The Pigpen W/Repole
Nov 2, 2012 10:00:19 GMT -5
Post by Pig34Asaurusrex on Nov 2, 2012 10:00:19 GMT -5
A Pigpen Exclusive
Today we sit down with Repole, GM of the Detroit Pistons as we take a look at some pressing matters in the BBS world among other things.
Pig: Thanks for sitting down with us today Repole!
Repole: No problem Pig, you're the best in the world and are cooler than everyone else so it's an honor to be in your presence. Oh yeah and I apologize for not spacing my answers from your questions as well Sir Awesome.
1. Tell me the state of affairs of the Detroit Pistons? Recently, you took Kevin Durant off a GM who is better known for his boyishly good looks and charm rather than his ability to be patient on players. What is the outlook and what can we expect from the team in the near future.
The outlook is bright! It looks like we'll have a top 4 or so pick in this draft, which with Rose/Westbrook/Love/Noah should be nice. I'd be happy pairing any of those four next to Durant. The biggest question with our team is Darko really. Dude's ratings are sexy as hell, but obviously making him an option is asking for far too much offensively. Once I get some scorers here, I'm not sure how much of a turnover decrease and shooting percentage increase I can expect from him. Hopefully he can be an impactful player for me down the line, becaue I gave up Michael Redd to get him, and Michael Redd is really, really good. Other than that, we'll probably suck again next year, and then have to pull some wins out the year after for my contract year.
2. Who is your early favorite to win the BBS crown this year? Who is a darkhorse? Which team do you believe is vastly overrated? Underrated?
I'll go Nuggets as the favorites. Wallace-Perk-Dirk-Marion-Lue with Roy off the bench is a pretty rock solid group, like a better version of my Pistons team that won it all but with some extra punch off the bench in Roy. I think the Nets are a solid dark horse candidate, I don't think too many would pick them to win it all, but they may well be the second best team in the league right now. We'll see if Greeme shakes things up there even more though. The Clippers I'd say are underated and aren't taken as seriously as they should be. I am cautious though of any team out west because of how weak the entire conference is. I'd also throw the Magic into that bunch, way too much talent not to eventually make some noise.
3. Which player in the league is your favorite right now and why?
Gerald Green of course! Even though he's nothing like he is in real life, dude is producing! Outside of him, I do have a pretty big man crush on Cenk. Dude is everything I'd want in a PG, low turnovers, nice percentages, a good outside shot, quality rebounder. Can't wait for him to test FA and come to occasionally sunny Detroit. Also in love with Louis Williams, he's one of my favorites in real life, so seeing him blow up here makes me want him on my team even more, guy looks like he's going to be a pretty dominant scorer. Other favorites would include Michael Redd, who I hate that I had to give up, but is just a filthy awesome scorer and defender. I'd also love to have GOd Jr. on my team, even though his ratings look a bit underwhelming, love the producting he's giving. Same goes for Gortat. Love seeing guys with less than huge ratings out producing guys like, well, Darko.
4. Which team looks to be set best for the future?
For me this is between the Magic (with LeBron and Cenk), the Nets (with Monta/Paul/Chandler), and the Grizzlies (with Williams, Conley, and a likely top 3 pick). I think it's tough to pick against the Magic and their talent, though they really haven't been able to capitalize on it yet, which makes me hesitate a bit. It's hard to imagine Play doesn't produce a contender out of that team eventually, whether it's through dealing off Bron/Cenk for a few extra quality players, or finally putting the right pieces around them. The Nets core is nice, but I don't think it's quite on that level, and to me Monta/Paul still have a good amount left to prove. The Grizzlies don't have quite the same talent level as the Magic either, but if they win the lottery and land Rose, I think they immediately jump to the front of this pack, even though they'll likely have to move Conley for a player at another position. The Nets of course are already in contention, but I'd be pretty surprised if the Magic and Grizzlies don't get there soon.
