The Ultimate Glue Guy

I'm struggling to find the right words to aptly describe how proud I am of Joe this morning, as a competitor, as an athlete, as a teammate, as a friend, and as a leader.  He was all of those things last night, and more, as USN's 6th grade basketball team ran their unbeaten streak to three games by defeating Harding Academy, 37-29.

The game was big - no, huge - for Joe because so many of his friends play for Harding, including his best friend, Pike.  Rex, Nash, Austin, Cullen, Cole.  All boys Joe with whom Joe has played basketball (and soccer, too) for years on the Bucket Squad.  He had been thinking about this game since USN's soccer season ended and basketball began.  He talked about it all week long, even as USN's boys handily defeated Davidson Academy and Donelson Christian in away games I missed due to work.

Thursday night, before bed, Joe told me he was thinking about running through Cole, Pike, or Nash at the beginning of the game to set the tone for the game, much like when Kobe leveled Paul Gasol as he ran through a screen in the 2008 Olympics, USA vs. Spain.  I smiled at first, then realized Joe was dead serious about it.  That's how much the USN - Harding basketball game meant to him.

I drove Joe to school Friday morning, in part so I could talk to him about the game.  I told him not to run through anybody or try to put anyone on the ground, not unless he was taking a clean, hard foul to prevent a layup.  I encouraged him to play his game, to play loose and free.  I didn't want him to be too keyed up or too tight because he was playing against his friends.  

My thought, too, was that Harding would beat USN because they're a deeper team with more basketball talent.  What I didn't realize, though - or maybe it's just something I forgot - is that with Joe, Sawyer, and Bennet, USN is a tougher, more competitive basketball team.  That's a fact.  No bickering among players.  Sharing of the basketball.  Balanced scoring.  Team basketball.

Of course, Joe came out tight after all.  He missed his first three or four shots badly, particularly a couple of 3-pointers that came up way short.  Here's what Joe did do, though.  He played great defense, all game long.  He hopped in passing lanes and he prevented Pike from driving to the lane or getting open looks.  He shut off Nash's drives more than once.  He also inbounded the ball on every in bounds play for USN.  He initiated the offense, especially in the third and fourth quarters.  He made several nice passes for buckets.  He had a calming effect on the rest of the team.  He was the unquestioned team leader. 

Not the best player.  Not the most athletic player.  Not the biggest player.  Perhaps, though, the most important player on a team that needed him to lead them, and that's what he did.

He was the ultimate glue guy, which is who Joe is on the basketball court.  It's especially who he was in the biggest game he and his USN team probably will play this season.