London

My London experience was a huge disappointment as the group I played with was probably the worst group of ballers I’ve gone up against. Maybe because I expected a certain level of talent, so while it may not have been for me, I am sure this group would satisfy the needs of others looking for a beginners group of players to play with. 

Keep in mind that I don’t believe all of London is this bad, I just happened to have not-so-great talent in a Meetup experience. Next time I visit London, I will for sure check out the outdoor pickup basketball scene. 

Finding and getting to the court (5 – Near a tube, but not in the center of London)

I was in London for a couple days, but because I had other commitments, I became lazy again and just signed up for another Meetup group. This group was dedicated to ‘West London Basketballers’ but it seemed like anybody could sign up and play. The group was capped at 15 players and it cost 9 euros. This HAD to be paid through the meetup group through Paypal, though I don’t know if the organizer actually checked the people who showed up and played, or he knew 14 people paid and 14 people showed up so all was good.

The basketball court was within Latchmere Leisure Centre and near the tube, so it should not be too difficult to get to. Because I was touring the city beforehand, I would have been late if I used the tube, so I Ubered there instead. News stated that Uber was banned in London at this time, but for some reason, Uber was still alive and everywhere. I never had to wait more than 3 minutes going to and leaving the venue. It was about a 10-15 Euro trip from Buckingham palace to Latchmere Leisure Centre.

Once inside the Latchmere Leisure Centre, it was a whole new challenge finding the basketball court. I thought the organizer was confused when he told us that we had to go upstairs, then across some path, then back downstairs to find the courts, but nope…he was right. Its best to ask the front desk personnel for directions to the gym. Also keep in mind that there were people swiping in, and others just walking directly in. Unsure who needed to swipe, but it seemed like almost anyone could just walk in and use any facility.

This Meetup group met every Sunday from 5:30-7:30.

The Basketball Court (4 – for an indoor court, it seemed old and the rims were extremely loud when hitting it)

I am beginning to wonder if I need to rate courts differently depending on whether they are in the US or Europe. This court was on par with all the other EU courts as they were pretty old.

There were numerous lines on the court, and at times, it would be confusing what was out of bounds because there were at least 3 lines around the court, but only the inner black line was the actual out of bounds. There were many other lines as well, probably for badminton, indoor soccer, volleyball and other various sports that I am unfamiliar with. I clearly remember this one moment mid game when I received a pass right inside the 3-point line and I wanted to take a step back behind the 3 (becaaauuuause…advanced stats…), so I quickly looked down and usually, I would see the line and step behind it, but this time, my brain froze for a split second as I saw 7+ intersecting lines so I had no idea where I actually was. But in the moment of the game, I picked a line to get behind and launched away (I blame the line on me missing).

The free throw line was Euro style which was cool to see, but never used because we never shot free throws.

For some reason, the rims were extremely loud when shots bricked but also forgiving as I remember a lot of shots that bounced in.

The Players (2 – extremely disappointed in the competition here)

I was extremely disappointed in the level of play here. I’m not saying all were bad, but most players would be people you don’t want on your team. You know it’s bad when the game must be stopped for 30 seconds so players teach their teammates how to play defense. Most people knew the basics of basketball, but the types of shots taken showed inexperience. You know that famous Youtube video or article that talks about the stereotypical basketball players you find at a pickup game? Well, there were 2 here that stood out.

Stereotypical tall guy: the tallest guy on the floor by at least 2-3 inches stands at 6-5 should dominate the game by being an intimidating force on the boards and defense, but decides to spend time outside the paint shooting jump shots from his chest. With 14 people showing up to play, that meant that the team sitting out needed ‘1’ every time, and because this dude was tall, everyone kept picking him to play on their team. Unfortunately for him and his team, he lost every game.

Stereotypical fouled guy: every time this guy drove into the lane and went up for a shot, ‘FOUL’ was shouted out. It was apparent he did this and probably even knew he did that based on routine. There was this time he yelled out ‘FOUL’ when no one was near him and we all looked at each other with the ‘what? reaction’ and he immediately said ‘ok no foul’….and the opposing team received the ball.

There was another player who traveled on every play he touched the ball. It was the type where he takes a step before dribbling. Not a big deal, as the games weren’t competitive but an annoyance to see that every time he touched the ball.

I won’t bash everyone though, there were a couple guys who were pretty solid. There was a guy who won every game and was the Timmy Duncan of the group as he played fundamentally and intelligently. Another guy made a lot of 3 point shots. Maybe 2-3 others were decent, not great, but decent, remember it’s all relative to the competition. But if you had to ask me if there was a player I would start a team with against, say the competition in LA, I would not pick anyone from this group.

To be fair, I missed a lot of layups today…as I probably played down to everyone’s level…

The Game (3 – unfair starting the games, but pretty standard 5 on 5 rules. )

I knew things were weird when we started making teams. We had 12 people and typically, you would shoot for teams, or the first 10 would make teams, or something that was fair for everyone. But this one group of 5 friends formed a team and asked to play first, asking the remaining 7 to shoot for 5. If this was outdoor pickup basketball where it was less organized (and didn’t have to pay), this would be fine, but this seemed too organized to allow this but I didn’t care enough to do anything, and no one else seemed to care as well.

Games were played to 7 by 1’s and 2’s. People checked the ball, but the checker did not need to ‘pass in’. Travels were abundant and not called a lot. I never felt like I got into any rhythm as there were too many bad decisions made where neither team could get into any flow.

Conclusion

This group plays every Sunday between 5:30-7:30 at the Latchmere Leisure Centre near Battersea Park. Very easy to play as all you have to do is RSVP the Meetup group and then pay 9 euros. A bit expensive for the court quality and game quality. But if you’re looking for a stress-free way of playing in London (compared to going to an outdoor court and calling/waiting next), this would be a good place to start.