Transfer to the Title

[Wayne23]

3/8: #6 seed Albany, 17-13, 9-9, upset #3 UMass-Lowell. We just beat them by 14 at their place last week. We're big favorites to do it again. They score most of their points outside.

Game time: Early lead. Up 4 after 10; it's the battle of the guards so far. Up 6 at the half; we scored the last 6 points of the half. Lots of bench points for both teams. They have 2 starters with 3 fouls and we have none. Up 4 with 10 left; too close!

90-87. Marc Cole hit a 27 footer at the buzzer for the winner. We just couldn't pull away. We led by as many as 12 in the 2nd but they kept coming back. I thought we were headed for OT. I'm really happy that we get to defend our title in the tourney final.

The women get a huge scare in the title game. Down 2 with 2.7 seconds left they got it down court and hit a 28 footer just before the buzzer for the win.

"I thought we were gone. We got lucky."

"How high a seed will you get?"

"Our NET is #7 so it should be a #2 but as I've told you, if we get to the Sweet 16 I'll figure we did well. Anything past that is a bonus IF we get there.

[Wayne23]

3/9: It's #1 seed Maine, 23-8, 15-3, in the title game. Their starting PF has a leg issue but he'll play. Lee is still getting very limited minutes for us. We won by 14 at our place then lost by 23 at theirs. We're favored by 2 1/2. Their Sg and their C are their best scorers. We rebound a little better and take care of the ball a little better but this is going to come down to who wants it more.

Game time: Early lead. Up 15 after 10 after a run. Up 8 at the break. Shooting % are almost exactly even but we've taken 5 more shots. +6 from the line. +8 in the paint, +8 2nd chances, and +5 boards. Only 2 TOs to 6. This one is up for grabs still. Up 18 with 10 left after a run.

95-81 and the title! 14, 7, 3 for Long, 16, 6 for Suli, 14, 2, 8 for Bays, 15, 6 for Thor.

+11 RBs, +20 in the paint, +18 on 2nd chances. We gave up too many points but we played like champions.

We're 7-0 on neutral courts this season!

"We really got it together late in the season."

"Yeah, you're what 10-1 in your last 11?"

"Yep. Pretty good!"

"How high a seed do you think you'll get?"

"NET #14 translates into a #4, but we're in a weak conference. Hopefully we can win a game or even two in the dance; that would be terrific."

[Wayne23]

3/12: #4 Midwest. We play #13 Scared Heat, 23-9. Their C, who isn't that good, is banged up but he'll play. We really need to get it inside to Suli all night long. On paper we're better, but not by a lot.

It's not a bad bracket. If we stay hot we could make some noise here.

The women are #2 West.

3/15: The women win their first game by 28.

3/16: Close early. Up 4 after 10. 52-32 at halftime. We caught fire. Balanced scoring. +17% shooting. +9 RBs, +10 in the paint, 5 fewer TOs.

Up 17 with 10 left. 83-75 but it wasn't that close. We were in control all the way.

12, 10, 3 with 5 blocks for Long, 15, 2, 5 for Baye, 13, 5, 3 for Suli, 13, 2, 3, 4 steals for Cole.

My first NCAA tourney win.

[Wayne23]

3/21: The women won again, by 11. They head for the Elite 8 vs. A very good Vanderbilt team.

"This will be tough. Shea Ralph can coach!"

3/22: #1 seed, #8 ranked Wisconsin, 29-8, in the Sweet 16. Good team and they are heavily favored. One of the best inside teams we've seen all year if not the best. We score 11.2 more and give up 11.1 more but they've played 9 ranked teams, going 6-3! We rebound a little better and turn it over less often, but all that experience they have is a little intimidating.

3/23: "We're in the Sweet 16. That is VERY cool. Go out and give it all you've got and shock the world!"

Good start! They catch up. Up 3 after 10. Up 3, 43-40 at the half and I haven't maxed out the D yet. As we've been doing we went man-to-man full time. 15,

10 for Suli against a very good C, who has 3 fouls, and that's HUGE! 13 for #3 guard Ad mill. +9 RBs, +7 on 2nd chances. 6 TOs to 8. They're shooting 57.7%, which is a concern, but we've taken 9 more shots and we're +7 at the line.

