DDSCB 2023: The Greatest

[Wayne23]

1/18: Back and forth early. Up 4 after 10. 53-40 at the break. 13, 4 for Cass. Big edge inside.

Up 22 with 10 left.

102-68, a real blowout. 20, 7 for Bron, 16, 12 for Brog, 16, 3, 9 for Fier, 16, 4 for Cass, 13, 5 for Baro, 12, 9 for John.

Appalachian ST, 9-7, 5-0, who beat us by 4 in the conference opener, is here. They’re alone in 1st place.

1/21: Fast start but they come back. Up 9 after 10. 53-38 at halftime. 14, 4 for Cass, 12 for Brog.

Up 17 with 10 to go.

107-83 and we’re in a 3 way tie for 1st place in the conf. 24, 8 for Cass, 22, 5 for Brog, 18, 6 for Bron. We owned the paint.

“Billie Sue Baker, WNOU, Coach, you guys are red hot.”

“We’re playing well and really playing together.”

“What are the keys?”

“Teamwork, hard work and attention at practice. Nobody acts like a star. Everybody supports everybody else.”

“Coach, you’ve often said your goal is to become the greatest coach in college basketball history.”

“How’m I doin’ so far!”

At 8-9, 4-2 Georgia ST.

1/25: Close early. Up 8 after 10. 56-40 at the half. 14 for Cass, 10, 1, 3 for Fier.

Up 14 with 10 to play.

89-79. 20, 5 for Cass, 11, 7, 3 for Brog, 11, 8, 3 for Tyle, 13, 1, 5 for Fier.

11-7, 5-2 James Madison is here.

1/28: Early lead. Up 6 after 10. 40-43 at the break. They came on strong late. 14 for Cass, 10, 8, 0, 3 for Brog.

Back and forth early. Up 9 with 10 left. Big run late.

96-76. 24, 4 for Cass, 17, 17, 0, 4, 5 for Brog, 14, 3, 3, 4 for Baro, 14, 9 for Bron.

All recruits hit our SAT score.

19-2, 7-1, #23, NET #18, tied with South Alabama for 1st, 2 up on 3 teams.

At 8-11, 3-5 ODU. We won by 25 at home.

[Wayne23]

2/1: Back and forth early. Up 11 after 10. 63-43 at halftime. 20, 4 for Cass, 14 for Brog, 10 for Bron.

Up 25 with 10 to go.

125-85. A real wipe out. 24, 8 for Cass, 22, 5 for Brog, 22, 6 for Bron, 15 assists for Fier. 80 in the paint.

South Alabama, 13-7, 8-1, tied for 1st with us, is here.

2/4: They take a quick lead. Down 9 after 10. We come back. 48-44 at the half. 14, 4 for Bron, 12, 5, 3 for Cass.

We stretch the lead out. Up 18 with 10 to play.

97-87. 24, 9 for Cass, 21, 7 for Bron, 14, 5, 3, 2, 4 for Brog, 14 assists for Fier.

Bobby Jo Gates, Times Picayune: This reporter has mixed feelings about the success of the New Orleans Privateers. It’s great that the team is doing so well, but it’s hard to like the boastful coach, Ally
Cash. It seems to us that a coach should let the team’s record speak for itself. All this talk of being the greatest coach in history just doesn’t sit well.

At 6-15. 4-6, Arkansas ST.

2/8: We start slow. Then we come back. Up 5 after 10. 56-45 at the break. 12 each for Baro and Bron. Good inside play. Too many fouls, 3 each on Cass and Brog.

Up 17 with 10 left.

93-77. 20, 11 for Bron, 20, 7, 4 for Baro, 12, 7 for Doba, 11 each for Fier and Cass.

Georgia Southern, 14-8, 7-4, is here.

2/11: Close early. Up 7 after 10. They take the lead late. 49-44 at halftime. 14, 3 for Bron, 10, 6 for Cass, 11 for Baro.

They’re keeping it close early. Up 9 with 10 to go.

