The Last Man

[Wayne23]

3/9: #9 seed Tulane, 10-18, 5-11, won the play in. We won by 29 here.

3/10: 89-42. 45-17 at the half. 28, 12 for Marq, 19, 9, 4 for Camm. +27 RBs, +11 TOs.

#4 seed Memphis, 19-11, 10-6, in the semis. We won by 13 in the title game of the Sunshine Shootout but then by 7 in OT there, in our only close game of the year. There SG can light it up.

3/11: 83-65. It was close for almost 30 minutes. Then we went on a 15-2 run. 19, 4, 3 for Owen, 15, 11 for Marq.

#3 seed Fairleigh Dickinson, 20-9, 10-6, won their semifinal game by the ridiculous score of 39-34. We play them for the title. We beat them by 30 at our place. On paper this is no contest but…

3/12: 75-49. 41-17 at the half. 18 for Marq, 12, 11 for Camm. +13 RBs.

6th man Jam Dan strained abdominals and will miss the first, and possibly the 2nd round game.

32-0, #1, RPI #1.

#1 overall. We play 17-14 Cal ST Fullerton 1st.

3/16: 66-41. 32-16 at the half. We were sloppy, 17 TOs.

#9 seed Purdue, 20-9, in the 2nd round. They have a very good SG and a deep bench.

3/18: 90-71. We led by as many as 24. 20, 7 for Marq, 17 each for Camm and Owen, 11, 11, 4 for Wats. +20 RBs.

#4 seed, #17 ranked Texas, 24-8, in the Sweet Sixteen. Their guards do the scoring.

3/23: 90-81. We were up 26 at the half. The final was the closest it got in the 2nd. 20, 14, 2, 2, 3 for Marq, 23, 6 for Camm, 17, 3, 5 for Walt. +12 RBs but 16 TOs.

#2 seed, #3 ranked Marquette, 32-4. They’re only #6 in RPI but this is a tough Elite Eight matchup. Oh well, to win the title you need to beat them all. They have great balance and have very good players at SG and PF.

3/25: 82-71. It took a long time to get some daylight. 28 for Walt, 17, 7 for Camm, 11 RBs for Marq. +11 RBs, 10 TOs.

We’ll play #2 ranked Michigan, 31-5, in the national semifinal. We beat them by 13 at our place in early December but that was a LONG time ago. I think we’re a little better but we’ll need to play well.

On the other side it’s #4 ranked Pitt, 31-4, vs. #20 Oklahoma, 25-9.

4/1: 94-79. 51-28 at the half. 22, 11 for Camm, 21, 8, 6 for Marq, 20 for Walt.

It’s #4 Pitt, 32-4, for the title. They can play. We’re the better team but not by all that much.

4/3: 74-61 and back to back titles! 35-18 at the half. 4 guys with between 15 and 12 points. +10 RBs. Hell of a shot at a threepeat, losing a senior who plays 7 minutes a game and one starter. Everyone else is back, plus the #3, 4, 6 rated recruits.

4/4: Awards: Lou Marq was Final Four MOP. I got national COY. In conf., John Camm was POY, Frosh OY, Defensive POY, and 1st team along with Lou Marq. I was Conf. COY.

I often forget that I found the “Fountain of Youth.” I’ll be 65 in less than a month and I look and feel mid 30s. It is written about often, and I’m asked about it regularly in interviews. Given that I’m the only person in the world who got this gift it’s a big deal everywhere. There is a small but definite element of danger. The religious nut jobs are convinced there’s something Satanic involved. I always travel with bodyguards.

4/16: We hire three lousy assistants because that’s all we could get.

4/23: I ask for a contract extension. No.

38-0, national title. 62 wins in a row. Overall, I’m 1083-211, .837.

Let’s go for the threepeat!

[Wayne23]

November, 2167: Three months of continuing issues with the ship’s engines. We get them going and a day or two later they stop again. We have found what we thought was the cause several times, but each time we fix it, and then the engines stop again.

