Wayne, I made you an Akron court for your dynasty
http://www.mediafire.com/view/myfiles/#0iilr3tuef9p1cp
Temporary Like Achilles
by Wayne23 » Sun Apr 06, 2014 11:00 pm
“Maria, you seem frazzled.”
“Oh!”
“What is it?”
“I am studying and it is very difficult.”
“Studying what? Your class does not begin until early June.”
“Yes, I know that, but it is statistics. I have not done anything in that field for 25 years.”
“You will be fine. A little refresher and it will come back to you.”
“Oh Achilles, this is not so. I have studied for several days now and I grow more confused as time passes.”
“Hire a tutor if you think that will help.”
“What?”
“Hire a tutor. We are at a great university. I have no doubt there are signs all over campus of people offering their services. We can certainly afford it.”
“Oh, I never thought of that.”
“It is nice that for once I have thought of something you did not!”
“And it is all right to spend money on this?”
“Maria, I am very well paid here. We are doing extremely well financially. You know that.”
“I suppose I do but I never think of it. I have too many memories of all of the years when you were coaching in high school and when you were an assistant coach.”
“And we had very little money then.”
“Very little. But we did fine. We had enough to make do.”
“Yes, because you are so good as a housekeeper. In any case this is no longer a problem. Hire a tutor.”
“I shall, Achilles. Thank you.”
10-13, 4-8 Buffalo is here. We won by 12 there. We’re playing very well right now. They are not.
February 11: Another easy win, 76-50. 10 TOs, team effort by our big six.
This one clinched first place over all.
Kent State, 12-12, 8-5, is in. They beat us by 15 there, our only conference loss. They beat us at SG and PF last time so we’ll stay on those guys.
February 15: A whole different game this time. After a close first half we jump out at the start of the second and quickly take control. 82-61. 24 for Jon. 10 TOs to their 23.
At 9-16, 5-9 Ohio. Beat them by 21 at home.
February 18: They came out hard and fast and built a 12 point lead. They were up 5 at the half. In the second we made some defensive adjustments and worked on our passing. Morr and Gore took charge and we won 90-80.
But it was work. 30, 6, 4 for Napp, 22, 6, 1 for Gore.
#15, RPI # 7.
Bracket Breaker vs. 19-8 New Mexico. They have a very good PG and play a tight man. This should be a challenge.
February 19: We control the first half, going in up 40-33. The wheels fell off in the second. NM simply got red hot from the outside and stayed that way, scoring 53 for the half and winning 86-77. The loss snapped a 12 game win streak. We will work on perimeter defense.
We’re 23-4, 14-1 going into the last regular season game, at home vs. 7-19, 6-9 Miami of Ohio. We won by 29 there. They’ve won 3 of their last 4.
February 22: The usual close first half and then we took over. 80-64 at the end. 22, 7 for Kal, 11 TOs.
TOs at 14.4. We win our division by 6, and end up 4 better than No. Ill. Now a bit of rest and then the post season. Hopes and expectations are high.
“Oh!”
“What is it?”
“I am studying and it is very difficult.”
“Studying what? Your class does not begin until early June.”
“Yes, I know that, but it is statistics. I have not done anything in that field for 25 years.”
“You will be fine. A little refresher and it will come back to you.”
“Oh Achilles, this is not so. I have studied for several days now and I grow more confused as time passes.”
“Hire a tutor if you think that will help.”
“What?”
“Hire a tutor. We are at a great university. I have no doubt there are signs all over campus of people offering their services. We can certainly afford it.”
“Oh, I never thought of that.”
“It is nice that for once I have thought of something you did not!”
“And it is all right to spend money on this?”
“Maria, I am very well paid here. We are doing extremely well financially. You know that.”
“I suppose I do but I never think of it. I have too many memories of all of the years when you were coaching in high school and when you were an assistant coach.”
“And we had very little money then.”
“Very little. But we did fine. We had enough to make do.”
“Yes, because you are so good as a housekeeper. In any case this is no longer a problem. Hire a tutor.”
“I shall, Achilles. Thank you.”
10-13, 4-8 Buffalo is here. We won by 12 there. We’re playing very well right now. They are not.
February 11: Another easy win, 76-50. 10 TOs, team effort by our big six.
This one clinched first place over all.
Kent State, 12-12, 8-5, is in. They beat us by 15 there, our only conference loss. They beat us at SG and PF last time so we’ll stay on those guys.
February 15: A whole different game this time. After a close first half we jump out at the start of the second and quickly take control. 82-61. 24 for Jon. 10 TOs to their 23.
At 9-16, 5-9 Ohio. Beat them by 21 at home.
February 18: They came out hard and fast and built a 12 point lead. They were up 5 at the half. In the second we made some defensive adjustments and worked on our passing. Morr and Gore took charge and we won 90-80.
But it was work. 30, 6, 4 for Napp, 22, 6, 1 for Gore.
#15, RPI # 7.
Bracket Breaker vs. 19-8 New Mexico. They have a very good PG and play a tight man. This should be a challenge.
February 19: We control the first half, going in up 40-33. The wheels fell off in the second. NM simply got red hot from the outside and stayed that way, scoring 53 for the half and winning 86-77. The loss snapped a 12 game win streak. We will work on perimeter defense.
We’re 23-4, 14-1 going into the last regular season game, at home vs. 7-19, 6-9 Miami of Ohio. We won by 29 there. They’ve won 3 of their last 4.
February 22: The usual close first half and then we took over. 80-64 at the end. 22, 7 for Kal, 11 TOs.
TOs at 14.4. We win our division by 6, and end up 4 better than No. Ill. Now a bit of rest and then the post season. Hopes and expectations are high.
- Wayne23
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by Wayne23 » Sun Apr 06, 2014 11:24 pm
We play 14-15 Bowling Green in the ¼ final round. Beat them by 17 and 22 in the regular season.
March 7: “Survive and advance.” We did… barely. 16 lead changes, 8 ties, down 10 with 5:11 to go. We closed and closed. Down 73-75 with the ball, 8 seconds. Rick brought it down the floor, got it to Jon. Two guys on him but no time. Jon threw up a 22 footer and it went in. 76-75. We were +9 on the boards, -3 TOs (but only 12).
