Hoops

I've found that if I only play basketball when I am invited, I will still play at least 3 times a week. After perhaps only ping pong, basketball is the most popular sport in China. Based on the huge number of hoops on our campus that are almost always filled with students playing, I would say that that is true. So naturally my students frequently ask me to play with them and typically I accept.

I must admit that I do not have as much fun playing basketball here as I do in the US. The main reason for this is the considerably low level of competition , which results from that fact that none of the students have ever been formally coached. Instead, the students try to imitate their favorite NBA players' moves, resulting in varying levels of hilarity. Also, no one ever tries to shoot from outside the key. Generally, there are just 10 people standing in the key at one time, and no one has any space to do much of anything. Adding to the lack of space is that everyone just plays half court games. A few weeks ago I played a 6 on 6 game, half court.

Due to my height, I basically just stand under the hoop, collect missed shots, and make layups. This is a pretty boring way to play, so I try to play like Chris Webber in his heyday with the Sacramento Kings. I stand at the high post, get the ball, hold it as high as I can, and make passes to cutting teammates.

One of the most disappointing things about playing basketball here is that people rarely keep score. They just play until they don't feel like playing anymore. Today the students I played with actually kept score, and I enjoyed the game a ton more. Players were more competitive, especially when it got close to game point. Maybe it is just my capitalistic American nature, but I think sports are way more fun when you're actually, you know, competing. 

Here they are asking me if "Rebound" is a verb or a noun.