Rhoda Cox

[Wayne23]

A word about our walk ons and their OVR rating: 4- 1, 3.5- 3, 3- 3, 2- 2. More talent than they should have as walk ons, probably.

We start with LaSalle, here.

11/14: 51-33 at the half. Wow! Didn’t expect that. We shot 65.4%, they shot 37.5%. Sub SF Joel Lope had 12, each starting guard, Wats and Gunn, had 9.

80-66, but it wasn’t that close. +11 RBs, but 21 TOs (-7). Lope had 22 and 6, and guard Jeff Wats had 15, 3, 5.

Sub PG Jud Main sprained an ankle.

I really cannot describe what a thrill it was to walk onto the court at Gampel Pavilion as the new head coach of the UConn men’s basketball team. It was one of the great moments of my life.

Idaho, 0-1, is here next.

11/17: 30-17 at the break. 4 TOs (+10), 5 fewer fouls. Balanced scoring.

59-42. Terrific D! 10 fewer fouls, 16 fewer TOs (5). 15, 7 for Holt inside, and 16, 2, 4 for Wats outside. Good bench play.

11/18: “Gary Gray, EPSN Sportschat, here with UConn men’s hoops new head coach Rhoda Chayne Cox. Rhoda, they’re calling your guys the walk on wonders.”

“Well, it’s early.”

“13 walk ons, no scholarship athletes and two easy wins to start the season.”

“I’ll take it, but two home games against teams that are not world beaters.”

“You’ve got a PG in Jeff Wats who’s scoring 15.5 a game and getting 4.5 assists with a 1.5 A/TO, an SF playing limited minutes getting 14.5, and you’re bigs are rebounding.”

“Again, it’s early, but we like what we see.”

“And recruiting is going well.”

“Still four spots to fill but we have 7 top 50 guys in the fold.”

“That’s amazing.”

“We sold them on the future. Come with us and be there as we climb back up to the top. UConn’s been down for a little while but we’re coming back. I sold my record as a winner, told them I would win here and they could be part of it. SO far 7 have bought it, and we’re hoping a few more will, but with 2 transfers also coming in we expect to be competitive next year.”

“Keep doing what you’re doing this year, Coach Cox. Continued success.”

11/20: All 7 recruits signed. Now to get the other 4.

0-2 Rhode Island is here next.

11/21: 43-33 at the half. 56.5% to their 44.4%. Joel Lope had an amazing 27 for the half! 6 threes. (Accidentally unchecked auto sub and my starters played all 20 min. Fortunately no one got into foul trouble. Oops. I just run the first half, never stop.)

84-69. 29, 6 for Lope who cooled down. 16, 3, 2 for Wats, 13, 6, 4, 2 for Holt, 10, 2, 7, 3, 3 for Gunn, 8, 8 for Rich.

0-3 Fordham is here next.

Attendance has risen with each win. We think we may sell out this one. UConn hasn’t had a sellout in three years, due to the nosedive. Look, we’re not back, and that will come crashing home once we go into conf. play, but we’re on the way back.

11/24: 51-28 at the half. 3 TOs (+9). 63.3% to their 38.1%. 19 for Joel Lope, who is becoming a first half machine. 9, 2, 2 for Rich.

80-56. +13 TOs. Lope had 38, 10 threes. H*ll of a walk on! Good bench play.

11/27: Ranked! #23. First time for UConn in 4 years.

1-3 Alabama A & M is here next.

11/28: 45-33 at the break. 7 more fouls, 4 more RBs. We shot 65.5%, they shot 40.9%. 10 each for Wats and Huks, 8 each for Holt and Parr, so good bench play.

77-61, and the beat goes on! +11 RBs, and we shot way better than they did. 17, 3, 2 for Lope, 15, 5, 7 for Wats, 14, 7, 5 for Holt.

We finally hit the road for a two game trip. First is Navy, 0-3.

12/1: 40-36 at the break. +9 TOs (3). We shot 41.4%, they shot 52.6%, but we took 10 more shots due to the TOs. Balanced scoring and not much foul trouble.

73-62. Fouls were a ridiculous 17 on us and 35 on them. It was hugely in our favor, and they definitely fouled often, but that’s not right. Their coach got tossed; I would have, too. +17 TOs, -7 RBs. All 5 starters in doubles and Card had 8.

Off to #20 Kona, 5-1 next; like us, they haven’t played anyone.

12/4: 6-0, #19, which is ridiculously high. We’ve played no one with a winning record, and no one who has played anyone decent.

12/5: 32-31 at the half. Stats all as close as you’d expect.

63-60. Back and forth all the way. Then after the last media time out we went on a 9-0 run to grab a 10 point lead. They battled back but missed a 3 at the buzzer. 13, 9, 2 for Holt. 7 guys had between 6 and 13.

Back home for the last two in the pre-conf. season. We’re doing ridiculously well but again, we haven’t played anyone. Our conf. isn’t that strong but I’d be delighted and surprised with 9-9.

12/11: 7-0, #19, but our RPI is #99, and that’s probably high.

6-1 Loyola Marymount may be the best team we’ve faced. Sellout crowd here.

