Just Like Butta'...

On a chilly Saturday morning, two teams met. One – fresh off a win from their last game and tied for the league lead at 1-0, and the other team (ours) coming off a 17-point loss and having to deal with the psychological scars that come along with a loss like that. Practice in preparation for the game was demanding – dribbling without looking at the ball (left & right hand) seemed to give many players trouble, which made the Red-Light-Green-Light game a welcome experience. Then came the kicker – scrimmage with no passing! Coach was really giving it to them – but was it punishment or preparation? As the whistle signaled the start of the game, the answer was clear – preparation. Clearly there was more aggression on defense and the Hot Shots (our team) was out to an early lead. Passing was much improved as on one particular play Joshua flew down the court, filling the left lane as the ball was brought up on the right. With head up – the player with the ball spotted Joshua and passed to him. Joshua caught the ball in stride, with opposing players closing in, stopped on a dime and hit a jumper from about three feet out (play above video again). And the crowd went crazy!! (Okay – just mom, dad and li’l bro). Joshua’s first basket in an organized game…and guess what? Mom had camera rolling – so we got it all on tape! Back to the game – with an early lead, the Hot Shots seemed to step back a little – defense got a little lazy, sharing the ball was no more (sounds like a certain professional team in Sac). Perhaps a little comfortable with the first “W” in sight? The score was 16-18 with 19 seconds left – after a jump ball gave the opposing team the ball – they scored and tied the game. Overtime. This was no average overtime – it was one like I have never seen in my year of coaching in the past. One minute stop time. Are you kidding me? Long story short – our best player was a diversion in the OT, never touching the ball. But with about 15 seconds to go, the Hot Shots in possession of the ball, the ball was whipped (okay tossed) to whomever was open. One kid, Andrew took the ball and quickly went for the open spot. After contemplating (in a matter of seconds) to shoot or pass, and with “Baby Shaq” all over him – he took the shot. From about 10 feet out, with “Jordanesque” likeness, the shot was launched into the air. With enough arc to give it a chance to go in (and out of the gym) it was on target…and BAM!! As they say…”NBN”…Nothin’ But Net!!!! And the Hot Shots won the game!!! (see previous post for video of game winning shot) That’s what it’s all about sports fans…the roar of the crowd, the excitement in the gym, and more importantly – the smiles on the faces of the kids. Basketball was once again fun.