Basketball 2111

[Wayne23]

1/1/2125: 8-4, 1-1. Still a tough Conference.

1/15: 10-6, 3-3. RPI #61. We don’t have a go to guy. We don’t score a lot of points. But rebounding and defense are keeping us competitive most of the time. Our ball handling is killing us though, 16.8 TOs per game, #301.

Nagging injuries to two of my big guys but they shouldn’t miss any games.

1/29: 13-7, 6-4, RPI #44. In a 3 way tie for 4th place. +6.1 PPG (#166, #47), +8.0 RBs (#11), -1.4 TOs (#297).

2/12: 14-10, 7-7, in a 3 way tie for 7th. Again, it’s a TOUGH conference. I hope to climb a couple of spots. RPI #65, and it should be better than that.

2/26: 16-12, 9-9, RPI #76. We finish tied for 9th. Disappointing. Terrible ball handling and inability to score were our downfalls.

[Wayne23]

3/6: We play #8 seed Iowa, 14-13, 9-9, in the play in round. They beat us in triple overtime, there. We’re favored by 1 ½.

3/7: 57-72. We were awful- 34.6% shooting, 20 TOs. I’m frustrated, but maybe I just need to be more patient.

16-13, RPI #80. Will we be invited to the NIT?

My assistant team trainer disappeared. I’m not liking this at all.

3/12: NIT, #2 West. We play #7 seed VA Tech, 15-14. We’re favored by 4 ½.

3/17: 76-73. A real battle. Never more than a 7 point differential either way. 14, 17 for C Joe Fore. +12 RBs.

#6 seed Texas-El Paso, 20-12, in round 2. We’re favored by 4 ½.

3/16: 79-57. Maybe the best we’ve played all season. 13, 13 for Fore, 16, 3, 9 for SG Tav West. +18 RBs.

#5 seed Auburn, 18-13, in the round of 8. They’re favored by ½ point. Balanced scoring and tough inside.

3/21: 79-64. We played well again tonight! 20 for Tav West, 12, 13 for Fore, 13, 5 for PF Jon Gray.

We’re in the NIT Final Four. We play #1 seed New Mexico ST, 22-10. We’re favored, but only by a ½ point.

3/28: 77-61. We led for the last 37 minutes, by as many as 20. 15 for Fore, 12 each for West and Gray. 18 TOs, but they had 24.

We’re in the NIT Finals! We play #3 seed Western Kentucky, 23-13. We’re favored by 2 ½, but we need to play the way we have during the last 3 games.

3/30: 72-84. Not tonight. Joe Fore was in foul trouble all night. That hurt. 25, 7 for Gray. We were in it for nearly 35 minutes. It’s nice to play for a championship so there’s that.

4/3: #2 Mississippi ST wins it all.

4/4: Awards: For the 2nd year in a row we’re shut out.

4/9: I can’t imagine leaving for anywhere except UConn, so the odds are I’ll be back.

4/23: I ask for $. No.

20-14, 9-9. Didn’t make much progress this year. Overall, 326-131, .713. Hoping for a better season next year.

[Wayne23]

5/1: #8 recruiting class. I buy the National Gold, International Basic.

6/5: Room for a transfer.

6/9: Nobody we want.

6/26: 5 scholarships. We want 3 and 2 either way.

8/21: We offer to a PG, an SG, a PF, and 2 Cs.

9/18: Wow! We get 4, lose 1. We get a PF, #5, an SG, #20, a PG, #26, and a C, #33.

Tip-Off vs. Central Michigan. We’re going with a much more ambitious schedule.

9/25: We lose one.

10/2: We get a PG, #21. Great haul!

1st day of practice. We’re picked 4th.

11/6: 8 man rotation for now:

Senior Ric Will is back at PG with soph Taz Berl subbing.

Soph Carl Rowe, a transfer from Purdue, starts at SG. Soph Jan Park subs.

Frosh Meki Lofo starts at SF, subs at PF. Senior SG Tav West subs at SF.

Senior Will Dens starts at PF, subs at C.

Frosh Ray Mole starts at C.

We’re a little thin inside. The players we have there are good, we just don’t have many. We’ll go with three guards often.

[Wayne23]

11/17: We beat #18 Oklahoma, 57-46, at home. Excellent D got it done.

Heading for the Tip-Off vs. #7 seed Central Michigan, 0-1. We’re the #2 seed.

11/18: 84-73. 24, 10 for SF Meki Lofo, 17, 5 for SG Carl Rowe, 14, 7 for PF Will Dens, 10, 13 for C Ray Mole. +14 RBs.

#3 seed ST. John’s, 1-1, in the semis. We’re favored by 4 ½. If we contain their outside game we should be fine.

