Rhoda Cox

[Wayne23]

5/1: 5-2, 4.5-3, 4-5, 3-1

6/23: “Gary Gray, EPSN Sportschat. We’re here with Coach Rhoda Chayne Cox. 6 in a row. John Wooden had 7 in a row. No one else except you has ever gotten more than 2 in a row.”

“We’ve had a great run. The last 4 were largely due to Wes Warp. Wes didn’t do it alone, as he’d be the first to say, but he was a huge factor, and easily the best player I’ve ever coached.”

“And now he’s gone. Who carries the load?”

“Well, it will be more by committee but we feel we have a very good team, and we’re preseason #1 again, for what that’s worth, which isn’t much.”

“How do you win 6 national titles in a row? How do you win a50 games in a row? How do you win 88.6% of your games?”

“I don’t have an answer for any of that. It certainly starts by being at a great university that supports our efforts above and beyond. It continues with a great A. D., and with three terrific assistants. It’s vital to recruit well, year after year, after year. It’s necessary to have kids who buy in to our philosophy, and who are willing to give of themselves, in practice, in games, in academics, in the way they live their lives. We ask a lot; we ask kids to sacrifice a lot, to be selfless, to embrace the team concept.”

“Okay, okay, but it takes a pretty special head coach. Coach Cox, what do you bring to all of this?”

“The good sense to listen- to my A. D., to my assistants, to my players. The good sense not to be so rigid that I miss out on opportunities to improve. A strong work ethic. An understanding that I’m not always right and that I don’t always have the right answer.”

“People don’t talk about you as a ‘woman coach’ any more. That issue seems to be finished for you.”

“Sadly, it’s not finished for other women wanting to coach Div. I men’s teams.”

“How do you answer people who say you’re the only woman who has ever done that successfully?”

“I tell them the sample size is too small. We won’t know how well women can do at coaching Div. I men’s teams until LOTS more of them have done it for LOTS longer. I think when that happens we’ll find that women can do this as well as men can.”

“At this point nobody does it like you, Coach. Continued success.”

6/26: 5 scholarships. We’d like to get 3 guards. Looking at 15.

Wes Warp only went #6 in the draft. Chad Nunn was #12, Reg More was #14, Ad Wall #54.

8/7: PG Dak Pong is #3, SF Luke Mill #5, SF Mo Bank #8, C Oba Tann #16, C Shay Robb #27, PG Ray Coen #35, C Soe Guzy #40, and PG Josh Sim #48 on the Norton list.

8/21: We offer to a PG, 2 SGs, an SF, a PF.

9/18: We got a PG, an SG, and an SF. Lost a big, offered to another one.

Coaches Classic vs. Nebraska. Challenging schedule.

9/25: We get a C. Still looking for a guard.

10/2: 1st day of practice. We have talent again.

10/9: We got the 5th and final recruit, a PG.

11/6: Here’s the lineup:

At guard senior Mo Bank and frosh Dak Pong start, and soph Ray Coen backs up. Josh Sim and 2 others are waiting in the wings.

Junior transfer from North Carolina, Luke Mill is at SF.

Starting inside are junior juco Oba Tann and soph Soe Guzy. Backing up at all 3 inside positions is senior Con Carr.

Recruits: SG #2, SF #9, C #16, PG #19, PG #36. Great haul, and all seem like good enough students to hit our SAT score.

[Wayne23]

11/13: 76-51 over Nebraska in the 1st round of the Coaches Classic. All 5 starters in double figures, but 15 TOs. #8 seed Charlotte next.

11/15: 75-56. 19, 13 for Guzy, 16, 9, 3, 4, 5 for Tann, 19, 4, 6 for Pong. 13 TOs, still too many.

#13 seed Baylor beat #4 FL and #5 Temple. They’re next, in the semis.

11/17: 83-57. 26 for Pong, 15 for Bank. 13 TOs again.

#3 seed Cincinnati for the title.

