Here are Coach Kannemeyer's 3 Keys to the Game:
The Closer?
After nine games the Fraser Valley Bandits have been able to win more than they have lost thanks to balanced scoring throughout the roster. Seven Bandits average double figures in scoring, with Alex Campbell leading the way at 15.8 points per game. In Bandits' losses, minus the game versus the Hamilton Honey Badgers, the team looked lost in the closing minutes of both the second and fourth quarters. Exhibit A was on Sunday afternoon. Kenny Manigault led the comeback to the four minute Elam ending mark versus the Edmonton Stingers, but as the game tightened the Bandits took turns trying to hit shots instead of trying to focus on the hot hand of Manigault.
This team may not be built like that but I do believe that this group could have multiple closers. Campbell, Manigault and Shaquille Keith are all capable of generating offensive pressure against any opponent. Campbell can run high pick and rolls with the big man Brandon Gilbeck. Keith is the team's best one-on-one iso wing, but in the closing minutes the team could be better served to post him up around the elbow areas. Lastly, Manigault may have the team's highest scoring upside, but still has to figure out what areas he needs the ball in.
On Sunday he was able to glide to the basket around several defenders in semi-transition and one-on-one attacks. Whatever the case, the Bandits will have to focus their offensive attack in the second and fourth quarters and play through one of their offensive stars if they hope to beat the Stingers on Tuesday night.
A Dose of Discipline
Throughout the game Sunday, it appeared that many of the Bandits got rattled playing against the league's best team, the Edmonton Stingers. I was at the game Sunday and couldn’t really tell if the Stingers were initiating the beef that got under the team's skin.
Clearly something was bothering both Brandon Gilbeck and Shaquille Keith. He also seemed to be visually upset when his teammates missed him on lob passes around the hoop. The key here for any player at this level is that you have to continue to play hard through the adversity and not let your body language affect the rest of the team.
Shaquille Keith absolutely played to this narrative as he also fouled the game winning three-point shooter on a play where his frustration had clearly boiled over to the point where he lost control of his close-out fundamentals in a critical situation.
These moments did not cause the team to lose directly, but they were definite factors in the loss on Sunday, and an alarming sign if the team is to make a return trip to the CEBL finals.
Clean the Glass!
The Bandits haven’t been dominated on the glass this season by anybody in the CEBL. One of the team's greatest skills early in the year after a perfect 4-0 start was that everybody was cleaning up loose balls and defensive rebounds. In the last two losses, where the margin of error to win was so close, the Bandits struggled to come up with defensive rebounds and loose balls after excellent defensive sequences. As mentioned earlier, like the team's offensive struggles in critical situations in the second and fourth quarters, the team is also struggling to finish off defensive possessions in those moments as well.
Sometimes this is just bad luck, the basketball gods creating a bounce that goes the other team's way is hardly controllable. However, hustle and hard work create luck and sometimes just being better at blocking out offensive rebounders who are crashing to create tip-outs is a recipe for success. To get a win Tuesday night, the Bandits will have to out work the Stingers in the dirty areas, limiting them to one shot and creating more easy buckets in offensive transition.