Medora Basketball Documentary

Things are funny how they roll around and eventually come back up. Back in 2009, I read an article in the NY Times (HERE) about tiny Medora High School in Medora IN. I then wrote a quick blog about it. HERE. This NY Times article was read by some journalists/film makers who thought it would be a good idea to do a documentary on them. Here is their Kickstarter Video and somewhat of a trailer.




The link below will take you to the Kickstarter page where you can donate to help them finish the movie.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/medora/medora-documentary-film

Here's their facebook page link.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/MEDORA/218850204868810

Sometimes you wonder what role sports actually has in a community and how sports affects so many other things. This documentary is going to delve into that, I believe. It is definitely going to be something that I see and watch. Maybe you should donate to the cause?

Last Song of "The Big Dance"

Tonight is the night that March Madness ends. My favorite time of year has come and is almost gone. I live for the past month. Watching basketball is something that I truly enjoy to do. So, before I get too mushy, here are my thoughts on the Kansas-Kentucky matchup.

I'll start with Kentucky because I have seen them play a lot more than Kansas. Kentucky is a team that is definitely better in the transition game. Fast breaks start with steals or blocks and they are off like the horses of the Derby. In transition they seek to find the open man. I think it's safe to say that the Wildcats are a pretty unselfish group. Which surprises me due to the fact that most of them are top recruits and typically they have a more selfish attitude toward scoring. I've been impressed that Coach Calipari has gotten this done with the type of recruits that he enlists.

In the halfcourt, I don't think UK is as good, but still possesses the ability to score, but things look not as easy as when in the open floor. Anthony Davis' low-post offensive performance in the national semi-final game against Louisville looked so easy. His turn around jump hooks were, in essence, pure beauty. He also used his left and finished with it.

Weaknesses that I see...

1. Youth - This is the National Championship game. How will they respond? Louisville's full court pressure and in your face man press did pester UK's guards at times. Their youth hasn't necessarily bothered them this year, but with one game left, is this where it eventually catches up with them. 
2. Guard play - I think Kansas has the advantage here. I only say this because I think their guards are weaker than their interior players. 
3. I think Coach Bill Self is a better in-game adjustment coach and will come up with some wrinkle that Coach Calipari won't figure out. 

Moving on to Kansas. KU has a lot of momentum going for them.  They knocked off North Carolina and then fought back and took Ohio State in the closing minutes. They play a lot of upperclassmen. I think this might come into play as the game unfolds and in-game adjustments will be made.  KU likes to get up-and-down as well, but I think they will slow it down some and operate in the half-court more in this game because I believe they have a greater advantage here. I also think Withey can handle Davis in the post which will let everyone else stay with their man and limit Kentucky to one shot. 

Weaknesses that I see...

1. KU doesn't score very consistently. They go on runs or they get behind. They can't afford to get too far behind in this game. Kentucky can extend a lead very quickly and this game could be over quite quickly. 
2. They wait until the end to turn on their defense and make comebacks at the very end. I don't say this because their defense is not very good, because it definitely is. I am really impressed with their stifling defense. Refer to weakness #1 above as what will happen if they get behind. 
3. Individually, I think that Kentucky has the advantage of 1-on-1 man matchups. But as a whole, I think their team defense is better. What will they do as a group to combat the amazing talent that Kentucky has will be a huge key. 

Kentucky Keys -

1. Funnel everything to Anthony Davis and his intimidation.
2. Score in transition.
3. Don't let youth mistakes compound. 

Kansas Keys - 

1. Get Anthony Davis on the perimeter and make him defend. Get Anthony Davis in foul trouble. 
2. Come up with some sort of wrinkle to combat the shot blocking of Anthony Davis. While watching the last two games of Kentucky, Davis has had amazing blocks coming from the weakside as guards are shooting shots where they have been hanging in the air for a while. I would like to see the guards keep their dribble alive longer and make one more pass than shoot an off-balance floater. Be under control a little longer than you normally would before leaving your feet for a shot in the lane. I know you're thinking "What in the world does that mean?" Davis waits until you release the ball before he jumps. Plus, trying to shoot over a 7'4" wingspan is almost nearly impossible.  
3. Don't let the game get out of hand. The score needs to stay close. If it stays in the low sixties, I expect Kansas to win. If it gets into the seventies - Kentucky will most like win. If it's in the 80s or above. Kentucky wins without a doubt. 

Prediction - Predicting who will win and wanting someone to win are totally different things. I think Kentucky will win. I want Kansas to win. I just want a good game to watch. A close game. That's it. 

Thoughts? 2 hours until tip. 

Southport Semi-state Games

Today, I attended the Southport Semi-state games. It pitted the 1A teams of Loogootee and Edinburgh against each other and Park Tudor and Providence faced off in 2A action. Both games didn't disappoint as both were close until the 4th quarters. Loogootee pulled out a win in the first game. I will go out on a limb and say that the Edinburgh team was a lot more talented than Loogootee. Loogootee went on a run in the 4th where they hit two treys in under 10 seconds and that put them up for good.
In the second game, Park Tudor and Providence kept in close as this was a game of runs. I kept thinking that PT was going to pull away, but Providence would always go on a run and come right back. I was really impressed with future Hoosier, Yogi Ferrell. Here's a couple of pics from the game. The Southport Fieldhouse seats 7,124 and it was packed.  (please excuse my crummy camera phone.)

I was also impressed with Park Tudor's 2-3 zone and their talking and communication. They didn't sit back passively. They were really active with their hands and feet. I did think when they extended their 2-3 to half-court it helped and hurt them. They got some steals, but they also gave up a lot of easy bucket layups.
One other thing that I picked up on was Park Tudor's flex offense variation that I really think opens up the middle more than then traditional flex cuts. I felt that their variation allowed more time for the ballside post player to get position and operate. I've drawn up a little diagram that shows their pattern. The State Finals are set for Banker's Life Fieldhouse in downtown Indy. Good Luck to the teams.

University of Michigan's Court

I'm currently watching Illinois vs. Michigan. I am in love with their floor. My brother, Nick, is watching with me. He says it's an new-school look with old-school flavor. I love the subtle change of the different stains used. It's not overkill, just right. The large M in the middle is nice as well.

This is the last year for the floor. They have used it for 60+ years. So, since they are getting a new one, they are are going to cut it up and give it to everyone who has played for Michigan over the years. A nice touch I do believe.

Wearing Pink

I came across this article by way of the Uni-watch.com blog. Basically, a HS girls team in the Omaha area wore pink uniforms to raise money for a charity. The unis were to be auctioned off after the game. The first half of the game goes as planned. When both teams come back out for the 2nd half, the opposing coach asks the officials about the rule for not wearing white jerseys for the home team. The officials agree that wearing predominately pink unis is against the rule. The refs issue a technical foul for wearing the pink jerseys. Ok. I get it. They broke the rules. Now, why in the world did it take the refs until the 2nd half to enforce a technical foul? In the article, the opposing coach is quoted as saying, "But when you want to maintain the integrity of the game, you've got to play by the rules.'' Wow. The uniforms have absolutely nothing to do with upholding the integrity of the game. They wore them for one game. They were helping people out. You had a chance to teach your players a nice life lesson and you worried about taking advantage of the situation. What you should have done, was 1. probably not even asked about the uniforms. 2. If they do issue a technical foul, then you instruct your player to miss both free throws. 3. If the other team had the ball, you take a 5 second count and give them the ball back. As far as the referees go, if you're going to give a technical foul for uniform infractions, it needs to be given at the beginning of the game.