Wayne23
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DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
May 1: Didnât have scholarship ta offer John Hart, our walk on PG, so he left. He got one at Georgetown. I waived the year delay and heâll play this year for âem. I wish him all the best. Lucy is huge but seems well, says sheâs doinâ fine. Doc says another month or maybe five weeks. Onây three scholarships, one possible transfer. We buy National Gold, International Basic. Leaves us with $35,000. May 29: Itâs a girl! Felt myself being shaken at about 2:15 a.m. today. âWe need to go to the hospital, Mack.â Wow! I was typicâly male anâ panicked. Lucy calmed me down. We went. I was going to be in there with her so I got gowned anâ all. They led me in, anâ withinâ like ten minutes, Mandy Lucille Jones had made her appearance. I wasnât even used to the idea that this was happening anâ it happened. âHey beautiful, it ainât sâposed ta be this easy.â âPretty lucky. One big ouch and it was over. Isnât she beautiful!â âShe most definitely is that! I got goose bumps.â âMe too.â We took Mandy home the next day anâ sheâs doinâ a great job a runninâ our lives. Great pair a lungs. Tail is NOT happy with the noise. Looks at Lucy anâ me like we should do something about this. June 5: Lookinâ at transfers. Nothing there. Moving on. June 26: As I said, three ta give. 2 anâ 1, either way. Lookinâ at 20. Never bad ta cast a wide net. June 29: Mandyâs a month old. Strangely she ainât walkinâ or talkinâ yet. Squawkinâ though, definitely squawkinâ! Anâ Tail is less happy all the time. July 29: Man! Two months already. Sheâs reacting to us now, startinâ ta be fun. Looking at 20 still, all top 40 guys anâ evâry one has at least some interest in us. Aug. 7: Stew Buck, SG, is #36 on the Norton list. Jed Lean, PG, is #46. Aug. 21: We offer ta 3 guys, a PG, an SG, a PF. Aug. 29: And at three months Mandy smiles and laughs, lights up when she sees us and is jusâ a joy! Lucy is long since back at work, takinâ Mandy with her a course. I have lunch with them evâry day that I can which is about evâry day. It won't be ev'ry day once the season starts so enjoyin' it while I can. Sept. 11: We visit our three plus one other recruit. Sept. 18: Got all three. #3 Nick Hesk, SG, #5, Brad Marr, PF, #16, Al Fort, PG. All three are very good students who should not have a problem hitting our SAT score. Weâll be at the Sunshine Shootout in Dec. Tougher sched. than last year. Sept. 29: Mandy hits four months. Doing more evâry day. Anâ more fun evâry day. Oct. 2: First day a practice. We look real strong. Picked 2nd in conf., just behind KY, #15 in the nation. Oct. 29: Mandy is âtalkingâ. Making all kinds of gibberish sounds as if she was telling us things. Funny as h*ll. Nov. 7: Exhibition games. Big problem. I have ten guys who should start. Distributing minutes is going to be impossible. Weâre pondering. Well, we came up with a lineup. More sub minutes than usual and I wish there were room for still more. Two Norton candidates, Jed Lean at PG, Stew Buck at SF. I HAD to start Al Carr at SG so Stew moved to SF. Joe Sand looked awesome so heâs at PF, and Colin More needed to be at C after what he did last year. Three subs, Dan Wall at guard looks really, really good. Don Evans at SF and PF, too good to sit but they only let me put 5 on the court. Ian White at PF, C, would start for most teams. We are powerful. Nick Penn and B. J. Bell should get minutes, but none left to give them. -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
4/4: Back home. Awards: Al Carr got Tourney MOP, as I said. In conf., Colin More, Freshman OY. I got the coach award. 1st team: Al Carr, Colin More. April 9: Would I move? To UConn, Michigan State, someplace like that? Hell yeah! Otherwise no. Jumped all the way ta Team Prestige 75. Wow! No interestinâ offers. Good! April 23: Lookinâ for budget dollars. Got âem. $13,000. My numbers: 114-27, .809. Off.- 34, Def.- 47, Rceruit- 95, Scout- 90, Player Development- 43, Reputation- 65. Unbelievable year. National champs. Wow! -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
Anâ we get ta play for the title! Anâ Lucy is flyinâ in for the game! Says she jusâ canât miss this. #2 ranked, #2 RPI, 33-4 Kansas. They beat us by 14 in the second game a the season at the Coaches Classic. We had too many TOs anâ allowed too many threes. BUT, Carr was not startinâ then, anâ we hadnât come close ta jellinâ as a team. They definitely have a much better back court. We can at least hold our own inside. Their bench is longer. But every now anâ then they were upset by teams that we could beat. They are a 7 point favorite, which is HUGE in this kind of game. I think we have a shot if we play hard, smart hoops anâ if we get out on the shooter- that is VITAL! April 3: The dream comes true, anâ it isnât close: 80-66. We took control right away. Carr made three threes in the first couple minutes, they got on him, we went inside ta Nick Penn cuz they expected it ta be More. We spread the scorinâ arounâ moved the ball with precision, didnât turn it over (12 for the game), anâ we got on the shooters. We controlled the boards well enough (+6). And we simply refused ta lose, or even ta let them get closer than a half dozen or so. Jusâ beat back evâry run they made before it got dangerous. This was the best game we played all year, from start ta finish, at the most crucial time. Al Carr was MOP, as he should have been, 26, anâ he shut down their SG (5 pts.). I am floating on air. You cannot know what itâs like ta cut down the nets unless ya do it. Unbelievable. Nobody picked us- nobody. Hell, I wouldnât a picked us. But somewhere along about the Sweet Sixteen it started ta feel special. The staff discussed that we were really goinâ good anâ that it felt like some really good things could happen. They sure did!! Oh, thereâs not a senior on this team- not even a walk on senior. -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
Weâll play Michigan State, 31-3, #4 ranked, #5 RPI. Really, really good back court. I think we may be slightly better than them inside. We will need ta control the inside game anâ the boards. Weâll try to pressure the PG, jusâ ta disrupt, no moreân that, but if heâs too quick weâll back off. Again, Lucy is not with us, canât be really, but I sure wish she was. April 1: 87-85 OT anâ I am numb. They went up 9 early, up 6 at the half but we were definitely in it, very competitive. We were even in RBs turninâ it over a little too much. Didnât want to change much though, anâ we didnât. I thought we could compete, anâ we DID! We finally caught âem with 4:44 lefâ anâ it was back anâ forth after that, with More gettingâ an 8 footer to send it to OT. By this point their startinâ back court had fouled out playinâ 38 anâ 30 min., anâ ours had too, playinâ 36 anâ 35 min. Without Carr I figgered we were dead, but it all evened out anâ it was back an' forth for 5 more min. Finally, 85-85, they had the ball, with 15 left. I had Evans on the Point, nobody else ta put there, anâ he got a step in steal with 4 seconds left, threw it ahead ta Nick Penn who laid it in with .4 left, anâ that was that. Officials were horrible, 81 free throws taken. 24, 2, 5 for Carr, 16, 9 for More, 13, 11 for Penn. -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
