Scott County's extra defensive motivation

I could only shake my head when Newtown-Harris coach Tim Cool said Thursday that half-court trapping defenses don't bother his team.

After his team won its Class 1 semifinal against Chadwick on Thursday, he was asked about pressing defenses, and he gave an honest assessment of his team.

"We don't see much of that because we usually carve it up pretty good," Cool answered. "To be really honest, our guard play is so good that teams don't usually try to do that for very long. We usually shoot layups."

As soon as he said it, all I could think was that his team hadn't seen any defense like Scott County's. Sure, his team might knife through other Class 1 defenses, but Scott County plays a brand of pressure defense that rivals anyone in the state, regardless of class.

I'd watched his team's game, and I knew then that it had no chance against Scott County. Newtown-Harris was a decent Class 1 team, but it didn't play anywhere near Scott County's level. I knew a running clock was highly likely.

In this business, a lot of coaches give you cliché after cliché to any question you ask. Cool didn't do that, and I applaud him for it.

But there's a connection between Cool's comments and the Braves' overly stifling defensive effort Saturday. You don't taunt a lion like the Braves. The last thing you want to do is provoke them and give them a reason to get even more aggressive on defense.

Bobby Hatchett admitted after the title game that he'd heard Cool's comments and that the Braves used them as motivation. Even without the comments, Scott County would have rolled. But why add fuel to the fire?

The Braves lose three starters, but the two returners are gifted athletes who do special things on the basketball court. I think Hatchett is going to put up crazy numbers, as evidenced by Saturday's performance. He went 12 of 17 from the field for 29 points, while adding 13 assists and five steals. I think that's going to be the norm next year. And Otto Porter put up 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. I see his scoring increasing and his rebounds holding steady.

The Braves will be a force again next season. Let's see if any other Class 1 coaches offer the Braves extra motivation before a game.