The Legacy of Coach Jacks

[MAK314]

The Times Piccayune

Nicholls State has moved on to a new men's basketball head coach. They have hired a young buck from right here in Louisiana. The new coach, Michael Jacks, attenden Nicholls State just 5 years ago and played on the basketball team. He started for Nicholls State for three years. After graduating from Nicholls State he became a high school head coach at Thibadeaux(Sp?) High School for boy's basketball and coached there for 4 years. In his last year he won the 3A Division title. Nicholls State of Thibadeaux, LA, was in dire neeed of a coach, and after seeing his performance at Thibadeaux High, they have decided to hire him. As everyone may or may not know, Coach Jacks is only 26 years old and very young to be a head coach. But, he is known to be very persuasive (B- Charisma) and a pretty decent mind on the offenseive side (C+ Offense) Article 8B has a small interview with Coach Jacks himself.

8B

Writer: Coach Jacks, you are an alum of Nicholls State, how does it feel to be back on campus?

Coach: It feels great, I can't wait to start the season and get things going.

W: Speaking of this season, what are your goals for it?

C: Well, I would really like to sign a couple of three star recruits which may be hard to do beacuse for this year I only have one scholarship to offer. We would also like to try to win our conference. Winning the conference title may sound a little too ambitious for our first year under a new coach, but considering which conference we are in, I think it's reasonable and obtainable.

W: Yes well we all know the Southland Conference isn't exactly a powerhouse. So coach, when will you be posting the team roster and the schedule?

C: I've decided that I will wait until a week after Midnight Madness to post the roster which will include who will start. I will post the schedule the same time I post the roster.

W: Well Coach, I wish you the best of luck to you and your team. Thank you for your time.

C: Thank you.

[MAK314]

The Times Piccayune

The Nicholls State Coach has posted the schedule and roster for this year's Nicholls State men's basketball team.

Roster

Starters

PG: PG #5 Bobby Joe Hill (61), 5'10", 170 lbs., JR.
Very quick and decent handling and good passing. Will be team distributor.

SG: SG #23 Aaron Grafel (63), 6'1", 180 lbs., JR.
Nice Mid Range and 2nd best 3pt. shooter on the team (81).

SF: SG #20 Raheim Ebong (67), 6'4", 200 lbs., SR.
Best rated player on the team. Nice close shot and decent mid range shot. Best under pressure.

PF: SF #21 Kojo Turek (64), 6'6", 205 lbs., JR.
Best 3 pt. shooter on the team (84) and good mid range shot. Small for PF but will have to do.

C: PF #1 Warren Poole (61), 6'6", 195 lbs., FR.
Pretty good for a freshman for a small school. Good close shot and dunk (Both 80). Also very small.

Bench

SG #3 Evan Casey (60), 6'2", 180 lbs., RS SO.

SG #22 Johann Henderson (58), 6'4", 205 lbs., SO.

SG #4 Harold Sharp (56), 6'3", 170, FR.

SG #31 Gabe Lattin (56), 6'6", 200 lbs., FR.

PF #11 George Riley (55), 6'7", 250 lbs., RS SO.

Reserves

PG #14 Darrell Williams (58), 6'0", 180 lbs., FR.

Schedule

@ #19 Floridat St.
@ Tulane
@ Cal
@ UC Davis
@ St. Mary's
@ LSU
@ UNO
@ Alabama
vs. ULM
@ Lipscomb
@ #2 UNC
vs. Minnesota
vs. UNLV
vs. Kennesaw St.
vs. Stephen F. Austin
@ Sam Houston St.
@ UT-Arlington
@ Texas St.
vs. SE Louisiana
@ Northwesten St.
vs. Central Arkansas
vs. Lamar
@ McNeese St.
vs. TXAM-CC
vs. UTSA
@ SE Louisiana
vs. Northwestern St.
@ Central Arkansas
@ Lamar
vs. McNeese St.

[MAK314]

Nicholls State Gazette

Well Non-Conference play is finally over and you know what that means. Conference play. Yes the incredibley boring, horrific, and sometimes comical games of the Southland Conference are about to begin. But let's look back on the happenings of Nicholls State's Non-Conference games.