New Rochelle, 19-11, looks good in the tapes but they really havenât faced the level of competition we have. March 17: 74-61. We led all the way but they never quit. Well coached team. 19, 5, 4 for Carr, 19, 5 for Penn, 10, 10 for More, 10, 9, 8 for Hart. 14 TOs, +11 RB. KY upset in the 2nd round. Bama too. We play Missouri next. Hm. Shouldnât play a conf. rival this early. Lost by 8, then won by 15 at home. We won the inside game last time and will need to again. March 19: 97-83, OT. After a 40 minute battle we dominated OT. This was a foul fest with three idiots blowing whistles all night long, 50 of âem, never allowing any flow to develop. More, 29, 12, 2 anâ Carr, 31, 1, 4 kepâ us in it, anâ eventually won it for us. I got Tâd up anâ the Missouri coach did too. 69 free throws taken. Ridiculous. Both coaches ranted a bit at the postgame press conference. Weâll get fined, the NCAA will do what they do best, ignore the whole thing. Survive and advance. #1 seed, #7 ranked, 29-4 Temple in the Sweet Sixteen. Very good outside, not bad inside. 16-1 in last 17. Score mostly outside. They donât RB all that well except for one guy. But we have problems getting out on the shooter. We need ta do that in this game, anâ we canât let their PG do what he wants ta do. March 24: 87-82. Big win! 4 TOs- for the GAME! +3 RB, we committed 9 less fouls. They hit a lotta threes- 16-32, but most of âem were in the 1st half, when they went up by 12, still up 5 at the half. We shut off the three in the 2nd (3-8), anâ that made the diff. We pounded it in ta More, then got open looks for Carr anâ Hart, anâ those three guys got it done, 21, 9 for More, 20, 3 for Carr, 16, 3 for Hart.Hill had 13, 4 from the bench. NEVER thought weâd hit the Elite Eight this year! #2 seed, #5 ranked Louisville, 30-5, in the rounds of eight. On paper theyâre way better, and they do most everything well. We need to hold our own inside, disrupt, disrupt, disrupt, find the open man, work it inside, work it outside. March 26: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 84-75, Final Four. UNBELIEVABLE! Very close for 35 minutes, just back anâ forth, nobody really takinâ control. Then John Hart found Nick Penn on three straight backdoor cuts. We got stops after each one and Louisville didnât stop it until the fourth try and when John saw that he found Al Carr in the spot the defender had vacated, got it to him and watched him drain a three. 9-0 run, 11 point lead, bye bye Louisville. 27 for Penn, 23, 4 for Carr, onây 4 for More but 10 RBs, 4, 4, 6 for Hart, 1 TO, 15,1, 3 for Evans, 8, 4, 1 for Hill. Dancinâ on air! The publicity has been unbelievable. Gettingâ ta the Final Four in our first year here is insane anâ I am beinâ treated like a Civil War General- Confederate. (Author\'s Note: No explanation. I did not edit any players in Commish mode. I did no do overs. At the start I saw my team and thought, \"Middle of the pack, with luck.\" As the season progressed I made changes to the line up. They ALL worked and worked well. But getting this far? Never in a million years. Maybe just one of those unlikely, magical runs, like UConn in both 2011 and this year. A team that simply caught fire.) -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
We get Tennessee in the round of eight. They pulled an upset. We beat them by only six on an off night. I want focus and energy and a big win this time. Itâs March! March 8: 72-71. And I got a one point win- barely! Survive and advance. We were sloppy, 19 TOs, and didnât get out on the three- they hit 12. We won on the boards, +17. But we wonât win again if we play like this. 23, 6, 1 for Nick Penn from the bench, 12, 15 for More. Itâs #10, 23-5 Kentucky in the semis. They slid to second by losing their last regular season game so we play the best team in conf. In the semis. We beat them by 2 at our place in one of our best games of the year. Weâll need ta be that good again this time. We need ta take care a the ball. Last time we were -15 on the boards. We probâly canât match them there but it needs ta be single digits. March 9: 61-72. Not tanight. They got the first 12 anâ we were never in it. They simply overpowered us. We matched them in all of the stats category but we shot 29%, they shot 45.5%. Our poor shooting was due to great D by them. They were bigger and quicker. 21, 2, 2 for Carr, 12, 9, 1 for More, 8, 7 for Hill, 16, 2 for Penn, who is getting more time since heâs earned it. Itâs no disgrace to get beat by a better team. We worked hard tonight anâ I did not get down on the guys. We can make some noise at the Dance. So now we wait. Lucy is showing. Itâs cute at this stage anâ she likes it as much as I do. Sheâs still feeling good. No morning sickness, no problems. Missouri beat KY for the title. March 12: Here we go! Not in the East. Not in the Midwest. Not in the South. #4 West. Iâll take it! WE play #13 New Rochelle, 19-11. Peoria is also in the West but weâd both need to get to the round of eight to meet. -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
7-16, 2-10 Tennessee is here. They have decent outside game but not much inside. Lost their last 5, 10 of 11. This is no place for a slip up. Feb. 15: 70-64. Well, itâs a win. We were pretty awful tonight but they just donât have many weapons. We shot onây 32.6%. 10 TOs, +17 RB. 10-5, 6-7 LSU is in. We won by 14 there. They have a good outside game but we feel like we can pressure them anâ turn âem over. Feb. 18: 87-75. We were better on O tonight but the D was not what I want. They hit 16 threes cuz we jusâ didnât get out on the shooters. 32, 4 for Al Carr was the diff, anâ Al has been that often. Front line all hit double figgers anâ got boards, +14. 11 TOs, 11 assists for Hart. Last two are against ranked teams, one road, one home. We gotta at least split. Still the log jam with three of us one back a KY. Nobody close behind us though so weâll finish 4th or better. 21-5, 11-3, #17, RPI #9. At #19, 21-6, 11-3 Alabama. We won by 8 at home in a battle. Their SF lit us up. Theyâre 9-1 in the last 10. This wonât be easy. Feb. 22: 58-65. We never led. Down as many as 16 early anâ never quite caught up. Ya gotta play D anâ we onây did that in the 2nd half. Outside shooters got way too many open looks in the 1st. Not happy about that. 16 for Carr, 13, 9 for More, 8, 5 for Penn from the bench. KY anâ Ark. Lost too. So 4 teams within a game of each other with one ta play. 18-9, 9-6 Missouri is in to close out the regâlar season. They beat us by 8 there. 10 guys scored for them. Theyâre strong inside anâ we canât let âem beat us inside. Weâre goinâ after the PG, keepinâ pressure on. We didnât do enough a that lasâ time. This is a MUST win. Feb. 25: 71-56. We were up pretty much all the way. 27, 10, 2 for More, 19, 3, 2 for Carr. +11 RB but 18 TOs. Ark. lost so we end up 3rd. And weâre in the post season. Lucy wonât travel with us this year. Sheâs still feelinâ fine but the store keeps her busy anâ the one thing we donât want is for her to push an; get overtired. 22-6, 12-4, #18, RPI #12. -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
12-8, 5-3 Texas A & M is in. This is another very good team. Tough inside. Not many easy teams in this conf. Feb. 1: 84-65. 1st half was a war, back anâ forth all the way. They were doinâ it with balance, 9 guys scored in the 1st for them. Once again we decided ta go 2-3 in the 2nd. They had been settinâ such good picks against the man that we needed ta try somethinâ different. It worked. It plugged the passinâ lanes, we started turninâ âem over, regularly. On O we were doinâ a great job a mixinâ inside ta Hill anâ More, then when they collapsed a little we got it ta Carr anâ he wasnât missinâ. We opened up a lead anâ stretched it out, controllinâ the 2nd half. It wasnât as easy as the final score made it look. Good win! 23, 2, 5 for Carr. What a different team weâve been since heâs been startinâ. 17, 8, 3 for Hill,12, 5 for More, 11, 3, 1 for Evans. Very good minutes from the bench, 21, 6, 1. At 13-9, 6-3 Georgia, another really good team. Better outside than in but tough all around. Feb. 4: 63-55. We were on top most a the way but they stayed close enough ta keep it interestinâ. Balance for us. More anâ Hill had real good games inside, Penn was solid from the bench. Our guards had their hands full but matched anâ contained theirs. 11 TOs, +5 RBs. Nice times at home. Lucyâs pregnancy jusâ kinda sets a happy atmosphere. Plans, dreams, what ifs, all sorts of things. Weâve never been closer. Tied with Ark., one back a KY. 18-4, 8-2, #17, RPI #7. Again, way better than I expected. 13-11, 3-7 Florida is here. Not the typical year for this team but they are always dangerous. Feb. 8: 82-60. 