Alone

[Wayne23]

1/2: 62-75 at Mississippi ST to start SEC play. Coli had his worst game of the season, fouled out in 24 minutes with terrible stats. John wasn't much better. 20 TOs. The road is always tough. I think it will be even tougher in this conf.

I am ITCHING to get into the holo and to see my people. I've read all I can read for now and I am beyond bored.

1/5: 74-54 over Florida here. Up 14 at the half. 13, 10 for John. 15, 6 for sub big man Jaar Stan. +20 RBs but an awful 22 TOs.

1/9: 56-71 at #17 Tennessee. They led all the way. Not much to say other than the fact that we were outplayed.

1/10: Took a couple extra days but everything is up and running. I'm heading into the holo now. Come along with me... I punch in the program for the boat and for everybody to be onboard. Of course, to Lana, Emma, Jed, and Len no time has passed so I need to explain things to them. Then we head out. We reach the middle of the very large lake we're in and the boat stalls out.

This isn't supposed to happen. It isn't supposed to be able to happen unless, for some reason, I set it to happen, which I didn't- and yes, I checked. Fortunately, I have my mobile holo controls, which I always have with me when I'm in the holo. I call up the holo boat repair "person" and he says he's busy and can't get out here for a day or two.

THAT'S not supposed to happen either. I override. Nothing. I override again. Still nothing. I go to "holo central." They don't answer, and that's not supposed to happen either. Obviously the repair that was done on the holo due to the water damage, was faulty. There's nothing to do but wait. There is plenty of food and the holo program that provides and cooks food on the boat is working. Again, holo time and real time run on separate circuits so I can coach while I'm stranded here. I can actually get into that program and coach in what feels exactly like a real world setting with real players in what feels like real time. And I will do that. But before you ask, when I exit the hoops program I can only come back to the boat. I've already checked.

1/12: 78-85 to #11 Kentucky at our place. We played pretty well, all in all. We had a couple of chances to tie or even to go ahead, but we didn't drop the shots when we needed them. -8 RBs. 18, 9, 3 for John, who really stepped up, and 19 for Eloi. They were definitely the more talented team, but again, we weren't bad.

1/16: 54-80 at South Carolina. This one hurt, first, because we were blown out, second, because it puts us at 1-4 in the SEC, and thrid because our 6th man, forward Jaar Stan severely sprained a toe and is out for two weeks. 20 TOs, 35.6% shooting, poor D. 19 for Eloi.

In "holo time" we've been on the boat for 4 days. No sign of any repair people. I've called a couple more times and the responses have been non-committal. The only good thing about this and it's actually a big factor, is that I love being on the boat with my friends. I'm focusing on that rather than on the fact that we're stranded out here for who knows how long, and that the construction schedule just keeps falling farther and farther behind.

1/19: 90-61 over #23 Mississippi ST here. We really needed this one. We were on fire all night. 24, 5, 4 for Eloi, 20 for Arin. +9 RBs, 8 TOs.

11-6, 2-4, RPI #60, down near the bottom of the pack in the SEC. 4 of the last 12 SEC games are against ranked teams and 3 of those are away.

Still no change. Stranded. If we could move it would be better but we're adrift, just stuck. Again, plenty of food. The boat is big enough that there are plenty of sleeping spaces below deck, as well as a fair size dining/living area and a small galley. We order food via holo though so we don't need to cook.

[Wayne23]

1/23: 61-67 at Alabama. We got down by as many as 23. We worked hard to come back but we never quite got there. -7 RBs and they played really tough D. None of our guys had more than 11.

We need to get a couple of road wins but that won't be easy.

1/26: 73-64 over Vanderbilt here. We gutted it out in the 2nd half. 18, 5 for Spen, 14, 6, 3 for Eloi, 13, 4 for John. +13 RBs.

There is exactly one team in the SEC with a losing record, Arkansas; of course we only play them once, at home. So no road win there. Tough conference.

