DDSCB23: Alone

[Wayne23]

At 7-10, 2-2 Mount ST Mary. They have a very good C and a strong bench.

1/19: 77-96. Ouch! We let them shoot 64.2%. I’m a defensive coach and this kind of breakdown on D makes me crazy. Believe me, we’ll be working on this!

We gave up 55 in the first half and trailed by a dozen. It was slightly better in the 2nd but we never gained any ground, in fact we lost ground in the 2nd. 20, 3 for Hall, 13, 2, 2, 3 for Mury. -14 on the boards.

12-6, 3-2 Saint’s Peter is here. We think we’re better, IF we play well.

1/23: 82-76. 19 lead changes, 13 ties. It was tied at halftime after a half when neither team shot well. Both teams shot better in the 2nd. We didn’t take control until the last 3-4 minutes but finally we did. 31, 8 for Hall, 23, 8 for Mury. We won this one outside with our 3 guards all outplaying the other team’s guards.

For the 2nd time this year Mel Rand is out with an injury. He strained his abdominals. Out for about 2 weeks.

At 7-12, 3-3 Rider. They are strong inside. Not having Rand will hurt.

1/26: 112-74. Wow! The offense was on fire! 58-29 at the break! 21, 11 assists for Onda, 17, 9, 3 for Mury, 23, 5, 8 for Hemp so our guards led the way again. 16, 7 for Hall. Poly filled in well with 14 and
6. 15, 5 for Cary. +16 RBs.

We’re alone in 1st in the MAA but it’s early.

10-10, 4-3 Niagara is here. We have a big edge inside.

1/30: 88-69. We led all the way, by as many as 27. Up 16 at halftime. 27, 11 for Hall, 13, 9 for Cary, 12, 4, 3, 3 for Mury, 17, 4 for Poly, who has not hurt us filling in for Rand. +36 in the paint.

At the halfway point in MAA play we’re 18-3, 7-1, in 1st by 2 games over 3 teams. I am reminded that last season we had a poor 2nd half of conference play.

+11.8 PPG, +5.8 RBs, -4.5 TOs, with a terrific 10.2 per game. We’re 6th in the nation in PPG, 3rd in assists, 10th in total offense.

Hall leads us with 20.5 and 7.5 RBs. Mury gets 13.3. Rand gets 12.5, 6.9 RBs. Onda gets 6.8 assists, only 2.4 TOs.

[Wayne23]

At 9-13, 5-3 Siena. They’re tough inside. With Rand out this could be a battle.

2/2: 80-83. Close all the way. We were down 2 at the half. We took the lead a few times in the 2nd. They hit 2 free throws with 5.9 left. We set up for a three by Mury. He missed it long.

20, 6, 5 for Mury, 18, 6 for Hall, 16, 7 for Cary. 10 assists for Onda.

The officials screwed us again. We went to the line 21 times, they went 39 times. Our typically awful free throw shooting hurt, 11-21.

We’re 1 game up on 3 teams.

Rand is back.

13-9, 6-3 Manhattan is here. They have trouble scoring and they don’t rebound well.

2/6: 94-84. 17 lead changes, 11 ties before we took control late. Up 2 at the half. 24, 1, 3, 3 steals for Hemp, 17, 1, 8, 6 steals for Onda, 14, 5 for Rand, 11, 5 for Hall. We won this one outside, our big guys were not that good tonight.

At 7-16, 4-6 Quinnipiac. We should beat this team but it’s a road game…

2/9: 68-87. The 2nd half of the schedule is going just as it did last year. I am NOT happy.

We gave up 53 1st half points and trailed by 22 at the break. We didn’t gain much in the 2nd. 14, 7 for Hall, 13, 6 for Poly, 11, 9 for Rand. They shot 52.9% which is unacceptable. We need to play better D.

We’re 1 up on 4 teams with 5 to play, 3 at home, 2 away.

8-16, 2-9 Iona is here. We won by a single point at their place. On paper we should win easily. Their backcourt and bench kept them in the game last time.

