A New Tomorrow

[Wayne23]

12/7: 59-60 at Bucknell. Tough loss. Close, hard fought game. We lost on a lucky half court shot at the buzzer but we should not have allowed ourselves to be in a situation where that could happen. Bucknell is a pretty good team but they are a team we should have beaten. 16, 11 for Thon.

Off to the Sunshine Shootout. We play 4-3 Villanova, the #3 seed, first. We're #6.

12/9: 73-53. 22, 6 for thon, 13, 7, 10 for Call, 16, 8 for Huma, 12, 9 for Sher. We played well tonight.

#2 seed, #25 ranked Purdue, 6-1, in the semis.

12/10: 88-98. Damn! No D at all tonight. We let them shoot 61.2%. I don't ever remember a team of mine doing that poorly.

23 people now under arrest. Interrogations are ongoing.

12/14: 70-55 over San Francisco here. 22 for Sher, 19, 9, 4 for Call. We played well, but we usually do at home.

Big challenge next, #23 Arizona here.

12/21: 82-68. 34-34 at the half. I raised hell and made a couple of changes and the 2nd half belonged to us. 27, 7 for Huma, 21, 14, 6 for Cole.

It was nice to have a week between games. We get another week off then the final pre-conf game at Idaho, 6-4.

12/28: 76-77. Yet another one point loss on a buzzer beater, a 28 footer this time. And again, we never should have been in that position.

8-4 going to conf play. This team needs to wake up and shape up.

+7.5 PPG, +2.1 RBs (We are not the rebounding team we should be), -0.6 TOs.

Indictments have been brought against 27 people, 15 men 12 women, for terrorism, murder, attempted murder, and various other charges. The trials will begin in January.

[Wayne23]

1/2/2182: 86-47 over Boise ST here. 23, 10, 7 for Call, 23, 5 for Thon. An easy win.

1/4: 84-71 at Fresno ST. 30, 7, 4 for Sher, 17 for Thon. We led all the way.

I was told today that a journal has been found that was kept by one of the conspirators. It doesn't name names but it does tell what was behind the terrorist acts. It will all come out in court.

1/9: 78-47 over San Jose ST here. 21, 8, 6 for Sher, 19, 11, 4 for Call. 3 for 3 in conf, all easy games.. That can't last.

Trials are slated to begin on 1/18.

1/11: 69-70 at New Mexico. Our third one point loss of the season all on long range buzzer beaters, this one from 30 feet out. Yet again, we should not have put ourselves in a position where a luck shot could beat us. I am very frustrated. We shot only 35%. They doubled Call all night and held him to 1 point and the other guys couldn't pick up the slack.

Mass suicide among the prisoners. 16 of them are dead, and 9 are in serious or critical condition. They somehow all managed to get sharp objects and slashed their wrists. 9 were discovered in time to potentially save their lives. Obviously they were being held in separate cells. Our first guess is that they had outside help, which means that we may not have captured all of the terrorists.

1/13: 72-61 over Colorado ST here. 24, 7 for Thon.

2 more prisoners have died, 2 are lying near death, and the others are expected to recover. So it appears that a total of 7 prisoners will stand trial, but the trials have been postponed.

1/16: 91-61 at Utah ST. Good win over a good team. 21, 5 for Thon, 15, 10 for Call. +19 RBs.

The other 2 prisoners who were expected to die have died. The trials will now begin on 1/31. I am told that I will be on the jury.

1/18: 86-76 over a very good Wyoming team here. 22, 12 for Huma, 24, 5, 5 for Sher, 18, 5 for Thon. Our front court did the damage on O. +13 RBs.

At 1st place (we're tied for 1st with them), #24 UNLV next.

1/25: 70-67! Great win! And we're alone in 1st in conf. 23 lead changes, 8 ties. Never more than an 8 point gap. Frankly, they blew the game at the line, going 10-23.
But we'll take it. The game came down to the last possession. We got the ball with 7.2 left, eventually got it to our PG Kent Minz, and he worked it behind a screen and drained a three at the buzzer. Balanced scoring. 23 TOs almost did us in.

1/27: 84-59 over a good Air Force team here. 19, 13, 6 for Call, 17, 5 for Sher.

We've certainly played better in conf than we did during the pre-conf season. 16-5, 8-1.

