The Homemade Hoop

Buddy Hield from Oklahoma had an incredible March Madness with his Oklahoma Sooners this year.  It is unfortunate that it came to an end for them in such a polarizing fashion this weekend when they were completely dismantled by Villanova. It was a big Final Four victory when Villanova defeated Oklahoma 95 to 51. This doesn’t change the fact that Buddy had an incredible tournament and he really was a standout player in this tournament.

I came across a picture that got me thinking.  This is the homemade hoop Buddy used to shoot on when he was growing up in the Bahamas.  I find it completely breathtaking and incredibly inspiring to look at.  There is something very raw but also so compelling to me because I can see the dream he had playing basketball using this crooked old hoop made out of scrap wood and a milk crate.  

  

So many athletes want to have all the best conditions to work in.  They want all of the advantages often times without the sacrifices.  When I am working with athletes I often hear complaints like “this ball is too flat”, “the floor is too slippery”, or “this hoop is too low”. They seem to have an excuse as to why things don’t work out well in advance.  

Optimal conditions make mentally weak athletes.  It is important to learn to deal with what happens when things aren’t going well.  There is something special about athletes that aren’t bothered by conditions that are less than favourable. The kind of athletes that show mental toughness and are un-phased by tough circumstances.  These athletes seem even welcome these challenges and also have the purest form of love for the game of basketball.   To some degree they almost seem to enjoy when other athletes struggle with these distraction so they can dig in and find a way to dominate.  

I have a documentary that I often like to watch about basketball which is called “One Love”.  In one of the segments they talk to a group of older Jewish guys that used to play basketball in the streets in Brooklyn.  They would tell their moms to pull the laundry in of the line so it wouldn’t be in their way.  They would make a ball out of crumpled up newspaper and string that they would only pass as it wouldn’t bounce at all so they couldn’t dribble.  Their “hoop” was the lowest rung of the ladder on their fire escape.  They played for hours and ended up making up a team when they got older that was very good.  I really enjoy hearing stories like this. Basketball was so pure and simple at that point in time for them.  

The biggest thing I take away from players like this is seeing how much the game has changed.  It has gone from playing for fun for hours on your own time with friends and older players to scheduled and completely structured programming.  There is something so significant about how it would be with older players teaching younger players how to play.  Sometimes waiting hours to get your turn again after losing a pickup game.  This allowed players to just sit, watch and learn. When you got your chance to play again the level of play increased so that you could win and stay on the court otherwise it could be a long time before you got to play again. 

Since basketball is so structured now many players don’t know how to practice or play on their own. They depend on someone to tell them what to do at every turn. That is truly disappointing to see but not surprising. It is hard to find public places to play and so many people hold a lot of fear of letting their kids go out on their own to play without supervision.  Learning to play when no one is around and making mistakes then figuring out your own solutions is critical to the personal development of great players. It is such a different part of learning and sometimes I am not sure the way it has evolved is better. However, the picture of this hoop really makes me think about simpler times.