Way Back When

[Wayne23]

1/2/1903: At SIU-Edwardsville, 6-8. They give up more than they score and they're not very good. If we play well we should not have any difficulty.

This is our last pre-conference game.

1/3: It's close for 12 minutes then we take a lead and go on a run to extend it to 14. 44-27 at the break. 11, 9 for Hank, 3 boys have 7 each.+11 RBs, +10 in the paint. Holding the lead halfway through the 2nd.

89-75. 20, 10, 2, 3 for Hank, 20, 4, 5, 5 for Cary, 14, 3, 3 for Hope, 12, 7 for York. +12 RBs.

We end pre-conf play at 9-2, NET #43. +9.9 PPG, 1st in PPG in the nation, +5.2 RBs, -2.8 TOs, but way too many at 13.5. +3.4 assists.

SG Art Cary leads us in scoring with 16.5. Injured C Max Fisk is 2nd with 12.4.

Fisk is 1st in RBs with 6.4 and Hank gets 6.3.

"Mr. Last, I think it's a very shame that you spend the holidays alone."

"Now Mrs. O'Brien, we've discussed this."

"Yes, yes, I know. I'll not be introducing you to any lovely young ladies, but i do believe you would be a happier man if you settled down."

"I'm not exactly sowing wild oats, Mrs. O'Brien."

"It t'would perhaps be a bit better if you were. You live like a monk."

(laughs) "Thank you for your concern, Mrs. O'Brien."

"I just worry that you'll end up an old man regretting the chances he missed."

"I'll keep it in mind, Mrs. O'Brien."

[Wayne23]

1/9: We start Conf T play at St. Francis, PA, 4-7. They're strong inside. We'll need to play hard. But we've beaten everyone except for the two Conf. B teams.

Pennsylvania is not such a long train trip. Long enough, mind, but we only miss one practice, and we only sleep on the train one night each way, which saves on hotel bills.

Max Fisk is on the mend but our best guess is that he will miss the first 4 or 5 conf. games.

1/10: We take the lead right away. 38-40. We led for almost the entire half, by as many as 16, then they came back late. 10 for Krzy, 9 for Cary. Bench is
-9. -7 RBs. Only 3 TOs. It's close! OT!

90-87 in OT. Great win. They missed a lot of shots late. 21, 7 for Krzy, 10, 9 for Hank. The bench had a great 2nd half. 11 TOs to 21.

1/12: St. Francis NY, 3-9, is here. They have a lot of trouble scoring points. They're better inside than out.

1/13: We take an early lead and quickly get it to 20. 49-21 at halftime. 14 for Jack. No contest in the 2nd half.

86-62. 24, 5 for Jack, 13, 4, 6 for Cary, 10, 7 for York. +14 RBs, +14 in the paint.

1/14: The sheet music and the articles in the papers and magazines tell us that Arthur Collins is possibly the leading singer of the day. I got to see him in providence tonight. He is very good and very funny. I wish there were some way to listen to his music at home but I can't imagine how that would be possible. I feel the same way about Harry MacDonough and Bert Williams although I've never had the opportunity to ever hear either of them.

[Wayne23]

1/16: Just arrived at 11:05 p.m., here in Louisiana to play 7-6 McNeese St. Once again, no opportunity to practice before tomorrow's game. We score 10 more, give up about the same. Their SG can score and they're good inside.

There seems to be a lot of bickering lately. I handle it every time I am made aware of it but i don't like it at all.

1/17: We take an early lead. They come back. We retake the lead. 45-34 at the half. 12 each for Jack and Hope. Both Krzy and Cary have 3 fouls as do 2 of their players. +12 in the paint, +6 from the line. Up 16 with 10 to go.

92-70. Good road win. 15, 5, 6, 3 for Jack but 7 TOs. All 5 starters had 12 or more. +18 inside.

1/19: We're back home after another long train ride. 6-8, 3-0 Morgan ST is here. Their starting PF broke his leg recently. They're good inside and out and we'll need to play well.

