Check Me Out

What’s going on everyone! Things have been kind of hectic the last month since I wrote my last blog with basketball and school because my schedule for both have increased. My team has qualified to play in European competition, so we will be traveling and playing games twice a week this year. Our last European game we played against a team from Paris, France at home. It was a great game from beginning to end because everyone that got to play was on top of their game. We hit 60% from 3-point range and it seemed like everything we shot went into the basket. In the end we cruised to an easy victory.

The start of the regular season in our local league has gotten off to a little bit of a slow start for us. We have dropped a few games at home and on the road that could've been victories with just one or two different plays during the game. Our first game of the season was against Holon away and it was big for us to get out to a good start to the season. We started the game pretty slow in the first quarter but picked it up in the second and third quarters with our aggressive defense. We went into the fourth quarter with a 18-point lead and end up winning the game by three points with free throws. I think we got too complacent with the lead, instead of continuing to play aggressive and pushing the lead to 20 plus. The next game we played Galil at home and it was a similar story to the Holon game. We jumped out to a nice lead in the first half of the game and in the second half we let it slip away. This time it caught up with us and we lost in the end 83-77 to Galil at home. Next was an away game against Netanya, who was coming off a big victory from the previous week. They were a great rebounding team and the main objective for us was to try and get their big men in foul trouble. We succeeded in doing so and the tempo of the game played in favor because of great defense. We closed the game with some big rebounds and even bigger free throws to come out with the W.

Right now I am on the back of the bus writing this blog, on our way home from Germany, where we played against the team from Frankfurt. It was good to get out and play against another team from another league. They had a very big front court and we wanted to use it against them because they were slow, but that meant we had to get the rebound first. We can out strong at the beginning of the game and were able to put pressure on the home team right away with our defensive presence. They made a few runs but in the end we were able to make the final 11-0 run in the fourth quarter to take the lead and put the game away. They made a few late game three’s to cut the score down but didn’t have a chance of winning. The final score was 83-78, W for us!

This year’s team is really young, including our head coach, and everyone is new to the team. So as we play, we are learning a new system as well as how to adapt and play with each other. It’s a process and thus far in the season I think that our losses have come from us more or less shooting ourselves in the foot, rather than the other team beating us. Cutting down on unforced turnovers is the big target for us and once we do that, then sky is the limit for us. On another note, felt good to see my Cards beat Butler at home for the first official win in the KFC Yum Center! My games are usually on Saturday/Sunday and on Tuesday and you can watch them live or in replay at www.triangletv.net. The schedule for the games is on the site so it will tell what day and time the game will be broadcasted. ‘Til the next I sign on…..Peace!

Son Of The City

New Season

What up What up!! Hope that everyone had a great summer this year! It was a great summer for me, got a chance to rest my body after getting a little banged up last year and to get stronger. We had another great Larry O'Bannon basketball camp this summer at Collegiate H.S. and we are already looking forward to camp in 2011. This year I am in Haifa and I am excited for the talent that we have on our team. It is still preseason but the real thing starts up on Sunday Oct. 17th with our first game in Holon.

We had a ten day road trip to the U.S. to have an exhibition game against the New Jersey Nets and we had a lot of fun. It was funny to view my teammates with so much excitement over seeing an NBA arena and practice facility. Their eyes got even bigger when they got to see New York City and the different land marks that they had to offer there ( Empire St. building, Time Square, Statue of Liberty, etc..). I got a chance to have my family at the game so it was good to see them and hang out with them for a little bit while I could. We played pretty well with the New Jersey Nets but in the end they just had too many big bodies for our team to deal with. I didn't shoot the ball well either (1-11) and was still trying trying to get my legs into shape. Overall we had a great experience and a great bonding trip for our team since we are so young. Looking forward to having a great season and writing some great blogs!! Til then...Peace!

