JimThorpe

Lot of shots rimming out. Playing good defense. Bears are putting up a good fight.

If WOS wins it will likely be a tie for third. Then a playoff?

Passing may be the most important single element for the Tigers going into the playoffs. The 3's may not be falling and the matchups may be bad but there's two things you can always do, hustle and make good passes. When the Silsbee passing game is clicking it's a thing of beauty. For Tigers fans tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters are a waste of money. I think the Hawks should experiment with a more deliberate game. i think they have the personnel to do that. I think it would give them a better chance against the fast teams in this region. There were a lot of times when HJ was forcing the action to much. They should have pulled the ball out and reset. There's no shot clock and there's no shame in a 2 minute possession. You're not there to please the opponents fans, you're there to win, by any legal means.

HJ by 1? Next you're going to tell us that we've landed on the moon.

Thanks! I was a little nervous that folks might think I was implying that the Hawks heads were going to fall off.

I wonder what McCain's status is. Love to see him play but we don't want to take any chances. As important as this game is, the games in March are much more so. We can make it to March without him. But making it out of Region is very iffy. I mean it's no sure thing with him but without him? Iffy. And that topic leads into another topic. Eligibility. Report card time comes right as the playoffs begin and that whole thing is fraught with peril. You can mark it down as a certainty like the firmness of the Earth that Yates won't have any issues, if you know what I mean. But it ain't like that in our district. Not for basketball anyway. So if you're close to a kid, by all means encourage him. If he's playing now then he was passing at progress report time and if he was passing then, just a week or so ago, then there's no reason he can't keep it up. Speaking of Yates in the context of this game. It would be nice for the Region 3 Final to be an all 22 4A affair. But now we're talking really really iffy. You can find lots of clips of Yates on that Hudl site. Course it's all highlights so you don't see their mistakes. But it's a typical Yates team. Solid up and down the line. I don't think they have the same power inside as last year but it looks like they are even better outside. They are just as good as the Dallas area teams. One thing we have going for us is that none of the other teams in 23 4A are nearly as good as Hardin Jefferson. I think Lumberton and WOS can give second place Wheatley a good game. 22 4A isn't the strongest district by a long shot but it's stronger than 23 4A. So Yates hasn't played a really serious contender for a while. So, the big question, is there any possibility at all that the Hawks might bake it to the regional tournament. Hope springs eternal, like the famous exchange from "Dumb and Dumber".... 'What are my chances?" "Not good." "You mean, not good like 1 in a 100?" "I'd say, more like one out of a million." "So you're telling me there's a chance."

Mr. Adams was a monster tonight. Inside, outside, defense, the complete package. There's no question that baring injuries the Tigers will be ready for the postseason. Which means of course, being ready for Yates. As Forest Gump said, "Aaaginn." And they will need to be ready. Judging from the clips Yates is perhaps even better than last year. Unless the Hawks can pull off an upset against Yates? Those two will probably meet in the 3rd round. It's possible? No? Tuesday's game will be an indicator anyway. The bench had a few rough minutes in the first quarter by by the end of the game they were doing well. Next year will be very interesting. We're going to be almost tiny unless some kids have some serious growth spurts. Competing against elite 5A and 6A teams with centers and true power forwards in the preseason is going to be tough. Even with Adams and McCain the Tigers are often outmanned at the bigger venues. It' a big question mark. HF had its moments tonight as well. They played much better than they did in Silsbee. The Tiger starters were having a good night too. The Longhorns scored 18 points in the first quarter, most of it came against the Tiger bench of course. But they did have their fans on their feet. So the 57 pts was no joke. As I said most of it came against the bench but they did hit a couple of 3's and finished a few times against the starters. Questionable passing was, as usual, their downfall. But when they had a shot they took it, which they weren't doing in Silsbee. Their freshman team looked pretty good. They beat the short handed Tiger freshmen by about 10. They didn't run the clock, the Longhorns were scoring often enough that it wasn't necessary.

I didn’t think you were crazy after it became apparent McCain wasn’t going to play. Still there was a moment in the 3rd when looked like it was slipping away from the Hawks. To their credit they refused to go quietly. Assuming everyone is playing I see a 20 point game, 85-65. That’s not a blowout, that’s just pulling away and hanging on.

It was an entertaining game anyway. WOS will be a worthy 3rd or 4th place team in our district. I think they even have a chance at a first round upset victory if they can come in 3rd and not have to play a district winner. They suited out only 8 I think and played all 8. The 3 subs played pretty well though. And 8 man rotation is fine against most teams so that won't be a problem. The Tigers needed to win this one by something in the mid 30's and they did. The shooting was so-so but the intensity was great and that's the main thing. They are on track. The bench had a couple of shaky minutes in the first half but they came around, we're seeing improvement down the line with every game. As usual, the only concern is size inside. The Tigers are tenacious and they play hard and they compensate well but we are vulnerable inside. The effectiveness of No. 11 highlighted this. The next home game for the Tigers will be good one and I don't expect a 34 point margin. The Tigers are capable of pulling away from HJ but it probably won't happen. Any kind of win, pretty or ugly, close or comfortable will be just fine.

