Basketball in the Tropics

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Draft is tomorrow. The draft order was just announced by email. This is determined by a weighed formula that takes into account last year's record and the total amount of points declared on your roster. As last year's champs, we pick last in the first round.

Here is the draft order (as well as declared points in parenthesis).

1. Limon Sharks (0): will draft in alll 3 rounds
2. Santa Ana Jaguars (1): will draft in all three rounds
3. Semedes (5): has declared they will only draft 1 guy
4. Grecia (6): signed two American guys directly, will take 1
5. Roswell (8): looks like they signed two Americans directly, will take 1, desperately needs a big
6. San Ramon (7): will take 1, probably a wing
7. Escazu (8): will only take 1

Not Drafting: Seminario (11 points) look like they are signing two American guys directly

I'm putting together my draft board. Since we pick seventh we need to anticipate who will likely be gone and who might be available. Not a lot of size, so what little sis is there will go try. Then again some of the team that will only take one foreigner have big guys. My assistant was at the showcase...soem guys were not in great shape or were really lazy on defense, while neither is a knock out factor automatically we will ding guys for that.
 
Okay so we have operated in a news blackout the last couple days. Draft was Wednesday. We're doing one for media purposes today. This is what my draft board looks like:

-6'4" lefty shooter, played some D1 ball, has played overseas one year, great in showcase
-6'1" athletic combo guard, great ball pressure, played some D1 experience, good in showcase
-6'6" swing player, son of former NBA player, started off D1 dropped down with uninspiring stats, played on a foreign tour, erratic in showcase
-6'4" swing, played in 4 different colleges (D2/NAIA), some overseas experience, solid showcase
-6'2" combo guard, played lower levels, has some overseas experience (think there is a NC tie)
-6'5" wing, 4 years at a strong NAIA program with good stats, good athleticism, solid showing in showcase

There's also a 6'7" post player built like a tank who's not on our draft board but will likely get taken early. The best player in the showcase pulled his name out of consideration (6'7" wing with D1 experience at TCU and Georgia Southern).
 
With the sixth pick of the draft, we went with Jacksen Greco, 6'4" SG out of Canton, Georgia. Played at Mercer for a few years and then at Anderson (D2). @donbosco will get a kick out of this, he played in Guatemala last year for Solola, the league champs. He told me his Dad and some uncles went to UNC.
 
CRHeel94 said:
With the sixth pick of the draft, we went with Jacksen Greco, 6'4" SG out of Canton, Georgia. Played at Mercer for a few years and then at Anderson (D2). @donbosco will get a kick out of this, he played in Guatemala last year for Solola, the league champs. He told me his Dad and some uncles went to UNC.
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Sololá must have really grown of late (I see that the population is the town is 14,000 at present -- it was definitely a village when last I was there -- it does have Panajachel (Lake Atitlan) and Chimaltenango close by) to support even a semi-pro team. I can't imagine what this guy's life must have been like playing there. An interview with him would be fascinating.
 
Solola has won several titles in the past few years. Our foreign import from last year also played on that team (and tore his Achilles).
I wonder how many games they actually play in Solola.
 
CRHeel94 said:
Solola has won several titles in the past few years. Our foreign import from last year also played on that team (and tore his Achilles).
I wonder how many games they actually play in Solola.
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I was just trying to find a gymnasium using Google Earth to no avail...not much of the streets of Sololá have been filmed.

I've played in the old gymnasium in Quetzaltenango and it was a good one though really the size of a big high school. I see that they've got a new one...looks top notch. Google Earth

That said, I can't tell by the names of the teams if there is actually one in Quetzaltenango -- one would think that there is -- it is the second or third largest city in the country.
 
So the last couple of months Ive been juggling my club responsibilities with my national team responsibilities. The national team has a classification window in El Salvador this weekend (we play Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador over three days). Having these windows at the beginning of the season is always a challenge. Teams are in preseason mode, meaning players are getting in shape and lack game rhythm. Everyone is more focused on the season looming ahead than the national team. This particular cycle has been very frustrating; I'm breaking in a new federation board and a new coordinator. Attendance at practice has been spotty for a variety of reasons. Kind of brutal to be having a national team practice with 8 guys.

These have been long weeks for me: I'll have club team practice on Monday, Tuesday off, Wed national team practice, Thurs club practice, Fri, club team practice, Sat national team practice, Sunday national team practice. Think I have missed three practices in the last 6 weeks with that schedule. My wife has been very patient. I also have been trying to put both playbooks together (use different systems on the two teams) and watching national team video.

My Escazu team placed five guys on the final national team roster (Dirk, my crazy Dominican, my lefty post, and my young guards). Dirk has been on the national team for 15 years, probably his last go-around. This is the second call-up for my young guys. I have coached all the guys on the national team previously...10 of the 12 have been at Escazu at some point.
 
CRHeel94 said:
My captain, who had been standing next to him, tells me that he thinks this guy is stoned out of his mind. The trainer and I check on him...yep his lips are blue.
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What do you think he was doing? Heroin?
 
Believe he had a coke habit. Maybe crack.
Might have been some meth involved as well.
 
hedge said:
What do you think he was doing? Heroin?
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There is a sad epilogue to this story. After that Finals, we were willing to bring him back the next year. But one night in the offseason, I get a text message from some guys in the league that Danny (the American) was desperately looking for a gun (also sent a frantic text to my co-owner). Turns out, that to make some extra money he decided it would be a good idea to be muscle for a local drug dealer (this after being sober for 3 months, one of the conditions to bringing him back). Turns out they tried to muscle the wrong guy (who threatened to kill him) and he felt he needed to be carrying. The guys on my team go and get him and take him to a safe spot. He eventually leaves the country (sneaks across the border, he owed child support).