Well Nicholls State definitley did not get out to a hot start losing their first three games to Florida St. (78-74), Tulane (80-61), and Cal (88-57). But two days after the loss to Cal, State got it's first win to UC Davis, destroying them by 19 points with the score 86-67. Nicholls State then went on a 5 game losing streak making their record 1-8. But then with only 5 non-conference games left, State fought back winning huge games. The first one came against Lipscomb who is now 2-11. That win was nothing special but the next one was. Four days later, State traveled to UNC, yes the University of North Carolina, and upset the #2 Tarheels 83-77. Then, eight days later State played against Minnesota, UNLV, and Kennesaw State which were in three consecutive days. State won all three and heading into Conference play their record stands at 6-8. Maybe there is hope for Nicholls State after all...

[MAK314]

Nicholls State Gazette

Now we all know how our Colonels Non-Conference season went but now let's recap the Conference part of the season. Well, just like the beginning of the Non-Conference games, Nicholls State struggled. Starting Conference play with a record of 6-8, the Colonels lost their first four Conference games which made their record 6-12. After that, they final got two wins against SE Louisiana and Northwestern St. Nicholls would then lose one against Central Arkansas but win their next three. They then lost another game to UTSA. With the last five games approaching the Nicholls State Colonels trained hard, and it paid off. They won their last five games in a row which gave them a Conference record of 10-6 and a total record of 16-14. Coach Jacks was very pleased that his team was able to pull out a winning season especially since it looked very grim at times. The Colonels first Conference Tournament game is on March 13th, one day before Coach Jacks's birthday and is against SE Louisiana. Everyone come out and support your Colonels!!

[MAK314]

Colonels Scalp Lions and Move on to 2nd Game of Tourny

In the first half of the first game of the Conference Tounrament, things were not looking so good for the Colonels. Turek, the Colonels best 3-point shooter was not shooting very well and was only 1 for 4 behind the arc. In contrast, the Lions were playing well and were not letting Nicholls State's press rattle them. SE Louisiana led by as much as 9 in the first half but the Colonels cut that lead to three, heading into halftime down 21-18.

The second half, on the other hand, was a completely different story. Turek stepped up his game tremendously ending the game 4 for 8 from 3 point range. Grafel, the Colonels other 3-point shooter did well also going 3 for 4 from downtown. Once the Colonels buillt up about a 10 point lead the two teams traded baskets. What helped in this half that wasn't working very well in the first was the Colonels' press. They started to force turnovers and create oppurtunities. The final score was 48-39 with the Colonels on top.

Individual Stats

Kojo Turek: 18 pts, 1 steal.
5-9 FG, 4-8 3pt.

Aaron Grafel: 13 pts, 2 steals, 1 ast.
5-8 FG, 3-4 3 pt.

George Riley: 8 pts, 2 steals, 4 ast.
4-6 FG.

Next Tourny game is against Sam Houston St.

[MAK314]

By the way I only play 10 minute halves for now to keep the legacy moving. That's the reason for such a low score. Once I get to a team that is good and I like to play with I will definitley bump it up. I may put it at 12 minutes for next season also.

[CincyFan]

Was Michael Jacks really on the team? And are you really simming the whole first year?

[MAK314]

Nah I just made that name up sorry. Yeah I simmed it all and am now playing the Conference Tourny. I hope that doesn't make you not want to read..

[MAK314]

Nicholls State Moves on to Conference Tournament Championship Game

The Colonels second Tourny game was against Sam Houston State, who tied for 1st in the Conference. The game against Sam Houston State was not looking good for the first few minutes of play for our Colonels, as SH State went on a 9-0 run to start the game. But after Sam Houston scored their 9th point, Coach Jacks called a time out to regroup his team. He must have said some inspiring words because after that timeout it was basically all Nicholls State. The Colonels went on a 10-0 run to go up by 1. Their press was working incredibly which completely rattled Sam Houston's players. Also, Kojo Turek was shooting and scoring at will, going 3 for 3 behind the arc in the first half. Evan Casey was also playing well going 2 for 2 from 3 point rang. But SH State was not out of it yet, as they kept pretty close heading into halftime with the score 33-27 with the Colonels on top.

The second half was much the same as the first except SH State didn't have any impressive runs. The Colonels pressure controlled the game and their incredbile shooting continued. Turek ended the game going 5 for 6 from 3 point, 7 of 10 FG, and 5 for 5 from the charity stripe. He was the player of the game with a total of 24 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 4 steals. SH State had a whopping total of 18 turnovers (In just 20 minutes of play!). The final score at the end of the game was 57 to 45 with Nicholls State heading into the Conference Tourny Championship Game against UT-Arlington.

[boomosby50]

you actually simmed and beat UNC? What's yur difficulty level? And you should mix sims with playing

[MAK314]

Haha yeah dude. It's on MOP no lie. I was so shocked to see it haha. I know I'm going to play more next season and I'm playing all of my tournament games right now. I do use someone's sliders though but not Cincy's.

