DDSCB25: Superstar

[Wayne23]

DDSCB25: Superstar
May 1, 2025:
Okay, if you’re a college hoops fan you know who I am but I’ll do the biography thing anyway.

Today is my 23rd birthday.

My name is Jess Ulysses Wynn. Yeah, Jess U. Wynn. My dad thought he had a sense of humor. But then his name is Roscoe so…

I had a great childhood. I was interested in learning about just about everything from a very early age. I was also interested in sports.

For my ninth birthday my parents bought me my first basketball. I’d played a lot of baseball and soccer but no hoops. After my birthday party, which was on a Saturday afternoon, my Uncle Kip said, “Let’s go outside and try this new ball.”

Kip was a terrific athlete, the best golfer and bowler in the area. He had made all state in high school hoops. I didn’t know that at the time but I did know he was a great athlete.

My dad had put up a hoop in the driveway at as close to exactly 10 feet high as possible.

So Kip and I went outside. He spent a good hour teaching me how to dribble, roll the ball off my hand, notice where it lands and where it comes back up to… Then he spent another hour teaching me how to shoot- roll the ball off my palm, keep my elbow tight and my wrist locked… Then he had me shoot from various positions on the court, long shots, medium shots, layups… and critiqued my shooting.

Finally, he taught me the basics of playing D. We covered a LOT in one session and we didn’t quit until mom called us into dinner. Kip was a bachelor and he ate with us often. He was kind of on the strict, serious side, but he knew his stuff and I wanted to learn so I didn’t mind when he was hard on me.

At dinner dad asked how I did.

“He’s got the makings of a basketball player. If he wants it enough to put in the time he could be good.”

That was music to my ears and I spent that whole next week practicing everything he taught me and trying hard to get it all right.

The next weekend he was at the house both days and we spent every moment on the court. I loved it even when he yelled at me, which he did.

We practiced hoops every weekend when it didn’t rain, until it got too cold and icy. I DID play Little League and go to the practices but that was mostly on weekdays. When it rained on the weekend Kip would give me indoor “skull sessions,” talking about every conceivable situation that could come up in a game.

By the time I could actually play in a league, on my middle school team as a 12 year old 7th grader, I was six feet tall. Naturally the coach wanted me to play Center but Kip said no to that. He insisted that I play the 2 spot, shooting guard.

“Long term this kid is a guard and that’s where he plays or he doesn’t play at all.”

The coach agreed with the proviso that I played in the middle on D late in close games. Kip agreed to that.
I guess I was a natural shooter, and with the help I got from Kip I made it count, averaging more than 25 a game- and our games were only 24 minutes long. Despite playing SG I led the team in rebounds, also in assists and steals. My team won the league title.

The following year was even better. We went undefeated. By the end of my eighth grade year I was 6’ 4” tall. I never grew at all after that but that’s a good height for a shooting guard.

It was the same argument in high school. The coach wanted me to play Center and Kip said no. This coach didn’t budge so Kip talked to the coach in the next town, where he lived. The guy said if I played for him he’d let me play SG. I moved in with Kip and played at that school for 4 years. The original school fired their coach after my freshman year but I stayed where I was anyway.

I made all state honorable mention as a freshman, averaging 28 points and 14 RBs.

My 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year we won the state title. I made all state all 3 years and was statewide player of the year in my junior and senior years.

During my freshman year I picked up a nickname, “Glass.” I LOVE to shoot bank shots and I hit them at an unbelievable 72%. I almost can’t miss off the glass. Thanks to Uncle Kip for that as well.

Starting in my freshman year scouts came to my games, talked to me, called my house… even though I made it clear to all of them that I was going to UConn, no doubt in my mind.

By my junior year pro scouts were talking about me going pro right out of high school. Not a chance. 1) I HIGHLY value education. 2) I don’t EVER plan to play pro ball. I want to coach at the college level. The travel as an NBA player is way more than I want, and I want to get a head coaching job as soon as possible.

