This is the season that doesn't end.
As Facebook is reminding me with memories of final AAU tournaments of years past, I'm reminded that there were still THREE tournaments left this season (one for both girls, two additional ones for Maja).
The one advantage of the Prime Event in Lancaster was the odd late start for the younger divisions. Usually, the youngest divisions get the ignominious 8am start times, but get finished by lunch. For this tournament, Millie's first game was 3:30 and Maja's 6:30. Of course, we weren't done until after 9pm that night, but it allowed me to take care of errands around town, grab breakfast, and even check out the local game stores relocation to the mall, all before leaving for Lancaster.
I gassed up, switched to my "driving shoes" (I talk about that some other time), queued Friday's episode of Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff, and jumped on I-81.
Amusing story, to save about $100 on the hotel room I was going to stay in for 10 hours, I picked a cheaper place in Lebanon, about 25 minutes away. I knew it wasn't going to be palatial, but I was oddly amused to discover the hotel had rebranded itself Days Inn... by Wyndham. After years of suffering through the remodel of the HOST in Lancaster to a Wyndham chain, I had found the exact same thing going on in this hotel. The lobby was new and immaculate. The rooms (that hadn't already been gutted and in the process of the remodel) were barely passable. The furniture was new and the bed linen looked like it was from this century, so it's better than some places I've at for cons.
Millie's team had somehow been randomly placed in the "F" pool, and while the teams they faced on Friday were remarkably larger, but far less talented. Combined points allowed in the first half of both games?
5.
The girls did what they always do, but it was nice to see Millie go back to her giant-killer days, attacking girls 6, 9, 12 inches taller and stealing balls, fighting for rebounds, and hip-tossing chicks for jump balls. She'll be ready for school ball this summer.
Maja's schedule was a bit more fierce, a fully sponsored Under-Armor team and a fully-sponsored Nike team. The Under Armor team they had played in Atlantic City, scraping by until a blowout at the end, losing by 13. This time, there was complete lack of anyone consistent, well... anything, as the other team jumped out to a 12-0 lead before a single SHOT was attempted.
The Nike game was just as bad with turnover after turnover, and missed shot after missed shot.
Now, for excuses, they couldn't hit a rim if they were in a sporting goods store, there was a lot of "Me" ball for some reason, and they were missing their head coach, and two players, including their 6-foot center.
Under those circumstances, against the Under Armor team, I can accept that worse loss a second time around. That Nike team, however, had no right accepting any sort of corporate money. Compared to the other teams they had played, they were a marginal team that just happened to pick
Sunday was another relaxing drive for Maja's 11:30am game... and the second straight day I essentially parked on the highway (my parking spot was closer to the highway on ramp than it was the back door of Spooky Nook.
While Maja's team was getting their center back, they were facing probably one of the three or four top teams in the tournament, possibly the region. They had beat both of Saturday's teams by twenty, so it wasn't a surprise when they blew them out by 40.
While collectively no one expected them to be the whipping boys (girls?) of the pool, there are certain disconnects that a number of players seem to be having. When your team is averaging 15% shooting in a game, and Maja's shooting at least 50% on limited shots, you might expect a few more opportuniites, yet the girls focused on one or two passes and driving right into two or three defenders and hoping for a foul. The opposing team scored more fast break points that normal point, plus all of Maja's teams points combined.
Millie's team had a pool game that guaranteed a trip to the championship two hours later, and they took control and slowly built a thirty-point lead.
With the top three 6th grade programs playing elsewhere on site in other pool championships, Millie's team drew the fourth-best, with with a wild-hair guard and a broad shoulder center that couldn't move well, but was taller than every coach on the bench and referee on the court. Like the previous game, they ground out an 11-point lead nearing halftime, only to see it dwindle to 3 at the buzzer. The momentum swing continued in the 2nd half, tying things up then falling behind by as much as seven. Still, they grabbed the lead with less than a minute, only to give up a lazy turnover and an easy lay-up to tie. Then, with seconds left, they botched setting up they're final play, and the only thing preventing them from losing the game was time expiring before.
THREE OVERTIMES LATER, we were the only court out of 30 with a game still playing. Heck, with the exception of a few players and family of the other NYC actively rooting against their rival, everyone else except custodial and security remained.
The normal back and forth was finally broken by the New York team hitting a 3-pointer to our normal 2-point shot, then one out of two foul shots with 8 seconds left. Everyone knew the ball was going to our shooting phenom, and even with four girls on her, she got to half court, tossed it to Millie, where she ripped a 3-point shot... that fell far right.
For a last game for the AAU season, it was bittersweet and there was a lot of soul searching and second guessing amongst players and coaches, but I'm fine that Millie took the final shot and failed. It won't her last final shot to take, possibly this month. School ball is going to be crazy, but I'll fill that in for the Weekend #8 post at the end of the month.
I'll also add Empire State basketball as one of the top three collections of horrible, unsportsmanlike parents we've experienced, and we've gotten our revenge on the other bad parents eventually...
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