Pure Madness

22 players tonight -- close to a season high, I think, and no doubt inspired (at least in part) by the upcoming beginning of the NCAA tournament, and MUCH warmer weather. Fortunately the games were quick, so no one had to sit for TOO long. I only made three shots all night -- including the first basket of the evening, on an easy cut down the lane and a pass from the wing. Nearly fumbled the ball too, but then snagged it out of the air on the second try and layed it in just like it was a Junior Varsity Lay-Up Drill.

Then came a series of VERY ugly bricks...cinderblocks, really, that I don't even want to remember, before I finally knocked down an easy jumper from the left elbow to start the second game. Then more bricks, and more bricks (including even a few missed lay-ups) until finally, late in the final game, I created a shot for myself by dribbling to my left off a screen, and knocked down an open trey to tie the score and put us within a basket of winning...which came in our next possession. I'm very proud of that shot -- frankly, it took a lot of balls even to take it after the way I'd been shooting all night long, but we desperately needed the lift provided by those points at that point in the game, so I stepped up and knocked it down. Bang!

Anyway, it feels like I've been in this shooting slump for a long, long time. Not sure what to do to break out of it either, since it seems like the more I practice, the worse it gets. Poor, short-armed release, no follow through, not even focused on the target, really...it's just a nightmare. But then every once in awhile, when I'm NOT thinking about it, I shoot the ball perfectly as if I've been doing it that way all my life. Which, for the most part, I have. Until now. Very frustrating.

Anyway, I keep trying to make up for it by playing good defense, rebounding, passing the ball, and trying to do all the little things that make such a big difference. But still, it sucks. And I suck too. And that REALLY sucks....