Alone

[Wayne23]

1/9: 99-65 st Albany. First blood in the rivalry with Len and Emma. 24 for Bunn, 16, 6, 6 for Wash, 16, 2, 6 for Dare. +12 RBs, 9 TOs.

1/12: 66-58 over New Hamshire here. We led all the way but they got it to one possession several times. 12, 12 for Bunn, 14, 5 for Sink.

I think I've done about what I can do here at UMBC. If I get a decent offer I will move in the Spring. I'm not ready for a top notch program but a mid-major would work.

1/16: 66-59 at Stony Brook. Emma kept it close. She's rebuilding her team but it will take a bit more time. 19, 4, 3 for Bunn, 14, 5, 6 for Sink.

1/19: 77-55 over Maine at home. Never a game. Sub guard Ban Star had 18. 7 other players had between 6 and 11 points. +11 RBs, 9 TOs.

1/23: 78-73 at Hartford. Close for 30 minutes or more. 24, 9 for Bunn. +11 RBs.

19-1, 5-0, alone in 1st in the AEC, Binghamton is 1 game back, Stony Brook 2.

Hurt my right arm and shoulder in a boating accident over the weekend. We were fishing. Emma's pole got away from her and without thinking I reached for it, got my arm tangled in the line. There was a mid-size fish on the hook, and my arm got all twisted up as the fish took off with the pole and line. Len cut the line but not before I did some damage. We called up a medical program and I got treatment quickly but there are several cuts and scrapes, and the shoulder partially dislocated. I'm in a sling, and in some pain.

(Author's Note: I am now the 3rd member of the 10,000 post club. Jabez isn't around much any more but PointGuard is very active.)

[Wayne23]

1/26: 80-71 at UMass-Lowell. They stayed close for a long time. 19,8 for Bunn. 19 RBs.

1/29: Looking at some recruits. Still 3 spots to fill and we need 2 decent guards.

1/30: 81-57 over Binghamton here. 11, 13 for Brin, 16, 5 for Sink, 14, 2, 6 for Star. +15 RBs, 11 TOs.

3 game lead in the AEC at the halfway mark.

Arm is finally better. Shoulder still hurts when I'm not careful.

There's a very disappointed big cat out there. It caught one of our robotic workers and tried to eat it. First, I'm sure there was no flavor (and no flesh and no blood), and second, the robot managed to toss the cat a long way from the attack point. The robot suffered damage and needs repairs, but it will be back to work shortly. The problem remains that the cats and now the bears seem to have little to no fear. They get too close.

I've thought about fencing in the entirety of our future city, but it would take a high fence given the leaping ability of the cats, and the fence would need to be really strong. I think it would be labor intensive and would have a serious impact on our construction schedule. I'm consulting with the robotic experts in the holo.

2/2: 100-63 over Albany. 7 players with 10 or more. Sink led us with 20, 5, 3. +18 RBs, 7 TOs. Len is having a really rough year. Alone in last place.

2/5: Ranked! #21.

2/6: 70-80. It figures that as soon as we get ranked for the first time ever, we lose. We blew a 9 point lead. They shot 53.6%, 8-16 on threes, so the D let us down. 17 TOs didn't help.

2 game lead on Stony Brook.

2/9: 71-44 over Stony Brook. Easy win. Balanced scoring, +9 RBs.

23-2, 9-1, 3 game lead. #21, RPI #46. Still not much luck with recruits.

[Wayne23]

2/13: 78-56 at Maine. Easy win. 16, 8, 3 for Bunn, 17, 4, 3 for Sink, 15, 1, 9 for Dare. +9 RBs.

Clinched a tie.

I have taken a three day weekend every weekend since back in January when my therapist suggested it. It really has done a lot to improve my mood. I'd say I do about three boat trips for every hiking trip, and twice I've just stayed at "home," but not in a depressed way, just to relax and do some reading.

2/16: 80-58 over Hartford to clinch the regular season title. 6 players in double figures.

I definitely need a new challenge. If it's not a new team then we'll move up to a tougher conference.

2/20: 82-60 at home vs. UMass-Lowell. 34, 6, 3 for Bunn, 16, 2, 6 for Dare.

We're #19. Sub guard Tom Vann stretched a hamstring. Out for a week and a half. He doesn't play much.

We end the regular season at Binghamton. The game means nothing to us but they could rise a spot or fall a spot depending on the outcome so they'll be up for the game.

