Coach Toby Whittaker: A Coach's Dreams (FBCB)
 

I've decided to give the story of Toby Whittaker's coaching career its own thread. To begin, I'll copy the first posts about Toby from my Graham Sims thread...

Toby grew up on the Main Line, and like many basketball-loving kids in his area, he rooted hard for Villanova. But, instead of idolizing Corey Hicks and Jacob Allen, or modeling his high school game on that of Avery Sullivan or Justice Stafford, Toby adopted Graham Sims as his role model. He's always wanted to coach.

Toby was a decent player at Episcopal Academy, the school that would later produce Dan O'Halloran. He attended the University of Virginia, where he spent four years as a basketball manager, and then two more as a graduate assistant. After a six-year tenure as a high school coach, he's pursuing his first collegiate job.


By May 2043, Toby had landed that job. He's now the head men's basketball coach at the University of Rochester.

The Yellowjackets have struggled since joining Division I for the 2039/40 season. They finished 12-4 in the University Athletic Association that first year, but they haven't won more than 9 games in a season since then. Their 3-13 record in UAA play last year reflects how far they've fallen, and how quickly.

Their previous coach, Chas Melchor, wasn't fired; he was a veteran coach who simply decided it was time to retire. Coach Melchor's staff has decided to stick around, and for now, I'll let them.



Rochester's Prestige currently sits at 23. The AD has approved a budget of $192,187 for this season, and almost $98,000 is available for recruiting. Coach Whittaker won't be searching far and wide for high school talent. The program's training facilities grade out at 20, which places them right in the middle of the UAA.

July 1, 2043

Toby Whittaker and his staff have two available scholarships this season. Both scholarship seniors, Kory Moore and Willis Hogue, are big men. The Rochester roster is fairly balanced, so we'll make finding a post player our top priority.

Kenny Trotter is the player we'd like to fill that role. He's a local player, from Greece Olympia High School in Rochester. A three-star player who is ranked just outside the Top 100, Kenny averages almost 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game. He would be a fantastic signing for us. Coach Whittaker has already offered Kenny a scholarship, trusting his instincts before his staff has had a chance to break down his game.

We're also intrigued by Russel Hall, a high-scoring guard from Syracuse. He's also a three-star recruit, among the top 20 players at his position in the East.

Here is Coach Whittaker's initial call list:

August 1, 2043

Our lead scout, Homer Scarborough, likes Kenny Trotter a lot. With a reminder that Coach Scarborough's Scouting score is 37, here's what Kenny's profile looks like.

After looking at stud recruits for so long at Villanova and, for quite some time, at Lafayette, I have to remind myself that a dude with B and C ratings can be a dominant force at a small program like Rochester. Kenny isn't as good as Kory Moore is right now, but he's darn close.

We're going to be doing battle with Niagara for Kenny's commitment. They have a big edge in terms of facilities, but otherwise, we match up well. Coach Whittaker and his recruiting assistant, Reid Bergeron, will be visiting Kenny's home, and we'll bring him to campus for a visit.

Russel Hall also looks like he could be a useful player for Coach Whittaker's team.

Russel would like to play for Syracuse, his local team, but I don't think he's a Big East-level point guard. He'd be a great fit in the UAA, though. We'll offer Russel a scholarship and recruit him as heavily as we can.

September 1, 2043

Our chances of signing Kenny Trotter don't look good. He picked up an offer from Buffalo last month, and he prefers both Buffalo and Niagara to Rochester. I don't think we have the resources to continue pursuing him. It's a shame, because he would have been a real force in the UAA.

Russel Hall, however, is still worth pursuing. He maintains his interest in Syracuse, but the Orange haven't offered him a scholarship, and we have. It costs a little over $2500 to recruit Russel for a month, money I'll continue to spend in an offer to bring him to Rochester.

Now it's time to figure out who we will recruit for our second scholarship. Joe McCauley looks like he might be the winner:
Joe is a product of the Buffalo suburbs. He looks like a well-rounded player with the skills we'd like to see in a post player. Coach Whittaker will make Joe an offer, and we'll recruit him as actively as possible.

October 1, 2043

We're still the only school that has offered a scholarship to Russel Hall, but he's downgraded his interest in us to Average. What's going on? Do you think Syracuse will offer you a scholarship?

