Hereafter

[Wayne23]

11/16: #14 seed Hawaii beat #3 San Diego ST, in OT, and then beat #6, Murray St. We face them next in the semifinals. We score a lot more points but we also give up a lot more. They have a very good SG and they seem solid inside.

On the other side it's #4 vs. #8.

11/17: Let's see if we can get off to a decent start for once. We've had to come from behind, even way behind in both games so far.
Nope. We fall behind again. Down 12 after 10. We come back late and take our firat lead in the final minute of the half. 43-44 at the break. 20 for SG Velo Ausk. -9 for the bench. We trailed by as many as 14. Ausk is going wild and we take a double digit lead.

85-72. 33, 3, 1, 4 for Ausk. 14, 9, 3, 3 blocks for Pore, 13, 8 for Anso. We were +15 from the line.

Limited drinking is allowed in the dining halls and entertainment centers and in many of the holo programs. But people find ways around the limits, sadly. Last night someone got very drunk as we were playing our music. Eventually security had to be called and he had to be taken in. His companions also were drinking more than is allowed but they did not get out of hand.

[Wayne23]

11/18: It's #4 seed, #21 ranked Oklahoma in the Coaches Classic title game. Their starting C has a sore wrist. He's a real glass eater. Let's see what effect this injury has on his play. We're favored. Both teams give up the exact same # of points and we score 3.3 more. We rebound better but we turn it over more. Their starting PG, SG, and SF combine for 56.7, so we'll need to control that!

11/19: We take an early lead for once! Up 4 after 10 as they come back. Then we go on a run. 50-37 at the half. 11, 4 for Anso, 11 for Ausk; those two are our scorers. +7 for the bench. 10 fewer TOs. But SF Jeff Wats has 3 fouls. He really has not been effective and we're going to re-evaluate the lineup after this game. We quickly get the lead to 20. Up 12 with 10 left.

99-79 and the tourney title! 24, 4, 4 for Ausk, the tourney MOP, 20, 9, 5 for Anso, who easily could have been named MOP. 8, 8, 4, 7 for Pore. +22 for the bench. 11 TOs.

11/20: We're #1 in the new poll. Not sure we're that good, frankly. We didn't need to play either the #1 or the #2 seed in the tournament. We'll see how good we are as we move along.

We decide to give PG Don Blay, SF Jeff Wats, and sub guard Jon Reva equal minutes for now.

[Wayne23]

12/4: We win this set of 4 to go 8-0. We beat 2 ranked teams so I guess we're pretty good!

82-71 over #11 Illinois here in Charlottesville. There were 15 lead changes and 3 ties before we took control in the 2nd half. 21, 4 for Ausk, 14, 10 for Center Do Pore, 11, 10 for Anso. +12 RBs but negated by -8 in the paint.

87-68 in a rematch with #13 Oklahoma here at the JPJ arena. We led all the way after the first 3-4 minutes and sewed it up early. 34, 1, 4 for Ausk, 15, 5, 6 for PG Don Blay, 12, 8 for Anso. +12 RBs, -2 in the paint. We shot 54.5%.

90-66 over Kentucky here. This is NOT their typical team! This was an easy win all the way. 21, 11, 3, 3, 4 blocks for Pore, 22, 13 for Anso, 20, 3, 5, 3 for
Ausk. Finally a game where we dominated inside, +26 in the paint and +11 RBs. 11 TOs. We're really coming together as a team.

Finally, 68-58 in a low scoring win over Baylor here. 12 lead changes, 7 ties, then we got hot late. Big game for Pore, 20 and 21. 19, 11 for sub C/F Rui Leti. They focused on stopping Ausk and Anso and they did. Ausk had 9 and 12, Anso 2 and 3, but Anso was in serious foul trouble all night. +24 RBs but even in the paint. We're taking good care of the ball, only 12 TOs.

We're still ranked #1, NET #1. Our Achilles heel is depth. We need to stay injury free.

“Boxing? They want to allow boxing in the holo? Against robots?”

“No Mick, humans vs. humans. Same rules as boxing back on Earth.”

“Too dangerous. Hey, let them box, but with big pillow gloves, like way more stuffing than regular gloves.”

“I don't see the problem. No kids, but if people 16 and older want to box, and similar weight divisions as in the old days, hey, go for it!”

“It's a dangerous sport. People are getting hit in the head.”

“How about we allow it but they need to wear head protection?”

“The 27 young men and women who signed the petition want exactly the rules that were in effect on Earth.”

“Again, too dangerous.”

“Actually...”

“Oh boy! Here come the stats. Tell us, Jed.”

“There are fewer very serious injuries in a given boxing match than in a soccer game or an American football game, and we allow both of those sports.”

“That's not the total picture. How about over the long haul. Say somebody boxes for a number of years?”

