Monday Morning Quarterback Returns

Boston Rob, winner of Survivor Redemption Island. This was Rob's fourth time playing the game

 Monday Morning Quarterback

One who criticizes or passes judgment from a position of hindsight

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Welcome back to Monday Morning Quarterback, MMQ as we call it. Haven't done this in a few weeks so I hope I am not rusty. Today's sole focus will be on the 8th grade girls playoff game and also their season. We will do team reviews for all girls basketball teams this week as well as the season comes to an end.

This year's 8th grade girls team was prone to have a game like this. Throughout the year, they would turn the ball over, miss easy shots, and just be a step slow to the ball.

On the other hand, they were also capable of playing some really good defense, make clutch baskets and take care of the ball.

In Friday night's game, you saw the best of both worlds. But when it came to crunch time, the former showed up a lot more than the latter.

In the last minutes of the game, when they needed a bucket in the worst way, they barely got off a shot. I can't even remember one solid look at the hoop in the final minutes of the game.

Going into the game, it was key for them to take care of the ball, and collectively, they literally dropped the ball.

To make up for turnovers, they would need to take advantage of every easy bucket, and they also could not do that.

I'm not here to make excuses, but this team was a collection of girls from four different schools. Everyone pretty much came to Sunday practices, but during the week, having a full squad never happened. The team chemistry did not have enough time to grow and it was evident in their seven point loss Friday night.

The team was elevated two divisions, and in my opinion, they didn't elevate their game enough consistently to compete at a higher level. There were definitely games and times throughout the season that they showed that they are capable of hanging with the best.

Against the undefeated team in the division, they were up a point midway through the fourth, and this was at the beginning of the season, when things weren't even clicking. Marissa was sick and not at 100%, something that the team dealt with all season, and yet, here they were in control of a game against the soon to be division champions.

During their comeback and stretches of the second half Friday night, this team showed their potential, and if they played at their best, I sincerely believe they could be winning the championship tomorrow night.

Unfortunately, this team battled what every team has to battle, and that was consistency. They didn't do the good things on a minute to minute basis.

They started off the game flat and scored only 5 points heading into halftime.

The one thing that I will look at more than anything from an analyst's point of view, is that for a team that had some tall players in the post, they didn't rebound well at all.

The ball more often than not slipped through finger trips, loose balls weren't picked up, and they weren't physical enough to play against the tough teams. That, to me, was their ultimate undoing.

Now onto the good and the positive.

Gavy and Precious both added some much needed grit and played to their best in a little over three months of organized basketball. Without them, this team probably wouldn't have made the playoffs.

If you were there Friday, you could agree that Gavy was the one player on St. Mary's who put all she had on the line and did everything she could to put the girls into the championship.

Precious was the quickest girl on the team and in a few short months had the aggressive nature in her to shoot the ball. She wanted to contribute and wasn't afraid to make mistakes. She was fearless.

The original four, Marissa, Beverlyn, Catharine and Serina have been together for four years, as they came from a team that won only two games in their first year, back to back championships the next two, and then on the doorstep for another one in their 8th grade year.

Amanda, in her second year, was incredibly key in the championship in 7th grade, because without her, there would've been no team at all. And to top it off, she was a contributor for her two years with this team and just not a body that stood out on the court.

All in all, it's not easy to win a championship, especially when the odds are stacked against you. You could see the effort was there to go for a three-peat, but sometimes things just do not pan out the way you want it to.

One thing that I forgot to share with the team in their final huddle was that a lot of life is about timing. In a perfect world, these girls could all go to the same school, and play on the same team since third grade, and grow together year after year.

But this world is not perfect, and you have to deal with the cards you are given. These girls did what they could, but came up short, and no one can fault them for that.

In the end, as you can see in Beverlyn's note about the team, it is their friendships and the time they spent together that will be bigger than the game of basketball.