If you’ve played NCAA Basketball 10 and wondered “Why do I get stripped every time I drive?” or “Why does the CPU always shoot from the post?” and of course “What the hell is boundary force field?” you’re in the right place, brother!
Table of contents – Click to skip ahead
🏀 Go-to Slider Sets
🏀 Global Sliders Explained
🏀 User/CPU Sliders Explained
🏀 Gameplay Help
🏀 Player Customization
🏀 More Questions
A lot of the information in this article comes from my relentless inspection of the Operation Sports forums for NCAA Basketball. The good bits of information are all over the place, and I had to sift through a bunch of mindless complaints and pointless questions to find them. My goal is to get all the useful information organized in one place.
An extra special shoutout goes to forum contributor DeadlyCane, whose sliders I’ll reference throughout the article, who offered the most useful information about the game’s logic, and who went to crazily long lengths to customize players with authentic rosters from the 2009-2010 season.
Go-to Slider Sets
Here are two great slider sets to use:
Blue’s Varsity Sliders: This is a great slider set to start with for rookies. It breathes some life into the action. The idea is that it uses the Varsity-level logic, allowing lots of freewheeling and driving to the basket, but balances the difficulty with lower shot ability for the user, higher shot ability for the CPU. For experienced players, it’s a little too easy against the CPU in the end.
DeadlyCane’s All-Conference Sliders: If you have some experience with the game, I highly recommend using these sliders, and then making tweaks to your liking over time. This fella DeadlyCane’s main objectives seem to be:
- Realistic shooting percentage: with realistic results for each type of shot.
- More fouls: On default settings, there are few fouls.
- Fewer cheap steals: On default settings, you can spam the steal button for takeaways that you’d never see in a college game. Don’t worry, steals will happen more naturally from bad ballhandling and tipped passes, which is much more realistic.
- Fewer jumpshots from the post: On default settings, the CPU routinely throws the ball to the post, turns, and shoots a jumpshot, which is ugly and easy to block.
- More offensive rebounds: I’ve seen widely mixed opinions on this; some people think there are too many offensive rebounds, and some think there are too few.
- Higher fatigue effect: On default settings, fatigue is basically inconsequential.
I personally have made my own tweaks, which I’ll mention here and there, but given how the forum appreciated his sliders, I’m deferring to his wisdom.
ALL HAIL DEADLYCANE!
Global Sliders Explained
Difficulty
All-American is rigid compared to the more organic feel of All-Conference. On All-American, the shooting logic favors perfectly run plays too much, not allowing many buckets from freewheeling.
But the real game-breaking issue with All-American is that free throws are way too hard, and the free throw difficulty slider is a global slider, affecting both the user and the CPU. If you use the “let the CPU shoot for you” trick (just lay off the controller for 10 seconds), you’ll usually miss anyway.
DC says: All-Conference
Half Length
Choose how long a half is. I like 14 or 15 minutes, even though the final score might end up lower than real-life.
DC says: 18 minutes
Game Speed
This is the literal speed of the action on the court: the players’ movements and speed of the ball. Low for slow, high for fast. I don’t recommend going higher than 50 unless you want circus-like arcade-style action.
DC says: 45
Shooting Foul Frequency
This controls shooting fouls, specifically ones that happen on a standard block attempt on a jumpshot. Move it down for fewer fouls, up for more fouls. 50 seems low, 70 seems high. Slight tweaks between 65 and 70 make a noticeable difference.
DC says: 67
Reach-In Foul Frequency
This controls fouls when trying a standard steal on a player who’s standing still. Move it down for fewer fouls called, up for more fouls called. By turning this up, you’ll make it worthless to try these steals, which is good, because it looks stupid and you never see college players lose the ball like that. Also, the CPU never tries these steals.
DC says: 100
Charge/Block Foul Frequency
This allows you to increase fouls on blocks AND charges AND moving screens. Turn it up to get more of them all. I like the realism of going all the way up to 100, but I’ll see one or two bogus charging calls per game.
*Just in case you’re not familiar with basketball terms, “blocks” in this case means bumping the ballhandler illegally when you’re both on the floor, not swatting down a shot with your hand.
