DDSCB25: Superstar

[Wayne23]

1/17: At 12-5, 2-4 Colorado. If we play our game we should be fine.

1/18: Close early. Down 3 after 10. 37-35 at the half. 14, 6 for Sale, 9, 6 for Mill. We own the paint.

We lead early but it’s close. Up 7 with 10 to go. Holding our lead late.

74-63. 21, 10 for Mill, 18, 9 for Sale. +18 RBs, +15 in the paint.

1/19: 11-7, 3-4 Utah is here. They’re good outside but we score 17 more per game.

1/20: Slow paced game early on. We take the lead. Up 12 after 10. They’re 2-16. The lead goes to 20. 48-25 at halftime. 12, 5 for Witt, 11 for Fitz. Big edge inside.

We hold our lead early. Up 25 with 10 left.

85-63. 20, 7 for Witt, 13, 11 for Khoh, 14, 4 for Fitz.

I got a call from Jake Bell, the coach of the Indiana Pacers.

“Hey Jess. I have a proposition for you.”

“What might that be.”

“Next year’s an Olympic year and I’m the U. S. coach. How’d you like to play on the team?”

“What!!!”

“Yeah. It would be a publicity coup and you’d make us unbeatable.”

“I retired like 5 ½ years ago.”

“You’d get back in game shape in no time.”

“Sorry, I have zero interest in that. Thanks for thinking of me though.”

“How about this then. How about you come to a few of our practices. If I put you on the 2nd team you’d really push the first team.”

“My playing days are over, Jake.”

[Wayne23]

1/22: We’re ranked #17. In a 4 way tie for 1st in the Big 12.

14-6, 3-5, #15 Iowa ST is here. They can play.

1/23: Early lead in a slow paced game. Tied after 10. We go on a run. 41-29 at halftime. 13, 5 for Sale. Fouls hurt them.

We’re in charge early. Up 20 with 10 to go.

83-60. 23, 8 for Sale, 16, 4, 3 for Witt, 11, 9 for Mill, 11, 6 for Fitz. +19 RBs.

“What do you think, Kip?”

“Well, you’re good, but you’re not national champ good. I don’t know if you’re as good as the top 2 or 3 teams in your conference. Time will tell.”

1/26: At 10-10, 3-6 Brigham Young. They give up more points than they score.

1/27: Early lead. Up 1 after 10. 30-42 at the break. We’re shooting 32.5%, they’re shooting 53.1%. 3 fouls for Khoh.

“You’re making a lousy team look good!”

We’re closing the gap early. We take the lead. Down 2 with 10 to play. Close late.

77-70. We were down 15 early. 19, 9, 5 for Wilk, 13, 11, 3 blocks for Sale, 13, 8 for Mill, 11, 4, 6, 3, 3 for Witt, 9, 4, 5 for Fitz. +21 RBs, +32 in the paint.

1/29: We have 3 recruits who we’re worried about hitting our SAT score. Today we find out.

All 3 missed so we’re recruiting. We offer to 2 bigs. Fortunately our 3 best recruits all hit the score.

[Wayne23]

1/31: At #5 Kansas, 16-5, 6-4. We expect a tough game.

2/1: Back and forth early. Down 4 after 10. Down 10 late. 33-52 at halftime. We’re getting beat both outside and inside. 11, 9 for Mill, 8, 4 for Sale. Khoh has 3 fouls.

We’re no match for Kansas. Down 19 with 10 left.

73-83 but it wasn’t that close. They killed us outside. 22, 14, 3 blocks for mill, 12, 7 for Sale.

2/2: #19 Arizona, 15-6, 6-5, is here. This figures to be another tough Big 12 game.

2/3: Early lead. Down 1 after 10. 38-40 at the half. 13 for Mill. 10 TOs.

“Too many turnovers!”

Close early. Up 5 with 10 to go. We get the lead to 12.

92-75. 21, 7 for Mill, 11, 13 for Khoh, 11, 9, 7 for Wilk. +18 in the paint.

Kip flew out here for a few days.

[Wayne23]

2/7: At 10-12, 6-6 Houston. We should win but the road is tough.

Kip flew out with us.

