DDSCB23: All In

[Wayne23]

1/23: Sluggish start. Up 2 after 10. We go on a big run. 51-33 at the half. 12, 3 for Shel, 10, 3 for Hatt, 9, 6 for Ferk. Shooting 59.3% to 31.4%. Whenever we’re sluggish I have the team press. Wakes them right up. I’ve always done this.

Holding our lead. Up 21 with 10 to play.

92-73. 17, 10 for Ferk, 16, 7 for Roon, 18, 4 for Hatt, 12, 4, 5, 3, 3 for Shel, 11, 5 for Garh. +32 in the paint.

10-9, 4-5 Kent ST is here. Beat them by 2 at their place last week.

They’re good outside.

1/26: Close early, just like last time. Up 7 after 10. They come back. 30-34 at the half. Ferk has 3 fouls. We’re shooting only 36.1% to 43.5%.
It’s a battle! Up 9 with 10 left. We take control.

76-64. 16, 15 for Roon, 16, 4 for Shel, 14, 9 for Grah, 12, 4 for Ferk. +38 inside.

5 game win streak but the next 3 are away.

15-6, 6-4, tied for 3rd, 2 back of 1st. NET #49.

#3 in PPG, +5.1. #1 in shooting pct., .516. +6 RBs, -4.9 TOs, 11.7 per game.

16.0, 6.0 RBs for Roon. 4 other sin double figures. 6.0 RBs for Ferk. Toxy leads in assists with 6.0.

All recruits hit our SAT score, including the C we’re still chasing.

At 7-13, 7-3 Bowling Green ST. We won by 13 at our place.

1/30: Fast start. Tied after 10 as they come back. 44-38 at halftime. 14 for Shel, 11, 4 for Roon. Hatt has 3 fouls.

Up 10 with 10 left.

82-74. They got it to 4 twice. 19, 7 for Roon, 18, 1, 3, 4 for Shel, +30 inside.

Hatt breaks his foot. Out for the season unless we go fairly deep in the NCAAs. He’s fragile, 3rd major injury this season. Grah will start at C.

We really don’t have the team for my system yet. I think we will next season with a great C coming in.

At 7-13, 7-4 Ball ST. Beat them by 21 at home.

In a 3 way tie for 2nd, one back of 1st, and Ball ST is one of the teams we’re tied with.

2/2: Back and forth early. Up 10 after 10. Big late run and it’s 50-31 at halftime. 14, 3 for Grah, 10, 8 for Ferk.

Holding our lead. Up 26 with 10 to play.

88-65. Great road win. 18, 12 for Ferk, 20, 7 for Roon, 16, 5 for Grah. 60 in the paint.

In a 3 way tie for 1st with 8 to play.

17-6, 8-4, NET #55.

At 8-13, 4-8 Northern Illinois. We won by only 8 at home.

[Wayne23]

2/6: Fast start. They come back. Down 3 after 10. 40-38 at the half. 12 for Grah, 8, 5 for Ferk, 8, 3 for Menz. 5 threes are keeping them in it.

Close early. Tied with 10 to go.

80-82. 19 lead changes, 13 ties. 20, 6 for Grah, 18, 6 for Ferk, 15, 7 for Roon, 10, 7 for Menz. +29 in the paint. We gave up 8 threes.

The 7 game win streak ends.

3 at home, then 3 away, then the finale at home.

8-15, 5-8 Buffalo is here. We should beat these guys.

2/9: They take an early lead. Down 2 after 10. 48-54. Terrible D, 66.7%. We shot 63.3%. 3 fouls for Shel. Season high 14 for Toxy, 12 for Roon. We need to play D.

We take the lead. Up 2 with 10 to play.

90-83. We got hot late. 20, 0, 8 for Toxy, 20, 3 for Grah, 18, 4 for Roon, 13, 10 for Ferk. 54 in the paint.

Alone in 2nd, 1 back of Western Michigan.

11-12, 8-6 Toledo is here. They won by 11 at their place.

2/13: Slow start for both teams. Up 5 after 10. A late run. 32-24 at the break. 14 for Grah. +16 inside.
Increasing the lead. Up 22 with 10 to play.

76-52. 20, 7 for Ferk18, 4 for Grah, 11, 9 for Menz.

15-9, 9-6 Ohio is here. We won by 6 there.

2/16: Early lead. Up 21 after 10. 62-35. We were unstoppable, 70.5%. 14, 4 for Roon, 12, 2, 5 for Shel, 10, 5 for Menz. 50 in the paint.

This is a rout. Up 31 with 10 to go.

108-79. 22, 12 for Grah, 16, 8 for Roon, 14, 2, 9 for Shel, 14, 4 for Ferk, 15, 5 for Menz, 10, 1, 9 for Toxy. 76 inside.

In a 2 way tie for 1st, 2 up on 3rd, with 4 to play.

20-7, 11-5, NET #49.

At 6-19, 3-13 Miami (OH) next. They won by 3 there when we had 3 starters out with injuries.

