Hereafter

[Wayne23]

3/22: #4 seed, #10 ranked San Diego St, 29-5, in the Sweet 16. They're 3-1 vs. Top 25 teams. They can play, especially on D, where they hold opponents to 58.1. We think we can turn them over and we'll need to. This one looks pretty even!

Virginia, the #2 overall pick, is out!

3/23: Slow start for both teams. Up 4 after 10. 33-20 at the half. 16 for Prio, which is exactly what we need! 3 fouls for Sims. +10 in the paint, 7 fewer TOs.

They're shooting 26.3%. Down 2 with 10 left as they came back.

56-58. They made a back door cut play work with less than a second left.

16 for Prio in his last college game. It's also the last game for starting PG Dave Laws, for Ari Duna, , starting SF Lars Nico, starting C Mike Sims. So all 5 starters are gone. Very disappointing end to our season. I expected at least Final Four.

3/28: After the Elite Eight, two #4s, a #5 and a #11 are alive.

4/3: #10 ranked San Diego ST won it all. We lost to the champs.

4/4: Awards: I am National COY. Sam Prio is a 2nd team All American.

In the Big 10 Prio is Def. POY and 1st team. I am Conf. COY.

I don't see myself moving but you never know.

Not moving.

4/23: 31-5 but a very disappointing post season. Overall, I'm 743-171, .813 after 25 seasons.

Better luck next season!

[Wayne23]

5/1: #2 preseason. #1 recruiting class.

We buy the National and International Premium reports.

We've been exploring the planet with robots. There is a civilization here but it is completely non-technical. At the same time they seem to have everything they need and they don't appear to need to work for it. They have resisted the robots' efforts to communicate. We're thinking of sending a human crew down.

5/9: I am one of a party of 3 meeting with the natives on the planet. They call themselves the Beali..

“We do not speak with machines.”

“Will you speak with us?”

“You have need of our counsel.”

“Oh? How so?”

“You have had four people trapped in a machine for some months now. They are in no danger or distress but they would like to rejoin your people and are unable to do so.”

No idea what they're talking about.

“I don't understand what you're saying.”

“Three of your people were lost. Trapped. A fourth tried to rescue them and failed and is trapped with them.”

The holo!

“Can you assist us?”

“We are studying the situation. We have not found a solution at this time.”

5/12: As we get to know the Beali we have learned that they live a life of thought, philosophy, rumination. They are not any more active than they need to be and they have tremendous mental powers.

“We learned many, many years ago that we can direct our mental energies to grow the crops we use for food, and to bring those crops to us without our having to do anything except to reach out our hands.

“We can control the temperature so that our bodies are always comfortable.

“When rain is needed we have larger plants provide shelter for our bodies.

“It is unnecessary for us to do anything to distract us from our thought processes.”

“And you have no need of machines?”

“None. All of our needs are provided for and we live blissfully, thinking, discussing, rethinking.”

“You can see things far away.”

“We have learned to extend our minds far beyond this planet.”

“That's how you know about the people in our holo chambers.”

“Yes.”

“But you haven't found a way to get them free.”

“We continue to ponder. A solution will emerge in time.”

“How much time.”

“It is impossible to know.”

[Wayne23]

5/29: Jay Lowe transfers out. He would have gotten minutes.

We have room for 2 transfers. We need at least one big man.

We offer to a C and a PF; the C is an A. 0-2.

6/2: Round 2: We offer to 2 bigs, both Bs. One has us in his top 5. Got both and they may both start.

We're still on the planet. The Beali still have no solutions for us.

“You have learned all that you are able to learn from us. Your minds are not like ours and are not capable of doing the things our minds can do. It is time for you to leave of and continue your journey.”

“But you may have the solution to rescuing our four people.”

“When we arrive at the solution we will reach out and deliver it to you.”

“But what if it requires some sort of intervention on your part?”

“Then we will intervene.”

“What if we are very far away.”

“Distance is of no consequence.”

Wow!

We are preparing to leave the Beali solar system.

6/25: We'll go to Indy and to all of the regionals.

We're back in empty space. There's a lot of talk regarding the Beali stating that the four young men in the holo are alive and well, but trapped. The families are really pressuring us to do something but there's nothing we can do except hope that the promised Beali rescue comes quickly.

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

8/7: PG Tal Bann is #4 on the Norton list.

8/21: We offer to PGs, 2 PFs, and a C.

9/11: 5 offers but we can only do 4 visits.

9/18: We get 3, lose 2. We get a PG, #13, a PF, #24, and a C, #30. We offer to a PG and a PF.

No early season tournament this season. All ranked teams in the pre-conf schedule. Most games are at home.

9/25: We get a PF, #16 but lose the PG. We offer to an SG.

10/2: WE lose the SG, offer to a PG.

1st day of practice. We're good. It remains to be seen how good.

