2023: 3s and Put Backs

[Wayne23]

1/31: Back and forth early. Up 3 after 10. Then a run. Up 55-39 at the half. 23, 4 for Lead. We’re better inside. 12 threes. No real foul trouble.

They’re coming back. Up 11 with 10 left. Then we take charge.

114-94. 39, 6 for Lead, great game. 14, 15 for Hart, 16 for Days, 10, 1, 10 for Wilt, 10, 11, 3 for Brad. +21 on 2nd chances. 22 threes.

At the halfway mark in conf. play we’re 16-4, 8-1, 1 up on 3 teams. NET #30.

#1 in PPG and last in PPG Allowed but +15.8. #1 in RBs, up only 3.8. #2 in assists. -5.3 TOs, 8.8. A fast paced offense leads to few TOs.

21.4 for Lead, 14,1 for Days, 13.7, 8.8 assists for Wilt, 11.9, 6.7 for sub F Del Robb, 11.9, 7.7 for Hart, 9.6, 7.7 for Brad, 9.1, 4.4 assists for Nabo.

We’re good and we’re deep.

At 10-10, 5-4 Kennesaw ST next. Beat them by 22 at home.

2/3: Fast start. Up 9 after 10. Then a big run. 66-33 at the break. We’re shooting 58.5%. 16 threes. 19, 4 for Lead who has had a hot hand lately. 21 for Wilt.

Up 36 with 10 to play. This one is over.

114-91. 29, 4, 5 for Wilt, 30, 5 for Lead, 14, 2, 6 for Nabo, 9, 12 for Brad. 26-52 on threes.

12-9, 8-2 Austin Peay is here. They’re tied for 2nd place, 1 game back, so it’s a big game.

[Wayne23]

2/7: Big lead early. Up 14 after 10. 59-39 at halftime. They haven’t challenged us at all so far. 14, 2, 4 for Robb, 11, 4 for Lead, 8, 2, 4 for Nabo. Days has 3 fouls.

Up 29 with 10 to go. This is a blowout.

116-72. 28, 7 for Lead, 22, 4, 9 for Wilt, 17, 6, 4 for Robb, 13, 4, 11 for Nabo. 12, on 4 threes, for little used guard Art Huck.

At 8-14, 4-7 Lipscomb. They’re better outside than in.

Only one of our last 7 games is against a team with a winning record. We may go to a more challenging conference next season.

2/10: Quick lead. Up 9 after 10. 53-39 at halftime. 12, 6 for Robb, 11 for Days, 9, 12 for Brad. Lead played only 4 minutes due to fouls, Hart played 7. Big edge inside.

We start with a run. Up 26 with 10 to play. Wrap it up!

108-82. 25, 2, 4 for Days, 15, 10 for Robb, 11, 15 for Brad, 12, 0, 3 for Nabo, 15 for Lead, 13, 7, 3 for Hart.

2 game lead in conf. with 6 to play.

10-13, 6-6 Queens of NC is here. Their C can play.

2/14: We’re sluggish early. Down 5 after 10. We wake up late in the half. Up 55-42 at halftime. 11 for Days, 10, 3 for Nabo. 3 fouls for Hart against their very good C. We’re not doing well inside and

Lead is 2-12.

Up 19 with 10 to go.

96-81. We won easily be we didn’t play that well. 17, 9, 4 blocks for Lead, 17, 2, 8 for Wilt, 14, 10 for Brad, 14, 5, 3 for Nabo, 16 for Days. Their C had 17 boards.

At 17-7, 9-4 North Florida. They’re tied for 3rd, 3 back of us. Their SG can light it up and their C is very good.

2/17: Fast start but they’re staying close. Then a run. Up 17 after 10. 64-38 at the half. 14, 3 for Lead, 11, 7 for Robb, 12, 1, 5 for Wilt, 11, 4 for Brad.

Huge lead. Up by 43 with 10 to play. The subs are in.

130-92 against one of the best teams in the conference. 26, 12 for Robb, 22, 4 for Lead, 21, 12 for Brad, 17, 1, 9 for Wilt, 15 for Huck who is an excellent three point shooter. He came to me after the game asking for minutes. I told him to be patient. I was aware of his strengths and next year he’d get plenty of PT.

Austin Peay is 2 back. Everyone else is at least 4 games behind us. 4 to play.

8-17, 4-10 FL Gulf Coast is here. This should be a walk in the park as long as we stay focused.

[Wayne23]

2/21: Slow start; we’re flat. Down 3 after 10. 43-38. We never really woke up. 10 each for Hart and Days. Our forwards did nothing. I make a little noise in the locker room.

Fast start to the 2nd and a big lead. Up 21 with 10 to go.

