Grambling Rose

[PointGuard]

Great story line, Wayne! Important time in our history. While it was a turning point in racial prejudice, unfortunately not an end point.

[Wayne23]

I was inspired to write this for that reason but now it's more about the events of the past week or so. "The more things change..."

[Wayne23]

March 3

The favorites won both games. We play #4 seed Alabama A & M, 17-11, 11-7. We beat them by 29 and 17.

March 4

78-68 over Alabama A & M. We never trailed, and it wasn’t ever closer than the 10 point final margin. 24, 6, 2 for Rigs, but again, 4 fouls and limited minutes.

Cody Barr had 13 and 7 behind him. We’re giving Barr a bit more time at center and moving Rigs over to PF a little, in hopes that this will reduce Rigs’ fouls; we’ll see. +10 RBs.

Alcorn ST, 16-12, 12-6, the 2nd place team in conference, won easily, so we’ll play them for the title, as we did last year. They won by 12 there, and we won by 16 here, early in the season.

March 5

89-74, and again, it was never close. We are playing our best ball of the season. 20, 8, 5, 5 for Rigs, in 33 minutes. 20, 4 for Toby, 16, 4 for Hall, 7, 7 for Barr. Good guard play, only 11 TOs (+6). +7 RBs.

We go to the NCAA tournament at 24-5, 15-3, RPI #25. +11.4 PPG, +2.3 RBPG, +4.6 TOPG.

Now we wait. We hope for an 8 or 9 seed. We feel we’ve earned it. But ours is not a strong conference so who knows?

March 12

Not in the East.

Not in the Midwest.

Not in the South.

#11 in the West. We play #6 seed, #24 ranked Charlotte, 23-7. They lost in the conf. semi-final, ending a 14 game win streak. They have a very good PG, and they are strong inside. Their starting SG, and 2nd best guard, is out with a fractured hand. We can beat them but we must play well and stay out of foul trouble.

Cal did not have a great season. They are #8, in the West with us, so I’ll get to see Wallace’s games, but we would only meet if we both reached the final in this bracket. Not likely.

We’re the only conference team to make tournament play.

March 17

70-63 over Charlotte. 13 and 11 for Cory Barr from the bench, 13 each for Hall and Toby, 12, 5, 3 for Bent, 9 and 6 for Rigs. We led most of the way, by as many as 15. A real team effort!

It’s #3 seed, #11 ranked Illinois next. They’re 24-6, and they beat us by 5 there, scoring 91. They are definitely the better team, but we played them tough last time. Of course that was in November. They killed us outside in that game. We need to do better against their outside game.

Cal beat #9 seed Indiana, 72-71. Wallace had 18 and 11. They play #1 seed, #4 ranked Kentucky next.

March 19

51-70. Not tonight. We never led, and really, we were never in it. Their SG and SF combined for 52, one more than my whole team scored. We tried everything to stop them, but they were too quick and too strong. +10 RBs, but -13 TOs. 19 and 13 for Vern Rigs in his final game.

Cal lost 61-80. Wallace had 12 and 8.

I returned home on March 20. That evening Kerby’s wife Rosetta called sounding frantic.

“Marcus, please come on over here fast as you can!”

I did.

“I heard a rifle shot out back. I waited for a while. Then I went to see… Kerby’s dead. It looks like he did it himself, but I didn’t stay. I ran right on back here.
Didn’t know what to do so I called you.”

I went out to where Rosetta said it had happened. It was a single shot, from Kerby’s hunting rifle. The shot had moved his body and the rifle but it did look like he had killed himself. I decided to check his pockets, and I found a note.

“I am sorry but I just can’t live like this anymore. I love you and the kids, Rosetta. Please forgive me. Kerby”

I walked back and showed the note to Rosetta. After reading it she said it was Kerby’s handwriting, and she finally broke down. I called home and asked grandma and Callie to come over here. We told the kids, which was as hard as anything I have ever done. The five of them range in age from 17 down to 8.

