Tomorrow?

[Wayne23]

2/1: 69-57 #6 Memphis here. 15, 7, 3, 3 for Jank, 15, 4, 7, 3 for Raed. +12 TOs.

2/4: 74-57 at Long Island. 18, 2, 3, 5, 3 for Raed, 17, 4, 2, 3 for Jank. +17 TOs. We’re #1 in TOs, #3 in PPG and assists, #5 in RBs.

2/5: Back to #1, Duke lost. 20-2, 10-1. RPI #1. 1st in conf. by 2 over 2 teams.

President Murtha spoke to the nation and the world today. He expressed grave concern regarding the state of the world regarding environmental degradation and its effects.

“We as a nation, and most of the rest of the world as well, have made great strides, have worked to do things in better ways but the sad truth is that the waters are rising to the point that major population centers are in great danger. Beyond that, the planet’s resources have been severely depleted. While we are now able to purify water, and to convert the oceans’ waters for our uses, even these are finite.

“The only hope we have of surviving as a species is to significantly reduce our population.

“And so today I am asking the Congress to approve legislation which will enable us to spend money educating the world’s people on population control, as well as providing birth control devices to any who wish to use them, throughout the world. We will withhold all aid from any country which stands in the way of this effort.”

He went on for some time with details but that was the message. The world is running out of resources, not only water, but other vital resources as well. Too many people require too much to keep them alive, so we must reduce the population. I wonder if it isn’t too late already.

2/8: 85-63 with SMU here. 17, 7 for Jank, 15, 6, 4 for Raed. Those two are definitely our offensive leaders. +7 RBs.

2 up on 2 teams, with 4 to play.

2/11: 80-62 at Central FL. 21, 12 for Muks, 15, 4, 9, 3 for Cota, 15 for Jank. +10 TOs.

Bou Rica hurt his wrist again. Day to day.

Vin Jank remains #6 on the Norton list.

2/15: 83-80 Houston here. This team just gives us fits. We won it on a three by Jank with 2.5 seconds left. He then stole a pass to prevent Houston from even getting a shot off. He had 18, 6. +15 RBs.

2 up with 2 to play.

2/18: 81-59 vs. East Carolina here. 25, 6 for Raed, 21, 7 for Jank. +13 TOs.

The win clinches 1st place in conf.

2/22: 89-88 at #9 Cincinnati. Down 13 early in the 2nd half. Then we finally started hitting shots. 29, 5 for Jank, 18, 9 for Muks, 13, 7, 6 for Raed. We won it on a back door pass to Aram, who then slammed it home.

2/26: We end the regular season at 25-2, 15-1, #1, RPI #1. +16.2 PPG, +6.0 RBs, +8.1 TOs.

3/5: Not unexpected but Vin Jank is declaring. More surprising is that Sg Art Sonn is, too.

[Wayne23]

3/9: #8 seed SMU, 16-13, 6-10, won their play in. We play them 1st. Beat ‘em by 17 and 22.

3/10: 79-61. 19, 8 for Jank, 16, 11 for Muks, 10, 14 for Aram. +15 RBs, +9 TOs.

Our nemesis Houston, #5 seed, 21-8, 10-6, in the semis. They won by 7 there, our only conf. loss, and we won by only 3 here.

3/11: 96-94. What IS it about this team! Close all the way. We won it on Aah Raed’s 18 footer. 22, 10 for Muks, 19, 2, 6, 3 for Raed, 10, 12 for Bean. +13 RBs.

#3 seed, #10 ranked Cincy, 24-5, 12-4, for the title. We won by 20 here and 1 there.

3/12: 89-67. They led by 11 early. We got it to 3 at the half and just took over in the 2nd, 48-23. 22, 8, 4 for Muks, 18, 6, 3 for Jank, 15, 4 for Aram. +9 TOs, +6 RBs.

We expect to be #1 overall.

#1 overall. We play American, 15-16.

3/16: 78-57. 16, 5, 11 for Cota, 18 for Jank, 15, 5 for Muks, 12 for Raed, 5, 11 for Aram. Never challenged.

#9 seed Louisville, 18-11, is next.

3/18: 85-78. We led for the last 37 minutes; double figures for almost all of that time. 22, 4, 5, 3 for Jank, 20, 9, 7 for Raed, 17, 14 for Muks. +13 RBs,

#4 seed, #7 ranked (How does that even happen? RPI is #2!) Brigham Young, 29-6, in the Sweet Sixteen.

