Spartans vs. NF2

Today we faced NF2. I had problems with my car (the doors don’t want to open) and was already running behind schedule. So I show up only 10 minutes before the start of the game. I’ve never cut it so close to a game, without having some sort of prior commitment. I am relieved to see my team in a nice lay-up line as I get there. I call them over and we talk about screening off the ball, getting back on defense, and being into the game on the bench. We start the Jacks, David, Scott, and Dante. They are a tall team. When I announce that Jack M is going to be our point guard, Brian does not approve. He tells me that I should be letting David bring up the ball. I tell him flat out that I appreciate the suggestion, but that I’m going to make the call about those sorts of things.

They come out in some sort of zone. In fact throughout the game they play zone. I think it was supposed to be a 2-1-2. I know at one point it was supposed to be, however, they never really execute it well. Anyway they’re playing some sort of zone. Having the H’s back for the game makes a huge difference. NF2 is a big team and they win the tip-off (David did the jump for us). However, with-in the first 90 seconds it becomes clear we are a substantially better team. We manage to miss several open and easy layups. However, they’re getting nothing. They had traveling or double dribble called on four of their first five possessions. It’s 8-0 at the end of the first quarter.

For whatever reason, the team had a hard time with the concept of “we’re going to let them in bounds it and then we’ll pressure them” but it doesn’t really matter. Shortly into the 2nd quarter we go up by 10. The game is a slaughter. We end up winning 40-12 but if I hadn’t held them back starting in the 3rd quarter it could have been a lot more than just 40 points we scored. Gordie astutely pointed out that they were tired in the second quarter. Once again their natural talent won the game, so I can take little credit for that. However, the fact that as the game goes on we get better against our opponents is something I will take some credit for.

The good:
We passed the ball well against their zone. There were lots of openings to be found and we found them and took the shots. I started forcing the team not to take those shots but they were there. We played well against a team that was bigger than we were. They had 3 players all taller than Dante (our tallest player) and a couple of others who were about he same size as Dante. Then they also had a couple of kids who were shorter than anyone on our team. It was kind of strange, actually.

We also did a great job of hustling back. They scored ZERO transition points. Which, considering how many points we scored and shots we took, is just strange. The whole hustling ethos did not seem to be widespread on their team, but our team sure did it.

The bad:
We didn’t seem to enjoy this victory. Maybe it was just because many of our best players spent so much time on the bench (yet another way we could have beaten them by more than we did). But while the H’s were overjoyed with our victory at the end, everyone else was kind blah. In some ways, I like that. Win low key, lose low key. And so while I preach it, I’m surprised that these 4th graders are actually doing that. I think part of it must have been how dominating we were all game. It’s hard to stay excited when you know the opponents are so inferior.

Beyond that we got into foul trouble. The non-shooting fouls didn’t bother me. What DID bother me was how many fouls we committed on shots that the other team had no right taking. They would chuck up shots, and let me tell you that’s what the team was doing, chucking up shots, from near the 3 point line and we would foul them. It was awful.

I am not taking advantage of my sitting in the middle of the players. The reason I do this, besides keeping proximity is so I can talk to them. Instead I’ve been way too focused on the game. I need to involve the bench players in the game more, watching what people on the court are doing and asking questions. Brian, in his third bit of challenging, got upset when I wouldn’t let him sit next to Jack M on the bench. Oh well. But the point remains that while it’s good on its own to keep everyone close to me, there is more that can be done.

Finally, our inbounds play is nonexistent. They’re just not doing it in the game.

Player Notes
Brian: He got some extensive playing time and looked much better than he did in practice. I’ll be curious to hear how he feels about it tomorrow.

Dante: Was much more of a non factor this game than last with far fewer boards.

David: My dad was amazed when I told him that he was the best player on the team. He was doing a lot of little things well today, but only had 2 points. I would hazard to suggest his men had 0 points against him. He did play some point later in the game and did a nice job with it, as expected. I do worry that I am not using him as well as I should be. If he has a couple more games like this then it will be time to take a deeper look at how we can be doing more to feature his skills.

Gordie: He got lots of playing time. He actually almost fouled out. He played better than he did last game. He threw up a bad shot in the fourth, when I was all set to leave him in for the rest of the game, so I pulled him. He said “I don’t know why I took that shot.” I replied, matter of factly, “I don’t know why either. If you hadn’t you’d still be in the game.” He got the message and when he went back in was good about distributing the ball.

Jack P: He made things happen. He was able to move well and get good shots, including some nice penetration. He had to guard a lot of different guys, including some who were much taller than he, and did a good job.

Jack M: He started off playing well. I think, however, when he was one of the first people subbed for he felt discouraged and didn’t play particularly well the rest of the game. Also was clearly annoyed at having his time limited in the second half.

Scott: Our game MVP. Just like Jack M made things happen last week, Scott made things happen this week. He missed an INSANE number of lay-ups however, he would come down with the board a high percentage of the time as well so it balanced out. He led our team with 10 points.

Tom: He seemed out of joint. He was quite discouraged and upset with himself after the game on how he’d played. I plan on processing this with him tomorrow at practice.

Lucas: He got a lot of playing time. My dad (who came to the game) thought he did very well. And I was like “huh”? He scored 5 points, all in the second half, and did play better as the game went-on, but his defensive wasn’t so good and he was still often confused on offense. I’m not quite sure what my dad saw in him.

Well there is a lot of stuff to work on. We could easily spend the whole hour and a half practice tomorrow just on our zone offense, man-to-man offense, in bounds, and press. However, we won’t, since that would be boring. I am going to try and find a new game to play.

Two and oh is nice, but three and oh will feel much better.