We spent the evening and the night there. We called the police. They’re white, and they don’t care, but if we didn’t report it Rosetta would be in trouble. They came out, said that it was a suicide, and told Rosetta to go to the station in the morning to sign the paperwork. Then they left.

Toward morning, after a sleepless night, Rosetta began to think of practical things.

“What on earth am I going to do? I can’t run the store and watch the kids.”

“I can watch the children for you when they are not in school, Rosetta. At least for now.”

“Oh, mama Johnson, I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not asking, I’m telling. Your children will come on over to our place after school. On days when there’s no school, and on Saturdays I’ll come here. You all will eat with us on school nights and I’ll fix supper at your house when there’s no school. Ruth Ann can fix dinner at our house on those days. I’ve taught her and she’s a good cook.”

Rosetta protested but in the end she realized she had no choice. This was the only way her family would be able to get by. What will happen if we move I have no idea. We’ll know about that soon enough. Rosetta did mention that she had a sister in Shreveport who had lost her husband a year or two ago, and who barely got by cleaning white people’s houses.

“I will accept your kind offer of help but I will write to Georgette and see does she want to come stay with us.”

March 26

PF Ben Sims, #150, signed. We think he will be a good player for us.

[Wayne23]

April 4

I went to the Final Four in Los Angeles. I had some serious conversations with athletic directors looking for head coaches.

Lots of upsets along the way. In the final #4 ranked Kentucky beat #10 Oregon.

Awards: Vern Rigs was named POY and 1st team, to no one’s surprise. Scot Hast was Defensive POY and 1st team. Pat Hall made 2nd team. I won the coaching award for the third time.

Wallace was named to the first team in the Pac 10.

Rosetta’s sister was very much in favor of moving in with the family. She would be able to arrive by the end of this month. We are all managing and Ruth Ann has definitely learned to cook. She isn’t as good as grandma, but she is close.

April 9

This is the time when the offers come. We have done our work well here. We can only hope that will be recognized.

April 11

Cal Poly wants us. Team Prestige 29 (ours is up to 20). Big West Conference Prestige 28 (Ours is 22). About halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, in San Luis Obispo. Good academics, awful facilities. All five starters coming back. Callie, Ruth Ann, and I are going to visit and to speak with the people. Callie will also speak with the head of the science department and the head biology professor. Grandma said she didn’t need to go. Wherever we go she will go with us. We are still waiting on other offers though.

Western Michigan- Team Prestige 28, Conf. Prestige 46, decent facilities and academics. $11,000 more in budget than Cal Poly, and $45,000 more than us. Only 2 starters returning. Decent kids coming in. This would be much more of a rebuilding job than Cal Poly, but it is a much better conference. I don’t know how we would deal with Kalamazoo winters. The three of us will visit though.

Indiana ST Team 33, Missouri Valley Conf. 40, Poor facilities, poor academics, $3,000 more budget dollars- too many on academic probation who probably won’t be eligible. No.

Washington ST- Team 33, Pac 10- 79. Academics decent, facilities, so so, budget $5,000 more than W. Mich. Everyone is back but no one is very good. No one coming in. Pullman is in Eastern Washington, not far from Spokane; inland. Perhaps too big a mountain to climb in that very tough conference. We will not visit.

It’s down to Western Michigan and Cal Poly. Everything except weather favors Western Michigan. We are back at home. Both schools offered and I asked for a little time. We are having long discussions. Both Wallace and Loretta have weighed in. I wish there was a way to make them part of the entire process but there isn’t even a way to speak with both of them at once. Loretta will be home in a few weeks but we will have made the decision by then, and home will certainly not be in Louisiana; that much is certain. Wallace, once again, is staying in California for the summer.

