DDSCB25: Superstar

[Wayne23]

1/17: At 6-9, 4-0 Stony Brook. They’ve really come alive in conference play. We need a win!

1/18: Back and forth early. A mini-run puts us up 12 after 10. They come back. Up 12 at the half. The D looks good. We’ve really been working on it in practice. 11, 4 for Aust and no fouls! 10 for Wort. +8 in the paint.

Big lead early. Up 8 with 10 to go. They’re coming back and it’s close.

83-74 as we finish strong. 22, 7 for Aust with 1 foul. 17, 3, 4 steals for Wort. 17, 4 for Cary from the bench. +24 inside.

“We needed a good game from you guys and we got it. Well done!”

We’re losing Aust, Wort, Dond, and a couple of good subs to graduation. We really need to land those recruits!

1/20: 6-10, 3-2 Charleston is here. They have an excellent C. On paper we’re better. We’ll see.

1/21: They take an early lead. Down 6 after 10. We’re shooting horribly. Down 12 at the half. We shot 23.7%. Not good.

“Are we really going to lose 2 home games in a row? Get your **** together!”

We’re slowly closing the gap. Up 2 with 10 to go!

74-63. Amazing comeback, 48-25 in the 2nd half! 22, 9, 3 blocks, 0 fouls for Aust. 15, 3, 5 for Pabe, 12, 1, 3 for Wort. +26 in the paint.

“Great 2nd half but you can’t be digging a hole like that.”

[Wayne23]

1/24: At 7-20, 2-4 Hofstra next. This is a team we should beat but they’re scrappy.

1/25: Early lead. We get it to 15 quickly. Then foul #2 for Aust. Up 13 after 10. Dond and Shep are hot. Up 10 at halftime. 11, 3 for Shep, 10, 6 for Dond, 10, 3 for Wort. Aust played almost 7 minutes.

They’re keeping it close early. Up 6 with 10 left.

92-79. Dond led us with 22 and 8 but he had 6 TOs. 12, 4, 11 for Pabe, 13, 9 for Aust. 14, 3 for Wort, 13, 3, 3 for Shep. +12 RBs, +16 in the paint.

1/27: Return match with 8-10, 4-3 Monmouth here. We won by 5 there. The first game was a battle. Our guards and good D won it for us.

1/28: Early lead. Up 3 after 10. We go on a run. They come back. Tied at the half. 9 and 4 for Aust. -5 on the boards.

We get the lead to 10. Up 14 with 10 to play.

90-72. Good win, great 2nd half, 51-33. 15, 8, 3 for Aust, 17, 4 for Dond, 11, 4, 7 for Pabe. 11, 6 for Cary from the bench. +30 in the paint.

1/29: A PG we really wanted committed to us but our #1 didn’t hit our SAT score. We knew that was a possibility. We offer to a C.

We’re 18-3, 6-2, 1 back of 1st place William & Mary and tied with Campbell.

Aust leads us with 16.9, 9.0. 14.2 for Wort, 12.5, 6.5 for Dond.

We’re +8.8 PPG, +5.7 RBs, -3.2 TOs, with 11.4 per game. +3.12 steals.

We feel like we have a real shot at finishing 1st in conf.

[Wayne23]

1/31: At NC A & T, 9-10, 5-3 next. We won by 31 here. This is a team we should beat but the road can be rough. Can’t believe February starts tomorrow. The season is flying by.

2/1: We take an early lead. Up 9 after 10. Then Aust picks up #2.

48-42 at halftime. Aust and Pabe both played only 10 minutes due to fouls. 17, 3 for Dond, 13, 3 for Wort, who outplayed their excellent SG.

It’s close early. Up 7 with 10 to go.

We finish strong to win 91-77. 31, 9 for Dond, his best game ever. 21, 0, 6 for Wort. +30 in the paint.

We’re alone in 2nd place.

“Dan Fran, EPSN, here with coach Jess Wynn after the game. Coach, are you satisfied with the way your team is playing?”

“I don’t think a coach is ever satisfied unless he’s holding the trophy at the end of the season, but my guys are playing well.”

“Coach, you were considered one of the greatest players ever. Do you ever jump into the scrimmage during practice?”

“Actually, I do. When my starters begin acting cocky I get in there on the B team and show them a little humility.”

“You will probably be better than anyone on your team for about the first 15 years you coach. How does that feel?”

“Kind of irrelevant. I had my time. Now my role is different.”

“Do you miss playing?”

“Sure… But I love coaching.”

“Thanks coach.”

2/3: 6-14, 4-5 Delaware is here. This is a game we should win.

2/4: We score the first 13. Up 10 after 10. 44-32 at halftime. 12 for Wort, 7, 5 for Aust, 8, 3 for Wall. Only 3 TOs. +9 RBs.

