Tomorrow?

[Wayne23]

1/30: 80-62 over #3 Memphis here. 55-30 at the half. 25, 4, 4 for Zinn, 20, 3, 4 for Mort, 14, 2, 10 for Guin, 15 RBs for Fint, 11 RBs for Wiel, 11, 6, 5 for Hess. We just thoroughly dominated the #3 team in the nation, and the team that was tied with us for 1st in conf.

“I saw my father. He loves this idea. He says our family can start this off with a gift of 500 million dollars- 10 from my sister, 10 from us, and 480 from him. Are you okay with this?”

“Hey, most of our money is yours, Li. You made it from book sales.”

“No, it is our money together.”

“Of course I’m okay with it. But you’re not jumping in this quickly, I hope.”

“No, no. When the time comes to announce, we will make this announcement. Father is finding reliable people to do the actual organizing. He will approach the billionaires and other wealthy people for donations. He knows them all. He says we should announce when we have 5 billion.”

“I knew your dad was rich, but I didn’t know he was that rich.”

“He says he is keeping about 50 million, so that he can leave each of his grandchildren 25 when he and my mother die. Still, he will make more, I’m sure. He has always known how to make money.”

2/2: 92-45 at Long Island. 45-23 at the half. 22 for Mort, 15, 8 for Fint, 16, 3, 5 for Hess, 14, 4, 4 for Zinn, 10, 11 for Wiel, 7, 3, 10 for Guin. +9 TOs, +9 RBs.

Will Mort hurt his arm. Out about a week.

2/6: 75-59 vs. SMU here. 20, 9, 6 for Guin, 21, 6 for Zinn, 11, 3, 8, 3 for Hess, 11, 5 for Niel. +10 TOs. Two starters out, A third fouled out in 20 minutes, our current 6th man held to 17 minutes due to fouls, and we still win by 16.

Mort will be back for our next game.

2/9: 72-57 at Central Florida. Wiel led us with 14, 12 but 5 had between 11 and 14 points. We are so hard to defend! 51 RBs (+21).

Ray Niel twisted an ankle. Day to day.

2/13: 89-73 over #23 Houston here. 48-32 at the half. 17, 11, 2, 4, 3 for Fint, 18 for Hess, 15, 3, 9, 2, 3 for Mort. +11 TOs, +9 Rbs. No Houston jinx this year.

2/16: 78-57 over East Carolina here. 17, 9 for Fint, 17 for Mort, 13 for Guin. +9 TOs.

2/19: 24-2, 14-1, #1, #1. With one to play we are only one game up on Memphis, with a very tough road game against #5 ranked, #3 in conf. Cincy, and Memphis is at home.

2/20: 102-85. We came to play! 30, 2, 3, 3, 4 for Mort, 27 for Zinn, 16, 5, 6 for Guin, 10, 10 for Wiel, 10, 9 for Fint. We shot 49.2%, and had 14 threes (46.7%).

2/26: At the end of the regular season we are 25-2, 15-1, #1, RPI #1. +16.3 PPG, +6.1 RBs, +7.3 TOs. #1 in RBs and Blocks, #2 in TOs, #6 in PPG and Assists. Alone in 1st in conf.

3/5: This is always a date to be dreaded. Starters Wry Olds and Will Mort, and red shirted frosh Red Olds are all declaring for the NBA draft.

[Wayne23]

5/1: The usual scouting reports.

#1 preseason.

6/5: Not much in the transfer pool.

6/26: 4 scholarships. 1 guard, maybe 2.

7/1: Li says she’s almost ready for the official announcement about “For the Children.”

“My father says he has firm commitments for donations from many wealthy people. He is still finalizing with three. When that is in place we will announce. He says the staff is hired, and start work on the 11th of this month.”

7/10: Li announced “For the Children.” I’m shocked. They are starting with 250 BILLION in the kitty. How is that even possible? Well, lots of very wealthy people gave LOTS of money.

Li said it will take about 45 billion a year to feed children and their families around the world IF they can get to all of them. They will not hand food or money over to any national, district, or local governments under any circumstances. Food will be distributed by our people, working with local volunteers.

The expectation is that some governments will not allow this. They either do not want to admit that they can’t feed their people, they do not want outsiders gaining access to their land and people, they hope to wear us down so that we will give money to them, or food, which they would then sell- any number of reasons.

