Hoops in Space

[Wayne23]

Hoops in Space

April 15, 2099: 10 space ships. Going through space about 100 miles apart but all connected, all part of the same mission. 4000 people on each ship for a total of 40,000. My ship has the Commander who oversees everything.

The mission? To explore as much of the solar system and then the galaxy as possible. It will be slow going, 87% of light speed. That seems fast but the galaxy is so vast it will take generations to explore a significant part of it.

The ship is very modern and very comfortable. We have everything. The living quarters are sparse and small. People mostly live alone or with a partner. Some live in small groups, but not many.
I live alone. My quarters have a double bed that folds against a wall, a reclining chair, and a desk with a computer. We all have phones that communicate both on ship and with all of the ships in the fleet.

The recreational facilities are holosuites, ten on each deck. They are programmed to do almost anything imaginable but can be programmed for new things.

Each ship has 25 decks, 20 include living quarters, each deck houses 200 people. Bathrooms are shared between two adjoining living spaces. There are “public” bathrooms as well.

We work 7 days a week, 6 hours a day- that’s everyone except the Commander, the Captain and his 2nd, 3rd, etc. They are always on duty but can take time off as needed. They work it out among themselves. There’s a Council that oversees the Commander. It is made up of the 10 Captains and 3 other representatives from each ship. 99% of the time they meet virtually.

It was thought that a 6 hour shift would leave plenty of free time even though it was every day, but that’s something that could be changed. We’ll see how it goes.

Who am I? I’m Jake Geer, 25 years old. I am the night shift navigator, midnight-6 a.m. I’m 6’4”, 192. I played college hoops and coached during my Master’s year, and up until the ship left Earth. I am also a hiker and an avid bridge player. I read a great deal.

I hike in the holosuites, using preprogrammed hikes, some easy, some very challenging. Some on trails, some just “bushwhacking” through the forest.

It was my idea to start a basketball league among the 10 ships. Each ship has 3 or 4 conferences, and 30-35 teams- all college teams. To be a little more clear, the players are members of the crew designated as students at a given college, although they’re not really college students. They have the normal college eligibility, and they can choose to leave early even though, for now, we have no pro leagues.

Each team has a head coach, 2 assistants, and an Athletic Director.

We were overwhelmed with people who wanted to play or coach, and there is also a women’s league.

Every 5 years eligibility will start over again. When the players get too old we’ll go with virtual players.

We will start the first season, actually the off season on May 1, and go through the seasons as though this were real college hoops.

[Wayne23]

5/1: We decide to run a practice season to get the kinks out.

4/9/2100: We’re well on our way, closing in on Titan, one of Saturn’s moons that may have the right conditions for life. Earth’s Moon has never been colonized, though there’s been a lot of talk. Same with Mars. Some attempts were made, but they never came to anything.

I get hired as the coach of the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes in the American Athletic Conference.

We’ll go with Triangle and Motion on Offense, and play strictly man to man on D. When we press it will be man to man.

All 3 assistants are staying which will help.

Jen Kerr, my A. D., wants us to finish in the top half and go to the NIT.

4/23: I ask for money.

We get $10,000.

While we’re circling Titan there’s not much for me to do as navigator. I still report for work and monitor the instruments, looking for anything unexpected. But there’s no course to plot, no discussions with the on duty pilot. Easy times. I’ve adjusted to working 7 days a week and I don’t mind it. I sleep about 7 hours, 5 at night and a couple of naps. The rest of the day is mine.

We eat in cafeterias. There are all kinds, each serving its own type of cuisine. We can eat at any café we choose. I’ve tried them all in the almost full year we’ve been in space, and I have my favorites.

[Wayne23]

5/1: Recruit class #110.

5/22: 6 guys leave. We encouraged 5 of them to go. We’re looking for 6 big guys. We need at least 4.

