Point Guard

[Wayne23]

December 5 Zak:

56-40 at USC. 17, 13 for Arte, 13 for Shoe. 6 other guys made offensive contributions. The D was terrific. We shot 50%, they shot 26.4%. +9 RBs.
USC is one of the teams that really wanted me during the off season. I just didn’t feel they were committed to doing what it takes to create a top of the pack program.

December 8 Earl:

67-80 at #9 Ohio ST. 2nd most points we’ve given up. They shot 47.5%, we shot 38.8%. It was close for almost 25 minutes. At that point we stopped hitting shots and, for a while, they didn’t miss many. 19, 2, 5 for King, 16, 7 for sub Mick Tigs. 8 and 8 for Arte. He and the guy opposite him banged heads all night and neutralized each other.

Zak:

Jamal is having a great year. The league he’s in is tougher than the one in R. I. was and he has stepped up his game to match it. I’ve seen three of his games. He has a scorer’s touch (Shoots like his father taught him!), knows how to move without the ball, and knows how to create. On D he understands the concept of playing D with your feet. He sticks like glue but doesn’t foul much because he’s sensible enough to let the guy go if he’s beaten. He does very well for just a sophomore. His coach knows what he’s doing, which is great!

Jamia was disappointed with our move because it meant she would not be going to an arts magnet school. She’s in 7th grade. We’re looking. There are high schools like that here, but nothing below high school.

Jamilia is in a Montessori school. There are no Renzulli Academies anywhere near us. It’s fine. Dawn is looking for private schools that cater to gifted kids.

December 12 Earl:

62-60 over Central Michigan here.-10 RBs which led to them taking 8 more shots. We led by 11 midway through the 1st half. It was 6 at the half, and it went back and forth in the 2nd half. At the end King made 2 free throws with 4.2 left so they had plenty of time to set up a good shot, but our D was solid, and they wound up throwing up an off balance three. 18, 5 for Arte, 12, 7, 2 for Shoe, 10, 5 for Antt, and good bench play.

December 15

57-54 over Chattanooga here. 15, 5, 2 for Tigs from the bench; we had lots of foul trouble from our bigs. 13, 2, 2 for King. 9, 2, 2 for Akins from the bench. 8 for Shoe.

Shoe Floyd hurt his back. Out for about 10 days. Akins and Tigs will share his minutes.

December 19 Zak:

70-69 at #14 UCLA. 25, 9 for Arte, who was the difference. On the final play of the game he shifted over to their PF, who was their biggest scorer, and anticipated the pass to him, stepped in, and stole it. He fired it up the court before he could be fouled and the clock ran out as the ball bounced toward the other basket. 14, 7 for Antt, 10, 3, 2 for Tom Holt, and 9 for King. We shot 51% to their 38.1%, so even though they took 14 more shots we won the game.

This team has surpassed my expectations by an enormous margin so far.

December 22 Earl:

44-52 at Ball ST. We shot 33.3%, 24% on threes, 44.4% on free throws. -9 RBs was probably a more telling stat though. That gave them 6 more shots. 14, 13 for Arte, 11, 2, 4, 2 for King. 17 TOs didn’t help.

Zak:

10-4, #22, RPI #27 as we head to SEC play. I never would have believed we would have played this well. 3-2 vs. ranked teams.

Otto Arte is #5 nationally in RBs, #2 in conf. He’s #4 in scoring in conf., #5 in FG%. John King is #3 in assists.

As a team +3.5 PPG, +0.8 RBPG, -0.8 TOPG, -1.8 assists PG, and -2.1 steals PG.

10 day break until the next game.

[Wayne23]

January 2, 2031 Earl:

66-75 at Florida. Another game where we stayed close for a long time but faded at the end. There were a few reasons for the fade. -9 TOs. Foul trouble- 5 on King, 4 each on Floyd and Arte; we were called for 9 more fouls. They took 13 more shots. Still, we played fairly well against a great program. 18, 4 for Arte, 12, 2, 4 for King, 7, 7, 4 for Holt.

January 5 Zak:

77-67 over #17 Georgia here. Guard play did it for us. 22, 2, 4 for King (but 8 TOs), 18, 3 for Shoe, 8, 3, 7 for Holt. Arte had 13 and 14 and Antt had 7 and 8. +9 RBs, 11 TOs.

Holt has played better since we made him our 6th man and started Tigs in his place.

January 9 Zak:

64-50 over Vanderbilt here. Solid win. We led all the way. 16, 3, 4 for King, 11, 10 for Arte. 4 TOs.

January 12 Ezra Johnson, scouting assistant:

75-62 at Alabama. My scouting report said two things: 1. Otto Arte should get the ball all night long. ‘Bama just didn’t have the inside players to stop him. He had 31, 9, 2. 2. Watch out for their guards. Their starting guards scored 35. We were +30 at starting center, -12 at starting guard. You do the math. 46 RBs and 9 TOs didn’t hurt.

