Fun and Games

[Wayne23]

5/1: Recruit class #161. We buy the Great Plains Basic report.

6/5: One spot for a transfer. We offer to a PG.

6/12: No luck.

6/26: 6 scholarships to fill. We need at least 4 bigs. It’s going to be very difficult to fill 6 spots.

8/21: We offer to a PG, an SG, and 4 PFs.

9/11: We lose two. Nobody said it would be easy.

9/18: We lose 2 more.

Weak pre-conf. schedule again this year. Hope to do better than the 4-7 of last season.

9/25: We get one, lose three. We get a PF, #218.

10/2: We lose 2 more.

We’re picked to win the Summit.

11/6: 9 man rotation:

Frosh Dan Mill is at PG with junior Ty Arch subbing.

Senior Ed Brok is at SG with junior Rasa Jamo subbing.

Senior Ken Nee is back at SF. Soph Ken Bail subs.

Senior Sam Bows is back starting at PF and subbing at C. Senior Dave Mora subs at PF.

Juco junior Ric Sims is at C.

I'm getting concerned about my lack of recruiting success.

I didn’t murder anyone last year. I spent the time planning, preparing, organizing, doing research, getting the “lay of the land” in the other cities in the conference.

The first three murders I told you about involved victims who I knew, and who had it coming. That was true for many of my later victims, but in even more cases, the victim was chosen randomly. Prostitutes, both male and female are always easy victims, as are homeless people, drunks, drug addicts, and other marginalized people. I have killed lots of people in those categories.

Libraries are wonderful things. I learned about make up and how to apply it, wigs and false beards and how to apply them, how to create a scar- all sorts of things that would come in handy later.

My time was well spent but I am eager to find my next victim. It has been a long time since I last… acted.

[PointGuard]

I'm thinkin' going to North Korea to spy on their supreme leader probably is safer than living in one of the Summit League cities.

[Wayne23]

11/20: 2-0 start. Weak teams at home. But we’ll take the wins. Most of the scoring was done inside.

On the road next week.

My lone committed recruit signs.

11/27: 3-1. We split a pair of road games.

The second was at Elon. It was the very first close game of my career as a head coach; we won by 2 on a buzzer beater by PG Dan Mill. It was incredibly energizing. I’m not much of a sleeper; I usually get 3-5 hours of sleep a night, and I never nap. We were staying at a hotel on the edge of campus. I decided to go for a walk at about 1:30 a.m. I walked across campus and encountered students three different times. I started to think that this might be an opportunity for me to… you know. Shortly afterward a campus police officer crossed my path, stopped me, and interrogated me. I had ID on me and was able to convince him that I couldn’t sleep and was just out for a walk.

He said it would be better for me to walk somewhere other than on a college campus in the middle of the night.

I walked back to the hotel thinking that he was right. If I had acted on my impulse there was a really good chance that I could have been seen, maybe even by the officer. It was stupid of me to even consider an unplanned act of this nature. But clearly, I need to satisfy my… urge… soon.

Back home for 3 in a row.

12/11: 6-2. Lost a home game, won a road game. RPI #200.

Still getting absolutely nowhere with recruiting.

12/25: 9-2 going to conference play. RPI #157. +10.6 PPG (#64, #67), +7.8 RBs (#4), +3.4 TOs (#11). Ric Sims leads us with 17.4, 8.9. Sam Bows gets 13.2, 9.3. I am more than pleased with the way we’re playing.

I’ve said I’m a quiet guy and I am. I will quietly talk to a player at practice or during a time out in a game but it won’t be anything dramatic. I’ll simply make my point and move on.

I say things like, “Brok, you need to take the shot when you’re open,” or Nee, you’re not getting good position for rebounding.”

Most of my comments are corrective in nature. I give praise, too, but in the same matter of fact, succinct way.

My players get used to this and they seem to be fine with it, and my bench coach, Jam Harris is much more enthusiastic in his praise, so that helps I guess.

This approach probably doesn’t help me with recruiting. I’m pretty sure that the enthusiastic head coaches make a better impression with coaches. I tell them I think they can help us, or that I think they’ll fit in really well here, or I think they can get minutes during their freshman year (If that’s the case). Again, my recruiting assistant, Eddie Holmes, is more of a “rah, rah” guy. He tells them they’re great and we really want them. But my low key personality probably hurts us with recruits. It’s the way I am though and it’s not going to change.

