Beginning to crank it up

January has been a good month for us. Heck, December was a good month too! With our win last night at 4A powerhouse Elkhart Memorial, we have now notched 13 consecutive wins, running our record to 17-2 for the season. We finish the regular season tomorrow night at Prairie Heights. We are playing very good basketball right now, and the thing that excites me the most is that we are still getting better! Our defensive effort last night was top-notch. In fact, I think last night was the first time all season that the win was keyed by our defense and not our ability to score points.

Understandably, we rely heavily on our scoring ability. Averaging over 81 points per game - which if the season ended today would be the all-time IHSAA record for girls - gives us a certain comfort level. But when we are able to lock up on defense, our team reaches a new level of strength and competitiveness. Such was the case last night. Memorial has two star-caliber players in their lineup and we held both of them in check for most of the night. It was a terrific team effort that began with some awesome individual efforts. I was very proud of the girls and encouraged by their willingness to do the dirty work that good defense requires.

The sectional draw is Sunday night, so we will know better the path that we will need to take to achieve our ultimate goal - a state championship. We are playing hard and playing together and the results bear out the significance of that fact. Five weeks from tomorrow is the state championship game in Terre Haute. We are not looking past any one game. All I am saying is that we plan to be there. And we plan to win.

Tough Stretch

As the cold snow blows outside, it is a reminder that we are headed into one last mad dash to the end of the regular season. We've been fortunate to this point; the girls have posted a good record and continue to improve, injuries and illnesses have been minimal, and our future continues to look bright. But we will be tested in the next nine days.

We will board the bus tomorrow - weather permitting - and head west to the Culver Academy to play in their invitational tournament. Games on Friday and Saturday against relatively unfamiliar opponents will give us a mild taste of what our regional will be like. Next week we host Whitko for our Senior Night, then hit the road for a long drive to Elkhart to play one of the top teams in the state, Elkhart Memorial. The girls get a day off Friday from school, so I hope they get a chance to charge their internal batteries for one more longish trip to Orland where we will finish our regular season against Prairie Heights on Saturday.

I can't predict how the final five games will turn out, but it is worth noting that four of them have winning records and only one of the contests will see us in our own gym. So...we need to be ready mentally and physically for the grind that awaits. I hope it's an experience that brings the girls closer together and they recognize the need to fight through this challenge together. We have definitely been headed in the right direction by several measures, so I am optimistic that we will maximize our opportunities here as well.

Big win

I suspect, given the number of hits this blog had yesterday, that people were expecting a recap of the Concordia game. Believe me, I would have loved to put some thoughts out here sooner, but even Sundays are busy days for me and my family. So here, late on Monday night, I type.

The Saturday evening game at Concordia was billed as a matchup between two highly-ranked teams in Fort Wayne. They came in as the #4 team in Class 3A and we are still sitting at #1 in 1A. They defend you like crazy; we like to score. It was going to be a battle of styles, no doubt about it. I anticipated a game in the 50s because we've never scored more than 58 against them and only 42 last year in a close loss. Happily, I was wrong.

We had 45 points by halftime, eclipsing their defensive average of 40.2 in just 16 minutes. Unfortunately, we had some foul trouble and didn't do a very good job defending our own basket. The game would ebb and flow for most of the second half as both Coach Miller and I made adjustment after adjustment. In the end, we held them off and finished the game well. It was, without a doubt, our best game of the year considering the opponent.

The nice thing for me is that we identified a few more things that we need to do better in order to maximize our efforts. We still haven't peaked - and don't want to - until we hit the tournament trail in February. This week will present some unusual challenges. Tuesday night we face a winless Central Noble team. The challenge there will be to avoid embarrassing them and to make sure we make it off of the floor without injury. Friday and Saturday, we will be at Culver Girls Academy in a tournament. We've won it the past two seasons and I anticipate that we can do it again if we continue to play well. We first square off with Western Reserve Academy from Ohio. With a win, we will likely face Culver in the finals.

It will be an overnight trip which is something we haven't done yet this year. I look at it as practice for the state tournament when we might need to stay overnight one or more times along the trail. It may seem presumptuous or unusual to look at it this way, but it has been a reality in the past, and it would be a failure on my part if we didn't consider all foreseeable possibilities as we begin preparations for the state tournament series. It's part of being a championship program. That is our #1 goal and all of our energies are devoted to achieving it. Plus, it's fun!

