Wayne23

February 5: Trounced on the road again, 55-74 at Stan Francis. “19 TOs! Is it ever gonna stop!” “John Kilt had a big game, 14, 2, 3.” “Yeah, if he keeps it up maybe we’ll give him Burd’s minutes. He had 8 of the TOs.” Lane and Star looked good too.” “Yeah but we just ain’t playin; like a team, Red.” “It takes time, Dave.” 54-50 over FDU at home. “You have to love Pete Mel’s TOs.” “Yeah, he really takes good care a the ball just about ev’ry game. We looked good tonight.” “4 guys with either 12 or 13, only 11 TOs, and we took 11 more shots than they did.” “Which is practic’ly a miracle.” “Small steps. Hey there’s 2 teams behind us in the standings.” “Yeah and we’re all the way up to 289 in RPI, which is embarrassin’.” “Better than Bryant has done in three years.” This week we’re at 16-5, 9-3 Robert Morris, which figures to be a very tough game. Then we host 7-14, 3-9 Wagner. Unfortunately, after that 3 of our last 4 are on the road. February 12: 48-76 at Robert Morris. “Pathetic.” “Hey, Tim’s been our best player and he’s a junior. If we can get him some help we’ll be okay next year.” “Big if!” 65-51 over Wagner. 29, 9 for Mike Lane and we led all the way. This week it’s 14-9, 10-4 Mount Mary, and 12-11, 8-6 Silly Hat, both on the road. “We GOTTA get a split this week. We just GOTTA!” All Frankie Gillardi asked was that we not finish last in conf. We’re in 6th right now but with 3 of 4 on the road last place is in sight. February 19: “YEAH!!!” 63-49 over 1st place Mount Mary there. Go figure. 4 starters in double figures, +4 TOs. Pete Mel continues to move the ball without turning it over. This win means it’s impossible for us to finish last. Oh, this tied our longest win streak of the year- 2. Then Silly Hat crushed us 42-66. 21 TOs, but Pete only had 2 of them. 2 to play. We host 10-15, 7-9 Sam Franklin, then we’re at 14-11, 10-6 Long Island. A split would be great. It would get us to 10 wins. February 26: 62-57 over Sam Franklin. 25 for Mike, 1 TO for Pete, 11 for the team. 46-56 at Long Island. 17, 9 for Tim, 12, 10 for Mike, 11 TOs, 36 RBs. “Hey, we got ta 10 wins. Never thought we would.” 10-17, 7-11, RPI #260.” “Which sucks.” “Which is the best Bryant has done in 5 years.” Burd sprained a toe. He may or may not play in our first (hopefully not only tourney game). We finish tied for 7th, the #8 seed. Unfortunately that means we play Robert Morris, #1 in the conf., in our first game. They beat us by 16, then by 28. “Jesus, Robert Morris, That teams like the shark and we’re like the guppies.” “Dave, it’s 2:00 a.m.” “Yeah, I know. Margie an’ I are just leavin’ Lefty’s. How in hell we gonna beat Robert Morris?” “Can we talk about this in the office tomorrow?” “Okay, okay.” The truth of the matter is that it’s pretty doubtful that we can win this game. I suspect that our season is over after that game. We aren’t having a lot of luck with recruiting. We desperately need to sign a couple of PGs.

As usual Dave overdid it with XMas presents for the kids and for Jean. He brought Margie over. She seems nice. I hope she has a thick skin. January 1, 2016: Not a good start. 40-62 vs. CCSU. -12 on the boards, 16 TOs, we shot 29.2%. 14, 10, 2 for Tim. Then a heartbreaker at home, 59-61 vs. Stan Francis. “10 TOs, 38 RBs, our most points a the year an’ we lose!” “A prayer.” “Yeah but it got answered! Beat on a 50 footer!” “We’re getting better, Dave.” “Meeting first thing in the mornin’.” We tweak a couple of things but nothing major. We’ll see. At 3-8 FDU, then home with 8-3 Robert Morris. We need a win this week, absolutely need one. January 8: 68-53 at FDU. 19 TOs but they had 20. +11 RBs. We shot 58%. 4 guys in double figures. “Jesus, we win one then we sh*t the bed at home! 54-70. Damn!” “Robert Morris is tough. We got nothing from our guards again. The big guys were fine. Keep working.” “Yeah, yeah.” This week it’s 4-9 Wagner there, and 6-7 Mount Mary here. Oh, Mark Wilk got his 3rd suspension of the year. He’s been a real trouble maker. Two weeks this time. January 15: The week from hell. 54-61 at Wagner. 23 TOs. Tim Star had a huge game, 28, 14, 2, 3, Mike Lane had 10 and 9, but no one else did anything. Then Mount Mary beat us at our place, 53-58, and we had 2 injuries. 21 TOs, 16, 8 for Tim, not much else. Tim hurt a wrist. He won’t miss any games, just a couple of days of practice. But PG Stan Burd got a very bad bicep injury and he’s out for three weeks. “I know, I know, but we’re goin’ with Pete Mel. Kilt has gotten all kinds a sub minutes and he ain’t done nothin’.” 7-8, 3-3 Silly Hat is here, then we go to 7-8, 4-2 Sam Franklin. Pete Mel will be the third guy to start at PG this season. January 22: 57-56 over Silly Hat. “Jesus, maybe we accidentally found somethin’. Mel had no TOs.” 19, 9 for Ken Cory, 17, 8 for Mike Lane, only 11 TOs. Then we got buried by Sam Franklin there, 43-69. “But Mel only had 1 TO. Course he was in foul trouble half the night.” Pete Mel, if he keeps this up, will continue to start when Stan gets back. We’ll see what that means to the lineup as a whole. We’re still tied for last place, with 10 to play. 5-12, 2-6. 2 at home this week. 10-7, 6-2 Long Island is in, then CCSU, 9-8, 3-5. January 29: “We friggin’ invent ways ta lose!” 64-71 vs. Long Island in OT. They scored the last 7 in regulation, the last 7 in OT. 20 TOs, 10 in the last 10 minutes (including OT). Then we beat CCSU 64-59. 21, 6 for Mike, 17, 8 for Cory Ken, 15, 8 for Tim. 17 TOs and no production outside. “Okay, we’re healthy. Now what?” “We played better with Mel in the lineup.” “I think so too.” Anyway, we’re going with a 6 man rotation. Keep trying. At 7-12, 5-5 Stan Francis. They won by 2 at our place. Then FDU at home. We won by 15 there.

December 11: 55-66 at MD Eastern Shore. “19 in the 2nd half. Jesus Q. Christ!” “Mike had 25, we only had 15 TOs.” “They had 6.” “Dave, it’s not going to be a great season, but we’re building something here. We knew we had back court problems. That’s probably not going to get a lot better. But Mike and Tim look good, and Cory is way better at the SG spot than at the Point, and Stan’s not doing so bad at the Point.” “Rick Neil is supposed ta be our best player and he ain’t doin’ squat.” “He’s playing terrific D almost every game,. and he’s our #2 rebounder.” “We need ta score. 53.1 per game is pathetic.” “Yes, we need to score.” Man, we sure do. It takes time for guys to learn a system. It’s frustrating to lose but 3-4 isn’t bad. If we can split our last 2 pre-conf. games I won’t be unhappy. We host a tough 7-1 Delaware ST team this week, and that’s the easier of the two games. Yikes! None of the new recruits are talking with us, at least not yet. December 18: 52-66 vs. Delaware ST. Tim had 17 but fouled out in 16 minutes. Mike had 10 and 6. No one else had more than 5. TOs are getting better and RBs are okay but we don’t get enough shots and we don’t shoot well when we get the shots. We played a tough team though. “Red, maybe I should quit.” “Where are you, Dave?” “Lefty’s Grill.” “You alone?” “No, Margie’s here.” “It’s 2:15. How come they’re still open?” “They ain’t. They took my drink at 2:00.” “Go home and get some sleep, Dave. Oh, we’re not quitting, you’ve never been a quitter. We’ll be fine once the conference season starts. We’re fighting a little above our weight class right now.” “Jesus, Georgia’s gonna kill us!” “Don’t be so sure. Sometimes guys rise to the occasion.” “I ain’t sure these guys would rise for Marilyn Monroe.” Georgia is 5-3 and yeah, we’re going to get killed. After that it’s conf. play though. December 25: 55-65 at Georgia. Not bad considering they’re the best team on the schedule. “Down 22 in the first half.” “Yeah but what a comeback. We got it to 3 late. We just need to work on scoring points, Dave. That’s the biggest problem now.” “We’re still havin’ ball handlin’ problems.” “Not as bad though. And 42 RBs against a good team. That had to feel good.” “I guess. 18, 11 for Mike.” “I think we’ll be fine in conf., I really do.” “We’ll see.” 3-6 to end pre-conf. play. Not what we wanted but I see sings that we’re getting better. We start conf. play at Central CT, one of the better teams in conf., 6-3. Then we host 2-7 Stan Francis.

November 20: Dave was pacing like a bridegroom waiting to meet his bride at the altar. He was really nervous. I tried to calm him down because I knew it would be picked up by the players. “Yeah, yeah, I’m good. Don’t know why I’m nervous. I been a head coach for 10 years.” But this was Division I, the big time. Expectations and interest were equally low regarding Bryant basketball. We lost our opener in front of 872 fans, 50-53. Ball handling is our biggest concern and that was the problem, 20 TOs. We took only 39 shots. North FL wasn’t much better but they were good enough to win. After the game we worked hard on ball movement in practice. It was 49-45 for our first win, at Howard. We had an unbelievable 28 TOs, but +15 on the boards helped. We managed only 38 shots. Mike Lane had 15 and 10 at SF, Tim Star 13, 8 at C. ‘We ain’t got a friggin’ Point Guard, Red. (He didn’t say friggin’.)” “I know, Dave.” “What the hell we gonna do about that?” “Make sure we recruit 2 or 3 of them for next year.” “If we average 49.5 points an’ 24 TOs there might not be a friggin’ next year.” “It’s a process, Red. We’ll keep working on it.” And we did. “Pass NOW!... LEAD HIM!!! Give it! NO-O-O-O-O! Jesus , are you guys color blind! You pass to the guys wearin’ the same color shirt! Do I gotta go shirts an' skins like on the playground. NO! Ya don;t pass low inside! The big guy gets it high. Don;t make him bend for it!” It wasn’t all yelling though. Dave is good at charting, explaining, demonstrating, doing walk throughs. But the guys just don’t seem to be getting it. This week we host 1-0 FL A &M, then travel to 1-1 Stetson. Good thing we didn’t schedule many good teams! November 27: 58-54 over FL A & M at home. Mike had 15 and 5, Stan Burd had 10 and 7. But 24 TOs. +15 RBs saved us again. Dave is pulling his hair out over the TOs. 55-64 at Stetson. “33 friggin’ shots! How the frig do ya take 33 friggin’shots in the whole friggin’ game. Jesus! It’s unbelievable!” “Dave, we knew it was going to be a process.” “Yeah, but we didn’t know we was gonna stink like a friggin’ skunk!” “Hey, it wasn’t all bad.” “21 TOs. 21 TOs!” Stan had 16 points, Mike had 14, Tim 11, 6, 4.” “We gotta do somethin’.” “Wait ‘til tomorrow. We’ll meet then. We’re too hyped up tonight.” “Yeah. I’m goin’ down to the bar. You comin’?” The mood Dave was in, and considering we were in Texas, I figured I’d better go with him to try to keep him from getting shot. On the plane to our next game we talked. We decided to try Stan Burd at PG, backed by John Kilt, and move Cory Ken to the SG spot. I wasn’t confident that it would help but we needed to try something. This week we were at 1-3 Northern Alabama and then home with 0-3 SE Missouri ST. No world beaters there. December 4: 50-73. Well, the changes certainly had an effect! “Worst friggin’ game a the year!” “Dave, one step at a time. 14 TOs.” “Yeah but we got hammered!” “Dave, some good things happened.” “Neil sucked.” “He was in foul trouble all night. Cory had 15, Tim had 16-” “An’ banged up his knee.” “It doesn’t look bad, he'll play in the next game. Mike had 15.” “Jesus, I wish I had their Point Guard, 42 friggin’ points!” “We’ll work on doubling the shooter. We didn’t do a good job. Outside of that guy we were fine.” “Yeah, outside a that Mrs. Lincoln, how’d ya like the friggin’ play!” Dave takes his frustrations out on me. He doesn’t yell at the kids as much when things are tough. He sort of saves that for when things are going good. When it’s bad he tries to fix it and stays calm, more or less, well... for him. The guys love him though. He has their back in every situation and that trumps the rest. He suspended Mark Wilk for a week. Mark was mouthing off, probably because he isn't playing much. Coach put the hammer down. Mark cam back and so far he's working harder and he's a lot quieter. We'll see. We snuck out a 55-53 win at home against SE Missouri ST. “10 TOs, we took 48 shots, 19 and 8 for Ken, 17, 3, 2 for Mike-” “And we only win by 2.” “It’s a win, Dave. And again, 10 TOS.” “Yeah, I gotta admit I’m happy about that.” Only one this week, at 2-4 MD Eastern Shore. We decide to expand the search for guards to the whole Atlantic East section. We’re not spending a lot of money yet but we hope one or two will talk to us.

