DDSCB23: Alone

[Wayne23]

2/4: 96-64 over Providence here. 49-23 at halftime. 21, 11 for Thun, 16, 12 for Mack, 17, 3 for Dark, 12, 9 for Long. +28 RBs, +48 in the paint.

2/8: We get stunned, 78-88 at DePaul. We didn’t shoot well and we let them shoot 50%. We were down only 1 at the half but just lost focus in the 2nd. 30, 5 for Long, but no one else did much of anything. Thun fouled out playing only 12 minutes, and Mack played 17 minutes due to fouls. But the officials didn’t beat us, we were just lousy.

2/11: 78-66 at Xavier. We led for the last 33 minutes but never by a lot. Up 3 at the break. We went on a run with about 7 minutes left and that iced it. 17, 15, 3 blocks for Thun,
14, 7 for Mack, 12, 5 for Long. +26 in the paint, +12 RBs.

Thun is #2 on the Norton list.

2/15: 94-65 at Vermont. 44-28 at the break. 34, 11 for Thun, who is in the running for national POY. 20, 14 for Mack, 17, 10 for Long. +32 RBs, +54 inside, +23 on 2nd chances.

25-2, 10-2, 1 back of Seton Hall, who we play next week at our place in a game that will likely decide the regular season Big East championship. #2, NET #1.

I get a report from the ship that something at the far edges of its visual field is approaching and it “does not seem to be of natural origin. I suspect as it gets closer it will wind up to be a meteor or a comet or just some space debris. We’ll see.

[Wayne23]

2/18: 94-76 over St Johns here. 51-36 at the half. 12, 4, 8, 3 for Hess, 17, 3 for Daws, 15, 7 for Long, 14, 4, 3 for Thun, 10, 11 for Mack. +21 RBs, +36 in the paint.

2/22: 91-72 over now #2 ranked Seton Hall in a game that puts us back in 1st place. It was close for 25 minutes and we were down 4 at the half. Then we went on a big run and never looked back. 22, 7,
2, 4, 5 blocks for Thun against a very good C. 17 for Barr. +18 in the lane, where we won it, although we beat them outside as well.

2/25: 81-75 in a nail biter at Villanova. Down 13 early, down 7 at the half. We didn’t really take charge until the final minutes and the final score was our biggest lead. But we gutted it out. 25, 10 for Thun, 18, 11 for Long, 15, 4 for Barr, who has been hot lately. +16 RBs, +20 inside.

3/1: 78-58 here vs. Georgetown in the regular season finale. Up 14 at halftime and they never got close in the 2nd half. A real team effort with 9 players scoring 5 or more. Thun had 13 and 12, Mack had 12 and 12. +20 RBs, +28 in the paint.

3/5: Starting PG and red shirted frosh PF Mike Tayl declare for the draft.

Bri Thun winds up at #4 on the Norton list.

We end the regular season at 29-2, 14-2, tied for 1st place in the Big East with the #1 seed. Ranked #1, NET #1.

+16.4 PPG, #1 in the nation in scoring. #2 in RBs, #5 in assists. #2 Overall NET Rating. +14 RBs, -4.5 TOs, 10.5 per game.

20.4, 8.0 for Thun, 14.4, 8.1 for Long, 14.1, 9.6 for Mack. Hess gets 8.0 assists.

[Wayne23]

3/9: We start the post season with #8 seed Providence, 16-14, 8-10. We won by 32 in Storrs.

The ship tells me that the object, as it gets closer, is clearly nothing natural. What could it possibly be. It will be months before it gets here.

3/10: 84-62. 46-25 at halftime. 25, 7, 3 for Thun, 14, 10 for Long, 12, 6 for Dark. +21 RBs, +28 in the paint.

#10 seed Vermont stunned Seton Hall in the quarter finals.

Nearly all of the kids are walking, and they’re walking everywhere and interacting with each other quite a bit.

#4 seed Georgetown, 20-10, 9-7, in the semifinals. We won by only 4 there, by 20 at home.

3/11: 104-72, It was never a game. 62-32 at the break. 32, 4, 8, 6 blocks for Thun, 27, 12 for Long, 13, 6 for Mack. +28 RBs, +42 inside.

#10 seed Vermont, 16-18, 5-11, has strung together 3 straight upsets to meet us in the final. We beat them by 27 and 29, but they’re hot right now.

3/12: 87-62. Vermont’s magical run ends here. 53-30 at the half. 19, 11, 3, 3 blocks for Mack, 15, 10, 3 blocks for Thun, 12, 7 for Dark, 11, 7 for Long. Total domination inside.

Post game press conference (excerpts): “Luke Bows, EPSN. Coach Wynn, you crushed everyone in this tournament. Can you do the same in the NCAAs?”

“We’re playing really well but lots of things can happen. I can’t forget last season when we lost our best player for the title game. If we stay healthy and keep playing like we’re playing right now I like our chances."

[Wayne23]

#1 East, #1 overall. We play #16 seed Tennessee Tech, 15-18.

