April 4
#1 Michigan ST beat #3 Kansas, 69-56 for the title.
Awards: No national honors this year. In conference, Will Jess was named defensive POY and 1st team. Lane Laws made 2nd team.
April 9
It is a happy day. I received a call from the University of California-Berkeley about their head coaching position. I accepted the position over the phone. We head east to Baltimore to see Wallace play, and then I head to Berkeley. The rest of the family will join me in mid-May, after school lets out. This is my dream job!
The school has fallen on hard times, as far as basketball is concerned, but we will rebuild.
April 11
The Lakers won in Baltimore to take a 3-2 lead heading back to L. A. I hope to get to game 6.
I need to hire a staff. I’ve made some calls, and expect to have people in place within a few days.
April 13
The Lakers won game 6 and the series, and now they play the Celtics for the championship. Wallace had 18, 9, 5.
April 16
I have a great new staff. Lew Todd, was #2 at Oregon. He’s my #1 and he’ll scout. My #2, Martin Wells, was #2 at Michigan, but he has always wanted to move to the Bay area. He’ll recruit. #3, bench/practice coach, is Brad Stewart. He was #1 at San Francisco until he retired two years ago. He missed coaching and I was able to talk him into coming here.
April 21
I got to Wallace’s game tonight. The Lakers were down 2-0, but they managed to win this one. Wallace has a tough time against Bill Russell, as does everyone, but he managed 14, 8, 3 tonight.
April 23
We ask for a facilities upgrade. We do not get it.
I had a good run at Western Michigan, and there’s a lot I’ll miss, but not the weather. After 8 seasons as a head coach I am at 180-70, .720. I was 93-36, .721 at W. Mich, 87-34, .720 at Grambling. Pretty consistent! It may take some time to reach that level here. Off-41, Def-67, Recruit-85 (maxed out), Scout-75 (maxed out), Player Dev-59, Reputation-38.
The Celtics beat the Lakers tonight. They go back to Boston 3-1 Celtics.
“Those guys are so GOOD!”
Wallace was thrilled to have the opportunity to play for the championship.
New beginnings. Callie will finish her Ph. D. course work this semester. She can write her thesis here, going back to Western Michigan only for a review, and then for her defense. She will take this year off from work. I received a very nice salary increase, and we can afford it. After she completes the degree she would love to teach either here or at Stanford. We plan to purchase a house about midway between the two schools, just in case. We will begin the search as soon as she gets here. I am doing the preliminary work now.
Ruth Ann is taking a job with SCLC, as Dr. King’s personal assistant. Where he goes, she will go. She will take two correspondence courses per semester for now, and will continue her work with Chanel.
Loretta is overjoyed that we will be in the area.
Grandma was unwell for a few weeks but she bounced back upon hearing of our move, and is her old self again. She turns 79 this fall.