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[Wayne23]

1/26: At #15 Creighton, 16-3, 4-2. They're a tough team and they're favored. They play VERY good D but don't score much. Better inside than out but they can shoot the three. We'll need to be at our very best.

1/27: They take an early lead. Down 2 in a low scoring 1st 10. Up 4 at the half. They're shooting 29.2%; we should have a bigger lead. +8 in the paint. Up 8 with 10 left.

70-65. Big road win! 15, 9 for sub F/C Jon Meek, 10, 13 for Long. Our starting guards were totally beaten again. Our bench was huge, 39, 13, 3 to 9, 12, 3.

Tied with 'Nova for the lead but 6 teams one back and 2 others 2 back. It's early, only 7 games in.

1/29: All 5 committed recruits hit our SAT score; good news!

"Welcome home!"

"Thanks. It's nice to be home."

"Let's hit this trail. It looks great."

"Snowy though."

"They've ploughed the trail. It doesn't look bad. And we'll slow down when we see rough spots. Really glad you agreed to this."

"Can't believe I did. You can be pretty persuasive."

"You haven't seen anything yet!"

It was a good hike and a good workout; we took no chances at all.

[Wayne23]

1/30: 9-11, 4-3 Provocation College Fryers are here. Their starting SG has a broken nose but he'll play, may even start. He's their best player. They give up 1.9 more than they score. We should win this one if we play our game.

1/31: Back and forth. Up 6 after 10. Up 10 at the break. 12 for Suli. 7 fewer TOs. Poor shooting, they're at 36.4%, we're at 30.6% but 14 more shots. +14 in the paint is a big factor. Up 10 with 10 to play.

70-56. Excellent D but they don't score much. We only shot a dismal 29.9% but took 23 more shots.

14, 5 for Suli, 10 each for Hite, Meek, and Muer. Our bench has been a big help most nights. +8 tonight. 13 TOs to an awful 28 for them. +20 in the paint.

We're alone in 1st, 1 up on 3 teams, 2 up on 6 others. But the end of the schedule is going to be tough. We have 4 road games left, ALL against ranked teams.

I dreamed about Dee last night. It was vivid. She was smiling, reaching out to me. Then Jess appeared, Dee smiled and opened her arms to Jess. Then I woke up. I don't at all believe dreams mean a thing but they can be powerful.

Jess and i are seeing a lot of each other. It's strictly platonic but she kisses me on the cheek when we say goodbye.

"I'm really not ready for a relationship."

"But as your therapist I need to say that when you are, go ahead. Jess is smart enough not to push but she's giving you very clear signs that she cares and that
she's interested. Don't wait too long..."

[Wayne23]

2/2: 8-13, 2-6 DePaul is here. We're a big favorite, better at almost every position. They give up 2.3 more than they score.

2/3: Early lead. Up 7 after 10. Not sure they can score enough to really challenge us. Up 23 at the half; they scored 18, shot 18.2%! +9 RBs, 6 TOs. +14 in the paint. Up 30 with 10 left. I'll clear the bench soon.

82-56. 12. 6. 3 for Suli, 14 for Muer. +14 for the bench. +18 RBs, +28 in the paint.

[Wayne23]

2/6: At #19 Xavier, 15-7, 5-4. Their starting C is out for the season. His replacement isn't very good. They're back up PG is playing hurt. They're favored, mostly because of their inside scoring. But strangely enough they don't rebound that well.

We're #7, highest ranking ever.

2/7: Close early. Up 5 after 10. Up 8 at the half. 12 for Cole. Suli has 3 fouls. +8 RBs. Sloppy game, we have 12 TOs they have 13. We took 8 more shots.

They've never led but there's a long way to go. Up 13 with 10 to go.

74-66. HUGE road win! They shot 50% but we held them to only 42 shots, so good D. We took 56 shots. +7 RBs.

Cole had 21, but 5 TOs.

2/8: Blizzard hit today. No more hikes or runs for awhile.

"Hey, if I got a cat, would you take care of it when I'm on the road?"

"Ooh, I get a key to your house! In that case, of COURSE I would."

"Um..."

"Relax, big boy. I'm not crowding you. I'll be happy to take care of your cat. The say it's better to get two, you know. Especially if you're not home a lot."

"Yeah, I've heard that."

"And black cats are the least likely to be adopted. A lot of them get... well, you know."

"No idea when I'll have the time to look into it, or buy the stuff I'll need but-"

"Hey, that's the kind of work I do! I'll take care of it for you."

