Author’s Note: I'm going to wait for the next build (or two) before actually playing this dynasty, but I thought I'd do the set up in advance.
Second Author's Note:The point of playing DDS:CB3 for me is not to duplicate reality. It is to create my own reality, my own alternate universe. I play to escape. Here, within the limits of what is possible with the game, I live and coach in my own world. This first dynasty will take place in a universe in some ways very similar to ours, and in other ways quite different. Let’s begin!
Jake Marlow: All I Ever Wanted
All I ever wanted was to be a Division I head basketball coach- well, after I got done being a Division I college hoops player that is. There’s a lot to tell and I want you to hear the whole story. From what I hear about you and where you’re from and who you are, well, let’s just do it.
I was born in 2060 C. E. It was not a happy time in the U. S. or in the world at large. 2029 had brought the greatest plague in history. It wiped out ¾ of the population, I mean the WORLD population, and everything went to hell. That was too bad because things had been looking up in a lot of ways, mostly due to technological advances.
I’ll get to those as we go but the one I want to tell you about right here and now is what they called “pathways.” Pathways was a completely new way to travel which got you where you were going pretty much instantly. I’m no scientist so I can’t tell you how it works. I learned in school that a way had been found to twist the space/time continuum. Okay, right, whatever.
In any case, you pile into a room, take all the stuff you want to bring. Somebody sets the controls and pushes a button. That’s it. You’re in the city and country where you want to be, or out in the woods, or at the foot of a mountain- yeah. Get out of the room and go where you’re going. Huge changes resulted because of this. Keep it in mind.
One more for now. They’d been working on 3D copiers for a while and finally they perfected the device. You could make about anything, all from the atoms in the atmosphere around the copier, at practically no cost. It ended poverty, hunger, want- all of that. They put some restrictions on what it could do before releasing it to the public (Tell the truth they never did officially release it. It went black market but WITH the restrictions.), made it so people couldn’t print money, hoard- crazy things like that. They also found a way to 100% recycle everything- basically they reversed the 3D copier process. When you didn’t want something any more you brought it to the recycle center (or had it picked up if that made more sense) and they got rid of it- completely and perfectly.
So there’s no need to work. People can do what they want all the time. Turns out lots of them do want to work- just not as much. People started businesses, restaurants that were open two days a week, things like that. The restaurants advertised that “We 3D ingredients, the best in the world and WE do the cooking, not some machine. Give us a try!”
Then the plague hit and everything changed again.
After the plague, once things actually started working and making sense again, people were different somehow. All that unbelievably massive amount of death got folks thinking about what was important and what wasn’t, and most people decided to figure out what it was they loved. Then, since they had all the time in the world, they figured out how to do what they loved. The world became a much better, happier place. At least that’s what they tell me, this is the only world I’ve ever known and I like it just fine. I got here after the changes.
So by the time I got myself born things had settled down quite a bit. Just figure where there used to be four people, now there was one. Some things went back to more or less the way they were before. Other things never did. Schooling changed completely in the early grades. Lots of people kept the kids home and taught them at home; others sent their kids to school like before. But by the time the kids got to the adolescent stage most everybody shipped them to the schools and kept them there through high school. I guess adolescence is what it is and shipping kids off for some of it will always seem like a good idea.
College and graduate school hardly changed at all except it got cheaper.
And that’s a good place to start talking about college basketball.
Jake Marlow: All I Ever Wanted
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Jake Marlow: All I Ever Wanted
by Wayne23 » Tue Mar 25, 2014 2:11 pm
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by Wayne23 » Tue Mar 25, 2014 6:04 pm
For my eighth birthday dad bought me a basketball. He set up a hoop at the end of the driveway (nobody used them anymore but most folks still had them).
Dad had played ball in high school and at the very small college he went to. He was a Small Forward and a terrific shooter. He was only 6’ 2”, not big enough to play the three spot at a good school, but he had talent. I never could beat him at “horse” except by luck every now and then.
Anyway, after the cake and presents and stuff dad took me outside and taught me how to shoot. He started with how to hold the ball. Took it from zero all the way through- lock the wrist, elbow in, where to aim, follow through, shoot with the legs, and on and on. He was patient and he didn’t do it all in one session. He made minor corrections to my form from time to time- right through high school. He reviewed regularly. He encouraged me to shoot and to shoot and to shoot, which I did, taking hundreds of shots every single day, outside when the weather permitted, indoors at other times. He kept up a family membership at a local gym just to have a place for me to shoot during the cold weather and when it rained. And here in Eastern Connecticut the winters are cold, and during the rest of the year there’s plenty of rain.
I haven’t told this part but it was just dad and me. Mom died when I was three. One of the down sides of all the societal changes was the high number of people who suffered from depression. The “experts” said things were too easy for some folks, which made them feel that they had no use, no purpose, no challenge. That led to suicide in a certain number. Mom was one of that number. I have no memory of her at all. I have no brothers or sisters, no cousins, aunts or uncles.
Once dad had taught me the fundamentals we practiced. I loved it right from the start- slept with the basketball! Spent every free moment on shoot and dribble and pass (we rigged up a contraption), and whatever else. Dad was around most days so we worked together. I loved my dad. He was great with me. I’ve never had a better friend or a better teacher. He taught me to dribble, eventually how to pass the ball properly under different situations, how to play D (“The FEET! It’s all about the FEET!”), how to rebound (“Box OUT!”), how to anticipate on D, which led to my getting more steals than you would believe, at every level I ever played. He taught me about transition. He encouraged questions about everything related to the subject of basketball. Put it all together and I got a lot more playing time, at every level, than my talent alone would have gotten me, all thanks to dad.