After a very difficult thought process we have accepted the head coach position at Western Michigan in the Mid American Conference. We asked that they not make the announcement until we are able to leave Grambling. We are afraid of repercussions if the word gets out. We will leave in a week, on April 22. Ruth Ann will not have completed her freshman year but this should not be a problem; she will finish in the new school in Kalamazoo. We will live in temporary housing until we can find a place. Our home here has almost no real value; it has served us but Negro homes must not be much more than shacks or the white folks burn them down- sometimes while we are asleep in the house. We would not be able to sell it. We are giving it to Caleb Reed, who has lived in a true shack in the woods for years now. Officially we are selling it to him for one dollar. He saved my life. It is the least we can do.

I need to hire a staff. I have some ideas. After making a few calls I came up with a staff I think we will be happy with: Ram Davy is my #1, and he will scout. He retired three years ago from Michigan ST and realized he missed the job. He is great at what he does, very analytical. My #2, Rob Mell, will recruit. He did the same at Wisconsin, but as a #3. He wanted the promotion, even though the money is about the same. My #3 is another retiree, Mal Robinson. He will be my bench/practice coach. He did that here until retiring three years ago and he is eager to return.

April 23

I ask for a facilities upgrade. A. D. Mark Walls tells me there is no money in the budget but he will prepare for this in next year’s budget. Fair enough.

We’re here, in a lovely faculty home. Two stories, four bedrooms, which means Loretta will share with Ruth Ann when she’s at home, but we gave them the largest bedroom. Grandma’s bedroom is on the main floor. There are bathrooms on both floors which is all but unimaginable to us. We’re told this is not a particularly fancy house but to us it is a mansion. There is an office on the main floor as well as a living room, kitchen and dining room. We will only be here for a short time but we are also told that we can purchase a home like this for a very reasonable price. My salary doubled (well, within $3,000) so we can afford it. If Callie gets work we will be doing very well, better than we ever imagined.

Callie is interviewing today at a junior college here in Kalamazoo. She is also filling out the paperwork to begin a Ph. D. program here at Western Michigan. She feels that if she gets the teaching job she will be able to manage two courses per semester and two in the summer, and finish the degree in 4-5 years.

After 4 seasons as a head coach I am at 87-34, .719. Off- 25, Def-43, Recruit- 70, Scout- 73, Player Dev- 39, Reputation- 24. We’ve gone to the big tournament three years in a row, making the 2nd round for the past 2 years. I look forward to this new challenge, and I am thrilled to have left Louisiana. Folks here have been very welcoming so far.

[Wayne23]

May 1

We buy the Gold national scouting report.

We are settling in; we’ve looked at a few houses and found one we really like that is very close to campus. The price is affordable but our agent feels we can get it for less than the listed price. He advises us to be patient.

Callie got the job and was accepted into the grad program.

Ruth Ann loves her new school. She has been made to feel welcome by the mostly white students and faculty. She is not the only Negro student though. From what we have seen this is a good high school and will provide more challenge for Ruth Ann. Her school back home tried but they had nothing to work with.

Loretta will be home in two weeks.

Wallace was disappointed that we did not move to California. He loves it there and plans to make his home there. He expects to teach high school biology and coach basketball at a Northern California school after he graduates in a year.

May 12

We got the house, and for less than the listed price. Four bedrooms- almost exactly like the house we are living in, plus a two car garage. Given the winters here that is important. There is also a partially furnished basement. So Callie and I will each have an office. The mortgage is well within our price range, even with the small deposit we were able to put down. Grandma says she will miss raising animals, but she has already planted the garden- we received permission, even though we do not close for another 10 days.

May 23

We moved into our new home today. We spent some money on furniture, all that we could afford, but the house looks rather empty. We will get more furniture when we can afford it. We bought and will buy used furniture, except for mattresses; a stove and refrigerator came with the house. We’ve been able to get some wonderful furniture, in good shape, very cheaply.

June 5

We are looking at transfers.

