The basketball fans
at Appalachian State University are in for a busy month of competition
with the many intramural games University Recreation (UREC)has planned
for January.
Preseason intramural basketball begins Jan. 21 and teams of five
can still sign up today. There will be 16 teams, each playing three
to four games during this week.
Assistant director of University Recreation Eddie Simmons said because
basketball is such a popular sport, UREC will host preseason play
in addition to the regular season leagues.
The purpose of preseason play is not only to allow more students
to play basketball, but also to allow officials and score keepers
to get a week’s worth of practice in before the regular season.
Each team is required to pay a $10 entry fee for preseason basketball.
Simmons said the money from the teams will be given to the Appalachian
Intramural Recreation Sports Association (AIRSA).
Intramural basketball teams can sign up anytime before Jan. 21.
Each team will be placed into a league with five other teams and
play a round robin, having one game against each other team in the
league.
Teams that make the postseason tournament must have at least a .500
record or must have played all five of their games with no forfeits
or no-shows. Simmons said the purpose of this rule was to reward
both the teams that won games and the teams that showed up to play
all five games.
If a player cannot put together a team, he or she can go to the
UREC office and add his or her name to the “free agent”
sheet, and UREC will group the free agents into teams.
Both preseason and regular season have the standard three competition
levels. “AAA” stands for teams that are highly competitive
with advanced skills and players who were generally good high school
players. “AA” is for the intermediate skill level, and
“A” is for those with introductory skills.
Despite the different rankings, each level is competitive. This
holds true especially in the playoffs, Simmons said.
“They get some really intense games. And the AAA level, there
are some great athletes and those games are always really good,”
he said.
UREC also offers two alternative basketball games for those who
do not want to play full games or those who just want to test their
shooting skills against students from around campus.
Hot Shot Basketball is an event done in a single day in Broome-Kirk
Gymnasium. Each contestant gets one basketball and a time limit
between 90 and 120 seconds. On the gym floor are five spots with
increasing point value as the distance from the basket increases.
Contestants shoot from different spots on the floor, and their score
is calculated after the time limit expires. The winner is the one
who has the most combined points after two rounds.
The most simplistic intramural basketball game is Free Throw Basketball.
Each contestant launches 25 foul shots and whoever makes the most
wins. The sign-up deadline for Free Throw Basketball is Feb. 4.
All interested teams or individuals can sign up in the UREC Office,
located in Broome-Kirk Gymnasium. Any questions can be directed
to the UREC office at 262-2100.
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