Wayne23

November 28: Once again we started slowly, going down by as many as 6 early on, but one time out fixed the problem and we went into the locker room up by 7. Their 2 and 3 were scoring too easily in the first as far as I was concerned so we stepped up the defensive effort. This slowed them both down and our lead varied from 5-13 points throughout the second half. The final was a satisfying 70-59. Kal Napp dominated inside with 30 and 7. Rahm Park added 15. We had 16 turnovers, which is better but more than I want. 892 paid, and they were an echo in our 5,500 seat arena. I realize that winning basketball builds attendance so this will take time. For the past two seasons the average attendance has been 813, so we were above that at least. We are back on the road for a game with tough New Mexico State but then home for three games. NM ST likes to work it inside. I believe that our big players can hold their own but we will see. On D they go 3-2 and press very little. We have yet to see the 3-2 so it should be interesting. We’ve been working against it in practice. Let us see how that translates. I find the 3-2, unless it is very well played, can be easy to beat IF you have a team that passes well, which we do not. You skip pass to the wings then have your 2 or 3 cut to the circle. The opposition usually doesn’t drop in time, the wing fires it into the circle and there are a lot of open 12-15 footers. If they send a big man up to cover the doughnut hole a bounce pass inside (usually a HUGE mistake but it works in this situation) will result in easy layups. I am not certain my passers can execute well enough to make this work but we will try. December 1: So near and yet so far, 72-74. We did fine against the 3-2, using my strategy. Unfortunately we turned it over 29 times. Despite that we almost got the win. A buzzer beating three beat us. Kal Napp was awful, playing a total of 11 minutes before fouling out, but PF Rahm Park took over with 23, and Lan Sawk and Clint Ray were great from the bench. We got our 12-15 footers, we got our layups. We were called for nine more fouls than NM ST, and that, except for the turnovers, was what ruined us. Did we commit those fouls? Well… I have seen games that were officiated better but we committed lots of the fouls. We are 3-3. We now play 4 of 5 games at home and feel like we should have a good stretch before the start of conference play. Opportunity is knocking. But 20.5 turnovers per game will keep the door locked so we simply need to do better with that. Wisconsin-Green Bay is in. They like to run and they work it inside to their very good PF. On D they play mostly man and rarely press. They’re 5-1 against weak teams. December 5: Yet again we came out slowly, going down by 8 early on. We rallied back and took our first lead at the end of the half, 33-32. We pressured their PF hard in the 1st and he did almost nothing except rebound (13 for the game). Their 3 made some shots but you cannot stop everything. We decided to stay with what was working on D. Despite W-GB’s PF we felt like our advantage was inside so we worked on plans to get the ball there in the second. It worked well. We built the lead to 12 with just under 5 minutes left and coasted in. they closed the gap but it was never a serious threat. Their three at the buzzer made the final 62-58 but it was not that close. Rahm Park had another good game, holding their PF to 4 while getting 17 and 9. Kal had 10 and 11. We had 15 turnovers, as good as we seem able to do at this point. I’ll take it. Sub forward Al Mark banged up a shoulder. He’s gone for about a week. He does not play a lot of minutes. There is a little buzz about the team in town. 4-3 is nothing wonderful but the team has usually been 1-6 or 2-7 at this point. We had 1,129 at our last game and the RI game coming up looks like it will be even better. Rhode Island is 5-2. They feature lots of ball movement. On D they play man and they don’t press much. They’ve played some good teams but haven’t beaten any of them. They are 2-0 on the road though. December 8: Perhaps our best effort of the season, 78-60. We came out strong and jumped to a quick double figure lead, and we never looked back, going in to the locker room up 45-27. Kal, Rahm and Des were all on fire, and Lan added a great deal from the bench. 16 turnovers. We are now 5-3. 1,513 paid. The largest crowd in almost two years.

November 14: We open at Maine. Little is known about them at this stage. As I sit in the hotel, preparing to leave for the game with the team many thoughts occur. At long last the moment has arrived. Here is where I test my mettle. I am optimistic and excited. I am not a man who gives in easily to emotion but I think it fitting that I feel emotion at this time. Not the beginning I had hoped for. We were overwhelmed in the early portion of the game. I needed to call three time outs in the first half before I could get my players to follow the procedures we had practiced. By then the game was out of reach, but I was determined that we would play as we were supposed to play. From that point on we did so, and we narrowed a 22 point deficit to a final score of 71-79. We controlled the second half. Ball handling was our plague. We had 21 turnovers. It did not help that PG Jeff Post was able to play only 19 minutes, all of them in foul trouble. Back up Clint Ray did not do badly but I need Post at PG. Our SG, Des Arch scored 20 but he too fouled out, in 30 minutes. I do not have enough guards to have both of my starters in foul trouble and that was key. My forwards held their own. We worked very hard at practice after our opening defeat. I found that players were focused and we ran offensive sets, and practiced defensive formations until they were run properly several times in succession. I was neither harsh nor punitive but I was demanding, especially of their focus. Hopefully we will see improvement. We return to the state of Maine to play at Lewiston. During the pregame locker room talk, and again in the huddle just before the opening tap I remind my players of what I expect. November 17: And I get it. Or at least more of it. The first half is back and forth. We go into the locker room with a two point lead. Jeff Post committed his second foul with 4:22 left, but Clint Ray was very good in his place. In the second half the game continues to go back and forth. Finally, with about 5 minutes left, we go on a 10-2 run, which proves to be the difference. We win 85-78. Turnovers continue to be a disaster, 21 again tonight. We commit 19 fouls and our C, Kal Napp, fouls out. But he had 19, 6 and 3. We need him in the game. Des Arch also had 19, and the bench played well. Of course shooting 61.2% from the floor was rather a large factor. After two road games we are 1-1. Given the difficulty of winning on the road I suppose I should be satisfied. In some ways I am but the turnover situation must be solved. As I reflect upon our first two games I can see that there are depths as yet unplumbed in this coaching business. It seems that when I fix something, another thing requires attention. Above all is ball handling, but if I focus too narrowly upon that issue, other things will creep in to damage our efforts. At the same time I love this job. The challenge is a constant stimulation. Hopefully Maria is unaware of how little I sleep these days. My mind races so that sleep will not come easily or often. November 20: “You do not fool me, my husband.” “I never do, Maria. Nor is it my aim to do so.” “A man must sleep.” “This is true.” “And so?” “And so? What?” “And so, you must sleep and you do not. You are up and down throughout the night- I hear you every time, and you wander to your study to work, come back later, repeat the pattern throughout the night. I doubt that you sleep four hours on most nights.” “My job is very mentally stimulating.” “Yes… it is that…” “I do not know how to address your concern.” “I understand that you are overstimulated. You cannot continue in good health without proper sleep. It is my belief that you should see the doctor and ask for sleeping pills.” “Maria, I always listen respectfully to your wise suggestions but I do not wish to use drugs to solve this, or any other problem.” “Achilles…” “Maria…” “We will discuss this again.” “I have no doubt of it, my wife.” Our three committed recruits all signed letters of intent today. Unfortunately, PG Ray Martin made it clear that he has no interest in coming here. We withdraw the scholarship and offer it instead to Wesley Jackson, PG, #104. He has us at #7 on his list and has told us he will come to campus for a visit and is interested in our school. Ryan Puckett has us at #3 and we are hopeful that we will eventually land him. We continue on the road, journeying to Florida Gulf Coast. They are 1-1, winning their only home game. November 21: We began the game in a fog and before we knew it we were down 8 points. I needed two time outs to solve the problem. We began to play somewhat better but at the half we were still down by six points. At the half we emphasized getting out on the three (They hit 5 in the 1st), and going in then out on offense to free up our big men for lay ups, as well as Des for outside shots. It all worked really well and we quickly took the lead. In the end we won 62-52. Des had 19, Rahm Park 15 and 7 at PF, and Kal Napp 12, 6, 2 at C. Alas, for the third straight game we had 21 turnovers. Still, we saw some good things. We’ll simply keep working on ball handling. I must say that 2-1 is a step up for Akron. The team had fallen upon hard times in recent years, winning no more than nine games in any of the last four seasons. We have decided to give Lan Sawk more playing time at SF. He is playing better than our starter, Jay Moody but the latter will continue to start… for now. We continue on the road journeying to CT to play Hamden. They are 0-3 against weak competition but road games are always dangerous. We will finally begin to play some home games following this one. November 24: The first half was close throughout, with seven leads changes and five ties. At the end we trailed by a single point. The Hamden C dominated in the first half and we put in a plan to contain him, or to try to do so. Sadly, it did not work and he was even more of a force in the 2nd, leading Hamden to a 78-69 victory over us. Kal Napp had a very good game at C in many respects, getting 15 and 11, but his opponent had 28 points. The difference in this game was the bench. Their nonstarters had 24, 7, 8, while ours accounted for only 9, 6, 6. The good sign was that we had 15 turnovers. But we allowed Hamden to shoot 55.8%. We are indeed a work in progress but work we shall! The staff meetings focus upon game play and practice issues more than recruiting, but we remain actively in pursuit of our last two recruits and are optimistic. John Lewis’ scouting reports have been very accurate, and they have helped enormously with our preparation. Sadly, our players do not always possess the talent to implement the things we practice. Again, we shall continue to work hard, and our players are learning and improving.

August 21 “Achilles, my husband.” “Yes, Maria?” “You are working very, very hard, Achilles.” “We discussed this when I took the position, Maria. I told you that during the first year I expected to work as many as sixteen hours each day.” “Yes, I know we discussed this, but still, it is too much.” “My health remains good, I am able to be home for dinner at 6:00 with the family almost every evening, at which time I spend at least an hour with the children. I attend most of Achilles’ games and Maria’s dance recitals. I try to find an afternoon or an evening to spend with you at the weekend. I remain aware of my duties to my family.” “But you do not get enough sleep.” “I have always required less sleep than you do, my wife.” “I know this, but you have never gotten this little sleep on a regular basis.” “Thank you for your concern, my wife, but I am fine. I will attempt to find time for a bit more sleep.” Today we offered scholarships to three Point Guards, a Small Forward, and a Center. All are showing at least a small amount of interest in Akron. September 18: We get our first recruit, Jon Moore, a Small Forward, currently at #43. October 2: Al Willis, PG, and Jason Gourde, C, commit. Today is the first day of practice. Nov. 6: Recruiting and practice continue. We will nail down our final list of recruits today as this is the last day rating numbers will change. I like my team. I feel that we will do well in conference. The season rapidly approaches! We are still deciding about offers of our last two scholarships. We will decide next week. This week’s exhibition games will help us to determine our player rotation. Exhibitions were a great help and our line up and rotation are set. SF Moore wound up at #40, C Gourde at #114, and PG Willis at #143. We offer to a PG, Ray Martin, #108, and SG Ryan Puckett, #177, and feel good about our prospects of signing both. And here it is at least, the season. I feel that we’re ready but how do you know?

