east texas bb

You cant think it is weights alone.

I was talking to a coach the other day and brought up this subject.  Of all the schools I know of, I have never seen a more athletic school/town than Newton.  He said the same thing.  Year after year.  Sometimes it looks like they have men on the court they are so strong and big.

Good win for the Eagles.  Newton is always athletic.

It may be, I say that because I dont think Center will beat them again even if they played at Center.  Diboll could be close at Diboll, Kirbyville (it dosent matter), Jasper at home and IMO the only team that has a shot at beating Huntington at home.  Huntington @ Hudson, dogfight.  Central shouldnt be trouble the last game, unless both teams are still in the hunt, very likely, and if Huntington dosent approach them as just another team, and if they have beat them 2 times already. It is tough to beat a team 3 times in a year, unfortanate they met before district and had to play.  I think they will split. But, who knows, it may be the easier end.

Thought it was at WOS, still a big win and even tougher after the game they played last week.  You can bet they wont shoot 1 for 17 again.

That is usually expected following a big win like last week.  It is a big statement that they still found a way to win against arguably the 3rd best team in district on the road.

Good win for Huntington.  Didnt see the game, but it sounds like they pulled away in the 3rd which is usually the case.  All the games are critical in district and home court does usually play a factor.  If they can beat Central at Central then it should help the overall look, because the second half of Huntington's schedule will be the tougher half IMO. Central @Central to finish this half. Break Center @ Home @ Diboll, could be close, but dont think it will @ Kirbyville, they beat Kirbyville no matter where Jasper @ Home, could be close, only team I see having a shot of beating them at home @Hudson, will be tough at their gym and for the 3rd time Central @ Home, will be a close game if both teams are still in hunt

txcan, you make a very valid point.  The actual best approach for youth age IMO is the PDBL (Playmakers Developmental Basketball League) by Brian McCormick who has teaching days(skill days) and when the kids do play a game, they play 3 on 3.  Kids in a 3 on 3 game receive almost double the amount of touches according to research.  There are things I dont like about his program but overall it is the best I have seen for the true development of youth.  I would mix 5 on 5 with 3 on 3 and the mixture would be more 5 on 5 as they get older.  Little Dribblers could be a lot more effective by implementing a few rules.  These are the ones I would change or add.  1. No zone defense for 12 years old and down.  2. No double teaming the basketball or "ball chasing" would not be allowed unless a player was penetrating to the basket.  So when a player crosses HC, you cant send 2 to chase them down.  3. Some leagues do draft incorrectlly IMO allowing 2 or more coaches to get together and then getting the best kid that is not a coaches kid. 4.  I would not allow offensive plays for 12 or under, they need to learn spacing and then they can learn a play, I have never seen a 5-12 year old remember how to run an offense. 5.  Every 3rd time down the court, I would make it a rule that a different person has to bring the ball down the court.  You have to have parents involved in the Youth program, or you will not have a youth program, but the parents could be more educated and the coach should approach these people and help them.  The coach of the community could go to the local youth board and give them an overall idea and even some drills and practice plans.  The youth programs are not killed in games as much as they are in practice, I see too many youth practices where the following happen and they kill a kids chance to get better.  1.  You see 1 basketball and 8-10 kids doing a drill with 1 active kid and 8 not doing anything.  All the kids need a ball in their hands for 70-80 percent of the time and doing drills where they are active and not waiting in line.  You also see coaches talking to much and the kids standing around when the coach thinks they are listening but they arent, their attention span is not able to stay on task fo long.  But, If you see a HS coach come in, and are working with and has influence with the youth, all the way to HS, eventually you will have a winning program.  This is a rarity.  The focus should be 3 fold IMO:  Kids having fun, Kids Learning, and Kids learning to win, and in that order. (I have the same reservations you have with Upwards).  Kids need to learn that it is a good thing to win. The emphasis on winning should grow with the kids.  JMO

It would be more entertaining for sure.  My favorite part of basketball is to watch a good team be able to push the ball up the floor with the dribble and/or pass and get a good look at the other end.  I love to see a guard scanning the floor on the dribble and thread the needle between 2-3 defenders, finding a teammate for a layup or open 3. 

I agree you cant put your own self-worth with teenagers, I have heard that many times before, you would go insane if you did.  I think of Big Sandy a couple of years back when they would more than likely have went to State but had a couple of kids mess up.  Nothing a coach can do about that, except build on that for the future.  But when you are coaching a team, you are buying in just like the players are buying in.  If you are trying to build a program, every coach out there will tell you basketball is a game of possessions, either by TO's or rebounds, more times than naught the team with more possessions on a consistent basis will be more successful.  My HS coach put a limit of 10 turnovers, sometimes 8 and we pressed and pushed the ball as much as anyone. No coach wants to see his team throw the ball away or get it stolen. 

