Third game of the season where the young Raptors took on Team Rise for another sweet victory! 40-35 was the final score. From the start of the game and up until the last few minutes, both Saxon and Jackson had good control over the ball. As usual, Saxson leadership and ball control, ran the offense and led the defence. Paulino started stepping up in the last quarter by taking jump shots at the key and when covered, drove to the basket which resulted in either a basket or a foul shot which he converted into key baskets. He also played good defense at the back end of the court during the press where he was agressively running to the ball. Jackson as usual carried the team when points were needed. However, the team is slowly but surely starting to swing and share the ball around more and get more players involved.  According to Coach Ronnie, “It was our team press that allowed the Raptors to come back from a nine point deficit and take over the game, and although we made some critical errors during the last few minutes of the game, the boys were able to keep their composure, play through the errors, and eventually control the game. When asked if the young Raptors were going to pull a win with five minutes left on the clock and a small lead over Team Rise, Alex, daughter of Head Coach Ronnie, confidently said, “definitely!” Coach Ronnie was encouraged to see that everyone on the team from Evan, Myles, Josiah, Parker and Jaxson played key roles in the team press. He notes that the Raptors offense needs to get better to win some tough competition here in the near future. “We need everyone to score, or at the very least, attempt to score. Right now, we are passing the ball even when we are wide open which means we are still lacking some confidence and relying too much on Jackson to bring in all the points.  We can not rely on Jackson game after game. Everyone needs to step up on offence. This is something that we still need to work on. Everyone needs to be practicing at home on their shots. A one hour, once a week practice is simply not going to cut it.”

Nonetheless, it was a good win which makes for a good weekend! Could that Raptors rhythm be coming back? Next game will be a challenge when the young Raptors take on the United Ballers on October 9th at 8:00. They are organized, they are tall, and they are very aggressive. The young Raptors will need to come well prepared and ready to “bring it!” 

 Second game of the season—final score was 42 to 18, and I’m sad to report no win this time for the young Raptors. As one parent stated “luck was simply not on our side.” Along with great talent, every team could use a little lady luck on their side. Raptors made several attempts to get that ball in the basket and for some reason, it just wouldn’t go in!  And on top of that, Ironmen figured out real quick who to shut down and that’s exactly what they did. Come second quarter they tripled teamed Jackson Davis at a time when they only had a five point lead and that is where they gained their momentum. According to Coach Mona, we are just going to have to develop other shooters and work on our inside shots. These Raptors are going to have to start trusting each other and distribute the ball better if they have any hopes of winning against seasoned teams like Ironmen. We are also going to have to work on our fouls. We’ve had two players already foul out of the games this weekend, and several others really close to fouling out. So if these young Raptors can communicate better on the court, distribute the ball more, keep the fouls to a minimum, and develop other shooters in the paint, we’ll be in good shape come next game. This game clearly showed that despite the obvious skill and talent on this team, there are key fundamental areas that still need to be addressed in order for this team to play at the level they are certainly capable of playing at. As far as this particular loss is concerned, we’ll play them again, and next time, you can be we’ll be ready!

After a great season ending game against the Game Tight – Valdez, the young Raptors are looking forward to the new season, PSA Spring League. Raptors are excited and looking forward to their first game in the “B-Blue” division.

During the break, Raptors had a roster shake up; some players have moved-on to other teams and some decided to take a break from playing basketball and concentrate on other sports. Fortunately for the Raptors, Coach Charles did a great job in recruiting and brought key players that will step in and help the team play at the next level.

Raptors would like to welcome the new Raptors:

Luke Murphey – a big center that will take a lot of space and dominate the paint.

Tracy James – a combo PG, SG, and SF that will help handle the ball and put points on the board.

Zack Hayward - a PG who lead and run the offense.

First game is on Saturday, March 27th at 4:00pm PSA 2 Siver 5. Please see team calendar for game schedule. See y’all there.

Its a going to be a great season…..Go Raptors !!!

I just want to say Thank You to everyone for all the support this past winter season. When we started this team last October, Mona and I did not know how we were going to fare as a team. Like any new team, we had our good and bad moments. Nevertheless, we stuck together as a team and pulled through, as a good team should. This was evident the last few games of the regular season and specially the playoffs. I thought the kids started to jell and play together as one. It was great to see the kids encourage and support each other when the chips were down.