June 26: We’re looking at and trying to talk with 7 in state recruits. July 4: Down to 3 in state recruits. (Author’s note: I ditch any recruit who has either D or F for defense, and/or who is below C for Overall rating.) Still working the summer school thing with 7 of our kids. It gives us a chance to get to know them. The others, all R. I. kids, come in now and then to shoot around. We can’t coach but we can watch, and we can talk with them- just not in the gym. We play in what is essentially a big high school gym. Chace Athletic Center sits 2700. It also has all of the Athletic Department and Coaches offices. Dave came over for a July 4 celebration barbecue. We all went to a parade and then back home to eat and play. Dave is magic with Bobby and Sandy. He never runs out of patience with them and he’ll play until they crash and fall asleep. He never drinks while the kids are awake either. “Hey, it’s a bad influence.” He’d make a great dad. I hope he gets the chance someday. July 19: “What’s with the guy, Red?” “Frankie, he’s got a heart of gold. He just doesn’t have great people skills- except with the team, they’re great there.” “Hey, I gave him a chance here. I coulda hired somebody else.” “I know, Frankie. And he appreciates it; he just doesn’t know how to show it. Tell ya what. I’ll try to talk him into having me deal with you. You and I are fine. It’ll just save everybody a lot of aggravation.” “Maybe that’s a good idea. When I got something’ I’ll come ta you.” I've always run interference for Dave. Doing it with Frankie Gillardi is no big deal. August 7: We’re not getting to first base with the two recruits in state we’re still chasing, but we’re not spending a lot of money, either. August 21: “Whatta ya think, Red?” “We’re never gonna get him, he’s #4 in the country. “Yeah but he’s from Pawtucket. Maybe he wants ta stay near home. Alex?” (Alex Jones is our recruiter in case you forgot) “What the hell. Offer to him. It’s not like kids are beatin’ down our doors.” “That’s what I think.” So we offered to #4 and to a PF and a PG we might actually have a shot with. They’re all local and the PF is from Cranston. We know the family. Hey, it’s a small town! September 4: We’re still chasing our three recruits. The PF looks like we have a real shot. September 18: We lose #4. He’s going to Duke. Still working on the others. “Okay, so we gonna go easy, right? We ain’t ready ta face any tough teams.” “Coach, I think we should get one ranked team. That way the guys see what we’re aimin’ for.” “Darrell (Darrell is our scouting coach), these guys are gonna all be graduated before we get anywhere near that level.” “Coach, one good team is a good idea.” “Alex… maybe so. Let’s put the schedule together.” We wound up scheduling Georgia, not ranked but a good team. The rest were roughly as weak as we are. September 22: “I don’t know, Red.” “Dave, have you been drinking?” “Jesus Red, I call yer house at 2:30 in the mornin’. A course I bin drinkin’!” “Where are you?” “I just got home.” “You okay?” “I met somebody about a month ago.” “That’s not exactly news with you, Dave.” “No, she’s special. I think maybe she’s the one.” “Were you drinking with her?” “She don’t drink.” “What!” “Yeah. I don’t drink when I’m with her.” “Dave… I don’t know how to say this but-” “Hey, I kin get off the sauce any time I want.” “Frankly… yeah. How about we both get some sleep.” “Okay Dave. Tell Jean and the kids I love ‘em.” September 25: I feel like we’re really close with the PF. October 2: Still no commitments. First day of practice. Too soon to know much but we’re stronger inside than out. We’re picked 2nd in the Northeast conf. Must be a weak conf.! October 9: We got our first commitment, PF Kip Howe. He dropped from 223 to 719, but we think he’s a good one. Now we need to get a couple of guards. October 12: Thought I’d give you a couple of snapshots from practice. All the quotes are Dave. He always uses players’ last names. “Pass it, Mel (PG Pete Mel). NO! Ya gotta LEAD ‘em!” “Ta the HOLE, MARN (C Ed Marn). Yer 6’9”, one bounce an’ lay it in. C’mon!” “Good move, Mel, good MOVE!!!” “Okay, bring it in. Lane, yer my go to, when ya git it look fer the pick or git yerself open and fer crissake SHOOT! Neil, ya done good getting’ inside position. Keep doin’ that. Kilt, take the Point.” We simply don’t have a PG. There are two on the team but I’m not sure either is up to the job. Priority #1 in recruiting is getting 2 PGs with our 2 remaining scholarships. We have one open offer to a PG who we like. He seemed interested but he’s backed off. Plenty of time. November 6: Exhibitions showed us that we’re in trouble. We give the ball away like it was on fire. I suspect that the lineup we start with will not be the one we end with. We’re going with a 7 man rotation. Senior Cory Ken and soph Stan Burd start at guard with junior John Kilt and soph Pete Mel backing up. Senior Mike Lane is at SF, senior Rick Neil and junior Tim Star will be inside. Mike Lane starts at 3, as I said, but he’ll move inside to give the bigs a break, as will Cory Ken. It’s a thrown together kind of a thing and who knows? November 11: “Happy Veteran’s Day." "Dave, first you aren’t a veteran. Second, I’m not a veteran. Third it’s quarter to three.” “There’s no one in the place except-” “Where are you, Dave?” “Just gettin’ in my car. Don’t worry, Margie’s drivin’.” “Is this the same one you told me about last time?" “Yeah, who else?” “But you said you didn’t drink when you were with her.” “That was then, this is now, ha ha ha ha ha. Take a left, baby.” “Dave, do you mind if I get a little sleep.” “Jes’ a minute. I gotta tell ya I’m scared. We ain’t ready ta open. Are we ready ta open?” “Dave, everyone knows we’re rebuilding. We’ll be fine.” “Jesus, I hope so!” “Now can I sleep?” “Okay, Red. Take a right, baby. See ya tomarra mornin’, bright and bleary.” I don’t know how he does it. And he never seems to have a hangover. And… he pretty much does it every night. Whew! “Dave, right?” “Who else, Jean. Who else.” “If he marries this one do you think he might settle down.” “Sure, maybe for as long as a month.” We host North Florida to start the season, and then travel to Howard. Niether team figures to be very good but then neither do we! Dave cut 3 guys after the exhibitions. Two were walk ons and the other one should have been.

May 1, 2015: Dave, like most Irish Catholics in R. I., has a thing about Italians. He hates them. His sole descriptor for any Italian he meets is, “That FW.” You figure out what “FW” means. There are A LOT of Italians in R. I. As luck would have it the A. D. at Bryant is Frank Gillardi. Yep, you guessed it. Me, I don’t have a problem. People are people. “That FW ain’t gonna give us what we need, Red.” “Dave, just be diplomatic with him. Hey, he hired you, right?” “Yeah, yeah.” So anyway, Dave’s big on academics, integrity, and discipline, real big. Yeah, he’s got a temper. He plays a lot of 2-3, some man, some 1-2-2. Doesn’t press much. Ambition? He would love to coach at URI, that’s his dream job. I guess that makes him about average in ambition. He doesn't think the really top schools would ever hire him. (Author’s Note: I set Dave at 1 in all categories for Current ratings. Potential: 65 for O, 75 for D, 70 each for the other 3.) Dave and I work as a team, we have since we started coaching together at Cranston High. He always describes me as his Associate Head Coach. It will be nice if we rise high enough for that to mean something salary wise. If Jean didn't work I'm not sure our family would make ends meet. We hired Al Jones as our #2. He’ll recruit. Del Warren is #3 and he’ll scout. I’m the bench/practice coach. In looking at game DVDs we think we have some talent with this team. It’s a long time until the first practice, but we’ll see. We’ll keep everybody through the exhibition games to see what we’ve got. We only have $40,000 in the budget after hiring coaches. (Author's note: House rule: One coach can be promoted one level in a given season or when there's a vacancy.) We spend $10,000 on the Basic National Scouting report. We’re talking about doing no out of state recruiting until after SAT scores come out. Still talking it over with staff. We have a bunch of guys in summer school to get their grades up. We’re a long way from 1st practice but recruiting, if we do any fall recruiting starts soon. We’re planning practices, the assistants are looking at DVDs of our conference opponents to not tendencies, sets, things like that, looking at potential recruits. We’re all working 12 hour days, 6 days a week. Dave’s doing 7 days. We decide, yes, in state recruits only until the end of January or later.

