Well, we gave it a crack but some slick shooting from the Czech Rep side from long range brought us undone in the end, going down by 12 points.
Given the majority of our side was in respectable game shape or lower and the majority of their side was in proficient or strong that's probably to be expected.
It's going to make it very, very tough to earn a spot in the World Cup from here (would need a miracle really).
A couple of learnings. Outside D is more important than ever now that the new Game Engine has improved the chances of long range shooters. If you want to get a player in the side as a guard they have to be 19 or above in OD (preferably 20). Even to break into the side as a SF you either need to be 18 or above at this stage with very strong ID as well or effectively be a PF with 16 or above OD. But subsequent to this is passing. Our opponents this morning moved the ball really well. I've felt for a while that we don't value passing outside of the PG position highly enough. Ideally it would be good if all of our players had a little bit of passing, but to be a PG in the side 16 is the minimum I think and it would be great to see our SGs with at least 14 as well. Even getting around the 12 mark for a SF would be great, but certainly 10 or above.
And, of course, game shape. I'm fairly confident our opponents collectively trained game shape last week to get to the level they were in the second week after a reset. It is that sort of team effort towards getting the job done that separates the top sides in the world from the middle tier. If you want your guy playing National level it is essential you look after his minutes - again, as a rough guide, between 50 and 75 minutes per week is usually around the mark but it varies from player to player. Typically if you are training your player 48 minutes in the position you are training and then coming off the bench in a second game and not playing in the third is about perfect, of if you are not training the player still (older player) two starts per week and no minutes in the third game often is ok, unless you guy is getting 40 minutes per game, then you have to monitor it.
I'm always up for a conversation about how to elevate this team so either chat here or via direct BB Mail if you have ideas of a player you think should be in the team.
One more game to come in this pool - let's finish this one with a win and see what happens.
Coach Deano