Next up is Western Michigan, 18-12. Beat them by 20 in the regular season.
They’ve been playing well and this could be tough.
March 8: It was, for a long time. They had all five scoring, moved the ball well, and defended us. We held a slight lead most of the way but couldn’t break it open. Finally, at the 8 minute time out we went on a big run and broke free. Final score was 86-72. 24, 7 for Jon. They shut Kal down by doubling him but we went to our other guys and they responded.
Muncie, 18-12, upset No. Ill. in a shocker so they’re up for the title game.
We beat them by 21 in our only meeting. They play a lot of guys. We want this title!
March 9: It was a war! We held the lead all the way, but usually by 5 or less.
They caught us a couple of times, including at the 1:12 mark. Then Jon banged a three, Kal got inside for a layup and the final was 70-67, and that’s how close it was.
And now we wait. #17, RPI #8. Dare we dream of a three seed? A four? #12, 13, 14, 16 were all beat before their tourney finals. And #6, 7, 10, 18, 23. All of that raises our stock.
March 12: We gather round the big screen and wait. #5 Austin, Texas, vs. a play in winner. #5 is a bit of a disappointment but we’ll take it.
March 7: “Survive and advance.” We did… barely. 16 lead changes, 8 ties, down 10 with 5:11 to go. We closed and closed. Down 73-75 with the ball, 8 seconds. Rick brought it down the floor, got it to Jon. Two guys on him but no time. Jon threw up a 22 footer and it went in. 76-75. We were +9 on the boards, -3 TOs (but only 12).
Next up is Western Michigan, 18-12. Beat them by 20 in the regular season.
They’ve been playing well and this could be tough.
March 8: It was, for a long time. They had all five scoring, moved the ball well, and defended us. We held a slight lead most of the way but couldn’t break it open. Finally, at the 8 minute time out we went on a big run and broke free. Final score was 86-72. 24, 7 for Jon. They shut Kal down by doubling him but we went to our other guys and they responded.
Muncie, 18-12, upset No. Ill. in a shocker so they’re up for the title game.
We beat them by 21 in our only meeting. They play a lot of guys. We want this title!
March 9: It was a war! We held the lead all the way, but usually by 5 or less.
They caught us a couple of times, including at the 1:12 mark. Then Jon banged a three, Kal got inside for a layup and the final was 70-67, and that’s how close it was.
And now we wait. #17, RPI #8. Dare we dream of a three seed? A four? #12, 13, 14, 16 were all beat before their tourney finals. And #6, 7, 10, 18, 23. All of that raises our stock.
March 12: We gather round the big screen and wait. #5 Austin, Texas, vs. a play in winner. #5 is a bit of a disappointment but we’ll take it.
- Wayne23
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by Wayne23 » Mon Apr 07, 2014 1:22 am
We start with 16-14 Oregon State from the PAC 12. They were competitive in a very good conference. They play eight. All score, but no one scores a lot. We think we can turn them over.
March 17: And once again, survive and advance. We led by nine at the half but Ore. ST kept coming. We didn’t feel it would get easier in the second and it didn’t. They were very physical and my guys were too tentative about pushing back. The up side was that we kept going to the line. The down side was that their aggressiveness was giving them momentum and confidence.
Finally, with 3:01 to go, we went down 3. I burned a time out and kicked butt. I told my guys, in a LOUD voice, to defend their turf and push back, no holds barred. Let the refs stop the nonsense or not but I wasn’t going to watch my guys get pushed around. If the starters didn’t do it I threatened to pull them and to give the subs their chance. The Ore. ST PF threw a shoulder at Rahm and Rahm knocked him on his butt. The guy had a look of amazement. Kal, who had done nothing on offense all night then took a pass and blasted inside for a slam, getting fouled in the process. He converted, Rick picked the PG’s pocket and threw it ahead for a slam by Jon, and we held on to win 66-64. Jon got player of the game but I would have given it to Jay Gore who had 14 and 7 from the bench and who was the only one of my guys who didn’t allow himself to be pushed around at any point in the 26 minutes he played.
28-4, and on to # 4 seed Cincinnati, 26-8. They feature a balanced attack and play a 1-3-1, which we rarely see. That’s a problem but we’ll do what we can. They won their last six, including upsetting #1 in the country UConn for the conf. title. They are a little weak at PG and we think we can turn them over. They’re tough inside.
March 19: 70-71. The usual close game scenario except this time we came down at the end and were defended so well that we didn’t get a good shot.
The stat sheet was extremely even as was the game. We played well, they played well.
We lose seniors Rick Bakk, Rahm Park, Clint Ray and Jay Moody. We have some very good players returning. Next year should be another very good year.
Now to wait for job offers. Will I go if the right offer comes? Of course. I love it here in Akron but this is not a destination school. I won’t go to a team that is only a little better, If I am offered a situation that is clearly better, I go.
That is a couple of weeks away.
We end up 28-5.
April 3: Syracuse beats UConn for the national championship.
April 4: Awards: For the second year in a row one of our freshmen gets POY, Jon Morr, and of course he is also freshman OY and first team. I am honored as Coach OY. Kal Napp is named first team. Senior Rahm Park is second team.
April 9: I will be staying in Akron. Minnesota offers and theirs is an interesting offer, but I feel we will have a better team here.
April 16: Our last two recruits, PF Jon Byrd, #110, and PG Ger Leit, #129, sign. We have no staff to hire.
Our Team Prestige rises to 46. My numbers also rise:
Offense- 22, Defense- 36, Recruiting- 94, Scouting- 71, Player Development- 34, Reputation- 45. Next year, assuming we do well, I should expect some very interesting job offers. But my heart is in Akron and I am very happy to come back.
April 23: We made a lot of money for Akron athletics this year, selling out every game, winning the tournament… I want some of it. And I get it, $10,000.
I am very happy about our season and very excited about next year.
March 17: And once again, survive and advance. We led by nine at the half but Ore. ST kept coming. We didn’t feel it would get easier in the second and it didn’t. They were very physical and my guys were too tentative about pushing back. The up side was that we kept going to the line. The down side was that their aggressiveness was giving them momentum and confidence.
