Wayne23

May 11: Now the pain is also in May’s feet. Dave hasn’t had any success in getting her to see a doctor. June 6: No one interesting in the transfer pool. June 26: 5 scholarships. July 26: May is not doing well. The docs are saying arthritis, but Dave thinks it must be more than just arthritis. Aug. 21: We offer to 3 PGs, 2 bigs. Sept. 18: We get a PG and lose one. Invited to the Alaskan Classic again but Duke in the 1st round. They’re unranked but they’re still Duke. It’s a challenging schedule. Sept. 25: We get a PG and a PF. Oct. 2: Practices begin. We’re picked 3rd, behind Dayton and UMass. May can do less and less. She has an appointment at a nationally recognized medical practices that specializes in arthritis and other joint issues. Davey is unhappy because his mom can’t even pick him up. “We gotta have someone in the house whenever I’m not home. Costs money, but we gotta do it. And with my crazy schedule once the games start we really need pretty much 18 hours a day; never know when I’ll be around, and I don’t want Jeffy ta have ta any high school activities. We got a few family and friends who help but that’ll get old fast.” Dave makes a good salary but this will really eat into it. I asked if we might need to move up to a school that will pay more. “I hope it don’t come ta that. This is where we wanta be.” He says he may need to consider UMass or UConn but that he won’t unless he needs to, and he won’t leave New England. UMass would pay 2 ½ to 3 times what we make here and UConn- well that’s huge money. Life is never easy, I guess. Oct. 9: We get a Center. Nov. 6: We are NOT deep. 6 man rotation. Juniors Ben Fine and Jed Tro, and senior Wai Star are at guard, junior Marv Gany at SF with Troy backing him up. Inside it’s seniors Bill Cole and Kris Brown starting, with Gany moving in to back them up. After that it’s frosh Mick Lee and not much else. We start with tough Arkansas here, then go to Morehead ST.

March 6: #7 seed East Carolina gave us a battle last week, and here they are in the quarter finals. March 7: 81-66. Much better! 20, 4, 2, 3 for Wade, 16, 4 for Bill, and we played everybody. We’ll be rested tomorrow since no one played more than 30. 8 TOs. The refs were ridiculously whistle happy but it didn’t matter- 51 calls. Dave shook his head a lot but didn’t say much, since we were ahead by a good margin all the way. The other coach got a T. #11 seed Duquesne, 13-16, 6-12, pulled two straight upset so we play them in the semis. We won by 12 there. March 8: 86-74. 25, 2, 2, 2 for Glen, 13, 7, 2 for Bill. 11 TOs. IN a SHOCK, #4 seed UMass, 21-9, 13-5, beat #2 in the country Dayton. We beat UMass by 27. “The door’s WIDE open fer us ta win the conf. I think we’d get about a #3 seed if we can do it. March 9: 74-78 in OT to UMass. They hit a halfcourt prayer to send it to OT, then Glen fouled out on the first possession. 18, 5, 6 for Wai, 15, 8 for Sam Kell from the bench- Bill had foul trouble all night, too. It was a ridiculously sloppy game, we had 28 TOs, they had 25. “D*mn it ta friggin’ H*LL!!!” Gigantic friggin’ opportunity an’ we friggin’ BLOW IT!!!” Dave threw a couple of things in the locker room but didn’t cause any damage. I doubt he’ll get into any trouble. “Prob’ly a friggin’ 8 seed now!” March 12: 24-7, Conf. champs, #18, RPI #5. #6 East. We’ll play #11 Xavier, 21-10. We’re not unhappy with #6. Wish it hadn’t been in the strongest bracket but… March 16: 102-59 with Xavier. We could do no wrong. 22, 4, 4, 5 for Wade, big games all around, 13 TOs, 37 RBs. “Hope we didn’t shoot it all in one game. 22-9 New Mexico ST, the #14 seed, upset #3 GA. Dayton, #1 South, lost in the 1st round. They just fell apart late in the season. March 18: 73-53 with NM ST., and back in the Sweet Sixteen. 25, 4, 2 for Glen, 11, 4, 5, 4 for Wade, and we were comfortably ahead almost all the way. #10 seed Memphis, 21-10, upset #7 seed Morehead ST and then #2 seed, #4 ranked Stanford. March 23: 68-82 vs. Memphis. The refs don’t beat you by 14 but they didn’t help. Dave got a T early and got tossed late, after it was decided. We were in it for 33 minutes despite foul trouble that held Bill to 12 minutes and handicapped Kris. Sam Kell had 14 and 13 from the bench. 19, 3, 3 for Wade in his last game, 11 for Glen in his last. Mike Sand and Sam Kell are also graduating. It was a good season, just not quite as good as we had hoped and expected. Next year? If the new big guys develop we’ll be fine. If not… April 4: Jimmy Dimaggio wants Dave and me at the Final Four every year. He says it’s good exposure. This year is insane. We have #16 seed- yes, that’s right, Savannah ST here. #1 Oklahoma won it all. Nice run by Sav. ST though. Tulsa took them out in the semis. Awards: Wade Davy was A10 Def. POY, and 1st team with Bill Cole. Kris Brown and Glen Sonn made 2nd team. Dave got COY. April 9: No surprises. April 23: We ask for a facilities upgrade. Got it! Went from B- to B+. We end the season 26-8, win our tourney, get to the Sweet 16. Team Prestige is 39. Dave’s career #s are: 398-182, .686. Off- 64, Def- 75, Recruit- 70, Scout- 8, Player Development- 70, Reputation- 61. Dave says May is complaining that her hands are in a lot of pain, sometimes more than others but it can be really bad, and it is never totally gone.

Feb. 5: 73-53 with VCU. 22 for Glen, 16, 6, 2 for Wade, 8 TOs. Wade Davey sprained a toe. He’s going to try to play through it. We’ll see. 87-76 at Richmond. 23, 4, 3 for bill, 22, 1, 6, 2 for Wai, 8 TOs. 81-54 vs. UMass. 22, 11 for Bill, 15, 7, 4, 3 for Glen. 12 TOs, 35 RBs. This week we host 5-16, 2-9 St. Bonnie’s then go to 11-11, 8-5 St. Joe’s. We’re one back of Dayton, who we do not play again, and 2 up on UMass, 3 or more on the rest, with 6 to play. My son Bobby is having a great season at Bryant. He’s playing almost all SG, starting, and averaging 18.8 PPG. He’s been Conf. player of the week several times. He also plays good D. He’s not much of a rebounder, and being a shooter he’s not terribly with the phenomenon known as passing. He’s getting 3.3 steals per game though. I think Dave is serious when he says he wishes Bobby was here. Jeffy is still a student coach for his high school team. He and Dave are talking about having him come here and doing the same for us. I think that would be great! Feb. 12: 60-38 with St. Bonnie’s. A walk in the park. 29 for Glen, 7 TOs, +6 RBs. 72-64 at St. Joe’s. This was a battle, which Dave and I think was good for us. We fought hard, “refuse to lose” ball late. All 5 in doubles. This week we’re on the road, first with 14-10, 7-7 ST Louis, then with 11-14, 6-9 LaSalle. We’re still one back of Dayton, but they’re #2 in the country so we’ll probably end 2nd since we’re 4 or more up on everyone with 4 to play. Feb. 19: 62-56 at ST Louis. 25 for Wai, who has given us some good work since we put him in the starting lineup. 14, 4, 3, 5 for Wade. ST L. didn’t make it easy, we had 17 TOs, and only 22 RBs. They never stopped working hard. But our guys hung in and never quit either. 56-63 at LaSalle. The guys were flat. 18, 7 for Bill, 17, 1, 4 for Wai, but 20 TOs and a lot of standing around on O. Dave says we’ll work that out of them. The loss ended a 13 game win streak. This is not altogether bad, since it provides a reality check at a good point of the season. BUT, neither Dave or I believe that there’s much good about a loss! Bracket Breaker with a tough Western KY team, ranked #19, 21-4. Then it’s two meaningless conf. games to end the regular season, 12-12, 10-5 Davidson here, then 14-10, 8-7 East Carolina there. “They d*mn well better play like they mean it. I wanna finish strong!” Feb. 26: 69-59 at W. KY. 13, 10 for Bill, 4 other in doubles, 3 others helped. 9 TOs, 40 RBs. 70-60 vs. Davidson. 18, 4, 5, 6 for Wade, 19, 2, 3 for Wai, 15, 4, 2 for Bill. 9 TOs. 64-62 at E. Carolina. We led all the way and almost gave it away late. They turned an 11 point deficit into 2, and they had the last possession. We played strong D and they threw up a 27 footer with a hand in the face. No luck. 24 for Wai, who’s really hot right now. 12 TOs, 29 RBs. Finally ranked, 1st time all year. #24, RPI #5. 22-6, 16-2. +12.2 PPG, +0.8 RBs, +6.1 TOs, +2.6 assists. We ended 2nd in conf. 2 back of Dayton, 3 or more up on the rest.

