Solitary Man

[Wayne23]

3/16: 80-77. Great win! We led by as many as 17. They got it to three with a buzzer beating half court shot so we weren;t in danger at the end. 16, 15 for Fole, 10, 9 for Engo, 13, 6 for Jete. +9 RBs.

We beat a major program, which is very cool.

Our reward? #1 in the country Michigan State, 28-5. Whew! Scouting Coach Jab Moore and I talked and all we can tell the guys is to play hard. We feel we need to go zone- they're just too quick for us to play man to man. We'll go with the 2-3 and the 3-2, try to play hard, and hope for a miracle. I don't feel we have no chance, but the odds have to heavily favor them, which they do.

[Wayne23]

3/18: 93-97 in OT. We took the #1 team in the country to OT! They led by 18 in the 1st half and by 14 at the half. We never quit, kept chipping away, and tied it at the end of regulation with a three by Clif Engo. We scored the first 4 points in OT but their coach then called a TO and they came roaring back. We didn't quite have enough but I couldn't be prouder of my guys. 33, 17 for Fole in his last game, 16, 3 for Engo, 10, 11, 3 for Jete. 13, 5 for little used frosh forward Brad Hook, who just might see some playing time next year.

3/20: We've been getting some great publicity related to our game with Michigan State. So happy for the guys. They earned all the praise.

Recruiting Coach Marty Buck: Spent just about all of our money on visits. We're rolling the dice.

[Wayne23]

3/26: Well, the dice roll pretty much came up snake eyes.

4/3: #2 Xavier beat #1 Michigan ST for the title.

4/4: Awards: Loy Fole is a first team All American, for the 2nd year in a row. In Conf., Fole is POY and 1st team along with Ron Jete.

This may be the year to move. Let's see what kind of offers I get, if any.

4/9: Northern Arizona and Wyoming are both tempting, but I'm staying.

4/23: We get a PF, #193. That helps a little.

I ask for money.

No. We end the season ranked #19, 25-7, 13-3, great post season. Overall, after 3 seasons, I'm 75-23, .765.

I just didn't feel I was ready to move up, Another season here and I may be, two more seasons and i definitely will be. We may take a step backward this season losing the players we're losing, especially Loy Fole, but I think we'll do okay in Conference S. Time will tell.

[Wayne23]

5/1: Our recruiting class is rated as #300. One of our 2 guys was a Juco and they don't count.

We only have 10 scholarship athletes.

6/5: Looking at transfers. It would be nice to land a couple.

6/16: We get 3 guards. One looks good and the other two are projects. We'll go strictly for big guys in recruiting.

6/26: 3 scholarships. Looking for big guys.

7/31: We have 3 guys interested, mildly, but it's a start.

8/7: No Norton candidates. Didn't expect any with Fole gone. He was not drafted, incidentally, but he hung on with Toronto.

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

9/4: Starting another round of law classes. Some of these classes bear directly, or closely upon things that might help me with my case eventually, but others do not. In order to get a law degree I need to learn about a lot of things I have no interest in- business law, for one. But it has to be done.

9/18: We seem close with 2 of our 3 recruits.

The schedule is a little more challenging than last season's.

9/25: No commitments but we're really close with 2 guys.

10/2: We got a C, #290, and a PF, #501, but we think they're both better than that. Not sure we'll be able to fill the third scholarship. We'll see.

1st day of practice. I think we'll do okay. We're picked to win Conference S.

Struggling with business law. My other class is about wills and other contracts related to family law, and that one is fine.

11/6: Here's the lineup, for now anyway:

Soph Ivan Jeng is back at PG. Soph Jon Mack, a transfer from UAB, is at SG. He's a terrific defender. Senior Mark Rily is our #3 guard and we won't lose much when he's in there. We have two other guards but they won;t play much unless we have injuries.

Soph Brad Hook didn't play much last year but he came back a much improved player and will start at SF. Senior Clif Engo shifts from SF to PF. Senior Ron Jete is back at C.

Frosh Kyle Ourn will back up inside. After that it's Jake Rowe who is simply not ready. If a big guy gets hurt we'll need to go with a three guard lineup at times.

[Wayne23]

11/14: We start tomorrow.

11/15: 99-76 over Bucknell. I was very wrong. F/C Jake Rowe was way more than ready. Foul trouble meant he had to play 25 minutes. He scored 25, with 5 RBs. Time to re-evaluate. My other back F/C, Kyle Ourn had 13, 5. 20, 5 for starting SF Brad Hook, 12, 9 for PF Clif Engo. 8 TO.

