8th Grade White-April 30-May 1

First and Foremost

Congratulations on Second place

Last 4 Tournaments we’ve gone 1^st, Tied 1^st, 2^nd, 2^nd (playing up) so ALL should be excited

(Note: 2 seasons ago this team went 1 win - 14 losses
yes that is not a misprint with half our current roster on that team so persistence pays off

It’s not a sprint but a marathon)

YBA Xtreme White vs. Sierra Sonics  

Saturday 4/30/11 at 1:20 p.m. at Del Oro High YBA squared off against and beat the Sierra Sonics 44-41.  YBA came out with good energy and took a large early double digit lead.  Then we became passive on offense and stopped attacking the basket and moving without the ball.  On defense we stopped playing with our feet and reached getting in foul trouble.  Our bench was not able to maintain our lead and momentum shifted to the Sonics.  We finally stepped it up on defense and won the boards. This was closer than it should have been but we stayed mentally tough and some late key free throws from Jesse sealed the win.  Keys for improvement from this game: move the ball and stop dribbling up the sidelines, maintain perimeter spacing on offense, look for the screener who is rolling, screener roll more aggressively, boxing out on defense, and contesting all shots on defense.

• Defense player of the game:  Ish, Cody Abendschein, John Voter, Josh O’neal on boards
• Offense player of the game:  Ish (play making, court vision)
• Best Hustle: John Voter, Matt Dzwilewski
• Best Attitude: Team

YBA Xtreme White vs. Sutter Dawgs

Saturday 4/30/11 at 3:30 p.m. YBA squared off against and beat Sutter in OT 60-57. This was an odd match up.  1 big man who could go coast to coast and a lot of smaller match ups. We went down 25 – 12 and it was over but we fought back to single digits by half.  We figured it out on defense and stayed aggressive.  Mental discipline won us this game our opponent lost theirs but our defense caused this.  We won this game with pure hustle and effort on defense and the defensive and offensive boards.  Highlights - Josh battling 3 times on def boards and getting the opponent to foul him in frustration, Matt late crazy 3 off glass, John put back to send it to OT with .2 left in regulation, Matt hitting key late free throws.  Keys for improvement from this game: stop standing so much on offense and move the ball better,  offensive execution run our offense,  maintain perimeter spacing on offense, contest all jump shots, boxing out on defense, recognizing miss matches on offense and take your man to the rack.

• Defense player of the game:   Josh O’neal on #21 – Hon. mention John, Cody   
• Offense player of the game: Matt Dzwilewski (willing a win), Ish (court leadership)
• Best Hustle: Ish, John, Josh – honorable mention team
• Best Attitude: Team – gut check effort

YBA Xtreme White vs. YBA Dawgs Blue

Sunday 5/1/11 at 10:05 a.m. YBA squared off against YBA Dawgs Blue and lost 61-32 - in the Championship game.  We came out a little nervous and settled for a heavy dose of long jumpers not us and hit none leading to easy transition baskets for our opponent and an 11-0 start. Then we got back to our game moving the ball well and attacking the seams and getting to the basket.  We did a nice job on defense and handling their full court pressure I thought and I think we competed.  At the end of the day they were simply the better team today and that’s how sports go at the competitive level.  We can tuck this in our hats as a great learning experience and feel proud we left it all out on the floor and be ready for our next opportunity like this one.  So congratulations on 2nd place. Keys for improvement:  run the offense, offensive spacing, get lose balls, improve ball security (reduce turnovers better passing decisions), attack the basket on offense show more patience and take better shots to start the game.

• Defense player of the game:  Ish, John, Cody, Josh
• Offense player of the game:  Ish (floor leadership),  Jesse Savage finishing strong
• Best Hustle:  Ish (on the floor several times), John Voter, Cody Abendschein, Josh
• Best Attitude:  Bench – gave some solid minutes