After two months in South Africa feverishly searching for a basketball court and maybe even a pickup game, I found everything a hoops guy could ever ask for: a nice basketball court and people to play.

On one side of the gym, there is a club basketball team having their practice and directly across the court there are hoops available for open gym.  Success! And yet I leave in two weeks.

The first night, while I was shooting hoops, I was taken back to the countless number of practices I endured in jr. high, high school and college.  The South African coach never stopped yelling at his team and his team consistently supplied him with plenty of ammunition.

It brought a smile to my face and it made me think of all the times I was on the short end of the stick of my coach’s ire.  I was transported to the times of the broken clip boards, shattered chalk boards, flying trash cans, thrown chairs and endless line drills.

“If we can’t execute on offense and defense, then we will be the team in the best shape.  Hit the end line!” still echoes through the hallowed gymnasiums as I am reminded of the joys and pains of playing basketball.

Now, years later, I can look back and be thankful for all that the game has taught me.  Below are just some of the things I’ve gleaned from my limited time on the hardwood.

The Little Things are Generally the Most Important

Most fans worry about the score when the final buzzer sounds.  Those who have played the game realize to keep it close you must compete in ever little detail during every single possession.

Often, it is the little battles of hustle, position and determination that decides what the scoreboard communicates at then end, and most of the time those little things go unnoticed by the general public. However, without a commitment by all players to focus on the little things, teams would have no chance at becoming great.

You Must Learn to Ignore the Voices

There is something special about walking into enemy territory and playing against the rowdiest of rowdy crowds. From the moment you step out from the locker room you are ambushed by a plethora of voices telling you why you shouldn’t even be on the court.

If those voices aren’t bad enough, you have those same demons shouting inside your head questioning your abilities and informing you that you simply can’t.

If those voices aren’t bad enough, you have those same demons shouting inside your head questioning your abilities and informing you that you simply can’t. Those voices don’t leave when you step off the court, making it imperative that you learn quickly whom you can listen to and how you can ignore all the other voices.

Don’t Be Afraid to Look Stupid

Whether it is shooting an air ball on a free throw two times in a row, dribbling the ball off your foot with no one pressuring you or going for a layup in pregame and getting your thumb caught in your warm-up pants causing them to unsnap and leaving them wrapped around your ankles, you must not be afraid to look stupid. And yes, all those have happened to me.

It will always be easier to sit in the crowd, laugh and point at those who put themselves out there without regard to failure. But greatness is reserved for those who don’t shy away from the possibilities of laughable collapse and utter failure.

The Better Team Does Not Always Win

If this were not the case then my team would have never won. There is something special about standing on the court in front of a crowd full of people who know your team has no chance at pulling out a victory, and while the referee prepares for the jump ball you are confident that it is anyone’s ballgame.

That feeling is only trumped by the sensation you have when you are dribbling out the clock after you systematically picked apart a team that is far superior to yours.

It is why you show up and play ever game, even when you don’t stand a chance.

A Reliance on Others

During the practice in South Africa, one individual was beat by a baseline drive two straight plays. The coach tore into him with a verbal lashing that ranked up there with those given by my coach from California—minus the profanity-laced attack on your character. Both times the individual was beat, a teammate was quick to respond and provide defensive support and kept the opposing player from scoring.

The court taught me a four-letter word that I still use in every aspect of my life; HELP! (video games taught me the other four-letter words). There are times when we all need help and I feel for those people who have never develop the ability to ask for it.

A Personal Responsibility

At the conclusion of the coach’s rant play resumed and the ball quickly made its way to the same matchup as before. The defensive player was so conscious of being beat baseline that he overcompensated and was out of position. A jab step to the middle with a slide step to the baseline and he was whipped again. The coach was exacerbated and plopped down into a chair and brought out the full-range of profanity and character attacks.

There should always be someone there to pick up your slack and help you out. No matter how many times your teammate fails, there should always be someone there to help because that is how teams operate.

However, at some point you must decide to pull your own weight. You have a responsibility to the team to make sure you are prepared, practiced-up and ready to do your part and add to the team.

Imagination

If you go back and look at my jr. high trapper keeper, high school binders and college course readers, you will find one thing in common; I never took notes. What you will find is scores and scores of basketball plays, both offensive and defensive.

As the teacher would drone on about things that I wish I knew now, I would be scribbling new and exciting ways to score against upcoming opponents.

In basketball, you can’t just keep doing the same things over and over again. You must evolve, morph and challenge yourself to use your imagination to find innovative ways to confuse and defeat your opponents.

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There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t use something I learned while studying on the hardwood. That is why the game of basketball will always be my first love and my greatest teacher.

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J.David has never won an award for his writing, but he is a former collegiate athlete for a small college where everyone makes the team. Currently, he is a grad student at the University of Southern California studying the archaic form called, Print Journalism.  J.David points to the Bad Boys of the Pistons’ Dynasty as the birth of his love for NBA basketball, and the Bad Boys of the Pistons’ Dynasty as the death of genuine basketball.

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