We really like a very good big man from this area. He’s been playing at UConn but really misses home. We feel we have a good chance of landing him.

June 12

We got the UConn kid. Now to get him eligible! He is a big time player! We also picked up a PG who is iffy, but we feel he has potential. We need to get him eligible as well.

We are settling in. I love our home, as do we all. Western Michigan has been wonderful to us. They have made me feel very welcome. Folks, right from the start, have dropped in to say hello, to chat, to ask how they can help. My staff has been all that I hoped. They are hardworking and very knowledgeable.

June 26

Recruiting starts today. We’re looking at 15 recruits, 12 PGs, 3 PFs.

Loretta went back to New York this morning. She is taking two summer courses which begin tomorrow. One has to do with classical composing, and the other is advanced piano playing.

July 11

We are down to 11 recruits but 5 are showing interest. We have 3 to fill and we want at least 2 guards.

Mark Walls, my new A. D., loved the idea of a kid camp. The day I was hired he started publicizing it. We managed to fill two weeks. We are giving out scholarships where needed. Not being able to afford camp will not keep a kid away. First week kids arrive today.

July 25

Great two weeks of kid camp. We got to know our players. We’re weak up front, except for one player. We really only have 3 guards but all three are very good. Now I think we want to recruit 2 guards and 1 big.

August 21

We offer to 2 PGs and a PF. All are showing some interest.

Grandma loves the kitchen but is not happy with the fact that we buy more food than we grow and raise. That was never the case back in Louisiana, but here it will be. We cannot keep pigs and chickens here, and the gardening season is too short to provide for all of our vegetable needs.

Ruth Ann has made lots of friends, including her first white friends.

“It’s so weird, daddy. It’s like they don’t even care that I’m black (That, apparently is the new word. We aren’t supposed to say “Negro” anymore. It will take some getting used to.). You know me, I can be kind of … well… I say what I think. They treat me just the same as they do the white kids. They agree or disagree, argue with me, whatever, but it’s like they respect me as much as they do each other.”

I have no doubt she will encounter some less positive people but this is wonderful. And she isn’t steering away from black friends. She has some of each.
Wallace managed to get here for a week. It was wonderful to have him at home for the first time in a few years.
School begins next week for all three of our children.

September 18

Mack John, PF, #213, commits. We’re close with the two guards.

Our schedule is a bit tougher than the ones at Grambling, but not by a great deal. I want to see what we have this year. We will adjust accordingly next year.

Callie is enjoying her Ph. D. classes a great deal. She likes teaching at the junior college as well. As with Ruth Ann she is adjusting to a mixed race environment. She is perhaps having more difficulty than is Ruth Ann.

“It is so strange. The habits of a lifetime no longer apply. As the teacher I can- I MUST tell white students when they are not working hard enough to do well.
I must point out their mistakes. It is a difficult adjustment. In my doctoral classes I need to force myself to speak. There is only one other black student. He is from this area so none of that is an issue for him.”

September 25

Got one, lost one. Ray Hyte, PG, #158 committed. We lost the guard we really wanted. He was #1 on our list. We offer to another PG.

October 2

First day of practice. This is always an exciting day.

We are picked to win our conference. I think that may be asking a lot of us.

October 9

Cole Ayre, PG, #90, committed. He is the only recruit who may not hit our SAT score. We’ll see.

October 16

We’re all settled in. It’s only mid-October but it is colder than we have ever experienced in our lives. This will take some getting used to. We did not even have a heating system in Louisiana. Here we do, and we have already bused it often. Fortunately fuel oil is very inexpensive.

October 23

Jay Jax, that 5 star center we got as a transfer, is having a great deal of trouble with grades. I am not confident that we will be able to get him eligible. We’re giving it all we have though.

