Paul VI High School VISGBA State Champions
The PVI Lady Panthers Varsity Girls Basketball team had an incredible journey this past week playing five games in five days!
It started with a win Wednesday at home against St. Gertrude (Richmond) in the Virginia Independent Schools State Tournament Quarter Finals. Thursday they went to Holy Cross in the Quarter finals of the WCAC tournament and upset them at the buzzer – Devan Fitzsimmons hit a 15 footer with 3 seconds remaining! Then off to Richmond for the VIS Semis/Final. Friday night they beat a pesky Bishop Sullivan team by 24 to move to the final (Blair Koniszewski hit 7 three pointers!!) against Flint Hill. Suffice it to say that they were starting to get tired. But they overcame a very tough FH team in 2 OT’s to capture their 4thconsecutive State Title!
All tournament team honors for Blair, Maya Singleton, and Jess Long. Jess long was named MVP of the tournament! Mr. Menke (PVI retiring AD) was there for the game and proudly posed for pictures with the team, the seniors, and just about anybody that wanted. He was really proud to have his last basketball championship of his 42 year career!! He will surely be missed at PVI!!
Coach Allen said – ”we are like a driver going down the highway with the fuel light on– trying to go as far as we can before we run out of gas! Well, they finally ran out. In the semi-final of the WCAC tournament at American University. Elizabeth Seton brought the season to an end. The PVI girls played hard the whole game but it was obvious from the beginning that Elizabeth Seton had the freshest legs. They struggled and lost a very emotional game. It was the last game for Blair and Melissa Westphal our seniors and they really wanted to go out with a win.
The whole team should be very proud – they won 23 games (school record) – 12 conference games (school record) – won the VISGBA state championship, made it to the semi-final of the WCAC for only the 2nd time in 8 years – won 12 out of their last 14 games and one of the most impressive accomplishments in PVI history – Blair Koniszewski made 103 three pointers this season to lead all players in the Metro area (boys and girls)!!! WOW! What a year.
The coaching staff and followers of the Lady Panthers are VERY Proud of their dedication and hard work this season as it will be a season that will never be forgotten. I was able to be present for several practice, workouts, team meetings – this coaching staff pushes and challenges these young ladies. The team responded, showed their trust and commitment and really came together to put it all together for a strong finish. Perhaps, if they did not have the worst winter weather in recent history and the schedule wasn’t so jammed up at the end (5 games in 5 days… the NBA doesn’t even to that to millionaires, let alone high school kids) they might have kept going. I didn’t doubt them.
Congratulations to each of the players, their families and the coaching staff on a great season!
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Posted 2 days, 22 hours ago at 11:52 AM. 2 comments
A tremendous site for so much basketball knowledge and ideas.
Some Offensive Thoughts From Kevin Eastman
I’m always looking for nuances that help explain things. I like finding patterns and see how to apply them for added advantage. From some notes that I received a little while ago, here are some interesting “truisms” courtesy of Kevin Eastman, the Assistant Coach for the Boston Celtics
TRUISM # 1: There is a direct correlation between the number of ball reversals and defensive breakdowns.
Our players have to understand that the hardest thing to do defensively is to close out — to be running out at a player from the help position. Having said that, we need to understand that an advantage our offense must look to create is to get the defense to close out as often as possible; we want the ball to be reversed from side to side. With our team I can tell you that our scoring proficiency goes up as the number of passes and ball reversals goes up. Of course we have a shot clock that forces us to shoot the ball quicker, but we still would like a minimum of 3 passes as we then know the ball is getting reversed. When we only throw 1 or 2 passes we find that it is very easy for the defense to load up to the ball
TRUISM # 2: The closer you run your offense to the basket, the more physical your screens can be.
We have found that the officials are more apt to let contact go when it is closer to the basket as they are used to seeing more contact down there as opposed to out by the 3 point line. We feel that is why the flex action is allowed to get away with some physical baseline and pin down screens, and why we have to be careful when setting a back screen out by the 3 point line. So give some thought to having some part of your offensive system where you run your stuff closer to the rim.
TRUISM # 3: The faster the ball moves, the closer the defenders stay to their man.
