Orlando Comets

(KB - 04/27/10)  So, OK, I've had a chance to get a good solid look at the Comets Red 14U in the past month.

Good, solid team.   Tough.   Scrappy.     Has all the tools in place to be a contender this year, a presence next year, and a national calibre team in the summer of 2012 if the core players stay together.

But let's digress and show the logical steps that led to these conclusions.

This Comets team is a merger of prior rivals.    Several of the current starters played for the Orlando Thunder last year, a fierce rival of the Red 13U team.    The two teams slugged it out early and often last year, with the Thunder finally gaining the upper hand at the AAU tourney in Clearwater.   Ultimately, the Florida Angels out-did both teams and won the state championship.

The Thunder decided to bring their team over to the Comets organization in 2010.    At the tryouts in February, only two Comets Red players from 2009 remained with the team--Laniere Coleman and Corrie Duren.     A few players left altogether.    The remainder decided to play with older Comets teams.

So far the merger has gone seamlessly.   Duren has teamed with Madison Brantley and Kayla Monsanto to form a tenacious (if height-challenged) guard corps.  Chelsey Springs, the most athletic player on the team, plays swingman and forward.     Coleman holds down the bottom in the paint.

There isn't any dropoff in production when Haley Oyarzabal, Chenya Sealey, Celeste Martin and Lillian Garvin sub-in.   Dee Gillard and Caitlyn Coleman are being developed as guards.

The Comets Red 14U have only lost to one team this year:    The Davie Lady Broncos.

But the Comets have lost to the Broncos FOUR times.

Each loss was a last minute heartbreaker.    In each game the Comets blew fourth quarter leads.   The last three games were decided by foul shots in the waning seconds.   The Comets missed theirs.    The Broncos made theirs.

The upshot of all this is that the Comets have won two gold medals so far this season and two silver medals.    Both silvers were suffered at the hands of the Broncos.

And while the pundits who assess these games intone "We can beat that team...", it hasn't happened yet.     An 0-4 record against the same team speaks for itself.

I've covered a team that couldn't win close games before.   The 2001-2005 Orlando Miracle had a 93% losing record in games that were decided by 10 points or less.    I found this troubling, since the Miracle's overall winning percentage was 95%.   Most of their wins were blowouts.    The 5% of games they lost were usually close games against tough teams.   The effect of such losses to comparable teams was acutely painful, I remember, and usually due to easily rectifiable coaching decisions.

I distinctly remember one game at YBOA 11U Nationals in 2002.     The Miracle had blown a 5 point lead against their hated rivals, the Palm Beach Waverunners and trailed 29-28.     The Miracle had the ball out of bounds at the far end of the court, on the sidelines.   There were 4 seconds to play.    Remember, these were 11 year old girls.    The Waverunners were implementing a withering backcourt press.

What's the play?

Anyone should know.    You fake the pass into the back corner, allow the defense to over-commit, then send your fastest player on a flyer and whip an overhead baseball pass upcourt for a layup.

The Miracle coach had her player pass the ball into the deep backcourt corner and then relied on an 11 year old girl to dribble the length of the court in the teeth of the press.    In 4 seconds.   Of course, the Miracle committed a turnover and lost an entirely winnable game.

Such egregious mistakes have not occurred against the Broncos, though.    The Broncos have been together since they were fifth graders.   They know how to win close games.    Their players hit key shots.    The Comets missed every opportunity to drive the dagger home against the Broncos.     Such nervous play can be attributed to youth and inexperience.    For the time being, anyway.

But something happened this past weekend which reminded me of painful Miracle losses past.

The Red team competed in the 15U division at the Lakeland Fire Shootout this past weekend.     After blazing a trail through their pool rivals, the Red team squared off against the older Comets Blue 15U in the semi-finals.     The Comets Blue 15U is no match for the Red 14U team.    The Red team jumped on them early using crisp passes and tough defense.     With three minutes to play in the game, the Red team led by 15 points by applying constant defensive pressure and attacking with reckless abandon.

Suddenly, the tenor of the game changed.    The Red team started holding the ball and milking the clock.    Predictably, turnovers resulted.    Also, the Blue team started deliberately fouling to stop the clock.     AND THE RED TEAM WAS CALLED FOR A NUMBER OF WHOLLY INEXPLICABLE FOULS, TOO.

Long story short, in a span of 2:15, the Red team's hard earned lead went from 15 points to 3 points.   Ultimately, the Red team won by 5.    But easing up off the throttle turned a comfortable win into a nailbiter.   All of the Blue team's points came at the foul line.

