DDSCB23: All In

[Wayne23]

3/7: #8 seed Temple, 13-19, 8-12, in the quarter finals. Beat them by 3 at home but they upset us by 3 there in a game we should never have lost.

3/8: Close early. Up 8 after 10. 47-31 at halftime. 16, 4 for Mels, 11, 2, 3, 3 for Loft. Mels and Will have 3 fouls.

Up by 16 with 10 to go.

89-69. 24, 3, 4, 3 for Loft, 24, 7 for Mels, 18, 7, 1, 3 for Grah.

#4 seed Tulsa, 18-12, 13-7, in the semifinals. They won by 6 then we won by 32 at home.

3/9: Early lead. Up 18 after 10. Running away from them. 50-25 at the half. 14 each for Loft and Mels. +30 in the paint.

Big lead. Up 27 with 10 to go.

98-75. 30, 13 for Loft, 22, 4 for Mels, 14, 9 for Grah, 9, 14 for Will. +37 RBs. +60 in the lane.

#2 seed Cincinnati, 24-7, 15-5, for the title. We beat them by 32 and 9 but they’re a good team.

Loft woke up with the flu but he’ll play.

3/10: Close early. Down 2 after 10. 40-39 at halftime. 12, 4 for Mels. They have 4 starters with 3 fouls each. +11 from the line.

Back and forth. Up 9 with 10 to go.

89-85. They got it to one possession 3 times late. 38, 12 for tourney MOP Greg Mels, 15, 3, 6 for Toxy, 11, 7 for Loft, 9 each for Cage and Will. +17 from the line.

25-9, 15-5, AAC champs. #13 ranked, #11 NET. Hoping for a #3 seed.

3/12: #4 Midwest. A little disappointing. We play #13 Omaha, 22-11. Hatt is back.

[Wayne23]

3/16: Early lead. Up 10 after 10. 56-41 at halftime. 13 for Hatt, 10 for Cage. Shooting 73.3%.

Holding the lead. Up 18 with 10 to go.

99-79. 18, 2, 4 for Will, 16, 5 for Mels, 15, 5 for Hatt, 14 each for Cage and Loft.

#12 seed Wichita ST, 22-11 in the 2nd round. We beat them by 28, lost by 3.

3/18: Slow start. Up 6 after 10 once we finally woke up. 38-30 at the half. 11, 3 for Hatt, 8, 5 for Mels.

Expanding the lead. Up 17 with 10 to play.

88-61. 23, 6 for Mels, 16, 8 for Hatt, 15, 5, 3 for Cage, 12, 3 for Loft. +44 in the paint.

#9 seed Virginia, 24-11, shocked #1 seed Florida by a single point. We play them in the Sweet Sixteen. Lots of upsets so far and only 1 #1 seed is still playing.

[Wayne23]

3/23: Early lead. They come back. Up 8 after 10. Big run. Up 57-43 at the break. 15 for Hatt, 12 for Grah, 8, 6 for Loft.

Holding the lead. Up 14 with 10 left.

105-84. 30, 5 for Hatt, 17, 9, 4 for Loft, 16 each for Mels and Grah. 76 in the paint.

#7 seed Texas Tech, 25-10, upset the #3 seed after upsetting the #2 seed to get here so we play them in the Elite Eight. Their PF is out with a torn ACL.

3/25: Close early. Down 8 after 10. 36-40. We were down as many as 13. 3 fouls each for Loft and Mels. We’re getting beat inside.

Back and forth early. Down 4 with 10 to play.

80-82. It was tied with a minute to go.

15, 10 for Hatt, 10, 10 for Grah, 14, 6 for Will. The difference? We went to the line 11 times, they went 35 times. Outrageous!

[Wayne23]

4/3: #2 Duke wins it all.

4/4: Awards: Mels makes the AAC 1st team. Grah makes the 2nd. I get Conf. COY. Can’t believe Loft didn’t get honored!

4/9: Time to move on?

Going to Michigan ST. They’re rebuilding but what a program!

4/23: I ask for $.

No.

28-10, AAC champs, Elite Eight, in my final season in Akron. Overall for 4 years, 107-37, .743.

[Wayne23]

5/1: #12 recruiting class.

I’d like to go right to the one guard offense but not sure I have the personnel.

Spending way more than the expected to spend level.

5/29: 2 guys leave. A guard who wouldn’t have played much, and a forward who might have started. Looking for 2 bigs.

6/2: We offer to an SF and a PF. 0-2.

6/5: We offer to a PF and a C. 0-2 again.

We offer to an SF and a PF.