12/12: 35-22 at the half. My guys continue to amaze me. It was D in the 1st half. We held them to 27.3% while shooting 52%. 11 for Holt, 8 for Wats.

They were on fire for the first 5-6 minutes, even took the lead. I called a TO, made a couple of changes and we came roaring back. 74-59 at the end. 6 fewer fouls, 7 fewer TOs. We shot better but not in the 2nd. 21, 4, 1, 3 for Holt, 19, 3, 3 for Wats, 15, 3, 2, 2 for Lope.

12/18: 8-0, #19, RPI up to #37, which is WAY too high.

We end the pre-conf. season with 6-2 VCU here. Their RPI is #50 so they may challenge us.

12/19: 33-22. Great D again. +6 TOs. 14 for Wats, 8, 3 for Lope.

67-58 and an undefeated pre-conf. season. +8 TOs led to 15 more shots of which we made 6 more. 24 for Wats, 13 for Lope, 21, 9, 5 for the bench.

12/25: 9-0, #17, RPI #18. +13.8 PPG, +1.3 RBs, +6.0 TOs.

Not sure how we’ve done all of this but we have. Let’s see what the conference brings.

(Author’s Note: Again, I am playing with all walk ons due to some weird things happening. I am in season 7 of the dynasty, season 1 with UConn. I have a walk on OVR 4, Def 5. Another 3.5, Def 3, 2 others at 3.5, 3 more at 3.0. We went 9-0 against a pre-conf. schedule of mostly 2 star teams. Something seems very wrong here.)

[Wayne23]

12/26: We start conf. play at 3-6 Houston.

Ray Ratso, NBZ Sports: “We’re here with Rhoda Chayne Cox, of the undefeated UConn Men’s basketball team. 9-0, Rhoda. How is that even possible with an all walk on squad?”

“Part of it was due to a weak schedule with lots of home games, but make no mistake, some of these guys can play, and all of them have been willing to work very hard, and to try to learn our system.”

“What lies ahead?”

“I think it will be more difficult in the conference. The teams are stronger, half the games are on the road. But we’ll continue to play hard. I guarantee that.”

“All the best.”

12/30: 28-43. Not a big surprise. 13 for Wats but he got little help.

63-78. +14 RBs, but 25 TOs and 7 more fouls. 19, 6, 5, 2 for Wats, 14, 3, 5 for Lope, 13, 8 for Rich.

Home with 4-7, 1-1 South Florida on New Year’s Day. This is the kind of game we need to win if we are to do anything at all in conference.

1/1/’42: 38-28. 5 fewer fouls, 6 more RBs, 4 fewer TOs. We shot 48.1%, they shot 33.3%. 12, 6 for Holt.

72-48. Terrific defensive performance. +10 TOs, +9 RBs, 10 fewer fouls. 17, 7, 2, 2 for Lope, 13 each for Lope and Parr, 11, 7, 5 for Wats.

At 5-6, 0-2 Memphis next. Great program having an off year. They’ll be tough.

1/6: 44-48 at the break. 8 fewer fouls got us to the line and that kept it close. 13 for Rich, 10 for Wats.

77-80. We had two chances to tie in the last 30 seconds and missed both 3 pointers. 15 fewer fouls. 12 more RBs, only 3 more TOs. Free throws kept it close. 18, 6 for Wats, 20, 8, 2 for Rich, 15, 12 for Holt, 13, 5, 2 for Lope. Only 7 from the bench. Still, competitive on the road.

#22 Temple, 11-3, 3-1, at home.

1/8: 10-2, 1-2, #23, RPI #55.

34-28 at the break. +5 RBs, 4 fewer fouls, 3 fewer TOs. Balanced scoring. We’re winning it at the line.

75-63. Jumped out string to start the 2nd, and kept it going; got it as high as 18. 11 fewer fouls, 9 more RBs, 6 fewer TOs. 16, 11 for Lope, 17 for Rich, 15, 5 for Holt, 10, 6 for Card. We beat a ranked team!

At 12-2, 3-2 Central FL next.

1/13: 31-33 at the half. 4 fewer fouls and again we had an edge at the line which kept us in the game. 12, 3, 2, 3 for Wats, 11, 3 for Gunn. Only 4 people scored and we got 6 inside. Not good.

64-60. Great play late in the game. 7 fewer fouls and we had 12 more free throw attempts and made 22 from the line to their 5. That did it. 17, 4, 3, 4, 2 for Wats, 15, 4, 2 for Gunn, 11, 10, 2, 2 for Lope.

1/15: 12-2, 3-2, #19, RPI #18. 3rd place, 1 back of 1st.

Holt has a sore hip. He’ll play reduced minutes.

6-9, 2-4 SMU here today.
37-43 at the half. 5 fewer fouls but we let them shoot 59.1% and 8 threes.

Good start in the 2nd. 83-70. 10 fewer fouls and 10 more made free throws. 10 more RBs, 5 fewer TOs. 16, 7 for lope, 15, 7 for Rich, 11, 7 for Gunn.

At 7-8, 3-3 Tulsa next.