Li’s Board of Directors estimate that they will be able to feed between 2/3 and ¾ of the people who need the food.

The emphasis, after the general explanation of who is involved and what will be done, was on fund raising. About 25-35 billion will need to be raised each year in order for the program to eventually be self-sustaining.

The hope is to expand to free birth control to whoever requests it, but that is not yet feasible, and brings up all sorts of other political issues. It was felt that getting established and getting a reputation for success should come first. Both Li and her father are on the 11 member Board, which will meet weekly for now- virtually.

7/28: Fantastic response to “For the Children.” Billions have been raised already, most from contributions in the $10-$75 range, but many higher, and some MUCH higher.

8/7: 6 Norton candidates: PG Cap Guin, #7, PG Jan Zinn, #12, PG Coy Hess, #24, SF Scot Moore, #27, C Jess Menn, #28, and PF Deek Wall, #45.

8/21: We offer to a PG, an SF, and 2 PFs.

9/18: We get a PF, #6, and an SF, #9, and we lose a PG and a PF. We offer to a PG and a PF.

Coaches Classic vs. #15 UMass. Mostly ranked teams on the pre-conf. schedule.

9/25: We lose both recruits, offer to 2 PGs.

“For the Children” continues to raise incredible amounts of money. Teams are at work in several countries, bringing food to starving children and families.

10/2: We lose a PG, offer to a PF.

1st day of practice.

10/23: We get a PG, #33.

11/6: We’re using 8 players to start, and going with a 3 guard format again. Here’s the lineup:

Junior Cap Guin starts at PG and plays some SG. Senior Coy Hess starts at SG and plays some PG. Soph Jan Zinn starts at SF and plays some SG. Soph Anik Xan backs up at SF.

Frosh Deek Wall starts at PF and plays some C. Junior Jess Menn starts at C and plays some PF. Frosh Scot More and Lou Jon back up at PF.

I don’t think we’re quite as good as last year but I think we have a shot at going all the way.

We’re preseason #1, and the #1 seed in the Coaches Classic. We start with #16 seed, #15 ranked UMass. It’s a strong field.

China has been the invisible giant. During the reign of The Leader they reversed long time policy and withdrew from the world. It is difficult to communicate with them. They have refused all overtures from “For the Children.”

Russia, North Korea, and a few smaller countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America are also choosing not to even speak with FtC. Every other country welcomes them.

[Wayne23]

11/13: 77-62. It took a while. 26, 5 for SF Jan Zinn, 18, 4, 3 for SG Coy Hess, our only senior, 7, 10, 5, 3 for PG Cap Guin. 8, 7 for C Jess Menn, and 9, 4, 3 for sub SF Anik Xan, from Greece.

#8 seed, #8 ranked Michigan ST in the 2nd round.

11/15: 73-57. We led all the way. 16, 11, 3 for PF Deek Wall, 14, 3, 3, 2, 2 for Guin, 12, 3, 3, 2, 2 for Hess, 8 and 7 for both Menn and Zinn. +11 RBs.

#5 seed, #5 ranked Oklahoma ST in the semifinal.

11/17: 89-85. 52-29 at the half, They chipped away throughout the 2nd but the final score was as close as it got. 25, 4 for Zinn, 19, 8, 5 for Hess, 19, 5, 3 for Guin, 11, 8 for sub PF Scot More, 6, 7 for Xan. +8 RBs, 11 TOs.

It’s #15 seed UNLV for the title. They’ve pulled off 3 straight upsets.

11/19: 80-37. Wow! 45-14 in the 2nd half. Incredible D held them to 23.9%. 21, 8 for Zinn, 14, 9, 4 for Guin, 12, 5, 6, 3 for Hess, 12, 4, 2, 4 for More, 8, 10, 4 for Wall. 51 RBs.

Little used C/PF Red Tham got a mild concussion. Day to day.

Big push on regarding “For the Children” donations. They’ve been great, and some terrific work is being done.

11/20: 4-0, #1.

All 3 committed recruits sign. Still working on a PF.

11/23: 83-61 in a home rematch with UMass. 46-27 at the half.17, 5, 3, 2, 2 for More, 16, 6 for Zinn, 16, 6 for Menn, 15, 8, 3 for Guin. +17 RBs, 10 TOs.

