Improvement: An Example

Our goal is to improve as a team and as individual players and coaches as much as possible, as quickly as possible, and as consistently over long periods of time as possible.  Our players cannot control their height, their genes, or their current level of basketball playing ability.  But they can control the effort and commitment they bring to the gym, and they can pursue the goal of improving their skills through hard work and diligence.  The beauty of focusing on improvement through earnest effort and a significant time commitment is that the vast majority of the competitors don't usually have a similar focus.  So those who seriously seek to improve will not only become better players, but these players will become better relative to the competition.  So hard work becomes rewarding in so many ways.  The satisfaction that accompanies mastery of a skill and achieving the goal of being better and being successful teaches players lessons that can be taken into all of the important areas of life.

The Augusta Eagles were able to experience firsthand the benefits of hard work and diligent effort Wednesday after playing the Aiken High School "Green" summer league team.  Augusta faced the same team, one of two teams composed of Aiken High School players, last June and was destroyed 64-25.  One regular season, countless hours of team practice, and thousands of shots later, the Eagles were able to defeat Aiken 56-51 in the first of three Summer League sessions played at Aiken High School.  In a later game, the Eagles fell 57-54 to Fox Creek High School.

Game 1
Augusta Eagles 57, Aiken High School (Green) 54

In an impressive scoring display, Matt Miller tallied 23 points in the first half, leading to a halftime tie at 28.  Jacob Greenway added 5 first half points.  Although only two Eagles scored in the opening half, the team defense closed off the paint and Paul Jones, Jordan Pye, and Jonathan Pye did particularly good jobs of defending, blocking out, and securing defensive rebounds.

During the second half, Aiken's full court pressure wore on Miller and presented a great opportunity for other Eagles to take more responsibility to handle the basketball and score.  The Eagles got scoring contributions from Jacob Greenway, Dominic Brown, Jonathan Pye, and Paul Jones.  In addition to these players, Zach Miller and Jordan Pye contributed reliable ball handling and passing.  Greenway made consecutive jumpers late in the second half to establish a lead.  After Aiken tied the score, Brown made a 15 foot jumper to give the Eagles a 55-54 lead that was enough to secure the win.

Matt Miller led all scorers with 34 points.  Jacob Greenway added 12 points, and Dominic Brown scored all 6 of his points in the critical closing minutes of the second half.  The win improved the Eagles Summer League record to 4 wins and 1 loss.

Game 2
Augusta Eagles 54, Fox Creek 57

After sinking 3 free throw with less than one second remaining in the game, Fox Creek completed a 7 point second half comeback to defeat the Eagles 57-54.  After playing games earlier in the night, both teams battled fatigue but succeeded in playing an impressive basketball game.

Facing a zone defense in the game's opening minutes, the Eagles' Matt Miller, Jacob Greenway, and Dominic Brown combined to convert 4 three pointers and establish an early lead.  However, Fox Creek made 3 three pointers in the first half and eventually tallied a 17-14 before the Eagles responded with a 14-6 run to close the half leading 28-23.

The Eagles controlled much of the second half before suffering a dry spell late.  Fox Creek capitalized with good shooting and effective offensive rebounding.  Matt Miller led the Eagles in scoring with 33 points.  Dominic added 14 points.  The loss drops the Eagles Summer League record to 4 wins and 2 losses.

The Eagles varsity and junior varsity teams face Evans High School and Harlem High School Thursday night beginning at 6 PM at Evans Middle School.