The Retardation that is HS Basketball
When it comes to high school basketball in general, I approach it with the indifferent attitude of "oh well, it's better than nothing". For the most part, it's coaches thinking they're a whole lot smarter than they really are and players thinking they're a whole lot better than they really are. There are also teams that embrace the "system" too much and fail to get the most out of the best players. Rarely is there a middle ground, where the best players are utilized the way they should be while everyone else plays within the system and capitalizes on the chances the best players create. Anyway, I'm fine with all that. This right here I'm not fine with.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGX5LROeIsc&feature=popular#
This is an overtime period. For some reason the losing team thinks letting the opposing team have the final possession is a good idea. All any one of the defenders had to do was get within 6 feet of the player holding the ball and the 5 second count would have started on him. If he starts dribbling, he's still only allowed to do that for 5 seconds.
I'm guessing the players didn't know the rules. That begs the question of why then wouldn't you ask the ref what the rules are when you have all the time in the world to do so? Would it be an embarrassing thing to do since you never see any pro players do it and somebody might laugh at you? No, that's not the thought process. The thought process is nothing. Seriously.. have a little self-initiative. A "wtf, can he do this?" remark to the ref would suffice at the very least. Ok, so this is probably expecting a little too much from kids who get all their know-how from that awesome game Lebron or Kobe had last night. That brings me to the coach. Why can't he say anything? All he had to do was utter two words: GUARD HIM. Once you pressure the opposing team to move, there's a higher chance of them turning the ball over or as a result of human nature, one of the players putting up a shot.
On top of the losing team being retarded, this is also poor sportsmanship by the winning team. This isn't strategy, this is being total dicks. Please put a shot clock in high school basketball. I mean in all of the states, not just in the 8 where they have it now. Don't give me the budget crap. How much can a shot clock seriously cost? Even a guy with a stopwatch yelling out the seconds is better than this.
