NCS Finals @ St. Mary's College

[NorCalScout]

Ok, after two days of watching all 6 games, here are my takes on what I saw.

* Referees we the worst I've seen in all my years of watching the finals. The 3 ladies that called the 1st game, they were far the best of the entire weekend, hats off to them, they work well with one another, were afraid to meet and have conversations and just did a great job not letting the game get out of control.

* Coaching, there were great, good and bad coaching on display, much better and worse then the the boys. I was not impressed with Leslie from Cardondelet, if those young ladies had any leadership and coaching, they would be dangerous. Pezzola from Salesian was at the top of his game and called an almost perfect game for the Pride. He is always calm, under control, doesn't worry about the officials and just is always encouraging his team to play hard. Mertle from Cardinal Newman was also very impressive. She had by far the least talented players this weekend and gets the most out of them for all 4 quarters. She never stop coaching, always positive, great use of timeout and put her players in the best position to win. This game should not have been so close but I give Mertle a ton of the credit. I have seen a few of their games this year and each time, I come away more and more impressed. She has a very short memory, her teams values possessions and they play tough nosed defense.

* Players, two girls really stuck out and dominated there positions. #15 Jackson from Salesian, this young lady is an all around great player and teammate. She runs the floor well, plays both ends and is a dominant low post player and a big time shot blocker and rebounder. her team relies on here in crunch time and she always delivers. #24 Bamberger from Carondelet, she is not only a very dominant player, she plays the game right and is an amazing teammate that everyone looks up to. She could have had 40 points in this came and I think finished with 28 points and 18 rebounds. #24 Sweeney for Heritage is a very nice and solid player and runs her team very well. #21 Cargill & #10 Choice from Cardinal Newman, they played her ass off and with a ton of heart, every team would love these two on her team and no secret as to why they have had a great year.

*6th Man, Heritage by far brought biggest and loudest crowd to any of the girls games, they showed up, represented and help lift there team up all game long, very impressed with the team and school spirit.

 

[MOJO347]

I agree with the players that you highlighted and would also include the BOD PG Jada Holland and #22 Mahoney for playing with tremendous energy and clutch plays at the end of game. Was very impressed with CN ability to hang in the game with a smaller line-up that appeared to be young. The kind of exciting games you hope for in the championship all day long Saturday @ SMC. Congrats to everyone on great performances.

 

[Paytc]

NorCalscout,

If Carondelet ( the under dog) wants to beat any of the top three teams in Norcal (which are also 3 of the top teams in the nation) Pinewood, SMS, and Mitty in the order which they will most likely play them, they will have to do it by out thinking ( not bullying them with size) and out scoring those teams. The first problem is those teams are smart enough to take away or at least limit what Carondelet likes to do which is ride Ali Bamberger. Ali Bamberger will typically be enough to beat easier teams but will not be able to single handedly outscore any of the top teams in the nation. Or single handily win a state championship. Recognizing that is the first step.

To outscore the top teams in the nation you must defend them well to limit their scoring. Not try to go head to head with them thinking your top scorer(s) will out score theirs. Especially if they typically have more players involved in their scoring than your team does. To defend them well Carondelet (a team that tends to back away from pressuring the ball and making teams uncomfortable especially in the half court defense) Carondelet would rather chase the ball ( not the fastest team) finding themselves a split second or two late getting to the wide open 3 point shot will have to re-think that strategy early on and thru out the game. When defending the better teams it is not often the person who has the ball in their hands( though you should have an on ball defender on them) that will hurt you, it is that one extra pass to the wide open player that gets them the best shot in rhythm. You have to be more concerned about leaving players open than just chasing the ball. Anticipate the pass don't be late and react to it afterwards by just focusing on chasing the ball. Cover the open players. Don't just keep an eye on the ball. That is a slightly higher IQ basketball and Carondelet has a pretty high IQ team if encouraged to think that way. And don't try to block every shot and pick up cheap fouls. The better players and better teams tend to get the calls, so don't compound that problem trying to block everything. Instead be more concerned with boxing out and getting the defensive rebound after you force them to take the more undesirable shot which will be a slightly lower percentage shot. Let them have some shots. And let them have some points. Important players need to stay out of foul trouble, not block every shot. After defending them well you will need to have what they typically have and that is more balanced scoring. The better teams will take away or limit what you typically lean on or like to do. So there needs to be more than one way to attack in the half court offense. Carondelet likes to only lean on what they do best and not develop or include other areas and other players that can balance out their attack and make it much harder to defend what they like to do. If teams have to worry about others scoring then they will have to be less worried about sending double teams at Ali Bamberger. And then you send the ball into Ali Bamberger who will either find an easier shot or kick the ball out for a wide open foot set 3 pointer in rhythm. If Carondelet ever developed a balanced scoring attack, and more of a inside and outside scoring threat in the half court offense, they would be a nightmare opponent for any team in the nation.



Best wishes to all teams in the post season.