Tag Archives: NCAA

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at the classic teams in the College Hoops series.

It’s well-known that EA Sports included a variety of classic teams in their college basketball video games, in no small part because they ended up being the catalyst for Ed O’Bannon’s lawsuit against the NCAA. Their infamy arguably overshadows the inclusion of classic teams in the College Hoops series, but 2K’s games did indeed feature a complement of historical squads as well. Considering my current preference for indulging my nostalgia and passion for basketball history, they’re an incentive to consider spending more time with the two College Hoops titles that I own!

Time will tell if those games will crack my rotation. As far as their NBA counterparts are concerned, I do enjoy NBA 2K7, but I’m not a fan of NBA 2K8. For now though, let’s talk about the historical content in the College Hoops games. As you may expect, there’s a generous selection of retro squads spanning decades of college basketball history, though the array of teams did change slightly every year. So, what were the classic teams in College Hoops like, and why didn’t they lead to the same controversy that befell EA’s NCAA titles? Let’s take a look back…way back…

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This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking another look back at the All-Time College DLC for NBA 2K17.

It’s funny what will prompt you to revisit certain games, and then keep playing them. Content creation is undoubtedly a factor. Revisiting NBA 2K14 for PlayStation 4 on a whim led to a retrospective of MyCAREER, and in turn an ongoing adventure and an overdue appreciation for an amazing game. Hoping to grab a screenshot for an article, I dusted off NBA Live 18 to play through The One. It was a blast, and I once again developed a greater fondness for an older release, while also lamenting its wasted potential. I didn’t get the screenshot I wanted, but I ended up with something better.

I don’t take that for granted. In an age of disposable games, I appreciate any unique content and modes that remain available years later. That brings me to the All-Time College DLC for NBA 2K17, which inspired me to spend some more time with an old favourite after revisiting it for research. I did cover the DLC back in 2018, but I’m not entirely satisfied with that feature. Also, with EA (and apparently 2K) developing a new college basketball game, it’s seems only apt to revisit the last time that collegiate content was available outside of a specific mode. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #589 of the NLSC Podcast!

In the wake of EA Sports announcing a new college basketball game, Take-Two is reportedly planning to develop a competing title. This decision follows a particularly insulting proposal to the CLC regarding the use of collegiate content, and an attempt to hamstring the development of EA’s announced game that involves a broken NDA. We definitely have some thoughts about the situation, and as you can probably guess, they aren’t exactly positive! We also join the community in discussing whether or not we’d like to see a new college game based on the NBA 2K engine and if we’d prefer that 2K beat EA to the punch, and touch on 2K’s new NBA deal which apparently includes initiatives that go beyond the virtual hardwood.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 54:36 — 37.9MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

To get involved with the mailbag or to provide any feedback on the show, hit us up in the comments, reach out on social media, or post here in the NLSC Forum! For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. You can also find the show on our YouTube channel, along with the rest of our video content. As always, thanks for tuning in, and go get buckets!

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #587 of the NLSC Podcast!

Not long after we finished recording last week’s show, EA Sports surprised us with the announcement that they will be returning to the virtual hardwood with a new college basketball game, slated for release in 2028 at the earliest! This week, we join the community in sharing our reactions to the news, from rating our excitement level to discussing the things that we want and need to see in a new hoops title from EA. We also touch on 2K’s somewhat petty reaction to EA’s announcement, and the response it drew on social media. Suffice it to say that things are set to be a lot more interesting in the basketball gaming space over the next few years!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:00:21 — 41.8MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

To get involved with the mailbag or to provide any feedback on the show, hit us up in the comments, reach out on social media, or post here in the NLSC Forum! For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. You can also find the show on our YouTube channel, along with the rest of our video content. As always, thanks for tuning in, and go get buckets!

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #586 of the NLSC Podcast!

