Transfer to the Title

[Wayne23]

12/18: It's #7 seed, 5-5 Charleston for the title. This is a team we should beat. They only outscore their opponents by half a point.

Game time: Back and forth early then they take a lead. Down 9 after 10. A big comeback late ties it at the half after we were down by 12.

14, 4 for Suli. +7 RBs, +12 in the paint, but they're shooting 56.3%. We gave up 49 in the 1st half and I raise the roof about it in the locker room. We start the 2nd half hot. Up 11 with 10 to play.

103-94 in another shoot out. 28 and 4 for Suli, the tourney MOP. 14, 3, 8 for Cole, 12, 8 for Jack. +15 RBs, +20 in the paint. We shot 63.3%.

We scored 88, 104, 103 in this tourney.

11-1, ranked #20, NET #8 with 3 pre-conf games left.

[Wayne23]

12/19: 7-4 Vanderbilt is here. They only beat their opponents by 1 1/2. Yet another game where we should have a big edge inside.

12/20: Early lead. Up 6 after 10. Up 5 at the half. Balanced scoring. Cole has 3 fouls. -10 at the line. +18 in the paint. 2 TOs. The refs are keeping Vandy in it. Up 12 with 10 left.

84-64. Great 2nd half. 18, 3, 6, 6 steals for Cole. 13, 2, 6 for Hite, 15, 5 for Long. 7 TOs to 21. +22 in the paint. We held them to 41 shots.

There are 6 ranked teams in the Big East so conference play will be challenging!

Cole hurt his leg late. He'll miss our next game. Al Muer will start.

I'm only seeing my shrink every other week now. She says I'm doing better, but she's still on me to get two cats and take some hikes. No time soon...

[Wayne23]

12/22: 6-2 Akron is here. Their starting SF is banged up but he'll play. We're favored. They turn it over, and they don't play tough D or hit the boards that hard.

12/23: We start slow then wake up. Up 4 after 10. Tied at the half. 3 starters with 3 fouls each. They have no one with 3, only one guy with 2. Yes, I got T'd up late in the half. +8 in the paint. They're shooting 54.5%. Up 8 with 10 to go.

95-81. 55-41 in the 2nd. Not much D played by either team. Our bench did it, Ad Mill had 19, 2, 3, and Bry Jack had 16. 59, 16, 10 to 28, 7,
5 for our bench. 49 fouls called, which is ridiculous. The game had no flow.

[Wayne23]

12/26: Last pre-conf game is here vs. 7-3 Kansas ST. We're a big fav. But they beat #3 Michigan ST by 8.

We're up to #14 in the latest poll.

12/27: We score the first 14. Up 13 after 10. Up 14 at the half. Cole has 3 fouls. 11, 8 for Long. +12 RBs. They're shooting 25%; that kind of thing worries me because they're bound to shoot better in the 2nd half. Up 25 with 10 to play.

75-61. Great D, especially in the 1st half. 17, 4 for #3 guard Ad Muer. +15 RBs, +14 in the paint.

1/1/2024: We end pre-conf play at 14-1, ranked #12, NET #6. +14.4 PPG, 4th in PPG. +9.4 RBs, -5.5 TOs, +4.4 assists.

3-0 vs. Q1, 2-1 vs. Q2, 6-0 vs. Q3, 3-0 vs. Q4. We shouldn't be playing Q4 schools but who knew K ST was a Q 4, for one.

Suli leads us with 14.9, 7.2. Long is 2nd in both. 8 guys score 6.7 or more. 5.1 assists for Cole, only 3.5 for Hite; we're switching their positions.

I should mention that the women are 12-5 going to conf. play. 4 players transferred out after Dee died. It's still a good program but not what it was.

[Wayne23]

1/5: #10 ranked UConn, 11-2 is here to start Big East play. Their PG is playing hurt. They're a big favorite. Their SG is probably going to be at least a 2nd team All American. They play very good D. They're 2-2 vs. Ranked teams.

1/6: Early lead. Up 10 after 10; solid D so far. Up 11 at the half. Balanced scoring. Held them to 30.8%, 30 points. Hite has 3 fouls, but both their SF and C have 3. Up 8 with 10 to play.

78-66. We were in control all the way. But "home cookin'" helped no doubt!

15, 2, 4, 6 steals for Hite in his new position of SG. He outplayed their star. 16, 2, 4 for Cole in HIS new position of PG. 13, 7, 5 for Suli.

They shot 38.6%. +12 in the paint.

[Wayne23]

1/9: At 8-8, 0-1 Seton Hall. Their PF, who isn't very good, has a banged up shoulder but he'll start. We're favored. They outscore opponents by 0.1. We should have a big edge inside. But it's on the road...

We're now ranked #9.

1/10: Back and forth. Up 5 after 10. Down 2 at the half; never more than a 6 point margin either way. 10 for Long. Their starting guards have 22, ours have 2.

+8 RBs but a horrible 12 TOs, to 7. -5 from the line. +8 in the paint. Cole has 3 fouls. They come out strong in the 2nd; we're in trouble. Down 11 with 10 left.

69-70. Boyd missed an open 14 footer at the end. We fell asleep for about 12 minutes at the start of the 2nd half and that did us in. We should not have lost to this team.