[Wayne23]

1/1/1972: 11-2, 2-0. RPI #133. Ken Bail is getting more time, a lot of it at SF. He’s not quite the defender Ken Nee is but he gives us way more on offense and is a much better rebounder. I’d say they get about equal playing time but Bail may start if he keeps doing what he’s doing.

FINALLY!!! Due to difficulties with our flight reservations we had to spend an extra night in Fort Wayne this week when we went there to play Purdue Fort Wayne. I had checked out the town the night of the game, after the game, and had found an ideal situation to do what I love. There was a liquor store that was the only store open until 11:00 on a quiet little side street. The man who worked there parked behind the store in a very deserted area. I put on one of my favorite disguises, red hair with a full red beard, I went behind the store to a place not far from his car, and I waited.

At about 11:15 I saw him walking to his car with a bank deposit bank with the night’s proceeds. I walked up to him, showed him a gun, told him this was a robbery and told him to turn around with his hands up. I then told him to get down on his knees and I would take the bag from him and then I would have him lie face down so I’d have time to run off before he could get to his car or back to the store. I assured him that all I wanted was the money and that if he cooperated he would be unharmed.

He knelt down. I reached for the bag with my left hand, which I knew he would see out of the corner of his eye as he faced away from me. Then I quickly reached around on the other side with a knife in my right hand, repositioned the left hand to hold his head, and slashed his throat.

I had worn only a light jacket I had bought in another city. There was blood on the sleeve, naturally. I took it off carefully and threw it into a trash can near the car. I checked carefully to be certain there was no blood on me anywhere else, and went to his car. I had left a warmer jacket under the car. I put the jacket on, left the deposit bag, walked onto the street, and walked back to my hotel. No one saw me, or probably lots of people saw me, but no one thought anything of it.

When I got into bed I felt more relaxed than I had in a long time. I had really NEEDED to do this. It had been way too long since the last time. I slept like a baby, getting way more sleep than usual. I woke up with a smile on my face.

1/15: 14-3, 5-1, RPI #145. We’re ½ game up on North Dakota ST who we play next, here at home. We’re playing well.

I’ve still only had one game as a head coach that was decided by less than 5 points. I find that pretty amazing.

1/29: 16-4, 7-2, RPI #124. 2 game lead in the Summit.

My first overtime game ever, at South Dakota, and we won it by 7. We were behind by 17 early in the 2nd half and we came all the way back, tying it on a three by Sam
Bows at the end of regulation. He had a huge game, 30 and 24. It was pretty interesting to coach a game like that.

Unfortunately, Center Ric Sims hurt his back late in that game and he’ll miss at least 10 days. I’ll move Bail to C, start Nee at SF, and give sub minutes to Owen and Mora.

I am now starting Ken Bail over Ken Nee at SF and he has stepped up. Ty Arch gets a lot of minutes at guard, not quite as many as SG Ed Brok, but almost.

We’re now #1 in the nation in RBs.

2/12: 20-4, 11-2, RPI #84. We lead the Summit by 3 with 3 to play! Amazingly enough we won all three games while Sims was out with the injury. It’s great to have a bench. Ken Bail was outstanding, and Ken Nee and Cam Owen really got it done.

2/26: 22-5, 13-3, RPI #74. We win the Summit by 3. +12.4 PPG (#27, #45). As always I am puzzled by the PPG for and against. I spend ¾ of my practice time on D. The numbers don’t add up. +9.6 RBs (#1 in the country), +3.7 TOs (#12). Ric Sims is our best player; he gets 17.3 and 8.0. Not far behind is Sam Bows with 15.0 and 10.2. PG Dan Mill gets 12.3. Our other two guards, Ed Brok and Ty Arch move the ball really well. The two other bigs who get significant minutes, Ken Bail and Ken Nee get it done on both ends, and grab their share of RBs. I really like this team.

I’m still frustrated about recruiting. We’re really not getting anywhere. I’ve saved money for March and April recruiting and I’m hopeful we can make that count.

