Peyton Manning's Lesson for Basketball

This is article compares the simplicity of the "Manning passing game" with the simplicity of the ball screen offense. The comparison could be made to a lot of styles in sports. The philosophy is the Bob Knight philosophy- do a few things really well vs. the Dean Smith philosophy try to do a lot to be able to surprise the opponent. This could be true also of the philosophy of Syracuse- we are only going to play 2-3 zone, but we are going to play it really well.

By Beckly Mason

Peyton Manning is often described as a wizard, and genius, and all that may be true. But as Grantland’s Chris Brown writes, he didn’t earn that reputation by mastering complex plays.

His story on Manning and the Bronco offense that No. 18 imported from his time with the Colts got me thinking about, what else, basketball, and specifically about the effecitiveness of the spread pick-and-roll offense.

Butler Use of Stats

Article from SI.com on Butler's use of the area of statistical analytics.....  by Pete Thamel.   VERY GOOD STUFF!!!!

The formal basketball career of Drew Cannon ended in eighth grade as the sixth man of his junior high team. In college at Duke, Cannon's only hoops experience came from an intramural team called the Norse Forse.
When Cannon graduated with a degree in statistics last spring, he had modest expectations of finding a job right away. "We were hoping he would not be living in the basement," said Jim Cannon, his father. "That was our goal. And his."
Instead of toiling in the basement, Cannon spent the season on the Butler bench and will be with the team when the Bulldogs play Bucknell in the NCAA tournament on Thursday. Cannon's experience interning with recruiting analyst Dave Telep and his advanced writing about basketball analytics gained the attention of Butler coach Brad Stevens, who offered him a job as a graduate manager this summer.

IBCA All-State

Jessica Lieber was selected to the 3rd team for the IBCA All-State team.

Some of the players we played against or from the area....

First Team
Sarah Livingston- Morton
Jaqui Grant- Maine South

Second Team
Olivia Elger- Richwoods
Ashton Williams- Springfield

Daniels Advances

Freshmen Lexi Daniels advanced in the 3 point shooting contest at Dunlap. Lexi sent home 8 three pointers to tie for first place in the Regional.

Haley Kelso, Jess Lieber, and Allison Mangieri each knocked down 5 threes to just miss advancing.

Lexi will next shoot at the Washington Sectional on next Thursday at 6:00pm. If she advances, she will be going to Redbird for the state finals!!

Right Voices

My mother was wonderful. I know I am biased, but my mother was wonderful. The thing my mother was so good at was to make me feel good about myself. Yes, she sometimes was critical of my choices but she never seemed to be critical of me. She had the ability to separate my behavior/choices from me as a person. Quite simply she was supportive, loving, and full of praise.

I remember when I got a D in French. It was the last term of my junior year. I figured summer vacation was not going to be good. While she was supportive of me, she was not supportive of not working and doing well in schoool. This was my only D in school. 

She was not home when I got home, so I just left the report card on the kitchen table before going out with my buddies. That evening the only thing my mother said was, "Evidently foreign languages aren't your thing." I was shocked, but I think she recognized that I knew I had screwed up.

Jessica Howard Recognized at Knox

Jessica Howard received recognition this past week for her performances. A nice article here....

http://prairiefire.knox.edu/news/2013/1/30/GEN_0130134009.aspx?path=general

Senior Week- Sabrina's Look

Senior Night this week vs. UTHS on Thursday. Time goes by pretty fast. We have a great group of six senior players and two senior managers. They have represented their school and community so well. I asked the underclassmen to talk about the seniors…

This is from Sabrina.

Who is a senior you really did not know going into the season but have really got to know them this season?

Going into the season I really didn't know Dani Teel but now I have really gotten to know her this season. 

Senior Week- Chloe Anderson

Senior Night this week vs. UTHS on Thursday. Time goes by pretty fast. We have a great group of six senior players and two senior managers. They have represented their school and community so well. I asked each of them to reflect on their basketball careers. As I receive their replies, I will post them.

This is from Chloe Anderson.

When you were younger, was there a male or female player you watched who inspired you? What was it about them or their game that drew your attention?

            My mom always used to play basketball with me and coach my YMCA basketball teams. She really inspired me because she used to play and it was something we could have fun doing together. All my brothers and I used to play pig and around the world in the driveway so I wanted to play to be with my brothers too. Lastly, watching my two older cousins, Claire and Lia, play Girls' Varsity Basketball for the Streaks really inspired me to further pursue playing basketball.

