Hero Is A 4 Letter Word Spelled R-I-C-O
The Barstool basketball team was falling apart at the seams, and Rico Bosco glued it back together. After last week's lackluster performance, it was evident that the team couldn't stand the sight of one another. BUT, thanks to veteran leadership, and another clutch win on a defensive stop, it's rainbows, butterflies, and kumbaya in a 180 degree turnaround for this team.
The most shocking aspect of it all, the team pulled off the win while resting their #1 player - Dana Beers. The full 6 game rec league regular season is grueling slog, so despite the league higher-ups and fans wanting to do away with load management for stars, head coach Chris Klemmer decided to rest his superstar.
With the big boy out, Barstool went small ball with a speedy, lockdown defender in Wayne Jetski to replace Beers in the starting lineup. Available off the bench were Rico Bosco, Jack McGuire, Tommy Smokes, and Gia Mariano. Other notable players missing from the game were defensive specialists - Matthew Jenks (knee) & John Rich (work obligations.)
You can't coach experience, and the opposing team, Buckets by Bagel Market, was the most experienced team Barstool has faced this season. By experienced, I mean their entire roster was old as fuck - old and out of shape. If Barstool could keep the game close, young legs would take Barstool across the finish line. While BBBM didn't have youth on their side, they were Albanian, so the edge of intimidation factor went to the guys who looked like they clocked out of their blue collar job hanging dry wall to show up and beat a bunch of doughy soft bloggers from an internet company.
BBBM's best player is one of the greatest shooters in the history of this rec league. Right out of the gate, the Albanian Steph Curry was feasting on Barstool's usual 3-2 zone with perimeter shooting to put his team up 10-1 on Barstool. Butthole's were tight. Barstool hadn't been in this position all season. The quick deficit caused Coach K to call an early timeout 3 minutes into the game. During the timeout, it Coach K looked at his team and told them to have some fun. Words the hard nose coach has never uttered in his coaching career. Making the defensive adjustments wasn't Coach K, but it was veteran guard Rico Bosco letting the team know what had to be done. Exactly why the front office and GM Dana Beers signed the floor general in the off-season. After switching from the zone to a man to man set, BBBM was getting worn down working for every basket. If BBBM was going to score, they'd have to earn it like the $20 Chef.
The team worked as a unit to slowly chip away at what once seemed like an insurmountable lead. Bosco not only had his finger prints on this game from a x's and o's standpoint, but the veteran also drove coast to coast to put up an incredible 3 point floater as the first half expired, putting Barstool down by one (26-25) going into halftime. After the buzzer beater went in, the team had something they hadn't had all game - hope.
the shot was so nice, I put it in the blog twice
Coming back from half, things got chippy between the two teams, and a player from BBBM decided to poke a sleeping Irishman. A member of the opposing team accused Nick Mulcahy of trying to swipe his legs out from underneath. This dude was built like a meatball, low to the earth. Mulcahy is a big dude and couldn't get that low if he tried.
Albanians are tough sons of bitches, but the one thing every European should know is there is nothing scarier than an angry Irish redhead. Mulcahy from that moment on played like a man … with his hair on fire … and like a recalled Prius from the 2010's, couldn't be stopped driving down the lane.
Down the stretch is was Congressman Cotter that helped the team out most during crunch time. With seconds left on the clock and the score tied at 44-44 it was Billy Football on the free throw line for a pair of foul shots. In an earlier blog I compared Billy to Ben Wallace for the way the way the two players only job was to clean up the glass and get put backs. Well, Billy shoots free throws like Ben Wallace. On the first shot Billy essentially heaved the ball like Mantis on a free throw, only Billy can bench more than 35 lbs so the ball was rifled at the back of the rim and went flying across the gym. BUT, statistically they can't all miss. Ben Wallace shot 41% from the line, which means he still hit, which is what Billy Football did with his last free throw attempt. Swish. Nothing but net. Clutch. Barstool leads 45-44. Timeout BBBM.
With 20 seconds on the clock and a foul to give, Barstool needed to get strategic. Only it wasn't coach Klemmer explaining how to use the foul, again it was floor veteran Rico Bosco stepping up in the huddle. On the inbounds, the defense was stiffing. BBBM couldn't find footing for a shot and had to call another timeout with 3.9 seconds left on the clock. Again, Rico stepped up in the huddle, but during the inbound it was Billy Football who stepped up. The pass went to the low block and the shot went up over Billy, hit the inside of the rim, and rolled out of the cylinder. The buzzer went off. Victory, Barstool.
The vibes last week in the locker room were similar to a funeral, the energy couldn't have been different this week. Coach Klemmer addressed the team by saying, "last week I was miserable. This week I couldn't be happier to be a part of this team." The vibes are high, but can the team keep this intensity going for the playoffs? Next week is the last game of the season, and the team plays the worst team in the league. This has the feeling of a D1 Power 5 school scheduling a cupcake FCS team for homecoming. Next week should be an easy tune up before the playoffs start. But in this league, you can't look ahead.
Rico Rewards Program
Windex (Rebounds): Billy Football
Pad Lock (Defense): Hubbs
Hardhat (Hustle): The entire team