10/9: We lose the PG. We're out of options for decent guards and will probably wait until Spring.

10/16: Hali and I have always wanted to be in a bad storm at sea. We don't want it to be a horribly bad, capsize the boat storm, but a bad one that may threaten to capsize the boat at times. We take a long weekend and go for it.

10/19: The storm was incredible! It raged for a day and a half, tossing us about, turning everything upside down. We were barely able to eat because even putting a sandwich together was a challenge the way the boat was being tossed around. Sleep was impossible.

Neither of us gets seasick so that wasn't an issue but fatigue, hunger, bumps and bruises from being tossed around- all of those things were tough.

At times we could see the waves and how high they were but often it was too dark to see much of anything at all.

By the end we were both totally fatigued. We strapped ourselves down in our cots and just rode out the last few hours. When it was over we made it to the dock, docked the boat and all but crawled to shore and then out of the program. We both agreed that this was what we wanted to experience but thought it was unlikely that we'd do it again!

[Wayne23]

11/12: Here's our lineup:

Frosh Tal Bann starts at the Point. He will likely be our best player.

Senior Bree Rivo gets the nod at SG but can he keep it? He's looked really good in practice so here's hoping.

#3 guard, ready to step in at SG, is senior Troy Wild. #4 is frosh Mark Ruth, who does some things well but isn't really ready. #5 is frosh Josh Hugo. I would have red shirted him but I felt I needed to have 5 guards on the roster.

Frosh Kev Robi is at SF. We have high hopes for him.

Soph Troy Moro, a transfer from Penn ST, is at PF. He won the position during practice.

Senior Rom Maye, a three year starter at Houston, is at C. We are excited to have him and he is our best big man.

#1 big off the bench is C/F Ely King, a senior. He's disappointed not to be starting. That could be a motivator, or it could hurt his play. We'll see.

#2 sub inside is senior Mal Barr, who can play. #3 is frosh Max Wolf, who's not ready. Finally there's Ben Roll, who is also not ready.

11/13: #13 Wichita ST is here to start the season. Not much to go on but we think we're better. We'll see!

11/14: Slow start. Up 47-29 at the half. 3 fouls for Bann.

94-63. 19, 12, 5 for C Rom Maye, 13, 5, 6 for SG Bree Rivo, 12, 6 for SF Troy Moro. 14 for #3 guard Troy Wild. PG Tal Bann had a better 2nd half but wound up with only 7, 5, 7; we expect much better. Bench was +16. +10 RBs, 6 TOs. +32 in the paint.

11/16: #10 ranked, 0-1 Virginia is here. They were in a shootout in their opener and lost 91-100. They turned it over 19 times.

11/17: We fall behind early. 34-48 at halftime. Both of our forwards have 3 fouls. -11 RBs, shooting 32%.

69-66. We trailed most of the way, by as many as 17. A late run put us ahead and they missed their last 5 shots.21, 4, 4 and great D for Bann, 11, 3 for Wild, who is playing really well.

+20 inside, 11 TOs. A good win; we never quit despite the fact that they were beating us easily for quite a while.

11/20: 3 of my 4 committed recruits sign. The other will have no trouble hitting our SAT score.

The polls re food, holos, working conditions... have gotten skewed. They will resume soon.

(Author's note: Except in special circumstances I will now be reporting on games once a week.)

[Wayne23]

11/21: Later today we play #7 UConn, 2-1, here. They're a good team but not as good as when I was there. We have a big edge on the boards.

We fall to #5 in the new poll.

Game time: Up 12 at the half. So far tonight and this season Bann is good but he's not the superstar I expected him to be. Maybe he'll grow into that. 2 starters with 3 fouls each.

75-57. Bann wound up having a pretty good game, 18, 8, 3, 3, and good D. +16 for the bench. +20 inside and 8 TOs.

11/23:1-2 Arkansas is here. They are an inside team. Our bigs will need to step up and our guards will need to turn them over.

11/24: After a slow start we lead 51-27 at the half. 17, 1, 4 for Bann but Rivo has 3 fouls.

81-60. Never in doubt. 22, 4, 4 for Bann, 17, 11 for PF Troy Moro, 13, 9 for SF Kev Robi. +16 RBs.

Only one challenge so far, Virginia. Some very good teams on the schedule though.

We just compiled the data for a poll on work. Most people are reasonably satisfied with their jobs, working conditions, and hours. Most people work 5 days, 6 hours each day. Administrators, line officers, and some others work longer.

People in water reclamation, supply, and distribution are the least happy. The Council is investigating. I could save them a lot of time. The chief of operations is incompetent and she treats people badly.

Most other departments are anywhere from content to very content.

[Wayne23]

11/27: #4 in the new poll.

#24 Oklahoma, 3-0, is here. They play excellent D, and they rebound. We'll need to play well.

11/28: We take an early lead. 44-29 at the half. 15, 2, 4 for Bann.