103-71. Very good 2nd half. 19, 3, 5, 3 for Wilt, 19, 8 for Hart, 21 for Days. 13 assists for Nabo, who asks for more PT. I told him what I told Huck when he asked. He’s penciled in to start next season.

At 10-16, 9-6 Loserty. We won a squeaker in OT at our place.

2/24: Close early on. Up 5 after 10. 43-31 at halftime. 16, 8 for Hart. 3 fouls for Robb. Lead is in a shooting slump. Big edge inside. Good defensive play.

Up 11 with 10 left. They’re staying within reach but we’re holding our lead.

91-78. 17, 14 for Hart, 19, 3, 3 for Days, 13, 5 for Lead, 10, 7, 5 for Brad. Very good inside play and D.

Chap Nabo bruises his knee. Not serious.

We clinched the regular season tonight as Austin Peay lost.

8-19, 6-10 Jacksonville is here to close out our regular season. We won by only 7 there. We honor seniors Brin Wilt and Del Robb before the game.

2/28: We’re flat early. Then a run puts us up 9 after 10. Big run and we’re up 68-45 at the break. 26, 4 for Lead, 15, 4 for Hart. 17 threes.

115-93. There was never a doubt. 37, 8, 3 for Lead, whose shooting slump is over. 20, 8 for Hart, 17, 7 for Robb. 9 for Huck on 3 threes. 24 threes.

Our last regular season game is at 11-18, 8-9 North Alabama. We won by 37 at our place. Their PG is out with an ACL tear.

3/3: It’s close early. Tied after 10. We stay flat. Late comeback but it’s close at the half, 44-42. 10, 8 for Hart, 14 for Days, 11 for lead. Robb has 3 fouls. His man has 21 points.

Good start to the 2nd. Then a run. Up 14 with 10 to go.

84-73. 22, 16 for Hart who has really hit his stride. 21, 4 for Lead. 19, 2, 3, 3 for Days.

We finish the regular season at 25-4, 17-1, up by 3 over Austin Peay, 6 or more over the rest.

We’re ranked! #24, NET #16.

+18.6 PPG, #1. First in RBs, +4.5. 1st in assists, +2.5. -5.5 turnovers, a terrific 8.4, #1 in the country. 1st in threes attempted and made.

Lead gets 21.4 PPG, 1st in the conf. 14.1 for Days. 13.8 with 8 assists for Wilt. 12.1. 8 RBs for Hart. 11.5, 6.6 RBs for Robb. 9.5, 8 RBs for Brad. 9.3, 5.4 assists for Nabo.

Heading to the post season!

[Wayne23]

3/7: #9 seed North Alabama, 12-19, 8-10, in the quarters. We just won by 11 there. Big early lead. Up 13 after 10. They come back strong. 41-40 at the half. 13, 6 for hart. -9 from the line and the threes aren’t dropping.

“Win or go home. Time to wake up!”

Big run to start the 2nd. Up 14 with 10 to play.

85-72.23, 8 for Lead, 21, 8 for Hart, 19, 1, 9 for Wilt. Not much from the bench. 20.8% on threes.

“If you play like this we’ll have an early end to the season!”

It’s #4 seed North Florida, 19-11, 10-8, in the semis. We won by 38 there. Their players are the SG and the C.

3/8: Back and forth early. Up 3 after 10. Then a big run. 67-38 at the half. 13, 4, 7 for Wilt, 15, 4 for Hart. Good inside play, 13-27 on threes.

We’re running away with it. Up 46 with 10 to go.

129-76. 30, 6, 8 for Wilt, 19, 12 for Hart, 22 for Days. 29 threes.

It’s #3 seed Jacksonville ST, 21-10, 11-7, for the title. We won by 50 at home.

3/9: Close early. A run puts us up 17 after 10. 59-40 at the break. 20, 1, 4 for Wilt. 14-28 on threes. 3 fouls for Days and not so good inside.

We extend the lead. Up 23 with 10 to go.

109-81 and the title. 24, 1, 6 for Wilt, 19, 6 for Lead, 14, 9 for Hart, 15, 5 for Robb. 25 threes.

[Wayne23]

3/12: #4 West. We face #13 Middle Tennessee, 22-12.

3/17: Fast start and we quickly build as big lead. Up 16 after 10. 60-35 at halftime. 21, 3 for Lead, 18, 1, 4 for Wilt. 17 threes. This is probably the last of the easy games.

Up 36 with 10 to go.

102-75. 27, 4 for Lead, 22, 3, 4 for Wilt, 9, 18, 4 for Hart, 13, 5 for Robb.

#12 seed Anal Roberts, 24-10, in round 2. They upset the #5 seed. They’re stronger outside than inside.

