Will the real Nevada Tigers please stand up?

Thursday, February 2, 2006

Every time I watch this season's Nevada Tiger boys basketball team, I shake my head.

When are they going to realize this is it?

In about a month, there will be no more basketball in a crimson and gray uniform for eight of the players on this year's team.

They've got six regular season games left. That's it. At this rate they'll have one district tournament game and the season will come to an end. That's seven games. You don't even need two full hands to count to seven.

If you watch the team on the court you would think they don't care. There is no emotion on the floor. There is no fire in their eyes. They simply run through the motions of John McNeley's offenses, sitting back in McNeley's defenses, and let the other teams dictate to them what way the game is going to go.

They've done it most of the season.

The talent is there. That's why the Tigers have been able to sleepwalk to 12 wins despite playing with maybe three full game's worth of intensity. That's it. In 19 games they've played probably 96 minutes at their potential. That's in 684 total minutes of play.

What a waste.

I purposely take it easy on high school athletes, realizing they are just kids trying to figure out who they are and that whole schtick.

But this team is an exception. If they're not already, eight players on this team will be legal adults in the next few months. That means they're no longer kids. They need to start playing like it.

The juniors aren't exempt. They need to know that if they want a chance at any real success on the court, they need to do it now. If the juniors think next year's squad will be remotely as talented as this season's, they need to think again. It's rare to have this many talented, experienced players on a team at the same time. It's time to take advantage of it.

Last year's team knew what it meant to play 32 minutes a game. If I had to choose between last year's Tigers and this year's Tigers in a scrimmage, I'd take last season's team hands down. Not because they had more talent, but because they played with more heart.

That's right, I said it. The Tigers aren't playing with any heart. Does that sting a little?

What other conclusion can you come up with when your team falls behind to only a decent Bolivar team and hangs 'em up?

If Nevada would play with half the heart they exhibit in the pre-game player introductions, maybe they'd be going somewhere.

Some might say that I'm being too hard on the Tigers. They are, after all, still in high school.

High school athletics are supposed to be about fun, right?

Wrong. High school athletics are about learning life lessons, lessons that may not be present inside the classroom. They're about learning how to realize your potential, and about learning how to deal with the competition these kids are going to face every day in the "real" world.

It's about learning right from wrong, and playing within the rules, and striving to be the best you can be.

You want to know what's fun? Looking yourself in the mirror and knowing that you gave it your all, and that while you may not be perfect, in the context of a team, for a short period of time, you were perfect. That's fun. That's the kind of fun you can take with you for the rest of your life. It will last much longer than the 32 minutes on the court that many claim is supposed to be the fun part.

The games can be fun too, but if you have a competitive bone in your body you won't be having any fun getting whipped by 20 points.

There will come a day when the players on this team will learn just how fun basketball can be. I just hope it's not too late.

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