NBA JAM TOURNAMENT EDITION FAQ

 Well here it is...the editing is 'ok' and some of the writing needs work.

After some feeback, I will try to do a 2.1.  Hope this helps all the people

who play JAM.  Yesterday I saw some kids with a magazine clipping entering

codes at the arcade...I think that it is funny to watch this.  The phenom of

"special codes" in gaming is very interesting.

Oh...don't take all the powerups too seriously from the FAQ, we have been

having some troubles with a few of them.  Note: Baby-Size may not work on 3.0.

Cut here___________________________________________________________

                      NBA JAM TOURNAMENT EDITION FAQ

                               Revision 2.0

                              APRIL 26, 1994

           This FAQ is available at ftp.netcom.com in /pub/vi/vidgames/

CONTENTS:

     ACKNOWLEGMENTS

     INTRODUCTION

     WHAT'S NEW IN TOURNAMENT EDITION?

     IF YOU BEAT ALL 27 TEAMS?

     OTHER MISCELLANEOUS TIDBITS

     SPECIAL CHARACTERS

     POWERUPS

     RUMOR MILL

     STAT SHEETS(Not included in text edition)

     STRAGEGY GUIDE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Compiled and Edited by:

Thomas S. Kunka         (tskunka@rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu)

"Who thanks everybody on the Internet for supplying the info for

me to compile, and has no association with Midway or the NBA."

With Special Thanks To:

Jerry Cattell                   (jcattell@umiami.ir.miami.edu) (Characters)

Carl Chavez                     (foregone@u.washington.edu) (1.0 stats & more)

Jeh C.                          (rspain@mac.cc.macalstr.edu) (3.0 Stats)

Fast Eddie                      For helping with the extended NBA

                                JAM FAQ's for all versions.

Randolph S. Vance &

William G. Henderson            For working on the original FAQ.

                                Great Job!

Andy Eddie                      For a great FTP site to store our FAQ's

This FAQ and others are available at ftp.netcom.com in /pub/vi/vidgames/

Everyone with their name in the game! Hope to join you someday! :-)

Bally/Midway                    For creating the game.

Carl Johnson                    My doubles partner

(The one I give many great assists to and cover for on D)

Mike Kokal &                    Players at 'Just Games' in Downer's Grove IL

Brian Smolik                    Pretty decent compitition ;-)

Steve Christofferson

Dan Etter

Sammy Saltzman

Lewis Tu

Eric Ching

                              INTRODUCTION

This FAQ assumes that you have played the original NBA JAM and are fairly

knowledgeable of the numerous Special Characters and Powerups.  If you are

not well versed in these areas, please read the other NBA JAM FAQ that

covers both arcade versions as well as the home entertainment systems.

This FAQ only covers the Tournament Edition (TE) and contains information

that is confirmed and a section dedicated to speculation and theory.

The information within has been gathered from other FAQ's and reliable

sources.  If information is proved to be incorrect, please INFORM me

(no flames are necessary) Any mistakes are unintentional...I will repost

promptly with corrections as  necessary.  This edition primarily focuses

on the 3.0 Chip (The one without he MK Characters, but most of the info is

valid for both.  Note the version 1.0 has the MK characters and the version

2.0 does not have the MK characters, but is lacking the major trades that

occurred recently (These are VERY rare).

                    WHAT'S NEW IN TOURNAMENT EDITION?

There is much to be said about the Tournament Edition.  Local arcade operators

have told me that it is "not much of an upgrade and is not profitable" and

"are NOT planning on carrying it".  I  hate to disagree, but anyone who has

played it will feel otherwise.

The above was quoted to be by my local arcade operator, but since then,

they have gotten two of them in!  Go figure!  Now...to the upgrades!

     Three Characters

          We asked for it, we got it.  Although the game still

          has a maximum of 1 to 4 human players, you can select

          two characters of three selected from each team.  This

          allows greater flexibility in 'matching up' against

          your opponent.  You can also switch players during halftime.

          Note that some teams such as Dallas only have two players.

          The reason for this is that the digitized pictures from the

          old game were kept and one additional players was added.

          Some players were traded or left the NBA and could not be

          included leaving only two.

     Expanded Attributes

          Each player is now rated numerically from 0 to 9 in eight

          categories.

