You can find a full description of this task + spoiler-free links to previous seasons here. As a pointer, I imitate every video game in this series (even the ones we see on Twitch) and only handle the recruiting and training strategies.
Prior to we begin Year 20 of Coach Ricks period at Western Illinois, heres a wrap-up of whatever that has actually happened last season:
Coming off 3 straight seasons that ended in the Elite Eight, the Leathernecks get in the brand-new year with 2 returning beginners and a team rated as a 97 total. We went 6-6 versus a difficult non-conference schedule prior to going unbeaten in conference and once again declaring the Summit League tournament championship. We enter the NCAA tournament as a No. 12 seed at 26-6 on the season.
We dealt with No. 5 seed Cal in the very first round of the NCAA tournament. We lost, 90-87, when our possible game-tying 3 at the buzzer failed. Check out the competition + offseason recap here.
We landed 3 new gamers on the recruiting path.
Western Illinois, Year 20, 2026-2027
Heres a take a look at our roster entering Year 20:
PG Tron Whaley, redshirt junior, 87 overall: Tron goes into the beginning lineup for the very first time as a junior after being an essential piece off the bench last season. Previous No. 128 overall hire with C+ capacity.
We likewise invite three new inbound employees to the group. All of them will redshirt.
SF Jitim Dupre out of Chicago, No. 91 overall recruit: 76 in general, C+ capacity. Dupre is a tall, slender wing at 6 9. Hes a bit disappointing as a three-point shooter with a 72 rating.
There was some thought given to beginning Henry at shooting guard again (where he goes down one point) to get sophomore Wilbur Ager in the beginning lineup, however we prefer putting Henry at his finest position, throwing Alloway into the fire, and letting Ager be among the much better bench gamers in the nation.
PF Allan Cunningham, redshirt junior, 89 general: Cunningham is already on his way to becoming one of the most beloved players in program history. A standout in NCAA competition games because his freshman season, Ham is preposterously big (6 11, 289 pounds) with an improved skill set that includes genuine three-point range. He needs to be a stud this year.
Giddens moves into the starting lineup after being sixth man last season. Him and Ham up front is a supersized front court were hoping will be an excellent advantage for us all season. Former No. 115 general hire.
Were going with a nine-man rotation this season: Ager and freshman center Kevin Brazzle will each get about 15 minutes per video game, while freshman point guard Jamie Burke and freshman power forward LF Neal each get about 10 minutes per video game. That means junior guard Vitor Andrisevic (79 general) is out of the rotation. He will go down as the greatest recruiting bust in program history.
C Artie Snipes out of Riverside, No. 177 total hire (No. 10 center): 75 overall, B+ potential. The 6 11 center is the heaviest hire weve ever had at 282 pounds. Looks like hes going to be another outstanding big man for the Leathernecks.
It seems like a brand-new age at Western Illinois with only 2 returning starters and simply one senior on the roster. This squad may not have the experience we d preferably prefer– shown in the games group unity ranking– but we do have size and shooting at every position with some emerging young depth on the bench. Im hoping we can set the table for an even much better season a year from now depending on few NBA draft choices if nothing else.
SG Mathew Alloway, redshirt freshman, 82 total: The previous Mr. Basketball out of Minnesota ends up being the uncommon freshman starter for the Leathernecks. The 6 6 shooting guard doesnt have a signature skill yet, however looks strong across the board. Rated as a 94 in speed and a 78 in three-point shooting. Former No. 31 general recruit with B- capacity.
PG Koko Reeves out of San Antonio, No. 52 general recruit: 73 overall, C capacity. Reeves is the smallest recruit weve ever had, however hes currently grown an inch to 5 11 since committing. His C potential grade is frustrating, but he appears like an absolutely elite shooter, already ranked as an 82 from three-point range.
Lets gone through the starters real fast. As something new this year, click on the names for a link to their player cards with complete scores.