"Really? Thanks!"

[Wayne23]

2/9: 6 to play, 3 at home. Next here is Marquette, 15-9, 4-6. We're a big favorite. They score 1.3 more than the other team and only score 65.5. It will be tough for them to score enough to beat us if we play well.

2/10: Takes us forever to get going. Up 1 after 10. Then a run. Up 6 at the break. We're in and out, losing focus at times. Sub F/C Bry Jack has 10. The bench is +15. Boyd, who has been a disappointment, has 3 fouls. He's playing okay, not in danger of losing his starting spot, but he's not what we thought he would be.

+10 in the paint. Shooting 53.3% to 44%. Sluggish again to start the 2nd. Up 8 with 10 left.

79-70. They tied it with 4 1/2 left. I called a TO and exploded at my guys. I don't do that very often and it woke them up.

12, 7 for Suli, 15, 1, 3 for Hite. Bench had a 36-14 edge.

-9 TOs, but +14 in the paint. 9 TOs to 23.

We're still 1 up on 'Nova, 2 up on 2 teams with 5 to play. 23-3, 9-2, #6, NET #3. I'm impressed!

2/11: "I have two brothers, 8 1/2 weeks old, black. But you need to go to the shelter to interact with them for maybe 30, 45 minutes."

"Really?"

"There's a lot of paperwork, too. I filled out most of it. And it will cost you $350."

"Wow! Whatever. Give me the details."

2/12: I picked the kittens up today. Jess came with me. She helped me set everything up for them. Litter box is in the back bedroom, food and water in the kitchen. I gave her a key.

"Hm... Now I can sneak in and attack you in the middle of the night..."

I had no idea what to say.

"Aren't you at least a little bit interested in that?"

"... I guess I am, actually. But I'm conflicted."

"I get it. Take your time, Mack, but fair warning- I plan to bear your children."

I had no idea what to say to that either. She quickly kissed me on the lips and left.

Nope, didn't sleep much...

[Wayne23]

2/13: At #11, 18-6, 7-4 UConn, undefeated at home. We beat them by 12 at our place. They're a BIG favorite this time. They have an excellent back court and a very good C. Then numbers slightly favor them. To have a chance we'll need to play solid D, and our forwards will need to step up, which neither of them has done very often.

It was weird leaving the kittens, who are pretty funny to watch. They both slept on my bed last night. No idea how they'll handle being alone for the next couple of nights but i have a feeling Jess will spend a lot of time there.

2/14: "Don't lose track of Marshall, he's as good an SG as there is in the country."

Both teams start slow then they take a lead. Down 4 after 10; Marshall is killing us. Up 6 at the half. Cole has 12 and Meek has 8. +8 for the bench. Marshall has 16. They have 3 starters with 3 fouls each; we have none. Our forwards are doing nothing and we're still ahead. I give them a pep talk; let's see if it helps.

They go on a run. Down 15 with 10 left; we're in trouble.

73-90. They just ran away from us late. 28-51 in the 2nd half. Ouch! -11 from the bench. -14.5% shooting. -6 in the paint and the same on 2nd chances.

I HATE it when we just lose our focus. Hasn't happened often this season though.

'Nova lost so we're still in 1st, 1 up on 3 teams with 4 to play. We play them there in the regular season finale.

2/15: Walked in the door at 11:15 p.m. After the flight in, the bus to campus, some time with the kids in the locker room, and the short drive home. Jess was still here.

She told me LOTS of kitten stories and we both laughed a lot as the cats wouldn't leave either of us alone.

At one point we would have liked to be left alone... It didn't go far but yeah, I guess I'm in a relationship now...

[Wayne23]

2/16: 16-11, 8-4, Seton hall, tied for 2nd place, is here. They beat us by one at their place. We're a slight favorite. We score 8.8 more per game and give up 1.2 less. We rebound better. But they have a very good PG, and they're 4-3 vs. Ranked teams. In the first game their starting guards had 42 and ours had 10; that was the key, and it can't happen this time.

2/17: Close early. Up 2 after 10. Up 11 at halftime. No run, we just slowly, steadily widened the lead. 10, 5 for Suli. Boyd has 3 fouls as does their C. 4 TOs to 13. Their guards are NOT doing what they did last time. They're shooting only 27.3%. We're +14 in the paint. Up 15 with 10 to go.

74-54. They never made a run at us in the 2nd half. 17, 7 for Suli, 13 for Hite, 11 for Jack. +20 in the paint. 11 TOs to 23. They shot 35.3%. +16 from the line.

