Historical Association #1

[Wayne23]

11/20: 2-1 first week. 1 point loss on the road.

Ya might wonder what we do for entertainment. I tell ya, we got concerts an’ plays an’ such, but most of our entertainment is home made. Most everybody plays a musical instrument, an’ folks gather roun’ the piano an’ sing, play their instruments, dance- all a that. An’ we have a high ol’ time.

Folks play a lot a cards, rummy, set back, lots a home made games. Some play poker but that’s more for the gamblin’ crowd than it is a home game, but some play for pennies or buttons, or things like that.

Lots a folks like ta read if they can get their hands on a book, a newspaper, or a magazine.

We don’t none of us except the rich have a lotta free time so when we get some it’s precious, an’ we like the simple pleasures.

11/27: 4-1. Sean Mark is off ta a good start. We moved Ben Tink in at SG for Maja Obar. Obar ain’t ready. We think he’ll come along though.

12/11: 7-2. 6 road games an’ we’re winnin’. Now I admit, these teams ain’t world beaters, but still. The last win was by 1, away. Sean Mark is getting 18.1, and Ben Tink 14.8. Sub Cal Bowe is earnin’ more playing time. He’s really doin’ a job!

12/18: 9-2. We’re still clickin’. I can’t keep Cal Bowe outta the lineup. He’s jus’ playin’ terrific.

12/25: We end the pre-conf. season 10-3, RPI #108. +8.7 PPG, +7.2 RBs, +1.4 TOs (14.5, so we’re not makin’ any progress in this area).

Ta you folks in the future. Ya prob’ly got all kinds a ways ta make life easy. I can’t even imagine most of it. Not much is easy for folks like me. Arizona’s mostly warm so at least we only need to chop an’ split enough wood ta cook with but we gotta do that near every day. It ain’t really possible to get ahead on it. Then mama starts cookin’ an; the house heats up. We get up, splash water on our face an’ hands from a big pitcher in our bedroom.

Then, if we used it, we gotta empty the chamber pot, an; if we didn’t we mos’ likely gotta start our day in the outhouse. Again, we got it better than the folks who live where it’s cold for that part a the day. While I’m out there I take care a the horses an’ clean out the stalls if they spent the night in the barn. Lotsa nights they jus’ stay outside. But they gotta be fed an’ watered. Water’s heavy. We got an’ outdoor pump, a course, but I still gotta lug buckets a water to the animals. Mama usually feeds the other animals. I clean out the stalls and coops for them. Then I wash my hands an’ go in an’ eat. After breakfast an’ the dishes it’s get dressed, saddle the horse, ride in ta work. Get the horse to the stable an’ walk ta the gym an’ get ta work.

I spent money I didn’t have an’ bought one a them typewritin’ machines. They been aroun’ for quite a while but they didn;' work too good. Then a couple years ago they got improved, an' now not a lot a people except secretaries in offices got ‘em, but the secretaries swear by 'em. They’re heavy, an’ bulky, an’ not easy ta figure out how ta use, but I figured in the long run learnin' ta typewrite would save me time an' would make for neater records that’s easier ta read. I’m jus’ ta the point where it’s makin’ sense ta use it; took a LONG time ta get ta be efficient.

But I like keepin' my records this way. My scoutin’ assistant would like ta use one. The other two ain’t interested.

I spend the day in the office, goin' ta the cafeteria for lunch. I usually wind up with a bowl a soup, one or two hunks a bread, an’ a apple or other fruit, an’ that’s lunch. If I’m not travelin’ I work in my office ‘til 6:00 or sometimes 7:00 or even 8:00, get the horse, ride home, take care a the horse, an’ eat whatever mama made for supper. I usually get ta bed by 10:00, after a quick wash. Oh. I take care a the animals somewhere in there, too.

I sleep in a feather bed. Some people sleep in a corncob bed, which I think is jus’ awful. If I’m on the road it’s different but I kinda talked about life on a train, an’ in hotels.

