2-1 in the Past 3 Games

Since my last post we have played 3 games. Our first game was against Rishon Lezion. This is a veteran team in our league with proven players. They are also slightly aged so it was a team we could exploit on the break. We built up a decent lead going into the half and continued to hold the lead throughout the game. We ended up winning by about 10 points. Not too much suspense in this game. Just a solid win where we held a lead until the end. Up next was Galil. This team is very different from Rishon. They are all young, athletic, and can shoot the 3 ball. This is one of the teams we had beaten twice in the preseason. I think we may have gone into this game with a little bit of overconfidence. The game started out horrible for us and they seemed to be on fire while we were stumbling on offense. They built up a 14 point halftime lead and didn't stop in the 3rd quarter. The lead was built up to about 30 midway through the 4th quarter. One of their guards (Jeremy Pargo, Gonzaga) was unstoppable from long distance and taking the ball to the rim. Just a horrible game for us that we would like to forget. The team did not come to play and everything seemed to go wrong. We ended up losing by 35.. embarrassing. Finally our last game was against Holon. This is a team with some veterans and some young athletic players. It was our first time seeing them this year but it was a game we knew we had to win. We went into the half down by 5 points but responded big in the 3rd quarter by going on a huge run. We pushed the lead to about 18 points in the 4th quarter. However, they ended up chipping away at the lead late to scare us. They cut the lead to 2 points before we sealed the game and ended up winning by 7 points. I started all 3 of these games and got significant minutes except for in the Galil loss. My breakout game came against Holon where I had 18 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks and was named the game MVP by the media. It felt good to go out there and play well finally. It had been so frustrating not playing to my ability up to this point. I hope the trend will continue next week against Bnei HaSharon. This is a good team that we should be competing for playoff position with. A very important game that we need to win..

preseason and our first game

In the past month and a half we have played a number of preseason games. We had a pretty good record with around 6 wins and 2 losses. A lot of the teams do not have their full rosters yet so these games pretty much mean nothing. It is hard to judge how we stack up against the real teams because we were playing their unfilled rosters. Anyways, it was still good to show promise and win the games whenever they came up. The coach started me in probably over half the games this preseason which is a big jump from no games last year. I played some good minutes and am starting to get more comfortable on the floor as the minutes come. I think that is what I was missing last year. Practice gives experience but nowhere near as good as game experience.

Well on to our first game.. We started the season where we ended it last year.. playing Maccabi Tel Aviv. We still had a bad taste in our mouth for losing the championship game to them when we had the game in our pockets. To add to this, they stole our league MVP guard Doron Perkins. The fans are pretty upset that he went to our rival but he was doing was made him happy so I can't really be mad at him. Anyways, the game started kind of rough for us and Tel Aviv took the early lead and held it around 8 points for most of the first half. I played maybe 2 mins in the first half as one of our players got in foul trouble. We were down 11 at the break and the coach told me I was going to start the second half. I was excited because it was such a big game and I could show the coach he could put me on the floor in that kind of situation. I ended up playing the majority of the time in the second half. We ended up cutting the lead to 4 before they hit a few shots down the stretch to seal the victory. We had a great crowd at the game and the fans were not happy to see us lose the the hated rival. Our team still has a lot to work on to get where we need to be. Our offense is not clicking the way it needs to be but that comes with time as we learn how to play with each other. Our next game is against Rishon LeZion. A tough team with veteran players but if all goes well we should be able to pull it out. We'll see how it goes..

A New Season

I have been in Israel for about 2 weeks now and everything seems to be going smooth. I've got a new apartment (newer and nicer location) and an upgraded car. This year seems to be easier for a number of reasons. Management has been punctual on getting things done, I already know people/area and the basketball aspect seems to be coming easier with a year under my belt. The game seems to have slowed down from last year. This is mainly due to playing over here for a season last year along with some good work put in this summer back home. I feel like I have grown both physically and mentally. As for the team.. I believe we will be a powerful and athletic team. Our american players this year are younger than last year. We have gained Jesse Pellot-Rosa (VCU 07'), Jason Rich (Fl. State 08') and Jeremy Tyler (high school 10'). With all of the young legs we should be a team that is capable of getting up and down the floor with ease. I also think the ages will help with team chemistry. We will be able to understand each other better off the court as well as on because we are all similar ages. All the pieces for a successful season are here. We did lose our MVP point guard from last year but hopefully the new arrivals will be enough to make up for that loss.

On a side note- My birthday is coming up in a couple of days. I'm not sure what to do yet but hopefully we will do something fun in either Haifa or Tel Aviv. This will be the second year I am away from the states for my birthday but its something I will have to get used to. It feels good to be back and I am excited about the upcoming season.

