Old, Slow, & Wise

Thursday nights provide an ego boost for Wade. That's the night when a group of teachers, ranging in ages from 28 to 50, get together and destroy young, overly self-confident teenagers in a weekly game of pick-up basketball.

Wade and his new friends play against the varsity boys basketball team. And the old guys keep winning, handily and consistently. The faculty plays slow, sets screens, passes a lot, and packs in a tight 2-3 defense.

The varsity boys, on the other hand, play fast and impatiently. They don't play help-side defense, nor "hedge" the screeners, nor box out, nor v-cut to get open, nor pass and screen away. Some of them are big kids, but they're not physical. Some of them have basketball skills and quickness, but they don't use it properly.

The way the kids play over here (and maybe in most places, nowadays) is to pass twice, drive to the basket, and throw up a shot while everybody else stands and watches.

And so the faculty team keeps winning.

After a couple of weeks of beating the varsity boys basketball team, the school held its annual faculty vs. students co-ed basketball game. The outcome was a given. The faculty once again beat the high schoolers.

It feels great when old, slow, and wise beats young, fast, and impatient.