DDS:CB3 Dynasty: Mack Jones- The Hard Way

[Wayne23 14]

#6 Indiana, 14-4 is here. Tough. We need ta contain a very good SG an’ be strong inside.

 

Jan. 14: 73-53. We really needed a win. Nice ta get one, esp. over such a good team. Shut down ev’rybody ‘cept for the PG. 20, 4, 4 for Call at SG, 18, 7 for Boll at PF. +2, +13. Great night!

 

At 12-5, 3-2 Illinois. Looks pretty even but again, the bench.

 

Jan. 18: 77-69. Pat Pike was ON, 20 points 2 TOs. Nice job inside. * TOs, 39 RBs.

 

At 8-9, 2-4 Wisconsin. We should own them inside but they are another team with a deep bench.

 

Jan. 21: 70-56. Have we turned a corner? 19, 4 for Lund, 14, 8 for Star, 15, 3 for Jopp, 9, 9 for Boll, an’ yeah, we owned the inside. +11 RB.

 

Back in the rankings at #25. We’ve been in and out.

 

Our 2 ½ year old, well, 2 years, 8 months, is reading. Scary, but no doubt of it. She asks for help with words sometimes but has learned to sound most of them out. When she asks, she remembers, never needs to hear the same word twice, even long ones. She tries to read the newspaper, as well as the library books we get her. Reads to little bro. He sits, smiles. Listens.

 

#18, 15-4, 4-3 West Lafayette is in. One of 5 teams tied for 3rd at 4-3. SWe’re another. This one looks real even on paper so it’s about execution, an’ we gotta do what we do best, own the inside.

 

Jan. 25: 52-60. Not tonight. Bench play- 19, 12, 9- 8, 4, 1. That was the diff. Our Achilles heel got us again. WE won the inside battle but their guards outplayed ours. Still, it was bench play.

13-8, 4-4. 3 way tie for 6th.

[Wayne23 14]

7-12, 1-7 Penn. ST, bottom of the standings. Beware. This is the kind fo game where you can’t fall asleep.

 

Jan. 28: 65-66. We didn’t rebound. We stood around on D, we stood around watching Pike dribble on O. Just real p*ssed about this one. I needed to walk out of the locker room without saying anything because I knew I would have regretted anything I did say in the heat of the moment. I will address it all at practice after I’ve calmed down.

 

Coaches and I didn’t even meet post game. They understood and shared my frustration. At the postgame press conference my answers were one or two words. “We didn’t play.” “We slept through it.” “When you play like we did you deserve to lose.” That was the longest.

 

Tied for 6th, 2 back of 5th place. Not used to this and I don’t like it.

 

Practices have been very … focused. I am not “workin’ their a$$e$ off.” I have never believed in that punishment mentality. I demand focus, attention ta detail. We work HARD but in short bursts, change things up frequently ta keep their focus an’ attention. Actually do “sit on the floor” or “sit on the bench” quizzes after workin’ on particular things. And I do know that there’s only so much ya can do. The talent level is decent but it ain’t spectacular, not what it will be next year when we’ll be a contender for the title if half the recruits pan out.

 

At #16, 15-5, 7-2, tied for 1st place Ohio State. This’ll be tough. They’re likely ta beat us which won’t help. Wish we had a soft game. I could use the psychological edge a sayin’, “See! We worked hard, an’ it paid off.” It may not pay off, which will discourage them. Still, I ain’t concedin’ nothin’. We’re playin’ ta upset these guys.

 

Feb. 1: 71-81. We played hard, stayed focused. That’s all I could ask at this point. They were real tough ta stop inside, an’ we didn’t really. We out rebounded ‘em (+4) but they scored on us. Still, after the game I tole the guys I was pleased with the effort, an’ I was. I told ‘em ta hang in, we’re still puttin’ all this tagether an’ we’ll get our share a wins along the way, which we will. I just don’t wanta lose any more that we should win- that’s the real goal. Our guards scored well but TOs were awful (20).

 

12-9, 4-6 Evanstown is here. This is one we should win, but they’re good at PG and C and they have a bench.

 

Feb. 4: 80-72. Took ‘til halfway through the 2nd half but we finally took charge. Big games for Star an’ Call. +12 TOs, -5 RBs, but we dominated inside scoring.

 

#18 Michigan, 15-8, 7-4, is in. 2 games up on us. They are a good team with a deep bench. We will need to be very focused an’ on top of our game.

 

Feb. 8: 61-57. Love it! 12 lead changes, 6 ties, close all the way. They won the numbers game, -3 TOs, -1 RB, we committed 2 more fouls, but the numbers were real close. We shot just a touch better, an’ Pat Pike hit 2 threes late an’ had 2 dishes on top of that. The ups an’ downs will prob’ly continue all the way, but right now we’re up an’ it feels good.

 

Feb. 10: “I just can’t understand it.”

 

“I know…”

 

“Why?”

 

“Makes no sense, Lucy, it just doesn’t.”

 

Last night someone- clearly a group of someones, did some fairly extensive damage to Lucy’s building. Nothing that can’t be fixed but some of it will involve time and money. Broke about every window in the place and even did some damage to window frames in a case or two. Pulled doors from hinges. Spray painted both exterior and interior walls. Other such stuff. Fortunately no fire damage although it looks like they tried. It seems like something forced them to make a quick exit.

 

Insurance will cover most of it but there is still the time and trouble.

 

Campus and state police were there all day trying to get evidence, hoping to get prints, whatever else they could. It’s in a fairly secluded area, no residences nearby. That makes it difficult. Normally they would knock on doors to see if anyone saw or heard anything. They do feel they got one or two little things that may lead somewhere. A physics professor working very late in a lab heard some things at about 1:45 a.m. Went outside to investigate the noise and heard voices, what sounded like people running off.

 

Three separate sets of footprints at the scene (it has been damp lately, snow melt). Probably not identifiable but three different styles or sizes of shoes, in any case, looking fresh so prob’ly the perps. One cigarette butt, a couple of other things, some they aren’t telling us about.

 

They say to give them some time. Patrols in the area will be regular and frequent after dark. And they say they have campus “sources” that listen to conversations in lots of places around campus. This leads to things they can follow up on often, they say, and all ears will be on duty on this one. Mixed feelings about that but…

 

“So, what does this do to your schedule?”

