Walk on dynasty

[Wayne23]

2/5: 1-1. 16-5, 8-2, RPI #101. Still tied for 1st, 2 up on 3rd.

82-68 over Monmouth here. 17, 8, 3 for Smix, 16, 4, 4 for Jonn, 14, 5, 2 for Gadz, 12, 5, 2, 2 for Hay.

Crushed 63-92 at Northern Kentucky. 17, 3 for Smix. One of those nights.

2/12: A two win week, but an injury. 18-5, 10-2, RPI #74. Alone in 1st.

91-81 over Nebraska-Omaha here. 23, 5, 4 for Jonn, 14 for Gadz, 13 for Hay, 12 for Fitz, 10 for Sand.

Gadz hurt his wrist. Out 10 days to 2 weeks. Aby will start.

75-66 at South Dakota ST. 25, 9 for Jonn, 12, 6 for Hoy, 9, 4 for Smix.

2/19: 2-0 week. 20-5, 12-2, RPI #64. 2 game lead. 4 up on 3rd place, with 2 to play.

71-59 over Hampton here. 16, 3 for Hoy, 14, 2 for Fitz, 11, 5, 4 for Jonn, 8, 2, 6, 3 for Aby.

66-58 at William & Mary. 12, 10 for Hay, 14 for Jonn, 11, 5, 2, 2 for Smix, 10, 5 for Hoy, 8, 3 for Sand.

Gadz will be back for the final week of the regular season. We only need to win one out of 2.

Sub guard Ban Ham hurt his shoulder. Day to day.

2/26: 2-0 week.

We end regular season play at 22-5, 14-2, RPI #60. 4 games up on 2nd place in Conf. T. +7.5 PPG, +3.0 RBs, +4.1 TOs.

We beat Jacksonville there, 73-61. 23, 3, 2, 3 for Jonn, 14, 2, 3 for Gadz.

We beat Binghamton 84-74 at home. 21 for Gadz, 14 each for Jonn and Smix, 11, 8 for Hoy.

[Wayne23]

3/1: #8 seed Portland ST, 12-16, 8-8, won the play in. We meet them in the quarter finals. We won by 9 there.

3/2: 66-63. We couldn’t put these guys away. They missed a three at the buzzer or we’d be home. We shot only 33.9%, and committed too many fouls. 14, 4 for Bay, 10, 8 for Hay. We need to play better to stay alive here.

#5 seed Northern KY, 16-13, 9-7, in the semis. They killed us, 63-92, there.

3/2: 37-49 at the break. This team seems to have our number. They led all the way, and by as many as 19. 15 for Jonn, 8 for Fitz, but no one else did anything.

We were never in it, 69-82, and the final was about as close as we got. +11 RBs, -10 TOs. 21, 3, 3 for Jonn, 15, 3 for Gadz, 10, 5, 3 for Fitz.

With an RPI of 60 (for now) there may be an outside chance that we will be invited to the NIT or the CHI, but it’s slim.

3/5: Northern KY got crushed by South Dakota ST in the title game. Our RPI dropped to 71, so I doubt we’ll play again.

3/12: In the NIT! #2 seed. We play #7 seed South Carolina ST, 16-13, Conf. R.

3/13: 42-29 at the half. We never trailed.

85-52. +7 RBs, +6 TOs. 20, 7, 2 for Sand, 17, 5, 2, 2 for Hoy, 12, 5, 3, 2 for Jonn.

#6 seed Hofstra, 19-13, Conf. J, upset #3, so they’re next. We think we’re the better team.

3/15: 38-25 at the half. We only ever trailed 2-0.

74-57. 17, 5 for Hay, 15, 4, 4 for Jonn, 13, 6, 3 for Hoy, 11, 8, 2 for Fitz. +16 RBs, and we shot over 50% for the 2nd straight game.

#1 seed Chicago ST, 22-10, Conf. R, in the round of 8. Again, I think we’re better.

3/20: 49-41 at the half. We led by 15 at one point. Jonn and Gadz have 12 each.

