Perfect Run as No.1 by Brian Lester

Author:Brian Lester
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: basketball, sports history, sports records, basketball nba
Publisher: Aquitaine Ltd

27 Revenge Part 2

It’s easy to lose focus during the grind of a long season, especially for a team ranked No. 1 in the country. Players start buying into the hype a little more and sometimes let up from an intensity standpoint because they believe showing up on a game day is enough to produce a win. The Oilers didn’t allow anything to blur their vision. One game at a time was more than a cliché. It was the Oilers’ mission statement. Having three seniors in the starting lineup and two other seniors coming off the bench played a crucial role in the Oilers’ ability to stay focused.

“We know if we take care of business, everything else will fall into place,” Lewis said. “We take each game as it comes, putting all of our effort into that game before moving on to the next one.”

Niekamp was impressed with how well his team had handled everything that came with being No. 1 in the nation. “They have been through this before and they understand the importance of taking it one game at a time,” Niekamp said. “Up to this point, we have done a good job of keeping our focus.”

The Oilers had to remain focused if they were going to beat Grand Valley in a game that was important to the conference race and region as well. The Lakers were 15-4 overall and 10-4 in the GLIAC. They were ranked fifth in the region, while the Oilers entered the game still holding the top spot.

“They have a great program with very talented players,” Niekamp said. “We learned last year just how good they were as a team.”

Grand Valley had lost just twice in its last eleven games, running off six consecutive wins during the stretch. Ringler was still the top threat, averaging 13.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, and the Lakers were the top shooting team in the conference, knocking down 50.8 percent of their shots.

“They have improved considerably since we last played them,” Niekamp said. “They are probably the most physical team in the league and the best rebounding team in the league.”

Findlay was riding the high of a successful road stretch where it won four consecutive games, no easy task in the rugged GLIAC. Five players were averaging 10 or more points per game, including Bostic, who was averaging 17.9. The Oilers were an offensive machine, cranking out 81.8 points per game. I was able to get up with Wesley for a phone interview the week of the game. I asked him to share his thoughts on the Oilers. Wesley had a pretty good perspective on perfect teams as his Lakers were perfect during the regular season a year earlier.

“We have tremendous respect for Findlay,” Wesley said. “They have outstanding players and have a great chance to run the table in the league. They handled us rather easily earlier in the year. It’s obvious why they are the No. 1 team in the country.”

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.