Joe's Basketball blog

With city league basketball coming up, I wanted to get out and do a bit of playing. I went out yesterday with Caleb, Shannon, Matt, Rob, and Boz, and we played some 2-on-2 and some 3-on-3.

My shot looked awful. Everything - EVERYTHING - I was taking from beyond lay-up range was short. I couldn't reliably hit an outside shot. What's worse, there were real problems in getting in sync with the offense. Caleb was really eyeing every pass I threw, and he picked off a ton of them. Now, it doesn't help that I had to show the pass in order to get the cuts that I wanted, especially from Matt, who prefers to work with the ball in his hands.

Defensively, I covered Caleb in the early going - which is a huge mismatch - and Shannon in the later games. I did what I could against Caleb. Against Shannon, I was really laying off of him - trying to get over and disrupt what the more key components of the offense were doing. And while I did my share of disrupting, there wasn't much I could do.

Probably the most irritating thing is that when I went to the elbow, guarded by Shannon, I couldn't get the ball. So I went down into the post. Then and only then was I considered part of the offense - with Shannon jumping out in front of the passes, picking them off. Apparently, it's a bad idea to give me the ball where I am more effective, but important to look for me when I'm in deep position and can do little damage.

You know, I really like Matt, but more and more, I'm becoming aware that his game and my game just don't mesh. He's not at all interested in defense or rebounding, his offense-to-defense transition is among the worst I've ever seen, he doesn't want to use a pick unless it's coming across the top of the lane, and his primary interest is in getting off his own shot. It generally works for him, because he's playing against guys who can't match his speed and won't challenge him on his long-range shot. And there's nothing that I can do to make him any better, because his moves are essentially one-on-one moves. The court-smarts just aren't there yet.

Caleb looked good - especially with his jump-hook. He's really grown attached to that shot in fairly short order. Now, I need to work with him on re-establishing his drop-step after he's shown the jump hook.

The confusion I've had about Caleb's game is starting to wear off. I'm finally seeing what Caleb is doing. When he learned the drop step, he used it repeatedly - abandoning the sweeping, weak, finesse moves to the goal that he used to do. I thought he had turned the corner. And then, he started working on fade-away jumpers, long, loping outside-to-inside moves (that often included a travel), and three-pointers. All I saw at that point in time was a player who had regressed badly, because he NEVER used his drop-step. My first thought was that he had turned into his cousin. Then, a few weeks ago, I taught him the jump-hook. Now, that's his primary weapon - and he has, for the most part, abandoned all the weak stuff to go back to a power game - which means that I think he's improved again. Yesterday, in watching him with his jump hook, it all came together as to what Caleb is doing. He's not playing basketball when we play - he's just PRACTICING. He's practicing the latest new move he's learned. And that's not a bad thing, unless you over-do it. He's simply assuming his drop-step will be there when he wants it, because he's practiced it, learned it, mastered it. Where he's falling down is that he's not going to it when he should, but more interested in continuing to work on the new move. He then gets frustrated when something that he thinks should be going doesn't go - and the reason it doesn't go is because he's not used it in a while, or because it's not a good choice in the first place (regarding some of the weak things). He's playing like he'll be pigeon-holed as a player if he can't do everything, so he works on the new things, which only works to pigeon-hole him as a player who just has the thing he's working on.

For Caleb to grow into the player he can be, he's got to start by defining the kind of player he wants to be on the court. I can understand why he doesn't want to do this; if he's true to what he does best, he'll be a big man, and as a big man, you're always vulnerable to the whims of the guards you play with. If the guards don't want to get you the ball, then you don't get the ball, and Caleb wants the ball, wants to contribute, wants to be acknowledged as a force for the team. So, to get the ball, he goes to the perimeter, because it's easier to get the ball that way than it is to demand the ball from the guards - especially for a "nice guy" like Caleb. And that explains a bit of why he seems to like playing with me - I'm primarily a passer, and I'm willing to dump the ball into him more than someone like Matt or Skander, for instance. Part of that is because I'm a point guard, and although Matt plays point a lot of the time, Matt and Skander play like 2-guards. And the other point guards Caleb really gets exposed to are more of combo guards.

