Hug Hawks 2011-12 Basketball

February 25, 2012

I'm just going to start writing, and then let my thoughts take over.  I normally sit back and think about what I'm going to write, format it and then go to town.  But tonight is going to be a little different.  I'm thinking about the Hug Hawk Varsity Hoops Squad and I can't help but draw parallels to "real" life and the definition of my company H.E.A.R.T Athletics LLC.

These young men just played for the State Championship and unfortunately lost to Bishop Gorman.  *Sidenote* Bishop recruits players, while Hug has to play with the kids that live in its school zone...moving on.  These kids played their H.E.A.R.T's out tonight.  And although they came up just a bit short, it was sheer determination that got them to where they were tonight.  Think about it.  How many other hoopers in the state of Nevada would trade places with them tonight?  Just having the CHANCE to win a State Title is an honor in itself!

The lesson here that the Hug Hawks probably didn't realize (yet...) is that shit isn't always going to go your way.  Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.  But never...EVER, take your loss as just a loss.  It's a learning experience.  The camaraderie, hard work and determination it took for them as a whole to get to where they were tonight will help them the rest of their lives.  Crappy things happen in life.  You as an individual AND team have to live, learn and adapt.  If you don't like losing...do something about it.

The Seniors won't have another chance...and that sucks, but the Junior and lower classes have a chance to learn and get better.  This doesn't mean the Seniors can't use this game as a spring board into their futures as well.

Sports, as in life, teaches us valuable lessons that if you're looking at the trees...you're sure to miss the forest.  The lesson here is DON'T GIVE UP!!!!!  Keep striving for your goals.  If you miss the first time, readjust and fire again.  You are only a loser when you choose to give up...not when you lose (<-------see what I did there?).

Even though the entire team played their H.E.A.R.T's out, I want to shine some light on 3 that really stood out (in my humble opinion).

Sam Williams

This young bol was a BEAST in the paint.  Blocking shots, grabbing boards and dunking on kats...

Andrew Johnson

This kid is devastating.  There was NO PG in Northern Nevada that could guard him...period.

Norris Dupree

This kid was the glue-man.  He did everything and anything for his team.  The bol hustled, played D, boarding, hit the floor, whatever...this kid played his ass off.



In short, BIG UPS to the 2011-12 Hug Hawks Varsity Squad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Most Slept on Kid in Reno (Norris Dupree #22)

I don't normally like to single out one kid on a team (because he/she plays on a TEAM), but I'll be damned if this young bol, Norris Dupree isn't one of the most slept on (slang term for 'overlooked') baller in the Reno area. 

I've watched this dude play over 3-4 games so far this season and he's dope...period.  You see, the funny thing about his game is that he COULD take over if he wanted to, but he's willing to do the dirty work AND share the rock.  I've seen this kid dive on the floor for loose balls, handle the rock to give Andrew Johnson a breather, rebound, play lockdown defense on opposing PG's and drive the lane like he enjoys getting hacked (another slang term, this means getting fouled...very hard).

I've never seen this kid sulk, complain or show a shitty attitude.  I've never seen him yell at a teammate, pass the buck or ignore his coach.  All this young man does is go out and play his H.E.A.R.T out.  Everytime I read the reno gazette-journal they NEVER mention this kid.  Don't get me wrong...he team does have two other studs on it, legit studs, but this dude deserves some sun too. 

So Norris...here's a little bit of sun for you fam!  I dig the way you play, best of luck to you and your Hawks in the tourney.

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Jeremy Lin....

In life there are three very...very basic lies. 1. Lies. 2. Damn lies 3. Statistics.  It really is simple when you actually break it down.  The third lie (statistics) tend to stop people, athletes and business people in their respective tracks before they even get started.  This brings me to Jeremy Lin.  Think about this...

You are a High School Senior who leads his team to a 32-1 record.  You beat NATIONALLY RANKED Mater Dei, while winning a State Championship.  You're First Team All-State (in Cali, not Delaware or North Dakota) averaging 15.1 points, 7.1 assists, 6 boards and 5 steals.  But nobody recruits you...

You go to an Ivy League school (which offers 0 athletic scholarships and the tuition is crazy expensive) and wind up the only player ever to achieve 1450 points, 450 boards, 400 dimes and 200 steals.  Oh...AND he graduated (from Harvard).

