Thoughts from the Weekend: Laney

For several years Laney has had a deep group of tough, athletic, and well coached players who play "the right way." And although the current group is young, I still expect them to be able to beat any team on any night.  After seeing Butler run away and hide from the Wildcats at last week's Thanksgiving Classic, I wondered if I was overestimating this young team.  But tonight's road win against a very capable Josey team confirms my belief that Laney's defense will keep the Wildcats competitive with every team on its schedule.

Holding the Eagles, a team of sharp shooting guards who can score in numerous ways, to 46 points at home is a sign of a team with a purpose defensively.  And a team this young that can perform at that level so early in the season is likely to continue to improve as the year progresses.

So why did this team have so much trouble against Butler?  To paraphrase one of my favorite basketball commentators, Jeff Van Gundy, sometimes this game is a "make or miss game."  Anyone in attendance at Richmond Academy last week knows that Butler's guards made a lot of shots.  And with the exception of senior Quentin Hall, virtually no Wildcats "made shots."

Tonight, Laney was able to make sure Josey's shooters had a less than stellar scoring night.  And as you can see from the short video above, Laney's capable scorers like Jashawn Brooks (14 points), Quentin Hall (14 points) and others made enough shots to capture the road win and some momentum after last Saturday's defeat.

The great thing about being a good defensive team is that you only have to score a modest amount of points to win.  Tonight, 55 was more than enough for the Wildcats.