Recruiting
SF Wilky Henry, redshirt senior, 93 total: Henry requires to be a superstar this year for this team to play up to its potential. I think he can arrive. Moving back to his natural position of small forward after beginning at shooting guard last season, Henry is a massive 6 8, 242 pound wing who can shoot from 3, rise above the rim for monster dunks, and manage the ball like a guard. We need him to be our go-to scorer on the perimeter. Previous No. 80 overall hire with C+ potential.
We just have one scholarship to hire for this year. I wish to strike the JUCO market to discover a five-star shooting guard or power forward to join timeline of in 2015s three-man class. I use my first two visits on these gamers:
6 2 shooting guard Edwin Wolfe out of Federal Way, WA
6 4 shooting guard V.J. Roberts out of Chicago
JUCO recruits arent numerically ranked and do not have AAU stats, however Wolfe is the leading shooting guard amongst JUCO players when the class is arranged by hiring stars, so we use him the scholarship.
We have to develop a gamer for the winner of last seasons bracket contest, Isaac Springer. I asked Isaac to provide me some information the gamer he wished to develop, and this is what he hit me with:
State no more, my man. Jon Bois, first-class shooting out of Louisville, is formally in the Leathernecks Universe. Well follow Jons recruitment and his profession any place he ends up. As a reminder, we do not go after produced gamers at Western Illinois to preserve the stability of the game.
Finally, its time to begin the season. We start the year unranked in the polls and rated as a 96 total. Lets go!
I really had a small concept if I won: would it be possible to develop Jon Bois instead? I believe it d be fun to present him into the Leathernecks universe.
Video game: @ Illinois
Win, 76-50. There we go. Look at Cunningham ball out with 23 points and six rebounds on 3-of-4 shooting from three-point variety. Thats why this man is an icon. Read our beat writer Matthew Morrow on what makes Cunningham so special. Im gon na require my guards to do much better than shoot 1-of-13 from the flooring, however fortunately its a long season and they should improve along the method.
That is not how we wanted to begin the season. Ager had a great video game and quite much everyone else struggled.
As I sim to the next week, I noticed that my backup choice on the recruiting path V.J. Roberts truly likes us. We d get a coaching point for landing our very first first-class recruit in season if he commits by the early finalizing duration. I choose to pull the scholarship from Wolfe and offer it to Roberts. If he does not accept it, I will most likely re-offer Wolfe, presuming he doesnt hate me now.
Next up we have Georgetown. The Hoyas are ranked as a 91 overall.
Ive had this game circled on my calendar because the Illini stunned us in the opener last season. We run this state, and weve shown it multiple times in the last years. Its time to issue the Illini an emphatic reminder of that.
Next game is against Louisville, who gets in at No. 1 in the surveys. We decided to enjoy this video game on the Twitch stream. The Cards get in at a 96 overall. The game will start when you push play:
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Cunningham carried us like always with 20 points, Henry puts up a 9-9-9 line in a game where he shoots 2-for-11, Tron goes 5-for-5 from deep to score 18 points, which I believe is a career-high. Were 2-2- on the year.
As the early signing duration starts, we have a rematch with Cal, who knocked us out of the NCAA tournament in the preliminary in 2015. Ill take one hot serving of revenge, please.
Our defense was simply awful all around. Louisville shot 50 percent from the field and 43 percent from 3. They also forced us into 18 turnovers with their press. Were going to need to close-out on shooters and take care of the ball if we desire to make a deep run.
We have our two early conference video games on the final week of the early finalizing duration. We blowout both UMKC and IUPUI to make us 4-2 on the year. Regrettably, we do not land the commitment we were searching for from Roberts. Because Wolfe seems the higher rated prospect and still does not have any other suitors, we pull the scholarship from Roberts and re-offer Wolfe.
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Loss, 111-105. Damn, we nearly had them. I feel a lot better about my group after viewing them go toe-to-toe with No. 1 in the nation on the road. My freshman shooting guard Mathew Alloway looked great offensively, completing with 24 points on 1-of-18 shooting. He also got a nickname on the Twitch stream: All Day. Lets just choose not to speak about his defense. Cunningham was again remarkable, Wilky Henry was strong, and we found a brand-new breakout player in backup center Kevin Brazzle. Hes huge at 7 1 and was immediately more reliable than our starter Giddens, who got into early foul difficulty.