June 26 “Achilles, my husband.” “Yes, Maria.” We speak Greek in our home but I will translate. “Your colleagues, your compatriots, at some point they will read your diary.” “My journal yes.” “And they are, are they not rather interested in statistics, in ratings, in things like that, is that not true?” “It is indeed true.” “Then perhaps you should provide them with this information here, at the beginning of your writing.” I can never decide whether my wife is more beautiful than she is brilliant, or more brilliant than she is beautiful. I offered the journal to her and of course she immediately hit upon an area that I had neglected. In creating my coaching profile I did what I normally do and awarded myself 205 points: 15 for Offense, 25 for both Defense and Player Development, and 70 each for both Recruiting and Scouting. This is from a possible total of 500 points. My ambition and integrity are both rated very high (no cheating, no early leaving in this dynasty), and both academics and discipline are rated as high. My temper is average. Rating of 5 in all areas except: Player Rotation- 10, Offense Crash Boards- 8, Defense Crash Boards- 10, Full Court Press- 2, and Offensive Pace-6. The latter is an attempt to reduce turnovers, which tend to plague me. Akron has a Team Prestige of 41 in the Mid-U.S. Conference which has a rating of 45. Facilities are at B- and academics at C+. We feel we can be competitive in conference. We have arranged a home and home series with Army as our non-conference rival. This opponent will probably change as we improve. Recruiting is set to Easy but that will go to Normal in season three or so. My dream destination school is, of course, my alma mater. I will use the Princeton offense approximately 55% of the time, and the Triangle approximately 45%, except against man to man defense of course. On defense we will employ man to man and 2-3 zone approximately equally. I will press rarely but will practice it enough to be ready to use the man to man press and the 1-2-1-1. Today we begin recruiting. My staff and I have done an enormous amount of work and we are excited about possibilities. We have five scholarships to offer and hope to get two guards and three big men or vice versa, but I always believe in going after the best athlete available. Having said that, our returning strength next year appears that it will be inside, so guards are a priority. We will look at as many recruits as possible, continuously adding to and subtracting from our list as we gain information. “House rules” allow me to go after any in state recruit. In region only those rated #75 or higher are eligible, and nationally and internationally only those rated #100 or higher. I am allowed to recheck and add to the list each month when the numbers change. To begin with we look at 25 recruits. Recruiting is a lot of tedium, calling, record keeping, gauging interest. One’s tedium must not ever show in the call or visit with the recruit of course. It is vital to remain upbeat and enthusiastic. We whittle the 25 to 15 during July and will add new recruits at the beginning of each new month. We are somewhat encouraged by early interest among a number of recruits. We add 14 new recruits to the list on August 7.

Author's Note: DDS:CB3 is still a new release and changes are being made. I have started several threads but have them on hold since updates may result in losing them. If that happens I can pick up from where I am but not if I continue. At the same time I enjoy doing dynasties so i thought I'd tart one and run it until game changes kill it. Thus the title (A Bob Dylan song for those who do not know his music). Here goes: May 1, 1971 My name is Achilles Karabinakis. I am the son of immigrants but I was born here in the United States in 1927- three days after my parents arrived. They settled in the little northeastern CT town of Willimantic and immediately went to work in the factories. I was left in the care of my grandmother who accompanied them here. I grew up speaking Greek and only learned English when I began school. I still speak both languages. As you will find with all Greeks I am very proud of my heritage. I am also very proud to be American. My parents were short and stocky but something about the American diet or climate or whatever made me quite different. I grew to be 6’ 6”, 265 pounds. I have always been very strong. When I entered Windham High School in 1941 the football coach saw me and wanted me on the team badly. I was not interested in American football. The school did not have a soccer team (what we in Europe have always called “football”- the REAL football) but I knew a little something about basketball and thought I would give it a try. The coach of that team was overjoyed to have me, again, due to my size, certainly not because of any ability, since I had none at that point. Coach Piotrowski was a hard man and a true task master but he was a good teacher, and over my four years with him I learned an enormous amount, enough so that the University of Connecticut, in the neighboring town of Storrs, CT, offered me a full four year basketball scholarship. Attending university was a dream come true for me and even more so for my family, so I accepted the scholarship gratefully. From 1945-’46, through 1948-’49, I was a UConn Husky, and there was never a man who wore the uniform with more pride. In those days there were not many players of my height and bulk and so I think it is fair to say I was an asset to my team. I was never a scorer but I learned to be a very good rebounder and an even better defender. Coach Hugh Greer, a man who has always been a god to me, taught me with great patience and endless knowledge. He gave me the great compliment of repeatedly saying that I was the best defensive player he had ever coached. If that is the case it is entirely due to his tutelage. Upon my graduation Coach Greer helped me to secure the position of history teacher/ head basketball coach at New London High School, on the CT shoreline. I remained in that position for eight years, learning my trade and improving bit by bit. In 1957 I was offered the position of assistant coach at the University of Vermont, again, through the graces of Coach Greer. I accepted, and served there, learning from a very good head coach, until 1963, when, following the tragic sudden death of Coach Greer, eventual new coach Fred Shabel took me on as his assistant at the University of Connecticut. I stayed at UConn through the Shabel, Burr Carlson, and early Dee Rowe years until, just recently, I was offered the head coach job at Akron, here in Akron, Ohio. So finally, at age 44, in 1971, I am a head basketball coach at a Division I university. I will chronicle my adventures in this new position in this journal. I believe that keeping records is important. A little bit about my personal life. I have been married to Maria Casavetes Karabinakis, since 1953. We have a son, Achilles, Jr., age 15, born in 1956, and a daughter, Maria, who is 12, born in 1959. My wife Maria is a traditional Greek housewife. She does not work but stays at home with the children. She is an excellent cook and housekeeper and the perfect partner for me. I cannot imagine life without her and am grateful to have her in my life every single day. My children are good students and they make me proud. There is never a hint of trouble from either of them. Young Maria wishes to become a veterinarian, and studies very hard. Achilles is an accomplished football (soccer) player on his high school team, and is already sought after by many colleges. His academic interest is in the sciences, especially physics. He hopes to become a physics professor someday. My parents, unfortunately, both died young, but my wife’s parents are a treasured part of our lives and they make their home with us. Tradition is important and they provide us with a richness of the past from our native country, to which we return- all of us, every other year. As I arrived at the campus to begin work I was struck by how fortunate I am to be here on this beautiful campus in this fine American community. Life has been very good to me. I will work very hard to deserve my good fortune. All three assistant coaches chose to leave at the end of last season so my first task is replacing them. I want to spend a bit of money upon a recruiter since recruiting is vital to success. I will save money on the other two positions. I am most fortunate to hire Roy Baker as my #1. He is very highly regarded in the Midwest. He will recruit for me and I feel he will be a great asset. I have him for three years. John Lewis will be my #2, my scout. In our interview he showed me great analytical skills. I asked him to break down some film which he was seeing for the first time, and he saw everything I had hoped he would see. #3 is Pat Johnson, who will be my practice/bench coach. He is indeed a strategist. Naturally there will be some overlap of duties with the staff. We will meet formally twice each week but I intend to work very closely with my staff at all times. As a long time assistant myself, I know what good assistants have to offer and I intend to avail myself of all of it. This is perhaps a good time to state that I have waited a very long time to become a head coach. For the past several years I have applied for positions throughout the country, and I was repeatedly disappointed by the meager response. I feel my credentials are impressive, my recommendations were of the highest, and I was mystified that opportunity so regularly passed me by. I began to wonder if there were an issue of bias due to my ethnicity, but there is no way to determine whether that is the case. I mention this only to state that I am more than ready. I enter the ranks of head coaching with a wealth of experience and knowledge, far beyond that of most first time coaches. I am very confident of success but then we Greeks are a confident, proud people.

