bobcat4life

Let me go real slow for you bballgod, I am not BLAMING anyone, and in fact I am virtually certain, without having a clue who you are that I have worked with these kids WAY more than you have to help them get better. I am very supportive of both the coaching staff and the kids. However, I do believe they could be more aggressive, if that comment bothers you or in some way says I am not supportive then you might need to go and get the chip removed from your shoulder. I understand there are some good Dr.'s around to perform the function.

Don't get your panties in a knot, I didn't mean to say that as a negative. Dan Hooks gets the nod on lots of calls because of his reputation. That is ok, it is called respect and some coaches have been around long enough to earn it. I do think that a lot of the hand checking that went on didn't get called because of HJ's history and specifically Coach Sutherland. I don't care what level you are playing at, that happens. That is why the super stars in the NBA get away with murder. But, I think you would agree if you are content to pass the ball around the perimeter you probably aren't gonna get many calls.

bballgod what makes you think I was talking about the coaching staff? I wasn't, I give them credit for slowing the game down. Even though slowing the game down doesn't necessarily mean not taking advantage opportunities when you have them. I give them a ton of credit for going into the zone and throwing off HJ. I have always thought we should mix up our defenses to keep the offense off guard. It worked again when we switched back to man. Do you know how many times Jeremy Granger touched the ball in the last 3 minutes? 3 times at most, even though their big man had 4 fouls. Several times D. Evans could have scored layups if we looked up court. Instead of that, we looked away from the basket. Do you know the reason we only shot 10 free throws and they shot almost twice as many? Because we don't penetrate, they did. It is about confidence. The boys need a dose of it, because they are way better than they give theirselves credit for. Sounds like your a little sensitive to me.

No question the officiating was horrendous. Do I believe that Coach Sutherland gets the benefit of the doubt in certain situations? Yes, I do... do I believe that H-J held the advantage because of this, Yes again. However, OF missed a lot of free throws as well, even though they didn't have nearly as many opportunities as HJ. So to say officiating cost the game would be an overstatement. If OF would have been a little more aggressive when they ran their zone, it might have been a different story. If OF would have been more aggressive attacking the basket when HJ pressed, it might have been a different story. If OF would have went at the HJ big man when he had 4 fouls in the 4th, guess what??? Overview is that OF wasn't as aggressive as they should have been and it cost them. I will say this, if HJ comes close to smelling Austin this year it will be cuz they bought tickets for the tournament. By the same token, OF's program is coming along from top to bottom. Bottom line, Great game to watch!

Let me slow this down for you folks who like to read more into a post than is there. As was so aptly mentioned, this thread is about Larry Tidwell becoming the new Lamar coach. It is astonishing to me that individuals don't recognize that he is much more qualified than Coach A for that job. How you figure that makes me a "hater" is even more questionable. I have stated several times that I think Coach A is a very good HIGH SCHOOL COACH. The only reason for discussing the current group of seniors is to say, lets see what she does with much less talent before we crown her coach of the decade. And for those of you foolish enough to believe that I don't want OF to win don't know me at all. I have coached KK Little since she was 9 years old. I HOPE they go to state next year, and if they do I will be there cheering them on. At that point I would also be the first to jump up and say that Coach A made a significant difference in that team. But to put this in perspective, how would everyone around here feel if Lamar football comes back and they hire a local high school coach? People would freak and say that he wasn't the best candidate for the job. That is the whole issue here, nothing else. As someone mentioned, I am glad Tubbs did the hiring.