DC says: 100
Auto Subs
When turned on, the game will automatically substitute new players into the game for you. When the CPU manages substitutions, it simply attempts to fill each position with the player with the best overall rating, until that player gets tired enough to come out. The only other consideration is foul trouble. The CPU doesn’t consider match-ups, specialty groups, anything like that.
DC says: On
Basket Cut Indicator
When turned on, a small circular icon appears over a player as he sets a screen, indicating his next move: fade out to the perimeter or cut to the basket.
DC says: On
Fatigue Effect
This affects how tired your players get. When a player’s energy is very low, you may notice lower shooting percentage and more defensive mistakes. The default setting of 50 is way too low, letting the starters play the whole game. Turn it up to make fatigue a bigger factor, forcing coaches to use their bench.
DC says: 100
Free Throw Difficulty
This affects the speed of the shooting meter during free throws. Turn it up to make free throws harder. Turn it down to make free throws easier. As a global slider, it affects the difficulty for both teams. On the default setting of 50, the CPU makes too high a percentage of their free throws.
To let the CPU shoot free throws for you, just don’t touch the controller and he’ll eventually shoot.
DC says: 60
Boundary Force Field
It’s everyone’s favorite Star Wars movie, right? Oh, my bad, we’re talking about the well-known 🙄 basketball concept boundary force field, duh!!!
This setting DOES NOT affect players stepping out of bounds. If you’re having trouble with players stepping out of bounds, take a Euro step down to the Gameplay Help section.
Boundry force field controls the size of the “bubble” around players as they run into other players. When players’ bubbles touch, they begin to react to each other’s presence.
Example: When you dribble to the basket and you’re well-guarded by the defender, he will get in front of you and force you into a “protect the ball” animation that stops your progress. When BFF is turned up, the bubble is bigger. The defender goes into an “absorbing contact” animation from a farther distance, stopping you a moment earlier. When BFF is turned down, the bubble is smaller. You’ll be free to keep driving a moment longer, but then stop in your tracks when you make do contact.
BFF affects other situations, not just dribbling, including off-ball screening and fighting for rebounding position.
Newbies complain that it’s too hard to drive to the basket, that they’re immediately sucked into an animation. You’d think the solution would be to turn BFF down, but it’s a bad idea. First of all, when it’s all the way down, it makes the whole thing look junky, like you’re playing a lesser video game. Secondly, I don’t think a low BFF necessarily makes offense easier; you’re still going to run into the defender eventually. In a weird way, a high BFF makes offense easier, because the animations give you more clues about how to get past defenders.
On All-Conference, 50 feels fair enough. It gives offense and defense a fair chance against each other and keeps the game looking realistic. I don’t mind a higher BFF (a bigger bubble), but I think a lower BFF hurts the overall experience.
DC says: 50
In-Air Collision Foul Frequency
This controls how often fouls are called when the defender challenges a shot in the air, near the basket. This affects shots in the “contested shot animation” that you’ll become familiar with. Turn it up for more fouls, turn it down for less fouls.
DC says: 75
User/CPU Sliders Explained
The suggested settings are from DeadlyCane’s sliders.
Steal Ability
This affects steals, both the goofy standard steal (alleviated by the increased steal foul frequency setting) and the more natural steals that occur automatically when players force the ball into traffic or get double-teamed. Turn it up for more steals, down for less steals.
DC also opts to turn this down for the CPU, but I found that turning it up offers a tougher challenge without seeming too unrealistic.
User: 85
CPU: 40
Interception Ability
This affects players’ ability to swat down passes or pick them off cleanly. Turn it up for more interceptions, down for less interceptions. A high setting leads to more loose balls and a more frantic overall feel, punishing both teams for bad passing. Given that there’s no manual “deny pass” control, raising interceptions lets your AI teammates stop passes that unfairly lead to easy buckets for the CPU, but I personally find 100 too high.
User: 100
CPU: 65
Shot Block Ability
This affects blocks on all shots except layups and dunks from point-blank range. Turn it up for more blocks, down for less blocks. I’ve tried turning this down to 0 for the user, and I could still block those dumb post jumpers.
I’ve found that this can work well in coordination with short range shooting. Starting from DC’s sliders, I dialed user short range shooting and CPU shot block ability both up. I like this trade-off: my short-range shots are more likely to go in, but the CPU is better at blocking them, which incentivizes me to get short-range shots off cleanly.