Right from the start I was a student of the game- that was dad’s doing as well. I had a coach’s eye and a coach’s interest. I wanted to know strategy and tactics. We’d scour the internet looking for books written by coaches. We asked high school and college coaches about their favorite hoops related books. We talked strategy and tactics for endless hours. I emailed many of the best college coaches. Many answered, more than you would think. They usually complimented me on the quality and sophistication of my questions.
The years passed. I grew, to 6’ 6” eventually. But long before that I finally started to actually play on a team. Dad didn’t allow me to play little kid league basketball. Said it only encouraged bad habits.
When I got to grade seven I tried out for the school team. Dad was the coach. No surprise that I made the team! He would wind up coaching me in high school as well. Now dad wasn’t a teacher. He was a man who got what he wanted though, at least most of the time. He started lobbying for the middle school coaching job a couple of years in advance and when the time came he got it. He wanted to coach me because he knew any other coach would play me at Center. I’m not a Center, it’s just not me. But at my height what coach could resist putting me there? Dad resisted. He played me at the three in both seventh and eighth grade. The team did fine, playing for the title the first year, and winning it the second.
When it was time for high school dad wanted to coach me at that level as well. It wasn’t going to happen in our town, the coach was a local legend. So dad again shopped around, actually starting the process when I was in seventh grade. He found a town that needed a high school head coach, applied for the job, got it, and we moved. I reached my full 6’ 6” by the end of my freshman year, and I was the tallest (and thinnest) kid in our league. I played Small Forward again in high school.
My numbers were good. My senior year I averaged 12.4 points (As hard as I worked I simply never developed dad’s shooting touch. “Shooters are born, not made,” said dad- often.), 8.2 RBs, 2.4 assists, and 4.9 steals. I was known as a very good defender. I was named to the first team all stars for the state of CT, and I am still really proud of that. They recognized that I was an “all around player,” which I was. Our team got to the semifinals in the state tourney in each of my last two years. We won our conference title in each of my last three years.
Dad had played ball in high school and at the very small college he went to. He was a Small Forward and a terrific shooter. He was only 6’ 2”, not big enough to play the three spot at a good school, but he had talent. I never could beat him at “horse” except by luck every now and then.
Anyway, after the cake and presents and stuff dad took me outside and taught me how to shoot. He started with how to hold the ball. Took it from zero all the way through- lock the wrist, elbow in, where to aim, follow through, shoot with the legs, and on and on. He was patient and he didn’t do it all in one session. He made minor corrections to my form from time to time- right through high school. He reviewed regularly. He encouraged me to shoot and to shoot and to shoot, which I did, taking hundreds of shots every single day, outside when the weather permitted, indoors at other times. He kept up a family membership at a local gym just to have a place for me to shoot during the cold weather and when it rained. And here in Eastern Connecticut the winters are cold, and during the rest of the year there’s plenty of rain.
I haven’t told this part but it was just dad and me. Mom died when I was three. One of the down sides of all the societal changes was the high number of people who suffered from depression. The “experts” said things were too easy for some folks, which made them feel that they had no use, no purpose, no challenge. That led to suicide in a certain number. Mom was one of that number. I have no memory of her at all. I have no brothers or sisters, no cousins, aunts or uncles.
Once dad had taught me the fundamentals we practiced. I loved it right from the start- slept with the basketball! Spent every free moment on shoot and dribble and pass (we rigged up a contraption), and whatever else. Dad was around most days so we worked together. I loved my dad. He was great with me. I’ve never had a better friend or a better teacher. He taught me to dribble, eventually how to pass the ball properly under different situations, how to play D (“The FEET! It’s all about the FEET!”), how to rebound (“Box OUT!”), how to anticipate on D, which led to my getting more steals than you would believe, at every level I ever played. He taught me about transition. He encouraged questions about everything related to the subject of basketball. Put it all together and I got a lot more playing time, at every level, than my talent alone would have gotten me, all thanks to dad.
Right from the start I was a student of the game- that was dad’s doing as well. I had a coach’s eye and a coach’s interest. I wanted to know strategy and tactics. We’d scour the internet looking for books written by coaches. We asked high school and college coaches about their favorite hoops related books. We talked strategy and tactics for endless hours. I emailed many of the best college coaches. Many answered, more than you would think. They usually complimented me on the quality and sophistication of my questions.
The years passed. I grew, to 6’ 6” eventually. But long before that I finally started to actually play on a team. Dad didn’t allow me to play little kid league basketball. Said it only encouraged bad habits.
When I got to grade seven I tried out for the school team. Dad was the coach. No surprise that I made the team! He would wind up coaching me in high school as well. Now dad wasn’t a teacher. He was a man who got what he wanted though, at least most of the time. He started lobbying for the middle school coaching job a couple of years in advance and when the time came he got it. He wanted to coach me because he knew any other coach would play me at Center. I’m not a Center, it’s just not me. But at my height what coach could resist putting me there? Dad resisted. He played me at the three in both seventh and eighth grade. The team did fine, playing for the title the first year, and winning it the second.
When it was time for high school dad wanted to coach me at that level as well. It wasn’t going to happen in our town, the coach was a local legend. So dad again shopped around, actually starting the process when I was in seventh grade. He found a town that needed a high school head coach, applied for the job, got it, and we moved. I reached my full 6’ 6” by the end of my freshman year, and I was the tallest (and thinnest) kid in our league. I played Small Forward again in high school.
