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Emmett13 · 04-10-2024, 10:50 PM

I won't try to create too much suspense for the results of this season because, frankly, besides just a couple (literally two) hiccups, we flat out dominated and pretty much gave the CJBL the business from the opening tip to the season's final buzzer.

So, yes, if that was too clunky of a sentence; we won the whole CJBL last season with an incredible 45-2 record, a Big XII regular-season championship, a Big XII tournament championship, and most importantly, a CJBL championship to hang in the fake Oklahoma State rafters for fake eternity.

I'm honestly still not 100% sure on how I was able to do it. Not sure what was so special about the combination of players I had to win so many games, but I undoubtedly will be trying to recreate that for as long as I'm in the CJBL.

Let's first take a look at team stats:

We ended up being just so deadly and efficient on offense. We played an incredibly slow pace, finished at the rim, were tough on the offensive glass, and got the foul like a lot. Teams essentially had to match us bucket for bucket, and very few could keep up with us. Our defense struggled early on but really started to tighten up when it mattered. It was never great, but certainly good enough.

Let's look at some season results:

We had two games, @BYU and @Houston, where we just got shellacked, but besides that, we won every game. And even the two teams we lost to, we beat twice and three times respectively.

We had a game-winning three-pointer against BYU in the conference tournament semi-finals from Wayne Brown that was a particular highlight.

Let's look at some player stats:

Our Starting Lineup by the end of the year:

PG Tevin Ridder FR - 27 mpg, 7.6 ppg, 4.6 apg, 1.3 rpg, 48.9 FG%, 37.7 3FG%

Was this close to being the scapegoat for losing the national championship game with his horrific performance in regulation, but salvaged his reputation by hitting multiple big shots in the overtime. But, he was just what we needed at the point. Played very strong defense, knocked down some shots and did a better job than expected passing the ball. Planning on him being the starter for the next three years.

SG Mekel Duell FR - 22 GS, 24.9 mpg, 14.2 ppg, 2.0 apg, 1.7 rpg, 62.3 FG%

Holy hell. I hit the jackpot with this guy. After spending about half the season coming off the bench and leading the second team, I just couldn't deny him any longer. He was so efficient, he forced his way into the starting lineup and the rest was history. We were undefeated after he began starting at the 2, and in the national tournament he was virtually unstoppable.

His 6 tournament games: 10-13, 13-19, 7-10, 15-22, 8-11, 5-11. He struggled a little bit in the championship game, but his ability to score was incredible, and it earned him the tournament MVP award. Not too bad for a 3* recruit.

SF Wayne Brown SR - 31.5 mpg, 15.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.81 spg, 50 FG%, 38.6 3PT%

With Duell having such a ridiculous second half, Brown got overshadowed a bit. His scoring numbers went down from last year since he had to share the ball more, but his efficiency took a huge step forward. He also did a great job generating steals, including 5 in the national championship game. A great season for the former 5* and current team captain.

PF AJ Rushin SO - 29.9 pg, 10.6 ppg, 5.3 ppg, 2.6 apg, 54.9 FG%, 38.7 3PT%
Another guy that took a step forward. He made big strides on the glass and was a consistent offensive threat from all three levels. His passing was also a big part of our offense, and I'm hoping that continues to grow the next two years.

C Marquese Henshaw FR - 27.6 mpg, 8.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.26 bpg, 54.3 FG%

He dealt with some foul trouble and had a few clunkers over the course of the year, but overall had a great season. Strong on the glass and defensively, and also showed some offensive chops with his passing and ability to get to the free-throw line. All season long he was ranked around 40 in the JBL draft rankings, so definitely a concern of him going pro.

Rotation (played every game)

SG/SF Wallace Power SR - 14 GS, 15.7 mpg, 5.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.1 apg, 54.4 FG%

Started the first 14 games of the season. Offensively, he was essentially a poor man's version of Duell. Good at getting to the rim and in the mid-range. Eventually, Amoke replaced him for a while, but unlike Amoke, Power was able to stay in the rotation all year long.

PG Cameron Stutz SR - 2 GS 13.2 mpg, 3.6 ppg, 1.9 apg, 43.7 FG%, 39.3 3PT%

Was relegated to the bench after the signing of Ridder. And he did a pretty darn good job. Had a couple of starts when Ridder missed a couple of games due to injury. Knocked down some threes and took care of the ball, a very competent, experienced backup point guard.