User: 35
CPU: 35
Dunk/Lay-up Block Ability
This affects blocks on layups and dunks. Move it up for more blocks, down for less blocks.
User: 45
CPU: 45
Offensive Rebounds
Move it up to see more offensive rebounds, move it down to see fewer offensive rebounds. The forum dorks can’t agree if the game has too many or too few offensive boards.
At 75/75, strong big men can cause some trouble on the offensive glass, but not so much that it swings every game. Going much higher would become a little annoying.
User: 75
CPU: 75
Defensive Rebounds
Move it up for more defensive rebounds, move it down for less defensive rebounds.
User: 50
CPU: 45
Fakeout Discipline
This affects how often a defender bites on a pump fake, jumping for the block and letting his opponent go past him. Move it up to increase the defender’s discipline, making him more likely to stay on his feet and play smart defense. Move it down to make him play silly, jumping to block every fake shot.
I personally think it feels cheap and unrealistic when a pump fake works, so I dialed this up to 100 for the CPU, and it still works often.
This setting won’t affect your defense when you’re controlling the on-ball defender.
User: 40
CPU: 40
Short Range Shooting
This affects percentages on short-range shots. Move it up for better short-range shooting. Move it down for worse short-range shooting.
I did some testing to determine what “short range” is, and I think it’s within about 8 feet from the hoop. (For reference, the lane lines are 6 feet from the center of the rim, the foul line is 15 feet from the center of the rim.)
This affects all types of shots, including putbacks and contested floaters, any type of shot that doesn’t strictly have a layup-looking animation.
Slight tweaks will have very noticeable effects. This is a great slider to tweak if you’re finding the game too easy or too hard.
User: 40
CPU: 30
Medium Range Shooting
This affects mid-range shots, from about 8 feet to about 19 feet. (The 3-point line is 20 feet, 9 inches out). Move it up for higher shooting success. Move it down for lower shooting success. This also has a drastic effect on the game, and slight tweaks can make the game much easier or harder.
User: 45
CPU: 42
Long Range Shooting
This affects shots from 19 feet out and farther. (The 3-point line is 20 feet, 9 inches out.) Move it up for more successful long-range shots. Move it down for fewer successful long-range shots. With experience, you’ll learn to shoot 3-pointers when a good shooter is open and in rhythm, and you might find 50 too easy. Slight tweaks make noticeable differences.
User: 50
CPU: 50
Dunk Percentage
To be honest, I’m not sure on this one.
Does it make players more likely to go for a dunk instead of a layup? I don’t think so. I tested by dialing it up to 100 and noticed nothing different.
Does it make dunk attempts go through the hoop more often? Maybe, but dunks basically always go in. You don’t see guys brick a dunk.
Whatever it is, the game plays fine at 45/45, and if you want to see players go for a dunk more often, you need to increase individual player ratings for dunks.
User: 45
CPU: 45
Layup Percentage
Move it up to make layups fall in more often, move it down to make them rim out. Without defenders getting involved, layups always go in, so this really just affects layups in traffic.
User: 45
CPU: 45
Drop Step Effectiveness
This touches on the “CPU always shoots jumpers from the post” issue, and it works in coordination with the defensive post strength slider. As far as I can tell, this affects a player’s ability to back into the defender, and it doesn’t affect the actual “drop step” maneuver you know from real basketball. Dial it up to make post players better at moving with their back to the basket. Dial it down to make them worse at it. I’ve ended up going much higher (100 for the CPU) than DeadlyCane’s suggestion on this one in the relentless effort to fix the jumpshot issue.
User: 50
CPU: 75
Sink or Swim Effectiveness
This affects how well a player posting up can spin around his defender, just like Blake Griffin does in the game’s intro video. EA calls this a “swim move.” Move it up for more swim moves, move it down for fewer swim moves.
To execute this move on offense, with a defender on your back, don’t touch anything on the controller, then quickly move the right thumbstick to the left or right. If it works, you’ll break free toward the basket. If it doesn’t, you’ll attempt it but get stopped, in which case, don’t force it by trying it over again or you’ll lose the ball.
