Court Wisdom

I come from a family of basketball and softball players. My mother was an avid softball player--she could play any position very well. She got offered a position on the American Girls Baseball League, but had to turn it down to help raise her siblings and run the farm. But I remember her teaching me the fundamentals.

Apparently my dad was a great basketball player in his youth, and I've heard stories about how good he was from his friends. He played hard. I'm talking like Jerry Sloan hard: tough screens, elbows out, strong drives. And he played the same even into his late 60s.

My first real basketball education came while living in Mexico with Cameron and playing on a city league-ish team. I had just turned 15 years old and didn't know how to "box out" or "crash boards". I came back from Mexico with good skills in each (thanks, Cameron). Once at Weber State, Cameron and I played many a pick-up game, where I gained even more pointers and refined my skills.

My second real basketball education was playing city league in Idaho Falls with Bob and Cameron. Cam and I would drive from Ogden to Idaho Falls (and most times, back) once a week just to play one game. But it was sweeeet: three brothers playing at the same time on the same team. Just plain fun. Aside form learning how to play "tough" ball, I got really good advice from Bob, like: "If you score you make one person happy; if you make an assist, you make two people happy". I still look to pass first (unless I'm under the basket).

For a few years, I couldn't get enough basketball. I would start playing pick-up games in the morning after cleaning movies theaters and as long as the team I was on won, I'd just stay there--to the detriment of my GPA because I missed so many classes! But it was fun. I liked playing against people who were larger, or taller, or just thought they were "all that". Because I play "tough" ball. I don't call fouls--either way. I just liked to play. I still do.

Anyway, for the past month I've been playing basketball regularly here on campus. It's great. And I'm having fun with it. Still building my stamina, but as for "moves", well, fundamentals outplay style & flash anytime. And when I toss a "quick release" layup, shoot an "old school" up-and-under, or make a hook shot, the students are impressed. For example, today I threw a no-look, backwards pass to a teammate--a spot-on assist through traffic, right to him under the basket. Not only was he shocked, but the other team was amazed. "Court awareness", Bob and Cam called it.

But at a certain time, I believe "awareness" becomes "wisdom". Of course I probably have more experience than the students against whom I play, and so, yes, probably more wisdom. Yet I'm (a lot) slower now than I used to be and still don't have much more than a foot of vertical leaping ability, but I dribble better (less) and have better vision (lasik!). I also box out very well and can still "throw around" people--no matter the size; I can usually box-out 2 or 3 folks under the key and get the rebound.

I guess I've just realized it's the fundamentals that lead to the wisdom. And, in the end, I suppose that applies to life--and anything else for that matter!!

Popular posts from this blog

Malls of West Amman

Image
Probably my favorite mall feature: The animatronic T-Rex in Galleria Mall at  Christmastime. Notice Santa with pterodactyls. A bustling metropolitan area with more than 4 million people, Amman has lots of things to keep a Travelist busy. There are ancient ruins, museums, Arab souks, architecture, restaurants of all kinds (and price-ranges)...and the list continues. There are also no fewer than a dozen universities scattered throughout the city limits. And Amman keeps expanding. The city changes so fast that Google Maps can’t keep up with it. For example, where last month there was no road, unexpectedly there is one now, or where there were just a few pilings for a bridge last month, suddenly there is a new bridge. Their construction crews certainly work fast here! For some reason, malls have always fascinated me. It may be that I grew up without them, only visiting them around Christmastime with my parents until I was in college and lived in “The City”. Or it may...
Read more

Rock Art in Jordan's Eastern Desert

Image
Dixie in her natural habitat: outdoors. Here in Southern Utah, 1993 When I was a little kid, Dixie (my mom) was into Native American (Indian) things. Actually, she was always interested in them. And because she was, and we spent a lot of time together, I became interested in Indian things too. We spent time discussing ancient native cultures, her (some would say wild) theories about them, and the more spiritual/mystical aspects often tied to the rich cultural heritage. She also liked “glyphs”, as she called them, and I soon became aware that these glyphs – rock art – were found in almost every culture around the world. Fast forward to my PhD work where, by luck really, I ended up studying rock art (though not in the traditional archeological sense) – and in the Desert Southwest US, no less. I learned there are four main types of rock art: petroglyphs (those carved or pecked into the rock), pictographs (paintings on rocks), intaglios (scraping away of a surface to reveal ligh...
Read more

Shobak

Image
After pretty much traversing Jordan’s width and breadth – from Aqaba in the south to five miles from the Syrian border in the north and the Dead Sea in the west to As-Safawi in the east – there’s one place we keep returning to again and again: Shobak (sometimes spelled Shabak or Shawbak). Yes, the Dead Sea Highway is quite unique, the Eastern Desert magical, and Wadi Rum vast. But Shobak is...well...different. Kind of a high plains desert that captures all my favorite components of each major physiographic province in Jordan.  Shobak is about a two-hour drive from Amman, along the Desert Highway and en route to Petra. The town itself is best known for its castle . Built along the caravan/pilgrimage route between the Gulf of Aqaba and Syria by King Baldwin I in 1115 AD, it stood for several decades and repelled Saladin’s forces for two years later in that century. It’s also out of the way – you can’t see it from any main by-pass road as you can with other castles like Karak, Az...
Read more