51 in the 1st. 20, 5, 4 for Carr, 11, 7 for More. 8 TOs. Alone in 2nd. At 12-10, 5-6 Mississippi. They play 3-2. With that D if we can get it to Carr he should have a lot of open looks. This team has struggled lately, 2-4. Startinâ C broke his hand, which is a big part a that. Theyâre good with the ball. We need to control the inside game. Feb. 11: 72-80. We didnât play good D, let âem shoot 50%. Canât be givinâ up 80. KY lost too. Still 1 back but now one of three there- Alabama anâ Ark. Are the others. 3 of our last 4 are at home which is a huge help. Lucy has been feelinâ great. Due date is June 7, so almost 4 months to go. Tail seems ta know somethinâs goinâ on. Always right there. When we sit heâs in one of our laps or bumpinâ up against us. Kinda funny. Been more clingy since the attack anyway but even more than that these days. Got in a little trouble with the local press maybe. Maybe more'n a little. âCoach, youâve had great success this year. Thoughts on that?â âWell, the guys have responded real well ta what weâve tried ta teach âem. I got a great staff anâ the credit goes ta them, anâ again ta the players who been workinâ so hard.â âWhat have you liked most about being here at Auburn?â âItâs a great place. Terrific university, great community. We been made to feel welcome right from the start. That âSouthern hospitality" thing we always heard about? Weâve definitely experienced it right from the start.â âHow about the other side. Any disappointments?â âNope. None at all. Onây thing we donât like is the weather. We ainât used ta the heat anâ ta be honest, thatâs a struggle. Iâm a runner anâ even at dawn itâs too dang hot ta run, at least comfortably. I run anyway but whew!â âSo we can assume youâll be out of here as soon as possible?â âNow why in h*ll would you assume that! I didnât say nothinâ like that. This has been great so far anâ we like it. Weâll deal with the weather. Canât believe you said that, tell ya the truth, anâ it jusâ ainât so. We never ever had a conversation about anythinâ but our future here anâ I hope thatâs what youâll quote!â A course what got emphasized was âCoach Jones hates Auburn weather, probably wonât stay long.â Thatâs the press. Shoulda known better. -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
#8, 13-2 Kentucky is in. Very strong inside game. We need to contain it to have any chance at a win. Jan. 18: 78-76. H*ll of a game! Down as many as 12 early, 6 at the half. They were killinâ us inside but Carr couldnât miss, which kept us in it. In the 2nd we went 2-3 to have more bodies down low, anâ it worked. Carr stayed hot anâ that was the diff. 37, 3, 2 for Carr with 8 threes. 17, 5 for Hill. 10, 0, 8 assists for Hart. We really played hard anâ well tonight. This is the kind a win that can make a team believe! At 3-13, 0-5 South Carolina. They play 3-2 which could lead to a field day for Carr if we can find him. These guys are better than they been playinâ though. Iâm tellinâ my guys ta expect a battle. Jan, 21: 75-53. No contest. 17, 4, 6 for Carr, 17, 4, 7 for Hart, 16, 12 for More, 13, 5, 1 for Hill. #19, RPI #11, 15-3, 5-1. Lucy had a little set back. Didnât seem so little anâ we rushed her ta the hospital. They calmed us down, solved the problem, kept her overnight. In the morninâ her doc said she was fine, the baby was fine, jusâ take it a little easier. No need ta stop workinâ or anythinâ jusâ take it easy, put her feet up anâ rest evâry now anâ then. Whew! Ya do tend ta over react in these situations. Itâs onây natural. Mississippi State, 4-2, 1 back a us anâ KY is in. Theyâre tough at 2, 3, 4, anâ can score inside anâ out. Weâre gonna pressure the PG. We gotta hold our own on the boards too. Jan. 25: 79-77. Whew! Down one, 8 ticks. Hart brought it down, dribbled for a few, shot it to Al Carr who calmly drained a three with a hand in his face. 23, 2, 2. 10, 5, 5 for Hart, 15, 7, 4 for Evans, 12 for Hill. They focused on stopping More, which they did, but Hart found the open man all night long. We had ta work for this one. Very satisfying win. At #18, 15-4, 5-2 Arkansas. These guys can play, strong at every position. They play a tough man to man. We need ta hold our own inside ta have any shot here. It wonât be easy. Jan. 28: 61-69. They went up 16 early, 12 at the half, never quite gave up the lead. We got close a half dozen times but couldnât get over the hump. We managed to win the inside game but turned it over 18 times ta their 6, anâ that was the diff. Itâs a tough conference. Weâre doinâ fine so far. Weâll lose some, thatâs jusâ how it is. And weâre a year away, maybe two. Jan. 29: All our guys hit the SAT score. We may free up a spot or two late. If so we have a couple a guys weâre still talkinâ with. -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
At 4-8 LSU ta start. More outside than in. Jan. 4: 74-60. 19, 9, 3 for More, 14, 4, 2 for Carr, 12, 3, 1 for Evans, 11, 8 for Hill. Good start. #23, 11-2 Alabama is here. This should be a test. Theyâre good. We can beat them, get out on the outside shooter, rebound. Jan. 7: 70-62. Back anâ forth. We started ta take over in the last 5. 22 for Carr, 11, 15 for Hill, 10, 7, 2 for More. At 10-4, 1-1 Missouri. Theyâre tough inside. Lucy says sheâs making at least twice as much money in the new store as she did in Peoria. Her friend who owned it really built it up beautifully and it is a very smooth operation with a large, loyal clientele. Lucy knows how to take care of people, and she can turn on the charm, so it will only get better. Since I also make more than twice what I did at Peoria we have no financial worries and weâre saving and investing a lot of money. Jan. 11: 54-62. First bump in the road in a long time. 9 game streak ends. Their 11 threes hurt but we didnât score many points. When ya give up 62 ya should win. 16, 3 for Carr, 12 each for More anâ Hill but nobody else did much. 3-11 Nashville is here. Theyâre havinâ all kindsa trouble. Jan. 14: 57-50. Two poor offensive performances in a row. Hm. 26, 3 for Carr. 10, 9, 2 for Gore from the bench. Jan. 15: #20, RPI #11. 13-3, 3-1. -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
At 3-5 Tulsa. Very good at C. Dec. 13: 71-57. 15, 10 for More, 15, 3, 1 for Carr, good contributions from the others. 13 TOS, +11 RB. 6-3 Utah St. is in. 2 quality wins, 3 bad losses. Dec. 17: 69-54. 23, 14 for More who dominated inside. 7 TOs, +13 RB. We seem to have hit our stride and starting Carr has really worked out well. Dec. 18: Ranked! #25. First time in 4 years for the program. I didnât expect it this year. Weâre doinâ great. At 5-4 New Hampshire. Talent mismatch, just play our game. Dec.21: 78-69. 24, 3, 4 for Carr, 9, 3, 5 for Hart. 11 TOs Dec. 23: Our first anniversary. We went out anâ Lucy wasnât sick so she was able ta enjoy a nice dinner. She says the morning sickness is jusâ once in a while anâ by lunch sheâs good for the day. Says she feels good mosta the time. Easy ta see sheâs real excited about the baby. Me too, but I donât hafta go through what she is. It was a nice anniversary. At 6-2 North Baltimore ta end the pre-conf. season. Theyâre better inside than out. Dec. 24: 75-55. 23 for Carr, 10, 10 for More, 3 guys had 7 each. Dec. 25: We decided we wanted it to be just the two of us for the holiday. For the next coupla decades it will be family time. Who knows when it will be just the two of us again, esp. if we have more than one kid. So we wanted this one ta be just us. It was anâ it was nice. A surprising 10-2 goinâ inta conf. play. Never woulda figgered that. #21, RPI. #11. Peoria is 5-5, unranked. Iâm shocked. It will get harder. This is a strong conference. -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