2/23: 69-57. 23, 3, 3 for Sink, who has been a real weapon for us this season.

We end the regular season 27-2, 13-1, #19, RPI #36. We win the AEC by 4 games. +17.7 PPG, +11.2 RBs, +3.9 assists, -2.0 TOs (but 13.6). Bunn leads us with 18.5 PPG; Sink gets 14.3. 7.7 RBs for Brin. 5.9 assists for Dare.

[Wayne23]

3/4: We play #8 seed Maine, 6-24, 4-10, in the quarters.

3/5: 89-70. Great 2nd half. 30, 2, 8 for Dare, 16, 6, 5 for Sink. 9 TOs.

#4 seed Binghamton, 14-16, 7-7, in the semis.

3/6: 69-76. Never expected that! They made 10 threes and that did it for them. We were -6 on the boards, which never happens, and we had some foul trouble with both Brin and Bunn playing with fouls or sitting for a lot fo the 2nd half. Not bad calls, so much as dumb fouls. This is a huge disappointment and will hurt us badly as far as how high of a seed we get in the NCAA if we even get there. Given our conference there's no guarantee.

3/7: Binghamton wins the tourney.

3/12: #7 West. We play #10 Central Florida, 22-9. We're the better team if we play.

3/17: 64-67. Disappointing end to a great season. We blew a 13 point lead. They won it on a last second three. 19 TOs, -2 RBs.

We're losing 3 starters, Brin, Wash, and Sink, and we still have only one recruit signed. It's a good time to move on.

4/2: We get a C, #183. Still no guards.

4/3: #4 Florida is the champ.

4/4: Awards: Jim Bunn is AEC POY, Def POY, and 1st team with Rhee Sink and Mo Brin. I am AEC COY.

4/9: We're looking at and visiting 4 schools.

No to Harvard.

No to Illinois-Chicago.

No to Stephen F. Austin.

We're going to Hawaii.

4/15: I meet my new assistants and tell them what we will run on O and D. They briefly tell me about the returning players and recruits. I take a look at my office and get started.

4/23: I ask for a facilities upgrade.

No.

Overall record for 3 seasons is 67-28, .705. On to a new beginning!

Oh, Len is going to Long Beach ST and Emma to UC-Irvine so the rivalry continues.

[Wayne23]

5/1: #296 recruiting class. Not good.

6/5: Looking at transfers.

6/9: We get a great looking PG from Iowa.

6/26: 3 scholarships. We'll go 2 and 1 either way.

7/4: Recruiting for Hawaii is tough. Everyone not in state is expensive and FAR away.

7/31: The new coaching job is keeping me very busy. Recruiting is not going as well as I'd like.

8/21: We offer to a PG and 2 PFs.

We increase the number of guards at the construction sites. The cats and bears are a constant annoyance and they are definitely a danger.

9/18: No commitments but we're close.

Soft schedule.

9/25: Got a PG, #333. Lost a PF.

10/2: Got a PF, #78, and a C, #427.

1st day of practice. We are strong inside but we are really weak at guard.

We're picked to win the Big West which I think is a little ambitious, given our guard situation. But, to be honest, I am not at all familiar with this conference or how strong it is or is not.

I mentioned fencing in the city. That idea didn't go over well with my robotic advisors. They suggested that sooner or later we will need to eliminate the threatening wildlife or find a way to relocate it so that it cannot come back. I'm not wiping out any native life forms. Yes, if attacked I will kill the attacker but I'm not wiping out the species. So we'll see what happens.

11/1: Rodents are now causing havoc in some buildings. We check completed buildings periodically and yesterday's check found rodents causing damage in 4 buildings.

We have robotic "cats" and they are being brought to the buildings. Actually we will place the cats in all completed buildings permanently.

[Wayne23]

11/13: The season starts tomorrow. The second disadvantage of coaching in Hawaii is that every road trip is a LONG trip. No other schools are anywhere near us.

11/14: 97-82 over Chicago ST here. 24, 14 for C Aqui Mato. 13, 10 for PF Ben Best. 2 others had 13. +16 RBs. Not sure if this is an indicator but we scored a LOT of points tonight.

11/17: 71-52 over Fairfield here. 20, 10 for Mato. 3 others with 10 or more. +14 RBs.

11/20: All 3 recruits sign.

11/21: 84-69 over Long Island here at home. 28, 4, 2 for 6th man forward/C Ram Masi. 4 others with 10 or more.

Next 3 on the road, and 4 of 5.