January 15 Zak:

Back in the rankings at #23, RPI #19. We’ve been in and out a couple of times.

#3 LSU is next so we may be out again!

January 16 Zak:

46-64 to LSU here. 15, 5 for Arte, 8 each for the starting guards, 10 RBs for Tigs, but we were over matched.

Starting PF Juke Antt broke his arm 7 minutes in. He’ll be out until some time in March. Here we go again. We’re going small, and sometimes really small.

January 19 Zak:

52-55 at #21 Arkansas. Arte played only 16 minutes due to fouls and we didn’t have the inside players to make up for that. We gave it a shot though. 14, 5, 2 for King, 10, 6 for Tigs. Drake played 20 minutes inside but was not at all effective.

January 23 Zak:

72-63 over Missouri here. We had a great 1st half then hung on in the 2nd. It was a team effort. 6 played significant minutes and all 6 contributed. 15, 7 for Arte, 13, 9 for Holt, 16, 2, 7 for King.

January 26 Zak:

78-80 at Mississippi ST. +10 RBs but 18 TOs. We let them shoot 50%. We fell way behind early and had to play catch up all night. We almost got there. 21, 8 for Arte, 19, 4, 6 for King, 12, 7, 5 for Holt.

January 29 Tank:

Like we thought ever’body done hit our SAT score.

Zak: We’re at the halfway point in conference play. 14-8, 4-4, RPI #33. 1-3 since Antt’s injury. Arte is #2 in scoring and RBs, in the SEC. John King is #2 in assists and #3 in FG%.

We’re +2.9 PPG, +1.7 RBPG, -1.4 TOPG, -1.0 assists PG, and -3.1 steals PG.

January 30 Earl:

49-48 over Kentucky here. Weird game; no one could score. They shot 32%, we shot 35.3%. The stats were close to identical in all categories. We finally won it when Shoe hit his only three of the night with 6.3 seconds left. They set up a good shot and missed it at the end. 10, 11 for Arte, 12, 2, 3 for Shoe, 11 RBs for Tigs.

Zak:

Jamal had a great night in a very big regular season game. They played their chief rival. The two teams were both undefeated, tied for first. Jamal had 33, 8, and 7 to lead his team to a 76-69 win.

[Wayne23]

February 2 Zak:

62-74 at Tennessee. -7 TOs, -4 RBs. They were deep, 36, 14, 7 for their bench. They wore us out. We play 6 guys. After that it’s amateur night. That makes it tough. There’s really nothing we can do until Antt gets back, and that won’t be until about the 2nd week in March. 21, 2, 6, 2 for King, 16, 8 for Arte, 16 for Shoe. Tigs and Akins didn’t give us much, and our 7th man, Mike Drake has a lot of potential but he isn’t ready. I would have red shirted him if I could have.

Dawn:

I am very frustrated at work. The resources are so limited. There are many, many poor families struggling, and there’s nothing I can do for them. The grinding poverty leads to abuse and neglect. The state’s policy is to not remove children except in emergency situations because there is simply no place to put them.

I need to speak with Zak about this. I see only two choices. First, open an agency knowing we will need to mostly fund it out of our own pockets. The state of Alabama wouldn’t give us much, if anything. Second, relocate as soon as possible. The problems here are overwhelming. A new agency would be a small drop in a very large bucket.

What bothers me most is the complete indifference to human suffering on the part of most of the people in leadership positions, at least the ones I have come in contact with.

February 6 Ezra:

72-56 over South Carolina here. Arte had a great game, 29, 8. My scouting report said they couldn’t stop them, and when they doubled, get it to Tigs. Tigs had 13, 5. We won it inside but our guards did what they needed to do. 9 TOs.

Zak:

We’re in a logjam in 4th place, tied with 4 other teams, 1 back of 2 teams tied for 2nd, 1 ahead of 3 teams. We could finish anywhere from 2nd to 12th. 5 games left.

Dawn and I spoke. I told her we should wait until April. That’s when job offers come in. If she’s that unhappy we can see if we get a good offer. If we do we’ll consider relocating again, although I hate to do that after only one year. If the offers aren’t there we can open an agency. We have money. What’s it for if not helping people.

February 9 Zak:

57-59 at Mississippi. Another tough loss. 21, 16 for Arte, 13, 4, 5 for King. It was a late fade again. Akins got hurt early in the 2nd half and couldn’t go, so we played our starters for too many minutes, and at the end it showed.

Mal Akins hurt a knee but it seems to be minor. Day to day.

6-6 in conf. with 4 to play. The next 2 are here and we need them both.