What about baths? In warm weather places like Phoenix we usually take a Saturday night bath. It’s a lotta trouble ta heat an’ haul the water, so once a week is about it, an’ like I said before, if ya can jump in a stream or a river, that’s the best bath.

So like started ta say before, there’s not a lotta free time. I read a little before I turn off the whale oil lamp most nights, but some nights I jus’ go right ta sleep.

[Wayne23]

1/1/1873: We were of for the holiday; no games, Still no recruits signed.

1/8: 12-3, 2-0, RPI #62. Mark, Tink, and Bowe are still leading the way.

1/15: 13-4, 3-1. Lost at New Mex. ST.

1/22: 15-4, 5-1, RPI #46. Tied for 1st.

1/29: 16-5, 6-2, RPI #47. 2nd place. +7.2 PPG, +5.3 RBs, +2.6 TOs. Tink, Mark, and Bowe lead us.

2/5: 18-5, 8-2, RPI #39. Tied for 1st with Seattle, 1 up on Chi ST, 3 or more on the rest. 4 to play.

Cal Bowe is getting better all the time. He lights us up, regularly getting key rebounds and making baskets when we need them. This is a good team, and while our bench isn’t deep, 2-3 players do not hurt us when they come into the game.

We have a tough schedule to close out the regular season. New Mex ST here, then 3rd place Chi ST there this week, then Seattle there next week. We close with last place UMKC here, so 3 tough games. If we finish 3-1 I’ll be thrilled.

2/12: 19-6, 9-3. We beat New Mex ST in OT, in a real war, and then lost at Chi ST. But Seattle lost as well, so it looks like it will come down to the game at their place. We could finish 3rd if we lose it since Chi ST is one back, and their win over us would give them the edge.

2/19: We end the regular season 20-7, 10-4, RPI #46. +6.4 PPG, +5.5 RBs, +2.7 TOs (14.1 per game. We don’t seem to be able to improve this.). Tink, Mark, and Bowe continue to lead us but the other 2 starters do their share.

We backed into the #1 seed. We beat Seattle by 3 there in a heck of a game, then managed to lose at our place to the worst team in the conf. But both Seattle and Chi ST also lost! We’ll take it.

[Wayne23]

2/28: UMKC just beat us by 8 at our place. We play them in the quarter finals of the WAC tourney. My guys are really up for this one! The tourney, which rotates from school to school, is at their place, which definitely makes

it more of a challenge, but then we won by 11 there.

3/1: 84-77. We led most of the way, by as many as 15, but they closed it to 2 with 2:30 left. We responded. 17 for PG Jon Ceph, 11, 8 for Mark, 31 for the bench (Their bench had 32.). Threes (15) kept them in it.

All the other lower seeds lost.

We play #5 seed New Mexico ST, 11-17, 6-8, in the semis. We’ve struggled against them losing by 16 there, and winning in OT at our place.

3/2: 59-63. We blew a 10 point lead. I had a throw things all over the room, yell, scream, and swear blow up after the game. That’s never happened in my life. Admittedly, it was a frustrating loss. In our last 7 possessions we had 3 turnovers and 4 missed shots, none of which we got the rebound on. At the other end we were called for four fouls in that stretch, three of them lousy calls. This could well drop us from the NCAA tourney to the NIT.

3/12: 21-8, 10-4, RPI #53.

NIT, as expected. #5 seed. We play #4 Illinois. They’re 15-15, but they’ve played a MUCH tougher schedule.

3/13: 64-55. Great D! 12, 11 for Mark. 6 players had 8 or more points. We held them to 30.5%, 24% on threes. +11 RBs.

#1 seed Purdue, 17-13, is next. Tough matchup. On paper they win easily. We’ll see.

3/15: 54-67. Jon Ceph had 15 TOs. The big mystery is why I kept him in. The answer is that my #3 guard turned an ankle, and my #4 was as bad. 15, 10 for Mark. 29 TOs as a team.

I have to say that it is absolutely time to move on. I have learned a great deal about coaching in my three years here but I have been unsupported by the athletic department. I have had vastly insufficient recruiting funds, little to no publicity to help us to become well known, or even locally to help attendance. I have felt handcuffed.