Bench Coach Shawn Paul. Coach and I are really in a quandary about the lineup. Normally we wouldn't even think about changes after one game but the way Rowe played means we need to. We're giving him minutes. Let's see what he can do with them.

[Wayne23]

11/18: 61-73 at Nicholls ST. We got beat in the back court- badly. 10, 10 for Jete, 12 each for Engo and Jens, 10, 5 for Rowe. We shot an awful 34.4%.

We're still figuring it out. I think we may take some lumps until we get the lineup set.

11/19: I'm in big trouble. Suddenly, for no reason I can figure out, a fight broke out between two of the inmates working in the kitchen. It was just after the noon rush and again, I have no reason what started it. Anyway, I moved to break it up and got knocked to the ground. The guards stepped in, broke up the fight, hauled the two guys away, and hauled me away with them.

I was placed in a holding cell where I stayed for several hours. Eventually I was brought to the Warden. I tried to explain what had happened and that i followed my instinct and tried to break up the fight.

"You are an inmate here! It is not your responsibility to break up altercations and you haven't got the authority to do so. You are confined to your cell for two weeks. You will then report for work in the kitchen on your usual shift- as a kitchen worker, not a supervisor. You've lost that position."

Damn! Nothing to be done. I said, "Yes sir," and was led back to my cell. Yet another tough break. I rarely get any other kind.

I'll spend the time working on my law classes. I really hate losing the supervisor's job. That was good duty. It's tough in here- always- even when you try to do your best to stay out of trouble.

[Wayne23]

11/20: My recruits both signed. Still chasing one more guy.

11/22: 87-60 over Purdue-Fort Wayne here. 44-24 at the half. 17, 5 for Jete, 15, 3, 4 for Jens. 9 TOs.

Our bench, especially inside, is really strong. We're still figuring out how to assign minutes, but I think we'll be fine eventually.

Kyle Ourn: I'm a little frustrated. I feel like I'm playing well when I'm in there but I'm not getting that many minutes. I went to Coach. He said i really have a big future here but I'm going to need to be patient. Two big guys are graduating and he has big plans for me. That was nice to hear!

Coach Blake: If I had the bodies I would red shirt Jake Rowe. I think he's going to be a good one. But I need him now so that's not an option.

[Wayne23]

11/25: 87-74 at Central Arkansas. We led by as many as 21. Good road win. 19, 10 for Jete, 13, 5, 4 for Jens, 13, 4 for Rowe. I didn't like 18 TOs but everything else was good.

We have a good bench this season.

Jake Rowe: I know the coaches didn't have much respect for me before the season started. I've always been a player who is better in games than in practice. At the college level that sure didn't help me. But I think I'm proving to the coaches that I can play at this level. I'm getting decent minutes. My goal is to start by next season.

My confinement to my cell is about have finished. I'm still bummed about losing my job in the kitchen but there's nothing I can do about it.

The guy I've heard is getting the job is a real jerk. He'll screw it up. Maybe they'll consider giving the job back to me when he does.

[Wayne23]

11/29: 79-81 at Grand Canyon. We were down 17 early, 13 at the half. We played much better in the 2nd, even took the lead a couple of times, but they had the last possession, found the open man, and he drilled a 12 footer for the win. Our outside D could have been better and we could have played better overall. This is not a team that should beat us. 20, 4, 4 for Jens, 15, 7 for Jete, 15, 4 for Hook.

[Wayne23]

12/2: 72-79 at Kansas City. We just lost to a team that was 0-4 coming in. Not a good sign... MAJOR reassessment of everything is coming at a staff meeting tomorrow morning. We were in this until the last two minutes when we kind of fell apart. Sloppy D and dumb fouls did us in, and we got beat inside, which doesn't happen very often. NOT a good night. 14, 12, 4 for Jete, 16, 4, 4 for Jens.

12/3: Jake Rowe is going to start at PF, Clif Engo is going to shift to SF, and Brad hook is going to sit. Let's see what happens.

12/4: Out of confinement to my cell. Despite studying for much of the time, reading, and coaching, it's not good to be stuck in this very small cell 24/7. It will be great to get back to work and back to the gym or the yard.

I overestimated the time it will take me to get the law degree, assuming all goes well. I can do 6 courses in a year. AT that rate, and given time to study for the comprehensive exam and then law boards, I should be finished by late 2050, or in a little less than three years. Can't WAIT!