11/24: 75-64 at Alcorn ST. 20, 4 for Mato, 11, 2, 10 for PG Mo Good, 15, 4, 3 for SG Phil Bann. 10 TOs.

Long flight. My guys recovered from it a lot faster than I did. And yes, all of that is figured into the holo sim for my players.

11/28: 74-81 at Alabama A & M. They took an early lead, built it to 17. We got it down to 8 at the half, but never got closer than 4 in the 2nd. 22 TOs and major foul trouble- Mato and Good both fouled out, and Bann picked up his 4th with 11:22 left. Not a good night.

Rodents in the dome. I saw one when I got out of bed this morning. I now have a robotic cat patrolling. The program gives the robotic cats a real cat scent, which, of course, works on Earth, but it doesn't have any effect here on Terra 2. Maybe it will in time.

12/1: 55-67 at Maine. We shot 29%, 21.1% on threes. We didn't do a good job of moving without the ball, working to get open. That forced us to take lots of poor shots.

We need to get back on track.

12/5: 88-71 over UMass-Lowell. Home cookin'! 20, 7, 4 with 4 steals for Mato, 23 for SF Herb Main, 16 for Bann, 10, 10 for Best. 11 TOs.

5-2, RPI Rank only #318.

The rodents in the dome are under control. If they're still here, theirs no sign of it. Same is true in the other buildings.

[Wayne23]

12/7: Lots of road games coming up with a home game in the mix here and there.

12/8: 102-94 in OT at Omaha. A real slugfest. Each team scored twice in the last minute of regulation. We took over in OT. They seemed to run out of energy, late in the OT and we outscored them 12-4 in the last 2 minutes. 26 for Bann, 18, 5 for Main, 16, 3, 7 for sub guard Cris Hamp.+8 RBs and 18 threes!

I talked about the program, meaning the holo program. It is very detailed and can take into account multiple factors. When creating a program you select a level of sophistication. If you want the program to be as life-like as possible you set it for that. Depending upon the nature of the holo program you can then leave the entire set up to the holo computers or you can go Manual. If the latter you will be asked all kinds of questions, and the responses will be figured into the final program. So yes, things like fatigue caused by travel can be figured in, even adding in a lag before the effect is felt. On our last road trip we won the first game but lost the 2nd and 3rd. I'm sure that lag was a factor.

Holo "people" can be made to function in ways so sophisticated that they become indistinguishable from real people. That's the way I always create my holo people, and that's the way I want them. My players have true, complex personalities. They are far more than simply easily controlled robots. Same for Lana and my friends.

As to settings and situations, the same as above applies. There are fail safes though. The program intervenes so that no real person suffers serious injury or death in most cases. That can be relaxed to a degree but not eliminated. At the least restrictive settings people on Earth were occasionally seriously injured and some were killed, but they set the programs to allow for that. I try for maximum reality with reasonable safety precautions. No tidal waves when I'm on the boat, no possibility of me falling off a mountain when I'm hiking. Some danger but not excessive danger.

And yes, there are holo programs that include every kind of food and drink, and the food and drink are all digestible. My friends and I often go to holo restaurants or cook meals in the holo. And the drinks are great. There's a very old Earth vodka called Grey Goose. I'm a "one drink per evening" guy (at most, and nowhere near every evening) and that drink is almost always Grey Goose on the rocks. I have no way to know what it tasted like back on Earth but supposedly what I'm drinking is what it was like back there. Occasionally, on the boat, I'll have a Guinness. Again, I think it tastes great. How close to the original? Who knows? Doesn't really matter anyway, does it. And again, holo people are people that are indistinguishable from real people in every possible way if they are designed that way, and a real person can interact with them in every way that a real person can be interacted with.

All of that is what makes the holo work so well and what made it the most popular, and then virtually the ONLY form of entertainment on Earth, once the price dropped and it became more affordable.

12/12: 87-67 over NC-Wilmington here. Easy win. 18, 9, 3 for Main. All 5 starters had at least 10. +18 RBs.

I think we'll do well in the Big West. It's not a strong conference. If I'm right we may move to a stronger conf next season.

12/15: 91-73 at Merrimack. 19, 9 for Best, 18, 5 for Main, 14, 4, 4 for Mato; great job by the big guys! +18 RBs.

Lana, Len, Jed, Emma. And I have been talking about coming up with a new game, or maybe a new activity, or possibly a new challenge. Nothing specific has occured to us yet.

