Game 1 of the Playoffs

Game one of the playoffs got us off to a great start!!!  I am very pleased with our ball playing.  I am not sure if spectators could tell, but I actually made the boys STOP shooting that last quarter so we could work on our new plays:-).  Ha!!!  We could score at will against this team....so I thought it would be beneficial to slow it down to get some "practice" in.

We did a great job passing the ball and fast breaking.  We were able to expose the Run N Gun lack of defense and took full advantage of it.  The guards did excellent getting the ball low and Davis Autry  killed it underneath (18pts).  I also saw lots of great blocking out and rebounding (which is what will help us win the next two games, as we haven't been doing a great job on rebounding in our most recent games).



This game will be nothing like we will face tomorrow against the Dawgs.  The Dawgs are a quicker and scrappier team than us.  The Dawgs WANT to WIN!!! But we are a better fundamental team.  If  like we know we can, we will come out ahead.  But we must be making our shots and working the ball around the horn. Our post have got to work to get open and we must blockout and rebound each time.  We have to be smart and aggressive on offense.  And we can't let this little, fast team take it to the hole each time.  We just move our feet.....and steal the ball when we can!

I am expecting to run a press tomorrow and to be pressed tomorrow!!

We can do this!!!! We have the skills necessary, we just need to bring hustle and heart!!!

Defeated is Temporary

"Being defeated is often a temporary condition. 

Giving up is what makes it permanent."

Well, it happened!  We took a big loss tonight (30-19).  However, I am not losing sleep so much on this one, as we played a great team! We hustled, we tried to do what I asked, but our shots just were not falling!!! And they were good shots for the most part! That happens in this game!

We had some good things going for us in the first half of the game.  The 3-2 zone (with a minor adjustment to the corner game) seemed to work well.  We were able to contain for the most part.  Our plays were being ran properly, screens made and set very well.  But we just could not finish our shots!  And we did not block out at all!  Our rebounding game and our shooting lost the game for us tonight.  It was not our lack of hustle (except for the rebounding).  And our teamwork was much better tonight, too.

We have an uphill battle to climb right now, though.  In the last 2-3 games, we stopped being an offensive threat. Here are a few things we have been good at in the past---but struggling with now!

--Not going to the hole STRONG and with DETERMINATION!!!

--We are still dribbling a little bit too much. I would like us to pass a whole lot more, working the perimeter until we get the defense shifted out of place for a nice jumper or into the post.

--The post have been struggling to finish their shots and moves, too.  The guards are working really hard to get the ball down low....but we really need some aggressive post moves and to go up strong (and off the backboard) shots. ***I can't remember the last "and one" play we have had!!!! ??? :-(

--And when we go up for a layup, we are not finishing it.  Follow through!!! 

--And I can not say it enough----BLOCKING OUT and GRABBING those rebounds has to happen!  We have been fumbling the ball around way too much.  We even looked surprised to see the ball land in our hands??? We need to expect the ball to be in our hands and grab it before making a move.

--Meet the ball being passed to you.  Our post have been getting in a bad habit of moving away from the ball being passed to them (assuming they will catch it) and trying to make a move before they actually have control of the ball.  Go towards every ball being passed to you.  This will ensure a good pass and will also draw fouls on any defensive player, too!

--And make those free throws! THEY ARE FREE!  We missed 11 free throws tonight!

I admit, I am a bit nervous about how we will finish up this season.  We were playing much better ball over a month ago.  But we seem a bit slow, not going hard at 100%, and even timid!  We seem to be losing some focus.  But, I truly believe in this team!!!  Every single player on this team, I believe in!  And, I do know that every player on this team has HEART! 

I want us to take this loss and turn it into something positive!  Let's work really hard every day until the last day we play basketball.  Do the extra....like shooting everyday or going really hard at PE or pay attention at practice or even go watch the High School team and find someone playing your position and watch and learn from them!  The extra will pay off!!! Stay off 8ft goals.  And stop jacking around with long shots at PE.  Do the EXTRA!!!

But just know.......from here on out, we are playing every game like it's our last!!!! The next game could be our last! However, I think we would all agree that we'd like to make it to the championship and WIN the CHAMPIONSHIP!!! We can do this! But it will take focus, heart, teamwork, and determination.

