Another long break between updates, though that has been a function of schedule as much as anything.
We had a very disappointing loss to DF on Dec 7th, 31-18. They jumped out to an early lead and were up after the first quarter by 5. We then closed to with-in 3 at half and 1 at the start of the 4th quarter. Unfortunately we fell apart in the 4th quarter as they scored 14 points, nearly as much as they scored the rest of the game. The real problem came after they made the first of thee 3s, which put them up by 5. The team just fell apart and while I called a TO fairly quickly, the run continued after the time out. Some of this was lucky shooting as our opponents shot 5 of 6 from 3 point distance. Some of this was the fact that our team struggled mightily against the zone and didn’t create turnovers, as the 18 points was by far the fewest points we had scored.
The bad news was compounded by the fact that the tournament we were supposed to play in the following weekend was cancelled. This meant, with winter break thrown-in, we will have gone 5 weeks when we play another game tomorrow.
The good news is that I was able to schedule a scrimmage yesterday against the 4th grade boys, which have a really fantastic team. The bad news is that if we’d have been keeping score, I think we’d have lost. They basically have forgotten several aspects of the offense. The good news is that the one weakness that I had noticed at DF, and had subsequently focused on, cutting to the basket and passing to those cutters, is hugely improved and was happening several times during the scrimmage. The bad news is that more fundamental aspects, such as rotation and spacing, was weak/forgotten. Hopefully there will be time before the game tomorrow to run through our basic offense.
And honestly if our basic offense were all that was struggling I’d be OK. But our defense has been weak, and continues to be weak. They seem to get the idea of needing to help on defense, but they seem to think they can do this by walking there, so the help gets there too late so a shot can be had.
Even this, while unacceptable, could be countered somewhat if the team could press well. However, the team seems unable to trap. At Monday’s practice we even ran a 3 on 5 drill, and the 5 defensive players were nearly hopeless in stopping the 3 offensive players. It basically means that if we get behind in a game we’re going to have to rely on our porous defense to make stops, rather than in creating turnovers. I have installed a trapping zone, which works fairly well, but I refuse to use that just to create wins. Not to mention it would lose its effectiveness if we played it for too long. It will be a 4th quarter change of pace defense. So basically let’s hope we don’t down by more than say 6 points cause between the lack of defense, lack of press, and lack of mental toughness, we’re in trouble.
Which brings us to tomorrow. It’s frustrating since I still don’t have a good grasp of how hard our opponents will be yet since, our opponent, WK, has played to and beaten DF, who just stomped us, and lost to KW, who we beat, though not decisively. So perhaps they’re of about equal talent to us. I do know that if we played the way we played yesterday we won’t stand a chance. Hopefully we’ll be able to kick it into a different gear. We’ve kind of stalled in our progress since about the 3rd game. I’m hoping that as we review and refine we’ll be able to take our play into a new gear for the last two months of the season.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Team Overview
It’s been a while since I’ve updated simply because with Thanksgiving we’ve not had a game in a while. We have a game tomorrow, but I thought that it would be a good chance to go kind of give a state of the team a third of the way through the season, especially because I’ve been briefer in my write-ups to date.
In alphabetical order:
Alex: The kid still hasn’t figure out how to make a shot in a game. He does it practice, in game situations. In competitive situations. In rough situations. But can’t come through in a game. That’s OK, because he’s been solid defensively and has consistently rebounded. Rebounding has been a team weakness, though I’ve started incorporating a simple throw the ball up against the backboard for the next person to rebound into our pregame warm-up and that seems to have led to some better results.
Austin: He’s definitely more comfortable not being the focal point of the team, AKA not the PG. However, when Josh was gone for a weekend he stepped into the role and preformed adequately. He does a particularly good job of being willing to pass the ball up the court. He’s averaging over 3 assists a game, which is a lot considering our team averages 30 points a game. Additionally, in our last three games (two of them where he was playing point) he should have had at least 2 more assists each game if a player hadn’t missed a wide open lay-up from a pass of his.
Grant: He is pretty consistently below average across the board in skills. He’s probably #9 on our depth chart in terms of talent. He is, however, a great member of the team in terms of attitude and humor.
