Hardwood Classic

Yesterday, for J.P., was a day to remember on the hardwood.  He had a doubleheader at Legends Courts in Franklin, playing for my friend, Chris Taylor.  Chris and Russ Allen have coached our boys forever, it seems, or at least as long as I've been coaching them in baseball.   

We weren't sure if WNSL was going to be able to have basketball due to the pandemic and a shortage of available school and church gyms.  Luckily, with pretty strict protocols in place - i.e. one parent per game, no siblings, etc. - the boys have been able to play basketball, which has been great. 

J.P. also has been playing on a 6th grade team in the Flight League at Brentwood Academy for my friend, Isaac Connor.  Isaac played basketball in college, at University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, and was the real deal.  I've coached his boys, Cyrus and Elias, in baseball for years, so it was great for J.P. to hook up with Isaac's team.  He's benefitted from the extra court time in practices and games.  

Isaac and his brother, Chris, are tough on the boys, but in a positive way.  They work them, really work them, in practice, and J.P. needs that.  Sometimes, he tends to coast in games and not make impactful plays.  Isaac sees that gets on him about it.  I want my boys coached hard and it's been good to watch J.P. work hard and respond positively to a different coaching style that he's used to seeing.  

It's also been good for J.P. to get out of his comfort zone and play with boys he doesn't know well and to assume a different role on the team.  On Isaac's team, J.P. is one of the older boys and one of the taller boys.  He needs to lead, and he has.  He needs to look to score and he's done that, too.

I've been waiting for the hard work, practice, and ability to score the basketball on Isaac's team to translate  to Chris Taylor's team.  Yesterday, it did, as J.P scored 18 points in the first game and 14 points in the second game.  

Cooper was out, so J.P. played point guard most of the first game and part of the second game.  He was extremely aggressive with the basketball - which I loved - driving to the basket again and again.  He refused to settle for mid-range jumpers.  He was fouled several times as he drove to the rim and he knocked down free throws all day long.  

In the first game, he probably hit 7 or 8 out of 9 and, actually, had two makes on the front end of one-and-ones nullified when his own teammates (Wes and Cullen) stepped into the lane two soon.  I've never seen him look so confident at the line nor have I seen him shoot it so well from the line.  The second game was more of the same.  He was, probably, 6 of 7 from the line.  

J.P. passed the ball well, too, and was more vocal on the court, communicating with his teammates.  That's been something I've emphasized with him this season.  He's naturally quiet and leads by example but he's stepped on and taken on a more vocal role on both teams.  We've talked a lot about the importance of on court communication with your teammates, on offense and defense, and he's responded.  

The boys lost the first game, handily, to a team that had 8th graders on it, but they didn't play scared.  That was good to see.  The second game was a good one.  Although they lost by 3 or 4 in the end, they played well.  They competed.  J.P. competed.  

That's all I want, really, is for J.P. to compete.  In basketball and in life.  

Yesterday, he did.