79-61. An easy win. 22, 4, 6 for Bann, who has been playing very well; held his man to 2. 11, 6, 8 for Rivo. +13 RBs, +18 down low, 10 TOs.

Problems with air quality. The air is testing as not as clean as it should be. The Air Supply and Quality team is checking into it.

11/30: #5 NC ST, 6-0, is here. Their starting SG and best scorer is out with a broken hand. 2 other starters are playing hurt, if they play.

They are strong inside but they haven't played anybody.

12/1: 43-32 at the half. 11, 3, 3 for Bann, 10 for Wild.

77-55. 21, 6, 6, 4 for Bann, who shut his man down. 15, 7 for Moro, 16 for Wild. +11 for the bench. +11 RBs.

I'm giving Wild some of Rivo's minutes, but Rivo is still starting at SG.

The Air Supply & Quality team has found nothing to ease the difficulties with air quality. The geeks are now looking through the computers, both for original documents regarding installation and operation, as well as any glitches, intentional or accidental.

[Wayne23]

12/4: #20 Kentucky, 4-1, is here. They are very good at C and SG, but not so good at the other spots. They play good D.

12/5: We trail throughout the 1st half. 29-37 at nthe break. Lots of foul trouble and shooting 26.9%. Bench is +11 but that's the only bright spot. -12 in the paint.

74-69. We finally starting hitting shots with about 6 ½ minutes left and came roaring back from down 14. 19 for Bann, 16 for Rivo. +12 for the bench. 11 TOs to 25. But -13 RBs, -14 in the paint. We wound up shooting 38.6% but were still under 30% with 6 minutes or so left so we made most of our shots after that.

The geeks found the solution:

“Filters. Somehow, in 26 years in space no one has ever changed an air filter. Change them and the air quality should be back to 100%.”

“Air filters? There are air filters?”

“Supposed to be changed every 5 years.”

“I have never seen an air filter in any of our storage spaces.”

“When you've worked on the equipment didn't you notice the filters in place?”

“Yeah, I guess I did, but I never gave it a thought. No one did.”

“Something was badly missed in the training sessions.”

“That's for sure. I'll do the research on how to 3D print air filters and we'll change them all. There must be hundreds of them.”

Only one game this week. We can use the rest.

Interestingly, we're 7-0, and we go on the road for the first time for our next 2 games.

[Wayne23]

12/12: At #16, 5-2 Kansas. They have trouble scoring but they're a good team. Let's see how we do in our 1st road game.

We're #3 in the new poll.

12/13: Close throughout most of the first half, then they went on a late run. 25-40 at the break.

54-73. They totally shut us down, 32.2%. 17, 8 for Robi, 12, 6 for Moro. Our guards were invisible.

“Kind of interesting that those air filters lasted 5 times as long as they were rated for before starting to break down.”

“Turns out the water people didn't know they had filters to change. Those only need changing every 10 years but they're original so in
place for about 26 years. The replacements are being printed now.”

“How did we miss this!”

“Hard to say. At least it's being taken care of and it won't happen again.”

“What about the shuttles?”

“Good idea! We'll check. I'm sure they have both water and air filters. Probably different sizes so that could be tricky with printing.”

[Wayne23]

12/18: At 8-1 North Carolina. They have two starters out. They both went out in game 3 and the team is 5-1 since then. They play very good D. We're big favorites but this team seems really good. But they've only played one ranked team, losing by 17.

12/19: Down 14 at the half. We're shooting poorly again.

79-73. Down 16 in the 2nd half.

23, 4, 4 for Bann, 10, 10 for Maye, 11, 4, 6 for Rivo. +15 RBs. Great win!

“Turns out the filters on the shuttle were really odd sizes and tricky regarding printing new ones. We're working on it though.”

[Wayne23]

12/25: We end pre-conf play at 8-1. #2, NET #1. +11.7 PPG, +7.0 RBs, -5.2 TOs, +4.2 assists, +1.8 steals.

Bann leads us in scoring with 17.2. No one else has more than 10.0 (Moro), which is a problem. Maye leads in RBs with 8.9. Rivo gets 5.3 assists. Bann doesn't dish enough for a PG.

We start Big 10 play with 3-6 Illinois here. We're a huge favorite.

12/26: 42-40 at the half. We're not playing D. 17 for Bann.

74-67. Too close. 25, 6, 4 for Bann, 13, 8 for Moro. +19 RBs. We played better in the 2nd half but not as well as we'll need to against the good teams.

12/29: 7-3 Wisconsin is here. They score 9.5 fewer but give up 7 fewer. We should have a big edge inside.

12/30: We slowly built and increased the lead. It's 46-28 at halftime. 16, 5 for Bann. Only 2 TOs.

75-57. Never close in the 2nd half. 20, 7, 3 for Bann, 12, 5 for Moro, 10, 4, 3 for Rivo. Only 6 TOs.