Ballin'

Let me preface this by stating that I have been getting into basketball recently. As some of you may, or may not know, I decided to try out for the AUC University Basketball team. It went down like this. So one of the nice things about the new AUC campus is it has a really nice gym, its really nice, and of course, really empty. So there are hoops, racquetball, a big huge track and soccer stadium, handball, weight room, carteo room, the works. So thats super nice. During some free time I had over break, I was bored, and so I’d go to work out. I ended up strolling down to the gym and renting out a basketball. I used to be really bad at basketball. I still am, but I used to be really, pretty terrible. However, I remember my days in basketball at school. I love playing the game, especially if its pickup. That “team” feeling is nice. So I had all day, and as the white stripes would say “I just don’t know what to do with myself”.

I worked on post moves, I worked on free throws, I took my shot apart and rebuilt it. Drive and Penetrate. Pick and Roll. My skills aren’t as shabby anymore. The good news is that as people came back from break, there were more and more pickup games. I made some good buddies. The thing was, I wasn’t really that good, but I was OK. OK enough to try out for the AUC basketball team. Now, to be perfectly clear, I didn’t have much of a big intention of getting on. Basketball isn’t that big in Egypt, but its probably the third largest sport, or at least the third most popular after football, and football (again). Its mostly a one sport country, but to put it in perspective, the government built a HUGE sports complex outside of the city. It has Cairo Stadium (which I’ll talk about later), the bowling centre, but also a HUGE venue for Basketball. Probably seats 50,000-60,000. So its not like American Football where no one plays. I’m guessing a little over 100 guys tried out for 16 spots on the team.

We had three tryouts, and there were some really quality players. Apparently there is this one guy who plays for the Egypt National team, he’s really good. A dick, but a good basketball player (though those usually go hand in hand). Regardless, the tryouts are kinda a joke. You get split into teams of 5, then its just a big tournament. If he sees you do something athletic, or you’re tall, you “sign the list”. Apparently (I have a friend who made it on), there were 21 guys who got “signed” but then 5 got cut. The point is, you play one five minute game, so if you happen to not hit that 3, you don’t make it. W/e, its his team, I don’t want to complain. The fact of the matter is that I didn’t make it on. The scary thing though, is that I was close. I wasn’t as good as the good guys, so if I made it on the team, I would not have started or anything, but on a great day, I’d say I was about as good as the worst 4 who got “signed”.

Please note -- there are some really horrible egyptian players. They just never got coached, so they just see NBA play, which is really bad ugly basketball. Most egyptians are not team players because they just don’t understand how to be a team player. Most don’t box out, or set picks. They take a lot of misguided 3’s. Basically a team of Americans would destroy an equal athletic and talented Egyptian basketball team just because Americans understand the game better, and how to WIN at basketball.

Regardless, the pick-up games are really fun. Especially since the talent level varies a lot, so its a good feeling to be on the average to better player scale. Obviously I’m short, but I do OK. Thanks to the internet for the pictures. They aren't mine.

I’ve made some good friends on the court. Unfortunately I have class so I can’t ball all day. Ha.