Mid season state of the union for girls basketball

[Filmore00]

Attended the Conrad vs Caravel game yesterday. I sat in Caravel’s section and had there fans whining and complaining from the tap. Nothing new with Caravel. They have to qualify as the biggest complainers when there team is losing again from what I’ve experienced. Constantly yelling at the refs the entire game. Caravel players hand checked almost every possession and reached every time a Conrad player attacked the basket. Conrad should of shot another 10-15 foul shots. There man to man defense needs a lot of work.

Conrad is the real deal and I’m not sure we’ve seen there best basketball yet. I still feel they are capable of playing even better then they have thus far and that is scary.

Saw Sanford on Monday vs St. Thomas and they won with ease. Sanford is talented and as I’ve stated before they will be there in the end depending on the seeding.?They had there way with St. Thomas due in part to there bad defense. Left Sanford’s shooters wide open and made absolutely no adjustments. Was thinking with St. Thomas’s athleticism that’d be able to fair better but not the case.

CR should get rid of Bill Victory. This guy has lost his mind. I’ve seen four of CR’s games this year and he has made all the wrong moves in each game. Saw them lose to Cape on Tuesday and it was all his fault again. He has talent and if they had the right coach they could compete and beat the St. E’s and Ursuline’s of the state this season.

Ursuline continues to struggle and Connolly has been less impressive each time I’ve seen her. She needs all those other Division 1 players she has had over the previous four years as her support system to succeed it seems. She can’t be the main player to lead them, at least not yet or from what I’ve witnessed . It looks like she is disinterested and has no patience with her young teammates.

St. E’s needs more fire power. Mayo needs to get others involved vs the better teams and there schedule is just so weak.

 

[MightyMik]

Ste beat average UA team. Can’t believe they have dropped so far this year.

 

[GateKeeperRefugee]

Conrad is dangerous and exciting as hell. Love how the Kulesza sisters play and how Faville and Rook fill their roles. Ny Whittlesey has improved and progressed so much. Wouldn't surprise me if they won this state championship AND the next 3.

 

[big-picture]

UA will be back once Liv and Kay hit the court.. I watched the Conrad game and they are legit, Caravel wasn't over the UA win ,so they will bounce back, Sanford is still hungry, wish Kendra would have stayed.Delaware girls basketball is nice.

 

[TeamTom5655]

Good summary of all 5 teams. I concur on your evaluations. UA looked really bad against St. E's. Connolly tried to do it all herself and just can't. St. E's did get some decent shooting from the other players, especially, Henry. 1st time I've seen her do anything and it was against a scrappy UA. This may well come down to a 2-team season: Conrad and Sanford. Caravel may be a semi-close 3rd, but I don't see the others giving a of these 3 a battle.

 

[MightyMik]

Ste upset by Howard tonight by 1. Wow

 

[GateKeeperRefugee]

Literally might be the biggest upset of the season on either girls' or boys' side. St. E's needs better bench play or they're in trouble. Big momentum boost for Curtis Clack and his Lady Wildcats heading into Thursday's Flight B championship game with Dickinson - YES, Dickinson.

 

[Filmore00]

Solid win for Howard but not surprised. St. E’s beat a below average Ursuline team & has played one of the 4/5 weakest schedules. St. E’s, Dickinson, Hodgson, St. Thomas, & Sussex Tech play unbelievablely WEAK schedules. Don’t be surprised if they get beat by a team you don’t expect due to there weak schedules just like what happened with St. E’s tonight. Dickinson is not good at all. The one kid takes 30-40 shots a game & that is no exaggeration. Just ridiculous, basketball is a team sport & the coach needs to do a better job of teaching the game at Dickinson.

 

[TeamTom5655]

This season is taking form to be one of the weakest tournament fields of all time. We have 2 strong teams, a good 3rd team, and that's it. After Sanford, Conrad, Caravel, its worse than watching boys JV B-ball, which is better. The shooting is awful and most of the teams rely on one player. Come tournament time I'll only go to the semi's and finals. Its not the money, its my time that is more valuable. Very disappointing.

BTW, did not go to the St. E's/Howard game as I thought St. E's would have won by 20. I didn't miss a good game, I missed a P_ _ _ poor game. I heard many complaints about the officiating, but how do you officiate a game like this? When play is so bad, its hard to get in a rhythm and make the calls appropriate for that game. Hoping for a charge out of the top 8 teams to make it somewhat good.

