Dysfunctional Dave McGee

[Wayne23]

January 1, 2018: 66-54 over Silly Hat. 29, 8, 2, 2 for Brad. 7 TOs.

74-77 at CCSU. Once again we fell behind early and outplayed the other guys for 60% of the game but it wasn’t enough. 25 for Luke, 18, 7, 2 for Brad, 11, 4, 2 for Matt. Only 8 TOs. They beat us at the foul line, but only because they shot them better than we did; they had 23 tries, we had 22.

“We gotta stop digging these friggin’ holes that are too deep to crawl out of.”

“Yep. Slow starts are killing us.”

“I’m gonna pull the trigger quicker. If we start slow I’m gonna sub in with 2, maybe even 3 guys. AND… I’m gonna announce that at practice!”

3-8, 1-1 Long Island is here, then we go to 5-6 Wagner.

Margie seems healthy so far and she says she’s not getting much morning sickness.

January 8: 71-60 over Long Island here. 22, 5, 2, 2 for Brad, 15, 5, 2 for Luke, 11, 5, 7 for Matt. 8 TOs. This small lineup has, for the most part, been great with the ball.

Weirdly enough, 71-60 over Wagner there. 20 for Luke, 10 each for Brad and Ed, 9 each for Bill Fine and Jon Cook, who had 11 boards. 16 TOs, but it was only -1. +9 RBs.

Sub Dan Jon hurt his shoulder. He’s day to day. (Author’s note: My first injury of any kind since my first season here. Strange.)

This week we host 1st place Mount Mary, 7-6, 4-0. Then we go to 6-7, 2-2 Robert Morris.

We’re +8.0 PPG, +3.5 RBs, +1.9 TOs, +3.6 assists. A couple of little tweaks in the backcourt but we aren’t messing with success.

January 15: 81-61 over Mount Mary here. 26, 13, 3 for Brad, 14, 6, 5 for Matt, 13, 3, 5 for Luke, 8 and 6 for Jon Cook. 9 TOs, +7 RBs.

Arrggh. 55-69 at Rob’t Morris. 13, 6 for Brad, 15 for Jon, but 17 TOs. We shot 32.9% and we let them shoot an unbelievable 62.9%! A frustrating loss.

“Jebus! We gotta win on the friggin’ ROAD! We beat the #1 team then sh*t the bed on the road!”

One game back of Mount Mary again, tied with 3 teams, but 2 or more ahead of the rest.

This week it’s 2 at home, first is 6-9, 2-4 Stan Francis, then 5-10, 2-4 FDU.

“We friggin’ better win 2 this week or there’ll be h*ll to pay!”

Nice to see Dave getting his sunny disposition back.

January 22: 79-47 over SFU. Never trailed. 21 for Luke, 17, 2, 5 for Matt, 14, 11, 2 for Brad, 11, 10 for ed. 7 TOs, 35 RBs.

67-47 over FDU. Never trailed in this one either. 14, 11, 3, 3 for Brad, 16 for Luke, 11, 2, 4 for Matt. Ed. Hal and Jon all played well. 5 TOs, +5 boards.

“If we could play all our friggin’ games at home we’d be ranked!”

Tied for 1st with Mount Mary.

13-4, 6-2. RPI #77.

Two on the road this week. We NEED a split, at least. First it’s 11-6, 5-3, 3rd place Sam Franklin, then 7-10, 3-5 Silly Hat.

January 24: Margie had a miscarriage. She lost a lot of blood before 911 arrived and is in ICU but she’s expected to make it.

“I never been so scared in my life, Red.”

“Hang in, Dave. They say she’ll be okay.”

“Jebus! She went through hell. If I hadn’t come straight home from practice she’d a died. She was unconscious when I got there.”

“You saved her life, Dave.”

“Complete hysterectomy.”

“No babies, Dave.”

“Ah hell, I don’t care about that. We’ll adopt. I love all kids.”

January 27: Margie is out of ICU and doing well. She is really depressed about losing the baby, and even more so about the hysterectomy. Dave is being wonderfully supportive.

January 29: We got the split. 64-56 at Sam Franklin. 25, 2, 5 for Luke, 10, 8, 3 for Matt, 12, 5 for Bill Fine from the bench. Lots of foul trouble and lots of TOs, but we had enough.

