Burger King "King of the Night" along with the Daily Nickel of basketball knowledge brought to you by The Truth

Good first half tonight guys, we just didn't have everything flowing tonight. Our half court defense worked very well but they killed us on fast break buckets and extra passes. In the first half they employed a lot of triangle stuff from those corners and we missed a few rotations. Nothing bad though, we still contested more shots tonight we than either of the first two games.



Burger King "King(s) of the Night":



Juan "The Cat" Zabala : Wow, what a game. He must have had almost 10 steals, played great defense, contested quite a few shots and hustled his ass off. It was "pure Zabalation" tonight my friends.



Scott "The Cap" Harvey : Started off the game with a bang and never stopped until he came out. A great three to keep us hanging around in the first half and some great rebounds. Good defense, the Cap taught a lesson in how to defend the paint and make people earn it down low.



Jason "The Joker" Kuntz : Two great behind the back dimes on fast breaks and some awesome defense. He took an elbow to the chest and at least 5 charges, only one of which got called. I think everyone should know by now how he earned the reputation for "having more heart than the Red Cross."




The Daily Nickel brought to you by your humble narrator, "The Truth" :



5) They relied a lot on fast breaks, so to defeat that we need to get back on defense and call out who has ball, who has what spot on the floor and where everyone else plays defense



4) Call out to the player subbing in for you where you played on the court, sometimes guys get caught up in the moment and forget where you were playing



3) Don't EVER give up on a play. I violated this a few times and for that I apologize. No excuses for throwing in the towel, that is NOT Air Hearn basketball.



2) Don't be afraid to foul when a guy makes a strong move to the hoop, chances are it won't get called and it may even create an easy basket for us in transition



1) Do something over break, whether you shoot around, work out or run. Keep active and prepare yourself mentally for next semester. Get ready for the playoff push!




-The Truth

Kings of the night and the daily nickel [YB]

I'm so impressed with our team right now. Everyone played their hearts out for the entire 40 minutes. I don't even care that we lost 62-60 because we won the war on hustle, intensity and desire. The entire gym knew our team wanted it more than they did; we yelled, screamed and jumped the entire time, regarless if we were on the bench or in the game. We'll have a winning record if we play every game like that.



Honestly, I think the whole team deserved this award but I narrowed it down to three.
Kings of the Night:

Erik "The Truth" Houser : Never played a better game in my life. No turnovers, couple of dimes, few steals and boards and six points. I should do that every game.

Chris "The Boy" Harvey : Played with the most heart out of everyone. His defense single handedly kept us in the game until the very end, not to mention all the hustle steals and boards. Wonderful game.

Rick "The Slimer" Butler : Numerous drives that scored when we desperately needed it, clutch defensive stops, great quarterbacking on defense, positive attitude and amazing boards over people bigger than him. No doubt in my mind he played the best game out of everyone.



The Daily Nickel:


5) I thought we improved on shooting hardcore, but don't be afraid to pop a shot you know you can make.



4) I loved the cheering on the sideline, let's match that every time and maybe even get louder with each game


3) Keep moving on offense; if there's a foul that isn't called keep playing, KEEP PLAYING!


2) We played amazing defense but make sure we get back and defend.


1) KEEP HAVING FUN OUT THERE!




-The Truth

Burger King "King of the Night" along with House's Cold Hard Facts brought to you by Coors Light

Ladies and gentlemen, the above picture is none other than Bobby "Brickwall" Wood, who was King of the Night by playing the best. He most certainly "Had it HIS WAY!" His hustle, rebounding and put-back bucketts earned him the distinction. New award tomorrow night, so play your fucking balls off, bitches! So in your honor Mr. Wood, we give you a gift bag with two YB baby blocks, a book of Hoss and one free ticket to Cluggy's.


Five Cold Hard Facts from tonight's game:


5) First games always suck, especially when nobody's ever played together before but we have to talk to each other out there.