Final 4

After a long and tough season so far..  we have made it to the Final 4!  A very big deal in Israel.  We had our first round series against Bnei Hasharon.  This is a team that had given us trouble all year.  In fact, they had beaten us 3 straight times before we got our first win against them.  We started off the series 0-1 and it was not looking good for us.  The team's moral was down and it seemed like our season was going to be over.  However, our team stuck together and played well to win the next 3 games straight to take the series.  The first win was tough and it came down the the last seconds.  We had the ball with 12 seconds and a tie ball game.  They fouled us intentionally to send us to the line (this is not a coaching theory I believe in) so they could have the last shot.  I believe a team should trust their defense and play for overtime in that situation.  However, they ended up handing us the game.  We made both free throws.  When they got the ball back we fouled one of their bad free throw shooters instead of letting them shoot (again I don't really agree with this because we could have been handing the game back to them) ..  they missed both. We got the rebound.. they fouled again and we made both the make it a 4 point game and seal it.  The next 2 games were easier for us.  Both of them double digit wins.  Now we're off to the Final 4 to play Jerusalem.  

Off the court a few of the guys from the team and myself were on a TV show in Israel.  The station is the Israeli equivalent of ESPN.  They featured a player (Malik Dixon) to cook a meal and have some teammates over.  They brought the food and showed him how to prepare it but made it look like Malik was doing all the work.  It was fun because we did some funny acting for the program.  On a side note... Im super excited about coming home around next weekend!!

More winning..

Our team has been playing much better the past 3 games.  We beat Givat Shmuel first by about 8 points.  A tough game with back and forth play but it seemed we were in control for most of the game.  Next, we played Ashkelon.  This is a team that is dangerous because of a couple new signings.  This game was also very close but we pulled away in the last few minutes to get the victory by 7 points.  Our most recent game was against Maccabi Tel Aviv.  This is the giant in our league headlined by former NBA players.  Carlos Arroyo, Dee Brown, and some Israeli players that have been and will be drafted play for them.  It was a packed arena with every seat in the house sold.  Our owner and the vice president flew to Israel just to watch the game and be in the atmosphere.  We started off great going punch for punch with them throughout the 1st half.  They went into the locker room with a 5 point lead.  At the beginning of the 3rd quarter, we came out fighting and made the game close to even going into the 4th quarter.  After some good free throw shooting at the end we came away with a 3 point victory.  Our fans were loving it!  They hate Tel Aviv with a passion so it was a huge win to beat such a fierce rival.  We have one game left in the regular season now and should be set for 3rd place in the playoffs.  I'm very excited about this part of the season..  

League win..

This week's game was an important game for us to win.  We had lost 3 straight and were in jeopardy of losing our 3rd ranking in the league.  Our challenge was Kirat Ata.  This is a team at the bottom of the league but have signed some new players and were playing with confidence.  The game started fast with both teams scoring a lot of points.  The pace never really seemed to slow down and we finally built up a larger lead in the second half.  We ended up winning by about 15 points for our first victory in a number or weeks.  It felt good to get back on the winning track.  The coach played me a little in the first half and a little in the second.  I finished with 3 rebounds and 0-1 from the floor in 6 minutes.  Not a whole lot of minutes but it feels good to get on the court and play.  We now ONLY have a month in the regular season before playoffs start.  We need to keep the positive energy up and finish strong.  

Guilford College (my boys/old school) completed a great season by getting to the Div-III Final 4 before losing to the repeat champions Washington University.  Congratulations on a great season guys!  

Sliding a little..

Since our run in the cup, the regular season schedule has not been kind to us.  Our first game after the cup was against Holon (the team we lost to in the final).  We were already very familiar with them and had just scouted the team a few days before.  This made us very prepared for the game and we went to their house and got the win.  It seemed like all was well and we were sitting very with a very comfortable lead on all of the teams below us.  After this game, our coaches decided to sign two new guards and cut one of our other guards.  This seemed like a good move at the time but it may have disrupted some of the team chemistry.  Since the acquisition of the new guys, our team has gone on a 3 game losing skid with the last two coming in very ugly games for us.  The reasons for us losing the games is not the new players.  It's hard to put a finger on what exactly the reason is but it seems like our team lost a bit of motivation.  We are now in a 3 way tie for 3rd place and a game ahead of a couple of other teams right below us.  We are still looking to make the playoffs but are not playing the way we would like to.  Some things have to change around the team if we want to have a successful season.  As for my neck.. it is starting to feel better and I have been practicing full and have just got back to lifting weights again.  This brings my spirits up.  I was feeling a little down after a few weeks of constant neck pain with seemingly no end in sight.   

I would also like to send a shout out to my former college team, Guilford.  They are in the Div-III Final 4!  Nobody expected them to be in this spot but it just shows you what can be accomplished when a team comes together and works for a common goal.  Maybe our team will turn it around and make a run like the Quakers.  Good luck to you guys this weekend.