I have had the good fortune to coach the two Brittany's in AAU. Both want to win, and both want to be a part of the winning. If Lamar had recruited them wisely, I think they both might have considered going there. They barely talked to BJ and they didn't even bother contacting B. Scott. I will also say this, the AAU team I coached for several years had a blend of players from this area. All but 2 of them were from the Golden Triangle and 2 years ago we came in 3rd in the Addida's classic in Atlanta and 4th at the Nike Invite in Memphis. There were about 80 teams there and we played in the top division. Local players can definately compete at a National level. As far as the subjec to coaches at Lamar, I am totally confident that Lamar made the correct hire. Someone said that coach A "turned it around" at OF. The current group of seniors didn't lose a game in Jr. High, in fact, they AVERAGED winning 48-12. They won National's in Little Dribblers, (if you don't think that is a big deal, check out which schools win that, and then for the next several years see who is ranked in the top 10 in the state) and competed 10 months a year in AAU. Not only that, for several years surrounding that group, they either won district or came in second. I agree with whichever individual said that the coach gets way too much credit. I don't think Orebo is much of a coach, but I do think she had the sense to step down when the talent well dried up. Lets see how far Coach A takes OF next year. I will be willing to bet with anyone that wants they won't be at the regional tournament.

No, they can't be 17 before sept. 1st. Girls are Jan 1st, boys sept. i am double checking that to make sure, but I know this was the case last year.

I am planning on putting together a 16 and under boys AAU team. If you are interested in playing we will putting on tryouts soon. Send me a message if you would like. We will play predominently in the Houston area.

LOL, some of you people amaze me. If you think that is bashing, then you don't know what bashing is. First of all, I think Coach A is one of the top 2 or 3 HIGH SCHOOL coaches around here. She has done a fantastic job teaching them defense. Her work ethic is outstanding, and she wants to win as much or more than anyone. I wasn't and never intended for anyone to feel that I was bashing her personally. What I said was that she MIGHT not be the best person for the Lamar job, but.. if she was, then congratulations. Drake wasn't the best person for the job. The fact of the matter is that virtually no high school girls basketball coaches around here are worth a flip. Al Barber coached boys, not girls, in high school. Now as far as the kids that Coach T helped receive scholarships for, not all of them played, but had the opportunity; Becky Tennison, Cheryl Peveto, Tuki Evans, Gunstream, Una Fletcher, Coach A, Barbara Hickey, Miranda ? I know there were more, but I can't remember them all. As far as a "deep seated resentment" I harbor zero. I was just stating the facts as I saw them. As far as kids that could have played in college obviously you don't realize some of the people that get scholarships. There are 3 divisions of college. I don't think any of the kids in the previous few years could have played at a high level division one school. I do however feel that several could have played div. 2 or 3, including 3 off of this years team that were seniors if they had the initiative to do it. As far as burnout goes, I have had the opportunity over the last few years to coach B. Scott, B. James, J. Henderson, C. Pickering, C Wilson, M. Carmen. ALL of those kids have played basketball since an early age. Why aren't they burnt out? Also, ALL of those kids either are, or will play in div 1 schools. Oviously, there is a lot of talent in that group. The OF kids had exactly the same opportunity to play AAU on those teams, but didn't want to. One of the kids commented to me, "I haven't had fun playing basketball since before high school" now you tell me what is going on? The truth is that it is inherent in good coaches to motivate kids to get better.

First of all, some of you people should read what was said. If Lamar goes through all the proper steps to get the best coach they can, and it is coach a, then so be it. I have watched every girls game there for the past 5 years, so I am virtually certain I can give an educated opinion on this subject. I can speak for several that played for her, Almost all of them wanted to go on and play in college before they played for her, now none of them even want to discuss it, why is that oh wise one? Because none of them love the game anymore. If that makes me arrogant, then so be it. I hear people compare her to long time coach at OF bill T. He sent kids almost every year on to play in college. Most of them not nearly as talented as the group that has been there for the last several years. If you want to argue with the facts of my comments, feel free. But, if my stating an opinion that is differet from yours drives you to comment about arrogance at OF. Or my abilities as a coach then obviously, your opinion wont register as one that is worth commenting on.

What they should do is aggressively find the best qualified coach. There are a lot of good coaches that will want that job. I keep hearing noise about the current OF coach. Are you kidding? That would basically prove that they just wanna fill a spot with a warm body, not go after the best coach available. I think she would be an upgrade from what was there, but to say she is the best out there would not be close to the case. Sure she won a lot of games at OF but anyone else would have won with the kids they have had the previous 4 years. Look at what OF did in close games. Not very well, including the last game of this season. The girls and the college deserves the very best they can get. If at the end of the day, a HS coach is it, then so be it.

