Tuesday, July 15, 2008
NC Heat Earns 2nd Place at National AAU
NC Heat faced a mirror image of itself in the N.C. Garner Flames. They had a few tall, athletic kids plus several guards with good handles. They were fairly patient offensively, but they did not have the defensive tenacity of MN NC Heat. This was a roller coaster as Garner led very early, then NC Heat went on a run and led by as many as 11 late in the first half. In the second half, Garner led by as many as 9 before the Heat closed and regained the lead. The Heat led by 8 late, but Garner pulled to within 1 point with 1:20 remaining when Leick knocked down a 3 to make it 61-57. Hill and Poke each made free throws around a Garner 3pt basket for the final 63-60 margin. Garner primarily played man; 2nd half Garner pressed a bit to tire NC Heat guards. The action moved back to the Milk House for the Final. Due to heavy thunderstorms, the place was packed with soccer and baseball players providing a wonderful atmosphere. Unfortunately, NC Heat spent much more energy in the semi-finals than NY Silver Bullets and couldn't keep up the pace. It's evident the Heat are fatigued when they turnover the ball and get out-rebounded which was the case. NC Heat also shot poorly from the field. The game was tight early with Hill keeping Minnesota in it. By half NY led by 13 and basically held a 9 to 15 pt lead for the entire 2nd half. So, on July 6th most girls played 2 Top Ten camp games. Then over the next 9 days, NC Heat played 14 games going 4-1 in Atlanta and 8-1 in Orlando to earn 2nd in each. It was a successful 12-2 road trip by all accounts, with no major injuries. Next up is Memphis and then they will conclude with the North Tartan Meltdown.
Monday, July 14, 2008
NC Heat advances to AAU Final Four
NC Heat advanced to the Final Four today with two wins on Coach Hill's birthday. The Heat is playing very well with lock down defense, balanced scoring, and terrific rebounding. The Sweet 16 game vs. Missouri Team Excel was close for a half at 30-24 Minnesota. The press was fairly ineffective but there are no holes in the half court defense. NC Heat began the 2nd half with an 18-4 run and cruised to the Elite 8 with a 71-53 victory. Team Excel did get it down to 9 at one point before the Heat finished them off. NC Heat field goal percentage was down, but free throw shooting was sizzling 34/38. 2pt FG: 13/32 3pt FG: 3/11 FT: 34/38
Game 2 was against Florida's top team FG Breakdown who came in unbeaten in the tourney, and believe me they're a confident bunch. This game was very tight throughout with NC Heat's first lead coming at 12-11. Teams exchanged baskets for the rest of the half until late when NC Heat pushed to a 6 point lead and eventually led by 4 at half, 27-23. Breakdown had two huge post players and 5 quick guards who shot well in warm ups but not against the long Heat guards. Breakdown primarily played man with some zone mixed in. NC Heat did not press in this game and primarily played 3-2 match up with some man. In the second half the Heat played with a 4 to 8 point lead the entire half but could only push it to 10 once and briefly as Breakdown answered with a 3. Florida spectators expected a run but it never came as the Heat defense was up for this one. The final score was 58-51.
Tomorrow morning at 9am NC Heat will play the Garner Flames (N.C.). The remaining teams are Silver Bullets NY Elite (last year's 15U champ) and Georgia Nike Pistols. All Final Four teams are undefeated in the tourney.
