DDSCB25: Superstar

[Wayne23]

3/5: Turr stays. 3 others go.

“Dan Fran, EPSN, with Coach Jess Wynn of the UConn Huskies. Coach, What are your chances of winning the national championship this year?”

“Well, we’re certainly a contender being ranked #2 in the nation.”

“What will it take?”

“What it always takes. A team has to play well, play hard, and play together. They have to avoid serious injuries. They need a little luck at the right time.”

“What do you mean by a little luck?”

“Well, maybe the one team they couldn’t beat loses to somebody else, or maybe they win a close one on a night when they’re not at their best. Some little piece of luck.”

“Thanks Coach.”

They rarely let Von interview me now that we’re married.

3/9: #8 seed Miami, 19-11, 11-9, in the quarter finals of the ACC. We won by 17 at home.

3/10: Close early. Down 1 after 10. Late lead. 44-30 at halftime. Balanced scoring, +16 in the paint. Turr picked up 2 quick fouls.

Holding our lead early. Up 7 with 10 to play. They get it to 2 late. Late surge.

95-80. They stayed close for a long time, mostly due to Turr’s foul trouble. He played only 20 minutes but had 23, 8, 4, 3 blocks. 20, 5 for Gill. +28 in the lane.

Little used Cal Wall bruised a thigh. Day to day.

#4 seed Clemson , 20-10, 14-6, in the semis. We won by 9 there. Their C is out with a broken hand.

3/11: They take an early lead. Down 7 after 10. We tie it with 7 left, then take the lead. 47-39 at the half after a slow start. 14, 7 for Turr, 16 for Vick. 3 Tos, +16 in the paint.

Holding our lead early. Up 12 with 10 to go.

97-71. 33, 11 for Turr, 22 for Vick, 11, 7, 4, 3, 3 for Bant. +30 in the paint.

##5 ranked, #3 seed Virginia, 26-7, 14-6, in the title game. We won by 11 at home. They play tough D.

3/12: Back and forth early. Up 3 after 10. 2 quick fouls for Turr again. 48-51. 10, 6 for Turr in only 8 minutes.

They lead early but it’s close. Turr picks up #3. We take the lead. Up 5 with 10 left. Double digit lead.

100-96 and the championship as they got close late. 23, 15 for Turr12, 13, 3 for Bant, 21, 1, 10 for Gill, 16, 5 for Malo. +22 in the lane.

[Wayne23]

3/12: #1 West. We play #16 seed Penn, 19-14. I don’t think they can stay with us.

3/17: We score the first 10. Up 18 after 10. 56-36 at the half. 17, 5, 3 for Turr, 12, 5 for Bant, 10, 4 for Garr. 2 Tos, +32 in the paint.

Big lead ealy. Up 21 with 10 to play.

94-67. 25, 12, 3 for Turr, 16, 10, 3 blocks for Bant, 16, 6, 3 blocks for Garr, 11, 3, 9, 5 for Gill. 5 TOs, +46 in the lane.

“Can we win this whole thing, Kip?”

“As long as Turr is healthy we’re a definite contender.”

#9 seed Nevada, 26, 10, in the 2nd round. This is a team we should beat.

3/19: Close early. Up 5 after 10. Big lead late. 48-20 at the half. A real blowout. 16, 4 for Bant, 8, 12, 3 steals for Turr, 11, 5 for Vick. 2 TOs, +26 in the lane.

Big lead early. Up 27 with 10 to go.

80-63. It was never a game. 16, 19, 0, 3, 3 for Turr, 22, 7 for Bant, 11, 6 for Vick. +44 in the paint.

“Dan Fran, EPSN. Coach Wynn, you ran over your first 2 opponents.”

“A #1 seed should do that. It’s about to get tougher.”

[Wayne23]

3/24: #13 seed Morehead St rides 2 upsets to the Sweet Sixteen. They’re 24-10.

3/25: Back and forth early. Up 5 after 10. Double digit lead. 53-32 at halftime. 19, 10 for Turr. +16 in the lane.

Huge lead early. Up 27 with 10 to play.

100-76. 33-17 for Turr, 17, 2, 9 for Gill, 14, 4, 7 for Weel. +40 in the lane.

