Other Raising Hell: Miss Valley St Delta Devils

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Note: I am using BE THE COACH, something I took a look at after reading JT_the_Man thread.

2014

MOST UNSUCCESSFUL COLLEGE OF ALL TIME
WORST BALLERS IN ENTIRE US
BASKET-BLOWN: MISSISSIPPI DEVILS DIRE TIMES

These were the headings of the papers both local and national that I brought to the stadium on my first day as coach. My name is Peter Williams and I had just been hired as the new coach for the Mississippi Valley St Delta Devils, or the Miss Valley Devils for short. They were voted the worst basketball college of all time by ESPN - of 351 colleges! Now it was my chance to turn it all around and meet my squad.

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There was not a lot to like initially, with Marshall Wise and Ron Brewer the only two competent scorers, and Kenard Wolf and Sonny Averitt the only two solid defenders. The biggest issue was the fact that Ozell Duckworth appeared to be the only clutch player, while he at Averitt were good on the boards. Both were Junior however, and the only Freshman in the team was absolute rubbish. I would need to go and recruit.
 
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2014

FRESHMAN TALENT ARRIVES

I was feeling pretty down about the lack of young talent - or any talent - in the side, so naturally I held a trials day at the school. While most were rubbish, one player I managed to convince to play for us was Joel Person, a freshman who without a doubt would be our star player. While he was suspect defensively, offensively, off the boards and his ability to deliver in close games was impressive. I had heard good things about him and was excited for him to join the team.

Having to narrow down the squad to eight, Person was the obvious first choice, while Brewer, Averitt, Wise, Duckworth and Wolf also made the cut. Brian Wilkinson, a senior who had previously not tried out for the side showed enough for me to take a chance on him, along with another freshman in Chuckie Malone who, with Person could build a strong team from the ground up. So while the team was admittedly pretty rubbish, there was some signs of life there, although I did not expect to make it to the big dance.

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2014

SHOCKING YEAR SEES NO-WIN FINISH

IT was a disappointing year for all at Miss Valley, but one that was not completely surprising. The top five teams were separated by just one win, while Alcorn St and Arkansas were able to dispose of us despite some close games. We lost a couple of matches by one or two points, but it was ultimately for nothing in the end. The players all learned something throughout the year, with Duckworth and Averitt the big improvers. We built up three points on defence and two on offence, something that would hopefully help in 2015. We would need to find a gun recruit or two to complement the list.
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2015

OH RICKEY YOU'RE SO FINE

THE dark clouds of 2014 were beginning to disperse at the 2015 season trials, with the arrival of a gun freshman. All American prospect Rickey Trapp had just arrived at the school, and was instantly the best prospect by far. It was exciting that he was as dominant offensively as he was defensively, and able to do it in clutch moments. He would be a prospect to watch over the next four seasons and one that could only get better. Trapp would join the five returnees on the list, along with new senior Jerrod Mayes, who was ultimately a stop-gap, as well as sophomore talent, Allen Digregorio who showed some promising signs at the trials.

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2015

FROM QWAP TO QUALIFIERS

IT took just one game to finally break the losing streak - defeating Prairie View by eight points. A two-point loss to Grambling was followed up by a four-point win over Jackson St, a real improvement considering their standing last season. One-point wins against Alcorn and Alabama St kept the roll going, with us not losing again until week nine when we went down to Grambling for a second time. Unfortunately we faded and lost the last four games of the season to wrap up 9-5, but still finished third and qualified for the NCAA tournament.
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NCAA TOURNAMENT:

We were seeded 52nd of 64 teams at the tournament, so were expected to bomb out in the first round. We were drawn away to Nebraska and went in with a -9 underdog status, rated well below our opponents. But that mattered little as we put in the performance of our lives thus far to upset them on their home court and move through to the round of 16. Back at home, we welcomed Cincinnati, and we would need an equally heroic effort in the game to win given the +8 advantage they had. It proved to be accurate as they triumphed by nine points as we were sent packing.

Miss Valley Devils 90 - 84 Nebraska
Cincinnatti 91 - Miss Valley Devils 82
 
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2016

SQUAD SEEMS OFF THE PACE

AFTER a big year recruiting last season, I was rather disappointed with those on offer this off-season. Larry Pace was a freshman who showed some potential, but not compared to season two, more like a 2014 starter. Nonetheless we would take him on board, and with Duckworth and Mayes now out, it would be up to Trapp and Person to lead the way with a young side. Along with those two, Wise, Malone and Digregrio joined the newcomer in the final roster, while I also selected raw freshman Purvis Kennedy, and sophomore Kendall Chapman.

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2016

FROM QWAP TO QUALIFIERS

WE started the season in surprisingly good form, winning the first five games before going down A&M by six points. We bounced back with two straight wins, before a devastating one-point loss to Grambling in Week 9. It triggered a horrible end to the season, going from 7-1 to 8-6 and just scraping into the NCAA tournament, fourth in the division. A positive from the regular season was the big improvements in top-end talent for the Devils ahead of some final years for their stars.
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NCAA TOURNAMENT:

We were seeded 48th out of 64 teams, which was marginally better than the year before. But still expected to be bundled out straight away. That is exactly what happened, coming up against Tennessee-Martin with a -8 rating away, it was always going to be tough and we were blown away by 16 points.

Miss Valley Devils 72 - 88 Tennessee-Martin
 
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2017

SOLE STAR SLOTS IN

FOR the first time in my reign, just the one player was added to the squad, meaning we had some continuity. Whether that was good or bad given we were bundled out in the first round of the NCAA tournament was yet to be seen, but junior Lonnie Behagen was a latecomer to the sport, but would still be good for two seasons. He was an All Conference player, as was now Joel Person, joining Rickey Trapp as an All American.

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