More pictures from the Jan 15 3/4 Boys game
Welcome to another exciting season of AMBS basketball!
Schedules/results
Master schedule (all games and practices)
Home games
Home games/scorekeeper schedule
League standings
League website
Claim/release a practice slot
Mon, Jan 24, 2011
Spartans win two of three at home
The home fans saw three good performances Monday night. In the opener, the 5/6 Girls, who have lost 5 heartbreaking games by a total of 8 points, ran away from St E's 24-5. In the second game, the 7/8 Girls Blue team mounted a spirited 4th quarter comeback and nearly upset 9-1 St Paul's Blue; St Paul's escaped with a 27-24 win. In the nightcap, the 7/8 Girls White team beat St Anthony's 33-18. Victoria ("el Presidente") led the team with 12 points; Maddie had 10 including 6 in the 4th quarter, Molly had 6, and Jocelyn 5.
Sun, Jan 23, 2011
Games this week (first home games in more than a month!)
Mon: 3/4 Boys at AOL (6pm), 5/6 Girls at AMBS (6pm), 7/8 Girls Blue at AMBS (7pm), 7/8 Boys at SP (7pm), 7/8 Girls White at AMBS (8pm)
Wed: 3/4 Girls at AOL (6pm)
Sat: 3/4 Boys at AMBS (9:30am), 5/6 Girls at AMBS (10:30am), 7/8 Girls Blue at AMBS (11:30pm), 7/8 Girls White at AMBS (12:30pm), 7/8 Boys at AOL (12:45pm), 5/6 Boys at AMBS (1:30pm)
Fri, Jan 21, 2011
7/8 Boys drop second thriller against SE White; 3/4 Girls win at St Paul's
The 7/8 Boys lone defeat this year was a 1-pt loss vs St E's White on Dec 16; in that game St E's made a foul shot with 0.5 seconds left for a 50-49 win. The pair matched up again Thursday night at St E's and once again the game went down to the final second. St E's had a 2-pt lead, 46-44, and the ball with 0.6 seconds left but they didn't get the ball in-bounded in the allowed 5 seconds (the clock didn't start until the ball was in-bounded) and turned the ball over to AMBS. The Spartans were able to get off a shot but it didn't go down. If these teams meet in the playoffs it's a Don't Miss.
The 3/4 Girls followed up last week's 15-15 tie in regulation vs first place/undefeated St Es with a 6-4 victory Friday night at St Paul's. It was the team's first win of the season (congratulations girls!) Gabby led the team in scoring in each of the previous four games; the one game she doesn't score, go figure, is the game the team wins. Baskets by Kiersten, Allie, and Mary were enough to secure the victory for AMBS.
Thu, Jan 20, 2011
5th/6th graders sweep road games
The 5/6 Girls and Boys teams each won road games on Wednesday -- the boys won 33-15 at AOL; the girls won 14-9 at St Pauls. Congratulations to both teams!
Thu, Jan 20, 2011
Dig this
Jason Williams' elbow pass from the 2000 NBA Rookie game. Williams has made a living in the NBA passing behind his back. Here he passes behind his back -- and then redirects the ball in the opposite direction with his elbow! Think he's spent a little time on the court?
There are a lot of good Jason Williams highlight videos on YouTube; here are a couple:
1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYnW07d062g (funny that the elbow pass didn't make this guy's top 10)
2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmvnS69rOr4
Basketball is not just a sport -- it's art!
