THE CORNER REPORT: My takeaway from the NHC

Hey Ya'll,
 
This will be a seriously long column, so I'm gonna do you a favor and just get to it
 
Oh by the way, Happy New Year :)
 
Now enough chit chat...
 
The 4 Corners (ranking through Jan. 4)
 
Girls
 
4) Diamond (4-4)
 
The Wildcats were off over the break getting some much needed rest for several injured players.
It'll be interesting to see what they look like if some of those girls get healthy.
 
3) Neosho (6-7)
 
A very good showing at the NHC! 2-2 record losing to 2 really good squads. A nice win over Seneca is the gem that puts them in Quad Squad. A win over Diamond a few weeks back puts them ahead by a hair.
 
2) Carthage (8-4)
 
The Lady Tigers went 2-2 in the NHC. They picked up wins over Springdale and Seneca. They had Purdy on the ropes but couldn't finish them off.
 
1) Webb City (8-2)
 
Well, well, well look who's back in the top spot. Webb City Lady Cardinals won big over Neosho on Monday night to vault themselves back into the top spot.
 
 
Boys
 
4) Diamond (7-2)
 
Diamond took the Christmas break off. They did get a good win over Lamar on Tuesday night 65-50.
 
3) Thomas Jefferson (5-2)
 
Yes they too were off over the break. Hopefully that rest brings back a healthy Justin Brown. They play Southwest on Monday, that'll be huge!!!
 
2) Webb City (7-3)
 
Went 2-2 in the NHC. Got an impressive win over Neosho on Tuesday night 69-34. Had a chance at the #1 spot but...
 
1) Carthage (10-2)
 
...the Tigers beat them in the 3rd place game of the NHC 82-57. And then, Carthage got a very nice win over Branson to start COC play on Tuesday night.
 
 
Short Corner:
 
The December (and late November) Awards will be in the next week's column. No big surprise who my boys player of the month will be.
 
McDonald County's girl win against Waynesville looks even better today. Kenzie Dill has moved up my Player of the Year watch list. She has always been a strong player, but she showed some serious skills in the NHC...even representing Mac County well in the 3 point shootout (2nd place). And congrats to her teammate Callie Jo Shaver who won the 3 point contest.
 
John Roderique and Nate Brown (Webb City). They do it all. Offensive boards, good D, big shots...they are all over the place!
 
Ashley Gilion (Neosho) is a smart girl. She took 3 charges in the first half of the win over Seneca. I asked her about it, she said "I can't block shots so I figure that's the best way to stop them". Attention: every player reading this!!!! Stop trying to block shots all the time and take a charge!!!
 
You know what 3 charges is worth to me as a coach, between 6 and 18 points.
 
"Isaac, how do you figure that?" Well, not only do you stop a possible 2 points (so that's 6 right there), the player could get an "And-1" (3 more possible points there) and now you get 3 more possession they don't get (0-9 points possible right there). 18 points.
 
Not to mention you might help get some of their players in foul trouble. What's that worth? Nice Job, Ashley. She is another who's moved up the POY board.
 
Logan Davidson (Neosho), I believe you in young man. You're coming along nicely.
 
Back to my interview with Seneca Girls Coach, Bob Coffey. He is a great interview. You can truly tell he understands what he's teaching and what his goals are. He spoke of how proud he was to see his girls bounce back from a tough loss to Carthage on day 1 of the NHC and get the win on Day 2 over Cassville.
 
Coffey talked with optimism about the return of Amber Van Wagner from shoulder injury. "We are excited to get her back. She will definitely bring a lot to our team. It will take a while for her to get in the mix and build chemistry with the team. We can't wait to get her back on the court".
 
I would defintely advise you to keep your eye on Seneca in the weeks and months to come. They're only gonna get better.
 
Again, I'm pretty clear on who my boys player of the month is, but Tucker Anderson made it really tough on me. Behind his strong play, East Newton has won 4 of 5 and has boosted it's season record to 7-5. Coach Yocum's another guy who's high on my list of coaches who get the most out of their players. I'm keeping my eye on the Patriots.
 
Speaking of the Patriots, the Lady Pats darn near took one from Southwest on the road Tuesday night. They lost 39-35 but executed really well and played superb defense in neutralizing a couple of the best players in SWMO. Nice job!!!
 
Travis Vogt and Matt Mcgee (Carl Junction). It's hard for me to imagine there being a better backcourt in the area. In a comeback win over Labette County Tuesday night, Vogt had 11 in the 4th quarter, Mcgee had 10. For the game Vogt had 25, Mcgee had 24. Watch out, Big 8 conference opponents!!!
 