 

[MightyMik]

I was at the game and it was a terrible basketball game on both sides. Turn over after turn over. Missed shots after missed shots. You can really see the IQ of girls basketball dropping amongst the teams and many simply don't understand the game. Who is chucking up three's when you are winning and other team is in a zone????? Who throws cross court passes when the team is pressing each player.

Frustrating to say the least. I will tell you I would love to coach those two big girls for Howard. The one lefty has a ton of potential.

 

[GateKeeperRefugee]

Howard could be really good next year with the younger players getting this experience and only losing one senior, although an important one - starting center Kayla Rouse. Ronnasia Blatch-Huggins has scholarship level talent and the guards (Hollis and Wright) give Hodgson's duo a run for their money.

 

[Sports_Fan72]

Is the decline in basketball IQ due the lack of quality coaches?

 

[Nightrain44]

Is the decline in basketball IQ due the lack of quality coaches?

Coaching has A LOT to do with it IMO. From what I’ve seen thus far this year, there’s enough talent in DE to have more competitive teams than what’s being shown. Too many players are allowed to focus on scoring and less coaching attention to strong defense (where it starts), importance of quick cuts & ball movement (team ball), boxing out (too many just stare up in the air and not only that but also get stuck too far under the basket), etc. Don’t want to sound basic but it’s about the basics leading to developing higher IQs for the game. Now when I say coaching, this is not just the head coach but good assistants are vital to the overall team growth.

 

[TeamTom5655]

Is the decline in basketball IQ due the lack of quality coaches?

Some of it is coaching, but each player has to put more into the game than the practices and the games. Just like other subjects in class, there is homework and out of class studying. I'll bet if a survey were taken amongst high school girls playing basketball, less than 10% watch basketball on TV. Watching the college games and listening to the coaches, players, and analysts would greatly improve the basketball IQ. MightMik brought up a great point in that when a team is up by 10 in the 4th quarter, to watch them kick up challenged 3's or to go to the hoop 1 on 3 is so ridiculous it makes you question do these kids and their coaches know anything about the game.

Watch a John Noonan team or a John Kulesza team, talent aside, they are fundamentally sound. They know how to play.

 

[TeamTom5655]

St. E's visiting Sussex Central was just a weird game to watch. At one point in the 3rd quarter St. E's was up 19. I couldn't tell you how. To that point they had hit 2 jump shots outside of 10 feet, maybe a 10% shooting avg. All their points came on fast breaks and put backs. Lexi Lee scoring 28, but I didn't notice that as most came from offensive rebounds on bad shots.

With St. E's having a 19 point lead to start the 4th quarter they continued to press. First, I question the sportsmanship, then the rationale. They became tired on defense and on offense continued to jack-up poor shots. Sussex Central kicked it in gear and outran St. E's for the next 8 minutes. They came within 4 but just couldn't get over the hump. St. E's won by six. Exciting finish, but sitting back and looking at it, St. E's should have won by 20. Up by 19 hey could have played zone defense or lane tight man-to-man defense. On offense they could have moved themselves and the ball and looked for layups. If I'm the AD I'm questioning why my coaching staff and players do not know how to hold onto a lead. My respect for this team has diminished.

 

[Nightrain44]

St. E's visiting Sussex Central was just a weird game to watch. At one point in the 3rd quarter St. E's was up 19. I couldn't tell you how. To that point they had hit 2 jump shots outside of 10 feet, maybe a 10% shooting avg. All their points came on fast breaks and put backs. Lexi Lee scoring 28, but I didn't notice that as most came from offensive rebounds on bad shots.

With St. E's having a 19 point lead to start the 4th quarter they continued to press. First, I question the sportsmanship, then the rationale. They became tired on defense and on offense continued to jack-up poor shots. Sussex Central kicked it in gear and outran St. E's for the next 8 minutes. They came within 4 but just couldn't get over the hump. St. E's won by six. Exciting finish, but sitting back and looking at it, St. E's should have won by 20. Up by 19 hey could have played zone defense or lane tight man-to-man defense. On offense they could have moved themselves and the ball and looked for layups. If I'm the AD I'm questioning why my coaching staff and players do not know how to hold onto a lead. My respect for this team has diminished.