1/16: “Gary Gray on EPSN Sportschat. Are the UConn Huskies for real? The all walk on team continues to amaze the college hoop world. They’re currently 13-2, 4-2, #19, RPI #18, sitting tied for 2nd , ½ back of the conference leaders.

Everyone has been waiting for the collapse but it hasn’t come next. Rhoda Chayne Cox is a terrific coach, and this year may be her finest effort yet. Let’s see how it goes from here on.”

1/17: 40-43 at the half. -7 RBs. 16 for Lope. Tight game. We’ve been a 2nd half team. Let’s see.

66-71. Not tonight. We couldn’t make shots, especially late. 16, 9, 3 for Lope, 14, 4, 4 for Holt.

#15 Tulane, 15-3, 5-1, here next.

1/20: 38-35 at the break. +5 RBs. Stats even the rest of the way. Good bench play, but they did too.

77-69. We pulled away late. Led by as many as 14. +8 RBs. 20 TOs but they had 21. 17, 8 for Holt, 18, 4, 5 for Wats, 14, 3 for Lope.

1/21: “Gary Gray, EPSN Sportschat. Rhoda Chayne Cox is with us very briefly. Rhoda, it keeps on keeping on.”

“We’re just playing our game, working as hard as we can.”

“With all walk ons.”

“Honestly, we don’t even think about that any more. We are who we are.”

“Thanks Rhoda.”

1/22: 14-3, 5-3, #17, RPI #18. In a 4 way tie for 2nd, ½ back of 1st, ½ up on 6th.

At 10-7, 5-3 Cincinnati tonight.

38-52. Steamrolled. Mostly outside. We’ll ramp up the D but we’re in over our heads.

73-93. 20 TOs (-11), +6 RBs. 20, 6 for Lope, 17 each for Holt and Wats. We worked hard but it wasn’t there. Move on.

6-12, 2-7 East Carolina is here.

1/24: 39-27 at halftime. +5 RBs, +3 TOs. D. J. Card had 8, 6, 2 from the bench. 8, 4, 2, 2 for Holt.

77-50. +20 RBs. 18, 11, 5, 2 for Holt, 16, 5, 2, 2 for Watts. 10, 9, 3, 2 for Card.

We are strongly considering awarding a scholarship to junior guard Jeff Wats.

At #23 Temple, 13-5, 5-3 next.

1/27: 31-41 at halftime. 7 fewer fouls, 4 more RBs, but we shot 32% to their 45.2%. We need better D.

51-74. The D was a bit better in the 2nd but we couldn’t score; shot 29.4% for the game. 13, 12 for Rich.

I can see us going 5-2 from here on, which would give us a chance to move up to 4th, or even 3rd. The schedule is favorable.

1/29: 15-5, 6-5, #18, RPI #31.

We put Jeff Wats on scholarship. He’s earned it. It will be effective for next year so technically we are still without any scholarship players this season.

[Wayne23]

6-13, 3-7 Houston is here. We lost by 15 there.

1/31: 28-26 at the half. +6 Rbs, -4 TOs, shooting better than they are. 17 for Wats. We need to score, and keep playing good D.

69-69- OT.

85-76. We took control in the Ot, scoring the first 9. +9 RBs, -7 TOs. We shot 49.1%, they shot 36.9%. Lope had 35, 4, 2, most after the 1st half. Wats had 31, 2, 3. 7, 11 for Rich.

At 9-13, 6-7 South FL. This is a road win we could really use.

2/3: 23-31 at the half. We were awful. I haven’t lit into these guys often this year but I did just now. Ramping up the D and we’d better move on O.

Finally took our first lead with 5 ½ to go. 69-61. Great comeback! 46 point 2nd half. 9 fewer fouls, 5 fewer TOs, 5 more RBs. 18, 5 for Wats, 16, 4, 3 for Lope, 11, 10, 2, 4 for Rich, 12, 7 for Holt, 8, 5, 5, 3 for Gunn. Great

2nd half effort to save a game we really wanted.

17-5, 8-5, #18, RPI #19. In a virtual tie for 3rd in a very bunched race. 1 back of 2nd, ½ up on 6th.

14-8, 9-4 Memphis is here; they’re in 2nd. They won by only 3 there.

2/7: 52-45. It was a half of runs. 4 fewer fouls, 9 more RBs. 22, 5 for Lope, 11 for Holt. We need more from our guards.

90-85. 11 fewer fouls. 19 more RBs, 4 more TOs. +15 free throws made and that was the difference. I have worked hard on getting my guys not to foul on baskets they can’t stop, and it has paid off all year long. 29, 8 for
Lope, 21, 6 for Holt, 10, 5, 8, 4, 2 for Gunn.

We’re in a three way virtual tie for 2nd (pct. Points separate us).

Central FL, 18-5, 9-5, here next. We won by 4 there.

2/12: 44-24 at the break. Never close. +8 fouls, + 5 RBs, +4 TOs. We shot 60%, they shot 40.9%. 11 each for Lope and Holt.

79-53, and it wasn’t that close. +11 fouls, +17 RBs, +5 TOs. 19, 5, 4, 3 for lope, 17, 9 for Holt. 11 players scored.

