Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - Coach Graham Sims: A Pennsylvania Story (FBCB)

MoonlightGraham · 03-31-2023, 04:52 PM

February 1, 2016
Our staff had time to check out Todd DeHaven over the course of the month. We like him a lot. I doubt he would ever be a primary scoring option for us, but teams would have to legitimately guard him. He's also shown a willingness to compete for rebounds, and his defensive instincts are sound.

Todd expresses some interest in playing for Bucknell, but they haven't offered him a scholarship yet. I suppose I can understand why he isn't leaping to accept the first offer he gets; we'll keep recruiting him and, hopefully, we'll have good news in March.

The first edition of the Bubble Watch is released today. We're listed as a Lock, and so is Colgate. This is a first for the Patriot League, and it's undoubtedly a result of our improved conference prestige.

February 1, 2016
Lafayette 79, Columbia 48
We take a pleasant trip to New York City to face the Lions. It's a homecoming game for NYC natives Armando Brown, Alvaro Kinard, and especially Hubert Song.

Once again, an opponent simply can't handle the size and power of James Sanders. When they can't stop him, they foul him, and Big Colonel is a good free throw shooter, especially for a center. Tonight, he makes 8 of 12 field goals and 9 of 11 free throws, good for 25 points.

Song gives his family and friends from home a good show, knocking down four treys, scoring 16 points, and grabbing 8 rebounds. Joe Lien adds 13 points, Rhett King has 13 rebounds (9 offensive), and Samuel Davis plays well off the bench (10 points, 4 rebounds).
Record: 17-4.

February 3, 2016
Lafayette 66, American 65
While this American team isn't as fearsome as their predecessors, they're still dangerous on their best nights...especially at home. We let the Eagles take a 40-31 lead to the locker room at halftime. We start playing Leopard defense in the second half, and that's just enough to eke out the win.

The Eagles, led by talented soph Bryant Passmore, defend our backcourt well. Hubert Song and Joe Lien score only 12 points between them, and a frustrated Lien fouls out.

Fortunately, Coach Sims has other weapons at his disposal. Venceslás Castillo scores a career high 22 points, and James Sanders adds 18 (10-11 from the line). And, on a night when every possession matters, we turn the ball over only six times.
Record: 18-4 (8-0).

February 6, 2016
Lafayette 91, St. Peter's 50
Our out-of-conference interlude closes with a dominant win over the Peacocks, across the river in Jersey City. It's our twelfth consecutive win; we haven't lost since December 29, when Missouri beat us.

Four of our starters score in comfortable double figures (Venceslás Castillo 19, Joe Lien 17, Hubert Song 16, James Sanders 14) and the fourth barely misses a double-double (Rhett King, 9 points, 9 rebounds).
Record: 19-4 (8-0).

February 7, 2016
I've decided to mention the Mid Major poll when the Leopards are ranked in the top ten. The latest poll has us leaping eight spots to #4. Utah State, Xavier, and Rhode Island hold the top three places.

Colgate is ranked #12; this is probably the first time two Patriot League teams appear in the poll. I suppose it's possible that American and Holy Cross were simultaneously ranked three or four years ago.

February 10, 2016
Lafayette 80, Army 61
We maintain our unbeaten record in the Patriot League, defeating Army at home. We shoot very poorly from long range (4-23), but we have James Sanders, and they don't.

Big Colonel is putting together a solid case for his second consecutive Player of the Year award. Tonight he scores 30 points, a new career high, making 11 of 16 shots and 8 of 11 free throws.

Venceslás Castillo and Joe Lien score 12 apiece, and Rhett King takes only two shots, but corrals 11 rebounds.

Army guard Jack Jessie scores 16 points in his final visit to the Kirby Center. Sometime next week, he should score the 2000th point of his collegiate career.

We have to keep winning, because Colgate does, too. They're 9-1 in the league, and that one loss is to us.
Record: 20-4 (9-0).

February 13, 2016
Lafayette 90, Navy 69
I'm enjoying coaching a team that has multiple weapons in its arsenal. If one or two of them aren't firing, another one probably will be.

Tonight, James Sanders encounters foul trouble trying to keep Navy's Stephen Collins off the boards. It seems that every time the Big Colonel bumps the Navy center, a striped shirt blows their whistle. Sanders only plays six minutes, but he manages to score six points. Collins, left with one fewer big body to battle, pulls in 15 rebounds. Rhett King holds his own against the nation's best boardsman, getting 12 of his own.