3/19: Slow start by both teams. Up 2 after 10. 34-36 at the half. We’re shooting 31%, 15% on threes. They’re not shooting much better but we’re -9 from the line. 3 fouls for Robb and Nabo.

“Make some shots or we go home, guys.”

It’s close early. Down 6 with 10 to play. Uh oh!

76-87. We shot 34.9%, 19.1% on threes. We live and die by the three and tonight we died by it. 14, 4 for Robb, 11, 7 for Lead.

Last college game for Wilt and Robb.

I feel like this is a team we should have beaten. Oh well.

[Wayne23]

4/3: #11 ranked Wisconsin wins it all.

4/4: Awards: Dan Lead is Atlantic Sun POY and 1st team along with Brin Wilt. I get Conf. COY. I thought Hart played well enough to make the 2nd team.

4/9: Not planning to go anywhere.

4/23: I ask for money.

No.

[Wayne23]

5/1: Recruiting class #21.

We move to Conf USA.

No we don’t. I swapped with one of their teams but it didn’t take. Only noticed later, too late to try again. I’ll try again next year if I’m still here.

5/29: We lose a guard who would not have played. Looking for a guard.

Not many good guards in the pool.

6/2: We offer to a PG.

6/5: No. Offer to an SF.

6/7: We get him, turn him into an SG.

6/25: We’ll go to the Memphis camp again.

6/26: 4 scholarships. We need 2 and 2.

And it’s stifling hot again. This may be my last season here, mostly due to the heat and humidity.

7/25: We offer to 2 PGs, an SF, a PF. If we get 2 of them I’ll be happy.

8/7: Senior transfer guard/SF John Robb is #37 on the Norton list. First guy from this school!

8/21: Suffering through the summer, running indoors on my treadmill. Working those recruits.

Two weeks of kid camos went well, and they gave me some indications re the new guys: Robb is the best of them, PG Jess More could get minutes if I don’t red shirt him. PG Vefa Yaki will get minutes, as will C/PF Bony Gray.

9/11: We lose the SF, offer to a PF.

9/18: Get 2, lose one. We get 2 PGs, #68 and 85. Happy with both. Now to get some big guys!

Going to the Las Vegas Winter Jam. Playing some decent teams in pre-conf.

9/25: We get both PFs, #90, and #97. We have two foreign recruits who may be iffy on hitting our SAT score. Wait and see! We go after some new guys just in case.

10/2: 1st day of practice. We’re going to be good again this year and the bench is pretty long.

11/13: Here’s the lineup:

3 guys will fight for minutes at the Point. Junior Chap Nabo starts. Senior Art Huck and soph Alan Days get almost as many minutes.

Senior John Robb, a transfer from Tennessee where he started for 3 years is a lock at SG and probably our best player.

Frosh Vefa Yaki, from Turkey, is good enough to play but there aren’t any minutes.

Junior Dan Lead is at SF and if Robb isn’t our best player Lead is.

2 man battle at PF; junior Jay Hart starts and frosh Bony Gray gets equal minutes. Senior Laz Brad is in the middle. Senior Mal Gayn never really met our expectations. Last is frosh Tim Jonz.

We’ll start the season with a 3 game road trip. At Penn ST first.

[Wayne23]

11/15: Close early. Down 10 after 10. 44-44 at the half. 12, 4 for Lead, 16 for Huck. Getting beat inside. We start fast and lead by 10. Up 12 with 10 left. Then a run!

105-73. Great 2nd half, 61-29! 21, 6, 3 for Lead, 25, 3 for huck, 14, 8 for Hart, 14, 4 for Days. 21 threes. We did much better inside in the 2nd.

At 1-0 Anal Roberts next. They have a good SG.

11/18: Quick start. Up 13 after 10. 46-39 at halftime. 13, 2, 5 for Robb, 9, 3 for Huck.

Close early. Up 9 with 10 to go. Run!

95-73. 21, 5, 6, 3 for Robb, 11, 10 for Hart, 12, 5, 3, 3 for Days, 14, 4 for Huck.

0-1 Northwestern next. They score outside.

11/22: Close early. Up 3 after 10. 40-36 at the break. Balanced scoring. Neither team is shooting well.

Still close early in the 2nd. Down 3 with 10 to play.

77-79. They hit a 20 footer at the buzzer. 14, 5, 6, 3 for Robb, 14, 3 for Lead, 13, 4 for Hart who will get full minutes at PF. 7, 14 for Brad. Huck will start at PG.

Home opener with Drake, 0-1.

11/25: Back and forth early on then a run. Up 13 after 10. Then we take off. 54-30 at the half. 14, 4 for Lead, 9, 5 for Gray.

