Hereafter

[Wayne23]

1/1/2049: We're 10-1, 2-0, #3.

We host #4 Michigan, 11-3, but 0-2. They're 4-0 vs. ranked teams. Their PG is #3 on the Norton list so this will be Bann's biggest test so far.

We think we're better everywhere else and we're not conceding at PG! Michigan badly needs a win and that makes me a little nervous.

1/2: Back and forth through the 1st half. A late run puts us up 34-21 at the break. They have 2 starters with 3 fouls each. Bann is playing their PG at least even, if not better. +8 RBs.

75-61. BIG win! Their All Star PG had 20, 5, 3, 3 with 9 TOs to Bann's 12, 5, 5, with 1 TO. I'll take that every time!

11, 14, 3 for Moro, 12, 7 for Maye, 10, 6 for King. +12 RBs, +14 in the paint.

1/5: At 7-4, 1-1 Penn ST. We're big favorites but it's on the road.

1/6: They take a quick lead. 33-39 at the half. We're shooting 28.6%. +12 at the line is keeping us in it. Our bench is -11. They start the 2nd with a big run. We're in trouble.

73-85. Miserable D, they shot 56.1% to our 32.3%. -12 for our bench. +17 RBs but it wasn't enough.

It has taken a long time to design, print, and fit air and water filters in the shuttle, but it's finished, finally.

[Wayne23]

1/8: 3-11, 1-4 Nebraska is here. They score 56.9 a game; that may be the worst in Div. I.

1/9: We take an early lead and extend it quickly. 35-24 mat halftime. Maye has 3 fouls, as does his man. -8 RBs but 11 fewer TOs.

65-37. We broke it open early in the 2nd. They definitely have trouble scoring! 17, 8, 3, 3 for Bann, who held his man to 3. +10 for the bench. 7 TOs to 28. +18 down low.

1/12: At 6-8, 3-2 Illinois. We're a big favorite. They give up more points than they score.

1/13: They're hanging with us. 42-42 at the half. 22 for Bann. Robi has 3 fouls as does their leading scorer. Our D is awful, 59.3%.

75-79. This is NOT a team we should have lost to and I let the players know I'm not happy.

Bann was amazing, 49 points. Sadly, the rest of the players stood around and watched him. -10 in the paint. They shot 50.9%.

1/14: The Beali are back.

“People of the ship, we have a method for you to rescue your four lost crew members.”

We called the Council together immediately.

“We are ready to hear your plan.”

“You must enter the holo chamber-”

“We have tried that many times.”

“You must enter the holo chamber and remain well to the left side, proceed forward, on the left side, slowly. We recommend that you send three humans. You must bring with you a very long, sturdy rope. It should be 20 meters long.”

“Why not robots?”

“We recommend that you send three humans. Continue along the left side. At a certain point you will enter a heavily wooded area. Remain on the left side. You will eventually see a cave in a hillside.

“This is the critical juncture of the rescue. Do NOT enter the cave. Instead, call to the four crew members. They are trapped inside the cave. When they reply to your call tell them you will throw the rope to them. When it comes within their grasp- this may take several throws as the rope must reach the entrance to the cave and your three humans should be no closer than 10 meters- 12 meters would be better-”

“That's a long throw.!”

“It may take several attempts. Once they are able to grasp the rope they must be told that all of them must grasp it firmly. The three rescuers should remain on the left side and slowly but steadily pull on the rope until the last crew member is completely outside of the cave. At this point they will be able to walk to your location.

“They are not injured but they will be weak due to their long stay inside the cave. They were unable to exercise and they will be weak.

“You should have supplies of restorative food and drink. Allow them to eat, drink, and to rest for twelve hours or more, being careful to remain on the left.

“After all of this has happened turn toward the entrance to the holo. What was the left side is now the right. Remain on the right side and proceed at a moderate pace so as not to tire the four crew members. That is all.”

“Wait! What about-”

“We will leave you now.”

And they did.

The Council selected a medical staff member, a psychologist, and a fitness expert to plan the rescue. When the time came the medic, the fitness expert and I would enter the holo chamber and try to effect the rescue. The planning would take several days before the rescue could be attempted.

[Wayne23]

1/17: At 9-5, 3-2 Purdue. We've played 2 conf. road games and lost them both against opponents we should have beaten. This is another team we should beat. They're good outside and they're deep, but we should dominate inside.

1/18: Back and forth then we go on a run. 47-38 at the break. 21 for Bann. 4 TOs. 3 fouls for Moro.

87-80. Bann is on fire, 49 last game, 34, 3, 4 tonight. 15, 4 for sub C/F Ely King. 6 TOs to 22, +14 in the paint.

We went in for the rescue this morning. Ahmad, Leah and I entered carefully and moved immediately quite a bit to the left. We proceeded slowly, staying to the left. After what seemed like forever we saw the cave in the distance. When we got close enough we shouted to the people who were supposed to be inside. After a brief pause they came to the front of the cave.