5. Which team looks like it has no direction and needs to rebuild?
There's a lot of teams that fit this bill. The Knicks are a typical Andy team. They'll win 50, maybe advance a round, then lose. Rinse and repeat. The Jazz are sort of stuck in no man's land. The Lakers have some young talent but don't seem to have what's necessary to surround those guys, and Melo seems to be pretty flawed with those turnovers. Chicago's got Kobe, JSmoove, and a pile of shit. The Twolves are in pretty mediocre shape, should definitely rebuild after this season. I think the most in need of a direction change is probably the Raptors though. DJ hasn't really done much of anything, he's got a bit of talent but no real upside to his roster. But, like always, DJ will stick with his team, have some 50 win seasons, and in all likelihood not actually win anything.
6. Recently, there was controversy over Facebook and Phone Numbers among other social networking dillema's involving some BBS GM's? Details are still shady at this point in the investigation but individuals were fired. What is your take on the situation and do you believe that Spencer handled it in the best way possible?
I think Spencer handled it well. From what I saw, Svedda was posting people's personal info on some other forum, including addresses and phone numbers, and people like Game were egging him on. The only word I can think of to describe the whole thing is pathetic. A grown man like Game egging on a 17 year old kid like Svedda? Pathetic. Svedda posting people's personal info because he got angry that Broph said drafting Cenk wasn't just pure luck? Pathetic. Just sad stuff all around. Grow up.
7. Who is the most annoying GM in the league and why?
Well after cleaning house this is a much harder question. For me it's probably between greeme and CC. I always have a negative association with CC because of his 2k cheesing, tanking with Rick Barry, and general ineptitude. Greeme's "I think I lose this trade" shtick is getting tiring. The sad part is I think he believes it, which has to make me think he just always drastically overvalues his players/assets, and yet because of it seems to win a lot of trades. Erbes when he gets into spam mode is pretty annoying too, but he's toned that down lately which is nice.
8. Who is your favorite GM and why?
I mean, J and I actually know each other so I guess he has to win by default? If he left I'd be pretty bummed. He sort of sucks here though, doesn't really do much with his team, holds up the drafts, usually last to get in FA bids. Outside of the occasional off the wall comment, he's meh here. When it comes to BBS personalities, I appreciate Play of late. Just the right amount of trolling IMO, and he breaks the act often enough that the trolling is more tolerable. Marty's been solid lately in this regard too. Andy's GIFs are always enjoyable, I just wish he'd build a team that won something. I appreciate Skillz and Broph's GMing ability, they're probably my favorites in terms of how they build their teams. Outside of that, I <3 most of the league, but then there's 10 or so GMs that I really could take or leave.
9. What is your favorite type of beer, liquor and wine?
I'm not the biggest of beer drinkers, I tend to prefer getting most of my drinking done in a 15 minute stretch and being drunk for the next few hours as opposed to that gradual drunkenness. When I do drink beer, it's either really shitty stuff like Busch Light in an attempt to get drunk as fast as possible or with a meal/socially I'll usually drink Sam Adams or Heineken. Liquor wise I'm a big jager fan, when I'm not being cheap that's my goto liquor. Otherwise I'm ok with most rums or vodka, tequila is one of the few hard liquors that I really just can't stand. When it comes to wine I'm all about the pinot grigio.
10. (I guess I either didn't put a 10, or Repole didn't answer so....) Why is Pig the coolest in the world?
Hard to give you one definite reason because there are so many. I mean awesomeness just seeps out of this guys pores everytime he takes a step. He has this immaculate suave that is second to none. Everytime he does a post pad I get goosebumps. For example, he posted in this trade thread a couple weeks ago, I think it was a free first for nothing and I just had shivers creep down my spine like Svedda on Plays facebook page. I inspire to be like him when I grow up.
11. In you opinion what GM steps on the most toes. Give a prime example of this mans actions.
I'm not entirely sure how this is different from most annoying GM, but I'll give it a try anyways. I guess Play is the most likely to complain about someone's DC or demand some rule change. I'll never forget him trying to prevent me from starting Mike Glenn in the last BBS for tanking purposes, who of course ended up putting up over 30ppg (leading the league) on nearly 50% shooting and low turnovers. Just awful stuff there. Meh. Don't really know what you want for this question, so this will have to do I guess?
