Wayne23

Dec. 11: 2 road wins! 80-65 at Oakland. 17 each for Del in his first start, and Jack. 16, 1, 5, 2 for Adam, 9, 14, 2, 2 for Vin. 13 TOs, 35 RBs. 69-64 at #24 Arkansas. This was a war. We scored the last 7 points. 243, 5, 3 for Kris, 21, 10 for Vin. We’re 7-2. Home with 5-3 Vermont, then at 4-3 Michigan ST. They’re off to a slow start but they’re Mich. ST! Dec. 18: 63-51 with Vermont. 25, 8, 2 for Kris, 13, 3, 3 for Jack, 10, 6, 3 for Del. 10 TOs. Sub Ben Coff hurt his back. Out for about 2 weeks. 47-70 at Mich. ST. Overmatched. They were both too big and too quick. Dave kept his cool and kept trying to keep the guys’ heads up. Del had 10, 14, Jack 13, 6, 2, 3 but no one else did much. This week 3-5 Tulane is here, then we go to 5-4 ODU. Dec. 25: 76-57 over Tulane. 16 each for Ank and Mile, 11 each for Rose and Cava. 11 TOs. 71-66 at ODU. 13, 10, 2 for Vin but everyone contributed in a good road win. A tough road game at 7-3 Louisville to close out pre-conf. play. A great holiday. Dave and May said what they hope to get for a New Year gift is a new baby. She isn’t pregnant yet but they’re hoping.

Nov. 20: 69-62 at Texas ST. Good team effort, 13, 12 for Vin Rose at C, 19, 5, 2 for Kris Ank at SF, 17 for Adam Chan at guard, 11, 1, 6 for Jack Mile at guard. 17 TOs though. 73-58 over Nome. 16, 9 for Vin, 17, 5, 1, 3 for Kris, 13, 4, 3, 3 fo0r Jack. 12 TOs, 33 RBs. 69-54 vs. Purdue. 17, 5, 2 for Kris, 16 for Jack, 13 for Adam, 9, 9, 5, 2 for Jim Nick at PF. 12 TOs, 36 RBs. This week we’re home all week, the middle of a 5 game home stand. URI is 2-0, first time we play our destination school. Then it’s 2-1 Miami. Nov. 27: 58-44 vs. URI. 18, 5, 2 for Adam, but great D and 37 RBs won this one. “I hope we get our shot at coachin’ URI one a these days. I think we could make ‘em a power. If that cow college in CT can do it so can we. 68-54 with Miami. 18, 4, 6, 4 for Adam, 17, 5 for Vin, 10, 7 for Nick. Dale Wins hurt his wrist. Day to day. Ranked! #22, RPI #15. We’re 5-0, but headed to the road soon. We close the home stand with 3-0 Vanderbilt, then we’re at 2-1 Pitt, a powerful team. Dec. 4: 55-63 with Vandy. 16, 2, 4 for Jack, 11, 7 for Vin, but we weren’t on our game. Dave picked up his first T, but he wasn’t really out of control. It felt tactical. 58-67 at Pitt. 18, 8, 2 for Vin, 19 for jack, and our whole backcourt was in foul trouble all night. Another T for Dave and this one didn’t feel as tactical. He pretty much lost it. He did get it back though. We’re going to start Del Cava at PF So much for being ranked! At 4-2 Oakland, then at #24 Arkansas. "Randi gave me h*ll yesterday at our session." "Glad she's keeping you on your toes." "Hey, I been doin' a lot better. Gotta admit I feel better, too." "Use the things she taught you." "I am. That first T was on purpose and I didn't lose it all that bad on the 2nd one." "Listen to Randi." "Believe me, I'm tryin'."

June 16: We get a PG and a C from the transfer pool. We’ll see. June 26: 3 scholarships. We want 2 guards. Looking at 15. Aug. 21: We offer to a PG and a PF. Sept. 4: We offer to another PG. Sept. 18: We get the PF. We have a schedule. Oct. 2: We’re picked 2nd to Penn again. Oct. 9: We get 2 PGs. Nov. 6: Here’s the lineup: Seniors Adam Chan and Jack Mile start at guard, backed by frosh Dale Wins. Soph Kris Ank is at SF, backed by senior Ben Coff. Inside it’s soph transfer from Kansas Vin Rose and junior Juco Jim Nick, backed by frosh Del Cava. I think we’ll be okay, but it may take a few games for us to gel. We start with a 3 game week, at Texas ST then home with Nome and Purdue. Dave continues to be calm. There are flare ups, but nothing major.

March 2: We’ll play #7 seed Harvard, 11-17, 5-9, in the round of 8. March 3: 87-68 over Harvard. 22, 2, 2, 2 for Carl, 21, 3, 2 for Adam, 13, 10 for Todd. 6 TOs. We play #3 seed Columbia, 20-9, 8-6 in the semis. They beat us by 13 a couple weeks ago. Dave is really leaning on that loss as we prepare- prepare! One walk through, basically. March 4: 75-63 over Columbia. 25, 6, 4, 3 for Carl, 16, 2, 2 for Adam. We’ve looked good in the tourney so far but #1 seed, #11 ranked Penn is next, for the title. They’re 24-8, 12-2. The interesting thing is that we beat them 82-74 at home, and then lost 74-82 there. March 5: 73-56 over #11 Penn, and the title! 20, 4 for Carl, 12, 14 for Todd, 12, 3, 4 for Matt, 10, 2, 4 for Jack Mile. Great tournament! And now we wait. Things seem to be going well for Dave, May, and Jeffy. Part of the deal with Ticky is that he has to meet with Prof. Malden once a month for an additional year. He’s been calm, in control, patient- it’s all working. He blows up, yells at refs, occasionally at a player, but none of it seems at all out of control. March 12: RPI #13 but no idea what to expect. Not in the East. #11 Midwest. Disappointing. How does RPI #13 translate into an 11 seed? We play #6 seed, #25 ranked Texas, 19-11. March 16: 75-65! 20, 7, 3, 2 for Carl, 16, 6 for Jack from the bench, 8, 9, 7 for Todd. 19 TOs but 35 RBs. Next will be #14 seed, 23-8, Holy Crap who upset #3 seed UConn. The door is open for us to reach the Sweet Sixteen again. March 18: 91-72 over Holy Crap! 34, 4 for Carl, 21, 4, 3 for Adam, 13, 9, 4 for Todd, 15, 6 for Kris. 9 TOs, 31 RBs. 2 straight years in the Sweet 16. #2 seed, #6 ranked Maryland, 27-6. Tough match up but I think if we play our best game we have a shot. Dave is really pumping the guys up. A good start would help. March 23: 62-91. Ouch! They scored the first 11 points and that was that. Oh well. Last game at Brown for Todd Tong, Carl Mia, Matt Jam, Dan Black, Sid More. April 4: #2 ranked UNC won it all. Awards: Carl Mia and Todd Tong made 1st team, Matt Jam 2nd. April 9: “I ain’t leavin’ Rhode Island!” April 23: We ask for a budget increase again. We get $10,000. We end the season 24-10, 10-4. Great post season! Team Prestige is up to 28. Dave’s #s are: Off-45, Def-71, Recruit-70, Scout-7, Player Dev-58, Reputation-43. We’re losing a lot of talent this year; let’s see how that plays out. Dave is still sober and enjoying family life. Not coincidentally, he sees Prof. Malden through February.

