Game Date: Feb 12th, 2050

St. Marys

Team: St. Marys Gaels [ID #65]

Location: Moraga, CA (West)

Conference: I.1 [Division 1]

President: naph
          [since February 29th 2020 | last seen February 17th 2026]

Coach: Darren Scales

Arena: McKeon Pavilion

Rank: #16

Rating: 398.56 - Overall Position: #27

Fan Mood: 113.55

Alumni Mood: 232.30

Prestige: 246

Team Notes:

• Dec 04 2049: 3-star prospect Bart Shirley committed.
• Oct 16 2049: Dejuan Nelson was hired as the new assistant coach.
• Oct 16 2049: Assistant coach Lenny Hutchins was let go.
• Sep 02 2049: Promoted to conference I.1.
• Mar 14 2049: Made the national tournament field.
• Jan 07 2049: 3-star prospect Rashad Rupp committed.
• Oct 28 2048: 5-star prospect Bryan Irwin committed.
• Jun 23 2048: Raymond Burger was drafted round #2, pick #22 by San Antonio.
• Mar 08 2048: Made the national tournament field.
• Feb 27 2048: 4-star prospect Isaiah Pfeifer committed.

Record:

Wins: 22 Losses: 12 Pct: .647     Conf Wins: 14 Conf Losses: 10 Conf Pct: .583 Conf Rank: 6     Last10: 5-5 Streak: W1

Pts Ave: 88.2 - 79.3     Pts Diff: +8.9     Team Power Index: 147.7

Press Releases:

Mar 18 2049: 2049 Season Review (II.1) - by naph on January 4th, 2026

Season
A classic Gaels starting 5. A distributing PG who scores enough to keep the defense honest. A pair of floor-spacing wings that can hit the 3-ball. A pair of post scoring threats that can do the dirty work on the inside. A good enough bench, developing and waiting their turn.

The Gaels had their softest schedule in years and used it to blood some of the younger players. Their upperclassmen were all approaching their basketball peaks and it was deemed better to keep them healthy and see who could and could not contribute off the bench. D1RT was a disastrous 0-3 (Ripon, Cal Poly Pomona & UNC-Charlotte), but the rest of OOC looked okay in the W/L column with a 5-2 record, albeit mostly cupcake wins. LUPA trounced the young lineup on the road to close out the non-con.

A 7-game road trip (8 if you count LUPA) started conference play. They split the opening 2, but then reeled off the last 5. They were largely close victories with 5 of the first 6 wins coming by single digits, 1 of them in OT, but the team was jelling nicely and belief was rising. They won their next 3, 2 home games sandwiching a road game. A big road loss to West Virginia State would be the last road game for almost a calendar month. The Gaels went 8-3 over that period, with losses to MMA and Assumption (ultimately promoting teams) and Emporia State the only blemishes. Another 4 game win streak just about sealed promotion. LUPA were once again too good on the road, winning the season series 2-1, but the win over Eastern Kentucky in late February sealed the long awaited promotion to Legends. The partying went late, and ultimately too hard. The Gaels closed out the regular season with a pair of losses to fellow promotes Assumption and MMA, were stunned by SUNY Canton in the opening round of the conference tournament. Awarded a 10-seed with their 2nd-place finish, the Gaels made it 0-9 on the year in quad 1 games losing to 7-seeded Nevada in the opening round of the national tournament.

A disappointing finish too an otherwise historic and memorable season.


Roster
PG: Braydon "Rat" Malloy (RS SR 6' ½" 175 PG 169 - 18 PD/Hnd/Drv, 17 Pass, 15 OS/IQ/Sta, 13 Fin)
41gms 37gs 27.6mins 10.3p (.465/.264/.852 eFG%:.497) 1.9r 7.6a 0.6s 0.1b 3.2to 2.6pf OeFG:.474 POTG:1 EPM:1.7 VORP:3.2

SG: Derrick "Party" Hardy (RS JR 6' ½" 205 SG pg sf 164 - 17 OS, 16 Pass, 15 Fin/IQ/Spd, 14 Rng/PD)
40gms 40gs 27.2mins 11.1p (.437/.370/.729 eFG%:.555) 2.0r 3.2a 1.1s 0.0b 1.7to 1.5pf OeFG:.507 POTG:1 EPM:3.9 VORP:4.5

SF: Chris "Arrows" Farrow (RS SR 6' 4½" 230 SF PF c 158 - 18 OS, 16 Rng/Drv/Spd, 13 IS/IQ)
41gms 34gs 25.2mins 11.9p (.427/.398/.764 eFG%:.541) 3.3r 0.6a 0.8s 0.1b 0.9to 1.5pf OeFG:.451 POTG:4 EPM:2.6 VORP:3.4

PF: "Styx" Douglas Armetta (RS JR 6' 9½" 230 C pf 156 - 18 IS, 16 Reb, 15 Hnd/Spd, 13 Rng, 12 IQ)
42gms 34gs 25.1mins 15.5p (.568/.466/.738 eFG%:.598) 9.1r 0.4a 0.6s 0.6b 0.9to 2.1pf OeFG:.535 POTG:14 EPM:5.5 VORP:5.3

C: "Cheese" Eric Myles (RS SR 6' 9" 240 C pf 156 - 18 IS/ID, 16 Str, 14 IQ, 12 Pass)
41gms 34gs 24.3mins 13.0p (.589/.---/.601 eFG%:.589) 6.5r 0.3a 0.8s 1.5b 1.0to 2.5pf OeFG:.437 POTG:1 EPM:3.0 VORP:3.5


bC/bbPF: Joseph "Hails" Balwin (RS SO 6' 10½" 215 C pf 134 - 15 IS/Reb, 14 IQ)
42gms 7gs 15.7mins 9.0p (.625/.000/.621 eFG%:.625) 5.4r 0.3a 0.4s 0.7b 0.7to 1.9pf OeFG:.493 POTG:4 EPM:3.2 VORP:2.4

bSF: "Dimes" Deron Nicholson (RS SO 6' 4½" 205 SF pf 131 - 16 IQ, 12 Rng)
42gms 8gs 15.6mins 2.6p (.368/.333/.500 eFG%:.453) 2.0r 0.4a 0.8s 0.1b 0.7to 1.1pf OeFG:.508 EPM:0.2 VORP:1.2

