My week of BASKETBALL

When I was a kid, I loved the game of basketball. I spent countless hours shooting outside in my driveway as a little boy. And when my dad built a carport on the driveway and tore down my basketball goal, I shot the ball onto my roof. I dribbled against the wall, down the sidewalks, and walked to the church to shoot on its baskets. As a middle schooler, I dressed head to toe in LA Lakers gear (I'm talking purple and yellow shoes, shorts, shirt, jacket and hat). Magic Johnson was my hero for most of my childhood, at least until I learned of his promiscuity. It's funny, I still remember crying the day he announced he was HIV positive. As a freshmen in high school, I was a master at taking a charge and was a pretty fair shot. Somewhere along the way I lost my passion for the game. I think my new found talent on the track just quickly overshadowed my love for hoops.

When I came to Krum in 2003, I inherited a 7th grade boys basketball team with lots of talent. Looking back, I can assure you that I didn't have a clue what I was doing that first year. We finished the season a little over .500 and finished 2nd in our district behind another basketball powerhouse--Ponder (this little town sits 6 miles south of Krum on FM 156). That group of 7th graders are now Seniors and have developed quite a rivalry with our neighbors from Ponder. As those boys moved up, so did I. I coached many of them as Freshmen and two or three of them as Sophomores and Juniors. Along the way, I regained some love for the game and learned a lot about coaching the sport.

On Tuesday, these boys from Ponder and Krum played again. Ponder came to Krum's Bennie Ennis Gym with a 25-0 record, a 51 game winning streak dating back to last year's state championship season, and a #1 state ranking. Our kids were 20-4. Both teams were undefeated in district play. After a rocky start, the Krum boys rallied to win in dramatic fashion 63-61. It was the first time this group of Krum seniors had defeated the Ponder seniors since little dribblers. Although I have had my outs with some of those kids, it was really cool to see them shine on such a big stage.

My week of basketball continued on Thursday as our 9th and JV (my team) played the first round of the district tournament. My team lost a disappointing game to Pilot Point putting us out of contention for the championship. Friday, I drove 3 hours with a fellow coach to the east Texas town of Clarksville to scout potential playoff opponents. Despite only a few short hours of sleep, we were back at it again this morning for the final games of the District tournament. My team managed to win two today and finished 3rd in the tourney.

Although I have enjoyed my time coaching basketball at Krum, I don't think I will ever have that same passion for the game I had as a young boy. Today, I was ready for the games to be over. It was a week with BIG basketball highs and a few lows. As I rest this evening, I am very thankful that there are no basketball games on Sunday!!