11/19: 81-78. It was a battle! 23, 11 for Mole, 18, 9 for Dens. Their bench did a lot of damage.

#5 seed, #14 ranked Georgia for the title. They’re strong inside. We’re favored by 1 ½.

Still people disappearing. None connected to my program lately, thankfully.

11/20:64-52. Great D! We held them to 26.6% shooting. 13, 16 for Dens, and good guard play.

We’re 4-0, ranked #12 before the win over Georgia..

All of our recruits sign.

12/4: 8-0, #5, RPI #4. RPI is a little too good. But we’re playing solid basketball.

12/25: 11-0, #7, RPI #2. +11.9 PPG (#179, #8), +6.0 (#25), +2.7 TOs (#65). We’ve played a few ranked opponents and we’ve done well against them. I’m not sure how good we are but we’re at least pretty good. Ball handling is not where I want it but it is WAY better than last season. Defense and rebounding are very good. We have a balanced attack with four players doing most of the coring.

[Wayne23]

1/1/2126: 12-1, 1-1. I’m hopping up and down mad. We beat #17 Maryland there, then lost to a mediocre Indiana team at our place. I suppose we were due for an off night, but that’s no excuse. It was mostly poor shooting, 33.3%.

I guess I’m just in a bad mood but I am also so damned sick of seeing robots where I ought to be seeing people. The experiment with having them as drivers has been halted- as was every attempt at this for the past 90 years or so- they just can’t factor everything in. But now they’re cooking and serving our meals, not well, but with only one or two human supervisors. They miss our trays, they put the wrong things on our trays… And they’re doing most of the maintenance, delivery, landscaping…

1/15: 15-2, 4-2. #7, RPI #4. Tough conference but a pretty good start.

1/29: 18-3, 7-3. #9, RPI #5. In a 3 way tie for 2nd place. +8.0 PPG (#182, #15), +5.3 RBS (#31), +2.1 TOs (#66). SG Carl Rowe leads us in scoring with 14.9.

2/12: 18-4, 10-4. #7, RPI #5. In a 2 way tie for 3rd, 1 back of 1st.

2/26: 24-5, 13-5. #7, RPI #6. We finish alone in 4th place. +7.3 PPG (#183, #21), +5.9 RBs (#34), +0.6 TOs (#164). We slid a long way in TOs.

[Wayne23]

3/5: PG Jan Park declared for the draft. He was rated #8 in his class but never really lived up to expectations.

3/7: We play #5 seed Rutgers, 18-10, 10-8, in the quarters. Beat them by 17 at our place. We’re a huge favorite.

3/8: 83-73. It was close for a long time. 20, 4 for C Ray Mole, 18, 7, 3 for SG Carl Rowe. +13 RBs.

#1 seed, #23 ranked Indiana, 20-8, 14-4, in the semis. They beat us by 3 and by 17. They are favored by 4 ½. I think we can beat these guys if we’re at our best.

3/9: 54-39. Our D was amazing! They shot 22.6%. 14, 14 for Mole, 17, 4 for Rowe. +11 RBs. It would have been an even bigger win if not for our 21 TOs.

#11 seed Purdue, 17-14, 7-11, has been red hot throughout the tournament- 4 straight upset wins. We play them for the title. Beat them by 1 and by 18.

3/10: 50-72. I don’t know what got into Purdue in this tourney but they were unstoppable. We shot 25.8% and there was a hand in our shooter’s face all night.

26-6, 13-5, #6, RPI #8. Hoping for a #2 seed.

3/12: #2 Midwest. We play #15 NC A & T, 20-10. They look pretty good for a #15, but they’re still a #15.

3/16: 80-68. They were tough! We pulled away late but they hung in for most of the game. 22, 4, 7 for Rowe, 18, 5, 3 for PF Will Dens. +9 RBs.

#10 seed Maryland, 19-10, upset #7. We beat them by 17 and 15 in the regular season. We’re heavily favored.

3/18: 81-78, but it wasn’t really that close. We built up a lead of 16 early in the second half. The final score was as close as they got, and that was due to a last second three. 24 for Rowe.

It’s great to be back in the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in three seasons and my first time here. We play #3 seed, #8 ranked Kansas, 25-10. They’re favored by ½ point.

They have really good players at SG and C.

3/23: 85-82. As happened last game we built up a big lead- 22 points, this time. They got it to three and had the last possession, but we played solid D and they had to throw up a last second prayer. 24, 5, 4 for PG Ric Will, 14, 2, 10 for Rowe, 14, 7 for Mole.
In the Elite Eight for the 2nd time ever, and my first time here at Michigan. We play #5 seed, #21 ranked Duke, 24-10. They’re a 4 ½ point favorite. We need to contain their outside shooters.