A year rolls by and he comes back to an opposing team. He was too embarrassed to even say hi at our game. He only lasts half the season and gets kicked off the team. Leaves Costa Rica, and heads back to the States.

Following year he's playing for a semi-pro squad in Arizona. Decides to come back to CR for Easter to see his kid. Stays with some friends in the wrong part of town...and gets shot dead in the middle of the street. I get a message with a censured picture...I get in touch with the crime reporter, who sends me the uncensored pic. It's Danny, lifeless in the middle of the street. Our whole basketball community is shocked. I'm the one who writes to his team in in the States, who in turn inform his Mom. To this day...I still can't believe what happened.
 
I missed this thread when it was originally posted but I’ve spent the last half hour reading through it with my coffee. Thank you for taking the time to share. Super cool and interesting stuff.

Got a chuckle seeing that your team played coach K’s grandson lol. How random. I had forgotten all about his DUI fiasco with Banchero a few years ago.
 
First game in a tourney always comes with some jitters. We squared off against a physical Honduras squad. I leaned on our superior depth to wear them out in the second quarter. They made a run in the third quarter feeding off some turnovers and poor shot selection to cut it down to two points. Our bench mob came in and busted their zone; I got 37 points from te bench. We cruised to a 79-66 win.

Tomorrow we take on don's Guatemala squad. Could get ugly...they brought a bunch of u19 guys to this tourney.
 
Yeah...we put the hurt on Guatemala, 98-50.
They made us work in the first quarter, hitting their first four 3s to break out to an early ten point lead. We switched to a smaller lineup and had a furious rally to close out the quarter with a tie. Then we used our depth to wear out the kids on the Guate squad.

www.fiba.basketball

Guatemala contra Costa Rica - Fase de Grupos - Pre Clasificatorios Centroamericanos a FIBA AmeriCup 2029 | FIBA Basketball

Guatemala vs Costa Rica - Consulta el cuadro de resultados, la información del partido y las estadísticas en vivo, las listas de los equipos, las fotos y los videos destacados
www.fiba.basketball www.fiba.basketball
 
Guate had one big kid who's 19 who must be 6'6" but is woefully out of shape. Their really good post player plays in Argentina and didn't come up for the tourney.

My team beat El Salvador on Sunday 85-77 to win the qualifier for the next round. We were up 19 in the third quarter and then got complacent with bad shots and sloppy turnovers. El Salvador had a guard go nuclear on us hitting 8 3s on us (he shot 18). We threw various defenders at him and he kept scoring; they clawed their way back to make it a single possession game late in the fourth quarter (some friendly whistles on the road but that's FIBA). Dirk hit a big 3 to give us some breathing room and the defense clamped down on them at the end. Flew back yesterday with the squad and will resume club duties this week.

In classic Carolina fashion, we had a different leading scorer every game (think only one guy repeated as a Top 3 scorer in th three games). So it was a very balanced effort. The next phase will be in December and we will be squaring off against much tougher teams. But that will come later.

Here's a link to the Day 3 Reel.

 
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In a move to replicate the NBA, last season we had an In-Season Tournament. And just like the NBA no one knew what was going on, which games counted towards what tourney or the standings. This year we regained our senses and evolved to a Pre-Season Tournament. The eight teams were arranged into two groups of 4. You play one game against each team (one at a neutral site, one at home, one away). Today is the first game of the PST were we square off against mighty Seminario, the team we beat in the Finals in a nail biter. Can't say I love starting with such a tough match, but we had to square off against them eventually. The game will take place at a neutral site, Liceo de Costa Rica, one of the more historic courts in our basketball.

So I was already weary about the opener. Then my crazy Dominican tells me he's out of the country for a family trip (it's a thing in Latin America during Easter week). Then my backup SG says he had bought tickets to a concert for this same night. The league just pushed back on the inscription for my Panamanian PG; sadly, looks we will likely have to take it to court. And last night my star guard, who will likely have to play out of position as PG, came down with a stomach virus. Oh, and the game will be on national TV. Great. I may have to do some coaching in this one.
 
CRHeel94 said:
In a move to replicate the NBA, last season we had an In-Season Tournament. And just like the NBA no one knew what was going on, which games counted towards what tourney or the standings. This year we regained our senses and evolved to a Pre-Season Tournament. The eight teams were arranged into two groups of 4. You play one game against each team (one at a neutral site, one at home, one away). Today is the first game of the PST were we square off against mighty Seminario, the team we beat in the Finals in a nail biter. Can't say I love starting with such a tough match, but we had to square off against them eventually. The game will take place at a neutral site, Liceo de Costa Rica, one of the more historic courts in our basketball.

So I was already weary about the opener. Then my crazy Dominican tells me he's out of the country for a family trip (it's a thing in Latin America during Easter week). Then my backup SG says he had bought tickets to a concert for this same night. The league just pushed back on the inscription for my Panamanian PG; sadly, looks we will likely have to take it to court. And last night my star guard, who will likely have to play out of position as PG, came down with a stomach virus. Oh, and the game will be on national TV. Great. I may have to do some coaching in this one.
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Sounds like you might have to play, too.
 
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