justwannacoach

Anyone have any Middle School scores from the games on Monday, Jan 12th?

Arroyo Valley girls basketball blows out Bloomington 161-2, sportsmanship questioned

I believe a 7th grader.

When you say Ryle, are you referring to Gray? They have two big kids but I wouldn't categorize them as "outstanding" one is Benson, and he is a tall kid, but he would rather stand on the 3pt line. The other big is a football kid who has only played BB for a couple years. He has great hands, can really run, and is strong. I don't recall his name.

Good catch....the kid from Calvery, Mason, is very good. But, I don't think they have a team that plays in the Middle School League.

I think somewhere along this thread, we got off track, trying to compare the "select" sports with the school sports. In middle school sports, I think kids should play with their grade level. If a kid is held back in the early grades, you can't penalize them for being a bit older when they are in middle school. But, I do think "select" sports / AAU basketball should be based upon the age, not the grade. I am a fan of AAU basketball finally imposing an age restriction.

You are talking about 8th grade St Joes, right? I know in 7th grade, Highlands beat Summit View for the championship.

Let's just clarify the AAU age rule. The cutoff date is Aug 31st. So, to play U13 AAU, you cannot turn 14 before Aug 31, 2015. I don't have birth certificates, but I am pretty confident Mayer and Diskin are fine. Both played in a 12yr old baseball tournament in Cooperstown last Summer, and now AAU basketball is matching the baseball age cutoffs.

Not sure which 7th graders you think have to play U14, but I know that at least 9 of them are still eligible to play U13. I am not familiar with the 7th grade Turkey foot player. Who does he play aau for?

7th Grade - Mayer (Pius), Jefferson (Newport), Kremer (St Marys), Tayvon (Tichneor), Hicks (Conner), Bowles (Conner), Diskin (Blessed Sacrament), Green (St Agnes), Gross (Camp Co), Moser (St Joes), Salter (Highlands), Huddleston (Highlands), Bieger (Beechwood) I am not sure of the names, but a couple kids from Summit View could be added to this list; and a big kid from Holmes that keeps getting better every time I see him play.

Ok.....we are 1/2 way thru the school seasons. Gimme your top players in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. If you don't know the name of the kid, list his school or jersey #.

I believe that BW 8th grade beat Conner in an earlier season game. Since it was a non-league game, I am not sure if both teams played at full strength.

Two years ago, Ludlow beat Heritage 42 - 3.

What grade?

More rants based upon watching more middle school basketball this past week - Dear Coaches - 1) Please teach your kids, especially your inside players, to "finish" through the contact. Stop fading away from defenders, and trying to avoid contact when shooting the basketball. How many missed shots does your team have because they are trying to avoid the contact and they throw up a shot that has NO chance of going in the basket. 2) Teach your kids that a blocked shot at this level is not the "ultimate basketball play". On offense, kids are so afraid of having their shot blocked, that they resort to taking a bad shot. (See #1). I tell my kids that I don't care if the other team blocks all of our shots. Playing against teams that like to block shots leads to one of three things - a) We get to take the ball out of bounds and run a good inbounds set; b) We are going to ball fake, the defender is going to jump out of position and we will get a better shot; c) They are going to foul us, and we are going to shoot a lot of FTs. 3) On defense, kids like trying to block shots. Again, they think it is the "ultimate basketball play". For every blocked shot, I will show you 5 times that jumping to block shots puts the defense in bad position. Instead, stay in your defensive stance, get a high hand up on the shooter, and force the dribbler into a position on the floor towards the help defender. Then, finish the possession with the defensive rebound. 4) If your player fouls a jump shooter, make it an "automatic sub." On our team, if you foul a jump shooter, you might as well head to the bench because that is where you will be. The bench is a good reminder for these kids. Plus, it is a deterrent to stop trying to block shots. And, I don't care which one of my players it is - fouling a jump shooter earns some time on the bench. 5) Does anyone teach the bounce pass? The next time you are at a game, observe the number of passes that are stolen or deflected because a bounce pass wasn't utilized. It often seems like the defender's hand is invisible to the dribbler. Bounce pass the basketball. 6) When you have a player double-teamed in a trap, don't bail them out by reaching in and trying to take the ball. This usually results in a foul. Stay in good defensive position, and try to get a deflection or a tip on a pass. Stealing a pass usually leads to a transition shot attempt. Lastly, and this is a "repeat", why do kids dribble the ball across half-court, and pick up their dribble as they head to the side lines? Why? Defensively, your players should be taught to trap in this position on the floor. It is an automatic trap spot. And, at the middle school level, if it is properly executed, it is probably worth 6 - 8 PPG due to live ball turnovers.

Yes - they will be a good combo. They are also very good baseball players too.

I believe the newport 6th grade had some players that got in trouble and weren't allowed to play. I have no idea about the circumstances or situation. The newport 7th is undefeated and will probably run the table if they stay healthy. They have one of the top 7th grade players in the region, caleb jefferson, and they have enough athletes in the other positions to dominate the small school division.

Yes....unless we can talk him and his parents into another HS.

