Sent by Ravens: New Fire

Remember, Christian music is boring.  New Fire by Sent by Ravens, is a great song.  Turn up the volume and prepare to dance.

High School Summer Basketball Is....

First for the varsity coaches, and second for the players to show their level of commitment to the program, to the coach, and to their teammates in the summer.  It is not for any fan other than those fans who want to watch high school basketball in the summer with an understanding that summer basketball often means very little for what comes in the winter; I will explain later.

Unfortunately, some fans do not understand this.  You can get on just about any message board and fans are judging and deciding how good a team will be in January, by what they are doing in June.  Please do not do that, there are so many factors about summer teams and games.  And it will not help your team to have unnecessary expectations or lack thereof before basketball conditioning even begins in August.

When I coached (somehow that sounds worse to me than "when I played"), we often had a relatively high level of commitment by those we knew were going to play, especially upper classmen.  I think why that happened is we tried to make the tournaments we played in to be enjoyable experiences during the summer by visiting colleges and historical places that dealt with Indiana high school basketball.  We also worked on offense all summer, trying to work out kinks and we all know kids like offense better than defense so I feel that brought many of our guys in.

We always went out of town for these tournaments.  We wanted to get away and have bonding experiences, but also stay away from those eyes that would decide how good or not we would be in March by how we played in June.  Plus, I didn't like playing teams on our schedule because I was worried we would get a false sense of security or insecurity by what happened in June.  Either way is not right or wrong, it is just how we did it.  Probably, if I were to be a head coach again, I would play in some of these leagues closer to home, also.

Coaches in June (and I can't speak for all of them) are trying to see what level of commitment wannabe varsity players will give to be part of that experience come season time.  Coaches will work in new players who were either J.V. or role players the season before.  Everything that many coaches do in June is to be prepared in November when you get 13 practices before your first game.  You want to be able to hit the ground running and not starting from the very beginning before playing a game, often a rival game.

Now as for the average basketball fan who does catch some summer games, much of what you see during June is an illusion.  Often teams are missing players, coaches are playing players in different situations, they may even be playing everyone equally or a different style.  There has been little practice to work on nuances of offense, or the gridning out of defense, so keep that in mind.  Keep that in mind when Eastern beats Brownstown, or Borden beats Scottsburg, or some team doesn't win as many games, or some other teams wins a bunch, or some other game that makes you raise eyebrows.  Put those eyebrows down and realize there are many issues at hand.

With all of that being said, if you want to watch high school boys teams playing hard and working and preparing for the winter, head out to Charlestown H.S. on Mondays and Wednesdays and Salem H.S. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I went a couple of nights the last two weeks and saw Rock Creek, Crothersville, Henryville, Clarksville, Providence, Borden, Scottsburg, Salem, Eastern (Pekin), Brownstown, Trinity Lutheran and others.  And you cannot beat the cost....0$. 

You will not see the efficiency and execution of February, but you will see kids competing for positions, playing time, or just flat out pride for their school. Games usually start around 5:30 to 6:00 and end around 9 PM.  Sit back, relax and enjoy watching kids get to be kids and understand that summer means a lot to those people on the court, and very little to those in the stands.

Courageous: Final Speech

When I went to see the movie "Courageous" (and really the 8 or 9 times after) the entire movie builds up to this final scene "Adam's Speech".  When I youtubed it and watched it again this morning, it brings forth so many emotions which ultimately may be the greatest Christian motivation speech for fathers...ever. 

Except The Bible of course.

Fathers and mothers, both, please take time and watch this 3:00 section of the final speech and if you aren't motivated, check your pulse.

Oops, We Did it Again!

The Indiana All Stars defeated Kentucky again for the sweep this past weekend.  I am sure if you weren't paying attention, you missed it (this used to be a huge deal series).  What's going on in this rivalry?  It was a rivalry that used to be more competitive and draw more fans, what has happened to the Kentucky side of this for the boys' series and really the Indiana side as well.  We win, but the crowds are down.

Indiana's boys' are 88-42 winning 26 of the last 29 games.  What has happened?  Indiana is a larger state, but Kentucky's consolidation has many larger schools.  Is Class basketball an answer because Indiana has dominated in the years since 1998.  Why isn't the one class type tournament in Kentucky, if it is so superior, not lending to these kids who are obviously learning better life lessons (tongue in cheek) when it comes to competing against their counterparts in Indiana?

Kentucky's high school history is long, storied, and I enjoy reading about it and I even attend one day of their Sweet 16 in March, but they cannot beat Indiana anymore.  There are even UK fans that take pride in the fact that Indiana beats Kentucky.  How does that make sense?  You root for Indiana kids when they play against Kentucky high school players, but once they don the uniform of their local college, you suddenly root for the other state?  Do you support the buildings in Kentucky over the players you supported months before?

Look at the talent level of high school players in Indiana, you can take the less than best players from the state and make the national championship game two years in a row (Butler).  UK rarely wants the best players in its state.  UK fans should thank the Lord that Darius Miller went to UK and stayed because his Kentucky pride and senior leadership was huge with that group last year, I am sure.  I have so much respect for guys like Darius Miller, who go to their home state school, play with passion and win a national championship.  His senior year of high school was one of the best all star teams Kentucky has had in the recent past, and Indiana's was ummmm, not so good, and we split!