High school ball was fun. We thought Coach Casey pushed us hard but later, when I was at UConn, it became clear that Coach Casey hadn’t pushed us very hard. Coach Calhern REALLY pushed us!

My first year at UConn went great. We got to the national semifinal and I was named a 2nd team All American. Once again the pro scouts came calling and I ignored them. The NIL came in and I made some very good money. I knew that my first head coaching job wouldn’t pay much so the NIL money would really be great.

The next three years we won the national championship all three times and I was named national player of the year all three times. I was being talked about as one of the greatest college hoops players of all time. Thus the title here, "Superstar." That really didn’t mean much to me.

The NIL money came to a little over 2 mill by the time I graduated. That’s after taxes. So I'm all set financially.

My UConn career averages were 30.3 points and 14.7 RBs, 10.2 assists. So I averaged a triple double for my career!

Uncle Kip made it to all of my home games for all 4 years, usually with Dad.

College hoops was fantastic. I had great teammates and all of the coaches were terrific. I learned a lot but mostly I really loved playing. I know I’ll miss it but I want to coach. My mind is clear about that.

During my senior year I applied for grad school at UConn, enrolling as a Masters student. Coach signed me as a graduate assistant coach, which was awesome.

Coach. I haven’t said much about Coach Calhern. He was VERY tough and VERY demanding but he clearly was a “player’s coach” despite that. He had our backs at all times. And he knew the game incredibly well. Playing for him and coaching under him taught me an incredible amount.

My graduate year we went to the Elite Eight and I thoroughly enjoyed coaching. In the Spring Coach put in a good word for me at several schools concerning head coaching jobs. He convinced a few of them that I was ready.

[Wayne23]

May 1 (Continued): I spoke with 3 schools, Boston University, UMass, and Northeastern. BU and Northeastern were very interested.

The A. D. at Northeastern, Jock Kelly, was a football guy but he knew his hoops. He asked me about my coaching philosophy.

“I don’t know if this is a philosophy or not but it’s what I believe in. First, talent, effort, and attitude equal playing time. It takes all three, and I’ll make that clear to my players right from the start. Then comes ‘next play.’ In other words don’t think about the last play or any play that already happened. Think about the next play. That keeps you in the game and in the moment. Next, shots. If you’re open in your range you MUST take the shot. If you’re not open you must NOT take the shot unless the clock is about to expire. Follow that rule and you’re fine. Don’t follow it and you’ll sit. Finally, we play man to man and nothing else. When we press it’s full court man to man. That necessitates help defense and we’ll work on
that at every practice.

“I like to think I’ll be a player’s coach, tough but fair, and I’ll have my players’ backs at all times.”

The A. D. seemed to like what he heard.

“One thing though. I’m finishing up my Masters at UConn. My last day is May 7. If I get the job, until May 7 I’ll work mostly by text, phone call, and video conference.”

Both BU and Northeastern called the next day. BU called first and offered me the job, but I wanted the job at Northeastern so I told them I needed to think about it.

When Northeastern called 90 minutes later Kelly offered me the job and I took it.

[PointGuard]

I think I want to adopt Kip as MY uncle.

[Wayne23]

He's fictional. I had an Uncle Kip who was indeed a great athlete, but he didn't work with me.

[Wayne23]

5/7: Just finished my final Masters exam. The van is here and I’m moving into my new apartment, which is a condo just outside of the city, about 15 minutes from my office. It’s been rough coaching long distance and I’m looking forward to coaching in person. I managed to meet with all returning players in person, and with the recruits by phone and text. I asked 4 of the returnees to consider transferring. We’ll see who takes me up on that. The transfer portal could make us a better team.

I love my assistant coaches so far. Ron has been exceptionally helpful but all three are terrific.

The condo is a ranch style, with a garage. I’ll use the second bedroom as my office.

5/8: All moved in, thankfully!

