Basketball

Quite a bit has happened in the nearly two weeks since my last post. Firstly, the Lakers won the NBA championship- something that was extremely exciting for me, even all the way over in Durham. I watched every NBA Finals game live, with the tip off times either at 1:00AM or 2:00AM here. When the Lakers finally won the title, one week ago, I stayed up till nearly 6:00AM, calling friends and simply in too much excitement to sleep. I became a pretty serious Laker fan just before the three-peat era, so I got used to success, and the last 7 years had been tough. It's good to finally be back on top.

(Kobe and Phil share a moment, just after the final horn)

(The Big 4- Pau Gasol, Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom)

Easily two of the most exciting post-exam events here in Durham- our last college basketball game, and the Summer Ball- happened in these last few days. I'll write about the last basketball game today, and will be back with a write up of the summer ball and lots of photos later this week.

Much like my football team, our college basketball team endured a somewhat rough season. We needed a win in our last game of the season to avoid getting relegated to a lower league. The match was last Thursday. We were playing a very good team who was near the top of the league, but for once we had a full strength lineup- with some very good players. Because of other commitments or injuries, we were rarely able to field all of our top players- but we were undefeated when we did.

Here are some pictures taken from a friend who was at the match:

(Just before tip-off. I'm number 7 in the center)

(Bringing the ball up in the first quarter)



(Acting in my 'defensive specialist' role- applying some tight denial defense to the opposing team's best player)



(The Starting 5 walking off the court after a big 3rd quarter)



(I'm not totally sure what's going on in the picture, it looks like I might have blocked the shot)

(Posing with the scoreboard, after our biggest win of the season)

Because it was my last game, I was kind of nervous, and really wanted to do well. I was forcing it a bit too much early on, trying to make plays and score. I eventually settled down in the second half and started playing better. We pulled away in the third quarter and ended up winning 60-46, as shown above. I finished with 10 points and 6 assists. It wasn't my highest scoring game, but I think I played well, and we won- which is all that really matters. It was a great way to end the season. I'll certainly miss being a part of the team next year.

I'm really glad I got involved with college basketball this year. It was kind of a chance thing, I knew about the team, but did not join during the first few weeks of term. I met the team captain and a couple of players through a mutual friend back in November, and we got to talking about basketball. I was pretty busy with school, trying to settle in, and playing football, and wasn't planning on joining the basketball team. Plus I'd already missed a match or two.

But the guys I talked to were really nice, and it was exciting to be talking about and thinking about one of my favorite sports again. Basketball is not that popular here, but it's important to me, and was great to be around people who appreciated it as much as I did. It was great talking about the Lakers, the NBA and just the game in general. They really tried to convince me to attend a few trainings, and see if I liked it. I was worried that had a false impression about me, due to my accent. I tried to explain that I was not very good- I just loved the game. But they weren't buying it- they insisted that the standard was pretty low.

I started going to the practices, and immediately loved it. I may have a few talents in life, but rarely do I get the chance to truly excel at something, or arguably be 'the best' at something. The level of play/knowledge of the game was much lower than I imagined. I was immediately one of the better players, which was certainly something new for me. I enjoyed playing two or three times a week, and watching myself get better. Even more fun for me though, was the chance to help other players. Alot of the team had not played for very long, if at all, or didn't really understand certain rules. I'm hardly an amazing player, but I do pride myself on knowing alot about the game. I think my biggest contribution to the team was knowledge/experience. It was great to be able to give small pointers, help show the correct way to take a jump shot or a layup for example, how to execute a zone defense, how to run a pick and roll, among other things.

The team was also a great group of guys, and much of the basketball team became some of my best friends here in Durham. Overall, it was a great experience, and probably even more rewarding than playing for the college football (soccer) team.

Thanks again for reading. I'll be back soon with a write up of the biggest social event of the year- The Summer Ball- and lot's of pictures.

Summer

Well, I finally made it. I'm on summer break. I finished last Friday afternoon, and have really been relaxing and enjoying summer since. Overall, the exams went much better than I expected. I feel like I did well, and I did my best on every exam. I don't really know what to expect in terms of grading though, so anything could happen. We don't find out our scores for a few weeks.

Even though everyone is now done with exams, the year is far from over. The term doesn't officially end until June 26th, and the majority of students stick around until then. It's quite a contrast to Santa Cruz, where I have literally been in the car driving home within hours of finishing my last exam. Here it's very relaxed, everyone is excited to stick around, and hang out with their friends without the pressure of school and exams.

So although there are no academic commitments left, it's not as if I'm sitting around doing nothing. There are tons of events and trips over the next few weeks. There are outdoor concerts, formal meals, sports team socials and the summer ball. I've also been doing less formal things, like going over to friends houses, playing casual soccer and basketball, and leaving Durham on short excursions.

On Monday I went to a nearby beach with some friends. We went to Tynemouth beach, which is about an hour away by car. The weather hasn't been great lately, but luckily it was decent on the beach day. It was mostly sunny, but a bit chilly, probably low 60s. It was a very nice beach, with tons of sand and decent waves. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the water was freezing. Not literally, but it was pretty cold. It is the North Sea afterall.







We hung out for a while on the beach, soaking up the sun, playing soccer and American football, and just doing beach-like things.



Finally a few of us gathered up the courage to go in. I just wanted to be able to say I had dunked myself under at least once. The temperature actually wasn't too bad. It wasn't much worse than the Pacific, when I went swimming in January. It was pretty painful at first, but after splashing around for like 5 minutes, I sort of got used to it. Maybe I was just numb. Either way, it was okay for a little bit, but then when it started to get really cold again, I got out.

(That's a pained expression, if I've ever seen one!)

I felt really good while drying off, and then resting in the sun. But within 10 minutes, I started to feel really cold again, and had to put on my shirt and hooded sweatshirt. I kept shivering randomly every once in a while the rest of the day. Maybe it wasn't the most healthy thing in the world, but it was certainly refreshing, and now I can say I've swam in the North Sea.

After a while longer on the beach, we went and played some Mini-Golf at a picturesque course on the cliffs overlooking the ocean.






It was a really fun day, even with the less than ideal conditions. If the weather gets better, we're planning on going back up there again. Tomorrow I'm going back to Newcastle, next week we have our last Basketball match, and the Summer Ball, among other events. I've also been able to watch every Laker game since I've been done with exams, and have stayed up for every NBA Finals game so far. I even stayed up till 5:00AM the morning before my last exam, watching game one of the NBA Finals. It wasn't an easy decision, but seems to have been the correct one- with a big win for the Lakers, and a good performance by me on the exam.

I'll be back with more summer activities and photos soon.