Shake True Blog

There is little to say about Jon House that has not already been said. Let’s follow his exploits as he competes against other top Division I institutions. I have known Jon since he was in grade 4 and always have taken a keen interest in his basketball pursuits. Good luck this year and congratulations on being an academic all-conference student athlete.

 

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Diary #2

 

Posted Febrary 27, 2008 [My apologies. Jon sent this to me a while ago, but I didn't receive it until the other day because of technical issues -- Joe]

Hello Shake True Hoops,

First off I would like to apologize for the lateness of this blog entry. I intended to write this a few weeks ago but I was very busy with exams, then I dropped and broke my computer and it took a couple weeks to get it fixed, and then of course it was Christmas time which we all know is easily the busiest time of the year. I hope everybody enjoyed the holidays as much as possible. I was only able to be home for three days because of our practice and game schedule. I would have liked to be home for longer, but I had a great time regardless. I was able to see a lot of my family and friends and enjoy some great meals. 
A lot has happened since the last time I wrote. We are now about halfway through the season and it has all passed by very quickly. As I mentioned our first game of the year was against Samford University. It was very tricky to guard their offence because they were constantly running backdoor cuts and slips. However, our coaching staff did a great job of preparing us and we started the season off on a good note with a 78-60 win. The atmosphere was great and it was good to give our fans a solid win to start the season. 

As Shaker previously requested, I’ll give you a little background as to what the Belmont Bruins do on offence. We are a very good scoring team with very talented players. The coaches did a great job of recruiting players that complement each other. We are full of great shooters and a variety of versatile players. We try to always have movement on offence with a variety of back screens and down screens to keep the defense on their toes. Coach Byrd is exceptionally good at getting shooters open shots. We have two post players who are efficient and effective three point shooters, so when we run plays, either our perimeter players are able to get open and create, or if the opposing post players have to help, that leaves a post shooter open. Also, our starting lefty point guard is lightning fast and a great finisher at the rim. Alex is very difficult in transition so it opens up huge opportunities for everyone on our team. Coach plays me at either the 3 or the 4 (if we decide to go small ball). I am comfortable in both situations. I usually have a height advantage against most guards so I can post them up and finish down low and if I am being covered by a post I can usually use my quickness to take them to the rim. I feel much better on offence this year than I did last year. I’ve started 9 of 13 games thus far and my minutes are up to 25 a game. I’m also averaging just over 8 points on 53% shooting. I’m trying to stay as aggressive and confident as possible on that end of the floor. I hope that gives you a basic idea of our offensive philosophy. 

So far our record is 7-6 but I feel that we should and could have a much better record. Because we have played so many games, I’ll give you a few highlights. Our second game of the season was against our cross state rival Austin Peay University. They also made the tournament last year and had our number during the regular season beating us twice. This game was very exciting and close. In my first start of the year I had my best performance as a Bruin. I had 18 points on 8 of 10 shooting, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 blocked shots and a steal in 24 minutes of play. Personally, having that type of game that early in the season really boosted my confidence and showed the coaches that I could be counted on to provide a scoring lift. However, we ended up losing the game 86-84 at home on a controversial foul call with half a second left in the game. Also, we blew our 12 point halftime lead which seems to be a regular happening in the first half of the season for us. 

Similar to the 12 point lead we lost against Austin Peay, we lost a 19 and 18 point lead to Jacksonville and Santa Clara respectively. Obviously this has been a huge area of concern for our team. It is difficult to comprehend how we can play so well for one half, and then so poorly for another. Despite these disappointing blowups, it is better to learn from these mishaps early in the season as opposed to later when every game gets more and more important.

Just before the Christmas break we travelled to Knoxville, Tennessee to play the 16th ranked Tennessee Vols. Besides the Duke game last year, I have never played in an atmosphere quite like this. Tennessee has an NBA quality arena that was absolutely packed with over 21, 000 fans. We again lost another heartbreaker by two points at the buzzer. Despite not coming away with a win, it showed our team that we can play with one of the top teams in the country. If we can play with that same heart and intensity in every game we play, the sky is the limit. Coach Byrd has told us numerous times this season that this team has the most potential of any single Belmont Basketball team ever. Coming off two straight wins this past weekend, I think we are finally starting to play up to our potential as our eyes are focused on a fourth straight A-Sun championship.
Next weekend we play Lipscomb University which always promises to be a crazy game. The game is always labeled “Battle of the Boulevard” because they are located only one mile down the road from us. The gym will be packed with fans from both teams and nobody will expect anything other than a thriller. Fortunately last year we took both games. My first “Battle of the Boulevard” experience was a double overtime win on Lipscomb’s home court. I can’t wait to play next weekend because emotions and energy will be at its highest possible level.

