SD Attack 16s were a Team of Growth
The South Dakota Attack 16U squad made advancements from the start to the finish as a team and individually. The experience the Attack and Coach Barry Jacobsen gave to them was excellent both on and off the floor. “I think…
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Continue ReadingThe South Dakota Attack 16U squad made advancements from the start to the finish as a team and individually. The experience the Attack and Coach Barry Jacobsen gave to them was excellent both on and off the floor.
“I think just the entire summer was really great for our team,” Coach Jacobsen said. “We had a lot of new faces playing together. There wasn’t a game this past spring and summer that we got out worked. The guys really started to bond over the course of the summer.
“I think you can attribute some of that bonding to the Pokemon Go craze that started in July. But, nevertheless, it was great to see them start to forge friendships and bonds on and off the court.
Players love AAU basketball for the travel, the competition, and the companionship with others that have the same interests as them. Attack 16U accomplished all of that.
“I think that from the beginning of the spring to the end of the summer I saw individually guys improving on their games and basketball IQ’s,” said Jacobsen. “They started to understand their abilities and what they can bring to the team.
“We had different guys step up at different times and be our leader. Which, I think, for a lot them is a big deal. To start developing those leadership skills and then bringing those skills back to their school teams is a big deal.”
There were several individual standouts for the Attack this year as well as players from different areas stepped forward to succeed.
“I thought pretty much every kid gave the team everything they had when they stepped out on the floor for practices and games,” Jacobsen said. “We were very much a guard oriented team, with guys like Lincoln Unruh (6-1 guard from SF Christian), Jaden Kleinhessellink (of Sheldon HS in Iowa), and Tyus Arends (Sioux Center HS in Iowa) doing a lot of the scoring at the beginning of the year.
“As the summer went on we had some of our forwards step up and take over games. The one player who really had a great July was Jackson Rieff, 6’2 forward from SF Roosevelt. He really became a mismatch for a lot of teams. He is very skilled on the block when a smaller player would match up with him and then once a bigger man switched onto him he was able to take them off the bounce to the basket.”
Attack did not have the flashy record that some of the other teams in the program had but the experience of the team was more about improvements and advancements of their game. Plus the team competed hard every game and gave every opponent a challenge.
“I know our record did not end where we wanted it too, but outside of our last tournament in Lawrence, Kansas our worst loss had been by 11 all spring/summer. I always talked about how in the summer it’s better to lose a close game then win by 30 some.
“It’s about getting put in situations and seeing how we respond, because that will create growth in character. And, I thought, the guys grew a lot in their character this summer because of how competitive we were in every game.”
The Attack 16s were made up of seven guys from South Dakota and three from Iowa and they played in six tournaments as well as one camp.