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.