February 13 Zak:

58-63 to Texas A & M here. -5 TOs, -4 RBs, and that gave them 13 more shots. Again, we faded late. We just don’t have enough bodies. 19, 10 for Arte, 22 for Shoe.

February 16 Earl:

72-48 over Florida here. We needed this kind of a game. My scouting report said we were quicker and that good ball movement would free us up for shots. It did. We shot 50.9%, almost 60% in the first half. 20, 4, 2 for Shoe, 16, 12 for Tigs, 12, 2, 4, 2 for Akins. 9 TOs, 35 RBs.

Zak:

We finish the regular season with 2 on the road. We need to win one of them.

February 20 Zak:

54-59 at #23 Georgia. We were up 4 with 5:23 to go. That’s when Tigs picked up his 5th foul. He had no points but 14 RBs. Arte had 19, 10, and King had 17.

One to play and we need it in order to meet our goal of finishing in the top half of the SEC.

February 23 Ezra:

71-49 at Vanderbilt. My scouting report said we could match them inside and that we needed to win it outside. 20, 1, 7 for Shoe, 10, 3, 5 for King, 11, 8 for Holt. We definitely won it outside, but it was a lot easier than we thought.

Zak:

We finish the regular season at 18-12, 8-8, alone in 7th place, just within the top half of the 14 team conference. RPI is #48. I think we need to win our first tourney game to get to the NCAA tourney, another goal.

We’re told we may be able to play Antt for a few minutes in our first tourney game on March 7.

[Wayne23]

March 7 Zak:

The 7-10 game vs. #10 seed Arkansas, 17-11, 7-9. They won by 3 there.

65-53. 20, 12 for Arte, 16, 4, 4 for King. Good D won this one; they took 14 more shots but our D made sure few of them were open shots.

Billy Bob Sears, WMNT radio:

“We got the coach here after the 65-53 win. Does this git ya into the NCAA tourmanent, Coach?”

“I think it does, Billy Bob. 19 wins, 7th in a power conference, in the quarter finals. We’d like to win one more to make sure. Heck we’d like to win three more.”

“An’ Juke Antt?”

“Well, he played 14 minutes for us. Tomorrow he can probably go more than that.”

“How do ya beat Texas A & M?”

“They’re the #2 seed, 18-9, 10-6. They beat us by 5 at our place with good shooting and a deep bench. Our bench is a little deeper this time. We need to not give them nearly as many open looks.”

“Thanks Coach.”

Zak:

Jamal’s team won the state championship and they went undefeated. He averaged 22.7 PPG, 6.1 RBPG, and 5.8 assists PG. He was named All State.

March 8 Zak:

58-65. The late fade and relatedly, the opponent’s deep bench did it to us again. -8 TOs, -4 RBs, 5-27 in bench points, -19 shots taken. 17, 10, 2 for Arte, 14, 2 for Shoe. Antt played 13 minutes but he wasn’t ready, yesterday either. Hopefully, since it’s a week until our next game, he will be ready by then.

Okay, we’re at 100% again, health wise.

Dawn and Zak:

“I’m doing a job search; just in case.”

“And…”

“There are two states looking for deputy commissioners of child welfare- it has different names in different states. There are two other states looking for commissioners. Oh, I’m talking about states where we might land- Michigan, California, Oregon, Connecticut, Ohio, Massachusetts, Indiana, a couple of others.”

“No guarantees.”

“I know.”

March 12 Zak:

Georgia upset LSU for the SEC title.

19-13, 8-8, RPI #44. I’m confident that we’re in. Here we go!

Not in the East.

#9 in the Midwest. We’ll play #8 Oregon, 20-11. Tough first round matchup. We’d like to win one to get to 20 wins but it won’t be easy.

March 16 Zak:

78-70 over Oregon! We were a step quicker so they needed to foul more often than we did. We won it at the line, 21-27 to 8-17. 22, 7, 3 for King, 14, 10 for Arte, 12 for Shoe, 11, 4 for Holt, 9, 3, 3 for Tigs. We got win #20.

#1 in the country, #2 RPI UConn is next. They’re good, they’re quick, they’re big, they’re deep, and they’re healthy. Never say never but it would take our best game and them playing less than their best.

March 18 Zak:

60-67. We played as well as we can play. 19, 11 for Arte in his last game. 9, 5, 7 for King in his last game. 8, 6, 3 for Holt in his last game. We were up by 4 at the half, up by 6 with 7:22 to go. Otto Arte had himself a great game against the best center in the country, but that center had 30 and 8. -11 TOs but +9 RBs. My kids did just fine.

Now to see if this was my last game here.

March 21 Tuffy Thomas and Zak:

“Word on the street is your wife’s lookin’ for a job… outta state.”

“… That’s what she tells me.”

“You two splittin’ up?”

