Hereafter

[Wayne23]

3/18: #8 seed Iona, 26-6, in the 2nd round. They are good at PG and C but they can't compete with us if we play our game.

3/19: Slow start for both teams. Up 13 after 10; they can't score on us. 32-15 at the break. 11, 5 for Gard, who is having a great post season. 4 TOs, +10 down low. They are shooting 18.5%. Up 22 with 10 to go.

82-46. 17, 3 for Marn, 14, 7, 3 for Gard, 12, 3, 7 for Webb but 6 TOs. 10 TOs to 21. +12 in the paint. A very easy win.

A major announcement by the Captain went out to the entire crew:

“I am overjoyed to announce that all dining halls are open and serving all of the foods we came to love in the past. The usual rules apply: check for open tables and wait times on the dining hall website. We do not take reservations.”

The entire crew cheered. It could be heard all over the ship.

Kelly Geer put out the word that the annual dining hall poll would take place all through the month of April.

[Wayne23]

3/23: #4 seed, #20 ranked South Carolina, 27-8, in the Sweet 16. Their starting C tore his Achilles early in the season. Their only chance is to make lots of threes.

3/24: We take an early lead but they come back. Up 3 after 10. 36-35 at the half. WAY too close! 3 fouls each for Tony and Gard; not good! Their PF also has 3. +10 in the paint but all the other stats are close.

“Win or go home, guys. Get your heads in the game!”

I max out the D to start the 2nd half. Down 8 with 10 to play. We need a run!

78-76! Jim Rich got open on a backdoor cut and made a layup with .3 seconds left. We escaped!

24, 10 for Rich, 18,1 ,7 for Webb. -5 from the line. +24 down low was what saved us.

Post Game Press Conference (Excerpts):

“Coach, you kind of stole this one.”

“Don't I know it! 2 lead changes, 3 ties in the last minute; wow!”

“What does this mean going forward?”

“It could go either way. My guys could get really psyched and say that if they could pull this one out nothing will stop them, or they could lose confidence
because they almost let it get away.

“You've all heard me say that to win the whole thing, somewhere along the way you need a piece of luck. This was ours. We may or may not win the whole thing but we got the necessary piece of luck!”


Everybody on board is talking about food. Typical conversation is,

"I just had (X meal) at (dining hall Y). It was amazing, as good as it used to be."

And then they go on in great detail. Morale is through the roof!

[Wayne23]

3/25: #6 seed, #18 ranked Murray ST, 29-8, upset Wichita ST so we won't get that rematch we were looking for in the Elite Eight. Their starting C is at 62% with a bruised sternum. If he plays he probably won't play much. We're heavily favored. They are 4-3 vs. ranked teams, and they lost on the road to #1 ranked Memphis by only 2. Their strength is outside, and we need to work the ball inside as often as possible.

3/26: “Don't lose their outside shooters!”

Back and forth early. Tied after 10. 38-44 at halftime. Their SG and SF have a combined 22. They're shooting 53.6% to our 41.2%. +8 RBs, +6 in the paint, +9 on 2nd chances.

“Play some damn D and get it inside!”

I max the D to start the 2nd half. Back and forth. Down 5 with 10 to play.

91-78. It was tied with 2:51 to play and then we took off! We're back to the Final Four!

20, 7 for Rich, 18, 4, 4 for Webb. We held their 2 big scorers to a combined 6 points in the 2nd half. +23 RBs, +16 inside, +19 on 2nd chances, so we definitely won it inside.

Post Game Press Conference (Excerpts):

“Coach, your team certainly doesn't take the easy way.”

“Yeah! It just took us forever tonight. We were better in the 2nd half but with less than 3 minutes left I thought we might be headed home.”

“And then it all changed.”

Webb and Rich just took control, and ALL of the guys played lock down D.”

“How far can you go?”

“One game at a time. We're going to break down the video on Gonzaga, who are always tough, and we'll see what happens.”

“Memphis has been spectacular all year. How will you play them?”

“We're not at that point. We may not get there; they may not get there. The focus is on Gonzaga.”

[Wayne23]

3/31: We're here in St Louis for the Final Four. We've looked at a LOT of video! #10 ranked, #3 seed Gonzaga is 26-10. We're favored by 1 ½. They're 6-4 vs. Top 25 teams, 2-4 when not at home. We score 7.7 more per game and give up 0.8 more. We seem to be better inside, but they have a terrific C. It will come down to who plays better; there's not a lot separating these two teams.