Reminiscing again. Remember, right from the start I’ve kept accurate records of when, who, how I did my murders. Anyway, the fourth one happened after a long break, almost 2 years. In September of 1958 I was 15. That girl I mentioned a while ago, Susie Mills, who tried to kiss me and who touched me in … personal places, was talking about me behind my back. I guess she had been ever since all of that happened when we were in 7th or 8th grade. She said I was gay, and things like that. I don’t care about gay vs. straight or any of that, since I’m just not interested in anybody in that way, male or female, but that kind of talk can cause problems. I thought it all through for a long time. Then I decided to act.

It really seemed to me that despite all the talk she still liked me. As a matter of fact a couple of the guys on the basketball team teased me about it, saying that she did, usually when we were playing pick up games during the summer.

Anyway, on the first day of school, 9/5/’58, I managed to get her alone after school. She was walking home alone and I joined her.

“Susie, I just wanted you to know that … well… I was too young and too shy back when we… you know. I’m older now and I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately. I hope you’re still interested because I sure am…”

I said all of that as though I was shy and really crazy about her. It worked. There was a little pond out in the woods, not all that far from where I took care of Ed Finch.

I guided us in that direction. None of the kids lived along the way we were walking so I was pretty confident we wouldn’t be seen. I had waited until after school to talk to her because I knew she’d tell her friends as soon as she got the chance, girls are like that, and I couldn’t let that happen.

Anyway, once we got into the woods I started hugging her and kissing her. As we got close to the water I acted really shy, but kept kissing her.

“There’s something I want to ask you, but I’m too shy.”

“What is it, Wayne? You can ask. I won’t get mad, I promise.”

“Well… two things really…”

“Go ahead.”

“Will... Will you be my girlfriend, Susie?” I kissed her again.

“I think I’d like that, Wayne.”

More kissing, some touching, but I didn’t let her touch me… you know where, because, well, I think I’ve said it but I don’t feel anything there so it wouldn’t… you know. And I didn’t want her to realize that.

After a while I said, “I’d really like to go for a swim with you, Susie…”

“But we don’t have bathing suits.”

“… I know…”

“Oh…”

More kissing and stuff.

“… Okay…”

“You first, Susie.”

She took off her clothes. I pretended to be really excited about seeing her get naked. Honestly, I didn’t feel a thing. But I’d been reading books about acting and I had been practicing her. I think I was pretty convincing.

“Your turn.”

“Okay but would you get in the water and turn around. I’ll go in the after when my clothes are off but I don’t want you to see until then…”

“Okay… you’re silly though.”

She giggled a little and got into the water, and turned away from me. I convinced her we should swim out a toward the middle of the pond. We did. I leaned in to kiss and hold her and as she leaned back I used all of my strength to push her under the water. It was easier than I thought it would be because I was listening to her breath and I pushed her down when I was pretty sure she was just about to take a breath. It was only a couple of seconds before her struggling body started releasing air bubbles. Soon she stopped struggling and sank.

I swam to shore, dried off, grabbed Susie’s clothes and took them with me. Then I walked through the woods as far as I could, then headed for home. About a mile or so from where Susie drowned I found a tree with a hole in the trunk about three feet up from the ground and I threw her clothes in there.

Susie didn’t show for school, and after a couple days a search was started. They looked everywhere but they never thought to drag the pond, and they never looked in that tree. I guess her body got tangled up in weeds or something but for whatever reason the body wasn’t found until about 5 years later when some bones were found by a fisherman. Then they dragged the pond and found the rest of her bones. The authorities said they were pretty sure it was her. They wondered why no clothes were found. They wrote it up as a possible homicide or an accidental drowning, but they had no clues at all after all that time. As I said, unless you get an unlucky break, murder is pretty easy.

After killing Susie I decided that except for something unexpected I definitely needed to kill strangers, and in other towns and cities, from now on. Susie had to go though. I didn’t really have a choice about it, and because of her big mouth, she had it coming.

[Wayne23]

2/28: We play #8 seed Western Illinois, 6-21, 6-10, in the quarter finals of the Summit. They beat us by 9 there, then we won by 26 at home. We’re a big favorite.

3/1: 100-74. We were pretty much unstoppable on offense tonight. 31, 9 for Sam Bows, 26, 5, 4 for Ric Sims. +18 RBs and a really easy win.