Alone in 3rd, 1 back of 1st, but only 1 ahead of 5th.

At 8-17, 4-12 SMU next. We won by 13 at our place.

2/17: 44-32. +5 TOs, +4 RBs. Balanced scoring and good ball movement.

70-60 but we scored the last 8 of the game. HUGE win! +9 RBs. 24, 6, 4 for Wats, 12 each for Holt and Rich.

2/19: 20-5, 11-5, #18, RPI #18. Alone in 3rd, 1 back, and 1 up, with 2 to play. I expect us to split.

11-14, 7-9 Tulsa is here next. We lost by 5 there.

2/21: 37-39 at the half. 4 more fouls, 4 more RBs, 2 more TOs. Not our best effort so far. We need this game.

84-65. Back and forth until a 17-5 run midway through the 2nd. +8 RBs. We shot close to 60% in the 2nd. 21, 10, 4 for Rich, 20, 4, 5 for Wats, 18, 13, 4 for Holt. 9 for Huks from the bench.

In a 2 way tie for 2nd, one back of Tulane who we play there. They are #11, 23-6, 13-4. We beat them by 8 at our place but this is a HUGE challenge.

2/24: 34-38 at the half. Stats are close all around. This one is up for grabs. Hopefully that second half team we often are will show up.

53-75. 2-14 to start the half and that was that. We just couldn’t make a shot.

But Temple lost. That put us in a 3 way tie for 2nd, with the #2 seed.

[Wayne23]

3/5: 21-6, 12-6, #18, RPI #14. Tied for 2nd, #2 seed in the conf. tourney. +7.5 PPG, +5.9 RBs, +1.4 TOs.

3/9: #10 seed SMU, 9-19, 4-14, upset #7 So FL so we play them. Beat them by 13 and 10.

3/10: 42-32 at halftime. +11 RBs. They’re SG is hurting us- 15. Lope, Wats, and Holt are all scoring.

88-74. We quickly got it to 20, and it stayed that way until near the end. +18 RBs, and that was the difference. We killed them inside. 27, 11, 3 for Rich, 27, 11 for Holt. 15, 6, 5, 2 for Wats.

#6 seed Cincinnati, 17-12, 10-8, upset #3 Memphis, and that’s a big break for us. We do NOT match up well with Memphis. We lost to Cincy by 20 but ut was a horrible night. We feel we are the better team, and their starting SF and PF are both out for the season with injuries.

3/11: 25-23 at the half. 4 more fouls but they aren’t calling many. 5 more RBs, 3 more TOs. Whichever team heats up will probably win this one.

78-60. We got the lead to 11 fairly quickly. Then 13. Then we stretched it some more, to as many as 23. +20 RBs but -8 TOs. 25, 9, 3 for Wats. 12 each for Gunn and Lope. 10, 4, 2, 2 for Carr from the bench.

And we’re in the title game against #4 seed Temple, #18, 22-8, 12-6. They upset #1 seed Tulane. We beat them by 12 then lost there by 23. We will need to be at the top of our game.

3/12: We fell way behind early and it was 27-44 at the half. We decided to pull out all the stops and go with 10 on D and press.

70-77.13 more RBs, 11 fewer fouls, but 14 more TO, which gave them 19 more shots, and that was too much. 25, 6, 2 for Lope, 22, 5, 4 for Wats.

Interestingly enough if we were somehow to get to the Sweet Sixteen we would meet all of our goals for this year.

Going to the selection show we are 23-7, 12-6, #16, RPI #14, and we got to the title game of our conf. tourney. A four seed seems possible.

#5 in the toughest bracket, the East. We play #12 UMass, 23-10.

3/16: 36-33 at the break. +6 RBs, -6 TOs. We have GOT to take care of the ball. Fouls are even.

Finally got it to double figures with 7 ½ to go and that’s where it stayed, 87-77. +12 RBs but awful with the ball, 21 TOs (-8). 24, 7, 4, 4 for Holt, 22, 2, 4 for Lope, 10, 4, 7 for Wats, 8, 8 for Rich, 10 for Carr.

And of all people, it’s Tulane in the second round. We split with them in the regular season. They are #14 ranked, #4 seed, 26-7. Both teams are healthy.

3/18: 37-34. It’s a ball game! 10 lead changes, 4 ties. 6 fewer fouls. We shot 58.3%, they shot 42.3%. Their Sf lit us up for 16. Our SF, Joel Lope, had 19. Let’s DO this!

They quickly got it to 15. I tried everything but to no avail. 62-80. HELL of a season though. 25 for Lope, our best player all year long; he graduates in May.

4/4: I went to the Final Four. I’m not looking for a job. I have my dream job, hopefully my last job.

#5, 9, 10, 15 ranked teams in the final Four. In the title game #9 Stanford beat #10 Iowa ST, by 20.

Awards: (And the game crashes. Hopefully the alternate save will work. I know why. I cut most of my walk ons. Even though I have no games left I am guessing the roster size did it. Fortunately I have a save from earlier in the season; all the way to Feb. 17. Just going to run it forward, keep what’s above.)

