Wayne23

February 1964 Beatles go to #1 with “I Want to Hold your Hand.” They soon appear on the “Ed Sullivan Show. This starts the “British Invasion.” Cassius Clay, soon to be Muhammed Ali, defeats Sonny Liston for the heavyweight championship. February 1 “Welcome back to ‘All about Sports.’ Coach, Gene Beck has won conference player of the week for the 7th time in the last 9 weeks. Talk about him for a bit.” “Gene is just a terrific player. He scores lots of points, gets lots of rebounds- he’s just a force. People don’t notice this as much but he’s a very good defender as well. He’s a natural leader and he’s the one the team looks to in tough situations, and he wants the ball then. I’m so pleased that we’ll have him back next year.” “He’ll be your only returning starter unless Marv Joab comes back.” “That’s true. But to tell you the truth, I’ll worry about that later. This year is keeping me fully occupied.” “True, but what about recruiting.” “I’ve said before that I’m confident that we’ll get some guys but that it will be in March and April.” “That’s a little tension provoking isn’t it?” “It could be if I let it. Recruiting coach Derek Rowe and I are doing all we can. I think it will work out.” “Okay, Bruce in Dedham.” “Hey Coach. Can you win the conference?” “Probably not, Bruce, but I think we can finish near the top and make a good run at the tournament title.” “Judy in Plymouth.” “Coach, do you plan to rehire your assistants?” “It’s way too early to think about that, Judy. I think they’re all working hard. No telling what spring will bring. It’s possible that one or more may move on to bigger schools. We’ll see.” “And one more. Julius in Salem.” “Coach, I wanted to thank you for the great job you’re doing.” “Thanks Julius.” “How are you enjoying your first year as a head coach?” “I love it, as I’ve said before. It’s exhausting and all consuming, but it is a deeply complex task, and I love a challenge. I can’t imagine a job that would be more fascinating.” “Okay. As you know Coach, we’re all flying out to Jacksonville in a couple of hours to play North Florida tomorrow night. Your thoughts?” “North Florida is 8-12, 5-4. They’ve played pretty well in conference. Their Small Forward, Emerson, can light it up. He and Holmes are their rebounders, and they’re good with the ball. They play man, and they are definitely strong inside on both ends. It will be a challenge. February 2 “Spike McGee, back from break. Tonight UML played some very good basketball, winning 70-56. Coach?” “I am really pleased. We knew North Florida was strong inside. Our guys dominated them in the paint. Gene had 22 and 5, Roy Green 12 and 8, and Steve Colt 13, 6, 4. Alex Jamm had 5 and 4 from the bench. Our guards did a great job of finding the open man, only 11 TOs.” “After the dust settled this leaves you in a four way tie for third, 1 back of the co-leaders.” “Pretty exciting stuff. We’re going to try to keep playing as hard as we can.” “Thanks Coach. We’ll be right back.” February 6 “Spike McGee courtside at Tsongas where we might just have a sell out crowd. It’s 11-10, 7-3 Kennesaw State tonight. Here’s what coach had to say.” “They run the shuffle and score more outside than in. On D it’s man all the way. They are very up and down. Catch them on a good night and they’re tough.” … “Back from break. UML lost 56-62 tonight. Coach, you’d been scoring points the last few days but not tonight. What happened?” “We were flat. I didn’t see much energy. Guys weren’t working hard enough to get open. As a result we had to take bad shots, and that led to too many misses. You don’t win often when you score 56. The bench was the difference. Theirs got 15 points and ours got 3. I don’t expect to win them all but this one was winnable.” “Thanks Coach. Let’s take a break.” February 8 “’All about Sports’. Welcome back to Coach Kip Clark. Coach, the loss on Monday dropped you down to 5th, tied with two other teams, and two back of the lead.” “There’s a real scramble at the top. One bad loss really hurts. And make no mistake, a loss at home is a bad loss.” “And so…” “And so we keep working, keep trying to improve.” “Here’s Jake, right here on campus.” “Hey coach, you think your guys are getting tired because of all the minutes they’ve played?” “That’s a possibility, Jake. I don’t have a lot of options, but I hope to find spots where I can rest my players. I can tell you that I don’t wear them out at practice. We go hard when we need to, but I’m more interested in knowing that they’re learning where to be in a given situation.” “Ernie in Concord.” “Coach, play more guys for cryin’ out loud. A little rest would make your guys better at the end.” “Thanks Ernie, I’ll keep that in mind.” “12-10, 8-3 Central Arkansas is in on Thursday. They’re one game up on you.” “Yes they are, so this is a big game, but all of them are big from now on. They play 1-3-1, which we haven’t had much luck against. On O they’re all over the place, really hard to figure out. We’ll probably need to go with more man to man. They’re red hot, won 6 out of the last 7. They lost their starting Point to grades but they seem to be playing better since that happened. Go figure! He was their 2nd leading scorer! This is another game where we need to be on our toes.” … “Great win in a tight game, 53-50. Spike McGee back here after the game. Quite the finish, Coach!” “To say the least!” “For those of you who got here late the lead changed hands 5 times in the last 90 seconds. UML got the ball with 8 seconds left and the score tied. Steve Colt got it to Mike Gear who got it back to Steve who threw up a 22 footer that went in at the buzzer for the win. And a big win it was, Coach.” “It puts us in a 3 way tie for 4th. As you pointed out, Spike, it was an incredible ending, but Gene Beck was the guy who got us to that point, 13 points, 12 rebounds. All six of my players contributed and all of them played great D. We were +10 on the boards.” “You didn’t score many again tonight, Coach. No we didn’t, and that’s still maddening, but our great D made it okay.” “Thanks Coach. Back in a minute.” February 13 Spike McGee in San Antonio, Texas before the start of the game between UML and 1st place Inane Word, 14-9, 10-2. Big game, Coach?” “You might say so! They’ve won 10 of the last 12, and they’re especially tough at home, 8-3. They can score both inside and out but get lots of points from their guards. They don’t rebound well and they don’t like pressure. They play 5 out on O and man on D and they don’t press. Bottom line is that they’re the best team in the league. We need to play well and play smart. … “Spike McGee after the game. A great win, 54-45, for UML, but possibly a costly one. Guard Mike Gear went down with a back injury. Coach?” “This looks day to day, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Mike misses at least one game. This was a very satisfying win. We never led for the first 28 minutes. After that the game was ours. That kind of determination means an awful lot. They doubled Gene Beck for most of the night. That left Roy Green open and we found him often. He wound up with 14 and 13. Gene had 13, 5, and 2 but he had to work for them. Mike had 10, 7, 4 before going out with the injury late. We were +8 on the boards which helped to overcome an awful 20 TOs. We forced 16 though, which helped. The win puts us in a five way tie for 3rd, one back of first, with three games to play.” “Thanks Coach, see you Wednesday on ‘All about Sports.’ We’ll be right back.”

January 16 “Spike McGee in Florence, Alabama for the pregame show. Tonight it’s 10-5, 3-1, UML against 6-9, 2-2 North Alabama. Coach?” “They play flex on O and they score outside. They play a man and they throw a press in now and then. Never know when it’s coming so you need to be alert at all times. They’ve looked way better ion conference than they did before. We’re going to work hard at turning them over. We think that’s the key. They’ve had trouble in that area.” … “Spike McGee here with the post game show. Tonight was not a good night for UML. They lost 57-64. They were +3 on the boards, +5 on turnovers, but they shot poorly. Gene Beck was 7-20 from close range, Roy Green was 3-10, and Mike Gear was 3-16. Coach couldn’t be with us tonight but I think it’s safe to say that he is probably not spreading sunshine around the locker room right now. We’ll speak with him about all of this on Wednesday at 7:00, on ‘All about Sports.’ Back in a minute.” January 18 “Spike McGee, ‘All about Sports.’ We’re back. Coach, what happened on Monday night?” “We lost! It was frustrating because we really didn’t play badly. But man did we SHOOT badly! That was the story, really. We work and work about getting open for good shots. We got open and then the shots didn’t fall in.” You’re at home against Abilene Central tomorrow night.” “Yes we are. They’re 10-6, 4-1 in conference, 7 wins in their last 8, so we expect a tough game. They’re not a good road team, so we hope that works in our favor. It’ll be the usual, play good D, get some rebounds, and make some shots.” “Larry from Rehobeth.” “Coach, have you heard the new Bob Dylan album?” “I have, and I love it! I play it all the time when I’m at home. Deep stuff!” “If you haven’t heard Mark Spoelstra yet, check him out.” “I will, thanks Larry.” “Grace in Cambridge. You’ve called in before, Grace.” “Yes, I have. Coach, you’re having trouble defending the outside shot. Have you thought about using the 3-2 zone?” “Great question, Grace. Yes, as a matter of fact we’re spending time learning it in practice. We just might go to it at some point, at least part time.” “Okay Coach, good luck tomorrow night.” “Thanks Spike.” “Spike McGee, 88.1 FM, WLOW, how LOW can you GO! See you next time.” January 19 “Spike McGee here post game. Same old story in a 45-51 loss. Big problems on offense. Coach?” “Actually, a NEW problem tonight. We made shots, we just didn’t take many, only 40. That was because we had 22 turnovers, which is inexcusable. I am not happy. Mike Gear had 18, no one else had more than 7.” “Definitely a tough night.” “We’ll just keep working. Most of this can be fixed. We’ll keep trying to fix it.” “Thanks Coach. Back in a minute.” January 23 “Spike McGee here in Edwardsville, Illinois for the game between UML and SIU Edwardsville. The Cougars are 11-6, 5-1, have won their last 5. Coach?” “This is a tough team, especially at home. They play a really good man to man and they move the ball well on O. We’ll need to be at the top of our form to stay with them.” ... “We’re back on the post game show. A great win, 68-62. Coach?” “I love the way we hung in. This one went back and forth for a long time but we showed no quit at all.” “You made shots tonight.” “Yes, we did. We got the ball to Gene inside pretty much all night. He worked to get free, got the ball, and laid it in. 17 points, 12 rebounds. Steve Colt had 17 and 5 and was hot outside. Roy Green made a few inside and a couple outside. Our three guards were in foul trouble all night but Alex Jamm and Daryl Wall didn’t hurt us a bit when they came in. +10 on the boards. Not perfect but a really good road win against a good team.” Thanks Coach. See you on Wednesday. We’ll be right back.” January 25 “Spike McGee, 88.1, WLOW, how LOW can you GO! I’m here for the next few minutes with Coach Clark. The lines are open. Coach, your team is now averaging 6.7 rebounds a game better than your opponents, and exactly 1.0 turnovers better. Given that you lost one of your best players for the season, how do you account for this?” “You know, I’ve thought a lot about that. We’ve even discussed it in coaches’ meetings. We’re a much better team with Marv Joab, but we don’t have him and we won’t have him. That’s the way it is. We’re quicker with Pete Ross starting and we’ve taken advantage of that quickness in lots of ways. At practice and in games, instead of focusing on what we lost we’ve focused on what we gained. We gained quickness. We gained a little outside D, we gained ball handling. Alex Jamm and even Daryl Wall have stepped up from the bench, and I think everyone on the team knows they need to work extra hard because Marv isn’t with us.” “Rita in Billerica.” “Hi Coach. Hey, Daryl Wall has really looked good. Don’t you think he should get more time?” “Daryl seems to have a real fan club, and that’s great. We’re easing him into the lineup and we’ve been really happy with how he’s played. We don’t want to move too quickly, but I think I can safely say that in the future he’s very likely to increase his playing time.” “Mark in Brighton.” “Coach, your never gonna stop the outside shot until ya go with more man to man- a LOT more.” “Thanks, Mark. I’ve said before that I am a big fan of man to man but we just don’t have the depth to play it full time. We aren’t deep enough to be able to afford foul trouble. You may have noticed that in tight spots, and near the end of close games, if we aren’t in foul trouble I go man every time.” “We fly out later tonight to Georgia to play Savannah State. Tell us about them.” “They’re having a tough season, 4-14, 1-6. They’ve lost their last 5, 8 of 9, 11 of 13. They have two big guys out with injuries. They have two scorers, their Center and their shooting guard. This is the kind of game I worry about. You can’t stop your players from reading the papers and my guys know this is not a great team. I always worry that we won’t hustle in a situation like this; we’ll think we can’t lose. When that happens you usually lose.” “Thanks Coach, see you at the airport. We’ll be right back.” January 26 “Spike McGee here with the post game show. The River Hawks did what they needed to do and won 66-54 tonight. Coach?” “We took care of the ball, we stayed out of foul trouble, we shot 52.3%. That’s a formula for victory!” “Big games from 3 guys.” “Yes, Gene had 18 and 8, Mike Gear had 19, 5, 3, and Roy Green had 16, 3 and 4. But everybody played good D.” “You have Dan Tayn back at 100% but you didn’t use him- for that matter you played your starters pretty much all the way.” “Yes, that was probably a mistake on my part. I should have rested my guys more. I’ll try to keep that in mind in the future.” “Okay Coach, great win! We’ll be right back.” January 30 “Spike McGee pregame at the Tsongas Center which looks pretty close to full. Tonight it’s Grand Canyon, 6-14, 1-7. Here’s what Coach had to say.” “They play flex on O and their 2 and 3 are their scorers. They play 1-2-2, which we haven’t seen all year. We’ve been practicing against it though. They’ve lost 7 in a row, 8 of 9. We want to keep the pressure on the ball. They tend to cough it up.” … “Spike McGee. We’re back, post game. 5,822 paid tonight. Biggest crowd since you graduated, Coach.” “It’s great to see that. Hope it continues and I hope we start to sell the place out.” “That would be great. 74-56. You’ve been scoring more points the last three games.” Yes we have, finally. Gene was unbelievable tonight, 34 and 12. He worked to get open, we got him the ball, he knew what to do with it. But, the fact that we got 35 rebounds and had only 10 turnovers was huge.” “You’re still playing six guys.” “And still getting away with it! I would feel comfortable playing Tayn and Wall but as long as this is working, why change?” “Why indeed. Thanks Coach. See you on Wednesday for ‘All about Sports.’ We’ll be right back.”