I am at a loss as to what else to try, and it seems like the holoexperts are kind of feeling the same way. Their latest suggestion is to bring each engine part in, one at a time, and replace it with a new version of that part, printed on the 3D printer, and that includes parts we have already replaced. That will take a lot of time and effort, but it may be the only thing left to do. Then any lines, and wires, and shafts, and connections, and anything else connected in any way to the engines and their power sources- all solar.

Lacy informed me that she wants to take a trip- a long trip.

“Dad, the only way I can really study this is to go into space and stay there to observe directly for an extended period of time. Titan is unique. Of all the planets and moons in the solar system it’s the most dynamic and changeable. I need to see the changes and chart them from up close. I need to send probes down to get to the surface and below it.”

“How long are we talking about?”

“Two years.”

“What!!!”

“That’s the minimum.”

“You’re asking me to leave for two years?”

“Yes.”

“No. You can do all of that via robots and robotic devices. You learn nothing extra by being there. They can transmit all of the data to you right here, and you can analyze it in the HC with the holoexperts. No.”

“It’s not the same. I WILL learn things and see things by being on site.”

“No.”

“Ask the holoexperts. They’ll back me up on this.”

“No. You’re not even 15 yet. We have the ability for you to use the program to spend all day there and come home every night. That’s an idea I’ll listen to.”

“Dad, you’re actually NOT listening. I need to be there 24/7. Some of the things happen at what would be night here. I can arrange alarms to wake me when they happen. I’ll be right there and I can make my observations, and if necessary, launch my probes, like instantly.”

“You can get alarmed while you’re here, in your own bed, and have the robots on site launch the probes while you’re right here.”

“Dad, I need to do this.”

“No. You can accomplish everything you want to accomplish without being gone for two years. Not a chance.”

She stormed out of the room. I’m sure I haven’t heard the last of this.

Next: More engine trouble, more battles over Lacy’s trip

[Wayne23]

5/1: The usual reports.

Preseason #1.

6/5: Interested in a transfer.

6/12: We didn’t get him.

6/26: 4 scholarships. We need 3 guards. Looking at 15.

8/7: 8 on the Norton list: PF Ben Wain is #2, PG Tod Smit #3, PF John Camm #4, PF Jam Dan #7, C Lou Marq #11, C Andy Wilk #14, C Don Wats #18, PG Jed Owen #20.

8/21: We offer to 2 PGs, an SG, an SF.

9/18: Got 2, lost 2. Got an SF, #1, and an SG, #3.

Preseason NIT vs. Miami of Ohio.

9/25: We get 2 PGs, #8, and #13.

10/2: 1st day of practice. This is a very good team.

11/6: Here’s the lineup:

Senior Jed Owen and frosh Tod Smit start at guard. Senior Dan Flor and juco junior Mike Few back up.

Soph John Camm moves to SF this year.

Junior Lou Marq and frosh Ben Wain start inside. Juniors Jam Dan and Don Wats, and frosh Andy Wilk back up.

This is a really excellent team. We’ve won 62 in a row going into the season.

We start at the NIT vs. Miami of Ohio.

[Wayne23]

11/14: 84-45. 16, 13 for C Lou Marq, 18 for SF John Camm, 12, 4, 9 for guard Jed Owen. +16 RBs, +15 TOs.

#8 seed, #13 ranked Memphis in the quarter finals.

11/16: 102-62. 25, 4 for Camm, 18, 5 for Marq, 13, 2, 9 for Owen. +14 TOs.

#5 seed, #14 ranked Marquette in the semifinal.

11/18: 87-70. 27, 6, 4 for guard Tod Smit, 14, 12 for PF Ben Wain, 14, 7, 3 for Marq, 15, 5 for Camm. +9 TOs.

#2 seed, #2 ranked Oklahoma for the title. Their SG is the best player in the country. He gets 35 a game.

11/20: 92-87. They led by 16 early, 13 at the half. 16, 15 for Marq, 20, 8 for Wain, 19, 8 for Camm. Their SG got 31. +8 TOs, +9 RBs.