3/16: 99-73. 60-40 at halftime. Huge game for Thun, 38 and 7. 13, 12 for Long, 12, 8, 3 blocks for Mack. We owned the paint.

#8 seed Oregon ST, 22-10, in the 2nd round. Their C is out with a torn up knee. This figures to be a blowout.

3/18: 103-71, and a blowout it was! 58-31 at the break. 20, 15, 4 for Mack, 21, 5, 4 for Thon, 18, 6 for Long. +20 RBs, +44 in the paint. Good guard play.

[Wayne23]

#5 seed, #10 ranked Gonzaga, 28-7, in the Sweet Sixteen. We score a lot more points and pull down a lot more rebounds.

3/23: 89-67. We led for the last 36 minutes. Up 9 at halftime. 20, 11 for Long, 19, 3, 3 blocks for Thun, 15, 9 for Mack, 15, 4, 3 for Hess, 10, 8, 3 for Dark.

We get hit with an injury. Starting SF Ray Barr strained his abdominals. He’s out for the season. We’ll switch up the lineup putting Long at C and Thun at SF.

Post game press conference (excerpts): “Luke Bows, EPSN. Easy win but a tough injury, Coach.”

“Injuries are part of the game but it’s tough to lose a starter this late in the season, and Ray will miss the rest of the post season. Tough way to end his college career.”

“Can you compensate?”

“We’re lucky enough to be really deep this year. Long will start, so we’ll move away from the three guard set, Sean Dark will get more minutes, and Ric Agba will pick up minutes. As long as we don’t get any more injuries I still think we’re the team to beat, but it just got a lot harder!”

#6 seed, #20 ranked Oklahoma ST, 24-9, in the Elite Eight. They’re good outside but I don’t think they can stay with our inside game. 5-4 vs. ranked teams. If we play well we should be okay.

3/25: 91-74. Back to the Final Four! It was a battle for a long time, up only 2 at the half. Finally, with 5 or 6 minutes left, we went on an 11-0 run to break it open. 18, 8, 6, 3 for Thun, 17, 3, 7 for Hess,
12, 12 for Long. +32 in the lane. We had some foul trouble but they had more.

[Wayne23]

#12 seed, unranked Saint Mary’s, 29-8, has made a terrific run to the national semifinal. On paper it’s no contest but they’re on fire right now.
In the other game it’s rivals Seton Hall vs. NC ST.

4/1: 108-77. This was never close. We started the game with an 11-0 run. Up 18 at the break. 28, 7 for Mack, 15, 11 for Long, 14, 4, 6 for Hess, 16, 4 for Daws, 14, 4 for Thun. We have so many weapons!

+20 rebounds, +46 in the paint.

It’s #1 seed, #2 ranked rival Seton Hall, 34-3, for the title. We split a pair in the regular season and won big, by 25, in the Big East title game. They have a very good Center, and they’re good at every position, with a good bench. Let’s see what happens!

4/3: 89-84 and the national title! 22 lead changes, 11 ties. We led by 2 at the half. Too many whistles, 50, but it hurt them more than us. Thun hurt his shooting hand early in the 2nd. He stayed in the game but his shot was affected so we went to our other guys.

27, 2, 6 for Hess, 22, 7 for Mack, 13, 6, 2, 4 for Long. We won this game outside, which is unusual for us. Hey, whatever it takes!

Post game press conference (excerpts): “Luke Bows, EPSN. Coach Wynn, your 3rd national title and your first here at UConn. How does it feel?”

“It feels just great! I came here to win championships and it’s so terrific to win our first.

“UConn has 18 national titles now, tied with UCLA for the all time lead. How would you like to go ahead of UCLA?”

“That’s the goal! Hopefully soon.”

[Wayne23]

4/4: Awards: Bri Thun is Final Four MOP, National Frosh OY, and 1st team All American. I am national and conference COY. In the Big East Thun is Frosh OY and 1st team. Jed Mack makes the 2nd team.

4/9: I am not going anywhere. TP goes from 89 to 94.

4/23: I ask for a facilities upgrade.

Yes. A- to A.

38-2, Big East champs, National champs. Great recruits coming in, including the #1 recruit, a PG.

Overall, I’m 287-49, .854, after 9 seasons.

Whatever it is that the ship sees is getting closer, but still a long way off. It is clearer than ever that this is a vessel of some kind.

The kids are everywhere EXCEPT in the holo. At 16 months old they’re pretty wild.

[Wayne23]

5/1: #3 preseason. #1 recruiting class.

We exceed our Expected to Spend amount.

5/29: Transfer time. We lose 2 bigs. One would have played some. But we didn’t fill 2 of our scholarships so we have 4 spots open for transfers.

We offer to a very good looking junior guard, and a soph Center. We’re talking with several others.

6/2: We lost the guard. We offer to the C again. We offer to 2 guards and another C.

6/5: We get the C we wanted. He’ll start.

We offer to a guard and a C.

6/9: We get both. Both will probably start or be first off bench. We’re done.

6/25: We’ll go to Indy and to all of the regional camps.

