Basketball 2111

[Wayne23]

1/1/2020: 12-2, 2-0. My starting guards had a good week.

1/15: 15-3, 5-1, #15, RPI #13. Alone in 2nd, 1 back of UMass. We play then at our place later in the season.

1/29: 18-4, 8-2, #16, RPI #19. In a 3 way tie for 1st. +8.3 PPG (127, #21), +5.0 RBs (#30), +2.9 TOs (#58). Lost our last game in OT. Balanced scoring.

2/12: 21-5, 11-3, #13, RPI #20. Tied with Davidson for 1st. 2 teams 1 game back.

2/26: 23-8, 13-5. #15, RPI #29. We finish in a 2 way tie for 2nd, #2 seed. +6.5 PPG (#143, #38), +6.2 RBs (#15), +2.0 TOs (#92). Not happy with ball handling.

[Wayne23]

3/7: We play #7 seed George Mason, 14-14, 10-8 in the quarters. Beat them by 11 at our place. We’re favored by 4 ½.

3/8: 82-71. 20 for PF Ben Dyer, 17, 10 for C Wei Zhao. +14 RBs.

#3 seed Dayton, 22-7, 13-5, in the semis. We won by 23 at home then lost by 7 there. We’re favored by 1 ½. Need to stop their inside game.

3/9: 81-92. We didn’t stop anything. 21, 12 for Zhao, 19 for Bakk but the D was awful.

24-9, #21, RPI #35. Looks like a #9 or #10.

3/12: #6 South. We play #11 Hawaii, 22-10. I’m pleased! We’re favored, but only by ½ point.

3/17: 80-72 in OT. It was close all night. Ben Dyer hit a 14 footer to send it to OT and he played great during the OT. He and sub guard Jon Happ led us with 15 each. 12, 5, 6 for Ken Bakk. 22 TOs almost sank us.

#3 seed, #12 ranked UCLA, 24-7, in the 2nd round. We beat them by 17 in the season opener but they’re favored by 4 ½. They’ve gotten better over the course of the season. I’m not sure we have.

3/19: 82-69. Great win! 16, 11 for Dyer, 15, 5 for SF Cam Thor. +11 RBs, 11 TOs. It went back and forth during a close first half but we dominated the 2nd.

Only my 2nd Sweet Sixteen and my first here. #2 seed, #9 ranked Kansas, 25-9. They’re a big fav. They’re string everywhere, but especially inside.

3/24: 55-63. We played well but they were the better team.

4/3: #1 Oklahoma ST is the champ.

4/4: Awards: Junior C Wei Zhao is A 10 POY and 1st team along with junior PG Ken Bakk. Senior guard Wes Higg makes the 2nd team. I am Conf. COY again.

4/9: Not sure if my Reputation (40) will get me to a school better than URI (TP 50 CP 48). Tennessee looks inviting. We visit.

4/10: No to Tennessee. USC… No. We’re staying.

4/23: I ask for a budget increase. No.

26-10, #23, RPI #34. +5.9 PPG (#133, #50), +6.2 (#15), +1.1 (#117).

Overall, I’m 212-79, .729, for 9 seasons.

[Wayne23]

5/1: #41 recruiting class. We buy the usual reports.

6/5: 1 spot for a transfer.

6/12: We get an SG from Indiana where he was good enough to start.

6/26: 5 scholarships. We need 3 guards.

Major announcement last night. Church attendance is now voluntary. That was it. One sentence. Announced on a huge poster in the cafeteria. I’m

6/28: Evidently the voluntary church thing is nationwide. No idea why. People are suspicious. Is this a trap to see if people will stop going, and then what happens if it is?

7/31: The church thing does not seem to be a trap. Slowly people stopped going. Now I’m told attendance is less than 50%. No consequences.

Al Jolly told me this was legit and that nothing would happen. He said the Council thought the church policy had outlived its purpose.

8/21: We offer to 3 PGs, an SF, and a C.

9/18: Got 3, lost 2. Got an SF, #57, a PG, #63, and a C, #133. Hoping to get 2 PGs.

Preseason NIT vs. Memphis.

9/25: Got 2 PGS. #64, #206. None of the 5 should have any trouble hitting the SAT- well, one is a Juco so in his case, n/a… GREAT recruiting class.

10/2: 1st day of practice. We’re picked to win the A10. It’s early but I LIKE what I saw at practice today.

There have not been any repercussions around not attending church. I think if there were going to be any they would have happened by now. It’s great not to have to go. The preachers are up in arms predicting that their God will strike down all of the infidels and all of the “leaders.” They mean the rich people but don’t dare come right out and say it.

11/6: 8 man rotation with a 9th who would be there if we had the minutes.

Senior Ken Bakk is at PG with senior Oli Sall subbing.

Senior Jon Happ is at SG with soph Rico Copa subbing.

Frosh Jon Sils is at SF with junior Ben Dyer subbing at SF and PF.

Soph Ryan Budd starts at PF, subs at C. Senior Wei Zhao is at C.

LOTS of experience and LOTS of talent. I have high expectations for this team!

