January 24 Bud Idotit, The Newark News:
The hot and cold NJIT Highlanders were hot last night, beating Binghamton 57-49 here before the usual sellout crowd. Selling out a 1500 seat arena is no big deal but it’s way better than NOT selling out a 1500 seat arena! Albany lost at home so NJIT is in a 1st place tie. The team’s star player, Jude Idit, had 22 points and 6 rebounds. When he’s on, this team usually wins. The “you never know what you’re gonna get” guard, Curt Tann, had a good game, 12 points, 7 assists, 4 steals. This kid has never found a way to be consist on O, and it’s a shame. He has so much potential. He is a good defender though, so he’ll stay in the lineup for that reason. Center Mai Bro, who is usually a rock, was off tonight. He did have 9 boards, but he hit only 3 points. The SF and PF spots are a crap shot. But, hey, at this level you can win with one star and two good players.
Coach Zak Zachery works hard, and he seems to get a little better every year. He gets big points for listening to his experienced assistants. I think he has the potential to coach at a big time school at some point.
Zak: We’re at the halfway point in the conference season. We’re 15-3, 7-2, RPI #24. We’re tied for 1st with Albany, 1 up on UMass Lowell and Vermont, with 2 other teams two games back. So it should be an exciting 2nd half. Jude is the leading scorer in conf., and Mai the leading rebounder. Curt is way, WAY ahead of the next guy in assists. As a team we’re +11.0 PPG, +3.0 RBPG, +3.7 TOPG, +3.7 in assists PG, +2.6 steals PG. Seems like we should be dominating the conf., but we haven’t jelled as well as last year and the year before. We’re working hard though. We’ll get there.
January 27 Jude Will:
58-66 at UMBC. We were awful. We shot 34%, they shot 44%. They took 12 more shots. Don Summ gave us nothing at PF, and the guys behind him gave us less.
We’re having our usual in flight staff meeting soon and I’m going to bring up going to the four guard thing we used so effectively last year. Idit can play SF and Huey PF. It might be the solution.
Zak:
It was an interesting flight home. After a long discussion we decided to go back to the four guard lineup. For most of the game Ed Huey will shift to PF, Jude Idit will shift to SF, and Coli Bark will start at SG. We’ll get more offense, better ball handling, and we’ll lose a little on the boards. Against really physical teams we’ll lose something on D, too. But on balance I think we’ll gain a lot. This worked beautifully last year. Let’s see what happens.
January 29 Zak:
Jude Idit is #19 on the Norton list!
First place Albany is here next. That’s one we need to win. Hope the new lineup is up to it!
January 31 Zak:
73-59 and we’re tied for 1st again! Curt Tann led the way with 16, 7, 6. Coli Bark had 17, 2, 2, 2 in his first start. 15, 6, 2 for Bro, 12, 7, 3 for Idit. Huey was the odd man out. 11 TOs, and +7 RBs.
Unfortunately, Mai Bro hurt his leg. He is questionable for our next game. There are 6 teams within a game of each other at the top so every game is big.
February 3 Zak:
We decided to spot Bro. He could go for a few minutes at a time so we thought we’d use him in key spots, but not for a lot of minutes. We know rebounding will be a
problem but we’re sticking with the four guard set up, not for as many minutes as we would with Bro in the lineup, but for at least half of the game.
73-63! Don Summ was terrific, 15, 5, 2 in 23 minutes. 23, 2, 2, 2 for Idit, 11 for Bark. +4 TOs. -6 RBs but we expected that. -6 was definitely acceptable without Bro, who actually played 16 minutes. He had 4, 3, 2. But he didn’t reinjure himself and he’ll be back to 100% for our next game.
Albany lost. That puts us alone in first, 1 up on 3 teams, 2 up on another 2 teams.
February 7 Art Wall:
69-61 over UMass Lowell here. There’s nothing like teamwork! +13 TOs and -7 RBs, which is kind of what we expect from a 4 guard lineup, but hey, that’s a big net gain. 16,
6, 3, 2 for Bro, 15, 3 for Bark, 12, 4, 5, 4 for Idit, 7, 4, 4, 4 for Tann, 8, 5 for Huey. It seems like whenever we needed a stop we got it. In the last 10 minutes it was never a one possession game.
February 10 John Bonn:
I don’t get to see many road games but I was scouting a kid in Connecticut. 78-57 over Hartford. We were pretty impressive tonight! +13 RBs, +7 TOs. 16, 5, 5, 3 for Tann, 15, 4, 4, 3 for Bark, 14, 6 for Bro, 13, 6 for Summ. We led wire to wire.
That gives us a 2 game lead over 3 teams with 4 to play. We’re in good shape!
The CT kid wasn’t worth the trip. I saw him play the next night and he was spectacularly mediocre.
Dawn:
When does it end! When I left the building to go to the parking lot at work, I saw that there was something under the driver’s side wiper. I got it.
It was a note:
“Dawn,
Being in this business you should know better. Interracial adoption is racist. It assumes that black kids can only be successful if raised by white people. It’s b*llsh*t and it makes you a racist b*tch.”
Short and sweet.
I called Ella. She took the note, said she’d have it checked for prints but with mine all over it she doubted they’d find anything. She asked if there were people of color at work.
There are, of course, about half of the employees. She said she’d get back to me but not to get my hopes up.
I am so angry. Yes, we’re white and the kids are not. So what! They come into contact with probably more non-whites than whites. Zak has one assistant coach who is not white, and Pete Cummings, the assistant A. D., too. 9 of his players are black.
At least half of my friends are non-white- blacks, Hispanics, Asians… The kids choose their friends, and they are of all races and colors.
My kids’ lives are about as multi-racial and multi-ethnic as they can be.
Zak didn’t get to read the letter since Ella has it. He said whoever wrote it has a chip on their shoulder. We have nothing to feel except proud.
February 12 Zak:
Jude remains #19 on the Norton list. I hope that gets him drafted into the NBA. I know that’s his dream.
We’re ranked! #24, RPI #16.
February 14 Zak:
62-37 over Stony Brook here. +11 TOs. 19 for Idit, 14, 7 for Bro, 14 for Summ, who is exceling as a 6th man. We’re at the top of our game right now.
I got my honey a big bouquet of flowers for Valentine’s Day. She is truly the light of my life. Valentine’s Day is her 40th birthday so hopefully the flowers took some of the sting out of that!
February 17 Jude Idit, text to his mother:
Hi mom. I had another really good game, 21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and I shut my man down. We won 70-55 at New Hampshire. Mai and Coli did real good too, and we had only 8 turnovers (That’s good!).
I have to say I hate to see my senior year come to an end. It’s been a kick. We only have a small gym, but it’s always full, and it’s always rockin’! I get cheered like crazy whenever I make a shot at home, and on campus everybody knows me. They smile, or wave, or yell, “Good job!” It’s so cool.
A couple of NBA scouts have been around and coach says I’ll see a lot more of them in the post season, especially in the NCAA tourney. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that I get drafted.
Love you!
Zak:
Two to play and we’ve clinched. We’re 2 up on UMass Lowell but we beat them twice so that means we’ve got the home court for the tourney again. Wes Chino loves me.
This brings in lots of extra revenue.
February 21 Jude Idit:
Senior night. 66-51 over Maine. What a great way to go out! My parents and my little brother were here and I had 24 points, 5 RBs. Mai is not a senior but he kicked it too, 22, 14, 3. Actually, I’m the only senior. Gabe Raff would have been but he left the program because he wasn’t playing.
We’ll be playing at least one more, hopefully two, on this court in the conf. tourney.
February 24 Zak:
We ended the regular season in style, 78-59 at Binghamton. 29, 4, 3 for Idit, 16, 3 for Bark, 14, 4, 9 for Tann. (POST)
We’re 8-0 since we went to the 4 guard lineup.
We end the regular season 23-4, 15-3, in 1st place by 3 games. Ranked #20, RPI #12. Idit leads the conf. in scoring (by 3.4 PG), Bro leads in RBs (by 1.8 PG), Tann leads in assists be an astounding 2.1 PG. As a team we are +11.7 PPG, +3.3 RBPG (up 0.3 PG since we went to 4 guards), +4.0 TOPG, +3.2 assists PG, +2.3 steals PG. We truly dominated!
Point Guard
Re: Point Guard
by Wayne23 » Sun Dec 27, 2015 6:11 pm
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Re: Point Guard
by Wayne23 » Sun Dec 27, 2015 10:18 pm
March 2 Zak:
#4 seed UMBC, 15-13, 11-7, is our semifinal opponent. This is a tough matchup for us. We won by 4 at home and then lost by 8 there, our last loss before we switched to the 4 guard thing.
March 3 Art Wall:
81-58! No doubt about it! All 5 starters in double figures. 8 TOs (+11). We felt like we could run on this team. 33-8 on fast break points so I guess we were right! 34-18 in the paint.
Zak: #6 seed Vermont, 18-12, 9-9, beat Albany. We’ll play them for the title. We beat them by 18 here, and then by 10 there.
March 4 Zak:
72-58 and another title! 31 and 4 for our meal ticket, Jude Idit. 17, 11, 2, 2 for Mai Bro.
The sweetest moment for me was when Ed Huey ran and grabbed Jamal so he could hold him during the team photo. Jamal idolizes Ed, who is so terrific with him.
Wow! Ranked #12, highest ever! RPI #12, too!
That translates to a #3 seed but I’m guessing we’ll be lucky to get a #5. I just hope we go West!
March 12 Zak:
Here we go!
Not in the East. Good!
Not in the Midwest. Good again! We wanted to play on the 2nd day.
Not in the South.
#5 in the West. I’ll take it! We play #12 BYU, 17-14.
Zak and Dawn:
“If we make the Sweet Sixteen, which could happen, we just might get an offer from a school that would really advance my career.”
“If it’s good enough offer we’ll move. I’d need to stay here to let Jamal and Jamia finish out the school year, and my work year isn’t up until May 22, but that’s not so bad. It’s exciting!”
“If we don’t move this year it’s pretty much a sure thing we’ll move next.”
“I’m fine with that, Zak. I understand that’s it’s part of what happens in your field.”
“I don’t want to be a gypsy coach though. Hopefully one or two moves will get us where we want to stay.”
March 17 Zak:
74-72. WHEW! Bro and Bark played through foul trouble all night, which didn’t help. It came down to one possession, and there was only one guy who was going to take the shot, as everyone knew. BYU had two guys on Idit, but he managed to pick them off on Don Summ, who was in there because we wanted his muscle to set that pick. Idit was going up as he slid by Don, and he hit nothing but nylon on the 16 footer as the horn went.
In a sense we were in a good position. If he missed we would be in OT. But he never considered missing! He led the way with 19, 5, 2. 14, 9, 4 for Mai Bro, 13, 2, 7, 2 for Curt, but he had 8 TOs. Huey, Bark, and Summ all had solid games.
BYU was tougher than expected. They finished strong, winning their conference from 6th place, and they really never quit in this game. Great win!
We debated taking Jamal, and finally decided to do it. We brought our nanny along because there would be times when he would need to be up way too late if I had to watch him every minute. He loved the game!
Next up is #4 seed, #24 ranked Wake Forest, 22-10. They lost in the title game and are 7-1 in their last 8. This will not be a walk in the park, but we have a shot. We need to get the ball inside. That’s their weak spot. Mai Bro is the key in this one.
Albany lost by 1 in the 2nd round of the NIT so we’re the last America East team playing.
March 19 Zak:
71-56! Sweet Sixteen, first time ever- for me and for NJIT! We did what we needed to do inside, but not by scoring, by rebounding- +15. And we played terrific D, holding them to 34.5% while we shot 48.1%. Curt and Coli were awful with the ball, combining for 16 of our 20 TOs (Wake had 15). But nothing was stopping us tonight, 23 and 3 for Jude, 10, 7, 7 for Curt, 11, 7 for Coli (So they did some good stuff- actually lots of good stuff, they both shut down their men). 7 and 7 for Mai, 6, 5, 3 for Ed Huey, who once again grabbed Jamal for the official tournament photo. We beat a good team, and after the first 10 minutes they were never in it.