We hold out lead early. Up 20 with 10 to go.

100-82. We were in control all the way. 21, 3, 2, 4 steals for Wort, 18, 7 for Dond, 16, 5 for Aust but he played only 18 minutes due to fouls. 12, 5 for Wall, 10 assists for Pabe. We had only 7 TOs. +26 in the paint.

2/7: 10, 11, 4-6 Hampton is here. This is a team we should beat, especially at home.

2/8: Early lead. Up 9 after 10. 38-23 at halftime. 12, 5 for Aust with no fouls. 8, 3, 7 for Pabe, 8 for Weal. +10 RBs.

We get the lead to 20 early. Pabe is having a great game at the Point. Up 24 with 10 to go. We get it to 30.

80-50. A breeze! 23, 7 for Aust, 10, 4, 15 for Pabe, 10, 4, 3 for back up PG Jay Weal. +18 RBs, +30 in the paint.

We’re still alone in 2nd place, 21-3, 9-2. William & Mary has only 1 loss in conference. We’re ranked #24.

[Wayne23]

2/10: At 4-18, 1-10 Elon. They’re the worst team in the conf. They do have a good SG, but not much else.

2/11: We start fast. They come back. Down 2 after 10 and I’m steaming. 44-44 at the break.

“What are you guys doing out there! This is the worst team in the league! Come on!”

12 each for Wort and Aust.

“I want to see tighter D out there!”

Close early. Up by only 5 with 10 to play. 12-0 run puts us up.

93-85. Much closer than it should have been but I’ll take the road win. 27, 3 for Wort, 16, 10, 3, 5 blocks for Aust who played most of the 2nd half in foul trouble. 15 for Dond, 10 for Cary. +22 in the paint was the difference along with Wort’s shooting.

“Ellie Vann, WNEU campus radio here. Great win coach. We haven’t seen any one possession games lately but our listeners have asked why you don’t take time outs in that situation.”

“Never give the other coach a chance to beat you. We practice what to do in a one possession game, whether we’re on offense or on defense and I trust my players to do it. Taking a time out only gives the other coach an advantage.”

2/14: 15-8, 9-3 Campbell is here. This is a good team and we’d better be on our toes! All 5 starters can score.

2/15: Poor shooting early, by both teams. Up 1 after 10. It’s a battle! 39-34 at the break. Aust played only 11 minutes. The bench is saving us, +16.

Wort hits a 3 then a 2 to open the 2nd. Up by 10 early. Up only 4 with 10 to play. Close late.

82-70. Big win! 16, 3, 3, 3 for Wort, 15 for Dond, 10, 7 for Aust. +14 for the bench. 10 fewer TOs. +20 inside.

William & Mary finally lost one. We’re tied for 1st, 2 up on 3rd, with 5 to play.

[Wayne23]

2/17: At 5-19, 3-10 Towson. This is a team we should beat but there are no guarantees on the road. They have a very good SG and a good C.

2/18: Early lead. Up 4 after 10. Threes are keeping them in it. They go on a run. 41-52 at the break. They’re shooting .567. 13, 3 for Aust, 9 for Wort. Their Sg and their bench are killing us.

“You gotta play D!”

We’re coming back. We take the lead. Up 8 with 10 to play. 10 point lead late.

91-89. They missed an 18 footer at the buzzer. 21 each for Aust and Wort, 19, 5 for Dond. +14 inside. This was a tough one!

We’re now ranked #16.

2/21: At 11-14, 6-8 Drexel. On paper we’re better, especially inside.

2/22: We can’t score early. Then we heat up some. Down 10 after 10. Poor shooting, poor D. 31-48. This is embarrassing. 11, 4 for Aust, 8 for Wort, but no one else is doing anything. They’re shooting
53.8%. We have a terrible 12 TOs.

“You’ve dug yourself a deep hole.”

We’re not catching up early. Then we are. Down 7 with 10 to play. It’s not happening. Aust has 4 fouls.

79-90. We got as close as 5 then faded. 19, 8 for Aust13, 5 for Shep, 12, 3 for Wort, but lousy D and 17 TOs, a season high.

Wm. & Mary lost, too, so we’re still tied for 1st, 2 up on 3rd. Two tough games coming up.

[Wayne23]

2/24: NC-Wilmington, 12-14, 7-8, is here. They won by 12 there. Aust was in foul trouble all night. They have a very good C.

2/25: Both teams cold early. Up 3 after 10 in a low scoring game. We heat up late. 39-28 at halftime. 8, 5 for Aust, 9 for Pabe. Wort and Dond are a combining 3-19. +10 RBs, +12 in the paint.

We get the lead to 20 early. Up 17 with 10 left. Dond is heating up.

87-75. They got it to 6 then we woke up. 17, 14 for Dond, 17, 7 for Aust, 11, 4 for Pabe. +15 RBs, +14 inside. 8 fewer TOs.