I have been watching coach A coach since she got to OF. I have also seen the previous coach at Lamar. She would be a huge upgrade over him on any level. Is she the very best coach that could come to Lamar and get the program where they need to be? Who knows, but I do know that she would definately recruit hard in our area, and not just write players off because they want to go somewhere else. She has grown as a coach in the last 5 years, and she has a lot of recruiting experience from her days at TCU.

I have coached several AAU teams of girls in this area. We have played against some of the Houston teams. I would be careful which group you are considering playing with. Many of the larger groups are just money machines that make the organizers a lot of money. They concentrate on the top teams and just fuel the rest of the organization with the others money. Check around is all I am saying.

There are several things that make up a good coach. Of course knowing the game is a big part of it, but just as huge is the ability to motivate players to be more than they ever thought they could. Placing kids in the right place to succeed is important as well. Also, it is important to set a standard of excellence that makes kids believe they will win. Some teams that have great tradition, win year in and year out, even when the talent level drops because a standard of excellence is set!

You know your always welcome at my parties, even if you are living 30 years ago!!!

Well Bleed, you know I agree with you most of the time, but to say that kids are more difficult to motivate than they were 20 or 30 years ago is hard for me to swallow. I do believe that kids are motivated differently than they were at that time, but they can definately be motivated. It is a coaches job to figure out how to do that. If they can't do that, then they aren't much of a coach. Knowing the respective game they are coaching is only a small part of coaching. I heard Becky Sanders say one time that her HS volleyball coach told them after they won the state championship that she never thought they had the talent to do it. But she always coached them up, made them believe in themselves, and they did it.

A big part of coaching is motivating kids to accomplish more than anyone originally thought they could. That is a talent that not too many coaches have, because it isn't really acquired. One question that I would ask is this, How many players of specific coaches have went on to play in college? Coach Tennison, long time coach at OF sent quite a few players off to college. I can think of at least 10 off the top of my head. That is teaching a love of the game, not just X and O's of basketball. I can't think of one coach in this area that constitently produces college players, that isn't blessed with a boatload of talent, ie. WOS. Brittany James and Brittany Scott would have gotten scholarships if they wouldn't have had a coach.

um, Bleed.... I couldn't help but notice that you have an unbelievable number of posts on here.. you get out much??? lol

I was very impressed with both teams. In my opinion Silsbee played a better game last night than the one they beat us at home. Ms. Green is a very special player and one of the top 3 in our district as far as I am concerned. She also is surrounded by quite a few players that are very good. The OF girls stepped up their game, especially since several of them were questionable to play due to illness. I sincerely hope that we meet at the region finals. What a fantastic showing for our district, and our area as a whole.

If I am not mistaken Central was in the OF tournament and pulled out. It is difficult for OF to schedule good teams in the tournament, because the main competition in the area is in their own district. Nobody really wants to play someone from their own district too early. So what is the recent record for Central vs. OF, say in the last five years, something like..... 10-1? Sounds like domination to me.

If OF doesn't play much better than last night, it will be Silsbee by 20.

bottom line, this game meant way more to Central than it did to OF. Of girls took Central lightly because they have beaten them easily every time they have played them the last several years. Congrats to Central, if beating a team in non district play is meaningful to you, then fantastic. I am much more concerned about OF's lack of fire. The offense looked anemic. Lobbing the ball around, and jogging through the offense. If they think last night was a long night, they will have a nightmare on their hands if they play Silsbee like that.

it was a very boring game.

Lumberton

I agree, with probably the 2 best teams in the area playing, I assumed that the gym would be packed by both sides. I was very dissapointed for the Lumberton kids, that there was no more fan support for them. They are a class act from their coach to the kids. On the other hand, OF has a ton of support and we get to the game early, and cheer loudly. I would say that makes us great fans, not classless. Even though there are fans from every community that may go a little overboard on their cheering, OF is a place that I am proud to be from. I looked around Sat and saw people there that didn't even know kids on the OF team, but were there to support them because they are from OF.