Game Date: Jan 5th, 2040

Dominican Univ. of California

Team: Dominican Univ. of California Penguins [ID #564]

Location: San Rafael, CA (West)

Conference: I.1 [Division 1]

President: gards710
          [since May 17th 2020 | last seen July 26th 2024]

Coach: Darren Cahill

Arena: Conlan Center

Rank: #4

Rating: 757.26 - Overall Position: #1

Fan Mood: 129.70

Alumni Mood: 256.10

Prestige: 300

Team Notes:

• Oct 11 2039: Chester Wilkerson was hired as the new assistant coach.
• Oct 11 2039: Assistant coach Eric Strauss was let go.
• Oct 11 2039: Austin Stout was hired as the new assistant coach.
• Oct 11 2039: Assistant coach Tony De Simone was let go.
• Sep 01 2039: Tony De Simone was hired as the new assistant coach.
• Sep 01 2039: Assistant coach Sid Isom leaves to pursue head coaching opportunities.
• Mar 13 2039: Made the national tournament field.
• Jan 20 2039: 3-star prospect Cal Young committed.
• Nov 25 2038: 3-star prospect Rasheed Williams committed.
• Oct 27 2038: 3-star prospect Eric Griffin committed.

Record:

Wins: 19 Losses: 4 Pct: .826     Conf Wins: 10 Conf Losses: 3 Conf Pct: .769 Conf Rank: 4     Last10: 8-2 Streak: W2

Pts Ave: 85.6 - 66.1     Pts Diff: +19.5     Team Power Index: 158.1

Press Releases:

Oct 11 2039: DUCA Snares Top Rank in Rockhoppy 2039 - by gards710 on July 1st, 2024

Coming off their historic magical 2038, the Dominican University of California had one main goal: survive in the dangerous waters of Legends. Projections had them right on the edge of staying afloat, but plenty of hungry teams were looking to sink them. They grabbed their chinstraps and were ready for a rockhoppy ride. Somehow, some way, DUCA was able to not only hang on, but the Penguins looked like a threat for the Legends title for a brief moment before Missouri Western ran away with it two thirds into the season. Deciding to coast in the last few games, the Penguins plummeted and it appeared the Penguins lost their edge and lost in the first rounds of both the conference and national tournaments. The Penguins still ended the 2039 season as the top-rated program in the nation, a badge of honor earned through seasons of consistent success at a high level.

Heading into the 2040 season, expectations are higher. DUCA graduates just starting big man Jack Grace, an integral piece on perhaps the most successful era in program history. Returning is star Berry “Fusion” Ford, who was impressive in leading the team last season for the first time, averaging a very efficient 18 points per game on 49.8% (41.1% from 3) and stellar defense. “Berry has a special blend of ingredients. He's been as good as we thought he would be, and we had very high expectations for him. Some thought he would be in that echelon with Fire Marshall Bill and Will Clevenger, and he arguably is there with a year to go.”

Derek Pittman reprises his role as starting point guard and knows that while he had a good season as a first time starter, he will be looked upon to step up a lot this season. And while two other experienced starters, redshirt seniors Marshall Cooke and Darren Mitchell, return, word out of camp is that their spots are not locked in. Younger players like Chris Poston and a slew of bigs are being given a chance to fight for those spots.

And one of those bigs will have to start. That battle is between junior Kwamie Farmer, sophomore Joey Wilson, and freshman Stevie Jeffers. Jeffers, coming off his redshirt season, is the most well rounded and could be the best by the end of the season. Farmer is the most experienced. But it was Wilson who was trusted more when Grace or Cooke were hurt last season. So who will get the call? A lot will depend on development and fit early in the season.

Forming the rest of the bench will RS SO Lance Fish and RS FR Brian Godfrey, two oddball wings who most have overlooked in their careers. “Lance and Brian bring us back to our roots of bringing in overlooked players from around the country who come in here and work their butts off and develop and turn into big time contributors. They may not be the stars of the show, but they’re the ones who make this show spectacular.”

