OK, I was unexpectedly out of pocket over the weekend so the much anticipated vbp Kipper Fantasy Draft grades were late getting posted, so without further delay here are the grades and a brief write-up for each Fantasy team.
A quick explanation of the grading:
1. These grades are solely on the draft. The range was A- to D+ with no F's being awarded. There will be a follow up grade after the free add/drop period is completed for final grades and grades can go up or down.
2. To assign a slot from 1-14 the grades are numerical in range and two teams may have the same grade but not the same numerical score which allows two teams with the same grade to be ranked without ties in 1-14.
97 - 100 = A+
93 - 96 = A
90 - 92 = A-
87 - 89 = B+
83 - 86 = B
80 - 82 = B-
77 - 79 = C+
73 - 76 = C
70 - 72 = C-
67 - 69 = D+
63 - 66 = D
60 - 62 = D-
0 - 59 = F
2019 Fantasy Team Grades:
1. Team @allamerican11 (
A-, score
91) - This was painful to give him the top spot in the draft grades but Shhhhhhh obviously made a plan and then worked his plan throughout the draft. All his picks were top 3 to 4 on my ranking system remaining available picks when it was his turn each round. Runnels in 4th round could be a steal or turn out to be his weakest OH depending how CSU rifles through the MWC. I also thought Massey was a great get in the 10th round. Based on his players production last year, and if his freshman pick lives up to her expected production then Shhhhh should be top 3 barring any serious injuries.
2. Team
c4ndlelight (
A-, score
90) - From first two picks until last 2 picks I think c4ndle had a great draft. He landed a couple high scoring OH and then added a couple high potential OH in later rounds. If Bergmann plays to her true level that will be huge and if Whipple comes close to Dahlke's production then that will be the steal of the 11th round. He also got two of the top 5 projected libero and if he does not have any long term injuries he is sitting pretty for a top 3 finish.
3. Team
vballfreak808 (
B+, score
89) - The Silent Assassin did his usual quiet workmanlike accumulation of "west coast" talent with high projected production for 2019. Stone, Bajema, Patterson, and Hillyer were top 10 projections at their respective positions, with Stone and Hillyer being ranked top 5 for MBs. Marjama was a great pick in the 9th round, and if his two OH in round 10 and 11 meet their expectations for their teams vballfreak808 will once again be in top 3.
4. Team
huskerjen (
B+, score
88) - I liked every one of huskerjen's picks and it was hard to put her in 4th, but I felt the other three had a couple more players with bigger ceilings for scoring production. She got two setters that will be big 4 category producers, along with all her OH are solid 3 to 4 category producers, and both her Libero will be key if they do the same or + production from last year. Barring injury I see huskerjen fighting for a top 3 finish.
1-4 IMHO will be determined with a little luck, injuries, and coaches strategy each week against different opponents.
5. Team
trojansc (
B, score
85) - I really liked trojansc first 6 picks. Getting Melville, McCall, and Lanier with his 1st, 2nd, and 4th picks was pretty amazing and if his OH all stay healthy the entire season then he will be pushing to finish in the top 4 at the end of season. His two liberos were also big time scores as I had both ranked in top 6 returning projected production players at L. He fell to an 85 and B grade because I think his setting was average. Oleksak is very good, but CSU may just dominate their competition and have many 3-0 matches, and he needs one of the two freshman setters to have big numbers or play the add/drop game early. trojansc has the firepower to be in the hunt to the very end, but this will be my one "I called it" prediction in fantasy 2019.... there's a great chance if you are a top player and trojansc picks you in the draft you will have an injury and be out from a couple weeks to the season - The
trojansc curse lives on in 2019 and injuries will again plague this team from fulfilling it's potential.
6. Team
donut (
B, score
83) - duncaroo came out of the gate strong with Hayden and Lazaro who were my #2 ranked OH, and S followed by a MB that is projected to be top 5, so things were shaping up like a dream team. Then he had some very underwhelming picks that pushed him out of the top 5. I really did like the Twitty OH pick so if some of the questionable lower round picks do produce good numbers he can make a run, but my bet is he will have to do a couple add/drops during the free period to shore up the setting, and potentially a second libero.
7. Team
vup (
B-, score
80) - vup would have been higher ranked, but for some reason he decided to take a 3 rotation player in the 5th round that only scores in 2 categories (SMH), and that wasn't bad enough for him he decided to further try and sabotage his team by being a homer and taking a 5th OH (from Nebraska) instead of taking a 3rd setter. I liked both his setters and liberos, and his MBs were solid. At OH Hans was my 3rd ranked OH for projected scoring, and I think he could have gotten Pritchard a round or two later and grabbed someone with a bigger impact/ceiling in the 2nd round, but if Flory does play Bannister 6 rotations like some folks believe he got a steal in the 8th round. So to put it in perspective vup graded out with a B- and messed up on a couple picks but selected some other high ceiling players to off-set his screw ups. If he makes a couple good moves in the free add/drop window he could also be dangerous and make a run.
