Senior Boys Basketball
SB Basketball: Discipline and Little Things
A snowy night in Drummondville. L’Ecole Secondaire La Poudriere. The scoreboard reads 17-16 at halftime. We’re down. It’s been a scratchy game. I can’t complain about the effort, the boys are bringing the energy, but we’re a step late to loose balls, we’re fouling too much, we’re visibly upset at the tight whistle, and we’re letting our opponents get into the paint where they consistently wreak havoc. We’re not good with havoc, especially on the defensive end. Havoc creates gaps. It sends opposing players to the line. Havoc gets us in foul trouble.
So the key word during halftime was DISCIPLINE. At the top of the defence, don’t get drawn out too far, play the drive – discipline. When defending the rim, don’t reach, be straight up and strong – discipline. In transition, see the pass, value the basketball – discipline. Finally, forget the referees, stop wasting mental energy and losing focus, control what you can control and let the refs ref the game – discipline.
And do the boys ever respond.
Patito, Daniel, Luke and Emilio seal off the top of the key, forcing risky, ill-advised passes into the paint. Bo, Jeremy, Jeremiah, Victor and especially Augie play the smartest interior defence of the season, forcing tough shots inside instead of bailing players out with flailing fouls. (And Jeremy and Augie, when the moment is right, STILL come up with some highlight-reel blocked shots.) Josh, Daniel, Bo and Patito cut down on transition turnovers, leading to some crucial fast-break buckets. And, critically, we stop letting the refs’ calls affect us and instead watch our opponents lose focus and become increasingly frustrated with the whistle.
This disciplined play smothers La Poudriere. It makes them fully defend every possession – no freebies – AND earn every point on offence. With two minutes left in the fourth quarter, the score is 41-24, a dominant 25-7 run for your Spartans that consisted not of made jump shots and circus layups but steady, intelligent, disciplined play. LITTLE THINGS. That mean a lot.
Little things that we will need for the big weekend coming up, i.e. the storied Anderson Small Schools Tournament. Over 70 years of history. Eight teams from across Quebec. Two division of four teams each. Three round-robin games over Friday/Saturday, and if we can finish first or second in our division, we will earn a spot in Sunday morning’s semi-finals. And if we make the semis, anything can happen.
Let’s bring it this weekend, gentlemen. As Jeremy would say: “Bask-et-BALL!”
Coaches VD & B
Overall Record: 8 wins 5 losses
RSEQ League Play: 3 win 2 losses
Points for per game: 45.8 Points allowed per game: 36.8
Stanstead Invitational Tournament FINALISTS
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