81-80 on a 35 footer by Greg Aby. We fell apart in the last 10 minutes, letting them take the lead 4 separate times. We had 4.2 left when we got it for the last time. They defended us brilliantly. Aby ran out, got the pass and launched it. It went in- off the bank. 22, 3, 5 for Jonn, 23 for Gadz, 10 each for Hoy and Aby. We shot 49.1% and hit 10 threes.

It’s not THE Final Four but it’s A Final Four and we’re thrilled to be in it!

#5 seed Oklahoma, 19-12, Conf. A. This is the 1st Conf. A team I ever coach against. Looking at the video I think they’re better than us, but not by that much. If we play our best I think we have a shot.

3/28: 50-31 at the half. We could do no wrong.

73-73 and OT. We fell apart. Couldn’t hit a shot, didn’t get enough stops. Greg Aby hit a three with less than 2 seconds to go to get us to OT.

80-89. Nope. They were too deep. 14, 9, 2, 2 for Fitz, 14, 2, 5 for Gadz, 17, 3 for Aby, who played 40 minutes. A big factor was that our leading scorer, Ty Jonn, pulled a groin 5 minutes in and didn’t come back. Couldn’t have happened at a worse time. Oh well. It was a great run.

4/4: Awards: Ty Jonn made 2nd team and I got COY. My players are getting short changed because they are walk ons. Ty Jonn led us to 1st place. How can he NOT be on the 1st team?

Teams as good as 48 Team Prestige called. I’m staying.

4/23: We ask for a facilities upgrade, as we do every year. Approved! C+ to B+.

26-7, 14-2, regular season champs, NIT Final Four, promoted to Conf. S. Another great year! Overall I’m 100-54, .649 in 5 years. Reputation up to 51.

All but 3 players are graduating, and only two, Bat Bay and Cam Fitz, played at all; PG Ban Ham played very little. So a brand new team next season.

[Wayne23]

5/1: Here we go!

6/25: 1 player at 3.5, 1 at 3, 3 at 2.5, 8 at 2.

9/18: We have a schedule. A little more challenging.

10/2: First day of practice.

11/6: 8 man rotation: Junior Pat Quay gets the most minutes at guard. Juniors Tony Ward and Ed Gerr get the rest.

Senior Bat Bay is at SF, backed by junior Jay More.

Senior Cam Fitz and soph Tim Phip start inside, backed by junior Sani Gais.

Let’s see if my walk ons can compete in Conf. S!

11/20: Great first week, 2-0. Both were at home. C/PF Tim Phip and SF Bat Bay are the ones leading us, but we got good bench play in the 2nd game, and inside player Cam Fitz is looking good.

11/27: 1-1 week, losing on the road. We’re 3-1.

20 TOs in the road loss and only 3 guys did anything on O.

Solid team effort, especially on D in the home win.

Phip continues to play well, as does Fitz.

12/4: 1-1. 4-2 overall. RPI #199.

Good inside play but 20 TOs in the home win.

24, 8, 3 for Phip, 14, 2 for Gerr in the road loss.

We make a couple of lineup tweaks.

12/11: 2-0 week.

We came from down 8 in a 5 point win at Quinnipiac. Great D but not much O. 18 each for Bay and Quay. 43 RBs.

Then an easy 81-62 home win. 19 for Bay.

Starters all averaging between 9.12 and 15.1 (Phip).

12/18: 1 game week. 65-70 at UMass Lowell. 6-3; RPI #111. 19, 3, 3, 2 for Bay but 19 TOs; we’re averaging 16.3.

12/25: 1 game week; 78-60 win at home. 29, 8 for Phip.

7-3, RPI #86 with one pre-conf. game left.

1/1/’22: 1 game week. 56-48 at Nicholls ST. Great D.

We end pre-conf. play at 8-3, RPI #115. +7.9 PPG, +5.5 RBs, -0.4 TOs.

We’re picked to finish 11th in Conf. S.

