With the word rant in the regular title, it would be foolish to avoid my topic for the day.
The easiest job in the world? AAU scoreboard operator.
Referees are usually horrible, but given most tournaments will give 11 assignments in a 12 hour stretch, I'm satisfied that they still make most calls and at least try to enforce player safety.
I've never refed an official game, but I have done scoreboard and stats for a variety of levels. I've had clock issues and minor, short-term scoring issues, so I try to be sympathetic, but I've seen egregious scoring errors in 12 of the 14 games I watched last weekend. Multiple three-pointers (with both refs using the "touchdown" motion to signify this) were each marked as two points apiece. Phantom foul shots added or ignored. And even worse, complete ignorance on running clock rules.
Let's not even talk about the one time an assistant scorekeeper was assigned to championship, only to have them pass out, face down, on the table before tip-off.
If my kids' teams need to go back to 8am starts to resolve this, I'd be willing. Late games this weekend were neither better nor worse.
While I'm a big fan of early tip-offs, discovering on Thursday that both girls had their games start after dinner on Saturday threw off all our pre-planning. Dogs were still going to the kennel Friday afternoon and hotel rooms everywhere were set-up with use-it-or lose it reservations (those who tried to cancel Friday only had their whole weekend wiped out.)
The big benefit was that we got a chance to go down, find the (new) hotel by dusk, and simply relax with a late wake-up.
The odd displays of broccoli around doors was a bit disturbing.
With a late wake-up, but a late game, we packed the car full of girls to make a visit up to Chocolate World in Hershey. I've been going to Chocolate World for 43 years, and despite the technological advances and 1000% marketing blitz, it's still a pleasant (and free) side trek.
All the girls were extremely well-behaved at Chocolate World and grabbing dinner. The adults, on the other hand? We apparently need Jesus. The good news is that we had great servers and fast service, in spite of us, so the kids could get back to the hotel, get changed and finally get down to business.
Not everyone Millie's team went to Chocolate World, but everyone played like they had spent the whole day on rides at Hersheypark. Missed shots, poor decisions, and a lack of hustle turns sure routs into only 10 and 15 point wins. Luckily, her team has a deep bench, and as girls got their act together, those players got more playing time.
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| Millie taking her back-up Center role seriously. |
For Millie's games, the scoreboard mistakes were still near forgivable and correctable. Maja's games began the downward spiral.
We figured Maja's team had already played an incredibly tough schedule, and a wave of .500 teams with their own brushes against the elite teams was only fitting. Somewhere in the 2nd half of the first game, the scorekeeper just decided to ignore a few baskets by the other team. A few of the other team's parents knew, as the team scorekeeper, I knew, but nothing was done, so a solid nine-point win for the girls was actually a much closer four-point win. Thankfully, Maja finally hit her stride, scoring 8 points, with two 3-pointers, to keep them ahead.
Game two for Maja the scorekeeper stopped tallying up their baskets, and it was much earlier than a 20-point mercy rule might incline a person to. Even the third game was a comedy of foul shots going to the wrong team, and a lot of gratuitous clock running and stoppages which luckily help her team out.
The Championship game took the cake. Maja's team finally got another rematch with the "hated" Chargers from the fall, and slowly but surely, built up a lead. Up 24-14 in the 2nd half, the scoreboard operator must have kicked the plug for the scoreboard, turning it off, and wiping any and all memory of what things were. Once it turned back on, there was a whole ordeal of whether there were 13 minutes left, 9 minutes, or even 7. After that came to an amicable agreement, the score was reset. Maja's team got 23 points (the scorekeeper never acknowledged the "double touchdown" motion of the refs for a crucial 3-pointer, and no matter what the complaint was there was no way to convincing her otherwise.
For the Chargers, of course she put 20 points on the scoreboard.
Wait, what?
Even the Charger parents were amused but their sudden windfall.
Maja's team played great and won 40-32 officially, but in reality, won 41-22.
It was there first championship for the season, a long one that has seen them play 5 of the Top 15 teams in the Mid-Atlantic, and now are finally over .500, at 6-5.
Millie's team went to the championship game, as expected and faced a gargantuan team of decent ability. Unlike previous years, when they won with 6, 7, maybe 8 players if they were lucky, this year's group could be rotated in to take some lumps, dish them out, and give the exhausted players some much needed rest. This year's team also has some extra height to absorb the abuse vertically and not exhaust everyone by contesting rebounds.
Stopping for dinner, and a series of drop-offs of friends and teammates, we got home around 10pm Sunday night.
I wish a scoreboard operator could change THAT time.
And now for the Power Index;
Clutch (my daughter's team) played Collegeville in the finals, and their victory not only catapulted their rating higher up, but boosted Collegeville's rating.
For Maja's team, the winning record finally stops my reasoning for not ranking them.
Since the index counts opponents winning percentage, and the average winning percentage of teams those opponents play, it was important to bring up this statistical assault.
There have been 364 teams participating in "AAU" tournaments this fall
Of those 364, 88 have played at least 9 games thus far.
Of those 88, Maja's team is 4th overall for toughest strength of schedule.
And they're the only team with a winning record in that top 12 .
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