Hoop It Up

By Mark Guillory

The anticipation was over and the day had finally arrived; it was game time. Hoop It Up was back in Houston and teams from all over the state of Texas came to compete for city champs.
For the second straight year, Hoop It Up teamed up with the Houston Rockets to play what is referred to as the Blacktop Battle. The tournament took place downtown outside of the Toyota Center March 21 and 22.
Team Living Proof was just one of the many teams competing in the Blacktop Battle and they wanted to win like everyone else. Living Proof last won their division in 2002, in the Dome Ball 3-on-3 basketball tournament, at Reliant Stadium.
The guys that assemble team Living Proof have been playing together in Hoop It Up since 1998. I happen to be a (sometimes) proud member of team Living Proof, which is the most recent name we use; we have also been B-Ballers, K-Mart Special, Six-Pack Attack, Team Crump and Team Hunt.
Some of our past performances have led us to change our team name out of fear of being tagged losers; we simply ditch our name and start with a fresh one. This has not worked recently and has just cost us more money buying jerseys.
One of the major problems the team struggles with is practicing, or our lack of practicing. Regrettably, the last time Living Proof played together was at the Hoop It Up in Austin in June 2008.
We intended to practice; we even set up meetings at places like Buffalo Wild Wings, Bayou City Wings and Hooters to arrange practice dates. Showing up for the meetings has never been a problem, but something always went wrong when it was time to show up for practice.
Despite our past struggles, we were positive this year; this could be our time to shine again. Unfortunately, we were immediately hit with a major hurdle; we were forced to move up in brackets to the 6 feet and over division.
Hoop It Up is broken down into several different divisions so everyone can play. We have always competed in the 6 feet and under bracket but they have now changed the rules to where if one player is 6 feet tall the team must compete in the 6 feet in over bracket.
At 6 feet tall, I am the tallest person on our team and the reason we had to move up in divisions. It was a situation that was totally out of my hands. It was, however, too late to complain about practices, height and divisions as it was time to play ball. Our first game was at 8:30 a.m. at court 21.
I really couldn’t tell you how this game went because practicing is not our only issue. Some of the team members, including myself, have had problems showing up on time for games. The snooze button on the alarm clock had me running really late this particular day.
While hurrying to get downtown, I got a call from one of my teammates, Delon Guy, who was also running late. Things were falling apart already. Delon and I happen to be the two tallest guys on the team.
I showed up at the Toyota Center at about 9:20 a.m.; free parking was offered at the Toyota Tundra parking garage. After I parked and came off the elevator, I was amazed to see all the people playing basketball on the streets downtown.
Sadly, by the time I found court 21, it was too late. My team had already played their first game. They were, to say the least, outmanned. Delon had yet to arrive downtown as well, so it left our team with just three starters and nobody coming off the bench.
“They were just too big and we could not do anything with them down low,” said Living Proof teammate and Captain Kevin Crump. “Every single guy on their team was taller than every one of us.”
There was no time, however, to pout. Another Hoop It Up rule had changed this year: every player had to check in at the headquarters tent. Players had to sign a waiver, verify what team they played on and receive a wristband before they could play.
Delon finally showed up. We both had to hurry up and check in because our next game was starting at 10:30 a.m. at court 25. We signed our waivers, got our bands and headed off to find court 25 for our next game.
We were at full strength and as ready as we could be for the moment. We played hard to the very end, but could not hang on to the lead. Toward the end, we started to fade. Our inability to guard the 2-point shot caused us to lose by five.  
Once again, this year we found ourselves down but not quite yet out. We were in a 2-point hole and needed a victory bad. Our next game was only an hour away and our bodies were aching.
In between games most players like to watch other games until their game starts. We watched a team called Papa’s Players, since their bracket was playing on the court next to ours. They were playing in a 6 feet and under 19–29 year-old division, but despite all their players being less than 6 feet tall, they were dunking the ball.
“We all play above the rim on our team,” Papa’s Players team member Justin Douglas said. “We are going to win this whole thing.”
After watching Papa’s Players win their game it was time for us to find court 25 for our last game of the day against a team called Good Grubbin.
It was obvious that we had finally shaken off some rust in our last game on Saturday. We dominated the whole game until the end, with 30 seconds left in the game and up by two, it all started to unravel for us.
Like so many times before, we could not hold the lead. We had two straight turnovers, they hit one basket and then we were only up by one. Then the unthinkable happened – with only 15 seconds left, we turned the ball over and they ended up hitting a two-point shot to give them the final lead 15 – 13.
Another unsuccessful tournament, but we were not alone. The young guns with all the talent – Papa’s Players – also were eliminated. The agony of defeat hurt a little more for them because they had come all the way from Austin to compete in the tournament.
“I can’t believe we lost,” Papa’s Player team member Deshaun Blackshear said. “I just can’t believe it’s over.”
As for team Living Proof, it is on to San Antonio from here in June and this time we are going to practice. Before we practice, however, we need to have a team meeting at Buffalo Wild Wings and discuss practice dates. It is also about time for a name change; Living Proof hasn’t worked out too well.
It’s strange, but for some reason after this tournament I don’t feel 6 feet tall anymore. Maybe I need to measure myself again; people do tend to shrink when they get older. Something tells me I’m going to be only 5 feet 11 inches for our next tournament.