 

“We’ll open Labor Day weekend. This will make it a little more difficult but we’ll manage.”

 

That’s my wife!

[Wayne23 14]

At 15-9, 6-6 Minnesota. They’re tied with us for 6th place. We should have the inside but again, they have a bench. They are also good at PG an’ SF.

Could be a tough one. Beat ‘em by 15 at the Shootout an’ 7 at our place but this one?

 

Feb. 11: 75-65. 19, 10 for Star, 17 for Call. 12 TOs, 34 RBs.

 

But a big price. Starting PF Moe Boll, out 2- 2 ½ weeks with a groin pull. No bench at all now. He’ll miss at least 2 maybe 3 games.

 

17-7, 11-2, first place Iowa is here. Lost by on’y three there. The biggest worry is we’re essentially playing 5 guys.

 

Feb. 15: 76-61. YES!!! 19, 2, 5 for Lund. Jopp did a great job startin’ for Boll. We won this one inside, but on’y 10 TOs was big.

 

5 days, no news from the police.

 

“We’re working on it, following a couple of good leads. Nothing to tell you yet.”

 

Lucy has people in fixing thing up. Work on the general project is ongoing in some areas but in others it will need to wait for the repairs. Still, she says no major setbacks, time wise.

 

10-15, 4-10 Nebraska is here. Lost by 7 there. Shouldn’t have. We’re better but still mighty thin.

 

Feb. 18: 67-34. 16 each for Lund an’ Jopp, 14 for Star. 15, 32.

 

Still fifth place.

 

Back in the rankings, #24, RPI #15.

 

At #13, 19-10, Indiana. Winner finishes 5th loser 6th so a big game. Beat ‘em by 20 at our place.

 

Feb. 20: “We have three suspects under arrest.”

 

The police told us they had arrested three East Lansing High School students, one 18, the other two 17. They couldn’t tell us anything about the juveniles but the 18 year old had a record, four arrests, all for this type of thing, more or less.

 

They had overheard some things at a local arcade, followed up, gotten more evidence, more leads, and eventually had enough to make the arrests. One of the 17 year olds cracked under supervised questioning and that was that.

 

It doesn’t do anything to speed up the repairs and such but it sends a message.

 

Feb. 22: 64-74. 20 TOs didn’t help. According to the standings we’re 5th, their 6th with identical records in conf. play. 21, 14 for Jopp, 12 each for Lund and Call. Boll will be back for the conf. tourney.

 

We go into the tournament unranked but RPI #16. 18-11, 9-7.

[Wayne23 14]

We play Penn. St, 9-18, 3-13, last in conf., in the first round. Lost by one at our place an’ I been remindin’ the guys a that about ev’ry three min. in practice.

 

March 9: 74-59. 9 TOs, 34 RB, easy win.

 

But Lin Star has a severe bruised thigh. Out at least 2 weeks, maybe more. He’s prob’ly our best player.

 

19-9, 11-5, #19 Michigan in the quarter finals. Beat ‘em by 4 at our place but we were at full strength.

 

March 10: 74-60. Almost can’t believe it! All 5 starters in double figures. Boll, playing out of position at C had 15 an’ 12, but all 5 were terrific. -5 TOs, +11 RB. Held them to 33.9% shooting, committed 7 less fouls. A great win!

 

First place, #10, 25-4, 13-3 West Lafayette in the semis. Lost by 8 ta them at home. Jus’ keep playin’ hard.

 

March 11: 71-80. Bench. 25, 11, 4 for them, 5, 4, 2 for us. Our starters beat their starters. Stats were very even. We did what we could. Wish we had Lund for the first round NCAA game but we would need to go into the second weekend and even then he might not be ready. We’ll see.

 

March 12: Do we dare hope for a 4 seed? A 5?

 

#5 East. We play #12 La. Tech, 19-13.

[Wayne23 14]

Lin Star is nowhere near ready for even limited minutes. He won’t play unless we reach the Final Four. Without him? No way. With him? Probably would have been no way. Let’s play, see how far we can go.

 

La. Tech. is a decent team, good outside, long bench.

 

March 16: 84-56. All 5 in double figures. 11 TOs, 35 RBs. Dan Doe, who plays very little, had 6 an’ 7 at PF an’ C.

 

We’re 21-12 at this point.

 

#4 seed, #21 ranked Winston-Salem, 21-11, 12-6. They are solid inside so it’s strength vs. strength but again, they’re deep we’re not.

 

March 18: 79-70 in OT, an’ the Sweet Sixteen! Back an’ forth all the way. Bool was huge with 20, 10, all 5 in doubles again. -6 TO, +17 RB an’ that was the difference along with fouls, 16 called on us, 25 on them. By 1 min. inta OT both Centers were fouled out. Dan Doe stepped up for us getting 5 an’ 2 in the OT.

 

We may have Star for limited PT in the round of 16. We’ll need him!

 

#2 ranked, #3 RPI, #1 seed, 30-5 Duke. Best team we’ve seen all year.

 

March 23: 55-71. We fought hard, did our best, but that’s a heck of a team.

 

We finish 22-13. I’ll take it!

[Wayne23 14]

Final Four: #1 UConn vs. #6 Auburn. Glad my guys made it. Can they fourpeat? #7 Stanford vs. #5 Oklahoma State. I’ll be there.

 

Peoria won the NIT so my former teams are doin’ jus’ fine!

 

April 1: No dog in the fight for the first time in four years. Feels funny. Hey, I’ll be back!

 

#5 Ok. ST by 11. Auburn CRUSHED #1 UConn, 71-49. Fourpeat could definitely happen. They’ll be the favorite.

 

April 3: 75-60- fourpeat!

 

April 4: Awards: Ben Call, Clint Lund, Lin Star all mad second team in conf.

April 9: Team Prestige up to 88.

 

Job offers but we’re going nowhere.

 

April 16: Staff is all set.

 

April 23: Ask for a facilities upgrade. Long shot.

 

Nope but we’re A- so not a big deal.

