DDSCB23: The Greatest II

[Wayne23]

12/13: They take an early lead. Down 11 after 10. We can’t hit a shot. 26-50 at the half. We can’t hit and they can’t miss. 3 fouls for Hix. Shooting 27.3% to 58.6%.

Shooting better early but it’s a big mountain. Down 11 with 10 to play. Not happening.

69-100. Least points we’ve scored all season, most we’ve given up. We were awful. A season low 34 in the paint.

“Jay Kaye, WNOU. Coach, what do you do after a night like tonight?”

“Ugh. All you can do is try to fix things in practice and not let the players lose confidence. Harp is hurt and didn’t play much, and he wasn’t very effective when he did play. He’s our key, and losing him made things really tough.”

“It seemed like your guys were going through the motions for most of the game.”

“And that’s something we won’t put up with. Notice that I subbed a lot more than normal. That was to try to wake up my starters but I can’t say it worked very well.”

“3 losses already. Is this a rebuilding year?”

“It shouldn’t be. We’ll be back.”

3-4 Akron is here. We should beat this team.

12/20: Close early. Up 1 after 10. 40-42. Poor D, 54.5%. We could be shooting better. Bottom line is Harp being hurt and not that effective.

It’s close early. We need a run! And we get one! Up 16 with 10 left.

94-79. 25, 10, 1, 3 for Harp in only 21 minutes. 19, 7 for Nate, 13, 3 for Vaka. +30 in the paint but sloppy, 18 TOs. They had 22.

Final pre-conf. game is a real challenge at #3 Seton Hall, 14-0. This won’t be easy!

Harp is back at 100%.

12/27: Close early. Down 2 after 10. 41-43 at halftime. Our bench is keeping us in it. We need more from our guards. We’re doing well inside.

Still close early. Up 5 with 10 to go. Then we get it to double figures.

83-76. A HUGE win! 22, 10, 4 blocks for Harp, 16, 9, 4 blocks for Nate. +14 for the bench. Big edge inside.

We end pre-conf. play at 8-3, NET #12.

#1 in PPG, #6 in RBs.

Harp leads us in scoring and RBs, Caes gets 7.0 assists.

We start MWC play at 10-3 Utah ST. Very good outside.

[Wayne23]

1/2/2025: Close early. Up 6 after 10. 51-45 at halftime. Balanced scoring. Big edge inside. Too many fouls.

Early run! Up 14 with 10 to go.

109-93. 20, 13 for Harp, 21, 4 for Hix, 16, 5, 3, 2, 3 for Wolf, who now starts at SF over Hix. 74 in the paint.

10-3 Boise ST is here. They’re 2-1 vs. ranked teams.

1/4: It’s close early. Up 1 after 10. They go on a late run. 46-53 at the half. Poor D, poor shooting. 13, 6, 3 for Harp, 11 for Wolf. Getting beat outside and by their bench.

Struggling early. We come back. Down 2 with 10 to play.

93-100. We gave up 13 threes and that was the difference. -20 for the bench. 29, 8 for Harp, 16, 12 for Nate.

“Billie Bob Cramer, WNOL. Tough night coach.”

“I truly hate to lose at home. We don’t do it often, thankfully.”

“What happened?”

“We didn’t play defense and we’re simply not getting enough from our guards.”

At 14-2, 3-0, #16 New Mexico. It doesn’t get any easier.

1/9: Back and forth early. They go on a run. Down 8 after 10. We come back. 48-44 after a very back and forth half. Balanced scoring.

We start fast. Up only 3 with 10 left.

79-80. Syle missed an 18 footer at the end. 18, 7, 3 blocks for Harp, 14, 11 for Nate. -9 for the bench.

“Jay Kaye, WNOU. Coach, this is the first time you’ve ever lost back to back games.”

“Not good and I’m not happy. I’m not getting what I need from this team. The staff is looking closely at game video and trying to come up with some fixes.”

10-6, 2-1 Fresno ST is here. They’re good outside.

We make some minor adjustments to the lineup.

