Enthusiasm is contagious. So is winning. And after winning a Division 3 "gold ball" at last March's national championships and a 3-1 record at the national tip-off tournament last weekend, the Green Country Defenders' enthusiasm is showing quite a bit. But is the enthusiasm a result of the winning, or vice versa?
My take is that the coaching staff has set the tone for the proper attitude, and the results are following. Coach Jeff Francisco told me at Tip-Off this is his first season as a head coach. I sense that his well warranted optimism is making an impact far past X's and O's, and the early season wins speak for themselves.
Take the off-season addition of high scoring guards Devin Ponder and Noah Sluka. Maybe attracting these players was pure luck. But I think it's more likely that the high scoring perimeter duo was attracted by the "vibe" of the program. I googled the Defenders to stay in the loop for upcoming games and I found a very well organized, full website. Now having a good website gets a team no buckets and no stops on defense. But the parents and coaches who take the time to present the program with such care are also very likely to field a good team and to attract good players. According to the About Our Team section of the site, the "Tulsa Green Country Defenders Homeschool Basketball organization is excited about Basketball!" This is evident. And the enthusiasm of the leadership has put the team in position to have a lot of success.
But the players and coaches will have to continue to execute on the floor. And most importantly, the boys will need to learn to react well when things aren't going well. After an emotionally gratifying win over traditional homeschool power Eastside in the season opener, adversity was nowhere to be found. Sluka and Ponder had scored 28 and 26 points, respectively, and Francisco had shredded the Eastside defense to get teammates open looks throughout the game. But after a second round, mid game run put the Defenders ahead of Impact (VA) by double digits, Green Country finally encountered its first roadblock of the season when Sluka fouled out and Impact went on a blistering run.
All teams face these moments throughout the season. The good ones learn how to handle the stress with composure. Apparently there was a moment after Impact took control that Green Country's Ponder's emotions got the best of him. If this is correct, the decision to attend Tip-Off was a great one. Better to learn how to take a hard blow from a very talented team for the first time on day one rather than later in the season or worse yet at regionals or nationals. So it is a good sign that Green Country responded with two wins following the Impact loss.
I think Green Country has lots of potential and is one of the country's ten best teams with additional upside beyond that. As with any team with a new mix of players, there are more questions than answers at this point in the season. Would Green Country have been able to beat Impact had Sluka not been plagued with foul trouble. It would be logical to say yes. But Impact could very well have been finding their rhythm during the first day of its program's existence when facing the Defenders. And would Green Country have topped MHEA had not the Eagles' Rashaan Benson rolled an ankle early in the game?
The good news is these questions will be easier to answer after Green Country plays more games. And all uncertainties will be erased come post season time. But all things considered, I believe the signs point to the Defenders being a force on the national scene this season.