Jeremy has spoken to me many times of how different I am as a point guard than most of the other "point guards" around; he refers to me as a "true point guard" and refers to many of the other guards as "not really a point guard." Truth is that I think Jeremy is right; I have more of the mentality of a point guard than most of the other guards we play with. Part of that is due to the limits of my skill; I'm simply not as athletic as most guards, I don't generate my own shot well, and I don't have many "on-the-move" shots. Therefore, I am more aware of the pass - making me "more of a point guard." And, of course, I can't see why anyone who had the abilities of Skander or Matt wouldn't choose to play point and adopt the mentality. As a point guard, you aren't the star, but you LEAD the team. Todd is a great case-in-point on that. His play for Boone County Lumber and the church league showed that Todd is the stabilizing force. And that's one of the reasons I've always been willing to play behind him; I recognize the leadership coming from the position.

Yesterday's games were a personal disappointment to me, but other than Rob dribbling a ball away from me when I was just going to grab it - which is the proper thing to do - there wasn't anything there that truly worried me. And the reason that worried me is because it shows what I've been worried about over the summer - my hand speed has deteriorated since jamming the fingers. It's just something that I've not been using a lot, and much like what I wrote about Caleb earlier, when you don't use something - even if it's traditionally one of your strengths - it's going to degrade. There's no way Rob - or anybody - should be able to dribble away a basketball that I'm grabbing. Tear it away? Sure. Tie it up? Fine. But *DRIBBLE* it away? No.

The next thing I wonder about is my conditioning. We'll see how it looks at the Tribune this afternoon. The goal for city league this year is to burn absolutely all the energy I have in a stretch of 5 minutes and be an absolute wrecking crew to the other team's offensive continuity, and then go back to the bench. Figure on 10 to 15 minutes a game, and I should be very effective in that role. So the real build-up needs to be for bursts of speed rather than length of play, and that's a change for me. We'll see how it works.

The City League starts tonight, and you know what that means.

It means I've sustained some sort of nagging minor injury, and I've gone completely scatter-shotted. That's what it has meant every other year. And...

...at the Tribune yesterday, I was guarding Matt in one of the early games, tried to poke the ball away from him, and instead, caught his arm - and my ring finger on my right hand gave way to the point that Matt actually stopped the game. Today, it's incredibly swollen and very, very sore.

The bad part about this is that when I'm playing against most players, I want to force them to their left, my right, and if they expose the ball, use my right hand to poke the ball away. But when you've got a jammed finger, like it or not, you're hesitant to use that hand to knock away passes or dribbles. What this means is that I'm now vulnerable on the side I want to force players to. That's not good.

And, across the past two days, most of my long-range attempts have been coming up VERY SHORT. While I'm looking good going into the lane, I really need my outside jumper, and it has really gone south. I don't know what I'm going to do if I don't fix this post-haste.

An interesting thing - in my last blog article, I was talking about how Matt and I don't seem to have complementary games. Yesterday, we played quite well together, with each of us screening for the other across the top of the key. Apparently, it's the unusually shaped court at the Tribune that aids us - without deep sides to work on, we're forced into a tighter area, and as a result, tend to be more aware of what each other is doing.

Today's gripe is about people who try to catch the ball in the post, but don't move to seal people who are trying to get their hand in. As a result, it makes it nearly impossible to feed them in the post. So, if any post players are listening...protect your passer, lest he decide it's too risky to feed you the ball. Shift your body to receive the pass. POSSESSION is more important than POSITION. Give position to maintain possession.

Tonight's City League game is against Mortgage Broker Baby. They're the defending champs. And they're not that good. We had their number last year, but let them get away the first time we played them - thanks to the incompetence of certain referees, who apparently don't know the rules of the league regarding when the clock runs and when it stops - and we still had a chance to beat them, with our best clutch shooter - Greg - with the ball, at the three-point line, with 7 seconds to go and Mortgage Broker Baby with a 2 point lead. But Greg spotted a WIDE OPEN Bobby in the post, fed him, and Bobby mishandled the ball. The second time we played them, we beat them. And Shelter had them in the championship game, until Mortgage Broker Baby started roughing them up, and Shelter started going too much to the outside shot. You beat Mortgage Broker Baby by tearing them up on the inside - they're a small team. Big Mike could eat two or three of them for lunch and still be hungry.