3/23: 87-54. 24 for Jank, 13, 7 for Aram, 9, 14, 7 for Raed, 9, 8 for Bean.

Little used PF Dai Avy got a concussion. He’ll miss our next game.

#3 seed, #9 ranked Duke, 23-8, in the Elite Eight.

3/25: 91-69. 19, 16, 5, 4, 2 for Muks, 19, 5, 3 for Jank, 18, 6, 5 for Cota. +11 RBs.

This is my 2nd Final Four, first here at UConn. We won it all last time.

We play #3 seed, #11 ranked Miami, 28-6. In the other game it’s #6 seed, #21 ranked Texas, 25-10, vs. #7 seed, unranked Temple, 23-10, from our conf.

4/1: 76-83. They led by 16 early, 12 at the half. Raed and Aram were each limited to 20 minutes due to fouls, and both eventually fouled out. But we didn’t lose it at the line, each team made 20 free throws. We shot poorly and
rebounded poorly. 20, 5 for Jank, 15, 6, 4 for Muks. Last college game for both, and for Cap Aram as well. This is a team we should have beaten.

4/3: #21 ranked Texas won it all. We missed a golden opportunity.

4/4: Awards: I won national COY. Vin Jank was named 2nd team All American. In conf., Jank was frosh OY and 1st team along with Jay Muks. Aah Raed and Cap Aram made 2nd team.

4/23: Asking for another budget increase but it seems doubtful. Nope.

Good season, disappointing finish. 32-3. Overall, I’m 404-154, .724.

We have some very good players coming back, but the incoming recruits will need to really do well for us to stay at this level. Losing Cota, Aram, Muks, Jank, all starters, and Sonn, a little used guard.

[Wayne23]

5/1: Same scouting reports.

It’s an election year. It’s hard to believe but President Murtha is coming to the end of his second term so there will be a new POTUS. Despite all of his success the conservative tide has been on the rise and it looks like it will be a close battle between Gov. Rodwin Grabb, of the American Party, and Vice President Marla Benedict, of the Progressive Party.

6/5: No interest in transfers. Well, one, but we didn’t get him.

Preseason #9.

6/26: 4 scholarships. We want 2 and 2, or 3 PGs.

8/7: PG Aah Raed is #18, PG Cap Guin #20, and PF Mo Bean #24 on the Norton list.

8/21: We offer to 2 PGs, and 2 Cs, all top 10, and all with interest.

9/5: The race for POTUS is very close. Benedict is leading, 47%-45%.

9/18: Got a C, #1, and 2 PGs, #4, #5. Still in the running for the other C.

2nd year in a row with no in season tournament. All but one pre-conf. game is with a ranked team.

9/25: Lost the C. We offer to another C.

Vice President Benedict opened up a 7 point lead over Gov. Grabb after he said, during a debate with her, that he admired a lot of things about The Leader and what he had done before he was assassinated.

10/2: Got the 2nd C. They all have GPAs of 3.0 or above so we should be finished with recruiting. Terrific class: #1, 4, 5, and 18!

11/6: Here’s the lineup:

Senior Aah Raed and frosh Cap Guin start at guard, with junior Bou Rica in support.

Junior Kik Jost is at SF.

Soph Mo Bean and Junior juco Joe Fint start inside. Frosh Jess Menn and junior Udo Wiel back up inside.

I like this lineup!

11/8: Marla Benedict is the new POTUS. She won 54%-44%. Gov. Grabb’s statement re The Leader seems to have been what opened up a very close race. The Progressives hold a majority in both houses.

[Wayne23]

11/16: 73-56 at #25 LSU. We led all the way. 17, 10 for Center Mo Bean, 17 for guard Aah Raed. 14, 10 for PF Joe Fint, 13 for sub PF/SF Jess Menn. +13 TOs. Good start!

11/19: 73-80 at #24 North Carolina. They built an early 15 point lead and we never caught up. Threes were the difference, we went 5-15, they went 14-26. 16, 2, 5, 4 for guard Cap Guin, 12 and 12 for Fint. All 5 starters were in double figures but we got very little from the bench, which was also a factor.

11/20: All 4 recruits sign.