bPF/bbC: "Wolf" Nicholas Howell (RS FR 7' 1" 245 C pf 115 - 12 Spd)
42gms 8gs 15.0mins 4.9p (.522/.---/.667 eFG%:.522) 4.1r 0.3a 0.5s 0.4b 0.9to 1.4pf OeFG:.511 EPM:-0.5 VORP:0.9

bSG: Sal "T-Dog" Robinson (RS FR 6' 4" 235 SG sf pf c 114 - 16 Spd)
41gms 0gs 13.6mins 2.5p (.438/.259/.735 eFG%:.481) 1.4r 1.0a 0.5s 0.0b 1.0to 0.7pf OeFG:.532 EPM:1.0 VORP:1.3

bPG: "El Bow" Juan Arcia (RS SO 6' 3" 200 PG sg 158 - 17 Spd, 14 Fin/Pass/Hnd/Drv, 13 Rng/PD)
37gms 4gs 13.5mins 5.1p (.427/.281/.667 eFG%:.455) 1.2r 2.4a 0.4s 0.2b 1.7to 1.2pf OeFG:.503 EPM:-1.0 VORP:0.6


Farewell Seniors

Braydon "Rat" Malloy - 6' ½" 175 PG (169/12)
Rat graduates with the 2nd highest assist total in Gaels history. He didn't have great quicks, but was always in the right position on the perimeter which made him a solid defender by the time he graduated. Decent interior scorer with a solid finish and even better pull-up game. He'll still be mostly remembered for his great handles, passing and vision which helped orchestrate one of the best offenses in Gaels history.

Chris "Arrows" Farrow - 6' 4½" 230 SF pf c (158/11)
A long-time recruiting target he took a 2 season detour through junior college, but he was worth the wait. He graduates with a career 3P% of .402 good for 4th best in school history. He rarely went off for big scores, but his spacing allowed the bigs to flourish on the inside. He was also a surprisingly sound defender and did a great job of looking after the ball.

"Cheese" Eric Myles - 6' 9" 240 C pf (156/11)
Cheese graduates with 1900+ points, 1000+ rebounds and 200+ blocks. In the Gaels' record books he is top 10 in FG%, 5th in blocks and just sneaks into 20th in FTM. A great post scorer and defender he often gave up a couple of inches, but his muscular game stood up time and again. Started 138 games, including 20 as a freshman, a rarity for the Gaels.

Tory Yates - 6' 3" 210 sf (123/10)
One of the most skilled walk-ons for the Gaels in some time. He appeared in 7 games including a surprise appearance at PG in the National Tournament. Will always be able to say that he made two thirds of the shots he took in college.


Development Highlights
SG Derrick Hardy (+17 > 164)
SG Isaiah Pfeifer (+16 > 123)
PG Juan Arcia (+15 > 159)
FC Clay Kohl (+14 > 101)
PG Arnold Harlow (+13 > 128)
SF Deron Nicholson (+12 > 131)
FC Joseph Balwin (+11 > 134)
PF Douglas Armetta (+10 > 156)
FC Nicholas Howell (+10 > 115)


Coaching
No changes. 60yo Darren Scales remains the head coach. Lenny Hutchins is the offensive coordinator and lead game-day assistant, though he is getting more help from Jesse Morey these days. Morey is also the 2nd in command of player development. Rafael Carroll has a fairly rounded skillset, but through 7 years he hasn't become particularly good at anything, but is still the best motivator/recruiter on the staff.


Recruiting
In late October the Gaels signed their first 5-star since 2034 (Theo Gregory) in Bryan Irwin (5* ~6 '7" 210 C PF pg 118/13). Irwin projects as a long 2-way wing, who might even play some spot minutes at PF. He should be an elite shot-maker in time.

Early in the new year the 2-man class was completed with big man prospect Rashad Rupp (3* ~6' 10" 215 C pf 99/12). Rupp's a classic big man who can score and defend in the post and rebound the ball. He's mobile, strong and occasionally steps out and strokes a 3-ball, albeit with some funky mechanics.


Outlook
Legends. The Gaels finally break through the LL2 ceiling and make the top-flight. Unfortunately, it looks like it will be a transition year. All 3 graduating seniors had elite attributes. Malloy was an elite distributor and point of attack defender. Myles a master in the paint at both ends. Farrow was the premier marksman on the team.

Returning senior Hardy will be leaned on for more scoring, but his questionable motor will be felt even more so next season. Whilst Arcia is a good PG in his own right, his junior year will surely be a step down from Malloy's senior year. The new faces in the backcourt of Harlow and Pfeifer have plenty of talent, but even after a redshirt will need to exceed expectations to make any impact in LL1. Of course with Hardy's lack of cardio someone will be getting decent minutes at bSG.

SF is a real question mark. Nicholson is smart glue-guy type, but is undersized and a bit raw for Legends. So perhaps Irwin just gets thrown in the fire early and starts from day 1? Can his defense pick up quick enough? Will he be offensively better enough to be worth it anyway? Robinson is another option, but is even more raw than Nicholson, trading quicks for smarts. Its likely that either Nicholson or Robinson is the odd-man out next year. Perhaps none of these options will work and the Gaels end up running 3 bigs?

Armetta is a very good interior scorer and rebounder with great mobility. But it will be interesting to see how his defense holds up without Myles cleaning up his mistakes.

Balwin is another interior scorer/rebounder, he can block shots but his positional defense is questionable at best. He does have a developing passing game. Howell is taller and already probably a better defender, but lacks polish on the offensive side. Balwin probably has the inside running, but is no certainty. Clay Kohl is another big bodied option with a fairly classic big-man skills base with some bonus shooting, albeit without any foot speed.

The Gaels will fight to try and stay up next year, but barring an unexpected leap are seriously lacking in star-power for LL2, let alone Legends. That said the future is bright with Harlow, Pfeifer and Irwin all showing a level of talent that Gaels haven't seen in many years. Howell, Kohl and Rupp should become a formidable frontcourt with all 3 having the potential to score, rebound and defend, and will be the tallest frontcourt ever assembled in Moraga.



