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Dysfunctional Dave McGee, a DDS:CB3 Dynasty

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May 22: Dave is definitely drinking. May says he’s good with Jeffy but even quiet with him, but that he has little to do with her. She says if he doesn’t agree to do something- therapy, A.A., something else, and soon, that she will need to consider making a change.

June 12: We get a C from Kansas, Vin Rose.

June 26: 5 to fill. We need at least 3 guards.

July 25: Not getting very far with the first batch of recruits. Time to look at a few more.

May asked Dave to leave their house. He got an efficiency apartment on the worst street in Cranston. He’s drinking- a lot.

Sept. 18: Dave continues to drink way too much. I’m pretty much running the show.

No recruits yet but we feel we’re close with a few.

10 of our 13 pre-conf. games are away. We’re playing 4 ranked teams, all away.


Sept. 19: “Red, ya gotta help me.”

“What’s wrong, Dave.”

“I smashed my car.”

“Where are you?”

“I don’t know, that’s the problem.”

“Where were you drinking?”

“Lefty’s.”

“Okay, I’ll do the route from Lefty’s to your place. Anything at all you can tell me about where you are?”

“Red, I’m hangin’ upside down by my seat belt in a ditch or somethin’. That’s all I know.”

Man!

I got there about 20 minutes later. Luckily I was going slowly and my headlights caught a flash of light. The ditch was pretty deep, and when I got there Dave was, as he had said, hanging upside down by his seat belt.

“Dave, it’s too dangerous to just release the seat belt. If you’ve got anything broken in your back or neck it could kill you. I’m gonna call 911.”

“NO!!! I got too much alcohol in my blood. There’ll be h*ll ta pay.”

“Dave, if you’re paralyzed there’ll be a lot more h*ll to pay.”

“I ain’t paralyzed. My left arm’s broke and my right one can’t reach the seat belt thing cuz a the air bag bein’ wrapped around it when it deflated, but I can move my arms and legs and wiggle my toes and move everything. Just unhook me.”

“Dave, no. I can’t take the responsibility.”

“Then get the frig outta here an’ leave me be.”

“Dave… Dave, I can’t leave you here. I smell gas.”

“J*sus! Unhook me!”

“I think I have to. I didn’t smell the gas when I got here and it’s getting stronger. Look, I’m going to try to cushion your fall.”

I unhooked the belt. The air bag allowed Dave to drop a little more slowly. It had inflated then deflated, but he hung onto it with his good arm and one leg, and I tried to ease him down. He hurt his broken arm on the way down, but that was inevitable. I helped him hobble to my car and drove him to my house. As we left the scene I saw his car in the rear view mirror, on fire.

Dave and I, and Jean, stayed up for several hours. My phone said he had called me at 2:15 a.m. Finally, at 8:45, I drove Dave to the Cranston Hospital. Jean was on duty and she steered us straight to help. They had set his arm and were treating cuts and bruises when Sgt. O’Hanlon of the Cranston police came in.

“Did you guys check for alcohol in the blood?”

“Yes, Sgt. That’s standard procedure.”

“And?”

“Trace amounts.”

“Hey, I had a beer about 1:00 in the morning.”

“You’re full of sh*t, Coach. You got hammered at Lefty’s, rolled your car, and your buddy here took you to his place to get sober.”

“Sgt., Ed Bradley here. That’s a lovely fairy tale. Would you like to tell me what evidence you have?”

Good thing we called Ed!

“I got four witnesses say he was sh*tfaced when he left Lefty’s at 1:00 in the morning.”

“Oh? Did they do a blood test?”

“You b*st*rd, Bradley. This guy’s a menace. He belongs in jail.”

“If you think you can put him there, go right ahead. Coach McGee had 2 beers at Lefty’s, then drove away to go home. A deer crossed right in front of him. He swerved to avoid it, rolled the car, and went into the ditch. He was knocked unconscious. When he woke he called Coach O’Connor, who freed him from the wreck and brought him here.”

“We got a report of a car on fire at 5:57 this morning. When we got there it was clear it’d been burnin’ for some time.”

“Yes, Coach O’Connor told me he saw the car on fire as he drove away.”

“But it took him 2 ½ hours ta drive a mile ta this hospital?”

“Coach McGee is a tough customer. He wanted to just go home and forget about it.”

“With a broken arm and all kinds of other injuries an’ blood all over h*ll and gone!”

“We believe he was in a state of shock. We will plead to leaving the scene of an accident. Sgt. I don’t think there’s a chance in h*ll you can get us on anything else.”

Ed Bradley is good. There was a LOT of negative publicity but we stuck to the story and Dave got a $100 fine for leaving the scene of an accident.

Didn’t solve the problem but Ed hasn’t had a drink in three months.

(Author’s note. The last two paragraphs above go out of time sequence with the following, at least for awhile, but we’ll catch up as we go along.)

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Sept. 25: We get 3 guards, and we’re really happy with all of them.

I’m running the show while Dave recovers. He may be out as long as a month, although I suspect he’ll make appearances at practice, and probably call some recruits much sooner than that.

Oct. 2: A 4th guard, Moe Ward, commits. We need a big guy.

We’re picked 2nd, behind Penn. Well, they’re always tough.


Dave didn’t get to practice today. He called and we stopped to listen to him give a pep talk that was pretty positive. He’s calling May but she’s holding firm. Until he starts going to counseling or A. A., she and Jeffy are unavailable to him. He’s a stubborn guy.

Athletic Director Ticky Brumsfield dropped by the office.

“Red, we have done all we can as far as Coach McGee is concerned. One more incident and we’ll fire him.”

“Is it okay if I tell him that?”

“Yes, we felt that if I confronted him there would be a scene, but if we work through you it will be better for all concerned.”

“I’ll drop over to see him this evening.”

“We would, of course, put you in as interim head coach in his stead, and there would be every chance that the position could become permanent.”

“I’m not interested in stepping over Dave’s corpse to get ahead.”

“We don’t see it that way. You can surely see that the least disruption to the program would be that sequence of events.”

“I’m hoping Dave can find a way to hang on here. He’s been very successful.”

“Red, Brown is an Ivy League school. Athletics are not that important. We simply cannot suffer yet another black eye. For us, the success on the court is not worth the unfavorable publicity.”

Dave took it pretty well. He sort of thought he might have been fired over this incident. Even though nothing could be proven everyone believed the accident was a result of DUI.

Oct. 9: We get a good looking PF.

Dave hasn’t been here since the accident. I know he’s in a lot of pain. Because of his “issues” he’s avoiding pain killers. Some of the bumps and bruises were deep, and the fracture was a mess.

Nov. 6: Here’s the lineup: Seniors Dan Black and Matt Jam start at guard with junior Jack Mile and Juco junior Adam Chan backing up. Senior Carl Mia is at SF, senior Todd Tong and junior Ben Coff start inside with freshman Kris Ank as back up. Senior Sid More is #9 on the depth chart.

Dave is back, but he still isn’t full time. When he’s not here it’s my show. He doesn’t seem to be drinking but he hasn’t gotten into therapy either.

We start the season at Maine and then it’s Butler here.

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Nov. 20: 77-55 at Maine. 25, 3, 5, 2 for Carl, 12, 5, 2 for Todd, and good play by everyone else. 11 TOs, 31 RBs.

72-52 vs. Butler, here. 23, 7, 2, 2 for Carl, who’s off to a great start. 12, 5, 3 for Dan Black. 10 TOs.

5 in a row and 9 of the next 10 are on the road. Brutal! We start at 0-1 Memphis, then fly to 1-1 La. Tech.

Nov. 27: 73-87 at Memphis. They went to the lane 38 times, we went 21. Dave got his first T of the season. We didn’t play very good D.

67-57 at La. Tech. 19, 6, 4, 2 for Todd, 13, 8 for carl, and his 4th straight game in double figures. Matt Jam is playing well at guard.

We’re at 1-3 VCU, then at 2-1 LSU.

