A Message from the Church of Basketball

“Better one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere.” (Psalm 84:11)

Maybe the hardwood isn’t what the Psalmist had in mind, but God does have a lot to teach us between the baselines.

Consider the case of Ben Wallace. The Detroit Pistons signed their former center this season primarily to add veteran leadership to a young roster. As far as playing time he was signed to back up starter Kwame Brown. Yet during a victory over Philadelphia earlier this season, head coach John Keuster saw how much Wallace could still contribute on the floor. “I knew Ben was going to be an asset this season because he’d be able to teach our bigs,” Keuster said. “I never imagined he could have this kind of impact on the court.”

His comment was about a game in which Wallace scored two points.

So what was his great impact? An astounding sixteen rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots. Big Ben’s aggressive rebounding and defense combined with Detroit’s more productive scorers to put the Sixers on ice.

There’s a pretty good spiritual lesson here. How many kids playing basketball dream about grabbing rebounds, making assists, setting picks, or finding an open teammate? About as many who dream of extra math homework. Their focus, of course, is more on double-digit point totals, making the far-away jumper at the buzzer, and dazzling offensive moves. Yet as Ben Wallace proves, a player who scores only two points can be just as valuable—or maybe even more so—than double-digit shooters if he can learn to rebound, defend and perform all the other less glamorous tasks needed to win.

Former Notre Dame basketball coach Digger Phelps observes that while a certain amount of skill is required to play offense, only heart and determination are needed to be a good defensive player. Regardless of natural talent, anyone with desire can excel at defense, which is a crucial component of the game.

If St. Paul were coaching basketball, he might paraphrase his first letter to the Corinthians:

“A team is not a single player or effort, but many. If an aggressive defender should say, ‘Because I am not a proficient scorer I do not belong to the team,’ he does not for this reason belong any less to the team. The player driving for a lay-up cannot say to his teammate who just set a pick, ‘I do not need you.’ The player taking a three-point shot cannot say to his teammate boxing out for a rebound, ‘I do not need you.’ But as it is, God places the players, each one of them, in the team as he intended. If they all excelled at the same thing, where would the team be?” (Based on 1 Corinthians 12:14-21)

We can fall into the same trap in our lives as Christians, feeling that we do not measure up to our seemingly more accomplished teammates. Author and speaker Fr. Larry Richards notes that many Catholics looking to the saints as role models see lives of perfection, and become disillusioned when their own lives don’t seem to measure up. “We fail to see the humanity in the saints, and forget that they had their struggles and failures with sin as well,” he says. “People will talk to me about wanting to be another Francis or another Teresa. I tell them, ‘You’re not called to be Francis or Teresa--you’re called to be you. What is God calling YOU to do?”

So you may have scored only two points. Where else have you contributed in your unique, gifted, and irreplaceable way?