2/13: 95-68. It was close for 25 minutes. We led by 4 at the half and it was tied after 25. Then we went on a big run and bye bye. 26, 6 for Hall, 14, 4, 5 for Cary, 14, 4, 1, 4 for Mury, 13, 4 for little used
Mate Emma.+17 RBs, +32 in the paint.

20-5, 9-3, with 4 to play. NET #32. We’re one game ahead of Saint’s Peter and Manhattan.

Huge cyclone going on outside. I can hear the wind. There are no windows in this building, of course, but there are 8 cameras at various places near the roof. There not a lot to see on this barren landscape but a lot of dust and some rocks are being kicked up. The building is “cyclone proof,” so I’m not really worried.

I’m thinking of the day I came back down to the building and found everyone dead. It was the worst day of my life. I knew I had to dispose of the bodies quickly, while they still had structural integrity, and before the decay process got going. Before that I had to come up with a plan for their disposal.

As I’ve already said, I went with a mausoleum in the holo. It took a lot of time and effort to get the bodies into the mausoleum, 2 full days of very hard work. It exhausted me and left me with back issues which, fortunately were only temporary.

[Wayne23]

Next is Marxist, 13-12, 5-5, there. We won by 9 at home. They’re tough at home, 10-0. Inside play and bench play won the first game for us.

2/16: 81-78. A big road win! We took an early lead but after that it was back and forth, 21 lead changes and 18 ties. We led by 8 at halftime. They came back and took the lead several times in the 2nd.

At the end they got the ball with 6.1 seconds left. They set up for a three, got their guy open, and he front rimmed it.
25, 12 for Hall; if he’s not conference Player of the Year I’ll be amazed. 13, 2, 6 for Onda, 13 for Poly. Rand and Cary fouled out and Hall ended up with 4. I barely managed to avoid a T, which would not have been good in this close game. We won this one inside.

Only Manhattan is 1 back with 3 to play.

8-18, 4-9 Fairfield is here. We won by 11 at their place. They have trouble scoring.

2/20: 79-66. Up by only 2 at the half. We finally pulled away with about 5 minutes left. 23, 5 for Hall, 15, 4 for Onda. We won it inside.

Geof Hall strained a hammy late in the game. Probably out until the post season.

We’re ranked! #25.

At 11-16, 7-7 Canisius. We won by 18 at home. We should beat these guys but there are no guarantees on the road.

2/23: 75-71. It was close all night with the biggest lead being 9. We were down 1 at the half. The 2nd half was back and forth and close ‘til the end. At the end we made our free throws, amazingly enough given how bad we are from the line.

19, 9, 3 for Rand, 16, 5, 3 for Poly, 17 with 5 assists for Onda.

Manhattan lost so we clinch 1st place with 1 to play.

We end the regular season at home vs. 12-16, 7-8 Mount ST Mary. They crushed us by 19 at their place, maybe our worst loss of the season. They beat us badly inside and their bench was better than ours. My guys want this; it has really shown in practice. We’re really focused.

Hall is back.

2/27: 100-88. Great O, not much D. It was close for about 10 minutes. We took a 12 point lead and then they came back to be down only 7 at the half. We led for the entire 2nd half. 28, 13 for Hall, maybe his best game of the season. 23, 5 for Mury. Great bench play with 13, 1, 8 for Hemp and 12, 8 for Poly. +16 in the paint, +9 RBs.

3/5: We end the regular season at 24-5, 13-3. NET #25, ranked #21. We win the MAA by 3 games. We were 15-0 at home.

+10.1 PPG, 2nd in PPG in the nation, 3rd in assists, 3rd in total offense. +4.8 RBs, -5 TOs, and 10.1 per game, which is outstanding. +5.7 assists, +4.5 steals.

Geof Hall led us in scoring with 19.9, and RBs with 7.3. 12.8 for Mury, 11.7, 6.5 for Rand. 6.6 assists for Onda with only 2.3 TOs.

We’re headed to the post season with high expectations.