Oct 15 2048: 2048 Season Review (II.1) - by naph on November 19th, 2025

Season
It was a fairly classic Gaels team. A distributing PG, shooters spacing the floor on the wings, a post threat inside. Burger was meant to be the guy who made this team different by stretching the floor at PF, and it worked during OOC, but he was exposed in conference play defensively, lost confidence in his shot and would lose his starting position to up-and-coming big man Armetta, making it the traditional Gaels double interior targets at PF & C.

Another 6-4 OOC, 1-2 D1RT (L Western Michigan, W Belmont, L Colgate). It was a tough schedule though and the RPI gained in the non-con served the team well later in the year. Annual rival LUPA was a solid road win to finish out non conference.

SMC started with 2 games on the road splitting those, before winning a pair at home (including against PVAM). A 4-game losing streak, all by double digits and ending with a 38 point rout from Georgia State had plenty of soul searching going on in the locker room and throughout the program. The schedule helped out with a couple of bounce back wins and then the Gaels took down Ripon and looked back on track. But the Gaels would swoon again losing 5 of their next 6, albeit 2 of them in OT. In a competitive conference with a large mid-pack, demotion loomed. A win over Mount St Joseph and a 1 point loss to PVAM was better, and the Gaels kept building on that momentum ripping off 8 wins in a row to secure another season in LL2. The relief of staying up was too evident as they dropped 2 of their last 3, resulting in a 17-13 conference record which was good for an 8th placed finish. The Gaels were bundled out of the conference tournament in the opening round by bogey team SUNY Canton and then lost to Lipscomb for the 2nd time in the season, this time in the opening round of the National Tournament.


Roster
PG: Braydon "Rat" Malloy (RS JR 6' ½" 175 PG 168 - 18 PD/Hnd/Drv, 17 Pass, 15 OS/IQ/Sta, 13 Fin)
42gms 42gs 28.4mins 11.0p (.482/.404/.809 eFG%:.511) 1.9r 7.4a 0.9s 0.0b 3.8to 2.9pf OeFG:.571 POTG:4

SG: Bennie "Nickels" Nicholson (RS SR 5' 11" 175 SG pg 168 - 18 PD/Drv/Spd, 16 Rng, 15 Sta, 12 Fin/Pass)
42gms 42gs 30.1mins 19.0p (.475/.384/.849 eFG%:.576) 2.8r 3.4a 1.4s 0.2b 1.6to 1.9pf OeFG:.493 POTG:14

SF: Chris "Arrows" Farrow (RS JR 6' 4½" 230 SF PF c 149 - 17 OS, 16 Spd, 15 Rng/Drv, 13 IQ, 12 IS)
40gms 38gs 27.1mins 12.6p (.436/.390/.716 eFG%:.541) 3.8r 0.3a 0.9s 0.1b 0.8to 1.7pf OeFG:.534 POTG:2

PF/bPF/bSF: Raymond "Mondo" Burger (RS SR 6' 11" 260 PF C sf 164 - 16 OS/Pass, 15 PD, 14 Reb/Drv, 13 Fin, 12 Rng/Hnd)
41gms 23gs 25.3mins 8.5p (.421/.390/.885 eFG%:.488) 6.9r 1.4a 1.3s 0.5b 1.0to 2.4pf OeFG:.527 POTG:2

C: "Cheese" Eric Myles (RS SO 6' 9" 240 C pf 152 - 18 IS/ID, 16 Str, 14 IQ)
42gms 42gs 25.4mins 12.4p (.593/.---/.669 eFG%:.593) 6.8r 0.6a 1.0s 1.6b 1.2to 2.4pf OeFG:.474 POTG:3


bPF/PF: "Styx" Douglas Armetta (RS SO 6' 9½" 230 C pf 145 - 17 IS, 15 Reb/Spd, 13 Rng/Hnd, 12 IQ)
39gms 22gs 20.9mins 11.5p (.574/.349/.759 eFG%:.598) 7.2r 0.4a 0.4s 0.3b 1.0to 2.3pf OeFG:.626 POTG:2

bC: Joseph "Hails" Balwin (RS FR 6' 10½" 215 C pf 123 - 14 IS, 13 Reb/IQ)
42gms 0gs 14.7mins 6.4p (.560/.---/.671 eFG%:.560) 4.5r 0.1a 0.4s 1.1b 0.8to 1.9pf OeFG:.520

bPG: "El Bow" Juan Arcia (RS FR 6' 3" 200 PG sg sf 144 - 16 Spd, 13 Pass/Drv, 12 Rng/Fin/Hnd)
41gms 1gs 12.3mins 3.4p (.533/.083/.667 eFG%:.537) 0.7r 1.3a 0.6s 0.1b 1.8to 1.0pf OeFG:.561)

bPF: Derrick "Party" Hardy (RS SO 6' ½" 205 SG pg sf 145 - 15 OS, 14 IQ/Pass/Spd, 13 Rng/Fin, 12 PD)
42gms 0gs 10.7mins 2.7p (.368/.279/.667 eFG%:.448) 0.6r 1.4a 0.6s 0.0b 0.7to 0.5pf OeFG:.679)

bSF: "Dimes" Deron Nicholson (RS FR 6' 4½" 205 SF PF 116 - 15 IQ)
42gms 0gs 9.1mins 1.7p (.418/.222/.421 eFG%:.463) 1.1r 0.2a 0.4s 0.1b 0.5to 0.6pf OeFG:.552)


Farewell Seniors

Bennie "Nickels" Nicholson - 5' 11" 175 SG pg (168/12)
He could drive, space the floor, defended surprisingly well, became a decent secondary creator. Steadily carried more and more of the scoring load over time and thrived more and more as he did so. Finishes with 2200+ points, 400+ assists and just shy of 200 steals.

Raymond "Mondo" Burger - 6' 11" 260 PF C sf (164/12)
I was so happy when I signed this guy. A massive frame that could stretch the floor, play make and defend the perimeter... He did some things fairly well finishing with 1400+ points and 1100+ rebounds, but he never really nailed down a starting role at either forward position. His shot abandoned him in conference play as a senior and he ended his career playing off the bench.



