A New Tomorrow

[Wayne23]

5/1: Recruit class #9.

5/11: We know a lot more about the planet now. It seems like a really, really good candidate for settlement. We'll be there in late July. If it still looks promising when we reach orbit, and, obviously, if it is not inhabited, we'll send down a small party to explore, do extensive testing of all sorts of things... If things still look good we'll send down more exploratory parties.

6/5: We need bigs. Two spots for transfers.

6/12: We get Cal Howe, a soph C from Wyoming. He really played well against us. He can be a head case though.

6/16: We get an SF from Boston College, Sly Soam. Lots of potential.

6/26: One spot for a recruit. We're only looking at bigs.

7/26: We're in orbit. Everything we've been able to determine from the ship, every remote test and analysis we've done indicates that this planet just might be the one.
We'll do several orbits, observing, doing more tests... If everything looks good we'll send the first exploratory expedition down in 2-3 days.

7/29: An exploratory crew of 5 is on the planet. We are able to communicate with them, we meaning the council. Most council members are busy with our duties but a few are in the council chamber along with the ship's captain and one or two senior officers. I can't wait to hear how it's going.

7/30: The planet is rich with vegetation but there has been no sign of animal life of any kind on land. It's harder to tell in the planet's two oceans and in the inland bodies of water.

I'm told that the chief emphasis is a search for life, and chemical testing of the air and water. So far it appears that both air and water are very close in chemical composition to what we are used to.

A real drawback is that there are no animals with us. It would have been very helpful to have small animals and to use them to see if they could breathe the air and drink the water with no harmful effects. In lieu of that we'll simply need to run and rerun all the tests we can. If everything stays favorable at some point someone will need to take off their helmet and take a deep breath, and if that turns out okay someone will need to drink the water.

But that's for later. The crew will come back to the ship tonight and our labs will analyze samples from the planet to see what they can learn. The samples are of air, water, and dozens of types of planet life, as well as soil samples taken from several different areas within the region the team explored.

8/7: SF Mike Cann is #10 on the Norton list.

8/9: All test results remain optimal. A second, third, and fourth team are each on their own part of the planet doing more testing and sampling.

8/18: After lots of exploration and lots of analysis of data and samples, a team of three has been selected to go down to the planet tomorrow. A member of the team will walk out of the vehicle in regular clothes. Our scientists are absolutely convinced that the test subject will be able to breathe the air with no ill effects. After an hour, assuming all goes well, the other two crew members will follow. After two additional hours a crew member will drink water from the lake near the landing site. Two hours later the second member will drink and two hours after that the third member. The crew will then return to the hub and will be placed under observation for ten days.

8/21: We offer to a PF, the #19 rated recruit. He is interested. We'll see how interested over time.

8/29: None of the three member crew who breathed the air and drank the water is showing any ill effects.

No sign of any animals of any kind has been noted anywhere on the planet. Sonar has detected no sign of animal life in any major body of water.

Tomorrow, a crew will be sent down to clear a large area that is not too heavily covered with vegetation. After the site has been cleared, construction will begin on buildings to house the crews of the ships. We truly believe we have found our new home.

The planet is smaller than Earth and has about 84% of the gravity found on our home world. The composition of the air differs from that on Earth and that we breathe every day only in regard to very minimal amounts of trace elements. Axial tilt is less than that of Earth so there may (or may) not be less variation of seasonal weather changes.

9/5: The land is cleared and the construction crews are at work. At the same time members of various science teams are on planet identifying and testing as many forms of plant life as they can.

9/18: We get our recruit, Pat Stoy, PF, #19.

Competitive schedule. We're going to the WS Midwest.

Work continues on construction, and testing of soil, water, air, and vegetation on the planet, which has not yet been given a name.

Test crops are being planted.

10/2: First day of practice.

We're picked to win the MVC followed by Wyoming, Utah St, Colorado ST, then UNLV.

Testing and construction continue. It should be noted that no one who has been on the planet has fallen ill.

The crews are sleeping in the shuttle crafts that brought them to the planet but the construction crews report that they will soon be able to sleep in the first building under construction. It is not nearly finished but a portion will be secure from foul weather. Furniture, including beds and bedding are to be brought down to the site.