I actually had someone compare Indiana (4A) to Kentucky (2A) when it came to the all star game.  Don't they select the 12 or 13 best from each state?  Isn't it just 5 on 5 on the court?  And if Indiana's talent is so superior, why don't they destroy Kentucky instead of winning close games?  I believe it is because we have so many dominantly talented players, that it is hard to get them to play as a "team", but in Kentucky (whose Mr. Basketball is going to Boston University), those guys know that they must defer to the better one or two players and play together to have a chance (which I highly respect from their coaching staff and players).

Indiana high school basketball is not what it was in the 50's, not the 70's, not the 90's, but it is still superior to the state that we are often compared to.  We have better players and better coaches.  We have a better understanding of what the game should be, and our coaches teach fundamentals in a different, special way.  Indiana high school basketball is the elite of the two states. 

However, Kentucky high school basketball is special.  It is Ballard vs. Scott County, it is Paintsville vs. Johnson Central, it is the Muhlenberg rivalries, it is long, historical and special. Kentucky high school basketball is something that I enjoy watching each season because it is so special, but they are not as good as we are.  And when you think about it, Kentucky as second to us still makes them better than 48 other states. 

I realize that these are my opinions and don't make me right.  I realize that there are many more opinions about what is right and wrong with this series.  I just hope that this series doesn't go the way of the IU vs. UK regular season series and dies because, win or lose for Indiana and Kentucky, it is a special event.  It is a way to showcase the two greatest states when it comes to high school basketball. 

IU Tailgate Tour at Huber's Winery

(IU Football Coach Kevin Wilson, IU Women's Basketball Coach Curt Miller, me, and IU Men's Basketball Coach Tom Crean)

I attended the IU Tailgate tour recently and.....yep, I cannot find any words to describe the night, unbelievable for sure.

Go to the 4:20 mark to see what I mean.

It's All About Relationships...Stupid

Two weeks ago with about two days left before school was out, I received a text from the new Crothersville boys' basketball coach Greg Kilgore.  Coach Kilgore asked something I had never been asked before (probably because I was also coaching) and that was to come and talk to his team.  Crothersville is located in Jackson county, has had limited success in the last 20 years, but for a 1A team, they were as good as anyone around this year.  They had size, a point guard who was intelligent and coachable, and a very good coach in Clint Waskom.

Coach Kilgore is a lifer at Crothersville.  He played there and has helped with coaching for many years.  Coach Clint Waskom decided after the season, he didn't want to coach varsity basketball anymore, right now (sounds familiar) and Coach Kilgore tried to find someone to take over, but he applied also.  He was then rewarded the honor of coaching.  I asked Coach when I was up the other day if he felt like his shoulders were heavier...he laughed and agreed.  He has inherited a team that lost that size and point guard.  He has inherited a team with little experience returning.  But he has inherited a program run by Coach Waskom and stamped by the talented senior class and their work ethic that just graduated recently.

Back to the story, Coach Kilgore and I have spoken a few times about basketball and about what books we are reading.  When he asked, I was honored to head up and do what he asked.  I spoke to the team about 3 important things. 

1. Because it was summer basketball, I felt compelled to talk about that.  One of the criticisms of people about summer basketball is that coaches demand too much, maybe some do, maybe some don't, but the criticism is that we need to back off and "let kids be kids".  I couldn't agree more, but....how many adults do you know that wouldn't quit their jobs to play sports all week, hang out with friends, and other cool things in the summer...yea, I thought so that's why I chose education.

2. I can be way more honest with players now that I don't coach.  I can tell them what are definite things that tear teams apart, what the odds that any of them will play college basketball and about how each coach is trying to win games.  No coach is intentionally trying to lose.  They may try to teach lessons, but they will still try to win.  Some people actually think that coaches are only coaching for their selfish desire, but they do want to win.  If a player isn't playing, or is, or the coach is running some sort of offense or defense, they are trying to win.

3. Finally, I touched on what is the most important thing in life.  They are playing basketball, so they should take it serious...it is basketball in Indiana for gosh sakes!  But I knew this before the tornado on March 2, but it became even more obvious after that day, that life is about relationships.  I personally believe that number 1 is your relationship with Jesus Christ, however, I know that not everyone feels this way, but I do think the most important second thing is your relationship  with others.  How do you treat people?  How long do you hold on to that poisonous resentment over something petty or even something not petty?  How often do you ignore people that need you, that you might be an answer to a prayer?

That's why when Coach Kilgore texted and then we spoke, I made sure that I was able to find a time and day soon to do what my friend asked.  I would do just about anything to help coaches because we have shared experiences and problems and stresses.  Crothersville's players are not known by me other than a scouting report, but if I could give them something that they could use, good.  Hopefully, I did give them something at best, at worst, I was able to help a friend in Coach Kilgore.

We have three options when dealing with people, we can tear them down (anonymous message boards), we can be indifferent (which is sometimes worse than tearing someone down), or we can help.  I believe it takes about as much effort to do any of those three things, as an assistant coach, as a head coach, as an administrator, and most importantly as a fan or parent.