Local Danny Macpherson shares how going down to his local court to shoot hoops solo introduced him to a new community and an addictive past-time.

by Danny Macpherson | Images by Troy Mitchener

I picked a strange time to start my amateur basketball career. In early lockdown, inspired by the Netflix documentary The Last Dance – about Michael Jordan and the 90s Chicago Bulls – I made a habit of going down to the empty court at Queen’s Park most days to shoot hoops by myself.

Solo basketball became a form of meditation; a way to get out in the fresh air, escape from the madness of the world and focus on nothing more than the simple cycle of shooting the ball over and over again. With countless hours of practice under my belt, I thought I would be ready to shine when the time finally came to put my skills to the test against real opponents.

Once the lockdowns lifted and restrictions eased, I got the chance to find out. One autumn evening, as I was shooting some solo hoops, a big bearded guy wearing a baggy basketball top approached me and said: “Here, we’re playing a game down the other end of the court, come and join us pal! New players are always welcome.”

Any amateur sportsperson has experienced that moment of going up against someone who can really play and realising how far you have to go. When I was a teenager I played in my Dad’s five-a-side game a couple of times. One of his friends had been a journeyman midfielder for various Scottish clubs back in the 1980s. He may have been a guy in his 50s with a beer belly, but it still felt like playing against Zinedine Zidane.

My introduction to real basketball was much the same. The illusion of being any good was soon shattered. My solo practice could only take me so far. As it turns out, real-life opponents present more of a challenge than imaginary ones. Sinking a lay-up is infinitely harder when you have someone jumping up to try and block it. I may have missed 90 percent of my shots, and given the ball away countless times, but none of that mattered. I felt welcomed in the friendly and inclusive atmosphere and was soon added to the group chat for ‘The Glasgow Southside Basketball Community’.

I have a theory that the less popular a sport is, the friendlier the sense of community there is that surrounds it. This definitely holds true for basketball in Glasgow. A shared passion for the sport marks you out as a member of a special club. It helps that basketball carries such a strong cultural cachet through American film and TV as well as countless references in rap lyrics.

On a sunny evening in Queen’s Park, the court becomes a joyful place where people from all different backgrounds come together to play and enjoy a bit of healthy competition, all soundtracked by classic hip-hop beats played from Bluetooth speakers. Close your eyes and ignore the accents and you can just about imagine yourself in Central Park or Venice Beach.

However, as we’re regularly reminded, Glasgow’s climate is a wee bit different to that of Southern California. Many plans have fallen victim to the rain, and the lack of indoor facilities – almost all council-run sports halls are unavailable – means games have had to be cancelled altogether.

Read more: Meet Southside's new inclusive football team

While Queen’s Park is a gorgeous venue, the quality of the court leaves a lot to be desired. Basketball is a game of quick changes of direction, and the slidy astroturf surface has led to its fair share of twisted ankles. As regular player Mohsin says: “Every time I run I have to be conscious about injuring myself. It’s such a shame to think that we’ve got these local facilities but they’re in need of repair. I have seen people seriously injure themselves during recreational activities here.”

Basketball in this country has traditionally been underfunded and neglected compared to other sports. Nonetheless, statistics show that it has become one of the most popular forms of exercise among young people and also attracts a higher proportion of minority ethnic participants than any other sport. This is unsurprising given the game’s increasing popularity worldwide. Down at Queen’s Park, you’ll find players from all corners of the globe and all different walks of life.

Basketball is up there with football as an inclusive and accessible sport. No expensive equipment is required. Games can be played with a wide range of different numbers, from one-vs-one to five-vs-five. As soon as you step on the court, all external differences become irrelevant; you may be a group of total strangers from varying backgrounds, but once the ball’s in play, you’re all locked in the moment and working together for the same goal.

The guy who first invited me to play, Paul, acts as the de-facto leader of the group. Paul, 39, first got into basketball in high school and, like many people it seems, got back into the sport during lockdown. Paul has been an active member of the breakdancing and street-art scene in Glasgow over the last two decades, and he sees basketball as an extension of that same hip-hop culture.

Paul has big ambitions to transform the group from a loose collective of like-minded people into a more formal organisation to help foster and encourage the sport in the local area: "We currently have hoopers from ages 16–45 and from a diverse range of ethnic backgrounds. I really enjoy the games and community feeling, it's great to see everyone playing together and we want to grow our group and organise events to help develop the sport in the area.”

The group remains a largely male space, but plans are afoot to make it more mixed: “We are looking to get more female members, as we want to facilitate an all-female session in conjunction with the regular sessions,” says Paul, adding: “For the time being though, we will run mixed sessions until we get enough new people to make this happen.”

As for other long term goals: “We’re aiming to improve and maintain outdoor basketball courts for the public and provide a community space for people to join and organise games and events. We’re aiming to start a team called ‘The Queen’s Rebels’ and we want to start a street league so that other people can start teams in the community. In the long-term, we’d love to raise funds to build a new outdoor, covered court so that we can have a place to enjoy basketball no matter the weather and offer classes and training sessions.”

At the end of August, the Southside Basketball Community celebrated its first official event. To commemorate 100 people joining the Whatsapp chat, the group held the “Keep it 100 Summer Jam” in Queen’s Park. A big and diverse crowd of people came to participate in activities such as a competitive knock-out tournament, a 3-point competition and lots of fun informal games. A couple of members of the Glasgow Rocks, the city’s professional team, even came down to show support, take pictures and hand out prizes. But perhaps the real marker of the event’s success was the throng of park goers and dog walkers drawn to the court to check out the action and enjoy community sport in its purest form!

Find out more and get in touch with them on Instagram: instagram.com/glasgowsouthbasketball

This article was originally published as part of Issue 7: Young Voices Takeover. To grab your copy of the magazine, click the link at the top of this article.