On this bright, sunny Saturday afternoon, I decided to take a drive out to College Park and watch my cousin play basketball at a Junior Nationals tourney...the experience forever changed my notion of a sport for which I never had much respect.

A few primary observations:
--UM is huge...impressive, but sadly ensures that no one on campus has any idea how to get anywhere. (I talked to four students at four different locations, who gave me four completely different sets of directions.) Either that or the campus isn't laid out very well. No offense. And their Web site's directions are just plain incorrect.

--Six-foot, five inch, sixteen-year-old girls are intimidating.

--College basketball coaches and scouts are human beings, not machines.

--I cheated the system and parked in the non-paying lot at the Comcast Center. And I don't feel any guilt.

I sat on the benches behind the basket to observe the game--two twenty-minute halves on a half-court--as my cousin's team from Philly played a group of short (relatively), pudgy girls from Pittsburgh (actually, one of them was really tall). The girls, all sixteen, were decked out in matching sneakers and uniforms. And by God, they could play basketball.

I always thought, watching pro basketball on television, that the game was all about the jump shot. All about the crazy ways to dunk a ball. All about the star players that carry their teams across the court to victory. Didn't look like it took too much raw talent or brains to be a superstar.

Now, mind you, I do not follow the sport at all, I didn't know the difference between a two- and three point shot until yesterday, and I could never play to save my life. So forgive my complete ignorance and the potential ridiculousness of my revelation.

Before, I thought it was a dull game with no point. But yesterday, I learned what a beautiful game it can be and what a valid point it has.

When you're watching sixteen-year-olds who put their social lives on hold for the love of the game, you see that it's not all about slam dunking...it's about the method and strategy leading up to the basket. It is almost as if scoring is an afterthought to a well-maneuvered series of passes. Players have to think on their feet and think damn fast. And not only that, they have to learn to read each others' minds. It is truly a team effort.

I remember not being able to take my eyes away from the action on the court. Players would pass the ball to each other seventy different ways as they made their way from basket to basket. A good pass was worth more than actually scoring. Play mind games with the other team. Brilliant!

None of the players was a ball hog or a prima donna. They high fived each other even if they missed a basket. There were players I thought to be more exceptional than others, but none of them seemed to let their individual talent get to their heads. Not an ego in sight.

At the same time, the individual player was singled out at this tournament, but it had nothing to do with that day's game.

Directly across from me, behind the other basket, sat a scattered host of individuals with brightly colored shirts and clipboards. These people did not take their eyes off the game either, except to scribble a note or two on a neon orange piece of paper on their clipboards. The scouts! Watching every move the players made, ready to throw full rides to the girls that most impressed them with their playing...holy intimidation, batman. But like I said before, they're human too. It's easy to forget that though, because at a tournament like this one, players, parents and friends are forbidden to have any contact whatsoever with the scouts.

My other cousin, D's sister, got a full ride to play div. 1 ball a year ago through this type of tournament.

D's team won the game by a single point. They played hard. The other team tried really hard to rally at the end, but they came up short. At the end, every girl walked off the court with a smile. I would be smiling too even if I lost...as long as I got to play a game I loved.

I even got to be a part of the game for a half a second when the ball bounced out of bounds at one point, straight into my hands. I tossed it to the ref like a pro. Woohoo!

Anyway, I digress. I have a new appreciation for basketball. (I still think pro players get paid too much, but I think that of most professional sports.) In its purest form, the game is amazing to watch and I'm sure amazing to play.