[Wayne23]

11/13: Off to the NIT vs. #5 seed Memphis. We’re #12 but we’re a 3 ½ point fav.

11/14: 95-73. 16, 10 for Zhao, 17, 5 for Dyer, 13 for each of the starting guards. +9 RBs, 8 TOs.

#4 seed, #18 ranked Louisville in the 2nd round. We’re favored by 1 ½.

11/16: 56-70. They took a big early lead and we never caught up. 15, 8 for Zhao, 12, 9 for PF Ryan Budd. Sorry to go out so early but unlike last year’s team this one is going to get better, maybe a lot better.

11/20: 1-1. All 5 recruits sign.

12/4: 5-1. RPI #18. We’re generally happy with the lineup. We’re trying to be patient with SF Jon Sils. He’s rated at 5 stars but he’s playing like a freshman. We’ll stay with him for now.

12/25: 9-1, RPI #20. +12.3 PPG (#100, #21), +7.1 RBs (#10), +3.8 TOs (#15). Zhao leads us with 17.5, 9.7. PF Ryan Budd gets 14.0, 7.3, and SG Jon Happ gets 13.1, 5.0. Ben Dyer will start over Jon Sils. Oli Sall gets some of Bakk’s minutes and all of Copa’s.

[Wayne23]

1/1/2121: 10-2, 1-1. Lost at Davidson. They’ll probably be our biggest A10 rival.

1/15: 13-3, 4-2, RPI #35. I thought we’d be doing better than this. But it’s early and we’re just one back of 1st.

1/29: 17-3, 8-2, ranked #24, RPI #21. In a 3 way tie for 1st. +8.9 PPG (#124, #19), +5.0 RBs (#22), +4.5 TOs (#11). We’re really taking good care of the ball.

Doing pretty well in all categories, and on a 7 game win streak.

Saw an 18 wheeler that was driverless today. I’d heard that there were a few of them around but hadn’t seen one. I’m told there are driverless buses but people are refusing to board them.

2/12: 20-4, 11-3, #19, RPI #22. We’re alone in 2nd, 1 back of Dayton, 1 up on Davidson. But we play Dayton there this week. That could be not so great.

2/26: 22-7, 13-5, #20, RPI #34. We finish alone in 2nd, 3 back of Dayton.+6.6 PPG (#143, #40), +5.8 RBs (#25), +3.6 TOs (#14. Zhao leads us with 16.3, 8.7.

People are seeing robotic workers in lots of jobs that used to be done by humans. It seems to be happening quickly.

[Wayne23]

5/1: We move to the Big East.

Recruiting class #25. We buy the usual reports.

6/5: 2 spots for transfers.

6/12: We get a C from NC ST. He looks like a good one!

6/26: 2 scholarships. We need guards.

3 of our guys were drafted by pro teams. First time for me.

8/21: We offer to 2 PGs.

9/18: We lose one.

No in season tournament this season.

9/25: Got 2 PGs, #29, #51.

10/2: 1st day of practice. We’re picked 2nd in the Big East behind only Seton Hall.

11/6: 8 man rotation that probably won’t change much:

Soph Jon Sils at PG. Junior Dja Soza, a transfer from Indiana is at SG, subs at PG.

Junior Rico Copa subs at SG.

Juco junior Cale Jenn is at SF. Junior Ryan Budd starts at PF, subs at C. Junior Mat Sand subs at SF and PF. Frosh Jar Syed subs at PF.

Our only senior, Ben Dyer, is at C.

There seem to be more and more robotic workers but we don;t see many unemployed people. Something is not adding up.

[Wayne23]

11/20: 2-0. Great D in both games.

12/4: 6-0. #1 in PPG Allowed. Ranked #21.

Another outbreak of … something. Too soon to know what but it looks bad.

12/7: Looks like another plague. Very virulent. I’m wondering if the virus or whatever it is mutated to the point where the vaccine is no longer effective, or whether the
people in charge are giving something other than the vaccine to some or all of us.

12/11: LOTS of people dying.

12/15: The plague seems to have peaked and seems to be slowing, but the death rate is huge.

12/24: An estimated 10 million people are left in the U. S., 200 million in the world. I’m told this was a planned “weed out.” There may be at least one more. Certain very carefully targeted people got something that was not a vaccination. About half of them died in the recent plague. Whew!

12/25: 10-1, #21, RPI #21. +14.0 PPG (#196, #3), +7.9 RBs (#11), +4.2 TOs (#12).

Our toughest Big East game will be our first, at #6 ranked Seton Hall, 10-1.

[Wayne23]

1/1/2122: 11-2, 1-1. We weren’t in the same league as Seton Hall but we beat a pretty good Providence team easily.

1/15: 12-4, 2-3. TOUGH conference.

1/22: A 2 win week but both at home against middle of the pack teams. 2 on the road vs. ranked teams, one in each of the next two weeks.

I just cut a redshirt frosh because he’s been instigating things with several different players all season. He had a lot of potential but no, he’s not worth it.