Red Tham tore an ACL. He’s out for the season. We don’t play him much but we’re thin.

11/26: 86-65 vs. #16 Ohio ST here. 30, 11 for Zinn, 12, 4, 8 for Guin, 14, 5 for Menn. 39 RBs, 6 TOs.

11/27: 6-0, #1, RPI #12.

11/30: 77-88 at #15 Syracuse. The D was awful; they shot 54.9%. 50 fouls called, so the game had no flow, but the calls were more or less even. 22, 5, 6 for Guin, 22, 6, 5 for Hess.

Little used C/PF Lou Jon sprained an ankle. Out for about two weeks. The bench is getting very short.

12/3: 90-82 at #23 Florida. 29, 8, 3 for Zinn, 19, 9 for Menn, 20, 4, 3 for Hess, 11, 3, 5, 6 for Wall, 6, 14, 9, 2, 2 for Guin. +12 RBs, +6 TOs. It’s always good to play well after a loss.

We fall to #2.

12/7: 92-84 at Oregon. 37, 8 for Zinn, a career high in points. 20, 3, 9 for Guin, 12, 4, 6 for Hess, 11, 7 for Menn, 7, 7 for More.+14 RBs, 9 TOs.

5 straight at home next.

12/10: 68-52 over Pitt here. 43-20 at the half. 19 for Zinn, 11, 7, 2, 3, 2 for Wall, 7, 10 for Menn. +10 TOs. We won this one with good D.

Lou Jon is back, but More is going to keep his minutes.

12/11: 9-1, back at #1.

12/13: 82-43 over Alabama here. They shot 27.3%, 20.8% on threes. 49-27 at the half. +21 RBs, 6 TOs. 22, 7 for Zinn, 21, 4, 3 for Guin, 18, 11 for Menn, 14, 6 for Wall.

12/17: 80-58 over Utah here. 19, 6, 3, 4, 3 for Guin, 15, 7 for Zinn, 9, 10 for Wall, 9, 8, 4, 6, 2 for Menn. +7 TOs.

12/21: 82-60 over #12 Texas here. Good D, and 7 players had 7 or more, led by Menn with 15 and 10. 12 assists for Guin.

We have simply dominated the last four teams we’ve played, and all are very good teams. #2 Arizona is next. Let’s see how that works out!

12/24: 112-89. Wow! Just wow. We scored 112 against the #2 team in the country. 62-42 at the half. 22, 14, 3, 3 for Menn, 24, 4, 8 for Guin, 23 for Hess, 16, 13 for Wall, 18, 7, 4 for Zinn. +14 RBs. Again, WOW!

12/25: 13-1, #1, RPI #1. +17.7 PPG, +10.6 RBs, +4.9 TOs. #1 in RBs, #2 in TOs and Blocks, #4 in PPGs and Assists.

[Wayne23]

12/27: 14 FtC workers were killed in Somalia. Not many details yet.

12/29: Still not many details coming out of Somalia. We have pulled all FtC workers out of that country. The President requested that we do that and said that this is an international incident and will be investigated by the government. We are to keep out of it. She assured us that we will be kept informed.

12/31: 74-55 over SMU here. Up 17 at the half, and it stayed at about that margin. +15 TOs. Balanced scoring.

The Somali government is not cooperating with our investigation.

1/4/21: 74-51 at Central Florida. +20 TOs. 28, 5 for Zinn, 12, 5, 7, 3 for Guin.

1/7: 86-59 over Houston here. 4 TOs, 42 RBs. 32, 6 for Zinn, 17, 8, 6 for Guin, 11, 9, 3 for Wall.

1/11: 78-56 over East Carolina here. 52-23 at the half. 16, 6, 5 for Zinn. +14 TOs.

Alone in 1st in conf.

The U. S. has withdraw all diplomatic personnel and families from Somalia and has advised all citizens to leave the country as rapidly as possible. Not a good sign.

1/14: 86-63 at Cincinnati. 35, 5 for Zinn, 14, 9 for Menn, 15, 9 for More.

Hess turned an ankle and missed the entire 2nd half, but he should be fine. Day to day.