11/20: 73-48. 35, 5 for Pong. Only 7 TOs (45 RBs).

4-0, #1. All 5 recruits signed.

11/27: 2 tough teams her at home this week. We crushed #6 Kentucky 94-44. 23, 7, 4 for pong, 13, 5, 6, 2, 3 for Bank. 39 RBs, 9 TOs.

We did even worse to #5 Kansas, 95-36. 23, 6, 3 for Pong. 57 and 11.

6-0, #1, RPI#2.

Strange schedule. We opened with the tourney, so 4 on a neutral court. Then 4 at home, then 5 on the road. So 2 at home this week.

12/4: 84-62 over New Mexico. 31 for pong, 14, 10, 6, 2, 2 for Tann. 37 and 7.

Then 93-62 over #5 Creighton. 22, 3, 2 for Pong, 5 in double figures.

8-0, #1, #1. Next 5 are on the road.

1 game week but it could be a tough one. At #4 FL ST.

12/11: 62-72. Horrible shooting, 29.2% from the field, and 13-30 from the line. Win streak ends at 41.

Two on the road vs. unranked teams this week.

12/18: 2-0. 10-1, #1, RPI #1.

57-45 at LSU. 17, 11, 5, 4 for Pong, 18, 5 for Mo Bank. 54 and 10.

82-54 at Maryland. 20, 9, 3 for Pong, 17, 6, 3 for Bank.

We’ve been an outside scoring team, all in all. Our guards are averaging 21.5 (Pong), and 14.4 (Bank).

At #22 Syracuse this week to end pre-conf. play.

12/25: 99-73. 25, 2, 3, 2 for Pong, 17, 11, 3 for Tann, 18, 8, 4, 3 for Guzy.

We end pre-conf. play at 11-1, #1, #1. +26.0 PPG, +14.3 RBs, +4.8 TOs.

[Wayne23]

1/1/’2054: 73-50 at Houston. 23, 7, 2, 0, 6 for Tann.

We finally play one at home, for the 1st time in 23 days and it’s 106-62 over Central FL. 25, 3, 4, 2 for Bank, 50 from the bench.

At our chief rival, #15 Temple, 8-4, 2-0, this week.

1/8: 2-0. 15-1, 4-0, #1, #1, alone in 1st in the conf.

83-72 at Temple. 21 for Pong, 12, 10 for Guzy, 12, 7, 4, 2 for Tann. We took charge only very late in the game. 20 TOs made it tougher than it had to be.

Con Carr strained his calf. Out a week and a half. Shay Robb will get his minutes.

72-41 over Tulsa here. Team effort. Shay Robb had 15 and 8 subbing for the injured Carr.

1/15: 86-49 at SMU. Shay Robb had another really good game, 14 and 8.

88-62 over Memphis here. 27, 6, 3, 1, 4 for Pong, 12, 9, 2, 3 for Robb, who will get about half of Carr’s minutes now that Carr is back.

17-1, 6-0, #1, #1. 1 up on Temple, 3 or more on the rest.

1/22: 19-1, 8-0, #1, #1, still 1 up on Temple, 3 or more on the rest.

78-42 over East Carolina here. 18, 4, 6, 0, 5 for Pong, 14, 9 for Guzy. 42 and 9.

A battle at Tulane, 72-67. We were down 7 at the half, and 11 with 14:42 left. 16, 11, 4, 4, 3 for Tann.

1/29: 2-0, 21-1, 10-0, #1, #1. 1 up on Temple, 4 or more on the rest. +26.1 PPG, +13.6 RBs, +5.8 TOs. Pong is #3, Bank #16, Tann #17, Guzy #22 on the Norton list.

73-55 at South FL. Pong and Coen led the way.

Carr hurt again- hamstring; 3 weeks. Robb will get his minutes again.

90-61 over Cincy here. 18, 9 for Robb, 18, 9 for Guzy, 13, 2, 10 for Bank, 14, 8, 7 for Pong.