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In other news, Jon Bois dedicates to Dayton!
Cunningham killed it (23 points on 9-of-14 shooting), Tron Whaley is turning into a vibrant point guard (18 points, 6 helps), and Brazzle provided us a nice lift off the bench with 10 points. I like the three-point shooting and the assists. Lets keep it going to complete out the year strong.
Alright, Duke time. Heaven Devils are ranked No. 9 in the polls going into the game.
We only have another non-conference video game left: @ Vanderbilt. The Commodores are led by one-time Leathernecks hiring target Stanes Hobson, who is a 93 total as a senior point player.
The Wolverines are No. 17 in the surveys and the safeguarding national champions. Can we get back on track?
We have a hard week turning up, too: we take a trip to deal with Michigan and Duke in real road video games.
Next up we have Stanford. The Cardinal are 3-4 on the year and get in as an 87 overall.
My center Giddens just playing 7 minutes since of nasty problem wasnt perfect, and neither was his backup Brazzle likewise getting into nasty difficulty. Excellent video game from Henry with 23 points– we require more of that.
Loss, 74-60. Boswell with 14 points in the win. We have actually left ourselves zero margin for mistake in the conference competition.
Next up we have Dayton, who get in at No. 11 in the nation. Dayton has actually not made the tournament yet considering that Boswells arrival, however it looks like theyre going to do it this year.
It is now time for Summit League play. We have gone unbeaten in the Summit the last 2 seasons. Can we do it once again?
Loss, 99-60. Zero combined points from my backcourt seems less than great. This regular season is not going how I had hoped.
Giddens and Henry played well, but thats a group we should beat. Its hard to get an at-large quote in the Summit League when youre losing to likely non-tournament groups like Illinois and Stanford, so were probably going to require to win the conference competition again to punch our ticket.
Yup. We round off the best slate in conference play to go into the conference tournament at 21-6. Heres an appearance at the end-of-season stats:
Great year for Cunningham. Hes so damn excellent; the truth that hes our main choice on offense is the important things that has me feeling optimistic about our competition possibilities. Having 4 beginners complete in the teens in scoring typical feels quite excellent, too. I likewise have to note our three-point shooting numbers were through the roof this year. Heres what we did from deep:
I wish there was a method I could inform my team to shoot more 3s. Getting up enough 3PAs is going to be a big essential going into the postseason.
Tron Whaley: 47 percent on 117 attempts
Wilky Henry: 40.3 percent on 114 attempts
Allan Cunningham: 47.2 percent on 74 attempts
Mathew Alloway: 50.7 percent on 63 efforts
But initially, we need to win the Summit League conference competition once again. We again get in the field as the front runner. As Ive noted, I truly do not believe well have adequate juice to get an at-large bid after our shaky non-conference schedule. We cant have a disappointment here.
Top League competition
Tron just squashes it with 26 points, seven assists, and 6-of-8 shooting from three. I am more relieved than delighted– however hell yes, were going dancing again.
Game is versus Oral Roberts. They enter at 7-22 on the season.
Win, 123-62. Henry ratings 24, Giddens ratings 22, and Cunningham scores 20. We struck 12-of-19 3s in this video game, too. We have UMKC next.
Win, 81-61. Henry plays probably his best video game of the season, completing with 28 points on 12-of-17 shooting in the win. We out-rebounded them 36-19. Appears great. Now we have Fort Wayne in the title video game. Why am I so anxious about this?
2027 NCAA competition
Were a No. 12 seed against No. 5 seed Minnesota in the first round. Wow. We havent dealt with the Golden Gophers in this simulation before, so that ought to be enjoyable.
Heres an appearance at our roster heading into the tournament:
Its going to be Wilky and Cunningham leading the method. We just require Alloway to not actively injured as our least expensive ranked starter in years as an 85 overall. For the record, I liked what he showed in the Louisville video game and Im extremely optimistic about his future. We likewise require Giddens to lastly play up to his rating, particularly as a forecasted lotto choice and what appears to be the greatest rated junior in the country.