The real challenge is to be patient, control the pace of the game, and control the boards. We can't let them rough us up - which is their tactic against bigger teams. Also, we have to control the two guys who can shoot outside - number 1 and the guy with the weird number...27 or 29 or 47 or 49. I know what he looks like, so I'll be able to point him out. We also have to stay on the ground against "Dropping Dimes." The guy uses lots of up-fakes, but he can't shoot; he uses the up-fakes to get people off their feet so he can drive and dish.

We can beat these guys. They're not that good. Our problem is that we don't have Todd to guide the team this year, and that always translates poorly for us, plus, we have a tendency to stagnate on the offensive end of the court. We're going to need a big game from Bobby tonight, and this is the kind of team that Bobby can go either way against. If he takes care of the ball, goes to his power game early, and watches for the double-team, he'll beat them into submission. But if he is careless with the ball, doesn't catch his passes cleanly, tries to use a dribble in the lane, and tries to go through double-teams, we're in trouble.

Given that I'm now going to be less that what I wanted to be on the court - jammed finger and scatter-shotted - I'm going to make Bobby my personal project tonight. I'm going to keep after him to be careful with the ball, and play the power game with these guys. If I can't help with the skills I have, I'll settle for helping Bobby focus and beat the tar out of these guys.

And a final note: my goal was to be under 200 for the game. Today's official weight: 200.5. So I didn't quite make it, but I'm down from 245 in June to 200.5 for game day. 180 by the end of the season, baby!

Well, that was ugly.

Our offense in the early going was awful - the lethargic kind of basketball that we play any time that Todd doesn't start for us. We scored the first points, but after that, we just went into an awful funk.

Our defense was porous. The back line was nothing short of dreadful. At one point, when my cover went around me at the three point line and went to the lane, he went ALL THE WAY to the basket for a lay-up - and we were in a 2-3 zone at the time. Bobby especially kept coming out of the middle to apply pressure - which you can't do if you're in a 2-3 zone.

My line was okay - 1 for 2 from the field, both three-pointers, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 3 turnovers, 1 foul on a blatant check on the outside. I was tired of getting bodied bringing the ball up, and was determined to get the official to focus on it - so I was all-hands on the outside on the particular play. The bench was griping about the call, but I'm out there nodding, going, "Oh, yeah...I got him" with the kind of smile on my face that says, "And I *MEANT* to."

Both shots were in the second half - the first, an unusual shot for me, off the left side of the point, which I simply brought up at the middle, drifted left away from pressure, wasn't picked up, and took the shot. That's the one I made. And afterward, when I went to play at Shannon's place, I couldn't make that again to save my life - which is what you'd expect. The miss was from a little further around, off a cross-court pass, with me being wide open. I didn't get a good handle on the ball, and missed it short - WAY short. Normally, I wouldn't have mishandled the ball, and that's the shot I *WOULD* normally make.

The turnovers were on two entry passes to Bobby, and one inbounds play - also to Bobby. The assists were on two entry passes to Big Mike. I also got into the lane, and had a dish-off to Big Greg, but that didn't go.

I dealt pretty well with the pressure applied. I was pretty happy about that.

Bobby, despite the defensive lapses, ended up with a pretty good game, and true to what I had planned, I was all over him about him being aggressive with his strong moves. He had a pretty bad mishandle in the early going, but after that, he started doing some real damage inside - and Mortgage Broker Baby actually has enough size this year that he should have some trouble. I was also able to free Bobby on an interior pick - which is kind of rare for me.

Our team last night consisted of Big Mike, Big Greg, Bobby, Clint, Steve, me, a very quiet, small point guard that Bobby brought - who didn't really go out and play point, and a guy we picked up who DID go out and play point (despite telling me in pre-game that he wasn't a point guard) - but was more concerned with his own shot and the body-checking on the perimeter. This guy is the guy who started out at point. That has to stop if we're going to be competitive.

