If you enjoy basketball you look forward to the NCAA tournament. It never fails to provide excitement and surprises. It’s not perfect basketball; after all, these are kids, 18-21 years of age playing under intense pressure before an international audience.

Whether you love Duke or hate Duke you have to appreciate the athleticism of a Zion Williamson. It will be awhile before we see another athlete with those gifts. While many are athletically talented, these kids are still learning how to play the game. It’s not the quality of play but the passion and intensity a “lose and go home” tournament creates. Lots of kids dream about playing in those games – very few actually get the opportunity.

There were some really exciting games, especially on the last weekend. The games were influenced by a number of factors, including luck. How lucky was Duke, not once but twice advancing when Central Florida and Virginia Tech executed their plays to perfection but failed to convert on a point blank shot attempt (or two) as time ran out.

With all the dazzling, acrobatic moves and clutch long range shooting the outcome of many of the games was determined by executing the simple things when it really counted. How many games were determined by a team’s ability to make, or not make, free throws? With a chance to tie the game Duke’s RJ Barrett, arguably the 2^nd best player in the country, missed the first of two foul shots. Then, intending to miss the second shot, he makes it, leaving Duke no chance of tying the game. In the women’s final Notre Dame’s Arike Ogunbowale, missed the first on two shots needed to tie the game with only seconds on the clock. Needing to miss the second shot, she made it. Virginia’s Kyle Guy made three consecutive free throws after being fouled on a desperation shot at the end of regulation time. The third shot tied the game and sent it into overtime where Virginia won and advanced to the final. Auburn missed free throws at the end of that game and lost. UCONN, yes UCONN, missed 10 layups in the women’s national semi-final and lost to Notre Dame.

Three of the final four in the men’s tournament were incredibly tough defensive teams. You don’t see a lot of defensive plays on Sportscenter’s Top Ten but, as they showed, defense can win games.

While their style of play can bore you into a coma, Virginia’s poise in tight games was impressive. They never quit and never panicked. The Virginia players trusted each other to do their respective jobs. Consider the trust Ty Jerome showed in the final when he passed up a layup that would tie the game and found De’Andre Hunter open for a 3 that won the game.

As always we were reminded that sports mirrors life. In the course of our lifetime we’ll experience some incredible highs and some devastating lows. In 2018, Ogunbowale, Notre Dame’s All American guard hit a buzzer beating jump shot to win the women’s national championship game. In 2019 she missed the free throw that could tie the game and her team lost the championship.

We talk about the little things a lot. Last year we said we wanted to make 3 less turnovers, 3 more foul shots and 3 more layups per game. During the season Coach Shutack challenged you to take a charge and you took more charges than any Voorhees team I can remember. The little things consistently impact the outcome of games.

To be competitive next year we’ll have to do more of the same – and more. We need to be disciplined rebounders, committed to controlling the boards – because we can. We need to make 70% of our free throws – because they are free – no defense in your face, no rush to shoot. We need to learn how to trap on defense so we can change the tempo of a game and generate easier offensive opportunities. We need to learn how to handle the defensive pressure when other teams trap us – another way to generate easy offense. We need to communicate on defense and take it personally when a team scores on us. And finally we need to learn how to live in the moment. Not in a meditation / yoga kind of way but living for the high school season instead of playing for the possibility of a college season in the future. We will go a long way if we can be smart enough and mature enough to trust that playing together, and for each other, will bring us the individual attention we want in the end.

If you are a player you were watching these games and learning. You took note of how the little things – playing defense, making foul shots, making the extra pass, executing an inbounds play and handling defensive pressure, determined the outcome of most of the games. You were noticing the level of intensity the players bring throughout each game. You saw that they had nothing left at the end of each game. They gave everything they had to give. You realized how much commitment it takes to be that good.

There are five varsity players returning next year. That leaves seven roster positions to be filled. Can you name them now? If you think you can you’ll be wrong. When you’ve been around basketball a while you learn to watch and wait during the off season. Frequently the pecking order changes as kids get another year older and stronger. Some kids think their status from the previous season is a guarantee for the upcoming season. They don’t notice the player(s) who is working while they are coasting. I’ll be surprised if there are not a couple a players who jump in status next Fall. For me, whoever earns the opportunity to play should play. It is, after all, about the team and the program.

Keep all of this in mind the next time you work out. Remember that when you are on spring break. With no gym next Thursday, and the following Wednesday and Thursday you’ll have to find a way to keep working and improving. If you are committed you’ll be working out. If you are not you’ll kick back and take time off.

Realize, as this year’s seniors and all the seniors before them now know, your time together is limited. Make the most of the time remaining. The outcomes you get will be a reflection of the time and purposeful effort you put in.

Bob Peterman