Playing with players who are very negative

[CODE][/CODE]So here and then I would commit a turnover, but what just annoys me even more is having another player in the team who would show visible signs of annoyances, like saying unhelpful comments, or just making annoying gestures. On the other hand when this guy makes a mistake, instead of complaining, I would keep playing the game and cover his mistake.

How do you guys deal with these type of players? I have told him to take it easy but wasn't very directive on saying that his actions are very annoying and not helpful during the game.

I think the best course of action may be to find a way to not let those types of negative actions from others bring you down. From my experience, there's not a ton that can be done to limit or completely remove a negative player's likelihood to engage in negative actions, even toward his own teammates.

I played varsity basketball as an underclassmen, which I thought was a much bigger deal than it actually was. As such, initially, I treated my upperclassmen teammates as superiors. Every time I took a shot, even if I was wide open, I'd scan the floor and gauge the emotional responses of my teammates if I missed. If I saw any hint of frustration, it affected me and greatly reduced my offensive aggressiveness as a result.

Ultimately, I discovered that I had to reason with myself. I had to trust that I was trying my best and attempting to maximize my own skill set as a means of helping my team win. And if a teammate struggled with that notion from time to time, I concluded that it was just too bad for them.

That attitude has carried over to the street and rec courts too. I haven't come across [i]too[/i] many players expressing extreme negativity directly toward me but in the few times it does pop up, I'm usually comfortable enough with my game and what I'm trying to do that it does not affect me much.

On the flip side, I stay honest with myself. I've had folks get negative with me at times when it was completely rightful (if, say, I take an awful shot and subsequently don't hustle back on defense) so I must be able to admit my own faults in that regard as well. If I do something stupid, I can sometimes expect someone to step up and state as such, and regardless of whether they're perfect or not, it doesn't make what I did any less wrong.

But yeah, [b]TL;DR[/b]: If you're playing hard and you're playing within yourself, and honest mistakes or shortcomings are occurring, just shake off the negativity. Some people just seem to be wired to be [i]that[/i] guy.

I do call you out if you are being a ball hog. If you weren't and you were trying to make a good pass, I'll say "it's all good"

If you are trying to drive or shoot while you are in a cluster of people and end up shooting in front of 2-3 people, I'm going to roll my eyes and say "pass the ball."

Depends on the scenario. If you aren't playing defense then I will say "get up on him."

I have been screamed at and even shoved by a teammate for not calling out picks (this is when I first started playing in 5v5 games in college). I didn't honestly know that people called out picks in game. I hit the game winner and then all of a sudden this dude was nice to me :rolleyes:. There were about 4 possessions that game that he refused to pass it to me despite the rest of our teammates telling him I've been wide open for like 4 out of the past 5 possessions.

You gotta just ignore it. Some guys gonna yell at you no matter what, just focus on YOUR game.

when I was younger it bothered my game, and I would just take it.

when I got a bit older and better, I would just talk ish back and point out their mistakes and tell them to shut up, or challenge them to a one on one and proceed to destroy them. Although if it came from a vastly superior player and the comment was warranted as in I made a bone headed play or was lazy on D, then I shut up.

now that I am really old, I just shrug it off. Or say I'll get it back on the next play.

The way you deal with people like that is to ignore them or if they keep persisting then ask them questions. Questions put you in the position of power because they have to answer them. If they don't answer them then they will be avoiding your challenge and it's over. Questions like "What's your deal/agenda? Does that work for you? What are you accomplishing?" It's all psychology. Ask them calmly but with some assertiveness like you need an answer.

That being said, it has nothing to do with you in the first place. People who are quick to place blame are making up for a lack of control they feel in their lives. What makes it uncomfortable is that they are pointing the finger at you drawing attention towards you... but if you don't get caught up in those feelings of the moment, the feeling like you need to defend yourself, then you can remain calm and almost laugh at the situation. The things people do to compensate for stuff is comical.

thanks a lot guys!

yea for the most part people ain't sayin shit to me unless they are my friend. And if they do... I'll generally reply. I can be a bitch. Dudes didn't show interest in inbounding me the ball, so I just went down into the post (haha.) Tall dude kept bringing it up the court, then he got tired of it. He was like U PLAYIN GUARD OR CENTER MAN??

I was like ya gotta give me the ball...

People talk. To me, I hate talk. I hate talking on D. I am not a normal person. I tend to receive a lot of information intuitively, people talking actually breaks my concentration. Obviously, I'm nice enough to say 'screen' tho.

But yea dudes are right... people are mad. They want a reason to bitch at you. I'd say don't ball with them. Be like nah I don't play with that dude he's always bitching.

I def see people do dumb shit but can just laugh it off. Was sitting back on a break with a guy from the other team, we made it maybe to the opposite 3 point line, cuz dudes were running and I knew dude wasn't gonna pass it. Watched him take a fade away over 3 people and air ball it... and we both kinda looked at each other like heh.

It's not that serious. Of course, if you're playing in a league that's different. But you should still try to handle that shit off the court.

-Smak