Hoopla redux

Well, Hoopla was everything it was stacked up to be last Saturday. Four games, a packed house, free food, entertainment for the kids, and so on. We raised $1537 for the Coaches vs. Cancer effort, something that comes completely from free-will donations in lieu of admission charged at the gate. That's a cause that I feel strongly about and I will continue to support it as long as I am in a position to do so.

The game? We started off a bit sluggishly, trailing at one point 16-15 in the first half. The turnaround didn't feel very abrupt, but by halftime we had outscored Lakewood Park 46-6. For the first time, I think the girls all felt comfortable in the role they played and they were simply terrific. I tried to manage playing time and quarters as well as I could, and the starters were done as the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter. In the interim, they put on a show for the standing-room-only crowd and when a pair of free throws pushed our total to 101 points for the night, the crowd went nuts. We may never do it again, but we will have opportunities if we continue to play hard and play together. That's all I asked the girls to do, and they responded.

Tonight, New Haven comes to Canterbury. They will be physical and well-coached, so we need to be prepared to play. We had a long, hard practice last night in an effort to shore up our conditioning. I hope the girls feel like tonight is an easier experience than they had last night. Playing full-court non-stop against a decent group of boys was a challenge that New Haven will probably not present. It may be unconventional, but it helps us get better and that's our primary goal every night in practice.

The snow is beginning to fall outside - it's hard to remember that we are already approaching mid-January. I'm not complaining though - I hope the rest of the winter will be as mild as we've experienced so far. It's tough enough to consider playing 8 games in the next 17 days. We don't need to start worrying about cancellations and makeup games. All we can do is play; the rest of that stuff is out of our control.

New Year blogging

While we've had plenty of things to occupy our time, most of them aren't really the sorts of things that people seek out when they read someone's blog. I assume most people who come here either do it 1) accidentally; or 2) with an interest in learning about some of my most recent thoughts regarding the Lady Cavalier basketball team. Accidents do happen, and you are free to go on your way. However, if you hang around for a few more words, I am ready to share some of the musings floating around in my brain.

I enjoyed the action of the SAC Tournament over the holidays, but from an unfamiliar position. I joined up with Brett Rump of Indiana Web Sports to do the color commentary on the final day of the tournament. We did four games together (both girls' semifinals and both championship games) and I had a blast! That is definitely something I would like to try when my coaching days are through. Brett does a great job and really works hard for our local athletes, broadcasting games nearly every night in basketball and football season. If you are interested in some very inexpensive sponsorship opportunities, contact him at Indianawebsports.com.

We finally got a chance to return to action a couple nights ago at Dwenger. I really like Dave Scudder and he's done a great job for a long time with the GBB teams. He's had his hands full this year with one of the most brutal schedules in the state. In fact, no team in Class 3A has a tougher slate. So while their record isn't impressive, when one considers the difficulty of the games they've played, it's easy to see why. We began playing them last year and our first contest was a double-overtime thriller that easily could have been a loss instead of the 81-76 win. I expected nothing less this time as I've seen them play a couple times and they are huge! Their guards are as big our our bigs, so we knew a slow-down game would be uncomfortable for us. Fortunately, we were able to get the pace to our liking and got out to a nice double-digit lead. But, just as they did last year, Dwenger came scratching back and drew within three points in the last minute. Some clutch ballhandling and free throw shooting iced it for us 74-67.

I was even more pleased with the win after watching the game tape. It's not that we did everything so well; we just didn't have any areas of weakness, other than conditioning. Given the fact that we had not played a game in nearly three weeks and really only had light practices in the most recent week, we did a lot of things well. Everyone contributed and there were enough highlight plays to remind me why I get excited about this team and their prospects.

Tomorrow is Hoopla - a fledgling Canterbury tradition. It's hard to describe (a classic Canterbury characteristic) but there will be several events centered around four basketball games. It should be a good time and our opponent, Lakewood Park, will bring a big crowd and help to fill the gym with a great atmosphere. If you get a chance, come out and see us play. It's our first home game since November 16 - nine road games in between - so our kids are looking forward to putting on a show. We hope to see you there!