We sold out every regular season home game.

[Wayne23]

3/7: It’s 13-17 Mount ST Mary in the quarter finals. We just beat them by 12 in the season finale after losing badly there earlier in the season.

3/8: 82-78. WAY too close! But it’s the post season, “survive and advance.” 27 lead changes, 11 ties. We were down 1 at the half. It stayed close for most of the 2nd. We went on a late run to get the lead to 10. They chipped away, getting it to a one possession game 3 times late. They needed threes at the end and they weren’t falling.

20 and 4 for sub Mick Poly, 15 for Hall, who was in foul trouble all the way, as was Rand. 10, 10 for Cary, 12 for Emma. +18 in the paint and that was the difference.

#4 seed Saint’s Peter, 19-11, 9-7, in the semifinals. We won by 6 at home in our only meeting. On paper we’re much better. We won it outside when we played earlier. They matched us inside. I’ve challenged my big guys to turn that around this time.

3/9: 86-87. They hit a halfcourt prayer at the buzzer but we should never have put ourselves in that position.

18 lead changes, 12 ties, never more than an 8 point spread. We were down 1 at the break. Onda fouled out late and that hurt us. Hemp played well in his place but it wasn’t the same. At the end we hit an old fashioned three by Hall to lead by 2 with 1.3 seconds left. They got a pass to halfcourt and their PG hit the shot.

25, 15 for Hall, 17, 8 for Rand. We destroyed them inside but their guards badly outplayed ours. The fact that we missed 18 free throws was huge. Our bench was -15.

I am very frustrated by this loss and it will hurt us regarding NCAA tourney seeding.

3/9: Manhattan won the tourney beating Saint’s Peter by 19.

[Wayne23]

3/12: 23-6, 13-3, #24, NET #27. Let’s see what we get for a seed.

#6 Midwest. We play #11 seed Chattanooga, 22-11. They’re pretty good outside but we seem to be better inside.

3/16: 95-86 and CCSU’s first ever NCAA tourney win! They scored the first basket and never led again. We were up 20 at the break. They got as close as 7 in the 2nd but no closer.

23, 0, 5, 3 for Mury, 13, 2, 4, 3 for Hemp, 13, 4 for Hall, 12, 4, 1, 3 for Emma. Their back court was as good as any we’ve seen this year but our guards held their own. We won it up front though.

#3 seed, #12 ranked West Virginia, 25-8 in the 2nd round. Their PG is out with a torn Achilles but his backup is good. We’ll have our hands full with this team. They can play both inside and outside and they have a solid bench.

3/18: 92-91! They started fast and before we knew it we were down by 17. We got it to 12 at halftime but it was an uphill climb. We played really good, disciplined ball in the 2nd and syeadily got the lead smaller and smaller. We took the lead a couple of times. They brought it down the court late and their excellent Sg hit a 15 footer off a screen. That put them up 1 with 11.7 to play. We brought it down and tried to set up a play for Hall but he was too well covered. We got it backdoor to Cary who slammed it with 0.6 left for the win.

25, 7 for Cary in his best game all year. 15, 11 for Hall, 16, 6 for Rand, 13, 3 for Onda. Their starting guards combined for 55! We definitely won this one inside. My biggest win as a head coach.

We’re in the Sweet Sixteen!

#10 seed Washington, 23-11, upset #7, then #2 to get to this point. They’re very good at 1 and 5 but we think we’re as good as they are. They’ve played a strong schedule though, 3-2 vs. ranked teams.

Post game press conference (excerpts): “Benny Hite, EPSN. Coach, how does it feel to be in the Sweet Sixteen.”

“It feels very sweet indeed. We’re thrilled to be here.”

“Can you beat Washington?”

“They’re a very good team and they’re hot. We’ll need to play very good ball.”

[Wayne23]

3/23: 81-65! The first half was really close and ended with the score 38-38. Hall picked up 2 quick fouls and sat for most of the half. Then we took control in the 2nd. Halfway through we were up by 12 and it stayed in double digits from there on.

