TCA @ Praisers Review

I'm only speculating that the "T" in TCA stands for some town in Kentucky with a name that starts with "T," but I've been wrong before. So, maybe it's Turfway...maybe it's something more colorful like Turtleburg. TCA's volleyball squad only avoided a two-game sweep by stealing game 2 against the Praisers' second team.

When the two schools squared off in basketball, it was a much more even contest. The lead changed multiple time since it was a game of runs, spurts, and cold-spells. Praisers guard Eric Martin was the leading scorer for the Praisers. He and senior guard Chris Watson-Huff (who started in place of Anthony Frederick, who did not start due to a late coaching decision) spear-headed a ferocious full-court trap that forced a multitude of TCA turnovers. In fact, the majority of the Praisers' field goals came from fast-break points off turnovers. But, when the trap failed, the forwards could not slow the dribble of the TCA front-men. It seemed as if when TCA had the ball, one of two things was inevitable: there would be a steal and a Praisers' bucket or TCA would get an uncontested lay-up from a big guy at the other end.

Inevitably, TCA jumped out to an eight-point lead late in the third quarter. Of course, Coach K's boys scrambled back into the contest by forcing turnovers and getting easy buckets. And senior center Caleb Wheeler asserted his influence at long last by grabbing every rebound and contesting every TCA shot. Late in the fourth, the Praisers led by four points; but they could not hold off the TCA charge. TCA continued to get past the pressure (miraculously, at times) and finish at the rim.

The game headed to overtime, tied 57-57. Almost as if on some sort of Groundhog Day repeat-cycle, the same scenario played out in overtime: the Praisers took a seemingly decisive lead thanks to a run - only to relenquish the lead and lose the game ultimately, by five points.

Here are my Keys for Improvement:
1. Some adjustments need to made to the live by the press, die by the press mentality. Chris and Eric can still force turnovers inside their own half. But there were only a handful of TCA half-court sets that resulted in points. I'd guess that over 75% of their buckets came in transition. Someone has to get back on defense!
2. This only applies to teams with lots of size (like TCA), but the Praisers need to work on going inside-out with the passing. The perimeter movement is good as ever, but a new aspect needs to surface. With new big guys (Wheeler and junior-high sensation Brian McDowell), this would be extremely useful. The perimeter would open wide for shooters to find their touch (or confidence) which would in turn open up the post for ...
3. Caleb Wheeler to establish himself as a post-threat. His footwork is still only primarily effective and needs to improve fast. He needs to learn to use the pivot foot on either side of a power-dribble to find a high-percentage shot every time he gets the ball isolated one-on-one in the post. He finds himself in decent post position - but he has been fading to shoot instead of leaning and finishing strong.