We're also the only school who's offered Joe McCauley, but he demonstrates Very High interest in playing for us.

I'll invest our time and money into recruiting Russel and Joe, and hopefully Decision Day will find them announcing their commitments.

November 1, 2043
Decision Day

Coach Whittaker's first foray into recruiting is successful, as Rochester gains the commitments of both players we've offered!

Russel Hall projects as a key member of our backcourt rotation, at the very least. My predecessor recruited two good guards last year, Rob Teran and Lewis Ligon, so we shouldn't need Russel to step into the starting five immediately. He's a reliable ballhandler and passer, and he is a willing, predatory defender.

We don't have nearly as many young big men, so Joe McCauley could make an impact very quickly. If we're right about his ability to rebound and block shots, he'll be a fearsome presence in the UAA before he's done. We outbid St. Francis for Joe's services, and he also likes Bucknell, who didn't offer him.

I did an experiment to see how much difference there might be in the abilities of the best scouts and those who are...not so good. I had Rochester's staff evaluate Messiah Lynch, who was high on Villanova's call list at the beginning of the summer.

Here's how Villanova's scout, with a rating of 100, evaluated Messiah:

And here's how Rochester's 37-rated scout evaluated him:

A sample size of one is hardly conclusive, but it appears the two scouts agree fairly well about what kind of player Messiah will be. Their potential ratings only differ once by more than one letter grade; Villanova thinks Messiah will be considerably better at post defense than Rochester does.

It will be interesting to see whose evaluations are more accurate once Messiah arrives at Chestnut Hill to begin his Boston College career.

November 8, 2043

Here's the Rochester Yellowjackets team Toby Whittaker will lead into action for the 2043/44 season...

How did Coach Whittaker's first training camp go?

Coach Whittaker will plan his offense around the skills of JT McDonald. The talented forward, who averaged over 17 PPG and was named the UAA's Freshman of the Year, can score at all three levels. He's also a responsible defender, especially away from the basket.

Center Kory Moore, who has averaged 6.2 PPG in 60 career starts, will be counted on to shoulder a heavier offensive load this season. Moore is also a solid rebounder and a very good post defender.

Freshmen Rob Teran and Lewis Ligon arrive with reputations as scorers. Teran will open the season as the team's sixth man. He is a slasher who sharpened his ability to get to the rim in camp. Ligon is a spot-up shooter with very good range. Both players are decent defenders, especially Ligon, who has quick hands and a nose for the ball. That ability will earn Lewis the first chance at a spot in the starting lineup.

Trenton Groce, who transferred from Baylor and sat out last season, is ready for action at power forward. He is a Blue Collar Man who can defend, rebound, and block shots, but he lacks much offensive upside.

The most intriguing story surrounding the Yellowjackets program is the transformation of Willis Hogue. He's a 6'7", 229-pound redshirt senior, a transfer from Radford who has always been listed as a power forward. This year, Willis begins the season as the team's starting point guard. It's not as crazy a choice as it might seem. Hogue is the team's highest-rated passer, and its third most secure ballhandler. He is also the team's best perimeter defender. The change might not be permanent--we'll re-evaluate it after McDonald returns--but for now, it's worth trying.

Julian Brown will be the team's sixth man. The 6'7" shooter averaged 7.1 PPG in 16 minutes of action last season. Look for him to play as much as the starters, and there's a chance he could move into the starting five if Hogue can't handle his new position.

Wing Marcos Ruiz and guards Yannick Aquestre and Cary Perez round out the perimeter reserve corps. John Horgan is available for backup duty in the post, but Hogue can always shift back there if he needs to. Another freshman, Frank Black, is redshirting this season.

Coach Whittaker is eager to lead the Yellowjackets back to respectability. Nobody wants to see another 3-13 conference record, or a 6-24 overall mark like the 2040/41 team produced. The freshmen should be a big help; Ligon is a Yellow player with Blue potential, and Teran is Orange/Green. Rochester's pre-conference schedule contains some winnable games. If the Jackets can build some momentum and carry into UAA play, they'll certainly do better than last year's 9-21 record.

Gonna make me fire this back up, love a UAA dynasty. Wish that league was D1

My version of the UAA is slightly different. I moved some of the "real" UAA teams into my fictional Midwest Conference and added some teams to give the UAA a presence on the East Coast, from New York to Georgia.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy the story!