One thing is for sure is there will always be one person calling you out for a game.

I’m sure that anyone who enjoys basketball has been involved in a pickup game before. Pick-up basketball is the sport at its best. There are no plays being run, no coaches shouting out instructions, and clearly no referees calling fouls and managing the game.

Pickup basketball is all about being creative on the court and just being spontaneous. At the Klotsche Center, pickup hoops is no different.

Most often, students come in between classes or when they are finished for the day. Some come just to shoot around and end up getting in a game and others bring a couple friends and look to run the court for an hour or so. I have played at the Klotsche Center for most of my college career and you can get in some pretty competitive games, depending on who is in the gym. The one problem that has plagued pickup basketball is that everyone is usually clustered on the court.

By this I mean standing around whining at each other about fouls or lack thereof. Everyone who has played pickup ball has experienced this. You drive to the hoop, get hammered, and there is no foul. While playing up at Klotsche, I have had my shirt pulled nearly off my back and the guy covering me stated “that’s basketball.”

If that’s basketball, I want to get a game of football going down there someday.
The games aren’t all bad. It’s just the time spent waiting on a game that’s bad; these people are clearly not ready for the NBA anytime soon, so when they spend the majority of their time crying about fouls, it extends the waiting time.

That’s the one complaint I do have with playing pickup basketball: sometimes the competition isn’t the greatest and the flow of the game suffers.
One thing is for sure: There will always be one person calling you out for a game. His name is Mike and this guy probably loves basketball and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee more than I do…and that’s saying a lot. Mike has been a helper to a lot of the UWM athletic teams, mainly men’s basketball. If you have ever been to a men’s basketball game you have probably seen Mikey sitting behind the bench, running to greet the students when the team runs out, or shooting a couple hoops in between half-time. Mike isn’t the greatest player in the gym, but he is always down for a game and he’s got more heart and drive than anyone in that gym.
If you are looking for a more competitive game, you can score that at the far ends of the courts. Most Fridays host a solid group of guys that show up almost every week ready to play.

The best time to come up if you are looking for a game is around 11 a.m. on Fridays. During the week after 4 p.m. would be your best bet; this is the time when most people are done with class and ready to hit the court.

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