It's ten days till the girls (and their parents!) leave for Nationals. Warm-up tourneys include the recent Bonnie Henrickson Jayhawk Jamboree (Eclipse went 4 - 0), and the upcoming Miss Basketball Showcase in Kearney, Nebraska.
National pool assignments and seedings came out over the weekend. MV Eclipse maintains its No. 3 seed and will play in "Pool M." There are 96 teams registered for this event! Click here if you want to see who they are.
In the meantime, we are rooting for our '94s to repeat as National AAU Champions in the U12 tourney this week in Rochester, Minnesota.
Air Bella
Cool at the Pool
Carb Loading
Opening Ceremonies
AAU Wrestling?
More serious than they look... (Hannah's on the floor in front.)
5 comments:
First of all, I want to thank Mimsy for putting together this site. I'm looking forward to posting from the road, offering tidbits about the team, observations from the bleachers and general "color".
You know, Hannah is one of the few remaining originals on this team. There are only three or four girls who were there in the beginning - four years ago, I think. Hannah, Natalie, Alex and Emily. It's a testament to her love of the game, her determination and possibly her parents' patience!
I have to give her props for working her way back into the starting lineup, after a nearly two-year absence. We had a fiery little 1-2 guard nicknamed "Taz" (real name, Taylor) who regrettably had to leave the team this spring due to persistent foot problems. We loved Taz's spirit and she was something to watch.
But when one door closes another one opens ... and in walks Hannah! Hannah, who played her role beautifully, always contributed and never complained. I had an epiphany at Nationals last year, when I noticed Hannah growing into the role of cheerleader, supporter, comedienne and all-around teammate. I said "Why not my kid? This is ok. Sure, she isn't starting, but she's playing for one of the top teams in the nation. And I'm grateful for that."
Hannah has always been there - from the two-bit tournaments at 43rd and Cleveland to the seemingly endless Regionals at Ft. Osage to the rugged practices and weary roadtrips.
Now, she's a starter again and having a terrific time. This weekend she strutted her stuff at the Jayhawk Jamboree in Lawrence. I couldn't have been prouder to watch her account for the team's first 7 points in the opener. (If you're keeping score at home, that's two knifing, twisting drives to the basket, one precision bullet pass assist to the low post and an extra point for drawing a foul. Yeah, it was a weird scoring system.) In the second game, three straight 3-pointers. The girls went through the competition like a buzzsaw - mainly small high school teams from rural Kansas and Missouri.
Now it gets tougher. On to the much ballyhooed Miss Basketball Big Show in Kearney, Nebraksa - a college recruiting showcase tournament. After that, we load up the War Wagon and head to Mason, Ohio, site of the AAU 13 and Under Nationals.
To use a hackneyed sportswriter's turn of phrase, Nationals is not for the faint of heart. Here's something I just learned: seven or eight of last year's top teams didn't even win their regions, meaning there's a whole new crop of contenders along with last year's powerhouses.
The table is set for our first pool game against the Mid Atlantic Elite out of Philadelphia, a top-four team from last year. We split with them; they beat us in the winner's bracket and we returned the favor in the loser's bracket on our way to a Third Place finish. One of the Elite parents said to me: "You're looking at the two best coaches in the tournament."
And that says a lot. This year's field features 94 teams. But we don't have to think about 94. Just think about one. One at a time, as they say. Or as Coach Knight says: "Survive and advance."
I'll never forget that first year at nationals.....even though I wasn't there. :)
I had no idea those tough-as-nails Eclipse girls I'd watched play locally a few times were ready to be national contenders.
Having been to many of Hannah's games in prior years, I was amazed by my first Eclipse game. This was definitely a different brand of ball. No easy layups. No "little girls". No friends on the other team. This was war!
Yes, I remember the first long distance call from Nationals. (I don't think we new about "texting" yet.) Mims was excited, albeit cautious, about the Eclipse's early round success. But day after day the excitement grew.
I kept waiting for the "it was fun while it lasted" call, but it never came. Instead, I received twice-a-day "they won again" calls. Apparently, this was indeed "the little engine that could." What a ride!
Can't wait for the first text update.
God bless you, Eclipse. This is the year!
Tuesday / 9:42pm
Quick update from Rochester, Minnesota ... site of the 12 and Under AAU Nationals.
Our 1994 Eclipse girls survived a tough Norfolk Express, 51-46.
I'm sure Coach Meier will have his girls ready to go tomorrow, when they face the Arkansas Lady Ballers at 3:30. The Lady Ballers beat the Maryland Flames, a tough Potomac Valley team, 68-60.
Kearney in Our Rearview Mirror:
Took 3rd at the annual Miss Basketball Showcase in Kearney, Nebraska.
Kearney is "your typical" Upper Midwest community - home to ... what ... maybe 45,000 residents. A city of very friendly people and the home of the University of Nebraska-Kearney (UNK). Their athletic teams are the Lopers. Yes, the Lopers. Don't ask me why. I think it has something to do with antelopes, as we spotted a stuffed antelope in a trophy case at the arena. Little known fact: UNK plays in the RMAC - Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. No mountains here, but Kearney IS half way across the state toward Colorado.
Very nice athletic facilities at UNK, where we played most of our games.
The big story from the weekend was the triumph of a shorthanded team, which is a testament to their determination and grit. Our crackerjack point guard Alex went home after Day 2 with a bad back. She's been battling back problems all spring and summer, and even as game as she is, she just couldn't go after our second game. So we went into battle with seven girls. (Most teams travel with 10 or 11 players and coaches will tell you they need at least nine girls to compete effectively in such a grueling environment.)
That's when I came up with a nickname for our girls: The Few, The Proud. It was apt. This proud group of kids stood up to the test game after game. They won 6 and lost in the semis to last year's champion, the Minnesota Metro Stars from Minneapolis. Nothing to sneeze at. Along they way they triumphed over the Cornhusker Shooting Stars (a wonderful team based in Lincoln with tremendous talent), the Omaha Crusaders, Southern Minnesota Magic, KC Lady Heat and others.
As for #3, Hannah left it all on the floor. She had especially good games against the Omaha Crusaders, the Southern Minnesota Magic and the Metro Stars. Her specialty was good defense, driving the lane and scoring with her signature "scoop shot" and drawing fouls to get to the line.
After our last game today, she commented that there's something about facing unfamiliar teams she really relishes. Something about those Minnesota and Omaha teams she must like ...
But that's a sentiment shared by everyone. We all get tired of playing the same teams over and over. I mean, we traveled all the way to Kearney (about a five-hour drive) to play or see at least a half dozen KC area teams! We can drive across town and play them. Bring on the other Midwestern teams. Bring on the teams from Potomac Valley, Southern Pacific, Mid-Atlantic, please!
As Mary would say ... the SOTFs. Same Old Tired Faces!
Still, it's worth noting that three of the Final Four teams this weekend were from the Kansas City area. Something we can be proud of.
So, there's a practice Tuesday night and we'll have a little send-off for the girls and parents. Thursday everyone loads up and hits the road for Mason, Ohio, site of this year's Nationals. Mason is a suburb of Cincinnati and home of Marriott Kings Island, a well-known amusement and theme park. As much as we'd like to take in the sights and rides, we'll be busy playing basketball and resting between games in air conditioned comfort.
So ... closing with "Get healthy, Alex. We'll need you and look forward to seeing you soon."
Go sparkplugs, go! There are people in Minnesota rooting for you!
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