I am mathematically eliminated from the playoffs in two of the three leagues I am in this season. The reason: 9 losses. each league. I cannot give a good reason for what happened–for why I fell apart for extended streaks in these leagues. I didn’t have the same players, but they shared the same fate: sucking. This is a hard lesson to learn in a fun activity–you may be the bottom. It turns out I was bottom two years running in this sad sauce situation. I refuse to make it three. Part of that will be dedicating legitimate hours to study the game and make sure I know who to get and who to back that up with. The only thing I was certain of this season was that Barkley was the guy. I got him via trade, but I made other trades that absolutely tanked my squad in the family league. I was DOA in the money league because of the CMC keeper flatlining my team. I dropped the dude in that keeper league in order to force someone else to shoot their shot on him for next season, giving me a chance to grab a higher draft pick by holding on to a different keeper… best laid plans and all.
I still enjoy it. But it is nothing like the intrigue of the real thing.
On that note, my kid has entered the portal. His head Coach took a better paying position and took the entire coaching staff with him. My boy hopped in the portal the day it was announced. Now he’s looking at options across the board. I know what he wants and I hope he gets the chance to climb to the next level and show he can ball. The tape he put out was solid evidence that he can play. 7300 views on the first day (11 hrs) argue that people are paying attention. It isn’t enough to catch fire, but enough to get this thing moving in the right direction. He has a tough road ahead of him, but he is resilient and talented and will get offers.
I hope his little brother learns from the experience. He needs to learn what it is really like out there.