Historical Association #8 1st season 1988-‘89

[Wayne23]

3/6: We play #9 seed North Texas, 16-13, 8-10.

3/7: 76-64. 17, 13 for Dodo Blan, 13 for SF Kip Free, 12 for SG Bin Rand. +19 RBs.

#4 seed Western Kentucky, 18-12, 11-7, in the semis. We won by 18 at our place.

3/8: 85-73. 23, 9 for Ron Brue, 19, 7 for Blan, 15 for Rand.

#3 seed, #25 ranked Charlotte, 23-8, 12-6, for the title. Beat them by 18 at our place. They have two big men out, one a starter.

3/9: 74-58. 12, 10 for Kip Free, 7, 11 for Blan, 13, 6 for Brue, 14 for sub Tony Baya.

25-7, 14-4, #16, RPI #12.

3/12: #6 East. WAY worse than expected. I thought at least a #4. We play #11 Seton Hall, 16-12.

3/16: 72-70. At the end Dodo Blan powered his way inside for a layup. He got fouled but it wasn’t called. Didn’t matter. Blan had 19 and 7. Rand and Baya had 12 each.

#3 seed, #7 ranked Louisville, 22-7, in the 2nd round. This is the first time we get this far. Their SG gets 33.2 per game, and is ranked the best player in the nation.

3/18: 70-80. Their SG got 35. 18, 11 for Brue. 26 TOs, a season high.

4/3: #1 Wake Forest wins the title.

4/4: Awards: Ron Brue is Conf. POY, 1st team. Dodo Blan is Def. POY, 1st team. Bin Rand makes 2nd team. I am Conf. COY.

4/9: David Koresh and the Branch Davidians at Waco. 76 dead.

4/23: I ask for $. We get $4,500.

4/30: The World Wide Web is developed in Sweden.

[Wayne23]

5/1: We move to the Atlantic 10. No reports.

6/5: Looking at transfers.

6/12: We get a very good looking C from NC ST.

6/26: 5 scholarships.

8/21: We offer to an SF, 2 PFs, 2 Cs.

9/18: Got 2, lost 1. Got a PF, #46, and a C, #51.

Golden ST Classic vs. George Washington

9/25: Got an SF, #44.

10/2: 1st day of practice. We’re picked to finish 2nd in the A10.

10/9: Got one lost one. Got a PF, #132.

10/16: Got the fifth one, a PF, #51.

11/6: 7 man rotation and what looks like the strongest lineup I’ve ever coached:

Senior Tory Baya starts at PG, subs at SG. Senior Bin Rand starts at SG but paly more at PG. Senior Kip Free subs at SG. The 3 guards get about equal time for now.

Soph Ric Ramy is at SF, subs at PF. Frosh Cris Faul subs at SF.

Frosh Yogi Bara starts at PF, subs at C. Frosh Ad Knox is at C.

[Wayne23]

11/20: 2-0 start. Center Ad Knox looks like he’s going to be a hell of a player.

2 of our 5 committed recruits do not sign. Not good!

12/4: 4-1. Lineup is not quite completely set yet. One more road game then off to the Golden ST Classic where we’re the #3 seed.

12/9: 82-62 over #6 seed George Washington in the opening round. 20, 2, 5, 4, 2 for PG Tory Baya. 4 others with 10 or more.

#7 seed Toledo, 3-5 in the semis.

12/10: 73-65. 26, 15 for Knox, who dominated inside. +15 RBs but 19 TOs.

#1 seed, #18 ranked Florida ST, 8-0, for the title. Good team, but I think we match up pretty well with them.

12/11: 91-83 in a real shootout. Close all the way. We didn’t break it open until the last 5 minutes when we went from tied to up 16. Then they hit a few threes, but never really got too close.20 for PF Yogi Bara, 15, 14 for SF Ric Ramy, 16 for SF Kip Free, who now starts. +15 RBs.
22 TOs but they had 17. Great win!

The bad news- #3 guard Bin Rand broke his ankle. Out for about 2 months. Cris Faul will get most of his minutes, with Ban Bule getting a few.

12/20: The Brady Bill goes into effect.

12/25: 10-1, RPI #40. +12.4 PPG, +8.6 RBs, +3.5 TOs, +0.2 blocks, +2.5 assists, +2.6 steals. Ad Knox leads us in everything except assists.

[Wayne23]

1/1/1994: 1-1 start. ST Joe’s shut us down at their place.

NAFTA goes into effect.

Fascist dog excrement Rudy Giuliani becomes Mayor of NYC.

1/15: 13-4, 3-3. RPI #45. Tied for 6th. We’re playing terrible ball on the road. Of course we’ve played the top 3 teams in conf. on the road so it may get better.

1/29: 16-5, 6-4, RPI #26. Tied for 4th, 1 back of 2nd.