Development Highlights
PG Bradyon Malloy (+15 > 168)
FC Joseph Balwin (+15 > 123)
PG Juan Arcia (+13 > 144)
G Derrick Hardy (+11 > 147)
GF Deron Nicholson (+11 > 119)
G Tory Yates (+11 > 117) walk-on
SG Baron Walker (+11 > 84) walk-on
FC Nicholas Howell (+10 > 105)


Coaching
No changes. 59yo Darren Scales remains the head coach. Lenny Hutchins is the offensive coordinator and lead game-day assistant, though he is getting more help from Jesse Morey these days. Morey is also the 2nd in command of player development. Rafael Carroll has a fairly rounded skillset, but through 7 years he hasn't become particularly good at anything, but is still the best motivator/recruiter on the staff.

Recruiting
Clay Kohl (3* ~7' 210lbs C 86/11) signed almost immediately, taking his scholarship in mid October. He'll always be slow, but should become a very good scorer, great rebounder and solid interior defender.

Bursting onto the California scene his senior year was Arnold Harlow (4* ~6' 1½ 180 PG SF sg 115/13) who signed for the Gaels in January. He already has a decent jumper, hitting better than 47% from two and 36% from three across his entire HS career. He projects as a great perimeter defender and whilst probably not an elite playmaker should be a solid distributor with great handles.

Long-time target Isaiah Pfeifer (4* ~6' 3½" 185 PG SG 107/13) made the Gaels wait until late February, but the lightning quick bomber should make a great pairing with Harlow. Pfeifer hit 71 treys at .428 as a SR PG his last year in school, he will continue to add driving and handling to his quicks and range and looks ideally suited to SG.


Outlook
Nickels was the best player for the Gaels in 2048, even if Burger is the one who was drafted and is now playing in the pros. Whilst they won't replace Nickels' production in a single player they do look well positioned to do so by committee

Malloy & Arcia are a very good PG tandem. Malloy has developed rapidly and we will be eager to see what he can do his senior year as he will likely be starting it near his peak. Arcia was a surprisingly efficient scorer as a freshman last year and this is the year his playmaking should take off.

Presumed starting SG Hardy is probably the biggest question mark as he has big shoes to fill and did not play well last year. He has the attributes to be a good guard, but he will need to turn his potential into reality sooner rather than later. Behind him will be Sal Robinson who is quick, but also as raw of a guard as the Gaels have fielded in a long time.

Farrow had a lot of hype in HS and Juco and likely becomes the top perimeter scorer on the team this year. Dimes (D. Nicholson) has not progressed as hoped. He can score and defend a bit, but is a bit of a ball-stopper without enough finishing skills to justify playing that way.

The frontcourt will again be a strength even with the graduation of a pro big man. Armetta and Myles are both very good post scoring threats. Myles an elite interior defender and Armetta a skilled rebounder. Behind them is scorer/rebounder/blocker-but-not-defender Balwin and the imposing Howell who is just getting going, but already has the bones of a traditional 5-man game.

The Gaels should be able to play through their bigs, and use their gravity to open up the floor for the perimeter players to cash in. They will once again rely on outscoring their opponents as whilst Malloy and Myles bookend the defense nicely the rest of the team are fairly average-at-best defensively. SMC are likely finishing mid-table again in 2049 and are probably a bubble team once again.


Apr 01 2047: 2047 Season Review (III.2) - by naph on September 18th, 2025

Season
Another 6-4 OOC, 1-2 D1RT (W Cal Poly Pomona, L Georgia Southern, L Louisiana-Lafayette). A solid, if not spectacular showing that prepared the team well for conference play. It was a deep team, that played their bench heavy minutes. Generally like to run and tried to outscore their opponents with a spread of scorers, both starting and off the bench. A foul-heavy game was certainly part of the plan.

The Gaels were highly regarded with a high TPI in conference, but opened with a loss to Mount St. Joseph and also dropped relatively early games to North Greenville and Valparaiso. Despite that they had a number of dominant wins, reaching 12-3 at the halfway point. It was a tough conference though, with 4 teams that struggled and only 5 teams that finished below .500 in conference play. Mount St Joseph made it a sweep and then there was a stunning loss to Marquette and a beat-down loss to North Greenville and suddenly the Gaels were on the outside looking in. Mount St Joseph and New York University were simply more consistent and the battle between SMC and Sul Ross State would go right down to the wire. UC Riverside made a late charge with a very home-heavy back half. Both SMC and Sul Ross State had multiple stumbles late, but ultimately it still came down to the 2 of them in the last round. SMC carried a small point differential advantage into the last game. Sul Ross State won by 17, but the Gaels won by 24, giving them a final +29 differential advantage and 3rd place.

The Gaels were missing 2 bench pieces (Malloy and Armetta) heading into the start of the conference tournament. They prevailed over North Carolina Central, but it came at a heavy price with Stanton sustaining an injury that would hold him out of the first 2 rounds of the national tournament. With both Stanton and Armetta missing in the frontcourt SMC weren't able to beat bogey-team North Greenville. This dropped them to an 8-seed. With Stanton missing they were bounced in the first round by a good Colby (II.2) team.

A bounce back year after demoting and a tournament appearance, albeit a brief one.


Roster
PG: Neil "Highway" Rhodes (RS SR 6' 8½" 235 PG pf 161 - 17 Spd, 16 Pass/Hnd, 15 PD, 14 Reb, 13 Str)
43gms 36gs 25.5mins 7.2p (.486/.238/.621 eFG%:.496) 2.6r 6.3a 1.5s 0.3b 2.8to 1.5pf OeFG:.508 POTG:2

SG: Bennie "Nickels" Nicholson (RS JR 5' 11" 175 SG pg 168 - 18 PD/Drv/Spd, 16 Rng, 15 Sta, 12 Fin/Pass)
43gms 43gs 30.4mins 16.5p (.447/.330/.786 eFG%:.533) 2.0r 3.4a 1.9s 0.4b 2.4to 2.2pf OeFG:.446 POTG:9

SF: Juwan "Yippee-Ki-Yay" McCain (RS SR 6' 6½" 190 SF pf 165 - 15 Rng, 14 OS/ID/PD, 13 Fin/IQ/Spd, 12 Sta)
43gms 37gs 28.9mins 14.3p (.444/.394/.839 eFG%:.566) 3.3r 0.7a 2.1s 0.1b 1.0to 1.5pf OeFG:.515 POTG:3