November 6

We did NOT look good in the exhibition games, losing both. I will say that I played everyone about equally rather than playing my best players more. Here’s the lineup: Senior Ed Kohl is my best guard. He will get all the minutes he can handle. Soph Kris Mack will also start at guard. Junior Jon Bray is my third guard. He will get the opportunity to move up to #2. Junior Dan Ward will start at SF. Soph Ad Wood will start at PF, and senior Jam May at C. Freshman Wes Winn will back up the bigs. Junior Scot Quin is my 4th big.

We start with two on the road, first George Washington, and then East Carolina.

[Wayne23]

November 20

56-44 at George Washington. 25, 17 for Jam May at center, 12, 6 for Dan Ward at SF, 7, 6 for Wes Winn from the bench. +9 RBs. We won with defense and from the line. We took 18 more free throws, making 16 more. A good start!

57-58 at East Carolina. It was close all the way. They had the final possession and drained a 15 footer at the buzzer. 24, 9 for PG Ed Kohl, 10, 5 for PF Ad Wood.
Jam May, who had such a great game against George Washington, had only 4 points tonight. He had 8 RBs. 21 TOs did us in.

That PG recruit we were worried about academically did not sign.

This week we come home. First it’s 0-1 Kansas ST, a good team from a big conference. Then it’s 0-1 Western Kentucky, and they won’t be easy either.

November 27

63-54 over Kansas ST. 15, 10, 3, 2 for May, 17, 5 for Kohl, 12 for Wood. Only 11 TOs. We had three players who ended with 4 fouls each, but they all played more than 30 minutes.

51-59 to Western KY. Ed Kohl played all of 9 minutes before fouling out. We just aren’t deep enough at guard to survive that. 14, 9 for May but he fouled out, too. We did get good bench play from Bray at guard, and from Winn and Quin up front. -9 TOs.

We’re 2-2 at this point.

This week we host 1-3 West Virginia, then 1-2 Virginia Tech.

Our first Thanksgiving in our new home was really nice. We called both Wallace and Loretta. Wallace has been named conference Player of the Week both weeks of the new season, and Cal is 3-1.

December 4

62-82 to West VA. It’s not good to lose by 20 at home. It was all about bench play. Our bench had 15, 7, 1, there’s had 39, 11, 8. Our starters were fine, all scoring between 9 and 13 except for Mack, who had only 3. Wes Winn had 12 and 4.

65-63 over Va. Tech here. 24, 7, 3 for May, 15, 6, 3, 3 for Ed Kohl, 11, 3 for Wes Winn from the bench. Dan Ward turned an ankle early and only played 12 minutes. He seemed fine after the game. Day to day.

We’re not getting enough at SG. We move Ward from SF to SG and start Winn at SF. We’ll lose some ball handling but gain defense and scoring.

This week we’re at #13 Florida, 5-1, and then at 5-2 New Mexico ST.

We got word that our former home in Grambling burned to the ground. Fortunately, Caleb was not at home at the time. There is no way to know whether the fire was accidental or whether it was set. We have our suspicions.

[Wayne23]

December 11

59-83. We were completely overmatched. -10 TOs, but +9 RBs. 15, 7 for Wood, 13, 4, 2 for Kohl, 12, 8 for Winn, 9, 9 for May, 8, 5, 3 for Ward. Their SG had 44.

62-58 over New Mexico ST. We were up 20 with 19:11 to go and we almost gave it away. They tied it up in the last minute. We then came back to score on a layup by May, they missed a shot and fouled May, and he made both. 19, 6, 2 for May, 13 for Ward, who has looked good at SG, 12 for Kohl. A good win.

We’re 4-4.

This week we host 1-6 Vermont, then we go to 4-4 Colorado.

December 18

44-57 vs. Vermont. Another home loss. We shot 29.6%. -12 RBs.

50-61 at Colorado. 13, 6, 2, 2 for May, 14 for Ward, 12 for Kohl. Now that we’ve moved Ward to SG we’re not getting much from SF and PF. No easy solutions.

