Coach's Corner
Note: The following were submitted by fellow players. They represent only the opinions of their authors.
Note from pick6king: Please realize that these articles may become outdated if the game changes (for example, if the base weekly RP allowance were to change from 75 to 80, then there would likely still be invalid references to 75 still in these articles). Please apply your own understanding of the rules to the content of these articles. Many thanks to the authors who are represented here.
My Recruiting Strategy
by doctorhoop
I recruit a lot of players with "Poor" or "Fair" scouting. I compare stats with their posted abilities and height as opposed to the position they are playing in high school to project their final potential.
Stats do not tell the whole story sometimes when you have a 6'3 or 6'4 recruit playing PF or Center in high school. If this recruit's stats show that he has high abilities in intelligence and does not make many turnovers he may be a projected college PG.
You will get the most fluctuation in ability shown and their final attributes from a recruit with "Poor" scouting and "Poor" and "Fair" abilities shown. If a recruit has a posted ability of "Fair +" and his ability fluctuates upward you will end up with a good attribute for this recruit. In addition you will more then likely not have as much competition for this player as you would a top 75 player.
I try to recruit the ones that have pluses in their posted abilities as these tend to go up when their final attributes are shown especially if their stats indicate that they are doing well in that category.
All in all recruiting is pretty much a game of luck but you have to put yourself in a position to be lucky. There are many ways to look at it and to go about it which makes it real to life and fun. I don't think there is one best way to do it. Take suggestions from everyone and then come up with what works best for you. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose but it's always interesting to see which recruits decided that your school was where they wanted to go.
Total Newbie Guide
by orange
This guide assumes a basic understanding of the rules
of the game and basketball in general. For further
clarification of the rules see the instructions and
faq sections.
1. Assessing Your Needs. Before you begin the
recruiting process it’s very important to determine
what positions and types of players you’re looking
for. You have to project what your team’s needs will
be after the current senior class graduates. Here’s
what I do that helps; draw out your lineup once the
seniors graduate. Do you have a good guard? How
about a center? Do you need a solid defender,
rebounders, backups or other role player? Narrowing
down the type of player you’re looking for makes the
recruiting process more efficient and more successful.
A side note on positions. I like the classic team
style and although you can be very good doing things
differently I thought I’d lay out some basic ideas
about what I look for in the various positions. Note
that heights can vary considerably and I’m only giving
outlines.
Point guard. I like a point guard to have at least
good hands and good intelligence. For me shooting is
not important however many teams like their point
guards to score so you might consider a good shooter.
I really look for high assists and low turnovers.
Steals are a nice bonus, rebounding is not so
important. Your classic point guard is 6’3 or
shorter, although they can be taller.
Shooting guard. I look for someone who can shoot very
well and dish out some assists while keeping turnovers
low. Again rebounding is not emphasized. Most
shooting guards are shorter, say 6’4 and less.
Small Forward. Look for a good shooter who is
versatile, meaning they have good hands, defense and
rebounding. This is your classic all around good
player. Don’t overlook the value of good hands as the
SF passes the ball in and handles it often. I like
SF’s no less than 6’4 and as big as 6’9. Smaller
and they will have some problems defending and bigger
they lose their versatility.
Power Forward. Classic PF is a great rebounder and
defender. Shooting well is a big plus. Hands are not
as important. I have used a PF as short as 6’6 but
bigger is better.
Center. This guy is usually big. He usually rebounds
and plays defense well too. Shooting and hands are a
plus. I’d go at least 6’9 here since height is an
advantage at the center position.
2. Locating Talent. Once you know what you’re looking
for you can begin the search. Remember there are 256
cities represented, each with 3 HS players making 768
potential recruits. Also remember you have a huge
advantage recruiting in your hometown and a lesser
advantage recruiting in conference. With that in mind
look first in your hometown. If there is anyone who
fits your profile, he should be on your list. Next
peek around your conference and see if there is anyone
there. If you haven’t found enough worthy candidates
at this point, start looking around conference by
conference. You can look at the HS stars of the game
to help locate good players quicker.
OK, so what are you looking for? Well, that’s a good
question. Some coaches focus on players abilities.
