The Last Man

[Wayne23]

5/1: We buy the usual reports.

#1 preseason.

6/5: No one in the transfer pool.

6/26: 4 scholarships. We want 2 or 3 bigs. Looking at 15 guys.

8/7: 8 Norton candidates: SF Joe Gost is #5, PG Tel Walt #14, PF Jam Dan #18, C Lou Marq #20, C Jim Hodd #22, SG Lan Main #31, PG Jed Owen #36, PF Kurt Shef #44.

8/21: We offer to a PG, an SF, a PF, and a C.

9/18: We get 2, lose 2. We get a PF, #6, and a C, #28. We offer to 2 PGs.

No in season tourney again this season. Challenging schedule.

9/25: We lose both recruits. Time to dig deeper.

10/2: We get a C, #31. We need a guard.

1st day of practice. We’re going for the title, and we have the players to seriously challenge for it.

11/6: 3 games during week one.

Here’s the lineup:

Soph Tel Walt is at PG, and senior Lan Main at SG. Soph Jed Owen backs up. This is how we started last year, but Owen wrestled the starting job from Walt.

Junior Joe Gost is at SF again.

Soph Reed Barr and frosh Jam Dan start inside.

Seniors Jim Hodd and Kurt Shef, and frosh Lou Marq back mup inside.

Let’s do this!

[Wayne23]

11/20: 3-0. Beat #19 there, #10 here. Defense, rebounding, ball handling, and balance are the keys. Joe Gost leads us with 14.0 and 10.3, but everyone is contributing on O, and our D has been stifling.

The 3 recruits sign. Still chasing a PG.

12/4: 7-0, #1, RPI #3. Closest game so far is 11, at #4 Michigan ST. Main, Gost, and Barr are leading us.

We play #2 Louisville here this week.

12/25: 12-0, #1, RPI #1. +16.3 PPG, +10.6 RBs, +5.0 TOs, +4.9 assists, +4.6 steals. #1 in RBs, #6 in PPG allowed. Gost still leads us. He’s having a greats eason.

Beat then #2 Louisville by 14 here.

#2 Cincinnati is the only other Div. I unbeaten team. We play them twice in Conf., here, then there in the regular season finale- could be a big game!

[Wayne23]

October, 2166: After a long and frustrating process repairs on the 80 footer are complete and it is now completely seaworthy. The continuing storms made the repairs very difficult as each new storm seemed to cause additional damage, but somehow we managed to get everything taken care of.

We are now headed north. We need to stop our migration when a storm hits, which slows us down, but we’re already 300 miles further north; 700 or so to go.

It has not made much difference regarding frequency of storms, but they do seem at least a little less intense.

The weather is definitely getting warmer. It tends to be in the low and mid 80s during the day, and in the high 60s to low 70s at night. I’m not sure how much water needs to evaporate before land masses start emerging from the water. So far the tops of the tallest mountains have appeared, but that’s about it.

The kids continue to grow and to learn. They’re getting old enough that there are now lots of things we can do together- hiking, all kinds of games…

Next: We reach our destination, hot weather, things we do together

[Wayne23]

1/15/2064: 17-0, 5-0, #1, RPI #1. Alone in 1st in conf., 2 teams 1 back, 4 others 2 back. We beat then #2 Cincy by 9 here. It will be a lot tougher there.

The environment is degrading rapidly. Ocean levels have buried coastal cities all around the world. There are water wars in India, Pakistan, throughout that part of the world, and in many places in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America. People are dying in the untold millions.

Society is collapsing in many places.

Here in the U. S., things are holding together, for the most part. Coastal cities have been abandoned and re-established further inland in many cases. Much of Florida is underwater. Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland are gone. New York City has had to be abandoned, as has Boston, Washington, D.C., and many, many other places on the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Gulf of Mexico. New Orleans was the first major city to go.

And yet, somehow, at least so far, things are holding together, if barely so. The railroads and highways are getting food to people in most areas. Fresh water is a bigger issue. Climate change and fracking have made potable water a very difficult commodity to come by.