"You're right there guys. Keep the energy up and get ready to ramp up the D."

Down 2 with 10 left. The D is maxed.

73-76. We missed a 30 footer at the buzzer. But we played great ball and I couldn't be prouder.

21, 11 for Suli, 17, 4 for Mill, 14 for Bays. We were outshot by 18% and STILL almost won. Fouls hurt but this inside team beat us outside, 13-26 on threes.

3/24: The women lose to Vandy by 2.

"Hey. I'm satisfied. If we'd been healthy who knows what we could have done! And you guys were awesome! You damn near beat Wisconsin!"

3/27: "So, Jed, how long do I have to wait for a proposal."

"... Oh..."

(She laughs) "Never gave it a thought, right?"

"Um, actually, I HAVE given it some thought. But what do we do if one of us goes to a different school?"

"Yeah, that's something we need to talk about."

"Let's see what we get for offers."

Are you thinking you want to move?"

"Me? No! But I thought you'd want to go to a top flight school. I can see you winning titles in the women's game but probably not here."

"I probably wouldn't say no to UConn, Stanford, maybe Michigan ST, UCLA... But I don't want to go where it's too hot, or where it's too redneck."

"And I want to see how good I can make Vermont. I'd like to move up someday but not for a while."

"So then yeah, that could be a problem."

"Again, let's see what happens when the job offers go out."

[Wayne23]

4/3: #10 ranked Michigan ST, a #3 seed, won it all.

4/4: Awards: Rob Bays is Def. POY, Tare Suli is Frosh OY, and for the 2nd year in a row I am Conf. COY. Suli and Tom Thor make the 1st team, and Ruf Long makes the 2nd. Bays was probably too inconsistent on O to make 2nd team.

4/9: We hit all of our benchmarks and our TP goes from 45 to 50.

Offers are coming in for both of us...

The best school I would go to, which means not hot weather, no religious affiliation, is Michigan. Nope.

Dee gets LOTS of offers.

"Ya know, none of them are schools I want to coach at."

"Let's really try to talk Ali into getting us into the Big East."

"Yes!"

"And... let's get married."

"Really?"

We decided we wanted a small wedding, and just a long weekend away, and we wanted it to happen a.s.a.p.

4/14: We got married today and we're off on a 4 day weekend trip to the Cape. We both hate the Cape or the beach in season, but the Cape is awesome off season.

4/19: Back home and back to work.

4/23: I ask for another budget increase. Probably unlikely.

No. Dee got $10,000, and I'm fine with that and happy for her.

30-8, 14-4, AEC tourney champs, Sweet 16. GREAT season. Overall, after 2 seasons, I'm 54-17, .761.

[Wayne23]

5/1: We're in the Big East. It's absolutely great for Dee. For my team? Let's see what happens!

#42 recruiting class. Not ranked, but I didn't expect to be.

Dee's team is preseason #2 to UConn, who has won the last 2 titles.

"WHEN is Geno going to retire!"

"That would be a great job for you."

"Nah. They'll give it to someone who played for him, Shea or Cathy Berube, someone like that."

5/29: I'm shocked- no one transfers out. I cut a guard. We could use a decent to good big guy. We have plenty of guards.

6/5: We offer to a PF from Texas; he has a B rating. Don't get him.

Round 2: Offer to the same kid, who now has us in his Top 5. We get him! He'll definitely start! He's going to make us a LOT better!

6/11: "Mr. Clark?"

"I'm Coach Clark, yes Officer."

"I'm Sergeant Cole. Sir, I have terrible news. Your wife, Dee Lasco, was found near hiking trail on Stowe. Evidently she fell down a hill and fractured her skull. I'm afraid she's dead."

I felt everything go white and almost fainted. The Sgt. guided me to a chair and sat me down. I guess I was kind of in shock for a while. Ali happened by and came in. She stayed with me for a long time after the Sgt. left and then had someone drive me home.