User: 80
CPU: 80
Defensive Post Strength
This is an important slider for the “CPU always shoots jumpers from the post” issue. This affects a post defender’s tendency to body up on his man, as well as his ability to stand his ground when the player backs up into him.
Move it up to make post defenders more aggressive, which puts the offensive player in a back-to-the-basket stance, stopping the quick jumpshot.
Even at 100, the issue still isn’t totally fixed, unfortunately.
User: 100
CPU: 100
Shot Alter Ability
This affects how much contesting a shot will decrease the shot’s chance of going in. To my knowledge, it affects everything from 3-pointers to shots from under the hoop. Move it up to make shooters miss more often if a defender gets a hand up. Move it down to make contesting a shot have less effect on the shooter.
This is an instance where the CPU has a built-in advantage, because when they contest shots, they’re in the exact right spot to alter your shot. When a human is playing, it’s easy to think you’ve contested a shot, but you’re an inch off and your defense has little effect.
User: 75
CPU: 55
Fight Through Screen Ability
This affects defenders’ ability to fight through screens. Dial it up to make them better at getting around screens. Dial it down to make screening more effective. I personally find that screens don’t work well enough on default settings and have dialed this down to 40/40.
User: 50
CPU: 50
Hands in Post
This affects an offensive player’s ability to keep the ball when he’s guarded in the post. Move it up to make offensive players control the ball better. Move it down to make them lose it more often.
User: 75
CPU: 55
Hands on Perimeter
This affects offensive players’ control of the ball on the perimeter. Move it up to make players hold onto the ball better. Move it down to cause more steals away from the basket. Dialing this up helps cut down on unrealistic steals, along with the reach-in foul frequency global slider.
User: 55
CPU: 55
Gameplay Help
The CPU always throws the ball in the post and shoots a quick jumpshot. What can I do to fix this dumb quirk?
Unfortunately, not enough. You’ll see it more with certain teams and certain playbooks, but removing it from the game altogether is impossible.
Start by using DeadlyCane’s slider set. The keys are dialing up user defensive post strength to 100, CPU drop step effectiveness to 75, and CPU sink or swim move effectiveness to 80. This makes your AI defender more aggressive about bodying up before the CPU starts the shot, and it compensates by giving the CPU player better skills with his back to the basket.
You could also turn user shot block ability down, which won’t stop the CPU from shooting, but it will make it (slightly) harder to block them every single time. It’s also not a bad idea to dial up the CPU’s midrange shot ability, which will incentivize you to defend the jumpshot when it happens.
If you’re feeling “mad scientist” enough, you can start playing around with individual player ratings…
I’ve noticed that big men with good dribbling ability and offense ability are less likely to resort to the simple jumpshot; they’re more likely to attack the basket. And if you lower their shooting range to 6 or fewer feet, they won’t want to take the jumpshot. (The guiding AI principle is that players will do what they’re good at doing.) Of course, this changes a player’s style drastically, so I’m not sure you want to do that.
The other thing I’ve noticed is that highly skilled perimeter players will take more shots in general, leaving fewer possessions for the stubborn power forward who shoots jumpers all day. You could supercharge the small guys and compensate by dialing down CPU long range shooting. In DeadlyCane’s re-rate project, he adjusted players to make them take more 3-pointers, so that’s one way to cut down on the dumb post jumper.
Anyway, the whole thing is kind of a bummer, the game’s biggest flaw.
Why do I get stripped every time I drive?
You’re forcing it, man. This isn’t NBA Jam. You can’t just bull your way to the hoop.
Generally, the game allows a skilled ballhandler to get sucked into one animation where he’s up against the defender’s body. Once that happens, you need to back out. Don’t continue plowing forward or you’ll lose the ball. Less skilled ballhandlers will lose the ball right away.
Here’s one way to beat a defender one on one: Call the 5-out motion offense to clear the middle of the floor. Start at the top of the key with a guard. Move the right thumbstick right a couple times to slowly sidestep with the dribble. As the ball is in your right hand, push left with the right thumbstick and left/forward with the left thumbstick. Do it correctly, and you’ll get a step on your defender and a path to the basket. Now SLAM IT!
My teammates keep stepping out of bounds! What gives?!
Just don’t pass it him, genius.