Awards (II): Joel Lope and Kebu Holt made conf. 1st team. Can’t believe Jeff Wats wasn’t named.

“Gary Gray, EPSN Sportschat. It is an outrage that Rhoda Chayne Cox was not named conference Coach of the Year. As a matter of fact it is an outrage that she was not named national coach of the year. What she did at UConn this season is unprecedented in sports history. She should have been recognized.”

4/23: We ask for money and don’t get it.

24-8, 13-5. Great year. Next year we’re back. I expect to be top 10.

Overall: 183-49, .789.

[Wayne23]

5/1: Ready to rock a great season. We buy national gold, international basic, but only one scholarship.

Preseason #10.

6/5: No interesting transfers.

6/25: Going to all the camps again.

6/26: One scholarship. We want a big. Looking at 4.

8/7: No one on the Norton list but I think we have some real talent at all 5 positions.

8/21: We offer to a PF/C who’s not the top rated guy on our list but we really like him. Top 15.

9/18: We get a commitment from Joe Hart, PF/C, #11.

Invited to the Las Vegas Winter Jam. Mostly ranked teams in the pre-conf. schedule. Looks like Cincy is our strongest conf. rival.

Daisy: We’ve been in Storrs/Mansfield since May. It’s home, and it’s great to be back. We’ve renewed a lot of old friendships and we’ve settled in to a community we know and love.

10/2: First day of practice was great. We have some talent!

11/6: We’ve got 12 very good players but we’re starting with a 6 man rotation. At guard it will be frosh Bret Wick and Jon Harm, backed by junior transfer from UMass Tim Logg, who will also play a lot of SF.

Our only senior, Jeff Wats, and frosh Ken Hamp are standing by.

At SF and PF is junior juco Del Hack.

Inside are frosh Ray Deck and Troy Renn. Waiting for a chance inside are frosh Wyl Mack and junior juco Bryn Hans.

We’re very young but these guys seem ready.

We’re picked #11 nationally, #1 in conference.

We start with #25, Iowa ST, who went to the national title game last season. The game is here and it is sold out. Except for student tickets, which will all sell out, the entire home season is sold out.

[Wayne23]

11/14: 51-30 at the half. Not seeing any growing pains. Too many fouls but we’re playing good, aggressive D.

80-56. Great start! +14 RBs, only 7 TOs. 25, 6, 3 for our “sixth starters” Tim Logg.

At 1-0 Boise ST next.

11/17: 39-36 at the break. We shot 53.3%, they shot 31.4%, but we were 3-11 from the line.

80-79. Tim Logg hit a three with less than 2 seconds to go. +6 RBs, + 3 TOs. We were 12-15 from the line in the 2nd, fortunately. 25, 4 for Logg, 20, 4, 3 for inside player Troy Renn, 17, 8, 2, 2 for SF/PF Del Hack.

11/20: #12 Kentucky, 1-0, is here next.

11/21: 31-36. Tough team! We have 3 of our top 6 with 3 fouls, and we’re not moving without the ball.

58-79. I suppose here are the growing pains. The D wasn’t good but the O was awful. We’ll work harder. I expected a team that would be way better in the spring than in November. 11 more fouls, 11 fewer RBs. We shot 30.9%.

Two for the road. At 1-1 Purdue next.

11/24: 33-44 at the half. We need to tighten the D more than anything else. Fouls are an issue, too.

Jeff Wat hit a three at the buzzer in OT for the win! We definitely tightened the D. 21, 8, 2, 1, 4 for Renn, 22 for Wick, 14, 7, 2 for Logg. Great win!

At 3-1 Syracuse next.

11/27: 3-1, #9, RPI #15.

33-35 at halftime. We were down 14 early.

66-72. We dug a deep hole, down 11, and we couldn’t quite come back. It was as close as 2 on three occasions. Renn, Hack, and Wick, had 14 each. Their SG had 28.

#11 North Carolina is here next.

36-21 at the half. We’re shooting a lot better but 2 guys have 3 fouls. Still, we’re deep.

83-66. No threat in the 2nd. +8 RBs. +5 TOs. 23 for Logg, 13, 10, 2 for Renn.

5-1 Auburn is here next.

12/11: 4-2, #20, RPI #4.

12/13: 51-33 at the break. 13, 2, 3 for Wick, 11, 4 for Renn.

89-69. We feel asleep early and let them get it to 8. I called a TO and lowered the boom. 20, 2, 5 for Wick, 5 others in double figures. Renn had 14 and 11.

We’re off to the Las Vegas Winter Jam against VCU first. We’re the #1 seed.

12/16: 26-34 at the half. We were awful.

Took just under 6 minutes to take our first lead, but we didn’t get it to double digits until the last minute: 63-51. 12 fewer fouls. 7 fewer TOs. We shot 31%, terrible. 21, 7, 1, 3, 4 for log, 12, 7 for Deck, 8, 12 for Renn.

#5 seed Villanova, 2-5, won, so we play them in the semis.

In the morning shoot around I was all over the guys to start fast.

12/17: 34-34. We didn’t start quickly; we were down 9 early. I kicked some butt at halftime again. We need to wake up.

