Ourada wants more passion

West Bend East coach Phil Ourada was obviously frustrated after the Suns lost to Oconomowoc 61-44 Tuesday. Before I could even ask him a question, his body language showed he was frustrated with the team.

First off, Oconomowoc was the better team. You can't teach height and Oconomowoc is a basketball school. In West Bend, it's baseball. Cooney's more skilled and their basketball IQ was more advanced.

It doesn't matter how good a team is, any given night anything can happen. When a team is not as skilled as their opponents, they need to out work and out hustle to have a shot.
I didn't see much hustle out of the Suns. I think I saw one player go to the floor for a loose ball and he did because the ball was at his feet and a Cooney player had already went to the floor to get it. The East player did not win possession.

If I was East's coach, I would do the old fashioned drill of two players underneath the hoop where the coach throws the ball between them. First one to dive on the ball, gain possession and scores wins. A coach can only go so far with hustle drills. It's up to the player to get on the floor.

There is not one player on East that is the dominant scorer or best player. They are all solid and about the same ability.

Any of the end of the bench guys listen up. If you want to gain more playing time, get physical in practice. Hustle in practice. Show passion in practice.

Ourada is itching for someone to step up and charge this team. Hustle is contagious. You see one teammate on the floor and then you start diving on the floor.

East did not play to its potential Tuesday.