At last week’s game at UIW against the Buttons from Central Catholic, I felt like crap!! I am feeling much better today (I was diagnosed with Acute Bronchitis at Impact Urgent Care last Thursday). Nothing against Antonian or UIW, but playing at home is probably a really good remedy for the Yellow Jackets right now since Coach Smisek called the re-match of St. Anthony and Austin St. Michaels, a MUST WIN FOR US. Wow, talk about pressure?
I didn’t bring my official photographer (my Dad) to the game… it was just me, myself, and I for the game. OMG, I just referenced a De La Soul song from 1989 (gosh, I was in Middle School)!!!
Coach Smisek and I talked about National Signing Day. I was curious if any of the basketball players signed anywhere and the answer from Coach was, nope.
Time for a RANT by Mark…The smaller schools really get overlooked when it comes to National Signing Day and that is extremely disappointing cause even though St. Anthony doesn’t have any super star athletes, they sure got some smart and gifted basketball players. And they do field other sports as well.
So, my advice for Colleges and Universities Coaches and scouts, come and take a look at the athletes in the smaller schools cause they got a lot of gems. Trust me, they will work very hard, never give up, and always give 110% for each game!!
I am done with my RANT…now, I can finally tell you about the game…a must win game!!
Man, the atmosphere at The Hive was awesome!!!! It was Senior Night, a packed house, loud, and energetic and I was so glad I got to be a part of it.
The dude sitting a few buts away from me was Romy Vela, the Head Coach for the Central Catholic Buttons. He was scouting St. Anthony since that is the next opponent for the Buttons (the game was on Friday night and St. Anthony won 75-74).
There was another dude sitting behind me who I believe was also scouting but not sure what school he represented since he was wearing a Baltimore Ravens t-shirt. How do I know he was a scout and not a spectator? Well, my good friends, I will tell you. He had an official looking NCAA basketball notebook with diagrams of the basketball court and he was writing stuff in it. Yeah, I know he could’ve been writing www.mdlblog.com is the coolest BLOG on the internet 1,000 times!!! But, I seriously doubt that!
Hmm, I wonder what people think of me? I am dressed very nicely, got a media pass, also have an official basketball notebook (but mine is from the NBA!!!), and I use my Galaxy Tablet to snap a bunch of pictures. I also get first hand access to Coach Smisek before and after the game!! Maybe I shouldn’t wonder?
The must win game for St. Anthony turned out to be a blowout in favor of the Yellow Jackets by a score of 74-57. I again found myself cheering for St. Anthony and that is totally OK with me cause I am writing these articles not only because I like to write and I love the game of basketball, but I am also a fan of the team. Look what you did to me Coach Smisek?
I gotta give a bunch of credit to St. Michaels…they trailed by 29 points to begin the 4th quarter and made a huge run which made me keep an eye on the score and the clock and when the final buzzer sounded, I heard a huge sigh of relief from the fans!!!
Jackson Becker scored 23 points (I am really impressed by his range and ball handling schools), Brandon Armstrong scored 19 (he is the energy man off the bench), David Wright scored 11 points (he showcased his arsenal…layups, a three pointer, blocked shots, rebounds and hustle), and Khalil Howard scored 9 points for St. Anthony (he is the quarterback). Other scorers for the Yellow Jackets included Jax Chavez, Matt Caffey, and Ethan Gonzales.
Last night was the last game of the regular season for St. Anthony and there final record was (19-11, 3-3). St. Anthony will play in the TAPPS District 2-5A tournament at the University of Incarnate Word on Friday, February 15th at 7:00 pm and I will be there. If they have a game on Saturday, February 16th, I will be there also.