As expected, 2 recruits did not hit our SAT score. Back to recruiting.

2/12: 20-5, 10-4, #18, RPI #14. We’re playing really well. 7 straight wins. Tied for 2nd.

2/26: 23-6, 13-5, tied for 2nd, #3 seed. #17, RPI #15. +9.7 PPG, +10.7 RBs, -0.4 TOs, +1.1 blocks, +2.0 assists, -0.2 steals.

[Wayne23]

3/7: We play #6 seed Dayton, 17-12, 10-8, in the 1st round. We won by 22 at our place.

3/8: 79-63. 19, 6 for Knox, 17, 4, 7 for Baya. +13 RBs.

#7 seed George Mason, 16-13, 9-9, in the semis. We won by only 8 at our place.

3/9: 73-53. 24, 12 for Knox. 40 RBs, 12 TOs.

#8 ranked UMass was upset. We play #4 seed Duquesne, 20-10, 11-7 for the title. They won by 18 at their place, but we think we’re the better team. We’ll see.

3/10: 67-77. We blew a 15 point lead. Couldn’t make a shot in the 2nd half. 18, 13 for Knox.

25-7, 13-5, #14, RPI #12.

3/12: #4 West. We play #13 Marshall, 20-11.

3/17: 71-62. We came from 7 back early in the 2nd half. LOTS of foul trouble. Fortunately our bench stepped up.

Our 2nd trip to round two and we face #5 seed Southern Illinois, 24-8. We think we’re the better team.

3/19: 72-62. We never trailed, but we didn’t pull away until late. 14, 14 for Knox, 14 for Free.

First trip to the Sweet Sixteen! We play #8 seed USC, 20-12. We feel that we can beat this team.

3/24: 100-95 in OT. They made a fierce comeback at the end of regulation to send it to OT. My guys stepped up in OT. 24, 8, 5, 7 for Knox, 23 for SF Ric Ramy, 19, 4, 7 for PG Tory Baya. Biggest win in program history and we go to the Elite Eight for the first time.

We play #3 seed, #15 ranked Maryland, 23-10. We’ll need to play REALLY well to keep it going.

3/26: 58-52 and the Final Four! Amazing!!! We led most of the way in this defensive battle. We held them to 29.6% shooting. 17, 10 for Knox, 11, 9 for Ramy, 13 for Free. +12 RBs. 20 TOs, but they had 17.

Unbelievable! #3 seed, #24 ranked NC ST, 25-10, in the national semifinal. The odds are “Pick ‘em” so we certainly have a chance!

4/1: 55-65. 28 TOs killed us. They had 20, but still; 18 TOs in the 2nd half, when it all fell apart. We dominated early in the game.

Great run!

4/3: NC ST won it all, beating unranked Texas for the title.

4/4: Awards: Ad Knox is A10 POY, Frosh OY, Def. POY, and 1st team along with Ric Ramy. Yogi Bara made 2nd team and I am Conf. COY. 2 frosh and a soph are honored; the future looks bright! #30, 51, 52, 55 recruits coming in!

4/22: Nixon dies. The word “unique” is overused, but this man was unique in U. S. history, in several ways.

4/23: I ask for $ again. We get $6,500!

29-8, 13-5, Final Four! Hell of a season! Overall, 142-56, .717.

[Wayne23]

5/1: No reports.

6/5: Looking at a few transfers.

6/12: No luck.

O. J. Simpson murders his ex-wife and her friend. While he will beat the rap, his life is essentially over.

6/26: 2 scholarships.

7/8: North Korean dictator Kim Il-sung dies of a heart attack. His son, Kim Jong-il, takes over.

8/7: Ric Ramy is #20 and Ad Knox #38 on the Norton list.

8/21: We offer to 2 SFs.

9/13: The Assault Weapons Ban goes into effect. Insanely, 10 years later it is repealed.

9/14: For the first time in 90 years there is no World Series, due to a player’s strike.

9/18: Coaches Classic vs. #1 in the nation UCLA.

9/25: Got one, lost one. Got an SF, #56.

10/2: We get the 2nd recruit, SF, #69.

1st day of practice. We’re picked to win the A10.

11/6: 9 man rotation, but the lineup is not even close to being settled. Ramy, Jayr, and Knox get full minutes, no one else gets more than 20:

Junior Ric Ramy starts at PG, subs at PF! Junior Don Witt subs at PG.

Soph Cris Faul starts at SG, but soph Dez Jonn gets equal time there.

Soph Yogi Bara starts at SF, but juco junior Marc Dara and frosh Earl Harp get plenty of minutes there.

Soph Ad Knox starts at PF, subs at C. Soph Tega Jayr, a transfer from NC ST, is at C.

Look for changes!

11/8: Alas, The Rethuglican “Contract on America” is successful, and they take control of both houses.