[Wayne23]

2/5: 2 more wins. 83-70 at Central FL. 25, 6, 3, 2, 2 for Pong, 15, 8, 3, 2, 3 for Guzy, 12, 7, 4, 2 for Bank.

87-64 over Houston here. 28, 4 for Pong, 18, 6, 3 for Bank

Back up big man Tod Vone sprained a toe and is out 2 weeks. The bench is getting short, very short inside, but Carr will be back soon.

23-1, 12-0, #1, #1, 1 up on Temple, and everyone else is WAY back.

Africa and Asia have been hardest hit by all of the turmoil caused by climate change, water shortage, and the rest of it.

India and China, being the two most populous countries in the world, lost the most population. It’s hard to know, but best estimates are that each now has a population of 250-400 million, down from 2 ½ billion or so.

Africa is a wreck. It is essentially now tribal almost throughout the continent. The major population centers are now deserted.

South America has also suffered great losses in population. Most of the major cities were coastal, and all of those are now gone. Buenos Aires is the largest city in South America. It is ruled by a military dictatorship, as are so many places.

The inland population centers in Europe suffered greatly from the scarcity of potable water but many have survived, in one form or another.

Here in the U. S., the “shining sea” population was devastated, and the inland population suffered from the effects of fracking- earthquakes, destruction of the water supply… Denver is doing better than any other city, and as previously stated, many population centers moved.

Australia and New Zealand are no more.

The British Isles are mostly underwater except for the Scottish Highlands.

2/12: 2-0. 25-1, 14-0, #1, #1, 2 up on Temple.

We beat #5 Temple here, 84-58. 24, 2, 3, 1, 4 for Pong.

Then it was 88-59 at Memphis. 20, 4, 5, 2, 2 for Pong.

Dak Pong is #3, Mo Bank #14, and Oba Tann #19 on the Norton list.

2/19: Two easy wins. 27-1, 16-0, #1, #1. 3 up on Temple, 7 or more on the rest with 2 to play.

The 2nd and 3rd worst teams in conf., both here, to end the regular season.

2/26: We won by 26 and 34.

29-1, 178-0, #1, #1. We won by 3 games over Temple, 7 or more over the rest. +25.5 PPG, +12.5 RBs, +6.3 TOs.

3/5: NBA declaration day. We lose: Dak Pong. No surprise, but we’re surprised we only lost him.

[Wayne23]

3/9: #9 seed SMU, 8-20, 5-13, won in an upset. We play them in the quarter final round.

3/10: 96-47. 31, 11 for sub Shay Robb. 45 and 7.

#4 seed Tulane, 17-11, 11-7, in the semis. We won by only 5 there, 20 at home.

3/11: 81-57. Big games for all 5 starters.

#3 seed Central FL, 14-15, 11-7, upset #10 Temple. We beat them by 45 and 15.

3/12: 71-61. The final was as close as it got in the last 10 minutes. 18, 8, 2, 2 for SF Luke Mill, who has underachieved. 10, 13 for Tann.

32-1, 18-0 going to the selection show.

#1 overall. We start with 15-16 Towson.

3/16: 77-45. Never a contest.

#9 seed Arizona, 20-11 is next.

3/18: 80-58. In both this game and the last one we turned it over too many times.

#4 seed, #11 ranked Temple again in the Sweet Sixteen. 24-8, 15-3. We beat them by 11 there and 26 here.

3/23: 74-70. They made us work for it. The final score was as close as it got in the 2nd half but we never built a good size lead. 20 for Pong, 12, 16 with 5 blocks for Mill, 12, 8, 2 for Bank.

#3 seed, #12 ranked Georgia Tech in the Elite Eight. Good team. Their PF is out with a broken hand.

3/25: 66-57. Good D won this one. They shot 28.6%, and were 2-13 on threes. Our guards did the scoring- 13, 8 for Bank, 11, 4, 3 for Pong, 10 for Coen. +5 RBs.