PF/C: Harry "Mozzie" Stanton (RS SR 6' 11½" 235 C PF 154 - 19 IS, 18 Reb, 16 OS, 13 Str, 12 Rng/Spd)
40gms 40gs 25.1mins 14.1p (.588/.387/.764 eFG%:.604) 8.2r 0.3a 0.7s 1.2b 1.1to 2.9pf OeFG:.506 POTG:7

C/PF: "Cheese" Eric Myles (RS SO 6' 9" 240 C pf 143 - 16 IS/ID, 15 Str, 13 IQ)
42gms 42gs 25.0mins 11.2p (.545/.---/.627 eFG%:.545) 6.5r 0.6a 1.1s 1.2b 0.8to 2.5pf OeFG:.542 POTG:2


bSF/bPF: Raymond "Mondo" Burger (RS JR 6' 11" 260 PF C sf 159 - 16 OS, 15 Pass, 14 Reb/PD, 13 Drv, 12 Rng/Fin)
43gms 8gs 23.9mins 9.7p (.495/.395/.841 eFG%:.550) 6.7r 1.1a 1.2s 0.4b 1.0to 2.1pf OeFG:.583 POTG:1

bC: "Styx" Douglas Armetta (RS FR 6' 9½" 230 C pf 138 - 16 IS, 14 Spd, 13 Reb, 12 Rng/IQ/Hnd)
40gms 2gs 16.9mins 8.0p (.555/.000/.702 eFG%:.555) 4.6r 0.3a 0.4s 0.5b 0.7to 1.9pf OeFG:.557

bPG: Braydon "Rat" Malloy (RS SO 6' ½" 175 PG sg 153 - 16 Hnd/Drv, 15 PD/IQ/Pass, 15 Pass, 13 OS/Sta, 12 Fin)
41gms 7gs 15.1mins 4.5p (.438/.269/.778 eFG%:.461) 1.1r 3.3a 0.3s 0.0b 1.7to 1.5pf OeFG:.621)

bPF: Derrick "Party" Hardy (RS FR 6' ½" 200 SG pg sf 136 - 14 OS/IQ, 13 Spd, 12 Rng/Fin/Pass)
42gms 0gs 11.1mins 3.1p (.377/.343/.762 eFG%:.471) 0.7r 1.1a 0.4s 0.0b 0.9to 0.8pf OeFG:.569)


Farewell Seniors

Neil "Highway" Rhodes - 6' 8½" 235 PG pf (161/11)
Tallest full-time PG in Gaels history. Took him a while to ramp up, but became a decent pass-first, drive-and-dish PG. Solid on the defensive side of the ball.

Juwan "Yippee-Ki-Yay" McCain - 6' 6½" 190 SF pf (165/11)
Got near his peak by the start of his junior year. Just a solid all-around game, particularly defensively. Good complementary scorer that did a great job spacing the floor for the bigs.

Harry "Mozzie" Stanton - 6' 11½" 235 C PF (154/11)
Good post scorer, who could hit his FT's and step out and hit a jumper. Great rebounder. Became a passable defender by the end of his career.


Development Highlights
Braydon Malloy (+17 -> 153)
Juan Arcia (+14 -> 130)
Derrick Hardy (+13 -> 136)
Harry Stanton (+11 -> 154)
Tory Yates (+11 -> 106) walk-on
Raymond Burger (+10 -> 159)
Eric Myles (+10 -> 143)
Joseph Balwin (+10 -> 108)


Coaching
58yo Darren Scales remains the head coach. Lenny Hutchins is the offensive coordinator and lead game-day assistant, though he is getting more help from Jesse Morey these days. Morey is also the 2nd in command of player development. Rafael Carroll has a fairly rounded skillset, but is not developing particularly quickly raising questions about his ceiling.


Recruiting
Sal Robinson (3* ~6' 4" 210lbs PF SG pg sf c 102/12) signed in late November. The San Francisco native is quick, but otherwise fairly raw, but projects to have a strong all-around game that he should grow into allowing him to play SG/SF.

Nicholas Howell (2* ~7' 215lbs C pf 92/11) eventually signed in late February after taking a long look at Cal State Monterey Bay who made a late bid to turn his head. He's going to be very big, mobile and do all the things you want a big man to do. Should be really good.


Outlook
The Gaels graduate 3 starters who started 256 games. But there are also 4 players coming off redshirt years, 3 freshmen and JuCo. Big changes incoming.

After 2 years as understudy "Rat" (Malloy) is ready to pilot the offense. He's a solid defensive, distributing guard, that has almost refined his driving game to the point that its a threat. Arcia will back him up, a more versatile scorer, with extra quicks, but his overall game lacks polish at this point.

Nickels led the team in scoring this year and may well do so again next season. Opponents could not keep the 5' 11" lightning bug out of the paint and he had 196 free throw attempts on the year. May well be the star of the team next year. Behind him is Hardy who had some flashes but was generally inefficient. He should be much improved after a year of regular minutes.

Chris Farrow feels like he's been on the Gael insiders radar forever. He won't provide anywhere near the all-around game of McCain, but he will have the purest stroke on the team and there's a good chance that he becomes the team's leading scorer. Absolutely thrived in the few games he appeared in this year hitting 10 of his 16 3FG. He'll be backed up by the newest Nicholson on the team. Deron is still at least a year away, but will need to play double-digit minutes anyway.

Burger had 8 starts and played nearly starter minutes as a combo forward this season. He'll be the starting PF next year. He's a floor-spacing big man, the best returning rebounder and has both a good passing game as well as being a surprisingly good perimeter defender. Don't be surprised if he gets some SF minutes in key games. Armetta is something of a Stanton-lite kind of player with a game built around inside scoring and rebounding, he's not as good at those things yet, but is even more mobile. If the rotation shortens look for him to play bC as well.

Myles remains the best rim protector, strongest player and only Armetta rivals him as a paint scorer. Backing him up will be Canadian Balwin. Another big in the inside-scorer/rebounder mould, though with even less defense. He'll be given plenty of opportunity to improve, but may lose minutes to Armetta in key games.

II.1 was incredibly strong in 2047 with 10 top 50 TPI teams. The Gaels are probably a little better offensively and little worse defensively. I suspect they'll be fighting for their common spot of mid-table, probably more likely to be worried about demotion than contending for promotion.




