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  Maryland Sure Shots 10U 

Back to Back State Champions

Ain’t no Party like a Sure Shot Party! - AAU Nationals Opening Ceremonies 2009, Monroe, LA 

!!!!!!!Ballin!!!!!!!

Head Coach: Curtis Jacobs (410) 491-0498,  curtis4921@aol.com       Click Here To Support Our Team

Assistant Coach: Teddy Dixon                    Manager/Treasurer: Chavel Dixon

Assistant Coach: Heather DeWees           Team Mom: Veronica Green

Assistant Coach: Khalid Mitchell             Website: Rodney Lewis/Khalid Mitchell

Team Photographer: Nate Logan  (www.blankstarephotography.com)

                              X  = Canceled

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Team News 2010                                                                  

 

Click on links below for news archives - Scroll down for latest news!

 

3/13/10 McDonogh March Madness Tournament Results

 

4/3/10 Catonsville Spring Fling/Adidas Shootout/Loyola One Day Run 

 

4/10/10 Fairfax Stars Tournament of Champions 

 

4/16/10 MD Regional Qualifier - Pool Play    

 

5/1/10 MD Regional Qualifier - Bracket Play

 

5/16/10 Potomac Valley Cardinals Bash 

 

5/23/10 Fencor 2nd Annual Youth Festival 

 

6/13/10 Maryland Sureshots Summer Classic

 

6/26/10 Coaches Choice USA Baltimore Inner Harbor Challenge

 

7/24/10 Sure Shots 10/11U Tourney of Champions at Loyola U       

 

 

8/9/10 10U National Championship at Orlando, FL

 

  

 

     Disney’s star-studded event was everything it was cracked up to be this year.  Plenty of teams and competition, professional atmosphere in the Milkhouse and new Josten’s Center facilities, and I may be mistaken but I thought I saw Mickey Mouse doing the Moonwalk!  It was just as I remembered it 10 years ago.  Some familiar things were the top-choice courts, and well thought-out brackets.  Some noticeable things that were new for me were the presence of the boys divisions, which made it more exciting, getting to see both genders compete, and the ticket prices, which seemed much cheaper last time out.   All three age divisions competing at one venue allowed teams to support their "sister" or neighboring teams.  One thing I would recommend to the AAU commission next time is to verify the ages of the competitors themselves, and not leave it to the honor and challenge system.  Rumor had it that one team was challenged and found to be in violation.  I cannot confirm that but if it is true, it rips at the very fabric of the integrity of the entire tourney.  Just a suggestion.  But alas, the competition was fierce, and many games went down to the wire. Great for spectators.  Opening Ceremonies began with check-in of all teams.  I saw the #1 ranked Pistols walk in the gym with a 6’1 player. Number 3 ranked Dayton added a tall post player to its already "tight" squad also.  The #5 ranked Kenner Angels looked pretty much the same...tall and beefy!  I also noticed that Cali joined the fun, sending its 10U San Gabriel Valley team (SGV) to the dance.  Good old Maryland represented a little more this year with the Maryland Flames and the Maryland United Lady Ballers joining the fun.  A little singing, posing, and pin exchange followed the check in.  I even saw a few dance battles break out among the teams.  I give the dance title to two young ladies from different teams.  The distinguished young lady from the Pistols, and the eccentric young lady from the CT Waves.  I caught glimpse of a few "electric slide mommas" as well.  All in good fun!  All was set.  The Sureshots were ready to rock and roll...or were they?  

 

     Monday morning/afternoon began with many #1 pool seeds looking to cruise through the pool, but coaches knew that there were no "cruise through" games.  The #7 ranked Shots took on the unranked Charlotte Lady Monarchs in the first pool matchup.  Its never good luck to check into your hotel and walk up on the coach of the team you play first, but that’s what happened.  Monarch Coach Rankins stated he had a celeb’s daughter (Muhsin Muhammed) on the squad but did not expect to "walk through" the game.  He assured me that it woud be a great game...and it was.  The two teams battled back and forth until the Shots looked to break the will of the Monarchs.  Both teams turned the ball over repeatedly in the first half but the Shots landed more buckets.  Halftime score, 31-20 Shots.  I don’t know what Coach Rankins told his girls at the half but it worked.  They fought tooth and claw and willed the ball in the hoop while the Shots seemed to be deflated with every Monarch basket.  The Monarchs were able to score an unheard of 36 second half points to the Shots’ 16.  Yes, an upset. The only #1 seed to go down in the first game of pool play, 56-47 Monarchs.  From there, it was very difficult for the Shots to recover.  Expectations were high and morale was low as the Shots looked to rebound against the unfavored BWSL Norfolk Xpress out of VA.  This young Xpress team was no match for the experienced Shots who jumped out on them 19-8 in the first quarter.  Caused turnovers were the Xpress’ Achilles heal as the Shots continued to capitalize on steals in the second quarter.  The shots added another 15, leading the Xpress 34-17 at the half.  More of the same in the second half as the Xpress had no answer. Final 56-30, Shots.