Only UConn is one back with 3 to play, but 2 of our last 3 are away against ranked teams.

I'm not home a lot but when I am I have kittens all over me. Good thing I no longer do much work at home because they make it impossible.

Jess is spending a lot of time at my place when I'm there, and even when I'm not. We're definitely getting close. Dee taught me that a good relationship is a very precious thing. I'm moving slowly but I'd really like to have that again.

[Wayne23]

2/20: At #1`3 Georgetown, 21-7, 8-5. We won by 10 at our place. Their starting SF is out for the season, but he was last time we met. His replacement is a good player. Their 1st big off the bench will play hurt. They're favored by a lot. They have a very good back court and a solid PF. If they're hitting threes we're in a lot of trouble. Other stats are very similar. They're 4-4 vs. Top 25 teams, 2-0 at home. They're 15-1 at home so this won't be easy.

2/21: Back and forth. Down 1 after 10. Down 6 at the half, the biggest margin so far. 3 fouls for Hite. Muer is playing well in his place. -10 for the bench. They're shooting 9% better. We need to step it up. I'm maxing the D. They stretch out the lead. Down 16 with 10 left; it's an uphill climb. We go to the full court press but it's not helping.

67-78 but it wasn't really that close. They defended us really well, 34% shooting. -5 from the starting bigs. We've played better but really, they were the better team tonight. Tied with UConn for 1st with 3 teams one back and 2 to play.

[Wayne23]

2/23: 7-20, 2-12, last place ST Johns is here. We crushed them at their place. This is an absolute must win game for us. We should win it easily but this is no time for a letdown. I've been really emphasizing that. Can't have them looking ahead to the 'Nova game!

2/24: We take a quick lead. Up only 2 after 10. Up 7 at halftime. They're shooting 24% but we're shooting only 32.4%, but we took 9 more shots. Boyd has 7. One guy on their team has 5; no one else has more than 4. 3 TOs. +10 in the paint. The D is great but we need to make shots! We stretch out the lead. Up 23 with 10 to go.

74-50. Stifling D! 30.9% shooting for them. We shot much better in the 2nd, 43.7% for the game. Suli had 10, 11. Boyd had 13, 8, Cole had 13, 3, 6.

+15 RBs, 8 TOs. +20 in the paint.

Jess stayed over for the first time... VERY mixed emotions but mostly positive.

[Wayne23]

2/27: At #10, 22-8, 19-6, 17-1 at home Villanova. They won by 12 at our place. On paper it's close. Their outside game vs. Our inside game. We look a little better statistically but they put us away at our place, mostly due to guard play. It won't be easier at their place!

2/28: A battle early. Up 3 after 10. Tied at the half; what a game! Hite has 3 fouls but Muer is doing well covering, as is Mill. +9 from our bench. Shooting is essentially identical. +10 in the paint. Our starting guards are not getting it done but our 2 sub guards are doing great. Mini-run! Up 10 with 10 left!

76-73! Huge upset. We grabbed and held a small lead late and we made our free throws in the last couple minutes. +9 from our bench and our sub guards made the difference.

15, 5, 3 steals for Long, 12, 6, 3 for Suli, 11, 3, 3 for Muer, who was huge. Mill had 8 in only 7 minutes as our 4th guard. Threes kept them in it, 8 to our 5. +14 in the paint was another really big factor.

We end up tied for 1st with UConn; I think they'll get the #1 seed.

We end the regular season at 26-5, 12-4, currently ranked #6, #5 NET. If we manage to win the Big East tourney we'll likely be a #1 seed. That's a huge undertaking but, hey, let's go for it!

+10.9 PPG, #12 in PPG. +6.9 RBs, #13 in RBs. -5 TOs. We turn it over way too often, 13.5, but we turn the other guys over even more. +2.9 assists. +3.8 steals, one of my best teams in this category.

We played 13 Q1 teams, won 9. 7-1 vs. Q2. Unbeaten vs. The rest.

"Welcome back. The boys and I missed you."

"Missed you, too. And Dan and Hal, I suppose, aggravating as they are."

"You never did tell me why you named them that. Old friends' names?"

"No. I named them that so I could say, 'Dan it all! What the Hal are you two up to now!'"

"Funny!... So... Now that you've had a little time to think it over, any regrets?"

"About us?"

"Yeah."

"Not at all. I mean, Dee's only been gone for about 9 months but... I want this. I definitely want this!"

There was a tear in her eyes as she fell into my arms.