The denial surrounding climate change stayed around for so long that it seriously hampered efforts to counteract it. There’s still some of it, amazingly enough, but measures have been put in place, very likely too little and too late.

On a personal level I have purchased a conversion van. It has a 3D printer and an HC inside, which is all I will need. It is hidden very well. When the time comes, I intend to head for a safe hiding place to ride this out. I’m not telling where that hiding place is, but I can avoid the superhighways to get there.

1/29: 21-0, 9-0, +17.0 PPG, +10.1 RBs, +5.2 TOs, +5.3 assists, +4.1 steals. #1 in RBs, #2 in PPG allowed. 1 game up on Cincy, 3 or more on the rest. Joe Gost remains our best player al around. Main, Walt, and
Barr are also playing very well.

Joe Gost is #8 and Tel Walt #29 on the Norton list.

2/12: 25-0, 13-0, #1, RPI #1. 2 up on Cincy, 4 or more on the rest.

Joe Gost is #10 on the Norton list.

2/26: 27-1, 15-1, #1, #1. +18.0 PPG, +9.1 RBs, +6.0 TOs. We win the conf. by 2 over Cincy, 5 or more over the rest.

We lost at Cincy by 3.

3/5: We lose 3 to the draft: Little used frosh PG Dee Alt, soph starting C Reed Barr, and our best player, junior SF Joe Gost.

[Wayne23]

3/9: #8 seed Fairleigh Dickinson, 15-14, 7-9, won the play in.

3/10: 95-76. Never a game. 20, 4, 4, 5 for Main, 18, 6 for Gost, +9 TOs, +8 RBs. #5 seed Temple, 17-12, 9-7, in the semis. Their starting SF, 2nd leading scorer, is hurt. We won by only 4 there. They have a good outside game.

3/11: 82-60. Never close. 27, 4, 2, 4, 2 for Main, 16, 15 for Barr, 12 assists for Walt, 17, 7 for Gost. +15 RBs, +9 TOs.

As expected, #2 seed, #4 ranked Cincinnati, 28-3, 13-3, for the title. We won by 9 here then lost by 3 there so it should be a challenge.

3/12: 85-70. We took an early lead and never let it go. We led by as many as 20. 30, 5, 4 for tourney MOP Lan Main, 14, 7, 11, 4 for Tel Walt.

30-1, 15-1. We should be #1 overall.

#1 overall. We play North Carolina Central, 16-16.

3/16: 68-50. All three frontcourt starters had double doubles. +21 TOs.

#9 seed Alabama, 18-12, in the 2nd round.

3/18: 95-80. 38 for Gost, 20 for Main, 11 assists for Walt.

#4 seed, #10 ranked Pitt, 25-8, in the Sweet Sixteen. Tough team, especially inside.

3/23: 73-62. 4 starters with 11 or more. +10 RBs, 11 TOs. We’re winning fairly easily, but we’re not playing all that well.

#2 seed, #7 ranked Marquette, 29-4, in the Elite Eight.

3/25: 74-51 and back to the Final Four! 20, 11 for Gost, 17 for Main. +9 TOs, +8 RBs. We played well in the 1st half and very well in the 2nd.

#4 seed, #18 ranked Michigan, 24-10, in the national semifinal. We beat them by 17 at our place in November. That was a long time ago. We’re a 5 ½ point favorite, which is a lot in this type of game. If we play our game we should be fine.

On the other side it’s #3 seed, #17 ranked USC, 28-6, vs. #1 seed, #5 ranked Cincinnati, 32-4.

4/1: 89-55. 52-28 at the half and easily our best game in the Dance so far. 22, 4, 10 for Walt, 21, 9 for Main, 17, 4 for Gost, 11, 10 for Barr. +10 RBs, 9 TOs.

#17 ranked USC edged Cincy 93-91, on a half court luck shot at the buzzer. We beat them by only 1, there, in December. They score outside and don’t rebound that well. We’re a 4 ½ point favorite.