1/18: 76-50 with Tulane here, despite some truly awful officiating. 4 of our players played very limited minutes due to foul calls, most of which were terrible. I got T’d and then tossed in the 2nd half. 13, 11 for Menn. 6 players had between 10 and 13 points.

23 FtC personnel have been taken hostage in Iraq. The government there is accusing them of being spies.

1/21: 70-67 at Tulsa. First time in almost 2 months that we don’t play well at all. Fortunately, we pulled out the win. It wasn’t easy. The biggest margin for either team was 6. At the end they missed an open three. 18, 5 for Menn, 15, 5, 3, 3 for Zinn. +14 TOs, +9 steals, and +7 RBs led to 23 more shots for us and we needed all of them as we shot a terrible 29.6%, 15.4% on threes.

Li is in Baghdad. I had no idea she was planning such an insane move. Evidently she flew to France, and from there to Iraq. It is illegal for private citizens to go to Iraq.

She sent me an email from the airport in Paris, telling me that her plan was to speak directly with government leaders in Baghdad, to try to convince them that FtC is not a spy agency, and that her people are there to provide humanitarian aid, and for no other purpose.

1/22: I didn’t sleep at all last night. There is no word from Baghdad. The U. S. State Department has denounced Li for acting illegally, and on her own in this manner, but has said they will do all they can to secure her release, and the release of the hostages.

1/24: No word yet from Baghdad.

1/25: 80-69 at South Florida. +8 TOs. 18, 6, 5 for Zinn, 19 for Hess, 15, 4 for More, 12, 6, 5, 4 for Guin, 10, 8 for Menn. We didn’t play all that well in the 2nd half, especially on D.

1/27: The Iraqi government has released all the hostages, but Li is still there. Baghdad says she is negotiating with them regarding terms and conditions which will allow for the continuation of the FtC mission in that country. I am very concerned in that no one has seen or heard from Li directly. We have only the Iraqi government’s word that she is safe.

1/28: 65-50 with Temple here. D was great (29.5%), O was mediocre, at best. 15, 10 for Zinn, 14, 4 for Guin, 11, 5, 3 for Hess.

1/29: 22-1, 9-0, #1, #1. +17.7 PPG, +7.3 RBs, +7.6 TOs. 1 game up on Memphis, 3 or more on the rest.

Jan Zinn is #3 on the Norton list, Cap Guin #8, Coy Hess #17, Jess Menn #18.

[Wayne23]

1/31: Li has been released. She called me from Paris to tell me she will be staying in Europe for a while.

“I made a HUGE mistake basing FtC in the U. S. It made us a target for all sorts of things. I will hold a virtual Board meeting as soon as possible and ask to relocate the entire operation to a neutral country, probably Switzerland, but maybe even someplace like Chile, Thailand- maybe even somewhere else.”

“So when will I see you again?”

“I don’t know.”

“Are you planning to move out of the country?”

“Not unless I have to. I don’t do the day to day stuff with FtC, but I need to think about the ramifications of living in the U. S. Baghdad made it clear that that was a huge issue for them. Incidentally, they treated me as a guest.

I was never threatened, they made sure I had access to the meds and treatments I need, they kept me in a really nice hotel and I was free to come and go as I pleased. But they truly believe there were spies in the FtC group here. I don’t know, maybe there were, but if so, they got by our screening process which is pretty thorough.

“Anyway, FtC has to get out of the U. S. or the incidents will continue and we can’t have that.”

“I understand. Hey! You do realize this could have turned out a loot worse for both you and FtC?”

“I know. It’s not something I plan to repeat.”

“Glad to hear it.”

2/1: 68-87 at #10 Memphis. Ouch! Worst we’ve played all season. We fell behind early, made a brief run at them and got it to 1, then fell back again. It was 9 at the half, and things went downhill from there.

17, 5, 8 for Guin, 17, 7 for Wall, 12, 6 for Guin, 9, 6 for More, but no one else had more than 4. They took 11 fewer shots and beat us by 19. That should never happen.

2/4: 95-57 Long Island here. Back on track. 25, 5, 7, 2, 3 for Zinn, 20, 5 for Menn, 14, 6, 7 for Guin. +10 TOs.

2/8: 76-54 at SMU. 23, 7 for Zinn who is really having a terrific season. 14, 10 for Wall, 11, 6, 4, 3 for Hess. +8 RBs, +6 TOs.

