Fun and Games

[PointGuard]

I guess you're in a...funk!

[Wayne23]

Yes I am!

[Wayne23]

3/6: We play #9 seed Nevada, 15-14, 6-10, in the quarters. We beat them by 10 at our place but we’re favored by only a ½ point. They were picked to finish 2nd so it has been a very disappointing season for them. No doubt they’d love a win here. They can accomplish that if we’re not on our game.

3/7: 85-58. Not tonight, Nevada! We owned this game. 29, 4, 9 for PG Dilo Wort. 20, 8, 8 for SF Quin Geer, 15, 8 for SG Mao Joes.

#4 seed Boise ST, 21-10, 11-5, in the semis. They beat us easily, by 17 at their place. We had 26 TOs and only 26 RBs that night and didn’t do much of anything right. But we’re favored by 1 ½. I have been using the Boise ST loss as motivation since it happened. Let’s see if it helps.

3/8: 71-81. Sometimes a team just has your number, I guess. They led all the way, by as many as 18. We never got closer than 5 in the 2nd half.

3/9: Fresno ST beat Boise ST by 22 for the title.

26-6, #20, RPI #27. I’m guessing around a #7 seed.

3/12: #7 East. We play #10 Alabama, 19-12. They’re a big favorite. They have a solid outside game.

3/16: 67-59. My guys played really well against a good team. Jama Broz led us with 14 and 11. Mao Joes had 12, 10, 4. +17 RBs.

A real challenge next, #2 seed, #4 ranked Kentucky, 26-5. They’re an overwhelming favorite, and they’re solid at every position.

3/18: 54-79. They were way better. My guys did what they could, but they were outclassed. No shame in losing to a much better team.

AFA just named a new Assistant A. D., Major Lewis Altman. Altman was an administrator in the athletic department and he’s not a good choice. Every time I’ve had anything to do with him, he has struck me as being dumb as a rock. He won’t be of much help to Col. Mize. I don’t believe in karma, I see too much evidence against it in the world, but killing Major Riley has just come back to bite me in the butt.

4/3: #7 Duke wins it all.

4/4: Awards: Junior C Jama Broz is MT West POY, Def. POY, 1st team with senior guard Dilo Watt and junior SG/SF Quin Geer. Senior guard Mao Joes makes the 2nd team. I am Conf. COY again.

4/9: I’m beginning to wonder if it’s time to move on. Perhaps I’ve done all I can do here. As I keep saying it will be hard to find a better match for me.

Virginia Tech, in the ACC, wants me. Huge rebuilding job and I’m not sure they have the resources to compete in that conference.

I’m staying.

4/23: I ask for a facilities upgrade. No.

27-7, #20, RPI #27. 203-82, .712.

Major Altman would need to upgrade to reach idiot level. He’s harmless, and he’s nice enough, but he’s a fool.

I think I’ll need to make a serious effort to leave after next season, much as I hate to. My four years here have been great.

[Wayne23]

5/1: Recruiting class #117. 2 of our recruits are jucos so we’re better than that. We buy West Gold, national basic.

6/5: Room for 2 transfers.

6/12: We get a PG and a C and both look really good.

6/26: 5 scholarships. We want 3 and 2, preferably 3 guards.

8/21: We offer to 3 PGs, 2 Cs.

I was having dinner with a recruit and his family. We took them to a restaurant downtown. The waitress was very rude to us. It really didn’t do much to help our efforts
with the recruit. She will pay. I plan to start observing her in my spare time.

9/11: We lose one.

The waitress’ name is Millie Fortas. She lives alone in a dingy apartment on a dingy street. I plan to be in her bedroom when she gets home from work some night. When she comes into the bedroom and turns on the light I want to give her just enough time to see me before I pop her with a licorice dart…. Except that I really think it would be more satisfying to do her with a knife and feel the knife going into her. That’s riskier, of course. I’m still thinking about it.

9/18: We lose another one.

Caribbean Challenge vs. VA Tech. LOTS of road games.

9/25: Got 2, lost one. Got a C, #54, and a PG, #87.

Millie is dead. I decided to wait behind the main door of her apartment. She came in. As she closed the door, there I was. Her eyes got huge and I stabbed her in the chest. It could have gone wrong, I suppose, but I wanted her to know it was coming so I took a chance. It was worth it. I cleaned up a little in her bathroom sink, turned out the lights, listened to make sure no one was around, and left. She was #30.

Assistant A. D. Major Altman continues to be a fool. But he can’t help that I guess and he’s a nice guy, so I’m thinking I’ll let him live.

I’d still like to get another celebrity but I’m no closer to doing that than I ever was.

10/2: We lose another one.

