Hereafter

[PointGuard]

I am POSITIVELY SURE that the Trelor made contact with earthlings very long ago. Apparently it was just with cartoonists. I assume it's where those drawing our cartoons learned to consistently draw their cartoon characters with 3 fingers and a thumb.

[Wayne23]

I never thought of that! (Thankfully)

[Wayne23]

1/17: At #4 Michigan ST, 16-1, 5-0. The tough teams just keep coming at us. Their forwards are really good. I'm hoping we can keep it respectable.

1/18: We fall behind immediately. Down 13 at the half. Our entire starting front court have three fouls each. -11 from the line, which is most of the difference. Our backcourt is holding their own but our inside game is getting killed. -14 in the paint. We're getting nothing at all from the subs inside. It's a rout with 10 left, down 26.

69-93. We just can't compete with these top teams. I hope our fans are patient; it will take a year, more likely two before we can compete with those teams.

-8 RBs, 18 TOs, 8 more than they had. They outshot us 47% to 39%. A horrible -30 in the paint.

19 for Sams but 7 TOs. 15 for Ster. 13, 9, 3, 3 blocks for Mack, who had a great 2nd half.

[Wayne23]

1/24: 8-10, 3-6 Nebraska is here. We won by 5 there. Their starting PF is out with a broken finger; he was out last time we played them. We score more points but give up more. For the first time we are giving up more than we're scoring. We have a big edge inside, and we need to take advantage of that.

1/25: We fall behind early. Down 3 after 10. Shooting .217. Down 9 at the half, shooting 20.6%. Discouraging... Tuck has 3 fouls. They're shooting 52.2%. at the half I tell my guys they're blowing a game they can win.

“Make some shots, damn it. Play some D. You can beat this team!”

We get back in it early, take a lead with 12 to play. Up 8 with 10 to go. OT!

79-74 in OT! We led by 11 late in regulation, then proceeded to blow the lead. At the break before OT all I said was, “Now it's time to see what you're made of. I think I know. Do you? Impress me, damn it!” They did.

23, 4 for SG Jam Ster, 18, 8, 3 steals for Mill, 11, 11 for Tuck but he fouled out.

+14 RBs. 18 TOs but they had 27. They shot 51.9%, which says a lot about our lousy D; we shot 35.2%. But we took 17 more shots. They made 10 threes to our 4. We won it at
the line, +17. We also won it in the paint, +18, +14 on 2nd chances.

After losing 4 of our last 5 we desperately needed this win! It feels good.

We're 11-8, 4-5, tied for 7th, but again, only one ranked team left to play.

The object is more and more colorful as it gets closer to the probe. And yes, it is broadcasting sound that seems to be some sort of music, but unlike anything we've ever heard. It is strangely soothing. So it seems obvious that this is a created object, not anything natural. It is remarkably beautiful and compelling. A Council member said,

“If I were wanting to build a trap, this is what I would build if I had the capability.”

Food for thought!

[Wayne23]

1/26: At 10-7, 5-3 Illinois. We beat them by 12 at our place. That game was a shootout, 102-90. Their C and SG did the damage for them. Tuck, Bowe, Ster, and solid production from the bench did it for us, as well as 18 threes. They clobbered us in the paint. We need to do better ion the paint, and playing a little D couldn't hurt.

1/27: I start in max D. Close early. Down 1 after 10. Then they go on a run. I go to man. Down 17 at the half. Our D is letting us down again, they're shooting 52.6%, 7-14 on threes. -10 RBs. -16 in the paint. We're shooting 31.4%. Very discouraging. I try to wake them up at halftime. We'll see. Not happening, down 20 with 10 to go.

59-90. Disgusting. -20 RBs, -22 in the paint. They shot 50%, we shot 31%.

17, 3 for Ster.

I'm at a loss. I'm just not getting across to these kids. They keep making the same mistakes, the D isn't improving, we're not getting enough open shots because we're not moving without the ball. We work on those things at every single practice and I'm not seeing improvement. It's going to be a long season the way things are going.

I don't double team big scorers very often. I usually focus on stopping everybody else instead. When things are working that technique is usually effective.

The probe has been directed to keep a good distance away from the object. The more we think of it the more likely it seems that yes, this device is designed to lure artificial things close to it. Then it most likely shoots something lethal at them or explodes and destroys them. We want information. We're probing this object in every way we can but we're not learning much. The allure it creates is very obvious, but we can't seem to see inside it to figure out what's there.

[Wayne23]

1/31: 13-7, 4-5 Michigan is here. We should have the edge inside, especially since their starting PF is out with a broken hand.

2/1: Early lead. Up 12 after 10. Up only 3 at the half. 14 for Bowe. Good D, 35.1%. +9 on the boards but they're +12 in the paint. Up 6 with 10 left. It is very back and forth.

68-63. We scored the last 5 points, all from the line. You need to make your free throws in this situation and we did.

25, 5 for Bowe, great game! 10, 11 for Tuck, 9, 10, 5, 3 steals for Ster, 10, 5 for Mack.

