Champlin Park 56 - Elk River 58 _____>12-11

SENIOR NIGHT

• The Slide Continues … 3 Of The Wheels Are OFFICIALLY Off The Bus And The 4th One Is Not To Far Behind … Maybe A Week At The Longest.
  
  The Rebels have figured out a way to make their season even more interesting as it lost it’s 3rd straight game in which, UNBELIEVABLY 2 of the 3 losses have come to teams that they had previously defeated by an AVERAGE OF 37 POINTS.
  
  The Rebels played a lackluster game last night and deserved to lose again. They played with no passion or enthusiasm and more importantly no direction. Each team tried there best not to take command of the game and shockingly the Rebels went into the locker room at the half up 23-21. Each team played a little bit better (not by much) in the 2nd half as the Elks converted a number of put backs and long range 3’s. The shining star for the Rebels was Calvin Nolte (19 points) as he kept the team in the game. I believe he made 8 straight free throws down the stretch because he was to big inside for the Elks; needless to say the Rebels never explored this mismatch. With the Elks up 1 point, Jack Gavin (14 points) missed a free throw with 4 seconds left. Zerrick Fuller pushed the ball up court and missed a desperation 3 point shot from half court to end the game.
  
  TOP 10 OBSERVATIONS
• The Rebels Have Lost 3 Straight Games
• The Rebels Are 1 Lost Away From Being A 500 Team
• The Rebels Are 1 Lost Away From Dropping To 3rd Place
• The Rebels Seem To Be Lost
• The Rebels Are Being Out Coached
• The Rebels Are Better When They Play Small Ball
• The Rebels Have No Flexibility
• The Rebels Are Very Predictable
• The Rebels Play With No Emotion
• The Rebels Need To Be Able To Play Thru Their Mistakes

Once which was a bright, inspiring and promising season has become one of doubt. When the Rebels went on their winning streak they would have 3-5 runs per game in which they ran the court and moved the ball very well and outscored their opponents on average 4 to 1. The team enjoyed the freedom of getting up and down the court with little or no direction and were able to spread the court and use their athleticism and player smarts.

Teams have now figured out EVERY play that they run and when the Rebels get into a ½ court situation their chance of scoring is little to none. The team CONSISTENTLY runs a play they call colors which starts off with a pass to the right wing, well EVERYONE knows after they run it 3 times what to do to stop it. It is the most unproductive play I have ever seen. The team has played 23 games and my guess is it has run this play 25 times a game (23 x 25 = 575 possessions), out of these 575 possessions I believe they have MAYBE scored on 25 of these possessions. My math tells me that this play has a success rate of less than 5%. When the coach calls this play not only do the players flinch but the spectators simultaneously put their heads in the hands. This action is worth the price of admission.

Calvin ... GOOD GAME!

The Rebels face two teams next week (Anoka and Andover) that they have previously EASILY defeated and the way things are going, a split would be an accomplishment.

Around The League: Osseo wins their 16th league game over Maple Grove which keeps the Crimson 1 game back on the Rebels. However, Blaine’s win over Park Center coupled with Elk River’s win, now forces a 3 way tie for them.

The Box: Fuller7, Duberry 8, Nolte 19, Jesinoski 7, Witt 3, Theisen 5, Okafor 7.