Temporary: Don't get too attached

[Wayne23]

2/24: At 13-14, 7-8 East Carolina. We won by 23 at our place. We think we're a lot better. Now we need to play like it.

2/25: We score the first 9. Up 12 at the half. Holding them to 28%. Joon has 11.

61-49. They got it to 4 then we came back.

15, 14 for Star, 10, 4, 4 for Burk, 11, 5, 3 for Hyme.

We took 18 more shots.

In a 3 way tie for 3rd, one back of 1st.

[Wayne23]

2/28: #18 Temple, 21-7, 12-4, tied for 1st, is here. They won by 7 there. We didn't shoot well or defend well. We need to defend and control the inside.

3/1: Back and forth. They go on a late run and lead by 10 at the half. Both Star and Burk pick up 3 1st half fouls. We're turning it over. We're back in
it. We take the lead.

73-60. Great 2nd half, 48-25. +14 at the line. +9 RBs. We won it inside.

18, 3 for Joon, 13, 9 for Wink, 12, 9 for Tsir, 14, 5 for Star in only 17 minutes.

In a 4 way tie for 1st with one to play.

[Wayne23]

3/3: At 21-8, 12-5 Southern Methodist; they're one of the 4 teams tied for 1st. Statistically the only edge is on the boards, and it's ours. This figures to be anybody's game. The key for us is to stay out of foul trouble, especially Star. We could finish anywhere from 1st to 4th.

3/4: Early lead but it's close. Down 7 at the half. They're out rebounding us and hitting threes. We fall way behind.

75-95. Most points we've given up all season. -7 on the boards, -8 from the line, 4 more TOs.

24 for Joon, 18, 10, 4 steals for Star but we just didn't play D tonight.

We wind up 4th, so the #4 seed in the AAC tournament. Doesn't matter a lot since it's on a neutral court but we need to play better than this.

23-9, 12-6, ranked #10, NET #14, which is too generous.

+7.7 PPG, +5.7 RBs, -3.6 TOs, but 13.4.

Joon leads us with 15.0. Star gets 14.0, and 8.4 RBs, but he never really fully came back from the injury; he hasn't been the same player.

Star does NOT go pro. Red shirt frosh Dom Mafe does. He probably wasn't going to figure heavily in our plans.

We offer to a PF from Argentina.

[Wayne23]

3/9: We play #5 seed Tulsa, 18-12, 11-7, in the quarter finals. We lost by 5 there, then won by 16 at our place. They have trouble scoring and they don't rebound well. If we play our game we should advance, but I never know what I'm going to get from this team.

3/10: It's close early. A late run puts us up 11 at the half. Star has 19, 8, only 1 foul. We're shooting over 50%.

87-66. They never made a run at us in the 2nd half.

28, 12, 7 steals, 3 blocks for Star; a huge game. 23, 1, 5 for Joon, 13, 3 for Burk.

12 TOs to 26. We took 12 more shots.

The injury bug hits us again. Starting PG Don John is out of the tournament with an injury to his shooting hand. Ry Wink will take the Point. Kel Nunn becomes our 1st guard off the bench.

In a huge upset #9 seed East Carolina, 15-17, 7-11, knocked off #1 seed Temple, winning by 16. We beat them by 23 and 12. They just don't score many points. If we play well we should win this one and get to the tourney final.

[Wayne23]

3/11: Early lead. Double digits. Up 17 at the half. 18, 13 for Star. +11 RBs. Dominating inside. The lead goes to 20.

72-47. It was never a game.

22, 16, 3 for Star, 13, 2, 3 for Burk, 12, 4 for Joon.

+9 RBs, 12 TOs. We held them to 22.2%.

Tsir hurts his hip. We'll have 2 starters out for the final. Walk on Jim Hyme will start. Guard Kel Nunn is the first guy off the bench.

#3 seed, #20 ranked Memphis, 24-9, 13-5, for the title. We won by 18 at our place, lost by 11 there. They score more inside than outside. With 2 starters out it won't be easy.

