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Thanks for the great traning-update AND great GS. We still won't stand a chance against Spain on Monday but hopefully we will be able to be close to -50 which would count as a "victory" in my opinion. We're really moving forward...keep it up!!!

Well, it was worth a try with a fast GDP ... since Spain has played only fast-pace this season. But sure - we're (not yet) an opponent that they will fear or even really count as an opponent. So it's time for experiments ... at least we scored in double digits in the first quarter

So, this week was a "training-week". The gameshape isn't very good (except for Ross Philipson and Boyd Coltrane - so thanks there!) - but I saw (and still see, of course) a lot of green arrows. Nine arrows in total - even though some players got two that still means almost every player improved - and those without arrows got one (or two) last week. So we're definitely on track there. Keep the pace up - or even improve it, the more, the better

Just try to give all the players minutes between 48 and something under 80 ... ideal would be around 60 for perfect gameshape. And 48 is definitely required for the best training possible ... some promising young players received less than 48 minutes. Even though they did get training, it's still a little bit sad if they don't get the best out of their possibilities. So please, please help me out there - I can just write BB-mails and post on the forums - but I can't train all the players ...

Let's see what happens on monday ... we're up against Estonia. They've won all of their games this season (even the close scrimmage against France) - and they'll definitely get another win against us if they don't forget to put up a lineup. But we'll try to keep the margin as close as possible - the goal would be (again) something as close to -50 as possible. Which will be very hard, considering that they've got a Center that earns 83k which is more than our roster earns - and the second Center earns 57 k ... so let's see how we'll be able to try to keep them in check ... at least a little bit

Well, that was close. -55 was the score I wanted to beat. And we missed it by one. But if they hadn't injured our best offensive thread right away in Stuart MacInally, I'm pretty sure we might have even held the deficit to less than -50 ... all things considered a good game, especially with our GS that could be improved ... keep training and give our guys the best minutes possible. I really want to get another win in this campaign

And again a nice friday. The GS is all right - just one guy with GS 6 and everyone else ok. It's a bit less than last week and we had "only" 4 green arrows. But the whole team is improving and we need to keep the momentum going (quite funny to say with two big losses in the past weeks, but we're headed into the right direction). Against Belarus we'll be a bit closer to -30 I hope. We're only 5 places in the WR behind - but they've got great GS and a lot more depth on the roster. So I don't really see a chance to sneak away with another win even if I'd really like to try to steal one

Let's see what happens

Well, -22. So we got kind of a victory since my goal was to beat -30. And another very nice side note: we won the Rebound-Battle. 59-50 is a nice score. Almost the same at the Assists-Score (18-19) and less personal fouls. Also almost 4 players with 10+ Ratings. That's something to build upon. And Adamson Fraser is our weapon as always ... 41 points, very nice!

So - tomorrow and thursday another round of nice minutes, on friday the usual volley of green arrows and we're almost in a position to get another win in the next two games.

Keep it up!

Hi guys - we finished with a 2-5 record. I'm not completely satisfied since I have the feeling that with less enthusiasm we could have beaten Azerbaijan as well and could have tried to snatch a win away from Belarus - but our gameshape wasn't completely right at the time so I guess it's ok to finish the "regular" season this way. And since my goal was to get 1-2 wins, I seem to have achieved that - but I'm always looking to improve and I hope that even if next season will be hard (some good 21 year olds will be leaving us), we'll be able to get another 1-2 wins. And I'd definitely like more but that's always a little bit of luck as well.

By the way: I want to introduce you all to Auldreekie aka. Ally (57843). Our newest scottish member and now after a couple of conversations with me, there's bound to be some action at Fife Saltires. Welcome and have loads of fun training, winning games and contributing to the community!!

Just a quick look back at the season so far and how the players have developed:

Eric Stein (40634244): I'll start with the youngest member of the team. He started very strong and has a lot of talent for the U21. He had a short gameshape-drop that led to him missing one game but all things considered his development is good. I wouldn't mind if his green arrows came just a slight bit faster but as long as he's getting training and good minutes (thanks for adjusting, mcdolan!!) he's pretty sure to make the team next season and also become a strong asset in the seasons to come.

Michael Murray (40634274): Same team, same age. And a loads of potential to spare. He could become THE future NT-player but also needs to quicken his training speed. He's not a sure bet for next season so far since his nomination was also a way of trying to motivate young Michael to keep working hard. But with good GS he shouldn't be far away from the team.

Sam Bonar (39800283): I didn't want him to go to waste so I took him on with my Utopian team. I nominated him for the last game because I needed someone with some Rebounding. And yes - at age 19 and not a perfect skillset, he's the 3rd best rebounder on the team. And with all other 3 player with same or higher rebounding leaving after this season you guys see what needs to be trained for the future ...

Adam Holmes (40634657): His development has frankly been a disappointment. His gameshape was good most of the time and he seemed to have gotten some training ... but his improvement is almost non-existing. He needs a lot of work to earn a spot on the team next year - and maybe higher-lvl-trainer .. who knows? But the door is always open, of course!

Mitchell Elliot (39035870): Saved by ghunter from my opponent during the election, khenry - who thought that after he'd lost the election, the best way to repay "me" or the "community" was to fire all the players that he'd saved prior to the elections. Great move in my opinion ... luckily, Mitchell ended up on the TL and now gets regular training and will be sure to have a spot on next years team.

