We attended the Dr. Peter Broe Classic at Western Michigan. There we played Kent State, CSU and MSU. Going into the weekend we knew we were going to have to play some good ball. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned as we went 0-3. Throughout the day we felt as though we put together our team throws very well and the communication on these throws was some of the best we have had this season. We also feel that our movement as a team was much improved from earlier in the season. However, what really hurt us was our blocking and not seeing the cross throws in time. It is frustrating that we have continued to struggle at this aspect of the game for so long. Another huge downfall throughout the day was our inconsistency in play. We play strongly and do things correctly so well and then out of nowhere we fall apart and make mistakes that we should not be making.
Here’s what some of the players had to say:
Nicholas Stocks (President):
“Our performance at the Dr. Peter Broe Classic was not what we were hoping for. Not executing the fundamentals properly continues to be an issue the UWP squad has. The small things continue to be the death of our team, missing our blocks, for ourselves and teammates, not immediately attacking when the other team throws, once we do these things UWP will be a difficult opponent. While the score on the day doesn’t show it UWP did have some strong points, during the beginning of the Kent game UWP was the dominate force on the court. If we always have that same style of play, I expect an elite eight appearance and possibly a final four.”
Dylan Taylor (Rookie):
“The tournament went alright. We definitely could’ve done better, but we grew as a team. We had lots of great team throws and the communication improved as the day went on. We were very aggressive during the points we won and worked well as a team. However, we need to work on keeping this aggression during the whole day. We also need to work on rotating throwers more. Most of the throws were done by the same couple of veterans.”
Zak Lathrop (Secretary):
“Overall, I feel the tournament could have gone way better than it did. There were things we did great at but there were many other areas that we still need to work on. For the most part when we played as a unit we dominated on the court. We killed with our transition game and counters. As I said previously, we dominate as a unit. It’s when we start to fall apart and slowdown that kills us. The team needs to continue the intensity on the court at all times. Once we can consistently work together and play together. We’re a force to be reckoned with.”
Daniel Breitenstein (Rookie):
“While I had fun, I was disappointed with how we performed. We didn’t work together well, and we definitely suffered because of this. When we did communicate well with each other, we were able to coordinate attacks effectively. We were able to execute good team throws that got outs. Better communication and coordination. This is the area that we need the most improvement, especially during games.
All said and done, we had a great time attending the event and wish our fellow competitors’ luck in the last half of their seasons. Go ‘Neers!