Christmas Break

I gave my final exams yesterday and got them graded today, so I'm feeling pretty good about that. It means that Christmas break can officially begin and the time that I so often spend with the children of others can now be dedicated solely to my own. That's nice.

We won last Friday at Blackhawk and played a very good third quarter after a sluggish first half. It was particularly gratifying to have no fewer than seven former players in the building to witness the latest version of Canterbury girls basketball. It really is special when the former players take the time to come out and see us play. I hope they were impressed by what they saw.

With the win, we finished the first half of the season at 8 wins and 2 losses. That's not bad, considering we played the toughest schedule that any of my teams has ever faced. Only two of those games were contested against schools our own size; everything else came against bigger schools, many with rich histories of success in girls basketball. In the same day, we took on Northrop and Snider, two schools who brought home state championship trophies in the 1980s playing under Hall of Fame coaches. In fact, we've played half of the SAC schools in Fort Wayne already this year. We went on the road to Wawasee, home of Shana Zolman, arguably the best high school girls basketball player in Indiana history. We went to Huntington and won in a gym that the 1990 and 1995 state champions, also led by a HOF coach, called home.

I wonder sometimes how those schools view us. We won three class A state championships in 2008-2010, so Canterbury has a legacy as well. I know it's a little uncomfortable because no one wants to lose to a small school such as ours. Still, we do have some history and this year's team is certainly talented enough that other teams must play well to beat us. From my point of view, I don't think there is shame in losing to Canterbury. But, as I said, I don't know how others feel about it.

We now take a few days off for some well-earned R&R. The girls had final exams this week and with Christmas coming up and no games until early January, we have moved out of the gym for awhile. My hope is that once we get back, it will be with a new vigor and enthusiasm, one that will help carry us through the long difficult stretch known as January. We'll have to do some extra conditioning and review the offenses and defenses that we have in place. I've been able to let my head clear a bit, allowing me to begin envisioning the things that we need to concentrate on once we return. A couple new offensive sets, a full-court press, and some new out-of-bounds plays are on the to-do list. But they will have to wait for now. This is family time, and we don't have enough of it as it is. Cassie is only home until the 27th, so she and the boys are the top priorities for the next several days.

To everyone who checks in periodically to see what's on my mind, here you go...have a very Merry Christmas and a safe and blessed New Year!

Winding down the first half

With just one game to play before Christmas - this Friday at Blackhawk Christian - we are nearly done with the first half of the regular season. To this point, we've done okay. We've played half of the Summit Athletic Conference and gone 2-2 so far. There is no shame in losing to either Snider or South Side, but it would have been nice to perform a bit better on the defensive end in those games. We scored plenty of points, but we didn't do what we needed to slow them down. In our seven wins, we were just better than the other team on that particular night and played well enough to prevail. No team in Class A plays a tougher schedule, so we're hoping that a season-long set of tough battles will help us when the tournament rolls around. That's been a winning philosophy in the past, and we hope it continues.

It's at this stage of the season that you begin to closely follow the teams that you are likely to see on the tournament trail. Some people may see that as an example of overconfidence. I prefer to think of it as preparation. If you are going to do well in the tournament, you first must believe that you are going to do well. The next logical step is to prepare each night in practice and through the collection of scouting reports and game tapes of potential opponents. Right now, there are probably 6-8 teams in Class A who are having impressive seasons. Some, like Oregon-Davis and Vincennes Rivet are familiar rivals who are once again playing well. Triton, Southern Wells, and Barr-Reeve are all undefeated at this stage. Some newer faces like Riverton Parke and Frontier have now appeared in the latest weekly poll. At the end of the day, the teams who are playing the best basketball in February will be the ones advancing through the tournament. We are trying to get better every night so we might be one of those teams. A lot can happen in the next 7-10 weeks. I hope we can be in the mix when that time comes.

Road Warriors

Tonight, we head west to Huntington for our sixth consecutive game away from home. It's an unfortunate situation that emerged due to a new event at Snider and the shifting of the Whitko game to late January. Otherwise, we would have had at least one game in our own gym in the month of December. In any event, we'll make the 30-minute drive tonight to take on one of the state's most storied programs.

