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

MoonlightGraham · 05-06-2023, 08:13 PM

January 4, 2019
Lafayette 73, @Columbia 46
Our road loss to a Top Ten team causes the voters to turn their noses up at us, and we lose our spot in the Top 25. We take our frustrations out on the Lions with a smothering defense.

Columbia makes less than a third of their shots, while we make half of ours. We usually don't generate a lot of turnovers--we're not an Izulde Jestor-style team--but tonight, we win that battle 18-11.

Tim Hutchinson makes 9 of his 10 field goal attempts and scores 27 points, while Todd DeHaven adds 15 and Daniel Warnock 10. Big Sazzy ends the night with as many blocked shots (6) as points (3) and rebounds (3) combined. How often do you see a stat line like that?
Record: 12-2.

January 8, 2019
@Lafayette 75, Saint Joseph's 62
Not long ago, we would have been considered an underdog in a game against a Big Five opponent. Now we're the favorite, and we play like it in our last tune-up before the Patriot League season begins.

If I make up a game called Whose Stat Line Is This? based on tonight's game, I doubt you'd guess many correct answers.

For example, if I ask "Who leads Lafayette with 16 points?" I doubt you'd say "That's easy. It's Richard Leak." Richard does have 7 assists, which is a much more Leak-like accomplishment.

How about "Who has a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds?" Would you say "Come on, give me a tough one. That's obviously Tim Hutchinson."?

Todd DeHaven's 11 points are more predictable; Daniel Warnock's 11 points less so.
Record: 13-2.

HTML Code:

2018 Patriot League Standings

 TEAM           CW  CL   Pct   W   L   Pct  RPI  Prestige
----------------------------------------------------------
 Lafayette       0   0  .000  13   2  .867   19        62
 Army            0   0  .000  12   3  .800   13        30
 Holy Cross      0   0  .000   9   5  .643  117        45
 American        0   0  .000   7   7  .500  138        45
 Bucknell        0   0  .000   6   7  .462  196        35
 Navy            0   0  .000   5   8  .385  328        29
 Colgate         0   0  .000   4   9  .308  215        35
 Lehigh          0   0  .000   3  11  .214  258        30

Our conference opener against Army will be one to watch. Army is legit good; they beat a ranked Tennessee team at home by 23 points. American beat Duke, and while this year's Duke team isn't good by their standards, they're still Duke.

We are the 10th toughest team to score against in all of Division I, allowing our opponents only 56.8 PPG. Our opponents shoot .370 from the floor, which is also 10th nationally. We're even tougher against opposing three-point shooters; they make .267 of their shots, which ranks us 7th. And, most impressively, only North Carolina (0.93) and Mississippi State (0.97) hold their opponents to fewer points per shot than we do (1.00).

One of the best things about this very, very good game is the fact that I can start a dynasty with the goal of creating a team with a particular identity. I envisioned a Lafayette team that was known for this kind of defensive resilience. This isn't the first Lafayette team to play this way. It's becoming a tradition in Leopard Country.

I figure if I was coaching Villanova or Duke or Kansas and had a decent shot at signing any players I liked, I could create any kind of team I wanted. I am making that happen with a team with 27 Prestige in a Level 1 conference. That's an endorsement of the game, more than an endorsement of my ability to play it.

05-06-2023, 08:13 PM	#198
MoonlightGraham High School Varsity Join Date: Sep 2022	January 4, 2019 Lafayette 73, @Columbia 46 Our road loss to a Top Ten team causes the voters to turn their noses up at us, and we lose our spot in the Top 25. We take our frustrations out on the Lions with a smothering defense. Columbia makes less than a third of their shots, while we make half of ours. We usually don't generate a lot of turnovers--we're not an Izulde Jestor-style team--but tonight, we win that battle 18-11. Tim Hutchinson makes 9 of his 10 field goal attempts and scores 27 points, while Todd DeHaven adds 15 and Daniel Warnock 10. Big Sazzy ends the night with as many blocked shots (6) as points (3) and rebounds (3) combined. How often do you see a stat line like that? Record: 12-2. January 8, 2019 @Lafayette 75, Saint Joseph's 62 Not long ago, we would have been considered an underdog in a game against a Big Five opponent. Now we're the favorite, and we play like it in our last tune-up before the Patriot League season begins. If I make up a game called Whose Stat Line Is This? based on tonight's game, I doubt you'd guess many correct answers. For example, if I ask "Who leads Lafayette with 16 points?" I doubt you'd say "That's easy. It's Richard Leak." Richard does have 7 assists, which is a much more Leak-like accomplishment. How about "Who has a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds?" Would you say "Come on, give me a tough one. That's obviously Tim Hutchinson."? Todd DeHaven's 11 points are more predictable; Daniel Warnock's 11 points less so. Record: 13-2. HTML Code: 2018 Patriot League Standings TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige ---------------------------------------------------------- Lafayette 0 0 .000 13 2 .867 19 62 Army 0 0 .000 12 3 .800 13 30 Holy Cross 0 0 .000 9 5 .643 117 45 American 0 0 .000 7 7 .500 138 45 Bucknell 0 0 .000 6 7 .462 196 35 Navy 0 0 .000 5 8 .385 328 29 Colgate 0 0 .000 4 9 .308 215 35 Lehigh 0 0 .000 3 11 .214 258 30 Our conference opener against Army will be one to watch. Army is legit good; they beat a ranked Tennessee team at home by 23 points. American beat Duke, and while this year's Duke team isn't good by their standards, they're still Duke. We are the 10th toughest team to score against in all of Division I, allowing our opponents only 56.8 PPG. Our opponents shoot .370 from the floor, which is also 10th nationally. We're even tougher against opposing three-point shooters; they make .267 of their shots, which ranks us 7th. And, most impressively, only North Carolina (0.93) and Mississippi State (0.97) hold their opponents to fewer points per shot than we do (1.00). One of the best things about this very, very good game is the fact that I can start a dynasty with the goal of creating a team with a particular identity. I envisioned a Lafayette team that was known for this kind of defensive resilience. This isn't the first Lafayette team to play this way. It's becoming a tradition in Leopard Country. I figure if I was coaching Villanova or Duke or Kansas and had a decent shot at signing any players I liked, I could create any kind of team I wanted. I am making that happen with a team with 27 Prestige in a Level 1 conference. That's an endorsement of the game, more than an endorsement of my ability to play it. Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 05-06-2023 at 08:15 PM.