11/23: 69-48 over #9 Oklahoma ST here. Close for a half. 41-18 in the 2nd. 14, 10 for Fint, 16, 5 for Raed, 13 for Rica. We held them to 24.1%!

11/26: 84-82 at #17 Georgia Tech. We built a 19 point lead and stood around and watched as they chipped away at it. At the end their PF missed 2 free throws with .6 seconds to go. He missed the second on purpose in hopes of a tip in, but Mo Bean grabbed the RB. 29, 5 for Guin, 14 each for subs Jess Menn and Udo Wiel. Kik Jost is giving us nothing at SF so Menn and Wiel got more PT tonight. They’re about to get even more.

11/30: 81-71 vs. #14 UCLA here. 29, 5, 5, 3, 3 for Raed, 20, 12 for Fint, 11, 6, 4 for Guin, 10, 9 for Bean. +13 RBs.

12/3: 91-71 over #6 Indiana here. 59-36 at the half. 36, 4, 6 for Raed, 33, 6, 7, 2, 2 for Guin, 8, 10 for Fint. +9 RBs.

12/7: 91-69 over Utah here. 25, 9 for Guin, 17, 12 for Bean. Lots of others contributed. An incredible +25 RBs (51-26). 8 TOs.

12/11: 91-81 with #22 Arizona here. 21, 5, 3, 2, 2 for Bean, 18, 5, 3, 2 for Guin, 11, 10, 3, 2, 3 for Fint, 12 for Menn, in his first start.

7-1, #5, RPI #1.

12/13: 85-72 Alabama here. We never trailed. 17 for Raed, 14, 6, 6 for Guin, 15, 7 for Bean, 11, 3, 3 for Rica.

12/17: 71-65 at Seton Hall. WE led all the way, by as many as 21. 19 for Guin, 15, 14 for Bean, 11, 3, 7 for Raed, 7, 10, 3, 2, 2 for Fint. +9 RBs, 10 TOs.

12/21: 78-65 over Kentucky here. 48-27 at the half. 15, 3, 5 for Raed, 14, 5, 4, 3, 2 for Guin, 10, 7 for Fint, 3 guys had 8 each. +9 TOs.

12/25: At the end of pre-conf. play we’re 10-1, #2, RPI #1. +11.5 PPG, +6.1 RBs, +3.2 TOs.

[Wayne23]

12/31: 75-54 SMU here. All 5 starters in double figures. +11 RBs, +6 TOs.

1/4/19: 76-67 at Central Florida. 14 each for Raed and Rica, 13, 8 for Fint.

1/7: 99-82 over Houston here. 48-27 at the half. 18 for Fint, 15 each for Bean and Gint, 13, 6, 5 for Raed, 14, 7 for Rica. +9 TOs, +8 RBs.

1/11: 92-71 vs. East Carolina here. 19, 5, 5 for Raed, 15 each for Fint and Rica. +12 TOs.

1/14: 69-74 at #9 Cincinnati. 13 game win streak ends. We led by as many as 13 early, but very poor 2nd half shooting did us in. 27.9% for the game, 20% on threes. Their SG lit us up for 35. 15, 12 for Fint.

1/18: 87-56 with Tulane here. 22, 9 for Raed, 17, 6 for Fint. +17 RBs.

1/20: President Benedict is sworn in.

1/21: 71-74 at Tulsa. Shocking loss to the worst team in the conf. They were 34-44, we were 18-27 from the line. 17, 4, 3 for Fint. Poor officiating made it impossible for us to play our game.1/23: Some sort of a new disease is racing through Africa. It has Ebola type symptoms and qualities but it is not Ebola. It is being called the Nairobi Virus, since that’s where the first cases were found.

1/25: 75-70 at South Florida. 18, 11 for Fint16, 6 for Bean, 14, 8 for Raed.

1/27: The deadly Nairobi Virus is spreading. It kills quickly, within 3-5 days after initial contact. Medical researchers studying it say it is unique. While it has some properties of a virus it also has some qualities of a bacteria. It does not really fit in either category. Some of the researchers are saying it is a new life form.

1/28: 80-69 #25 Temple here. 17, 9, 4 for Guin, 16, 3, 6, 5 for Raed. +6 RBs.

