Handling The Off-Season: Filling the last month before Basketball starts

Disclaimer: Don't get me wrong, Football is a great sport. I have college and pro teams, devote weekends to the games and believe that tailgateing is a religous experience. 

I fully believe that the devotion football fans exert for their teams is unmatched in any other American sporting realm (outside of NASCAR).   

My main hang-up is that there exists an excruciating amount of down time between the MNF game and College Game Day at 10 am on Saturday.  By lunch on Tuesday, I have discussed every possible angle of the previous weekends performances with my co-workers, already made my picks for the office pool, and adjusted my fantasy squad a baker's dozen times. 

Let's face it, Im not alone. Look around your office, or your class room, or your circle of friends.  We exist.  You might even be one of "us."  You might be one of the people who fall into that late summer/ early fall rut between Summer League Games and College Midnight Madness.

Im sure Im not the only one out there when i say it... I can't wait for basketball.  To quote the old TNT commercials, I can't wait for the "TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY" game play that basketball offers.  Sure fantasy basketball holds nothing to fantasy football, and games outside of the playoffs don't matter, but its the every day routine that enables me to actually be a functioning member at work, instead of that annoying office mate who says the same ten phrases. 

I miss Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith. 

I miss listening to Jalen Rose and remembering when he was a skinny freshman at Michigan with a sly grin and a fast mouth. 

I miss stories of Chris Kaman spear fishing in international waters during the season. 

I miss late night thoughts of Mark Price, and Harvey Grant.

Harold Minor where have you gone? 

I miss the characters of basketball.... the every night performance of  RonArtest-MikkiMoore-RasheedWallace types. 

I sat down this week and though about all the tricks, games and trivia activities I run through to help keep sanity.  Because some days, just reading TrueHoop isnt enough.  (To set the record straight, I am an everyday reader of TrueHoop and that comment by no means takes anything away from what Henry Abbot has created)

Hopefully if you are lost in Econ class, or bored at work, or any other monotonous situation you can try these out and they can help us all get through the barren basketball-less hibernation that is October.  Worst case scenerio, they make 10 am on Saturday Morning come quicker.

5. Run Through the Lists. 

Description: There are endless lists and selections and categories that you can use.  For example, try naming as many #1 Draft Picks as you can (don't forget Pervis Ellison) , or start with 2008 and run backwards naming as many NBA Champions and MVP's for each year.  Other more difficult examples are see how many head coaches you can name, or my personal favorite is to name as many McDonald's All American's as I can. ( http://www.mcdonaldsallamerican.com/)  They have an alumni link with past teams dating back into the 80's.

Situation: This activity is great if you are by yourself, and even better if you have others involved.  If you only have one office mate who is a basketball nut, you can take turns, or set a time limit to see who can write down the most.  With the McDonald's lists, a great way to quiz with another person is to take each year and name the colleges to see if your partner can guess the player. 

 

4. Going Through The Cities

Description:  This is more of a sports trivia in general than just basketball.  Basically start with the 3 major sports (or 4 if you are a hockey fan) and go through each city to see if you can name each city with 3 sports teams, then 2 sports teams.  While it can be challenging, if you are more of a one dimensional sports fan, patients drastically increases your knowledge.

Situation: My best friend from college used to tell me, "It's great, I don't have to pay attention, time goes by so quick, and it looks like im furiously taking notes."  With that being said, this game is very convenient for that boring class or that work meeting that is dragging thirty minutes too long.

3. Mid 90's At Least Five

Description:  We've all played NBA Showdown 94, or NBA Live 95 (the original version) or at the very least NBA Jam.  Sorry Barkley Shut Up And Jam doesn't fall in the category for this one.  Go through and pick a year or your favorite video game year and see if you can name at least five players on each squad.  While you might think video games wasted your youth, you'll be surprised how much you remember.  This is my specialty in the office.  I can throw out a starting line up from almost every 94 NBA Squad.  I welcome quizzes and tests.

Warriors: Webber, Billy Owens, Latrelle Sprewell, Chris Mullen, Tim Hardaway, Chris Gatling off the bench. 

Hornets: Zo, LJ, Mugsy, Hershy Hawkins, David Wingate, Dell Curry...

Cavaliers: Daughtery, Mills, Larry Nance, Terrelle Brandon, Danny Ferry, Mark Price  

Rockets: Hakeem, Otis Thorp, Big Shot Bob, Kenny Smith, Vernon Maxwell 

 I can continue.

Situation:  Great for solo or with a group of people.  Some of my best memories at work were sitting in an office with a few guys pushing paper around seeing if we could go through an entire Conference getting at least 5 guys on each team from 94.  You can make it more competitive between co-workers too.  It's a little tougher in school or in class to play this game with others, but fits perfectly for a scribbling activity.

2. Mock Drafts

Description:  Get a few buddies together and re-draft the NBA.  You each get 6 picks, and have to fill the normal PG SG SF PF C line up with an additional back up.  The picks should go just like a regular fantasy draft: RD 1 Player 1, Player 2, Player 3,  RD 2 Player 3, Player 2, Player 1 etc.  When you finish picking, take your teams to other people (because obviously you are going to think your team is the best) and see what they think; friends, classmates, office mates, etc.  It doesn't matter that they don't know much about basketball, that makes it more fun.  See if there is an overwhelming response to which teams are the best and which teams are slacking.  If there is no

Situation: Best with multiple people.  Just like a fantasy football draft, the more people the more diluted the teams and the better the arguments.  This by no means is a season long activity, just a few days or even a few hours to try to prove your GM superiority over your friends or co workers. 

1. Where Did They Come From

Description:  My All Time Favorite Way Of Wasting Time.  Go through a team, or the league, or just throw out players names and see if you can remember where they played college ball.  It seems easy enough, but you'd be surprised how easily some of the mid 90's college superstars slip your mind.  And there are always the players like Scotty Pippen, Bruce Bowen or Ben Wallace, where you almost never heard of them in college.  This not only fills countless hours, it helps develop your sence of school prestige over the years and helps to see what programs funnel out better pro players.

Situation: Anywhere with anyone.  Can quiz yourself or just as easily throw out players names back and forth with a buddy/classmate/coworker. 

Just so I don't leave anybody hanging.... University of Central Arkansas, Cal-State Fulerton, Virginia Union.

Hope these help, if you have any other adaptions from these trivia games, or any other ways to help me get through this month, Id love to hear them!