DDSCB23: Alone

[Wayne23]

4/4: Awards: Bri Thun was Final Four MOP and 1st team All American again. I thought he got robbed for national POY. He should have gotten it.

In the Big East Bri was POY and 1st team along with Rod Latt. Jed Mack made the 2nd team. I was again both national and conference COY.

4/9: Same story, I’m not leaving UConn.

TP goes from 94 to 98.

4/23: I ask for a budget increase.

No. I’m not happy with A. D. Don Grey and we go at it a little bit.

We’re losing Croy, and seniors Rip Will, Jed Mack, and Josh Prin.

37-1 and the national title. In 10 years as a head coach I’m 324-50, .866.

[Wayne23]

5/1: #2 preseason. #10 recruiting class.

Great looking rookies!

We exceed our Expected to Spend amount.

5/29: Soph F/C Ab Mies transfers out. He wouldn’t have played much. We’re looking for a big man.

We contact several big men but no offers.

6/2: We offer to a PF.

We get him.

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

6/26: Two scholarships. We’ll try for 1 and 1.

Croy was the #1 pick in the draft, Rip Will was #27, Jed Mack #30.

Life on board the ship continues to be difficult due to the crowded space and the youth of the kid, 2 ½ years old. They like to run around, of course, and there’s not a lot of room for them to do that.

We keep them in the holo as much as we can. I also spend most of my time there. The holo is capable of running multiple programs at the same time.

7/11: Looking at some very good recruits.

7/31: We offer to an SG and a C. They both have us as their #1.

8/7: 9 on the Norton list! Morr is #7, Thun #10, Henk #14, Sand #18, Latt #26, Newn #30, Gray #35, Beko #45, Good #47. Playing time will definitely be an issue this season.

9/11: Both recruits commit, an SG, #1, a C, #26.

9/18: Going to the preseason NIT. All other pre-conf games are vs. ranked teams. Only 4 Big East games vs. ranked teams. The conference seems to be down a little this year.

There’s a flu going around the ship, cold symptoms and some intestinal stuff. Not good and most of the kids have it. I don’t, at least so far.

10/2: 1st day of practice. We are DEEP!

11/13: We start the season tomorrow in the NIT. We’re the #1 seed and we play #16 Middle Tennessee.

Here’s the lineup. We’re giving 8 guys lots of minutes. The 9th should get some but there are none left to give:

Juco junior Tod Morr is at PG. He has the whole game.

Senior Al Harn is at SG and he has looked really good in practice.

#3 guard frosh Jeff Newn, is good enough to start and he’ll get lots of minutes at both guard spots. Soph Wes Ando would start for a lot of teams but he’ll be lucky to get minutes with us. Frosh Lon
Stro is still developing. He’s going to be a good one.

Soph Rod Latt moves from SF to PF. He was very good last season.

Frosh Cris Henk is at PF. He’s a top flight rebounder but his D could be better.

Junior Bri Thun, a two time All American, is back at C.

1st big man off the bench is frosh Paul Sand, who would start almost anywhere else. Junior Gegi Beko could also start for most teams. Senior John Good was a 3 year starter at Iowa but he’ll struggle to get minutes here.

[Wayne23]

11/14: 98-57. 16, 8 for sub F/C Paul Sand. All 5 starters played well. 55 RBs to 18. +34 in the paint.

It seems like we’ve been on the ship forever. Still several months to go. #8 tells me the terraforming is going according to plan.

11/16: 86-59 over #13 ranked, #8 seed Kentucky in the quarter finals.45-30 at the half. 22, 4, 5, 5 for PG Tod Morr, 20 for SG Ab Harn, 16, 8, 3 for Thun. Big edge inside.

All of the favorites got beat in this round except us.

11/18: 106-85 over #8 ranked #5 seed Louisville. 59-40 at halftime. 22, 7, 4 blocks for Latt, 20, 1, 10 for Morr, 14, 16 for Thun, 18 for sub guard Jeff Newn, 16, 2, 5 for Harn. 53 RBs.

11/20: 93-80 over #6 ranked, #6 seed Iowa in the title game. Close for a half, we led by 4 at the break. They stayed fairly close for a long time. 29, 6, 1, 3 for Thun, 15, 10, 4 for
Henk, 15, 4 for Latt, 12, 3, 3 for Sand. +28 in the paint.

We breezed through this tournament.