We warned our fans that we were rebuilding and that it might take some time. I’m hoping they’ll be patient.

Our 5 star recruit Jay Jax is picking his grades up. Not sure if it will be enough. We’ll know next week.

Washington, 6-3, is here to close out preconference play. This won’t be easy.

December 25

76-53 over Washington. This was a very pleasant surprise! An amazing 42 for Ed Kohl, and 18 for Dan Ward. 6, 10, 3 for Jam May.

We go to conference play at 5-6, better than I thought we would do.

-2.5 PPG, +2.8 RBPG, -3.2 TOPG. So there’s plenty of work to do.

Jay Jax hit 2.0 for his GPA. SO, for the moment, he is eligible. Now to see that he stays that way so that we can use him next year.

We start conference play at 5-6 Eastern Michigan, then host 10-2 Central Michigan.

It was a great holiday. As always, grandma's cooking was wonderful but she complained that she cannot get good sweet potatoes here in Michigan. Loretta is home with us. We called Wallace and all spoke with him. He seems to be the leading candidate for Pac 10 POY. He’s having a terrific senior season, 14.2, 8.8, 3.4 blocks, and great defensive play. Coach Newell seems to think he’ll be drafted by the NBA. Wallace says if he goes high enough and if the money and the team drafting him are right he’ll give it a try, but if not he will be happy to teach and coach. He isn’t crazy about the idea of all that travel.

Ruth Ann is still very interested in the civil rights movement. The Freedom Riders and other protests and demonstrations have her “fired up.”

[Wayne23]

January 1, 1962

57-70 at Eastern Michigan in this week’s only game. 19 TOs (-10). 13, 4, 3 for May, 12, 2, 4, 3 for Kohl, 10, 5 for Winn, 9, 6, 2 for Quin, who is getting more time. They took an early lead, as much as 20 at one point. We came back some but were never really in it.

Central Michigan, 10-3, 0-1, is here. Then we go to 4-8, 0-1 Toledo.

Mark Walls set two goals for us this year: Don’t finish last, and finish above .500. I think we can do the first but I am concerned about the second at this point.

As usual our children all did very well during the first semester. We didn’t know what to expect with Ruth Ann, given that this is a very good school, and she would be challenged considerably more than she was at her old school. She had all A grades. Loretta had one B, as did Wallace. And my other student, Callie, made A in both of her fall semester classes.

January 8

78-67 over Central Michigan here. 23, 6, 6, 2 for Kohl, 12, 13 for May, 16, 4, 2 for Ward, 9 each for Winn and Wood. We played well tonight. We have yet to win back to back games though.

60-45 at Toledo. 20 for Kohl, 14, 9 for Winn, 14, 6 for May, 9 RBs for Wood. +18 RBs.

We host 7-7, 3-0 Ball ST, then go to 9-5, 2-1 Illinois.

We’re at 7-7, 2-1. RPI is only #228.

January 15

58-61 to Ball ST. A very frustrating loss. We were in position to win, down one with the ball and 10 seconds to go. We worked to get it inside. Ed Kohl faked and then threw it into the hands of a defender. We fouled, they made both, and that was that. 24 for Kohl, but 6 TOs. 11, 12, 2, 2 for Wood, 9 for Quin.

53-60 at Northern Illinois. It was close for a long time but they broke it open with about 5 to play. 19, 6 for Kohl, 15, 8, 2 for May, but he fouled out, and that’s the point at which we lost control of the game.

7-9, 2-3. We need a turn around.

This week we’re at 4-12, 3-2 Buffalo, and then we host 9-7, 4-1 Miami of Ohio.

January 22

42-50 at Buffalo. 20 TOs. 13, 11 for May. 42 points will not get you many wins.

66-58 over Miami (OH) here to end the 3 game losing streak. 17 TOs, but +7RBs. 13, 4 for Quin, 13, 6, 5 for Kohl, but he fouled out.