If I can move up just a little I’ll be with a team that gives me some money- maybe not a huge amount, but enough to work with. Many teams now employ private trains for road trips and that would be a huge step up. I*’m not asking for miracles, and I know I’m not ready to coach at an elite school, but I AM ready to move up, and if there’s any way to do that, I will.

4/3: #3 Syracuse won it all.

4/4: Awards: Sean Mark got WAC Def. POY and 1st team, along with Ben Tink. I got Conf. COY. I though Rowe should have made 2nd team.

4/9: Pacific wants us badly, and it’s tempting. Louisiana Lafayette wants us again.

I visited both, and a couple of other schools. It’s Pacific. This is going to take some time but they really want me, they have a $44,000 bigger budget, they use a private railroad, and their facilities are better. They’re losing 4 starters from a mediocre team, but I belief I will have the support to rebuild.

I’ll be living in the dorm as a dorm monitor. That means housing and meals are provided.

I won’t need a horse. If there are occasions when I do I can use one that belongs to the school. And I get a 50% salary increase.

4/16: I keep the coaching staff. They ain’t great but they’re okay, and they know the system, the players, the routines…

4/23: I ask for a budget increase. A. D. says it’s not in the budget but he’ll plan for it next year. Fair enough.

22-9. Overall I’m 66-27, .710 for three years. Looking forward to a new beginning!

[Wayne23]

5/1: We buy the national basic report.
I’m finding my way around. Just got here 3 days ago. It was tough leavin’ home. Never lived anywhere else. Mama was all choked up, an’ I was too. But it had ta happen, an’ it was always part a the plan. This is a nice little town an; everybody is makin’ me feel welcome.

5/15: Workin’ with the assistant coaches ta get ta know the team. From what they say we’re okay at guard but not inside. That’s where we’ll struggle.

6/5: Looking at transfers. One we love, a couple more we like.

6/12: No luck.

6/26: 4 scholarships. We need mostly bigs.

7/25: Recruits are showin’ some interest, an’ we got enough money ta do real recruitin’.

I know my way aroun’ campus an’ aroun’ town now. My #2, Sam Hunter an’ I are becomin’ friends. He lives in the dorm too, so we see a lot of each other, but we just hit it off. I like all a my assistants, but I see more a Sam outside the office.

Livin’ in the dorm is fine. Course the kids are all gone for the summer. But Sam has been here for three years an’ he says there’s very little shenanigans. Kids are serious about school. They see it as a way off the farm an’ inta somethin’ better. Kids are kids so they act up now an’ then, but not much, says Sam. Sounds good ta me!

8/21: We offer ta a PG, 2 PFs, an’ a C. There’s another PG we really like.

9/4: The kids are back an' the athletic dorm is full. We set high standards early an' started mandatory study halls the first day a classes.

9/18: Nobody committed but 2 look close an’ the other 2 are still talkin’ to us.

Soft schedule. We want wins to attract recruits.

When I'm on dorm duty I do bed checks at 11:00. I don;t open doors, jus' go up ta each floor, set myself in the middle a the hall an' listen for a while. So far so good. There's a couple a night hawks but they stay real; quiet. Once in a while there's somebody up late studyin', too. On Saturday night lots of the boys have girl friends an' they go out courtin' but curfew for the girls is midnight on the weekend. I check the guys in as they get back. By 12:30 they're all here. Like I said, good kids.

9/25: We got 2, A C, #252, an’ a PG, #469. Still in the hunt for the other 2.

10/2: Got a 3rd recruit, our best yet. PF, #79.

1st day a practice.

10/9: Got #4, a C, #203.

11/6: Here’s the lineup. We’re going with a 3 guard set up:

Senior Tag West and redshirt junior Quin Curr start at guard.

Junior guard Rob Yal starts at SF, and backs up at PG and SG. We have 4 guards on the team, none have much of any experience, and our #4 guard is good for junk minutes only. All of our experienced guards graduated. We expect a learning curve.

Soph Lan Timp, who started last year, and frosh Ken Trop start inside.

