediately form + to - (North Carolina)
Johnson,13, very wealthy, $5K, hang with school celeb-tempting/factor in decision, Immediately from + to ++ (Oregon)
Mickens, 14, fairly poor, $5k Hang with school celeb-no--immediately from + to - (Kentucky)

With each potential acceptance of a bribe by a player, that amount of $$ is deducted from budget...only to be reimbursed if that player doesn't sign with you...so we began running low in $$.

C Ruben Rowher, has been #1 or #2 ranked throughout recruiting. He is fantastic on the court (26 ppg, 16 rpg and a player with an excellent shot from both the inside and outside, a great passer, a dominant rebounder and defender and he has a tremendous work ethic. But...his GPA is 2.1 and it’s unlikely he will meet even our SAT minimums, so reluctantly we withhold an offer, even though we’re on the top of his list of school at which he’d like to play. Instead we make offers at the end of August to:

#3 SG Anderson—PT,--he chooses Kentucky
#5 C Dudley—he chooses Kansas
#9 C Alexander—he chooses Oklahoma

After they go elsewhere we make offers to:

#1 PG Mociler—PT,--he chooses NC
#8 PF Crispin—SP, CP—he chooses Virginia

When we lose out on those recruits, our sites come back to Ruben Rowher. Everyone has shied away from him because of his low GPA. Finally we decide to take a flyer and make an offer, realizing he very well not qualify academically. And he accepts in early October. And this guy wouldn't even accept our generous bribe!!! If he squeaks by with his SAT’s, it’s a coup. If not, it’s back to the drawing boards.

After a number of the players to whom we made bribes go elsewhere, that money is freed up so we make a second round of bribes to:

Williams, 44, poor, $5K school celeb—No (Gerogia)
Younger, 31, fairly poor, $10K cash—tempting/bribe will factor into decision (Connecticut)
Boone, 24, very poor, $10K—tempting/bribe will factor into decision (Arizona)

We then continue to offer scholarships and are continually rebuffed:

#31 PG Younger—PT—he chooses Connecticut
#44, SF Williams—Loc,---he chooses Georgia
#33, PG Camara—PT—he chooses Kansas
Int'l #46, Muge—SP—he chooses Arkansas
#24, C Boone—SP, Fac—he chooses Ariz
#61, PG Sankes—Loc—he chooses Ariz St.
#66, PG Forman—Loc—he chooses Depaul

What the hell? Do these guys not like money, is there no way to "persuade" them to give the finger to the elite schools, or are we just being outbribed by the elites?

Our recruiting efforts and our bribe offers have gone for naught. We were playing with the big boys and got our a$$e$ kicked. After the home visit period, we tuck our tails between our legs, add players to our watch list and decide to build interest through the winter and offer our two remaining scholarships in the spring. At least we will have a lot of bucks to throw around in the spring.

Top 10 Recruits—who got them

1. North Carolina
2. Memphis
3. Kentucky
4. UCLA
5. Oklahoma
6. Michigan State
7. Kansas
8. UCLA
9. Duke
10. Virginia

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Season 2 Player News
 
Norton Award:

3 players nominated for the Norton Award: SG Dalron Jones, C Joey Brown, and C Rob Ferguson

Starters at the beginning of season 2:

PG Valder Greene, 6-0 FR (3.5/4.5 stars) [High school senior last year]

SG Dalron Jones, 6-5 SR (4.5/4.5 stars) [20.2 ppg last year]

SF Johnnie Campbell, 6-5 JR (3.0/3.0 stars) [8.1 ppg last year]

PF Rob Ferguson, 6-8 SR (4.0/4.5 stars) [5.9 ppg last year]

C Joey Brown, 6-8 FR (4.5/4.5 stars) [High school senior last year]

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2nd Season, Games 1 thru 4
 
Game #1 @ Virginia: The lead flip flops throughout the 1st half, but we head to the locker room ahead 39-35. We draw away throughout the 2nd half by tightening our defense. We win our opener 75-58Dalron Jones picks up where he left off last season, scoring 29 points. Joey Brown has a great first collegiate game, hitting for 15 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. Rob Ferguson tosses in 18 points while pulling down 8 boards. (1-0, Preseason #7 ranking)

Game #2, Hawaiian Shootout vs Pepperdine: We’re the #1 seed in the tourney. Since Valder Greene needs a bit more seasoning and experience running our sets, Antonio Greer will be starting at PG. We roll in the first half, clamping down defensively to take a 39-20 halftime lead. We win with ease 72-51Dalron Jones leads our scoring with 23 points. Joey Brown continues to dominate inside, scoring 17 and getting 17 rebounds. Rob Ferguson also gets a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. (2-0, Ranked #2, RPI: 13)

AwardsJoey Brown picked up both the American Athletic Conferences Player of the Week and Freshman Player of the Week awards.

Game #3, Hawaiian Shootout vs Clemson: We began pulling away late in the first half and left the court at intermission with a 42-30 lead. In the 2nd half, we expanded our lead to 22 and then coasted to a 72-56 victory, sending us to the Tournament Championship game. All 5 starters scored in double figures: Joey Brown with 15, Antonio Greer getting 13, Dalron Jones scoring 12, and Rob Ferguson and Johnnie Campbell both adding 10. Joey Brown had 9 rebounds and Rob Ferguson had 7. (3-0)

Game #4, Hawaiian Shootout Championship vs Duquesne: Our defense was stellar throughout the entire game. We led 40-25 at the half and finished with a 70-49 win taking theTournament ChampionshipDalron Jones led our scoring with 22 points and Rob Ferguson contributed 11. Joey Brown pulled down 9 rebounds. (4-0)

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