1/29: 15-4, 5-3, RPI #13. +9.6 PPG (#241, #2), +5.1 RBs (#20), +3.7 TOs (#7). Happy with our PPG Allowed but we need to score more points. C Ben Dyer leads us with 13.7, 7.8.

2/5: 16-5, 6-4. BIG win over Seton Hall here. In a 3 way tie for 3rd place in the Big East.

2/12: 17-6, 7-5. Now in a 4 way tie for 3rd. There are 8 teams fighting it out for 2nd place in this 11 team conference. Seton Hall is in good shape to win the conf., and 2 teams are WAY out of it. We don’t have a legit “go to” guy. Dyer leads us with 13.9. The other starters get 13.2, 11.2, 10.4, and 8.6. All of them play great D.

2/19: 17-6, 9-5, #22, RPI #13. We’re alone in 2nd, but several teams are breathing down our neck.

2/26: 21-6, 11-5, to end the regular season. #17, RPI #12. We end up alone in 2nd place. +9.3 PPG (#214, #4), +4.9 RBs (#25), +3.9 TOs (#8). One of our goals was to win the conference tournament. That may be a tall order.

We seemed to adjust way too easily to the loss of millions more people. The big issues were resolved by robotic workers- crops were grown, food and other necessities were shipped to where people needed them, essential tasks got done. We truly are in the process of making people obsolete and it is very frightening.

[Wayne23]

3/9: We play #7 seed Villanova, 14-14, 8-8, in the quarters. We won by 23 at our place and we’re a big favorite.

3/10: 68-39. Easy win and tremendous D. 17 each for SF Cale Jenn and PG Jon Sils.

#6 seed Xavier, 20-9, 8-8, won their game in an upset. We play them in the semis. They won in OT there, then we won by 17 at home. We’re heavily favored.

3/11: 78-72. They kept it close. 3 guys had 12, 2 had 11, 1 had 9, 1 had 8 points.

As expected it’s #1 seed, #8 ranked Seton Hall, 25-4, 13-3, for the title. They won by 25 there, then we won by 18 at home. They’re a huge favorite.

3/12: 76-80. Close all the way. We were never separated by more than 7 points. They won it with outside shooting. 16 each for PF Ryan Budd and SF Cale Jenn.

23-7, 11-5, #14, RPI #10, lost in the final. We should get a good seed.

#4 South. Expected a #3. We play #13 Bucknell, 22-8. 84-76. We could never quite put them away until very late. 23, 5 for Ryan Budd, 17 each for Jenn and Dyer.

#12 seed Clemson, 19-12, won in an upset. We’re favored by 1 ½ but they have a solid outside game.

3/19: 73-63. They got 45 outside but we shut them down inside. 18, 8 for Budd, 17, 5 for Jenn.

We’re in our 3rd straight Sweet Sixteen vs. #1 seed, #7 ranked GA Tech, 27-8. Their outside game is even stronger than Clemson’s. The oddsmakers say we’re in trouble.

3/24: 63-71. It was close for 35-36 minutes. Then our SG fouled out and our PG picked up foul #4. Their deep bench won it for them getting 26, 22, 4 while ours had 6, 3, 2.

Another very good season but I want to win national titles and I just don’t see that happening at URI. Hoping to get to an elite school soon.

4/3: #4 Florida ST beat Big East rival Seton Hall by 8 for the title.

4/4: Awards: Senior Ben Dyer makes the Big East 1st team. Junior forward Cale Jenn makes the 2nd team. Jenn has been involved in lots of incidents with other players. I would
not be shocked if he transferred. I hope not but…

4/9: Nobody who I want wants me. Back for another season.

4/23: Had to spend some money on a new #1 assistant so I’m asking for a budget increase. No.

25-8, Sweet Sixteen, #14, RPI #10.

Overall, I’m 265-95, .736.

Lots of empty space everywhere we go. There are robot drivers, robot farmers, robot cafeteria workers, robot custodial and maintenance staff… Not nearly as many people anywhere. And it’s not just here. I talk to people all over the country and it’s the same everywhere.

[Wayne23]

5/1: Recruiting class #20. We buy the East Gold.

6/5: A kid who was never going to play transfers so one open slot.

6/19: We get a PF from Tulsa. He’s going to be a project.

6/26: 5 scholarships.

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

9/18: We get 3, lose 2. We get 2 PFs, #48 and #60, and a PG, #55.

Winter Jam vs. Houston.

9/25: Got a C, #53. Lost one. Need one more guard!

10/2: Got the last one, a PG, #51, Great haul! One is marginally re the SAT scores but the other 4 should have no problem with that.

1st day of practice. We’re picked to finish 2nd to Seton Hall again.

11/6: PG, SG, SF are not fully settled yet. For now it’s an 8 man rotation:

Frosh Mal Guty starts at PG and Junior Jon SIls subs.

Senior Dja Soza starts at SG, subs at SF. Senior Rico Copa subs at SG.

Senior Cale Jenn starts at SF.

Senior Ryan Budd is at PF. Mel Mims, a junior transfer from NC ST, is at C.

Soph Jar Syed subs at PF and C.

We have a team with lots of experience here and hopes and expectations are high!