 

My numbers after 7 seasons: 204-48, .810. Off.- 49, Def.- 68, Recruit- 95, Scout- 95, Player Dev.- 61. Reputation- 91.

 

Look out world, here we come in the 81-82 season!

 

And we really feel at home here in East Lansing. Very happy with our homew, Lucy and I both happy and excited with our work. Lovin’ the families and friends we and the kids are meeting with and socializing with. I think we’ve found a home!

[Wayne23 14]

May 1: #4 preseason.

 

Buying National Gold, International Basic again.

 

June 5: We can go after one transfer.

 

Nobody.

 

June 25: Going to all the camps. We’ve got the $.

 

June 26: 4 scholarships to give. We need guards more than bigs.

 

Looking at on’y 10. All very top shelf. 4 PG, 1 SG, 2 PF, 3 C.

 

July 4: Down ta 6 but all of ‘em are very interested. 3 PG, 1 PF, 2 C. We can expand if we need ta.

 

July 9: “Well, we can’t really miss from here.”

 

“You’ll open on time?”

 

“We will! I could open next week if I’d hired.”

 

“Great. When do I get the tour?”

 

I got it. Breakfast 6:00-5:00. Lunch 11:30-5:00. Drinks only 5:00-6:00.

 

Two stories. Upstairs, two large rooms. Waitstaff from 7:00-3:00. Fetch and carry from downstairs 6:00-7:00, 3:00-6:00. Rooms designed for business meetings, other functions, but open to general public otherwise. But banquet style table and chair seating only.

 

Downstairs, coffee bars, kitchens left and right sides. All relatively small rooms in between- 8 of them. Some small tables and chairs, sofas, easy chairs, a few long tables. Built for comfort, relaxation, an unhurried feel. She WANTS people to linger. Bookcases along all walls with used books, hard and soft cover for browsing, reading, purchase. Foods and drink as described in earlier posts.

 

Lucy will begin hiring on Aug. 1, training on Aug. 15, and will be open the Friday of Labor Day weekend. She wants returning Mich. ST students, faculty, staff to discover her right away. Big signs up, advertising in all the right places.

 

Enough staff so people won’t need to wait forever and a self-service area for coffee and pastries designed for quick grab, pay and go for just the light stuff. New idea but it sure looks like it will work. She’s tried to think of everything, which means of course that she hasn’t, but there won’t be many surprises she doesn’t want.

[Wayne23 14]

Aug. 7: Still lookin’ at 6 recruits.

 

Tad Reed, PF, is #4 on the Norton List, Rick Hart, PF, #8, Cam Flyn, SF, #10, Duke Kann, SG, #16.

 

Aug. 21: We offer ta 2 Cs, an’ 2 PGs.

 

Sept. 2: Opening day for Someplace Special. People just coming in and many won’t arrive on campus until tomorrow or Sunday, even Monday, but decent traffic and people really seemed to like the place. Good traffic flow but with crowd size that was easy.

 

Sept. 5: Midnight is five minutes away. Great opening weekend for Lucy. I was in and out 100 times or more this weekend. The traffic built slowly but by Monday it became obvious that this place is a HUGE hit! People really seem to love it here. Lucy is sound asleep at my side and I swear she’s smiling as she sleeps.

 

Sept. 11: We’ll visit all 4 we offered to.

 

Sept. 18: Got 2, lost one. #1, PG Dave Ned, an’ #11 C Brad Fix. We gotta go look at some more recruits though. Found a few we like, one we offer ta.

 

In the preseason NIT. Every game in the pre-conf. schedule is against a ranked team.

 

Sept. 25: Got the other two: #3 C, Eddy Root, #22 PG Ben Bibb.

 

Oct. 2: First day a practice. Oh yeah, we got SOME talent!!! We’ll go at least eight deep, too, maybe deeper.

 

And the usual error message when I try to open Conference preview.

Happens 1 out of 3 years, like clockwork.

 

Nov. 6: Ready for exhibitions.

 

We are LOADED. I feel like we’ll contend for the national title.

 

Someplace Special is THE spot on campus. It is always packed. Capacity is about 600 customers. On a campus this large that’s not as big as it sounds. I’m guessing there are probably 400-500 people or more in the place from opening to closing, and it is often right at capacity. Lots of “to go” business as well. Lucy has maximum numbers of staff on duty at all times. That and the self-service thing really do mean people are not stuck in lines forever, but when there are lines people wait. That’s yet another compliment.

 

She has the best possible baked goods, totally fresh fruits and veggies, the best of everything. I think her prices are a little high, and they need to be, given the quality of the goods, but people pay without blinking an eye. Her mark up is fair, not excessive, but with the volume she is shaking her head at how well she is doing financially. It’s about the challenge and the joy of doing what she loves more than the money though, but Lucy does NOT hate money!

 

Off we go to Madison Square Garden for the preseason NIT.

[Wayne23 14]

First up is UNLV. We’re the #4 seed in this tourney, they’re #13.

 

Nov. 14: 60-37. Stifling D. +8, +13. Held them to 26.8% shooting. 19, 8 for C Tad Reed, 16, 4 for SG Duke Kann. 11, 8, 8 for our bench which I love! We could have executed better on O.

 

#5 seed, #9 ranked Oklahoma in the round of 8. We need to exploit our edge inside.

 

Nov. 16: 78-55. And DID we exploit that inside edge! 24, 11 for Rick Hart at PF, 19, 7 for Tad Reed at C. 10, 5 for J.D. Ward, first big off the bench. Oh, 8,9, 7 for L.B. Witt at PG. Now we did this to #9 in the country! +15 RB, 11 TOs.

 

#9 seed, #18 ranked Syracuse upset #1 seed North Carolina so we play them in the semis. They have a very good PG. We can’t let him run the O the way he wants to.

 

Nov. 18: 58-55. Challenged. Down as many as 14 in the first. They were red hot from outside. We tightened the D, then at halftime we made some adjustments. We owned the 2nd half, 27-15- great D simply stopped them in the 2nd. Our biggest issue was that our PG, L. B. Witt, was in foul trouble all night, played only 20 before fouling out. Last year’s starter, Pat Pike, came in and got it done. 19, 6 for Reed, 13, 8, 2 for Kann, 14 for Ward from the bench. +8 TOs, but -6 RBs. We’ll take the win!

