Some thoughts on basketball...
On Wednesday 1 May, I debuted for Mike's team. I actually didn't really want to play, mainly because I had already signed up to Thursday's team with One, and also because Mike's team had Alex Y and therefore no chances of winning. But I don't really recall how he talked me into it...it just seems like he was talking, I was nodding, and the next thing I knew I had said I would play. WTF.
Anyway, I ended up getting number 23 when Alex gave me the jersey. He gave me 24 at first and I was like "you know what that means in Chinese right?" and then he offered me 23. They were quite nice, but I think my shorts are a bit too big for me.
We played Shittyrail. My main concern was not to get hurt, especially for a team like this. I had even thought about not coming, or just coming to do duty, but they only had five including me, and I thought about Mike's friendship all these years, so I rocked up.
Stepping onto the court, I could hear Mike's younger brother being audibly scared about playing this team. It made me realise how far I had progressed as a player. Although he made me feel old, it also made me appreciate the fact that I knew I could hold my own in these situations. I just knew how to play. I had the experience.
We only scored four points in the first half, although they didn't do much better either. Both teams played better in the second half, and I jacked up some shots I normally would've taken pre-knee injury, but missed wildly on all of them. I only hit a three pointer at the end of the game. I reckon it's been about two seasons now in between my last three point make and that three pointer. Gosh.
As annoyed as I was with Alex Y's shit passes and his constant stepping over the line shooting free throws, what I did like about this team was there was more ball movement. I actually got the ball back after I passed it, whereas with the other team, it would always end up with Alex Z, Bo or One shooting.
We were so shit, after the game their dirtiest player actually apologised to us for playing so rough, saying if he didn't, then other people would rough him up. Hmmm.
The next day, I went for a run at work with Ben, Travis and Matt. I thought I would be able to keep up with these guys, but right from the get-go, their pace was a lot faster than mine. Ben stayed with me, and I tried to keep up, but I found it hard to run at this faster pace and talk to him at the same time. The view was amazing, but there was no time for it as I was struggling just to breathe. When I realised how far they would run (they said it was 7km), it was quite de-motivating and it really pressed on my mind to stop, which I eventually did and Ben went on.
I walked back to work feeling shit, and saw them in the shower. They were nice enough about it, but I still felt like shit. It made me motivated to want to build up my stamina to their level.
Yesterday I went out to the courts and worked on my dribbling. I did all the usual drills that I did before, but it didn't seem to take as long now. I wonder, am I missing something I used to include? After that I went home to shower and change, then drove out to pick up the team uniforms. The guy wasn't home but his daughter passed them onto me and I paid, then drove back home.
There was a bit of traffic, and I got a bit of a headache from all that driving. I then went to the gym.
Today, I went to the courts again, I wanted to work on my shot but it was a bit windy. Damnit, I should've made good use of yesterday's non-windiness. So I worked on my dribbling again as well as the Jamal Crawford shake and bake move. As I was mucking around, I also did this "strong move" to the basket, doing a jump stop on two feet, and in the process felt my right knee buckle a bit on the inner left side. I decided that was enough.
It scared me enough to make me go to the gym and, in addition to what I normally do, go to the squats machine. I think I'll add squats to my routine from now on.
After that I pretty much stayed at home, reading Rodman's book "I Should be Dead Right Now", then took a nap.
Anyway, I ended up getting number 23 when Alex gave me the jersey. He gave me 24 at first and I was like "you know what that means in Chinese right?" and then he offered me 23. They were quite nice, but I think my shorts are a bit too big for me.
We played Shittyrail. My main concern was not to get hurt, especially for a team like this. I had even thought about not coming, or just coming to do duty, but they only had five including me, and I thought about Mike's friendship all these years, so I rocked up.
Stepping onto the court, I could hear Mike's younger brother being audibly scared about playing this team. It made me realise how far I had progressed as a player. Although he made me feel old, it also made me appreciate the fact that I knew I could hold my own in these situations. I just knew how to play. I had the experience.
We only scored four points in the first half, although they didn't do much better either. Both teams played better in the second half, and I jacked up some shots I normally would've taken pre-knee injury, but missed wildly on all of them. I only hit a three pointer at the end of the game. I reckon it's been about two seasons now in between my last three point make and that three pointer. Gosh.
As annoyed as I was with Alex Y's shit passes and his constant stepping over the line shooting free throws, what I did like about this team was there was more ball movement. I actually got the ball back after I passed it, whereas with the other team, it would always end up with Alex Z, Bo or One shooting.
We were so shit, after the game their dirtiest player actually apologised to us for playing so rough, saying if he didn't, then other people would rough him up. Hmmm.
The next day, I went for a run at work with Ben, Travis and Matt. I thought I would be able to keep up with these guys, but right from the get-go, their pace was a lot faster than mine. Ben stayed with me, and I tried to keep up, but I found it hard to run at this faster pace and talk to him at the same time. The view was amazing, but there was no time for it as I was struggling just to breathe. When I realised how far they would run (they said it was 7km), it was quite de-motivating and it really pressed on my mind to stop, which I eventually did and Ben went on.
I walked back to work feeling shit, and saw them in the shower. They were nice enough about it, but I still felt like shit. It made me motivated to want to build up my stamina to their level.
Yesterday I went out to the courts and worked on my dribbling. I did all the usual drills that I did before, but it didn't seem to take as long now. I wonder, am I missing something I used to include? After that I went home to shower and change, then drove out to pick up the team uniforms. The guy wasn't home but his daughter passed them onto me and I paid, then drove back home.
There was a bit of traffic, and I got a bit of a headache from all that driving. I then went to the gym.
Today, I went to the courts again, I wanted to work on my shot but it was a bit windy. Damnit, I should've made good use of yesterday's non-windiness. So I worked on my dribbling again as well as the Jamal Crawford shake and bake move. As I was mucking around, I also did this "strong move" to the basket, doing a jump stop on two feet, and in the process felt my right knee buckle a bit on the inner left side. I decided that was enough.
It scared me enough to make me go to the gym and, in addition to what I normally do, go to the squats machine. I think I'll add squats to my routine from now on.
After that I pretty much stayed at home, reading Rodman's book "I Should be Dead Right Now", then took a nap.
posted by toey | 21:09
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