Two thousand eight marks the fourth AAU season for Coach Tom Starr, who heads up the second 14U team for the Delaware PAL Wildcats.  And it could just be that this year's team is his strongest yet.  A look at the team's results this past weekend are heartening:  Yes, there were two losses by big scores that the team probably didn't have a chance in anyway, but there was also a thrilling win on a near buzzer-beater three by Sam Sell, and a very competitive loss that could've gone either way.  And keep in mind that in these tournaments there aren't a whole lot of second teams competing.  All of which means that this roster has to face, essentially, the same caliber of teams as the other Wildcat 14U team.

 

I gotta hand it to men (and women) like Coach Starr who take on second teams.  They provide opportunities for a whole lot of players who otherwise might not get the chance to play AAU ball, while at the same time, they must be prepared each year to lose their best players to the first team or to another club altogether.  It's a thankless, yet important and valuable service that they perform.

 

Since I only saw a minute here and a minute there of just one of this team's games during the tournament, I'll leave it up to Coach Starr to bring everyone up-to-date:

 

My team went 1 - 3 over the weekend at the Sparks Tournament. I was very pleased with how the whole tournament was run and I was even very pleased with the referees and let them know it after each game. Even though we did not win too many games over the weekend, we caused our own misery and the officials just called great games.
 
Our first game we faced the Sparks 14U team and they beat us 40 - 14.  The Sparks played very well. Our second game was with the Collegeville Jags and we won 48 - 47 with a 3 pointer with 1.5 seconds left  by Sam Sell (#11). We blew a 10 point halftime lead but the girls remained calm after giving up the go ahead basket with 11 seconds left. I was very proud of them. Our third game we lost to the Sparks 15U "B" team 36 - 33 however we missed at least a dozen layups, so we had a chance but didn't take advantage of it. In our last game, we played the NE Rockers and we cut a 14 point halftime deficit to 7 but then things came unglued and we lost 55 - 32.
 
Tom Starr

 

Tourney Pics

 

Lauren Munro brings the ball up during the Collegeville Jags game.

 

Hayley Thomas is a versatile player with a nice combination of speed and height.

 

 

Other Delaware Teams:

 

Delaware PAL Wildcats 14U (Amy Rausch), 3 - 1 (11 - 1 overall)

 

Delaware PAL Wildcats 14U (Tom Starr), 1 - 3

 

Delaware PAL Wildcats 13U (Allan Cox)

 

Delaware PAL Wildcats 10U (Steve Colella), 2 - 2

 

Wilmington Tigers 12U (Hugo Romero)

 

Wilmington Tigers 11U (Matt Payne), 2 - 2 (8 - 4 overall)

 

Delaware Lady Sharpshooters 11U

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