the key and glanced at Julian. For a moment, Julian thought he was going to pass to him. But then the tall Jet center
darted between them. So Mick lofted a jump shot from six feet away instead.
The ball banked off the backboard, hit the rim, and rolled once around the hoop before finally dropping in. The Tornadoes
were on the scoreboard!
They didn’t stop to cheer, however, for the Jets were already preparing to inbound the ball.
“Defense!” Julian cried. “Get into the zone!”
Coach Valenti rotated his team through three different zone defenses each game. There was one-three-one, where one player
covered the top of the key, three others stretched in a line across the middle, and the last protected the baseline. The one-two-two
setup found two players covering the middle and two at the baseline while the last stuck to the ball carrier. Then there was
Julian’s favorite, the two-one-two. That’s when two players hovered near the top corners of the key and two took the back
corners while the team’s fifth player—usually Julian or Cal—caused problems for the opposing offense by dancing around in
the middle with their long arms stretched high and wide.
Before the game, the coach had instructed the Tornadoes to use two-one-two. Julian backpedaled the last few steps into the
center of the key, keeping an eye on the ball carrier at all times. It was a good thing he did, too, because the nimble guard
darted forward and tossed up a running jumper!
If Julian had still had his back to the Jet, the shot might have gone in. But he saw the shot coming, leaped, and
slap!
smacked the ball away with the flat of his hand.
It bounced once before Len grabbed it. By that time, Mick was halfway down the court. He lifted a hand in the air, looking
for a quick pass.
Unfortunately, Len tripped over his own feet before he set the fast break in motion. He fell with a thud. The ball bounced
over the sideline.
Tweet!
“Jets!” the referee cried.
Len picked himself up, looking embarrassed. The ref scooped up the ball and handed it to a Jet guard. The guard inbounded
it to the tall center. The center almost bobbled the catch. When he did control the ball, he took a few awkward dribbles and
then passed it back very quickly.
Interesting,
Julian thought as he watched the exchange.
The center has trouble handling the ball. Maybe there’s a way to make that work for us!
3
J ulian didn’t mention his observation to the coach right away. Instead, he kept a careful eye on the Jet center as the first
quarter continued.
During those minutes, the mustached player rarely dribbled or passed. His primary role seemed to be that of shooter and rebounder.
Time and again, his teammates worked the ball around the key and then fed it to him to shoot. Sometimes his shots went in.
But just as often, they clanged off the rim or rebounded with great force off the backboard.
Guess being tall and hairy isn’t everything
, Julian thought gleefully as yet another of the center’s jumpers misfired.
The quarter ended with the Tornadoes up, 12 points to 8. It was a nice lead, and one to which Julian had contributed five
points. But Julian thought he knew how they could make that point gap much bigger. So when the buzzer sounded, he hurried
to the bench to talk to the coach.
“Coach, I’ve been watching their center and—”
“And you’ve noted that he’s got great height, but not great ballhandling skills, right?” the coach said with a smile.
“Exactly! Do you think we should turn up the pressure on him? If we double-teamed him whenever he gets the ball, I bet he’d
start to miss
all
his shots instead of just some of them!”
Coach Valenti pursed his lips in thought. “I hear what you’re saying, Julian. But let’s hold off on that for now. After all,
we’re winning without having to change our game plan. If he becomes a scoring threat, perhaps then we’ll tighten up our grip
on
darted between them. So Mick lofted a jump shot from six feet away instead.
The ball banked off the backboard, hit the rim, and rolled once around the hoop before finally dropping in. The Tornadoes
were on the scoreboard!
They didn’t stop to cheer, however, for the Jets were already preparing to inbound the ball.
“Defense!” Julian cried. “Get into the zone!”
Coach Valenti rotated his team through three different zone defenses each game. There was one-three-one, where one player
covered the top of the key, three others stretched in a line across the middle, and the last protected the baseline. The one-two-two
setup found two players covering the middle and two at the baseline while the last stuck to the ball carrier. Then there was
Julian’s favorite, the two-one-two. That’s when two players hovered near the top corners of the key and two took the back
corners while the team’s fifth player—usually Julian or Cal—caused problems for the opposing offense by dancing around in
the middle with their long arms stretched high and wide.
Before the game, the coach had instructed the Tornadoes to use two-one-two. Julian backpedaled the last few steps into the
center of the key, keeping an eye on the ball carrier at all times. It was a good thing he did, too, because the nimble guard
darted forward and tossed up a running jumper!
If Julian had still had his back to the Jet, the shot might have gone in. But he saw the shot coming, leaped, and
slap!
smacked the ball away with the flat of his hand.
It bounced once before Len grabbed it. By that time, Mick was halfway down the court. He lifted a hand in the air, looking
for a quick pass.
Unfortunately, Len tripped over his own feet before he set the fast break in motion. He fell with a thud. The ball bounced
over the sideline.
Tweet!
“Jets!” the referee cried.
Len picked himself up, looking embarrassed. The ref scooped up the ball and handed it to a Jet guard. The guard inbounded
it to the tall center. The center almost bobbled the catch. When he did control the ball, he took a few awkward dribbles and
then passed it back very quickly.
Interesting,
Julian thought as he watched the exchange.
The center has trouble handling the ball. Maybe there’s a way to make that work for us!
3
J ulian didn’t mention his observation to the coach right away. Instead, he kept a careful eye on the Jet center as the first
quarter continued.
During those minutes, the mustached player rarely dribbled or passed. His primary role seemed to be that of shooter and rebounder.
Time and again, his teammates worked the ball around the key and then fed it to him to shoot. Sometimes his shots went in.
But just as often, they clanged off the rim or rebounded with great force off the backboard.
Guess being tall and hairy isn’t everything
, Julian thought gleefully as yet another of the center’s jumpers misfired.
The quarter ended with the Tornadoes up, 12 points to 8. It was a nice lead, and one to which Julian had contributed five
points. But Julian thought he knew how they could make that point gap much bigger. So when the buzzer sounded, he hurried
to the bench to talk to the coach.
“Coach, I’ve been watching their center and—”
“And you’ve noted that he’s got great height, but not great ballhandling skills, right?” the coach said with a smile.
“Exactly! Do you think we should turn up the pressure on him? If we double-teamed him whenever he gets the ball, I bet he’d
start to miss
all
his shots instead of just some of them!”
Coach Valenti pursed his lips in thought. “I hear what you’re saying, Julian. But let’s hold off on that for now. After all,
we’re winning without having to change our game plan. If he becomes a scoring threat, perhaps then we’ll tighten up our grip
on
Similar Books