[MAK314]

UT-Arlington Destroys Nicholls State

One of the ugliest games of the season by far, but the first half wasn't too bad considering the final outcome. The Colonels had a hard time with UT-Arlington's press and turned the ball over quite a few times, and Nicholls State's press wasn't producing much. State's shots also wouldn't go down, and Turk and Grafel had missed all of their 3 point attempts. The Colonels headed into halftime down 22-14.

The first part of the second half was unfortunately the best part of the game for the Colonels. They started to hit some shots and cut the deficit to 3 with about 4 minutes left in the 2nd half. Then things turned sour. The Colonels started rushing too much and in the process turned the ball over many, many times and missed even more shots. By the end of the game UT-Arlington had built a 21 point lead and that's where it stayed. The final score turned out to be 53-32, with the Colonels losing in the final round of the Conference Tourny.

This game ends the Colonels' first season under Coach Jacks since they were not invited into the NIT, and season 2 will be coming soon.

PS: I know this season was boring but I just couldn't play all of those games because I always get killed the first season. Stay tuned for a better season 2!!

[boomosby50]

woah jacks, that is weird i just went into a quick closed legacy with Nicholls and didn't change anyhting and i beat UNC by simming. Maybe it's a glitch, ha

[MAK314]

Lol oh well I don't think I have them scheduled this year and if I do I'll play the game.

Wow on a side note Coach Jacks only had 1 scholarship to offer but that 1 paid off. He signed a 3* Small Forward from Houston, Texas who is 6'6", 199 lbs. His rating turned out to be 75. Not bad for a 3* at all. And he gained 10 lbs. since I signed him making him 209 now.

[boomosby50]

ok yeah but its pretty funny. Are you playing next year's games? Try to schedule Howard if you can

[MAK314]

Damn I would have if I knew before. I definitley will schedule them next season though. And yeah I'm going to play maybe half of the games. I will probably play most of the Non-Conference games but less Conference games.

[MAK314]

Preseason Top 25

#1 Memphis
#2 UNC
#3 Texas
#4 UCONN
#5 Duke
#6 Providence
#7 Louisville
#8 Tennessee
#9 UCLA
#10 Villanova
#11 Arizona
#12 Syracuse
#13 Michigan St.
#14 Washington
#15 Indiana
#16 LSU
#17 Pittsburgh
#18 Marquette
#19 Alabama
#20 Kentucky
#21 Cal
#22 San Diego St.
#23 Georgetown
#24 West Virginia
#25 Texas A&M

[Deuce2223]

Give you some heads up when it comes to simming games. Having it on MOP ect doesn't really make any difference. However to get different outcomes and win more games you can actually make some changes to your team. Go in and read the scouting reports on the team before you play them. Then go into your coaching profile and make changes. Not sure what you have for offense temp,fastbreak,crashing the board ect but that is what makes a difference on whether you win games or not when simming. Also if you press all the time, only after baskets, occasionally not at all. That makes a huge difference. Another one is go into your roster and for players who have high 3pt rating make sure their tendancy to shoot the 3pt is higher for those with low 3pt rating put them at 0 or below 20 so you don't have crappy shooters jacking up 3's. Make sure your big man have high tendancys to shoot close and your quick guys drive the lane.

All things I have learned over the last 3 yrs. I love playing the game but sometimes it is fun just to make those type of changes and see how your team would respond if you were just the coach sorta like the coaching mode without actually doing the coaching mode stuff.

[MAK314]

Yeah thanks for the tip. I'm definitely going to be playing alot more games though. Idk how some people play ALL of them. That would bore me to death. And I also don't really like recapping games as you can tell mine aren't very good lol.

2008-2009 Schedule

@ Maryland
@ East Carolina
@ #21 Cal
@ UC Davis
@ Loyola Monument
@ Georgia
@ Denver
@ #8 Tennessee
vs. Flroida International
@ SC Upstate
@ Miama (FL)
vs. Michigan
vs. New Mexico
vs. Belmont
vs. Stephen F. Austin
@ Lamar
@ Central Arkansas
@ TXAM-CC
vs. UT-Arlington
@ SE Louisiana
vs. Sam Houston St.
vs. McNeese St.
@ UTSA
vs. Northwestern St.
vs. Texas State
@ UT-Arlington
vs. SE Louisiana
@ Sam Houston St.
@ McNeese St.
vs. UTSA

Nicholls State is rated 2nd worst in the conference with a rating of 69 only ahead of McNeese St.

