Alexander @ Minford 12/13/14

[BBaller4Life]

Big game for Minford tonight. The Falcons look to keep their winning strike going.

[roxanna fry]

Any news on the Miller kid that got hurt in last night's game?

[BBaller4Life]

Concussion. Not sure how long he'll be out.

[roxanna fry]

Great team win tonight against a very physical (and that's an understatement) Alexander team. Great game plan establishing Gullion in the post (see previous comment on Minford/Waverly post). Gullion played BIG tonight, literally and figuratively. Much much better distribution of the ball and less forced shots........ loved the commitment to the win!! Got a little weary at times; conditioning needs improved but a gutty performance after being down 9 in the first half. One suggestion: abandon the 3 man weave; nice concept to kill some clock but 2 turnovers and no points running it. Play to win instead of not to lose. Overall GREAT adjustments by the staff utilizing the various talents of their players. If Minford can play unselfish basketball like I saw tonight, they will be very hard to beat. They have 5 guys who could lead them in scoring on a given night and tonight we saw that! This team competes; be unselfish and you can make a deep run. Great win!!

[bluedude62]

Alexander came out shooting NBA threes and hitting them. Big adjustment the second half when Gullion went low post. The weave did more damage than good. Alexanders gun had 12 points the first half and that's what he finished with. Shepard was the only other Falcon in double figures. Miller did not play but was on the bench. Alexander was 3-0 coming in tonight.

[ironman]

Great team win tonight against a very physical (and that's an understatement) Alexander team. Great game plan establishing Gullion in the post (see previous comment on Minford/Waverly post). Gullion played BIG tonight, literally and figuratively. Much much better distribution of the ball and less forced shots........ loved the commitment to the win!! Got a little weary at times; conditioning needs improved but a gutty performance after being down 9 in the first half. One suggestion: abandon the 3 man weave; nice concept to kill some clock but 2 turnovers and no points running it. Play to win instead of not to lose. Overall GREAT adjustments by the staff utilizing the various talents of their players. If Minford can play unselfish basketball like I saw tonight, they will be very hard to beat. They have 5 guys who could lead them in scoring on a given night and tonight we saw that! This team competes; be unselfish and you can make a deep run. Great win!!

I thought Minford played a little " me ball" especially early. Very little movement and forced jump shots under pressure. Alexander is a well coached team and solid defensively and the Falcons didn't respond until the second half when they decided to go inside. Minford doesn't appear to be deep on the bench (especially with Miller out) so the starters had to play extended minutes. Looked to me like they sucked it up and did what they had to. Nice win against a good Alexander team.

[roxanna fry]

Have to agree with you Free Byrd on the "me" play in first half; I'm glad they fixed the scoreboard problem alleviating the clock not stopping but they should send the side panels back to where they came from. Or relabel them to show shooting percentage or turnovers or missed assignments. Nothing encourages "me" play any more than players tracking their own points the whole game. But still a gutty performance and some good adjustments and "adjustments" during the game by the staff regarding some "me" play. Those things can be a turning point in a season

[ironman]

Could not agree more on the scoreboard. Love the idea of shooting % and turnovers. Will never happen but it's nice to dream.

[roxanna fry]

Could not agree more on the scoreboard. Love the idea of shooting % and turnovers. Will never happen but it's nice to dream.

Absolutely dream big right?? Lol

[Badboy]

Just a thought: why does Minford come out every year jacking threes and not working the ball inside? Last year with McCray the three point shooting nearly killed them, but when they worked the ball inside they were hard to stop.

Seems like this happens every year. Not many high school teams have an excellent shooter they can let unload without establishing an offense first.

[Falcon Fury]

Just another thought:
Minford is 3-0 so why question anything our team is doing? We have tremendous outside shooters. For example...Trey Kelley is on this year with his 3 pt shot! Kenton Gullion broke the school record with his 3 pt shot and is having a great start to his season this year! Brandon Rowe is a threat on the outside whether it's off the dribble or set shooting.
I personally think the Falcons only have a couple of post players that are strong enough to work the ball inside. The team went inside to Gullion which worked the last couple of games, Trey's another versatile player who can handle the physical contact, and Dylan Shepherd plays very tough under the basket. You have got to have the bodies that can handle a physical matchup underneath before you can go inside.

I'm actually very impressed with the Falcon team this year. Yes, I'm sure the Falcons miss McCray, but I think they have regrouped very well and will have another successful season.

Going 19-3 last year shows they really struggled, right?