          SPEED    Overall speed of player

          DUNK     Rates the ability to complete dunks and of what variety

          3-POINT  Rates the ability to hit from downtown

          STEAL    How well the player strips the ball from opponents

          BLOCK    How well the player block shots

          POWER    Resistance to getting knocked down and ability to knock

                    down other players.

          CLUTCH   How well the player hits at crunch time

          PASS     Speed of pass - the faster, the less chance of getting

                    intercepted

IF YOU BEAT ALL 27 TEAMS?

     If you beat all 27, then you can play as team ??? (I call the

     'JAM TEAM') that is located on the left side near the bottom

     when viewing the team selection screen.  You must beat all 27

     with the computer as your opponent or it will not count!  The

     Jam Team consist of special NBA ALL-STARS found in the game on 3.0

     machines and on 1.0 machines, they are composed of all stars/MK

     characters/special guests.

NBA ALL-STAR TEAM

     (??? Selection at the Team Selection Screen)

     Compiled by  Lewis Tu (72123.146@compuserve.com)

     Malone, Kemp            Harper, Rider

     Robinson, Rodman        Miller, Johnson

     Drexler, Hardaway       Olajuwon, Baker

     Ewing, Anderson         Armstrong, Maxwell

     Coleman, Anderson       Mourning, Rick

     Stockton, Johnson       Hardaway, Jackson

     Gill, Richmond          Pippen, Miner

     Bradley, Webb           Thomas, Webber

     Dumars, Starks          Mashburn, Worthy

     Mutumbo, Wilkins        Mullin, Manning

     After you beat all 27 teams, you will face computer opponents that put

     NBA ALL-STARS and SPECIAL GUESTS with regular players.  You can turn

     this off and face 'normal' teams by turning the 'TOURNAMENT MODE' on.

     The difficulty will also increase as you go and the computer actually

     poses a threat to your precious winning streaks.

     Also of interest...after beating all 27 teams,  ANY opposing team will

     receive 'QUICK HANDS' and 'MAX POWER'.  This really makes things tough!

     This can also be nullified with the 'TOURNAMENT MODE'

OTHER MISCELLANEOUS TIDBITS

* Computer AI seems to be better.

* Players follow their skills..ie Stockton lurks around the 3-point line.

* The court is now the color of the home team.

* There are new and cool dunks, including more realistic quick power-dunks

  that are hard to block.

* Speed of game action seems to be quicker than original

* "FIRE" does not last as long as in the original.

* When playing a human opponent, there is NO COMPUTER ASSISTANCE

* There are five internal game speed settings.

* There are five internal drone intelligence settings.

                              SPECIAL CHARACTERS

     As in the original, there are special characters that you can get

     by entering a specified initials and birthday.  When you select these

     characters, you do not see their attributes.  By playing them, we will

     get a better idea of their strengths and post our findings.  Note:

     The MK Characters and some of the more morally questionably ones have

     been removed in Version 3.0. The NBA had decided that the league's

     image could not tolerate their use. There are however many of the

     older machines out there and codes that were removed are marked

     with an #.

     This list has been maintained and updated by Jerry Cattell.

     Davis is the new addition to the list.

     However,the code has only been tested on a v3.0.

     If any of you out there can confirm it for a v1.0,

     please email Jerry Cattell..

NBA Jam Tournament Edition Character Codes:

(* means does not work on version 3.0) (# means does not work on old version 1.0 or 2.0)

NBA ALL-STARS:

*Barkley                        BRK     FEB 20

#Rodman                         ROD     MAY 13

#Thomas                         ZEK     APR 30

Brown                           DEE     NOV 29

Coleman                         DC_     JUN 21

Ewing                           PAT     AUG 5

Kemp                            KMP     NOV 26

Malone                          KRL     JUL 24

Mourning                        ZO_     FEB 8

Olajuwan                        HAK     JAN 21

Pippen                          PIP     SEP 25

Robinson                        ROB     AUG 6

Webber                          WEB     MAR 1

Wilkins                         DOM     APR 16

SPECIAL GUESTS:

