This year, for the first time, I organized and played intramural basketball. I play a lot of 1-on-1 and more rarely, 2-on-2, but the 5-man game has always been something that's eluded me. I don't really watch too much NBA, mostly because the channels we have consist of a snowy CTV and the TV Guide, so seeing 5 players in action and the plays they run is something I only dream about. Kash and I tried out for our junior high basketball team but we were both accustomed to playing the 1-on-1 game that Kash was cut immediately and I was one of 2 players to be cut in the last day of tryouts. We were working on outlet passes and I didn't understand that there was urgency in a pass to a player upcourt. The coach got frustrated and then tried to teach me a simple pick and roll, but my decision making rolling off the screen was terrible since there is obviously no picking in man-to-man ball.
I was just thinking, as Emily Haine's Reading in Bed played through my head, that I was rather meek this year. I spent a lot of time researching Rip Hamilton's game and watching Chris Paul's assist videos on YouTube, and was working on developing my passing and running games. Focusing on this unfortunately made me forget the most important thing in basketball - you need to score. If all you're doing is eliminating yourself from shooting contention, that's one less player on the floor that's participating on the scoresheets. Don't get me wrong, passing and running is great, but if all you're doing is running to get an open shot then passing it back to a player who isn't open for a shot, there's really no point (pun!).
So in review, out of like the 6 games we played this season, I score exactly 2 points. It was a nice two points at least, from a falling fade on the left side I banked in a gorgeous floater. The rest of my game consisted of bringing the ball up the court - I was deigned one of three guards who had safe enough dribbling skills to bring it up without turning it over - and making assists. I hardly ever touched the ball after taking it up off the inbounds; rather, I looked like a chicken with its head cut off running around on the court getting open for a shot that would ultimately never come.
After games we would play some pick up ball just to kill time - we were all there so why not? We'd play some 2-on-2 and I'd make my fair share of shots and then the other players would ask me, "Why don't you shoot like that in game?" I remember attending a church pick up game - English congregations vs. Cantos - and this one guard Jeremiah that had played on the Team Alberta squad sternly told me, "When you're open like that, take the shot! What was that pass for?"
I guess I had done so much studying of the parts of the games that I thought I was weak at that I forgot that point guards also shoot the basketball when they're open. I have lots to work on this year.
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