2023: 3s and Put Backs

[Wayne23]

11/13: Here’s the lineup:

Senior Pat Ture is back at PG. He’s as good as most in the country, especially at dishing.

Senior Marc Toma is back at SG.

#3 guard Paz Lear is getting lots of time at SG and some at SF. We’re giving him his chance to earn a starting spot.

#4 is frosh Balo Kjel who has lots of potential.

Senior Sid hart starts at SF.

Junior Mick Pugh, who has been plagued with injuries, is back at PF.

Soph Aron Aren, a transfer from Iowa, is in the middle. We think he could be special.

1st big off the bench is frosh Cris Turn. 2nd is senior Brad Kitt, who has never lived up to our expectations. #3 is soph Stu Boll, whose D holds him back. Then comes frosh Nat Brow, and finally, red shirt frosh Bret Sadd.

[Wayne23]

11/16: #25 Kansas ST is here. Slow start for both teams. Up 3 after 10. We go on a big run. 62-39 at halftime. 12-28 on threes. 15 for Ture, 18, 3, 4 for #3 guard Paz Lear. Up 26 with 10 to go. This one is a wrap.

97-73. 17 threes. 24, 4, 5 for Lear, 22, 3, 3, 4 for Ture, 12, 9, 3 for Aren. +26 for the bench. Decent inside play. It’s good to start with a win!

11/19: Oklahoma, 1-0, is here. String inside.

Back and forth early on. Then a run. Up 13 after 10. 55-45 at the half. Ture has 3 fouls. 19 for SF Sid Hart. We’re holding our own inside. +9 for the benchg. We need to play better D.

Up 17 with 10 to play. Another run.

113-87. 25, 6, 3 for Hart, 16, 10 for Pugh, 20, 2, 4 for Toma. +17 for the bench. They shot 55.2% which is not what we want, but we took 20 more shots and hit 20 threes.

11/21: #16 UConn, 3-0, is here. We’re now #12. They play really good D, and they rebound. Good guards too.

Fast start! Up 21 after 10. 56-34 at the half. So much for their solid D! 17, 3 for Hart, 11, 1, 4 for Ture. Very good inside play and good D.

We’re not pressing much, their guards would break it. Up 26 with 10 left to play.

102-72. 17, 7, 4 for Ture, 19, 3 for Hart, 9, 19, 3 for Aren, 10, 14 for Pugh. 60 RBs!

11/26: 4-1 NC ST is here. They’re good outside.

Good start. Up 26 after 10. 47-20 at halftime. 13, 4 for Toma, 11 for Lear. Big edge inside and only 2 TOs. They’re shooting 21.9%!

This is a mismatch. Up 28 with 10 to go.

90-65. 20, 7, 8, 3 for Ture, 18, 5, 8 for Toma, 16, 10 for Pugh.

4-0, #11.

We're pressing less so far this season. We haven't needed to.

[Wayne23]

11/30: #19 Brigham Young, 4-0, is here. 1st challenge of the season. Very good inside and an SG who can light it up.

Early lead. Up 18 after 10 on a big run. 45-25 at the half. 17 for Hart, 10, 6 for Pugh, 9 threes.

Up 22 with 10 to play.

90-63. 26, 3 for Hart, 12, 11 for Pugh, 12, 1, 7 for Ture, 11, 4, 5, 5 for Toma, 12, 1, 4 for Lear. Very good inside play. 17 threes.

12/7: 5-1 Baylor is here. They’re good. Solid at every position.

They take a quick lead and we come back. Up 7 after 10. Then a run! 55-37 at the break. 3 guys with 9, 1 with 8. Ture has 11 assists. Up 28 with 10 to go.

116-82. 6 guys in double figures. 19, 3, 3 for Toma, 11, 1, 14 for Ture, 11, 12 for Pugh, 18, 3 for Hart. 23 threes. Solid inside play.

12/14: 3-6 Creighton is here. They’re having a tough season.

Early lead. Up 16 after 10. 59-25 at halftime. I just hope no one gets hurt. 14, 0, 5 for Ture. Up by 44 with 10 to go. Subs are in.