Although we generally focus on the Triple-A scene, there’s definitely untapped potential for the virtual hardwood and blacktop in the indie gaming space. To that end, this week we discuss The Dunkers, a 2D indie basketball title that’s currently available in Early Access on Steam. Following a competitive session with the game, we’re hoping that it will continue to be updated and ultimately fulfil its potential! We also once again touch on the possibility of EA Sports returning to basketball gaming with NBA Live or a college basketball game. Little did we know that a big announcement was on the horizon, so we’ll undoubtedly be coming back to this topic in the very near future!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 47:37 — 33.1MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

To get involved with the mailbag or to provide any feedback on the show, hit us up in the comments, reach out on social media, or post here in the NLSC Forum! For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. You can also find the show on our YouTube channel, along with the rest of our video content. As always, thanks for tuning in, and go get buckets!

In an exciting development for those of us who have been hoping to see more titles in the basketball gaming space, EA Sports has announced a new college basketball game, their first since NCAA Basketball 10 way back in 2009! The company unveiled their plans to return to the virtual hardwood with a post on X, simply stating “Bring the Madness. Let’s run it back.”, along with the hashtags #CBB and #ItsInTheGame.

As reported by Gamespot, Extra Points recently obtained a memo from the Collegiate Licensing Company indicating that a bid had been put out for a new college basketball game, which EA Sports appears to have won. Furthermore, it seems that the CLC’s proposal is for a game that includes both men’s and women’s college teams. Notably, EA Sports has previously done that in their NCAA March Madness/NCAA Basketball series.

Before we get too excited, it should be noted that it seems as though the game won’t be available until 2028 at the earliest. Considering that the return of the EA Sports College Football series was announced in 2021, and EA Sports College Football 25 was subsequently released in 2024, this isn’t altogether surprising. It’s also being speculated that like the College Football series, the new college basketball game from EA Sports won’t be NCAA-licensed in light of EA’s split with the organisation following the lawsuit headed up by Ed O’Bannon. Again, that hasn’t been confirmed, but it’s a solid guess at this point.

No further details are available at this time, but we’ll certainly be keeping our eyes and ears open for any news! That also goes for a potential return for the NBA Live series, though I personally wouldn’t get too excited about that prospect until we hear a similar announcement. Nevertheless, EA Sports’ willingness to develop a new basketball game is certainly promising. In the meantime, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below, as well as here in the Forum!

We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some thoughts on mods that are all about enhancing the original rosters.

Our modding community has produced some incredible projects going right back to the 90s. The original NLSC rosters by Tim and Lutz kept games up to date, saving gamers the trouble of doing it themselves and allowing some old favourites to remain current for the people that were still playing them. We’ve also had retro season roster mods for multiple games, including projects that span decades. NBA games have been turned into makeshift college basketball titles, and even revamped with foreign league mods. That’s just a very brief overview of the fantastic work that’s been done!

However, we shouldn’t overlook the value of simpler projects. I’m not just talking about minimalist mods, although I do remain an advocate for them as well. What I’m referring to here are mods that focus on the original rosters and setting of a game. On the surface, they’re not as impressive as a comprehensive current roster update for an older game that people still enjoy, an accurate retro season mod, or a total conversion, but they’re still worthwhile projects. With a handful of old favourites retaining their popularity years later, other classics getting a second look, and an increasing interest in retro basketball gaming, I’d like to see more mods that focus on original rosters.

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We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some thoughts on why I find it distasteful when video game companies join in with memes and jokes, especially about themselves.

Like any joke or popular fad, online memes eventually run their course. To that end, the general lifecycle of a meme has been astutely lampooned by several people. Last year, Man Carrying Thing posted a sketch that summed up the rapid rise and fall of many an absurd meme that achieves inexplicable popularity. While “OK Boomer” lives on as a common retort, cartoonist Kasia Babis aptly used it as an example of a meme’s lifecycle. Another cartoonist, Alex Krokus, perfectly captured the general response to brands jumping on memes and online trends.