But the Midshipmen forget to guard Joe Lien. The sophomore throws down his first big game in a while, scoring 27 points, with five rebounds and three assists. Our only other double figure scorer is Venceslás Castillo, with exactly 10, but we do see signs of life from Alvaro Kinard (9 points in 19 minutes).

Holy Cross helps us by routing Colgate, 72-45.
Record: 21-4 (10-0).

February 14, 2016
We receive a Valentine from the creators of the Mid Major rankings, who put us at #4 again this week. We get 29 votes in the "big poll," too.

Utah State (22-2), the best of the Mid Majors, are #3 in the polls, behind Georgetown and Kansas.

February 17, 2016
Lafayette 72, Holy Cross 65
The Crusaders don't manage to pull off another upset, but they defend their home court tenaciously, battling us back and forth until the final minute of the game.

It's business as usual from Joe Lien (14 points, 9 rebounds), Hubert Song (17 points) and Venceslás Castillo (10 rebounds). And James Sanders gets the best of a tough veteran center, the Crusaders' Reuben Harwell, scoring 21 points and adding 9 rebounds.

Once again, we fire up a lot of bricks from behind the arc. I'm going to dial back our three point usage, which I had set at 9.
Record: 22-4 (11-0).

February 20, 2016
Lafayette 88, Bucknell 65
It's 16 straight wins for Graham Sims and the Lafayette Leopards, and an especially memorable night for Joe Lien.

Joe refuses to let the Bison defend him. He explodes for 37 points, going 13-23 from the field, and 6-13 from long range. Late in the second half, a long three gives him 1,002 points...as a sophomore. Point guard Hubert Song hands out a career-best 8 assists.

Fouling James Sanders doesn't work any better for Bucknell than it did for other Patriot League teams. James makes 11 of his 14 free throws and finishes with 17 points, just above his season average of 16 per game. And Rhett King, the Patriot League's best rebounder not named Stephen Collins, adds 10 more to his season total. But, even more impressively, Rhett blocks SIX shots.

We earn at least a share of the conference championship with our win.
Record: 23-4 (12-0).

February 21, 2016
We're once again #4 in the Mid Major poll, and we move up to #25 in the Media Top 25 rankings.

February 24, 2016
#24 Lafayette 88, Lehigh 54
The Mountain Hawks have struggled this year, and they come to the Kirby Center hoping to avoid their 20th loss of the season. Lehigh keeps it fairly close for a while, but we outscore them 47-22 in the second half to break the game open.

James Sanders plays another excellent game, scoring 22 points, getting 12 rebounds, blocking a shot, and getting a steal. Hubert Song (13 points), Venceslás Castillo (10), Joe Lien (10) and Armando Brown (10) reach double digits, too.

The best story, however, comes to us courtesy of Rhett King. After 125 games in Lafayette colors, Rhett has apparently decided that it is time for him to devote himself to the task of blocking as many shots as possible. Today, he rejects four Lehigh shots, giving him 10 blocks in two games. Over those two games, he attempts only 12 shots himself.

Our victory clinches the Patriot League championship. Our athletic director set "Win the conference championship" as our goal, so unless that means winning the tournament, we've achieved our objective.
Record: 24-4 (13-0).

February 27, 2016
Senior Day
#25 Lafayette 74, Colgate 71
Before a large, emotional crowd at the Kirby Center, we complete our sweep of the Patriot League season with a narrow victory over the conference runners-up. Seniors Venceslás Castillo, Rhett King, James Sanders, and Hubert Song embrace their families before the game and walk off the court as winners and champions after it.

It's not an easy victory. Irvin Schumacher drops in a three to send his Red Raiders into the locker room with a 36-32 halftime lead. But after the intermission, two three-point plays: a long jumper by Venceslás Castillo and an old school and-one by James Sanders ties the score at 38. Joe Lien dishes the ball to Sanders for a layup to give us the lead with 17:16 remaining, a lead we don't relinquish.

How do the seniors play in their final regular season home game? Rhett King scores 7 points and grabs 8 rebounds. He blocks "only" 2 shots. Hubert Song finishes with 12 points and 4 boards. Venceslàs Castillo barely misses a double-double: 14 points, 9 rebounds. And James Sanders, limited to 19 minutes by foul trouble, still manages to produce 14 points and 6 rebounds.

Joe Lien is our high scorer with 17 points, but today belongs to the men of the Class of 2016.
Record: 25-4 (14-0).

