Tomorrow?

[Wayne23]

3/9: #8 seed East Carolina, 14-14, 6-10, won the play in game. They’re first.

3/10: 73-56. 42-24 at the half. 18, 7 for Tutt, 16, 7, 4 for Wall, 17, 6 for Pitt. +16 TOs.

#4 seed, #23 ranked Cincinnati, 20-8, 10-6, in the semis. Beat them by 13 here, then only three there.

3/11: 72-55. 15, 13 for Tutt, 17, 7 for Wall. +11 RBs.

#3 seed, #16 ranked Temple, 24-5, 11-5 for the title. Beat them by 12 there.

3/12: 79-65. 25, 6 for Zinn, 9, 14 for Wall, 13 each for Guin and Tutt. +15 TOs.

We’ve reached the level where anything other than a national title is a disappointment. I like our chances but there’s always a tiny bit of luck involved.

#1 overall. We play 18-13 Cal-Davis first.

3/16: 71-49. Balanced scoring, excellent D, +16 TOs.

#8 seed NC ST, 19-12, in the 2nd round.

3/18: 85-74. 23, 5, 7 for Zinn, 24 for Guin, 18, 11 for Tutt, 15, 13 for Wall. +15 RBs.

#5 seed, #15 ranked Oklahoma ST, 25-9, in the Sweet Sixteen.

3/23: 74-58. Close for about 25 minutes. 6 players had between 8 and 15 points. 13, 12 for Wall. +14 TOs.

#3 seed, #17 ranked Temple, 27-6, 11-5, in the Elite Eight. We just beat them by 14 in the conf. title game.

3/25: 99-59. We were in complete control all the way. 58 RBs, most I’ve ever seen (+36). 26, 6, 5 for Guin, 17, 5, 10 for Zinn, 14, 10 for Tutt.

Final Four! We’ll play #3 ranked Indiana, 33-4.

In the other game it’s #2 Kansas vs. #8 Charlotte.

4/1: 83-84. They went to the line 38 times, we went 19. WHY? In a game of this importance, WHY! Pitt fouled out in 18 minutes, Zinn in 28. So in crunch time two of our starters weren’t in the game. 21, 9 for Tutt, 11, 9 for
Wall, 15 for Guin, 13 for Zinn.

I’m so frustrated I can’t stand it. 20 years, 500+ wins, 2 national titles. Maybe I should just retire.

4/3: #2 Kansas won the title.

4/4: Awards: Cap Guin was conf. Def. POY, 2nd team. Zinn, Tutt, and Wall made 1st team.

4/7: Li flew to Moscow- with doctor’s and my approval. She and Chairman Radchev jointly announced that FtC will return to Russia. No Americans will be part of the delegation. Great victory for Li, and for FtC.

4/10: Li is back and she’s exhausted. We put her back in the rehab facility so she can have expert staff nearby 24/7. It should only be for a few days.

4/15: Li is back home. She’s still weak, but much better.

4/23: We ask for a facilities upgrade. Got it. We went from A to A+.

33-2, but we lost in the Final Four. Overall, after 20 seasons, I’m 530-168, .759.

I’m still deciding whether to come back, or whether to resign.

4/27: I’m coming back. You need to have something to resign TO. I don’t. I’ll give that some thought over the course of the season.

[Wayne23]

5/1: We order both gold.

6/5: No transfers of interest.

6/26: 5 scholarships. We want 2 guards.

7/2: Li is doing so much better after her trip to Moscow. She’s writing, she seems happy. She will do more “telephone diplomacy.”

8/7: PG Jan Zinn is #1, PF Deek Wall #4, and C Lou Jon #29 on the Norton list.

8/21: We offer to 2 PGs, a PF, and 2 Cs.

9/18: Best recruiting in a few years! We get a PG, #5, A C, #7, a C, #11, a PG, #15. One more to go.

No in season tourney for the 5th year in the past 6. I don’t get it. 10 of our 11 pre-conf. games are with top 21 teams. 5 are in the top 10.

9/25: Lost the 5th recruit. We offer to another big.

10/2: Got a PF, #22. We should be finished.

1st day of practice.

11/6: Here’s the lineup:

Senior Jan Zinn starts at PG, and juco junior Ben Prat is at SG. Senior Anik Xan backs up, and there are two more guards in reserve.

Senior Tim Walk returns at SF.

Junior Deek Wall and junior Lou Jon start inside. Juco junior Dee Henk backs up at SF and PF.

[Wayne23]

11/15: 84-67 over#6 Arizona here. 27 for SG Ben Prat, 17 for PG Jan Zinn, 10, 15, 3 for PF/C Deed Wall, 12, 7 for C Lou Jon.

11/18: 91-72 vs. #16 Pitt here. 26 for Prat, who is a pure shooter. 21, 4, 7 for Zinn, 12, 10 for Jon, 10, 12 for Wall. +14 RBs, 7 TOs.

11/20: All 5 recruits signed.

11/22: 90-67 with #3 New Mexico here. 22, 6 for Prat, 20, 6 for sub Dee Henk, 15, 10 for Wall, 15, 2, 5 for Xan. +8 TOs.

