Greenville Basketball and the Philosophy of Honor and Respect
Submitted by Coach J.C. Eaglesmith
Friday – Jan. 23rd
@ Portola – 70
Greenville – 16
Again, as with Quincy, we’ve been provided copius opportunity to practice against full-court presses—- even when down by 30 points or more!
Portola’s ball-handling & rebounding skill levels were far above ours. Mostly due to the full court press. Portola was easily on their way to scoring 100 with a 48-14 at the half. We decided to hold the ball & utilize the shot-clock throughout the 2nd half, which negated our own scoring, hence the 70-16 final. Several fans & family supporters asked why they continued pressing with such a large lead. Of course the answer was; 1) Because they can— it is legal you know! and 2) They have a need to (they have that answer). Portola did finally back off the press in the 2nd half & dropped down into a zone, which allowed us to hold on to the ball for most of the 35 second shot clock and also let the clock run down on their last possession without shooting to finally end the game. So even with these tactics the score (70-16) was not that close! Haha
In coaching I’ve required players to value three basic principals: 1) Be Honest (about your skills), 2) Improve Skills, and 3) Play Faster. We are obvously at the “Improve Skills” level, specifically developing the basics of ”Pass & Catch.” Our proud five players continued to battle to the best of their abilities and keep their spirits high… competing against all odds. They are improving. As we’ve pointed out before, we’re going to take it on the chin for awhile, and maybe on the mouth, the eyes and the back of the head…. These boys know that as well as anyone, yet they continue to practice hard and try to improve. They all enter each and leave every game with their heads up.
They continue to exhibit & exemplify something we don’t see enough of —– honor & respect.
Posted: January 26th, 2009 under GHS Boy's Basketball.