1st day of practice. We’re picked 2nd to UNLV in the MT West but I like this team at first sight and I think we have a good chance of winning the conference. For the first time in a few years we will not be going with a three guard set, at least not very often.

10/9: We get 2 PG2, #98, #170, but we lose another one. Still hoping to land a big guy.

10/16: We get the big guy, a PF, #206.

11/6: We are far from settled up front except for Jama Broz at C. 8 man rotation and things will definitely change as we go along:

Senior Quin Geer is at PG. Frosh Omar Squu starts at SG, subs at PG. Senior Eusa Hara subs at SG.

Senior Mike Hick starts at SF but he will have to fight to keep the spot from sub Jud Bond, a juco junior.

Junior Teco Bala starts at PF, subs at C, but Senior Jin Milt is breathing down his neck.

Senior Jama Broz seems secure at C.

[Wayne23]

11/20: 2-0. We looked good in both games. #3 guard Eusa Hara looked very good.

One of our recruits did not sign. Damn!

12/4: 6-0, RPI #37, which is WAY too high. We haven’t played anyone. Broz leads us with 15.2, 10.7.

12/15: 8-1, RPI #29. 4-1 on the road but the opposition has been very weak. Headed for the Caribbean Challenge in San Juan. We play #4 seed VA Tech, 3-4. I’m the #5 seed.

I’m in the mood to “pursue my hobby.” Should be fertile ground.

12/16: 67-62. We led most of the way, by as many as 15. They came back at the end and got it to a one possession game several times, but they never tied or went ahead. 27, 14 for Broz, 15 for Geer.

#1 seed Butler, 4-5, in the semis. They’re favored by a ½ point. We need to contain their outside game.

I went out, early in the morning, after the win. I found a man who was obviously a pimp, indicated that I was interested in what he was selling and followed him. He turned up a dim and dangerous looking street and I hit him in the back of the neck with a dart. Unfortunately, I was seen. The man who saw me, in the distance, seemed unsure as to what to do. I was wearing a beard and glasses with clear glass, so I wasn’t too worried about being recognized, but as I headed back to the hotel I realized at some point that he was following me. I lost him and doubled back. I managed to get behind him, fairly close to him. I loaded up another piece of licorice, got a little closer, and nailed him. I was NOT seen this time so I headed back to the hotel and went to bed.

This may have been the closest call I’ve ever had.

12/17: 74-64. We held them to 4-18 on threes, and we were +13 on the boards. Those two factors made the difference. 20 and 5 for SF Mike Hick, 10, 13 for Broz.

#3 seed Saint Louis, 5-4, for the title. We’re favored by 1 ½.

It seems that the second man I killed last night was an undercover cop. The news reports said that an undercover policeman dropped dead while on duty last night and the death is "suspicious." It was on the street where I killed the witness to my first murder so it had to be the same guy.

I was going to go out after the win over Butler but I’m guessing the police presence will be pretty heavy so I’m staying in my room.

12/18: 57-68. It went back and forth for almost 30 minutes. Then they went on a 13-2 run, and we never got back in it. 14, 10 for Broz. We shot 30%, 1-24 on threes.

12/25: 11-2, RPI #34. +9.9 PPG (#107, #34), +6.7 RBs (#19), +3.4 TOs (#60). Too many TOs.

Still thinking about doing a celebrity. I suppose I could got to Denver and see what happens. And we’re going to Las Vegas in late January to play UNLV, a very good team this year.

[Wayne23]

1/1/1980: 12-2, 1-0. A one point win over New Mexico ST at home. We blew a 12 point lead but had the last possession, and SG Omar Squu hit a 16 footer coming off a screen for the win.

About that undercover cop I got a couple of weeks ago. When a cop gets hit the investigation is a lot more thorough. The papers said that his death was suspicious, and there continue to be reports. The coroner could find no cause of death:

“It’s a mystery. He just… stopped. Nothing I can find wrong with his heart, his lungs, his liver, his pancreas, his brain- or anything else. He just stopped breathing. No idea why. We did an absolutely thorough examination of his body. There are a few tiny bruises and lacerations, but that’s normal, everyone has those. We’re at a complete loss as to what killed this man."

1/15: 15-3, 4-1, ranked #24, RPI #36. We lost by 2 at San Diego ST in a game we should have won. We blew a 20 point lead and lost it on the last shot of the game, a 24 foot three.

I drove to Denver but I really don’t know the city that well. Never got a hint of an idea about how to get to a celebrity. Wasted trip.

1/21: We got beat up by UNLV, 69-87.

Ricky Rydell. You never heard of him, right? He was the opening act at one of the Vegas casinos for Bobby Darin. Not a bad singer; did some funny stuff, too. I saw his act last night after the loss to UNLV.

