do u get scared to play new good players in a pickup game?

[DMizzle]

only if they are black i get a little nervous

[BlueandGold]

only if they are black i get a little nervous

lol i hope this is a joke

[therammingman]

Seriously, I caant do it.

Can't tell u how many times my friends have asked me to fill in for someone on their recreation team and I say no bc I'm scared....

I hate myself.

[L.Kizzle]

Seriously, I caant do it.

Can't tell u how many times my friends have asked me to fill in for someone on their recreation team and I say no bc I'm scared....

I hate myself.

Once you get some psuuy, you'll never be scared of anything again.

[G-train]

Seriously, I caant do it.

Can't tell u how many times my friends have asked me to fill in for someone on their recreation team and I say no bc I'm scared....

I hate myself.

All good man. I played ball for 2 years as a 13 year old and didnt take a shot. No confidence.

When I was 15 before a game I said as soon as I get the ball I'm gonna drive straight to the basket and lay it in. The tip went to me and I did just that. Scored about 14 points in that game. Went on to play at a pretty high level.

Just believe in yourself bro, ok to be nervous if you havent played much, but you have to decide in your mind that you are good enough and even visualise some plays you can make prior to playing.

Big thing is not to be too hard on yourself, and to play within your abilities.

Cant shoot? Play d and set screens. Be vocal. Make the right pass. High five. Heck some NBA players made a career outta that.

[L8k3r5]

I get amped up for it and play better. Think of it as a challenge.. that you're not about to let yourself get shown up and just do your best to hold your own man. If your shot isn't falling put 100 percent into defense and crashing the boards. Anyone can play basketball. I've taught friends to play that had never touched a ball. I just told them to work their ass off for rebounds and they made a huge difference right away.

Same here, if a player shows up who can compete with me I take it as a challenge and play hard against them. It makes you better as a player and its not a bad thing to have competition against you.

[Clippersfan86]

Seriously, I caant do it.

Can't tell u how many times my friends have asked me to fill in for someone on their recreation team and I say no bc I'm scared....

I hate myself.

I only get scared when playing in front of a big crowd the first few times. If you mean a regular pickup game dude.. nobody is watching really so just do your thing.

[LebronairJAMES]

Hell no. Throw some elbows, lower your shoulders and play ball.

you dont play basketball

[Bosnian Sajo]

Def get nervous, but Bball just like soccer is my passion :)

[The Macho Man]

Nah but I prefer playin people I know, go hardest against people I know and who are good. People who aren't that good I play incredibly bad defense against.

[IGOTGAME]

this question just sounds absurd to me because im usually one of the best people whereever I play. But recently(3 months ago), I gained 20 pounds so I was out of shape and and couldnt do all the things I wanted. I ended up playing pick up and going against an old friend who makes a living playing bball overseas and is also a pg. I end up guarding him all game and I still found myself going at him even though physically I just couldnt cut. It is just a mindset.

Moral of the story: Just compete. People will respect you for it. You can learn a lot about someone by seeing them on the bball court.

edit: where do people go where they don't play against new people regularly..I have been going to the same three parks for over a decade and it is an everyday occurance. Guess you guys are playing much pick up ball.

[Rake2204]

I feel a range of emotions before playing against new, unfamiliar players. The uncertainty of it all is what throws me off I think. I don't like the unknown. I don't want to give the wrong impression though. I always step up to the plate when I'm there in it. It's just the initial thoughts that run through my head are doubt, anxiety, nervousness, and yeah, maybe a little fear.

Over time I've become very accustomed to working my way through all those thoughts logically. There's so many reasons to never be scared of new good players. Even knowing many of my best basketball moments have come when I've played in new areas and/or against new good players I'd never seen before, those anxious feelings always sit in the back of my head anyway (prior to playing). I took solace in hearing Bill Russell's pre-game routine used to include vomiting in part due to anxiety.

To add to the ridiculousness, I have a court I always play at. It's local and it's sprinkled with a super wide variety of players. In fact, chances are good that I'm almost always one of the higher-end players there (which probably says something about this particular park). Anyway, when I'm playing down there, it's about as comfortable as I can get. It's my court. And yet, when I happen to drive by that court some days, and I see players down there playing I don't recognize (and they look skilled from my vantage point), that anxiety creeps right back in.

Thankfully, like others have said, all those feelings tend to propel me when the game actually begins. In the rarest of cases, when I'm in a completely new environment on my own, my mouth drys up from nervousness. That's not cool. I'm not sure if I'd chalk much of this up to fear though. I just take a lot of pride in my game and somewhere along the line, I developed a need for everyone to recognize that I'm good at the game of basketball. I've thought about being less emotionally needy than that, but I think it drives me to get better.

I've also come to the realization over the past 7 years or so that my ability is one that can functionally mix on most levels of basketball I'll ever come across. So, the old fear I probably developed as a young teen of "what if I'm just the worst player ever out there by far and they all hate me" is just about impossible now. Of course, if I happen to run into an open gym featuring 4 NBA stars, a couple of Euro-pros, and a couple college all-Americans, maybe my day of reckoning will have finally arrived. However, in most other basketball cases I think I'll ever come across, I'll at least be able to function adequately, and that's comforting.

[Burgz]

i play hard in general

if i had it in me to play hard against "new good players" i should have it in me to play hard all the time

[IGOTGAME]

i play hard in general

if i had it in me to play hard against "new good players" i should have it in me to play hard all the time

nah, I usually play really hard. People say I have always hustled a lot but it is just because I hate to lose.

But, if Im playing bums I don't go as hard because it is those type of people that hurt you. I also hate being guarded by midgets, it just isnt fun for me.

[Rake2204]

But, if Im playing bums I don't go as hard because it is those type of people that hurt you. I also hate being guarded by midgets, it just isnt fun for me.

While I find it true that players at or above our own level physically and psychologically leave us no choice but to push ourselves to the max, I still try to push myself just as hard when playing against so-called bums. As I alluded, I don't know if I can ever get to the same "push" level against less talented players, but I try.

As a player and coach, I used to have a real problem with players in our program who'd refuse to play against competition they didn't deem worthy. I've found that pushing against all levels of play helps you and it helps your opponents. Further, even if I'm being guarded by a horrible defender with wretched lateral quickness, I can still experiment with moves (while keeping an eye on his body's natural reaction) to develop and improve different aspects of my game.

And I know that's not exactly what you were speaking on IGOTGAME, but I just wanted to use your quote as a jumpoff point.