District 8AA

[DCRealist]

On 12/13/2018 at 8:21 PM, Moonshiner said:

Warren Co. will be tough, But if the boys play with a little pride, effort ,urgency and  play like they are capable of playing it's possible. We've seen WC, I'm not sure WC see  DC yet ,  I hope for a good game regardless of the score and carry it over to the  Jackson Co, game. Two good games back to back would be a huge boost right now.

We can build on last night. Coaches led with energy and were engaged every moment. That became infectious on the court as well. There were plenty of times most coaches would have gone negative with some of our mistakes but they kept it upbeat and stayed positive. That is great. They designed a good play in the last moments to get the ball to a hot shooter. Even with less than a second on the clock they did not give up and were giving good instruction on how to possibly get the ball back.

We shot the ball as a team pretty better from the perimeter. We took better care of the basketball for much of the first half of the game. At times we had better movement in the half court. Our screens and cuts aren't very good but even our simple movement helped open some lanes and freed up some kick outs for clean looks. Our defense was still a little passive in the half court but it was improved none the less forcing more shots to be contested. 

The second half we became tentative with the ball against the press and overpassed in the half court on penetrations. When we kept an aggressive mindset of finishing at the rim instead of passing in traffic good things happened. That can be a learning point. The positives of the half are that we didn't fold after they punched us in the mouth with a 9-0 run to start the half. We were playing without Norris who is our most steadying presence against pressure. Even with what seemed like 30+ turnovers we had a chance to win the game against a team we got smoked by at their place. I know we can fix the issue with pressure. Some of it is positioning against the press but most of it is technique and mentality. Once we understand how to keep an attacking mentality instead of survival mentality the press will become welcomed instead of feared. With a couple focused practices dedicated to it and regular short refreshers, that TO number can be cut in half. We will be 10-15 points better nightly when that happens.

Three things really stood out to me that are positive. First, we pushed the ball in transition a ton more than we have all year and good things happened. Dakota's greatest strength is quickness. Running uses that  by giving him space to attack. Because of pushing the ball, I thought he and Josh had their best games of the year at point. They got to the rim or found open shooters on multiple occasions and those easier looks help. Second, while we need the kids that are injured, our flow was so much better with only eight rotating in and out. Most shooters need to find a rhythm and I felt like that was improved and yielded results. Last, with the game on the line there were kids that stepped up to make plays. We did not shy away from taking and making big shots when it mattered.

There is clear hope. We have a couple weeks to fix issues that are fixable and re-enter district play with a full healthier team.

[CCBballfan]

Big win for Cannon last night against Central Magnet. We reduce the turnovers and we win this game by double digits 

[Iceman2000]

Time for the Tigers to get back on track Fri night vs the Pioneers.  DC realist no doubt your son will get some relief when Poss comes back. Any idea when he is set to return.  Him and Atkins back together will help alot. 

[Iceman2000]

The Tigers have definitely played better the last 2 games vs Warren and Jackson, poor decisions down the stretch may have cost us both those games.  Oh well, time to move on to the next game on Tue. 

[Moonshiner]

1 hour ago, Iceman2000 said:

The Tigers have definitely played better the last 2 games vs Warren and Jackson, poor decisions down the stretch may have cost us both those games.  Oh well, time to move on to the next game on Tue. 

Exactly. Play is better, but they have to get mentally tough the last 2-3 minutes. They have had a chance to finish both games but panicked when pressured and made costly turnovers, They now have to learn how to finish. The book on DC right now would say.....keep 12 in check and pressure the ball. Oh. and rebounding was none existent against JC,    

[Tiger123]

Really don’t understand the blaming on the coach and his coaching style for the losses. Coach Sanders is getting a lot of heat for the losses and his way of subbing. just because a kid can hit a couple shots doesn’t mean they should be left in when that kid jogs up and down the court, plays lazy defense, misses rebounds, etc. I think the biggest problem this team has is not everyone looks to be on board. listening to the fans yelling to the kids one thing and then watching the coach tell them something different, I can see where the kids would be confused. Parents need to leave the coaching and decision making up to the coach. That’s what he gets paid to do. If parents tell thier kids that the coach is terrible and he doesn’t belong or he needs to do better or whatever the case is that a parent is trying to tell a kid, what would make you think that kid would trust a coach. It’s high school basketball, not Jr. pro. Don’t need parents telling kids how bad the coach is or what they need to do. I’m sure the coach tells the kids what to do. Leave it up to the COACH to be a COACH and get off his back. He’s not the one making mistakes on the floor. As a former graduate of the school it’s really hard to watch/hear the disrespect towards the coach. 

[Iceman2000]

Tiger123 i think it's a combination of the players and coach. Hopefully those things will work themselves out. Poss coming back tomorrow will hopefully be a big lift tomorrow night at Monterey.  We shall see if the last 2 games are a continued step forward.  I sure hope so. 

[UCSportsFan]

So who’s the favorite in this district?  All I can find is Dekalb County stuff. 

[UCSportsFan]

On 12/16/2018 at 7:32 PM, Tiger123 said:

Really don’t understand the blaming on the coach and his coaching style for the losses. Coach Sanders is getting a lot of heat for the losses and his way of subbing. just because a kid can hit a couple shots doesn’t mean they should be left in when that kid jogs up and down the court, plays lazy defense, misses rebounds, etc. I think the biggest problem this team has is not everyone looks to be on board. listening to the fans yelling to the kids one thing and then watching the coach tell them something different, I can see where the kids would be confused. Parents need to leave the coaching and decision making up to the coach. That’s what he gets paid to do. If parents tell thier kids that the coach is terrible and he doesn’t belong or he needs to do better or whatever the case is that a parent is trying to tell a kid, what would make you think that kid would trust a coach. It’s high school basketball, not Jr. pro. Don’t need parents telling kids how bad the coach is or what they need to do. I’m sure the coach tells the kids what to do. Leave it up to the COACH to be a COACH and get off his back. He’s not the one making mistakes on the floor. As a former graduate of the school it’s really hard to watch/hear the disrespect towards the coach. 

Parents and grandparents have been the downfall of many a coach/program.  Coach Sanders knows what he’s doing and I promise you he has a plan. It’s a shame that people will sit in the stands and complain about the coach behind his back when they themselves have no clue what to do or how to do it. 

[UTRok]

LA, York and UHS appear to be the top 3 teams in the district. LA hammered UHS at LA. York beat UHS at York in double OT. UHS beat a very athletic Alcoa team last week. Looks like YI and LA play 1/11 @ York. York is at Cumberland County tonight.

[UCSportsFan]

34 minutes ago, UTRok said:

LA, York and UHS appear to be the top 3 teams in the district. LA hammered UHS at LA. York beat UHS at York in double OT. UHS beat a very athletic Alcoa team last week. Looks like YI and LA play 1/11 @ York. York is at Cumberland County tonight.

UHS is young but they have talent.  Don’t know a lot about LA this year but for York to beat Clay County they have to be pretty good. Are any of the feeder school kids in Putnam County going over to Upperman instead of Cookeville?  

Edited December 18, 2018 by UCSportsFan

[UTRok]

Most of the UHS team that are sophomores are from Prescott. I think 7 of them came from Prescott and they have one freshman from Prescott.