These new team infographics are awesome! Nice work. They're pretty easy to read and follow. I'm really digging all of your presentation styles in this series.

The Happies look to be the youngest team in the SBA this season, but that will certainly come with some growing pains. It's no secret fans were disappointed in the lack of aggression from the front office to start off their tenure in the SBA. Tommie Fowler did have the longest remaining contract of any player eligible in the expansion draft though, at 3 years. The Happies' second pick, Ed Harrington, shouldn't miss too long, but will not play in at least the first 10 games. This leaves the team even weaker and I wouldn't be surprised to see a very slow start. Harrington, Darrell Crawford, and Terrance Burris will be free agents next offseason. Given their place in the team, age, and team patience, you'd have to think the Happies would want to re-sign all 3. However, Crawford and Burris are both American, so they may be more of a flight risk.

The Whalers burst out of the gate this year behind a resurgent Brent McCormick. Clarence Ward continues to look like option 1B as well, with his defense and McCormick's offense often making up for each other's shortcomings. Bobby Ellis almost looked worth losing Rufus Simon for. On the other hand, Sylvester Carr's trademark lockdown defense faltered fusing a 3-game losing streak mid to late in the first half of the season. Sherborne has been rumored to be in the market for a true starting caliber PF. Players to be considered for the 1970 SBA All Star game include; Ellis, McCormick, Ward, Tate, and Carlson.
Some would say it's a crime to have the 2-time defending champs 2nd in the power rankings. After all, the perimeter players have all been killing it. Garza, Byrd, and Shaw are all in the conversation for SBA MVP. However, Adam Lowe has looked worse than ever at 34. Luckily, Ventura has been apt in replacing Lowe and Joseph when needed. Players to be considered for the All Star game include; Garza, Byrd, Shaw, Joseph, Lowe, and Ventura.

Silver Point clearly has been the third best team so far with a fair gap between them and the Rowdies. What's crazy is that they have also had the most total injuries, and only 2 years removed from last place. Grant McCoy has continues his ascension as a top 10 player in the SBA. Saul Rodriguez has been hot and cold playing out of position, but that's to be expected of such a young player. Shane Conway's contract is looking worse and worse though with his continuing to disappoint, and with an injury this time. Gregoire Fabien is a nice veteran add, but I'm not sure this team will be ready to compete before his game slows down. All Star considerations; Jensen, Fabien, Rodriguez, McCoy.
Carlton Bates has been under fire as the Rowdies have underachieved so far this season. It's rumored they may strike for a wing as a secondary scorer before the trade deadline. Option include; Brian Morris (Stratford), the return of Grant Goodwin (O'Connor), Johnny Jackson (Wells), and Leon Mack (Trent). Behind arguably the best player in the SBA, Ira Diaz, this team should be competing. The pieces just haven't worked, with Edgar Carroll falling off a cliff in production after his injury. Del Davis, while a more modest disappointment, did not play well. And, even Pete Murphy had his up and downs, with the bench not helping much. All Star Considerations; Davis, Diaz, Murphy.

The regular season was extended to 52 games. The playoffs will also be expanded, moving to 4 teams. Technically right now, Wells is fourth in the standings, but the power rankings say otherwise. The bottom 6 will be released tonight or tomorrow.

The Chiefs have also looked pretty good this year. A lot of the credit can be given to Chuck McLaughlin, not to mention Kent Reeves, who has been mentoring the 27-year-old. Grant Goodwin and Sidney Wade have also been pretty good, with their shooting and defensive anchoring respectively. Norman Peck has largely been an unknown, missing a majority of the season so far, but being okay in his few games. John-Lee Coles, as opposed to his frontcourt companion, has struggled mightily on defense and has often had to be taken out of games because of it. If it comes down to a game in which Peck is injured and Coles can't play defense, the Chiefs may be in trouble. As is the case with the other expansion teams, they might not even be on the trade market given their young talent and likely inability to contend. This offseason will see Goodwin, Griffiths, and Waller become free agents. O'Connor would likely want to at least keep Goodwin. Players to be considered for the All Star game include; Chuck McLaughlin, Grant Goodwin, Sidney Wade, and Kent Reeves.
The new uniforms did not bode well for the Stars, as the had to go searching for another PG again this year. Harlow played okay, but did not meet the expectations set by Nick Jefferson, and certainly not those set by Rene Pope. The Stars continue to be the disappointment of the league, this was supposed to be the crown jewel. It doesn't help that the team's best scorer in Brian Morris was pretty poor shooting-wise. Bob Bass and Randal Franklin continue to look like the future of the team, it's possible Bass could even be the first point forward the SBA has seen. Head Coach Clyde Cooper more and more like he will be the first SBA coach let go. Unfortunately for Stratford, they also had the only major injury in 6th man Isaac Ross, who will miss the rest of the season. Jan Holt only missed a few games, but the 22-year-old hasn't really found his lane as a scorer yet on this team. Morris, Franklin, Ross, and Peters are set to be free agents in the offseason. You'd have to think the Stars will keep Franklin, and likely Morris. Players to be considered for the All Star game include; Bob Bass and Randal Franklin.

Last edited by jxhnhvhn (4/19/2020 11:42 am)

The 1970 SBA All-Star Game was held in Silver Point. The biggest snubs were as follows; PG Del Davis (Rivers End), C Pete Murphy (Rivers End), C Javi Blanco (St. Patrick), SG Brian Morris (Stratford), PF Saul Rodriguez (Silver Point), PG Nick Jefferson (Wells), SG Tommie Fowler (St. Patrick). The Happies were the only team not to have a player make the All Star game. Rowdies fans were rightfully disappointed to only have 1 player make the All Star game, but after a disappointing season thus far and still being ranked above Wells, Phoenix fans noted the decision was karma. Rowdies fans were also mad with their actual rival, Bangor, as opposed to Wells who's seen more as a little brother at this point. They said Farmers C Adam Lowe was grandfathered into his spot on the All Star roster after a disappointing first half to the season. Engineers' Sal Banks made a belated first appearance in an All Star game, after being injured for the first 2. Chuck McLaughlin and Rick Howell also made their first appearances. Santos Garza, Grant McCoy, and Kenneth Tate made their first All Star starts. Not only did Rowdies fans have the selections to complain about, but Dom Byrd was also given All Star MVP over Ira Diaz.
Bangor 5, Sherborne 4, Trent 3, Silver Point 2, Stratford 2, Rivers End 1, Wells 1, O'Connor 1, Haydon 1, St. Patrick 0

While trades have yet to become popular among SBA teams, the 1970 trade deadline marks the first trade in the SBA. The main piece in the deal is SG Gregorie Fabien (#10 SG, 31YO) formerly of Silver Point Captains, who is to be sent to Rivers End Rowdies in return for PG Jamie McFarland (#14 PG, 24YO), the main return, and SF Tom Griffin (#16 SF, 25YO), who was sent as salary relief due to his contract expiration this offseason. The Rowdies hope Fabien's shooting can bolster their starting lineup with Edgar Carroll's continued regression. It's yet to be confirmed if Fabien will start or slot into the 6th man role. While they saw a decent return, some Captains fans were puzzled as to why this move was needed. It's been rumored the players were not informed of the trade prior to its announcement, with many learning from the morning paper. Grant McCoy publicly spoke out against Captains owner Aubrey Sherman saying the rather obvious "The players deserve the right to know before the media." Going on to thank Fabien for his contribution to the culture the Captains have been building.
 

Last edited by jxhnhvhn (4/21/2020 2:11 pm)