My numbers were good. My senior year I averaged 12.4 points (As hard as I worked I simply never developed dad’s shooting touch. “Shooters are born, not made,” said dad- often.), 8.2 RBs, 2.4 assists, and 4.9 steals. I was known as a very good defender. I was named to the first team all stars for the state of CT, and I am still really proud of that. They recognized that I was an “all around player,” which I was. Our team got to the semifinals in the state tourney in each of my last two years. We won our conference title in each of my last three years.
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by Wayne23 » Tue Mar 25, 2014 11:02 pm
UConn came calling. Since it was where I wanted to go, and dad wanted me to go, we jumped at the chance for me to play there. The UConn program was not at its height when I was there. They played in a mid-major conference and had been middle of the pack or worse during the past few seasons. The coach was highly respected though. Dad, as usual, had found a way to get to know Coach Frey, and had found him to be a passionate student of the game. Coach was kid friendly and was a great strategic coach. He saw coaching as teaching and loved to teach his players. Dad felt that Coach would take me under his wing and bring me to the next step, as a player, as a future coach, and as a student of the game.
And that’s the way it worked out, but sadly, not the way we would have liked.
Dad died of a massive stroke on the third day of practice during my freshman year at UConn. He was 46 years old.
When I got the news I was devastated. I wanted to quit. I just wanted to go home, go to my room, sit and veg. Coach Frey would have none of it. He became my second father. I will be forever grateful to him for that. He was there through the most awful time of my life, and he’s been there ever since.
He taught me everything dad didn’t teach me about coaching, and really, about life.
One of the great sadnesses of my life is that dad never got to see me play a single game at UConn.
I was no star in college. I played, even started as a senior (mostly because the guy ahead of me at Small Forward blew out a knee), but I finally reached the point where I simply didn’t have enough talent. Everything I’d learned along the way made me far better than my talent alone could account for, but still, I was marginal at best, certainly the weakest of my team’s five starters. Still, I played and it was fun, a great, unforgettable experience.
The four years at UConn flew past. I played, I learned, I picked Coach Frey’s brain on a daily basis. We did okay, won lots more games than we lost, made it to the “Big Dance” all four years, the Sweet Sixteen twice, which was better than UConn had done for some time. Now I was about to graduate. It was time to find that high school head coaching job.
Except it didn’t work out that way. Coach invited me to stay at UConn, get my M.A., and become his graduate assistant coach. I jumped at the chance.
That was an incredible year for me. I learned more than I would have thought it possible to learn. Coach rotated me through the various assistant coach jobs, recruiting, scouting, bench coach. I worked with his assistants in charge of each of those areas, as well as spending a huge amount of time one on one with Coach Frey. Our team missed the Final Four when a Duke player hit a 35 footer at the buzzer.
After the Elite Eight game it became obvious that one of the assistants was going to move on. He did, and Coach offered me the job. I took it.
I spent a total of six years as an assistant coach at UConn, working for an amazing teacher. Last year, 2087, I knew I was ready, and I thought I might land a job as a head coach. I made the final interview for two jobs but lost out in both cases. Not this year. I just signed a three year contract as head coach of the SIU Edwardsville Jaguars. The salary isn’t that great, but money doesn't mean a whole lot any more, it’s way more money than I need, and I know I’ll save at least ¼ of it. Edwardsville, Illinois, here I come.
And that’s the way it worked out, but sadly, not the way we would have liked.
Dad died of a massive stroke on the third day of practice during my freshman year at UConn. He was 46 years old.
When I got the news I was devastated. I wanted to quit. I just wanted to go home, go to my room, sit and veg. Coach Frey would have none of it. He became my second father. I will be forever grateful to him for that. He was there through the most awful time of my life, and he’s been there ever since.
He taught me everything dad didn’t teach me about coaching, and really, about life.
One of the great sadnesses of my life is that dad never got to see me play a single game at UConn.
I was no star in college. I played, even started as a senior (mostly because the guy ahead of me at Small Forward blew out a knee), but I finally reached the point where I simply didn’t have enough talent. Everything I’d learned along the way made me far better than my talent alone could account for, but still, I was marginal at best, certainly the weakest of my team’s five starters. Still, I played and it was fun, a great, unforgettable experience.
The four years at UConn flew past. I played, I learned, I picked Coach Frey’s brain on a daily basis. We did okay, won lots more games than we lost, made it to the “Big Dance” all four years, the Sweet Sixteen twice, which was better than UConn had done for some time. Now I was about to graduate. It was time to find that high school head coaching job.
Except it didn’t work out that way. Coach invited me to stay at UConn, get my M.A., and become his graduate assistant coach. I jumped at the chance.
That was an incredible year for me. I learned more than I would have thought it possible to learn. Coach rotated me through the various assistant coach jobs, recruiting, scouting, bench coach. I worked with his assistants in charge of each of those areas, as well as spending a huge amount of time one on one with Coach Frey. Our team missed the Final Four when a Duke player hit a 35 footer at the buzzer.
After the Elite Eight game it became obvious that one of the assistants was going to move on. He did, and Coach offered me the job. I took it.
I spent a total of six years as an assistant coach at UConn, working for an amazing teacher. Last year, 2087, I knew I was ready, and I thought I might land a job as a head coach. I made the final interview for two jobs but lost out in both cases. Not this year. I just signed a three year contract as head coach of the SIU Edwardsville Jaguars. The salary isn’t that great, but money doesn't mean a whole lot any more, it’s way more money than I need, and I know I’ll save at least ¼ of it. Edwardsville, Illinois, here I come.
