Most of the teams in the 7AA-East are either at or close to the midway point of the season. With that in mind, I suppose it's time for a follow-up on my predictions.
Earlier, I tabbed Junction City as the team to beat, based on their performance in the Fordyce Tournament. Unfortunately, the Lady Dragons suffered an injury to point guard Jyrezhia Nathan, which has changed the team's makeup severely. Junction City is now woefully shorthanded in the backcourt, which happens to be an area of strength for both Parkers Chapel and Strong.
The Lady Trojans have been a bit of a surprise for me. Honestly, I was concerned they might be a bit one-dimensional, too dependent on the 3-point shot. But, Coach Mark Young has so many different shooters, PC might be immune to any prolonged shooting slumps. And, sophomore Bailey Norwood has grown up enough to give the team some inside punch.
Strong, now, I cannot figure. The Lady Bulldogs looked disinterested at Parkers Chapel but has beaten the Lady Dragons twice. I witnessed the win in the Dual State finals. I was impressed with Strong's grit in that game just like I was in the Fairview Tournament against Camden Fairview. How can this be the same team that blew a big lead at Hampton and got mercy-ruled at Parkers Chapel?
Junction City can't shoot. Until the Lady Dragons prove they can make anything other than a layup, opponents will pack the defense into the paint to take away the power and strength of Khadijah Webster and the slashing ability of Nikayla Fisher. Nathan's absence takes away a shooter and forces Fisher to the point and away from her natural position on the wing.
The Lady Trojans have a two-game cushion and, barring injuries, sit comfortably in the driver's seat in the league. I look for the Lady Bulldogs to grab the No. 2 seed. I like Junction City's spirit but its youth is glaring at times. After seeing what life is like in senior high, I hope the Lady Dragons will put in the necessary work in the offseason. There's talent there but that's not enough.
All that being said, I'm begging all the girls teams in Union County, DO NOT make winning conference your primary goal. Conference is a stepping stone to bigger, more important things. I don't care what your record is, if you don't make it to state, something's missing.
Teams need to be playing at their best in the postseason. Obviously, injuries cannot be accounted for. But, everybody's goal should be to get to Pangburn. Once you get to state, nobody cares what seed you were coming out of your district.
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Saturday, January 17, 2015
161-2
Read this story on ESPN.com yesterday.
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- A Southern California high school basketball coach has been suspended and faces accusations of mercilessly running up the score after his team won a game 161-2, one of the most lopsided scores in state history.
Arroyo Valley High girls' coach Michael Anderson was suspended for two games after the victory last week against Bloomington High.
Anderson said that he wasn't trying to run up the score or embarrass the opposition. His team had won four previous games by at least 70 points, and Bloomington had already lost a game by 91.
"The game just got away from me," Anderson told the San Bernardino Sun on Friday. "I didn't play any starters in the second half. I didn't expect them to be that bad. I'm not trying to embarrass anybody."
He says if he had it to do again, he'd have played only reserves after the first quarter, or, "I wouldn't play the game at all."
But Bloomington coach Dale Chung says Arroyo Valley used a full-court press for the entire first half to lead 104-1 at halftime.
"People shouldn't feel sorry for my team," Chung said. "They should feel sorry for his team, which isn't learning the game the right way."
Anderson has served one game of the suspension, a game his team won 80-19 with his son Nick at the helm. He'll return after sitting out one more.
"He's a great X's and O's coach," Chung said. "Ethically? Not so much. He knows what he did was wrong."
I love the quote from the losing coach who says, people shouldn't feel sorry for my team. They should feel sorry for his team, which isn't learning the game the right way.
Really?
If a group of players lose 161-2, I'm going to say that group hasn't learned the game in the right way. What lesson is he teaching his team?
You know, there was a time when a person had to be qualified to participate. People who couldn't sing, didn't get to join the choir. Girls who couldn't do a flip, didn't get to be cheerleaders. Kids who couldn't play basketball, didn't get to be on the team.
It's not that way anymore. You don't have to be qualified to play. It's your right to be on the team.
Back when I was a kid, we played pick-up ball. The games were to 15 or 21. If you could win the game 21-0, you did it. You never thought about whether you were embarrassing the other team. Hell, you wanted to embarrass them. That was the goal. Beat them 21-0 and then laugh at them for losing 21-0.
I don't remember many 21-0 games. Know why? Because everyone knew what would happen if they got skunked so they showed some backbone and fight and made sure they didn't get beat like that. Or, if they weren't good enough to compete, they kept their butts off the court.
If you lose 161-2 and lose another game by 91 points, the primary lesson you should've learned is you're not basketball players. Am I saying they shouldn't play? Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. Not competitively, anyway.