6/26: 4 scholarships. We want 2 and 2.

Leon Hess was drafted #5, Mike Tayl #35.

The mystery vessel is getting closer. The ship identifies it as a small space ship.

Two broken collar bones and a broken hand among the babies. These things happen.

7/11: Recruiting is going well.

7/31: We offer to 2 PGs, 2 PFs. They are all very high on us.

8/7: 4on the Norton list: C Bri Thun is #5, PG Bill Croy is #14, C Gegi Beko, a recent transfer, is #15, PF Rod Latt is #35.

The vessel is trying to make contact with the ship. I have instructed the ship to not reply but to send all messages down here so that I can reply.

I receive the first message and I have no idea what it is trying to say. I bring it into the holo. We have three holo people in there who specialize in deciphering messages. Meanwhile I simply send a message of greeting, saying I am alone here, and am peacefully trying to terraform the planet. It’s good to give them something to try to decipher so I make it a long message and I include lots of text, some math- whatever the holo experts think will help the vessel to translate what I am saying.

Am I nervous? Oh yeah! First contact with extraterrestrials? That would make a person nervous. No idea what to expect.

9/11: We lose a guard and a forward.

9/18: 4 for 4! PGs #13 and 36, PFs #33 and 44.

No in season tournament this year. Tough schedule.

No further contact with the vessel which is now near our ship. Not acting in any sort of threatening manner.

10/2 1st day of practice. I think we can contend for the national title again.

Another message from the vessel, a long one. My decoders are working on it.

11/1: Another message but neither side has yet been able to translate.

[Wayne23]

11/6: Final recruit rankings for the guys who have committed: 13, 32, 34, 42.

11/14: We open tomorrow at #25 North Carolina.

Here’s the lineup:

Frosh Bill Croy is at the Point. He was ranked as the #1 recruit in his class. The only thing he needs to work on is D.

Senior Rip Will is back at SG. He’s a terrific passer and defender, and he can shoot but on this team he doesn’t always get the chance.

#3 guard is junior transfer Al Harn. He’s a very good back up guard. Frosh Wes Ando is good enough to play more than he probably will.

Frosh Rod Latt is at SF. He’s a big time glass eater and an excellent defender. He can score, especially inside.

Gegi Beko, a soph transfer from Illinois, is another rebounder and defender.

Soph Bri Thun was a 1st team All American as a frosh. And he’s gotten better! He’s in the middle.

1st big man off the bench is senior Jed Mack who started last year. We lose nothing when he’s in the game. Frosh Troy Gray needs to work on his D but he’s big on the boards.

Senior Josh Prin would start on a lot of teams. Frosh Ab Mies isn’t ready but he’s not far from being ready.

[Wayne23]

11/15: 110-82. 64-40 at halftime. We were in charge all the way. 26, 10 for Thun, 15 for sub guard Al Harn, 12, 6, 3, 3 blocks for Latt, 15 for sub C/F Josh Prin. We beat them both inside and outside.

“You call yourself a human. Your name is Jake Wynn. We are a robotic ship. We call our planet Gero. It is in a far away part of the galaxy. We have robotic ships exploring as much of the galaxy as possible. We are a peaceful people. We wish to learn from any we meet, as well as to teach them. It is unlikely we will ever have any of our people meet with you in person. The distances are too great. The same holds true for communication with my people. I am here to learn and to teach. Even though it will take many centuries for my message to reach my home planet I will send information about our meeting and about any exchanges we have.”

I need to think about how to respond.

11/18: 98-73 over #22 Purdue. 55-35 at the half and once again, we were in control all the way. 19, 10, 3 blocks for Thun, 14, 6, 3, 3 blocks for Latt, 15, 7 for Beko, 14, 5 for Prin. Good bench play and powerful inside.

To the ship from Gero: Is there a name I can call you? We are here to terraform this planet so that our people can live here. Unfortunate circumstances made our home planet, Earth, inhabitable. This project will take many years. We have 64 human children here with me. They will be two of our years old in 22 days.

I went on like that, telling as much as I could.

11/22: 97-70 over Florida ST here. Once again we took a big early lead and were up 15 at the half. 16, 17 for 6th man Jed Mack. All 5 starters had 11 or more.

11/25: 108-65 over #9 Kona here. And again, we dominated from the start. Up 25 at the break. 68-25 for our bench. 31, 13 for Mack, 18, 7 for Prin, 17, 7, 3, 4 blocks for Latt, 14, 3 for Thun. 78 in the paint!

11/29: 93-69 over Illinois here.

Only up 12 at the half, but well in control. 23, 8, 3, 4 blocks for Thun, 24, 8 for Mack, 16, 8, 3 for Latt, 10, 8 for Beko.

We’re averaging 101.2 per game and leading the nation in RBs and assists as well.

The robot wants to be called #8. No idea why but that’s what I’m calling him. We communicate once daily, still trying to learn about each other. The concept of terraforming seems interesting to the robot. It keeps asking more questions. It’s not saying why so much interest.