C Garth Ludwig FR - 18.0 mpg, 4.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 51.6 FG%

Started off with a 13 and 9 performance in game 1 on the road at Missouri. But never quite reached those heights again. Both of those numbers ended up being season highs. But, he was a solid backup. Active on the glass and scored the ball okay around the rim. He has some athletic limitations, so I'm hoping he'll be satisfied with being a backup his whole career. His intangibles are tremendous, so I definitely want him to stick around.

Sporadic Time

SG Jack Amoke SR - 34 G 11 GS, 10.7 mpg, 2.3 ppg, .8 rpg, 44.3 FG%, 40.9 3FG%

I jerked Amoke around his whole career. In and out of the starting lineup, in and out of the rotation. He had a stretch midseason where he was starting and playing 10-15 minutes a game. He had a tremendous +/- there for a while, which gave me the idea to plug him in the lineup. He played strong defense and spaced the floor well. But when push came to shove, he just wasn't shooting the ball enough to justify giving him minutes in lieu of Duell and Power.

PF Eros Zenga SO - 22 G 7.0 mpg, 2.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg, .7 apg, 47.2 FG%
Was part of the rotation the first 11 games, but he was the first casualty as I shortened my post-rotation down to 3. He has a lot of offensive skill, and is a strong rebounder. The concern with him is just that his defense is too big of a liability to play much. Showed his versatility against Akron when he had 4 points, 7 boards, and 4 assists in just 11 minutes.

C Josh Armstrong SR - 16 G, 4.1 mpg, 0.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg

The big man somehow managed to stick around all 4 years. And even with 60+ minutes on the court, managed to not score a basket. But he provided solid depth and I didn't worry too much if he had to play 5 minutes at center.

PG Soufiyane Mimms JR - 10 G, 5.3 mpg, 1.3 ppg, 0.9 apg

One more year of collecting dust. His ratings still look solid, but his performance on the court over the last 3 years has not been pretty.

Walk-ons

Lachlan Troost, J.W. Poynter, and Avis Sestina were the walk-ons this season and they hardly played and each will be cut at the end of the season to try a new batch.