We’re finishing up our exploration of Titan. I have nothing to do with that but Leah Raye lives next door to me. Exploration is her job. She tells me that after exhaustive work the team has come to the conclusion that there’s intelligent life in Titan’s oceans. They’ve made contact and received clear indications that whatever is down there knows it is being communicated with. That’s as far as it went though. But still, it’s the first concrete evidence of life beyond Earth. Pretty impressive! We leave orbit tomorrow. We’ll check out the other moons, at least briefly.

5/26: 0-6. We try again.

5/29: 0-6. We offer to 6 again. Most are the same guys.

We leave Saturn’s orbit. We will head directly out of the solar system.

6/2: We get 4 bigs! 2 more if we can get them.

6/5: We offer to one. We’d love to get this guy.

6/9: 0-1. We’re done.

It’s going to be a long time before we come near a planetary system again but my job is now more important. As navigator I keep us on course and watch for the unexpected. The chance of us colliding with anything are extremely minimal but it IS possible and I need to keep a lookout. The ship’s system will alert us if anything dangerous crosses our path but the sooner we become aware of it the more options we have.

6/25: We’ll go to the Georgia Superstar camp and three regional, Memphis, Houston, and Vegas.

6/26: First day of recruiting. We need 6 big guys if we can get them.

Going through space with no issues. My work station is right next to the co-pilot on duty since we work closely together. We’re on the Bridge, of course. When none of the line officer are here the co-pilot is in charge. If he or she steps out, I am in charge but they don’t step out unless they need to use the bathroom or something like that. There is an assistant co-pilot and an assistant navigator so we CAN step out if need be.

[Wayne23]

7/7: Recruiting is ongoing. My recruiting assistant and I are talking to and texting with and visiting lots of recruits. A few are showing some interest.

7/17: We offer to 6.

Things went on in the world before we boarded the ships, of course. In 2041 Werner and Rosa Klemt invented an anti-aging process. It involved three injections followed by annual boosters. Most people took the shots but many did not. Of those who did, between 2041 and the time we boarded the ship not one person died of “old age,” “natural causes,” or illness. People still died in plane and car crashes, some were murdered, some committed suicide, others died other violent deaths but not one person died otherwise. On the ships no one has died.

The Klemt’s deservedly won the Nobel in medicine.

Then in 2077 Rosa developed a “reverse aging” process, again, three injections followed by annual boosters. She thought it would bring people back to around age 25. As of now older people who took the shots are regrowing hair, reporting more energy, and generally looking younger. The process of getting to age 25 can be a long one for older people, taking decades, but it clearly seems to be working.

Rosa won her second Nobel.

No one is calling this an “immortality drug” but it clearly extends life. Only time will tell how much it extends life. I see it as a passport to new learning. If I'm going to have all this time I can learn all kinds of new things. I'm taking piano lessons and studying astrophysics.

[Wayne23]

9/1: My players have been working together. I can’t lead practice for another month but I’m watching them as they play. I’m feeling like we’re going to be pretty good outside but we’re going to have trouble scoring inside. We’ll see.
9/11: We lose 2. Offer to 2 others.

9/18: We get 2 PFs and a C, lose 3.

We set up a relatively soft pre-conf schedule. I want wins.

9/25: We get 2 PFs and a C to complete our recruiting.

The ten ships fly in a pattern:

1

2 3 4

5 6 7

8 9 10

We stay about 100 miles apart. It’s no more than about 350 miles to the most distant ship. We have shuttles in 3 sizes- 8 person, including the pilot, 32 person, including the pilot, and 96 person, including the pilot. We can go ship to ship via these shuttles very quickly, taking about 30 minutes to get to the most distant ship. We don’t travel between ships much but do when necessary. Virtual communication works just fine for most things. The Commander probably does the most flying from ship to ship. Our hoops teams will do that as well, of course.

[Wayne23]

10/2: First day of practice. Yep, it looks like we’re definitely a lot better outside than inside. We have 6 big guys committed to coming here next year so that will help. Let’s see how we get through this season.

11/13: Here’s our lineup:

Freshman Mel Ells is at the Point, at least for now. He’s not a great passer so that could change.

Frosh Stan Jonn is at SG. He has looked good.