65-72 at Silly Hat. Same old story, we fell way behind early and couldn’t catch up. Dave did have a quick trigger but it didn’t change anything. – 11 RBs.

Good news? We’re tied with CCSU for 1st place, and only Mount Mary is 1 back.

This week CCSU is here. They’re 9-10, 7-3, and they beat us by 3 at their place. Then we go to 6-13, 4-6 LIU. We won by 11 at home.

As expected PG Cal Wait did not hit the SAT score.

We’re waiting before offering the scholarship.

[Wayne23]

February 5: A huge week! 79-52 over CCSU. We never trailed after the first minute. 26, 14, 3, 2 for Brad, and 6 others had between 7 and 10 points. 8 TOs, 39 RBs.

79-64 at LIU. We got down by 12 early but for once we came back; we owned the second half. 15 for Luke, 13 each for Ed and Jon.

Alone in 1st, 1 up on CCSU and Mount Mary, 3 or more over the rest with 6 to play.

8-13, 4-8 Wagner comes to town and we go to 11-10, 8-4 Mount Mary- a big game!

We’re putting Jon Cook back in the starting lineup for Ed Marn. He’s playing better.

February 7: “It ain’t the same, Red.”

“What isn’t?”

“Margie an’ me. It’s like she’s got nothin’ ta give. I can’t get her ta smile mosta the time.”

“After what she went through it’s pretty natural that she’s depressed.”

“Yeah, but she’s REAL depressed.”

February 12: 73-60 vs. Wagner. 29, 10, 2, 2 for Brad, 11, 4, 3, 3 for Matt, 10 for Myer, 9 for Fine.

Fine hurt his calf. Out about 10 days. Pete Mel will get his minutes.

75-64 at Mount Mary. HUGE win! 24, 4 for Luke, 10, 8 for jon, 14, 2, 5, 6, 1 for Brad, 13, 3, 5 for matt. 21 TOs but we survived it.

Luke Myer sprained his wrist. Out 8-10 days. We’re mighty short on guards for the next week or so.

18-5, 11-3 with 4 to play. Up 2 on CCSU, 3 on 3 teams, with 4 to play.

Robert Morris, 11-12, 7-7, is here. They beat us by 14 last time. Then we go to 10-13, 6-8 Stan Francis. We beat them by 32 here.

February 19: 72-52 over Rob’t Morris. 20, 10 for Brad, 16, 4 for Hal, 13, 6 for Jon. 9 TOs

55-60 at Stan Francis. 15, 8 for Brad. 4 others had 8 or 9. I think the lack of depth at guard hurt us.

We’re one up on CCSU.

Final week of the regular season starts at 8-17, 5-11 FDU. Then we’re home with 15-10, 9-7 Sam Franklin.

“She’s leavin’ again.”

“I’m not surprised, but Dave, it has very little to do with you.”

“Huh?”

“She’s lost and hurt, and she probably just wants to be by herself because she doesn’t have anything to give and doesn’t want to take right now.”

“I guess that makes sense. Life sure is frigged up.”

February 26: 56-48 over FDU. 20 wins and 1st place assured. 11, 14 for Brad but it was a team effort, especially on D.

50-52 vs. Sam Franklin. Not a great way to finish but the game didn’t mean anything. 12 each for Brad and Matt. 9 TOs but this was not our best effort.

[Wayne23]

March 1: We play 10-17, 6-12 Wagner in the round of 8.

88-68. 24, 7, 2, 2 for Brad, 22, 1, 6 for Luke, 13, 6, 5 for Hal, 9 for Bill. 7 TOs.

Brad twisted his wrist. He’ll play though.

A rematch with 18-10, 11-7 Sam Franklin. They beat us by 2 last week.

March 2: 68-58. 29, 5 for Luke, 17, 9 for Hal. 12 TOs, 36 RBs.

#6 seed Stan Francis, 15-14, 9-9, for the title. Beat them by 32 but then they beat us by 5.

March 3: 72-50, the title, and we’re going to the Big Dance! 4 in double figures and we never trailed.

“Whooee! Red, you said last year we’d do this. Way to go, man!”

And Dave celebrated by getting drunk, for the first time in almost 9 months.