[ironman]

Just a thought: why does Minford come out every year jacking threes and not working the ball inside? Last year with McCray the three point shooting nearly killed them, but when they worked the ball inside they were hard to stop.

Seems like this happens every year. Not many high school teams have an excellent shooter they can let unload without establishing an offense first.

I would not call it jacking threes I would call it playing to your teams strengths and I have to believe the coaches know a kids strengths better than any of us would. With the records they have put up the last few years gives that staff some credibility with me They know who put the time in during the summer and who makes threes in practice. The shots I was referring to were the shots taken under pressure and early in the possession... Not the wide open shots. The ball does have to go inside some but it doesn't appear they (or anyone else in SEO) has someone like McCray. That " big guy" ain't coming out of that locker room this year. I say keep playing to your strengths and if that is letting good shooters getting open looks on threes.... Let them fly and knock'em down.

[Badboy]

By all means, forgive me of my post. I haven't had the pleasure of watching a game yet this year, but watched many last year.

I didnt know we had a group of 3 point shooters this year. Only going on the previous post from those who have watched this year.
Obviously the key to the 3 ball is getting rebounds and knocking down the shot, as well as hoping the "off night" doesnt do you in.

Minford looks like the team to beat in the SOC II this year and I agree the coaching staff has done a great job over the past few seasons.

[roxanna fry]

Just another thought:
Minford is 3-0 so why question anything our team is doing? We have tremendous outside shooters. For example...Trey Kelley is on this year with his 3 pt shot! Kenton Gullion broke the school record with his 3 pt shot and is having a great start to his season this year! Brandon Rowe is a threat on the outside whether it's off the dribble or set shooting.
I personally think the Falcons only have a couple of post players that are strong enough to work the ball inside. The team went inside to Gullion which worked the last couple of games, Trey's another versatile player who can handle the physical contact, and Dylan Shepherd plays very tough under the basket. You have got to have the bodies that can handle a physical matchup underneath before you can go inside.

I'm actually very impressed with the Falcon team this year. Yes, I'm sure the Falcons miss McCray, but I think they have regrouped very well and will have another successful season.

Going 19-3 last year shows they really struggled, right?

I'm sorry but I have to agree with Badboy on some of his comments; also, basketball is a TEAM sport. I thought 5 players play on a team, not just the 4 you mentioned. Did you actually go to Athens last year and watch the Logan Elm game? If memory serves me, I cannot recall us making one three at Athens. Someone told me the final line was 0-17!! McCray got doubled and pushed off the block just enough while Logan Elm stepped into the passing lanes on the perimeter and we had no clue what to do to combat it. Backdoor cuts?? Didnt see them. We were a superior team who relied on those same three pointers that seem to work great against North Adams and teams like that. Wonder what our shooting percentage on 3's was against Alexander and Waverly. Not good! And likely because we didn't get hardly any, at least against Alexander. We do have some good shooters on the team but most of them have to be open with their feet set. We have players who are not playing their true positions and this certainly is by necessity and the staff in my opinion has put them where they think they should be. However, with the skill set we have, a good motion continuity offense would certainly allow all players to get involved. It is obvious almost all our offensive plays are just that: plays; designed for a quick shot. There is no continuity to the offense. As soon as a team (such as Logan Elm) scouts those plays, it is easy to defend them. Especially when players don't set good screens. It's easy to be engaged when you are the player who takes 20 shots per game but look deeper than the offensive game and the "shooters" we have and see who plays defense, who boxes out every play, who makes the extra pass, who doesn't force shots, and so on and I think you will see the logic behind Badboy and others comments about this. In every game so far, we most certainly jacked up ill advised shots and forced shots. That is why we led by only 1 point against Waverly (who had no post presence even though they were taller down there) and also Alexander (who again had physical but not necessarily athletic post players). The lack of recognition of this fact put us down 9 points to them in the first half. This group of players in my opinion are superior as a group to the players we've had the past three years due to their versatility and all of their ability to handle the basketball. Our 4 and 5 man brought the ball up the court most of the second half against Alexander. I will readily admit I have been critical of Minford's staff at times but I believe rightfully so and it always came down to one common thing: DISCIPLINE (or lack of). I've see some positive steps in that direction early in the season. I also forget it takes coaches several years to sometimes master such things. What I've seen early on is very, very promising out of our players and staff. As a fan, I don't believe that blind support is the answer though. I think this site is a great place for us to have discussions without trying to have hard feelings about them. The common goal is to have a successful program! I want to see Minford win a state title in something! I want to see a TEAM CONCEPT and players who aren't worried about their high school legacy and think about making a college legacy. The fact is Minford HAS had a nice record the past couple years, without an outright SOC II crown and without any run deep into the tournament. I respect the other poster's comments as I believe they ARE seeing some problems Minford has had for a long time. I'm here to say I do too. I also have seen some positive steps of discipline in the early going. The bench truly is the greatest form of discipline. Here's hoping we go out to South Webster and do something we haven't in the past. Work on the team game and not have another jack-a-thon like we see against teams like North Adams. This will be the perfect type of game to prepare for a team it seems everyone is writing off in Valley. Won't be long before we face them and we can't seem to beat them. If we play team ball and have some continuity we can!