17, 6 for Long, 13, 7 for Boyd. 42 for their starting guards, 10 for ours. +12 RBs but 19 TOs, to 15. +14 in the paint. Frustrating loss.

1/11: "Hey Coach, we should go for a run or a hike sometime."

"I didn't know you were into that kind of thing Jess."

"Love both!"

Jess Moza is an Administrative Assistant in the Athletic Department. Her desk is near my office and she handles incoming calls to me and to the softball coach, filters emails, does a lot of paperwork for both of us, things like that. She's a really nice person and we've always gotten along very well.

"Sure. I could meet you here at 7:00 tomorrow and we can run the hills on campus."

"Great! See you then."

Now what do I do when she suggests a hike...

[Wayne23]

1/12: #10 Georgetown, 15-2, 2-0, is here. They're favored. The numbers are pretty even but they've played a slightly tougher schedule. Their starting SF is out for the season with a torn MCL. His replacement is pretty good. We have to beat teams like this at home because we will struggle to beat them on the road.

1/13: Close early. Down 1 after 10; D is poor. Down 16 at the half. The D is NOT there. Big comeback, up 3 with 10 to go.

85-75. Amazing! We were down 18 early in the 2nd half! 17, 9 for Long, 14, 7, 4 for Suli, 18 for Hite. Fouls were a HUGE factor, 18 against us, 26 against them, and 3 of their starters fouled out, including the guy who scored 23. Our fans were going crazy as we came back. The place was LOUD!

+9 RBs but 19 TOs again tonight; two games in a row. +17 at the line was the difference.

Their coach was FUMING in the post game presser, and I don't blame them. Hey, it happens to us too, I'll take it.

The run with Jess went very well. We took an easy pace and were able to speak some as we ran. She's a good runner; she kept up with me. Dee was WAY better than me, so this is very different.

After the run she said, "We should have dinner some time. I know you're not ready for a relationship, and that's not what I mean. I'm guessing you could use a friend, though, and you seem like a really good guy."

I surprised myself and said yes. We'll do it when I get back from our next road game.

"You're doing things with a woman. That's great!"

"It's not a relationship."

"I know, and that's fine, but don't close any doors. Take your time and just enjoy it without thinking too much or putting up road blocks. It doesn't ever need to become romantic but just keep an open mind."

[Wayne23]

1/16: At 5-11, 0-3 ST Johns. Their top 2 SGs are hurt; both will play, but how much and how well? They give up 8 more than they score and they have a lot of trouble scoring. This is the kind of road game we have to win.

I'm playing all man-to-man but still practicing the 2-3 and 3-2 some.

1/17: It's close early, then we get hot. Up 7 after 10. Up 6 at the half; it's too close. 12 for Suli. Their PF has 3 fouls. We have only 3 TOs. +10 in the paint and we're shooting better. Early 2nd half run! Up 22 with 10 left.

82-55. Great D. The bench got lots of minutes!

28, 7 for Suli, 16, 0, 6, 3 for Cole. 6 TOs to 18. An amazing +38 in the paint.

1/18: Jess and I went for a run in the morning and had dinner at a Thai place in the evening.

"We should go for a hike... I know that look. Listen, the other side of Stowe from where... it happened, has some really nice trails, challenging but not dangerous. It's not too icy, and I do NOT leave the trail."

"I don't know..."

"Okay. Think about it, Run tomorrow morning at the usual time?"

"Sure!"

We run every day that the weather allows when I'm in town. Okay, I have to admit it, I look forward to spending time with Jess. I don't want anything more than we have right now, but this is nice. I didn't realize how lonely I was...

[Wayne23]

1/19: #6 Villanova, 16-3, 3-1, is here. We're a slight favorite. They have a very good backcourt but we should have an edge inside.

Again, we need to beat these good teams at our place. If we play well we can beat this team, good as they are.

1/20: Close early, as expected. Down 5 after 10. Up 2 at the half; it's a war. Good bench play is helping, 13, 8, 2 vs. 5, 7, 3. +5 RBs but -6 in the paint, but +9 on 2nd chances. Both teams are playing sloppy ball. Good start to the 2nd half. Up 9 with 10 to go.

63-75. We just stopped playing during the last 8 minutes, scored 5 points, stopped playing D. I'm happy with the bench play but really upset with my starters.

1/21: "Hey, it happens."

"You sound like Dee. She always said I took losses too hard."

"She was right."

"She usually was..."

[Wayne23]

1/23: At 13-5, 3-2 Butler. Tough two game road trip. I'd take a split! Their starting PF tore his Achilles in the first minute of the first game of the season. His replacement is decent, but no more than that. We're favored. They have a good outside game but we should own the boards. But we need to play well.

1/24: Close early. Down 6 after 10. Down 2 at the half. Balanced scoring. They're beating us inside but our bench is keeping us in it. 6 more TOs. -10 at the line, 13 fouls and only 6 on them. The useless, worthless, incompetent zebras usually try to even it up so that may help us in the 2nd. A mini-run puts us up 7 with 10 to play. OT!

92-88 in OT! Whew! Back up guard Al Muer led us with 18, 2, 3. 15, 7, 3 for Cole but 7 TOs. 14, 6 for Long. +8 for our bench. VERY sloppy game, we had 19 TOs to their 22. +6 in the paint.

We needed to win one of these two road games and we won the first. Of course now I want the 2nd one!