Dec. 4: 79-85 at VCU in OT. Dave got a T again, and it meant the difference between winning in regulation and losing in OT. 30 for Carl, 12, 10 for Todd.

76-78 vs. LSU. They won on a 28 footer at the buzzer. 22 for Carl, 19, 4 for Matt.

This week we’re at Akron, 1-5, then home for a game with 5-1 Penn ST before heading off again.

Dec. 11: 72-57 at Akron. 23, 6 for Carl, 14, 12, 6, 2 for Todd.

67-47 over Penn ST here. 20, 5, 3 for Carl, 14, 6, 3 for Dan, 8, 12, 2 for todd, 9 TOs, 37 RBs.

Carl has scored 10 or more in every game this season.

At 3-5 UMass Lowell, then #24 Mich. ST, 5-4.

Dec. 18: 57-41 at UMass Lowell. 16, 7 for Carl, 12, 4, 3, 2 for Matt. 9 TOs.

73-66 at #24 Mich. ST. 20, 4, 4 for Carl, 15, 9, 4 for Todd, good guard play.

2 more on the road. At 6-4 No. FL, then it’s 6-3 Iowa, a tough team.

Dec. 25: 71-84 at No. FL. 26, 7, 3, 2 for Carl, 20, 8 for Todd. But 17 TOs and only 25 RBs. The refs were pretty bad and Dave got another T.

65-66 at Iowa. 19, 11, 3 for Todd. 16, 10 for Ben Coff. For the first time this season Carl did not hit double figures. This was a game we could have won. Dave got another T.

When we got home Dave and I were called into Ticky Rumsfield’s office.

“Dave, we’re suspending you. The technical fouls are out of hand.”

“How long?”

“Indefinite. We want you to take an anger management course with a psychologist here on campus. It will be one on one, and will last for about 6 weeks. Twice a week.”

“So I’m out for 6 weeks.”

“It could be 4, even 3, if Professor Malden feels you’re ready to return, but the entire course needs to be completed.”

“If I refuse?”

“I was told to fire you if you refuse.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“You have 48 hours to contact Prof. Malden.”

Dave contacted the professor. In the meantime the team is mine.

We close out the pre-conf. season with 4-4 Nome, here.

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January 1, 2028: 78-58 over Nome here. 18, 9, 2 for Kris Ank from the bench, 17, 5, 2, 2 for Carl, 11, 12, 4 for Todd, 12 for Dan.

Dan Black has back spasms. He’s out for about two weeks. Due to the XMas break he’ll only miss 2 games but they are big ones.

We end the pre-conf. season 8-5.


We start conf. play at 8-4 Princeton, then we host #19 Princeton. They are picked 3rd and 1st in conf.

I’m still running the show here. Dave comes over in the evening and we talk things over, but just briefly. He says it’s my team now.

“Prof. Malden is a she.”

“How’s that working out?”

“She’s tough as hell, and hotter than she is tough.”

“And so…”

“No worries. I’m still married and I want to stay that way.”

Jan. 8: The subs got it done! 79-70 at Princeton. 17, 6 for Carl, 13, 3, 3 for Adam Chan, 12, 7 for Todd. 12 TOs, 34 RBs.

82-74 with Penn. 31, 2, 2 for Carl, 14, 3, 4 for Adam, 12, 14, 4 for Todd.

I decide to start Adam Chan for Dan Black, and Kris Ank for Ben Coff.

At 9-6, 2-0 Yale, then home with 5-10, 0-2 Cornell.

“Randi Malden is a b*tch. She is all over me.”

“Maybe it’s what you need.”

“If she was a guy I woulda slugged her by now.”

“Maybe that’s why they picked a woman.”

“Yeah, the b*st*rds.”

Jan. 15: 77-57 at Yale. 26 for Matt, 21 for Adam in his 1st start. Kris Ank had 6 and 8. 9 TOs.

78-60 over Cornell here. 22 for Todd, 16, 5 for Carl, 9 and 8 for Kris. 8 TOs.

It’s early, but we’re alone in 1st, and only Penn is one back.

8-9, 2-2 Harvard is here, then we go to 9-8, 2-2 Dartmouth.

Dave seems calmer. He and May are talking, and he took Jeffy to the park the other day.

Jan. 22: 65-53 over Harvard. 19 for Adam, 17, 4 for Carl, 9, 9, 3, 2 for Todd, 10 TOs, 33 RBS.

57-68 at Dartmouth. 19, 3 for Carl, 9, 11 for Todd, but they led all the way. The 6 game win streak ends and we’re tied with Penn.

2 at home this week, 13-6, 3-3 Columbia, then 10-9, 1-5 Princeton, who’ve been very disappointing so far.

“The b*tch is helping me. I feel calmer than I have in a long time, and me and May are doing pretty good.”

Jan. 29: 69-52 over Columbia. 28, 4 for Carl, 16 with 6 assists for Matt. 10 TOs but only 16 RBs.

Adam Chan sprained an ankle. Out about 2 weeks. Seems like whenever Penn is coming up we get an injury. Mile will get most of his minutes.

76-54 at Princeton. Big game for Kris Ank, 14, 11. 18 for Todd, 16, 3, 6 for Matt. 9 TOs, 29 RBs.

At #18 Penn, 16-7, 6-2, one back of us. Then 10-11, 3-5 Yale here.

Dave is coming back full time tomorrow. He has one week to go on the anger management classes and admits they’ve helped. He isn’t drinking and he’s back home with May and Jeffy, as of yesterday. I wind up 9-2, 11-3 lifetime, filling in for Dave. Not bad! But I'm happy in my role.

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2/5: 74-82 at #18 Penn. Home court is supposed to be worth 7-9 points. They won by 8. 20, 8, 4, 4 for Carl, 17, 11 for Todd, 16 for Matt. We were short a guard and both of our starters were in foul trouble all night.

64-48 vs. Yale. 22 for Carl, 10, 6, 2, 2, 2 for Todd. Good, solid D won this one.

Dave told the guys to just keep winning. We’re tied with Penn for 1st.

This week we’re on the road, first at 7-16, 2-8 Cornell, then at 11-12, 5-5 Harvard.

2/12: 68-72 at Cornell. 20 for Todd, 17 for Carl, but we didn’t play very well. 23 RBs.

“How in h*ll does the worst team in the conf. beat us!”

84-69 at Harvard. 32, 7, 3, 3 for Carl, 16, 11, 2, 5 for Todd, 13, 3, 3 for Matt. We were much better in this one.

Last week of the conf. season opens with 13-12, 6-6 Dartmouth here. They beat us by 11 last time. Then it’s on the road with 16-9, 6-6 Columbia.

We’re going to finish 2nd unless we win 2 and Penn loses 2.

Dave is much, MUCH calmer. He seems to be handling things a lot better, even the loss. He is doing less yelling in practices and games, but still manages to get his point across.

2/19: 76-64 over Dartmouth. 20, 6, 4, 3 for Todd, 11 each for Kris and Carl. 9 TOs.

58-71 at Columbia. 20, 4 for Carl, 12, 9 for Todd. 19 TOs did us in.

“They played like sh*t!”

I feel like this team has the most talent we’ve ever had but doesn’t have the heart. Of course you really see heart in the post season so we’re still hopeful.

Bracket Breaker with 20-5, 10-4, #24 Oakland here tonight.

Feb. 26: 65-62 over Oakland
. This was a battle. 18, 2, 5 for Matt, 8, 15 for Todd, 12, 4, 2 for Jack Mile from the bench. Adam buried a three with :15 left and we hung on and didn’t let them get a good look. 18 TOs. Two bad TO games in a row.

We end the season 19-9, 10-4, 2nd in conf., 2 back of Penn, 2 up on Columbia.

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March 2: We’ll play #7 seed Harvard, 11-17, 5-9, in the round of 8.

March 3: 87-68 over Harvard. 22, 2, 2, 2 for Carl, 21, 3, 2 for Adam, 13, 10 for Todd. 6 TOs.

We play #3 seed Columbia, 20-9, 8-6 in the semis. They beat us by 13 a couple weeks ago.