Alex’s comic in particular resonates with me, because we’ve seen more and more brands attempt to join in on viral trends as a marketing strategy. Naturally, this also includes video game developers and publishers. On paper, it makes sense for these companies to angle for some viral positive publicity by attempting to cultivate a fun and relatable image, though this can easily backfire. This is especially true whenever a company tries to lean into jokes and memes about itself. Although it can be a very effective strategy if they end up pulling it off, it can easily fail to achieve the playful vibe that they’re aiming for. All too often, it instead comes across as condescending.

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #576 of the NLSC Podcast!

Although we mostly play and primarily cover NBA and NCAA licensed basketball video games, there have certainly been some classic releases that lack their high profile branding, as well as real teams and players. This week, we join the community in recalling some of our all-time favourite unlicensed basketball video games. We also name a handful of favourites that only licensed one or two real players, starred fictional characters, or otherwise didn’t have anything to do with the NBA or NCAA. As we discuss, these games inspired us to use our imaginations, created many Virtual Hardwood Legends, and sometimes included impressive features and gameplay mechanics.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 53:42 — 37.2MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

To get involved with the mailbag or to provide any feedback on the show, hit us up in the comments, reach out on social media, or post here in the NLSC Forum! For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. You can also find the show on our YouTube channel, along with the rest of our video content. As always, thanks for tuning in, and go get buckets!

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #563 of the NLSC Podcast!

With rumours that both EA Sports and Visual Concepts are considering bringing back their respective college basketball video games, which series would we personally prefer to see return? Our answer may surprise you…or then again, perhaps not! We also join the community in naming the players from NBA history and today that we most wish we could play like. It’s probably not a huge spoiler to mention that among others, we wanna be like Mike! Finally, we wrap up with a recap of a fun co-op session of NBA Live 2004 in which we took on the Houston Rockets with the Phoenix Suns, and reflect on it being a transitional year for both of those teams, as well as the NBA Live series.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 56:17 — 39.0MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

To get involved with the mailbag or to provide any feedback on the show, hit us up in the comments, reach out on social media, or post here in the NLSC Forum! For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. You can also find the show on our YouTube channel, along with the rest of our video content. As always, thanks for tuning in, and go get buckets!

Today’s NBA 2K14 mod releases feature the College Hoops 2K25 project by nick15, which in the spirit of so many college basketball video games, includes fictional players for all 358 Division I NCAA teams! Pick it up at the link below, and check out the release and support topic here in the Forum for more previews and information on the project.

nick15
College Hoops 2K25 // FICTIONAL

Thanks to everyone who continues to contribute to our Downloads database! If you need help uploading files, be sure to check out this video tutorial. For more information about downloads, the modding community, and Mod Releases bulletins, please see this FAQ in our Wiki.

As mentioned in Episode #536 of the NLSC Podcast, NCAA Basketball 09: March Madness Edition is still available to purchase through the Xbox Live Marketplace. However, with the Xbox 360 store set to close on July 29th 2024, there isn’t much time left to pick it up.

Like many titles in the store, NCAA Basketball 09: March Madness Edition is currently on sale, at a bargain price of $1.49 USD. The Bracket Pack DLC, a free add-on for the game, is also still available. If you don’t already own the game and its DLC, the shutdown sale is a great opportunity to grab it.

For those who are unaware, this digital-only version of EA Sports’ 2009 college basketball title is essentially the same as the disc release, however it lacks online play, and only includes the 64 teams that made the NCAA Tournament back in 2009. The free DLC adds the real 2009 brackets automatically.

You can purchase NCAA Basketball 09: MME from this listing in the Xbox Live Marketplace. Please note that the game was only released in North America, and is not available to international gamers. However, as I understand it, if you do have a US Xbox Live account, it may still be possible to change the region of your console and purchase the game. As always, attempt any such workarounds at your own risk! Once again, time is running out as the Xbox 360 store closes down next week, so if you’re interested, be sure to pick up the game and its DLC ASAP.

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #531 of the NLSC Podcast!

