Elite 8 up next for Myerscough

 

 

Having completed the regular season with a 10 win to 2 loss record and finishing as the second seed in the North, a sweet sixteen match up against Noel Baker School (Derby) faced Myerscough on Wednesday afternoon. Noel Baker finished their regular season 3rd in the All Midland Conference with a 9 win to 5 loss record.

Andre Gayle opened the scoring for the home side, knocking down from 3 after a well worked offense. Noel Baker struggled to convert during the early exchanges finally netting after 5 minutes from the charity stripe, Myerscough however failed to capitalise on Noel Baker’s slow start leading 5 – 3 at the mid-way point. A 7 point burst by Trevor Samuel forced the travelling side into a timeout and with nerves settled Noel Baker knocked down back to back triples to trail by 3 after 9 minutes, time wound down on the quarter and with the buzzer sounding Myerscough held a 4 point lead 18 – 14.

Both teams took back to the court, a Noel Baker three was quickly answered from deep by Gayle. Points were traded either way in the early goings but with Myerscough holding a 2 point lead Noel Baker sparked into life stringing together a 12 – 2 run which ended with back to back three’s. After 9 minutes and with the score at 35 – 27 in Noel Baker’s favour, a time-out was used by the home side who were uncharacteristically lethargic. Myerscough regained their nerve and a Will Shaw three further settled the home side. Noel Baker had sent a statement in the 2^nd taking the quarter by 11 points to lead 39 – 32 heading into the break.

The third quarter marked a turning point for Myerscough and as they settled they began to find a way to attack the effective and well-structured Noel Baker zone, an 8 – 4 run put Myerscough within 2 points after 3 minutes of the quarter. Back to back scores from the away side saw a 7 point lead re-open. Trevor Samuel then sparked a 12 point run for Myerscough as the playoff newcomers locked down on the defensive end limiting Noel Baker to forced shots. Myerscough wrapped up the quarter on the high side taking a slim 56 – 52 point lead into the final period.

Into the 4^th and Noel Baker struck first to trail by 2, Montel Dennis replied for Myerscough knocking down from mid-range. A change in defence from the travelling side inspired a 5 point burst which saw Noel Baker take a 1 point lead with 5 minutes gone in the quarter. A time out was used by the home team and with instructions given Emmanuel Kebangele got himself to the line, knocking down both to give Myerscough a 1 point lead. Chris Bwana who had driven the Myerscough offense then hit from downtown to open up a small cushion for Myerscough. With 8 minutes gone and Myerscough leading 65 – 62 a foul on a three point attempt saw Noel Baker calmly knock down all to level the game at 65. Myerscough however were not to be beaten and ended the game with a 7 point run to secure their place in the EABL’s elite 8.

Trevor Samuel was dominant in the second half finishing the game with 20 points and 7 boards, Emmanuel Kabengele continued his outstanding form finishing with a 16 point 13 rebound double double, Andre Gayle finished with 14 points 7 boards whilst dishing out 5 assists.

‘Every game is new territory for us’ said  head Coach Neal Hopkins ‘Derby played a great game today, Coach Shaw has them well organised, they are tough to break down. I think my guys did an outstanding job in adapting and seeing out the win – I have to give special praise for Trevor Samuel who really stepped up in the second half also Emmanuel Kabengele who is in great form, it feels good to be the first team to qualify for the elite 8’

Myerscough will now take a trip out to Luxembourg for an international tournament before facing the winner of SGS College and Oaklands College in the EABL’s Elite 8.

 

 

The full package?

In his first blog, Academy Head Coach Neal Hopkins explores the psychology behind sporting performance and emphasises the importance of accountability in the development of young players

Part 1

I have recently been asked a question that really got me thinking, a young player asked me "what do you look for in a great junior basketball player?" My response "that's a great question" to be honest at the time it was very difficult to give that player a pure answer (if there is one).

I think coaches spend a lot of time (I know I do) considering what it is that makes a player special, of course our job is then to apply that philosophy. The idea behind my series of blogs is to look at what could be required to make 'the full package' or as the question went 'a great junior basketball player' 

As an individual there is usually one quest 'self-actualisation' this in simple terms would be someone who is fully using their potential, they have self-fulfilment. So here is the conundrum; how do we as coaches get our players to this? Does self-actualisation mean that a player can be great? Those are questions to provoke thought for you and for me to think about (probably for a long time) I also feel that the word potential is very vague - It was actually a recent AASE induction I went to that made me think about this, as pointed out then and with reference to Newton’s laws, converting potential (which is something that is static) into kinetic energy (something that is moving) is without doubt part of the coaching/teaching process but I guess we can't really refer to a player as having 'kinetic energy'. I haven't really considered the word 'potential' in the same light since, I feel it's redundant as why would you want your player to be static with their development? We want them to be moving. I guess you could say potential must be justified...  

The concept of 'self-actualisation' is very holistic and there have been a number of theory's behind it, probably most notable would be Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. The hierarchy of needs is what is says on the tin and probably best explained through the diagram below.

 In simple terms to have fulfilment you must build the pyramid. So it's at this point that I go back the initial question 'what makes a great junior player' well... In my eyes you could very easily map what you as a coach, player even a bystander believe are the make-up of a great player against Maslow’s Hierarchy. We take the base of the pyramid, the physiological components and add physical attributes; speed, strength, endurance etc. - the rest of the segments I'll leave with you at this time - that's definitely for another blog... In this instance I want to focus specifically on a word that I think is truly important to being successful (or not) and with reference to the hierarchy, I would run this word up and down the whole thing, that word being accountable.

I think this is a word that is really misplaced, maybe even forgotten by some. In an ever evolving world and with such emphasis on generational change I just think that a large number of junior players, even just young people have lost sight of what it means to be accountable; in context - I recently spoke with a college coach in America, we had a great discussion about recruitment, and the main part of that conversation was around the use of social media (Twitter, Facebook) in short and as discussed; it is so easy to find out all is needed to know about a person from their social media outlet, let's face it - it's a platform for expression. Now I have no problem with that, however it's very obvious and well documented that some express themselves in ways that are deemed un-ethical or incorrect; this brings me back to the word accountable. I believe that it is a responsibility of an educator (to state the obvious) which as coaches we are, to help young players understand that their inner voice is their inner voice for a reason and that there are extremely good methods to help improve those thoughts. I understand that social norms are not for all but when a split second decision (to make these thoughts public) could hinder the 'kinetic energy' or progress of individual, preventative measures should be taken. I think being consciously accountable is a skill that should be taught early and it is most definitely something we should encourage – I have found one of the most productive ways to do this is to goal set; this way players can monitor their performances on and off the court and hold themselves accountable to their goals; it's simple but affective but don't get me wrong, to get a teenager to buy into that process is not easy. 

So to answer the question, what makes a great junior player? First up you must be accountable, accountable to all the areas that are needed to reach self-fulfilment..

Watch out for Neal's next blog ( Part 2 of 'The full package' ),  due to be published in the coming weeks