I did my student teaching at Huntington back in 1988 under the newly hired girls basketball coach, Fred Fields. I enjoyed sharing stories and perspectives with him as I had already logged three seasons as a coach on my dad's staff at Columbia City by then. in 1990, Huntington won the state championship. They won again in 1995, a remarkable feat considering that they did it with a completely different group of players. During my tenure at Columbia City, our two teams did battle a number of times, often in the deeper stages of the state tournament series. Fred is in the Hall of Fame now, joining my dad as one of the earliest inductees from the collection of girls basketball coaches in Indiana. He still checks in from time to time as we are making noise in the tournament and I appreciate the fact that he hasn't forgotten about me despite his notable coaching accomplishments.

Huntington looks a bit different these days. They still play a tough schedule, being one of the biggest schools in the entire state. However, they haven't been able to crack the win column yet this year. I know it's just a matter of time - I just hope it isn't tonight!

Traffic

on this blog has been ramping up significantly in recent days. Lots of hits from Twitter and LinkedIn, but also getting some visits from search engines as well. I guess I better continue to update it, though a shortage of time and some waning enthusiasm will make that difficult. The primary purpose of this site is not entertainment. I thought it would be interesting to some people to keep them informed about the progress of the girls basketball team as we move through the 2011-2012 season. For the time being - as long as traffic remains high - I will plan to continue on that course. Even though there are some people out there who experience schadenfreude when things don't go our way, I still like to believe that most people who follow our exploits are happy when our team wins.

At one point last year, we were 2-2 and nearly lost a couple others before Christmas (nipped Whitko by 6 and Wawasee by 6). Immediately after Christmas, we had to go double OT to beat Dwenger. But all those games came in a stretch where we won 20 in a row! The expectations for this year's team are much higher. So, even though we are 5-2 and playing the toughest schedule we've ever attempted, at times it feels like we're not getting the results we want. What will it take?

Obviously, a successful trip to Terre Haute would be required. But I'm here to tell you, it's not that easy. "Say it, do it" is not a strategy. We need to be able to mold a team from a group of individuals who are still trying to find their niche. It takes time. It takes patience. It takes sacrifice. It takes commitment. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. We've shown improvement, but we need to get better every night. There's a long road ahead, with lots of twists and turns. We'll see how well we can navigate it.

Briefly

Lost at South Side. Played better than we did against Snider, but had a bad stretch in the third quarter that cost us. In our two losses, the third quarter has been the reason. I guess I need to do a better job at halftime. Some people question our conditioning, but we are rarely outplayed in the second or fourth quarters, times you would expect for that to show up. No, it's the third quarter, so maybe I need to take a look at our mental preparation and figure out why sometimes we aren't ready to play coming out of the break.

Wawasee Saturday was a pretty good day. Played man the entire game and seemed to get comfortable in the run and jump defense in the half court. Their ball handling was not very good, so it was easier to attack them. It was obvious that they were mentally and physically defeated by the end of the first half. We put four girls in double figures, but I was more interested in how we played defense. It was a step in the right direction.

We've got a couple days of prep for Huntington now. We're slowly adding sets as we go through the season, but I want to concentrate on doing a limited number of things very well. No sense in putting in 20 offensive sets and not being able to run any of them effectively. Once again, I am more interested in what we are doing at the defensive end. If we worked as hard at trying to keep people from scoring as we do to score ourselves, this team could be pretty good. Hopefully, we will see another solid defensive effort Thursday at Huntington.

The path to Christmas break

With Thanksgiving (and Black Friday!) now past, we begin to set our sights toward Christmas. It's hard to believe that our regular season is already a quarter of the way done. By Christmas, it will be halfway over. That means we have five games in the next three weeks - a slow stretch when considering we will play ten games in January alone. So, what will the next few weeks bring us? Tough competition and a variety of playing styles, that's for sure. And, oh yes, they are all on the road...

First, a very difficult game at South Side. It's a loud place to play - weird acoustics - and South is determined each year to make us look as bad as possible. It annoys them when we actually win, like we did two years ago at their place. They got their revenge last year, beating us soundly. Our passing and catching was unbelievably bad. If we play that way this year, it will be another long night. They will press and attack all over the floor with great athleticism.

