Nothing But Net!: An Essay on the Culture of Pickup Basketball

by Michael Moran

While there have been many recent biographies and autobiographies of famous basketball players and coaches, fewer books have come out which explore the game from the street player's perspective. Behind the scenes, at playgrounds all across the country, men and women of all ages and backgrounds are playing pickup basketball, with each court developing its own culture and identity, with rules all the regulars learn to obey. Much of Nothing But Net! looks at the behavior of these "characters" and examines what draws them to the court in the first place. From the guy who threatens "to get his piece" to the player who commits an even graver offence--never passing the ball--Nothing But Net! shows how these relative strangers learn to form social contracts and in most cases to respect one another. At once quirky and absorbing, Nothing But Net! provides a fascinating look into a multicultural subculture, one which says much about the identity of the American male.

118 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1991