03-31-2023, 04:52 PM	#128
MoonlightGraham High School Varsity Join Date: Sep 2022	February 1, 2016 Our staff had time to check out Todd DeHaven over the course of the month. We like him a lot. I doubt he would ever be a primary scoring option for us, but teams would have to legitimately guard him. He's also shown a willingness to compete for rebounds, and his defensive instincts are sound. Todd expresses some interest in playing for Bucknell, but they haven't offered him a scholarship yet. I suppose I can understand why he isn't leaping to accept the first offer he gets; we'll keep recruiting him and, hopefully, we'll have good news in March. The first edition of the Bubble Watch is released today. We're listed as a Lock, and so is Colgate. This is a first for the Patriot League, and it's undoubtedly a result of our improved conference prestige. February 1, 2016 Lafayette 79, Columbia 48 We take a pleasant trip to New York City to face the Lions. It's a homecoming game for NYC natives Armando Brown, Alvaro Kinard, and especially Hubert Song. Once again, an opponent simply can't handle the size and power of James Sanders. When they can't stop him, they foul him, and Big Colonel is a good free throw shooter, especially for a center. Tonight, he makes 8 of 12 field goals and 9 of 11 free throws, good for 25 points. Song gives his family and friends from home a good show, knocking down four treys, scoring 16 points, and grabbing 8 rebounds. Joe Lien adds 13 points, Rhett King has 13 rebounds (9 offensive), and Samuel Davis plays well off the bench (10 points, 4 rebounds). Record: 17-4. February 3, 2016 Lafayette 66, American 65 While this American team isn't as fearsome as their predecessors, they're still dangerous on their best nights...especially at home. We let the Eagles take a 40-31 lead to the locker room at halftime. We start playing Leopard defense in the second half, and that's just enough to eke out the win. The Eagles, led by talented soph Bryant Passmore, defend our backcourt well. Hubert Song and Joe Lien score only 12 points between them, and a frustrated Lien fouls out. Fortunately, Coach Sims has other weapons at his disposal. Venceslás Castillo scores a career high 22 points, and James Sanders adds 18 (10-11 from the line). And, on a night when every possession matters, we turn the ball over only six times. Record: 18-4 (8-0). February 6, 2016 Lafayette 91, St. Peter's 50 Our out-of-conference interlude closes with a dominant win over the Peacocks, across the river in Jersey City. It's our twelfth consecutive win; we haven't lost since December 29, when Missouri beat us. Four of our starters score in comfortable double figures (Venceslás Castillo 19, Joe Lien 17, Hubert Song 16, James Sanders 14) and the fourth barely misses a double-double (Rhett King, 9 points, 9 rebounds). Record: 19-4 (8-0). February 7, 2016 I've decided to mention the Mid Major poll when the Leopards are ranked in the top ten. The latest poll has us leaping eight spots to #4. Utah State, Xavier, and Rhode Island hold the top three places. Colgate is ranked #12; this is probably the first time two Patriot League teams appear in the poll. I suppose it's possible that American and Holy Cross were simultaneously ranked three or four years ago. February 10, 2016 Lafayette 80, Army 61 We maintain our unbeaten record in the Patriot League, defeating Army at home. We shoot very poorly from long range (4-23), but we have James Sanders, and they don't. Big Colonel is putting together a solid case for his second consecutive Player of the Year award. Tonight he scores 30 points, a new career high, making 11 of 16 shots and 8 of 11 free throws. Venceslás Castillo and Joe Lien score 12 apiece, and Rhett King takes only two shots, but corrals 11 rebounds. Army guard Jack Jessie scores 16 points in his final visit to the Kirby Center. Sometime next week, he should score the 2000th point of his collegiate career. We have to keep winning, because Colgate does, too. They're 9-1 in the league, and that one loss is to us. Record: 20-4 (9-0). February 13, 2016 Lafayette 90, Navy 69 I'm enjoying coaching a team that has multiple weapons in its arsenal. If one or two of them aren't firing, another one probably will be. Tonight, James Sanders encounters foul trouble trying to keep Navy's Stephen Collins off the boards. It seems that every time the Big Colonel bumps the Navy center, a striped shirt blows their whistle. Sanders only plays six minutes, but he manages to score six points. Collins, left with one fewer big body to battle, pulls in 15 rebounds. Rhett King holds his own against the nation's best boardsman, getting 12 of his own. But