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by Wayne23 » Wed Mar 26, 2014 1:35 am
May 1, 2088: The entire SIU staff left so I need to hire some coaches. Given our budget they won’t be world beaters but I am hopeful that we can get some decent guys. I’m looking at retirees mostly.
I sign Carl Rock, a 59 year old. He has experience in all aspects of coaching, he’s been a recruiter, a scout and a bench coach. He was out of coaching for five years after spending 25 years as an assistant with small Div. I schools. He says he’s really happy to be back. I’ll assign him to a specific job after I hire my other two coaches.
Adam Hart, age 61, is in the fold. Like Carl, he spent lots of years as an assistant at small Div. I schools. He retired two years ago. When I called he said that he’s missed the game and would love to jump back in. He spent a lot of years as a recruiter. I’m pretty sure that’s what he’ll do for me, but I’m not committing until I hire my last guy.
Reggie Branch, 40, is my #3. He called me. He was unhappy in his situation, looking for a change. I did some checking. He had a right to be unhappy, and he has a good reputation.
Adam will be my recruiter (recruiting rating 26, reputation 9), Carl my scouting coach (scouting rating 25, reputation 9), and Reggie will be my bench coach (player development 24, reputation 9). I got Carl and Adam for three years. Reggie wanted one year. He said that given his recent experiences he thought it would be good for both of us to not be committed. If things work out we can extend. Sounds good to me.
This leaves me with a recruiting budget of $77,000. I’ll get the local region Gold Report and have $47,000 left.
Staff meeting. I will go with motion and flex on offense, a little more of the former. We’ll run sets about ¾ of the time. I favor inside play. On D it will be about 50% man, 50% 2-3. I won’t press much. When I do, 50% man, 50% 1-2-1-1.
As to Coach/Set up, Philosophy is 5 in most areas but 8 in Off. RB, 10 in Def. RB, 2 in FC Press, 10 in Player Rotation.
Coach Marlow is 28 years old. I decided to make him amateur level, which means 200 total points in current ratings. BUT, I did it as follows: Recruit 70, Scout 70, Offense 15, Defense 20, Player Development 25. He is very high in ambition and integrity, high in academics, average in discipline and temper.
My association does not allow cheating, does not allow players to leave early, and I can be fired. Conference changes are allowed. Recruiting is set to Easy, for now.
Oh, this is a Promotion/Relegation Dynasty. We’re in V, the lowest conference. I preset Team Prestige at 0, but it came up as 2 when we started.
Getting to know my staff. Carl doesn’t say much but when he does it makes a lot of sense. I already trust his judgment and he's the one I feel closest to. I think his will be the brain I pick about things as the season progresses.
Adam is a talker. I’m going to need to discuss picking his spots more. He has some good things to say but he talks too much. Still, I value his advice and I want to hear it... just not so much of it.
Reggie… Reggie may have been a mistake. I’m seeing a lot of negativity. That’s not my approach and it certainly won’t be my approach with the players. It won’t be his either- one way or the other. I need to deal with this- sooner, rather than later.
My A.D., Franklin Drake, is a “don’t make waves” kind of guy. It’s a small school, there isn’t a lot of money, he’s a lifer here. I guess I get that but I also guess he won’t be much help when the chips are down. Hopefully he’ll work on getting us a decent schedule. I’ll work with him, and try to push for just a bit more than he's comfortable giving me. Underneath it all he is definitely a good guy, just not a lot of fire.
I sign Carl Rock, a 59 year old. He has experience in all aspects of coaching, he’s been a recruiter, a scout and a bench coach. He was out of coaching for five years after spending 25 years as an assistant with small Div. I schools. He says he’s really happy to be back. I’ll assign him to a specific job after I hire my other two coaches.
Adam Hart, age 61, is in the fold. Like Carl, he spent lots of years as an assistant at small Div. I schools. He retired two years ago. When I called he said that he’s missed the game and would love to jump back in. He spent a lot of years as a recruiter. I’m pretty sure that’s what he’ll do for me, but I’m not committing until I hire my last guy.
Reggie Branch, 40, is my #3. He called me. He was unhappy in his situation, looking for a change. I did some checking. He had a right to be unhappy, and he has a good reputation.
Adam will be my recruiter (recruiting rating 26, reputation 9), Carl my scouting coach (scouting rating 25, reputation 9), and Reggie will be my bench coach (player development 24, reputation 9). I got Carl and Adam for three years. Reggie wanted one year. He said that given his recent experiences he thought it would be good for both of us to not be committed. If things work out we can extend. Sounds good to me.
This leaves me with a recruiting budget of $77,000. I’ll get the local region Gold Report and have $47,000 left.
Staff meeting. I will go with motion and flex on offense, a little more of the former. We’ll run sets about ¾ of the time. I favor inside play. On D it will be about 50% man, 50% 2-3. I won’t press much. When I do, 50% man, 50% 1-2-1-1.
As to Coach/Set up, Philosophy is 5 in most areas but 8 in Off. RB, 10 in Def. RB, 2 in FC Press, 10 in Player Rotation.
Coach Marlow is 28 years old. I decided to make him amateur level, which means 200 total points in current ratings. BUT, I did it as follows: Recruit 70, Scout 70, Offense 15, Defense 20, Player Development 25. He is very high in ambition and integrity, high in academics, average in discipline and temper.
My association does not allow cheating, does not allow players to leave early, and I can be fired. Conference changes are allowed. Recruiting is set to Easy, for now.