Dave is really leaning on that loss as we prepare- prepare! One walk through, basically.

March 4: 75-63 over Columbia. 25, 6, 4, 3 for Carl, 16, 2, 2 for Adam.

We’ve looked good in the tourney so far but #1 seed, #11 ranked Penn is next, for the title. They’re 24-8, 12-2. The interesting thing is that we beat them 82-74 at home, and then lost 74-82 there.

March 5: 73-56 over #11 Penn, and the title! 20, 4 for Carl, 12, 14 for Todd, 12, 3, 4 for Matt, 10, 2, 4 for Jack Mile. Great tournament! And now we wait.

Things seem to be going well for Dave, May, and Jeffy. Part of the deal with Ticky is that he has to meet with Prof. Malden once a month for an additional year. He’s been calm, in control, patient- it’s all working. He blows up, yells at refs, occasionally at a player, but none of it seems at all out of control.

March 12: RPI #13 but no idea what to expect. Not in the East.

#11 Midwest. Disappointing. How does RPI #13 translate into an 11 seed? We play #6 seed, #25 ranked Texas, 19-11.

March 16: 75-65!
20, 7, 3, 2 for Carl, 16, 6 for Jack from the bench, 8, 9, 7 for Todd. 19 TOs but 35 RBs.

Next will be #14 seed, 23-8, Holy Crap who upset #3 seed UConn. The door is open for us to reach the Sweet Sixteen again.

March 18: 91-72 over Holy Crap! 34, 4 for Carl, 21, 4, 3 for Adam, 13, 9, 4 for Todd, 15, 6 for Kris. 9 TOs, 31 RBs.

2 straight years in the Sweet 16. #2 seed, #6 ranked Maryland, 27-6. Tough match up but I think if we play our best game we have a shot. Dave is really pumping the guys up. A good start would help.

March 23: 62-91. Ouch! They scored the first 11 points and that was that. Oh well. Last game at Brown for Todd Tong, Carl Mia, Matt Jam, Dan Black, Sid More.

April 4: #2 ranked UNC won it all.

Awards: Carl Mia and Todd Tong made 1st team, Matt Jam 2nd.


April 9: “I ain’t leavin’ Rhode Island!”

April 23: We ask for a budget increase again. We get $10,000.

We end the season 24-10, 10-4. Great post season! Team Prestige is up to 28. Dave’s #s are: Off-45, Def-71, Recruit-70, Scout-7, Player Dev-58, Reputation-43. We’re losing a lot of talent this year; let’s see how that plays out.


Dave is still sober and enjoying family life. Not coincidentally, he sees Prof. Malden through February.

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June 16: We get a PG and a C from the transfer pool. We’ll see.

June 26: 3 scholarships. We want 2 guards. Looking at 15.

Aug. 21: We offer to a PG and a PF.

Sept. 4: We offer to another PG.

Sept. 18: We get the PF. We have a schedule.

Oct. 2: We’re picked 2nd to Penn again.

Oct. 9: We get 2 PGs.

Nov. 6: Here’s the lineup: Seniors Adam Chan and Jack Mile start at guard, backed by frosh Dale Wins. Soph Kris Ank is at SF, backed by senior Ben Coff. Inside it’s soph transfer from Kansas Vin Rose and junior Juco Jim Nick, backed by frosh Del Cava. I think we’ll be okay, but it may take a few games for us to gel.


We start with a 3 game week, at Texas ST then home with Nome and Purdue.

Dave continues to be calm. There are flare ups, but nothing major.

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Nov. 20: 69-62 at Texas ST. Good team effort, 13, 12 for Vin Rose at C, 19, 5, 2 for Kris Ank at SF, 17 for Adam Chan at guard, 11, 1, 6 for Jack Mile at guard. 17 TOs though.

73-58 over Nome. 16, 9 for Vin, 17, 5, 1, 3 for Kris, 13, 4, 3, 3 fo0r Jack. 12 TOs, 33 RBs.

69-54 vs. Purdue. 17, 5, 2 for Kris, 16 for Jack, 13 for Adam, 9, 9, 5, 2 for Jim Nick at PF. 12 TOs, 36 RBs.

This week we’re home all week, the middle of a 5 game home stand. URI is 2-0, first time we play our destination school. Then it’s 2-1 Miami.

Nov. 27: 58-44 vs. URI. 18, 5, 2 for Adam, but great D and 37 RBs won this one.

“I hope we get our shot at coachin’ URI one a these days. I think we could make ‘em a power. If that cow college in CT can do it so can we.

68-54 with Miami. 18, 4, 6, 4 for Adam, 17, 5 for Vin, 10, 7 for Nick.

Dale Wins hurt his wrist. Day to day.

Ranked! #22, RPI #15. We’re 5-0,
but headed to the road soon.

We close the home stand with 3-0 Vanderbilt, then we’re at 2-1 Pitt, a powerful team.

Dec. 4: 55-63 with Vandy. 16, 2, 4 for Jack, 11, 7 for Vin, but we weren’t on our game. Dave picked up his first T, but he wasn’t really out of control. It felt tactical.

58-67 at Pitt. 18, 8, 2 for Vin, 19 for jack, and our whole backcourt was in foul trouble all night. Another T for Dave and this one didn’t feel as tactical. He pretty much lost it.
He did get it back though.

We’re going to start Del Cava at PF

So much for being ranked!

At 4-2 Oakland, then at #24 Arkansas.

"Randi gave me h*ll yesterday at our session."

"Glad she's keeping you on your toes."

"Hey, I been doin' a lot better. Gotta admit I feel better, too."

"Use the things she taught you."

"I am. That first T was on purpose and I didn't lose it all that bad on the 2nd one."

"Listen to Randi."

"Believe me, I'm tryin'."

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Dec. 11: 2 road wins! 80-65 at Oakland. 17 each for Del in his first start, and Jack. 16, 1, 5, 2 for Adam, 9, 14, 2, 2 for Vin. 13 TOs, 35 RBs.

69-64 at #24 Arkansas. This was a war. We scored the last 7 points. 243, 5, 3 for Kris, 21, 10 for Vin.

We’re 7-2.

Home with 5-3 Vermont, then at 4-3 Michigan ST. They’re off to a slow start but they’re Mich. ST!

Dec. 18: 63-51 with Vermont. 25, 8, 2 for Kris, 13, 3, 3 for Jack, 10, 6, 3 for Del. 10 TOs.

Sub Ben Coff hurt his back. Out for about 2 weeks.

47-70 at Mich. ST. Overmatched
. They were both too big and too quick. Dave kept his cool and kept trying to keep the guys’ heads up. Del had 10, 14, Jack 13, 6, 2, 3 but no one else did much.

This week 3-5 Tulane is here, then we go to 5-4 ODU.

Dec. 25: 76-57 over Tulane. 16 each for Ank and Mile, 11 each for Rose and Cava. 11 TOs.

71-66 at ODU. 13, 10, 2 for Vin but everyone contributed in a good road win.

A tough road game at 7-3 Louisville to close out pre-conf. play.

A great holiday. Dave and May said what they hope to get for a New Year gift is a new baby. She isn’t pregnant yet but they’re hoping.

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January 1, 2029: 59-77 at Louisville. As with Mich. St we were overmatched. 15, 3, 2 for Kris, 14, 3, 3 for Jack, who has turned into a real leader.

We’re committing too many TOS right now, 14.5 per (+0.4). We’re +4.5 PPG, +6.2 RBs. If we do better with ball handling we’ll be fine.

10-4 to close out pre-conf. play.

2029! Dave and I turn 50 this year. Yikes!


We start conf. play here with 7-6 Harvard, then we’re off to 3-10 Yale. Penn is always tough but we feel good about how we’ll do in conf.

Jan. 8: 82-68 vs. Harvard. 22, 4, 3, 2 for Adam, 18, 6 for Kris, 16, 6 for vin, 8 TOs.

69-47 at Yale. All 5 in doubles, Jim Nick had 9, 4. 9 TOs, and a real team effort.