Then I waited in the parking lot. He came out very late, alone, with a blond on his arm. I had two pieces of licorice loaded up just in case he wasn’t alone. I got her first, right in the cleavage. As she fell he leaned over to help, and I got him in the cheek, near the ear.

Then I walked out of the parking lot and two blocks over to my hotel.

1/24: Lots of stories about the two people found dead in the casino parking lot. Deaths were ruled suspicious but prior to autopsy, police have nothing to go on.

1/26: The autopsy of Rydell and the woman with him gave no cause of death. Cops are investigating but admit that they have no leads.

1/29: 18-4, 7-2, #24, RPI #22. We’re alone in 2nd, 1 back of UNLV who are 1st, 1 up on Fresno ST in 3rd. +9.0 PPG (#115, #20), +6.5 RBs (#26), +2.8 TOs (#49). Broz leads us with 14.5, 9.6. We score more inside than outside but the balance isn’t bad.

2/1: News stories say Vegas cops and San Juan cops are talking. They’ve noticed the similarity between the mysterious deaths in both cities.

I’m going to lay low for a while, or at least not use the licorice darts.

Just incidentally, I have a piece of black licorice in my mouth whenever I’m out in public. There’s no way anyone would ever connect it to the murders that don’t even look like murders, and if I’m ever questioned at the scene of the crime my licorice habit will soon come out and 99.9% of the cops in the world won’t think anything of it.

2/12: 21-5, 10-3, #19, RPI #21, tied for 1st with UNLV, 2 up on 3rd.

The Vegas police announced that they can find no connection between the two mysterious deaths in the casino parking lot and those in San Juan, but both police departments are continuing to investigate.

2/26: 23-6, 12-4, #19, RPI #16. We win the MT West by 1 game. UNLV really ended the regular season poorly, wound up 2nd. Fresno St is 2 back, and 3 teams are 3 back. +8.9 PPG (#109, #26), +7.0 RBs (#23), +1.7 TOs (#59). Broz averages 15.5, 9.1.

15 of my 34 killings have been obvious murders, most done by knife, but a couple by other methods. The 19 poisonings all used poisons that didn’t leave a trace that any of the coroners found. I suppose with extensive testing a dedicated, highly skilled coroner could find something, but so far so good. But again, I need to lay low for a while, or at least use something other than the poison darts, much as I love them.

3/6: We play #8 seed Colorado ST, 12-17, 7-9, in the quarter finals. We won by 13 there, and we’re a big favorite.

3/7: 86-81. 38, 10 for Broz, 15, 11 for PF Jin Milt. +13 RBs.

We play #4 seed Nevada, 16-12, 9-7, in the semis. We won by 13 there but we’re only a 1 point favorite. Can’t let their SG beat us. He can light it up.

#2 seed, #14 ranked UNLV continued their nosedive by losing in the quarters.

3/8: 72-77. They went to the foul line 29 times, we went 9. I’m not saying the refs beat us, but they had a lot to do with it.
Nevada won the tourney.

24-7, #22, RPI #23. Hoping for a #5. It would have been a #4 or better if we’d won the tournament.

3/12: #6 West. Disappointing but not shocking. We play #11 Albany, 24-6. They have a very balanced attack and they’re not a bad team.

3/17: 71-75. They beat us outside (12 threes to our 5) and on the boards, 33-41 RBs. Very disappointing end to a pretty good season.

Saying goodbye to 4 starters and our 6th man. Might be a good time to leave.

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

4/4: Awards: Senior C Jama Broz is POY and 1st team. I am Conf. COY again.

4/9: This may be the year.

NC State wants me. I’m going for a visit.

Took the job. 8 seniors on the team! EIGHT!!! But they have some good people coming in.

4/16: The #1 is staying, but #2 and #3 are gone.

I like the guys I hired and like the guy who stayed.

My A. D., Tank Holland, is a football guy but he has a lot of energy and enthusiasm and says he will be a big supporter of the basketball program.

Speaking of A. D., it was hard to leave Col. Mize. I’m not an emotional guy at all but she was special.

4/23: I ask for a budget increase. Denied. Tank says the budget is set but he’ll do what he can next year. Fair enough.

227-90, .716, after 10 years as a head coach.

I sent a lot of my stuff ahead but drove from Colorado Springs to Raleigh. For one thing I had to bring my “plants…” You know, the ones I use for the poison darts, and for other poisons. Couldn’t trust those to go any other way but with me.

Now I’ll need to get to know the Raleigh area.

[Wayne23]

5/1: #24 recruiting class. Pretty good! I buy national basic.

6/5: One guy transfers out.

6/12: Went after a guy but no luck.

It’s different down here in the South. Never had much contact with this part of the country. HOT!!! And the people move and speak slowly. In this heat it’s no wonder.

