DDSCB23: Alone

[Wayne23]

10/2: First day of practice. This is a better team than the ones I had at CCSU but are they good enough to compete in the ACC? Probably not. Hoping to finish in the top half of the conference but there’s no guarantee that will happen.

11/14: The season starts tomorrow with Coastal Carolina here. They run a slow paced offense with lots of sets. On D it’s mostly man and they press some. We’re picked to finish 7th in the ACC which would meet A. D. Butch Green’s goal.

Here’s the lineup and it seems to definitely be set:

Wah Scot, a junior transfer from Austin Peay is at the Point. He’s good with the ball and plays very good D.

Dan Dugg, a senior transfer from UAB is at SG.He does it all and may be our best player.

#3 guard is frosh Jim Turr. He has a lot to learn but he’ll do okay as our top sub in the backcourt. Junior Jim Bett is next, and won’t play much unless we have injuries. Frosh Marc Broy is simply not ready. Not sure he ever will be.

Senior Mate Emry is at SF. He does a lot of things well.

Junior Alex Ward is at PF. He’s our best defender, might be our best rebounder, and he can shoot.

Soph Jack More is at C. He looks very good and is an outstanding inside shooter.

1st big man off the bench is frosh Mike Stro. Mike has some skills and will likely start next season. Junior Cid Mose is a pretty good sub. He won’t hurt us when he’s in there. Junior Gary Oslo will play only if we have injuries.

I am seeing someone. Yes, I know, a “person” in the holo. But let me remind you that the holo generates people according to some formula I know nothing about. I CAN create people but the only ones

I’ve created were my bridge partners and opponents. I left the rest up to the holo program.

Anyway, I’m, still going to clubs, more in the offseason than during the season. A couple of weeks ago I met Den, that’s what she calls herself. She’s a librarian. I’ve always had a thing for “nerd girls” and that’s truly who she is. We got to chatting at the bar that first night. She’s very knowledgeable about lots of things, as you would expect, and that’s a big turn on for me. There’s nothing more attractive than intelligence, although she is definitely attractive. She’s 24, a couple of years younger than me, about 5’1”, and maybe 100 pounds. I love petite women.

I asked her to dinner and she said yes. We met at the best restaurant in “town” two nights later and we’ve seen each other several times. We have no trouble finding things to talk about although she’s never seen a college basketball game. I inviter her to the opener so she’ll be in the crowd- my seats, which are terrific. Let’s see what happens.

[Wayne23]

11/15: 93-61. Great start to my time here at NC ST! We led all the way. Up 21 at the half. 31, 15, 3 steals for Jack More (WOW!), 19, 5, 4 for Dugg, 14, 6 for Emry, 11, 4 for Ward.

+27 RBs+36 in the paint.

Kent ST is here next. They run a balanced attack with lots of free wheeling. On D it’s all man.

11/18: 80-60. We again led all the way. Up by 11 at halftime. 28, 8 for More who looks fantastic. 14, 2, 4, 4 for Scot, 11, 6, 3 for Ward. +28 in the paint.

Off to Poseidon’s Challenge. We’re the #7 seed and we face #2 Kansas ST, 1-1. They average only 59.5.

11/21: 90-77. I just might have myself a team here! They started fast and built an 11 point lead by halftime. We made some adjustments and outscored them 52-28 in the 2nd half. 30, 7, 3 steals for More. 14, 6 for sub C/F Mike Stro. +24 in the paint. Good bench play.

It’s #3 seed Auburn, 1-2, in the semifinals. They play good D.

11/22: 98-88 in OT in a real shootout. First time we’ve been challenged. We led throughout regulation and almost blew an 18 point lead when they hit a 24 footer at the end of regulation. We owned them in OT though. 32, 10 for More who has been amazing so far. 13, 4, 3 for Emry, 11, 11, 5 for Dugg, 12 for #3 guard Jim Turr. +16 RBs, +26 in the paint. We have been excellent down low.

#1 seed Iowa, 4-0, in the title game. On paper it’s a toss up. They are very good inside and their SG is a scorer. They play really tough D.

11/23: 71-64 and the tourney title! They held us to our lowest score by far this season but our D stopped them; they shot 30.6%. We led for the final 36 minutes, by as many as 13. Up 10 at the break.

22, 10, 5 blocks for tourney MOP Jack More. 14, 8 for Ward. +20 in the paint. They shot 21-21 from the line.

Den and I are still doing well together. She loved the two games she came to and seems to be an emerging basketball fan.

[Wayne23]

Akron, 1-1, is here. This is a team we should beat.

