Miami Student

Issue date: 5/2/08 Section: Sports

Sophomore Antonio Ballard soars toward the hoop at the Recreational Sports Center. He and many other varsity basketball players often play with students during their spare time.

There is a thin line between passionate and obsessed. For many Miami University students, this line is as thin as the gap separating each hardwood panel on the Recreational Sports Center (RSC) basketball courts.

"A lot of people get their identity wrapped up in the sport," Miami graduate Jamie Borchik said. "It happened for me where growing up, basketball was the most important thing in my life. I needed basketball to affirm me everyday. I needed to make jump shots because I was a basketball player, so if I don't play basketball, who am I? I don't have an identity. For a lot of the guys playing at the Rec, they're still experiencing that."

Borchik, who currently works for Athletes in Action in Oxford, spent a lot of his time here as a "Rec rat." Trying to make Miami's varsity team as a walk-on during his freshman and sophomore years meant that it was rare for him to go more than one day at a time without shooting hoops. The more Borchik played, the more he became aware of how it was impacting his life perspective. He also realized he was not alone.

"There's a whole culture of Rec basketball," Borchik said. "A whole group of guys who all know each other, who all play together almost everyday. It's like this little world of Rec basketball players. It's kind of like the country club where everybody plays together all the time. They all know each other and that's kind of their bond."

According to Borchik, this culture encompasses all the RSC regulars, including several members of the Miami basketball team.

"There are a lot of people at the Rec who think they are better than the basketball team," Borchik said. "Guys (on the team) will start hearing about it and they'll say, 'Well, we're gonna go to the Rec and show people that we are better that you; that's why we're on the team and you're not.'"

Sophomore guard Antonio Ballard, the RedHawks' most frequent visitor to the RSC, even goes as far as to say that playing there can be more competitive than practicing with the team because students try extra hard when going head to head with a Division-1 athlete. According to him, opponents will often resort to hard fouls in order to stop him from scoring, leading to friendly, competitive exchanges on the court.

Continued...

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