Dysfunctional Dave McGee

[Wayne23]

Nov. 20: 87-77 at #20 Kansas. 14, 8 for Len before he got hurt. 15, 3, 4 for Jay Rain. Mick Lee had 19, 3, 2. 12 TOs, 36 RBs.

I guess Len Nich is brittle. He broke his ankle; last year it was his leg. Out about 7 weeks.

50-57 at Ark. 17, 3 for Mick, 7, 7, 4 for Ted Brag in the middle. Not much bench, and that hurt.

At #16 GA, 2-1, then home debut with 1-1 Washington.

Nov. 27: 52-69 at #16 GA. 22 for Mick, 14, 3, 4 for Jay Rain, 12, 5, 2 for tom More but 17 TOs and only 25 RBs.

62-63 with Wash. The guys, especially the bigs, played well. A horrendously bad call on the last play of the game did us in. Ted went to the hoop and was flattened to the floor by a forearm. No call. It happened with .3 seconds left. Dave went ballistic, totally out of control, got 2 Ts. On his way out he threw three chairs onto the court. He’ll be paying for that one.

Nov. 29: The NCAA, citing Dave’s financial issues caused by May’s illness, fined him only $1,000, but they suspended him for two weeks and put him on probation until the end of the season.

The sports channels have been showing the chair flipping clip over and over, talking about how the officiating has been worse than usual this year (Is that possible?), how the call was atrocious, and how hotheads like Dave shouldn’t be allowed to coach at the college level. You know, the usual blather.

So it’s my team. I get to coach us against #21 Oklahoma, 3-1, here. I’m 11-3 lifetime while filling in for Dave. They count as part of his record though.

Dec. 4: 77-54 against #21 Oklahoma! 29, 3 for Mick, 15, 5 for Tom, 12, 7 for Ted, 11 TOs, great D!

“Oughta let you coach the d*mn team all the time!”

Truth is that I’ve gotten several calls regarding head coaching jobs over the years. It’s tempting, but Dave and I are a team, and in lots of ways it’s a nicer life to be #2 than #1. Certainly less pressure and a few less hours. Now the $...

At 5-0 Loyola-Chi this week.

[Wayne23]

Dec. 11: 45-62 at Loyola-Chi. 14, 5 for Tom, but we were awful. 18 TOs, only 21 RBs, standing around on O and a step slow on D. Frankly, I think Dave might have snapped us out of it but I sure couldn’t.

I'm 12-4 lifetime now. Dave’s back for our next game.

The 5-2 Fryers are in this week.

Dec. 18: 75-61 with Prov. 24, 4, 4, 2 for Jay but 12 TOs; the team had 21.

At 5-3 Charlotte this week.

Dec. 25: 73-84 at Charlotte. 18, 7 for Tom, 17 each for Ted and Mick, but 19 TOs.

“D*mn! We NEED Len!”

A FOUR game week: 3-6 VCU here, followed by 5-6 Hawaii. Then we start conf. play at 6-2 UMass, and back home with 4-4 Fordham. And all without Len.

We went to the McGee household for XMas again this year. The food was great (cooked by May’s mom and Jean, with help from Jeffy and Sandy), the presents were terrific, and there were lots of laughs.

There was also that wonderful, brave woman in the recliner, who couldn’t unwrap her own presents, couldn’t eat without someone feeding her, couldn’t get out of the recliner unless lifted out of it. All twisted up from the rheumatoid arthritis known as Kupferschmidt Syndrome. And yet she was cheerful for the entire party, attentive to the needs of 5 ½ year old Davey, seemingly having a great time. So sad, and yet so uplifting.

[Wayne23]

January 1: 2036: 69-52 with VCU. 20 for Mick, solid play by the starters and some help from the bench. Still too many TOs, 16.

51-46 vs. Hawaii. 16, 4, 4 for Ted, 14, 4, 1, 5 for Tom, but 17 TOs.

54-62 at UMass. 17 for Mick, 13 for Jay, 11, 7, 2 for Ted, but we didn’t get stops when we needed them and their bench out performed ours.

59-40 with Fordham. 22, 7 for Ted, 18, 3 for Mick, 8 TOs (!), 28 RBs.

“I guess I’ll take it. 3 outta 4.”