1/27: A severe storm at sea, which is also not supposed to happen unless it is programmed in, which it wasn't. The ship was tossed about and, of course, since I have no way to maneuver it we were at the storm's mercy. Jed and Lana were violently seasick and Emma was near panicked with fear. When the storm ended at around dawn I went up on deck. Everything that was loose was thrown into the sea so now we have no deck furniture at all.

It's been 17 days. "Holo central" has not responded to my calls and the boat repair people keep saying they're tied up and can't get to us for "a few days."

1/30: 63-71 at Florida. We kept it close but again, couldn't hit key shots. Fouls hurt. Coli only played 25 minutes before fouling out. 20, 6 for Eloi.

Stan is back but starting C Stew John got a concussion and will miss our next game.

2/2: 97-75 over Arkansas here. A rare easy win, as expected. 23, 13, 4 for Stan, 15 each for Eloi and Coli. 17, 4, 3 for Spen. 7 TOs.

John is back.

2/6: 67-77 at #20 Auburn. We stayed with them for 35 minutes then we faded. 18 TOs.

Another storm, more severe than the last one. I thought we were going to capsize more than once. We learned from the first storm to batten down the hatches, and everything else, and that minimized the damage, but the storm was not easy to get through. I don't get seasick but everyone else did.

2/9: 68-58 at Mississippi. A road win! We led all the way. 50% shooting was a big factor. Balanced scoring and good play on both ends by lots of people.

This will probably be our only road win as our last 2 road games are both against ranked teams.

14-9, 5-7, tied for 8th, 2 back of a logjam at 4th. RPI #69.

A month at sea and no sign of rescue. It's getting old fast. The only place I can go is the basketball sim because it was the only one I programmed into my portable holo controls. The boat is a 40 footer but that's small and feels smaller every day. We're all getting on each others' nerves. I could reprogram all of them but this feels real and I'm going to leave it as it is.

[Wayne23]

2/11: 73-60 over Texas A & M here. Strong 2nd half. 20, 7 for Stan. 11, 3, 5 for #3 guard Kari Grae.

2/16: 57-84 at #11 LSU. They've only lost twice all season. We shot 31.3%, 4-29 on threes, mostly due to excellent defense.

2/20: 52-57 to Missouri here. Bad loss in a game we needed. It was a defensive game with neither team able to get much going. Late in the game they got enough going
to win. We shot only 30.3%, 4-28 on threes.

40 days at sea. More storms, but none as severe as the last one I mentioned. I no longer love the boat as much as I once did.

2/23: 72-64 over Tennessee here. Up 18 at the half. 25, 14, 4 for John. +19 RBs.

2/27: 59-80 at #6 Kentucky. I knew we were in trouble before the game started. We were in way over our heads. -9 RBs. We had 17 TOs, they had 7.

I had to turn off all of my friends. Two of them were clearly suicidal and the other two weren't in very good shape. 57 days at sea and the last thing I want to do is face this alone, but I feel I have no choice.

3/2: 74-67 over South Carolina here. We finished strong. 17 each for John and Stan, 15 for Coli.

We end the regular season at 17-12, 8-10, tied for 8th in the SEC, which is disappointing, but it's a tough conference. RPI #65. +5.2 PPG, +6.7 RBs, +0.6 TOs (14.0).

The days and nights are long on the boat now that I'm alone.

[Wayne23]

3/7: We play #9 seed Mississippi ST, 19-12, 8-10, in the quarters. We split with them in the regular season.

3/8: 69-66. They had a chance to tie it at the end but the shot missed. Balanced scoring for our guys.

Stew John hurt his foot. He's out for the rest of the SEC tourney.

#1 seed, #6 ranked LSU, 27-3, in the semis.

3/9: 73-87. Without John we didn't have much of a chance. And his replacement, Quin Mern got hurt in the 1st half and left the game.

2 months onboard.

3/12: NIT #6 East. We play #3 Miami, 16-14.