Wed, Jan 19, 2011
Jan 18 snow day game moved to Jan 24
Yesterday's 7/8 Boys game at St Paul's has been rescheduled to Mon Jan 24:
7:00 7/8 Boys at SP White
Sun, Jan 16, 2011
Games this week
Tue: 7/8 Boys at SP (7pm)
Wed: 5/6 Girls at SP (8pm), 5/6 Boys at AOL (8pm)
Thu: 7/8 Boys at SE (8pm)
Fri: 3/4 Girls at SP (6pm)
Sat: 5/6 Boys at SA (11am), 7/8 Girls Blue at AOL (12:15pm), 7/8 Girls White at AOL (1:15pm), 5/6 Girls at AOL (2:15pm)
Sat, Jan 15, 2011
3/4 Boys breakout at St E's
The 3/4 Boys displayed terrific hustle and teamwork Saturday, defeating St Elizabeth's 22-12 for their first win of the season. Harrison was red hot in the second quarter, scoring 8 points, all from the perimeter. Marty electrified the Spartan fans with some coast-to-coast layups; he had 8 points in the game. Matt had 4 and Owen 2 -- his first basket of the season. The team looks to build on their impressive performance Jan 24 against AOL.
More pictures from the Jan 15 3/4 Boys game
Sat, Jan 15, 2011
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Fri, Jan 14, 2011
Jan 12 snow day games moved to Feb 4
Wednesday's snow day games have been rescheduled to Fri Feb 4 as follows:
6:00 3/4 Girls at AMBS vs SA
7:00 5/6 Boys at AMBS vs SE White
8:00 7/8 Boys at AMBS vs SE Blue
Tue, Jan 11, 2011
Snow policy
Per school policy, home games and practices will be postponed in the event of a snow day. Away games may go as scheduled depending on the policy of the host school.
Sun, Jan 9, 2011
Games this week
Wed: 7/8 Girls Blue at AOL (6pm), 3/4 Girls at AMBS (6pm), 7/8 Boys at AMBS (7pm), 5/6 Boys at AMBS (8pm)
Thu: 5/6 Girls at SE (7pm), 7/8 Boys at SP (8pm)
Sat: 5/6 Girls at SP (11:15am), 7/8 Girls White at SE (2:15pm), 3/4 Boys at SE (3:15pm)
Sun, Jan 9, 2011
Hat trick Saturday!
AMBS logged its second three-win Saturday of the season, this time all on the road. The 7/8 Boys ran their record to 4-1 with a 55-47 victory over previously-unbeaten AOL White. AMBS built a comfortable lead in the 3rd quarter but AOL slowly chipped it away, finally tying the game at 42 on an old-fashioned three-point play (a basket and a free throw) with 2:35 left in the game. Over the final 2:35 AMBS picked up the defense and aggressively attacked the basket against AOL's full court press, scoring multiple baskets in transition. Trevor had 30 for the game, which included a lot of athletic drives to the basket and offensive putbacks. Luke added 12 and was a major presence on the boards, Al had 5, Tim had 4, and John-David had 4. Earlier in the day, the 7/8 Girls Blue team beat St Anthony's, 18-16, for their first win of the season. The 5/6 Boys rode some hot shooting and strong rebounding to a 28-12 win over AOL, also their first win of the season. Tommy and Will led the 5/6 Boys with 14 points and 8 points, respectively.
Fri, Jan 7, 2011
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Fri, Jan 7, 2011
Tip of the Week: BELIEVE
What do all winning teams and successful athletes have in common? Confidence! Present them with a challenge and they know they can rise to meet it. Have you ever heard a player in a post-game interview say, "Wow, I can't believe we won. I didn't think we had a chance." Of course not. Winning teams BELIEVE that they're going to win when they take the floor -- and it makes a real difference in their performance. Great shooters practice a lot, but they also BELIEVE every time they put up a shot that it's going in. When doubt creeps into your head, PUSH IT OUT! Doubt is the enemy of performance. If you go to the foul line thinking you're going to miss, stress degrades your concentration; tension in your muscles degrades your shooting form. Walk to the line relaxed and confident and knock them down! You can accomplish great things if you BELIEVE you can -- and that’s true on the court and off. To paraphrase an Apple commercial, the people who are crazy enough to believe they can accomplish great things are the ones who DO.*
Btw, every team in the Parochial League makes the playoffs. The championship is awarded to the team that plays the best during the playoff tournament in March, not the team that accumulates the most wins in December, January, and February. The regular season games are OPPORTUNITIES to improve your game in advance of the tournament. Don’t worry about the final score -- take advantage of the opportunities. Dribble, shoot, pass, screen, cut, box-out, rebound. The only way to improve is to DO!