(April 30, 2014) “Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to WATL radio’s presentation of Buddy Boy. I’d like to announce that last Wednesday’s program was the highest rated show in WATL history. Thank you so much for making that possible.” “Buddy Boy, you wound up with 80 points, 72 rebounds for the five game NAIA tourney, and were named most outstanding player, which almost never happens to a member of the losing team. Yet your playing career ended on a sad note, so near and yet so far.” “It was a honor, but tell the truth it didn’t ease the pain a losin’ any. Now’days it’s a very precious thing ta me, means a lot. At the time I was devastated, ‘spesh’ly when I thought the refs had blew the call at the end. It he’ped a little when we seen the film an’ it looked like they got it right after all. But on’y a little. I knowed I’d played my last game a serious basketball that I was ever gonna play in my life an’ that shore made me sad.” “How did Loretta help?” “How many ways is they ta he’p? She cheered me up, she talked ta me about coachin’ which I would be doin’ soon, an’ about how much Coach Grey had taught me an’ I was ready ta be a real good high school coach. She made me laugh when I didn’t think I could. She just kissed me inta givin’ up a bad mood sometimes. Lotsa other ways, she was always full a ideas. Still is.” “And so your college days came to an end.” “They did. An’ as they was comin’ ta a end, durin’ the very las’ week a school, I kinda surprised maself.” “How did you do that, Coach.” “Well, Loretta was a year behind me. She still had a year a schoolin’ ta do.” “And?” “And I had been debatin’ perposin’ ta her. But I was still the same ole Buddy Boy, scared ta death. Now Loretta an’ me had been goin’ tagether fer more’n two years at this point. We was close as could be. How in the world could I think she wouldn’t say yes? Well I was shore she wouldn’t say yes an’ I was scared. But I couldn’t leave campus without perposin’. Scared as I was I was too scared not ta. I mean I didn’t have a teachin’ job yet, didn’t know how fer away I’d end up. I wanted ta be engaged ta be married up afore I got separated from her. So I done it. I walked her down ta the lake- they was a beautiful lake on campus. I sat her down on a bench, away from the other folks what was there, an’ I dug in my pocket fer the ring. Wadn’t no fancy thing. I didn’t hardly have no money. But when I shopped I thought it was easy the pertiest one I could afford. Anyways, it was what I had. I took it out, like I said, and I asked her ta marry me. She give me that million dollar smile a hers and asked me what took so long. She thought I’d do it at Christmas. Then, when she actu’ly said yes- I made her say the word, I was so happy I cried- right there in front a her. An’ I tole her I was the happiest man what ever lived. An’ I b’lieved every word I said. An’, jus’ so’s ya know. That cheap little engagemint ring? After all a these years, ever’ time I offer ta buy her a real expensive one which I can do easy now, she says no way! This one means the world ta her. I guess that means more’n the world ta me. I get her other expensive jewelry instead, like ear rings an’ bracelets an’ pins an’ such. “Well I got a job at a perty good school in Montgomery which was nice but it was near two hours from campus an’ that wadn’t good. But Montgomery was a good newspaper town so’s I figgered Loretta would git a job easy when she graduated. We was gonna git married soon as that happened, plannin’ a early June weddin’. Course that’d be in her home town, a little tiny town between Decatur an’ Athens. That’d be a long ways fer my fambly ta come but I was determined I wanted ‘em ta. Pa said he couldn’t leave fer more’n a day, an’ how was he s’posed ta pay fer train tickets fer ever’body, an’ how was he s’posed ta afford hotel rooms fer ever’body? Good questions! Me an’ Loretta talked all a that over. They wadn’t no easy solutions, an’ we needed one. Fin’ly her poppa said that it wadn’t no big deal ta him an’ his wife where we all had the weddin’. Seemed ta him havin’ it on campus was like about halfway between fer his fambly an’ mines an’ we could prob’ly arrange ta have folks stay in a dorm at that time a year sense they was empty. So there wouldn’t be near the expense. I was touched. He was doin’ fine, money wise, so alla this was fer my fambly. If he was that kinda man, one who thought about other people afore hisself, I was surer than ever that I done made a good choice fer a wife. Not that there was ever enny doubt! It worked out. Daddy found the money somewheres. I shore didn’t have none to give er even ta loan him. “So on June 8, 1940, my Loretta an’ me was married in the Baptist chapel on the campus a the University of Alabama, an’ we had the reception in the gym where I played my games. They was a pot luck dinner which give all a us better food than enny caterer coulda come up with. Alla our famblies was there an’ quite a few friends, an’ it was jus’ the mos’ beautifulest, wonderfulest day ever. We drove down ta a five day honeymoon in New Orleans, getting’ there at about 8:00 that night. The beginnin’ was wonderful an’ the whole marriage has been. Loretta is the boss a the house an’ she tells me what all ta do. But she’s allus right so it ain’t no concern.” “And so you started teaching and coaching.” “I did. Well actu’ly I coached an’ taught fer a year whilst Loretta was in college.” “How was that first year.” “It was awful. I didn’t git ta see Loretta near enough. I had trouble figgerin’ out how ta be a teacher. I was way too easy goin’ an’ the kids run all over me. The basketball team was awful an’ they run all over me. I tell ya it was mighty discouragin’.” “What turned it around?” “Nothin’ turned it roun’ ‘til Loretta come ta join me the next year.” “Let’s stop for these messages. We’ll be right back.” “So Loretta turned it around?” “Yeah, she did. She knew what a terrible time I’s havin’ cuz I tole her ‘bout it ever time I got ta campus that first year so’s when she got ta Montgom’ry after the honeymoon she started in ta teachin’ me how ta run a class an’ a team. Now she wasn’t no teacher, like I said, but like allus she knowed how. In our life tagether she has allus just knowed how. She practiced me, showed me how ta control kids what didn’t want ta be controlled, taught me how ta use my natural friendliness without gittin’ took advantage of. Taught me how ta git kids on my side so’s it wasn’t cool ta be bad in my class. “An’ the second year it was like I was a whole other person. I took charge a my classroom. Oh they’s allus gonna be some trouble in a classroom but now I knowed how ta nip it in the bud mosta the time so it wadn’t no big deal. Kids learned, I told my stories, mos’ ever’body seemed ta like me, an’ it was great. The team listened, I was able ta teach ‘em now they was listenin’, an’ we had a winnin’ season. As it turned out the on’y losin’ season I had as a high school coach was that first one. I still wadn’t a great coach but I was a much better one an’ I was learnin’.” “You wound up coaching high school basketball for eleven years.” “Yeah, I couldn’t catch a break. I felt like after six I was ready ta move up. I applied fer all kinds a college jobs, but nothin’ an’ nothin’ an’ nothin’. Part of it was the war.” “How’s that.” “Well, we got inta the war durin’ my third season a coachin’. Now soon as the season ended I went down ta the recruitin’ place to join up. Figgered it was the right thing ta do. I didn’t wanta leave. I mean Loretta an’ me was married fer like almos’ two years at the time an’ we was happy as kin be but hell, the world was fallin’ apart. So I jus’ nat’rully thought I had ta he’p out. Well I was rejected.” “Why is that, Coach?” “I was too tall. They had a rule, the Army did, an’ the other services too. Ya had ta be at least 5’ 2”, an’ no taller than 6’ 5 ½”. I was 6’ 8”. The recruiter looked at me an' tole me ta leave. Well I tole him back ta fudge the height thing. He said no. If I was 6’ 6”, mebbe 6’ 6 ½ he could get away with it, but at 6’ 8” it warn’t even close an’ there wadn’t no way. Turned out he was right. Follerin’ year I was drafted. They sent me fer my pre-induction physical. I jus’ got in the door an’ a Sergeant noticed me right off. “Son, you too tall fer this man’s army. I’ll take ya down to 3C an’ we’ll do the paperwork an’ send ya on yer way.” “Well I tole him like I tole the recruitin’ guy about lyin’ ‘bout my height.” “I admire yer spirit son, but we ain’t got no uniforms ta fit ya an’ we don’t ‘zackly do no custom tailorin’. Come with me.” “I was classified 4F an’ out I went. Now, when I got back ta home turns out people wasn’t very understandin’. They was sure I was shirkin’ my duty an’ they wasn’t quiet ‘bout sayin’ so. Warn’t nothin’ I could do ta defend myself. I tole the story an’ that but it didn’t he’p with most folks. They b’lieved what they wanted ta b’lieve an’ that was that. I stayed fer another year but then Loretta an’ me moved onta a teachin’ job in Birmin’ham fer the ’43-’44 school year. It prob’ly hurt Loretta’s career as she had jus’ got a permotion, an’ she had ta start at the bottom again, but she never complained, jus’ went an’ foun’ a job right away. We was dirt poor, a course. School teachin’ an’ coachin’ didn’t pay nothin’ at the time an’ newspaper work was even worse. We got by, an’ we didn’t care anyways. We had each other. Well, then she got pregnint. Little Jerome junior was borned in May a 1945. I took a part time job at a hardware store that was willin’ ta do without me durin’ basketball season. That he’ped but we was makin’ less’n when Loretta was workin’ so things was rough. We moved ta a cheaper, smaller apartment, but it was still tough. We made do, an’ we done without. Still, we was happy. We loved each other more’n ever an’ we shore loved little Jerome.” “And so.” “Well, in January a 1948 Emmy Lou come along, an’ then in November a ’49 Bobby Jo completed the fambly. We was so poor by this time it woulda been terrible if we let it. We didn’t let it, an’ Loretta’s folks started he’pin’ us out some in ’48. They could afford it, an’ they wanted very much ta do it. I had no choice but ta accept unless I wanted my kids ta go hungry. Loretta went back ta work in 1950 but baby sittin’ costs meant what she made didn’t add all that much ta our income. Still, it was somethin’. An’ I stayed at the hardware store.” “And then the phone rang.” “Fine’ly! In June a 1950, with about two weeks left in the school year, Coach Grey called. Seems U. of Alabama had increased the budget ta pay fer a second assistant basketball coach. Coach Grey wanted me. Said I was his first choice. Now, I’d got ta be quite a good coach. Last three seasons my team had gone ta the state title game each year an’ won it the first an’ third year. So Coach wasn’t bein’ sentimental nor nothin’ in wantin’ ta hire me. We’d kep’ in touch over the years, an’ he allus axed me ta work his summer camp so that give him a little chancet ta see what was I like as a coach. Anyways, the pay was $1,500 a year more’n I was makin’, an’ at the time that was a huge increase in pay. It meant Loretta n’ the kids an’ me would live a lot better than we was. An’ no more hardware store neither. I jumped at the chancet.” “And you stayed five years.” “They was happy years. Jerome got ta be ten year old by the end, an’ Emmy Lou seven an’ Bobby Jo five. I had managed ta spend jus’ a lotta time with all of ‘em an’ them is memories I cherish.” “You’ve said you were ready to be a head coach in Division I after three years at ‘Bama.” “Well I was. Coach learned me so much in them three years that I was ready. After year three I applied fer nine jobs. I thought I was qualified fer ever’ one of ‘em. I got on’y two interviews, an’ neither school seemed that int’rested. Then after year four it was kinda the same. Eleven open jobs, all over the south, on’y three interviews, Finalist fer one job but didn’t git it.” “And in ’55 you finally connected.” “Yep. Thankfully Central Arkansas give me a chance. Fortunately fer both sides, as it turned out.” “And we’ll hear that story next time. Jackson Lee, WATL radio.”