3/13: 68-63. We were down 15 at the half. I changed a couple of things and decided to live or die with the outside shot. The shots dropped and we lived. 17, 10 for Stan, 18, 2, 5 for Eloi, 14, 3, 5 for Coli.

3/14: #2 seed New Mexico ST, 21-13, in round 2. On paper the two teams are pretty even.

3/15: 86-79. Down 7 early in the 2nd half and we rallied. 6 players with 10 or more led by Coli with 24, 3, 6. +9 RBs.

The win gives us a 20 win season.

I am visited by a repair crew. They spend a couple of hours doing who knows what and say I need a couple of parts and they'll be back. I ask when and don't get an answer. Well, it's something, I suppose.

3/19: #1 seed Utah in the round of 8. If we play our best we can beat this team.

3/20: 77-78. Never more than a 7 point difference. 27 lead changes, 12 ties. They had it last and threw up a desperation 35 footer that went in. Tough way to end the season. 27, 5, 3 for Spen.

4/3: #9 Clemson is the champ.

4/4: Awards: We get shut out. I thought Coli might have a chance.

I don't expect to move but you never know.

No sign of the robotic repair crew. 85 days at sea. Yes, I'm drinking... a lot...

4/9: I'm staying.

4/18: The repair crew came back and they fixed the boat. I was able to bring it back to harbor, dock it, and walk back to shore and the holo control center. I'm free! 98 days stranded.

Back to the construction sites tomorrow.

4/23: I ask for $.

We get $11,000.

20-14, 8-10. A disappointing 1st season at Georgia but the SEC is tough. Hopefully we can do better next season. Overall, 158-70, .693 after 7 seasons.

[Wayne23]

5/1: #29 recruiting class.

6/5: Looking at transfers. We get a guard who looks like a "maybe."

It has been nearly two months since the rescue from the boat but I'm still tired. I can't believe how much all of that took out of me. I have only occasionally interacted with my holo friends since then, and not once on the boat. I hope I will get back to that since I loved it so much but not yet. Just not comfortable with the thought of being on the boat.

6/26: 3 scholarships. We'll go 2 and 1 either way.

7/11: Still not myself. Back to therapy every other day. I hadn't gone back, frankly because I hadn't even thought about it. I had been out of therapy throughout the long time being stuck on the boat and after a while it just left my consciousness. Clearly, I need it. Hoping it will help.

8/1: The therapist has been insisting that I go back out on the boat with all of my friends but I've been hesitant.

8/21: We offer to a PG, a PF, and a C.

8/23: I spend the day on the boat with friends. VERY uncomfortable being out on the water so we came back in and docked, but stayed on the boat, and that was a lot of fun. Maybe I'll just do that for awhile. I still get the "feel" of being on the boat.

9/18: We get the PF and the C, #83 and #84.

Going to the Alaskan Classic against Georgia Tech. We ramped up the schedule but most pre-conf games are at home.

Weekend hiking trip. We all really enjoyed it. We climbed a small mountain; very rough trail and climb. Slept in cabins on both Fri. And Sat.

9/25: We get the PG, #68.

10/2: 1st day of practice. We're picked to finish 5th in the SEC. I like this team but it's a tough conference.

10/15: We're going on the boat every weekend that we don't hike. But the boat stays anchored. We don't leave the dock. I'm thinking it's time to go on short trips though.

We hike about every third or fourth weekend.

[Wayne23]

11/14: Ready to start the season!

11/15: 83-72 over George Mason here. We led all the way. 22, 9 for PF Tre Arin, 17, 2, 8 for SG Ram Eloi, 15, 4, 6 for SF Nat Robb. 4 TOs.

11/18: 72-51 over UMass here. 20 for Eloi, 12, 11 for Arin. +16 RBs, 10 TOs.

11/20: All 3 recruits sign.

11/22: 75-69 over Iona at home. They hung in all the way. 17, 3, 4 for PG Lon Mial, 15 for Eloi, 11, 6 for Arin. 10 TOs.