3/25: 73-77. We played well, but they went on a late run and we couldn’t catch up. 18, 14 for Dens, 17 for Rowe.

Great season! We’re losing two but we have some terrific looking kids coming in.

4/3: #4 Butler beat Duke by 6 for the title.

4/4: Awards: C Ray Mole is Big Ten Frosh OY. Soph SG Carl Rowe and senior PF Will Dens make the 1st team.

4/9: Didn’t expect this but the UConn job came open. I’m going home!

4/16: Assistants to hire.

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

Great season with Michigan, and they will contend for the national title next season. But there’s no place like home.

Overall, I’m 355-138, .720 for 15 seasons.

[Wayne23]

5/1: #7 recruiting class (Michigan is #2). We buy National and International Basic.

Ranked #23 in the pre-season poll.

It's great to be back home in Connecticut!

5/11: Brother Rav was just hired as head of maintenance and supply here at Gampel Pavilion, our athletic facility. It will be great to be together with him again.

6/5: 1 slot open.

6/9: No one of interest.

6/26: 5 scholarships. We’d like 3 guards but would do 2 and 3 either way.

8/7: PF Ron Hess is #7, and SF Juss Tuns #33 on the Norton list.

8/21: We offer to 2 SGs and 3 Cs.

9/18: Got 2 SGs, #46 and #59, and a C, #35. Lost 2.

Alaskan Classic vs. DePaul. Fairly challenging schedule.

9/25: We get a C, #40. Lose one.

10/2: We lose another one. 1st day of practice. We’re picked 3rd in the AAC. I’ve told my A. D. I want us to move to a tougher conference next year, if possible.

10/23: We get an SG, #33.

11/6: 8 man rotation:

Soph walk on Rob Hunt is at PG. Junior Tim Slay is at SG. Senior walk on Ken Pall subs at both guard spots.

Frosh Juss Tuns is at SF with frosh Lou Cast subbing.

Soph Ron Hess is at PF, subs at C. Soph Dave Will subs at PF.

Frosh Wade Park is at C.

I think we can be a top 25 team, maybe better than that. We’ll see.

Things have been smooth for a while. No disappearances, nothing else worrisome. But there are not a lot of people around. UConn, like Michigan, is a top flight school both athletically and academically. Everyone affiliated with the university is living a pretty decent life, at the very least.

[Wayne23]

11/24: 3-0, 2 against ranked teams. #19.

All 5 recruits sign. Watch out world next season!

Heading for the Alaskan Classic vs. #7 seed DePaul, 1-2. We’re the #2 seed.

11/25: 58-50. 21-19 at the end of a very low scoring first half. It heated up a little in the 2nd. 17, 12 for PF Ron Hess.

#3 seed Charlotte, 4-0, in the semis. They’re favored by ½ point. They have a very good outside game and a good C.

11/26: 88-75. Very different kind of game from yesterday’s. 25, 13 for SF Juss Tuns, 22 for SG Tim Slay, 21, 6 for Hess, 10, 12 for C Wade Park. +16 RBs.

#1 seed Kentucky, 2-3, for the title. They’re favored by 4 ½. Solid all the way through.

11/27: 77-70 and the title! Never more than an 8 point difference. 21 lead changes, 9 ties. 26, 13 for tourney MOP Ron Hess, 16, 6 for Tuns, 14 for Slay. +17 RBs.

We were ranked #11 before the game.

12/11: 8-1. We shot poorly and lost to #11 Alabama at home. #8, RPI #12.

12/25: 10-1, #10, RPI #12. +8.4 PPG (#46, #136- we’re still learning the system), +8.7 RBs (#12), +1.7 TOs (#37). PF Ron Hess leads us with 17.5, 9.6. SF Juss Tuns gets 15.0, 8.7, SG Tim Slay gets 14.5, C Wade Park gets 11.3, 8.8. We have 2 walk ons at PG. They’re not doing badly, really.

Life is still good here at UConn. People would love to have options when it comes to meals- cooking at home, maybe a few restaurants, something other than traditional American food. There are petitions going around but most people are afraid to sign them. The food is good and plentiful in the cafeterias here, but it’s pretty basic. On the other hand there have been no disappearances in a long time, and no epidemics in a very long time.

[Wayne23]

1/1/2127: 12-1, 2-0, #12, RPI #16.

1/15: 14-3, 4-2. We lost a road game we should have won. #14, RPI #24.

1/29: 17-4, 7-3, #17, RPI #12.

In a 2 way tie for 3rd in the AAC.

Ron Hess is #12 and Juss Tuns #15 on the Norton list.

Lineup changes. Ronny Pall will start at PG, and Lou Cast will get Dave Will’s minutes at Forward.