Frosh John May subs inside, along with Matt Robb, and Matt Lamm. Expect changes.

So one veteran.

[Wayne23]

11/13: We’re picked 9th in our 10 team conf. Hope to do better than that.

11/20: 1-1 for the first week. We lost on the road to a mediocre team, but it’s early, and we’re still figuring things out. SG Quin Curr had 30, and PF Ken Trop had 12, PG Tag West had 16 assists, but 7 TOs. But we were never really in the game.

It was better at home. 17 point lead at the half, 14 point win. Too many TOs, but +6, so we caused a bunch. 20, 8 for SF/SG Rob Yal, 17, 8 for Trop, 14 for sub big man Matt Lamm, who got lots of minutes due to foul trouble by C Lan Timp.

All of the recruits signed except the juco, and that’s not a concern; they often sign late.

Next 3 are at home. We’d like to win at least 2 of them, but again, we’re still figuring it out.

11/27: 3-1. Different guys every night are getting’ it done, but our last game was great; everybody pitched in.

After 4 games we take a look at making changes. Before that is usually too soon. Lamm and Robb are sharing May’s minutes; they’ve been more effective.

1 more here, then on the road for 3, all in Cal, but it’s a big state. Still, our first was on the road, and having our own train was wonderful. We used it as a hotel, which solved so many problems, an’ we didn’t have to deal with drunks, prostitutes, and smoking.

12/4: 4-2. Curr had 35 an’ 6 in the first. When he gets hot he’s a wonder. Trop had 19, 8 in that game.

We played 2 on the road an’ got spanked by 17 both times. We don’t shoot well on the road. Lighting is an issue, a course. The light ain’t great anywhere unless it’s real sunny, but the angles an’ shadows are always different on the road. Ta be honest, we coulda played better D.

12/11: 4-3. Tough 2 point loss, after being up by 10 with 7:22 left. If we’d hit our free throws it woulda been different (10-17). Our D broke down on the last possession, which is a lack of experience. We can fix that, but it’ll take time. +11 TOs.

8 days between road games so we went back home. It’s better for the guys ta go ta class. When we’re on the road we got tutors who go for ‘em, an’ take good notes, but still.

I haven’t talked about money. Way out there in the future you may have a different system but nowadays it’s all gold an’ silver. Some folks use banks but a lot don’t, cuz ya can’t always trust ‘em. I don’t. I keep any extra money in the athletic department safe, not that I ever have a lotta extra money, but I try ta save in hopes that I’ll start a family some day.

12/18: 5-3 with a road win, finally! 21 each for West an’ Curr, 20 for Yal, so we did it all outside. +5 RBs.

12/25: We end the pre-conf. season 6-3, RPI #100. We beat Cal Baker here by 3 in a real battle. 24 for C Lan Timp, 14 for Curr, 12, 7, 5 for sub Matt Lamm.

+4.4 PPG, +3.0 RBs, +3.5 TOs. Curr leads us with 18.0 PPG, 3 others with 10.3 or more. We don’t have a big time rebounder but we do okay by committee. Matt Lamm is greatly exceeding expectations, and he’s getting more
minutes. We’re going with a 6 man rotation for now.

I honestly have no idea how we’ll do in the West Coast conf. BYU and Gonzaga are much better than us, but I think we may be able to stay with the rest. We’ll see.

General Grant got elected ta his 2nd term as President last year. People seem ta like although some say he’s a drunk an’ he don’t do much. Can’t please everybody I guess. Out here in the West it don’t matter much who’s President. We go along our own way, too far away ta take much notice.

At least now we CAN notice if we wanta. The telegraph got out here just a few years ago. Before that it took days, maybe weeks ta know about somethin’ that happened far away. In Phoenix we didn’t know the war ended or the President had been killed for more than a week.

Now, the telegraph gets the news everywhere quick. Newspapers have changed because of it. They used ta be all about local stuff. Anything else was real old by the time it made the paper. Now it might happen the same day.