January 2 “Spike McGee wishing all of you a happy new year from 88.1 FM, WLOW, how LOW can you GO! We’re here at Tsongas for the pregame show. UML plays 5-6 NJIT tonight. Here’s what Coach Clark had to say.” “They play man. On O they move it in and out well. They mix the scoring, don’t rebound or take care of the ball all that well. But remember, we’ve had less than a week of practice with the new lineup.” “How’s that going, Coach?” “I think we’ll be okay in time, but we’re still working things out.” … “Spike McGee back with the postgame show. UML took charge early and never let it get close in a 68-53 win. Gene Beck did his usual terrific job, scoring 17, with 15 rebounds and 4 assists. Mike Gear had 19 at guard, Roy Green had 15 and 5 at power forward and small forward, and Alex Jamm stepped it up, getting 11 from the bench. Steve Colt had 8 rebounds. Coach, you played exactly six guys. It worked for you.” “Yes, it did, Spike. I thought the guys looked really good tonight. +11 on the boards, and we stayed out of foul trouble, which is crucial. Gotta run!” “We’ll hear more from coach on Wednesday at 7:00 on ‘All about Sports,’ right here on 88.1 FM, WLOW, how LOW can you GO! Back in a minute.” January 4 “Spike McGee here with the coach. The lines are open. Coach, You got off to a real good conference season start the other night.” “Yes, we did, Spike. I was very pleased with the way the guys played.” “Can you be successful with a 6 man rotation?” “Ultimately, it’s unlikely. We would need to be injury free, for one thing, and with six guys everyone is playing too many minutes. We’ll find times to go to our #7, 8 and 9. And of course if we get injuries we’re in real trouble.” “Let’s go to the phones. Frank in Auburn.” “Coach I think you’re a real as-“ “Thank you, Frank. For those of you who didn’t know it we’re on a three second delay here. That gives us just enough time to cut off calls like that last one. So be nice! Grace in Cambridge, and it’s nice to get a call from a woman!” “Thank you, Spike. Coach, what do you think about women’s basketball? Do you see a future for it?” “Good question, Grace. I don’t see why not. As we learn more about conditioning, training. All of those things, and as our society becomes more open, which I hope it will, I think we’ll see a lot more women in sports. I look forward to that day, and I hope it’s not too far off.” “Interesting question. Call again, Grace. Marty in Foxboro.” “Coach, you were a real scoring machine when you played at UML. It must drive you crazy to have a team that has so much trouble putting points up.” (Laughs) “In a lot of ways it does, Marty. Interestingly enough, both as a player, and now as a coach, I really do think defense first, that’s where it all starts./ But I sure hope we come up with a scorer or two next year!” “Okay, I get the last question. Tell us about Texas Pan American. You and I and the team will be flying out to Texas tomorrow for a game with them.” “Well, they’re 5-7, 2 of those wins in overtime. They haven’t played anybody, really. They play man on D and run the flex on O. They score both inside and outside, but more outside. We think we can turn them over. If we win the battle of the boards we’ll be okay.” “Thanks Coach. This is Spike McGee, 88.1 FM, WLOW, how LOW can you GO!” January 5 Spike McGee here in Texas for the postgame show. It was a tough night for the River Hawks. They lost 67-72, and first big man off the bench Dan Tayn went down with a calf injury. Coach?” “Yes, Spike, it was a tough loss. I didn’t think we played all that badly but we got in some foul trouble in the second half. That meant we needed to go to our bench and Dan got hurt almost as soon as I put him in. The one place where we really were not very good was rebounding. We were -11 there, and that just can’t happen.” “Any idea how long Dan Tayn will be out?” “Too soon to tell but it doesn’t look like a season ender or anything like that. We need him though, we’re down to the point where we almost don’t have enough guys to practice. I need to get back to the locker room, Spike.” “Thanks Coach. We’ll be right back.” January 9 “Spike McGee here at Tsongas for the pregame show. Tonight’s game is between the Hawks and first place Northern Kentucky, 8-5, 2-0. Coach, first, how’s Dan Tayn, and second, tell us what we can expect tonight.” “Dan will be out 2-3 weeks the docs tell us. They’re a good team with some really good scoring guards, and a Power Forward who gets points as well. They’ve beaten a couple of good teams, and they don’t really have any bad losses. They take really good care of the ball. We need to contain the outside scorers and get some rebounds to have a chance tonight.” … “Spike McGee, 88.1 FM, WLOW, how LOW can you GO, continuing with the postgame show. The River Hawks played terrific D to defeat Northern Kentucky, 63-44. Coach?” “I was very happy with our D, and even happier that we got 35 RBs, while they got 21. We took really good care of the ball, too.” “You overcame lots of foul trouble, Steve Colt fouled out early, and Mike Gear was in foul trouble all night before fouling out in the last minute.” “I think that will serve as a great confidence booster. Pete Ross did a great job of filling in for the those two guys, but that meant I had to play Alex Jamm for lots of minutes. I thought Alex came through terrifically, particularly on D, and on the boards. We shot pretty well, and as always, Gene Beck carried us.” “Yes he did, 24 points, 9 rebounds. And Roy Green had 16, with 4 RBs, and 5 assists.” “Yes, we had to put Roy at the shooting guard spot, as well as at 3 and 4. He had a great game.” “I know you need to leave, but thanks coach. We’ll be right back.” January 11 “We’re back on ‘All about Sports.’ It’s time for the coach’s segment with Coach Kip Clark. The lines are open. Coach, let’s talk about attendance.” “It’s up, Spike, up quite a bit. We’re 9-5, we play an exciting brand of hoops, and people seem to want to cheer us on. Believe me, that helps.” “Attendance last year averaged 1,286 per game. This year so far, it’s at 2,655 but that’s deceptive. The last few games have been much higher.” “That’s right, Spike. People seem to be discovering us. I hope they’ll keep coming, and they’ll tell their friends to come, too. There are still plenty of seats available.” “Let’s go to the phone. Kirk in Braintree.” “Hi Spike, Coach. Coach, Daryl Wall went to high school here in Braintree and he was a heck of a player. When you’ve put him in he’s done a good job but he hardly plays at all. How come?” “Well, Kirk, remember, every time you put one guy in, you need to take another guy out. Daryl has some talent but it’s a big jump from high school to college ball. He’s still making that transition. I see him getting better in practice, but he still has a way to go. Believe me, I hope he gets there and gets there quickly. I could use another big guy.” “Ben in Worcester.” “Coach, you guys have to have the ugliest uniforms I’ve ever seen. Can’t you do something about that?” (Laughs) Ben, I have to tell you, of all the things I need to work on. The ugly uniforms- and yes, they are ugly, are pretty low on the priority list. The other thing is that we’re working on a limited budget. Long distance calls and scouting trips, and all the other things we need to do cost money. If we bought new uniforms it would take the money from things that will actually help us to get better.” “That was interesting. Tell us about 3-11 South Dakota. They’re here for your next game tomorrow night.” “Yes they are. They play man, and they use shuffle, which means they need to get points from everybody. Frankly, they’ve struggled with that. They’ve lost their last 6. A big piece of that has been the fact that their #3 and #4 guards both became academically ineligible. They haven’t won since. We think we can turn them over, and we think if we work we can control the inside game. That’s what it will take.” “Anything new on Dan Tayn?” “They tell me about two more weeks.” “Thanks Coach. We’ll be right back.” January 12 “Spike McGee here with the postgame show. UML won 64-50, taking a big early lead and never letting it get closer than 8 points after the first few minutes. Coach?” “I was mostly happy with the way we played tonight. I was not happy with Pete Ross, who was in foul trouble all night, but Alex Jamm played his best game of the year with 10 and 5, and Daryl Wall, who I rarely use, gave us 8 very good minutes. Gene Beck had 18, 9, and 4, and Mike Gear had 14.” “Thanks Coach. We’ll be right back.”

November 24 “Spike McGee, on the road with then UML River Hawks. We’re here playing the Maine Black Bears, who are 2-1. Here’s Coach Clark in an interview recorded earlier.” “Spike, Maine is all about the outside game. We had lots of trouble with Stetson’s outside game so we’re hoping the hard work we’ve been doing in practice will pay off.” … “Spike McGee here with the postgame show. A really tough loss tonight, 58-59. The Hawks came back from an 11 point deficit with 3 minutes to go and the lead changed hands 7 times from that point until the end. When Marv Joab hit a three with 2.8 seconds left it put UML up 58-56, and it looked like a win. Then the Maine Small Forward put up a 35 footer at the buzzer and it went in. there was a very long discussion about whether the shot had been released before the buzzer went off. The refs eventually ruled that it had, and that gave Maine the win. Frankly, it was too close to tell. We won’t really know until the film is developed, in a day or two, and if the angle isn’t right we won’t even know then. Coach Clark was fit to be tied, naturally. Small Forward Roy Green fouled out with 6 minutes left and that hurt. He’s a good defender and his man made the winning shot. If Green had been in the game that might have changed things. But that’s all speculation, of course. A special reminder to tune in to WLOW Sunday evening at 7:00 for a special memorial program on the late President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. On Monday we’ll be courtside at the Tsongas Center at 6:45, for the pregame show when the River Hawks take on Eastern Washington.” November 28 “Spike McGee. We’re short on time so let’s go to the recorded interview with Coach Clark. Coach, tell us about Eastern Washington.” “They’re 1-3 against some pretty weak teams. They take good care of the ball but don’t rebound well. They don’t have an outstanding scorer but about 6 or 7 guys score for them. They play a man and they press a lot. On O they play 5 out. We’re hoping to get back in the win column.” “Let’s hope so. We’ll find out soon.” … “Spike McGee here with the wrap up. UML played their best game of the season tonight. 37 rebounds, only 8 turnovers and a 70-48 win. Center Gene Beck had 18 points and 16 rebounds, and guard Mike Gear had 20. 15, 7, 2 for Roy Green. The team was firing on all cylinders. Now they hit the road for three games starting at New Hampshire on December 1. December 1963 Instant replay is invented. Dinah Washington dies of a drug overdose. Frank Sinatra, Jr. is kidnapped (or not). December 1 “Spike McGee. We’re playing 1-4 New Hampshire here in Durham. Here’s what Coach Clark said. These guys are a lot tougher than their record. They haven’t really jelled yet but when they do, watch out. I hope it isn’t tonight.” … “Spike McGee. UML pulled out a close one tonight, 61-58. There were 15 lead changes an 11 ties, and neither team ever led by more than 6. It was a team effort with all 5 starters playing a part in the win. At the end UML scored the last 5 points when Gene Beck made a lay up with 14 seconds left, Mike Gear stole the inbounds pass, and then after a couple of passes Gear drained a 3. We have Coach Clark with us for just a moment. Your thoughts, Coach?” “I was really pleased with the way my guys hung in. There were lots of times when they could have quit, or just dragged around the court, but they never stopped hustling. This is the kind of ball I want UML to play every night. I thought Pete Ross was huge off the bench. He played great D and did a little bit of everything.” “Spike McGee way out west in Seattle before the start of the UML game here with 3-2 U. of Seattle. We’re on WLOW, 88.1 on the FM dial, how LOW can you GO. Here’s the coach.” “These guys can play. Their SF is a scoring machine and all of them play tight man to man D. We’ll need to be sharp to win this one.” “Thanks coach.” … “Spike McGee back with the postgame wrap up. UML didn’t have it tonight losing 53-64. The starting guards were in foul trouble all night and Coach Clark had to play Small Forward Roy Green at guard for several minutes. Good guard play is vital to this team’s success so that played a big role in the outcome.” “Yeah, but we were flat, Spike. We stood around a lot. Part of that may have been the long flight but no excuse. In order to win you need to stay out of foul trouble and you need to hustle.” “And now you fly back across the country for a game in Tennessee.” “Yep, it’ll be good to get back home after that game.” December 8 “Spike McGee, here at Lipscomb in Knoxville, Tennessee. The UML whirlwind tour is almost over. I’m sure Coach Clark would like to go home on a winning note.” “Yes I would, Spike but this is a tough team. They’re 5-2 against decent teams. They don’t score much but they are very hard to score on.” “Let’s see what happens.” “We’re back with the postgame show. Not as good night for UML, 50-62. One of those nights when the shots won’t drop. Except for Gene Beck who had 22, the shots just wouldn’t fall. D wasn’t bad and we were +8 on the boards. 4 straight at home now and that home cookin’ should help.” December 12 “Spike McGee, ‘All about Sports’ here on Umass Lowell’s radio station WLOW, 88.1 on the FM dial, how LOW can you GO! I’m with Umass Lowell’s head basketball coach Kip Clark. The lines are open. Coach, we’ve had a lot of Monday games and we haven’t been able to do this for awhile. Great to have you with us.” “Thanks Spike. It’s great to be here.” “Just a note to our listeners. Beginning next week we’re switching to Wednesday evenings, same time. Coach, after a tough road trip the team stands 4-4. Your thoughts?” “Not bad, really. We have 4 straight home games coming up and with any luck we’ll be above .500 at that point. I’d just remind everyone that we’re in V conference. That means every single game so far has been with a team from a higher conference, several of them with teams from L, which is way up the line from us. To be at .500 isn’t bad, and it bodes well for conference play.” “What’s going well?” “Guard play, as we expected, is going quite well. We’re taking pretty good care of the ball, and averaging 1.3 fewer TOs than our opponents. I’m also happy with our rebounding, we’re +6.4, which I did not expect.” “What needs work?” “Pretty much everything needs work, but we need to score more points, especially inside, and we need to work on our outside D, especially our three point D, but the big thing is scoring. We need to get it to the open man more, in order to get better shots. I’m definitely a defense first coach but we need more O.” “Let’s take some questions. Jeff from Jamaica Plain.” “Hi Spike, Coach. Just wondering why the River Hawks don’t press more.” “Thanks for asking, Jeff. That’s an easy one, really. We don’t press more because we only have three guards. Pressing causes you to foul more and we simply can’t afford foul trouble.” “Billy in Braintree.” “Coach, you play mostly 2-3. Why not more man to man?” “Same answer, Billy. I prefer man to man but we don’t have the bodies for it. You don’t foul as much playing zone. Spike, I’ve got a question for you.” “Okay, go ahead.” “Tell us about yourself. You’re only a sophomore here. How did a sophomore get to be the play by play guy, and have his own show?” “Last year I was the color announcer. I learned a lot so this year I applied to be the play by play guy. When I got the job I put in a proposal to do the 15 minute ‘All about Sports’ show and it was approved. Loving it. Thanks for asking. Time for one more. Jimmy in Marblehead.” “Yeah, hey coach, how do you like your job?” “I love it. I’ve never been happier. It’s insane how busy I am but I love every minute of the depth, the complexity, the challenge.” “Next up is Appalachian State. Tell us about them.” “They’re 3-5. They play 1-3-1. Stetson beat us with that D but we’ve been working against it in practice and we hope to do better. On O they like to make some quick passes to get guys open. They don’t have any big scorers but lots of guys get points. They’ve hung in with some good teams. December 13 “Spike McGee here with the postgame show. UML defeated Appalachian State 52-36 in a real defensive battle tonight. Center Gene Beck all but beat Appalachian State single handed, scoring 33 and getting 13 rebounds. UML was +13 on the boards. Steve Colt had 8 assists, and Roy Green 9 rebounds. Coach Clark?” “The D and the rebounding were terrific but we still need to score more points. I’m really concerned about that. We were 0-10 from three point range tonight. A lot of people say shooters are born, not made. That may be true but we’re trying to work on it.” “Next up is Utah Valley. What can you tell us?” “Well, they’re 2-6 but they recently beat Virginia Tech in overtime and they only lost to Nebraska by 4. At the same time they have some bad losses, so they’re kind of a mystery. They play man, they don’t press. Most of their scoring comes outside but their Center can score. When they show up they can definitely play, so we hope to be prepared for that.” December 19 Spike McGee, WLOW, 88.1 on the FM dial, how LOW can you GO, here at courtside at the Tsongas Center following the game between UML and Utah Valley. UML won it 79-61 and for once was able to put some points on the scoreboard. I’m guessing you’re happy about that Coach Clark.” “Yes I am, Spike. I’m pretty happy about the first half D, as well. We held them, to 20 points. They did better in the 2nd but by then we had built a really good lead and we matched them basket for basket in the second. I’ve got to get back to my team, Spike.” “Thanks for joining us, Coach. See you tomorrow.” “Right. I’ll be there.” “Remember folks, due to a programming change, ‘All about Sports’ will feature my interview with Coach Clark on Wednesdays from now on. Join us then. Tonight UML was +10 on the boards and +6 in turnovers. Gene Beck had another great game in the middle with 19 and 12. PF Marv Joab had 22 and 6, and SF Roy Green had 15. The starting guards combined for 20, 11, and 6, with only 3 TOs. A good effort for the 6-4 River Hawks. December 20 Spike McGee, ‘All about Sports’ here at UML’s campus radio station WLOW, 88.1 on the FM dial, how LOW can you GO! Today’s Wednesday so we’re here with Coach Kip Clark of the UML River Hawks. The lines are open. Let’s go to caller #1, Joe in Boston.” “Coach, you’re 6-4 against teams- all of them- that are in higher conferences. How do you feel about your prospects in Conference V.” “Thanks Joe. I feel guardedly optimistic. I’m sending scouting coach Jeremy Lund to V conference games whenever I can spare him. He reports back to the staff on what he sees- formation on O and D, whether the teams press, who their scorers and rebounders are, how well they handle the ball- all of that and lots of other things. He hasn’t seen every team yet, but he’s seen 13 of them, and we feel we can, at the very least hold our own with just about all of them. We like our chances in the conference. And we believe that if we stay healthy and stay focused that we can climb up to Conference U next season.” “Mark in Chelsea.” “Hi Coach, what about the bench. Doesn’t seem like you get much from your bench.” “I agree, Mark. We’re thin. Pete Ross does a good job in the back court but he doesn’t score. Same with Alex Jamm up front. We could sure use some bench points.” “If I might follow up, that leads me to ask about recruiting.” “Well Mark, good question. We’re working on that every day. We have two Point Guards signed but we need to fill the other 5 scholarships. We think and hope that that will happen in March and April.” “Thanks Mark and Joe. Coach, we’ve been asking about you and pop culture. Let’s ask more about music.” “I’ve really gotten into the folk scene. I think Bob Dylan’s ‘Freewheelin’’ album is fantastic. I can’t wait to see what’s next. I hear he’s got a new album coming out next month. I also like Dave Van Ronk, and I love the old classical blues and R & B guys- Blind Willie McTell, Jelly Roll Morton, and lots of others.” “Where do you find their albums.” “Only place is in obscure record shops down in Greenwich Village.” “You make that scene?” “Not as often as I’d like to but the music there is fantastic and, as I said, it’s the only place to get the recordings of the old pioneers.” “Coach it’ll be a week between games. First, how will the time off, and the holiday break affect the team, and second, tell us about Jackson State, who come to the Tsongas Center on December 26.” “Well, no coach likes a break, you’re always afraid to lose focus. All of our players are from Massachusetts so I told them to go home for a couple of days but be back in time for a Christmas day practice at 8:00 p.m. They were free to go after an early morning practice on the 23rd. Again, I don’t like it but it’s pretty much the same for everybody and at least we didn’t need to travel for the game on the 26th. “Jackson State is 5-3 against mostly weak competition. They have two more games before they play us, both on the road. They do a lot of scoring outside but their Center can score. They take pretty good care of the ball. They play mostly man.” “Okay, that’s about it for ‘All about Sports.’ Thanks Coach. Listen in tomorrow night folks, we’re here every weeknight at 7:00. Coach will be with us next Wednesday and most every Wednesday during the season. Spike McGee, WLOW, 88.1 on the FM dial, how LOW can you GO! Goodnight.” December 26 “Spike McGee here with the postgame show following the UML home game with Jackson State. It was a very tough night for the River Hawks. They won, 75-55, but starting Power Forward, Marv Joab, the team’s 2nd leading scorer and 2nd leading rebounder, went down with what looks like a very serious knee injury. Gene Beck led the team again, with 21 and 14. But it looks like dark days ahead. Coach?” “I thought we played well tonight, but Marv’s injury was really serious. I’m not sure we’ll see him in uniform again this year.” “Any specifics?” “Not yet, Spike, but we’ll know more by the time I get on your show Wednesday evening.” December 28 “Okay, we’re back from break. Spike McGee here on ‘All about ‘Sports’ with Coach Clark. Coach, what’s the story on Marv Joab?” “Unfortunately, Marv tore up the ligaments in his knee very badly. He’s out for at least the rest of the year and the docs are not sure if he’ll be able to play at this level again.” “What a shame. He seemed like a really nice guy.” “Yes, he is a really nice guy.” “Now what?” “Well Spike, unfortunate as it is this is part of the game. We’re going to start Pete Ross at SG, move Steve Colt to SF, move Roy Green to PF. Our starters will all get more minutes, and Alex Jamm will get lots of minutes. We’ll use Dan Tayn more than we have been. We were thin before. We’re really thin now.” “Coach, sounds like you'll be going with six men. pretty much." "For now we will, but we're ready top give other guys a try if we need to. We're in a tough situation so we may need to get creative." "You ended the pre-conference season at 7-4.” “And that was great, way better than we expected. Unfortunately, without Marv, I’m not sure how we’ll do in conference. We’re not about to quit though. We’ll be working harder than ever now.” “Thanks Coach. Coach Clark had to leave early. He’s having a coaches’ meeting to discuss strategy around the new lineup. We’re really grateful that he came at all. We’ll be right back.” January 1964 Barry Goldwater announces that he is running for President. U. S. Surgeon General Luther Terry reports that smoking may be hazardous to health. This is the first U. S. government report saying that. “Hello, Dolly!” opens on Broadway. “Meet the Beatles!” becomes the first Beatles album to be released in the U. S.