4/1: There's nothing like the Final Four. Tremendous excitement just before the game starts.

We take a quick lead. Up 8 after 10; the whistles are going against us though. 48-38 at the half. Both Tony and Marn have three fouls and I've been on the refs pretty strongly. Their PG has 3 as well. -5 from the line. 11 for Gard, 10 for Rich. 4 TOs to 11. We're shooting 48.6% to 40%. Up 11 with 10 to play. 2 minutes to go and the subs are in!

95-73 and a trip to the title game!

Gard, who has had an outstanding post season, led us with 31 and 7. 19, 10 for Rich, 10, 1, 11, 5 for Webb but 5 TOs. 10 TOs to 20. +18 down low. We shot 51.4% to 41.5%

#8 ranked Clemson, a #3 seed, SHOCKED Memphis by 18.

Post Game Press Conference (Excerpts):

“Coach, you may have been prophetic when you talked about that vital piece of luck against South Carolina. You're in the title game, and Memphis did NOT get that piece of luck.”

“Nobody wins it all without that. We're thrilled to be here and we know we're a little lucky to be here.”

“You beat Clemson by 12 in the title game of the Alaskan Classic. Tell us about that.”

“They're terrific outside. We managed to match that and hold our own on the bench. We won it inside; +15 RBs, +12 in the paint. I just looked it up.”

“And this time?”

“We need to play our absolute best. If we do I think we'll be okay.”

“Good luck going for #3, Coach.”

[Wayne23]

4/2: #8 ranked, #3 seed Clemson, 31-8.

Gary Syes, our #4 guard, is out with back issues. He wouldn't have played much.

They can really light it up outside and we need to control that and get it inside all night long. They're 5-5 vs. ranked teams. We score 2.6 more, give up 4.6 fewer. They were on fire in the 2nd half against Memphis, especially outside.

As always in a game like this it will come down to execution.

4/3: I decide to press less than usual; worried about fouls and fatigue. We'll see how that goes.

Close early, as expected. Up 5 after 10 but the fouls are being called on us. Late run and we're up 50-40 at the half. Their PG is the only player with 3 fouls. 12 for Tony, 11 for Webb. Gard has 8, guarding their best player, who has 13, but their outside game isn't going wild so far. Big stats are +18 in the paint, and shooting 56.3% to 43.8%. Not a lot of D by either team. +6 from the line.

“Keep pounding it inside; they have no answers for that. 20 minutes away, guys!”

We go on a run! Up 26 with 10 to go! 2 minutes left and subs are in!

96-72 and the championship! 46-32 in the 2nd half. We really wanted it!

25, 13 for Tony, 17, 5, 5, 3 for Webb, but 7 TOs, 17, 5, 3 blocks for Gard, who did what he wanted to, went out like a lion! 13, 6 for Brad Gain. +11 for the bench. We matched them outside and crushed them inside. +26 in the paint, +20 RBs.

Post Game Press Conference (Excerpts):

“Congratulations, Coach Clark. You crushed a pretty good team in the finals after crushing a pretty good team in the semifinals.”

“We came to ST Louis to bring home a title. I could see it in my guys' faces. They were absolutely determined.”

“But you got a couple of breaks. Everybody has talked about the South Carolina game, but not having to play Memphis didn't hurt.”

“That's what makes March Madness so special. It's not unusual for the team that's expected to win it all to fall by the wayside. Hey, that was us last season.”

“Three titles. How does this one compare to the others?”

“There's no way to compare them. Every one is incredibly special. I do want to give a national shout out to Nat Gard. He came into my office before our first post season game in the ACC tournament and told me he intended to go out with a bang. He was excellent in every single post season game so he fulfilled that wonderfully. I told him a few minutes ago that this is something that will stay with him for the rest of his life! I couldn't be prouder.”

[Wayne23]

4/4: Awards: Shay Webb is the Big Dance MOP. I would have given it to Gard.

In the ACC I get COY again. Webb and Rich make the 2nd team. Nobody on the 1st team? We won the conference! Oh well.

I'm pondering whether to stay here at UConn and go for another title, or go somewhere else and do what I like to do best, build a successful program. It will likely depend on the offers I get.

4/9: We meet all of our goals. TP goes from 88 to 93.