"Oh, but they love the game and have every right to participate as anyone else," you say.
First of all, if they loved the game, they wouldn't get beat 161-2. Second, when you compete, you run the risk of getting embarrassed if you're not prepared.
It's not your opponent's job to boost your self-esteem. My job is to score. Your job is to stop me. It's called competition, matching my skills against yours. That's why it's fun. If you don't have any skills, why are you on the court?
Please, stop saying it's your right.
I can't swim. So, why don't I go join a swim team? It's my right.
By the way, since I can't swim but it's my right to be on the team, I'm going to need you to take all the water out of the pool so I can compete. Or, at the very least, give me some of the floatee things so I don't drown. And, in a show of good sportsmanship and to avoid embarrassing me, you have to dog paddle so you don't beat me too badly.
Should a team beat another team 161-2? Personally, as an adult, I wouldn't try to humiliate children. But, as an adult, if I had a team so inept, I would spend more time practicing and less time seeking pity. If his girls like to play but don't have the time to practice and become competitive, perhaps a competitive league isn't for them. They can still play on their own in the backyard or at a local gym. Pick-up games are fun.
At least on the playground, you'll only lose 21-0.
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- A Southern California high school basketball coach has been suspended and faces accusations of mercilessly running up the score after his team won a game 161-2, one of the most lopsided scores in state history.
Arroyo Valley High girls' coach Michael Anderson was suspended for two games after the victory last week against Bloomington High.
Anderson said that he wasn't trying to run up the score or embarrass the opposition. His team had won four previous games by at least 70 points, and Bloomington had already lost a game by 91.
"The game just got away from me," Anderson told the San Bernardino Sun on Friday. "I didn't play any starters in the second half. I didn't expect them to be that bad. I'm not trying to embarrass anybody."
He says if he had it to do again, he'd have played only reserves after the first quarter, or, "I wouldn't play the game at all."
But Bloomington coach Dale Chung says Arroyo Valley used a full-court press for the entire first half to lead 104-1 at halftime.
"People shouldn't feel sorry for my team," Chung said. "They should feel sorry for his team, which isn't learning the game the right way."
Anderson has served one game of the suspension, a game his team won 80-19 with his son Nick at the helm. He'll return after sitting out one more.
"He's a great X's and O's coach," Chung said. "Ethically? Not so much. He knows what he did was wrong."
I love the quote from the losing coach who says, people shouldn't feel sorry for my team. They should feel sorry for his team, which isn't learning the game the right way.
Really?
If a group of players lose 161-2, I'm going to say that group hasn't learned the game in the right way. What lesson is he teaching his team?
You know, there was a time when a person had to be qualified to participate. People who couldn't sing, didn't get to join the choir. Girls who couldn't do a flip, didn't get to be cheerleaders. Kids who couldn't play basketball, didn't get to be on the team.
It's not that way anymore. You don't have to be qualified to play. It's your right to be on the team.
Back when I was a kid, we played pick-up ball. The games were to 15 or 21. If you could win the game 21-0, you did it. You never thought about whether you were embarrassing the other team. Hell, you wanted to embarrass them. That was the goal. Beat them 21-0 and then laugh at them for losing 21-0.
I don't remember many 21-0 games. Know why? Because everyone knew what would happen if they got skunked so they showed some backbone and fight and made sure they didn't get beat like that. Or, if they weren't good enough to compete, they kept their butts off the court.
If you lose 161-2 and lose another game by 91 points, the primary lesson you should've learned is you're not basketball players. Am I saying they shouldn't play? Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. Not competitively, anyway.
"Oh, but they love the game and have every right to participate as anyone else," you say.
First of all, if they loved the game, they wouldn't get beat 161-2. Second, when you compete, you run the risk of getting embarrassed if you're not prepared.
It's not your opponent's job to boost your self-esteem. My job is to score. Your job is to stop me. It's called competition, matching my skills against yours. That's why it's fun. If you don't have any skills, why are you on the court?
Please, stop saying it's your right.
I can't swim. So, why don't I go join a swim team? It's my right.
By the way, since I can't swim but it's my right to be on the team, I'm going to need you to take all the water out of the pool so I can compete. Or, at the very least, give me some of the floatee things so I don't drown. And, in a show of good sportsmanship and to avoid embarrassing me, you have to dog paddle so you don't beat me too badly.
Should a team beat another team 161-2? Personally, as an adult, I wouldn't try to humiliate children. But, as an adult, if I had a team so inept, I would spend more time practicing and less time seeking pity. If his girls like to play but don't have the time to practice and become competitive, perhaps a competitive league isn't for them. They can still play on their own in the backyard or at a local gym. Pick-up games are fun.
