Way Back When

[Wayne23]

12/12: At 3-4 NJIT. They're 3-0 at home. They score 25.5 fewer than we do but allow a lot fewer, too. We're better inside and at least as good outside.

12/13: We take the lead right away. 37-30 at the break. 13, 7 for Meed. Lyne has 3 fouls again; played 4 minutes. +7 RBs. We're shooting much better than last game. They catch us and take a lead. It stays close and then it's not.

67-81. Threes killed us, they hit 12-20. 17, 8, 3 for Meed, 11, 1, 4 for Jack. We shot 40%, much less in the 2nd, and they shot 55.4%. 30-51 in the 2nd half.

We need a win!

Another train ride home rather than to our next game, since we have nearly a week off. I got it pre-approved by Baer.

The hamburger, tomato, noodles dish was very good on the train. The ham and eggs for breakfast? The eggs were runny and the ham was burnt. The toast was fine.

[Wayne23]

12/18: At 2-5 MD-Eastern Shore. They give up 8 1/2 more than they score. We need a win and if we play well we have a shot, but the road is tough.

12/19: Early lead. They get back in it. 40-31 at the half. 14 for Hope. We're shooting well, 51.7%. Up 16 with 10 to go.

81-66. 13, 6, 4, 3 for Tell, 16, 2, 6 for Hope but 6 TOs. 10, 10 for Meed. +13 RBs. We shot well all the way.

Finally headed home on a sleeper. It's never easy to find a way to feed my boys after a game when we're on the road. At home we arrange with the Bryant cafeteria to get us sandwiches and such. Anyway, we managed to get some food onto the train for the guys.

Nobody slept very well. There were two drunks on the train and they were loud. The porter did what he could but until they collapsed into sleep nobody else was going to sleep.

[Wayne23]

12/25: Air Force, 2-7, is here. We're a slight favorite. They give up 8 more than they score. If we play our game we should beat them.

12/26: We take the lead right away. 42-31 at the half. 8 each for Tell and Goss. Meed played only 6 minutes and has 3 fouls. Only 4 TOs. The lead goes to 20.

85-58. 16, 9 for Tel Lyne, 10 and 10 for Jam Tell. We got a total of 36 from our top 3 guards. +11 RBs, +22 down low, only 7 TOs.

One more pre-conference game.

I saw my first horseless carriage today. It's scary how fast it can go, maybe 10 miles an hour! That would be fine on railroad tracks, but on the streets? No! I hope this doesn't catch on!

[Wayne23]

1/1/1902: We start Conf U play at 2-8 Merrimack. They give up 13.5 more than they score.

1/2: Back and forth then they take the lead. 41-44. Not much D being played by either team. 14 for Meed. Their SF has 19. -9 from the line, the refs have called 9 on us, 3 on them, and I'm riding them. We take the lead early in the 2nd.

85-65. 21, 11 for Meed, 21, 5, 8 for Hope. This is the kind of team we need toi beat on the road and we did!

Had occasion to ride the trolley to Providence. I had business there and the trolley was more convenient than the train. It was a cold ride even though I bundled up. Still, very cheap, and efficient.

[Wayne23]

1/8: 5-6 Fairleigh Dickinson is here. They have a good PG. We score 13 more and give up about the same, and they don't rebound well.

1/9: We quickly take a lead. They come back and it's close. 33-29. Davy Hank has 15, no one else has more than 5. 3 fouls for Jam Tell. WE take a double digit lead. Then we stretch it to 20.

77-54. 23, 5 for Davy Hank, 16, 4, 1, 3, 3 for Lyne, 8, 14 for Meed, 10, 5, 4 for Goss. +13 for the bench, which is a huge asset for us almost every game. 10 TOs, +18 inside.

1/11: At 3-9, 1-0 Eastern Illinois. They give up 6 more than they score and they turn it over, but they're at home.

1/12: Back and forth. 46-40 at the half. 11 for Meed, 8 for Tell. +14 in the paint. Decent lead midway through the second but they're close enough to get back into it.

96-86. 17, 11 for Meed, 17, 8, 3 for Tell, 12, 3, 9 for Hope, 13, 4 for Hank, 16 for Lyne, 10, 4 for Goss. Hank has really played well lately. He's exceeding our expectations! +18 RBs, +22 inside. Only 10 TOs.

#4 guard Curt Chad hurt his foot. Day to day.

"I never see a man pass up so many free meals!"

"I regret it every time I need to miss one, Mrs. O'Brien. You're a great cook. But my work takes me out of town frequently, and some days that I'm in town it keeps me working past supper time."

"Sounds like a terrible job!"

"Oh no! I love it, but the hours are long."

"I never seen a basketball game. I'm surprised you can make a living out of a game."

"Yes ma'am. It doesn't pay the best but I get by. If you ever want to see a game I can get you a couple of free tickets."

"I don't know. I'll talk to my friend, Mrs. O'Flaherty."