[Wayne23]

11/22: 87-58 over #24 Syracuse here. 17 point lead at halftime. 22, 10 for Henk, 16, 3 for Latt, 13, 0, 6 for Marr. Thun was in foul trouble all night. +17 RBs.

The ship is drifting in space, sort of toward Earth. Not sure why. We should be holding a steady position. All of the indicators show normal.

11/25: 82-61 over Kentucky here. Up 14 at the half. 21, 6 for Sand, 19, 6 for Henk. +21 RBs, 50 in the paint.

(Author’s Note: Another change in recruiting: We can sign only 1 in the top 25, 1 between 26-50, 2 between 51-75. That’s their ranking when we add them to our Watch List. Again, only one transfer can be either A or B.)

11/29: 97-77 over #15 Florida here. Up 19 at the break. 25, 12, 1, 5, 3 blocks for Thun, 23 for Harn, 16 for Beko.

12/2: 95-54 over UCLA here. Up 19 at halftime. 15, 11, 3 blocks for Sand, 12, 9, 2, 3 for Latt, 12, 3, 6 for Morr.

8-0, #1, NET #1.

[Wayne23]

12/6: 91-64 over #2 ranked Florida here. Up 15 at halftime. 22, 11, 7 blocks for Thun, 15, 9 for Latt. We crushed the #2 team in the country!

12/9: 100-52 over Gonzaga here. 60-24 at the half. We scored more in the 1st half than they did in the game! 15, 9, 4, 3 blocks for Beko, 15, 11 for Henk, 16, 7 for Thun, 12 each for Sand and Newn. +24 for the bench. +28 RBs. +48 inside.

12/10: The kids are three years old today. Three year olds talk a lot and they’re curious about everything.

99-54 over #7 Louisville here. 62-18 at the half. 25, 3, 3 for Morr, 17, 0, 4 for Newn, 15, 7, 3 blocks for Sand, 13, 3 for Harn.

97-69 over #16 Arkansas here. 52-31 at halftime. 28, 1, 7 for Morr, 14, 8 for Thun, 12, 3, 3 for Harn.

12-0, #1, NET #1. We’re beating up some very good teams.

Speaking with #8 about what Mars will be like after it’s terraformed.
“The regions around the equator will be like winter in New England, only a bit colder. Daytime highs may reach the 50s, occasionally the 60s on the warmest days, more like the 20s and 30s on cold days. Night time temperatures will fall to below zero. There will be snow on cold days. When nearing the poles the temps will be much colder, 20s and teens during the day, going as low as -75 at night.”

So really, the half nearest the equator will be habitable but the other half not so much.

[Wayne23]

12/20: 68-46 over #8 Maryland here. Great D! We never trailed. 15, 14, 5 blocks for Latt, 16, 4 for Sand.

12/23: 76-69 at #15 Texas. Our closest game so far. They held us to 37.7% shooting. 27, 10, 3 blocks for Sand, 18, 10 for Thun, 12, 6, 4 blocks for Latt. Our bench was +18. +18 from the line, +26 in the lane.

12/27: 101-71 over Arizona here. Up 25 at halftime. 16, 13, 3 for Sand, 19, 0, 8 for Morr, 12, 10 for Henk, 15, 4, 3 for Harn, 12, 7 for Latt. +35 RBs.

12/30: 88-58 over #3 Iowa here. 47-30 at halftime. 24, 10 for Thun, 21, 7, 4 blocks for Latt. +32 RBs.

1/1/2233: We end pre-conf play at 16-0. #1, NET #1.

+28.1 PPG, #1 in scoring, RBs, and blocks, #3 in assists, #1 in Def Rating and overall NET Rating. +18.8 RBs, #1 in RB margin. -2.1 TOs but 12.9 is too many. Working on it.

Thun leads us with 15.3, 8.7. 12.8, 6.4 for Latt. 12.3, 6.4 assists for Morr, 11.8, 6.4 for Sand. 11.4 for Harn. 9.1, 8.0 for Henk.

(No longer allowing myself to chase any top 10 recruits.)

[Wayne23]

1/6: We open Big East play with an 81-55 win over Vermont here. 40-24 at halftime. 28, 14 for Thun, 14, 2, 7 for Morr. 50 in the paint.

Latt tweaked his back. Day to day.

1/10: 91-67 at ST Johns. They stayed close for awhile but we broke it open early in the 2nd half. 32, 7, 3 blocks for Thun, 13, 15 for Henk, 19 for Harn, 12, 9 for Latt. Big edge inside.