We’re alone in 1st but we’re at Wm & Mary, 16-11, 12-4, next. They beat us by 2 there in a low scoring game. Their C BADLY outplayed Aust, who was in foul trouble all night. Our guards and our bench kept us in it. We’ll need much better play from our big guys, especially Aust. This should be a battle, they have lots of weapons.

3/1: My guys seem on edge as we await the tip off. They want this one badly.

Close early. Dond gets red hot. Up 5 after 10. Aust is sitting late, foul trouble. 32-36 at the half. 9 for Dond, 8 for Aust, but unlike last time their guards are outscoring ours.

“Come on, guards, you wore them out last time. Do it again.”

Wort and Pabe are 2-12 and #3 guard Weal is 1-3.

“Be that 2nd half team you usually are and we’ll beat them up.”

We take the lead early. Down 3 with 10 to go. It’s a war! Close late!

72-69. They missed a 25 footer at the end. HUGE win! It sews up 1st place. 19, 11, 5 blocks for Aust who outplayed his man despite being in foul trouble for the last 10 minutes. He never picked up #5.
19, 4 for Dond, 16, 8, 4 for Wort on a BIG 2nd half.

+22 in the paint was the difference. They beat us inside last time but we beat them badly inside this time. Only 7 TOs.

2 game lead with 1 to play!

[Wayne23]

3/3: We end the regular season at home against 10-18, 8-9 Stony Brook. We won by 9 there. This is a team we should beat even if it is meaningless.

3/4: Close early. Down 1 after 10. We’re not playing very well. 43-36 at the half on a late mini-run. 16, 9 for Dond, 13 for Wort, 10, 12 for Aust. +10 RBs.

Double digit lead early. Up 17 with 10 to go. Our big three are playing really well.

89-70. 26, 14 for Dond, 18, 16 for Aust, 21 for Wort. They all went out the way they wanted to! +24 RBs, +14 inside.

Senior night is always emotional. We said goodbye to Aust, Wort, Dond, and some good subs, especially Dave Cary and Jay Weal.

3/5: We get the C we wanted. Still chasing a guard.

Nobody transferred out, which is great news. We have a LOT of rebuilding to do.

“Dan Fran, EPSN, here with Coach Wynn during the break before the conference tournament starts. First, congratulations Coach, it was a terrific first season.”

“Thanks Dan, I’m proud of my guys. Now comes the real test!”

“Coach, your team expands a LOT of energy. You play a lightning fast offense and you press more than half the time on D. Yet your guys don’t seem tired in the late going.”

“Conditioning is vital. I learned from Coach Calhern at UConn that you win a lot of games when you’re in better shape than the other guys. No one will ever be in better shape than my guys as long as

I’m coaching. That and I try very hard not to leave a guy in for too long. A short break is all they need unless you leave them in too long and I give them lots of short breaks. Then, if it’s close at the end, they’ve still got enough in the tank.”

“Any predictions regarding the post seaso?”

“Only that we’ll play hard and give it our best.”

“Thanks Coach.”

[Wayne23]

3/6: We end the regular season 27-4, 15-3, ranked #18. +9.4 PPG, + 6.6 RBs, -3.2 TOs, getting a very good 11.1.

Eric Aust gets 16.8, 8.8, Beau Wort gets 15.1, and Doug Dond gets 14.1, 6.6. Dan Pabe gets 5.9 assists per game.

3/7: #8 seed Drexel, 14-16, 8-10, won their play in. We face them in the quarters. They beat us by 11 there a couple weeks ago. They beat us at the line, on threes, and we didn’t play good D. It’s a game we should not have lost be we were never really in it. I think if we play our game we’ll be fine.

I flew dad and mom, Uncle Kip, and Leigh to the conference tourney, and put them up in rooms at our hotel.

3/8: We have a fair number of fans here judging by the noise. My guys are a little keyed up but that’s natural. I reminded them they’re undefeated in tourney play, having won the Sunshine Slam.

Close early. Down 3 after 10. We’re not in our flow yet and we’re shooting poorly. 32-43 at the half.

“I can’t believe what I’m seeing! You guys are stinking the place out. Wake the hell UP!!!”

9, 5 for Aust, 8 for Dond, but fouls are killing us, we’re down 7 from the line. They’ve hit 4 threes to our none. Pabe has 3 fouls, which may be the worst news. Our bench is -18.

“You guys on the bench are getting killed. Step it up!”

We’re in trouble. Then we start to reduce the lead. BIG comeback gives us the lead. Down 3 with 10 left. Up 6 with 6 to play.

85-78. (WHEW!) 19, 9, no fouls for Aust. 12 and 5 each for Dond and Shep. 16, 6, 3 for Wort. The bench came back in the 2nd half, +11 for the 2nd half. We won it inside, +12 in the paint.

