Pickup basketball is back at O’Pake Recreation Center, and Aidan Long ’22 is thrilled.
Long has been playing pickup ball at O’Pake since his first year at St. Joe’s and said he missed the game when COVID-19 restrictions sidelined the activity during the last year.
“It’s such an easy way to work out and to meet new people,” Long said.
In pickup basketball, teams generally range from one to five people, and games end when a team reaches a certain score, usually 11 or 21.
At O’Pake, games are most likely to happen over the weekend, Long said, but players can usually find a game taking place just about every day.
Public Safety Officer Eugene Hawkins works at the O’Pake front desk and said most of the action takes place in the afternoon.
“After two or three o’clock, it picks up a lot,” said Hawks [no pun intended].
O’Pake features two gyms, each with three full courts, and the players who use them said there is plenty of space for multiple games, with room to spare.
The fact that the gyms are rarely crowded is a bonus for Michael Graber ’24.
“It’s like a guaranteed gym,” Graber said. “You don’t have to interfere with the limited space at a park.”
But for Long, the best part is the companionship the game offers.
“For people who maybe are more introverted, it’s a good way to just go to the gym and just shoot around,” said Long. “Someone’s eventually going to come up to you and ask you if you want to play.”
