In the middle of the rough DK stretch, the Bears shitting on themselves, and not being able to watch the Bulls or the Blackhawks, there is a bright light that keeps me going in the sports world: my son’s basketball team. What’s more important than that? His team faced their toughest challenge of the year this Sunday. Well, it was supposed to be a tough challenge.
They faced this team last year in the regular season and won by a single point. They were supposed to face this team again in the championship game last year, but… the other team from that school upset them. We faced the other team from this school and barely beat them. In conclusion, this school has some good talent, at least in comparison to the rest of the league. My son’s team hasn’t lost a game in over 2 years; that’s not a typo. In 5th grade, they went undefeated; there were no playoffs though. In 6th grade, they went undefeated; they also swept through the playoffs bringing home the trophy. Thus far in 7th grade, they’re 2-0; they beat both teams by 43 points…. real barn burners let me tell you. The boys can play, flat out. In speaking to the new, varsity coach before the season started, I told them how we need some competition for the boys; he said he would get that. We have some tournaments coming up which should be good, but in the meantime, back to league play, this would be our stiffest test.
Watching the other team in warmups, I was impressed; they were certainly a polished team. They came early, they came deep, they had nice uniforms, they ran some pre-game drills, and they were making their shots. Talking to a couple parents before the game started, I reported that. I said… they were making their shots… against no defense. You see, making an open shot is only half the battle; making a shot while being swarmed by my son’s team’s crazy ass defense… well, good luck to you. These kids needed all the luck they could get. Our boys didn’t exactly storm out of the gates offensively, but with their defense… The other team scored 9 points in the first half; they scored a total of 13 points for the game. When our offense finally got going, it was over. I thought we wouldn’t see the “princeton offense”, which means we’re dribbling, passing, and stalling for time because we’re up by so much, but we did. A 20+ point victory was in the bank. 3-0 to start the season.
My son had 3 points, a rebound, steal, and a couple dimes, but I was most proud of his defense. He was man to man on their best guard; he clamped him up. He did get called for 2 early fouls which put him on the bench in the first quarter, but once he returned, it was on. Plus, he actually blocked another kid’s shot from behind; I know he was proud of that one… I was loving it. Yeah, with the “big 3” in the frontcourt for his team, they may not need a lot of his scoring this year, and that’s OK. Although I think they will need my son’s scoring/shooting at some point, for now, it’s all about stacking those Ws. As the point guard and primary ball handler, my boy needs to protect the ball, distribute the rock, and play good perimeter defense. Keep working son.
Not all hope is lost. We play the “other team” from this school on Friday night, in their gym this time. Maybe this one will be a challenge? I hope so. I don’t want to see the streak end, but I do want some competition. Maybe Friday will be the day; maybe we’ll have to continue to wait. The freight train is rolling again… Go get’em boys!
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