This week we host 9-6 Dartmouth, then go to #11 Penn, 13-2.

“Not a bad time ta play Penn, we’re goin’ real good right now.

Jan. 15: 72-53 with Dartmouth. Good #s for the starters and for Jim Nick.

59-73 at #11 Penn. 13, 8 for Del. 19 TOs did it. We were never really in the game.

“Thing that worries me about this team is that we don’t quite get there with the good teams. Keep workin’, I guess, but it seems like a mindset thing. It ain;t easy ta fix that.”

2-15 Cornell here, then 12-6, 2-2 Princeton there.

Jan. 22: 66-53 with Cornell. 23, 4 for Kris. 9 TOs.

62-69 at Princeton. -5 TOs, -4 RBs, gave up 13 threes.

“We’re like that rookie hooker.”

“Choke on the big ones.”

“I been tryin’ ta be positive cuz when a team’s not goin’ all that good ya don’t want ta knock ‘em. Ya gotta build their confidence.”

“You’re doing fine with that, Dave.”

13-6, 3-3 Columbia is here, then we go to 11-8, 4-2 Harvard. We’re tied for them for 2nd, 2 back of Penn.

Jan. 29: 66-60 vs. Columbia. Dale Wins got minutes and responded with 13. 10, 8, 2 for Vin. This was a battle. We didn’t play well but we played well enough.

57-78 vs. Harvard. 20 TOs, 22 RBs.

Dave walked out of the locker room after the game without saying a word.

“No more Mr. Nice Guy. I’ve friggin’ had it! I’m gonna work ‘em, an’ I’m gonna jump on their a$$e$ every time they screw up. They’re playing like junior high girls!”

Uh oh!

5-16, 2-6 Yale, followed by a trip to 12-9, 4-4 Dartmouth.

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Feb. 4: It’s been a tough week in practice. Dave has been true to his word, kicking butts all week long. Interestingly enough, the guys look better.

“Last session with Randi was yesterday.”

“Why are you stopping?”

“Cuz the deal was a year an’ the year’s up.”

“But you’ve been really positive about the sessions.”

“Time ta grow up an’ deal with things myself.”

NOT a good idea, I’m thinking.

Feb. 5: 51-32 with Yale. We won with D. 11 TOs.

60-71 at Dartmouth. 14, 6 for Vin, 11, 5, 2 for Del. We didn’t shoot well, or find the open man.

“I give up. Let’s meet with the whole staff an’ see if we can come up with anythin’. I’m friggin’ stumped.”

This week we host #9 Penn, 20-3, 9-1, then go to 4-19, 2-8 Cornell. We’re tied for 3rd, 1 back of 2nd place Harvard.

Feb. 12: 60-79 with Penn. 18, 8, 5 for Vin, 12, 5 for Del, but 21 TOs. Penn was way too good for us tonight.

69-42 at Cornell. All 5 in double figures, 7 TOs, 30 RBs.

Tied with Harvard and Dartmouth for 2nd with 2 to play. We host 16-10, 6-6 Princeton then go to 15-10, 5-7 Columbia. If we want 2nd place we need 2 wins.

Feb. 19: 66-65 in OT with Princeton, a huge win for us. 26, 4 for Jack, 16, 6 for Del. Jack stole a pass and drove for a layup to tie it in regulation, and hit a last second 16 fotter in OT for the win.

79-69 at Columbia. 23, 2, 6 for Adam but 23 TOs.

At least we go into the post season in 2nd place and with some momentum!

Tonight it’s the Bracket Breaker with 18-7 Wofford.

Feb. 26: 73-76
to Wofford. So much for that momentum thing. 17, 8 for Del, 14, 9 for Vin, 13, 4, 4 for Kris.

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March 2: We play #7 seed Yale, 7-20, 4-10.

March 3: 48-54
. An embarrassing loss. We shot 27%, 3-24 on threes. 17, 14 for Vin but no one else did much of anything. With a 69 RPI we’ll probably go somewhere but…

March 12: NIT #5 seed Midwest. We play #4 Dartmouth, 18-13. WE split in the regular season. This is ur chance to salvage a mediocre season. A couple of wins here would help.

March 13: 62-52 over Dartmouth. 16, 6 for Vin, 15, 5, 3 for Adam, 8, 9 for Kris.

This gives us a 20 win season, Next up is #1 seed Illinois, 17-13. After seeing the tapes we think we’re the better team- IF we play.

March 15: 63-82. We were never in it. Last game for Jack, Adam, and Ben Coff.

April 4: #1 Oklahoma won it all. Dave and I went to the Final Four, which was kind of cool! It was in Boston so we “commuted”.

Awards: Kris Ank made 1st team, Vin Rose and Del Cava made 2nd. None of our seniors received awards, unfortunately.


April 6: “Red on the head, get yer a$$ outta bed!”

“Good morning, Dave. It’s been quite a while since you’ve graced me with a 1:30 call.”

“I thought I’d celebrate a fantastic friggin’ season.”

“One beer would have done that, heck, a 7 ounce.”

(Roars with laughter) “Hey, Lefty’s is open long enough fer you ta come down an’ have a drink.”

“I’ll be right there. Don’t go anywhere.”

No, I wasn’t planning to have a drink, but if Dave was at Lefty’s I needed to get him out of there and not let him drive.

I got there just before closing, managed to get Dave into my car, and drove him home. I woke May up and she was not happy.

“Why, Red?”

“That’s always a tough call, May. I’ve read a lot about addiction, being Dave’s best friend kind of makes that necessary reading. Nobody seems to know 100% why, but it’s a tough battle, for the addict, and for everyone around him.”

“I really thought we were through with this. It’s been a long time since he had a drink.”

“Try to get him back to Randi Malden. She had more success with him than anyone else.”

April 9: Dave got away with it. It was a slow night at Lefty’s and his revels didn’t make the news, thankfully. At least so far he’s not going back to see Randi, but he hasn’t had another drink, either.

“Red, would ya move if I went someplace else?”

“You mean besides URI?”

“Yeah. Brown ain’t a good fit for us, an’ I been thinkin’…”

Wow! “How does May feel?”

“It was her idea.”

In the end we stayed put. Dave interviewed at USC, W. VA, Vanderbilt, and Nebraska. I thought he was going to take the W. VA. job but in the end…

“I ain’t leavin’ R.I.”

I have to admit it would be very difficult for me to leave, too.

April 23: We ask for a budget increase but hopes are not high. We’re shocked to get $10,000. We’ll now have enough to buy the national gold report.

Team Prestige drops to 26 after our poor season. We end up 20-12, 9-5. After 15 years Dave is 295-149, .664. Off-49, Def-75, Recruit-70, Scout-7, Player Development-63, Reputation-46.

Our best players are back. If a couple of our recruit guards develop we can hope for a better season.

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May 11: Dave’s been drinking off and on. I’ve driven him home from Lefty’s 2-3 times. He’s on borrowed time. Something is going to happen to get him some bad publicity, at the very least. On the positive side, Dave and May celebrated their 3rd anniversary a couple of weeks ago. That’s longer than he’s lasted with anyone else.

June 5: We need guards. 1 slot open for a transfer.

June 16: We get Matt Tony, PG.

June 26: Only two scholarships and we want guards. Looking at 7.


Dave is still drinking, but I haven’t gotten a late call in about a month.

Aug. 21: We offer to 2 PGs.

Sept. 18: We feel we’re close with our 2 PGs.

We put together a tough schedule. Too tough?

May is pregnant. She is due April 15. Nice little tax refund! Dave looks worried.

“I quit drinkin’. I ain’t a prayin’ man but I’m thinkin’ about it. Another miscarriage would about kill me.”

“Think positive thoughts, old buddy.”

Sept. 25: Lost one of the guys we offered to.

Oct. 2: Lost one, got one. Bo Will, PG, #75 committed.


It’s hard to say but Dave and I think we’re better than last year. It will take 4-5 weeks to get a better feel though.

We’re picked 2nd, behind Penn, again.

