You know those romantic comedies Hollywood cranks out that are just terrible despite the fact they’re filled with big-name celebrities like Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel, Uma Thurman and Dennis Quaid — ladies and gentlemen, it’s “Playing for Keeps”!
How can a movie that has actors and actresses who have done movies like “Pulp Fiction,” “Kill Bill” and “Traffic” find themselves in such despondent, awful garbage?
(Oh, right. Money.)
Well, anyway, my high school team certainly didn’t play basketball for money or the possibility of fame. But we were a lot like those Hollywood films. We had a ton of talent, yet we were absolutely terrible.
I’m eight years removed from those dark days, and I can have a semblance of perspective now. There were few teams in my district that had more pure, unadulterated, ability than we did but we lost, lost and lost.
Chalk it up to poor team chemistry, even worse coaching and an overall apathetic attitude.
I’ve attempted to bury those memories on the court in the deep recesses of my mind. But this basketball season, the Pocatello boys are giving me reason to go back, look at my team’s waste of talent and appreciate what they’re accomplishing.
That’s because in spite of taking the floor with big men that resemble guards, and having to replace five starters from last year, Indians head coach Lee Ralphs has done a masterful job in the early going patching together a solid and improving basketball team.
Pocatello is 3-5 overall and 1-1 in the 4A Fifth/Sixth District after Wednesday night’s thrilling 61-60 overtime victory over the Blackfoot Broncos in the Palace.
No, not a stellar win-loss record. But consider this: The Indians lost by six points to Highland, the sixth-ranked team in 5A. Two other losses are both on the road. One was to the top-ranked Bonneville Bees and another to the No. 4 Madison Bobcats.
It’s a teams stuffed with juniors and seniors on its roster, many of whom are playing varsity for the first time. But they have something innate, something from the gut that my high school team lacked. It’s a brawler’s attitude. It’s a never say uncle sensibility that I can only attribute to Ralphs and his staff.
Like I said, it’s team that lacks size. Garrett Holmes and Josh Christensen are forwards by title but in reality they lack the height and power typically found in the 4A ranks. And for the most part, the bench is lined with guards.
Once a couple players from last year’s team who do have some height decided to skip basketball this season and concentrate on other sports, Ralphs knew the Indians would struggle underneath the basket.
But it’s been a joy to watch Ralphs and his kids adjust.
Against Blackfoot — which deploys a behemoth 6-foot-3-inch center, Austin Campbell, who knows how to use every ounce of this 235-pound frame — Holmes and Christensen combined for 23 points using their ability to spread the floor with shooting.
“I mean we can’t just sit on the block and try to post up,” Ralphs said. “Now, we still try to post up in spots but we don’t have the bulk to do that.”
And, no, the Indians aren’t going to out rebound many teams but, “We’ve kept it close most games,” Ralphs said.
It’s a squad that competes and recognizes what it’s best at. Seniors Brennen Leischner, Easton Ralphs, Spencer Jessee, Colton Belnap and Daehan Jang are all guards and wings who do their part crashing the boards.
They’re a group that’s set a winning standard. Twice I’ve covered home wins for the Indians and immediately following the game, players said it was important to win games at home early in the season to keep fans interested.
Well, I’m interested. Pocatello isn’t the most talented team in the state — or even the city of Pocatello, for that matter — but it’s crew that fights for one another.
If my high school team was a smattering of basketball talent that was like a terrible romantic comedy then the 2012-13 Pocatello Indians have the chance to turn into a small, Indie film that captures the public’s imagination while lacking the $20 million dollar movie star.
Pocatello goes for its second conference win tonight at Rigby (2-4, 1-0).
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