Hereafter

[Wayne23]

1/28: 3-0 Missouri is here next. We're playing good teams in the pre-conf period. Their SG and SF combine for 42.4 per game. Stok is back. They play good D. They beat then #3 Michigan ST. They turn it over often.

1/29: We take an early lead. Up 9 after 10. Up 6 at the half. 14, 5 for Wain, 10, 0, 5 for Scot. We're shooting 58.1% to 40.7%. +6 RBs. Both teams are turning it over too much. +16 in the paint. Down 6 with 10 left.

76-75. Trey Berr made a late three for the win. Their 2 scorers got 38, just below their average.

12, 3, 8 for Berr, 16, 5 for Wain, 12, 1, 6 for Scot, 14 RBs for Stok.

+7 RBs, a terrible 20 TOs. We outshot them by 12%. +16 in the paint.

Millie says the translators believe they have gotten a message to the plants. If it's true it is a tremendous breakthrough. They're waiting for a response, or at least a reaction.

[Wayne23]

12/1: 3-3 Vermont is here. They're 1-1 vs. ranked teams. They have a very good Center and have a solid inside game.

12/2: They're staying right with us early on. Down 6 after 10. Down 3 at the half.

Their C is really playing well. They're shooting 50% to our 31%; that's the difference, all other stats are close.

“You're beating all these undefeated teams and a 3-3 team is making you look bad? Wake the hell up!”

Down 6 with 10 left; we just don't have it tonight. We take our first lead with 3:37 to play.

78-73. We scored the last 6 points.

Kris Cole had 15, 7, 4 from the bench. He's angling for a starting job! 18, 9 for Tuck. They were +12.1% shooting. +6 RBs, +13 free throws. +12 in the paint, +13 on 2nd chances. We had to work for this one!

“They seem to be less afraid of us but they're still fearful. We think they're telling us that they were invaded by a species that really that had no respect or regard for them. Very invasive testing was done, and then the invaders tried to burn the plants out.

“Fortunately, the plants have the capability to release toxic gases. They did so and killed off many of the invaders and then the others left.”

“So why didn't they just do that to us?”

“They did. But we only had robotic explorers. The toxic gases affected their operation, but only slightly. If any humans had gone down there they'd probably all be dead. The Krul, that's what they call themselves, are modifying the gases to destroy our robots, but they stopped the process when they saw that we were not being invasive and that we were trying to communicate.”

“Wow! Pretty sophisticated! I've never heard of plant life being this evolved.”

“We always knew the possibility for this was out there but this is the first time we've encountered it. They actually want to communicate with us now that they see that our intentions are friendly. We've explained that our people cannot breathe their atmosphere but we're discussing sending people down in hazmat suits. We'll see.”

“What if it's a trap?”

“What?”

“What if they want to lure us down there to release their poisons, modified to melt or penetrate the hazmat suits?”

“Hm... They seem both very friendly and very pacifist. They 'spoke' at length about how guilt ridden they were after driving off the invaders, and how they still feel guilt about that.”

“Proceed with caution!”

(Author's note: In the 1930s, a first generation sci fi writer named Stanley Weintraub wrote about intelligent, sophisticated plant life in ways that no one to this day has equaled. He had a brilliant writing future ahead of him but contracted cancer and died at 33 when his writing career was just getting started. This section of my story is definitely influenced by him though obviously nowhere near his level of excellence. If you want to know more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_G._Weinbaum)

[Wayne23]

12/12: 3-5 Rhode Island is here. They're 0-5 on the road, their starting C is hurt, and this has “blowout” written all over it.

12/13: We take an immediate lead. Up 13 after 10. Up 18 at the break. 15, 4 for Tuck, 12, 3 for Scot. 3 TOs. +17% shooting. +10 in the paint. The subs will get a lot of PT in the 2nd half. Up 20 with 10 left.

82-58. The only upside? A lot of guys who work really hard in practice but don;t get to play much got minutes tonight.

18, 9, 3 for Tuck, and the other starters had between 10 and 15.+14 RBs. Great D. +18 in the paint.

