DDSCB25: Superstar

[Wayne23]

2/26: At 12-15, 8-8 Stony Brook. We won by 12 at home. We’re the better team if we play our game. We’ve won our last 7, and 9 out of 10.

2/27: Back and forth early. Up 5 after 10. 40-33 at halftime. 12, 7 for Wats, 8, 3, 3 for Hill. +12 RBs.

“Too many TOs. Take care of the ball.”

Double digit lead early. Up 13 with 10 left. Up 20.

89-71. We’re really playing well right now! 21, 10 for Wats, 20, 5, 5, 3 for Hill, 14, 7 for Redd. +16 RBs.

Drexel lost so we’ve clinched first place.

3/1: We end the season at home vs. Delaware, 11-17, 6-11. We won by 17 there. They have a very good C but on paper it’s a mismatch.

3/2: We score the first 10. Up 9 after 10. They catch up. 43-50 at the break. I’m livid! We blew a 13 point lead. 13, 7 for Redd. No one else is doing anything. -6 RBs.

“I’m enraged. You completely lost your focus. Get in there and bring this one home!”

We take the lead back early. They come back. Up 4 with 10 left to play. Close late.

100-93. We were awful on D. 27, 11 for Redd. 15, 1, 3, 4 for Hill, 12, 6 for Wats, 13, 2, 3 for Newn. +24 inside. 7 fewer TOs.

We end the regular season with a 9 game winning streak, 11 of 12. 22-8, 15-3. We win the conf. by 2 over Drexel, 4 over Monmouth.

3/5: A guy who is never going to play transfers out and we immediately offer to the C who is #16 in the country. No idea whether we can land him.

+6.4 PPG, +6.7 RBs, -2.4 TOs, 11.7 per game.

Dan Wats leads in PPG and RBs with 17.2, 7.4. John Redd gets 14.4, 6.8. Ted Newn gets 11.2, as does Josh Hill. 10., 6.3 for Jay Kosi. 6.1 assists for Dan Pabe.

“Dan Fran, EPSN. I’m here with Coach Jess Wynn as we wait for the start of the post season. Coach, your team did NOT look good early on but they\ve now won 9 straight and 11 of 12. Do you have an explanation?”

“I do. We’re very young, and we didn’t play together last year. 4 out of our 5 starters didn’t start last season. It takes awhile, especially with young guys, for things to come together. Finally, they did.”

“How do you feel going into the post season?”

“I’m optimistic.”

“Thanks Coach.”

[Wayne23]

3/6: Emma still has no interest in sports.

“I turned on a game just to see… bunch of guys running around and getting sweaty.”

Well, that’s one way to define it!

3/7: We play #9 seed NC A & T in the quarter finals. They’re 16-14, 8-10. We beat them by 6 and 13. It should have been more.

3/8: “Okay guys, one and done. Play your hardest and smartest!”

Close early. Then we take the lead. Up 8 after 10. 53-41 at halftime. 13, 5 for Redd. +8 in the paint.

“Play some D!”

We quickly get the lead to 21. Up 20 with 10 to go. They get it to 10.

105-87. Nothing wrong with the offense! 22, 8 for Wats, 19, 1, 4 for Hill, 17, 6 for Redd, 13, 6, 6 for Shep. Only 9 TOs. +24 inside.

#12 seed Charleston, on the back of two straight upsets, meets us in the semifinals. They’re 11-21, 7-11, but they’re hot. We won by 11 at home. On paper we’re a lot better.

3/9: We score the first 10. They come back. Up 6 after 10. Close late. 47-41 at the half. Too close. 22 for Wats, 10, 3 for Kosi, 8, 4 for Shep. Only 3 TOs. +8 RBs, +16 in the box.

“You gotta play D!”

We build a big lead. Up 24 with 10 to play. I pull the starters early.

97-79. 35 and 4 for Wats. He was unstoppable. 12 each for Redd, Kosi, and Shep. 13, 5, 6 for Hill. Only 6 TOs. +18 RBs, +26 in the paint.

[Wayne23]

#6 seed Hofstra, 18-14, 9-9, in the title game. Beat them by 6 and 9 so 2 fairly close games. They can score but they have trouble defending.

3/10: Close early. Down 11 after 10. Not good. They’re shooting insanely. 41-53 as they shoot 67.9%. 14 for Wats, the only one who did anything. Fouls hurt us, Redd has 3.

“Look, if you dig deep enough you can still win this game. Work hard and play some damn D!”

They’re still shooting insanely. Down 13 with 10 left. We’re in trouble. It’s not going to happen.

98-101. We made a huge comeback late but the hole was too deep. 59 fouls called, which is ridiculous. 27, 5, 3 for Wats, 15, 3, 3 for Hill. We shot 51.7% but they shot 59.6%.

[Wayne23]

3/12: How high a seed will we get? Will we even make the Dance?