I’m kidding, it happens to me too. There’s no slider or player attribute to fix it.
In the half-court offense, a teammate will often run along the baseline, corner to corner. It looks like you can lead him with a pass in the corner, but you pass it, and D’OH! He stops in his tracks and catches the ball out of bounds. On a play like this, just wait an extra second before making the pass.
There are a few other ways teammates end up out of bounds. You just need to be careful and not pass it. They usually get in bounds a moment later. Let’s just call this one of NCAA 10’s many challenges.
What’s the deal with tempos?
Each team has an offensive tempo: up-tempo, balanced, or half-court. Shots are slightly more likely to go in when they match your tempo. I think that AI teammates run up the floor according to tempo, but I’m not certain.
To change your tempo during a game, hit down on the D-pad to open the menu.
There’s no way to change other teams’ tempos, except for the old trick of starting a 2-player game, choosing the opponents’ settings, and then switching the second controller back to the CPU before the tip-off.
Here’s the argument for each tempo:
- Up-tempo: I like to push the ball, and if I get a good shot right away, I don’t want the game’s logic messing up my chances. Otherwise, I’ll play half-court offense and work for a high-percentage shot that won’t need the assistance of the attribute boost. Scoring fast is never a bad option.
- Balanced: I’ll push the ball to get an easy bucket, but if it’s not really easy, I’m content to run my offense normally and get a good shot without bleeding the shot clock. A balanced tempo just makes good sense.
- Half-court: I love slow-as-molasses basketball. It’s frustrating for the other team. A game with fewer possessions has a smaller sample size, which I like, because I have no confidence in myself. I like other slow stuff like boat races and watching paint dry. I need to prove to people that I have monk-like calmness and an abnormally long attention span. I reject the concept of swagger.
Why are passes so slow?
Oh, you poor thing. You must be pressing X to pass, or using icon passing. Get in the habit of direct passing — hold L2 and move the right thumbstick where you want the pass to go — which whips the ball around a lot faster.
Also keep in mind, you won’t lead your teammate with the pass unless he’s already a couple steps in motion.
I’m trying to make a guy cut, but I’m moving the guy with the ball instead! Help!
To control a teammate’s movement before passing, it’s best to make sure the guy with the ball is standing still. Then, hold L2, hold the player’s icon button, and move him with the left stick.
How do I make an inbound pass to someone other than the point guard?
Use icon passing like you would any other time. Hold L2 and press the player’s icon button. Even better, hold L2, hold the player’s icon button, move him into position to catch the pass, and then press the icon button again. (For the longest time, my instinct was to press X even if I wanted to pass to the Circle guy, and I was under the false impression it was impossible to pass to anyone else.)
This is most helpful in late-game situations when you’re (a) ahead and the opponent is fouling, and you want to pass to your best free-throw shooter, or (b) you want to get a last-second shot.
The CPU is double-teaming my star player! What do I do?!
Dude, that’s great news! You got ’em right where you want ’em!
Call a 5-out motion offense to clear the middle of the floor. Give the ball to the star, who I’m assuming has scored 20+ points by now. When the double-team comes, see which teammate is now unguarded, use icon passing to make him cut to the hoop, pass it, and then score the easiest two points ever.
Even better, move your star toward a teammate who can cut fast and dunk with ease (like an athletic small forward), and his defender will likely come for the double-team.
What are the best motion offenses to use?
If you’re making a custom playbook, my suggestion is to arm yourself with the 4-out motion, 5-out motion, dribble drive motion, and triangle motion. 3-low motion and 3-out 2-in are also worth trying. Here’s why:
- 4-out motion: It gets players moving in productive ways, can lead to open shots, and stretches a man-to-man defense enough to open up driving opportunities. It recreates standard college ball the best.
- 5-out motion: If I want to go one-on-one, this clears the floor better than the isolation set play. If the CPU double-teams my best scorer, my solution is to open up the floor and make the unguarded player cut to the basket. Even as a primary team offense, 5-out can be pretty fun.
- Dribble drive motion: It’s delightfully chaotic. It’s helpful to shake my team out of a funk. I like that as soon as I drive a few feet in, my other players start moving.
- Triangle motion: I wanted to love triangle against man-to-man, and it just never worked well. And then I discovered that it’s actually great against a 2-3 zone, putting players in the zone’s soft spots better than the zone set plays.
