Hoops!

WE FINALLY GOT HOOPS! Sparks were flying, balls were bouncing, and children were finally getting a taste of basketball. On Wednesday the welders finally arrived to put up basketball hoops on the plywood backboards that have been bare since I got here. The process was fascinating to me. Rickshaw ladder? 

Check. Live transformer?

Check. Sunglasses on?

Check. Start welding.

Granted, they are wraparounds

Real shoes were noticeably absent from that checklist.

With the two very nice welders and the live transformer out of the courtyard, the fun began. Yes, the rim bounces like a diving board. Yes, the hoop barely fits a basketball. But the new hoop is a huge addition to the Stephens courtyard of fun, and a big hit already. Kids showed up in throngs while Pasang rebounded and dished the ball out fairly to everyone. In the future we will need to use a smaller ball to make it possible to score something other than a layup, but that’s a minor setback. Those two plywood shade-makers were begging for hoops, even more often than I begged Asoke for them. A very exciting day. I can’t wait for our first game of knockout!

The rim, slightly larger than the diameter of one junior basketball

Hey Olympics. Nepal will be seeing you on the basketball court. 2024. Get ready.