2-2 Houston is here. On paper this looks like a battle, and I think it will be decided inside. Nov. 30: 60-61. Close all the way, never more than an 8 point diff. At the end they had it last anâ scored. 1.1 lefâ anâ we couldnât do anythinâ with that. The issue was that we let âem shoot 53.8%. Canât win that way. And we won the inside battle, easy. They beat us outside anâ at the line. 14, 13 for More, 18 for Carr. 13 TOs, +2 RBs. Again, the D did us in. Dec. 2: âIâm pregnant.â Now thereâs a line that stops evâry man dead in his tracks. I mean no real surprise, thatâs been the idea for a few months now but somehow those two words... After the initial shock itâs an incredibly wonderful thing to hear, of course. Then ya start ta think about evâry single thing in your life is about ta change, but itâs still great. Then thereâs hugs, emotion, excitement, a zillion things ta discuss, none of âem meaninâ a thing just yet. I mean weâre talkinâ June maybe before thereâs an actual baby so we got time. But wow. Just WOW! #14, 5-1 Arizona is in. Now this should be a challenge. On paper theyâre better at most evâry position, anâ they got a long bench. They havenât played anybody though, an' their top scorer jusâ broke his arm. Theyâre tough inside anâ good with the ball. Dec. 3: 71-63. Yeah! 12 lead changes, 8 ties. -13 RBs, they were REAL tough inside, but 9 TOs (+7), anâ we took 10 more free throws. Their SG anâ SF scored too easy but we stopped evârybody else. 18, 5, 2 for More, 18, 2, 1 for Carr whoâs been hot. Weâre lookinâ ta see if we can get him more time. 13 for Penn. Great win! We shake up the lineup. Weâll be smaller but a lot quicker. Carr will start. 5-2 Ohio visits. Good outside. Very good PG. Dec. 7: 66-47. Carr responds to starting with 31. Makinâ me look good! 14, 12 for More. At 2-4 Arkansas State. Guards carry the load. No inside game. Dec. 10: 71-53. 27, 4, 2 for Carr. 12, 5, 1 for Hill, 8, 6 for More, 8, 7 for Gore from the bench. The morning sickness has started. Beinâ thankful Iâm a guy! -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
We start with Provo at the Coaches Classic. Theyâre the 8 seed, weâre 9. They play man, they have a very good SF and thatâs about all we know. Iâm more interested in what weâll learn about ourselves. Nov. 13: 63-52. Good start! It went back and forth for close to 35 minutes as my guys learned to play tagether. We got decent ball movement but were missinâ some switches on D in the 1st half. We rebounded really well (+10 for the game). Ball handlinâ was onây okay, 16 TOs. Then we kinda figgered it out late, went ona 14-3 run, built the lead ta 21 anâ walked it home. Sub guard Al Carr had 15, 2, 2 in 24 min., Nick Penn had 13 at SF anâ held down their best player. Colin More had 10 RBs at C, anâ big man Art Gore came off the bench for 12 anâ 10. So weâll be lookinâ close at Carr anâ Gore. I knew weâd be makinâ adjustments though. Now we get ta play the #1 seed, #7 ranked Kansas. I do not think we are ready for this kind of match up but again, weâll learn some things. They play man, are solid at all 5 spots, an' have a deep bench. Fasten seat belts, it could be a bumpy ride! Nov. 15: 68-82. Okay, not all that bad considerinâ. Theyâre a lot better than we are but we hung in, didnât quit, even when they went up 20. So we got heart. I can work with that. Speakinâ a heart, John Hart at PG had a nice game, 14, 5, 2, anâ a nice job n a very good PG. 20, 14 for More at C. Figgered him for, our go to, anâ still do. Penn had 12, 5 at SF. Too many TOs, 19, but +6 RB. Weâll basically play 7 guysanâ the 7 are okay, maybe a little better than I thought. First week was encouraginâ, all in all. Nov. 20: All 6 recruits come in to sign. Great lookinâ bunch with great numbers- ranked 27, 37, 44, 49, 54, 68. We could be trouble nexâ year! Home opener vs. Lewisburg. The local press has been welcoming. Expectations are too high anâ Iâm tryinâ ta calm that down, remindinâ folks that this programâs been down for a few years anâ weâll need a little time. Hope they give it ta me. Fans anâ press ainât always patient or reasonable. This team looks like cup cake city. Nov. 23: 61-47. No challenge but I wasnât feelinâ a lot of energy from my guys. 21, 7, 2 for More, 9 TOs, which I liked a lot. Balanced scorinâ. I want more though. 2-1 George Mason is here. They play man. On paper this looks like a pretty even match up. This early itâs hard to say. Nov. 26: 66-58. Some back and forth but we were pretty much in control, but again, Iâm not seeing the energy Iâd like to see from this team. 21, 9 for Penn at SF, 10, 8, 3 for More, 10, 7, 2 for Evans at SG. 8, 6, 3 for Hart at the Point. The staff evaluates regularly. We talk about adjusting minutes but we're still in the gathering data stage. No one has stepped up in a way that makes us think we NEED to give him more minutes. At least not yet. -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
May 1: Lucy anâ me- an Tail, are in faculty housinâ while we look for a place. We know what we want, jusâ a three bedroom, not too big, near campus, a little land. Nothinâ too fancy or too expensive. I figger we can put down between 35-50%, so a low mortgage. At the same time Lucyâs lookinâ for a business. She wants another used book store anâ she might get lucky right off the bat. Thereâs one right on campus anâ the owner is not young. She looks in her 70âs. Lucy looked at the place, loved it. She says down south ya go slow so sheâs gonna make a friend a the owner before she starts askinâ if the place might be for sale. Lucy should have enough money from the sale a her place ta put down a lot if it is for sale, so sheâll have a small mortgage too. So weâre real busy on that front. This is a class school anâ the athletic facilities show that. The offices are in the Auburn Dome, where we play our games. The place is not new, anâ it could use a little work, but itâs spotless. I share a secretary with baseball, 50-50, so thatâll be great. My office looks like it got all new furniture for the new coach, a beautiful desk, conference table, anâ a recliner, which I love. I donât sleep in the office much since Lucy entered my life but it happens, anâ more often I get worn out anâ want a nap. The reclinerâll be great for that. Great filinâ system anâ plenty a room. The assistants each have a small office a their own, near mine. A. D. Buck May is just down the hall. Man! 4 guards on the entire squad anâ not a senior. Weâre switchinâ a couple ta hardship or academic scholarships anâ lookinâ for transfers. We buy the Gold Southeast report, anâ basic national anâ international. Ouch! Two guys transfer out. Thatâs gonna hurt. One was a guard. Man! June 5: Lookinâ at some transfers. We found a place we really like. A little bigger than we wanted but not much, four bedrooms, a big finished basement, unusual down here, anâ in a beautiful spot about Âœ mile east a the campus. Weâre talkinâ price. Lucy anâ the woman at the bookstore are friends anâ Lucy says sheâs about ready ta ask if thereâs any interest in sellinâ. June 12: Got one transfer. Junior C Joe Sand. Looks like he could help us. June 25: It is gonna be a LONG year. I donât see a lotta talent here. Weâd better recruit well. We put in an offer on the house anâ it looks like theyâre gonna accept. Lucy says the woman sounds like sheâs open ta sellinâ her business. Things are gettingâ interestinâ. June 26: 6 ta give. We need guards more than bigs. Lookinâ at 23 ta start, 14 guards, 9 bigs. July 2: House offer accepted. We hope ta close in a couple weeks, be in by early August. We both love the place. Tail isnât committinâ. Lucy says sheâs close ta makinâ an offer on the book store. She really loves the place anâ the woman who owns it. The womanâs 74 as it turns out. Sheâs a widow anâ the store is her life. Lucy says she wants part a the offer ta be that she can stay on as long as she wants. Theyâve really become friends anâ Lucy says sheâd be a huge asset. July 18: Lucy offered. The woman said sheâd think about it but wasnât in a big hurry. The part about stayinâ on was big though, Lucy thought. We closed on the house yesterday anâ we can move any time but we want ta do a little fixinâ up first, anâ install central AC which it donât have. We need it since we donât like the heat at all, either of us. Still hope ta be by early Aug. Aug. 7: Plugginâ away at the recruits. Looks good, really. Aug. 10: Weâre in the new place. Lovinâ it! Aug. 16: The woman said she wanted ta talk about sellinâ. Lucy is thrilled. Aug. 21: We can offer scholarships today. Tough choices. We offer ta 4 guards, 2 bigs. Aug. 29: Lucy thinks she has a deal. Sept. 11: We can visit 4 of the 6 we offered to. Sept. 14: Lucy has a deal. Closing next week. She got a great price and put