I don’t want to think about this tonight but #1 seed, #5 ranked Florida is up next.
March 20:
Okay, now I’m ready to think about Florida. They lost in the SEC final and are 8-1 in their last 9. They have no real weaknesses but they are stronger outside than inside.
March 24 Zak:
63-75. We kept it close for a very long time. 19 lead changes, 7 ties. Then, coming out of the next to last media time out, with 7:11 left, they went on a 17-4 run. That was that. +7 RBs, -8 TOs. Jude ended his career with 28 and 12, which is great! 12 and 5 for Bark, 8, 9, 2 for Bro. Curt was just off, 0 points, 6 TOs. He did have 7 assists though, and he did a good job on his man.
I am nothing but proud of our team.
April 1 Dawn:
Another “love letter” under the wiper:
Dawn,
You’re a stupid racist white b*tch. Give those kids to a black family.
Called Ella again. She’ll do her thing again. And yes, she told me not to expect much again.
April 4 Zak:
Went to the Final Four in Miami. All 4 #1 seeds got here.
#1 Kentucky beat #5 Florida, 82-68.
Awards: POY is Jude Idit. Defensive POY is Mai Bro. They both made 1st team. Jamal was thrilled to learn that Ed Huey made 2nd team. I was COY again.
April 9 Zak:
If offers are going to come they’ll start now…
Disappointing. We got offers, but nothing even worth considering.
April 23 Zak:
We sign an SG, Greg Orian, #175.
We couldn’t fill one scholarship.
I ask for a budget increase. We get $4,000. I’ll take it.
27-5, Sweet Sixteen. Overall: 88-34, .721. Off- 16, Def- 24, Recruit- 55, Scout- 63, Player Dev- 20, Reputation- 21. We’re gonna miss Jude Idit, but everyone else is back. If our transfer or one of our recruits comes up big we’ll be all set. May even if not.
Dawn and Zak:
“Are you disappointed?”
“We’re happy here. It’s okay. Hopefully next year we’ll get to go to a more well known school.”
“It’s fine with me, gives me another year to decide what direction to go in. And Jamilia will be a year older, so if I do something big that will make it easier.”
#4 seed UMBC, 15-13, 11-7, is our semifinal opponent. This is a tough matchup for us. We won by 4 at home and then lost by 8 there, our last loss before we switched to the 4 guard thing.
March 3 Art Wall:
81-58! No doubt about it! All 5 starters in double figures. 8 TOs (+11). We felt like we could run on this team. 33-8 on fast break points so I guess we were right! 34-18 in the paint.
Zak: #6 seed Vermont, 18-12, 9-9, beat Albany. We’ll play them for the title. We beat them by 18 here, and then by 10 there.
March 4 Zak:
72-58 and another title! 31 and 4 for our meal ticket, Jude Idit. 17, 11, 2, 2 for Mai Bro.
The sweetest moment for me was when Ed Huey ran and grabbed Jamal so he could hold him during the team photo. Jamal idolizes Ed, who is so terrific with him.
Wow! Ranked #12, highest ever! RPI #12, too!
That translates to a #3 seed but I’m guessing we’ll be lucky to get a #5. I just hope we go West!
March 12 Zak:
Here we go!
Not in the East. Good!
Not in the Midwest. Good again! We wanted to play on the 2nd day.
Not in the South.
#5 in the West. I’ll take it! We play #12 BYU, 17-14.
Zak and Dawn:
“If we make the Sweet Sixteen, which could happen, we just might get an offer from a school that would really advance my career.”
“If it’s good enough offer we’ll move. I’d need to stay here to let Jamal and Jamia finish out the school year, and my work year isn’t up until May 22, but that’s not so bad. It’s exciting!”
“If we don’t move this year it’s pretty much a sure thing we’ll move next.”
“I’m fine with that, Zak. I understand that’s it’s part of what happens in your field.”
“I don’t want to be a gypsy coach though. Hopefully one or two moves will get us where we want to stay.”
March 17 Zak:
74-72. WHEW! Bro and Bark played through foul trouble all night, which didn’t help. It came down to one possession, and there was only one guy who was going to take the shot, as everyone knew. BYU had two guys on Idit, but he managed to pick them off on Don Summ, who was in there because we wanted his muscle to set that pick. Idit was going up as he slid by Don, and he hit nothing but nylon on the 16 footer as the horn went.
In a sense we were in a good position. If he missed we would be in OT. But he never considered missing! He led the way with 19, 5, 2. 14, 9, 4 for Mai Bro, 13, 2, 7, 2 for Curt, but he had 8 TOs. Huey, Bark, and Summ all had solid games.
BYU was tougher than expected. They finished strong, winning their conference from 6th place, and they really never quit in this game. Great win!
We debated taking Jamal, and finally decided to do it. We brought our nanny along because there would be times when he would need to be up way too late if I had to watch him every minute. He loved the game!
Next up is #4 seed, #24 ranked Wake Forest, 22-10. They lost in the title game and are 7-1 in their last 8. This will not be a walk in the park, but we have a shot. We need to get the ball inside. That’s their weak spot. Mai Bro is the key in this one.
Albany lost by 1 in the 2nd round of the NIT so we’re the last America East team playing.
March 19 Zak:
71-56! Sweet Sixteen, first time ever- for me and for NJIT! We did what we needed to do inside, but not by scoring, by rebounding- +15. And we played terrific D, holding them to 34.5% while we shot 48.1%. Curt and Coli were awful with the ball, combining for 16 of our 20 TOs (Wake had 15). But nothing was stopping us tonight, 23 and 3 for Jude, 10, 7, 7 for Curt, 11, 7 for Coli (So they did some good stuff- actually lots of good stuff, they both shut down their men). 7 and 7 for Mai, 6, 5, 3 for Ed Huey, who once again grabbed Jamal for the official tournament photo. We beat a good team, and after the first 10 minutes they were never in it.
I don’t want to think about this tonight but #1 seed, #5 ranked Florida is up next.
March 20:
Okay, now I’m ready to think about Florida. They lost in the SEC final and are 8-1 in their last 9. They have no real weaknesses but they are stronger outside than inside.
March 24 Zak:
63-75. We kept it close for a very long time. 19 lead changes, 7 ties. Then, coming out of the next to last media time out, with 7:11 left, they went on a 17-4 run. That was that. +7 RBs, -8 TOs. Jude ended his career with 28 and 12, which is great! 12 and 5 for Bark, 8, 9, 2 for Bro. Curt was just off, 0 points, 6 TOs. He did have 7 assists though, and he did a good job on his man.
I am nothing but proud of our team.
April 1 Dawn:
Another “love letter” under the wiper:
Dawn,
You’re a stupid racist white b*tch. Give those kids to a black family.
Called Ella again. She’ll do her thing again. And yes, she told me not to expect much again.
April 4 Zak:
Went to the Final Four in Miami. All 4 #1 seeds got here.
#1 Kentucky beat #5 Florida, 82-68.
Awards: POY is Jude Idit. Defensive POY is Mai Bro. They both made 1st team. Jamal was thrilled to learn that Ed Huey made 2nd team. I was COY again.
April 9 Zak:
If offers are going to come they’ll start now…
Disappointing. We got offers, but nothing even worth considering.
April 23 Zak:
We sign an SG, Greg Orian, #175.
We couldn’t fill one scholarship.
I ask for a budget increase. We get $4,000. I’ll take it.
27-5, Sweet Sixteen. Overall: 88-34, .721. Off- 16, Def- 24, Recruit- 55, Scout- 63, Player Dev- 20, Reputation- 21. We’re gonna miss Jude Idit, but everyone else is back. If our transfer or one of our recruits comes up big we’ll be all set. May even if not.
Dawn and Zak:
“Are you disappointed?”
“We’re happy here. It’s okay. Hopefully next year we’ll get to go to a more well known school.”
“It’s fine with me, gives me another year to decide what direction to go in. And Jamilia will be a year older, so if I do something big that will make it easier.”
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Re: Point Guard
by Wayne23 » Mon Dec 28, 2015 11:49 am
May 1 Zak:
We buy the regional Gold again.
June 6 Zak:
We’re looking at transfers.
June 16 Zak:
Got one. Dan Sinn, an SG from Iowa. He started every game during his two years there. We think he’ll really help us.
June 26 John Bonn:
5 scholarships to fill. Yikes! Recruiting is tough here. Hope we can fill them.
July 15 Dawn:
Things have been wonderfully calm lately. We’re both just doing our jobs and enjoying our family.
July 29 Zak:
Jamal LOVED his two weeks of basketball camp. His buddy Ed Huey works the camp, of course, and the two of them were practically inseparable.
August 21 John Bonn:
We offer to 3 PGs and 2 bigs.
September 18 Zak:
2 ranked teams on the schedule.
October 2 John Bonn:
We got one. Tim Burr, PG, #566, committed.
Zak:
First day of practice.
We’re picked to win the conf. again.
October 9 John Bonn:
Got 3 more: Adam Yves, PG, #533, Art Twist, C, #718, and Al Toona, PG, #71, but Toona is a longshot to hit our SAT score.
One more to go!
November 6 Zak:
We have a lineup. We’re playing three guards about equally at PG and SG: Seniors Curt Tann, Ed Huey, and Coli Bark. Freshman Jam Itome starts at SF and backs up inside. Junior Mai Bro will start at Pf this year, and Mack Trux, a junior transfer from La Salle, who looks terrific, will start at C. Senior Ted Lane will back up the bigs. Juniors Les Cool Donn Summ, and senior Will Chute are waiting in the wings.
Dawn:
It has been a wonderful summer and fall. We’re living a peaceful, delightful family life.
We buy the regional Gold again.
June 6 Zak:
We’re looking at transfers.
June 16 Zak:
Got one. Dan Sinn, an SG from Iowa. He started every game during his two years there. We think he’ll really help us.
June 26 John Bonn:
5 scholarships to fill. Yikes! Recruiting is tough here. Hope we can fill them.
July 15 Dawn:
Things have been wonderfully calm lately. We’re both just doing our jobs and enjoying our family.
July 29 Zak:
Jamal LOVED his two weeks of basketball camp. His buddy Ed Huey works the camp, of course, and the two of them were practically inseparable.
August 21 John Bonn:
We offer to 3 PGs and 2 bigs.
September 18 Zak:
2 ranked teams on the schedule.
October 2 John Bonn:
We got one. Tim Burr, PG, #566, committed.
Zak:
First day of practice.
We’re picked to win the conf. again.
October 9 John Bonn:
Got 3 more: Adam Yves, PG, #533, Art Twist, C, #718, and Al Toona, PG, #71, but Toona is a longshot to hit our SAT score.
One more to go!
November 6 Zak:
We have a lineup. We’re playing three guards about equally at PG and SG: Seniors Curt Tann, Ed Huey, and Coli Bark. Freshman Jam Itome starts at SF and backs up inside. Junior Mai Bro will start at Pf this year, and Mack Trux, a junior transfer from La Salle, who looks terrific, will start at C. Senior Ted Lane will back up the bigs. Juniors Les Cool Donn Summ, and senior Will Chute are waiting in the wings.
Dawn:
It has been a wonderful summer and fall. We’re living a peaceful, delightful family life.
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Re: Point Guard
by Wayne23 » Mon Dec 28, 2015 12:36 pm
November 15 Zak:
73-54 over Indiana ST here. Mack Trux looked amazing in practice and in the exhibition games. He had a good first game, 16, 7, 3. 17, 2, 6 for Ed Huey. 11, 6 for Jam Itome, an inside player playing more SF than anything. 10 for Coli Bark but he battled foul trouble. 5 TOs. I thought it was a pretty good start!
