Andre Dangerous/Run & Shoot-District Heights Maryland
I got an e-mail from a partner of mines [Swann] about a 24-hour gym in Maryland that I should checkout. I’m always in search of a decent run and was planning to be in the Baltimore area for the “Thankstaking Holiday” anyway. So after the family get together, blessings, bird meat, karaoke, things got very quiet around the old ranch. So round midnight, I grab my gym bag and without a word, the young, gifted and hoop hungry follow me out to the family car. I already had the GPS coordinates from the Internet and we are on our way to “do the thing.” We arrive at Run and Shoot about 1 AM. After filing out a waiver form, safe passage through a metal detector and paying for admission [8 Balls], we are standing in the biggest gym I’ve ever been in…and I’ve been in quite a few, in my lifetime. It was like a cross between a warehouse and an airplane hangar. HUGE. CAVERNOUS. Twenty [20] full courts, [dwarfs basketball city-NYC] a weight lifting area [more than enough], and a locker room [with its share of broken lockers]. Logistics kicks into gear…“What’s up with the security?” We opt to keep our belongings with us.
My sons find a court to the far end of the facility and when I arrive they’re already playing horse with Andre Dangerous. I watch from a safe distance and watch Andre Dangerous, 6ft 1in, about 185 or so...Over 30…I can take him. A halfback, not very fast, will take what you give him, and a little more if he’s bigger than you…And he’s definitely bigger than me. I step closer to see Andre Dangerous draining jumpers from the top of the key, and the deep left corner, decent handle. I can take him. He looked familiar. Not him personally, but his type of player. A Division II scoring machine type, you know…the type of player who takes a personal offense to someone shorter than he is, really, trying to guard him. Andre Dangerous. Played mostly cornerback…every now and then some linebacker. We eventually play some two on two. My older son and I against my younger son…and…Andre Dangerous. The only way that this would have been a fair match-up was if there were NCAA referees on hand, calling it tight…with first aide back up.
We start off with a somewhat friendly game, Andre banging, a little something, something, and hitting just about every shot he took. Actually, I only think he missed during warm-ups. Not really my problem …I’m not guarding him [Remember, I can take him]. My younger son, who just started playing recently [last year], is all of a sudden shooting like Reggie Miller. They had about ten points before we even touch the ball. Now we gotta fight to get back into this thing. We score a few baskets and then…we lose. “Run this back, I got this guy!” I declare bravely. [I can take him] The look on his face was a mix of anger and confusion, like, “Don’t you know who I am??!!...I’m Andre Dangerous, partner!” The look on my face was saying, “Are you crazy son? I’m Lahh Woods son, you’re bout’ to get shut down!!” So there we were, inside Run and Shoot at 2:15 AM, not saying a word…our facial expressions talking for us… [I flash back to a game at Virginia Commonwealth [VCU] when I sub into the game Gerald Henderson says to me, “Hey number five, let’s get it on!!”] “Are we still gonna’ play?” My older son snaps me back to reality. The urban posturing, and the flashback ends. The game begins.
We do allot better, this game. I get banged, some more. Andre Dangerous extends his hand to me, and helps me to my feet. I do some banging. I’m not trying to take any charges, but somehow I’m getting bowled over more than usual. What down is this? It feels as though I’m really getting worked over right about now. My chest is bruised. I guess this is what the fine print in the waiver is all about. [Play at your own risk, and be on the look-out for Andre Dangerous] My mind starts to wander, and I ask myself a few basic questions at 3:30AM [What am I doing here? Who’s idea is this? Shouldn’t we be asleep right now? Are we really having fun? Is there any stuffing left over? Why didn’t my wife talk me out of this adventure?] My lip is swollen. I hit the ground again. Dangerous Andre says, “You’re gonna feel that in the morning.” I say, “I’m feeling it right now!” My sons are scoring like they live in the neighborhood. I finally start to hit some jumpers too [It’s contagious]…Andre Dangerous hit some great shots over me. I was getting hit beyond the line of scrimmage and I never saw one yellow flag that night. We must have played about ten games all together. We won some, we lost some. And yes, I did feel it in the morning.
The ballplayers in this area [DC/Baltimore] are quite accomplished shooters, for the most part. They can bang and play physical near and away from the basket [Brooklyn Style] and they can consistently hit the three. So you’re forced to play hard defense or the game is going to be a “wrap” real quick! However, it was hard to measure the defensive aptitude of the community by the lack of “clean defense” being played at 3:45 AM. So we’ll have to return to Run and Shoot at a decent hour…Before we left, we hit Andre Dangerous off with a NYDLBALL.com jersey and said our goodbyes. He said that the better players came on Saturday and Sunday mornings, around 8 AM. He also said he had played HS ball in the area and had graduated around 1985, [I came out in 1975…Where was he then?] and I believe he also played JUCO Ball and made some noise in the Delaware/Maryland Region. So if you’re every in the Baltimore area, and you get the urge to bounce the rock…Look for Run and Shoot and look out for my partner Andre, but be warned...he’s Dangerous!!
LW