105-81. 24, 11 for Cass, 24, 6 for Bron, 12, 4, 12 for Fier, 16, 0, 5, 5 for Baro. Good balance of inside and outside scoring.

23-2, 11-1, #13, NET #17, 2 game lead, 4 up on 3rd place. #1 in PPG, assists, and Shooting pct., as well as total offense.

At 6-17, 2-10 Southern Mississippi.

[Wayne23]

2/15: Back and forth early. Up by 4 after 10. 52-39 at the half. Balanced scoring. Good inside play.

Up 14 with 10 to play.

94-79. 20, 5 for Cass, 15, 7, 3 blocks for John, 12, 8, 4 for Bron. Big edge in the paint.

Mike Baro hurt his knee. He will have limited time in our next game.

7-17, 5-8 Coastal Carolina is here.

2/18: We’re sluggish early. Up 6 after 10. 49-29 at the break. 19, 3 for Cass.

Up 41 with 10 left, a real blowout.

106-62. 27, 7 for Cass, 18, 8 for Tyle, 16, 4 for Brog, 10, 2, 10 for Fier, 10, 8 for Bron, 12, 4 for John. +42 in the paint.

3 game lead in the Sun Belt.

“Bubba Burk, WNOL. Coach, Bobby Jo Gates in the Times Picayune really took a shot at you. Any response?”

“Someone pointed that out to me. First, I have never once said that I’m the greatest college basketball coach who ever lived. I’ve never even said that I’m a great coach. I talk about my ambition, my dream, which is someday to become a great coach, maybe even the greatest ever. Big difference between the two statements.”

At 15-10, 8-6 Troy.

2/22: We’re behind early. Tied after 10. Then we get HOT. 57-43 at halftime. 19, 5, 1, 3 for Cass, 15 for Baro.

They come back. Up 5 with 10 to go.

101-86. 35, 6, 2, 3 for Cass, 21, 2, 5, 3 for Baro, 11, 0, 10 for Fier, 10, 7, 4 for Tyle.

4 game lead in conf. with 3 to play, so we’ve clinched!

26-2, 14-1, #11, NET #18.

10-16, 7-8 Marshall is here. We won by 25 there.

[Wayne23]

2/25: Slow start. Up 7 after 10. 39-45 at the half. -11 at the line. 12 fouls on us, 2 on them. What a crock. Our big guys were handcuffed by the refs.

We’re coming back early. Up 7 with 10 to play. Looking good late.

93-71. 29, 4, 7 for Fier, his best game of the season. 13, 7 for Cass, who has been very consistent. 11, 7 for Bron.

Last regular season road game is at Texas ST, 12-15, 9-7. We won by 17 at home.

3/1: Fast start. Up 22 after 10. 63-34 at the break. 2 for Cass, 19, 6 for Brog.

This one is a laugher. Up 38 with 10 left.

110-79. 38, 7 for Cass, 27, 7 for Brog. 14, 6, 5 for Tyle. 74 down low.

Our season finale is at home vs. 11-17, 8-9 Louisiana-Monroe. We won by 34 there.

3/4: Close early. Down 2 after 10. 49-34 at halftime. 14 for Bron. Big edge inside.

Up 23 with 10 to go.

98-69. 24, 5 for Bron, 17, 6 for Cass, 14, 7 for John, 13, 7, 8 for Fier. 66 in the paint.

We end the regular season at 29-2, 17-1, up 6 games on 4 teams. #9, NET #15.

[Wayne23]

3/7: We play 9 seed Louisiana-Monroe, 12-18, 8-10, in the quarter finals. We crushed them twice in the regular season.

3/8: 112-88. We took a big early lead and never looked back. 29, 4, 6 for Baro, 22, 5 for Cass, 10, 2, 13 for Fier, 14, 10, 4 for Brog, 19, 3 for Tyle, 12, 7 for Bron.

#5 seed Georgia ST, 17-14, 11-7, in the semifinals. Beat them by 10 away.

3/9: Early lead. Up 13 after 10. 65-44 at halftime. Balanced scoring. Big edge in the lane. But both Brog and Tyle have 3 fouls.

Up 29 with 10 to go.

