The Legacy of Colby Dabel (College Hoops 2K8)

[CalBears]

The story of Coach Dabel: From UMES to National Title?
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore has announced the hiring of Colby Dabel, a 26 year old out of Savannah State. Dabel, who graduated at 21, coached in Europe for 3 years as an assistant before jumping at a head coaching position at a high school in Maryland. There, he led a nondescript high school to the state playoffs. He briefly answered questions after the announcement, saying, “I believe that we can recruit the area well and develop the program on a national stage.”

Author's Note: I post under the same ID over on 2k sports. Here is the legacy on 2k sports: http://2ksports.com/forums/showthread.php?t=221931
I am currently in year 4. The writing starts to pick up after year 3, and I add things like images later on. Enjoy!

[CalBears]

Key games dot schedule for UMES
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore announced their schedule today, which could be the keys to the season. Early on, the Hawks will be tested against Dabel’s alma mater, Savannah State. Shortly after, they play in the Jackpot Challenge, and will also appear in the UCF New Year’s Jamboree. They play major conference game against Iowa and Nebraska.
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Nov 1 Savannah State
Nov 15-Stony Brook
Nov 20- at Iowa
Nov 23– South Padre Invitational at Valparaiso
Nov 25- FGCU
Dec 1- Delaware State
Dec 11- Kennesaw State
Dec 15- at Wagner
Dec 22- Navy
Dec 30- UCF Holiday Tournament at UCF
Jan 4- at Nebraska
Jan 12 at Winston Salem State
Jan 14- at S. Carolina State
Jan 19- NC a@T
Jan 21-Norfolk State
Jan 26- at Florida A@M
Jan 28-at Bethune Cookman
Feb 2- at Morgan State
Feb 4- at Coppin State
Feb 9- Howard
Feb 11- Hampton
Feb 16- at NC A@T
Feb 18- at Norfolk State
Feb 23- Florida A@M
Feb 25- Bethune Cookman
Feb 28- Morgan State
Mar 1- Coppin State
Mar 6- at Delaware State
Mar 10, 11, 14, 15- MEAC Tournament
Projected Record 11-19
Note: Both Tournaments have consolation games -

[CalBears]

MEAC is projected by experts

1. Morgan State (72)
2. Hampton (70)
3. Florida A@M (69)
4. Winston Salem State (69)
5. Coppin State (68)
6. NC A@T (67)
7. Bethune Cookman (67)
8. S. Carolina State (67)
9. Delaware State (66)
10. Norfolk State (66)
11. UMES (60)
12. Howard (64)

Conference preseason (Parens is overall rating)
Best Player- Tywain McKee SR. PG Coppin State (76)
Best Freshman- Ameer Ali FR. SF Morgan State (65)
Best Shooter- Steven Rush SR. SG NC A@T (70)
Best Playmaker- Roy Peake SR. Winston Salem St. (69)
Best Pro Prospect- Matt Washington SR. Delaware State (75)
Best Defender- Gary Beverly JR. Delaware State (59)

[CalBears]

Dabel announces starting lineup, roster
Colby Dabel announced his 2007-2008 roster, with a comment on each player
Starters

PG Marc Davis FR. (58)
“Not a great shooter, but he has quick hands for steals, and can distribute the ball well.”
SG Roland Dunston FR. (55)
“ He doesn’t really have one strength, but he’s a good overall player.”
SF Ed Tyson JR. (65)
“Our best player, who can drive and shoot and also defend.”
PF Ish McFadden FR. (58)
“Undersized at 6-5, but he can convert from down low well.”
C Alek Popovic JR. (52)
“Our tallest player, he’s our best rebounder by a large margin.”

Bench
PF B.J. Nimocks SR. (51)
“Our lone senior, we’ll be relying on him as our 1st big off the bench”
SF Milutin Mirjacic SO. (48)
“A decent shooter, Milutin probably will see not a lot of time.”
SG Danjiel Krleski SO, (53)
“Our best shooter, he’ll be lights out from deep.”
PF Brandon Moore JR. (42)
“He can convert from down low, but struggles from elsewhere.”

[CalBears]

Dabel speaks before coaching opener
“ I expect to see a nice crowd out at our first game against Savannah State. They got a nice team but as long as we have good fundamentals we should pull out a win. It is my alma mater so I have some extra incentive to win.” We have to agree that this should be a UMES win, we predict 57-44.

[CalBears]

The Dabel era opens up with a bang; does he get a win?
If Colby Dabel wanted an easy victory, he didn’t get one tonight against Savannah State. Early on, it looked like he might have a early season loss as they trailed at the half 27-21. Most of the fans in attendance were not happy, either booing or not making any noise. However, Dabel did something at halftime to make his team fired up, as their defense clamped down, yielding only 16 points in the 2nd half. UMES came out on fire, up 5 at one point, with around 2 minutes left. However, Savannah State reclaimed the lead later around one minute. They would finish it out though claming a 44-43 victory against Dabel’s alma mater. Sophomore Rod Mitchell led the Tigers with 14 points, while senior Release Coleman came up with 4 steals.

Game Stats
Tyson 10 points, 3 rebounds
Moore 7 points, 2 rebounds
Davis 7 points, 3 steals
Popovic 5 points, 7 rebounds
Post Game Comments
Reporter: “Coach, your team played great defense in the 2nd half. What did you say at the half?”
Dabel: “Well, I just said winning games was a matter of defense, not offense. We stopped being lazy and gave a great effort. If we play like that every day we’ll be a great team.”
Reporter: “You had a bit of a home coming against your alma mater. What did you say to their head coach after tonight.”
Dabel: “I told him he needs to get a few more pieces and he’ll have that program off the ground. You got to remember it’s a very tough job to win in.”
Reporter: “Thanks for your time.”

[CalBears]

Hawks play another defensive battle, this time in the 30’s
The Hawks played a tougher team tonight against Stony Brook, but they came out and did work. Early on UMES jumped out to a 18-13 lead in a defensive struggle. Neither team was able to do much better in the second half. Freshman Roland Dunston picked up 9 points in his second career game, most in the second half, heading up the Hawks at home. Stony Brook had 2 players with more than that, as both Michael Tyree and Nick Carter picked up 10 points. Despite Stony Brook outscoring Eastern Shore 24-21 in the second half, Dabel improved to 2-0 in a 39-37 victory.

Key Hawks
Dunston 9 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds
McFadden 8 points, 3 rebounds
Popovic 6 points, 7 rebounds
Tyson 4 points, 4 assists

[CalBears]

Hawkeyes maul Hawks, rise to 3-1
On paper, this was a blowout. On the court, this was a blowout. Iowa came out and demolished UMES, holding the Hawks to only 28 points. The Hawkeyes forced 12 turnovers, and turned on the accelerator, with 27 points in the 1st half. They outscore the Hawks by only 5 in the second half onroute to a 49-28 victory. Guard Jeff Peterson scored 21 points and 5 assists, while forward J.R. Angle chipped in 17 points. Marc Davis turned the ball over 6 times in the loss.

Key Hawks
Popovic 9 points, 3 rebounds
McFadden 3 points, 5 rebounds

After the game Coach Dabel refused to talk to reporters and reportedly yelled at his team for 15 minutes.