Minford @ Portsmouth Clay

[#1clayfan]

Not that it mattered, but Clay had 2 players out, one is the starting point guard with ankle injury and the other had strep. But Minford DID NOT press in the 4th quarter and they did pick up the players at half court. and he, minford coach, did have his bench players in the 4th quarter. And yes they did score on the clay boys quite often, but I'd say with a line of starters that Minford has they don't get to see the floor that often and took advantage of the opportunity.
There is quite a disadvantage to the SOC 1 schools playing the SOC 2 schools, there aren't to many times that the smaller schools has a very deep bench to go to. And basically what the "games" end up being is Practice for the SOC2 schools and another embarrassment for the SOC1 schools. My question is what is the point? Why are they allowed to embarrass the smaller schools in this way. There are plenty of schools in each of these divisions that they would be able to play all their games that are needed to play in their season. Just wondering.

[WIFAN-22]

Freshman and sophomores on the Varsity team ? Minford must not be to deep . Who plays on the JV team 8th graders ?

They are apparently deep enough to beat Clay by nearly 60 points while the "subs" scored more points in the 4th than the starters did in the first 3 quarters. :


Carma! :122246 :122246 :122246 :122246

[Jake Lane]

I hate to say this, but what comes around, goes around. It may not be Clay dishing out the butt whippin', but the Fowlcans will get theirs eventually.

[Hoggy]

Not that it mattered, but Clay had 2 players out, one is the starting point guard with ankle injury and the other had strep. But Minford DID NOT press in the 4th quarter and they did pick up the players at half court. and he, minford coach, did have his bench players in the 4th quarter. And yes they did score on the clay boys quite often, but I'd say with a line of starters that Minford has they don't get to see the floor that often and took advantage of the opportunity.
There is quite a disadvantage to the SOC 1 schools playing the SOC 2 schools, there aren't to many times that the smaller schools has a very deep bench to go to. And basically what the "games" end up being is Practice for the SOC2 schools and another embarrassment for the SOC1 schools. My question is what is the point? Why are they allowed to embarrass the smaller schools in this way. There are plenty of schools in each of these divisions that they would be able to play all their games that are needed to play in their season. Just wondering.

I look at this situation a little differently and will more than likely ruffle a few feathers. This a perfect opportunity for the SOC I schools to schedule into stronger competition and keep the games close for both programs. The SOC I schools can play to the level of their competition and gain some experience that will help them out come tourney time. To be quite honest, there are a few SOC I teams that can compete with the SOC II on a regular basis, but overall there is a big talent spread from top to bottom. I guess that is why they are not in the same division....huh?!

A better question....did the bigger school embarrass the smaller school or did the smaller school embarrass themselves? The talent pool runs in cycles for most smaller schools, but if there isn't a program established in the lower levels to teach fundamentals and to develop talent, the cycles may be further apart than desired. The biggest problem is that everyone feels they deserve a trophy and they are entitled to things without giving the level of dedication and sacrifice that is required to improve. If you don't want to be embarrassed......practice in the off season, work on fundamentals, develop team chemistry and devote yourself to the game. Sitting around complaining about how teams that did these such things and are reaping the benefits and dominated a lesser opponent is ridiculous. Remember how it feels to be blown out and work even harder during practice to ensure that this feeling isn't repeated.

In my opinion, the Minford Coach didn't do anything unethical by allowing his bench to play hard. Was he suppose to tell them to go into a stall for the sake of preserving an opponents pride and to avoid the perception of running up the score? Those kids practice and put forth effort as well. They deserve a chance to play hard during the games and how are they to develop if they are hobbled or held back because the other team isn't as talented? I can almost guarantee you that the Clay athletes would not have wanted Minford to pull back and show them pity.....that would have been more embarrassing than just playing hard for the entire game. These boys will grow from this and will develop resiliency as a result. The community needs to get behind them and support them instead of bashing a more talented team's performance.

It wasn't too long ago, (during the Cam era), that Clay was very competitive and probably was on the other side of a lopsided score. I guess things do run full circle!

Good luck to both teams the remainder of the season.

[NTHZONE]

Valley over Minford 2nite 64/62

[ohiostbucks99]

I agree when the 2/3 string is in let them play

[Jake Lane]

I agree with some of Hoggy's comments. I don't agree that the lower level isn't teaching, though. We have one of the best teachers of fundamentals at the junior high level in Compton. He has had very little talent to work with, except for a couple teams. This year he has an excellent group of 8th graders that I know would die for him, as would most of the high school kids as well. Clay has a habit of having a few "soft" players that hold back the rest, but I truly believe they are turning a corner for the good.

[WIFAN-22]

It is very unusual for small school programs to sustain winning teams year in and year out. Whether you have good teachers at the lower level or not, you do not always have the Atheletes to sustain the programs success. How often do small schools get a player like Cam, or in our case Jeremy McCloud? Small schools like ours always have good kids that work hard, but lack the pool of Atheletes to pull from. There will be some exceptions, but for the most part it's true. I know some will disagree, and some will have examples. Please let us know about those programs.

[#1clayfan]

Has anyone heard when the starting point guard for Clay will be released? They have some pretty tough teams coming up they could really use him. Not saying the kid that's standing in isn't doing a fine job, he is. But they could use the speed and seeing the floor in the up coming games.

[Falcon Fury]

I hate to say this, but what comes around, goes around. It may not be Clay dishing out the butt whippin', but the Fowlcans will get theirs eventually.

Minford has taken their share of butt whippins in the past as I'm sure every team SOC I and SOC II teams have. I'm sure Minford wasn't out to embarrass Clay, they emptied their bench and didn't press the second half.