Intervalley Conference Pickem 2/12/10

• ricola

  

  Go Hornets! against Garaway that is. You and Strasburg can fight it out ater that.
• Pariah

  Bfan wrote: Hiland just didn't have any fuel this time around because the game wasn't canceled due to Garaway being scared of the Hawks.

  Touche. We had that one coming.
  
  JLG, your ability to predict the future is amazing. The race wasn't over, but I did say "apparent champs". Garaway losing to RW was a shocker. The Hiland loss wasn't.
  
  Hiland's losing streak is unfortunate, but it isn't a disaster. A disaster is what is happening in Haiti. So with that context in mind, their problems involve not playing team defense, worrying too much about individual offense, lack of player leadership, loss of confidence, lack of unity, and they need to get some mental toughness. That's what I see. All, some, or none of that may have any relation to the reality.
  
  They play hard, are young, and there is some major talent there. They have the opportunity to use whatever is left of their season to address those issues and get some mo going into next year. Mark Schlabach is an excellent coach. He'll figure it out, but ultimately, those boys will determine how successful they are or aren't.
• Hesston

  

  Pariah wrote:

  Bfan wrote: Hiland just didn't have any fuel this time around because the game wasn't canceled due to Garaway being scared of the Hawks.

  Touche. We had that one coming.
  
  JLG, your ability to predict the future is amazing. The race wasn't over, but I did say "apparent champs". Garaway losing to RW was a shocker. The Hiland loss wasn't.
  
  Hiland's losing streak is unfortunate, but it isn't a disaster. A disaster is what is happening in Haiti. So with that context in mind, their problems involve not playing team defense, worrying too much about individual offense, lack of player leadership, loss of confidence, lack of unity, and they need to get some mental toughness. That's what I see. All, some, or none of that may have any relation to the reality.
  
  They play hard, are young, and there is some major talent there. They have the opportunity to use whatever is left of their season to address those issues and get some mo going into next year. Mark Schlabach is an excellent coach. He'll figure it out, but ultimately, those boys will determine how successful they are or aren't.

  as far as breaking it down Pariah excelent analysis, I believe you hit the nail square.
  Should our Hawks get past CV in the semi's @ Phila the final may be a classic vs the Tigers in game #3 between these two very well coached teams.
• ricola

  

  I also agree with most (maybe not all) of pariah's assessment. much is spot on.( other personal observations are best left unsaid.)
  As tough as it is for fans, parents and the kids to hit a skid like this, as pariah mentioned, things need to be kept in perspective. what seems awfully important now, in the scheme of things, is really merely a blip. (In a few years it will mean even less.) Haiti is important. A young man losing his life on a luge run is important. Knowing your Maker in a personal way and realizing our life on this earth is merely a vapor is important. Maybe it takes a little "adversity" like this for it to become clearer to us where to put our priorities. Forgive me, and all of us, for making it more than it is.
• jlghoops

  Malvern @ Strasburg is Tuesday, Feb 23rd.
  
  This league race is far from over after the events of last weekend. Although, we all want "our" team to win, it sure makes it more fun when you get a battle like this that may go to the last game.
• Pariah

  The 07 team that went to state had a similar skid - I think it was in January where they lost to Triway, Garaway, and Malvern, and my memory is that those losses were in a row. They were inconsistent but won from that point up through a game on 2/16 at TCC. At that point I thought there was no way they would end up at state. Something was missing. On 2/17 there was a terrible accident where some loved figures were lost and one of their premier players was badly injured. That event drew that team close. They cared about each other more than they had and they were unified in having the goal of playing until their post could get back. It didn't take them all the way, but they went farther than they would have if they hadn't drawn together. This is a team game and the internal dynamics of the individual relationships within the team have to be right for there to be success. I don't care how talented they are. Lots of teams have great players and/or coaches, but don't go any where.
  
  I don't want any kind of tragedy to happen to bring these guys together, but they can choose to bond tighter to each other. We'll see if they do.
• jlghoops

  Pariah....Lets not forget a 5/8 the court buzzer beater that broke a lot of green and white hearts on the road to Columbus
  
  Anyone that thinks chemistry doesn't win and lose games, has not spent much time in locker rooms. The most talented teams that lack chemistry usually slip and fall.
• jlghoops

  Funny story...I was the scorekeeper the other day for 7th grade semi-final between Malvern and Hiland. Hornets lead by 3 with 4 seconds to play and are at line. Malvern calls timeout and he tells the kids. "Make one of the foul shots and the game is over, but if you miss, do not foul. There is no way Hiland is going to rebound ball and make 70 foot shot to tie". After kids walked on court, I said to coach, "Did you just say there is no way Hiland can make 70 foot shot to beat Malvern". He looks at me and says, "Oh @$&@, I never even thought of that!"
• Pariah

  I think Joel's heave was somewhere between 45-50 feet!
• jlghoops

  It just seemed like it was in the air for 70 feet!