 

Nov. 20: Ranked #2. All 4 recruits sign.

 

#4 seed Indiana for the title. Good outside shooters.

 

Nov. 20: 71-63. 22, 15, 2 for Reed, 17, 13 for Hart, 15, 6 for Kann, 10, 4, 5 for Witt. 10 TOs, 45 RBs.

 

Mandy started at Montessori in September. She loves it. They let her read, help her to discover the beauty in the world, in all of its many aspects. She is getting interested in numbers and how they work. That’s a new interest.

 

Ray looks for her while she’s at school but he’s a real “entertain myself” kind of kid. Likes to play on the floor with things that have lots of pieces. He stacks, unstacks, seems to build. Can stay at it for long stretches until he realizes he’s hungry or thirsty or just needs to move around. Future engineer, architect, designer? It’s good not ta read too much in though.

 

Someplace Special was reviewed by the student newspaper. Got perfect marks an’ they really sang its praises. Called it the best thing to happen at Mich. ST in decades.

[Wayne23 14]

UCLA, 1-1, is in. They have some good outside shooters.

 

Nov. 21: 73-76. Never more than a 5 point lead by either team, 28 lead changes, 11 ties. They beat us outside. We simply didn’t get out there.

 

15-32 on threes which is unacceptable. -1 TO, +6 RB. We were awful from the line, 17-26, awful on threes, 4-18, and awful on D. Hart had 22, 7, Ward, 12, 5. Not a good night, esp. at home.

 

Utah, 1-1, is here. They have a very good PG. We feel we’re stronger at ev’ry other position.

 

Nov. 24: 80-54. Their PG was really good. L.B. Witt held his own against him. As I thought we were better ev’rywhere else. 6 TOs, 45 RBs. 16, 11 for Reed, 14, 10 for Hart, 14, 7 for Ward and I need to get him more minutes somehow.

 

Ward will start at SF.

 

#4, 4-0 Duke is in. Great SF, good SG an’ PG. We need ta control the inside an’ we should. But it’s Duke, never easy.

 

Nov. 28: 71-53. Big win! 22 for Kann who fouled out in 28 min. Witt played on’y 17. But the Three Blind Mice were worse ta Duke. Really lousy job by the zebras. 29, 23 ta 28, 22 inside so we didn’t win it there, where I thought we hadta win it. Our guards an’ our bench did it, plus the refs sendin’ us ta the line 44 times an’ them 20.

 

#16 UConn, 3-4. Off ta a rough start but they have played one tough sched.! I think they have good guys at all 5 spots an’ I keep warnin’ my guys ta beware.

 

Dec. 1: 69-53. 21, 7 for Reed, 16, 4 for Kann, 11, 6 for Ward who has had 2 good games since being a starter.

 

We’re averaging 10.1 TOs per game. Fantastic!

 

#1 in the rankings, RPI #3. The town an’ much a the state is goin’ a little crazy.

 

I’m tryin’ ta keep the guys calm. #1 jus’ means one huge target on your back.

 

My 3 1/2 year old is teaching me geometry. Kinda scary, really. Relax, it ain’t real deep but her teachers thought she’d like to play with basic ideas in geometry, an’ oh yeah, she does. At 2 ½ Ray can talk, an’ does when he needs ta, but he’d rather point, let us figure out what he wants. So Lucy an’ me make him talk more than he wants ta so he can develop language skills. He’s onta us an’ battles develop. He mostly likes ta be on the floor still, playin’ with things that have lots a pieces ta move aroun’. I think I see patterns in the movement. Lucy tells me I’m nuts. Well, it’s a good theory. I might be.

[Wayne23 14]

#19, 4-2 North Carolina. Good outside, good at C.

 

Dec. 5: 74-52. 18, 10 for Reed, 15, 8 for Hart, 12, 8 for Ward, guards were great, Flyn had 6,5 from the bench. 9 TOs, 42 RBs.

 

At #21 Georgia Tech, 5-2. Very good C. Road game, good team.

 

Dec. 8: 68-79. Ya gotta play D. In the 1st half we didn’t an’ the hole we dug ourselves was too deep. They did what nobody does, beat us inside.

 

On’y Reed did anything inside. Witt had 28, 6, 3 but 6 TOs, we had 18. -4 RB. Bench was 29, 17, 7 for them ta 13, 8, 4 for us. Not a good night.

 

So much for #1. Now we’re #3, RPI #2.

 

#12 Maryland, 6-2 is in. We need ta come back right now!

 

Dec. 12: 82-67. 24, 4 for Reed, 12, 15 for Hart. 12 TOs, 38 RBs.

 

At 5-1 Spokane. 2-1 vs. ranked teams. If we can control the inside we’ll be okay.

 

Dec. 15: 68-67 OT. We didn’t play very well. 20, 8 for Ward, 13, 14 for Reed, 6, 10 for Hart. -2 TO, +7 RB. In the final analysis we were lucky- twice.

 

At the end of regulation Witt hit a three from 40 feet or so. At the end of OT Ward hit one from about the same distance so yeah, lucky… twice. I’ll take the win though.

 

“I want to do something for my managers and employees.”

 

“Okay, because…”

 

“Because they all do a fantastic job. I’m making a huge amount of money. We don’t need to keep all of it, Mack. You and I are doing ridiculously well financially.”

 

“Yep, we are.”

 

“I can afford bonuses or profit sharing or something. I’m not quite sure what I want to do yet but something along those lines.”

 

“I have no problem with any of that, not that I think I get a vote.”

 

“Well, maybe you don’t but I want your advice, your thoughts. It’s always helpful to me to run things by you.”

 

“Okay. I see what a great job your people do every time I go in which is every day I'm not traveling. They’re amazing with people, especially people who need a little extra.”

 

“That was part of the training, and we watch to be sure it happens, and we reinforce it with our staff development stuff.”

 

“Oh, it happens. I was about four people behind someone who got to the counter and just seemed to freeze. The kid on duty, couldn’t have been more than 16, 17, just handled it! She asked the customer to step to one side. Took a moment. Gave him a little mini-menu. Told him to take all the time he needed, that the kid would come to him after every customer, and when he was ready, his order would be taken. All with a smile, unhurried, welcoming, friendly, but somehow efficient, not making people in line wait forever.

