So I’ve been playing basketball for about 9 months now, and have come to a startling realization.
I’ve become a ball-hog. And a terrible defender.
Somewhere after junior high, when I was known for being the most turnover-prone point guard in Colorado Springs sports history, I became a pretty good shooter. In college intramurals I was able to put up some pretty solid numbers, but I still had a mentality of passing first and shooting second.
I also taught myself eventually to hustle on defense. I took pride in trying to man up on one of the better guys on the other team to see if I could slow them down. Sometimes it worked and sometimes I humiliated myself, but by the time I had graduated I could handle myself.
My how time has changed things. Part of the bad defense can be explained by the fact that I’m in terrible shape, made progressively worse with what must be shin splints. But the shooting – it’s a tough thing to realize that the more times you shoot the more points your team loses by. Sure, some go in – I actually had my best scoring game ever in my fall league. But I’m in the middle of a 14 game losing streak dating back to October and the one constant has been that I shoot more than anyone else on the team.
If your team is going to lose every game, they might as well have fun. And playing with someone like myself in my current form isn’t that much fun. You don’t get to take shots because he’s heaving up anything that comes his way. You’re having to help cover the guy that just blew by him on the other end of the court. And you have to watch the other team’s score constantly tick up in the process.
I have a few games left in the season, and I’m hoping it’s a trend I can turn around. Because as long as I play like this it doesn’t matter whether I put up 25 points or 4. Two things will remain the same – my team will lose and my teammates will want to shoot me.