The PF signs.

[Wayne23]

3/12: We fall behind early then catch up. 30-30 at the half. Star has 3 fouls, which is exactly what we didn't want. They take a quick lead in the 2nd.

60-78. They absolutely ran all over us in the 2nd. 30-48 in the 2nd half. -9 RBs, 16 TOs. They beat us inside.

14, 7 for Burk, 12, 7 for Joon, 11, 4 for Hyme. Star's lack of discipline let us down. He had 12 and 9 with 4 blocks but played only 22 minutes due to fouls.

Hoping for a #4 seed.

#4 Midwest. We play #13 Delaware, 21-11.

Both John and Tsir are still out. This is a team we should beat, even with 2 starters out. John may play a few minutes. Tsir won't play at all.

[Wayne23]

3/16: Good start. Up 11 at the half. Yet again, Star has 3 fouls. We need to rebound better. We get the lead to 20.

82-63. 17, 1, 5, 4 steals for Wink, 16, 2, 5 for Joon, 13, 7 for Burk. Star played 12 minutes, had 8 and 6; no idea how to fix this.

12 TOs to 20. We took 18 more shots and shot 50%.

John is back. Tsir may play a few minutes.

[Wayne23]

3/17: #12 seed Providence, 21-13, upset #5 seed, #13 ranked Iowa ST. They're next. Their guard play is very good but we should beat them up inside. We need to stop the three.

3/18: Early lead. They come back and take the lead. We come back. Down 2 at the break. Yet again, 3 fouls for Star. We need to rebound better. Up 2 with 10 to go.

82-75. A late run gets us to the Sweet Sixteen, and we'll be healthy for once!

23, 12, 4 blocks for Star who committed no fouls in the 2nd half. 16, 5 for Burk, 13, 3, 6 for John, a strong outing in his first game back. 10, 7, 4, 3 steals for Hyme, 12 for Joon. All 5 starters stepped up in the 2nd half.

11 TOs, and we held them to 35% while shooting 42%. +14 in the paint. We held them to 2 2nd half threes.

[Wayne23]

3/22: It's #1 seed, #2 ranked Kansas, 31-5 next. We beat them by 8 to win the Preseason NIT so they'll be gunning for us. Both teams are injury free. In the earlier game we dominated inside and turned them over. They're a big favorite and they have lots of weapons. Their SF is an All American. This won't be easy.

3/23: We start strong but they come back. They go on a late run and lead by 14 at the half. They are tough! Star and Burk have 3 fouls each. Joon and Wink are the only guys shooting well. Down 20 early in the 2nd.

76-96. They were the better team. My guys were trying hard. The refs didn't help; we were -12 from the line. But the refs didn't beat us.

+5 RBs but 8 more TOs. 4 fewer threes.

16, 8, 5 blocks for Star but he played only 19 minutes; this needs to be fixed before the start of next season. 19, 7 for Joon, 12 for Wink.

[Wayne23]

4/3: #14 Oklahoma beat #2 Kansas for the title. OK was hot throughout the tourney and I thought they'd win it. I was at the Final Four. It's always a good idea to attend, It's a chance to connect with a lot of people who are important in the world of college hoops.

4/4: Awards: Nothing nationally and I didn't expect that there would be. In the AAC Del Star is Frosh OY and first team along with Jay Joon.

I'm not leaving UConn. TP up from 77 to 82.

4/23: I ask for money. Let's see if my A. D. Was being honest with me last April.

We get $28,000, which will allow me to buy the National Gold. We still don't have anywhere near what the very top programs have but this is a big help.

We're only losing Rash Burk and we have some talented kids coming in.

27-11. All in all we did a little less than I'd hoped we'd do but Star didn't live up to his expectations due to fouling so much, and injuries really took a toll; not sure we ever completely jelled as a team because it seemed like there was usually at least one guy out of the lineup. All things considered, not bad, I suppose. Overall, 50-21, .704, for two seasons. Looking forward to season three!