04-10-2024, 10:50 PM	#33
Emmett13 Mascot Join Date: Aug 2003	2042 Season I won't try to create too much suspense for the results of this season because, frankly, besides just a couple (literally two) hiccups, we flat out dominated and pretty much gave the CJBL the business from the opening tip to the season's final buzzer. So, yes, if that was too clunky of a sentence; we won the whole CJBL last season with an incredible 45-2 record, a Big XII regular-season championship, a Big XII tournament championship, and most importantly, a CJBL championship to hang in the fake Oklahoma State rafters for fake eternity. I'm honestly still not 100% sure on how I was able to do it. Not sure what was so special about the combination of players I had to win so many games, but I undoubtedly will be trying to recreate that for as long as I'm in the CJBL. Let's first take a look at team stats: We ended up being just so deadly and efficient on offense. We played an incredibly slow pace, finished at the rim, were tough on the offensive glass, and got the foul like a lot. Teams essentially had to match us bucket for bucket, and very few could keep up with us. Our defense struggled early on but really started to tighten up when it mattered. It was never great, but certainly good enough. Let's look at some season results: We had two games, @BYU and @Houston, where we just got shellacked, but besides that, we won every game. And even the two teams we lost to, we beat twice and three times respectively. We had a game-winning three-pointer against BYU in the conference tournament semi-finals from Wayne Brown that was a particular highlight. Let's look at some player stats: Our Starting Lineup by the end of the year: PG Tevin Ridder FR - 27 mpg, 7.6 ppg, 4.6 apg, 1.3 rpg, 48.9 FG%, 37.7 3FG% Was this close to being the scapegoat for losing the national championship game with his horrific performance in regulation, but salvaged his reputation by hitting multiple big shots in the overtime. But, he was just what we needed at the point. Played very strong defense, knocked down some shots and did a better job than expected passing the ball. Planning on him being the starter for the next three years. SG Mekel Duell FR - 22 GS, 24.9 mpg, 14.2 ppg, 2.0 apg, 1.7 rpg, 62.3 FG% Holy hell. I hit the jackpot with this guy. After spending about half the season coming off the bench and leading the second team, I just couldn't deny him any longer. He was so efficient, he forced his way into the starting lineup and the rest was history. We were undefeated after he began starting at the 2, and in the national tournament he was virtually unstoppable. His 6 tournament games: 10-13, 13-19, 7-10, 15-22, 8-11, 5-11. He struggled a little bit in the championship game, but his ability to score was incredible, and it earned him the tournament MVP award. Not too bad for a 3* recruit. SF Wayne Brown SR - 31.5 mpg, 15.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.81 spg, 50 FG%, 38.6 3PT% With Duell having such a ridiculous second half, Brown got overshadowed a bit. His scoring numbers went down from last year since he had to share the ball more, but his efficiency took a huge step forward. He also did a great job generating steals, including 5 in the national championship game. A great season for the former 5* and current team captain. PF AJ Rushin SO - 29.9 pg, 10.6 ppg, 5.3 ppg, 2.6 apg, 54.9 FG%, 38.7 3PT% Another guy that took a step forward. He made big strides on the glass and was a consistent offensive threat from all three levels. His passing was also a big part of our offense, and I'm hoping that continues to grow the next two years. C Marquese Henshaw FR - 27.6 mpg, 8.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.26 bpg, 54.3 FG% He dealt with some foul trouble and had a few clunkers over the course of the year, but overall had a great season. Strong on the glass and defensively, and also showed some offensive chops with his passing and ability to get to the free-throw line. All season long he was ranked around 40 in the JBL draft rankings, so definitely a concern of him going pro. Rotation (played every game) SG/SF Wallace Power SR - 14 GS, 15.7 mpg, 5.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.1 apg, 54.4 FG% Started the first 14 games of the season. Offensively, he was essentially a poor man's version of Duell. Good at getting to the rim and in the mid-range. Eventually, Amoke replaced him for a while, but unlike Amoke, Power was able to stay in the rotation all year long. PG Cameron Stutz SR - 2 GS 13.2 mpg, 3.6 ppg, 1.9 apg, 43.7 FG%, 39.3 3PT% Was relegated to the bench after the signing of Ridder. And he did a pretty darn good job. Had a couple of starts when Ridder missed a couple of games due to injury. Knocked down some threes and took care of the ball, a very competent, experienced backup point guard. C Garth Ludwig FR - 18.0 mpg, 4.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 51.6 FG% Started off with a 13 and 9 performance in game 1 on the road at Missouri. But never quite reached those heights again. Both of those numbers ended up being season highs. But, he was a solid backup. Active on the glass and scored the ball okay around the rim. He has some athletic limitations, so I'm hoping he'll be satisfied with being a backup his whole career. His intangibles are tremendous, so I definitely want him to stick around. Sporadic Time SG Jack Amoke SR - 34 G 11 GS, 10.7 mpg, 2.3 ppg, .8 rpg, 44.3 FG%, 40.9 3FG% I jerked Amoke around his whole career. In and out of the starting lineup, in and out of the rotation. He had a stretch midseason where he was starting and playing 10-15 minutes a game. He had a tremendous +/- there for a while, which gave me the idea to plug him in the lineup. He played strong defense and spaced the floor well. But when push came to shove, he just wasn't shooting the ball enough to justify giving him minutes in lieu of Duell and Power. PF Eros Zenga SO - 22 G 7.0 mpg, 2.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg, .7 apg, 47.2 FG% Was part of the rotation the first 11 games, but he was the first casualty as I shortened my post-rotation down to 3. He has a lot of offensive skill, and is a strong rebounder. The concern with him is just that his defense is too big of a liability to play much. Showed his versatility against Akron when he had 4 points, 7 boards, and 4 assists in just 11 minutes. C Josh Armstrong SR - 16 G, 4.1 mpg, 0.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg The big man somehow managed to stick around all 4 years. And even with 60+ minutes on the court, managed to not score a basket. But he provided solid depth and I didn't worry too much if he had to play 5 minutes at center. PG Soufiyane Mimms JR - 10 G, 5.3 mpg, 1.3 ppg, 0.9 apg One more year of collecting dust. His ratings still look solid, but his performance on the court over the last 3 years has not been pretty. Walk-ons Lachlan Troost, J.W. Poynter, and Avis Sestina were the walk-ons this season and they hardly played and each will be cut at the end of the season to try a new batch.