I spent the rest of Sunday, after the game, editing video of football games I've covered, working the weekly Top 10 polls (work) and, finally, examining the video of our game with KBB.
We did some things well. We had better ball movement against their zone defense. We moved our feet more defensively. Not perfectly and all the time, but we're getting much better at it.
Things to improve on? We still have a habit of leaving our feet offensively for no reason other than to pass. That gives any defender an extra split-second to read you, and when we did it, it resulted in turnovers. Always best to stay on two feet, use your brain and a fake or two instead of jumping and throwing the ball away.
When we did take care of the ball, we got quality shots most of the time. That's one aspect I like. We have a better sense of shot selection than a lot of the high school varsity teams I've seen over the years.
Overall, though, the key was our hustle on both ends of the floor. KBB was a young team, but disciplined and fundamentally sound, as all of Coach Ed's teams and players are. His son, Kainoa, wasn't Player of the Year in high school basketball last year for nothin'.
Beyond all that, the one thing I know we can't control is the officiating, and I've gone to lengths with the league director and the officials to correct what seems to be a decline in good positioning (yes, refs have to get in position, too) and basic reflexes. By that I mean sometimes a rusty or past-his-prime referee will miss calls that are in plain view, not more than 5 feet away.
When that happens, as was the case when Blake got elbowed on the head on a low-post shot and there was no call, there's really nothing a coach can do except bring it up, which I did during the time out that followed. Quality is varied when it comes to officials; some work hard to improve and others stagnate before declining quickly.
Any time you realize that a call hasn't been made properly, just remember that players have no choice but to adjust to the game officials, not vice-versa. That's why I'm proud of you guys. Things didn't always go our way, but you kept playing hard and never lost your cool.
As for any further discussion with the league director, Greydon, about the dropoff in officating in our past two games, LET ME HANDLE IT. I've already done one DVD on our previous game. I'm going to put another one together for yesterday's game since there were at least six questionable-to-blatant non-calls.
As a former age-group and ILH intermediate summer league referee, I know it's not easy. But it's also wrong to simply ignore sub-par officiating. It has to be dealt with, not just for the referee's sake — maybe he really does need to get his eyes checked — but for the players' sake most of all.
Even when things aren't looking so bright, we find the light, Thunder. We find the light.
See you guys at Kahala Park on Tuesday, 4 p.m.
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