Saturday, we are at Wawasee. They have a terrific individual player named Knafel. After that, they lack experience and depth. They will play their trademark 3-2 defense everywhere. They press in it, drop back into it, and play it on out-of-bounds plays. It's what they do and we'll need to be able to find the seams and convert when we get the chance. It's our last scheduled game with them as they have indicated that they would like to look elsewhere for a game. That's disappointing, but not unprecedented. Since we've had some success the past few years, more and more teams are coming up with reasons to not play us. Whatever.

Next, we will continue our odyssey as we make the half-hour drive to Huntington. That's a new pickup on our schedule (thanks to Fremont dropping us...see above) and one we're excited about playing. They are an extremely physical team and are tough at home. They will try to beat us up and beat us down, so we'll need to be strong physically and mentally. I scouted them last week against Homestead and they had their opponents in complete disarray due to their style of play. It won't be easy, but that's the only way to get better!

After that, we coast into the break with weekend games with Bethany Christian and Blackhawk Christian. Bethany always plays us tough up there in Waterford Mills, so we need to guard against a letdown. They play a decent schedule, so they won't be intimidated just because it's Canterbury. Blackhawk is rebuilding with a new coach and a vastly different lineup. That game will be part of a boy-girl doubleheader, so that should be fun. They are our closest rivals. I hope we play well and head to the holiday break healthy and with some good performances under our belts. I'll talk a little bit more about each of these games moving forward.

A new experience

Playing this past Saturday in the Snider Classic, we got to face two local 4A teams in a single day. We always hope that we get a chance to play two games in one day later in February at the regional level of the state tournament. The event at Snider was a good chance to play some stiff competition and to measure where we are as individuals and as a team.

The morning win against Northrop was solid. The 67-49 final was a reflection of our play in the second half. After a fairly even opening half, we steadily distanced ourselves from Northrop. We employed a good game plan at the defensive end and felt good about the quality win. In the afternoon game, things didn't go as well against a Top 20 Snider team. Once again, our game plan was solid, as evidenced by the meager six points scored by their all-star post player Akilah Sims. Unfortunately, we didn't count on the career game from Western Michigan-bound Meredith Shipman. She hit nine three-pointers on her way to a 43-point day. And once we adjusted defensively in attempt to slow her down, the inside opened up for Sims and she exploded for 24 second-half points. Collectively, the two scored 73 of their team's 83 points. We scored 74 in what I felt was a pretty good offensive effort.

Could we have done some things differently? Yes. Was I second-guessed by some people for our defensive approach? Yes. If we played Snider again would we pursue a different strategy? Yes.

If we played exactly the same game today, would Snider have a player score 43? Probably not. If we could hold an all-star post player to six points in a half, would I be pleased? Absolutely. Is hindsight always 20-20? Of course it is.

We're still learning about each other and what we are capable of achieving. This group of girls has only played four games together. Everyone has grand ideas, but we still haven't been able to get everyone on the same page. Over time, and through a certain amount of adversity, we will craft a team that has the opportunity to be successful over the long haul. Until then, it's a patient process that we want to pursue, one that gives us our best chance to win and win regularly and win at the highest levels. We won't get a chance at Snider until next year, but when we do, we will be much more organized and prepared and ready to return the favor.

Progress? Well, maybe...

Convincing win last night against Woodlan. They won their opener against Bellmont, so we were a little wary, but were more concerned about doing our stuff well. Offensively, we did some good things. I was a little surprised they played us man-to-man the entire night. We could have exploited some matchups all night long, but I wanted us to continue to work on our continuity offense. It paid some dividends - we shot 56% for the night, compared to 29% the other night against Wayne. We relied less on the 3-point shot, yet made more of them. Free throws shooting was abysmal and that's something we need to get rectified. But enough about offense.

Our defense - the focus of the entire game - was subpar. We experimented with a few different schemes, but except for a nice stretch in the second part of the third quarter, there weren't many bright spots at the defensive end. We'll try to figure out what we did well during that sequence and build on it. For the most part, we didn't cover well, didn't trap well, didn't get many tips or deflections, or generate much offense from our defense. If we are going to be any good, that's something that must happen. I'll be studying tape this afternoon to see who was getting the job done and who was reluctant to participate. With a series of SAC powerhouses looming on the horizon, we better get it figured out pretty soon.

I'll let you know how it goes...

Identity

It's not who we are; it's what we do and how we do it.