January 1, 2033: 72-52 with Fordham. Solid team effort. 10 TOs. 59-68 at #6 Dayton. Everyone played either average or below average. 74-59 vs. GW. 20 for Ben, 17 for Bill, 8 and 8 for Kris “J*s*s, have we beat a good team yet!” No, we really haven’t. We are definitely underachievers so far. At 3-9 St. Bonnie’s then here with 5-7 Richmond. Jan. 8: 80-35 at St. Bonnie’s. 9 TOs, 32 RBs. We have no problems with the midgets. 73-56 with Richmond. 22, 6 for Bill, 21, 3, 3 for Glen. 6 TOs. We never trailed. One this week, at 6-7, 0-4 Fordham. Jan. 15: 78-54 at Fordham. 18, 6, 6, 2 for Wade, 13, 9 for Bill. At 7-9, 2-5 Duquesne, then we host 7-9, 4-3 St. Joe’s. Tai Star is going to start at SG over Ben Fine, who hasn’t. Jan. 22: 68-56 at Duquesne. 6 in doubles including 1st time starter Wai Star. 9 TOs. 76-45 vs. St. Joe’s. 16 each for Wade, Bill, and Wai. 7 TOs. A one game week, here with 3-15, 2-7 George Mason. Jan. 29: 78-50 with Geo. Mason. 22, 11 for Kris, 13 for Wade, 11 TOs. Kris Brown sprained a wrist. Out about a week. He may or may not miss a game. We’re 13-5, 8-1, RPI #15. Everybody hit the SAT score. A 3 game week. Here with 11-7, 6-3 VCU, at 6-14, 2-9 Richmond, here with 13-6, 8-2 UMass.

Nov. 20: 60-56 in OT at So. ALA. 17, 6 for Bill Cole but he fouled out early in OT. 16, 5 for Glen Sonn. 43 RBs but 21 TOs. 64-52 with Central Mich. 20, 6, 2 for Bill, 15, 4 for Glen, 11, 5 for Wade Davy. 11 TOs, 33 RBs. 0-2 KS ST is here then we’re at the Alaskan Classic vs. #1 seed, #10 ranked Cincinnati, 2-0. Nov. 27: 67-38 with KS ST. A team effort. Lots of guys played good O and excellent D. 4 TO, 32 RBs. Jed Troy twisted a knee, out about 10 days. 63-70 vs. #10 Cincy. 22, 7, 2, 7 for Wade, 21 for Glen, but our 2 inside guys were in foul trouble all night. Dave held it together with the refs, but barely. 8 TOs, but -10 boards. Kris Brown hurt a knee. Day to day. 3-1 Kent ST here, then at 1-1 LSU. Dec. 4: 67-46 with Kent ST. 32 for Glen, 10, 2, 9 for Ben Fine. 9 TOs. 67-77 in OT at LSU. We played well until OT. I guess we ran out of gas, but 8 TOs in the 5 min. OT. “D*mn! We should won that one!” A one game week but it’s a tough one. At #7 Charlotte, 7-1.

May 1: 1st Top 25 list and we aren’t on it. Dave calls a press conference and says the pollsters will have us listed early in the season and we’ll be there for the rest of the season. I see this as a challenge to the team. Dave’s good at that kind of thing. Sometimes I wonder but he is usually right. “I never been so anxious ta get goin’. I think we could be real special this season.” I think we’ll be good but we’re not quite at the top. Again, Dave’s track record about this sort of thing is better than mine. We’ll see. June 6: We go for a guy in the transfer pool. June 16: We strike out. June 26: 5 scholarships. We need at least 3 bigs. Looking at 15 recruits. July 11: Down to 7. July 20: Davey broke his collar bone. Not a big deal but Dave acted like it was the end of the world. Davey will be in a sling/harness type thing for a few weeks and then he’ll be good as new. Sept. 9: Davey is out of the sling/harness. Sept. 18: No one has signed but a couple seem close. We are invited to the Alaskan Classic! Definitely a tougher schedule. Sept. 25: Got a PF and a PG, both top 100 right now. (Author’s Note: This has been a very interesting association in that it has taken 19 years before I got to the point where I was a national contender. Starting very low, and keeping potential ratings down a bit, as well as house rules have caused this, and it’s way more fun this way.) Oct. 2: We get 2 PFs and a PG. First day of practice and we’re excited to get started. We’re picked 2nd to Dayton but we feel we can win the conf. Oct. 23: Dayton is ranked #3 in the country. Dave still thinks we’re better than they are. I don’t want to spend too much time thinking about what it means if he’s right! Nov. 6: Senior Glen Sonn and Ben Fine, a soph transfer from Memphis start at guard with Juco junior Wai Star and soph Jed Troy backing up. Right now Amir Asi is not in the picture but that could change. Senior Wade Davy starts at SF with senior Sam Kell backing up all three inside positions. Inside it’s junior Bill Cole and senior Mike Sand, at least for now. We start at So. Alabama then host Central Michigan.

