The level of basketball played in the state of Minnesota has never been better.After talking with Luverne girls basketball coach Jason Phelps late last week, I have a better understanding why that is so.Back in the day, basketball was a sport confined to five months from November through March.When I was a kid, the end of the state tournaments in March marked the end of the season. After putting away my basketball shoes for the year, my thoughts quickly turned to baseball, my sport of choice through the spring and summer months.The way that the game is approached today, there’s little or no off-season. And summer has become one of the prime times to hone a player’s individual skills.For Phelps and the Luverne Cardinal players, the summer of 2005 has included a large dose of basketball.Phelps said rarely does a summer day pass without himself or LHS boys coach Tom Rops opening the gym for their players.And that’s just an appetizer.The LHS girls are playing weekly games in a summer league in Windom. Along with league play, there are summer camps, which basically are team tournaments offered by area colleges.So far this summer the Luverne girls have participated in camps at Minnesota State University-Mankato and Southwest State University in Marshall. The girls will attend another camp at Dakota State University (Madison, S.D.) before the month is complete.When all is said and done, the local girls will have played 20-plus games in a two-month span. Considering the fact that Luverne plays a 22-game regular season schedule during the winter, the summer season may be more demanding."It has become very competitive," Phelps said, when describing the summer basketball experience."There are not too many teams that don’t do anything in the summer anymore. We play full-length games, and every thing is much more organized than it has been in the past. The colleges really put on some good camps."Phelps says the key to keep the players interested in summer hoops is to keep stress out of the competition.When players receive the freedom to try new maneuvers on the court they might not want to try during a game in the winter, it builds athletes’ confidence as well as enhancing their games."It’s not a stressful situation because there’s a lot less on the line. The kids have the freedom to go out and try something different, and I think it helps more individuals develop their skills," Phelps said.Area basketball powers like Worthington and Marshall play a more demanding summer schedule than Luverne does. Having fielded successful teams in the past makes it easier for the power programs to sell benefits of summer basketball to the players.While Phelps thinks its important to keep his girls thinking about basketball in the summer, he doesn’t want his players to overexpose themselves to the sport."The key thing is to try and find a balance. We don’t want the kids to get burned out," he said."We basically have a group of six to eight girls we’re working with. With summer vacations and other things going on, we never have the same group of kids playing together. Having a different mix of kids playing together will only help us as a team."The best part of summer basketball is that it helps mold teams together.Just about every basketball program loses seniors to graduation, and summer ball offers experienced players an opportunity to bond with the up-and-coming talent."I think it pays the biggest dividends for the sophomores and juniors who haven’t played varsity ball yet. The main thing is we’re keeping the ball in the hands of these kids. Playing at least one game a week helps them maintaining some of the skills they developed over the course of the season," Phelps stated.The end result of all this summer work is to put a better product on the court next winter. And from the improved quality of play I’ve witnessed in recent years, the extra attention the athletes are giving to the sport already is paying off.Unfulfilled dream!The Dream Team’s bid to claim one of the big-money prizes during the Million Dollar Hole in One Shootout died with six poorly struck shots by myself during Saturday’s semifinals.As reported in last week’s column, Don Bryan and I qualified for the semifinals by placing three shots each inside a 10-foot circle during the qualifying competition.When Bryan forfeited his three shots to me (he’ll say it was because of a prior scheduled engagement, but I think he was tired of answering the question of how a hack like me could match his output during the qualifying round), the pressure was placed on my shoulders.I didn’t answer the challenge.I did put a scare into the event’s officials when one of my shots struck a ball outside the target area, sending what we thought was my ball into the 10-foot circle.At that point I jinxed myself by opening my mouth.As the officials searched the circle for my yellow ball, I tried to tell the small gallery watching me hit my shots that clean living was working in my favor.When the officials relayed the message that they didn’t find a yellow ball (the color I was hitting) in the circle, but they did find an orange ball in the target area, the Dream Team was eliminated from the competition.To my teammates (Rick Peterson, Todd Oye and Mr. Bryan), I apologize for letting you down. But, on second thought, there’s no way you should have sent someone who has to hit a 7-wood to cover 130 yards to the semifinals by himself.To event organizers Dawn Sandbulte and Tony Linn, I offer congratulations for putting together a fun and successful fund-raiser.