April 4: #1 ranked Florida won it all.

Awards: Brad Doss was conf. POY, defensive POY, and 1st team. Luke Myer and Matt Cone made 2nd team. I thought at least one should have made first. Dave got COY, and he deserved it.

“Hell, Red. If I could cut it in half I’d give half ta you. I’d be nothin’ without ya. Hope ya never leave me.”

“No intentions of doing that, Dave.”

April 9: A decent offer, Austin Peay, #17.

“I ain’t leavin’ Rhode Island.”

April 16: We get another PG, Bic Robb, #165.

April 23: Got SF Trey Bran, #179 SF. I ask Frankie for another facilities upgrade but I don’t expect to get it.

I don’t. Team Prestige up to 10. 23-8, overall record of 50-40, .556. Finally over .500 lifetime and it feels good. Dave’s ratings are: Off- 11, Def- 17, Recruit- 41, Scout- 2, Player Development- 14, Reputation- 11. Great year and looking forward to another one!

April 26: “Dave, it’s 2:15 in the morning and I’m really tired. The kids were up half the night.”

“I ain’t drunk.”

“Then what-”

“Margie’s dead. Pills.”

“Oh Jesus! I’m so sorry. Do you want me to come over?”

“I’m in the car headin’ fer your place.”

“I’ll wake Jean.”

We were shocked but we weren’t surprised, if that makes any sense.

I sent Jean to bed at 3:45 so she’d get at least a little rest before the kids got up, but Dave and I were still talking when Bobby and Sandy came downstairs. He hugged the kids and had breakfast with them.

When they went off to play he said, “I don’t even want a drink.”

“Good, that’s the worst thing you could do right now.”

“Yeah.”

[Wayne23]

April 30: The funeral was small. Dave looked so sad and so grimly determined to keep it together. It was difficult to explain to the kids. Bobby’s almost 6 and Sandy almost 4 so there’s not a lot that makes sense about this, but then, is there for any of us.

June 5: Looking at a couple of transfers.

June 16: We get PF Ike Ash from OK ST but not sure how much he’ll help.

June 26: 4 scholarships. We’d like 2 bigs and 2 guards. Looking at 3 PGs, 6 PFs, 1 C to start with.

It’s been 2 months since Margie died. Dave has been quiet. As far as I know he isn’t drinking but he isn’t himself, no fire.

August 11: “I don’t know, Red. I can’t seem to get interested in anything but the team. When I’m done my work for the day I just sleep. I used ta sleep about 5 hours a day now I sleep about 10.”

“Dave, you’re depressed. It’s not surprising considering, but it’s not good. I know you won’t see a therapist, but are you running?”

“Nah.”

“Start running again. Exercise helps. It releases some kind of chemicals. I’d do 3 miles in the morning and 3 more in the afternoon or evening.”

“Yeah?”

“I think within a few days you’ll feel a little better.”

“What the h*ll. Couldn’t hurt. And I did gain a few pounds.”

August 21: We offer to 2 PGs and 2 PFs. One of the PGs has us as one of his picks and he’s #28. From RI, of course.

September 2: “I gotta admit, Red, runnin’ ain’t solvin’ nothin’ but it’s helpin’.”

“Maybe you should get out more, too. Come with Jean or me when we take the kids to the park or wherever.”

“Yeah, I’d like that. Bobby and Sandy always cheer me up.”

September 18: Got him! #34, PG Jed Ray. Biggest catch ever! Lost a guy too but who cares!

I thought there was a slight chance of getting invited somewhere but no luck. We’re beefing up the schedule a little. Not too much because 6 of the 9 pre-conf. games are on the road, but about 3 challenges.

September 25: Wiped out. All 3 of the other guys we offered to went somewhere else. Try again next week when the new ratings come out.

October 2: Looking at a bunch of new recruits.

1st day of practice looks promising. We’re really deep in the back court but we’ll need to go small. Good bigs but not many of them. A major injury to a big would put us in a lot of trouble.

We’re picked first in conf. again this year.

October 9: We offer to 2 bigs and a PG. It’s usually a waiting game at this point.

Geo Dock was causing trouble in practice so he’s out for 2 weeks. Dave doesn’t mess around.

