Superstar Me

The human being possesses a remarkable ability to adapt. We have to -- adaptation is at the core of evolution. I've adapted to using the pound, the old-fashioned schooling system, the hilly treks around campus, the snide yet passive quips about Americans, the bigger standard for beer pints and the smaller standard for most everything else, and the driving on the left. I've even adapted to the English accent, as it doesn't hold the same novel charm that it did for the first week.

Still, there are some things I'll never get used to in England. Like being a college basketball player.

Not a recreational basketball player who also happens to be in college, but a real college basketball player. As in I play with Bristol's real college basketball team.

I'm not good at basketball. I've played a lot of it, but I've never developed a killer instinct. I played in junior high and throughout grade school, but for the most part, I didn't see much playing time. I got cut my freshman year of high school.

Only to be called up to Bristol's First team to fulfill a desperate need for point guards. I'm going to play with them Monday at 8 p.m.

Now, basketball here isn't like basketball in the US. There are no spectators besides the joggers trotting around the track lofted above the gym. It's hard to see where the out-of-bounds lines are, because the puke-green rubber gym floor serves everything from indoor soccer to badminton to korfball, and each sport has it's own network of colored lines.

I thought having all these lines would lead to plenty of disputes about whether someone was in-bounds or out-of-bounds, but basketball here is less confrontational. In the US, I'm hesitant to play pick-up games because it's not uncommon for even these seemingly inoccuous scrimmages to stop so "scores can be settled" or fouls can be reenacted. Not here. It's more about playing and less about individual attention. More about continuity, less about showmanship.

Moreover, the game is less physical. In the US, I'm scared to go for rebounds because big sweaty ogres will knock you over. Here, the game is more transitional. There's a lot more fast breaks, which suits my playing style because speed is about my only exceptional ability on the court. There's less acrobatic "taking-it-to-the-house" drives. The popularity of the NBA here means that though many try to replicate a Kobe-esque drive through the paint, they rarely progress beyond trying.

I jogged back from the gym after playing six games of b-ball, feeling refreshed but baffled that my hardly competent ball'n skills back in the States have catapulted me to the top tier of play at this British University that gets more applications than any other in England.

It felt good.

And come to think of it, with a line of sneakers and a $20 million signing bonus, maybe I could get used to this.

Autographs, anyone?