Brady’s junior year basketball team hasn’t been as successful as they anticipated. They thought they had a good team, and perhaps they did, they just struggled to win games. The Michigan High School Athletic Association’s tournament begins for them on Wednesday so perhaps tournament time will be kinder than the regular season. Time will tell.
Ruth and I have watched the games via streaming services and have lived and died with each shot. While I’m not a basketball expert, I think most games they lost were lost in the first quarter. The opponents garnered too large a lead for Brady and his crew to overcome. I think if we studied the stat sheets for each game, we’d find Brady’s team won the second through fourth quarters most of the time. Their first quarter hole was just too deep, and I blame that on the coach. You’ve got to do a better job of using your personnel if you want to win the game.
Like his dad, Brady is a good player who hopes to play college ball. He’s had some inquiries from schools looking to put together a winning team. I was never good at basketball. My go to shot was a two-handed set shot. They went out of style decades ago along with the one-handed push shot and the hook shot.
I did score six points during a donkey basketball game when I was an elementary school principal. This was in the late seventies. Donkey basketball is a variation on the standard game of basketball played on a standard basketball court, but in which the players ride donkeys. The elementary school staff played the members of the Devils Lake Men’s Club. We were trying to raise money for a school reading project and opted for the donkey basketball game.
As the high school basketball season draws to a close, and the tournament season begins, I flashbacked to the several summers that my son, Michael, schooled his nephew on the court. They competed against each other for several years, going at it one on one at Brady’s northern Michigan cottage and our winter home in The Villages. David and Sutton joined in the fray, but it was Michael who set the tone for the competition. I was recruited to act as referee.
A couple of years ago, Michael realized that “his” time was coming to a close. He wasn’t going to be able to beat his nephew much longer, so he set out to “retire” with one last good game. He dressed the part, wearing short shorts, a head and wrist bands, and an old school basketball shirt. It was a hard-fought game, and Michael emerged victorious. At the end of the game, the triumphant Michael ripped off his shirt, and ran it up the flagpole for all to admire. It was his way of saying “so long” to the hard-fought battles with his nephew.
As I conjecture forward, I believe there will come a time when Brady gets his revenge. As Michael’s son, Jackson, takes to the court, Brady will be sixteen years older. Brady and Jackson will have their time on the court together, playing one on one, to the bitter end. Who knows, perhaps the two-handed set shot, the one-handed push, and the hook shot will have made a comeback by then, and I’ll feel comfortable joining in. If we can find a couple of donkeys to ride it will be anyone’s game.