#5 seed Denver, 12-16, 8-8, in the semifinals. Beat them by 28 and by 12. The only chance they have is if they get really hot on threes. They have good outside
shooters. I’m pretty sure our inside game is way too good for theirs though.

3/2: 86-75. We never trailed. They hit 11 threes but that wasn’t nearly enough to keep them in the game. Sims had 23 and 16, Bows 14, 9, 4.#3 guard Ty Arch had 15, with 6 assists. +17 RBs.

#7 seed South Dakota, 13-16, 7-9. has pulled off two straight upsets so we play them for the title. They give us fits. We beat them by only 10 at our place and in OT at theirs, so we know we need to be on our game. They’re good inside and they have a deep bench. A win here would take us to our first NCAA tournament. That’s pretty exciting.

3/3: 82-65. We came to play and we never trailed. 18, 10 for tourney MOP Ric Sims, 18, 8, 3 for Bows, 15, 11 for SF Ken Bail. We were worried about their inside game but we ate them up inside. +12 TOs so our guards did okay, too.

I hate talking to the press but after the tournament final they have a press conference. The reporters don’t like me because I don’t say much. Here’s how it went.

“Coach, what were the keys to victory tonight?”

“We knew we had to win inside.”

“You did that. You only had a one hour run through to prepare. How did you make it happen?”

“We practiced our man and our 2-3. We knew we wouldn’t use much 3-2 because we weren’t too worried about their outside game.”

“Tell us about Ric Sims.”

“He really does a good job. He’s been good all season.”

It went on like that for a while but not for too long. If you don’t say much they move on and talk to the players instead, and that’s fine with me.

25-5, regular season and tournament Summit champs, RPI #70.

3/12: #12 East. Better than I expected. We play #5 seed, #22 ranked Louisville, 20-9. This is a HUGE step up for us. We’ll need to play a near perfect game and hope they have an off night.

3/16: 70-67. My biggest win as a head coach! There was never more than a 7 point difference between the two teams. This was the closest, most intense game I’ve ever coached. We were down 66-67 with 33 seconds left. Ty Arch who was in for Ed Brok at SG, stole the ball and passed it up the court to Ric Sims, who laid it in to make it 68-67. They brought it down, got off a good shot. It rimmed out, Sam Bows got the rebound and they fouled him with 1.1 left. He sank both free throws. They threw up a prayer and it missed everything. 24, 12 for Sims, who played the last 4 ½ minutes with 4 fouls. Bows played the last 3 minutes with 4 fouls. He had 13, 8, 4. +9 RBs and even on TOs. We played our hearts out!

I don’t get excited very often, almost never, but this excited me. I’ve coached exactly three one possession games in my career and won them all. That feels pretty good.

#4 seed, #15 ranked Georgia Tech, 22-10, in the 2nd round. Tough team. At least on paper, they’re better than us at almost every position. We’re going to try to go to our strengths and work like hell on D. Let’s see what happens.

3/18: 84-95. My guys gave it all they had but Ga. Tech was the better team. No shame in losing to a better team. 28, 15, 3 for Sims, who was fantastic. 15, 9, 5 for Bows. They beat us outside. Their guards and SF were just really, really good, and they made their shots all night. And that team was FAST!

Great season!

4/1: We got a 2nd recruit, a PG. We REALLY need to get another big guy or two.

4/3: #2 North Carolina is the champ.

4/4: Awards: Senior PF Sam Bows is Summit POY and 1st team. Junior C Ric Sims is Def. POY and 1st team. Soph F/C Ken Bail makes the 2nd team. I am Summit COY, which just goes to show that you don’t need to make a lot of noise to be successful.

4/9: No coaching offers but that’s okay. I’m comfortable here. I am ambitious though and when the right offer comes along I’ll take it.

4/16: We get a PG, #299. He’s from Australia. We went after him strictly by phone but we got him. Big thanks to recruiting assistant Eddie Holmes for a job well done.

No staff changes but I have to say I am not happy with my #2, scouting assistant Grant Holland. He’s negative, he’s not on board with my coaching philosophy, and he’s not shy about his opinions in staff meetings. Sadly, my A. D. really likes him and just extended his contract. He’s here for 5 more years… maybe…

4/23: I ask for a budget increase. I think we’ve earned it but U. of Omaha doesn’t have a lot of money. On the other hand we sold out every home game.

