Day 1 at Slam Dunk: Lourdes rules
-
- December
- 27
Just one game today at the Slam Dunk and Lourdes won it 62-49 over Briarcliff.
I wasn’t at the County Center, but it sounds like the Bears doomed themselves from the start. They missed 16 of 18 field goals in the first half and trailed by as many as 27 before embarking on a late run. Don Hamlin told TJN’s very own Kristin Noonan that his team was “frozen.” Indeed, Briarcliff didn’t wake up until it outscored Lourdes 22-9 in the fourth quarter, but that was far too late.
The loss dropped Briarcliff to 8-1 and improved Lourdes to 2-0, but I’ll say this: It’s pretty much a win-win for both.
Sure, the Bears had a chance to really put a nice bold stamp on their undefeated start. But they will be better for this, having not only faced the best team they’ll face all season (possibly) but getting a game in at the County Center. That was objective No. 1 for Briarcliff, so consider that accomplished.
For Lourdes the month of December was spent on idle. But for a team some of you claimed didn’t have much, consider this: Those wins came against Briarcliff and White Plains, which have beaten Ossining, JJEF, Woodlands and Carmel among others. Not terrible…
Westchester’s own Kim Dweck was the game MVP with 13 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. Shelby Coon led the way for Briarcliff with 13 points and 12 boards.
I’ll return tomorrow for both games, then I’ll be there for at least the final on Saturday. It should be fun. Mount Vernon faces Jamesville-DeWitt, a team riding a three-game losing streak that features a nice player in Brittany Cohen. North Rockland will be tested against undefeated Jamestown (7-0), the defending Class AA champ in Section 6 that returns an all-Buffalo area backcourt. Senior Nikki Frederickson actually scored a school-record 45 points in a game earlier this season, so she’s obviously a dangerous threat for North Rockland to focus on.
I’d seriously suggest reading “this story about Frederickson and Jamestown.”:http://post-journal.com/articles.asp?articleID=22272 The coach suggests he’d like to see a minimum of 90 shots per game, with the goal of forcing 32 turnovers per. Perhaps the quote of the year: “Last year we had 40 offensive sets and this year we have none,” Jamestown coach Ken Ricker told The Post-Journal in Jamestown. “We want the quickest shot we can get.”
Also, if you haven’t seen tonight’s “Varsity Central Extra” yet, “you can find it at this link.”:http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=RNN Click on the 6:30 button to watch the show, which includes a piece on Mount Vernon coach Patrice Wallace-Moore, new power rankings, and a fun Q and A session. I share my thoughts on how offensive fouls can have an impact on girls games.
As always, please share your thoughts on the show and feel free to shoot me questions for next week at jthomson@lohud.com.
This entry was posted
on Thursday, December 27th, 2007 at 11:29 pm by Josh Thomson. 
| 
Josh Thomson has done some of everything since joining The Journal News in March 2003. He began working for the Gannett weeklies during the winter of 2002 as a freelance writer. He joined the daily staff soon after and has since covered various high school and pro sports. Away from sportswriting, Josh lives in Westchester and spends his free time either with his fiancee, Sarah, or expertly managing his various championship-winning fantasy sports teams. He's visited 21 major-league baseball stadiums and insists that Fenway Park and Wrigley Field are the best by far. Josh graduated from Carmel High School in 1998, then went to Boston University, where, in 2002, he received a degree in communications with a minor in history.
What was different in the 4th quarter of the OLL-Briarcliff game that allowed Briarcliff to score so many points? And the bigger question probably is why wasn’t that adjustment made earlier in the game?
Josh,
Sounds like this coach from Jamestown has figured out what the game is all about (I wish I could say the same for some of the Section 1 HS Girls basketball coaches). I’m not so sure about the 90 shots per game but an organized fast break with an outlet pass and a “pitch-ahead” philosophy are necessary to be successful in today’s game.
Pressure defense and quickly getting the ball up the floor on offense; that is exactly what all the really good HS and college teams do (boys and girls).
If your high school team simply has the point guard dribble (walk) the ball up the floor, plays a passive half-court defense, and spends most of it’s time practicing set plays instead of teaching the necessary skills to play the game then it’s time for a new coach!
Take a close look at your high school team the next time you are at a game.
Briarcliff had nothing going until the fourth. Coon wasn’t finishing and no one else was stepping up. Lourdes is a great shooting team. #3, the freshman has a great future
Real Coach…......if the Jamestown coach truly has it all figured out then, I bet he has a few New York State Girls Basketball Titles under his belt right? If fact, this is what you can do tonight, go to New York State Sportswriters Association and look it up in the reference section. Chances are that this coach has never smelled the Final Four, let alone a NYS Basketball Title.
NYS Girls Basketball titles have been garnered by teams and coaches who were able to run and/or set it up depending on the make up of their players. Teams like Christ the King, Murry Bergtraum,Our Lady of Lourdes, Haldane, Tuxedo, and more recently, Lakeland HS won state titles because they had the best players in their respective classes and because they could beat teams in a variety of ways,not necessarily by running and gunning. Try telling Brian Giorgis, John Lauro, Ken Thomas, Vinny Cannizaro and Steve Fallo that their style would never be effective in today’s game. Fact is, Giorgis is still winning conference titles and beating teams that are athletically superior to his current Marist team on a regular basis.
