I love playing basketball. If I had every chance of playing one, I would most certainly try my best to join one. As many players whom I played with know, I am a three-point and defense specialist, sometimes likened to San Antonio Spurs' Bruce Bowen. And I love being called Carmilo (actually someone called me that when I was hitting almost every shot I took, and saw my Carmelo shoes in the process.)
A lot of memorable things happened when I played in a game:
1. I love the time when I made the final three to win the game for my team.
2. I made four of five threes in the game.
3. I managed to block taller players or taunting players.
4. I managed to tap the ball from the point guard, pass it to my teammate ahead and get the assist. (This happened twice)
But those were all non-tournament games. It's a different story when it's a competition.
The supposed team game is turned into a starting five game, with one or two people taking most of the shots, while the others are just fillers to fill up the five. The bench, well, they pay to join the tournament and get a team jersey just to sit down and watch the game.
I was always part of the bench. It's not fun.
All things keep running in my mind like: if it was me in there, I'll go here, I'll defend that guy, I'll take the three. All those "What I could have done and contributed" questions and statements will run across my mind. Any victories or losses the team gets, I just put up a feint smile or sadness because I know that I didn't contribute anything to notch up that win or loss. I am in the bench. Sure, I played for three minutes, but that isn't enough time for anyone to get warmed up and get used to the court, the atmosphere and everything. Plus, usually, anything I do in those three minutes tantamounts to nothing as the game has already been decided by then, or just to relieve someone in the dying seconds of a quarter.
Some of the frustrating things that happened to me in a tournament:
1. I was inserted in the dying seconds of a quarter then being pulled out the next deadball that happened around 20 seconds after.
2. I was inserted in the final ten seconds of the last quarter. I stepped into the court, then that was it.
3. I never got to play a single second in one game, even if the team was down by a large deficit in the dying minutes of the last quarter.
One bright spot that I had in a tournament that I was leading the assist leader board for half the entire length of the IAC. hehehe... Consolation: 2/3 tournaments I played in won first (And I have a gold medal to show off) and second place.
I feel like Darko Milicic of the Detroit Pistons. I don't even care now if my team wins or not, or if even we reach the championship.
I just want to play.
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