Josh: Against the large KW team we played we definitely missed his ball handling, which is funny considering he’s the 2nd shortest kid on our team. However, the kid hasn’t been at practice, in forever. As in not since November 17th. When his mom called me to tell me he wouldn’t be there Friday (he was originally supposed to be there Monday but his plane was delayed) she said he was quite worried about playing time. I didn’t reassure her. Overall our team is definitely better with him than without him, but with his not having played for so long I have no idea what kind of physical condition he’s in.
Leo: The kid gives his all that’s for sure. He is on the floor an amazing amount of the time diving after balls. He came through huge against KW which was great to see. He grew a lot last season and perhaps we’ll see him continue to grow this season into a good player.
Mason: He’s made nearly every shot he’s taken this season, which is great. Most games he is a bit of a nothing on the court. He plays hard and works hard, so he’s definitely learning and growing. However, as the shortest and scrawniest kid on the team he’s got to learn how to play bigger than his size and how to make sure bigger and stronger kids. I’ve been working with him, giving some tips, and hopefully they work. Nice story though. He’s also playing in house league and said he started telling me about the first practice: “Everyone just stands around on our offense. The point guard gets a screen from the center and either shoots or passes to the center. But everyone else just kind of does nothing. You’re such a better coach.” I explained that considering I was being paid to coach I should be better. One advantage though I hadn’t really thought of with the Read and React is that even if a kid isn’t getting a lot of touches they probably still feel involved because they’re always moving and doing something that has value.
Matthew: Our smartest player. As an example, we were doing “Bull in the Ring” where one player is in the post and has to receive passes from his teammates on the perimeter, all while being defended 1 on 1. His score, thanks to smart movement, was nearly half his teams points. Had an unfortunate injury which kept him out our past three games. But he’s fully recovered now. While he doesn’t add much on offense, he is a tenacious defender, especially for his size.
Michael: He leads the team in steals and is able to convert many of those steals into fast breaks, which leads to points, and so he is also our team’s leading scorer. He is, along with Josh and Alex, one of 3 players who is clearly a step above the others.
Quentin: The kid has no jump shot. Like none at all. Every shot is a set shot. He’s a very high percentage shooter though. If he can learn to shoot a lay-up I’ll have done some good coaching this season. Sadly his defense is weak so he’s more of an end of the bench sort of guy.
Seth: His shooting percentage is abysmal. If he learns to keep his head up when he moves his shooting percentage will rise. This is a funny criticism, because he’s the kid most likely to pass it way up the court on a fast break. He’s been a hard worker and I think has definitely improved so far this season.
Overall we’re 4-1 and tied for first place with WM (3-0), the team who beat us. We’re also the only team who has played more than 3 games. Every team we’ve beaten has a losing record, as does our opponent tomorrow, so it’s really hard to tell if we’ve just beaten a bunch of bad teams and are a good team, have beaten a bunch of bad teams and are an average team, or have beaten some not so bad teams and are a good team. Our offense is looking better and better every week which is good. Our defense hasn’t progressed at quite the same speed and will be more of a focus as our offense sets to go into refinement mode rather than learning mode.
I think my coaching overall has been solid. I haven’t done as much shooting instruction or breaking down and reinforcing individual fundamentals as I would like, which is bad. I need to recommit myself to those things because they’re important and deserve time. I think I’ve handled the players well while also not making myself obsessed. Hopefully more good things will come.
In alphabetical order:
Alex: The kid still hasn’t figure out how to make a shot in a game. He does it practice, in game situations. In competitive situations. In rough situations. But can’t come through in a game. That’s OK, because he’s been solid defensively and has consistently rebounded. Rebounding has been a team weakness, though I’ve started incorporating a simple throw the ball up against the backboard for the next person to rebound into our pregame warm-up and that seems to have led to some better results.
Austin: He’s definitely more comfortable not being the focal point of the team, AKA not the PG. However, when Josh was gone for a weekend he stepped into the role and preformed adequately. He does a particularly good job of being willing to pass the ball up the court. He’s averaging over 3 assists a game, which is a lot considering our team averages 30 points a game. Additionally, in our last three games (two of them where he was playing point) he should have had at least 2 more assists each game if a player hadn’t missed a wide open lay-up from a pass of his.
