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.