Dave kept his cool even during the tense moments in the games with Hawaii and UMass.

It would be ironic if we wound up coaching at UMass, given that as undergrads we called them “Um Ass.”

We close the pre-conf. season 5-5, and we’re 1-1 in conf. play but Len will be back for our next game.

On the road, 1st at 8-4 Duquesne, then at 6-7 St. Bonnie’s.

Jan. 8: 86-73 at Duquesne. 16, 11 and good D for Len in his return. 10, 12, 2 for Ted. 19 for Jay. All 5 in doubles plus Marc Camm from the bench. 12 TOs, 35 RBs.

81-68 with St. Bonnie’s. 24, 11 for Len. 13 TOs.

“It’s GREAT ta have Len back. 2 road wins in conf. That’s BIG!”

This week we’re home with 8-5, 3-1 East Carolina, tied with us and STL for 2nd.

Jan. 15: 83-67 with E. Car. 30 for Mick, 14, 8 for Len, 15, 4, 3, 4 for Tom.

This week we’re home with 9-7, 2-4 Dayton, not having their usual season but LOTS of guys graduated. Then 10-6, 5-2 ST Louis is here. Then we’re at St. Joe’s.

Jan. 22: 48-63 with Dayton. 24, 5 for Mick but no one else did much. 18 TOs.

70-58 vs. STL. 19, 7, 4, 2 for Mick, 14, 8, 2, 4 for Len.

65-62 over St. Joe’s. 23 for Jay, 11, 9 for Len, 11, 3, 4 for Mick. 12 TOs.

At 8-9, 4-4 Davidson this week.

We’re alone in 2nd, one back of GW. 11-7, 7-2.

Jan. 29: 65-56 at Davidson. 19, 15 for Len, 12, 13 for Ted, 18, 4, 2, 4 for Jay. 11 TOs, 39 RBs.

Dan Grim twisted his back. Day to day.

12-7, 6-4 Duquesne is here, then we go to 12-6, 7-2 GW.

In 1st, ½ game up on GW, 1 ½ on two others.

[Wayne23]

Feb. 5: 60-64 with Duquesne. 20, 11 for Len, 20 for Mick, but we were flat.

74-54 at GW. All 5 in double figures, 19, 12 for Len. 10 TOs, 33 RBs.

At 5-16, 4-8 LaSalle and then 5-16, 2-10 Geo. Mason.

Feb. 12: 71-43 at LaSalle. 29, 4, 2 for Mick, +13 TOs.

62-38 at Geo. Mason. 16, 10 for Len, 15, 9, 2 for ted, 17 for jay. 9 TOs.

4 to play, 3 at home. This week 10-13, 6-8 ST Joe’s and 10-13, 6-8 Davidson are here.

We’re one game up on GW.

Feb. 19: 68-50 with ST Joe’s. 22 for Mick, 16 with 7 assists for Jay.

95-76 with Davidson. A huge game for Mick, 47.

Len hurt his shoulder. Day to day.

2 up with 2 to play. At 7-18, 4-12 VCU, then here with 13-12, 8-8 Richmond.

Feb. 26: 69-62 at VCU. 23, 2, 3, 2 for Mick, 15, 4, 2, 3 for Tom, 11 TOs.

77-64 with Richmond. 6 in doubles, 11 TOs, 35 RBs.

We end the regular season 19-8, 15-3, 3 up on the rest. RPI #34.

[Wayne23]

March 6: We’ll play #9 seed Richmond, 15-13, 9-9, in the quarters.

March 7: 72-63 over Richmond. 24, 4 for Mick, 15, 9 for Len, 12 TOs, 29 RBs.

#5 seed UMass, 20-9, 11-7 in the semis. They beat us by 8 there.

March 8: 71-44 over UMass. 33 for Mick, 10, 9, 3 for Len.

It’s #3 seed GW, 19-10, 12-6, for the title. We won by 20 here.

March 9: 79-64 with GW and the title! 22, 6 for Mick, 19, 8, 3 for len, 14, 4, 10, 3 for Jay. 11 TOs.

We’re 22-8. We ended with 10 wins, 13 of 14, 17 of 19. RPI is 30. I think we can hope for a #5 or #6 seed.

March 12: Not in the East.

Not in the Midwest.

