ONE ON NONE
There’s an old Junior High School in Santa Fe New Mexico that recently had it’s classroom space torn down and repurposed as a glorified storage container. It was an old school and it was born in the era of grand amenities like concession stands with picnic areas facing a full size football field, track, outdoor hoops, and playground. There is also a big, retro style basketball gym that boasts two mezzanines at either baseline of a hard, maple wood basketball floor. On one mezzanine there’s a boxing academy, with a ring, speed bags, sparring and bellowing coaches. On the other open air, second level overlook is a rag tag collection of a coach made batting cage, a slim three piece weight room, a treadmill, and a wrestling mat floor where I like to stretch before a hoop game. I’ll get there 45 minutes before tip off to lengthen the hammies, do my little plyometric jumps and get psyched before a big time, serious, rec league game. One day as I was suffering through an elongated quadricep stretch to help my surgically repaired left knee, in this contorted, PT prescribed, isometric hold, to prepare for some seriously mild basketball action, I noticed a boxer across the way, by themselves, jabbing and duking a heavy bag. In fact I noticed most of their session seemed to be solo work on various bags and even just fists fighting air. They were training for an upcoming title fight, I would later learn, and his intensity during this shadowed, one on none, boxing session was at once inspiring, terrifying and faintly nostalgic to me.
This long, lonely approach reminded me of a younger version of me going ham on some ‘one on none’ at Patrick Smith park back in the ‘05 era. “Paddy” Smith sits between Canyon road and a bend where Alameda street veers towards the hills and a scrawny Santa Fe River cuts a damp scar between the park and old elms near the street. One of the basketball goals on the two courts stands in front of a green wall disguising a chain link fence the city put up a hundred years ago. A desert vine that turned the old fence into a lush backdrop amidst Santa Fe’s aridness. It was an old concrete court back in ‘05 and still is last time I checked, but it butted up against the bottom of an acequia slope, and was lined with big shade trees and to me it was perfect.
But what is perfect? Practice? It makes better, sure, but perfect? No.
It’s time itself that is perfect, and that time is for practice, because the point of putting in hours of priceless time, playing one on none, isn’t to prove anything to anybody. It’s more about accepting and honoring the time it takes for creation, and about something more valuable than riches and stuff. It’s where you can work on a weakness, repeat it over and over just to find it, to practice it again, over and over until it isn’t a weakness anymore.
You hear there’s less and less of this self motivated, focus approach from young players these days. There seems to be more time given to organized “practice with purpose”, at game speed with what little court time you can get, and I get it. That’s fine if you want to participate. But to get better a player needs touches on their own time. I don’t want to think of the day we stop making time to work on our craft, whatever it is, with ourselves sometimes. We all do it. There must be some supernatural transaction from an imaginary time bank that enriches us with intangible, opulence for life. It unlocks something in us, like those people that say 10,000 hours of practice makes you a master. Me. I’m those people. I hope, and do still believe there’re more solo artists taking time to paint lonely spaces with fade-a-way j’s and crossovers where no one is ever crossed and there is no clock. It’s part of the reason so many find basketball.
It’s there. Even with no crowd, and it’s just one on none.
What’s your favorite one on none spot?
Weekly Recap: Week 4; Season 9
The League
Have you ever been camping with the fam in some beautiful wilderness and out of nowhere, a swarm of African honey bees descends on your shit and Dad starts swatting spatulas in the air with mildly sculpted biceps under a hairy, flabby layer, fueled by IPA’s? Well that was the scene Tuesday night under the lights as big Donnie “Shaggy” Ricker released multiple stings in the form of 23 pts, 4 rebs, 2 dimes and 3 thefts. On the Father’s side of the story, Steven “Seagal” Cordova receded his hairline to the tune of 21 pts and a rogaine’ian 20 rebs with a couple assists and steals in the Dad Bods 91-96 loss at the fate to the Killer Bees.
The offensive onslaught of the week came curtesy of Team Nuevo v Heatwave Tuesday around 7pm, with the contemporary task force going full team bueno and posting a hundred and twenty four points in the win. The biggest chunk of that number came straight from the game of Dom “Got A Crush On Sophie” Baca with 45 pts, 8 rebs, 6 dimes and a steal. Great shotmaking all game from both sides as Jonathan “Easy” Ealey hardly broke a sweat in amassing 33 pts 3 rebs and 3 helpers but not enough as the scorching palms acknowledged one hundred and two points and took the L.
Another scoring spree broke out in a Mob as the century mark bell rang again with Dom “The Archer” Roybal floating cheddar balls to target town all contest to the tune of 39 pts, 6 dimes, 3 rebs and 3 thefts. The lowly, depraved, deviants were Degenerative behind Mario “The Super” Archuleta’s 37 pts, 5 rebs and 4 assists in the 81-104 defeat.
Points continued stacking like overly caffeinated Gen Z baristas with our favorite coffee stop in town posting another hundo as Bev’s Ballers trounced the Silent Storm, 103-53. Bev’s dirty chai latte infused defense in addition to an all around banger from Lucas “Zoomer” Turner’s, 20 piece with 7 dimes, 6 rebs, 2 thefts and 2 ‘Tumbos, secured the tornado size blowout. The storm did manage to produce a few drops of rain in the physical manifestation of Shawn “Shush” Daniels and his 16 pts, 4 rebs, 2 assists and 4 steals.
