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[Wayne23]

11/27: At 1-3 Longwood. They're very good outside but they don't play much D and they don't hit the boards. I really want a road win.

11/28: Back and forth early. Up 3 after 10. Up 1 at the half. 10 for Hays; the bench is playing decent ball. The stats are even, as you would expect. Up 9 with 10 left.

77-66, and a road win! 19, 2, 3 for Hays. Bench got 22 to their 10; big factor. -7 RBs but +8 in the paint and we shot better.

2-2 with a 4 game home stand coming up.

The Lady Cats lost to UConn, but only by 8; it was a good game.

[Wayne23]

11/30: 2-3 Chicago ST is here. No idea how they won 2 games with the head coach they have. Maybe he was out sick or something. They have a decent inside game but they don't rebound that well and they don't play good D. Their bench really helps them.

12/1: Back and forth. Up 6 after 10; the guards are hot. Big run and up 18 at the half. 17 for Hays, 13 for Bays. +14 RBs. +18% shooting, +10 in the paint. Up 23 with 10 to go.

83-65. Wish we could play these cupcakes every night!

27, 2, 4 for Bays, 19, 3, 3 for Hays, 15, 10, 4 for Long. +16 RBs. We shot 50% to 39.3%.

Another sellout crowd. Love the support.

18 inches of snow today so I'm on the treadmill. I don't know how typical this is but it has snowed about three times a week since the beginning of November. Glad I live less than a mile from campus!

[Wayne23]

12/4: 1-5 Fordham is here. Wow! They're 1-5, their starting PF is out with a broken foot, we're at home, and they're a 3 1/2 point favorite!

We score 12 more a game and give up 1.5 less, and we're +9 on the boards. We lost to West VA by 10, they lost to them by 13. What am I missing here!

12/5: We take an early lead. I really used the odds to rev my guys up. Didn't last; up only 1 after 10. Down 6 at the break. 12, 3 for Long. Getting outshot by almost 10%. I kick some butt in the locker room. Down 3 with 10 to go.

80-79. They missed an open three at the horn. 21, 4 for Long, 16, 11 for Thor. 11 TOs to 18. +6 from the line. But they hit 12 threes to our 1.

Biggest factor? 44-16 in the paint.

Dee got hurt. She decided to go for a hike despite the deep snow. She fell going down a steep hill and wound up with a fractured ankle.

Fortunately she had her phone with her and was able to call for help. Given the cold temps she would have died of hypothermia otherwise. Rescue arrived within an hour of her making the phone call. She was very cold by then but no hypothermia and no frostbite; she had dressed properly. She'll miss at least one of her team's games.

[Wayne23]

Author's Note: Missed noting my 15th anniversary with Wolverine Studios. It was March 2. I still have the very first version of the college hoops game on an old computer.

[Wayne23]

2/7: 2-4 Richmond is here. We score more and give up fewer but they've played a tougher schedule. Their starting SG probably won't play due to an injury.

2/8: We take an early lead. Up 8 after 10. Up 19 at the half. Our starters all have between 5 and 8 points, 9 from the bench. +6 RBs, only 3 TOs. +11% shooting. +18 in the paint. Up 18 with 10 to play.

74-53. When we put the schedule together this was a team we thought might be challenging; nope.

15, 12 for SF Tom Thor. 10, 8 for Long, 11, 2, 6 for Bays. Good bench play. The bench has exceeded expectations so far.

+8 RBs, 9 fewer TOs. +28 in the paint.

We're 5-2. Home cookin' has helped. Every game here has sold out.

Dee is spittin' mad about being laid up. She doesn't handle idleness well. Since we're still at home I've been visiting every day. She sees the doc for a follow up tomorrow and says she's going back to work whether the doc approves or not. She'll need to be driven to the gym though. She won't be driving for awhile.

[Wayne23]

2/12: 2-4 Boston University is here to close out our home stand. Once again the odds makers are on drugs. We score 13 more, give up 11 fewer, are +7 on the boards, turn it over less, we're at home, and they're favored by 2 1/2. I don't get it.

2/13: Very slow start for both teams. Down 6 after 10; shooting .176. Down 1 at the half. Terrible shooting by both teams, 28.6% for us, 30% for them. 10, 3 for Long. Only 3 TOs. We need to make some shots. Up 11 with 10 left; Long is hot.

