Game Log 12/13/2006: The season's first T

Weird night tonight, but I feel like it was a good one.

Today smelled like a blowout--distant last place against defending champion. I was surprised to say the least when White trailed only by a couple at half. They played their hearts out...it was fun.

Then came the third quarter. Blue scored thirty points! They came out and hit a two, a two, and a three in the first minute of the half, and it was all but over right away.

There was about a minute left in the third--after all of this onslaught--when White's coach came suddenly and completely unglued. She hadn't been a problem all night--asked me politely for some three-second calls just before half, calls that, as I see it, just didn't exist.

I had a call on her girl out on the perimeter. She called it a "ticky-tack." It wasn't. It was a pretty solid push on the ballhandler--couldn't be ignored. When I went down to her end of the floor about a half a minute later, she was going nuts about the illegal screens. I wasn't seeing any illegal screens. I said: "I hear you!" The onslaught continued. I said "Coach, that's enough." She said "I wouldn't have to do this if you'd call the illegal screens!" I said "Coach, NO MORE!" and showed her my palm. She kept chirping. Didn't even slow down. I called the technical foul. She said "That's fine" and sat down. Okey-dokey.

The quarter ended about a minute later, and we met as a crew at halfcourt. Bob, one of my partners, said "It is my goal to get a Blue illegal screen before this game ends." We nodded in agreement. But Blue went to a spread offense and weren't setting screens for a long while. I did get one with about four minutes left...I was trail, and saw a borderline one in the paint. I could have passed on it, but I wanted to make sure Bob got his goal. We got a sarcastic cheer for it.

Things got ugly in the last three minutes, especially in the paint. I think things went south when there was an ugly foul on a Blue shooter that my partners missed. It was a layup across the paint from me (I was C). I likely shouldn't have been looking, but it was ugly. I waited for a partner's whistle that never came...not from the L, not from the T. I suppose I could have poached it--it was, after all, not merely a miss, but a "holy shit!"--but I didn't do it. Next time I'll call the bad one, even though we're so indocrinated not to poach. It led to some rough post play in the final three minutes. I probably was too verbal. I should have just tooted the whistle and let them know that the BS needed to stop that way. Next time.

I'm thinking heavily about the post-game. Bob, who felt he had failed to call an illegal screen that ultimately led to the T on White's coach, said: "Our big mistake was not calling illegal screens tonight. I take full responsibility for that." I responded by saying: "You don't have to take full responsibility. We were out there too." But neither I nor our other partner were seeing the illegal screens Bob was saying we missed. Bob said: "Well, you can't call what you can't see." I said: "True, but I can be concerned about not seeing them if they're happening. Where do you think they were happening?" He thought they were happening down low, near the baseline, on C's side. He felt that L didn't want to call that across the key. I feel like I would have if I'd seen it. Was I not watching that right?

I'd like a video to see if this was happening, but I feel like I was looking for them--especially after the T--and they just weren't there. It makes more sense to say that the coach's sudden craziness was more a response to a 31-point quarter by her opponent than to us. I can live with that.

THINGS I DID WELL: Good T call, rotations felt right.
THINGS TO WORK ON: No poaching, call the bad even if it is poaching, and maybe some missed screens

NEXT UP: State-ranked hosts an up-and-comer on Friday night, with two experienced partners. Here's my chance to show a couple in the know that I can handle a big game. This could be a tight, hot one--or a thirty pointer. Gotta be ready for each.