Ott Trucking added a new big guy, and he's skilled. They look like the team to beat to me. Dirty number 10 - their point guard - wasn't there. If our bigs handle the new guy and Dirty number 5, we'll be fine - and Skander should torch these guys.

After the game, I went and played over at Shannon Mruzik's place. I played three games of 21 with Tim Vargesko and Shannon - winning all three. Boz was also there on the last one. I pulled the last one out with a short pull-up between two guys. We then played two games of 2-on-2, to 30, by 2's and 3's, with alternating possessions. I did rather well.

Tim disappointed me greatly. He's not the most heady player, but by repeatedly shooting outside, fading away, etc., we blew an 8 point lead, and were staring at a 27-27 tie before I rebounded one of my own missed three-pointers, drove the lane, and fed Tim for a lay-up on the drive-and-draw.

After three days of games, my right knee is showing a lot of soreness, and the jammed right ring finger has swollen really badly. It'll be good to take a break.

Travis - I normally call you on your birthday, but I'm actually back home, and my cell phone is dead. But I want you to know that I'm always thinking about you whenever I think basketball. You're still the greatest defensive player I've ever played alongside of, and I still really want to see you out on the court with me. Happy Birthday, old friend. (Special emphasis on "old.")

After getting back from home, I found a call on my cell phone from Tim Vargesko. He wanted to play basketball, and, not being one to refuse a game, I headed over to Shannon's place to play.

My free-throw shooting still needs work. I hit 76 of 100 in warm-ups. I just can't seem to get over the hump and get to 80%.

Caleb showed up, and we played two games of 21 waiting for any of the other folks to show up. I finished with the low score in each game. With Caleb out there just waiting for the block, points are harder to come by. Caleb won both games - the last one being a big come-from-behind victory over Tim.

A friend of Tim's - Matt, I believe - arrived, and we started playing some 2-on-2. Of course, Matt's a big guy, so the free throws ended up teaming Matt and Caleb against Tim and me, not once, but twice. Obviously, the games were ugly. And worse, in the second game, the jammed finger got hit when I was trying to arm-bar Caleb, and he swept the arm to get clear. That *HURT*.

After a game of me and Matt against Tim and Shannon, which was closer than it should have been, and me sitting out a game of Tim and Caleb vs. Matt and Shannon (which was another blow-out), then came the game that pretty much defined why I'm starting to get negative about Caleb's game, despite the fact that he's developing more and more skills.

Caleb and me vs. Shannon and Tim. Obviously, this should be a blow-out - and it was. The problem is that I took a grand total of 2 shots in the game, and got a grand total of 4 touches. (The other 2 went as the only two assists in the game.) Caleb took the ball at the top of the key, and did nothing but gun from outside - successfully, mind you - or drive off of the inbounds. Normally, when playing 2-on-2, we allow the shot off of the inbounds; sometimes we allow the drive, and sometimes we don't. Caleb, of course, has an advantage in that when he drives off of the inbounds, he's essentially using one step to get around someone, which means he's going for a lay-up.

Caleb scored all of our 31 points in the game.

In the meantime, I'm posting up against Shannon, and he's bodying me, and even driving the knee into the leg to move me. But I'm not going to get a touch. Caleb shoots, or fakes, drives, and shoots. When he gets the rebound, he takes it outside himself, and then makes the play himself. Finally, it got so bad that I called Caleb on it. The next play, I got my second touch.

This is inexcusable, and it's becoming a bigger and bigger pattern with Caleb. In a lot of ways, it's similar to Rafael's development; once he had an array of moves, he saw little use for allowing teammates to work with him, since he felt he could do it all on his own. And against weaker competition, he could. But, in such a case, who really wants to play on his team? A person who wants a win, but doesn't want to pull their own weight to get one. That's not why I play the game. Basketball, at its purest, is a team sport. If you can't find a use for your teammates, then you're not a basketball player. If the game is about you doing what you want every play, teammates and their effort be damned, then you have lost all basketball perspective.