#3 guard is junior Mark Dear. He could start if Ells doesn’t work out. Soph Gene Grun is probably our best ball handler and we may eventually go to him.

Senior Ike Engs is at SF.

Junior Ty Sim is at PF. He’s a good all around player.

Senior Will True is at C. Good rebounder.

1st big man off the bench is soph Jem Jess. He should get lots of minutes and could end up starting. Senior Cal Lepo is a good rebounder. Senior Del Vann will only play in garbage time.

11/15: The season starts tomorrow.

Why a basketball league this big? When we boarded the ship last year football (called soccer in the U. S. but I will call it football from now on) was the #1 sport in fan interest followed closely by basketball. No other sport came close. So we have plenty of interest in hoops. There are lots of football leagues here as well and a playoff system at the end of the season. Hoops season runs from Oct. 2 through April 4. Football runs from April 11 through September 28.

Other sports have leagues as well, hockey, baseball, softball… There are tennis and golf tournaments, too, and track meets. Given our young, active population sports are a big thing.

[Wayne23]

11/25: 2-1 in our 1st 3 games, winning our 2 home games and losing on the road.

In our opener we beat Charleston Southern 102-80 here. SG Stan Jonn and SF Ike Engs led the scoring with our bench playing well.

58-74 at Kansas City. We just couldn’t score. Our starting back court had 25 but our starting front court had a miserable 12.

102-84 over American here. Engs had 30 and 7. We’re getting good contributions from the bench. Only 6 TOs, +24 in the paint.

We’re now at the Myrtle Beach Invitational. We’re the #6 seed and we play #3 Nevada, 1-1.

76-69. Lots of lead changes and ties. We came on late to wrap it up. Our back court led the way, 17, 6, 3 for Jonn, 15 for #3 guard Mark Dera, and 11, 4, 6 for Mel Ells.

#2 seed, Virginia Tech, 3-1, in the semifinals. They’re strong inside and we’re not so it could be rough.

11/26: 82-78. A back and forth game that was close all the way. At the end we had the lead and made our late free throws to win it. Ike Engs, who has scored a lot more than expected so far, led us with
22, 8, 3 blocks. Our top 3 guards combined for 40.

#21 ranked, #1 seed Texas A & M in the title game. This is the best team we’ve played so far this season. They’re really good on D.

11/27: 73-67 and the title! We took our first lead with about 3 ½ to play. Will True, our C, had his best game of the season, 12 and 9. +12 for the bench. Good guard play.

We exceeded my expectations in this tournament. We're 5-1, which also exceeds my expectations.

I look over the lineup carefully and make no changes. We’re winning and more importantly, we’re playing well.

My typical day starts at midnight when I go to work. I stay at work until 6:00 a.m. then I go to breakfast. The cafeterias are open 24/7 but most of the restaurants are not so I eat breakfast at a cafeteria. The selections are good and it’s all you can eat.

Then I go to bed at about 7:00, sleep until noon. I go to lunch at either a café or a restaurant.

At about 1:00 I usually either hike or run. If I hike it will be for between an hour and 90 minutes. If I run it will be for 45 minutes. After that I take a nap for about an hour, and read until dinner time. At about 6:00 I go to dinner, again, at a café or a restaurant.

After dinner I find a bridge game, read, study, or socialize with friends. I go back to my quarters and nap from about 10:30 to 11:30, then get ready for work.

There’s a lot of variety in what I do after dinner. During the season it’s either practice or a game though.

[Wayne23]

1/1/2101: 5-2 in our last 7, 10-3 at the end of pre-conf play.

We beat Canisius by 20 at home, 99-79. We sure do score at home! 27 for Stan Jonn, 21, 4, 5 for Mark Dear. The front court scored a lot of points, too.

87-61 at East Texas ST. Jonn stayed hot with 29. 16, 8 for Engs.

88-70 over Chicago ST here. Jonn, Engs, and PG Mel Ells led the way. Good bench play again.

We had our first home sellout, 8,355 in attendance. Loved it!

