By Daniel Soares
Bright lights, cheering crowds, fame, and fortune. Those are the dreams of every aspiring amateur basketball player. Unfortunately, that is not what they get from playing intramural basketball. However, they do have the opportunity to gain life-long friends, have fun, obtain the eternal glory of having their picture on the gym wall, and win a free T-shirt.
Colorado College is ranked No. 8 on the Princeton Review’s list of Best Colleges for Intramural Sports, namely due to the large percentage of students who participate. Every student has a different motivation for competing in intramural sports.
“I play [intramural] basketball because it allows me to live out my false hopes and dreams of being a good basketball player,” said Bennie Lewis IV ’22, who averaged a triple-double last year in the co-ed tournament. “My experience last year was exhilarating, and I enjoyed every game that I played.”
Throughout the offseason, Lewis has been hard at work practicing his handles and hopes to lead his team to the title this year by breaking a few kids’ ankles with his signature two-step hesitation move.
“It’s been a goal of mine to show the CC community what I’m made of — and that’s 100% baller.” James ‘Airball’ Dollard ’22 said.
IM basketball has taught Dollard that “height definitely matters.”
“As a 5-foot-7-inch player, I have yet to get a single rebound,” Dollard said. “But I aspire to one day be the Michael B. Jordan of Colorado College intramural basketball.”
Throughout Block 4, each basketball game is played in the recreation gym of the Adam F. Press Fitness Center. CC offers two separate leagues that players can join: a co-ed league and an open league, both of which are double-elimination tournaments.
The games are organized as five-on-five, with at least two female-identifying players always on the court of the co-ed league. Each game consists of two 20-minute halves, a five-minute half-time, and a five minute overtime that will be played if there is a tie at the end of the second half. The game clock runs continuously until the last two minutes of the second half, during which the clock stops on every dead ball. For overtime, the clock stays running except for the last minute.
While the tournament does not explicitly allow trash-talking, players can get away with it if they whisper into their opponents’ ear. Co-ed teams must keep in mind that male-identifying players are not allowed to shoot within the paint. All teams, regardless of their league, should also make sure that their benched players stay off the court, as failure to do so will result in a technical foul.
The annual intramural Pre-Holiday Basketball Tournament begins at the start of Block 4 and is open to all students. For students who want to play, rosters for both leagues are due today — Friday, Nov. 8. Despite the amateur level of competition, players of all heights and skill levels are encouraged to sign up for the tournament so they too can pursue their dreams of being a champion.