The crews are living on portable rations, but a "field kitchen" should be operational within the month. Crews are being rotated down to the planet on a weekly basis, include scientific personnel.

I have yet to get down there but I very much look forward to it.

11/15: Ready to start another season.

Work continues on the planet. The field kitchen is operational. Within a month the first group of people will begin living on the planet. Size and make up of that contingent have yet to be determined.

The planet has been named "Domus," the Latin word for home.

[Wayne23]

11/16: 75-54 over Georgia here to start the season. 23 for frosh SG Avg Guri who looked really good tonight. 14, 10 for frosh PF Mike Cann, 12, 10 for Kam Stap and 14 for
Ban Bank. +10 RBs, 15 TOs.

11/19: 66-49 over Drexel here. 14, 18 for Stap, 17, 3, 6 for Guri. 43 RBs and only 9 TOs.

11/20: Our recruit signs.

We're ranked #12.

Headed for the WS Midwest next. Some really good teams in this one. We play #4 seed Oregon ST first. We're the #5 seed.

11/21: 62-41. 24, 4, 3 for Guri, 13, 14 for Cann. +16 RBs but 18 TOs.

#1 seed, #6 ranked Florida, 3-0, in the semis. This will be a real test.

11/22: 66-70. We hung in there all the way with the #6 team in the country and only committed 13 TOs. This is a young team, mostly frosh and sophs. I can't wait to see how much they develop by Spring.

The construction crews are hard at work. The council has decided that the first group of settlers will number 24 people. There will be scientists- botanists, agronomists, environmental scientists...- mainly specialists in the things we will need to know most about, how to live safely, what will grow, how things are affecting the settlers...

There will also be farmers, cooks, and others. Construction crews will still come from the hub. Settlers will be busy with the business of learning to live on and exploring a new planet.

11/26: 85-62 over #10 ranked Syracuse here. HUGE win!!! We really dominated them, leading by as many as 27. 23, 6 for Guri who sure looks like the real thing. 15, 9, 3 for Cann, who also looks great. +13 RBs, only 11 TOs.

11/30: 97-63 over a very good Purdue team here. 28, 4, 6 for Ban Bank, 15, 2, 11 for PG Hili Muda, 18 for Guri. 7 TOs. We just might have a pretty special team here.

12/3: 89-56 over Clemson here. 59-30 at the half. 23, 16 for Stap, 24 for Bank, 13, 11 for Cann, 15 for Guri.

6-1, ranked #9.

[PointGuard]

Domus? DOMAS?

I thought you'd name it.....

wait for it.....

Waynesworld.

(i'm so ashamed)

[Wayne23]

As well you should be!

[PointGuard]

Yeah,yeah.

On another note: I figured out the proper pronunciation of "Dumas".

[Wayne23]

1/4: 85-71 at New Mexico. 48-30 at the half. 21, 4, 5 for Guri, 16 for Stap.+17 RBs but 20 TOs.

1/6: 88-63 over Air Force here. 49-30 at the half. 27, 3, 5 for Guri, 16, 7, 4 for Stap, 14, 5, 4 for Bank. 10 TOs.

I've been planet side twice more. Probably didn't need to be but it's just great to be down there.

1/9: 83-68 over Utah ST at home. 55-26 at the half. 30, 5, 5 for Bank. 12 TOs.

At 10-3 Wyoming next. They're tough.

1/11: 68-64. 14 lead changes, 6 ties, and a battle all the way. We stepped it up at the end. Guri had 21 but he had 10 TOs. I took him out with 6 minutes left and sat him for 3 whole minutes, which killed me, but he came back in, scored 6 points, and didn't turn it over at the end of the game even once. Mike Cann had 20 RBs. +7 RBs but a dismal 23 TOs, 16 for the starting back court. It continues to make me want to bite my forehead.

1/18: 61-70 at San Jose ST. They outplayed us at the end despite the fact that their leading scorer had fouled out. 22 TOs, so 45 in the last 2 games. We're doing everything else well most nights but if we can't fix that, we're going to have trouble.

14-3, 4-1.

1/23: 80-43 over Fresno ST here. Wow! 48-18 at the half. 10 TOs. 24, 5, 7 for Bank, 12, 13 for Stap. +25 RBs.