11/25: 90-70. It was close for about 28 minutes. Tied at the half. In the middle of the 2nd we went on a 14-3 run to break it open. We led by as many as 25. 26, 7, 2, 4 steals, 3 blocks for More. 21, 3 for Dugg, 11, 7 for Wrad, who has been steady. +24 in the paint, where we have done most of our damage so far this season.

We’ve managed to avoid serious foul trouble so far.

Ranked! #14, NET #11!

0-3 Charleston is here. Their SG has a wrist injury but he’ll start. They’re actually favored, which I don’t understand. They got beat up by 2 ranked teams. They’re good outside but they give up 81.3 per game.

11/29: 92-72. Weirdly, 3 of our 7 wins have been by exactly 20 points.

We led all the way, by as many as 33. Up 20 at halftime. 27, 17, 3 for More, 16, 5, 5 for Dugg, 15, 6, 4 for Ward. Good bench play. +18 in the paint. Emry and More both ran into foul trouble but the bench stepped up.

At 1-3 Denver in our first road game (neutral court games aren’t really road games). They have a lot of trouble scoring.

12/2: 97-84. Our D was NOT good. They led by as many as 7 early then we went on a 15-0 run. Up 13 at halftime. They never got closer than 7 in the 2nd half.

27, 6, 3 blocks for More who is averaging 27.9, 10.0, in our first 8 games; he did all that despite foul trouble. 19, 3, 6 for Emry, 15, 2, 7, 5 for Dugg. We definitely won this one inside.

More is 2nd in the nation in scoring.

ST John, 5-1, is here. They’re playing well. We’re heavily favored but they do a lot of things well.

We’re now ranked #12.

12/6: 103-75. Easier than I expected it to be. We led for the last 38 minutes, by as many as 30. Up 18 after a 58 point 1st half.

26, 12 for More, 18, 6 for Ward, 18, 1, 8 for Scot, 14, 5 for Emry. Our entire front court was in foul trouble all night. The subs did a great job. I was not happy with the officials and got T’d up early in the 2nd half.

+18 RBs, +34 in the paint.

I’m amazed at how well we’re playing so far. Transfers More and Dugg are the big reasons.

7-1 Alabama is here. Their SF is out with a broken wrist. He broke it in their last game. This injury will hurt them as he was a key player.

We’re ranked #11.

12/13: 88-79. 15 lead changes 3 ties. We were up 6 at the break. They took the lead 3 times in the 2nd half but with 5 minutes left we were up 14 and we took it home from there.

23, 11 for More but he was in foul trouble again. 15, 1, 3 for Dugg, all in the 2nd half. He played only 3 minutes in the 1st due to fouls. 14, 6 for sub Mike Stro, 10,2 ,7 for PG Wah Scot. We were a
dismal 10-26 from the line which is what kept the game close. +20 in the paint. We won this one outside. They outplayed our big men.

Our final pre-conference game is at 5-2 Wisconsin. They haven’t lost at home. They play stifling D and are favored to win. They do most of their scoring outside.

We fall to #14, which I don’t understand. We’re beating good teams easily.

12/20: 84-66 and we run the table in the pre-conf. season. We led all the way, by as many as 28. Up 13 at the half. 35, 4 for More, 13, 6, 6, 3 for Dugg, 11, 8 for Emry. We shot 60.3%. +32 in the paint, +13 RBs.

11-0, ranked #21, NET #4. No idea why our ranking keeps dropping.

+17.2 PPG, #1 in the nation in PPG. +9.9 RBs, -4 turnovers, 11.9 per game.

Jack More leads us with 27.9 and 9.7. Dan Dugg gets 12.9,Alex Ward gets 10.6 and 5.9. Wah Scot gets 7 assist but 4.4 TOs.

[Wayne23]

12/25: We start ACC play with 7-4 Clemson, here. They’re favored, which is bull****. We expect to beat this team.

12/26: 97-77. Another 20 point win, our 4th. I used the fact that we were underdogs as motivation and it sure worked. We never trailed and led by as many as 24. Up only 10 at the half but we scored the first 10 in the 2nd half. 18, 12 for More, his lowest point total of the season. 23, 10, 3 for Ward, 20, 3, 3 for Dugg, 14, 9 for Emry.

+21 RBs, +12 in the paint, +14 on 2nd chances.

More is #1 in the nation in scoring.

Den hasn’t missed a home game and she’s getting to be a real fan. She hates the refs so she can’t be all bad!