Finally, with 3:01 to go, we went down 3. I burned a time out and kicked butt. I told my guys, in a LOUD voice, to defend their turf and push back, no holds barred. Let the refs stop the nonsense or not but I wasn’t going to watch my guys get pushed around. If the starters didn’t do it I threatened to pull them and to give the subs their chance. The Ore. ST PF threw a shoulder at Rahm and Rahm knocked him on his butt. The guy had a look of amazement. Kal, who had done nothing on offense all night then took a pass and blasted inside for a slam, getting fouled in the process. He converted, Rick picked the PG’s pocket and threw it ahead for a slam by Jon, and we held on to win 66-64. Jon got player of the game but I would have given it to Jay Gore who had 14 and 7 from the bench and who was the only one of my guys who didn’t allow himself to be pushed around at any point in the 26 minutes he played.
28-4, and on to # 4 seed Cincinnati, 26-8. They feature a balanced attack and play a 1-3-1, which we rarely see. That’s a problem but we’ll do what we can. They won their last six, including upsetting #1 in the country UConn for the conf. title. They are a little weak at PG and we think we can turn them over. They’re tough inside.
March 19: 70-71. The usual close game scenario except this time we came down at the end and were defended so well that we didn’t get a good shot.
The stat sheet was extremely even as was the game. We played well, they played well.
We lose seniors Rick Bakk, Rahm Park, Clint Ray and Jay Moody. We have some very good players returning. Next year should be another very good year.
Now to wait for job offers. Will I go if the right offer comes? Of course. I love it here in Akron but this is not a destination school. I won’t go to a team that is only a little better, If I am offered a situation that is clearly better, I go.
That is a couple of weeks away.
We end up 28-5.
April 3: Syracuse beats UConn for the national championship.
April 4: Awards: For the second year in a row one of our freshmen gets POY, Jon Morr, and of course he is also freshman OY and first team. I am honored as Coach OY. Kal Napp is named first team. Senior Rahm Park is second team.
April 9: I will be staying in Akron. Minnesota offers and theirs is an interesting offer, but I feel we will have a better team here.
April 16: Our last two recruits, PF Jon Byrd, #110, and PG Ger Leit, #129, sign. We have no staff to hire.
Our Team Prestige rises to 46. My numbers also rise:
Offense- 22, Defense- 36, Recruiting- 94, Scouting- 71, Player Development- 34, Reputation- 45. Next year, assuming we do well, I should expect some very interesting job offers. But my heart is in Akron and I am very happy to come back.
April 23: We made a lot of money for Akron athletics this year, selling out every game, winning the tournament… I want some of it. And I get it, $10,000.
I am very happy about our season and very excited about next year.
- Wayne23
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by Wayne23 » Mon Apr 07, 2014 10:06 am
May 1: And we begin. The family will spend a week in Greece later this month. I await that with delight.
“Maria, do you feel prepared for your statistics class?”
“Oh yes, Achilles. The tutor I have been working with is wonderful. He has prepared me fully, not just for this course but for my future statistics classes as well. I am very confident now, and I will be able to meet with him as necessary during the summer.”
“And your course of study in general?”
“Perfect! I will spend a great deal of time learning even more about those ancient Greek philosophers I have always respected so greatly.”
“I am very happy that you have taken this path, Maria.”
“And I am very grateful for your support, Achilles.”
We choose to purchase the Gold National report. This will leave us with $42, 180 for recruiting. It will be difficult to pursue foreign recruits, but I feel we will be fine.
With roster moves we will seek to find two transfers. We have only four big men on our roster. All four are very talented but an injury could be disastrous. A transfer will not help with that, but it will be helpful in the future. Let us see what is available.
We offer to a small forward. He is the only transfer of any interest at all.
He goes to UConn.
Greece was wonderful. It was nice to meet up with family and old friends still living there.
June 26: We have five scholarships and will look almost exclusively at big men.
And, predictably, it doesn’t look like a great year for big men. We start off looking at 14 recruits, 1 PG, 1 SF, and the rest big men.
July 4: Down to 10 recruits. We’ll add in August.
August 7: Plugging along. We add a dozen, mostly bigs.
Maria, of course, received an A in her statistics course.
August 21: We offer to 4 big men and a PG.
September 5: Maria begins as a full time student tomorrow. She is as excited as a kindergarten student on the first day of school. I am happy about this.
Achilles left for Cornell two weeks ago. It seems very strange to not have him at home.
September 12: We begin making home visits.
September 18: Len Jax, #187 PF commits.
We have a schedule. No in season tournament this year. Two ranked teams on the road, one at home but a tougher schedule, all in all and a much better distribution of home vs. road games.
Maria bubbles with excitement when she discusses her courses. I have never seen her so happy. She works very hard and is sometimes up later than I am at night. This is amusing given how much trouble she has given me about this issue.
September 25: Three more commit. #119 PF Ollie Munk, #461 PG Curt Darby, and #51 Matt Mack.
October 2: Still adding recruits. Four new ones this week. One or two of our committed recruits are borderline students so hitting the SAT score is a concern. We want back ups available.
First day of practice today. We were deeper last year but we have seven players we like at this stage. Injuries would be a real problem this year.
November 6: Practice is going well. Teaching the new guys is the biggest task but we have some solid veterans.
Two exhibition games this week then the season begins.
As usually happens the exhibitions led to some changes. For one, we couldn’t keep Jay Gore out of the starting line up. As the season progressed last year his playing time increased. He is simply not a practice player. While he works hard in practice, his skills don’t leap out at you. In games they do. So he’ll start at C and Kal will move to PF.
We like what we are seeing from freshman bug man Jon Byrd. He will get minutes.
“Maria, do you feel prepared for your statistics class?”
“Oh yes, Achilles. The tutor I have been working with is wonderful. He has prepared me fully, not just for this course but for my future statistics classes as well. I am very confident now, and I will be able to meet with him as necessary during the summer.”
“And your course of study in general?”
“Perfect! I will spend a great deal of time learning even more about those ancient Greek philosophers I have always respected so greatly.”
“I am very happy that you have taken this path, Maria.”
“And I am very grateful for your support, Achilles.”
