To gifted athletes, and to those who simply love the game!
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Shawn and I played basketball in junior high and then started on the same high school team. Neither of us was good enough to play D1 ball. Besides, we both earned academic scholarships. Our plan was to go pre-law in political science, go to law school and then practice law together.
Those academic goals didn't get in the way of some serious intramural ball. We teamed up with a few other guys and two years in a row played--and lost--the campus championship game. Still, we were one of the last two teams still playing, and we had a great time.
We played a little less in law school. No decent intramural program there, so we tried the city rec league. Too many guys there who thought they should have been recruited by Kansas and were out to prove it in the rec league! That and abysmal officiating. Near fights a couple of times and we were out of there.
Shawn was dating another law student, Lindsay. She had actually played D1 ball. She didn't start, but saw decent playing time. At 5'8" she was too short to play the 4 or 5, couldn't shoot well enough for the 3 or 2, and as for point, well, she wasn't quick enough.
The main point is--she played. That's more than we did!
Shawn and Lindsay came over one day to talk to me about playing coed ball in the rec league. I had never played, but they said it had some advantages. No more than three men on the court at one time for a team, which meant always three. A man can't block a woman's shot--automatically counted as a goal if he touches it.
They said the wannabe Jayhawks would never be caught dead playing coed. Shawn had tried it and had a great time. I was a little skeptical, because I figured he was scoring on Lindsay--on and off the court. However, I agreed to try.
I loved it!
We figured we could use Lindsay for a lot of scoring. Most of the women guarding her would be shorter, and probably not quicker in the rec league. We came up with several plays for her that involved setting a high screen or down screen to free her for her shots. She could also hit Shawn or me or Bill, our third guy, for an outside shot or cutting to the rim if we weren't the one setting the screen.
It worked beautifully. We beat the first four opponents by 20 or more, and Lindsay went off on them.
In the fifth game, we met another unbeaten team. On our first possession, I set a high screen for Lindsay. She was being guarded by #12--I didn't know her name, but she was a feisty, quick player. Blond and about 5'6".
I set the pick and Lauren cut off it perfectly. Tight enough to me so #12 couldn't squeeze past me with her. Instead, she smacked right into me and dropped to the floor. It wasn't a foul on me--I set a solid screen. The officials didn't bother to whistle her--pity I suppose. There was a whistle right away, but it was someone else who fouled Lindsay on her drive to the bucket.
I reached down and extended my hand to help her up. She accepted the help with a big smile, then whispered in my ear.
"Next time you set a pick on me, I'm going after your family jewels."
She gave me that cute smile and turned to head to the midcourt line while waiting for the free throws. I took my spot on the side of the key thinking, "What the hell?" Lindsay hit them both.
A couple of minutes later, I set a down screen for Lindsay. Number 12 was clearly unwilling to duck under my screen. She knew Lindsay would just pull up and shoot, and she was a lock from there. Instead, she headed right for me... well, for a part of me!
My hands were over my groin, which was a good thing, because my hand hurt like hell after her knee hit it. That time she got whistled--and a warning from the ref. She walked over and shook my hand. Another whisper, delivered with a big smile for everyone to see.
"Name's Ellie. You're Daren, right?"
I nodded. I have only rarely been intimidated by another player, but she succeeded!
The next pick I set, Lindsay was sloppy and didn't cut tight enough. Ellie pushed right over my pick, reached out and slapped the ball away.
I had never seen a woman play tougher in a coed game.
Ellie quickly realized Lindsay was not a threat to pull up and shoot on a high screen, so she ran around those, quick enough to be right back on Lindsay. The next time I set a low pick, Ellie squeezed through again and Lindsay was lucky to get a shot up, although it missed.
Ellie walked by me and whispered, "Daren, you set a good pick. Not your fault she cut badly."
Meanwhile, Ellie was slicing and dicing through our defense. She was too quick for either of our women and scored a lot of points. She also racked up 11 assists. A double-double.
Fortunately, Shawn was going off against the guy defending him, although that use of 'defending' suggests actual efforts to prevent Shawn from scoring. There was little of that.
In the second half, with us leading by 4, Ellie plowed into me again, and fell to the floor, hard. Lindsay scored, and one of the refs whistled for an official's timeout. I reached down to help her up. She grimaced and said to give her a few seconds.
After being down about 30 seconds, she got up and walked around for a minute but stayed in the game. She came over and shook my hand. Another whisper.
"Are you going to ask me out, or what?"
I looked into her eyes. This time I wasn't looking into the eyes of a stone-cold defensive player. It was a cute girl I saw.
"Wait for me after."
We capitalized on two consecutive turnovers and scored fastbreak points. We ended up winning by 8.
After showering, I came out to the gym. Ellie was there, smiling.
"Hey, Daren! Good game. Your hand ok?"
"I am pleased to say my hand will recover. Had you connected with your target, I might be walking funny."
Ellie put her hand over her mouth, laughing.
"Sorry. I get a little competitive."
"Did you play ball somewhere?"
"Yeah. Gonzaga."
"Seriously?"
"Why would I make that up? Easy to check."
"Did you start?"
"Not as a freshman."
"You started for three years? Shooting guard?"
"Driving, shooting, passing. Kinda like tonight."
"If I Google your name, what honors will I find?"
"All conference. 2nd team as a sophomore. 1st team the other two years."
"We were lucky to win tonight."
"Not really. You guys have a good scheme, and I only have one teammate with any shooting skills. But you wanted to ask me out, right?"
I was laughing.
"You prefer a direct line through the defense! I love it. Ellie, how would you like to go to dinner with me tomorrow night?"
"I'd love that. Can we go to a nice place and dress up? I have a little black dress that looks a lot better than my sweats."
"All right, I'll wear a suit. Pick you up, or meet?"
"I've asked around. You're an attorney. Good reputation. I'll text my address."
"I don't know anything about you, except you're one hell of a player. What's your last name?"
"Worthington, but my playing name was Jackson."
We exchanged numbers and walked together to the parking lot.
"You know, Daren, we'll probably meet in the title game. You might want to be nice to me."
With that, she got in her car--a Lexus--and drove away.
I hadn't noticed, but Shawn and Lindsay were standing in the shadows about 20 yards away.
"Dude, she's kind of a babe and kind of scary, rolled into one. Which one are you taking out?"
"Whichever one likes to wear a little black dress."
"No shit? She's psycho!"
"She wanted a nice restaurant for dinner tomorrow night so she can wear her LBD. That's all I know."
Lindsay was laughing. "Recruit her!"
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I went home and made a reservation at a local, high-end restaurant. These days, people show up in all kinds of casual, but at least this place rejects shorts and t-shirts!