[Wayne23]

1/15: 5-8, 1-1 Alabama ST is here. They shoot pretty well and they have a good PG. They score a lot inside but they don't hit the boards.

1/16: Back and forth. 33-40 at the half. 13, 7 for Meed but no one else is doing anything. They're shooting 46.2% to our 32.4%. +7 RBs. We need to play harder. We catch them and take the lead. They're not quitting! Now we break it open.

88-68. 24, 13 for Meed, 16, 10 for Lyne, 10, 5, 6, 3 for Goss. +17 RBs, +14 inside. 11 TOs.

In our last 5 games we've had 5 different players as the leading scorer. For the season we've had 7. Interesting!

1/18: 7-7, 2-1 South Carolina ST is here. They've played well lately and their C can score but we think we should beat this team.

1/19: They take an early lead then we come back. 51-41 in a real shootout. Our bench has 21, +11. I'm starting to think of Goss and hank as my 6th and 7th starters, and I say that where they, and everyone else can hear it. We're 11-20 on threes! The lead is 20 with 7 minutes left.

91-70. 14, 13 for C Tel Lyne, 16, 4, 4 for Goss, 14, 4, 5 for Hank, 12, 4, 4 for Tell, 13, 2, 4 for Hope, 12, 3 for Jack. A real team effort! +18 down low, only 7 TOs.

Post Game Press Conference (Excerpts):

“Coach Last, you're 12-3, 4-0, alone in first place. Is this what you expected in year one here at Bryant?”

“I'm thrilled with how well we're playing.”

“What's the secret?”

“No secret. We have 7 guys who give it everything they have every minute they're on the court.”

“What do you see up ahead?”

“If we continue to play this way and don't get hit with major injuries I see good things ahead!”

“No specifics?”

“No specifics. We'll all do the best we can and leave it at that. But, I want to make it clear that I couldn't be prouder of my players and my staff.”

As expected it is COLD in my room at the boarding house. I have some heavy blankets and they help me to sleep, but when I'm awake I really can't spend time in my room. I'm up on the top floor, the third, and heat rises so some heat comes up from the main floor, but not a lot! My room is on the North side, and that doesn't help. So, I only come up to my room to sleep in the cold weather.

[Wayne23]

1/22: At 8-7, 2-2 Tarleton ST. This one could be a challenge. They play really well at home and their PG is a scoring machine.

1/23: Close early. We open up a small lead midway through the 1st. Then we get it to 10. 45-25 at halftime. We went wild for the last 6-7 minutes. 15 for Tell, 10 for Hope. 5 TOs to 16.

77-63. 23, 8 for Tell, 13, 10 for Tel Lyne, 12, 2, 9 for Hope. The bench did fine, but not as good as usual. 12 TOs to 23.

I really expected a hard time on this one but it didn't happen.

1/25: 6-10, but 4-1 North Carolina A & T is here. Another team with a good PG. Their PF gets 19.3 a game. But they only score 0.8 more than they give up. Still, I'm glad we're playing them at home.

1/26: We take the lead late in the half, then stretch it out. 53-38 when the horn goes. 12, 4, 5 for Goss, 11, 4 for Lyne, 10 for little used Shay Mado. We're shooting 62.9%. They're trying to come back but we're holding them off.

99-82. The bench was insanely strong, 26, 6 for Mado, 22, 5, 6, 3 for Goss, +20. 15, 7 for Lyne, 12, 7, 6, 3 for Hope but 6 TOs. +13 RBs.

14-3, 6-0, NET #79. I never expected to be doing this good. 9 game winning streak.

Unusual to be talking about the baseball in January, but the player/manager of the Bostons, Jimmy Collins, moved to Smithfield. His wife is from here. I got up to see a game last year. Cy Young pitched that day and he's one of the best. Not my game. Basketball is more exciting.

[Wayne23]

1/29: At 7-10, 3-3 Bethune-Cookman. They give up 4 1/2 more than they score but they play well at home.

As I feared, a guy we've been after for months failed to hit our SAT score.

Long train ride to Daytona Beach but it was quiet, and I had a really good pot roast on the train.

1/30: They take an early lead. We come back. Then we take the lead. 44-41 at halftime in a shoot out. 12 each for Meed and Goss, 11 for Tell. Lyne has 3 fouls, as does his man. +11 RBs. We'll need to play better D to bring this one in. We're holding onto a lead .

89-81. We didn't play better D but we kept scoring. 20, 6, 3 for Gar Goss, 21, 7 for Greg Meed, 17, 9, 1, 4 for Hank, 13, 3 for Tell. Our bench had 37. +12 inside, +8 RBs.

As I look at our schedule really only 2 games of our last 9 that look like they could be challenging. We're in the 2nd weakest conference, and it shows. Let's see how we do as we get Promoted to better conferences in the years ahead.

2/1: 8-10, 2-5 Delaware ST is here. They can score outside and their starters rebound well but they only score 1.3 more than their opponents, and they can't match our bench.