12. Can you explain the Jay sleeping on your couch story? There so many different details and stories going around that I think we should get the full story.
lol, ummmmmmm. So J found a job in Ann Arbor, and needed a place to stay on short notice for "a couple days." Since all but one or two of my roommates was still gone for summer vacation, I told him he could crash at my house. Well, a couple days turned into a couple weeks, and then as my roommates started coming back, I had to fly home for a week I think to go to my brother's wedding, so even though everyone was back, he got to use my bed while I was gone. I get back, and sure enough, J's still there. At this point my roommates had grown quite fond of him, so they didn't really mind. School started up, and he was sleeping on our couch, but it got to the point where it was like man, you need to start pitching in some cash or something. A day or two later he found an apartment and moved out.
It's all good though. I was in town a few weeks ago and slept on his futon one night, so I guess that means we're even now?
13. Does every GM make it through their contract year this year? If not, are there any moves they can make to get through it?
Despite being the proud owner of that Seattle pick, I think they make it. They haven't played many home games, Hinrich will be back, and the West is just so awful. I think the trade they made SHOULD help them a bit in the short run, though it really depends on how Amare performs. Wish Marty had waited another day to come back, would have had Gortat or Humphries, instead I'm going to end up with a mid 1st. Oh well.
The Wizards should definitely make it, though I really hate their team. They have enough that they should win 45 games or so, their point differential is solid so far, I just don't think that roster has any real upside to it. After three years of being shitty, you would think a team would have a bit more to show for it. They're really inside focused in a league where it's harder and harder to find competent inside players, wouldn't feel too good about that if I were jah, but he should still be fine for this season.
14. What can we expect from Michigan Basketball this year?
I'd say anything less than the Elite 8 would be a disappointment. This is the first year Michigan's had a legitimate national contender since the Fab Five, it's amazing how much John Beilein has turned the program around. I think the biggest question is how Beilein adapts to personnel that he hasn't really had the opportunity to work with previously. Michigan has a number of talented bigs, but typically Beilein goes small and only really plays one big at a time. So it'll be fun to see whether he adapts and plays guys like Morgan and McGary together, or how much he tries to stick with his system. I expect him to adapt the offense a bit as long as all of McGary/Horford/Morgan are healthy, but at the same time wouldn't be surprised to see four shooters and McGary on the floor in crunch time. I'm really excited to see a lineup of McGary/Glenn Robinson III/Hardaway Jr/Stauskas/Burke on the floor. Tons of offense there, a lot of athleticism, and a lot of shooting. Ultimately I think the biggest key of the season is one of McGary or GRIII is going to need to replace the efficiency of Zach Novak, and I'm not sure which of those two is going to be capable of that. Really depends on how far their jumpshots have come. Remarkable how important a 6'4 white dude with limited athleticism playing PF was to the team last year.
15. Please get into detail on the new sim engine you're producing. Where are you at, what do you need to accomplish and what should we expect?
There's so much to talk about! I haven't worked on anything other than actually simming a game and the UI for that process, so there's still a ton of work to be done. The stuff I'm doing that you won't see in any other sim:
Quote:*Web based UI. Everything will be done from within a browser. Similar to the way you make trades and manage your roster in fantasy leagues. 0 work for a commish inputting trades, lineups, etc.
*The game actually creates a web app on your machine, so GMs will essentially be logging into the application running on the commish's computer/server. No need or advantage for anyone but the person running the league to have the game to participate.
*Ability to manage a game in real time (or faster, no one wants to take 2 hours to sim a game) against another GM (or the computer). Both GMs will be able to change strategy/lineups/matchups as the game is being simmed. This obviously isn't something that'd get used a ton in faster leagues, but would be really cool in the playoffs or for those rare 1 day per sim type leagues.
*Heavily customizable. Change anything and everything, from where the 3 point line is to what the average three point percentage should be in the league, pretty much anything that can be described with a number will be customizable. If turnovers are too high in a league, simply lower the turnover slider.
I'm working on the interface for the live in game management stuff now. Has a bit of a gamecast type feel to it. There's still a lot of work to do on the backend, I'm always changing how defensive rotations work and how the offensive ball movement logic works. Things are going to take longer than I initially hoped, but I'm also making things a lot more robust and full featured than initially planned. It's no longer just a hobby project, it's something I intend to eventually be able to sell. Unfortunately work is picking up and it's harder to accomplish stuff with the sim, but I'm trying to keep progressing. If it gets to a reasonable point I'll look into hiring people to help.
