We had breakfast at the hotel this morning and immediately headed over to Chapman to practice. They have a beautiful campus with some that is always cool to see in an outdoor pool with elevated stands.
Practice went pretty well. The gym has a little different shape to it so it took a while to get use to it. No wonder they always play well at home.
After getting done with practice we headed north to Los Angeles to check out Hollywood Blvd. we didn't have much time there because of traffic but a bunch of our guys hadn't been there before so it was good for them to see. While our guys went out to see all the things there I met up with Tanner Anderson. It was good to catch up with him. He seems to be doing really well. His table waiting days seem to be behind him but be could be acting. He actually said he did a commercial with former St. Mary's star Lukas Holland, who has great hair. The MIAC is everywhere.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
California Trip - Day 4
Today got off to an early start with breakfast at the hotel and a quick departure to our new destination, Anaheim. We made good time to the hotel.
Our van was completely filled with guys and luggage. We played a couple of music and sports games once we got out of San Diego. That was always fun to hear each guy and to hear about their knowledge in different areas.
Once we got to the hotel we headed straight to the full bball court on the third floor roof. It's pretty impressive for a hotel. We did a short walk-thru of Chapman's stuff as well as our plays. After practice the guys set off for Disneyland or Disney World, I am not sure which one is here. I was a Debbie-downer and stayed at the hotel to workout and relax for a bit.
Tomorrow we have a 10am practice at Chapman and then will head to Hollywood for the afternoon and evening. We hoping to see one of our former players, Tanner Anderson. Tanner just completed his masters' in performing arts from a prestigious acting school in LA. He is an aspiring actor aka a waiter.
Our van was completely filled with guys and luggage. We played a couple of music and sports games once we got out of San Diego. That was always fun to hear each guy and to hear about their knowledge in different areas.
Once we got to the hotel we headed straight to the full bball court on the third floor roof. It's pretty impressive for a hotel. We did a short walk-thru of Chapman's stuff as well as our plays. After practice the guys set off for Disneyland or Disney World, I am not sure which one is here. I was a Debbie-downer and stayed at the hotel to workout and relax for a bit.
Tomorrow we have a 10am practice at Chapman and then will head to Hollywood for the afternoon and evening. We hoping to see one of our former players, Tanner Anderson. Tanner just completed his masters' in performing arts from a prestigious acting school in LA. He is an aspiring actor aka a waiter.
California Trip - Day 3
Yesterday we had an early practice over at St Augustine for the final time. We got onto the court just after their JV got done practicing. It was a decent practice but the guys seem to be in game mode already. Hopefully, we'll be fine over the next couple of days.
After practice we headed over to the beach for a little workout and "ice bath." We did a couple of relays races to get their upper bodies a workout and then we headed to the ocean.
Now it's off to Anaheim to check out Disney and all that goes on there.
After practice we headed over to the beach for a little workout and "ice bath." We did a couple of relays races to get their upper bodies a workout and then we headed to the ocean.
Now it's off to Anaheim to check out Disney and all that goes on there.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
California Trip - Day 2
Yesterday we put together another day here on Coronado Island. We had a little down time before practice yesterday and some of the guys headed to the beach. The water is cold in December.
We had practice at 4;30 at St. Augustine again. Our overall intensity level wasn't were it should've been. We looked like we had dead legs. It wasn't exactly the practice I was hoping for after our quality practice the night before. We have to string together quality practices in order for us to make the jump we are capable of.
After practice we got to a Mexican restaurant called Miguel's right here on Coronado Island. The food was really good and definitely topped off the night.
We had practice at 4;30 at St. Augustine again. Our overall intensity level wasn't were it should've been. We looked like we had dead legs. It wasn't exactly the practice I was hoping for after our quality practice the night before. We have to string together quality practices in order for us to make the jump we are capable of.
After practice we got to a Mexican restaurant called Miguel's right here on Coronado Island. The food was really good and definitely topped off the night.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
California Trip - Day 1
We arrived in Santa Ana, CA yesterday afternoon after the most turbulent flight I have ever been on. It also didn't help that I literally had a family doing a Chinese fire drill during the flight. Three family members were rotating seats and rotating who was holding their baby throughout the flight. Even a flight attendant got into the mix by knocking off my headphones when she walked by. She didn't even apologize. Not fun.
We headed down to our hotel on Coronado Island just outside San Diego. First order of business was to stop at the famous In-N-Out Burger. I guess it's a staple of the California diet but I think it's pretty awful. It doesn't help that I am not a fan of fast food.
