Drake (in game update tied 56-56)Rotation in Light of Near Upset of Kareem

As we start to roll the dice (score will be updated) in our last Value Add Basketball Game "debut," between Drake 1969 and Nevada 2004 (developing) ...the final result story is now in this blog.

We made just some rotation adjustments for the Drake 1969 team based on looking at their line-up in their all-time great game - the near upset of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and UCLA during their dynasty. You don't need to reprint the Drake cards, just note the changes on the substitutions that now have Don Draper (or perhaps for you Mad Man fans - Dick Whitman LOL) playing most of the game - 28 possessions, 44-17. That left their whole starting line-up 6'6" or less, which may have been part of the reason Kareem grabbed 21 rebounds, but we still have 6'9 Rick Wanamaker, who grabbed 7 rebounds off the bench, in our starting line-up. 

The game truly is amazing because UCLA outrebounded Drake by 7 AND outshot them 56% to 39%. That sounds like a 25 point win. The two stats not kept, that are the only explanation for Drake staying that close is they had to win the turnover battle by a huge margin, and UCLA had to miss a ton of front ends of 1-and-1s since back then there was no double bonus. Here is the old box score from basketball reference, the updated Drake cards for the game against Nevada, then you can scroll down for the results of the Drake vs. Nevada game when it is over.

UCLA 1969 vs Drake	FG	FGA	FG%	FT	FTA	FT%	Reb	AST	PF	PTS
John Vallely	9	11	82%	11	14	79%	6	5	5	29
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	8	14	57%	9	16	56%	21	3	3	25
Curtis Rowe	6	9	67%	2	2	100%	13	3	2	14
Kenny Heitz	3	6	50%	1	3	33%	1	3	5	7
Lynn Shackelford	2	5	40%	2	3	67%	2	3	4	6
Reserves	FG	FGA	FG%	FT	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
Steve Patterson	0	0		2	2	100%	0	0	0	2
Terry Schofield	0	3	0%	2	4	50%	0	1	0	2
Bill Sweek	0	0		0	0		0	0	1	0
Sidney Wicks	0	2	0%	0	0		1	0	1	0
School Totals	28	50	56%	29	44	66%	44	18	21	85
Drake 1969	FG	FGA	FG%	FT	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
Willie McCarter	10	27	37%	4	4	100%	1	2	3	24
Willie Wise	5	7	71%	3	4	75%	16	1	3	13
Don Draper	5	13	39%	2	2	100%	1	1	2	12
Dolph Pulliam	4	14	29%	4	5	80%	5	6	4	12
Al Williams	0	1	0%	0	0		1	0	4	0
Reserves	FG	FGA	FG%	FT	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
Gary Zeller	4	12	33%	4	6	67%	3	1	3	12
Rick Wanamaker	4	7	57%	1	1	100%	7	1	4	9
Ron Gwin	0	0		0	1	0%	1	0	3	0
Garry Odom	0	2	0%	0	1	0%	2	0	4	0
School Totals	32	83	39%	18	24	75%	37	12	30	82

28 pos

On the player cards, note the updated Stamina and suggested possessions for each player. Remember players with pennies get the ball on just one roll of the 8-sided die, while those with a dime get it on two numbers and in this game Kirk Snyder has 2 dimes so gets it on three numbers (1, 6 and 7 in the 8-sided die). Also remember the top row is actually the starters, but in the game we actually finish with the starters and play reserves earlier. 

Nevada 2004 vs. Drake 1969

Results will follow ... based on Drake's rating of -2 and Nevada's rating of -6, we would make Drake almost a 4-point favorite. Note that these ratings are how much better or worse the team appears than the average GREAT team in the game. If playing the 100th best team in a normal season instead of the 100th best team in the game of great teams, you add about +17 so Nevada would be a +11 and Drake would be a +15.  We do weight the tournament games and ability to have consecutive strong seasons heavier than just one regular season in the player cards and in these ratings.

In game update. We have to break to go to a meeting after Willie McCarter just hit two free throws to tie the game 56-56 with 12 possessions (7:40) left to play. Nick Fazekas and Kirk Snyder teamed up for a 13-4 run including three 3-pointers to take a 56-51 lead, before Drake tied it.