At home all week. First is 4-14, 1-6 Ohio, then 3-15, 0-7 Kent ST. We need both games. We’re at 8-10, 3-4.

Wallace continues to tear up the Pac 10. He is having a terrific season. Cal is just holding their own though, in 4th place in the conference.

January 29

69-61 over Ohio. 24, 4 for Kohl, 15 for May. +8 RBs. We never trailed by more than 1 and led by as many as 20.

63-48 over Kent ST. 18, 10, 3, 4 for May, 14, 5 for Quin. 6 TOs (+9).

We’re at 10-10, 5-4.

This week we’re on the road, first at 8-12, 3-6 Bowling Green, then at 15-5, 9-0 Akron, easily the best in our conference.

As expected one of our recruits did not hit our SAT score. We offer to another PG.

Grandma is having a difficult time with the cold and snow. She spent a good deal of time outdoors in Louisiana. She complains of being “cooped up” here. She is busy enough, doing the cooking and cleaning- Ruth Ann helps with both, and she is plenty spry for a 76 year old. Again, we don’t know what we would do without her.

Ruth Ann has gotten involved with a group at school that is trying to publicize the civil rights struggle and particularly the work of Dr. King. It is a mixed race group. They are not doing anything too radical and have not seen much opposition. She also has her first boyfriend. He is a nice young man who is also into the civil rights movement. His family, like ours, moved here to escape the trouble of living in the Deep South.

[Wayne23]

February 5

53-47 at Bowling Green. 17, 9 for May but he fouled out, 12, 7 for Winn. We wanted this win given that we’re playing the best team in conference on the road next.

50-63 at Akron. We led 2-0, and then never again. 18, 7 for Quin, 13, 7 for May. We rebounded really well, but we shot only 32.7%.

This week 11-11, 6-5 Eastern Michigan is here. We lost by 13 there. Then we go to 17-6, 7-4 Central Michigan. We won by 11 here.

February 12

76-60 over Eastern Michigan here. 30 for Ed Kohl, 10 TOs, +15 RBs. We played well.

57-41 at Central Michigan, a huge win for us! 16, 5 for Quin, 11, 8 for May, 10, 9 for Winn, 12 for Kohl, but here’s the down side. Ed Kohl hurt his wrist and will miss at least one, and probably two games. Kris Mack will get his minutes, and Jon Bray will sub.

We have been playing really well, 6-1 in our last 7. This injury real will make things difficult.

This week 7-17, 3-10 Toledo is here; we beat them by 15 there. Then we go to 15-9, 11-2 Ball ST; they won by 3 at our place. We need the Toledo game badly.

Wallace has won POY almost every week in the Pac 10.

I received a phone call from Red Auerbach, the legendary coach/ general manager of the Boston Celtics, asking about Wallace. Red really likes him. He asked all kinds of questions, mostly related to work habits, integrity, and those sorts of things.

I asked, “Coach, you have Russell and Sanders. Why would you be interested in my son?”

He said he needed a good third big man, and that he really believed Wallace could fill the bill, and that he might possibly develop into being good enough to be starter in a few years. At that point Russell would be getting older. He said he was considering trading up to get Wallace. There is no better organization in professional basketball.

When I told Wallace about the conversation he said he really wouldn’t be interested in playing professional ball unless he could make a starter’s salary. We’ll see what happens in the spring.

Loretta will play in a concert at Juilliard in a few weeks, one of her own pieces.

Ruth Ann got into a tiny bit of trouble at school. In a practice debate she became a bit too passionate and forgot about the debate rules. Apparently she really went on a rant. We were called and told about it. She received a warning, not a punishment, but she will not be allowed to participate with the team if it is repeated.

February 19

45-55 against Toledo. 24 TOs. We were simply lost without Ed Kohl. 13, 4 for Winn.

59-76 at Ball ST. Again, we were lost without Kohl. We got 2 points from the PG position, and gave up 27. 23, 7 for May. -11 TOs.