The weather on Domus has really turned. Tropical rain every day for the past week, torrential at times. For much of the day the people down there cannot leave the building. Fortunately the building was built to withstand the most severe wind and rain. The winds are gale force at times.
Our meteorologist says that it appears that Domus may have a rainy season. No telling how long it lasts but the odds are the rain and wind will be a regular feature for as long as it does.

Work is at a standstill, at least offsite work. The external structure of building two is complete but there are no windows in place, so sometimes the workers can work and other times they need to shelter away from the window openings.

Windows? Yes. 3D printers are very sophisticated. They can do windows, doors, you name it. We have two of them on the ground (in building 2 right now), and they crank out windows at the rate of one every two hours per machine. Sometimes one of the machines is needed for something else, of course.

1/25: 79-59 at Boise ST. 22 TOs again. 16 by the starting guards again. 15, 12 for Cann, 16, 8, 3 for Guri, 19 for Banks. +22 RBs.

1/27: 89-84 over UNLV here. This team always plays us tough but then Tark the Shark is a great coach. 11 TOs. 24, 13 for McCann. They led by 8 with 9:02 left.

1/30: 87-69 over Colorado ST at our place. A season low 6 TOs. I can't figure it out. 21, 4, 4 for Guri, 16, 8, 6 for Bank, 12, 5 for Cann.

18-3, 8-1, #9, RPI #6, 2 game lead in the MVC at the halfway point in conf play.

Mike Cann is #18 on the Norton list.

The tropical rains and winds continue on a daily basis. They are knocking down trees and sending shrubs and other plants flying in all directions. The structures remain strong. The people seem to be showing signs of stress because they are cooped up, often for the entire day.

Although the winds can get very strong with really bad gusts they don't quite get to hurricane level, at least so far.

[Wayne23]

2/1: 65-56 at Nevada. We led all the way. 24, 6 for Stap, 16, 14 for Cann. 14 TOs.

2/6: 80-65 at Air Force. 21, 16 for Stap, 13, 13 for Cann. But 20 TOs.

2/8: 85-54 over New Mexico here. 19, 6, 4 for Guri, 17, 9, 3 for Cann, 13, 10, 4 for Stap, 10 assists for Muda.

21-3, 11-1, 3 game lead, #7 ranked.

2/10: 61-52 at Utah ST. The O was sluggish tonight but the D stepped up.14, 6, 4 for Guri, 17, 4 for Bank. 14 TOs which is not bad for us in a road game.

2/13: 79-59 over Wyoming here. We led by as many as 26. 28, 11 for Cann, 12, 10 for Stap, 17, 5 for Bank. +9 RBs.

23-3, 13-1, #5, RPI #5. 3 up on UNLV, 4 or more on the rest with 4 to play. I like our chances!

Mike Cann is #15 on the Norton list.

2/15: 65-78 at UNLV. Those guys are so tough for us to beat. It was even at the half but we simply didn't play well in the 2nd. Their bench had 45 points, ours had 18.

Still up by 2 with 3 to play.

And just like that the torrential rains and high winds have ended. Five straight days of lovely weather.

2/22: 80-55 over San Jose ST here. Never close. They beat us at their place so this was sweet. 31, 11 for Cann, 17, 5 for Bank.

We clinch the MVC regular season title.

The weather remains beautiful Any rains are gentle, as are the winds.

2/27: 74-66 at Colorado ST. 30 for Bank, 11, 16 for Cann, 15, 5, 3 for Guri.

3/1: 68-42 over Boise ST as we end the regular season at home. 22, 7, 3 for Guri, 18, 6 for Stap, 13, 9, 5 for Cann.

26-4, 16-2, ranked #4, RPI #8, we win the MVC by 3 over UNLV, 5 or more over the rest. +15.1 PPG, +10.2 RBs, even at 14.5 in TOs. Too many.

The second building is nearly finished.

[Wayne23]

3/7: We play #9 seed New Mexico, 11-19, 6-12, in the quarters. Beat them by 14 and 31.

Tourney is at Nevada.

Second building is finished.

3/8: 78-60. Easy win. 26, 14 for Cann, 18, 9, 3 for Stap. 11 TOs.