Mar 31 2046: 2046 Season Review (II.1) - by naph on July 24th, 2025

Season
A 6-4 OOC gave the team some hope as the losses were mostly to good teams. 3 of them came against eventual top 25 teams (#11 Westfield State, #14 Florida Atlantic and #22 Alcorn State). What would become the best win of the season was a 1 point win over #18 West Virginia State which was the 2nd round of the D1RT.

A disastrous 1-6 start to conference play never really turned around. 4-6 became 4-11 and with almost half the conference season to play and 5 games below the demotion-line the young kids were given the lion's share of the minutes the rest of the way. The Gaels were routinely beaten on both the glass and the turnover count and were not efficient enough at either end to make up the difference often enough. Eliminated on the first day of the conference tournament the Gaels were relegated to the Level 7 Invitational where they strung together 4 wins against LL4 and LL5 competition before losing in the final to LL4 DePaul.

A very disappointing year, in admittedly a very competitive II.1


Roster
PG: Neil "Highway" Rhodes (RS JR 6' 8½" 235 PG pf c 158 - 17 Spd, 16 Pass/Hnd, 15 PD, 13 Reb, 12 Str)
39gms 28gs 22.6mins 5.1p (.438/.311/.500 eFG%:.5497) 2.4r 4.5a 0.9s 0.2b 3.4to 1.3pf OeFG:.523

SG: Jerrold "Old Mal" Malveaux (RS SR 6' 8½" 240lbs SG sf pf c 176 - 17 IQ/Sta, 16 Rng/Drv, 15 Fin/ID, 14 OS/PD, 13 Hnd, 12 Spd)
37gms 26gs 22.6mins 11.8p (.429/.335/.835 eFG%:.528) 2.2r 2.5a 1.2s 0.2b 1.9to 1.3pf OeFG:.504 POTG:3

SF: Juwan "Yippee-Ki-Yay" McCain (RS JR 6' 6½" 190 SF pf c 163 - 15 Rng, 14 OS/ID/PD, 13 IQ/Spd, 12 Fin/Sta)
41gms 18gs 27.2mins 10.8p (.425/.338/.809 eFG%:.519) 3.5r 0.7a 1.3s 0.2b 1.3to 1.7pf OeFG:.452 POTG:1

PF/sf/c: Raymond "Mondo" Burger (RS SO 6' 11" 260 PF C sf 148 - 15 OS, 14 Reb/Pass, 12 PD/Drv)
41gms 35gs 26.4mins 7.6p (.482/.275/.773 eFG%:.520) 6.9r 1.2a 0.8s 0.4b 1.7to 2.6pf OeFG:.532 POTG:1

C/PF: Harry "Mozzie" Stanton (RS JR 6' 11½" 235 C PF 142 - 18 IS, 16 Reb, 14 OS, 12 Str/Spd)
40gms 39gs 24.2mins 14.2p (.561/.207/.753 eFG%:.569) 8.1r 0.3a 0.3s 1.3b 1.2to 2.8pf OeFG:.531 POTG:6


bSG: Bennie "Nickels" Nicholson (RS SO 5' 11" 175 SG pg 158 - 18 Spd, 16 PD/Drv, 15 Rng, 14 Sta, 12 Fin)
40gms 15gs 21.8mins 10.6p (.411/.365/.793 eFG%:.512) 1.4r 2.2a 0.8s 0.2b 1.9to 1.7pf OeFG:.482 POTG:4

bC: Eric Myles (RS FR 6' 9" 240 C pf 131 - 14 IS/ID, 13 IQ/Str)
41gms 20gs 20.4mins 9.1p (.578/.---/.622 eFG%:.578) 4.2r 0.2a 0.8s 0.2b 1.2to 2.0pf OeFG:.484) POTG:1

bPG: Braydon Malloy (RS FR 6' ½" 165 PG sg 136 - 14 IQ/Hnd/Drv, 13 PD, 12 OS/Pass/Sta)
41gms 13gs 18.0mins 4.3p (.504/.250/.758 eFG%:.508) 1.1r 3.0a 0.3s 0.0b 2.8to 1.8pf OeFG:.547)

bPF: Manny "Bartman" Bartlett (RS SR 6' 7½" 225 PF sf c 150 - 17 Reb, 16 OS, 14 Str, 12 Drv)
40gms 8gs 14.2mins 5.4p (.410/.302/.815 eFG%:.445) 5.1r 0.4a 0.4s 0.6b 0.5to 1.5pf OeFG:.481)


Farewell Seniors

Jerrold "Old Mal" Malveaux - 6' 8½" 240 SG sf pf c (176/12)
Did not start tracking or pursuing him until he was in junior college. Developed well there and his redshirt season and won the starting SG spot. But, his senior year was a large disappointment. Was injured in a preseason scrimmage. Missed the start of the season. Was terrible in OOC and by them time he started to round into some form in conference the season was lost.

Manny "Bartman" Bartlett - 6' 7½" 225 PF sf c (150/11)
Played mostly at bPF, but some at bSF and even at bC as required. Found it hard to score reliably in LL2 with his height/skillset at the 4, but at least was firm on the glass. A budget recruit late in the season he was fairly competent for most of his career, but was rough his senior year.

Byron "Beep" Peterson - 6' 4½" 215 SF sg c (148/10)
Was never able to fix his broken jumper and with the emergence of Nicholson and McCain/Burger both ahead of him at SF he was squeezed out of the rotation as a senior. Was decent in limited minutes across his career, although a trip to the free throw line was always an adventure.


Development Highlights
Braydon Malloy (+19 -> 136)
Bennie Nicholson (+16 -> 158)
Jerrold Malveaux (+14 -> 176)
Neil Rhodes (+14 -> 158)
Harry Stanton (+14 -> 142)
Manny Bartlett (+13 -> 150)
Eric Myles (+13 -> 131)
Derrick Hardy (+13 -> 121)
Tory Yates (+13 -> 94) walk-on
Raymond Burger (+11 -> 147)

Coaching
With Les Branch demanding head coach money he was let go at the start of the year. Rafael Carroll is still relatively unknown in coaching circles but was brought in mostly for his recruiting reputation.