1/29: Cole Call is #14 on the Norton list.

1/31: The trial opened today. The 12 jurors were chosen in advance by the council. The defense attorney (not a real attorney, we don't have those) objected, but it was overruled. Today was pleas and procedural stuff. The opening statements will come tomorrow, and then presentation of evidence.

[Wayne23]

2/1: 80-71 at Nevada. We led all the way, by as many as 26. Balanced scoring. A horrible 24 TOs.

Opening arguments in the trial today. The defense att. spoke of circumstantial evidence and no direct ties of the defendants to the crimes. The prosecutor spoke of the diary in general terms and said that it would explain why the terrorists ("Objection!" "Sustained.") why the alleged perpetrators did what they did. Evidence begins tomorrow with the prosecution's case. The prosecutor said he would ask for the death penalty. There really is no choice. We don't have the resources to hold someone in prison for life or for years and years, and we certainly can't set these people free.

2/2: The prosecutor read excerpts from the journal. It seems that the alleged perps were dissatisfied with our system. They didn't like the way that no one had, in their words, any incentive to do their best work. There were no rewards. No matter what, everyone would be fed, and everyone had equal housing, equal clothing allowances, and mostly equal privileges. They wanted a capitalist system with businesses, profit motive, levels of housing, earned privileges, an elite class who had "earned their elite status"...

That debate had come up throughout our history and had been defeated, usually by referendum, every time it was raised. The last time was 9 years ago where it lost by a 79-21 margin.

My take is that the prosecution doesn't have a whole lot of evidence tying the people on trial to the crimes. We'll see.

2/6: 76-86 at Boise ST. Our D just wasn't there. They shot 55.6%, mostly outside, with 13 threes. 23, 4, 5 for Call. We had only 17 RBs. Frankly, this is not a team we should have lost to.

Our lead drops to one game over UNLV and Wyoming.

The prosecution's case continues. She has presented lots of witnesses who tie various defendants to suspicious activities, but there still is nothing that really proves guilt.

2/8: 81-51 over Fresno ST here. Easy game. 27, 9, 7 for Call, 19, 4 for thon.

2/13: 81-82 at San Jose ST. Our 4th 1 point loss of the season. It's making me crazy. This game was close in every statistical category. We didn't get beat by a luck shot.
We got beat by a turnover. We had the ball with 4 seconds to go. Minz brought it down, looked to pass to Call, and threw it right to an opponent who threw it high in the air as the buzzer sounded. 29, 7, 3 for Sher, 21, 6 for Huma.

Tied with Wyoming, who we will play there, and 1 up on UNLV who we will host.

Cole Call is #14 on the Norton list.

The judge seems to be getting impatient with the prosecutor. She has been going on and on presenting witness after witness but not really making a strong case. The judge gaveled her and told her to finish up tomorrow so they could go on to the defense case.

2/14: Well, the prosecutor finished. After the lunch break she called Liza Renn to the stand. I didn't know Liza; she lives and works on the Darwin. She took an oath, looking very nervous, sat down looking more nervous. The defendants were buzzing to each other quietly, looking at least as uncomfortable as Liza did.

The prosecutor said he would forego questions for the moment and asked Liza to tell her story. And what a story it was. She started by confessing that she was one of the perpetrators. She then went on, in great detail, to tell the whole story. She implicated, by name, all of the defendants, living and dead, and was very specific about what they had done and when and how they had done it. There were numerous interruptions caused by defense objections, nearly all of which were over ruled. When she finished her story the prosecutor asked her only a couple of questions. The defense attorney treid very hard to crack her in his cross examination but she stuck to her story and he couldn't shake her at all.

Oh, she implicated five other people who were not among the defendants being prosecuted. Thos five had been arrested and incarcerated earlier in the day, and will face trial later.

The prosecution rested and the court adjourned. Tomorrow the defense will begin its case. They're clearly in trouble.

Incidentally, Liza testified because she was granted immunity from prosecution.

2/15: 57-47 at Colorado ST. We held them to 18 in the 1st half and the outcome was never in doubt. They held the score down but it did them no good. Sher had 15 and 11. +12 RBs.

The defense called several witnesses, trying to provide alibis for his defendants.

2/20: 76-59 over Utah ST here. We led all the way. 27, 5 for Sher, 19, 7, 8 for Call.

