There’s that man again. Basketball lifer Al (pictured above), now a youthful 61 years old, is still launching midrange shots, making a fair percentage of them, and leaving his feet while doing it. After waiting out pandemic isolation and humid New York City summer months, we finally came upon a … Read more
Today I woke up early and somehow managed to take advantage of one of those cool, crisp, and cloudless September mornings to venture to a nearby park and to shoot some hoops. This marked a bit of a milestone for me, as this was the first time I’d touched a … Read more
You just know another season of NBA Basketball is about to get cranked up when all 30 teams are openly discussing the importance of—and emphasis on—defense during training camps. And even though once the season starts less than one-third of the teams will actually play any, all teams know the … Read more
It’s amazing how some things just don’t bother kids. The last few days in many parts of the country have been scorching hot, and in New York City a heat emergency was implemented with several outdoor events canceled. This brought back memories of growing up in the city during 1970s, … Read more
It’s mid-July, and summer outdoor tournaments are going full blast all over the country. Without even trying, these basketball gatherings represent the sport in its purest form, be it an organized tournament or just a pickup game where a bunch of guys and gals go to battle for the sheer … Read more
We all had our favorite NBA players to emulate as kids. My guy was Walt Frazier. I’d mimic his signature head fake when there was no defender in sight (“Yo, who are you faking?”), then would be tightly guarded by the time I was ready to shoot. My secondary favorite … Read more
After another frigid New York City winter and rain-soaked spring, my childhood friend Al—pictured above – check out the sneakers—and I resumed our annual warm weather tradition of heading over to a nearby basketball court to shoot some hoops. We’re both now hanging onto our fifties by the edge of … Read more
As we progressed through the elementary school years in the late 1960s and early 1970s, we began to learn the importance of proper attire for every occasion. In school we had to wear a shirt and tie (and this was public school), we wore uniforms to Cub Scout meetings, and … Read more
Perhaps pickup basketball wasn’t/isn’t as disorganized as we thought/think. Many of the responsibilities that go into running an organized basketball game or tournament are assumed by participants of pickup ball out of necessity. Things don’t always go smoothly because they aren’t supposed to — it’s pickup basketball. But without certain … Read more
I haven’t played a game of five-on-five basketball that wasn’t part of an organized group in decades and didn’t play much even back then, but just being an observer reveals that not much has changed where some of the on-court personalities are concerned. I was probably in elementary school when … Read more