I've got a group of kids who are very talented basketball players. Sometime, in the future, they will develop into a very good basketball team. My job is to figure out which buttons to push, which combinations to arrange, and which tactical and strategic approaches to employ. However, before any of those things can happen, our team must develop an identity.

The coaches are teaching and the players are learning. Skills are developing and bonds among teammates are emerging. Expectations are being stated and goals are being established. But we still seek that glue that will hold us together and make us stronger. It's like we know where we want to go, but haven't quite decided the best route to get there. Given time, the fog will clear and our path will present itself.

All very philosophical, I know, but there's a lot of that in coaching. We learn to embrace the things that work and discard the ones that don't. No two teams are the same - no two seasons are the same. Every year, it's an adventure as you try to figure out what is going to give your team its best chances for success. None of that can happen though until the team establishes its own unique identity. That's where we are right now, but we're working on it every day.

I'll let you know how it goes...

A winning start

I knew we would have our hands full in our opener last night with Wayne. They have some talented players, speed, size, and good veteran coaching. I figured the game would be fast-paced (we like that) with both teams making runs at the other. I did not think either team would be able to run away and hide, for a couple reasons. First, I thought that the matchups would not favor one team over the other. I was concerned about their big girl in the middle and we had to adjust all night long to take her away as their number one option. On the other hand, Wayne loves to press teams and they didn't even try last night because we have ballhandlers -- good to great -- at every position. Mix in the uncertainty of opening night basketball, and you have all the right conditions for a back and forth contest.

I was very pleased with our effort. We outrebounded a bigger team (44-37), had fewer turnovers (13 to 25), and shot several more free throws (23 to 5). All of these statistics support the notion that we outworked our opponent in several measurable areas. The one thing we did not do was shoot the ball well, particularly from three-point range. 3-28 is a nightmare, yet we were able to overcome it with tenacious offensive rebounding and second chance points. We have some very good shooters and I don't believe I am being overconfident when I say we will have much better shooting nights as the season progresses.

The most important part of the evening was that we found a way to win. In the preliminary game, our JV kids really sucked it up and held on against a physically aggressive opponent. I was very proud of their performance. Likewise, in the varsity game, we did what we needed to do to manufacture a win when a loss was certainly possible. Down the stretch, we made some adjustments and the kids made some plays and that was the difference. Even though we are young - just one senior - these girls are veteran ballplayers and they are going to get the job done. We have some stiff competition coming up in the next few weeks. I am anxious to see how we will improve and what sorts of accomplishments these girls can have.

I'll let you know how it goes...

Misunderstanding

If anyone asks one of our players today if they are ready to play, the answer will almost certainly be "Yes!" Unfortunately, that's the wrong answer, or at least an answer out of context. Yes, I'm sure the girls are excited about playing. No, they are not ready. There's no way. From Day One of official practice, we have a limited number of sessions to do work on one or more of the following things: conditioning, ballhandling, passing and catching, shooting, rebounding, defensive work, footwork, installing offenses, installing defenses, transition game, out-of-bounds plays, presses, press breakers, and all the teaching that goes along with it.

To make it even more interesting, for one full week (of the three weeks we've been practicing), our leading scorer from last season has been touring college campuses around the Northeast with her junior class. So, we haven't been able to put anything new in this week. She gets back this afternoon and we play our opener tomorrow against Wayne. So...that might help you understand why I don't get too excited about the opening weeks of the season. We know what we're up against and we set a goal to get better every night through the season so we can be at our peak when the tournament rolls around. Winning and losing have much less significant ramifications in November than they do in February.

Of course, we're going to try to win, and I think we will win. But we're almost doing it with a handicap and that means we aren't going to be as sharp and prepared as one would like. Still, it's a great opportunity to find a way to win and trust me, finding ways to scratch out wins is an art and a necessary element to playing championship basketball. That's what we intend to do tomorrow and every time we take the floor -- find a way!

I'll let you know how it goes...

Jamboree

It sounds like so much fun, doesn't it? A Jamboree!! What are we talking about...a Boy Scout event? Maybe the Country Bear Jamboree at Disney? My grandpa always got the biggest kick out of that show. No, tonight's jamboree is none of the above, but it is going to be a fun time. It's our first action against players from other schools, specifically Columbia City and Huntington. We will play one quarter against each of them for a total of 16 minutes of action. There will be referees and we'll keep score, but it's not a real game, more of a glorified practice. As such, we will only plan to play seven players, sport the practice jerseys instead of our real uniforms, and won't be too excited either way by the results. We won't even have a full squad as our leading scorer from last season is on a class-sponsored college visitation. So, it will be more of a whetting of the appetite for the games that are to come.