1/20: They take a lead then we come back36-42 at the break. We're not playing good D; they're shooting 62.5%. 11 for Cary. They're winning inside. We're playing catch up and not quite getting there. Then we do, taking the lead with 8 minutes left.

88-83 in a real war. We were down as many as 11. 22, 4 for Cary, 16, 4 for Hank, 12, 4, 6, 5 for Jack. 9 fewer TOs. We won it at the line, 30-36 to 17-30; we hit our free throws, they didn't.

We're 13-2, 4-0, alone in 1st place.

[Wayne23]

1/23: At 1-15, 1-3 Maine. They score 58.8 a game and give up 72.6.

Fisk is back.

1/24: We take an immediate lead. 46-24 at the half. 16, 2, 4 for Cary, 11, 3 for Fisk, who looks good in his first game back but he's not in game shape yet. I need to rest him every few minutes. +22 inside. They made a little run but we answered and the lead is back to 20 with 8 minutes to go.

83-58. 23, 3, 5 for SG Art Cary, 17, 9 for Krzy, 13, 6 for Fisk and it is wonderful to have him back! 11, 6 for Hank. +30 in the paint, 8 TOs.

This going from South to North and back is tough on the body. We were sweltering in the extremely humid heat in Louisiana and now we're freezing in the cold in Maine. A few of our people have colds.

A short jaunt brings us back home.

1/26: 3-13, 1-4 Idaho is here. Their starting SG is out with a fractured foot. They give up 8 1/2 more than they score.

1/27: We joust for a bit then go on a 14-3 run. 47-32 at the half. 11, 4 for Cary, 13 for Hank, who seems much more comfortable as a sub than as a starter, 8 and 6 for Fisk. We're dominating in the 2nd. Subs in early.

85-73 but it was not that close. 21, 5 for Krzy, 19, 5 for Cary, 19 for Hank, 12, 9, 3 for Fisk. +22 down low.

As I see it we will probably dominate until we move up a couple of more conferences. There is not any way to know how many but at some point the level of competition will be more than we can compete with. It is quite possibly only at that point that I will consider moving to a new school.

1/29: Very good news! Both of our committed recruits hit our SAT score.

[Wayne23]

1/30: A LONG train ride back to Louisiana. I spoke with Ted Baer about scheduling. It would make sense to play the two Louisiana teams consecutively to save all this travelling time and expense. He said he tried but was unable to accomplish it.

We're at SE Louisiana, 4-13, 2-4. They have a very good bench but they have difficulty scoring and they do not play particularly good defense.

1/31: It is tied after 10 minutes. 36-34 at the half as they give us a run for our money! 3 fouls for Hope and no one on our team ha smore than 8. Their PF has 18. They are shooting better, we are +6 from the foul line. We start the 2nd with a run and go up by 11. They come back but we fight them off.

79-72. This was a good challenge for us. It is good for my team when they need to work hard for a win.

16, 8, 4 for Cary, 18, 6 for Krzy, 12, 7 for Hank, 11, 6, 5 for Jack, 11, 8 for Fisk, +20 in the paint. Their PF had 26.

I don't know what we would do without all of the newspapers and magazines that are available at a very low cost, and at news stands in every town and city. I read books, but magazines and papers are very good for reading in crowded, noisy environments, as they do not require the level of concentration that a good book demands. There are magazines for most every interest and at times I will pick one up that concentrates on a topic with which i am not very familiar. I find it interesting to explore new areas, and it passes the time nicely.

[Wayne23]

2/2: We're 16-2, 7-0, and we have a 2 game lead in Conf. T over 3 teams. One of those teams, North Carolina A & T, 12-6, 5-2, is next, on their court. They are a good team that does many things well, and they are quite strong inside. This could be a challenge!

2/3: Down 1 after 10. The officials are terrible, calling everything against us. 49-47 at halftime in a game where defense is unknown. 12 for Cary, 10 for Hank, 9 for Fisk. They are much stronger inside but our bench is +13, and our starting guards are +11. Shooting % are ridiculous, 68.2% for us, 66.7% for them. The foul calls eventually evened out. We start the 2nd with a run and we are quickly up 15.