[Wayne23]

2/20: Early lead. Up 9 after 10. 47-38 at halftime. 14 each for Ferk and Roon, 8, 5 for Menz.

Up 9 with 10 to play. Looking good late.

90-76. 18, 9, 3 for Ferk, 20, 5 for Roon, 13, 8 for Grah. 3 guys had 10. +30 in the paint.

At 8-19, 5-12 Buffalo. We won by 7 at home.

2/23: We fall behind. Down 8 after 10. 30-38 at the half. Shel has 3 fouls. We’re just not playing our game. Bench is -11.

We catch them. Down 5 with 10 to play.

OT! 81-75. A real battle. 16, 7 for both Roon and Ferk. 14 for Wims.

Toxy hit his head on the floor. Has a concussion and will miss at least one game, or at least play limited minutes.

One up on Western Michigan with 2 to play.

Last regular season road game is at 14-13, 10-8 Eastern Michigan. Lost by 6 at our place when all our guys were hurt. Their SG is out. Hatt is still out.

Ranked! #25.

2/27: Slow start then we start to play. Up by 6 after 10. Big run. 40-22 at the break. Stifling D; they’re shooting 25%. Grah has 3 fouls. 12, 3 for Shel, 8, 4 for Wims.

Up 17 with 10 left.

89-68. 17, 9 for Roon, 18, 5 for Shel, 12, 5 for Wims, 11, 4 for Ferk. +28 in the paint.

One up with 1 to play. It’s at home with 8-20, 7-12 Central Michigan.

3/2: Big early lead. Up 6 after 10 as they come back. 51-36 at halftime. 16, 4, 4 for Roon, 12, 5 for Ferk, 10 for Grah. 42-4 in the paint.

Holding our lead. Up 17 with 10 to go.

85-62 and the regular season MAC title after a 1-4 start! 26, 8, 4 for Roon, 16, 14 for Ferk, 16, 4, 3 for Grah, 6, 12, 6, 4 for Shel.

Good news. Hatt recovered more quickly than expected and will play in all of the post season, assuming he doesn’t get hurt again.

We win the MAC by 2 games over 2 teams. 24-7, 15-5, #23, NET #35.

2nd in PPG, +8.3. Still 1st in shooting pct., 52.1%. +7.2 RBs. -5.1 TOs, 11.6.

Roon leads us in scoring with 16.4. 5 players with 10 or more. Ferk leads in RBs with 6.9. Toxy leads in assists with 6.2.

[Wayne23]

3/7: We play #9 seed Central Michigan, 9-21, 7-13, in the quarter finals. We just trounced them a few days ago.

3/8: Close early. Up 12 after 10. 47-30 at the half. 12, 3, 4 for Ferk, 11 for Hatt, 10 for Roon. +28 in the paint. Shooting 63.6%.

Holding the lead. Up 14 with 10 to go.

94-87 but that was as close as they got. 22, 3, 2, 3 for Roon, 19 for Hatt, 14, 9, 3 for Ferk, 15, 5, 2, 4 for Shel. 17 assists for Toxy. 72 in the paint.

The other 3 favorites were all upset. We play #5 seed Toledo, 16-15, 11-9, in the semis. They beat us by 11 when we had 3 starters hurt. We won by 24 when we were healthy.

3/9: Back and forth. Down 5 after 10. We come back. 38-41 at the half. 3 fouls on Hatt. Poor play inside.

Back and forth early. Up 2 with 10 left.

80-79. Bill Roon blocked a 6 footer at the end. Roon led us with 22 and 10. 13, 10, 3 for Ferk, 12, 5 for Shel. +28 in the paint.

We were lucky to escape with the win tonight.

Little used C/PF Ivor Wims broke his foot. Out for the season.

#6 seed Kent ST, 20-13, 11-9, in the title game. We beat them by 2 when we had all the injuries, and by 12 at home when we were healthy. Our bigs need to deliver. They’re better outside than inside.

3/10: They get 2 quick threes. Down 6 after 10. 35-36 at halftime. They led by as many as 10. We came back late. 3 fouls for Roon, our best scorer. Their C has 3. 11 for Toxy. We’re getting beat inside, which shouldn’t happen. I make some adjustments at halftime.

We take the lead right away. Up 2 with 10 to play. Mini-run!

87-81 and the MAC title! 15, 4, 2, 3 for Shel, 15, 4, 5 for Grah, 12, 1, 6 for Toxy, 13 for Roon, 12 for Wain. +11 for the bench. +38 in the paint.

Hoping for a good seed in a good region.

[Wayne23]

3/12: #6 Midwest. We play #11 seed SE Missouri ST, 23-8. They have a very good C and they can score outside.

3/16: Back and forth to start. Down 4 after 10. 48-51. No D by either team. Hatt has 3 fouls, Roon has 2. Their SG has 19. Our bench is +9.

Close early. Down 2 with 10 to play.

91-96 and for the 2nd year in a row we go out in the first round. This was a team we should have beat.

