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"Best of luck, Gents. 'Twas a good season."

Happy Ourer: Happy Ourer with Pio Reina back for another edition of the Pio Reina show! Coach, that was a tough loss last night.

Pio Reina: That was a hard fought game. We had our chances to win; we just couldn’t hit a shot when we had to.

HO: I’ve seen you after tough losses before, Coach, but this one doesn’t seem to be bothering you much.

PR: Happy, the first time we played those guys, they didn’t put forth their best effort and they beat us by 24. Since then, 9 of the 12 players we had in that game are no longer on this team. Last night both teams brought it. They escaped with the win. Last night was a measure of the team’s growth.

HO: Coach this is clearly not the same team it was back then. To that end, a loss that I know still bothers you was to the Jumpstop Jumpers. A 120-111 loss that you’ve said was the game that made the front office blow things up. Now you face them in a relegation series.

PR: It’s a shame, because I was going to look forward to beating them next season, and perhaps begin a friendly rivalry. This? This is strictly business. We wanted to beat then before; now we have to. Before, it was a matter of pride. Now, it’s a matter of survival.

HO: To be fair, Coach, that’s not the same team you faced then.

PR: No, they aren’t. Raul Blanco is still there, though. John Valentin is still there. The big they just picked up, Sciukas is it? He’s going to be problematic. We will go into the series, and do what we need to. We know what we’re up against. I’m confident we are ready for the challenge.

HO: Let’s look ahead to next season. What should fans expect?

PR: That we’re still in the best damned league in D3, still in the toughest conference, and anyone who wants to beat us is going to have their work cut out for them.

HO: Strong statement there, Coach. From a coaching perspective, what kind of improvements do you expect to see from players?

PR: We have things we want to see by the 11 game mark. We expect to see better shooting. We want our opponents to have a devil of a time figuring out who’s where and trying to avoid certain matchups on defense. We want them to know when they see us on the schedule, that they are in for a hard night. By season’s end, we expect to have at least 2 shot blockers on the court at all times. We expect to have tightened ball security even more. We expect improved rebounding. We expect improved outside shooting. We expect to be in the playoffs.

HO: What do you want the offense to look like?

PR: I want us to relentlessly attack the basket. I want us to be able to run when the opportunity presents itself, reset when necessary, work it inside, and when there’s a kick out for the open 3, to drain it. I want defenses to have to collapse inside and the shooters to make them pay when they do.

HO: And on defense?

PR: Defense wins championships. We need to be a championship caliber defense. We do that, I’m sure we’ll figure the rest out.

HO: Rapid fire round. Who’s going to be that breakout player to make the league take notice?

PR: Carlos Frias.

HO: Who’s the guy no one is going to see coming?

PR: Gao Rongjing.

HO: Will Pasman or Beko be the team’s best defender at season’s end?

PR: Pasman.

HO: We’ll be back with more of the Pio Reina Show after a word from our sponsors.

Sam Dunkley: I’m here with assistant coach Byron Helm, and we’re talking Linndale basketball, big men, and defense. Byron, thank you for your time. Let’s talk defense.

Byron Helm: Man to man. It’s usually the only way. Defense will be this team’s calling card.

SD: Why the aversion to zone?

BH: To be good at zone, you have to have strong individual defenders first. You can hide guys in a zone, but that zone is only as strong as the weakest link. We have strong individual defenders. That wasn’t always the case.

SD: The group you have now is far different from the group you started with. What do you want to see developmental wise for each player to get where you want the defense to be?

BH: Ondrej Lecian needs to improve his inside game across the board. He arrived as a power forward, but is now listed at center. Next season is going to be huge for him. We’re hoping for big things from him, but developing his is the thing. Now, let me be clear about something. Positional versatility is a rule around here. Gao Rongjing is the exception to that rule. We just want him to keep improving his game across the board. If we can improve his ball handling and get him to drive, that’s going to be huge for him.

SD: You’ve got three guys at power forward with varied skill sets.

BH: I’ll start with Pemwieser. Pemwieser needs to improve his inside game across the board. Don’t know if he’ll be a shot blocker. Would like to find out. If he could play on the perimeter defensively, that would be great. His passing needs work. His shooting ability allows us to do things like start him at small forward and play him at center defensively. We want him to be more aggressive. Joy Beko has a shot blocker inside of him and we’re going to unlock it. Hi only real weakness is his range. We’ll help him improve that. His all around floor game is such that we have no qualms about playing him in the backcourt or on the wing. He is the epitome of positional versatility. We know we can play him anywhere. Darko Stojakovic is going to be a killer at some point. His ball skills have to improve, he needs to drive more, and he needs to work on his range. That young man and Rongjing are both 21 with Beko 22. That trio is going to be a problem for a long time, and having Pemwieser and Lecian complementing them makes them even more dangerous.

