Out with the new, in with the old.
Men 39 and older have a place to play basketball at a highly competitive level, without having to worry about guarding someone half their age.
“It was a league developed for older players to establish camaraderie,” said James Johnson of Martin Army Community Hospital. “We’re at the age now where we don’t want to play with the younger guys but we still want to play. It’s competitive, but it’s a gentlemen’s league.”
The Old School Basketball League features nine teams, including three with players from Fort Benning, that play 16 games in the fall and spring seasons.
The league is currently winding down its spring season and hosting games at Mother Mary’s Catholic School Gym in Phenix City.
The OSBL started three years ago when league director Frank Goodman realized there needed to be a venue for middle-aged men who aren’t quite ready to stop playing basketball. Goodman said his idea was for men to make sure they are staying healthy and to teach youth about the proper playing of the sport.
“The OSBL caused people to realize you’re not old at 40,” Goodman said. “It causes them to think about their health and get back into shape.”
The league began with just four teams and has since grown to nine. The Warriors, Magic and Heat represent Fort Benning.
Goodman said this year has seen the toughest competition so far, with the top spot in the league up for grabs. After the regular season ends, eight of the nine teams will advance to a playoff and the league champion will play the champion of a similar league from Atlanta in July.
Each team in the league is allowed to have one player who is 38 years old, Goodman said, so the oldest players on the teams can teach the youngest ones.
“The 50-year-old men can get this 38 to understand what this league is all about,” he said.
Goodman also said the league puts an emphasis on sportsmanship and class. Any player, he said, who uses foul language once is issued a technical foul and is dismissed from the game on a second infraction.
“Off the court we can get together and do whatever, but we don’t cuss or fuss on the court,” Warrior player Solomon Loving said.
Loving and the Warriors took on the Kingdom Ballers Monday. Despite leading the majority of the first half, the Warriors trailed 27-25 at halftime and couldn’t find a consistent rhythm in the second half as they lost 56-51.
Loving kept the Warriors in the game with his perimeter shooting, hitting seven 3-pointers and finishing with 28 points. Warriors center Cedric Jones had 16 points.
The OSBL regular season is scheduled to end on June 30 and the last game for the Warriors will be against the Hawks on Monda.
For information about the league, e-mail Goodman at Frankgoodman@columbusforward.com.