As told by Dave's friend, Michael "Red" O'Connor Dysfunctional Dave McGee I guess it even surprises me how long I’ve been with Dave. He’s not an easy guy to get along with- hell, he’s impossible to get along with- three ex-wives, not a single other long term friendship, no connection to his family… The man the media has always called “Dysfunctional” Dave McGee is one of a kind. He has a fierce, hair trigger temper, he has been known to get into street brawls, and more often bar brawls, he drinks way too much, he is constantly mad at the world to the point of almost being paranoid. He simply has few if any people skills regarding anyone but those involved with his basketball program. On the other hand he has a deep, wide, long knowledge of basketball fundamentals, and an equal knowledge of the intricacies of the game. He is an excellent teacher. No one is better at putting together a practice that wastes no time at all. He has unquestioned integrity. He demands the best, in the sport, in the classroom, and on the street from his students. He expects them to avoid anything remotely resembling trouble. But he is loyal to a fault. He will defend his players completely in times of trouble, if he feels they are in the right, or even if it is questionable. The media too often portrays him as simple. He isn’t. He’s exceedingly complex and usually conflicted. Okay, where to start? Third grade I guess. I moved to Cranston, Rhode Island from Bridgeport, CT in October of my third grade year. As all schools do, this school teamed me with a kid who would show me around. When we got to lunch recess we went outside. There was a small group shooting baskets, dominated by a tall, rugged looking kid who was clearly in charge. He was yelling at one of the other kids as we drew near. “Who’s that?” “Stay away from him, Michael. He’s a real asshole.” “He’s in the third grade, how bad could he be.” “If you look at him he beats you up.” “Hah… What’s his name?” “Dave McGee.” “What’s the deal?” “I dunno. He’s in Miss Butler’s class, not ours. I just know he’s trouble.” I walked over to the game. “Hey McGee, kin I take a shot?” … “Guy wants a shot ta the HEAD! What’s your name, kid?” “Michael O’Connor. You kin call me Mike.” “At least yer Irish. I figgered by the hair. Guys, this here is ‘Red’ O’Connor. Call him anything but ‘Red’ I’ll kick yer asses.” He threw the ball to me, hard. I dribbled twice and took a jumper. It went in. “Not bad, Red. Yer on my team. Jeff, switch ta skins.” “Hey! Why I gotta-” “SWITCH TA SKINS!!!” That was the intro to Dave McGee. For some reason he liked me. Turned out he lived on the street right next to mine so we hung out a lot right from the beginning. It wasn’t easy being Dave’s friend. He just did stupid, annoying things. Couldn’t seem to help himself. I stuck it out though. I don’t know, I’ve always had a thing about underdogs for one thing. For another, he could play basketball, and even then he was the leader, the coach. He’d put plays in and they were way more sophisticated than you’d expect at this level. He had a head for the game. He was a head case though. He and I were in school together from third grade through college at URI and I never once saw him do any school work. Don’t ask me how he passed! If a teacher said something he didn’t like, or tried to work with him, Dave would start a battle with the teacher, and more times than not, wind up kicked out of class. But he did pass. He claims he never failed a class, and his URI diploma is in his office. I guess I’d have to say he was at least somewhat of a bully. Leave him alone, no problem, but get in his way and you’d pay. Kids, even kids 2-3 years older, quickly learned that it was best to do things Dave’s way. None of that ever changed much over the years. Good or bad he was a leader, and people saw that in him right away. He kept growing, a big, beefy kid. He was Power Forward all the way and that’s what he played from middle school through college. I was a shooting guard/small forward. I always had a good shot, and the ability to get open for it. I wound up being 6’4”, tall enough to switch between the 2 and 3 spots. I handled the ball okay but not well enough to play Point except in an emergency, and I was a shooter not a passer. Oh, Dave got to 6'6". In high school Dave went through girl friends like other guys go through sweat socks. He was a big, good looking guy and he was a terrific flirt. But after a girl went out with him a couple of times she was done. He was just too volatile. I never heard that he forced himself on anyone and I don’t think he would do that, but I doubt he had much finesse, and he likely had even less patience. He had a dim outlook, too. “Red, it ain’t ever gonna happen for us. Don’t matter how good we are we’re just assholes from Cranston. Duke don’t want us; UCLA don’t want us. We’ll be lucky if URI takes us!” He was right, but URI did take both of us after we won the state title our senior year at Cranston High. He became a starter as a sophomore and I did as a junior. We roomed together all through college. We won the conference our senior year and even won our first round NCAA game. Then we got demolished by Syracuse in the 2nd round. All through college Dave was a really good player, tough as hell, a good rebounder and a better defender. He didn’t score a lot but he did get key baskets fairly often. I was the shooter on the team, and in a lot of ways the star, although that didn’t mean anything to me. Dave and I were co-captains our senior year and that meant a lot. Off the court his luck with women stayed the same; he dated lots of them but never seemed to have a relationship that lasted. He never drank until senior year. He never should have started. Alcohol made him even more belligerent and morose than he already was. I can’t even count the number of times I talked him out of fights. Too often I didn’t. He was so big and strong that most guys would back down but when they didn’t it could get ugly very quickly. We both wound up back at good old Cranston High, me as a history teacher, Dave as a P. E. teacher. He got the head basketball coaching job and I was his assistant. We did well. After a rocky first year we won the league four straight times. That got him the head coaching job at Nichols College, Div. II. Again, I went with him. We both kept our teaching jobs at Cranston High though. He got married during his third year at Nichols. He found a woman he couldn’t drive away. After 4 ½ months of marriage he… drove her away. Then this past spring Bryant fired their head coach. Dave had complied a 91-36 record at Nichols, had won the conference each of the last four years, and had gotten to the Div. II finals or semifinals three of the four years. He never won it all though. “That’s us, Red, we get there but we don’t get the friggin’ gold ring. Just the way it is. We’ll get ta the big time, you watch, but we’ll never get one a those cushy jobs like Kentucky or Texas, or even UConn, and we’ll never win it all. You’ll see.” No one ever called Dave Pollyanna. Anyway, Bryant offered him the job. He told them he would only take it if I got to go along as his #1. After some discussion that’s the way it turned out. Hey, we’re full time basketball coaches at a Div. I school at the tender age of 35! Not bad. Rhode Island is a small state. Neither of us moved. Dave has an apartment in Cranston, and my wife and I have a small home a couple streets away. Oh, I got married at 28. My wife Jean and I have a boy, Bobby, 3 years old, and a girl, Sandy, 11 months. Jean’s a nurse at the hospital in Cranston. Jean feels sorry for Dave and has a good effect on him. She’s two years younger but she really is kind of a mother figure. She can get him to hang his head and look embarrassed the way no one else ever could. Dave’s own mother was an alcoholic. She died when he was 15. His dad wasn’t much better. Dave kind of raised himself. He says if it wasn’t for his grandmother he never would have made it. She died when he was 19. He didn’t have brothers and sisters, so Jean and I, and the kids are his only family. He loves the kids and they love him. We have him over for all the holidays, and he’s usually here a couple nights a week. We do a lot of our work here. That may change now that there are two other assistants. We’ll see. Okay, basketball, coming right up!

Author's Note: Okay, I'm done with Kip Clark; I've just lost interest in him. If I get a request I'll finish off season 24 and then retire him. If not, he's gone now. Let me know.

May 1986: Nuthin’ June 1986: Nuthin’ June 16 1986: “88.1,WLOW, how LOW can you GO, has learned that UML has received a commitment from junior transfer Clay Fox. Fox is a PG who was at Louisville. Coach feels that he will step in and help out next year.” June 26: “Coach Clark tells us that he has 5 scholarships to fill. He’s looking at 15.” July 1986: SCOTUS upholds affirmative action August 1986: Nuthin’ 8/7: “PF Kris More is #26 and SF Ran Minn #43 on the Norton list.” 8/21: “Coach Clark has offered to a PG, an SG, 2 SFs, and a C.” September 1986: Instant Replay begins in NFL Most anti-Constitution SCOTUS justice in history begins his tenure, which now approaches its 30th year, sadly. 9/18: “We get 2 SFs and an SG. “We’re going to the Coaches Classic but facing preseason #1 Kansas in the first round. We’re playing a strong schedule.” 9/25: “Got ‘em all except a PG. We’re close with him.” October 1986: Elie Wiesel wins Nobel Peace Prize 10/2: “Got the PG. “First day of practice. Coach says he likes what he sees but reminds us we’re in A conf. so competition is tough.” “UML is picked 7th in conf. A.” November 1986: RWR admits selling weapons to Iran WHO 1st global effort to fight HIV/AIDS. 11/6: “UML coach Kip Clark announced his lineup today. Senior Tod Stem and frosh Art Reid will start at guard with junior Clif Proe and frosh Dana Ech backing them up. Senior Kris More is at SF, junior Ran Minn and frosh Joe Rive start inside. Subbing up front will be senior Seb Frak. A good mix of youth and experience.”

3/10/’33: We play #9 seed Wash. St, 14-14. They won the play in. We beat them by 39 in the regular season. 70-54. 21, 2, 3, 4 for Shep. 38 RBs, 10 TOs. Underdogs won in all of the other quarter final games so we’ll play #5 seed Arizona, 18-11, 9-7. We only beat them by 10 at our place. 3/11/’33: 82-50. Never a game. 38 RBs, 8 TOs. #6 seed Washington, 14-16, 8-8, got hot at the right time. We play them for the title. We won by 12 there. 3/12/’33: 66-42. 20, 19 for Irv, 50 RBs, great D. We’re ranked #5, RPI #1. Not in the East. #1 Midwest. We play 17-13 Niagara. 3/16/’33: 62-45. They played slow down and it kept them close for 30 minutes. Then we finally went on a run. 9 TOs. #8 seed, 21-10 Oklahoma ST is next. 3/18/’33: 89-69. 20, 2, 7, 4 for Milt Scot. 6 in doubles. 10 TOs. #4 seed, #18 ranked, 23-10 Oklahoma. 3/23/’33: 73-42. Totally dominated. All 5 starters in double figures. It will be #15 ranked Oregon, 25-7, in the Elite Eight. We beat them and then they beat us in OT. 3/25/’33: 80-63. 24, 5, 3 for Shep, 19 for Irv, but 18 TOs. We’ll play Duke in the round of 4. We beat them by a single point in our second game of the season but they went downhill from there. They’re a #3 seed, 26-8, ranked #11. No slouch by any means. 4/1/’33: 71-44. We led all the way. 17 each for Vern and Mike, 15 for Milt, 9 TOs. We close our season against the team we opened it with, #2 seed, #9 ranked, 31-5 St. John’s. We won by 22 way back then. 4/3/’33: 76-61 and the fourpeat. 26, 2, 4, 5 for Shep, 19, 4, 6, 3 for Milt. +13 RBs. 4/4/’33: Awards: Shep King was NCAA tournament MOP. I was national COY. In conf., Irv Shea was POY. He and Shep made 1st team. Vern made 2nd team and I was COY. 4/9/’33: I decide to start my new career where I started my last one, at NJIT. That’s where I’ll be coaching next season. The book is now closed on “Earth based” careers. I end with 11 national championships in 42 years, 1156-290, .800., leading in both wins and national titles. I was national COY 13 times, and conf. COY 18 times. Before I leave let me say that we split away from the ship/city on April 6, and we are headed for the stars. As it turned out we would not know what we had brought with us until seven years later. But that’s another story, for another time. This story is finished.

2/5/’33: 57-50 over #21 UCLA, there. Good game, but not as close as the final. They scored the last 5 after we pulled our starters and they didn’t. 44 RBs, 13 TOs. 67-57 with Arizona at our place. Another close one that, as with UCLA, wasn’t all that close. Again, we pulled out starters, they scored some late points. 9 guys got it done for us. We’re #2, #1 RPI. Only UConn is ahead of us. At #14 Oregon, 18-5, 7-4. We won by 15 at our place. Home with 11-11, 5-6 AZ ST. Up 3 with 5 to play. 2/12/’33: 68-77 in OT at #14 Oregon. Shep fouled out at the end of regulation, and Vern turned an ankle in the first 10 seconds of OT. But 21 TOs didn’t help. 78-43 over AZ ST. 10 TOs, 37 RBs. At 17-7, 9-4 Stanford, then at 3-21, 2-11 Oregon ST. 2 game lead with 3 to play. Shep King #15, Irv Shea #20 on the Norton list. I guess stress is tiring even in transfer land. Most of us have been taking longer rest periods since the incident with Angels FOR Jesus. The movement seems to be dead. There is still close surveillance on the former members, but no one seems suspicious at all. We’re sort of traveling beside the ship/city again, and it doesn’t feel unsafe. It’s nice to get back to “normal.” “We will still go our separate way but they need us for a bit longer because of everything that has happened. 34 people have died, 6 others have very long term injuries. That means a complete overhaul of duties in some departments, and at least some disruption in every department. It also affects the… I suppose to put it indelicately, the breeding cycle. Of the 40 casualties, 31 were male and throws the balance off a bit.” Papa Joe is on top of every situation, as always. 2/19/’33: 69-64 at Stanford. This was a battle. 16, 10, 3 for Vern, 17 for Shep, but we had 18 TOs, a problem we have not solved this year. 74-47 at Oregon ST. This figured to be a mismatch and it was. 18, 4, 2, 2 for Mike Dix. We close the regular season at home vs. 17-10, 8-7 Cal. We won by 13 there. 2/26/’33: 72-55 over Cal. 19, 10, 3 for Irv. 10 TOs. We win by 2 games over UCLA, 4 or more over the rest. +17.1 PPG, +10.1 RBs, +2.7 TOs, but 13.4 +3.9 assists. 3/5/’33: Milt Scot, our starting PG, is going pro.