19, 8 for Grah. 14 each for Ferk, Shel, and Roon.

Shel, Roon, Ferk, and Menz are all graduating but I have a world class C coming in.

3/26: We get the C we were after! Really good recruiting class!

[Wayne23]

4/3: Unranked Florida upset #1 Kansas and is the national champ. Wow!

4/4: Awards: Bill Roon is MAC POY and 1st team along with Jeb Fer. Jam Shel is Def. POY. I am Conf. COY.

4/9: Not looking to move but you never know.

We met all our goals and gain only 1 point in TP, up to 56.

I’m staying, as expected.

4/23: I ask for $.

We get $12,250.

27-8. MAC champs. For 2 seasons I am 48-20, .706.

[Wayne23]

5/1: #22 recruiting class. We meet our expected spending.

5/29: We lose Jay Wain, who would have started, and Ivor Wims, who would not have played much. Need a good guard!

6/2: Not a strong group of transfers.

We offer to a PG and a C.

6/5: 0-2. We offer to an SG and an SF.

6/9: Got the SG, who was more important.

Offer to another SG.

6/12: Got him.

6/25: Going to the Indy and Chicago camps.

6/26: Only 2 scholarships. We want 1 and 1.

7/11: We offer to a PG and an SF.

9/11: We lose the SF. We offer to an SG.

9/18: We get the PG, #4, lose the SG. Offer to a PG.

No in season tournament this year. Fairly challenging schedule.

9/25: We get the PG, #124..

10/2: First day of practice.

[Wayne23]

11/13: Here’s the lineup:

Soph Al Toxy is back at the point. He’s not a scorer but he dishes it very well and plays solid D.

Senior Ab Vann, a transfer from West VA and our only senior, starts at SG. Ken Keet, a transfer from Marquette, gets equal time. We’ll see who steps up. #4 guard is juco junior Jon Thor.

Soph Carl Cage starts at SF. He does a lot of things well.

Junior Jem Hatt moves from C to PF. He was fragile last season. Soph Gord Grah will get equal time with Hatt. As with the SGs, we’ll see who steps up.

Our #1 recruit, Rod Loft, is in the middle. He looks very good but his D needs a little work.

Soph Joe Will is our next big. Then there’s frosh Kirk Hand, who shows a lot of promise.

We start tomorrow with ST. Louis here.

[Wayne23]

11/13: Here’s the lineup:

Soph Al Toxy is back at the point. He’s not a scorer but he dishes it very well and plays solid D.

Senior Ab Vann, a transfer from West VA and our only senior, starts at SG. Ken Keet, a transfer from Marquette, gets equal time. We’ll see who steps up. #4 guard is juco junior Jon Thor.

Soph Carl Cage starts at SF. He does a lot of things well.

Junior Jem Hatt moves from C to PF. He was fragile last season. Soph Gord Grah will get equal time with Hatt. As with the SGs, we’ll see who steps up.

Our #1 recruit, Rod Loft, is in the middle. He looks very good but his D needs a little work.

Soph Joe Will is our next big. Then there’s frosh Kirk Hand, who shows a lot of promise.

We start tomorrow with ST. Louis here.

[Wayne23]

11/14: Back and forth. Down 8 after 10. 41-44. We trailed for the last 15 minutes. 3 fouls for Loft. 11, 3 for Hatt. Poor inside play.

Still trailing. Down 2 with 10 to go. 88-92. Poor D did us in. 17, 6 for Hatt, 12, 5 for Cage, 11, 7 for Will, 13, 3, 3 for Keet, 10, 6 for Loft.

#18 Texas A & M, 0-1, is here next.

11/17: Back and forth. Then we go on a run. Up 12 after 10. 56-40 at halftime. 18, 5 for Grah, 10, 5 for Hatt, 12 for Loft. Big edge inside.

Holding our lead. Up 17 with 10 to go.

93-76. 26, 13 for Grah, 21, 7 for Loft, 14, 8 for Hatt, 18, 1, 4 for Vann.

Dayton, 0-2, is here.

11/21: Close early. Up 9 after 10. 42-27 at the half. 9, 4 for Hatt, 8, 0, 6 for Toxy. Solid inside.

Playing well early. Up 25 with 10 to play.

72-47. Stifling D. 22, 6 for Grah, 13, 7, 3 for Hatt, 12, 7 for Loft, 8, 2, 11 for Toxy. 56 in the paint.

Grah needs more PT.

At 1-2 Davidson.

11/24: Slow start. Then we wake up. Tied after 10. 39-39 at the break. 10, 4 for Grah, 8, 5 for Vann. Good inside play but I’m not happy with our D.

They take an early lead. Down 7 with 10 left.

71-82. We were awful in the 2nd half. Time to reassess things.

The always fragile Jem Hatt broke his foot. He’d been playing very well. Out for a couple months. Grah will play C, Loft will move over to PF. Vann will get more minutes at SG.

We’re 2-2 after 4 games.

Indiana ST, 2-2, is here.