1/11: Early lead. Big run and we’re up 22 after 10. 58-27 at the break. 14, 8 for Harp, 11, 5 for Nate.

We’re playing well early. Up 36 with 10 left.

104-75. 25, 10 for Nate, 20, 16, 3 blocks for Harp. Our guards outplayed theirs.

10-5, 2-2, NET #6, 2 back of 1st, tied for 4th in conf.

At 5-9, 2-1 Nevada next.

[Wayne23]

1/16: Close early. Up 1 after 10. Then we go on a run. They come back. 33-34 at halftime. Poor shooting, nothing from our guards. Edge inside but not a big one. Both Wolf and Caes have 3 fouls.

Close early. Tied with 10 to go. Close late.

73-71. They missed a 20 footer at the end. 13, 9 for Harp, 14, 4, 2, 3 for Nate, 10, 12 for Wolf, 11, 6 for Hix.

We really need to try something different. We’ve made minor adjustments and they haven’t done much.

We decide to go with a one guard set up. Hix will start at SG. Pryl really hasn’t lived up to expectations.

#25 San Diego ST, 10-6, 2-3, is here. They haven’t lived up to expectations either, but their SG is out with a broken elbow, and he was a key to their success. They can play!

1/18: Back and forth early. Up 3 after 10. 40-43 at the half. Hix and Pryl each have 3 fouls as does their C. We’re playing well inside but no better than usual outside.

Close early but we’re playing catch up, which rarely works out. Down 6 with 10 to play.

82-79 as we eke out a win. They missed a half court shot at the buzzer. 23, 8 for Nate, 14, 8 for Wolf, 10, 8, 4 blocks for Harp, 9, 1, 10, 5 for Caes. Hix was awful at SG but we’ll give him one more game. +40 down low.

4-13, 1-5 UNLV is here. Tough season for them.

1/20: Close early and we’re flat. Then a run. Up 9 after 10. 48-36 at the break. 12, 11 for Wolf, 12 for little used Gar Crow. Big edge inside. Caes has 3 fouls.

Extending the lead early. Up 30 with 10 left. Subs will be in early for a change.

98-73. 20, 20 for Wolf, great game! 18, 9 for Harp, 14 each for Pryl and Crow. 11 assists for Syle.

Hix was very impressive on D so we’ll leave him there for another game.

At 8-10, 1-5 Colorado ST. Their SF has a broken arm.

1/25: We lead early. They come back. Tied after 10. 42-51 at halftime. We went flat for the last 10 of the 1st half. 18 fouls to their 9 didn’t help.

Down 13 with 10 to go. The refs are killing us.

80-93. They went to the line 47 times we went 18 and I got another T. 16, 11 for Harp. We didn’t play nearly well enough inside.

Putting Pryl back at SG.

13-6, 5-3, tied for 2nd, 2 back of New Mexico. NET #6.

Still #1 in PPG, +8.9. #2 in RBs, +10.0. -0.8 assists and 12.3, which is too many.

Harp, Nate, and Wolf still do the bulk of the scoring. 6.7 assists for Caes.

1/29: “Billie Bob Cramer, WNOL. Coach Cash, thanks for talking to us on ‘Speaking of Sports.’ This season hasn’t gone as well as the last two. Any ideas why?”

“A couple. We lost Vic Irri and Val Smik, both of whom were terrific players. We don’t have a real go to guy this season and although we’re moving the ball decently, we’re certainly not moving it like we did when Smik was at the Point. Also, we have STILL not quite jelled as a team. We’ve decided to go back to Pryl at SG, mostly because of his D, and we want to stabilize the lineup. We’re going to keep it this way, no matter what, and see what happens. Finally, we’re a young team, no seniors, and only one junior who starts. So, much as I’ve resisted the notion, I guess this really is a rebuilding year.”

“What do you foresee for the rest of the season?”

“Well, I’m hopeful that we can put it all together. We’re working hard every day in practice and the staff is staying positive with the players.”