Oh, this is a Promotion/Relegation Dynasty. We’re in V, the lowest conference. I preset Team Prestige at 0, but it came up as 2 when we started.
Getting to know my staff. Carl doesn’t say much but when he does it makes a lot of sense. I already trust his judgment and he's the one I feel closest to. I think his will be the brain I pick about things as the season progresses.
Adam is a talker. I’m going to need to discuss picking his spots more. He has some good things to say but he talks too much. Still, I value his advice and I want to hear it... just not so much of it.
Reggie… Reggie may have been a mistake. I’m seeing a lot of negativity. That’s not my approach and it certainly won’t be my approach with the players. It won’t be his either- one way or the other. I need to deal with this- sooner, rather than later.
My A.D., Franklin Drake, is a “don’t make waves” kind of guy. It’s a small school, there isn’t a lot of money, he’s a lifer here. I guess I get that but I also guess he won’t be much help when the chips are down. Hopefully he’ll work on getting us a decent schedule. I’ll work with him, and try to push for just a bit more than he's comfortable giving me. Underneath it all he is definitely a good guy, just not a lot of fire.
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by Wayne23 » Wed Mar 26, 2014 1:22 pm
Facilities are awful- worse than that, actually. We change in what feels (and smells) like a bad high school locker room, and there’s never anywhere near enough hot water in the showers. The lockers are way too small, there aren’t enough of them to give each player two, my alternate solution (Seniors will get two lockers though), and I think the last paint job happened in the nineteenth century. It’s tiny and overcrowded. I’m convinced it will cause… incidents when players are overtired or frustrated by a loss, or at other times. Visiting teams change on the girls’ side, which may be even worse. Refs change in the A. D.’s office and use his shower. The gym seats 4,000 (not a problem since attendance has averaged about 275 for the past few years) but it feels like a big high school gym. The scoreboard is ancient, with some lights out, and there’s only one scoreboard. There are shot clocks above the baskets at both ends, thankfully, but I’m pretty sure that’s an NCAA rule (Sadly, the NCAA is still the governing body, and they are no better than they ever were.).
“Franklin, can’t we just 3D some new lockers at least?”
“Can’t. I don’t have it in the budget.”
“But this stuff is practically free.”
“No, colleges are different. We’re in a whole different category. Because we charge students to come here we get charged for things regular people get free, or dirt cheap.”
“These lockers are a disgrace- probably a health hazard, too.”
“Put it in the budget for next year and I’ll make it happen then. Nothing I can do right now.”
“If I put it in the budget I’ll have less money for other things, like recruiting.”
“Look, Jake. You saw the locker rooms before you took the job. This isn’t a surprise. And yes, you only get to spend a given dollar once. If you spend it on the locker room you can’t spend it on recruiting. That’s one of the realities of life.”
I guess he told me! I asked him to consider a special expense to cover this. He said he’d consider it, and that I should put the request in writing. Honestly? Franklin is a football guy. Any special request money will go to the football program. It’s a shame though. These locker rooms are disgusting. Guess I’ll just have to live with the problem, at least for a while. Doesn’t mean I’m happy about it. Only thing I can do that might help is to build a winning team. That will increase attendance and so will increase revenue. If that happens I’ll be able to make my case.
I did get one concession. Franklin agreed to spring for a new, bigger hot water tank. He said he could find the money for that and it should solve the problem of cold showers. I have to admit that his heart is in the right place. As I said earlier he really is a good guy. I can’t say that’s not true. I also said he lacked fire, and that’s true as well.
I haven’t talked about my office but then there’s not much to talk about. I have the basics- desk, swivel chair, computer (a pretty good one, actually), small closet, little round table with four chairs, for staff meetings (When Franklin joins us we’ll borrow a chair from his office, which is just down the hall), projection screen for presentations and to watch games and such, and a recliner. I bought the recliner myself. I knew there would be nights when I would crash in the office. There isn’t room for a couch in here, and I’d rather sleep in a recliner anyway. I keep a quilt in the closet. There’s a copier in Franklin’s office. I don’t have a secretary. The assistants share an office. It’s big enough for what they need but it’s pretty basic.
The heat is all screwed up, in the whole building, actually. Seems like it’s either 35 degrees or 85. May has been a weird month with unseasonably hot and then unseasonably cold weather. The building has AC but again, it isn’t all that well regulated. I don’t have a thermostat, the temp is controlled externally.
Oh, all of this is in the SIUE Center, which houses the gym where we practice and play. The gym lighting could be better, among other things. Again, the place is either too hot or too cold. The seating is just rows of benches.
Oh well, I’m coaching at a D I school, I need to keep that in mind. I got here. And this is only the first stop. I intend to be successful and to move on and move up.
“Franklin, can’t we just 3D some new lockers at least?”
“Can’t. I don’t have it in the budget.”
“But this stuff is practically free.”
“No, colleges are different. We’re in a whole different category. Because we charge students to come here we get charged for things regular people get free, or dirt cheap.”
“These lockers are a disgrace- probably a health hazard, too.”
“Put it in the budget for next year and I’ll make it happen then. Nothing I can do right now.”
“If I put it in the budget I’ll have less money for other things, like recruiting.”
“Look, Jake. You saw the locker rooms before you took the job. This isn’t a surprise. And yes, you only get to spend a given dollar once. If you spend it on the locker room you can’t spend it on recruiting. That’s one of the realities of life.”