6/9: Got both. They’ll see some playing time.

6/25: We’ll go to Indy and all the regional camps.

6/26: 2 scholarships. I want big guys.

Rod Loft went #22 in the draft.

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

8/7: F/C Gary Sims is #38 on the Norton list.

9/11: We get the PF.

9/18: Lose the PF, offer to a C.

Going to the Swish Invitational. Some challenges in the schedule.

9/25: We get the C.

10/2: First day of practice. I’m going with the one guard offense.

11/15: Here’s the lineup:

Junior Rod Clem is at the Point although he’s an SG.

Senior Lane Card is at SG; he’s an SF. He looks like he may be our best player, or one of them.

Soph Ram Haer is our 1st guard off the bench. He’s decent but with a one guard set he won’t play much. We have 4 guards behind him and none of them will play much either.

Soph Chad Howe starts at SF. He does a lot of things well.

Soph Gary Sims is at PF. If Card isn’t our best player Sims is.

Junior Ben Ando is at C. Good shooter, good rebounder.

Our 6th man is senior F/C Hal Rily. He’s a glass eater. Soph Shay Henk is not that good. Frosh Dave Finn isn’t there yet but he has potential.

We start tomorrow with South Carolina here.

[Wayne23]

11/16: This Spartans team went 11-22 last season. I’m hoping for 20 wins and a finish in the top half of the Big Ten.

Early lead. Up by 8 with 10 to go. 54-37 at halftime. 11, 6, 3 for Card, 11, 3 for Howe. +11 RBs, +18 in the paint.

Big lead. Up 31 with 10 to go.

98-55. Great way to start the season! 19, 12, 4 for Lane Card, 15, 8 for Howe, 15, 6 for Rily. 72 in the paint.

At 1-0 Rhode Island.

11/19: Early lead. Up 5 after 10. 42-31 at the half. Balanced scoring. +9 RBVs.

We start with a run. Up 14 with 10 to play.

81-78. They got it to one twice. We made our free throws at the end. 15, 5, 4 for Rily, 10, 7, 4 for Card, +24 in the lane.

Ranked #12!

At 2-0 Pitt next.

11/23: Close early. Down 4 after 10. 38-41 at the break. 11, 4 for Card, 9, 5 for Ando.

Uh oh. Down 10 early. Tied with 10 to play. We go on a run.

87-84. What a battle! 18, 7, 1, 4 fror Card, 16, 7 for Ando, 21, 4 for Rily, 13, 9 for Sims.

Heading for the Swish Invitational. We’re the #1 seed. We play #8 seed Low Point, 0-3.

[Wayne23]

11/25: Back and forth early. Up 7 after 10.

45-34 at halftime. 12, 6 for C Ben Ando, 10, 3 for Howe. +26 inside.

We get the lead to 20. Up 15 with 10 left. 103-73. 28, 13 for Ando, 19, 8, 3 for Howe, 17, 8, 5 for Card, 18, 4 for Sims. 78 in the paint. +19 RBs.

#4 seed Iona, 1-2, in the semifinal.

11/26: Close early. Down 3 after 10. 29-28 after a low scoring half. 6 and 10 for Ando.

Down 5 with 10 to play.

65-70. We didn’t play well in the last few minutes. 15, 12, 3 for Ando, 10, 6 for Sims, 13, 7 for Rily, 11, 2, 3, 3 for Card.

At 2-2 ST Bonnie.

11/30: Close early. Up by 2 after 10. 52-44 at the half. 12, 5 for Howe, 16 for Card, 10, 3 for Rily.

Big lead early. Up 18 with 10 left.

87-73. 21, 6 for Card, 19, 10, 3 for Howe, 16, 7 for Rily, 11, 10 for Ando. +20 RBs.

#24 Kansas ST, 6-1, is here.

12/3: Back and forth. Up 4 after 10. 49-44 at halftime. 12, 5 for Rily, 12, 3 for Howe, 11 for Card.

Big edge inside.

Stretching the lead out. Up 12 with 10 to go.

98-83. 25, 8 for Howe, 23, 7 for Rily. +34 in the paint.

6-1, #8, NET #14.

#5 Kentucky, 6-2 is here.

[Wayne23]

12/7: Close early. Up 5 after 10. 40-36 At the half. 14, 3 for Sims. We need to play better inside.

Staying close. Up 6 with 10 to go. Late run!

27, 5 for Card, 26, 6 for Sims, 13, 6, 5 for Howe, 10 each for Haer and Henk from the bench.

NC ST, 5-2, is here.