At 8-11, 4-4 Air Force next. This is a team we should beat.

[Wayne23]

1/30: Close early. Up 7 after 10. 50-35 at halftime. 15, 7 for Harp, 9 and good D for Pryl. Good inside play.

Up 30 with 10 to go. This is a romp.

103-69. 26, 12 for Harp, 16, 6, 3, 1, 3 for Nate, 15, 2, 3 for Pryl who was a team high +45. +22 RBs, 68 in the lane.

In a 3 way tie for 2nd, 1 back of #8 New Mexico, with 9 to play. We play them at home in a couple weeks.

13-7, 6-3 San Jose ST is here. They can play.

2/1: Early lead. U*p 7 after 10. 59-36 after a solid 1st half. 17 for Pryl who is shining after being put back into the starting lineup. 12 for Harp but he has 3 fouls.

We’re extending the lead early. Up 13 with 10 left as they come back a little. Late run!

106-84. 24, 6 for Harp, 18, 6 for Nate, 18, 3 for Pryl, 12, 10 for Wolf. It’s nice to beat the other team outside!

In a 2 way tie for 1st in the MWC!

At 15-9, 5-6 Boise ST. They beat us by 7 at our place. They beat us outside last time. We’re playing better outside lately.

2/6: Close early. Down 3 after 10. 51-55 at the half. Not much D so far. All the stats are close. We’re going to need to gut this one out if we hope to win.

They start fast. Down 14 with 10 to play.

95-103. They beat us both inside and outside. Pryl had 3 points and his man had 18.

I can’t get any consistency out of this team.

16-8, 6-5 Utah ST is here. We won by 16 there.

2/8: They take an early lead. We come back. Up 1 after 10. Then a run. 51-42 at halftime. 14, 5 for Wolf, 12, 2, 5 for Syle. 3 fouls for Pryl.

A run puts us up 17 with 10 to go.

96-80. 24, 8, 3 blocks for Harp, 21, 8, 3 blocks for Wolf, 16 for Nate, 12, 4, 8 for Syle. +44 inside.

In a virtual 3 way tie for 1st with 6 to play.

Huge game next, #9 New Mexico, 21-6, 10-4, is here. They’re particularly good at 1 and 4. We’ll need to control the paint.

They beat us by only 1 there.

2/13: It’s close early. Up 2 after 10. 48-43 after a real war in the first. 13 lead changes, 6 ties. Balanced scoring. We need to do more inside.

Quick start. Up 6 with 10 to play. Looking good late.

102-88. Important win! 20, 5 for Nate, 19, 3 for Harp, 18 for Pryl, 12, 4, 7, 3 for Caes. Our outside game was the difference which is a very good sign. Our inside game wasn’t that great, which is not a good sign.

One up in the loss column over 3 teams with 5 to play. 17-7, 9-4. NET #8.

#1 in PPG, +10.3. #2 in RBs, +9.7. -1.1 TOs but 12.2 is too many.

Harp still leads us in points and RBs.

At #21 San Diego ST, 17-8, 9-5. We won by only 3 at home. Looks like their outside game vs. our inside game. Our inside game and bench won it for us last time.

[Wayne23]

2/15: Back and forth early. Up 5 after 10. They go on a late run. 42-49. Poor D and too many fouls. Their PG is killing us. 15, 5 for Harp, 10, 5, 3, 3 for Pryl.

We come back early. Then it’s close. Down 2 with 10 to go.

75-89. They took over late in the game. 25, 6, 3, 3 for Harp, 21, 6, 3, 3 for Pryl, but no one else did much. This team gives us fits.

11-15, 4-10 Colorado ST is here. They won by 7 at their place.

2/20: Early lead. Up 14 after 10. 46-35 at the half. 21, 3 for Pryl.

“You stopped playing! You had them by 25 and you just stood around. Expect to sit if you don’t wake up!”

Up 14 with 10 to play. We’re flat.

81-67. 24, 4 for Pryl, 11, 9, 5, 3 for Hix, 12, 9 for Wolf.