Nov. 6: Here’s the lineup, all new in the backcourt: Junior transfer from Dayton Shay Cota, junior Kris Ank, and frosh Key Mann. SF will be split between frosh Josh Eddy and Mann. Inside will be junior Vin Rose and soph Del Cava, backed by Eddy.


We open with a 4 game home stand. This week it’s Silly Hat and Va. Tech.

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Nov. 20: 65-57 with Silly Hat. 16, 9, 2 for Vin Rose, 15 for Kris Ank but he fouled out in 16 min. Key Mann played a lot of minutes and played well. 10 TOs but only 21 RBs.

83-64 vs. Va. Tech. 16, 9, 3 for Vin, 18, 2, 4 for Kris, 15, 4, 2, 4 for Key, 10, 7, 3 for Del Cava, 12 for Shay Cota. 11 TOs, 28 RBs. Dave worked the refs pretty well but avoided a T. The calls really did go against us all night.

This week we host 0-2 Miami, and 0-2 Clemson, both from the ACC.

Nov. 27: 67-60 vs. Miami. 22, 2, 3 for Shay, lots of help from the other 5 who play significant minutes.

60-41 with Clemson. 18, 7, 2 for Vin, 12, 10 for Del. 10 TOs, 30 RBs.

The 6 man rotation may wear us out in time but for now it’s going really well.

2 on the road. First we’re at 2-1 Duke. Then at 2-3 SE Louisiana.

Dec. 4: 73-63 at Duke. 20, 3, 3 for Shay, 15, 11 for Vin, +9 RBs. They never led and it was tied twice, at 0-0, and 2-2.

“We beat DUKE! DUKE!!! THERE!!! WE BEAT DUKE THERE!!!!!”

67-53 at SE Louisiana. 23, 5, 4, 3 for super sub Key Mann. +12 RBs.

2 on the road again this week, at 2-3 Wofford, and then MS ST, 1-3.

Dec. 11: 72-79 at Wofford. Key led us again with 18, 4, 3. We let them shoot over 50%.

65-52 at MS ST. 21, 4, 3 for Key, 16, 7, 4 for Shay. 38 RBs.

At 4-4 Vermont, then home with 1-5 American.

Dec. 18: 58-45 at Vermont. 23, 7, 3 for Shay, 11, 8 for Del.

79-44 vs. American. Never a game. Foul trouble in the back court made us go a lot deeper in the bench than usual. The guys responded. 5 TOs, 30 RBs.

Tough one coming up at #14 Utah, 9-0, then at 3-6 Colorado ST>

Kris Ank twisted his wrist. Day to day.

Dec. 25: 50-64 at Utah
. We shot 29.6%. 13, 5, 2 for Shay, 9, 10 for Vin but they were too good for us.

48-68 at Colo. ST. We were awful tonight. 10, 12 for Vin, 10, 7 for Josh, but we were totally flat. No excuse for this one and Dave was p*ssed!

“We’ll just hafta work that out of ‘em. They’re better than this!”

We close out pre-conf. play with 5-5 Texas A & M here.

May is doing just fine with the pregnancy; not a sign of trouble. And Dave is still sober.

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January 1, 2030: 67-60 vs. Texas A & M. All 5 starters in double figures. 13 TOs, 34 RBs.

9-4 Dartmouth is here to start conf. play. Then we’re off to 7-6 Columbia.

Jan. 8: 60-57 with Dartmouth. We never trailed, but they never went away. The final score was as close as it got but they missed a three at the buzzer. 10, 15, 3 for Del, but 5 in doubles. 7 TOs, 39 RBs.

We played well against a good team.

74-64 at Columbia. 11, 12 for Vin, 17 for Kris, 14, 9 for Josh Eddy. 40 RBs.

Key Mann hurt his wrist. Out about a week.

#4 Penn, 14-3 is here, then we’re at 7-8, 2-0 Cornell.

Jan. 15: 62-80 with #4 Penn. 23, 11, 3 for Kris. We gave up 17 threes.

55-70 at Cornell. 16, 9 for Vin. 21 TOs. Dave was Not happy about this one.

“Okay, Penn I can see, but friggin’ Cornell!”

9-8, 2-2 Harvard is here then we go to 7-10, 1-3 Princeton.

Jan. 22: 76-62 with Harvard. A team effort, 7 guys had betwee 6 and 16. 12 TOs, 37 RBs.

66-59 at Princeton. 13, 8, 2, 2 for Del, 11, 8, 3, 2 for Shay. The calls started going against us midway through the 2nd half. Dave got on the refs and eventually got a T but it was tactical and it worked.

After that the calls evened out. We locked Princeton down late to hang on for the win. Our up and down team was up this week.

“Red, we’re coachin’ yoyos this year, up an’ down, up an’ down. It’s makin’ me crazy!”

0-19, 0-6 Yale is here, then we travel to 13-6, 4-2 Dartmouth, one of the three teams tied for 2nd- we’re one and Cornell is the other.

Jan. 29: 58-44 with Yale. 13, 9 for Vin, 14 for Shay, 6 TOs, 32 RBs, and great D.

62-59 at Dartmouth. 16, 6, 5 for Shay, 11, 7 for Vin. We almost blew a 14 point lead but we hung on.

We’re alone in 2nd, 1 back of Penn.

10-11, 3-5 Columbia is here, then we travel to 20-3, 7-1, #4 Penn.

The only recruit we signed didn’t hit the SAT score.

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Feb. 5: 73-49 with Columbia. 16, 7, 2, 2 for Josh, 16, 5, 2, 3 for Key. 10 TOs.

59-71 at #4 Penn. 23 TOs did us in. 15, 8 for Vin.

Still alone in 2nd but now 2 back of Penn with 4 to play.

This week 10-13, 5-5 Cornell is here. They beat us last time. Then we go to 12-11, 5-5 Harvard.

Feb. 12: 60-41 vs. Cornell. 19, 8 for Del, 17, 3, 4 for Shay, good play all around.

55-72 at Harvard. We were flat all night.

Last week of the regular season. 13-12, 7-5 Princeton is here and the winner gets 2nd place. Then we’re at 1-24, 1-11 Yale.

We’re 18-7, 8-4, RPI #54.

May is about two months from her delivery date and there have been no problems at all. Dave remains very excited, and remains sober. They have chosen not to know the baby’s gender.

Feb. 19: 68-49 vs. Princeton. 16, 4, 4 for Shay, 14 each for Kris and Key, 8, 13, 2, 3, 2 for Vin. We played like we wanted it!

This clinches 2nd place.

60-44 at Yale.
The back court tore it up. 10 TOs, big games from Shay, Kris, and Key.

Tonight San Diego, 17-8, is her for the Bracket Breaker.

Feb. 26: 55-53 vs. San Diego. 11, 17 for Vin, 10, 18 for Del, and a 16 footer at the buzzer for Kris for the win. 11 TOs, 44 RBs.

Key hurt his shoulder, about a week.

We finish the regular season 21-7, 10-4, RPI #41.

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We’ll play #7 seed Cornell 10-17, 5-9. They started strong, even beat us there, but then they faded.

March 3: 66-63. Whew! 17 for Shay but 7 guys had between 6 and 17. This was a struggle all the way. Kri hit a three with 15 seconds left, then knocked a pass OB with 1.3 left. They never got off a shot.

#6 seed Columbia, 15-14, 6-8, upset #3 Princeton, so we play them next. We beat them by 10 and 24.

March 4: 60-43 with Columbia. We were up 20 at the half. 12, 9 for Vin, 12 more for both Kris and Key, 11 TOs, 39 RBs, and great D.

As expected it’s #3 Penn, 27-5, 12-2. We lost by 18 there, then 12 here, so this is going to be tough for us. It would be a great win though.

March 5: 67-91. Ouch! 20, 14, 2 for Vin, but we weren’t in it for long. Their bench got 38, ours got 13. 40 RBs wasn’t enough.

March 12: We expect to make the Big Dance, given that we’re 25-8 with an RPI of 45.

