Author: Soo Jin Kim
3×3 Intramurals Basketball has enjoyed success as an intramural sport. Twelve teams have competed every Sunday night since Oct. 5, at both the Alumni Gym and the newly renovated Rush Gym. Already in its sixth week, 3×3 Intramurals Basketball only has a little more than a week until the Playoffs and Championship game, which will be held on Sunday, Nov. 23.
When 3×3 began, two problems arose: the Rush Gym didn’t have 3-point lines drawn for the side baskets, and games took too long to finish. These problems were solved by having the teams play in both gyms (Rush and Alumni), and enforcing a time limit for the games (15 minutes per game, best two out of three).
The teams have been split up into two leagues, A league and B league. A league has been described as being the more competitive league.
“It’s the league’ with all the macho guys,” Student Intramural Commissioner Samantha Rossi (junior) said. “There’s a team where all the football guys got together and played. They won the last two years in the A league.” Rossi added that students who gained experience playing 5×5 basketball are now playing in the 3×3 A league.
And though teams in the B league can get very competitive, it is also the more recreational, laid back league, where newer teams are placed. There is a total of 12 teams competing in 3×3 this year, with eight teams on the A league and four teams on the B league. Team names range from Team Danger to Norris Knights.
Sae Woon Jo, Coordinator of Recreational Sports, is happy with 3×3 Intramurals Basketball. “It’s going on really well,” he said. “The feedback has been pretty positive and it seems like everyone’s been having a good time.”
Rossi agreed, adding, “I haven’t heard a complaint yet. I think they’re enjoying it and hopefully all these guys will have 5×5 teams in the spring [semester].”
The players have been enjoying the games so far. “It’s a lot of fun,” Ben Burnett (sophomore) said. “And it’s pretty competitive too.” Burnett is currently playing for Team Jar Jar Binks.
Jack McHenry (first-year), a member of the Terror Squad, agreed, adding, “It’s a good way to get a work out [and] to keep on playing basketball even though I’m not playing for the college.”
But just because 3×3 Basketball is an intramural sport doesn’t mean that the players aren’t competitive. These players are trying their best to play to their fullest potential. “[It] looks like we’ll probably be in the play offs, but [we’re] not sure about the finals,” Burnett said.
McHenry is in the same position. “I think my team has the potential to win the whole thing. It’s just a question of whether or not we can play to our potential,” he said.
And though the teams are predominately male-oriented, there is one team with a girl member and a team called Tha Crew, consisting of three girls, all of whom are completely new to basketball. “None of us had ever played basketball before, so we don’t take it seriously at all,” Caitlin Bell (first-year) said, adding that the whole experience was more about having fun. “We’re learning from other basketball players,” she said. And as they were new to the sport, she adds, “We’re just throwing the ball at each other. We don’t have the best techniques, and most of the guys here are experienced, so it’s a little embarrassing.”
The games have been refereed by Rossi, Joshua Mun (first-year) and Britney Yasucoki (junior). In Intramurals, the referee is usually a person who is experienced in the sport. “We hire people usually from the basketball team, like the players. But anyone with experience can referee,” said Jo.
Rossi concurred, adding that they tried to accommodate the sports with the referees, to ensure that rules are being followed and the games fair.
But because 3×3 Intramural Basketball is self-officiated (players call their own fouls), the referee only really steps in when, as Rossi explains, there is “a big dispute.” “So mostly I just keep the time and keep the score,” she added.
Mun said that the job “is pretty chill; it’s pretty easy. I just watch them play basketball.”
The Intramurals Sports Web site, which contains news and updates about the Intramural Sports, can be found in the Oxy Athletics website, http://www.oxyathletics.com/recreationalsports/index_intramurals. Rossi constantly updates the Web site and also runs day-to-day operations. Next semester, 5×5 basketball, flag football, 5×5 soccer and doubles volleyball are planned to take place.
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