Tuesday, February 1, 2005

Hey, Team.

Our first foray into competition didn't end as we had hoped. We battled valiantly against Cavity Search... but who knew that dentists could be so tall? We were able to gain some experience playing the 2-3 zone, but we're not going to challenge Temple or Syracuse with our execution yet. We also had a chance to get a feel for how everyone plays.

The team got some excellent rebounding and interior defense from our three guys inside: Gary defended the paint well and found ways to get to the free throw line; Erin showed some excellent inside-outside skills that we'll exploit in future offensive sets; and Jonathan displayed a great knowledge of the game and some good, fiery leadership.

On the outside, we got some excellent hustle: John displayed a willingness to put his body in harm's way to save a loose ball from going out of bounds; Lauren made sure to keep the defense honest by hitting a timely three; Rachel showed a Scottie Pippen-like ability to get her hands on a lot of balls in the passing lanes and on the floor (had she been wearing shorts, she surely would have won the coveted "Floor Burn" award); and Eleni demonstrated excellent court awareness filling in empty areas of the zone and was a solid secondary ball handler.

The biggest thing is that we had fun (I think). It's never pleasant to get trounced, but they had the advantage of size and experience on their side. As the season progresses, I'm sure that we'll improve. On that note, we're going to "practice" again tomorrow (Wednesday) at 12:30 PM at Hutch. Most of us from last night's game should be there. I've also found a few sites that might be helpful to peruse.

Basketball Lingo (the court diagram is helpful)
More Terminology (part of ESPN.com's "Hoops 101" series)
Role of the Guard
2-3 Zone (which we played last night)
Man-to-Man D (which we'll play at some point)

Our team showed a good deal of heart last night, and it looks like we have some good pieces from which to build. We'll be better prepared for our next game. The season should be a lot of fun.

I'll see everyone soon.

 

Rick

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