What happened to pickup basketball?

What happened to pickup basketball games in Berkeley?

From the late 70s to the late 80s, I cruised Berkeley looking for pickup games of basektball that provided a good game without too much tension. A little tension was good, though. At various times, I played in games at Ohlone, Live Oak, parking lot courts on Hearst, the Cal courts on Bancroft (gone), Marin School, Claremont Middle School and Willard. I paid to play at the Berkeley and Oakland YMCA and at Club Sport in Oakland's City Center.

This is a picture from Live Oak Park in 1980--strong players of all ages going at it. I lacked the confidence to join in.

Since the 90s, I have almost exclusively played in organized games with people I know. Mostly with white guys in my general age range.

I still keep an eye out for games--but they are few and far between. Ocassionally three on three games break out at Cordonices, Ohlone or Live Oak, but the quality and frequency of games seems to have dropped considerably.

At left, is a game on April 29 at Live Oak. A bunch of white guys who played poorly. I decided I'd have more fun shooting around than trying to join in. Less chance of injury, too.

The last time I played at Ohlone, the first game was at a high level. College guys touching the rim who probably all knew each other. The game ended and they left en masse. The game changed into a halfway house outing with a mixed-bag of players some who couldn't hit a layup.

What happened? I think there are many factors, and few them reflect well on where our society is headed.

Some kids play, but even the best outdoor games I have seen in the last few years were organized at People's Park as part of the Twi-Lite Basketball program. These are "organized" pickup games.

Here are four eighth graders who played with the big boys last summer at People's Park Twi-Lite league. Of course, they knew the organizers.