Small Victories (Plus Mid-Season Awards)

I would imagine that when the Eagles when saw the tournament bracket for this past week's Fox Tournament, their reaction was similar to mine.

Oh boy.

In a tournament that featured powerhouses such as University City, Ladue and Fort Zumwalt South, the guys were seeded fifth, unfamiliar ground after they were starting first in their previous two tournaments. However, this week offered something that the Winfield and Clopton tournaments couldn't. This week, the Eagles got a chance to be in a tournament with the big boys.

Prior to this tournament, the Eagles were starting to catch their stride. Adam Glenville, the team's leading scorer from the 2009-2010 campaign, was starting to come into his own again as a scorer and rebounder. Blake Meers was continuing with his scary consistent play. Andrew Frank was steadily producing points. The bench was starting to contribute to the statsheet. And, most excitingly, the team was starting to find their three-point stroke. And all of it was going to be put to the test, starting with undefeated St. Louis Christian. If they came away victorious, they would get the chance to tussle with University City, the number one team in the tournament.

Unfortunately, the Eagles didn't get the chance. After entering the half with a 40-32 lead, the Eagles caved and fell to the Cougars, 71-80. Now this was in no way a devestating loss. In fact, it could be argued that this was the best team the Eagles had faced all year. And the Eagles didn't play horribly either. The Eagles out-rebounded, out-blocked, and had more assists then the Cougars. They were spear-headed by fantastic performances by Glenville (25 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists), Meers (24 points, 14 rebounds, 5 blocks), and Frank (11 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists). The Eagles just had too many turnovers (18). It was a disappointing loss only because of the half-time lead. But they didn't have time to mope. They still had two more games to play. And next, they faced Gateway Tech, a team that lost to U. City by only 10 points. Even the last-seeded team wasn't going to give the guys any breaks. And the guys knew it. Instead of becoming discouraged and folding, the Eagles showed up and soundly defeated the Jaguars, 76-62. Meers continued his streak of dominance (28 points, 12 rebounds, 6 blocks) and Glenville did a little more than just pitch in (23 points, 8 rebounds). Finally, the Eagles headed to the consolation championship against the host school, Fox. Once again, the Eagles showed up. Meers, Glenville, and Frank pitched in 41 points (15, 14, 12 respectively) and 23 rebounds (6, 7, 10 respectively) and the Eagles got a solid contribution from Ben Pickett (7 points, 7 rebounds). Ultimately, the boys finished the tournament 2-1 and came out of the tournament sporting a 10-5 record.

So you may be asking what the point of this article is. So far all I've done is throw out stats and scores. Well, my angle stems from the opening few paragraphs. This tournament was by far the most competitive that the Eagles had played in this year. And I know Eagles fans would have loved to square off against the likes of Zumwalt South and University City. My point is that the Eagles got to experience that atmosphere and come away with a few wins. They faced an incredibly athletic team in St. Louis Christian and played well. They just couldn't come away with a W. However, they got to still face a good Gateway Tech team and a decent Fox team. And in these cases, they did get the win. All with the experience of playing in a big-time tournament. Those are small things that could go a long way come districts. It was encouraging to see dominant flashes from Blake and Adam. And Andrew continued his consistent play. The only thing that was missing this week was the bench production. The bench only produced 11 points in three games, all coming from Zach Wetzel and Lance Lehmann. But this doesn't worry me. I know that as the Eagles enter the second half of their season, Coach Meers and Lehmann will have all of the Eagles on a tear going into districts. And with all of these small details being worked on, this last week could be a week fans look back on as a turning point.

BONUS: MID-SEASON AWARDS
I have taken this opportunity to hand out the mid-season CHS Hoops Awards. The awards include...
MVP: You all know this one.
Ray Allen Award: Awarded to the team's best shooter.
Steve Nash Award: Awarded to the team's best passer.
Dwight Howard Award: Awarded to the team's best defensive player.
110 Award: Awarded to the player who exhibits the most hustle.
Captain's Award: Awarded to the team's strongest leader.

MVP: Blake Meers
It's a tough call considering Meers and Glenville have eerily similar stat lines, but in the end Meers get's the award for his overall outstanding play. He contributes on the stat sheet on both sides of the ball. Here's a rundown of Meers' stats (all per game)... 16.5 points; 7.3 rebounds; 2.73 assists; 2.73 blocks; 1.87 steals.

Ray Allen Award: Adam Glenville
In a year where the shooting is constantly improving, Glenville shines bright. If you take away his 1-9 performance against Elsberry, he is shooting 39% from behind the arc. He also supports the second best FT percentage on the team at 62%.

Steve Nash Award: Andrew Frank
Frank is very smart player with an excellent eye for the court. He is among the area leaders in assists at 3.73 per game and makes some excellent passes that aren't always finished.

Dwight Howard Award: Brendan Norwine
Brendan is a quick PG with great hands. He is among the area leaders in steals per game at 2.73. And opposing point guards always seem to have difficulty scoring against him.

110 Award: Ben Pickett
Even though Ben's stats don't always show up on the sheets, his hustle always shows up on the floor. A very agile defensive player, Pickett always goes his hardest. Impressive considering he's had some struggles with a fragile ankle.

Captain's Award: Blake Meers
Just another reason why he is the mid-season MVP. Blake, while not the tallest guy on the court, is a physical presence down low. He has a passion for the game that is easy to see and he is good at controlling his words on the court (with an occasional slip up). He is everything a senior leader needs to be.