We’re not in
. And we’re shocked. We get a call an hour later from the NIT, #2 East. We’ll play 22-8 Morehead ST, #7 seed.

Dave gives a pep talk to the guys.

“Last time the stupid b*st*rds from the selection committee snubbed us we won the NIT. Let’s do it again.”

There was more but he definitely charged the guys up!

March 13: 72-54 over Morehead ST. 16, 3, 5, 2 for Shay, but the guys were really upbeat and they played every possession. 6 TOs, 39 RBs.

Next is Ark.-Little Rock, 22-9. We’re much tougher inside but they can shoot outside.

March 15: 71-61. Their SF lit it up but we stopped everyone else and we were as determined in this game as in the last one. 16, 7, 5, 3 for Vin, 18 for Kris, dominant inside, 11 TOs.

It will be #1 seed Seton Hall, 19-11, in the round of 8.

March 20: 78-74 over Seton Hall, and we’re in the NIT Final Four!
We led most fo the way and it wasn’t as close as the final score. 6 guys in doubles, 34 RBs, and that same determination.

It will be 23-10 UNLV, #3 seed in the Midwest, in the round of 4. They can shoot. We need to keep the game inside as much as possible since that’s where we hold the edge.

March 28: 64-50. They led by 6 at the half, their biggest lead of the game. At halftime Dave went to mostly 3-2, and he shut down the outside shooting.

We owned the 2nd half. 18, 4, 3, 2 for Kris, 12, 5 for Del, 10 RBs for Vin, 7, 6 for Josh. Shay fouled out but Key really did the job in his place. +15 RBs.

May had false labor. She went to the hospital but was back home 2 hours later. No problems, docs say she and the baby are fine.

It’s an all Ivy final as we face 23-11 Dartmouth, the #5 seed from the South. We beat them by 3 both times so this could be a tough game.

Dave feels like we should win big.

“H*ll, we didn’t play our game either time an’ we beat ‘em. I think it’ll be a a$$ kickin’ party, an’ we’re the foot. You know what that makes them. With the players he’s not quite that strong but he is telling them they are the better team. He’ll go man and 3-2 about equally, at least to start, and he wants as many inside shots for Vin and Del as he can get.

March 30: 61-64. They threw 11 bodies at us, kept fresh legs in all night long. Their bench had 32, 16, 5, ours had 15, 5, 0. They beat us with depth.

We had the ball last but they doubled the shooter and Shay’s three rimmed out.

“Great run, guys. I’m proud a ya!”

Here’s what he said to the press postgame:

“We shoulda been in the big one, which we proved. I’m not happy with the lack a respect we get from the NCAA. I AM proud as h*ll a my boys. They had a great trourney an’ they give it all they had.”

April 4: #1 UNC beat unranked Tennessee for the NCAA title.

Awards: Key Mann was frosh of the year. Vin Rose made 1st team. Shay Cota anmd Del Cava made 2nd.


April 5: I don’t think May can get bigger. She is ready. I doubt she’ll make the 4/15 due date.

April 9: For the 2nd year in a row W. Va. is coming after Dave, HARD. Arkansas and Washington also want him.

“I sure as h*ll ain’t goin’ south. Who needs that heat! Now Washington…”

And then the phone rang. I happened to be in the office at the time.

“Jimmy, I would LOVE ta come over ta URI ta interview for the job.”

Can it be? At long last?

“Ain’t gonna be much of a interview. If they offer I’m takin’ it.”

“Well try to get a decent salary, we could both use it.”

“Hey, it’s bound ta be better than we been doin’ here!”

Short story- We’re at URI, right back where we started as freshmen all those years ago.


“This is my dream job. Red an’ me (Yes, they hired me, too!) have always wanted ta come here. We think great things can happen if ya give us a little time.”

Dave’s salary is 2 ½ times what it was. Mine is a little less than that but a nice raise.

April 10: David Alan McGee, Jr. was born this morning. 8 pounds, 3 ounces. May and Davey are doing fine. Dave is out of his mind.

The first thing we needed to do was to get the rest of the staff hired.

April 23: Good staff assembled. We took our time. We went after some recruits late. Kind of a pig in a poke but we rolled the dice.

Facilities here have been neglected for a long time so we ask A. D. Jimmy Dimaggio for an upgrade. Got it. Up from C- to B-.

“Now THAT’S the way ta friggin’ welcome a coach! Good ole URI!”

No two ways about it. It is wonderful to be back here.

Team Prestige is 29. Our last year at Brown we went 20-13, 11-7, got to the finals of the conf. tourney and the finals of the NIT. Not bad.

Dave’s record is 322-158, .671. Off-52, Def-75, Recruit-70, Scout-7, Player Dev-67, Reputation-49. Ready for a new adventure. For Dave it’s two new adventures, a new job and a new baby.

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May 1: One kid transfers out. He didn’t really figure to get much PT but it leaves us with 4 guards.

June 5: We have 3 open roster spots and three scholarships and we need at least 4, maybe 5 guards.

June 12: We get PG Glen Sonn from Iowa ST, and SF Wade Davy from Kansas.

June 26: 4 to fill and we want guards. Looking at 7 PGs, 2 PFs to start.


Aug. 21: We make some offers but no one is panting to get here.

Dave is talking so much about Davey, and showing so many pics that I think the kid may be walking, talking, and looking for a part time job already. I was probably the same way. To Dave’s credit he seems to be spending even more time than ever with Jeffy.

Sept. 18: A couple of changes but now we’re offering to 4 PGs.

We start at home then play 7 on the road. Awful. Jimmy and Dave had a shouting match over it. We have two ranked teams and a lot of what we hope are easy games. We have a lot of rebuilding to do.

Sept. 25: We lose 2. Back to the drawing board, or the recruit pile.

Oct. 2: We got a PG.

Yikes! This team looks like a step down at this point. We have one guard and he’s not a PG. We may start an SF at the Point, which will leave us thin inside, as well as weak outside. Those transfers had better come through next year, as well as the recruits. Oh well, we knew we needed to rebuild. Dave will be tested for sure!

We’re picked 3rd in the Atlantic 10, which mystifies Dave and me.

Oct. 9: Now we’re offering to 2 PGs and a PF in addition to the PG who committed.

Oct. 16: We get a PG we’ve been chasing from the start. His stock has gone down but we like him a lot and are pleased to have landed him.

Nov. 6: (Author’s Note: Okay, I see that I have 2 games scheduled for 12/26? No idea how or why, and I did not change the non-conf. rival.)

We did better than we thought in the exhibitions. Maybe it won’t be quite as bad as we thought. Seniors Joe Lane, Sly Moss, and Gar Whit, and frosh Akin Ree will be at guard. Ree will start at SF, backed by soph Mike Sand. Frosh Kris Brown and Bill Cole will start inside and Sand will back them up. After the first 7 there’s not much.


We start at home with Tulane, then the first of 7 road games in a row with Cal-Davis.

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Nov. 20: 68-42 vs. Tulane here. Great D. 19, 3, 6, 3 for Sly Moss, 10, 6 for Bill Cole, 11 each for Akin Ree and sub Gar Whit. 11 TOs.

68-56 at Cal-Davis. 22, 11 for Akin, 15, 3, 5 for Sly, 10, 7 for Bill, and 12 for Gar who will get more time starting now. 37 RBs.

This week we have a tough one at 1-1 Florida, then we’re at 1-1 Alabama ST.

Davey is still the focus of most of Dave’s conversations. He is not neglecting his duties in any way though.

I never mentioned it but my son Bobby is a freshman at Bryant, and is their 6th man. He’s an SF/SG combo. I see his games when I can but it isn’t often, unfortunately. I see all of them on DVD, of course.

Nov. 27: 52-69 at FL. 21 for Gar, 16 for Sly, but 18 TOs.

45-52 at Alabama ST. 13, 8 for Bill but we had no other O at all.

“Gonna be a long year.”

“We kind of knew that, Dave.”

“Yeah. I really think we can build URI into a power, but it ain’t gonna happen overnight.