Up 36 with 10 to play. This one is over early.

103-67. 24, 4 for Lead, 16, 8 for Brad, 11, 10 for Gray, 12 for Huck.

3-1. We’re not scoring as many but still #1. We’re #176 in PPG Allowed which is WAY better than last season. #2 in RBs.

1-3 Northern Iowa is here next. Good at SG and PF.

[Wayne23]

11/29: We take the lead. Up 9 after 10. 62-44 at halftime. 26 for Huck with 8 threes, 10, 3, 4 for Robb.

We’re breezing along. Up 29 with 10 to go.

107-84. 29 for Huck, 21, 4, 5 for Robb, 17, 3 for Lead, 13, 9, 3 for Brad. 23 threes.

1-3 Valparaiso is here. This is a team we should beat.

12/2: Quick start. Up 18 after 10. 56-34 at halftime. 21, 5 for Lead, 15 for Huck, 9, 3, 3 for Nabo. 16 threes. Up 33 with 10 left.

108-79. 27, 6 for Lead, 21 for Huck, 13, 10 for Hart, 14, 2, 7 for Robb, 16, 6, 4 for Nabo.

4-1 Georgia is here. Good team from a way stronger conference. They can shoot outside and they can rebound.

12/6: Early lead. They come back. Down 1 after 10. 39-33 at the half. Balanced scoring. Too many fouls, Brad has 3.

Fast start to the 2nd. We’re winning easily.

93-70. We expected more of a challenge. 18, 3, 7 for Robb, 16, 0, 3 for Days, 13 for Huck, 11, 2, 3 for Gray.

At 4-2 Nevada next. They can play.

12/13: Down 1 after 10. 46-42 at the break. 11 for Lead, 9, 5 for Gray. Awful D, 56.7%.

It’s close! Down 4 with 10 to go.

96-99. Our D never stopped them at all, 58.3% shooting to our 37.4%. 23, 3 for Lead, 17, 10 for Gray, 12, 0, 2, 4 for Huck. Outplayed in the paint.

C Laz Brad sprained a wrist. Out for at least a week, maybe 10 days. We’re going with 3 guards.

Headed for the Vegas Winter Jam. We face #1 seed Syracuse, 6-1. We’re the #8 seed.

[Wayne23]

12/16: Back and forth. Up 9 after 10. 51-32 at the half. 13, 4 for Robb, 9, 7 for Lead, 9 for Huck. We’re winning inside.

Up 27 with 10 to go.

108-79. Great win! 22, 6, 4 for Robb, 20, 4 for Huck, 15, 10, 4 blocks for Lead, 16, 0, 4 for Nabo. 27 threes. I like this 3 guard set up!

#4 seed George Mason, 7-2, in the semifinals.

12/17: Behind early. Down 6 after 10. We turn it around. 51-41 at halftime. 13, 1, 4 for Nabo, 10 for Lead, 9 for Robb. Not happy with the D or the inside play.

Down 4 with 10 to play in this back and forth game.

88-91. Poor D, very poor three point shooting, 28.3%, weak inside play. Not happy with this loss!

At 6-3 TCU next. They can play.

12/20: Big lead early. Up 11 after 10. 54-27 at the half. 15 for Lead, 8 each for Robb and Days. Good inside play.

Up 23 with 10 left. This is a rout.

102-68. 20, 5, 3, 3 for Robb, 22, 3, 3 for Days, 18, 4 for Lead, 12, 5 for Gray. 25 threes.

Our last pre-conf game is at #3 ranked Baylor, 13-1. They are very good outside. Brad is back but I’m staying with the three guard lineup.

12/27: It’s close early. Up 4 after 10. Who will get the first run? 49-46 at halftime. Nobody got a run. 12, 1, 3 for Robb. Nabo has 3 fouls as does his man. 9, 5 for Hart. -10 from the line. They’re beating us on the boards but we’re outscoring them big inside.

We start with a run! Up 21 with 10 to go.

108-81. HUGE road win! 27, 6, 4 for Robb, 18, 6 for Lead, 16, 7 for Hart, 15, 3, 2, 3 for Huck.

1/1/2027: At the end of pre-conf play we’re 9-3. NET #18. #1 in PPG with 99.2, +20.6. -0.5 RBs, -8.4 TOs and an amazing 7.7! +4.7 assists, +5.0 Steals.

Lead gets 17.7 PPG. Huck gets 15.4, Robb gets 15.3 and 4.5 assists. 10.1, 8.0 for Hart. Chip Nabo leads in assists with 5.7.

1st Atl. Sun game is at 2-9 Austin Peay. This is a team we should beat.