the Midshipmen forget to guard Joe Lien. The sophomore throws down his first big game in a while, scoring 27 points, with five rebounds and three assists. Our only other double figure scorer is Venceslás Castillo, with exactly 10, but we do see signs of life from Alvaro Kinard (9 points in 19 minutes). Holy Cross helps us by routing Colgate, 72-45. Record: 21-4 (10-0). February 14, 2016 We receive a Valentine from the creators of the Mid Major rankings, who put us at #4 again this week. We get 29 votes in the "big poll," too. Utah State (22-2), the best of the Mid Majors, are #3 in the polls, behind Georgetown and Kansas. February 17, 2016 Lafayette 72, Holy Cross 65 The Crusaders don't manage to pull off another upset, but they defend their home court tenaciously, battling us back and forth until the final minute of the game. It's business as usual from Joe Lien (14 points, 9 rebounds), Hubert Song (17 points) and Venceslás Castillo (10 rebounds). And James Sanders gets the best of a tough veteran center, the Crusaders' Reuben Harwell, scoring 21 points and adding 9 rebounds. Once again, we fire up a lot of bricks from behind the arc. I'm going to dial back our three point usage, which I had set at 9. Record: 22-4 (11-0). February 20, 2016 Lafayette 88, Bucknell 65 It's 16 straight wins for Graham Sims and the Lafayette Leopards, and an especially memorable night for Joe Lien. Joe refuses to let the Bison defend him. He explodes for 37 points, going 13-23 from the field, and 6-13 from long range. Late in the second half, a long three gives him 1,002 points...as a sophomore. Point guard Hubert Song hands out a career-best 8 assists. Fouling James Sanders doesn't work any better for Bucknell than it did for other Patriot League teams. James makes 11 of his 14 free throws and finishes with 17 points, just above his season average of 16 per game. And Rhett King, the Patriot League's best rebounder not named Stephen Collins, adds 10 more to his season total. But, even more impressively, Rhett blocks SIX shots. We earn at least a share of the conference championship with our win. Record: 23-4 (12-0). February 21, 2016 We're once again #4 in the Mid Major poll, and we move up to #25 in the Media Top 25 rankings. February 24, 2016 #24 Lafayette 88, Lehigh 54 The Mountain Hawks have struggled this year, and they come to the Kirby Center hoping to avoid their 20th loss of the season. Lehigh keeps it fairly close for a while, but we outscore them 47-22 in the second half to break the game open. James Sanders plays another excellent game, scoring 22 points, getting 12 rebounds, blocking a shot, and getting a steal. Hubert Song (13 points), Venceslás Castillo (10), Joe Lien (10) and Armando Brown (10) reach double digits, too. The best story, however, comes to us courtesy of Rhett King. After 125 games in Lafayette colors, Rhett has apparently decided that it is time for him to devote himself to the task of blocking as many shots as possible. Today, he rejects four Lehigh shots, giving him 10 blocks in two games. Over those two games, he attempts only 12 shots himself. Our victory clinches the Patriot League championship. Our athletic director set "Win the conference championship" as our goal, so unless that means winning the tournament, we've achieved our objective. Record: 24-4 (13-0). February 27, 2016 Senior Day #25 Lafayette 74, Colgate 71 Before a large, emotional crowd at the Kirby Center, we complete our sweep of the Patriot League season with a narrow victory over the conference runners-up. Seniors Venceslás Castillo, Rhett King, James Sanders, and Hubert Song embrace their families before the game and walk off the court as winners and champions after it. It's not an easy victory. Irvin Schumacher drops in a three to send his Red Raiders into the locker room with a 36-32 halftime lead. But after the intermission, two three-point plays: a long jumper by Venceslás Castillo and an old school and-one by James Sanders ties the score at 38. Joe Lien dishes the ball to Sanders for a layup to give us the lead with 17:16 remaining, a lead we don't relinquish. How do the seniors play in their final regular season home game? Rhett King scores 7 points and grabs 8 rebounds. He blocks "only" 2 shots. Hubert Song finishes with 12 points and 4 boards. Venceslàs Castillo barely misses a double-double: 14 points, 9 rebounds. And James Sanders, limited to 19 minutes by foul trouble, still manages to produce 14 points and 6 rebounds. Joe Lien is our high scorer with 17 points, but today belongs to the men of the Class of 2016. Record: 25-4 (14-0). Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 03-31-2023 at 04:56 PM.