8. Team
Stanlifornia (
C+, score
78) - Stanlifornia was the agean09 of the 2019 Fantasy Draft by selecting all P5 conference players. He got some good ones, and would probably win an All-Star tournament between all the fantasy teams, but that is not the contest!! He has a lot of players that could potentially be in quite a few 3-0 matches like Plummer, Hames, Samedy, Butler, Hall, Curry, and Clark which is not good for match average when going against other players that may have many 4 or 5 set matches (always need a couple players from AAC, MVC, and BW). A lot of his players also are on teams that have several top players as options so the scoring will be distributed even though they are some of the best players in the game. Unless he makes some moves during the free add/drop window I see Stanlifornia having some big weeks, and having some bad weeks when Stanford, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Florida, Kentucky, Texas, etc., are in conference and play teams in bottom half of PAC, B1G, SEC, Big 12, etc. and they are rolling their opponents 3-0 and some players might actually sit a set.
9. Team
vbsam16 (
C+, score
77) - vbsam16 has some nice pieces, but also has some big holes that need attention. First 4 picks were great selections that will produce, but then had several picks that may lean more on the "hope they produce" side than the "they will produce" side - Dowd could be a stud, but with Ga Tech having three real scoring options will she maintain her 2018 #s? Also Marquette OH may produce in digs, aces, but may be third option for scoring. Gray at setter is a production machine at assits, aces, and blocks, but Miller and Blossom are unknown quantities and one may need to be replaced during free add/drop window. With a couple good moves vbsam16 could have a nice rookie finish.
10. Team
agean09 (
C, score
75) - agean09 actually added a player from outside the P5, but not much far outside since it was a top volleyball program that happens to be a mid-major (BYU). The first 4 picks were awesome and he was feeling good... then the next couple picks reminded me of an afternoon show on ESPN called "Highly Questionable!" Kubick - is she the starter, will she split time, etc., Allison - same questions, Eschenberg does not serve so 2 trick pony and could have gotten couple rounds later. Hentz is one of the two best liberos in college, but not a great fantasy scorer in 2018, and will Gregory start at L for Florida? The good thing is he can make a few moves in the free add/drop window and jump his score up.
11. Team
Fight On! (
C, score
74) - Fight On took over with like 3 picks left in the draft so this is the grade the draft was getting and he will be the owner of the final grade after he applies his strategy and utilizes the Free add/drop window. Thompson started the grade at A+ and then many picks pulled it down, but Caffrey, Di Maulo, and Logan are nice pieces to keep with Thompson, and Rasmussen is a 6 rotation OH at Hawaii the foundation is solid. If Fight On can avoid the injury bug and add a couple more pieces he can jump several teams and be in the top 7 or better.
12. Team @gopherfan (
C-, score
72) - gopherfan's team is solid but nobody outside of Ruddins makes you worry....yet. 2 of his 3 MBs did not serve last year and good chance that those teo will not serve this year so only key stats from those MBs will be kills and blocks. The one MB that did serve missed 8 matches, but I like Lang from Kansas and if she is healthy the whole year will be his best MB. Both Liberos were good last year, so they should be decent for production in 2019. Setters scare me because Washington St. lost some key attackers, and other setter is Freshman at TCU (I would love the TCU setter as the 3rd setter to make sure she was all that in the first week or two). He might want to consider choosing between Mitrovic and Burse, both OH from ASU and drop the one that is not going to be the horse for ASU and grab a 3rd setter in the free add/drop window to play it safe.
13. Team
Hawk Attack (
C-, score
71) - I was probably too tough on Hawk Attack, but he knows too much about college volleyball, and club volleyball in mid-west to have an average draft! Rettke and Van Buskirk will be his anchors at MB, but I think he could have done much better selecting OH and Liberos. Shields was a good pick and will probably have a great senior season, but Shermanova and Niego could go backwards in sophomore year because of their teams key losses. I also think with all the talent surrounding White at Texas and the setter issues that she will not be a big horse in fantasy.
14. Team
maplespear (
D+, score
69) - maplespear struggled out of the gate and took some players that she could have had several rounds later like Stivrins, Lake, Franklin and Chronowski. Then she took some players that she could have had in the 10th - 12th rounds or they would have gone undrafted like Sweet who will probably be a 3 rotation RS, and Shook who may not even start as setter at Texas. She recovered a bit in the second half of the draft, but needs to do some serious add/drop during the free period and get her roster set so she can focus on 3 or 4 categories and look to be a spoiler and go .500.
The remainder of the teams will be updated with one new ranked team every hour! LOL