November 14 “Spike McGee here with the pregame show before the UML River Hawks first game of the season, against Yale, right here at the Tsongas Center. We recorded this short interview with Coach Clark about an hour ago. No audience questions tonight. Coach, here we are.” “At last!” “Tell me about Yale.” “Well, we don’t know a whole lot but our scouting coach, Jeremy Lund, went to their exhibition game with BU. They play a tight man, and they don’t press much. On offense they use a motion offense and like to go inside. They’re good on the boards which could be a problem for us.” “And what will you do about all of that?” “We play mostly a 2-3, with some man to man. We go with the Princeton and the triangle offenses because I like to work the ball inside as often as possible. The closer you get to the hoop the easier the shots.” “Good luck tonight, coach.” “Thanks Spike.” … “Spike McGee here at the Tsongas Center with the postgame show. Coach Kip Clark’s River Hawks got the season off to a good start, winning 72-58 over Yale. The Hawks led all the way. Yale kept it close during the first half but then our guys pulled away early in the second and never looked back. Center Gene Beck had 23 points. Ray Green had 7, with 11 rebounds, and guard Mike Gear had 15. The other starting guard, Steve Colt had 8, 4, and 6 assists. Marv Joab had 9 and 4 from the 4 spot. Coach Clark was worried about rebounding but the Hawks had a 31-28 edge. They had 13 turnovers to 19 for the Bulldogs. All in all I have to think Coach Clark will be pleased. Remember, the next game is here at home, at 7:30 on Thursday, against Morehead State. We only had 3,745 people here tonight and there are seats available for the game. Come on down and see this exciting team. Spike McGee, WLOW, how LOW can you GO! See you next time.” November 17 “Spike McGee here at the Tsongas Center for the game between our 1-0 UML River Hawls and Morehead State, playing in their first game of the season. Here’s an interview we did earlier with Coach Clark. “Coach, first, congratulations on the win against Yale. Great way to start the season.” “Yes it was, Spike. I thought we played pretty well, all in all.” “And what can we expect from Morehead State?” “They play man, and they don’t press much. On offense they like to go inside and then sometimes kick it out for an outside shot. They play Princeton offense. We do too, so we’re familiar with that. We think their strength is inside, especially Brown, their Power Forward.” “Good luck tonight Coach.” … “Spike McGee here with the postgame show. Another win for the River Hawks, 63-46. The Hawks never trailed, building the lead up to 23 in the first half. They were +8 on the boards and +2 in turnovers. Small Forward Roy Green led the attack with 17, 6, and 3. Joab and Gear had 13 each, Steve Colt had 10 with 6 rebounds, and Center Gene Beck had only 4 points but he got 8 rebounds. The D was very tight, especially inside where the Hawks dominated. When you hold the other team to 46 you usually win. We’ll be right back.” November 21 “Spike McGee here at the Tsongas Center for UMass Lowell’s third straight home game. We’re 2-0. Tonight we play Stetson. Here’s what Coach Kip Clark had to say earlier.” “Stetson is 1-1 against much stronger teams than we’ve played. They play mostly 1-3-1, which you don’t see much. We’ve been getting ready for it and we think we can score against it. They don’t press much. On O they go with quick passes and more outside shots than inside. We’ll need to play well tonight but if we do we’ll be okay.” … “Spike McGee continuing with the postgame show. UML suffered their first loss tonight, 68-75. While dominating the inside, UML simply gave up too many threes- 15 in all, and too many bench points- 25. Coach Clark mentioned pregame that the outside game needed to be contained, but his kids were not able to get it done. On the plus side Power Forward Marv Joab had 17 and 10, and Center Gene Beck had 16 and 4. UML was +5 on the boards and +1 on turnovers. Still, it was a loss. A reminder that due to the abundance of Monday games we’ll have Coach Clark on ‘All about Sports’ tomorrow, November 22, at 7:00. Tune in. November 22 “Spike McGee here with ‘All about Sports.’ On this terrible day we decided to go with our plan of bringing Coach Clark on the show, but the agenda has changed. Coach, today is a day I’m sure all of us will remember for the rest of our lives. Where were you when you heard that the president had been shot.” “Yes, Spike, I agree that none of us will forget this day, much as we’d like to. I haven’t mentioned this but on Tuesdays I audit a course on the twentieth century novel. It’s a course I wanted very much to take during my senior year but the professor was on sabbatical. I asked for his permission to audit this semester and he said yes. Anyway, the Tsongas Center is in the Northwest corner of campus. To get to the class in the Humanities building I need to walk down a hill, cross through faculty housing, walk past the women’s dorms, and then go a little further down the hill to Humanities. Yesterday, as I walked past faculty housing there was a woman hanging out clothes and crying her eyes out. I had no idea why she was crying. I thought to myself that maybe there’d been a death in the family, or her husband had left her, something like that. Then as I continued to walk to class I met up with Robert Gamble, who is in the class with me. We’ve sort of struck up a friendship. As soon as he was close enough he asked if I’d heard about the President. I hadn’t. He told me that the president had been shot in Dallas. All that was known was that he was hit and that he had been rushed to a nearby hospital. When we got to class the professor said that he had no further news and that the best thing we could do was to go on with the class. That was the longest hour of my life, and I’m sure none of us has any idea what the professor was teaching. When class ended I started to walk back to work. On the way everyone I ran into was walking slowly, head cast down. Some- lots, were quietly crying. When I got back to Tsongas the secretary confirmed that President Kennedy was dead. We cancelled practice, and all other activities, of course. I went home and spent the rest of the day watching the news reports. It’s just so hard to believe that this young, vibrant President, so full of life, is gone from us.” (The rest of the show was spent talking about the events of the day before and today.) November 1963 Elston Howard is the first black player ever voted baseball’s MVP. Bell introduces the first push button telephone. “She Loves You” and “I Want to Hold your Hand” both sell more than a million copies. “Louie, Louie” hits the charts. “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad world” premieres. John Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Lyndon Johnson is sworn in as President. 7 days later Johnson establishes the Warren Commission.

September 1963 CBS TV was the first network to do 30 minutes of evening news rather than 15. The minimum wage was increased to $1,25 an hour. “The Outer Limits” debuted on ABC. October 1963 LA Dodgers win the World Series. The term “Beatlemania” was coined. October 3 “Spike McGee, ‘All about Sports’. Coach Clark, you got a recruit.” “Yes we did, Jon Debb. He’s a Point Guard from New York state. He looks pretty good. Plays some D, and he can shoot. Terrific passer.” “Still 6 scholarships to fill.” “We’re close to another and talking with a bunch.” “First day of practice yesterday. Tell our listeners about that.” “Not a lot to tell yet. There were some a- um, butts dragging. I worked them pretty hard. I’ve warned them since spring that they’d better show up in shape. Most of them thought they were. They had a tough time. 2 or 3 weren’t in shape. They had a REALLY tough time.” “Does it really help to work them that hard, Coach?” “Yes it does. There are lots of times when the team that’s in better shape wins close games because they’ve still got legs in the last few minutes. Sometimes even if you’re not the better team, you can steal a game just on conditioning. We’ll need every edge we can get, and this is one we can control.” “Who are your players?” “Well, I like our guards. I just wish we had a couple more. We have plenty of big guys but no one standing out yet. I‘m hoping some people will. Playing time will go to the guys who earn it.” “So coach, seen any good movies lately?” “Tom Jones. Very cool. I went to an art cinema place in Boston and saw 8 ½. Kinda weird but I liked it.” “Did you go with a date?” “Told you before, Spike, my private life stays private.” “Okay, okay. The smart money says she was a brunette. Spike McGee, ‘All about Sports,’ UML campus radio station WLOW, how LOW can you GO!” October 17 “Okay, we’re about to wrap up ‘All about Sports,’ but I wanted to report that the UML River Hawks got a commitment from a 2nd Point Guard, Deke Parr from New Hampshire, and the Hawks are picked to finish 3rd in conference. We’ll have Coach Clark on every Monday once the season starts, and at least once more before then. Spike McGee, WLOW, how LOW can you GO!” October 31 Happy Halloween coach. Is this season going to be a trick or a treat?” “Ha! Great question, Spike. We’ll learn a lot about that this week. We have two exhibition games. There’s nothing like playing a real opponent.” “And we’ll have the coach on again next Monday to talk about that. Meanwhile, Coach, you won’t tell us anything about your personal life as far as relationships and family are concerned but you do seem willing to talk about interests, hobbies, preferences, things like that. Read any good books lately?” “As a matter of fact I’m an avid reader, Spike. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold was terrific. I read a great kids’ book, Where the Wild Things Are. Lots of people were talking about Dune so I read it but I didn’t care for it. The Fire Next Time was powerful. Shelby’s Foote’s Second Volume of The Civil War was really interesting. Armageddon was long but it was worth it.” “Wow! That’s quite a list.” “At the end of the day I’m usually all charged up. Reading for a half hour or an hour calms me down so that I can sleep.” “Okay, TV?” “I don’t watch much TV but I do like a few shows, Wide World of Sports, Have Gun Will Travel- that Richard Boone is a really good actor, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Meet the Press, The Twilight Zone, Johnny Carson, maybe one or two others. I don’t see any of them regularly but I catch them when I can.” “Sports?” “Almost never, except if there’s a college basketball game on. Oh, I watch the Olympics but that’s only every four years of course.” “You seem like a serious guy, a thinker.” “Well, I don’t know about that but … well, yeah, I guess so. I like to keep up with what’s going on in the world, and I like to read history, science, lots of things. I’m interested. I read Time and Newsweek every week, and Scientific American, oh, and National Geographic.” “When do you sleep?” (Laughs) “I don’t seem to need much sleep, 4-5 hours a night and I’m good.” “Wow! Okay, next week we’ll talk about those exhibition games. Spike McGee, WLOW, how LOW can you GO!” November 7 “Spike McGee with Coach Kip Clark. Tell us about the exhibitions.” “Kind of a good news, bad news thing Spike. I saw a lot of things I liked but probably even more that need work. We could be deeper. I’ve got exactly three guards. They’re all good though. Mike Gear and Steve Colt will play a lot of minutes. They’ll switch back and forth at the Point-” “How does that work?” “Well, sometimes it’s situational. Whoever gets out front takes the Point and the other guy plays shooting guard. At other times I assign one to play the Point.” “Sounds confusing.” “No, we’ve been doing it since practices started and everyone is comfortable with it. It confuses the other team, which is great. Our third guard is Pete Ross. He’ll play mostly SG. I want Gear or Colt at PG every minute, if possible.” “And up front?” Well, we seriously need to rebound better. Gene Beck is my Center. For now Marv Joab is at Power Forward but he needs to step it up to keep his job. Roy Green is at SF, again, for now. Alex Jamm and Dan Tayn will come in for the bigs, and there are minutes for them if they can earn them. I’m sure this isn’t the final lineup.” “And that predicted third place finish?” “Two thoughts. First, there are a lot of unanswered questions; I have only seen clips of the other teams. Second, this is conference V, the lowest conference in college hoops. What all of that means remains to be seen.” Starting next- well, starting right now I guess, Coach Clark will be with us every Monday. When he’s on the road we’ll do this by phone. We don’t have all the bugs out with that system yet, but we’re working on it. Spike McGee, WLOW, how LOW can you GO!”

June 1963 Medgar Evers, a black civil rights leader, was shot and killed. Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. Pope John XXIII died. President Kennedy delivered his “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech at the Berlin Wall. July 1963 Zip codes began to be used. “Please Please Me” became the first Beatles record released in the U. S. August 1963 The first nuclear test ban treaty was signed. The great train robbery took place in England. 2.6 million pounds was stolen. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested in New Orleans while passing out “Fair play for Cuba” leaflets. W. E. B. DuBois died. Martin Luther King delivered his “I have a dream” speech. August 15 “This is Spike McGee, ‘All about Sports,’ campus radio station WLOW, how LOW can you GO! We’re here with UML head basketball coach Kip Clark. The lines are open. So what does a coach do during the off season?” “A million things, Spike. The staff meets every day to discuss recruiting, to come up with a scouting schedule, to plan for the upcoming season in lots of ways. I call recruits, keep in touch with my team-” “Speaking of that, what can we expect?” “Remember Spike, I’ve worked with all but the freshmen so I know what we have. I actually think we can be competitive in conference V if we work hard and if we get a few breaks. We don’t have many guards but the ones we have a good. Up front we need to develop but I think there’s potential.” “How’s recruiting going?” “Slow, but we expected that. We’ll get some guys but it may be later rather than sooner. We’re keeping in touch with lots of guys.” “Let’s take a call or two. Here’s Dave from Dorchester.” “Coach, you said you’re here for the long haul. Every coach I ever heard of wants to move up.” “That’s true, Dave. I’m not saying I’ll be here forever but I like Lowell, I’ve lived here my whole life. I don’t expect to move for a very long time. Another factor is that I want to live in New England. I’m just not interested in living anywhere else. So yes, I plan to stay here.” “Lou from Malden.” “Coach, recruiting has been a problem at UML for a long time. Any idea how to fix that?” “We’re working on it, Lou. I think you need to be persistent, you need to be genuinely interested in each recruit, his whole life not just basketball, and you have to recruit the family, not just the athlete. Oh, and don’t call so often that you’re annoying.” “Okay, we’re running late. We’ll have the coach back from time to time and once the season starts he’ll be here every Monday. And I’ll be broadcasting all of the games, with Billy Lewis doing the color commentary. Spike McGee, ‘All about Sports,’ WLOW, how LOW can you GO!” September 18 “Spike McGee here with Coach Kip Clark. Coach, you’ve got a schedule. Tell our listeners about it.” “Spike, I asked my athletic director, Ted Myers, to put together a schedule that would give us a chance to grab a few wins.” “In other words you wanted a weak schedule.” “Well, I think I’d prefer to say I wanted a schedule that would be competitive. We’re trying to rebuild a program that has struggled for the last 3 years. We need to win some games, one, because winning builds confidence, and two, because winning helps a great deal with recruiting. I’m not sure how strong we’ll be this year so I didn’t want a schedule that would overwhelm us.” “Speaking of recruiting, how’s that going, Coach?” “We’re encouraged by the response we’re getting. There are several recruits that are definitely considering coming to UML.” “In other words you haven’t signed anybody yet.” “Man, what is this, an Inquisition! Take it easy on me! No, we haven’t signed anybody, but we think we’re close with a couple of guys.” “No time for calls today. Just one more question. What kind of music are you listening to?” “I like ‘My Boyfriend’s Back,’ ‘Heatwave,’ ‘Be My Baby,’- I love the Ronettes, ‘Then He Kissed Me.’” “Mostly music by black groups.” “Yes, I like the beat. Not many of the white singers do more than crappy- oops, do more than boring Bobby Vinton type stuff. Puts me to sleep. Roy Orbison though. He can really wail!” “Thanks coach. WLOW, how LOW can you GO!”