We’re in the Elite Eight vs. ##2 seed, #4 ranked Kentucky, 27-9. This is a team that could beat us. We’ll need to play well.


3/26: Both teams start cold. We heat up. Up 8 after 10. We lead late. 43-33 at the break. Balanced scoring. They’re doubling Turr.

Holding our lead early. Up 9 with 10 to play. Turr has 4 fouls.

79-68. We were never seriously threatened. 20, 12, 6 blocks for Turr. 11, 2, 5, 4 for Gill. +16 inside.

Final Four!!!

[Wayne23]

3/31: We face #4 seed, #14 ranked Indiana, 28-9, in the national semifinal. On paper we’re definitely better.

4/1: “Fred Greb, CSB. Coach Wynn, you’re in the Final Four. Can you win it all?”

“We sure can. Will we is a better question but I don’t have an answer to that one. We’ve been lucky. A lot of upsets in our bracket so we’ve really only played one very good team.”

Early lead. Up 7 after 10. Double digit lead. 50-31 at the half. 18, 4, only 1 foul, for Turr, 9, 2, 3 for Gill. +20 in the paint.

20 point lead early. Up 19 with 10 to go. They’re closing the gap but not enough.

92-79. 35, 10, 3 for Turr, 16, 5, 4 for Gill, 11, 13 for Bant. +34 in the paint.

#1 seed, #1 ranked Wisconsin, 39-0, in the title game. We’ll need to be at our best.

“Von Gray, EPSN. I don’t get to interview this guy often but here we are, about an hour before the tip off. Coach, keys to success?”

“We need to keep our big guys, especially Den Turr, out of foul trouble. We need to score outside to take pressure off our big guys. We need to play smart D and not foul too much.”

“You’ve dodged some bullets along the way but now you’re facing the #1 team in the country.”

“That’s the way it should be, #1 against #2 for the title. Looking forward to it.”

We’re cold early. Not good. But they’re cold, too. Turr is playing well early on, which is vital for us. Up 4 after 10. It’s a battle late! 43-37 at halftime. Turr has 19 and 7 and no fouls. Only Bant has 2. +22 in the lane. So far so good!

Back and forth early. They take the lead. Down 2 with 10 to play. Hell of a game! We’re turning them over which is huge. Up 4 with 5 left. We get the lead to 11! They’re not going to catch us!

96-83 and the national title!!! 40, 11, 4 blocks for MOP Den Turr. 14, 7 for Vick, 11, 3, 6 for Gill. +13 for the bench. 11 fewer TOs. +38 in the paint.

“Dan Fran, EPSN. Coach, your reaction?”

“It’s beyond belief. I’m pretty much speechless.”

“Did things go according to plan?”

“It went just the way we drew it up. Turr and the rest of the bigs stayed out of foul trouble. Our guards scored enough that they couldn’t be ignored. Turr was his usual brilliant self. Everybody did their jobs.”

“Coach, did you think you could turn things around this quickly at UConn?”

“When you get a kid like Den Turr all things are possible.”

“Did you think he was this good when you got him?”

“We knew he was going to be really good, but 26.2, 13.4, and great D? No, we didn’t expect that. AND, he’s back next year!”

“How much of the credit goes to your assistants, especially Kip Witt?”

“Most of it. I’ve got the best staff in the country!”

“Repeat?”

“Can I enjoy this for a couple of days before we put the pressure back on!” (laughs)

[Wayne23]

4/4: Awards: Turr is Final Four MOP and National Frosh OY. In the ACC Turr is POY, Frosh OY, Def. POY, and 1st team along with SG Mark Gill. I am Conf. COY.

4/23: I ask for a facilities upgrade.

No. What does it take!

37-3 and the title! Overall, for 12 seasons, I’m 333-99, .771.

Great season!

[Wayne23]

5/1: Preseason #2. #2 recruiting class. We need to pick up a guard and 2-3 bigs in the transfer pool.

5/22: Nobody transfers out.

5/26: We offer to 2. A big and a guard.

Emma is a year old. She walks, she talks- a LOT! She gets into everything.

5/29: We offer to 2 again.

6/2: 0-2. 2 offers.

6/5: 0-2. We’re done. No help from the Transfer portal.

6/25: We’re going to Indy and to all 5 regional camps.

