illawarra recap

i can happily say that the pilots didnt beat us as badly as they beat sutherland. i think in the end the pilots won by about 25-ish. i'm sure you'll get the exact numbers when jason brough posts the stats etc. in the end the pilots just ran over us. we (illawarra) were a team that was just thrown together for that game. we had a couple of guys who had played D1 ball in the past, a couple of guys who are on summer break from their schools in the US, one guy who played in the national league a few years back and a couple of other guys who can definitely play. we had no offense and had never played together as a group so i think we did ok.

the pilots started robin, sikma, stohl, raivio and waterford. illawarra came out hard and i think were up at the first quarter break. sikma had a nice 2-handed dunk through the middle on the end of a fast break. the first quarter i think the pilots were just getting settled.

the pilots made a run in the second quarter and were ahead at half time. the size of the pilots ended up overwhelming for us. it was definitely difficult to get anything going against these guys when we had never really played together. stohl hit a few consecutive 3's in the second and the pilots started to get it going.

in the 3rd, the pilots came out in a matchup zone which killed us for a while. the pilots really pressed hard and trapped a lot in the half court. we didnt really have an answer for it and the pilots opened up a lead. from there they pretty much rolled us.

after playing against them the pilots are very disciplined. they know their roles, they know the offense, they know the system. coach rev has these guys on the right track and i really expect big things this year.

the pilots had no real standouts. they were pretty even across the board.

jasonn was good again. he had a few dunks around the rim and rebounded hard. i think hes really starting to get it and will do a lot of good things for the pilots this year. (by the way this guy is huge and really strong. and probably one of the nicest guys around)

stohl shot well again. didnt get as many shots up this time but made the ones he needed to make.

ethan was ethan. fighting for loose balls, all the hustle plays. he played a little bit in the 4 again when coach went small.

tj is even more smooth when you play against him. he's really good with the ball and is very poised. he understands the game and is definitely the quarterback of the team.

sikma was energetic as usual around the rim. he pulled a few rebounds out of the sky and had a nice dunk.

knutson was solid. didnt need to do a whole lot tonight. made a few hook shots and posted up hard.

robin is probably still getting his feet back. he missed a few shots but was active around the key as usual. (i did beat him in the jump though lol)

raivio is another one of those guys who you realise is even better when you play against him. he's really good in traffic in the paint and is really under control. he made a few smart shots where he weaved through the guys in the paint.

waterford did ok. wasnt special but ran the team when he needed to and made a few nice plays.

taishi was great on the defensive end. he seems to get in the right place and is a real pest on the ball. his experience is underrated in my opinion. he's always going to give effort on the defensive end and will do a solid job at the PG.

mitrovic hit a few nice shots and was solid. its been a good opportunity for him to get some minutes and show what hes got.

overall, the pilots just played solid and were really good on the defensive end. they made most of our shots difficult. they wore us down. we couldnt keep it up for a whole 40 mins. i'm definitely glad we put up a fight though.

i think the pilots are going to be really good this year. i'm excited. they have all the pieces. 3pt shooting, good play inside, good size, athletes, good PG, a couple of scorers. its gonna be a good year.

a few notes:
>lady pilots lauren angel was in attendence. she is from wollongong, like myself, so she came down to check out the game.
>the guys on the illawarra team were impressed with the pilots. not so much for the game but how genuinely good the guys are. they said that none of the guys had attitudes and we were good guys to talk to. in my opinion, thats one of the biggest compliments the guys could get.
>i showed taishi that he gets mentioned on kevin durants signature shoes. i have a pair of the durant shoes and showed him a little bit of writing on the sole that says his name. he said that durant told him he was gonna do it but he didnt really know what he was talking about. he was pretty excited once he saw it though.

dont worry about my stats. not too epic lol. i had a great time playing against the pilots. i got there late and only had about 20 mins to get warmed up because i had to get there after work but it was a weird, awesome experience to play against the pilots. i like where things are going!

let me know if you want any more specifics.

GO PILOTS

let me know

i knew i forgot someone in the player bit.

bj was quiet but didnt really make any mistakes. he played the 4 a couple of times when they went small and fast. he always threatens with an athletic play though.

my bad for missing him... i probably missed something else as well.

and i think brough short changed me on my rebound count. lol

Awesome! Honestly, that's one thing I love about this team, they all seem to be great guys. I look at the pictures that Brough posts, and it looks like the same pictures my buddies and I would have taken on a trip. That really is a great compliment to get from the Illawarra fellas.

Thanks for the recap!! It's great to hear the team is playing together so well... and agreed on the "good guys" thoughts--you can see it in the photos and hear it in their interviews, etc.

chris: thanks so much for your posts, they give us much info that we would not be getting otherwise. It would be nice if you could post us from time ro time on whats going on there.

Chris, thank you so much for the first-hand account! Glad to hear you're doing well and still hooping it up!

Very proud of the Pilots... 3-0 so far with one more game to go. Seems like this trip is working out exactly as planned - lots of practice for the guys, a chance to implement some new stuff (faster pace, press, etc), team-bonding, building confidence, everyone getting minutes, and really setting the stage for next season. I love it!

cjacks14 wrote:
>i showed taishi that he gets mentioned on kevin durants signature shoes. i have a pair of the durant shoes and showed him a little bit of writing on the sole that says his name. he said that durant told him he was gonna do it but he didnt really know what he was talking about. he was pretty excited once he saw it though.

Does it have his name on one of the soles or something? If so that's a pretty sweet shout out!

DaTruRochin wrote:

cjacks14 wrote:
>i showed taishi that he gets mentioned on kevin durants signature shoes. i have a pair of the durant shoes and showed him a little bit of writing on the sole that says his name. he said that durant told him he was gonna do it but he didnt really know what he was talking about. he was pretty excited once he saw it though.

Does it have his name on one of the soles or something? If so that's a pretty sweet shout out!

Dang, that is impressive. Does anyone have a photo shot of the shoes?

the writing is pretty small on the bottom of the shoes. i dont think i could geet a picture of it. but it has little one-liners about what durant did throughout his career. at one point it says "playing live at ito's"

i'll try and get some pics but no promises