Before you can call yourself “a real coach”, you should do what all “good” section 1 girls coaches do(reseach and homework). This Jamestown coach is likely to win his share of games against inferior talent. However,the minute he faces a really good, athletic team that gets his team playing in the half court, his style will come to crumbling down and he’ll be blaming the refs again.
The Hudson Valley Empire State Games Scholastic team played that running, gunning style you claim is the way to play the game. Several future Division 1 players were on that very team. They were fun to watch and well coached.They, however, got beaten twice by a Western Team that had the players and the ability to slow the game down.
If every section 1 coach had a team made up of Walker, Postel, Kowgios, Moran, Aguirre, and Tancredi, then they would most certainly run and gun. Unfortunately, they are lucky if they have a few players with AAU “A-Type” talent.
Before you sit there and judge section 1 girls coaches, get your facts straight my man because perhaps that is why you’re not “a real coach”. Don’t take out your “issues” on the coaches….......I look forward to your findings.
fan-the reason Briarcliff “came back” in the fourth had nothing to do with Coach Hamlin suddenly realizing how to coach after three quarters. Check the box scores and you will see many games that are decided after three quarters where the losing team has a sudden burst. Usually the winning team is playing their second stringers by then and the losing team makes it respectable.
Lourdes won because they are a better team with better players. Coach Hamlin was a good coach all game but he was playing against a team with better players pure and simple.
Wannabee and Real Coach,
I guess the winner of of MV vs Fred, 2 of the top 10 in NYS Class AA rankings, will also decide the winner of your disagreeing conversations, for now.
Mac ….......aka real coach
.......MV 82- Jamestown 69….........
Sounds like the Jamestown coach really has it figured out blah, blah, blah…............
I guess you can throw your little theory out the window….....MV is not even the classic-type of team that would get them into half-court sets all game long….teams like CTK and OLL would dismantle this type of team and beat them by 20-25 points…...coaching at a very high level involves a variety of critical thinking aspects that most run-n-gun teams cannot comprehend. When Brian Giorgis was still coaching at OLL he proved he could systematically beat much more athletic teams like St. Francis Prep, Pearl River, and Bishop Kearney by getting them to play in the half-court.
Run-n-gun teams look really good when they’re playing inferior teams and scoring 70-80 points per game, however, they very seldom have what it takes to win the close state level games that are played possesion by possesion. Been there,done that.
Next time you want to be critical of section 1 girls coaches, do your research first.
Dear Section 1 coach,
I signed in as “real coach” to make a point. I didn’t say I was a coach, I’m not a coach, I don’t pretend to be a coach. I’m simply an observer and a basketball fan that was referring to the Jamestown coach.
Read my post again before you open your mouth and sound stupid to all who read this.
Just because a team loses doesn’t mean that the coach didn’t know what he/she was doing. The team with the better players wins most of the time, except when you have an incompetent coach. I have seen a few coaches at the County Center lately that are CLUELESS!
I don’t care what you say there are still a lot of very unqualified people coaching high school girl’s basketball in Section 1.
I’ll gladly name a few that I have seen; maybe you are one of them and that is why you are so defensive. I don’t want to make this personal.
Back to my point:
I didn’t say run-n-gun; I CLEARLY said DEFEND and PUSH THE BALL! There is a big difference and there are many coaches who wouldn’t even know where to begin teaching these two very important things. Ask the players around Section 1 what they do in practice? They will tell you.
Three simple questions:
Did/Does Mt Vernon pressure the ball?
Did/Does Mt Vernon push the ball up the floor?
Do they practice these fundamentals?
(PS – In case you haven’t noticed, Patrice can coach)
My last point; Why does Section 1 turn out so many more male Division I players verses female Division I players? Do you think it has anything to do with the competence (or lack thereof) of the HS girls coaches? Keep giving the job to the tenured teacher because he/she wants the extra $5000.
Enough said.
Have a good day and a Happy New Year.
By the way Wannnabee, you should know the facts before you make stupid statements.
Western averaged 81.5 points per game at the Empire State Games. They played exactly the way the Hudson Valley team played. They simply rebounded better.
Look it up. Let me know your findings.
Section 1 coach,
i don’t need to hide behind multiple screen names, one is good for me.
Real coach, put a percentage on the clueless coaches: 20%, 40%, 80%. what makes a coach qualified in your eyes?
I would say probably 30% or maybe more
By the way Manny (Section1 Coach), I think you do a good job
real coach,
The Western team did average 81.5 ppg (you actually looked it up, you must have serious issues). Both teams did have similar styles but, Western was able to play good enough defense and force Hudson Valley into using their half-court sets,however,the team struggled and lost by 5.
There are currently at least 24 former Section 1 girls basketball players that are playing at the Division 1 level. A good Section 1 coach could win many D1 games with these young ladies (Goodwin, Pace, Viani, Markley, Adams, Flooks et al.)Dozens more are playing D2 and D3. Interestingly enough, they graduated from 17 different high schools (4 from OLL and 4 from White Plains).
While some of your views and opinions are just that, views and opinions, I happen to disagree with you. I,however, still respect them enough to answer your request. How many Section 1 Boys are now playing Division 1? I doubt it’s more than 24 and for the most part, they played at 3 primary schools (WP,MV, or NR).
PS: I wouldn’t try to guess a blogger’s name here if I were you, however. You’re getting too personal with a certain Section 1 coach and that’s not cool. Keep it positive or keep it to yourself. If you really have something to say to him, then I suggest to say it to his face and not on one of these blogs.