87-69. An amazing 2nd half, 62-43. 23, 6, 4, 3 steals for PG Rob Bays. 18, 6 for Long, 9, 7, 5 for Thor. 16 for sub guard Ed Hite.

+7 RBs, only 7 TOs.

5 game win streak but we're headed for the road. 2 of our last 3 pre-conf. games are away, as is our AEC opener.

Ali wouldn't let Dee in the gym. Says she won't until the doc okays it. Dee is madder than I've ever seen her. Ali says the ankle fracture is severe and if Dee doesn't take care of it she could have long range, even lifelong issues. The team is 2-0 without her, which helps a little, I'm sure, but not much. I have to say she's not good company right now, but I still visit every chance I get, as do her assistants, and players.

[Wayne23]

12/14: At 4-5 Perverterian. They haven't lost at home. They have a solid outside game but we score 9.5 more and get 7.4 more RBs. They're favored, probably because they're at home.

12/15: Close early. Up 6 after 10. Down 7 at the break. 11, 4 for Long. 11 TOs. Thor has 3 fouls, as does their PF. Down 7 with 10 to go.

80-82. They hit a shot to take the lead with 21 seconds left. We had plenty of time to set up a good shot, but it came down to an off balance three that missed. I don't call a time out in these situations; I don't want the other coach to be able to set up his D. We spend a lot of practice time on end of game scenarios. It didn't work out tonight.

19, 8 for Long, 13, 2, 7 for Bays. +8 RBs but an awful 20 TOs. Our D let us down tonight. No way that team should score 82 on us; giving up 9 threes was a factor. We let this one get away.

[PointGuard]

Author's Note: Missed noting my 15th anniversary with Wolverine Studios. It was March 2. I still have the very first version of the college hoops game on an old computer.

I bet you still have a copy of the original Gutenberg Bible that you got back when it first came off the press.

Anyway, congrats on "15".

[Wayne23]

12/18: Back home with 5-5 Hampton. They're favored but we score 17 more a game and only give up 3 more. We get 7 more boards. They have 4 guys who can score so they're hard to defend.

12/19: Close early. Up 7 after 10; Bays is hot. Up 21 at the half. 12 each for Bays and Long. +11 RBs. +18% shooting. +10 in the paint. Up 20 with 10 to play.

71-56. Easy win. 20, 6, 6 for Bays, but 6 TOs. 15, 8 for Long.

+17 RBs.

Dee is back! She finally got the okay to resume coaching. Her team went 3-0 while she was out.

"I can't believe friggin' Ali wouldn't let me in the friggin' gym!"

"It's all in the past. Move on."

"I won't forget this. If I get a good offer in April I'm out of here."

"You've built a really good program here, Dee. That takes a lot of time and a lot of work."

"Hey, a lot of coaches in big time programs are getting old- Trish, Geno..."

"Well, yeah, I suppose."

"Anyway, we'll see what happens."

She won't be driving for another month. When I'm in town I bring her to work, at other times one of her assistants does that.

[Wayne23]

12/25: At 7-4 Tarleton ST. They're undefeated at home, 6-0, so our last pre-conf. game could be a challenge! Their starting C is banged up so we'll see how much and how well he plays; he's a good one. They score outside except for the C. We have a big edge in rebounds but the other stats are all pretty close. They haven't really played anybody but they know how to win at home.

12/26: They take a big early lead. Down 12 after 10; we look awful. Down 9 at the break. 10, 3 for Long. -6 RBs and 10 TOs. +12 in the paint. Their C played 14 minutes so I guess he's not hurt too badly. Down 19 with 10 left. The subs are going in early.

74-89. Our D was horrible.

19, 8 for Long, 13, 9, 4 for Thor, 13, 4, 5 for Hays. We were +20 in the paint but we gave up 10 threes. Again, we didn't play D, and that worries me.

We end pre-conf. play at 7-4, NET #145. +6.3 PPG, +7.3 RBs (9th in the country in RBs), -0.7 TOs, a terrible 13.9.

Bays gets 13.9, Long 13.8, Hays 12.5. Long has been a disappointment; we expected more from him. Thor leads in RBs with 7.6. Long gets 7.1, which is also lower than expected.