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Just returning from the game. Shade came out ready to play and jumped on Serra early bolting out to an 11-0 lead before Serra’s coach finally called a timeout around the 5 minute mark of the 1st quarter.

Josh Barnes played possible the best game of his whole career at Shade. The turning point game came with around 3 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter. Barnes picked up his 3rd foul and Coach Fyock was forced to sit him till halftime. Serra also made an adjustment on the defensive end dropping back into a 1-3-1 half court defense that seemed to catch the Panthers off guard. With the exit of Barnes Serra used both of their 6’4 big guys to pound the ball inside.

After halftime Serra went on a 7-0 run to extend their lead much in thanks to their 1-3-1 defense that they pulled out late in the 1st half and Shade’s inability to match them inside with Barnes in foul trouble. The shots they did get didn’t fall and just like that Serra was up 10+ entering the final frame.

Shade had two chances to cut the lead to 6 with around 5 minutes left but back to back forced shots by Berkey and easy transition points from Serra jumped the lead right back to 12.

My thought on the game:

#4 Gibions from Shade should not have been in the game at some critical points in the first half and ended the half about 1-6 from the field and at least four turnovers. (I think his dad is the assistant coach) Barnes played great up against those giants from Serra. Berkey didn’t do anything and forced a lot and Kamimskey was held much in check by some great defense by the two Serra guards. Shade could have definitely won the game but some tough breaks didn’t go their way and as we all know in order for a D5 team to beat a powerhouse like Serra they needed all the breaks they could get. My hats off to Shade and all the hard work that great group of seniors put in. Great season!

bball22...My last post at the end of basketball season.
May not make much sense to anyone but you'll understand.
You tried to take a shot at a Shade individual a few days ago, but that post is gone. Not sure if you deleted it after thinking better or it or if someone else had the sense to do it. Anyway, you seem to have a problem with the coaching staff and now you take a shot on here at a kid who contributed all year to the team. Talk about going around the end to make a dirty play. Sad.

I'm sure the Shade coaching staff had the kids in the game that gave them the best chance to win. Gibbons had been contributing all year it wasn't like he was a JV player from the end of the bench. I thought he single-handedly kept them in their playoff game with NBC, hitting several big jumpers down the stretch.

I think this is just the tip of the iceberg for the Shade program. I hear their Jr. High is loaded and they should be tough for the years to come.

Bball22, dead on description of the game. The 1-3-1 broke the cadence of Shade's offense and then with Barnes on the bench, it opened the door for Serra. I would have liked to have seen Shade throw a different D into the mix as well. Overall, Shade played a solid game and could have won it. Despite some of the talk before the game, they were not out classed by the defending state champions. Barnes was stellar and while I'll agree that Gibbons did not perform up to par, he has been a tremedous asset to the team through the entire season. He was on the court because of that, not because he is the coach's son (not sure if that's what you were implying or not). My beef with substitutions came at the end of the game. Why was Kaminsky on the bench with only 4 minutes left to go?

As for next year, it will be the true test for Coach Fyock. He has two excellent players in Smith and Gibbons to build his team around. The JV boys saw a lot of varsity action throughout the season due to the many blowouts. However, other than Gibbons & Knapp, no one else from the bench saw any action during the playoffs.

By no means was I trying to take a shot at the Shade coaching staff or “at a kid who contributed all year to the team” in Mr. Gibbons. I was simply stating my thought on the game and I feel they were very accurate. What is sad is your inability to see that Gibbons was simply out of his element in a game of that caliber. Frankly I don’t care what he did in the NBC game or that he contributed all year. And in my opinion the Shade coaching staff did not have the kids in the game that gave them the best chance to win at all times. I felt that once Barnes picked up his 3rd foul they should have went with a 6 man rotation with the big kid #41 Knapp (not sure if I’m correct on the number).

Also I attended the game with a completely neutral fan that follows most District 6 and he mentioned that #4(Gibbons) looked as though he didn’t belong on the floor with that level of competition. The only reason I even addressed this topic was comments heard from Mt. Pleasant fans sitting behind me who commented on #4’s inability to handle the ball and to play defense on the Serra guards.

In closing I greatly apologize if offended anyone and by no means tried to take a shot at a great young basketball player for the Panthers. I think that Gibbons has the up most ability and will have a great high school basketball career at Shade. Coach Fyock did a great job with this group of very talented athletes and although I did mention that I thought Garrett Berkey took some bad shots in trying to get the Panthers back in the game I feel that himself, Kaminsky, Barnes and Kudaski should all be commanded on one of the best season by a District 5 “A” team in quite some time. Great season for the Panthers and lost of promise ahead.