6th Grade Black-Reno Jam-On-It Memorial Day Tournament 2011

After three schedule changes in three days leading up to the tournament, the YBA DAWGS 6th Grade Black Team ended up in arguably the toughest pool in the D1 Division.

Not ones to shy away from any team, they went into their first game against All City West, a team from Southern California. With a few players getting acclimated to the environment against a very "attack mode" team from the South, the DAWGS were within 3 points at one point of the game. But, a few lapses, while the other team is in attack mode is all it takes to find yourself down by double digits. In the end, the effort from the DAWGS was subpar and they lost the game. Joshua and Alex M. did their best to keep it close with 20 points (6 three pointers) and 10 points, respectively.

The second game of the day was against the D1 All-Stars from the Bay Area. Always a strong team, the DAWGS were down by 14 at half time. The effort was there, but the other team was simply a stronger team. Jashon did his best to rebound for the DAWGS, with 13 rebounds. Joshua led the team in scoring with 12 points. All players gave a valiant effort, but at the end of the day, the defending champion DAWGS found themselves 0-2.

After a small talk about having fun, and playing loose with no pressures, the DAWGS were looking to come back big in their next two games. And boy, did they...

Playing one game on Sunday against the SF Flying Eagles, they played their best game yet. Going back to pressure defense, and working together as a team, they blew the Eagles away. Final score: 83-37. Jashon was clearly the player of the game, with energy on both ends of the court for the entire game. He finished with 7 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 assists - BUT had many tipped passes, tipped rebounds, and hustle plays that don't show on the stat sheet. He was clearly the best player on the court. Every player on the DAWGS had their hands in a hustle play of some sort, showing their desire to win the game. Darren (who was not there the first two games) finished with 22 points (9 of 10 from the field, and 10 rebounds), Joshua poured in 17 points (4 3 pointers) and Alex S. chipped in nine points. J. Kim played the point role handing out 6 assists.

The final game on Monday was an early morning 8:00AM game vs. Spirit Got Game. This is a very good team, that the DAWGS had not beaten in the last 3-4 meetings, so the DAWGS came with a goal: WIN THE GAME.

It was a very hard fought game - there were bloody lips, bloody noses and bodies on the floor for loose balls. Spirit played their trademark pressure defense, and forced the DAWGS to move the ball faster and more than they are used to - but the DAWGS adjusted beautifully. The DAWGS found each other cutting to the basket for easy buckets, and found themselves tied at half.

In the second half, they buckled down and again used fabulous teamwork, passing and high basketball IQ, and pulled ahead late in the game. Their defense, as well as their ability to be patient was key. The DAWGS won by 10. It was the best team effort of the tournament, and everyone contributed. Again, Jashon came out with energy on both ends of the court and got his hands in many plays, he ended the game with 11 points (multiple one handed runners), 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 assists. Joshua had 22 points (3 3-pointers), Darren and Bryson contributed 12 and 5 respectively, Alex M had 6 points and 6 rebounds. J.Kim did a stellar job handling the ball against aggressive defenders and finding the open man, Conor and Alex S. racked up the "stats that don't show" - like boxing out the big man, hustilng and diving on the floor to keep possessions.

To come back strong as they did, the DAWGS showed that they are a true D1 team and that they belong in that division. We had the unfortunate draw to meet some VERY good teams without a full roster. BUT, no excuses. The boys played well, and the coaches agree that a 2-2 weekend is nothing to be mad about. Most importantly, all of the team had fun hanging out between ball games. It was a good time to relax and strengthen friendships.

8th Grade Black-Reno Jam-On-It Memorial Day Tournament 2011

Congratulations to the 8th grade Dawgs Black team, 2011 RENO CHAMPIONS!!!


In summary, this weekend's outcome reflected a true team effort. We wouldn't have earned the championship without contributions from each and every player. Their toughness, commitment to defense, and willingness to share the ball won the day. The team stayed true to the YBA slogan (Defense Always Wins Games) by allowing only 42.5 points per game, which was the lowest figure in the bracket by almost 6 ppg. The Foothill coach graciously complimented us on our defense after we beat them in the final game, which made Coach Shaw very happy!

YBA 65, Humboldt Wild 42

After waiting until late Saturday afternoon for this critical "play in game", the Dawgs came out hungry! The team employed a variety of defenses with intense ball pressure that prevented the Wild from ever getting comfortable on their end of the court. YBA's offense was also up to the task, with excellent ball movement creating one open shot after another. The team recorded 24 assists; five players notched at least 4 helpers. Bryce delivered several assists in quick succession on a series of penetrating moves to the basket.

YBA 56, PA Midnight 41

Our team started slowly in this late night game, with the players appearing more ready to watch than defend the sharp-shooting Palo Alto squad. The offense was good enough to hold a 34-27 halftime lead. Coach Shaw addressed the issue in no uncertain terms during the break, and the Dawgs responded with much better effort and allowed only 14 points the rest of the way. Grady dished out 5 assists to facilitate the offense.

YBA 65, Manteca Wildcats 36

The aggressive Wildcats jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the Sunday semi-final game, with the Dawgs on their heels against Manteca's trapping defense and all-out offensive rebounding. YBA fixed the defensive problems first by playing intense man-to-man "D" and keeping the Wildcats' bigger frontcourt players off the boards. Colin, Nicholas, and Bryce did a great job neutralizing their super-athletic, 6' 4" center. Jared got the offense started with two key early baskets that kicked off a 27-3 run which covered the final 13 minutes of the half. The Dawgs continued their high level of play for the final 29 point margin. Nicholas and Manveer were the primary distributors with 7 assists between them.

YBA 56, Foothill Stars 51

It was clear from the beginning that the championship game was going to be a hard-fought contest. Bret had to leave the game after going down hard on the 2nd play of the game, but he recovered to convert several steals into baskets for his team. Jade, after missing the first 3 games due to family obligations, also bounced back from a hard foul with his all-out effort and great movement without the ball.

Grady led the offense early with a rapid-fire burst of 8 points, and Amran helped to stretch the lead to double digits with a 3 and several free throws. Colin was a force inside, stopping many point-blank opportunities (both by defending his own man and by helping on drives to the basket) and playing a strong offensive game of his own. Bryce, Nicholas, Amran, and Bret combined to hold the Stars' hot-shooting #35 to 0 points over the last 25 minutes. The team consistently broke Foothill's press and made very few turnovers; Grady repeatedly got into the lane for either a good shot or a pass to an open teammate. Nicholas had a great left-handed finish after a baseline drive, and he and Jared hit key free throws late in the game to help preserve the lead. Manveer and Ryan defended, grabbed rebounds, took open shots, and played hard.

Coach Shaw's keys to the game were Bret and Jade playing through pain, the guards taking care of the ball, and all of the players trusting each other on the floor. It was a great victory!