*One of the all-time great ads. The late 90s commercial featured black-and-white footage of 17 iconic 20th century personalities -- Albert Einstein, Bob Dylan, Martin Luther King, Jr., Richard Branson, John Lennon (with Yoko Ono), Buckminster Fuller, Thomas Edison, Muhammad Ali, Ted Turner, Maria Callas, Mahatma Gandhi, Amelia Earhart, Alfred Hitchcock, Martha Graham, Jim Henson (with Kermit the Frog), Frank Lloyd Wright and Pablo Picasso. The commercial ends with an image of a young girl opening her eyes, as if to see the possibilities before her. The voiceover by Richard Dreyfuss:
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
Thu, Jan 6, 2011
3/4 Girls stage dramatic 4th quarter comeback, fall in OT
Down 13-6 in the 4th quarter at St E's, the 3/4 Girls battled back to tie the game at 15 at the end of regulation. Gabby chased down a loose ball with less than 3 seconds to play, drove to the basket, and released the game-tying shot a fraction of a second before the buzzer sounded. St E's outscored AMBS 3-0 in the 3-minute overtime period, but it was an impressive comeback against a St E's team that had comfortably won its first three games, including a near-shutout of AMBS in the opener. St E's had a significant size advantage (the girl Olivia was guarding in the 4th quarter was, comically, at least twice her size) but struggled to contain dribble penetration by the Spartans guards. AMBS' point total has improved each game this season -- from 1 to 5 to 8 to 15 in game 4. Gabby led the team with 10 points, including 6 in the 4th quarter. Madelyn had 5 points and was 3 for 4 from the foul line.
Tue, Jan 4, 2011
Games this week
Tue: 5/6 Boys at SP (7pm)
Wed: 3/4 Boys at SE (6pm)
Thu: 3/4 Girls at SE (6pm), 5/6 Girls at AOL (6pm)
Sat: 7/8 Girls Blue at SA (12pm), 5/6 Boys at AOL (1:15pm), 7/8 Girls White at AOL (3:15pm), 7/8 Boys at AOL (4:15pm)
Sat, Jan 1, 2011
Sun, Dec 19, 2010
Games this week
Mon: 3/4 Boys at SP (6pm)
Sun, Dec 19, 2010
Lady Huskies make it 88
As basketball fans we applaud the University of Connecticut women's team, who smoked the 10th-ranked Ohio St Buckeyes this afternoon 81-50 (pressure? what pressure?) for their mind-blowing 88th consecutive win, tying John Wooden's UCLA Bruins for the longest streak in college basketball history. They go for #89 Tuesday against 14th-ranked Florida St. That's what's most amazing about the streak -- they don't play a soft schedule -- just the opposite. They play -- and usually destroy -- the best teams in the country. During the 88-game streak, they are 17-0 against top-10 teams (avg margin of victory 23.9 pts) and 30-0 against top 25 teams (avg margin of victory 24.8 pts). In their last 100 games, UConn is 99-1. Trivia question: Which women's team had the consecutive wins record before UConn won 88 straight? Answer at the bottom of this page.
Sat, Dec 18, 2010
Spartans bag three Ws on Super Saturday
The 7/8 boys (3-1) bounced back from Thursday's last second loss with a 57-42 victory over St Paul's. It was the team's best overall effort of the season. They played aggressive defense and really passed the ball well. Luke was en fuego, dropping 26; Trevor added 14, John-David 4, Thomas 4, Alex 3, Tim 2, Colin 2, and Jose 2. The 5/6 Girls (1-2), who are a pair of last-minute 1-point losses away from being undefeated, ran away from St E's, 21-7. In the lone road game of the day, the 7/8 Girls White team (1-3) overcame a slow start to beat St Paul's 22-16 for their first victory of the season. Victoria C. led the team with 12 points, including 8 in the pivotal third quarter; Molly added 6, Maddie 2, and Victoria Q. 2.