78-62. We got there, but it took about 12 minutes. +19 fouls. 23, 6, 2, 3 for Logg, 21, 4 for Renn, 13, 14 for Hack, 11, 12, 5, 5 for Wick.

#2 seed, #8 ranked Memphis, 9-0 for the title. Could be a challenge. I told the guys if they start as slowly as they have been against this team they will be in trouble.

12/18: 34-37 at the half. -5 TOs negating good shooting and decent rebounding. Renn has 12 and 3 but he also has 3 fouls.

70-63. We played solid D for the entire 2nd half to win the tourney. 6 more fouls, but we shot 45.5%, and held them to 33.3%. D won this one. 18, 5, 2 for Renn, 15, 6, 5 for Wick.

A quick flight home and a game vs. 5-3 Indiana. Some guys who don’t play a lot may need to tonight.

12/19: 37-29. Great D, they shot 27.6%.

79-66. It took a long time to put them away. Finally, at the last media TO, I felt we had the game in hand. 6 fewer fouls, 11 more RBs, 4 fewer TOs. 19, 11 for Renn, 15, 12 for Deck, 16, 4, 2 for Harm.

12/25: We end the pre-conf. season at 9-2, #7, RPI #3. +7.8 PPG, +4.8 RBs, +3.3 TOs.

[Wayne23]

12/27: A rematch with #11 Memphis, 9-2, here. Beat them by 7 last time.

45-35 at the half. +5 TOs. 14, 3 for Logg.

92-75. Great 2nd half! +8 TOs. 23, 6, 3, 4, 2 for Logg.

At 3-7 East Carolina next.

12/30: 34-33 at the break. Their Sg is doing the damage, 17.

70-60. They never went away. 12 fewer fouls, and that was the difference. +15 TOs helped too. 6 players had between 8 and 13 each for us.

1/1/’43: 11-2, 2-0, #6, RPI #3.

7-6 Temple is here next.

1/3: 28-30 at the half. We scored the first 9 then fell asleep for 15 minutes, getting down by 8. -5 RBs.

78-66. A late run did it. Team effort.

At 7-6, 0-3 Central FL next.

1/6: 50-38 at the half. +5 RBs, +5 TOs.

85-68. +8 RBs. 16, 7, 4, 2 for Logg.

1/8: 13-2, 4-0, #6, RPI #3. In a 3 way tie for 1st.

#14 Tulane, 12-3, 2-2, is here.

36-37 at the half.

79-54. We ramped up the D and took control right from the start of the 2nd. +6 TOs, held them to 27.7% shooting. 30 and 10 for Renn, 20, 6, 2, 3 for Logg.

5-8, 1-3 SMU is here next.

1/10: 42-20 at the half. Not pretty. +10 RBs, we shot 66.7%.

85-49. +16 RBs. We shot 59.6% for the game. Team effort, 11 players scored.

At 3-11, 1-4 South FL.

1/13: 35-33. Not happy. Yelled a lot, made a couple of changes.

72-73. This is not a team we should have lost to, even on the road.

(Author’s note: We took it in with 8 seconds left and never got a shot off. That’s ridiculous, and it needs a fix.)

Tim Logg hurt his arm and may miss our road game with #6 Cincinnati, 15-1, 5-0.

1/15: 15-3, 6-1.

1/17: We were up 25-7 and then faded. 38-30 at the break.

Stretched it to 20 and kept it in that vicinity. 84-62. An unexpected pleasure. With maybe our best player out, to win against #6, on the road- Wow! 11 fewer fouls, 10 more RBs, 9 fewer TOs. 19, 2, 4 for Harm, but 8 guys played very good basketball!

10-6, 5-2 Houston comes to town.

Daisy: I asked Rhoda what her secret dream was.

“I want to break John Wooden’s record and win 11 or more titles. I don’t know that it’s a goal, but it’s definitely a dream.”

“Hey, at UConn you could do it. The program will give you the resources to chase the dream.”

“Let’s get #1 first.”

1/20: 37-23. Held them to 27.6%. Our guards have 26 of our 37.

We came out very flat and never really heated up. We barely hung on, 64-63, when they missed a late three. This was an escape. 16, with 7 assists for Wick. 10, 11, 3, 2, and 7 blocks for Renn.

1/22: 17-3, 8-1, #4, RPI #2. In first in the conf. We’re 8-1, Cincy is 6-1.

At 9-8, 3-5 Tulsa.

1/24: 52-30. +8 RBs, 3 TOs, shot 61.8%. Wick had 20.

Flat in the 2nd again. It took a long time to get it together again. 85-67. 10 more fouls, 12 more RBs. 24, 5, 3 for Wick, 14, 8 for Hack, 12, 3, 8, 2, 3 for Logg.

1/29: 18-3, 9-1, #5, RPI #2. Tied with Cincy in 1st, 2 up on 3rd, with 6 to play. +11.8 PPG, +6.1 RBs, +3.0 TOs (but too high at 13.0).

6-14, 3-8 East Carolina is here.

[Wayne23]

1/30: 54-31. +8 RBs, 2 TOs (+9). 3 guys in double figures already.

