Get on Top, Stay on Top

Think Billy Donovan has it easy? The Florida coach took his team to the Final Four and won the National Championship for 2006, so he can take it easy, enjoy the accolades, and watch the top prospects of the future roll off the bus and onto campus, right?

Think again.

Getting to the top of the NCAA basketball world is hard enough, but staying there is even harder.

2K Sports understands that, and their latest hoops opus, College Hoops 2K6, takes the demands of being an NCAA basketball coach and distills it into a exciting, challenging, and all-encompassing hardwood experience for Xbox 360™.

Ready to become the next great college coach?

From high-school all-star games to visiting recruits' homes to laying out the plan of attack game-by-game, you're in charge of every facet of your school's program. The game's Legacy mode is the most enthralling, and joining the ranks of Florida's Donovan as National Champion will test your skills on and off the court.

It's a lot to take in at once, and a lot to handle, so here are some ideas to keep in mind as you start your climb through the college basketball ranks on the way to hoops immortality.

Recruiting

Nothing is more important than recruiting. You don't win championships without great players, and you don't get a constant influx of great players without becoming a great recruiter. So, how do you become one?

A smart coach sticks to his game plan
and dictates the flow of the game.

First, make sure that your coach or one of his assistants has a high Charisma rating, and make sure at least one of your coaches has a high Scouting rating. You need them both.

Scouting the right players is the first logical step. It's important to identify which prospects have the necessary skills to fit your needs, so you can winnow down the list of players to target for scholarship offers. Request game tapes and have your best Scouting coach visit a prospect's game in person to find out as much about them as possible.

Once you think you know what you need to, it's time to let the high Charisma coach—and preferably the head coach—do his thing. Be sure to keep in constant, weekly contact with the players, even if it's just with an e-mail or phone call. Once they become interested enough, visit the prospect at their home or invite them to campus for a tour around the place.

You need to be pursuing multiple prospects simultaneously, so be sure to balance your Recruiting point budget accordingly, while not letting any players slip through the cracks. Once they're interested enough, offer them a scholarship and follow up with the player until they take it or decline it.

Don't forget to keep an eye out for junior college transfers, who may be more ready to contribute immediately, while all the while keeping an eye on high-school juniors, sophomores, or even freshman. Get to know them over their high-school years, so they're more willing to join your program after they get their diploma.

Recruiting is almost a game within itself, but unless you master it, the more traditional part of winning basketball becomes a lot harder to achieve. Recruiting is undoubtedly your top priority.

You have to find great players like this.

Tailor Your Style
Sure, you may love the run-and-gun, shoot-the-scoreboard-lights-out style of basketball, but if you've got a roster chock full of big bodies, it's just not a good fit for them.

Good coaches build rosters as best they can to suit their preferred style of play, but great ones are able to work with whatever they've got. That big roster of yours? Learn to eat the clock; slow down the pace of game and keep banging inside for points.

On defense, bang down low; crash the boards and gobble up the rebounds. It may not be pretty basketball, but it's winning basketball—and isn't that what matters? In the meantime, go recruit the speedier, long-range players that you want for the future of your program. Learning to adapt is the key to sustained success.

Slow this guy down with tough interior defense.

Play to Your Strengths
So, you're facing a tough opponent. These guys do what you wish your team could: They sprint up and down the court and drop shots from all over the floor. So, to combat them, you need to get your team to run and shoot better, or you'll lose, right?

Wrong. It's a common mistake, but it's one you don't have to make.

A smart coach sticks to his game plan and dictates the flow of the game. If we go back to our larger, slower team, the best way to combat a high-scoring squad is to make it your game. They want to get out and run? Don't let them. Plant guys in the paint and take charges, while locking down the glass and limiting them to one shot. On offense, keep the pace slow; chew up that shot clock and drive them crazy by making them wait. Work the ball inside for the short-range buckets and watch them over-commit defensively in their haste.

Make your opponents play your game, never the other way around.

Sure, "March Madness" is over for this year—but the truly great coaches know that the real work for the next championship season starts today. Are you ready to become one of them? Pick up your copy of College Hoops 2K6 and find out.

Article by Shawn Drotar, Managing Editor, OperationSports.com