I do not need to practice posting a physical defender. I do it often. And I don't see a point trying to fight for position if I'm not going to see the ball but four times in a game. And, as a big guy, Caleb should understand that - in a normal, full-court, five-on-five game, he is dependent on people looking for him in order to get touches. He should understand the principle of not making a teammate work for post position when you've no intention of looking for him - at least let him know so he can work for rebounding position. At least involve him in a pick.

Caleb is far too talented of a player to lose to ego, but more and more, that's where I see his game headed. He already has a bad habit of taking on double-teams rather than looking for the open man; fortunately, that's mostly in the post, although he sometimes drives into double-teams without looking to do anything but shoot.

Now, in fairness, I could have simply been the one to take the ball out one of those times. Of course, most likely, the first thing I'd do is throw the ball to Caleb, but I could have just as easily gone out, taken the ball, and done something to get by my own defender, and gone into the same ball-hog mode Caleb was playing in. Instead I had hoped to make a point to him, get him to see what he was doing, but he was going along seemingly oblivious to the whole thing.

Apparently, I need to work with Caleb on understanding the flow of the game. Perhaps his physical skill development has just out-paced his mental skill development, because what he's really focused on in-game is his physical skills.

The final game was the first game that looked like a real game - Matt and Tim against Caleb and me. This was the first game where there was at least a somewhat fair match-up that I was involved in. There was a big difference, though; Caleb is a post player, and the Matt guy isn't, even though he's nearly Caleb's size. In this game, Caleb let me play a part; I found Caleb on several beautiful back-cuts. When Caleb is playing a game like this, he's a marvel; *THIS* is the kind of teammate that I can help go from good to great, or from great to elite - the kind of teammate you put on the court, and say to the other team, "I DARE you to stop him." This is the player I've always known that Caleb can be. This is the kind of guy who could replace all the things that Rafael - the team-oriented, young version - brought to a game, and more. This is the guy who could take the vacant title of "my favorite target." But this version of Caleb gets mixed up with the previous game's version of Caleb, and as a result, never gets the respect that folks like Dustin and Dan get from me - even though Caleb has more overall talent and skill.

It's like there's a bit of insecurity that Caleb is struggling through - some mistaken notion that he has to be the best player on the court all the time, and if he isn't, all that he's worked for will be taken away. In that regard, he's kind of like Skander.

And speaking of Skander, he's back! He'll be with us for Boone County Lumber vs. Boone Electric. This is a great opportunity for Skander to get his feet wet in the City League.

I said before the first game, I was glad that Skander wasn't going to be at the first game. I was wrong. If we're going to be stupid, and try to run and gun against a team of guards, then at least we should have a TALENTED player like Skander doing it rather than the guy we had. Todd or Greg would have been good guys to have in the backcourt, and I'm convinced they'd have had more of a postive impact that Skander on that particular game - assuming they were in the line-up instead of 3. Wow. I'm still aghast at the fact that Todd's number is being worn by that guy. It's just so wrong - going from the ultimate team-player and tempo-setter to the ultimate out-of-sync guy.

Against Boone Electric, Skander will get a dose of physical play from 0 and 2. And I've already set the tone with the referees on the perimeter by committing that early foul on defense. And 0, who is the X-factor for Boone Electric, is vulnerable to fast players. As long as Skander plays defense knowing that the guy is playing for drawing fouls, he should torch this team...just in time to get on the ground for Ott Trucking.

That one game we lost could be costly - but if we run the table, and get a little help from Ott Trucking or Shelter, we're still looking good.

Last eve, I went to the Tribune to play, but no one was there.

So, instead, I shot free-throws. On the goal closer to the entrance, I hit 62 of 100 - not good. On the other goal, I hit 79 of 100 - not bad, but still not where I want to be. Overall, 141 for 200 - .705. That's at least .100 points below where I want to be.

Afterward, when I got home, I did some sit-ups and some walking on the treadmill. First, I did a mile at the speed of 3.5 MPH, and then at 4.0 for the remainder of 20 minutes. I felt good afterward.