“Dan Fran, EPSN, here with Coach Jess Wynn after a close win. Coach?”

“It took us forever to get going and the other guys just wouldn’t quit. This was a tough one. +18 in the 2nd half finally did it but we can’t keep digging ourselves holes like that.”

“Your big guys came up really big in the 2nd.”

“Yes, they did. Conditioning helped. They weren’t tired late, and it pulled us through.”

“#4 seed North Carolina A & T in the semis. Your thoughts?”

“We beat them easily twice during conference play but that doesn’t mean much when you get to the post season.”

“Both #2 seed Wm & Mary and #3 seed Campbell got beat.”

“Yeah. That shows how competitive the CAA is. There won’t be any easy games!”

“Thanks Coach.”

[Wayne23]

3/9: NC A & T is 17-13, 12-6. They have a solid back court. We’re better inside.

We’re flat early. Up 9 after 10. We seem to have found the groove. 51-31 at the break. 13, 6 for Aust, 10 for sub guard Jay Weal. +13 for the bench. Solid inside play.

We’re holding our 20 point lead early on. Up 22 with 10 left.

91-50. A real blowout! 23, 9 for Aust with only 2 fouls. 17, 3, 4 for Wort, 17 for Weal, 11, 1, 5 for Pabe. +16 for the bench. +21 RBs, +26 in the paint. Only 6 TOs.

3/10: #7 seed Stony Brook, 13-19, 8-10 for the title. We won by 11 and 19 in conf. play. On paper it’s a walk over. We’re at least as good outside and much better inside. But you have to do it on the court!

My guys look loose and they shot the lights out in the pregame shoot around.

We can’t hit shots early but we’re hanging in there. Tied after 10. We’re shooting 28%. 38-38 at the half. We’re shooting 36.4% and Aust picked up his 2nd foul early. 10, 4 for Dond, 8 for Wort. Bench is getting outplayed.

“Look, this is for the title. You get to be champs or you get to be nobody. It’s on you. You can play a LOT better than this. Go out there and be that second half team you’ve been all year!”

We take the lead early. Up 12 with 10 to play; looking good! We get it to 20!

92-84 and the title! 18, 14 for Aust, 19, 6, 3 blocks for Dond, 19, 4 for Wort.

“Fred Greb, CSB. Coach, you made it look easy in the 2nd half.”

“We’ve been a second half team all season. Conditioning wins ball games.”

“You have 3 guys who lead the way, night after night. How far can you go in the NCAAs?”

“No idea but we’ll play hard and give it all we’ve got.”

“Those 3 are all seniors. What does that mean for next year?”

“We’ll miss them a lot, of course, but we have some good looking recruits coming in and we hope to do well in the Transfer Portal.”

[Wayne23]

3/12: Today’s the big day. With 30 wins and a conference title, and ranked #15, we’re hoping for a 4 seed.

#5 East. We play #12 New Orleans, 22-9. They’re good defensively and they hit the boards. We’ll need to play well.

Nobody from home could get away. I’d like to have Uncle Kip here. At the Conf. tourney he and I spoke late every night and it helped.

3/16: Both teams are cold early. Down 1 after 10 in a slow paced game. We need to pick it up. 40-31 at halftime. 8, 4 for Aust but he picked up his 2nd foul fairly early. 7 for Dond. Both teams are shooting poorly. +10 in the paint, only 3 TOs.

“We need to pick up the pace and take good shots. We’ll press a little more, too.”

We’re turning them over! Up 9 with 10 to play. Aust already has 21. Up 12 with 4 to go.

79-69. It was never in doubt late in the game. 21, 8, 4 steals for Aust. 11, 3 for Wort. +20 in the paint.

3/17: It will be #4 seed Texas A & M, 25-8, in the 2nd round. They’re as good a defensive team as we’ve seen and they rebound well. This will be a challenge. They have a very good C and a good back court.

3/18: “This is not a game where you can fall behind early. Start strong!”

Back and forth early. Up 8 after 10. 44-32 at halftime. Dond picked up 2 quick fouls and didn’t give us much bur Dave Cary stepped up with 8 and 5. 11, 6, 4 blocks for Aust who has 1 foul. Wort had 9.
+7 for the bench. Only 2 TOs.

“Be the second half team you usually are!”

Close early as they catch up. Tied with 10 to play and Aust has 3 fouls. Aust picks up #4; not good! Very close late!

85-83! Sub Bill Wing hit 2 free throws with 3.9 seconds left. He played exactly one minute and won the game for us! Aust fouled out with 1:01 to play. He had 20, 6, and 5 blocks. 14, 3 for Wort including a huge 3 with 22 seconds left. 13 for Dond. +10 for the bench. What a war!

We’re in the Sweet Sixteen!