#4 seed Colorado ST, 20-11, 10-8, in the semis. Beat them by 18 and 8.

UNLV lost in a shocker.

3/9: 82-63. 24 for Guri, 17, 14 for Cann, 17 for Bank. Easy win.

#3 seed Wyoming, 22-9, 11-7 for the title. Beat them by 4 and 20.

3/10: 80-64 and the title and a real shot at a #1 seed. 34, 6, 6 for Bank, 15, 10, 4 for Cann, 14, 13 for Stap.

We have so many weapons. Mike Cann beats you in all kinds of ways. He scores, he's our leading rebounder and shot blocker, and he's a solid defender. Avg Guri can really score. Ban Bank is another great scorer. Kam Stap dominates inside, both scoring and rebounding.

#3 ranked but only #7 RPI. So we may get a #2.

3/12: #3 West. Should have been a #2. We play #14 North Florida, 20-12.

3/17: 84-66. Easy win. 27, 2, 5 for Bank, 18, 4, 3 for Guri, 10, 10 for Cann. But 20 TOs.

#6 seed, #16 ranked, Citadel, 28-6 in round 2. They throw a lot of bodies at you but we should beat this team.

3/19: 78-77. They led by 20 late in the 1st half. We hit a three at the buzzer to make it 17. I changed a few things at the half, more than normal, and we came back, but it was a near thing. They missed a 14 footer at the buzzer. 19, 5, 5 for Bank, 15, 13 for Cann, 18 for Guri.

Second straight Sweet Sixteen.

#7 seed DePaul upset #2 Rider to get here. They're 23-12. On paper we're easily the better team but we need to play our game.

3/24: 93-83 and our first Elite Eight! 61-47 at the half. We wore them out. 25, 5, 3 for Bank, 21 for Guri, 15, 6 for Stap. +14 RBs.

#1 seed, #8 ranked Oklahoma, 30-5. We're favored by 2 1/2. We're the better team but we need to play that way.

3/26: 87-69 and we're in the Final Four! 54-35 at the half. 24 for Bank, 15, 10 for Cann, who held his man scoreless, 14, 4, 11 for Muda, 15 for Guri.

#2 seed, #12 ranked South Carolina, 31-8, in the national semifinal. On paper we're stronger inside, they're stronger outside. We're favored by 1 1/2.

4/1: 75-87. They led by as many as 24 and we just couldn't catch up. They shot 56.6% and their starting back court was amazing, 51 points. 25, 8 for Cann, 15, 6, 6 for Stap, 14 for Bank.

It was a great run. And our only senior is sub guard Reg Brig.

#1 Louisville wins the title.

4/4: Awards: Mike Cann is MVC POY, Frosh OY, and 1st team along with Ban Bank and Def. POY Kam Stap. Avg Guri is on the 2nd team and I am COY.

While all of this has been going on building #3 has been completed. The crew of 24 is living 8 people to a building but all eating in building #1. The plan now is to send another 48 people down at the beginning of June. There has been no disease and there have not been any unpleasant surprises.

4/9: It would take an amazing offer for me to leave this team. I think we can win it all next season.

I said no to UCLA. That wasn't easy.

4/23: I ask for $.

We get $20,000. We earned it!

33-5, 16-2, Final Four. Not bad! Overall, I'm 190-53, .782 for 7 seasons.

I am asking my A. D. (me) to move us to a more competitive conference, probably the PAC 12. We'll see.

Things continue to move ahead smoothly on Domus. The weather continues to be near perfect. The rainy season is two months of hell but what we've seen before and after has been terrific.

[Wayne23]

5/1: We move to the PAC-12. This will certainly provide us with some new challenges.

Preseason ranked #5. We plan to take a serious run at the national title.

6/1: 48 more people head down to the surface. The council understands that eventually all 350,000 people will need to move to Domus. And yes, we're planning for that.

But we want to move slowly just to be as safe as we can be. In another 12-18 months the big push will happen. We will send down hundreds of crews to build ... well, a city, really, with all that that entails. Lots of the building materials will come from the planet, but lots will also be created via the 3D printers. And all of the machinery, equipment... needed for a modern society will come from the 3D printers. The hub will remain in orbit, with a rotating crew onboard. Why? To be able to "see" a long way into space, just in case of ... who knows what. Second, to maintain a functional ship, ready to travel, in the remote case that that may become necessary. All of this will be a long, involved process, of course.