“Not as far as I know.”

“You signed a 4 year contract.”

“Any rumors about me looking for a job?”

“Haven’t heard any.”

April 4 Zak:

#1 UConn crushed #6 Michigan ST for the title.

Awards: Otto Arte was SEC POY and first team. John King made 2nd team.

April 9 Zak:

No offers even close to what I’m looking for.

“Dawn, there just isn’t any way I can leave this year.”

“… I already gave notice at my job.”

“And so?”

“I just can’t work in such a depressing atmosphere. I need hope, and there isn’t any there.”

“I can see that. What do you have in mind?”

“I guess you’ll have to support me for a while.”

“I can do that.”

“I’m not sure what I want to do. I’m licensed as a child advocate. Maybe if I do that kind of work I can put pressure on the state to do more for kids in difficult environments. But really, I’m not sure.”

“Take your time.”

April 23 Zak:

We ask for a budget increase. We get $13,250.

20-14, 8-8. Overall I’m 258-92, .737. Off- 44, Def- 66, Recruit- 80, Scout- 68, Player Dev- 55, Reputation- 51.

Here for another year.

[Wayne23]

May 1 Zak:

National Gold, International Basic.

May 9 Dawn:

I have my first case as a child advocate. He’s a 10 year old boy being removed from his home due to neglect. He wants to be there. There has never been any allegation of abuse and he insists there has been none. He wants to help his mom. She is intellectually limited. He says she always does her best but she can’t make it without help. He’s old enough to help now. There’s a younger sister, and she’s part of our case. This boy is bright. He loves his family, and he wants them to stay together.

June 5 Tank:

The transfer pool is empty and polluted.

June 26 Tank:

Jus’ a couple ta fill. We need guards. No sense even lookin’ at big guys. We lookin’ at 10 PGs.

August 21 Tank:

We offer ta 2 PGs an’ there both real int’rested.

August 23 Dawn:

The case finally went before a judge today. I had filed back in May, and did win a temporary stay, which allowed the two kids to stay with their mom. Everything has gone very well at their home so I see no reason why we shouldn’t win this case.

The ruling comes down tomorrow.

August 24 Dawn:

The judge ruled against us. I immediately filed three motions:

1. A stay pending appeal. This would allow the kids to stay in the home while we appeal to a higher court.

2. The appeal itself- I had it ready because it’s impossible to predict what a judge will do.

3. A request that the two kids be given to Zak and me if they do enter foster care.

The kids will stay in the home until the judge rules on #1, within 48 hours.

The appeal will, of course, take some time.

August 26 Dawn:

The kids will be with in my home through the appeal process. We’ll find a way to get them to see their mother every day, or as nearly as possible.

We’ve converted the basement into two bedrooms, sort of. It’s just temporary partitions for now. We want to see how long this will last. The appeal won’t be heard quickly, most likely.

September 18 Tank:

We got us our two PGs. An’ they both good students so that won’t be a problem.

Tuffy Thomas, A. D.:

We’re in the preseason NIT again. This time it’s #18 Stanford in the 1st round. We put together a tougher schedule than last year.

Dawn:

The kids are still here. Our kids are making them feel welcome and included. We get them to their mom’s nearly every day. Oh, we’ve bought them both new wardrobes; they really needed clothes.

October 2 Earl:

First day of practice. First impression is we’re strong inside and not strong outside. We’ll see.

We’re picked to finish 7th in conf.

November 6 Zak:

Here’s the lineup: Soph Shoe Floyd is our go to guard. Also playing at guard will be frosh Doc Payne, and junior Mal Akins. Junior juco Cory Madic starts at SF backed by junior Mick Tigs who, at least for now, has slipped down the depth chart. Inside it’s freshmen Rik Tracy and Kit Adams, both of whom have looked very strong. In support is soph Juke Antt, as well as Tigs.

We think we’re deep inside, but we’re not as sure about our guards. We really have only three. After those first three we’re shaky at best.

Dawn:

Hearing on Wednesday.

November 9 Dawn:

Happy ending. The kids won, and I took them back home to their mom- with all of their new clothes and toys. We’ll stay close to them as long as we’re in Alabama.

Zak:

Jamal was named preseason 1st team All State, as a junior.

We have not been able to find an arts magnet school for Jamia. But if we’re here next year, when she enters high school, there is a good arts school.

Jamilia is entering Gr. 5. She has come to love piano and soccer. She especially likes playing keeper on her rec league soccer team.

[Wayne23]

November 14 Zak:

64-55 over #18 Stanford in the first round of the preseason NIT. They were the #5 seed, we’re #12. Good D held them to 32.7% shooting. Cory Madic had 15, 7, 2 at SF, but he had 7 TOs. 13, 8 for Rik Tracy inside and his inside partner, Kit Adams, had 7, 10, 2. As to the guards, Payne had 10, Akins 9, and Floyd 7, 2, 2.