5/22: 5 guys are transferring out, the four I suggested it to and a guard who would not have ever started for us. I’m looking at the portal with my assistants, especially Ike Fall, to decide who to go after. We’d like to get 2 guards and 3 bigs.

We’re looking at a LOT of guys. We didn’t make any offers in the first round.

5/26: Offered to 2 guards and 3 bigs. Doubtful anyone will accept this early in the process.

5/29: No one signed but several are definitely interested. Re-offered to 3 bigs. The 2 guards signed elsewhere. Offered to 1 guard.

6/2: We got 3 bigs! 2 look like they could start! Offered to 1 guard, spoke with several others.

6/5: Got the guard. Hope to get one more guard. We make an offer.

6/9: Got him and he’ll start! We did great in the portal. I feel really settled in to my new job and new home. There’s nothing like a routine in coaching college hoops but I try to maintain a sort of routine in my personal life. I get up at 7 a.m., run for about 45 minutes, cool down, shower, and have breakfast, usually Cheerios or Wheaties. The I head for the office. I have lunch and dinner in the campus cafeteria when I’m in town. I work long hours. They have plenty of healthy choices. I usually have soup, salad, and something else at both meals. I get home usually between 7:00 and 10:00 p.m., and watch some game film. Sean Chan and the other assistants watch film too, but I don’t know my players yet so watching them play is very helpful. I go to bed at around midnight and I’m up again at 7:00. It’s a busy day.

6/25: We sign up to go to the Atlantic East Region camp.
6/26: An exciting day. Recruiting starts today. We need 2 guards and 3 big guys but we’ll be looking at LOTS of players. Ike Fall and I have been talking about recruits since the day I took the job. He’ll do most of the prep work with potential signees. I’ll stay in the loop and get involved when a guy is interested, earlier if the recruit mentions that he wants to talk with me. One of the biggest things we have going for us is my reputation as a player so we’ll definitely use that as much as we can.

6/29: I was eating in the cafeteria alone, which was unusual. I was looking at some stats on a recruit as I ate, not paying any attention to my surroundings.

“Excuse me. Is this seat taken?”

“I looked up and saw a very attractive young woman. I looked around and saw that the caf was absolutely full. My table might have been the only one with a free seat.

“No. Please join me.”

“Thanks. This place is packed!”

“Yes, I see that. I’m Jess Wynn.”

“Leigh Moore. I’m an assistant in the library here.”

“I’m surprised we haven’t met. I’ve only been here a couple of months but I spend time in the library whenever I can.”

“Are you a Doc student?”

“Actually, I’m the new head men’s basketball coach.”

“Oh. But you’re a reader?”

“And a researcher. I have an M. A. in literature, and I very much hope to go after a Ph. D. one of these days.”

“Oh! I don’t picture athletic people that way.”

“Watch out for preconceptions! Seriously, I want to do something related to Lear’s Fool and I read everything I can find about him.”

“Fascinating. I did my Ph. D. on Cordelia.”

“I may have read it.”

We discussed her thesis for awhile and I remembered reading it.

“I guess I’ll definitely need to change my view on athletes!”

“Thanks. I need to get back to work. I’d love to get your number. Maybe we can have a meal at someplace a little fancier than the school cafeteria sometime.”

She gave me her number. I called a couple of days later and we went out to dinner at a nice restaurant in Boston. The conversation was easy and we had a great time- well, I did and I think she did.

7/17: Ike and I have been working very hard at recruiting and today we make our first offers. We’re offering to 3 guards and 2 bigs. We won’t get them all but hopefully we’ll land 2 or 3 and then offer to some other guys.

We’ve already hosted all 5, and we’ll visit all of them soon.

Leigh and I are seeing each other a couple times a week and having lunch together in the caf most days.

Still texting and phoning with the recruits we’re after, both the 5 we’ve offered to and a bunch of others.

9/2: School has been back in session for a week or so and we’re doing study halls 6 days a week. At least one coach is at each study hall. Practice starts a month from today. We’re arranging to visit the recruits we’ve offered to.