105-66. 7 players in double figures, 20 threes. Big edge inside.

12/21: #5 UCLA, 10-0, is here. They’re the best team on the pre-conference schedule. Solid at every position. We think we’re better inside and as good outside but we’ll see.

Back and forth early. Big run puts us up 15 after 10. The run continues. 67-35 at halftime. I didn’t expect this. 23 for Hart, 13, 9 for Pugh. Solid inside play. 13 threes. Up 38 with 10 to play.

110-59. Wow! 17, 17 for Pugh, 26 for Hart, very good guard play and bench play. 22 threes. We owned the paint.

Off to the mil. Memorial. We’re the #2 seed. We start with #7 George Washington, 7-2.

[Wayne23]

12/23: They take an early lead. Down 10 after 10. They are on fire. We come back strong. 50-45 at the half. We were down 16 early on. Toma has 3 fouls and each of the other starters has 2. Our bench saved us, +19. Good inside play and only 3 TOs. The threes are not falling.

We’re in charge. Up 16 with 10 to play.

97-87. They were pesky! 20, 2, 7, 5 for #3 guard Paz Lear, 21, 3 for Hart, 13, 4 for sub F/C Stu Boll. We have as good a bench as anyone in the country.

#6 seed Mercer, 4-6, upset Auburn so we play them in the semifinals. They’re better inside than out.

Quick lead and we’re in charge right away. Up 20 after 10. 60-30 at the break. 21, 0, 4 for Ture, 16 for Lear.

“You inside players need to step up0. 2 fouls for Hart and Aren just is not acceptable! Those guys on the bench are looking pretty good; a couple of them would love to start!”

Up 33 with 10 left.

117-77. My starting bigs were not impressive. 34, 0, 8 for Ture who is going to be very hard to replace when he graduates in May. 18, 2, 9, 3 for Toma, 19, 3, 4 for Lear, 15, 4 for Brad Kitt.

#4 seed Texas Tech, 7-3, upsets #1 Xavier. We play them in the title game. They can play, especially inside.

12/25: It’s close early on. Up 8 after 10. They’re staying with us. 46-38 at halftime. They keep closing the gap and they tied us twice. 14, 4, 3 for Ture. The threes are not falling and my big guys aren’t getting it done. I get loud at halftime.

We start the 2nd with a run. Up 22 with 10 to go.

108-83 and the title. 34, 2, 5, 4 for Ture, 19, 9, 3 for Toma, 16, 4 for Hart. 23 threes. They outplayed us inside.

At the end of preconference play we’re 11-0, #14, NET #3. Ture leads us with 17.6 and 6.8 assists. Sid Hart gets 17.3. 13.5 for Toma, 13.1 for Paz Lear, 10.8 and a leading 10.5 in RBs for Mick Pugh.

We’re #1 in scoring with 104.1, and giving up only 74.0 for a +30.1 margin, but that will decrease during Big 10 play, I’m guessing. 2nd in the nation in RBs, +8.7. #3 in assists, +5.0. A fantastic 7.2
TOs, -8.2. +4.2 steals. This is a very impressive team so far.

The Big 10 is weak this year, only #4 Michigan ST, and #20 Maryland are ranked.

[Wayne23]

12/28: We start Big 10 play at 6-4, 0-1 Penn ST. They’re good outside.

They’re staying with us early. A run puts us up 11 after 10. Then we take charge. 52-31 at halftime. 18, 4, 3 for Ture, who is having a great season. 10 for Toma, 11 for Lear. Only 4 TOs. I love our guards!

Up 22 with 10 to go. The guards continue to dominate.

92-69. 18, 6, 6 for Ture, 19, 3, 3, 4 for Toma, 14, 9 for Lear, 14, 7 for Hart. We owned the paint.

Paz Lear feels he should be starting. I did something I rarely do and guaranteed him a starting job next season. Seemed to help a little but I get it regarding starting. He’s playing terrific ball. But so are the two starters.

12/30: 9-2, 2-0 Rutgers is here. They’re playing well. Their SG gets 22.3 but he’s facing some tough defenders tonight. They rebound well.