We told them who we were and explained what we were going to do, and what dangers they had to avoid.

“We're very weak. I don't know if we can do this.”

“We'll take it as slow as it needs to be.”

After several missed tosses we finally got the rope to the entrance to the cave. All 4 people held onto it.

They would need to descend a fairly steep hill, and this was the biggest concern. The Beali had made it clear to us that if we got too close we would become trapped in the cave so we couldn't help much.

The descent took a couple of hours. When the four reached us they lay down. We gave them a drink that had the right combo of ingredients to help to restore them. They rested for awhile. Then we fed them the nutritious food our people had prepared for them. They rested again.

At this point we decided that we should spend the night rather than trying to get back to the holo entrance. The four were too weak to do it today.

The next morning, after feeding them and giving them drink, we set out.

We had to take it very slowly and keep in mind staying to the right. Loar, his brother, Axel, and the two others, Woli and Rumo, were so weak they tended to wander. We needed to practically herd them.

Eventually we made it to the entrance and got out of the holo.

Their families were waiting along with medical personnel. All 4 were taken to sick bay after greeting their families. When they're up to it we will question them.

[Wayne23]

1/22: At #8, 14-4, 4-3 Ohio ST. This figures to be a tough one. They can play.
We dropped to #5 in the latest polls.

1/23: Defensive game early on. Then we go on a run. 57-29 at the half. NOT the game I expected. Our O has been fantastic, 57.9%, 7-10 on threes. 18, 6, 3 for Bann, 12, 3 for Robi. +9 RBs, only 3 TOs, +20 inside. They're playing us even in the 2nd, not making a run at us.

93-70. One of the best road wins in my career. 33, 6, 5 for Bann, who is lighting the world on fire lately. 15, 4, 3, 3 for Robi, 12, 6 for Moro. +22 in the paint.

Little used guard Josh Hugo is out for a week with a sore knee.

1/24: 12-5, 6-2 Penn ST is here. They beat us by 12 at their place. They're an impressive 5-1 vs. ranked teams, but only one on the road and they lost that one. On paper we're much better, but they beat us easily last time, particularly inside.

1/25: They take an early lead. Then it's back and forth. 40-33 at halftime. 10 for Moro, 9 for Bann, but Bann and Maye have 3 fouls each. I've already been T'd up. Bench is +7. We take control midway through the 2nd.

86-68. 22, 7, 3 for Bann, 17, 6, 2, 3 for Moro. +13 RBs.

1/26: The four rescued crew members are finally well enough to discuss their experiences. We spoke with them this morning.

Axel, Woli, and Rumo entered the rodeo program after modifying it heavily, against Council rules. They said the program worked fine for a short time, and then they found themselves on the ground, being attended to for injuries they did not remember receiving. The injuries were fairly serious in that both Axel and Rumo had arm fractures and Woli had a broken ankle.

They were transmitted to the cave where we found them and left there throughout the 5 weeks or so that they were missing. They saw no one once in the cave. They received no medical attention after the fractures were set and cast.

Meagre, bland, unappetizing food “appeared” at the entrance to the cave, along with water. The food was very low in nutritional value and the water was less than completely clean. The three were ill throughout their stay in the cave.

Eventually Loar appeared in the cave, unconscious. When he awoke he told them about his attempt to rescue them but could not account for how he had gotten to the cave. He never saw the rodeo, and never encountered anyone other then the three in the cave. He had no fractures but had a serious back injury and had difficulty moving.

The four remained in the cave, in poor health, and under poor conditions, until we effected the rescue.

Our medics are treating Loar's back injury. The fractures are all healing more slowly than they should, but they do not seem to require re-breaking and re-setting of any bones.

The medics and dieticians are seeing to the nutritional needs of the rescued men. It is expected to be 2-3 weeks before they are well enough to return to their normal activities. The casts will come off in about 10 days.

The men had become very depressed and believed they were trapped for life inside the program. Their spirits are excellent despite their injuries, weakness, and illness. They have been visited by family and friends.

A Council representative informed them that while they could be charged with criminal failure to obey a Council directive, this will not happen. The four made it clear that they have learned a valuable lesson!

So many unanswered questions, though. What happened? How and why and by whom or what were they being fed?

[Wayne23]

1/29: At 9-9, 3-6 Maryland. 2-3 vs. ranked teams and they give up more than they score.

Tal Bann is #12 but rising on the Norton list.

A recruit we're after doesn't hit our SAT score.

1/30: We fall behind early. 35-38 at the half. 11 for Moro but Bann is invisible. We're shooting 25.9%. It's just not happening so far.

65-83. No offense at all; we shot 30.9%. Bann wound up with 14 and 7 but most of it was way too late. 15, 5 for Moro. -16 in the paint.