2/5: 74-82 at #18 Penn. Home court is supposed to be worth 7-9 points. They won by 8. 20, 8, 4, 4 for Carl, 17, 11 for Todd, 16 for Matt. We were short a guard and both of our starters were in foul trouble all night. 64-48 vs. Yale. 22 for Carl, 10, 6, 2, 2, 2 for Todd. Good, solid D won this one. Dave told the guys to just keep winning. We’re tied with Penn for 1st. This week we’re on the road, first at 7-16, 2-8 Cornell, then at 11-12, 5-5 Harvard. 2/12: 68-72 at Cornell. 20 for Todd, 17 for Carl, but we didn’t play very well. 23 RBs. “How in h*ll does the worst team in the conf. beat us!” 84-69 at Harvard. 32, 7, 3, 3 for Carl, 16, 11, 2, 5 for Todd, 13, 3, 3 for Matt. We were much better in this one. Last week of the conf. season opens with 13-12, 6-6 Dartmouth here. They beat us by 11 last time. Then it’s on the road with 16-9, 6-6 Columbia. We’re going to finish 2nd unless we win 2 and Penn loses 2. Dave is much, MUCH calmer. He seems to be handling things a lot better, even the loss. He is doing less yelling in practices and games, but still manages to get his point across. 2/19: 76-64 over Dartmouth. 20, 6, 4, 3 for Todd, 11 each for Kris and Carl. 9 TOs. 58-71 at Columbia. 20, 4 for Carl, 12, 9 for Todd. 19 TOs did us in. “They played like sh*t!” I feel like this team has the most talent we’ve ever had but doesn’t have the heart. Of course you really see heart in the post season so we’re still hopeful. Bracket Breaker with 20-5, 10-4, #24 Oakland here tonight. Feb. 26: 65-62 over Oakland. This was a battle. 18, 2, 5 for Matt, 8, 15 for Todd, 12, 4, 2 for Jack Mile from the bench. Adam buried a three with :15 left and we hung on and didn’t let them get a good look. 18 TOs. Two bad TO games in a row. We end the season 19-9, 10-4, 2nd in conf., 2 back of Penn, 2 up on Columbia.

January 1, 2028: 78-58 over Nome here. 18, 9, 2 for Kris Ank from the bench, 17, 5, 2, 2 for Carl, 11, 12, 4 for Todd, 12 for Dan. Dan Black has back spasms. He’s out for about two weeks. Due to the XMas break he’ll only miss 2 games but they are big ones. We end the pre-conf. season 8-5. We start conf. play at 8-4 Princeton, then we host #19 Princeton. They are picked 3rd and 1st in conf. I’m still running the show here. Dave comes over in the evening and we talk things over, but just briefly. He says it’s my team now. “Prof. Malden is a she.” “How’s that working out?” “She’s tough as hell, and hotter than she is tough.” “And so…” “No worries. I’m still married and I want to stay that way.” Jan. 8: The subs got it done! 79-70 at Princeton. 17, 6 for Carl, 13, 3, 3 for Adam Chan, 12, 7 for Todd. 12 TOs, 34 RBs. 82-74 with Penn. 31, 2, 2 for Carl, 14, 3, 4 for Adam, 12, 14, 4 for Todd. I decide to start Adam Chan for Dan Black, and Kris Ank for Ben Coff. At 9-6, 2-0 Yale, then home with 5-10, 0-2 Cornell. “Randi Malden is a b*tch. She is all over me.” “Maybe it’s what you need.” “If she was a guy I woulda slugged her by now.” “Maybe that’s why they picked a woman.” “Yeah, the b*st*rds.” Jan. 15: 77-57 at Yale. 26 for Matt, 21 for Adam in his 1st start. Kris Ank had 6 and 8. 9 TOs. 78-60 over Cornell here. 22 for Todd, 16, 5 for Carl, 9 and 8 for Kris. 8 TOs. It’s early, but we’re alone in 1st, and only Penn is one back. 8-9, 2-2 Harvard is here, then we go to 9-8, 2-2 Dartmouth. Dave seems calmer. He and May are talking, and he took Jeffy to the park the other day. Jan. 22: 65-53 over Harvard. 19 for Adam, 17, 4 for Carl, 9, 9, 3, 2 for Todd, 10 TOs, 33 RBS. 57-68 at Dartmouth. 19, 3 for Carl, 9, 11 for Todd, but they led all the way. The 6 game win streak ends and we’re tied with Penn. 2 at home this week, 13-6, 3-3 Columbia, then 10-9, 1-5 Princeton, who’ve been very disappointing so far. “The b*tch is helping me. I feel calmer than I have in a long time, and me and May are doing pretty good.” Jan. 29: 69-52 over Columbia. 28, 4 for Carl, 16 with 6 assists for Matt. 10 TOs but only 16 RBs. Adam Chan sprained an ankle. Out about 2 weeks. Seems like whenever Penn is coming up we get an injury. Mile will get most of his minutes. 76-54 at Princeton. Big game for Kris Ank, 14, 11. 18 for Todd, 16, 3, 6 for Matt. 9 TOs, 29 RBs. At #18 Penn, 16-7, 6-2, one back of us. Then 10-11, 3-5 Yale here. Dave is coming back full time tomorrow. He has one week to go on the anger management classes and admits they’ve helped. He isn’t drinking and he’s back home with May and Jeffy, as of yesterday. I wind up 9-2, 11-3 lifetime, filling in for Dave. Not bad! But I'm happy in my role.

Nov. 20: 77-55 at Maine. 25, 3, 5, 2 for Carl, 12, 5, 2 for Todd, and good play by everyone else. 11 TOs, 31 RBs. 72-52 vs. Butler, here. 23, 7, 2, 2 for Carl, who’s off to a great start. 12, 5, 3 for Dan Black. 10 TOs. 5 in a row and 9 of the next 10 are on the road. Brutal! We start at 0-1 Memphis, then fly to 1-1 La. Tech. Nov. 27: 73-87 at Memphis. They went to the lane 38 times, we went 21. Dave got his first T of the season. We didn’t play very good D. 67-57 at La. Tech. 19, 6, 4, 2 for Todd, 13, 8 for carl, and his 4th straight game in double figures. Matt Jam is playing well at guard. We’re at 1-3 VCU, then at 2-1 LSU. Dec. 4: 79-85 at VCU in OT. Dave got a T again, and it meant the difference between winning in regulation and losing in OT. 30 for Carl, 12, 10 for Todd. 76-78 vs. LSU. They won on a 28 footer at the buzzer. 22 for Carl, 19, 4 for Matt. This week we’re at Akron, 1-5, then home for a game with 5-1 Penn ST before heading off again. Dec. 11: 72-57 at Akron. 23, 6 for Carl, 14, 12, 6, 2 for Todd. 67-47 over Penn ST here. 20, 5, 3 for Carl, 14, 6, 3 for Dan, 8, 12, 2 for todd, 9 TOs, 37 RBs. Carl has scored 10 or more in every game this season. At 3-5 UMass Lowell, then #24 Mich. ST, 5-4. Dec. 18: 57-41 at UMass Lowell. 16, 7 for Carl, 12, 4, 3, 2 for Matt. 9 TOs. 73-66 at #24 Mich. ST. 20, 4, 4 for Carl, 15, 9, 4 for Todd, good guard play. 2 more on the road. At 6-4 No. FL, then it’s 6-3 Iowa, a tough team. Dec. 25: 71-84 at No. FL. 26, 7, 3, 2 for Carl, 20, 8 for Todd. But 17 TOs and only 25 RBs. The refs were pretty bad and Dave got another T. 65-66 at Iowa. 19, 11, 3 for Todd. 16, 10 for Ben Coff. For the first time this season Carl did not hit double figures. This was a game we could have won. Dave got another T. When we got home Dave and I were called into Ticky Rumsfield’s office. “Dave, we’re suspending you. The technical fouls are out of hand.” “How long?” “Indefinite. We want you to take an anger management course with a psychologist here on campus. It will be one on one, and will last for about 6 weeks. Twice a week.” “So I’m out for 6 weeks.” “It could be 4, even 3, if Professor Malden feels you’re ready to return, but the entire course needs to be completed.” “If I refuse?” “I was told to fire you if you refuse.” “I’ll think about it.” “You have 48 hours to contact Prof. Malden.” Dave contacted the professor. In the meantime the team is mine. We close out the pre-conf. season with 4-4 Nome, here.