(April 23, 2014) This is WATL radio, and I’m Jackson Lee, here with our next episode of Buddy Boy. We’ve packed a lot into this one so let’s go right to the tapes from 1987, with James Broadstreet and Coach Buddy Boy Blakelee. “Coach, before we get to your senior year, let’s talk about you and Loretta.” “My favorite topic!” “You met her fifty years ago, in 1937.” “An’ I ‘member it like it was yesterday. Luckiest day a my life! I’d be workin’ in the car wash if’n I hadn’t met Loretta.” “I’m not sure that’s the case but I do know how much she means to you. It’s a beautiful story. Tell us the beginning.” “Twern’t nothin’ all that special ‘bout the beginnin’ ‘cept ta me, I s’pose. Sophomore year an’ I got talked- nagged inta goin’ ta one more mixer. So I went. Kinda stood roun’ hopin’ nobody wouldn’t talk ta me, spesh’ly not girls. I’s better than I was as a freshman but I still wadn’t real good at talkin’ ta girls- not even close to. But now I’m known on campus. Bein’ a athalete an’ all, which is why they wanted me there in the first place. Students went ta the games in them days. They was brawls over gettin’ tickets even when we had a bad year like we just done, and we wadn’t nothin’ compared ta football! Anyways, girl after girl come up ta talk. I talked with ‘em, much as I could, but they didn’t stick around so I guess I didn’t do a whole lot better than before. Then, just as I’m lookin’ at my watch an’ happy ta see the dang thing’ll be over in about 20 minutes, up comes this honey haired doll. I had tried ta kinda train mahself not ta git too excited ‘bout perty girls cuz I was so cussed awful at knowin’ how ta talk ta ‘em but this one? Yeah, she caught my eye- hers was blue- still is.” “Hi Buddy Boy, I’m Loretta Walker. I’m a freshman, hope to major in journalism.” “Nice ta meet ya, Loretta. I’m hopin’ ta be a high school hist’ry teacher an’ a basketball coach when I graduate (not bad so far). How come ya know mah name?” “I'm a big basketball fan, Buddy Boy. Teachers do such important work. Why history?” “Well ma-am-” “Please call me Loretta.” (Man, that smile!) Okay, … Loretta. Well, I allus bin int’rested in hist’ry. They’s so many stories. I think ya git kids ta pay attention by tellin’ them int’restin’ stories. Then ya kin teach ‘em what they gotta learn an’ it ain’t so painful fer ‘em.” “That’s a great plan, Buddy Boy. I think you’ll be a really good teacher.” (All this time I’m tryin’ ta come up with a way a askin’ her out but I’m scared spitless an’ nothin’ is comin’ ta mind. Then they announce that its’ time ta leave.) “Dang! That shore went by fast.” “I really enjoyed talking with you, Buddy Boy.” “Yeah, me too. It’s the best time I ever had at one a these dang things.” “That’s sweet of you.” (Then there’s this awkward silence an’ I blush cuz I can’t think how ta ax her, I jus’ CAN’T!) “Buddy Boy, do you like music?” “Yes ma-am- I mean yes, Loretta. I go ta ev’ry concert they is on campus- that is if I ain’t got practice er such.” “Well, I was thinking that I’d love to go to the concert next Saturday if someone wanted to ask me. It’s the Dorsey Brothers. They’re such a big name band and I think they’re great!” “I wanted ta go to see them, too… I’d be real happy ta take ya ta that, Loretta… if ya’d go with me.” (Hardest thing I ever done.) “I’d love to!” “They kicked us out then so I walked her back to her dorm. She kept me talkin’ somehow an’ she talked too. I said good night at the door and she leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. It about paralyzed me fer a while… like fer the rest a the night an’ mosta the next day. Well, the mixer was Saturday so the concert was a whole week away. It was prob’ly my worst week as a student ever. I couldn’t concentrate on nothin’. An’ the time would NOT pass ‘cept durin’ practice cuz yer so busy then ever’thin’ else goes away. “Fin’ly Saturday come. The whole date was about perfect. We walked across campus ta the concert. It was just a wonderful night, not too hot but not chilly neither. Loretta wore this powder blue dress that showed off her figger. She was on the thin side, jus' the way I like 'em, an' I thought she was plumb beautiful in that dress. Loretta shore knew how ta git me ta talk an’ I remembered ta be perlite enough ta ax her about journalism an’ about what else she might be int’rested in. Turned out ta be gardenin’, ‘specially flars, roses an’ them, walkin’ outside when it ain’t too hot, an’ readin’, some a that about hist’ry. I made REAL shore ta remember ‘bout them int’rests. We had good seats for the show an’ it was jumpin’. We was practic’ly dancin’ in our seats. On some tunes the whole audience got up on their feet an’ did dance at their seats. On the way back I axed her if she wanted a ice cream an’ she did which was great cuz it meant I got ta spend more time with her. I can’t b’lieve it but I actually said that ta her. It kinda slipped out cuz I never woulda had the nerve. Well she broke out in this huge smile an’ took my han’ an’ held it the rest a the way ta the ice cream place, an’ did it again on the walk back ta her dorm. I don' know that I ever bin happy as I was when she done that. “When we got ta the door she talked before I could.” “I had a really nice time tonight, Buddy Boy. I’d be really disappointed if you didn’t ask me again.” (If I’m dreamin’ don’t wake me!) “Yes ma-am, uh Loretta. I’d really like that a lot. Ya gotta know I ain’t no good at this, I got no idea how ta go about it.” “That’s kind of cute, actually. I am so sick of all these boys who pretend to be so sophisticated. Tell you a secret?” “Sure.” “They usually don’t know any more than you do. They’re just a little braver.” (I smiled and blushed at that.) “I just have to kiss you when you do that. An’ she did. I offered my cheek, she turned my head an’ kissed me. I mean really kissed me!” “Okay, Buddy Boy, here’s what you do. You go on back to the dorm and you think about where you want to take me next week-” “Gotta be Friday though, the team’s outta town on Saturday.” “That’s fine. Anyway, on Tuesday- can you see me on Tuesday?” “Shore, I don’t see why not. I gotta study though, it’s a busy time.” “I’m getting to that. On Tuesday you come and pick me up right after supper and we go to the library to study. Then maybe you can buy me a soda pop. How’s that sound?” “Like I died an’ went ta heaven.” (She smiled again, and kissed me again.) “Okay, go now. I can’t wait for Tuesday to find out where you’re going to take me on Friday.” “How’s 7:00 on Tuesday?” “How’s 6:30?” “Even better.” “Back in them days girls had curfew. Needed ta be back in the dorm at 10:00 on week nights, midnight on weekends. Sounds crazy now but that’s the way it was, right up ta the ‘60’s in lotsa places. They could sign out ta be back late but they better remember ta sign out, an’ with a good excuse, by at least 48 hours ahead. Like I said before, diff’rint world.” “Okay, Buddy Boy, what a great story this is. But let’s save the next part for another time and switch to talking about your senior season.” “Okay by me.” “WATL, Atlanta radio. Back after this.” “Welcome back. After the very good ’37-’38 season expectations must have been high for the Crimson Tide.” “Sky high. Too high really.” “But the team had a great season, and you had a really exceptional season.” “I did. It was a great way ta go out. But team success is more important an’ we had a outstandin’ year.” “You averaged 17.4 points, 12.9 rebounds, second in the nation.” “Missed first by 7 rebounds, but I’ll take it.” “The team won their first 14, lost one and then won the rest in the regular season, and the conference tournament as well.” “Yep, 23-1 goin’ inta the NAIA, an’ a #3 seed. We played #30 St. Bonaventure an’ beat ‘em 56-43.” “You were the star of that game.” “Biggest game a my career. They didn’t have nobody taller than 6’4”. I got 31 points an’ 22 rebounds. Never had no numbers like that before or after.” “Then came Idaho State.” “Yep. 53-37. They was never in it. I had about 20 points an’ 10 RBs as I recall.” “21 and 11. Now the round of 8. What was it like on campus?” “Well, we didn’t git back ta campus. We played, Friday, Saturday, an’ then Central Missouri on Sunday but we’s tole that it was jus’ crazy. People was tryin’ ta fine short wave radio ta hear the games. Them what got it had like dozens a people crowdin’ roun’.” “So you’re 25-1, in the round of 8.” “Yep, alls we knowed about Central Missouri was what we seen, er what Coach seen in their game which was just after ours. They was big, two guys my size, both big an’ strong. Coach thought they was weak at Point Guard an’ if we used pressure they’d fold. Took a while but they did. With about 4 minutes left it was tied but their Point had 4 fouls an’ was tired from havin’ our guys hangin’ on him the whole game. He committed a charge an’ that was that. The back up was a freshman who hadn’t played but a few minutes all season an’ Jesse Smith stole it from him three straight times an’ scored ev’ry time afore their coach called a time out an’ put his Shootin’ Guard at the Point. By then we’re up 6 an’ there’s like 2 ½ ta go. So ev’ry time we get the ball we hold it until they foul us. Wadn’t no shot clock in them days. We make the shots an’ win by 11 an’ now there’s four teams left, and we git ta go home fer a few days.” “And you were greeted like war heroes.” “We was. Cant’ tell ya how many people was waitin’ when the bus pulled in at 1:45 in the mornin’. No curfew that night, or if they was mosta the girls broke it. I know Loretta did!” “ You had 15 and 10 in that game. Next up was San Diego State.” “Yep, San Diego State in the round a four. We went back ta the tourney which it was in Kansas City. Left Friday afternoon after classes. Got there late at night an’ slep’ ‘til 10:00 then had kinda what we now call a walk through at 11:00 an’ the game at 7:00. We was in the first game. San Diego State was the best team we played all year an’ we knew it. They was 27-1, we was 26-1 but they played tougher teams. They had great guards. They had some big guys but they was skinny, runners, but not tough inside. I figgered I’d have a field day.” “And did you?” “Nope. Their stragedy was ta not let the ball git inside an’ they didn’t. I hardly never touched the ball. But our little guys was hittin’ shots, an’ when they missed I was shore getting’ rebounds, so it was okay. Fin’ly at the end, we went on a little run ta win by 14, but it was a whole lot closer than that mosta the way.” “ You had only 6 points, but 14 RBs. And that put you in the title game.” “It did, Southwestern. Man oh man. They was 27-2, we was 27-1. What we knowed about them was that they played ball control, keep the score down basketball. They would hold on fer as long as it took until somebody got open. Sometimes they had the ball fer 3-4 minutes, sometimes even longer. Their Point was terrific. Seemed like he could see the whole court while he was dribblin’ outside, waitin’ fer somebody ta git loose. It was exhaustin’ ta play D cuz ya knowed if ya messed up fer a second he’d see it an’ yer guy would be scorin’ a basket. At the half they was up 18-17. Lowest scorin’ game I was ever in. An’ it was borin’. All the fans ‘cept theirs was booin’ ‘em when they held on ta the ball but they didn’t care. The stragedy was workin’ an’ thas all they cared about. “Coach tole us ta hang tight an’ not make mistakes. Ta make sure we got good shots cuz we wasn’t gonna git many of ‘em. “We won the jump ball at the half- yeah, they did that then, but missed our shot an’ the RB went long an’ they got it. “They then commenced ta hang onta the ball. After a good four minutes without them even lookin’ at the basket we knowed we hadta do somethin’. I went out an’ fouled the Point. It was a hard foul but a clean one. Least I thought so. The ref didn’t see it that way an’ he called a technical on me- this was afore the flagrint foul rule. I was amazed. That was the on’y time that ever happened ta me an’ it wadn’t right. Coach went a little crazy an’ they called a technical on him! He kep’ it up ‘til mebbe a half second afore they was gonna call another ‘un an’ then whirled roun’ an set on the bench. Wouldn’t even look at the stupid refs. Southwestern’s Point made all four shots, an’ then they got the ball back. “We was in big trouble an’ we knew it. A five point lead in a game like this was like 15 in a reg’ler game. Coach couldn’t call a time out to instruct us cuz we couldn’t git the ball. Fin’ley he commenced ta yell out, “Take some chances! We gotta git the ball! Take some CHANCES!” “We did. Before ya know it we was down 9, and they was about 6 minutes lef’. Then Coach DID call a time out. We’d knocked it outta boun’s an’ thet give him his chancet. He tole us it was now er never. We had ta gamble. Jesse said he thought he could read when their Point was gonna pass lef’. The guy did some little head move. Coach said that Jesse needed ta go with the feeling and break to where he thought the pass was goin’. The guy I was playin’ was usually the target fer that partic’ler pass so Coach tole me ta step in when Jesse broke ta the side. “It worked. We stole four times in the next coupla minutes an’ scored ever’ time. Wasn’t no three pointer back then so we was now down 30-29 with about a minute ta go. In that last time out Coach tole me ta foul my man if we was down with less then a minute ta go. We were, he got the ball, I fouled him, makin’ shore no stupid ref could even think about callin’ it a hard foul. This guy was their worse foul shooter, somethin’ like 52%. Don’t ya know he makes both ends a the one and one. So now we’re down three. Jesse comes down, drives ta the hoop hopin’ ta get fouled fer an old fashioned three point play, the on’y kind there was then. It don’t work but he hits the layup an’ we’re down one again with 15 ticks left. I know my guy’s the one ta foul but it takes a little time. I fin’ley get him with 6 left. “He misses an’ I git the rebound. I git it ta Jesse who brings it down but we gotta hurry. We do. Southwestern is playin’ us tight an’ doin’ a real good job. Jesse looks inside but I ain’t open so he takes a seventeen footer an’ it misses, hittin’ the front rim an’ bouncin’ WAY high. As it comes down I try ta tip it. It goes in but the refs say it was after the clock expired. Ain’t no tapes ta check in them days. They was film but it hadta be developed. The two refs (on’y two in them days) put their empty heads tagether an’ say yep, the clock done expired an’ Southwestern dang well won, 32-31. “A week er so later when the films was developed it looked like the refs was right. It ain’t easy ta tell but it looked like my hand tipped the ball just a mini-second after the clock run out. Gotta live with it either way but all these years later I still once in a while have a nightmare about it. “Now unnerstan’ the NIT started in 1937. The NCAA started in 1938. We was in the NAIA, which had been around fer a while. There wasn’t no big hoopla about bein’ “We are the champyuns” an’ all that but what we was playin’ fer was as close to the national title as they was. Ta lose it by one point, ta a team that wasn’t as good as us- if they was they’d a played reg’ler basketball not that slow it down crap- well, that hurt… a LOT. Oh well, life goes on. And with Loretta ta console me it was hard ta complain. Hell, mostly it was still hard but havin’ her in mah life he’ped.” “And on that note we’ll say goodnight. WATL radio. Join us next Wednesday at 9:00.”