We're 20-7, 12-3, still tied with Wyoming for 1st, we play there next, 1 up on UNLV. Everyone else is 4 or more games back.

The defense continues its case but he seems to be nearly finished.

2/21: The defense rested. Closing arguments tomorrow. It will come down to whether the jury believes Liza Renn or the witnesses providing alibis to the defendants.

2/22: 64-76. 17 lead changes, 7 ties, but they broke away with about 8 minutes left. We shot 35.7% and couldn't get anything going in the 2nd half. We gave up 15 threes and that was the difference. 20, 6 for Sher.

Our last 2 games are at home. We're one back of Wyoming, 1 up on UNLV, who we play in the season finale.

Closing statements today. Nothing earth shattering by either attorney. Jury deliberations start tomorrow.

2/23: The jury foreman asked for a vote to begin deliberations and it was 12-0 for guilty. We informed the judge and went back into the court. The verdict was read.

The defendants were all sentenced to death, to be executed by lethal injection on March 1. There is no appeals process here.

While Liza Renn will not be tried she will be closely monitored for a very long time. All indications are that she has renounced her radical views and just wants to raise her two children and go about her life but we must be careful.

2/27: 81-71 over New Mexico. 26, 3, 4 for Call, 18, 5, 4 for Thon.

Wyoming lost so we're tied for 1st.

3/1: 78-84 to UNLV here. We just gave up too many points. They shot 50.9%. Foul trouble hurt badly. Call played only 24 minutes before fouling out for the first time in his career. Huma had 4 fouls and played limited minutes.

This may make us the #3 seed. Not sure.

21-9, 13-5 to end the regular season. We're #23 in the polls. Given the way we've been playing against the top teams I am not optimistic. But we're going to work hard in practice. This team has never quite gotten it all together.

The executions took place this morning. The members of the jury were required to attend. The criminals came into the room one at a time to be executed. Some were stone faced, a couple were defiant, and two were crying. Hopefully, after the next round of trials, we will put an end to this tragic episode.

[Wayne23]

3/7: We play #7 seed Boise ST in the quarters, which means we're the #2 seed. We beat them by 39 then they beat us by 10. The tourney is at San Jose ST this year.

3/8: 70-60. We were in control most of the way and for the entire 2nd half, but we weren't sharp. 17, 4 for Huma. -12 RBs.

#3 seed UNLV, 22-8, in the semis. We split a pair of games in the regular season.

3/9: 83-76. They stayed within striking distance but never led or tied in the 2nd half. 23, 6, 3 for Sher, 20, 7, 5 for Thon, 17, 7, 5 for Call.

As expected it's #1 seed, #24 ranked Wyoming, 26-6, for the title. We split a pair with them, each winning at home. I truly believe we're the better team but my guys have been erratic all season. I never know when they're going to show up.

3/10: 63-54 and the title! 15 lead changes, 4 ties. It was tied with 3:02 to go. We scored the next 7 and that was that. 17, 17, 5 for tourney MOP Cole Call, 15 for Sher.

Every time we needed a basket Call got it for us. It was a very physical game. The refs were not whistle happy so they allowed most of the physical stuff. My guys are nursing a lot of bumps and bruises but the win makes it worth it and they have a few days to heal before the Big Dance.

3/12: #5 West. We play #12 Cincinnati, 20-14. This is a tough 1st round game for us. We don't match up well with them.

3/17: 74-60. It stayed close for about 30 minutes. 20, 12 for Sher, 26, 4 for Call.

#4 seed Wichita ST, 28-7 in round 2. This is a good team but I think we match up better with them than we did Cincy. I think we have a real shot to get to our first Sweet Sixteen if we play our game.

3/19: 70-71. Our 5th one point loss of the most frustrating season ever. We were down 15 early in the 2nd half. We came all the way back and actually took a 6 point lead. But they had the final run and capped it with a 21 footer at the buzzer. Last game for Cole Call, who had 15 and 10, and Bob Sher, 19, 7.

The trial of the "extra" defendants was quick, and really it was a foregone conclusion. They were all found guilty and were executed this morning. Hopefully this ends it.

Lots of open jobs between the people the terrorists killed and the deaths of the terrorists themselves. Five of the latter were in stats in various ships, which kind of makes sense. Stats people go everywhere so if you're looking to figure out how, where, and when to launch an attack and get away with it, it's a good job to have. Only one was a head statistician on a ship.