We’re still not pressing as much as in the past. My guards seem to be fresher because of it. If we need to do it we will press.

Good start. Up 14 after 10. The threes are falling. 71-41 at the break. 71 points! 13, 3, 5 for Toma, 13, 5 for Pugh, 15 for Hart, 11 for Kitt. Good work inside and 13 threes.

Up 49 with 10 left. We’re cruising.

135 to 84. This may be the most points we’ve ever scored. 26 threes. 25, 7 for Pugh, 18, 5, 10 for Toma, 23 for Hart, 15, 0, 4 for Ture, 15, 6, 8 for Lear. We owned the paint and had only 2 TOs.

Our C, Aron Aren, isn’t a scorer but he rebounds well and is a very good defender.

6-5, 0-2 Iowa is here next. They’re having a tough season. We should beat them up inside.

1/2/2025: We score the 1st 10. Up 11 after 10. Then a big run. 70-38 at the break. 13, 3, 4 for Ture, 14 for Kitt, 10, 3, 3 for Toma. Very good inside play and 14 threes.

Up 32 with 10 to play.

124-78. This focus on the threes system is REALLY working! 26 threes. 23, 4, 6 for Ture, 19, 3, 7 for Toma, 18, 7, 4 for Lear, 20, 7 for Kitt. Strong inside play.

We’re now 14-0, #8, #2 NET.

9-1 Ohio ST is here next. Strong outside game and they hit the boards.

2/4: Very strong start. Up 27 after 10. 61-28 at halftime. 12, 3, 4 for Toma, 13 for hart. Ture played only 5 minutes due to fouls but Lear stepped up with 9, 2, 5.

Up 23 with 10 left.

108-80. We are on FIRE right now. 20, 4, 8 for Toma, 24 for Hart, 18, 2, 9, 3 for Lear, 12 for Ture in only 7 minutes and 12 for our #4 guard, Balo Kjel, who doesn’t get many minutes. 24 threes.

At #24 Maryland next. They’re 9-3, 1-2, and in a little slump, which means they’re dangerous. They’re very good inside.

[Wayne23]

1/6: Big early lead. Up 16 after 10. The threes are falling. 61-39 at the break. They got within 7 then we took off. 15, 5 for hart. Very good inside play. 13 threes.

Up 22 with 10 to go.

101-82. 19, 12 for Pugh, 20, 7 for Hart, 21, 5 for sub F/C Cris Turn, 15, 4 for Lear. +22 in the paint. 18 threes.

We can beat you outside, we can beat you inside. This is a very impressive team, I’ll say it again.

At 7-6, 2-2 Purdue next. They have some good players but they haven’t jelled. That makes them potentially dangerous.

1/9: Whoa! Fast start for them. Down 12 after 10. We fight back and it’s 41-41 at halftime. 12 for Toma, 8, 2, 3 for Lear. We’re shooting only 32.6%, only 9 threes. They’re winning inside. Our bench is saving us, +11. We’re going to press a little more in the 2nd since it seemed to work well in the 1st half.

We go on an early run. They come back. Up 5 with 10 to play.

107-96. I’m not happy with the D tonight. 39, 5 for Toma, 28, 3 for Hart and they had 16 threes between them, which saved us. 12, 6, 1, 3 for Kitt. We held our own inside and shot much better in the 2nd half.

Aren turned his ankle. He shouldn’t miss a game.

We’re up to #4 in the polls. We’re alone in 1st in the Big 10.

#24 Wisconsin, 11-4, 3-2, is here. They’re good inside.

1/13: Early lead. Up 9 after 10. Big run puts us up 61-36 at the break. 14, 1, 5 for Lear, 10, 6 for Pugh. Good shooting, 56.8%. Ture has 3 fouls.

Up 20 with 10 to play.

100-76. 20, 2, 3 for Toma, 17, 1, 6, 3 for Lear, 12, 16 for Pugh, 19 for Hart, 10, 0, 8 for Ture. 20 threes. +16 RBs.