As the season progressed, the players gained confidence and trust for themselves and the coaches. We exceeded our expectations. It proved that when you work together as a team….you CAN and WILL exceed your goals….not bad for a 5-month old team. Yes, our record (6-2, with 4 and 4 overall) may not reflect it but I think we won the season. I am excited about the upcoming spring season and tournament games. We need to work harder and improve our fast break, pressure defense, offensive transition, and perimeter shooting.

Thank you to all for the parental support.

Thank you, Rowena and Mona for keeping our blog up to date.

Thank you, Charles for all your help during the games.

Thank you, Mona for your help in managing the team.

See y’all in a couple of weeks.

Go Raptors…

What a great game?!?!  Playing an opponent that was taller, bigger and more experience did not faze the young Raptors. They took their lumps and stood toe-to-toe against their opponent. Raptors got themselves in a hole early in the game but clawed their way to take the lead mid-way of the fourth quarter. Each team traded baskets and in the last few seconds, Raptors down by 2pts, they took their final shot of the game. Although the shot went in that could’ve tied the game and sent it into overtime, the referee made a critical call the cost the Raptors a chance to go the finals.

Every player contributed and played great. Our reserves played big roles in key situation during the game, and during the playoff series.

Chris kept their guards outside the perimeter. He did not let anyone penetrate the 3-2 zone. He chased and harassed every guard the came close. He was instrumental in helping double-team their low post players. In the offensive end, he handled the ball when the point man was in trouble. It was great defensive effort.

Bryce had a great game. He made 3 – 4 key steals during the game. He gave the team the defensive boost the team needed to comeback from 12-point deficit. For a good 4 minutes or so, he was a one-man wrecking crew.

Quinton held his own on defense and handled the ball when Miles and Jordan were trapped. He provided numerous screens for our shooters to get open, hit some baskets, and release some pressure. On defense, he helped doubled down on their bigs, which led to numerous steals and turnovers.

Eric, Charles, and Jonathan had a monstrous defensive game against opponents much taller (a lot taller) and bigger than they are. They blocked the backside and the baseline creating offensive opportunities for us. It proves the bigger they are the harder they fall.

Isaac and Jordan shut down the lane and shot well from the perimeter. They played on opposite wing and made key baskets to help the team get back on track. On the defensive zone, they shutdown their perimeter game; the other team did not manage to get an open look.

Our point man, Miles, had tremendous semifinal game and playoff series. His offensive game kept the team within striking distance and his defensive pressure was relentless. To top it off, Miles had the winning shot on the buzzer. Unfortunately, the referee, who had no business deciding who should win or lose, made a ridiculous and unwarranted call against the Raptors in that last second. So, needless to say, the young Raptors lost the game by a mere two points.

 Raptors 25 – Game Tight Black – 27

 Great game Raptors…

Congratulations, Raptors!!!! We live to play another day. Win or lose, we should always try to score as many points as we can because those extra points count in the overall statistics. Even if we are defeated, we must keep playing to keep the point differential low by preventing threes and using our fouls. Most players cannot make the three under pressure.  We continue to improve as a team. I am very proud of the progress made after just one season. In the spring, the more we practice and play together as a team we will improve and experience success.  Keep working hard improving your inside and outside shooting!!  

Advancing to the 2nd round of the playoffs.

Run and gun…Go Raptors!!!

Keep your heads up, Raptors.!! Overall, it was a great effort against Blue Streak. We played better defense in this game. We stopped a lot of outside shots. We shut down their best player.  Bryce had some great steals in the second half which gave us the lead. Offensively, we’ve got to play smarter. We need to improve our transitions during the fast break knowing when to slow down and when to advance the ball. We also need to work on making our layups during the fast break and continue improving our free throws.  As we gain experience in close games, we won’t make mistakes under pressure. We’ve got to start using the clock to our advantage especially during tournaments.

Go Raptors…

North Texas Raptors first ever playoff game will be tonight at PSA-2. Game time is 6:00pm against Blue Streak.

Y’all invited to watch, cheer and support to us.

Go Raptors….