Story by: Gail Nobles

Hello! I’m Gail Nobles on EPS. Today’s topic: Country Hoops.

They always talk about Streetball and asphalt, but I never hear about basketball in the country on the grass. Well, I don’t have to hear about it. I know about it. They talk about Dr. J at the Rucker Park and how he drew a crowd. How people were sitting up in the trees to watch him play. But when you play basketball on the grass surrounded by trees, it’s hard.

Guys and girls would come to my house to play ball with me and my brother. They were pretty good, but when you’re used to playing on a gym floor or on asphalt, it’s not as easy to dribble the ball playing on grass. And we tried bouncing the ball on the grass so much until after awhile, it got easier because the grass started dying. After awhile, there was nothing but a big circle of dirt where we bounced the ball the most.

Whenever we would try to shoot some hoops, there was a big tree over the basketball goal. It’s branches would block some of our shots. The branches were like long arms in our way, but all those obstacles trained us more how to play.

I’m Gail Nobles, and you’re listening to Entertainment Podcasting Sports.