Playing Basketball against Mike Barrett

Quik_Baller — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:46:29 -0000

Funny thing happened when I showed up to play rec-league basketball last night... I get to the gym, walk over to my friend to say hi, and before I can say a word he tells me "We're playing Mike Barrett tonight." How do you respond to this?

We play in PortlandBasketball.com in the B-league division. For a reference point of the competition, a few weeks ago we played a team that was college players trying out for this IBL team...

http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/index.ssf/2009/05/former_college_players_hope_to.html

Currently the league is running a single elimination tournament for teams in the A-C leagues, similar to March Madness. Somehow we ended up in the tough part of the bracket, and had to play the #2 ranked team last night. It was a good game, and lining up across from MB was pretty funny because you feel like you know him a bit after watching so many broadcasts....

Overall, MB had a decent game. Hit a few 3's to space the floor, drove by a close out when appropriate, rotated the ball, helped on d, and grabbed a few boards. He's probably 6-2 or 6-3, didn't seem to get winded (although he probably sat the most on his team), and strong enough to fight through a little contact and keep his balance and poise.

Primarily they had some 6-8 or 6-10 guy dominating the post and a strong slasher cutting through lanes. When we collapsed too much, they got open 3's. MB shot a few of those 3's, and drove for a pull up j or two. Our offense is based on lots of penetration and ball movement, so MB's contribution was mostly playing straight-up d on the wings to slow down and funnel the penetration.

In the end, they won. We had a few new faces, only 5 players (to there 6 or 7), and they had size when our tallest player was 6-3 or 6-4. They got out to a huge lead (35-10) before we figured out how to play together. Then the game got close... something like 73-70 with 1:30 left and our press causing turnovers. But without any margin for error, they hit a shot or two and our desperate play could get us any closer.

MB seems like a nice guy, but is all business on the court. Didn't talk smack or anything like that, just played with focus. The funniest part of the night was when my teammate was taking some important free-throws near the end and MB was lined up to his right. "I know it's just MB, but I got a little nervous taking those shots."

"That's just because you've heard him say how critical these shots are. If we're going to win it, we need to make them."

He missed...

Junk Drawer 12/15 - Live from Japan

Quik_Baller — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:11:25 -0000

Ohayo Gozaimasu! (Good morning)

Whew-hoo... I made it to Japan via my work's credit card, got done with way more than expected on the first day (it's Monday night for me right now), and then had a fun time laughing at all the recent posts. Time to fill this drawer with your junk!

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So this is my second time in Japan, but first time I have an extended vacation here. I'm in Kyoto, which has a rich history, and will have a 1 week rail pass. Please hit me up with places to visit if you've been here before.

When I checked into the hotel last night, I turned on the tv, saw about 12 channels where I couldn't understand anything except "hai" or "arigatoo gozaimasu", then found the Boston-New Orleans game on ESPN. Few odd items:

They find basketball interesting in a country where I haven't met one person taller than me (I'm 6'2"). Then again, they do LOVE American culture...
They only air ESPN for a basketball game (maybe other sporting events too, but haven't seen them).
They showed a stat of FGM vs FGA for both teams with regards to contested lay-ups and contested jumpers. First time I saw that stat, and of course Boston took less contested shots and was making more...and they won! What a surprise! Why don't they show this stat more? Or do I just watch CSN too much?
Apparently the hotel I'm at was showing the Blazers-Jazz game out front before I got here... the PTB, where an international phenomenom happens. And don't give me wise cracks about our European connections, I'm in freaking Japan!

I heard it's snowy over there... I left right before it came down and am a little jealous. I love the snow and we don't get it enough. But then again, I'm in Japan... are you jealous too?

Horrible story. Friday night I went from attending my last Blazer game of the year, a double-OT Clippers loss, to a night out, to finalizing my packing at 5 in the morning before my flight at 7:30. No, the Clippers loss wasn't the horrible part! It was bad though... The horrible part was I forgot extra guitar strings. Guess what broke immediately? Actually, it wasn't the high E, it was the stupid D string...but now I have to find a music store in Japan during my week of business... darn. Oh translator! We need to make a field trip!

Few other random thoughts from this side of the Pacific...

There is NO trash on the streets. I mean none. From meth-heads to cigarette butts, nodda.
Speaking of smoking, it's more frequent than stupid plays from the Buffet of Goodness (btw, still haven't gotten over his shot/pass the first time he touched the ball in the Boston game...just hideous).
School-girl outfits everywhere. Hurray!
Don't forget to bow for everything.
There is lots of English, from signs to basic verbal skills... it's nice for me.
Pinchinko... I'm trying it before I leave. Advice?
Bicycles are so prevalent that parking lots are dedicated to them. Like, large parking lots. And all street corners. And the sidewalks in-between. And anywhere else you can imagine. Think Portland's a bike city? Maybe for the US...
Don't forget to bow.
I mentioned that they love American culture, especially our pop culture, but I haven't heard anything but western music except for some Japanese version of a boy band... disappointing.
They love rice with everything, and I agree with that.
Don't forget to bow.

That's enough for now. Go Blazers! I'll be ready to cheer with the rest of the Rose Gardeners once I'm back, but until then, raise your voice a few decibels for me.

Sayonara,

-Tyler

SB Nation User Blog: Quik_Baller

Playing Basketball against Mike Barrett

Junk Drawer 12/15 - Live from Japan