“I was getting to that. But it isn't years, it's number of fights. Up to about 30, reasonably safe. After 30 bouts with each bout the chances of serious brain injury increase. Second, the numbers are clear. When someone fights more often than twice a year the injuries increase significantly, even more so than with the 30 bout limit.”

“How about injuries for men vs. injuries for women?”

“Assuming that men box men and women box women, there's no significant difference in any of the stats regarding injuries, major and minor.”

“Ya know what? I'm a big believer in individual liberty. I say let 'em go for it. Same rules we talked about- no restriction as to how many fights they can have, no restriction to how often they can fight.”

BIG uproar. Eventually we formed a committee that will report back in early January.

[Wayne23]

12/25: 4 more wins.

79-60 over UCLA here. So many of my former teams have hit the skids. 17, 12, 3, 3 for Pore, 18, 4 for Anso, 12, 5, 3, 3 for Blay.

91-70 at Michigan ST, another team that is not what they used to be. 25, 3 for Blay, 20 for Ausk, 16, 13 for sub G/F Jon Reva, 10, 10 for Leti. +12 for the bench. +14 in the paint, +11 RBs.

88-75 vs. Kansas here. They're unranked as well, another team not playing as well as they should be. They did keep it close for a long while though. 18, 15, 3, 3 blocks for Anso. 18, 2, 8, 3 for Reva. 15 each for Ausk and Blay. +18 down low, 9 TOs.

94-76 over Creighton here. Huge game for Anso, 33 and 20. 20, 2, 6 for Ausk. +19 RBs, +20 inside. 6 TOs.

We end pre-conference play at 12-0. Ranked #2 behind undefeated Cincinnati, #1 NET.

+15.9 PPG, +8.5 RBs, -6.6 TOs, 12.2, which is not quite where I like it but close. +5.6 steals.

Velo Ausk leads us woth 20.3 PPG. Fred Anso gets 16.6, and leads us with 10.3 RBs. Do Pore gets 12.9 and 9.3. PG Jon Reva gets 5.6 assists and 2.8 steals.

Jon Reva is going to start at SF, with Jeff Wats moving down the sub list and out of the starting lineup.

[Wayne23]

1/10/2058: We win our first conf. B game at Louisville, 68-58. Down 4 at the half. We rallied back in the 2nd half. 19, 19 for Anso, 15, 4 for Ausk. +11 RBs.

We lost to #13 Duke here 83-89. We just didn't play D, and they took 16 more shots.

83-78 at Miami (FL). This was close all the way. We won it with a late run. 16, 13, 5, 5 for Anso, 23, 1, 3, 3 for Ausk. +14 in the paint.

It was a costly win as starting PG Don Blay hurt his back. He'll miss out next game. Our lack of depth will hurt us.

84-68 at Syracuse! We led all the way. 20, 12 for Anso, 15, 3, 6, 4 for Ausk, 11, 2, 8, 4 for Reva. Good inside play.

We're 15-1, 3-1, ranked #3.

Don Blay will be back for our next game.

1/11: The boxing committee proposed the following: No one can fight more than once every 4 months; no one can have more than 50 fights in their career; robots will be trained as referees and judges, but humans will serve as fight managers and trainers. Unlimited exhibition bouts are allowed with extra large gloves and head gear. No boxing matches or exhibitions may be held until July 15 of this year in order to provide time for training of all humans and robots.

After some discussion the proposal passed unanimously, which is very unusual for us!

[Wayne23]

1/22: 3-1 in our last 4.

91-83 at North Carolina. We led all the way but they stayed close. A terrific 36, 4 for Velo Ausk. 19, 14 for Pore, 10, 13, 3 for Anso. +23 RBs.

An easy 93-60 win over Florida ST here. This was never a game. 30, 1, 4, 3 for Ausk, who is red hot lately. 20, 15, 3 for Anso, 15, 7, 3 for Pore, 13, 7, 3, 3 for Blay. +24 in the paint, 8 TOs.

Duke seems to have our number this season. 61-86 there. We didn't do many things well in this one. 12, 14 for Anso. Er didn't play D, we didn't control the paint, we didn't shoot well.

97-73 at Boston College. They led by 6 at the half but we came back quickly in the 2nd. 29, 8, 6 for Blay, 22, 4, 3, 3 for Reva, 17, 2, 6, 3 for Ausk.

We're 18-2, 6-2, tied with Syracuse for 1st in the ACC, but it's early. #1 ranked, #3 NET. I don't think we're the #1 team in the country.

Lots of people talking about boxing and quite a few more than I expected want to participate. Interesting.

[Wayne23]

2/5: Yet again, we go 3-1 in the 4 game set.

78-52 over GA Tech here. This was a breeze. 19, 1, 5, 4 for Ausk, 12, 13 for Anso. Big edge inside.