Headed for the Alaskan Classic. We play #3 seed Georgia Tech, 2-1. We're #6.

11/25: 77-67. They led by 16 early, 10 at the half. We didn't quit. 30, 5, 4 for Mial, 13 for Eloi, 12 for #3 guard Cris Gwyn. Outside shooting won this one.

#2 seed Seton Hall, 3-1, in the semis.

11/26: 70-74. They took an early lead and held it. We never quite got there.

11/29: 85-72 over Eastern Michigan at our place. Strong 2nd half. 19, 8, 5 for John. 7 players had 8 or more points.

Violent storm last night. My weather equipment isn't all that sophisticated but it indicates that the storm had hurricane level winds, and the rain was torrential. This is very unusual. As a matter of fact it's the worst storm I've experienced in my 8 1/2 years on the planet. And of course there was some damage to some of the buildings. Not sure how much yet. I'm just starting to inspect the various structures. We're at the very end of the rainy season here.

[Wayne23]

12/2: 76-57 over Bowling Green here. We led all the way. 24 for Mial. +7 RBs, 10 TOs.

Lots of damage to repair. No buildings were severely damaged by the storm but many had minor to moderate damage. Crews are already working but once again we will fall farther behind on our schedule.

12/6: 57-62 to Bradley at our place. 1-21 on threes and we missed 13 free throws. Not a good night. We lost to a team we should have beaten, especially at our place.

12/9: 94-82 over Ohio here. 25, 4 for Eloi, 17, 1, 8 for Mial, 16, 7, 5 for Robb. +12 RBs.

Lana wants to get married. The thing is... holo people don't know that they're not "real." They don't know that they live only within the holo chamber and only when I turn them on. The easiest way to deal with this is to tweak her program and i guess I'll need to do that.

12/13: 74-63 over DePaul at home. We led all the way. 20, 6 for John, 16, 4, 6 for Eloi. 7 TOs.

A much needed week off before our next game.

I tweaked Lana's program but she is still talking about marriage. Not sure what the problem is. I'm consulting with the holo expert, who is, of course, himself a holo being.

Just as a reminder I am on the planet Terra 2. 24 of us landed here on 4/11/2221. On 3/8/2222, while I was the lone person in the dome, the other 23 were killed at a construction site when a crane fell on some of them and collapsed a building that landed on the rest of them, including my wife. Today is 12/13/2229, so I have been alone on the planet for nearly 8 years. I have an excellent holo chamber where I spend what time I can. In the chamber are my girl friend, Lana, and three friends, Emma, Len, and Jed. Also in the chamber are experts in as many fields as we could think of before launching our ship and the many others, all of which headed out from a dying Earth to find planets fit for settlement. With the help of robotic workers and holo experts, I am preparing the planet for the arrival of a ship with 50,000 people aboard. The ship is expected to arrive in 2246. The robotic workers can go anywhere on the planet, but again, the holo experts cannot leave the holo chamber. The robotic workers are constructing living quarters for the 50,000 who are coming here. We are far behind schedule, and when they arrive, many of the settlers will need to remain aboard their ship while construction continues. The hang up is that I need to supervise construction, and three sites are all that I can really supervise at any given time. When the ship lands construction will be able to ramp up considerably.

Occasionally, problems occur, of all kinds, including problems with some of the programs. Lana's program is definitely experiencing problems at present. I could end her program and create another girlfriend, but I have years invested in her and I don't want to start from scratch if I can avoid it.

12/20: 78-60 over Charlotte, here. 27 for Mial, 19 for SF Nat Robb. 11 TOs.

One more pre-conf game, on the road.

12/27: 60-47 at Citadel. Weird game. 15, 9 for Robb. 11 TOs.

#3 guard Cris Gwyn hurt his foot. Day to day.

Lana is still going on about getting married. I keep adjusting her program, with the help of the holo expert, but it's not helping.

1/1/2230: 10-2, RPI #26. +10.4 PPG, +6.4 RBs, -1.8 TOs (11.0). We're an outside scoring team.