NIT. #2 seed in the East. We start with #7 seed Kansas City, 17-14. We’re better.

3/13: “What do you do when they keep you out of the big dance? You win the NIT!”

Early lead. Up 8 after 10. 20 point lead late. 49-35 at halftime. 12 for Wats, 10, 7 for Shep, 8, 3 for Kosi. Only 3 TOs. +20 in the paint, +12 RBs.

Early lead. Up 13 with 10 to go.

84-76 but it was never in doubt. 19, 6 for Wats, 14, 4 for Newn, 12, 11 for Shep. 7 TOs. +14 in the paint, +11 RBs.

3/14: #3 seed Creighton, 19-13, in the 2nd round. We score more but give up more. They’re tough outside, we’re better inside.

3/15: Close early. Up by 3 after 10. 40-32 at the half. 11, 8 for Wats, 10, 8 for Redd. +9 RBs. Our inside game is beating their outside game so far.

Close early. Tied with 10 to go. Tied late.

72-73 as they hit a last second three. Tough loss to end the season. 19, 15 for Wats, 10, 10 for Redd.

“Fred Greb, CSB. Coach, tough way to go out.”

“Definitely.”

“What’s the good news?”

“Everyone is coming back except Al Shep. We’ll be experienced. I expect great things next season.”

[Wayne23]

4/3: #1 Kentucky wins it all.

4/4: Awards: Dan Wats is Conf. POY and 1st team. Josh Hill is Def. POY. John Redd is Frosh OY and 1st team. I get the coach award.

4/9: Lots of phone calls about jobs but I’m staying.

4/16: We didn’t get the big guy.

All 3 assistants are returning.

4/23: I ask for more money.

We get $10,000!

I suggest to 2 guys that they might want to transfer and one other guy might.

25-10, conference regular season champs. Not a bad season. Overall, after 2 seasons, I’m 57-15, .792.

[Wayne23]

5/1: #166 recruiting class.

5/22: Forward Bob Harr transfers out. We need a guard and a big.

We offer to2 but we won’t get them this early.

5/26: We offer to 2.

5/29: We offer to the same 2.

6/2. 0-2. They both go elsewhere so we offer to 2 others.

6/5: No luck again.

6/9: no.

6/12: Frustrating! There’s no one left we want.

6/25: We’ll go to the Big Apple Showcase and the East Coast Jam.

6/26: First day of recruiting. We need 2 guards, and 3 bigs.

7/10: Another relationship finished. It wasn’t going anywhere anyway but I’ll miss the intellectual stimulation.

I eat lunch and sometimes dinner in the caf with one or more of my assistants most days. We discuss all kinds of things related to running the team. We all feel excited about this year’s team.

7/17: We offer to 2 guards and 3 bigs.

9/11: We visit 4 recruits this week.

9/18: We lose a big guy, offer to another one.

The schedule is a little more rigorous this season.

9/25: We get 2 bigs, lose a guard and a big. We need to land at least one guard.

10/2: First practice.

We lose a guard.

10/30: We land an SF. Still no guards.

11/13: Season begins this week. Here’s our lineup:

Senior Dan Pabe is back at the Point. Soph Ted Newn starts at SG and soph Josh Hill gets equal time. They gave us a total of about 22.4 points last year.

The fourth guard is frosh Sam Cole who is not ready.

Soph John Redd is back at SF. He was our 2nd best player last season.

Junior Dan Wats is at PF. He was our best player last year.

Senior Jay Kosi is at C.

First big guy off the bench is frosh Kyle Hall. He won’t hurt us. Senior Joe Wall is next. He’s never lived up to his potential. Finally, there’s frosh Will Dard who isn’t ready.

I like this team!

[Wayne23]

We start the season at the Legends Classic vs. #4 seed Florida. We’re #13 in the East. We’re the underdog but this game will tell us a lot about ourselves.

11/13: We fall behind early. Down 2 after 10. 34-40 at the half. Balanced scoring led by sub Kyle Hall with 8. -6 RBs.

We’re playing catch up. Down 3 with 10 to play. It’s a battle late!

87-85. They missed a three at the end. 14 lead changes, 12 ties. Josh Hill led us with 18, 3, 3, 3. 13, 3 for Newn. So we got 31 from the 2 spot. 4 others had 10 or more.

“Dan Fran, EPSN. Coach, your guys really played well together given it was the first game of the season.”

“Experience is HUGE. All of these guys except Kyle Hall played together all last season. They know what to expect. They’re comfortable switching on the fly on D. They just know what their teammate
is going to do. It took us half the season to get to that point last year. Oh, and Hall had himself a really good first game. He’ll definitely help us!”

It’s #5 seed, #14 ranked Gonzaga, 1-0 in the quarter finals. On paper they’re better, especially outside. We’ll see.

11/15: Early lead. Down 2 after 10 as they come back. Back and forth. Kosi is HOT. 48-45 after a very competitive first half. 13, 5 for Kosi, 12 for Newn.