Grant: He is pretty consistently below average across the board in skills. He’s probably #9 on our depth chart in terms of talent. He is, however, a great member of the team in terms of attitude and humor.
Josh: Against the large KW team we played we definitely missed his ball handling, which is funny considering he’s the 2nd shortest kid on our team. However, the kid hasn’t been at practice, in forever. As in not since November 17th. When his mom called me to tell me he wouldn’t be there Friday (he was originally supposed to be there Monday but his plane was delayed) she said he was quite worried about playing time. I didn’t reassure her. Overall our team is definitely better with him than without him, but with his not having played for so long I have no idea what kind of physical condition he’s in.
Leo: The kid gives his all that’s for sure. He is on the floor an amazing amount of the time diving after balls. He came through huge against KW which was great to see. He grew a lot last season and perhaps we’ll see him continue to grow this season into a good player.
Mason: He’s made nearly every shot he’s taken this season, which is great. Most games he is a bit of a nothing on the court. He plays hard and works hard, so he’s definitely learning and growing. However, as the shortest and scrawniest kid on the team he’s got to learn how to play bigger than his size and how to make sure bigger and stronger kids. I’ve been working with him, giving some tips, and hopefully they work. Nice story though. He’s also playing in house league and said he started telling me about the first practice: “Everyone just stands around on our offense. The point guard gets a screen from the center and either shoots or passes to the center. But everyone else just kind of does nothing. You’re such a better coach.” I explained that considering I was being paid to coach I should be better. One advantage though I hadn’t really thought of with the Read and React is that even if a kid isn’t getting a lot of touches they probably still feel involved because they’re always moving and doing something that has value.
Matthew: Our smartest player. As an example, we were doing “Bull in the Ring” where one player is in the post and has to receive passes from his teammates on the perimeter, all while being defended 1 on 1. His score, thanks to smart movement, was nearly half his teams points. Had an unfortunate injury which kept him out our past three games. But he’s fully recovered now. While he doesn’t add much on offense, he is a tenacious defender, especially for his size.
Michael: He leads the team in steals and is able to convert many of those steals into fast breaks, which leads to points, and so he is also our team’s leading scorer. He is, along with Josh and Alex, one of 3 players who is clearly a step above the others.
Quentin: The kid has no jump shot. Like none at all. Every shot is a set shot. He’s a very high percentage shooter though. If he can learn to shoot a lay-up I’ll have done some good coaching this season. Sadly his defense is weak so he’s more of an end of the bench sort of guy.
Seth: His shooting percentage is abysmal. If he learns to keep his head up when he moves his shooting percentage will rise. This is a funny criticism, because he’s the kid most likely to pass it way up the court on a fast break. He’s been a hard worker and I think has definitely improved so far this season.
Overall we’re 4-1 and tied for first place with WM (3-0), the team who beat us. We’re also the only team who has played more than 3 games. Every team we’ve beaten has a losing record, as does our opponent tomorrow, so it’s really hard to tell if we’ve just beaten a bunch of bad teams and are a good team, have beaten a bunch of bad teams and are an average team, or have beaten some not so bad teams and are a good team. Our offense is looking better and better every week which is good. Our defense hasn’t progressed at quite the same speed and will be more of a focus as our offense sets to go into refinement mode rather than learning mode.
I think my coaching overall has been solid. I haven’t done as much shooting instruction or breaking down and reinforcing individual fundamentals as I would like, which is bad. I need to recommit myself to those things because they’re important and deserve time. I think I’ve handled the players well while also not making myself obsessed. Hopefully more good things will come.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
2 Game Weekend
It was a successful weekend.
Saturday saw us dismantle GV just as we had last week. I had challenged the team to allow fewer points scored and they did. Mason had a particularly good game scoring 6 points. Mason’s taken only 5 shots this season and has made 4 of them. Guess he has gotten the “take smart shots” message. The game was actually pretty close at half, 14-9. I told the team they needed to push the ball up the court more and we scored 14 3rd quarter points to safely put the game out of reach.