At the halfway point in Big 10 play we're 15-4, 7-3, #3, NET #2. In a 3 way tie for 2nd, 1 back of Illinois.

1/31: #22 Clemson, 15-5, 7-4, is here. They do a lot of things well. Very good guards.

2/1: We take a quick lead. 49-34 at the break. 12 for Bann. 9 fewer TOs. We're putting this one away. Subs will be in early.

90-76 but it wasn't that close. 17, 4, 8 for Bann. 5 other guys had 12 or 13. 8 TOs, +14 down low.

In a 4 way tie for 1st.

A new poll: desserts! The voting started today. Our desserts have been made at four dining halls and sent out to the other 16. For the month of February each dining hall will make their own desserts. Everyone is excited about this, unsurprisingly. Rec. Director Mina Karham is asking people NOT to vote early:

“The dining halls are going to be offering sweet treats all month long. I'm hoping people won't vote until the very end of the month!”

2/2: A really tough road game next, at #4 Michigan, 17-6, 6-5. We won by 14 at home. Their PG is #1 on the Norton list. Bann played him at least even last time. We're better at every other position but they have a good, deep bench. They're 5-1 vs. ranked teams, losing only to us, but 5 unranked teams have beaten them. We won it inside and on the bench last time but our guards held their own.

2/3: They take a quick lead. We catch up then it's back and forth until they go on a late run. 37-47 at the half. Terrible D, especially inside, which is where we're falling down. They're shooting 48.5% to our 32.3%.

“You gotta play D!”

It's not happening; we're getting crushed.

68-91. Embarrassing. We've been a terrible road team in conference this season, 2-4.

14, 7 for Bann but their PG out played him this time. But we were lousy everywhere tonight.

This is a 3 game week and my guys are feeling it. Practices will NOT be physical for the next few days.

[Wayne23]

2/7: At 10-13, 5-7 Rutgers. 0-3 vs, ranked teams. They give up 4.2 more than they score. This is a road game we'd damn well BETTER win!

2/8: Low energy start for both teams. We take a lead because they're flatter than we are, but we're flat. 39-26 at the half. Bann is shooting 1-13. Maye has 3 fouls. We have 1 TO. BIG run midway through the 2nd.

71-59 but it wasn't that close, their end of the bench guys were better than ours.

19, 6, 4, 3 for Bann. All three of our starting bigs had near double doubles and King had 9 and 6 behind them.

The Big 10 is up for grabs, 7 teams within a game of each other at the top.

The desserts have been amazing. I'm big on fruit pies, cheesecake, and eclairs and I'm in dessert heaven. Comfort Inn, which we normally wouldn't visit too often, has the best desserts so far, so we're there often. We're practicing strict portion control on the main dishes though because comfort food can pile on the pounds! We all do our daily exercises without fail though.

2/9: 8-12, 2-9 Minnesota is here. They somehow beat then #4 Michigan. No idea how. They are NOT a good team...

2/10: We score the first 13. We let them back in. 38-28 at halftime. 10, 5 for Robi. Moro has 3 fouls. 3 TOs.

81-45. 43-17 in the 2nd half. 19, 11, 6, 3 for Bann, 16, 7, 3 for Maye, 12, 8, 3 for Robi. +12 for the bench. +15 RBs, +32 inside, 9 TOs.

Still 7 teams with either 4 or 5 conference losses.

[Wayne23]

2/12: Rematch with 10-14, 5-8 Rutgers. We won by 12 there in a game that was never in doubt.

2/13: Early lead. We led by as many as 11 and then fell asleep. 34-34 at the half. I am raising the roof in the locker room! 13 for Bann. 4 TOs. But -7 inside,
Robi has 3 fouls, and Rutgers is shooting 60.9% to our 30.3%.

“Wake the hell up!”

We take the lead quickly, but they come back again. We're not making shots and they are.

74-64. We were awful. 17, 7, 6, 3 for Bann, 14, 7, 4, 3 for Maye. 7 TOs to 21 was one of the few things we did well.

Still 6 teams with either 4 or 5 losses. Various teams have 5, 6, or 7 left to play.

We'd love to finish 4-1, but 3 road games, 2 of them against really good teams.

2/14: At 14-9, 8-5 Iowa. On paper we're better in every way and at every position, but it's a road game. They're 2-4 against ranked teams, but 2-0 at home.

Tal Bann has climbed to #6 on the Norton list.

2/15: Close early. They go on a run. 29-34 at halftime. We were down as many as 11. 10, 7 for C Rom Maye, 9 for Bann. Their best player, their C, has 3 fouls. We tie it up fairly early in the 2nd. It stays close. We take the lead late and expand it.

78-70. Big win. We needed this one! 28, 4 for Bann, 14, 15 for Maye, 15, 7 for Robi. +16 RBs.