I believe Huntington deserves at the least a top 3 consideration.  I honestly believe they can win the district if they finish strong. That being said, it will be tough for them to beat Hudson and Central 3 times in a row.  And that is what they are looking at.  Huntington has began district about as well as they could, except for the loss to Center. Huntington has a better team than Central IMO, Central is still young, if they let the added rivalary affect them, they could be in for 2 close games.  They should approach the game as any other and they should win by 10-12.  I they play to the rivalary it will be a much closer game. JMO

You may be right.  I would like to see Huntington get in and think they have a shot. 

The game has changed, and like all things, some good changes and some bad.  20 turnovers will never be acceptable to me.  We set out goal of 12-15 a game and under and we ran or did wall sits if we went over and we still managed to score high numbers.  The mid range jumpshot is gone because of the 3 point line (watch the hardwood classics and most of their shots were 15-18 foot, they just shot the open shot and the defense was sagging more, defenses are set up now to guard the 3 point line in), but if kids would work on both they would be very dangerous.  A player that can shoot the 3, mid range jumper, and get to the rim is very tough to guard.  Michael Jordan was good  at all of these.  I will never understand having alot of TO of missed FT's.  Those are both staples to an effective program IMO.  Lastly, there was alot of talk the other night about the HJ and Silsbee game and the missed FT's.  While I thought they did play a factor, I thought both teams shot just about as poorly from the line.  The stat that made me scratch my head was HJ only outrebounded Silsbee by 5 rebounds.  I really figured the margin would be much higher in favor of HJ. I think that could have had something to do with the outcome. JST

This district has alot of parity this year.  There are 5 teams that could make the playoffs.  The list you listed is about as close as you could guess.  Huntington could win the district with a strong finish (would be the first in 25 or so years), and should make the playoffs even if they dont.  Jasper, Center, Hudson, and Central all have a shot at the playoffs. Diboll and Kirbyville may struggle although I have seen where Diboll played some folks close. My Prediction: Huntington Jasper Central Center Hudson Diboll Kirbyville

Coach Henderson has built a program at Flower Mound, I seriously doubt that we see a let up in their play in the next few years. Let me say, I am all for an uptempo game, I love to press and push the ball, but I am a realist at the same time.  Some teams do not have the players to do this( or it may not benifit them on a certain night), especially on the offensive side.  Alot of teams can press the entire game but not push the ball in a controlled manner. Eventually, a shot clock will come to HS, but I am not looking forward to it. I dont see how some are saying that a shot clock adds more strategy to the game.  When I played in college we ran a set when the shot clock started and when it got down to 10 seconds we went directly into a quickhitter.  IMO you would just be running alot more quickhitters. Like no look said, lot of different in the HS and college game. 

No shot clock.  You would be taking some of the strategy and control out of the HS game especially in lower classifications from the coaches who made need to use the clock to create a certain tempo that gives their team the best chance to win.  JMO

I have not seen either team play this year, but it seems evident that HJ and Silsbee are both good with HJ being favored.  Silsbee has no height but more speed, where HJ has more Height and less speed from what I gather.  I think HJ wins both district games because they will outrebound Silsbee pretty badly and I dont think the pressure will bother HJ. I know it is just the beggining of district, but a month from now I suspect both teams to be playing in the playoffs.  If HJ has beat Silsbee twice in district, if they happen to meet in the playoffs that 3rd time, that could be a tough win to pull out.  That would be in the back of my mind.  It is hard to beat someone 3 times in a row.  Just a thought.

I have heard that Sealy has one player that is a man child.

This should be a good game.  I wonder where it is going to be played?

You would be suprised how much of this behavior goes on.  Everywhere, not just HF. These are just the ones we hear about.  I bet I could name 9-10  cases in the past year alone.  It needs to stop. 

It seems to me that every school in southeast texas has gotton some move ins or transfers, whatever you want to call them.  I dont know an entire lot about Lumberton, but thought they were pretty good in baseball and had a good community and school.  Seems like alot of players from Beaumont would move that way.

Does anyone know why Shephard seems to struggle in basketball?  My wife is from shephard and I have followed them since we were married (10 years) but I never see them make much of a run in those years.  Anyone know what is going on?

I hope your joking Dove.

Will do, good luck to yall this year.

Whats up AAW, I havent talked with you in a while?  I plan to come watch some Silsbee and HJ games this year, want to bring my boy down to some games in that area.  Hopefully, I can come by and introduce myself at one of the games. Is Silsbee still in football playoffs, or are the players in the gym yet?