BuzzerBeater Forums

Chek: In FML Radio's last episode Calum suggested that the best improvement BB could make would be to make the game more engaging for newcomers. What can the community do to get more newbies engaged in the game of BuzzerBeater?

Jason: I have long said that BB desperately needs to modify the draft. As sports fans, we live in a Fantasy Sports world. People get so excited about the draft. Some are so into the draft that once the draft is over, their interest drops off and they forget to set their lineup. However, in BB, the draft is completely anticlimactic and largely a waste.

In real life, (NBA) every 1st round draft pick makes a team, and most 2nd round picks make a team, and handful of rookies that weren’t even drafted end up making teams. However in BB, about 40 of the 48 players drafted are cut within minutes of the draft picks being released.

The entire scale should be changed…the way the draft is set up currently, every single draftee is for the future; a pick to be trained. So for upper division teams, basically useless for at least 3 seasons if not longer. But in real life, some guys come in ready to go. Why not draft a player who is $60K and ready to start?

I could go on and on with ideas here…but the bottom line is we get attached to our players. For those of us that train, those players are much more special than the players we buy. To draft a face of your franchise, train him up to be something special, is something people get excited about… He’s your guy! That one solid draft pick with a cool name could be enough to keep people interested and want to take care of their franchise. But when new people start, and the draft is a bust, there better be something else to excite them, because a lot of times, that is when we see people quit logging on to their team.

Chek: What road sign best describes your team?

Jason:
(http://i.imgur.com/jrciQEb.jpg?1)

Chek: What's your plan to stop A-Dub?

Jason: Suicide bomber? I am not sure there is a legit way to stop A-Dub right now...His team is loaded, and head and shoulders the best team in the USA, and perhaps the best USA team ever. That said, I am likely to lock up HCA through the Finals...so my only hope is that the extreme BB HCA kicks in and I steal the Championship. We just played each other in PL Friday, and I lost by just one point and Upsyndrome had a significant Enthusiasm advantage; so that gives me hope.

But realistically, I expect Upsyndrome to win the series in 2 games and i'll pick up my 6th Silver Trophy as Upsyndrome will become the first team ever to go back to back Champions in both the Cup and NBBA.

Chek: For a newcomer to the game with their eyes set on making it to the NBBA, how would you advise them to rise to the top?

Jason: BuzzerBeater is not a sprint, it's definitely a marathon. That said, generally speaking, promotion has its benefits. If a new team wants to run a successful long lasting franchise they need to learn everything there is to know about Training, Enthusiasm, Game Shape, Arena Management, and Tactics.

I would recommend being very active in the forums where there is no shortage of advice (listen to the experienced managers though). For those who are new, and from the U.S.A., join the offsite forum http://s3.zetaboards.com/BuzzerBeater_USA_NT/index/ where you can get some great mentorship and avoid some costly mistakes that many newcomers make.
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Big thanks to Jason for being on the show! Jason has won the USA cup twice and has been a fierce competitor in the NBBA for many seasons. Definitely a lot new teams can learn from him.

Until next week, thanks for tuning in!

PS.... is it annoying that there are like 30 thread for this? Should I make all the episodes into one ultimate thread or just keep adding a new one each week?

Great read. I know Jason has returned the favor to quite a few managers as well. It's not always easy to blend a need for a competitive advantage and a want for a flourishing community. Thanks to Jason and all others who have walked that line.

The entire scale should be changed…the way the draft is set up currently, every single draftee is for the future; a pick to be trained. So for upper division teams, basically useless for at least 3 seasons if not longer. But in real life, some guys come in ready to go. Why not draft a player who is $60K and ready to start?

I agree that the draft should be more powerful, but I think that would throw off the dynamic of the U21 teams that I really enjoy. I love training, and love making something out of nothing, and I think if you have 18 year old ATG's coming from the the draft at $60k, the U21 teams would be a mess. There might actually be less training, as people see less to work toward. suddenly a $10k 19 year old with SS potential, while still a quality player who could become great, would be undesirable, whereas currently he'd be a god.

I'd say have players with up to about Star potential come out of the draft already capped, or close to it. Basically give the majority of players with lower potential, higher TSP to start out. I came up with a rough scale of how good each potential should be:

Announcer: 100% of cap, ~50 TSP
Bench warmer: 90-100%, ~50-60 TSP
Role player: 90-100% , ~60-70 TSP
6th Man: 80-100%, ~60-80 TSP
Starter: 75-100%, ~65-90 TSP
Star: 75-95%, ~72-92 TSP
Allstar: 60-90%, ~70-95 TSP
PAS: 60-80%, ~73-93 TSP
Superstar: 55-80%, ~75-105 TSP
MVP: 50-75%, ~75-105 TSP
Hall of Famer: 50-75%, ~77-112 TSP
All-time Great: 50-75%, ~80-115 TSP

This makes lower potential players still viable in lower divisions, and makes ATG's actual All-Time Greats. The ranges might still need to go lower for SS-ATG, 105 out of draft is a bit much I feel.

Great read, and another great addition. Much respect for Jason and all he does for this comunity!

PS.... is it annoying that there are like 30 thread for this? Should I make all the episodes into one ultimate thread or just keep adding a new one each week?

Absolutely not, as someone posted earlier, it's great exposure and these individual interviews are more accessible, making them easier to read through.

I agree

Ok sounds good.

I have yet to make up my own mind about whether drafting higher salary players would be good or not, but I'm super curious about Jason's book that's going to be a Tv series...

but I'm super curious about Jason's book that's going to be a Tv series...

(http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-edge-of-eternity-aman...)

For anyone that wants to buy it, send me a bb-mail...it's less expensive to buy it directly from me than through Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

We are close to converting the book to a script, and then the Production company and I will choose a cast, and film the Pilot Episode that we will shop to the Networks. We are already guaranteed at least 1 season on Netflix, but my pie in the sky hope is we get picked up by Fox or CBS.

Netflix is way better than Fox/CBS now anyway! Congrats and good luck! (How exciting)

EDITL Oh, and get it on Audible - that's how I roll!

Last edited by Calum at 4/28/2016 6:40:20 PM