All 4 recruits sign.

12/4: 8-0, #1, RPI #1. Smit, Marq, Camm, and Wain lead the way.

12/25: The win streak ended at 72. We had three subs injured for the game at Georgia, our first three off the bench. We got in foul trouble and just didn’t have enough bodies.

13-1, #1, RPI #1. +20.6 PPG, +12.1 RBs, +6.3 TOs. We’re averaging an amazing 9.2 TOs per game. Camm leads us in scoring with 17.4. 15.8 for Smit, 13.4 and 8.5 for Wain, 13.1 and 8.8 for Marq.

[Wayne23]

February, 2168: Random and unexplainable engine problems continue. We’ve replaced every part of the engine, everything that connects to it or feeds it, every solar battery, cell, and panel- every conceivable thing related in any way to the engine, and the issues continue. So far at least we’ve always been able to get the engine going again, but I hate the thought of going through a storm with the engines down.

The weather patterns have not shifted enough to put us in a storm zone yet, but sooner or later it’s bound to happen.

Lacy has not given up on her proposed two year trip to Titan, and the other moons around Saturn. I have not relaxed my opposition.

“Dad, this is a Ph. D. trip. The work I’ll do and the things I learn will give me what I need to write my dissertation. It’s not like I’m going on some vacation or something.”

“First, you’re too young to be gone that long. Second, who gets a Ph. D. before they get a Bachelor’s? Third, Amy and I need you.”

“First, I will be in the company of robots and holoexperts for the entire trip, and I’ll be absolutely safe. Second, I have the equivalent of a Bachelor’s in physics, and you know it! Third, you and Amy can visit as often as you like, using the program you want me to use. You really have no valid argument, dad. You won’t even discuss this with the holoexperts because you know you’re wrong. You’re just being stubborn.”

Oops. Maybe I need to rethink this.

“Okay, we need to stop arguing about this… I’ll talk to the holoexperts in cosmology and astrophysics, BUT, I’ll also talk to the holopsychologists regarding sending a 15 year old off on a trip like this.”

“That’s all I ask.”

Day 5: I consulted with the holoexperts I mentioned, and also the ones who deal with weather, ship safety during storms…

“Lacy, here’s my proposal. One, with certain restrictions, I’m going to let you do this.”

“What restrictions?”

“First, I need a one page weekly report, just bullet points is fine, on what you did that week, what you learned, things like that.”

“Okay.”

“Second, Amy and I will visit, regularly. We’ll work out a system where we do it during your off hours. I understand we can send messages back and forth with a 45 minute time lag. I don’t know how that can work, but I’m told it does. And I’m also told we can get from one place to another in 45 minutes. One part of me says the distances are so far that that should be impossible. Another part says, it’s a holoprogram, we should be able to get there pretty much immediately.”

“I’ll want to see you, so I’m okay with that. As far as the time thing, the laws of physics are different in the HC. I could go into a lot of detail but I don’t think you have the math for it.”

“Yes, I figured that out when the holoexperts tried to explain it to me. Third, I need to know at once if anything goes wrong or is dangerous.”

“There’s nothing dangerous about-”

“Stop! You can set up an automatic warning system.”

“What can you do about it if something does happen?”

“One, I can know about it. Two, I can send rescue robots, and if I think it makes sense I can go with them.”

“Dad, 45 minutes. By the time the robots get there-”

“Just do it. Set up the warning system.”

“Okay, okay.”
“Finally, and this is my greatest concern, if we have a storm here I’ll probably get about an hour’s notice. This is the part I don’t understand- it’s probably a math thing again... I’m told that you’re out near Titan or another moon, but you’re also in the HC aboard this ship. That means you’ll be in the same danger as Amy and I are in, and you’ll need to secure everything and be belted in somewhere. When I get a warning I’ll immediately send a message. That will give you less than 15 minutes to get everything secured and to get yourself safe. I cannot stress this enough. If you get that warning, and it will be a specific danger warning, different sound and look from anything else I send, you need to stop everything and act immediately. There’s no compromise on this one.”

