Alone

[Wayne23]

Never thought about that!

[Wayne23]

2/14: 73-81 at Missouri. They're a good team and we weren't very good tonight. 14, 12, 4 for John.

Sub F/C Des Alli hurt his shoulder. Day to day.

2/17: 71-56 over Misissippi here. We played well. 13, 11, 4 for Robb. +16 RBs.

Thinking about whether I want to create a new girlfriend. Actually, I know I do, it's whether I dare, and whether it's worth the hassle.

2/21: 75-64 at 2nd place Vanderbilt. Great win! We took an early lead and never let them come back. Balanced scoring, 52% shooting, solid D, +24 RBs.
In a 3 way tie for 3rd with 3 to play, 2 at home and a cellar dweller on the road.

2/24: 76-69 at Texas A & M. Another big win! 18 for Eloi, 15, 3, 6 for Mial.

We're in a 4 way tie for 2nd with 2 to play, both at home.

2/28: 68-50 over Alabama. Solid win. 16, 4, 3 for Robb, 14, 10, 3 for 6th man Loy Bodd, 14 for Mial. +12 RBs, 11 TOs.

#19 ranked LSU, 22-8, 11-6, in our final game. We're currently in a 4 way tie for 1st but a loss could drop us a long way.

3/3: 85-73! We led for the last 35 minutes. 21 for Eloi, 15, 8 for sub forward Des Alli, 13, 5, 4 for Robb. +17 RBs.

3/5: 22-8, 12-6, RPI #12, tied for 1st in the SEC. +8.0 PPG, +7.3 RBs, +0.4 TOs (13.4).

[Wayne23]

3/8: We end up in a 3 way tie for 1st, the #1 seed. We play #8 Auburn, 17-13, 8-10, in the quarters.

3/9: 97-87 in OT. We blew a 15 point lead with them tying it with a three at the buzzer at the end of regulation. My guys came out breathing fire in the OT and won it going away. 19, 20, 3 for John, 17, 2, 7 for Mial. +18 RBs. We were never in actual danger of losing but it should not have gone to OT.

#4 seed, #19 ranked LSU, 23-9, 11-7, in the semis. We beat them twice in the regular season, in OT there and by 12 at our place. It's hard to beat a good team three times, and that bothers me.

3/10: 82-80. We trailed by 24 at the half and came all the way back. Our only lead was when we hit a long two (by Eloi) with less than a second to play. Eloi led us with 33. He seemed to hit a key bucket on nearly every possession in the last ten minutes. 11, 11, 7 for John.

#2 seed, #11 ranked Florida, 23-8, 12-6, for the title. We won by 15 at our place, but they're a big favorite.

3/11: 61-68. They led all the way and we could never quite catch them. We got it to one possession several times. 20, 4 for Eloi, but he didn't get much help.

The winter weather has been the most severe since I landed on the planet. It never snows here but in the last week we got three inches once and two inches once.

3/12: #7 South. We play #10 Virginia, 20-12. I expected at least a #5 seed.

3/17: 74-64. It was close until the last few minutes. 25 for Eloi, 11, 9 for Arin. 10 TOs.

#2 seed, #5 ranked ST Mary, 30-5. Tough match up but if we play well we have a shot.

3/19: 56-60. We played well, but not quite well enough. It was a tough defensive battle from start to finish. At the end we had to foul and they made the free throws. 18, 4, 5 for Eloi.

4/3: #1 Clemson is the champ.

4/4: Awards: Stew John makes the SEC 1st team. I am SEC COY. I thought Eloi should have gotten at least 2nd team.

Not looking to move but you never know.

4/9: No interesting offers.

The snow has come three more times. Very unusual weather.

4/23: I ask for $.

No.

25-10, 12-6. Overall, I'm 183-80, .696 for 8 seasons.

[Wayne23]

5/1: #39 recruit class.

6/5: Looking at transfers.

6/16: No luck.

6/26: 2 scholarships.

I'm going for it with the girl friend. Probably thought about it for too long. At least that's what my therapist says.

Lana was "light and sweet." Maybe too much so. I'm going more for "dark and strong" this time, someone with some fire. It will no doubt lead to a stormier relationship, but I think one that may be a lot more interesting.

Mal is multi-racial, tall, into martial arts and running, a voracious reader who lives in the world of ideas. More about her later; I'm still putting in all of the criteria, parameters... She hasn't actually been created yet.