12/19: 93-68 over Delaware here at the Rainbow Center. 27, 12 for Mato, 23, 9, 5 for Main. +23 RBs.

2 left in the pre-conf season, both on the road.

12/22: 91-84 at Cleveland ST. We led by as many as 19 but they kept coming back. They never got it to a one possession game in the 2nd half though. 27, 10 for Mato, 17 for Bann. +13 RBs.

We're still trying to come up with something new to break the monotony. We have enlisted the aide of the holo computers.

12/26: 75-63 at winless Grand Canyon. 25, 4 for Bann, 19, 3, 4 for Main. 8 TOs. They were actually tougher than we expected them to be.

We end pre-conf play at 11-2, RPI #145. +11.4 PPG, +9.9 RBs, -2.6 TOs (13.9- not good enough). Mato leads us with 15.8 PPG, then Main with 15.5, Bann with 13.3, Good with 10.2. Best gets 9.8 RBs, Mato 8.3. Good leads in assists with 5.8.

[Wayne23]

1/2/2226: 66-68 at UC-Davis. An amazingly close game from start to finish, 25 lead changes, 21 ties, never a margin of more than 5 points. Essentially the lead changed or there was a tie with almost every possession. And there were four lead changes in the last minute. Mo Good hit a three with 7 seconds left to give us a 66-65 lead. We actually played great D on their last possession. We denied them everything they wanted, and they threw up a wild three at the end. As luck would have it, it went in, going bank, rim, bank, in. Hell of a way to lose! 15, 8 for Best. 20 TOs hurt us.

The holo tells us that it is coming up with new challenges, evidently more than one. We'll get a choice.

1/5: 90-78 over UC-Santa Barbara here. It was close for about 25 minutes. 20, 3 for #3 guard Cris Hamp, 11, 11, 5 for Main. 13 for Good but he had 10 TOs. +16 RBs.

The choice of adventures is solving a murder mystery or going on a worldwide (in the holo) scavenger hunt, following clues and traveling all over old Earth.

After much discussion we choose the scavenger hunt. We can do the murder mystery next. This is designed to take several three day weekends.

1/9: 76-85 at Long Beach ST. Looks like the road is going to be a problem. They took an early lead and extended it to 17 as my guys stood around. I used up 2 time outs as well as using the built in TOs, and nothing really woke them up until late in the 1st half. We got it to 7 at the half, but we were lethargic and sloppy throughout the 2nd. 21 TOs and some truly dumb fouls. Good fouled out, and his backup, Hamp, fouled out. I'm not happy with our performance tonight and the guys will know it in the days ahead.

1/12: 81-60 over Cal ST-Fullerton here at the Rainbow Center. Easy win. 23, 9, 3 for Main, 15, 3, 5 for Good. +20 RBs. 14 TOs, which is better, but not good enough.

1st clue is a poem. It rhymes Cathay with far away so I think China, and I go there. I search all over Beijing with no luck.

As far as I can tell none of the others found the answer either so this looks like it will be a two weekend problem, if not more.

1/16: 104-90 in OT at Cal-Poly. Great to get a road win but it wasn't easy! Back and forth all night. We got to the OT with a three by Bann, a steal, and a three by Main at the buzzer. That seemed to take the wind out of their sails and we dominated the OT. 21, 10 for Mato, 16, 16, 3 for Best, 16, 3, 5 for Bann, and 16 for Main. +13 RBs and 13 TOs.

Mo Good strained a calf muscle. I think he'll be able to play in our next game but he may be limited.

1/19: 99-61 over Cal ST-Northridge. We were on fire tonight. 24, 10, 4 for Main, 19, 7 for Mean, 15, 7, 3 for Mato, 15, 5 for Bann. Roy Mean is a solid inside player but we have 5 of those and he doesn't get many minutes. +20 RBs.

15-4, 4-2, RPI #139. We're in 3rd place, 1/2 game back of 1st, 1/2 up on 4th.

We got a new clue for week two of the 1st challenge in the scavenger hunt. Another poem. This one leads me to Chinese food more than China itself. I go into a kitchen in the holo and search for ingredients. When that doesn't work I go to both of our Chinese restaurants. On Sunday, in the 2nd restaurant, my server tells me her name is Fara Wei. When I ask her where she's from she says China. I ask where in China. Cathay. First scavenger item found; it's Fara.