Scorers for tonight's game:  Zander Turner 8, Bryson Rigsby 5, Davis Autry 4, Jasek Hooker 2

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jasek Hooker!! Jasek Hooker is recognized for his hustle last night and playing with all heart!  He had some great steals and did well defensively.  Good job Jasek!  Bring that to the tournament with you:-). 


Galatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

We need to clean up

Cleaning your room is sometimes more than just having a "clean room." Sometimes it is your parents teaching you responsibility, discipline, or to be organized.

Playing basketball is more than just making a basket.

As coaches, we want to teach lessons that will make better PLAYERS and a better TEAM.
When we left tonight's game against the Tigers, we left a MESSY room. :(

Instead of running plays correctly, instead of looking to pass, instead of listening to the coach's instructions, instead of slowing down... many players very selfishly "tried to score" and hotdog.

There are 5 players on the court. The ball should touching their hands and players should be talking, moving, and working together.

Zander and Davis, our two season-top scores, RARELY were passed the ball. They ONLY touched the ball when they stole or rebounded and only scored when fouled.

Many players got a pass, dribbled, then shot. Or rebounded, then shot. NEVER looking for the next pass. While Zander and Davis sat WIDE open in the paint... One low, one hi.

Players and parents often remember the points they scored but not the points they missed or the assists missed. Tonight we had a lot of missed assists. 

Monday, and the year-end-tournament, players and parents will see 5 players on the court who will "look" to pass first and run plays and listen to their coach's instructions.

I will expect players to run pick-and-rolls, give-and-goes, bounce passes, set screens, re-set for another play, and around-the horns. Any "head down" dribbling and quick shooting will have players sitting and watching.

Let's finish the year strong and not fall into the "let ME score" mentality. It's MESSY!

Players of the game: Trey 10 points and Zander 10 points (7-for-7 free throws)

And Everybody Scores!!!!

Such a fun game for all the boys Saturday morning against Run-N-Gun!!!  The Gunter Tigers coasted past their competition today!  It wasn't much of a match at all, but it sure was fun to get so many shooting opportunities:-).

We were able to use this game to practice our new KK play, which allowed us to utilize our outside, perimeter game.   Every player was able to take advantage of this new play, which allowed EVERYONE on the team to score.....  And we scored BIG!!!!  We scored 5 three pointers!!!  Bryson, Zander, and Mack all put up some three pointers!

Our whole team contributed in scoring, which is why the players of the game this week are ALL OF THE GUNTER TIGERS!!!  Scoring for us were: Bryson Rigsby 9, Kyle Watson 8, Zander Turner 7, Jasek Hooker 6, Davis Autry 6, Ethan Watson 4, Trey Phillips 4 and Mack Whitteker 3.

This week we gear up for some more competitive basketball.  We play Friday night against the Tigers (3-3) at 9pm and then the undefeated Bobcats (game of the season) the following Monday night.  We will only practice Tuesday night of this week!!!! So come ready for a good, hard practice!!!

Let's finish our season STRONG!!!!!

Gunter vs. Dawgs

We have been looking forward to this game all season!  And it was a great game!  It wasn't our BEST ball, but it was definitely good basketball.  I felt like we won that game because we are a better and more disciplined team.  The Dawgs were a bit scrappy.  They were faster than us....and even at times, their two guards out hustled us.  But the Gunter Tigers demonstrated better fundamental basketball, which gave us a victory of 26-20.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GAME:
-Excellent half court defense all the way around for the Tigers.
-Some great assist to the inside post from our guards.
-Full Court Press break took a bit to get going, but once it got going, the Dawgs couldn't handle our press break!
-Fourth quarter blocking out and rebounding was exceptionally good.  If we would have done that kind of rebounding throughout the game, we would have beat the Dawgs by 15plus.

THINGS TO WORK ON BEFORE MEETING THE BOBCATS or BEFORE TOURNAMENT TIME
-Our full court press was not effective at setting the side traps.
-Too much dribbling.....and dribbling into the lane with 3 or more guys on you to force a shot that wasn't open.  Not only was the shot not open, but the shooter now puts himself in jeopardy of not getting the rebound either, therefor it is a wasted possession. There is a time and place for driving the lane.... we will work on this, this week.
-In good basketball.....there are NO over the paint passes when defense is in the paint.  TOO RISKY.  It will get pick off and stolen by the opponent if they are a good team.
-A bit too much standing for the guards who did not have the ball.  We need to learn to screen even when we are not running a "play".....and speaking of plays.  We needed to run our plays I called, but again, we spent a little too much time dribbling.