We are 13-13, 8-7 with one to play in the regular season.

We close at home with 14-12, 7-8 Northern Illinois. They won by 7 there. Kohl will be back and should be 100%.

We have called Rosetta Lee regularly since we moved here. She has managed to keep the store in business, and her sister Georgette is doing well managing the household. Rosetta says Georgette is happy to be with the family. It seems that Georgette and Caleb Reed are keeping company. Caleb is an odd man in many respects. He has never married, and he has lived in the woods, hunting, fishing, and gathering fruits and berries to support himself since he was little more than a boy. He is a good neighbor, and is sociable when people meet up with him, but he has always kept to himself. He is very good with young people, and is easier with them than with adults. I am surprised to hear that he is keeping company with Georgette. Now that our house burned down Caleb is back living in his shack. I cannot predict what will happen if he and Georgette become more serious about their relationship.

February 26

68-61 over Northern Illinois. 19, 6 for Kohl, 17, 4, 4 for Ward. We led all the way, by as much as 18.

As up and down as the season has been we end the regular season at 14-13, 9-7. Only two teams in conference have better records. That means we get a first round bye in the tourney, which will be played in Akron. One more win will assure that we end up above .500, but we cannot end up below .500. +0.2 PPG, +4.2 RBPG, -2.5 TOPG. The only way we will play beyond the conference tournament would be to win it with an RPI of #215.

[Wayne23]

March 5

No one declares for the NBA draft. I was afraid that after all of our hard work Jay Jax might.

Toledo, 10-18, 5-11, upset Bowling Green. We will play them in the round of 8. We won by 15 there, and lost by 10 at home when Ed Kohl was out with the injury.

March 7

62-59 over Toledo in our first OT game of the year. We were down 13 early in the second half before we rallied. Dan Ward shot poorly all night but made a 17 footer at the end of regulation to tie it. Then at the end of OT he stole a pass with 4 seconds remaining and us up one. He was fouled and made both shots to seal the win. 14, 11 for May, 12 each for Kohl and Ward. +4 TOs, +7 RBs.

At 15-13 we are now assured of a winning season.

We will play the best team in conference in the semifinals, #23 ranked Akron, 23-6, 15-1. They beat us by 10 there. We match up pretty well with them, all in all. Our starters played them even last time. Their bench won it for them.

March 8

77-71! A great win! We had a very fast start and kept the momentum up leading 48-32 at the half. The final score was as close as it got. All five starters were in double figures. +11 RBs, and we played their bench nearly even.

Due to three straight upset wins 18-13, 7-9 Northern Illinois plays us in the final. We lost to them by 7 there, then beat them by 7 just last week.
A win will keep our season going.

March 9

56-55 for the title! No one led by more than 8 at any time. In the last minute there were four lead changes. With 7 seconds left they scored to take a one point lead. We brought the ball down, passed to May. He was double teamed so he gave it back to Kohl who hit a sixteen footer with a hand in his face. 22, 4 for May, 10 each for Kohl and Winn. We are shocked and thrilled to win the conference tournament.

March 12

Cal lost in the finals. Wallace made the all tourney team.

Our RPI is up to #164. There is no doubt we will be in a play in game.

No, we are #14 in the East. We will play #3 seed, #9 ranked Oregon, 26-4.

Cal is a #9 in the West.

Oregon is a very good team, the best we’ve faced all season. It would take some very strange circumstances for us to win. I spoke with Wallace and he was able to tell me a good deal about what they do, and who their best players are. They are strong at every position and they have a solid bench.

March 16

51-76. We didn’t have enough fire power to compete. 25, 6 for Ed Kohl in his last game for us. 7,5 for Jam May in his last game.

We were 7-10 for the season and then finished 10-4 to wind up with a 17-14 record. I’m happy with that.

March 17

Cal lost by 4 to end Wallace’s college career.