 

     Okay, the Shots were rejuvenated after the Xpress blowout.  What they didn’t know was that the #9 ranked Missouri Valley Magic had also drank the "Hype Juice" and were ready for anything the Shots could put out.  The Shots seemed comatose and could not score in the first half as the Magic dropped a cool 17 to the Shots’ mere 8.   There was no remedy or salvation for the Shots in the second half as the Magic continued to drop dimes...but now from the foul line.  They went 10 for 13 from the stripe in the second half while the Shots went 7 for 12 for the game.  Final 39-26, Magic.  Uh oh.  Now what?  The Shots were hurt but now had to enter bracket play as a #3 seed.  This was not planned, but what ever goes as planned?  The Shots had to win now or be bannished to the consolation bracket.  So who do they draw, yes, our hometown nemesis, the MD United Lady Ballers! (As my father used to say, "Who would’ve thunk it?").  Do or die is what the Shots were thinking. "We know these girls, we know how they play."  After losing two tough ones to them in Baltimore, the Shots had a different result in mind as they pressed early and long, causing turnover after turnover.  The defensive struggle mirrored a chess match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky.  The Ballers had done well for themselves in pool play losing only to the #5 ranked Kenner Angels but now were tasked with defeating a team 3 times consecutively.  The low scoring game remained at 14-10 Sureshots at half as both squads missed layup after jumpshot.  The Shots’ problem of scoring still plagued them.  The third quarter was a tight one, with the Shots only scoring 10 to the Ballers 12.  The winner would go on to the sweet 16.  The loser, to the consolation.  Well, this may have very been the end of the Shots tourney.  In the final minutes of the game the Shots led by one, only to lose the lead to a fast break layup with seconds left.  The Shots failed to score and lost the match by one, 31-30.  Well, you might as well have told them it was over, because I could read in their faces that the game they just played was the one they wanted the most.  The final game was lost in the first round of the consolation bracket.  Not to a worthy team, but to a Florida Future team who had not been to the tourney before, had not won a game all tourney, and quite frankly looked like they had been playing together only for a short period.  But it was enough to defeat the already deflated Shots.  And of course, the win was on a Future jumpshot on the buzzer, 36-35.  A very sad day, to end a decent season.

 

     The only thing left to do now is build character.  No need to grieve for too long.  A season is never judged by one tournament, but by how well the players learned about each other’s ways.  How well the team’s least talented player progressed.  How well the players learned about themselves.  I know it doesn’t feel like you are a champion, but each and every one of you really are.  This tourney should be a measuring stick on where every team feels they can place.  It should serve as a guide on how hard everyone must work together to play the game, and not let the game play you.  Yeah, I sat and watched the semi final and the final to catch a glimpse of what Coaches Logan Allen (Dayton, 1st), Tim Huffman (Indiana Blizzard, 2nd), Torrance Small (Kenner Angels, 3rd), and Misty Mischler (FBC, 4th) were doing with their squads.  I also watched the players closely in close situations.  Many of them were just like the Shots.  But one thing stood out as clear as carribean waves...teamwork and trust.  The road to greatness is not far away, but one must first define what great really is in order to set out in the right direction.  Good Luck Sureshots. Take a much needed break from basketball and return refreshed and reborn!

  

 2010’s Top Finishers:

http://www.aauresults.org/girlsb/pdfnat/2010/1281223733.pdf

 

 

8/18/10 Sureshots Compete in 3 on 3 tourneys in Essex and Cloverdale

          

Shots win in Essex!                                                      Shots posing with Melo!

 

     On Saturday, August 14th, four Sureshots participated in a 3 on 3 basketball tournament held at "The Fields at Renaissance Park in Essex, MD.  Yasmin Lewis, Taleah Dixon, Jeydah Johnson, and Kolbi Green weren’t quite ready for their season to end after nationals.  They wanted more, and more is what they found.  The co-ed tourney included two teams comprised of their sister Sureshot team members (10U King), and two boys’ teams.  I was informed that they played like superstars throughout the event and represented their team well.  They settled for nothing less than an undefeated record and four shiny new first-place trophies!  Just an example of how hard work and teamwork produces results.  The same group, minus Johnson and insert Tiffani Rice, competed in a similar 3 on 3 tourney on 8/21/10 held at the Cloverdale Park courts in West Baltimore.  The H.O.O.D Challenge (Holding Our Own Destiny) tourney was hosted by Baltimore’s own Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets). The group went 6-0 and took the trophy again.  Congrats to the girls!  I am also told that several team members are using their off-season time to work on their individual skills with trainers, camps and other sports...a great concept!   

 

           

I’d also like to take this time to recognize the Sure Shots parents for teaming together on multiple fundraising/managerial projects. Thank you for your assistance and all you do!     

 

 

 

 

 

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2010 AAU 10U MD. District Gold Medalists

 

 

2009 AAU 9U D1 Nationals:7th Place

 

 

2009 AAU 9U MD. District Gold Medalists

 

 

Back 2 Back State Champions!

2009-2010