BuzzerBeater Forums

i m dropping out and never tring to be canadas u21 manager

u have my vote

There have been some very nice words on my behalf in this thread so far, and I'd like to thank everyone that has offered encouragement and support. I also really like how many voices have appeared in this thread; it's good to see many different managers asking questions here, and/or making comments. Hopefully over the next few days, the discussion will continue to grow and move in some good directions.

At the moment, there are a couple of comments/questions that I haven't responded to yet, and that I'd like to say a few things about:

@DonutDunker; hypothetical tactics for a U21 game
There was a question about presenting a sample game plan, for a hypothetical game against Portugal. For Many different reasons, I won't attempt to provide a game plan here. However, I do think that it may be worthwhile to give a glimpse at my thought process, when it comes to preparing for games.

With my league team, I approach every season by looking at the schedule as a whole. I try to work out my general chances for winning each game, try to identify which games I "should" win, and look for openings that might help me steal certain games against stronger teams. At the start of each new game week, expectations are adjusted in light of changes to game shape, rosters (inuries, etc.), and enthusiasm. At the U21 level, I would also plan around the season as a whole, in an effort to get the best possible end results. I'm sure that many managers in BB also approach things this way, but I thought I would write a little bit about my own thoughts here.

In terms of preparation for particular games, I have written my thoughts about many National team games in the past. These posts can mainly be found on the Canadian off-site forum. This forum in run by the current National Team manager, Rip, and I think it would be great if more Canadian managers joined and participated.

@jsmythjsmyth: prospect's chances of making team, such as Sylvain Milot
If anyone would like to hear my thoughts about a particular prospect, and their general outlook in terms of the U21 team, then I'd be happy to answer any BB-Mails you'd like to send. I was involved with U21 scouting this previous season, and am familiar with the overall player pool.

Last edited by The Mogul at 3/24/2010 7:43:00 PM

well, throwing my name into the ring didn't draw much attention. i see there are 3 good solid younger managers with their names in now, so i will bow out gracefully.

i have not decided yet who will get my vote, greerzilla, the mogul, or O-Rod at this point. good luck to all.

Somehow I missed your candidacy. It is too bad you are bowing out. It would have made for an extremely interesting campaign, although I have to say it is already quite interesting.

i had thrown my name in the mix yesterday after not seeing much competition early on in the campaign. but there's a few good managers in the run now so that's good. i can spend more time coaching my own kids this spring and summer then.

Ok, time to respond on the SF and role player issue.

I believe that we are in good shape at SF thanks to my own player Numbers Ali! He's a well rounded player and very good defender both inside and on the perimeter as well as being a good shooter and a good passer. The Mogul and I have spoken about him and its likely that he starts at SF regardless of who becomes manager.

As for role players I also think that there is a place for defensive specialists on the team and I wouldn't mind having a 3pt specialist at hand for times when we can expose a team on the perimeter. Obviously this player would have to have decent other skills too or he might become a liability for the team which is something that can't happen.

There was also a question about own players on the U21 team. And yes if I was to be elected manager there would be one of my own players on the team. I don't really think it is much of an issue though as it is not like he is a fringe player and I belive that he would be starter under most other managers. There is a slight chance that one of my other trainees, Paul Gaize might make the team at some point, but again he is a very good player and I doubt that it would cause much contraversy. If there were other mangers that did have questions about my players in the team I would be more than happy to answer them and if there was pressure on me to remove my player from the team then I would (we are a democracy after all!).

I believe that we are in good shape at SF thanks to my own player Numbers Ali!

So are you saying that in your opinion Ali should always start?

Ali is a pretty solid option at SF in certain scenarios but he has his strengths and weaknesses. He is far from an all-rounded SF, at least in my opinion.

Ok, you know the players so I will put the question to you. Without going into details, do you think that Ali is the clear starter at SF for Canada this season, no matter what offense/defense you decide to use?

Let's see....Numbers Ali. Assuming that Ali doesn't defect to Macau this week, or suffer some horrible injury (possibly a hand injury from too much counting), I think that any manager would put Ali on the team, and give him a major role. I also think that if everyone has equal game shape, Ali would frequently be the guy to start at SF. That is looking at the current skills of all the players, and how the overall lineup fits together. I do think, though, that there are situations where it could make sense to have someone else starting at SF, and Ali doing something else.

I can't really say much more than that without going into the details, so there's my very vague and not that helpful answer. :P

Last edited by The Mogul at 3/25/2010 9:19:47 AM

For: All Candidates
- What do you believe is the purpose of the U21 team?
- How heavily do you value saving prospects whose owners are going to go bot? Is it worth sacrificing enthusiasm during competition?
- How will you encourage more managers to get involved in the NT?
- What skills do you most value in NT players? What sorts of role players do you think could find room on the u21 team? Given the fact that it's rare for SFs to be fully developed in time to contribute to the u21 team and any potential u21 SF will have some significant gaps, what sort of players would you play at the SF spot?

The purpose of the U21 Team is to take the best group of younger players and get the best possible result out of them. The hard work is trying to get managers to train the right balance of players, not just centres and shooting guards. Eventually these guys should be on the National Team and showing them how competitive the U21 team will hopefully make sure they continue to train the players.

I believe saving prospects is a huge part, but not at the expense of winning. If I ever have to choose between a prospect and winning a game, it's always a game. I know that if you save a player half way through a season you can still get good results, but at the end of the season, a player needs great potential and great starting skills to still have a chance of making the team.

To new owners, you need to stress the benefits of having NT players. Training quality players will help you win games, you will receive more revenue, and for me, I was always so excited to have a player on the U21 team and always wanting to make him the best. Plus even if you train a well rounded player up, the money you can make just selling him could be enough to buy at least 1 quality player.

I am a big fan of having well rounded players. You can find the skills of my best player if you look around and you can see the focus I give him. I love good secondaries on a player and that would play a big role in my decision. Also, I am not as big on stamina at the U21 level. I will gladly take a pop in a primary skill over a stamina pop as one level or outside defence could be huge at this level. For SF's, I will see what the other team generally does at this position. Ideally you'd want to have a great inside-outside guy, but a lot of the times you can hopefully use a shooting guard to match up against theirs and it not be too much of a problem. Plus with Perkins and Moran, it won't be a bad thing to often play the 3-2 zone if they are as good as I hear.