QUANTICO, Va. - The intramural basketball season will begin in January, bringing back the best players on the base as they compete for the title of base champions.
As the season gets closer, some teams, such as OCS, are investing the time to practice now, hoping to get a head start on their opponents. First on the list is getting in basketball shape i.e. used to playing full court for long periods of times.
“At OCS, we think we’re in pretty good shape, we run the trails and do a lot of upper body development, but it’s totally different muscles coming up and down the court,” said Gary Billings, player and assistant coach for OCS. “I’m glad we’re coming out before the season to knock the cobwebs off, get a couple shots in and run some drills.”
A challenge every team faces at the beginning of intramurals is integrating new players into the roster. The transitional nature of the military means talent is always coming and going.
“I was talking to the coach about how I didn’t recognize a couple of the players [today],” Billings said. “A couple [of players] are new joins to the unit and a couple I just don’t see on a daily basis. You might see them running the trails, but you don’t know what they’re going to look like on the basketball court.”
At this stage of the season, teams are full of optimism in their quest for the title because they all start undefeated.
“We’re pretty optimistic, we got a pretty young team, with the exception of a couple of us,” Billings added. “The youngest player on our team, of course, is the colonel, our commanding officer, who came out to join us. But you wouldn’t know he’s any different from the lance corporals who are running up and down the court.”
The season begins January 7, 2013. Players and coaches interested in either joining or forming a team are required to contact Robert Anderson, the intramural sports director, at 703-432-1475 or andersonrc@usmc-mccs.org.