(April 16, 2014) “Hello again everyone. Welcome back to WATL radio’s weekly presentation of Buddy Boy, the life of Coach Buddy Boy Blakelee. Back in 1987 then WATL radio personality James Broadstreet did a year long, half hour weekly series with Coach Blakelee. The series won a host of regional, and several national awards. We’ve been playing excerpts from that series here. We’ll continue to do that, and as time passes we’ll go to other sources to detail the life and career of Coach Blakelee. Here are James and Buddy Boy once again. “Coach, you spent four years playing basketball at the University of Alabama. We’d like to talk about those years today.” “I was lucky ta be there at that time. They was good years.” “You arrived on campus in the fall of 1935, played through the ’35-’36 season right through to graduation in 1939.” “Long time ago. Diff’rint world in lotsa ways.” “We hope to discuss that for a bit as well.” “What was this like for you, Buddy Boy? You lived in a rural area, on a farm. Went to a small high school- 57 in your graduating class. Then suddenly you’re at a huge university with thousands of people living in close proximity.” “Gotta tell ya, when I got ta Stone Mountain High I thought it was the biggest place I ever seen- an’ it WAS! (laughs) So goin’ ta the campus at ‘Bama? It was quite a adjus’ment I tell you. People ever’where, thousands of ‘em! Mah first roommate was from Montgomery, a real city slicker. In them days they didn’t have no dorms just for athaletes an’ they didn’t do nothin’ ta have them room tagether er nothin’ like that. Well anyways this did not work out. I wound up sleepin’ an’ stayin’ down in the lounge in the basemint. Almos’ quit an’ went back home. Forchunitley Coach Grey found out early on, an’ he swapped me out to another dorm an’ I roomed with Bobby Russell, another freshman ball player. That was much better. Bobby come from a bigger place than me but it wasn’t no problem. We got along good right from the start. Them first few weeks was hell though.” “And what about the campus, the classes, things like that?” “Well freshmen classes was perty big, usually lecture halls with maybe 100-200 kids. Alls ya could do was take notes an’ hope ta make some sense outta ‘em when ya got back ta the dorm. I allus read ‘em over first chancet I got an’ rewrote stuff in my own words. I thought that he’ped me understand better. Coach Grey had study halls an’ tutors an’ I used them tutors an’ they saved me. I got 3 As an’ 2 Bs first semester, an’ without the tutors there jus’ ain’t no way that woulda happened. After that I kinda got used ta the way things was an’ it got easier but I wasn’t never afraid ta use them tutors when I needed ‘em. As ta the campus they did a orientation for a few days afore classes started. They give us a map, walked us roun’ campus a few times, tole us about the school- stuff like that. I spent alla my free time jus’ walkin’ roun’ the campus with that map durin’ them first days. By the time classes started I knew my way roun’ the place. Navigatin’ streets an’ city type a places is way diff’rint than navigatin’ in the woods though. It jus’ never has seemed natural ta me. I ain’t never bin lost in the woods but I still git lost alla the time in cities. Anyways, I learned ta git where I hadta git ta but if I hadta go ta a new place I dug out that ole map!” “And what about college life in general?” “Now that was another adjus’mint. I spent my life outdoors as a kid. Bein’ indoors almos’ alla the time wasn’t anythin’ I was ever gonna be comf’table with. But I got used ta it. Got outside fer a walk ever chancet I got though- I still do that, need ta! The food was diff’rint, still southern but richer, kinda heavier. Raised meat like from cows an’ pigs an’ chickens is diff’rint from game. My body took a while ta git used of it, an’ tell the truth if I kin get me some game, rabbit, deer, anythin’ like that? I still like it better. Other thing is they was way more meat. When ya hunt the portions is small. Ya fill up on soup an’ bread an’ veg’tables. They was plenty a food though, ya could go back as many times as ya wanted so long’s ya et what ya took, an’ at that age thas what counts.” “Did you go to mixers, dances? Meet any girls?” “I’m embarrassed ta say so but I shore didn’t know nothin’ about meetin’ er talkin’ ta girls. Back home I dated Linda Lou Hawkins durin’ most a junior an’ senior year, but she was jus’ like me, a dumb ole country gal, good as gold but not suffisticated. These here girla at ‘Bama made me feel like a idjit which I s’pose I was in lotsa ways. At them mixers they’d come over bold as brass an’ start talkin’ ta me, no doubt cuz I was so big an’ strong lookin’, but I couldn’t say two words ta ‘em, so afore long they’d drift off. I stopped goin’ ta them mixers right quick. They was music concerts though an’ I really liked them. Didn’t matter what kinda music, I went, an’ I allus enjoyed it. Not them thar stage plays though. Usually had no idea what the hell they was talkin’ about in them, didn’t get the jokes ner nothin’.” “But you became more sophisticated, grew intellectually and socially.” “Well, ya stay in a envir’mint ya git more comf’table, ya git ta whar it ain’t so strange. I guess I kinda did that after a couple a years. I wasn’t never gonna really fit in but it got way better.” “And with girls?” “Well, I met Loretta in March a my sophomore year an’ she’s the only girl I ever cared about, then, now er forever,” “We’ll want to hear all about that but let’s save it for another time. And the team?” “Well that made it all worth the trouble. I was a good high school player but I had a lot ta learn at the next level. Lucky fer me Coach Grey was a real patient teacher. An’ his assistant, Mutt James- they was on’y one assistant in them days, worked with the big guys. He was tough on me but he really learned me what I needed ta learn. Wasn’t but four big guys on the team. The Center was a senior but the other three of us was all freshmen. So Power Forerd was wide open. I intended ta win the job an’ I did, mos’ly cuz I was so dang strong. One a the other two had a Small Forerd’s body an’ he was no competition ta me. The other guy was big, but not as big as me, and frankly, he wasn’t a bad player but he was dumb as a ox. I figgered I’d beat him out cuz I learned the sets an’ the formations an’ the plays an’ all that. He seemed like he was never in the right place on O ner on D, an’ I was jus’ ‘bout allus in the right place- didn’t do the right thing necessar’ly but at least I was where I’s s’posed ta be. So yep, I started all four seasons at’Bama, jus’ like I done in high school.” “The team wasn’t very successful that first year.” “Lordy NO! We won about 7 games an’ lost a pile. It wasn’t much fun. But we was learnin’. It was a young team. Our Point Guard jus’ wasn’t up ta competin’ at this level an’ big as I be I know that the PG is the most important guy. Anyways, we had four freshmen and three sophs on a eleven man team so we was bound ta have trouble. It ain’t like now when they play a year er two an’ go off ta the pros. We was there fer the full four. Coach Grey knowed he had a blue chip Point Guard comin’ in fer my soph year so he knowed better days was comin’.” “Jackson Lee, WATL radio. Back after this word.” “Buddy Boy, you put up good numbers as a freshman.” “I did. If I ‘member rightly I got about 8 points, 8 rebounds.” “8.4 points per game, 8.2 rebounds, that’s right. So year two was better?” “Fer the team it was. Fer me not so much.” “Why was that?” “Well, ya don’t see much a this these days, but back then the shoes we played in give about as much pertection as ballet slippers. I got a bad ankle sprain a week before the first game a the season an’ it hobbled me all year. Never did heal completely. Ankle injuries was very common until when the shoes got better, and they was hard to git over. The trainer would tape up the ankle an’ ya could play, but ya couldn’t cut, ya couldn’t go at full speed, an’ the dang thing still hurt. After the game ya had ta ice it, an’ keep icin’ it ever chancet ya got but they wasn’t no ice ‘cep’ in the gym, but the pain was perty much there alla the time. Wasn't nothin’ ta take but asp’rin neither.” “Your numbers went down, 6.5 points. 7.1 rebounds. They didn’t keep records but I assume your playing time went down as well?” “Oh yeah. I played when I could an’ never let Coach know how much it was hurtin’ but he was sharp enough ta know an’ he played me accordin’ly. We wound up third in the league an’ I always have thought we’d a bin first if’n I was muself. Not ta brag, it’s just that my back up wasn’t as big or as strong. He worked hard though.” “Still, the team had a good year. But your junior year, the 1937, ’38 season, was when things really started looking up.” “They did. They did. I got healthy in the off season. And by then I was with Loretta so I was happier than I’d ever bin. I’ve allus bin a happy guy. I figger ya on’y go roun’ oncet so ya gotta try ta enjoy it. But when I met Loretta I started ta know what real happiness is.” “The team went 17-6, won the conference tournament. Then the Point Guard got hurt in the early minutes of your first round NAIA game- that was the big tourney then and there were 32 teams.” “An’ that was that. It was his ankle, jus’ like me the year afore that, an’ he couldn’t go. He tried a couple a times but then Coach jus’ pulled him and said wait ‘til nex’ year. Without Jesse we was screwed. Lost by about 20.” “Jesse Smith, ‘Bama Point Guard, and in the U. of Alabama basketball Hall of Fame along with Buddy Boy Blakelee and some other hoops greats. You had 8.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.” “Yeah, I was healthy an’ happy, an’ it was all jus’, I don’t know, it was easy, natural. Felt that way all season.” “You were named second team in the conference.” “Yeah. That was a real thrill. I was all goose bumps when Coach tole me.” “All right. Jackson Lee again, WATL radio. That’s about all the time we have for this week. Next week, Buddy Boy’s senior season, and a wonderful interview about how he met, fell in love with, and won Loretta, the love of his life. Please join us next Wednesday at 9:00. You won’t want to miss this episode.”