6/26: 1st day of recruiting. We need 2 guards, 3 bigs.

[Wayne23]

7/17: We offer to 5.

8/7: PG Jake Chap is #7 on the Norton list. C Aimo Haki is #10, PG Mark Gill is #13, and C Mark Doug is #20. Den Turr is again left off the list. He has no grade issues so I don’t get it.

Baby #2 is due in mid-Feb. We’re excited.

9/18: We get 4, lose 1, a C. We offer to another one.

Tough pre-conf. schedule.

9/25: We get the C.

“I’ll need to take some time when the new baby comes. It’s right in the middle of my busy season.”

“I’ll support whatever you decide to do.”

11/11: We start at the Legends Classic vs. Seattle. We’re the #2 seed, they’re #15. #1 ranked Wisconsin is the #1 seed.

11/12: Here’s our lineup:

Senior Art Weel is back at the Point.

Soph Mark Gill is back at SG.

#3 guard is frosh Jake Chap who would start at most schools. #4 is junior Coy Malo who would also start at most schools.

Frosh Aimo Haki, from Finland, is at SF. He does a lot of things well.

Frosh Mork Doug is at PF. He’s looked great in practice.

Soph Den Turr is back at C. He may be the best player in the country.

#1 big off the bench is senior Kam Shin who is a glass eater. After that we’re thin inside with frosh Ty Ando and frosh Jon Chek, neither of whom are ready. We had hoped to get at least one good big man from the Portal but it didn’t happen.

[Wayne23]

11/13: Early lead. Up 22 after 10. 59-23 at halftime. 18, 10, 3 blocks for Turr. 1 TO, +26 in the paint.

Huge early lead. Up 33 with 10 to play.

101-58. Total blowout. 30, 19, 7 blocks for Turr, 16, 7 for Doug, 12, 2, 6, 3 blocks for Weel. 4 TOs. +46 in the lane.

#7 seed ST Mary in the 2nd round.

11/15: Close early. Down 3 after 10. Turr picked up 2 quick fouls. Up 6 at the half. 17 for Malo.

10 point lead early. Up 13 with 10 to go.

74-53. 19, 14 for Turr, 19 for Malo, 8, 6, 4, 5 for Held. +32 in the paint.

[Wayne23]

#3 seed, #17 ranked Villanova in the semifinals.

11/17: Early lead. Up 23 after 10. 50-27 at the break. 12, 11 for Turr, 13, 6 for Haki. 4 TOs, +30 in the paint.

Early lead. Up 17 with 10 left.

87-67. 28, 20 for Turr, 15, 8, 4 blocks for Held, 12, 9 for Doug. +32 in the lane.#1 seed, #4 ranked Wisconsin for the title. We haven’t been tested yet. We expect to be tonight.

11/19: Back and forth early. Down 3 after 10. Turr picks up foul #2 early. 48-53 at the half. 11 each for Haki and Chap.

They lead early. They lead by 11. Down 14 with 10 to play.

81-93. 25, 9, 3 blocks for Turr, 16, 2, 4 for Chap, 13, 3, 1, 3 for Haki.

[Wayne23]

11/21: 1-2 Penn ST is here.

11/22: Big early lead. Up 16 after 10. 49-32 at halftime. 13, 4 for Turr. +18 in the lane.

20 point lead early. Up 30 with 10 to play.

97-54. Total blowout. 33, 13 for Turr, 12, 12, 3 for Held, 14, 7 for Shin, 11, 5 for Chap. +42 in the paint.

“This is looking like it’s going to be a hell of a team.”

“Yeah, Kip, but that loss to Wisconsin bothers me.”

“It shouldn’t. We’re starting 2 freshmen up front. They’ll be a whole lot better in March than they are now.”

11/24: 2-0 Oregon is here.

11/25: Close early. Down 1 after 10. 38-28 at the half. We scored the last 7 points. 20, 12 for Turr, 10 for Chap, who has been terrific as the #3 guard. 1 TO, +18 in the paint.

Good lead early. Up 23 with 10 to go.

73-45. 28, 23, 4 blocks for Turr, 18, 5, 5, 3, 3 for Chap, 12, 8 for Haki. 4 TOs, +26 in the lane.