Exchange, first-hand, friendly, jump, trick
Coach Spain was worried. They had a Thanksgiving tournament
in Houston in two weeks. The team got by the mid-terms with everyone having a
2.5 GPA or better. She had first-hand knowledge that this tournament could make
or break the season. Going into it undefeated was a liability. So far none of
the teams they’d played put up a real challenge. They would be walking into a
buzz saw against the three other teams in the tournament.
She had scrimmages with the men’s JV team three times the
previous week to get them in shape. Shanika was turning into a first-class
center and the other six players had perfected their jump shots getting lots of
three pointers. It kept the other players from crowding Shanika on the inside.
Tony Adams was impressed by their play. His players upped
their game the past few weeks. They were much better defensively against three-point
shots. Ray picked up the jump hook after getting burned by Shanika with it. At
first the scrimmages were friendly, but as the girls got better his guys
realized they needed to take them seriously. It was turning into a good
exchange of training for both teams. Next year when this group of freshmen and
sophomores replaced his seniors, he’d be much more competitive.
Karen purposely kept Shanika from shooting three pointers to
this point in the season. After regular workouts the tall woman kept practicing
her outside shots, but it was important to perfect her inside game. The last scrimmage
against the men she turned Shanika loose and let her rain down three pointers.
They beat the men by ten points.
“That was a dirty trick,” Tony said shaking his head after
the game.
“I know,” she said. “I hope it works well in Houston. Shanika
won’t be the tallest player against those teams.”
8 comments:
Hopefully the practice will pay off and they do well in the tourney.
I learned to play basketball with the boys ... it's a completely different world. And it definitely makes the girls more competitive. They're going to crush it in Houston!
Love having a secret weapon in Shanika.... And, re: frogs and nuns... you never know what's going to come out of this brain. I never do!!! lol
I like that she has a plan. Good one.
Aymee, we'll see what the words next week provide.
I remember getting my butt kicked by the Queen Bees in college. I knew not to play against them again. I was a runner and it was a pick up game.
Judy I agree.
Megan, a good coach always has a plan. When it hits the fan there always a fan plan.
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