November 20 Art Wall:
80-68 over Vanderbilt here. Mack Trux was immense! 35 and 9. We felt like their center would be over matched. The scouting report from Jude said to go inside all night long, and we did. Mack held the other center to 0 and 1! 15 for Ted Lane. +10 RBs. Our outside D could have been better but that’s our only complaint. Zak might have gone a little more with 3-2.
John Bonn: As expected Al Toona did not sign. He won’t hit the SAT score. The other three did sign. Still 2 to fill. Hoping to get a big and a guard, or 2 guards.
November 23 Jude Will:
77-55 over Rhode Island here. For the last couple of years our go to was an outside player, Jude Idit. He’s graduated now (The Knicks picked him up and he’s getting decent minutes as their 6th or 7th man) and our go to is center Mack Trux. Mack had 23, 7, 2, 2 tonight. Mai Bro had 13 and 9, and Jam Itome had 17, 6, 3. Ted Lane had 12. 42 in the paint. So we’ve totally changed. Last year and the year before we went with 4 guards and were an outside team. Now we are absolutely an inside team, but we handle the ball well. 6 TOs tonight. It pleases me that Zak pays an awful lot of attention to my scouting reports. I really work hard on them, spending hours and hours breaking down videos of our opponents. That’s the short term part of my job. Long term I watch videos of future opponents and take copious notes. I also watch videos of potential tournament opponents, but only a little. It’s too early to do more than a little of that. Still, computer files don’t take up any room, so why not?
I also need to say that I admire Zak’s flexibility as a coach. A lot of coaches, even big time coaches, go with their system, even when it doesn’t match the player strengths. Not Zak. He matches his strategy to his players. To me that makes an enormous amount of sense. I think he’s going places.
Dawn:
Zak was home for Thanksgiving. He isn’t always, depends on the team’s schedule. It was nice for all of us to be together. Jamilia will be two next month and she is as energetic as ever but now she talks and babbles non-stop to go along with the physical energy. She keeps us laughing- and hopping!
Jamal has always been a serious student and he continues to do well.
Montessori has been perfect for Jamia. She is doing really well!
November 26 Zak:
81-55 over Richmond here. They doubled Mack Trux but he still managed 14, 2, 4, 2 and great D. It was Mai Bro’s night though, 25, 8, 3, 6; when the double was on Curt, Coli, and Ed got the ball to Mai. Jam Itome had 15 and 4. 9 TOs. We are powerful inside, and our guards are getting the ball to the open man inside. We had 46 in the paint tonight!
We alternate our guards at PG and SG, and don’t really have a PG per se. Any of the three guards can bring the ball down the floor and direct the offense. I think this is powerful. Opponents can’t just focus on one guy.
We will finally hit the road, and we’ll be there for a while, 5 in a row, 6 out of 7. We leave on the 29th and don’t get home until the 4th, and only for a day, to pick up a change of clothes, and for the kids to turn in assignments and get new ones. We do most of the school stuff on line but we need our kids to meet with their tutors in person; some questions need a live body, not just a computer screen; we do bring two tutors, one on the humanities side, one on the STEM side, on all road trips, but they are generalists; we have guys with specific subject are skills at home. Okay, after that we’re home briefly every week. Finally, on the 22nd, we get to stay home for a week and a half.
November 30: Zak:
86-81 at LSU. This is the toughest opponent on our schedule so we’re really pleased with the win. Jude Will’s scouting report said we needed to play this game inside, and that’s what we tried to do. It wasn’t easy. At first LSU was killing us, building a lead that stretched to 21 with about 6 minutes left in the 1st half. Finally, my 3rd time out (no use saving them if you need them) cleared things up a little. We went with mostly 3-2, trusting Mai and Mack to deal with the inside. That stopped the explosion of outside baskets. We also worked some strategies- movement, fakes, screens, passing, to get the ball inside more successfully. We whittled the lead down to 12 at the half. In the 2nd half we just took over and scored 59 for the half. But we never really stopped them, they had 42. Still, it was enough. 32, 8, 2 for Mack, 15, 4, 6 for Tann, who was getting open shots when LSU collapsed inside, 13 for Coli Bark, who also took advantage of that, 10, 6, 2 for Itome, and 9, 7, 2, 2 for Bro. +11 RBs, and 32 in the paint.
73-54 over Indiana ST here. Mack Trux looked amazing in practice and in the exhibition games. He had a good first game, 16, 7, 3. 17, 2, 6 for Ed Huey. 11, 6 for Jam Itome, an inside player playing more SF than anything. 10 for Coli Bark but he battled foul trouble. 5 TOs. I thought it was a pretty good start!
November 20 Art Wall:
80-68 over Vanderbilt here. Mack Trux was immense! 35 and 9. We felt like their center would be over matched. The scouting report from Jude said to go inside all night long, and we did. Mack held the other center to 0 and 1! 15 for Ted Lane. +10 RBs. Our outside D could have been better but that’s our only complaint. Zak might have gone a little more with 3-2.
John Bonn: As expected Al Toona did not sign. He won’t hit the SAT score. The other three did sign. Still 2 to fill. Hoping to get a big and a guard, or 2 guards.
November 23 Jude Will:
77-55 over Rhode Island here. For the last couple of years our go to was an outside player, Jude Idit. He’s graduated now (The Knicks picked him up and he’s getting decent minutes as their 6th or 7th man) and our go to is center Mack Trux. Mack had 23, 7, 2, 2 tonight. Mai Bro had 13 and 9, and Jam Itome had 17, 6, 3. Ted Lane had 12. 42 in the paint. So we’ve totally changed. Last year and the year before we went with 4 guards and were an outside team. Now we are absolutely an inside team, but we handle the ball well. 6 TOs tonight. It pleases me that Zak pays an awful lot of attention to my scouting reports. I really work hard on them, spending hours and hours breaking down videos of our opponents. That’s the short term part of my job. Long term I watch videos of future opponents and take copious notes. I also watch videos of potential tournament opponents, but only a little. It’s too early to do more than a little of that. Still, computer files don’t take up any room, so why not?
I also need to say that I admire Zak’s flexibility as a coach. A lot of coaches, even big time coaches, go with their system, even when it doesn’t match the player strengths. Not Zak. He matches his strategy to his players. To me that makes an enormous amount of sense. I think he’s going places.
Dawn:
Zak was home for Thanksgiving. He isn’t always, depends on the team’s schedule. It was nice for all of us to be together. Jamilia will be two next month and she is as energetic as ever but now she talks and babbles non-stop to go along with the physical energy. She keeps us laughing- and hopping!
Jamal has always been a serious student and he continues to do well.
Montessori has been perfect for Jamia. She is doing really well!
November 26 Zak:
81-55 over Richmond here. They doubled Mack Trux but he still managed 14, 2, 4, 2 and great D. It was Mai Bro’s night though, 25, 8, 3, 6; when the double was on Curt, Coli, and Ed got the ball to Mai. Jam Itome had 15 and 4. 9 TOs. We are powerful inside, and our guards are getting the ball to the open man inside. We had 46 in the paint tonight!
We alternate our guards at PG and SG, and don’t really have a PG per se. Any of the three guards can bring the ball down the floor and direct the offense. I think this is powerful. Opponents can’t just focus on one guy.
We will finally hit the road, and we’ll be there for a while, 5 in a row, 6 out of 7. We leave on the 29th and don’t get home until the 4th, and only for a day, to pick up a change of clothes, and for the kids to turn in assignments and get new ones. We do most of the school stuff on line but we need our kids to meet with their tutors in person; some questions need a live body, not just a computer screen; we do bring two tutors, one on the humanities side, one on the STEM side, on all road trips, but they are generalists; we have guys with specific subject are skills at home. Okay, after that we’re home briefly every week. Finally, on the 22nd, we get to stay home for a week and a half.
November 30: Zak:
86-81 at LSU. This is the toughest opponent on our schedule so we’re really pleased with the win. Jude Will’s scouting report said we needed to play this game inside, and that’s what we tried to do. It wasn’t easy. At first LSU was killing us, building a lead that stretched to 21 with about 6 minutes left in the 1st half. Finally, my 3rd time out (no use saving them if you need them) cleared things up a little. We went with mostly 3-2, trusting Mai and Mack to deal with the inside. That stopped the explosion of outside baskets. We also worked some strategies- movement, fakes, screens, passing, to get the ball inside more successfully. We whittled the lead down to 12 at the half. In the 2nd half we just took over and scored 59 for the half. But we never really stopped them, they had 42. Still, it was enough. 32, 8, 2 for Mack, 15, 4, 6 for Tann, who was getting open shots when LSU collapsed inside, 13 for Coli Bark, who also took advantage of that, 10, 6, 2 for Itome, and 9, 7, 2, 2 for Bro. +11 RBs, and 32 in the paint.
- Wayne23
- DDS:CB Support Squad
- Posts: 14319
- Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:23 pm
Re: Point Guard
by Wayne23 » Mon Dec 28, 2015 3:15 pm
December 3: Art Wall:
56-67 at Kent ST. Not tonight. The refs were calling touch fouls and our two bigs, Mack and Mai were in foul trouble all night long. Kent ST was deeper inside and their first big guy off the bench killed us with 22. For the first time, we did not own the paint- 8-22 inside. The refs really were awful. Zak got a T, which almost never happens. Didn’t help much though.
December 5 Dawn:
I got a call from Jamia’s school. She was running at recess and fell. They suspect a fractured clavicle (collar bone). One of the aides took her to the hospital. I drove there as quickly as I could, just as they were taking her in to see the doctor. She ordered x rays and sure enough, it’s a fracture. All they can do is strap it down and let it heal.
When we got home Jamilia had LOTS of questions, many of them repeated over and over again. The pain meds made Jamia drowsy so I put her to bed and stayed home to answer, and re-answer, and re-answer Jamilia’s questions. Our day care person is available to stay with Jamia tomorrow. We think she’ll be ready to return to school the day after. These things happen.
December 7: Jude Will;
59-34 at Temple. Weird game, but my scouting report said they had trouble scoring if the D was tight. Yeah! We held them to 19.7%. That’s unbelievable! 19, 11 for Mack, 15, 4 for Jam, 10 RBs for Mai. +14 RBs.
Zak:
We’re heading home on a red eye. It will be great to be back, especially to see Jamia. I’m so sorry I haven’t been able to be with her during this tough time. A fracture has to be traumatic for a child. Dawn says she is handling it very well, but that Jamilia’s questions don’t stop. She wanted a strap for her arm like her big sister so Dawn rigged one up. After 5 minutes or so Jamilia had had enough of that!
Jamal reads to Jamia. Jamilia listens too, and interrupts constantly with questions. I am amazed at how patient both Jamal and Jamia are with her.
December 13: Art Wall:
82-50 at LIU. We expected a win here but we wanted focus on execution on both ends, and in transition, and we wanted to try some things. We got the focus, and most of the things we tried worked! 27, 9, 2, 3 for Mack, 14, 5, 2 for Jam, 11, 4, 2 for Curt. +9 RBs. We go to play everybody tonight, which is nice.
Zak:
One more non-conf. game.
December 21: Zak:
76-65 at Wichita ST. The game was not as close as the final score would indicate. We led by as many as 26 and it only got close after we sat our starters. 19, 5 for Mack, 13, 3, 3 for Ed Huey. 33 RBs, 11 TOs.
Will Chute hurt finger. Out a week.
We end preconference play at 8-1. RPI #53. Mack Trux is the 2nd leading scorer in the country at 21.9 He’s #1 in conf. in both scoring and rebounding; Mai is #4 in RBs. As a team we’re +15.6 PPG, +5.2 RBPG, +3.8 TOPG, +3.4 assists PG, and +2.1 steals PG.
I expect us to dominate the conference but you never know until it happens.
