Great group of young men who joined together for a Hardwood Basketball Productions Tournament.

Players from Tulsa area high schools Union, Holland Hall, Broken Arrow, Edison, NOAH played unselfishly throughout the tourney and won the Championship trophy.

Players have dispersed to colleges around the country including Georgia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, California and North Carolina to play college basketball.

Does Character matter in Basketball??

Tad Boyle led Northern Colorado Bears to a 25-8 record and their first ever post season appearance.

"This didn't just happen overnight," Boyle said. "They worked. They worked hard, and they've turned into a great group of young men. They have great chemistry and great character.

Coach Boyle added, "The longer I coach, the more of a premium I put on character -- and we are very fortunate to have kids of great character.... who have made themselves into very good basketball players."

There is only ONE BALL

Basketball has 10 players on the court at one time. Five per team.
There is only ONE basketball.
So, almost 100% of the time, 90% of the players will not have the ball in their hands.
Guess what the best coaches and scouts are watching when they are recruiting players? They are watching how the players play when they DON'T have the ball.

One of my favorite basketball blogger/tweeter is Eric Musselman. He tweeted recently that: "Basketball is played on the flight of the ball NOT on the catch."

Getting position, creating space, blocking out, going for deflections or interceptions,,, these are what the greatest basketball players are doing while the ball is in flight. Wasn't it Carly Simon who sang, "AN TISS A PAY TION".... ah yes!

So, from elementary school through high school, the BEST coaches teach the 9 guys without the ball what they're supposed to be doing, and HOW they should be doing it.

Working without the ball. Away from the ball screens. Use your teammates or your opposition as PICKS without their knowledge to create space and passing lane.

And when a shot goes up, regardless of offense or defense,, every player should know what to do. Position. Block out. Drop back safety. See the ball, run to where it is GOING to be....and then go for it with all you've got. Think Dennis Rodman. [for those of you not familiar with the flamboyant, crazy Rodman, he is regarded as one of the most relentless rebounders in basketball history; played with Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls [the Michael Jordan era!]. His off court activities is a whole different subject!

I love what Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo said about rebounding:
"Rebounding is a wrestling match AND a fist fight."
You better be tough when you go against the Spartans~

Bottom line: Basketball is the ultimate team sport; defense and offense is a FIVE PRONGED attack or defense. Learning how to be successful on the court, is an ongoing process and the best teams and coaches, improve dramatically from the beginning of the season until it's tournament time.

Edison Eagle Hoopstar's Smooth Evolution

The first time I saw Kevin Pritchard, the 6'3" basketball phenom was quickly making a name for himself in Tulsa, Oklahoma at various high school gyms in the area. Uncanny jumping ability, combined with a deft display of basketball skills, coupled with new Eagle Head Coach John Phillips and Archie Marshall enabled the Pritchard led Edison squad to a 2nd place finish in the Oklahoma State championship tournament.

Pritchard and Marshall both earned scholarships to Kansas University where Pritchard was the starting point guard on the Jayhawks team that defeated the Oklahoma Sooners for the 1988 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship. As my father [former Tulsa University sports broadcaster Len Morton] will quickly remind you, the Sooners had won the two previous showdowns with the underdog Jayhawks.

While at KU, he played under head men's basketball coach Larry Brown, and then-assistant coach Gregg Popovich, now the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs.
He was drafted by the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association in 1990. He had a six-year NBA career spanning five teams--the Warriors, the Boston Celtics, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Miami Heat, and the Washington Bullets. He also holds the distinction of being the first player signed in the history of the Vancouver Grizzlies in 1995, although he was released before ever getting an opportunity to play a game for them. Pritchard's playing career also included a stint with Caceres C.B. in Spain and Pfizer Reggio Calabria in Italy in 1993-1994. He retired from playing in 1998.

Fast forward............Pritchard goes from San Antonio scout and was then named as General Manager for the Portland Trailblazers.

Modeling their team after the Spurs, the Portland Blazers have a bright future, built on a foundation of character, according to SAS coach Gregg Popovich:
"They are way more than just on the right track. I think they're doing what good organizations that want to be successful are doing. A lot of things begin with character. Portland has gotten a crew of guys in (Portland) who have that.They understand priorities ... and care more about the group than individuals. That has to happen. It doesn't matter how much talent you have. If you don't have (character), it's not gonna fit together, because all the pieces have to fit."

Coach Popovich credits Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard the former KU guard and a former Spurs scout, for the progress in Portland:
"We knew from the beginning that he had a feel for the game. He has a passion, is competitive and smart.. He wasn't a superstar by any stretch. Often, it's those guys who know how the pieces fit and how role players have to fit around the stars. For all those reasons, you just knew he was going to be successful, given the opportunity."

A few other names that bring back exciting and fond memories~~

Waymon Tisdale, Mark Price, Steve Hale, Kevin Pritchard, Winford Boynes, Joey Robinson, Blake Griffin, Keiton Paige, Rotnei Clark.........

Team Oklahoma - Summer 2008 - AAU

Team Oklahoma is made up of players from the Tulsa area. Jenks is represented by power forward Marshall Morris #33, Doug McKnight #12 & Ross Erickson #3. Ross is actually moving to Oregon after the AAU summer season is complete. Post Monty Brown #32, all 6'11" attended Liberty last year but will be attending the Hodgkiss Prep School in Connecticut for his senior year. Bartlesville is well represented with Nate Jones #23[middle, back row], Marquise Jackson #44, and Heath Deaton #15. Joe Randall from Edison, Bear Hawkins of Cascia Hall, Chris Collins #21 of Broken Arrow, and Brock Morton #10 of Holland Hall round out the team.

Don Calvert Jr. is head coach, while Oklahoma Hall of Fame coach Don Calvert Sr. assists.

The squad enters the prestigious Jerry Mullens Invitational July 6th, 7th and 8th against some of the top AAU teams from around the country. It is an NCAA certified event and many coaches will be in attendance.

Team Oklahoma traveled to Houston for the prestigious KINGSWOOD Classic April 18-20th. The Kingswood Classic drew 275 teams in the 17 yr old division, and Team Oklahoma made it to the ELITE 8 of the TOP DIVISION. They were ousted by Team Canada, who ultimately won the tournament. The elite 8 games were shown live on the internet and hundreds of NCAA college coaches attended the event.

Team Oklahoma won the Hardwood Productions Memorial Day Masters tournament May 23-25th. The following weekend they won an MAYB tournament.

Team Oklahoma is shown below after winning the Del City MAYB Tournament that ended June 29, 2008. With 8 players 6'4" or taller, the quickness and 1/2 court defensive pressure this squad displays catches some teams off guard.