Disaster strikes. Our best player, Marq Harp, tears his Achilles. Out for the season and maybe part of next season.

2/17: “Dan Dee, ENPS, here with Coach Ally Cash of New Orleans. Coach, 2 days ago you lost your best player for the season and possibly for a lot of next season. What do you do now?”

“We work as hard as we can in practice and play with the guys we have. Nobody likes this to happen but injuries are part of the game.”

“What will the lineup look like?”

“Rick Hix will start at SF, Will Wolf will move to PF, and Leon Nate will move to Center. All of these guys can play, and they’ll do fine.”

“Yes, but you were thin up front to begin with. How does this affect your bench?”

“Guys like Joe Vaka and Gary Crow, both freshmen, will need to grow up fast. We’ll work with them to help them to step up and do what we need them to do.”

At 8-18, 5-10 UNLV. We won by 25 at home.

2/22: We fall behind early. Down 14 after 10. 45-50 at the break. Awful D, 68%. Nate played 4 minutes and committed three fouls, the last thing we needed. 14, 5 for Wolf.

Down 6 with 10 left.

76-79 but that was on a last second three. 16, 8 for Wolf, 12, 3, 2, 4 for Pryl, 13 for Vaka, 10, 3, 4 for Syle. Nate let us down at C. Fouls limited him to 9 minutes. We had a LONG talk after the game.

Starting Point Guard Del Caes sprained an ankle. Limited PT for at least a week.

13-14, 9-7 Air Force is here. We won by 34 at their place.

2/27: Early lead. Up 11 after 10. 59-40 at halftime. 14 for Hix, 10, 4, 4 for Pryl. Nate again gets into early foul trouble, 3 in 7 minutes.

Up 24 with 10 to go.

104-79. 26, 3 for Hix, 15, 12 for Wolf, 16, 5, 5 for Pryl, 10, 4, 12, 4 for Caes in limited time.

I’m switching Wolf to the middle and Nate back to PF.

7-21, 4-13 Nevada is here to close out the regular season. We won by only 2 at their place.

3/1: Early lead. Up 9 after 10. Then we go on a run. 43-26 at the half. 10, 5, 3 for Syle, 10, 3 for Wolf. Big edge inside.

Up 14 with 10 to play.

85-60. 15, 6, 4 for Hix, 14, 9, 4 blocks for Nate, 12, 9, 2, 2, 3 for Wolf.

We end the regular season at 20-9, 12-6, alone in 2nd place. NET #8.

#1 in PPG, +10.2, #3 in RBs, +8.4. -1.8 TOs, 12.1.

Harp leads us in points and RBs, but he’s out for the season. Nate gets 14.9 points, Wolf gets 11.7 and 8.2 RBs. Caes, who will be back to 100% for our next game, gets 6.8 assists.

[Wayne23]

3/7: We play #7 seed San Jose ST, 17-13, 9-9, in the quarter finals. We won by 22 at home.

3/8: “Joe Hoop, SBC, here with New Orleans coach Ally Cash. Coach, can you win the MWC tourney with your best player out?”

“I’m concerned with tonight’s game. We’ll worry about the next game if we win. Can we win tonight? Yes, if we play hard and play together.”

Fast start! Up 20 after 10. 53-29 at the break. 17, 6 for Nate who is happy to be back at PF. 10 each for Pryl and Syle. Hix, Caes, and Vaka all have 3 fouls as does their C.

Holding the lead early. Then they go on a run. Up 13 with 10 left.

103-87. 28, 10, 3 for Nate, 18 for Crow, 15, 7, 8, 3 blocks for Syle, 12, 5 for Pryl.

#6 seed Air Force shocked San Diego ST, 16-15, 10-8. we play them in the semis. We beat them by 34 and 25.

3/9: Early lead. Up 19 after 10. 58-35 at halftime. 11, 7 for Nate, 10, 4 for Wolf, 12 for Pryl. Good inside play.

Extending the lead early. Up 38 with 10 to go. Subs will be in early.