Feb. 5: 85-70 with E. Car. 5 in doubles, 5 others scored. Never a game. The refs were whistle happy but it didn’t matter. 78-55 vs. Davidson. 5 in double figures, 2 others with 8. Again, never a game. Mike Hand hurt his knee. Day to day. We’re one back of Dayton and UMass in the loss column. This week we’re at a good G. Wash. team, 15-7, 8-5. Then we host #10 Dayton, 19-2. 11-1. They only won by 3 there. Feb. 12: 70-51 at GW. We came out strong and kept it going. Dave really made sure these guys weren’t looking ahead to Dayton. 27, 5, 2 for Glen, 13, 9 for bill, 11, 11 for Sam. 18 TOs but 41 RBs. 79-66 with #10 Dayton. 17, 10, 2, 3 for Bill, 16 for Glen, 11, 9, 5, 5 for Wade, 10 for Akin Ree. 22 TOs but they had 18. The D was really fierce on both sides. This leaves us tied with Dayton, 1 up on UMass. Ranked! #24, RPI #8. This week it’s 2 on the road, 7-16, 2-12 Richmond, then 4-19, 2-12 George Mason. Feb. 19: 77-62 at Richmond. 17, 4, 3, 3 for Wade, and 5 others between 8 and 13. 6 TOs. 66-54 at Geo. Mason. 25 for Glen, 14 for Amir. 7 TOs. Bracket Breaker with 22-5 Charlotte, then 13-13, 8-9 Duquesne here and 15-10, 9-7 E. Car. there. Feb. 26: 66-54 with Charlotte. 19, 20 (!) for Bill, 13 TOs, 42 RBs. 67-50 vs. Duquesne. 18, 4 for Wade, 13, 5 for Bill, 11 TOs. 96-66 at E. Car. to clinch the #1 seed. All 5 starters had between 12 and 17, and the bench scored 21. March 6: We face #8 seed Davidson, 14-14, 9-9, in the quarters. March 7: 67-48 vs. Davidson. 17, 5 for Wade, 18 for Glen. It’s #5 seed GW, 20-10, 10-8, in the semis. They upset Fordham. We won by 19 there. March 8: 61-65 with GW. 8, 15 for Bill, 11, 9, 2 for Sam, 13 for Wade, 15 for Glen, but 21 TOs and very little from the bench. Dave was extremely frustrated but he didn’t say much. I guess he was trying not to lose it. UMass won the tourney again. March 12: 25-5, 16-2, ranked #19, RPI #5. Our hopes are high. Losing in the semis will hurt us though. Not in the East. #5 Midwest and we’ll play a play-in winner. A little low but again, that loss to GW hurt. It’s 22-11 Texas Tech, not an easy team. March 16: 69-47 over TX Tech. 19, 4, 5 for Glen, 17, 4, 2, 4 for Wade, 13, 8 for Bill, but 18 TOs. Who but Dayton next! #4 seed, 27-4, 16-2. We split with them. March 18: 64-60 vs. Dayton. Great win and our 1st Sweet Sixteen at URI in only our 2nd season! The 5 starters all had between 10 and 13. We played solid D late. #1 seed, #1 ranked Cincinnati, 30-4, 17-1 is next. This will be a real challenge; they’re strong everywhere and they have a good bench. March 23: 63-75. We gave it all we had. Dave stayed positive and encouraging. Glen had 18, Bill 7 and 11. “Give us a little time. We ain’t ready for this good a team yet, but we will be!” April 4: Dave and I went to the Final Four again. It’s good to get the recognition and it’s really cool to call recruits from there. #3 Charlotte won it all. Interestingly enough we beat them in the Bracket Breaker! Awards: Bill Cole made the A10 1st team, Glen Sonn, Wade Davy, and Sam Kell made 2nd. April 9: Again, we’re here to stay. We did think it was pretty funny that the Fryers called. April 23: We ask for $. We get $10,000. Dave stayed pretty calm after the big explosion. Davey spends a lot of time hanging around the office and he’s into everything. He’s 2 now and showing his dad’s temper. We end up 27-6, 16-2, Team Prestige up to 35. Dave’s at 372-174, .681. Off-60, Def-75, Recruit-70, Scout-7, Player Dev-70, Reputation-57. We have very high expectations for next season!

January 1, 2032: 62-75 at Dayton. 27, 3, 3 for Glen, 11 each for Amir and Bill, but almost nothing from either the other starters or the bench. 20 TOs. 66-51 vs. ST Louis. 14 each for Amir and Bill, 12, 3, 4 for Glen, good bench play. Only 21 RBs. 56-42 at ST Bonnie’s. 14, 0, 5, 2 for Glen, 11, 9 for Bill, 8, 8 for Sam. A good first week. One game this week, here with #24 UMass, 11-2. “We can beat these guys, Red. Just gotta control the inside and limit their guards. Jan. 8: 68-66 with UMass. 19, 3, 2 for Wade, 13, 5 for Akin from the bench, 9, 9 for Sam, 9, 5, 4, 3 for Amir. 12 TOs, 30 RBs. Dave won this one with some really good moves late. We took the lead early in the 2nd half, kept it until 2 ½ minutes left. Then it went back and forth. We had been going man and 1-3-1 all night. UMass retook the lead by going inside against the zone. With about a minute left Dave called a TO and switched to a 2-3, but had Wade in the middle of it instead of our C, and when the ball went outside Wade came up and turned it into a 3-2. If it headed back in he went down again. UMass couldn’t figure this out and turned it over twice in a row. We scored both times, a 2 and a 3, which put us up 4, and that was that. We fouled late and they made both, but there was 1.4 left when that happened. At 2-12 VCU this week. “We’re lookin’ good, Red. I think we’re stronger than last year.” “I can’t wait for next year. These guys will know the system and each other right from the start. I think we can make some REAL noise.” “We ain’t aimin’ ta be too quiet this year!” Jan. 15: 59-37 at VCU. 8 guys with between 6 and 12. Terrific D. 13 TOs, 34 RBs. 5 teams virtually tied for 1st, but a long way to go. We’re 11-3, 4-1. 3 game week. 8-7, 2-4 LaSalle here, then off to 12-3, 5-1 Fordham, then back here with 5-10, 0-6 Richmond. Jan. 22: 75-62 with LaSalle. 18, 4, 4 for Glen, 19, 5, 1, 3 for Wade, good games for 5 others. 9 TOs, 32 RBs. 72-63 at Fordham. 18, 14, 3 for Bill who was huge! 14, 11 for Sam, 19, 3, 3 for Glen. 11 TOs, 33 RBs, and a good win over a good team. 59-31 vs. Richmond. 20, 6, 6, 4 for Wade, 19 for Glen. 11, 30, great D. “Man, Amir getting’ hurt early was the best thing that coulda happened since he wasn’t hurt bad. It gave Glen Sonn his shot and he has been nothin’ but terrific.” Truer words were never! In a virtual 3 way tie for 1st, RPI #10, and we aren’t ranked. 11-7, 4-5 St. Joe’s here, then at 8-10, 3-6 Duquesne. Jan. 29: 86-65 with St. Joe’s. 25, 3, 4, 4 for Glen, 13, 10 for Sam. 12 TOs, 34 RBs. 48-54 at Duquesne. Both teams were flat as can be. We were just a bit flatter. There really isn’t much to say. Dave got pretty hot at the guys but he never lost control. They really were standing around on O for almost all of the game. “Sometimes ya gotta say frig it an’ move on. I don’t know why but guys just get flat sometimes. I tried everythin’ I know but…” 2 at home will hopefully help. First is 12-8, 6-5 East Carolina, then 10-10, 6-5 Davidson.

Dec. 11: 75-48 with Clemson. Jed Troy had 20 from the bench. 43, 16, 7 from the bench. Very impressive, and we are losing no one! Amir had 14. 9 TOs, 35 RBs. I’m 11-3 lifetime as a head coach. Not bad! This week Dave returns as we host the 3-5 Fryers. “Glad I didn’t hafta miss that game!” I asked him how May took his “troubles.” “She was real supportive but she let me know she wasn’t too happy. I don’t know what happened. Frustration, I guess, but I gotta learn ta control it.” “Prof. Malden, calling Prof. Malden!” “Wise a$$.” “Think about it, Dave.” “We don’t work there any more, remember?” “I think you could afford her fee, Dave.” “Yeah, yeah. It’s one incident, relax.” Oh well, I tried. Dec. 18: 67-64 with Providence. Dave’s coaching won this one. We never trailed and they never tied, but they got within three or less 7 times in the last 2 ½ minutes. When they were down 4 or more we single covered their SG, who lit us up with 22 2nd half points. When the margin was 3 or less Dave went 3-2 and kept a hand in his face. When the Fryers tried to go inside the guard on the side opposite the SG would drop. It worked beautifully and the Fryers never found a way to beat it. 22, 4, 4 for Amir, 13, 6 for Sam, 10, 8, 2 for Bill, 11, 2, 2 for Jed, 6 TOs, 30 RBs, and a great coaching job! Amir strained his calf with 33 seconds to go. It’s a bad one and he’s out for about 2 weeks. He’ll miss the Dayton game, which hurts. At Western KY, 5-2, this week. This could be a challenge with Amir out. Dec. 25: 74-67 at W. KY. 21 for Glen, 12, 10 for Bill, 12, 5, 2, 4 for Wade, 7, 8 for Sam, and 9 for Jed Troy filling in for Amir. +12 RBs. 7-2 at the end of pre-conf. play. We decide to play Amir. He’s better than 90% and he can go, maybe not full time though. Three this week. First is #1 rival Dayton, 7-1, there. Then 3-5 ST Louis here. Then 6-3 ST. Bonnie’s away.