They want someone with excellent this or excellent
that. Also they rely on the scouting reports to tell
them how reliable the abilities are. Others focus on
the HS players statistics. They may be looking for
high rebounds or low turnovers. Some coaches look for
both abilities and statistics or a combination of the
two. You have to decide what works best for you. One
pitfall to avoid is going after all the top players.
If you are successful you could have a great team
quickly but most likely you’ll end up getting some, if
not all, walk-ons. Walk-ons usually are not that
good. Typically, I might go after one or two top
notch players and then some solid players that fit
certain needs. This way I might get a really good
player but if I don’t then I end up getting some good
ones and no walk-ons.
3. Spending RPE’s. There are probably many different
ways to do this but I’ve come up with two that are
pretty reliable. I assume everyone gets the bonus
RPE’s and therefore has 83 RPE’s to spend each week.
First step, wait until the 2nd game of the regular
season. Look at your recruits all you want but don’t
spend until the second game. This way the HS players
will play more games and you’ll be able to see a
better average of their statistics.
Method 1: Select your top 4 recruits and spend 17
RPE’s each and every week. Spend 9 RPE’s on a backup
player and then 5 on another backup player each week.
The backups should be of average quality while your
top 4 can be of good to high quality. This method is
easy and once you pick your recruits, requires no
thinking since it’s the same every week.
Method 2: Select 3 recruits to spend 17 RPE’s on each
week. Select 3 recruits to spend 9 RPE’s on each
week. You wil have RPE’s left over. Use these to
spend an additional 8 RPE’s on one of the recruits you
are only spending 9 RPE’s on at the beginning. So
you’ll start spending 17x3 and 9x3. When enough
points are left spend 17x4 and 9x2. This method
requires a little more management but allows you to be
more flexible. If you have too much competition on
your top 3 recruits and one of your backup recruits is
good you can shift to method 1 at any time.
Hints.
At all times watch the competition. First by seeing
how highly recruited your guys are and next by seeing
how many teams are within 3 or 12. Hopefully you’re
all alone. If that is the case then keep it up. If
you have heavy competition for your top guys consider
switching and making your backups your top recruits
assuming you’re in the lead on them.
If you are all alone on one of your top recruits you
can spend 9 points on him one week without being
overtaken. This will allow you to solidify one of
your backups.
Spending your RPE’s on the last day keeps your
competition from knowing what you’re doing.
Spending your RPE’s early lets your competition know
you are committed and might make them back off.
Don’t be afraid to overtake someone. You can be 20-30
RPE’s down but if you notice the top spender isn’t
using 17 each time you might be able to catch him.
Do not overrecruit. Go after solid players rather
than superstars. You are more likely to get the solid
ones. A team full of solid players is much better
than a few stars and a bunch of walk-ons.
Stay home. Get that hometown boy if he’s good and can
fit anywhere in your lineup.
Good luck.
Recruiting & Coaching Strategy
by hofdutch
First and foremost, have fun, but try to win.
My Recruiting strategies:
1) My strategy typically revolves solely around keeping the hometown guys at
home, as 8 of my 12 players are hometown guys, and 10 of 12 are in-region.
2) I look at needs, of course, and also attributes. I pay virtually no
attention to either stats or scouting. Mo Rock, when he was recruitable, had
a GFPFG, with intelligence so poor that his nickname was Mo "Dumb as a" Rock.
He turned out a GFFGGG, and was League 3, Conference 24's leading scorer as a
freshman, as well as freshman of the year, and first team-all conference. In
addition, as a freshman in college, he had better stats than he could ever
dream of having in high school. He is still going strong, as a junior, being
the Arlington HofstraDutchmen's leading scorer, best player, and captain.
Coaching strategies:
1) Look at the stats on a per-minute, rather than per-game, basis. Usually,
per-minute is a much more accurate source of information.
2) If your big men (PF+C) are small, go uptempo, if your big men are big, go
slowdown.
3) If your wings (SG+SF) are small, go zone, if your wings are big, go man.
4) Less threes is usually the best plan, unless all of your shooters are
lights-out.
