DDSCB23: All In

[Wayne23]

4/4: Awards: Loft and sub Gord Grah make the MAC 1st team. I get Conf. COY.

4/9: TP goes from 55 to 66.

Arizona is courting me big time. I will visit…

4/11: I’m staying for another year.

4/23: I ask for $. We get $12,800.

31-7. For 3 seasons I’m 79-27, .745.

[Wayne23]

5/1: #61 recruit class.

Moving to the AAC.

We meet the expected amount to spend.

5/29: We lose F/C Kirk Hand, who didn’t figure in our plans. We’ll go after the best player we can get, regardless of position.

We offer to a PG.

6/2: No. We offer to a PF.

6/5: Got him!

6/25: Going to Indy and all the regional camps.

6/26: 3 scholarships. We want a guard and 2 bigs.

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

7/31: Going after those recruits.

8/7: Rod Loft is #28 on the Norton list.

9/18: We get our #1, a PG, #38. Lose a big, offer to another one.

Going to the Bahama Classic. Challenging schedule.

9/25: We get a PF, #57, lose an SF. Offer to a PF.

10/2: 1st day of practice.

We get the PF, #72.

11/14: Here’s the lineup:

Junior Al Toxy is back at the Point. He’s done a good job for us for the past two seasons.

There’s a battle at SG. Frosh Red Yeag will start. He has looked really good so far. Junior Ken Keet will get equal time. Let’s see who wants it more!

Our other guard is senior Jon Thor who has never shown enough to get significant minutes.

Junior Carl Cage did a great job at SF last season and he’s back.

Greg Mels, a soph transfer from Indiana where he started, is at PF.

Soph Rod Loft moves to C.

We are DEEP inside. Senior Jem Hatt is 1st big off the bench and he’s very good, but fragile. Junior Gord Grah is also very good. Junior Joe Will has been a great contributor in the past two seasons.

We’re pretty excited about this team.

We start tomorrow with #21 Miami (FL) here.

[Wayne23]

11/15: 4 ranked teams in our first 5 games.

Close early. Tied after 10. 53-38 at halftime. 15, 5 for Hatt in 8 minutes. Big edge inside. 3 TOs.

Holding our lead. Up 23 with 10 to go.

97-74. 23, 7 for Hatt, 15, 9, 4 blocks for Loft, 15, 7 for Mels, 11, 5 for Grah. +52 in the paint.

#24 NC ST, 1-0, is here. They were terrific outside in their opener.

11/18: They take an early lead. Down 4 after 10. 39-43 at the half. 3 fouls for both Cage and Hatt. 14, 5 for Hatt. +16 inside. They hit 7 threes.

They start fast. Down 6 with 10 to play.

70-74. We got it to one late. 20, 7 for Grah, 15, 7 for Loft. Their 11 threes hurt us and we could have played better inside.

At old MAC rival Ohio, 0-1, next.

11/22: Back and forth. Down 5 after 10. 50-54 at the break. Not much D being played by either team. 3 fouls for Mels. 18 for Hatt.

They open up a lead. Down 7 with 10 left.

100-103. 28, 4 for Hatt, 14, 6 for Cage, 12, 1, 7 for Keet. Only +16 inside. We played awful D.

#16 Creighton, 2-1, is here.

2/25: Close early. Up 3 after 10. 29-37 at halftime. Starting to look like our schedule was too ambitious! 7 players with 2 fouls. They have 1. We’re getting beat inside and out.

They’re holding their lead early. Down 14 with 10 to go. It’s not happening.

62-80. 14, 7 for Mels. No one else did much. Up only 4 in the paint.

1-3 in our first 4, 3 losses in a row. Time to make some lineup adjustments!

Keet will start at SG. Hatt and Grah will get more minutes.

2-1 Purdue is in.

