MJ Lady Bears hold Portland scoreless in 2nd half

[JKinsella]

>>> Not true. He started subbing in the second qtr. Plus, the clock does not actually run until the 4th quarter under the new rule. What suggestions do you have when this situation occurs? It is obviously not beneficial to either team, but what do you do? <<<

 

Personally, I don't have any ties to either program, I just hope that someone who has that much talent shows class, especially in a blowout game. I asked around about this last night to some MJ people who were there to get another perspective and was told that Fryer did continue to press in the 3rd quarter, and that he did not play his entire bench. Girls that have normally played the final minutes of other blowouts did not play in this game that ended 71 to 9. Everybody subs in the first half to give starters some rest, but in a 65-point win you don't play everyone? Really?

 

Suggestions? Easy. Don't press in the second half when you're already up by 35 points. Play your youngest, least experienced players extensively, which gives them game experience they seldom get. Show your players, supporters, and opponent that you won't take advantage of a team that's having a horrible night. Yes, your girls still play the game, but you don't ever humiliate. Either way, you prove what kind of class you have.

 

No, I wasn't there, so I can only go on what people that I trust have told me. Usually the truth sits somewhere in the middle, but if any of that is true, that's really shameful.

 

Let me ask you something based on the following. MJ has 4 games left before tournament play starts. They've won the last 5 games by 62, 37, 33, 34 and 27 points. In each of these games Williams and Bell have been on the bench for most of the second quarter, then most of the second half. This has nothing to do with class, this has everything to do with getting ready for the tournament. When are they supposed to do that? In practice?

 

The starters want to play too, you know. They don't go out there and do all that hard work in the off season just so they can play 2 quarters a night do they? Is that what you really want? Fryer has played the bench more this year than I've ever seen before.

 

You can take it back even further. Since the beginning of January, they've only had one single digit game. Nine point win against Beech. I don't know where you draw the line, but imo, the starters need to be playing some minutes.

 

You tell me what you would do.

 

 

First, I'll say that the Lady Bears have amazing talent and they are playing near perfect basketball. Williams, at least, should be a Ms. Basketball candidate and a D1 star after she graduates. Bell and her other teammates are very good, work hard, and play a smart game. They do not win by chance. They earn them, and they deserve them.

 

Now, to your question, what would I do? Well . . .

 

I wouldn't press with a 35-point lead, ever. That's the bigger issue. Do you really mean to defend his doing that to Portland as preparing for tournament play? Maybe you're not, but think this through. Put everything you know from this season about MJ and everything you know about Portland together and honestly try to convince anyone that the Lady Panthers had a shot at coming back and winning that game, no disrespect intended. I believe that has everything to do with "class". I'm not sure what the Gallatin person means by "unfortunate", yet to me that's a poor adjective to use to describe Fryer's continuing to press Portland in the 3rd quarter. Honestly, if he doesn't keep pressing them here, we're not having this discussion.

 

So how do you prepare this season for tournament play competing in this district? As you mentioned, MJ has beaten it's last 5 district opponents by a general average of 39 points. These teams, outside of Beech, don't seem to be on the same competitive level as MJ right now, so the Lady Bears shouldn't have any trouble winning the district, right? Now, of course, I get it that your starters don't work as hard as they do to only play 2/3 of a game, but sometimes it's beyond your control. Truthfully, practice may be your best opportunity to toughen up the team for the Region and beyond with the depth and resources Fryer has. He is intelligent; he should have a better plan. Overall, teams gain very little in games where they blow out an under-matched opponent, especially one they beat by 62 points.

 

To sum up an answer, I would make sure everyone knew that our basketball program will always respect our opponents and always display the best possible sportsmanship in every game we play. There's a whole lot more to it in this team game than how much playing time any one or two players get. Coaches are teaching all the time and athletes soak up everything. They also represent an entire school of administrators, teachers, students, etc. What exactly are you teaching and representing when you continue to press Portland when you're already up by 35+ points? They are better than that.

[MJfan]

>>> Not true. He started subbing in the second qtr. Plus, the clock does not actually run until the 4th quarter under the new rule. What suggestions do you have when this situation occurs? It is obviously not beneficial to either team, but what do you do? <<<

 

Personally, I don't have any ties to either program, I just hope that someone who has that much talent shows class, especially in a blowout game. I asked around about this last night to some MJ people who were there to get another perspective and was told that Fryer did continue to press in the 3rd quarter, and that he did not play his entire bench. Girls that have normally played the final minutes of other blowouts did not play in this game that ended 71 to 9. Everybody subs in the first half to give starters some rest, but in a 65-point win you don't play everyone? Really?