October 16: Man, big guys just don’t want us. Frustrating chasing PFs and Cs.

October 26: “Hey, I met somebody last night.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, I went ta Capo in Providence an’ Lacy Day was there.”

“The name’s familiar.”

“Getting’ to it. Anyways, her and me hit it off right away. Oh, she was Miss Rhode Island 10 years ago, she’ 29. 2nd runner up for Miss America. She’s a singer now. Last night she wasn’t singin’ though, just hangin’ out.”

“So what’s she like?”

“Friggin’ drop dead gorgeous and a real h*ll raiser.”

Just what Dave needs- or not.

November 5: “Me an’ Lacy had a h*ll of a time last night. She was singin’ at “The Root Cellar.” Place was packed an’ they all loved her, but I’m the one she went home with- well, her place, actually. Man she is-”

“Dave! Spare me the details.”

“Ha! Old married man!” (He laughed)

At least the spring is back in his step.

November 6: Here’s the lineup, at least for now: Junior Matt Cone and soph KS ST transfer Ren Hay at PG, Cone, senior Luke Myer, and frosh Bic Robb at SG. Soph LSU transfer Geo Dock and Luke at SF. Seniors Brad Doss and Jon Cook start inside with frosh Al Mack backing them up. As I said a few weeks ago we are extremely thin up front. Mack isn’t really ready, but it’s him or an SF.

We start on the roads at Lipscomb and then Illinois ST.

[Wayne23]

November 20: 56-49 over Lipscomb. 15, 9 for Brad Doss, 8, 11 for Jon Cook, 9, 3, 3 for Luke Myer, 9 for Al Mack from the bench.

Dave suspended Geo Dock for 2 weeks again. He let him know it was his last chance. +7 RBs, +2 TOs.

73-61 at Ill. ST. 17, 7 for Brad, 3 others in doubles, 9 for Bill Fine from the bench.

Dock is gone, kicked off the team. Now we know why LSU dumped him.

This week we’re at 0-1 Temple, one of the better teams on the schedule, then it’s 1-1 USC Upstate. After that we get 2 at home, finally.

November 25: “Red, Red, get outta bed. Hit yer wife on the head. Come an’ party with me an’ Lacy an’ Ted, at Paddy Dwyer’s Homestead!”

“Very clever, Dave.”

“Everybody here thought so. Hear ‘em laughin’?”

“It’s 1:15 a.m., Dave.”

“I know, I thought I call early enough fer you to come out.”

I hung up and went back to sleep.

We finally met Lacy yesterday, or Thursday, whatever, it’s the middle of the night right now. She and Dave came over for Thanksgiving. They were both on their best behavior with the kids, but headed for a bar as soon as the kids went to bed. Lacy is definitely one fine looking woman, but the first traces of the booze are just beginning to show in her face if you look carefully. Jean told me that, I didn’t see it, but then I’m smart enough to know a married man doesn’t look that carefully at another woman if he wants to stay happily married. Jean’s a great looker and she works to stay in shape. I’m not interested in anyone else.

November 27: 59-70 at Temple. 19, 11 for Brad, 16, 3, 2, 3 for Luke, only 13 TOs, but they were quick. They got a lot of open shots and they hit them, 53.1%.

79-69 at USC Upstate. Big game for Brad, 28, 9, 5, 4. 12, 7, 3, 3 for Jon. 14 for Ren Hay, 11 for Matt Cone but both were in foul trouble all night. Bill Fine and Bic Robb did a good job subbing for them. Only 4 TOs for the team.

3-1 for the opening road trip and we’ll take it.

2-2 Army comes to town followed by 2-0 Indiana ST.

December 4: 90-61 over Army. We really put it together. I don’t remember us scoring 90 since Dave and I got here. 20 for Luke, 19 for Brad, 14, 3, 4 for Bic, 13 for jon, 11 for Bill. 4 TOs again, which is terrific.

67-62 over Indiana ST in a real battle. We were down 10 early, three times. We cut it to 4 by halftime, then quickly went up 8 in the 2nd half and never trailed again, but they had it to 1 or 2 with the ball a few times. 22 for Luke, 13, 7, 2 for brad, 9, 10, 2 for Jon. +10 RBs, but 17 TOs, 12 in the first half, which is why we started so slowly.