down 60%. Both sides are happy. Sept. 18: We get one. Jim Mack, #42, PG. Good catch! And we have a schedule. Weâre at the Coachesâ Classic. Not sure weâre ready for that but hopefully we can steal at least one win. We went just a little soft in the pre-conf. part. Conference will be tough enough. Sept. 25: BIG day. We get 4 of the 5 remaining, lose one. We get Steve Buck, #62 SG, Ian White, #33 PF, Dan Wall, #49 PG, Ike Eber, #36 SG. So weâre chasinâ a big guy. Oct. 2: We get our last guy, Walt Cole, #60 C. First day of practice. Weâre picked ta finish 5th. Iâd take it. Practices are going well but lots of mysteries. Not sure what to make of some of these guys. Hope to get a better feel of who can do what as practices continue. Nov. 6: Exhibitions this week. Still not a great feel for this team. Weâve settled on a lineup but expect things to change up during the early season. This team is very hard to figger. On the home front we love our place but neither of us spends much time there. Iâm really busy, as expected. First year in a new job is like that. Lucy is all but living at the book store. She really likes the set up. I never mentioned but itâs almost directly across the street from the Auburn Dome. I often call before lunch, pick something up, bring it over there and we have lunch together. Itâs nice when we can do that. Gives us a little more time tagether. Canât believe we got to the start of the season so fast. -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
And weâre goinâ ta Auburn. Power conf., salary doubles, bigger budget, way more prestige. Weâll need ta rebuild, maybe a couple a not so great seasons, but a good move, I think. April 16: Time ta hire assistants. Great hires! #1 is Ed Roy, who will recruit. He was #2 at Ole Miss anâ ready to move up. I grabbed him quick as I could, for 5 years. #2 is Rick Lee, who will be bench/practice coach. He was #3 at Texas, lookinâ for a promotion, anâ I grabbed him real quick, too. #3 is Roy Loud, who will scout. He was #3 at Va. Tech. Thought heâd get more visibility here, lookinâ ta move up. I may not have him long but I want him. Truly a world class staff! April 23: I ask for a budget increase. Nope. I guess they spent enough on me- although Iâm makinâ 100 grand less than the last guy. My numbers are: Off.- 28, Def.- 39, Recruit-95, Scout- 90, Player Dev.- 36, Reputation- 54. Great years in Peoria. Hereâs hoping the ones here will be, too. Not lookinâ forward ta the heat but definitely lookinâ forward ta what we will build here. Hope theyâre a little patient though. -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
20-9 Southern plays man anâ they donât press a lot. 3-2 in the last 5, but won the 7 before that. They donât give up a lotta points. They score both inside and out but they arenât big anâ they can be turned over. March 17: 74-57. 36-15 at the half which sorta says it all. 5 guys in double figures. 13 TOs, +7 RB. 23-8, #5 seed Missouri. They play man, donât press much. 6-1 in last 7 games. They score more inside than out anâ they take care a the ball. We wanta out RB them anâ stay outta foul trouble. March 19: 78-51. Thought it would be tougher. Again, balanced scoring, 7 guys playing good, hard basketball. 10 TOs, +19 RB. Tough match up with #1 seed, #4 ranked North Carolina, 28-7. On paper weâre in a lot of trouble. In reality, we need to play our very best and they need to be a little below theirs. Still, we didnât come here to get beat. They play a very tight man and donât press much. They go to SG anâ SF but they can score from evâry position. We need ta keep âem off balance- shift the D, pressure now anâ then, mix it up, try ta confuse âem. We canât let âem own the boards anâ we canât let âem do what they wanta do on O. March 24: A 48 foot prayer at the end of regulation⊠Yep, we were up 70-67 after two free throws by Ed Brel. 2.2 left. They threw to half court and their SG threw up a 48 footer. It went in, we went to OT, they won 82-77. They took control early, built a 15 point lead anâ we battled back the resta the way. Finally tied it with :55 ta go. Got 2 free throws for the lead. They hit a 3, we hit 2 more free throws. They missed, we got 2 more. Then the 48 footer. It demoralized us and we couldnât quite snap out of it in OT. H*ll of a way ta go out. Balance again. This time 8 guys, Little used Neil Wise had 9, the other 7 between 6 anâ 12. We had 20 TOs but that was the only low. +5 RB, great D, smart decisions, mixed it up on D. I could not have asked for more- well, maybe an ounce of luck. What a season, 30-4! Iâm 85-20, .810 for my three years here, and I couldnât be prouder of my kids. Tony Morr, Jim Barr anâ Nick Jode all graduate but this should be a really good team again next year, whether Iâm here to lead it or not. Transfer Wade Laz is world class, and at least five good players are back. If any recruits develop at all these guys will be somethinâ. Now we wait. I will go to the Final Four again, for the exposure and the contacts. March 26: Well, recruitinâ success at last. We get #47 SG Dave Bell, #93 PF Jay Gomes, anâ #145 PG Ivan Nell. So five recruits, three guards, two bigs. #1 Maryland, #2 KY, #4 No. Car. anâ long shot unranked Evansville in the Final Four. March 30: Lucyâs closing happened today. It went the way it was supposed ta go, and she no longer owns âOld Friendsâ. She agreed to help the new owners out with the transition for the next week or so and seemed happy about that. I leave tonight. Lots of people ta talk with at the Final Four. Some nibbles, some interestinâ conversations. Some reasons ta believe Iâll be gettingâ some phone calls. April 1:#2 Ky vs. #4 North Carolina for the title. April 3: KY by 15. I fly home tanight. A couple A.D.âs all but told me they expect ta be discussinâ a coachinâ job soon. Weâll see. April 4: Awards: I get Coach award again. 1st team: Jim Barr, Nick Jode. 2nd team: Dave Black, Tony Morr. Not bad. April 9: Team Prestige didnât move, which makes no sense. The phoneâs ringinâ! Anâ ringinâ! Anâ ringinâ! Hm. Lots of lateral, or jusâ better than lateral offers. Nothin; that JUMPS at me. Half a dozen offers ta schools at major conferences anâ Iâm guessinâ Iâll end up at one a them cuz bigger budget, better facilities, bigger salary- although that alone wouldnât do it. Iâm gonna visit a few, most of âem in hot weather climates. I hate the heat but that seems ta be where the vacancies are. -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
Weâll play 9-19, 5-13 Southern Illinois in the ÂŒ finals. Beat them by 12 and 29. March 4: 86-54. Biggest margin a the year. 22, 7, 4 for Barr, 20, 6, 3 for Jode. 8 TOs, +13 RBs. 14-15, 11-7 Missouri State in the semis. Beat âem by 23 anâ 11. Ranked #5, RPI #7. BUT⊠Bubble Watch has us at 15. March 5: 83-66. Another game that was never a contest. 27, 5, 2 for Jode, 19, 2, 4 for Fram, 16, 4, 2 for Morr, 10, 7 for Barr. Weâve outgrown this conference. I did not like 16 TOs. Illinois State for the title. I thought it would be Wichita State but they faded. Ill. ST gave us more trouble. They are 23-7, 12-6, 10-1 in the last 11, losinâ onây ta us. We split with them, each team winning at home. SG anâ SF can hurt you anâ they did in the first game. PG hurt us in the 2nd. Weâll pressure the PG anâ we gotta get out on the shooters. March 6: 79-70. We led most of the way, by as many as 24. At the end they came back but I had my bench in. It wasnât really close. Balanced scoring, 7 guys between 6 anâ 15 points. 13 TOs, +7 RB. Now we wait to see where we go. I can see a #3 seed easily, even a #2- but we wonât get a #2, may not get a #3. March 11: âItâs sold. They got the financing.â âThe $7,000 made the difference?â âI think so, yes.â âGreat. I know this is what you wanted. When will it be official?â "Closing is March 29, at least thatâs the target date.â âThatâs wonderful news. Hopefully weâll be moving soon after that.â March 12: Here we go! Not in the East. Not in the Midwest. #4 South. We play Southern, 20-9 in the first round. Could have been worse. Lucy canât come with us to the first round games. Too much going on with the sale of the book store. Our games will be on TV though. -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