Sept. 25: We get 3 guards, and we’re really happy with all of them. I’m running the show while Dave recovers. He may be out as long as a month, although I suspect he’ll make appearances at practice, and probably call some recruits much sooner than that. Oct. 2: A 4th guard, Moe Ward, commits. We need a big guy. We’re picked 2nd, behind Penn. Well, they’re always tough. Dave didn’t get to practice today. He called and we stopped to listen to him give a pep talk that was pretty positive. He’s calling May but she’s holding firm. Until he starts going to counseling or A. A., she and Jeffy are unavailable to him. He’s a stubborn guy. Athletic Director Ticky Brumsfield dropped by the office. “Red, we have done all we can as far as Coach McGee is concerned. One more incident and we’ll fire him.” “Is it okay if I tell him that?” “Yes, we felt that if I confronted him there would be a scene, but if we work through you it will be better for all concerned.” “I’ll drop over to see him this evening.” “We would, of course, put you in as interim head coach in his stead, and there would be every chance that the position could become permanent.” “I’m not interested in stepping over Dave’s corpse to get ahead.” “We don’t see it that way. You can surely see that the least disruption to the program would be that sequence of events.” “I’m hoping Dave can find a way to hang on here. He’s been very successful.” “Red, Brown is an Ivy League school. Athletics are not that important. We simply cannot suffer yet another black eye. For us, the success on the court is not worth the unfavorable publicity.” Dave took it pretty well. He sort of thought he might have been fired over this incident. Even though nothing could be proven everyone believed the accident was a result of DUI. Oct. 9: We get a good looking PF. Dave hasn’t been here since the accident. I know he’s in a lot of pain. Because of his “issues” he’s avoiding pain killers. Some of the bumps and bruises were deep, and the fracture was a mess. Nov. 6: Here’s the lineup: Seniors Dan Black and Matt Jam start at guard with junior Jack Mile and Juco junior Adam Chan backing up. Senior Carl Mia is at SF, senior Todd Tong and junior Ben Coff start inside with freshman Kris Ank as back up. Senior Sid More is #9 on the depth chart. Dave is back, but he still isn’t full time. When he’s not here it’s my show. He doesn’t seem to be drinking but he hasn’t gotten into therapy either. We start the season at Maine and then it’s Butler here.

May 22: Dave is definitely drinking. May says he’s good with Jeffy but even quiet with him, but that he has little to do with her. She says if he doesn’t agree to do something- therapy, A.A., something else, and soon, that she will need to consider making a change. June 12: We get a C from Kansas, Vin Rose. June 26: 5 to fill. We need at least 3 guards. July 25: Not getting very far with the first batch of recruits. Time to look at a few more. May asked Dave to leave their house. He got an efficiency apartment on the worst street in Cranston. He’s drinking- a lot. Sept. 18: Dave continues to drink way too much. I’m pretty much running the show. No recruits yet but we feel we’re close with a few. 10 of our 13 pre-conf. games are away. We’re playing 4 ranked teams, all away. Sept. 19: “Red, ya gotta help me.” “What’s wrong, Dave.” “I smashed my car.” “Where are you?” “I don’t know, that’s the problem.” “Where were you drinking?” “Lefty’s.” “Okay, I’ll do the route from Lefty’s to your place. Anything at all you can tell me about where you are?” “Red, I’m hangin’ upside down by my seat belt in a ditch or somethin’. That’s all I know.” Man! I got there about 20 minutes later. Luckily I was going slowly and my headlights caught a flash of light. The ditch was pretty deep, and when I got there Dave was, as he had said, hanging upside down by his seat belt. “Dave, it’s too dangerous to just release the seat belt. If you’ve got anything broken in your back or neck it could kill you. I’m gonna call 911.” “NO!!! I got too much alcohol in my blood. There’ll be h*ll ta pay.” “Dave, if you’re paralyzed there’ll be a lot more h*ll to pay.” “I ain’t paralyzed. My left arm’s broke and my right one can’t reach the seat belt thing cuz a the air bag bein’ wrapped around it when it deflated, but I can move my arms and legs and wiggle my toes and move everything. Just unhook me.” “Dave, no. I can’t take the responsibility.” “Then get the frig outta here an’ leave me be.” “Dave… Dave, I can’t leave you here. I smell gas.” “J*sus! Unhook me!” “I think I have to. I didn’t smell the gas when I got here and it’s getting stronger. Look, I’m going to try to cushion your fall.” I unhooked the belt. The air bag allowed Dave to drop a little more slowly. It had inflated then deflated, but he hung onto it with his good arm and one leg, and I tried to ease him down. He hurt his broken arm on the way down, but that was inevitable. I helped him hobble to my car and drove him to my house. As we left the scene I saw his car in the rear view mirror, on fire. Dave and I, and Jean, stayed up for several hours. My phone said he had called me at 2:15 a.m. Finally, at 8:45, I drove Dave to the Cranston Hospital. Jean was on duty and she steered us straight to help. They had set his arm and were treating cuts and bruises when Sgt. O’Hanlon of the Cranston police came in. “Did you guys check for alcohol in the blood?” “Yes, Sgt. That’s standard procedure.” “And?” “Trace amounts.” “Hey, I had a beer about 1:00 in the morning.” “You’re full of sh*t, Coach. You got hammered at Lefty’s, rolled your car, and your buddy here took you to his place to get sober.” “Sgt., Ed Bradley here. That’s a lovely fairy tale. Would you like to tell me what evidence you have?” Good thing we called Ed! “I got four witnesses say he was sh*tfaced when he left Lefty’s at 1:00 in the morning.” “Oh? Did they do a blood test?” “You b*st*rd, Bradley. This guy’s a menace. He belongs in jail.” “If you think you can put him there, go right ahead. Coach McGee had 2 beers at Lefty’s, then drove away to go home. A deer crossed right in front of him. He swerved to avoid it, rolled the car, and went into the ditch. He was knocked unconscious. When he woke he called Coach O’Connor, who freed him from the wreck and brought him here.” “We got a report of a car on fire at 5:57 this morning. When we got there it was clear it’d been burnin’ for some time.” “Yes, Coach O’Connor told me he saw the car on fire as he drove away.” “But it took him 2 ½ hours ta drive a mile ta this hospital?” “Coach McGee is a tough customer. He wanted to just go home and forget about it.” “With a broken arm and all kinds of other injuries an’ blood all over h*ll and gone!” “We believe he was in a state of shock. We will plead to leaving the scene of an accident. Sgt. I don’t think there’s a chance in h*ll you can get us on anything else.” Ed Bradley is good. There was a LOT of negative publicity but we stuck to the story and Dave got a $100 fine for leaving the scene of an accident. Didn’t solve the problem but Ed hasn’t had a drink in three months. (Author’s note. The last two paragraphs above go out of time sequence with the following, at least for awhile, but we’ll catch up as we go along.)

March 2: We play 9-18 Yale in the quarters. We lost in this round last year. Dave’s been all over the guys about that and they look very focused. March 3: 69-50 with Yale. Never close. 20, 4, 5, 2 for Carl, 19, 1, 5, 2 for mike. 5 TOs. It will be 19-10, 8-8 Columbia in the round of 4. We beat them easily twice. March 4: 83-52 vs. Columbia. It was never a game. 27, 12, 4, 2 for Mike, 15, 4, 3, 3 for Todd. 11 TOs, 34 RBs. Carl Mia sprained a toe early in the game and he’s out of the title game. Tough time for an injury. Sid More will get most of his minutes. 20-11, 8-6 Princeton upset Penn by 2. They beat us up a couple of weeks ago so we need to be sharp. March 5: 77-65 and the title! We were down 16 early. Then with abiout 5 left in the 1st half we went on a 14-4 run, took the lead, and never looked back. 18, 5, 3 for mike, 16, 3 for Al Ward, 14, 6, 3, 4 for Max, 11, 3, 4 for matt. Sid had 9 RBs. I can see us as high as a 3 or 4 seed. We’re 27-4, won our tourney, #11, RPI #10. March 12: Not in the East. #5 Midwest. We’ll play a platy-In game winner. March 15: It’s 19-11 Dayton. They’re a good team. March 16: 80-75. Not as close as the final. We were up by 18 fairly late. Dave likes to have everybody play in the Big Dance so they can tell their grandchildren they did. The final was as close as it got. 27 for Carl who came back strong from the injury. 10, 11, 5, 3 for Todd. 14 for matt, 8 and 8 for Max. 10, 6, 2 for Sid from the bench. 38 RBs, but 17 TOs. #4 seed, #7 ranked New Mexico, 28-6. This is a really tough match for the 2nd round. March 18: 83-63 and our first ever trip to the Sweet Sixteen! We came to play, scoring 56 in the 1st half. 26, 5, 2, 2 for Carl, 17, 10 for Max, 12, 11 for Todd, 16, 4, 7 for Matt, 11 TOs, 38 RBs. “Whoooooo!!!” Nice to see Dave get excited. The “reward” is a game with #1 seed, #2 ranked Oklahoma, 31-3, 15-1. Gulp! This is one tough team! March 23: 74-85. We did all we could but we were overmatched. No shame in losing this one. 19, 6, 3 for Carl, 17, 3, 4, 2 for Matt. Last game for Mike Anda, Max Marx, and Al Ward. April 4: The top 4 ranked teams in the country, all #1 seeds, made it to the final four. #3 Ohio ST beat #1 Stanford for the title. Awards: Todd Tong was Ivy POY, Max Marx Defensive POY. Todd, Mike Anda and Carl Mia made 1st team. Dave got the coach award. April 9: When there’s only one job you’ll consider the odds are slight. We’re staying. April 23: We ask for a budget increase again. Approved! We get $10,000. We ended the season 29-5, 12-2, won reg. season and tourney, made it to the Sweet 16. Team prestige is 25. Dave’s career #s are: 251-127, .664, Off-41, Def-65, Recruit-70, Scout-6, Player Development-53, Reputation-38. 4 Conf. COY awards.