1/29: 17-3, 7-2, #6, RPI #2. In a 3 way tie for 2nd, 1 back of 1st. +11.7 PPG, +5.6 RBs, +4.1 TOs.

Aah Raed is #14, Cap Guin #20 on the Norton list.

The Nairobi Virus is now being called the Nairobi Plague. It is killing people in enormous numbers all over Africa, and it is beginning to spread to other continents.

[Wayne23]

2/1: 76-84 at #1 Memphis. They led by as many as 21 early, and by 15 at the half. 18, 4 for Guin. They hit 27 free throws, we had 13.

In a 2 way tie for 4th. We have 6 regular season games to play. We really need to win all of them.

2/4: 90-68 over Long Island here. 26, 4, 4 for Guin, 19, 9 for Fint, 18, 3, 6, 4 for Raed. +14 TOs.

2/8: 90-77 at SMU. 23, 4, 6, 3 for Raed, 18, 3, 3 for Guin, 13, 10 for Fint. +11 RBs.

The Nairobi Plague is racing around the world. Tens of millions have died. Medical researchers are trying things but nothing so far has had any effect on this unique organism.

2/11: 73-65 over Central Florida here. They stayed fairly close all the way. 7 player had between 8 and 13 points for us. +11 TOs, and -10 fouls were the key factors.

2/12: 20-4, 10-3, #5, RPI #2. Still in a 2 way tie for 3rd with 3 to play. The toughest one is next, at #19 Houston, the 2nd place team.

Aah Raed is #16 on the Norton list.

2/15: 69-88. We had high hopes here but we were pretty awful tonight. -7 TOs, -5 RBs, +9 fouls, 3 starters in foul trouble throughout. 18, 5, 4 for Raed.

Alone in 4th, and that’s likely where we’ll end up.

The plague continues. It is estimated that more than 100 million have died, most in third world countries, but more and more in industrialized countries lately. The researchers still cannot even say for certain what this is, and they still believe it is a completely new type of life form. They can make it go dormant, but it doesn’t stay dormant. And nothing seems to kill it- not acid, radioactivity, extreme heat, extreme cold, or anything else. And isolating for study purposes is not completely effective. More than once the organism has escaped its container, even escaped a completely isolated room- or one that was thought to be completely isolated. Several researchers have died as a result of this.

2/18: 90-79 at East Carolina. 21, 5, 3 for Guin, 20, 4, 3 for Raed, 13, 6 for Fint. +11 RBs.

Our final game will be a battle for the #3 seed with 3rd place Cincy, #8 ranked, 21-5, 12-3.

2/22: 96-86 here. Close until a 13-3 run in the last 5 minutes. 18, 8, 3, 3 for bean, 18, 6, 6 for Raed, 17 for Guin, 12, 10 for Fint. +10 RBs. Big win!

2/26: We end the regular season 22-5, 12-4, #6, RPI #2. Tied for 3rd place with the #3 seed. +10.0 PPG, +5.6 RBs, +3.7 TOs.

3/5: We lose 3 to the NBA draft. Mo Bean, which is going to really hurt, Kik Jost, who may have started next year, and Ab Torp, who didn’t live up to expectations.

No progress in the battle against the plague.

[Wayne23]

5/1: We buy the usual reports.

Preseason #1.

5/5: Suddenly, the number of new Nairobi Plague cases has dramatically dropped off. The death toll is estimated at nearly 1.5 billion, but this is the first hopeful sign.

5/20: There have been no new plague cases reported in 10 days.

6/5: We go after an SG.

6/12: We get him, Anik Xan, from Greece. Looks like a really good one.

6/26: 5 scholarships and we need bigs. Looking at 15.

8/7: Will Mort, PG, #4, Cap Guin, PG, #11, Jan Zinn, PG, #14, and Udo Wiel, PF, #32 made the Norton list.

The world is trying to adjust to losing about ¼ of its population. The plague disappeared as mysteriously as it arrived. Medical researchers continue to work, but no discoveries have been made.

8/21: We offer to 2 SFs, 2 PFs, and a C.

9/18: We got 2 SFs and a PF. #3, 4, 13.

3 years in a row without an in season tournament, which is very strange.

9/25: We get a PF, #16. 1 to go.

10/2: We lose the PF.

First day of practice. This is the best team I’ve ever coached.