As we made our trip out of San Diego we went over the Coronado Bridge which has a sign for a suicide hotline on it. Always interesting to see something like that on a bridge. On the way to our hotel we saw the area where Navy SEALS do their training. It would be awesome for our guys to see or experience how hard those guys go for their training. It would be an eye opening experience for sure.
After a couple of hours in the hotel we headed to St. Augustine HS to practice. The Saints (didn't realize they weren't creative in CA either) are home of former McDonalds All American and UCLA standout Jelani McCoy. Their head coach, Ed Baskin was nice enough to open the gym for us during our time in the San Diego area.
We had a pretty intense practice and our guys got after it pretty good. It was evident that some guys really worked over break and others didn't do much. We need to have another good one today to maintain the level we were playing at before break.
We headed down to our hotel on Coronado Island just outside San Diego. First order of business was to stop at the famous In-N-Out Burger. I guess it's a staple of the California diet but I think it's pretty awful. It doesn't help that I am not a fan of fast food.
As we made our trip out of San Diego we went over the Coronado Bridge which has a sign for a suicide hotline on it. Always interesting to see something like that on a bridge. On the way to our hotel we saw the area where Navy SEALS do their training. It would be awesome for our guys to see or experience how hard those guys go for their training. It would be an eye opening experience for sure.
After a couple of hours in the hotel we headed to St. Augustine HS to practice. The Saints (didn't realize they weren't creative in CA either) are home of former McDonalds All American and UCLA standout Jelani McCoy. Their head coach, Ed Baskin was nice enough to open the gym for us during our time in the San Diego area.
We had a pretty intense practice and our guys got after it pretty good. It was evident that some guys really worked over break and others didn't do much. We need to have another good one today to maintain the level we were playing at before break.
Friday, December 23, 2011
High School Programs
Over the past eight years I have been to a lot of high school basketball games and have seen my fair share of craziness. I've recruited a wide range of athletes and an even wider range of parents. The more I go to games and practices the less I get an understanding of how things work at certain programs. My dad is a high school coach back in NY and I know how he runs his program but everyone is different.
I've been to games where recruits have been suspended, where they have been taken out of the starting lineup, where they haven't played with no explanation (at least according to the kid and their parents), and where they've played the whole game because the coach has no other choice. It's hard for me not to judge high school coaches but at the same time I'm not at practice everyday. I don't know what the inner workings of the team are. Some high school coaches are great and will do whatever they can for their kids, others are just receiving their nice paycheck and calling it a day.
There are some coaches that I know that are willing to take kids on visits to schools. There are some coaches that are willing to discipline their players when their parents don't. There are some coaches who will do whatever it takes to win. There are some coaches that know that no one kid is bigger than the program.
Being a high school isn't the easiest thing in the world to do. The best ones are the ones that put in the time over the spring, summer, and fall to make sure that each and every kid in his/her program has the opportunity to get better. Many kids and parents fail to understand that the season doesn't start when there are tryouts. The true season started the day after your last game the previous year.
I went to tell you a story about a friend of mine that was a high school coach in the state of Minnesota. He kept on getting calls from a parent about why "little Johnny" isn't playing. He told the parent several reasons why (though coaches shouldn't have to explain to parents why kids aren't playing) and the calls didn't stop. Finally, my friend says, "Why don't you come to practice for 30 straight days and then tell me if Johnny should be playing more?" Naturally, the parent agreed. He came to practice for the first ten days and then never came again, and then never called about playing time again.
I just want to say thanks to the good high school coaches throughout the country who work their tail off and get their kids ready for college or the real world. I don't mean just basketball coaches.
I've been to games where recruits have been suspended, where they have been taken out of the starting lineup, where they haven't played with no explanation (at least according to the kid and their parents), and where they've played the whole game because the coach has no other choice. It's hard for me not to judge high school coaches but at the same time I'm not at practice everyday. I don't know what the inner workings of the team are. Some high school coaches are great and will do whatever they can for their kids, others are just receiving their nice paycheck and calling it a day.
There are some coaches that I know that are willing to take kids on visits to schools. There are some coaches that are willing to discipline their players when their parents don't. There are some coaches who will do whatever it takes to win. There are some coaches that know that no one kid is bigger than the program.
Being a high school isn't the easiest thing in the world to do. The best ones are the ones that put in the time over the spring, summer, and fall to make sure that each and every kid in his/her program has the opportunity to get better. Many kids and parents fail to understand that the season doesn't start when there are tryouts. The true season started the day after your last game the previous year.