And that leads back to the why. Does it really make sense to blow things up and to kill people in order to attain your objectives? Well, the plan was to do one or two more attacks and then to send out flyers saying the attacks would stop if the hub converted to a more capitalist based system. If there was a favorable response their plan was indeed to stop, but if not, or if things moved too slowly there would be more attacks. Sounds crazy to me, but then...

4/3: #2 Kentucky is the champ.

4/4: Awards: Cole Call, Bob Sher, and Mark Thon make MVC 1st team. Coy Huma makes the 2nd team.

4/9: Would I move? If I got a really good offer, I'd consider it...

Some good offers, but I'm staying.

4/23: I ask for money again.

We get $10,000.

Most frustrating season EVER, 5 losses by a single point. 25-10. Overall I'm 127-41, .756 for 5 seasons.

[Wayne23]

5/1: #12 recruiting class.

We buy national and international basic.

No one transfers out.

6/5: One slot for a transfer.

6/15: We go after a couple of guys but no luck.

Oats are growing better than they ever have. The soy and corn crops are back up to normal production. There are no more terrorists to fear. Things are blissfully quiet!

6/26: 4 scholarships. 2 and 2 would be the ideal.

7/31: Working the recruits by phone, text, hosting, and visiting.

8/21: We offer to 2 PGs, an SF, and a PF.

Work is going well. I've been in the job long enough to know how to do it well and efficiently, especially now that I'm not distracted by so many other things. I'm almost getting enough sleep!

Baby Lily is heading toward her second birthday. She's into everything, really lively. She's walking, saying quite a few words, and is a joy to be around.

9/11: Damn! Lost a recruit before we even had a chance to host him. We offer to a C.

9/18: We get 3! Avg Guri, PG, #37, from Russia, Hili Muda, PG, #61, from Greece, and Mike Cann, SF, #9; he was the one we wanted most. Still chasing that C.

We're going to the Golden ST Classic. Lots of home games this season. Some challenges in the sched, including 4 ranked teams.

9/25: We lose the C.

10/2: First day of practice. I like what I see. Let's see what develops.

10/9: We lose another recruit. We're going to bank this scholarship for now. If we see someone we like in the spring we'll act. If not, we'll save it for next season.

[Wayne23]

11/14: Here we go! I think it's a safe bet that we won't lose 5 games by a single point, as we did last year.

11/15: 94-69 over Chattanooga here. 25, 14 for C Kam Stap, 12 with 11 assists for PG Kent Minz. 3 others with 12 or more. +17 RBs but 17 TOs.

11/18: 75-51 vs. Miami here. 16 and 16 for Stap, who looks like the real thing, 14, 11 for Coy Huma. +15 RBs but 17 TOs again. If we don't fix ball handling it will come back to bite us in the butt.

11/20: All three recruits sign. We're ranked #18.

11/22: 75-58 over DePaul at home. 21, 4 for PF Ban Bank, 21 for SG Mark Thon, 9, 11 for Stap. They doubled Stap. +14 RBs and 18 TOs.

11/25: 85-70 over Iowa here. 23, 19, 6 for Stap, 19, 5 for Thon, 16 for sub guard Reg Brig. +18 RBs, 15 TOs.

We're 4-0 and playing well except for ball handling.

11/29: 62-68 vs. #25 Ohio ST here. We shot only 35.1%. The difference was threes, we had 4, they had 10. 16, 14 for Stap.

We finally hit the road, heading to Central Michigan, 1-3.

12/2: 72-66. We led most of the way but could never really stretch out the lead. . Balanced scoring, 7 players had between 7 and 13. +9 RBs, but 18 TOs.

Back home vs. New Mexico ST, 4-1.

12/6: 83-81. 26 lead changes, 9 ties. A real war. 22, 5 for Bank, 20, 5, 3 for Thon, 14, 3, 7 for Minz. The two Cs banged heads all night and neutralized each other. It came down to the last possession. We brought it down and got it to Banks who hit a 12 footer for the win.

We're 6-1, ranked #23.

Crops continue to do well. Everyone is happy that there is variety in our diets again, and lots of choices. There is no meat here. Raising animals is just too water consuming. But the scientists have managed to make plant based foods taste, feel and look like meat, or at least what we think meat was like. People don't complain about the food much.