9/11: We’ve visited 4 of the 5 recruits.

9/18: Unfortunately, 2 of our recruits signed somewhere else. We offered to 2 others.

Jock Kelly and I have come up with a schedule for pre-conference games. I want wins in year one so there are some cupcakes. Mostly road games.

9/25: We signed our first recruit, a Center, but we lost 2 more. Recruiting is tough in the first year at a new school, especially one that hasn’t been winning. We don’t have a lot going for us other than my name.

Ron Jinn and I are talking player rotation. That will change and evolve during the practice sessions but we’ve worked out our starting lineup for now. We don’t have a lot of talent in the back court.

We’re much better up front.

10/2: We get another big guy but lose all 3 guards. We NEED guards. Oh well, keep trying.

First practice and yep, we’re good inside but the back court needs a LOT of work.

10/9: Nobody signed this week but we think we’re close with a couple of guys.

Practices are going well. The guys know I push HARD to get them in excellent condition. I don’t ever want to lose a game because we’re tired at the end.

The guards are never going to be great but they’re getting better.

10/16: We finally got a guard and we’re close with another one.

10/23: We got a good looking SF. Still chasing 2 guards. We need to land at least one of them.

Start of the season is getting closer. We’re not ready but it feels like we will be when the season starts.

Leigh and I are still seeing a lot of each other.

10/30: Having some trouble with Bill Wing’s attitude. He’s a frosh who will never play much and I don’t need this. I made that clear to him in a private meeting. If I need to I’m willing to get rid of him.

11/6: We’re still after those 2 guards. We think we have a chance with both of them. Going after a 3rd guard but he seems like a very long shot.

11/13: The season starts this week. We’re excited. Here’s our starting lineup:

Soph Dan Pabe is at the Point. He handles the ball pretty well but he’s a terrible shooter and he’s just fair on D.

At SG is senior Beau Wort. Beau is a decent shooter and a good defender. He’s my best guard.

Senior Jay Weal is first guard off the bench. He’s a good ball handler but that’s about it. 4th guard is senior Fred Foly. Like Weal, ball handling is his strength.

Soph Joe Wall starts at SF. He’s an excellent rebounder and a good defender but he’s not a great shot.

Senior Doug Dond as at PF. He’s and all around good player, does everything pretty well.

My best player is Center Eric Aust, another senior. He’s a real glass eater and an excellent defender.

#1 big guy off the bench is Al Shep. He’s a rebounder and not much else. Next is frosh Ray Shaw, who will need some time. Senior Dave Cary is a good rebounder. Frosh Jay Jack will only see garbage time, which is also true for frosh Bill Wing.

We’re going to have trouble scoring points. We’re hoping that solid D and good rebounding will see us through.

Leigh and I went away for a weekend, a big step!

[Wayne23]

11/16: We start the season at Ark.-Pine Bluff tonight. It’s too early in the season to know much about them.

The game is getting a ridiculous amount of publicity due exclusively to the fact that I’m the coach. Hope that doesn’t put too much pressure on my players. How will we do? Not a clue. The talent level is so much lower than it was at UConn but maybe that’s the way it is out here and the teams we play may have about the same amount of talent. It’s hard to win on the road though.

They take an early lead. Down 14 after 10 minutes. I turn up the pressure but it’s not helping. Late comeback and it’s 38-41 at halftime. Sub Al Shep has 3 fouls. No one else has more than 2. Eric Aust has 8 but none of the other starters are doing much. Dave Cary has a surprising 11 from the bench. The refs have called 11 fouls on us and only 6 on them. I’m riding the refs, but not that hard. The difference is at the line, they’re 10-12, we’re 2-3. I’ll remind the refs of that as we start the 2nd half.

We catch them early and take a lead after a big run. Up 11. Up 5 with 10 to play. It’s a battle. A run puts us up 12 with 6 to go. We’re holding on late!

90-77 for the win! Great 2nd half!