At 6-8, 1-4 Minnesota. They give up more points than they score. Another game where I just hope no one gets hurt.

1/16: Close early; we’re flat. Up 6 after 10 but we’re not playing well. 51-47 at the half. I am NOT happy! They’re shooting 50%. Pugh has 3 fouls and my starting guards have 2 each. 15, 10 for Pugh,

12 for Hart. +16 on 2nd chances is saving us.

They’re staying with us early on. Up 9 with 10 to go.

101-94. Terrible D, they shot 53.2%. The talent differential and +27 2nd chance points won it but we were not playing well. 25 for Hart. 15, 10 for Pugh but he fouled out in 17 minutes. 12, 5, 6 for Toma. 45 for the bench. Only 14 threes, 24.6%. Ture was way off tonight. Good thing we weren’t playing a good team!

Long awaited match up at #5 Michigan ST, 15-3, 4-2. We’ll need to be a lot better than we were tonight. We have a week to prepare which will help. Their PF is out with a broken ankle. The sub is playing very well. Our big guys will need to step up. I think we’re better outside. Let’s see what happens!

[Wayne23]

1/23: Early lead but it’s close. Down 5 after 10. Uh oh! 24-39 at the half. Lowest 1st half points since I got here, shooting 22.7%, 13.8% on threes. They’re winning inside. We need to make shots.

It’s not happening early. Down 14 with 10 to go. Nope.

62-79. 40 points below our average. 18, 4 for Toma, 14, 2, 3 for Hart, 9, 10 for Pugh. No one else had more than 6. We shot 28.2%, 20% on threes. They beat us inside and on the bench.

Tied with Rutgers for 1st with Nebraska 1 back and Mich. ST 2 back. 11 to play.

8-9, 2-6 Penn ST is here next. We won by 23 there.

1/25: Quick lead and it reaches 20. Up 24 after 10. 64-33 at the half. 17 for Ture, 10, 1, 5 for Toma. Good inside play. Only 2 TOs.

This is turning into a slaughter. Up 44 with 10 left.

125-69. 20, 2, 3 for Ture, 13, 1, 7 for Toma, 12, 6 for Hart. 71 for the bench! Only 2 TOs.

At #16 Rutgers, 16-3, 9-1. We crushed them by 51 at our place but they’re tied for 1st.

Halfway through conference play we’re 20-1, 9-1, #4, NET #1.

+27.6 PPG, +8.0 RBs, +4.3 Assists, -7.6 TOs. #1 in PPG, #2 in RBs and Assists, 6.9 TOs! +3.9 Steals.

Hart leads in scoring with 18.0, Toma gets 15.9, 5.1 assists, Ture gets 14.9 and a leading 6.0 assists. 13.3 for Paz Lear. 10.5 and a leading 10.0 RBS for Mick Pugh.

1/27: Early lead. Up 9 after 10. 36-29 at the half. Low scoring, shooting only 31%, 21.4% on threes. 3 fouls for Hart. We need to make some shots.

Pressing more to start the 2nd. Up 9 with 10 to play. Shooting 25% but the press is working.

70-62. We shot 28% and won due to turning them over 19 times to our 7. 16.1% on threes. We won the battle inside. 12, 12 for Pugh, 15 for lear, 11 each for Toma and Aren.

Alone in 1st place. One of our recruits, our #1 of course, didn’t hit our SAT score. Looking for a PG.

10-11, 5-6 Illinois is here.

2/6: We fall behind early. Down 3 after 10 but we’re waking up. 58-53 at the break. Lousy D, 53.6%. 3 fouls each for Pugh and Hart, 2 each for Aren, Tome, Lear, and Boll. 17, 0, 5 for Ture, 11, 7 for Pugh.

“Stop committing dumb fouls!”

We stretch out the lead. Up 19 with 10 left.

117-95. Great O, awful D. 32, 1, 9 for Ture, 14 each for Toma and Lear, 13, 7 for Pugh. No one fouled out but way too many fouls. They beat us inside. +21 for the bench.

2 game lead in the Big 10.

At 14-7, 8-4 Nebraska. They’re tied for 2nd. Their PG will play but he has a sprained right wrist. They’re good inside.