SD: What does this front line look like by the end of next season?

BH: I want the shooting range there to improve. If we can develop another unicorn to go with Pemwieser, that would be huge. I think Rongjing can be that guy. Developing another shot blocker would be nice. I’m looking at Lecian and Beko there. Getting Lecian’s inside game up to speed. We think we have a good, young, deep group and all they need is to play.

SD: Why the emphasis on shot blocking?

BH: At the end of the day, it’s another tool in the toolbox. We can play tight perimeter defense; we know that. If we can back that with shot blockers? Even better. We know we have a few shot blockers and we think we can develop a few more.

SD: Who are the shot blockers and who do you think can develop that skill?

BH: We know about Rongjing, Stojakevic, Bolibok and Uzek. We think we’ll see Lecian, Beko, Pasman, and Enfes develop that skill. I’m also keping an eye on Frias. I think he’s one to watch.

SD: Your 5 best defenders.

BH: In no particular order, Frias, Pasman, Beko, Stojakevic, and Enfes.

SD: Best perimeter defender.

BH: Pasman.

SD: Best interior defender.

BH: Stojakevic and Rongjing are right there, but Beko’s better.

SD: Best all around defender.

BH: Pasman over Beko by a hair. That can change hourly.

SD: That’s all the time we have. We’ll talk with Air Allnite next. Byron, thank you for your time. It’s been a pleasure,

BH. Thanks, Sam.

Sam Dunkley: I’m here with assistant coach Air Allnite to discuss ball security, all things shooting, and guards. Welcome Air, good to see you. I’d be remiss if I didn’t start with your suspension.

Air Allnite: I’m not going to discuss that. I’ve put that behind me.

SD: What led to that language usage?

AA: Choices and experiences. Like I said, I’ve put that behind me. I’m not discussing that.

SD: What did you do during the time away?

AA: I fulfilled the requirements necessary to end my absence and return to my job. Next question.

SD: How did your absence affect the team?

AA: You’ll have to ask them. I wasn’t there.

SD: Let’s move on your work with the guards. How would you rate the season?

AA: We lost our last game, right? We’re in a relegation series, right? So that means we didn’t make the playoffs and we can’t win a championship. How do you think I’m gonna rate this season? How do you think the other coaches or players on the team, or the general manager, or anyone else associated with the team view this season?

SD: That’s fair. The roster indicates 3 point guards and 1 shooting guard. How does the coaching staff view the talent at guard?

AA: Differently than what you read in the paper.

SD: How so?

AA: This organization is big on the concept of positional versatility. The idea is that players should be able to play multiple positions. Your best 5 may not be the best 5 in every situation. Positional versatility gives us the ability to be situational. The best 5 against a strong inside team may not be the same as against perimeter oriented team. You have to be able to adjust. We can.

SD: Does that extend to offense?

AA: It will.

SD: Tell me about Piotr Bolibok. What does he need to improve on to lock down a starting job.

AA: His defense, his passing and his rebounding have got to improve.

SD: Who is he competing with for playing time?

AA: Midas Kops. Kops has to improve his range and ball skills. He could stand to improve defensively and on the boards, but Piotr has to beat him out.

JD: Do Cafer Enfes and Walt Pasman fit here?

AA: Pasman does as a defensive specialist. Enfes can give us a few minutes there. There are situations when Pasman might get the assignment, but the competition is between Kops and Bolibok.

JD: What about Carlos Frias? We’ve seen him make appearances at both shooting guard and small forward.

AA: He can play there, but we’d like for him to be the point guard. Ultimately his many talents will be the decider of where he plays; he’s got his hands full with Leandro Leao wanting to start.

JD: How’s that competition looking?

AA: Frias needs to work on extending his range, his passing needs to improve, and with his size, we’d like him to be able to help on the boards. Leao also has to extend his range. He also needs to improve his defense, we’d love to see his ball skills improve, and to be able to have him finish at the rim. Ercan Uzek is a young developmental we picked up. He could honestly end up playing the point, shooting guard or small forward. Depends on his development. We really like him. He’s got a ways to go, but we could play him and survive. He’s got a solid base to work with defensively, and his size is an asset as well.

SD: I have to ask. Is Joy Beko a realistic play at guard?

AA: Yes. Without question. Could he win a starting job in the back court? Yes, he could. He needs to improve his ball skills and extend his range, but he absolutely could. He could run the point, Frias could be on the wing Kops, Bolibok, or Pasman could be on the floor with them, with Stojakevic and Rongjing up front. We can mix and match based on opponent, or force them to try and match us. That’s positional versatility at work.