December 28 Jude Will:
68-42 over Stony Brook here. The scouting report basically said to just play our game and we’d bury them. We just played our game and we buried them. 19, 6, 3 for Mack, 18, 3, 4 for Curt, 11 for Ed. +6 TOs, +5 RBs. Never a game.
December 31 Art Wall:
87-62 at Maine. Another game we were pretty sure we’d win so we wanted to try some things. We switched defenses often, tried some offensive formations we don’t normally use, just in case, did some pressing, which we rarely do. 32, 15 for Mack, 14, 2, 4 for Coli, 13, 4, 3 for Mai, 10, 6, 2 for Jam. +18 RBs. It was never a game.
Ted Lane hurt his wrist. He may miss a game.
Dawn: The holidays were great. We were together on Christmas and the kids really enjoyed their gifts.
56-67 at Kent ST. Not tonight. The refs were calling touch fouls and our two bigs, Mack and Mai were in foul trouble all night long. Kent ST was deeper inside and their first big guy off the bench killed us with 22. For the first time, we did not own the paint- 8-22 inside. The refs really were awful. Zak got a T, which almost never happens. Didn’t help much though.
December 5 Dawn:
I got a call from Jamia’s school. She was running at recess and fell. They suspect a fractured clavicle (collar bone). One of the aides took her to the hospital. I drove there as quickly as I could, just as they were taking her in to see the doctor. She ordered x rays and sure enough, it’s a fracture. All they can do is strap it down and let it heal.
When we got home Jamilia had LOTS of questions, many of them repeated over and over again. The pain meds made Jamia drowsy so I put her to bed and stayed home to answer, and re-answer, and re-answer Jamilia’s questions. Our day care person is available to stay with Jamia tomorrow. We think she’ll be ready to return to school the day after. These things happen.
December 7: Jude Will;
59-34 at Temple. Weird game, but my scouting report said they had trouble scoring if the D was tight. Yeah! We held them to 19.7%. That’s unbelievable! 19, 11 for Mack, 15, 4 for Jam, 10 RBs for Mai. +14 RBs.
Zak:
We’re heading home on a red eye. It will be great to be back, especially to see Jamia. I’m so sorry I haven’t been able to be with her during this tough time. A fracture has to be traumatic for a child. Dawn says she is handling it very well, but that Jamilia’s questions don’t stop. She wanted a strap for her arm like her big sister so Dawn rigged one up. After 5 minutes or so Jamilia had had enough of that!
Jamal reads to Jamia. Jamilia listens too, and interrupts constantly with questions. I am amazed at how patient both Jamal and Jamia are with her.
December 13: Art Wall:
82-50 at LIU. We expected a win here but we wanted focus on execution on both ends, and in transition, and we wanted to try some things. We got the focus, and most of the things we tried worked! 27, 9, 2, 3 for Mack, 14, 5, 2 for Jam, 11, 4, 2 for Curt. +9 RBs. We go to play everybody tonight, which is nice.
Zak:
One more non-conf. game.
December 21: Zak:
76-65 at Wichita ST. The game was not as close as the final score would indicate. We led by as many as 26 and it only got close after we sat our starters. 19, 5 for Mack, 13, 3, 3 for Ed Huey. 33 RBs, 11 TOs.
Will Chute hurt finger. Out a week.
We end preconference play at 8-1. RPI #53. Mack Trux is the 2nd leading scorer in the country at 21.9 He’s #1 in conf. in both scoring and rebounding; Mai is #4 in RBs. As a team we’re +15.6 PPG, +5.2 RBPG, +3.8 TOPG, +3.4 assists PG, and +2.1 steals PG.
I expect us to dominate the conference but you never know until it happens.
December 28 Jude Will:
68-42 over Stony Brook here. The scouting report basically said to just play our game and we’d bury them. We just played our game and we buried them. 19, 6, 3 for Mack, 18, 3, 4 for Curt, 11 for Ed. +6 TOs, +5 RBs. Never a game.
December 31 Art Wall:
87-62 at Maine. Another game we were pretty sure we’d win so we wanted to try some things. We switched defenses often, tried some offensive formations we don’t normally use, just in case, did some pressing, which we rarely do. 32, 15 for Mack, 14, 2, 4 for Coli, 13, 4, 3 for Mai, 10, 6, 2 for Jam. +18 RBs. It was never a game.
Ted Lane hurt his wrist. He may miss a game.
Dawn: The holidays were great. We were together on Christmas and the kids really enjoyed their gifts.
- Wayne23
- DDS:CB Support Squad
- Posts: 14319
- Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:23 pm
Re: Point Guard
by Wayne23 » Mon Dec 28, 2015 5:10 pm
January 4, 2025 Zak:
77-63 over Vermont here. Closer than we expected but really it was a double figure lead from about 8 minutes in right until the end. 26, 8 for Mack, 12, 2, 2 for Itome, 11, 7, 2, 2 for Ted Lane.
I suppose this is a pleasant problem but I’m beginning to wonder if we’ll face any real competition in the conference this season. We’re the only team with a winning record.
January 7 Zak:
60-67 at UMass Lowell. Be careful what you wish for! 23 turnovers. 11 total points from our three guards. We won big inside but they won bigger outside. 21, 5, 2, 2 for Mack, 12, 10 for Mai.
Ike Lime, SG, #147, committed.
January 11 Jude Will:
81-58 at Hartford. My scouting report was simple: Get it inside. We did. 31, 11 for Mack, 12 for Ted Lane, 9, 5 for Jam. +8 TOs. It was never a game.
Ted Lane has another minor injury. This one is to his foot. Day to day.
January 12 Dawn:
I got an email from Jamal’s teacher. He hasn’t been paying attention in class. He’s getting A on all his tests and quizzes, and he knows the material.
“Dawn, he’s bored. He’s in fourth grade but with all the reading he does he probably has the knowledge of at least an eighth grader. The teacher needs to challenge him.”
“I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“Then we need to send him to a school where it will happen.”
“Montessori?”
“Maybe, but I think he needs more structure. I love Montessori for Jamia, but I’m not so sure it’s right for Jamal.”
“I’ll do some research. See what’s around. But he has to follow the rules at school. Talk to him, please.”
I did. I told him to hang in there while we did some research. He promised he would. He is such a great kid. It’s kind of hard to believe that he entered our lives the way he did.
He’s playing rec league basketball and loves it. He’s a Point Guard and he can really pass and shoot. I make his games whenever I can, and usually bring Ed Huey with me, which is the best thing I could ever do for Jamal. We tell him Ed is an NBA scout and he laughs.
January 14 Art Wall:
71-51 over New Hampshire here. We executed the game plan beautifully. 25, 12, 2, 6 for Mack, 11, 3, 2 for Curt, 8, 7, 2, 2 for Mai. +13 TOs.
January 18 Art Wall:
78-62 at UMBC. Again tonight we executed the game plan. Well, it was pretty simple tonight: Get it inside. On D we mixed our three defenses. 30, 13, 3, 2, 3 for Mack Trux, who is just mind boggling. He is something to see in person! 18, 6 for Mai. 12, 3, 4, 2 for Coli, 10, 4, 2 for Ed.
This is a three team race. Albany is ahead by 1 (They are here next), and we’re tied with Hartford. All of the other teams are already out of it.
January 20 Dawn:
Jamia’s strap came off today. She is a little stiff. The doc said she should move the arm, stretch it out as much as she can, but when it hurts, stop. I reinforced that. She tends to push things. Every time she does her stretches Jamilia does them right with her, which ends up in a giggle session.
January 21
70-49 over Albany here. We knew it was our inside game vs. their outside game. Our guards did better than we feared, 9 each for Huey and Bark, and +7 TOs. We dominated inside. 26, 10 for Trux, 12, 4 for Itome. Their PF and C both had 0 points. 34-4 in the paint!
1/22 Dawn and Zak:
“Renzulli Academy.”
“Hm?”
“Renzulli Academy?”
“You going to cooking school?”
“No, Zak. Renzulli is a professor of gifted education, maybe the biggest name in the field. There are a bunch of schools that his program runs for gifted kids. They focus on minority gifted kids, but all gifted kids, really. There’s one in Jersey City. It is very difficult to get into but it’s regional. A Newark kid just left, family moved, and there’s an opening for a Newark kid; weirdly there’s no waiting list for Newark. They tell me there is for every other participating town. I can take him tomorrow. They do some testing and some interviewing. If he meets their qualifications he can start in a few days.”
“Sounds kind of exclusive or cliquey.”
“No, not at all. The kids have a lot of choices about what they work on, and the teachers see themselves as more research assistants than anything else. Zak’s love of history and science? He’d love being able to learn about what he wants to learn about. And they say he can do all the reading he wants to do.”
“What about basic concepts, things like that?”
“Their website, and the administrator I talked to confirmed this, says that their kids score in the top 1% on standardized tests.”
“Sounds great! Let’s do it.”
“We have him transported by his bodyguard anyway, and Jersey City is what, five miles?”
“Terrific!”
January 25 Zak:
59-49 at Binghamton. 14, 6 for Bro, 13, 3 for Lane, who filled in for Mack, who only played 20, due to an injury (see below), and was held to 6 and 7. 9, 3, 4 for tan, 7, 7, 5, 3 for Bark.
The one guy we do not want injured is Mack Trux. He sprained his big toe. Out 12-14 days. This will definitely test us, especially with 2 of our next 3 on the road. All part of the game.
Dawn to Zak:
“He’s in. They just called and said they’d love to have him.”
“How does Jamal feel about it?”
“He loved the tour they gave him. They’re very high tech. He saw kids working on all kinds of individual and group projects. He kept saying to kids, ‘You mean you get to pick what you work on!’ The kids assured him they did. They told him they worked out a plan of expectations and a time line with the teacher, and that she checked in regularly, but they had a lot of freedom. He really wants to go. He can start on Monday.”
“I won’t be home until late Monday. I’ll call during the day on Saturday so he can tell me about it.”
“His game is in the morning. Afternoon would be good.”
“We play at 2:00. It will be about 6:30 before I get free. Have him call me then, 6:30-7:00.”
January 28 Art Wall:
77-62 at Stony Brook. Everything changed with Trux out, and with travel we only had one practice before this game. We were a little worried. Then Stony Brook went on a
12-2 run to end the first half down 1, and we were more than a little worried. But Zak and I huddled up before talking with the kids. On O we had been forcing things that weren’t there. So we told our guards to look for the open man, inside or out.
On D people were out of position because we needed to shift people around with Mack out. So for the 2nd half we would stick Ted Lane in the post and left him there, even though Bro is a better post player. Bro has been playing PF all season and we thought it would be easier for him to just keep doing what he was used to; same deal with Jam Itome, we put him back at SF for the same reason.
Jackpot! We had a great mix of inside and outside scoring in the 2nd, and we shut them down on D. 17, 6, 3 for Bro, 14, 6, 2 for Itome, 15, 3, 2, 3 for Bark, 12 for Huey, 9, 9, 3 for Ted Lane starting. +16 RBs. 17 TOs, but 12 were in the first half, when we were forcing things.
We’re tied for the lead with Albany. Hartford has dropped 2 back, and everyone else is out of it.
Zak:
I spoke with Jamal. He truly cannot wait to start at his new school.
“They let me read whenever I want to, all I need to do is do a report on the book, but not a boring old book report, a character study, or take the plot in a different direction, like a sequel, or stuff like that. I can do projects in history and science, too.”
This is a quiet kid. He doesn’t talk a whole lot because he is so contemplative. He just kept going and going about the school. It was wonderful to listen.
1/29 John Bonn:
As expected, Toona did not hit our SAT score. We offer to a PF we really like. We have three guards and a big in the fold.
77-63 over Vermont here. Closer than we expected but really it was a double figure lead from about 8 minutes in right until the end. 26, 8 for Mack, 12, 2, 2 for Itome, 11, 7, 2, 2 for Ted Lane.
I suppose this is a pleasant problem but I’m beginning to wonder if we’ll face any real competition in the conference this season. We’re the only team with a winning record.
