You know, over the years, I've played with tons of basketball players who think so highly of themselves, that I've almost developed some sort of immunity to it; the sting of the barbs they throw in criticism of others acting almost like a vacciniation, the losses that pile up in the wake of their play just another chance at victory killed by basketball's version of the Black Death.
Then, you watch people you KNOW can help your team get tossed onto the altar of sacrifice.
Tuesday's game against Ott Trucking is a game we could have won - a game we should have won - a game we lost by 1 point. It was an ugly loss - once again punctuated by shots from somewhere just inside the parking lot from #3, and a return of one of the players from last year who probably did more to damage Boone County Lumber team's reputation last year than all the rest of us combined. These two seemed determined to star in the role of "hero," assuming, of course, that the movie in question is "A Nightmare on Elm (actually Ash) Street" and the hero is the basketball equivalent of Freddy Kruger.
But, for once, I wasn't the primary victim. Fancy that.
No; they turned their attention to Skander. Every shot he took - and he didn't take a bad shot among them - they were yelling at him not to shoot, probably in hopes of them gulping down shots as if it were last call on Saturday Night at the local watering hole. And why shouldn't they shoot those shots? It's not as if Dustin - who hopped on board as our seventh player much like the last soon-to-be-castaway hopping on board the S.S. Minnow - minded doing all the hard work, taking all the punishment, and being given none of the credit.
Skander came out aggressive, and did the things he should have done the week before. But in a classic example of "too little, too late," he came out cold, and only hit his last shot - a 3-pointer. Never mind the fact that he was the one covering up their top outside shooter. Never mind the fact that the shots he took were good shots - wide open, and the kind of things he typically makes. Never mind the fact that he drove and dished on several occasions. The moment he hit that 3, he got pulled. And on every shot, 3 and 22 were yelling at him not to shoot.
I have to admit, hearing how upset he was about how he was treated was sort of theraputic in a way for me; I couldn't help but think of all the times when my jump wasn't good enough or my hands strong enough to get a rebound and listening to Skander tear into me about it, or the time he ripped into Tony when Tony batted the ball ahead to him and instead of either him or Tony getting the ball, a defender ended up with it. Sort of a "what goes around, comes around." But all in all, Skander's words were always born out of a competitive spirit - not out of a spiteful resentment of a teammate, and as such, you can't compare the two. Skander didn't deserve the vitriol he got.
And, of course, Bill, our coach, doesn't have confidence in Skander, which, of course, shakes Skander's confidence in himself.
I scored the game's first points - on a 3-pointer in the deep corner. Missed my second shot - another 3-pointer in the opposite deep corner. Add in a rebound and a steal, and that was my night. No assists. No turnovers. Three or four fouls (and every one, a dirty foul - we were playing Ott Trucking, after all).
I'd gripe about how a person who hits his first shot waits several minutes before getting another, but then again, I didn't get pulled immediately after hitting my first shot.
Dustin was solid, aggressive, and did all the hard work he was supposed to do. Every time I play with that guy, I love his game more and more. Skander fed him a couple of times, and I got the ball into the post for him once, but he got so few touches that we just couldn't get things working.
In the end, we took a 1 point loss - 45-44. It was all capped off by Ott Trucking missing the front end of a 1-and-1 free-throw, and batting the ball around until time expired - all with Skander and me watching from the sideline.
Skander didn't have a good game, but even so, we wasted him. Dustin *DID* have a good game. We wasted him, too.
And I know what has to be done. I have to take control of this team. I have to take control of the team at the point - without us having Todd, that needs to be MY position. I have to take the ball out of the hands of 3, who can't help us, and put it in the hands of Dustin, who *CAN* help us. And I have to get Dustin to step up and lead the back line of defense if we're in a zone, because the rest of the back line is a shambles.
We've got Foundations next. It SHOULD be a win. Then again, I shouldn't have a higher scoring average than Skander.