[Wayne23]

11/29: We start fast and build a big lead. Up 23 after 10. 48-29. Best half we’ve played so far. 14, 4 for loft, 12, 5 for Grah, 8, 5 for Hatt. Toxy has 3 fouls.

Holding our lead. Up 28 with 10 to play.

100-71. Encouraging! 28, 8 for Grah, 20, 9 for Hatt, 18, 9, 3 for Loft.

Hatt and Grah both got hurt. Hatt is out for about a week, Grah for a little longer. We have some time off so Hatt may not miss a game.

5-2 Arkansas is here. Hatt will play, Grah won’t or at least not much.

12/6: We start fast again. Up 3 after 10. Late run and it’s 48-32 at the half. 16, 4 for Mels, the best he’s looked so far.

Up 19 with 10 to go.

91-72. Two terrific games in a row. 22, 7 for Mels, 21, 8 for Loft, 15 for Hatt, 4, 10 for Will.

#18 Kentucky, 6-1, is here. Tough inside. Grah is back and we’re 100% healthy.

12/13: Back and forth early on. They go on a run. We come back. Tied with 10 to go. 42-37 at halftime. Toxy has 3 fouls but 2 of their starters also have 3. 14 for Loft. +18 in the paint.

Good lead early. Up 14 with 10 to play.

89-71. Great win against a very good team. 30, 4 for Loft, 22, 4 for Grah, 9, 6 for Mels. +44 in the lane.

Loft strains a hamstring. He’ll be out 10 days or so.

4-3, 3 straight wins,. All against really good teams.

Off to the Bahama Classic. We’re the #2 seed. We face #7 Wofford, 6-2.

[Wayne23]

12/16: Early lead. 10 after 10. 69-58 at the half. Not much D. We’re shooting 67.7% to 56.3%. Yeag and Grah have 3 fouls but so do 2 of their starters. Balanced scoring.

Holding the lead early. Up 10 with 10 to play.

120-106. 21, 6, 4 blocks for Loft playing hurt, 17, 9, 4, 3 for Cage, 19, 6 for Toxy, 21 for Mels, 16, 4 for Hatt, 10, 4 for Grah. 70 in the paint.

#3 seed Colorado, 5-4 in the semis as all the top seeds advance.

12/17: Back and forth early. Up 8 after 10. 43-35 at the half. 15, 3 for Mels, 10, 3 for Hatt.

Up 9 with 10 to play.

86-77. 23, 5 for Mels, 14 each for Hatt and Grah+26 in the paint.

#1 seed, #7 ranked Syracuse, 9-0, in the title game. They’re tough but we’re playing really well. Their SG leads the nation in scoring.

12/18: We take an early lead. Up 8 after 10. 40-44 at the half as they come back. 10, 4 for Cage, 12 for Mels. We held their SG to 7. -10 for our bench and that’s the difference and more.

They take the lead early. Down 3 with 10 to go. Uh oh!

76-92. They beat us badly in the 2nd half. 23, 6 for Mels, 10, 11 for Grah, 13, 6, 3 for Cage, 11, 5 for Hatt. They beat us outside and at the line.

Final pre-conf game is with Butler, 8-3, here. Loft is still out.

12/20: Slow start for both teams. Up 8 after 10. 48-30 at the break after a late run. 13, 3 for Hart, 10, 5 for Cage. Good D, 33.3%.

Big lead. Up 28 with 10 left.

94-52. A blowout. 25, 5 for Hatt, 18, 4, 6 for Yeag, 12, 8 for Cage, 11, 7 for Grah. +32 inside.

We end pre-conf play at 7-4. NET #11.#1 in PPG, +6.3. +6.4 RBs, -5.7 TOs, a terrific 10.1.

Hatt leads us in scoring with 16.3. 14.6 for Mels, 13.4 for Loft, 13.1 for Grah. Cage leads in RBs with 5.8.

I’m going to a one guard offense.

We start AAC play at 8-2 Memphis.