It’s #4 ranked, #1 seed UCLA, 31-5, in the national semifinal. On the other side it’s #10 ranked, #2 seed Kentucky, 28-8, vs. unranked, #8 seed Auburn, 24-10.

4/1: 80-60. 13, 12, 2, 2, 2 for Mill, who has come alive in the post season. 5 others in double figures. +18 RBs (47), 7 TOs.

It’s #10 ranked, #2 seed Kentucky, 29-8 for the title. We beat them by 50 early in the season.

4/3: 66-56 and our 7th national title in a row. Excellent 2nd half D won it for us. 15, 10, 3, 2, 2 for Tann15, 4, 3, 2, 4 for Pong.

4/4: Awards: Luke Mill was Final Four MOP. Dak Pong was 1st team All American. I was national COY. In conf., Oba Tann was Defensive POY, and 1st team with Dak Pong and Mo Bank. Soe Guzy was 2nd team. I was conf. COY.

4/23: 38-1 and our 9th title overall, 7 in a row. 614-75, .891 for 19 years.

Daisy says it’s time to go to our place in the Scottish Highlands. She says everything is falling apart and we should leave while we can.

I just can’t do it. While I know I’ll never get to 1000 wins, which I would have loved to do, I need that 10th title, and frankly, #11 as well. I want to leave as the best, and with no doubt about it.

Daisy says that could cost us our lives. I tell her to take the family and go if she feels that strongly. I’ll keep a plane and a pilot on standby at all times.

She will stay here.

[Wayne23]

5/1: 5-4, 4.5-3, 4-3, 3.5-2.

#1 preseason again.

6/5: No transfers of interest.

Dak Pong goes #6 in the draft, Mo Bank #32, Con Carr #39, John Ellis #44.

6/26: 5 scholarships. Looking at 15.

8/7: Norton list: #1 SG Jay Jong, #4 PF Eric Garn, #7 SF Luke Mill, #13 PG Lew Sill, #14 C Shay Robb, #16 C Oba Tann, #26 PG Josh Sim, #32 PG Ray Coen, #48 C Soe Guzy.

8/21: We offer to 1 of each, a PG, an SG, an SF, a PF, and a C.

9/18: Got 2, lost 1. Got SG Jim Mane, #5, and PF Jed Hart, #12.

Going to the NIT. Memphis is 1st. Tough schedule.

9/25: Got PG Lyn Makk, #27.

10/2: Got C/PF Mak Cay, #17. 1 to go.

1st day of practice.

11/6: 8 man rotation that will definitely change.

At guard frosh Jay Jong will get all the minutes he can handle at SG. Splitting the other guard minutes will be junior Ray Coen and frosh Lew Sill.

Frosh Eric Garn will start at SF, backed by senior Luke Mill.

Starting inside are senior Oba Tann and soph Shay Robb. Senior Tod Vine will back up, and junior Soe Guzy is in the wings.

[Wayne23]

#1 seed in the NIT.

11/20: 4-0. We won the NIT, winning by 17, 11, 32, and 17. The last 3 were against ranked teams, #23, #8, then #6. PF/C Eric Garn is averaging 25.0 PPG, and guard Jay Jong 24.5.

12/4: 8-0, #1, RPI #1. We beat #23, #17, #7 at home, by 18, 13, 19, then #17 on the road by 19.

Guard Lew Sill was hurt, missed our last game and may miss our next.

12/25: 12-0, #1, #1 to end pre-conf. play. +16.3 PPG, +10.1 RBs, +3.3 TOs.

3 road wins, by 7 over Syracuse, 10 over Louisville, 13 over #9 Texas. We won by 18 over LSU at home.

Jong and Garn continue to lead the way in scoring. Oba Tann is getting 8.3 RBs per game.