“… Half the time those storms don’t put us in any real danger-”

“And the other half of the time they’re life threatening. I can’t let you go unless I know you’re going to take every single warning seriously.”

“… How about you send the data with the warning.”

“How about you realize that I’m only going to send the warning if there’s a real chance that the approaching storm is dangerous!”

“Okay, okay.”

“I’m trying to figure out a program that will automatically activate the safety procedures at your end when I send the warning.”

“Thanks! Great to know you trust me!”

“The point isn’t trust. The point is that this would save time and get the robots moving as soon as the warning is received.”

“You save a few seconds. It’s definitely about trust.”

“One wrong decision or delay at your end could kill you or seriously injure you.”

“Dad, I get it.”

“It’s moot at this point. I don’t have the program. But I’m concerned that you’ll be in the middle of something you consider vital and you’ll delay your response.”

I got an eyeroll but not an answer.

“So I can go?”

“You can go.”

“How soon?”

“As soon as you’re ready-”

“Like, today?”

“Like when I have an outline of your mission, what you plan to accomplish, and how you plan to accomplish it. What you need to bring, what safety measures you have in place- things like that.”

“Fine.”

Day 7: I got Lacy’s plan. It was way too simple, and it left out some essentials.

“No, this won’t do. Sorry.”

“What? I wrote a plan!”

“It’s too basic. It needs more detail.”

“Like what?”

“More specificity regarding what will go into your data collection-”

“How can I know that until I see what’s out there!”

“You’re telling me this is about a Ph. D. A Ph. D. needs a specific research question and a plan to gather the data to answer it. I thought you knew that-”

“Yes, but-”

“Consult with your holoexperts and write a proper research plan.”

“You’re just delaying me. You won’t ever let me go!”

“Lacy, this request is reasonable. Next, you need medical staff.”

“I’ve got that.”

“You have a paramedic. I want you to take a holoprogram for a full hospital. There’s no reason not to have that and it may save your life at some point. And I want the robots to be programmed to get you into the holohospital if you can’t get there on your own. We have the programs for all of that. Make it happen.”

“Fine!”

“Finally, I want redundancy in the ship you’re in- all systems. At times you’ll be fighting a LOT of gravity. If something breaks down at a critical point the redundancy could save you.”

“There’s only so much room on the kind of ship I need for this mission.”

“So make better choices about what you’re bringing. A lot of the stuff on your list could just as easily be accessed only via the HC. It doesn’t need to be in “real space.”

“Fine!”

“When all of that is done, resubmit to me.”

“I still think you’re setting up roadblocks to stop me from ever going.”

“No you don’t. You know I’m right about all of this.”

Day 12: Lacy resubmitted. I found a few minor issues which I knew she could correct in an hour or two. She pitched a fit, but she fixed everything.

“Okay. Spend the evening with Amy and you can leave in the morning.”

Next: Lacy near Titan, Amy and I

[Wayne23]

1/15/2066: 18-1, 5-0, #1, RPI #1. We beat #12 Cincy by 40 here. 1 game lead in conf. over 3 teams.

1/29: 22-1, 9-0. #1, RPI #1. +25.2 PPG, +13.3 RBs, +7.6 TOs (8.9 per game). #1 in all these categories and in steals allowed. #3 in assists and blocks. #5 in PPG allowed. 2 up on Cincy, 3 up on 3 others.

Ben Wain is #7 on the Norton list. John Camm is #11, Lou Marq #20, Tod Smit #28.

2/12: 2-1, 13-0, #1, RPI #1. 3 up on Cincy, 4 on 3 others, 8 or more on the rest.

Ben Wain is #9, and John Camm #10 on the Norton list.

2/26: We end the regular season 29-1, 16-0, winning the conf. by 4. +24.5 PPG, +12.2 RBs, +9.0 TOs, +6.4 assists, +4.9 steals.