(Author’s note- this is a promotion/relegation association. Coach Clark has a 1 in every category. UMass Lowell has a Team Prestige of 2) May 1, 1963 John F. Kennedy is president. Two weeks ago the first heart transplant was performed. Something called “quasars” were just discovered. Stamps cost 4 cents. People are reading, The Fire Next Time and Happiness Is a Warm Puppy. They are watching “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Cleopatra” on the big screen and “The Andy Griffith Show” and “Mister Ed” on TV. They’re listening to “I Left my Heart in San Francisco,” “Sugar Shack,” and “Blowin’ in the Wind,” the latter by Peter, Paul, and Mary, and NOT by Bob Dylan, although he has a following it isn't mainstream. “This is Spike McGee, ‘All about Sports’ on WLOW radio, the radio station of the University of Massachusetts Lowell, how LOW can you GO! Today Kip Clark was named head basketball coach here. Friends of UMass Lowell know Kip as that 5’4” Point Guard who was quicker than anybody on the court every night and who could just plain shoot the lights out. He graduated in 1960, and spent the last three years as an assistant coach here. Since head coach Ted Myers left for Boston University on March 3, taking all of his assistants except Clark with him, the search for a new head coach has been going on. Here’s what Athletic Director Jack Lacy said at today’s press conference regarding hiring Clark: “We realize Kip doesn’t have any head coaching experience and he has only three years as an assistant but he’s a student of the game. His senior project here involved interviewing twelve college basketball head coaches regarding their techniques, coaching styles, approach to recruiting, and all sorts of other things. I read the 82 page paper he produced and it showed a clear, in depth knowledge of the nuances of every aspect of coaching at the Division I level. We also wanted someone familiar with the program, the school, and the area. We think we made a good choice. We do ask people to be patient. Coach Clark has some rebuilding to do and we may not see results for 2 or 3 years, but I believe we most definitely will see results.” “And here’s what the new coach said: “I couldn’t be happier or more excited. I know I have a lot to learn but I can promise you that no one will work harder than I will.” “When asked, Coach Clark said he would begin by hiring a staff, and then he would visit all of his returning players as well as the incoming freshmen players. He would immediately begin the long process of recruiting.” “I’m here for the long haul. I won’t be leaving for another school for a very long time, if ever. I’ve loved this place since my freshman year, and I’ve lived in Lowell all my life.” “We’ll be speaking with Coach Clark now and then over the summer and fall. When basketball season starts we’ll have him on every Monday with an interview and time for you to call in questions.” When I got home that night I started to question what I’d gotten myself into. My senior year was the last year this team did anything. We won the conference that year. The next year the new promotion/relegation system started, which you would think would have helped us, but we had graduated all 5 starters and coach Myers hadn’t done much of a recruiting job. We finished 12th, then 12th again, and last year we finished 15th. How he got the BU job I will never know. Anyway, I think we have some talent this year. Myers just didn’t get the team working together. I am hopeful that we’ll be at least middle of the pack and I think there’s a chance we can be top 4 and move up from conference V to U. We’ll see. Recruiting is vital. I have 7 spots to fill and I need at least 4 guards and 5 would be better. We have exactly 3 guards on the team, all seniors! I cut a few guys from the team. There was no way they were doing anything but taking up space and they showed zero hustle last year. I made sure they either qualified for academic or hardship scholarships. One other guy I wanted to cut but he qualified for neither and I just couldn’t deprive him of an education. I did okay with assistants but just okay. I doubt any of them will be here for more than a year or two. I’ll be making a lot more money this year so I got rid of the old junk car I had and got a 3 year old Chevy that looks to be in good condition. Otherwise no changes. I’m keeping my apartment. It’s okay, and it’s in a decent neighborhood so why move? July 18 “Spike McGee, All about Sports here on WLOW, how LOW can you GO! We’re here with Coach Kip Clark of the UMass Lowell River Hawks basketball team. If you’d like to ask a question call us here at 580-WLOW, the lines are open. Coach Clark, you’ve been on the job for about 2 ½ months. How’s it going?” “Well, Spike, I work 12, 14, sometimes 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, and there’s always more I could be doing. I meet with my assistants to discuss everything from recruiting to scouting to what kind of defensive and offensive formations we’ll use, how much we’ll press, how to structure our practices- lots of other things. I call recruits, I keep tabs on my returning players.” “Sounds terrible!” “It’s wonderful! Every part of it is a challenge and I’m really enjoying it. Can’t wait for practices to start.” “And when is that, Coach.” “Forever! We aren’t allowed to start until October 2.” “So you can’t have contact with your players until then?” “Oh, we can have contact with them, just not in a coaching situation. But we can give them things to work on, suggest they have 'captain’s practices' led by our seniors, all sorts of things. But we can’t be in the gym when they are.” “Interesting. Sounds like you can actually do some useful things.” “Definitely, but I want to coach them. Two and half months is a long time to wait.” “Coach, you’re a young guy, barely 25. Are you interested in the things most guys your age are interested in?” “Definitely! I go to the cool movies, watch the hip TV shows. I have to say the music scene is a little boring these days. There are some good songs but it’s a dry time. Seems like something new needs to come along.” “Do you date?” “Yes, but I’m not going to talk about that.” (Laughs) “Okay coach. I won’t pry. We have just a few minutes for phone calls. I’ve got Jeff from Marlboro on the line. Jeff?” “HI Spike. Coach, can you hear me?” “Go ahead, Jeff.” “Hey, UMass Lowell has been kinda down since you graduated. What are you going to do about that?” “Well Jeff, it takes time. We’re definitely rebuilding. But I can tell you this, we’re going to play the kind of hoops I liked to play, hustle every minute, fight for every loose ball and rebound, play tight D. I can’t tell you how many games we’ll win,. Or even that we’ll win a lot of games, but nobody’s going to out hustle us.” “Suppose they don’t hustle?” “If they don’t hustle- in practice as well as in games, they sit. If I wind up playing all walk ons, so be it. We’re going to be in shape and we’re going to play hard every minute.” “Mike in Lowell.” “Hey Coach. I been going to games at UML for years. I gotta tell ya, after the last couple I’m not sure it’s worth buying my season tickets this year.” "Mike, again, I am not promising a lot of wins, but we’re going to work hard, we’re never going to quit, and we’re going to get better as the season progresses. I think you’ll get your money’s worth.” “Time for one more. Joe in Shrewsbury.” “I just want to say that Coach Clark is my favorite player ever and I wish you all the success in the world.” “Thanks. Joe. I appreciate that.” “Okay, that’s all the time we have. This is Spike McGee. WLOW, How LOW can you GO!” I have to admit I kind of like this radio thing. And no lie, I really do love this job. I wish we were getting a little more response from recruits though. Not much so far.

This will be a Promotion/Relegation association. It will begin in 1963 and will take us through the 60s and who knows how far. We'll see young Kip grow and change, both as a person and as a coach as he is influenced by his time and by being about 25-30 miles from Boston. He hopes to stay with UMass-Lowell for a long time, to see just how far up he can bring them. They are in the lowest Conference and have a Team Prestige rating of 2 (I set it at 0 but when it came up it was 2). His ratings are 1 in every category. House rules limit what I can and cannot do. "But I would not feel so all alone, everybody must get..."

March 16 We’re playing #16 seed, 16-15 Hartford. 93-58. 25, 13, 3, 1, 3 for Jay, 18, 5, 7, 3 for Win. 7 TOs, 46 RBs. Next up will be #9 seed, 18-11 Temple. March 18 76-42. 19, 18 for Jay, 21, 7, 4, 2 for Win, 15, 4 for tad. 10 TOs, 53 RBs. #4 seed, #18 ranked, 24-9 Syracuse in the Sweet Sixteen. We beat them by 10 and 17. March 23 81-63. 14, 13 for Jay but all 5 in double figures. 11 TOs, 45 RBs. Lots of upsets throughout, but probably not more than average. It’s #6 seed, #25 ranked, 26-7 Sid Bonney in the Elite Eight. March 25 80-58 and the final four again. 5 guys in double figures again. We have yet to trail in the NCAA tournament. We’ll play #1 seed, #2 ranked Indiana, and it’s #1 seed, #3 ranked LSU vs. #4 seed, #19 ranked Texas Tech on the other side. So 3 #1 seeds. We beat Indiana by 23 in late December. That was a long time ago but they were #2 then as well as now. Our D simply stifled them. Let’s see if we can do it again! April 1 90-68 and we still have never trailed. Very different game from the first one against them. 20, 6 for Jay, 20, 3, 1, 4, 4 for Win, 14, 16 for Tad, 19, 6, 2 for Lou. 8 TOs, 43 RBs. And it’s #3 ranked LSU, 30-5 for the title. We beat them 85-68 on November 30 but that was a VERY long time ago. Their PG was the only guy who did much of anything against us that night. Win and Jay had big nights and we were +5 TOs, +15 RBs. Both sides are healthy so let’s get it on! April 3 92-73. Well, we trailed in this one… a few times during the first 5 minutes or so. Then we went on a 21-2 run. 21, 12 for Jay, 24, 7, 2, 1, 4 for Win, in his last game with us. Phil had 11, 4, 6, 2 in HIS last game with us. Jed Tuck, also playing his last game, had 13, 7. Ted Bayn and Min Will also played their last game. April 4 Awards: Jay was tourney MOP, 1st team All American. Win Dahl made 2nd team. I got national COY. In conf., Jay was POY, freshman OY, 1st team along with Win. Lou Best and Tad Dye made 2nd team. I was hoping Phil would since he’s a senior but… Now it's decision time. I have 7 titles in 32 years. I can either go after John Wooden’s record of 10 in 35 years, or go somewhere else and build a program up. It’s almost too easy here. If the right team, at the right altitude, has an opening we’ll probably go. The next stop is our last coaching stop though. April 9 Hm. Colorado is really the only school that fills the bill. Mai, Papa Joe, Lili and I flew out there. It would definitely be a challenge, their team prestige is 35 in the Pac 12, where they finished 11th in a 12 team conf. Their 2 best players are graduating. They signed three pretty awful looking recruits. I would make maybe a million less a year. In short… I won’t be tying John Wooden’s record within the 35 years he coached. We’re going to my 10th school as a head coach. As usual I will head right out there and the family will come later. Papa Joe apparently intends to buy half the state, and set us up in some very well protecting and glorious living conditions. Being who I am I’ll spend my time in my home office, the dining room, and our bedroom. Oh, I am definitely taking one of those bulky units so I can contact my kids. Papa Joe says the new streamlined units are close to ready. Cleaning house. There are some truly awful players here. Lost the whole staff so we’re starting over there too. I got two really good assistants and one… I asked for a facilities upgrade. We’re at C-. I’ve seen the facilities and that’s generous. The budget is doable, $136,000. The top clubs in the conference dwarf that but I can buy the Gold National, so it’s fine. Denied. Oh well. Next season will be a climb! April 23 39-0 this season. 32 seasons, 877-227, .794 (which will go down for the next couple of seasons). The family may not get here until June. I’m not happy about that but what can you do. I’ll fly there a couple of times and some of them will fly here. I’ve had lots of visits with Lou and Ling, together and separately. Things are going great with Ling, and better with Lou. Ling is enjoying the solitude and the opportunity to write and read without many distractions. Lou is getting back into his two loves, math and computers, but he is also exploring some of the programs. There are lots of adventure programs. Some are physically challenging, some mentally, some both. There is already a large number of these, and it’s growing all the time. In some ways he is field testing, and he communicates regularly with the design people to let them know what works, what doesn’t, and to suggest improvements. Occasionally he and Ling go on one of these adventures together. Lou has gotten used to the virtual people here. He is also able to tweak personalities, and that makes them more to his liking. All in all he’s doing well. There are already almost 200 people who have transferred and that gives the developers lots of data to work with. Papa Joe says the space travel program is a little ahead of schedule. “We can leave in about six months, I think. We do not need to go that soon but we can if things deteriorate that quickly. I do not think that they will but I cannot say for certain.”

March 3 “Dad, I need to talk with you privately.” “Okay Ling.” We set up a time for later that evening. “Lou is really depressed. He tries to hide it when he talks to all of you.” “I thought he was. He’s doing a good job of trying to hide it but both Papa Joe and I felt like we kept seeing signs. Any idea what it’s about?” “Only theories… I had a choice about transferring. He didn’t. I had time to think about it, and really important time after Lou transferred. I need to thank you for that. It made a difference because when I did it I was totally sure. He didn’t have any of that, obviously.” “But he’d be dead if-” “He knows that, and he wouldn’t want to be dead. But still…” “Of course. It’s not about logic it’s about emotions.” “It’s not like he hates everything, and most of the time it’s okay. But he has trouble being alone for long periods of time. He can work on his mathy, techy stuff for a couple of hours but then he gets… not clingy… kinda needy. He needs to be near me. It’s okay. Sometimes he wants to talk but sometimes he just needs to be near someone, and I’m the only someone.” “But he can interact with thousands of people there. The programs allow for all sorts-” “He says it doesn’t feel ‘real.’ It does to me. I don’t do it that often but the people are completely real to me in every way.” “I guess you need to be willing to buy in.” “That’s prob’ly it. If your mindset is that they aren’t real they won’t be.” “Are you able to do the writing and reading you wanted to do?’ “Almost all of the time that I want to do it. When he interrupts at a crucial point in my writing I tell him he needs to wait just a minute so I can organize my thoughts and make notes. He’s good about waiting for that.” “I don’t know what to tell you. Ling.” “I know. I just wanted you to know. Go ahead and tell Papa Joe. I’m not so sure about mom.” “Papa Joe and I will discuss whether we should tell her.” “I’m okay, really. I’m so glad I did this. I wouldn’t like it if I couldn’t speak with all of you but that makes it fine. I really feel .. I don’t know what the word is, but I like the way I feel.” What an amazing kid! She wasn’t quite 12 when she transferred. Oh, we did have a birthday party for her a couple of weeks ago. There was a cake here and one there. Lili got to blow out the candles for her on our cake. March 5 We lose starting SG Win Dahl and little used PF Min Will to the NBA. I’m pleasantly shocked that those were our only losses. Jay is #3 and Win #7 on the Norton list. March 10 #8 seed Pitt was the only favorite to advance out of the play in round. We’ll play them. They’re 15-13, 9-9. We beat them by 22 there. 79-55. Pitt was never in it. 18, 6 for Jed, 15, 11 for Jay, 14, 6, 3 for Win. #4 seed, 19-10, 11-7 Wake Forest in the semis. We beat them by 19 at home. March 11 84-62. Our guards lit it up. 28, 7, 2, 2 for Lou, 31, 4, 2, 2 for Win. #18 ranked Syracuse, 22-8, 14-4, beat #8 Duke. We won by 10 there. They hit 15 threes. We’ll need to stop that, and we’ll need to get fewer than the 16 TOs we got that night. March 12 83-66. They got 11 threes. We had 13 TOs. 20, 4, 3 for Lou, 16, 8, 5, 5 for Win, 14, 12 for Jay in 20 minutes. He fouled out. We were selected 1st in the East, so 1st overall. Lou seems better- not great, but better. It has to be a difficult, confusing, even frightening thing to go through what he has gone through and continues to go through. The adjustment will take time. There are things we haven’t talked about. Do they sleep over there in transition land? The energy supply for the microchip is essentially infinite but for whatever reason resting seems to help a person living inside the microchip. We recommend three brief rest periods per day. For many people falling asleep is a pleasant experience. This can be programmed to last for as long or as short a time as desired. The sleep periods need to be only about 10 minutes each, and they can be postponed. If a person is engaged in something and they wish to continue, they simply delay. At a certain point they will feel sleepy though, and their ability to concentrate will weaken. At that point they will give in and begin the sleep cycle. Food is an interesting matter. Papa Joe engaged the best chefs and cooks he could get. Whatever one wishes to eat or drink is available, and it is excellent. The chefs and cooks cook a dish. If it comes out to their satisfaction it is transferred. Then it is virtual, so it can be replicated. The people wishing to eat the dish can eat it as is, or can modify it. Same with drinks. Every imaginable food and drink is in the system. People who have transitioned do not need to eat, but they may eat, as often as they wish. Theoretically they could eat constantly, forever. They could never eat. When they do eat and drink, and Lou, Ling and the others have all verified this, it feels just as it did here. They are able to taste, they tell us, just as they did here. They swallow, and the food dissolves, since it is virtual it was never there but it feels like it dissolves- really, it feels like it digests, I suppose. A person never feels too full, never experiences indigestion… Lou has always loved VERY spicy food. He eats all he wishes to, and there are no side effects. I am certain that Ling is very happy that one particular side effect of Lou’s eating of spicy foods does not exist over there. It certainly did over here! Every alcoholic drink is available. The taste is there, the ability to become even the tiniest bit intoxicated is not there. I suppose that brings us to physical things. All physical things can be done, yes, including sex- alone, in pairs, in… more than pairs. Also on the physical side, everything here is possible there- skiing, auto racing… the most dangerous to the most mundane. Lou said he jumped from the top of a tall mountain and felt the sensation of falling all the way. When he hit the ground he felt a thud upon impact but no more. He then got up and walked away. Really, the possibilities are enormous, and eventually will likely become limitless.