[Wayne23]

2/8: Close early. Up 1 after 10. Late run puts us up 48-34 at halftime. 12, 6 for Hart. +14 for the bench.

Stretching the lead. Up 18 with 10 to go.

88-71. 21, 8 for Hart, 15, 7 for Pugh, 13, 4 for Toma. +21 for the bench. We were outplayed inside. The bench was the difference.

8-13, 5-7 Indiana is here. I don’t think they can score enough to stay with us.

2 ½ up on Mich. ST.

2/10: They take an early lead. We come back. Up 3 after 10. We go on a big run. 59-40 at the half. 17, 6 for Hart. Only 3 TOs. But too many fouls.

This one is over early. Up 26 with 10 to play.

107-86. 23, 13, 6 blocks for Hart, 19, 0, 5 for Toma, 11, 1, 9 for ture, 17 for Aren. +10 for the bench. +16 in the paint. 5 TOs.

To keep us sharp I’ve been pressing a little more and maxing out the D more. Getting ready for the post season.

8-14, 3-10 Minnesota is here. We won by only 7 there.

2/13: Close early. Up 5 after 10. Big run and it’s 61-42 at halftime. 19 for Ture, 11 each for subs Lear and Turn. +25 for the bench. 3 fouls for Hart.

Holding the lead early. Up 23 with 10 left.

108-89. 22, 3, 6 for Ture, 19 each for Lear and Turn. +23 for the bench. +18 in the paint. Only 8 TOs. 20 threes.

At 13-11, 7-8 Iowa. We won by 46 at our place.

2/20: Big early lead. Up 13 after 10. 52-38 at halftime. We led by as many as 22. 12 each for Aren and Toma, 11 for Ture but he has 3 fouls. Big lead early. Up 28 with 10 to go.

107-82. 21, 9, 3 for Aron, the most he’s scored for us. 21, 3, 4, 5 for Toma. 17, 9 for Hart, 16, 2, 7 for Ture who usually plays a very disciplined game when he’s in foul trouble.

Aren, Lear, and Boll all had minor injuries. Only Boll will miss a game or two.

Up 3 with 4 to play.

At 17-9, 9-7 Wisconsin. We won by 24 here.

[Wayne23]

2/24: Close early. Up by 5 after 10. A late run by them puts us down 47-34 at the break. We shot 27.3% to their 50%. 21.2% on threes. We’re getting beat inside. We need to make shots.

We’re catching up! 3 point lead with 10 left. We’ve got this!

87-71. 18, 11, 3 steals for Pugh, 15, 9 for Hart11 each for Ture, Toma, and Kitt. 13 for Lear. We won the battle inside.

17-9, 9-8 Maryland is in. We won by 19 there. They have been disappointing this season but they’re dangerous.

2/27: Early lead. Up 11 after 10. 60-42 at halftime. 17 for Hart but 3 fouls, 11, 5 for Pugh. Good play inside. 12 threes.

Up 26 with 10 to go. The subs will be in early.

99-71 and we clinch the Big 10 regular season title. 24, 5, 3, 3 for Lear, 17, 11 for Pugh, 17, 3 for Hart. Solid edge inside. 19 threes.

Our home finale is with 15-14, 6-12 Michigan. They’ve not had a good season.

I’ve pretty much proven what I came to Akron to prove. Time to move on. I can’t decide whether to go to an elite team or rebuild with a bottom feeder. The latter would probably be a better test of my system.

3/1: Close early. Down 5 after 10. Down 7 at the half. We’re not focused. They’re shooting 56%. 7 of our guys have 2 or more fouls. 12.,m 3 for hart but no one else has more than 7.

“If the starters don’t play you’ll sit! Wake UP!”

We quickly take the lead. Up only 5 with 10 left. We’re still not focused for any length of time.

104-89 but we weren’t at our best. 27, 8 for Hart, 13, 14 for Pugh, 17, 2, 6, 3 for Toma, 16, 0, 7 for Ture.

Senior night honored Ture, Toma, Hart, and Kitt.

