A rerack of an old MMQ

Two weeks into the boys basketball season and record wise, I must say I am surprised at the collective success the teams have had, considering every team has either stayed in the same division or gone up one or a few.

With that being said, every team could be better and has room to improve. So instead of rehashing some of the mistakes and flaws covered in the game recaps, I am going to rerack a post (and add some notes to it as well) I put up back in 2009. What were you doing and where were you in April of 2009? Something to ponder.

So read through this carefully and hopefully this will lead to smoother sails for the rest of the season.

HOW TO WIN A CYO BASKETBALL GAME:

In basketball, more than any other sport, the ingredients to be a good team are basic, and you don’t even need a coach to tell you what they are.

Make your lay-ups. You’ve all seen and been in games where lay-ups are missed left and right. When you make your lay-ups, more often than not, you will win.

2011 note: Over the weekend, the 6th grade and DeMarillac had huge problems with this.

Make your free-throws. Do we expect everyone to make all their free-throws? Absolutely not. But is one out of two too much to ask for? Look back at all the games you have lost in the past and how many free-throws were missed.

2011 note: Over the weekend, the 6th grade and DeMarillac had huge problems with this. 6th grade was 2-for-14, 8th graders 2-for-12.

Don’t turn the ball over. Mistakes will always hurt you. When you throw the ball away, the other team gets a head start on their offense. It’s one less opportunity for you to score, and one more opportunity for them to score. It also throws off your rhythm as you are always on your heels.

When you can control the ball, you dictate the game and how the game is going to be played.

Make the other team play your style.

Basketball is such a mental game, and you need to be as strong mentally as you are physically. When you make a mistake, you can’t let it bother you. Learn from it, and do better the next time.

When refs aren't making calls, you need to do your best to play through it. And you can't let the little things get to you and have it lose your cool (See 8th grade DM game).

We have had games this year where we haven’t been able to do all three -- sometimes not even two of those, and still found ways to win. But when all three of those expectations are met, there isn’t a team out there that is unbeatable.

I guarantee that if your team is successful at those three things, 99 times out of 100, your team will be victorious.

There you go folks, easy, simple and basic. Nobody should ever lose another game again.

See ya pals...