#10 in the South. We play #7 UCLA, 20-10.

“Disrespected again. Whatta supprize!”

March 17: 73-66 over UCLA. 21, 2, 7 for Jay, 10, 11 for Len, 14, 5 for Mick.

#2 seed, #5 ranked Kansas, 28-4, 15-1 in the 2nd round.

March 19: 73-56 with KS! All 5 starters in doubles, 11 RBs for Len, 35 RBs. Tough D all night.

“Whoooo!”

Len banged up a knee but it doesn’t look serious.

It’s #3 seed, #6 ranked BYU, 28-5, in the Sweet Sixteen.

March 24: 88-86 in OT with BYU. 26, 10 for Len, 24, 2, 5 for Mick. Len blocked a shot at the end of regulation to get us to OT, then he sank a 6 foot half hook for the win. 27 lead changes, 16 ties.

“Whatta friggin’ game!”

We got hot at the right time, 13 straight wins, 16 of 17, 20 of 22.

It’s #1 seed, #1 ranked Syracuse, 30-3, 17-1 in the Elite Eight. This is as far as we’ve ever gotten in the Dance. Their start SF and leading scorer is out.

“We’re gonna need ta play the game a our lifes, but we could do it.

March 26: 51-70 with Syracuse. No contest. They were simply better. Our guys never quit but they also never had a chance. 15, 9 for our only senior, Len. 18, 2, 2 for Mick.

“If we can replace Len, and if a couple a rookies an’ transfers develop we could be tough next year.”

No change in May’s status. She remains cheerful through a living h*ll.

April 4: #1 Syracuse won it all by a single point over #2 Ohio ST.

Awards: Mick Lee and Ted Brag made A10 1st team, Tom More made 2nd, and Dave got COY.

April 9: “We leave this year or next. Let’s see who calls. Course UConn an’ UMass is the only places I’d go this year.”

We’re going to UMass. I’ll be the #1 assistant, Bobby #3, and Jeffy will transfer to UMass for his sophomore year.

Dave salary almost triples and the insurance package is a little better so we really had no choice. My salary doubles, and Bobby will make 1 ½ times what I was making.

Lots of work to do. We may take a step backward for a year or two but Team Prestige here is 65 as opposed to 45 at URI and the budget is bigger.

We hire the 2nd assistant coach. I’m the bench coach and Bobby recruits, so #2 is the scouting coach.

April 23: Lots of work done. We ask for a facilities upgrade.

“I’m plannin’ ta win it all in 3 years from now.”

Fortunately he isn’t saying that publicly!

Our last season at URI ends 20-11, and we won season and tourney. We got to the Elite Eight. Great season! Dave is at 486-201, .707 for 22 seasons. Reputation is 77.

[Wayne23]

May 1: Moving May from Cranston to Amherst was a bit of an ordeal. She doesn’t travel easily. We wound up renting a limo. It was cheaper and more comfortable than an ambulance.

May 4: May is settled into her new home. Everything is as “May accessible” as possible.

“And we can afford ta live on my new salary. Ta keep May at home costs about what it would cost ta have her in a convalescent home, about $500 a day. Insurance pays 1/3 of it. With my salary here at UMass I can afford the other 2/3 and still have plenty of money for living, and even save some. We’d a had about $30,000 a year left after medical costs at URI cuz their insurance wasn’t as good. So we had ta make this move.”

June 6: Looking at some transfer guards.

June 12: We get 2 guards.

June 15: I guess we’re all settled into “normal.” Jean is working here at the satellite hospital affiliated with UMass. She’s a shift supervisor. Since she’s new it’s third shift but she’s done that before, and both 1st and 2nd shift supervisors are over 60.

Sandy followed in mom’s footsteps and got her R.N. She’s doing hospice nursing back in R. I. We try to get her here once or twice a month. You know about Bobby and Jeffy.

Davey is now six, and the terror of his school from what we hear. He’s not a bully, he’s just big, and a little clumsy. He has a heart of gold but he also has his father’s temper. In a six year old that equals trouble. His grandma expects to be in school regularly to speak to the Vice Principal when school opens in the fall. She was at the school in Cranston so often they gave her a permanent hall pass.

Grandma is showing her age but hanging in, and she’s a huge help.