Now the challenge is to not over-eat while I'm stuck at home during the snowstorm.

Yes, yes, yes! Chris Valleroy - Jake's dad - is going to be my assistant coach for Upward!

I'm going to be coaching two teams this year, and I'm already starting off with an awesome assistant coach. And, of course, that means I'm coaching Jake in the 5th/6th grade level, which means that even before I've seen my roster, I know I've got one of the sharpest basketball players out there for my team.

Mr. Valleroy was a wonderful team parent last year, and I recommended to Todd that he ask Mr. Valleroy to coach one of the teams. Mr. Valleroy knows the game, and any group of kids will benefit from his teaching, but more so than that, Mr. Valleroy has the right attitude to approach the game. That's something that many parents find difficult, especially if they've played the sport. You have to strike a delicate balance between encouraging a young player and discouraging bad habits. You have to override the desire to try to tell your kid to do things the way you did things. And Mr. Valleroy did just wonderful with Jake. Jake's a player with no bad habits, a willingness to share the ball, and a clutch performer. You have to think Mr. Valleroy would be the same kind of player - and will teach the same kind of things as a coach.

So, going in, I know that the 5th/6th grade team has a strong coaching advantage. The question will now become what level the players are at; is it a well-developed team capable of running a structured offense, or is it a team best served by a free-flowing offense like the Spartans ran last year? Perhaps just a few out-of-bounds plays?

I'm eager to get my rosters and get things rolling.

Also, last night, I played at the Tribune, with a guy named Allen, and against Steve and Lee. We played three games, with Allen and me winning the first and the last - the last on a 3-pointer by me with the score tied.

I struggled with my outside shot, especially so in the first two games. However, I went to the drive, and I was doing very well with the baby-hook coming off the spin move. Steve tried to back off so he wouldn't be vulnerable to the spin move, so I faced up, and just shot a couple of times.

More importantly, my hands were very active - the most they've been in a while - and I got a good number of deflections, tips, and shot-blocks. My passing wasn't where I wanted it, but part of that was because we were playing 2-on-2, and my teammate isn't a cutter at all. C'est la vie.

Afterward, I hit 19 of 25 from the free-throw line. Close - still not there yet, though.

I'm feeling pretty confident right now. We'll have to see how well it carries over to Tuesday's game against Foundations of Columbia.

Yesterday was a big day for basketball all the way around.

I got my Upward Basketball Rosters. I'm going to be coaching two teams with Chris Valleroy, who will have one of his sons on each team. We practice on Wednesdays.

Our 3rd/4th grade team is the Yellow Jackets. You can access their web page here. At first look, we have a very deep and talented team, based on the evaluation scores of the players. I'm eager to see how this team will work out, because it looks like we have a very good chance to play a very fast style of basketball. So far, I've got one guy who may have a scheduling conflict.

Our 5th/6th grade team is the Knicks. You can access their web page here. At first read, this is a team with some exceptionally big players, with a strong mix of quick players as well. Of particular interest to me is the fact the three players - Landon, David, and Mackoy - are all close friends, and Jake and Andrew know each other from church. That means either we'll have extremely GREAT chemistry, or we'll have a team divided by cliques and extremely POOR chemistry. It'll be up to Chris and me to make sure the team falls squarely into the former category. Also of concern is the fact that we only have 9 players, with one of those who may have to drop out due to scheduling problems. Also, for this team, there's still one player's parents who I haven't been able to contact.

All in all, Upward looks to be much more challenging this year - with increased expectations. Looking at the two teams, both are evaluated higher than the Spartans, but then again, you can't tell me that the Spartans' evaluations were accurate. Almost to a player, the Spartans were evaluated too low, and I could tell that at the end of the second practice.

I was disappointed at the Utah Jazz loss on Friday. A victory would have given Jerry Sloan 1000 victories for his career. The man is such a great coach; I wanted to see him get it. Utah's next game is tonight, at home, against Dallas. Skander and I might have to watch that one.