At 12-10, 6-7 Evansville. Beat âem by 24 at home. They play man anâ press some. Feb. 11: 65-54. 18, 2 for Barr, 10, 10 for Jode, 14, 3, 1 for Morr. 12 TOs, +9 RB. Wichita State lost again. Up 3 with 4 to play. #13, RPI #5. 8-15, 5-9 Southern Illinois is here. We won by 12 there. They play man. Feb. 15: 71-42. Never a doubt. 16, 7 for Black, 15, 7 for Jode, 15, 2, 5 for Morr. 7 TOs. 18-6, 10-5 Illinois State is here. They beat us by 8 at their place, our onây conf. loss so far. They do a lot well. Esp. good at 2, 3 anâ 4, anâ those are the guys that beat us. Feb. 18: 84-67. Jode had a GAME! 32, 10. 10 TOs. 15 for Fram, 14 for Black. 10, 7, 2 for Brel. 17-9 Illinois-Chicago is in for the Bracket Breaker. They play man. Good guards anâ a deep bench. Feb. 19: 74-48. It jusâ keeps goinâ. Actually this one was close for 33 min. Then we exploded, 27-5 run. 18, 1, 8 for Morr, 16, 5 for Fram, 15, 5, 1 for Brel. 12 TOs. âI may have an offer for the book store.â âAlready! Thatâs great!â âYeah. Itâs a chain though. Iâd rather sell to a private owner. Someone who has just this one store. I hate to see the big guys take over.â âI agree. Up ta you though.â âI think Iâll wait. My agent will go crazy. These guys will give me a great price.â âYeah, but if itâs not what you want for the storeâŠâ âItâs not.â At 21-7, 12-4 Wichita State. We won big at our place but it wonât be easy here. Theyâre 7-1 in the last 8. They have good players at evâry position. Feb. 22: 68-58. They owned the first half, led by as many as 11, 5 at the half. In the 2nd we decided to pressure the PG, anâ we got out on the outside shooters much better. It all worked anâ we took charge. 27, 2, 5 for Morr, 17, 2, 2 for Barr. 11 TOs. Tail is pretty much back to 100%. Great ta see. One more ta play. 13-14, 9-8 Indiana State, here. We won by 18 there. Watch the outside game. Feb. 25: 55-45. We built a 26 point lead in the 1st anâ kinda relaxed after that. Balanced scoring. 10 TOs. Averaging a great 11.7 TOs per game. #8, RPI #5. 25-3, 17-1. Won our last 12. Won the conf. by 5 games. Itâs the post season! âI think I may have another possible buyer.â âTell me!â âItâs a middle age couple. They said theyâve always wanted this type of business. They seem really excited.â âGreat!â âIf they can come up with the money. I think it might be close whether they can put it together well enough to get the bank to loan them what theyâll need.â âOh. It gets complicated I guess.â âYes, it can. I really want these people to get the store. I think theyâd keep the atmosphere Iâve built there. That means a lot to me.â âIâll keep my fingers crossed.â âMack⊠How would you feel if I lowered the price?â âHey, I donât know anything about business. You do. Iâll support your decision.â âIf I came down about $7,000 theyâd make it.â âYouâre willing to lose $7,000?â âI guess I am.â âLotta money.â âI suppose it is. Do you think I shouldnât?â âI think you should do what you want to do. The money wonât mean a thing when I get my next job. Itâs no big deal. Do what makes you happy and that will make me happy.â âWell⊠it kind of goes against my business sense a lot, but I want them to have the business. I need to think about it some more.â âThatâs fine. Keep me posted.â -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
At 8-10, 4-4 Indiana State. Good outside game. They play man. Jan. 25: 70-52. We played real well again, jusâ in control, confident. 6 TOs. 16 for Jatt who was really feelinâ it. Jusâ a solid, solid effort. Wichita State lost. 2 game lead. At 6-12, 3-6 Northern Iowa, the bottom a the conf. Onây won by 13 at our place. They play the 2-3. Jan. 28: 66-53. Anâ again tonight, in control. 9 TOs. 17 for Barr, anâ the nexâ six guys all had between 6 anâ 11. TOs at 12.2 per game. Jan. 29: One of the PGs we offered ta didnât hit the score. Donât know about this year. We jusâ ainât gettingâ guys. Add a couple more an; keep tryinâ. Home late, jusâ fallinâ asleep. Hear a scratchinâ sound. Hear it again. Lucyâs sleepinâ. I get up. Itâs at the back door. I open it. Tail. Anâ heâs a real mess. âLucy!â After a minute she hears me, gets up. âOh, heâs bad!â âWhat can we do at this hour, itâs like 2:00 a.m.?â âThereâs an all night vet hospital, other side of town. Iâll call.â âIâll get dressed.â We take Tail in. They tell us thereâs a lot a patchinâ ta do but they think heâll pull through. Somethinâ tore him up. They canât believe he lived through it. Musta managed ta escape anâ hide some place. We leave him, head back home. By now itâs about 5:30 so I donât go back ta bed. Just go for a run. Lucy does go ta sleep. Hope the little guy makes it. They keep Tail for 3 days anâ send him home. Heâs weak, slow movinâ, but heâs here anâ heâs makinâ it. Sleeps mosta the time but hey, heâs a cat. Likes ta be right with one of us, in a lap. 7-12, 4-6 North Chicago is here. Beat âem by 10 there. They play man. Decent C, guards not bad. Feb. 1: 68-47. Same story, jusâ in charge. Jatt didnât do much buit the other six all between 7 anâ 13 points. 13 TOs, +5 RB. 2 up on Wichita State, at least 4 on evârybody else with 7 ta play. At 8-12, 6-5 Missouri State. Won by 23 at home. Feb. 4: 64-53. Not as close as the final score. Same balanced scoring as the last few. 12 TOs. +10 RB. #17, RPI #7, 18-3, 11-1. Got it goinâ! Tail is healing well, getting a little more energy but still pretty slow goinâ. Lucy decides ta put the bookstore on the market. âIt just makes sense.â âNo way ta guarantee weâll get the right job offer.â âI know, but if not Iâll find a job for a year. Itâs fine. I donât want to be stuck here with you somewhere else.â âGood! I sure donât want that either. Make sure ta get your price though.â âDonât worry about that! I wonât give this place away. I worked hard to build the business and itâs a money maker.â 10-11, 5-7 Des Moines is in. We won by 9 there. They play man anâ they donât match up that bad with us on paper, but if we play weâll be fine. Feb. 8: 79-53. 20, 14, 2 for Jode, 4 others in double figures. 9 TOs, +13 RB. Jusâ breezinâ along. Onây Wichita State is still in it, 2 back. -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
At 6-6, 1-2 Des Moines. They play man anâ they ainât lost at home yet this season. They been real up anâ down anâ they ainât played nobody. No big scorer or rebounder. Jan. 7: 69-60. They went up early, led by 11 once, 8 at the half. They were doinâ it with balance, a whole bunch a guys were scorinâ. We worked on tighteninâ up the D at halftime. Held âem ta 19 in the 2nd so I guess it worked. 17, 12 for Jode, 17, 2, 4 for Morr. +8 TOs, +6 RBs. Morr strained abdominals. I donât think heâll be able ta go in our next game. Weâll see. Jattâs still hurt but almosâ 100% so itâs him for Morr. Ranked! #25, RPI #8. 7-6, 1-3 Evansville is here. Morr wonât start. I can spot him here and there anâ thatâs about it. Jatt is 100%. Heâll go. They play man, press a lot. Jan. 11: 73-49. Jatt did great, 11, 2, 4, onây 3 TOs, shut down the other PG. 17, 6, 3 for Barr, 16, 2, 4 for Fram, 11, 10 for Black. 13 TOs, +8 RB. Alone in 1st. At 6-8, 3-2 Southern Illinois. Man and they press a lot. SG is very good, get out on him. They can be turned over. Jan. 14: 66-54. Led by as many as 33. Never a game. 17, 10 for Jode, 1`4, 6 for Brel. Evârybody played well. 13 TOs. Bad phone call at about 1:30. âHeâs gone!â âWha?â Lucy was in tears. âTail is gone!â âWhat happened? Whereâd he go?â âI had him in the back yard. You know, we do that. He likes to be out there. Then there was a noise and he just ran after something, I donât know what. I spent the rest of the day looking for him but I never saw a trace. Heâs gone.â âD*mn! I wish I could be there.â âMe too.â âHeâll come back, hon.â âIâm afraid something got him.â âNo, heâll be back.â âYou donât know that.â âNo, but Iâm rootinâ for it.â Try ta get some sleep, hon. Nothinâ ya can do tonight.â âI know, but I canât sleep. I tried. And I canât stop crying.â âD*mn!