Seneca boys got a good win at Colgan moving their record to 6-2. Stay tuned...
 
Kaminsky Classic starts tonight (Thursday) in Joplin. Some strong talent is in the field.
 
Hey Corner Teams, we need some signature wins!!!

The NHC Review:
 
1) Neosho Holiday Classic, Awesome as always!!!
 
As I told you before, there's a special something about the atmosphere at the NHC.
 
It is an awesome event.
 
As usual Corey Roy, Branco and company do an unbelievable job.
 
The hospitality seemed to be the best ever.
 
Seriously, guys you do an amazing job organizing this thing.
 
I didn't see any flaws in the day to day operations of the event.
 
And that's where great events start, with the planning and administration.
 
It was truly first class.
 
 
2) I know I haven't seen them all, but it seems like the talent level was as high as it's ever been.
 
To have the #1 ranked Junior in the country and his #7 ranked twin brother is pretty amazing.  
 
It started there, but it didn't end there. On the boys and girls side, I saw lots of kids who could be playing in college very soon.
 
3) I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but the Neosho High School gym is one of the coolest places. That old school design is killer, I love it.
 
It's a great atmosphere for a basketball game.
 
4) The Dunk Contest
 
I was a generous man this year with my scores...a lot of people thought. :)

Honestly, last year's dunk contest was better in my opinion. And that was without the National teams.
 
Zach Adams (Carthage grad) put on a show last year and he had some help.
 
Zach's performance ranks up their with Van Green (Central Park) and Jeremy Tyler (San Diego High)...remember them?
 
Back to this year. It was still pretty darn exciting.
 
Best Dunk belonged to the Harrison twin with the between the leg finish.
 
However the best dunk of the NHC wasn't in the Dunk contest (keep reading)
However, Dunk contest winner (Sunrise's) Nathan Bain put on a show, son. It doesn't rank too far behind those I mentioned earlier.
 
His teammate Andreas Bigum had a lot more than what we got to see. I've seen Sunrise play before the NHC.
 
Desmond Buerge, it's not my fault you didn't get to the second round. Dude, I gave you a 9 for that windmill. It was pretty good :)
 
5) Speaking of Desmond Buerge
 
He gets my vote for player of the tourney. 27 against Van Buren, 31 versus Webb City, 32 versus Sunrise. He was an unstoppable force.
 
And kudos, to Carthage for taking 3rd place and holding on to the Top Spot in the Corner!
 
6) Love watching the Bentonville girls play ball!!!
 
Their defense is tremendous. There's a reason they are the back to back NHC champions. Unbelievable defensive intensity and pressure.

7)   Boys Championship game (Here we go...)
 
I made the mistake of asking this question to one of my friends out loud, "How do you want me to write this, nice or honest?"
 
Everybody in my section yelled "Honest!!!".
 
Well crap, I'm stuck.
 
Ok, here goes.
 
The game was a bit disappointing. Especially for the athletes that were on the floor.
 
However it did include the best dunk of the NHC. Aaron Harrison (Travis) slashes to the rim and posterizes a kid from Sunrise. It was Nasty, yo!
 
Sunrise had to be tired after traveling from California straight to Neosho basically. But...
 
I believe Fort Bend Travis seemed to be hit harder by the 4 games in 4 days. They couldn't make jump shots and that hurt things quite a bit. The Harrison twins combined to make zero 3 pointers. Travis, as a team, shot 6 for 15 from the free throw line in the first half.
 
But that probably wasn't the key stat.
 
The key number was 50.
 
50 fouls!
 
50?
 
Yes, 50!
 
All I could here behind me in my section was frustration...
 
"Let them play!"
 
"Please let them play!"
 
This was all I heard, over and over again. The game was flat, out of sync and at times...boring. The crowd was quiet most of the game.
 
One college coach said to me, "I don't think these refs are used to this style of game and athlete".
 
Could be true, I don't know.
 
Obviously many people left disappointed with the game.
 
Neosho Daily News Sports Guru (and my new buddy) Jesse Cordova had a viewpoint to share in the column he wrote, "Let them play".
 
It's a good piece. Very strong. Check it out if you haven't already.
 
I delayed the release of my column so you would have time to read Jesse's.
 
So what do you think, Isaac?

Let me ask a few questions:
 
A) Was it pretty evenly called? Yep, there were 25 fouls called on each team. That's a ton of calls, but it was even.
 
B) Were the calls wrong? Probably not...It's kinda like football, there's holding on every play...
 
I truly don't believe the quality of the calls or technical proficiency of the referees is in question in my opinion. They're good referees.
 
C) Are the players and coaches at fault for not adjusting?
 
