Monday, June 3, 2024

Mandatory AAU Basketball Spring 2024 Rant - Weekend #4

Somewhere in the various communication with their mother, I swore Millie's AAU season ended in May, but with the end of the school year, she has not one, but two tournaments in June, and of course they're separate locations from Maja. 

Maja's 15U team got to head to beautiful scenic East Stroudsburg University for a Hoop Group event. It's my old stomping grounds (Class of 2000) so it was amusing to see all the changes for a school I DON'T send an annual donation to.  

The biggest controversy 24 years ago was the construction of a rec center on campus.  At the time, it was a legacy project for certain individuals, and a lot of the upperclassmen voted "YES" for the project.  Funny thing was, the initiative narrowly passed, and the upperclassmen were strapped with hundreds of dollars in new fees to help pay for the construction, yet almost none of them ever set foot in the facility.  

Over two decades later, I finally set foot in the facility, and if it's close to the way it opened, it's held up very nicely (I supposed there's a multi-million dollar renovation in its history, but I'm not researching it). 
Maja's team had a Friday dinner game, and they played like they just walked out of the Chinese buffet.  Sluggish, lethargic, and unable to get a round ball in a hoop.  What was only a four-point deficit ended up being a 21-point blowout loss.  

Saturday was a cakewalk, as the teams on the schedule were programs that honestly should not have left their area.  54-32 and 67-24 wins were closer than they actually were. 

Sunday was a playoff bracket, starting with the very first team they played to start the spring season.  They got out to a 14-2 lead to start, but the other team came back within one with a minute left.  However, the team got their act together in the final seconds to win 37-34.  

A trip to my beloved Wawa across the street from campus and some team bonding and they were back to the championship game, against the team they lost to on Friday.  

The biggest lead either team had all game was six, most of the time they traded off lead changes.  However there was a different result, a 53-48 win.

Maja got limited time in the big games (and a lot in the blowouts), but she continued to be a high percentage shooter on limited shots.  

Meanwhile, Millie's team in Lancaster is imploding, a result of egos and poor recruitment.  A team full of short guards, they ran into some decent 7th grade height and went 1-2 on the weekend.    There's a lot of rumblings within the team, and I have a sneaking suspicion that the team will implode before fall ball.  
I did get to see some of their one game, and Millie looked good. This might be a situation where Millie is more interested in school ball opportunities than AAU.  God knows we can save the money. 

No comments:

Post a Comment