1/8: 1-1 start to conf. play. 9-4, RPI #151.

Lost by 14 at Morehead ST when we let them shoot 53.7%.

Then we beat Scared Heart at home, 60-41. Great D, +18 RBs. We had 21 TOs, but so did they. 21, 5 for Phip.

1/15: Two tough battles this week but we won both.

64-62 at Eastern Illinois on a last second blocked shot by Cam Fits. 24, 7 for Phip. They led by 10 at one point.

Then we beat Nebraska-Omaha 80-72 at home. 24, 3 for Bat Bay, 16, 7 for Phip, 12, 7 for Quay, 9, 7 for Gais, 6, 2, 8 for Gerr, so good bench play.

11-4, 3-1, RPI #89. 2 teams ahead of us, 1 tied with us.

1/22: Disaster! A 1-1 week, but our best player- by far, Tim Phip, broke his nose. Out for 67 days, which means, for the season. Cam Fitz, our other inside starter is a good rebounder, and he’ll be fine, but I’m not sure that Jay More or Sani Gais is ready to step up. They’ll get equal minutes for now.

We lost by 4 on the road, 58-62. 20 TOs, which led to not enough offense.

Then we won 71-63 at home. 18, 5 for Phip before he got hurt; all 5 starters in double figures.

12-5, 4-2, RPI #109, in a 3 way tie for 3rd as Phip leaves.

1/29: 1-1 in 2 road games; not bad under the circumstances.

We won 62-54 at Delaware ST. 20, 9, 2, 3, 3 for Fitz. +15 RBs.

81-84 at TX Rio Grande Valley in a game we could have won. 25, 4 for Fitz, 15, 5, 3 for Gerr. TOs are what is killing us, 16.5 per game. At this point More is playing better than Gais, but not enough to give him the lion’s share of the minutes. Given that he’s a better defender though, it may happen soon.

13-6, 5-3, RPI #123, in a 4 way tie for 4th, 1 back of 1st.

[Wayne23]

2/5: 1-1 week, but it should have been 2-0.

63-48 at home. Gais had 9 and 13, so he’ll keep his minutes for now. 23 TOs. Smfh

72-82 in OT at NC Central. They scored the last 5 in regulation to steal the tie at the end of OT, then they crushed us in OT. 20 TOs, including on both of our last possessions in OT. TOs are killing us.

14-7, 6-4, RPI #129. Still in a 4 way tie for 4th.

The schedule is favorable; 6 to play, 4 of them at home.

2/12: 2 wins, both at home. 16-7, 8-4, RPI #83. In a 4 way tie for 1st.

64-56 in the 1st one, despite the fact that Fitz played only 6 minutes due to fouls. 18, 6, 2 for Bay, 10, 5 for Gais, 8, 8 for More, and 9 for little used big man Cris Wilk.

Same score, 64-56 in the 2nd game. 22, 6, 3, 3 for Bay, 13 each for Fitz and Gerr.

2/19: 1-1. Lost on the road, won at home.

Lost by 11 on the road. 16, 3, 3 for Bay, 14 for Fitz, but 58 points doesn’t often win.

66-61 at home. 16, 7, 4, 3 for Fitz, 16, 3, 3 for Bay, 14, 3 for Quay, 12 for Gerr. 11 TOs. Given that our average is 16.7, that was great.

17-8, 9-5, RPI #91. Still in a 4 way tie for 1st with 2 to play, 1 at home, 1 away.

2/26: 1-1 week and we end up in a 4 way tie for 1st.

Lost by 13 on the road. 17, 7 for Fitz but he didn’t get much help. 19 TOs.

The final regular season game was a must win at home and we played our best game of the season, 88-54. 23, 9, 3, 2 for Fitz, 18, 4, 6, 2 for gerr, 13 each for Quay and More. +14 RBs, +7 TOs, season high 88, 3rd lowest given up, 54.

We end the regular season at 18-9, 10-6, RPI #109. #1 seed in the Conf. S tourney.