[Wayne23]

12/8: Headed for the Golden ST Classic. We're the #3 seed and we play #6 Texas Tech, 3-3, first.

12/9: 78-59. 21, 6 for Thon, 15, 12 for Huma, 17, 7 for Bank. 21 TOs; I swear that's going to do us in.

#2 seed Holy Crap, 7-2 next.

12/10: 71-38. A breeze. 16, 12, 5 for Stap. All 5 starters had 10 or more. +11 RBs. Only 10 TOs.

#18 DePaul, 8-1, for the title. We're now #16.

12/11: 73-74. I HATE 1 point losses. 20 lead changes 12 ties. It came down to the last possession. They set a pick for their SG, he used it and hit a 17 footer for the win. 18 for Thon.

We're 0-2 against ranked teams, 8-2 overall.

12/13: 58-71 at Akron. A mind boggling 31 TOs.

A week off to try to right the ship beofre facing #24 Purdue here.

12/20: 82-54. That's better! 49-27 at the half. We came to play tonight and we took care of the ball- 12 TOs. 17, 15 for Stap, 20, 4, 3 for Thon, 17 for Bank.

Another week off before our last pre-conf game at NC-Wilmington.

12/27: 66-60. We didn't play very well against a 2-10 team, but I'll take the win. 18 TOs; this is a real problem and we don't seem to be fixing it. 12, 15 for Stap, 15, 6, 5 for Thon, 17 for Bank.

We're 10-3, #21, RPI #12. +11.9 PPG, +10.2 RB, but 16.8 TO (+1), which is awful. +3.5 assists though.

Things remain quiet here. I feel I have a great stats staff throughout the hub. I spent my first year weeding out those who were less than dedicated to the job and less than good at it and now I'm very happy with my team.

Inevitably, as time goes by there are short term shortages of this, a surplus of that... but we stay on top of it, alert the council, and let them decide how to deal with it.

Statistical information is powerful and necessary in this strange living situation. The hub is all we have, 35 ships linked together on a voyage to who knows where. If we need something it has to come from within the hub, so we need to know how much or how little of something we have.

[Wayne23]

1/1/2183: We start conf play tomorrow. We're picked to finish 2nd behind UNLV, with Wyoming next, then Colorado ST, then Fresno ST.

1/2: 67-55 at New Mexico. We led all the way. 12, 14 for Stap, 17, 5, 5 for Minz. But 19 TOs. We're going to try to speed up the O a little. Let's see if
that helps.

1/4: 81-45 over Fresno ST here. 12 TOs. Maybe speeding up is the answer. One game doesn't mean a lot though. 22 for Bank, 20, 6 for Thon, 13, 13, 5 for Stap.

1/9: 72-81 at Utah ST. 17 TOs. Back to the drawing board. 20, 4, 4 for Thon, 14, 6 for Huma. We lost it at the line. They went there 32 times, we went 18. I got T'd up but it didn't help.

1/11: 83-69 over San Jose ST here. We led by as many as 24. 26, 17 for Stap, 20 for Thon, 16 for Bank. Those three are the guys who usually get our points. 13 TOs.

At a very good Wyoming team next.

1/16: 72-57! Great road win over #24 Wyoming. 34-17 at the half. 23, 4, 3 for Thon, 10, 14 for Stap. But 23 TOs. It's driving me mad.

#21 UNLV next, at our place.

1/18: 68-67. We actually WIN a one pointer! 22 lead changes, 9 ties, never more than a 6 point margin either way. Ban Bank got fouled hard driving to the hoop with less than a second left. He was hurt but shook it off, stepped to the line, hit the front end of the one and one to tie it and then the back end for the win. 18, 13 for Huma,
10, 10 for Stap, 15 for Bank. 15 TOs.

15-4, 5-1, in a three way tie for 1st.

The three worst things that can happen on a ship are first, a hull breach, second, the air system shutting down, and third, a water problem.

A hull breach can be a total disaster for the ship. We have evacuation drills at least once a month on every ship, at all hours of the day and night. The ships can self repair a small hull breach, say less than a foot in diameter. A medium breach, say less than five feet in diameter, can be contained and repaired with damage and almost certainly casualties. Anything bigger than that will probably destroy the ship.

