What we’re about
Hello and welcome to NW Portland Lunchtime Hoops. New players, please read this information first before joining the group.
We welcome new members but this group is for experienced, skilled, and knowledgeable basketball players only. This is NOT an open event or a pick up game, it is structured game. Most of our members played high school varsity and some played college. Many of us have seen a year or ten pass since those days so our brain may be a bit quicker than our feet but this is a high level game. If you don't play regularly at a competitive level this is not the group for you. If you do then please join the group and sign up to play a game and we will see how you fit. Your first game is a test to see how you fit in basketball skill wise and we evaluate on your ability to play organized basketball in all phases of the game. We might let you know after your first game that you did not make the cut. When this happens, it can be uncomfortable for both the organizers and the new player so please be friendly. We promise it's not personal but it is necessary for the good of our game.
We organize one weekly game on Friday during lunchtime. That's it! If you are looking to play pickup in the evenings or on weekends, please visit our friends at http://portlandbasketball.com and click on Pick-to-Play.
Lunchtime hoops is a guaranteed game at a set time with guaranteed playing time. We cap the game at 14 players so there are no more than 7 on each team. We usually have three 25 minute periods and we substitute in rotation every 4-5 minutes so all players will get the same amount of playing time. Organizer make the teams in an attempt to make the game as evenly matched as possible. No winner stays and no sitting out for a game. Show up, play, leave.
We absolutely despise no shows. To that end, if you signup and no show, you must pay a $10 penalty to the "free game fund" in order to play again. Once we have enough money in the "free game fund" then the game is free to everyone. We sincerely hope that we never have a free game because we do not want any no shows.
You must signup for each game through Meetup. We will have a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 14 players. Instead of the traditional first 14 to sign in policy which is the default on Meetup, we have unlimited signups until Thursday at 1:00 which is 24 hours in advance. Soon after, an organizer will set the roster for the current week's game to 14 players and put the others on the waiting list. Players are selected by a subjective combination of longevity, skill level, and who got bumped to the waiting list in previous weeks. If you are on the waiting list, you must pay attention on Friday morning to see if you get in. There is no advantage to signing in early. You can sign in the week before or Thursday at 12:59 and it makes no difference.
The fee for each game is $6 paid through Meetup+PayPal when you sign up. If you sign out or if you end up on the wait list then we will refund your payment. Organizers are not making a profit as all fees are paid directly to the gym.
Jerseys are not provided. Each player must bring a white shirt and any color dark shirt -- or a reversible white-dark jersey.
Running time in the first two periods until the last 10 seconds. Running time in the last period until the last two minutes if the difference is six points or less. Any time the difference is seven points or more the clock runs and any time it is six or less it stops. I'm proud to say that portlandbasketball.com liked our clock rules so much that they adopted them!
No referees. Offense calls fouls. No arguing!
We believe that more players will want to play lunchtime hoops if they know the game will be played at a high level with no scrubs. We hope that all of you will spread the word about our game to other good players.
Thanks for reading all of the details. The secret code is "AC GREEN" in honor of arguably the best basketball player from Oregon. See you on the court.