Son Of The City

Being Efficient

Whats going on!! April is upon us and it seems like time is just flying by in 2010. If the year was to end right now what would you remember about 2010? Just something to think about and reminder to enjoy life and live everyday to the fullest. 201o has been good to my team and myself thus far, and I'm going to try and keep it that way. I have been able to stay healthy and play well, resulting in multiple winning streaks for my team. I am currently shooting 47% from 3-pt range, 57 % from the field and 90% from the foul line. That is a personal best for me from the 3-pt line and I want to take it up to 50% before the seaon ends. Last year I shot 91% from the free throw line, which was a personal best, but I don't think 90% is too bad haha. Becoming consistently efficient in my shooting is something that I really worked hard on because now-a-days everybody wants to shoot and score the ball. I've always played on very talented teams from high school to the collegiate level. So I asked myself, "What is the best way I can get shots and make my teammates pass me the ball?" The answer : Always be on fire. Whenever one of your teammates is on fire and making shots, everyone wants to try and get them the ball. Nobody likes to play with a player that likes to take a lot of shots and they aren't efficient or shooting a high percentage on a consistent basis( aka "A Gunner").

Coming into last week, our team was on a three game winning streak, which consisted of three home wins against hot teams in the league. So it was time for us to test ourselves in the next game away from home playing against Nahriya. They were coming off two major wins over two top teams in the league(both of whom have swept us this season), and adding in the fact that Nahriya was playing at home had to make them extremely confident. In the first quarter, we set the tone of the game with physical defense and hard rebounding. On offense, we were able to spread them out and our point guards and big men hurt them with the pick-n-roll game plan. I was sort of a decoy in the first half because they were not going to help off of me, so that took away the weak side help. The second half is where I scored all 16 of my points forcing Nahriya to decide on whether to keep giving up lay-up on the pick-n-roll or help off of me and leave me open. It was a hard fought game between two teams that wanted to win, but in the end we won 67-60. My stat line for the game was 16pts, 7rebs. and 3stls. I was really proud of my team because we were able to bring our home game defensive intensity on the road and it paid off. Also, my mother was in attendance so it felt good to have her there and get a win for her. She should come all the time lol.

This week we played Ramat Gan at home and the challenge was for us to stay focused even though we were playing the last place team. The first quarter was very sluggish and we came out very lethargic in our playing. I was out of sync myself turning the ball over and missing easy shots. My teammates from the bench came in the game and gave us great energy, as well as taking a eight point lead heading into half time. Ramat Gan came out confident in the second half but we were able to wear them down and put them away for good by winning 84-70. This game extended our winning streak to five and my stat line finished with 18pts and 6rebs.

The Kentucky Derby festivities are about to get under way and I wish I could be apart of them this year. I am a big horse racing fan and love the aura around the city of Louisville at this time of year. Im not up to date on the current Derby field but I will definitely have to do some research and get my bets together. My season is winding down with two regular season games left and the playoffs taking place during early May. Now is the time to focus on finishing strong and making sure my team keeps this momentum going into the playoffs. About to head out to practice and get a lil bit better today....God is Good!! (Deuces)


Son Of The City

Strong Finish

What up what up! I hope that everyone has been ok while I have been away. Everything has been good for me, I've been able to stay healthy and have a pretty good stretch of overall games here lately. In our last four games we have went 2-2 and with four games left in our regular season, we need a strong finish.

Our first game during this stretch we went on the road to play Galil Giboa, a very good shooting team that plays a lot of pick and roll. We started out very slow in the first quarter falling behind a 20 point deficit, but we were able to battle back in the second quarter to tie the game with defense. In the second half, we jumped on them early out the gate to take the lead but late in the fourth quarter they made three consecutive three's that made the difference in the game. We weren't able to get the stops when we needed and Galil beat us 87-83. I finished the game with 28 pts. & 5 rebs.