We get $2,000. Not much, but better than nothing.

26-6, Summit champs, 2nd round of the NCAAs on a huge upset, final RPI of 69. Summit COY. That’s a darn good season! Overall, I’m 42-20, .677.

I wish we had recruited better but I think we’ll be good again next season. Looking forward to it.

[Wayne23]

5/1: #85 recruiting class. Hope they’re right! Only 10 scholarship athletes. My early guess is we have 5 guys who can play, 2 maybes, a let’s hope and 2 who will probably never get off the bench. That could change, of course.

We buy the Great Plains basic again. Mel Nels, the let’s hope, transferred out. That leaves us with 9. Hope we can find a decent walk on or 2. We only have three big guys on the roster so that’s a real priority.

6/5: 4 slots for transfers. Hope we can snare a couple. I’d take 4 if I could get them.

6/9: Got a C from Rutgers. He looks like a project. We’re being aggressive and taking chances.

6/12: We get a PG from Peoria and a C who started at Colorado. They both look like they’ll help us as soon as they’re eligible. Excited about both.

Happy with the haul!

6/26: 4 scholarships. Probably want 3 bigs. Let’s hope we have more luck this season.

8/21: We offer to a PG, 2 PFs, and a C. All have at least a little interest.

9/11: We lose 2.

9/18: We lose another 2.

Weak pre-conf. schedule again.

9/25: We lose 2 more. Discouraging. But we feel we’re close to landing 2 guys.

10/2: Got a PG, #204. Lost 2 more. Glad to have the PG but we need bigs!

1st day of practice. We’re picked to win the Summit and I think we can but we are THIN. I love my starting 5 but there’s not much after the first 5.

10/9: Got a C, #229. Lost another one. Hoping to get 2 more nig guys but at least we have 2 players so far.

10/16: Lost a guy I thought we were going to get.

11/6: 7 man rotation:

Senior Ty Arch is at PG. Senior Rasa Jamo is at SG. Frosh Day Syls subs at PG, SG, and SF.

Soph Dan Mill is at SF.

Junior Ken Bail starts at PF, subs at C. Senior Dave Hamp subs at PF.

Senior Ric Sims is at C.

I don’t think we’ll be as thin as I thought we would be. They look good.

[Wayne23]

11/20: Lost a one point game at home. First close game I’ve lost. PF Ken Bail had 24 and 16, and C Ric Sims had 20 and 6 but we got very little from the others. The problem was definitely offense, particularly scoring. It’s early.

We won the 2nd game by 14 and the O was better. Too early to make changes but we’re looking. I’ll give this lineup another week or two before I tinker with it.

Both recruits sign. Still trying to land 2 more.

12/4: 4-2. Our last 4 were on the road and we won three of them. I’ll take that any time. The one we lost was in OT. We missed an open shot at the end of regulation and it cost us the game. Our bench is all but non-existent. Dan Mill will get more minutes and Rasa Jamo will get a few more. They’ll both take some of Day Syls’ minutes; he’s been a disappointment.

3 of our last 5 pre-conf. games are at home.

12/25: 8-3, RPI #199. +6.9 PPG (#18, #213), +4.4 RBs (#82), +3.4 TOs (#131. We lost a home game that we should have won, but our lack of bench is hurting us. I’m playing my starters for too many minutes and it hurts.

I’ll play Day Syls a little more at PG. He’s a frosh and he’s been getting better, and Ty Arch isn’t getting it done. I will also switch Dan Mill and Rasa Jamo’s positions, with Mill going from SF to SG and vice versa.

It was almost two years until I killed again after I did Susie Mills in. I don’t even have the name for my next victim.

I finally got my driver’s license, and at 17 years old, that opened up lots of new possibilities. For one, I managed to find a summer job during that summer of 1960. I worked 2nd shift in a steel factory, 3:00-11:00. It wasn’t that tough a job, really. I was something called a “Production Checker.” I went from machine to machine and recorded how much work the person at each machine had done. They usually called me over when they had finished a load- cutting it, crimping it, shaping it- whatever. I recorded the number on the machine and they got paid according to what I recorded. There were about 50 machines. At the end of the shift I had to record the number on the machine, too, whether the person had finished load they were working on or not. It was mostly men but there were some women working the machines, too. I didn’t usually get out on time because it takes a while to get through 50 machines and the people worked until 10:50. But I was pretty quick so I was usually done by 11:10, or 11:15 at the latest.