My fantasy basketball team won its game this week, and we're now up to 7th in the league - just out of the playoffs. Word is that Pau Gasol will be back later this week. That would be a great boost to my team, as Duncan and Gasol run opposite schedules this week.

Last evening, I went out and played some 21 with Caleb and Shannon. Amazingly enough, I won two of the three games. The first game was simply a matter of making my free throws - I hit all 12 that I took. Caleb won the second game in convincing fashion. I won the last game on a crazy come-back. The winning shot was a banked left-handed jumper on the left side of the court when I got Shannon off-balance. Also in that game was a left-handed, one-hand, off-balance shot that went in.

The real problem out there was Shannon, because he was playing exceptionally dirty last night. Of course, dirty Mruzik defense is something of a family tradition, but Shannon is taking it to new levels. Every Mruzik plays close, and every Mruzik commits blatant blocking fouls, but Shannon actually PUSHES on the blocking fouls. He's starting to develop a hand-check - likely stolen from Tim Vargesko - and between the body block, the hand-check, and his willingness to reach in to steal the ball, you're talking a VERY physical player. I try to be patient, but there's only so patient you can be, and I'm using most of my fakes - giving him a clearer and clearer picture of what I can do and what I can't - which will allow him to play dirty more effectively. And in 21, I don't have the big counters that I need - the ability to get him off of me by passing and cutting or the opportunity to run him into a pick. Once we get into a real game, we'll fix the dirty play.

Caleb and I also worked on pick-and-roll a bit, with me showing him how to recognize the difference between pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop situations.

I am starting to worry about Caleb's drive move. A couple of times, it was a blatant travel. And worse, one time, it was a carry move followed by a travel. I think part of it is a remnant from him learning to dunk. What he's doing is legal - if you go by the rules for travelling from the pros. But if you go by high school or college rules, he could have some serious trouble in an officiated game.

And, of course, in playing those games against Shannon and Caleb, I've done something to my left side. It might be a back thing, or it might be a pull of something toward the front of my hip. Either way, it's really sore today. It occurred - I think - when I was trying to pop Shannon as a warning to stop bodying me. That should make tomorrow's City League game interesting.

And for the City League, after talking with Travis Acton on Friday night, I'm looking at re-instituting an old tradition that he and I used to have. I shared the tradition with Skander years ago, but it sort of died out when Skander's games were confined to late Friday nights, with him hanging out with other friends afterward. But now, it's time to bring back this blast from the past: how well we play decides where we have supper that night. Play well, and we're looking at places like Red Lobster. Play bad, and it's Long John Silver's. That might really help get Skander back into the right frame of mind for tomorrow night's game. Right now, he's being aggressive, and that's a big improvement, but I'm afraid his confidence is shaken. I'm going to try to get him back on track. We're playing Foundations of Columbia, so we should win, but I'm more interested in getting Skander on track. The season is pretty much toast for any chance of a championship, but we now need to get chemistry in place for future years. Skander's going to be vital to that.

Well, the last several weeks have been basketball-busy.

For general basketball, I ended up playing over the earlier break back home with my brother and my old teammate Dennis McCormick's son. We played 21, and I actually won two games. We also played two games of horse, and I won one of those. Winning the two 21 games is actually an accomplishment for me, because I never, and I mean *NEVER*, win 21 games when my brother is playing.

I've played a couple of games at the Tribune. My shot isn't looking good at all there, and I'm really not sure why. However, my defense at the Tribune has been pretty good, except for one thing: Lee is posting me *WAY* too deep right now, and there's not a good way to fix that. This is one of those cases where, when there's no 3-second lane, a player like Lee can give me fits.

And another thing about Lee; he's starting to develop an annoying habit of reading when I'm pulling up with a three-pointer "early" in a possession...and BLOCKING THEM. Essentially, this means now, somebody besides Caleb is really sitting back and reading the 3-pointer. That means I need to focus on working on my fake again and getting these guys off their feet.

I also played at the Mizzou Arena with Matt and some of his friends. I shot well, but the pace of the game was beyond over-paced, and the players are notorious "me-me" guys. It's great for conditioning, but it's an awful game for a guy like me, who is a passer and a spot-up shooter.