SD: That’s all the time we have. We’ll talk with Marshall Richards next. Air, thank you for your time. It’s been a pleasure.

AA: The pleasure is all yours.

Last edited by Speedtraps at 2/20/2024 9:18:06 AM

We join the Linndale Basketball Pregame Show in progress...

Joshua Doe: We are here with Coach Pio Reina before tonight’s big game. Coach,what can we expect tonight?

Pio Reina: We have a tough game tonight. Jumpstop is has some tough players, and John Valentin can be particularly explosive. We're gonna have our work cut out for us defensively.

JD: What does the game plan look like for you tonight?

PR: We're gonna try and do what we do. We're gonna go out there, defend, take care of the basketball, attack the rim, and we'll see how far that gets us.

JD: Talk about the starting five.

PR: Frias at the point, Kops at the two, Pasman at the three, Stojakevic and Rongjing up front.

JD: Not starting Joy Beko?

PR: We want to use Beko off the bench; we believe we will have a significant advantage with our bench and we believe that is going to be key.
JD: Do we have an answer for John Valentin?

PR: I don't think anyone has an answer for John Valentin but we have confidence in our guys.

JD: What about Raul Blanco?

PR: We plan to see what Frias can do; we think he’s up to the task.

JD: Who will Pasman be guarding tonight?

PR: That's going to depend on who they play where. We know where we're playing Pasman, but they don't, and we have a number of other strong defenders waiting for him wherever he plays.

JD: Coach, thanks for your time and good luck tonight. Happy, Coach Reina sounds like he’s confident his defense is up to the task tonight.

Happy Ourer: It also sounds like he’s got something planned; he was being coy with the issue of defensive assignments. Thanks, Joshua. We’ll check in a little bit later. Sam Dunkley and Jimmy Buckitts are here with me now. Gentlemen, you heard Pio. What are your thoughts? We’ll start with Jimmy.

JB: I heard a coach who is confident in his defense and depth. They know who they are, they feel they know who their opponent is, and they are ready to take them down.

SD: I just wonder if maybe he has a little too much confidence in his defense. After the performance they gave us defensively and on the boards against F.Day, I would just roll out that same attack and lineup. I do see the logic of holding Beko back, though. Linndale has a significant depth advantage, and having Beko in reserve if Stojakevic or Rongjing get into foul trouble is one heck of a security blanket. He can always make any necessary adjustments in game two. I like it.

JB: Sam, I think you’re losing a key point. No one expected Linndale to bust out a zone. Jumpstop has to think about that now. Plus, if Pio goes straight man, and that’s a possibility, and Linndale gets the win, then it shows his confidence was not misplaced. He can always go zone the next game.

HO: Pio doesn’t use zone a lot, but he does keep it as an option. This is going to a fun one. Plus, Jumpstop has to hope their bench can give them productive minutes. On paper, that’s not a matchup that favors them whether or not Beko starts.

SD: Don’t forget that Pio likes to play lineup games. Just because someone is starting at a position doesn’t mean they are guarding that position, and this Linndale team is full of strong multi-positional defenders. Positional versatility is the law of the land here. Pasman could start at small forward and cover the point guard, and defensively, this team would be absolutely fine.

HO: Sam. We have to throw to break. Back with more after the commercials!

After the 1st quarter…

Jimmy Buckitts: Coach, tough start to the game. What happened?

Pio Reina: We came out cold shooting and they guys had a case of the nerves. It took a while to settle down. That first quarter was rough. We just need to get a few stops and come back and make shots on the other end.

After the 2nd quarter…

JB: The offense came to life and the defense looked a little better. What needs to happen in the second half?

PR: The defense has to be better. We cannot afford another quarter like the first or we lose this game. So far, ball security on both sides is trash, but we’re doing solid on the boards. We’ve got to find that 3rd scorer because Frias and Stojakovic are carrying us. Losing Leao hurt in the second quarter; we’ll see if he’s able to come back. We just have to fight harder and get some stops.

[RANT] I have no idea why Frias, the starting point guard who was NOT injured did not see a minute of court time in the 3rd quarter, while Leao who was injured in the 2nd and shows as injured when the 3rd started played the entire quarter. Make s no freaking sense! [/END RANT]

After the 3rd:

JB: Coach, it seems the longer this goes, the better the defense gets, but where’s the offense coming from?

PR: The pace was more to our liking. Gotta convert those second chances. Somebody has to step up and score. We can’t win if we don’t score, and we need more stops.

[RANT 2.0] So even though Leao is in the red, I guess Frias is the one hurt. Don’t know how; Leao got hurt after a flagrant foul. This isn’t making sense at all and it’s frustrating. [/End rant]

Post game:

JB: Congratulations on an amazing win, Coach! What was the difference?