January 7 Zak:
60-67 at UMass Lowell. Be careful what you wish for! 23 turnovers. 11 total points from our three guards. We won big inside but they won bigger outside. 21, 5, 2, 2 for Mack, 12, 10 for Mai.
Ike Lime, SG, #147, committed.
January 11 Jude Will:
81-58 at Hartford. My scouting report was simple: Get it inside. We did. 31, 11 for Mack, 12 for Ted Lane, 9, 5 for Jam. +8 TOs. It was never a game.
Ted Lane has another minor injury. This one is to his foot. Day to day.
January 12 Dawn:
I got an email from Jamal’s teacher. He hasn’t been paying attention in class. He’s getting A on all his tests and quizzes, and he knows the material.
“Dawn, he’s bored. He’s in fourth grade but with all the reading he does he probably has the knowledge of at least an eighth grader. The teacher needs to challenge him.”
“I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“Then we need to send him to a school where it will happen.”
“Montessori?”
“Maybe, but I think he needs more structure. I love Montessori for Jamia, but I’m not so sure it’s right for Jamal.”
“I’ll do some research. See what’s around. But he has to follow the rules at school. Talk to him, please.”
I did. I told him to hang in there while we did some research. He promised he would. He is such a great kid. It’s kind of hard to believe that he entered our lives the way he did.
He’s playing rec league basketball and loves it. He’s a Point Guard and he can really pass and shoot. I make his games whenever I can, and usually bring Ed Huey with me, which is the best thing I could ever do for Jamal. We tell him Ed is an NBA scout and he laughs.
January 14 Art Wall:
71-51 over New Hampshire here. We executed the game plan beautifully. 25, 12, 2, 6 for Mack, 11, 3, 2 for Curt, 8, 7, 2, 2 for Mai. +13 TOs.
January 18 Art Wall:
78-62 at UMBC. Again tonight we executed the game plan. Well, it was pretty simple tonight: Get it inside. On D we mixed our three defenses. 30, 13, 3, 2, 3 for Mack Trux, who is just mind boggling. He is something to see in person! 18, 6 for Mai. 12, 3, 4, 2 for Coli, 10, 4, 2 for Ed.
This is a three team race. Albany is ahead by 1 (They are here next), and we’re tied with Hartford. All of the other teams are already out of it.
January 20 Dawn:
Jamia’s strap came off today. She is a little stiff. The doc said she should move the arm, stretch it out as much as she can, but when it hurts, stop. I reinforced that. She tends to push things. Every time she does her stretches Jamilia does them right with her, which ends up in a giggle session.
January 21
70-49 over Albany here. We knew it was our inside game vs. their outside game. Our guards did better than we feared, 9 each for Huey and Bark, and +7 TOs. We dominated inside. 26, 10 for Trux, 12, 4 for Itome. Their PF and C both had 0 points. 34-4 in the paint!
1/22 Dawn and Zak:
“Renzulli Academy.”
“Hm?”
“Renzulli Academy?”
“You going to cooking school?”
“No, Zak. Renzulli is a professor of gifted education, maybe the biggest name in the field. There are a bunch of schools that his program runs for gifted kids. They focus on minority gifted kids, but all gifted kids, really. There’s one in Jersey City. It is very difficult to get into but it’s regional. A Newark kid just left, family moved, and there’s an opening for a Newark kid; weirdly there’s no waiting list for Newark. They tell me there is for every other participating town. I can take him tomorrow. They do some testing and some interviewing. If he meets their qualifications he can start in a few days.”
“Sounds kind of exclusive or cliquey.”
“No, not at all. The kids have a lot of choices about what they work on, and the teachers see themselves as more research assistants than anything else. Zak’s love of history and science? He’d love being able to learn about what he wants to learn about. And they say he can do all the reading he wants to do.”
“What about basic concepts, things like that?”
“Their website, and the administrator I talked to confirmed this, says that their kids score in the top 1% on standardized tests.”
“Sounds great! Let’s do it.”
“We have him transported by his bodyguard anyway, and Jersey City is what, five miles?”
“Terrific!”
January 25 Zak:
59-49 at Binghamton. 14, 6 for Bro, 13, 3 for Lane, who filled in for Mack, who only played 20, due to an injury (see below), and was held to 6 and 7. 9, 3, 4 for tan, 7, 7, 5, 3 for Bark.
The one guy we do not want injured is Mack Trux. He sprained his big toe. Out 12-14 days. This will definitely test us, especially with 2 of our next 3 on the road. All part of the game.
Dawn to Zak:
“He’s in. They just called and said they’d love to have him.”
“How does Jamal feel about it?”
“He loved the tour they gave him. They’re very high tech. He saw kids working on all kinds of individual and group projects. He kept saying to kids, ‘You mean you get to pick what you work on!’ The kids assured him they did. They told him they worked out a plan of expectations and a time line with the teacher, and that she checked in regularly, but they had a lot of freedom. He really wants to go. He can start on Monday.”
“I won’t be home until late Monday. I’ll call during the day on Saturday so he can tell me about it.”
“His game is in the morning. Afternoon would be good.”
“We play at 2:00. It will be about 6:30 before I get free. Have him call me then, 6:30-7:00.”
January 28 Art Wall:
77-62 at Stony Brook. Everything changed with Trux out, and with travel we only had one practice before this game. We were a little worried. Then Stony Brook went on a
12-2 run to end the first half down 1, and we were more than a little worried. But Zak and I huddled up before talking with the kids. On O we had been forcing things that weren’t there. So we told our guards to look for the open man, inside or out.
On D people were out of position because we needed to shift people around with Mack out. So for the 2nd half we would stick Ted Lane in the post and left him there, even though Bro is a better post player. Bro has been playing PF all season and we thought it would be easier for him to just keep doing what he was used to; same deal with Jam Itome, we put him back at SF for the same reason.
Jackpot! We had a great mix of inside and outside scoring in the 2nd, and we shut them down on D. 17, 6, 3 for Bro, 14, 6, 2 for Itome, 15, 3, 2, 3 for Bark, 12 for Huey, 9, 9, 3 for Ted Lane starting. +16 RBs. 17 TOs, but 12 were in the first half, when we were forcing things.
We’re tied for the lead with Albany. Hartford has dropped 2 back, and everyone else is out of it.
Zak:
I spoke with Jamal. He truly cannot wait to start at his new school.
“They let me read whenever I want to, all I need to do is do a report on the book, but not a boring old book report, a character study, or take the plot in a different direction, like a sequel, or stuff like that. I can do projects in history and science, too.”
This is a quiet kid. He doesn’t talk a whole lot because he is so contemplative. He just kept going and going about the school. It was wonderful to listen.
1/29 John Bonn:
As expected, Toona did not hit our SAT score. We offer to a PF we really like. We have three guards and a big in the fold.
- Wayne23
- DDS:CB Support Squad
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- Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:23 pm
Re: Point Guard
by Wayne23 » Mon Dec 28, 2015 11:54 pm
February 1 Art Wall:
87-59 over Maine here. Okay, we had a little practice time now and the guys are more comfortable. It showed! 19, 12, 4 for Jam Itome. 16, 8, 2, 2 for Mai. 12, 3 for Les Cool, 10, 3, 7 for Bark. Huey and Tann were terrific. We had 4 TOs for the night! And +16 RBs!
Zak:
It’s early but Jamal is definitely loving the Renzulli Academy. He doesn’t need to bring much work home but he does because he’s so into it.
February 4 Jude Will
75-61 at Vermont. They hung tough. Their guards were banging threes like they were layups. My scouting report emphasized that but Zak stayed more with the 2-3 and the man, when the 3-2 would have put more pressure on the shooters. I asked him about it:
“I didn’t think we were going to lose this one, Jude. I felt like I wanted them to try to make it work. They should be able to stop threes in the man to man, for sure, and even in the 2-3 we have two guys out front. If it had gotten close late I would have gone to the 3-2.”
Fair enough. 20, 5 for Itome, 11, 10 for Bro, 7, 5, 3, 3 for Lane, 16, 3, 3 for Bark. +11 RBs.
Zak:
Ranked! #23, RPI #27.
Mack will be in the lineup for our next game.
We’re one up on Albany, 3 or more on the rest.
February 8 Art Wall:
69-55 over UMass Lowell here to avenge our only conference loss. We never trailed, and we led by as many as 21. Zak and I did not want to overplay Trux in his first game back. He had 14, 7, 3, 2 in 24 minutes. 11, 10 for Bro, 16, 3 for Itome. +11 TOs.
Zak:
Albany was upset so we now have a 2 game lead with 5 to play.
February 11 Jude Will:
64-50 over 3rd place Hartford here. We thought we might have a challenge but we got out to an early lead and they never got it to single digits. 14, 13 for Bro, 17, 7, 3, 2 for Trux, 17, 5 for Lane. We’re still not playing Trux huge numbers of minutes. There’s no need unless we’re in a close game. My scouting report really worked tonight. We had more muscle inside and we used it. +10 RBs.
#18, RPI #22.
Dawn:
Jamia wants to go to Jamal’s school. Zak and I think she is perfectly placed where she is but she is being pretty insistent. We’ve told her that as the sister of a student at the school she can get in if she qualifies. We will apply for next year but we want her to stay put for this year. We don’t know if she is as bright as Jamal. She has a mild learning disability, but she has done really well at Montessori, and is definitely ahead of where she needs to be for her grade level (first). Jamilia keeps saying she wants to go to school, too.
February 15 Zak:
56-45 over New Hampshire there. We never trailed but it got close a few times, especially in the first half. 16, 10 for Trux, 18, 9 for Bro. 42 RBs, 10 TOs.
I need a new challenge. We’ve outgrown our conference here. I realize that every time I say that we get beat but look at the scores. We’re killing most of the teams we face in conference. We’re 2 up on Albany with 3 to play, and we’re burying everyone else.
Flowers for my honey last night. I also called. When she went to our room there was a diamond bracelet with matching earrings on her pillow.
February 18 John Bonn:
70-46 over UMBC here. I picked a good one to be home for! 27, 7 for Trux, but he fouled out. The game was very much over when he did, but Zak was not happy with him because of it. He was yelling about self-discipline. He’s not a yeller so he had Mack’s full attention. 17, 5, 2 for Bark. +8 TOs.
Zak:
Okay, I lost my cool with Mack Trux a little. It is really important for him to stay in control. He is big and strong enough that he has no reason to get himself into foul trouble.
And for his size he is very quick, too.
We’re at Albany next. They’re only 2 back. We’d love to beat them just to give us momentum heading into the post season.
#17, RPI #16.
February 22 Art Wall:
81-71 at Albany to clinch first place. We’ll host the tourney again. We never trailed. 24 and 11 for Trux, who shut out his opposite number. 19, 8 for May, 14, 7, 2 for Ted Lane. +14 RBs. These guys are so much fun to coach. They kid around, take it nice and easy, but when they need to be they are all business.
February 25 Zak:
82-63 over Binghamton here on senior night. And we have lots of seniors: Curt Tann, Ed Huey, Coli Bark, Ted Lane, and little used Will Chute were all honored tonight. We played the seniors since we were never threatened. 21, 3, 7 for Curt, 11, 2, 6 for Coli, 12 for ted, 10 for Ed. Mack and Jam also had 10. 8 TOs (+9).
At the end of the regular season we are 25-2, 17-1, up 3 on Albany, and 5 or more on the rest. #17, RPI #16. Mack remains 2nd nationally in scoring, and is now #3 in RBs, and #4 in FG%. In conf. he’s 1st in all 3, and tied for 1st in blocks, 3rd in steals. Curt is #1 in assists, and Mai is #2 in RBs. As a team we are 5th nationally in both scoring and FG%. In conf., 1st in everything except 3rd in steals. +16.1 PPG, +6.5 RBPG, +5.0 TOPG, +3.8 assists PG, and +3.0 steals PG. Complete domination.