Players of the Game this week are.......

Jasek Hooker---Two things stuck out about Jasek yesterday.  One - he had to play many different positions, which requires a lot of listening and paying attention at ALL TIMES.  He moved from all positions yesterday and did a great job for us!! Two - when I pulled Jasek to give him instruction or some basketball correction, his response was always positive, without excuses and he always went back into the game doing exactly what I asked.  Very coachable!!!  Good job Jasek!!

Zander Turner---Zander is what I consider the silent player.  He may not stand out to those who don't know much about basketball.  But for those who do know the game can appreciate his team play efforts.  I would like to recognize him for his leadership for our team.  He helps me to lead this team and is very good about staying in control even in OUT OF CONTROL situations.  He had some great assists, great steals, and great shots!

Bryson Rigsby---I want to acknowledge him for his amazing man-to-man defense on the Dawg's point guard!  He did an excellent job on moving his feet and worked the guard overtime! He had a tough job on defense but handled it very well!!

Game Scores
Zander Turner 9, Davis Autry 8, Jasek Hooker 6, Kyle Watson, and Bryson Rigsby 1

I hope to post pictures soon from this game!!!  See everyone Tues at 7:15 at the OLD HS GYM.

We Have Some Competition!!!!

We do remain undefeated.....but it looks like we have some competition coming up.  Last night the experienced Celina Bobcat team defeated the Dawgs.   At this point, we are ranked number one in our league, with Celina sitting 4-0, right behind us.  The Dawgs are third.  But the next few games will put us to the test.  It won't be a walk in the park at all.  Take a look at the chart......

 I have been watching the Dawgs most of the season.  The Dawgs are alot like us, but may be a bit quicker.  We have a better inside game, though.  We must bring our A Game to beat the Dawgs this  week....and yes, we will need to keep after it in the gym to be able to beat the Bobcats in the last game of the season.
We should remain number one IF we win this week.  But if we lose, we could drop to number three:-(.  We want to remain number ONE for the good seeding in the end of the year tournament!!!

Let's work HARD this week!!!

How About Them Subs!!!! Gunter vs. Mustangs

Instead of a player of the game.....how about we just highlight our subs!!!!  If you were able to be see this game, you would have seen that our first quarter was WEAK.  A little sloppy on our passes, not running our plays, not catching the ball, missing easy shots, etc.  And I usually don't like to sub until we get some kind of (what I call) MOJO going.  What is MOJO? It's our rhythm of the game and each game is different depending on our opponents---Will we be slowing down the ball more to run plays? Will we be running and gunning?  Will we work the perimeter? Or work it down low?  MOJO is getting our strategic plan in action for defeating a team.

But the first quarter came and went.  And to be honest, we never got our MOJO.....at least not until I starting putting our subs in.  Trey Phillips, Mack Whitteker, and Ethan Watson did an EXCELLENT job today.  They were listening to me! They were hustling!  They were WANTING and READY to play ball!  When their feet hit the floor, they left no hustle on the bench!  Mack's aggressive defense (moving and shuffling his feet) caused the MUSTANGS to have several turnovers.  In addition, Ethan and Trey worked the wing spots on the press and had some great steals on anticipating passes.  And, Trey did an awesome job, running the floor and getting wide for some great assist and made baskets under the bucket---He even was a game HIGH SCORER of 10points!!!! I couldn't ask for a better group of subs than what I saw today!! Job well done boys!  You brought the MOJO!

 Scorers for Gunter: Trey Phillips 10, Davis Autry 9, Zander Turner 8, Bryson Rigsby 6, and Kyle Watson and Jasek Hooker both scored 2 each.

Our Gunter Tigers remain undefeated in league play and took a win over the Mustangs, 37-17.  But next week, we will be put to the test because we play the undefeated, former competitive Dawgs. I have no doubt that we are capable of winning this game, but we must ALL be there READY and HUSTLING and PLAYING AS A TEAM to be able to come home with a victory again.  We can't leave any hustle at home next week.

***HOMEWORK FOR EVERYONE!  Shoot everyday!! And shoot like you would shoot in game (power up, set shots, hard drives, etc).  Be sure to work on being in control, and squared to the basket, as well!  We forced way too many shots today and took shots off balanced and not squared.....and missed way too many easy shots.