Announcement
As we head into the Sectional tonight, I thought I’d throw a post on here before things end up with a conclusion that is good, bad, or somewhere in between. I want to post some honest thoughts that were not affected by anything. People feel I sometimes tend to be critical of our squad; I just prefer to think I’m honest. In actuality, I am far from critical of my guys; I am so very thankful for them and the opportunity I’ve been given. I just want success for them so badly that I’m not always a patient as I need to be.
When I evaluate our program (and I’m continually doing that), I look at things a lot differently than the casual fan. I’ve had some good teams that I felt that just didn’t continue improving because they weren’t pushed enough. Conversely, I’ve had some teams that didn’t win a lot but progressed miles and miles. I’ve got to say that this year’s team fits well in the “improved a lot” category. We’ve progressed from a team that simply had to hold the ball to shorten the game and then make shots down the stretch…to a team that plays some defense, can pressure at some points, can use the clock, can put the ball on the floor, can post up, and has the potential to make minor adjustments. You’ve got to understand, there were very few adjustments available when we first started. We just couldn’t do many things. Even earlier this year we were operating on a bare-bones system.
I honestly feel this team has played as close to its full potential as any I’ve ever coached. Buy-in from most players has been solid, and effort is there. However, the future is never certain in a basketball program. Losing Gus, Rayden, and Darrius to graduation will put us at a pivotal crossroads. Gus has been our motivational leader for the past two years, and Rayden and Darrius have led by example. Who will step up into that role? We have about 14 kids in the program who, if they all return, will fight for varsity minutes next season. That’s an improvement in the big picture all by itself. We also have a couple middle school guys who could again battle for varsity or jv minutes. It paints a bright future but insures nothing.
The improvement I’ve seen this year starts with the fact that we can win games even when we don’t pour in a bunch of threes. We’ve won games with our defensive effort, and we’ve learned to handle end of quarter situations most of the time. We seem to compete most of the time, and we’ve started games much better this season. Where we get in trouble is after we build a lead and realize that we are ahead! We haven’t figured out the part where we bury an opponent. Instead, we often look for ways to let our opponent off the hook. We haven’t developed that expectation of excellence. It surprises us that we can compete with most teams.
We still must fight the desire to play “open gym” instead of competitive basketball because it’s simply more fun. It confuses some kids when running up and down the floor and taking the first shot available isn’t the best idea. However, we’ve come a long way. Finishing games is now our focus. We often get our horse to the stream, but he doesn’t always take a drink! (English teachers love metaphors) Learning how to win is hard. Managing the clock, making good decisions, making pressure free throws…this all looks easy. It’s not! It’s also very new to us, but I believe we are learning!
I know there’s are lots of folks out there with expectations of how things should look and remember the glory days here at Lincoln. To be 100% honest, replication of the results of those glory days are likely not realistic in these days of class basketball. Trust me, I’d love to go back to the four-team sectional with the county schools. That doesn’t mean we’d win it every year as happened in the past; there’s just a much better chance of a positive result. As a former player at Terre Haute South, I too benefited in the pre-class days. We usually had to beat only TH North to make it into the Sweet 16 in Evansville. There was usually one good rural team who would give us a run for the money at Regional, but the reality was that usually either North or South was headed to semi-state. As a fan, this class system is far better. Sectional championships are now coveted rather than expected. … And boy…would we really love one more!
When I interviewed here, I made no promises about anything. I stick by that assertion. We are going to continue to try and teach kids what we think is important. Few folks seem to be preaching defense or ball movement these days. I’m somewhat surprised we’ve able to be competitive as quickly as we have, but we still have a long way to go. If we can continue to double our win totals each year, that would be great! However, we all know that’s not possible statistically at some point! I just want to continue to see passion and effort on a nightly basis. Throw in more consistent effort to be bigger, faster, and stronger, and I believe the future is bright!
I have some great young coaches working in the program. I hope I’m giving them enough latitude to actually coach. I really try to include them in all aspects of the program. I don’t want to do this solo, and I value input. It’s also my hope that one or more of these guys ends up the head coach here or somewhere else. I’m continually asked about my long-term plans, and they are to keep coaching until I can’t anymore. I have a three-year contract that rolls over every year. However, I’ve always said that an employer could just let me know anytime they wanted to go in another direction. In a perfect world, I’ll get to coach a couple of my grandkids before I hang up the whistle. Time will tell.
As always, I am very hopeful going in tonight, but I have no read on this team. I know our boys want to win, but that’s as close as I can get! I’m sure Southridge wants to win as well. I sure am looking forward to the game!