(Thanks to Pablo Quinones for the great shot!)
Thu, Dec 16, 2010
7/8 Boys drop heartbreaker to St E's
The 7/8 Boys (2-1) battled back from a double-digit deficit against St E's to take the lead with 1:49 left in the fourth quarter. St E's tied the game at 49 with 22 seconds left. AMBS was not able to score on its possession, and in a wild scramble at the
other end got whistled for a shooting foul with 0.5 seconds left. St Es missed the front end but made the second for a 50-49 win. Trevor and Luke led the Spartans with 20 and 17 points, respectively; Colin added 4, Vincent 3 (a 3-pt play to tie the game in the 4th quarter), Al 2, Jake 2, and Mike 1. The team looks to rebound Saturday (the third game of a home quintuple-header) against St Paul's.
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Wed, Dec 15, 2010
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Mon, Dec 13, 2010
7/8 Boys run to second win
The 7/8 Boys (2-0) fast-breaked their way to 23-6 first quarter lead over St Paul's and never looked back, winning 42-28.
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Sun, Dec 12, 2010
Games this week
Home tripleheader Monday, home doubleheaders Wednesday and Thursday, home QUINTUPLEheader Saturday!
Mon: 3/4 Boys at AMBS (6pm), 7/8 Girls Blue at AMBS (7pm), 7/8 Boys at AMBS (8pm)
Wed: 5/6 Boys at AMBS (6pm), 7/8 Girls White at AMBS (7pm), 7/8 Girls Blue at SE (8pm)
Thu: 3/4 Girls at SA (6pm), 7/8 Boys at AMBS (7pm), 7/8 Girls White at AMBS (8pm)
Sat: 3/4 Girls at AMBS (9:30am), 5/6 Girls at AMBS (10:30am), 7/8 Girls White at SP (11:15am), 7/8 Boys at AMBS (11:30am), 7/8 Girls Blue at AMBS (12:45pm), 5/6 Boys at AMBS (1:45pm)
Sun, Dec 12, 2010
Tip of the Week: Basketball lessons from KnockOut
We love KnockOut as a drill -- not only is it fun but it trains you to do three things that are very important in basketball:
1. Follow your shot (i.e. rebound your misses). As the shooter you have an advantage over everyone else on the floor -- you can see where the ball is going.
2. Attack the basket -- don't settle for a 10-footer when the defense is giving you a layup.
3. Use the backboard for shots close to the basket (the square is your friend!)
Sun, Dec 12, 2010
Basketball trivia
1) On Dec 9 the University of Connecticut women's team won their 87th consecutive game. Their next game is Sun Dec 19 against Ohio St at Madison Sq Garden. With a win they would tie the all-time consecutive wins record. What team has the record and who was their coach?
2) Who is the leading 4th quarter scorer in the NBA?
3) Who is the leading rebounder in the NBA among guards?
Answers at the bottom of this page...
Sun, Dec 5, 2010
Games this week
Mon: 3/4 Girls at AMBS (6pm), 5/6 Girls at AMBS (7pm), 7/8 Girls White at AMBS (8pm)
Thu: 7/8 Girls Blue at SP (8pm)
Sat: 3/4 Boys at SP (10:15am), 5/6 Boys at SP (11:15am), 5/6 Girls at AOL (3:15pm)
Sun, Dec 5, 2010
Basketball trivia
What team currently leads the NBA in road wins? Answer at the bottom of this page...