Kerri Hoskins(Yes!)             KER     OCT 10

Lorraine Olivia(Yes!)           LOR     FEB 20

*Coman(guy w/ gas mask)         TJC     OCT 11

*Elviscious                     ELV     JAN 8

*Grim Reaper                    GRM     OCT 31

*Kongo                          KNG     JAN 16

*Raiden                         RAD     JUL 9

*Reptile                        RPT     NOV 11

*Sub-Zero                       SUB     DEC 5

Air Morris(Old Code)            WIL     JAN 1

Barker                          PCB     MAY 9

Davies(female)                  RJD     SEP 3

Boon(the one and only)          EJB     FEB 22

Davis                           WBD     AUG 17

Divita(Old Code)                SAL     FEB 1

Dabelstein(cap, glasses)        DOZ     DEC 31

Dillon                          JPD     JUN 3

Carleton(Old Code)              JMC     AUG 5

Forden                          DWF     SEP 28

Granner                         CG_     DEC 4

Gay                             RMG     AUG 11

Heitsch                         WMN     NOV 11

Petro(Old Code)                 GNP     OCT 8

Hey(Old Code)                   JWH     SEP 20

Jarvis                          EPJ     JAN 27

Kinkead                         DIE     JAN 1

Lasko                           ANL     AUG 31

Linda Deal(female)              LTD     APR 30

Loffredo                        ML_     MAY 25

Goskie(Old Code)                TWG     DEC 7

Mednick                         CMM     JUL 2

Oursler(Old Code)               SNO     JAN 3

Turmell(Old Code)               MJT     MAR 22

Newcomer(Old Code)              JRN     JUN 18

Liptak(Old Code)                SL_     JUN 24

Penacho                         MDP     JAN 13

Rivett(Old Code)                RJR     JAN 17

Roger Sharpe                    ROG     AUG 1

Simpson                         JMS     FEB 22

Tobias                          TOB     AUG 24

Tsui                            JYT     NOV 28

                                   POWERUPS

     Just as in the original, there are many 'Powerups' that give

     your player super-human abilities.  These are done with various

     Joystick/Button combos.  If they do not work for you, keep trying

     for you may ne uncoordinated like me.

     BIG HEAD

          Hold Joystick Up and Hold Turbo and Steal

          Gives you a larger head...and makes you a bit taller

     TEAM SWAP

          Hold Joystick Right and Hold Pass - At HALF-TIME

          Allows you to change team at half-time

          May have to hit pass 3 or 4 times.

     TOURNAMENT MODE

          Hold Joystick Right and Hold All 3 buttons - At "TONIGHT'S..."

          Turns off all Special Characters and some powerups

          Turns off computer assistance.

          ALT  Spin Joystick Clockwise and Tap All buttons - At "TONIGHT'S..."

          Same as above, but seems to turn on "SHOT % MODE"

          I like this way personally.

     EXTENDED ROSTER

          Spin Joystick counterclockwise 3 Times and Press and

          Release the STEAL button at TEAM SELECTION screen! Tap

          STEAL 3 or 4 times and you can probably get it.

          Gives you a choice of an extra player on SOME teams.

     SHRINK CHARACTERS

          Hold Joystick at DOWN/RIGHT Angle and Tap All 3 buttons

          at once 3 Times.

          Shrinks characters by 30%

     MAX POWER

          Hold Joystick Down and Hold all 3 buttons Down and START

          Seems to Boost the Power Attribute

     POWERUP GT (Goaltending that is!)

          Hit Shoot 24 times!  (Very difficult!)

          Very few goaltending calls

     BABY-SIZED CHARACTERS

          Hold Joystick at DOWN/RIGHT Angle and Tap Turbo then

          Shoot then Pass 3 times .

          Makes characters really tiny....try it it is pretty wierd.

     QUICK HANDS

          Hold Joystick down and hit Shoot 5 times and hold on 5th

     HUGE HEAD

          Hit Shoot 5 Times, then Hold Joystick Up, hold Turbo and Pass

          This gives you a really big head!

                                   RUMOR MILL

     This section is dedicated to all things not confirmed.

     If anyone wishes to confirm the following information, PLEASE DO!

     Then contact me and I will move it to the confirmed sections.

     If you posted something listed in this section, it is not because

     I do not believe you, but I am just waiting for a secondary

     conformation by our primary contributors.

MISCELLEANEOUS:

     When you turn off all codes with the TOURNAMENT MODE, it still allows

     you to have some powerups but the message does not display.  When

     on a 1.0 machine, I got the effects of Max Power even with TOURNAMENT

     MODE on.  Just do the code as normal and try it out in the game.

     Also, BIG HEAD will last through the first half on the 1.0 machines.