â We talked a while longer. Weâre both crazy about that little guy. Hope he comes back. At 10-5, 2-4 Illinois State. These guys beat up some pretty good teams in the pre-conf. season. Then their SG, their best player went down anâ they lost 4 straight ta start the conf. Heâs back so watch out. We need ta have a hand in his face all night. Their SF can hurt ya too. They donât rebound all that well anâ they donât like pressure. Jan. 18: 74-82. Canât give up 82 anâ expect ta win. D was awful. Officials were worse. Fouls were 7 for them, 21 for us. Fram fouled out, 4 each for Morr, Jode, Black, anâ I had ta sit all of âem for long stretches. I got the 2nd T of my career, anâ d*mn near got tossed late. I thought about it then decided against. They shot 32 free throws, we shot 12, anâ that was the diff. BUT, we let âem make 13 threes. Canât blame the three blind mice for that. O was fine, 6 in doubles, 13 TOs, +8 RBs. I shouldnât a said it but at the press conf. after the game I said the refs were awful, an' I kinda went inta detail. Iâll get fined for that. Oh well. I donât lose control often. First time, really. Still no sign a Tail. Canât wait ta get home. Not that I can do much but I think itâll help Lucy ta have me there. Back tied for 1st with Wichita State, anâ there next, at our place. Got home anâ we walked the whole back yard, the woods behind, everywhere we could, but no sign a Tail. Lucy is a pretty strong person but sheâs takinâ this pretty hard. She got Tail when he was 8 weeks, anâ heâs 5 years now. I miss the little guy too. Wichita Stateâs 14-4, 6-1, anâ they ainât lost on the road- all 4 losses at home. Thatâs unusual. They play a tough 1-2-2. C is their best but theyâre real good at SG anâ SF too. This one wonât be easy. We need to really focus. Jan. 21: 70-51. We played great! Really rose ta the occasion. Jumped out ta a 11-0 lead anâ never looked back. The Peoria Center was the loudest I ever heard it but we gave âem lots a reasons ta make noise. Real balance. We had 7 guys with between 8 anâ 14 points. 11 TOs. We really were at our best tonight. Felt good. Still no Tail. Not a hint. Been a week anâ thatâs probâly a real bad sign. -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
Last game on the road trip, 2-7 Utah. They lost ta a few real bad teams anâ a couple good ones but the wins were against nobodies. They play man. Startinâ PF is out. Dec. 21: 73-51. Good game! 19, 15 for Jode, 16 for Black who needs ta get more minutes. Anâ weâll get home about 7:00 p.m. on the 22nd. Then itâs get ready for the big day on the 23rd! Dec. 23: 7:00 p.m. ceremony. I wonât bore ya with all the details. It all went perfect, which I guess is why they spend so much time getting ready for it. Oh, anâ the groom is a very minor role in the play! Lucy was beautiful in a pretty white dress, not a gown. There were flowers all ârounâ, an a Justice a the Peace did the ceremony. One a Lucyâs friends is a singer anâ she sung three songs, all at diffârent parts. They were all real good anâ right on target, romantic, nice. Then the buffet dinner, more music, dancinâ. Lucy's parents did come. They were quiet an' man is she right. Humorless is the word. I really like her sister an' her husban' an' kids. Hope ta see more of 'em. At 11:00 Lucy said ta me, âOkay, we need to make our exit.â So we said goodbye ta evârybody anâ headed for the airport. We decided ta fly ta New Orleans. Weâre back late on the 26th. I got a game here on the 28th. The assistants will run practice on the 26th, the onây day Iâll actually miss cuz kids get ta go home for the holiday. The trip was great. No place like New Orleans. All a my stuff got moved ta Lucyâs place over the past couple weeks so when we got back I was ready ta be livinâ there, which I practicâly was anyways. Itâs a little cozy, not a big place, but weâll be fine. We start conf. play with 3-6 Northern Iowa State here. They play 2-3, first time weâve seen it this year. On paper this should be easy if we play. Lucy will be here as Mrs. Mack Jones for the first time. I like it! Dec. 28: 61-48. Great D but we never got the O goinâ. We were never in danger but I didnât like the lack of execution. Marr had 23. 12 TOs, which is more like it. At 4-6 North Chicago next. Donât even get ta spend New Yearâs Eve with my new wife. H*lluva thing! Oh well. They play man. Itâs a road game but if we stay focused we should be fine. Dec. 31: 81-71. Again, we led pretty much all the way, by as much as 17. 11 TOs. 24, 7 for Barr, 21, 6, 3 for Jode. Happy 1977. I called Lucy right after midnight. Weâd arranged it soâs I knew sheâd be up. We been top 10 RPI all season but havenât cracked the ratings. Nice ta be back home. Weâve settled in nicely. Donât seem ta be gettingâ in each otherâs way. We talked a lot about balance. We both think thereâs times ta do stuff tagether anâ times ta do stuff on our own. We think we do a good job a that, I know, itâs real early, but still. 3-8, 1-1 Missouri State is here. They play man anâ they cough up the ball a lot. Weâre on that. Jan. 4: 77-54. Kinda thought this one would go like it did. Our bigs jusâ killed theirs. 19 for Barr, 18, 7, 2 for Black, 16, 9 for Jode, 12, 2, 3 for Brel. 9 TOs. Eric Jatt twisted his wrist. Heâs questionable for the next game but it donât look real serious. -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
4-2 LSU is in. Tough inside anâ they play man. Nov. 30: 68-42. Blew âem away in the 2nd, givinâ up onây 16. 12 TOs, 43 RBs, held âem ta 22% shootinâ. 16, 11 for Jode. Now the long road trip. We start at 3-2 Ohio State. They have a very good C and their SG is also good. On paper this one is a toss up. Dec. 3: 76-63. They kept it close for a while but we never trailed. 20, 13 for Jode, 22, 6 for Barr, 15, 6, 4 for Fram. 11 TOs, 44 RBs. Looks like weâve turned it arounâ, now ta keep it that way. At 3-3 Valparaiso. Good guards. Dec. 6: 78-69. We took control early. 22, 9 for Jode, 18, 5, 3 for Barr. At 6-2, #24 Temple. Good players at evâry position. They play man. Dec. 13: 71-76. Close all the way but they led most a the time. They played with real discipline anâ; wouldnât let us in. Guards were great, 20 each, anâ the C had 16, 7, 5. Our starters werenât gettingâ open if not for sub Dave Blackâs 28, 6 it would have been real ugly. 19 TOs, way too many. -7 RB. Hey, theyâre good. Weddinâ in a little more than a week. Lucyâs frantic. Friends anâ the people who work for her seem to be doinâ weddinâ stuff evâry minute. If they need me ta I run errands, otherwise me anâ Tail try ta stay outta the way. I read when Iâm not doinâ hoops stuff. Glad when itâs over, for lots a reasons. -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
We start at Rhode Island. They play man. We donât really know much else. Nov. 16: 68-66. Well, itâs a win. They led by as many as 11 in the 1st half, 5 at the half. Then it was back anâ forth practicâly possession by possession, 22 lead changes, 13 ties. At the end we got it ta Nick Jode inside anâ he made a little half hook for the win. 11 TOs, stats were as even as the game was. 19, 9 for Jode, 13, 4, 3 for Fram, 10 each for Morr anâ Black. At 2-0 UNLV next. They play man, press a lot, anâ evârybody scores but nobody too much. They beat two cupcakes. Nov. 19: 71-80. 1st half was all back anâ forth. In the 2nd we kept playinâ catch up anâ never quite did. Finâly at the end they stretched the lead out a little. It was a 4-5 point game most a the way. We let âem shoot 59.2%. Really no need ta say anythinâ else. I see this as a really good defensive team so this is absolutely unacceptable. It WILL be addressed. Nothinâ wrong with our O but we will be workinâ on D- intensely! Still chasinâ recruits. Still swinginâ anâ missinâ. Three straight at home then 4 straight on the road. With the weddinâ cominâ up Lucy doesnât like that Iâll be away so much. Tryinâ ta get things done before I head out. Weâll be back anâ forth, not gone the whole time, but still. We went ta buy me a suit anâ ta get it fitted. Beinâ 6â6â, 258, that ainât so easy. Wound up with three suits. Now I got a real good coachinâ wardrobe ANâ weddinâ clothes. We bought me some casual stuff too. Spent some money but I make way more than I need. Anâ we talked about that. âYou act like money is no object.