I believe the 7th grade player from St Agnes is Neil Green. He has a great upside, and could become a really good player. He is tall and very athletic. He high points rebounds, and is relentless at going after the ball. Offensively, he is very good around the basket, and can score from a variety of angles - uses the backboard well. Once he gets stronger and develops a 10 - 15 ft jump shot, he will be hard to stop. Has a very quick and long first step to blow by defenders in the paint area.

I also understand the BW 7th lost to Bracken Co without their 3 best players. Derry was in a football event, and Bieger and McGuire were playing up on the 8th grade team that day. The 6th grade BW team does a few nice players.

Dear Middle School Coaches - I have been watching a lot of MS basketball, and I was wondering several things: 1) Does anyone teach man to man defense? Does anyone go thru the fundamentals of guarding a player. Anyone teach help defense.....anyone teach your players to talk on defense? Anyone teach them to call out a screen? a switch? How about teaching the defenders to play physical on ball pressure defense? How about teaching kids that they are NOT shot blockers! How about teaching the kids to get in their stance, stay on the ground, and get a high hand up on a shooter? How many times do you see kids get in bad position, and put the rest of their defense in bad position because they jump at shooters? I see all these teams playing zone - can we get some coaches to teach some man to man defense? 2) Boxing out? Does anyone spend time in practice teaching kids how to rebound the ball? How about the fact that basketball is a "contact sport" and that when a shot goes up, you have to actually make contact with a player on the other team? How many kids do you see "chase" the ball when the shot goes up, and never get a rebound? If you are guarding a player that shoots the ball, as soon as he shoots it, you must turn around, put your butt into the shooter, and keep him locked up. Too often I see the defender turn and run/move towards the basket and chase the ball. And, no one is in position to box out the shooter. I have a saying for my team.....REBOUND the BALL ON PURPOSE, NOT ON ACCIDENT. 3) Stop being afraid to foul......good aggressive defense is going to lead to fouls. Don't make your players afraid to foul. Now, I will say there are "good" fouls and "bad" fouls. I don't want kids fouling jump shooters - that would be a "bad" foul. But, I do want them playing aggressive on the dribbler, and in the post. 4) On the offensive side of the ball, do coaches teach their kids to dribble the ball at least 20 dribbles on every possession? Too much over-dribbling...pass the basketball!! Are kids taught to dribble the ball up the floor to beat a press? How about the kids that try to take it coast to coast after grabbing a defensive rebound? Too much dribble!!!!! Pass the basketball. Also, is there a mysterious spot on the floor that seems to be just across the midcourt line, and slightly towards the sideline. It seems like every time I see a kid dribble the ball across 1/2 court, they all pick up their dribble in this mysterious spot. A terrible place to get trapped! 5) Against a 1/2 court zone defense, will someone please tell coaches that they have to get the ball to the paint? You have to attack the zone by going inside. Stop trying to pass the ball around the perimeter. I promise you that if you throw it inside, you will get almost every outside shot you want, if you put a good decision maker at the high post. It doesn't have to be your #5 or #4. It should be a good decision maker. Even if you turn it over a couple times by throwing it in there, in the long run, it will be a good thing for your offense. Please have your kids look inside and actually throw it in there!!! 6) Please, please, please.......inform most of your team that they are NOT 3pt shooters!!! Everyone and their brother thinks they are a 3pt specialist. They aren't!! Kids at the 6th, 7th, 8th grade should not be launching all these 3pt shots. There are a few kids that can really shoot it at this level, but most cannot. And, if they are good shooters, do NOT let them catch and shoot off the first pass. The kiss of death is when of these very mediocre shooters makes their first one of the night. How about developing a great midrange jump shot....10ft - 16ft. Teach your kids to shoot it off the bounce from that area, and to be able to shoot a pull up jumper. Today, it seems like all the shots are either taken from the 3pt line or taken from 2ft from the basket. There are no midrange shots being taken. 7) Time-outs......Please tell the coach that there is NO reason for squandering one (or two) of your timeouts during the first 3 quarters of a basketball game just to save a possession. Chances are, your team is just going to turn the ball over anyway after the timeout. So, save the timeout for a part of the game where you want to teach or explain something. Stop wasting these timeouts. Everyone thinks it is such a great play when a kid is trapped in the 1Q; or when there is a scramble for a loose ball and someone calls a timeout. I would argue that this is usually a terrible decision. 8) Have some rules that apply to all your players. Hold them accountable for the things that you are teaching.......if a kid doesn't hustle back on defense, take him out. If a kid doesn't box out, take him out. If a kid is taking bad shots, take him out. Likewise, you as a coach have to notice when the kids are doing the things that you are teaching. Acknowledge them when they box out, when they switch a screen, when they communicate on defense, when they set a good screen. Just needed to get that off my chest after watching quite a bit of basketball in the middle school leagues over the last few weeks.............and before anyone asks, NO - I don't coach a school team. I would love to, but I don't have the time that is required for the commitment to these school kids.

I have always reminded my kids that I, as the coach, am the only one calling a TO. I also refuse to call a TO just to "save" a possession in the first 3 quarters of a game. I value a TO later in the game.

A couple injures for BW. Starting lineup is probably a Jr, 3 So, and a Fr.