• I still haven't been comfortable with our bench in these games when Kalai is not available. We used to have Kali‘a come off the bench for a lot of instant offense and size in the low post. What a luxury that was! With Kalai missing and Chris sidelined (his bone bruise is healing nicely), I have yet to find a consistent rotation with a reserve unit that is all guards. That's something I need to figure out quick.
• We pressed most of the night, as usual, but Makakilo never buckled like other teams do. The only time we pulled back the press was when one of our reserves entered the game in the second half and we dropped the fullcourt press. But when our starters re-entered the game, they went right back to the fullcourt press. I almost had them drop it, but I liked their energy level. In hindsight, with Tanielu and Kyle playing so many minutes, it would've been better to pull back and sit in a 2-3 zone, or even man to man (we did the latter late in the game).
• Some of tonight's result was about free-throw shooting down the stretch and free-throw shooting in the soccer-shootout style overtime periods. That comes back to what we do at practice, and we haven't done enough free-throw shooting — my fault. We didn't shoot badly at the line as a team tonight, but there's room for improvement, definitely.
All in all, we got a lot of hustle from everybody tonight. Tani must've drove for loose balls eight or nine times. We don't lack heart, that's for sure. But I want everyone to remember, we win a large share of close games. Losing one doesn't make us any worse of a team, just like winning a one-point game doesn't make us that much better of a team. But as a coach, there had to be a way to get more out of our bench and I didn't find one that could get us just one more point, or hold Makakilo to one less point. That's what I mean when I say coaches lose games, not players.
Props to Makakilo for a great battle. If this helps us become a better team, then good. We have a lot of good moments to build on and a lot of mental and physical errors that we can improve on, too. The key will be to stay focused and hungry regardless of wins and losses. When the emotions fade, it's commitment, work ethic and attitude that will push us higher as a team. We've got a lot to look forward to tomorrow, next week, next month.
Next:
Thursday, June 27
6:00 pm - Thunder 15U vs. Rough Riders JV (Pearl City JV League)
> Note: Original time was 7:00, but the league allowed us to play at 6:00 instead.
7:15 pm - Thunder 17U vs. Rough Riders (Kalani Varsity League)
> Note: Original time was 7:00, but the league allowed us to play at 6:00 instead.
7:15 pm - Thunder 17U vs. Rough Riders (Kalani Varsity League)
Friday, June 28
5:00 pm - Practice, Makiki Park
Saturday, June 29
2:00 pm - Thunder 15U vs. Monarchs JV (Pearl City JV League)
Sunday, June 30
11:00 am - Practice, McCully Gym
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