3/5: I expected this to be a bad day. It was. We lose 5 guys to the draft: Juniors Lou Marq, Jam Dan, and Dan Wats, and frosh Ben Wain and Tod Smit. So three starters, and a fourth is a senior. So four guys are coming back. Right now we have 4 recruits so I’ll need to go after at least a couple more. (Author’s note: On April 9 I’ll cut at least two guys who are leaving for the draft. It may cost me TP points but, what else can I do.)

[Wayne23]

3/9: #8 seed East Carolina, 12-16, 6-10, in the quarters. Beat them by 18 there, 17 here.

3/10: 67-45. 45-24 at the half. 19, 5, 3 for Smit, 8, 12 for Marq. +10 RBs, +9 TOs.

#5 seed Memphis, 19-11, 10-6, in the semis. Beat them by 40 and 21.

3/11: 66-52. 19, 10 for Camm, 15, 15 for Wain. +11 RBs, 10 TOs. Great D!

#2 seed, #15 ranked Temple, 22-7, 12-4, for the title. Beat them by 20 there.

3/12: 69-55 and the title. 19 for Smit, 16, 6 for Marq. +10 RBs.

32-1, 16-0, #1, RPI #1 (by a huge margin).

#1 overall. We play Cal-Riverside, 17-15.

3/16: 76-68. We were awful on O, worse on D. Our big edge in talent got us through.

Everyone else in our conf. lost. That shouldn’t happen in the first round in this conference.

#8 seed Syracuse, 20-11, in the 2nd round.

3/18: 73-55. 42-19 at the half. Much better! 24, 7 for Wain, 13, 12 for Camm, 15, 9, 4 for Marq. +12 RBs, 9 TOs.

#13 seed Canisius, 23-11, beat the #4, then the #5 seed, so we play them in the Sweet Sixteen. On paper it’s no contest but they’re hot right now.

3/23: 76-69. We led all the way, but they played really well. We didn’t. 25, 5 for Camm. 18 TOs.

If we’re going to threepeat we need to start playing better- now!

#3 seed, #13 ranked Louisville, 25-11, in the Elite Eight. We beat them by 39 in December. They have some guys who can play.

3/25: 73-49. 15, 17 for Wain, 15, 10 for Camm, 8, 16 for Marq. 58 RBs (+22). But 18 TOs (+6). Much better game but 18 TOs and 32.9% shooting. I’m concerned.

We’ll play #2 ranked Oklahoma, 31-6, in the national semifinal. We beat them by only 5 in November, in the NIT title game. Their SG is considered the best player in the country and gets 29.4 per game. He had
31 against us. We think we’re stronger at all four other positions, and we think our bench is better.

On the other side it’s #4 ranked Marquette, 32-4, vs. #20 North Carolina, 24-10.

4/1: 86-77. 26, 5, 4, with 4 blocks for Smit, 18, 6 for Camm, 16, 9 for Wain, 9, 16 for Marq, 11, 4, 11 for sub guard Dan Flor. +16 RBs. Their guy got 42.

We led by as many as 18 in the 2nd. They made a late charge, but 9 was as close as they got.

#4 ranked Marquette, 33-4, for the title. We beat them by 17 in the NIT semifinal in November. Going for the threepeat.

4/3: 89-74 and the threepeat! Title #10 for me, to match the legendary John Wooden! 20, 8 for Marq, 20 for Smit, 15, 7 for Wain. They stayed with us ofr 28 minutes or so. Then we stretched the lead to 19.

4/4: Awards: Ben Wain was Final Four MOP. I got National COY again. In conf., Lou Marq was Defensive POY. Ben Wain and John Camm made 1st team. Tod Smit and Marq made 2nd team.

4/23: I ask for a facilities upgrade, mostly to keep our excellent facilities from slipping.

1121-212, .841. Right now I have the highest win pct. In Div. I history, I am 23 wins behind Mike Krzyzewski, and I’m tied for most national titles. I could possibly own all three records next season.