Feb. 5: 73-56 with #8 Penn. This one was way easier than expected. We never trailed and we led by as many as 26. All 5 starters in doubles and only 11 TOs. 74-55 vs. Yale. 18 for Mike, 15, 5 for mike, 14 for Dan. Good bench play, 9 TOs. Matt Jam and Sid More both got slight injuries, Matt to the shoulder, Sid to the knee. They may each miss a game but not likely more than one. This week it’s 16-8, 6-4 Princeton there in what could be a tough game, and Dartmouth, 8-15, 2-8 here. “Dave, you’re missing a h*ll of a season!” “What the frig you talkin’ about?” “You’re barely here, when you’re here at all. The guys are 20-3, 9-1, 1 up on Penn, at least 3 on the rest, ranked #18, and it’s like you aren’t aware of any of it. Snap the frig out of it!” “Go frig yourself, Red.” Oh well, I tried. Feb. 12: 48-62 at Princeton. An awful night. We shot 25%. You don’t win often when you score 48. 61-44 vs. Dartmouth. 22, 9 for Todd, 15, 4, 4, 5 for Carl, 9, 4, 4, 2 for Carl. 9 TOs, 37 RBs, great D. The O is still sluggish though. 2 to play and we’re tied with Penn. If it stays that way we get the #1 seed. A tough game, or it could be anyway, at Columbia, 16-9, 7-5. Then home to wrap up conf. play with 11-14, 3-9 Harvard. Feb. 19: 79-66 at Columbia. 17, 5, 4 for Mike, 18 for Carl, 14 for Matt from the bench. 11 RBs for Todd. 67-59 home with Harvard. 17, 11, 3 for Todd, 19, 2, 6, 4 for Mike, 15, 4, 2, 2 for Carl. Tonight 17-9 Akron is here for the Bracket Breaker. We decide to start Matt Jam over Dan Black. “He’s drinking again.” “Sorry to hear it, May.” “Not a lot, and only after Jeffy’s asleep, but it’s worrisome.” “Yes it is.” “And he has no interest in me at all. He does whatever he can to avoid me.” “I’m sorry.” “It was only a miscarriage. I don’t get it.” “It was the beginning of the end of everything with Margie. She became depressed, left him, and eventually committed suicide.” “It’s no big deal to me.” “He needs to get into therapy.” “Yeah right! That’s as likely as him flying to the Moon on his own wings.” Feb. 26: 68-60 vs. Akron. 16, 12 for Todd, 18 for Matt in his 1st start, 15, 7 for Carl. 11 TOs, 32 RBs. A good win against a tough team. We end the regular season at 24-4, 12-2, ranked #12, RPI #11.We're looking great heading to the post season! “Hey, Meatball, you need to get into therapy.” “You been talkin’ ta May.” “Yes I have.” “She should keep some things to herself.” “No, she shouldn’t. She loves you, and she’s tired of seeing you like this. Tell you the truth, everybody is.” “No way I’m gonna see a shrink.” “Cuz life is such a bowl of cherries right now you wouldn’t want to mess with that.” “I ain’t crazy.” “No, you’re not, but you’re severely depressed and you’re missing maybe the best season we’ve ever coached.” “I’m right here.” “Only physically.” “Frig you, Red.”

January 1, 2027: 81-85 to Purdue. Giving up 17 threes did us in. It was a shootout and we were outshot. Dave got a T. 11-2 for the pre-conf. portion of the season. RPI #23. We start conf. play here with 5-8 Cornell, then travel to always tough #8 Penn, 11-3. Jan. 8: 70-61 vs. Cornell. +6 TOs, +4 RBs. Their PG went off on nus for 32 but good teamwork shut everyone else down. 15, 6 for Carl, 13, 6 for Todd, 11, 2, 4, 2 for Dan. 63-68 at Penn. Close all the way. 41 RBs (+12) helped, but 17 TOs (-6) hurt. 17, 7 for Carl, 12, 15, 3 for Todd, 13, 5, 3 for Max. They had 16 threes and their bench outplayed ours. At 6-9 Yale, then home with 11-5 Princeton. Dave has been rough on the players lately. He’s never exactly gentle but his personal funk is causing him to be rougher than he needs to be. I try to calm the waters but it isn’t always easy, especially with players who are either volatile or sensitive to criticism. Jan. 15: 60-56 at Yale. Tougher than it should have been and a late T by Dave didn’t help. 17, 6, 3, 2 for Carl, 19, 2, 4, 2 for Mike. 9 TOs. 79-68 vs. Princeton. Closer than the final score indicates, that was our biggest lead. 16, 4 for Max, 13, 8, 4, 2, 2 for Todd, good games by the guards. At 8-9 Dartmouth, then home with 11-6 Columbia. Ranked! #25. Jan. 22: 82-73 at Dartmouth. 22, 6 for Carl, and 6 others had between 7 and 12. Matt Jam just got more minutes, mostly from Jack Mile, and he responded with 12 and 7. Great team effort. 92-57 with Columbia. A real blow out. 20 each for Carl and Mike, 12, 6, 4, 4, 2 for Todd, good play by 8 guys. 11 TOs. On the road all week, first at 9-10, 1-5 Harvard, then at 8-11, 3-3 Cornell. Jan. 29: 71-53 at Harvard. Never trailed. 15, 13, 2, 2 for Todd, 16, 3, 4 for Mike, 13, 5, 3 for Max. Both Carl, and Al Ward also put up numbers. 37 RBs. 73-58 at Cornell. 14, 7 for Todd, 13, 5 for Carl. 13 for Sid More from the bench. 10 TOs. This week we host #8 Penn, 18-4, 7-1, the only team to beat us in conf. so far. Then it’s 7-14, 2-6 Yale, also here. 18-3, 7-1, #22, RPI #12. +12.7 PPG, +7.0 RBs, +3.0 TOs, +2.2 assists. TOs are higher than we like at 12.7 but that +3 helps. Tough news on recruits. One who had committed and another who was close didn’t hit the SAT score. So we’ll find some new guys to chase.