[Wayne23]

1/3: 79-81 at Kentucky. This is a weak Kentucky team and one we should have beaten. We lost it at the line, but the refs didn't beat us. We didn't play well enough.

#3 guard Cris Gwyn broke his foot. Out for about 6 weeks. Tough night.

1/6: 78-68 over Arkansas here. 21, 10, 4 for John. 5 others with 10 or more.

1/10: 76-60 over Texas A & M here. It was close for 25 minutes. 26, 4 for Eloi, 10, 12, 5 for John. 9 TOs.

Lana tried to kill me. That's not supposed to be possible for a holo person. I managed to get away from her and remotely turned off the program. It will not be turned back on. But this is a serious breach in the system. Unfortunately, the only way to investigate is via the holo experts themselves and my trust level is pretty low right now. I'm thinking this through- outside of the holo chamber.

1/13: 61-76 at Alabama. Close for 30 minutes. They owned us in the last 10 min.

I decided that I really can't do without the holo experts so I need to get in there and let them try to figure out what happened with Lana. She came at me with a knife and only a lucky kick saved me. I kicked the knife out of her hand and ran out of the holo chamber, then shut the program down.

I also need to get into the holo to exercise. Too many big cats and bears to exercise on the planet.

1/15: The holo experts I consulted have no explanation for what happened with Lana. They want to reactivate her to check her program, and they want to check the programs of Emma, Jed, and Len as well. They will tell me when they have finished so that I don't expose myself to danger by entering the holo.

1/17: 87-79 in OT at #18 LSU. GREAT win! We led most of the way. They scored the last 5 points in regulation to send it to OT. We dominated the OT, mostly because three of their starters had fouled out by the end of the 1st minute of OT. 15, 4, 10 for Mial, 13, 11, 4 for John. Good bench play. +10 RBs, but 20 TOs.

1/20: 87-72 over #15 Florida here. Back to back wins over ranked teams. 22, 17, 5 for John, 18, 6 for Arin, 14, 4, 3 for Eloi. We led all the way. +11 RBs, 9 TOs.

14-4, 4-2, in a 5 way tie for 1st with 5 more one game back. It's early. RPI #36.

No word yet from the holo experts.

[Wayne23]

1/24: 68-72 at Arkansas. This is a team we should have beaten, and a game that could have been won. We were down 21 early and came all the way back, and then gave it away with 2 TOs in the final minute. 19, 7, 4 for John. 20 TOs. Not happy.

The holo experts tell me they found the problem in Lana's programming and fixed it. I told them she will never be turned on again. They are checking to see whether the error is in my other friends' programs, and then they will bring up random holo people and check those programs. It will be awhile. But I can hike and use the holo gym
for exercise. I'm just doing it alone.

1/27: 79-61 over Auburn here. We played well. 26, 6, 3 for Eloi, 18, 8 for Arin, 17, 5, 3 for Robb. 8 TOs.

1/31: 58-74 at South Carolina. We just don't play as well as we should on the road. We played like crap in the 2nd half. 16, 9 for John, 16, 6 for Eloi.

Nothing new from the holo experts. I guess I like that they're being so thorough.

2/3: 94-72 over Kentucky at home. We led from the start. 27 for Eloi, 14, 10 for John, 17, 8 for Arin.

2/7: 65-78 at Mississippi ST. Another awful performance on the road. We blew a 14 point lead.

2/10: 63-40 over Tennessee at our place. 26 for Eloi, 16, 9 for John, but solid D won this one. 8 TOs.

17-7, 7-5, tied for 4th, 1 back of 2nd, 2 back of 1st. RPI #20.

The holo expert says Emma, Len, and Jed did not have the program glitch Lana had, and none of the 15 other holo people had it either.

[PointGuard]

I'm guessing she never forgave you for making her endure weeks of sea-sickness. Make me heave up my guts for weeks on end and I might want some retribution also.