February 5 63-28 over Miami. 25, 12, 2, 1, 3 for Jay. 13, 5, 3 for Jed Tuck from the bench. 88-62 against Louisville. 28, 16, 2, 1, 2 for Jay, 16, 4, 4, 4, 2 for Win, 12, 8, 3 for Jed. But 15 TOs. We are now 2 up on Syracuse, 3 on Duke, 4 or more over the rest. 24-0, 12-0, #1, #1. As a team we are #1 in scoring, RBs, blocks, #4 in assists. If anyone is going to beat us in the regular season it will probably be #17, 2nd place Syracuse, 17-6, 11-2. We’re there on Tuesday. Then back home against 11-10, 5-7 Ga. Tech. We’re… adjusting. Lou and Ling have asked that we give them some time to become accustomed to their new reality. They want us to visit between noon and 1:00 p.m., and 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. Even with the portable unit I can really only visit when I’m home, either from my office or from home. The unit is simply too big and bulky to take with me. Papa Joe assures me the newer models will be the size of a tablet, but it may be awhile. Lou and Ling are wonderful support systems for each other and are doing well, all in all. There are difficulties, frustrations, and they both get down now and then, but it’s not bad, really. They both feel that it won’t be long before this new reality becomes “normal.” Mai is having the most difficult time of any of us. She was, of course, very close to Ling and Lou, and I don’t know, being a mom is being a mom. Maybe that’s the whole explanation. I don’t find it easy, but I am thankful that we didn’t really lose Lou. We would have if not for this new … “reality.” February 12 88-78 over #17 Syracuse, there. We led by as many as 21, and after 10 minutes we were in control. 10 is the closest margin all season and this is our 3rd 10 point win. 18, 14, 6, 3, 3 for Jay, 21, 9 for Tad, 16, 6, 7 for Win. But 16 TOs. Back home and 70-55 with Ga. Tech. 20 and 6, with 6 steals for Lou, but he fouled out. Jay also fouled out and had 8 and 11. 14, 10 for Tad, 16, 5, 4 for Win. 12 TOs. Two on the road, 6-18, 4-10 FL ST. Then it’s 16-9, 8-6 Clemson. We’re 3 up on Duke and Syracuse with 4 to play. This will be the longest I’ve been away from home since Lou left us, 6 days. Post season is coming and I’ll be away quite a bit. Jay is now #3, Win #6, Lou #17, Tad #19 on the Norton list. February 19 69-39 over FL ST. 19 for Win, 15 for Lou, 12, 10 for Tad, 9 and 9 for Jay. Ted Bayn strained a calf, out about 10 days to 2 weeks. Jed Tuck will get his minutes. 69-57 at Clemson. 16, 6, 7 for Win, 16, 5, 1, 2, 2 for Tad, 10, 8 for Jay. I believe this is the first time all year Jay has gone 2 games in a row without a double double. Last week of the regular season. Va. Tech, 8-16, 4-11, here. We beat them 78-59 there. Then we close with 9-16, 4-12 Miami. We beat them 63-28 here. We’ve clinched. We’re 3 up on Duke, 4 on Syracuse, 6 or more on the rest with 2 to play. Life is kind of getting to be closer to “normal,” or at least the new normal. Mai, Lili and Papa Joe visit with the kids every day. Papa Joe flies in a private jet when he needs to go anywhere so taking the portable unit is not a problem. I visit whenever I’m not on the road, usually with another family member but sometimes alone. Sing and her kids visit often. February 26 We ran the table for the regular season, 30-0, 18-0. 4 up on Duke and Syracuse, 7 or more on the others. 90-43 over Va. Tech here. 27, 2, 4, 4 for Win, 17, 11, 2, 2, 3 for Jay, 9 TOs. 78-55 at Miami. 15, 6, 7 for Jed, 16, 8 for Tad, 16, 5, 2, 3 for Lou. 9 TOs again.

January 13 Our discussions continued but three days ago Lou suggested to Ling that she rethink transferring. He got her to listen, and she agreed to think about it. Later she came to me. “Dad, what Lou says makes sense but I still want to go.” “Ling, if you’re just doing this for Lou-” “No… I know that. I am doing it for Lou… partially, but I still want the solitude, the time to write and read, and be creative.” “You understand that you’ll stay at the age you are for… well, virtually forever.” “I know. But I won’t have the bloating and cramps and all that any more either.” She smiled. “You’ll never have children.” “That’s never been a goal. I will mature intellectually and emotionally, just not physically. I think that’s okay.” “We’ve already promised that we won’t stop you, but let’s keep thinking about it and talking about it. And it doesn’t need to happen immediately.” “I’ll keep thinking but I really don’t want this to drag on. It doesn’t have to be in four days, but soon- one way or the other.” “That’s fine.” January 15 72-49 over BC. I watched the game. Yet another double double for Jay, 15 and 13. 9 TOs, 38 RBs. 6-9 Virginia here, and we’re at 9-7 NC ST this week. I’m not sure whether I’ll go to the NC ST game. Then FL ST here. I’m dropping in on practice when I can, and trying to take care of emails and messages when I can. “I’m taking an extra week, but I’m going.” “Okay, Ling. As I said we won’t try to stop you. But please be sure.” “Oh, I’ve been sure all along.” January 22 89-49 over VA. I coached, but I was distracted. It didn’t much matter since it was never a game. 23, 8, 6, 2 for Win. Jay didn’t get a double double, 21 and 9. 16, 5, 2, 2 for tad. 6 TOs. I didn’t go to the NC ST game. 70-48. 25, 10 for tad, 15, 13 for Jay, 12, 9, 3 for Lou. 12 TOs, 54 RBs! I was at the FL ST game here, but I sat on the bench and let my assistants coach. I just encouraged the kids. 88-42. 17, 11 for Jay, 20, 2, 2 for Win. 5 TOs, 42 RBs. Jay strained abdominals. He’ll play limited minutes in our next game. Not sure about the one after that. My players are being very understanding about everything that’s going on. They’re certainly playing great ball, too. This week it’s the Fighting Icyballs of Nome, 8-10, 3-6, here, and 10-8, 6-3 VA Tech there. Syracuse is ½ game back, Duke 2 games. January 24 Ling transferred today. She seemed as determined as ever, and Lou does need her. It was, of course, difficult, but it was very peaceful. We all said our goodbyes, both Papa Joe’s family and ours (We’re really all one family.), hugged, and then Mai took Ling’s hand as she lay on the stretcher. She was sedated, and the transfer was completed. It took only a few moments. The moment when she appeared next to Lou and they embraced was almost magical. We all cried, but happy tears. These two need to be together. Awful as it is in many ways it just seems right. January 29 I didn’t feel up to even going to either game this week. 88-55 over Nome here. 20 for Win, 14 for Lou, 8, 7, 3, 7, 2 for Jay in limited time- 7 steals! It was 78-59 at Va. Tech. 31, 3, 3, 2 for Win. Jay was not himself. He is back to 100% now though. I will resume all of my coaching duties on Feb. 1. 2 home games this week, 7-13, 2-9 Miami, 14-6, 6-5 Louisville. Syracuse and Duke remain right on our tail. Jay is #4 on the Norton list and Win Dahl #5. Lou is #16, Phil Kirk #29. All of us spent a lot of time with Ling and Lou over the past few days, sometimes together, sometimes individually. They are definitely helping each other. There have been, and no doubt will continue to be ups and downs but just the fact that they’re together is an enormous help. This will be okay; it will just take some time. Lili spends more time than any of us with her siblings.

January 1, 2023 A four win week! 77-67 over GA Tech there. 24, 5, 4 for Lou, 15, 12 for Mr. Double, Jay, his 12th double double in 14 games. 16, 6, 3 for Win. 65-42 over #2 in the country Indiana, here. 16, 8 for Kim and then a whole lot of balance. It was 41-15 at the half! 76-46 over #13 Duke, also here. 27, 5, 5 for Win, 18, 5, 5 for Lou. Only 7 and 8 for Jay but h3 had 2 assists, 4 steals, and 6 blocks. And finally, 80-58 at Pitt. 23 and 20 for Jay- I guess that made up for last game! Win also had 23. We’re not taking good care of the ball, 18, 17, 14, and 8 TOs in our last four games. We’ll work on it. This week it’s 8-4 Wake Forest, here. January 3 Lou was in a horrible auto accident this morning. He and Lili are chauffeured to school. They are usually on different schedules so Lili was not in the limo. A UPS type (but not actually UPS) box truck ran a red light and slammed right into the limo, right into Lou, really. He was sitting on the side where the impact occurred. He was rushed to the university hospital, which was excellent, but his injuries are extremely severe, unquestionably fatal. He is in a deep coma. Papa Joe, Mai, Lili and I all got there as quickly as we could. We were told he could go at any moment. Papa Joe left the room hurriedly. When he came back he said, “I sent for our people.” “Our people?” “Alvin, we need to transfer Lou as soon as possible. Our people are bringing the necessary equipment. They will be here in a few moments.” “NO, PAPA!” “Wait, Mai. Papa Joe, he’s so badly hurt.” “It does not matter. If he is alive he can transfer. He will be fine.” “PAPA! I will not allow-” “Mai.” “No, Blade, NO!” I took Mai by the arm and found a deserted room. I laid it on the line, didn’t mince words. “Mai, he is going to die, maybe today, maybe in the next few minutes. This is the only hope he has. We have no choice.” It took a while, and it took some tears, but Mai saw that this made sense- a horrible kind of sense, but sense. We went back to the room. Papa Joe’s “people” were there, waiting for us. “Go ahead, Papa Joe. Mai and I agree that this must be done.” Lili had been quietly crying, and holding Lou’s hand since we’d arrived. She nodded. We each took a moment to say our goodbyes and then we watched as Lou transferred. “We must go to our home now. When we get there we will be able to talk with Lou as soon as we set everything up, just a few moments.” Ling was on a trip to D. C. She needed to look at some things in the Library of Congress. We called her driver on the way to the hospital but it would be another hour before she got back. Within moments we were talking with Lou. We explained what had happened. His last memory was of hearing screeching brakes, looking to his right and seeing the truck almost upon him. He was taking this very calmly. “Dad, it’s okay. I knew I’d be here eventually unless something truly tragic happened. I guess it almost did. Papa Joe, thanks again. As always, you’re right there. Anyway, I’ve accepted this for a long time now. Hey, everything I want is here except you guys and I’m betting I’ll see at least one of you every day.” He asked us for some time to figure things out. Later that evening we checked back in. “Lou, it’s Ling.” “Hi kid, great to see you.” “I’m coming.” “Looks like you’re already here.” “No, I’m coming there so we can be together, I hope today or tomorrow.” Everyone was stunned. Lou and Ling had always been very close. All three of the children are- were- whatever, but especially those two. “I wanted to anyway, you know that. Now they can’t say no. How could they? They can’t possibly leave you alone there, maybe for decades.” Mai was crying again, sobbing, almost out of control sobbing. It took her a very long time to get under control. “Mom, I know how you feel but you can’t stop me.” That set off Mai again. Between sobs she said, “I… I don’t want to… I … I know you two should be… must be… together but… I will lose… two… of my children…” She couldn’t continue. Lili went to her and held her. You remember how tiny Mai is, about 4’10”, maybe 85 pounds. Lili got my genes, she’s 6’3”. Thin, but strong because of all the work she does with animals. “Don’t YOU leave me!” “No worries, mom, no worries.” “You mean you’re not going to try to stop me?” It was my turn. “Once again I agree with your mom. I can see that Papa Joe and Lili agree too, Ling.” “Good, I’ll go get ready and I can transfer-” “WAIT!” “What! You just SAID-” “Lou, you still here?” “I wouldn’t miss this.” “Okay. Yes Ling, you can go. But I insist on some time- not a long time, but some time for us to be together, to say kind of a long goodbye.-” “Dad, it’s not even goodbye. I’ll be right-” “May I finish please?” “Sorry.” “Okay. Let’s take a few days, maybe a couple of weeks- no more than that. Let’s go to some of the places we’ve enjoyed, do some of the things we’ve loved doing, things like that.” “Yeah, I get that, dad, but… Lou can’t come with us.” “Yes, in a way he can.” “What? How Papa Joe?” “Alvin, we haven’t announced it yet but our team has been working on something for a very long time. Lou cannot be here physically, of course. But the unit we use here to see and hear him and for him to see and hear us? We now have a portable unit. It is first generation, not perfect, heavy and bulky, but he will be with us.” We all cheered. We compromised. The “long goodbye” would last until 1/17. We have three games in that stretch. The plan is that I will coach the two at home, but I will miss most practices and I will not travel to the BC game. January 8 84-65 over Wake Forest. They gave us a battle through most of the first half. We took control late and stretched the lead out to as many as 24. 28, 7, 2, 3 for Lou, 13, 11, 4, 3, 3 for Jay. Next week we’re at 4-10, 1-4 BC, but my #1 will be coaching. I won’t be there. It’s been a difficult few days. We’re doing things and going places, and we’re trying to make some happy memories before Ling leaves us but it’s a heavy feeling in many ways. Reality has set in for Lou and he’s not doing as well as he was. Frankly, I think he’s a little depressed- not a lot, but he definitely feels the separation, from us, from everything. In light of that we’re sort of rethinking Ling joining him. No doubt what Lou is feeling she will feel, in her own way, of course. I’m not sure it would be worth the price to try to stop her, but we need to discuss it, Mai and Papa Joe and I, but also the three of us with our children. We will begin those discussions soon.

November 20 First up was Princeton. We’re the #1 seed, they’re #16. 80-60. Big games from our guards, 24, 7, 4, 1, 3 for Lou Best, 20, for Win Dahl. 11 and 12 for Jay John at C. #8 ranked, #8 seed Duke is next. Seems like a tough match up for the quarter finals. 89-55. 27, 3, 2, 4 for Lou, 18, 4, 4 for Win, 12, 11, 2, 3 for Jay, 11, 7, 4 for Phil Kirk. #4 seed Maryland next. They’re unranked, which makes me ask why they’re #4 seed while Duke was #8. 80-70. It took us a long time to put them away. 31, 7, 3, 3 for Win Dahl, 14, 11, 5 for Jay, 14, 13 for Ted Dye, 12, 2, 6 for Phil. #10 seed Cincinnati for the title. The other side of the bracket was filled with upsets. 69-56. 19, 5, 3, 3, 2 for Win, 13, 13 for Jay, 14, 5, 2, 4 for Lou. All of our recruits submitted signed letters of intent. Great first week. This week we play #5 Oregon and #17 Florida, both here. November 27 87-65 over #5 Oregon. 27, 7, 4 for Win, who has been really impressive. Good games all around. 88-70 over #17 FL. 20, 13 for PF Tad Dye, 15, 13, 2, 2, 5 for Jay John, and the other 3 starters were all in double figures, as was sub Jed Tuck. LSU here, Penn there this week. We may have a juggernaut here. We’re beating up some very good teams. 4 starters in double figures and the 5th, Phil Kirk, averages 9.8. +19.5 in PPG, +9.3 in RBs, +6.4 in TOs. December 4 85-68 over LSU. Another great game for Win, 29, 9, 2. 16, 12, 2, 2, 4 for Jay who seems to get a double double nearly every game. 10 for Jed Tuck from the bench and again, good games all around. 76-61 at Penn. Jay had a huge game, 29 and 18. 21 for lou, 15, 7, 5 for Win, 7, 12, 3, 2, 2 for Tad. At #6 Stanford- it’s a one game week. December 9 Ling came up to me when I got home from work. “Dad, I want to transfer.” She’s 11. I stayed calm… sort of. “Ling, why would you want to do that?” “Peace and quiet. No distractions.” LONG discussion. She’s a reader and a writer. Not a lot else she’s interested in. I suppose the world must seem full of distractions to her. I tried to make her understand the value of human contact, especially family contact. She admitted that she would miss us but, “We could visit all the time. There’s contact between there and here.” Anyway, at the end I told her I was against it but I would speak with her mother. “And Papa Joe.” “Okay, and Papa Joe.” He’s the ultimate source of fair, open-minded decision making. I guess we all agree on that. I talked to Mai and Papa Joe, and Sing. We really tried to view the situation impartially. In the end there was no way this was going to happen.’ Ling took it better than I thought she would. I suppose she got the answer she had expected. “I’ll do it on my eighteenth birthday. I’ll be a legal adult then and no one can stop me.” December 11 85-73 over #6 Stanford there. It wasn’t as close as the final score. We got it to 20 and held it between 15-20 for most of the game. 20, 6, 5, 2 for Lou. It speaks for our depth that both Jay and Tad were in foul trouble all night. Jay played 18 minutes and Tad 16, and we still won easily over a really good team. Jed had 11 and 7 from the bench, and Min Will got 5 and 5 while playing great D. We’re 9-0, #1 ranked, #1 RPI. This week we host 5-3 Michigan. December 18 100-63 over Michigan. Sub Jed Tuck was on fire, 24 and 9. 13, 10, 2, 32 for Jay, another double double. 16, 7, 4, 3 for Win, 18, 3, 4 for Phil. 8 TOs, 40 RBs. 4-6 Kentucky here this week. December 25 83-52 over KY. 19, 14, 4, 3 for Jay. 13, 14 for Tad. We’re 11-0, and still #1, RPI #1. Scheduling quirk and we have a 4 game week. 6-3 Ga. Tech on the road, #2 Indiana then #13 Duke at home, then Pitt on the road. The Indiana game should be interesting. They’re undefeated, too. Duke is 7-2, Pitt 5-4. “You KNOW what I wanted for Christmas!” “Ling, let it go. We want you here with us. We all love you.” “18th birthday, not one day later.” It’s never easy, I guess.