So there we go CC's and gentleman. Repole, uncut, uncanny and unfathoambly an awesome dude as we see in this edition.of.the......PIGPEN!
Today we sit down with Repole, GM of the Detroit Pistons as we take a look at some pressing matters in the BBS world among other things.
Pig: Thanks for sitting down with us today Repole!
Repole: No problem Pig, you're the best in the world and are cooler than everyone else so it's an honor to be in your presence. Oh yeah and I apologize for not spacing my answers from your questions as well Sir Awesome.
1. Tell me the state of affairs of the Detroit Pistons? Recently, you took Kevin Durant off a GM who is better known for his boyishly good looks and charm rather than his ability to be patient on players. What is the outlook and what can we expect from the team in the near future.
The outlook is bright! It looks like we'll have a top 4 or so pick in this draft, which with Rose/Westbrook/Love/Noah should be nice. I'd be happy pairing any of those four next to Durant. The biggest question with our team is Darko really. Dude's ratings are sexy as hell, but obviously making him an option is asking for far too much offensively. Once I get some scorers here, I'm not sure how much of a turnover decrease and shooting percentage increase I can expect from him. Hopefully he can be an impactful player for me down the line, becaue I gave up Michael Redd to get him, and Michael Redd is really, really good. Other than that, we'll probably suck again next year, and then have to pull some wins out the year after for my contract year.
2. Who is your early favorite to win the BBS crown this year? Who is a darkhorse? Which team do you believe is vastly overrated? Underrated?
I'll go Nuggets as the favorites. Wallace-Perk-Dirk-Marion-Lue with Roy off the bench is a pretty rock solid group, like a better version of my Pistons team that won it all but with some extra punch off the bench in Roy. I think the Nets are a solid dark horse candidate, I don't think too many would pick them to win it all, but they may well be the second best team in the league right now. We'll see if Greeme shakes things up there even more though. The Clippers I'd say are underated and aren't taken as seriously as they should be. I am cautious though of any team out west because of how weak the entire conference is. I'd also throw the Magic into that bunch, way too much talent not to eventually make some noise.
3. Which player in the league is your favorite right now and why?
Gerald Green of course! Even though he's nothing like he is in real life, dude is producing! Outside of him, I do have a pretty big man crush on Cenk. Dude is everything I'd want in a PG, low turnovers, nice percentages, a good outside shot, quality rebounder. Can't wait for him to test FA and come to occasionally sunny Detroit. Also in love with Louis Williams, he's one of my favorites in real life, so seeing him blow up here makes me want him on my team even more, guy looks like he's going to be a pretty dominant scorer. Other favorites would include Michael Redd, who I hate that I had to give up, but is just a filthy awesome scorer and defender. I'd also love to have GOd Jr. on my team, even though his ratings look a bit underwhelming, love the producting he's giving. Same goes for Gortat. Love seeing guys with less than huge ratings out producing guys like, well, Darko.
4. Which team looks to be set best for the future?
For me this is between the Magic (with LeBron and Cenk), the Nets (with Monta/Paul/Chandler), and the Grizzlies (with Williams, Conley, and a likely top 3 pick). I think it's tough to pick against the Magic and their talent, though they really haven't been able to capitalize on it yet, which makes me hesitate a bit. It's hard to imagine Play doesn't produce a contender out of that team eventually, whether it's through dealing off Bron/Cenk for a few extra quality players, or finally putting the right pieces around them. The Nets core is nice, but I don't think it's quite on that level, and to me Monta/Paul still have a good amount left to prove. The Grizzlies don't have quite the same talent level as the Magic either, but if they win the lottery and land Rose, I think they immediately jump to the front of this pack, even though they'll likely have to move Conley for a player at another position. The Nets of course are already in contention, but I'd be pretty surprised if the Magic and Grizzlies don't get there soon.
5. Which team looks like it has no direction and needs to rebuild?
There's a lot of teams that fit this bill. The Knicks are a typical Andy team. They'll win 50, maybe advance a round, then lose. Rinse and repeat. The Jazz are sort of stuck in no man's land. The Lakers have some young talent but don't seem to have what's necessary to surround those guys, and Melo seems to be pretty flawed with those turnovers. Chicago's got Kobe, JSmoove, and a pile of shit. The Twolves are in pretty mediocre shape, should definitely rebuild after this season. I think the most in need of a direction change is probably the Raptors though. DJ hasn't really done much of anything, he's got a bit of talent but no real upside to his roster. But, like always, DJ will stick with his team, have some 50 win seasons, and in all likelihood not actually win anything.
