This story, which follows “Spare Parts”, will conclude a few of my high school basketball experiences. Thanks for hanging in there!
It was late in the season of my junior-year. The Jonathan Dayton Regional High School Bulldogs were undefeated in conference play, heading into the next-to- last game of our first year in the Suburban Conference. We were frequently reminded by Coach Yanchus that no team in the long history of the Suburban Conference had ever gone undefeated in conference play. My role was to come off the bench to spell our starters, most times in the later stages of the game, when things were well in hand.
Our game at Caldwell High School was an absolute dog fight, in front of a packed house. We were deep in the heart of enemy territory. Late in the game, a few of our key players fouled out and it was glaringly apparent that my time had arrived in a pivotal situation. I had practiced countless hours for countless years, wearing out basketballs at an alarming rate, waiting for this very moment. I was ready to take advantage of my opportunity and to make a meaningful contribution to our Program, keeping our undefeated streak alive.
As suggested, I was clearly the next man up however Coach Yanchus elected to stroll back and forth in front of our bench, evaluating his finite resources, yanking on his chin, shaking his head, taking full advantage of his allotted time. Seconds before he was required to make the substitution, Coach sat on his haunches, directly in front of me, while simultaneously digging his fingers into my knees to insure I was paying particular attention. He stared deeply into my eyes and uttered the following words; “Jimmy, listen to me very carefully. If one of your teammates passes you the ball, catch it and immediately, without hesitation, pass it back from whence it came. Do you understand what I am saying? Shake your head if you are following along!” I nodded my head, acknowledging my marching orders as I sprinted to the scorer’s table shredding my bright orange fleece warm-ups mid-flight. I played the balance of the game with barely a touch, as designed.
The Bulldogs walked away with a tough fought 68-66 win with the equivalent of four offensive players on the floor; for the final five-minutes of the game. We wrapped up an undefeated Suburban Conference season with a win against Madison High School. Our team went on to win New Jersey’s Section 2 Championship, eventually losing in the semi-finals of the State Championship to the eventual State Champion. The Bulldog’s final record was 22-3.
The circumstance surrounding the past two stories should have, in all likelihood, eroded my confidence and deeply scarred my psyche. Having never been accused of being the sharpest knife in the drawer however, I was downright giddy to have my size 10-1/2 white adidas shoes contribute to a post-season win during my sophomore-year campaign (“Spare Parts”) and to run amuck for nearly five-minutes, contributing to an undefeated season during my junior-year campaign.
Enough about me!
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The back nine can only get better!
Good story.