     This may be a bug in the older version, but it is a way to get a

     leg up on those people who turn everything off and rub your nose in

     it that they know somthing.that you don't.  Just do the code and beat

     up on them!

     At least on 1.0 machines, there seems to be somthing different about

     player one.  The rumored indestructability code (which may be just

     MAX POWER with TOURNAMENT MODE on) only works for player one.  With

     the above note...The MAX POWER seems to only require All three buttons

     and Joystick Down and not the START button as well, making it different

     from the other players.

SPECIAL CHARACTERS:

     APH             NOV     18      Penny Hardaway

     JVC,GET,SAN,CRL ???

POWERUPS:

     Indestructibility - This code still hasn't been stated as confirmed:

     This may be the bug that we found for allowing MAX POWER even with

     TOURNAMENT MODE on.

                              STRATEGY GUIDE

The purpose of this section is to help people new or not so new to

the game learn some of the insights and tactics of some of the great

JAM players of the Internet.  I will try to fill this section with

subsections written by some of these people as well as myself.  I

think this is fair since I and everyone else has their own style,

thinking, and bias.  I think that the addition of this section is

informative and entertaining.

Thomas Kunka:

Biography:

Thomas Kunka is currently working as Computer Training Coordinator

at Illinois State University in Bloomington/Normal Illinois as well

as finishing his Master's in Applied Computer Science and starting on

his Doctorate in Educational Administration.  When not working, he can

be found at the local arcade searching for a good game of NBA JAM or

working on this FAQ!  Here is his butchering of the English language.

On Strategy (Semi-Random Thoughts that dwell in his mind):

Picking the proper team is very important.  Countless times I have

seen people pick a team like Seattle and try to shoot threes the

entire game with Kemp.  I'm sorry, but it's not going to work well.

You have to match your team to your strategy.

In general on TE, I have been using the Washington Bullets.  Laugh

if you must, but from my perspective, they are a very balanced team.

You have got Pervis Ellison who is a bit slower that I would like but

can play some serious defense with a 8 on power and an 9 on block and

he can power down a few dunks with a rating of 6.  Calbert Cheaney

who has serious speed, threes, and steals.  He is a good person at

crunch time and a great person to feed when you get double teamed.

And I always take Tom Gugliotta :-) because he is a very balanced

player with no attribute less than a 4.  His strengths lie in his

three point shooting, speed, dunks, and power.

With better than average on three point shooting, speed, dunks, and

power I can meld into my strategy perfectly.  I am generally a

three point shooter but like the ability to go strong and possibly

pass out of the dunk to my teammate and I am a firm believer in

knockdowns.

On offense I usually delay a second after inbound and then take it

up the court.  My computer drone Ellison usually can throw a really

good screen at the top of the key and I go right around him towards

the top of the screen.  This gives me a great cushion to launch a

good three.  This works great against the computer, against humans,

it works fine as well at times.

On defense against the computer, I am basically a sieve and just hope

to contain them at crunch time.  It seems frustrating at times,

because the computer seems to hold on to the ball and get off shots

that no human ever would against me.  With timing, there is a

repetitive knockdown you can get in the backcourt, hit them back

off and when they get up, bull rush them.  If you don't give them

space or time the hit right, they will pass out to their teammate

for an easy score.  What also works good against the computer and

tougher computer drones is the combo hit and swipe where you knock

the opponent down and they hold on to the ball and you then get as

close as possible and hit steal.

On defense against humans, I consider myself a menace. I recently

played two against myself and held them to 8 points in the half.

I really knock them around and at times (especially when playing

doubles) I think that my sole mission is not to score but just to

keep the opponent in the stands.  Against humans, this is very

effective...knocking them repeatedly into the stands is very

frustrating and makes them worry endlessly, forcing them into

mental mistakes.

Also, I like to pick on their computer player more than them when

playing one-on-one.  If your drone is good on defense and is covering

the human player, he usually sticks pretty close.  I frustrate my

doubles partner when we go head to head by leveling his computer

player just as he releases a pass.  This is very entertaining when

you are off the screen and the computer drone comes flying into view.

Against good singles competition, the human player can burn you if you

are too aggressive with as quick pass to their drone.