It was a honey butter smeared on sopaipilla kind of night for those icons of Southwestern Style as they took advantage of an undermanned crew of little relevance and smoked them 97-59. The most drippy of honey smears was Cody “Him” Garcia with a sweet 29 pts, 7 rebs, a swipe and a swat. The unmattering from Team Irrelevant was palpable in the end but not before Finn “High Flying” Coles put on an aerial display of 29 pts, 7 rebs and 2 assists, then succumbing to the influencers of Santa Fe Style.
The Other League
The acronyms of solutions were on a lunch break so they decided to devour some Blakes Lottabuckets 74-60 before they go back to integrating projects with solutions or whatever they do. Greg “Capitol Ford” Trujillo was the hungriest with a double double lotta combo line of 15 pts, 10 rebs, 2 dimes and 2 thefts. Blakes did get some fine pinstripe and chef hat panache from Eli “Go ‘Zags” Dawson’s burger flippin’ 23 pt, 15 reb, 3 dime, 2 steal 40 min work shift. In the end though, IPS with a supersize win.
It was prime time at the parks for pick up ball and the legends were out as our 7pm contest got under way. Aron “A. A. Ron” Neely picked up some sick range from downtown to the tune of 20 pts on 6 for 10 from lala land plus 5 rebs and 3 dimes. For the Amazonians of the Deion Sanderson Mountains of Colorado, Kareem “Mess With You” Masibuwa led the excursion with 25 pts, 8 rebs and one assist but Prime Time took the L, 75-100 to Pick Up Legends.
Royalty was on rim protection Wednesday night as the Kings of ass put down a stingy defense to hold Nothing But Net to nothing but 40 points while they knighted their way to a pleasure filled 76 and an easy dub. Sitting the throne was once again Anthony “The Foreman” Salcido with double trouble energy and 16 pts, 12 rebs, 2 dimes and a steal. The whole concept of offense seemed to confuse the nothing but inept as the top scoring honors of 9 pts went to Nick “Cry Me A River” Rivera. Rim Job Kings with the convincing win.
The need for sacred symbolism was replaced by the consumerism of society as Temu Drip dropped prices, and buckets on Zia Elite’s four sided defense to sell the win 81-70 behind Christian “For Real” Farrar’s team high Jordan with 8 rebs, 4 dimes and 2 swipes on the night. Our pueblo ancestors did get a 30 piece from Oscar “The Deity” Nuñez on some sharp cheddar ball tossin’ but even with 6 rebs and 5 dimes, it wasn’t enough for the win.
Another week, another notch in raising the bar for The Standard as they managed a win over the undermanned units of Northern New Mexico 83-76. Daniel “Looping” Lopez led the balance bar of sharing and caring with a 20 piece, 11 rebs, 4 dimes and 2 swipes. With a few new units to plug the gaps in the area code they also got a gutsy effort from Mario “The Machine” Montaño and his 18 pts, 5 rebs, 2 assists and a steal in the L. Look out because the standard is being set.
The 35+ League
Game winning, Elam ending madness ensued as the original gangsters of hoop eeked out a win over those other veterans of violence to capture the turf war, 74-71. Yordy “Solo” Soto was responsible for the game winner as well as a game high 25 pts, 9 rebs, a dime, 2 swipes and a swat for the OG’s. Los Vets fought valiantly as ever with Captain Nick “3 and D” Williams locking down and getting up 17 pts, 9 rebs, 2 dimes, a steal and 2 ‘Tumbo’s in the loss.
Another nail bitter for the old heads as our pueblo friends from Zia Elite got back in the win column as they scratched out a win over Santa Fe Elite, 78-75. On a court of elites Matt “Validate Your Pass” Valdez was stamping tickets with conviction and conversions, 28 pts, 4 rebs, 3 dimes and a theft for the fantastic fours. Santa Fe’s first class got some lessons in snobbery and Star Wars from Luke “No It’s, No I Am Your Father” Wakefield’s 19 pts, 6 rebs, 2 dimes, 2 steal, 1 ‘Tumbo class act.
The coded hoss’ of cross fit did a burpee all over Nothing But Net like they were a sweaty yoga mat and their name was really ‘Nothing But Sweat’ on Wednesday night. Steven “Loco Seagal” Lovato disintegrated the nets with a 30 piece, plus 9 rebs, 4 dimes and one swipe. Despite the dubious namesake letting them down to defeat street with the 58-89 twamping, Julio “Dizzee Rascal” Rascon was able to conjure up his own 30 bucket with some 7 rebs, 3 assists and 2 steal effort in the L.
When a well choreographed flash mob breaks out in your town square or anywhere, it bears wondering, what inspired such an act? Integrated Project Solutions was one shot away from solving that conundrum before that door shut and the Mob took home a dub 94-91, in dramatic Elam ending fashion. On time with every move was Ben “The Commish” Ellsworth and an orchestrated 27 pt, 4 board, 3 dime, 2 steal night. The too long to spell, acronymous IPS squad got buckets from everyone but Steven “Shake And Bake” Cordova worked his way to a 26 pt, 11 reb double double with 4 assists and 5 steals to send this one down to the wire.
Thanks for a smooth week of good competition everyone!
Respect the game, Santa Fe Swish