1/1/2226: 7-3 GA Tech is here. Once again we’re underdogs and once again Jack More is rated below the other team’s C. Ridiculous! They have a very good outside game, and their C is pretty good. They play tough D.

1/2: 83-69. It was close through the 1st half. We led by only 4 at the break. We took control in the 2nd and they never got close late in the game.

29, 9, 4 blocks for More, 14, 4, 2, 3 for Dugg, 11, 6, 10, 3 for Scot, 12, 7 for Ward. +24 in the paint.

“I’m really bummed that your next 3 games are away.”

“That’s the way it works in the conference, Den, half the games are home, half away.”

She LOVES to watch our games. She’ll watch the road games on TV

At 4-8, 0-3 Miami. They have trouble scoring, 67.8 to our 90.9.

1/6: 82-86. We were bound to lose eventually but this was a bad loss. We shot only 38.6% and we missed 12 free throws, 21-33. 5-23 on threes. We plyed terrible D, they shot 54%.

34 lead changes 19 ties so the lead changed hands on nearly every possession. We missed three shots in the last minute.

23, 9, 5 blocks for More, 16, 2, 2, 5 for Dugg, 14, 11 for Stro.

[Wayne23]

At 7-8, 0-4 Cl5mson. We won by 20 at home. They score most of their points down low but they don’t rebound well.

1/11: 90-79. We led all the way, by as many as 18. Up 9 at halftime.

More had his worst night of the season, 6 and 8. He played only 16 minutes due to foul trouble and I got T’d up on one of the calls against him.

17, 6, 3 for Ward, 15, 3, 9 for Scot, 15, 9 for Stro, who is an excellent sub. 13, 4, 3, 4 for Dugg but 6 TOs, 12, 11 for Cid Mose from the bench. +10 for the bench. +14 RBs.

At #13 Pitt, 12-4, 3-2. They get most of their points outside. This should be a challenge.

1/13: 94-92. Hell of a game! We took an early lead, going up by 11 with 8 to play in the 1st. Up 6 at the half. They came back in the 2nd and took the lead several times. They scored to tie it with 4.4 seconds to play. We came down and got it to More who went over his man for a layup for the win.

WAY too many fouls called, 47, 27 against us.

23, 5 for More, 16, 6 for Stro. Scot had 10 TOs. +10 in the paint.

5 teams in a virtual tie for 1st in the ACC.

10-7, 1-5 Wake Forest is here. We’re better inside.

1/18: 83-74. 21 lead changes 13 ties. Up by 1 at halftime. We took charge in the last 3 minutes.

36, 13 for More, 12, 5, 4, 3 for Dugg. Their back court was outstanding. We won it inside. +11 RBs, +12 in the paint, +15 on 2nd chances.

#19 Virginia, 14-3, 7-1, is here. They’re ½ game ahead of us, in 1st place. As is often the case this season it will be our inside game vs. their outside game.

1/20: 79-61. Less trouble than I expected. More and Emry were in foul trouble all night but Stro stepped up. It was close for a half. We took charge early in the second. 14, 12 for Stro, 12, 8, 2, 3, 3 for Ward, 13, 8 for More. +12 RBs.

We play there later in the season.

Back up F/C Cid Mose strained a hammy. Out 2 weeks or so.

18-1, 7-1, up a ½ game on Syracuse and Virginia with 3 other teams close.

Den and I are still together and doing well. Evidently, she has some kind of a “life” when she’s not actively in one of my programs. She reports on all kinds of activities. The computer program is very realistic and I often forget that she is only a simulation.

The building has been running smoothly.

[Wayne23]

At 9-10, 2-6 Louisville. They’re 1-5 vs. ranked teams and they give up more points than they score but they’re favored. We’ll see.

We’re ranked #12. #2 NET.

1/25: 81-92. I guess the “experts” were right. But we didn’t play very well.

They took the lead early and hung on though we kept it close for more than 30 minutes. Down 3 at the break. 21, 14 for More, 20, 3, 3 for Scot, 11, 6 for Mose.

They won it outside. Tied for 2nd, 1 back of #4 Syracuse.

At #14 North Carolina, 13-6, 5-4. They’re 12-1 at home and we’re definitely in danger of losing 2 in a row for the first time this season. We’ll need to play well and contain their outside game.

1/27: 78-87. It was close until late in the game. We led by 1 at the break. More was on fire. When he fouled out with 4:11 left NC took charge.

More had 34 and 4. 16 for Scot. They went to the line 35 times to our 15 and I took a late T in protest. We didn’t do enough to stop their outside game.

+14 RBs, +18 in the paint.