I guess he told me! I asked him to consider a special expense to cover this. He said he’d consider it, and that I should put the request in writing. Honestly? Franklin is a football guy. Any special request money will go to the football program. It’s a shame though. These locker rooms are disgusting. Guess I’ll just have to live with the problem, at least for a while. Doesn’t mean I’m happy about it. Only thing I can do that might help is to build a winning team. That will increase attendance and so will increase revenue. If that happens I’ll be able to make my case.
I did get one concession. Franklin agreed to spring for a new, bigger hot water tank. He said he could find the money for that and it should solve the problem of cold showers. I have to admit that his heart is in the right place. As I said earlier he really is a good guy. I can’t say that’s not true. I also said he lacked fire, and that’s true as well.
I haven’t talked about my office but then there’s not much to talk about. I have the basics- desk, swivel chair, computer (a pretty good one, actually), small closet, little round table with four chairs, for staff meetings (When Franklin joins us we’ll borrow a chair from his office, which is just down the hall), projection screen for presentations and to watch games and such, and a recliner. I bought the recliner myself. I knew there would be nights when I would crash in the office. There isn’t room for a couch in here, and I’d rather sleep in a recliner anyway. I keep a quilt in the closet. There’s a copier in Franklin’s office. I don’t have a secretary. The assistants share an office. It’s big enough for what they need but it’s pretty basic.
The heat is all screwed up, in the whole building, actually. Seems like it’s either 35 degrees or 85. May has been a weird month with unseasonably hot and then unseasonably cold weather. The building has AC but again, it isn’t all that well regulated. I don’t have a thermostat, the temp is controlled externally.
Oh, all of this is in the SIUE Center, which houses the gym where we practice and play. The gym lighting could be better, among other things. Again, the place is either too hot or too cold. The seating is just rows of benches.
Oh well, I’m coaching at a D I school, I need to keep that in mind. I got here. And this is only the first stop. I intend to be successful and to move on and move up.
- Wayne23
- DDS:CB Support Squad
- Posts: 14336
- Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:23 pm
by Wayne23 » Wed Mar 26, 2014 7:25 pm
I guess I haven’t really told you much about me- you know, the personal stuff. Well, I have exactly zero family now that dad’s gone. It was only ever dad and me. I think I mentioned that I have no siblings. Dad was an only child and so was mom, their parents all died before I was born. People tell me it’s terrible not to have a family. I have no frame of reference so I don’t know. I DO know that it’s terrible not to have my dad. I miss him every single day.
I guess I had the usual friends growing up but I’m not in contact with any of them anymore. Jed Michaels, the Point Guard on the UConn team when I was there, is still a friend but he’s back in CT, coaching the CCSU basketball team. We phone, text and email now and then but now that I’m here in Illinois it’s about impossible to get together. We don’t have game schedules yet but maybe he’ll be in the area or I’ll be in CT for games. If that happens we’ll get together. It would be nice.
No other close friends. I’m a friendly guy and I know lots of people but there’s nobody real close. I’m guessing Carl, and maybe Adam, will be my friends. I’ll definitely spend lots of time with both of them. Of course there’s always Coach Frey. He’s more a mentor than a friend but he’s the most important person in my life, and it’s a rare day when we don’t at least text. I run everything past him, and he advises me. He’s a great coach so the advice is a huge help. Emmy Frey, his wife, thinks she’s my mom. I kind of like that most of the time.
When I got here on May 1, I started looking for a place to live right away. I settled on a condo. Nice, ranch style place, not too big, but I don’t want a big place. I’m renting, of course. SIUE is a great place to start my career, and I am very grateful to be here, but it’s a first step. I hope to move up to a different school in three or four years. I signed on for three and I intend to fulfill that contract. If I got a really great offer that could change, but it would need to be special because I really would like to stay the three years, if possible. So anyway, the condo has everything I need, including a treadmill and an elliptical machine. I’m never there. I wake up (when I actually get home to sleep) and get to the office right after exercise (I’m a runner), shower and breakfast, and I’m there until midnight or later. As I said, lots of nights I crash in the recliner. I keep dressy clothes, work clothes, and workout clothes in the closet in the office for when that happens. There’s a washer and dryer available here at the Center.
Women? I love ‘em but I’m so busy I haven’t met anyone yet. It would be nice and I’m sure it would be good for me to have a woman to spend some time with. Hopefully it will happen but I’m not exactly out there making it happen. I dated in high school and in college, and while I was coaching at UConn, but to tell the truth I’ve never had a serious relationship, or one that lasted for more than a few dates. I’d love to find someone. A wife and kids are part of the plan. I don’t think you can try to make that happen though. It seems to happen or not, on its own.
Hobbies interests …? Basketball, basketball, and basketball. I always say I’m not a sports fan, and I’m not. I never had an interest in any sport other than college basketball. I’m not even interested in the pro game.
I always have a mystery novel going on my electronic reader but the only time I read is at bedtime, sometimes for 5-10 minutes, sometimes half the night if the book grabs me. If I’m reading at any other time, it’s about college basketball.
That’s me. I guess I’m a pretty simple guy.
I guess I had the usual friends growing up but I’m not in contact with any of them anymore. Jed Michaels, the Point Guard on the UConn team when I was there, is still a friend but he’s back in CT, coaching the CCSU basketball team. We phone, text and email now and then but now that I’m here in Illinois it’s about impossible to get together. We don’t have game schedules yet but maybe he’ll be in the area or I’ll be in CT for games. If that happens we’ll get together. It would be nice.