Memphis lost so we’re alone in 1st again.

It turns out that no training of FtC personnel is done in the U. S. A great deal of the food comes from surplus U. S. crops, and those are stored in the U. S. until ready to ship, but other than that, and one floor of offices in the Empire State Building, there really is not much of a U. S. presence. Li says moving official headquarters to Zurich, which seems to be the final choice of location, will not be difficult. The offices will be moved there with U. S. workers having the option of moving, in order to keep their positions. Storage of crops grown in the U. S. will be unaffected, but no food from other countries will be stored in the U. S.

Li estimates that the transition will be complete by 4/1.

The U. S. has made no progress in solving the murders of the FtC personnel who were killed in Somalia. All diplomatic ties with Somalia have been temporarily severed, until such time as the U. S. is satisfied that the truth is known, and that the perps are either in custody or being actively pursued.

2/11: 78-57 over Central FL here. Only up 2 at the half. I read the riot act, which I don’t do very often, and they woke up. 21 for Zinn, 17, 7, 5 for Guin, 11 RBs for Wall. +12 TOs.

2/12: 25-2, 12-1. 1 up on Memphis, 2 on Cincy with 3 to play.

Zinn is #3, Guin #9, Menn #20 on the Norton list.

2/15: 75-69 at Houston. 22, 8 for Zinn. +18 TOs. We took 29 more shots- fortunately! We shot 31.3%, they shot 55.3%.

2/18: 61-56 at East Carolina. Great D, fortunately, and very good ball handling, +9 TOs. We’re sluggish lately. Maybe it’s that time of the season. We’re tired. One more, and we need it, at home with 3rd place Cincinnati, 17-9, 11-4.

2/22: 88-61. Up 18 at the half. 24, 6 for Zinn, 20, 7, 5 for Guin, 12, 8 for Wall, 12, 6 for More, 13 assists for Hess, 10 RBs for Xan.+14 RBs, +7 TOs.

We won, Memphis lost, so we win the conf. by 2 games.

2/26: At the end of the regular season we are 28-2, 15-1, #1, RPI #1. +16.9 PPG, +6.8 RBs, +7.9 TOs. #1 in RBs, TOs, Blocks, Steals allowed. #4 in PPG, #7 in assists.

3/5: 3 declare for the NBA draft, all bigs- starter Jess Menn, 6th man Scot More, and little used Don Klew.

Zinn is #4, Guin #10 on the Norton list.

[Wayne23]

3/9: #8 seed Tulsa, 14-14, 7-9 won the play in so they’re up first. We won by only three there.

3/10: 99-78. 59-34 at the half. 24, 10 for Menn, 13, 4, 8 for Guin. 6 with 10 or more.

#4 seed Temple, 18-10, 10-6, in the semis. We won by 15 here.

3/11: 88-59. We led all the way. 20, 6 for More, 15, 6, 7 for Guin, 12 each for Zinn and Hess. +9 RBs, +8 TOs.

As expected it is #2 seed, #8 ranked Memphis, 24-5, 13-3, for the title. They crushed us by 19 there in the regular season. Outside shooting did us in last time.

3/12: 79-63 and the title. They led by 2 at the half, and then by 4 a few times early in the second. We went on an 11-0 run about halfway through the second and pulled away from then on. We did a much better job of defending the outside shot this time around. +23 RBs. 20, 11, 3 for Menn, 11, 5, 8 for Guin, 14, 5, 5 for Hess, 6 and 18 for Wall.

We should be #1 overall.

We are. We play the play in winner Wagner, 15-16.

3/16: 61-49. It was never in doubt but we never pulled away. 12, 12 for men, 15, 5 for Zinn, 5, 11, 2, 4, 3 for Wall.

#3 seed Memphis was shocked in the first round.

#9 seed North Carolina, 18-13, in the 2nd round.

3/18: 40-46. The shock of my life. And that quickly, it’s over. We shot 22.9%, 2-27 on threes, and 6-12 from the line. -5 RBs. Unbelievable!

3/31: East Carolina won the NIT.

4/2: FtC is now housed in Zurich, with satellite offices in Bangkok, Santiago, Johannesburg, Aukland, and Shanghai.

4/3: #14 ranked UMass won it all.