Today was more of a struggle. First our opponents were HUGE. They had a kid at least 6 inches taller than our tallest players. Our team was pretty intimidated by the size. They also used a very aggressive trapping zone. Our team did a good job of beating the trap, but had trouble making the shots in the first half that we got. In fact there was no score for virtually the entire first quarter and we entered half down 8-5.
We had much less trouble in the second half. We never had more than a 7 point lead, and really basically just maintained a 5 point lead for the 4th quarter. It got tense at times and the game was quite physical so it felt close. It was good for the team to win a close game, something which our first three victories didn’t provide. I’d still like to see us come from behind in the 4th and win, as that would show another layer of toughness and resolve, but not being in a position to have to come from behind is a good thing overall.
A big credit for today’s victory goes to Leo who got very hot in the 3rd quarter and made a bunch of open shots, the same kind we’d been missing earlier, Michael who made two clutch free throws towards the end of the game, and Seth who shot better than his season shooting percentage of less than 25% (all of them 10 footers or less), each whom contributed 8 points. The team as a whole deserves credit for being active on the boards and causing their three most talented players to get into foul trouble by being aggressive. The final score was 28-25.
Saturday saw us dismantle GV just as we had last week. I had challenged the team to allow fewer points scored and they did. Mason had a particularly good game scoring 6 points. Mason’s taken only 5 shots this season and has made 4 of them. Guess he has gotten the “take smart shots” message. The game was actually pretty close at half, 14-9. I told the team they needed to push the ball up the court more and we scored 14 3rd quarter points to safely put the game out of reach.
Today was more of a struggle. First our opponents were HUGE. They had a kid at least 6 inches taller than our tallest players. Our team was pretty intimidated by the size. They also used a very aggressive trapping zone. Our team did a good job of beating the trap, but had trouble making the shots in the first half that we got. In fact there was no score for virtually the entire first quarter and we entered half down 8-5.
We had much less trouble in the second half. We never had more than a 7 point lead, and really basically just maintained a 5 point lead for the 4th quarter. It got tense at times and the game was quite physical so it felt close. It was good for the team to win a close game, something which our first three victories didn’t provide. I’d still like to see us come from behind in the 4th and win, as that would show another layer of toughness and resolve, but not being in a position to have to come from behind is a good thing overall.
A big credit for today’s victory goes to Leo who got very hot in the 3rd quarter and made a bunch of open shots, the same kind we’d been missing earlier, Michael who made two clutch free throws towards the end of the game, and Seth who shot better than his season shooting percentage of less than 25% (all of them 10 footers or less), each whom contributed 8 points. The team as a whole deserves credit for being active on the boards and causing their three most talented players to get into foul trouble by being aggressive. The final score was 28-25.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Practice + Game
The signs did not portend for a good game yesterday. It wasn’t because of Friday’s practice. Friday’s practice was a good practice. We had 7 players suited up, Alex was out of town, Grant was injured (more about this shortly), and Michael was not going to be there. We did our shooting continuous motion and frankly there shooting? Not so hot. We also did a concentration drill, where they had sheets with numbers randomly displayed from 1-100. I would announce a number and they would then have to find the next number, cross it off, and so on for 45 seconds. The catch was the second time we did it, they had a partner who was allowed to distract them as they were doing the sheet. Fun was had. I think there is also value in this sort of activity so we’ll likely come back to it. We also did some 3 person work on the fundamentals of our offense. The biggest focus was on rebounding. We did a couple drills working on jumping for the ball as well as judging the angle of the shot. Unlike some previous Friday practices the energy was there.
The first bad sign was that Alex was not going to be there. Along with Seth Alex is one of two kids that has been rebounding. He is also one of our better scorers. The second bad sign was Grant’s injury. He suffers from a condition (whose name I forget) which basically causes pain due to bones growing faster than the muscles. He was having a flare up and this was still inflamed so no Grant yesterday. This was somewhat expected, at least after Friday. The third bad sign was when Matthew’s mom calls to let me know that he had a minor procedure done and would be unable to play. So now I’m down to 7. Seven is still workable. And to their credit both Matthew and Grant attended the game. The last bad sign was when we only had five players to start the game. Leo and Quentin were not there. I figured they got lost. But that put us at 5 players.