Heres a link to the Minnesota lineup. The Golden Gophers enter the game as a 98 overall– similar to us. Heres how the 2 teams match:
This is going to be a truly tough test for a first round game. Were going to enjoy the simulated game together on Sunday, Aug. 16 at 8:30 p.m. ET on Twitch.
2027 NCAA competition bracket contest.
Weve been running a bracket contest for the last few seasons, and its been a load of fun. Were opening it approximately anybody who desires to go into as long as you turn in your bracket prior to we stream our very first NCAA competition game on Sunday, Aug. 16 at 8:30 p.m. ET on Twitch.
This is whatever you require to know:
How does scoring work?
We use a standard scoring format. You get one point for properly guessing the winner in a very first round video game, two points for correctly a winner in a round of 32 video game, 4 points for correctly thinking a winner in a Sweet 16 video game, eight points for correctly thinking a winner in an Elite Eight game, 16 points for correctly guessing a winner in the Final Four, and 32 points for correctly guessing the nationwide champion.
Can I see the lineups for the other groups?
Yes. You can find the rosters for every team on the best side of the bracket in the East and West regionals here. You can find the lineups for every single group on the left side of the bracket for the South and Midwest regionals here. Simply arrow over to scroll through the rosters.
How do I get in?
1. Click this link to open the interactive bracket.
2. After opening, in the top left choose File > > Make a Copy
3. Make your choices
4. In the top left, select File and either “Share” and share with [email protected] or “Email as attachment” and email as an Excel file (not PDF please!) to [email protected]
As soon as your picks are entered, you can track scoring with Seans Blog Team app that works on desktop and mobile.
What does the winner get?
The winner gets to produce themselves or a character as a first-class recruit ahead of next season. We will not go after the produced employees at Western Illinois to protect the integrity of the video game, but well follow the career of your character throughout our series.
Readers David, Matt, and Josh made an NCAA tournament preview program
You might have discovered Boswell and the Dayton Flyers would likely be our opponent if we can reach the Sweet 16. I would enjoy nothing more than to make it occur. Specifically after Boswell said he would drop a cool 28 points on Giddens on the bracket show.
Date: Sunday, Aug. 16
The old clips got me choked up a little bit. Fantastic work by them.
How to see Western Illinois vs. Minnesota in the preliminary of the 2027 NCAA competition
Video game: No. 12 seed Western Illinois vs. No. 5 seed Minnesota, preliminary, 2027 NCAA competition.
We require to win two games on Sunday night initially. Heres how you can watch Western Illinois in the 2027 NCAA competition
Tip-off time: 8:30 p.m. ET
If we win: Well deal with the winner of No. 4 seed Ole Miss vs. No. 13 seed Yale in the round of 32 instantly following the first round game.
This is the very best.
I like the Leatherneck community a lot. Please watch David, Matt, and Josh breakdown this years group and the entire NCAA competition bracket in a 25-minute choice program.
How to watch: My Twitch channel. You dont require to sign up for anything to view, but you do require to register for an account to comment. Do it, its fun.
Here a couple bonus links:
A standout in NCAA tournament games since his freshman season, Ham is preposterously big (6 11, 289 pounds) with a fine-tuned skill set that includes genuine three-point variety. Were going with a nine-man rotation this season: Ager and freshman center Kevin Brazzle will each get about 15 minutes per video game, while freshman point guard Jamie Burke and freshman power forward LF Neal each get about 10 minutes per game. Ive had this game circled on my calendar considering that the Illini surprised us in the opener last season. Cunningham brought us like always with 20 points, Henry puts up a 9-9-9 line in a video game where he shoots 2-for-11, Tron goes 5-for-5 from deep to score 18 points, which I believe is a career-high. Henry plays probably his best game of the season, ending up with 28 points on 12-of-17 shooting in the win.
Come hang out and enjoy our Leathernecks handle Minnesota in the NCAA tournament on Sunday, Aug. 16 at 8:30 p.m. ET on Twitch. Thank you and go Necks.