7/15: Mal is still not quite completely created. Where Lana was kind of the "beauty queen" type, pretty but without much sex appeal, Mal is a firecracker. And that's all

I'll say about that! As to personality, she is very outgoing and a very strong woman. The farthest thing possible from the "Yes dear" type. This should be fun.

7/31: Mal is completed and activated and we had our first "date" tonight. Okay, she's predisposed to like me; it wouldn't make sense to go through the whole process and not have that as the result, but she has her own will, in a sense at least, and she definitely has a personality. It was an interesting evening.

8/21: We offer to a PG and a PF.

Seeing Mal once a week or so but not rushing anything.

9/18: Going to the JAG Holiday vs. Utah.

9/25: Got a C, #52, and a PG, #77.

10/2: 1st day of practice. We're picked to finish 6th in the SEC. We're better than we were last year but it's a tough conference.

10/15: Mal and I are having a lot of fun together but there are some strong differences of opinion and some heated discussions. Can't really call them arguments. Completely different relationship from the one with Lana.

[Wayne23]

11/14: The games start tomorrow.

11/15: 86-79 over Colorado here. They gave us a battle. We led for the last 25 minutes but they never went away. 18, 2, 4 for Eloi, 15, 4, 5 for Mial. 14, 4 for backup C/F Kel Hamp. 6 TOs but -6 RBs.

And there's a problem. I seem to be locked into the holo chamber. After the game I had dinner with Mal in there and later that evening I tried to exit the holo and found that I couldn't. Working on it with the holo expert in charge of holo operations and maintenance.

11/16: Still in the holo. I had to sleep in here. That's not a terrible thing as I have a "condo" in here, and it's very comfortable, and of course I can cook or order out in here as well as going to any number of restaurants. But I can't supervise work crews in here, or do any of the other of my "real world" tasks.

11/18: 67-42 over Green Bay. Easy win. 15, 4, 3 for Mial, 14, 5, 4 for Eloi. Our outside game seems to be our strength, at least so far.

Still in the holo. I'm perfectly comfortable but this means another construction delay and if anything needs my attention outside of the holo there's nothing I can do about it.

11/20: Both recruits sign.

11/22: 76-64 over Eastern Michigan at our place. 22, 5 for Eloi, 16, 4 for SF Tre Arin. Kel Hamp is going to start at C. He's playing great ball.

Uh oh. The holo expert in charge of holo operations and maintenance says that tests determine that I am a holo person and cannot leave the holo chamber. That can't be good!

11/25: 78-54 over UMass at home. Not close at all. 25, 6 for Eloi, 13, 5 for Hamp, 15, 8, 3 for Loy Bodd, who just lost his job to Hamp. Apparently I motivated him! +20 RBs.

I'm trying to explain to the holo expert that I'm human, explaining all the things I can do, like call up programs, that a holo person cannot do. Not working.

11/29: 73-60 over Hofstra here. 21 for Eloi. 10 TOs.

12/2: 79-64 over Belmont here.

6-0, all at home. RPI #46. Next one is on the road, then 2 at home, then the JAG Holiday, then one more here before conf. play starts.

17 days in the holo. Again, it's a perfectly comfortable place, with plenty to do, good food and drink. But if I'm needed outside there's no way to get there, and no construction is going on. None of my arguments are working, so who knows how long I'll be stuck in here. The holo expert is now saying there is no way to determine whether I am a real person or a holo person. Maybe that's progress.

[Wayne23]

12/6: 70-69. 1st road game, 1st close game. They doubled Eloi all night and it almost worked. 16, 8 for Hamp, and 6 guys had between 6 and 12, so we found the open man. We won it on Hamp's 8 footer at the end.

12/13: 73-65 over Cal-Poly here. They doubled Eloi but again, we found the open man. 16, 16 for Hamp, 12, 4, 4 for Mial. +18 RBs.

12/20: 83-47 over George Mason at home. 17, 8 for PF Ban Spen, 17, 1, 6 for Eloi. 9 TOs.

On to the JAG Holiday. We're the #5 seed. We play #4 Utah, 5-3.

12/23: 84-54. No trouble. 21, 4 for Hamp, 19, 5 for Eloi, 14, 10 for Spen, 10 assists for Mial. +23 RBs.

#1 seed Illinois, 8-1, in the semis. Best team we've faced so far this season.

