Every week, dozens of students gather at Okun Fieldhouse to participate in the JCPRD basketball league. The league has grown to be competitive, with students forming teams to face off with each other.
The league began at the beginning of January and will span to the end of February. In the league, seven out of the 10 teams consist of Mill Valley juniors and seniors. Senior Denver Smith said he and his friends joined the league to have something fun to do in their spare time.
“My friends and I had a lot of free time,” Smith said. “We enjoyed playing basketball, some pickup [basketball] in our free time. We saw the Okun league as a good chance to hang out with friends, get some cardio in, play some basketball and have fun.”
Similarly to Smith, junior Blake Jay enjoys getting to spend time competing against his friends.
“We knew that there were other people playing and we wanted to do something that was fun but not too competitive,” Jay said. “We wanted to do something fun during the winter and we wanted to play against all the seniors.”
Students do not necessarily have to be players in order to participate in the league. Students like senior Hank Danielson participate in the league as a coach for his team.
“I’m coaching to have fun and to make sure that my guys can have the best experience without having to worry about logistical things, like filling out forms and stuff,” Danielson said. “I’m also not good at basketball. I don’t play basketball, but I wanted to be a part of it, so coaching was a good option for me.”
According to Smith since students play against familiar opponents, the league becomes competitive with bragging rights at stake.
“You get to play a bunch of people from your school, so all the games kind of have some bragging rights,” Smith said. “Everybody wants to win, so it’s a little competitive.”
Although the games can be competitive, students make sure they find creative ways to have fun. For example, Smith and his team dressed up before their first game.
“Before our first game, we decided to dress up,” Smith said. “We dressed up because famous NBA players also dress up and we thought we could have a little fun with our pre-game fits.”
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