At least on the playground, you'll only lose 21-0.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Where's the bite?
I'm not going to lie, I was a little disappointed tonight.
For the last few years, Strong and Parkers Chapel have given me some pretty good games. Tuesday wasn't one of them.
The Lady Trojans prevailed 57-34 in Parkers Chapel and even pulled further away after Lauren Brumley left the game with an ankle injury.
Hopefully, Brumley's setback is minor.
Unlike last season, when the Lady Trojans fell apart when an injury kept Brumley on the bench, they stayed strong Tuesday against Strong. The Lady Bulldogs tried to take advantage but their switch to a man-to-man defense backfired. Parkers Chapel, which knocked down 10 3-pointers before the injury, went to its man-to-man offense and shredded the Lady Bulldogs in the final quarter.
Coach Mark Young was asked if he smiled a little on the inside when Strong went man-to-man.
"Anytime you get somebody to doing something they're not used to doing, that makes you feel like you're in pretty good shape," he said. "They got out of the zone and went man. I knew they were a mostly pressing zone team, from what I'd seen out of them. When they went man, I knew that was something different from what they normally did. So, we did feel good about that. We just had to make sure we executed and we did for the most part, so, that was good."
It was certainly good from PC's perspective. The Lady Trojans showed some moxie and reminded everyone that they are the defending 7AA-East champions.
Most impressive, for me, was PC's board work. I wondered how the under-sized Lady Trojans would fare in the paint against the Lady Bulldogs. PC combated its lack of height with strong defensive rebounding from its guards.
"We had a lot of people get a lot of rebounds on the off-side. We've struggled with that at times, having smaller players against bigger players. Sometimes people take advantage of that but tonight I thought we ran to the ball well and rebounded it and we had a lot of different kids get rebounds over there," Young said.
"They kind of understand what they have to do in big games. We've kind of figured out that if you're going to beat Strong, you've got to rebound the ball and keep them from getting second shots. And, you've got to handle their pressure. I thought we did both of those things tonight."
On the other end of the court, Strong's girls did not bring the energy or intensity I was expecting. The Lady Bulldogs, who fell at Bearden 56-51 on Friday, have dropped back-to-back league games since winning the Dual State Tournament.
Conference teams still have to go to Strong but the Lady Bulldogs need to take some of their bite onto the road if they hope to get back into the thick of the chase.
For the last few years, Strong and Parkers Chapel have given me some pretty good games. Tuesday wasn't one of them.
The Lady Trojans prevailed 57-34 in Parkers Chapel and even pulled further away after Lauren Brumley left the game with an ankle injury.
Hopefully, Brumley's setback is minor.
Unlike last season, when the Lady Trojans fell apart when an injury kept Brumley on the bench, they stayed strong Tuesday against Strong. The Lady Bulldogs tried to take advantage but their switch to a man-to-man defense backfired. Parkers Chapel, which knocked down 10 3-pointers before the injury, went to its man-to-man offense and shredded the Lady Bulldogs in the final quarter.
Coach Mark Young was asked if he smiled a little on the inside when Strong went man-to-man.
"Anytime you get somebody to doing something they're not used to doing, that makes you feel like you're in pretty good shape," he said. "They got out of the zone and went man. I knew they were a mostly pressing zone team, from what I'd seen out of them. When they went man, I knew that was something different from what they normally did. So, we did feel good about that. We just had to make sure we executed and we did for the most part, so, that was good."
It was certainly good from PC's perspective. The Lady Trojans showed some moxie and reminded everyone that they are the defending 7AA-East champions.
Most impressive, for me, was PC's board work. I wondered how the under-sized Lady Trojans would fare in the paint against the Lady Bulldogs. PC combated its lack of height with strong defensive rebounding from its guards.
"We had a lot of people get a lot of rebounds on the off-side. We've struggled with that at times, having smaller players against bigger players. Sometimes people take advantage of that but tonight I thought we ran to the ball well and rebounded it and we had a lot of different kids get rebounds over there," Young said.
"They kind of understand what they have to do in big games. We've kind of figured out that if you're going to beat Strong, you've got to rebound the ball and keep them from getting second shots. And, you've got to handle their pressure. I thought we did both of those things tonight."
On the other end of the court, Strong's girls did not bring the energy or intensity I was expecting. The Lady Bulldogs, who fell at Bearden 56-51 on Friday, have dropped back-to-back league games since winning the Dual State Tournament.
Conference teams still have to go to Strong but the Lady Bulldogs need to take some of their bite onto the road if they hope to get back into the thick of the chase.
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