12/14: Close early on. Up 2 after 10. 54-33 at the break. 20, 8 for Sims. +28 down low.

Holding the lead early. Up 27 with 10 left.

90-66. 26, 12 for Sims, 18, 10 for Rily. +48 in the paint.

6-1 Akron, my old school is here.

12/21: They take a quick lead. We come back. Down 3 after 10. 43-42 at the half. 14, 4 for Card, 10 for Ando. Even inside.

Close early. Tied with 10 left. It’s close late!

80-73 after a late mini-run. 24, 5, 0, 4 for Card, 13, 3 for Rily. Sweet win!

12/25: We end pre-conf play at 9-1. #16, NET #2. #2 in PPG, +14.7. +10.9 RBs, -1.6 TOs and we’re turning it over too often. Lane Card leads us with 17 per game, 6.6 RBs. 6th man Hal Rily gets 14.1 and
5.4. 13.8, 5.4 for Sims. 12.8, 6.6 for Howe. 12. 2, 6.7 for Ando. Clem gets 6.7 assists.

We start Big Ten play with 7-2 Northwestern here.

[Wayne23]

12/26: It’s close. Up 7 after 10. 60-43 at the half. Shooting 66.7%. 21, 7 for Ando, 10, 2, 3 for Card.

The lead goes to 20 early. Up 20 with 10 to go.

104-85. 39, 12 for Ando, great game! 14, 6, 5 for Howe, 11, 6 for Sims, 12, 3, 5 for Card, 11, 5 for Rily. +30 down low.

At 6-5, 0-1 Maryland next.

12/28: Close early. They take a lead. Down 6 after 10. 43-51. They’re shooting 63%.

We tie it early. Up 10 with 10 to play.

89-77. All 5 starters had 11 or more. 17, 10 for Ando, 18, 3, 2, 2, 3 for Card, 15, 3, 9 for Clem, 14, 7 for Howe.

Rily hurt his back. Day to day.

At 10-3, 1-2 Minnesota.

1/2/2027: Back and forth. Up 2 after 10. 48-41 at the break. Balanced scoring. They shot 29.2%.

It’s close early. Up 4 with 10 to go.

100-89. 23, 13, 3 for Sims, 12, 9 for Howe.

6-4, 0-1 Illinois is here.

1/4: Early lead. Up 12 after 10. 58-42 at halftime. 21 for Sims, 17 for Card, 12 for Ando.

Holding the lead. Up 22 with 10 left.

110-89. 27, 5, 3, 2, 3 for Card, 25 for Sims, 18, 3 for Ando. 74 in the paint.

13-1, 4-0, #14, NET #2.

At 8-3, 2-0 Wisconsin next.

[Wayne23]

1/6: It’s a battle early. Then we take a lead. Up 4 after 10. 54-45. 13, 4 for Howe. We’re shooting 57.7%.

Holding the lead. Up 18 with 10 to go.

99-81. 24, 8, 3 for Howe, 15, 7 for Ando, 17, 4, 3 blocks for Card. 60 in the paint. I love this one guard system!

At #12 Michigan, 15-2, 5-1. This should be a test. We’re #7.

1/13: They take the lead. We come back. Down 3 after 10. 39-38 at halftime. 14, 8 for Card, 8, 7 for Ando, 8, 6 for Sims. We’re beating them inside. Card and Rily each have 3 fouls.

We open up a lead early. Up 11 with 10 to play.

81-72. Great road win. 24, 9 for Card, 15, 15 for Ando, 14, 8, 3 for Sims, 16, 6 for Howe. +17 RBs, +28 in the lane.

12-5, 3-4 Minnesota is here. We won by 11 there.

1/16: Close early on. Up 6 after 10. 50-39 at the break. 14, 5, 3 for Card, who is really hot right now. 12, 5 for Rily. If Rily played better D he’d start.

Stretching the lead early. Up 21 with 10 left.

93-72. 27, 9, 3 for Card. 4 others with 10 or more. +28 in the paint.

7-9, 1-5 Maryland is here. We won by 12 there.

1/20: Big early lead. Up 18 after 10. This is a rout. 52-25 at the half. 14, 4 for Ando, 13, 4 for Sims, 10 for Howe. We’re dominating inside.

Up 32 with 10 left.

96-68. Never a game. 27, 9 for Sims, 18, 5 for Ando, 16, 5 for Howe, 13, 4, 6 for Card. 86 in the lane.

#3, NET #1. 17-1, 8-0, 2 game lead in the Big Ten.

At #19 Indiana, 14-3, 6-2.