Dallas Hoop-It-Up: Game 1

The first game at HIU is always pretty interesting. One of my teammates was a guy I hadn't seen in about six years. The other I hadn't seen in about two, and the other guy I had never even met. This was our first game together and we decided to do a little pick-and-roll away from the ball routine to try to get some open shots. My teammates were shooters, not dunkers; guys with good fundamentals. I don't mind this kind of a team at all.

Our opponents looked like some decent ballers. The competition in our division was pretty tight this year and this team was no exception. We were matched up good with them except for one bigger guy they had, a heavy-set dude that could camp out in the lane like a mack truck. Guys that take up that much space down low are always tough to defend against in 3 on 3 half court. We handled him though. He wasn't that much of a scoring factor for them.

We started out a little jittery but got in the groove pretty quick. This game was just a series of trading licks. This team didn't look like guys that would light you up from three point land but that's exactly what they did. We went shot for shot with them though. My teammates were hittin' from the outside and I was the only one who would take it to the hole. I got most of my points off of put backs or quick moves to the basket. I did hit one from behind the three point line though.

For a first game, this one was tiring. It seemed to go on forever. They stayed a point or two ahead of us the whole game and we ended up losing 20-17. If anything I think we just got out hustled. I think our team played a little too conservative and textbook, probably too many passes and waiting to long for the "perfect" shot. That kind of play may work ok indoors with a referee and 5 on 5, but street ball is different. You've gotta be able to improvise.

We had a pretty respectable game and our scoring was pretty even between three of us. Of course we were pissed that we lost but really didn't feel too bad about this one. They were a good team and it was really anyone's game. Everyone was cool. This was a good warm up. Next game was in an hour.