We only have a minimum number of offensive and defensive schemes in place, so this will be more of an opportunity to go run around and break the monotony that invariably emerges from practicing against the same people at the same time in the same place for several days. No matter whether we "win" or "lose" or even tie (yes, that has happened in these scrimmage events), we hope to see the things that we are doing well and the ones that will require more attention when we get back into the gym tomorrow night. The Wayne game is looming Saturday - I hope we look like we know what is going on tonight.

I'll let you know how it goes...

Homework

Earlier this week, I gave my basketball team a homework assignment. Not that they don't already have enough to do with Canterbury's challenging curriculum, but I wanted them to do some reading and thinking about how the game is played best.

The article I had them read is by former Duke star and current ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas. He actually put words on paper a couple years ago and I've had this article since it first appeared on the ESPN website. The gist of the article is how to be a "tough" basketball player. It's not about the boastful, posturing, puffed-out-chest facade of toughness, but the essential skills, mindset, and grit that make a player better, both as an individual and as a teammate. Bilas details 33 different actions or characteristics of a "tough" player. It's an excellent article and provides food for thought for players and coaches alike.

I had each of my players identify - honestly - any of the 33 they felt that they demonstrated regularly. I asked them to select the three that they thought were most important. Finally, I encouraged them to pick three that they wanted to add to their games this season. I will collect and analyze the work and report back to them about the responses they generated. It should be interesting to see where each of them lands and where we see ourselves as a team. It will also give each of us an opportunity to improve our expectations and performances as individuals and as a group.

I went into this season with a personal goal to do more teaching. We have a very young squad with a lot of potential. So far, I think we have done a good job. My staff is excellent - instructors all - so I believe we will make great progress over the course of a long season, helping the girls understand and appreciate how to play the game better than they do right now. This homework assignment - it won't be the only one I give this year - is a good starting point.

Less is more

I have this phone that does everything but mow my lawn. It has internet, a camera, an alarm clock, over 500 of my favorite songs, a scanner, an e-book library, a calculator, a camcorder, GPS, FM radio, pictures, and access to every kind of social networking known to man. Oh right, I can also call people and they can call me. That's really all I need, but anymore, any gadget you buy seems to have 40 other gadgets included. Heck, I don't even know how to use most of them!

I have long been a proponent of the "less is more" philosophy. Until recently, I didn't consider why I believed it. It just made sense to me. Upon further review, I think it resonates with me because I appreciate simplicity. Life does not need to be complicated to be good. I think sometimes the newest innovations are little more than unnecessarily complex mechanisms used to accomplish (formerly) simple tasks.

Segue to basketball. I've got notebooks and binders and playbooks with hundreds of different offenses and sets and schemes. You can count the stuff we'll put in this year on two hands. It's consistent with my philosophy. We could install a bunch of stuff and run most of it poorly OR put in a few things and do them really well. It's like the familiar coaching maxim from John Wooden - "Don't confuse activity with accomplishment." I scouted an opponent a couple years ago and watched them run through 12 different plays against man-to-man defense. The final score was in the 40s, including an agonizingly bad overtime session. You can have all the complexity in the world, but if you can't pass and catch what difference does it make? Do the ordinary things extraordinarily well and you will be successful.

Did you hear that, Microsoft??

Talent draws a crowd

We have some very skilled players in our midst. They have worked hard to put themselves in a position where colleges are now beginning to pay attention to their development and potential roles as players at the next level. We have been visited in open gyms and practices by college coaches from Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Michigan schools. I'm getting phone calls on a nearly daily basis from Division I schools who are interested in some of our players.

I hope it works out that every player who seeks to play ball in college finds the right fit in a good program. Our job here at the high school is continuing to prepare them to make that jump. As talented as they are, they can all get better. We've got an outstanding coaching staff who will be able to make a difference if the girls are sincere in their approach and dedicated in their efforts. Our goal individually and collectively is to get better every time we hit the court. If that happens, I think we will all be pleased with the results.