Shoot I’m a Sixers fan obviously and being a professional team they can’t hold a lead either. Some blame Coach Brown and others blame it on lack of personnel, leadership and experience.

But to your point I agree that young players don’t get the importance of watching film of themselves and other players play which gives you a totally different perspective of the game. Workouts outside of practice are another thing that separates where players are and where they end up from a development standpoint. It comes down to how bad do you want it and the time commitment...both players and coaches! I’ve seen teams with “average” players and good coaching at all levels consistently be competitive against the best of them. The “eye test” don’t lie IMO. These teams do stand out and overall get the recognition from year to year. Unfortunately there are way more of them in surrounding states than in our own at this point yet hope this can change.

 

[MightyMik]

St. E's visiting Sussex Central was just a weird game to watch. At one point in the 3rd quarter St. E's was up 19. I couldn't tell you how. To that point they had hit 2 jump shots outside of 10 feet, maybe a 10% shooting avg. All their points came on fast breaks and put backs. Lexi Lee scoring 28, but I didn't notice that as most came from offensive rebounds on bad shots.

With St. E's having a 19 point lead to start the 4th quarter they continued to press. First, I question the sportsmanship, then the rationale. They became tired on defense and on offense continued to jack-up poor shots. Sussex Central kicked it in gear and outran St. E's for the next 8 minutes. They came within 4 but just couldn't get over the hump. St. E's won by six. Exciting finish, but sitting back and looking at it, St. E's should have won by 20. Up by 19 hey could have played zone defense or lane tight man-to-man defense. On offense they could have moved themselves and the ball and looked for layups. If I'm the AD I'm questioning why my coaching staff and players do not know how to hold onto a lead. My respect for this team has diminished.

Definitely don't press when you up by 19 and I totally agree they could have won by more had they played zone or just even man to man half court defense. The art of moving the ball around seems to have disappeared in DE hoops. Especially when there are leads in games. Its like get rid of the ball as fast as you can and that usually allows teams to come back in it.

I was told a long time ago, "If you have the ball they can't score"

 

[GateKeeperRefugee]

That's probably why they lost to Howard, not enough stall ball. Until Delaware installs a shot clock, teams might as well take advantage of it.

 

[TeamTom5655]

That's probably why they lost to Howard, not enough stall ball. Until Delaware installs a shot clock, teams might as well take advantage of it.

Agreed. Even with a shot clock, in the current women's game in Delaware HS, if the offense runs their plays through a couple of times, the defense typically gets bored and lazy, and a layup opens up. I've seen Ursuline do this for many years. Running the play through several times is a good way to hold the ball while winning.

 

[Nightrain44]

Agreed. Even with a shot clock, in the current women's game in Delaware HS, if the offense runs their plays through a couple of times, the defense typically gets bored and lazy, and a layup opens up. I've seen Ursuline do this for many years. Running the play through several times is a good way to hold the ball while winning.

Great point because I’m not the biggest fan of running 4 corners as a stall ball tactic. I feel many teams panic from the pressure and end up over dribbling or make errant passes. Like you mentioned I’d rather run a continuity offense and wait for a defensive breakdown unless I have strong ball handling guards.

 

[MightyMik]

Completely agree. Run an offense and the time and shots will be there. Run and gun is effective don’t get me wrong but it also has a time and place.

 

[DEGirlsBballFan]

Attended the Conrad vs Caravel game yesterday. I sat in Caravel’s section and had there fans whining and complaining from the tap. Nothing new with Caravel. They have to qualify as the biggest complainers when there team is losing again from what I’ve experienced. Constantly yelling at the refs the entire game. Caravel players hand checked almost every possession and reached every time a Conrad player attacked the basket. Conrad should of shot another 10-15 foul shots. There man to man defense needs a lot of work.

Conrad is the real deal and I’m not sure we’ve seen there best basketball yet. I still feel they are capable of playing even better then they have thus far and that is scary.

Saw Sanford on Monday vs St. Thomas and they won with ease. Sanford is talented and as I’ve stated before they will be there in the end depending on the seeding.?They had there way with St. Thomas due in part to there bad defense. Left Sanford’s shooters wide open and made absolutely no adjustments. Was thinking with St. Thomas’s athleticism that’d be able to fair better but not the case.

