Ringelberg fends off defeat, downs yours truly

How many times have you been sitting on your leather armchair recliner —  a bag of chips in one hand and a can of soda in the other — watching your favorite sports team? Someone makes a terrible blunder, an obvious fundamental lapse.

“Come on,” you scream through a mouthful of mini-donuts, careful not to drop crumbs on the carpet or spill on your sweatpants. “Even I can do better than that!”

Umm, sorry. No you can’t.

Not that I have ever had such a moment with Emmilee Ringelberg, the former Pierce College forward who came within a single vote of the Western State Conference North division MVP award in 2008. In fact, quite the contrary. In my limited time covering Pierce basketball, she has been one of the most talented players I have seen take the court. So I decided to see how I measured up in a little game of one-on-one.

Final score: Ringelberg – 5, George – 4.

I’ll be honest. I had no faith that I would even get a shot off without it being swatted to the floor. One of Pierce’s assistant coaches even questioned my sanity in making the challenge. He claimed that I should consider it a victory if I got just one point. I agreed.

Yes, it’s true that that I jumped out to the early 2-0 lead, but under strict instruction from assistant coach Ralph Wesson to not hurt herself, she wasn’t about to go all-out until she had to. When I laid the ball up for the 4-2 lead (she wasn’t guarding me because her sandal fell off), it was on. Try as I might, I could not keep her away from the hoop. She muscled past me for three straight layups and came away with the victory.

We shook hands like classy competitors always do and as she walked out the door, she offered some parting words:

“You’re a better shooter than you think,” she said.

So let’s break down the matchup by each facet of the game:

Shooting:

According to Ringelberg herself, I was actually the better shooter. Most of my shots were taken from the vicinity of the free-throw line, and while four went in, the rest landed somewhere around Bob Lofrano’s office. For some reason, however, the outside shots didn’t seem to fall for her. Most of hers were taken from underneath the basket and due to a significant height advantage, those layups usually went in.

Rebounding:

Umm…next.

Defense:

My only defensive strategy was as follows: try and guard Emmilee without getting leveled. The latter worked and so did the former for a short amount of time, but when she turned it on, there was no stopping her. If she wanted at the basket, she was getting at the basket. Not exactly like I’m going to get a block in the paint. Her defense was a little more solid. The only time I got inside the paint was when I stepped on her foot and she had to tend to her shoe. Other than that, she was in lockdown mode. If I was going to get the best of her, I was going to have to do it with jumpers. Even though current Brahma Mikala Pride taught me the basics of shooting a basketball, it was not enough to put me over the top.

So what have I learned today? Probably that I can beat somebody my own age while they’re going at 100-percent, but playing somebody at the next level, hell, she could have just rolled out of bed and the result would have been the same. I tip my cap to Emmilee for a game well-played.

When’s the re-match, Em?