It’s #4 seed, #12 ranked Ohio ST next. They look really strong inside. It will be a good early test for our 2 freshmen.

November 16 Zak:

53-71. Well, they beat us inside, but 24 TOs hurt us more than anything. They got 14 more shots and shot 52.8%. Kit Adams matched his man at PF, but Rik
Tracy was over matched at center. He had 4 and 7 and his opponent had 18, 9, 4, 3, 2. Cory Madic had 20 points but 6 TOs. He has been a liability handling the ball in both games. Tracy had 5 TOs.

This is a very young team. There isn’t a senior on the squad. I think there’s talent here but it will take some time.

November 20 Tank:

Our 2 PGs done signed.

Zak: Tank Louis is proud to call himself a “good ole boy.” He has the drawl, the poor grammar, the sh*t kicker ways, and the cowboy hat. He probably carries a gun although I’ve never seen one. Underneath all of that is a very sharp mind. He knows talent, and he knows how to talk with kids. He is a terrific recruiter. Oh, and he doesn’t have a bigoted bone in his body- of course he wouldn’t be on my staff if he did.

Dawn:

I have several clients. A lot of them need help getting their schools to provide programs to help with their learning disabilities or other concerns. A few have home issues. I’m enjoying the work. I don’t always win, but I do always fight the system when it isn’t doing for kids what the law says it is supposed to do. And when we lose, if there’s any case to be made at all we appeal, even if Zak and I wind up absorbing the costs involved.

November 21 Earl:

70-67 in OT at Nebraska. This was a battle all the way; we thought it would be. The stats were close, -4 RBs, +3 TOs. We tied it at the end of regulation on a backdoor pass to Madic who laid it in. Then in OT we scored the first 8 and then held on. 17, 4, 3 for Madic, but all 5 starters worked hard on both ends.

November 24 Ezra:

66-37 over #22 UMass here. My scouting report said that we had a big advantage inside. We forced it in there all night long and it worked. +10 RBs, 18, 6, 2 for Tracy, 13, 7 for Adams. 24-10 in the paint. Tell the truth I didn’t think we’d win this big but I felt like we should win if we got it inside.

November 27 Ezra:

78-48 over Saint Louis here. My scouting report said to just play our game. It was clear to me, looking at video, that we had a big talent edge. 20, 10, 2 for Adams, 15, 2, 2, 2 for Shoe, 12 for Doc Payne, 3 guys had 7 each. +6 TOs, +6 RBs.

On the road for 2 games.

Dawn:

Jamal was in a fight at school. When I went in the Assistant Principal told me that another boy had been calling him- you know what. Jamal apparently took it for a while, but then he snapped. I guess he beat the other kid up pretty well.

There were witnesses to both the name calling and the fight. The other boy was expelled- remember this is a private school so that can be done. Jamal was given two weeks in house suspension. That way his work can be brought to him right there at school, and if he has questions, the teachers can speak with him during their unassigned time.

I think that was a good way to handle the situation. As unlikely as it is that a high school boy will “tell on” another student, the school must give consequences when that’s not done and violence results. Would Jamal have been expelled if he wasn’t the best player on the team, and if his parents weren’t so high profile? I prefer not to think about that.

I’m told the parents of the other student were pretty nasty when they picked their son up, but they didn’t fight the expulsion. I’m told they said they were glad to get their son out of a school run by n-----r lovers. I wonder where their son learned his behavior!

Jamal is a calm kid by nature. It must have been pretty ugly for him to lash out as he did. He didn’t really want to discuss it but he made it clear that he wants to stay at the school; I agree. He has some wonderful friends- black, Asian, and white, and he really likes and respects his coach. He says the kid who was expelled was the only one who has ever said anything like that to him.

December 1 Zak:

71-53 at Fresno ST. We felt like we had a good edge in talent but road games can be tough. This one wasn’t. 17, 6 for Tracy in the middle, 19, 3, 2 for Shoe, who’s hot right now, 12, 6 for Adams inside. +7 RBs.

It’s nice to have a bench. True, we only have three guards, and that could become a problem, but we don’t lose much, if anything, when #3 guard Mal
Akins comes in. Up front we’re deep. Mick Tigs and Juke Antt get the job done, and we feel comfortable resting our big guys.

[Wayne23]

December 5 Earl:

54-64 at Arizona ST. Tough night, on a few levels. We shot poorly, 36%, and we had 20 TOs. It was that simple. Much as Zak and I stress ball handling, work on it, stop practice to point out a poor play when it happens, do all sorts of drills, at times the kids just don’t seem to make good decisions about passes. 21, 5, 3 for Madic, who is really doing a good job for us. 14 RBs for Adams. We were +9 in RBs.