 

"And the kid did it! Waited on the next person, then went to the man, who wasn’t ready. Waited on another customer, same story, still not ready. Waited on me, went again, still not ready. I stuck around to watch, out of the way but able to see. I only got coffee so I sipped it while I watched. It took a good fifteen minutes but eventually the guy was ready, ordered, was treated just like anyone else.

 

"Turned out he was recovering from a head injury. The docs thought he was ready to try this kind of thing, had heard that ‘Someplace Special’ was the place that would be the safest place to try. The man was ordering for three. He was able to get through it but he needed lots of time. When he got his order and brought it to his table I went to the table too, introduced myself to him and his sister and her husband, got the whole story. Very cool!”

 

“That’s exactly how we train our people to take care of that sort of thing. I’m pleased to hear that we’re doing it the way we’re supposed to. I check counters and watch transactions as often as I can, and my managers do the same. We’ve had to fire a couple of people who just couldn’t seem to do this, but only a couple. For the most part we see just what we want to see. And I want to reward that.

 

"I’m talking to my accountants who are, of course, appalled to think that I might actually not keep every cent of profit. Time to look for different accountants I guess but I don’t know if the kind I want exist. Whether they do or not someone will need to give me advice as to how to handle bonuses or profit sharing.

 

"I’ve been thinking out loud as we speak and I think profit sharing. That seems to me to be the best. The more money we make the more money the employees make. I would want to tie it to hours worked, maybe to salary, maybe not. In some ways I want the people at the first step, lowest income, to make more from this than people making more money already, but I need to reward managers, lead staff, experienced staff, all of them. Rewarding full timers is really important. Most of our employees are part time, high school and Mich. ST students, but I want them to be rewarded, too. Hm. I think I’d like to go with one time, small holiday bonuses and reveal that a profit sharing plan will begin on January 1, 1982. I guess I’d better figure it out fast if I go with that plan!”

 

And she will. And she’ll find those accountants to help her, too, or figure it out without them. And yeah, we could easily live on my salary, save tons on it alone, be ready to pay college expenses when the time comes, have a great retirement financially when that time comes. They pay me a lot of money. So if she wants to do what she wants to do with the profits from her business. I am more than fine with it. More to come on all of that I’m sure.

[Wayne23 14]

At #17 Syracuse, 6-3. Could be a challenge, they’re good, esp. at PG, PF, C, and that 2-3 isn’t something we play against all that often.

 

Dec. 19: 67-61. A battle! 26, 8 for Ward who has really responded to being given the starter’s job. We need to get more from our bench. That’s been a bit of a disappointment.

 

#9 Arizona, 8-2. They’re here to close out the pre-conf. season. Fantastic SG, #1 scorer in the country. We may let him do his thing and try to stop ev’rybody else.

 

Dec. 22: 79-66. 33, 7 for Reed, which matched the 30, 10 by the Arizona SG. Great bench work tonight. We worked on it in practices. +5 TO, +6 RB.

12-2 for the pre-conf. season. I’ll take it. #2, RPI #1.

 

Dec. 24: “Bonuses. Not big, but not tiny. Everyone gets one. And we came up with the profit sharing plan that will start on January 1. Details in a letter we’re giving to everyone. I think they’ll really like the idea. If we keep doing the kind of business we’re doing our employees should be very happy. The projections show that they’ll do very well. I’m so pleased I’m able to do this.”

 

“I think it’s great, Lucy!”

 

Dec. 25: Our usual quiet, nice holiday, not overdone, not over the top, just simple and nice.

[Wayne23 14]

Gotta start by saying I'm about one cosmetic redo from out of here. Change for the sake of change sucks and I'm sick of spending time trying to find my dynasty so I can post. Anyway:

 

6-5 Michigan is in to start conf. play.

Dec. 29: 86-64. A huge 37, 12 for Reed. 18 for Ward, 9, 4, 2 for Flyn. 4 TOs- for the team- for the game!

Jan. 1: Happy 1982.

At 8-4, 0-1 Minnesota. Beware the road but we look like the better team.

Jan. 2: 75-57. 29, 5 for Reed who continues to really dominate inside. This guy is the real deal! 13, 8, 3 for Ward, 5, 12 for Hart, 16, 2, 5 for Witt at PG. 11 and 39.

9-4, 2-0 Iowa, the only other unbeaten team in conf., amazingly enough, is in.

Jan. 5: 88-72. Big games for all 5 starters. They couldn’t stop our scoring in a game that was mostly offense.

Alone in first after only three games.

And we’re back to #1, RPI #1.

4-10, 0-3 Nebraska is here.

Jan. 9: 61-35. And again just very solid all around, all 5 starters, and good bench minutes.

January is no picnic in East Lansing, icy cold, snowy, bitter. Someplace Special is at capacity practically every minute. People want the warm, cozy atmosphere and the hot drinks! Lucy is considering expanding hours of operation. People are begging her to stay open until at least 10:00.

“The only problem is if I do that they’ll ask for midnight, and then all night. We’ll make money, even serving only coffee, hot chocolate, juices and desserts, but it will mean a lot of extra work.”

“Lucy, you really can’t put in any more hours.”

“I know, but Jan Lucas and Rhonda Crow could be junior partners. They’re fantastically competent and completely honest. I could make them junior partners, give them a big pay bump, have them in charge of lots of things including both extra hours and some things I do now. I need to think all of this through.”

She will, and she’ll come up with the right answers too. My wife absolutely amazes me most of the time.

[Wayne23 14]

At #2 in the country, 15-3, 2-2 Indiana. They’re very good at 2 and 3 and not bad at 5. At their place they’ll be tough.

Jan. 12: 66-70. We let them get WAY up on us early and spent the rest of the game trying unsuccessfully to catch up. To be honest we won the last 35 minutes, but that isn’t worth much. 21, 12 for Reed, but 21 TOs, worst game of the season by far in that category. We’ll get ‘em at our place in the last regular season game.

Oh, we’re still alone in first place!

10-6, 2-3 Illinois is here. We feel like we’re better.