4/4: Awards: Jan Zinn was a 1st team All American, Cap Guin 2nd team. In conf., Zinn was POY and 1st team, Guin was Defensive POY and 1st team. Jess Menn also made 1st team. Coy Hess and Deek Wall made 2nd team. I was
COY.

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

32-3. Great season with a horrible ending. Overall I’m 497-166, .750.

[Wayne23]

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

#1 preseason again.

6/5: We go after 2 transfers.

6/12: We don’t get either of them.

6/26: 5 scholarships. Either 3 or 4 bigs. Looking at 15.

It has been nearly 3 months since FtC moved to Zurich. There have been no attacks upon their personnel.

8/7: PG Jan Zinn is #4, PG Cap Guin #6, PF Pete Pitt #16, PF Deek Wall #17, and C Red Tham #47 on the Norton list.

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

8/23: Li collapsed today. She’s in Zurich, working with FtC. From what I can gather she was walking from a meeting, back to her office, and she just fainted. I’m told she was rushed to a hospital where she eventually regained consciousness. It took quite a while, I believe.

I am flying there now.

Li has never returned to the U. S., and she’s been working very hard for FtC, not even doing much writing, if any. She has become the face of the organization, and she winds up being called in if there are issues in a particular country or region, if a big donor is not quite ready to commit to a donation… FtC has a CEO and a Board, and there are people assigned to do these tasks, but Li is the one who is asked for, and she feels she can’t say no. Her health is not good, and she simply is not strong enough to be working as hard as she is working. I’m hoping to convince her of that.

8/27: Flying back home. Li is really sick. I wanted her to come home with me and rest at our home but she refused. She is going to a rehab facility just outside of Zurich. Her docs want her there for a month. I doubt she’ll stay a week. I have no doubt she refused to come home because she knew I would try to make her rest at home for longer than she wanted to.

Frankly, I’m not happy living apart from Li. I feel the relationship is suffering. This is not the time for this discussion, and it is certainly not the time for me to put any pressure on Li, but at some point…

9/10: Li checked out of the rehab facility today. She must have been really exhausted since she stayed for two weeks.

9/18: Got a C, lost an SF.

No in season tournament for the 4th time in 5 seasons, which makes no sense.

9/25: Got an SG and a PF. Lost a PF and an SG.

10/2: We lose both we had offered to. We offer to do more.

1st day of practice. We’re good, and we’re 9 deep. After last season, who knows.

10/9: We lose 2 more recruits, and offer to 2 more.

10/23: Li collapses again at work, and is taken to the same hospital in Zurich.

10/25: I’m with Li. Things are not good. The doctors are saying she needs to stop working- possibly permanently. She can continue to write at home, but her Rheumatoid Arthritis has weakened her to the point where her life is threatened. She has a rare form of RA which is very aggressive, and which does not respond to treatment. Meds give her relief from some of the pain, but they do not help her condition. The choice is clear: take it easy or die.

10/26: Li is having a difficult time accepting this, which is to be expected.

10/28: Li knows I need to fly back home later today. She agrees to come home as long as the doctors tell her she is well enough, which should be in 2-3 weeks.

11/6: 8 man rotation, and no three guard set up this year:

Junior Jan Zinn is back at PG, senior Cap Guin is back at SG, with a little time at PG. Junior Anik Xan backs up at SG.

Highly regarded frosh Paul Tutt is at SF.

Frosh Pete Pitt starts at PF and soph Deek Wall is at C. Senior Red Tham and junior juco Tim Walk back up at SF, PF, and C.

11/11: Li is home. She will focus on her writing, when she is well enough. Her work with FtC will be limited to an occasional promotional video spot and some donation appeal letters and emails.

[Wayne23]

11/15: 88-58 over #8 UCLA here. 24, 7 for SF Paul Tutt, 17, 9 for C Deek Wall, 14, 8, 5 for PG Jan Zinn. +9 TOs.

11/18: 92-88 at #22 Maryland. Both teams held and lost large leads. 21, 6, 8 for Zinn, 20, 9, 3 for Guin, 22, 5 for Tutt. +17 RBs.

11/20: All three committed recruits sign. Still chasing 2 others.

11/22: 84-79 at Brigham Young. 20, 8 for tutt, 12, 13, 5 blocks for Wall, 16, 7, 3 for Zinn, 13, 3 for Pitt. +15 RBs.