[Wayne23]

12/26: Back and forth. Down 1 after 10. 39-39 at the half. Hatt has 10, 4, Grah has 9, 3. They’re winning the battle inside.

Back and forth. Down 5 with 10 to go.

72-88. They outplayed us badly late. 14, 8, 3, 3 for Hatt, 15, 8 for Grah, 13, 6 for Cage. +18 in the paint.

5-6, 1-1 Central FL is here.

12/;30: Slow start. Up 5 after 10. 52-41 at halftime. Shooting 60.6%. 14 for Hatt, 10, 3 for Mels. I’m liking this one guard offense. Loft, Grah, and Cage have 3 fouls each.

Up 15 with 10 to go.

102-78. 22, 7 for Hatt, 18, 8 for Mels, 16, 5, 7 for Toxy, 14 for Will. 68 in the paint.

At 7-4, 1-1 Tulane. They’re good outside.

1/2/2026: Back and forth. Up 2 after 10. 34-34 at the half. Neither team is playing very well. All the calls are going against us, both Hatt and Cage have 3 fouls. I came close to getting a T. They’ve taken 13 more free throws.

Good start. Up 8 with 10 to play. They come back.

81-74. 26, 9 for Mels, 12, 6, 3, 3 for Cage, 11, 5 for Grah. +36 inside.

8-5, 2-2 Wichita ST is here.

1/4: We take an early lead. Up 13 after 10. Big run. Up 21 at the break. 14, 5 for Cage, 11, 4 for Loft. +32 in the lane.

We’re playing well. Up 20 with 10 left.

96-68. 19, 7 for Loft, 16, 5, 3 for Cage, 16, 7 for Grah13, 3 for Mels, 11 assists for Toxy.

10-5, 3-1, NET #12. 1 back of Tulsa in a 3 way tie for 2nd.

At 6-7, 2-2 South Florida.

[Wayne23]

1/11: Good start. Up 12 after 10. Widening the lead. 54-39 at halftime. 13, 6 for Loft. Good bench play.

Playing well. Up 22 with 10 to go.

100-76. 17, 8, 4, 2, 3 for Loft, 20, 6 for Mels, 14, 7 for Grah, 11, 3, 8 for Toxy. 70 in the paint.

Grah hurt his knee. It’s not serious but I’ll limit his minutes in our next game.

In a 4 way tie for 1st in the AAC.

At 4-11, 1-5 Houston.

1/13: They take a quick lead. Down 3 after 10 as we come back. 38-31 at the half. Balanced scoring, good inside play. But 3 fouls each for Loft and Mels.
It’s close! Up 1 with 10 left.

78-71 and it was a struggle. 14, 11 for Loft, 15 for Hatt, 12, 6, 3 for Will. +30 inside.

Ranked! #23.

Grah is back.

8-9, 4-2 Temple is here.

1/20: Fast start. They come back. Tied after 10. 47-45. The refs are whistle happy. Loft and Cage have 3 fouls each as do 2 of their players. 10 points each for Loft and Mels.

Big run to start the half. Up 17 with 10 to go.

95-72. 17, 11 for Grah, 19, 3 for Mels, 18 for Loft, 11, 2, 6, 3 for Keet. +32 inside.

13-3, 6-1 Cincinnati is here. They are one of the teams we’re tied for 1st with.

1/23: We score the first 14. Up 16 after 10. 45-21 at the half. Crushing them. They’re shooting 22.6%. 12, 7 for Mels, 11 for Hatt. Both Loft and Cage have 3 fouls.

Up 32 with 10 to play.

96-64. It was never a game. 20, 11 for Mels, 19, 4, 4 for Hatt, 18, 8 for Grah, 14, 6 for Will. We are SO loaded up front! +50 in the paint.

14-5, 7-1, alone in 1st with 3 teams one game behind. #20, NET #12.

At 6-12, 2-7 Southern Methodist next.

