Pick-up basketball is a mix of community and friendly trash talk in the SURC
CWU students chase after the ball during a competitive game of pick-up basketball.
October 11, 2018
Playing pick-up basketball brings back nostalgia for many people, especially college students. Pickup basketball can be found in almost any neighborhood regardless of social class. CWU provides that early childhood feeling with basketball games held in the Recreation Center during the week.
Students usually head to the courts around 4 p.m. to start pick-up games. As the evening rolls on, the games become more intense, bringing more to the courts.
With the games having few to no rules, the participants can get into a mentally clear space, where they just play and don’t have to think about fouls.
Freshman Spencer Bailey plays pick-up at the Rec Center.
“Compared to high school basketball, you’re out there on the daily grind, working on stuff, working on plays, but when you’re out here, you’re just out here having fun and just playing,” Bailey said.
Another player, freshman Isaac McDonald also added that pick-up basketball is “just fun.”
“It’s not organized basketball, so you can just go out there having fun with a bunch of friends,” McDonald said. Jordan Bishop, coordinator. of intramural sports and special events at the Rec Center, says rec basketball is all about bringing CWU students together.
“With something like these pick-up games, it’s a sense of community within the students,” Bishop said. “It really is just kind of a community out there in general. People know who the bearded guy is, everybody knows who the sharp-shooter is.”
Mario (left) and Alec (right) celebrate scoring during a fun game of basketball.
The score of the game is important, but there’s another big aspect of pickup basketball: trash talking. “If you miss a shot, they [other players] are just going to get on you immediately,” Bailey said.
Because pick-up basketball is so popular, the Recreation Center makes sure the courts are open for the players.
Even with intramural basketball in session, courts A and B are still available.
“It’s a big part of the reason why we have those four full basketball courts, [it’s] for the open recreation play,” Bishop said. “Courts A and B are basically fully dedicated to pick up basketball.”