A one game week as we go across the country to Oregon, 3-2, and the toughest team on the schedule. This one will tell us how good we are.

5-1, RPI #47.

[Wayne23]

December 11: 63-78 at Oregon. 18, 2, 6 for Matt, 17 for Luke, 9, 4 for Bic, but like Temple they were too quick for us to guard effectively. We went 2-3 and that helped some, but not enough. 8 TOs, but -7 on the boards, and they shot 51.9%. We were 16-33 on threes or it would have been even uglier.

“Guess we got a ways ta go, partner.”

“It’s good to play these teams, Dave. They show us what we’re aiming for. Next year with Jed Ray we’ll give these teams a real run. Hey, later this year we just might.”

“Yeah, we’re makin’ progress.”

5-2 Kent ST is in town this week. They’ll be a challenge too, but at least it’s at home.


December 18: 75-46 over Kent ST before our first full house. The noise helped. 18, 10, 2 for Jon, 13, 6 for Ren Hay, 11, 3 for Luke, 8, 5, 2 for Brad but he only played 16 min. due to fouls. Al Mack had 7, 5 spelling him. That felt good since we know how thin we are up front. 23, 7, 2 for the bench. 8 TOs, 37 RBs. And this was a good team we shellacked!

“D*mn it feels good, Red!”

It does indeed.

At UTEP, 1-7 for our last pre-conf. game. They’re a big conf. team and they’ve played a tough schedule and if our guys don’t come to play they’ll be in trouble. Dave will be all over them about that.

December 25: 77-57. A great road win against a team from a good conf. Brad was huge, 19, 13, 5, 5. 16, 3, 4 for Matt, 14, 7 for Jon, 7, 6, 5 for Luke, 10, 3, 2 for Bic from the bench, and 9, 7 for Ren. 15 TOs (-1), but 41 RBs!

7-2, RPI #35. +9.6 PPG, +4.0 RB, +4.0 TOs and only 11.3 per game, which is excellent.

We start conf. play at home with 7-2 CCSU, then it’s off to 4-5 Mount Mary. These two are usually at or near the top of the conf.

It was quite a XMas. Lacy seemed to enjoy spoiling my kids as much as Dave did. After we had opened the last present Dave made an announcement.

“Ladies and gentlemen, as of this morning, Lacy and I are engaged.”

Yikes. They met two months ago today, and it’s been a nonstop party. I’m not seeing a lot of practical here. Nor am I seeing a foundation for day to day living. After they left, Jean and I chatted.

“Train wreck waiting to happen.”

“Oh no worries, Jean, they’ll be fine until the booze runs out.”

“Exactly.”

Poor Dave, not a practical bone in his body.

[Wayne23]

January 1, 2019: 71-59 over CCSU and another full house. 25, 10, 3, 6 for Brad, 18, 3 for Luke, 9 TOs.

A frustrating loss, 56-58, at Mount Mary. It was close all the way. No one ever led by more than 7. 22, 12, 2, 4 for Brad. 13 TOs. They had the last possession and made the shot. Stats were pretty even. We lost because we went 5-13 at the line.

“Friggin’ pathetic. Hit friggin’ 60% and we tie or win.”

7-4 FDU is here then we go to 5-6 Sam Franklin.

January 8: 83-50 over FDU. 16, 11, 2 for Jon, 16, 7, 3 for Luke, 15, 5 for Brad, 14, 4 for Bic. 9 TOs, 34 RBs.

71-85 at Sam Franklin. 18 for Ren, 12 for Matt, 11 each for Brad and Bill. -12 RBs. We let them shoot 65.8%, 62.5% on threes.

“Friggin’ road problems again. D*MN! Friggin’ Sam Franklin always gives us fits. We played like zero D!”

4-9, 0-4 Robert Morris is here, and then we go to 4-9, 1-3 Long Island.

The wedding is set for Feb. 6, 100 days from the first time they met. Crazy.

January 15: 75-51 over Rob’t Morris. 27, 8, 3, 3 for Brad, 15 for Luke. 7 TOs.

56-48 at LIU. We were down 9 at the half but we made some adjustments. Here’s Dave at halftime.