Our biggest fear realized; an injury to a guard. Mal Akins got a bad ankle sprain; out for about two weeks. He and Payne have been sharing all of the minutes Shoe wasn’t getting. We’ll maximize Payne’s minutes and then put Tigs at the SG spot when we need to sub Shoe and Doc.

Dawn:

Jamal is very upset that he isn’t allowed to practice with his team during the suspension, but those are the rules. Their first game is on 12/12, his first day off suspension. I’m guessing he’ll play, even though he hasn’t been practicing. We’ll see.

December 8 Zak:

57-67 to California here. -8 TOs, poor shooting. 19, 9 for Tracy, 13 for Madic.

December 12 Zak:

Jamal started. Without having practiced with the team for the past two weeks he still managed 19, 6, 6, and they won by 20.

There were some backyard sessions on Saturdays and Sundays here. We have a full size basketball court. The team would come over, no coaches though, that would have been a violation, show Jamal what they had been practicing, and they’d run it for a while and then just play hoops.

December 13

65-56 over Houston here. +10 TOs, decent D, and 15 more free throw attempts. We didn’t shoot well again tonight. 15, 4 for Madic, 12, 9 for Tracy, 14 for Shoe.

December 15 Zak:

86-71 over Bowling Green here. They were tough for a long time. Their center got into serious foul trouble and we pulled away after that. 22, 5, 5 for Shoe, 20, 8, 2, 2 for Tracy, 17, 2, 6 for Payne. Tigs, Madic, and Adams had 9 each. +7 RBs.

We’re winning but I’m not thrilled with what I’m seeing.

Akins will be at about 95% for our next game. We’re going to play him. But Payne has played well. He and Shoe will get most of the minutes. Akins will play about 12 per game.

December 19 Earl:

69-57 over UNLV here. This one was played outside. They took 24 threes, we took 38; they made 9, we made 17. +10 RBs, +3 TOs. We thought we needed to beat them outside so we worked on it in practice and it paid off. 21, 9 for Madic on 7-13 shooting from behind the line. 18, 4, 6 for Payne on 6-13 behind the line. 15, 4, 6 for Shoe and he had 3 threes.

One more before SEC play starts.

December 25 Dawn:

We had a great Christmas. We invited the kids we had here in foster care, and their mother as well, and we had lots of gifts for them. Mom is definitely slow, but it’s a joy to see how well her son takes care of her without ever making her feel like she can’t do it. He’s a wonderful young man.

December 26 Zak:

59-63 at Louisville. 18 TOs (-10). They led pretty much all the way. We were always right there, within striking distance, but we never struck, at least not late, when the game was on the line. 10, 13 for Adams, 6, 10 for Tracy. We were sluggish. No reason for it, we haven’t been playing game after game without rest.

8-4 going to SEC play. RPI #27 so we’ve played a strong schedule. We don’t see any lineup changes. The guys starting are doing enough to keep starting. Kit Adams is #3 nationally, and #1 in the SEC in RBs. Rik Tracy is #2 in the SEC. Tracy is #1 in FG%. As a team we’re +6.9 PPG, +5.0 RBPG, -1.3 TOPG, dead even in assists PG, -2.0 steals PG.

[Wayne23]

January 2, 2032 Ezra:

76-60 over Mississippi here to start SEC play. My scouting report said to go at them. We have more talent. Play our game and make them adjust. It worked. +11 RBs, +5 TOs. We gave them too many open looks but it didn’t matter tonight; we were ahead all the way. Way ahead most of the time. 12, 9 for center Rik Tracy, but all 7 guys who got lots of minutes played well.

January 5 Earl:

68-80 at Missouri. We just lost to a very mediocre team. They didn’t do way better than us at anything but they did a little better at everything. 21 for Floyd, 12, 10 for Tracy.

Akins has done little to nothing since coming back from the injury and we just seem flat.

“Billy Bob Sears here on WMNT Sportstalk. Folks our Tigers ain’t roarin’ these days. Iss true they 9-5, 1-1, but they ain’t lookin’ like big time winners. When they win iss either aginst bad teams, or they don’t look that good winnin’. An’ when they lose- well, it ain’t bad luck beatin’ ‘em. Las’ night was the low point. Missouri ain’t a good team; not even close. But they whipped our boys like a puppy what had a accident on the rug. Less hope that Yankee coach kin fix this mess- right soon!”

Zak:

Someone told me about Billy Bob Sears and his “editorial.” When you win you’re a genius; when you lose you’re an idiot. I’m probably less happy with the way our team is playing than he is.

We’re working on it.

January 9 Zak:

68-62 over Alabama here. We lead most of the way but we couldn’t get the knockout punch; they stayed close. 17, 9 for Tracy. 18 TOs (-8) hurt us.