Nov. 20: 87-71 vs. Brown. 23 for Amir Asi at guard, 11 each for Wade Day and Jed Troy, 12 for Bill Cole. 6 TOs. Jed Troy sprained his wrist. Out at least 10 days. 64-56 with DePaul. 22, 4, 4 for Glen Sonn, filling in for the injured Jed Troy. 17 for Bill Cole. Two wins but we aren’t hitting the boards, -4.5 per. At #2 in the nation Louisville, 4-0, then 0-1 Milwaukee is here. Nov. 27: 63-66 at #2 Louisville. 17, 2, 4, 2 for Glen Sonn. We were up 11 early but they wore us out with depth. It didn’t help that we were down a guard due to injury. “3 point loss on the road ta the #2 team. I’ll take it!” 64-60 vs. Milwaukee. 16, 12 for Bill Cole, 15 for Wade Davy. Jed Troy is back but we’re keeping Glen Sonn in the starting lineup. He’s playing too well to sit. 0-4 So. Carolina here, then off to 2-3 Northwestern ST. Bobby had 27, 11, and 8 last night for Bryant. Gotta say my kid is making me proud. As a soph he is now starting at SG and playing a little SF. He’s a good defender, too. “What the h*ll. Maybe we oughta get the kid ta transfer!” Dec. 4: 73-57 vs. So. Car. We had foul trouble and the bench really came through. 17 for Kris Brown inside, 9 for Akin Ree, 7 for Jed Troy. All three started for us at some point last year or this. Dave got his 1st T of the season, and I believe his 1st here at URI. 62-76 at Northwestern ST. We were up 10 with 17:33 to play and then it all fell apart. Bill Cole picked up #4, we went 8 ½ minutes without scoring, and we were down 10 in the space of that same 8 ½ minutes. At that point Dave got T’d up, and was so frustrated he kept going and got another T. So with him gone I took over but I couldn’t do any more than he did. Dave flipped out worse than I’ve seen in a very long time. After being tossed he trashed the locker room, and when the kids came in he completely blew up at them. The other two assistants and I finally dragged him into the visiting coach’s office and the other two assistants kept him in there for at least 15 minutes while I did the post game interview. By the time I got back from that he was calmer, and looked like a kid in the Vice Principal’s office. When I walked into Dave’s hotel suite and told him I was spending the night on his sofa he went ballistic. “What the frig! I need a friggin’ baby sitter all of a sudden!” “You’ve got that look. If I don’t stay here you’re going to have a drink, and one will turn into 10. No way it’s gonna happen if I can help it.” “Get the frig outta here!” “I’m staying, and in about 10 seconds I’m calling May!” “You ain’t my friggin’ mother. Get the frig out!!!” “Frig you, Dave. I am STAYING!” He started to come at me and I really, really thought it was going to get physical. Then something changed in his face. He sighed, smiled, and said, “Fine, stay.” I didn’t sleep much, fearful that Dave would sneak to the fridge and grab one of the little bottles, but eventually he was snoring so loud that I let myself sleep. There were no problems, and in the morning Dave thanked me. All of this came out of nowhere, Dave’s been more than fine. Speaking of “fine” it was $5,000 from the A10. URI suspended him for a week, so it’s my team. It’s a one game week. 1-3 Clemson, here.

June 6: We go after a PG from Memphis, Wade Sine. June 12: We get him. June 26: One scholarship. We want a guard. Looking at 6 PGs. July 4: Down to 2 recruits but one gives us 3 starts and we like him. Aug. 21: We offer to the guy we like. Sept. 18: We put together a schedule with some challenges. Sept. 25: We got our recruit. Oct. 2: We looked good at practice. Lots of practices to go though. We’re picked 3rd in the A10 again. Nov. 6: Okay, the lineup we start with won’t be the one we end with. Frosh Amir Asi and Jed Troy start at guard with junior Iowa ST transfer Glen Sonn and junior Kansas transfer Wade Davy backing up. Davy will start at SF with soph Akin Ree battling for his old job there. Inside it’s soph Bill Cole and juco junior Sam Kell backed by soph Kris Brown, with Mike Sand looking for PT. We’re young, not a senior on the team, but we like what we’ve seen so far. We start here with Brown and DePaul. Davey is a year and a half, walking, talking, getting into everything, and big as a three year old. Jeffy loves his little brother. He just turned 15, is a high school soph, and manages the hoops team. He’s not very big, but he loves the game and hopes to coach someday. Dave tells him he’s good enough to play at least backup guard, but Jeffy feels more comfortable on the sidelines. The coach likes him and spends a lot of time giving him coaching pointers. Much as Dave loves Jeffy he stays away from that. “Can’t confuse him by havin’ two people tellin’ him opposite things. When he gets here at URI we’ll make him a student coach and bring him in ta the meetings an’ all that. I’ll get my turn to teach him.” Makes a lot of sense, really. May is happy to stay at home with Davy, and with Jeffy when he’s around. She is taking classes here though. She says she grew up poor and college wasn’t an option but she had always hoped. Now she’s loving it. She thinks she wants to work with special ed. Kids, either as a teacher or an instructional assistant, but she won’t work until Davy is in school full time.

March 6: We’ll play #9 seed St. Joe’s, 12-16, 8-10, in the quarters. We beat them by 15 and 11. We want to play this one inside. March 7: 75-63. 33, 4, 2 for Sly. He was a one man show, 12-21, 4-8 on threes, 5 free throws. Next is #4 seed UMass, 18-10, 13-5. We won by 12 here and 7 there. We think our bigs are better than theirs and we need to stop their PG. March 8: 68-69. Tough one. This one could have gone either way. We dominated inside but they matched that by being stronger outside. In the end they hit a 16 footer. 22, 4 for Akin, 13, 7, 3 for Sly. 11 TOs, 34 RBs. Dave told the kids he was proud of them and that he thought we just might have at least a couple more games to play. That went over really well. UMass beat Dayton for the title. March 12: RPI dropped from 31 to 52 in a week? Crazy! Play in game vs. 16-13 Stanford. Dave is in a rage. He went off on the selection committee at a press conference. March 14: 81-69. 28, 2, 4, 3 for Gar, 24, 4, 4, 2 for Sly. But we had 21 TOs. It was that kind of game, Stanford had 24. It’s #5 seed in the Midwest UNLV #12 ranked, 25-6 next. March 16: 73-59 over #5 seed UNLV. 20, 5, 4 for Sly, 14 for Gar, and 8 more for Joe Lane. Our guards are hot right now. “I just wanted ta congratulate the idiot selection committee on their fine work!” Heck of a way to start the postgame press conference but that’s Dave! It’s #4 seed #14 ranked Pitt, 23-7, 13-5 in the 2nd round. This is a challenge. We don’t match up well with Pitt. March 18: 68-86. 30 for Sly, but they were the best team we played this season. “Can’t tell ya how proud I am a my buys. Great season and we got a lot a guys comin’ back an’ some d*mn good ones comin’ in. Look out for URI!” April 4: Dave and I went to the final four. #3 ranked Tennessee won it all. Awards: Sly Moss is A10 POY. Akin Ree is frosh OY. Dave got the conf. COY award. Sly and Bill Cole made 1st team. Gar Whit and Akin made 2nd. April 9: “We ain’t EVER movin’ again, Red!” Some big name schools called, including Indiana. April 10: Davey is one year old. BIG celebration! April 23: We ask for another facilities upgrade. Nope. We end the season 23-10, 15-3. Team Prestige is 30. Dave’s #s after 17 years: 345-168, .673. Off-55, Def-75, Recruit-70, Scout-7, Player Dev.-70, Reputation-53.