The Captain is sending her 2nd in command down with our chief translator, Millie, since she's our senior psychologist (in rank, not in age), and me, unfortunately, to speak with the Krul. I fought against being included but the Captain says I have excellent diplomatic skills and I'm the perfect choice for the job.

I still think this could well be a trap. It just doesn't feel right. To me. But when the Captain gives an order...

“Millie, I just don't feel good about this. I think we're both in grave danger.”

“They're peaceful and harmless, Jed.”

"Except for that toxic gases thing...”

12/15: Well, I'm back in the ship. I was dead wrong about the krul. They treated us really well. They're not aggressive or assertive in any way, as you might expect from a plant species. I mean there are plants that attack, plants that invade, carnivorous plants, but all of that is the exception. Most plants are placid. The Krul are definitely placid. Oh and the Krul is the name they give themselves, as I said, but it includes ALL of the various species of plants here.

We spoke for a long time. They are deep thinkers and philosophers. They sort of “mind meld” for want of a better term, and have a group intelligence that seems to extend to all of the members of a given species. They spend their time looking out at the universe beyond their planet and moon and ponder it's mysteries, their place in it, what meaning if any there is in it, and things like that. Interestingly, there are various schools of beliefs among them on all of the philosophical topics, and debate gets quite heated on a given topic.

They have no possessions, and no need for any. The planet's and moon's rich soil and abundant rainfall provide them with all of their needs. There are no invasive plants or harmful insects in their environment.

They are, in a sense, immortal. A given plant continues to live. They know nothing of death and were only ever threatened by it when they were invaded by the the species I mentioned earlier.

We have no real reason, on either side, to continue a relationship with the Krul, but the Captain wants us to learn from them. She thinks a deep exchange of ideas regarding philosophical matters could be beneficial to both sides.

Since the Krul have never travelled beyond their planet and moon, our knowledge of the wider galaxy is something for which they demonstrate great interest.

So we're staying here for an extended period of time. Our philosophers will come down to the moon and planet to discuss philosophical issues with the Krul for, well, the captain says, “As long as it takes.”

“So I guess no wedding for awhile.”

“Sorry, Jed. I'm going to be part of the exchange talks for as long as they go on, and that's just going to take up too much time. When we do get married I
want us to be able to start out at a time when we can both give each other and ourselves lots of time to devote to starting the marriage off properly.”

“So we should get married in April, after the Final Four. My schedule is way less crazy from then until practices start at the beginning of October.”

“That's what I was thinking, yes.”

Oh, the Krul travel from moon to planet and back on the solar winds. It takes a LONG time to get back and forth but time has little if any meaning to them.

I forgot to mention that part of the group intelligence includes the fact they they are telepathic within a given species. This extends among all species on the planet to a lesser but manageable and useful degree, but within a given species they are completely telepathic.

[Wayne23]

12/19: Our final game before Big 10 play starts is with Kona, 7-2, here. They just dropped out of the Top 25. Their starting C, their best player, has a sprained finger. He'll play, but who knows how much and how well? They can score, both inside and outside, but they don't defend as well as we do. The stats around
RBs and TOs are quite similar. But they've only played one ranked team.

I don't like this team. I have never liked this team. I will do my level best to beat the hell out of them.

For whatever reason we dropped from #2 to #3 in the latest poll. No big deal either way.

12/20: We take an early lead again. Up 10 after 10. 53-31 at the break. Loving every minute of it! Berr is on fire with 18 and 5. Stok has 11. +11.6% shooting.

4 TOs to an embarrassing 15 for them. +12 in the paint. Up 20 with 10 to go.

87-65. Still loving it! 19, 9, 4 for Berr, 15 each for Tuck, Stok, and Wain. +14 from the line. 11 TOs to 26. +16 in the paint.

We end pre-conf play at 11-0, NET #1. +15.1 PPG, +6.6 RBs, -5.2 TOs, +3.9 assists. Tuck leads us in PPG with 16.7, and is tied with Max Wain for the RB lead with 7.9. Trey Berr is 2nd in scoring, 2nd in assists. Wain is 3rd in scoring, Stok is 4th. Scot is #5, 1st in assists. Kris Cole gets 8.9, 5.5 from the bench.

We drop to #4 in the Top 25.

