With late arrivals from football, deer hunting season and the H1N1 flu, the Oakridge High School, Ore., basketball season got off to a rough start.
We had played three games before we had the entire group together for a full week of practice — and, unfortunately, it showed in those first few contests.
In our opener on the road, a player who is the heart and soul of our club talked me into letting him play despite missing the previous week with the H1N1 flu. I have such a love and admiration for this particular player that I let my judgment get clouded.
In addition to trying to recover from the flu, his legs started cramping up and he didn’t tell me. And, in the first quarter, he lost his contact lenses — and didn’t tell me. So, between not being able to move or see, he was a mess. But, I am happy to report, he has put some weight back on and is his normal, tenacious self.
Our home opener three nights later turned into a nightmare. I picked up a bizarre technical foul for “staring” at the official, even though I was doing nothing of the sort. I was standing, imploring my team to keep their feet on the court while playing defense. Somehow, the official thought I was trying to intimidate him with my stare. For those who know me well, the thought of me picking up a technical foul with my eyes instead of my mouth must be quite amusing.
It was a close game at the time, but our foe shot four free throws and got the ball out of bounds on the technical, and that close game suddenly wasn’t anymore. Midway through the fourth quarter with the outcome no longer in doubt, my trusty assistant coach picked up a quick technical foul. High school rules put all bench technicals on the head coach, so I was ejected.
With the ejection came a mandatory one-game suspension. Our team shined with me gone — hmmm, cause/effect? — taking a 10-point halftime lead before crumbling in the final quarter when we scored one point and lost.
New state rules forced me to take a two-hour online course on behavior or risk being suspended again. I’ve told my players we all must be choir boys the rest of the season because we will definitely have an X on our back as far as the officials are concerned.
The attitudes of my players have been terrific, the work ethic amazing. They have worked hard, perfecting our 2-3 zone defense and learning all of the progressions available in our offensive set. We are rebounding better as a unit and can’t wait to get back on the court against an opponent.
We head to the coast (Bandon) for a three-day tournament starting Thursday, then have our final home game of the month on Dec. 22 before taking a well-deserved break for Christmas.
From here on, we have more games than practices, so the changes we need to make will be done on the fly. I’m confident this group can make the necessary adjustments and be a competitive force in league play, which begins Jan. 5.
I just hope I’m around to take it all in.
— Noozhawk columnist Paul Yarbrough can be reached at pyarbrough@noozhawk.com.