Eric Aust had 18 and 10 to lead us. Doug Dond had 16, 6, and 3. Sub C/F Dave Cary had 16 and 3. PG Dan Pabe had 12 and 4. We were +12 on the boards which was a huge factor. The fouls evened out.

We were 52-18 in the paint, 23-5 on 2nd chance points. As I suspected our strength is inside.

“Dan Fran, EPSN, here with former superstar and new coach of the Northeastern Huskies, Jess Wynn. Jess, congrats on a great opener.”

“It took us awhile to get going but we played really well over the last 30 minutes or so.”

“Any clue about the slow start?”

“Yep. The shots weren’t falling. During the first two media time outs I told the guys to keep taking their shots and eventually they’d go in. That’s what happened.”

“Coach, compare playing versus coaching.”

“There’s no comparison. As a player you have all kinds of control over how the game is going. As a coach you can tell the guys what to do but you can’t do anything yourself. It will take some getting
used to, but I really loved it tonight. Of course winning had a lot to do with that.”

“Thanks Coach.”

At the first practice after the game we did a lot of analyzing. It will be my habit to critique my players after every game. Eric Aust got an A. He got high marks for solid D, offensive production and good rebounding. Sub Dave Cary also got an A. He far exceeded our expectations and we’ll look at giving him more PT. Doug Dond got a B. Great offense decent but not great D, and decent rebounding.
Beau Wort got a B at SG. Great O, fair D.

Wall and Pabe got B-. The subs who played, other than Cary, got B-. I don’t tend to be a harsh grader but I point out what each player needs to work on. I make it clear that this whole thing is not meant to be punitive but rather to be a way for all of us to get better over time.

Leigh and I talked about the game. She watched on TV. It was the first game she had ever seen so she had lots of questions.

[Wayne23]

11/17: Loyola in the first round of the Sunshine Slam next. It’s their opener so we don’t know much about them. They’re the 3 seed and we’re #6.

11/18: Close early. Up by 6 after 10 minutes. Beau Wort is hot. We’re up 48-40 after a high scoring first half. 10 each for Aust and Wort, 9 for sub Al Shep. Aust has 10 boards. The bench is +16 in points. We’re +16 on the glass.

We’re holding our lead early. Up 10 with 10 to play. Wort, Aust, and Shep are leading the way in scoring.

101-85. I’m shocked at how easily we’re scoring in these first 2 games.

20 and 12 for Aust, who is definitely our leader. 15, 12 for Dond, 15 for Wort, 11 each for subs Weal and Shep. +15 for the bench. +16 on the boards. Fouls kept them close as they went to the line 38 times to our 26.

No practice before the 2nd round of the Sunshine Slam but I gave Aust and Wort A, Dond A- due to foul trouble. Everyone else got a B.

[Wayne23]

We play #7 seed Marshall, 2-0 next. We score a lot more than they do but we also give up more points. They tend to turn it over and we’ll work that.

11/19: Slow start for both teams then they go on a run. We’re playing catch up. Down 4 after 10. It’s staying close now. Down 14 at the break. We’re not hitting our shots and our D is NOT good. 10 and 4 for Aust, 8 for Wort and not much from anybody else. Our bench has carried us through but not so far tonight, -3. Their guards are hurting us and we’re working on that at halftime. We’re -7 on the boards where we usually dominate. It’s an uphill climb!

We’re not making much of a dent in their lead. A run gets us to down 6 with 10 to play. We tie it with 7 to play. Back and forth late.

80-78. GREAT win! 20, 9 for Aust who led the way, as usual, although he played with 4 fouls for the last 7 minutes. He never picked up #5. 17, 4, 2, 3 steals for Wort, 15 for Dond. We rebounded much better in the second and we only turned it over 6 times to their 18.

“You really gutted it out. It would have been easy to quit but you never did. I’m proud of all of you!”