I guess the philosophy talks are going well. Millie isn't saying much except that it's not really her cup of tea, but it's a little bit interesting. The philosophers, ours and theirs, are enthralled, she says.

[Wayne23]

12/25: We're at #5 Illinois. Their starting pf, 2nd leading scorer, leading rebounder, broke his wrist last week. They're still favored, mostly due to their very solid backcourt and to the fact that they are the home team! We'll need to dominate inside.

12/26: “They can light it up outside. Don't let them!”

Back and forth early. Up 4 after 10. Up 1 at the half; it's a battle! Their SF has 16; no one else is doing much for them. 5 guys with between 6 and 10 (Scot) for us. -4 RBs. Both teams are turning it over too much but 6 fewer for us. +4% shooting, but -7 from the line.

“It's going to come down to who wants it more!”

Up 1 with 10 left. Hell of a game!

85-82! 27 lead changes, 9 ties, never more than a 7 point differential. Wow!

20, 6, 4 for Kay Scot and he outplayed a very good SG. 15, 6 for Stok, 13, 2, 6 for Berr. Good bench play, especially from Cole and Bara. Wain was in over his head against their terrific SF, who had 29.

5 fewer TOS but a sloppy game, 18-23. We shot better by 7%. -9 from the line. +10 in the paint and +12 on fast breaks. We are not normally a fast break team as we concentrate on hitting the boards, but I released my PG in those situations and it worked really well. They weren't expecting it and it took them a long time to adjust.

Great win against maybe our toughest Big 10 opponent.

Two starters with medical issues. Dev Stok has the flu and he'll be fine soon, but Hal Tuck strained a calf muscle and will miss at least one game, maybe two.

Cole will start.

The Captain says we're here for at least another month.

[Wayne23]

12/29: At 7-2 Iowa. Their only Top 25 match ended with a 24 point loss. They have real trouble scoring but play good D, but we should be able to take this one if we play well.

12/30: We score the first 11. 18-2 after 10. Up 20 at the break. Scot has 12. 56.7% to 25%. +15 RBs. Way too many TOs, 10. They stage a huge comeback and even take a lead.
69-66 on a buzzer beating three by Kay Scot. We come back at the end but we damn near blew this one!

20, 4, 6 for Scot, 12, 11 for Stok, 14, 4, 7 for Berr, 12, 8 for Cole. Did we miss Tuck? Absolutely. With Cole starting there just wasn't any really effective big guy on the bench. Mal Bult has been a big disappointment.

+13 RBs but a season worst 22 TOs, and only +6 in the paint. Our shooting % margin shrank to 7%.

Nothing new on the talks with the Krul except that Millie says they're still going really well. The Krul seem to like us very much.

[Wayne23]

1/1/2041: At #15 Maryland, 11-1. They score both inside and out, and they play solid D. Our edge seems to be on the boards. But, in their only game with a
Top 25 team they lost to then #11 by 18- at home. Speaking of home, this is the 3rd game of a 3 game road trip to start the conference season. Love to go 3-0 but we'll see.

We keep beating good teams and we keep dropping in the polls; now at #6. Still #1 NET, which is WAY more important when it comes to tourney seeding. Long way to go though.

Tuck is back.

1/2: Back and forth early. Up 7 after 10. Up 9 at halftime. Great O but not much D. 51.6%-48%. Too many TOs but they have 3 more than we have.

Their forwards are very good but we've held them in check so far. 14, 4 for Cole, who is amazing from the bench. 10, 2, 4, 3 for Scot. Wain has 3 but so does his man, their leading scorer. That's a good trade for us with Cole coming in for Wain.

“Long way to go, guys. Keep playing hard. I need more on D!” The refs are calling everything, 24 fouls called in the 1st half which is ridiculous!

Tearing it up! Up 18 with 10 to go.

97-73. Huge win over a ranked team at their place!

26, 4, 5, 3 for Scot, 20, 8, 3 for Cole. 15, 2, 9 for Berr, 14, 6 for Stok.

Good 2nd half D held them to 33. +13 RBs.

3-0 road trip with #5 and #15 among the three. Oh yeah! We're 14-0, heading home.

