This morning while having breakfast I thought of the NBA playoffs which continue today; Boston and Milwaukee at 3:30. Warriors-Grizzlies 8:30 PM. The games have been fun. So many young players doing well.
Basketball is always on my mind, so It got me thinking about grabbing my basketball and going out to get some shots up. I decided against it.
My pick-up ball days are over. Shit happens when you get older. My lift on my once, decent jumper is losing some juice.
I also thought of the Saturday morning run at Bishop Ford High School back in the day.
Probably around the early 90’s, I was coaching Ford’s boys freshman team at the time and we’d practice early in the A.M. – soon as practice was over the older guys would file in the gym. I’m sure my players hated running through drills on their day off from school. There were scrimmages at times, so i know they were diggin’ on that.
Former high school and college guys would show up for some serious pick-up. These guys could ball. I knew most of them, I enjoyed playing with them. They played the right way.
Guys like Danny Tracy, Andrew Purdy, Pete Cannizzo, Gerard Byrnes, Tommy Lowney, Bobby Marcotte, Edgar Dela-Rosa, Dennis Nolan, Black Jack Ryan, Danny Leary, Donnie Tighe, Turk, Louie Cruz,Terrance Mullin, Jimmy Parker, Joe Ciazzo, Chris Logan, Danny Conlon, Gigs, Paul Daly, Warren Whitlock and many others. I recall former Seton Hall Pirate Danny Callandrillo showing up. Every time I looked at him I thought of watching him on TV.
At the time I was still active, getting up and down the floor but I could tell my skills weren’t up to par with some of these guys in their 20’s, 30’s and a few in their 40’s. I was going against guys who were very good in high school. Some even played college ball. I watched almost all of them do work at the high school and college levels. I needed to stay in shape to keep up and not embarrass myself but it gets harder as you get older. Guess it comes down to pride and discipline.
In a month I will turn 58, these days it’s a struggle to stay in shape. I lift light weights, eat well and do some walking. It’s hard but you have to keep at it. Never give up. Keep going.
I miss the run at Ford. I think about it often. There were also other Saturday morning runs around the city where you could find a good game. Staten Island. East 5th street. Manhattan Beach just to name a few.
I miss the question, “who got next?” By the way, probably the three greatest words in basketball.
I miss running the break.
I miss sharing the ball, screening away for a teammate and most of all, competing.
I’ll always love the game of basketball. Your days are numbered. Make the most of it when you get a chance to play the ultimate team sport. If I could turn back the clock I would have worked harder on my game. I would have been a better teammate and put much more time in to improve.
Hope all is well.
Have a great weekend.
-Red
E-Mail: SteveFinamore@yahoo.com