+13 RBs, 12 TOs. Held them to 30.2%, 25% in the 2nd half. -18 in the paint though.

We're 12-9, 5-6, tied for 7th.

The probe is still keeping its distance. The object seems to be trying to be more alluring as it approaches the probe. The probe backs away as the object gets closer. There seems to be no doubt that the object wants to entice the probe, most likely to destroy it.

[Wayne23]

2/2: At 14-6, 6-5 Northwestern. Their starting C is hurt. He'll play but who knows how much and how well. They have trouble scoring but they play good D. We're better on the boards.

2/3: (Freakin' back up computer is having issues now. Lost the report of this game.) Led by PG Gary Sams we won by 9. Our D wasn't what it should have been again, 50% shooting allowed. Mill fouled out in 13 minutes but had 14 and 6. His lack of discipline is really hurting us.

We tell the probe to allow the object to approach it. It's worth losing a probe to see what will happen. We can always make and send another one. And that's what we are doing. We'll send it as soon as it is 3D printed.

[Wayne23]

2/5: At #3 Wisconsin, 21-1, 10-1, undefeated at home. They crushed us by 18 at our place. Can we just concede and move on?

2/6: I try to be upbeat with my guys but they know they're in for an ass kicking. I'm not going to increase the D or go to man.

We're hanging with them early. Down only 1 after 10. Down 14 at the half. I changed my mind. We're going max and man to start the 2nd. If it turns into a blowout I'll pull my starters. Our guards are doing some work, 15 for Sams, 14 for Ster. +10 on the boards. But -10 inside and they're turning us over and only have 1 TO. Down 25 after 10. Backing off the max and going 2-3. Pulling my starters.

66-99. +8 RBs but 15 more TOs- they had 2. They outshot us 49% to 39%. -24 in the paint.

“Guys, this is the last powerhouse we face in the regular season. You have a real shot in every game from now on.”

Jan Bowe hurt his wrist. We didn't think it was much but as it turns out he's probably going to miss our next game. Mack will start- check that, Tim
Hern will start. Yes, it's a gamble but his numbers have been better than Mack's so let's see what he can do.

The object is getting closer to the probe. It will be a few more days before it is really close.

[Wayne23]

2/9: 12-10, 4-8 Purdue is here. They're good outside but we're better inside. We need to play the game inside.

2/10: Big early lead. Up 20 after 10; we're not used to this! Hern is getting it done. Up 17 at halftime. 7, 8 for Hern, and good production all around. No one with more than 2 fouls. Amazing D for us, they're shooting 23.3%.

“Keep doing what you're doing!”

Up 32 with 10 left. Hern is leading the way.

84-42! No idea what happened here but I hope we can find a way to keep doing it.

18, 4 for Mill, 12, 11 for Hern, 10, 6, 7 for Ster, 10, 8 for Tuck, 8, 1, 10 for Sams, 12, 6 for Mack. A team effort.

+11 RBs, 11 TOs. We held them to a mind boggling 23.2% while shooting 50.8%. +22 in the paint.

14-10, 7-7, alone in 6th. 6 to play.

Bowe is back but I'm starting Hern again.

2/13: The damnedest thing happened. The object got close to the probe and then... It was like a carnival or a circus, or a major party. More lights, more music, sounds that can only be defined as “happy sounds,” visuals that broadcast happy! Fun! Party! Celebration! Then our probe disappeared. We've been looking everywhere in the area but not a sign. We're sending the newly printed probe out there. Not much else we can do except stay away if that object tries to come calling.

[Wayne23]

2/14: At 8-15, 5-9 Rutgers. They give up 10 points per game more than they score. They turn it over and we should have the edge inside. This is a road game we need to win.

2/15: Up 2 after 10. Up 1 at the half. 11 for Mill, 9 for Hern. No one's in foul trouble. +14 in the paint and we're holding them to 36.7%, shooting 48.1%. We should be leading by more than 1. Maxing the D to start the 2nd. Up 10 with 10 left. We're playing well.

78-57. Two terrific games in a row.

20, 13, 3 for Mill. 17, 8 for Hern, who will keep starting. 12, 3, 7 for Sams, 10, 5 for Bowe.

+8 RBs, only 10 TOs. We held them to 33.3%. +22 in the paint.

Still no sign of the probe.

I've been really busy with my job here on the ship. As happens now and then there's some sort of plant disease. This time it's in the huge chamber where we grow many of our greens. The broccoli, green beans, brussels sprouts and cauliflower are in here and they all have the disease. So none of those foods are available right now. Leafy greens are okay, beans are okay, and we're working to produce more of those until we get this fixed.

How does this affect me? I'm the guy who crunches the numbers and I need to tell food service what is available so they can plan their menus and know how much limit to put on choice. It just adds to everything else I already do. Plus I have a new second in command. She's very good, but she transferred here from water control so she has a lot to learn. She'll learn it though. She's bright as can be.