Millie and I really have difficulty spending time together. She's on the planet, occasionally on the moon, often for 3-4 days at a time. They sleep in the
shuttle.

“I miss you, and I hate to have to watch the home games on video. Oh well, I'm here for the next one.”

[Wayne23]

1/5: #21 Michigan ST, 10-4, 1-3, is here. They've played the toughest conf. teams early and gotten beat up by them. They can play outside but this is not the typical Mich. ST team. Still, they can't afford another loss so we'd better be ready to play!

1/6: Don't let their guards get away from you!”

It's a battle early. Down 1 after 10. Their PG is hitting everything he takes. Up 8 at the half after a late mini-run. 5 players have between 9 and 6. +10 RBs, 3 TOs. Their out shooting us but only by 3%. +10 in the paint.

“Keep working hard! Watch those guards; they have most of the points!”

We're up 21 with 10 left, really playing well right now.

94-77. Their guards scored 43 to our 28 but our bigs totally dominated.

25, 14, 2, 3 for Tuck, who is making the most of his senior year. 19, 1, 6 for Berr, 15, 8, 3 for Stok, 11, 9 for Wain.

+16 RBs, 10 TOs. An amazing 36-8 in the paint, and +13 on 2nd chances.

(Author's Note: Just a reminder that I play out every game at warp factor 9.9 (Max speed) and only slow down if it's close at the end so I can coach us to a victory! Humbly speaking...)

[Wayne23]

1/10: 12-2, 4-0 Indiana is here. They're in a 3 way tie with Michigan and us for 1st place. They have 4 starters who can and do score, and they hit the boards and take care of the ball. But they have yet to play a ranked team.

We're back up to #2 in the polls. Who knows what, if anything, they're thinking...

1/11: Frankly, I think they're overrated.

Early lead and we stretch it out. They come back some and we're up 7 after 10. We led by as many as 19 but only up 6 at the break. 15, 2, 5, 5 for Berr, 11, 5 for Tuck but no one else is doing much of anything. Their guards have 9 each. They're shooting better by 4.2%. We have 8 fewer TOs.

“You guys are losing focus! Stop doing that!”

Up only 7 with 10 to play. Maybe they're not so overrated!

85-72. They didn't quit but our talent eventually made the difference.

19, 6, 8, 5 steals for Berr. 15, 10, 2, 3 for Tuck, 14, 6 for Cole, 15, 2, 4 for Scot. 12 TOs to 23. +12 in the paint.

Millie is tired.

“I'm tired of what I'm doing on the planet and I'm tired from not sleeping well on that damn shuttle, and I'm tired of working too many hours. I'm going to put in a request to be relieved of on planet duty.”

“Good!”

[Wayne23]

1/12: At 12-3, 3-1 Northwestern. They're playing well. They beat Mich. ST in OT on the road. We think we have an edge inside.

1/13: It's close. Up 3 after 10. They go on a run, lead by as many as 13 and by 8 at the break. 11 for Berr, 8 for Wain but no one else is doing anything at all. They're outshooting us 32.1% to 53.8%.

“Play some friggin' D!”

Down 9 with 10 left. We need a wake up call!

73-77. They played really well; I have to admit it!

Outshot us 42.6%-56.3%. Other stats were about even so that one made the difference. 18, 3, 7 for Berr, 20, 7 for Tuck. They totally shut Wain down in the 2nd and no one else stepped up for us.

Oh well, I didn't except to go undefeated. Sometimes a loss isn't the worst thing in the world. But it puts us one back of #4 Michigan and we play them there late in the season. Long way to go!

“The Captain denied my request.”

“Really? Damn!”

“Yeah. I talked to him about it and he said I'm essential. The Krul have bonded with me and they have full trust in me and he doesn't want to mess with that.
Hopefully, we're only a couple of weeks from leaving. I don't think either side has much more to learn from the other although all of the philosophers are in philosopher heaven talking about the weird stuff they talk about. I wouldn't care except I have to listen to all of it.”

“And what help is a psychologist at this point?”

“I mean everybody knows everybody else really well at this point, right?”

“That's one of the arguments the Captain didn't buy.”

“Oh well. You'll get some rest and we'll have more time together soon.”

“Thank goodness!”