Jake is on hiatus until 1.2, the next build of DDS:CB3, drops. If Buddy Boy reaches that point he will be as well. Since it looks like the game is pretty stable I'm not sure that there will be a long series of 1.x... AND... since I always do full install there's no point in starting UNTIL 1.2 drops because I would lose the association and need to start from the beginning. I'm guessing the drop will be this weekend, but it's a pure guess.

(April 9, 2014) “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, this is Jackson Lee and you’re listening to ‘Buddy Boy”, the life of Coach Buddy Boy Blakelee. We were very pleased with the large audience our first episode drew and thankful for the many positive comments about the program. Let’s begin this week with a continuation of the interview between former WATL radio personality, the late James Broadstreet, and recently deceased Coach Blakelee.” “Coach, where did the name Buddy Boy come from?” “Now thas a funny story. I cain’t say I ‘member this but it bin tole ta me so many times I feel like I DO ‘member it. I was two year old. My daddy knew even at that young age I just loved ta tag along with him. If he was doin’ chores where he could keep a eye on me and I wadn’t likely to git inta nothin’ dangerous, he’d take me along fer a hour er so. It hadta cost him precious time draggin’ me out ta the fields then back in ta momma, but he was a good daddy an’ he done it. Anyways, on this one day he looked over at me playin’ on the floor an’ says he’s goin’ ta do some weedin’ and’ do I wanna come. I says yeah an’ he says, ‘Well less go, buddy boy.’ “I reckon little me foun’ somethin’ comical in that. They tell me I commenced ta laughin’ an’ laughin’ an’ couldn’t stop, jus’ kep’ sayin’ ‘buddy boy, buddy boy, mah name is buddy boy.’ An’ from then on thas what it was. Nobody never called me nothin’ else, not even at school. I was Buddy Boy Blakelee. Still am!” “That’s a great story, Coach. Tell me, because this kind of thing always makes me curious. You didn’t have a basketball at home as a youngster?” “No, we didn’t have no toys a any kind, too poor. Hell, I didn’t know they was such a game as basketball ‘til they started havin’ us play it aroun’ sixth grade in gym class.” “So you never practiced at home?” “Not at that age. Not ‘til high school really, when they give me a ball an’ come out ta the house an’ put a hoop in on a big, tall pole, summer after eighth grade. An’ there weren’t much time ta practice even then- not ‘til college really.” “And yet somehow, by your sophomore year of high school you were good enough to gain state wide recognition.” “Yes sir, thas true, but they is a few reasons fer it. First like I done tole ya, I was tall, an’ I was wide. Couldn’t nobody move me out. I got near the basket I was gonna score. They couldn’t stop me. An’ at 6’8” I couldn’t hardly miss from that close. Then, I had a tree-mendous coach an’ I was always a good listener. Coach Johnson taught me that little lay up, an’ how ta throw in a head fake er two but mix it up, not do the same thang ev’ry time, an’ a kind a half hook when I was a little futher out, but more’n that he taught me how ta play Defense, how ta box out an’ git position fer rebounds, how ta fill the lane on D, how ta set a pick on O, an’ how ta run the floor on a fast break so’s I didn’t git in the dribbler’s way, how ta pick up somebody else’s man in man ta man D if they got rubbed off by a pick- about a bazillion other things, all a which I have always tried ta teach my players too.” “But again, you could only practice most of those things at school.” “Thas true, an’ daddy needed me on the farm so’s I on’y got ta practice durin’ our team practices, usually an’ mebbe fer a hour or so after. Since it’s dark outside at that time a year wasn’t much in the way a chores ta do at home so daddy didn’t care if I was ta stay late. But remember it was a four mile walk ta school an’ a four mile walk back, so when the days was longer daddy didn’t want me hangin’ around school playin’ a game when I could be home he’pin’ out. He s’ported me playin’ on the team cuz he WANTED me ta go ta college an’ this was the on’y way, but he didn’t s’port me not he’pin’ out at home. So outside a basketball season I on’y got ta practice cuz coach Johnson- an’ I got no idea how he done this- anyways, he made it so’s I got credit in gym class fer goin’ outside an’ playin’ hoops durin’ gym class, whilst the other kids was doin’ whatever the gym teachers had ‘em doin’. I could practice durin’ study hall, too. Ol’ Coach was a crafty one! One other thing he tole me ta do that he’ped. He said write out all the things I learned at practice- all of ‘em. When I had the time he said ta read ‘em ta myself an’ in my head, jus’ practice doin’ ‘em- doin’ ‘em perfec’, but in my head not fer real. Soun’s kinda crazy but I really think it he’ped me a whole lot. When I commenced ta coachin’ I tole my players ta run through all a that when they got in bed at night. Lots of ‘em tole me they thought it he’ped, too.” “Still, it’s amazing to me that someone who practiced so little wound up being a great high school player and very good college player.” “Like I said college was diff’rint. They was all kindsa time fer praciticin’ durin’ college.” “How did you manage to find time to do your homework in high school?” “Well sir, it warn’t easy. The days was mighty full up. Still an’ all I knowed if’n I didn’t git the work done I wadn’t goin’ ta no college so I foun’ the time. Lotsa nights I fell short on sleepin’ time but it couldn’t be he’ped, an’ I allus bin a real strong feller so’s I was okay most a the time. Now an’ then I jus’ hadta go ta bed early though, kinda make up fer the lost sleepin’.” “And your grades were good?” “Daddy an’ Coach both insisted on it. I was ‘spected ta git mostly As with mebbe a B er two here an’ there.” “And you did?” “Oh yeah, I did. I know I sound like a stupid ole sh- mud kicker but I didn’t have much trouble really. They was this chemistry course an’ I worked harder in that one than in anythin’ else I ever took in high school an’ college too- got a C, my on’y one in high school er college. Other than that it was almost all As. I got a B+ in calculus an’ another one in physics in high school- I liked physics but the teacher on’y give out one er two As. Nobody made no never mind about the C in chemistry. Most kids flunked that one an’ Coach ‘splained to daddy that the C I got there was a real good grade considerin’. In college I got a B in a music class. Don’t know how I done that good in the class though!” “This is Jackson Lee at WATL radio. We’re going to break for a commercial message. When we return James and Buddy Boy will discuss Buddy Boy’s playing career and lots more. Stay tuned…” “Buddy Boy, we’ve talked a little bit about your basketball career at Stone Mountain High School.” “Them was good days!” “Your team was very successful.” We played ‘zackly a hunnert games in my four years- I started on varsity fer all of ‘em, and we won our league every year. We went 18-4 first year, went ta the state ¼ finals. My second year we was 21-3, lost in the finals by four points. Junior year 24-2, won everythin’, and senior year was 28-0 an’ we won it all again. So 91-9 all in all. Not too bad. “To say the least! Coach Johnson always said you were the best player he ever coached. When people asked why he said there were a few reasons. You talked about being a good listener and that was the first thing he always said. He said you were hungry to learn and because of it you learned to make the best possible use of your size. He then went on to say you were one of the smartest he ever coached, and that you were ‘game smart,’ able to adjust instantly to changing situations on both offense and defense. He said there were never many who could do that.” “Well, Coach allus said, ‘Be ready. Anythin’s libel ta happen. When it does, give up the plan an’ react. I done that when I could.” “Coach Johnson talked about your maturity. He said most high school boys get in their own way by making poor decisions, but you never did.” “Don’t know ‘bout never but they was a lot ridin’ on getting’ good grades an’ getting’ ta be as good a player as I could. Yeah, I tried ta take it real serious. Sometime the other players or jus’ other school kids made fun but I didn’t mine that. Daddy allus tole me that kids done that an’ not ta pay it no never mine. Me bein’ so big an’ all if it got too bad I jus’ put a mean look on my face, started walkin’ towards ‘em real slow, and’ watched ‘em scatter. Didn’t hafta do that too much though, an’ I wouldn’ta hurt nobody, that ain’t my way. It warn’t nothin’ really. Kids is kids.” “So no wild parties, drinking, smoking?” “I kin honestly tell ya that I never tasted alcohol, tabacky nor any kinds a drugs ‘cept what the docs give ya when yer sick- never even oncet.” “Never tempted?” “Now I gotta say I ain’t never understood why ennybuddy is tempted. Ya got this one body. It gotta carry ya through fer yer whole life. Why in the name a thunder would ya want ta do things that is jus’ gonna mess it up? Don’t make no sense. I allus tried ta eat right too, same reason. I ain’t never managed ta git enough sleep but thas about my on’y bad habit far as takin’ care a my body, an’ I try ta catch up on the sleep when I kin. I preach all a that real strong ta my players. Some listen, some don’t.” “But you’re not zero tolerance?” “No I ain’t. Like I said a minute ago, kids is kids. I’m a Coach an’ ta me that means I’m a teacher, a father figger, a role model. Kids screw up, make mistakes, iss normal. A good teacher er parent don’t abandon ‘em. I don’t either. Now, there comes a time when ya gotta say ta yerself that the kid ain’t really gonna be able ta foller the rules. When that time comes I cut ‘em loose, but I cain’t he’p feelin’ iss a failure fer me as well as the kid. Iss on'y happened twice in all my years. I still think about them two kids, wonder how they're doin'. Wish there was a way ta know, mebbe ta help if need be.” “And when you get that call that one of your players is in trouble?” “Oh lordy. I’m right there- hospital, police station, wherever. But you want ta see the look on the kid’s face if he really did mess up. It’s like I’m a avengin’ angel er somethin’. I start in tellin’ ‘em this ain’t the time ta discuss consequences but that time is gonna come. Then they look like a puppy what got caught peein’ on the floor. I do what I kin ta take care a the problem an’ ta make sure they get what they need, good hospital care, a good lawyer, whatever. When it all calms down, wether a day, a week, a month later, we have us a little talk, and that consequences thing gets tooken care a. Now most kids don’t screw up but once. They’s smart enough ta learn from it. When that happens iss fergot. The ones who don’t learn? Well, three strikes an’ yer out. Third time ya mess up, pack yer stuff, yer gone. Course if the first one is a BIG thang, vi’lent crime er somethin’ that bad, then ya on’y git one strike.” “But not drug problems.” “I’m against drugs. But from what I’ve seen pot ain’t no worse than alcohol- I’m against that, too. I wouldn’t kick a kid off the team fer either one- usin’ I mean. Sellin’ would be a diff’rint thang.” “We wanted to talk about your playing career today, Coach, but we never quite got to the college days.” “Next time?” “Next time it is.” “We’re running a little late so I’ll, just say goodbye from Jackson Lee at WATL radio. Tune in at 9:00 next Wednesday for more of Buddy Boy. Goodnight.”