 

Suggestions? Easy. Don't press in the second half when you're already up by 35 points. Play your youngest, least experienced players extensively, which gives them game experience they seldom get. Show your players, supporters, and opponent that you won't take advantage of a team that's having a horrible night. Yes, your girls still play the game, but you don't ever humiliate. Either way, you prove what kind of class you have.

 

No, I wasn't there, so I can only go on what people that I trust have told me. Usually the truth sits somewhere in the middle, but if any of that is true, that's really shameful.

 

Let me ask you something based on the following. MJ has 4 games left before tournament play starts. They've won the last 5 games by 62, 37, 33, 34 and 27 points. In each of these games Williams and Bell have been on the bench for most of the second quarter, then most of the second half. This has nothing to do with class, this has everything to do with getting ready for the tournament. When are they supposed to do that? In practice?

 

The starters want to play too, you know. They don't go out there and do all that hard work in the off season just so they can play 2 quarters a night do they? Is that what you really want? Fryer has played the bench more this year than I've ever seen before.

 

You can take it back even further. Since the beginning of January, they've only had one single digit game. Nine point win against Beech. I don't know where you draw the line, but imo, the starters need to be playing some minutes.

 

You tell me what you would do.

 

 

First, I'll say that the Lady Bears have amazing talent and they are playing near perfect basketball. Williams, at least, should be a Ms. Basketball candidate and a D1 star after she graduates. Bell and her other teammates are very good, work hard, and play a smart game. They do not win by chance. They earn them, and they deserve them.

 

Now, to your question, what would I do? Well . . .

 

I wouldn't press with a 35-point lead, ever. That's the bigger issue. Do you really mean to defend his doing that to Portland as preparing for tournament play? Maybe you're not, but think this through. Put everything you know from this season about MJ and everything you know about Portland together and honestly try to convince anyone that the Lady Panthers had a shot at coming back and winning that game, no disrespect intended. I believe that has everything to do with "class". I'm not sure what the Gallatin person means by "unfortunate", yet to me that's a poor adjective to use to describe Fryer's continuing to press Portland in the 3rd quarter. Honestly, if he doesn't keep pressing them here, we're not having this discussion.

 

So how do you prepare this season for tournament play competing in this district? As you mentioned, MJ has beaten it's last 5 district opponents by a general average of 39 points. These teams, outside of Beech, don't seem to be on the same competitive level as MJ right now, so the Lady Bears shouldn't have any trouble winning the district, right? Now, of course, I get it that your starters don't work as hard as they do to only play 2/3 of a game, but sometimes it's beyond your control. Truthfully, practice may be your best opportunity to toughen up the team for the Region and beyond with the depth and resources Fryer has. He is intelligent; he should have a better plan. Overall, teams gain very little in games where they blow out an under-matched opponent, especially one they beat by 62 points.

 

To sum up an answer, I would make sure everyone knew that our basketball program will always respect our opponents and always display the best possible sportsmanship in every game we play. There's a whole lot more to it in this team game than how much playing time any one or two players get. Coaches are teaching all the time and athletes soak up everything. They also represent an entire school of administrators, teachers, students, etc. What exactly are you teaching and representing when you continue to press Portland when you're already up by 35+ points? They are better than that.

 

I wasn't at this game, but I doubt he strayed from the what they've been doing in every game like this so far. Starters play the first quarter, rotates in the second, with starters sitting for most of it. They come back out after the half and play the normal game plan, usually for no more than a couple minutes, then the starters don't see the floor for the rest of the game.

 

I guess you have your hard and fast rules about what determines "class" for how many points and when to press. If you honestly believe that you can get the conditioning and game conditions in practice, then we'll just have to disagree.

 

The team only goes 11 deep. The second 5 isn't as tough defensively, obviously, but they score on a pretty prolific pace. Nothing can be done about that, unless you advocate the the second string just lay down and quit playing. And yes, to my knowledge, he forgot to put in the last one on the bench at least once.