We choose to purchase the Gold National report. This will leave us with $42, 180 for recruiting. It will be difficult to pursue foreign recruits, but I feel we will be fine.
With roster moves we will seek to find two transfers. We have only four big men on our roster. All four are very talented but an injury could be disastrous. A transfer will not help with that, but it will be helpful in the future. Let us see what is available.
We offer to a small forward. He is the only transfer of any interest at all.
He goes to UConn.
Greece was wonderful. It was nice to meet up with family and old friends still living there.
June 26: We have five scholarships and will look almost exclusively at big men.
And, predictably, it doesn’t look like a great year for big men. We start off looking at 14 recruits, 1 PG, 1 SF, and the rest big men.
July 4: Down to 10 recruits. We’ll add in August.
August 7: Plugging along. We add a dozen, mostly bigs.
Maria, of course, received an A in her statistics course.
August 21: We offer to 4 big men and a PG.
September 5: Maria begins as a full time student tomorrow. She is as excited as a kindergarten student on the first day of school. I am happy about this.
Achilles left for Cornell two weeks ago. It seems very strange to not have him at home.
September 12: We begin making home visits.
September 18: Len Jax, #187 PF commits.
We have a schedule. No in season tournament this year. Two ranked teams on the road, one at home but a tougher schedule, all in all and a much better distribution of home vs. road games.
Maria bubbles with excitement when she discusses her courses. I have never seen her so happy. She works very hard and is sometimes up later than I am at night. This is amusing given how much trouble she has given me about this issue.
September 25: Three more commit. #119 PF Ollie Munk, #461 PG Curt Darby, and #51 Matt Mack.
October 2: Still adding recruits. Four new ones this week. One or two of our committed recruits are borderline students so hitting the SAT score is a concern. We want back ups available.
First day of practice today. We were deeper last year but we have seven players we like at this stage. Injuries would be a real problem this year.
November 6: Practice is going well. Teaching the new guys is the biggest task but we have some solid veterans.
Two exhibition games this week then the season begins.
As usually happens the exhibitions led to some changes. For one, we couldn’t keep Jay Gore out of the starting line up. As the season progressed last year his playing time increased. He is simply not a practice player. While he works hard in practice, his skills don’t leap out at you. In games they do. So he’ll start at C and Kal will move to PF.
We like what we are seeing from freshman bug man Jon Byrd. He will get minutes.
- Wayne23
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by Wayne23 » Mon Apr 07, 2014 11:40 am
“Maria, how goes school?”
“I love it, Achilles.”
“You work very hard.”
“Yes, but the work is interesting and I love the challenge.”
“Should I be concerned regarding your lack of sleep.”
“Oh no, I stay up late to do my work but- are you teasing me, Achilles?”
“Perhaps just a bit. I find it amusing that I seem to get more sleep than you do these days.”
“Yes, I suppose it is amusing at that.”
“Again, I am happy for you, my wife.”
Achilles is doing very well at Cornell. He too is very busy, balancing a challenging academic load at a great university with a varsity soccer schedule and all of its commitments. He seems to be doing fine though.
Young Maria is enjoying high school. She continues with her dance at the local academy, and is pleased to be doing it more for fun than at the higher level she was offered. She is looking at colleges.
We open at home with Missouri State. We should have no trouble with them.
As was the case last season we are sold out for the season.
November 14: 72-52. We trailed 3-2, then never again. 22 each for Kal and Jon. Jay had 10 and 9. 14 TOs.
Next we go to Kansas City. Their strength is at SG, SF and C.
November 17: The game went back and forth for a time. KC worked really hard to stay with us. In the second we built a good lead, as many as 17, and they were unable to mount a real threat. At the end it was 78-68. 17 and 9 for Jay, 21 and 6 for freshman Jon Byrd from the bench. I played seven guys and all of them played well.
November 20: Our four committed recruits all came in to sign. That usually means they will hit our SAT score. Still chasing one recruit, a big man.
Massachusetts, 2-0, is in next. They have a solid front line and an SG that can put up points.
November 21: After some early back and forth we took charge, pulling away in the second. 72-51. 20, 8, 2 for Jon, good games for our other six.
Maryland, 1-1, is here. This is the most talented team we have faced so far. They are solid at every position and have a deep bench. They will press all night, and press well, then go man to man. This game will tell us a lot about ourselves.
November 24: Okay, it told us we have some work to do but we aren’t that far from where we want to be. 14 lead changes, 8 ties, close all the way.
With 1:33 left it was 69-69. Kal hit a little half hook but then they came down and banged a three. We missed, they got a lay up, and it ended 71-74.
Close, but not quite. 22, 4, 2 for Jon, 17, 8 for Kal, 8,6 for Jay, and 11, 5 for rookie Jon Byrd who is really playing well from the bench. We lost this one on defense, allowing them to shoot 58.5%. That’s simply not acceptable and we will work on it. Still, this was a good early season test and it will help us in the long run. We’ll get better.
At 2-1 North Buffalo next. They have some talent but I don’t think they are at our level.
November 28: 68-55 but the game wasn’t as close as the score. Great games by our seven players. The only concern was 20 TOs, our most for the season so far.
We have two challenges in a row coming up, going first to #23 Arizona, and then to New Mexico.
Arizona is 5-1 against some pretty good teams. They are strong at every position. They press often and then go man to man. This will not be easy.
December 1: Once again we stayed competitive with a good team but couldn’t quite get the win, 86-91. All five starters in double figures, good bench play, +9 on the boards, but 21 turnovers, and that’s what did us in. All in all I like what I’m seeing and feel that we’re getting better. By March, when it really counts, I expect us to be ready to beat these teams.
Another tough one, at 4-1 New Mexico. They have a very good back court and a deep bench. Time to win one of these!
December 6: Another war. It was back and forth all the way with 17 lead changes and 6 ties. We were up 4 at the half, and as expected, their back court was doing some damage. We decided to go all man to man rather than our usual shift back and forth between man and 2-3, and it helped. We kept a hand in the outside shooter’s face. With 1:22 left it was 49-50. We brought it down and got a slam from Jay Gore, then Jon picked their PG’s pocket and drove for a lay up. That put us up 53-50. They came down, missed a three but got a tip in. Up 1 with 7 seconds to go they fouled Jeff Post who hit both ends of the 1 and 1. They missed a contested three at the buzzer so the final was 55-52. Good win!