1/1/2033: 74-59 over #8 Oregon. 23, 10 for Irv. At 6-6 AZ ST, then home with #23 Stanford, 9-3. 57 more AFJ members have recanted. They seem sincere and they were released. Elwood Sain is apparently furious with those who have left the movement and he vows “heavenly vengeance” will find them. He and the 43 other “faithful” remain incarcerated. 1/8/’33: 72-54 at AZ ST. 17, 11, 2, 2 for Vern, 15, 14 for Rod. 47 RBs. 76-48 over #23 Stanford. 18, 13, 2, 1, 4 for Vern. 43 RBs. 2-12 Oregon ST is here, then we go to 11-4 Cal. 8 more have recanted. “I am not certain that I trust that everyone who has recanted is sincere.” “I agree Papa Joe. But what can be done?” “They are being watched, unobtrusively.” 1/15/’33: 73-24 over Oregon ST. Insane. 21, 9 for Vern. Sub guard Sol Lay had his best game ever for us, 15, 8, 3. Bench continues to give us big production. 73-60 at Cal. 20, 12 for Irv Shea. Wash ST, 9-7, 2-3, is here, then we’re off to 6-10, 3-2 Wash. 1/22/’33: 85-46 over Wash. St. 22, 3, 7 for Shep King, 14 each for Irv and Mike Dix. 7 TOs. 86-74 at Wash. We never trailed but managed to get a 25 point lead down to 12 at the end. 24, 7 for Irv, 22 for Shep, 17, 5 for Mike. 33 RBs, 12 TOs. At 4-14, 1-6 Utah, then we host 7-11, 3-4 USC. After that it’s 3 potentially challenging games in a row. 1/25/’33: Jailbreak! There isn’t much in the way of weaponry on the ship. There are no guns, swords, or anything else designed to be used as a weapon, except in the chambers, and those can’t be brought out since they don’t exist in the “real world.” But where there’s a will… The AFJ people had knives, clubs (home made from disassembled whatevers), and anything else they could use, and it was enough. They made their play during the night shift (remember, the people on the ship live in real time so they use an artificial 24 hour day) when there aren’t all that many people around. Anyway, they were ruthless and they were successful. Two guards and four AFJ members were killed and our medical people are treating several concussions, broken bones, things like that. So where do you hide on a ship/city? Turns out you don’t. They hijacked a ship to planet vehicle (Yes, think space shuttle), and 18 of them took off in search of… us! I find it difficult to believe that they will find us, and if they do, they have no weapons to fire at us. I don’t see the point. All they could do is ram into us, and the odds of that happening, according to our statistical team, are ridiculously miniscule. Papa Joe tells me there are only supplies enough for perhaps 7-10 days on the vehicle they took and that the … waste elimination facilities are pretty basic. 14 people have been taken into custody on the ship, and 27 others are under “house arrest,” not allowed to leave their quarters. What a mess! 1/29/’33: 84-63 at Utah. 5 in doubles, 2 others with 7 points but 18 TOs. 74-34 over USC. 19, 4, 2 for Sol Lay in 24 minutes. 41 RBs. This week we’re at #21 UCLA, 14-7, 8-1. Then we host 12-8, 5-4 Arizona. Shep King is #16, Irv Shea #20, and Vern Blam #23 on the Norton list. We’re 19-1, 9-0. UCLA is one back and everyone else is 4 or more back. We’re #4, RPI #1. 1/30/’33: They found us and they are closing in, trying to run into us. The rock is not meant to be more than marginally maneuverable. It was given the capability to evade natural objects in space, which move in patterns that are discernable, usually well in advance. We have no weapons. By the same token, the ship to planet vehicle cannot generate a great deal of speed, nor can it do quick turns or anything of that nature. 1/31/’33: This is the slowest slow speed chase in history. That doesn’t mean it isn’t nerve wracking. I can’t even imagine how they found us. Our stats people say it was just blind luck. They come at us, miss, turn around and try again. We can maneuver just enough to be missed, and they can't make quick enough turns to counteract. As it continues they try to anticipate our move, sort of like a keep[er on a penalty shot. So far they've been wrong. The important thing to remember is that the Angels FOR Jesus people are on what can only be described as a suicide mission. Whether they get us or not they will run out of food at any time, if they have not already, and they can’t have more than a couple days of air left. Some of our people think that, given how many are on board, it could be hours, or even minutes until the air is gone. We can’t help them and the ship/city is out of range, continuing on its way. 2/1/’33: It’s over. Clearly they saw that they were almost out of oxygen. They came at us one last time, missed one last time, and they blew up. We surmise that their destruction was deliberate, meant to take us with them. They mistimed it and blew up when they were too far away to do us any damage.

11/20/’32: 86-64 over St. John’s. 7 in double figures, 2 others close. A real team effort. 72-71 over Duke. This was a war and our bench won it- 41 points, 13 RBs, 9 assists. Starting back court was not playing well, Vern was in foul trouble all night. We are DEEP! At #20 Temple, 2-1, then home with 0-1 Syracuse. 11/27/’32: 71-58 at #20 Temple. 35, 20, 3 for the bench. Yes, we’re talking about changes. 83-67 over Syracuse here. Vern has been in foul trouble in every game except the first. No clue what’s going on with that. Centers don’t usually have this issue, and he didn’t have it last year. 33, 5, 4 for Shep King. 25, 14, 3 for the bench. Home all week. First it’s #13 GA Tech, 3-0, then #12 Mississippi ST, 3-2. The staff met. We made some big adjustments inside and some small ones outside. I love the convenience of life as a transfer. No time wasted on travel or on any of the other “transition” activities that take up so much time on Earth. No trips to the bathroom, ever (Imagine how much better this is for women 4-5 days a month.), showering and bathing are optional, sleep takes up maybe 45-60 minutes a day. I always feel fresh and alert except for a very brief time before my sleep periods. I don’t need to shave or shampoo. Food prep takes seconds and the food comes out at just the right temp. So just about every moment of life as a transfer is spent doing things I love doing- work, family, reading, recreation… We MUST find a way to get away though. The “Angels FOR Jesus” people are absolutely crazy, dangerously so. The location of the “rock” is a very closely guarded secret, and there are always guards placed around the site, but unobtrusively so that they give nothing away. Still, one convert can change all of that and they continue to convert people. “Papa Joe, why don’t we just transfer the “Angels FOR Jesus” people and put them in their own ‘rock’ or whatever.” “Many possible solutions are under discussion, Alvin.” “We need to get out of here soon- now!” “Yes, Alvin, we are aware of this.” “Then why-” “Alvin, you must trust that we are doing all that we can. Everyone is aware of the danger, and of the need for a rapid solution. There are differences regarding which solution to implement. Every possible step is being taken to insure our safety.” “But you can’t-” “No, I cannot guarantee anything.” 12/4/’32: Crushed at home by #13 GA Tech, 59-75. We looked like an old Three Stooges routine, bumping into each other, missing well thrown passes- I swear one guy tripped over the foul line. 14, 13 for Vern. We reduced his minutes, and it worked. Irv Shea picked up many of them and he had 16. Our guards did not play well. 80-62 over #12 MS ST three nights later. Guards in foul trouble all night long again but the bench saved us, 18, 6 for Shea, 32, 8, 9 for the bench as a whole. We are obviously still a work in progress. When we find the right combination, and when we jell, we’ll be fine. This week we’re at #17 Indiana, 4-2, and we host 7-0, #1 Alabama. Mai reports that her research is breaking new ground at high speed. Being able to work in a fully equipped lab in space is a tremendous asset, and the fact that all of the best astrophysicists are here and working alone and together is a huge factor. 12/11/’32: 76-61 at #17 Indiana. 5 in doubles, Vern and Rod with 12 RBs each and 10 for Irv Shea, +18 RBs. 21, 12, 5 for the bench. 69-46 over #1 Alabama here. We were terrific! I need to find a way to get Irv Shea more minutes. He simply dominated tonight, 21, 11, 3 blocks, all in 26 minutes against the #1 team in the country. 11, 13 for Vern. +18 RBs again. We host #17 UNLV, 6-2, then “travel” to Michigan ST, 2-5. Irv Shea will now be getting Ad Flow’s minutes. 12/18/’32: 65-45 over #17 UNLV. Great D. Irv continues to be terrific. We had 44 RBs, 12 TOs. 81-73 at Mich. ST. 26 for Shep, 16, 11 for Vern. 8 TOs. We host #2 Maryland, 10-1, in our last pre-conf. game. They found us, and they very nearly got us. I don’t know all of the details but one of the guards converted to Angels FOR Jesus. Their leader, Elwood Sain, convinced the guard to stay quiet about it and to find a time when he could grab the “rock” and bring it to Elwood, who would be waiting with the other fanatics, all armed with blunt weapons to smash us into tiny pieces. Fortunately the guard did not get clean away. Another guard saw him hurrying off and grew suspicious. He sounded the alarm and followed. It got pretty complicated I guess, but 6 people lost their lives including both of those guards and 4 AFJ members. The rock was dented but undamaged, and all of the AFJ leaders are under arrest. So now, as far as is known, there are 153 AFJ members, 12 of them in the prison cells on board. The cells were a last minute addition. No one thought they would ever need to be used and they almost didn’t make the final cut. “Now what?” “I am not certain, Alvin. We will probably postpone our exit for a short time to help the ship’s leaders to resolve all of this.” “I’m sorry but that’s crazy, Papa Joe. We’re in too much danger.” “I do not feel we can abandon our friends at this time.” “Look, launch the rock. Let it hover nearby if need be. We can help them but if things turn to crap we can also get out of here.” “That is an interesting possibility. I will bring it to our council.” 12/25/’32: 75-58 over #2 Maryland. A team effort with 9 guys contributing. 9 TOs, 38 RBs. We end pre-conf. play at 10-1. We’ve beaten a #1, a #2, and a #3 team, we have the #1 RPI in the country, and we’re rated #5? We host #8 Oregon, 11-1, to start conf. play. We’re off the ship. We used what I thought was a fairly obvious decoy procedure with a huge guard contingency guarding… nothing. Angels FOR Jesus fell for it, attacked en masse, and we used the diversion to launch the rock into space from a completely different part of the ship. 89 AFJ members are now in areas converted into prison facilities. The other 52 members recanted their beliefs at some point after the previous attack, and they seem to have meant it. This is still a huge problem. What is to be done with 101 (89 plus the other 12 who were already imprisoned) dissidents? Papa Joe and his council have agreed to remain out of visual range of the ship but close enough to confer.