57yo Darren Scales remains the head coach. Lenny Hutchins is the offensive coordinator and lead game-day assistant, though he is getting more help from Jesse Morey these days. Morey is also the 2nd in command of player development.


Recruiting
In October Juan Arcia (3* ~6' 1" 165lbs PG SG sf 116/11) signed from Algonquin, Illinois. He projects as a quick, slashing PG, that may develop a long-ball, he has solid playmaking tools, but some questionable decision-making. None-the-less he is expected to be the starting PG in time.

Then the Gaels had to wait for the new year before another 3 recruits all signed within a 2 week period.

Deron Nicholson (3* ~6' 4" 175lbs PF SF c 98/12) was first. The Palm Springs native should be a 2-way wing with a versatile offensive skillset. There are some question-marks around his overall athleticism, but he'll be skilled in time.

Joseph Balwin (3* ~6' 10" 190lbs C pf 97/11) from Ontario will bolster the frontcourt. Definitely defensive question marks, but he should be able to score and rebound enough to make up for at least some of those shortcomings. He may even provide some secondary playmaking later in his career.

Last, but not least was long-time target Chris Farrow (3* 6' 4½" 230 PF SF C 135/11) finally committed ending a six year pursuit. A little bit short for SF, but solidly built. He should provide immediate offensive punch when he hits the floor on one of the wings. Hit 50% from three on 62 attempts in his final year in JuCo.


Outlook
Back to LL3 after a 4-year run in II.1

The Gaels lose Malveaux and a pair of depth bench pieces Bartlett and Peterson. Given how much they all collectively underachieved as seniors I don't think they will be particularly missed.

Rhodes/Malloy will only be better for some extra seasoning at PG. Both had some turnover problems, but Rhodes looked more steady in the invitational games and has perhaps turned the corner.

The lightning bug that is Nicholson will become the full-time starter at SG. He'll be backed up by Hardy who is coming off a redshirt and looks to have a solid base of attributes to build upon.

McCain is the likely starter at SF. He's a versatile defender and should be the best ranged threat on the team next year. Burger may start or possibly come off the bench in multiple positions. A gifted offensive player he can struggle to contain opponents in the paint.

Stanton will start in the frontcourt and he may be joined by Myles who also had plenty of minutes this year. Stanton is a scorer/rebounder who is almost a respectable defender. Myles scores inside and protects the rim, but is a little weak on the glass. The new face in the frontcourt will be Douglas Armetta who is a mobile, scoring/rebounder somewhat like a shorter, faster Stanton.

Just a 9-man rotation forecast, with 4 redshirts to cover injuries.

Can the Gaels defend the paint well enough and get some better support scoring around Stanton? Or will the problems of 2046 spill over into 2047?



Apr 03 2045: 2045 Season Review (II.1) - by naph on May 29th, 2025

Season

It was hard to get too excited by OOC this year as the Gaels lost all 3 of their D1RT games: (#8)Westfield State, Alcorn State and Colgate - as well as their annual rivalry game against (#17)LUPA. All of the other games were wins, the biggest probably coming in the opening round over Fresno Pacific (II.2)

A very home-heavy front-half of the conference schedule meant the Gaels knew they would need to do their work early. Largely they did, opening the season with 3 wins and a 1 point loss versus Temple, before stumbling at Georgia Southern. They went 5-1 over their next stretch the sol loss coming in OT versus Redlands. A dropped game to Mizz Western was followed by 4 more wins and the Gaels were in promotion contention, but the road loomed. SMC would lose 8 of the next 9 and suddenly demotion rather than promotion became the concern. A late season rally saw them close the season with 4 wins and a loss to finish comfortably mid table, ultimately in 6th.

The bracket opened up nicely for the Gaels in the conference tournament who were right on the bubble and playing for a tournament berth. After beating WVSU by 30 in the CT opener they looked to be up for the challenge, but Illinois Wesleyan weren't interested in that story accounting for the Gaels in the 2nd round and ending their season.

The team played through Denton in the post as expected. What wasn't expected was the stellar play of Malveaux at SG that saw him start along side McCain. Whilst Burger started most of the year it was Stanton that closed out the season and he genuinely was the better player, perhaps the Gaels could have pushed for promotion if that had been realised sooner?


Roster

PG: "The Foo" Glen Kushima (RS SR 6' 1" 165lbs PG sg 154 - 19 Rng/Pass, 14 PD/Hnd, 13 OS/Spd)
42gms 42gs 26.4mins 8.8p (.441/.405/.759 eFG%:.567) 1.5r 6.1a 1.1s 0.0b 2.8to 2.4pf OeFG%:.545 POTG:1

SG/bbSF: Jerrold "Old Mal" Malveaux (RS JR 6' 8½" 240 SG PF C sf 166 - 16 IQ, 15 Rng/Drv/Sta, 13 OS/Fin/ID, 12 PD/Hnd/Str/Spd
42gms 34gs 25.9mins 10.8p (.425/.355/.847 eFG%:.535) 2.3r 2.1a 1.4s 0.2b 1.7to 1.8pf OeFG%:.500 POTG:2

SF/bbPG: Juwan "Yippee-ki-yay" McCain (RS SO 6' 6½" 190lbs SF pf c 159 - 14 Rng, 13 OS/ID/PD/IQ/Str, 12 Fin/Spd)
38gms 38gs 27.9mins 11.6p (.422/.398/.734 eFG%:.534) 3.3r 1.0a 1.5s 0.2b 1.3to 1.4pf OeFG%:.528 POTG:1

PF/bbC: "Mondo" Raymond Burger (RS FR 6' 11" 260 PF C 143 - 14 OS/Str, 12 Reb/Pass
42gms 30gs 24.3mins 7.8p (.488/.414/.759 eFG%:.536) 6.4r 0.8a 0.7s 0.5b 1.2to 2.0pf OeFG%:.595 POTG:1