18 TOs but 43 rebounds, 14 by Jay. A big game from Byrd, 14 and 8. I like what I see from him more and more.
5-2 Rhode Island is in. They have a very good PG and are solid inside.
December 8: Everything worked tonight. We galloped out of the gate and never looked back building a huge lead, as many as 34. 25, 7, 4 for Jon Morr, 12, 9, 3 for Byrd, 12 assists for Post. Only 10 TOs tonight.
December 9: “Achilles, my husband, I am so happy I can barely stand still!”
“And what is the cause?”
“My grades for the semester just arrived in the mail!”
“I assume you passed.”
“All A’s, Achilles.”
“This does not surprise me but congratulations. Wonderful news!”
“Oh yes! When I first decided to do this I thought it might be too much, but now I see that I can do this. It is such a good feeling!”
“I never doubted you for a moment, Maria. You worked very hard and you earned this wonderful feeling. Let us go out to dinner to celebrate. Get your parents and Maria. We will go to Mousaka.”
“Oh thank you, Achilles. That sounds wonderful!”
We are 6-2 with three more non-conference games. Provo at home and #7 Spokane, there, will both be challenges.
“I love it, Achilles.”
“You work very hard.”
“Yes, but the work is interesting and I love the challenge.”
“Should I be concerned regarding your lack of sleep.”
“Oh no, I stay up late to do my work but- are you teasing me, Achilles?”
“Perhaps just a bit. I find it amusing that I seem to get more sleep than you do these days.”
“Yes, I suppose it is amusing at that.”
“Again, I am happy for you, my wife.”
Achilles is doing very well at Cornell. He too is very busy, balancing a challenging academic load at a great university with a varsity soccer schedule and all of its commitments. He seems to be doing fine though.
Young Maria is enjoying high school. She continues with her dance at the local academy, and is pleased to be doing it more for fun than at the higher level she was offered. She is looking at colleges.
We open at home with Missouri State. We should have no trouble with them.
As was the case last season we are sold out for the season.
November 14: 72-52. We trailed 3-2, then never again. 22 each for Kal and Jon. Jay had 10 and 9. 14 TOs.
Next we go to Kansas City. Their strength is at SG, SF and C.
November 17: The game went back and forth for a time. KC worked really hard to stay with us. In the second we built a good lead, as many as 17, and they were unable to mount a real threat. At the end it was 78-68. 17 and 9 for Jay, 21 and 6 for freshman Jon Byrd from the bench. I played seven guys and all of them played well.
November 20: Our four committed recruits all came in to sign. That usually means they will hit our SAT score. Still chasing one recruit, a big man.
Massachusetts, 2-0, is in next. They have a solid front line and an SG that can put up points.
November 21: After some early back and forth we took charge, pulling away in the second. 72-51. 20, 8, 2 for Jon, good games for our other six.
Maryland, 1-1, is here. This is the most talented team we have faced so far. They are solid at every position and have a deep bench. They will press all night, and press well, then go man to man. This game will tell us a lot about ourselves.
November 24: Okay, it told us we have some work to do but we aren’t that far from where we want to be. 14 lead changes, 8 ties, close all the way.
With 1:33 left it was 69-69. Kal hit a little half hook but then they came down and banged a three. We missed, they got a lay up, and it ended 71-74.
Close, but not quite. 22, 4, 2 for Jon, 17, 8 for Kal, 8,6 for Jay, and 11, 5 for rookie Jon Byrd who is really playing well from the bench. We lost this one on defense, allowing them to shoot 58.5%. That’s simply not acceptable and we will work on it. Still, this was a good early season test and it will help us in the long run. We’ll get better.
At 2-1 North Buffalo next. They have some talent but I don’t think they are at our level.
November 28: 68-55 but the game wasn’t as close as the score. Great games by our seven players. The only concern was 20 TOs, our most for the season so far.
We have two challenges in a row coming up, going first to #23 Arizona, and then to New Mexico.
Arizona is 5-1 against some pretty good teams. They are strong at every position. They press often and then go man to man. This will not be easy.
December 1: Once again we stayed competitive with a good team but couldn’t quite get the win, 86-91. All five starters in double figures, good bench play, +9 on the boards, but 21 turnovers, and that’s what did us in. All in all I like what I’m seeing and feel that we’re getting better. By March, when it really counts, I expect us to be ready to beat these teams.
Another tough one, at 4-1 New Mexico. They have a very good back court and a deep bench. Time to win one of these!
December 6: Another war. It was back and forth all the way with 17 lead changes and 6 ties. We were up 4 at the half, and as expected, their back court was doing some damage. We decided to go all man to man rather than our usual shift back and forth between man and 2-3, and it helped. We kept a hand in the outside shooter’s face. With 1:22 left it was 49-50. We brought it down and got a slam from Jay Gore, then Jon picked their PG’s pocket and drove for a lay up. That put us up 53-50. They came down, missed a three but got a tip in. Up 1 with 7 seconds to go they fouled Jeff Post who hit both ends of the 1 and 1. They missed a contested three at the buzzer so the final was 55-52. Good win!
18 TOs but 43 rebounds, 14 by Jay. A big game from Byrd, 14 and 8. I like what I see from him more and more.
5-2 Rhode Island is in. They have a very good PG and are solid inside.
December 8: Everything worked tonight. We galloped out of the gate and never looked back building a huge lead, as many as 34. 25, 7, 4 for Jon Morr, 12, 9, 3 for Byrd, 12 assists for Post. Only 10 TOs tonight.
December 9: “Achilles, my husband, I am so happy I can barely stand still!”
“And what is the cause?”
“My grades for the semester just arrived in the mail!”
“I assume you passed.”
“All A’s, Achilles.”
“This does not surprise me but congratulations. Wonderful news!”
“Oh yes! When I first decided to do this I thought it might be too much, but now I see that I can do this. It is such a good feeling!”
“I never doubted you for a moment, Maria. You worked very hard and you earned this wonderful feeling. Let us go out to dinner to celebrate. Get your parents and Maria. We will go to Mousaka.”