5/18/’32: #9 preseason. We should be #1, but okay. “It’s nearly time for us to be on our way, Alvin.” “On our way, Papa Joe?” “Yes. We have been with the people here for long enough. They are becoming too dependent upon us. If they are to be successful on this very long term mission they cannot continue to use us as a 'Deus ex machina.' They must learn to make their own decisions and arbitrate their own issues. I have told them that we will separate on January 1, 2033.” “And how did they take the news?” “Not well.” (I laughed.) "But they will do this. They must do this.” 6/12/’32: Looking at some transfers. One good one, but UConn got him. 6/26: Lots of graduations, but mostly guys who didn’t play a lot. 6 scholarships to fill. I’d like to get 3 and 3. 8/7/’32: 7 on the Norton list: PF Irv Shea #8, PF Ad Flow #13, C Vern Blam #18, PG Milt Scot #19, SG Shep King #27, SF Mike Dix #37, and PG Sol Lay #44. I’m guessing playing time may be an issue! 8/21/’32: We offer to 3 PGs, an SF, a PF, a C. “They tell me we cannot leave.” “Can they do that, Papa Joe?” “Not sure… Our robots can solve many problems but they are all solved from within the 'rock.' This solution must come from outside the rock, so we are … investigating. Please keep this confidential. We are working on a few possibilities and disclosure would complicate matters.” “Not only do I not want to talk about this, I don’t even want to THINK about this!” Evidently we have a new religion, or sect, or something that is gaining footing on the ship/city. And it isn’t good. More on that later. 9/18/’32: We get 2 bigs and a small. No early season tourney. 15 ranked teams on the schedule, counting both in and out of conf. 9/25/’32: Got ‘em all. “And so I say to you, ‘how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?’ … We know, do we not? BILLIONS!!! Billions of misguided earthlings who thought they could find eternal life without seeking eternal salvation! Most of those billions, brothers and sisters, most of those billions have gone who knows where? Well, we know that as well, don’t we? THEY’VE GONE STRAIGHT TO HELL!!! But… BUT… here on our ship we have 11,249 transfers- right here. Right on this ship. So right next to us 11,249 angels- Satan’s angels- are dancing. Are we going to allow them to make a mockery of all that is good and decent and holy? ARE WE!!!” Yeah, it went on like that for quite a while. Best estimate? 106 of the 625 have joined “Angels FOR (capitalization is theirs) Jesus,” a brand new religion that has just formed here. They want to destroy the rock and all of the transfers within it. Great! “We thought we had done a good job of selecting our people, of making certain that they were all emotionally stable.” “There’s been a lot of incredibly huge change, Papa Joe.” “I suppose so. In times of great stress a certain percentage of the group will snap. But one of six is a large number.” “Well, no one has ever faced larger changes and more uncertainty.” “Yes, that is so.” “What do we do now?” “We are negotiating with the people in charge of the ship/city-” “You and your people are in charge!” “No, I mean the people on board who are in charge. As far as we know none of them have joined the sect. We want to go- now!” “And?” “We, and they, are working on it.” 10/2/’32: We have a powerhouse. I may just play 8 guys 25 minutes each. We’ll see. We’re picked first in conf. 11/6/’32: We have a lineup but I’ve never done so much “job sharing.” PG will be split evenly between frosh Milt Scot and Sol Lay, both of whom will back up senior Shep King at SG. Soph Ad Flow and senior Mike Dix will share SF equally. Soph Vern Blam and senior Rod Kent will get most of the inside minutes backed up by junior Irv Shea, a transfer from UConn. All of this is likely to change as we move forward. We’ll start with 2 at home, St. John’s and #3 Duke. “144 people on the ship/city now identify as members of ‘Angels FOR Jesus.’ They loudly advocate for our destruction.” “Why don’t they just advocate for kicking us off the ship, Papa Joe?” “No, no. We are Satan’s angels and must be destroyed.” “So we need to get out of here.” “Believe me, Alvin, we are working on it!”

3/10/ ’32: It’s #8 seed USC, 11-17, in the quarter finals. 79-53. 18, 13 for Vern. 31 for the bench. 40 RBs, 5 TOs. #4 seed Oregon, 18-10, 10-6 in the semis. We beat them by 12 and 33. 3/11/’32: 80-58. 27, 3, 4 for Shep, 35 RBs, 12 TOs. And it’s our nemesis, #2 seed Stanford, 18-12, 11-5, for the title. They beat us by 1, we beat them by 10. 3/12/'32: 71-48. It was never a game. 12, 13 for Rod but everyone played well. 40 RBs. We’ll be #1 in the East, 32-1, #1, RPI #1. And we are #1 overall. We play a play-in winner. 3/16/’32: 71-44 over 14-17 North Florida. #9 seed Oklahoma, 21-10 is next. 3/18/’32: 81-55. 2nd straight walk in the park. 39 RBs, 9 TOs. #4 ranked, #4 seed Charlotte, 30-5 is next. Too good for a Sweet Sixteen opponent. We won by 19 in December. 3/23/’32: 71-53 over #4 Charlotte. 6 in doubles, 36 RBs, but 18 TOs. It’s #3 seed, #7 ranked Villanova, 28-7, 13-3, in the Elite Eight. March 25: 69-46 over Villanova. 17, 12, 4, 3 for Vern, 12, 12 for Rod, 11, 9 for Mike Dix. 47 RBs, 10 TOs. Headed to another Final Four. We’ll play #20 ranked, #5 seed UNLV. We beat them by 21 earlier in the season. On the other side it’s unranked #8 seed Tulsa vs. unranked #9 Louisville. Strange year with all these upsets. I’m battling overconfidence. If my guys just show up they’ll lose. 4/1/’32: And we almost did lose, 80-74.The only thing we did well was rebound, but we had enough of a talent edge. And it’s #8 seed, 26-10 Tulsa for the title. 4/3/’32: 88-71 and title #10! 19, 10, 3 for Vern, 21, 5 for Rod, good games all around. 4/4/’32: Vern got NCAA tourney MOP, 1st team All American. Shep got 2nd team All American. I got national COY. In conf., Vwern ran the table, POY, frosh OY, Defensive OY, 1 st team, along with Shep and Mike Dix. Rod Kent made 2nd and I got conf. COY. 4/23/’32: The NCAA has decreed that all human coaching records can continue for one more year so I am staying. After that human records will be “cast in stone” and only transfer records, player, coach… will remain. These first two seasons will count in both categories. I ask for a budget increase as I go for the fourpeat. I am at 1122-288, .796. Hoping to win a title and get to .800. Team Prestige is at 70. I get just under $13,000. 10 titles, with a little luck 11, with the same luck more than 1150 wins, and when they close the book I’ll be on top in those two categories- maybe tied for titles, maybe alone on top. I will probably move to a small school and start over after next season. Let’s see what a million year career might look like!

2/5/’32: 75-48 over UCLA. 17, 5 for Mike Dix, 15 for Briq. 9 TOs. 75-58 at Arizona. 23, 2, 4, 4 for Briq, all 5 in doubles. 14-8, 7-4 Oregon is here, then we go to 10-13, 6-5 Arizona ST. We’re 2 up on Stanford and Arizona. 2/12/’32: 94-61 over Oregon. 21, 2, 6 for both Shep King and Mike Dix. 8 TOs. 69-48 at Arizona ST. 18, 11, 3, 2, 6 for Vern, 28 for Shep. Stanford, 15-10, 10-3, the only team to beat us all season, is here this week, followed by 6-18, 3-10 Oregon ST. Vern Blam is #4, Shep King #7 on the Norton list. 2/19: 82-72 over Stanford. This team knows how to play us. We never trailed but they kept it close. 19, 12, 1, 2, 3 for Rod Kent, 10 TOs, 37 RBs. 81-57 vs. Oregon ST. 20, 4, 6, 4 for Shep, 19, 6, 2, 2, 2 for Mike Dix, 14, 12, 2 for Rod, 14, 5, 2 for Mike Stow. We’re 3 games ahead with 1 to play. We travel to 8-18, 6-9 Cal to end the regular season. Beat them by 19 at our place. 2/26/’32: 63-60. We didn’t shoot well, we didn’t defend well, we didn’t handle the ball well, we didn’t rebound well. I used a lot of bench and we got by- barely. I guess maybe we’re tired. We’ll have some time to recover before the tourney starts. We end the regular season 29-1, 15-1, #1, RPI #1, 4 up on two games up. March 5: Joe Hart, a junior Juco who didn’t crack our lineup, declared for the NBA. Vern is #5, Shep #8 on the Norton list. The legs seem rested as we await the tourney.

1/1/2032: 94-82 at #22 Oregon. 23, 4, 7, 7 for Shep, 18, 7, 2, 2 for Vern. 9 TOs. We have lots of weapons. We host 5-8 Arizona ST, then travel to 5-8 Stanford. 1/8/’32: 82-64 over Ariz. ST. 18, 10, 2, 2 for Vern. 6 in doubles, 6 TOs. 70-71 at Stanford and the streak ends at 41. Back and forth all night. They got the ball last, with 10.3 left, and they worked the clock, took an 11 footer as the clock ran out, and it was good. 13 TOs, 41 RBs, 17, 12 for Vern, 15, 7 for Rod. They had 8 threes we had 3. This week we’re at 4-10, 1-2 Oregon ST, then we host 2-12, 0-3 Cal. 1/15/’32: 78-35 at Oregon ST. Overpowering! 45 RBs. 70-51 over Cal. 15, 9 for Vern, 12, 8, 4, 2 for Mike Dix. 8 TOs, 38 RBs. At 8-8, 2-3 Wash. ST, then home with 7-9, 2-3 Wash. 1/22/’32: 78-56 at Wash. ST. 83-53 over Wash. 2nd place in conf. behind Arizona who hasn’t lost, 7-0. We’re #1 in the country, TOs down to 11.8 per, +2.7. We’re overpowering people, +16.8 PPG, +12.7 RBs. 7-11, 4-3 Utah is here and then we go to 5-13, 1-6 USC. 1/29/’32: 94-65 over Utah. 20, 15, 3 for Vern. 8 TOs, 45 RBs. 81-56 at USC. 39 RBs, 11 TOs. C Vern Blam is #3 on the Norton list. SG Shep King is #8, SF Mike Dix #25. Some challenge this week. We start at home with 9-11, 3-6 but always dangerous UCLA, then visit 15-7, 8-1, Arizona, tied with us for 1st. We don’t live on the ship/city in that we’re transferred and on a microchip but we have a lot of interaction with those who do. Calling something that houses 625 people a city may be a bit of a stretch but it is a city in most ways. People live near each other, they have all of the conveniences and all of the hassles of a city, they live near their work, whether they are part of the ship’s crew, whether they grow food, work in recycle and reclamation, do scientific research, cook and/or serve in the dining halls- and so on. Some of the residents have been on the ship/city since the first launch, 1/3/’29, a little more than 3 years ago. Others arrived 9 ½ months ago. Major, and I mean MAJOR adjustments have had to be made. First, it’s here or it’s nowhere. They can’t send back to Earth for anything. They grow it, make it, find it, create it, or do without it. If a medical issue comes up, and they have, the medical folks here solve it or the patient lives with it or dies from it. They have all of the most up to date medical facilities, including but not limited to robotic surgery, stem cell technology, medications targeted to the individual’s own DNA… If something was forgotten back on Earth it will never make it here; it’s gone forever. These people are still in their own bodies and need to eat, sleep, eliminate wastes, exercise, do the work that needs to be done on the ship. Believe me, they have it a great deal tougher than we transfers do! There’s no going back for me but there’s also no way I would if I could.