With EA Sports College Football 25 generating some positive buzz with gamers, could it lead to EA Sports bringing back its college basketball series as well? For that matter, could the enthusiasm and a successful launch lead to NBA Live finally making its return as EA seemingly looks to expand its lineup? This week, we join the community in discussing EA Sports potentially returning to the virtual hardwood, whether we’d prefer an NBA or college basketball game, and some of our expectations for such a comeback. We also name our all-time NBA enforcer starting fives, and pay tribute to the late, great Bill Walton, who sadly passed away last week following a battle with cancer.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:25:00 — 58.7MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

To get involved with the mailbag or to provide any feedback on the show, hit us up in the comments, reach out on social media, or post here in the NLSC Forum! For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. You can also find the show on our YouTube channel, along with the rest of our video content. As always, thanks for tuning in, and go get buckets!

Welcome to another edition of The Friday Five! Every Friday I cover a topic related to basketball gaming, either as a list of five items, or a Top 5 countdown. The topics for these lists and countdowns include everything from fun facts and recollections to commentary and critique. This week’s Five is a list of five players whose NBA careers could (and indeed, should) inspire future MyCAREER stories.

As I’ve previously discussed, there are some real players whose careers bear some entertaining similarities to a few of the stories we’ve had in MyCAREER. I’ll admit that making those comparisons made me see those tales differently, especially the saga of the NBA 2K15 MyPLAYER! I also still really enjoy how “The Way Back” in NBA 2K19 resembled Andre Ingram’s road to the NBA, including a debut towards the end of the regular season. Obviously that was coincidental, but it does make you wonder which other players have stories that would be suitable for MyCAREER.

Now, you might be inclined to say that just about every player who makes it to the NBA had an interesting journey that would be viable as a MyCAREER story. That’s true to an extent, but many of them – while impressive and compelling in their own way – are very similar and straightforward. They don’t necessarily set up a unique scenario from a narrative or gameplay standpoint. We’ve already seen a variety of MyCAREER stories from triumphant tales of highly-touted prospects to underdogs scrapping for opportunities. Again, we’ve even seen a DJ become an NBA star! So, could any real players provide a template for future stories? I believe I can name five.

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Due to a combination of trying to stay on top of other news and content, as well as troubleshooting some ongoing issues with our server – they should hopefully be fixed soon! – I’ve unfortunately been neglecting to post bulletins about uploads to the NLSC YouTube channel. If you’re subscribed to our channel however, you’ll know that Dee and I continue to frequently upload basketball gaming highlight reels.

Thanks to some minimalist roster modding in NBA 2K6 for Xbox 360, I’ve been able to follow up on my 2011 NBA Finals reel with a game featuring the 2003 Raptors and Rockets, re-creations of Reggie Miller’s final matchup with Kobe Bryant and the Spurs vs. Pistons NBA Finals from 2005, a showdown between the Class of 2002 and 2003, and a clash of All-Time Nets vs. All-Time Suns. I also played a game between the Knicks and Hornets in NBA 2K7 for St. Patrick’s Day, and celebrated March Madness with games of All-Time MSU vs. All-Time Wake Forest in NBA 2K17 and 2003 Syracuse vs. 2004 UConn in NCAA Basketball 09.

Dee meanwhile has uploaded highlights from a variety of memorable titles, including our co-op sessions that saw us take on the 76ers with the SuperSonics in ESPN NBA Basketball, face the Trail Blazers with the Hornets in NBA 2K18 for PlayStation 3, battle the Nuggets with the Suns in NBA Live 2000 PC, and stage an 80s All-Stars showdown in NBA 2K2. You’ll also find Dee’s highlights from NBA Street Vol. 2, featuring the Grizzlies taking on the Celtics.

Check out all of the recent NLSC YouTube uploads through March below! Be sure to subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel for more basketball gaming content, including the NLSC Top 10 Plays of the Week, curated by Dee. As always, we’re open to suggestions of games that you’d like to see us play, so by all means hit us up!

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