Again I’m sorry for how delayed this blog entry was. I promise to blog again in a few weeks so I can give you a more detailed analysis of each game. You can also check out everything on Belmont.edu. We don’t start classes until next Wednesday so I am enjoying having some time to relax. I hope everyone is enjoying the snow because we haven’t had one day of it down here! For all you boys and girls who love basketball as much as I do, remember to play as often as you can. If you play hard and work on your weaknesses you’ll be surprised how quickly you will improve and it’s all worth it. And it always helps to listen to Shaker! Thanks again for taking an interest in my career down here.

-Jon House-

P.S. It was awesome seeing Steve Nash’s jersey hanging in the rafters at Santa Clara. We all know how important he is to basketball in Canada.

 

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Diary #1

 

Posted October 17, 2008

Hello to everybody back home in Guelph and all those who participate in Shake True Hoops. I apologize for not having this entry in sooner, but things have been pretty busy down here. Preseason at Belmont University has gone by quickly and been a lot of fun. I live in an apartment this year which is nice compared to the dorm room I was in last year. It’s a lot more convenient to have the extra space and the kitchen. Class has also been going well. I’m taking Business Administration here and plan to get my MBA after I graduate. Our team is one of the top teams in the country in terms of overall GPA. It is very important to the school and our coaches to do well in the classroom and to do things “the right way.” I’m taking 17 hours worth of class a week and they are all morning classes. Waking up for class everyday at 7:00 isn’t easy but it has to be done. Napping is something that I try to do whenever I can. As Shaker just mentioned, Belmont hosted the Presidential debate a couple weeks ago. It was pretty amazing to see all the work that had to be done for something like that to happen. Politically I have no real preference for either candidate. I find it hard to watch the debates because they always seem to try to avoid answering the questions as directly as possible.

Basketball excites me more than politics does as you could guess. We are coming off an exciting year and I think everyone has high hopes and expectations for us this year. Due to our tournament game versus Duke last year, Belmont is now well known throughout the country. With the extra praise however comes extra pressure. I know we are up for it.  Personally I believe we will do very well. We have five talented seniors on our team which means we have a lot of experience. Our experience and our depth could take us a long way this year. Our long term goal of course is to win our 4th conference championship in a row, which we are predicted to do, and try to advance past the first round of the NCAA tournament for the first time. I worked really hard this summer back home. My brother and I worked out with our trainer 4 times a week, as well as playing basketball 6 times a week. We focused a lot on shooting drills and ball handling drills, along with playing against high competition a couple times a week. My game feels as good as it has ever felt right now. Going in as a freshman last year I was trying to get a feel for my teammates, the coaching staff, and the style of play. I worked hard but I never played with the kind of confidence that I knew I could play with. Due to my hard work this summer I feel very good about where my game is at.

 During the preseason NCAA only allows a certain hours of coaching a week which is different from the CIS. Up until now we have only been lifting weights, playing pick-up, and practicing a couple hours a week with the coaches. I tried my best to enjoy the spare time that I had because once season comes around, it is rare to get a day off. We are officially allowed to start practice full time tomorrow. Everybody is excited to get going and we have a lot to do before our first game on November 14th against Samford. We played them last year and won. However, they play a Princeton style offence which is different and difficult to play against so we will probably take a full week trying to learn their offence and how to defend it. Our two toughest games this season will probably be against Pittsburgh and Tennessee which are both on the road. In most polls Pitt is ranked top 5 in the nation and Tennessee top 20. Last year we had two big wins on the road against Cincinnati and Alabama so we know that we have the ability to do it. I’m excited about what we can do this season at Belmont and I just want to say thank you to everybody back home who gives me support. I will blog again in a few weeks just before our first game and give everybody an update.

Jon House