12/24: 59-72. 21, 11 for Hamp, 15 for sub guard Gene Grif. No one else had more than 6. 2-19 on threes. They're a good team but we didn't play very well.

12/27: 90-64 over Air Force here to end pre-conf play. 27, 7 for Spen, 16 for Eloi.

11-1, RPI #35. +15.1 PPG, +9.5 RBs, -0.5 TOs (12.8).

Been in the holo for a month and a half. A fur lined prison is still a prison. I can't find a way out.

[Wayne23]

1/3/2231: 70-62 over Mississippi ST here. They led by 15 early, 8 at the half. Sub C/F Loy Bodd led us with 14, 10. +13 RBs but a horrible 23 TOs.

1/6: 59-79 at Alabama. We were awful.They shot 54.9%, we shot 38.5%. -7 RBs. Mial had 10 TOs.

Still in the holo. I've been trying to think of ways to prepare if I get locked OUT of the holo at some point. That would actually be a much bigger problem in that all my meal prep happens in the holo, that's where I shower, wash my clothes... I'm making a list of the things I'll need in the dome just in case. It's not a small list.

1/10: 67-55 over Arkansas here. Tied at the half and then we held them to 19 in the 2nd. 18, 4 for Eloi, 14, 8 for Arin.

1/13: 72-81 at Texas A & M. The road blues. This is a team we should have beat. Fouls did us in. Spen fouled out, 3 other starters wound up with 4. They took 31 shots from the line we took 17.

1/17: 69-62 over #20 Florida here. We led all the way, by as many as 20. 21, 13 for Hamp, 12, 9 for Spen. +17 RBs but 21 TOs.

I'm getting really depressed about being locked inside the holo. My life is and needs to be outside of the condo, in the dome, and supervising construction. This is time wasted and it's truly getting me down.

1/20: 73-69 at LSU. Great road win! It was close all the way. We hit three threes in the final minute, one by Eloi, 2 by Arin. Eloi had 21, and Arin had 19 and 5.

4-2, tied for 2nd place. RPI #24.

[Wayne23]

1/24: 87-84 over Kentucky here. Never more than a 7 point difference. We won it on a three, followed by a steal, followed by a three, followed by a blocked shot. 19, 3, 4 for Mial, 16 for Eloi, 10, 11 for Hamp. +9 RBs.

1/27: 72-61 at Mississippi ST. We took an early lead and never let it go. 20 for Eloi, 14, 8 for Bodd, 10, 4, 7 for Mial.

The depression is almost crippling. There's nothing I absolutely have to do in the holo so I'm coaching and doing nothing else. I sleep, I lie or sit around, I coach. I fix instant or near instant meals, or order out from one of the restaurants in here. I'm not seeing Mal or my friends, I'm not boating, I'm not hiking, I'm not even reading.

And no, I'm not seeing my therapist either. Just stuck.

1/31: 80-61 over Alabama here. 55-30 at the half. Balanced scoring. Easy win.

We're alone in 1st in the SEC at the halfway mark.

2/3: 55-46 at Tennessee. Sloppy play, 42 TOs, 22 ours. Poor shooting by both teams. But we had enough to win. 13 each for Hamp and Bodd.

Ranked! #20.

2/7: 49-57 at South Carolina. We shot 32.8%, 3-17 on threes. -4 RBs. NOT a good night. All we had to do to lose was get ranked.

2/10: 72-71 over #23 Vanderbilt at our place. Eloi had 30, including 2 threes in our last 2 possessions. +7 RBs. Great game!

2/13: 20-4, 9-3, #18, RPI #15. Tied for 1st with Auburn. 2 clubs one game back, two others 2 games back.

I'm drinking... too much and too often. I feel absolutely and hopelessly trapped. Yes, it's a fur lined prison, but it's still a prison. Almost three months locked in the holo.

[Wayne23]

2/14: 69-89 at Mississippi. We were awful in the 2nd half tonight, especially on D. It was tied at the half and then we fell asleep. 20 for Eloi, 13 each for Hamp and Spen, but ugh!

2/17: 71-53 over Missouri here. They led at the half. 18, 6 for Hamp.

2/21: 99-75 over Auburn here to put us in a 1st place tie. But 2 of our last 3 are on the road, including the finale at #19 Florida. We led by as many as 29. 6 players had between 10 and 17. +12 RBs.