21, 13, 3, 3 blocks for Hall, 15, 4, 3 for Rand, 13 for Hemp, 12 for Onda.

Sub forward Colt Honn sprained a toe and is probably through for the year.

We’re in the Elite Eight where we face #4 seed, #17 ranked Maryland, 27-9, who upset #1 seed Creighton. On paper we’re in big trouble. They are extremely talented, especially outside. We think we have the edge inside. They’ve played a very strong schedule, going 5-4 vs. ranked teams. Still, we think if we play well we have a shot.

3/25: 76-103. They were too good. Their SF had 35 and 11.

It was close for 25 minutes. We were down only 4 at the half. After about 5 minutes of the 2nd half they went on a 15-2 run and that pretty much did us in.

23, 4 for Hall, 15, 5 for Poly.

What a run we had in the big dance!

Post game press conference (excerpts): “Joe Moore, EPSN. Coach, you ran into a buzz saw tonight.”

“Yes we did. I’m proud of the way my kids played. They never quit. But Maryland was just too strong.”

“Will you be back here next season?”

“I haven’t given any thought to that but 4 starters coming back, and a great group of recruits coming in so it would take an offer from a very good team for me to even consider leaving.”

[Wayne23]

4/3: #11 ranked Villanova wins it all, beating Maryland by 20.

4/4: Awards: Geof Hall is MAA POY and 1st team along with Ben Mury. Mal Rand is Def. POY. I get COY again.

4/9: The phone is ringing off the wall and there are some tempting offers but I’m staying. We look like we’re going to be really good next year.

4/23: I ask for a facilities upgrade again.

No.

“Jesus Christ, Sam. What do we have to do! If I’d known you were going to say no I would have left. You can bet your butt I’ll leave next year!”

“Calm down. The money wasn’t there.”

“Bullshit. You gave it to the football program, which went 2-9. I am NOT happy about this!”

What a season! 28-7, ranked #24, won the regular season in conference and got to the Elite Eight.

The last cyclone went on for 9 days. It finally blew itself out and things are calm again. The noise from the cyclone made it so hard to sleep I went into the holo and slept there.

[Wayne23]

5/1: Recruit class #40.

We’re not able to meet our Expected to Spend number.

5/29: We lose forward Colt Honn. He would have played but not started. We have 2 spots open for recruits and we’ll go for a big and a guard.

6/5: Not having much luck with transfers so far.

6/9: We get a guard.

6/12: Still hoping to get a big guy.

6/19: We get an SF. He looks decent.

6/25: We don’t have the money to go to any camps.

6/26: 3 seniors, all big guys so that’s what we’re looking for.

Finally, the robots are done. It took WAY longer than expected but both of them seem to be exactly what I want them to be. I’m moving into the holo pretty much permanently. I’ll come out every day briefly to check systems and the robots, but otherwise I’ll be living in the holo. It’s safer.

[Wayne23]

7/11: We have some recruits showing interest.

Life in the holo is about what I expected. I can choose to be alone or with people. I’m a person who needs alone time but not all the time.

Sometimes the being with people thing works well but at other times I can’t shake the fact that it isn’t real, and that leaves me depressed. It’s not at all easy to be the only person here, and maybe the only person anywhere.

I’ve managed to be able to access programs via my phone which is great. I can switch from one program to another without moving.

7/31: We offer to a PF and 2 Cs.

8/7: Mel Rand is #24 on the Norton List, our first player to make the list.

9/18: We get one, a PF, #71, lose 1.

Stronger pre-conf. schedule. Going to Poseidon’s Challenge.

9/25: We lose 1.

10/2: We lose another one.

1st day of practice. We’re not quite as good in the back court as we were but we are very strong inside.

10/9: We lose both guys. Not so sure we’re going to get anyone else. We look at a couple of foreign players.

10/16: We get a C, #163.

10/30: Still chasing a big guy.

11/15: The season starts tomorrow. We play South Dakota ST here. It’s their opener too, so we don’t know much. They play mostly man and they don’t run many plays on O.

