THE CARPENTER

Boys Basketball Practice – Wednesday, February 20

We have had problems moving the ball down court when facing a full court man to man defense or a full court zone press.  We implemented our own full court zone press in yesterday’s practice because it can be an effective defense and it gives us a chance to run our offense against it.  If Nate runs into foul problems like the last two Lake Park games, we will be better prepared to handle the pressure and not give up any quick baskets or turn the ball over.  We will also focus on this same area in today’s practice.

The team huddle was based on:   “The Carpenter”

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. “This is your house,” he said, “my gift to you.” What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.

So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized that we would have done it differently.

Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. Your life today is the result of your attitudes and choices in the past. Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.

Author Unknown

Coach asked the players on Monday who the most dangerous offensive player on the court is.  There were many answers from all the players.  The answer we were looking for is: the person who just passed the ball.  All attention is focused on the ball and where the pass is going.  The person passing the ball has a second when he can move anywhere on the court before defenders pick him back up.

“WHO IS THE MOST DANGEROUS OFFENSIVE PLAYER ON THE FLOOR”

Boys Basketball Practice – Monday, February 18

We had our best Monday practice in a long time.  All the players were focused, Coach was in a good mood, and everything seemed to click with the exception of Caleb Farmer’s slightly sprained ankle.  The injury kept Caleb out of the last part of practice and possibly the next couple of practices as well.  Once again we set a new team best in the lap/wall sit conditioning exercise at the end of practice.  The players took 9 seconds off their previous best.  We are beginning preparations for the tournament we will play in next week.  There are a couple of areas we need to work on and we hope to add a little something since we will play Lake Park for the third time.

The team huddle is always interesting.  We discussed the good and the bad from last Friday’s game which is our normal routine.  The coaches have little to say in this discussion.  The players share their observations with the whole team and are usually right on the money.  Coach asked the players to think about one question and come to practice with an answer and the reason behind the answer.  Here is the question: “Who is the most dangerous offensive player on the floor?”  I will give you our answer next Wednesday.

LATE FREE THROWS CARRY FALCONS TO VICTORY

Falcons 39 – Lake Park Eagles 33

The Falcons were once again involved in another tense game that went down to the final 3 seconds.  Nine of the Falcons last 11 points came from the free throw line before they could claim their 7th victory of the season.  What a victory it was.  The fan support was once again amazing.  Amazing is not a strong enough word, it was awesome.  Arborbrook must have had 60-70 fans and out numbered Lake Park on their home court at least 3-1.  The noise level in the gym was the loudest it has been all season.  How do you describe the last minute of the game.  I am still trying to catch my breath.

This was a rematch of a game the Falcons won two weeks ago on the same court.  We once again wore our traviling white, borrowed, too large shirts.  The first quarter started out slow with both teams struggling to score.  Caleb Robinson hit the first basket of the game and the Falcons jumped out to a 2-0 lead.  Our defense gets better every game and Lake Park struggled to score.  Daniel Zangmeister and Joel VanDusen came in at the half way point of the quarter and played strong defense against superior height.  Nate Johnson knocked down two baskets and the Falcons ended the quarter with a 6-3 lead.  Both teams were just warming up.

The Eagles quickly pulled to within one point starting the second quarter.  Nate Johnson answered with a 3 point play and would end up scoring 12 points in the quarter.  The Eagles warmed up and put up 11 points of their own but key baskets by Josh Black and Ryan Brown gave the Falcons an eight point lead going into half time.  This would be the largest lead of the game.  Alan Fox gave Caleb Farmer a much needed rest and Matthew Pedemont and Hank Booth once again played solid defense when Mitch Moore and Nate Johnson picked up their second fouls. 

Lake Park came out smoking at the beginning of the 3rd quarter hitting their first 3 shots.  The Falcons didn’t blink even though even though Nate picked up his 3rd foul early in the quarter.  Josh Black hit another key basket and our defense tightened up.  Nate added his last two baskets of the game and we managed to cling to a 28-22 lead going into the fourth quarter.  Now things would get interesting.

Nate Johnson made to free throws to push the lead to 30-22 and and then picked up his 4th foul with over six minutes left in the game.  With Nate on the bench, Lake Park put on a full court press causing us to turn the ball over 3 straight times leading to 6 quick points.   Mitch Moore hit a big free throw to make the score 31-28.  Lake Park pulled within one point before Trey Barnes made a huge basket to give us a 33-30 lead.  Lake Park pulled even for the first time in the game with a 3 point play and we went into the final 70 seconds witha 33-33 tie.  Nate stole a pass at half court and was headed for a break away basket when he was fouled from behind, an excellent foul by the Eagles.  Nate stepped to the line and made 2 free throws to give us a 2 point lead.  Nate is a pressure player and does not miss when the game is on the line.  Our defense held and Josh Black was fouled driving to the basket.  There were 41 seconds left in the game when Josh stepped to the line.  This was Josh’s best game of the season even though he had missed 4 straight free throws.  You could feel the pressure before the referee ever handed the ball to Josh.  Josh calmly eyed his shot and swished the free throw.  We had a 3 point lead but Lake Park has a 3 point shooter.  Once again our defense held and Josh was fouled with 13 seconds left in the game.  Josh made the first but the 2nd shot rolled off the rim when Mitch Moore tied up his Lake Park opponet on the rebound.  2 seconds came off the clock and the ball was given to Lake Park.  They quickly put up a 3 point shot but Mitch grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 3.1 seconds left in the game.  Mitch stepped to the line, knocked down both shots and we had a hard fought but well earned victory.  The Falcons never trailed in the game and made the free throws when they had to.  The final score was 39-33.

