How Teams are Assembled

I have seen too many teams created on the court that had the 5 best players that day on the same team. There is a reason for this and most of the time it’s because those certain players choose the rigged way for teams to be set.

There are a few ways to make a superior team, players can shoot for teams by making either a 3 point or free throw shot, you can do captains, or there is the easy way out of picking the people you want on your team.

The latter is usually the worst choice to make teams because this is how teams get stacked with talent.

The next team to play on the court will only pick the best players that lost or that were sitting down so they can win the rest of the day. This is unfair in so many ways. First, people that were sitting who have not played may be ignored and have to sit the majority of the time because others do not think he or she is very good.

This option destroys the competitiveness of the game because these “super” teams are so much better than the rest of the teams that they face.

Although I have seen on occasion stacking a team backfire because there are too many alpha dogs on one team. In most cases though the team is so much better than everyone else it doesn’t make a difference. The other two ways that I stated to create a team also has discrepancies.

The first 5 players to make a basket might be the best players as well because they are the better shooters. The captain system might have one captain who knows who all the good players and the other captain who just guesses or only wants his friends on his team. These things obviously cause disadvantages for the inferior players.

In my opinion the best way to pick teams is to match up players using height, age and skill level, having the person who knows everyone best do this as long as they are honest.

This way is kind of an alteration of the captain process but your focus is to make the teams as even as possible.

Or another option is to have it be a random process and have teams assembled by when they players arrive to the court. The first 5 players on the court are on a team the next 5 players to reach the court are on a team and so on. But if that makes teams a little lopsided then after the first game switch up players to make it more equal.

I don’t go to a court wanting to dominant the whole day with the best of players, I want to face them and have as good of chance of winning games as they do. I look for challenges on the pickup courts not easy wins with little gratification.

Before anything else happens on the basketball court make teams as equal as possible or it is just the beginning of a bad day on the black top.

The Act of Fouling

On the pickup court the most controversial issue is without a doubt fouling. There are players who call fouls all the time without actually getting fouled. Or they barely get touched while shooting or dribbling and call a foul. When they call fouls like this there are always a few reactions that don’t help the situation. The other team starts calling fouls all the time or just ignores him and hope it doesn’t affect the outcome of the game. The worst option is to call out this person for calling unnecessary fouls if your on the defensive side, this almost never ends well.

This obviously needs to change these options are bad solutions it messes up the whole game for everyone. One thing I have done personally is if I am on the team of this player I will call him out.

Most players don’t expect their teammates to say anything because it is helping the team out but it is hurting the game. They might not take this well at first but someone needs to tell them they are ruining the game and who better then his teammate.

Questioning your teammates foul calling will set an example for the rest of the players on the court or those watching from the sideline. Hopefully when they see this going on they might act the same way when put in the same situation.

There is also the problem of a defensive player who fouls too much because he may not be good enough.

This is a much more difficult problem to solve because you cannot really say anything or do anything without making these players upset.There really is only one reasonable thing I can think of and that is too tell the player if they keep playing that way the rest of the players will not play with him anymore.

It is kind of something you do to a child who miss behaves all the time. The player can’t be rewarded for playing bad basketball he must be taught a better way to play.

Changing the way fouls effect the game needs every player’s help it goes back to honesty on the court. It may take one player at a time or one court at a time but practicing these types of methods will make pickup basketball that much greater.

Improving Pickup Basketball

I am active in the pickup basketball community in Arizona. I play anywhere that I can, whoever will play and usually have a good time. Although there are quite a bit of players that try to make the experience as unpleasant as possible. There is a way for everyone to enjoy themselves and it begins with honesty.

If players are able to be honest and show pride in the way they play pickup basketball it would improve greatly.

I have always had a saying on the court, ” I would rather lose honestly than win that way.” I am always refering to lying or cheating in my eyes. Some players have no problem winning with those qualities but they should have more integrity than that.

Lets change pickup basketball for the better. Tell the truth no matter what the circumstances are on the court. Each play and possession effects a pickup game because there usually are a limited amount of them both. You double dribbled and no one noticed it, call it yourself it might determine the outcome of the game.

You’re the player who always call fouls when you already released the ball and it doesn’t make a difference in the shot. Try to hold back about saying you were fouled on the shot unless you can tell yourself I would have made it if I weren’t fouled. Next time you are on the court try to be as truthful as you can and others will follow. A simple thing as doing it the right way will make everyone else question there actions during a pickup game.