No freshman game. JV at 6:00 Tigers by 35, 110 - 75. It's not so much a prediction as it is a necessity. Teams that aspire to go to San Antonio have to be able to handle 4th place district opponents with relative ease. Especially a high speed team such as the Tigers. Plus, I can't see Silsbee scoring less than they did in Orange. Plus I can't see the Mustangs scoring more than Hardin Jefferson did.

The Tiges' improvisational quickness is murder on teams like BC. Passes that were safe against Nederland weren't safe against the Tigers. Ball handling that is good enough to stay in the game against Nederland wasn't quite enough against Silsbee. It's an incremental thing.

The Barber's Hill - PAM game is the marquee event this week. No.s 11 and 12 meeting in the regular season. The home court is worth a lot in this series so 11 points is reasonable but I bet it will be closer.

Interesting dynamic. Hardin Jefferson beats Lumberton by 21. Then Silsbee beats Hardin Jefferson by 3. Then Silsbee beats Lumberton by 77. Basketball is a funny thing isn't it? Matchups are a tricky.

I know, I know. And I'm part of the problem. But what is there to talk about? Kind of early to be talking about it but with the win Friday Lumberton proves it will be a playoff team - probably No. 3 That means they will play a No. 2 from somewhere nearby. Playing the Tigers twice, including the last regular season game as a warmup of sorts, will make playing any second place team in these parts seem pretty tame by comparison. It's like swinging a bat with a 5 lb. donut on it in the on deck circle. Sisbee, HJ, Lumberton and WOS will be our four from 22 4A. A few of the districts up north will field a better group but it's not too shabby at all.

Not everything that is possible actually happens. Not everything that didn't happen was impossible. And yes, one player can make that big a difference, if that player was the MVP of the state tournament last year. I'll go further, McCain is indispensable to the Tigers if they hope to repeat. He's not the only indispensable player but he's one of them. The Tigers don't have a center or even a true forward. They are a team of guards really and that means they will have to be firing on all cylinders to make it to the championship game. They weren't firing on all cylinders Friday night explaining the closeness of the game. It's almost mathematical actually.

Not playing they way they did Friday. Yates will eat them up, 20 points minimum. The Hawks can do either of two things. They can keep playing the way they are and be content to make it to the third round or they can alter the experiment and totally take the air out of be ball. See to it that nobody even gets to 50. Patience to the point of boredom. They aren't going to San Antonio. They aren't going to beat Yates and Silsbee. Not gonna happen. But they just might be able to get to Johnson Coliseum.

The football team made it to the 5A quarterfinals a few years ago. It was a very good team. The quarterback was the coaches son I believe.

HJ still played too fast. Against a full strength Silsbee HJ doesn't have much of a shot playing they way they did Friday. And more importantly they don't have a prayer against Yates. And the Hawks will likely face Yates in the third round. Coach Davis needs to give Coach Perkins at Argyle a call. There is a way. And even shorthanded, there was a moment in the third when the Tigers might have pulled away. Coach Davis was forced to call a timeout because Silsbee had built up a 14 point lead in the middle of the 3rd. It had the desired effect, the Hawks rallied. Plus, I think the Tigers had that 35 point blowout in their heads as they went to the side. Totally unrealistic. They got out of the moment and into the future which is always bad.

Now I've done it! Shame on me! It's just that Lumberton did us such a favor in football by having exactly the right enrollment. I figured we owed them something.

The eventual state 5A champion beat the Raiders 78 - 53 and 79 - 42 last year. I suppose a safe prediction would have it about the same on Friday - a 25 to 30 point win - all things being equal. But you never know. I'd be surprised if the Raiders can slow the tempo enough to make it really close. They don't have the size or the width. Having been present for most of the Tigers games for the last few years I could offer some pointers to the Raiders. All turnovers are NOT the same. A stolen pass is worse than getting tied up. An easy layup the other way is worse than a 10 second violation. I've never seen the Tigers get a fast break off an inbounds on their own end. Just FYI.

As well you should, it was a big win. Lumberton is the solid no. 3 team in 22 4A. Not bad. Not bad at all. As a Tiger fan I also must say that Lumberton is my favorite. They took our 4A Div 1 beating for us this year in football so that we could make it all the way to the semi's in Div II. As they say, no greater love. Here's to the Lumberton Raiders for having just exactly the right enrollment. And it was a win - win. Lumberton got a playoff victory in the first round and though it's a little early it looks like they are headed to the basketball playoffs as well. Course none of that has any bearing on Friday's game which will be an interesting experience. When was the last time Silsbee and Lumberton faced off in a district basketball game? The 90's?

Some of the underclassmen could use some first half minutes.

They send out these remarkable communications on a special audio wavelength length where mysteriously the signals always stay above 6'. By a remarkable coincidence that's the perfect ear height for basketball centers.

Everybody should have "a great communications program" Nothing wrong with communications I always say.

They are in region 2. So as good as they are it's unlikely they can make it out of that meat grinder region.