Feb. 5: 82-71 at St. Joe’s. 25, 3, 4 for Sly, 15, 10, 4 for Bill, 17, 2, 4 for Gar, 10, 6 for Kris. 13 TOs, 28 RBs. Akin hurt his hip. Day to day. Three this week. First is the BIG one, #9 Dayton, 18-3, 11-1 here. They won by 18 there. Then we’re at UMass, 13-8, 9-3, and St. Louis, 10-11, 4-8. I haven’t spoken much about my family. Bobby is 18, and as I said, is the 6th man for Bryant. He’s getting starter’s minutes as a freshman, and he got all A’s and B’s last semester and says he’s doing at least that well this semester. Sandy will be 17 in June. She’s a junior at Cranston High. She plays soccer and is on the debate team and in the chorus. She’s a straight A student. Jean is about perfect. I can’t even imagine being married to anyone else. She’s always there for me, no matter what. I’m a busy guy but I have always managed to find time to be with Jean every day I’m not on the road, and I call her when I am. I’m a lucky guy! Feb. 12: 77-70 with Dayton. 25, 4, 6 for Sly, 15, 5 for Akin, 12, 7 for kris, 11, 4, 3 for Gar. We never trailed, and we led by as many as 18. They made a late comeback but only got it to single digits with a last second three. 63-56 at UMass, and Dayton lost again. We’re 2 up on them and Fordham in the Loss column! 17 for Sly, 12, 8 for Kris, 10 each for Akin and Bill, and a great 2nd half. 76-79 at St. Louis, but both Fordham and Dayton lost again. Sly, Akin and bill put up some numbers but our D was soft. We got lucky with both contenders losing, and we’re in a great position. “Never woulda believed this, Red.” Neither would I. We just came together in December and we’ve stayed together. 2 up with 4 to play. 4-18, 1-12 Duquesne is here, and then we’re at 5-18, 4-10 VCU. Feb. 19: 75-54 vs. Duquesne. 7 TOs and 8 guys worked for 40 minutes. 66-58 at VCU. 19 for Gar, 13, 6, 3, 2 for Kris. 12, 6, 4, 4 for Sly. 11 TOs, 32 RBs. We’ve clinched a tie, one win in our last 2 will do it. 14-10, 8-7 Richmond is here, then off to 15-10, 12-4, tied for 2nd Fordham. Feb. 26: 87-67 with Richmond to clinch 1st place! 29, 3, 5, 4 for Gar, 18, 7, 3 for Bill, 17, 3, 4, 2 for Sly, 11, 4, 7, 4 for Akin. 12 TOs. “Never figured on a title in year one!” 60-80 at Fordham. 16 for Gar, 13, 9 for Akin. This meant a lot more to Fordham than to us. It got them the #2 seed. Ken Leis hurt his knee. Day to day.

January 1, 2031: HECK of a week! 74-54 with Nome. 21, 3, 4 for Sly, 16 each for Gar and Bill. 8 TOs. 70-58 vs. G. Wash. 17 for Gar, 11, 11 for PF Kris Brown, and good play all around, except for 20 TOs. 66-63 at LaSalle. 23, 5, 2 for Sly. 8 guys contributed. “Hope this means we jelled!” 6-6 UMass here, then 4-8 Davidson there. Jan. 8: 75-63 with UMass. 23 for Sly, 16 for Kris. They got up by 11 early then we came back and took control. 66-45 at Davidson. 19 each for Gar and Sly. “D*mn! We’re on fire!” A one game week. Home with St. Joe’s, 6-8, 3-2. Jan. 15: 79-64 with St. Joe’s. 23, 3, 4 for Sly, 20 and 5 for Akin, 18, 3, 8 for Gar. 8 TOs, 31 RBs. Dayton is 6-1, we’re 5-0. Everyone else at least 2 back in the loss column. A three game week. Home with E. Car., 6-9, 4-2, home with 8-7, 4-2 LaSalle, then at #14 Dayton, 13-3, 6-1. Jan. 22: 79-71 with E. Car. 5 in double figures, 11 TOs. 74-34 vs. LaSalle. 15 each for Gar and Sly, 12, 14, 5, 3 for Bill, 14, 9 for sub Mike Sand. 6 TOs, 43 RBs. 43-61 at #14 Dayton. 13, 6 for Gar. We were overmatched. “That’s a h*ll of a team!” Akin hurt his hand. Day to day. Moe Rich hurt his knee. Day to day. This week we’re at 2-15, 2-6 St. Bonnie’s, and home vs. 10-8, 5-4 George Mason. Dave hasn’t had a drink in a very long time. Of course things are going well. Davey is a healthy, happy, lively baby, May and Jeffy are great, we’re finally coaching at the school we want to be at, and the team is doing pretty well, 12-6, 7-1, way better than we expected. Jan. 29: 73-62 at St. Bonnie’s. 8 guys worked hard for this one. +10 TOs, but -9 RBs. “That was a big game. After ya lose the first one sometimes ya go downhill.” Frankly, Dave did a great job of pumping the guys up. He yells, even when things are going well, but he also praises. I’ll need to give you a look at practice again. Maybe a game, too. 68-60 with Geo. Mason. 24 for Sly, 14, 8 for Mike. Dave did a lot of coaching in this one. We started slow and he put Mike Sand in with less than 2 minutes gone. Mike picked things up, then Dave threw Joe Lane in as well and we retook the lead. Here’s what he said to each guy who came out. “Kris, you was flat as a butter knife. Mike’s been playin’ his a$$ off lately. You wanna keep yer job, get workin’. Now I know you got what it takes, but bust yer a$$.” Kris went back in soon afterward. He didn’t have a good shooting night but he was always in the right place, rebounded well, and help his man to nearly nothing. “Gar, you ain’t getting’ it done tonight. Ev’rybody has a off night now an’ then but we need more than you’re givin’ me. Their PG got 8 points an’ 2 assists off ya already. Think about it fer a minute. When I put ya back in I want ya ta lock him down.” And Gar held the guy scoreless for the rest of the night, with 2 assistd and 4 TOs. So Dave knows how to motivate. Another one game week, at 8-12, 5-6 St. Joe’s. We won by 15 here. Everyone hit the SAT score.

Dec. 11: 64-69 at Maine. 25, 4 for gar, 12, 4, 4, 2 for Akin. 17 TOs, -14 RBs. “We ain’t a team yet.” “Takes time, Dave.” “Yeah, yeah. I know.” This week we end the trip at our longtime rival the Providence College Friars, #24, 7-2, or “Fryers” as everyone at URI has always called them. “It would be great ta beat those guys!” Dec. 18: 56-67 at Prov. 17 for Sly, 14, 1, 6 for Gar but the 4th straight game when one of our starting guards has fouled out. 20 TOs. “We’ll beat the b*st*rds next year.” First time Dave and I have lost to the “Fryers.” We were 4-0 as undergrads. Finally home for 3. This week it’s 8-3 Valparaiso. Dec. 25: 75-57 over Valparaiso. Home sweet home! 21, 10 for Bill, 17, 8, 4 for Sly, 14 each for gar and Akin. Due to that weird glitch we play both 0-8 Nome, and start the conf. season with 3-6 G. Washington tomorrow. Then we are at LaSalle, 3-5, later in the week. Davey’s 1st XMas was pretty special. May said there must be something Dave didn’t buy for Davey, but she doesn’t know what it is.

Nov. 20: 68-42 vs. Tulane here. Great D. 19, 3, 6, 3 for Sly Moss, 10, 6 for Bill Cole, 11 each for Akin Ree and sub Gar Whit. 11 TOs. 68-56 at Cal-Davis. 22, 11 for Akin, 15, 3, 5 for Sly, 10, 7 for Bill, and 12 for Gar who will get more time starting now. 37 RBs. This week we have a tough one at 1-1 Florida, then we’re at 1-1 Alabama ST. Davey is still the focus of most of Dave’s conversations. He is not neglecting his duties in any way though. I never mentioned it but my son Bobby is a freshman at Bryant, and is their 6th man. He’s an SF/SG combo. I see his games when I can but it isn’t often, unfortunately. I see all of them on DVD, of course. Nov. 27: 52-69 at FL. 21 for Gar, 16 for Sly, but 18 TOs. 45-52 at Alabama ST. 13, 8 for Bill but we had no other O at all. “Gonna be a long year.” “We kind of knew that, Dave.” “Yeah. I really think we can build URI into a power, but it ain’t gonna happen overnight. At 3-1 So. Car. ST, then at 2-2 Oregon. We need a win. Dec. 4: 78-81 in OT at So. Car. ST. 18, 6, 5 for Gar in his 1st start, 21 for Sly, 14 for Akin, 9, 10 for Sly. Fouls and poor free throw shooting (17-31) killed us, but Dave held his temper. He rode the refs but it was too close to get a T, and he didn’t get one. “We shoulda won this friggin’ game!” 67-57 at Oregon. Sly went crazy with 30. 13, 1, 8 for Gar, 13 RBs for Bill. 9 TOs. 2 more road games before this endless trip finally does end. This week we’re at 4-3 Maine. Davy is growing like a weed. He’s already looking like a wide body. “Them football coaches kin ferget it. He’s gonna be a Power Forward!”