No other close friends. I’m a friendly guy and I know lots of people but there’s nobody real close. I’m guessing Carl, and maybe Adam, will be my friends. I’ll definitely spend lots of time with both of them. Of course there’s always Coach Frey. He’s more a mentor than a friend but he’s the most important person in my life, and it’s a rare day when we don’t at least text. I run everything past him, and he advises me. He’s a great coach so the advice is a huge help. Emmy Frey, his wife, thinks she’s my mom. I kind of like that most of the time.
When I got here on May 1, I started looking for a place to live right away. I settled on a condo. Nice, ranch style place, not too big, but I don’t want a big place. I’m renting, of course. SIUE is a great place to start my career, and I am very grateful to be here, but it’s a first step. I hope to move up to a different school in three or four years. I signed on for three and I intend to fulfill that contract. If I got a really great offer that could change, but it would need to be special because I really would like to stay the three years, if possible. So anyway, the condo has everything I need, including a treadmill and an elliptical machine. I’m never there. I wake up (when I actually get home to sleep) and get to the office right after exercise (I’m a runner), shower and breakfast, and I’m there until midnight or later. As I said, lots of nights I crash in the recliner. I keep dressy clothes, work clothes, and workout clothes in the closet in the office for when that happens. There’s a washer and dryer available here at the Center.
Women? I love ‘em but I’m so busy I haven’t met anyone yet. It would be nice and I’m sure it would be good for me to have a woman to spend some time with. Hopefully it will happen but I’m not exactly out there making it happen. I dated in high school and in college, and while I was coaching at UConn, but to tell the truth I’ve never had a serious relationship, or one that lasted for more than a few dates. I’d love to find someone. A wife and kids are part of the plan. I don’t think you can try to make that happen though. It seems to happen or not, on its own.
Hobbies interests …? Basketball, basketball, and basketball. I always say I’m not a sports fan, and I’m not. I never had an interest in any sport other than college basketball. I’m not even interested in the pro game.
I always have a mystery novel going on my electronic reader but the only time I read is at bedtime, sometimes for 5-10 minutes, sometimes half the night if the book grabs me. If I’m reading at any other time, it’s about college basketball.
That’s me. I guess I’m a pretty simple guy.
- Wayne23
- DDS:CB Support Squad
- Posts: 14336
- Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:23 pm
by Wayne23 » Thu Mar 27, 2014 4:25 am
It somehow got to be June 1, and I’ve been here a month. I can now find my way around the campus and around the local area. This isn’t the UConn area, which will always be home to me, but it will do for now, and it’s important to make it feel like home so I am working on that. Yeah, my ultimate dream is to wind up back at UConn, coaching the Huskies back to their former glory. If that ever happens it won’t be for a LONG time so I don’t think about it much.
It’s kind of amazing how quickly things become routine. I’ve found my routines, my little places to go, things like that. I seriously miss spicy food. There’s none to be had here. Evidently the “Heartland” is all meat and potatoes and not much else, certainly nothing exotic. Wait ‘til they find out I don’t eat cow or pig!
St. Louis isn’t that far away though, only 15-20 minutes, but the crowds mean that nothing is quick and easy, and even in a city as large as that there aren’t many places serving the kinds of food I like.
I can hear you thinking, “PathWays.” Well yeah, but it isn’t a taxi service. PathWays will take me to one of three locations in the city, at 7:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m., 11:00 p.m., 3:00 a.m. Once I get to the location I’m on my own to get to the specific place I’m going. There are buses, taxis… Rich folks can pay for a private PathWay but it is really expensive. Teams, groups do charter a PathWay. It’s how we travel to road games and it takes us right to the gym where we’re playing, or if we are, to the hotel where we’re staying, but unless it’s a tournament or something special we usually PathWay in, play the game, and then PathWay back home. There’s a “frequent flyer” thing for universities and such.
Getting back to food I’ve only found one Indian restaurant in St. Louis, but hey, there’s one! And it’s pretty good. I am a fanatic about Indian food so I get there at least every two weeks. I also get Mexican and sushi in St. Louis. It would be nice to be able to stop in for lunch at an Indian place, or even a Mexican or a sushi, but nope, not in the SIUE area.
As for 3D meals- no. 3D does a lot of great stuff. Cooking is not on that list. It’s not that the food is awful but it always tastes like something is missing. I guess that’s why restaurants are still around. Lots of businesses disappeared because of 3D copying but restaurants are more popular than ever.
Staff meetings are at 9:00 on Mondays and Thursdays but I speak with each of my three assistants every day. We haven’t met the players, and we won’t until the school year starts, but there are game tapes to view (I know, they’re DVDs but the term “game tapes” always stuck, long after “tape” was no more.), lists of potential recruits to go over, practices to structure, all sorts of long range planning to do. We’re going to have 8 scholarships to fill so we want to have some idea of who we’re going after. I have four seniors on scholarship, but I cut three guys because their grades were so bad they were ineligible and likely to stay that way, and I cut one other guy because he was obviously never going to get any playing time here. We switched him over to a hardship scholarship. With the first three, they didn’t hold up their end of the bargain by getting the grades so I had no guilt about cutting them loose. Reality check!
If we get a rash of injuries we could be in trouble but that’s the way it is.
I want to start a week long summer camp for kids but it’s too late to put that in place for this summer. Camps are a good way to generate a little revenue and I can hire my players for the week (or two weeks if we get enough kids), as well as paying my assistants, none of whom make any real money. The camp gives me a chance to see my guys on a basketball court. I can’t coach them, but I can get an idea of what they can and cannot do.
That would have been really helpful this year, particularly since the entire staff is new. Game tapes only show so much. We’ll have at least one week of kid camp next year.
