Burnet boys basketball shows weekly improvement at Llano league

CAPTION: Hayden Sheble holds his spot on the low block while he looks for a cutter.  Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro 

The Burnet High School boys basketball program completed play in the Llano Summer League and new head coach Juston Weldon said he saw the Bulldogs improve from the first week to the fourth.

“Summer league is getting a ball in their hands and getting them playing,” he said. “It’s not always pretty. As a coach, you take mental notes on stuff that you think can be fixed and how it benefits.”

The league included squads from Burnet, Faith Academy of Marble Falls, Junction, Llano and Marble Falls. Each team played in two games per week that had two 20-minute halves with running clocks and a two-minute halftime.

The league also had two officials, but they called obvious fouls. In other words, the biggest goal was to allow the athletes to play, coach and correct themselves with the aim of improving on the big things — shooting and defense — and the no-so-big things — playing an unfamiliar position because that addressed a team need.

Weldon indicated he left Llano encouraged by what he saw, pointing out the last four weeks gives the Bulldogs a head start on the regular season that begins in November.

Top of the list was the Bulldogs’ comfort with one another on the court, he said.

“Trying to build team chemistry with our varsity returners and guys on the junior varsity,” he said. “It’s a new group that needs to mix.”

No team ran full-court presses, opting instead to stick to their half-court man-to-man defenses. The Bulldogs went through their base offense that included spreading the floor and cutting to the basket or creating one-on-one opportunities.

Squads also didn’t simply allow uncontested lay-ups either. Defenses committed to getting back quickly and defending their baskets.

Weldon noted the Bulldogs showed better rapport each week. They also demonstrated they have trust and belief in one another by each one doing his job. And when there was a breakdown, Weldon saw the Bulldogs address it.

“You want to see a lot of communication, a lot of coaching themselves,” he said. “The kids are learning on their own and correcting their mistakes.”

The new coach watched his athletes with razor focus. Simply he didn’t want to miss a minute of studying them so that he can help them be the players they want to be.

“I got a pretty good grasp of our guys,” he said. “I saw a lot we can address. There were a lot of positives. Some kids emerged as vocal leaders. Others have improved on parts of their game.”

Like the other coaches who attended the sessions, Weldon was grateful to Llano Independent School District leaders, particularly head coach Landry Norwood, who served as the league director, for organizing and running it. He pointed out it wasn’t just the projected varsity players who had four weeks on the court. Norwood created junior varsity and junior high divisions to ensure those players also had court time and the opportunity to improve.

“I thought coach Norwood and the Llano coaches did an outstanding job,” Weldon said. “We appreciated them hosting this. It’s really good for our subvarsities, too, our junior varsity and our junior high.”