86-74 at Syracuse. We took a big early lead and they never got it to single digits. Ausk went wild again, 37, 3, 4. 16, 14, 4 for Anso. 11 TOs and we controlled the paint.

86-69 to North Carolina here. We beat them there, so this is a small surprise. We blew an 18 point lead late, in large measure due to Anso, Pore and Blay all fouling out. The refs did us in. I let them know it, too. The score was too close to get a T, but I came close. 19, 8 for Anso, 13, 4, 8 for Blay. Only 5 TOs but UNC played better than us inside. Still, the refs beat us; there, I said it.

86-71 at FL ST. This one was close for 30+ minutes. 19, 3, 5 for Ausk, 10, 10, 6, 5 for Blay. 11 TOs and the edge inside.

We're 21-3, 9-3, #3, NET #4, alone in 1st in the ACC with 3 teams 1 back and 2 more 2 back with 8 to play.

Fred Anso is #5 on the Norton list and Do Pore is #20. As so often happens with the Norton list, perhaps our best player, Velo Ausk, wasn't nominated.

I've always been fascinated by the sport of boxing. I want to get involved in this but I simply don't have the time. I guess I'll just be a spectator. I am going to the gym to watch the training and sparring though.

[Wayne23]

2/19: In our first game, while we won, we lost our starting C Do Pore, for a couple of weeks. He strained a calf muscle. Rui Leti will start.

We beat UConn here, 96-72. 26, 9, 11 for Blay, 19, 3, 1, 5 for Ausk, 12, 5, 8 for Reva, 10, 10 for Leti. Only 5 TOs.

VA Tech beat us here 96-88. We simply didn't play D, and the refs called a truly unbelievable 34 fouls against us! For the first time in my very long coaching career I got thrown out of a game, getting 2 technicals. VA Tech went to the line an unheard of 53 times. We went 33.

There really is no need to say anything else about this game.

76-60 over Miami here. The refs simply have it in for us; Miami went to the line 9 more times. 21, 8 for Blay, 18, 6, 8 for Reva, 17, 3, 4, 3 for Ausk. Only 6 TOs.

We then lost at Ga Tech, 63-71. They went to the line 15 more times. Ausk had 27. But worse than the fouls situation, starting PG Don
Blay badly bruised his triceps and is out for the rest of the regular season. We hope he'll be back for our first post season game. We now have 2 starters out with injuries and we are NOT deep.

Reva will move to the Point and Wats will start at SF. Pore will only miss one more game.

Fred Anso is #4 and Do Pore #20 on the Norton list.

[Wayne23]

3/4: We end with 4 wins.

74-63 at Kona. 21, 6, 7, 4 for Ausk, 11, 17, 2, 4 for Anso. 17-4 on 2nd chances. They had 27 TOs!

Pore was back for a close 73-65 win at NC. 31, 3, 5 for Ausk, 10, 17, 2, 3 for Anso. We shot better, especially outside, hitting 10-21 on threes.

73-58 over Wake Forest here. 18, 4, 6, 4, 3 blocks for Ausk, 16, 10, 1, 4 for Pore. Big edge in the paint.

We crushed Pitt here, 95-68. 34 for Ausk, 16, 10, 5 for Anso, 13, 12 for Pore. Big edge inside.

Don Blay will be at 100% for the post season. Little used Guard Pat Hino is out with back spasms.

3/5: This is the day when we find out who declares for the draft. Only Do Pore is leaving.

We end the regular season 27-5, 15-5, alone in 1st in the ACC, 1 up on GA Tech, 2 on our nemesis, #13 Duke. #3, NET #5.

Fred Anso is #5 on the Norton list.

+12.2 PPG, #1 in scoring. +5.5 RBs. -5.7 TOs. +4.5 assists, +4.5 steals.

Ausk leads us with 21.4 PPG. I'm thrilled that he's coming back for his junior year. 14.1 for Anso, who leads us with 10.9 RBs; he'll be missed! Do Pore gets 8.5 RBs. Reva gets 5.7 assists and Blay 4.7.

I think we need to win the ACC tournament to get a #1 seed.

[Wayne23]

3/9: We play #9 seed Miami, 18-12, 11-9, in the quarter finals. We won by only 5 there, then by 16 at home. They're better inside than out. We're better but we need to play well.

3/10: We take the lead at once. Tied after 10 as they come back. 34-34 at the half. 11 for Pore. Anso has 3 fouls, which could be a big problem. We take a lead at the beginning of the 2nd but they come back. They lead by 10 with 5 to go.

56-66. We scored only 22 in the 2nd half, and shot 28.2% for the game. Anso fouled out in 15 minutes; we're not the same without him.

They beat us badly inside. This will hurt our NCAA seed.