Jan. 16: 78-53. Again, a real team effort with solid play from 8 guys. 42 RBs and total domination inside.

11-8, 4-2 Wisconsin is here.

Jan. 19: 75-44. 23, 10 for Reed, 17, 12 for Hart. 11 TOs, 40 RBs.
At 5-13, 2-5 West Lafayette. Down year for them so far. 2 and 3 can score.

Jan. 23: 66-60. Never in danger but not one of our better performances. They doubled Reed. We adjusted and Ward had 17, 4, Witt 15, 4, 8. Again, 4 TOs for the whole game, but -1 RB, and we shot poorly. I’ll take the win!

2 up on all but Indiana who is one back.

Jan. 27: “Well, starting today we’re now open from 6:00 a.m. until midnight. Jan and Rhonda will be my night managers, Susie Lee and Jeff Ring my new daytime assistants. I hope to work a little less. These people can do the job. I’m paying them well and giving them the responsibility. I decided no way I’ll go 24/7, this is as open as we’ll ever get. Still only drinks and desserts after 2:00 p. m., drinks only after 11:00 p.m. I think we’ll continue to pack the place, probably right up until closing. We’ll try to start to shoo people out at 11:45.”

“Um… I predict you’ll be spending more than a little time at the place in the evening, especially after the kids are in bed.”

“Well, that’s why we have the live in help with the kids. My hope is that I’ll only be doing that at first. Once things settle in only the rare walk in to check things and I do mean rare.”

“We’ll see. I’m good with this though. I agree that the place will probably be hopping. Will you cut back hours when school is not in session?”

“We’re discussing that. We’ll have fewer staff for sure, but at least at first we’ll stay open to see what kind of traffic we get.”

“Good plan.”

[Wayne23 14]

At 6-14, 2-6 Penn. ST. Some talent outside.

Jan. 26: 75-62. 25, 11 for Reed. All 5 plus Pike did the job. +10, +7.

Jan. 29: Tad Reed, #3 on the Norton List, Rick Hart #20, Duke Kann #22.

Everyone hit the SAT score!

15-7, 5-4, #13 ranked Ohio State is in. Good ball movement and a great C. We need to play well.

Jan. 30: 70-60. Close for about 35-36 minutes then we went on a run. They have a really good C, 20, 14. Tad held to 10, 7, but hung in. 15, 7 for Hart, 17, 8 for Kann which was big. +4 TO, -1 RB, Good bench play helped us a lot. Witt fouled out but Pat Pike stepped in and did a great job, as did Flyn and Joe Jopp inside.

2 game lead.

At 17-5, 6-4, #22 Evanstown. 5 good starters, not much bench. Better outside than in.

Feb. 2: 69-83. Been a long time since we looked this bad. Reed had 28 and 16 and ev’rybody else kind of stood around and watched. -8, +10.

Maybe the best thing we can do is turn the page. Still a 1 game lead, 5 ta play.

Down ta #2, RPI still #1.

At 11-11, 5-6 Michigan. Lots of balance, no go to guy. Beat ‘em by 22 at our place.

Feb. 6: 75-51. I thought this was a really important game for us. If we’d a lost 2 in a row it could have meant a lot a trouble. 21, 5, 4 for Kann, 10, 15 for Reed. Good play all around. 13 and 42.

The open ‘til midnight thing has been a HUGE hit in the first ten days.

“I can’t believe how much pastry people are willing to eat at all hours of the night! And we decided to have salads and some other things. We make it clear it’s all made the same day but earlier in the day. We won’t make anything to order after 2:00 p.m. Doesn’t matter. We quickly found out that we need to staff right to the max. Jan and Rhonda have had to hire bunches of people and train them quickly. BUT… we take training seriously. No shortcuts there.”

“Lucy, you DO seem to have the Midas touch!”

“That’s the best part. Profit sharing is going to get my people some beautiful extra money. That makes me really happy. I want to translate that into health benefits somehow. We’re rethinking, maybe offer health bennies, and rework the profit sharing. I want to see what people want and what will work out best for the people working for us. See if we can offer the option. Some won’t need health benefits. For others it could be a huge advantage. Anyway, it’s in the research stage right now.”

“I love that you’re doing all this for the people who work for you.”

“We don’t need the money, Mack, you and I are doing fine, but we’re still making LOTS from this place. Why not do this? I want good people, and I want to keep them. Why shouldn’t I reward them?”

Love that woman!

[Wayne23 14]

15-8, 7-5 Minnesota is here. We won by 18 there. We sit 16,280 at the Coliseum. We have sold ev’ry ticket this year an’ they’re all sold the rest a the way.

Feb. 9: 63-50. Good D won this one.

Joe Jopp strained a calf muscle. About a week.

Tad Reed #4 on the Norton List, Duke Kann #19.

At 14-10, 7-6 Iowa. We won by 16 at home.

Feb. 13: 66-47. Again, D won this for us. +11 RB.

Indiana lost so 2 up with 2 to play.

At 7-18, 3-11 Nebraska.

Feb. 16: 70-49. Yet another great game for the D. All 5 starters had good games on O. +6, +18.

We clinched 1st place.

#4 Indiana, 24-5, 11-4 is here to end the regular season. They beat us by 4 there. Should be a battle.

Feb. 20: 82-68. 29, 10 for Reed, 22, 4 for Ward, 10, 8, 3 for Hart.

At the end of the regular season, 26-4, 14-2. #2, RPI #1.

Not a big surprise but sadly, Tad Reed and Rick Hart are leaving for the draft.

[Wayne23 14]

Michigan in the round of 8. Beat ‘em by 22 and 24.

March 10: 86-47. +21 RB. Great games all around.

Evanstown in the semis. They beat us by 14 at their place. Good outside game.

March 11: 86-65. Monster game for Reed, 36, 16, 3, 5 blocks. Ev’rybody played well.

#4 Indiana for the title.

March 12: 71-67. All 5 starters plus Flyn played well.

#1 OK ST lost so we should be #1 overall.

Selection time: Yep. #1 East.

We start with 13-18 Cal-SLO.

March 16: 65-34. 8 TOs, 46 RBs.

25-7, 13-3 Western KY. Decent outside game.