Li has won several national and international awards for her writing. She managed to get out 2 new books, one for each of the age groups she writes for.

11/25: 86-65 over Miami here. 27, 4, 6 for Zinn, 26, 3, 6, 3 for Prat, 13, 13, 2, 3, 3 for Jon, 5, 12 for Wall. +21 RBs, 9 TOs.

11/27: 4-0, #2.

11/29: 66-48 with #24 Oklahoma ST here. A really defensive game, they shot 23.4%, we shot 32.3%. 15 for Prat, 13, 3 for Xan, 9, 12 for Jon, 9, 11 for Wall, 10, 6 for Walk. +8 TOs.

12/2: First home game. 79-75 at NC ST. We were up by 16 early in the 2nd. They took a really good run at us. 20, 5, 6 for Prat, 14, 7 for Jon, 10 each for Wall and Xan.

12/6: 68-59 at Louisville. 20, 6, 6 for Zinn, 12, 4, 3 for Prat, 10, 9 for Wall. +9 RBs.

12/9: 79-71 vs. Florida here. 19, 6 for Prat, 15, 11 for Wall, 18, 2, 7 for Zinn, 7, 11 for Jon. +12 TOs.

The United Nations has estimated that world hunger has been reduced by 70-75% through the efforts of FtC. They say it would be even more except for the fact that some countries still will not accept help on FtC’s terms. Still, that’s pretty amazing!

12/13: 70-51 over Alabama here. 22 each for Prat and Zinn. +9 TOs, +8 RBs.

Li says FtC has finally been allowed into Kenya. She’s been working toward this for a long time. The Kenyan President is a very powerful figure in East Africa, and the hope is that he will help in FtC’s effort to do more in places like Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique, Sudan…

12/16: 72-59 over #9 Duke here. 14, 20, 3 for Wall. +15 RBs, 10 TOs.

12/18: #1, for the first time this season. 10-0, RPI #1.

12/20: 84-77 vs. #12 Kansas here. 20, 10 for Jon, 17 for Prat, 12 each for Zinn and Wall. 4 TOs (+13).

Anik Xan hurt his foot. Day to day.

12/25: We finish pre-conf. play at 11-0, having beaten 6 ranked teams. #1 ranked, #1 RPI. +14.4 PPG, +7.3 RBs, +6.8 TOs.

[Wayne23]

12/30: 75-51 over SMU here. 24, 3, 6 for Prat, 14, 19, 4, 7 for Wall, 10, 10, 2, 2, 2 for Jon. +16 RBs, +11 TOs.

1/3/23: 92-62 at Central FL. 30, 3, 3 for Prat, 13, 14, 4, 3 for Wall. +11 TOs, +8 RBs.

1/6: 88-68 over #25 Houston here. 40 and 4 for Prat, who is on fire right now. 19, 3, 7 for Zinn. +10 RBs.

1/10: 83-61 vs. East Carolina here. 19, 14 for Wall, 20, 0, 4, 3, 2 for Prat, 17, 2, 5 for Zinn, 12, 9, 2, 3, 3 for Jon. +12 RBs.

1/13: 79-69 at #16 Cincinnati. 20 for Xan, 14, 6 for Walk. +18 TOs.

1/17: 93-70 over Tulane here. 18, 15, 3 for Wall, 20, 7, 5 for Prat, 17, 6 for Henk.

1/20: 72-79 at Tulsa. They stayed close, and then they got hot late. They shot 49.1%, we shot 38.3%. They had 14 threes, we had 6. Their starting guards simply outplayed ours.

1/24: 79-59 at South FL. 21 each for Prat and Zinn, 18, 13 for Wall, 11 RBs for Jon. +18 RBs.

1/27: 81-74 over 1st in conf., #12 ranked Temple here. 51-26 at the half. We coasted in the 2nd, and I am NOT happy about that. 25, 7 for Prat, 20, 5, 10 for Zinn, 12 RBs for Jon.

1/29: 19-1, 8-1, #1, RPI #1. Tied for 1st in conf. +15.4 PPG, +8.0 RBs, +7.4 TOs. Deek Wall is #14, Jan Zinn #25 on the Norton list.

[Wayne23]

1/31: 69-70 at #14 Memphis. Never more than 6 points between the teams. 4 lead changes in the last minute. At the end they got their second best shooter open and he hit a 16 footer. 19, 17 for Wall, 11, 12 for Jon.
+13 RBs, but 22 TOs. Tough one to lose. We’re now in a two way tie for 2nd, but would be the #3 seed.

We need to win our last 6 regular season games. Looking at the schedule, that should be feasible, but even then we could end up in 3rd, or maybe 2nd.

2/3: 82-35 over Long Island here. Incredible D! 13, 14 for Wall, for his 12th double double of the year. +17 RBs, +16 TOs.

Temple lost so there is now a 3 way tie for 1st, and East Carolina is only one back.

2/7: 61-50 at SMU. 20, 3, 3 for Zinn, 8, 13, 4, 5 for Wall. +14 TOs.

