BuzzerBeater Forums

I will not wade into the debate too much but I will make these next two posts.

I have been in Miami on vacation the past 2 weeks so I have only used the computer when absolutely neccessary. But thats out of the way and now I'm back to being fully committed.

I presume you have been in BB for more than one season, please correct me if I am wrong? Since I have been the U21 manager, I do not remember you volunteering for anything. Whether it was draft scouting this season, last season or any other season. I also do not remember ever seeing a post from you on the off-site forum.

In any case, there is still a lot of draft scouting left to do. Drop by the thread and check out what divisions are left. The faster we get it done, the better.

Some great replies.

I will say that at the moment you would be my preferred candidate, whether others step in or not. In terms of assistance that you provided during my term, there was no one equal. In the end, you were sort of like my official assistant and in many cases I could easily say that you ran the team for me... Your tactical advice was always outstanding and I really respect what you have done with your club team in such a short time.

Also, you know the player pool since I have shared all the scouting lists with you. So you have an advantage there. Although, if it was someone different it would probably not take them long to get up to speed.

So, good luck in your campaign. I could be convinced to vote for someone else, but it would take a lot of convincing. ;-)

One closing thought that the candidates can chew on... We will have home court advantage this season but it is not a fantastic pool of players to draw from. I would actually say this is a bit of a set-back for our U21, given the fantastic squads we have had the last two seasons.

So... I don't know what to make of that. I guess there is reason for optimism, since with home court you can often pull incredible upsets. But I do not think I would get my hopes too high.

Thanks for answer Bernard, but would you mind providing more specifics?

For example:
- I still want to know why we should believe in the tactical acumen of someone who failed to promote out of the bottom division. What tactical changes would to make from how you run your team (i.e. the same offense all season and almost always the same defense, same player rotation) and how you would run the U21 team.
- What specific one dimension role players would you consider to be of value? (pure shooter? Inside scoring SF? defensive stopper? What exact skill combination would you look for in such role players?
- How exactly would you advertise the U21 team to managers?


I guess more than anything else I still remain curious as to why you want to run the U21 team. You have not signed up for the offsite forum, have not commented on anything related to the NT program and do not seem to have any specific ideas for improvement. I am open minded here, so convince me.

Question for everyone:

Do you have any players who you think may be U21 prospects and who might be in consideration during the next two seasons? If so, who are they? Would the fact that they're on your club team change your decision making process when it comes to placing them on the team?

I'm sorry this is to much for me I have officially dropped out, I didn't know it took this much. Maybe in a few years
I will run again but with a country like Canada it would be to hard. I have just joined the forum so this won't be the end of me but for now I have officially dropped out.


Last edited by Bernardsville Fire at 3/23/2010 3:47:35 PM

My question for the candidates is:

After Moran and Perkins, there appears to be a large drop-off in talented inside players eligible for the U-21 NT... so how will you plan on using them? and will you hold off on naming fringe players to the team and wait until we play important games (by this I don't mean playing Barbados or Jamaica, I mean playing Argentina, Brazil, Chile etc...)?

Test for everybody:

If we were playing the strong team Portugal tomarrow, what tactics and what lineups would you choose. Explain every tough choice you had to make when writing your answer. Keep game shape etc. in mind. Postscript. Only use the current U21 roster when making your lineups

C and PF Positions/Roster Spots in general
I agree that after Moran and Perkins, there is a big drop in talent at the C/PF positions. To me, those two are locks to make the team, and have major roles. I do think it is important, though, that they have at least other C/PF type supporting them (even in the early games). I would expect to either have one or two of the weaker big men on the team to start. Since the options here are very close in current skills, I would consider likely development during season 12 in deciding which one(s) to put on the opening roster.

Looking at the opening roster size more generally, I expect to star off the season with either 10 or 11 players (I haven't fully decided yet). I do like the extra resilience during games that comes with 11 players (as foul outs and injuries can happen any time). I would want to be up to a full 12 by the first difficult game, but as Aston Midhurst points out, there will probably be some one-sided games early on, which allows for holding some spots open for awhile.

While on the topic of roster size, My current plan would be to use up to 3 roster spots for saving prospects throughout the season (ideally, in the earlier weeks). This would leave 4 or 5 spots for callups throughout the season, if the roster starts out with 10 or 11 players.

Own players on U21 team
Chris asked a question about what managers would do if they had players on their league team that are eligible for the Canadian U21. My short answer here is that I don't have any Canadian U21 prospects, and probably won't in the upcoming seasons. If I do end up acquiring a U21 eligible player, I would treat that player the same as any other, in terms of making the team and what role they might have on it.