At the halfway point in ACC play we’re 18-3, 7-3, 1 ½ out of 1st, in 3rd place.

It doesn’t get any easier as #17 Kona, 15-6, 6-4, comes to town. They have a very good C and a good SG.

2/1: 85-81. They jumped out to an early lead and got it to 11. We were down 7 at the half. But their C was in foul trouble with 3 and we planned to pound it inside in the 2nd, which we did. That paid off. We eventually took the lead and held on.

29, 20 for More, 14, 2, 5 for Scot, 11, 5, 4 for Dugg. Our bench was the difference, +10.

+15 RBs, +20 in the paint.

We’re in 3rd place, 1 back of 1st.

#4 Syracuse, 19-3, -92, is here. We expect a challenge. They’re very good and play strong D. This won’t be easy.

2/3: 84-64. Great win! We exploded out of the gate. 51-26 at halftime. They made a bit of a comeback in the 2nd but never got the lead to single digits.

27, 5 for More, 12, 2, 3 for Ward. Our other starters and Stro all played well.

+12 RBs, +22 in the paint.

20-3, 9-3, 1 back of 1st place #5 Florida ST with 8 to play.

Den is talking about moving in. I really don’t want that. My idea of an ideal relationship is being able to turn off her program when I want to. I’m too much of a loner to want a full time relationship.

[Wayne23]

At 12-12, 3-10 Wake Forest. We won by 9 at home. Jack More and very good inside play beat them last time we met.

2/8: 87-77. More, Emry, and Stro all fouled out even though we went to the line 17 more times. Terrible officiating, they called every phantom foul imaginable.

20, 4, 3, 9 steals for Dugg, who was a demon on D. 17, 4 for More. We won it outside.

In a 3 way tie for 1st, ranked #10, NET #2.

At 15-8, 8-6 Virginia. We won easily at home, by 21, but it’s rarely easy on the road. They have a solid outside game and are favored. Our bench was the difference last time.

2/10: 95-92. Great win in a shootout! It was back and forth early. Up 6 after a fast paced 1st half. The lead changed hands several times in the second. We built up a good lead but they chipped away and came down on their last possession needing a three to tie it. Dave Dugg played great D on their SG who missed the three long.

33, 5, 3, 5 steals for More, 18 and great D for Dugg, 13, 8, 4 for Emry. +22 in the paint.

We’re alone in 1st place in the ACC. At 16-8, 9-5 GA Tech. We won by 14 at our place. We out played them inside and outside last time.

2/13: 66-103. Worst we’ve looked all season. We just didn’t show up and we never led. Down 11 at the half and the 2nd half was a disaster.

17, 16 for More but no one else did much of anything. We shot 32.9% to their 59%.

Back to a 3 way tie for 1st.

#5 Florida ST, 21-4, 10-4, is here. It’s their very good outside game vs. our inside game. They play good D and have a strong bench.

2/15: 78-89. We’re simply not playing well right now. I HATE a home loss! It was close for a long time, down by 4 at the break and we took the lead early in the 2nd. Then it all went to hell.

34, 12 for More but his man had 35 and 8. Dugg played only 19 minutes before fouling out. We lost it to their back court although we weren’t great inside.

With 4 to play we’re 22-5, 11-5, ½ game back of 1st and in 3rd place. #8, NET #1.

Den and I are still “negotiating” regarding her moving in. It is hurting our relationship in that we want very different things. I’ll give her up before I let her move in. I just don’t want that.

[Wayne23]

9-15, 4-11 Boston College is here. This is a team we should beat.

2/17: 95-63. A real blowout. 54-27 at halftime.

22. 7 for More, 21, 7, 9, 5 for Dugg, 18, 1,8 for Scot, 13, 6, 3 for Mose.

+16 RBs, +36 in the paint.

At 15-10, 8-8 Va. Tech. They’re strong inside and good at home.

2/20: 98-76. A rare easy road win. It was never close after the first few minutes.

More was in foul trouble all night. 20, 2, 4, 4 for Dugg, 21, 9 for Stro, 13, 11, 3 blocks for Ward, 13, 9 for Mose, 11, 8 for More. +18 RBs, +32 in the paint.

Last home game is vs. Duke, 12-14, 6-11. A rare down year for Duke. We should beat these guys, especially at home.

2/27: 76-64. We started fast and built a big lead. Up 14 at halftime.

22, 7 for More despite fouls, 13, 4, 8 but a horrendous 13 TOs for Scot, 14 for Emry. +16 in the paint.

Two subs, Jim Turr, our #3 guard, and F/C Gary Oslo, were injured. Both are out for about two weeks.

