...and that's a start.
The key to beating Tony's teams is to take good shots, stay disciplined on D, and don't do stupid shit. We weren't perfect on the last one (Lordy, some of those forces), but we did enough of that right to get to 70+ points (another key to beating UVA) and win one wire-to-wire.
- This may have been our best defensive game of the season, and the guys put the EFFORT in. Coming out of the under-12, Caleb absolutely stoned an iso in his best sequence on that end in forever... and THAT's what he's capable of. Mando (with one exception) was a beast in help-D, as was Leaky, and RJ did a very credible job on Clark.
- Speaking of D, MAJOR kudos to whoever on the staff had the scouting duties for this one --- we consistently anticipated their screen/flair/curl actions, and most times got to our help spots in time to thwart it --- thus the blocks from the backside.
- And on the D note... when Pete went to the 5 in the first half I cringed as usual, and he was a day late and a dollar short... as usual. But... lemme tell ya, a big ol' fuse got lit somewhere along the line, because next time he turned into Wilt Chamberlain reincarnated, protecting the rim like a demon. And boy, did we NEED that, what with the invented calls that put Mando on the bench.
- In general, Pete carried the day for us at a key time when we were hitting a "danger zone". EASILY his best game as a Heel. Keep it up, big fella!
- Oh, and howz about our Guards hitting the boards? Another key to limiting their possessions. And welcome back, Puff.
- A continuing concern (one that some of you astutely identified in the last "stuff" thread) is our inaccurate passing in general --- not hitting guys where they can do something without recovering.
-- Also, Hubert again pushed the envelope by letting us get gassed in the second half, but fortunately Tony's guys were gassed as well and he called a timeout we badly needed.
- Kudos to Hubert and staff for not only being prepared and getting the guys' attention as to effort, but he used a nifty wrinkle on key set plays in the second half to take advantage of UVA's over-aggressive hedges --- 3 wide-open layups went a long way in holding off any UVA ralliy.
- Finally, make no mistake, when you take the court and Jamie Luckie's not the worst ref in the crew?... Phew!... that's a sign of a rough day to come (yeah Gaffney, I'm talking about you). Hell, #1 for UVA by himself could've earned jail time for the uncalled felonious assaults. So yeah, the fact we overcame that nonsense as well speaks volumes for a strong showing.
Anyway... our shot-selection was (mostly) better, and we thus made more. In general, we played hard, played (mostly) smart, and played (mostly) together. If we can elevate those "mostly"s, the rest of season might be more fun than many anticipated. Better be ready Monday though!... we shall see...
The key to beating Tony's teams is to take good shots, stay disciplined on D, and don't do stupid shit. We weren't perfect on the last one (Lordy, some of those forces), but we did enough of that right to get to 70+ points (another key to beating UVA) and win one wire-to-wire.
- This may have been our best defensive game of the season, and the guys put the EFFORT in. Coming out of the under-12, Caleb absolutely stoned an iso in his best sequence on that end in forever... and THAT's what he's capable of. Mando (with one exception) was a beast in help-D, as was Leaky, and RJ did a very credible job on Clark.
- Speaking of D, MAJOR kudos to whoever on the staff had the scouting duties for this one --- we consistently anticipated their screen/flair/curl actions, and most times got to our help spots in time to thwart it --- thus the blocks from the backside.
- And on the D note... when Pete went to the 5 in the first half I cringed as usual, and he was a day late and a dollar short... as usual. But... lemme tell ya, a big ol' fuse got lit somewhere along the line, because next time he turned into Wilt Chamberlain reincarnated, protecting the rim like a demon. And boy, did we NEED that, what with the invented calls that put Mando on the bench.
- In general, Pete carried the day for us at a key time when we were hitting a "danger zone". EASILY his best game as a Heel. Keep it up, big fella!
- Oh, and howz about our Guards hitting the boards? Another key to limiting their possessions. And welcome back, Puff.
- A continuing concern (one that some of you astutely identified in the last "stuff" thread) is our inaccurate passing in general --- not hitting guys where they can do something without recovering.
-- Also, Hubert again pushed the envelope by letting us get gassed in the second half, but fortunately Tony's guys were gassed as well and he called a timeout we badly needed.
- Kudos to Hubert and staff for not only being prepared and getting the guys' attention as to effort, but he used a nifty wrinkle on key set plays in the second half to take advantage of UVA's over-aggressive hedges --- 3 wide-open layups went a long way in holding off any UVA ralliy.
- Finally, make no mistake, when you take the court and Jamie Luckie's not the worst ref in the crew?... Phew!... that's a sign of a rough day to come (yeah Gaffney, I'm talking about you). Hell, #1 for UVA by himself could've earned jail time for the uncalled felonious assaults. So yeah, the fact we overcame that nonsense as well speaks volumes for a strong showing.
Anyway... our shot-selection was (mostly) better, and we thus made more. In general, we played hard, played (mostly) smart, and played (mostly) together. If we can elevate those "mostly"s, the rest of season might be more fun than many anticipated. Better be ready Monday though!... we shall see...
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