[Wayne23]

1/27: Early lead. Then a run. Up 13 after 10. 53-35 at the break. 21, 8 for Hatt, 12, 3 for Mels, 8, 4 for Loft. Toxy has 3 fouls.

Up 28 with 10 left.

95-65. 31, 13 for Hatt, hell of a game! 18, 5 for Mels, 10, 8 for Loft, 12, 3 for Grah. 68 in the paint, more than they scored in all.

Loft hurt his calf. He’s day to day.

1/29: All our recruits hit our SAT score.

At 12-7, 8-2 Tulsa. They’re one of 2 teams 1 game behind us.

1/30: They’re good, especially outside.

Early lead. Tied after 10 as they come back. 39-44. They’re tough! 12, 0, 3 for Toxy. Cage and Mels each have 3 fouls. We need to play better D.

We’re not catching them early. Down 13 with 10 to go.

Close late.

72-78. We got it to 2 twice. They won it at the line, 28-46 to our terrible 12-32. They got 14 more chances but if we had shot decently from the line we could have won. Oh, I got T’d up late. The refs were awful.

14, 3, 6 for Toxy, 15, 7 for Hatt. +36 down low.

At 12-8, 6-5 Wichita ST. We won by 28 at our place.

2/1: Close early. They take a lead. 34-39. They’re shooting 59.1%. 17, 4 for Mels. We need to play D.

Tied. Up 1 with 10 to go.

75-78. 2 straight losses. They shot 54.3%. 20, 6 for Mels, 11, 8 for Loft.

15-7, 8-3, we drop into a 3 way tie for 2nd, 1 back of Cincinnati.

6-14, 3-8 Houston is here. We won by 7 there.

2/3: Behind early. We catch up. Tied after 10. Run! 46-38 at the half. Balanced scoring. We’re shooting 65.5% but they’re shooting 57.1%.

“Play some damned D!”

A run puts us up 20 early. Up 11 with 10 to go as they try to catch up. We take charge late.

84-63. A much needed win. 18 for Hatt, 15,4 for Mels, 15, 2, 1, 4 for Will, 13, 3, 3, 4 for Cage. 60 in the lane.

2/5: Still 1 back of Cincy but alone in 2nd place. 16-7, 9-3, #16, NET #14.

1st in PPG, +12.3. 2nd in shooting pct. +7.8 RBs, -5.1 TOs, 10.9.

Mels leads in scoring with 15.3, a tiny bit ahead pf Hatt who also averages 15.3. 12. 2 for Grah, 11.7 for Loft who leads in RBs with 5.7. Toxy leads with 5.9 assists.

7-14, 3-9 South FL is here. We won by 24 there.

[Wayne23]

2/8: Early lead. Up 21 after 10. 62-34. 16 for Mels, 12 for Hatt, 10, 4 for Grah. +40 inside.

Up 28 with 10 to play. We’re romping.

108-82. 26, 5 for Mels, 20, 9 for Grah, 18, 5 for Hatt, 16, 9 for Will. 14 assists for Toxy, who is the key to our one guard offense; he makes it work! +70 in the paint!

Tied for 1st with Cincy. We play them there soon.

At 8-14, 4-9 Central FL. We won by 24 at home.

2/10: Close early. Down 5 after 10. 45-47 at the half. Lousy D. Too many fouls, -9 from the line. Loft has 3 fouls.

Back and forth early. Up 5 with 10 to play.

87-90. We should never have lost to this team. I’m steaming mad! They shot 51.9%, 7-12 on threes. +10 from the line. 2 of our starters fouled out. It was too close for me to take a T but I came close.

14 each for Toxy, Will, and Keet.

10-14, 6-9 Southern Methodist is here. We won by 30 there.

2/15: I’m still steaming from that loss. Practices have not been pleasant.

Early lead. Up 14 after 10. 55-34 at the half. 15 for Mels, 12, 4 for loft, 14 for Grah. We’re shooting an unbelievable 80%!