94-83. A very good road win! 23, 5, 3, 3 for Cary, who is very steady. 11, 6, 6 for Fisk, 14, 4 for hank, 14, 1, 5 for Jack. +21 for the bench.

Halfway through the Conf. T season we are 17-2, 8-0, 2 games ahead of Binghamton, 3 ahead of 5 teams. 5 of our last 8 are at home and
the longest road trip will be to North Carolina, so things are looking up!

President Roosevelt is too flamboyant for my taste but I have been pleasantly surprised by how well he seems to be managing things. The country is prosperous these days. If he runs for re-election in 1904 I will consider voting for him. That is a long way off, of course.

[Wayne23]

2/6: Back to home sweet home to face Texas-Rio Grande, 9-10, 5-3. Their starting PF, perhaps their best player, is out with a broken foot. They give up 5 more than they score but they have done well in conference play. But the injury was very damaging to them.

2/7: It's nice to hear the cheers of the home town crowd! We are quickly up by 10. 42-34 at the half. 11, 3, 5, 4 for Hope. Cary has 3 fouls and the referees have called 12 fouls on us and only 3 on them. I have been protesting vigorously. +10 RBs but -8 in the paint. -6 from the line. They are fighting to get close and they get the margin to 4 twice. Then we increase it to 10.

81-65 as we go on a strong late run. They were competitive for 35-36 minutes though. 16, 5, 7, 4 for Hope, 14, 10, 5 blocks for Krzy, 11, 7, 4 for Jack, 12, 6 for Hank. +12 for the bench. +12 RBs, only 7 TOs.

Our lead is now 3 games with 7 to play.

2/9: We travel to North Carolina to play 7-13, 5-4 NC-Central. They score a lot of points outside but they turn the ball over.

2/10: Slow start for both teams. We heat up and tak an 11 point lead midway through the half. 46-29 at halftime; I expected more of a battle. 19, 3 for
Cary, 9, 3 for Hank. Krzy has 3 fouls. +7 RBs.

82-72. Our starting back court had 43, 28, 4, 3 for Cary, 15, 5 for Hope. 17, 5 for Hank. +12 RBs.

Every town and city has diners. They serve good, stick to the ribs foo, usually for a quarter a plate and a good size portion. While the team usually has the capability of going to the other school's cafeteria we often opt for a diner instead. But we can't invade a diner with our 18 person entourage so we try to find two that are fairly close to each other. Then half of us go to one and the other half go to the other. It costs us a little more to feed our crew this way when you figure in a piece of pie for dessert, but it isn't a lot more than the school cafeteria would be, and our people usually are much happier. In the smaller college towns where there may be only one diner we eat at the school. The diners do best with things like pot roast, corned beef, roast pork, roast chicken, ham and beans, meat loaf- things of that nature.

[Wayne23]

2/13: Home sweet home to play 8-13, 6-4 Omaha. They can score outside but they give up more than they score.

2/14: They take the lead quickly. We come back. Then we heat up and take a good lead. 55-44 after a high scoring 1st half. 12 for Fly York, 9 for Fisk. +16 for the bench. The lead goes to 20.

105-71. We were unstoppable tonight. 24, 3 for Krzy, 19, 0, 3 for Cary, 16, 8, 5 for Fisk, 12 for York. +19 for the bench. +16 RBs, +32 in the paint.

Romu Krzy, our frosh from Poland, struggles with the English language. He understands most of what is being said, but he speaks with a heavy accent. We're fine with this and try to be as understanding as we can be but this clearly frustrates him often.

Two songs that are very popular right now are quite different, "A Bird in a Gilded Cage" is a lovely melody, and "Always in the Way" is a song about father's whiskers, and is quite comical.

2/16: 4-18, 3-8 Northern Arizona is here. They give up 7 1/2 more than they score.

It is very nice to be at home for two games in a row!

2/17: We jump out to an early lead and get it to 20 very soon. 45-25 at the break. 13, 3, 3 for Jack. +9 RBs. This is a travesty.

