Douglas vs. Hug Varsity Boys Hoops

January 13, 2012

Tonight's game was a good one.  And the funny thing is, I wasn't even going to go to it.  I was going to go the the Wooster game instead for a couple of reasons:
1. It's closer (can't front, sometimes I'm lazy)
2. I've already seen Douglas and Hug play
3.It's closer
moving on....
So being that this was my second trip to Hug High School in about a week, I was privy to their pre-game, pre-warmup routine.  You can watch it here ----->CLICK ME AND WATCH.  If you have never been to Hug, this can be kind of intimidating, and it gets the crowd going.  *BLOGGER NOTE* If you are the visiting team, you always want to get the crowd out of the game, it then basically turns into a neutral court instead an away game...The game started off great for Hug.  Sam Williams owned the paint and Douglas had a hard time defending the 3 point line

The "battle" that I thought would happen between Williams and Meyers never happened.  Meyers never had enough touches to make that happen.  Also Hug went up 19-4 at the end of the 1st quarter.

The funny this is, most teams being down by that many, on the road, would probably start to mail it in.  Douglas kept on fighting to get back in it.  I know, I know, everybody goes on a run in hoops.  True...but how many teams come back against the number 1 ranked team in the area (on the road) to make it a game again?

You had guys driving and kicking out to open shooters....

You had guys turning turnovers into fast break points...

But in the end, the thing that really killed Douglas's chance of winning the huge lead they gave up in the first quarter.  Trying to come back from 15 down on the road is tough.  I can't front on'm though, those boys played their H.E.A.R.T's out, but there is only so much you can do in any situation.  And that's not to take anything away from Hug.  Hug was hot, I mean Hades hot in the 1st quarter!  Both teams played hard and as a former competitor, that's all you really can ask for.  With that being said, below are a few points from the game that are just my opinion.

Point 1

If you are playing a hotly contested game and the score is close, DO NOT give up an alley-oop fast break dunk.  It's not a good look and the crowd will go nuts...

Point 2

Number 10 for Douglas was doing work and getting buckets...we should probably give him the ball more.  He's a bigger guy, running the breaks, grabbing boards and defending a dude at least 6 inches taller than he is.  Throw him a bone and hope he gets to the freebie line.

Point 3

My man Nate can score...so Nate...SCORE.  Don't wait 'till the end of the game to go get buckets...

Point 4

Sometimes you're the hammer...and sometimes you're the nail.  If the Big Man is on, and tonight he was (in the paint defensively) there is NOTHING wrong with settling for a jumper...just saying.

All in all, I'm glad that Nate convinced me to come to this game.  A simple box score would have done this game absolutely NO justice.  This was one you had to see yourself.  Douglas came back from a 15 point deficit to tie the score in the 4th quarter, only to claim defeat in the end.  But it's not the end of the world.  They can take it as a learning experience, while Hug can take from it that they can't let off the gas pedal when they're hot.  But I'm glad I was there to see it for myself.  Both teams played hard and played with H.E.A.R.T.

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Douglas vs. Reed Varsity Boys Hoops

January 6th, 2012, I went to a High School Boys Varsity Basketball game in Sparks, NV.  Being from New Jersey/Maryland, I have no background in Nevada High School hoops.  I don't know who's good, who sucks and who is just having a good/great/crappy year.  I am COMPLETELY out of the loop.

This is where my man Nate Vonahsen, makes his very first appearance.  As I try to spread the word about H.E.A.R.T Athletics (the company that I own and run), my goal is to contact student athletes that I feel embody the characteristics of the values that are dear to me and my company.  Being that H.E.A.R.T Athletics is still a "start up" company, we are happy to provide FREE products to the public representing our gear.  This is one of the reasons why I attend the Douglas vs. Reed game, to give Nate his shirts and to see what Nevada hoops is all about..

So I show up to the Varsity Boys game on Friday not knowing what to expect.  All I know is that after the first quarter of play, the visiting team (Nate's team Douglas) is down 21-8.  And to put it nicely, this was not an easy 13 point deficit to overcome.  Reed H.S. had not only hit a variety of 3 pointers, but they were harassing the hell out of the ball and putting on a 3/4 press as well.  In all honesty, it DID NOT look good for the Douglas Tigers.

This is why I'm not a Basketball coach
                                                        End of the 2nd Q
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Beginning of the 4th....

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And by the end of the game.....
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The point of the story is this, no matter what your "history" says about you, you are able to change it in one day.  It's all about your attitude.  I still do not have a definitive idea on who Douglas and Reed are when it comes to hoops, but I know that Douglas will NOT give up no matter what.  This may be an outlier, but it could also be who they ARE.  All I know is that I can only go by what I see.  The Douglas Tigers took the Reed Raiders best shot, and still came back for more.  Although Douglas didn't give up, neither did Reed.  Both teams played their H.E.A.R.T's out and I couldn't be more proud of the effort put out by both teams.