All Over But The Sighin'

Today was the #1 son's last basketball game. It was the conference tournament. Now you know how the game ended. It was actually a pretty good competition, until we fell behind by 11 points, and then our star player hacked his 4th foul and was benched by his-brother-the-coach. I, myself, would have just sat him out about 30 seconds to consider the error of his ways. There were still 4 minutes left in the 3rd Quarter. I figure that if he goes back in and fouls out, then you KNOW you are playing the rest of the game without him. While he was being 'saved' for later in the game, our deficit grew to 16 points. That's almost insurmountable in 8th grade basketball. I would rather have had him in there with a chance to score, chipping away at an 11-point deficit instead of a 16-point deficit. But...I am no longer a coach, and was not so successful when I was, so I refrain from screaming things from the stands.

Star went back in 4th Quarter, and I'll be gosh-darned if we didn't come back and tie the freakin' game at 40-40 with only 2:00 minutes left. It was back-and-forth until Star got his last foul with 1:29 left in the game. That free throw put the opponents ahead 41-40. Then we had to foul to get the ball back after they stole it from us. 43-40. Amidst a myriad of fouling to stop the clock, another starter fouled out, and THE #1 SON GOT TO PLAY for :08 seconds! I asked if it was because that kid fouled out, or if the coach was doing him a favor, and #1 said, "He could have put in 6th Man, but he put me in instead." There was not much for #1 to do in 8 seconds, except stand under our basket while the opponents shot free throws at the other end. He was instructed to be ready for a long pass, or to screen for the point guard. He accomplished his mission admirably. After the game, his coach told me it had been nice to have him on the team. He didn't have to say that.

Tomorrow I will tell you the REAL story of the game. The drama is not always on the court.