May is no better, and won’t get better barring some sort of medical advance. Some new meds control her pain better, but they give her an itchy rash at times, and keep her awake at night at other times.

She says it’s worth it; she is frequently pain free, and as long as she takes the meds on schedule the pain is never more than 4-5 level, and usually less.

June 26: 2 scholarships. We need bigs.

Aug. 21: We offer to a PF and a C.

Sept. 18: Got the PF.

No in season tourney. We put together a fairly tough schedule.

Sept. 25: Got the C.

Oct. 2: We have some talent but we are not deep.

Bobby did a great job in helping to nab the two bigs we need. One is currently rated in the 30s and one in the 40s.

We’re picked to finish 4th in the A10.

Nov. 6: Here’s our lineup: At guard it’s senior Andy Earl, and frosh Sam Tunn and Jay Howl. At least for now Tunn will get the most time. Soph Mick Bits starts at SF and backs up inside. Frosh Earl Carr backs up at SF. Inside will be junior Key Murk and soph Jack Morr. I like our first 7. #8 is just okay and after that it’s head for the fallout shelters.

We open here with Rutgers and then at UMass Lowell.

[Wayne23]

Nov. 20: 91-84 with Rutgers. Jay Howl got 35 from the bench in 27 minutes. We had 11 TOs but 0nly 22 RBs.

70-66 at UMass Lowell. Jay and Sam Tunn had 14 each. 13, 7, 2 for Key Murk at C. We aren’t rebounding.

Ranked! #25.

Jay Howl will start at guard.

This week 1-0 Washington is here then we’re at #22 GA, 2-1.

Nov. 27: 66-54 with Wash. 22, 3, 4, 2 for Jay, 18 for Sam. 9 TOs, 28 RBs.

77-66 at #22 GA. 31 for Sam, 11, 7 for Key, 9, 9 for Jack Morr.

“Looks like we just might be okay!”

2-1 Temple is here, and we go to 1-3 Maine.

Dec. 4: 69-60 vs. Temple. 19 for Sam, 15, 5 for Mick Bins, 10, 6, 6, 3 for Jay, 13, 7 for Al Carr from the bench.

55-62 at Maine. 13, 8, 2 for Key. -8 RBs didn’t help and we stood around on O.

“We’re beatin’ ranked teams on the road an’ we lose ta Maine? Friggin’ ridiculous!”

2-3 Texas A & M is here this week.

[Wayne23]

Dec. 11: 71-78 vs. Texas A & M. 26, 3, 3, 2 for Sam, 14 for Mick, 8, 8, 4 for Jay.

“Maybe we won’t be okay at that. D*mn!”

Art Pita is going to get some of Bins’ minutes and most of Carr’s.

4-3 Bradley is here this week.

Dec. 18: 82-72 with Bradley. 20 with 6 assists for Sam, all 5 in doubles, 8 RBs for Key and 6 for Jack but only 21 in all.

At 5-5 Xavier this week.

Dave and I are working every day with our inside guys but frankly, there just isn’t a whole lot of talent there, and we’re undersized. We’re recruiting bigs and hoping one more spot will come open in the spring.

Dec. 25: 81-66 over Xavier. 20, 5, 3 for Sam, 16 for Jay, but the best news was 35 RBs.

We end pre-conf. play at 7-2.

This week we’re at 4-4 STL, then we host 5-3 Richmond, then at St. Bonnie's, 3-6.

XMas was nice. May is not in much pain. She’s not able to do much more than she was but she has a bit more movement. She was able to open her presents, which she couldn’t do last year. Physical and occupational therapy are helping. There’s a new med which is supposed to take some of the pressure off of the nerves. If it works she could make some progress. We’re all hoping.

It’s been great working so closely with Bobby. His strengths are shooting form, getting open, and defensive position. He now has all but total control of the guys who play the 1, 2, and 3 spots. Dave and I work with the bigs. Dave shows complete confidence in Bobby.

Jeffy continues to provide us with statistical analysis that really points at things we need to work on. We know our problems are inside, and we also know there’s only so much we can do about it.

Sandy has a steady “friend.” Her name is Barb, and she’s a middle school art teacher.

Davey continues to grow like an oak. He’s very bright, and he does well in school, but his temper gets him in trouble often. He has a teacher who seems to really understand him this year, which helps a great deal.

