by Reid Murray ’22
January 28, 2022
During the last week of January 2021 — when Homecoming would normally take place — the USN Boys’ Varsity Basketball team played its fifth game of the season in a completely empty gym.
A year later, things could not look more different for USN’s Varsity Basketball programs. Both the Boys’ and Girls’ teams have been playing their regularly-scheduled seasons since November, students have been in the crowd cheering on their classmates, and, although its corresponding dance has been postponed, students will once again pack the gym for one of the most important games of the season: Homecoming.
USN’s Homecoming opponent this year is Battle Ground Academy. The Tigers have met the Wildcats one time this season on January 15. During the district collision, the BGA Girls’ team won 59-37, and their Boys’ team lost 53-45. Keep reading to know what to expect from this exciting upcoming game.
The Girls’ game:
For the USN Girls’ team to win on Homecoming, it will have to focus on eliminating simple mistakes, keeping BGA away from the free throw line, and not giving away fast breaks.
In the two team’s previous meeting, one BGA flaw became evident: the Wildcats will give their opponent time and space to make offensive plays. The Tigers’ main problems on offense were a lack of communication when passing the ball and consistently missing layups and put-back shots near the hoop.
Luckily for USN, the team can easily correct these problems. USN’s frontcourt is capable of making short-range buckets, as they’ve done it in other games this season. Most of USN’s misses from the paint against BGA were simply a result of bad luck, and on another day, the Tigers could have capitalized and added many more points to the scoresheet.
Likewise, when the Tigers were making short, simple passes on the offensive side of the floor, they created good scoring opportunities and were hard to defend. The trouble came when they tried to pass from one side of the court to the other. If the passes didn’t get stolen right out of the air, they were often mishandled, resulting in a change of possession.
If the Tigers can make it easier on themselves when passing the ball, they will score more frequently and limit turnovers.
These turnovers are another flaw BGA was able to exploit. A sizable portion of the Wildcats’ scoring came from stealing the ball at the half-court line and turning these steals into quick points. By making easier passes, USN should turn the ball over less often, which will force BGA to be more creative and take harder shots.
Lastly, USN needs to avoid committing fouls. There is no easier shot in basketball than a free throw, and BGA proved to be solid from the charity stripe last time the two teams met. If USN’s players can stay out of foul trouble and force the Wildcats to make plays, they will be setting themselves up for success.
The Boys’ game:
When watching the two teams play and looking at their résumés, the USN Boys’ team is clearly more skilled than BGA. However, multiple USN players cited a lack of focus and overconfident mindset as reasons for unsatisfactory results against Middle Tennessee Christian School, Grace Christian Academy, and BGA in the middle of January. The Tigers’ biggest key to winning on Homecoming will be keeping their eyes on the prize.
These concerns over the team’s mindset may have been put to rest after the last week of USN Boys’ Basketball, where the Tigers won in road games against Columbia Academy, Franklin Road Academy — who previously beat USN, and Providence Christian Academy. They also had a road game at Webb (Bell Buckle), but the results were not available at press time.
Beyond having the right mentality, USN will have to come into the game with the right strategy. When looking at the size of BGA, it’s easy to see that nobody on their roster is as big as USN center Max Elliot ‘23.
Elliot gives his team a noteworthy advantage with his combination of size, athleticism, and ability to play in the paint, as well as beyond the three-point line. By continually feeding him the ball down low and counting on him to come up with rebounds, USN is in a good position to win.
USN can also wear its opponent down by making passes around the three-point line, and utilizing drive and kick plays. Throughout the first BGA-USN game, BGA left shooters wide open once the ball carrier threatened to score by driving toward the hoop. In the Homecoming game, guards Josh Scretchen ‘22 and Adrian Samuels ‘22 can create open three-pointers for one another, or for sharp-shooter Mahoney Daunic ‘24, with simple drive and kick plays.
Lastly, the Tigers need to keep BGA’s best players at bay. While the Wildcats don’t feature too much star-power, freshman Christian Brown can create the most problems for the USN defense. In addition to avoiding overconfidence, the Tigers need to stay alert on defense, because if they give BGA room to work with, Brown will punish them, as he did from time to time in the two teams’ first meeting.