“Oh thank you, Achilles. That sounds wonderful!”
We are 6-2 with three more non-conference games. Provo at home and #7 Spokane, there, will both be challenges.
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by Wayne23 » Mon Apr 07, 2014 4:51 pm
(Author's Note: I had thought that Achilles would be far more temporary than he has turned out to be. Gary has not dropped an update in a while so I will continue with my Greek friend's adventures.)
4-3 Army comes to town. This looks like a mismatch.
December 13: And it was, 76-54 and not that close. Double doubles for Kal and Jay. Art King hurt his back. He may miss the Provo game. Jon Byrd will be fine but we have no one behind him. We’ll need to play a lot of small ball.
Provo is 4-3 against solid competition. They are very good inside but we think we can turn them over and out play their guards. That’s the plan. Let’s see how much the thin front line hurts us. Having a noisy crowd behind us will help.
December 15: And yet another war. It went back and forth all the way. Our starters outplayed theirs at all five spots and Byrd was solid, but our short bench hurt us. Their bench had 35, 8, 7 while ours had 12, 6, 5. At the end we built a small lead and held it to win 80-75. This was a sweet victory! 14 TOs, +10 on the boards.
And now we travel to #5, 10-1 Spokane, the toughest team on our schedule.
These guys can play. They are solid at every position. Jon Byrd will start again but Art King is ready to play some minutes in relief.
December 19: They jumped all over us and stormed out to a 23 point first half lead. And then we battled back. It was 17 at the half. At :45 it was one.
We came down and missed, they missed, we missed, they missed, and we brought it down with 6 to play, got it to Jon Morr who put up a contested 16 footer that rimmed out at the buzzer. 76-77. We never led but we gave them everything they wanted. 25 for Jon Morr, 14, 12 for Kal, 15, 9 for Jon Byrd.
I am going to split time between King and Byrd for a while.
8-3 in pre-conference, losing to three very good teams by a total of 9 points. I’ll take it! RPI is 25.
9-2 Miami of Ohio is in to start conference play. After a down year they seem to be back. They’re tough inside but you can’t ignore their guards.
December 29: 69-62. We did so much right it is difficult to see how the score was so close. As I look further it is because of bench play. Their bench had 23, 12, 7, while ours had 8, 7, 2. Only Byrd was effective. Our starters played very well. 11 TOs.
January 1: Happy 1974!
At 6-6 Bowling Green. They have a good inside game but our guards seem lots better than theirs.
January 2: They stayed close but never quite close enough. For most of the game we led by between 6 and 16. 85-74 at the end. Our four bigs dominated, 61 points, 30 RBs. 12 TOs.
I’m wondering if anyone in the conference can give us a real battle. It’s early though.
“Maria, You head back to school on Monday.”
“Yes, I cannot wait. I purchased my books early and have read and highlighted everything. My notes are already quite extensive.”
“You certainly do prepare.”
“Oh yes, I want to do as well as possible.”
“I see you have yet another statistics course.”
“This one and then one more next year. Thank goodness for my tutor!”
Kent State was our chief rival last year but they are 4-9 so far. Still, it’s a road game.
January 5: Our big six took comfortable control early and got the job done, 87-72. We aren’t overwhelming our conference opponents but we’re playing with real confidence and poise and are pretty much in total charge of the games, at least so far.
7-7, 3-0 Ohio comes to town. Their SF and C can make some noise, and they keep the score down well.
January 9: We controlled the pace during the first half and went in up 34-27. We started the second with a three by Jeff Post and then it all went away.
They used a match up zone and we simply couldn’t solve it. I don’t think we got three open looks for the rest of the half. They turned us over 13 times in the half and lots of those led to fast breaks. At the end it was 58-67.
A home loss is not a good thing and this loss was not at ALL a good thing.
Oh well, it’s early. We’ll keep working and building. It will be interesting to see how we do in the rematch at their place.
4-3 Army comes to town. This looks like a mismatch.
December 13: And it was, 76-54 and not that close. Double doubles for Kal and Jay. Art King hurt his back. He may miss the Provo game. Jon Byrd will be fine but we have no one behind him. We’ll need to play a lot of small ball.
Provo is 4-3 against solid competition. They are very good inside but we think we can turn them over and out play their guards. That’s the plan. Let’s see how much the thin front line hurts us. Having a noisy crowd behind us will help.
December 15: And yet another war. It went back and forth all the way. Our starters outplayed theirs at all five spots and Byrd was solid, but our short bench hurt us. Their bench had 35, 8, 7 while ours had 12, 6, 5. At the end we built a small lead and held it to win 80-75. This was a sweet victory! 14 TOs, +10 on the boards.
And now we travel to #5, 10-1 Spokane, the toughest team on our schedule.
These guys can play. They are solid at every position. Jon Byrd will start again but Art King is ready to play some minutes in relief.
December 19: They jumped all over us and stormed out to a 23 point first half lead. And then we battled back. It was 17 at the half. At :45 it was one.
We came down and missed, they missed, we missed, they missed, and we brought it down with 6 to play, got it to Jon Morr who put up a contested 16 footer that rimmed out at the buzzer. 76-77. We never led but we gave them everything they wanted. 25 for Jon Morr, 14, 12 for Kal, 15, 9 for Jon Byrd.
I am going to split time between King and Byrd for a while.
8-3 in pre-conference, losing to three very good teams by a total of 9 points. I’ll take it! RPI is 25.
9-2 Miami of Ohio is in to start conference play. After a down year they seem to be back. They’re tough inside but you can’t ignore their guards.
December 29: 69-62. We did so much right it is difficult to see how the score was so close. As I look further it is because of bench play. Their bench had 23, 12, 7, while ours had 8, 7, 2. Only Byrd was effective. Our starters played very well. 11 TOs.
January 1: Happy 1974!
At 6-6 Bowling Green. They have a good inside game but our guards seem lots better than theirs.
January 2: They stayed close but never quite close enough. For most of the game we led by between 6 and 16. 85-74 at the end. Our four bigs dominated, 61 points, 30 RBs. 12 TOs.
I’m wondering if anyone in the conference can give us a real battle. It’s early though.
“Maria, You head back to school on Monday.”