“Billy Bob Sears here on WMNT with the coach after the game. Coach you got the win.”

“We did. I guess there are no easy SEC games, but we got the win, as you say.”

“Coach, anythin’ you can say about the team that might explain why they look, I don’t know, not quite hittin’ on all cylinders.”

“Now, Billy Bob, this isn’t gymnastics. There are no style points. College hoops is either you win or you lose. We’re 10-5, 2-1, RPI #39 right now. There are maybe 250-300 teams who would be delighted to be where we are.”

“Now thass true, Coach! But here at Auburn we lookin’ ta be right at the top, an’-”

“And that’s where I’m looking to get us. This is my second year here. I have one year’s worth of recruits. I hadn’t expected to get to the Final Four quite this quickly, if that’s okay.”

“Thass fine, fine. I’m jes sayin’-”

“Gotta go, Billy Bob. My kids need me to break down the game for them. We do that after every game; it’s important to teach what went well, what didn’t.”

That man is working really hard to get on my you know what list.

Jamal’s team is 7-0. They’re aiming for back to back undefeated seasons. Jamal leads the state of Alabama in scoring, assists, and A/TO ratio. Not bad!

January 12 Zak:

60-75 at Tennessee. Another road loss to a mediocre team. -8 RBs, -5 TOs, we shot 39.6%, they shot 44.8%. They killed us inside, 44-10 at SF, PF, and C.

On the plane heading home we had a staff meeting. We always do. We decided to go with “Favor Inside” for a while. We need to shake it up somehow. We’re taking way more outside shots than inside and let’s face it, the closer to the basket, the better the chance the shot will go in. It may take a while to have an effect, of course.

January 18 Zak:

64-73 to #20 LSU here. They shot better, especially on threes. Both teams had 5 TOs and 33 RBs, and we went to the foul line more often. We’re just not finishing.

We need to rescue this season. It’s on life support right now.

Next game is at 12-4 Vanderbilt. It’s a little early to call a game “must win” but this one is close.

January 20 Zak:

76-73 at Vanderbilt. Shoe had a night, 27, 3, 6. 20, 11 for Tracy. 14, 1, 6 for Doc Payne. The “Favor Inside” thing doesn’t seem to have had much effect yet, but we’re still working on it in practice.

Mick Tigs stretched a calf muscle. He’s out for about a week. Antt will get his minutes.

Georgia and LSU are undefeated, but 7 teams, including us, are next, at 3-3. Weird.

January 23 Zak:

53-58 at Kentucky. -8 TOs, -6 RBs. Once again we play just well enough to lose. We lost this one at the line. We were 4-9, they were 18-20.

“Billy Bob Sears here with the coach. Tough night for the Tigers, Coach.”

"Well, it was frustrating, yes.”

“Kentucky’s one a the best programs in college basketball but they ain’t that good this year.”

“They aren’t up to their usual standards, no, but they’ve only lost one at home all season.”

“What could you have done differ’nt?”

“Make some shots. 53 isn’t enough points to win. Thanks Billy Bob.”

The staff meets every day. We come up with all sorts of ideas and plans, but I think the bottom line is that we don’t have enough talent.

Jamal’s team lost on a halfcourt shot. It was to the 3rd place team in their league, a team they should have beaten. Everyone has an off night now and then. Jamal had 15, 4, 5, not his usual numbers, but it was a low scoring game.

We’re going to keep giving Antt Tigs’ minutes when Tigs heals. Antt is a glass eater.

January 26 Zak:

70-52 over South Carolina, the worst team in the SEC, here. 19, 7 for Tracy, 17 for Payne, 12, 11, 2, 3 for Adams. +18 TOs. We needed a night like this. Now we need to build on it.

We’re back in a 6 way tie for 3rd place. If we can get it together 3rd place is there for the taking.

Jamal’s team lost again, away, to the #2 team, by 5.

January 30 Earl:

73-68 in OT at Mississippi ST. We needed this win. -8 TOs, +9 RBs. All 5 starters in double figures. We got a lucky break. We were down 3 with 1.2 left with the ball under the opposite basket.

Payne fired a pass to Madic but only at halfcourt. Madic had time to turn, shoot, and hope. Nothing but net! We took advantage and controlled the OT.

This win puts us in a two way tie for 3rd, and 4 of our last 7 are at home. Zak, abd the rest of us have never quit on these guys, and have never stopped trying to come up with new things to try, but it has been a LONG season. We’re 13-8, 5-4, so it’s not like we’re doing terribly, but we had high hopes coming in- maybe too high.

[Wayne23]

February 2 Ezra:

66-53 over Florida here. My scouting report said to go to Rik Tracy whenever possible and when they started to collapse in on him, take the outside shot. Tracy had 21, 12, 2, 2, Doc had 15, and Shoe had 13, 5, 2. We held them to 31.6%.

