Skills and athleticism are obviously important attributes to help win games at the local YMCA/playground game but over the years, I have found that there are several little things that help you win (that can overcome your lack of basketball skills). These tips can be viewed as what I call "YMCA basketball IQ" and it goes beyond setting good screens, moving well without the ball, making the extra pass etc. Before I begin, you must remember that MOST pick up games are up to 15 or 21. Thus, EVERY possession/basket is CRUCIAL. I believe that if you properly use my tips, you will increase your teams output by around 3 points and decrease your opponents by around 2 baskets. So here goes. Please add any of your TIPS that you might have 1. A "smart foul" is just as good as a MONSTER BLOCK that goes out of bounds You dont have to play dirty but a basket saving foul is often better (and easier to execute) than a block shot. Afterall, the results for both are the same, the opponent takes the ball up top! 2. Understand how to foul We are not trying to INJURE anyone but yet we want to eliminate the chance of them from scoring. So DUMB players foul the opponents body. What I suggest is to HIT THE SHOOTERS ELBOW (shooting hand). No matter how high your opponent jumps, you should be able to get to their elbow. No matter how STRONG your opponent is, a firm tap on the elbow create an airball 3. "Wandering Screens" This is like what the NBA calls a MOVING SCREEN but I dont like to call it that since it would imply that you are doing something illegal. A "wandering screen" is when you SLIGHTLY move to give your team mate that extra room to create a shot. Afterall, how many times have you heard a MOVING SCREEN called in a YMCA/Playground game anyways? 4. Become the COURT PATROL Since there are no officials, make sure that you mentally keep track of the score. It is odd how hard people play to try to score points and prevent you from scoring when they dont even keep track of what the score is. 5. Three Point HAWK Many playground games have 3 pointers (or even 2 pters when normal baskets are 1 pt etc.). Many people ASSUME they are shooting a 3 pter if its long range but from my experience, MANY (30%) of these types of shots involve the shooters foot BEING ON THE LINE! Thus, it should not be a 3 pter but a 2 pter! By simply being a "3 Pt hawk"and monitoring this and vocalizing your opinion, you can save REDUCE your opponents output by 33% which classifies you as the DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR in my book. 6. Use the rules to your advantage (The GRAND DADDY TIP) The initial 5 tips are all very effective but WHEN COMBINED WITH THIS TIP, the game will be your oyster. Rules are set up to ensure a fair game. When a player violates a rule, they or their team will be penalized. However, rules should NOT be viewed as a negative but an OPPORTUNITY. The BEST rule to exploit is the infamous "Lets shoot for it custom" that is used at various playgrounds all across the country. As you implement your authority as the COURT PATROL and THREE POINT HAWK (mentioned above), there will be several other "questionable plays" during the course of the game and if you view the THE RULES AS AN OPPORTUNITY as I suggest, then you can create "WINNING OPPORTUNITIES" for your team. Examples of these types of plays include: A. Your opponent drove right passed you for a layup OPPORTUNITY- You will argue that your opponent was fouled prior to making the basket. If he insists that the basket should count after 5 minutes of debate, then suggest the ultimate winning compromise "lets just shoot for it then!". You can also interchange the foul to a travel (this will allow you to use this TWICE!) B. Your opponent is right next to you and you barely touched the ball out of bounds. OPPORTUNITY- You will argue that you felt that he touched it out of bounds. If he insists that you did it, then suggest the ultimate winning compromise "lets just shoot for it then!" since it was a close play and no one knows for sure. I will add some more later but I need to go kick some butt now @ the YMCA. Please add some more if you know any....
Ya....ur the annoying lil kid that calls travel on every hop step attempted in the game. What happened to just playing the game and trying to shut down ur man.
HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!! My thoughts exactly. Eventhough i plan on using the pointers given by this dude.
you call it for him. so it negates his basket since the foul occured BEFORE the shot. the same BS the ref always do to Yao
What major courts/venues allow 5 minutes of debate on a disputed call? With 12 - 15 people on the sidelines waiting to play............45 seconds is the most I have seen allowed for stoppage in play. Things tend to get nasty if play stops for people to whine about the game. Lets just shoot for it then Never played in a place with that rule. A person carrying a whistle is welcome at all the courts you play at?
If anyone other than hikanoo49 sees anything in any of his posts that can even be construed as sarcasm, please let me know.
He said no one likes an idiot that can understandand sarcasm. So, a.) Some people like some idiots that can understand sarcasm. b.) Some people like some non idiots that can't understand sarcasm. c.) Some people like some non idiots that can understand sarcasm. Glad I could clear that up for you. I've never played a pickup game where a defensive player called a foul on himself in an attempt to negate a made shot. You call your own fouls. Period. Basically, this is playing like a weasel. The only one I semi agree with is the smart fouling- but taking cheap shots at their elbow is weak. If you're guarding a guy who is known as a lights out shooter, and you keep hitting his elbow, he's going to start calling it. If the guy is a great shooter, and he's sitting there airballing because you knock his elbow, you're not going to get away with it long. Don't be the goon.