CR should get rid of Bill Victory. This guy has lost his mind. I’ve seen four of CR’s games this year and he has made all the wrong moves in each game. Saw them lose to Cape on Tuesday and it was all his fault again. He has talent and if they had the right coach they could compete and beat the St. E’s and Ursuline’s of the state this season.

Ursuline continues to struggle and Connolly has been less impressive each time I’ve seen her. She needs all those other Division 1 players she has had over the previous four years as her support system to succeed it seems. She can’t be the main player to lead them, at least not yet or from what I’ve witnessed . It looks like she is disinterested and has no patience with her young teammates.

St. E’s needs more fire power. Mayo needs to get others involved vs the better teams and there schedule is just so weak.

How bias are you???Must not attend many basketball games because this is wide spread amongst all schools not just Caravel. I have witnessed it plenty of times. Not sure what section was "Caravels section" as I was at the game too and it seemed like they were all mixed in. But I did witness Conrad parents yelling profanity at the Caravel players and giving them the finger. That is sure a class act there, but no one seemed to witness that or addressed that behavior by Conrad.

 

[MightyMik]

I have heard that the Conrad fans are getting a bit out of hand lately. Since they are fairly new to the game there students don’t act like they been there before.

 

[Filmore00]

Just calling it like I see it and hear it. Bottom line is that we have adults from many schools that don’t know how to act and behave & those in charge need to step up and take action so it’s doesn’t continue. I did hear Caravel’s coach say a Conrad fan gave there bench the middle finger. I sat up behind Caravel’s bench that night and there fans whined the entire game. With a lot of inappropriate comments being yelled out at the officials- some profanity. I was also at Caravel vs St. Marks boys game & the Caravel fans again were out of control. Just letting you know what I witnessed first hand. Not trying to take sides But obviously some of you got you backs up.

 

[GateKeeperRefugee]

I have heard that the Conrad fans are getting a bit out of hand lately. Since they are fairly new to the game there students don’t act like they been there before.

I will say in my experience, Conrad fans regardless of sport can be a bit out of pocket. God forbid they actually get good at football or boys hoops...

 

[MightyMik]

Agree with Filmore, fans need to chill and school admins need to step up and tell them to knock it off or leave.

 

[DEGirlsBballFan]

Just calling it like I see it and hear it. Bottom line is that we have adults from many schools that don’t know how to act and behave & those in charge need to step up and take action so it’s doesn’t continue. I did hear Caravel’s coach say a Conrad fan gave there bench the middle finger. I sat up behind Caravel’s bench that night and there fans whined the entire game. With a lot of inappropriate comments being yelled out at the officials- some profanity. I was also at Caravel vs St. Marks boys game & the Caravel fans again were out of control. Just letting you know what I witnessed first hand. Not trying to take sides But obviously some of you got you backs up.

Exactly bottom line is.... it is at ALL schools but you continuously call out Caravel- so I am calling it like I see it. You must have something against Caravel- which is fine that is your opinion and you are entitled to it, but like you said it is all schools and fans. You must have tunnel vision/hearing. I was once a parent of high school athlete and I know as a parent I have gotten upset, it is easily done. Is it right- no, but I am not perfect and neither are all the other parents/fans of players. Maybe you don't have children in sports or you are perfect. But like you said there are adults from many schools. I have never seen a Caravel fan yelling profanity and giving kids the finger. But you heard that but failed comment/post about it.

 

[debbie53]

Exactly bottom line is.... it is at ALL schools but you continuously call out Caravel- so I am calling it like I see it. You must have something against Caravel- which is fine that is your opinion and you are entitled to it, but like you said it is all schools and fans. You must have tunnel vision/hearing. I was once a parent of high school athlete and I know as a parent I have gotten upset, it is easily done. Is it right- no, but I am not perfect and neither are all the other parents/fans of players. Maybe you don't have children in sports or you are perfect. But like you said there are adults from many schools. I have never seen a Caravel fan yelling profanity and giving kids the finger. But you heard that but failed comment/post about it.

 

[debbie53]

A number of schools have loud and uncontrollable fans, but not ALL. We need to address how to curtail this totally unacceptable behavior.

 

[DEGirlsBballFan]

You are correct- not ALL but the majority do and most have had a loud fan at some point. It is most likely not going to stop, we live in a country where there is freedom of speech.