First time we win 3 in a row in a LONG time.

February 6 Earl:

60-65 at Arkansas. -7 RBs. They took 13 more shots, which has been a common theme. 18, 4 for Madic.

Jamal’s team beat the team they were tied for 1st with by 33 at home to retake 1st place. Jamal had 29, 10, 10. Research is being done but this may be the 1st triple double in state history.

He also had 5 steals and a block, and only 1 TO.

February 9 Zak:

75-59 over Texas A & M here. Shoe kicked! 27, 2, 3. 14, 9 for Tracy, 12, 4, 4 for Madic. +11 TOs.

February 13 Zak:

67-76 to #19 Georgia here. -7 TOs, -3 RBs. Once again the opponent took more shots- 11. Since we had almost exact shooting percentages they won. I think if we broke it down, # of shots might be the telling statistic this season. 22 for Payne, 18, 4, 3 for Madic, 12, 12 for Tracy.

3 to play, 2 on the road.

February 17 Ezra:

68-58 at Mississippi. My scouting report said in and out, in and out, quick passes. Accept the TOs, just quick, quick, quick. -7 TOs, +12 RBs. We managed to take 9 fewer shots be we hit a couple more of them, and we went to the line 25 times to their 11. 22, 4, 2 for Madic, 17, 11, 2 for Tracy, 12, 4, 2 for Shoe, 13 RBs for Adams. We needed this one.

Zak:

2 to play. The next one’s at home with 10-16 Missouri. We can’t slip up. Then we close at ‘Bama. They’re in a tie with us and two others for 3rd place.

February 20 Zak:

44-58 to Missouri here. -6 TOs, -3 RBs, only -4 shots. But we shot 29.8%. No one had more than 9 points, no one had more than 9 RBs, no one had more than 3 assists.

When it started to get away from us in the middle of the second half, the crowd became graveyard quiet. By the end most of them had left.

1 to play.

February 23 Zak:

77-62 at Alabama. +15 RBs, + 7 shots (!). 21, 12, 2 for Adams, 17, 9 for Tracy, 12, 6, 3, 2 for Madic, 10, 5 for Antt.

We finish tied for 3rd, the #4 seed. 17-11, 9-7, RPI #37. Adams and Tracy are 1 and 2 in RBs, Tracy is #1 in FG %. As a team we are +4.1 PPG, +3.4 RBPG, -1.3 TOPG, -0.9 assists PG, -2.0 steals PG.

Jamal’s team won their league tourney and are the #1 seed in the state tournament.

[Wayne23]

March 7 Zak:

We play #5 seed Florida, 17-11, 9-7 in the round of 8. We beat them by 13 here.

March 8 Zak:

67-71 to Florida. + 13 RBs, -13 TOs. -19 shots taken. 20, 13 for Tracy, 15 for Payne. We were in this one all the way. In the last 2 minutes it felt like my guys expected to lose.

March 11 Zak:

Florida came from the #5 seed to win the tournament. At least we got knocked out by the winner.

March 12 Zak:

17-12, 9-7, RPI #42. Looks like a 10 or 11.

Not in the East.

Not in the Midwest.

Not in the South.

#9 in the West, the last team put up on the board. We play #8 Maryland, 19-11.

March 17: Zak:

78-82. The final game of the season was the story of the season. -3 TOs, -3 RBs, -9 shots taken, and a late fade. 14 and 14 for Tracy.

The good news is that everyone is back. The bad news is that everyone- never mind.

March 24: Zak:

Jamal’s team repeated as state champs, winning the title game over the #2 team in their league, by 22. Jamal was MOP. His coach won’t be happy if we move!

April 4 Zak:

#1 Wake Forest beat #5 Memphis 77-54 for the title.

Awards: Rik Tracy made SEC 1st team. I thought Cory Madic deserved at least 2nd team but it didn’t happen.

April 9 Zak:

The only offer from a school with a higher Team Prestige rating was North Carolina ST. What would be the point?

So we’re here for another year. It can’t be as rough as this year was… I hope!

April 23 Zak:

We ask for a budget increase. Nope.

17-13, 9-7, RPI #42. Overall: 275-105, .724. Off- 48, Def- 72, Recruit- 80, Scout- 68, Player Dev- 60, Reputation- 53.

Dawn and Zak:

“Zak, you didn’t have much fun this year.”

“No, I really didn’t. I had a lot more fun watching Jamal’s games.”

“What’s the point-”

“I know. One more year. If we don’t have a good enough season to get me to a powerhouse school maybe it’s time to get out, help you work with troubled kids. I think I’d like that.”

“Don’t give up on the dream quite yet, Zak.”