4) Find the open man but don't give up an open look you'd normally take in a pick up game, shoot the ball if you have the shot.


3) Our defense showed a lot of heart tonight, just make sure to rotate and contest every shot if possible.


2)Don't expect others to make plays, make them yourself - I was extremely guilty of this
tonight and I apologize to all of you.


1) Don't ever, EVER, FUCKING EVER forget that Air Hearn should out-hustle the other team; that means banging down low, running as hard as you can and chasing after loose balls. No doubt we won the hustle battle but I've seen us do it much better.


I love you guys,
Erik

Game Report 11/29 vs. Blankmen

We lost pretty badly tonight, 70-34. A lot of us believe the team we were playing against were using unofficial players, so I filed a complaint, but it's all in the past now.

We haven't played an uglier game in a long time.

We were off to a decent start, leading 5-4 after a few plays. We were stuck at 8 points for a while though. There was only 1 official at the game, so fouling was rampant. We took a decent amount of free throws while only conceding a few, but there probably should have been far more.

The first half was pretty abysmal on all of our parts, but the team turned it on a bit in the second half, outhustling the other team in the last ten minutes.

It was a learning experience, and we will be ready for tomorrow night's game vs the Bull Shippers.

It Starts Tonight

I don't know about everyone else, but I can't wait to hit the court tonight.

We usually get to the court about 10-15 minutes early to gear up and get loose, so all you newbie's to the team are welcome to get there a bit early.

Air Hearn baby, 'nuff said.

Reffing Schedule

Here is the Ref Schedule. It is imperitive you call (717) 477-1561 extension 3 for the reffereeing time on your assigned night. If you cannot ref for any reason, let me know at least 24 hours beforehand so I can make the necessary changes! If you do not ref your night and don't tell me, you are off the team!

Sorry I had to sound like a douche bag. Here is the schedule:

All games will be played on court 2

Fall
Wednesday 11/29/06 8:59 Blankmen vs. Air Hearn

Ref: Boy and Bobby


Thursday 11/30/06 10:57 Bull Shippers vs. Air Hearn

Ref: Scott and Jason


Monday 12/04/06 10:57 Julies Jammers vs. Air Hearn

Ref: Zach and Blaire



Spring
Tuesday 01/16/07 10:57 Team Tappakeg vs. Air Hearn

Ref: House and Joe


Thursday 01/18/07 8:59 L.E.G vs. Air Hearn

Ref: Singer and Keefer


Sunday 01/21/07 10:57 D-Addicts vs. Air Hearn

Ref: Rick and Juan


Wednesday 01/24/07 10:57 FUBAR vs. Air Hearn

Ref: Bobby and Zach


Thursday 01/25/07 10:57 Naugleholics vs. Air Hearn

Ref: Scott and Joe


Sunday 01/28/06 10:57 Puff Puff Pass vs. Air Hearn

Ref: Singer and Paul


Wednesday 1/31/06 8:59 The Hags vs. Air Hearn

Ref: Keefer and Rick



Playoff Refs: Boy, Jason, House, Paul, Blair, Juan

Schedule

All games will be played on court 2

11/29/06 8:59 Blankmen vs. Air Hearn
11/30/06 10:57 Bull Shippers vs. Air Hearn
12/04/06 10:57 Julies Jammers vs. Air Hearn
01/16/07 10:57 Team Tappakeg vs. Air Hearn
01/18/07 8:59 L.E.G vs. Air Hearn
01/21/07 10:57 D-Addicts vs. Air Hearn
01/24/07 10:57 FUBAR vs. Air Hearn
01/25/07 10:57 Naugleholics vs. Air Hearn
01/28/06 10:57 Puff Puff Pass vs. Air Hearn
1/31/06 8:59 The Hags vs. Air Hearn

Roster of '06 - '07

Here is the (expected) final roster for the season:

Scott Harvey (captain)
Chris Harvey (co-captain)
Jason Kuntz
Mike Singer
Paul Richman
Joe Wood
Rick Butler
Mike Keefer
Erik Houser
Juan Zabala
Blair Moore
Zach Oberman
Bobby Thorogood Wood

Loss of Sam

We lost Sam today. He has moved on. Ouch.