Team stats:  Nate Johnson scored 24 points, with 7 rebounds and 3 steals.  Josh Black scored 6 points with 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot.  Mitch Moore added 3 points, 8 rebounds and 1 blocked shot.  Caleb Robinson scored 2 points with 1 rebound and 1 assist.  Trey Barnes scored a huge basket for 2 points.  Ryan Brown scored the final 2 points and added 1 rebound.  Caleb Farmer did not score but played his usual solid game at point guard and pulled down 5 rebounds and 2 assists.  Matthew Pedemonte and Daniel Zangmeister each added a rebound and Alan Fox added aan assist.  This was our last regular game of the season and we finished with a 7-5 record.  

NEW TEAM BEST IN 3 MAN WEAVE

Boys Basketball Practice – Wednesday, February 13

Wednesday’s practice was excellent, all the players were focused the minute they hit the court.  The team finally set a new team record for running the 3 man weave.  I say finally because they established a team best the first day they ran this drill at the beginning of the season.  The drill runs for 2 minutes and they need to see how many baskets they can make in this time frame.  It looks easy and sounds easy but it’s not.  They made 8 baskets the first time they were timed about two months ago.  They are required to run Falcons for every basket they are short and have been running every since, until yesterday.  They made 9 baskets and established a new team best because they were focused.

We won our last game but some areas of concern popped up.   We only made 4 of 16 free throws, our man to man defense was average,  we could not catch the ball, and we traveled and traveled and traveled.  We worked on all these areas in practice.  Nate Johnson remained on top the free throw ladder for the 6th straight time defeating Caleb Robinson.   We had ten players for practice and seven made 50% or more of their free throws.  We also had a solid scrimmage which showed every player is starting to realize they can score.  It was one of our most productive practices of the year.

The Falcons play at Lake Park on Friday.  This should be a tough game and a preview to our first tournament game.   

BALANCED SCORING LEADS TO FALCON VICTORY

Falcons 36 – Fletcher 15

The Falcons went into yesterday’s game with Fletcher missing their two leading scorers.   Trey Barnes did not dress because of illness and Nate Johnson injured his foot in our last game and is still not 100%.  We had ten players available and 9 players scored for our most balanced scoring attack of the season.  We had defeated Fletcher earlier in the season and knew that all of our players would get extended playing time.  Fletcher does not match up well with us but the game must still be played on the court.

We started five different players for this game and wanted to come out strong.  Caleb Robinson gave us an early 2-0 lead with his first basket of the season.  The players on the bench jumped to their feet with a loud cheer and Caleb had the biggest smile you have ever seen.  Caleb came to the game with his right wrist wrapped and a mild sprain.  I wasn’t sure if he could even play since he was warming up left handed.  Adrenalin is high during a game and Caleb played like his wrist was fine.  He may not be able to write this morning but he was a scoring machine last night.  Alan Fox made his first basket of the season with a nifty drive down the lane and a short jump shot.  Once again the bench erupted and Alan looked over with the second biggest smile.  The Falcons built a 11-0 lead before Flectcher could get on the board.  We were playing a 2-1-2 zone and Fletcher could not penetrate the defense for any easy baskets.  The quarter ended with the Falcons on top 13-1.

Our offensive production dropped off in the second quarter and  baskets by Daniel Zangmeister and Hank Booth were our only scores.   The defense however, remained tough.  Fletcher scored on a long three point shot to start the quarter and never scored again.  The Falcons went into the half time break witha 17-4 lead.

Matthew Pedemonte started us out in the third quarter by hitting a quick basket.  Matthew played his best all round game of the season and was the team’s leading scorer for this game.  Matthew also fouled out late in the game which is not always a bad thing.  He was very aggressive on both sides of the ball which is what the coaches have been stressing.   Our defense held Fletcher to only two points and we took a 25-6 lead into the fourth quarter. 

Coach had switched to a man to man defense in the second half and it finally broke down in the fourth quarter.  Fletcher scored 9 points in this quarter but our offense picked back up.  Lead by Caleb “Scoring Machine” Robinson five different players put points on the board and we cruised to a 36-15 victory.  The Falcons outscored Fletcher in every quarter.  We have not outscored our opponents in every quarter in any game we have played so this was a first for us.

Stats:  (a lot of stats)  – Matthew was the leading scorer with 7 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals.  Caleb Robinson knocked down 6 points, grabbed a team high 11 rebounds, and had 3 steals.  Josh Black scored 5 points, had 7 rebounds, and 1 blocked shot.  Ryan Brown scored 4 points with 9 rebounds and 3 steals.  Mitch Moore had a basket and 2 free throws for 4 points.  Mitch also had 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocked shots.  Joel VanDusen scored 4 points with 1 rebound and 1 assist.  Alan Fox controlled the offense from his point guard position and scored 2 points.  Alan also had 6 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 assists.  Daniel Zangmeister scored 2 points with 5 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 assist.  Hank Booth scored a basket for 2 points and added 5 rebounds.  Caleb Farmer did not score in limited playing time but contributed 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal.

The Falcons record is 6 – 5.  Our next game is Friday at Lake Park.