10/16: While it’s a horrible thing, losing ¼ of the world’s population has eased a great deal of pressure on the environment. It is easier to provide water, there is less pollution of all kinds, the world’s resources are being used up more slowly.

Governments are trying to take advantage of this in order to promote conservation, and to switch to 100% renewable resources.

11/6: Here’s the lineup:

We’re going with a three guard set up, and playing 4 guards equally: Soph Cap Guin starts at PG, frosh Jan Zinn starts at SG, frosh Will Mort starts at SF, and juco junior Coy Hess is the 4th guard. All of them play two of the three positions.

Senior Udo Wiel is at PF, and frosh Rob Wry at C. Senior Joe Fint subs at both spots.

In reserve are some very good players, Jess Menn, Ray Niel, and Bou Rica. We are very good, and very deep.

I think this is our year!

[Wayne23]

11/14: 80-56 over #17 Louisville here. +13 TOs, +9 Rbs. We’re going to be tough to defend if we play the way we played tonight. Our “Super 7” all contributed on both ends. If the D concentrates on any one or two of them, the others will get it done.

11/17: 89-72 vs. #16 Kentucky here. +10 RBs, +8 TOs. 22, 6 for Wiel, 16, 7, 5 for Mort, 11, 9 for Wry, 10, 6, 4 for Zinn, 12, 2, 5 for Guin, 7, 6, 4, 3, 4 for Hess.

11/20: All 4 committed recruits signed. The one we’re still after is marginal regarding the SAT. If he doesn’t hit it, we may just keep the scholarship for next year.

11/21: 73-76 at North Carolina ST. They went to the line 40 times, we went 16 times. We never led. We got it to one possession 6 times in the 2nd half, and never once got it tied, or got the lead. 3 of those 6 resulted in offensive fouls. Horrible officiating. 20, 5 for Mort, 17, 4 for Zinn, 6, 10 for Wiel. The things I said after the game are going to cost me some money, but they needed to be said. Inconsistent officiating is the plague of basketball- at all levels.

11/24: 73-64 at North Carolina. +10 TOs. 18, 3, 8 for Mort, 16, 4, 3, 4 for Zinn, 13, 9 for Fint, 12, 4, 3 for Guin.

11/27: 3-1. We drop to #6. Tomorrow will be a big early test.

11/28: 81=70 over #1 Kansas here. We led all the way, by as many as 28. +16 TOs. 16, 11, 3, 4 for Wry, 16, 3, 4, 3 for Guin, 14, 6, 6 for Mort, 12, 9 for Fint, 14, 3, 2, 2 for Hess.

12/1: 79-69 vs. #8 Brigham Young here. +6 RBs. 23, 6 for Zinn, 12, 8 for Wry, 13, 6 for Guin.

12/4: 5-1, #4, RPI #8.

12/5: 84-71 at #14 Maryland. 25, 4, 3 for Mort, 11, 12, 2, 4, 3 for Wry, 15, 3, 9 for Guin. +8 TOs, +6 RBs.

President Boudreau called Li and asked if she’d serve on the President’s Youth Council. Li said she’d love to but wasn’t sure she could commit to the meetings, given her health concerns. The POTUS said she understood that and that the meetings had a virtual component due to the fact that all of the members had lots of commitments. Li accepted. What a great honor.

Li’s books, both those aimed at the 10-12 crowd, and those aimed at little kids, continue to sell extremely well.

12/8: 71-52 over UCLA here. We held them to 25.4%. 16, 6, 3, 3 for Hess.

12/11: 7-1, #3, RPI #6.

12/13: 89-69 at Alabama. 29, 5 for Hess. +9 RBs.

Will Mort hurt his arm. Out about a week.

12/15: 60-42 with #12 Texas here. Excellent D held them to 26.1%. +12 RBs. 13, 7 for Wiel.

12/18: 9-1, #2, RPI #4.

12/19: 98-92 over #3 Mississippi ST here. We led for the last 39 minutes, by as many as 20. 23 for Zinn, 18, 2, 7, 2 for Guin, 13, 11, 7 for Hess, 13, 12, 3 for Wiel, 15, 5, 4 for Wry. Great win!

12/25: We end pre-conf. play at 10-1, #2, RPI #2. +13.1 PPG, +5.8 RBs, +6.3 TOs.

Mort is back.