11/20/’31: Great 1st week! 73-59 over Iowa. Too many TOs, too many fouls, but a solid win in the 1st round of the Coaches Classic. 76-57 over #1 seed, #12 ranked Michigan in the round of 8. Still too many TOs but we were in charge most of the way. 78-69 over #4 seed, #25 Syracuse in the semis. This was a battle but we came on late. 17, 13 for Vewrn Blam in the middle, 21 for Briq Arn. 12 TOs, 40 RBs. 65-51 over #2 seed, #4 ranked Mississippi ST for the title. We never trailed. 12, 13 for Vern, 18 for Briq, 13, 6, 5 for Shep King at guard, 8, 10 for Ad Flow at PF. 46 RBs, but again, too many TOs, 18. We’re ranked #1. This week it’s a rematch against #18 Syracuse, 2-1, there. Then we’re at 0-1 New Mexico. We don’t play at home until game #8. And yes, there is a home court advantage. Two kinds of people make up the audience and it is controlled by the NCAA. The “home crowd” is made up of transfers who choose to identify with the team (They can identify with 2 teams and attend their games), and “created people” like those in the chambers. The neutral and away crowds are done via a formula based upon attendance for the past 5 years, combined with how well a team is doing, again, made up of both kinds of people. Oh, teams are back in their proper locations. No floods, famines, plagues in transfer land. 11/27/’31: 80-55 at #18 Syracuse. 6 in doubles, 48 RBs, 11 TOs. We really played well. Vern had 14, 15, 3, 2, Ad Flow 11,1 3. Rod Kent sprained a toe. Out for about 10 days. 75-61 over New Mexico. 21, 19, 2, 2, 2 for Vern, and 6 others put up numbers. 43 RBs, but 14 TOs. We drop to #3 in the polls? What did we do wrong? RPI is #8, maybe that’s it. At 2-2 Gonzaga then finally home with #2 Marquette, 6-0. 12/4/’31: 65-50 at Gonzaga. 12, 14, 3 for Vern, 17, 5, 3 for Mike Dix, 8, 15 for Ad Flow, 14, 6, 2 for Shep King. 46 RBs. 77-62 in our home debut against #2 Marquette. 11, 19, 2, 2 for Ad Flow, 18, 6, 4 for Shep King. Rod Kent and Mike Stow played well from the bench. 47 RBs, 12 TOs. Back to #1, RPI #1. #6 Charlotte, 6-2 is here. Then 3 more on the road. 1st is #5 Villanova, 6-2. The last days, or maybe the end times on Earth. It was really ugly. India nuked Pakistan. China nuked both Japan and Russia. Whoever had nukes pretty much used them. Wars, famine, thirst, radiation were everywhere. The race to transfer people ended with 2.5 billion transferred and sent into space, nowhere near our ship/city. 5.5 billion remained on an Earth that was pretty much out of resources to support them. More than 2 billion of those stayed against their will and evidence indicates that the religious fanatics who DID want to stay persecuted these people. The 5.5 billion died, horribly. If not all of them, then nearly so. Papa Joe estimates that perhaps 1-3 million survived, at least short term, but there is nothing for them. If they do indeed survive it will take generations, perhaps centuries for them to make life worth living. It all happened very quickly, within days of the last module’s departure. All of our people either made it to the ship/city or transferred. Not one of our people missed this boat! 12/11/’31: 78-59 over #6 Charlotte here. 17, 11 for Vern, 18, 3, 2 for Briq, 13, 4, 5 for Mike Stow from the bench. 40 RBs, 14 TOs. 71-62 at #5 Villanova. 20, 3, 3, 3 for Shep, 13, 8 for Vern, 12, 5, 2, 2 for Briq, 7, 11, 2, 1, 2 for Mike Dix, 7, 4, 4, for Mike Stow. We’re 10-0. 2 nine point games and all the others double digit wins. At 3-5 UNLV, then at #7 Michigan, 6-2. We won by 19 at the Coaches Classic. 12/18/’31: 80-59 over UNLV. 17, 3, 3 for Shep, 14, 5, 2, 2 for Rod Kent. 10 TOs, 36 RBs. 72-64 at #7 Michigan. We led all the way but never by more than 15. 29, 7, 3, 3 for Shep King. Home all week. First it’s 6-5 Penn, then #5 Arkansas, 8-1. December 25: 76-53 at Penn. Teamwork, great D, really gfood bench play, 36 RBs, 5 TOs. 86- 68 over #5 Arkansas here. 23, 7 for Vern, 20 for Briq, good bench play, 31 RBs, 7 TOs. At #22 Oregon, 7-4, to start conf. play. At the end of pre-conf. play we’re 14-0, #1, RPI #1. +15 PPG, +13.1 RB per, +1.6 TOs but 12.6 is still too high. All of us together for the holidays. It can’t be beat!

5/26/’31: I wonder whether dates and time mean anything over here, but we do keep track and I will refer to them as I have been doing all along. I’ve now been here a little more than a month. Here’s what a typical day looks like, more or less. I’ll start after my last sleep period of the previous day. I take about 2-3 minutes to fall asleep, sleep for about 10 minutes, and take 2-3 minutes to wake up. Mai and I coordinate our sleep periods unless there’s a reason why we can’t. 12:00 midnight-12:15 a.m.: Sleep, then go for a 5 mile run. There’s no need to exercise here but I’ve always done it, I enjoy it, and there’s something to be said for routines. 1:00-1:15 a.m.: Shower. No need for this either but it feels good. 15 minutes includes undress, dry off, comb hair, dress. 1:15-1:45: Catch up on what went on in the world, both on the ship/city and here in the transferred world. Earth is no more, in any sense whereby we would want to communicate with it. I’ll discuss that at another time. Incidentally, the 2x2 “rock” is still housed in the ship/city. There was some concern regarding the last transfers bringing worms, ticks, viruses, Trojan horses… but that doesn’t seem to have happened., The robots have nothing to do so far, which is great! 1:45-2:00: Papa Joe and I visit during this time. It is always great to chat with him. This is sometimes extended, sometimes includes others, usually Lili, if anyone. 2:00-2:15 Breakfast. It is whatever I want it to be, often something sweet like strawberry shortcake, blueberry, apple, lemon, chocolate pie, a Belgian waffle, cheesecake, or more than one of the above. My sweet tooth kicks in at this time. Remember, all I need to do is punch in the code and the food is prepared in just a few seconds, and it comes out exactly as I like it. The first 2-3 times I have a particular food I tweak the recipe to my taste, which also only takes a few seconds. Hot, black dark roast coffee goes with the meal. And of course calories are not a worry. 2:15-3:30: Reading time. I love to read, and now I have the time. 3:30-4:30: Prepare for practice; this is done with the coaching staff. 4:30-7:00: Team practice. 7:00-8:00: Coaches’ meeting- analyze the practice, prepare for tomorrow’s practice, scouting reports, recruiting reports… Game prep if we’re in season, previous game analysis, also if we’re in season… 8:00-8:15: Sleep period 8:15-8:30: Lunch. Usually a green salad, maybe soup, a ½ sandwich, fruit… Again, hot, black, dark roast coffee. 8:30-10:30: Watch film of our team and upcoming and/or potential opponents, with staff. Note taking, comments, discussion of things to work on… 10:30-12:00: Visits with family and friends. 12:00-2:00: Phone calls, emails, texts- correspondence of all kinds. 2:00-4:00: Recruiting visits during the recruiting season, analysis of potential recruits, Jucos, and transfers at other times. 4:00-4:15: Sleep period 4:15-5:00: Dinner with the extended family. Usually Indian, sushi, Mexican, some kind of Asian, Italian… Each family member selects his/her own meal but we eat together and “visit.” 5:00-8:00: Team study hall. Most team members choose to live as college students, in dorms or apartments. A few live with their parents. 8:00-12:00: If there’s a game this is when we “travel” to it (a few seconds to the destination, whether our gym or the opponents’ gym), warm up, play, meet with the press afterward, do an “instant analysis” with the team, and travel back to the starting point. If no game this is free time for everyone. Again, while this is a fairly typical day it varies. Friday is “family day.” Nothing is scheduled for anyone. All are free to relax, “travel” to other cities or countries, just hang around, play games in or out of a chamber… Papa Joe and some others work anyway. Papa Joe is still running the world, checking on activities, progress, problems on the ship/city, as well as here in “transfer land.” There are few problems among transfers, but humans are humans, even after transfer, and difficulties do arise. We all have the capability of “walking away,” but that is not what always happens. The ship/city is a different matter. There, “real life” continues, and humans have problems, whether those of human interaction, problems related to on ship life, to the food/water/waste systems… Papa Joe, or at times his designee, arbitrates. We are in motion, heading to the stars, but it will be a long time before we approach another potentially habitable planet. 6/12/’31: We grab 2 transfers, junior PG Jeff Sims from LSU, and junior PF Irv Shea from UConn. We’re ranked #14 preseason. 6/26/’31: 2 scholarships. We need guards. We’re looking at 8, all guards. 8/7/’31: 5 nominees for the Norton award: SG Shep King is #21, PF Ad Flow is #25, C Vern Blam is #26, SG Briq Arn is #46, and SF Mike Dix is #50. 8/21/’31: We offer to 2 top 15 PGs. 9/18/’31: We’re going to the Coaches Classic where we’ll start with Iowa. Loaded with ranked teams. 9/25/’31: Got one PG, Milt Scot, #18 right now. Lost one but offered to another PG we really like. 10/2/’31: Got the 2nd PG, Shep Lay, #27. We are really high on both of them! First day of practice. Threepeat could happen! We’re picked first in conf. 11/6/’31: We have a lineup but it could well change. This is my 41st season and I’ve never had so much strength at so many positions. There simply are not enough minutes to go around. We’ll begin with Juco junior Shep King and senior Briq Arn starting at guard, backed by senior Mike Stow. Soph Josh Calb and Juco junior Dee Tor are very good and they’re waiting in the wings. Frosh Vern Blam and junior Rod Kent will start inside. Frosh Ad Flow will start at SF. Juco junior Mike Dix will back up the bigs with Juco Joe Hart waiting for minutes. We start as the #9 seed at the Coaches Classic. We’ll play #8 seed Iowa. We should be seeded higher. Oh, that thing about one more year... I may go for 45. We'll see how it goes. Papa Joe repeatedly assures me that coaching here is absolutely the same as coaching back on Earth. Does that mean every game’s score would be repeated? Of course not. Back in the “real world” if we played say, Kentucky, 10 times, we’d get 10 different results, and each team would likely win some of the 10.