“Yes, I cannot wait. I purchased my books early and have read and highlighted everything. My notes are already quite extensive.”
“You certainly do prepare.”
“Oh yes, I want to do as well as possible.”
“I see you have yet another statistics course.”
“This one and then one more next year. Thank goodness for my tutor!”
Kent State was our chief rival last year but they are 4-9 so far. Still, it’s a road game.
January 5: Our big six took comfortable control early and got the job done, 87-72. We aren’t overwhelming our conference opponents but we’re playing with real confidence and poise and are pretty much in total charge of the games, at least so far.
7-7, 3-0 Ohio comes to town. Their SF and C can make some noise, and they keep the score down well.
January 9: We controlled the pace during the first half and went in up 34-27. We started the second with a three by Jeff Post and then it all went away.
They used a match up zone and we simply couldn’t solve it. I don’t think we got three open looks for the rest of the half. They turned us over 13 times in the half and lots of those led to fast breaks. At the end it was 58-67.
A home loss is not a good thing and this loss was not at ALL a good thing.
Oh well, it’s early. We’ll keep working and building. It will be interesting to see how we do in the rematch at their place.
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by Wayne23 » Mon Apr 07, 2014 9:02 pm
At 7-8, 2-2 Buffalo and looking to bounce back. They like to go inside but I don’t think their bigs will do much against ours. They play man but if they saw our last game they’ll try some match up. We’ve been working against that in practice and I guarantee we’ll do better against it but I’d definitely like a little more time before I see it again.
January 12: They did more than I thought, almost enough- 56-49. Buffalo played at a very deliberate pace to keep the score down and it kept them in the game until the last two minutes or so. In the end there were two edges for us: +9 on the boards, 21 for Jon Marr.
7-9, 2-3 Toledo is in. Strong at 1 and 5, some press, man to man. Buffalo never played match up but Toledo knows how so we may see it.
January 16: A very disappointing loss, 61-65. We led for the first 28 minutes and then we let it slip away. 24 fouls to their 10, -10 RB.
Coaches had an all night meeting after the game. In the end there weren’t a lot of things that we could change. We aren’t executing in key situations.
Napp and Gore provide us with big offense and great rebounding but they don’t play the defense that King and Byrd do. At guard we have our starters and then it goes downhill fast. Our only reliable sub is Wes Zane and he is not the player Post and Morr are. In light of that we realize we need to look at a few PG recruits, which we will do. The only other thing is a slight adjustment in playing time for our bigs. No need to panic but we definitely need to improve.
6-11, 4-2 Eastern Michigan is next. They’ve played well in the conference. They will press and then go man.
January 19: Tonight we came to play, 83-67. 10 assists for Jeff and very good games for our big six.
Off on a three game road trip. We absolutely need at least two wins.
At 11-7, 3-4 Western Michigan first. They score outside in a fast paced offense. Their schedule was weak in the early going.
January 23: We come out strong and build an early 17 point lead, going in at 37-24. The only guy doing much is their SF. We decide to keep pressure on the guards and not worry about the SF. We want to disrupt the flow of their offense.
We are successful, the second half plays about even and the final is 67-52. 20 and 8 for Kal, 12, 7, 3 for Byrd.
This was a big win because now we only need a split in the next two. A sweep would be even better, of course.
Muncie is 10-9, 5-3, and they’re tough at home. They try to bang it inside all night long. On D they play all man and press only now and then, usually to try to generate a surprise steal. They can be turned over.
January 26: This was one of our “take care of business” wins, 66-56. We were never spectacular but we were deliberate and made few mistakes. Good, solid defense won this game. Kal had 21 and 7, 18 for Morr, 10 RBs for Gore and 12 assists for Post.
We’ve already met our goal for the road trip. Now comes the tough team, 12-8, 8-1 Central Michigan. They feature an outside attack and they can shoot. They also get it in to their C who gets 15 a game. They play man all the way with an occasional man press. They’re beating everyone right now.
January 30: Ulcer city! We absolutely dominated the first half, building a 16 point lead and going in up 34-20. We made shots, got rebounds, took care of the ball.
And then in the second they did to us what we had done to them. The last TV time out came at 3:44 with the score tied, and it went back and forth the rest of the way. With 7.2 left they hit a three to go up 60-59. Jeff brought it down, faked a pass to Morr, threw one to Jon Byrd who hit an eight footer for the win, 61-60.
They stifled Jay Gore all night but our other five all produced. This was a big win! Ohio lost so now we are tied with them for first, with the same record as Central Michigan.
We speak regularly with Achilles, who is very good about calling, but we do not see him. He was home briefly during the holiday season. He tells us he is very happy at Cornell but extremely busy. I can’t imagine carrying a Cornell course load and playing Division I soccer on top of that but his grades were excellent for the first semester.
I wish there were a way to see him play. Hopefully he will play a game at a school near us at some point.
January 12: They did more than I thought, almost enough- 56-49. Buffalo played at a very deliberate pace to keep the score down and it kept them in the game until the last two minutes or so. In the end there were two edges for us: +9 on the boards, 21 for Jon Marr.
7-9, 2-3 Toledo is in. Strong at 1 and 5, some press, man to man. Buffalo never played match up but Toledo knows how so we may see it.
January 16: A very disappointing loss, 61-65. We led for the first 28 minutes and then we let it slip away. 24 fouls to their 10, -10 RB.
Coaches had an all night meeting after the game. In the end there weren’t a lot of things that we could change. We aren’t executing in key situations.
Napp and Gore provide us with big offense and great rebounding but they don’t play the defense that King and Byrd do. At guard we have our starters and then it goes downhill fast. Our only reliable sub is Wes Zane and he is not the player Post and Morr are. In light of that we realize we need to look at a few PG recruits, which we will do. The only other thing is a slight adjustment in playing time for our bigs. No need to panic but we definitely need to improve.
6-11, 4-2 Eastern Michigan is next. They’ve played well in the conference. They will press and then go man.
January 19: Tonight we came to play, 83-67. 10 assists for Jeff and very good games for our big six.
Off on a three game road trip. We absolutely need at least two wins.
At 11-7, 3-4 Western Michigan first. They score outside in a fast paced offense. Their schedule was weak in the early going.