March 31, 2014 Jerome “Buddy Boy” Blakelee (May 1, 1917-March 30, 2014) “The world of basketball lost a truly unique man today. ‘Buddy Boy’ Blakelee, who spent forty-three years coaching Division I basketball at various schools here in the south, ending up at Georgia Tech where he had great success, died today in his LaGrange, GA home, surrounded by his family, beloved wife of 73 years, Loretta Blakelee, son Jerome, Jr., and daughters Emmy Lou and Bobby Jo. He was 96 years old." “WATL radio here in Atlanta has literally thousands of hours of programming on Buddy Boy Blakelee. Beginning on this Wednesday, WATL will present a weekly program on his life and career. Please join me, Jackson Lee, on Wednesday evenings at 9:00.” (April 2, 2014) “Welcome to ‘Buddy Boy’, an ongoing radio series on Coach Jerome ‘Buddy Boy’ Blakelee. I’m your host, Jackson Lee, and it will be my pleasure to be with you for this ongoing series.” “I don’t hardly ‘member it a course but they tell me mah momma was in labor for like ta 48 hours afore I was borned.” “And that was on May 1, 1917. Were you born in a hospital, Coach Blakelee?” “Call me ‘Buddy Boy’. Hell no, weren’t nobody in our part a the state born in no hospital. We was all dirt poor. No hospital, no doctor. This old colored woman, a midwife sorta, would come ta the house an’ he’p out. Worked jus’ fine mos’ times. Course if they was complications I guess mebbe not but I got myself borned with no problems atall. Momma was up doin’ the chores roun’ the house by evenin’ they tell me.” “And what kind of childhood did you have, Coa- Buddy Boy?” “Damn fine one! We didn’t have nothin’ much, lived in a cabin with a dirt floor, but my poppa farmed our little spread an’ we had plenty a food. No money though. He sold a little truck down in LaGrange- our place was mebbe 3-4 mile northeast a there. Yeah, he sold a little truck, jus’ enough to keep us in supplies, you know, fertilizer, seed for the next crop, stuff we couldn’t grow er make ourself, that sorta thing. We didn’t have two nickels ta rub together. But we ate good. They was beans an’ corn an’ greens an’ taters, an tomaters, an’ squash, an’ all like that. We had apple trees, too. Fer meat daddy hunted. Time I was 9 or 10 I hunted with him- possum, rabbit, squirrel, duck- you name it. An’ they was this stream with some good eatin’ fish. We ate good.” “So I should assume that your parents didn’t have much education?” “None atall. Daddy could read enough ta get by. Don’t think momma could read atall. Leastwise I never saw her read nothin’.” “And yet you somehow managed to get an education.” “Well sir, they done passed some laws aroun’ that time makin’ it that ya hadta send yer kids ta school. Daddy didn’t like it none, thought it was a waste a time an’ it took us kids away from the farm- he needed the help. But it was the law and daddy always b’lieved in follerin’ the law.” “And you liked school?” “Well, they was a lot I didn’t like. The teachers was hellish strict in them days an’ they wasn’t shy about beatin’ us kids if we didn’t know the answer er if we acted up.” “But…” “But yeah, I liked readin’ stories an’ I really liked ‘rithmatic- thas what we called it, not math, like nowadays. An’ when we studied up on wars an’ such, I liked THAT a whole lot!” “And so this son of uneducated parents-” “Now don’t you make out that my folks was dumb. They wasn’t. They hadn’t had no opportunity ta git no education but they was smart as kin be.” “No sir, I was only going to point out that your parents had no education but they valued it, and they made sacrifices so that you could get an education.” “Thas all right then. Thas all right. Yep, thas what they done.” “You had two brothers and two sisters.” “Yeah but wasn’t none a them int’rested in getting’ a education. I was the on’y one.” “This is Jackson Lee, WATL radio. After this commercial break we’ll be back…" "Jackson Lee, WATL radio. We’re happy you’ve joined us for our first episode of ‘Buddy Boy’. Our plan is to weave in interviews with Buddy Boy Blakelee, and interspersed with that we’ll go through the story of his legendary career as first a player, at the University of Alabama, and then a coach at various schools in the South, ending up at Georgia Tech, where he gained fame with his great success.” “So I was in I think sixth grade when the Depression hit. It was terrible for most folks but it didn’t change all that much fer us. Couldn’t get no poorer than we was, but the crops kep’ growin’. Wasn’t like them poor folks out West with them terrible dust storms. We was okay." “Come spring a my eighth grade year the high school basketball coach come ta the door one night an’ told daddy I had ta go on ta high school. He said I was a good enough player- I’d played on the seventh an’ eighth grade team- that if I went an’ played high school ball they was a good chancet I would get a scholarship an’ go ta college free. Now ya gotta know I was 6’ 4” tall at that point in eighth grade and’ still growin’ like a weed. So a course Coach Johnson wanted me. They wasn’t nigh as many real tall kids in them days as they is now." “Anyways ya could see daddy thinkin’ on this. It come outta the blue fer both a us, I tell you, I figgered after eighth grade I was done with education an’ back on the farm. Never thought nothin’ else. I liked school mostly but didn’t see no way I could go so I never even give it a thought. So daddy axed what part a the year was basketball season. When Coach Johnson tole him daddy said that was a time a year when he reckoned he could spare me. So there it was. I become a high school boy an’ I played ball.” “And played well!” “I grew ta be 6’8” an’ wide as a barn door, 275 pound as a senior. Couldn’t nobody move me. Oncet Coach Johnson learned me how ta play Power Forerd, I got so’s I was okay.” “You were more than okay, Buddy Boy. You made second team all state as a sophomore, first team as a junior and senior, and were named state of Georgia player of the year your senior year.” “Well, I had the best dang coach they was, an’ the other fellas on the team was a big part a all that. I’m mos’ proud a the fac’ we won the champeenship both a my las’ two years.” “And the big name colleges came to call.” “Lordy, lordy, they did! Seem like they was a college coach at the house mos’ ev’ry night fer a coupla months. We couldn’t hardly eat our supper in peace. Even some Yankee college coaches- not that I ever woulda gone up there.” “You chose the University of Alabama. Can you recall why? There must have been a lot of pressure to go to Georgia.” “They was- a LOTTA pressure. But Georgia didn’t have that great a basketball team. And Alabama at the time, this was 1935, had the best team in the whole South, even better than Georgia Tech which I didn’t have the grades ta go to, or at least that’s what I was told by Coach Johnson and them- about 'Bama bein’ the best I mean, not about my grades an’ Georgia Tech an’ that. So’s anyways, I took the scholarship from ‘Bama, an’ I played for Coach Stony Grey an’ the Crimson Tide. An’ I’m dang glad I did!” “And that concludes our first episode of ‘Buddy Boy.’ In putting together this series we’ve gone over WATL radio tapes dating from 1972 until the present. Some of the voices you hear speaking with Coach Blakelee are former radio show personalities here at WATL. Occasionally the voice is mine. We’ve woven interviews with Buddy Boy Blakelee with sports stories and other such. Please join us next week at this same time when we’ll talk more about Buddy Boy’s youth, as well as his time at the University of Alabama. Thank you for joining us.”

May 1, 2088: The entire SIU staff left so I need to hire some coaches. Given our budget they won’t be world beaters but I am hopeful that we can get some decent guys. I’m looking at retirees mostly. I sign Carl Rock, a 59 year old. He has experience in all aspects of coaching, he’s been a recruiter, a scout and a bench coach. He was out of coaching for five years after spending 25 years as an assistant with small Div. I schools. He says he’s really happy to be back. I’ll assign him to a specific job after I hire my other two coaches. Adam Hart, age 61, is in the fold. Like Carl, he spent lots of years as an assistant at small Div. I schools. He retired two years ago. When I called he said that he’s missed the game and would love to jump back in. He spent a lot of years as a recruiter. I’m pretty sure that’s what he’ll do for me, but I’m not committing until I hire my last guy. Reggie Branch, 40, is my #3. He called me. He was unhappy in his situation, looking for a change. I did some checking. He had a right to be unhappy, and he has a good reputation. Adam will be my recruiter (recruiting rating 26, reputation 9), Carl my scouting coach (scouting rating 25, reputation 9), and Reggie will be my bench coach (player development 24, reputation 9). I got Carl and Adam for three years. Reggie wanted one year. He said that given his recent experiences he thought it would be good for both of us to not be committed. If things work out we can extend. Sounds good to me. This leaves me with a recruiting budget of $77,000. I’ll get the local region Gold Report and have $47,000 left. Staff meeting. I will go with motion and flex on offense, a little more of the former. We’ll run sets about ¾ of the time. I favor inside play. On D it will be about 50% man, 50% 2-3. I won’t press much. When I do, 50% man, 50% 1-2-1-1. As to Coach/Set up, Philosophy is 5 in most areas but 8 in Off. RB, 10 in Def. RB, 2 in FC Press, 10 in Player Rotation. Coach Marlow is 28 years old. I decided to make him amateur level, which means 200 total points in current ratings. BUT, I did it as follows: Recruit 70, Scout 70, Offense 15, Defense 20, Player Development 25. He is very high in ambition and integrity, high in academics, average in discipline and temper. My association does not allow cheating, does not allow players to leave early, and I can be fired. Conference changes are allowed. Recruiting is set to Easy, for now. Oh, this is a Promotion/Relegation Dynasty. We’re in V, the lowest conference. I preset Team Prestige at 0, but it came up as 2 when we started. Getting to know my staff. Carl doesn’t say much but when he does it makes a lot of sense. I already trust his judgment and he's the one I feel closest to. I think his will be the brain I pick about things as the season progresses. Adam is a talker. I’m going to need to discuss picking his spots more. He has some good things to say but he talks too much. Still, I value his advice and I want to hear it... just not so much of it. Reggie… Reggie may have been a mistake. I’m seeing a lot of negativity. That’s not my approach and it certainly won’t be my approach with the players. It won’t be his either- one way or the other. I need to deal with this- sooner, rather than later. My A.D., Franklin Drake, is a “don’t make waves” kind of guy. It’s a small school, there isn’t a lot of money, he’s a lifer here. I guess I get that but I also guess he won’t be much help when the chips are down. Hopefully he’ll work on getting us a decent schedule. I’ll work with him, and try to push for just a bit more than he's comfortable giving me. Underneath it all he is definitely a good guy, just not a lot of fire.

