First up is Western Michigan in the quarter finals. Beat them by 15 at their place in our only meeting. We were sloppy but played great defense that night. Post is healthy again.
March 7: We hold them to 16 in the first half. Final is 65-50. 18 and 11 for Jay, 12 and 8 for Art King, 9 and 9 for Kal. 20 TOs but they had 26. On to the semis.
20-10, 8-8 Miami of Ohio. Won by 7 at our place but then lost by 12 there in one of our poorer performances. They have a deep bench and that hurt us in both games. This one is not a given.
March 8: We were determined tonight. Again took an early lead and didn’t let go. Up 13 at the half and 84-66 at the end. 29, 5, 3 for Morr, 14, 9 for Gore, solid play by all.
Central Michigan defeated Ohio so we’ll play them for the title. We beat them by 1 at their place in a really competitive game so this one should be fun.
Their C and their bench did the damage. We’d love to get back to back titles.
March 9: A back and forth first half ends with us down 35-39. We’re giving up way too many points and I am not happy about it in the locker room.
We’re taking care of the ball, rebounding well, not fouling, but we need to play better defense, against, as expected, their C and their bench. We decide to go straight man, but with Kal, not Jay, on the C. Kal is the better defender.
It works. Kal shuts him down, and the rest of the guys shut everyone else down. We hold the team to 19 in the second and win 71-58 for the title. 16, 9 for Kal, to go along with the great D. He is named Player of the Tournament. 17, 7, 2 for Art.
Now we wait. I see us as about a six seed, but I tend to be optimistic. 23-8, RPI #25.
March 11: Cam Leis, #98, PF, signed. We may need to free up a scholarship to grab a PG, or try to. We’ll see.
March 12: Selection Day and the gang’s all here. 11 in the East. 11! That’s an insult. We’ll play #6 Kansas, 22-8. A tough first rounds match up. Not happy.
“Professor Skouris is a fool!”
“My goodness, Maria!”
“It is true and there is no other way to say it!”
“Perhaps if you told me more?”
“He criticizes ‘The Golden Mean’, Aristotle’s brilliant concept. He is a fool!”
“Hm. The man has done his work on this? This is his area of expertise?”
“No! That’s just it! His work was done on the minor philosophers. He has never published on ‘The Golden Mean.’ He is a fool!”
“And you and he have had conflicts regarding this?”
“Well I told him how I felt about ‘The Golden Mean’ and cited articles. I mentioned that there are thousands of them, none supporting his position.”
“Oh dear.”
“Yes, he did not take it well.”
“Maria, perhaps, given that he is your instructor, perhaps discretion would be the better part of valor.”
“And allow this strutting, pompous fool to spread his nonsensical views about the great Aristotle without defending the latter.”
“I think Aristotle can take care of himself.”
“That is silly, Achilles.”
“Sorry, I merely meant that his work has stood the test of time, and one little professor in Ohio will not bring him down.”
“Well… I suppose this is true.”
“So you will let it go?”
“I don’t believe I can. I can only hope the subject will not come up again.”
“As do I, my wife.”
Kansas is tough. Solid inside, with a shooting guard who can light it up. They play great defense, man to man with a little press thrown in. We will have our hands full.
March 16: HELL yeah! Vindication! 77-69. We thought the only chance we had was to work it inside on every possession. We knew they would turn us over. We knew their guards were way too quick for us. But we felt that we had a shot if we could make the inside game work. In the fist half it went back and forth but our strategy basically worked. We gave up some things, tried to stay out of serious foul trouble, and worked it inside. And Jay, Kal, Art and Jon Byrd all did their part. When they got it they either scored or got fouled. We were up 40-34 at the break. We were +7 on the boards.
In the second it was more of the same except that we built up a lead, as many as 18. We tired late and they came roaring back but the closest they got was the final score.
19, 12, 2 for Jay, 18, 8 for Art, 16, 8 for Kal, 11, 3 for Jon Byrd. 8 assists for Jeff Post. +21 on the boards and a great, satisfying win.
Our reward is a game with #3 seed, 10th ranked Michigan, 25-6. They are strong at every position and their C is an All American. We’ll try a similar strategy to last time but we’ll need to be near perfect to have any chance at all. The only thing I will guarantee is that we won’t quit.
March 18: Whew! That was one tough team, 74-90. Their SF went off for 32, their starting guards combined for another 32. We did all we could do but we were overmatched.
We wind up 24-9. Another really good season. We lose Jeff Post and Art King, and we’ll miss both of them.
I am 76-24 after exactly 100 games as a head coach. Not bad at all!
April 1: Bar Ruff, #101, PG from Israel, signs.
April 3: North Carolina beats UCLA for the national title.
April 4: Awards: As he was as a freshman he is as a junior. Kal Napp is POY. I am honored with the coach OY award for the second time in a row. Jon Morr joins Kal on the first team. Jon Byrd and Jay Gore make the second team. A sub on the second team. It is a testament to how well Byrd played.