playing basketball

my college friend would go to games drunk while in hs but he was a benchwarmer. while in college, we played w/his hs teammate who was on U of I's team but never saw the court cause of academics. only time I played with someone so athletic you think you're playing perfect d, you're in perfect position, there's nothing he can do...and then he's flying over you and dunking. some humbling, depressing shit.

It's weird how inconsistent my shooting can be -- like one day it feels like I have a perfect jumper and the next day I'll be all over the place. I don't know if that's just everyone or if it's partly a product of learning late. Some days I just feel like I have stiff hands.

historically, after a long layoff, i shoot ridiculously well in my first game. then i gradually get worse and worse for the next month or so, then go back to what i actually am/was (which is a decent but not great shooter)

how's the left hand, hurting?

I can shoot, I'm just terrible at moving without the ball, so when I do catch a pass, I'm often not in good position to shoot.

how's the left hand, hurting?

― bite this display name (k3vin k.), Friday, June 17, 2011 8:08 PM Bookmark

As a shooting hand or as support? I definitely do notice that I shoot better when I get my left hand more under rather than on the side of the ball, which is sort of counterintuitive for me but good to remember.

do you also do the thing the pros often tell you to do where you look at the back of the rim as you release the ball? that usually helps my accuracy/foot placement

You mean when I'm practicing nice soft jumpers by myself or when I have a hand in my face?

But no, I don't think I particularly do that. Maybe I should try it. There are days when I feel like I can just "put" the ball into the basket, at least with shorter jumpshots, and other days where I feel like my hands just do their own thing. Some of it also seems to be rest -- I think I don't get enough sleep, and when I do my shot is way better.

xp i meant dribbling actually - one of the best drills is just to bring two basketballs out there and try to run up and down the court dribbling with both hands, eventually moving backwards and laterally and changing directions quickly. a good 30 minutes of that and the forearm on your weak hand should be real sore - it's a great way to work on ballhandling and strengthen your weak hand

Oh yeah, I've been doing some two-ball drills. Lol @ 30 mins. I'm sore after like 3.

One thing that helped my shooting was to not shoot for the rim, but for an imaginary hoop high above the rim where the ball should go through at its apex. you get some nice arc.
played for the 1st time in a year. 7 dudes who apparently meet every friday at the school right across the street from my place. perfect. was freakin fools like mj (actually, got called manu 5 mins in. cause of fakes i think?), couldn't miss, got a couple blocks...then lost my wind and huffed n puffed and half-assed my way through 3 of the 4 games.

feel like i need to wear a shirt that says "I AM 33 YRS OLD" when i play w/teenagers and 20-somethings. i def look a lot younger than my age.

It's weird how inconsistent my shooting can be -- like one day it feels like I have a perfect jumper and the next day I'll be all over the place. I don't know if that's just everyone or if it's partly a product of learning late. Some days I just feel like I have stiff hands.

― mississippi delta law grad (Hurting 2), Friday, June 17, 2011 7:52 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

eh everyone is streaky, but i mean you def dont have a perfect jumper lol

i played a super physical set of games the other day, totally bruised over here

i hate that guy who always TOO physical. and you really can't say shit cause it's streetball y'know? talkin bout dudes who foul literally every 5 seconds.

ha yeah totally, this time it was like we all sunk to that level simultaneously and no one got mad so i guess it was ~fine~

the flip side of that guy is the guy who calls fouls on like every play - call ocasional meaningful irl fouls and everything is cool

yeah last year i played with this guy who had 3-4 inches and 50 pounds on me, and kept calling me for fouls as he was trying to get post up position

there are some who play basketball who struggle with the concept of flesh coming into contact with other flesh

yeah srsly fouls only on shots or if you get like viciously knocked over xp

anyone who calls non-shooting fouls is a total lame and 95% of ppl understand this thankfully

agreed. i couldn't believe dude was calling not just non-shooting fouls, but off-ball fouls.

was he calling 3-seconds and lane violations too?

illegal defense

i remember when I was a kid I actually timed quarters, instituted timeouts, did standard free throws, all this regulation shit.

still threw the ball down the street when something happened that I didn't like

no wonder nobody wanted to play w/ me

i just teed you up bro

ejected!

about to ~play basquetbol~ in a matter of minutes

thinking abt playing today, not sure, might wait til tomorrow

man i can't go a day without playing you're crazy

i basically cant play back to backs regularly at this point, rip my youth

aw

:(

i just played 2 hours of pretty intense tennis and i went out of my way to drive by the park on my way home to see if anybody was playing

thats rad, tho ive prob never been that active is part of it too, prob get more exercise now than i ever have what w/the running, just cant take the impact of basketball on a daily basis

sometimes i'll do the tennis-bball back-to-back thing too. there's some good games at the court adjacent to the tennis courts where I spar w/my sis. only reason i could do this, stamina-wise, is cause sis and i don't play full-on tennis games, basically just hitting it back and forth fairly leisurely. i still feel like some sort of athletic renaissance man afterwards.

I'm kinda embarassed at how quickly I get winded playing basketball

nah if you aren't beat after you didn't have a good run

played for 3 hrs today btw x_x

kid guarding me tonight, every time I went up to shoot: "You scared."

me, the first time: "I know that, but do you have to say so?"

best response: "are you going to shut up when you lose?"

Nah he was on another level from us - think he was just pissed that he got left out of the real game on the next court and had to play with scrubs.

ah the dreaded B court

Can someone explain to me the weird two-handed throw style of shooting I occasionally see in pick-up players who actually seem pretty good?

Nothing to explain, just make sure YOU DONT DO IT. People develop horrible shooting habit from their youths and never really work out of them. Then they play so much that they kind of good and consistent at it, like Barbosa.

I had a friend who was really good and shot a high percentage from 3 point range, but shot with his LEFT foot forward, near impossible (if your right-handed of course) if you haven't ever tried it. But no one ever told him it was wrong until it was too late.

You'll see all kind of weird stuff out there, but if you're starting with a clean slate then its best to learn the natural fundamentals.

still threw the ball down the street when something happened that I didn't like

― why i am an anarcho-sandwich artist (Neanderthal), Saturday, June 18, 2011 4:23 PM (5 days ago) Bookmark

One of THOSE guys huh.

I'm kinda embarassed at how quickly I get winded playing basketball

― why i am an anarcho-sandwich artist (Neanderthal), Saturday, June 18, 2011 3:26 PM Bookmark

This is actually something I've worked on a lot. Lately I played a couple of full court games and I was at least valued for always running down on both ends. If you're the only other guy on a fastbreak you're a lot more likely to get a pass/easy score.

Last game I had one of those freak games where I hit everything but a lot of it was weird glass shots that were obviously wild. It was sort of funny.

i need to hydrate better when I play too...

I stock up on $1 balance bars and sometimes $1 energy drinks at Trader Joe's. I do feel like it makes a difference to stop in the middle for one or the other, although maybe it's just the vestigial effects of all that gatorade marketing from my youth.

Sorry not energy drinks but 'electrolyte' sports drinks.