Nov. 20: 82-68 at New Orleans. 15, 12, 2 for transfer Todd Tong, who looks like the real thing. 13, 5, 4, 4 for Carl Mia and 19, 2, 3, 3 for Mike Anda. 11 TOs and a great start. 60-50 over Nome here. 17, 6, 4, 3 for Carl, 16, 7 for Mike, 12, 8, 2 for Todd. 10 TOs. This week we start a 5 game road trip at 1-1 DePaul, followed by 1-2 Colorado. Nov. 23: May lost the baby. Dave is as down as I’ve ever seen him. “Why? I can’t believe this happened again…” May is okay, and the docs say there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be able to have a baby but Dave is just completely down. He hasn’t had a drink… yet, probably because he spends just about all of his time with May or watching Jeffy. Nov. 27: 50-72 at DePaul. 15, 12 for Todd, 15, 3 for Mike. We are getting nothing at the SG and PF spots, and not much from the bench. We shot 25.8% and didn’t play enough D tonight. DePaul was really on fire though. 68-52 at Colorado. Back on track. 22, 8, 3 for Todd, 15, 5, 2, 2 for Carl. But 20 TOs. At 3-1 Iowa, #20 ranked, then at 1-2 UNLV. We’re going to start Dan Black for Jack Mile at SG. Jack simply isn’t giving us much. Dave is still down, way down, and as far as I know, still not drinking. Dec. 4: 67-53 at #20 Iowa. We played really well, never trailing after the first few minutes. 15, 9, 2 for Todd, 16 for mike, 12, 3, 4 for Dan Black in his first start. 43 RBs!. 72-61 at UNLV in double OT. We won the 2nd OT 13-2 after a game that had had 24 lead changes and 22 ties. 25, 6, 4, 2 for Mike, 20, 6 for Carl, 11, 15 for Todd. 23 TOs but they had 20. 48 RBs (+12). 5-1. Considering that 5 of the 6 have been on the road we’re pretty happy! This week we end the 5 game trip at 3-3 La. Tech, then host Arkansas, 3-2. “I don’t know, Red. It just seems like the world is out ta get me. May and I were really looking forward ta this baby. It just took the wind outta my sails when we losat it.” “How is May doing?” “She had two miscarriages before Jeffy was born. She’s fine. She says just try again. It’ll happen sooner or later.” “Well?” “Red, I don’t know how much more heartache I can stand.” “That’s b*llsh*t, Dave. Suck it up. Life’s been tough on you, I’ll be the first to say that, but May is young and healthy. For Chrissake just work on getting her pregnant again. It’s not Margie. Margie’s miscarriage meant she could never have kids, and that did her in. It’s not like that with May. There’s nothing in the world you want more than a kid of your own. Go for it.” “J*sus, you never talked ta me like that.” “Just trying to wake you up.” “Maybe you did.” Dec. 11: 70-62 at La. Tech. 19, 3 for Dan Black, 14, 3, 2 for Mike, 9, 8 for Todd, who played only 21 min. before fouling out. 84-44 vs. Arkansas. Surprisingly easy considering that they are from a power conf. 28, 8 for Todd, 17, 5 for Carl, 10, 8, 3 for Dan. 7 TOs, 35 RBs. 4-4 UMass Lowell is here, then we’re at 2-4 Georgia. Dec. 18: 79-59 with Umass Lowell. 19, 10, 2 for Todd, 16, 6, 2 for Mike, 12 each for Max and Dan. 68-48 at Georgia. 28, 9, 2, 2 for Carl, 12, 11 2 for Todd. Three more at home before Ivy League play starts. We’re 9-1 and exceeding all expectations. This week we host tough FL ST, 5-2, then 4-5 So. Miss. Dec. 18: 78-70 with FL ST. 23, 5 for Carl, 13, 6 for Mike. 8 TOs. This was a battle. The bench came up big, 25, 13, 7. 71-35 vs. So. Miss. 38-12 at the half. 9 guys contributed. 12 TOs, 37 RBs. We finish the pre-conf. season here with 7-4 Purdue. This won’t be an easy game. Dave, May and Jeffy joined us for XMas again. Everyone had a good time except Dave. He tried, especially with the kids. Jean said that May feels like she’s losing Dave. He is very distant. He’s been doing a lot of ref baiting too. There’s no need, we’re winning, and the refs aren’t really after us, but every call that goes the other way gets a comment.

May 1: “Pretty cool that they get ta call us champs all season!” June 5: No one of interest in the transfer pool. June 26: 4 scholarships. Looking at 4 PGs, 7 bigs for now. “She’s pregnant.” “That’s great news!” “Yeah, we’re pretty excited, Jeffy too.” July 20: “May’s really having a rough time with morning sickness. She says she did with Jeffy, too. Doc says she’s okay though, everything’s the way it should be. I guess I worry about it so much because a what happened when Margie lost the baby.” Aug. 21: We offer to 2 PGs, 2 bigs. Sept. 18: We get Adam Chaz, PG, #145. We put together a fairly strong schedule. Oct. 2: We lose one but get 2, PG Ema Mill #380, and SF Cal Beck #69. We like what we saw at the 1st practice. We think we’re better than we were last year. We’re picked 1st in conf. May is doing well. She’s past the morning sickness. Baby is due in mid-March. Nov. 6: Here’s the lineup: Senior Mike Anda and soph Jack Mile start at guard with juniors Matt Jam and Dan Black, a transfer from ST. Louis, subbing. It’s junior Carl Mia returning at SF, and senior Max Marx and junior transfer from FL Todd Tong starting inside. Junior Sid More lost his starting spot but is expected to get lots of minutes at 3, 4, and 5. We start at New Orleans, and then come home to hoist the NIT title banner against Nome.

March 3: vs. Harvard. 57-60. Nothing less than shocking. We never led. We got 15 in the first half. We spent the 2nd half trying to get back in it but the final margin was as close as we got. After the game Dave said the following to the team, “Practice is at 6:00 tomorrow.” Then he walked out. I didn’t hear from him but it is a very good bet that he got drunk. March 12: The 1st round loss is bound to hurt us. RPI is #35. Not in the East. Not in the Midwest. Not in the South. Not in the West. We are absolutely shocked. RPI #35, 21-8, 11-3, won the regular season. Stunning. We are #1 seed in the West in the NIT. “Boys, the only way ta show the NCAA how full a sh*t they are is ta win this whole thing. Let’s do it!” We play #8 seed Mercer, 19-11 in the Southern Conf. March 14: 78-61 over Mercer. 17, 9, 4 for Sid, 18, 4, 3, 3 for Mike, 16, 8, 5, 4 for Carl. 11 TOs, 31 RBs. Next is 22-9 Army. March 16: 79-56 over Army. 21, 5, 3 for Shea, 17, 9 for Carl, 5 TOs, 34 RBs. Our guys are PUMPED! Dave is a good motivator and he’s really doing a great job of using the selection committee to motivate these guys. 17-14 FL ST is next, a good team from a power conf. March 21: 76-61 vs. FL ST. 30, 10 for Carl, 23 for Shea. Our guys are really focused. It’s 20-11, 11-5 Minnesota in the semifinal. March 28: 82-54 over Minn in the semis! 23, 4, 4 for Shea, 20, 4, 3 for Carl, 12, 6, 10 for Mike. 8 TOs, 35 RBs. We are just marching through the NIT. One to go. The title game is with 22-12, 11-5 Rice, from Conf. USA. We think we’re stronger inside and about as strong outside. Their games have been close in the tourney so far. One more time! The sportswriters and broadcasters are calling this the healthy game, the Brown Rice game, all sorts of jokes, but it is increasing the visibility so probably lots more people will watch. March 30: 68-40 over Rice for the title! We were unbelievable in this tourney, never close to being challenged. 15, 4, 2 for Carl, who was tourney MOP, 10, 9, 3 for Sid, 13, 4 for Mike. All three made the NIT all star team. 10 TOs. Al Ward hurt his back but he has a long time to recover! “I ain’t never been prouder of a team. Not just cuz ya won, but because ya took the challenge and you showed absolute determination. Closest game was 15 points and ya never trailed in the tourney after the first 3 minutes. For the rest a yer lives ya get ta call yerselves NIT CHAMPIONS!!!” You can imagine the reception that got! At the postgame press conference Dave said, “I’d like ta thank the NCAA selection committee fer bein’ clueless enough to not select us. Their total disrespect of us made this championship possible. They never left out a team with an RPI of 35 before. Maybe they oughta think about that- assuming they got the equipment.” That got a huge hand too, but it will probably hurt him in the long run. Jean and the kids, and May and Jeffy were at the final four. The celebration was ice cream sundaes all around. “I don’t even WANT a drink!” I never saw a bigger smile on May’s face. April 4: #1 in the country KY won it all. Awards: Max Marx is Ivy Defensive POY. Shea Wool and Carl Mia made 1st team. Mike Anda and Max made 2nd team. April 9: We’re coming back for another year. The only player we’re losing is Shea Wool. April 23: We ask for a budget increase. We get $9,000. We finish with our most wins ever, 26-8, 11-3, NIT champs! Team prestige 20. Dave is 222-122, .645. Off-36, Def-58, Recruit-70, Scout-6, Player Dev.-47, Reputation-33. A great season! April 29: Dave and May got married last night. It was small, their family and ours, in front of our fireplace.