January 23: We come out strong and build an early 17 point lead, going in at 37-24. The only guy doing much is their SF. We decide to keep pressure on the guards and not worry about the SF. We want to disrupt the flow of their offense.
We are successful, the second half plays about even and the final is 67-52. 20 and 8 for Kal, 12, 7, 3 for Byrd.
This was a big win because now we only need a split in the next two. A sweep would be even better, of course.
Muncie is 10-9, 5-3, and they’re tough at home. They try to bang it inside all night long. On D they play all man and press only now and then, usually to try to generate a surprise steal. They can be turned over.
January 26: This was one of our “take care of business” wins, 66-56. We were never spectacular but we were deliberate and made few mistakes. Good, solid defense won this game. Kal had 21 and 7, 18 for Morr, 10 RBs for Gore and 12 assists for Post.
We’ve already met our goal for the road trip. Now comes the tough team, 12-8, 8-1 Central Michigan. They feature an outside attack and they can shoot. They also get it in to their C who gets 15 a game. They play man all the way with an occasional man press. They’re beating everyone right now.
January 30: Ulcer city! We absolutely dominated the first half, building a 16 point lead and going in up 34-20. We made shots, got rebounds, took care of the ball.
And then in the second they did to us what we had done to them. The last TV time out came at 3:44 with the score tied, and it went back and forth the rest of the way. With 7.2 left they hit a three to go up 60-59. Jeff brought it down, faked a pass to Morr, threw one to Jon Byrd who hit an eight footer for the win, 61-60.
They stifled Jay Gore all night but our other five all produced. This was a big win! Ohio lost so now we are tied with them for first, with the same record as Central Michigan.
We speak regularly with Achilles, who is very good about calling, but we do not see him. He was home briefly during the holiday season. He tells us he is very happy at Cornell but extremely busy. I can’t imagine carrying a Cornell course load and playing Division I soccer on top of that but his grades were excellent for the first semester.
I wish there were a way to see him play. Hopefully he will play a game at a school near us at some point.
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by Wayne23 » Mon Apr 07, 2014 10:37 pm
10-11, 5-5 Northern Illinois is here. They do most of their damage outside and they have a deep bench. They play man and only press occasionally.
They lost their starting C to grades which has hurt them a great deal. At this point in the season every game is a big game.
February 2: A great first half and then we hung on in the second, 70-63. 19, 11 for Kal. 13 TOs.
At 14-8, 5-6 Miami of Ohio. Lots of balance, no big scorer.
February 6: It stayed close for 30 then it went away, 59-71. We seem to fall asleep every now and then, and that’s what we did. Fortunately both Ohio and Central Michigan also lost. Kal and Jon Morr had great nights, we were +13 on the boards, but 20 TOs.
13-10, 7-5 Bowling Green is in. We won by 11 there. They like to get it inside. They’ve won 5 straight. A lot of people score for them.
February 9: Total domination, 78-50. Solid play by everyone. Jon Byrd tweaked a calf but it doesn’t look serious.
8-16, 4-9 Kent State is in. We won by 15 there. We feel like this is a team we should beat.
February 13: 75-49. 31, 6 for Kal, 16, 11 for Jay. 11 TOs. Ohio lost so we’re in first but we’re at their place next.
14-11, 10-4 Ohio. They beat us by 9 at our place. They beat us with balanced scoring and the took care of the ball and forced 18 TOs.
February 16: 15 lead changes, 9 ties, never a difference of more than 8. The difference may have been that Jon Morr was in foul trouble all night and contributed almost nothing, fouling out with 3:22 left. 68-72 at the end.
At #5 Spokane for the Bracket Breaker. They sent us home from the NCAA tourney last year. On paper they are way better than we are.
February 19: 66-74. We stayed with them but never quite got there. We played well but they had more weapons.
10-16, 5-10 Buffalo is in. This is a game we should win easily.
February 20: 76-48. 21, 13 for Kal, 17 for Byrd, good games all around.
AND… Ohio lost so we finish first, a game ahead of both them and Central Michigan. Jeff Post hurt his ankle. He’s out about a week but we don’t play during that time so we’ll let him heal.
And it’s the post season. We go in at 20-8, 12-4, RPI #30.
They lost their starting C to grades which has hurt them a great deal. At this point in the season every game is a big game.
February 2: A great first half and then we hung on in the second, 70-63. 19, 11 for Kal. 13 TOs.
At 14-8, 5-6 Miami of Ohio. Lots of balance, no big scorer.
February 6: It stayed close for 30 then it went away, 59-71. We seem to fall asleep every now and then, and that’s what we did. Fortunately both Ohio and Central Michigan also lost. Kal and Jon Morr had great nights, we were +13 on the boards, but 20 TOs.
13-10, 7-5 Bowling Green is in. We won by 11 there. They like to get it inside. They’ve won 5 straight. A lot of people score for them.
February 9: Total domination, 78-50. Solid play by everyone. Jon Byrd tweaked a calf but it doesn’t look serious.
8-16, 4-9 Kent State is in. We won by 15 there. We feel like this is a team we should beat.
February 13: 75-49. 31, 6 for Kal, 16, 11 for Jay. 11 TOs. Ohio lost so we’re in first but we’re at their place next.
14-11, 10-4 Ohio. They beat us by 9 at our place. They beat us with balanced scoring and the took care of the ball and forced 18 TOs.
February 16: 15 lead changes, 9 ties, never a difference of more than 8. The difference may have been that Jon Morr was in foul trouble all night and contributed almost nothing, fouling out with 3:22 left. 68-72 at the end.
At #5 Spokane for the Bracket Breaker. They sent us home from the NCAA tourney last year. On paper they are way better than we are.
February 19: 66-74. We stayed with them but never quite got there. We played well but they had more weapons.
10-16, 5-10 Buffalo is in. This is a game we should win easily.
February 20: 76-48. 21, 13 for Kal, 17 for Byrd, good games all around.
AND… Ohio lost so we finish first, a game ahead of both them and Central Michigan. Jeff Post hurt his ankle. He’s out about a week but we don’t play during that time so we’ll let him heal.
And it’s the post season. We go in at 20-8, 12-4, RPI #30.
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