Hm. Michigan ST, Ohio ST, Arizona ST, Colorado, Temple. Michigan ST would surely be a quick road to a title or at least contending for a title, and it would be nice to win it all at three different schools, which has never been done. I'm going to visit them and Ohio ST. The others don't interest me.

4/11: After visiting Michigan St I think I might be able to bring them to the title in my 1st season there; they're losing only one guy from a very good team.

If so, I'd probably move on again, to see how many different schools I can win titles at.

4/15: I've said goodbye to my players, staff, and the Athletic Department, and tried to explain why I'm leaving. Arrived in East Lansing today.

Looking for housing. Yes, I know, Jed Clark lives here on the ship. But in the holo basketball program Coach Clark needs a home.

4/16: I need to hire all three assistants as the ones who were here all got promotions elsewhere. We have the budget for it.

4/22: Took some doing but I have 3 assistants I'm happy with.

Found a 2 BR condo near campus.

4/23: I ask for a facilities upgrade. We have plenty of money.

Yes! Went from A to A+!

37-3, National Title at UConn. Overall, for 23 seasons, 682-159, .811.

Everything is great on the ship now that dining halls are back to normal. Some people seem to be going to the same place most of the time but Hali, June, and I like to mix it up. There are no dining halls that are less than excellent so we always get a good meal and great service.

Everyone on the ship is back to working 5 days, 6 hours per day. We discuss this often in Council, since we could really cut that in half. The feeling is too much free time would be wonderful for some people and awful for others. Hali and I work at least 40 hours a week, sometimes 50, often a 6th day and occasionally a 7th, but what we do is pretty unique.

[Wayne23]

5/1: Preseason #6. UConn is #1.

Recruiting class is only #71 but I think one or two will develop. We'll see.

I buy both the National and International Premium scouting reports.

I'm concerned regarding how many and who will transfer. A new regime often leads to some exits.

The results of the dining hall poll are out: Comfort Heaven is a repeat winner! Tokyo Gardens is 2nd, and Taste of Napoli 3rd. Again this year every one of the 20 dining halls got some 1st place votes.

5/29: We lose a PG and 2 PFs. None of them figured in our plans.

Round 1: We scout and contact lots of players but don't offer to anyone.

Round 2: We offer to 2 Bs and a C. 0-3.

Round 3: Offer to 2 Cs. We get both, an SG and a C. We're done.

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

6/26: 4 scholarships. We want 2 guards, 2 bigs.

7/7: One of our “charges” is to look for evidence of dark matter and dark energy. We have drawn a total blank on that, as has everyone else who ever looked for it. No fermions, no bosons, we didn't get close enough to the black hole to do any serious analysis. No surprise!

7/21: The probe to our leftish, at about 8:30, has detected an asteroid with which we will intersect in a couple of months. This is a very good thing since we want to study everything we possibly can. We look forward to meeting up with the asteroid.

8/7: 2 Norton candidates: SG Sam Prio is #19, PF Emi Kruo is #29.

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

[Wayne23]

9/4: The waiting time. Don't want to lose recruits before we can visit!

The asteroid is close enough for us to do some observation and testing. We're sending something to dig into it and something else to analyze as many aspects of it as we can.

9/11: We visited all 4 recruits to whom we offered, 2 in California, 1 in KY, one in South Carolina.

9/18: Got 3, lost one. We get the #1 overall, an SF, #12, a PG, #39, a C. We want another guard, and we offer to one.

Going to the Coaches Classic vs. ETSU. Very challenging schedule.

9/20: Sadly, nothing exotic about the asteroid, but we at least had the chance to study it.

9/25: Crap! We lose the guard. We're expanding the search.

10/2: First day of practice. We're talented. Time will tell if we're good enough to compete for the national title.

I lose another guard and offer to another one. If I don't get this one I'm probably through trying until Spring.

10/9: I get the PG.

10/11: Recreation Director Kelly Geer is dead. She was found with her throat slashed, behind some waste containers in Waste and Reclamation.

This is both a horror and an enormous tragedy. It means we have a killer on board, and we've lost one of the key people. Kelly did so much for the morale of the ship.

As the word spread through the ship people were devastated. People are frightened and so very, very saddened.

“This emergency meeting of the Council is called to order. Captain, please report.”

“Let me turn it over to Security Chief Marta Bankel. Marta.”

