BuzzerBeater Forums

Welcome. Good luck this season!

Thanks CrazyBob!

Just a few updates:
- All South African players under 21 have been scouted and their skills have been logged in my database
- JuMax and I have connected on National Team prospects and FeelThePressure has joined my staff so that you aren't surprised if he also reaches out to you in the future
- I've reached out to all managers with South African players under 21 to figure out who is being trained (thanks for the responses!)
- Since each manager can only train a few players, I know that training spots are limited since many of you are already training South African players. Because of this, unfortunately, a lot of our new 18 and 19-year-olds don't get trained or are fired so I'm trying to recruit new trainers for South African players in BB's forums, (307694.1), as well as through the BuzzerBeater Discord
- Game planning with our depth chart and for Monday's game has begun on the Discord

Next steps:
- I will take off all players from the roster after Friday's training update then add them back after Saturday's game as injuries and gameshape may impact the initial roster
- Continue to recruit new trainers and develop training plans for players

I'll probably sound like a broken record mentioning the Discord (https://discord.gg/rZP27YpfPD), but would be happy to connect with more of y'all further over it if anyone is interested in checking it out. I will try to post updates here occasionally as well but will limit the depth I go into around game planning since these are public forums.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all!

Last edited by A Warrior at 12/28/2020 19:39:16

Things have been very busy but we're ready for the African Tournament to begin!

Our starting roster has been called up, tactics have been discussed and we eagerly await our first game against Tunisia. Thanks to those who have spent several seasons already training players on this roster - Abubakar, DonnyTheWay, Giorgio950, JimyW & Lesley1226! Gameshape and training are going to be very important for these players moving forward, so if you have questions on either, please don't hesitate to reach out to me.

If you have a player that is not yet on the team and you want an update on where your player stands in regards to being called up, feel free to BB-Mail me. Please also send me regular updates on your players' skills as they improve. The remaining open spots on the roster will be carefully used based on training, gameshape and the team's needs. Thank you to those of you training these players in the pipeline as well!

On a fun note, I know that coachlambini, who did a great job getting us homecourt advantage this season, had previously referred to the squad as the "Baby Boks". Since it's your country's team, I wanted to open it up to all of you for a chance to name the team moving forward. The response that gets the most +1's will be what we use going forward and if we don't get any responses, we'll just stick with the Baby Boks!

Game 1: Tounes 106 vs. South Africa 119 (58377)

Record: 1-0

Standing: Currently 3rd place
(Note: In this initial Round Robin of games, the top 6 of 8 teams will advance after each team has played each other.)

Great first game by the team against a Tounes/Tunisia squad that put in more enthusiasm. Umi Mugabe led the team with a monstrous 29 pts, 21 rbs, 8 asts and 0(!) tos game. Elphus Siamusiye (26 pts on 12-19, 5 rbs & 6 asts) and Gonasilan Sono (14 pts, 10 rbs, 5 asts & 2 blks) also had strong games. It was an encouraging start to the African Tournament.

Player of the Game: Umi Mugabe (48097274) trained by JimyW

Next week we're scheduled for Ghana who isn't able to field a team so it'll give us an extra week to train. Keep those pops coming!

(And feel free to throw out any name suggestions for the team and/or join the Discord (https://discord.gg/CrzH7AQPYs)!)

Last edited by A Warrior at 01/25/2021 17:54:48

Nice start. Do you think we can get a medal this season?

Game 2: South Africa U21 vs. Ghana U21 50-0 (58381)

Record: 2-0

Standing: Currently 2nd place
(Note: In this initial Round Robin of games, the top 6 of 8 teams will advance after each team has played each other.)

Thanks Ebene. I do believe that we can get a medal this season. With that being said though, there are still a lot of factors that would need to go right this season to make that a reality. I'll certainly be doing my best to make it one.

Now that we've passed this Ghana game, every game matters from here on out so please continue to manage your players' game shapes and send me training updates on any players you think have a chance at making the team. Thank you!

A couple of other updates,
- There are now 5 of us on the Discord (https://discord.gg/EazKVJ5JPe)! It's an easier place to communicate with one another, share updates on trainees, give each other advice and plan for the upcoming games. Feel free to join us!
- I've recruited a couple of new managers, khenry and mathew13693, who were willing to train South African players and we have seen them support the team in picking up seven 18 and 19-year-old players! Big thanks to the two of them as I think they'll help us develop more depth for future teams.

Game 3: Al Jazair U21 82 vs. South Africa 107 (58385)

Record: 3-0

Standing: Currently 1st place
(Note: In this initial Round Robin of games, the top 6 of 8 teams will advance after each team has played each other.)

The Baby Boks picked up a good win against another opponent putting in more enthusiasm against them in Al Jazair/Algeria. The team was led by Asanda Hadebe who scored 25 pts in 25 mins on 12-16 shooting along with 7 rbs and 0 tos. They also saw solid double-double performances from star big man Umi Mugabe (13 pts on 6-8 and 14 rbs in 26 mins) and Thikhathali Zibi (15 pts on 6-9 and 10 rbs in 22 mins) off the bench. Though this win is to be celebrated, their coach reminded the team that the tournament is still early and charged the team to show up early tomorrow for practice knowing that their two toughest opponents in Egypt/Misr (2nd place, 3-0) and Al Maghrib (3rd place, 2-1) loom in the next couple of weeks.