There have been five hull breaches in the history of the hub, all of the less than one foot in diameter variety. None caused loss of life or permanent injury. Our deflections system is designed to ward off collisions nearly perfectly, and space is mostly empty.

If the air system shuts down, and we have evacuation procedures in place for that as well, the same ones as for a breach, time is of the essence. People need to evacuate VERY quickly or they will suffocate. There is an emergency back up system in place that is capable of supplying oxygen to all corridors in every ship, but only for about ten minutes. Evacuation takes time. Our ships all have twelve levels but there are exits to the tunnels, two per deck, only on even numbered decks. Getting thousands of people to the right level and through these exits in a timely fashion is more than challenging.

Seventeen times in our history the air supply system has shut down on a ship. There were casualties each time, but, fortunately, not heavy casualties in any of those instances. We take the drills seriously.

A water problem has less need for immediacy than the other two but it is serious. If the water stops flowing or if it becomes somehow poisoned or compromised, we still need to evacuate the ship, just not as quickly.

There have been 117 situations when ships needed to evacuate due to water problems. There were never any casualties.

Okay, so where do people go when they're evacuated? Every ship is connected via tunnel to four other ships. Assuming they are not injured the evacuees go to the nearest holo on the ship to which they have evacuated, or if it's at capacity they go to the hallway near it. From there they are guided to vacant living units, or they are guided to double up with someone on board. There are always some empty units. Our ships are not at capacity so units are available. But there are never enough to accommodate approximately 1/4 of the people living on another ship. Thus the doubling up.

My department is responsible for keeping a 100% up to date record of which units are empty on which ships. This can be accessed via mobile from anywhere in the hub so that the Civil Control people can guide those who need them to the empty units. Families with children are given first priority, followed by people living in pairs or trios.

Last come the singles. And again, we keep completely up to date lists of which units are available for doubling on each level of each ship. This is all very complicated, of course, but my department takes it very seriously, with one assistant stats person per ship having this as their primary responsibility.

What brings this to mind is that there was a water problem on the deGrasse-Tyson yesterday. Everyone on board was evacuated, and they all found their temporary living quarters with very few hitches. It took more than twelve hours to fix the problem, at which point people returned to their home vessel. It's always nice when evacuees can get back to their own ship in time to sleep in their own beds.

1/20: 82-62 over Colorado ST here. 50-29 at the half. 30, 4, 3 for Thon, who was on fire. Only 10 TOs.

1/25: 90-56 at Nevada. 21, 9, 4 for Bank, 21 for Thon, 14, 13 for Stap. 15 TOs.

17-4, 7-1 at the halfway point in the conf season. Tied with Wyoming in 1st, with UNLV one game back. +13.3 PPG, +8.8 RBs, +0.1 TOs. Thon is 2nd in conf in PPG, with Bank 5th and Stap 6th. Minz leads in assists but he's tied for the lead in most TOs. Stap leads in RBs with Huma 6th. Huma is 2nd in steals, with Stap 7th and Thon 8th.

[Wayne23]

1/30: 88-62 at Boise ST. 27, 6 for Stap, 20, 6, 3 for Bank.

This is actually the halfway point. Turns out it's 18 games not 16. 8-1.

No one we want among the remaining available recruits.

2/1: 74-64 over Air Force here. 24, 10 for Stap, 17, 6 for Huma. A season low 8 TOs.

Still tied with Wyoming. UNLV is now 2 back.

2/6: 99-77 at Fresno ST. 29, 6, 4 for Thon, 6 players scored 11 or more.

2/8: 72-58 over New Mexico here. 23, 5 for Bank. 11 TOs.

2/12: 21-4, 11-1, #15, RPI #17.

2/13: 97-82 over Utah ST here. 37 for Thon. 11 TOs.

At #21 UNLV, 20-6, 11-3, next. We only beat them by 1 at our place. They're still 2 back.

2/15: 56-75. Ouch! We shot 34%, just couldn't make shots. -7 RBs, 18 TOs. We seem to survive lots of TOs most times but when we don't rebound we lose. No one had more than 10 points.

We're now one back of Wyoming (They come to us for the season finale) and 1 up on UNLV.

2/20: 79-59 over Nevada. 20, 10 for Stap, 18, 4, 9 for Thon. 9 TOs.