For doubles me and my partner haven't played much TE and are wondering

what team we should choose.  On the old Jam, we always took Orlando

with him as Shaq and me putting in Tony Scott for Skiles.  The goal

was to get him on fire and goaltend.  I was the assist man and three

point shooter as well as the infractor of scores of knockdowns...I

only wish that they tracked them back then.  TE presents some new

challenges for us.  He is now wanting to play the three point shooter

usually Stockton.  With me as Malone, I can usually slice through the

defense, go in for the dunk, and dish out to him for the trey.  I gave

him 14 straight assists for three pointers once.  With results like that

I won't complain very much.  We have been also contemplating using the

76ers against newbies who don't know the 'TOURNAMENT MODE'  Take Bradley

with 'MAX POWER' and sub the ALL-STAR Pippen in place of Weatherspoon

with 'MAX POWER'.

I will take this time to note that I have not mastered all of the

powerups.  I don't have the coordination to get POWERUP G.T. which

I would like for Bradley to have.  Our premise for this combo is

speed, power (artificial), me with great overall ability, and him

with the ability to massively goaltend when on fire.  Basically get

him on fire and allow me to pound the opponents into a pulp and be

the assist man again....just like the old days of JAM!

I generally play on lots of emotion and try to get a chip on my

shoulder.  I love when people talk trash and really piss me off.

It makes it all the better when I go up by 15 in the first period.

I am not a perfect player and many of the games are close down to

the wire.  One of the problems that I am having is that I play my

partner and the computer too much and this has led me to not be

well adapted to various styles of play.  I can seldom get a match

around here and I am forced to play the computer.  In the days of

old jam, I had a five deep line waiting to play me, now nobody plays.

Another note about picking players...It is really cool to hear

opponents say..."Who the hell is Gugliotta?' and comment all

through the game, "He's not THAT fast" , "How can HE knock me down?"

,"How come he keeps hitting threes?",  "He just dunked on ZO!"

It is nice to be the jack of all trades!  In Chicago, my bud Mike and

I were in a good game with a pretty decent team, they beat us the

first two and then I and Gugs took over and scored about 15 points

in about a minute...just alternating steal, three, steal, dunk,

steal, three..etc.  I don't often take over on a doubles game, but

we put them away from that game on.  Mike kept on yelling at me

because I would rather get the assist than the score...I can score

when I have to!

Also teams like Miami are good for many people with Miner and Rice.

Great speed and you have Miner with a 9 on dunks and Rice a 9 on threes.

Not bad at all!  It still amazes me though...my partner and I took

Seattle with me as Kemp and him as Payton.  This was a 1.0 machine :-(

so the players are a tad different than 3.0.  I was miffed as Kemp

clanked about 6 or 8 dunks off the back iron.  We lost some close

games because I couldn't put down a lousy dunk with a guy who had a 9.

This made me really ticked.  Dunks are supposed to be a gimmie.

I can see getting knocked down at he last second or having it blocked

by another big man, but NO...Clangggggg!!!!  Just give me the three

and I am fine.  Thats why I like Gug's...he does it all and never

really screws up.  I remember going for the dunk with him, getting

hammered by both ZO and Johnson, hold onto the ball, swing my arms

bodys flying, and dunk the thing.  I like that!

Carl Chavez:

Biography:

Carl Chavez is an English major at the University of Washington (although

little of his talent was used in his strategy guide...;)  ). He has had an

addiction to video games since playing Space Invaders when he was 4. He

occasionally writes computer programs as a hobby and would love to continue

his NBA Jam conversion for the Amiga if someone would provide him with IFF

graphics for the face generator he's written (since he can't use NBA

players' faces).

Strategy:

TEAM SELECTION:

The teams I like to use most are:

Seattle Supersonics - besides being my hometown team, the Supersonics

have very good balance. All four players can shoot 3-pointers

(all players have at least a five), three can dunk, three can

block, all can steal, and they're very fast too. I prefer a

lineup of Kemp and Schrempf because the CPU Schrempf helps me out

a lot; I think the high power of Schrempf tells the CPU that it

should beat up the opponent with injuries and block the hell of the

opponent. On a two-player game, I prefer Kemp and Gill be cause both

my teammate and I have two of the best players in NBA Jam TE.