“Okay, just a couple things. First, when 31 comes in get ON him. He’s the reason they’re winnin’, an’ you guys are leavin’ him open. He gets an open look somebody sits. The rest a the D ain’t bad. On O Brad’s seen the ball like three times. Work it in to him. Do the in, out, in thing to either him or Jon, back out, then quick in to Brad an’ BOOM. 8 TOs in the first half. Take care a the ball. The goal is no more than 5 in the 2nd. You’re the better team, play like it.”

And we did. 23, 9, 2 for Brad, only got those 5 TOs in the 2nd half, and we were +6 on the boards in the 2nd.

7-8, 4-2 Stan Francis here, then 1st place Silly Hat, 11-4, 5-1 there. That would be a big win. We’re one back of them with three other teams.

January 22: 63-69 to Stan Francis. 29 fouls on us, 12 on them. 18 for Luke, 13, 7 for Jon, but all 5 starters were in foul trouble all night. We played 4 guards for almost half the game. Dave got 2 T’s and the boot. He was not careful at the postgame press conference.

“D*mn refs killed us. They take 25 more free throws an’ we’re in zone half the night. Worst I’ve ever seen.”

That will cost him some money.

70-51 at Silly Hat. 15, 4 for Luke, 12, 5, 4, 1, 2 for Brad, 11, 4, 5, 6 for Matt, 13, 4, 3 for Ren, 9, 5, 2, 2 for Bic. +10 RBs. 18 TOs but they had 20.

8-9, 5-3 Wagner is here, then it’s on the road with 11-6, 4-4 CCSU, who we beat by 12 here.

Dave was fined $5,000 for his postgame outburst. He doesn't make all that much money so that had to hurt.

January 29: 86-68 over Wagner. 20, 12, 4, 5 for Brad, 15, 5 for Bic. 7 TOs, 34 RBs.

53-81 at CCSU. 18, 10, 3 for Brad, 13, 5, 3, 2 for Luke, and not6 much for anyone else. 10 TOs, 33 RBs, but not much outside D. They hit 18-34 on threes.

“I can’t believe they shellacked us that bad. I’m disgusted!”

We’re tied for 3rd, with 2 other teams, 1 back of the lead. 11-8, 7-3 Mount Mary, tied for 1st, is in, then we go to 10-9, 4-6 FDU.

Dave’s not in the greatest of moods but he says he’s fine with Lacy and they “raise all kinds a h*ll” and laugh a lot when they’re together.

[Wayne23]

February 5: 74-78 to Mount Mary. +13 TOs, -16 RBs. Their bench won it. Ours has been solid all season but it wasn’t there tonight.

65-62 in OT at FDU. Back and forth all night. Luke Myer took 9 threes and made one- the winner. 12 TOs, 40 RBs.

We’re in a logjam at the top of the standings, 5 teams within a single game., We’re 1 back of the 3 at the top.

Our nemesis, Sam Franklin, 11-10, 7-5, tied with us, is here. Then we’re at 7-14, 3-9 Robert Morris.

“We gotta win 2 this week.”

February 6: It was a nice wedding. Neither the bride nor the groom got drunk until at least halfway through the reception.

February 12: 70-45 over Sam Franklin. 22, 5 for Luke, 18, 4, 3 for Matt. 10 TOs.

55-67 at Rob’t Morris. This loss probably sank our hopes for a first place finish. Brad and Jon both fouled out and we aren’t deep enough to survive that.

3 teams ahead of us, 2 back of first place Mount Mary.

LIU, 7-16, 4-10, is here. We have a tough road game at 2nd place Stan Francis, 12-11, 9-5.

February 19: 62-55 vs. LIU. 18, 9, 4 for Brad. 9 TOs.

44-54 at Stan Francis. 16 TOs, -7 RBs.

“44 friggin’ points. 29.4%. 5-27 on threes.”

Silly Hat is in. It’s a battle for 4th place with a hope of 3rd. We wind up the regular season at 8-17, 5-11 Wagner.

February 26: 76-51 over Silly Hat. 27, 8 for Luke, 21, 9, 3, 2 for Brad, 14, 5, 2, 2 for Bic. 11 TOs, 37 RBs.

61-59 at Wagner. Whew! 18, 7, 5, 2 for Brad, who made 2 free throws at the end for the win. Considering he’s the worst free throw shooter we have it was nervous time. We didn’t play well but we won.

