Rucker Park in Manhattan, New York. It is a park with outdoor basketball courts, where various tournaments are also played. Gert Klamer, chairman of the Red Giants basketball club from Meppel, is a big fan of it. “There is a great atmosphere and when a group plays basketball, there are always people watching. How cool would it be if we could bring a little bit of that to Meppel?”
The basketball club wants to realize a few full-fledged outdoor courts in Meppel. Where at least 3×3 basketball can be played, but preferably also regular basketball. “It should not be a standard basketball court, but one with a decent floor that yields, where these boys do not immediately get injured. So no concrete or stone. It must be done right from the start,” says Klamer.
Three-on-three basketball is popular. The sport made its debut on the program during the previous Olympic Games. The Netherlands is good at it. At the past two world championships, the men’s team finished fifth, just like at the Olympics. The women’s team became European champions this year, after finishing second last year.
Trainer Patrick Koning stands quietly on the sidelines, watching his team warm up for the match against last-place Sphinx from Wageningen. He does have time for a chat. Also about 3×3 basketball. “That’s a completely different discipline,” he says. “You can’t just take three players out of here for that. It’s much faster and you have a lot less rest. Here you have time-outs, for example. Just take a player out of here. If you go from five against five to four on this field goes against four, you also get a completely different and faster game.”
Red Giants will play in the second division this season. The team really wants to be promoted to the first division, but relegation to the third division is closer than promotion. “We miss our most important players,” says Koning. He briefly recalls the glory days of Red Giants. Premier League. And the bridge to 3×3 basketball is quickly made.
Jesper Jobse’s name comes up. He played one season for the Red Giants. “His level. Whew,” Koning remembers. But more important for this story. “He was pretty much the founder of 3×3 basketball in the Netherlands.” With the Dutch team, where he was captain, he twice finished second at the world championship, and at the European championship he took bronze with the Netherlands. He retired from his professional career at the end of 2020.
In the meantime, Chairman Klamer is looking around the Ezinge sports hall. A great place to play. “But people outside have no idea what’s going on here.” This is of course different with the outdoor fields. “If I see a group of young people playing basketball somewhere, I always have the tendency to immediately join in. I just don’t know if that is appreciated,” he jokes. There is a serious undertone to it. By bringing basketball outside, he hopes that children will be more likely to choose to play basketball.
Klamer and Koning both point out that basketball is not played in the hall in the summer. “Football, hockey or korfball are sports that are both indoors and outdoors and can therefore be played all year round,” says Klamer. “That may be a trade-off for going to football instead of basketball.”
Speaking of football. Many plans for the basketball courts have already been discussed, including with other associations. For example, Cruyff Court was looked at. “But we don’t want a combination with a football or hockey field. We really want basketball courts. At least for three-on-three basketball, but preferably full-fledged courts.”