Losing to the best makes us better

We had our chances, but in the end, it was another loss to the Tar Heels in 13U. Maybe they're our "nemesis," a very good team that has a spell over us. Or maybe they're just better because they've worked together since they were in a national 10U tourney (and won it) and have kept improving.

All I know is, we were right there for three quarters, within one point, two points, three points. Our defense was playing well. We locked in on all four of their long-range shooters. But now that it's break time before we have pizza and shooting drills at the park, it's time to reflect.

1. With Kyle hurting (hyperextended knee, slight dislocation of the knee cap), Tanielu and Chris hurting (ankle) and several players still learning (or relearning) plays, we were not a good matchup with the Tar Heels. Even though we had them on the ropes in the NJB Classic semifinals, it's tough to match up when key players are hurting.

2. Even with new players and other players who don't practice much with the team, I had opportunities to call our new plays against the Tar Heels' zone and man defenses. But I didn't. Looking back, I should've called each of the plays at least once, but it was difficult to get into our halfcourt offense with the Heels applying tough on-ball pressure against Kyle.

3. Our ballhandling was sub par. Their guards are fairly tall, which negated my desire to put Jerson or Micah at the point so Kyle could go to the high post, where he's very effective. I should've given it a try anyway.

4. We still have a number of players who don't know the most basic plays, such as Princeton. Until we are all in sync on the floor, we will struggle against the best teams instead of scoring as often as we really should.

5. We played great defense for most of the first 3 quarters, locking down on their top shooters. The communication was there and we forced their secondary shooters to take shots. It was good to see our strategy and smarts take effect. We had our new "Pippen" defense ready to go, but we didn't need it, so we'll put that to use another day.

As much as you hear me scolding or yelling, in the end, when a team wins, it's because of the players and when a team loses, it's because the coach didn't make enough adjustments.

The one good thing out of this is that we'll be hungrier. I'm narrowing down our deficiencies, including point guard ballhandling against tough on-ball pressure at midcourt. If and when we improve there with ALL our guards, then we can actually connect the dots. Today, we just couldn't get ball from the perimeter to the low post (Chris and Tanielu).

Another note: I'm not against a clear-out offense where we feed the ball to a scorer on the wing and let him drive several times in a row. I'm not totally for it, either, because it can drain that player for a long time. We may have to do this next time, though, and let Tanielu take command offensively. Kyle was trying his best, but his leg was just not strong and he had to gut it out.

We need Sierra, Jerson, Micah to be ready to take the point against any kind of pressure from any team. That's one of the things we'll work on between now and the next 13U game on Saturday (Aug 25).

THE GOOD THING ABOUT LOSING TO THE BEST TEAM IS THAT YOU LEARN EXACTLY WHAT NEEDS TO BE IMPROVED. Losing hurts — this was only our second 13U loss in the past 11 10 games or so, and both losses were to the same Tar Heels. BUT ... they did us a favor. We know what we need to work on. I hope we get another shot at them in the playoffs.

We also need our injured guys to rest and heal up. For now, let's have some pizza and enjoy the rest of this hot, sunny Sunday afternoon at the park. I'll bring the pizzas in about 5 minutes.