C: Burt "Beater" Denton (RS SR 6' 9" 220lbs C pf 168 - 19 Reb, 17 IS, 14 Rng/ID/IQ/Hnd, 13 Str)
39gms 39gs 28.9mins 17.1p (.528/.667/.745 eFG%:.530) 9.7r 0.4a 0.6s 1.2b 1.3to 3.0pf OeFG%:.493 POTG:15


bPF/bC: Harry "Mozzie" Stanton (RS SO 6' 11½" 235lbs C pf 130 - 15 IS/Str, 13 OS/Reb)
39gms 15gs 18.0mins 8.5p (.535/.333/.539 eFG%:.554) 3.8r 0.3a 0.2s 1.0b 0.5to 1.2pf OeFG%:.460

bSF: "Nickels" Bennie Nicholson (RS FR 5' 11" 175 SG PG 145 - 17 Spd, 14 Drv, 13 Rng/PD, 12 Sta
36gms 10gs 16.7mins 7.1p (.416/.350/.818 eFG%:.517) 0.9r 1.4a 0.8s 0.2b 1.2to 0.9pf OeFG%:.511

bbPF: "Bartman" Manny Bartlett (RS JR 6' 7½" 225lbs PF sf c 139 - 16 Reb/Str, 15 OS)
42gms 12.8mins 6.0p (.513/.444/.842 eFG%:.554) 4.6r 0.2a 0.5s 0.4b 0.6to 1.5pf OeFG%:.463

bSF/bbSG: "Beep" Byron Peterson (RS JR 6' 4½" 215lbs SF SG c 145 - 15 Spd, 14 Rng/PD/Hnd/Drv)
42gms 2gs 12.3mins 3.6p (.404/.291/.568 eFG%:.461) 1.1r 0.4a 0.4s 0.0b 0.5to 0.8pf OeFG%:.422

bPG: Neal "Highway" Rhodes (RS SO 6' 8½" 235lbs PG pf c 140 - 16 Spd, 14 Pass, 13 Hnd, 12 PD)
42gms 12.0mins 2.4p (.429/.500/.714 eFG%:.434) 1.0r 1.9a 0.6s 0.1b 1.7to 0.9pf OeFG%:.477


Farewell Seniors

Burt "Beater" Denton (6' 9" 220 C pf - 168/12)
167g 167gs 27.7mins 15.4p (.565/.308/.736 .530) 9.6r 0.4a 0.4s 1.2b 1.3to 2.7pf +4.1
#4 FTM (539)
#5 Rebounds (1598)
#6 Fouls (451)
T6 POTG (31)
#7 Points (2575) (8th Gael to pass 2500)
#8 Blocks (196)
#15 Minutes (4628)

Started all 167 of his career games. Can't remember the last Gael who did that. Was a double-double threat from day 1, a strong rebounder and developed into a good post threat. Solid defensively, surprisingly good handle. Smart, strong. Could have been a bit more mobile, but couldn't ask for a lot more. An important part of the promotion back to LL2 as a freshman. All Conference C as a sophomore. Bit of a shame he reached his peak at the end of his JR season, but it was still a very good peak.


"The Foo" Glen Kushima - (6' 1" 165 PG sg - 154/11)
172g 87gs 22.0mins 6.5p (.423/.390/.760 .567) 1.4r 4.7a 0.9s 0.0b 2.6to 1.8pf +3.0
#4 Assists (813)
#5 3P% (.390 215/551)
#8 Turnovers (445)

A late season trip to Florida saw the Gaels take a flyer on this development project but he exceeded all expectations starting his college career with +19 +20 +17 development years. He averaged just shy of 20mins/game as a RS SO and started from his JR year. He stretched defenses with his range and was a flashy passer, albeit with sub-par decision making. Solid enough defensively. Exceeded all reasonable expectations. (3 contacts!)

Development Highlights
Jerrold Malveaux (+25 -> 166)
Eric Myles (+14 -> 113)
Bennie Nicholson (+13 -> 145)
Raymond Burger (+13 -> 143)
Harry Stanton (+12 -> 130)
Neal Rhodes (+12 -> 140)
Bradyon Malloy (+11 -> 123)
Manny Bartlett (+10 -> 139)


Coaching

Whilst head coach Darren Scales remains in the top job all 3 assistants were changed this season. After last season's clean out of assistants it was all calm on the coaching front for at least 1 year.

Unfortunately lead recruiter Les Branch asked for a monster pay rise and will be leaving at the end of the year. Lenny Hutchins remains the game-day assistant and is the offensive coordinator. Jesse Morey continues his slow, but steady improvement.


Recruiting

Douglas Armetta (3* ~6' 9" 210lbs C pf 121/11) was seemingly knocking on the door as the season started to hand his letter of intent to coach Scales in late November. He should be able to play 4/5 as a post scorer who can surprise with his range, already a presence on the boards and is a mobile rim-runner, with a surprisingly good handle so don't be surprised to see him barrelling to the basket in transition. He's not so impressive defensively and his limited wingspan, vertical and potential all limit his ceiling. His high floor should see him contributing immediately after a redshirt year.

Derrick Hardy (3* ~6' 1" 175lbs PG SG sf) on the other hand waited until almost the end of January to make his decision. He projects as a complete guard who probably starts his career at SG, but ends it at PG. He'll be a great shooter with range and exceptional passing. Defense, handles and speed are works in progress, but they should all get there in time.


Outlook
254 starts, mostly at PG and C graduate and both will be missed, though certainly Denton's 4-year presence in the paint will be missed the most. Beater defined the Gaels hard-nosed play and it will be interesting to see what forms in his absence.

Malveaux, McCain, Nicholson and Peterson are a strong wing corps and should be the strength of the team next season.

Burger and Stanton will stop competing for minutes instead complementing each other in the frontcourt. Whilst undeniably a downgrade, the addition of RS FR Eric Myles as well as the senior presence of Bartlett should make it at least serviceable. More height, size, mobility and passing should help ease the transition.

PG could be the real adventure with 6' 8½" Neal "Highway" Rhodes the first in line. He struggled at times with turnovers this year and hasn't quite worked how to best use his 235lbs and 7' 3¼" wingspan to best effect at the point. He'll get every opportunity though as RS FR Malloy will still be fairly raw and the next best option is probably Malveaux who doesn't appear to have the playmaking chops.

If Rhodes can play well enough, Stanton/Myles can provide enough of a post threat to open up the perimeter for the wings then the Gaels should once again be competitive in 2046. If PG play is erratic and the bigs can't defend the paint then it could be a long season.



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