[MAK314]

Starting Line Up

PG #5 Bobby Joe Hill (61) , SR.
SG #23 Aaron Grafel (64), SR.
SF #34 Lawrence Garza (75), FR.
PF #21 Kojo Turek (64), SR.
C #1 Warren Poole (61), SO.

First game is against Maryland and I'm about to play it right now.

[MAK314]

Colonels get Trampled by Terapins

The whole game Nicholls State trailed. They did horrible on the glass, in the paint, behind the arc, and anywhere else you can think of. They went into the half down 26-17. But the first half wasn't nearly as bad as the second. The Colonels just missed too many shots, had too many fouls, and gave up too many turnovers. The final score ended up to be a blow out, 62-37 with Maryland on top.

Next game is at East Carolina Pirates (1-1)


By the way I forgot to put it at 12 minute halves. I think I'll put it at 13 from now on.


Recruiting Update: Taliek Taybron, a 3* PF from Baytown, Texas, visited Nicholls State's campus and seemed impressed. He is currently 82% sure he wants to come here and the Colonels are the third team on his list.

[CincyFan]

yeah 13 minutes is what I play it on. With a bad team like that I find myself scoring anywhere from 50-75 points a night when I had a bad team.

[Deuce2223]

Might consider adding some key player stats from your team atleast. Don't care as much about the other team unless it is a team that maybe someone on here is following.

[MAK314]

Yeah I did that the first one kind off. I just need to get better at remembering stuff that happens throughtout the game lol. Once I play higher minutes the stats will look nicer too.

[blue_apocalypse]

Yeah I did that the first one kind off. I just need to get better at remembering stuff that happens throughtout the game lol. Once I play higher minutes the stats will look nicer too.

I don't think you have to remember everything. I usually jot down some quick notes at halftime and after the game.

[Deuce2223]

Thats what I do too. I have a notebook I right down the matchup at the top, write the halftime score and some stats then the final score and the player stats after the game. and any key things I want to say. I use to take the notebook to work with me and post games there not I have to just do it on the weekend so thats why its good to have the book I can play 5-10 games ahead of my post and not have to worry about forgetting things.

[MAK314]

Yeah I'm not going to do a legacy thread anymore lol. I have already simmed to the Conference Tourny of the third year and I am about to start that. I just don't think I was very good at it, and I might use this thread just to tell you guys how my legacy is going from time to time. Maybe I'll just recap every season..

[Deuce2223]

Works for me. Recap the year, what your record was how you did in the tourney and who you recruited. Maybe you will the urge once you are at a different school.

[MAK314]

Coach Jacks Update

His second year at Nicholls State the Colonels had their first 20 win season including a big win over #4 Tennessee at the time. They lost the Conference tournament Championship game and were invited to the NIT. The Colonels didn't get passed the first round.

His third year at Nicholls the Colonels were rated 79 overall. Jacks had another 20+ win season but again lost in the Conference Championship game. He was invited into the NIT again and beat Pittsburgh (Rated 89) in the first round 50-47. In the second round he lead against Gonzaga almost the whole game but in the last few minutes Gonzaga (Rated 86) came back and won.

After Jack's second round loss in the NIT, the Missouri State Bears had a job opening and offered it to Jacks. Ready to move up to a bigger and better school, he took it. So now Jacks is in his fourth year, and first year at Missouri in his young career. The Bears are 4-0 right now with a big double digit win over Arizona State (Rated 86). His next opponent is the Illinois Fighting Ilini (sp?) who were ranked in the top 25 at the beginning of the season but with a 2-3 record are now unranked. What is funny is that Nicholls State is now #4 in the Mid-Major polls, and Missouri State is #21. But recruiting is alot easier for Jacks at Missouri State. He has a 5* at 93%. He probably won't sign but it's cool knowing that he was close to. He also has a chance at a 4* and 2 good 3*'s.

[TigerCraig]

You wuss.. I need a game to game update this whole season update thing jus aint workin for me...

J/k Good luck bro! Hate that you left Louisiana though :(

If anyone takes the LSU job before me, ima be ****eddddddddd

[boomosby50]

and the tragic death of Coach Jacks (even though he wqas utterly confused and very immobily paralyzed) lives on deeply n all of our hearts.

Where the heck am I coming up with all this crap? That's like my 7th weird post tonight. Geez

[MAK314]

Hahahaha nice finish to a horrible legacy.

[boomosby50]

yep, I totally and utterly agree