80-53. It was never close. 21, 4, 5 for Jack, 11, 10, 3, 4 blocks for hank, 10, 11 for Fisk, 12, 6, 3 for Hope. +18 inside, and only 7 TOs.

We are now up by 4 games with 4 left to play.

I keep expecting an off night. I hope it happens before the post season, if it is to happen.

[Wayne23]

2/20: At 11-12, 7-5 Binghamton. Another team that gives up more than they score, and they do not rebound very well.

VERY exciting news! We are ranked #25 in this week's poll. NET #36.

The trip to Binghamton was mercifully short.

2/21: We take the lead at once. The lead grows to 20. 46-28 at halftime. 11 for Hope, 10 for Jack. Cary has 3 fouls. +14 in the paint. They are not challenging us in the 2nd.

91-71 and we clinch the Conf. T regular season title.

21, 5 for Hank, 17, 4 for Hope, 12, 6 for Krzy. +24 for the bench. +18 inside.

2/23: Back home for a rematch with 8-16, 4-9 ST Francis of PA. We won there by 3 in OT, our closest game of the conference season. They give up 2 1/2 more than they score. Last time around they hurt us outside and at the line, and Max Fisk was still out with his injury.

2/24: They take an early lead. We finally come back but this team is tough on us. 43-46 at the half in a very high scoring half. Both Krzy and Hope have 3 fouls. 16, 4 for York, 8 for Cary. +14 for our bench, the only thing keeping us in the game.

I will max out the defense for the 2nd half. They start quickly. We're down 10 with 10 to play.

84-100. I have been expecting an off night but I never expected such a terrible defensive performance. This is worrisome.

24, 2, 4 for Cary, 23, 8 for York, 9, 7 for Hank. No one else did much of anything. -12 RBs. +16 for the bench which says something about our starters!

Davy Hank: Everybody wants to start but I guess I need to face the fact that I seem to play better when I do NOT start. I have one more year here but I do not seeing myself starting next year either, and perhaps that is a good thing. In any case I do get significant minutes and i thoroughly enjoy playing college basketball!

[Wayne23]

2/27: We travel to Brooklyn, NY to face the other ST Francis, 9-16, 6-8. We have a big edge outside and our bench is better. We won by 24 at home.

2/28: Let's see how we bounce back from a loss.

We're flat early. Not hitting shots, not getting good looks. 30-42 at the half. Not sure what's happened to my team lately. 13 for Cary. We shot a dismal
33.3%. Gave up 7 threes. We're getting badly beaten in the 2nd half.

68-83. I realize these games mean nothing, given that we've already clinched, but I do NOT like how poorly we're playing!

18, 7 for York, 17, 4, 5 for Cary. -10 in the paint.

3/2: We end the regular season at home vs. 13-13, 7-8 McNeese St who we beat by 22 on their court.

3/3: "I absolutely will not tolerate poor effort tonight. I expect your very best every single moment that you're in the game! And that holds true for the rest of the season!"

We take an early lead. We're playing more like ourselves so far. 47-29 at the half. 14 for Cary. Fisk has 3 fouls and was awful but the bench made up for it, +12. Only 4 TOs, +12 in the paint. No challenge in the 2nd.

91-75. 28, 5, 4 for Cary, 18, 2, 6 for Hank. +20 in the paint, 10 TOs.

We end the regular season at 23-4, 14-2, NET #43. We won Conf. T by 2 games over NC A & T, 3 over Morgan ST, 4 over Omaha.

+11.5 PPG, best PPG in the nation. +5.5 RBs, -4.3 TOs.

Art Cary led us in scoring with 17.0. 12.4 for Krzy, 11.7 for 6th man Davy Hank. Fisk leads in RBs with 6.7. Hank gets 6.1. Deon Jack leads in assists with 5.3.

The March winds are blowing but we're not having viciously cold temperatures. The staff still meets in the parlor when we meet here at the boarding house but we'll be meeting in my room soon.

Art Cary: As a sophomore I'm thinking about what's best for me. I like it here at Bryant but would I be better off challenging myself by transferring to a better team? I'm thinking it over.