As the season progresses in the Midwest Conference, it is interesting to see the different talents and styles of each league opponent. Carroll and St. Norbert both play a very physical, smart, and disciplined style of ball. It is obvious why they are continuously at the top of our league and have a place on the Division III national scene.
As an up-and-coming program we can learn from these games. Not only on what it takes to be at the top of the conference, but also where we stand. Our second half versus St. Norbert is a fine example that we can compete with the best and hold our own. The former Steelers Coach Chuck Nolls once said, "Before you can win a game, you have to not lose it." I truly believe that at many points during the weekend, we were beating ourselves rather than being beat by our opponents. We place ourselves at a disadvantage when we turn the ball over, make sloppy passes, and fail to sprint our fastest in the break. The deficits we find ourselves in are hard to overcome, especially against teams of the St. Norbert/Carroll caliber.
During the weekend we spoke about fighting. Fighting for loose balls, for rebounds, and the challenge of fighting on each and every possession. It takes a very tough player to never take a possession off, but that is what we need, what we should strive for. Our challenge for the remainder of the season is to increase the number of possession that we are fighting our hardest on. If we do that, we can and will play with the best of them. How high can our intensity be? How hard can we work in practice and during games?
Can we go harder, can we be more intense, can we fight from buzzer to buzzer?
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