Jamal continues to absolutely love his school. Jamia continues to want to go to Jamal’s school but at the same time talks about how she’ll miss her friends and her teachers.
Jamilia continues to zoom around and talk nonstop.
87-59 over Maine here. Okay, we had a little practice time now and the guys are more comfortable. It showed! 19, 12, 4 for Jam Itome. 16, 8, 2, 2 for Mai. 12, 3 for Les Cool, 10, 3, 7 for Bark. Huey and Tann were terrific. We had 4 TOs for the night! And +16 RBs!
Zak:
It’s early but Jamal is definitely loving the Renzulli Academy. He doesn’t need to bring much work home but he does because he’s so into it.
February 4 Jude Will
75-61 at Vermont. They hung tough. Their guards were banging threes like they were layups. My scouting report emphasized that but Zak stayed more with the 2-3 and the man, when the 3-2 would have put more pressure on the shooters. I asked him about it:
“I didn’t think we were going to lose this one, Jude. I felt like I wanted them to try to make it work. They should be able to stop threes in the man to man, for sure, and even in the 2-3 we have two guys out front. If it had gotten close late I would have gone to the 3-2.”
Fair enough. 20, 5 for Itome, 11, 10 for Bro, 7, 5, 3, 3 for Lane, 16, 3, 3 for Bark. +11 RBs.
Zak:
Ranked! #23, RPI #27.
Mack will be in the lineup for our next game.
We’re one up on Albany, 3 or more on the rest.
February 8 Art Wall:
69-55 over UMass Lowell here to avenge our only conference loss. We never trailed, and we led by as many as 21. Zak and I did not want to overplay Trux in his first game back. He had 14, 7, 3, 2 in 24 minutes. 11, 10 for Bro, 16, 3 for Itome. +11 TOs.
Zak:
Albany was upset so we now have a 2 game lead with 5 to play.
February 11 Jude Will:
64-50 over 3rd place Hartford here. We thought we might have a challenge but we got out to an early lead and they never got it to single digits. 14, 13 for Bro, 17, 7, 3, 2 for Trux, 17, 5 for Lane. We’re still not playing Trux huge numbers of minutes. There’s no need unless we’re in a close game. My scouting report really worked tonight. We had more muscle inside and we used it. +10 RBs.
#18, RPI #22.
Dawn:
Jamia wants to go to Jamal’s school. Zak and I think she is perfectly placed where she is but she is being pretty insistent. We’ve told her that as the sister of a student at the school she can get in if she qualifies. We will apply for next year but we want her to stay put for this year. We don’t know if she is as bright as Jamal. She has a mild learning disability, but she has done really well at Montessori, and is definitely ahead of where she needs to be for her grade level (first). Jamilia keeps saying she wants to go to school, too.
February 15 Zak:
56-45 over New Hampshire there. We never trailed but it got close a few times, especially in the first half. 16, 10 for Trux, 18, 9 for Bro. 42 RBs, 10 TOs.
I need a new challenge. We’ve outgrown our conference here. I realize that every time I say that we get beat but look at the scores. We’re killing most of the teams we face in conference. We’re 2 up on Albany with 3 to play, and we’re burying everyone else.
Flowers for my honey last night. I also called. When she went to our room there was a diamond bracelet with matching earrings on her pillow.
February 18 John Bonn:
70-46 over UMBC here. I picked a good one to be home for! 27, 7 for Trux, but he fouled out. The game was very much over when he did, but Zak was not happy with him because of it. He was yelling about self-discipline. He’s not a yeller so he had Mack’s full attention. 17, 5, 2 for Bark. +8 TOs.
Zak:
Okay, I lost my cool with Mack Trux a little. It is really important for him to stay in control. He is big and strong enough that he has no reason to get himself into foul trouble.
And for his size he is very quick, too.
We’re at Albany next. They’re only 2 back. We’d love to beat them just to give us momentum heading into the post season.
#17, RPI #16.
February 22 Art Wall:
81-71 at Albany to clinch first place. We’ll host the tourney again. We never trailed. 24 and 11 for Trux, who shut out his opposite number. 19, 8 for May, 14, 7, 2 for Ted Lane. +14 RBs. These guys are so much fun to coach. They kid around, take it nice and easy, but when they need to be they are all business.
February 25 Zak:
82-63 over Binghamton here on senior night. And we have lots of seniors: Curt Tann, Ed Huey, Coli Bark, Ted Lane, and little used Will Chute were all honored tonight. We played the seniors since we were never threatened. 21, 3, 7 for Curt, 11, 2, 6 for Coli, 12 for ted, 10 for Ed. Mack and Jam also had 10. 8 TOs (+9).
At the end of the regular season we are 25-2, 17-1, up 3 on Albany, and 5 or more on the rest. #17, RPI #16. Mack remains 2nd nationally in scoring, and is now #3 in RBs, and #4 in FG%. In conf. he’s 1st in all 3, and tied for 1st in blocks, 3rd in steals. Curt is #1 in assists, and Mai is #2 in RBs. As a team we are 5th nationally in both scoring and FG%. In conf., 1st in everything except 3rd in steals. +16.1 PPG, +6.5 RBPG, +5.0 TOPG, +3.8 assists PG, and +3.0 steals PG. Complete domination.
Jamal continues to absolutely love his school. Jamia continues to want to go to Jamal’s school but at the same time talks about how she’ll miss her friends and her teachers.
Jamilia continues to zoom around and talk nonstop.
- Wayne23
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Re: Point Guard
by Wayne23 » Tue Dec 29, 2015 4:40 am
March 2
All upsets in the quarter final round. We play #5 seed UMBC, 12-17, 9-9. We beat them by 16 and then 24.
March 3 Art Wall:
68-47 over UMBC. This was a runaway. 19, 12 for Mack. +9 RBs, +7 TOs.
We play for the title against #6 seed Maine, 13-17, 7-11, who beat both the #2 and #3 seeds to get here. We beat them by 25, then by 28.
March 4 Zak:
74-56 and another title. 26, 3, 4, 4 for tourney MOP Mack. 15, 4 for Bro, 13, 4 for Itome.
Right now we’re #13, RPI #16. That will change once before the selection.
March 12 Zak:
Here we go! #14, RPI #13.
Not in the East.
#6 Midwest. We play #11 Houston, 18-10. They’ve lost their last 4 games, which scares me.
March 16 Zak:
78-70. They jumped out to an early lead, and got it to 12. We chipped it to 4 by halftime. Then we scored 47 in the 2nd half. They doubled Mack when they weren’t in a 2-3, so we went in other directions. 15, 3, 3, 3 for Ed Huey, 15, 5 for Bark, 13, 7 for Mai, 10 for Itome, 9, 4, 4 for Tann. Mack had 9, 6, 3, 3 despite the double and he shut his man down.
Next is #3 seed, #10 ranked Oklahoma ST, 26-7. This is an excellent team but they have their best big man and their #3 guard out with injuries.
March 18 Zak:
66-77. Tough team. Their SF was all but unstoppable. They shut Mack down, and the other bigs didn’t step up. 25 TOs. They were bigger and quicker than us.
Oh well, another great season, most wins ever for the program and for me as a coach.
April 4 Zak:
In Houston for the Final Four.
No #1 or #2 seeds are here. #3 seed OK ST eliminated us and they have a shot at winning it all.
#6 ranked UConn is the national champ. They beat #17 Virginia 86-78.
Awards: Mack Trux was POY, Defensive POY, and 1st team. Mai Bro made 2nd team. I got COY again.
I am REALLY hoping we get some good offers this year. There simply isn’t any challenge left here.
April 9 Zak:
We’re going to the University of Rhode Island- URI, in Kingston, R. I. Their Team Prestige is 31, ours was 14. The A10 is a mid-major conference, Conf. Prestige 53, ours was 19. Facilities are C+, Academics B-. This is a definite step up. But they are not a program that is in good shape. We’ll have some work to do.
I first need a staff.
April 16 Zak:
Great staff: #1 is Fred Lee, a solid recruiter. He did that as the #2 assistant at Providence so he knows the area. #2 is Al Anon, my scout. I got him from UMass, where he was #3. #3 is Deke Gale, a very successful high school coach, known as a tactician. He’s my bench/practice coach.
Dawn:
Zak will live in faculty housing until we find a place. We checked Rhode Island licensing and I can start a critical care drop off/short term stay facility for abused and neglected kids any time starting June 1. I won’t get one up and running anywhere near that soon. We’ll start looking for property, which as long as we stay away from
Newport is much cheaper there. We think North Kingston, on Narragansett Bay. It would be nice to be on the water.
There is a Montessori school here in South Kingston, and a Renzulli Academy in Providence, which is only 15-20 minutes from North Kingston, very doable.
I will get us settled, get the kids into their schools, before I start the paperwork to begin the facility. I’m not in a hurry. Zak says it seems safe to assume we’ll be here for a few years. He says he will make only one more move. That all sounds fine. It will be a busy time. The kids and I will move in early June. Zak will be here on weekends until then.
April 23 Zak:
I ask for a budget increase. No.
This team finished 10th in a 15 team conference, 8-21, 6-12. Well, I wanted a challenge!
I finished 28-3, ranked 14. Overall, after 5 years at NJIT, 116-37, .758. Off- 20, Def- 30, Recruit- 71, Scout- 64, Player Dev- 25, Reputation- 25.
Time for that challenge! I’m hoping to win the conf. in year three.
All upsets in the quarter final round. We play #5 seed UMBC, 12-17, 9-9. We beat them by 16 and then 24.
March 3 Art Wall:
68-47 over UMBC. This was a runaway. 19, 12 for Mack. +9 RBs, +7 TOs.
We play for the title against #6 seed Maine, 13-17, 7-11, who beat both the #2 and #3 seeds to get here. We beat them by 25, then by 28.
March 4 Zak:
74-56 and another title. 26, 3, 4, 4 for tourney MOP Mack. 15, 4 for Bro, 13, 4 for Itome.
Right now we’re #13, RPI #16. That will change once before the selection.
March 12 Zak:
Here we go! #14, RPI #13.
Not in the East.
#6 Midwest. We play #11 Houston, 18-10. They’ve lost their last 4 games, which scares me.
March 16 Zak:
78-70. They jumped out to an early lead, and got it to 12. We chipped it to 4 by halftime. Then we scored 47 in the 2nd half. They doubled Mack when they weren’t in a 2-3, so we went in other directions. 15, 3, 3, 3 for Ed Huey, 15, 5 for Bark, 13, 7 for Mai, 10 for Itome, 9, 4, 4 for Tann. Mack had 9, 6, 3, 3 despite the double and he shut his man down.
Next is #3 seed, #10 ranked Oklahoma ST, 26-7. This is an excellent team but they have their best big man and their #3 guard out with injuries.
March 18 Zak:
66-77. Tough team. Their SF was all but unstoppable. They shut Mack down, and the other bigs didn’t step up. 25 TOs. They were bigger and quicker than us.
Oh well, another great season, most wins ever for the program and for me as a coach.
April 4 Zak:
In Houston for the Final Four.
No #1 or #2 seeds are here. #3 seed OK ST eliminated us and they have a shot at winning it all.
#6 ranked UConn is the national champ. They beat #17 Virginia 86-78.
Awards: Mack Trux was POY, Defensive POY, and 1st team. Mai Bro made 2nd team. I got COY again.
I am REALLY hoping we get some good offers this year. There simply isn’t any challenge left here.
April 9 Zak:
We’re going to the University of Rhode Island- URI, in Kingston, R. I. Their Team Prestige is 31, ours was 14. The A10 is a mid-major conference, Conf. Prestige 53, ours was 19. Facilities are C+, Academics B-. This is a definite step up. But they are not a program that is in good shape. We’ll have some work to do.
I first need a staff.
