It’s homework on the hardwood
Winning takes a back seat to players showing improvement on the court for coaches at this point so early in the high school basketball season.
John DiPasquale’s Blessed Trinity Thunder, the second seed at the Standard Tournament taking place in St. Catharines this week, improved to 2-0 at the showcase and to 7-1 overall with a victory over the E.L. Crossley in a quarter-final on the championship side of the bracket.
You wouldn’t know it from looking at the coach’s face.
“I’ve been happy probably zero times,” he said. “I prefer them playing properly than winning. Honestly, I really do.
“The performance has to be there.”
He found the performance versus Crossley in the team’s first must-win game of the tournament lacking.
“We’ve played better, I think the kids were a bit jittery,” DiPasquale said. “They did show some character.
“Crossley, full credit to them, they fought, fought, fought, but we have to fight for every square inch of wood on this floor.”
Like all teams hoping to make
a deep run come playoff team heading into the Ontario high school championships in late November, the Thunder are a work in progress.
“I’ve got a nice group of seniors who have been together for a bit, but with a nice sprinkling of younger players,” DiPasquale said. “We still have to gel — it’s still early in the season — but I think once we get our chemistry together, we’re going to be something.”
A big part of coming together are such pressure-packed competitions as the Standard Tournament in St. Catharines and the Tribune Tournament next week in Welland.
“What this tournament gives us is, first of all, a chance to be together every night if we’re fortunate enough for four days,” DiPasquale said. “It also gives us a chance to play in front of a crowd and feel a bit of the pressure.
“It’s a loud gym, it’s something these guys have to get used to.”
Head coach Aaron Belding hopes Crossley’s takeaway from the Standard Tournament is “being able to play with the speed and make the better passes.”
“Getting the outlet pass up the floor instead of walking the ball up,” he said. “I thought we walked the ball up the floor way too much.”
Belding suggested that being fast while being deliberate with the ball aren’t mutually exclusive.
“It’s just getting that game intensity at our practices to be able to have it translate into our game-day play.”
A 40-33 loss to the Denis Morris Reds in a semifinal Thursday at Governor Simcoe knocked the Jean Vanier Lynx from contention for the B title.
Like the Cyclone, the Lynx hope they learned something they can put to good use going forward. In their case, it’s that their offence cannot be limited to Corryn Parker and Isabel Sinclair, their two players with travel ball experience.
Against Denis Morris some Vanier players were left “completely wide open.”
“Basically, they we’re saying, ‘We’re not even going to guard you,’” assistant coach Tricia Poulin said. “Our girls had to learn that, ‘Wait a second, I can take a shot right now.’
“And they weren’t, they were playing a little bit scared, so we’re hoping that we can build some confidence in them.”
The Saint Paul Patriots, who dethroned the reigning consolation champion Grimsby Eagles 40-33 in the other semifinal, will play Denis Morris in the B final 6 p.m. today at Simcoe.
Tipping off at 7:30 p.m., also at Simcoe, is the gold medal game between the Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs and the winner of Thursday night’s late game between Eden Flyers and the defending champion A.N. Myer Marauders.