4/3: 87-77 and the title. #8 for me, #1 here at UConn! They led by 10 early. We turned it around quickly and were up 11 at the half. We traded baskets for most of the 2nd, and it never got closer than 5. 25 for Main, 21, 7 for Gost.

4/4: Awards: Joe Gost was Final Four MOP. I got National COY. In conf., Joe Gost and Reed Barr made 1st team, Lan Main made 2nd. None of them are back next year.

4/23: I ask for a contract extension. No.

36-1 and the national title. Overall, I’m 1045-211, .832.

It will be difficult to repeat given who we’re losing, and a good but not great recruiting class, but we’ll give it our best shot.

[Wayne23]

February, 2167: We finally get as far north as we want to go. It is now evident that the weather patterns change, and they also move. From now on when the storms start we’ll simply relocate. Hopefully we can stay in this area for a while.

The weather has been heating up. Daytime temps are now in the mid to high 80s during the day, and low to mid 70s at night.

The kids are into miniature golf these days. The three of us play nearly every day and have lots of laughs. Amy is a terrific putter so she wins more often than Lacy and I do.

We do some exploring together, too. It’s mostly space exploration but sometimes it’s the ocean bottom, the rain forest, or other exotic locales.

There’s a program that takes us to other planets and moons, and we get to explore those. It’s strictly a sci fi program so we’re liable to run into anything.

We also compete at problem solving games, and detective/crime solving games. Amy struggles a little with these, given how young she is, so we give her a robot partner when she feels she needs one.

This has been a really great time for me, and for us. Spending so much time with the kids is wonderful. They are both very independent, and they really like their alone time, but they like the time we spend together, too.

Next: Unexpected trouble

[Wayne23]

5/1: The usual reports.

Preseason #1.

6/5: No one in the transfer pool.

6/26: 3 scholarships. We want at least 2 bigs, maybe all 3.

8/7: 6 on the Norton list: PF John Camm is #2, PG Tel Walt is #7, PF Jam Dan is #12, C Lou Marq is #15, PG Jed Owen is #28, and C Don Wats is #39.

8/21: We offer to a PG and 2 Cs.

9/18: 3 for 3. C, #4, PG, #5, PF, #6.

At the Sunshine Shootout vs. UCF. Challenging schedule.

10/2: 1st day of practice. We have the horses.

11/6: Here’s the lineup:

Juniors Tel Walt and Jed Owen start at guard, backed by juco junior Dan Flor.

Soph Jam Dan is at SF.

Soph Lou Marq and frosh John Camm start inside.

Senior Ben Fisk and soph Don Wats back up inside.

We’re going for back to back titles.

[Wayne23]

11/20: 2-0 start. We beat #10 at home, #20 on the road.

All 3 recruits sign.

12/8: 7-0, #1, RPI #1. We’ve beaten #1 by 13, 2 #10 teams, 2 #20 teams, and #21. Heading for the Sunshine Shootout vs. 2-5 UCF. We’re the #1 seed.

12/9: 71-47. 20, 7 for PF John Camm, 17 for PG Tel Walt, 12, 11 for C Lou Marq, 13, 6 for SF Jam Dan. +12 TOs.

#5 seed Alabama, 4-1, in the semifinal game.

12/10: 71-58. 21 for sub guard Dan Flor, 14, 4, 7 for Walt. +11 TOs.

#2 seed Memphis, 5-3, for the title.

12/11: 72-59. 17, 7, 10 for Walt, 15, 9 for Camm.

12/25: 13-0, #1, RPI #1. +19.6 PPG, +9.5 RBs, +6.5 TOs, +4.8 assists, +3.1 steals. 4 guys averaging between 14.8 and 12.4.

[Wayne23]

August, 2167: Six more months of just living our lives, watching the kids grow and learn, spending time with them, and just enjoying life, and then yesterday the ship just stopped.

We sat dead in the water. I got the robots on it, and eventually they checked everything, but at least so far, no solutions, and no fixes.

Now that absolutely everything has been checked all I can do, and I’ve already started, is to consult the holoexperts. I’ve given them all the info we have, which is not much, and they’ve made a few suggestions, none of which helped.