90-95 at Anal Roberts. We led by as many as 12 but faded late. Poor D let us down, they shot 54%.

103-87 AT Alabama ST. It’s always great to bounce back from a loss. 27 for Jonn. All 5 starters were in double figures.

88-68 over Elon here. They led by 9 at the half but we went crazy in the 2nd, 57-28. 24 for Jonn, 20 for Engs.

73-84 at Stonehill. We led by 10 early in the 2nd half but then fell apart. The shots wouldn’t fall for us late in the game. PG Mel Ells fouled out in just 16 minutes and his back up, Mark Dear. Had an off night. Plus their PG had 44!

Stan Jonn leads us in scoring with 18.7. Ike Engs gets 15.7, leads us in RBs with 7.4. 10.8 for Mel Ells.

There really is not much of anything in interstellar space. Every couple of weeks there might be a rock somewhere along our flight path, usually well out of the way of any of the ships, but that’s about it. We’re excited about a comet that we’re going to get to see fairly close up in a few months but it’s called “empty space” for a reason.

[Wayne23]

We’re about to find out how good we are. Are we good or did we just play a weak schedule?

1/22: 3-3 to start AAC play. 13-6 overall.

90-85 over North Texas here. We trailed by 13 in the 1st half then came on strong in the 2nd. 58 points for our 3 guards.

73-92 at Memphis. They led all the way. Stan Jonn had a good game but didn’t get much help.

76-85 at Wichita ST. We trailed all the way again. Ells had 22, Engs had 14 and *but they took 18 more shots.

Home sweet home and an 87-79 win over South Florida. Our three guards combined for 55. 16, 7 for Sim, his best game of the season.

101-73 over Charlotte here. We never trailed. 31, 2, 5, 4 for Jonn, good inside play.

97-101 at Texas San Antonio. Never more than an 8 point difference. We had our chances to win it. Jonn had 27. The refs didn’t help.

So far we win at home, lose on the road.

I should have explained this earlier. Most pre-conf games are played on the team’s own ship but some require travel. All pre-season, mid season, and post season tourneys require travel. We use the 32 person shuttle to travel. There’s room for everyone we need to bring. It’s a short trip even to the farthest other ship. In the post season we’re going to use the 32 person shuttle and one 96 person shuttle if we have enough fans who want to go to a given game.

The shuttles are comfortable and again, it’s a short trip.

We will use shuttles for exploration as we go on. A 32 person shuttle will approach the comet we’re nearing next month. It will house the appropriate scientists with all the gear they need.

[Wayne23]

1/29: One of our recruits didn’t hit our SAT score. We’re looking at more big guys.

2/12: 6-0 in our last 6. We’re 19-6, 9-3, in 2nd place in the AAC, 1 back of Memphis, 2 up on 3rd place.

92-85 at Rice. It was close until the last few minutes. Jonn, Engs, and Ells led us.

97-86 over Tulane here. After trailing throughout the first half we quickly took charge in the 2nd. 29 for Jonn.

96-82 over Texas San Antonio here. Another game where it was close for a half then we took over. 23 for Jonn, 18 for Sim.

102-71 over Temple here. We led all the way. 22, 9 for Engs. Our 3 guards combined for 44.

89-87 in a close one at East Carolina. Close all the way. We won it on a last second three by Stan Jonn. He had 25.

85-71 over UAB here. We led all the way. 23 for Jonn, 18 for Ells.

We live in a moneyless society. Since we’re on a ship that is never going back to Earth, and since we don’t plan to settle on a planet, there is no need for money. Everyone lives the same lifestyle. The
Commander’s living quarters are the same as mine. We use what we need and want. We all eat in the same cafeterias and restaurants. We all have equal access to the holosuites. We all wear the same type of clothes. We all have phones and computers.

There’s a hierarchy of leadership, but it’s not excessive, only what is necessary.

We’re quasi-military but not really military. The Commander, the Captains, and the line officers do give orders and are expected to be obeyed, but that’s it.

When we’re off duty it’s a first name basis.