Wyoming lost so we're back in a 1st place tie with UNLV 1 back. 3 to play, the last 2 at home.

2/22: 95-87 at Colorado ST. 33 for Thon, 23 for Bank. 13 TOs, which is good for us. +7 RBs.

2/27: 78-48. 30 for Thon, 16, 16, 4 for Stap. +16 RBs, 13 TOs.

It all comes down to the last game vs. 25-5, 15-2 Wyoming, #16 (We're #15), at our place. If we lose we could fall to the #3 seed.

3/1: 81-76 and the regular season title. We led all the way, by as many as 16. The final margin was as close as it got in the 2nd half. 25, 6 for Huma, 18, 5 for Bank, 12, 10 for Stap, 13, 9, 3 for Thon. +17 RBs. We definitely won it inside. Our big guys did great work!

The tourney is at Utah ST this year.

26-5, 16-2, #14, RPI #18. +13.2 PPG, +8.5 RBs, -0.2 TOs, but still 15.3. Mark Thon is #2 in the MVC in scoring, Bank #5, Stap #6. Minz remains 1st in assists, now 2nd in TOs. Kam Stap is #1 in RBs.

A terrible accident on the Faraday. It happened in their warehouse at a time when several workers were shelving things and rearranging the storage pattern. The forklift driver either wasn't paying attention, lost focus, or just screwed up, and he knocked over a gigantic pile of something or other. It fell on several workers, killing two and injuring four more, one of whom is in critical condition.

[Wayne23]

3/7: We play #9 seed, Air Force, 11-20, 5-13, in the quarters. We won by only 10 in our only meeting at our place.

3/8: 63-42. Terrific D. They slowed it down but it did them no good. 15, 11 for Huma. +20 RBs.

#4 seed San Jose ST, 13-17, 10-8, in the semis. We won by 14 at our place in our only meeting.

3/9: 69-54. Great D again. 16, 13 for Stap, 14, 7 for Huma, 17, 5 for Thon.

It's #3 seed UNLV, #16, 26-6, 15-3, for the title. Beat them by 1 at our place then lost by 19 there. I think we're the better team but we have not played well against them.

3/10: 61-76. They seem to have our number. Damn! It was close for about 25 minutes. Then they went on a 14-1 run. I called two time outs during the run to try to stop it, but nothing seemed to work. Their C was huge tonight, 27, 17. -16 RBs and again, that seems to be the key stat for us.

This will drop us from maybe a #4 seed to probably a #6.

3/12: #5 Midwest. We play #12 Texas, 25-6.

3/16: 91-79.We led all the way, by as many as 25. 18, 7, 3 for Thon, 17, 4, 3 for Bank, 13, 13, 4 for Stap, 15 for Huma. +20 RBs.

#4 seed, #17 ranked Wichita ST, 26-7. They're tough. I think they took us out last year. Still hoping to get to our first Sweet Sixteen.

3/18: 79-57. Sweet Sixteen here we come! 19, 4 for Thon, 17, 9 for Minz, 12, 17 for Stap. +14 RBs.

UNLV joins us, in a different bracket.

#1 seed, #2 ranked Tulsa, 34-3. Best team I've ever faced.

3/23: 48-82. This was ugly. 15, 14 for Stap. No one else had more than 7 points.

UNLV lost, too.

Oh well, bad end to a really good season.

4/3: #1 Duke wins it all.

4/4: Awards: Km Stap is Def. POY, Frosh OY, and 1st team in the MVC, along with Mark Thon, and Ban Bank. Coy Huma makes the 2nd team. I am named COY.

Would I leave? Yes, it's time, if I get the right offer. But we have a TP of 70 now so it would need to be an elite team.

4/9: I'm staying. New Mexico ST was tempting.

4/23: I ask for $.

No.

30-7, 16-2, #14. We won the conf regular season and made the Sweet Sixteen. Great season! We lose three starters, PG Kent Minz, PF Coy Huma, and our star player, SG SG Mark Thon, but we have some good players coming back and some very promising recruits.

4/26: Finally! Our sensors are showing a planet at the very end of sensor range. First indications are very promising. We'll need to get closer, say in about two weeks before we can know anything definitively.

We've come across many planets in our decades and decades of journeying through space but none proved habitable. That's the goal, of course, to find a place to end the journey and build a new life on a new planet. Is this the one? Only time will tell.