Canada is widely considered to be the best and safest place on the planet. The coasts were hit, but except for Vancouver no major population centers were affected. Canada was among the earliest countries to ban fracking, and there was never much of it there to begin with. Their environmental laws were also in place early. So fresh water is not a huge issue. Climate change has made the climate much better, as well. Much of the habitable portion of the country enjoys temps mostly ranging from the 20s to the 60’s, depending upon time of year. The issue with all of this is controlling the population. People want to move there. Canada tries hard to limit immigration. So far this process has been mostly peaceful but “problems” are beginning.

Siberia and other parts of Asian Russia have similarly benefited from climate change.

[Wayne23]

1/15/2055: 18-0, 6-0. #1, #1. 1 ½ game lead over 3 teams. Our chief rival in conf. is Temple. We beat them there by 17. The next closest game was 25. We scored 110 here vs. Memphis.

1/29: 23-0, 11-0, #1, #1. 2 up on Temple, 4 or more on the rest. +21.3 PPG, +10.8 RBs, +6.0 TOs.

Jay Jong is #2, Eric Garn #7, and Oba Tann #16 on the Norton list.

2/12: 26-0, 14-0, #1, #1. 3 up on Temple, 5 or more on the rest.

2/26: End of the regular season. 30-0, 18-0, #1, #1. 4 up on Temple, 8 or more on the rest. +22.7 PPG, +10.7 RBs, +6.5 TOs.

3/5: We lose SG Jay Jong, PF Eric Garn, and little used big man Marc Burr. Ouch!

3/9: #9 seed East Carolina, 13-15, 6-12 in the quarters.

3/10: 76-57.21, 10, 3, 2 for Garn.

#5 seed Memphis, 15-13, 9-9, in the semis.

3/11: 86-59. 22, 8, 6 for Coen, 16, 12, 2, 1, 7 for Tann.

#2 seed Temple, 18-11, 14-4, for the title. We beat them by 17 and 32. Their 6th man is out with a broken arm.

3/12: 70-48. 25, 8 for Garn.

#1 overall seed. 12-19 Brown is first.

3/16: 90-52. 26, 11 for Garn, 18, 5, 4 for Jong. 44 and 11.

#9 seed Oklahoma, 19-12 in the 2nd round.

3/18: 72-52. 26, 7 for Garn.

Rioting due to shortages of potable water in much of California. There’s a lot violence. Police fire on crowds in several locations.

#12 seed NC ST, 19-11, beat #5, then #4. We play them in the Sweet Sixteen.

3/23: 101-58. 28, 4 for Garn, 21, 11, 3 for Tann. 48 and 6.

#2 seed, #6 ranked Iowa ST, 29-7, in the Elite Eight. We beat them by 17 in the preseason NIT title game.

3/25: 76-46. 27, 9 for Garn. 44 and 6.

A huge earthquake struck near Kansas City, 7.9. Earthquakes in areas like this were unheard of until fracking became so prevalent.

Rioting due to food and water shortages throughout the South. Chaos and disorder everywhere.

Daisy and the family, along with our most trusted family employees have flown to Scotland. It’s time to get out. I will join them at our place in the Highlands as soon as the season ends. If I can get there. Everything is breaking down.

We’ll play #1 seed, #3 ranked, #2 RPI Auburn, 32-5, in the national semifinal. On the other side it’s #2 ranked Kansas, 32-3, vs. #5 Creighton, 30-5.

Denver, where the Final Four is being held, is quiet, at least so far.

4/1: 90-58. 18-11 for Tann, 22, 5, 4 for Jong, 14, 4, 6, 4 for Coen, 11, 5 for Garn. 42-8.

#2 ranked, #9 RPI Kansas, 33-3, beat Creighton 82-78. We’ll play them for the title. Their starting PG has a sore wrist; he’s at about 80%.