May 1: One kid transfers out. He didn’t really figure to get much PT but it leaves us with 4 guards. June 5: We have 3 open roster spots and three scholarships and we need at least 4, maybe 5 guards. June 12: We get PG Glen Sonn from Iowa ST, and SF Wade Davy from Kansas. June 26: 4 to fill and we want guards. Looking at 7 PGs, 2 PFs to start. Aug. 21: We make some offers but no one is panting to get here. Dave is talking so much about Davey, and showing so many pics that I think the kid may be walking, talking, and looking for a part time job already. I was probably the same way. To Dave’s credit he seems to be spending even more time than ever with Jeffy. Sept. 18: A couple of changes but now we’re offering to 4 PGs. We start at home then play 7 on the road. Awful. Jimmy and Dave had a shouting match over it. We have two ranked teams and a lot of what we hope are easy games. We have a lot of rebuilding to do. Sept. 25: We lose 2. Back to the drawing board, or the recruit pile. Oct. 2: We got a PG. Yikes! This team looks like a step down at this point. We have one guard and he’s not a PG. We may start an SF at the Point, which will leave us thin inside, as well as weak outside. Those transfers had better come through next year, as well as the recruits. Oh well, we knew we needed to rebuild. Dave will be tested for sure! We’re picked 3rd in the Atlantic 10, which mystifies Dave and me. Oct. 9: Now we’re offering to 2 PGs and a PF in addition to the PG who committed. Oct. 16: We get a PG we’ve been chasing from the start. His stock has gone down but we like him a lot and are pleased to have landed him. Nov. 6: (Author’s Note: Okay, I see that I have 2 games scheduled for 12/26? No idea how or why, and I did not change the non-conf. rival.) We did better than we thought in the exhibitions. Maybe it won’t be quite as bad as we thought. Seniors Joe Lane, Sly Moss, and Gar Whit, and frosh Akin Ree will be at guard. Ree will start at SF, backed by soph Mike Sand. Frosh Kris Brown and Bill Cole will start inside and Sand will back them up. After the first 7 there’s not much. We start at home with Tulane, then the first of 7 road games in a row with Cal-Davis.

We’ll play #7 seed Cornell 10-17, 5-9. They started strong, even beat us there, but then they faded. March 3: 66-63. Whew! 17 for Shay but 7 guys had between 6 and 17. This was a struggle all the way. Kri hit a three with 15 seconds left, then knocked a pass OB with 1.3 left. They never got off a shot. #6 seed Columbia, 15-14, 6-8, upset #3 Princeton, so we play them next. We beat them by 10 and 24. March 4: 60-43 with Columbia. We were up 20 at the half. 12, 9 for Vin, 12 more for both Kris and Key, 11 TOs, 39 RBs, and great D. As expected it’s #3 Penn, 27-5, 12-2. We lost by 18 there, then 12 here, so this is going to be tough for us. It would be a great win though. March 5: 67-91. Ouch! 20, 14, 2 for Vin, but we weren’t in it for long. Their bench got 38, ours got 13. 40 RBs wasn’t enough. March 12: We expect to make the Big Dance, given that we’re 25-8 with an RPI of 45. We’re not in. And we’re shocked. We get a call an hour later from the NIT, #2 East. We’ll play 22-8 Morehead ST, #7 seed. Dave gives a pep talk to the guys. “Last time the stupid b*st*rds from the selection committee snubbed us we won the NIT. Let’s do it again.” There was more but he definitely charged the guys up! March 13: 72-54 over Morehead ST. 16, 3, 5, 2 for Shay, but the guys were really upbeat and they played every possession. 6 TOs, 39 RBs. Next is Ark.-Little Rock, 22-9. We’re much tougher inside but they can shoot outside. March 15: 71-61. Their SF lit it up but we stopped everyone else and we were as determined in this game as in the last one. 16, 7, 5, 3 for Vin, 18 for Kris, dominant inside, 11 TOs. It will be #1 seed Seton Hall, 19-11, in the round of 8. March 20: 78-74 over Seton Hall, and we’re in the NIT Final Four! We led most fo the way and it wasn’t as close as the final score. 6 guys in doubles, 34 RBs, and that same determination. It will be 23-10 UNLV, #3 seed in the Midwest, in the round of 4. They can shoot. We need to keep the game inside as much as possible since that’s where we hold the edge. March 28: 64-50. They led by 6 at the half, their biggest lead of the game. At halftime Dave went to mostly 3-2, and he shut down the outside shooting. We owned the 2nd half. 18, 4, 3, 2 for Kris, 12, 5 for Del, 10 RBs for Vin, 7, 6 for Josh. Shay fouled out but Key really did the job in his place. +15 RBs. May had false labor. She went to the hospital but was back home 2 hours later. No problems, docs say she and the baby are fine. It’s an all Ivy final as we face 23-11 Dartmouth, the #5 seed from the South. We beat them by 3 both times so this could be a tough game. Dave feels like we should win big. “H*ll, we didn’t play our game either time an’ we beat ‘em. I think it’ll be a a$$ kickin’ party, an’ we’re the foot. You know what that makes them. With the players he’s not quite that strong but he is telling them they are the better team. He’ll go man and 3-2 about equally, at least to start, and he wants as many inside shots for Vin and Del as he can get. March 30: 61-64. They threw 11 bodies at us, kept fresh legs in all night long. Their bench had 32, 16, 5, ours had 15, 5, 0. They beat us with depth. We had the ball last but they doubled the shooter and Shay’s three rimmed out. “Great run, guys. I’m proud a ya!” Here’s what he said to the press postgame: “We shoulda been in the big one, which we proved. I’m not happy with the lack a respect we get from the NCAA. I AM proud as h*ll a my boys. They had a great trourney an’ they give it all they had.” April 4: #1 UNC beat unranked Tennessee for the NCAA title. Awards: Key Mann was frosh of the year. Vin Rose made 1st team. Shay Cota anmd Del Cava made 2nd. April 5: I don’t think May can get bigger. She is ready. I doubt she’ll make the 4/15 due date. April 9: For the 2nd year in a row W. Va. is coming after Dave, HARD. Arkansas and Washington also want him. “I sure as h*ll ain’t goin’ south. Who needs that heat! Now Washington…” And then the phone rang. I happened to be in the office at the time. “Jimmy, I would LOVE ta come over ta URI ta interview for the job.” Can it be? At long last? “Ain’t gonna be much of a interview. If they offer I’m takin’ it.” “Well try to get a decent salary, we could both use it.” “Hey, it’s bound ta be better than we been doin’ here!” Short story- We’re at URI, right back where we started as freshmen all those years ago. “This is my dream job. Red an’ me (Yes, they hired me, too!) have always wanted ta come here. We think great things can happen if ya give us a little time.” Dave’s salary is 2 ½ times what it was. Mine is a little less than that but a nice raise. April 10: David Alan McGee, Jr. was born this morning. 8 pounds, 3 ounces. May and Davey are doing fine. Dave is out of his mind. The first thing we needed to do was to get the rest of the staff hired. April 23: Good staff assembled. We took our time. We went after some recruits late. Kind of a pig in a poke but we rolled the dice. Facilities here have been neglected for a long time so we ask A. D. Jimmy Dimaggio for an upgrade. Got it. Up from C- to B-. “Now THAT’S the way ta friggin’ welcome a coach! Good ole URI!” No two ways about it. It is wonderful to be back here. Team Prestige is 29. Our last year at Brown we went 20-13, 11-7, got to the finals of the conf. tourney and the finals of the NIT. Not bad. Dave’s record is 322-158, .671. Off-52, Def-75, Recruit-70, Scout-7, Player Dev-67, Reputation-49. Ready for a new adventure. For Dave it’s two new adventures, a new job and a new baby.