I had really been saving from the paper route, and I was able to buy a cheap 1952 Chevy that seemed to be in really good shape. Those old cars were built to last and that one lasted me for quite a few years. The car got me to and from work and it allowed me to “roam.”

Some nights I went straight home but other nights I drove to the towns around Omaha, even going as far as Lincoln on some nights. Lincoln was an hour away but it was the closest city to Omaha and I wanted to know where the prostitutes were, where the dingy bars were, where the isolated businesses on lonely streets were... I was planning of course, always planning for when opportunity might arrive.

I was doing some other things, too. I’m not athletic, except for basketball but I knew that physical strength would help me. I joined a gym in Omaha and went there to lift weights 3-4 mornings most weeks. I figured at some point I’d want to snap necks or maybe even strangle people, and I thought having a lot of muscle would help with that, which it did.

I also continued my studies in the library. I forged a student ID for the main campus of the University of Nebraska, in Lincoln, there were no picture IDs in those days so that was easy, and I was able to get into their medical library. That allowed me to study poisons very thoroughly, even how to make some of them. I knew getting things like strychnine and arsenic would be too difficult but I found poisons that were pretty easy to make at home, and that would do the trick when I needed them.

My favorite was something called “Ruephen.” Some of the ingredients were hard to find, and if I bought more than one or two from the same place someone might get suspicious, but no single ingredient was particularly harmful so if I bought the ingredients from a few different places no one would get suspicious. I used that one a lot.

Then I went to other sections of the U. of Nebraska library. I was interested in poison darts that could be shot from a blow gun. You know, like in movies about pygmies or tribes in Africa or South America. Believe it or not I was VERY successful in this area, and blow darts became one of my main ways of killing people after a while.

You need to be careful though. If you get the poison from the dart on your tongue or in your mouth you can get really sick, maybe even die. I figured all of that out in time, though. I did get sick once but it wasn’t really bad, thankfully.

Anyway, on July 9, 1960, I picked up a female prostitute on a side street in Lincoln. It was about 2:30 in the morning and I think she was headed home. I rolled down the window and we worked out the deal. I told her my thing was to take her from behind in an alley.

“I like the way you think, big boy!”

Well… not for long. I got her into the alley she recommended, had her strip down, get on all fours with her head facing away from me. I came at her from behind, touched her here and there as though I was hot for her, then moved in as if I was going to enter her, pulled out my trusty knife and stabbed her through the heart. I had told her not to look back at me at any point; that would spoil it for me. Being the good hooker she was, she never looked back. Now the key to stabbing someone in the heart is that you need to hold the knife so the blade is horizontal, parallel to the ribs. That will allow it to pass between the ribs easily. Then you have to remember where the heart is, just left of the spine and a certain way up the back. Then you slam the knife in and the person is dead almost before they feel the knife.

I had gotten naked beforehand so I wouldn’t get any stray blood on me, but really, there wasn’t much. I just found her dress, wiped the blood and the knife on it, got dressed, walked to my car, and drove off. Once again it was ridiculously easy, and I felt really, really good for a long time afterward. I LOVE my “hobby!”

On the way out of town, at about 3:45, I saw another prostitute walking alone and I was tempted. But I decided not to press my luck.

[Wayne23]

Copyright 2019 Wayne N. Trembly

Okay, I added this on the very first post in the thread, and I'm putting it here. I'll try to remember to put it on the very last post when I end the association. That legally protects my work if I decide to revise and try to publish. Frankly, I've never written this kind of a story before and I like the way it's going, so who knows?

I realize I'm "outing" myself but putting my real name here, but, oh well...

[PointGuard]

Copyright 2019 Wayne N. Trembly

I realize I'm "outing" myself but putting my real name here, but, oh well...

I hope you're referring to giving your name out to all us perverts within DDSCB rather than admitting to your "hobby".

[Wayne23]

I'll just let you wonder about that. Oh, I know where you live...