This is the story of the USA NT battling their way to NT glory. This is the behind the scenes look from the perspective of the NT coach. Who's ready for some gold?
The last four weeks of games and practices have been pretty laid back thus far. I wanted to focus on team unity and really get back into shape from the offseason. "Professor Farnsworth" especially needed to rest as he has seen his body gradually decline over the last year. Getting him in peak condition is crucial to the team's success this season and his experience will be needed for an overall immature team who has lacked experience over the past few seasons since Reedy, Spurlock, Bowens, and the others have left the team.
I got into the gym today, preparing for the game on Monday, and saw Hernandez playing one on one with Duncan. Both had sweat dripping down their faces and were laughing about the beating the team put on Jamaica last week. Something seemed different about their games this week. Duncan seemed to have really been working on his layups this past week and Hernandez's one on one defense looked superb compared to a few weeks ago. Both are great signs for the team.
"Coach!" Danny Rogers yelled from across the room. "I think my ankle is getting better".
The swelling definitely went down after he suffered a severe sprain after rolling it on one of the players in last weeks game.
"Definitely looks better," I said. "But I still don't think you'll see much time this week. We need you later in the season so we don't want to over work it so early".
I began practice having the team run sprints. We entered the season out of condition so I figured this would help. Bliss has really seen an improvement on the court but the others have taken practice as a joke due to our easy schedule so far.
Practice was typical after that with shooting drills and practicing some plays until the "Professor" challenged the young guys to a one on one tournament. Hernandez, Duncan, Chase, and Bliss all agreed to play.
The first match was Hernandez and Duncan, who were just playing prior to practice. Hernandez was on fire. He drained 3 threes in a row in Duncan's face before missing. Duncan got the rebound and began posting Hernandez up. Hernandez used his slick hands to steal it as Duncan spun around to go for a dunk. Hernandez put the dribble moves on Duncan and easily drove by for the dunk to win the game 11-0.
The next match, Bliss and Chase, was another blowout. Bliss dominated Chase down low and treated him like a rag doll. Bliss even showed his shooting abilities with a couple mid range shots. The final score was 11-1.
Hernandez vs. Bliss was a battle of opposites. Bliss got ball first and powered his way into the paint three straight possessions. The game was 6-0 until Hernandez managed to get a steal. Hernandez put Bliss on ice, breaking his ankles and getting to the basket with ease to tie it up. He then drained a three in Bliss' face to go up. Bliss took offense to this and knocked Hernandez on his butt the next possession. Hernandez retaliated with a dagger, draining a mid range shot in Bliss' face. Final score, 11-6.
**Hands clapping and guys yelling**
"Nice shot kid, but come beat me". The Prodessor has spoken.
Farnsworth gave Hernandez the ball first and locked him down as he tried to plow his way to the basket only to get his shot blocked. The Professor took over from there. It was like a battle between the star varsity player against the worst guy on JV. Hernandez didn't stand a chance. Farnsworth used a plethora of post moves and his experience to roll right through Hernandez and beat him 11-3.
"Good game kid," Professor Farnsworth said. " Keep it up and you'll be better than Otto Reedy ever was".
A huge complement considering Reedy was one of the best shooters to be on the NT.
Practice was over and everyone was walking out when coach Furysk walked in with the U21 team. I gave a wink because I know this team is going to