If it’s big enough the newspapers put out a one page “special.” That sports newspaper I told about couldn’t a happened before the telegraph. We’re livin’ in modern times!

[Wayne23]

1/1/1874: 7-4, 1-1. RPI #107. We won the road game by 3, lost at home by 5.

Can’t keep Lamm outta the startin’ lineup. He’s in, at PF, Trop moves ta SF, Yal won’t start. Still a 6 man rotation so Yal gets plenty a minutes.

1/8: 8-5, 2-2. RPI #86. BYU crushed us on the road (21 TOs0, then we crushed San Diego at home. 24, 14 for Timp, 19, 5 for Curr15, 4, 5, 4 for West.

1/15: 8-7, 2-4, RPI #133. Tough week, 0-2. We knew it would be tough. Gonzaga is the best team in conf. and we’re encouraged that we stayed with them all the way, losing in OT there. 5 guys with 10 or more, 11 RBs for Trop, 11 assists for West.

Then Santa Clara beat us at our place which was very frustrating. We’re not deep enough to survive foul trouble, and that was the issue. 3 guys played LOTS of minutes with 4 fouls, which meant they couldn’t play good, tough D.

2 road games this week so it may not get better.

1/22: 9-8, 3-5. RPI #116. I’ll take a split of 2 road games. Great D and 22, 6 for Timp in the win.

2 at home this week.

1/29: We got that 2-0 week, 11-8, 5-5, RPI #91. +2.0 PPG, +2.9 RBs, +1.9 TOs.

+19 RBs in the 2nd game. Lamm is finally breaking out. He had trouble adjusting ta a startin’ role. My teams just don’t ball handle. We’re getting’ 14.4 TOs per.

2/5: 12-9, 6-6. RPI #92. Road loss, then a 3 point win over BYU here, which was a nice surprise. They’re having an off year, but still.

I gotta say again, I love havin’ our own train. It’s an engine, a dinin’ car, an’ a sleeper, but that’s all we need. The dinin’ car doubles as a lounge, an’ it’s great for study time. We don’t need hotels, which most pays for the train- not quite, but close. The kids are completely under our control, which is also great. We organize some fun. There’s a piano in the dinin’ car, an’ we play cards an’ such.

2/12: 12-11, 6-8. 0-2 week. RPI #134. In a 5 way tie for 5th. San Diego shellacked us there. We didn’t shoot well, didn’t defend well. Then Gonzaga kicked us hard. We expected that; they’re a real good team.

It’s a year ta be patient. We’re only losin’ our PG, West, an’ we got some good lookin’ kids comin’ in.

2/19: 13-12, 7-9, RPI #134. 26, 4, 6 for Timp in a road win. Then 2nd place Pepperdine beat us at our place.

We made the Bracket Buster at Akron, which will not be easy; plus it’s a 3 day trip travellin’ all day an’ all night. They put on a second engineer. Then 1 home, 1 road, an’ the regular season is done. We won’t finish last, but there’s 5 teams tied for next ta last, an’ 2 1 game ahead of the pack, which we’re in.

2/26: 15-13, 9-9, RPI #142. We los’ the Bracket Buster but won the 2 that counted, the first in OT, the 2nd by 2! 26, 18 for Timp in the OT game. He flat carried us! Then a 2 point road win in a game we almos’ let slip away.

We end up in a 2 way tie for 4th, with the #4 seed. -1.5 PPG, +2.6 RBs, +1.3 TOs.

We play Loy Mar in the quarters. Beat ‘em by 6 here then 2 there last week.

[Wayne23]

3/7: 44-59. 26.5% shooting, 17.6% on threes. Awful. Not sure we’ll be invited anywhere. This may have been our last game.

3/12: 15-14, 9-9, RPI #163.

I was shocked to get a telegraphed invitation to the WOL. We play UMass, 16-12, the #3 seed in the South. We’re #6. We don’t know a lot about ‘em, a course.

3/14: 61-56! We won with D and rebounding. Held them to 31%, +12 RBs. -11 TOs, but we survived that. 15, 7 for trop, 14, 8 for Timp, 14, 7 for Quin.

