Hereafter

[Wayne23]

11/16: #19 ranked Kansas ST, 1-0, is here. They won their opener by 2 against an unranked opponent, as we did but they are heavily favored.

11/17: We take a big early lead. Up 16 after 10. Up 10 at the half. 13, 5 for More, 10 for Dunk. We're winning the inside battle. Up only 6 with 10 to play.

91-81. They got it to 2 three times.

20, 8, 4 for More, 19, 10, 4 for Dunk. Very good bench play.

+10 RBs, +10% shooting- it was a shootout, 62% to 52%. AWFUL ball handling, 24 TOs.

Hali was at the game with June again.

“It was a lot less stressful except when they got so close.. How do you not have ulcers!”

“Coaches need to find ways to deal with the stress or they burn out pretty quickly.”

[Wayne23]

11/23: 1-2 Northern Iowa is here. They have a lot of trouble scoring.

“Okay, I've got some ideas.”

“About what?”

“Well, the stats show you're not very good on defense and you turn the ball over too much. I think you need to work on those things in practice.”

“Thanks, Coach.”

11/24: Back and forth. Up 5 after 10. Up 8 at halftime. 15 for Reid, 11, 6 for Dunk, but he has 3 fouls. +10 RBs. They're shooting much better but we've taken
7 more shots. Down 1 with 10 to go.

88-82. They were tougher than I expected, but our D was unimpressive again.

21, 1, 5 for Reid13, 10 for More, 13, 9 for Dunk, 13, 4, 2 for Doli.

+13 RBs. +10 from the line.

“17 turnovers Jed, and you let them shoot 50%. I told you, you need to work on those things.”

“I'll keep it in mind, Hali, but understand that this is a rebuilding year. It will take me 2-3 years before I have the team I really want. These guys, some of them anyway, just aren't going to be very goo defenders or ball handlers.”

“Well play someone else.”

“... We're actually looking at the lineup in our staff meeting tomorrow.”

[Wayne23]

11/25: The staff decide that Ryan Rude is going to pick up some of Toma Jaco's minutes. Toma isn't getting it done.

11/27: 2-1 Arizona ST is here. They're favored. They give up only 54.7 per game but score only 66. They don't rebound very well. We need to find ways to beat their D.

11/28: It's a battle early. Up 7 after 10. We're lighting it up! Up 17, 58-41, at the half. Not much D from either team. We're shooting more than 6)%, they're shooting 50%. 14, 5 for Dunk, +10 from the bench. More has 3 fouls but so does their PF. Up 16 with 10 left.

98-87 but it wasn't that close. I expected a rougher time tonight but we led all the way.

20, 5, 3, 4 steals for Dunk, 17, 13 for Rude, 14, 2, 7, 3 steals for Demi who came in when Dan Reid got hurt.

12 TOs, which is way better than we've been doing. 10-22 on threes.

We're going to start Rude for Jaco.

An expensive win. Starting PG Dan Reid strained a hamstring and is out for at least a week. Chao Demi will step in.

“Well, 12 turnovers is pretty good, but they shot 54.2%.”

“Believe me, Hali, we're working on it.

11/29: “Is she driving you crazy, dad?”

“What do you mean?”

“Hali. You know, the way she's 'coaching' the team.”

“Oh. (laughs) Nah, all fans do that, especially the new ones. They don't see the intricacy of the game so they think it's pretty straight forward. I like that she's crunching the numbers.”

“She's a statistician, like you, dad.”

“Yes she is.”

[Wayne23]

11/30: #18 Akron, 5-1 is here. 1-1 vs. ranked teams (We're 1-1 as well). They're very good outside and they have a tough C. With Reid out this could be tough. We should control the inside despite their good C.

12/1: We're not making shots. Tied after 10. Up 11 at the break. +5 RBs. Held them to 23.7% to our 40.6%. Up 11 with 10 to play. D is getting it done.

73-57. It was never in doubt during the last 25 minutes.

13, 11 for Dunk, 12, 10 for More, 12, 1, 6 for Demi, 12 for Jaco, 8, 5, 6 for Derr, so good bench play. +16% shooting, +12 in the paint.

[Wayne23]

12/4: 3-2 Davidson is here. Their forwards do the scoring, along with the SG. We think we're the better team.

12/5: Early lead. Up 3 after 10. Up 14 at the half. 15, 8 for Dunk, 10, 2, 3 for More. +14 RBs. +8% shooting, +14 in the paint. Up 27 with 10 left.

89-60. Our bigs were a force- 21, 17 for PF Dee Dunk, 24, 8, 3 for C Fin More. 12, 6, 6 for Doli. +29 RBs, +30 in the paint, +18 on 2nd chances.