- 3-low motion: This is a more fundamental solution to a 2-3 zone defense that would please basketball purists. It puts your two bigs at the blocks and lets the SF run corner to corner.
- 3-out 2-in: If you want to post up your bigs like a late 90’s NBA team, this works well. It’s a simple, straightforward offense.
How do I beat a 2-3 zone?
The forum dorks will tell you to just jack up 3-pointers.
Basketball coaches will tell you to run the 1-3-1 zone O, zone base, or zone overload, which attempt to recreate fundamental “zone-busters,” although they’re not super effective in this game.
Coaches would also tell you that penetrating with a fast dribbler will “collapse” the zone and free up someone for a pass, and I like this strategy better. A player who can dribble and shoot the midrange shot can be lethal against any zone.
I like using the triangle motion, oddly enough, along with penetrating and collapsing the zone.
One more thing: When passing around the perimeter, get into the mindset of making 100% safe passes. Use icon passing to move the receiver outside the 3-point line and avoid a dumb turnover.
What are the best set plays?
I still need to try them all out, but I like Side Tri Guard 1, Long X, and Princeton Pin.
For a nice pick-and-roll, there’s Prince 52 and Elbow 25.
To set up a corner three, use Deep Special or Special 3.
Can I really run a Princeton offense?
Hahahaha … no. Unfortunately, the Princeton motion in this game doesn’t resemble the real-life Princeton offense or do anything useful at all. In fact, CPU-controlled teams running Princeton will commit unforced backcourt violations once or twice a game. There are four set plays that start from a Princeton setup, and I do like Princeton Pin. Prince Strong 2 is also worth a try.
If you don’t know what in the hell I’m talking about, stop what you’re doing and watch Princeton vs. UCLA from the 1996 NCAA Tournament.
What’s the best defense to use?
I prefer 1/4 court man-to-man. It just makes the game feel like basketball.
The 2-3 zone might be the overall most effective defense in the game, but it feels cheap and cheesy to me, especially with sliders that favor user interceptions.
The 2-3 trap zone has more natural movement and feels more like a daring coaching tactic, which I like.
If you need a full-court press to make a comeback, try the full court 2-2-1 or full court 1-2-1-1, which may cause the opponent to make a mistake.
There’s no box-out button? How do I rebound?
Rebounding in this game is largely automatic, and I hardly ever control a defensive player as a shot goes up to get in position for a rebound.
Offense is another story. On outside shots, you have enough time to grab hold of a player and put him in position for an offensive board.
Can you give me some defensive tips?
If you’re reading this far, I’m assuming you already know to hold R1 to get your guy into optimal defensive position.
When a good shooter gets the ball on the perimeter, tap Triangle for the close-out, which will deter him from shooting while staying in good position.
If the other team pushes the ball, take hold of somebody and sprint straight into the paint to stop an easy basket. Don’t mess around; just get to the paint.
When the other team’s point guard brings the ball up near the sideline, you can “come outta nowhere” and quickly put a body on him, forcing him toward the sideline for the clumsy “falling out of bounds” animation. (This is pretty cheap, honestly. It feels more well-earned when it happens along the baseline.)
Can I deny the inbound pass?
Unfortunately, no. Even during live action, the “deny pass” animation happens automatically.
The notable exception is when the opponent is inbounding under the basket they’re shooting on, your guys might swat down the pass, especially if you have a big guy with his hands up, and especially with the interception slider turned up.
Can I call plays during dead balls or timeouts?
No! 🤬 Is that frustrating or what?!
If you’re trailing late in the game and need to foul multiple times, it’s worth spending the extra seconds to call a full-court press defense, so that you’re in better position to foul the next time the opponent inbounds the ball.
Before the game, I chose three tactics for the team to focus on. Does this do anything?
Actually, I think it does, but couldn’t say which ones are best. I think I’ve noticed that “Force turnovers” makes my AI teammates more likely to get a steal. Anyone want to chime in on this one?
Does homecourt advantage do anything in this game?
If you’re playing in one of the game’s “20 Toughest Places to Play,” the free throw meter moves extremely fast. I usually miss my first few tries, but I can get a decent handle on it after that.