June 6 Preseason #1 again. Transfer pool didn’t have anyone we wanted. June 12 Looking at 10 recruits. June 29 It’s been a busy month, as a coach, but also in regard to all of this body transfer, space travel and whatever else that’s related. Three people completed the transfer in late May and all three were able to communicate with those of us “on the outside.” Papa Joe’s brother reported that he suffered no pain at all. He looked as he did when here (there are mirrors, of course) but he felt wonderful, and was able to do whatever he wished to do, unhampered by weakness or pain. He misses his family but he knows he would have died very soon anyway. Now he knows that all of them will very likely be with him again, sooner or later. As with a TUG chamber, the experience can be programmed. Programs are still being written and developed but there are already enough to keep people there occupied. Papa Joe says the people behind this have several top notch programmers working full time. I asked about coaching basketball. “Of course! We have 150,000 players, each of whose strengths, weaknesses and all the rest are within a certain range but variable, so that no matter how long someone coaches, they will never experience the feeling that they have the game beaten because they know everything. “We have 5,000 coaches, including all of the famous ones in history. You decide to include all, some or none of them in your season or career. I knew you would want this. The program provides all of the challenges involved in coaching. We have an NBA version as well.” I laughed. The other two “transfers”- that’s the term being used, reported things much like what Papa Joe’s brother reported. None are sorry about their decision. “So, Papa Joe, I hope you do not transfer any time soon.” “I feel good, and my doctor assures me that I am in excellent health. I hope to go into space with the children. Then, when the time comes, I will transfer. No hurry! But again, life on this planet is in its terminal stages. You will not want to be living here 20 years from now, and perhaps not 10.” “When will the ships be ready?” “They are ready now, but the expansion modules which will allow this to become a flying city are still not quite ready. We could leave in a year but I think it will be more like 5 years before we do. We wish to be ready as soon as possible though. Everything is changing very rapidly.” We live in interesting times! August 7 6 on the Norton list: #2 SG Win Dahl, #3 C Jay John, #6 C Tad Dye, #12 SG Lou Best, #16 SG Phil Kirk, and #35 C Jed Tuck. August 21 Offered to 2 guards, 2 bigs. Mai and I had a long talk last night. It seems she has some very mixed feelings about doing a “transfer.” She has lots of questions as well. Her work is extremely important to her. She wants some sort of assurance that after she transfers she will be able to do the kinds of research she has been doing for about 25 years now. Papa Joe has told us that as long as there are people connected to those who have transferred there will be no problem. Whatever a person’s interest, it can be fully accommodated.” “But at some point there will be too many transferred and not enough to communicate with them. And eventually either there will be no people left, or none willing or able to help us.” I spoke with Papa Joe. “We have thought of that. We have people working on ways for those who have transferred to initiate, and in some way control interaction with the outside world.” “That’s just scary. It sounds like it could go the way of a bad sci fi movie.” (Laughs) “That is not impossible but we are taking it into account.” Whew! September 18 We got commitments from 2 bigs and a guard. We’re going to the Preseason NIT. As many ranked teams as we could schedule. September 25 We have our recruits. One PG is questionable as to the SAT so we’ll keep talking to a couple of guards. October 2 We have a lineup. We’re going with three guards- Soph Lou Best and Sr. Phil Kirk, who both started last year, and freshman Win Dahl is the third guard. Up front it will be 2 more freshmen, Tad Dye and Jay John. We have a deep bench. Jed Tuck is a Sr. who started up front for us last year, Ted Bayn is another Sr.; he didn’t start but he got lots of minutes. Then it’s Jr. Jeff Ledd who can play about anywhere, Fr. Min Will, an inside player, and Jal Luck, a soph. PG. I would feel comfortable with all 10 of those guys in any situation. November 6 No changes to the lineup, and we feel like we are more than ready for the season! 27 people have now transferred, including our first “group on a chip.” That was a married couple and their grown child. They’re elderly and the child is intellectually disabled. They wanted to (1) be sure to be able to care for him since only some type of institutional placement would be possible after their deaths, and (2) eliminate his physical pain. There’s nothing to be done regarding his intellectual capacity, but his condition was painful pretty much 24/7. They report that they are overjoyed with how this has worked out for them. None of the 27 are unhappy with the decision they made but several are hoping for more programs. Papa Joe says there are LOTS of programmers working on development.

March 10 All of the favorites won in the play in round so we face 16-12, 9-9 Wake Forest in the quarters. They are the only team to beat us since December 21, but they did it convincingly, by 14. Our shots wouldn’t drop that night, and Jon fouled out in 15 minutes. If we can fix both of those things we should be fine. 81-44. 6, 19, 4, 5, 4 for Jon. We had 8 guys score between 6 and 17. 13 TOs, 47 RBs. It’s Miami, #4 seed, 21-9, 11-7 in the semis. Beat them by 21 here last time. Top 4 seeds all advanced. March 11 75-50. 28, 6, 6, 1, 3 for Ad, 14 for Ted Bayn. #2 seed, #22 ranked Louisville, 21-8, 13-5, for the title. Beat them by 3 and 13 in the regular season. March 12 96-75. 26, 5, 8 for Ad, 17, 10, 3, 2, 1 for Jon, 21 for Lou, 7, 11 for Jed, 9, 7, 6, 3 for Phil, 10, 3 for Ed Jeps. Will we be the #1 overall seed? We are. March 16 17-14 New Orleans is first up. 67-46. Great D. We didn’t shoot well but 10 TOs, 47 RBs. 17, 9, 4 for Phil, 14 each for Ad and Jon, 8, 11, 3 for Jed, 10 for Ted Bayn. #9 seed Stanford, 20-12 in the round of 32. March 18 79-55. 15 TOs, which I didn’t like, but 40 RBs, double doubles for both Ad and Jon, and good play all around. #4 seed, #2 ranked, #6 RPI (in the Sweet Sixteen???) Bradley, 30-3. March 23 73-62. Another team effort. 11 TOs, 38 RBs. 7 guys played, 7 guys played well. #2, 3, 4, 5 ranked teams are all out. 3 top 10 teams made it to the round of 8. It’s #11 ranked, #3 seed, UCLA, 24-8 next. We beat them by 8 in November but that’s a LONG time ago. They can play. SF is excellent, a 1st team All American. They are also very good at 2 and 5. March 25 96-82. It was a real shoot out! 23, 7, 8, 2 for Ad, 16 each for Jon, Phil, and Lou. 16 TOs (-5), +7 RBs. We’re playing well, obviously, but not at our very best. Hopefully that will change in the Final Four. We’ll play #7 Kentucky, and it’s #23 Kansas vs. Unranked Syracuse on the other side. #7 KY is 26-9, 12-4. They finished 3rd in conf., but won the tourney. They’ve won 9 straight. We beat them by 20 in November. Their guards kind of beat us up but we got 51 RBS, completely dominated inside. Ad and Lou have come a long way since Nov. Of course their guys probably have, too. April 1 72-83. We were outplayed. Their SG got 37. Their guards, including subs, got 52, ours, including subs, got 14. Case closed. I was really disappointed in Ad and Lou. Ad got in foul trouble early and had to be careful all night; played only 24 min. Lou was just off. Good games for Jon, 21, 14, 3, 2, and Jed, 18, 5. I know you can’t win it all every year, but we’re better than this. April 4 A #8 seed, unranked, won the national title. Congratulations to Syracuse! Awards: Ad Clay got national Freshman of the Year and 1st team; I got COY. In conf., Ad got POY, freshman OY, Jon got Defensive POY,. They both made 1st team. Lou Best made 2nd team. April 9 We decided, that is to say Mai, Papa Joe and I, that we will move the first time a school at a high elevation comes open- Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, who knows, but probably one of those states. Didn’t happen this year. April 16 We finally had time for lots of long discussions. My biggest question was about failure. How many people had failed to have their consciousness transferred, and/or how many had been harmed in any way by the process. The answer was zero and zero. This is all top secret, of course. Papa Joe and his partners and their families, as well as the partners and families of the people working on the project, will all have the option- 844 in all. In point of fact, 99% of them have already been through it. Others have been invited, more will be. Mai and I gathered the kids together. Lili and Lou already knew about all of this, of course, but Ling didn’t. She decided that yes, she wanted to do it. All 5 of us will undergo the procedure this week. Papa Joe says that 3 people are ready to complete the transfer, including his brother. This will provide lots of answers. “Their physical body will die, of course. They will transfer into a body that is at their present age but they will feel no discomfort, will suffer no disability, as far as we can tell. We will know a great deal within days, and far more in the coming weeks and months.” April 21 Done! We were sedated during the procedure. All of us awoke feeling no different at all. April 23 I ask for recruiting dollars. We get $25,000. April 29 We end up 33-5, but we did not reach our goal. 31 seasons as a head coach. My record is 838-227, .787. Reputation: 97.

February 5 79-76 at #20 Louisville. We were down 16 early in the 2nd half. We switched to man and started doubling their PG, who was killing us ((38, 5, 4). From then on we held him to 8, and we chipped away. Jon May had a great game, 215, 14, 15, 9, 7 for Ad, 13 each for Lou and Jed. 9 TOs, 41 RBs, and we scored 9 of the last 13 points. Then we went to Wake Forest and got clobbered, 49-63. It was one of those nights when the shots wouldn’t fall. 3-22 for Ad, 3-15 for Phil, 29.7%, 8-40 on threes. The D was fine, we only had 11 TOs. But you need to hit the shots. 5 left to play, 4 of them at home, and we’re up 2 on Louisville and Miami, 3 on NC ST, 4 or more on the rest. Only one this week, 14-7, 6-6 Clemson, here. February 12 83-55. 6 in double figures, 12 TOs, 43 RBs. Jed Tuck strained a calf. Out about 2 weeks, but he may only miss one game the way the schedule is set up. Another 1 game week. 2nd place Miami, 19-6, 10-4 is here. Also tied for 2nd are Louisville and NC ST, all 3 back with 4 to play. We’re 21-4, 13-1, #1, RPI #2. “Mai, has your father spoken with you about the plan involving space travel?” “He has.” “And?” (Pauses) “My work is here. I do not think he could provide the equipment, the facilities I need on this floating space city of his.” “So you will stay?” “I will go or stay depending upon what you do, Blade.” “Oh no, I don’t want sole responsibility for this decision. We need to decide together. Of course this will not happen right away, and we need to know for certain about lab facilities for you, and perhaps even your team.” “Very complicated business.” “Is he right about all of the climate stuff?” “That is not my field, but from what I have read and learned, yes, I believe he is.” “We have much to think and talk about.” “Yes Blade, we do.” February 19 71-50 over Miami. We never trailed. 18, 8, 8, 2, 3 for Ad, 17, 4 for Phil. 9 TOs, 34 RBs. Jed Tuck will be back for our next game. And the last week of the regular season is another 3 game week. At 9-15, 5-10 FL ST. Then home with 16-9, 9-7 Pitt, and then 2nd place Louisville, 19-7, 13-4. They’re ranked #22. We won by only 3 last time. February 26 Three game weeks wear everyone out. Fortunately we have a long break before the post season starts. 85-58 at FL ST to start, which officially clinched the regular season title. 24, 19, 2, 2, 4 for Jon May, 19, 11, 12 for Ad, his first ever triple double. 20 for Lou. 12 TOs, 45 RBs. 87-52 over Pitt here. 25, 6, 9 for Ad before he banged up his wrist. He’ll be out about a week. 21, 4, 3 for Lou. 10 TOs, 45 RBs. We ended the week beating #22 Louisville here, 66-53. Bayn and Best played quite a bit at PG, but Ad played some as well, enough to score 12. 12, 14 for Jon, 16, 3, 2 for Lou, 15, 7, 2, 2 for Phil. 10 TOs, 47 RBs. We won the conf. by 4 games over Louisville, 5 or more over the rest. Our record: 25-4, 17-1. PPG margin: +16.3. TOs: +4.9. RBs: +6.0. Ad is #1 in the country in assists, Jon #2 in RBs. In conf. we dominate individual stats. As a team we are #1 in the country in RBs, assists and Blocks, #4 in scoring. In conf. #1 in all of those. Ranked #1, RPI #2 to Alabama, who are ranked #5. March 5 We are losing Ad Clay and Jon May to the NBA draft. Not at all surprising. Ad is #4 on the Norton list. Mai and I have been talking. The bottom line is that whatever we do we will do together, and we will have an equal voice in making the decision. Papa Joe says everything is still in progress. He and I also talked about the “transferring one’s consciousness to a microchip” project. “It is ready, Alvin. As a matter of fact 500 people have already completed the preliminary step, which essentially leaves them one short step from transferring everything. Much of their mentality, their thoughts, their memories, a great deal about the mind that we do not understand, has been transferred, and now lives both in their own minds and on a chip.” “And you are one of them?” “I am. And I encourage you, Mai, and all of our children to do the same. This is not binding; it forces you to do nothing. It does not harm you in any way. The final step can be completed in less than a minute. If something happens that leaves you in a near death, or an imminent death position, the final step is ready to be taken. Alas, when one is already dead it is too late. Please do this, and give permission for your children to do it. Sing and my little ones, and my son Dani and his family have all done it. My other son, Jin, is not interested, but he has been away from the family for many years and makes little effort to reach out.” “Mai and I will discuss this.” “I believe that soon at least one person will transition completely. My brother has emphysema, as you know, and it has reached the point where his life is not really worth living.” "Will he suffer from emphysema after he transitions?" "We do not believe so. We know that since the existence is virtual there is no need to eat, or to do any of the other things needed to stay alive in this world." "But eating is a pleasure." "We believe that the experience of eating and drinking will seem to be exactly what it is here, but that since both you and the food and drink are virtual, it will not actually occur. there will be no digestive process or elimination of wastes." “I'm dizzy from all of this. But we can never know if the transfer is completely successful.” “Well, it almost becomes metaphysical. We can actually communicate with a person who makes the transfer via electronic communication. Whether they will be 100% sure that they have actually transferred or whether this ‘new reality’ is completely new? Who knows. But they will be able to tell us what they believe has happened.” “Interesting. What about two people who have transferred. Will they be able to communicate?” “Alvin, they can occupy the same chip. The chip can house any number of people’s consciousness. We believe they will have the TUG chamber experience, essentially, and will feel that they are in their own bodies. They will be able to interact in every way, including physically. Also, a person can be added to the chip at a later time as long as all involved parties agree.” "What about maintenance?" "Virtually none. The chip will last essentially forever. The power source is a radioactive element that renews itself- no danger of getting cancer since you are virtual and not real." “Is there an ‘owner’s manual?’ Something tells everything involved?” “Almost. I expect it to be completed within a month. I am not certain that we can know everything until a large number of people have transferred, and have related their experiences over a long period of time. The first generation will be pioneers.” “And will be at the age that you have reached when the transfer takes place?” “Yes, but that is another long story, and it is related to another ongoing bit of research. I- well, along with some others, have people working on reversing the effects of aging.” “Man!” “All of the work I have going on is quite expensive. I am joined by several extremely wealthy people in financing all of this. There are about 25 of us. One of those trips I take every month is to a conference among us. We meet regularly, electronically but we find that an occasional face to face meeting is beneficial.” “Stem cells?” “And other things, yes.” I may never sleep again!