WHY?!?!?

In the championship game against the Miami Bulls, the two teams sparred on even terms in the first half.     Both teams sought to engage their half court sets.     Both teams ran Overload and fired skip passes cross court for open jumpers.   Both teams tried and failed to establish the post.   The score was 18-18 at halftime.   

In the third quarter the Comets came out smoking.   They ratcheted up the intensity, made steals and whipped nice outlet passes upcourt for easy layups.   The Bulls rolled back on their heels and finally tumbled over and died.     The Comets led by the score of 38-23 entering the fourth quarter.

Lo and behold, here comes the Milkclock Offense again.   I went outside to take a call.    When I came back in, the Comets were only up by six.   And it got worse.   The Bulls crept to within three points on several occasions, and had possession, and missed open looks.   And still the Comets held the ball instead of ruthlessly pressing their advantage.

With 1.1 seconds to play in the game the Comets led 39-36 and had the ball out of bounds deep in enemy territory.   Did they pass the ball into the corner, turn it over and allow a game tying three point shot, as the Miracle would have done?

No.

Coach Springs properly had his player loft a baseball pass to the far end of the court.   The Bulls stole it, took one dribble and the clock ran out.   Smart play.

But I DO note that the Comets were outscored 13-1 in the fourth quarter after besting the Bulls 20-5 in the third.    We seem to be making a habit out of winning the first three quarters of games and getting smoked at crunch time.   The Broncos have already shown us the fallacy of such a strategy.    The Milkclock Offense is a recipe for disaster.

One can make the argument that these Comets have to learn the Milkclock Offense sometime.   Why not now?  

It's a strong argument.   I actually wouldn't mind seeing a nice implementation of Oviedo's Four Corners offense which is designed to frustrate teams into making mental mistakes and punish them with easy layups.     But the Milkclock Offense is not that.

Madison Brantley was named Tournament MVP for her scintillating work in Lakeland.    Kayla Monsanto, Lillian Garvin, and Corrine Duren were named to the All-Tournament team.

Next weekend the Red team gets a shot at the defending state champion Florida Angels when Disney's Spring Fling kicks off on Friday.

(KB - 03/14/10)   The Comets Red 14U completed a three game sweep at the USSSA Tampa Tournament of Champions this weekend and won the ninth grade division with a stirring 42-34 victory over Manatee PAL.    In their first trip out of the box this year, the younger Comets put on an astonishing display of grit and determination in the face of daunting odds.   The Comets 14s have lost their two best players, picked up six new players, and only practiced once.

Normally such a confluence would herald a moral victory at best, and maybe a bunch of mumbled excuses for failure.

But these Comets have something the previous iterations of this team seemed to lack--downright toughness.       Let's be upfront.    Manatee PAL had a better team than we did.    Their girls were faster, more athletic and obviously had a few plays in their repertoire.    They'd been practicing.

After falling behind early, the Comets regrouped with a collective growl and an attitude overhaul.    Led by Madison Brantley's and Cori Duren's dogged attention to the passing lanes and Laniere Coleman's angry dominance of the paint, the Comets battled back and took small leads into each of the next three quarters.    The Comets did not take a single defensive possession off the entire game.  

And while the Comets' offensive game looked ragged at times, the defensive pressure caused the faster Manatee girls to waver and finally buckle late in the third quarter, when the Comets took a 12 point lead on Kayla Monsanto's short jumper from the wing.

Manatee did manage a short-lived comeback in the fourth quarter.    They cut the lead to six points with 2 minutes to play and had several opportunities to cut it further.    But each time the Comets came up with a defensive stop and, on a couple of occasions, padded their lead.  

This game had more floor burns than any Comets game I've witnessed previously.    Consequently, I'm willing to say this is the best team we've had in this age group.   The addition of Brantley, Monsanto, Haley Oyarzabal, Chelsy Springs and Chenya Sealy has added a toughness that this team previously lacked.    None of these kids are superstars in their own right.    But collectively they have what it takes to create a team IDENTITY and a REP.

And it's about damn time, too.     I was getting tired of explaining why this team was soft.

In pool play, the Comets dominated two non-descript tenth grade teams.    The games were sloppy and unremarkable, save for the gutty defense displayed by the Red team.   Coach Springs substituted five and five in the first game, then toyed with various lineups in the second.   But in the championship game he went with his top players.