6. Recently, there was controversy over Facebook and Phone Numbers among other social networking dillema's involving some BBS GM's? Details are still shady at this point in the investigation but individuals were fired. What is your take on the situation and do you believe that Spencer handled it in the best way possible?
I think Spencer handled it well. From what I saw, Svedda was posting people's personal info on some other forum, including addresses and phone numbers, and people like Game were egging him on. The only word I can think of to describe the whole thing is pathetic. A grown man like Game egging on a 17 year old kid like Svedda? Pathetic. Svedda posting people's personal info because he got angry that Broph said drafting Cenk wasn't just pure luck? Pathetic. Just sad stuff all around. Grow up.
7. Who is the most annoying GM in the league and why?
Well after cleaning house this is a much harder question. For me it's probably between greeme and CC. I always have a negative association with CC because of his 2k cheesing, tanking with Rick Barry, and general ineptitude. Greeme's "I think I lose this trade" shtick is getting tiring. The sad part is I think he believes it, which has to make me think he just always drastically overvalues his players/assets, and yet because of it seems to win a lot of trades. Erbes when he gets into spam mode is pretty annoying too, but he's toned that down lately which is nice.
8. Who is your favorite GM and why?
I mean, J and I actually know each other so I guess he has to win by default? If he left I'd be pretty bummed. He sort of sucks here though, doesn't really do much with his team, holds up the drafts, usually last to get in FA bids. Outside of the occasional off the wall comment, he's meh here. When it comes to BBS personalities, I appreciate Play of late. Just the right amount of trolling IMO, and he breaks the act often enough that the trolling is more tolerable. Marty's been solid lately in this regard too. Andy's GIFs are always enjoyable, I just wish he'd build a team that won something. I appreciate Skillz and Broph's GMing ability, they're probably my favorites in terms of how they build their teams. Outside of that, I <3 most of the league, but then there's 10 or so GMs that I really could take or leave.
9. What is your favorite type of beer, liquor and wine?
I'm not the biggest of beer drinkers, I tend to prefer getting most of my drinking done in a 15 minute stretch and being drunk for the next few hours as opposed to that gradual drunkenness. When I do drink beer, it's either really shitty stuff like Busch Light in an attempt to get drunk as fast as possible or with a meal/socially I'll usually drink Sam Adams or Heineken. Liquor wise I'm a big jager fan, when I'm not being cheap that's my goto liquor. Otherwise I'm ok with most rums or vodka, tequila is one of the few hard liquors that I really just can't stand. When it comes to wine I'm all about the pinot grigio.
10. (I guess I either didn't put a 10, or Repole didn't answer so....) Why is Pig the coolest in the world?
Hard to give you one definite reason because there are so many. I mean awesomeness just seeps out of this guys pores everytime he takes a step. He has this immaculate suave that is second to none. Everytime he does a post pad I get goosebumps. For example, he posted in this trade thread a couple weeks ago, I think it was a free first for nothing and I just had shivers creep down my spine like Svedda on Plays facebook page. I inspire to be like him when I grow up.
11. In you opinion what GM steps on the most toes. Give a prime example of this mans actions.
I'm not entirely sure how this is different from most annoying GM, but I'll give it a try anyways. I guess Play is the most likely to complain about someone's DC or demand some rule change. I'll never forget him trying to prevent me from starting Mike Glenn in the last BBS for tanking purposes, who of course ended up putting up over 30ppg (leading the league) on nearly 50% shooting and low turnovers. Just awful stuff there. Meh. Don't really know what you want for this question, so this will have to do I guess?
12. Can you explain the Jay sleeping on your couch story? There so many different details and stories going around that I think we should get the full story.
lol, ummmmmmm. So J found a job in Ann Arbor, and needed a place to stay on short notice for "a couple days." Since all but one or two of my roommates was still gone for summer vacation, I told him he could crash at my house. Well, a couple days turned into a couple weeks, and then as my roommates started coming back, I had to fly home for a week I think to go to my brother's wedding, so even though everyone was back, he got to use my bed while I was gone. I get back, and sure enough, J's still there. At this point my roommates had grown quite fond of him, so they didn't really mind. School started up, and he was sleeping on our couch, but it got to the point where it was like man, you need to start pitching in some cash or something. A day or two later he found an apartment and moved out.