Dallas Mavericks - Mashburn is hard to stop in the paint. His high

dunk catapults him over the opponent, and his high power can knock

blockers down while he's in the air. His 3-point shooting can hurt

from outside, he can block well, and he's good in the clutch. Jackson

is a good CPU player because of his steal and power ratings; he can

cause quite a few turnovers. Jackson also shoots the 3 well, and he's

good in the clutch too. The best thing about the Mavs - they are the

fastest team in the game (tied with the Clippers, Heat, and Nets).

Philadelphia 76ers - I have seen Bradley block a shot without jumping

(my opponent released the shoot button too early). Bradley is--with

Mourning and Robinson--the fastest center in the game. His outside

shooting inside the 3-point arc is excellent since his height makes

him very difficult for the shorter (6'6" and below?) players to block.

Bradley's height makes rebounding and "legal goaltending" very easy.

He can really steal with his long arms (7 steal rating), and he is one

of the best passing centers. Weatherspoon is a decent recipient of

those passes, since he can shoot 3's and he can dunk. Philadelphia's

weakness - the lowest clutch rating in the game. If you're behind near

the end of the game, you could lose.

Minnesota Timberwolves - Rider. He's fast, he dunks, he steals, he

shoots threes; he has good balance, and in my opinion he's better

than Gill because of his higher speed. Person, "the Rifleman,"

is a 3-baller and a very good stealer. He always hits his

last-second 3's because of his high clutch.

Milwaukee Bucks - I just like using Lohaus because I like the way

the announcer says his name: "H-LOWWW-HOWUSS." The team itself sucks.

MY ATTRIBUTE PREFERENCES:

The most important attribute is power. Power helps with both offense

and defense, because without power you can't knock people down. The

ball is harder to steal, dunks are blocked more, the path to the

basket is more clogged with standing players.

Second in importance is speed. With extra speed, you can shake off

defenders, get open for threes, drive for a dunk, and run for good

rebounding position. You can also conserve turbo.

Third is dunk. If you haven't noticed, it's possible to dunk from

close to the 3-pt. line at the top of the screen if your player

has a high dunk. Dunks are the most accurate shot in the game, are

harder to block than a normal shot, and help you get on fire

(since goaltends of shots do not count toward the 3 shots to get

on fire). The weakness of the dunk is that a person skilled at

knocking down players can just shove you before you put the ball

in; but if your power is high your dunk will still be successful

(it's funny to see a person get knocked in mid-air, but his power

is high so he floats to the floor throwing his elbows; sometimes

the player will change dunk direction too).

STRATEGY:

Like the Supersonics, I believe a constant pressure defense will

win a game because of transition points. Steal the ball and put

it in your own basket. Block the ball and force a shot clock

violation.

Rebounding is very important. You can grab a defensive rebound

and quickly pass it to your partner for a fast break, or throw your

elbows to clear a way for you to bring it across halfcourt. After

an offensive rebound, you can either put it back with a mid-air

layup or throw your elbows and try another play.

3-point shooting should only be used in an emergency. I'm sick of

watching players take 3 after 3, missing at least half of them.

A better strategy is to dunk or layup until you're on fire, THEN

take the 3's.

Related to this '3 after 3' problem: there are many complaints

about bad players who beat veterans by throwing 3's from backcourt.

People who lose because of this strategy need to learn the proper

use of goaltending. If someone throws from fullcourt often, just

goaltend the ball. Sure, your opponent gets 3 points, but according

to you he would've anyway. As a bonus, your count to "fire" is not

reset, so once you get on fire your opponent can't do it anymore.

If you're against the CPU, there's less than 20 seconds left in the

period and you have a small lead, DON'T advance past halfcourt right

away. Just throw your elbows, because the computer will attack you.

They will fall down, and THEN you can try to score. This is an

important thing to do, because the CPU gets extremely tough with

<10 seconds in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd quarters, and with <30 seconds

left in the 4th quarter.

TACTICS AGAINST A CPU:

First, an important hint:

When I tell you to "hit the guy," I don't mean hit, hit, hit. I

mean hit ONCE. Now check if the ball was dropped; if it has, then

grab it. If the player still has the ball, RETREAT. If you are too

close to the player when he stands, he will pass. Also, a quick

retreat lets you recharge some turbo so you can hit more times.

When the player stands, charge him and hit him again. Repeat

until stolen.

If the CPU has Max Power, hit TWICE before retreating. This is

more risky, but you are more likely to move the CPU player away

from the ball (sometimes the player falls, but the ball is under

his body, so you have to "move" him).

