A few years ago I was about to play a pickup basketball game at my neighborhood YMCA when our team captain asked me to guard a guy wearing knee pads, elbow pads and a head ban.
I refused the assignment and walked off the court.
The guy must have been from Pinckney.
On Friday night senior point guard Jack Ezerkis also walked off the court following a 62-49 loss to DeWitt (6-3). Blood streamed from one of his kneed pads because Ezerkis does things the Pinckney way win or lose.
The boys fight, scratch and claw. They need elbow and knee pads to protect them from floor burns. They often attack as soon as an opponent crosses the half-court line, sometimes sooner.
“That’s what we pride ourselves on,” Ezerkis said. “Defense first.”
Here is the odd thing. The loss to DeWitt was the Pirates (1-8) fourth in a row, all by double digits. The boys still find joy in coming to practice. They still enjoy being buds and improving each day to reach their goal of winning a district title.
What they lack is a dynamic scorer. Sometimes rebounding and turnovers become a problem. Against DeWitt they fought for much of the game but a 10-1 run to end the first half that extended into the third quarter did them in.
“It’s been a tough year as far as record goes,” said senior forward Matt Shepley. “But the team remains together. We love each other and we want to get better together.”
The Pirates might have been a little spicy Friday because they were coming off a 77-38 loss to Chelsea, the worst loss since coach Drew Stephens took over last season. They only trailed 52-46 after a basket by guard/forward Johnny Combs. That bucket was set up when Combs poked the ball away from a DeWitt guard which started a feeding frenzy of loose ball activity.
That sparked a chorus of screams from the Pinckney partisan.
If there is any small consolation, five of the Pirates eight losses have come to teams with winning records, including South Lyon East (6-2), Mason (8-2), Milford (9-2) and Chelsea (8-0).
“It (losing) hurts for sure,” Shepley said. “We are going to keep working, get better and hopefully the wins will come.”