I'm an absolute mess. I just want to crawl into a hole and pull the hole over me.

2/24: 69-55 at Arkansas. Up 20 at the half. 17, 4, 3 for Eloi, 12, 9 for Bodd.

Starting PG Lon Mial sprained an ankle and is out for the last 2 games of the regular season. Gene Grif will take his minutes.

2/28: 79-68 over Texas A & M here. 17, 4 for Eloi, 14, 1, 6 for Grif, a big game in his debut.

One more to play, at #19 Florida. We can finish no worse than 2nd.

3/3: 53-69. Ugh! Tied at the half and we didn't show up for the 2nd. 32.7% shooting, 25% in the 2nd. 3-22 on threes.

3/5: 24-6, 13-5, alone in 2nd place, #20, RPI #15. +8.3 PPG, +6.5 RBs, +0.8 TOs (a terrible 14.8). Eloi leads us in scoring with 15.1 PPG. Hamp gets 7.2 RBs. Mial gets 6.0 assists.

3/7: I'm out of the holo! I convinced the expert in charge to let me out. He said I would "cease to function" but it was my choice. LOTS to do to catch up. Need to check the dome very carefully to see that everything is functioning properly after a nearly 4 month period of neglect. Then I'll need to inspect all buildings, finished and under construction. After I do all of that I can begin construction again. And in my free time I'm going to prepare in case I ever get locked out of the holo.

[Wayne23]

3/8: We play #7 seed Vanderbilt, 22-9, 10-8, in the quarter finals. We won by only 1 at our place.

3/9: 76-58. We led by as many as 22. 14, 13 for Arin, 14 for Eloi, 13 for Grif. Mial was a little shaky in his 1st game back. +16 RBs.

#6 seed Kentucky, 19-13, 11-7, in the semifinals. We beat them by only 3 at our place and they're a tough match up for us.

3/10: 83-93. Our D just wasn't there. We gave up 56 2nd half points. They shot 57.1%. 17, 8 for Spen, 16, 11 for Hamp, 16, 3, 4 for Eloi but you can't give up 93.

This will hurt our seeding.

3/12: #4 East. We play #13 Mercer, 23-9.

3/16: 89-78 over Mercer. We were never in danger. 18, 9 for Spen, 21, 5 for Bodd, 16, 5, 4 for Eloi.

#5 seed, #5 seed, #16 ranked Purdue in Round 2. Tough team.

3/18: 74-72! They led early. We came back and led by 10 at the half, then 13, our biggest lead. They kept fighting, got it to 74-72 with 3.2 to play but we played solid D and they couldn't get a shot off. 15, 2, 5 for Eloi, 10, 14 for Arin, 14 each for Mial and Hamp.

This is my first trip to the Sweet Sixteen as a head coach!

#1 seed, #2 ranked Syracuse, 33-4. Yikes! They are a huge favorite.

VERY busy. No damage to the dome during my time in lock up. Some minor damage to some buildings fully or partially constructed. Crews are working to repair the damage. It shouldn't take long. At that point we'll be able to resume construction. Again, I need to be in the field supervising.

I have an insta-cooker in the dome now. That will allow me to make lots of different kinds of meal. It works similarly to the 3D printer, except that it prints edible meals. I am also stockpiling non-perishable foods outside of the holo. I need to be sure. Food is the one thing that I accessed fully within the holo and that has now changed so that if I get locked out I won't have to resort to hunting.

3/23: 69-77 in OT. We gave them a battle! They led by 18 early, and we got it to 8 at the half. We eventually caught them and took a lead a few times. At the end they hit a three from about 25 feet out to send it to overtime. Hamp fouled out in the 1st minute of OT and his backup, Bodd had 4 fouls. They pounded it inside and we couldn't stop them. I'm proud of my guys and of the way they played.

4/3: #4 Wisconsin beats Syracuse for the title.

4/4: Awards: Kel Hamp makes the SEC 2nd team. I am Conf COY. One player honored? We finished 2nd. Eloi should have made the 2nd team.

Time to move? It's possible...

4/9: No interesting offers.

4/23: I ask for $.

We get $12,000.

27-8, ranked #19, Sweet Sixteen. Great season. Overall, after 9 seasons, 210-88, .705.

We're back doing new construction. I haven't gone back into the holo. I am trying to set up some kind of fail safe before doing so. Not having much luck so far.