Basketball Court – My Second Home

The basketball court is a place I deeply value and appreciate. I literally call this place my second home. Whenever I need to relieve stress or just play for the fun of it, it does it for me. This place varies in looks but serves the same purpose. It doesn’t matter if it’s indoors or outdoors, it’s still a ball and a dream. I’m so glad I play basketball because it has truly highlighted most of my life. Looking at me knowing I play basketball and that’s what I love, you probably assume I’ve been playing for a while and that’s all I did while I was growing up. Well actually I started off as a ballerina dancer. I danced from 2004 to 2007 at Rhythm Technique in Greenville. It wasn’t until I was about seven when I started playing basketball. My uncle, Big Trayal, played basketball for his high school and AAU in the summer. I would go to all his games to watch him put on a show. At his AAU games, I would carry around a basketball and bounce beside the bleachers while he was playing on the court. During half time, I would be the only girl out on the court, shooting the ball with two hands with my feet kicking back as rise from the floor standing literally two feet in front of the basketball. This was while they were huddling up talking about the first half and discussing what they would do better in the second half. Then I would have to go back in the bleachers sitting between my grandma and grandpa after they kick me off the court to start back warming up to get prepared for the second half. This experience is what inspired me to write my basketball court essay, in which I detail the significance of this place and how it has shaped me into the person I am today.

I basically grew up being outside playing from sun up to sun down with my siblings and cousins. We went from playing tag, swimming, playing kickball, playing basketball or any other activity that involves running or teamwork. Basketball of course were our favorite and what we played the most until somebody got mad or hurt. At my great grandmother’s house, it was a little patch of red dirt, the size of a front porch surrounded by grass, with about an 8-foot piece of wood plowed in the ground holding the wood backboard also. The wood plowed in the ground was spray painted the color of a gingerbread brown. The backboard was the color of off white and barely attached to the wood due to the basketball bouncing in the red dirt and pounding the backboard. That was our “basketball court”. My cousins, siblings and I would shoot for “captain” which means if you make the shot behind the red dirt you could chose you teammates first and get ball first. Our grandparents’ favorite line was, “Don’t take your ass out there in that red dirt!” So, we would find a way around it even if it meant shooting in the basketball from the grass or crossing people up from one end of the yard to the other pretending we still on the court.

When I was in the 4th grade, I played basketball for the Upward Stars at Brushy Creek Baptist Church. It was basically a basketball church league where every Saturday you would play a team in your age and gender group. Of course, I knew the game and I probably thought I was Maya Moore at the time, but if I compare myself to today, my game has drastically changed. After we played, our team would be rewarded 1 star to iron on our shirt we received at the beginning of the season. Our actions, attitudes, and words on game day would determine which star we would receive. Each star was a different color, and each meant something special. The color of the stars was white, blue, gold, gray and red. One star would represent one of these actions; effort, sportsmanship, offense, defense or Christlikeness. I think that’s when my journey finally launched and seen what potential I have mentally, athletically, spiritually and socially. In the 5th grade, I played basketball for an all-boys church team. We practiced at Evangelistic Temple (ET) Baptist Church every Wednesday but played a different church team every Saturday. Playing with all boys and being the only girl shaped me into the basketball player I am currently now. I was exposed to a completely different style of basketball that really improved me and helped me become a better basketball player. It made me more aggressive, faster, and more advanced than girls usually my age. I also picked up valuable skills that I would probably not learn always playing against girls.

After the championship game, when I was playing church ball for ET, a middle age man name, Rick Boone, came up to me, introduced himself and asked if I played AAU for anyone. Of course, I didn’t so my response was, “No.” He was basically telling me that he has never seen a girl for one play on an all-boys basketball team and for two with that much potential at this age. He wanted me to play for his AAU team, Upper Level Pride. At first, I was timid to, but my grandmother encouraged me to go out and see how I like it. I played AAU basketball for Rick Boone every summer from the 6th grade to the 11th grade. We would practice every Monday and Wednesday to get ready for the tournament that upcoming weekend. The tournaments were local and out of town including the states, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky. If they were out of town, they were more than likely exposure tournaments where you show off your skills in front of college coaches to get looks and scholarships. Playing other teams from around the world made me a better team player and individually. 7th and 8th grade, I did play middle school basketball for League Academy. It was kind of scary playing organized basketball for the first time. In the 7th grade, I earned a starter position due to hard work in practice and we lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs. I personally think we had a better team overall in 7th grade than 8th. Our team was much smaller, it’s like we only had guards and no post. That’s why I was surprised we went to the championship and won it. We also didn’t lose one game in the season, so our overall record was 15-0.

Now I have transitioned from middle school to high school basketball. The game speed is different with more intensity on the court. You are playing freshman’s, sophomores, juniors and seniors all on the same team. Freshman year after tryouts the head coach, Coach Burrow, and the two assistant coaches talked to each player individually in his office and asked them how they think they did during tryouts and if they made the team. If they did make the team they would either play JV or Varsity. Trying out freshman year with almost 60 girls, coach only filling in a few spots for Varsity were already freighting but walking into the coach office was more intimidating. When I went in a sat down on the couch, the first question he asked me was, “How you think you did during tryouts?” I responded, “I think I did good I guess” in my shakenly voice. He told I made the team and if I wanted to play JV or Varsity. I told him varsity because I wanted to get some playing time and he told me I’m most definitely not playing JV, so I have no choice to play Varsity. I knew he had very big expectations, but he was a little lenient since I was a freshman. Playing for Wade Hampton High school, I accomplished a lot of accolades. I earned a starting position freshman year in the 3rd game of the season taking a sophomore spot.

Senior year, I was awarded all region player. I was also awarded all-state player, 2x upper state champion, and 2x state runner up champions in consecutive years. I made a name for myself at Wade Hampton for basketball. My actions on the court even made colleges look at me to come play for them. I regret not playing ball at the college level. It hit me every day and hits me harder when I look at pictures from high school playing for the generals.

Putting myself on the basketball court has made me a better person individually by letting me express myself playing a game. It also has opened many opportunities and made me close to friends, more like family, I never thought I would have been to. Playing basketball is very addicting if you are playing it for fun or competitiveness. I wish I didn’t end it at high school and kept going in college. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t reminisce about it. Basketball is my passion and the love I got for will never descend.