The Atlanta Braves (my favorite team) made that mistake back in 1997. NLCS game 7, I believe. The umpire consistently gave strike calls to the Marlins pitcher 8-9 inches off the plate it seemed. It was bad. The replays showed that they were clearly "balls". The Braves decided not to swing and were called out on strikes like 6 or 7 times. They complained and complained. They lost 2-1, I think. Even though the Braves were correct in their assessment of the location of the pitches, the umpire is in charge. And if he says it's a strike, then it's a strike. So Atlanta has to take some responsibility, right? You better swing.
 
So if Travis and Sunrise saw the game called a certain way, I guess it's their job to adjust.
 
D) On the other hand, these are 2 big, physical and athletic teams. They are both used to bumping and banging. That's how they play.
 
Is it the job of the referees to adjust to the style of ball that's being played?
 
I love bumping and banging but not everybody shares my affinity for that style.
 
E) Holiday tournaments (especially with National teams) are entertainment to a major degree, right?
 
People pay their hard earned money to watch a "show". It's not for districts or state...or even conference.
 
The championship game involved the 2 national teams. Nobody in The Corner is affected by the outcome. It's entertainment. It's a special treat for The Corner, the people of Neosho, fans of basketball...
 
Should the referees have to consider that?
 
F) And back to my football analogy; do you call holding on every play? Or do you let it go when it doesn't appear to directly affect the play?
 
Look:
 
As you guys know, there's two ways to govern: By the letter of the law or by the spirit of the law.
 
With these "national teams" (especially when they play each other), how should we govern them?
 
Would it be unfair to call their game differently (law) or should the quality of play and flow of the game be considered (spirit)?
 
G) What's best for the NHC?
 
It's a fair question, I think.
 
 
Buzzer Beater from The Corner:
 
I (and many others) lost a great friend last week. Pastor Bill Christman.
 
Bill passed away on Tuesday December 27, 2011.
 
Many of you in this area probably know of him, or least of his work. Maybe you read about him in the last few days.
 
He was an amazing man. He has a list of accomplishments in community and Christian service a mile long.
 
For his amazing work with Community Clinic of Joplin he was named Outstanding Citizen of the Year by the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce in 2003.
 
He was an amazing man.
 
What I will most remember him for is being the man who took a big chance on me.
 
You see, back in 2000, I was contacted by First Presbyterian Church (Joplin, MO) to interview for their Youth Director's position.
 
Honestly I didn't want the interview (or the job). I had already had a couple of Youth Pastor jobs offered to me and was leaning towards one of them.
 
My other offers were in San Antonio, TX and Asheville, NC. Why in the world would I be interested in Joplin, MO?
 
I didn't even know where it was.
 
But the church was persistent in trying to reach me. Finally they did and we had a phone interview. There was something special about it.
 
They asked if they could fly me out to Joplin to take a look at the church, meet the kids, etc...
 
And for some strange reason I told them "yes".
 
My (then) fiance' Laura said, "What are you doing"?
 
To which I said, "They were so nice that I feel like I owe it to them to visit...to see what they had to offer. But I don't think much will come of it". (famous last words...lol)
 
(Let's rewind to the end of the phone interview.)
 
The committee asked me if I had any questions for them.
 
I said, "yeah, just one".
 
"Do you guys have any idea what color I am?"
 
(Fast forward to Friday, December 30, 2011 about 12PM.)
 
As I stand in line at the visitation...
 
A lady from the church comes up to me as says she wants to tell me something that Pastor Christman once said about me.
 
The story goes like this,
 
One day a man came up to Bill Christman and said, "You guys hired a black guy?!?!".
 
Bill Christman answered, "Yeah. And he's so much more than that".
 
 
Dear Pastor Christman,
 
Thank you for seeing past.....no.....seeing through my skin color.
 
Many people still don't.
 
Bill, I know you and several people at that church caught major heat for hiring me, probably lost some powerful families and church members.
 
I wasn't sure why God placed me here, in a place where not many people look like me.
 
And let's not kid ourselves, I didn't grow up in the suburbs or a diverse community.
 
I grew up in the inner city.
 
And yet, you saw something in me. Something that was significant enough to risk unpopularity for.
 
I'm pretty sure I have no way to thank you.
 
It was you who gave me inspiration to use basketball to reach kids for the Kingdom.
 
I tell the kids all the time, we are not a traveling team...we're a ministry!
 
I don't focus too much on whether they win...
 
My desire is that they'll get a chance to be where you are someday.
 
 
I'll see you in a little while,
 
 
Your friend
Isaac Edwards
Matt 6:33