[Wayne23]

11/13: We lose to #1 ranked UCLA 51-61 at the Coaches Classic. 24 TOs. If we can find some ball handlers I think we’ll have a good season.

12/4: 3-2. Dead last in Div. I in TOs, and steals allowed. For next season we’re drafting SFs who handle the ball well.

12/25: 5-4, RPI #21. +1.7 PPG, +18.1 RBs, -6.5 TOs (last in Div. I), -0.2 blocks, -2.9 assists, -3.1 steals. Still trying to get the lineup right. Jayr, Knox, and Ramy are the only solid players.

[Wayne23]

1/1/1995: 6-5, 1-1. It’s going to be a long season.

World Trade Organization and GATT go into effect.

1/15: 9-6, 4-2. RPI #30. In a 4 way tie for 1st, with 6 more teams one game back. It’s early. We’re still dead last in TOs, 20.1.

1/29: 11-8, 6-4, RPI #45. In a 3 way tie for 3rd, 1 back of 1st. +1.1 PPG, +15.5 RBs, -3.9 TOs. +0.9 blocks, -2.4 assists, -2.1 steals.
Ad Knox is #22 on the Norton list.

2/12: 13-10, 8-6, RPI #41. In a 3 way tie for 4th, 1 back of 1st. 3 of our last 4 are at home.

2/26: We end the regular season at 17-10, 12-6, in a 3 way tie for 1st with the #1 seed. RPI #26. +2.5 PPG, +15.3 RBs (#2, and #1 in RBs allowed), -3.8 TOs (last), +1.4 blocks, -2.2 assists, -2.5 steals (We get it stolen from us more than any other team in Div. I.

Yahoo is founded.

[Wayne23]

3/7: We play #9 seed Fordham, 15-13, 8-10, in the 1st round. No idea what to expect from my team- well, I expect we’ll turn it over a lot.

3/8: 70-52, despite 21 TOs, 16 of them by our starting guards. 13, 12 for Ad Knox. +20 RBs. We shot 44%, they shot 33%.

#4 seed ST. Bonnie, 20-10, 10-8, in the semis. We beat them by 13 at our place.

3/9: 66-71. 33 TOs.

18-11, 12-6. RPI #28.

3/12: Play in for the #12 seed vs. Arkansas. 18-10. Tough draw. RPI #28 equals a #12 seed play in?

3/14: 82-72. 25, 9, 4, 7 for Center Tega Jayr, 13, 9 for Knox. +21 RBs, 24 TOs.

We play #5 seed in the South, #25 ranked, Florida, 19-11.

3/17: 76-74 in OT. We’re 3-0 in OT this season! 18 TOs, which is not bad for us. 14, 18 for Knox, 16, 12 for Jayr, 14, 8 for Ramy. We won it on the boards, 59 RBs (+32).

#4 seed, #23 ranked Marquette, 21-8, in the 2nd round. We have a shot with these guys.

3/19: 86-62! A season low 11 TOs. 32, 8 for Jayr, 16 for #3 guard Don Witt. +25 RBs.

Sweet Sixteen vs. #8 seed Stanford, 21-10. This is a good draw for us. If we play well we can beat this team.

3/24: We didn’t play badly, 15 TOs, but we shot poorly, 35.3%, 3-11 on threes. 15, 12 for Jayr, 12, 11 for SF Marc Dara.

4/3: #2 Kentucky wins it all.

4/4: Awards: Tega Jayr is A10 POY, Def. POY, 1st team with Ad Knox.

4/19: Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols kill 168 in Oklahoma City bombing.

4/23: I ask for a facilities upgrade. Got it, C+ to B+!

21-12, 12-6. Overall, 163-68, .706.

[Wayne23]

5/1: No reports.

6/5: No open slots for transfers.

6/26: 4 scholarships.

8/7: Ric Ramy is #22, Ad Knox #43, and Marc Dara #49 on the Norton list.

8/9: Jerry Garcia dies.

8/21: We offer to an SF and 3 Cs.

9/18: Got the SF, #51.

Coaches Classic vs. #22 Kansas.

9/25: Got 2 Cs, lost one. #41 and #66.

10/2: Got our last one, a PF, #52.

1st day of practice. We’re picked to win the A10. I think we have much better ball handlers this year but time will tell.

10/3: O. J. Simpson is acquitted.

11/4: Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated.

11/6: And again this season the backcourt lineup is up in the air. 7 man rotation but some other guys could work their way in:

Juco junior Al Shue starts at PG, subs at SG. Senior Don Witt starts at SG, subs at PG. Junior Cris Faul subs at both guard spots.

Junior Yogi Bara starts at SF, subs at PF. Senior Ric Ramy subs at SF.

Junior Ad Knox starts at PF, subs at C. Junior Tega Jayr is at C.

Look for changes and hope for decent ball handling.