Starting PG Dan Reid will be back for our next game; Chao Demi did well filling in.

“12 turnovers, that's not bad!”

“We're working on it. Hey, did you get a chance to check water supply and production?”

“I did. It looks like their not meeting their goals.”

“As I've told you, we've had continuing problems with that department. The geeks can't find anything wrong in the computer programs. I'm thinking it's personnel, lazy or maybe inattentive. But the supervisor is sticking by his people. Whether he's protecting people for some reason, I just don't know. Maybe you can spend more time there and see what you see,”

“Sure. I can do that.”

[Wayne23]

12/7: #8 Kona, 7-1, is here. They're tough but they lost their only game vs. a ranked team. We need to bring our “A” game.

12/8: Down 6 after 10; they're tough. Up 5 at halftime. 11 each for More and Demi. +4% shooting but -12 in the paint. Up 7 with 10 to go.

81-71. Great win! 23, 10 for More, 18, 14 for Dunk, 16 for Demi.

+6 RBs, +7 from the line, +5 threes.

Ryan Rude hurt his calf; out for a week.

[Wayne23]

12/12: At Air Force, 3-3. Their starting SF has a broken leg. They lost by 20 to the only ranked team they've played and they are sloppy.

12/13: Close early. Up 2 after 10. Up only 2 at the half. 14, 6 for Dunk but no one else is doing much. 9 fewer TOs. They're shooting 66.7%.

“Play some damn D!”

Up 1 with 10 left. Not good!

85-82. #3 guard Chao Demi hit a three with 1.6 seconds left for the win.

19, 8, 3 steals for Dunk, 13, 6 for More, 12 each for Doli and Jaco, 8, 6, 2 for Demi.

+7 RBs. A terrible 20 TOs but they had 21. They outshot us by 16.5% but we were +19 at the line. -8 in the paint.

“There's definitely something strange going on in water production and supply. I haven't quite figured out what's going on yet but I'll keep at it.”

“Thanks Hali.”

“Those TOs almost got you again.”

“It's a continuing frustration. We're working on it every day in practice."

[Wayne23]

12/15: 6-1 Clemson in the opening round of the Las Vegas Winter Jam; they're the #4 seed, we're #5. This shapes up as a tough one.
They have a big edge in team D, and a very solid outside game.

12/16: Back and forth. Up 6 after 10. 50-33 at the half; we played really well this half. 14, 5 for Dunk, 15 for Demi. +8 Rbs. +12.3% shooting, +11 from the line, +8 in the paint. Up 13 with 10 to play.

82-64. My team exceeded my expectations tonight.

24, 13, 3 for our leader, PF Dee Dunk. 15 for sub Chao Demi. 10, 8, 3 for More.

+12 RBs, +13 from the line, +9% shooting. +10 in the paint.

[Wayne23]

12/17: #1 seed, #18 ranked Michigan, 8-0, in the semifinals. They play better D than we do but we rebound better. They're very tough outside, and are a solid favorite.

12/17: Game time. We fall behind early. Down 14 after 10; they are TOUGH! Down 12 at halftime. They're shutting us down, 33.3% shooting to their 40.6%. -5 RBs.

“Hit some shots!”

It's not happening, down 20 with 10 to play.

62-83. Not a good night but they were clearly the better team.

They shut Dunk down, and they're the first team to do that this season. 13, 5 for More, 9, 10 for Dunk (Not bad, but not his usual).

[Wayne23]

12/18: 3-5 San Diego ST is here. They're having a disappointing season, but they can play, especially outside. They have difficulty scoring but play good D. We should have a big edge inside and if we can exploit that we'll be fine.

12/19: Early lead. Up 4 after 10. Up 15 at the half. 15, 6 for More. +10 RBs, 4 TOs. They're shooting 29.2% to our 37.9%. +12 in the paint. Big run! Up 30 with 10 to go.

81-59. Easy win. 21, 8 for More, 14, 5 for Demi, 10, 10 for Dunk.

+5 RBs, 9 TOs. +6.5% shooting.

The probe ahead of us sees space rocks- of all shapes and sizes, and LOTS of them. It would take a major course shift to avoid them.

“Captain, thank you for inviting me to the Council meeting. My ship was crippled by exactly this kind of thing. I would strongly urge you to take evasive action.”

“But Captain, these rock are spread out over a gigantic breadth and depth. I don't know if we even CAN avoid them.”

It was a very long discussion. In the end we decided, 7-5, that we would shift course to starboard by a considerable amount. There were fewer space rocks on that side though still many. Navigation would be very challenging. We're about six weeks away from entering that dangerous area.