111-94. 21, 7 for Cass, 18, 7 for John, 18, 5 for Brog, 15, 13 for Bron. 74 in the paint.

“Billie Sue Baker, WNOU. Coach Cash, you just sailed through the first two games of this tournament. Your kids are really hot, you haven’t lost since January 4.

We’ve played well, yes. But it’s the post season. We’re desperate to win an NCAA tourney game. It was a huge disappointment to lose in the first round last year. But we’re focused on the title game before we get there.

“James Madison, 2nd place but 6 behind you.”

“We won by 20 at our place but they’ve played well since then.”

James Madison is 19-12, 11-7. We won by 20 at home.

3/10: We’re flat and fall way behind. Then we wake up. Down 1 after 10, then we take the lead. 45-40 at the half. 12, 3, 3 for Fier, 11 for Tyle, 8, 4, 4 for Cass. They’re matching us inside.

We start fast. Up 17 with 10 to play.

98-87 and the Sun Belt title. 34, 7, 4 for Cass, 15, 4, 10 for Fier, 14, 9 for Bron. 66 in the paint.

32-2, 17-1, #8, NET #15. #4 seed?

[Wayne23]

3/12: #3 Midwest. We play #14 Delaware ST, 21-11.

3/16: Close early. Up 6 after 10. 58-35 at the break. 16, 7 for Brog, 11 each for Feir and Baro. Cass has 3 fouls.

Up 23 with 10 left.

109-83. We get our first ever NCAA tourney win! 26, 8 for Brog, 20, 8 for Bron, 11, 6, 14 for Fier. 76 in the lane.

It’s #11 seed Ohio ST, 22-12, in the 2nd round.

3/18: Close early. Tied after 10. 62-64; it’s been close all the way. They shot 64.3%; not good. 13, 6 for Cass,15, 3 for Baro.

Still close early on. Up 5 with 10 to go. Close late!

105-99. We scored the last 6 and we’re in the Sweet Sixteen! 21, 7 for Cass, 21, 5 for Baro, 12, 6, 3 for Tyle. They went to the line 37 times, we went 15. Fortunately, they weren’t hitting their free throws. Our bench won it for us, +8.

In our first trip ever to the Sweet Sixteen we face #2 seed, #10 ranked UConn, 25-9. They’re a big favorite and we’ll need to play really well to have a chance.

3/23: Early lead. Up 1 after 10. They go on a run. 42-46 at the half. They’re tough! Balanced scoring.

Back and forth early. Up 2 with 10 to play. Close late!

93-86. They were better late. 20, 7 for Tyle, 15, 7, 3 for Cass, 11, 8, 4 blocks for Brog, 10, 9 for Bron.

[Wayne23]

4/3: #17 Illinois wins it all.

4/4: Awards: I am named National COY. Wow!

In the Sun Belt Will Cass is POY, Frosh OY, 1st team, along with Ed Fier and Jay Brog. Mike Bron makes the 2nd team. I am Conf. COY.

We’ll go to a stronger conference again next year.

4/9: TP up to 31.

4/23: Great season, 34-3, Won the Sun Belt, ranked #8. NET #14. Overall, I’m 65-6, .915.

I ask for $.

We get $4,800.

[Wayne23]

5/1: We move to the MVC.

#40 recruit class.

We can’t meet our expected to spend amount.

5/29: We lose 2, a forward who deserves more playing time but we don’t have it to give him, and a guard who doesn’t figure in our plans.

We offer to an SF and a C. 0-2.

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

6/5: We offer to an SG and a C. Get them both.

6/25: No camps. We’re a little tight on money.

6/26: Three scholarships. We’ll probably go for big guys.

7/11: I offer to 3 Cs but still chasing lots of guys.

Spending lots of evenings on the waterfront where there’s great music and beautiful women.

7/30: Out on the town last night. Gotta watch out for the groupies and the girls with bad intentions. I usually catch them out and I did last night. But there were a LOT of them. Guess I’ll need to party
in other places, the word is out that I party here. Not good.

Everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY, keeps telling me I should find someone and settle down.

