Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Previous Tournament and the next tournament

April 27-29Th Who's Next Invitational

First game of the tournament was horrible. Our defense couldn't get worse than what we played the first game. The team we played wasn't bad by any means, but it was a less talented team. Our fundamental defense was poor; both individually and as a team. We were reaching instead of moving over to stop penetration. When we did come over to help, our second rotation was non-existent. They are in for a rude awakening in high school. They only care about offense and not having themselves look bad.

We ended up losing the game by two points on a shot with about 10 seconds left. We should have won by 10 points, easily. Our offense was all one on one with no patience or movement. It was really poor to even watch.

The next two games, we played really weak teams and we crushed them. In these tournaments, there is a wide range of teams. Some teams are really talented and some look like they are 4 years younger than everyone else.

We ended up winning a draw to get a number one seed and a bye into the semi-finals of the tournament. In that game, we ended up playing a really good team that we had lost to earlier in the year by 30. They really are a solid team, athletic and very unselfish. We had it within 6 points halfway through the 3rd quarter but couldn't get any closer.

I have made some adjustments to our offense. I am going to be a lot more liberal with my enforcement of what I want done. If they don't understand what needs to be done every possession, they will not play. It is really killing the team when people are forcing shots. Defensively, I am just searching for people who will put the effort and desire to stop people. We don't have a player who will step up and take the challenge to shut down the other team's best player.

We have a tournament in Bloomington this weekend. I am looking forward to it and I expect us to do well. Along with a lot of changes to take place. It is embarrassing as a coach to have a team look non-fundamental and unorganized. I have reached a point where I won't put up with it anymore. That being said, this weekend could get interesting depending on how the players adjust to my new, strict policy.

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