HOW BASKETBALL CREATED A COMMUNITY OF FRIENDSHIP

Basketball is one of then smaller teams in team sports. Baseball carries nine players the field, football eleven, but only five for hoops.

And it’s the only one of the big three where players can compete one on one.

In the other sports the most you can do with two is play catch.

Is there a time limit on playing Man-Game basketball? When is the best time to hang up the jock?

A couple of players walked away recently, and their story is worth telling. One part joy, one part warning.

The two men, both around thirty, played in grade school and middle school, but not high school. In college they played in a rec-league.

Throughout their twenties they played at a gym and in city leagues. It meant something to them to keep working their magic on the hardwood.

But time moves on, other players get reckless, and injuries result.

Adult Basketball

The problem with adults playing ball is the degree of showmanship. Players with fundamentals do it differently than isolation guys who want the ball, hog the ball, and shoot every time down the floor.

Fundamental guys play pick and roll, make the pass, and use their skills to make everyone else better. It might be hard to believe until you see it in action.

The two that played out their string were fundamental guys who set crushing screens. Opposing players didn’t like running into them unexpectedly, but that’s the key.

Their favorite exchange was setting the pick, getting the kick-back, and drilling a three pointer.

With their medium stature and sturdy frames, they were an unlikely sight on the floor with thin, fast players. But their ball control and handles made them a perfect fit.

What are handles?

I saw a full speed fast break where one of them dribbled behind their back in traffic, spun, accelerated, and found the cutter.

It looked like wide body ballet.

End Of An Era

Too often a basketball kook gets hurt, gets repaired, then spends about an hour wrapping up, buckling on braces, and popping pain pills with a Red Bull backer.

The only way those players stop is by a crippling injury, like the last one they got that didn’t send the right message.

Watching old-man basketball is not a treat. Someone will go down in a heap in every game. It’s painful to see, but that’s the hook sports sink into some people.

When is the right time to take that last walk? While you can still walk.

Self identity as a man in basketball is hard to leave. The greats never leave on time, at the top of their game. And they shouldn’t. It serves fans to see how they adapt to aging before leaving.

But, when enough is enough, after nagging injuries and being targeted, the next stage is set. With a lifetime of competitive skills and knowledge, why not find a team to coach up?

If not coaching, the beauty of sports still gives a lifetime of memories to share. Friends and family and teammates understand breaking away from the game while the getting is good. Leaving in one piece is a good goal.

After elbows in the teeth, pokes in the eye, and stressed joints, how much more is there to give? That’s the question on every court, and in every car leaving after a hard game.

Respect And Friendship

Try and recall the last time you shared a day that exhausted you with others doing the same thing. Factory workers do it every day, like mill guys, woods guys, and ocean guys. Miners, oil field folks, and road crews, too.

The difference between them and athletes is the scoreboard, not the money, because man-game basketball players put themselves at risk without financial reward.

Playing the right way, and walking away, is its own reward.