April 16 Zak:
Great staff: #1 is Fred Lee, a solid recruiter. He did that as the #2 assistant at Providence so he knows the area. #2 is Al Anon, my scout. I got him from UMass, where he was #3. #3 is Deke Gale, a very successful high school coach, known as a tactician. He’s my bench/practice coach.
Dawn:
Zak will live in faculty housing until we find a place. We checked Rhode Island licensing and I can start a critical care drop off/short term stay facility for abused and neglected kids any time starting June 1. I won’t get one up and running anywhere near that soon. We’ll start looking for property, which as long as we stay away from
Newport is much cheaper there. We think North Kingston, on Narragansett Bay. It would be nice to be on the water.
There is a Montessori school here in South Kingston, and a Renzulli Academy in Providence, which is only 15-20 minutes from North Kingston, very doable.
I will get us settled, get the kids into their schools, before I start the paperwork to begin the facility. I’m not in a hurry. Zak says it seems safe to assume we’ll be here for a few years. He says he will make only one more move. That all sounds fine. It will be a busy time. The kids and I will move in early June. Zak will be here on weekends until then.
April 23 Zak:
I ask for a budget increase. No.
This team finished 10th in a 15 team conference, 8-21, 6-12. Well, I wanted a challenge!
I finished 28-3, ranked 14. Overall, after 5 years at NJIT, 116-37, .758. Off- 20, Def- 30, Recruit- 71, Scout- 64, Player Dev- 25, Reputation- 25.
Time for that challenge! I’m hoping to win the conf. in year three.
- Wayne23
- DDS:CB Support Squad
- Posts: 14319
- Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:23 pm
Re: Point Guard
by Wayne23 » Tue Dec 29, 2015 3:46 pm
May 1 Zak:
We buy the National Gold scouting report.
May 15 Dawn:
We’re making progress. Both Jamal and Jamia will be attending the Renzulli Academy in Providence. Turns out Prof. Renzulli is 89, still working, right next door at UConn. I would love to pay him a visit.
We’re choosing between two properties we love.
June 6 Zak:
Looking at some transfers.
June 12 Zak:
We get a couple!
June 15 Dawn:
We closed on Friday and we’re in the house. We love it. 4 bedrooms on three floors, counting the finished basement, where there’s a playroom, and offices for both of us, plus some open space and some storage space. Three car garage. The building we will eventually use for my critical care facility is right next door so I will be able to walk to work. It has everything I will need as far as space is concerned. I’ll need to hire a staff, of course, but again, I’m taking my time.
June 26 Fred Lee, recruiter:
4 scholarships. We’ll take the best 4 we can get, regardless of position.
We’re looking at 25 to start.
Dawn:
Whew! We’re getting settled in. I’ve found a day care person for Jamilia, and when necessary, for our other two. I’m finding my way around Rhode Island. And I’ve begun the mountain of paperwork necessary to obtain all of the licenses and permits I’ll need for the facility. It’s too soon to start hiring but I’m making lists of who I’ll need, and how many. Oh, I hired a caretaker for the property, and someone to clean our house.
August 21 Fred Lee, recruiter:
We offer to 3 PGs and a PF.
Dawn:
School starts next week. Jamal will be in 5th grade and Jamia in 2nd. Jamilia will attend a pre-K program here at URI, run by their education department; it’s a 9-noon program forthis year; if she returns next year it will be full day. It focuses on socialization but there is an academic component for those who are ready for it. We think Jamilia is ready to start reading. She’s 3 years, 8 months, which is early, but she knows her letters and seems to put them together with some words when we read to her.
Jamal tries to teach her. He’s great about it, very patient, as always.
Still doing paperwork on the application forms. It is endless.
September 6 Dawn:
The kids love the Renzulli Academy. Turns out they think Jamia is very bright. They have accommodations for her LD issues, which they think are mild.
Jamilia is a big hit with the teachers and aides at her pre-school. Evidently she’s the leader of her group. No surprise there. She directs activities, tells kids what to do in ways that make them happy to follow her instruction. She pays careful attention to the adults and is enthusiastic about doing whatever they ask of her.
September 18 Fred Lee:
We got one! Bud Wyzer, PG, #210, committed. The other three are showing lots of interest.
Bill McCain, A. D.:
We have a schedule. It’s not too challenging, overall, but not a lot of cupcakes, either. Zak said he wants wins this year. He’ll want more challenges next year. He should be able to win more than he loses in the pre-conference part of the schedule.
Dawn:
Rhode Island is a strange place. Newport is beautiful, and parts of Providence are absolutely wonderful, the waterfront area is cozy, with lots of nice shops and restaurants, and Federal Hill has absolutely incredible Italian food in more than a few restaurants. That area is supposed to be Mafia controlled. I wonder how much of that is true, and how much is just to give it atmosphere.
Other places, Cranston, a few of the other small cities, the western part of the state, are pretty… well, unimpressive is a nice way to say it. Still, we like it here.
September 25 Fred Lee:
We get another PG, Tim Cape, #277. We lose a PG. We’ll offer to a PF we had at #5 on our list of guys we wanted.
October 2 Fred Lee:
We picked up a PF, Ryan Ginger, #556. We really like this kid.
Deke Gale, bench/practice coach:
Let’s see what we have. We seem stronger inside than out, especially with senior Earl Clak recovered from the torn ACL. He’s 100% as of today!
Zak: We’re picked to finish 2nd in conference. That may be a tall order. A. D. Bill McCain is just asking that we finish above .500 and improve school prestige. I think we can meet those goals.
October 16 Dawn:
Wow! Only one more approval needed and I can start to hire. It went more quickly than I would have thought.
I had lunch with Joe Renzulli yesterday. He’s the 89 year old gifted guru. I met him at a little restaurant on campus. He is incredibly sharp, right on top of things, and totally charming. He really knows his stuff. He’s very familiar with the school my two oldest will attend, and told me some things about their teachers. Then we discussed gifted philosophy a bit. He truly impressed me. He runs an on campus conference for gifted educators every July. I think I’ll sign up for it; it sounds more than worth it. He’s been running it successfully for almost 50 years, and the on line reviews are incredibly favorable.
November 6 Zak:
I had sort of resigned myself to a long, difficult season. After playing our two exhibition games against decent competition I feel a lot more upbeat. We have a very good outside scorer, a very good inside scorer, three solid bigs and a decent one, and our #2-#4 guards are not bad. I may like this team! Here’s the lineup:
Junior Jaq Chan is our outside scorer. He is also our best passer and best defender, or at least seems to be. The rest of the time at guard will go to seniors Ad Hoot and Russ Kent. Kent would get more time but he is awful on D. Senior Tark Hock will start at SF and back up inside. Senior Ron Evan will back up at SF. Inside, our go to big guy is freshman Rob Hard. He looks like a very solid inside player. Senior Earl Clak tore an ACL last year but he seems fully recovered. He is a solid inside player. I like this lineup, but with all the seniors we’d better hit the jackpot with recruits and transfers!
Dawn:
I got the last permit and I’m hiring. We’ll run a 12 bed facility. Kids from all over Rhode Island will be brought in 24/7/365, under emergency conditions. They will be victims of all kinds of abuse, or sometimes from severe neglect. When they get here they will likely be traumatized, often in pain, sometimes hungry. And yes, this is what I want to do. We will take newborn to age 7 (The state will undoubtedly send some older but we made it clear that we will refuse to admit adolescents.). We will have a fulltime psychiatrist and a fulltime psychologist. We will have an R.N. on duty 24/7. There will be 2 LPNs per shift. The rest of the staff will be made up of aides, administrative assistants, cafeteria staff, maintenance and custodial staff, and me- I’m the Executive Director. We will employ about 40 people full time, and some part timers as well. It is a big operation. We are aiming for a January 2, 2026 start date, which we should be able to meet.
We buy the National Gold scouting report.
May 15 Dawn:
We’re making progress. Both Jamal and Jamia will be attending the Renzulli Academy in Providence. Turns out Prof. Renzulli is 89, still working, right next door at UConn. I would love to pay him a visit.
We’re choosing between two properties we love.
June 6 Zak:
Looking at some transfers.
June 12 Zak:
We get a couple!
June 15 Dawn:
We closed on Friday and we’re in the house. We love it. 4 bedrooms on three floors, counting the finished basement, where there’s a playroom, and offices for both of us, plus some open space and some storage space. Three car garage. The building we will eventually use for my critical care facility is right next door so I will be able to walk to work. It has everything I will need as far as space is concerned. I’ll need to hire a staff, of course, but again, I’m taking my time.
June 26 Fred Lee, recruiter:
4 scholarships. We’ll take the best 4 we can get, regardless of position.
We’re looking at 25 to start.
Dawn:
Whew! We’re getting settled in. I’ve found a day care person for Jamilia, and when necessary, for our other two. I’m finding my way around Rhode Island. And I’ve begun the mountain of paperwork necessary to obtain all of the licenses and permits I’ll need for the facility. It’s too soon to start hiring but I’m making lists of who I’ll need, and how many. Oh, I hired a caretaker for the property, and someone to clean our house.
August 21 Fred Lee, recruiter:
We offer to 3 PGs and a PF.
Dawn:
School starts next week. Jamal will be in 5th grade and Jamia in 2nd. Jamilia will attend a pre-K program here at URI, run by their education department; it’s a 9-noon program forthis year; if she returns next year it will be full day. It focuses on socialization but there is an academic component for those who are ready for it. We think Jamilia is ready to start reading. She’s 3 years, 8 months, which is early, but she knows her letters and seems to put them together with some words when we read to her.
Jamal tries to teach her. He’s great about it, very patient, as always.
Still doing paperwork on the application forms. It is endless.
September 6 Dawn:
The kids love the Renzulli Academy. Turns out they think Jamia is very bright. They have accommodations for her LD issues, which they think are mild.
Jamilia is a big hit with the teachers and aides at her pre-school. Evidently she’s the leader of her group. No surprise there. She directs activities, tells kids what to do in ways that make them happy to follow her instruction. She pays careful attention to the adults and is enthusiastic about doing whatever they ask of her.
September 18 Fred Lee:
We got one! Bud Wyzer, PG, #210, committed. The other three are showing lots of interest.
Bill McCain, A. D.:
We have a schedule. It’s not too challenging, overall, but not a lot of cupcakes, either. Zak said he wants wins this year. He’ll want more challenges next year. He should be able to win more than he loses in the pre-conference part of the schedule.
Dawn:
Rhode Island is a strange place. Newport is beautiful, and parts of Providence are absolutely wonderful, the waterfront area is cozy, with lots of nice shops and restaurants, and Federal Hill has absolutely incredible Italian food in more than a few restaurants. That area is supposed to be Mafia controlled. I wonder how much of that is true, and how much is just to give it atmosphere.
Other places, Cranston, a few of the other small cities, the western part of the state, are pretty… well, unimpressive is a nice way to say it. Still, we like it here.
September 25 Fred Lee:
We get another PG, Tim Cape, #277. We lose a PG. We’ll offer to a PF we had at #5 on our list of guys we wanted.
October 2 Fred Lee:
We picked up a PF, Ryan Ginger, #556. We really like this kid.
Deke Gale, bench/practice coach:
Let’s see what we have. We seem stronger inside than out, especially with senior Earl Clak recovered from the torn ACL. He’s 100% as of today!
Zak: We’re picked to finish 2nd in conference. That may be a tall order. A. D. Bill McCain is just asking that we finish above .500 and improve school prestige. I think we can meet those goals.
October 16 Dawn:
Wow! Only one more approval needed and I can start to hire. It went more quickly than I would have thought.
I had lunch with Joe Renzulli yesterday. He’s the 89 year old gifted guru. I met him at a little restaurant on campus. He is incredibly sharp, right on top of things, and totally charming. He really knows his stuff. He’s very familiar with the school my two oldest will attend, and told me some things about their teachers. Then we discussed gifted philosophy a bit. He truly impressed me. He runs an on campus conference for gifted educators every July. I think I’ll sign up for it; it sounds more than worth it. He’s been running it successfully for almost 50 years, and the on line reviews are incredibly favorable.