On the road anywhere, the controller might rumble during free throws or when the other team goes on a run.
I’m not sure about any other effects, but I’ve seen DeadlyCane suggest that winning on the road is more difficult, so maybe? Anyone want to chime in?
Player Customization
I’m not going through every one of these, just some concepts to know if you decide to venture into customizing players.
There aren’t player tendencies? Why the hell not?
Because EA sucks and life sucks too, brother.
Just kidding, the AI in this game follows this principle: Players do what they’re good at doing. But keep reading for some helpful little nuggets…
Field Goal and Three Point Rating
The field goal rating affects all shots (except maybe dunks?) and works in coordination with three-point and shooting range ratings. In other words, your chance of making a 3-pointer isn’t only affected by the 3-point rating; it’s actually more affected by the field goal rating. As DeadlyCane demonstrates in his math-based re-rate project, the 3-point rating affects the volume of 3-pointers, not necessarily their success rate. Since CPU players don’t throw up enough long bombs to recreate college ball, he dialed 3-point rating all the way to 99 for some players.
It’s tempting to dial up field goal rating to create a prolific scorer, but in my experience, anything over 80 feels “player of the year” and anything over 88 feels “not human.” You might be surprised to find that a CPU opponent with 75 for both ratings can still drain threes if you leave him open.
Field goal rating below 70 drops the player into the “not a good scorer” category. Similarly, once you go below 70 for 3-point rating, the player won’t shoot threes when controlled by the CPU.
Shooting Range
On a scale of 1 to 24, this is the number of feet from the rim the player will be comfortable and successful shooting the ball.
Since the 3-point line is 20 feet, 9 inches out, choose at least 21 feet for a player who shoots threes. But, an important note, the AI isn’t great at catching the ball right at the line, so go up to 23 or 24 for long-range marksmen.
I found it fun to recreate old-school guards by giving them a high field goal rating (say, 81) and a lower shooting range (maybe 17) along with high dribbling, speed, and quickness, and make them masters of the mid-range pull-up jumper.
I’ve created big men with very low shooting range (6 or less), and they mostly score on slams and putbacks.
Keep in mind, players might still make shots outside their shooting range, but when controlled by the CPU, they probably won’t try.
Inside Scoring
The forum dorks agreed that this rating affects any shot from inside the paint, whether it’s a layup, putback, floater, fallaway, hook shot, or jumper. Notice that there’s no layup rating, so this is important even for smaller players who can finish in traffic.
Above 70 makes the player competent near the hoop. Above 80 makes the player very good. For dominant big men, I’ve gone up to 99.
Dunk Rating
DeadlyCane and others noticed there aren’t enough slam dunks in the game, at least with defenders anywhere nearby. This rating is definitely the way to fix it. Makes sense, because you’ll notice an awful lot of players have ratings below 50.
For guards and small forwards: Anything below 35, and the player won’t ever dunk. From 35-45, he’ll dunk if he gets a free path to the hoop. 50 is basically the cut-off between commonly dunking in traffic and not. Once you go up above 60, then you’re asking for the guy to humiliate somebody maybe once a game. It starts to get ridiculous at 85-90, so even for the best dunkers who ever played (think Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins) cap it at 90.
For bigs who stay close to the basket: 60 is a standard rating for a typical college power forward, maybe 70 for a center. If you’re trying to create a real monster (think Shaquille O’Neal) feel free to go up to 99.
Vertical Rating
This is a tricky one. Vertical rating can give players a distinct rebounding advantage, so if you’re jacking it way up to recreate an athletic guard, you should probably show some restraint. Start with 70, see how it plays, and tweak it from there.
For a basic guard, I go with 60. A forward or center gets 70 to 80. Go above that only for exceptional athletes or dominant rebounders.
Offense and Defense Ability
Don’t be fooled by the names; these are equivalent to the “awareness” ratings that EA has used for decades in their various sports games. It mostly affects their decisions in terms of where to go. I read that offense ability also has an effect on shooting percentages, which makes sense if a low-rated player is shooting when he really shouldn’t.
It’s common to see a 99 offense or defense rating for good, smart players. But at 60 to 70, it’s not like they’re total idiots out there either.