Down to 4 teams with either 4 or 5 losses.

The probe behind us has come across something manufactured. It appears to be inactive. They're loving in for a closer look but it will take awhile.

Desserts remain fantastic!

[Wayne23]

2/21: 17-8, 10-6 Indiana is here. We're heavily favored but they're a good team, especially outside.

2/22: They lead early but it's close. We take the lead and then it's back and forth. 40-33 at the half. Bann has 3 fouls. 9, 5 for Maye
who has been playing well. +9 RBs. Their SG is killing us. It's a battle!

73-81. Damn! I HATE to lose at home! They took over in the 2nd, 33-48, and Bann didn't play at all well. 17, 6 for Moro. . They made 12 threes and their outside game did us in. Their SG had 22.

This loss puts Illinois alone in 1st place. We're one back in the loss column and 3 teams are 2 back. We have 3 to play, 2 of them on the road.

2/23: At 15-12, 8-9 Wisconsin. We won at our place by 18. They have trouble scoring but they play good D. They have a decent outside game.

2/24: Early lead. Bann has a hot hand early. 43-28 at halftime. 19, 4, 3 for Bann. +10 RBs.

76-68. We were never in danger late, but they hung around. 19, 6, 8 for Bann but he was shut out in the 2nd half. 19, 6 for Moro. +12 for the bench. +12 RBs.

Tied for 1st.

The end of February isn't far off. Hali, June, and I all voted for Comfort Inn #1 in the dessert poll. I had Comfort Heaven at #2, and India palace #3. India Palace makes only Indian desserts but they make them really well!

[Wayne23]

2/28: At #22 Clemson, 20-7, 12-6. Their starting C and leading rebounder broke his wrist in their last game. We won by 14 at home. They're good outside.

On paper we're much better but we haven't played well on the road.

We could finish anywhere from 1st to 5th, so this game is huge.

3/1: Close early. They take a lead late. 34-47 at the break; not good. 12 for Maye but Bann isn't doing much. They're shooting 60.7%.

I take Tal aside, “I need you to be the leader this half!”

It's not happening so far. Nope. They're putting us away.

66-92. We didn't show a lot of heart. This was our last road game. Hopefully, when we get to the post season we'll play better on neutral courts than we have on enemy courts.

14, 3, 3 for Bann but he wasn't the leader we needed. 15 for Maye. Our guards were seriously out played. -14 RBs, -6 in the paint, so our bigs didn't do so well either.

3/2: We're one of 5 teams with a record of 13-6. Fortunately we finish at home. 13-15, 7-12 Maryland is here. They crushed us by 18 there. Their first big off the bench is out with a broken wrist. We feel like if we play the way we usually do at home we should be fine.

3/3: We take an early lead but they come back. 39-40 at the half. Bann played 8 minutes because I didn't want him to pick up #3. Robi and Maye have 9 each.

“This is a huge game, guys. I'm not feeling the fire. Come on!”

Tied with 10 minutes left. We're not making shots. Mini-run puts us ahead but they're coming back.

80-69. Good last 10 minutes when we finally woke up.

24, 4 for Bann, 13, 6 for Maye. 8 TOs to 20.

In a 4 way tie for 1st but we're the #4 seed.

3/5: Ouch! I expected to lose Bann, which I did, but we also lost starting SF Kev Robi and #4 guard Mark Ruth, who had great potential.

We finish the regular season at 22-7, 14-6, #4, NET #7. If we don't win the Big 10 tourney we're a 2 seed at best.

+7.9 PPG. +4.9 RBs, -5.3 TOs.

Bann leads us with 19.8 PPG. Maye gets 7.4 RBs. Rivo leads with 5.0 assists.

As was true last season there is no dominating team this year. It's anybody's race when we get to the Big Dance. But I don't see us doing much unless we get it together which we really haven't done, at least since conference play started.

[Wayne23]

3/8: We play #5 seed Indiana, 21-9, 13-7, in the quarter finals. They beat us by 8 at our place which still has me losing sleep. On paper we're better at every position except SG, and in every stats category. But they dominated in the 2nd half last time. Their SG was terrific, but their PG out played Bann. We need to do much better this time.

3/9: It's a battle early on. Big run puts us up 49-31 at the half. 10, 6, 3 for Bann, 11 for Moro. Only 2 TOs.

96-63. We really played well tonight! 19, 9 for Moro, 16, 9, 5 for Bann, 13, 8, 3 for Maye, 12, 4, 4 for Rivo. +13 for the bench. +15 RBs, +28 in the paint.

I never announced the winners of the dessert poll. As expected Comfort Inn was the winner by a wide margin. Comfort Heaven was 2nd and Comfort Home 3rd. Rec. Director Mina Karham announced that each dining hall will continue to make their own desserts.