Up 21 with 10 to play.

100-74. 28, 5 for Grah, 18, 7, 3 for Loft, 21 for Mels, 11, 9, 3 for Hatt, 10 assists for Toxy. 82 in the paint.

Still 1 back of Cincy.

15-10, 11-5 Tulsa is here. They won by 6 there. Tough outside.

12/17: Back and forth early. Up 8 after 10. 58-46 at the break. 16, 6 for Will, 10 for Grah but he has 3 fouls, as does Loft. Good O poor D.

Holding our lead. Up 21 with 10 left.

112-80. 24, 13, 3 blocks for Will, 18, 1, 4 for Hatt, 16, 2, 3 for Cage, 14, 3 for Grah. 70 in the lane.

Loft bruised his sternum. Out for about 10 days.

2/19: Tied for 1st! 19-8, 12-4, #17, NET #15.

At 10-17, 6-10 Temple. We won by 23 at home.

[Wayne23]

2/22: Early lead. They catch up. Down 3 after 10. 42-45 at the half. Lousy D, they’re shooting 60.9%. 3 fouls for Cage. 14, 6 for Grah, 12 for Mels.

Back and forth. Up 3 with 10 to play.

85-88. Another loss to a team we should have beat. Not good!

25, 8 for Grah, 18, 4, 0, 3 for Mels, 13, 10 for Will. But very poor D, 58%, and -7 at the line. Only +16 inside.

Jem Hatt has a severe back injury. Out about a month. So two starters out for at least one game.

At 20-6, 13-4, 1st place Cincinnati. We won by 32 at our place but we were healthy then. This is the battle for 1st place but we could drop into a 3 way tie for 3rd if we lose.

2/24: Close early. Then they go on a run. Down 7 after 10.

46-47 at halftime. 12, 4 for Will. Good inside play. Both teams are shooting 59%. They have 6 threes.

Staying close early. A run puts us up by 15 with 10 to go.

91-82. Great win with 2 starters out! 30, 8 for Will, 15, 9, 2, 3 for Grah, 13, 8 for Loft playing hurt. He’ll be back for our next game.

Tied for 1st. Wichita ST is one back, Tulsa and Memphis are 2 back.

19-8, 11-6 Memphis is here. They won by 16 at their place.

3/1: Back and forth early. Up 4 after 10. A run! 53-41. 17, 4 for Loft, 11, 6 for Will, 8, 7 for Mels. 3 starters with 3 fouls each. They have 2. 33 fouls called in 20 minutes; insane!

Up 19 with 10 to play.

91-74. 21, 7 for Loft, 17, 11, 3 for Will, 11, 8, 4 for Mels, 10, 3, 5 for Keet. +36 in the lane.

One game left to play in the regular season. 12-16, 6-13 Tulane is here. We won by only 7 there.

3/3: We score the first 10. Up 18 after 10. 54-15 at the half. We held them to 15! They shot 19%, 1-10 on threes. 10, 6 for Cage, 10, 5 for Loft. 3 fouls for Grah.

Up 34 with 10 left. Running away with it.

92-58. 22, 9, 4 for Mels, 18, 10 for Cage, 12, 8, 3 for Will. 74 in the paint.

Loft hurt his wrist but he won’t miss any games. Hatt will miss the conference tourney and at least the first 2 games of the big dance.

We end the regular season tied for first with Cincy. We get the #1 seed.

22-9, 15-5, #17, NET #15.

Rod Loft declares for the NBA draft. Not a shock.

#1 in PPG, +13.6. #2 in shooting pct, 53.6%. +9.1 RBs. -5 TOs, 10.8.

Mels leads us in scoring with 15.5, 5.2 RBs. Hatt gets 14.6, 4.6. 13.2, 5.4 for Grah, 11.9, 5.5 for Loft, 9.6, 5.5 for Will. Toxy leads in assists with 6.2.