103-76. 27, 8, 3 for Hix, 19, 12, 3 for Nate, 18, 3 for Pryl, 12 each for Wolf and Vaka. 10 assists for Caes. Big edge inside.

“Joe Hoop, SBC, here after the game with New Orleans coach Ally Cash. Coach, I asked you a couple of days ago whether your team could win the MWC tournament with your best player out with an injury. You’re heading for the title game. What’s the answer?”

“Yes, we certainly can win it, and we’ll be favored to do so. I’m kind of amazed that both of the top two seeds were upset. That puts us against a Utah ST team we’ve handled easily twice. BUT that doesn’t mean we WILL win. Those guys can play and if they get hot from outside they could really give us a battle.”

“Good luck, Coach.”

#5 seed Utah St, 22-11, 10-8, upsets #1 New Mexico so we play them for the title. We won both games by 16. They are good outside.

3/10: It’s a battle early. Up 3 after 10. They take a late lead. 31-41 at the half. We’re shooting only 34.2%, 2-15 on threes. They’re beating us inside, which they shouldn’t be.

“You guys are better than this. FOCUS!”

We’re still trailing early. Down 10 with 10 to play. They go on a run and we’re in big trouble.

70-90. Never close late. 17, 14 for Wolf.

“Joe Hoop, SBC. Coach Cash, what happened?”

“We didn’t play our game. 70 points is probably our lowest point total of the season. We didn’t play good D and we got out rebounded. We just didn’t play our game.”

“It’s been up and down all season for this team.”

“Yes it has. We never found a rhythm that got us to play consistently. Then when we lost Marq Harp that really made it tough.”

“Good luck in the big dance.”

[Wayne23]

3/12: #7 West. We play #10 Pitt, 19-11. This is going to be a tough game for us. We need to play really well inside to have a chance. I honestly thought we’d get at least a #5. Disappointed.

3/17: We take the lead early. They come back. Down 5 after 10. Then we go on a run. 48-39 at halftime. 11, 4 for Wolf, 9 each for Nate, Pryl, and Caes, but Pryl and Hix have 3 fouls each. Our guards are leading the way.

They’re hanging in early. Up 4 with 10 to go. It’s a battle!

92-93. Gary Crow, in because Hix fouled out and Vaka turned his ankle, missed a 6 footer at the end. 19, 7 for Wolf, 18, 5 for Nate, 17, 3 for Pryl.

“Dan Dee, ENPS. Coach Cash, this has to be a disappointment.”

“Yes it is. We were in it and led most of the way but we couldn’t get the shot we wanted at the end. Congratulations to Pitt on defending that last possession so well.”

“What does this do to that greatest college coach ever thing?”

“(laughs) I said it was a process and it would take a long time. We won 2/3 of our games. Most coaches would be very happy with that.”

“Good luck next season, Coach.”

[Wayne23]

4/3: #1 Kentucky is the champ.

4/4: Awards: Marq Harp makes the MWC 1st team. Leon Nate makes the 2nd team.

4/9: I’m not going anywhere.

4/23: I ask for money.

Yes! We got $18,250!

22-11, made it to the MWC finals. Overall, 89-18, .832, after 3 seasons.

[Wayne23]

5/1: Only one frosh.

We did not meet our expected to spend figure.

5/29: We lose two. Neither was a big part of our plans. Hoping to get two better players!

We offer to a PG and a PF. 0-2.

6/2: We offer to the same 2, who both have us in their top 5. 0-2.

6/5: Offer to a PF and a C. Get the C. He’ll start.

6/9: Offer to a PG. Got him. He may start.

6/25: We can’t afford any camps.

6/26: 4 scholarships. We want 2 guards and 2 bigs.

7/11: We offer to 2 PGs, 2 PFs.

8/14: Harp is healing faster than expected but he’ll miss some early games.

9/18: We get 2, lose 2. We get a PG, #67, a PF, #180. Offer to a PG and a C.

Going to the Poseiden Challenge. Challenging schedule.