January 8 76-57 at BC. -11 RBs, but +19 TOs. 8 guys played well. 73-51 over Nome here. 35, 3, 8, 3, 3 for Ad. 9 TOs (+10), 29 RBs (-4). This week at 10-6, 2-3 Ga Tech, home to #24 Syracuse, 11-5, 3-2. We’re 4-0. The only other undefeated team, Pitt, is 3-0. 3 teams with 1 loss, 4 with 2. “So, Papa Joe, why space flight?” “If you think about it for a bit I think you will know.” “No, tell me. I mean the possibility of reaching a habitable planet is all but zero, even if you mastered faster than light travel. At least it seems that way to me.” (Takes a breath, pauses) “Alvin, it is finished here. I mean on this planet. Your final coaching destination should be Denver, or perhaps Vermont- somewhere very high in altitude.” “Come on, Papa Joe, it’s not that bad.” “Alvin, it is worse than any public reports I have seen. In your lifetime, perhaps in mine, much of this planet will not be habitable. Remember, I have inside sources regarding everything important to me.” “So-” “So I want my children and my grandchildren to have a chance to live a good life. Here they will die young or have to live a life in total isolation, guarded by a private army to keep starving, drowning people away- IF they can successfully accomplish that.” “Pretty grim scenario.” “And it will happen in this decade.” “I need to go, Alvin. We will discuss all of this more at a later time.” I didn’t sleep for two nights following that conversation. I look forward to, and dread, the next installment. January 15 83-60 at Ga. Tech. 24, 10, 2 for SF Phil Kirk. 25, 6, 3 for Ad, good games by the others. 8 TOs, 42 RBs. 87-65 over #24 Syracuse here. 14, 25 (!), 1, 2, 3 for Jon May, 17, 6 for Jed, 16 each for Ad and Lou. 5 TOs, 46 RBs. At 4-10, 1-4 Va. Tech. Home to 10-7, 3-3 Duke. At Pitt., 11-6, 4-4. Not a fan of 3 game weeks. We’re alone at the top of the conf. 2 teams with 1 loss, 2 teams with 2 losses. 14-3, 6-0. January 22 We seem to have found ourselves. 84-56 at Va. Tech. 13 and 13 for Jon, 17 each for Lou and Phil, 15 each for Ed Jeps. +5 TOs, +14 RBs. 70-52 over Duke at our place. 27, 3, 3 for Ad, 10, 16, 4, 3, 3 for Jon. 7 TOs, 39 RBs. We closed this busy week with a 74-63 win over Pitt, there. 25, 4, 4 for Ad, good play all around. -17 RBs, but +16 TOs. This week we’re 10-7, 6-2 NC ST. They can play. Then home in a rematch with BC, 8-11, 3-6. Only Louisville has one loss, Miami, NC ST with 2, Syracuse with 3. January 29 69-63 at NC ST. It was a battle. +8 TOs was a huge help. 22, 9 for Jon, 13, 8, 8, 5, 2 for Ad. A laugher against BC, 64-32. Scoring was balanced. 8 TOs, 34 RBs. 2 on the road next week. First is 2nd place Louisville,15-5, 9-2. Then 10-10, 4-7 Wake Forest. Ad Clay is #4 on the Norton list, Phil Kirk #25, Lou Best #28. “So just bail out and leave?” “Too late to fix, Alvin.” “Where can you possibly go?” “We are going to build a huge ship, Alvin.” “How will you get it into space?” “We have- well not quite yet but very soon, developed a material that is extremely light and very compact. We have our own ships almost ready to go-” “Papa Joe, no one outside of a few governments has successfully built a ship that can carry any decent payload into space.” “We have solved the problems. Anyway, we will launch many ships to begin with. They will be filled with this new material. It is bullet proof, cannon proof actually, but only 2 millimeters thick. It can be stored in a very compact form and then expanded when it is in space. Using it and the ships that we launched we will build a very, very large structure. Our geneticists have given us a minimum number of people that would be necessary to have a large enough gene pool to populate a new planet. We will send a bit more than double that number, 550, into space.” “What can-” “Listen, Alvin. The ship, or city really, will grow food hydroponically, and will provide fresh water through recycling. There will be exercise facilities. There will be entertainment centers. Well, it would take a very long time to describe this city in full. Let me just say that living on the city will provide a good life for those going.” “Who-” “Our children will go. Some of their friends will go. They have already begun recruiting others to go. All of the passengers will have needed skills. All will be willing to spend their entire lives in this city since it may not reach its destination for many years. We are allowing these young people to survive and to have a future for themselves and for their own children. I do not know whether everyone who stays here will die, but life will not be worth living for those who survive.” “And you? And Sing?” “Ah. A very good question. Excuse me, I need to take this call.” And off he went. I guess I’ll need to hear more later. I don’t think I’ll be sleeping very well for a while.

November 13 It’s rare to begin with a one game week but that’s what we’re doing. #9 LSU is here. November 20 We may have a future with this team. We just beat the #9 team in the country 99-72. 20, 7, 8, 1, 3 for Ad Clay who seems to be the real thing. 24, 11, 2 for C Jon May, 13, 4, 2 for Phil Kirk at SF, 12, 5, 5 for Lou Best at SG, 8, 5, 1 for Jed Tuck at PF. Oh 12, 5, 2 for Ted Bayn and 10, 2, 3, 3 for Ed Jeps from the bench. 11 TOs, 41 RBs. This week we’re at 0-1 Stanford, and we host #15 Kentucky. All 4 recruits signed. November 27 The road is tough, 70-82 at Stanford. The difference was foul shooting, they shot 29-37, we shot 19-34. There is no excuse for shooting 55.9% from the line. The refs called way too many fouls but they called them about evenly. Lou Best fouled out, but their PG fouled out. We were -8 on the boards which was the other major factor. 19, 2, 3 for Clay, 9 and 12 for Tuck. Then we came home and beat #15 KY 80-60. 21, 13 for Kirk, 16, 9, 3 for Clay. 11 TOs, 40 RBs, good bench play. #5 UCLA here in another one game week. Papa Joe says the money is rolling in at an unbelievable rate with “The Ultimate Game.” “We have about 5 million units worldwide. They are used, on average 22 hours per day, 6 days per week. That number takes into account places where any sort of “Sabbath” makes them close for a day. So that is 110 million dollars a day that comes to us. Our costs amount to just under 25%, including what we pay our programmers, which is a great deal. So your children and I are sharing about 81.5 million dollars a day in profit. That’s about 30 billion a year. 99% goes to charity but that still leaves us with 300 million to share 6 ways. Lou did a lot of the work on this, and Lili as well, but they insisted on it being 6 equal partners, the 5 children and me.” “Charity meaning “FtH?” “Only 3 billion. The other 26.7 billion, or whatever goes to a variety of other projects, many of them things I told you that you do not know about.” “Like longevity research and space travel.” (Laughs) “Among others.” “What about taxes?” “We set up as a nonprofit and we qualify in every way, so the 99% is not taxed. The income that the children and I receive is taxed, but we use every possible tax law benefit, here and abroad. I think we pay about 27%.” I can only shake my head in amazement. December 4 80-72 over #5 UCLA. 5 guys in double figures, Jeff Ledd had 9, and Bayn had 9 assists. 12 RBs for Jed Tuck. 9 TOs, 42 RBs. I have to say that so far D has not been our strong point. We’re giving up 71.5 per. But we’re scoring like mad, 82.3. Arizona, 3-2, at home then off to the Shootout. 1st opponent there is Baylor. We’re the #1 seed. December 11 A lot to report on. We beat Arizona at home, 79-54. Held them to 31.9%. 30, 5, 10, 2, 3 for Ad. 18, 4, 3 for Lou Best, 11, 9, 3 for Jon May at C. 9 TOs, 42 RBs. Then it was off to the Sunshine Shootout. 64-38 over Baylor to start. 15, 8, 1, 4 for Jon, 15, 5, 5, 2 for Ad, 13, 4 for Ed Jeps, 14, 5, 2, 2 for Phil Kirk. 9 TOs, 31 RBs. Held Baylor to 26.7%. Beat Nebraska 61-47 in the semis. 18, 9 for Jon before he fouled out, 10, 11 for Jed Tuck, 11, 5, 7 for Ad, 11, 5, 2 for Lou. 10 TOs, 39 RBs, held them to 26.2%. 73-56 over #15 Arkansas for the title. 22, 11, 4, 3 for Ad, 12, 12, 2 for Jon, 16, 2, 34 for Phil, 8, 11, 2 for Jed. 11 TOs, 46 RBs. We’re off to 3-7 Michigan, but a couple of days to catch our breath. December 18 66-74. I guess I’m going to blame fatigue for this one, at least somewhat. We just didn’t play good D. They shot 53.1%, 9-18 on threes. Tired legs don’t get out on the shooter. In retrospect, I should have used more bench, and used it earlier. 18, 5, 7 for Ad, 14, 6 for Jon. Another one game week coming up, and 7 days between games. We’re at #23 Penn. December 25 74-75. A very frustrating loss. We blew a 12 point lead. The refs wouldn’t let us play inside, 5 fouls on Kirk, 4 each on Tuck and May. Most of those in the 2nd half when the lead evaporated. I got T’d up with about 8 minutes to play. Yes, I know, that was the difference in the final score, but I had to do it. The whistles seemed to blow a little more the other way after that. We’re 7-3. Next week it’s Virginia in conference and then “9 Maryland out of conference, both at home, thankfully. We haven’t played at home since 12/7. But the 3 game week ends at Syracuse. January 1, 2022 A three win week! 76-38 over VA here. 21, 3, 7 for Ad while holding his opposite number to 0, 1, 0. 18, 4, 7 for Phil. 13 TOs, 35 RBs. 89-72 over #9 Maryland, also here. 26, 5, 5 for Lou, 12, 15 for jon, the other starters all in double digits. 12 TOs, 31 RBs. 70-63 at Syracuse. 21, 17 for Jon, 12, 11 for Jed, 14, 5, 6, 2, 2 for Ad. 18 TOs, which did not make me happy, but 49 RBs. We’re back at 1st in the polls. This week we’re at 6-6, 1-1 Boston College, hosting 2-10, 0-3 Nome.

June 12 Preseason #1. No one worth chasing in the transfer pool. June 26 4 scholarships. I’ll either go 2 and 2, or 3 bigs. Looking at 14 recruits. August 7 Three on the Norton list: PG Ad Clay #3, SG Lou Best #14, SG Phil Kirk #26. Everyone is, as always, busy around here. Sing has decided she needs an interest of her own. Her kids are 8 and 10, and both very involved with their own pursuits. They still need her, as does Mai Li, but not as much. Sing is deciding between yoga and weaving. “TUG” is now pretty much everywhere where a facility is available to house it. New scenarios are being created at about the rate of one a month, and they get put into the system as soon as they are ready. Our technicians still do some installing of the whole system but they do far more installing of new scenarios, trouble shooting, and repair work. There are very, very few breakdowns though. “FtH” is also spread to as many places as it can go. A new ancillary program is teaching skills to those interested. Papa Joe wants a worldwide full employment economy, and he is working toward that both through FtH and through other avenues. Lili is still his #1 sidekick but she is busy with her veterinary studies. Lou has two interests in life, Math and TUG. Mai continues to be a worldwide leader in her field. The other day I overheard the word “space” in a conversation between Papa Joe and Lili. I wasn’t eavesdropping, just walked into the room. They stopped talking. It felt uncomfortable so I got what I needed and left. August 21 Offered to an SG, an SF, a PF, and a C . September 18 Got the SG, the PF, and the C. Lost the #1 prospect in the country. We’ll go for a big guy. We offer to another C. We’re in the Sunshine Shootout. All ranked teams in preconf. September 25 Got the Center. So an SG, a PF, 2 Cs. All 4 have a GPA of 3.6. Overheard, “But, Lou, if you could get around the light barrier-” “Lili, I told you, we think we’ve got that figured out.” “Children!” That was Papa Joe as he saw me. “Guys, if you want to keep secrets, I’m okay with that, but I do plan to continue to walk freely about the house.” Sounds like something big- space, light barrier. Now what! October 2 First practice. We’re better than we were last year. I’ve got 8 guys who can PLAY. November 6 We’ve got all newcomers starting. Our guards are rookies, #1 recruit Ad Clay, #5 Lou Best. SF is Junior Phil Kirk, another newcomer. He transferred from Cal, and has looked really good in practice. Inside it’s another freshman, #4 in his class, Jon May, and Juco Jed Tuck. I know it’s a gamble but these guys played their way to where they are. We feel we have three excellent players on the bench. Ed Jeps is the only senior on the team. He has started 63 games here and if a big guy doesn’t get it done, Ed will start again. Then sophomore Jeff Ledd, who started 20 games last year at SF. Finally it’s another Juco, PG Ted Bayn. After the top 8 it’s a bit sketchy, but it’s difficult to play more than 8 guys. We feel like we’re ready to get this season started!

March 10 #9 seed Pitt, 17-12, 10-8, won the play in so we face them. We won by 18, here, last week. 75-54. 20, 9, 6, 2, 1 for Rob. 14, 6 for Marv. 7 TOs. #4 seed NC ST is next. They beat us by 8 in the regular season. We shot 35% and had lots of foul trouble that night. All upsets on the other side, #6 seed GA Tech vs. #10 Wake Forest. March 11 73-55. The score was almost identical to the previous game. 19 for Rob, 16, 3 for Marv, 11, 7, 6 for Rick Long. 8 TOs. It’s #6 seed GA Tech for the title. We beat them by 11 both times. March 12 100-70. 57 in the 1st half. It was pretty much over at halftime. 26 each for Burt and Long, 4 others in double figures. 7 TOs. Did we do enough to get a #1 seed? I think so. We’ll find out soon. Here we go… Not in the East (Oregon is #1). Not in the Midwest. #1 in the South. We play 16-14 Towson first. March 17 68-43. Great D. 42-23 at the half. 26, 5, 3, 2 for Rob, 18, 3 for Rick. 2 TOs- for the TEAM! Next up is Providence, #8 seed, 22-8. March 19 85-64. 26 for Rob, for the 2nd straight game. 18, 14 for Ed Jeps. 14 TOs, but 40 RBs. It’s #22 Maryland, 24-8, in the Sweet Sixteen. We beat them by 10 in December. That’s a LONG time ago. March 24 73-72. Whew! We were down 69-58 and went 15-3 from then on. 25 for Rob, Mr. Consistent so far. 15 TOs, but they had 16, +6 on the boards. We let them shoot 50%, but we survived! UMass has strung together 3 straight upsets. They’re the #11 seed, 24-9, #49 RPI, and they’re our Elite Eight opponent. Lots of upsets in all 4 brackets. March 26 76-58. They doubled Rob so we beat them with our other guys. 20, 6 for Marv Ward, 17, 6 for Rick Long, 11, 6, 2 for John Young, 9, 11, 6 for Jeff Ledd, 7, 8, 1, 2 for Ed Jeps. And we’re in the Final Four! For the 3rd time in the last 4 games we play a New England opponent. This time it’s #10 ranked, #3 seed, 28-6 UConn. Won their last 4, 9-10. They are very good outside but not all that strong inside. On the other side it’s #2 ranked Oregon vs. #3 ranked Penn. April 1 80-73. Close for 24 minutes or so and then we took off. We only won by 7, but it wasn;t that close. 23, 6, 4, 3, 2 for Rob, 17, 11, 4, 2, 1 for John, 12, 6, 3 for Jeff Ledd. 14 TOs (-5) but 42 RBs (+11). And we got the matchup we expected. Return game with #2 ranked Oregon, 36-2. They beat us by 7 in the Coaches Classic. I know we’re a lot better than we were then. Are they? We had 18 TOs but Jeff Ledd was still at PG. We gave up 16 threes and we certainly can’t do that again. On paper they’re the better team but I’m not convinced that they’re a lot better. I think if we play good D, especially outside, take care of the ball, and shoot it for a decent percentage, we’ll be okay. Bring it! April 3 71-56 and the title! 20, 4, 3, 2 for Rob, 11, 8, 5 for Jeff led, 7, 15, 3 for John Young, 12, 2, 2 for Rick, 10, 6, 3 for Ed Jeps, 9, 4 for Marv. We jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. We were up 13 at the half and we essentially traded baskets in the 2nd half, never let them get closer than 7, twice. Both times Rob hit threes. 6 TOs, 39 RBs. I don’t think any other coach has ever won back to back titles at 2 different schools. Title #6 at 4 different schools. April 4 Awards: Rob Burt was NCAA tournament MOP and 1st team All American. In conf., Rob was POY, John Young was Freshman OY. The two of them plus Marv Ward and john Young made 1st team. I got the coach award. April 23 I ask for a facilities upgrade. Got it! We went from A- to A. 32-6 and the national title. 30 years as a head coach and my record is 805-222, .784. I think we’ll stay here for a while and see how many titles we can get. April 25 TUG is a tremendous hit. There are, and have to be, all kinds of safety features built in, and no deaths or serious injuries have happened yet. I asked Papa Joe tonight about… longevity, I guess. “With all of the projects and things, how come nothing to extend the human life span.” “Alvin, you don’t know everything I’m involved in, probably not even half. Human virtual immortality is attainable. It could be done and it probably will be done. But it is a very bad idea. The planet would be filled and heavily overfilled with people who could live for centuries. It would be hell. If we found habitable planets, and found a way to get to them, that would only delay the overpopulation problem. Bad idea. BUT… we think there is another way.” “What on earth-” “We are very close to being able to house a person’s mind- not brain but mind, consciousness, whatever, essence perhaps, into a mini-computer type device. It could be solar powered, or solar/wind/water powered- whatever. And the person could then truly live forever, or practically so, in something like our TUG chambers.” “How-” “We have not completely figured it out and we are not yet certain whether the consciousness would transfer. In other words, using me for an example, would I be the same person in a different form? Would I truly and completely transfer and continue my life in this new way, or would this simply be a computer program that was not me at all. We expect an answer within a year, or at most two. I am in good health, but I will soon be 72 years old. If the answer is to come for me, it needs to come fairly soon. I was raised Buddhist, as most people in my country are, but I do not believe in reincarnation, or in any kind of afterlife. I do not really fear death, but if given the chance I would go on living if living was worthwhile. We will see in time, I think- I hope!” This man has levels on top of levels on top of levels.