Feb. 5: 83-75 with #13 Penn. All 5 in doubles, good play from the subs, 35 RBs. 82-67 at Princeton. 20, 4 for Carl, 15, 3 for Shea, 12 TOs, 31 RBs. 2 up with 4 to play. 8-15, 3-7 Yale is here, and we’re at 11-12, 5-5 Dartmouth. Feb. 12: 80-53 vs. Yale. 25, 3, 3 for Carl, 16, 2, 4 for Mike, 15 for Shea. This one clinched the regular season title. Sub guard Jack Mile strained a calf. Out for 2 weeks. Matt Jam will get his minutes. 78-74 in OT at Dartmouth. 25, 13 for Carl, 17, 5, 3 for Shea, 45 RBs, our best since I got to Brown. Carl hit a three at the end of regulation, and two in OT. 11-14, 6-6 Cornell beat us at their place. Then we go to 8-17, 3-9 Harvard. We’d like to finish strong. Feb. 19: 74-57 vs. Cornell. 17, 10 for Carl, all 5 in doubles. 9 TOs. 66-68 at Harvard. 22 lead changes, 9 ties. They hit a 35 footer for the win, but we should not have put ourselves in that position. We were the better team but didn’t play like it. Bracket Breaker is a rematch with 18-7, 9-5 La. Tech, here. They won by 9, there. Feb. 26: 60-42. Over La. Tech. 19, 4, 2 for Mike, 14 RBs for Sid. 11 TOs, 38 RBs. We play Harvard in the quarter finals. Believe me Dave is making sure our guys don’t forget they beat us by 2 last week. Dave hasn’t been drinking lately. I don’t think he’s been drinking at all. He wants to convince May that they should have a child and I guess that’s part of the strategy. Of course things are going well for the team. That’s always a factor.

January 1, 2026: 69-48 with Chattanooga here. 17 each for Carl and Mike, 13 for Shea. 12 TOs. We end the pre-conf. season 9-4, RPI #33. (Author’s note: My teams are always strong inside. This season I have a guard oriented team. It’s interesting to see the differences. I’m thinking of switching to “Favor Outside” to see what happens. Thoughts?) This week we open conf. play at home with 9-4 Columbia, then we travel to #6 Penn, 13-2. Tough week! Jan. 8: 78-61 with Columbia here. Great 2nd half. All 5 starters in double figures, led by Carl with 22. 62-61 at Penn. Huge win. 16 lead changes, 7 ties. 13, 5, 2 for Shea, 11 each for Mike and Carl, 10 RBs for Sid More at C, who made the final shot, a contested 6 footer. This week it’s 8-7 Princeton at home, and 5-10 Yale there. Jan. 15: 62-46 vs. Princeton. We were in control all the way and we played everybody. 13, 9, 2, 2 for Sid, 14, 6 for Carl, 16, 4 for Shea. 6 TOs, 32 RBs. 77-60 at Yale. 29 for Shea, 12, 5, 2, 3 for Carl, 11, 7 for Max. 10 TOs. Dartmouth, 9-8, 3-1, here, then at 7-10, 2-2 Cornell. We’re playing really well right now. Jan. 22: 87-63 vs. Dartmouth. 25, 8, 4, 3 for Carl, 19 for Shea, 10 each for subs Jack Mile and Al Ward, who had 7 RBs. 9 TOs, 34 RBs. 49-57 at Cornell. We shot 27%. We couldn’t get a shot to drop. The D was fine but you need to score points. We’re still alone in 1st, 1 up on Dartmouth. 7-12, 2-4 Harvard is here, then we’re at 12-7, 3-3 Columbia. Jan. 29: 63-45 vs. Harvard. 16, 4, 3 for Carl, 14, 3, 7 for Mike but this was about D. 51-60 at Columbia. Another poor shooting night, 31.3%. 17, 4 for Carl, 12 RBs for Sid, but you need to score. We’re 15-6, 6-2, 1 game up on 3 teams. This week #13 Penn, 18-5, 5-3 is here, then we go to 11-10, 5-3 Princeton. “We’re engaged.” “Really?” “Yeah. May said she loves me, an’ Jeffy does too, so why not.” I guess May made up her mind. When I got home Jean said that May had called and said she expected there would be occasional problems around Dave’s drinking but as long as it was never a problem around Jeffy, and it never has been, she could deal with it.

Dec. 10: “Red, I need a favor.” “Dave, it’s 1:30 in the morning.” “I know, I know, but listen.” “Okay. What do you need.” “The Providence cops have got Jim Late and Ben Coff on a possession charge. I can’t bail ‘em out because I been drinkin’.” “I’m on it.” Dave told me the details and I bailed the guys out. I drove them to their apartment and told them the consequences would come tomorrow at practice and that they should get some sleep. There’s no point on talking to anyone when they’re drunk or high so I didn’t. Next day Dave suspended them both for two weeks and told the team that the next guy it happened to would be gone. No excuses, no exceptions. Dec. 11: 62-71 at La. Tech. 14, 6, 2, 3 for Carl. Only 21 RBs. Not our best night. “How the frig do ya lose ta La. Tech! Ya let ‘em shoot 57.8%, that’s how. Jesus, it’s embarrassin’!” 76-53 over Nebraska here. 18, 2, 7, 2 for Mike, 17, 3, 3 for Shea, 21 for Carl. 10 TOs. Dave is more and more frustrated by our road woes, which is understandable, 3-0 at home, 2-3 on the road. This week we’re at 3-5 UMass Lowell, and then at #15 Arizona, 7-2. Dec. 18: 65-63 at Umass Lowell. We dodged a bullet. Carl had 22, 4, 1, 3 including a three at the buzzer for the win. 12, 3, 9 for Mike. 13 TOs, but only 23 RBs. 53-67 at #15 Arizona. 21, 9 for Carl but no one else did much. Admittedly, Arizona was a the better team. “It don’t bother me that much ta lose this one. The guys played hard but they was out manned.” We’re 6-4, RPI #30. This week we’re at 4-3 No. Carolina ST, then at home with 4-5 Western Michigan. Dec. 25: 83-75 at No. Car. ST. A good win against a team from a power conf. 26, 3, 4, 2 for Shea, 16, 3, 4, 2 for Max, 17, 3 for Carl, 12, 2, 6 for Mike. 12 TOs and good offensive movement. 71-48. vs. W. Mich. Great guard play, and 11 TOs. 4-5 Chattanooga, here, this week, to end pre-conf. play. Dave, May, and Jeffy were here for the holiday. We all had dinner together and the kids opened more presents- Bobby and Snady from Dave and May, Jeffy from Jean and me. It was a nice day. Jean told me that May had confided in her the other day in a long “lunch date.” “She really loves him, Red, but she’s afraid of what it will be like for Jeffy if he crashes and burns. She’s torn between marrying him and dumping him.” “It can’t be easy. Dave’s never shown any real desire to get his drinking under control long term.” “Red, the only way for him to do that is to stop drinking- completely and permanently.” “I’d love to see that happen but I doubt it will any time soon.” “That’s what May thinks, too. She says it’s the only subject they can’t talk about. Dave just shuts down when she tries.” “Has she told him about her conflict.” “More or less. He knows she’s uncertain.” “Well, it’s up to him then.” “I think one more arrest or ugly incident and she’ll be gone.” And I’ll be left to pick up the pieces.