I went to tell you a story about a friend of mine that was a high school coach in the state of Minnesota. He kept on getting calls from a parent about why "little Johnny" isn't playing. He told the parent several reasons why (though coaches shouldn't have to explain to parents why kids aren't playing) and the calls didn't stop. Finally, my friend says, "Why don't you come to practice for 30 straight days and then tell me if Johnny should be playing more?" Naturally, the parent agreed. He came to practice for the first ten days and then never came again, and then never called about playing time again.
I just want to say thanks to the good high school coaches throughout the country who work their tail off and get their kids ready for college or the real world. I don't mean just basketball coaches.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Caltech 12/13/11
Yesterday in "Happy Hour Hoops at Hamline," we took on the Beavers from Caltech aka California Institute of Technology. I was told after the game by one of their assistants that it isn't Cal Tech but Caltech. I thought they were supposed to be smart over there in Pasadena. Ranks right up there with some of the nicknames we have in our league. Caltech was 4-2 going into the game and was clearly playing with a bunch of confidence after beating Macalester on Monday night.
We got off to a slow start as neither team could find their rhythm. Our legs looked dead and couldn't get our offense going. The Beavers started off in a 2-3 zone to try and take away our penetration, I thought we still got good looks but didn't knock them down. We ran our zone offense but made a few careless turnovers that didn't help our cause. We made a couple of bursts but couldn't put them away. We just had too many turnovers (9) and too many missed opportunities. We still held a 34-24 advantage at the half but it wasn't exactly our best performance.
The second half started out with a bang as Mike Campbell made a layup, Tyler Pannell hit a 3, and then Dior Ford had a monster dunk in transition. This left the Beavers shell shocked. They recovered after a timeout to get it back within 13. Then, we made a run reminiscent of the ol' Brockport days as the guys went on a 25-4 run to put the game out of reach. We were running on all cylinders and the guys were having fun.
Over the course of the last eight minutes of the game we were able to play the guys who haven't played yet this season. It was great for them to get some varsity time. They extended the lead as well. It's always tough for those guys as you are never sure how to approach the way they play. At one point you want them to play at the same tempo as your "regulars" but at another point you don't want to embarrass the other team. I think we were able to use that balance last night. The final score was 88-48.
We were led by Mike Campbell's double-double of 16 points and 10 boards. Dior Ford and Charlie Choiniere both had 13 to help lead the charge. We got everyone off the bench had a total of 16 different guys score. EVERYONE contributed at some point last night. We held them to 30% shooting and 2-22 from 3. We outrebounded them 51-29 as well. It was a good night to be a Piper.
We have practice today and then our guys get some time off for finals and a little break. We play Chapman out in California on the 31st. I'm really looking forward to the trip.
We got off to a slow start as neither team could find their rhythm. Our legs looked dead and couldn't get our offense going. The Beavers started off in a 2-3 zone to try and take away our penetration, I thought we still got good looks but didn't knock them down. We ran our zone offense but made a few careless turnovers that didn't help our cause. We made a couple of bursts but couldn't put them away. We just had too many turnovers (9) and too many missed opportunities. We still held a 34-24 advantage at the half but it wasn't exactly our best performance.
The second half started out with a bang as Mike Campbell made a layup, Tyler Pannell hit a 3, and then Dior Ford had a monster dunk in transition. This left the Beavers shell shocked. They recovered after a timeout to get it back within 13. Then, we made a run reminiscent of the ol' Brockport days as the guys went on a 25-4 run to put the game out of reach. We were running on all cylinders and the guys were having fun.
Over the course of the last eight minutes of the game we were able to play the guys who haven't played yet this season. It was great for them to get some varsity time. They extended the lead as well. It's always tough for those guys as you are never sure how to approach the way they play. At one point you want them to play at the same tempo as your "regulars" but at another point you don't want to embarrass the other team. I think we were able to use that balance last night. The final score was 88-48.
We were led by Mike Campbell's double-double of 16 points and 10 boards. Dior Ford and Charlie Choiniere both had 13 to help lead the charge. We got everyone off the bench had a total of 16 different guys score. EVERYONE contributed at some point last night. We held them to 30% shooting and 2-22 from 3. We outrebounded them 51-29 as well. It was a good night to be a Piper.
We have practice today and then our guys get some time off for finals and a little break. We play Chapman out in California on the 31st. I'm really looking forward to the trip.
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