2/8: We start slow. Down 4 after 10. We lead late. 37-39 at the break. 8, 5 for Khoh.

Back and forth early. Up 9 with 10 to play.

88-80. 21, 4, 4 for Witt, 15, 11 for Khoh, 14, 3, 5 for Wilk.

“I thought it was a good road win. Wilk really did a nice job on both ends.”

We’re in a 2 way tie for 1st with Cincy.

2/9: 10-13, 3-10 Central Florida is in town. This is a team we should beat.

2/10: Back and forth early. Up 4 after 10. 47-51 at halftime. They shot 61.3%. 12 for Mill.

“Play some damn D!”

They lead early but it’s close. Down 3 with 10 to go.

81-93. Beat at home by a lousy team, and they beat us inside. 18, 5 for Fitz.

“Every team has an off night now and then. Tonight was yours. Sometimes it winds up being good in the long run.”

[Wayne23]

2/12: At 11-12, 6-8 Arizona ST. We won by 18 at home. They’re good outside.

Kip went back home.

2/13: Close early. Up 1 after 10. 38-38 at the half. 10, 3 for Sale. Most of our starters sat for a lot of minutes in foul trouble.

We start fast. They come back. Down 1 with 10 to play. Tied with 5 to play.

91-80. We stepped up late. 18, 5, 4 for Witt, 11, 14 for Khoh, 14, 4, 3 blocks for Sale, 15, 3 for Mill. Too many Tosa, 19. +20 in the paint, +18 RBs.

Cincy loses and we’re in a 4 way tie for 1st with 5 to play.

2/16: #6 Kansas, 19-7, 9-6, is here. They beat us up at their place. They’re tough outside.

2/17: Both teams are ice cold early. Down 2 after 10. 35-46 at halftime. The calls are going against us and I’m working the refs. Our bench is the only thing working for us.

We’re chipping away at the lead. Then we’re not. Down 10 with 10 left.

77-81. We made a late run and got it to 2 twice, but we came up short. 19, 7 for Sale, 15, 13 for Khoh. +11 for the bench.

In a 3 way tie for 3rd.

[Wayne23]

2/21: 16-9, 9-7 Texas Tech is here. They’re not a pushover.

2/22: We score the first 11. Up 12 after 10. 49-35 at the half. 14, 6, 3 for Sale, 14, 4 for Mill. Only 3 TOs. +12 in the paint.

We hold our lead early. Up 11 with 10 to go. Big lead late.

91-72. 20, 11, 4, 3 blocks for Sale, 19, 8 for Mill, 14, 11 for Khoh.

2/23: At #19 Iowa ST, 20-9, 9-8. We won by 23 at home. They’re on a hot streak right now.

2/24: They opened with a three and we scored the next 10. Up 9 after 10. Big lead late. 45-27 at the break. Balanced scoring.

Holding our lead early. 30 point lead. Up 30 with 10 to play.

84-58. 13, 1, 4, 3 for Wilk, 14, 2, 5 for Witt, 12, 7 for Sale, 10, 10 for Khoh.

Alone in 2nd, 1 back of 1st with 2 to play.

[Wayne23]

2/28: 13-16, 6-12 Brigham Young is here. We won by 7 there.

3/1: Back and forth early. Up 4 after 10. Double digit lead late. 42-26 at the half. 8, 5 for Sale, 8, 2, 3 for Wilk. Only 3 TOs.

Lead is 20 early. Up 14 with 10 to play.

86-62. 16, 4, 7 for Wilk, 15, 10 for Sale, 15, 4 for Witt. +21 RBs.

3/2: Last game of the regular season is at 9-19, 6-13 TCU. We should win this one.

3/3: Early lead. Up 8 after 10. Big lead late. 40-22 at halftime. Great D! 8, 6 for Khoh, 8, 3 for Mill.

Big lead early. Up 27 with 10 to go.

84-65. 20, 7 for Mill, 18, 5 for Sale, 14, 11 for Khoh. +36 in the paint.

We finish in a tie for 1st with the #1 seed. 24-5, 15-5.

Sale leads us in scoring with 16.2, 7.6. 15.0 for Witt. 15.0, 7.2 for Mill. 9.9, 11.0 for Khoh. 6.8 assists for Wilk.