Last night, I went over to Shannon's, and we played for about 2 and a half hours, finishing up at about 12:30. I passed exceptionally well, and drove well, but I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. I looked AWESOME in warm-ups, and hit one of the two jumpers to be a captain. But outside of a put-back of a Shannon put-back attempt, I didn't hit anything else. Hit my shots in warm-up. Hit 42 of 50 from the free-throw line. Couldn't miss in pre-game warm-ups. And missed shot after shot after shot in the games.

I wasn't happy with my defense, either, except for the denial of the post guy I guarded in one of the games. We engaged in a real battle for post position, and I feel I did good in that area. But, of course, he torched me a couple of times from outside, and I didn't do anything offensively to bother him. And he was doing a good job of roughing me up outside, and on an enclosed court, that's a problem.

I'm really struggling against pressure right now. I'm going to have to be more aggressive and fight through some of this.

As for the City League...ugh. After the win, we decided to come back with an ugly loss. It started out really well, too - Dustin picking my man off me, me setting Skander up along the baseline, and Skander finding Dustin for the first points. It really started to go south, though, when Al, in his typical incompetent officiating way, blew an easy call on me getting hammered ACROSS BOTH ARMS - SIDE-TO-SIDE, NO LESS - in the lane. That sent the game out-of-control. Al also waved off a charge that Bobby drew THAT THE OTHER REF CALLED WHEN IT WAS *NOT* AL'S CALL, instead, awarding a basket to the other team, and giving them the ball (according to City League rules). #50 then got a technical and ejection at half-time for grabbing the rim (another City League rule). Top it off with me committing a *HARD* foul on one of their players that sent him to the floor, and Steve getting T-ed up by Al. At least I blocked my first shot of the year. Two to-the-backline assists. One bad turnover in the lane, which had #3 griping on the sideline.

You know, that has a nice ring to it: "#3 griping on the sideline." The reason it has a nice ring to it is that he was ON THE SIDELINE! Please, oh please, get that guy off of my team. I hate him. I detest everything he says and does on the court.

Shannyn came to the game to watch Skander. Her reaction was initially that she thought #3 wasn't bad. Skander corrected her, saying #3 was awful. The exchange that followed was priceless:

Shannyn: "Well, he acts like he can play."

Skander: "Got it in one, babe. He ACTS like he can play."

Todd, if you're reading this, please, oh please, oh please, oh please come back.

And, speaking of Todd, Upward Basketball is only a week away. I sat down with Chris, my assistant coach, and we talked a bit about the upcoming season. I got to see his sons, Jake and Dylan. Seeing Jake again was awesome. And I think Dylan is going to be a lot of fun to coach.

I sent all of my players - new and old - Christmas cards. I didn't have Nathan's address, so I dropped his card off personally, saw Nathan and his dad, and got some incredible news: Nathan was promoted to the 5th/6th grade division! I am so proud of this guy, and I just know he's going to be awesome. Nathan just needed a bit of confidence, and once given that, it's just a matter of time for him to be doing well.

There are some problems on my 5th/6th grade team. One of my top players, Landon, has a conflict, and may have to leave the team. It became official yesterday. Not sure what will become of it.

Finally, three items of note for general basketball:

1) I ordered an adjustable 40-pound weight vest. I plan on wearing it during our practices.

2) I need to get back to work on my diet. I weighed in at 208.5 this morning.

3) I'm going to the doctor today to get the warts on the bottom of my feet seen about. Don't know whether they'll be cut off, burned off, or frozen off, but I'm hoping to be in good shape for basketball. Getting rid of these things will be a welcome change, because the worst one, the one on the ball of my left foot, is constantly annoying me.

Introducing a new team: the Greyhounds.

My Upward Knicks, minus one of our players who will be out of town, added three old Spartans and a Yellow Jacket, and have formed the Greyhounds, who will be competing in the Show-Me games.

I'm very excited about this, because I think the Knicks really caught on to the idea of playing as a team. More as more develops.