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USSSA PEORIA SHOOTOUT APRIL 26 -27, 2008

Playing together for the first time, the team went 4-0 and won this tournament beating NTRA (twice), ISB and the Pekin All-Stars. This tournament the Predators faced very little man to man defense and the opposing teams played a 1-2-2, 1-3-1 and 2-3 zone defenses. This was a very good opportunity for the team to work on their zone offenses.

The Predators applied full court pressure for the majority of the tournament and it worked effectively creating many turnovers which lead to easy points.

The team played up a division in this tournament and faced three 5th grade teams on Saturday and two 6th grade teams on Sunday going 1-4 for the weekend. The weekend started out playing the Meridan Hawks. Employing full court pressure the team was able to get up early and secure and build upon the lead for the entire game. This game saw balanced scoring and sharing the basketball.

The next two games were against the Decatur Area Demons and the Southern IL Air Force One. Both teams were quick and played a trapping 1-2-2 and 1-3-1 respectively and the Predators lost both games by 15 points. The team played hard never giving up in either game. These games were closer than the scores indicated.

On Sunday the team played two 6th grade teams, the Shockers and Check Game. The difference in size and athleticism made these games extremely challenging. Although the opposing teams won easily, these games were a positive step forward. Because of the size difference feeding the ball inside to the post was not effective. The guards were forced to dribble penetrate and dish or finish and shoot outside to provide scoring.

The team was consistent and played well the entire weekend.

The team was 2-3 for the weekend facing two 4th grade teams, two 5th grade teams and the 3rd grade Predators. Most of the weekend the team played with 7 players.

The first game was against the Blugolds. This game saw the Predators constantly in foul trouble. In the first half one player had four fouls with 10 minutes left in the first half and we were forced to rotate one sub in, not giving much of a breather to anyone. Down by 10 points at halftime the team was able to maintain a consistent rotation for the much of the second half and made a comeback using full court pressure and forced the game to overtime. Two players fouled out and the team was not able to pull out the game in overtime.

The next game was against the Green Elite. The first game of the day seemed to take all of the energy away from the team as the Green Elite jumped out to an early lead. The team bounced back, but was never able to overcome the early lead by the Green Elite.

On Sunday the first game of the day was against the 5th grade Check Game. This was a close game for most of the first half before the quick, athletic Check Game pulled ahead with fast break opportunities and maintained their lead to pull out the win.

The second game on Sunday was against NTRA. The Predators used full court zone pressure and trapping man to man defense to force turnovers and maintain a consistent lead for the majority of the game. The Predators won this game for their first win of the weekend.

The final game of the weekend was against the 3rd grade Predators. This game saw both teams employing full court pressure for the majority of the game. It was a hard fought game by both teams with the 4th grade Predators taking the lead in the first half and maintaining the lead for the rest of the game to grab the win.

In preparation for the upcoming USSSA Nationals, the team again played up facing four 5th grade teams and one 6th grade team finishing 2-2 against 5th graders and 0-1 against the 6th grade team.

The wins came against Mossville and the Farmington Farmers with the Predators using a quick, trapping, full court 1-2-1-1 press to create turnovers and quick scoring opportunities. After getting the lead early in both of these games the team continued to build on the lead throughout both of these games by reading the passing lanes and rotating over to help on defense.

Against the Green Elite, the Predators played a very competitive game, which went into overtime with the Green Elite pulling it out in overtime. The other 5th grade lose came against NTRA who simply won the rebounding battle to control the game.

The last game of the tournament was against a much taller and more athletic 6th grade Rockridge team. The Predators fought hard all game never backing down. At one point in the second half the lead was cut to 6 points. Despite the14 point lose, the effort was impressive with opposing coaches and fans complimenting the effort by the much smaller Predator team.

With the exception of rebounding in one game, the Predators played well in Monmouth and were ready for next week in Fort Wayne.

The Predators were 1-2 during pool play and 3-1 in bracket play in Division 2 of the 4th Grade. The Predators ended up winning the Silver Division Championship (3rd Place) of Division 2.

