A team victory

Sheffield Junior Sharks vs Leeds Carnegie

4th March 2010 – 18.45 tip

All Saints Sheffield

Sharks 2222 1628 88

Carnegie 6 3 1514 38

It was going to be interesting how this re-arranged fixture from the “freak” snow on the 21st February was going to be played out. One factor being that it was the U14s normal training night and they could have more players wanting to play than places. Unfortunately as this happened there were obviously some disappointments but I’m sure that is not a reflection of anyone’s value to the team and these things tend to even out over a season.

Another factor was how do you get the motivation up and running when top spot is assured and Leeds have been beaten twice this season already.

At the tip off it soon became quite obvious that motivation and hunger to win was not an issue. It wasn’t intense, wild or pressured play but seemingly controlled, well executed basketball that saw Marko, Marcus, Connor and Tyler just taking the game away from the opposition. Eddy’s trademark is fast becoming his 3 pointers and he obliged with one. After 7 minutes Leeds had yet to get any points on the board. As pointed out on many occasions the strength in the bench is apparent and if anything getting better. All of the starting five were gradually replaced and at the end of the first quarter the game looked in the bag.

The second quarter was a bit like déjà vu. Again Marcus and Connor racked up the points. Michael came on and opened his account and Eddy “three point” Brownell got another, yes you’ve guessed it, a three pointer. Again the defensive work was tireless and restricted Leeds to only 3 points. A commanding 44-9 lead at half time.

The intention of this squad, we believe, is to make it a strong team, one where all players have got experience, skill and desire to make sure the team reaches the top. To this end we see something that becomes less and less as the age groups rise and competition becomes tougher, which is giving everyone court time. It seems that whilst the opportunity is there, use it. So Josh and Marko carried on with the scoring and in this quarter we start to see others having an impact. George made a great assist for Montell to start his scoring, Kenneth were on the scoresheet and Tyler added to his total, but the quarter was only edged 16-15. Does this matter? Leeds do have a few good players who had to start to kick in and although the rotation evens out the court time it can lead to a lack of continuity. If there are any criticisms we’re sure they probably come from within the squad and they can sort them out themselves, but in basketball you rarely see complete domination over 40 minutes.

The last quarter the Sharks picked themselves up again (and to be fair Leeds were now playing a lot better). However the Sharks started to bear the fruit of sharing the court time. David and George registered their contribution points wise and Montell started to buzz. A couple of baskets and a great trey were his highlights. Anybody guess what Eddy did? Yes Eddy’s third three, Daniel having his best quarter in terms of scoring and the rest chipped in to make this the highest scoring quarter against a revived Leeds.

So a late night for all concerned but a great game to improve the squad in preparation of harder games to come. Yet another game where everyone was on the scoresheet, the distribution of the points show what a team effort it was. From where we were sitting, well done.

A quote about teamwork seems appropriate “"Teamwork shares the task, multiplies the effort and ensures the success”

Finally, for those looking at and analysing the play off situation there may be an upset on the way. We see that Manchester have now lost 3 on the trot against Cheshire this season and they are on course to meet unbeaten Birmingham “As”. The sharks played the “As” in a pre season friendly and maybe it could now be that team they are on course to meet in the quarter final, who knows?

Team and scorers

Marko Backovic (14), Marcus Welsh (14), Montell Gordon (13), Eddy Brownell (10), Connor Dixon (9),Josh Edwards (7), Daniel Jenkinson (6), Kenneth Nwose (5), Tyler Gayle (4), David Frost (2), George Naylor (2), Michael Carnall (2)