After graduating (noble concept) from college...NOBODY wants you on their team.  Well, at least not enough to DRAFT you anyway.  You sit on the bench of your hometown team because you love them that much.  You get minutes here and there, but they are far and few between.  Before the start of you second second season with your hometown team...they waive you.

Before the start of your second season in the NBA, you get picked up by one of the biggest market teams in the world.  You sit and wait, probably not expecting to play (seems to be the norm) but you don't let it faze you.  But once your current team inserts you in the lineup...you go ape shit!

You see...that's the thing about lies, they never tell you the WHOLE story.  They give you a fraction of what the teller wants you to believe, or what YOU want to believe.  Jeremy Lin's story, stats and situations have been well documented and quantified.  But there is ONE variable in every athlete that can not...I repeat...CAN NOT be measured...and that's his or her H.E.A.R.T.  And trust me...nothing makes or breaks a H.E.A.R.T like the sitting on the bench.

Hug Hawks vs Wooster Colts Boys Varsity Hoops

January 31, 2012

Last Tuesday I was debating on which game to go to shoot.  So I thought to myself, "self, you live 2 city blocks from Wooster...take your ass over there and see what they're about".  So I agreed with myself and went to Wooster.  As with any game I go to, I'm not really concerned with the final score, I'm looking for kids that Have Enough Attitude Resilience & Toughness (www.heartathleticsllc.com).  So basically, when I shoot a game, match or whatever, I'm looking for players that speak to my values and not so much who wins or loses.  Just because you won the game doesn't mean you gave your all and just because you lost the game doesn't necessarily mean you didn't (see what I did there?).

Long story short, Hug wound up beating Wooster by a sizable margin, but this doesn't mean that there wasn't a ton of H.E.A.R.T being poured out on the court.  You would think that a victory of such a large margin would have players on Wooster "giving up" and players for Hug just going through the motions...This was NOT the case.  There was a kid on Wooster who played the entire game (a starter at that) even though it was a blowout, #23 and a sub this year (but next year he'll most definitely start) for Hug, Rian Narra who played their respective asses off this game.

#23 Wooster

This #23 kid is a starter for Wooster.  Anyone who has played team sports knows that when the game is out of hand, the coach usually pulls his starters to get the backups more minutes.  If the coach doesn't do this, he's leaving some starters in so the game doesn't get out of control.  Most kids who are left in have a problem with this.  They feel as if they should be sitting too because it's embarrassing or the coach doesn't "respect" them enough to pull them out.  As I watched #23, I realized that this kid just wanted to play.  He played just as hard in the last minute as he did in the first quarter.  He didn't gunout (shoot without thinking of passing) his teammates, he continued to play hard D and most of all he hustled.  At no point in the game did I see this kid pout, throw a fit or act like a bitch.  This kid played his H.E.A.R.T out and it was dope watching him do so.

#1 Rian Narra

When people generally think about sports, they tend to think that if you don't start...you're not good.  Well this isn't always the case.  What if you play Varsity sports and you're a Sophomore?  This is the case when it comes to my young bol Rian Narra.  Yeah, Rian could play JV, get a ton of minutes, playing against competition his own age and dominate...or he can learn from a Senior PG, play against the best in the area, and get ready to crush next year.  He (as I would would) chose the latter.  As a Sophomore, Rian doesn't get that many minutes (because he's playing behind Andrew Johnson) but that doesn't mean he doesn't have skill or a big ol' H.E.A.R.T.  Rian came into the game for good in the middle of the 3rd quarter and did his thing.  Narra came into the game and played with the intensity of a starter (which he will be next year) and kept it up for the rest of the game.  He attacked the bucket, played his ass off on D (so much so that he was huffing and puffing, I even told him so on Twitter during the game).  By the end of the game, regardless of stats (which I figured to be 11 points, 3 boards, 4 assists...in less than 2 quarters), Rian played his ass off.

As I sat watching both of the players (#23 for Wooster and #1 for Hug, Rian Narra) and thought about how hard BOTH were playing at that time, I took this picture....

And this is what put my entire Hug vs. Wooster game in perspective, regardless of the score.

Hug High School JV Player #2

Last Saturday, January 21, 2012 I went to McQueen High School to watch Hug play McQueen.  I don't know a single player from either team, but I love High School sports, what they represent and Saturday's are the BEST days to watch amateur sports.  So I went...I blogged about the game earlier this week, but there was one player I didn't talk about (although I really wanted to).  I really didn't know how to fit him in the story until now...