2/12: 21-4, 11-3, #10, RPI #9. Still in a 2 way tie for 2nd, 1 back of 1st, 3 up on 5th.

Juss Tuns is #12 on the Norton list and Ron Hess is #17.

2/26: We end the regular season at 25-4, 15-3, alone in 2nd place. Great regular season! #7, RPI #5. +8.6 PPG (#31, #119), +8.5 RBs (#9), +1.8 TOs (#32). SF Juss Tuns leads us in scoring with 15.7, 9.0 RBs. SG Tim Slay gets 15.3 PF Ron Hess gets 14.6, 9.3. C Wade Park gets 12.4, 7.2.

Heading for the post season.

[Wayne23]

3/5: Nobody entered the draft. I was really concerned that soph Ron Hess, frosh Juss Tuns or both might. We are going to be really strong next season with them coming back!

3/9: We play #7 seed South FL, 15-15, 7-11 in the quarters. Beat them by 16 at home and we’re very heavily favored to do it again.

3/10: 85-57. A walk in the park. 22, 10 for Tuns, 20, 8 for Hess, 14, 11 for Park. +15 RBs. We owned the inside. +11 TOs.

#3 seed, #16 ranked Temple, 21-8, 14-4 in the semis. They won by 15 there, then we won by 22 at home. They’re favored by 1 ½.

3/11: 71-63. We led most of the way but they made it close in the last few minutes. 16, 6 for SG Tim Slay, 14, 5 for Park. +16 RBs.

#1 seed, #4 ranked Cincinnati, 27-3, 16-2, for the title. They won by 20 there, and are favored by 4 ½. Solid at all 5 positions with a deep bench.

3/12: 76-90. We didn’t play D, especially in the 2nd half. 18, 6 for Tuns, 17, 6 for Wade.

27-5, #6, RPI #6. Hoping for a #2 seed.

#2 West. We play #15 Coppin ST, 18-14. We like this bracket!

3/17: 87-71. We never trailed. 24, 8, 4 for Hess, 17, 15, 6, 3 for Tuns, 16 for Slay, 14 for Wade. +11 RBs, +10 TOs.

#7 seed Maryland, 20-12, in the 2nd round. We’re favored by 1 ½.

3/19: 94-85. Again, we never trailed. 22, 12 for Hess, 22, 9 for Park, 16, 5, 6 for PG Kenny Pall, 17, 5, 3 for Slay. +12 RBs.

#3 seed, #10 ranked New Mexico ST, 29-5, in the Sweet Sixteen. They’re favored by 1 ½.

3/24: 95-89. It was a shootout and we had the weapons! 20 for Slay, 18, 11 for Tuns, 16, 11 for Hess, 16, 6 for Park.

Great win. I can’t believe we’re in the Elite Eight in my first year here!

We play #5 seed, #23 ranked Butler, 23-10. They’re favored by 1 ½. They’re very good outside. If we can beat them badly enough inside we can win this one.

3/26: 87-74 and we’re in the Final Four!!! I felt really good about this bracket, and sure enough! 27 for Tim Slay, 18, 12 for Juss Tuns, 15, 2, 11 for PG Kenny Pall.

#1 seed, #9 ranked Alabama, 29-7, in the national semifinal. They have a terrific backcourt and a very good C, and they’re a big favorite.

4/1: 78-76 and we’re in the title game!!! Close all the way, 14 lead changes, 10 ties. We had the last possession, got it to Juss Tuns and he worked off a pick and drained a
16 footer at the buzzer. There was a long delay as the refs looked at the video to determine whether he had gotten the shot off on time. He led us with 23. 15, 12 for Hess,
12, 6, 6 for Pall, 13 for Slay. Hell of a game!

We play #4 ranked GA Tech, 30-8, for the title. They are very heavy favorites. Solid at every position with a deep bench. Can’t believe the excitement! This is going to be a huge challenge but we plan to give it all we have.

4/3: 77-81. We gave it all we had. I couldn’t be prouder of my guys. 24 for Tuns, 11 each for Park and Pall. Their outside shooting (14 threes) and bench (19 points) were the difference.

4/4: Awards: I am named National COY. In the AAC, SF Juss Tuns is POY, Frosh OY, and 1st team along with soph PF Ron Hess and frosh C Wade Park. Junior SG Tim Slay makes the 2nd team and I am Conf. COY.

4/9: Some VERY good schools call but I’m not going anywhere.

4/16: Crap! Our #1 and #3 assistants leave. Good deals for both of them and I’m happy for them, but crap!

4/23: We spent a lot on assistants. I need a budget increase. We get $10,000. Honestly? I was hoping for at least $50,000. We are massively underfunded.

Great first season here at UConn, 32-6, 15-3, AAC final, National final. Can’t ask for much more. Overall, I’m 387-144, .729.