The second game was against Holon, who was coming in our gym confident because they had two big wins in their previous games. The defense we played in the first quarter was unbelievable holding them to four points (two free throws and lay-up from a turnover) and taking a commanding lead 26-4. They were never able to get the lead within 16 the rest of the game and we went on to win 93-74. I was perfect from the floor and the only missed shot I had was a free throw. Final stat line was 23pts, 7rebs & 5assts.

Game 3 was on the road against Benei Hasharon, a team that we are competing with for a playoff spot. The game started out well for us but I picked up two cheap fouls and that seem to put things in a down spiral. I sat out most of the first half while Benei Hasharon built up a 10pt lead a halftime. The second half we came out flat and the defense just completely vanished. We lost 97-74, I had 5pts and a big headache after this game.

Last night we played Netanya, the second place team in our league at home. Our defense once again lead us to a great victory 92-74. It was a great team effort and the key was keeping them off the offensive rebounds and out of transition because they are a very athletic team. In the second quarter we were able to develop a double digit lead and later held off a strong rally they made to get back in the game. I had 20pts and 4rebs.

Now we just have to learn how to bring our home defensive intensity on the road and we will have a strong finish going into the playoffs. Until the next blog....Dueces!!

Son Of The City

Time for Healing

Hey whats going on everybody! Got an afternoon practice today so I figured I would take the time to catch you up on whats been going on with my team and I. This season has been sort of a roller coaster for my team because we started the season off with injuries and changes to our roster but once we got our foundation and chemistry, we started to get back on track. The start of the second half of the season has started off the same way the beginning started....with injuries.

After winning 4 in a row, we took our winning streak into Jerusalem feeling good about how we were playing. It was a great game by both teams and the score went back and forth. With the score tied at 84, the game was coming down to making big plays. With only 12 secondsremaining, I had to come up with a 1-on-1 stop on the defensive end on their go to guy. After coming up with the stop, we had 4.9 seconds to go the length of the court to win it. I got a good running start as I caught the inbound pass and went the length of court and missed the floater at the end of regulation. In over time Jerusalem made some big shots and came away with the victory 101-95. I ended the game with 12pts and a couple assist.

After that game, we suffered a severe blow to our team losing our key power forward for the seaon with a knee injury. So we have been a little undermanned the last few games and it really took notice because we lost our best rebounder. This is a part of the game and we must improvise and keep proceeding forward. We had a lot of games to go and all the teams are in a pack for playoff spots. We have to put a winning streak together to ensure that we have a spot in the end when the playoff teams are decided.

As for me, the New Years break was a good time for me to really heal up and work on my conditioning. Since then I have been shooting 55% from 3-point line and 92 % from the foul line, which tell me that my legs are back in shape and feeling good. Thought I would include this photo of the windmill dunk I did in a game as proof my legs are feeling well. (During the game, not warm-ups LOL). Its almost march and time seems like it has flown by...I'm ready to watch March Madness and watch the Cards put together a late run.

Larry

New Start

What's going on everyone! I know its been awhile since I last blogged but the team has been on a long break and we have been practicing a lot. During this time it has really given us a chance to gain some team chemistry and work on our team defense. The aura around the team has been pretty good, especially since we were riding a two game winning streak going into the break. Our first game out of the break was against Afula at home last night.

We start the game fast and jumped out to an early lead of 8-2 with some easy transition baskets. Our defense started slowing down since guys were a little fatigued due to the lack of game conditioning from the break. That allowed Afula to lead 48-43 at half time and that is way too many points to allow them on our home court in one half. In the second half, the guys caught their second wind and our defense picked up because of it. We were able to take the lead in the first couple of minutes of the half and never looked back. We held them to 28 total points in the second half and came away with the victory 91-76. It wasn't the prettiest game of the season but it was a win against a team that was ahead of us in the standings and extend our winning streak to 3. I finished the game with 26pts, 3 rebs. and 3 stls.

Now that the second half of the season has started, it feels good to start it off with a win. Next game is against a tough Ashkelon team on the road, so we have to buckle down this week and have some good practiced and be prepared. Until the next post....Be Blessed!

LO