98-70. +18 TOs (3 for the game), +9 RBs. Great team effort.

At #14 Memphis, 16-5, 7-3 next. We won by 7 in the Las Vegas Jam, then by 17 at our place, but this is a road game.

2/3: 32-36 at the break. Stats are even all around.

71-81. 6 more fouls, 5 more TOs. We needed to play better D. 21, 5, 2 for Wick, 13, 7 for Hack.

At 13-10, 6-6 Temple next.

2/5: 29-36 at the half. +6 TOs but -6 RBs, and they are shooting way better than we are.

72-76. We put ourselves in a position to win it but could not follow through.

Looks like we finish 2nd. 5 to play and we’re 2 back of 1st, 1.5 up on 3rd.

9-12, 2-9 Central FL is here.

2/10: 40-31 at the break. 9 players contributed.

92-79 but we led by as many as 20. +10 RBs. 24, 5 for Logg, 18, 10, 3 for Deck, 13, 11, 3 for Hack.

At 7-15, 3-10 SMU. We won by 36 here.

2/12: 20-5, 11-3, #7, RPI #4. 2 back of 1st, 2 up on 3rd, 4 to play.

2/13: 51-40. Not much D to be seen. +9 RBs. 18, 5 for Renn.

85-80. +5 RBs and TOs. 24, 3, 4 for Wick, 21, 6 for Renn.

6-18, 4-11 South FL beat us by 1 there. It’s our worst loss of the season. Need I say more?

2/14: 57-34. We were on fire. +12 RBs, +5 TOs. 63.3% shooting.

91-53. We scored enough in the 1st half to win the game. +26 RBs (Wow!). Held them to 27.3% for the game. 20, 4, 5 for Wick.

We finish with 2 on the road. 1st is 17-9, 7-8 Tulane. We won by 25 here.

2/17: 46-29 at the half. +7 TOs, +6 RBs. Renn and Hack are leading the way but we’re playing well.

89-72. 12 more RBs, 7 fewer fouls. 23, 8 for Renn, 22, 8 for Hack.

In a tough blow for us starting PF Ray Deck broke his elbow. He is out for the season. Will Mack will play C, and Troy Renn will shift to PF. We are deep, and we hope to survive this.

23-5, 14-3, #6, RPI #3. We are 1 back of 1st with one to play and we have clinched 2nd place.

We finish the regular season at 3rd place Houston, 17-9, 12-5. We won by only 1 at our place. Even if they win we will finish 2nd since we are 2 up on them.

2/24: 29-39. +10 RBs, -6 TOs. We shot 31.3% and committed 4 more fouls.

58-71. We never got closer than 5. +12 RBs, 8 more fouls, 8 more TOs. We shot 34.4% for the game. Mack played well, 6, 15, 3.

3/5: We end the regular season at 23-6, 14-4, #6, RPI #3. Alone in 2nd. +11.0 PPG, +6.9 RBs, +3.2 TOs (12.8).

Freshman PF/C Troy Renn has declared for the NBA draft. He is a starter and he will be missed, but it's part of the game.

[Wayne23]

3/9: #10 seed South FL, 8-20, 5-13, won in an upset. We play them in the quarters. They upset us by 1 there, and we won by 38 at home but I’ll be talking about that upset, of course.

3/10: 38-36 at the half. 10, 5 for Hack. I remind my guys that it’s one and done. We just need to play D, and to execute on O. It’s way more about defense though. Mack has been invisible.

It took 15 minutes for us to wake up. And then they came back.

75-76. Ousted by a team that’s 9-20. Unbelievable! Our starters let us down. The bench played well but they couldn’t make up for the poor play of the starters.

3/12: Houston upset #4 ranked Cincy for the AA Conf. title.

23-7, 14-4, #7, RPI #5. We’ll drop to at least a #3, possibly a #4 with the early tourney loss.

Shocked! We’re #2 in the West. We play 20-10 North Dakota ST first.

I have thought all year that we’re not quite ready to win a national title yet. This year’s tourney will give us the experience to make a serious run next year. I hope we can get to at least the Sweet Sixteen, and the Elite Eight would be terrific.

3/17: 40-33 at the break. The D could be better and Mack isn’t giving us much. Very disappointed. Bryn Hans may get his minutes.

Good start to the 2nd, then we went flat for the rest of the way. 70-56. +11 RBs. 16, 7, 3, 2 for Logg, 10, 8, 4, 2 for hack, 14, 3 for Renn.

#7 seed Auburn, 21-10, in the 2nd round. We beat them by 20 here, in the regular season.

We’re going small, giving Harm and Hans more minutes, Mack less.

3/19: 44-27 at halftime. +6 TOs, held them to 28.6% shooting. We’re beating them up inside.

82-66. 12 fewer fouls, 8 fewer TOs. 23, 8, 3 for Ren, 23, 8 for Hack.

Sweet Sixteen vs. #3 seed, #20 ranked Syracuse, 23-8. They beat us by 6 there in November.

We think we’re the better team but we need to play.

