Two days after Salinas handed Hollister its worst loss of the
season, Detroit handed Boston its worst loss in the Celtics’
lengthy NBA history – 118-66.
Two days after Salinas handed Hollister its worst loss of the season, a 78-54 drubbing at Mattson Gym, Detroit handed Boston its worst loss in the Celtics’ lengthy history in the Nationial Basketball Association – 118-66.
The Pistons, who play in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference, have only a slightly better record than the Celtics, who play in the Atlantic Division of the East. That hardly makes the Pistons 52 points better than the Celts.
The Balers (17-4, 3-1) are only a game back of the Cowboys in the Tri-County Athletic League standings. Are the Cowboys 24 points better than the Balers, the very same team which struck for 85 points in a win over the Cowboys in the semifinals of the North Salinas Tournament last December?
The Balers have to realize that, as a group, they are young, while the Cowboys are senior-laden. This Hollister team, which starts two sophomores and a junior, may be a year away from contending from a Central Coast Section title. I say the time to contend for a T-CAL title is now! The Balers can not let themselves be demoralized by last Wednesday’s loss to a Salinas team which features one of the best guards I’ve seen in a few years – Drew Sanchez.
Sanchez is the best all-around guard in the CCS since Senque Carey came out of St. Francis. Carey, who suffered a severe injury early this season while playing for the University of New Mexico, could do it all. Much like Sanchez, Carey could pass, drive and shoot from the perimeter. Carey was actually the more physical of the two and was more of a danger inside because of it.
What can the Balers do to stop Sanchez the next time the two teams meet in Salinas on Feb. 19? It is a lot to ask sophomore point guard Eric Davis, who stands three to four inches shorter than Sanchez, to guard him one-on-one. Baler head coach David Kaplansky does have a few options:
He can instruct Davis to pick up Sanchez full-court and deny Sanchez the ball as much as possible.
With no guards in Sanchez’ height range, Kaplansky can assign a taller player, such as 6-foot-4 Danny Brooks to stay with Sanchez. At least, Brooks could be in Sanchez’ face when he pops from outside. The downfall would be that Brooks wouldn’t be quick enough to stop Sanchez from driving.
Or the Balers could jump-switch with a taller player when Sanchez gets by Davis or the Cowboys set a pick out top for Sanchez. It can’t be Kyle Sharp for Sharp, the team’s most consistent scorer, has a tendence to pick up cheap fouls.
There’s also another problem. Sanchez isn’t the only Cowboy who can bomb a three. If you put two or three guys on him, other Cowboys can fill it up.
No matter what option Kaplansky decides, he must also address his problems on offense. Against Salinas on Wednesday, the Balers looked tentative in their half-court set. No one wanted to shoot the ball. Granted, Kaplansky, knowing he had a height advantage, wanted to pound the ball inside, which is the smart thing to do. Still, teams are going to try to take away Sharp and let other Balers beat them.
Still, when the Balers won at the NST, Hollister had a 49-point second half. That is impressive in itself. Many of the Balers’ shots were pressure-cookers as they rallied from behind, taking the Cowboys’ best shot, so to speak.
As Hollister hits the home stretch, with six more league games and then the CCS playoffs, it has to be aware of how important free throws can be to winning or losing ballgames. In Wednesday’s game, the Balers were 8-18 from the line. That wasn’t the difference in the game, but when one is pecking away at a lead, if the Balers had hit six more free throws it may have can give them more confidence to make a run.
It is so important for this Baler team not to lose confidence. It is tremendously talented. It is almost there. One thing players can improve upon is physical toughness, which will give them mental toughness. Kaplansky and assistant Alan Sharp lobbied to the officiating crew at the half about the Cowboys camping in the key. Down 18, that was probably the least of their problems.
If I were Kaplansky, I have been telling his players that if they feel certain Cowboys are pitching a tent, move them out. Salinas had some physical players on the interior with Evan Smith and Christian Taylor. But basketball can be a psychological game, as well.
I spent much of my teens, 20’s and 30’s playing pickup basketball high school, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, Foothill College to Napa Valley College. I wasn’t considered tall at 5-9 3/4 and I didn’t have a big vertical. On many occasions, I’d be guarding a guy who was a couple inches taller than me and even stronger than me. And it was often someone who had no concept of the three-second lane violation. If I would let the player stand where he wanted to, which was often in the key for more than the allotted three seconds, I usually couldn’t stop him from scoring. After the first couple of hoops, I’d kindly explained to him that he needs to move out or else I’d move him out myself. And I was never afraid to do just that.
The moral of the story is that if you’re going to dish it out, you’d better to be able to take it.
The Baler big men need to start clearing space in the interior on both ends of the floor. They need to own the boards in every game from now on. I saw them hold their own against a taller Live Oak squad by being physical. I know it can be done.
Lastly, the Balers, as a team, need to handle the ball better. Turnovers mean no shot attempts. And when you’re playing an explosive team like Salinas, that is a major handicap.
This year’s Division I of CCS will be one the most competitive ever. If the tournament would be held today, Piedmont Hills would be the No. 1 seed, followed by Bellarmine, Salinas, then Serra. The Balers or Andrew Hill would be next with Live Oak, Oak Grove to follow. A collapse these next six games would knock the Balers out of the top eight seeds when the pairings are announced Feb. 23.
The Balers need to start playing to win now. Have confidence while shooting from the free throw line and from the field. Get tough in the interior. Take care of the basketball. Handle the pressure from the opening tip.
With the season more than half over, the Balers are the real story of the Central Coast Section. They’ve made a name for themselves that they can play the game of basketball the way it should be played. They need to keep that name this year, as well as next.