#3 in scoring, +11.7 PPG. #3 in RBs, +10.0. -2.8 TOs, 11.5.

Kip is flying in for the Big 12 tourney and no doubt for the NCAAs as well.

[Wayne23]

3/5: No one goes pro, as expected.

3/9: We play #9 seed Texas Tech, 18-13, 9-11, in the quarter finals. We won by 19 at our place. They’re 4-3 vs. ranked teams so we need to be sharp.

3/10: Close early. Up 3 after 10. 39-31 at halftime. 12, 5 for Sale, 8, 3 for Lenc.

Holding our lead early. Up 6 with 10 to go. They stay close late.

81-78. We made our free throws late. 20, 11 for Sale.

“Too close.”

“Yeah, Kip, we kind of let them back in late and damn near blew it.”

3/11: #5 Kansas, 25-8, 13-7. They beat us by 10 and 4.

We score the first 10. They come back. Up 6 after 10. Big lead late. 53-37 at the half. We led by as many as 25. 15, 7 for Sale, 14, 4 for Mill. +18 in the paint.

Holding our lead early. Up 14 with 10 to play. They make a late run at us but we’re fighting back.

108-96. 32, 11 for Sale, 24, 8 for Mill, 17, 5, 5 for Witt. +10 for the bench. +34 in the paint.

#2 ranked, #2 seed Cincinnati, 27-6, 15-5, in the title game. We beat them by 8 at home. They’re really good, inside and outside.

3/12: Close early. Up 5 after 10. We get the lead to 10. They come back. 35-35 at halftime. Good bench play. 4 starters have 2 fouls. They went to the line 24 times and we went 12.

Early lead. We get it to 11. Up 8 with 10 to go. We’re holding them off late.

74-64 and the title! 16, 3 for Mill, 11, 8, 3 for Sale, 10, 3, 6 for Wilk, +12 for the bench. +12 in the paint.

“Dan Fran, EPSN, here with Coach Wynn. Great win, Coach.”

“We’re pretty stoked about it.”

“What were the keys?”

“We have a very solid front court and they came through for us. And the bench really did their job. Our guards held theirs in check pretty well.”

“How good a seed will you get?”

“Winning the Big 12 should give us a #2 or even a #1.”

#2 East. We play 18-15 Jacksonville first.

[Wayne23]

“Pretty cool to win the Big 12 in only your 2nd year there.”

“I’m thrilled. Hope we can make a little run in the dance.”

3/16: Close early. Up 6 after 10. We get the lead to 10. 43-31 at the break. 16, 5 for Witt, 8, 4 for Sale. Only 2 TOs. +16 in the paint.

Holding our lead early. Up 10 with 10 to play. Safe lead late.

80-63. 22, 7, 3, 3 for Witt, 11, 10 for Mill, 12, 7 for Sale, 10, 10 for Fitz, 9, 11 for Khoh. +18 in the box.

#10 seed Arkansas, 20-13 in the 2nd round. They’ve scored 2 straight upset wins. They’re 1-5 vs. ranked teams.

3/18: Early lead. A run puts us up 12. Up 18 after 10. 51-28 at the half. 13, 3 for sub Mike Burk. Only 3 TOs.

Holding our lead. Up 23 with 10 to go. Big lead late.

86-63 and we’re in the Sweet Sixteen! 17, 6 for Burk, 14, 8 for Sale, 11, 11 for Mill. +20 RBs, +22 in the paint.

[Wayne23]

3/22: #6 seed, #19 ranked Syracuse, 26-9. We think we’re better, especially inside.

3/23: They take a quick lead. Down 1 after 10. They go on a late run. 32-36 at halftime. 9 for Fitz. Mill sat for most of the half with 2 fouls.

Back and forth early. Down 2 with 10 left. It’s been a battle all the way. We trail late.

69-72. We missed a 3/4 court heave at the end. 22, 8 for Sale, 10, 11 for Khoh, 11, 2, 9 for Witt, 11, 3, 2, 4 for Fitz.

“Missed opportunities.”

“Yeah, I thought you should have won it.”