I felt like a kid again on Tuesday night. I was fortunate enough, along with local business owners, media types and some MUW employees, to play in a “VIP” 3-on-3 game during The W’s annual “Hoots and Hoops” basketball preview event. Other than the presence of Columbus mayor Keith Gaskin, that acronym was applied loosely.
I wore No. 34 in honor of Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon, my all-time favorite basketball player and perhaps the most athletic big man who ever lived. I, of course, am none of those things.
I won’t bore you with the stats (I scored four points on 2-of-3 shooting with a few rebounds, a block and several turnovers in a losing effort,) but I didn’t embarrass myself, and most importantly for a person of advancing years, didn’t injure myself or anyone else. Along the way I was reminded of a universal truth: Basketball is harder than it looks.
Everyone knows baseball is hard. You need 20 or so players, a suitable outdoor playing surface and multiple pieces of equipment. To stage a real 11-on-11 tackle football game, you need thousands of dollars worth of equipment and at least 40 people. But basketball? Basketball is simple. All you need is a ball, a hoop and one other person and you’re on your way. Until you actually try to play the game, that is.
Basketball is, by definition, a team sport. But it relies – maybe more so than any other team sport – on individual skill. With only 10 players on the court at a time, everyone is going to get the ball; everyone will have to shoot; and, eventually, everyone will have to run, play defense and rebound. There’s no right field to go hide in during a basketball game.
So anytime I see a person whose individual skill sets them so far apart that you can’t help but notice, I tend to, well, notice. And MUW’s women’s basketball team has a player we should all be paying attention to – senior all-conference guard Conley Langford. Langford, who averaged more than 19 points and nine rebounds per game last season and became the first-ever Owl selected to an All-SLIAC First Team, may be the best player in DIII women’s basketball. In fact, she might be the best player in all of DIII basketball. With a season still to play, Langford is already the Owls’ modern-era leader in points, field goals made, 3-pointers made, free throw percentage and double-doubles.
“She could play for us,” Owls’ men’s basketball head coach and man-bun aficionado Dean Burrows told me.
Langford has the rare combination of perimeter shooting and aggression in the paint that makes her hard to stop. Hence, the scoring, rebounding and free-throw numbers I cited earlier. The best part, to me, is how easy she makes it all look. Her expression never changes, her commitment never waivers and she nevers seems bothered by the expectations she carries.
SLIAC coaches voted the Owls eighth in the preseason poll and that’s where they finished last year. Under first-year head coach Eric Vaughn, MUW brings back an exciting group of returning starters led by Claire Leak, who ranked third in DII with a 46.3% three-point percentage on 108 attempts. But the Owls will go as Langford goes.
The W will celebrate Senior Night sometime in late February, but I think the university can make things extra special by adding an additional ceremony to the festivities; retiring Langford’s No. 22 jersey. She’s already earned it, and what better way to honor her than before one of her last games at Pohl Gymnasium. In a world filled with tough decisions, this one’s a no-brainer.
Philip Poe is sports editor.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 48 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