We wind up as the #4 seed, tied for 3rd place with CCSU.

Frankly, it has been a disappointing season. 18-9, 11-7 looks good but it’s a step back from last season. A good postseason would help.

We play 14-13, 10-8 Sam Franklin in the round of 8. We exchanged big wins with them.

[Wayne23]

March 1: 58-64 to Sam Franklin. Back and forth but we didn’t play with a lot of heart. 9 TOs, but -11 RBs. I think we’ll go to a tourney but it won’t be the big one.

March 4: Sam Franklin won the tourney.

I asked Dave about the marriage.

“The party never stops.”

March 12: #2 seed in the East in the CHI. We’ll play Western Michigan, 17-13, 9-7.

March 14: 77-55 over Western Mich. 19, 11, 4 for Brad, 19, 4, 4, 2 for Luke, 3 others in double figures.

Next is #6 seed Penn, 20-12. They upset #3 IPFW.

March 21: 61-68. 12, 4, 3 for Luke, 16 for Matt. They were just a little better.

Three big losses to graduation, Luke, Jon, and Brad. We’d better catch some big guys.

March 26: We get Ty Bill, PF, #117. That’s one.

April 4: #1 Syracuse wins it all.

Awards: Brad is again POY, Def. POY, and 1st team. Jon Cook also makes 1st team. Luke makes 2nd.

April 9: Northeastern called. I thought Dave might listen but, “I ain’t leavin’ RI.”

Dave says the party with Lacy is going even stronger now that the season is over.

April 16: We got Dal Adam, #175 PF, Dar Sail, #225 PF.

April 23: I ask for budget dollars. We get $4,000.

Team Prestige drops from 10 to 6 but with our draft class we hope better days are ahead.

We went 19-11, 11-7. Dave’s overall record is: 69-51, .575. His numbers are: Off- 14, Def- 22, Recruit- 55, Scout- 2, Player Development- 18, Reputation- 13.

He looks tired, and not all that healthy.

[PointGuard]

Bryant's Defiant Client (April 29)

As those of you who faithfully read this blog well know, I’m a graduate of Bryant and a fervid fan of their sports teams, but also one not to pull my punches. When problems arise at Brant, they need to be addressed. Today’s case in point: Bryant’s mens’ basketball program:

We’ve all seen it before. Most notably in the entertainment world since life there is so public. Star Charlie Sheen destructing before our eyes. Lindsay Lohan burning bright as a child and dimming as a teenager and 20-something due to an inability to handle the pitfalls of life. But if happens in all walks of life where stars in their chosen fields of endeavor fade and burn out.

Are we now seeing that at Bryant? A few short years ago Bryant hired Dave McGhee as head coach of their moribund basketball program. He quickly infused life into the program and his teams have become big winners the past few years. But we also see a frenetic coach on the sidelines...a guy who hollers constantly whether it’s at his players, the opposition, or more commonly, the refs. We’ve also viewed his tirades in post-game interviews which have become legendary and prime fodder for the media reports and youtube videos.

Rumor on the street is that McGhee has difficulty with personal relationships as well. He’s has a long line of ex-wives. McGhee recently married Lacy Day, who was Miss Rhode Island (and runner-up in the Miss America pageant. They’ve become a very public couple at numerous hot spots where liquor flows like water. These are venues McGhee has been known to frequent often on his own as well. McGhee’s previous wife during his tenure at Bryant, Margie, committed suicide after a tempestuous relationship that saw at least two separations.

The only constant in Dave McGhee’s life seems to be his 1st assistant coach, Michael “Red” O’Connor. O’Connor grew up with McGhee and the two have been nearly inseparable since. There are those that say that O’Connor is McGhee’s Sancho Panza or Doctor Watson. O’Connor is the polar opposite to McGhee, with a personality that is quiet and reserved, so much so that he refused to be interviewed for this article. Or possibly it is a best friend who is unwilling to discuss the foibles of his comrade in arms.

But as we watch Bryant’s Dave McGhee lurch from one perilous tight-rope walk to the next, we all wonder when he may become the next Karl Wallenda...and possibly bring his program along with him as well in a terrifying and deadly fall.