March 18: 68-40. Starting 5 were all dominating. 10 TOs, 48 RBs.
Sweet Sixteen.

Sub Clint Lund stretched a hamstring. About two weeks.

“We managed it.”

“Hm?”

“Employees now get a choice. If they want us to provide health insurance we will do that, and it takes priority over profit sharing. They still get profit sharing but only after the health insurance is paid for. Employees who don’t need health insurance get the full profit sharing. I wasn’t sure we’d find a way to allow for the choice but we did.”

“Great! What a great employer you are!”

“I want to do right by my employees.”

“You certainly do.”

25-9, 12-6, #4 seed, #14 ranked Kansas is next. This is a good team. All the bad teams went home at this point.

March 23: 79-67. Front court was overwhelming, including Flyn from the bench.

#2 seed, #5 ranked Duke, 28-6, 14-4. VERY good outside.

March 25: 65-57. Front line won it, 45 and 32 including Flyn, but backcourt did their job too, +9 TOs.

Final Four!

[Chris 271]

Hey Wayne, welcome back. I'm happy you found your way back to your threads without my follow-up e-mail. Welcome back and looking forward to the continued stories!

[Wayne23 14]

Yep, found it!

[Wayne23 14]

We get to play my old team, four time defending champion Auburn, #3 ranked. On the other side it’s #2 ranked Oklahoma State vs. #13 Maryland.

Auburn is 32-2, 15-1. Solid at 1, 2, 3, 4, but we feel we’re better at C and on the bench. If we play our game we can beat them. But we need to play well.

April 1: 77-67. Our bench won it, 24, 8, 6 vs. 4, 11, 3. -4 TOs, +5 RBs, an’ we were called for 14 more fouls, including a T on me. The officials were worse than awful.

#2 ranked OK ST, 35-3, for the title. Their SG, second leading scorer, is out with a broken ankle, but that hasn’t slowed them much. We feel like we’re the better team, esp. inside.

April 3: 75-59 and the title! We ran away and hid in the 2nd half, leading by as many as 26. I played ev’ry body. Reed an’ Hart went out with great games. We’ll miss both of ‘em.

April 4: Awards: Tad Reed was Final Four MOP an’ 1st team All American. I got the national coach award. In Conf. Tad was freshman OY an’ first team, with Duke Kann. Rick Hart, J. D. Ward made 2nd team. I got that coach award, too!

April 9: Dream job? UConn. Who called ta offer me a job? UConn.

“Mack, it’s your dream, always has been.”

“Yeah, but we’re stayin’.”

“It’s because of me, and the business.”

“Partly, sure. It’s also because Mandy loves her school, Ray will loved it too, we love being here and love the people we’ve become friendly with. I’ve got an incredibly good coaching situation- A.D., assistants, facilities, salary, budget, ability to recruit, freedom ta do my job the way I want ta do it- none of it could possibly be better. No, we stay here, probably for the rest of our lives. Assuming you feel the same.”

“Oh definitely, but I don’t want to keep you from something that you’ll be thinking about and regretting later.”

“Not an issue. I want to win national titles. I think we can win LOTS of them here.”

“And who knows, if the chance comes again somewhere down the line we might like the idea of a change.”

“Never know, that’s true, but not now.”

April 23: I get a raise, to $1,245,000. Lookin’ fer a facilities upgrade. Got it! Now at A level in facilities.

Another season ends. My numbers: Well Team Prestige is at 97. My record is 239-52, .821. Off.- 54, Def.- 75, Recruit- 95, Scout- 90, Player Dev. 67, Reputation- 95. 4 National titles in 8 years of coaching. And no one wanted to give me a job for so long!

[Wayne23 14]

May 1: Preseason #1, as we should be. We’re loaded. We buy the national Gold, International Basic.

June 5: We can go after 2 transfers. Very shallow pool. Lookin’ at one guy.

June 9: Not interested in him either.

June 25: Going ta all the summer camps. We got the $ so why not?

June 26: 5 ta fill. Need bigs more’n guards.

Looking at 10, 1 PG, 1 SG, 2 SF, 5 PF, 1 C.

“Someplace Special” continues to do a fantastic business. It has been as busy since the semester ended as it was during the semester. There is always lots of activity on campus but also the locals, who don’t come in during the semester, come regularly now. Lucy remains more than happy with her evening managers and her day time assistant managers.

Mandy is doing great at Montessori, loves it there. She is a learnaholic. I wish she’d find a way to be more of a 4 year old though. Mandy loves to share with us and to teach us and Ray what she has learned.

Ray will start at Montessori in the fall. He still loves nothing more than being on the floor playing with anything that has lots of parts that he can manipulate. He is not a talker. He can and does talk, just not a lot. Very inward kind of a person. Let’s you know when he needs something but it isn’t often.

Aug. 7: Eddy Root, C, #3 on the Norton List, Del Ned, PG, #4, Cam Flyn, SF, #10, Duke Kann, SG, #12, L. B. Witt, PG, #17.

Aug. 21: We offer ta 4 bigs an’ a PG.

Sept. 7: Kids are in school. Mandy is zooming along as usual. Ray is “adjusting.” Since they don’t put any pressure on in Montessori it seems to be going well. Teachers report what we already knew, he’s quiet, self-sufficient, friendly but not interested in conversation with staff. Likes to do his own thing. Seeks help when he needs something. They will offer opportunities, try to widen his horizons, but gently, unobtrusively, no pressure at all.

“Someplace Special” continues to boom. Busy from 6:00 a.m. open until midnight close. Lucy works 40-50 hours per week but not a lot more than that except under unusual circumstances. She says she “hangs out” at the store, reading in a quiet corner, or meeting with friends. Is that working?

She says it turns into that if something major comes up, but usually not, usually just relaxation. I have lunch with her there just about every day that I’m in town.

She’s home to get the kids to school- sometimes the “not nanny” takes them. She also is usually home to bring them home from school but “not nanny” does that on occasion as well. Lucy and I try to maximize time with the kids. The “not nanny” is there as a supplement and she’s very good.

I’m home for dinner most days and for at least an hour for “kid time” either before or after. During the season when I’m on the road I always call. Ray isn’t much interested, good for a very brief conversation, but Mandy and I have long phone conversations as she “teaches me” things.