“Captain, Council, all human security agents are on 7 day a week, 12 hour per day shifts until we apprehend the killer. All robots trained in security work have been briefed and are on guard on every level of the ship. We're doing all we can. Medical personnel as well as security personnel did an exhaustive investigation of the scene where the body was found. It has been determined that Kelly was killed elsewhere and brought to the place where the body was found. We are doing an exhaustive search for clues- stray hair, anything under Kelly's fingernails, and so on. At present we have no useful clues.”

There were lots of questions but most of them were a complete waste of time.

“Please. Can we stop and just let the Chief go back to the investigation.”

[Wayne23]

10/14: No leads yet in the murder investigation. Former Deputy Rec. Dept. Chief Mina Karham is now the Rec. Director.

10/16: No leads at all in Kelly Geer's murder.

10/30: Security has not found any useful information in the killing of Kelly Geer.

11/2: Xiaoqian Zhang, head chef for Ming Gardens on Deck 17, was found in a supply closet in the kitchen of that dining hall with her throat cut.
Security is investigating.

The ship is in near panic. At the advice of the Council no women or non-gender specific people are going anywhere alone. People are going in groups of three or more.

11/9: No clues in either murder. People continue to travel in groups.

“At some point people will relax and get careless. Then the killer will strike again.”

“All we can do is keep urging people to take precautions, Mick.”

“I know that. I'm just pointing it out.”

“We have cameras trained on every place on the ship except bathrooms.”

“And in both murders those cameras had been disabled. A really talented geek can disable the cameras with a remote device that can be hidden in the palm of a hand.”

“We're doing all that we can.”

“Yes. I'm not being critical. I'm just pointing these things out.”

11/10: No news, no new victims.

“I saw Lacy Day walking alone on deck 3 this morning. I read her the riot act!”

[Wayne23]

11/11: Here's the lineup:

Don Beja, a senior, is at PG. He's a natural Sg but we don't really have anyone better suited to play the Point.

Junior Sam Prio is at SG. We expect great things of him.

#3 guard is junior Dave Laws, another SG. #4 is Troy Wild, yet another SG; he's a soph. Bree Rivo, a soph PG, is our #5 guard; he won't see much time unless we have injuries. #6 guard is frosh PG Li Ells. He has potential but he's not ready. We probably should have red shirted him.

Senior Toby Walk is at SF. We think he could be a good one.

Junior Emi Kruo is at PF. He may be our best player.

Senior Josh Rich is in the middle. He is a solid inside player but he's awful with ball handling.

#1 big off the bench is soph C/F Mal Barr. If Rich falters Barr will start. Soph Ely King is #2 big off the bench. We're weak inside and it starts with Ely.
Finally there's frosh Ben Roll, who is definitely not ready. We probably should have red shirted him, too.

If we avoid injuries, especially to big men, we could have a very good season.

We're picked to win the Big 10.

11/12: We're the #3 seed in the Coaches Classic. We play #14 seed East Tennessee ST. We should win this one. The #2, 3, and 4 ranked teams are in this tourney along with us, #6, and #9 and #24.

11/13: We start slow. Up 13 after 10; we heated up. 36-16 at the half. 12, 3 for Emi Kruo. +14 down low. Incredible D, they're shooting 17.2%. Up 15 with 10 to go.

65-43. Terrific D and a very low scoring game. 18, 7 for Kruo, who looked like the superstar we think he will be. 14, 9 for C Josh Rich. The guards were quiet; we won this one inside. That's typical for my teams. +22 in the paint.

Ely King has a bad case of the flu. No one else is showing symptoms.

I should have gone through this months ago but- We play Flex then Motion on O, mostly man-to-man but occasional 2-3 and 3-2. We press now and then.

Runa Ben Di didn't report to her job in water procurement and distribution today. After an investigation security made their way into her living quarters; she lives alone. She was found dead, with her throat cut, in the bathroom.

“Yes, I understand. May I point out to the Council that this tragic murder gives us our first piece of information. We need to find out who Runa knew well enough to let into her living quarters. There's no sign of a forced entry. As always we're having the robots check for any trace info- stray hairs, things like that.”

“Why robots?”

“They don't shed. They are unbelievably precise. They won't contaminate the scene or walk around needlessly. Our robotic security agents are always the first we allow to investigate a crime scene.”

“How could the murderer NOT have left hairs at any of the crime scenes?”

“He's very careful. He may even wear a hair net, which is something else to look for.”

“He?”

“Almost certainly.”

“But not positively.”

“No.”