[roxanna fry]

Also, I would guess coaches read these posts and hopefully are objective about the comments made. Constructive criticism is healthy for everyone. I might add in addition to all of our current players having the ability to handle the ball (and I say this in relation to the other team's player who likely will guard them), we also have post players who can pass (and score). Our post ENTRY is horrible. It's horrible almost everywhere. College kids can't do it. It just isn't emphasized with all the offenses relying on 3 pointers. And also the travel ball which is nothing more than playground ball in a gym. Just like last year. McCray frequently didn't receive a post entry WHEN he needed to receive it. Timing in the post or anywhere is so important. In three games I've hardly seen one post entry from a wing player that was either on line or appropriate(ie. bounce pass/leading lob pass). The reality is our post players are our best passers! Our 5 man had many of the post entries to Gullion while he was in the process of obliterating Alexander (see my pregame post on the Minford/Wavery thread). Plus, you actually have to pass the ball to be able to pass the ball. If you never pass, you never get good at it. Your contention that we only have a couple of post players who can get it done is laughable! The ones you quote as being able to do so rarely go into the post. And many times shoot a fall away shot rather than take it strong to the basket. Gullion showed the last two games he is much improved in there and HAS to be considered every game. As with so many of these posts the casual fan(or those who don't truly know the game) sees the glitz. They see us bury 3 after 3 against a rebuilding North Adams team and see that as great shooting. It was! But it was also shooting without pressure and we luckily were hitting those shots because most came with one or no passes. A bad shot is always a bad shot, whether it goes in or not. Again, think back to Logan Elm. We didn't get those wide open looks and consequently our shots didn't fall. Great shooters knock shots down under pressure. We didn't have post players who could make the cross court pass for an open shot when they needed to. ALL of our players can play and not just the first five. The 6th and 7th man have played well. The sophomore came in and handled the ball against great Alexander pressure without turning it over. And if you have followed Minford the past three years you'd see our outside shooting was sub par at best. I'd love to know our shooting percentage from 3 point land last year. I believe that is why teams hung around too long with us; we routinely shot below 40% I am certain due to this type of shot selection. In defense of our staff, this is obviously something they believe in.....shooting it. I've heard them encourage almost ALL players to shoot when open (and some you mention truly should never pass up a shot when open). Many coaches believe you have to outscore an opponent and place more emphasis on hoisting more shots than the other guys. If so, I can't fault them for their philosophy, just have to respectfully disagree with it. But, that's why I chose the moniker "old school" because I believe in great defense (from everybody), unselfish play, good shot selection. Some you quote as great outside shooters have proven they are much more suited for the post game. Again, if you've watched some of them the last 3 years, you'd see their outside shooting was abysmal. Anyone can get hot and have a career night. That doesn't qualify them as a legendary shooter. We have a team this year which offensively can interchange several players between different positons and that is a rarity. We need to utilize this more! I cannot think of another team in the SOC that can match our versatility. Valley can match our athleticism and are likely better in that regard. But they certainly do not have post players who can pass like ours, perimeter players who can also go into the post. The loss of Justice was a greater loss than many believe. He was a true #1 who didn't care if he scored, played very physical and tough defense, and would have brought an element of intensity that this team needs. So, finally, the observations I've seen made on these posts are accurate. Alexander was by far our toughest opponent but athletically were not that impressive, but their coaching was superb! Great pressure defense, very physical, continuity offense. I want to see Minford do some of these things. And out of ALL players. The same qualities that equate to great offense should also apply to the other end of the court! And finally, I believe we have a very knowledgeable staff. But, nobody is above the team. Every player makes mistakes and so do coaches. Discipline and accountability should apply to each and every member of a team. I see some positive steps towards doing this; let's keep it up and go somewhere this year!!!