UConn came calling. Since it was where I wanted to go, and dad wanted me to go, we jumped at the chance for me to play there. The UConn program was not at its height when I was there. They played in a mid-major conference and had been middle of the pack or worse during the past few seasons. The coach was highly respected though. Dad, as usual, had found a way to get to know Coach Frey, and had found him to be a passionate student of the game. Coach was kid friendly and was a great strategic coach. He saw coaching as teaching and loved to teach his players. Dad felt that Coach would take me under his wing and bring me to the next step, as a player, as a future coach, and as a student of the game. And that’s the way it worked out, but sadly, not the way we would have liked. Dad died of a massive stroke on the third day of practice during my freshman year at UConn. He was 46 years old. When I got the news I was devastated. I wanted to quit. I just wanted to go home, go to my room, sit and veg. Coach Frey would have none of it. He became my second father. I will be forever grateful to him for that. He was there through the most awful time of my life, and he’s been there ever since. He taught me everything dad didn’t teach me about coaching, and really, about life. One of the great sadnesses of my life is that dad never got to see me play a single game at UConn. I was no star in college. I played, even started as a senior (mostly because the guy ahead of me at Small Forward blew out a knee), but I finally reached the point where I simply didn’t have enough talent. Everything I’d learned along the way made me far better than my talent alone could account for, but still, I was marginal at best, certainly the weakest of my team’s five starters. Still, I played and it was fun, a great, unforgettable experience. The four years at UConn flew past. I played, I learned, I picked Coach Frey’s brain on a daily basis. We did okay, won lots more games than we lost, made it to the “Big Dance” all four years, the Sweet Sixteen twice, which was better than UConn had done for some time. Now I was about to graduate. It was time to find that high school head coaching job. Except it didn’t work out that way. Coach invited me to stay at UConn, get my M.A., and become his graduate assistant coach. I jumped at the chance. That was an incredible year for me. I learned more than I would have thought it possible to learn. Coach rotated me through the various assistant coach jobs, recruiting, scouting, bench coach. I worked with his assistants in charge of each of those areas, as well as spending a huge amount of time one on one with Coach Frey. Our team missed the Final Four when a Duke player hit a 35 footer at the buzzer. After the Elite Eight game it became obvious that one of the assistants was going to move on. He did, and Coach offered me the job. I took it. I spent a total of six years as an assistant coach at UConn, working for an amazing teacher. Last year, 2087, I knew I was ready, and I thought I might land a job as a head coach. I made the final interview for two jobs but lost out in both cases. Not this year. I just signed a three year contract as head coach of the SIU Edwardsville Jaguars. The salary isn’t that great, but money doesn’t mean a whole lot any more, it’s way more money than I need, and I know I’ll save at least ¼ of it. Edwardsville, Illinois, here I come.

For my eighth birthday dad bought me a basketball. He set up a hoop at the end of the driveway (nobody used them anymore but most folks still had them). Dad had played ball in high school and at the very small college he went to. He was a Small Forward and a terrific shooter. He was only 6’ 2”, not big enough to play the three spot at a good school, but he had talent. I never could beat him at “horse” except by luck every now and then. Anyway, after the cake and presents and stuff dad took me outside and taught me how to shoot. He started with how to hold the ball. Took it from zero all the way through- lock the wrist, elbow in, where to aim, follow through, shoot with the legs, and on and on. He was patient and he didn’t do it all in one session. He made minor corrections to my form from time to time- right through high school. He reviewed regularly. He encouraged me to shoot and to shoot and to shoot, which I did, taking hundreds of shots every single day, outside when the weather permitted, indoors at other times. He kept up a family membership at a local gym just to have a place for me to shoot during the cold weather and when it rained. And here in Eastern Connecticut the winters are cold, and during the rest of the year there’s plenty of rain. I haven’t told this part but it was just dad and me. Mom died when I was three. One of the down sides of all the societal changes was the high number of people who suffered from depression. The “experts” said things were too easy for some folks, which made them feel that they had no use, no purpose, no challenge. That led to suicide in a certain number. Mom was one of that number. I have no memory of her at all. I have no brothers or sisters, no cousins, aunts or uncles. Once dad had taught me the fundamentals we practiced. I loved it right from the start- slept with the basketball! Spent every free moment on shoot and dribble and pass (we rigged up a contraption), and whatever else. Dad was around most days so we worked together. I loved my dad. He was great with me. I’ve never had a better friend or a better teacher. He taught me to dribble, eventually how to pass the ball properly under different situations, how to play D (“The FEET! It’s all about the FEET!”), how to rebound (“Box OUT!”), how to anticipate on D, which led to my getting more steals than you would believe, at every level I ever played. He taught me about transition. He encouraged questions about everything related to the subject of basketball. Put it all together and I got a lot more playing time, at every level, than my talent alone would have gotten me, all thanks to dad. Right from the start I was a student of the game- that was dad’s doing as well. I had a coach’s eye and a coach’s interest. I wanted to know strategy and tactics. We’d scour the internet looking for books written by coaches. We asked high school and college coaches about their favorite hoops related books. We talked strategy and tactics for endless hours. I emailed many of the best college coaches. Many answered, more than you would think. They usually complimented me on the quality and sophistication of my questions. The years passed. I grew, to 6’ 6” eventually. But long before that I finally started to actually play on a team. Dad didn’t allow me to play little kid league basketball. Said it only encouraged bad habits. When I got to grade seven I tried out for the school team. Dad was the coach. No surprise that I made the team! He would wind up coaching me in high school as well. Now dad wasn’t a teacher. He was a man who got what he wanted though, at least most of the time. He started lobbying for the middle school coaching job a couple of years in advance and when the time came he got it. He wanted to coach me because he knew any other coach would play me at Center. I’m not a Center, it’s just not me. But at my height what coach could resist putting me there? Dad resisted. He played me at the three in both seventh and eighth grade. The team did fine, playing for the title the first year, and winning it the second. When it was time for high school dad wanted to coach me at that level as well. It wasn’t going to happen in our town, the coach was a local legend. So dad again shopped around, actually starting the process when I was in seventh grade. He found a town that needed a high school head coach, applied for the job, got it, and we moved. I reached my full 6’ 6” by the end of my freshman year, and I was the tallest (and thinnest) kid in our league. I played Small Forward again in high school. My numbers were good. My senior year I averaged 12.4 points (As hard as I worked I simply never developed dad’s shooting touch. “Shooters are born, not made,” said dad- often.), 8.2 RBs, 2.4 assists, and 4.9 steals. I was known as a very good defender. I was named to the first team all stars for the state of CT, and I am still really proud of that. They recognized that I was an “all around player,” which I was. Our team got to the semifinals in the state tourney in each of my last two years. We won our conference title in each of my last three years.

Author’s Note: The point of playing DDS:CB3 for me is not to duplicate reality. It is to create my own reality, my own alternate universe. I play to escape. Here, within the limits of what is possible with the game, I live and coach in my own world. This first dynasty will take place in a universe in some ways very similar to ours, and in other ways quite different. Let’s begin! Jake Marlow: All I Ever Wanted All I ever wanted was to be a Division I head basketball coach- well, after I got done being a Division I college hoops player that is. There’s a lot to tell and I want you to hear the whole story. From what I hear about you and where you’re from and who you are, well, let’s just do it. I was born in 2060 C. E. It was not a happy time in the U. S. or in the world at large. 2029 had brought the greatest plague in history. It wiped out ¾ of the population, I mean the WORLD population, and everything went to hell. That was too bad because things had been looking up in a lot of ways, mostly due to technological advances. I’ll get to those as we go but the one I want to tell you about right here and now is what they called “PathWays.” PathWays was a completely new way to travel which got you where you were going pretty much instantly. I’m no scientist so I can’t tell you how it works. I learned in school that a way had been found to twist the space/time continuum. Okay, right, whatever. In any case, you pile into a room, take all the stuff you want to bring. Somebody sets the controls and pushes a button. That’s it. You’re in the city and country where you want to be, or out in the woods, or at the foot of a mountain- yeah. Get out of the room and go where you’re going. Huge changes resulted because of this. Keep it in mind. One more for now. They’d been working on 3D copiers for a while and finally they perfected the device. You could make about anything, all from the atoms in the atmosphere around the copier, at practically no cost. It ended poverty, hunger, want- all of that. They put some restrictions on what it could do before releasing it to the public (Tell the truth they never did officially release it. It went black market but WITH the restrictions.), made it so people couldn’t print money, hoard- crazy things like that. They also found a way to 100% recycle everything- basically they reversed the 3D copier process. When you didn’t want something any more you brought it to the recycle center (or had it picked up if that made more sense) and they got rid of it- completely and perfectly. So there’s no need to work. People can do what they want all the time. Turns out lots of them do want to work- just not as much. People started businesses, restaurants that were open two days a week, things like that. The restaurants advertised that “We 3D ingredients, the best in the world and WE do the cooking, not some machine. Give us a try!” Then the plague hit and everything changed again. After the plague, once things actually started working and making sense again, people were different somehow. All that unbelievably massive amount of death got folks thinking about what was important and what wasn’t, and most people decided to figure out what it was they loved. Then, since they had all the time in the world, they figured out how to do what they loved. The world became a much better, happier place. At least that’s what they tell me, this is the only world I’ve ever known and I like it just fine. I got here after the changes. So by the time I got myself born things had settled down quite a bit. Just figure where there used to be four people, now there was one. Some things went back to more or less the way they were before. Other things never did. Schooling changed completely in the early grades. Lots of people kept the kids home and taught them at home; others sent their kids to school like before. But by the time the kids got to the adolescent stage most everybody shipped them to the schools and kept them there through high school. I guess adolescence is what it is and shipping kids off for some of it will always seem like a good idea. College and graduate school hardly changed at all except it got cheaper. And that’s a good place to start talking about college basketball.