Chelsy Springs led the Comets with 12 points in the championship game.    Coleman contributed 10 points and 7 blocked shots.    Both girls were selected to the All-Tournament team.     Cori Duren was selected as the tourney MVP.

I want to suggest that leaving Madison Brantley off the All-Tournament team was something of a slight.    Brantley led the Comets with 15 points in our win over South Georgia.    She posted six points in the finale, but her defensive contributions were substantial.   Both Brantley and Duren posted more steals than points.    And when I say they had steals, they went and actually stole the ball.     The other team didn't just hand it to them thru sheer incompetence, as is often the case.    

Brantley is a player who bears watching.

The Comets Red 14U aren't scheduled to play again for a month.    This seems a shame.    It's an unnecessary waste.    Let's see if we can't get this team into the FBVA Challenge two weekends hence or, failing that, at least onto the FBVA schedule against boys.

I absolutely LOVE hardhat basketball.     And, for the first time in several years, I'm excited about the season.

(KB - 03/08/10) OK, what's the story with the Comets this year?

Since the summer of 2008, this once dominant franchise has abandoned its historical player development techniques and has adopted the recruit-the-latest-and-the-greatest strategy of other teams.

How has this worked out? Well, lets look at the facts.

The Comets started out as a 10U team known as the Cool Waves. They had Brooke Thomas, Briyanna Blair, Jacky Nikic, Denisse Marquez and several other notable local players. They dominated the state up until 2003, when they were forced to reckon with the upstart Orlando Lightning and the Clearwater Heatwave, who'd merged in an effort to take down the queens. Political infighting on that Lightning/Heatwave team undermined their efforts however, and their coach called Comets Coach Jack Givens about yet another merger. From this merger the Comets picked up Krystal Thomas, Asia Wilson and Sthefany Thomas. These players made the regionally dominant Comets into a national power. By 2006, the Comets were National Champions.

I would argue that the Comets were even better in 2007. They added Kelsey Assarian, Jennifer George, Ashley Jones, Andrell Smith, Andrea Smith, Cassie Peoples, Chandler McCabe and Erin Knight to a roster that returned Alexa Deluzio, Brooke Thomas, Sasha Chaplin and Jordan Coleman. Every single one of these players signed with major D1 schools, something that's never been accomplished by any team in Florida. If not for Jenn George's season ending injury, I think this team could and should have won both AAU Nationals and Nike Nationals.

Since then, though, the Comets have struggled at the national level. They have no significant wins against their primary state rivals--Team Breakdown and Tallahassee Essence. Last year the Jacksonville Rams dethroned the Comets as state AAU champs after a 10 year run. The Comets have been unceremoniously dismissed from Nike Nationals without any hardware for two consecutive years now.

What has changed? Has the talent dried up? Has the coaching become tepid?

Certainly the loss of Cassie Peoples and Ashley Jones in 2008 contributed to a weak travel season. And the loss of Alexis Prince and Kayla Brewer in 2009 further dissipated the team. One can argue that these critical personnel losses are due to recruiting oversights by the coaches.

I submit that the Comets have stepped away from their bread and butter. The dominant Comets teams from the past were built in the younger age groups. They were not built by a player cattle-call tryout, a month's worth of practices, and a trip to Boo Williams. As I have said repeatedly, what the Comets are doing now is a recipe for failure. Mediocrity is the best outcome from the current plan.

Even if it were possible to recruit and keep the best players coming out of Orlando, national calibre teams are not built in three months. National calibre teams are created by playing against FBVA boys and older girls teams AND LOSING. The experience gained is invaluable. The current Comets Red 16U hasn't done that. And they won't. Not this year, anyway.

The Comets Red 15U have a good solid chance though. Those girls have been playing together since they were 12 year olds playing for the Edge and Dee Brown. None of them showed up for the Comets tryouts last weekend. They made it plain the team didn't have any spots open for new members. Looking over their roster, I have no doubts that the 15U team can beat the 16U team, based on sheer chemistry.

What will happen next year when the 15U team becomes the 16U flagship team? Will Al Honor cede his charges to Jack and Garfield? Why? Wouldn't that, too, interfere with team chemistry?

The resurgence of the Comets Red 15U gives Jack and Garfield the chance to return to the Comets' roots. Take over the 13U Comets, Jack and Garfield. Build a champion from the basics instead of cobbling together some disparate 16U talent and hoping for the best. The results from the past two summers isn't going to change without a fundamental change in the process.