PR: As the game went on, our defense got better and better. I think the flagrant foul and injury just pissed off Leao, because he refused to come off the floor. We’re gonna talk to him about that, but he fought through whatever was bothering him and became a huge bother to John Valentin. It wasn’t pretty, but we knew it wouldn’t be. We knew we had the advantage with the bench and that proved correct, but Stojakovic brought us home. That team over there is a tough team, but we said we were better, we said we wanted this matchup, and we’ve been waiting for this one since that loss. Excuse me Jimmy, I gotta go yell at my point guards.

JB: Happy, that was Pio Reina after a very strange but wonderful win at the buzzer. Back to you and the guys in studio!

Glad to see I was LOUD WRONG on my guess and that I have NO IDEA how the MVP voting works.

Cheers!

Charles:
Ok here we are at the Daylis. Somehow they actually allowed us in. I’m Charles Sanborn, here with the Bret, Sam, Pete, and Double D himself. So Game 1 of the Finals. Big 8 2 seed Lion Rebels hosting the Great 8 top seed Tasty Tardsicles. DD get us started.

DD:
When we had the State of the Big 8 show, I said that this was the Lions Rebels year to pull it off. They took care of business against the Warriors, handled the Lover’s Club and now here they are in the Finals. I think they take Game 1 here at home. Put the Tardsicles on the rope for game 2 and force them to maybe play in a manner the Tards wouldn’t expect

Charles:
Sam?

Samantha:
We haven’t talked about the Tardsicles much this season. Look I know a lot of people think that this should be a Big 8 win just because of how top to bottom the Big 8 has been, but do not overlook this team. Noodles Wui Kong and the Dingle Conaghan are a dangerous duo. If they get hot and the Tardsicles are going to need them to get hot and I believe they will get hot. This game will be tougher than a lot of us are expecting it to be.

Bret:
Yeah, but who are you picking tonight?

Samantha:
Lion Rebels. Too much depth and I don’t think they have an answer for Armstead who I promise you will be out to wreck tonight.

Charles:
Pete?

Pete:
I’m going with the Tards. I think like Sam says Noodles and Dingle go on a tear. It’ll be close but I think the Tards pull the “Shocker” tonight.

Charles:
Bret?

Bret:
Usually when we talk about the Lions Rebel we usually talk about Montana Armstead or Dirty Brown. Put so far in these playoffs its been all about Sherwood Hollins. He has just been a menace to the opposition these last two games. I think Hollins continues his MVP caliber play anchor the Lion Rebels to the win.

Charles:
All right when we come back, a little more on this game and an explanation of why Hunt is not here with us. This is a special report of the Warrior’s Den here at Daylis.

I'm done here. Weakness: capital and guard play. Retool and come back stronger in a year or three

Joshua Doe: I'm here in a desolate Linndale locker room with Coach Pio Reina. Coach, this was a heartbreaker.

Pio Reina: These men fought. Their worked their butts off. They did everything we asked of them. We rebounded. We defended. We just couldn't get the shots to drop at the end. Most importantly, I dropped the ball. We didn't have an answer for Sciukas, and that was on me.

Byron Helm: Nah, man. Can't let you take that bullet. Who were you going to move to the bench? We didn't have the data to know if Stojakevic or Rongjing would handle coming off the bench.

Marshall Richards: Don't do this, Pio. You did not lose this game. Sometimes, everyone knows what's coming and you just gotta stop it. They knew what we were going to do and they stopped it just enough to escape.

Joshua Doe: Gentlemen, I have to ask---

Carlos Frias: No you don't. This ain't on Coach Reina. This is on us. He worked us and drilled us and helped us improve. He made us better, but we just didn't improve enough to get the win.

Joshua Doe: Outside shooting was a problem all season, and reared it's head tonight as well.

Air Allnite: Maybe you didn't watch the season. We focused a lot on the inside game because we recognized quickly the outside game isn't for us this season. It wasn't a dependable weapon. I promise you, if they keep me on staff, outside shooting will be a weapon. We will have more weapons offensively, and defensively... you already know.

Piotr Bolibok: Defense will be better. Passing will be better. Rebounding will be better.

Joshua Doe: Pio, will Air be back?

Pio Reina: No changes on the staff. We're gonna bring this group back, players and coaches. We're pissed off and we're gonna take it out on everyone we can. We'll see Jumpstop again down the road, and we will remember.

Joshua Doe: A somber mood in the locker room after a disappointing and deflating loss in the relegation series. Back to you in the studio, Happy.

Last edited by Speedtraps at 2/28/2024 9:27:33 AM

Thanks for the curse ;)

But hats off to spilly for a great game plan. Lights out!

Last edited by Baine at 2/28/2024 9:54:35 AM