Player of the Game: Asanda Hadebe (48405810) trained by Lesley1226

Last edited by A Warrior at 01/25/2021 17:54:56

Game 4: South Africa U21 75 vs. Misr U21 70 (58390)

Record: 4-0

Standing: Currently 1st place, 2 games remaining this round though we are already set to advance to the next round
(Note: In this initial Round Robin of games, the top 6 of 8 teams will advance after each team has played each other.)

What a game! Yet again, our opponent put in more enthusiasm than us and this week the Baby Boks were able to pull off a narrow victory against an opponent who was also undefeated. Asanda Hadebe once again led the team in scoring with 16 points on 8-15 shooting. Gonasilan Sono played a team-high 45 minutes while gathering a double-double, going 6 for 10 (12 points) and leading the team with 18 rebounds, all while holding Misr/Egypt's 103k big man to only 9 points. Every player contributed in their own way, including 19-year-old Shafilshuna Machemko, who received his first start for the team. He struggled for most of the game trying to settle his nerves and was unable to find his rhythm going 0-9 from the field until the final minute of the game when he threw down a thunderous dunk to give the team their final lead then went on to ice the game by hitting all 4 of his free throw attempts, which gave him the team's final 6 points, to close out the game.

Player of the Game: Gonasilan Sono (48754211) trained by Giorgio950

Certainly a great win to celebrate but the tough opponents keep coming with the 2nd through 4th teams in the standings being played in the next 3 consecutive matches. Please continue to train any potential U21 players, keep their minutes in good gameshape and update me on their skill pops!

Last edited by A Warrior at 01/25/2021 17:55:06

Nice win. Thanks for the game recaps. :)

Game 5: Al Maghrib U21 94 vs. South Africa 95 (58393)

Record: 5-0

Standing: Currently 1st place, locked into advancing to the next round of the tournament
(Note: In this initial Round Robin of games, the top 6 of 8 teams will advance after each team has played each other.)

Talk about a roller coaster of a game. At the half we were down 12 and Mugabe was only 1-4 from the field at that point. Then the team started to really come alive at the end of the 3rd and never stopped fighting.

Check out this wild ending as we were trailing by 3 with 15 seconds left in the 4th quarter.

(Time Remaining) Al Maghrib - South Africa
(0:15) 94 — 91 - 30 second timeout called by South Africa.
(0:11) 94 — 94 - D. Dingane (H) forces up a three from the top of the arc, guarded closely by E. Marzuban (A). Scored.
(0:01) 94 — 94 - A. Rahman (A) forces up a three from the top of the arc, guarded closely by U. Mugabe (H). Shot missed.
(0:01) 94 — 94 - The defensive rebound is snapped up by U. Mugabe (H).
(0:00) 94 — 94 - Foul called on A. Rahman (A).
(0:00) 94 — 94 - Free throw missed by U. Mugabe (H).
(0:00) 94 — 95 - Free throw made by U. Mugabe (H).
(0:00) 94 — 95 - End of period.

Clutch 3 to tie, then a fortunate foul by our opponent gave us the chance to steal the win and complete the comeback. Not as pretty of a game as we would've hoped but a win is a win! Especially against a formidable opponent in Al Maghrib who had almost perfect gameshape this week as they only had 2 players not in 9 GS, we'll take it.

Here's what a team win looks like:
- Great performance by Thoibo Lonco leading the team with 28 points, including shooting 10-14 from the free throw line.
- Another strong double-double by Umi Mugabe who finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds while holding the opposing power forward to 2 points. He was on fire the second half of the game as he went 9-11 from the field after halftime and sealed the game with the final free throw, though he sure kept us on the edge of our seats missing the front end of those free throws.
- Derek Dingane played 20 minutes off the bench, including replacing Hadebe after he fouled out at the very end of the game, and showed the ice in his veins as he came in and hit the game-tying 3 pointer even though he was only shooting 2-9 for the game up until that point.
- Gonasilan Sono continues to do the dirty work for the team. Though he struggled from the field (2-11), he still ended the game with an extremely important 14 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocks.

Up next, we prepare for another good team in Nigeria who won their own nailbiter today and are the new 2nd team in the standings.

Players of the Game: Thoibo Lonco (48405732) trained by Giorgio950 and Umi Mugabe (48097274) trained by JimyW

And thanks Sandy. Glad y'all are enjoying the recaps!

Also, I'm usually on the Discord during the games so it'd be fun to watch together if anyone is tuning in and I welcome more collaboration with the gameplanning we do there so feel free to join us at (https://discord.gg/rZP27YpfPD)!

Last edited by A Warrior at 01/26/2021 00:35:24

It's great. I see that my players contribute to being able to do something great. Amazing.
I will continue training my players to continue winning games.
Yesterday I saw the live and it was very interesting. Above all, I noticed that SONO had to defend a player who doubled his salary and held out well.
Great job.
Regards Giorgio