Straight from the Bruce Bowen and Karl Malone playbook... come on, man, it's a PICKUP game. rely on your skills, not some little loophopes...
i'll try to break this down Skills and athleticism are obviously important attributes to help win games at the local YMCA/playground game but over the years, I have found that there are several little things that help you win (that can overcome your lack of basketball skills). that comment right there just killed any reasoning you might have. You play playground ball and if you don't have the athleticism or a decent shot, consider yourself standing on the sidelines. Organized basketball (NBA, college, heck even intramural) is totally different from playground ball. YOU might be able to use these skills, but if the 4 other players on your team plays a different style, then you're sh*t outta luck 1. A "smart foul" is just as good as a MONSTER BLOCK that goes out of bounds You dont have to play dirty but a basket saving foul is often better (and easier to execute) than a block shot. Afterall, the results for both are the same, the opponent takes the ball up top! what constitutes as a smart foul? intentionally grabbing a player that is about to make a layup or hacking a guy? and besides, if you play bball enough, most guys don't even call their foul until they either 1)get pounded into submission or 2)the game is on the line and they want a mulligan on that bad shot they took 2. Understand how to foul We are not trying to INJURE anyone but yet we want to eliminate the chance of them from scoring. So DUMB players foul the opponents body. What I suggest is to HIT THE SHOOTERS ELBOW (shooting hand). No matter how high your opponent jumps, you should be able to get to their elbow. No matter how STRONG your opponent is, a firm tap on the elbow create an airball Ok so this is what you mean by 'smart fouls'. Ok you foul him, he calls foul, they get the ball back, he shoots, you do the same thing, he calls his foul and it's a never ending cycle. You not only waste his energy but also YOUR energy on uselessness. Only thing this does is, if he's a good baller, get him pissed off and he'll just go ahead and posterize you. 3. "Wandering Screens" This is like what the NBA calls a MOVING SCREEN but I dont like to call it that since it would imply that you are doing something illegal. A "wandering screen" is when you SLIGHTLY move to give your team mate that extra room to create a shot. Afterall, how many times have you heard a MOVING SCREEN called in a YMCA/Playground game anyways? I call it all the time. Either I call it or I push the guy that's setting the screen with me. What is HE going to do? Don't set the pick if you can't take the lick. And a moving screen is plain cheap. If I see someone do that constantly I'll just go ahead and "foul him smartly" by pushing him right into his teammate that has the ball. You want to play cheap, I can play cheap too. 4. Become the COURT PATROL Since there are no officials, make sure that you mentally keep track of the score. It is odd how hard people play to try to score points and prevent you from scoring when they dont even keep track of what the score is. The only way this works in your favor is if you cheat and give your team the edge and that's just plain weak. 5. Three Point HAWK Many playground games have 3 pointers (or even 2 pters when normal baskets are 1 pt etc.). Many people ASSUME they are shooting a 3 pter if its long range but from my experience, MANY (30%) of these types of shots involve the shooters foot BEING ON THE LINE! Thus, it should not be a 3 pter but a 2 pter! By simply being a "3 Pt hawk"and monitoring this and vocalizing your opinion, you can save REDUCE your opponents output by 33% which classifies you as the DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR in my book. I do this but on occasion. But let me ask you this: which is better, getting technical and taking away his 1 point or d-ing him up so he can't score anything? A. Your opponent drove right passed you for a layup OPPORTUNITY- You will argue that your opponent was fouled prior to making the basket. If he insists that the basket should count after 5 minutes of debate, then suggest the ultimate winning compromise "lets just shoot for it then!". You can also interchange the foul to a travel (this will allow you to use this TWICE!) B*tch move. Plain and simple. B. Your opponent is right next to you and you barely touched the ball out of bounds. OPPORTUNITY- You will argue that you felt that he touched it out of bounds. If he insists that you did it, then suggest the ultimate winning compromise "lets just shoot for it then!" since it was a close play and no one knows for sure. I'm sorry but this is the DUMBEST thing to do on the court. I see it all the time at the Rec at UH. ESPECIALLY with black players. Am I being racial? Not at all. But for some reason, they like to argue anything and everything. If you play there, you know what i'm talking about. Why argue about a stupid out of bounds play for 10 minutes (which gets you out of sync and out of the game) when you can just say 'ok you take this one. we get next dead ball'? I will add some more later but I need to go kick some butt now @ the YMCA. Please add some more if you know any.... Don't hurt yourself too much playing with the 8 year olds. The only 'tip' I know is this: if you're like me and you're shot is suspect, you're not super athletic, work harder. Hustle, work on the shot, work on your passing. You start rebounding over bigger guys, stealing the ball, making good passes you're more than sure to be picked up for a game than using the 'tips' from above. If God didn't give you the athletic ability, at least give yourself a chance by working on the intangibles.
Nice rules, and from someone who understands clearly that you win, you keep playing, you lose, you sit.
the only two valuable tips were calling a guy for stepping on the 3 point line and keeping score. everyone just yells out "line" when someone gets a toe or foot on the line and no one argues about it b/c you really can't. and people usually don't lie about this. keeping score is good b/c it's amazing how much convenient amnesia happens and people call out scores about 5 points higher for their team that it should be. while i don't do it on purpose, i hit peoples' elbows all the time when i'm getting posted up. being short, it just kind of happens as i try to challenge. luckily, most people don't call it. i suppose the equivalent for me as a 3 point shooter is people who run me over trying to block the shot. and unless i'm just really pissed off at that moment, i don't call it and figure that's just how it goes. the lack of ticky tack fouls in pickup games definitely works in my favor as i do my fair share of reaching as a slowass defender and since i don't drive much, the getting run over thing is the only regular thing that happens to me. the most b**** move is people who poke you in the chest while you take a 3. you're all stretched out and extended and they just give you a little jab around the bottom of the rib cage. such a bush league and b**** move. of course, i usually don't call that either. as for calling a foul as the defender? what? yeah you get blown by and give up a layup and they're going to shoot over whether your phantom foul should count? they'll be laughing their way back up court. and Mango, no one ever does the "shoot for it" thing where you play? i thought this was pretty much SOP. some calls one team will just concede in that "i know y'all are lying/wrong but i'm gonna take the high road b/c i'm sick of arguing with you bastards" indignant/pissed off way, some calls end up with the agreement that the next call goes the other team's way, and then the rest you just shoot for it.