They cannot leave the HC, of course, and I can’t bring the entire engine in, so all I can do now is bring in parts of the engine, one by one, for their inspection. They can physically inspect, take apart, and manipulate anything I bring inside the HC, so hopefully they’ll find the source of the trouble.

Day 3: I’ve brought in just about all of the engine parts except for those that are too big, or too hard to disassemble, and we’ve gotten nowhere. This is getting really difficult.

The only real concern is if a storm should hit we need the ship to be mobile. There have been no real storms, but as I’ve said, weather patterns change, and there’s little to no notice.

Day 5: With the help of the robots we’ve brought every part of the engine into the HC to be inspected. Nothing.

Day 6: We’ve now rechecked all the solar panels, batteries, and cells, and the fuel lines from them to the engines. Again, nothing.

Day 7: The Holoexperts suggested that for the third time we take the engines completely offline, and do a restart from a previous start point. It didn’t work the first two times we tried it but we have nothing to lose, so we’ll try it first thing in the morning.

Day 8: The engines restarted. They aren’t running very efficiently right now but that should improve over the next day or two, assuming they stay on!

Day 10: Everything is back to normal but I’m concerned, as are the holoexperts, about the fact that we have no idea what the problem may have been.

Next: Continuing engine issues, a trip

[Wayne23]

1/15/2065: 18-0, 5-0, #1, RPI #1. We’re 1 game up on Temple in conf., 2 up on 4 teams.

We beat #3 ranked, undefeated Cincy by 9 there. 53-36 at the half and we hung on in the 2nd. The front court was terrific and Owen had 10 assists. Great bench play. +15 RBs, 9 TOs.

Things keep getting worse and worse regarding the climate. More cities need to be evacuated and moved, worldwide, and more people are dying from lack of food, and more so, potable water. Some cities have been relocated for the 2nd time at this point, and the stress on the delivery system for food and water is near the breaking point in many places.

It’s not quite as bad in most parts of the U. S., but it’s not good anywhere. Lots of people are growing food and raising small animals like chickens, rabbits, and such for food. There is now water purifying equipment that works, and for those who can afford them, HCs and 3D printers solve a lot of problems but both are too expensive for most of the population.

There’s a lot of theft of these items so stores have gone to 24/7 security guards, usually robotic. That drives up the cost of everything, of course. The robots are programmed to try to stop thieves but they cannot do anything that might seriously injure or kill a human. As a result of that people are hiring computer experts to tinker with the robots to disable those
programs, which leads to all sorts of other problems.

I’m not sure how much longer all of this can hold together. College and pro sports, as well as movies, music, and television, have been declared “essential” by the government, probably because they provide a distraction to lots of people. Cable, satellite, and other methods of bringing TV into people’s homes have all been subsidized by the government so that the cost is within reach of nearly all of the people, and further subsidies are available for really poor people. “Bread and circuses.”

Again, my exit strategy is in place, but if I happen to be on the road with the team when it all falls apart, I’m screwed.

I’m considering buying a wide body pick up, putting another HC and 3D printer in it, and hiding it in a different spot from the conversion van. Maybe I’m getting paranoid, but it would be nice to have a couple of options.

1/29: 22-0, 9-0, #1, RPI #1. +21.6 PPG, +11.9 RBs, +6.5 TOs, +5.9 assists, +6.3 steals. #1 in RBs and PPG allowed, and in the top 10 in several other categories. 3 game lead over 3 teams in conf.

Lou Marq is #19, John Camm #20, Tel Walt #30 on the Norton list.

2/12: 26-0, 13-0, #1, RPI #1. 4 game lead in conf. with 3 to play. Lou Marq is #14, and John Camm #16 on the Norton list.

2/26: We end the regular season 29-0, 16-0, +22.5 PPG, +12.4 RBs, +6.9 TOs, +5.7 assists, +3.4 steals (#1 in margin in all categories). 4 up on Temple in conf., 6 or more up on the rest.

3/5: We get lucky, only junior starting guard Tel Walt goes pro. I expected much worse!