The defense ability coordinates well with the strength rating. For a player that’s an extremely trusty defender, feel free to dial both up to 99.
Stamina, Durability, and Gaming the System
Elsewhere in this article, I’ve mentioned that (a) CPU coaches make substitutions based mainly on a player’s overall rating, and that (b) players never get injured in a game.
For these reasons, I sometimes use both stamina and durability to artificially tweak the player’s overall rating. For example, if your preferred starting center is an 80, but another center is an 81, dial up stamina and/or durability a few clicks, watch the starter’s overall go up to 82, and Bingo! Now the coach will favor him over the other guy.
Stamina rating has a real effect, so I don’t want to get too crazy with this. Durability (as far as I know) has no effect, so it’s free for my stupid mad scientist act 🤓
How do I choose a player’s shooting and free throw animations?
You can’t. Sorry, man. I believe the animations are tied internally to each existing player. When you create a new player, he gets standard “created player” animations.
If you’re really gung-ho about it, choose the team your player will be on, play with them, find a player with an animation you like, and then edit that player to become the new player. You can change everything about an existing player except his shooting animations, class (freshman, sophomore, etc.), and the major he’s studying.
More Questions
Can I change playbooks and tempos for CPU opponents?
Nope, not from the game setup screen or from the menus.
If you’re really determined, set up a 2-player game, choose the opponent’s gameplan, then switch the second controller to the CPU before the tip-off.
Can I move teams to different conferences?
No, but I’ve read that if you play Dynasty Mode long enough, the game might move your school to a different conference between seasons.
Can I trade a player to another team?
Nope, but in Dynasty Mode, players can transfer schools.
What’s the best camera to use?
I like overhead, camera pitch at 0, and camera focal length at 8.
The overhead camera is swiveling on changes of possession! What the hell?
This happens in the smaller arenas (even at Duke!), I’m assuming because there isn’t room for the camera to operate in a smaller environment. It even elevates the camera once you’re in the half-court. It’s annoying.
There’s a freezing glitch? Say it ain’t so!
That’s on Xbox 360 only. I’ve never had a problem with my prized PS3 disc.
Do players ever get injured in games?
I’ve never seen it.
I was up by 2 when the game ended … and then went to OVERTIME?! Whaaat?!
On rare occasions, when there’s a goaltending violation, the game will internally register the points, but they won’t show up on the scoreboard. You weren’t up by 2, you were tied.
I’ve also seen this happen when a team is up by 1, which makes no sense at all 🤔
One of the forum members suggested turning goaltending off altogether to avoid this, but you’d need to resist goaltending in the spirit of fair play.
Who are the best teams in the game?
In my limited experience, Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, Tennessee, and Washington are all tough to play against.
What are the best looking uniforms in the game?
I am so glad you asked! I’m a real uniform snob 😋
Top Ten:
- Boston University white
- Georgia Tech gold
- Alabama red
- Illinois orange
- Georgetown gray
- North Carolina white
- UCLA white
- Duke white
- Michigan navy
- UCLA blue
What are the coolest looking venues?
Definitely the Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, but you have to play in the normal arenas for a while to really appreciate the added size and brightness.
I also like Kansas, Michigan State, and Duke.
Do you play in the correct arenas in the NCAA Tournament?
Not all of them. Some of the games are played in a generic, NBA-looking arena. The forum dorks were particularly appalled that instead of playing in the real-life San Jose Arena (home of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks), the games are crammed into the small, generic home of San Jose State 😕
Why are there emojis all over this article?
I like them 😛
Really? They look like trash. Are you a teenage girl or something?
Yeah, punk. I’m a teenage girl 😝
I think you have a problem.
Good to know 🤭
Get rid of the emojis!
Dude, this is a silly website with no ads. Pay me to write something and I’ll leave out the emojis if you want me to.
I’ll pay you to kiss my ass.
I’ll kiss your ass right after I whoop your ass. How bout that?
Ha! I’d love to see you try. What’s your home address?
248 Your Mom Boulevard!
You think you’re tough with your bold font?
That’s right I do! And my emojis 😂😂😂 Suck on that!
🏀 🏀 🏀
Do you have comments, corrections, clarifications, questions, or threats? Chime in! Email me: sportsvideogamereviews@gmail.com