I don't care what level of sports (or life) you're on, you want to be the starter (or the man/woman).  We all learn (eventually) that this isn't the case.  For some reason or whatever, you may "deserve" to start, but something (or someone) dictates that you have to take a lesser role.  This DOES NOT mean you are of "lesser" value, it just means that your true value may actually not be viewed in the proper light...this is life my friends.

Anyway, as I'm photographing this Hug/McQueen game, something "told" me to shoot this kid (#2) who was the first person to check into the game.  I had no idea of who he was, if he was any good, or what his situation was...but I took his picture non the less.

Little did I know that this kid was on some straight up Vinnie Johnson type ish!  This young bol (South Jersey slang for young guy...it's pronounced "bull") came into the game and started lighting kats up!

The thing is, this kid didn't only fill up the bucket, he played D, boarded and distributed dimes (a dime is an assist).  He did all of this without the "sense" or entitlement of STARTING.  If you took one look at this kid when he was entering the game you would have thought you were looking at a lion about to be unleashed!  The dude just had something about him that said "I don't give a f#ck that I'm not starting...I'm about to do WORK"...and he did.

The point of this blog post is that this kid "played" his H.E.A.R.T out and from the looks of his contributions, he could have cared less if he started or was the first/last guy off the bench! 

In sports and in life, not everyone is going to get the chance to sit in the sun...but when you do (if you indeed do get the chance) you have to take full advantage because you never know if you'll get another one (chance) or some more sun.  This Hug JV player got a little bit of sun from me and I feel fortunate enough to give him whatever sun I can because dammit...this kid deserves it.  He played his ass off AND he played his HEART out!


John H. Harris II
Owner
H.E.A.R.T Athletics LLC


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Hug vs. McQueen Boys JV Hoops

This past Saturday, January 21, 2012 I decided to watch the Hug vs. McQueen JV Boys game.  I did this for a couple of reasons.
1. I've seen the Hug Varsity Boys play...and they're nice
2. McQueen is big sports school, so I wanted to check out the hoops team
3. Saturdays are made for sports

So I go into the game "expecting" Hug to be good, but not really knowing what to expect from McQueen.  You know, would they be shook (slang term for scared), any good or anything close to the football program (which by the way is really...really good).  So as the game starts and quarters are passing by, McQueen and Hug were really gettin' it in.  No lead was larger than 7 points and there were at least 8 lead changes. 

In every game I go to and shoot, I'm always looking for players that not only play their asses off but play with HEART.  There were more than a couple.  For McQueen, #'s 5, 21 and 3 really stood out and for Hug #'s 35, 11, 25 and 2 really caught my attention.  Here's a breakdown of what I saw...

McQueen Lancers



# 5 is a true floor general.  The kid took shots when he needed to take'm, fought through screens of D, drove the lane against the bigmen of Hug and hustled his ass off all game long.  Really good player.

#21 played a hell of a game too.  Although he was giving up a couple of inches to #35 from Hug, he still went hard in the paint all game long.  He had a bunch of hustle in'm as well.  One play it looked like Hug was going to get a free fastbreak layup...but out of nowhere comes #21 to block the shot.

#3 was a slasher.  This kid was always driving the lane and had a decent handle.  He didn't care who was in the lane, he was going to either get his shot off or get that bucket.  Every team needs a guy like this.  Big HEART and fearless when attacking the bucket

Hug Hawks

#35 was a straight up monster.  He grabbed boards, blocked shots, made his shots and battled all day long with McQueen's #21.  This kid basically went bananas during this game.

#11 was a beasting Saturday, just like #35.  The two of them combined made it really tough for McQueen on the defensive end.  For a bigman 35 has quicks AND hops.  He created his own shots and played hard on D.  Tough player...

#25 for Hug was ice cold.  This kid didn't care how big you were, he was getting in the paint...period.  His handle was ill and his shooting was iller (yeah, I know it's slang and it's not 'really' a word...but it's MY blog so I'm using it, lol).  At one point in the 4th quarter the game was tied up, the Hug coach called a timeout and set up a designed play.  With the game tied #25 ran around 2 screens to get open in the corner to pop a 3...he didn't hesitate at all.  The kid got the rock and pulled the trigger.  The kid was Reggie Miller lethal from range.

I can't lie, BOTH teams played hard and played with HEART.  Like most games I got to shoot, I found myself "watching" the game more than shooting photos.  This (to me at least) is a sign that the players on both sides are competing at their highest levels and leaving everything on the court.

Play with HEART!

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