6/12: It's all completely unreal to me. I think of the irony, all the times she hiked in truly dangerous weather, and she died on a beautiful day with the mountain dry as a bone. She was bushwhacking down a steep incline and, as near as they can figure it, she stepped in a hole, lost her balance and went rolling down a hill. She hit her head on a huge rock while she was falling totally out of control and going very fast. They think she died instantly.

No idea how to handle this. No idea what I'm going to do. This condo is now way too big for me and it feels haunted. I think of Dee every minute that I'm here. I'm probably going to sell really soon and look for a smaller condo NOT in this complex.

It is very, very difficult to concentrate on work. My assistants and Dee have been great. They've taken on most of the load. I think that at some point, hopefully soon, work will be a really good thing for me, but not yet.

6/20: I'm back to something like normal at work, burying myself in work really. It takes my mind off of Dee, mostly, but then every once in awhile she'll pop into my mind and I'm useless for awhile, can't do a damn thing.

6/22: I put the condo on the market and tell the realtor to find me a place with a garage. I'm going to lose money because we didn't have the place very long, but I don't care. I need to get out of here. Starting to box stuff up already. In this market it will sell quickly. Can't be quick enough!

6/25: We'll go to the Est Coast Jam and the Big Apple again.

6/26: 5 spots open as recruiting begins. 3 guards and 2 bigs are graduating.

[Wayne23]

7/3: Haven't mentioned it but Dee's #1 assistant is coaching the team for this season. I can't go near the women's team. It rips my heart out when I see anyone connected to the team.

7/7: Only one guy we're seriously interested in went to the East Coast Jam.

Offer on the condo. I tell the realtor to take it. She says it's too low. I tell her I don't care. I close on a place in two weeks.

7/11: Sha is doing a lot more than I am with recruiting. It seems to be going well. I'm doing what I can. When we host I take charge of the visit here. I make some calls and send some texts, but not nearly as many as usual.

It's been one month today.

I shouldn't be, but I'm drinking in the evenings.

7/25: Moving day. The players help me move. It's really sad. On the other hand being in a new place won't make me spend every minute I'm home thinking of Dee. But damn, I feel empty without her.

7/30: 5 of our hottest prospects go to the Big Apple Showcase, including the one who went to the Jam.

Settling into the new place. Just unpacking what I absolutely need to. Nothing matters.

8/3: "You're going into counselling."

"No, Ali. Not interested. You can't make me do that."

"You're not functioning. You're clearly not sleeping. I suspect you're using drugs, alcohol, or both. I can suspend you until you do go into counselling and I can suspend you if the counsellor says you're not taking it seriously. I'll give you until Tuesday to make an appointment and to let me know when your first appointment is. After that I will need to know when every appointment is."

"So you can talk to the person and spy on me."

"No. There's not a counsellor in the world who would be on board with that. I don't even need to know who the counsellor is. I just need to know you're going every week until the counsellor says you can go every other week."

"You'll trust me?"

"You've always been an honest men."

8/10: First meeting with the head shrinker. I told her what happened to Dee and what's been going on since. The only thing she really told me to do was to start exercising again, which i haven't been doing. Oh, and to stop drinking. She said it makes me even more depressed. Didn't know that. I'll take her word for it.

8/21: We offer to 2 PGs, an SG, a PF, and a C.

[Wayne23]

8/24: 3 meetings with the shrink. I think it's actually helping. I'm exercising every day, running. I doubt I'll ever hike again. After a few days of running I quit drinking and yep, it helped. I still feel pretty awful, but not as bad as when I was getting drunk every night.

The shrink says to find things in my life that are good. She said I'm not allowed to say or think nothing is. She reminded me how much I love coaching, how much I'm into the whole Star Trek universe, how much I like to read, how much I like certain kinds of music. She made me write down a list and said to keep it with me. She said I'm allowed to get lost in grief twice a day, no more than 20 minutes each time. She's really good at what she does. She says it will take time, maybe a long time, but it will slowly get more bearable.

9/4: I'm texting and calling the guys we offered to about as much as i should be, and some other guys we're going after, too, the back ups if we get rejections.

9/11: We visit 4 of the 5 we offer to and phone the parents of the fifth one.