Here’s our lineup:

We’re going to give roughly equal minutes to 3 guards.

Junior Ruf Onda will start at the Point again this season. He’s very good with the ball and a solid defender.

Frosh Jon Pryo is at SG. He’s a big time scorer, a very good defender, and he’s good with the ball.

Frosh Marq Stew will play both guard spots. He does it all well.

Our 4th guard, soph Ric Coli, will only get minutes if we have injuries.

Soph Jay News is at SF. He’s really upped his game since last season.

Senior Mal Rand is back at PF. He is one of the best defenders in the nation and he’s a big time scorer.

Senior Geof Hall is back in the middle. He was our best player last season. His D could be better though.

Junior Jim Wynn is the first big man off the bench. He’s a solid rebounder. Juco junior Bri Mixs is a scorer and a decent defender. Frosh Luke Henn will have a tough time getting minutes. Senior Mate Emma will also struggle to get playing time. We expected him to transfer out and were surprised when he stayed.

We’re picked to win the MAAC. Iona and Manhattan look to be our toughest opponents.

I’m spending too much time in bars, drinking too much and chasing women. The women are programmed to be as real as possible, there not just pushovers.

The drinking and skirt chasing are no doubt signs of depression, but how can I not be at least somewhat depressed given the situation.

Since the season is starting there will be less time for my ‘extra curricular activities.

[Wayne23]

11/16: 86-66. We led all the way, by as many as 30. Up 21 at the half. 14, 5 for Rand, 12, 6 for sub Jim Wynn, 13, 3 for sub Bri Mixs, 12, 0, 3, 3 for Pryo, 10, 9 for Hall. The three blind mice were not kind to us, as usual. +24 in the paint.

Bowling Green ST is here. This is their opener. They try to push it inside on O and play mostly man on D.

11/19: 82-74. We led all the way but never by more than 12. 16, 6 for Hall. 6 players had 10 or more. 13, 6 for Rand, 11, 3, 6 for Onda.

Headed to Poseidon’s Challenge. We’re the #5 seed and we play #4 Louisiana-Lafayette, 1-0. They are very good at 1 and 5 and won their opener easily.

11/21: 79-67. They started fast and led throughout the 1st half, up by 7 at the break. They completely shut down our inside game. At the half I switched to a 3 guard offense putting Hemp at SF, and it worked! We closed the gap and took our first lead after 8 minutes, and led from that point on.

Our 3 guards combined for 64! 33, 1, 4 for Pryo, 17, 1, 3 for Stew, 14, 3, 7 for Onda. We definitely won this one outside.

#1 seed, #7 ranked North Carolina, 3-0, in the semifinals. Their very good PG has a sore foot but he’ll play. On paper we’re in big trouble. This is a very good team.

11/22: 83-103. We couldn’t stop their high powered offense. They scored 61 in the first half. We were never really in it though we played hard all the way.

22, 6 for Hall, 15, 5, 10, 3 for Onda. Sub Jim Wynn had 14 and 3. We were +16 in the paint but it wasn’t enough.

1-2 Denver is here next. We’re much better, especially inside.

11/26: 76-64. Close first half. We were up by 4 at the half. Then we took over early in the 2nd, leading by as many as 23. 18, 9, 3 blocks for Hall, 14, 12, 3, 3 blocks for Rand. +14 for the bench. Our whole front line played in foul trouble for most of the night but no one fouled out.

We’re 4-1, NET #40.

I haven’t mentioned what powers our building. About 75 years ago an iridium/platinum based battery was developed. It is extremely powerful and is easily kept charged by exposure to even very faint light. It solved a lot of energy problems on Earth and it does the same here on Mars. We have 4 of the batteries in use, one on each side of the building. They’re placed outside so they can catch the sunlight, and the wires lead into the building. The robots go outside and check them every day but they’re working fine and should do so forever. They are in protective cages to keep them safe from cyclones.

We don’t use nearly as much power as we thought we would given that it’s only me.