[Wayne23]

May, 2168: Lacy is happy as can be three months into her mission. She is spending time studying the moons of Jupiter before moving on to Saturn, and her main focus, Titan. The plan was six months on the moons of Jupiter, while seeing what she could learn about the planet itself, then on to Saturn, a study of the planet and several of its moons. The focus on Titan will occupy most of year two.

She has been very good about sending the weekly reports I requested, and Amy and I visit every couple of weeks.

We time our visits in coordination with Lacy so that we will be able to spend time with her when she is mostly free. Once the alarms went off and she had to go to work. But she did what she had to do as quickly as she could, and our visit wasn’t wasted. She was afraid I’d be upset but I wasn’t. I understand why she’s here, and that when opportunities present themselves she has to take advantage.

Amy misses her big “sister.” She struggles with not seeing her as often as she used to. At 11 years old she “does her own thing,” and she likes to spend time doing what she wants to do, but as all little sisters do, she adores her big sister. I fill in all that I can but it’s not the same. Still, Amy spends a great deal of time on her art, and she loves to read. She also has holofriends that she has had for years, and they fill the gap to a degree. But Amy loves our visits to Lacy.

Amy is learning to cook, and she really likes both the challenge and the creative aspect. I try to make the time for us to cook together most evenings. I’d say it happens about 5 times a week. We try new things most nights, but occasionally we repeat a recipe that turned out really well. Amy does most of the work. I’m just there to make suggestions and to steer her away from bad ideas.

The engine troubles continue, and they remain mysterious. The breakdowns seem to be happening less often, and we can usually get them fixed fairly quickly, but I still worry about storms.

Speaking of storms, we’re still doing very well in that area. The weather patterns have not yet put us back in the path of the big storms. We get rain and thunderstorms, sometimes some wind, but we have been free of any major storms.

Next: Lacy’s project, life on the ship, a change in the weather

[Wayne23]

11/20: 2-0. We beat #6 UCLA by 17 here, and then Marquette by 36. Our frontcourt of Wilk, Wats, and Camm looked terrific, the guards moved the ball really well, and the bench came through.

All 4 recruits sign.

12/4: 6-0, #1, RPI #3. Beat #10, #18, #25. Closest game was 10 points, 2nd closest was 17, but they were all at home. We’re away for 4 of the next 5, 3 of them against ranked teams. Our front court has been unstoppable- 17.8 and 10.3 for Wilk, 14.7 and 11.5 for Camm, 16.3 for Wats.

12/25: 10-1. The winning streak ends at 38. We lose by 7 at #9 St. Joe’s. We didn’t shoot well and we really didn’t defend well, especially outside. Their starting guards combined for 55.

10-1, #1, RPI #1. +19.8 PPG, +10.6 RBs, +5.9 TOs. Our big guys continue to lead the way.

[Wayne23]

1/15/2067: 15-1, 5-0, #1, RPI #1. 3 point win at #20 Cincy. Wilk had 22 RBs, Camm had 15. 62-40. Never had 62 RBs before, but the teams combined for <25% shooting. We’re tied with #2 ranked Temple for 1st in conf. #12 Memphis is 1 back. We play Temple here late this month and Memphis there early in Feb.- back to back games, actually.

1/29: 75-63 over #2 Temple here.

19-1, 9-0, #1, RPI #1. +21.3 PPG, +11.0 RBs, +7.3 TOs, +6.2 steals, +5.4 assists.

John Camm is #4, Andy Wilk #13, Dut Wats #23 on the Norton list.

2/12: 23-1, 13-0, #1, RPI #1. 2 up on Temple. Wilk and Camm are still both averaging a double double. Camm is #4 and Wilk #8 on the Norton list.

2/26: We end the regular season at 26-1, 16-0, #1, RPI #1. +21.8 PPG, +10.9 RBs, +7.9 TOs, +5.8 assists, +4.9 steals. We win the conf. by 4 games.

3/5: Tough day. The starting front line of Camm, Wilk, and Wats all go pro.