9/18: We get 2, lose 1. We get a PG, #128, an SG, #159. Both 3 stars.

We have our schedule. We're going to the Caribbean Challenge in December. We play Texas A & M. Our schedule is ambitious, especially at home, and almost all of our pre-conf. games are at home.

9/25: We get 2 more, lose one more. We get our #1, a C, #72, and a PF, #125; both are 4 stars. We think we're close with the last guy.

10/2: We get the last recruit, a PG, #113, 4 stars. BUT, our #1 guy is a bit of a crap shoot in that he may or may not hit our SAT score. We can't provide tutors but we're encouraging him to prep, talking to his parents and the school. Offering suggestions on how to prep, convincing the family to enroll him in a program where he goes once a week for classes in prepping for the test.

1st day of practice. We're good and we're deep. I see us definitely finishing as a ranked team, maybe even higher than last year, when we finished at #18.

10/11: 4 months since I lost Dee. The start of practice has definitely helped. I can't work at home though. Too many memories. I stay in the office really late.

Sometimes I sleep in the recliner in my office. Working there is less painful, and if I sleep there, so what. I always bring a change of clothes with me. So I only really need to go home every other day, and of course, I only need to pick up fresh clothes. On Saturdays I do laundry at home, but I'm sure not there often. I have breakfast and lunch at the school caf, and just get delivery to the athletic facility for dinner. Not very healthy evening meal usually, but I eat healthy for breakfast and lunch, and I just don't care. It's starting to feel normal, but the new normal sucks without Dee.

[Wayne23]

10/22: Still seeing the shrink and it still helps. She's been straight with me from the start. She said it's a long process and there'll be plenty of pain, but if i do what she says I'll get through it and I won't make it harder than it has to be. She doesn't "poor baby" me, more like she kicks my butt, but she can be sensitive and supportive when she senses that I need it. I'm glad I did this, and I thanked Ali for making me do it.

11/1: The start of the season is getting close. Our 2 exhibition games aren't that far off. I like this team and they seem to be jelling early. Last year it took forever.

[Wayne23]

11/14: Season starts tomorrow. We're picked 5th in the 12 team Big East. Ali says she expects us to do better. We'll see.

Here's the lineup:

Senior Ed Hite moves from a guy who got very few minutes to a starter at PG. He's really upped his game.

Soph Marc Cole is back at SG.

#3 guard is frosh Al Muer, who could get more minutes if one of the starters falters. #4 is Ad Mill, who was #3 last season; he's a senior. Finally comes senior Nate Aerr; I'm comfortable with him in the game but he's a victim of our depth at guard.

Senior Ruf Long won't be happy that I've moved him to SF, but then he's not usually happy.

Junior Dave Boyd, a transfer from Texas where he started, looks like he could be very special at PF; we're excited to have him.

Soph Tare Suli is back at C. He did a great job there last season and he looks even better this year.

Senior Jon Meek is the 1st big off the bench. He would start for a lot of teams. 2nd big is frosh Bry Jack; he looks really good but there's lots of competition. I probably should have red shirted frosh Boo Palm, but he's next on the depth chart. Gem Hill red shirted last year; he won't play much unless we have injuries.

At the end of the bench is junior Cris Fier. He's a practice player.

We start with 1-0 Western KY, here. We're heavily favored. Their PG and C look good.

11/15: Close early. Up 4 after 10. We go on a run. Up 17 at the half. Balanced scoring. +21% shooting. Ed Hite looked especially good. Up 22 with 10 to go; Suli is hot in the 2nd half.

76-48. They're not a bad team and we beat them up!

17, 9, 3 for Suli, 11 each for Long and Hite. Boyd didn't put up numbers but he played very good D.

+13 RBs, 10 TOs, +15.6% shooting, +18 in the paint. We looked really good.

I have to say that during the game I never thought of Dee. The intensity kept me focused. I'll never forget her but it's nice to get a little peace.

I'm feeling kind of guilty about not visiting a women's team practice. The coaches and players all know me and we really were close until Dee died. I just can't. I'm sure I'd break down... Someday...