Last year I would have been upset at this. This year I’m trying to feel the Zen. And I tried to impart this on the team.
And the good news is that I needn’t have worried. The other team came out in man to man. Only they had no help defense. They also completely overplayed their person, not staying between them and the basket. And so we had an obscene number of easy lay-ups. They also didn’t understand the idea of stopping the ball on a fast break so we had a bunch more of those. By the time Leo and Quentin finally arrived in the second quarter, after I’d given up all hope of seeing them, we were up by a lot. We even held them to just 1 point in the second quarter. I had to hold the team back in the second half. We coasted to an easy 37-20 victory. It was nice because every player there got to score a basket. Michael destroy them in the second half with 8 points, almost all off fast breaks. Josh also showed an ability to drive past them nearly at will.
We play them again Saturday. More than anything I feel bad for the other team. I wonder how much practice time they’d had. Their basic man to man was SO off that I have to think not much. They also never even attempted to press us (for obvious reasons we didn’t attempt to press them). Everyone feels good after a big win. The goal will be to working hard this week at practice as we play this same team again and also play KW. KW is notable because it is the team which upset this group of kids in the first round of the playoffs. I know they’ll be excited about that game.
The first bad sign was that Alex was not going to be there. Along with Seth Alex is one of two kids that has been rebounding. He is also one of our better scorers. The second bad sign was Grant’s injury. He suffers from a condition (whose name I forget) which basically causes pain due to bones growing faster than the muscles. He was having a flare up and this was still inflamed so no Grant yesterday. This was somewhat expected, at least after Friday. The third bad sign was when Matthew’s mom calls to let me know that he had a minor procedure done and would be unable to play. So now I’m down to 7. Seven is still workable. And to their credit both Matthew and Grant attended the game. The last bad sign was when we only had five players to start the game. Leo and Quentin were not there. I figured they got lost. But that put us at 5 players.
Last year I would have been upset at this. This year I’m trying to feel the Zen. And I tried to impart this on the team.
And the good news is that I needn’t have worried. The other team came out in man to man. Only they had no help defense. They also completely overplayed their person, not staying between them and the basket. And so we had an obscene number of easy lay-ups. They also didn’t understand the idea of stopping the ball on a fast break so we had a bunch more of those. By the time Leo and Quentin finally arrived in the second quarter, after I’d given up all hope of seeing them, we were up by a lot. We even held them to just 1 point in the second quarter. I had to hold the team back in the second half. We coasted to an easy 37-20 victory. It was nice because every player there got to score a basket. Michael destroy them in the second half with 8 points, almost all off fast breaks. Josh also showed an ability to drive past them nearly at will.
We play them again Saturday. More than anything I feel bad for the other team. I wonder how much practice time they’d had. Their basic man to man was SO off that I have to think not much. They also never even attempted to press us (for obvious reasons we didn’t attempt to press them). Everyone feels good after a big win. The goal will be to working hard this week at practice as we play this same team again and also play KW. KW is notable because it is the team which upset this group of kids in the first round of the playoffs. I know they’ll be excited about that game.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Game 2 + Practice
Well another game and another practice are in the books. Fortunately, Sunday saw us win 28-21 bringing our record to 1-1. We played well, with Alex leading us towards victory with 10 points, including 4 of 7 shooting from the line. We were up the whole game, by as much as 10. The real key of the game was transition points. On a fast break we made our shots, they didn’t. Our rebounding still is our weakest link, giving the other team way too many 2, 3, even 4 shot possessions.
One big note is that at last Friday’s practice Austin told me he preferred playing the two with Josh in at one. Our ball handling skills aren’t all that strong this year, so this was not news I wanted to hear. This meant Michael suddenly became our back-up point. Michael struggled being asked to play both point at times, center at times, as they had a very athletic big man and so when Alex was out Michael offered us the best match-up, as well as 3, his “natural” spot. I had told Austin that we were going to need him at point on Friday. I tried it on Sunday and frankly we still need Austin at point. Austin isn’t going to be the playmaker Josh is, but he’s also not going to turn the ball over, and that is quite important.