Our last regular season game is a tough one, at #7 Syracuse, 22-8, 12-7. We won by 20 at home. Solid inside game. They’re a big favorite. Strong D and good inside play won it for us last time.

We could finish anywhere from 1st to 3rd depending what happens on this last day of the regular season.

3/3: 72-86. We were never in this one, down 15 at the half.

20, 6 for Dugg, 16, 9 for More, 12, 8 for Stro. Their starting 3 inside guys combined for 64 to 31 for ours.

We end regular season play tied for 2nd in the ACC but the #3 seed. 25-6, 14-6, #9, NET #4.

+9.7 PPG, #2 in PPG, +9.3 RBs, #5 in rebounding, -1.4 turnovers but 13.8 per game, which is way too many.

Jack More led us in scoring with 24.6, and RBs with 9.5. Dugg gets 13.3, 4.5, 3.3 assists. No one else is in double figures in scoring. Wah Scot gets 6.5 assists but 4.6 TOs. Our terrific sub Mike Stro gets 7.7 and 6.3 RBs.

No one is leaving early for the NBA.

It’s over between Den and me. I’m removing her from the program.

[Wayne23]

We play #14 seed Boston College, 12-19, 5-15, in the quarter finals. They shocked Virginia to get here. We beat them by 32 in the regular season.

3/10: 103-75. A lot like our previous meeting. They were down only 7 at the break but we busted it open in the 2nd. 40, 10 for More, his highest point total of the season. 19, 3, 8 for Scot but 7 TOs. 14,
6 for Ward. +26 RBs, +40 in the paint, +15 on 2nd chances.

We definitely won it inside.

Post game press conference (excerpts): “Rob Long, WRAL here in Raleigh. Great win coach.”

“More was immense tonight, and we played well as a team.”

“Any post season goals?”

“We’d like to at least make it to the ACC title game and hopefully win that. We’d like to get to at least the Sweet 16 in the NCAAS, and hopefully further.”

“What about next season?”

“Not really thinking about that yet but we have 3 good looking rookies coming in. We’ll miss Dan Dugg and Mate Emry.”

#15 ranked, #7 seed North Carolina, 21-11, 11-9, in the semis. They beat us by 9 at their place and we’ll need to bring our best game with us.

3/11: 81-70. It was back and forth for about 10 minutes. Then we went on a 9-1 run. We led by 9 at halftime. The 2nd half was pretty even and they never got closer than 4.

20, 5, 3 blocks for More, 17, 4, 6, but 6 TOs for Scot, 11, 7 for Mose. +20 in the paint, +8 RBs.

Once again, we won it inside.

It’s #6 ranked, #1 seed Florida ST, 28-5, 15-5, in the title game. They gave us our only home loss, winning by 11. They beat us outside and held us even inside.

Jack More hurt his calf. He’s not 100% but he’ll start.

This will be very, very tough with More at less than 100%.

3/12: 88-92. It was a war. We were terrific inside but they killed us outside.

22 lead changes, 16 ties. Up 2 at the half. It went back and forth throughout the 2nd. It was tied with a minute left. Then we missed a three and they hit one. We missed another three and fouled. They hit 1 of 2. We missed a late three.

23, 12 for More playing hurt. 16, 7 for Stro, 12, 3, 3 for Dugg, 11 each for Ward and Emry.

+28 in the paint but it wasn’t enough.

More will be 1005 for the NCAAs.

We’re 27-7, 14-6, #10, NET #3. Hoping for a #1 or at least a #2 seed.

[Wayne23]

#1 seed Midwest! We play #16 seed Citadel, 17-15. This is a mismatch, as #1 vs. #16 always is.

3/16: 89-83. WAY too close! They had no quit and we were up by only 2 at the half. They took the lead 3 times in the 2nd before we finally went on a big run to go up by 16 fairly late. They still didn’t quit and got it to 4 before we finally won it.

32, 18, 4 blocks for More, 17, 3 for Dugg, 14, 6 for Stro, who needs to start next year.

They gave us all we wanted!

It’s #9 seed Maryland, 22-11, in the 2nd round. They’re very good outside but I don’t think they can keep up with us inside.

3/18: 86-95 and that ends our season, a little earlier than I had hoped.

The first half was a shootout, 53-50. They stayed hot in the 2nd but we cooled off. Their guards beat ours, 44-33, which was about the difference in the score. Our bigs played well but our bench was -7.

22, 5 for More, 20, 1, 4 for Scot, 13, 5, 9, 4 for Dugg in his last game.