6/5: One spot for a transfer.

6/15: No luck.

6/26: 3 scholarships. We need 2 bigs.

The weather continues to be excellent but the days have been getting shorter.

7/1: Well, a snowstorm today. Temp at -5 C and 3 inches of snow.

7/7: Temps consistently well below zero for the past week or so and three snowstorms in total; winds not quite at gale force.

We hadn't planned for this and rudimentary heating systems needed to be quickly 3D printed. More sophisticated systems are being designed. People are wearing layers and layers of clothing and staying indoors.

7/21: Consistently nasty weather with snow most days- there are a couple of feet piled up although with the drifts it varies a great deal, high winds, and temps ranging from -5 to a truly vicious -25C. The heating systems are barely able to keep indoor temps at 15-20. People are bundled up at all times. The heat is convertible as to power source, able to use solar, wind, or water. On these dark days the source is wind, of which there is more than enough. On the down side the winds tend to cause havoc with the system and repairs need to be made- out of doors. The repair personnel are wearing their space suits to do the repairs because that's the only way to prevent frostbite.

8/7: Mike Cann is #3 on the Norton list. I expected Kam Stap and Avg Guri to make the top 50 but they were not included.

8/21: We offer to a PG and 2 PFs.

9/7: The bleak, stormy winter continues.

9/18: We get a PF, #20, lose a PF.

We're going to the Coaches Classic. Very competitive schedule.

9/23: The weather has returned to normal. Cool and comfortable, sunshine, mild breezes, occasional gentle rains. It appears that the planet has a two month rainy season, a two month winter, and eight beautiful months. If that holds true next year, we're all in with living here.

9/25: We get the PG, #13. Chasing a PF.

10/2: We get the PF, #56.

First day of practice. It's an exciting time.

11/11: The weather continues to be beautiful.

[Wayne23]

11/12: Coaches Classic tomorrow. We're the #5 seed. We play #12 Miami.

11/13: 89-75. 51-36 at the half. 36, 11 for Cann. 17, 4 for transfer PF Cal Howe, 15 for Guri, 13 assists for PG Hili Muda.

#4 seed Texas Western in the 2nd round.

11/15: 85-58. We crushed them. 20, 4, 4 for Guri, 15, 10 for Howe, 16, 10 for back up forward Kent Lary, 12 assists for Muda. 48 RBs.

#8 seed Wyoming shocked #1 Tulsa. We'll meet our old MVC rival in the semis.

11/17: 90-52. Easy win. 21, 5 for Cann, 15, 4 for sub forward Ban Bank, who lost his starting spot this season. Truth to tell we have 5 big guys who are good enough to start. 11 assists for Muda who is dishing incredibly well and not turning it over. 45 RBs, 7 TOs.

#3 seed Georgetown in the final. Lots of upsets in this tourney including the #1 and #2 seeds.

11/19: 69-51. They held us under 85, which no one else has been able to do, but it was not a tough game for us. 18, 16 for Cann, 20, 4, 3 for Guri. 49 RBs, 13 TOs, and the
Coaches Classic title.

11/20: Ranked #1 in the country!

All 3 recruits sign.

11/23: 97-70 over #13 Kentucky here. 50-27 at the half. 34, 6, 8 for Cann, 20 for Guri, 12, 11 for Stap. +9 RBs.

We're preparing for the rainy season which we expect to begin on about Jan. 1. At least we know it's coming this year.

11/26: 81-60 over Florida ST here. 30, 13 for Cann, who is on fire right now. +17 RBs.

Heading for our only pre-conf road game, at Butler.

11/30: 74-59. 18, 14 for Cann. +18 RBs. We're still committing too many turnovers.

7-0. Still #1, RPI #1.

Things continue to run smoothly on the planet. During the nice weather our exploratory teams, scientists, construction crews... are able to get lots of things done.

There has never been a sign of a land or sea animal of any kind and there are no signs of insects or other such creatures. Apparently, the plants are pollenated by the wind distributing the necessary materials, although the botanists are still studying that.