â âIt ainât really. I make more than we need even without your income anâ your business does good. Next year Iâll be makinâ somewhere between 3 anâ 10 times what I make now.â âWhat!â âOh yeah. Count on it. I mean if I got a real big job it could be 10-15 times what Iâm makinâ now. Money wonât be a problem.â âWho knew? I still insist on having my business you know.â âNot a problem, Lucy. I know it means a lot anâ I donât see why that should bother me. It donât.â âGood.â âAnâ if we have kids you can have âem wuth ya in a little used bookstore easy. I just donât see a problem.â âThatâs one of the many things I like about you, big guy. Youâre reasonable. Even though you look like a cave man you sure donât think like one.â âExactly- HEY!â We laughed. New Mexico, 0-1, is in. Theyâre good at 2, 3 anâ 4 but I think weâre better. They play man, all we seen so far. Nov. 23: 64-59, OT. Man, we jusâ ainât got it tagether yet. This didnât need ta be this hard. We blew a 12 point lead late by standinâ arounâ on D while their SF ate us up, anâ while they grabbed all the RBs. I read âem out at the end a regulation anâ they took charge, but d*mn! 14, 8, 2 for Jode, 11, 10 for Brel, 11 each for Fram anâ Black. We jusâ gotta start playinâ D and gettingâ RBs. 2-1 Nashville is in. Canât let the SF get away from us. They score mostly inside. They play 1-2-2. Nov. 26: 74-38. FINâLY!!! Now THATâS D! 24, 1, 4 for Morr, 11, 5, 2 for Barr, 9, 3, 4 for Fram, 8, 5, 1 for Jode, 6, 7, 1 for Black. 9 TOs. Held âem ta 25.6% shootinâ. -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
Sept. 11: Home visits. Could only see 4 of the 5 but visits went well, we thought. Sept. 18: Brian Evans, #60 C, commits. Anâ we have a schedule anâ a weddinâ date. Friday, Dec. 23. Not ideal but the schedule didnât give us a break. Weâll go somewhere for 3 days, then back for a home game on 12/28. Best we could do. As ta the sched., no in season tourney. We stepped up the quality a the opponents again. 4 ranked teams, 2 at home, 2 on the road. Sept. 25: Lost a PG, but offered ta another one. Oct. 2: We get one, lose 3. Got Kip Roy, #168 PG. First day a practice. Pretty excited. The new guys will add a lot to a very solid lineup. Iâd like one more guard but thereâs three so one may develop. Weâll see. Lost another one. Not doinâ that good so far with recruitinâ. Oh well, lotsa guys still out there. Oct. 23: Anâ we lose another recruit. Hm. Weâll go through the list again first week a Nov. Nov. : Last ratings change. Hopinâ ta pick up some new recruits ta go after, particularly PGs. 9 new guys, 7 guards. Letâs see what we got. Exhibitions cominâ up. Jim Barr, who eventually worked his way inta the startinâ lineup last year will start at SF. Morr at PG, Fram at SG, Brel at PF, Jode at C. Black is the first big off the bench anâ we wonât lose anythinâ when he comes in. First guard off the bench is Eric Jatt, the onây new guy likely ta get minutes. Heâll do okay, at least okay. Itâs been all weddinâ plans for the last month or so. Lucyâs pretty level headed anâ she ainât all crazy like some women get about weddinâs but they just take lots a planninâ weâre findinâ out. She likes some of it but is annoyed by more of it. It gets more informal the more time she spends. No gowns, no tuxedos at this point. A buffet meal anâ a weddinâ cake, some music, anâ we got the ballroom on campus which is great. More like a party than a big deal weddinâ. I offer ta help anâ I stay outta the way. I will do this any way she wants. Anâ here we go with season three. -
DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way
Wayne23 replied to Wayne23's topic in Basketball Franchises đ
May 1: The cruise was great. We just relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. I had thought about proposing, given that this was going to be such a romantic vacation. Then I thought no, just relax, be with Lucy. It will be six months on May 15. Iâm going to ring shop and propose on or shortly after that date. Ta be honest, I never thought this was somethinâ Iâd be doinâ. Iâm nervous about it but I canât let that stop me. Again, never thought it would happen but I have no doubt that I want to spend the rest of my life with Lucy. Thereâs a 15 year age difference. Weâve talked about that. It doesnât bother her. So it doesnât bother me. May 25: Well, I did it! We went out ta dinner. Then we took a walk anâ founâ this absolutely beautiful spot. We sat on a rock anâ looked out over an open field anâ it was gorgeous. I reached inta my pocket where the ring was anâ grabbed it, looked at Lucy, anâ jusâ asked. She broke inta this amazinâ, HUGE smile anâ jusâ fell inta my arms. After a while she moved away a little anâ said, âYes, Mack, I will most definitely marry you.â I doubt that any words I ever hear in my life from here on will make me happier. The ring fit anâ she said she loved it. Rest a the night she kepâ lookinâ at it anâ smilinâ. Yeah, I did spend a little money on it. Thereâs gonna be lots for us ta plan, which I will leave mostly ta her. She knows my sched. anâ sheâs good at that kinda stuff. Iâll get married any time she says, anywhere, any way. She ainât any more religious than me so it wonât be in a church or with any kinda preacher. Weâre talkinâ that thereâs probâly no way weâll be in Peoria nexâ year if I have another good season. Anâ she wondered if she should think about puttinâ her business on the market soâs we can move as soon as I get the job. If not sheâd need ta stay here anâ go wherever Iâm goinâ after the business gets sold. She said she thought maybe a late fall weddinâ, at a time when we got a week between games. We could go on just like a 2-3 day trip. Wherever we go nexâ weâre gonna buy a house. She made it clear sheâll start a new business, hopefully involvinâ books, anâ Iâm fine with that. We ainât talked much about kids but enough ta know we both want at least one. June 5: Lookinâ at transfers. Thereâs a guard weâd like ta pick up. We get him. Wade Laz. He is projecting at 4.5-5. Could be a real good pick up. Now ta get him eligible. He is not a great student. June 26: 5 ta give. Lookinâ at about 22 ta start. Aug. 7: Recruitinâ continues. The usual stuff. âI donât know if theyâll even come.â âHm?â âMy parents. I donât know if theyâll even come to our wedding.â âYou donât talk about âem much.â âThey still live in Racine, Wisconsin where I grew up. Same house.â âYou donât seem ta visit.â âHavenât been home in maybe five years.â âBecause?â âThey are VERY conservative. We donât agree on anything. They think a woman should be a housewife, mom, nothing else. Certainly not a business woman. And theyâre big time religious, the type where everybody who disagrees with anything they believe is wrong, evil, going to hell.â âI can see why you wouldnât wanta see âem.â âThey raised me okay. I sure didnât go through what you did. But I never felt much⊠I donât know, caring, love. Donât get me wrong, Iâm sure they loved Ellie and me but they were- and are, just humorless people. I couldnât wait to get away and I have no interest in ever going back. Ellieâs different, a little more like them, but not judgmental, not negative. Sheâs still in Racine, playing the good housewife, two kids, stays at home. We talk all the time and sheâs a great sister. She and Ed will definitely be here with their girls. Mom and Dad are invited but I wonât tease or beg. Come if they want or not, I donât care.â Wasnât much I could say ta that. Weâre goinâ with a small wedding. My staff and their wives, and the A.D., his wife and secretary anâ her husband. My foster family a course. Thatâs it. Lucyâs sisterâs family, maybe her parents, her staff at the book store, a couple friends. We wonât book a date until my hoop schedule comes out, anâ it will be sometime soon after that, definitely before the end a the year. Weâll probâly do it on campus, maybe in the ballroom here, maybe some place else. Iâll get rid a my apartment anâ move inta hers since we donât expect ta be here next year. Aug. 21: Time ta make some offers. We offer ta 3 PGs anâ 2 bigs.