Sun, Dec 5, 2010
Tip of the Week: Dribbling with purpose
Dribbling is probably the most overused skill in basketball. In most situations the pass is a superior way to move the ball. Good reasons to dribble:
1) To attack the basket
2) To improve a passing angle
3) To get out of trouble
Fri, Dec 3, 2010
7/8 Boys open season with 50-40 victory at St E's
Thu, Dec 2, 2010
Sun, Nov 28, 2010
Tip of the Week: Special situation
You're on offense, maintaining good spacing... suddenly your teammate dribbles the ball right at you. What do you do?
1) One option is to set a screen on your teammate's man. Whatever your teammate has in mind, losing his defender will likely help.
2) An option a lot of coaches recommend in this situation is the backdoor cut. As your teammate approaches with the ball, your defender may decide to play help defense on the ball. At a minimum, your defender is going to be distracted, which gives you a great opportunity to slip away to the basket; hopefully your teammate can get you the ball.
If your coach doesn't express a preference, pick an option and try to react the same way every time. The situation comes and goes so fast that if you don't have a preprogrammed response you may not react at all.
Wed, Nov 24, 2010
Pep Rally kicks off basketball season, holiday weekend in style
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Mon, Nov 22, 2010
3/4 Girls: Cute on the outside, fierce on the inside
Sun, Nov 21, 2010
Tip of the Week: The importance of arc
In a recent blog post, former coach/NBA scout Don Kelbick suggested the following experiment: Get a round trash can, put it on the floor, and look down on it. How big is the hole, how much so you see? Now hold the can so the rim is at eye level. How big is the hole, how much do you see? Now imagine you're the ball. Which angle gives you the best chance to get through the rim? The answer is obviously the angle at which you can see the most hole. As this page, What the Ball Sees, illustrates, a shot with a flat 32 degree arc (32 degrees is the angle between the rim and the path of the ball) has a 0.0-inch margin of error -- the shot has to be exactly perfect to go through without hitting the rim. With a medium 45-degree arc, the ball has a 3-inch margin of error. More than 45 degrees gives you more room to get through (at 90 degrees, meaning the ball falls straight down from the ceiling, the margin of error is 8.3 inches), but with each degree of arc you’re adding distance to the shot and making distance control more difficult, so there is such a thing as too much arc, but it is an uncommon problem.
More arc also gives you a better chance of making a basket when you hit the rim. A flat shot will bounce horizontally like a stone skipping across a lake. A shot with more arc will have a more vertical bounce, which increases its chances of finishing in the basket. A shot with arc also doesn't bounce as far. As the ball is climbing, gravity is slowing it down. A ball with arc will impact the rim at a slower speed than a flat shot and thus not bounce as far; coaches refer to this as a "soft shot".
Noah Basketball determined scientifically that the optimal shooting angle is 45 degrees (plus or minus a degree or two depending on your height). This page allows you to calculate the optimal arc for your height (the answer will be 45 plus/minus a little bit) and has video clips showing you what a 45-degree arc looks like. At 45 degrees, the ball peaks between the top of the white square and the top of the backboard. Ironically, watching the flight of your ball when you shoot will reduce your shooting percentage -- when it counts your eyes should be locked on the rim -- but it's ok to check your arc when you're warming up.
In summary, if you have a flat shot you can easily improve your shooting percentage but adding some arc. Arc helps you avoid the rim and get favorable (soft, vertical) bounces when you hit the rim.
Thu, Nov 18, 2010
Juicy league nugget
If you heard a rumor that a new school was looking to join our league this year, the rumor was correct. Assumption which I believe is in Emerson petitioned the league for admission but they were unable to come up with the minimum 50 home game slots. If they can score some more gym time somewhere they may be in our league next season, joining the usual suspects AOL aka St Catherine's, St Paul's, St Anthony's, St Elizabeth's, and your AMBS Spartans.
Tue, Nov 16, 2010
Gym unavailable Thanksgiving weekend
The gym floor is being refinished on the Fri-Sat-Sun after Thanksgiving (Nov 26-28) and will be unable for practices. The backyard courts will be available if the weather is cooperative.