We had a good practice yesterday. We reviewed footage from the game which I had put together and was something I think the team enjoyed. It wasn’t a highlight reel as much as taking a close look at a few plays. We spent some time working on rebounding skills, but the vast majority was spent on teaching proper shooting mechanics. In particular worked on using the legs to power the shot, and also worked on the release and follow through, with-out the ball. This part will be especially helpful for Quentin whose release is flat and awkward. It wasn’t the most thrilling of lessons, but it was fundamentals which are needed for future growth. It laid the ground work.
A note of concern is Leo who has been injured or not feeling well for what seems like half our practices, yet feeling perfect for both our games. I honestly can’t tell if the kid has a lingering injury and is fighting through it or is trying to get out of practicing. I had started him Sunday in hopes that this would motivate him if it was a motivation issue. Yesterday saw the same inability to practice. I then talked with him expressing my concern over his injuries and telling him how it would be better if he didn’t really practice at all this week or play on Sunday in order to give his body time to recover than to keep trying to play while not giving his body a chance to heal. We’ll see if that approach works.
One big note is that at last Friday’s practice Austin told me he preferred playing the two with Josh in at one. Our ball handling skills aren’t all that strong this year, so this was not news I wanted to hear. This meant Michael suddenly became our back-up point. Michael struggled being asked to play both point at times, center at times, as they had a very athletic big man and so when Alex was out Michael offered us the best match-up, as well as 3, his “natural” spot. I had told Austin that we were going to need him at point on Friday. I tried it on Sunday and frankly we still need Austin at point. Austin isn’t going to be the playmaker Josh is, but he’s also not going to turn the ball over, and that is quite important.
We had a good practice yesterday. We reviewed footage from the game which I had put together and was something I think the team enjoyed. It wasn’t a highlight reel as much as taking a close look at a few plays. We spent some time working on rebounding skills, but the vast majority was spent on teaching proper shooting mechanics. In particular worked on using the legs to power the shot, and also worked on the release and follow through, with-out the ball. This part will be especially helpful for Quentin whose release is flat and awkward. It wasn’t the most thrilling of lessons, but it was fundamentals which are needed for future growth. It laid the ground work.
A note of concern is Leo who has been injured or not feeling well for what seems like half our practices, yet feeling perfect for both our games. I honestly can’t tell if the kid has a lingering injury and is fighting through it or is trying to get out of practicing. I had started him Sunday in hopes that this would motivate him if it was a motivation issue. Yesterday saw the same inability to practice. I then talked with him expressing my concern over his injuries and telling him how it would be better if he didn’t really practice at all this week or play on Sunday in order to give his body time to recover than to keep trying to play while not giving his body a chance to heal. We’ll see if that approach works.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Friday Practice
We had a lackluster Friday practice. Unlike our previous lackluster practice, I brought the energy and enthusiasm (making a conscience effort to make sure I did so). I did a quick recount of some things I had noticed while watching film and we then went into our continuous motion. Unfortunately for us the girls who practiced before us ended 5 minutes late, which definitely cuts into a 60 minute practice. On a complete tangent I think that the coach of the girls is horrible. They spent the 30 minutes I watched them trying to learn how to run 1 play. 1 play. She also only rarely referred to her players by name. More often they were “you”.
We did our dribbling continuous motion. I had made the point that we want to be playing as well or better at the end of the games as compared to the start and that this wasn’t true on Wednesday. I said that this was an opportunity for them to get in better shape, but it was up to them to take advantage of it. The message seemed to sink in as there was a faster pace to the dribbling.
For the fundamental 5, I demonstrated on an 8 foot basket the virtues of shooting with an arc. We then went into our shell drill, allowing us to practice both offense and defense, though my instructional focus was on defense. I was simply having them working on passing and cutting, as that proved to be a weakness for us, and it also presents a good challenge for the defense. The good news is that in the drill we definitely got better at being in a good position, while going at ¼ speed, on defense. The bad news is that it took us way too long to do and several players were not focused or paying good attention. Quentin also showed difficulty with what to do on offense. He neither was good at cutting towards the basket after making a pass nor did he understand how to move on offense after someone else made a pass. We made improvements here from most people on both offense and defense, so that was good. In particular Josh seemed to better understand the importance of cutting after a pass, which is good because he makes a lot of perimeter passes. Of course due to the lack of focus this whole part took the lion’s share of our practice.
