Marble Falls boys basketball is using summer league to get better
CAPTION: Marble Falls rising senior guard Tidus Willis and the Mustangs are committed to using the summer to improve. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Marble Falls High School boys basketball program is playing in a summer league in Georgetown Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
The league includes Austin High, Belton, Georgetown Gateway, Georgetown High, Georgetown East View, Jarrell, Killeen Shoemaker, Lago Vista, Lampasas, Leander High, Leander Rouse, Leander Vandegrift, Round Rock Cedar Ridge, Round Rock Westwood and Thorndale.
Games begin at 6 p.m.
A tournament is June 25-26. Seedings are based off each team’s record from the three weeks of play.
New Mustangs head coach John Berkman didn’t mince words on why it was vital the Mustangs play.
“We’re competing against high-level teams,” he said. “It’s good for us. ‘We can do this, we need more work on that area.’ It’s a good teaching tool. It’s a good reminder of the work we have to do.”
He is sitting in the gym observing. After games conclude, Berkman finds his players to share his observations.
“These are lower-pressure games,” he said. “You can talk to them calmly after games. There’s a lot of good things that come from summer league. Summer is always tough because teams come together during the season. You develop players in the offseason. Summer is a big piece of it. Summer league is an opportunity for them to continue to compete and play hard against players from other places.”
Berkman opens the gym for sport specific drills before the start of Marble Falls Summer ’24, the athletic department’s strength-and-conditioning program. The players work with coaches for 45 minutes and then head to the field for agility and conditioning and the weight room with Marble Falls strength-and-conditioning coordinator Karl “Beef” Bielfeldt.
“Those guys are in the gym every day,” Berkman said. “They’re working on their shooting and ball handling. Those guys are putting in the time. If you want to be on that level, you have to be willing to put in the work.”
Berkman was happy with the number of players committing to play.
“We got a lot of them actually in place,” he said. “We’re not practicing as a team. You have players who haven’t played together. It gives them their first chance to play together from a team standpoint. On different nights, different guys are out there. Others have to learn to play different roles.”
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