Nov. 20: 72-55 vs. Sam Franklin. 31, 7 for Shea, 6 TOs. 70-66 at Albany. 20, 2, 4 for mike, 18, 5, 2, 2 for Carl Mia, 12, 8 for Max Marx. 10 TOs. We played well this week but could have rebounded better. At 1-1 Illinois and 1-1 Creighton. Nov. 27: 66-63 at Illinois. 22 for Shea, 7 TOs. 62-74 at Creighton. 19, 7 for Carl, 14 for Mike, 12 for Shea. 18 TOs did the damage. Penn ST, 3-1, is here, then we go to 2-1 Georgetown. Dec. 4: 69-38 with Penn ST. 28, 10 for Carl, 16, 4, 4, 2 for Shea, 7 TOs, 36 RBs. 51-60 at Georgetown. 12, 9 for Max, 10, 6 for both Shea and Carl, but 17 TOs, and too many rushed shots because guys didn’t get open. At 5-1 La. Tech, then we host 2-4 Nebraska. Dave seems to go a week or so sober, then he drinks for 2-3 nights. He’s drinking at home, and in the hotel, usually in his room, on the road. I really can’t say that it affects his work. He never seems to get a hangover, and he never drinks until the day’s work is done.

June 12: We get two transfers, a PG, Dan Black from ST. Louis U., and a C from Florida, Tod Tong. June 26: Only one scholarship. We want a PG. Looking at 7. July 4: Dave, May, and Jeffy were over for a little holiday barbecue, and to celebrate the end of Dave’s probation. No one talked about that but May seemed extra clingy, knowing that Dave would undoubtedly leave A. A. now that he didn’t have to attend. We’re down to 5 recruits but several are showing interest. Aug. 21: We decide to wait until 9/4 to offer. Sept. 4: We offer. Sept. 7: “Hello, my bes’ frien’ inna whole worl’, Red on the head O’Connor!” “Been a long time since I got a 2:30 a.m. phone call, Dave. Where are you?” “Home. Never lef’ the house tonight.” “Call me crazy but I’m guessing you’ve been drinking.” “At’s righ’ ol’ buddy, I been drinkin’. Feels mighty friggin’ good too! Maybe I’ll jus’ do a little more of it. I forgot how good it felt.” He roared with laughter and hung up. Sept. 18: We put together a pretty tough road schedule. Sept. 25: Ty Kane, PG, #265 commits. His GPA is 3.9 so we should be finished with recruiting. Oct. 2: Practices started today. We’re picked 1st, with Columbia 2nd, then Penn and Princeton. Nov. 6: Our starting guards are senior Shea Wool and junior Mike Anda, with soph Matt Jam and frosh Jack Mile backing up. Soph Carl Mia, a transfer from Texas Tech, starts at SF. Junior Max Marx, and soph transfer from Marquette, Sid More start inside. Junior Juco Al Ward backs up the big guys. We’ll start the season here with Sam Franklin, then travel to Albany. Dave is drinking, but less than before, and at home. May is hanging in there but she doesn’t look happy.

March 2: We play #8 seed Cornell, 9-18, 2-12 in the quarter final round. March 3: 65-46. 16, 5, 4, 4 for Dom, 13, 9 for Max. Great bench play- 13, 5 for Matt James, 10, 3 for Jeff Jones. 10 TOs, 33 RBs. It’s #5 seed Penn, 15-14, 7-7 in the semis. March 4: 60-53. They got out really quickly and built a 14 point lead. We cut it to 3 by halftime. 15, 5, 2, 2 for Max, 13, 9, 2, 2 for Dom. It’s #6 seed Dartmouth for the title. They’re 17-13, 6-8 but hot right now. March 5: 78-68 over Dartmouth. Champs again! 15 each for Dom and Shea, 14 for matt. We never trailed. We should get a really good seed in the tourney, 24-7, 12-2, regular season and tourney champs, Ranked #21, RPI #4. March 12: Not in the East. Not in the Midwest. #6 South. We play #11 OK ST, 20-9. Disappointing. March 17: 80-71 over Ok St. 21, 4 for Max, 18, 4 for Dom, 12, 7, 6 for Mike, 11, 5 for Jeff Jones. 10 TOs, 36 RBs. #3 seed, #18 ranked Maryland, 25-6, in the 2nd round. 65-85 to MD. They’re tough, esp. inside. -20 on the boards did us in. We’re losing 4 guys to graduation, Dom, Joe, Jeff Jones and Vin Will. “D*mn it! Can I just once get past the 1st and 2nd round!” Dave is generally subdued. He’s on probation through July 3, and that seems like forever, I’m sure. May is still solidly in his corner, and Dave is happiest when he’s with her and with Jeffy and/or our kids, but “happy” is not the way to describe him most of the time. It’s not that we don’t work hard during the off season, we probably work as hard, or almost as hard, but it’s different. There are a lot of meetings, phone calls, breaking down game tapes, planning ahead, recruiting stuff- details, all details, and nothing scheduled. As tough as Dave is he is at his best around people and there’s less of that during the off season. This will be a real test. April 4: #10 Utah won it all. Awards: Dave got Ivy League COY, pretty amazing in a year when he got a DUI and a two week suspension, but honestly, he did a great job. Senior Dom Peck, along with junior Shea Wool and soph Max Marx made 1st team. April 9: Same old story regarding jobs. Dave plans to stay here until the URI job opens up. April 23: We ask for a budget increase. We get $8,500. We finished 25-8, 2nd round of the NCAA tournament, won both regular season and Ivy tourney. Dave is at 196-114, .632, Off-33, Def, 53, Recruit-70, Scout-5, Player Development- 43, Reputation-30, Team Prestige 19.

Feb. 3: Dave went to court this morning. I was there, of course. The judge gave him a long lecture that concluded with: “Six months. Sentence suspended contingent upon the defendant remaining sober, and attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings twice weekly whether at home or traveling. Mr. McGee, you should consider yourself fortunate. I am not normally this lenient with those who violate a public trust, particularly when they work with young people. I hope, for your sake, that you never appear in my court again.” It will be a long six months. I saw Ed Bradley grab Dave’s arm tightly during the last part of the judge’s speech. The last thing he needed was a verbal explosion in court, and Ed knows Dave is capable of such. He had warned him in advance, but still. Feb. 5: 76-72 at Dartmouth. We took an early lead and hung on. It went back and forth a little in the second but we were ahead most of the time. 19, 7, 2 for Dom, 15, 6 for Shea. 13 TOs, 34 RBs. 61-46 vs. Cornell. Great D and a team effort on O. 7 guys had between 6 and 12 points. 11 TOs. We’re alone in 1st, 1 up on Princeton, 2 on Columbia, 3 or more on the rest with 4 to play. This week we’re at 9-14, 5-5 Harvard, and then 12-11, 5-5 Penn, who have really been slumping, come to us. Feb. 12: 75-60 at Harvard. 22, 6, 2, 2 for max, 23, 3 for Shea, 12, 12, 3 for Dom. 19 TOs though, one of worst totals of the season. 77-56 vs. Penn here. 17, 9 for Dom, 16, 3 for Shea, and lots of help from 5 others. 18-7, 10-2, RPI #10, alone in 1st with 2 to play. 2nd place Princeton, 18-9, 9-3 is here, then it’s off to 3rd place Columbia, 19-6, 8-4. Feb. 19: 91-71 with Princeton. 27, 1, 3, 4 for Shea, 17, 9, 4, 2 for Dom, all 5 starters in double figures. 9 TOs. This one clinched the regular season title. 81-79 in OT at Columbia. 6 in double figures, 11 RBs for Dom, 9 for Joe. 7 TOs, 38 RBs. We played really well after going down by 14 early, but they hung with us, refusing to fold. Ranked! #25, RPI #7. 20-7, 12-2 at the end of the regular season. Tonight it’s the Bracket Breaker with 19-6, 11-3 La. Tech. Feb. 26: 61-53 over La. Tech here. 19, 13 for Dom, 14, 4, 4, 2 for Shea, 13, 3, 3 for Mike.