The championship game is at 1:30pm and 3rd place is at noon EDT.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
NC Heat Devastates TN Raiders, Advances to Sweet 16
NC Heat came out with the swagger of old and unleashed a cold, ruthless 84-48 blowout today over the Tennessee Raiders. The Heat had control the entire game starting with an 8-0 run and early 16-2 lead. At that point, TN did figure out the press and canned 3 consecutive 3's (not unanswered) to get within 7, but they wouldn't get any closer. NC Heat was bigger and faster than TN and they were shooting very well, 53% for the game which is their highest so far on this 10 game road trip. The Heat led by 26 at halftime. TN was able to handle the press for the most part, but couldn't get anything going against the Heat half court defense (3-2 matchup, man, and some 1-3-1). It was another balanced attack as everyone scored and no one cracked 20 pts despite scoring 84. Numbers: 2pt FG: 30/52 3pt FG: 4/12 FT: 12/19
Tomorrow is a big day...two wins would put the Heat in the Final Four and guarantee two games on Tuesday. The Heat faces Team Excel from Missouri at noon tomorrow. They played on the adjacent court and NC Heat watched the final 9 minutes of the game where Team Excel squandered a 16 point lead, but hung on to win by 3. Should NC Heat win, the Elite 8 game is at 6pm EDT.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
NC Heat finishes pool play 4-0
The NC Heat finished pool play Saturday, July 12th with a 66-51 win over the Connecticut Starters. The Heat jumped out to a fast start, leading 13-7 and then using a 12-1 run to go up 25-8 early. Conn didn't help itself by missing its 1st six free throws, but the Starters did manage a 10-0 run to cut it to 25-18. The Heat then closed the half with a 9-1 run of its own for a 34-19 halftime lead. In the 2nd half, Connecticut cut the lead to 8 at 43-35, but that's the closest it
would come to closing the gap. Despite the ebbs and flows, the NC Heat again seemed in control for the entire game. It was a very balanced attack with 4 players in double figures. Coach Stringer from Rutgers was in attendance
Bracket play begins Sunday, July 13th and the Heat will face the 3 seed of Pool A, Tennessee Raiders, at 4:30pm EDT. Should the NC Heat win, the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 will be played at noon and 6pm EDT on Monday.
Friday, July 11, 2008
NC Heat 3-0 in pool play
The NC Heat put two more wins in the books Friday, July 11th in Orlando. They beat the Baltimore Charm 79-52 and knocked off the Indy Gym Rats, 64-52. The Heat took control early
against Baltimore with an 8-0 start and a 40-28 halftime lead. The team shot a sizzling 59% from the floor and 100% from the line in the first half. The 2nd half defense stiffened and shots continued to fall resulting in a 79-52 final. This was the best shooting performance since leaving Minneapolis. They went north of 50% for the game and hit 88% from the line.
Totals: 2PT FG: 30/60 3PT: 4/7 FT: 7/8
The second game was tighter. Aside from the opening few minutes, the Heat seemed to be in control the entire game. Indy was smaller than NC Heat and guard heavy. They played quite a bit of 2-3 zone and some man, quick to double on the block. The Heat’s press worked early. But with all the guards, they eventually figured it out. Still, the long Heat guards made it difficult for Indy shooters. The NC Heat dominated the boards. They led 30-23 at half, behind 40% shooting. Indy closed to 34-32 in the second, but that's the closest they'd get.
The NC Heat hit 11/15 free throws in the second half to seal the game, 64-52.
2 PT FG: 18/39 3 PT FG: 4/10 FT: 16/25
The NC Heat plays its final pool game Saturday, July 12th at noon. But every other team has
two losses except AL Starz, which the Heat already beat on Day one. Based on the worst case point differential, the Heat has clinched the top spot in Pool I, meaning they'll have a large break by tourney standards, not playing again until 4:30pm Sunday, July 13th in bracket play.
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NC Heat parent
NC Heat wins first game at AAU Nationals
The NC Heat played #5 seed overall Alabama Southern Starz Thursday, July 10th and came out with a 75-64 win. It was a tale of two halves, as the cold shooting in Atlanta carried over to the first half , as the Heat was down 34-20 at the half. Defensive pressure and much better outside shooting pushed the Heat ahead 42-40 and they never looked back, scoring 55 2nd half points. Alabama primarily used a 2-3 zone the entire game. The Heat played man, match up and some 1-3-1. The major difference was ball movement and defensive intensity. Both were missing in the first half but were very present in the 2nd half. For the game, the NC Heat shot nearly 50% from the field but 2nd half shooting was near 60%. The Heat will play 2 games Friday, July 11th at 9am and 1:30pm. Pool play extends to Saturday, July 12th and bracket play begins Sunday, July 13th with the top 32 in the Championship bracket and the bottom 32 in a Consolation bracket.
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