"Midnight Ballers"

I figured for my next blog I would write about something that I usually do to keep myself occupied when I am not in the office. There is a little background information you need to know about this entry though. It all really started when LSA Anaconda's Mail Inspector came to inspect our subordinate units' mailrooms. When he went to do his inspections, he had me go along with him, so I could see how the units were operating their mailrooms, and so I could see what I needed to do to get their mailroom up and running. Following our last inspection, he was driving me back to my office, and he was asking me about where I go to school and all that jazz. He commented about the Huskers and their athletic programs. He also asked me if I played any sports, and I told him. He asked me if I was any good at basketball, and I said "Yeah, I'm alright".
"Well we play every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in the small gym at 2200 (10 P.M.). Only the real ballers show up, so you better bring your "A" game."
"O.K., I'll have to stop up there sometime."
I was anxious to finally step away from the easy competition at the main gym and see what kind of skills these other guys had. I told SGT Hunt about it, and we finally made it up there one night. SGT Rauschenburg (inspector) was right, they were pretty good. So SGT Hunt and I made it to the gym on a regular basis. Shortly after we had made it part of our routine to go play ball with these guys, SGT Rauschenburg re-deployed as he had finished his year of duty in Iraq. On his last night, he was able to play one last game with us (we let him win).
Since then, we have met other guys from other units, and we have built a camaraderie with them. We all came up with nicknames for each other. I actually have a few. Obviously mine was Beans, but normally you would acquire a nickname based on your style of play. For example, there was one night where I couldn't miss a three pointer. Before the night was over people were calling me "JJ", after JJ Reddick, and somehwere in the background I even heard "Beans-Nasty". Most of them know me as Beans though. A few other soldiers have nicknames because of their size. We call SGT Haugen "O" and "Oster" after Greg Ostertag. SFC Vasquez, an ex-Drill Sergeant, is known as just "V". Then there is "Flash", "ATL", "Quin", "LT", "Big Ticket", "Big Baby" and many others. We have all become a pretty tight-knit group of guys, and if you aren't there one night, you'll hear about it the next day in the chow hall. "Where were you last night? Afraid to get emberassed again?" Stuff like that. Games are played to 12, straight up, and you have to sign your name on the board to reserve a game. If you don't show up by 2200, you probably won't play until 11:00 because there are lots of people that play. We usually play until there isn't enough to run five on five, which is usually 2:00 or 3:00. If I have to work the next day, I am usually out by midnight. Last night I had to wait 2 hours just to get into a game.
That's pretty much what I do to help pass the time outside the office. And it counts as PT.