Jan. 1: 69-54 vs. Penn. ST. 14, 14, 4 for Dom, 17, 5 for Max. 3 TOs, 37 RBs. My career as a head coach stops at 2-1. Not bad! I have to admit it’s fun sitting in the big chair, but I’m also ready to let Dave take over. 8-5 at the end of pre-conf. play, RPI is 32. Dave apologized to the team at the beginning of his first practice and then it was all business. He was a little less stormy though. We open conf. play at 7-7 Yale, then we host 9-4 Dartmouth. Jan. 8: 64-74 at Yale. 22 for Max, 16 for Shea, but again we stood around, and our guards didn’t find the open man when there was one. We were -8 on the boards. 69-63 with Dartmouth here. 16, 9, 2, 3 for Dom, 16, 5, 3 for Mike, 13, 8 for joe, 11 for Matt James from the bench. 12 TOs, 31 RBs. Shea banged his knee. Day to day. At 7-8, 0-2 Cornell, then home with 5-10, 1-1 Harvard. “6-1 at home, 3-4 on the friggin’ road!” “The road is hard, Dave. Even top teams have trouble.” “Yeah, but I’m talkin’ about teams we should beat.” “But-” No, I need to remember that sometimes Dave is just venting, and I’m the guy he vents to. May and Dave seem to be doing well; he is really leaning on her and I think this makes her feel closer to him. He HATES A. A. and would quit in a minute if he had a choice but Ed Bradley says he has to keep going until the court date, in two weeks. Jan. 15: Great week. 66-47 at Cornell. 14 each for Shea and Mike. Mike had 7 assists. 8 TOs, 34 RBs. 68-38 vs. Harvard. 17, 3, 4 for Mike, 12, 6, 2, 2 for Joe. 10 TOs, 39 RBs. We are tied for the lead with 10-7, 3-1 Penn, and 12-7, 3-1 Princeton, both of whom we play away this week. Dave is depressed. He’s not talking a lot but it shows. I’ve been reading up on A. A. and alcoholism in general and this is pretty common. A. A. tries to treat this at their meetings and through the sponsor relationship. Dave isn’t an easy guy to deal with though. He says his sponsor is an a$$h*le, but that’s Dave fighting the system. Jan. 22: 72-66 at Penn. Big win! 18, 12 for Dom, 10, 6 for Max, 11, 8 for Joe, 11, 3, 3 for Matt James. 12 TOs, 38 RBs. 70-82 at Princeton. 12 each for Dom, Joe and Max, 11 for Shea and Matt, but we didn’t rebound, -7, and we were soft on D. Home all week, first with 15-4, 4-2 Columbia, tied with us in 2nd place, then it’s 9-11, 2-4 Yale. Jan. 29: 86-76 vs. Columbia. 6 in double figures and an offense that kept it moving and found the open man. 11 TOs, 31 RBs. 72-50 with Yale. 19, 3, 4, 4 for Mike, 14 for Shea, 12, 10 for Jeff Jones and 12 more for Matt James, so the bench really stepped up. 11 TOs, 32 RBs. The recruit we thought might not hit the SAT score didn’t. We’ve offered to another big guy. Jeff Jones hurt his shoulder. Day to day. We’re tied with Princeton for the conf. lead, and our RPI is 16. 14-7, 6-2. At 14-7, 5-3 Dartmouth, then home with 7-14, 0-8 Cornell. Dave is still quiet. “Nothing wrong with me that a couple of beers won’t fix.” He said it as though he were joking but…

Dec. 11: 70-79 vs. Ohio here. 22, 3, 2, 3 for Dom, 12, 5, 6, 2 for Shea. We didn’t play our game. The D was a step slow all night. 75-65 with Hawaii here. 19, 7, 2 for Max, 17, 9 for Dom, good work by the guards. 8 TOs, 35 RBs. 2-6 UMass Lowell is here, then we’re off to red hot Army, 6-0. Dec. 18: 71-54 with UMass Lowell. 19, 8 for Dom, 8 TOs. 81-86 at Army. The zebras called a ridiculous 52 fouls. The game was a parade to the foul line. The fans were booing all of the calls by the second half, no matter which team. It didn’t hurt us a lot more than them but the game had absolutely no flow. Dom Peck hurt his hand. Not serious, day to day. 8-2 Oregon ST here, then 6-5 UNLV there. Dec. 21: I got a call at 2:40 a.m. I figured it was Dave, but: “Mr. O’Connor, this is Sgt. Flaherty, at the barracks in Providence. We’re holding Coach McGee on a DUI.” D*mn! “Yes, I see. Can I bail him out?” “That’s why I’m calling, sir. He’s been sleeping it off for an hour or so. Might not be a bad idea to let him sleep for another hour, then pick him up.” We discussed bail and I hung up and told Jean what was going on. “Will they fire him?” “I’m guessing a suspension. It’s an embarrassment to the university but the policeman said he wasn’t all that much over the legal limit. He was driving erratically and a young officer pulled him over. The Sgt. didn’t say so but it sounded like he wished he could hush it up but the young cop was a hard a$$. Oh well, it’s long overdue.” “Yes it is.” It was 4:15 by the time Dave and I were walking out of the station. As always he wasn’t sick and didn’t have a hangover, but he was plenty miserable. “What am I gonna do, Red?” “We’ll call Ed Bradley (Ed was a classmate who went on to become maybe the best defense attorney in R.I.). He’ll tell us how to deal with this.” We reached Ed at a little after 9:00 a.m. He told us to come right over. After we were finished talking, the plan was to go to the A. D., “Ticky” Rumsfield, and tell him that Dave was taking a voluntary leave of absence for two weeks. Ed figured the university wouldn’t settle for that but it was a show of good faith. Before we got to Ticky’s office the university President called us and when we got to his office, with Ed, the Prez said a two week suspension without pay, and enrollment in A. A. Dave had always resisted A. A. but he didn’t have a choice. I would run the team until his return. "Jesus, I've drove worse than that 100 times." "You shouldn't, Dave, it's plain stupid. Sooner or later you'll kill yourself, and even worse, some innocent person. I see it in my business all the time. Red's too d*mn nice to kick your a$$ but I'm telling you, I don;t give a d*mn how much you drink but don't friggin' drive afterward." Dave looked like a guilty puppy caught peeing on the rug. Dec. 25: 84-75 over Oregon ST here. It felt strange to be coachin g the game but things went well. 24, 5, 5, 3 for Dom, 18, 4, 2 for Shea, 14 for Joe, 5 TOs. 58-68 at UNLV. The road got us again. 16 for Shea, 12, 8, 2 for Max, but we were standing around on offense. Dave, of course, did not travel with the team, nor is he allowed on campus during the suspension. A one game week coming up, 5-5 Penn St. here. XMas was pretty bleak. Dave, May, and Jeffy came over, and Dave tried to be cheerful with the three kids, but the sadness was obvious. May really made it clear that she was standing by him.

Nov. 20: 78-51 at MS. Valley ST. 22, 2, 2 for Shea, 14, 2, 4, 2 for Mike, 13, 4, 4, 3, 2 for Max Marx. 12 TOs. We looked really good. 74-77 in OT at Iona. Mike and Shea both fouled out, Mike hardly playing at all (13 min.). Matt James filled in well, but in the end it wasn’t quite enough. 20, 6 for Dom, 16, 5 for Max, 11, 6 for Joe. We only committed one more foul than they did but it was who committed them. Mike hurt his shoulder. Day to day. Home with 1-1 American, then away at 1-1 Oklahoma, a really tough team. Nov. 27: 81-56 vs. American. 25, 5, 7 for max Marx, 26, 2, 4 for Mike Anda, 12, 3, 5 for Shea Wool. 6 TOs. 68-88 at Oklahoma. We’re not ready for a team of this caliber. 15, 5, 2 for Dom, 14, 4 for Shea. +8 RBs, but they were simply better than us. “I don’t get too worked up about this kinda game. Prob’ly shouldn’t a scheduled them but still, ya want your guys to see the kinda things real good teams can do.” At another good team, 2-1 New Mexico, then at Milwaukee, 4-0. Challenging week! Dec. 4: Great week! 67-62 at New Mexico. We were down 13 early, 9 at the half. We made some adjustments, mostly to get the ball inside, or inside then kick it back out. This is stuff we know how to do but reinforcing it worked. 20, 13, 3 for Dom, 13, 7, 6 for Shea. 17 TOs, but only 5 in the 2nd half. 40 RBs, 27 in the 2nd. 64-55 at Milwaukee. 18, 14 for Dom, 14, 8 for Max, 9 each for Mike and Jeff Jones. 5 of the next 7 are at home. #7 Ohio, 8-0, is here followed by 3-3 Hawaii. Frankly, Ohio is good, but not that good.