We have found that when we move the ball a little faster, the defensive players are more concerned with staying up with their man and tend to not jump to the ball and get in help position. We also feel that that leaves us with more room to drive it as the defenders are out of position just enough to allow us to get a good driving angle on them. I would say if you do not have a good scoring post man, you should look to move the ball a little faster at times and create driving opportunities. If you do have a good post man you would want to slow it down and give the post man a good look.
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Posted 1 week, 2 days ago at 5:11 AM. Add a comment
Adapted From CCL Newsletter
To see real change and gain significant benefits from their strategies, leaders (be it head coach or assistant) need to establish an environment of trust. Leaders who are trusted — even in times of great difficulty — are skilled communicators.
When leading in times of change and transition – new head coaches, assistants moving to a new school and staff – remember communications fundamentals including these:
- Communicate relentlessly. Communicate information, thoughts and ideas clearly — and frequently — in different media. Find many ways to share information; keep processes open and transparent.
- Listen. Good communicators are also good listeners. Allow people to air their gripes and complaints. Pay attention to what others are saying, thinking and feeling. What is said, and what is left unsaid.
- Explain. People are often skeptical of change. Share your thinking and the trade-offs you’ve weighed — not just the final decision or strategy. Involve everyone in the process.
- Articulate expectations. Clearly explaining why, how and when things need to happen will set expectations and create a healthy level of stress and pressure. It also establishes a mechanism for monitoring and addressing performance.
- Be visible. If you communicate well, you won’t be out of sight. Find ways to interact with all of your stakeholder groups – staff, student-athletes, administrators and supporters. Be willing to roll your sleeves up and get in there and work with them.
- Confront problems and conflict. Don’t postpone dealing with challenging issues or conflict. By avoiding the difficult people or difficult issues, you can do great harm to yourself, your team, your staff and your university.
- Be honest and sincere. Communicate truthfully and honestly, follow through with what you say and avoid deception.
This article was also aided from the CCL publication Leading With Authenticity in Times of Transition.
Continue Reading…
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Posted 1 week, 4 days ago at 9:13 AM. Add a comment
I Love the atmosphere of GOOD high school basketball! Look at these fans! The students really support their classmates at PVI.
Paul VI HS (VA) vs. O'Connell
From the Boy’s and Girl’s game at Paul VI High School in Fairfax, VA., a rival game vs. O’Connell… both boy’s and girl’s won big!
There is a freshman on the girl’s team that Division I’s need to see. Also, one or two juniors. Call Coach Allen!
It’s been a big week at PVI…
Lady Panthers upset # 1 Holy Cross and # 5 Seton
PVI Lady Panthers had a very exciting week of basketball playing 5 games in 7
days against 2 teams ranked in the top 5 in the Washington Post and the top 3 in the WCAC.
On Tuesday, the team hosted the 5th ranked team in the Washington Post, Elizabeth Seton. PVI led the entire game pulling off a very exciting 60 ‐ 54 win.
On Friday in front of a great crowd, The Lady Panthers hosted # 1 ranked Holy Cross. The game was a battle back and forth in the first half ending with a 26‐26 halftime score. The team came out very strong in the third quarter and finished strong pulling away with a 59 ‐ 53 victory. It was a very exciting game in which the PAC was very loud and supportive for the team.
The Lady Panthers finished off their 5th game in 7 days with a 77‐16 win over Don Bosco Prep.
Coach Scott Allen, his staff and players have put together a tremendous run of 8 straight wins after some early season struggles. The perfect time, heading into conference and State Tournaments, to have come together and be playing great team basketball.
Boy’s Basketball
On February 16, varsity played DeMatha and lost 72‐84 in a game in which a section of PVI fans were removed from the game under controversial terms by a referee. PVI was lead by Patrick Holloway 29pts, Stanford Robinson 11pts and Devin Hill 11pts. On February 18, PVI played Gonzaga and lost in a very disappointing 91‐53. PVI was lead by Coleman Johnson 11pts, Asa Smith 9pts, Stanford Robinson 9pts and Patrick Holloway 9pts. On Saturday, PVI beat Don Bosco 73‐33, lead by Devin Hill, Patrick Holloway, Stanford Robinson, Jamall Robinson, Coleman Johnson and Asa Smith.
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Posted 2 weeks, 1 day ago at 1:16 PM. Add a comment