Lucy and I have a great relationship with each other because we work at it and care about it. We love our kids and do what we need to do to give them as much time as possible, BUT, we also want them to be independent, self-sufficient people and they are.

Sept. 11: Home visits.

Sept. 18: Got two, #5 PF, Kip Grow, an’ #6 PF Greg Brag.

In the Coaches Classic. Mos’ly ranked teams in the pre-conf.

Sept. 25: Got two more, #9, PF, Mike Chad, #15, SF, Ewie Dell. Still like to get a guard. Not much luck so far.

Oct. 2: Don’t know that I’ll get that guard. Oh well. One more ratings change in Nov., then SAT scores in Jan. so we’ll watch. One guy on our radar screen right now but it is doubtful he’ll hit the SAT score.

First day of practice. We’re loaded.

And again. The glitch that doesn’t allow me to see conference preview. I’m guessing we’re at #1.

Al Cray, #2, SF, commits. He is unlikely to hit our SAT score.

Season preview? Same glitch.

Nov. 6: No new recruits to add. Ready to see where this season takes us!

[Wayne23 14]

#1 seed in the Coaches Classic. We start with Charlotte.

 

Nov. 13: 82-42. 6 TOs, 48 RBs. Starting 5 and J. D. Ward all scary good.

 

#9 seed Winston-Salem. Tough outside, not much inside.

 

Nov. 15: 66-40. 23, 14 for C Eddy Root, 23, 8 for PF Cam Flyn. 6 TOs, 39 RBs.

 

#4 seed, #4 ranked Florida. Another very good outside team and they have a good PF. This one should be more of a challenge.

 

Nov. 17: 97-83. Shoot out. They scored outside we scored more inside. 22, 12 for Root, 21, 7 for SF Witt, 13, 5 for Ward, first big off the bench. 12 for PF Flyn. 12 TOs, 41 RBs.

 

#2 seed, #7 ranked North Carolina for the title. Very good SG and the best inside game we’ve seen but we think we’re better. Let’s see!

 

Nov. 19: 63-50. Big early lead. They tried to get back in but never really did. 29, 10 for Root. 11, 5, 5 for Del Ned at PG.

 

They shut everyone else down but we shut everyone down except their SG who had 18. 9 TOs, 41 RBs.

 

Nov. 20: #1. We’ve got a team! 4-0, vs. 3 ranked in the top 10. +23 points, +4.8 assists, +11.5 RB, +6.7 TOs.

 

It’s nice to be home. Being away for about a week is no fun for me. I love my family too much. I called every day but it’s not the same. 4 other 5 day road trips during the season which is not the kind of schedule I would have wanted. And then March and early April always mean I’m away. Oh well, part of the job.

[Wayne23 14]

Syracuse, 0-1, is here. 69-45. 27, 7, 6 for Ned, 14, 5 for Ward, 12, 3, 5 for Witt. 10, 35.

 

2 game road trip. At 2-2 Arizona State.

 

Nov. 26: 83-55.

35, 12 for Root, 17, 5, 6 for Ned. 9, 43.

 

At 2-1 Memphis. Good at 1, 2, 5.

 

Nov. 30: 83-69. 25, 21 for Root, 22, 7, 3 for Kann. 12, 49.

 

And back home vs. #12, 3-3 Kansas. Better than their record.

 

Dec. 3: 78-55. 26, 15, 3 for Root, 16, 9, 4 for Ned, 11, 10 for Flyn. 13, 49.

 

Cam Flyn hurt his left calf. About a week but not serious.

 

Someplace Special continues to boom. It has been written about in every area newspaper and magazine, in several within the state, and has been featured in a few national magazines and TV shows. Places like it are springing up on campuses all over the country. The basic idea is also being tried in non-campus towns but it seems to be very successful in college towns, less so elsewhere. Lucy was approached early on by a major, big money group, about the possibilities for going national with franchises or some such. She was not interested. The big money people have started a chain. Pleased to report that it isn’t doing at all well. The successful imitators are people who own and manage one facility. Hooray!

[Wayne23 14]

Another five days away from home.

 

At 0-5 Temple. Not much scares me more than being at a good program that hasn’t won a game yet. They have an All American at SF but not much else.

 

Dec. 7: 81-50. Nothing to fear, as it turned out. 30, 4, 4 for Ned, 19, 9 for Root. 14, 33.

 

At #15 Arkansas, 5-2. Flyn is back.

 

Dec. 10: 67-56. 20, 12 for Root. The other 4 all had big games. 11, 52.

 

+22.4 points, +13.6 RB, +6.4 assists, +3.7 TOs.

 

Home again, thankfully.

 

#12 UConn, 6-2 is here. Good starting lineup.

 

Dec. 14: 64-41. 16, 12 for Root, 17, 5, 3 for Kann. 11, 37.

 

At 4-4 Louisville. They’re having a tough season.

 

Dec. 17: 79-61. 18, 17 for Root, 19, 4 for Kann, 13, 5, 5 for Ned, 10, 6 for Flyn, 10, 4 for Ward. 11, 38.

12-0, all double digit wins. #1, RPI #1.

[Wayne23 14]

#2 Duke, 12-1 is here. Really good team, esp. at SG an’ SF. Only played 2 ranked teams though. We think we can control the inside.

 

Dec. 21: 74-55. An’ we do! 24, 12 for Root, 11, 9 for Flyn, 12, 4, 2 for Witt, 5, 6 for Ward. 6 TOs (+9), 43 RBs (+16).

 

#5 Georgetown, 11-2, is in to end the pre-conf. season. Good inside game, but can they match ours?

 

Dec. 24: 86-43. Whew! 25, 17 for Root, 16, 7, 8 for Ned, 15, 5 for Flyn, 12, 4, 2 for Ward. 15, 46.

 

We have dominated some excellent teams. 14-8, with 8 ranked opponents, most of them top 10. Minnesota, Indiana and Ohio State seem to be the toughest in conf. opponents.

 

Everyone on the team made 3.1 or better GPA for the first semester.

 

Another quiet holiday at home. We all enjoyed the day.

 

I’ll be away for new year’s eve. We play that night.