3/5/’31: No one goes pro. Don Renk is #6 on the Norton list. 3/10/’31: We play 11-17, 7-9 Arizona, #6 seed, in the round of 8 in the Pac 12. 74-58. We led all the way. 16, 11 for Don, 15, 6, 2, 2, 2 for Tai. 15 TOs (sigh), 33 RBs. #5 seed Oregon, 11-17, 6-10, beat Stanford so they’re next in the semis. We beat them by 22, then 28, and their starting SF is out with an injured back. 3/11/”31: 76-62. We never trailed. 20, 4, 2, 5, 2 for Tai, 18, 2, 3 for Briq, 12, 6, 5 for Mike, 10 for backup guard Josh Calb. 10 TOs, 32 RBs. As expected it’s #5 UCLA, 24-5, 14-2 for the title. But, their starting C tore his ACL, and their starting SF has a sore calf. We lost by 3 last time, there. 3/12/’31: 73-55. We were on fire! It was 30-30 at the half. We adjusted, went on a 17-5 run to open the 2nd half, and never looked back. 26 for Briq, and 6 other guys had between 7 and 10 points. Terrific D won this one though. 15 TOs but they had 19. This will get us a #1 seed, possibly #1 overall but not probably. Here we go! Not in the East. Not in the Midwest. #1 in the South. We’ll play SIU-Edwardsville, 18-13. I’ll take it! A serious attempt was made to destroy our launch site. It became a veritable war zone, with many casualties on both sides, but no irreversible damage was done. There will be a delay of about 7-10 days. The site defense, which was extremely strong, has been beefed up about 5 fold. The deal is that anyone involved will be transferred on the day of the launch, and taken along. These people will be launched separately the same way Papa Joe and the others were launched, moments after the module goes up. 3/17/’31: 76-61. They played hard. We wore them out at the end and the final score was the biggest margin. 14, 14 for Don, 16, 4, 4, 3 for Tai. 8 TOs, 34 RBs. St. John’s, 22-10, is next. 3/19/’31: 72-65. We were down 14 with 13:22 left. I did what I rarely did and ranted at my kids. I also changed up some things on D. We outscored them 27-7 from there on. 14 TOs (+8), +6 RBs. We are not playing the way I want us to be playing in March. Next up is #21 Memphis, 23-9. They’re 3-2 in their last 5 so they aren’t playing well either. 3/24/’31: We worked very hard in practice after the last game and we think we’re ready. 62-58. “Survive and advance” I guess. Don saved us with 17 and 17. We had 45 RBs (+16) but 17 TOs (-3). Keep working. It’s #16 New Mexico in the Elite Eight. We beat them by 16 at their place. 3/26/’31: 80-58. Finally! But not ‘til the 2nd half. It was tied at halftime. 22, 2, 4 for Briq, 16, 11 for Tai, 13, 13, 3 for Don, 11, 3 for Rod, 8 for Josh. 9 TOs, 39 RBs. UNLV, #1 ranked, #3 RPI in the round of 4. They beat us by 3 at our place. They were +6 RBs, +2 TOs. We’ll need to do better. 3/28/’’31: “My great fear is nuclear weapons. There is no great incentive NOT to use them, go in, get whatever you want, then transfer; stay alive with stolen food and water as long as necessary. No cancer fears. I am somewhat amazed that it has not yet happened. “We think we can launch the final module on 4/20. We have crews working night and day. I hope that this is not too late.” Yeah, I hope so, too! 4/1/’31: 78-65 and an all Pac 12 final. More on that in a minute. We took a lead 8 minutes in and stretched it to 11 at the half, 21 with 15 to go. 19, 5, 3 for Mike Stow. We had all kinds of foul issues but the bench really came through. We had to go to #9 on the depth chart Lat Hey, who averages 4.6 min. when he gets in at all. He had 12 in 20 minutes tonight and played good D. It’s UCLA for the title. They won by 3 in Feb. but then their starting C tore his ACL and we won by 18 for the Pac 12 title. Their strength is their backcourt. If we can stay close to even there, and match their bench production, or close to, we’ll be fine. 4/3/’31: 89-71 and title #9! Tai had 27, 2, 3 in his last game for us. Briq had 18, 4, 2, Mike was terrific with 11 assists and 13 points. Don only scored a free throw but had 11 RBs. We shut down their backcourt but their bench was incredible, 51 points (starters had 20!). Still, after a tight first half, 44-46, we woke up and realized we had to defend against the subs too! We put it all together in the 2nd half. 4/4/’31: Awards: Don Renk NCAA tourney MOP. 2nd team all American. In conf., Don was POY, Def. POY, 1st team, along with Tai and Briq. Mike Stow made 2nd team and I was COY. 4/14/31: Our launch site was attacked again today. The sophisticated defense technology and the large number of personnel saved us. No harm was done but there was a loss of several lives. We’re still looking at a 4/20 launch. 4/19’31: I asked for a budget increase. Got $12,000! 30-6, 12-4, won the Pac 12 title, won the national championship. Team Prestige is up to 67. After 40 years I’m at 1084-287, .791. 9 national titles. Going to go one more year- in a chamber as a transfer, with this team to try for title #10. 4/20/’31: I was on the module and it launched successfully. There was an attempt to shoot it down with a rocket but our defenses stopped that from happening. On my way to the moon. I will transfer when we get to the dark side. Can’t wait to be with my loved ones. 4/22/’31: I transferred a few hours ago. It feels completely and weirdly… not at all different. So I’ll coach one more year here and then start a 1,000 year run, starting at a very small school in a very weak conference. After this coming season I’ll check in with my audience every century or so. Papa Joe assures me that this coming season will be exactly as it would have been on Earth, and that coaching after that will be as well. It is unbelievably wonderful to have my family with me again. All of us in the two families live in a huge, rambling Papa Joe designed home. The way it works is you program something and you are at your destination. The “commute” to the gym takes 3 seconds to program and less than a second to execute. I’m 63 years old and I look it but I feel about 28- everyone feels that way unless they were younger than that when they transferred.

2/5/’31: 65-68 at UCLA. Their PG hit a 30 footer at the horn. We had 38 RBs but 17 TOs. They took 17 free throws we took 5- and missed all 5. So it’s our own fault that we lost. 65-44 over Arizona. 7 guys played well. 4 TOs. Center Don Renk is #5, and SG Briq Arn #26 on the Norton list. Briq sprained a finger. Day to day. This week we’re at 11-11, 7-4 Oregon. This is a big game since they are one back of us. We won by 22 here. Then it’s Arizona ST, 8-14, 4-7. We won by 14 there. 2/12/’31: 86-58 at Oregon. 26, 6, 5 for Mike, good numbers for the starting 5. 7 TOs, 40 RBs. 68-54 vs. Arizona ST. 13, 12 for Don, 6 in doubles. 13 TOs, 34 RBs. Don Renk is #4 on the Norton list. 2 up on Oregon, Stanford, and Wash, 2 back of UCLA with 3 to play. I’d say we’ll finish 2nd! At 16-11, 8-5 Stanford, who we beat by 11, and at 12-12, 5-8 Oregon ST, who we beat by 12. A win in this game locks up 2nd place. 2.3 billion people still waiting to transfer, but the lists are not accurate. Many of those have died as casualties of war, thirst, famine… Others will never be found in time to transfer. Remember, none of these will go onto our modules, or onto microchips that we manage. The UN and individual countries are in charge of them. 2/19/’31: Not to be, 63-69 at Stanford. We blew a 13 point lead late and Stanford scored the last 8 points, 2 threes, two free throws. 40 RBs, only 12 TOs, but we didn’t shoot well, esp. at the foul line. That’s two games we’ve lost pretty much because we couldn’t hit from the line. 78-65 at Oregon ST. They stayed with us for more than 30 min. Our front line and bench saw us through. 9 TOs, 40 RBs. We’re one up on Stanford and Wash. with 1 to play. We’re at home with 19-7, 9-6 Cal. They won by 8 there. This is a huge game for them. A win will likely move them up to where they’ll get a 1st round bye in the Pac 12 tourney. 2/22/’31 Module #19 launched successfully. 11 people and lots of “stuff” on board. “Alvin, I wish you had gone on this launch. The situation is deteriorating with alarming speed down there. 7 and one half weeks is a very long time. I am very concerned.” “If we lose early in the NCAA tourney I could go sooner, Papa Joe.” “No, Alvin. The launch will not be ready earlier, or at least not more than a few days earlier.” I’m rolling the dice. 2/26/’31: 80-56 over Cal. No contest. We played like we wanted it, which we did! 11 TOs. We end the regular season 21-6, 12-4, alone in 2nd place, 2 back of UCLA. Ranked #10, RPI #2. +10.8 PPG, +7.1 RBs, +3.4 TOs, and down to 12.2, almost to where I like it.

January 1, 2031: 69-47 over Oregon. 20, 13, 1, 3, 2 for Don, 14 each for the starting guards, and 9, 9, 2, 2 for Dean Smid in his 1st start. He held his man to 2 and 4. 9 TOs, 44 RBs. This week we’re at 4-8 Arizona ST. Then we host 9-6 Stanford, playing out of Bakersfield, CA. We had a little “Happy New Year” gathering in a chamber. This will undoubtedly be my last year on Earth, and I hope to transfer as soon as the season ends, sometime in mid- to late April. India and Pakistan are at war over food and water. The same holds through among various countries in Africa and Asia. Every possible resource is being used to transfer people as quickly as possible but it takes time. Still, every person who transfers takes a bit of the pressure off. An estimated billion people have “gone over.” Approximately 3.6 billion more are waiting their turn. About 3.4 billion are refusing the process, almost all of them for religious reasons. 1/3/’31: The 18th module launched successfully with 11 people and various supplies aboard. 1/8/’31: 83-69 at Arizona ST. 7 guys played well, and it was not as close as the final score indicates. 14 TOs, 34 RBs. 75-64 vs. Stanford here. 17, 12 for Don, 20, 7, 3 for Tai. 15 TOs, 34 RBs. We’re 12-2, 3-0 in conf., #7, RPI #1. This week we host Oregon ST, 8-6, 1-2, playing in Twin Falls, ID, then we’re at #16 Cal, 12-2, 2-1, playing in Fresno, CA. An estimated 100 million people transferred this week, most in industrialized countries. Houseboat living is increasing among those who do not plan to transfer, and who can manage it. 1/15/’31: 71-59 over Oregon ST. Big game for Don Renk, 18, 19, 4, 3, 4. 21 for Briq, 11, 1, 8 for Mike. 12 TOs, 39 RBs. 60-68 at Cal. We gave up 13 threes and shot 7-22 on threes, and that was the difference. 11 TOs, 32 RBs. The game was in single digits all the way and we didn’t play badly, just weren’t able to knock down shots at crucial times. Mike Stow tweaked hi back. He won’t miss any games but he will play less than usual for a week or so. This week it’s 8-10, 2-3 Wash ST here, then Wash., 9-7, 4-1, tied with us in 2nd place, there. They share a facility in Spokane. 1/22/’31: 68-67 over Wash. ST. We were a little lucky. We turned them over on their last 2 possessions and Tai drained threes both times- we had only 3 threes all night. 17 each for Tai and Dean, 13, 8, 3, 3, 3 for Don. 10 TOs. 79-72 at Wash. 6 in double figures and good team play against a talented team. Tai had 18 and 10. 14 TOs, 40 RBs. We’re at 7-11 Utah, then we host 5-13 USC, playing out of Las Vegas. We’re alone in 2nd, 1 back of UCLA. +10.4 PPG, +8.6 RBs, +2.4 TOs. We’re down to 12.9 per, but that’s still too high. Many college hoops players and other spring semester athletes around the country are taking courses in chambers. All are trying to hang in until the end of the semester, during the first week in May for most. There’s no way the college World Series will take place anywhere other than in transfer land. Water and food wars are happening in more and more parts of the globe. Industrialized countries are sending “transfer teams” to speed up the process of transferring people. 250 million people transferred last week. 1/29/31: 65-76 at Utah. We didn’t defend well at all tonight. 16 TOs and we let them shoot 50%. 75-49 over USC. 19, 11 for Don, 19, 4, 2 for Briq, 8 TOs. This week we’re at #4 UCLA, 17-3, 9-0, 2 up on us. They play in Carson City, NV. If we are going to have any chance at catching them we need to win this game. Then we host 7-13, 4-5 Arizona. Papa Joe says the robots are 100% functional and ready to go. They will travel on the module that goes into orbit in Feb. Major league baseball has announced that the 2031 season will be played by transfers. NFL football and NCAA football have announced the same thing. NCAA spring sports will all have abbreviated seasons, as will the NBA and NHL, which will hold playoffs in April. NCAA also made it official that this will be the last non-transfer hoops season.

