Now I get it

I left right after practice tonight and headed back home to catch the second half of ONU vs. Purdue-Calumet, a battle for first place in the CCAC.

After managing to sneak in unnoticed, I parked myself in an upper corner of the bleachers opposite the bench, happy to see Olivet start the second half with a 59-50 lead.  ONU stretched it to 12, using an "Off" press against PCU's unusual press attack, in which they spread out in the back court and then flashed one or both of the deep receivers up to provide options for the inbounder.  I guess "Off" worked pretty well against it, because Olivet forced 37 turnovers, making me proud of the great job that my former assistant and now head coach Lauren Stamatis is doing!

Offensively, ONU had to attack a 1-3-1 zone all night, and did a nice job moving the ball and spotting up in the curl and fade spots for open threes.  They also penetrated effectively, something many system teams seem to forget about against zones, but which ONU used to good advantage.

I hear the final score was ONU 108- PCU 100, but I must confess that I couldn't take it.  I was a basket case watching my old team play, and had to leave with 8 minutes to play.  Call me a coward, but now I comprehend the truth of what my wife told me when I got home:

"Now you understand what I went through for 14 years!"