The Penguins hope that they found a few more of those guys with the latest recruiting class, bringing in three 3* players, two from outside of California.

Eric Griffin - the first of the class to sign, out of Alexandria, Kentucky, Griffin has shown a willingness for doing the dirty work and working hard. He’s got that classic big man mold of size and strength and skill inside, but also brings speed. Griffin says he fell in love with the Penguins after seeing his hometown Kentucky Wildcats lose to DUCA three seasons in a row.

Cal Young - flying in from St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. DUCA reportedly was confused while recruiting him, seeing CA on his player card and thinking he was Californian. Young displays all the point guard skills that we look for and has shown a knack for doing them exceptionally well. Young could be the catalyst for the Penguins next great offense.

Rasheed Williams - the one Californian of the class, from Clovis. Williams started playing as a big man for his high school, but coaches reportedly want the wiry Williams to play as a wing in college. If Williams can find his role, he could be the perfect fit for the model program.

Head coach Darren "Doc" Cahill steers the ship along with two new assistant coaches. Rafael Ferguson is newly joined by Austin Stout and Chester Wilkerson. Stout recently coached at Georgia Tech and helped them to a strong 2039 while Wilkerson comes via Southwest Oklahoma State, where he spent 7 seasons chopping it up. As the Penguins embark on another journey, the treacherous sea of superb Legends teams lurks, with defending Legends champs Missouri Western leading the fray and defending National Champions St. Thomas Aquinas joining the conference, along with several other strong and up and coming programs such as Yale, Central Arkansas, Cal Poly Pomona, Wake Forest, and Alabama. Every team is going to be giving it their all. The Penguins will need to be ready.


Oct 07 2038: The Penguins Are Now Hardwood Emperors! - by gards710 on May 5th, 2024

25 seasons ago (and nearly 4 years ago in the simulation known as "real life") Dominican University of California hired a precocious president who had cut his teeth playing fantasy sports and sim games and was now looking for a new challenge in a time of confusion, terror, and change. And no, I’m not talking about the change to make low level teams have a harder time recruiting highly ranked players after Hunter McWilliams committed to CSU San Bernardino to waste 4 years of his life. No, some would call it a pandemic (it was COVID. I was bored). Gards710 entered the Hardwood Universe and was immediately engulfed (I stayed up til 3 AM the first night and immediately told my friend about the game to get him to join). He scoured the forums for every piece of information that would help. That’s even before his first official game at Dominican.

It’s been quite the climb since, but finally, Dominican can call themselves not just a Legends Champion, but also a Division 1 National Champion, two trophies that have slipped from the Penguins’ grasp a few times over the past decade-plus. I don’t know what anyone expected for an aquatic animal with wet wings for hands. But it's a special club to just win one, and moreso to win both in separate seasons. But to win both in the same season? Only 4 other teams can stake that claim (2009 Butler, 2010 Misericordia, 2014 Butler, and 2035 Missouri Western). And now, 2038 Dominican University of California. What an illustrious club.

“I’m shocked. This team. THIS team. THIS TEAM. They did it,” said exhilarated head coach Darren “Doc” Cahill, who earns his first conference title since his first season at DUCA in 2027, and in his 12 seasons in NorCal, has amassed 394 wins (0.722 winning percentage), 3 conference tournament championships, 3 Final Four appearances, and now, ONE National Championship. “There were times when I thought this team needed to dig deeper to find themselves. We've all seen and experienced what happened to us in previous seasons. I had implored in them that when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. And come those clutch times, they did. We weren’t always the best team out there (please ignore that DUCA was both the preseason #1 team and also the top overall seed in the National Tournament). But we were resilient, we were tough, and we just got extremely lucky with a lot going in our favor and had a good enough team to take advantage."

