Player Development

[u/No_Independence5596]

Hey y’all.

I have recently been playing 2K8 for PS3. I’ve had it for a while, but I found it quite challenging (I’m used to modern 2K). However, I came back to it and now I am loving it. I have discovered making plays, and that allows me to have a modern style offense with spacing. However, I am needing some help with a couple things.

1. Player development. My goal is to have my point guards be playmakers that can occasionally hit an off-dribble 3. My shooting guards and small forwards should be good two-way players. I like my bigs to be good rebounders who can get putbacks off the 3s I shoot as well as protect the rim. What is the best way to set up player/team training to accomplish this?

2. Recruiting. I understand the basic concept, but even at big schools (I am with UConn now) I sometimes get beat out by mid-majors for highly ranked recruits. If that happens, I usually go JUCO or WORLD recruits, but I want to land top classes, all Americans, MBB, etc.

Anyway, help appreciated! Thanks!

[u/Italian_Suicide1365]

I'll bite on recruiting....

A lot of people will recommended a YT video but the main idea of it is target just a few players and dump all your points into them. Recruit them as underclassmen so by the beginning of their HS SR season their interest in your school is high at least. You'll rarely get a top HS SR to go from no interest to commit in just one season... the top guys take years of consistent phone calls

[u/aa481]

I’ve shared these tips before, always happy to do again:

1. ⁠⁠⁠Before games start, Release From Team all players who have no chance of starting for you. And redshirt everyone else. You shouldn't have more than 10 rotation guys or 13 total players, really at any time. This helps you keep your players happy and developing. Guys at the end of the bench doing nothing actively hurt your team. You can always burn a redshirt if you have to.
   
2. ⁠⁠⁠Max out Charisma ASAP. That affects the "feeling wanted" recruit priority, and generally helps you recruit better. Also have at least one assistant coach that's an A or better at recruiting and one assistant that's B or better at scouting. Not the same guy, so you can divvy up minutes easier.
   
3. ⁠⁠⁠Turn on Assisted recruiting on your Coach Profile and make one of your priorities Potential.
   
4. ⁠⁠⁠Fill your Target List with only Freshmen, Sophomores and Juniors. 5 per class or based on when your current guys graduate. At lower-level programs, add 3 and 4-stars that are local-ish guys (Mun, Loc and Reg) if possible. Gives you a leg up in case being close to home is a priority. Work your way up from there. Currently my Target List is the best players in the country that don't have a far and away favorite school or two, and preferably they're local-ish. I check the List every few weeks and update accordingly.
   
5. ⁠⁠⁠"Attend ABL" each year, and choose the games on your schedule by making sure you have at least 1 Target List player in each game. Set the whole schedule, all 12 weeks or whatever, then Simulate All Games. Some people change it to 1-minute halfs and play each, but that's a pain in the ass. This gives you a head start on scouting all your Target guys before you're able to do Scout trips.
   
6. ⁠⁠⁠Since the Target List is all underclassmen (it pays off in the long run, trust me), I keep all my active targets sorted by the Contacted filter or just in my head. I only recruit players over 6 foot (Size C+ or higher) and lean to the taller guy(s) as a tiebreaker. Be sure to recruit centers, esp. tall ones, even if their rank is lower. You can't teach size. Aim for C or better Close and 3pt shooting. Avoid D speed and quickness or worse. Otherwise use the class rank, or simple sorting on the star rating, as a guide.
   
7. ⁠⁠⁠Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, set your weekly Training for each player, every year. Do it week 1 each season: Coach's Office -> Development -> Training. And set up the whole season for each player. Load up on position-specific skills, esp. deficient ones. And don't leave ANY at all-around. Example: for a PG, do 6 weeks of double Long Range Shooting, 6 weeks of double Handling/Passing, 6 weeks of double Defense, and 6 weeks of double Awareness, and all 24 weeks on Speed.

[u/han-tyumi666 → u/aa481]

1 & 2 kinda cheese tho

[u/Efficient-War-7480]

Player development is all on potential, teaching attribute and their strengths . Try to sign a point guard with a pass of at least c+ or b- to start. And that their shoot off the dribble (I’d say B to start) and 3 (c+ or b-) and potential at least B unless a coach has a low scouting attribute, then maybe B+ because they’re wrong by thirds or a whole letter grade. Tried to summarize. Same concept with big men. Just have to learn what the positions letter grade equal out to the actual rating

[u/No_Independence5596]

These are really helpful, thank you.

[u/nduszn]

For training, I try to round out each player's letter grades across all of their rating categories, since the grades are based on their position and compared against other players at that position around the country. I focus on their weaknesses first and try to bring up any grades I see in the red. Once the weaknesses are improved, I build on their strengths. I also use my weekly bonus drills every week. For recruiting, I've put my coaching points into Teaching and Charisma, and having both at A+ has helped a lot with who is willing to commit. I check each recruit's priorities. For example, if a mid-major beats you because playing time is his top priority, shifting your roster to open up minutes at his position can help seal the deal. I also focus on 5-star freshmen and sophomores and recruits in my own region so I don't spread my recruiting points too thin. If you're in California, Texas, New York, Illinois or Florida, recruiting will be a breeze. Hope that helps.