[Wayne23]

1/26: 76-74 at UC-Irvine. We led most of the way, and by as many as 14, but they made a late run, and took their only 2nd half lead, 74-73, with 6.2 left. We brought it down, found Herb Main. He stepped behind a screen and drained a three as time expired. 19, 6 for Mato, 14, 5 for Main.

We're in a 2 way tie for 2nd, 1 back of UC-Santa Barbara.

The clue for the 2nd Hunt item is a riddle:

"I am round as a ring and red as a berry,
But I'm not an apple nor am I a cherry."

Not a lot to go on there.

1/30: 78-57 over UC-Riverside here. 10 scorers, all between 4 and 13. +9 RBs, 10 TOs.

3 way tie for 1st.

No one found the answer to the riddle on the first weekend. Not sure about the others but i never came close.

2/2: 62-72 to UC-Davis here at home. The only thing worse than a loss is a home loss. They came out of the gate like an explosion and built to a 19 point lead within 10 minutes. We got it only to 13 at the half and were never really in it. -6 RBs, foul trouble at PG and C, poor shooting (31.8%). Not a good night.

2/3: 2nd riddle:

"Red and round- don't get it yet?
I don't stand alone; I'm part of a set."

I immediately thought of work and then dismissed my thought. The items all have to be equally accessible to all of us and the others can't leave the holo.

2/6: 89-104 at UC-Santa Barbara. We played terrible, no, nonexistent D. Mato fouled out and 2 others wound up with 4 and had to sit out long stretches. 28, 1, 6 for Good, 20, 4 for Mato but this was about lousy D- they shot 57.9%, and dumb fouls- they went to the line 38 times and we went 19. The refs were a factor, but only a minor one.

We drop to 3rd place, 1 back of 2nd, 2 back of first with 6 to play.

Worked on the riddle all weekend. Nothing. No one else has solved it yet.

Another riddle:

"Though you're dim, without a clue,
I am never far from you."

Hm...

2/9: 86-74 over Long Beach ST here. We led by as many as 15. 16 for Mato, 17 for sub forward Ram Masi, 14, 7, 4 for sub forward Roy Mean. The bench came up big. Mato has been having some real issues with fouling.

7-4, 3rd place, RPI #120.

[Wayne23]

2/13: 72-68 at Cal ST-Fullerton. Big road win! They led by 11 at the half. Fortunately we woke up, but they hung tough. 20, 8 for Mato, 12, 8, 3 for Main. +9 RBs.

We're still in 3rd, 1 back of 2nd, 2 back of 1st.

On Sunday Lana and I were together at her place. She stood up, snapped her fingers, and looked under her computer. 4 red circles, one under each corner for support.

She solved Hunt item #2. So she and I are tied for the lead.

2/16: 69-77 to 1st place Cal-Poly here. We really needed this game. We blew a 14 point lead. Good fouled out. We had 17 TOs. We were 4-18 on threes. 15, 6, 3 for Mato,
13, 6 for Main. We're still in 3rd place but 2 back of second place and only 3 to play.

2/17: We got a Word Search for the clue for Hunt item #3. I found the words: dark, wet, strong, hot. Before I could even begin to put them together I got a message saying that Len had solved the puzzle: coffee. 3 itmes solved of the ten.

2/20: 79-72 at Cal ST-Northridge. They led by 12 with 17:29 to go. We finally woke up at that point. 8 scorers got between 5 and 14. +10 RBs.

So we had a free weekend due to Len's immediate solving of the Hunt item. We went boating.

2/24: New clue, a cryptoquote:

ABCDC EAD ADF
GHI J EK LADDM
CBKDINJML OBH KEO
BA KEOMBI NEPD CDOM

It took me a while but I "translated it." It didn't lead me to any quick answer though.

2/27: 82-57 over UC-Irvine. Easy win. 16, 7 for Best, 13, 8 for Mato. +15 RBs.

3-1 vs. Len and Emma.

We will finish 3rd in conf.

3/2: 73-83 at UC-Riverside. 20 TOs, poor D, dumb fouls- the usual culprits when we lose.

3/5: We end the regular season at 21-8, 10-6, 3rd place, RPI #116. +8.7 PPG, +9.9 RBs, -0.2 TOs (14.8, which is awful).

Since no one figured out the clue last week we got another one on Friday:

ZYXXW V UT
ZYXXW V SX
VW RQX QPOP
NPM LVOO KVWJ TX

Again, I figured it out quickly but it didn't give me much.

Heading to the post season.

Spoiler alert. Solutions to the cryptoquotes after the first entry in the next post.