[PointGuard]

Your success is continuing at Walkon U...

or as Nancy Sinatra would say....

These boots are gonna Walkon U!

[Wayne23]

Whew! There was exactly one member of the Sinatra family who had talent... It wasn't any of Frank's kids!

Not sure how far the walk ons can advance.

I have noticed that the better the school the better the walk ons. I'm thinking of doing this with the best school in DDS:CB2016, whatever it is, and seeing how they do after the first 2-3 years.

[PointGuard]

This really sucks! Walkons are obviously too good. Hell, why even recruit?

Most walkons should probably be 0.5-1 stars at lower prestige schools and 1-2 stars in more prestigious programs. And a team of all (more mostly all) walkons should be a doormat. Most of the time walkons should be bench warmers and only playing in dire circumstances and then the team should be impacted negatively. 3 and 3.5 star walkons? No freakin' way!

[Wayne23]

At the top notch schools I've seen some at 4.0.

[Wayne23]

3/1: #9 seed So. Dakota ST, 10-18, 8-8, won the play in. They won by 4 at their place.

3/2: 67-45, so we go to the semifinals and we’ll advance to Conf. R next year.

The bench had 36 of our 67- 19, 6 for More, 13 for Gerr.

It’s Central CT ST U, #5 seed, 20-9, 9-7, next. WE won by 8 at our place.

3/3: 73-70. Great game! 20 for Gerr, 12, 4, 2 for Bay. Lots of foul trouble, Fitz, Gais, and Quay all fouled out. Seldom used Cris Wilk had 7 and 3 in 21 minutes, and even more seldom used T. J. Ford had 8 and
2 in 9 minutes. So for the 2nd game in a row the bench got it done for us.

#7 seed UL Monroe, 18-12, 9-7, for the title. We didn’t play them in the regular season.

3/4: 37-34 at a half. We blew a 14 point lead. Fitz 13, 2, 2

66-71. We didn’t play badly. We had our chances but couldn’t quite bring it home.

25, 8, 2 for Fitz, 9, 6 for Gais, 8 each for Quay and Bay. Only 11 TOs.

Will we play again? RPI is 128 (It will change once more) and that makes it unlikely.

3/12: 20-10, 10-6, RPI #121. Tied for 1st in conf., made it to the title game.

CBI, #8 West. We play #1 seed Washington ST, 16-13, Conf. G.

3/15: 91-82! Front court was terrific. 21, 11, 2 with 4 blocks for Fitz, 18, 9, 2 for Gais, 19, 4 for Bay. +21 RBs. We only had 14 TOs which helped, too.

#5 seed Baylor, 19-13, Conf. J, next.

3/22: 77-62! 17, 5, 2, 2 for Fitz, 13, with 5 assists, for Bay, 12 for sub T. J. Ford.

And Tim Phip will be back for our next game!

#3 seed Kansas, 16-14, Conf. A, in the round of 4.

3/27: 61-71. 18, 6 for Tim Phip in his return, 12, 7 for Cam Fitz in his last game. 7, 6 for Bat Bay in HIS last game. They’re the only two guys we’re losing.

4/4: #8 UConn defeated #12 Seton Hall, 86-57 for the title.

Awards: Seniors Bat Bay and Cam Fitz make the Conf. S 1st team. I get Conf. COY.

4/9: Clemson wants me. I’m staying here.

4/23: We ask for a facilities upgrade again. No.

We end the season at 23-11, 10-6, 1st in conf, got to the title game, made it to the round of 4 in the CBI, moving up to Conf. R.

Overall, 122-65, .652, after 6 seasons. Named Conf. COY 5 times.

[Wayne23]

Crap. Accidentally saved the UConn dynasty here- both versions. So this Walk on dynasty is finished.

Oh well, I proved my point. I may try to do walk ons with a big time school to see how competitive they are. I'm also thinking of seeing what I can do with only recruits rated 1601 and higher. But one dynasty at a time so I don;t screw up this way again.