Game 3

Saturday October 10, 2009 we played our third game of the year agianst ALBA Berlin of Berlin. Berlin is 3.5 hrs from Goettingen and is the capital of Germany. Berlin has a great part in German history, from the Berlin wall, to the Nazi's and the cold war. Berlin is a major city in the world and I am glad I had the opportunity to see it even though we didn't stop and site see. Anyways, bakc to the game. We played ALBA Berlin, which is one of the top teams in Germany's first division, who doesnt have the best players but they play as a team really well. The gym, as you can see from the pictures, sucked because it had WOOD backboards, dead spots in the floor and rims that were older than dirt. We started the game out pretty intense but soon became a little over confident. In the first quarter I didn't shoot a shot but I was being a pure point guard and playmaker.Which I thought was what my coach wanted and had asked of me when I first got here. I was giving perfect passes but my teammates just werent making their shots and finishing their layups. The second quarter began and I was getting frustrated because of how many missed shots and lay-ups had happend. Coach Hans was frustrated too and pulled me a side and asked if I would be more aggressive and shoot more. Following that he moved me to the 2guard spot, which normally wouldnt bother me but I thought I needed to keep the ball in my hands and keep creating. During the second quarter I began to "force" my shots and it really through myself and my teammates out of rhythm, which is not my game. At half time I only had 2 points on about 1-9 shooting, because of my forcing and taking bad shots, but luckily we were only down 5 points, 31-36. When the third quarter began I thought I would get my rhythym back by drving to the basket and/or taking mid range jumpers. However, me being the leading scorer in the league, at the time, they began with a box and 1 and were not letting me get the ball. This causing more frustration with me, my coach and my teammates. The fourth quarter came and we were still right in the game but down 47-52. I scored 10points in the fourth quarter to finish the game with 12 but it was not enought. We lost the game by 1 point 63-64, and we didn't even get last shot up because we turned the ball over with 6 seconds left. I finshed the game with 12pts 4ast 3rbs 2 stls and 4 TO. I can honestly say it was one of my worst games, mentally and physically in my whole career. We play again this Saturday at home against one of the bestter teams in our league. They have 3 Americans and one is "now" the leading scorer in the league. It will be a tough game but it should be fun. My knee is still about the same, so please continue to pray for me. Thank you.