February 5 Two routs this week. 95-69 vs. Louisville. 17, 10, 5, 2 for Rick 20, 6, 1 for Rob, 19, 9, 3 for Marv, and 3 others in doubles. 10 TOs, 38 RBs. Went to BC and won 77-45. 26, 9 for Rob, 18, 11 for John. 10 TOs, 41 RBs. At 14-7, 7-5 NC ST, and 5-16, 2-10 Nome this week. 2 game lead in conf., with 6 to play. February 12 Upset at NC ST, 59-67. Poor shooting, especially long range and at the line did us in. D wasn’t bad, 14 TOs, but they had 17, even on the boards. 22, 6 for Rob, but he was 7-21. Then back on track at the Fighting Icyballs of Nome, 76-49. All 5 starters in double figures, only 7 TOs. This week it’s the #2 and #3 teams in the conf., #21 Duke, 16-8, 10-4, and then GA Tech, 15-8, 9-5, both here. We beat Duke 82-78, and GA Tech 84-73 at their places. We’re 20-5, 12-2, 2 up with 4 to play. Ranked #4, RPI #2. Rob is #4 on Norton and Rick Long #14. Papa Joe can’t train installers for “The Ultimate Game” quickly enough. The demand is astronomical. They started taking pre-orders this week and the numbers are not to be believed. Fortunately, they’ve worked out a system for installing the wall padding that takes only minutes. The main controller, which is located outside the “chamber,” is a quick install, and testing is not a lengthy process either. Papa Joe says complete installation, from getting out of the truck to getting back in it should be less than an hour. It’s a two person job. It’s been a great advertising campaign, and the website shows Lili, Lou, the little guys, Mai, Sing, me and Papa Joe in the “chambers” is what they’re calling them, involved in various scenarios. We’re showing enough to let people see how fascinating this experience is. Inquiries about porn related scenes are also coming in like an avalanche. Papa Joe isn’t interested in going there except, “I wonder about some things, Alvin. First, there are a great many lonely people. This could provide something for them. Then there are the predators and other deviants. Would having the opportunity to do what they do in a virtual environment protect their potential real world victims? I don’t know. I am consulting with psychiatrists, psychologists, law enforcement people and others. The idea is distasteful to me but I cannot simply reject it.” The U. S. has finally started moving away from the extreme right. If Papa Joe decides to go for it, it will probably fly in the “blue” states. Of course a lot of the business will be people living in red states traveling for the experience. Porn sales stats over the past few decades support that claim. February 19 95-77 over #21 Duke. 26, 2, 3, 3 for Marv Ward, 22, 6, 4, 2 for Rick, big numbers for the rest. 10 TOs, +3 RBs. 71-60 over GA Tech. This was a battle for 32 minutes. Then we went on a 22-5 run to go from down 6 to up 11. 25, 7, 6, 2 for Rick. 6 TOs. 3 up on Duke, 4 or more on the rest with 2 to play. Final week of the regular season. We go to 6-19, 4-12 VA Tech, who we beat 78-56, and then we host Pitt, 15-11, 9-7. We haven’t played them. Rob Burt is 2nd in the nation in scoring. Papa Joe says 200,000 units of “The Ultimate Game” will be delivered and installed beginning on March 1. He says he expects all 200,000 to be operational by April 1. He has his crews working 12 hour days, 6 days a week for the month but it’s impossible to get the installations done any quicker. Starting April 1 crews will be doing new installs, repairs, things like that. He will pay them full time, and VERY well, for 30 hour weeks, 3 days x 10 hours a day, half Mon.-Weds., half Thurs.-Sat., and switching days every January 1. 200,000 units at $50,000 per is a nice little chunk of change. The rental fee structure has changed. “TUG” will get $1 per hour of use per unit. That too will bring in a nice bit of profit. Canada is also up and running, the rest of the developed world will be soon. February 26 VA Tech slammed us, 61-79, our biggest margin of defeat all year. We didn’t play D. They shot 56% (!), and 15-30 on threes. We didn’t play a great offensive game, but D did us in. Then we came home and beat Pitt 88-70. D wasn’t particularly impressive in this game either but had 7 guys in double figures. So we end the regular season 23-6, 15-3, 3 up on Duke, 4 or more on the rest, #4, RPI #4. March 5 March 5 is not a happy day for a coach at a top of the line school. This is the day we find out who’s leaving early for the NBA. We lost John Young. Could have been worse. “TUG” is on its way. Early reports are that the public providers are booked 24/7 for months in advance. "Papa Joe, how are you going to deal with hacks, stolen games..." (Laughs) “It can’t happen.” “What?” (Laughs again) “Remember what 4, 5 years ago when the money was stolen from FtH?” “Yes.” “That was done through a hack. I put Lou on it. I told him I wanted him to find a way to make hacks and stealing data, software, and hardware, except for physically lifting it up and carrying it away, impossible. He was too young, 13 I think, to say it could not be done. He and a few friends got to work. They worked for a year and a half. By that time they had made tremendous progress but they needed an true expert. We found one- the absolute best in the field. In less than an additional year they had it. And they also had an alarm system that makes it close to impossible to physically steal anything.” “You could make billions!” “I already have billions. If this goes public the hackers will find a way around it. If it remains secret it can work forever.” “You never cease to amaze me.” Papa Joe laughed again.

January 8 The road is tough, 1-1 this week. We scored 83 points in both games. In the 1st it wasn’t enough, 78-83 at Louisville. 15 TOs and giving up 15 threes did us in. 25, 5 for Rob, 16, 8 for Ed Jeps, 10 and 7 for both Young and Ledd. Jeff had 6 TOs so he is still hurting us there. A win, 83-61, at Virginia. +8 TOs, +4 RBs. 31, 1, 5, 5 for Rob, 23, 4, 3 for Marv Ward, 13, 11 for Young. This week we’re home, with 9-4, 3-1 Miami. It’s a one game week. “The Ultimate Game” is addicting- VERY! Before allowing us to field test, Papa Joe used robots, 24/7 for a month. We have two units here and one of, including Mai and Sing, is in there all the time. We all need to set a trimer to limit ourselves or we’d never leave. I have used the basketball coaching scenario a few times and it feels as real as does my day job. I’ve also done a mountain climbing scenario which is fantastic. Other family members have done a wide variety of scenarios and they love all of them. We are all making suggestions for tweaks as well, of course. January 15 Crushed the orange, 87-53 over Miami. 30, 3, 2 for Rob, 22, 5, 2 for Rick Long, 13, 9, 7 for Jeff, 10, 6 for Ed. 9 TOs, +10 RBs. This week #15 Syracuse, 12-6, 2-4, is here. Then 10-6, 4-3 Wake Forest comes to town. Then we travel to #23, 11-5, 5-1 Duke (Why 3 games in one week?). We’re 13-4, 5-1, in 2nd, one back of GA Tech. The advertising campaign for “The Ultimate Game” started yesterday. There will be teasers, giving more and more away until the end of February. Orders will be taken starting March 1, and installations will begin shortly after that. It’s a very clever advertising campaign. January 22 Two home wins, neither close, then a very close win at Duke. 89-73 over Syracuse. 5 guys in double figures including 30 for Rob. 10 TOs. 84-65 over Wake Forest. 25, 4 for Long, 17, 8, 6 for Jeff Ledd, 18, 2, 3 for Rob, 9, 12, 2 for John, and 9, 7, 2, 2 for Ed. 5 TOs. Duke gave us a run, 82-78. 13 lead changes, 7 ties. We went on a 12-2 run late, and that sealed it. 37, 5 for Rob, 14, 13, 2 for John Young, 14, 7 for Ed, 12, 7, 2 for Rick. We’re in 1st, a ½ game up on GA Tech (They’ve played 1 game less). Only one game this week but it’s a big one. At 13-4, 7-1 GA Tech. They’re a good team, strong at every position and deep. They aren’t ranked, probably because their RPI is 36. January 29 84-73. Great win. 35 for Rob who is on fire lately. 21, 6, 3 for Rick. 6, 6, 10 for Jeff Ledd, 10, 7, 2 for Marv. 5 TOs! We’re #3, RPI #1. Rob Burt is #3 on the Norton list, Rick Long #15, Marv Ward #29. This week 7-12, 5-5 Louisville is in town. They beat us by 4 there and they’re playing well. Then we go to Boston College, 4-14, 3-6. Responses to “The Ultimate Game” advertising are all but breaking the server. People want in, and want to pre-order. Companies in huge numbers are seeing this as a gold mine and individuals in gigantic numbers are asking where they can play. Another winner here. Lili and Lou are starting the 2nd semester and they both did really well last semester. They’re enjoying school and making friends, which makes Mai and me happy. They were both too isolated.

November 13 We start as the #1 seed at the Coaches Classic. We face #16 seed Princeton to start. 76-66. I’d have to say that #9 on the Norton list SG Rob Burt impressed me tonight. 42, 5, 1, 2. 11, 7, 5 for Rick Long at 3, and 11 for Marv Ward at PF. 12 TOs, but 7 were by our PG Jeff Ledd. #8 seed, #6 ranked (makes no sense) Michigan ST is next. Their SG is their best player so that match up should be interesting. November 15 94-79. 27, 5, 2, 2, 1 for SG Rob Burt. 20 and 7 for C John Young, 17, 6, 2 for Ward, 12, 6, 5, 2 for Long 13, 6, 2 for Ed Jeps from the bench. PG Jeff Ledd had 3, 6, 8, 3 but 7 TOs again. The team had 16. Playing an SF at the Point is going to hurt us. +9 RBs. It’s my old team Oregon, #5 seed, #2 ranked (and again, it makes no sense), in the semifinal. It’s too early in the season to face a team that’s this good. We aren’t really a unit yet. November 17 67-74. We played well, all in all. 23 for Rob, 14, 3, 3, for Marv, 6, 7 for Ed Jeps. Jeff Ledd had 13, 14, 7 but 8 TOs. We’re rethinking the PG position. Jeff need to be in the lineup but maybe not at the Point. We’re going to try Ledd at SF and some at SG, Long and Burt sharing the PG minutes and Burt playing SG at times, Long SG and SF. Lili and Lou are in school. Heavy security. So far so good. The little ones are all home schooled. Papa Joe has hired a data entry person to work with him at the computer when the kids are away. Lili says he can do most of it but he doesn’t want to wait for her and/or Lou to get home. If he wants to do something he wants to do it now. Still nothing but secrecy regarding the new project, but Ling is suddenly a partner, and Khee seems to be at least somewhat involved. November 20 All 6 recruits signed. (Went to "Hard" for recruiting, which I should have done earlier) At #17 Penn, and then at Creighton this week. November 27 A 1-1 week. 74-86 at #17 Penn. TOs were great with the new guys at the Point, 9, but two guys in major foul trouble throughout, which was a big factor. Rob Burt fouled out late and had 24, 4, 4 on the way. Jeff Ledd played only 13 minutes before fouling out. We need to make something work for him; he has a lot of talent. He’s a freshman so it may be that he just needs some time. Then we beat Creighton there, 91-88. This one was all offense. 5 guys in double figures and Jeff had 7, 7, 5. 21 each for Burt and Young. 11 TOs, +5 on the boards. This was a hard fought game but we were never in any great danger of losing. They got 3 threes in the last minute to make it close. Next up, at Bradley then we host Maryland. Increased activity with the new project. Khee and Ling are definitely in. Mai Li has shown no interest. I’m getting curious. I am told that two consultants are being worked with on line and that the two are a very large, important part of the project. December 4 Another 1-1 week. 69-71 at Bradley. SO close! 21 lead changes, 12 ties in the game. 22, 4 for Rob, 13 each for Long and Jeps, 5 and 13 for John Young. 6 TOs, 41 RBs, but we gave up 14 threes and that did us in. The last was with less than 2 seconds left. The other factor was shooting 18-33 from the line. 80-70 over Maryland at home. 23, 4 for Rob. 7 TOs, 37 RBs. We are down to 11.3 TOs a game, +0.8. +5.6 in RBs. This week it’s Temple, there, our only game. I think the team is getting there but it’s a process. December 11 86-71. All 5 starters in double figures, 6 and 5 for Jeps, 6 and 4 for Joe Dole. 19 TOs, our first bad performance in that area since I made the switch at PG. I was treated well at my old school. Of course I did bring them their only national title. We’re 5-3, ranked #12. #17 Minnesota, 6-1, here. Mai really likes her new colleagues, and feels she is doing the best work of her career. “Think about staying here for a while, Blade.” And I will, of course. As I have been thinking it occurs to me that I might try to get a few titles here then move on to build one more middle level team before I retire. I’m 52, this is my 30th year as a head coach. I love coaching as much as ever but 10 more years may be enough. Of course it may NOT be enough. We’ll see. There is an enormous amount of loud, enthusiastic activity at the computer bank in Papa Joe’s office when Lili and Lou are both at home. Whatever is going on certainly has everyone excited. December 18 71-57. 19 for Rob, 14, 11 for Ed Jeps. 11 TOs. We played 9 guys tonight because of foul difficulties. They all performed well, which is good news! At 5-4 Charlotte this week. December 25 68-51. 30, 8, 2 for Rob, 15, 6, 4 for Jeff Ledd. 34 RBs (+3), but 19 TOs (-3). I think we may have begun to jell. We need to take better care of the ball but again, I play one true guard and he’s an SG not a PG. A four game week, which is insane. First two are at home, 2-7 VA Tech, and #9 Indiana, 10-1. Then we begin conf. play at 9-1 Clemson, and finally it’s 4-4 FL ST at home on the 31st. January 1, 2021 A 4 win week and we’re back to #4 in the polls, RPI #2. On the 26th we beat conf. rival VA Tech here. 24, 10, 2 for John Young, 12, 7, 4 for Rob, 12, 11 for our super 6th man Ed Jepps, 14, 2, 2, 3 for our 2nd off the bench Joe Dale. 11 TOs, 37 RBs. Then we beat #9 Indiana here, 69-52. 28, 9, 2 for Rob, 14, 6, 3, 4, 3 for Young. 10 TOs, 37 RBs. We went to Clemson and won 69-63. 14, 10 for Young, 16, 7, 3, 1, 2 for Rob, 13, 3 for Joe Dale. 43 RBs, but too many TOs, 18. Then we came home and beat FL ST 72-59. 28, 7 for Rick Long, 16 for Rob, 12, 5, 2 for Marv Ward at PF. 11 TOs, 38 RBs. Road trip this week. We’re at 2-10, 0-3 Louisville, and then 4-8, 0-3 Virginia. It’s a game! Papa Joe and the kids, and the two on line consultants are working on “The Ultimate Game.” It’s way too complex for me to even begin to go into here but I’ll give a brief overview. It’s virtual reality in a 30’ x 30’ space. It requires wrap around glasses but no helmet. It can be programmed for more than 100 scenarios, and at lots of different difficulty levels. I’ve seen the computer projections. Wow! There are games for just about all ages. Some are more physical, some are more intellectual, but decision making is a huge part of this. $50,000 installs it in that 30 x 30 space, including the padded walls. The company provides and installs the padding. People shouldn’t run into walls but humans is humans, as they say. Only $1000 per month use fee ($100 for individual, non-business customers), which entitles the buyer to all new games and upgrades. Turns out the two on line consultants have more than a two dozen programmers working for them. Field testing begins here this week. They’ve only scratched the surface as far as possible scenarios go. As revenue pours in more and more will be created. It’s available for sale to private homes but the guess is that “The Ultimate Game” businesses will be set up all over the country and soon, all over the world. Papa Joe will set mandated U. S. fees for the businesses at a maximum of $10 per person per hour. And yes, some of the scenarios are for 2, 3 or 4 people. So far no more than 4. “Adults only” scenarios? Not yet. Papa Joe is debating this. Clearly it would be a HUGE market but he isn’t sure he wants to go in that direction since the kids are so involved. Think the holodeck from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and you have an idea of what this is. This is going to be gigantic. Oh, 99% of all profits will go to FtH and its shelter program.