We end at 12-16, 9-10 Indiana. We won by 21 here.

3/3: Fast start. Up only 1 after 10 as they come back.

52-51 at the half. I sat my starters for the last 2 ½ minutes and the score stayed the same. 3 fouls for Ture. He and Toma had 13 each. 11 for Hart. -15 from the line.

“You were outshot, outrebounded, and outplayed in the 1st half. Wake up or sit down!”

Still close early on. Down 4 with 10 left. Close late.

OT. 98-96 on a backdoor dunk by Cris Turn. We were lucky.

6 in double figures led by Hart’s 18. 13, 5 for Turn. +22 in the paint.

Not happy to go to the postseason the way we’ve played lately. I’m hoping it’s because we had things wrapped up.

We finish the regular season at 30-1, 19-1. Only a coach would be sputtering with a record like that. #3, NET #1, 4 game edge in the Big 10.

#1 in PPG, +24.2. #2 in RBs, +5.8. #5 in Assists, +4.0. 7.5 TOs, -7.7. +4.9 Steals.

17.3 for Sid Hart, 15.3 for Toma, 14.5, 6.4 for Ture. 13 for Lear, 10.9 and 9.7 for Pugh.

[Wayne23]

3/9: We play #9 seed Indiana, 13-17, 9-11. We just played an OT game against them and did NOT look good winning it! Gotta stop their forwards.

Early lead. Up 4 after 10. We’re still not playing well. 56-40 at the half after a late run. 16, 3 for Hart, 15 for Lear. 3 fouls for Ture. Getting beat inside. 14 threes. +21 for the bench.

Up 26 with 10 to play.

114-94. They shot 52.4%. We had 25 threes. 27, 6 for Hart, 20, 0, 7 for Ture, 18, 2, 5 for Lear, 14, 5, 7 for Toma. Slight edge in the paint.

Not our best game but better than last time.

Next up is #4 seed Rutgers, 21-9, 13-7. We won by 51 and then 8 there. Can’t let their SG run wild.

3/10: They take a quick lead. We come back. Up 3 after 10. Back and forth. 50-50 at the break. Poor D and too many fouls. Pugh, Aren, and Lear have 3 each, Hart and Toma have 2 each. The threes aren’t falling. We’re winning the inside game.

It’s staying close. Up 9 with 10 to play. 101-80 as we finished strong. 20, 5 for Hart, 14, 9 for Pugh, 14, 3, 6 for Ture, 13, 2, 3 for Toma. +11 for the bench. +34 in the paint, +15 on 2nd chances. So we won it inside.

#3 seed Nebraska, 21-10, 13-7, upset #5 ranked Michigan ST. We play them for the title. Beat them by 17 away.

Cris Turn strained a hamstring. He’s out for about a week.

3/11: Close early. Down 3 after 10. 53-57 at halftime. They’re shooting 50% and beating us inside. They have a very good C and he has 11 and 10. 17, 3 for Hart, 10, 1, 4 for Lear.

“Wake up, guys. This is a big game.”

Down 3 with 10 to go. Tied with 2 minutes left.

108-105. Aron Aren took a desperation three at the buzzer and it somehow went in. I’d rather be lucky than good! I don’t know how many threes Aren has hit this season but it’s not many!

31, 5 for Hart, 20, 4, 4 for Toma, 12, 8 for Pugh, 13, 3, 4, 3 for Lear, 12 assists for Ture. They beat us inside. We had 7 fewer TOs and 24 threes to 7. I’ll take it.

“Spike Jones here for AKR Sports with 33-1 Akron Coach Rick Loes. Coach, how far can you go in the Big Dance?”

“Great question, Spike. We COULD go very deep, but with this team lately it’s hard to say. They can be amazing one night and mediocre the next. If they play up to their potential there aren’t many
teams who can stay with us.”

“What are the keys to your success?”

“We have three of the best guards in the country, and our 4th will almost certainly start next year so he’s no slouch. We’re pretty good inside but our guards are definitely the key.”

“I know you have a plane to catch, Coach. Thanks for the time.”

“Thank you, Spike.”