 

You are correct though, they "should" make it through the district just fine. I'm pretty sure that's not their goal this year. I honestly don't know if they have a set goal, but that's neither here nor there.

 

I sincerely hope you're not suggesting that the MJ girls don't show respect and display sportsmanship. If so, I'd have to ask if you've ever actually seen them play, or are just getting it second hand.

[JKinsella]

>>> I wasn't at this game, but I doubt he strayed from the what they've been doing in every game like this so far. Starters play the first quarter, rotates in the second, with starters sitting for most of it. They come back out after the half and play the normal game plan, usually for no more than a couple minutes, then the starters don't see the floor for the rest of the game.

 

I guess you have your hard and fast rules about what determines "class" for how many points and when to press. If you honestly believe that you can get the conditioning and game conditions in practice, then we'll just have to disagree.

 

The team only goes 11 deep. The second 5 isn't as tough defensively, obviously, but they score on a pretty prolific pace. Nothing can be done about that, unless you advocate the the second string just lay down and quit playing. And yes, to my knowledge, he forgot to put in the last one on the bench at least once.

 

You are correct though, they "should" make it through the district just fine. I'm pretty sure that's not their goal this year. I honestly don't know if they have a set goal, but that's neither here nor there.

 

I sincerely hope you're not suggesting that the MJ girls don't show respect and display sportsmanship. If so, I'd have to ask if you've ever actually seen them play, or are just getting it second hand.

<<<

 

 

No, I am not nor would not suggest the MJ girls don't show respect or sportsmanship. I've seen them play and they are certainly a class group of girls. I do believe their 2nd string players are better than the starters for Portland, so, yes, I expect they would 'push' the 1st string harder in a controlled scrimmage - just my opinion. I don't at all believe after 4 quarters they'd be behind by 62 points.

 

My main point centered around not pressing with that kind of lead, which is a directive from the coach. The Lady Bears are fast and very aggressive, and against Portland I can only guess it was extremely successful at generating turnovers then points. And, no, I don't have a set number of points that you can be ahead of a team before you shut down your press, but I think some common sense and consideration should come into play when you start the second half, up 46-9. That's all.

[Redog]

Were any of the posters on this subject actually at this game? Would like to hear form someone who was actually at the game in person.

[MJHO]

Everybody needs to stop whining about some team getting beat badly. Chris Fryer has no choice in the teams he gets to go up against. Every girl on that team is coached up to their best ability and when they get on the floor they give 100% whether they are up by 50 or down. That's why they are perennial contenders for district,regional and state championships.

 

Pressing just happens to be the style of play that MJ plays. They would have won by nearly the same amount if they never pressed at all.

 

Not only is he coaching for this year but by giving his younger kids a taste of their "style of play" in game situations, he is preparing them for years to come. Coach Fryer has played his bench more this year than any that I can remember and he certainly did it against Portland both times they've played them

 

He does it against any team he faces and he doesn't have to change his style of play just because his opponent on that night can't beat the MJ middle school team.

 

The MJ high school girls are gracious in victory or defeat.They just happen to be a really good basketball team. Go watch a game and see for yourself

[MJ AND BEYOND]

Now they held Beech to 19...

[Redog]

Sometimes that can come back to bite you ... like an unfavorable draw in the state tourney - "the game knows"

 

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

[SCBisondad]

Sometimes that can come back to bite you ... like an unfavorable draw in the state tourney - "the game knows"

 

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Just do remember that the MJ Lady Bears are a very young team and had an outstanding season.

[take2andhittoright]

I bet if MJ coach had to do it over again he may have worked on holding the ball in some of these blowout games, etc etc... Or worked on getting every player on the same page to know that a layup with time running out and down by 3 pts. does nothing but allow you to lose by 1. I have no doubt in my mind that the coach told the players that in the TO with 6 seconds remaining that "we have to shoot a 3ptr." But if you actually did it in some previous blowout games where you might call a timeout before a quarter is over and say hey we have to get a 3 ptr off before the buzzer no matter what (no 2's) You are now doing it in a real game. Actually work on different scenarios in blowout games so that when it comes up in competitive games it will come a little easier. If anyone has ever coached, you can say the exact right thing to the players in a timeout and sometimes they will do the opposite.

[SCBisondad]

Anybody have any info on how the Lady Bears Freshmen team was this year? And do we have any future stars to look forward to on becoming part of an elite varsity team?