We wish him good luck, perhaps we will play him this season for a little of the old fashioned friendly competitive banter.

Membership

If anyone wants to be a member of the blog and post things, let me know and I will send you an invite to join the blog.

Preseason Preview

We are looking at a very strong starting 5 this year. My brother and I should be an untouchable force in the paint, both offensively and defensively. Jason Kuntz will be running a wing this year, moving out to a 3 (a more natural position for him anyway). Mike Keefer will be himself, one of the best point guards out there. The only thing that is up in the air is who will start at 2 guard. We still have a while to figure it out.

The bench was very instrumental in our victories last year. I forsee a huge improvement in both confidence and chemistry this year. Rick Butler leads the bench, hands down. I want to start him, but he likes coming off of the bench, and his scoring is really nice when the starters are out. A freshman who has stated interest, Juan, will be a great point guard for us. I have only played with him once, but he has good handles and vision, and he sent me some laser-guided passes. I am really excited about him, I hope he still wants to play.

Put it on the front page, the back page, the middle page, put it on all three, I don't care, I guarantee Erik Houser wins Most Improved Player this year (if they gave awards).

Two more new guys, Zach Oberman and Bobby Thorogood Wood will also be good off of the bench. Zach is a good perimeter shooter, while Bobby brings an unorthodox style of hoops and quite a sense of hustle to the table.

Returning from last year, Joe Wood brings his fearless style of play back for some quality minutes. Mike Singer should be returning as well, a much needed big man to spell the starting bigs for a while. Sam DeGroff also had a pretty good year last year. Right now, he is looking like the starting 2 guard, but it is mighty tempting to bring him off the bench for his scoring abilities.

I have just put out a solid 12 man rotation. Gone are the days of begging people to play. Everyone here wants it as bad as I do. We tasted victory last year and nothing can stop us from wanting more. I predict we finish in the top half of the league this year, but the sky is the limit. Being as we are all seniors now, I have a feeling a lot of our old opposition from the last 3 years will be gone. There is a good chance that we will have the experience factor over opponents. I know this team will go at least .500, but I honestly see a bigger season than that for us. We will impose our will through experience and depth this year. We know how to play this league now, this is our chance for a run.

The Running and The Gunning

Last night, we scrimmaged a few guys 4 on 4. Our team was Rick Butler, Chris "The Boy" Harvey, Zach Oberman, Joe Wood, and myself, Scott Harvey. Because we were substituting one out, I decided to get everyone to push the pace and run the floor.


I have to say, this strategy worked beautifully. We gassed them hardcore. Any defensive board we grabbed was taken full speed, past most of their team members, straight to the hoop. Everyone was running. Rick and I took point most possessions, but when we ran, everyone else was driving to the hole on the wings full force. The result was a lot of easy layups and a stock pile of assists for pretty much everyone.

We didn't keep score but I felt we put it on them pretty hard. Rick thought it was closer, and I agree they hit too many 3's on us, but we had innumerable free layups.

We picked them apart in the low block, as well. I love playing nonaggressive defenders in the post. I felt I pretty much ate them alive with hook shots and drop step layups. Rick was getting in off the drive a lot as well.

Last night gave me great hope for the season. Everyone I have talked to on the team has expressed interest in running the pace this season. Our starting 5 is looking amazing, and we have a lot of quality players coming off the pine to provide the fresh legs and keep the tempo up where we want it. I personally believe that in a game of hoops, the team that controls the pace wins. Last year, we were definitely a grind-the-ball in kind of team. The two games we won (and a few we should have) last year were won mostly because we set up our offense in the halfcourt, and on defense we limited the opposition's transition buckets, forcing them to beat us at our game.