I’ll never master the way of talking or the attitude. Everything’s too … close, I guess. “Honey” this and “darlin’” that. All of it. Oh well, my assistants are from the South so they’ll handle it. Everybody knows I don’t talk much and don’t get close to people so it shouldn’t be a problem.

Raleigh’s a fair size city and like all cities it has it’s seamy side, so I’m sure, when the time comes, I’ll be able to “pursue my hobby.”

6/26: 5 scholarships. We want 3 guards, if we can get them.

I’d forgotten how much there is to do with a new team. I was at AFA for 5 years so I haven’t had to do this for a while. Some of the things are:

Getting my assistants on board with what I expect of them and with what their specific duties are. Setting meeting schedules with them. Lots of other stuff.

Getting to know the personnel in the athletic offices. AFA was a really small school. This place is HUGE. PNC Arena sits 19,722, about 3 ½ times the capacity at AFA.

There are a LOT of people working in the athletic offices. I don’t need to know all of them but I need to know the A. D., of course, his assistants, the secretaries, the people in the financial offices, the people in the basketball office, especially my executive assistant- didn’t have one of those at AFA but here she will be a huge help, doing lots of things that ate up my time at AFA and the other schools I was at, need to get to know the head of supply, the head of maintenance…

I need to put my system in place, make sure my assistants have a full, deep understanding of it, and send it out to my players. A few of the players are on campus for at least part of the summer but many are not. At AFA they were on campus year round. I’d love to visit all of my players at their homes, but they’re from all over the East and the Midwest, so I won’t meet most of them until they come back to school in late August; too much else to do. I’ve arranged it so that any who want to get here earlier than that will have their dorm rooms available, and some will come, but it’s not clear yet how many.

The offensive and defensive systems in place here were very different from what I run. The last guy pressed a lot and I rarely do. So there will be a big learning curve for the vets, and there’s always a big learning curve for the freshmen, of which I have 7. I plan to redshirt two, but there are four candidates for red shirts so we’ll have to see how that turns out.

I’m not running a basketball camp this summer. The last guy didn’t have one. I really like to have a camp, for a lot of reasons, but there isn’t time to set it up for this year. We’ll definitely have one starting next season.

I need to find my way around the campus. It’s a big campus and I feel I need to know where things are. NC ST has a special cafeteria for varsity athletes but I’m not big on that. I will eat at the other cafeterias as well as ours, and I will encourage my players to do the same. The student part of “student-athlete” is important to me and I want the guys to interact more with the student body as a whole. We also have athletic dorms. I don’t like that either but it’s not going to change.

Speaking of students I will need to get to know our academic advisors, tutors, and the rest of the people doing that sort of work.

I need to know the physicians, trainers, physical therapists…

I’ll need to find a couple of walk ons, some student team managers…

I have a small apartment in a building just off campus but I want to buy a small house if I can find one in my price range that’s not far from my part of campus.

It’s kind of endless, and I’m sure I’m leaving some things out, but as they come up I’m doing them.

My A. D. has set goals for the team that I feel are reasonable- Make the NIT, finish in the top half of the ACC, finish above .500, improve Team Prestige. This is one of the toughest, if not THE toughest conferences in the country, but I think we can finish 7th out of the 15. Having said that, 8 teams are ranked in the preseason poll and we’re not one of them, so it won’t be easy.

8/21: We offer to 3 PGs, 2 Cs.

8/30: All of my players are here and I have had a couple of chances to speak with each of them.

9/11: We lose two.

9/18: WE get a C, #76, and a PG, #87. We lose two.

Golden ST Classic vs. Kent ST.

9/25: We get the other 3, two PGs, #75, #181, and a C, #71. Great haul.

I feel like I know my way around the athletic facilities really well, and I know the personnel. I also feel good about how well I know the campus. I keep a pocket map
with me but I can usually find what I’m looking for. Still not great with getting around Raleigh but that will come with time.

10/2: 1st day of practice. We’re picked to finish 12th so I guess we have our work cut out for us.

11/6: 8 man rotation. Expect changes:

Frosh Jay Crum is at the Point with frosh Mo Wall backing him up.

Senior Wes Wild is at SG with Fran Brax subbing.

Senior Sean Maer starts at SF, subs at PF. Frosh Jon Wats subs at SF.

Senior Sal Bakk starts at PF, subs at C. Senior Stu Gray is at C.

Let’s see what happens!

[Ddevore65]

What happened in the rest of the season after conference play? The MW and NCAA tourneys? It seems Coach has a new job

[Wayne23]

Oops. I skipped a post. I'll put it in. If I can slide it in where it belongs I'll do that.

[Wayne23]

I edited the 1/1/1980 post to add what I forgot. That's the only way I could figure out to do it. Thanks for the catch, DDevore65!