[Wayne23]

#21 ranked, #1 seed Miami, 3-0, in the title game. They play better D than we do but the offenses score about the same number of points. We need to hold our own on the boards and turn them over.

“Dan Fran, EPSN. I’m here before the start of the game with Northeastern coach Jess Wynn. Coach, did you think you’d be in the title game?”

“I’m really pleased to be here. My guys have played hard and played smart.”

“What do you need to do to win?”

“Well, win or lose it’s very good for this team to be in this game. In order to win we need to play solid D, get it inside often, and turn them over. Easier said than done.”

“What’s pleased you the most about your team so far?”

“We’re playing hard and playing smart. We’re not making many dumb mistakes.”

11/20: Early on we’re competitive with this ranked team. Down 1 after 10 minutes. Back and forth late. 42-35 at the break. We’re looking good. 10 and 7 for Aust and only 1 foul. +6 for the bench. +12 on the boards. The fouls are going our way so far. We just need to keep playing hard. So far this season we’ve been a second half team.

We’re holding our lead early. Up 6 with 10 to play. They go on a mini-run. We counter. Up 10 with 5 left. Up 14 late!

77-62. A HUGE win and our best game so far. Excellent D! Tourney MOP Eric Aust led us with 17, 13, 3 steals. 13 for Wort, 8, 7, 4, 3 for Dond. Great bench play. +18 RBs+14 in the paint.

“Dan Fran, EPSN. Well, Jess Wynn was one of the greatest college hoops players in history and he’s starting his coaching career in a way that matches that. Coach, you’re coaching a team that has had
4 straight losing seasons. You’ve won your first 4 games and beat a ranked team to win the Sunshine Slam. I assume life is good!”

“Not much doubt about that but it’s very early in the season. We have some tough opponents coming up.”

“Are you enjoying the experience?”

“I’m loving it right now!”

I’m really looking forward to our home opener- for lots of reasons, including having Leigh in the stands watching her first live game.

[Wayne23]

11/22: We’re home with 0-3 Citadel next. On paper we’re a lot better but you need to win on the court, not on paper. We’re going to give Al Shep more minutes. When he comes in Dond switches from PF to SF. We’ll see how that goes.

I am overwhelmed by how well we’re doing so far. Trying to keep my head out of the clouds but these guys are exceeding all of my expectations.

11/23: Standing room only crowd of 6,000. Jock Kelly said we hadn’t sold out in the three years he’s been here.

We miss our first 6 shots an trail early. Crowd still with us though. Down 5 after 10. We’re not making shots. We go on a run and catch up. 41-39 at the half. We’re shooting 41% but holding them to 40.6%. Dond leads us with 12, 3. Aust was held to 2, which he got in the last minute. +8 for the bench. + only 2 RBs. They’ve called 13 on us, 6 on them and I’m on the zebras.

Close early. We go on a run. Up 11 with 10 to go. Aust is finally heating up. Big lead, +15, with 5 left.
90-83. They came back late but it wasn’t enough. The crowd really helped us. They were behind us all the way and really loud! 23, 10 for Doug Dond, his best game of the year. 20, 3, 6 for Beau West, HIS best game. Only 10 and 4 with 3 steals for Aust. We had 7 fewer Tos. They’re a good inside team and they really challenged us. I love the way we responded!

“Ellie Vann, WNEU campus radio. The Huskies won their 5th in a row to start the season. They were challenged by Citadel but responded, leading by as many as 18 at the half. The final score was closer than the game actually was.

Dad and Uncle Kip were at the game. Kip said,

“I was curious to see how you’d do when Aust had an off night. It was great to see the other guys step up and fill the gap. You’re doing a great job coaching these guys. They all seem to be in great shape, and their focus is right where it should be. You should have a really good season if it keeps up.”

That was great to hear from my first mentor. I had tremendous respect for his judgement. I had actually called him when I got the job and asked him to come in as an assistant. He declined saying he didn’t want to move.

Leigh said she really found the game exciting even though she didn't understand a lot of what was happening.