November 6 Zak:
I had sort of resigned myself to a long, difficult season. After playing our two exhibition games against decent competition I feel a lot more upbeat. We have a very good outside scorer, a very good inside scorer, three solid bigs and a decent one, and our #2-#4 guards are not bad. I may like this team! Here’s the lineup:
Junior Jaq Chan is our outside scorer. He is also our best passer and best defender, or at least seems to be. The rest of the time at guard will go to seniors Ad Hoot and Russ Kent. Kent would get more time but he is awful on D. Senior Tark Hock will start at SF and back up inside. Senior Ron Evan will back up at SF. Inside, our go to big guy is freshman Rob Hard. He looks like a very solid inside player. Senior Earl Clak tore an ACL last year but he seems fully recovered. He is a solid inside player. I like this lineup, but with all the seniors we’d better hit the jackpot with recruits and transfers!
Dawn:
I got the last permit and I’m hiring. We’ll run a 12 bed facility. Kids from all over Rhode Island will be brought in 24/7/365, under emergency conditions. They will be victims of all kinds of abuse, or sometimes from severe neglect. When they get here they will likely be traumatized, often in pain, sometimes hungry. And yes, this is what I want to do. We will take newborn to age 7 (The state will undoubtedly send some older but we made it clear that we will refuse to admit adolescents.). We will have a fulltime psychiatrist and a fulltime psychologist. We will have an R.N. on duty 24/7. There will be 2 LPNs per shift. The rest of the staff will be made up of aides, administrative assistants, cafeteria staff, maintenance and custodial staff, and me- I’m the Executive Director. We will employ about 40 people full time, and some part timers as well. It is a big operation. We are aiming for a January 2, 2026 start date, which we should be able to meet.
- Wayne23
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- Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:23 pm
Re: Point Guard
by Wayne23 » Tue Dec 29, 2015 6:05 pm
November 13 Joe Downatti, Providence Journal, “The Lowdown with Joe Down”:
It looks like long dormant URI hoops may be looking up. New Coach Zak Zachery comes to us from a very successful five year run at NJIT, and he has lit up the very dark Ryan Center at URI. Kids are looking enthusiastic at practice- I’ve been twice, and everyone here, from A. D. Bill McCain on down, feels like the future is bright. More later, as the season progresses.
November 14 Deke Gale, bench/practice:
65-50 over Penn ST here. It’s nice when they follow the game plan! We thought we could control the inside and we did. 28-16 in the paint. 24,5 for center Rob Hard, 15, 8, 3, 2 for guard Jaq Chan, so we got our points from the two guys we thought we’d get them from. 9 and 8 from SF/PF Tark Hock. We didn’t get much from our 2nd and 3rd guards but it’s only one game. 17 TOs but the other guys had 21.
Jaq Chan banged his head pretty hard. He’s day to day.
November 17 Al Anon, scout:
84-56 over Miami, here. My scouting report was simple: Get it to Chan and Hard on O, pack it in on D because their strength is inside. We executed! 23, 8 for Hard, 20, 3, 5, 2 for Chan. Backup SF Ron Evan had 13, 5, 5. Hock and Clak both battled foul trouble all night. It was great that Evan came through. 11 TOs (+12), much better than last game.
Zak:
Jamal has been to both games. He misses Ed Huey but I pointed out that Ed had graduated, and was coaching high school ball in Ohio, so he wouldn’t be seeing him anyway.
His favorite player is Rob Hard, who is good with kids. Rob’s a freshman so it could develop into a good relationship.
November 20 Fred Lee, recruiter:
Crap! Crap, crap, crap! Only one of our guys, the PF, signed. That means both PGs won’t hit our SAT scores. I added to the list of recruits. And we still need to get a commitment from that 2nd big guy.
November 21 Deke Gale:
58-51 over DePaul here. 16, 4, 3 for Jaq Chan, 10, 6 for Rob Hard, but he and Clak were in foul trouble all night. As a result we were -8 in RBs; we had to go too deep into the bench. We work on not committing dumb fouls- a lot. We always get, “The ref made a bad call!” Yeah, but if you hadn’t committed those two that the ref got right it wouldn’t have mattered. That seems to be a tough concept. 8 and 6 for Hock. 8 TOs (+7) was a real help.
We finally go on the road now, for 2 games, one against a ranked team, LSU.
November 24 Deke Gale:
70-69 at UAB. Jaq Chan had a tough night, 9 and 3. He made one three all night- you guessed it, with .4 seconds left for the win. 17, 7 for Hard, 16, 3, 2 for our #4 big, Jeff Frost. He’s been getting more PT than expected, mostly due to foul trouble up front. I have to say he’s been a big help. Hock had 9 and Evan 8. Great win!
November 27 Dawn:
I’ve been pleased with the quality and quantity of applications I’m getting. This is a very, very tough field. I wasn’t sure what I’d get. I start interviewing on 12/1.
November 28 Zak:
63-73 at #19 LSU. Rob Hard was incredible, 26,19, 3. Tark Hock had 15 and 6. Jaq Chan is shooting well but he isn’t working hard enough without the ball. We need to get him open, but he has to do more to make it happen. He had 11 and 4. Hoot and Kent don’t give us anything as far as scoring is concerned, we expected that. But Hoot is good with the ball and good on D, and Kent is good with the ball. We need to hide him on D though. The PF position hasn’t given us much. Earl Clak has been a disappointment. I’m thinking of starting Evan, to see if that wakes Clak up. Not yet though, it’s still in the thinking stage. All in all we played very well against the toughest team on our schedule.
41 RBs. They have two very, very good big men, and we only have one, and that was the difference.
One game a week for a while.
5 game home stand coming up.
December 2 Dawn:
I started interviews yesterday, 4 a day- there are LOTS of positions to fill. Of course all three kids are sick and at home. I’m interviewing then running to the house to check the kids, then running back. We have a day care person, and Zak is maximizing his time at the house because he knows how crazy this time is for me, but I still need to be at home as much as I can.
December 5 Fred Lee:
82-66 over Washington here. I got a chance to watch one. We looked good. 23, 2, 6 for Chan. I know the coaches have been on him about working to get open. Tonight he did a great job of that. 18, 6, 3 for Hard. 12, 4 for Clak. He hasn’t looked good lately. I’m sure Zak is pleased that he had a good game. 9 TOs (+12). +14 in the paint, + 8 on fast breaks.
December 6 Joe Downatti, Providence Journal, “The Lowdown with Joe Down”:
URI is kicking it- way better than their pathetic football team! They’re at 5-1 against some pretty decent competition. They have two big time players, freshman sensation Rob Hard at center, and he is Hard to stop, and Jaq Chan, who plays both guard spots, and who can really light it up. Former superstar guard Zak Zachery is doing a great job with these guys. They have been fun to watch. They aren’t selling out yet, but I’d get down to a home game soon, because tickets will be tough to get if things keep up this way.
It looks like long dormant URI hoops may be looking up. New Coach Zak Zachery comes to us from a very successful five year run at NJIT, and he has lit up the very dark Ryan Center at URI. Kids are looking enthusiastic at practice- I’ve been twice, and everyone here, from A. D. Bill McCain on down, feels like the future is bright. More later, as the season progresses.
November 14 Deke Gale, bench/practice:
65-50 over Penn ST here. It’s nice when they follow the game plan! We thought we could control the inside and we did. 28-16 in the paint. 24,5 for center Rob Hard, 15, 8, 3, 2 for guard Jaq Chan, so we got our points from the two guys we thought we’d get them from. 9 and 8 from SF/PF Tark Hock. We didn’t get much from our 2nd and 3rd guards but it’s only one game. 17 TOs but the other guys had 21.
Jaq Chan banged his head pretty hard. He’s day to day.
November 17 Al Anon, scout:
84-56 over Miami, here. My scouting report was simple: Get it to Chan and Hard on O, pack it in on D because their strength is inside. We executed! 23, 8 for Hard, 20, 3, 5, 2 for Chan. Backup SF Ron Evan had 13, 5, 5. Hock and Clak both battled foul trouble all night. It was great that Evan came through. 11 TOs (+12), much better than last game.
Zak:
Jamal has been to both games. He misses Ed Huey but I pointed out that Ed had graduated, and was coaching high school ball in Ohio, so he wouldn’t be seeing him anyway.
His favorite player is Rob Hard, who is good with kids. Rob’s a freshman so it could develop into a good relationship.
November 20 Fred Lee, recruiter:
Crap! Crap, crap, crap! Only one of our guys, the PF, signed. That means both PGs won’t hit our SAT scores. I added to the list of recruits. And we still need to get a commitment from that 2nd big guy.
November 21 Deke Gale:
58-51 over DePaul here. 16, 4, 3 for Jaq Chan, 10, 6 for Rob Hard, but he and Clak were in foul trouble all night. As a result we were -8 in RBs; we had to go too deep into the bench. We work on not committing dumb fouls- a lot. We always get, “The ref made a bad call!” Yeah, but if you hadn’t committed those two that the ref got right it wouldn’t have mattered. That seems to be a tough concept. 8 and 6 for Hock. 8 TOs (+7) was a real help.
We finally go on the road now, for 2 games, one against a ranked team, LSU.
November 24 Deke Gale:
70-69 at UAB. Jaq Chan had a tough night, 9 and 3. He made one three all night- you guessed it, with .4 seconds left for the win. 17, 7 for Hard, 16, 3, 2 for our #4 big, Jeff Frost. He’s been getting more PT than expected, mostly due to foul trouble up front. I have to say he’s been a big help. Hock had 9 and Evan 8. Great win!
November 27 Dawn:
I’ve been pleased with the quality and quantity of applications I’m getting. This is a very, very tough field. I wasn’t sure what I’d get. I start interviewing on 12/1.
November 28 Zak:
63-73 at #19 LSU. Rob Hard was incredible, 26,19, 3. Tark Hock had 15 and 6. Jaq Chan is shooting well but he isn’t working hard enough without the ball. We need to get him open, but he has to do more to make it happen. He had 11 and 4. Hoot and Kent don’t give us anything as far as scoring is concerned, we expected that. But Hoot is good with the ball and good on D, and Kent is good with the ball. We need to hide him on D though. The PF position hasn’t given us much. Earl Clak has been a disappointment. I’m thinking of starting Evan, to see if that wakes Clak up. Not yet though, it’s still in the thinking stage. All in all we played very well against the toughest team on our schedule.
41 RBs. They have two very, very good big men, and we only have one, and that was the difference.
One game a week for a while.
5 game home stand coming up.
December 2 Dawn:
I started interviews yesterday, 4 a day- there are LOTS of positions to fill. Of course all three kids are sick and at home. I’m interviewing then running to the house to check the kids, then running back. We have a day care person, and Zak is maximizing his time at the house because he knows how crazy this time is for me, but I still need to be at home as much as I can.
December 5 Fred Lee:
82-66 over Washington here. I got a chance to watch one. We looked good. 23, 2, 6 for Chan. I know the coaches have been on him about working to get open. Tonight he did a great job of that. 18, 6, 3 for Hard. 12, 4 for Clak. He hasn’t looked good lately. I’m sure Zak is pleased that he had a good game. 9 TOs (+12). +14 in the paint, + 8 on fast breaks.
December 6 Joe Downatti, Providence Journal, “The Lowdown with Joe Down”:
URI is kicking it- way better than their pathetic football team! They’re at 5-1 against some pretty decent competition. They have two big time players, freshman sensation Rob Hard at center, and he is Hard to stop, and Jaq Chan, who plays both guard spots, and who can really light it up. Former superstar guard Zak Zachery is doing a great job with these guys. They have been fun to watch. They aren’t selling out yet, but I’d get down to a home game soon, because tickets will be tough to get if things keep up this way.
- Wayne23
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- Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:23 pm
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