HP vs WM

Yesterday saw a rematch against WM. Saturday at practice we worked on our man defense, both positioning, and avoiding fouling (we did the whole drill with them holding shirts behind their backs so they had to move their feet and couldn’t reach in) via the shell drill and a 1 on 1 dribbling drill. We also worked on our press break. We did that and our passing continuous motion (which we won’t repeat in the larger of the gyms we practice in since it’s just too far for them to make the passes). It was an OK practice.

Anyhow the game does not start off well for us as we quickly find ourselves down 3-0 after a foul, made shot, and made free throw. We don’t score a basket at all in the first 4 minutes and trail at the end of the first quarter 11-2. The thing is we were actually playing really good defense. We were moving our feet. We were forcing them to take shots with hands in their faces. We were helping out. It was good stuff. Unfortunately WM shot about 75% in the first half (and I’m not exaggerating by much). We also got hurt by our lack of rebounding. That lack of rebounding isn’t too surprising as I hadn’t really focused on it in a while. One of those things we just haven’t had time to do.

We play a little better in the second quarter and are down 15-8 at half. We do even better in the 3rd and we enter the 4th quarter down 23-19. We’re in this game. And this is where my vow of giving all players real playing time costs us the game. For about the first 3 minutes of the quarter I have Jon, Henry, Danny, Gavin (who I was planning to play the whole quarter), and Jacob. My hope was they’d keep the game close and I could then put in a better group late on. Except that this grouping got destroyed by their star guard. By the time those 3 minutes were up we were down by 13. Good news is that I then had a group of Gavin, Danny, Zach, Jack A, and Josh finish the game. We only lost by 7. While I’m not sure I whether Danny belongs in that group or not, the other 4 are super solid and just wreaked havoc on the other team, to the point where WM was forced to sub back in their starters.

Overall it was a good game. We did the best job yet of playing man to man, really moving around like we need to. On the minus side we shot very few layups as they just shut us down inside both offensively and on the boards. And it didn’t help that WM made just about every shot they took in the first quarter. Oh well. Taking a look at our players:

Jacob – He got lots of playing time in this one. He didn’t lose the ball nearly as much, but then again he didn’t have the ball in his hands nearly as much. He’s still just a tad below the talent of the others, and his lack of speed really hurt us on defense as they had their post players out on the perimeter a lot.

Henry – Henry did not have a good game. He, at point, was too insistent on driving in rather than setting up others. This after the fact that he played 13 seconds in the first quarter because he lofted a 3 as point.

Jon & Ben – I honestly had a real hard time telling them apart this game. I tried them both at PG. Not the answer, as the decision making isn’t there and neither is the talent. I need them to be tough enforcers defensively and they didn’t give me that this game. Oh and Ben’s shooting was just atrocious both before and during the game.

Zach – He told me didn’t want to play point, and since WM was coming out in a zone, I didn’t have him as point much. Still one of our top candidates for that position. I wonder how good my coaching has been for him though. His ability to take over a game, shown so clearly in house league and our first game, has been nonexistent lately. I wonder if I’ve coached that out of him or if he’s just facing superior competition.

Jack A – When I need a dose of aggressiveness I can unleash Jack A. That is the kid will go for the ball, relentlessly. I’m working with him on how to still guard his own player.

Jack B – The smartest player on the court. He’s always in the right space at the right time. He also blocked out. He’s trying out for a small fry team, where there is a height cap and the basket is only 8 feet. He could be a superstar.

Josh – He continues to be a gamer, stealing the both several times during the 4th to really help us get back into it.

Gavin – By the end of the 4th quarter he was rebounding. He’s new to the whole post game, and is making improvements, but it’s not where his heart is at, so the instruction I’m giving him is only being absorbed slowly.

Danny – Played probably his best game of the season, though he continues to play just barely out of control. But it’s getting better.

Adam – Scored no points, took no shots, had no rebounds, no turnovers, and I could go on. A big 0. He’s the weakest player on the team. Kevin was around at the start of the practice and asked “Has Adam been struggling?” I said yes and he said that Adam was the 11th player put on the team.

Overall I can’t be too upset at the game. They’re getting better in a lot ways. But WM was a better team last time we played them, and we got lucky. They were a better team this game as well and we got unlucky. We have flashes of real excellence, but have a lot of holes. As I feel like I say every time I post about HP, I’m going to be a lot happier when we start practicing twice a week.

HP is 3-2 on the season.