It's all good though. I was in town a few weeks ago and slept on his futon one night, so I guess that means we're even now?
13. Does every GM make it through their contract year this year? If not, are there any moves they can make to get through it?
Despite being the proud owner of that Seattle pick, I think they make it. They haven't played many home games, Hinrich will be back, and the West is just so awful. I think the trade they made SHOULD help them a bit in the short run, though it really depends on how Amare performs. Wish Marty had waited another day to come back, would have had Gortat or Humphries, instead I'm going to end up with a mid 1st. Oh well.
The Wizards should definitely make it, though I really hate their team. They have enough that they should win 45 games or so, their point differential is solid so far, I just don't think that roster has any real upside to it. After three years of being shitty, you would think a team would have a bit more to show for it. They're really inside focused in a league where it's harder and harder to find competent inside players, wouldn't feel too good about that if I were jah, but he should still be fine for this season.
14. What can we expect from Michigan Basketball this year?
I'd say anything less than the Elite 8 would be a disappointment. This is the first year Michigan's had a legitimate national contender since the Fab Five, it's amazing how much John Beilein has turned the program around. I think the biggest question is how Beilein adapts to personnel that he hasn't really had the opportunity to work with previously. Michigan has a number of talented bigs, but typically Beilein goes small and only really plays one big at a time. So it'll be fun to see whether he adapts and plays guys like Morgan and McGary together, or how much he tries to stick with his system. I expect him to adapt the offense a bit as long as all of McGary/Horford/Morgan are healthy, but at the same time wouldn't be surprised to see four shooters and McGary on the floor in crunch time. I'm really excited to see a lineup of McGary/Glenn Robinson III/Hardaway Jr/Stauskas/Burke on the floor. Tons of offense there, a lot of athleticism, and a lot of shooting. Ultimately I think the biggest key of the season is one of McGary or GRIII is going to need to replace the efficiency of Zach Novak, and I'm not sure which of those two is going to be capable of that. Really depends on how far their jumpshots have come. Remarkable how important a 6'4 white dude with limited athleticism playing PF was to the team last year.
15. Please get into detail on the new sim engine you're producing. Where are you at, what do you need to accomplish and what should we expect?
There's so much to talk about! I haven't worked on anything other than actually simming a game and the UI for that process, so there's still a ton of work to be done. The stuff I'm doing that you won't see in any other sim:
Quote:*Web based UI. Everything will be done from within a browser. Similar to the way you make trades and manage your roster in fantasy leagues. 0 work for a commish inputting trades, lineups, etc.
*The game actually creates a web app on your machine, so GMs will essentially be logging into the application running on the commish's computer/server. No need or advantage for anyone but the person running the league to have the game to participate.
*Ability to manage a game in real time (or faster, no one wants to take 2 hours to sim a game) against another GM (or the computer). Both GMs will be able to change strategy/lineups/matchups as the game is being simmed. This obviously isn't something that'd get used a ton in faster leagues, but would be really cool in the playoffs or for those rare 1 day per sim type leagues.
*Heavily customizable. Change anything and everything, from where the 3 point line is to what the average three point percentage should be in the league, pretty much anything that can be described with a number will be customizable. If turnovers are too high in a league, simply lower the turnover slider.
I'm working on the interface for the live in game management stuff now. Has a bit of a gamecast type feel to it. There's still a lot of work to do on the backend, I'm always changing how defensive rotations work and how the offensive ball movement logic works. Things are going to take longer than I initially hoped, but I'm also making things a lot more robust and full featured than initially planned. It's no longer just a hobby project, it's something I intend to eventually be able to sell. Unfortunately work is picking up and it's harder to accomplish stuff with the sim, but I'm trying to keep progressing. If it gets to a reasonable point I'll look into hiring people to help.
So there we go CC's and gentleman. Repole, uncut, uncanny and unfathoambly an awesome dude as we see in this edition.of.the......PIGPEN!