At 3-1 So. Car. ST, then at 2-2 Oregon. We need a win.

Dec. 4: 78-81 in OT at So. Car. ST. 18, 6, 5 for Gar in his 1st start, 21 for Sly, 14 for Akin, 9, 10 for Sly. Fouls and poor free throw shooting (17-31) killed us, but Dave held his temper. He rode the refs but it was too close to get a T, and he didn’t get one.

“We shoulda won this friggin’ game!”

67-57 at Oregon. Sly went crazy with 30. 13, 1, 8 for Gar, 13 RBs for Bill. 9 TOs.

2 more road games before this endless trip finally does end. This week we’re at 4-3 Maine.

Davy is growing like a weed. He’s already looking like a wide body.

“Them football coaches kin ferget it. He’s gonna be a Power Forward!”

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Dec. 11: 64-69 at Maine. 25, 4 for gar, 12, 4, 4, 2 for Akin. 17 TOs, -14 RBs.

“We ain’t a team yet.”

“Takes time, Dave.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know.”

This week we end the trip at our longtime rival the Providence College Friars, #24, 7-2, or “Fryers” as everyone at URI has always called them.

“It would be great ta beat those guys!”

Dec. 18: 56-67 at Prov. 17 for Sly, 14, 1, 6 for Gar but the 4th straight game when one of our starting guards has fouled out. 20 TOs.

“We’ll beat the b*st*rds next year.”

First time Dave and I have lost to the “Fryers.” We were 4-0 as undergrads.

Finally home for 3. This week it’s 8-3 Valparaiso.

Dec. 25: 75-57 over Valparaiso. Home sweet home! 21, 10 for Bill, 17, 8, 4 for Sly, 14 each for gar and Akin.

Due to that weird glitch we play both 0-8 Nome, and start the conf. season with 3-6 G. Washington tomorrow. Then we are at LaSalle, 3-5, later in the week.

Davey’s 1st XMas was pretty special. May said there must be something Dave didn’t buy for Davey, but she doesn’t know what it is.

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January 1, 2031: HECK of a week! 74-54 with Nome. 21, 3, 4 for Sly, 16 each for Gar and Bill. 8 TOs.

70-58 vs. G. Wash. 17 for Gar, 11, 11 for PF Kris Brown, and good play all around, except for 20 TOs.

66-63 at LaSalle. 23, 5, 2 for Sly. 8 guys contributed.

“Hope this means we jelled!”

6-6 UMass here, then 4-8 Davidson there.

Jan. 8: 75-63 with UMass. 23 for Sly, 16 for Kris. They got up by 11 early then we came back and took control.

66-45 at Davidson. 19 each for Gar and Sly.

“D*mn! We’re on fire!”

A one game week. Home with St. Joe’s, 6-8, 3-2.

Jan. 15: 79-64 with St. Joe’s. 23, 3, 4 for Sly, 20 and 5 for Akin, 18, 3, 8 for Gar. 8 TOs, 31 RBs.

Dayton is 6-1, we’re 5-0. Everyone else at least 2 back in the loss column.

A three game week. Home with E. Car., 6-9, 4-2, home with 8-7, 4-2 LaSalle, then at #14 Dayton, 13-3, 6-1.

Jan. 22: 79-71 with E. Car. 5 in double figures, 11 TOs.

74-34 vs. LaSalle. 15 each for Gar and Sly, 12, 14, 5, 3 for Bill, 14, 9 for sub Mike Sand. 6 TOs, 43 RBs.

43-61 at #14 Dayton. 13, 6 for Gar. We were overmatched.

“That’s a h*ll of a team!”

Akin hurt his hand. Day to day. Moe Rich hurt his knee. Day to day.

This week we’re at 2-15, 2-6 St. Bonnie’s, and home vs. 10-8, 5-4 George Mason.

Dave hasn’t had a drink in a very long time. Of course things are going well. Davey is a healthy, happy, lively baby, May and Jeffy are great, we’re finally coaching at the school we want to be at, and the team is doing pretty well, 12-6, 7-1, way better than we expected.

Jan. 29: 73-62 at St. Bonnie’s. 8 guys worked hard for this one. +10 TOs, but -9 RBs.

“That was a big game. After ya lose the first one sometimes ya go downhill.”

Frankly, Dave did a great job of pumping the guys up. He yells, even when things are going well, but he also praises. I’ll need to give you a look at practice again. Maybe a game, too.

68-60 with Geo. Mason. 24 for Sly, 14, 8 for Mike.

Dave did a lot of coaching in this one. We started slow and he put Mike Sand in with less than 2 minutes gone. Mike picked things up, then Dave threw Joe Lane in as well and we retook the lead. Here’s what he said to each guy who came out.

“Kris, you was flat as a butter knife. Mike’s been playin’ his a$$ off lately. You wanna keep yer job, get workin’. Now I know you got what it takes, but bust yer a$$.”

Kris went back in soon afterward. He didn’t have a good shooting night but he was always in the right place, rebounded well, and help his man to nearly nothing.

“Gar, you ain’t getting’ it done tonight. Ev’rybody has a off night now an’ then but we need more than you’re givin’ me. Their PG got 8 points an’ 2 assists off ya already. Think about it fer a minute. When I put ya back in I want ya ta lock him down.”

And Gar held the guy scoreless for the rest of the night, with 2 assistd and 4 TOs. So Dave knows how to motivate.

Another one game week, at 8-12, 5-6 St. Joe’s. We won by 15 here.

Everyone hit the SAT score.

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Feb. 5: 82-71 at St. Joe’s. 25, 3, 4 for Sly, 15, 10, 4 for Bill, 17, 2, 4 for Gar, 10, 6 for Kris. 13 TOs, 28 RBs.

Akin hurt his hip. Day to day.

Three this week. First is the BIG one, #9 Dayton, 18-3, 11-1 here. They won by 18 there. Then we’re at UMass, 13-8, 9-3, and St. Louis, 10-11, 4-8.

I haven’t spoken much about my family. Bobby is 18, and as I said, is the 6th man for Bryant. He’s getting starter’s minutes as a freshman, and he got all A’s and B’s last semester and says he’s doing at least that well this semester.

Sandy will be 17 in June. She’s a junior at Cranston High. She plays soccer and is on the debate team and in the chorus. She’s a straight A student.

Jean is about perfect. I can’t even imagine being married to anyone else. She’s always there for me, no matter what. I’m a busy guy but I have always managed to find time to be with Jean every day I’m not on the road, and I call her when I am. I’m a lucky guy!

Feb. 12: 77-70 with Dayton. 25, 4, 6 for Sly, 15, 5 for Akin, 12, 7 for kris, 11, 4, 3 for Gar. We never trailed, and we led by as many as 18. They made a late comeback but only got it to single digits with a last second three.

63-56 at UMass, and Dayton lost again. We’re 2 up on them and Fordham in the Loss column! 17 for Sly, 12, 8 for Kris, 10 each for Akin and Bill, and a great 2nd half.

76-79 at St. Louis, but both Fordham and Dayton lost again. Sly, Akin and bill put up some numbers but our D was soft. We got lucky with both contenders losing, and we’re in a great position.

“Never woulda believed this, Red.”

Neither would I. We just came together in December and we’ve stayed together. 2 up with 4 to play.

4-18, 1-12 Duquesne is here, and then we’re at 5-18, 4-10 VCU.

Feb. 19: 75-54 vs. Duquesne. 7 TOs and 8 guys worked for 40 minutes.

66-58 at VCU. 19 for Gar, 13, 6, 3, 2 for Kris. 12, 6, 4, 4 for Sly. 11 TOs, 32 RBs.

We’ve clinched a tie, one win in our last 2 will do it.

14-10, 8-7 Richmond is here, then off to 15-10, 12-4, tied for 2nd Fordham.

Feb. 26: 87-67 with Richmond to clinch 1st place! 29, 3, 5, 4 for Gar, 18, 7, 3 for Bill, 17, 3, 4, 2 for Sly, 11, 4, 7, 4 for Akin. 12 TOs.