Staying close early. Down 1 with 10 to go. Going down to the wire!

93-83, we scored 10 of the last 12 points. 18, 8 for Kosi, 19, 3, 6 steals for Newn who had 2 late threes. 15, 5 for Wats. 12 for Kyle Hall. Great win!

[Wayne23]

It’s #1 seed, #1 ranked Kansas, 2-0, in the semis. They’re #1 in PPG Allowed and they may have the best backcourt in the nation, and they’re #1 in RBs. We’ve had 2 great wins in this tourney but this is going to be a major challenge.

11/17: They take a quick lead. DAMN they’re good! We can’t make a shot. Down 15 early. I take the press off; they were breaking it every time. 34-61 at the break.

“Okay, you’re playing the best team in the country. Hang in and give it your best. Don’t worry about the score. Take good shots.”

This is painful. We’re matching them basket for basket but we’re not gaining any ground. Down 25 with 10 to play.

89-112. We played well in the 2nd but we were never in this one. 15, 7 for Wats, 15, 4 with 4 blocks for Kosi, 14, 5, 3 for Hall, 14, 4 for Redd. Their outside game was unstoppable.

“You kept your heads and you kept working. No worries about the final score. I’m proud of you guys.”

11/20: 2-0 Charlotte is here for our home opener. The season is already sold out. We’re better inside.

11/21: Close early. We take the lead. Up 7 after 10. We go on an 11-0 run! 51-27 at the break. We’re really looking good! 11, 4 for Wats, 11 for Hill, 10, 5 for Redd.

Holding our lead early. Up 21 with 10 left to go. I pull the starters early.

90-62. 21, 2, 3 for Hill, 17, 5 for Wats, 12, 10 for Redd, 5, 6, 15 for Pabe- 15 assists! +16 for the bench. +14 in the paint.

[Wayne23]

11/23: We’re at 3-1 BU next. We score mor but give up more. Of course the Kansas game is skewing that. This could be a battle by the looks of things although they’ve played a much weaker schedule.

Their PG is their best player so the pressure is on Pabe. He can handle it!

11/24: Early lead. Up 8 after 10. They’re keeping it close late. 45-46 at the half. Fouls really hurt us. Wats has 3. 12, 3 for Kosi.

Back and forth early. Down 4 with 10 to go. We’re playing catch up which is never good!

86-81. It was far from easy! 21, 9 for Kosi who has played well so far this season. 13, 10 for Redd, 12, 7 for Hall, 14, 3, 3 for Newn. +12 RBs. Pabe totally held their PG in check.

11/27: 3-1 Bucknell is here. They play good D and they rebound.

11/28: We’re flat early. Up 4 after 10. Both teams are shooting poorly. We heat up, 13 point lead. They come back late, 34-31 at halftime. 10, 5 for Kosi, 9, 4 for Redd. +14 in the paint.

We have the lead early but it’s close. Up 11 with 10 to play. We’re holding the double digit lead.

77-69. We were in control late. 16, 11 for Kosi, 10, 11, 3 for Wats, 11, 8 for Redd, 8, 10 for Hall who continues to play well. +16 inside.

We look at things as a staff often. We did today. No changes being made. We’re especially happy with frosh sub Kyle Hall, and with our SGs. We have 6 guys averaging 10.5 or more and Pabe is getting 7 assists a game. We’re 5-1.

[Wayne23]

11/30: At 1-5 Brown. They have 2 players. It should be a blow out.

12/1: We score the first 9. Up 11 after 10. 43-23 at the break. 14 for Redd, 8, 7 for Wats. +8 RBs.

“Too many turnovers. Take care of the ball.”

We’re holding the lead. Up 25 with 10 left.

83-71 but it wasn’t that close. 20, 4, 3, 3 for Redd, 12, 10 for Wats, 12, 6 for Kosi, 8, 7 for Hall. 20 points for the SG spot.

12/4: 3-3 Cornell is here. They’re very good outside but I don’t think they can handle our inside game.

12/5: Close early. We’re not stopping their outside shooters. Up 2 after 10. They have 6 threes already. We go on a run. Up 13. 54-39 at halftime. 16, 3, 3 for Hill, 11, 5 for Redd. We own the paint, +9
RBs, +10 in the paint.

They close the gap early. Up only 4 with 20 to go. We take control late.

95-84. 22, 4, 5, 5 steals for Hill. 19, 7 for Redd. 12, 11, 4 blocks for Kosi, 13, 4 for Hall. +21 for the bench.

“Ace” Lane was the PF for my UConn teams during my 3rd and 4th seasons there. He was a really good one. He was at the game tonight and afterward he surprised me by coming into the locker room to
say hello. He’s with the Knicks now but out with an injury.

“You really got this thing goin’, man!”

We talked. I introduced him to the players and to my staff, and we went out for a couple of beers afterward. It was a great time. I don’t socialize much so this was fun.