2/2: It's back and forth. At about the halfway mark we get hot and take a lead. 47-33 at the half. 12 for Hope, 10 for Meed. +14 down low. We get the lead to 20 with 10 to play.

99-77. 18, 7, 3, 3, 3 for PF Greg Meed, 20, 6, 1, 3 for Hank, 18, 2, 4 for SG Ken Hope, 10, 8, 5 for Goss. +12 for the bench. +22 in the paint.

We now lead Conf U by 2 over 2 teams at the halfway point in conference play.

I haven't mentioned the parlor in the boarding house. There are 10 boarders here, 5 on the 2nd floor and 5, including me and my staff, on the third floor.

Most of us use the parlor regularly rather than staying in our rooms. It's warmer in the cold weather, and not as stifling in the hot weather.

It's a big room with it's own fire place, two sofas, several easy chairs, a couple of tables where people play cards, checkers, or chess, a piano, and lots of windows.

Quiet hours begin at 9:00 and the parlor closes at 10:00.

When we're home the staff and I usually go to a corner with a sofa and an easy chair and we talk over what we need to talk over- strategy, practice plans, game plan, recruiting info, any problems... When we can plan ahead we bring files from the office, otherwise we just take notes.

It can be noisy, but not terribly so unless someone is playing the piano, but that's good noise!

Speaking of the piano, someone was playing, "In the Good Old Summertime," which, strangely, just came out. I guess people want to forget the cold and snow, but every time I pass a piano, anywhere I go, it seems someone is playing it. It's a catchy tune!

Not everyone uses the parlor but most of the boarders do, either reading, chatting, or playing games. It really is great that the room is available.

[Wayne23]

2/5: At 8-11, 2-6 Prairie View. Their bench may be as good as ours, but the team gives up 2 1/2 more than they score.

2/6: They're playing well and it's close. Mini-run gives us the lead late. They come back. 42-38 at the break. 19, 4, 3, 3 for Goss. Bench is +16. A fast start puts us up 12. They get it to 6 then we open it up again.

90-76 but we had to work for it. 32, 5, 4, 5 for Goss who played 33 minutes due to fouls on the starting guards. We don't lose a thing when he's in there. 17, 9 for Lyne.

Greg Meed strained a calf. He'll miss at least 2 games. Davy Hank will start.

2/8: 10-10, 4-5 Longwood is here. They give up 4 1/2 more than they score, and we're better on the boards.

Let's see how we do with Meed out, he's one of our best players.

2/9: We start fast, up 10 in no time. 40-25 at the buzzer. 9 for Hope. Only 2 TOs. We're holding them to 31.3%. We get the lead to 20 midway through the 2nd.

71-61 but it wasn't that close. 12, 11 for Tel Lyne, 11, 3, 5 for Hope, 13, 3, 3 for Goss, 7, 12 for Tell. 7 TOs and good D.

[Wayne23]

2/12: At 13-9, 5-5 North Dakota. They have two starters banged up but both will play. They're favored. They have very good forwards, a good bench, and their SG can hit shots. But they turn it over/ We need a real challenge so let's see if we get one.

We just arrived after a VERY long train ride, 2 1/2 days. Sick of railroad food! It sure is desolate country around here. Grand Forks is a "city" of maybe 2,000 or 3,000. Kind of like Smithfield but seems even more rural.

2/13: We score the first 8 and get the lead to 15 quickly. They come back. Then we take charge again. 36-23 at the half. 11, 6, 2, 4 for Tell, 8 for Hank. Bench is -7, which is very unusual! 8 fewer TOs. We quickly build the lead to 20.

76-64. We didn't get the challenge we were looking for.

18, 9, 2, 5 for Tell, 17, 3, 6 for Hope, 15, 5 for Hank. Bench was -14. 8 fewer TOs.

3 game lead with 5 to play.

12/15: At 12-10, 5-6 Maine. Their starting Sf is out for the season, and has been since the end of November, so they've had time to adjust. The new guy is doing okay.

We're a slight favorite but 4 of their starters average 10.1 or more and their bench is strong and deep. Maybe THIS will be the challenge we've been talking about.

We have a 14 game winning streak.

Cross country train ride to Orono Maine. We're all feeling tired and we didn't get to practice at all between games. We did huddle in the dining car at a time when it wasn't busy, and I told them the game plan for Maine.

Meed is back to 100%.

12/16: They take a lead. We come back. 37-40 at halftime. 8 for Hank, 7 for Hope. +12 for the Bench. Meed has 3 fouls. It's close in the 2nd. They take a lead late.

68-79. The streak ends at 14 games. We couldn't get the O going in the 2nd half.

15, 6 for Hank, 12, 5, 6, 3 for Hope.

I really think all that time on the train to North Dakota and then from North Dakota to Maine did us in.

2 game lead over 2 teams with 4 to play.