"It's a question of character, of friendship. Hell, Leo, I ain't afraid to say it, it's a question of ethics." --Giovanni Gaspari
I'm back to lunchtime hoops after a two-week layoff due to teaching responsibilities. And this has reminded me of one of the great character tests that sports provide. Imagine that you're playing basketball, but are too tired to keep running with the fast break in both directions. You can't quit without pissing everybody off, though, and there's no-one you can have sub in for you. What do you do?
This question is a nearly infallible test of a person's character. Except for those annoying bastards who are in such good shape that they never get tired of running. You never can tell what those guys will do.
Humanities & Social Science
Comments
I've never played basketball - which of those is the 'person of good character' correct choice?
Posted by: oscarzoalaster | November 6, 2009 2:45 PM
The correct answer isn't on the poll:
This is basketball! Keep running anyway until you collapse from exhaustion.
Posted by: Roadtripper | November 6, 2009 3:07 PM
Depends on how the game is going. If you've got teammates who want to run a fast break offense, let them run and walk it up. But if everyone else is gassed as much or more as you are, one person running can contribute a lot of scoring. Also, if you are significantly more skilled at one end of the court than the other, that could make an effect.
But my method is to whine until we switch to half court.
Posted by: clark | November 6, 2009 3:20 PM
Good guards will slow down the offense when they realize their teammates are sufficiently exhausted to prevent them to return to the defensive side quickly enough.
Posted by: A | November 6, 2009 4:18 PM
We have a bunch of liars here. 28 vote for playing defense and 0 for playing offense. I have seen enough people who won't play defense to know a lot of people are not being honest!
But me....I would 'actually' play defense! haha
Posted by: Steven | November 6, 2009 4:22 PM
You didn't list half-assing it in both directions, which is probably what happens most commonly (at least in soccer). Second most common occurrence is not playing defense (I think there are liars here, too).
You didn't list what you interpret as the personality for each part of the poll...
Posted by: Steve | November 6, 2009 5:13 PM
I voted based on what I do in a hockey game where we have no subs, since I don't actually play basketball.
Posted by: Natalie | November 6, 2009 6:12 PM
I've only ever played defence because I'm short so no change:)
Posted by: cass_m | November 6, 2009 7:31 PM
I actually do play defense when I get tired. But another option is to get the defensive rebound and take the point for that possession and walk it upcourt. Not only does this let you play offense, but it can give you enough rest to catch your wind.
I think guards, who only run between the three-point arcs, don't know how tiring it is to play in the post and have to run the full court every possession. Not to mention all the pushing under the basket. As a post player, I never realized this either until one time I had to play the point in an intramural game, and I was fresh enough to play almost the whole time.
Posted by: Excited State | November 7, 2009 7:41 PM
I said play D and walk up on offense but its a bad question. If I am gassed most of my team are too. You have to go at your opponents pace when they are on O but when you have the ball the whole team is going slow. That is generally what happened in games as I got older.
Posted by: Markk | November 8, 2009 10:15 PM
When you're too old to get by on schoolyard improvizational brio, get crafty. Do the Math.
Nothing But Net: The Physics Of Basketball Free Throws
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106201101.htm
"First, the engineers say that shooters should launch the shot with about three hertz of back spin. That translates to the ball making three complete backspinning revolutions before reaching the hoop. Back spin deadens the ball when it bounces off the rim or backboard, the engineers assert, giving the ball a better chance of settling through the net."
"Where to aim? Tran and Silverberg say you should aim for the back of the rim, leaving close to 5 centimeters -- about 2 inches -- between the ball and the back of the rim. According to the simulations, aiming for the center of the basket decreases the probabilities of a successful shot by almost 3 percent."
"The engineers say that the ball should be launched at 52 degrees to the horizontal...."
Posted by: Jonathan Vos Post | November 9, 2009 10:22 PM