I’m not interested. I spend so much time on basketball that I couldn’t give a woman enough time in a relationship.

8/14: Still doing lots of recruiting.

9/18: We get one, #78, lose one. I offer to a PF.

Going to the WSSN Classic.

9/25: We lose another one. I now have landed one C and have offered to 2 others.

10/2: First day of practice. We lost a lot of talent. I’m not sure we’re as good as we were last year, and we’re in a tougher conference.

10/9: We get one, #89, lose one.

[Wayne23]

11/13: Here’s the lineup:

Junior Rob Sill is at the Point. He hasn’t played much for us. He’s our best passer but his D is weak.

Soph Tony Lee, a transfer from Coastal Carolina, is at SG. He’s a decent defender, kind of okay all around.

#3 guard, who badly wants to start, is juco junior Kent Robb. He just might get there! Last guard is frosh Cal Rhod, who has some potential but he isn’t ready.

Soph Will Cass, probably our best player, moves from PF to SF. He can do it all.

Soph Jay Brog moves from C to PF. If Will isn’t our best player Brog is.

Senior Rob Doss, a transfer from Pitt, is at C. He has looked very good in practice.

1st big man off the bench is frosh Tor Fraz. He does lots of things well but he still needs work. Frosh Brad Barr also needs to develop. Juco junior Jar Malo isn’t that good. If we have injuries, especially inside, we're in trouble.

We start tomorrow at Dayton.

[Wayne23]

11/14: It will be interesting to see how good we are. I truly don’t know. One game doesn’t tell the story, of course.

Close early. Up 3 after 10. We go on a run! 57-44 at halftime. Cass and Brog carry the load with 12 and 11, respectively. 10 for sub F/C Brad Barr, from whom not much was expected. Solid inside play.

“Great start guys. Remember, it’s 40 minutes. Keep pushing hard!”

Up 12 with 10 to go. In control late.

107-91. 27, 4 for Cass, 16, 6 for Brog, 12, 6, 3, 3 for Doss in the middle, 12, 3 for Barr. WAY too many fouls called on both teams. 72 in the paint.

4 straight on the road to start the season. The 2nd is at 1-0 Elon.

11/17: Close early. Up 1 after 10. 50-50 at the half. Way too many fouls being called again. Good play inside.

Mini-run early gives us the lead. Up 11 with 10 to play.

112-90. 30, 9 for Rob Doss, 21, 12, 4 blocks for Brog, 16, 9 for Cass, 15, 2, 4, 5 for Lee, 12 for Fraz. 68 inside.

WSSN Classic vs. 2-0 Vanderbilt. We’re the #7 seed, they’re #2.

11/21: Fast start. Up 9 after 10. 54-37 at the break.15 for 6th man Tor Fraz, 12, 5 for Cass.

Up 16 with 10 left.

105-85. 25, 1, 1, 4 for Fraz, 18, 8 for Cass, 10, 11, 5 for Brog, 14, 0, 6 for Sill.

I was worried about this team coming into the season but they’re playing great so far!

#3 seed Iowa, 2-1.

11/22: We take the lead early. Up 9 after 10. 64-39 at halftime. 15 for Doss, 12, 12 for Brog.

Up 21 with 10 to go.

117-93. 24, 15 for Brog, 23, 4 for Doss, 17, 3 for Lee, 14, 9 for Cass, 11, 7 for Fraz, 10, 5 for Barr. 76 down low.

#1 seed San Diego ST, 4-0, in the title game. They’re very good outside.

11/23: Early lead. Up 7 after 10. 51-33 at the half. 18 for Doss, 11, 9 for Brog.

Comfortably in control early. Up 29 with 10 to play.

102-79 and the WSSN title! 20, 15 for Brog, 25, 4 for Doss, 15, 7 for Lee, 12, 7 for Cass. 60 in the paint.

We beat the top 3 seeds in the tourney!

5-0. Great start. #1 in the nation in scoring and three point pct. #3 in RBs. 5 of our top 6 scorers are big men.

At 0-3 George Washington.