On the backs of seniors "Mustang" Marques Ford (who was appropriately drafted to Detroit) and Randy “Rockstar” Watson, Dominican’s two and lone All-Tournament selections, the Penguins were able to survive. The two seniors have been big reasons for this recent run of huge postseason success, with both adding the titles to the Final 4 run last season and the Elite 8 appearance the season before (and Watson was a starter on the 2034 Final 4 team in his freshman season as well, totaling one of the best tournament resumés in the history of Hardwood). Ford, to his credit, was named to the All-Legends team and was the 2038 Player of the Tournament.

But it wasn’t just those two. Seniors Louie “Souweeeet” Hickman and Russ “All About That” Proffitt were crucial in forming the defensive backbone on the perimeter and provided key scoring at times as well. Jack "Ghost" Grace was crucial for his post defense, protecting Watson while also spreading the floor on offense. Sophomore Berry “Fusion” Ford provided a mix of everything as well as a glimpse of the future for the Penguins. Marshall “Celsius” Cooke, Kwamie “Kore” Farmer, Derek “Pittbull” Pittman, and Darren “The Mould” Mitchell were all important throughout the season.

And it wasn’t just this season’s team. Sure, they accomplished the dang thing. But it goes back all the way to “Fire Marshall” Bill Marshall, Marcus “MC Goat” Choate, Angel "Redbull" Reyes, Brian “Rings” Hofmeister, Bruce “Covers the C” Spann, Will “Get His Revenge” Clevenger, Dustin “Yankin for” Hankin, the first recruit Charlie Rowell, the first gards-era DUCA star Zack Neri and everyone else in between. They’re all a part of this program. They helped build to this point and they deserve this love as much as anyone.

Looking ahead to 2039, these emperors appear to be more like figureheads, and will likely relinquish their title without much of a fight to their successor. "Fusion" remains and will be looked upon as the leader in every facet of the game, except interior defense, which will be designated to lone senior Grace. Pittman steps into the starting lineup at point guard, and it appears likely Cooke and Mitchell will fill PF and SG, respectively. Coming off the bench will be Farmer and the new crop of redshirt freshmen Chris Poston, Lance Fish, and Joey Wilson.

A couple of out of state players make up the 2038 recruiting class for the Penguins. Big man Stevie Jeffers comes from Iroquois Point, Hawaii, with his well-rounded skillset. And late find Brian Godfrey hails from Newark, New Jersey, and was good enough to supplant a more local option on DUCA's radar. For now, the Penguins will focus on the next steps following the euphoric season. But it's always right back to work for these birds.


Mar 06 2038: DUCA Finally Rule the Legends Roost - by gards710 on April 22nd, 2024

After 14 seasons in the top conference of Hardwood, the last 10 being consecutive, the Dominican University of California Penguins have finally attained the elusive Legends conference crown. While it was a foregone conclusion for a few days, the team and program enjoyed the final buzzer sounding for their first conference title in 10 seasons, when the historic 2027 team won II.2.

This season took tremendous effort, as DUCA set a program record for Legends conference wins for a season at 24, on top of weathering the constant storm of facing the quality teams and programs that inhabit the conference.

Led by a strong group of upperclassmen and wunderkind Berry "Fusion" Ford, the team had it all going well. Now, the focus turns to the postseason and potentially accomplishing the Triple Crown. Stay tuned.


Oct 08 2037: Raise Your Hands 🙌 For Rafiki - by gards710 on March 10th, 2024

We would be remiss if we did not issue our warmest appreciation for former head coach Rahsaan "Rafiki" McCartney, who we learned was recently let go from his most recent post at Northwest Missouri State. Rafiki was the coach at the helm during the rise of the Penguins, and also helped the Bearcats rise to the upper echelons of Hardwood. The Bearcats made an awesome tribute to Rafiki as well.

McCartney coached the Division 2 National Championship team with one of the most dominant seasons ever. He recruited two separate two-time National Players of the Year and coached two other top 10 picks in the professional draft. He was regarded as one of the great teachers of the game, imparting not just basketball knowledge, but life lessons. His tenure was nothing short of legendary.