Mon, Nov 15, 2010
Tip of the Week: Cutting down on turnovers
How many times have you seen a player cut to the basket just as the ball is passed to them (the ball sails out of bounds)? The problem is communication -- the passer is thinking one thing, the teammate is thinking another. Consistent use of a simple hand signal can keep teammates on the same page. If you want the ball where you're standing, give a hand target. Passers should only pass the ball when they see a hand target.
Example 1: Ball denial on the perimeter. I have the ball at the top of the key. An aggressive defender is trying to prevent me from passing the ball to a teammate on the wing. My teammate cuts farther away for the basket. Is he trying to create some spacing for a pass on the perimeter, or is he setting the defender up for a backdoor cut? With the hand target I don't have to read his mind. If I see a hand target, he's looking for a pass where he is. If I don't see a target, I fake a pass in the direction he's going to help him trick his defender and get ready to give him a bounce pass back door.
Example 2: I look open, but I know my defender is intentionally playing off me waiting to pick off the pass. My teammate with the ball may not realize I'm not really open. If we're using a hand target system, he will only pass the ball if I give him a hand target. No target, no pass. Turnover averted!
Mon, Nov 15, 2010
Trivia answers
Dec 5:
The New York Knicks beat Toronto Sunday for their 9th road win, tops in the NBA. The Knicks (12-9) have won 7 straight games on the road!
Dec 12:
1) UCLA's men's team coached by John Wooden ran off an epic 88 straight from Jan 1971 to Jan 1974. Victories 15, 45, and 75 were national championship games, their 5th, 6th, and 7th in a row. They lost at Notre Dame on Jan 19, 1974, 71-70. Their average margin of victory during the streak was 23.5 points.
2) The Knicks' Amar'e Stoudemire! He is currently 3rd in the NBA in scoring (26.2 pts/game, a club record 8 straight games of 30+) behind Kevin Durant (27.3) and Kobe Bryant (26.7). LeBron is #8 at 24.2.
3) The Knicks' rookie Landry Fields (7.5 rebounds/game), a full board per game higher than either Dwayne Wade (6.5) or Andre Iguodala (6.5)! Kevin Love leads all players at 15.6/game, more than 3 ahead of Dwight Howard (12.2).
Dec 19:
The current UConn team beat the 2001-3 UConn team's record of 70 consecutive wins. Geno Auriemma also coached that team. His record in 26 seasons at UConn -- an amazing 744-122 (.859). The guy can coach a little.
Contact info
Program director -- Jeff Menapace
Team coaches --
| Team | Coach(es) | |
| 3/4 girls | Ed Condon | conlondon@aim.com;conlondon@aol.co.uk |
| Jeff Menapace | menapace@optonline.net;jmenapace@wundernet.com | |
| Marty McLaughlin | silvervango@aol.com | |
| 5/6 girls | Lenny Turi | lennyturi@yahoo.com |
| Greg Lombardi | spartans_coach@yahoo.com | |
| Mike Sentowski | michael.sentowski@t-mobile.com | |
| Angelo Giannotta | giannottaconst@hotmail.com | |
| 7/8 girls | Jeff Menapace | menapace@optonline.net;jmenapace@wundernet.com |
| Mike Dudas | mdudas@jefferies.com | |
| Dan Daniello | ddaniello@dbnj.com;danjd@optonline.net | |
| Fred Makhlouf | fred@elijewels.com | |
| 3/4 boys | Lenny Turi | lennyturi@yahoo.com |
| 5/6 boys | Ed Condon | conlondon@aim.com |
| Rich Bucher | laserdnj@optonline.net | |
| Mark O'Donovan | odfam21@hotmail.com | |
| 7/8 boys | Hank Corsale | Coachc78@aol.com | Kevin Boswell | kboswell@boswellengineering.com | Jose Rivera | jrivera@dagll.com | Al Sica | AWSica@aol.com |