We ended with a couple quick rounds of lay-ups “Champs and Chumps” won by Seth again. I emphasized using the backboard. It will be a pregame point of emphasis as well, so hopefully we’ll do it. Having no real idea about the quality of our opponents I remain optimistic about our chances and hopefully we’ll see some improvement.
We did our dribbling continuous motion. I had made the point that we want to be playing as well or better at the end of the games as compared to the start and that this wasn’t true on Wednesday. I said that this was an opportunity for them to get in better shape, but it was up to them to take advantage of it. The message seemed to sink in as there was a faster pace to the dribbling.
For the fundamental 5, I demonstrated on an 8 foot basket the virtues of shooting with an arc. We then went into our shell drill, allowing us to practice both offense and defense, though my instructional focus was on defense. I was simply having them working on passing and cutting, as that proved to be a weakness for us, and it also presents a good challenge for the defense. The good news is that in the drill we definitely got better at being in a good position, while going at ¼ speed, on defense. The bad news is that it took us way too long to do and several players were not focused or paying good attention. Quentin also showed difficulty with what to do on offense. He neither was good at cutting towards the basket after making a pass nor did he understand how to move on offense after someone else made a pass. We made improvements here from most people on both offense and defense, so that was good. In particular Josh seemed to better understand the importance of cutting after a pass, which is good because he makes a lot of perimeter passes. Of course due to the lack of focus this whole part took the lion’s share of our practice.
We ended with a couple quick rounds of lay-ups “Champs and Chumps” won by Seth again. I emphasized using the backboard. It will be a pregame point of emphasis as well, so hopefully we’ll do it. Having no real idea about the quality of our opponents I remain optimistic about our chances and hopefully we’ll see some improvement.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Game vs WM
Well the long and the short of it is that we lost. And contrary to what I felt like at the time, we lost because we couldn’t make close shots, something revealed when I watched the tape. In particular Alex couldn’t make a close shot to save his life, going 1-16 on the night, none taken more than 10 feet away from the basket. Others faced similar difficulties in making a shot.
The good news is that we did a serviceable job with our offense. We were getting good looks. There were some basic concepts, like cutting after a pass, which we failed on, but otherwise were doing well. I wasn’t terribly impressed with how we moved the ball around, but the officials were.
Our defensive rebounding was abysmal, we actually had more offensive than defensive rebounds (they out rebounded us on both ends of the court). In general our defense wasn’t so great. I thought it better at the game than on tape, but our lack of practice showed. That’s going to be a major focus for us tomorrow.
Overall, I can’t say I’m unhappy with how they played. I don’t feel like they played all out for 28 minutes, especially at the end, but overall it was a good performance. If Alex makes half his shots instead of losing 26-19, we win 33-26. Hell if Alex makes a 1/3 of the shots, it’s still a 27-26 victory.
Oh well. Some time tomorrow to try and improve for our game on Sunday.
The good news is that we did a serviceable job with our offense. We were getting good looks. There were some basic concepts, like cutting after a pass, which we failed on, but otherwise were doing well. I wasn’t terribly impressed with how we moved the ball around, but the officials were.
Our defensive rebounding was abysmal, we actually had more offensive than defensive rebounds (they out rebounded us on both ends of the court). In general our defense wasn’t so great. I thought it better at the game than on tape, but our lack of practice showed. That’s going to be a major focus for us tomorrow.
Overall, I can’t say I’m unhappy with how they played. I don’t feel like they played all out for 28 minutes, especially at the end, but overall it was a good performance. If Alex makes half his shots instead of losing 26-19, we win 33-26. Hell if Alex makes a 1/3 of the shots, it’s still a 27-26 victory.
Oh well. Some time tomorrow to try and improve for our game on Sunday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