9/25: Get one, lose one. We get a C, #52. Offer to a PG.

10/2: 1st day of practice. I think this is going to be a really good season!

We lose the PG, offer to another.

10/9: Got a PG, #67. Finished recruiting.

11/6: Marq Harp is 100%!

11/15: Here’s the lineup:

Jer Wolt, a senior transfer from Colorado, is at the Point.

Soph Marc Pryl is back at SG.

Junior Del Caes drops to #3 guard. Senior Sama Syle is #4. Frosh Sima Pasi is 5th but he has a lot of potential.

Senior Leon Nate moves to SF.

Junior Marq Harp moves from C to PF.

Trav Wear, a junior transfer from San Jose ST, is at C.

Junior Will Wolf is first big off the bench and could start without us losing a thing. Senior Rick Hix is next and he is very good. Frosh Dar Crow is last. He has a lot of work to do.

We’re good and we’re deep.

We start the season with Missouri, here.

[Wayne23]

11/16: Close early. Up 9 after 10. 63-36 at halftime. 12, 3 for Nate, 10 for Wolf. Pryl has 3 fouls. We own the paint.

Up 30 with 10 to go. Subs in early.

104-73. 22, 12 for Harp, 16, 6 for Nate, 13, 2, 4 for Wolt, 11, 5, 7 for Caes. +20 for the bench. Total control inside.

Va. Tech, 1-0, is here. They’re good inside.

11/19: We score the first 18. Up 19 after 10. 59-29 at the half. 14, 4 for Nate, 11, 0, 6 for Wolt, 10, 3 for Wear, 12 for Pryl.

We’re crushing them early. Up 46 with 10 to play.

110-67. 22, 6 for Nate, 5 others with 12 or more.

Heading for the Poseiden Challenge vs. #2 seed, #25 ranked Michigan, 2-0. They’re good inside and out and they are terrific defenders, or have been so far.

11/21: Early lead. Up 21 after 10. 56-31 at the break. 20, 4 for Nate. Pryl has 3 fouls again. Big edge inside.

Winning big early. Up 28 with 10 left. A rout against a ranked team!

91-68. 24, 9 for Nate, 20, 13 for Harp, his best game so far this season. +23 RBs.

#6 seed Boston College, 3-0, in the semis. The top 3 seeds are out. They’re good outside.

11/22: It’s close early. Up 3 after 10. 39-39 at halftime. They’re tough! 12, 5 for Harp. We’re shooting only 36.4%, 1-13 on threes. It’s about even inside, which we didn’t expect.

Close early. Up 4 with 10 to go. Still not shooting or rebounding well.

84-81. They hit a last second three but it was close all the way. 23, 8 for Harp. 14, 5 for Wear. We had to work for this one!

#8 seed Tulane, 2-1, in the title game. They’re our neighbors here in N. O. but we haven’t played them since I started coaching here.

11/23: Back and forth early. Up 5 after 10. 61-46 at the half. Great O, poor D. 15, 4 for Nate, 13, 5 for Harp. Solid inside play.

They cut into the lead a little early on. Up 15 with 10 to play. Late run.

103-86 and the title. 22, 12 for Harp, 22, 7, 5 blocks for Nate, 17, 3, 5, 3 for Pryl, 13, 3, 2, 3 for Wear. We were tough inside.

Rick Hix hurt his knee. Not serious but he won’t play much for a week or so.

“Dan Dee, ENPS. Coach, did you think you could win this tournament coming in?”

“You know me, Dan, I take things one game at a time. I definitely liked our odds after the first round when all the top seeds went out.”

“What did you learn about your team in this tournament?”

“I learned that we’re still in the process of jelling. We’re doing okay obviously, at 5-0, but I think we’re going to get better, possibly a lot better.”

“Thanks Coach.”

5-0, #7 NET.

We’re #1 in PPG.

Harp and Nate are our big scorers with 18.6 each. Harp gets 11 RBs.

1-3 Gonzaga is next. They’re having a tough season early on. They have a good outside game.