Backcourt pressure:

Watch the CPU as it inbounds the ball. First, it will pass to its

partner.  Then it will do one of three things:

1) It will go toward the top of the screen,

2) It will go toward the bottom of the screen, or

3) It will go through the middle.

What happens:

1) This is the preferred occurence. The computer will probably fly

   into the stands after one hit, so a steal is easy.

2) This is OK. The computer will need at least two hits to drop

   the ball, though, unless you have a very high power.

3) This is rare, which is good, because the CPU will try

   (and sometimes succeed) in going through you and your partner.

What to do:

1) Hit the guy into the stands and take the ball.

2) Hit the guy and take the ball.

3) Try for a hit. If you miss, back off and try again at halfcourt.

Halfcourt pressure:

This is where speed is important. If you can't hit the guy with

the ball, force the CPU to pass to his partner and hit him instead.

Get close to the ballhandler and he will pass, so quickly chase

the ball and hit the receiver as he grabs it.

Frontcourt pressure:

If you're ahead by at least 3, the CPU will probably try to shoot

a three-pointer. The CPU is quite predictable as to when it will

shoot, so you can try to block the shot. Alternatively, you can

let the CPU take the shot and goaltend it legally (jump as it

enters the cylinder and you can grab a rebound or a block: doesn't

work on swishes). Another alternative is to goaltend it illegally

and give them the points. A goaltended basket does not cancel out

your count for fire...

If you're behind or you have a small lead, then just get in the

CPU's face so it can't dunk and so its jump shots are less accurate.

Mix in a couple of swipes. Don't hit the CPU, though, because if you

miss or he doesn't fall down, he can either run past you and score or

pass to his teammate. Only hit the CPU if it is dunking or is near

the stands.

Jerry Cattell:

Biography:

Jerry Cattell is a student at the University of Miami majoring in

Computer Engineering/Computer Science/Mathematics.  In his free

time(the little that he has), he can be found in computer labs

reading email and the 'Net, or hanging around the campus arcade.

On weekends, it's a sure thing you can find him at Grand Prix

Race-O-Rama taking on unsuspecting victims.

Strategy:

I have to agree with Thomas Kunka that it is very important to

choose a team that fits to your needs(I think people everywhere

must choose Seattle and use Kemp for 3-pointers) :)

I don't have any particular team that I always use, but all the

teams have one thing in common, big men. I don't bother with the

guys who are well-rounded; I go straight for the guys who are

going to get in your face and block the ball(Robinson, Bradley,

Ewing, Webber, and even Kemp). My general style of play is just

to play tenacious D.  I do whatever I have to so that I can get

on fire.  Then I goaltend away!  While I am under the belief that

only a certain amount of points can be scored before the fire

streak ends, I feel that this period should be extended as long as

possible; for as long as you're on fire and goaltending, the

opposing team won't be able to score.  So generally I just take

care of the defense, go up for the dunk, pass it off to my teammate,

and let him score.  This also helps build the stats.  You get the

assist if the ball goes in, the rebound if he misses and you get the

ball, or a steal or block if the computer gets the board.

It's nice to have a regular doubles partner so that you know exactly

what to do and when.  However, many of us don't have the luxury,

so you have to be able to adapt to any style of play.  When playing

against the computer, try to change styles of play.  For one quarter,

just keep trying to find the right place to take three pointers.

For the next, just keep taking it to the hoop.

Being able to adapt is important in general.  Not only does it make

it much easier to play with any number of partners, it can really

throw off your opponent's defensive strategy.  If you continuously

go to the hoop, your opponents will generally try to compensate for

it.  That leaves you open for the outside shot more often then not.

While I generally play around with the powerups when playing the

computer(always trying to find some new combo :), I don't use

powerups against people, unless someone is doing a lot of

trash-talking or I'm in an especially evil mood.

FINAL NOTE:

Thanx for all the hard work and info...keep on Jammin...tk

        This FAQ is available at ftp.netcom.com in /pub/vi/vidgames/

--

"He starts writing a letter,                      Thomas S. Kunka

 to make it perfectly clear                       Computer Training Coordinator

 he's just a man who has reached             \0   Illinois State University

 the end of his rope, expressing              |\  My opinion is not ISU's

 his doubts and his fears" -- The Kinks      /\    although we sometimes agree.