1/13: 90-53 at Seton Hall. 16, 8, 4 blocks for Thun, 16, 7, 1, 3 for Henk, 16, 3 for Harn. Never a game.

1/17: 101-64 over Villanova here. 51-29 at the half. 16, 1, 8 for Morr, 15, 3, 1, 3 for Thun, 13, 9, 4 blocks for Latt, 16, 3 for Sand. 64-6 in the paint.

20-0, 4-0, #1, NET #1.

Mars will have just about the same air composition as Earth once the terraforming is complete in a couple of months. We’ll be able to breathe the air with no problems.

We plan to build housing and a community building, all close together. The housing will be one big building.

[Wayne23]

1/20: 88-64 at Georgetown. 58-35 at halftime. 22, 9 for Henk, 20, 7 for Thun, 17, 1, 12 for Morr, 16, 11 for Sand.

1/24: 110-75 at #23 Marquette. Up 18 at the half. 22, 2, 6 for Morr, 20, 7 for Latt, 18, 7 for Sand, 14, 7, 4 blocks for Beko. +24 for the bench.

1/27: 92-55 over Butler here. 53-24 at the break. 26, 5, 2, 3 for Harn. 20, 7, 5 for Henk. +42 in the paint.

1/31: 101-62 over #9 Creighton here. 60-28 at halftime. 18, 9, 3 for Sand, 17, 7 for Henk, 15, 6 for Latt, 13 each for Thun and Harn. +25 RBs.

24-0, 8-0 at the halfway point in Big East play and a 3 game lead over 4 teams. #1, NET #1.

Bri Thun is #7 on the Norton list, Tod Morr is #23, Cris Henk #26, Rod Latt #27.

Things remain very difficult on the ship. Conditions are just too crowded. A couple of the kids have really bonded to me. They follow me around, engage me in conversation, sit on my lap… I don’t know how to deal with this since I know nothing about kids, but it’s actually kind of nice in some ways.

[Wayne23]

2/3: 82-56 over Providence here. We never trailed. 14, 11, 3, 5 blocks for Thun, 13, 6 for Sand. +20 RBs. +22 in the lane.

2/7: 90-55 at DePaul. Never a contest. 20, 11 for Beko, 17, 8 for Sand, +22 for the bench. +27 RBs.

2/10: 99-91 at #19 Xavier. Tied at the half and close until the last few minutes. 21, 9 for Latt, 20, 7 for Thun, 19, 3 for Sand, 13, 2, 11 for Morr. +34 inside. We were actually challenged in this one, which is good for us.

2/14: 91-52 at Vermont. 49-32 at the half. 27, 11 for Thun, 21,10, 4 blocks for Latt, 12, 11 for Henk. +25 RBs, total control inside.

28-0, 12-0, 4 game lead with 4 to play. #1, NET #1.

Thun is #10 on the Norton list.

#8 tells me the planet will be ready in about a month.

[Wayne23]

2/17: 97-75 over ST Johns here. We were in charge all the way. 24, 7 for Thun, 16, 9 for Henk, 14, 6, 6, 4 for Harn. +27 RBs, total control inside.

2/21: 88-64 over Seton Hall here. It was over at halftime. 17, 9 for Henk, 14, 10, 3 for Thun, 16, 6 for Sand. We owned the paint.

2/24: 93-64 at Villanova. +17 at the break. 23, 11, 3 blocks for Thun, 19, 12, 3 blocks for Latt. +21 RBs, +48 inside.

2/28: 89-63 over Georgetown here. 50-25 at the half. 14, 16 for Henk, 16, 8, 4 blocks for Thun, 14, 6 for Sand.

3/5: We lose starter Cris Henk and subs Lon Stro and Jeff Newn, to the draft.

Bri Thun is #8 on the Norton list.

We finish the regular season 32-0, 16-0, #1, NET #1. We win the Big East by 5 games.

+28.7 PPG, 1st in the nation in points, RBs, assists, and blocks, 3rd in points allowed. +19.3 RBs, +7.1 assists, -2.7 turnovers but 13.1 is too many.

Thun gets 16.8, 8.0. 12.3, 6.5 for Latt, 12.1, 6.1 for Sand, 11.0, 7.3 assists for Morr, 11.0, 8.3 for Henk, 10.6 for Harn.