Senior Week- Dani Teel

Senior Night this week vs. UTHS on Thursday. Time goes by pretty fast. We have a great group of six senior players and two senior managers. They have represented their school and community so well. I asked each of them to reflect on their basketball careers. As I receive their replies, I will post them.

This is from Dani Teel.

 When you were younger, was there a male or female player you watched who inspired you? What was it about them or their game that drew your attention?

When I was younger, I always watched Illinois basketball (obviously) and for some reason I just loved Corey Bradfort.

Senior Week- Lexi's Look

Senior Night this week vs. UTHS on Thursday. Time goes by pretty fast. We have a great group of six senior players and two senior managers. They have represented their school and community so well. I asked the underclassmen to talk about the seniors…

This is from Lexi.

Who is a senior you really did not know going into the season but have really got to know them this season?

I didn't really know Sharron.

Senior Week- Allison Mangieri

Senior Night this week vs. UTHS on Thursday. Time goes by pretty fast. We have a great group of six senior players and two senior managers. They have represented their school and community so well. I asked each of them to reflect on their basketball careers. As I receive their replies, I will post them.

This is from Allison Mangieri.

When you were younger, was there a male or female player you watched who inspired you? What was it about them or their game that drew your attention?

When I was younger, I looked up to Libby White. For some reason, I was obsessed with her haha.  She gave me her number at one of the camps and told me to call her if I wanted to go shoot around at the YMCA with her.  I was always too scared to call her because I didn't want to embarrass myself!

Senior Week- Jessica Lieber

Senior Night this week vs. UTHS on Thursday. Time goes by pretty fast. We have a great group of six senior players and two senior managers. They have represented their school and community so well. I asked each of them to reflect on their basketball careers. As I receive their replies, I will post them.

This is from Jessica Lieber.

When you were younger, was there a male or female player you watched who inspired you? What was it about them or their game that drew your attention?

A basketball player I always looked up to was Deron Williams! I learned a lot of things from watching him on tv and mostly in person! The way he handled the ball and was a leader to his team really inspired me!

Kansas Weekend

Not often have a break in the middle of basketball season. But after two weekends in a row with 2 games on Saturdays, our schedule gave the girls and the coaches the weekend to freshen up for the stretch run. When I saw this coming over a month ago, I made some calls. Everything worked out and we were headed to KU.

So Friday evening, my brother Mark, Allen, and myself headed to Lawrence Kansas. We picked up nephew Evan in Osceola, Iowa. From there we headed down to KU. The total trip took us about 6 1/2 hours. We arrived in Lawrence at 1:45am. After a short rest, we were up and headed to the University Bookstore on campus. I cannot say how much we spent for fear my wife will find out. Let's just say we were good customers.

You Make the Call

Several weeks ago, we had a game where the following happened....

1- The ball went out of bounds off of a Moline player. The ref signalled it was Galesburg's ball.

2- Galesburg was subbing five players so there was confusion or at least a pause in the action.

Big Brother Retiring

My brother Mark who has taught and coached in Clinton for 39 years turned in his letter to retire. Our family is certainly proud of him. He has been a good big brother. He has done a good job giving me confidence when I needed it and criticism when called for.

He supported me when I was an athlete, and we have counseled each other during our teaching and coaching careers. There has been a lot of time spent on the phone.

I would like to say I have enjoyed watching his successful volleyball teams play- but the sport makes me too nervous. Good things and bad things seem like they happen too quickly in volleyball. And I don't like watching and wanting the River Queens to win but not having any control. It is a stroke waiting to happen.

Congrats on a good teaching career!! We are all proud of you!

The following is from Mark's facebook page....

Mark Massey

Yesterday via mobile

This statement has been released in conjunction with my acceptance of district's early retirement pckg. "I have tremendously enjoyed my 39yrs teaching & coaching in the Clinton School District & I hope to be able to continue to serve the community and the school district in a variety of capacities. As AJ Hanafan might have said, “I'll always be a wildcat and a River King.” 

Both of my children are CHS grads. I've worked with many wonderful families, assistant coaches & administrators. The students/athletes I've had a chance to work with have been & are fantastic. I’ve always been appreciative of the confidence that Bill Holmstrom showed in me, way back in June, 1978. I think that we've built a solid program that the community & school can be proud of since then. “Do I plan on coaching in the future?” …. “I think I still may have quite a bit of coaching in me.”