#7 seed Wholly Crass, 16-13, also won in an upset. They’re next.

3/16: 69-67. We nearly gave away a 12 point lead, but they missed the last shot of the game. All 5 starters had 10 or more. We won it at the line, 19-31, vs. 3-8.

#4 seed, Northern Illinois, 18-13, in the 3rd round. Good team. Balanced attack.

3/21: 68-74. We played hard but they were better. 13, 9 for Timp.

4/3: #5 North Carolina won it all.

4/4: Awards: Soph C Lan Timp made WCC 1st team.

4/9: I actually got a couple of interesting approaches about coachin’ jobs. Too soon.

4/16: The whole staff is comin’ back.

4/23: I ask for a budget increase. $8750, I’ll take it. Nice ta know my new A.D. keeps his promises!

17-15, 9-9. Not bad for year one. We were s’posed ta finish 9th, an’ we finished 4th. Overall, I’m 83-42, .664.

Lookin’ forward ta a great season!

[Wayne23]

5/1: We buy the West Gold report.

6/5: We’re looking at a few transfers. We go after a C.

6/12: Got him! And he looks like a good one!

6/26: 2 scholarships. We need guards. Not even lookin’ at bigs.

8/21: We offer ta 3 PGs.

9/18: No one has committed. One guy is close. Soft schedule again this year.

9/25: 0 for 2. Ouch! Goin’ after that 3rd one an; we offered ta 2 more.

10/2: Got one! PG #371.

1st day of practice.

10/16: We’re struggling to get recruits.

11/6: Still only one recruit committed.

Here’s the lineup:

4 guys playin’ guard. Frosh Jal Gear gets lots a minutes at SG. Senior Rob Yal starts at PG, but for now he’ll play about half the time. Senior Quin Curr also plays about half the time, mostly at PG, but some at SG. Frosh Cam Lews
worked himself in ta some PG time.

Soph Matt Lamm starts at SF, backed by soph Ken Trop.

Frosh Jay Andt an’ Nate Colt start inside, backed by juco junior Brad Few. Expect changes.

We’re picked 5th in conf.

[Wayne23]

11/20: 2-0 ta start the season. Subs Quin Curr an’ Brad Few looked rally good in both games. We may need ta get them in the startin’ lineup. SG Jal Gear looks like the genuine article, and both C Nate Colt an’ PG Rob Yal looked good. It’s early but I like what I saw. But the nex’ 4 are on the road!

Our only committed recruit signed. Still workin’ on the other 2.

I gotta say, a 4 game road trip don’t sound nearly so bad with our own train.

11/27: 4-0. Won by 5, then won by 2, but we won. Colt, Gear, an’ Andt are the ones makin’ the noise.

12/4: 5-1. 3-1 on the road trip. It would not have happened if we were takin’ a public train. I’m convinced. Back home for the nex’ 4.

Gear leads us with 18.3. 16.8 an’ 8.0 for Colt. After that there‘s a pile a guys doin’ their bit.

12/25: 8-1, RPI #54, ta en’ pre-conf. play. +8.2 PPG, +6.5 RBs, + 0.6 TOs. Colt an’ Gear still lead the way.

[Wayne23]

1/1/2075: 10-1, 2-0. Good start ta West Coast conf. play. Same 2 guys, Colt an’ Gear, led the way. They’re both frosh so we got ‘em for 4 years, which is great!

It is kinda strange not ta have animals ta care for. All a my life I had a horse. We always had food animals- chickens an’ lambs at least, maybe cows, too. Lots a folks raise pigs.

An’ horses are our transportation for any place that’s too far ta walk. We go on horseback or in buggies or carriages, small or large. As I said, I ain’t got my own horse here at school, but whenever I need one there’s one available.

An’ everybody with any land at all has a big garden, an’ that takes work every day- plantin’, then weedin’ an’ prunin’, an’ debuggin’, then harvestin’. Most folks grow corn, potatoes, carrots- you name it.