Feb. 5: 73-49 with Columbia. 16, 7, 2, 2 for Josh, 16, 5, 2, 3 for Key. 10 TOs. 59-71 at #4 Penn. 23 TOs did us in. 15, 8 for Vin. Still alone in 2nd but now 2 back of Penn with 4 to play. This week 10-13, 5-5 Cornell is here. They beat us last time. Then we go to 12-11, 5-5 Harvard. Feb. 12: 60-41 vs. Cornell. 19, 8 for Del, 17, 3, 4 for Shay, good play all around. 55-72 at Harvard. We were flat all night. Last week of the regular season. 13-12, 7-5 Princeton is here and the winner gets 2nd place. Then we’re at 1-24, 1-11 Yale. We’re 18-7, 8-4, RPI #54. May is about two months from her delivery date and there have been no problems at all. Dave remains very excited, and remains sober. They have chosen not to know the baby’s gender. Feb. 19: 68-49 vs. Princeton. 16, 4, 4 for Shay, 14 each for Kris and Key, 8, 13, 2, 3, 2 for Vin. We played like we wanted it! This clinches 2nd place. 60-44 at Yale. The back court tore it up. 10 TOs, big games from Shay, Kris, and Key. Tonight San Diego, 17-8, is her for the Bracket Breaker. Feb. 26: 55-53 vs. San Diego. 11, 17 for Vin, 10, 18 for Del, and a 16 footer at the buzzer for Kris for the win. 11 TOs, 44 RBs. Key hurt his shoulder, about a week. We finish the regular season 21-7, 10-4, RPI #41.

January 1, 2030: 67-60 vs. Texas A & M. All 5 starters in double figures. 13 TOs, 34 RBs. 9-4 Dartmouth is here to start conf. play. Then we’re off to 7-6 Columbia. Jan. 8: 60-57 with Dartmouth. We never trailed, but they never went away. The final score was as close as it got but they missed a three at the buzzer. 10, 15, 3 for Del, but 5 in doubles. 7 TOs, 39 RBs. We played well against a good team. 74-64 at Columbia. 11, 12 for Vin, 17 for Kris, 14, 9 for Josh Eddy. 40 RBs. Key Mann hurt his wrist. Out about a week. #4 Penn, 14-3 is here, then we’re at 7-8, 2-0 Cornell. Jan. 15: 62-80 with #4 Penn. 23, 11, 3 for Kris. We gave up 17 threes. 55-70 at Cornell. 16, 9 for Vin. 21 TOs. Dave was Not happy about this one. “Okay, Penn I can see, but friggin’ Cornell!” 9-8, 2-2 Harvard is here then we go to 7-10, 1-3 Princeton. Jan. 22: 76-62 with Harvard. A team effort, 7 guys had betwee 6 and 16. 12 TOs, 37 RBs. 66-59 at Princeton. 13, 8, 2, 2 for Del, 11, 8, 3, 2 for Shay. The calls started going against us midway through the 2nd half. Dave got on the refs and eventually got a T but it was tactical and it worked. After that the calls evened out. We locked Princeton down late to hang on for the win. Our up and down team was up this week. “Red, we’re coachin’ yoyos this year, up an’ down, up an’ down. It’s makin’ me crazy!” 0-19, 0-6 Yale is here, then we travel to 13-6, 4-2 Dartmouth, one of the three teams tied for 2nd- we’re one and Cornell is the other. Jan. 29: 58-44 with Yale. 13, 9 for Vin, 14 for Shay, 6 TOs, 32 RBs, and great D. 62-59 at Dartmouth. 16, 6, 5 for Shay, 11, 7 for Vin. We almost blew a 14 point lead but we hung on. We’re alone in 2nd, 1 back of Penn. 10-11, 3-5 Columbia is here, then we travel to 20-3, 7-1, #4 Penn. The only recruit we signed didn’t hit the SAT score.

Nov. 20: 65-57 with Silly Hat. 16, 9, 2 for Vin Rose, 15 for Kris Ank but he fouled out in 16 min. Key Mann played a lot of minutes and played well. 10 TOs but only 21 RBs. 83-64 vs. Va. Tech. 16, 9, 3 for Vin, 18, 2, 4 for Kris, 15, 4, 2, 4 for Key, 10, 7, 3 for Del Cava, 12 for Shay Cota. 11 TOs, 28 RBs. Dave worked the refs pretty well but avoided a T. The calls really did go against us all night. This week we host 0-2 Miami, and 0-2 Clemson, both from the ACC. Nov. 27: 67-60 vs. Miami. 22, 2, 3 for Shay, lots of help from the other 5 who play significant minutes. 60-41 with Clemson. 18, 7, 2 for Vin, 12, 10 for Del. 10 TOs, 30 RBs. The 6 man rotation may wear us out in time but for now it’s going really well. 2 on the road. First we’re at 2-1 Duke. Then at 2-3 SE Louisiana. Dec. 4: 73-63 at Duke. 20, 3, 3 for Shay, 15, 11 for Vin, +9 RBs. They never led and it was tied twice, at 0-0, and 2-2. “We beat DUKE! DUKE!!! THERE!!! WE BEAT DUKE THERE!!!!!” 67-53 at SE Louisiana. 23, 5, 4, 3 for super sub Key Mann. +12 RBs. 2 on the road again this week, at 2-3 Wofford, and then MS ST, 1-3. Dec. 11: 72-79 at Wofford. Key led us again with 18, 4, 3. We let them shoot over 50%. 65-52 at MS ST. 21, 4, 3 for Key, 16, 7, 4 for Shay. 38 RBs. At 4-4 Vermont, then home with 1-5 American. Dec. 18: 58-45 at Vermont. 23, 7, 3 for Shay, 11, 8 for Del. 79-44 vs. American. Never a game. Foul trouble in the back court made us go a lot deeper in the bench than usual. The guys responded. 5 TOs, 30 RBs. Tough one coming up at #14 Utah, 9-0, then at 3-6 Colorado ST> Kris Ank twisted his wrist. Day to day. Dec. 25: 50-64 at Utah. We shot 29.6%. 13, 5, 2 for Shay, 9, 10 for Vin but they were too good for us. 48-68 at Colo. ST. We were awful tonight. 10, 12 for Vin, 10, 7 for Josh, but we were totally flat. No excuse for this one and Dave was p*ssed! “We’ll just hafta work that out of ‘em. They’re better than this!” We close out pre-conf. play with 5-5 Texas A & M here. May is doing just fine with the pregnancy; not a sign of trouble. And Dave is still sober.

May 11: Dave’s been drinking off and on. I’ve driven him home from Lefty’s 2-3 times. He’s on borrowed time. Something is going to happen to get him some bad publicity, at the very least. On the positive side, Dave and May celebrated their 3rd anniversary a couple of weeks ago. That’s longer than he’s lasted with anyone else. June 5: We need guards. 1 slot open for a transfer. June 16: We get Matt Tony, PG. June 26: Only two scholarships and we want guards. Looking at 7. Dave is still drinking, but I haven’t gotten a late call in about a month. Aug. 21: We offer to 2 PGs. Sept. 18: We feel we’re close with our 2 PGs. We put together a tough schedule. Too tough? May is pregnant. She is due April 15. Nice little tax refund! Dave looks worried. “I quit drinkin’. I ain’t a prayin’ man but I’m thinkin’ about it. Another miscarriage would about kill me.” “Think positive thoughts, old buddy.” Sept. 25: Lost one of the guys we offered to. Oct. 2: Lost one, got one. Bo Will, PG, #75 committed. It’s hard to say but Dave and I think we’re better than last year. It will take 4-5 weeks to get a better feel though. We’re picked 2nd, behind Penn, again. Nov. 6: Here’s the lineup, all new in the backcourt: Junior transfer from Dayton Shay Cota, junior Kris Ank, and frosh Key Mann. SF will be split between frosh Josh Eddy and Mann. Inside will be junior Vin Rose and soph Del Cava, backed by Eddy. We open with a 4 game home stand. This week it’s Silly Hat and Va. Tech.