3/24: 31-40. We were holding our own until a late 8-0 run. 12 TOs to their 4, we’re not shooting well, and our PG has 3 fouls.

Caught them and went ahead at about the 10 minute mark. 72-62. Great D- held them to 22 points for the 2nd half. +16 RBs. 16, 5, 3, 2 for Logg, 13, 13 for Renn, 13, 9, 4 for Hack.

Only one #1 and 1 #2 left. We’re the #2 and we play #9 seed Michigan, 24-10, for a trip to the Final Four. This could happen! We’re staying with the small lineup.

3/26: Slow start. 19-27. Terrible O. We shot 6-30. +5 RBs. We need to get open, and we need to make shots. The D is fine.

It took a LONG time but we got there. 57-55 and the Final Four! 8 fewer TOs. We shot better in the 2nd and kept up the good D. 11-25 from the line d*mn near killed us. 16, 5, 5, 2, 2 for Wick.

It’s unranked, #12 seed Indiana, 23-11, in the round of 4. We beat them by 13 here during the regular season.

On paper we’re better. Ray Deck is ready. We won’t start him but we hope to give him minutes.

4/1: Strong start and a quick 10 point lead. 41-23 at the half. We led by as many as 23. +5 RBs, +4 TOs, 4 fewer fouls. We shot 50%, they shot 24%. Ray Deck is 6 and 6 in his return from the injury. Wick is doing a great job at the Point. We
were worried about their guards but we are doing better than they are in the backcourt.

My message, “Keep doing what you’re doing!”

81-64. They never got it to single digits. 18, 4, 5 for Harm, 19, 3, 4, 2 for Wick12, 7 for Hack, 8, 10 for Deck, 11, 6, 2, 3, 4 for Renn.

And it’s #1 seed, #2 ranked, #2 RPI Georgetown for the title. We decide not to start Deck, but he’ll get plenty of minutes. Their starting C broke a finger in today’s national semifinal.

4/3: 36-38 at the half. What a battle! 18 lead changes, 12 ties. Never more than a 4 point difference. They have 3 more fouls, 6 more RBs, but 6 more TOs. We’re only shooting 28% to their 43.5%; that has to change. Both teams are in foul
trouble, but both teams are deep. Let’s see what happens!

Tied with 10 to play. Tied with 58 seconds left.

We get the ball after a made free throw by them. 6 seconds left. I set my Offensive Pace to 10. We don’t get a shot off. This is just wrong.

77-80. 9 fewer TOs, but they shot 45.7%, we shot 33.9%.

HELL of a season! We had our shot.

4/4: Awards: Troy Renn was Conf. Freshman OY and 1st team. Juniors Tim Logg and Del Hack were 2nd team.

Team prestige up to 91.

4/16: Again, I cannot hire decent assistant coaches, not even with Reputation of 19 or 20, and there was exactly one at 63, one at 53, one at 20, one at 19, one at 13.

4/23: We ask for a budget increase. We get $22,000.

We end the season at 28-8, 14-4, #7, RPI #5. And we played for the title. Not bad.

Overall, in 8 seasons I am at 211-57, .787.

Ready to make a run at the title!

[Wayne23]

5/1: We buy both National and International Gold.

6/5: So much for a run at the title, our excellent PG Bret Wick, transfers out. A back up guard also leaves. Ouch! I think we’ll be fine inside but very thin at guard. We look at some transfers but no one jumps out at us.

#7 preseason but losing Wick makes me not so sure we can live up to it.

6/25: We will go to all of the camps.

We keep 2 walk ons in case of injuries.

6/26: 6 to fill. 3 and 3 would be great but let’s see what happens.

Looking at 15, all with at least some interest, all Top 25.

8/7: Senior Center Del Hack is #34 on the Norton List.

We have 15 recruits giving us 3 +.

8/21: We offer to 3 PGs an SF, and 2 Cs. 5 of the 6 have us in their top 5, 3 at #1.

9/11; Got a C, Coe Dunn, #5.

9/18: We get a PG, Tre Sims, #20. but lose a PG and a C. We NEED to get 2 PGs; one so far, and the C we got last week.

Going to the preseason NIT. We play unranked Texas first. Only one non-ranked team on the pre-conf. schedule.

Our conf. doesn’t look strong this year.

9/25: We get the 2nd PG, Ben Lann, #4, but lose 3. So 3 to fill, hopefully one more PG.

10/2: We lose 2 more and expand the search. Looking good for the 3rd PG so now we’re chasing bigs.

First day of practice. We look very solid inside but very thin at guard.

10/9: We get Juco PG Al Morr, #43. We offer to a PF, but everyone else on our list went elsewhere. Really like to get this guy. Not sure we’ll fill the 6th scholarship.

10/16: We lost the big guy. Offered to another one.

11/6: 7 man rotation: Senior Tim Logg and soph Jon Harm start at guard, backed by soph Loyd Feld and redshirt frosh Jed Roy.

Senior Bryn Hans is at SF.

Senior Del Hack and soph Ray Deck start inside. Soph Will Mack backs up the inside with junior Sam Kitt looking for minutes.

Again, my concerns are more outside than in.

Texas is up first in the NIT.