Rich Mack on the Obama Hoop Question..

Rich and I had some days together. I can remember when we usta car pool in the early ‘80s. We would drive for two hours a day, a coupla days a week, and we would talk through that time. He is a basketballer from his heart.. he is down in Rhode Island now..not far from where Craig Robinson coached at Brown.. here’s his answer to the Obama BasketBall Ethics PickUp Question…

… I thought about your question. Specifically, I thought what if I was checking out a guy for my sister.

Two annoying things I've seen in pickup games that often may be indicative of character flaws:

1.) How a player uses his mouth as part of his game. The worst situation is with guys who never miss -- they either score or are fouled. Uggh. Since pick-up is self-officiated you occasionally get the worst of the worst, guys who'd rather argue than play. I have had the experience in a couple places of playing in leagues with refs where there are guys who I've also played pick-up. Quite often the guys that argue in pickup are also the guys who argue with the refs. So, to be fair to the jabberers and not claim that it's a sure indicator of character flaw ... there are counter examples....

2.) It's a team sport: if you like bouncing balls by yourself, take up billiards. And I'm not just griping about ball hogs -- I'm not so good that I expect to spend a lot of time handling the thing myself. But that's part of the point -- try to remember why you're out there. Ever since Michael Jordan was on TV, I see a lot of guys who dribble between their legs or behind their back for no reason. To show they have the skills? To waste time? I've seen kids dribble into a corner and then spend a few more seconds dribbling and looking at the floor. Meanwhile nine guys are standing around. Get a grip. Michael Jordan was good for the sports in some respects and bad for it in others. The Globetrotters do some silly dribbling, but they also do .. pass plays, with precision cuts and precision passes.