Stuart MacInally (39035898): The upcoming star - not only for the U21 but definitely for the NT. Great potential. And getting perfect training. He's a force to be reckoned with and will have to shoulder the burden to be the star-player and go-to-guy on next years team. Now that his team manager has helped to get his gameshape straightened up, it's just a lot of fun to watch him play.

Gary Gow (39035900): Next player managed by ghunter. Not much to say - helping the team a lot for now and holds the whole future of the scottish NT in his hands. We'll have a lot of fun with him in the next couple of years!!

Stephen Boland (39035902): Getting training and after a short bump in his GS he's back on track. Should make the team next season but needs to pick up his training speed a bit if we want to see him on the NT later on ...

Adamson Fraser (39035886): Not much to say there either. Didn't get as many pops this season as I had hoped for but that's also due to his size and training. Since our NT is training him, he's sure to become a SF for the NT that will definitely contribute. And for this season he was just great to have on the team. His offensive power is almost legendary and I'll definitely miss him after this season!

Dougal MacLehose (38235293): A late addition to the team because Taintum almost went bot (luckily he seems to be back again which is great news!!) - but his GS was good and even if he's not the perfect player, he's definitely good enough to start at SF for our team. Especially together with Adamson Fraser he could be a threat for a couple of teams in the upcoming scrimmages.

Ross Philipson (39035875): Mr. Gameshape. Except for this week, he had a perfect GS almost every week. And he definitely gets training - so almost everything is great there. If only for the speed of his training. He really needs to step it up in order to fulfill his potential - but I'm hopeful that he'll get to the NT eventually!

Douglas MacMurray (39035881): Our only real Guard on the team this season. Thanks for being there, always in good GS and helping the team. You'll be missed a lot next season. And will hopefully contribute a lot during the scrimmages this season!!

Boyd Coltrane (39035882): Player Number 3 by ghunter. Will be sorely missed. Only real all-around center and probably - even with his "low" potential - on his way into the NT as a backup. Only his gameshape wasn't always as good as could be wished but he was definitely a great leader for the team and I'll be sure to follow his upcoming carrer ...

Well, this was an unexpected victory. We'll take it for maybe climbing a place in the world-rankings, but I would have loved it more if we'd had a real game and not scared the danish U21 away with our strong appearance

So nothing really new this week - give the young guys another push on the training side and I'll be more than happy on Friday

Well, that was our third victory in a row (39615). Not too bad, I guess. Even though the win against Denmark was due to the fact that we scared them away, it's still nice to see that our roster is developing into the right direction. We are going to have a rematch against Korea next week in Korea - so we'll see what the HCA will be worth. I hope it won't eliminate the +20 points we had today ...

I called up a couple of new players that are going to make their U21 debut or already made it today. We have some potential to build upon and if you continue the great training, we'll definitely be seeing results in a couple of seasons. The best debut today was made by Greg Mowat (40634238) - not bad to be the leading scorer in your first U21 game ... and shooting over 50% ... thanks at the Macau Hospitallers and their manager Chloe ^^ for the great training. We'll definitely hope to be seeing more of Greg's offensive power in the upcoming seasons!

I've also called up one player from the Forfar Flyers besides Adam Holmes (40634657), that's Blane Gallacher (40634652). Both of them will be on the transfer list soon I fear as the Forfar Flyers-Franchise will go bot next Monday if the don't happen to log in this week ... it's always sad to lose BB-players but we have to make the best of it and save those two players. Both could be a great addition for the future U21 roster if they find a home with a manger that will give them the best training possible. I hope you'll bookmark them and we'll find them a good new home!

And now - keep up the training, last Friday was great again with 11 skillups ... I wouldn't mind getting something like that next friday as well

Playing at home really DOES have it's advantages. I very nearly got scared when the korean U21 team pulled away in the first half and nearly sent us home with a defeat after we had a "fairly" easy win at home last week. We're going to play another game on neutral court (probably at BB-Perpete's arena in France). I'm happy that we managed to rally back from the 20 point deficit in the second half and pulled away with the win. Our training-hero Stuart MacInally (something like 7-8 pops in major skills in the last 7-8 weeks!!) finished strong and shows that he'll be up for the challenge to lead the team on the offensive end next season. Gary Gow also showed that he's developing into the right direction and led the team again with 12 assists. I'm very happy with the direction our team is developing and hope to help shape some of the future NT-players ...

And our second Stuart, Stuart Fife from Fife Saltires (he HAS to be THE franchise guy there with this name) made his debut today. Maybe not as impressive as Greg Mowat last week - but he did outscore him 6-4 and showed that he already can pass the ball to other guys that are able to score ... thanks Ally for being open to suggestions concerning training and everything ... you're a great addition to the scottish community!!

I'm happy to follow all the great developments of our future players - and wouldn't mind if our winning streak (currently at 4 wins) doesn't end too soon - even though it's not the most important part yet. That's definitely motivating you guys to continue to train those young talents and lay the groundwork for (hopefully) lots of (or at least, a couple^^) victories in the seasons to come!

Have a great week everyone!

Cheers, Wendell