March 2: We play #7 seed Yale, 7-20, 4-10. March 3: 48-54. An embarrassing loss. We shot 27%, 3-24 on threes. 17, 14 for Vin but no one else did much of anything. With a 69 RPI we’ll probably go somewhere but… March 12: NIT #5 seed Midwest. We play #4 Dartmouth, 18-13. WE split in the regular season. This is ur chance to salvage a mediocre season. A couple of wins here would help. March 13: 62-52 over Dartmouth. 16, 6 for Vin, 15, 5, 3 for Adam, 8, 9 for Kris. This gives us a 20 win season, Next up is #1 seed Illinois, 17-13. After seeing the tapes we think we’re the better team- IF we play. March 15: 63-82. We were never in it. Last game for Jack, Adam, and Ben Coff. April 4: #1 Oklahoma won it all. Dave and I went to the Final Four, which was kind of cool! It was in Boston so we “commuted”. Awards: Kris Ank made 1st team, Vin Rose and Del Cava made 2nd. None of our seniors received awards, unfortunately. April 6: “Red on the head, get yer a$$ outta bed!” “Good morning, Dave. It’s been quite a while since you’ve graced me with a 1:30 call.” “I thought I’d celebrate a fantastic friggin’ season.” “One beer would have done that, heck, a 7 ounce.” (Roars with laughter) “Hey, Lefty’s is open long enough fer you ta come down an’ have a drink.” “I’ll be right there. Don’t go anywhere.” No, I wasn’t planning to have a drink, but if Dave was at Lefty’s I needed to get him out of there and not let him drive. I got there just before closing, managed to get Dave into my car, and drove him home. I woke May up and she was not happy. “Why, Red?” “That’s always a tough call, May. I’ve read a lot about addiction, being Dave’s best friend kind of makes that necessary reading. Nobody seems to know 100% why, but it’s a tough battle, for the addict, and for everyone around him.” “I really thought we were through with this. It’s been a long time since he had a drink.” “Try to get him back to Randi Malden. She had more success with him than anyone else.” April 9: Dave got away with it. It was a slow night at Lefty’s and his revels didn’t make the news, thankfully. At least so far he’s not going back to see Randi, but he hasn’t had another drink, either. “Red, would ya move if I went someplace else?” “You mean besides URI?” “Yeah. Brown ain’t a good fit for us, an’ I been thinkin’…” Wow! “How does May feel?” “It was her idea.” In the end we stayed put. Dave interviewed at USC, W. VA, Vanderbilt, and Nebraska. I thought he was going to take the W. VA. job but in the end… “I ain’t leavin’ R.I.” I have to admit it would be very difficult for me to leave, too. April 23: We ask for a budget increase but hopes are not high. We’re shocked to get $10,000. We’ll now have enough to buy the national gold report. Team Prestige drops to 26 after our poor season. We end up 20-12, 9-5. After 15 years Dave is 295-149, .664. Off-49, Def-75, Recruit-70, Scout-7, Player Development-63, Reputation-46. Our best players are back. If a couple of our recruit guards develop we can hope for a better season.

Feb. 4: It’s been a tough week in practice. Dave has been true to his word, kicking butts all week long. Interestingly enough, the guys look better. “Last session with Randi was yesterday.” “Why are you stopping?” “Cuz the deal was a year an’ the year’s up.” “But you’ve been really positive about the sessions.” “Time ta grow up an’ deal with things myself.” NOT a good idea, I’m thinking. Feb. 5: 51-32 with Yale. We won with D. 11 TOs. 60-71 at Dartmouth. 14, 6 for Vin, 11, 5, 2 for Del. We didn’t shoot well, or find the open man. “I give up. Let’s meet with the whole staff an’ see if we can come up with anythin’. I’m friggin’ stumped.” This week we host #9 Penn, 20-3, 9-1, then go to 4-19, 2-8 Cornell. We’re tied for 3rd, 1 back of 2nd place Harvard. Feb. 12: 60-79 with Penn. 18, 8, 5 for Vin, 12, 5 for Del, but 21 TOs. Penn was way too good for us tonight. 69-42 at Cornell. All 5 in double figures, 7 TOs, 30 RBs. Tied with Harvard and Dartmouth for 2nd with 2 to play. We host 16-10, 6-6 Princeton then go to 15-10, 5-7 Columbia. If we want 2nd place we need 2 wins. Feb. 19: 66-65 in OT with Princeton, a huge win for us. 26, 4 for Jack, 16, 6 for Del. Jack stole a pass and drove for a layup to tie it in regulation, and hit a last second 16 fotter in OT for the win. 79-69 at Columbia. 23, 2, 6 for Adam but 23 TOs. At least we go into the post season in 2nd place and with some momentum! Tonight it’s the Bracket Breaker with 18-7 Wofford. Feb. 26: 73-76 to Wofford. So much for that momentum thing. 17, 8 for Del, 14, 9 for Vin, 13, 4, 4 for Kris.

January 1, 2029: 59-77 at Louisville. As with Mich. St we were overmatched. 15, 3, 2 for Kris, 14, 3, 3 for Jack, who has turned into a real leader. We’re committing too many TOS right now, 14.5 per (+0.4). We’re +4.5 PPG, +6.2 RBs. If we do better with ball handling we’ll be fine. 10-4 to close out pre-conf. play. 2029! Dave and I turn 50 this year. Yikes! We start conf. play here with 7-6 Harvard, then we’re off to 3-10 Yale. Penn is always tough but we feel good about how we’ll do in conf. Jan. 8: 82-68 vs. Harvard. 22, 4, 3, 2 for Adam, 18, 6 for Kris, 16, 6 for vin, 8 TOs. 69-47 at Yale. All 5 in doubles, Jim Nick had 9, 4. 9 TOs, and a real team effort. This week we host 9-6 Dartmouth, then go to #11 Penn, 13-2. “Not a bad time ta play Penn, we’re goin’ real good right now. Jan. 15: 72-53 with Dartmouth. Good #s for the starters and for Jim Nick. 59-73 at #11 Penn. 13, 8 for Del. 19 TOs did it. We were never really in the game. “Thing that worries me about this team is that we don’t quite get there with the good teams. Keep workin’, I guess, but it seems like a mindset thing. It ain;t easy ta fix that.” 2-15 Cornell here, then 12-6, 2-2 Princeton there. Jan. 22: 66-53 with Cornell. 23, 4 for Kris. 9 TOs. 62-69 at Princeton. -5 TOs, -4 RBs, gave up 13 threes. “We’re like that rookie hooker.” “Choke on the big ones.” “I been tryin’ ta be positive cuz when a team’s not goin’ all that good ya don’t want ta knock ‘em. Ya gotta build their confidence.” “You’re doing fine with that, Dave.” 13-6, 3-3 Columbia is here, then we go to 11-8, 4-2 Harvard. We’re tied for them for 2nd, 2 back of Penn. Jan. 29: 66-60 vs. Columbia. Dale Wins got minutes and responded with 13. 10, 8, 2 for Vin. This was a battle. We didn’t play well but we played well enough. 57-78 vs. Harvard. 20 TOs, 22 RBs. Dave walked out of the locker room after the game without saying a word. “No more Mr. Nice Guy. I’ve friggin’ had it! I’m gonna work ‘em, an’ I’m gonna jump on their a$$e$ every time they screw up. They’re playing like junior high girls!” Uh oh! 5-16, 2-6 Yale, followed by a trip to 12-9, 4-4 Dartmouth.