I will visit all of my returning players, as well as the incoming freshmen. They’re all in state, the previous coach wasn’t much of a recruiter. I actually have all of the visits scheduled for a time within the next two weeks. I want the guys to know I care about them, and I feel it’s important to begin building the relationships right now.
One player is on campus, junior Center Aaron Bain. His grades are a little shaky so he’s taking two classes. The grades aren’t awful but he wasn’t on schedule to graduate. Taking these two courses will put him where he needs to be. Two As will help his GPA, too. He knows I expect two As. I’ve met him and encouraged him to drop in whenever he has free time. From what little I know about my guys, Aaron, and Lew Casey at PF, will be my go to guys. Kip Mills at guard also looks like a player. After that it may be cut and paste and patch and use smoke and mirrors. But, one thing I know is that my guys will learn what hard work is, and hopefully they’ll get better as the season progresses.
I briefly stated that I “favor inside.” I do. The closer to the basket, the more likely the shot will go in. I like to work it inside and I like to have guys drive to the hoop. Now, I do realize that you need to mix it up so of course we’ll look to our outside shooters as well. This team has a few, 2 guys rated 10, and 4 rated 9 in FGJ. Still, I want inside play to be the focus.
It’s kind of amazing how quickly things become routine. I’ve found my routines, my little places to go, things like that. I seriously miss spicy food. There’s none to be had here. Evidently the “Heartland” is all meat and potatoes and not much else, certainly nothing exotic. Wait ‘til they find out I don’t eat cow or pig!
St. Louis isn’t that far away though, only 15-20 minutes, but the crowds mean that nothing is quick and easy, and even in a city as large as that there aren’t many places serving the kinds of food I like.
I can hear you thinking, “PathWays.” Well yeah, but it isn’t a taxi service. PathWays will take me to one of three locations in the city, at 7:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m., 11:00 p.m., 3:00 a.m. Once I get to the location I’m on my own to get to the specific place I’m going. There are buses, taxis… Rich folks can pay for a private PathWay but it is really expensive. Teams, groups do charter a PathWay. It’s how we travel to road games and it takes us right to the gym where we’re playing, or if we are, to the hotel where we’re staying, but unless it’s a tournament or something special we usually PathWay in, play the game, and then PathWay back home. There’s a “frequent flyer” thing for universities and such.
Getting back to food I’ve only found one Indian restaurant in St. Louis, but hey, there’s one! And it’s pretty good. I am a fanatic about Indian food so I get there at least every two weeks. I also get Mexican and sushi in St. Louis. It would be nice to be able to stop in for lunch at an Indian place, or even a Mexican or a sushi, but nope, not in the SIUE area.
As for 3D meals- no. 3D does a lot of great stuff. Cooking is not on that list. It’s not that the food is awful but it always tastes like something is missing. I guess that’s why restaurants are still around. Lots of businesses disappeared because of 3D copying but restaurants are more popular than ever.
Staff meetings are at 9:00 on Mondays and Thursdays but I speak with each of my three assistants every day. We haven’t met the players, and we won’t until the school year starts, but there are game tapes to view (I know, they’re DVDs but the term “game tapes” always stuck, long after “tape” was no more.), lists of potential recruits to go over, practices to structure, all sorts of long range planning to do. We’re going to have 8 scholarships to fill so we want to have some idea of who we’re going after. I have four seniors on scholarship, but I cut three guys because their grades were so bad they were ineligible and likely to stay that way, and I cut one other guy because he was obviously never going to get any playing time here. We switched him over to a hardship scholarship. With the first three, they didn’t hold up their end of the bargain by getting the grades so I had no guilt about cutting them loose. Reality check!
If we get a rash of injuries we could be in trouble but that’s the way it is.
I want to start a week long summer camp for kids but it’s too late to put that in place for this summer. Camps are a good way to generate a little revenue and I can hire my players for the week (or two weeks if we get enough kids), as well as paying my assistants, none of whom make any real money. The camp gives me a chance to see my guys on a basketball court. I can’t coach them, but I can get an idea of what they can and cannot do.
That would have been really helpful this year, particularly since the entire staff is new. Game tapes only show so much. We’ll have at least one week of kid camp next year.
I will visit all of my returning players, as well as the incoming freshmen. They’re all in state, the previous coach wasn’t much of a recruiter. I actually have all of the visits scheduled for a time within the next two weeks. I want the guys to know I care about them, and I feel it’s important to begin building the relationships right now.
One player is on campus, junior Center Aaron Bain. His grades are a little shaky so he’s taking two classes. The grades aren’t awful but he wasn’t on schedule to graduate. Taking these two courses will put him where he needs to be. Two As will help his GPA, too. He knows I expect two As. I’ve met him and encouraged him to drop in whenever he has free time. From what little I know about my guys, Aaron, and Lew Casey at PF, will be my go to guys. Kip Mills at guard also looks like a player. After that it may be cut and paste and patch and use smoke and mirrors. But, one thing I know is that my guys will learn what hard work is, and hopefully they’ll get better as the season progresses.
I briefly stated that I “favor inside.” I do. The closer to the basket, the more likely the shot will go in. I like to work it inside and I like to have guys drive to the hoop. Now, I do realize that you need to mix it up so of course we’ll look to our outside shooters as well. This team has a few, 2 guys rated 10, and 4 rated 9 in FGJ. Still, I want inside play to be the focus.
- Wayne23
- DDS:CB Support Squad
- Posts: 14336
- Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:23 pm
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