[Wayne23]

12/29: 74-58 at SMU. 17, 4, 3 for Mort. +10 TOs.

1/2/20: 82-40 over Central Florida here. Ugly. They shot 25%. +18 RBs, +12 TOs. 18, 10 for Wry, 14, 7, 5 for Hess, 14, 5, 4, 3, 2 for Zinn.

1/5: 78-63 at #18 Houston. For once Houston doesn’t exercise its magic on us. 50 RBs (+19). 15, 4 for both Guin and Zinn, 11, 10, 3 for Wiel, 11, 6, 5 for Mort, 7, 12 for Wry, 8, 6, 4, 3 for Fint.

1/8: #1, RPI #1. 13-1.

1/9: 68-69 at East Carolina. We blew a 15 point lead to a team that never should have beat us. 20 for Mort, 16, 6, 5 for Guin, and no one else had more than 7. This is an embarrassing loss.

1/12: 76-64 vs. #5 Cincinnati here. We led most of the way, by as many as 22. 18, 10 for Wry, 16, 4, 5, 3, 2 for Hess, 12 each for Zinn and Mort. +16 TOs.

1/6: 81-66 at Tulane. 21, 5 for Mort, 17, 4, 3 for Zinn, 3 others in double figures. +11 TOs.

Li’s rheumatoid arthritis has reached the point where she can no longer write or type her stories. She need to dictate them.

“The program isn’t very good. It makes so many mistakes.”

She has hired a personal assistant to fix the errors at her direction. She wanted to hire a part time administrative assistant but we spoke, and we felt a full time personal assistant would be better. So many things are just too difficult for Li. We are now paying two people so that she will have help for 80 hours a week.

“I hate that I can’t go to the games any more. I miss it so much. I mean, I see all of them on television, but it’s not the same.”

1/19: 79-58 Tulsa here. 24 for Zinn, 14, 4, 6 for Guin. +16 TOs.

Starting C Rob Wry broke his nose. He’s out probably through the conf. tourney. Good thing we’re deep. Joe Fint will replace him, and Jess Menn will back up.

1/23: 73-56 over South Florida here. 22, 8 for Zinn, 14 for Mort, 14 for Hess. Fint did not play well at C but Menn did better.

Li spoke to me about starting a charity.

“We have so much more than we need- and my father and my sister, as well. There are so many children in need.”

“What did you have in mind, Li?”

“I want to feed hungry children. I want to teach illiterate children to read.”

“Are you well enough to take on something this large?”

“… No, I’m not. But Su is. I think she and her husband might be interested. And my father. He has so much money. It’s ridiculous. I want to talk to both of them. We could start with a large donation and try to convince other
wealthy people to join us.”

“Sad to say, but wealthy people aren’t usually very generous.”

“I think a public campaign; we focus on the wealthy, even call them out.”

“Oh boy! That could be trouble.”

“So what? Children all over the world still live in poverty. They can’t read so they have no way to pull themselves up. Are you opposed to this?”

“No, of course not, Li. Hell, we could give half- three quarters of what we have, and it wouldn’t affect our life style at all. Your father could give 90%.”

“That’s what I want, a public announcement from us, my father, my sister, as many others as possible, saying, who gave up 90%, 75%- and we could give 75% of our fortune- 50%. Challenge others, appeal to middle class people as well.”

“Okay, two things come to mind. First, be prepared for some very angry rich people who are too selfish to give.”

“I know. I don’t care. I want to challenge them.”

“Okay, this is vital. Make absolutely certain that the people who handle the money are 100% honest. A scandal destroys this instantly.”

“Yes, that’s true. And it is a very important point.”

“Oh, take your time. If you rush you’ll make mistakes. Make sure to touch every base carefully along the way.”

1/26: 84-74 at Temple. 53-33 at the half. I was not happy with our second half effort. We sort of mailed it in, and stopped going at them. They heard about it after the game and will hear even more in practice. 20, 3, 3 for Mort,
14, 6, 5 for Hess, 15 for Fint, 8, 9 for Menn.

1/29: The recruit we’ve been chasing did not hit our SAT score. We’ll keep looking but we’ll probably bank the scholarship.

18-2, 8-1, #1, RPI #1. +14.5 PPG, +5.2 RBs, +7.6 TOs. #1 in the nation in RBs and Blocks, #3 in TOs.

[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.