2/10: 84-61 vs. Central FL here. Triple double for Zinn, 12, 11, 10. Prat had 23, 13, 12 for Wall, 16, 8, 3, 2, 2 for Jon. +14 RBs.

2/14: 74-72 at Houston. We escaped. Prat hit a three with a hand in his face as the buzzer sounded. 16 each for Zinn, Prat, and Wall. +9 TOs.

Still a 3 way tie for 1st with 2 to play. East Carolina is still one back. Everyone else is 5 or more back.

Lou Jon sprained an ankle. He’s out for our last 2 regular season games. Walk, Hess, and Xan will get his minutes.

2/17: 77-74 at East Carolina. For the 2nd game in a row Ben Prat won it with a buzzer beating three. He was 1-9 on threes at that point, but he’s our shooter, and he’s the one we wanted to take the shot. 16 each for
Zinn and Xan, 14 each for Prat and Walk. +9 TOs.

3 way tie, one to play. Memphis is at Temple so we’ll wind up in a 2 way tie for 1st, or a 2 way tie for 2nd.

2/21: 81-50 over Cincinnati here. 46-22 at the half. 21, 7, 7 for Zinn, 18, 8 for Wall, 16, 7, 5 for Prat.

2/26: 25-2, 14-2, #1, RPI #1. 2 way tie with Memphis and the #2 seed. +15.6 PPG, +7.5 RBs, +7.4 TOs.

3/5: Lou Jon, Deek Wall, Marv Sash, and Dak Grey enter the NBA draft. Ouch!

[Wayne23]

3/9: #10 seed Tulane, 14-14, 5-11 won the play in game. We won by 23 there.

3/10: 80-62. 19, 8, 5 for Zinn, 17, 3, 3 for Prat. +8 TOs.

#3 seed, #6 ranked Temple, 23-6, 13-3, in the semis. We won by 7 here.

3/11: 89-55. 23, 9 for Henk, 16, 14 for Wall, 4 others with 10 or more. 59 RBs (+25), 2 TOs!

Ben Prat hurt his back. We’re going to play him, or at least see if he CAN play.

#5 Houston upset #1 Memphis. They’re 19-11, 8-8, and we beat them by 20 here and then only 2 there.

3/12: 81-71. 27, 7, 5 for Zinn,15, 15 for Wall, 15, 4, 3 for Henk. Prat played, but he wasn’t effective. He’ll be ready for the dance. +12 RBs.

#1 overall. We play 12-19 South Carolina Upstate first.

Prat is 100%.

3/16: 73-48. 15, 5, 5 for Zinn, 17 for Prat, 10, 12 for Wall, 7, 14 for Jon. +15 TOs.

#8 seed North Carolina, 21-9, next.

3/18: 72-69. Survive and advance. They missed a three at the buzzer. 19, 20 for Jon, 12, 8 for Wall, 15, 4, 5 for Zinn. +11 TOs.

#5 seed, #8 ranked UMass, 29-6, in the Sweet Sixteen. Watch out for their outside shooting.

3/23: 73-63. 21, 11, 6 for Zinn, 16, 5, 5 for Xan.

Marv Sash, a little used PF, broke his leg.

#2 seed, #3 ranked New Mexico, 31-5, in the Elite Eight.

3/25: 87-71. 21, 13, 8 for Zinn, just missing his second triple double of the season. 24, 5 for Prat, 18, 5 for Xan.

Our 6th man, Dee Henk, broke his wrist. He is a really important part of what we do. The national title often turns on something like this. Damn! Anik Xan will get his minutes.

Two broken bones in two games? WTF?

We’ll play #3 seed, #7 ranked Chattanooga, 31-4. In the other game it’s #1 seed, #4 ranked Duke, vs. #1 seed, #2 ranked Indiana.

4/1: 77-57. 23, 5, 2 for Prat, 17, 4, 4 for Zinn, 11, 9, 4, 3, 6 for Jon. +12 TOs.

Jan Zinn badly sprained a finger. He won’t play in the title game. 3 serious injuries in three games. Unbelievable! We’re down to 5 players with any amount of experience. PG Jan Mill will be our 6th man.

The odds are truly stacked against us.

#2 ranked Indiana, 34-4, beat Duke by 3. Their starting PF is out with a torn Achilles, so neither team is at full strength.

4/3: 63-70. Deek Wall turned an ankle with 5:07 to go, and he couldn’t come back. That was that. We were up 1 at the time, but we were down to the water boy. We gave it all we had. 31, 5 for Xan. They double teamed Prat all night and held him to 12, 7. No one else had more than 6.

Very, very depressing way to end the season. This may be the last straw for me.

4/4: Awards: I got national COY. In conf., Deek Wall was Defensive POY and 1st team, along with Ben Prat and Jan Zinn. Lou Jon made 2nd team.

4/12: After taking about a week to think it over, I’m done. I’m going to work for FtC.

21 seasons as a head coach: 563-171, .767. 2 national titles, 7 conference titles. National COY 3 times, conf. COY 7 times.