We wish Rafiki all the best and hope he can cruise into retirement back at home in The Dalles, Oregon or on a tropical beach somewhere.


Oct 08 2037: DUCA Revvin in 2037, Ping-Wins to Final 4! Want to Elevate in 2038 - by gards710 on March 10th, 2024

Each season has its own peculiarities and Dominican's 2037 was no different. The rumors that president gards710 would stay at Dominican over other obligations spread like wildfire. Once it was confirmed to be true following a trip to Berkeley where president Oski was AWOL, the Penguins breathed a sigh of relief only to get slapped with a loss to the Cal Golden Bears. A surprising non-conference loss to former rival Chapman University indicated that the team just wasn't built for true success. But as the conference season unfolded, the Penguins found themselves near the top of the standings. The upperclassmen-laden lineup was firing on all cylinders it seemed. However, a home heavy first half masked underlying issues and once DUCA went on the road, those issues reared around. An untimely injury, one of the few the Penguins suffered all season, led to a slump. Mysterious inconsistencies and turnovers plagued the team, and the team struggled to find offense at times.

Once things settled down come the postseason, the Penguins decided to get their rest to gear up for a run in the National Tournament. And run they did. All the way to the Final Four, the second in the past 4 seasons, and president gards710's fifth all-time. "Truthfully, I wasn't sure that the team was capable of a postseason run like that. But guys just seemed to come together," said head coach "Doc" Cahill. The run was ended in the Final 4 to eventual champion North Carolina Central, as the Eagles cut through the Penguins stalwart defense. Word is that DUCA's athletic administration is petitioning the IUCN to bestow penguins as "birds of prey" to join the club of eagles, hawks, and owls.

With the 2038 season on the horizon, Dominican appears primed to make some noise, being ranked at #1 in the nation to start the season. While that is no guarantee of anything, the Penguins have hope. It helps to have a stud like Randy "Rockstar" Watson anchoring the team, as Watson has one of the most extensive postseason resumés Hardwood has ever seen with a conference title, an Elite 8 appearance, and two Final Four appearances. Marques Ford has grown to be one of the more skilled players in the nation, but it remains to be seen whether he can be a true leader or if he's just the ultimate role player. Point guard Louie Hickman also returns, but his spot in the starting lineup is in question after his rocky performance last season with turnovers. The remaining two spots appear to be up for grabs between big man Jack Grace and wings Russ Proffitt and Berry Ford. While wunderkind Berry "Fusion" Ford has been tabbed as the next Penguin star, he may have to wait his turn, with such talent on the roster and the high expectations. Redshirt freshman Derek Pittman reportedly put in a lot of work while redshirting and now looks like the future at point guard. RS SO Marshall Cooke will be cooking something hot and invigorating as the first big off the bench, while RS FR Kwamie Farmer begins his work in the field to bring what he can to the table. And RS SO Darren Mitchell won't be left behind as he bides his time.

The job for the coaching staff is to figure out how to best piece together the lineup to maximize everyone's performance and development. There is a logjam of talent on this team, which is a nice problem to have, but can lead to some unhappy campers. On top of the chemistry off the court, the fit on the court, will need to be solved, as this team certainly has its flaws. We won't give them away here, but they could drown these birds. With how slippery titles can be in Hardwood, the Penguins know there is not much room for error. Strong teams lurk just behind the Penguins in the rankings, as Missouri Western, the Mississippi Rebels, and Sioux Falls also have their sights on some hardware.


Recruiting
The Penguins bring in 3 new birds to the huddle:

Chris Poston - a guard from Los Angeles, Poston looks like a potential sharpshooting shot creator.

Joey Wilson - a big from Anaheim, Wilson fits immaculately with what the Penguins look for in a big man - big (duh), strong, fast, and skilled.

Lance Fish - the wing from Philadelphia. Mentioned earlier after committing for the strange choice to forgo a 5* recruit, Fish brings an enticingly sharp and appetizing skillset.

All three will redshirt, watching, learning, and growing from one of the game's best programs.




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