11/25: 90-85 at New Mexico. 29, 9 for Tutt, 16, 12 for all, 15, 9 for Pitt, 12 for Zinn. 46 RBs, 6 TOs.

Anik Xan hurt his shoulder. Day to day.

Our schedule is awful regarding road games this year. This ended 3 in a row, now a home game, then 4 away, then 1 at home, then 2 away. We’re too good a team for this kind of thing.

11/29: 76-58 over #4 Michigan ST here. 18, 9 for Tutt, 15, 5, 4 for Guin, 14, 7, 3 for sub inside player Tim Walk. +16 RBs.

Anik Xan hurt his toe. Out 2 weeks. This is his 2nd injury of the year already. Tutt will play more at SG, and Tim Walk will play some SF.

12/2: 73-81 at #12 Syracuse. It was close all the way, closer than the final margin would indicate. 31, 4, 4 for Zinn, 14, 5 for Tutt, 12, 5 for Wall, 10 assists for Guin. Wall didn’t do much. We may need to be patient with him. +9
TOs, but -9 RBs. The difference was in shooting- 39.1% for us, 53.4% for them.

12/6: 73-64 at Charlotte. 18, 7 for Tutt, 15, 6, 5 for Zinn, 11, 10, 5, 4 for Walk (the virtues of patience).

2 more on the road.

Li is depressed. She is writing, or doing much of anything else. Someone comes in every day to give her physical therapy, and she sees a psychologist twice a week, but she’s not doing well, either physically or emotionally.

12/9: 72-67 at California. 18, 11 for Wall, who is having a very good season so far, 11, 10, 3 for Pitt, 13, 8 for Tutt, 14 for Walk, 7, 5, 10 for Guin. +13 RBs. We were a little sloppy- 16 TOs.

Xan will be back for our next. We’ve decided to go mostly with the lineup we’re using now, but he’ll get some minutes.

12/13: 85-71 at Alabama. 24, 10 for Tutt, 24, 5 for Zinn, 10 assists for Guin, 10, 4 for Walk. +8 TOs.

Finally a game at home coming up.

12/16: 86-69 over Miami here. 33, 3, 6 for Zinn, 21, 10, 4 for Tutt, 12, 7, 6 for Guin, 13 RBs for Wall. +12 RBs, 11 TOs.

12/18: 9-1, #2, RPI #.6

12/20: 109-75 at Texas. Quite the road win! 56-30 at the half. 22, 7 for Tutt, 15, 2, 14 for Guin, 14, 1, 10, 4 for Zinn, 18 for Xan, 13, 10, 6 for Wall, 10, 8 for Pitt. +19 RBs, +7 TOs.

12/25: At the end of preseason play we are 10-1, #2, RPI #5. +12.1 PPG, +9.0 RBs, +4.2 TOs. Nationally, we are #1 in RBs, #3 in PPG, #4 in Blocks, #7 in assists, #8 in TOs.

Li is still depressed. When I start to think that nothing we’re doing is helping it occurs to me that maybe it would be even worse without all the things we’re doing.

[Wayne23]

12/30: 74-52 at SMU. 16, 3, 10 for Guin, 16, 5 for Zinn, 12, 7 for Tutt. 10 RBs for Walk. +28 RBs.

1/3/22: 84-52 over Central FL here. 23, 5, 4 for Zinn, 13, 9 for Pitt, 14, 4, 3 for Tutt, 7, 11, 5 for Wall. +13 TOs, +8 RBs.

Li told me she wrote a little today.

“It actually felt good. It got me out of myself.”

Fingers crossed that she’ll keep writing.

1/6: 85-72 at #21 Houston. 20, 6 for Tutt, 19, 4, 2, 3 for Zinn. 4 others in double figures. +7 TOs.

1/10: 86-75 at East Carolina. 21, 4, 8, 2, 2 for Guin, 14, 15 for Wall, 15, 5 for Tutt. +12 RBs, +8 TOs.

1/13: 86-69 over #13 Cincinnati here. 26, 4 for Tutt, 5 others with 9 or more. +7 TOs.

1/15: Finally #1 in the polls.

Li is writing regularly. She seems to be doing better both in regard to her health and her depression.