If ya work it right ya can get a lotta free an’ cheap food. Ya breed your chickens an’ lambs, an’ pigs, an’ cows. Ya replant your vegetables. I already talked about fishin’, trappin’, huntin’. Most folks are poor. The more a their own food they can grow an’ raise, the better.

Dogs an’ cats? Lotsa folks keep ‘em around, but more as work animals than as pets. Cats keep rodents like rats an’ mice under control, an’ dogs guard against bigger animals an’ thieves. Life’s a struggle. Everybody except the very few rich folks work hard. Kids help, even little kids, an’ animals help too.

1/8: 11-2, 3-1, RPI #39. Road loss ta the #1 team in conf. Get ‘em at our place.

We’re still chasin’ recruits. We’ve tried with lots a them. Every week we go through the basketball paper soon as it comes in, an’ circle the names a the guys we wanta add ta our list, an’ then call or telegraph or both. But not much luck.

1/15: 12-3, 4-2, RPI #46. In a 4 way tie for 1st.

2 at home, then 2 on the road.

We had another recruit go elsewhere.

1/29: 16-3, 8-2, RPI #32. Huge win at 2nd place San Diego puts us alone in 1st with a 2 game lead over 5 teams with 8 to play. +7.0 PPG, +5.1 RBs, +1.0 TOs- still haven’t managed to coach a team that could ball handle- 14.9 TOs per.

Gear an’ Colt continue ta be our guys. Andt does good work. Trop, Curr, Yal, an’ Few play their parts. They ain’t stars but they get the job done. Lamm has kinda dropped outta the rotation.

2 a the recruits I offered to did not hit our SAT score. The guy who signed did. We gotta start all over with the other two.

2/5: 18-3, 10-2, RPI #31. 2 up on BYU, 3 up on 4 other teams. 6 wins in a row, 3 of them on the road! Colt was #206 and Gear #163 in their recruitin’ class but they’re playin’ WAY above that. 17.2 for Gear, an’ he’s an excellent defender, an’ 15.6, 6.6 for Colt, who is also a top notch defender. Add in Jay Andt’s 12.1, 6.7, an’ solid D, an’ we got 3 freshmen who could make life interestin’ for a few years!

We play 2 good teams this week.

Long talk with my recruitin’ assistant. We need guards bad, but we ain’t gettin’ ‘em. At this point I tole him ta widen his search. We’ll take any recruits we can get.

They’s been a lotta Indian attacks East a here, in places like Colorada, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Wyomin’, the Dakotas. When we travel in those parts the railroad puts on a couple a armed guards. No trouble yet but I wouldn’t want the train ta break down in some places.

2/12: 1-1 week. We’re 19-4, 11-3, RPI #34, 1 up on BYU, who beat us there this week, 2 up on San Diego, who are here to close the regular season.

2/19: Great week! 2-0, an’ we build a 2 game lead with 2 ta play in conf.. 21-4, 13-3, RPI #32.

We play St. Joe’s in the Bracket Buster 1st. They’re ranked #13, so they’re a real good team. Let’s see what we can do.

2/26: We battled all the way with St. Joe’s losing 88-91. The ref did us in, fouling out both Andt an’ Colt. Few did what he could but when we had to go deeper, that did it to us.

We didn’t care so much about that game; it was good experience if nuthin’ else. But we really put the pressure on ourselfs when we lost at Gonzaga. That meant we was playin’ San Diego at our place with the winner getting’ the regular season title on the line. We win or we finish 2nd ta BYU. Fortunately, we came ta play.

We got out ta an early lead an’ we never trailed, winnin’ 86-73. #3 guard Quin Curr had the hot hand, gettin’ 17. I went with three guards a lot when I saw how hot he was, an’ it worked.

So we en’ the regular season 22-6, 14-4, RPI #30, 1 up on BYU, 3 up on 3 teams. +6.4 PPGs, +5.5 RBs, +1.2 TOs (but still too high at 14.5).

There’s been talk a gettin’ ranked. I think it’s barely possible if we win the WCC tourney, but ranked or not, unless we fall apart in the post season, this is Pacific’s best season ever, an’ mine, too!