“Never figured on a title in year one!”

60-80 at Fordham. 16 for Gar, 13, 9 for Akin. This meant a lot more to Fordham than to us. It got them the #2 seed.

Ken Leis hurt his knee. Day to day.

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March 6: We’ll play #9 seed St. Joe’s, 12-16, 8-10, in the quarters. We beat them by 15 and 11. We want to play this one inside.

March 7: 75-63. 33, 4, 2 for Sly. He was a one man show, 12-21, 4-8 on threes, 5 free throws.

Next is #4 seed UMass, 18-10, 13-5. We won by 12 here and 7 there. We think our bigs are better than theirs and we need to stop their PG.

March 8: 68-69. Tough one. This one could have gone either way. We dominated inside but they matched that by being stronger outside. In the end they hit a 16 footer. 22, 4 for Akin, 13, 7, 3 for Sly. 11 TOs, 34 RBs.

Dave told the kids he was proud of them and that he thought we just might have at least a couple more games to play. That went over really well.

UMass beat Dayton for the title.

March 12: RPI dropped from 31 to 52 in a week? Crazy!

Play in game vs. 16-13 Stanford. Dave is in a rage. He went off on the selection committee at a press conference.

March 14: 81-69. 28, 2, 4, 3 for Gar, 24, 4, 4, 2 for Sly. But we had 21 TOs. It was that kind of game, Stanford had 24.

It’s #5 seed in the Midwest UNLV #12 ranked, 25-6 next.

March 16: 73-59 over #5 seed UNLV. 20, 5, 4 for Sly, 14 for Gar, and 8 more for Joe Lane. Our guards are hot right now.

“I just wanted ta congratulate the idiot selection committee on their fine work!”

Heck of a way to start the postgame press conference but that’s Dave!

It’s #4 seed #14 ranked Pitt, 23-7, 13-5 in the 2nd round. This is a challenge. We don’t match up well with Pitt.

March 18: 68-86. 30 for Sly, but they were the best team we played this season.

“Can’t tell ya how proud I am a my buys. Great season and we got a lot a guys comin’ back an’ some d*mn good ones comin’ in. Look out for URI!”

April 4: Dave and I went to the final four. #3 ranked Tennessee won it all.

Awards: Sly Moss is A10 POY. Akin Ree is frosh OY. Dave got the conf. COY award. Sly and Bill Cole made 1st team. Gar Whit and Akin made 2nd.

April 9: “We ain’t EVER movin’ again, Red!” Some big name schools called, including Indiana.

April 10: Davey is one year old. BIG celebration!

April 23: We ask for another facilities upgrade. Nope.

We end the season 23-10, 15-3. Team Prestige is 30. Dave’s #s after 17 years: 345-168, .673. Off-55, Def-75, Recruit-70, Scout-7, Player Dev.-70, Reputation-53.

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June 6: We go after a PG from Memphis, Wade Sine.

June 12: We get him.

June 26: One scholarship. We want a guard. Looking at 6 PGs.

July 4: Down to 2 recruits but one gives us 3 starts and we like him.

Aug. 21: We offer to the guy we like.

Sept. 18: We put together a schedule with some challenges.


Sept. 25: We got our recruit.

Oct. 2: We looked good at practice. Lots of practices to go though.

We’re picked 3rd in the A10 again.

Nov. 6: Okay, the lineup we start with won’t be the one we end with. Frosh Amir Asi and Jed Troy start at guard with junior Iowa ST transfer Glen Sonn and junior Kansas transfer Wade Davy backing up.

Davy will start at SF with soph Akin Ree battling for his old job there. Inside it’s soph Bill Cole and juco junior Sam Kell backed by soph Kris Brown, with Mike Sand looking for PT. We’re young, not a senior on the team, but we like what we’ve seen so far.


We start here with Brown and DePaul.

Davey is a year and a half, walking, talking, getting into everything, and big as a three year old. Jeffy loves his little brother. He just turned 15, is a high school soph, and manages the hoops team. He’s not very big, but he loves the game and hopes to coach someday. Dave tells him he’s good enough to play at least backup guard, but Jeffy feels more comfortable on the sidelines. The coach likes him and spends a lot of time giving him coaching pointers. Much as Dave loves Jeffy he stays away from that.

“Can’t confuse him by havin’ two people tellin’ him opposite things. When he gets here at URI we’ll make him a student coach and bring him in ta the meetings an’ all that. I’ll get my turn to teach him.”

Makes a lot of sense, really.

May is happy to stay at home with Davy, and with Jeffy when he’s around. She is taking classes here though. She says she grew up poor and college wasn’t an option but she had always hoped. Now she’s loving it. She thinks she wants to work with special ed. Kids, either as a teacher or an instructional assistant, but she won’t work until Davy is in school full time.

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Nov. 20: 87-71 vs. Brown. 23 for Amir Asi at guard, 11 each for Wade Day and Jed Troy, 12 for Bill Cole. 6 TOs.

Jed Troy sprained his wrist. Out at least 10 days.

64-56 with DePaul. 22, 4, 4 for Glen Sonn, filling in for the injured Jed Troy. 17 for Bill Cole.

Two wins but we aren’t hitting the boards, -4.5 per.

At #2 in the nation Louisville, 4-0, then 0-1 Milwaukee is here.

Nov. 27: 63-66 at #2 Louisville. 17, 2, 4, 2 for Glen Sonn. We were up 11 early but they wore us out with depth. It didn’t help that we were down a guard due to injury.

“3 point loss on the road ta the #2 team. I’ll take it!”

64-60 vs. Milwaukee. 16, 12 for Bill Cole, 15 for Wade Davy.

Jed Troy is back but we’re keeping Glen Sonn in the starting lineup. He’s playing too well to sit.

0-4 So. Carolina here, then off to 2-3 Northwestern ST.

Bobby had 27, 11, and 8 last night for Bryant. Gotta say my kid is making me proud. As a soph he is now starting at SG and playing a little SF. He’s a good defender, too.

“What the h*ll. Maybe we oughta get the kid ta transfer!”

Dec. 4: 73-57 vs. So. Car. We had foul trouble and the bench really came through. 17 for Kris Brown inside, 9 for Akin Ree, 7 for Jed Troy. All three started for us at some point last year or this. Dave got his 1st T of the season, and I believe his 1st here at URI.

62-76 at Northwestern ST. We were up 10 with 17:33 to play and then it all fell apart. Bill Cole picked up #4, we went 8 ½ minutes without scoring, and we were down 10 in the space of that same 8 ½ minutes. At that point Dave got T’d up, and was so frustrated he kept going and got another T. So with him gone I took over but I couldn’t do any more than he did.

Dave flipped out worse than I’ve seen in a very long time. After being tossed he trashed the locker room, and when the kids came in he completely blew up at them. The other two assistants and I finally dragged him into the visiting coach’s office and the other two assistants kept him in there for at least 15 minutes while I did the post game interview. By the time I got back from that he was calmer, and looked like a kid in the Vice Principal’s office.

When I walked into Dave’s hotel suite and told him I was spending the night on his sofa he went ballistic.

“What the frig! I need a friggin’ baby sitter all of a sudden!”

“You’ve got that look. If I don’t stay here you’re going to have a drink, and one will turn into 10. No way it’s gonna happen if I can help it.”

“Get the frig outta here!”

“I’m staying, and in about 10 seconds I’m calling May!”

“You ain’t my friggin’ mother. Get the frig out!!!”

“Frig you, Dave. I am STAYING!”

He started to come at me and I really, really thought it was going to get physical. Then something changed in his face. He sighed, smiled, and said, “Fine, stay.”

I didn’t sleep much, fearful that Dave would sneak to the fridge and grab one of the little bottles, but eventually he was snoring so loud that I let myself sleep. There were no problems, and in the morning Dave thanked me.

All of this came out of nowhere, Dave’s been more than fine.

Speaking of “fine” it was $5,000 from the A10. URI suspended him for a week, so it’s my team.

It’s a one game week. 1-3 Clemson, here.

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