11/20/’30: 75-58 over Kansas, here. 20, 3, 4 for PG Mike Stow, 17, 8 for C Don Renk, 15, 8 for SF Tai Tain. 6 TOs, 37 RBs. 81-62 over #13 Gonzaga, also here. 20, 7 for Tai to lead us. 12 for guard Josh Calb from the bench. 8 TOs, 40 RBs. Great start to the season! We’re ranked- #17. This week we’re at 0-1 Penn (in Harrisburg, PA), then home vs. #1 Maryland (now located in Charleston, W. VA.), 4-0. Many people in the U. S., and abroad where they can get them, are living on warehoused foods- beans, rice… Millions, if not billions of people have transferred. In some cases countries ignored the tick and just kept transferring people. Disasters are everywhere with those countries’ transferred populations. Others prudently waited for the fix, which Dr. Grande and her team shared with whoever asked for it. The countries in the latter category are now working as rapidly as possible to transfer people. Those in the former category are in an unimaginable mess. More protests and rioting around this issue. The world is in a disastrous state in many places. 11/27/’30: 77-58 at Penn. 25, 8 for Tai, who is off to a great start. 15 TOs, 39 RBs. 71-52 over #1 MD here. 31, 6, 4 for SG Briq Arn. 11 TOs, 39 RBs. We’re #10, RPI #12. On the road this week, first to #2 Marquette, 5-1, then to Asheville, N.C. to face 2-1 Wake Forest. 12/4/’30: 63-75 at #2 Marquette. We really did not play well. 23 TOs was the biggest issue. Allowing 15 threes was another. 12, 10, 2, 4 for Don. We escaped, 67-66, at Wake Forest. +8 RBs, 18 for Tai, 17 for Briq, 13 for Josh Calb, 14 RBs for Don, 8 assists for Mike Snow. No one ever led by more than 9. At the end Mike found Tai for an open 14 footer which went in with less than a second left. This week we host #17 Providence, 5-2, now located in Fort Wayne, IN. Then we travel to 3-3 Michigan ST. 12/11/’30: 74-62 over #17 Providence. 18, 3, 3, 1, 2 for Tai, 12, 13, 2, 2, 2 for Don, 15, 3, 4 for Mike. 9 TOs, 38 RBs. 84-73 at Mich. ST. 32 for Briq, 11, 10, 6 for Don. 38 RBs but 20 TOs. This week we host #3 UNLV, 8-1, then we travel to #10 New Mexico, 7-1. We are +10.7 PPG, +9.7 RBs, but only +0.8 TOs. 13.3 per game is too many. 12/18/’30: 74-77 to #3 UNLV here. 18, 9, 2, 3, 2 for Don, 24, 4, 2 for Briq. TOs are becoming a problem, 18 tonights. This was a rare game where we did not rebound well. At the end they hit a three with 3.1 to play, and we missed one but we didn’t get a good look on it. 84-68 at #10 New Mexico. 52 in the 1st half, and we never trailed. All 5 starters played very well. 13 TOs, 42 RBs. We’re 8-2, #9, RPI #1. We host #23 LSU, 7-2. They now play out of Birmingham, AL. 12/25/’30: 82-54 over #23 LSU. 5 in double figures. Dean Smid is making a strong case for starting over Rod Kent, and we’re going to make that change. 11 TOs, 45 RBs. We close out pre-conf. play at 9-2, ranked #9 RPI #1. This week we host 4-7 Oregon, now playing in Boise, ID. This was the best XMas in a long time. It was wonderful to have all of us together (in a chamber) for the holiday. Lots of laughter, cheer, hugs…

5/3/’30: Much heavier than usual spring rains in various parts of the country caused MANY emergency evacuations- NYC, almost the entire state of RI, all coast areas of FL and the rest of the cities along the East Coast, New Orleans and other areas of Louisiana, parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona. The Pacific Coast was not affected but evacuations of the entire West Coast and of parts of Alaska are expected soon. Relocation areas include major areas of the Midwest and the Rocky Mountain states. Some crops are greatly affected. Food and water are not yet critical problems in any inhabited (NOW inhabited parts of the U. S.) but planning and preparation are critical. President Murphy has declared a state of emergency and martial law throughout the U.S. He has established bipartisan planning committees at the state and national levels. He would not ordinarily have the authority for the former but the state of emergency and martial law give him that power. Most politicians are being uncharacteristically cooperative. 6/6/’30: No help in the transfer pool. Not ranked preseason? Can’t believe it but I’ll use it as a motivator, count on it! 6/17/’30: I can’t begin to express how wonderful it is to be back in contact with the transfers. On a personal level it’s beyond wonderful. Regarding all of the issues, especially climate change, space, and transfers, having Papa Joe back at the helm, Lili at his side, and his “people” working again is enormously helpful. There is no normal in this strange new world but this is all vital to our future, even to the question of whether we will have one. 6/26/’30: 4 scholarships. I want at least 3 bigs, maybe 4. Looking at 10 kids. 7/22/’30: It has been a very hot summer throughout the U.S. The hottest on record, and very dry. This helped with climate change in some areas, resulted in dangerous water shortages in others. Papa Joe, Lili, and their people are working very hard. Mai, Lou, and Ling not so hard but still working. I do get to spend time with all of them. 8/7/’30: C Don Renk, #32, and SG Briq Arn, #33, are on the Norton list. 8/18/’30: “Alvin, I am worried for you.” “Why, Papa Joe.” “You are staying in a dangerous place for too long. You should leave on the next launch.” “DO you really think three months will make that much difference?” “Actually, I would prefer that you transfer today, not launch in 8 months. The situation is deteriorating very quickly and our projections indicate that the pace will increase soon.” “Thanks for your concern, Papa Joe.” “But you will stay.” “I will stay.” … “Blade, you are being a fool!” “Mai, you have never spoken to me in this way.” “I know. I’m sorry… but you need to get out, now.” “I will consider it, Mai.” “But you will stay.” “For now at least, yes.” ... “Dad, don’t be an a$$h*le.” “Lili!” “Sorry… sorry. Dad, get out! Now!” “This is starting to feel like a conspiracy.” “Seriously! All hell is about to break loose, worse than what’s already going on.” “Thanks Lili. I love you.” “I love you too, dad. But you’re staying.” “I’m staying.” Why so stubborn? I want another title, and a shot at #10 the following year even though I will have transferred. If it becomes too dangerous I’ll bolt… maybe. 8/21/’30: We offer to a PG and three bigs. The PG and one of the bigs are long shots. The dry heat continues. Most of the world is sweltering and thirsty. 9/18/’30: Got 2 PFs and a C. No early season tourney. Playing all ranked teams except one in pre-conf. Only UCLA is ranked in conf., #3. The San Francisco Bay area is being evacuated, as is L. A., and coastal regions of Oregon and Washington. All ocean and Gulf Coast regions have been evacuated, and the people moved inland. Food, and especially fresh water, are becoming problems in many areas. 9/25/'30: Lost the PG. After another one. 10/2/’30: Got the PG. 1st day of practice. We have a really good starting 5 but depth is questionable. We’re picked to finish 2nd, behind UCLA, in conf. 10/18/’30: Things are getting serious. People with any money, position, and/or power need to stay out of sight or travel accompanied by guards. Travel is by private car, NOT a limo, but something discreet looking. Private jets are the only way to fly. 11/6/’30: We have a lineup. Juniors Mike Stow and Briq Arn will start at guard with frosh Josh Calb subbing. Senior Tai Tain is at SF. Senior Don Renk and soph Rod Kent are inside. The sub inside is frosh Dean Smid. #8 and #9 aren’t bad. We’re deeper than I thought we’d be. Water wars are breaking out in many countries. U. S. efforts to protect against terrorist acts have greatly increased. Many embassies have been closed. Bases on foreign soil in several parts of the world have also been closed and the troops returned home. “FeedtheHungry” is doing what it can but they are overwhelmed. Papa Joe informs me that the robots which will go up to join the “rock” have been designed and are being tested.

3/5/’30: No one is going pro. 3/10/’30: All the favorites won in the play in round so we play #8 seed Wash., 12-17, 6-10, in the round of eight. 74-52. Never a game. 20, 7, 2, 2 for Don Renk- we’re 19-1 since putting him into the lineup. 13, 10 for Shag Dann. 12 TOs, 35 RBs. All the favs won again so it’s #4 seed UCLA, 18-11, 10-6, in the round of 4. 3/11/’30: 71-60 over UCLA. We never trailed but it was close for a long time. 5 in double figures, 11, 14, 5, 2 for Joel, 11 RBs for Don. 13 TOs, 43 RBs. And #2 seed, #5 ranked Stanford, 24-7, 12-4 for the title. We beat them by 8 there, 10 at home. 3/12’/30: 59-55. We led by as many as 23 but they came roaring back. The game was never in jeopardy though. They hit back to bak threes at the end to make it seem closer than it was. Our worst game regarding TOs all year, 20. The most in any previous game was 15. +6 RBs. 5 guys had between 9 and 15 points. 12 RBs for Joel, 8 for Don with 4 steals. We’re #4, RPI #1, 21 game win streak. Will we be #1 overall? #1 Midwest, #2 overall. We’ll play 13-17 Northern Kentucky. 3/16/’30: 77-49 over No. KY. 28, 4, 3, 3 for Jud, 16, 6 for Shag. 10 TOs. Next is 20-12 UConn, the #8 seed. Tough 2nd round match up. 3/18/’30: 75-63 over UConn. +20 RBs. Don had 24, 19, 2, 2. It will be our old friends #16 Oregon, 23-10, 11-5, in the Sweet Sixteen. We beat them by 8, and then by 16. 3/23/’30: 84-65 over #16 Oregon. +17 RBs. 23, 8, 2, 3 for Clem, 16, 12 for Joel, 14, 7, 3 for Don. It’s #14 ranked, # 3 seed Kentucky, 23-9, 12-4 in the Elite Eight. They are very tough inside. 3/25/’30: 68-54 over #14 KY, and we’re in the final four for the 1st time since I came here. +14 on the boards. 12, 13 for Don. 16 for Clem, 14 for Jud. We play #1 in the country Alabama, 32-4. They have perhaps the best Center in the country. 4/1/’30: 79-60 and we’re in the title game! Great D won this one, we held them to 30.9%, 22.7% from long range. 20, 9, 3 for Joel15 for Tai who was great in relief. We held their C to 18 and 7, and fouled him out in 24 minutes. It’s #4 ranked Mississippi ST, 30-5, 11-5 for the title. They are very strong at PG and inside. 4/3/’30: 79-57! They jumped out to an early 16 point lead. We adjusted and it was down to 6 at the half. We adjusted further at halftime and won the 2nd half 47-19. We had 5 in double figures. Don Renk had 11 and 12, Joel Hand 12 and 9. We had an astonishing 54 RBs, +24, and that was the difference. Their PG had 30, 3, 6 but he had 6 TOs, and no one else had more than 9 for them. Title #8. I’ve won titles at UCLA, Temple, Oregon, North Carolina, and now Colorado. It feels really good! We’re losing 4 starters. 1 starter, Don Renk, and 4 guys with lots of potential coming back, and a very good looking recruiting class. After long discussions with Papa Joe, and with the environmental scientists, I decide to come back for my 39th, and undoubtedly final season. EXCEPT… Papa Joe says I could do a 40th season after I transfer, and all of the teams, coaches, and players would be exactly the same as if it were on Earth. Hm. Might be fun, and if I win again next year I’d be going for title #10. Hm again! The new timetable has the final three modules launching on 1/9/’31, 2/22/’31, and 4/16/’31. If that schedule holds I’ll get to finish a very weird season with lots of opponents in strange places. Mass evacuations are going on all over the country and the world. 4/4/’30: Awards: Don won the NCAA tourney MOP. I got national COY. In conf., Shag got Defensive POY. He, Joel and Don were 1st team, Clem was 2nd. I got COY. 4/9/’30: Lots of very good schools want me but I’m not going anywhere. 4/23: I ask for a facilities upgrade. We get it. Facilities go from B+ to A! Team Prestige is up to 63 . We went 33-3, 16-0, won our last 27, and 30 of 31 after Jr. Don Renk entered the starting lineup. I’m at 1054-281, .790. It will be an interesting year, to say the least! Reunited! Everything is fixed regarding the tick, and all of the transfers are up and running again. It was a laughter and tear filled reunion with the family. It is fantastic to know we will see each other every day again. Dr. Grande and her staff found a way to screen people before they transfer. “This problem is solved. There will no doubt be new ones.” Papa Joe says the team is changing one aspect of the final plan. “The ‘rock’ will be approximately two feet in diameter. Though not a perfect circle since there will be bumps, indentations and such, it will be roughly circular. There will be a team of three very small robots. These robots will be designed from the best two … repair technicians we have, as well as Dr. Grande. She herself will transfer and this will not be her, but she will be able to communicate with the robots, as will other scientists, engineers, and technicians.” “I don’t understand.” “If the last few transfers are somehow corrupted, or if a program degrades, we need someone who is outside of the microchip to fix the problem or problems. This will accomplish that.” Brilliant! The world is going to a hot, wet hell at very high speed.