1/17: 72-63 at Tulane. 15, 9 for Pitt, 15, 5 for Tutt, 13, 5, 5, 4 for Zinn, 10, 8 for Wall.

Tutt strained a calf. Out for a week and a half. Xan and Walk will get his minutes.

1/20: 91-57 over Tulsa here. 21, 6, 5 for Xan, 22, 6 for Zinn, 11, 10, 6 for Wall, 14, 7 for Pitt, 7, 7, 8 for Guin. +15 RBs, 10 TOs.

All FtC workers were expelled from Russia. This is very frustrating to FtC. It took years of sensitive negotiations to get Russia to allow our people in, and now, after only three months there, they have all been removed from the country.

“I am so frustrated that I cannot do anything. I did most of the high level negotiations with the Russian government. I think they might listen to me.”

“Li, those days are gone.”

“I know, it’s just…”

1/24: 76-59 vs. South FL here. 17, 7, 8 for Zinn. +10 TOs, +9 RBs.

Tutt is back.

1/27: 77-65 at #11 Temple. 23, 8 for Tutt (Welcome back!), 16, 7 for Zinn, 10, 9 for Xan, 7, 6, 8 for Guin. +9 RBs, 11 TOs.

1/29: 19-1, 9-0, #1, RPI #1. +15.0 PPG, +9.0 RBs, +6.0 TOs. 1 up on Houston, 3 or more on the rest.

There is no change in the situation involving Russia and FtC. Li's frustration has undone a lot of the progress she had made, even the physical progress. Her RA doctors say that stress adds to the RA pain, and she is definitely in a great deal of pain. Her mental state is also affected and she has stopped writing.

[Wayne23]

1/30: Zinn is #12, Guin #25 on the Norton list. As happens with my teams we have such balance that it is difficult for an individual player to stand out.

1/31: 71-50 over Memphis here. 17, 5, 6, 4, 2 for Zinn, but 7 TOs. 10, 10 for Walk. +11 RBs. A season high 20 TOs, but they had 23.

2/3: 93-59 at Long Island. A laugher. 25, 7 for Tutt, 18, 5, 12 for Guin. +9 RBs.

2/7: 72-49 SMU here. 21, 7 for Tutt, 6, 12, 4 for Wall, 12 for Pitt. +11 RBs, +7 TOs.

2/10: 79-58 at Central FL. We are rolling along right now. 22, 3, 2, 3, 3 for Tutt, 21, 5 for Zinn. +14 TOs, +11 RBs.

2/12: 23-1, 13-0, #1, RPI #1. 2 up on Houston, 4 or more on the rest, with 3 to play.

Jan Zinn is #12 on the Norton list.

Li remains depressed.

“If I could do it physically, I’d do what I did with Iraq.”

“You can’t. Don’t even think about it.”

“I know! I know!”

“Just don’t.”

I could have handled that better. I went back a few hours later.

“I’m sorry… Hey, do you have what’s his name, Radchev’s number?”

“I think so. Why?”

“Give him a call. You never know. Hell, you’re well enough for a phone conversation, or even a series of them.”

“I love this idea. I’m going to call the FtC office to make sure I have the right number.”

“Check what time it is in Moscow first.”

“Oh… Yeah.”

2/14: 79-74 over #12 Houston here. 18 lead changes, 7 ties. We scored the last 8 points. 21, 8 for Tutt, 19, 7, 6, 3 for Guin, 17, 6, 6 for Zinn, 8, 8 for Pitt. +11 TOs.

3 up with 2 to play!

2/15: Li got through to Radchev on the second try. He said he was busy but would return the call, and he did. Li says she expects that there will be a series of phone conversations. This really lifted her spirits!

2/17: 82-53 vs. East Carolina here. 43-20 at the half. 25 for Tutt, 12, 9 for Walk, 12, 7, 6 for Guin, 10, 7, 2, 3 for Wall. +17 TOs, +8 RBs.

2/21: 79-76 at #21 Cincinnati. 21 for Xan, 16, 9, 3 for Zinn, 12, 6 for Pitt. +6 TOs.

2/26: 26-1, 16-0, #1, RPI #1. +16.1 PPG, +8.7 RBs, +6.8 TOs. #1 in RBs and blocks, #3 in TOs, #4 in PPG, #7 in assists.

3/5: Paul Tutt and Pete Pitt declare.