[Wayne23]

January 1, 2037: 54-61 at STL. 13, 14 for Key but we didn’t make our foul shots (11-21), didn’t make our threes (5-15), and we had 18 TOs.

60-46 with Richmond. Good play by all of our starters, 41 RBs.

71-73 at St. Bonnie’s. Poor free throw shooting, poor rebounding (-9), poor ball handling (18 TOs) did us in. Dave got his 1st T at UMass.

At 10-4, 2-1 GW, then here with 6-5, 2-0 STL, who beat us by 7 there.

Jan. 8: 65-81 at GW. 25, 4 for Jay, 12, 10, 3 for Key, but we didn’t play much D.

53-64 with STL. Flat and slow. 26 fouls to 14 but Dave never got a T. We were grabbing, and most of the fouls were legit.

“D*mn, I hate ta lose!”

2 at home but #22 URI, 12-3, 4-0 is one of them. Then it’s 4-8, 2-1 Fordham.

“We need at least one win this week or we’re in deep sh*t.”

Jan. 15: 81-91 with #22 URI. 4 of our starters fouled out. Andy Earl had 35 from the bench, which kept it reasonably close. Dave got a T but it was tactical. Every call was going against us. All in all we didn’t do badly against our old team.

77-52 vs. Fordham. 24, 3, 3, 3 for Jay, 17, 11 for Key, 16, 4 for Mick. 13 TOs, 35 Rbs, and a MUCH needed win.

At 13-3, 6-1 Davidson.

Jan. 22: 88-69 at Davidson. 20, 6 for Key, 21, 0, 4 for Sam, 19, 2, 3 for Jay. 11 TOs, but only 20 RBs.

3 game week, 2 on the road. At 9-8, 5-3 East Carolina, then home with 5-12, 4-4 George Mason, then at 6-12, 4-5 Duquesne.

Jan. 29: 51-84 at E. Car. We were awful. 27 TOs, 28 fouls. Dave got 2 Ts. First time he’s been booted since we got to UMass. No big temper tantrum, fortunately.

73-50 vs. Geo. Mason. 18 for Sam, 14, 5, 4 for jay, 12, 8 for Key, 8, 10 for Jack, 9, 2, 3 for Mick. 10 TOs, 32 RBs. This is as good as we’ve looked all season.

63-70 in OT at Duquesne. Sam fouled out in the 1st minute of OT and that did us in. 24, 4, 2, 5 for Jay.

We’re 11-9, 4-7, tied for 12th. Terrible. As usual URI and Dayton are battling for the lead.

This week we have 9-11, 5-6 St. Joe’s here, then we’re at 2-16, 0-9 LaSalle.

[Wayne23]

Feb. 5: 84-59 with St. Joe’s. 25 for Sam, 9, 10, 2, 4 for Key, 13, 1, 6 for jay. 8 TOs.

77-57 at LaSalle. 19, 7 for Key, 20 for Mick.

We’ve looked good for the past 4 games, really.

At 7-14, 5-7 Fordham then home with 15-6, 8-4 Davidson.

Feb. 12: 74-73 at Fordham. Sam hit a three with 1.2 left and had 17, 3, 5 but 12 TOs (we had 21). 11, 14 for Key. 34 RBs.

70-53 with Davidson. 16, 4, 3 for Mick, 14, 3, 5 for Sam, 15 for Jay. 13 TOs, 36 RBs.

We’re up to 7th place.

9-14, 5-9 VCU is here followed by #13 Dayton, 19-5, 11-3.

A win against Dayton would be huge but we’ll need to play really well.

Feb. 19: 77-49 with VCU. 27, 2, 5 for Jay, 14 for Sam, 12 for Jack. 9 TOs but only 21 RBs.

74-67 vs. #13 Dayton. 21, 3, 4, 3 for Jay, 10 RBs each for Key and Jack. 35 RBs.

One game left in the regular season, at 10-14, 6-9 St. Joe’s. We won by 25 here.

Feb. 26: 66-58 at St. Joe’s. 17, 4, 3 for Sam, 18 for Jay, 12, 12 for Key. 12 TOs, 32 RBs.

Sub Al Carr sprained an ankle. Out about a week.

We end up with the #4 seed.