The first game of pool play was on Saturday against the Hilliard (Ohio) Wildcats. Using full court pressure the Predators gained control of this game in the first half with points off of turnovers and maintained the lead throughout the second half for a 46-30 win.

The Mid Ohio Magic, who would eventually win the tournament, was the opponent for the second game of pool play on Saturday. The Magic were a quick athletic team with two big post players. Using a variety of defenses, but, primarily a 2-3 zone, the Magic managed to get the Predators out of rhythm offensively for a 52- 34 victory.

Sunday was the third and final game of pool play against the Terre Haute Jr. Hoopers. The Jr. Hoopers had an extremely tall (5’-10” or 5’-11”) post player who could finish inside. The Predators would try to rotate over and double team the post player every time he got the ball, but he finished with 25 points, easily dominating post play. The Predators used full court pressure in order to try to get back in the game. The pressure worked half of the time creating turnovers and easy baskets, but when the pressure was broken the Jr. Hoopers were able to capitalize with their speed and size. The Jr. Hoopers won 57 – 41.

On the first game of bracket play on Monday the Predators faced Jennings (Indiana) Rec Center. Jennings started out the game using a 1-3-1 zone before switching to a 2-3 zone. After falling behind Jennings used man to man defense.

At the beginning of the game the Predators attacked the 1-3-1 zone with a quick pass over the top to a wing positioned in the short corner. After one pass the Predators would attack the rim for a quick layup or dish the ball off if the defense rotated over to help. After scoring the Predators used full court zone pressure to create several turnovers and force quick shots. Jennings made a comeback late in the second half, but the Predators held on to win 50 – 41.

The second game of bracket play on Monday night was a rematch against the Mid Ohio Magic. The Predators played much better this game than the first game, but the Magic jumped out to an early lead that the Predators could not overcome. Rebounding was emphasized before the game and all of the Predators contributed with rebounding. Isaiah Timms pulled down 17 rebounds in this game. The score was 15 – 15 in the second half, but the early lead by the Magic was decisive in this game as the Magic held on to win 37 -28. The Magic would go on to be the eventual champions. With this lose the Predators were pushed out of the Gold Division into the Silver Division.

On Tuesday the Predators had a rematch with Hilliard. Hilliard played hard and used a 2-3 zone against the Predators to take a 14 -12 halftime lead. In the second half the Predators came alive outscoring Hilliard 27 – 16 to win the game 39 – 30. This set up the final game of the tournament for the Predators, a rematch for the Championship of the Silver Division with the Terre Haute Jr. Hoppers.

The strategy in the final game against the Jr. Hoopers was to make someone other than their terrific post player score. The Predators used a 2-3 zone with a man down low in the middle constantly on the post player. Entry passes were denied by the outside defender down low. If a pass was made to the post both the inside and outside defenders collapsed so that there was no room to make a move. This strategy worked well and the Jr. Hoopers were forced to press in order to try to come back. Solid ball handling broke the full court pressure and the Predators won 50 – 36, a 30 point differential from the first time these teams played. The team was presented with the Silver Division Championship trophy and each of the players received medals. Isaiah Timms was named the Predator’s MVP.

The Predators played up in the 5th grade during pool play. This consisted of 5 games against 5th grade teams and one game against the 4th grade Blugolds. The game against the Blugolds was the same as the two previous games these teams have played – hard fought, down to the wire and anybody’s game. The Blugolds prevailed in a 37 – 33 game.

Against the 5th grade teams the Predators were competitive in every game and beat the NTRA team that had previously won at Monmouth.

Wednesday was the single elimination tournament with the Predators taking on Southern Illinois Air Force One in the first round. The Predators came out flat in this 8:00a.m. game and Southern Illinois built a double digit lead early in the first half. The Predators fought back and got the game to within one point, but could never take the lead. With Southern Illinois Air Force One taking a 6 – 8 point lead late in the game the Predators were forced to foul in order to try to come back. Southern Illinois Air Force One made their free throws and won the game 53 – 42 on their way to eventually winning the 4th grade championship. Leading scorers in the game for the Predators were Michael Lavin with 10 points and Ryan Roscetti and Logan Besalke with 8 points each.