So it seems that no matter where you are, if there is pick-up basketball to be had, there are some that come that take it way to seriously. I'm going to first lay out what pick-up basketball is:
1) A good way of physical activity to stay in shape.
2) A social outing in where you may learn skills in teamwork and co-operation.
3) A setting in where you may come at any skill level to have a good time.
Pick-up basketball is not:
1) A place for you to dominate and show everyone your mad skillz.
2) A place where you can expect everyone to be at the same level of skill or intensity.
3) A place where you can be a jerk.
I was going to do this post months ago and after a nice session of pick-up on Monday night, I thought it would be proper to inform the public on how you can have fun at pick-up.
First off, people are there to have fun, not to watch you take three pointers all night because you had the ball and you thought the shot was open. People come not just to run up and down the court, but rather, to touch the ball once in a while and to make a play. It seems that players with former hoop dreams are often there to prove themselves, while players that have fulfilled their dreams in basketball (I once played with a current Division 1 player in the states) tend to take a secondary role, often passing the ball right away. My philosophy is to be like Steve Nash: a nice mixture of passing and scoring. Don't always look to score, don't always look to pass, enjoy yourself in all aspects of the game.
Second thing to note is fouls. In pick-up if you foul someone, the ball goes back to the top. This can be overly abused to the extent of frustration of the players. It all depends how you play, but sometimes the defence calls the foul, and sometimes the offence. My philosophy if the offence calls it is to only call the foul if it hinders your ability to put the ball in the next, not your lack of ability to make a play under pressure. Pick-up is usually sloppy ball, and there's going to be contact, but if you go to the hoop weak and someone bumps your arm and thus you miss a lay-up, then don't call the foul, toughen up. If you're on defence, move your feet, don't reach or swat, try not to foul. Also, offensive fouls shouldn't be called in pick-up. This past Monday there was a guy who took the ball and tried to score every time he touched it...not much of a team player. So what I did is I got in the way and took a charge to piss him off (mostly because I called it) and proceeded to move the other way. This should not be done, but it sure felt sweet. Use wisdom when trying to get under the hardcore people's skin.
So to finish this off, you know you're too intense in pick-up when:
1) You know how many shots, points, rebounds and assists you've had for the past 5 games.
2) You loose sleep over that one lay-up you missed which could have given you a triple double.
3) You yell out loud when you miss a 3 pointer because you're angry with yourself that you missed it.
Etc.
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