Word has leaked that the title game will be the last NCAA basketball game. Things are breaking down rapidly, all over the country and the world. I have arranged for a flight to Toronto, and one from Toronto to the Bahamas, where I will join family friends who have an 85 meter yacht. It means 12 more people joining us in the Highlands but there’s plenty of room, lots of good growing land, very well protected, and lots of animals our people there are raising for food.

Our community, all on our 2900 acre property, consists of 98 people, all committed to working together as equals to survive.

It is difficult to concentrate on the game. I have made arrangements to get my players back to their homes and families, but there’s not much else I can do for them.

Violence is everywhere. It hasn’t hit Denver yet, but it no doubt will soon.

4/3: 90-84 in OT. We never led by more than 6, they never led by more than 8. We were up 5 with 14 seconds left in regulation. They hit a three, stole the ball, and hit a two as time ran out.

In the OT three of their starters fouled out in the first two minutes. We had 4 guys with 4 fouls each but they stayed in, and that was the difference.

22, 5, 10, 4 for Jong, 20, 14, 2 for Garn, 18, 5 for Coen. 51 RBs (+9), 10 TOs (+9).

My flight to Toronto fell through. I’m working on arranging a way to get to the Bahamas. The family there is waiting for me because they can’t get to the Highlands property without me. That won’t be easy in any case.

4/4: Awards: Eric Garn is Final Four MOP. Jay Jong is 1st team All American, Garn is 2nd team. I am national COY for the 12th time. In conf., Jong is POY, frosh OY, 1st team, along with Garn and Oba Tann, who is also defensive POY in conf. I am conf. COY for the 12th time.

8 titles in a row, 10 overall. 69 game win streak. 653-75, .900. in 20 seasons. Andf I also had 4 women’s national titles, of course.

4/7: I manage to hitch a ride on a Lear jet. The pilot, his wife, and daughter, will go to the Highlands with us.

4/8: We get out of port in the Bahamas, but barely.

4/16: Lots of trouble on the water. People in boats of all sizes and descriptions trying to hijack us, get at our supplies…

It is relatively peaceful in Scotland. We’re told there was a border war with England, with many casualties. The war is over. Our relatively large party takes a complicated route from the ship to our Highland property, but we finally get there.

Two of our number were killed and 7 wounded along the way but we’re here.

I took a bullet in the left shoulder. It’s not serious but infection is a far greater danger now than it would have been before all of this happened.

We have guards patrolling the property 24/7/365, but the population of the British Isles is very small now, and most of the survivors have their own properties. There are occasional invaders from Europe but the parties are small and not well organized.

We are in a fight for survival, and probably will be for the rest of our lives, but we’re well situated.

Daisy and I started planning for this 20 years ago, when I got the head coach job at UConn. We saw it coming. I am amazed at how few did, and at how few of those who did, actually planned for it.

10/28: Incursions, raids, that sort of thing are very rare. The world is very quiet. We haven’t seen any air traffic at all in a few months, and things are generally very peaceful. We all work hard. Farming-
raising crops, tending to animals, is hard work. We need to grow and raise our food, or face starvation.

There are 111 people living on our property, ranging in age from 2 ½ months to 77 years old. Everyone from 5 years old on up does what they can. We really don’t have any slackers. The wealthier members of our community had a huge adjustment to make, but it has been made.

It’s difficult to know what lies ahead. Among the last news reports were predictions that super volcanoes were extremely likely to occur, due to the environmental damage. That could wipe us out of course, but so could earthquakes and tidal waves/tsunamis, further changes in climate, and all sorts of other things.

There's basketball here- two indoor courts and two outdoor courts. No one needs exercise, as we all work hard enough to stay in shape, but lots of adults and kids like to play, so I coach. The intensity level is lower

We’ll do everything we can to survive. There’s no way to know how many people are left on the planet, and there may not be any way to know for decades, or even centuries. We’ll see what happens.

If you're reading this I hope you're okay. I'll keep a diary but the web seems to be dying so I don't know if anyone will be able to