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Michael Cordero
Dr. Steffen Guenzel
English 1101
27 October 2014
Love and Basketball
You have probably been playing since you were a little kid. You use to dream
of becoming a professional basketball player. Having role models such as Michael
Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Dreaming one day to be playing on the same court as they
once did. As life went on you developed this love for basketball much like Kobe and
Michael once did. College came closer and you had many decision to make. If you
had several offers you had to pick one. If you had an offer you didnt like did you
decide to go JUCO? Did you not receive an offer and decided to go to college leaving
your dream of becoming a professional basketball player behind.
Doing what you love
You were either chosen to play at the college level or not; its as simple as that.
Where you chosen to play division 1? Being that division 1 basketball is the highest
level of competition within the college community. Or did a lower division college
recruit you such as division 2 or 3 colleges, which are similar to division 1 but are
significantly lower competition levels. Or did you decide to attend a JUCO school,
which is a junior college where players go to further develop their skills hoping to
be recruited by a Division 1 college. Or you left you dream behind and decided to

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attend college where you now play for an intramural team. Intramural is the league
within the school. Major Universities contain these types of leagues for every sport.
The intramural league is a league where those people that werent recruited but still
had this love for the game can go out and compete at their own level.
Keep Doing You
I will be interviewing one athlete from each level of college basketball. Researching
the college basketball discourse community as a whole. I will be using the activity
theory to research this discourse community. These people I will be interviewing
were chosen based on their college level of play. I will be discussing their motives,
or their purpose or reason and their community and the rules involved within their
community. The first individual I will be interviewing is Amidah Brimah, which
plays division 1 basketball at the University of Connecticut. The second individual is
Daniel Duarte, which plays JUCO for the State College of Florida. The last individual I
have interviewed is Alfredo Quiroga, which plays intramural basketball for his
fraternity at the University of Central Florida.
Division 1
Amidah Brimah was chosen for this study because of his chances of fulfilling his
dream. Amidah is now a sophomore at the University of Connecticut. The University
of Connecticut is a very prodigious school when it comes to basketball. Womens
basketball has won the NCAA National championship the last two years in a row and
Mens basketball joined them last year winning the National Championship. Amidah

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Brimah was part of this national championship team. He won a National title as a
freshman.
Motives
We discussed his motives. What kept him going? What is pushing him to work hard?
Who are some literary sponsors that motivated him? His answers were simple. His
motives were to one day going professional either if it was here in America or over
seas. He says he came to America from Africa when he turned 15. He came to
America just for an education until the coach of Monsignor Edward Pace High School
saw him one day and asked if he played basketball. Amidah had never played
basketball in fact he grew up playing soccer. Weird to hear that seeing that this boy
was 7 ft tall when he was a sophomore in high school. Coach Heard the coach for the
Mosignor Edward Pace basketball team took him under his wing. Amidah said this
man was the biggest literary sponsor he had. He taught him everything he knows.
He gave him coordination. He said he couldnt catch a ball for his life when he first
started playing. He can go back to the moment he first fell in love with the game of
basketball. It was a practice and him and the starting player for his position were
going at it. Trading dunks after dunk with each other. He fell in love with the
competition. He fell in love with the game because of the amount of fun he had at
that very moment. He said even if he wasnt as successful as he is now that he would
still be playing basketball somewhere because he loved the game. He said his real
motive was to have fun playing the game he fell in love with.
Community and Rules

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Belonging to the highest level in college basketball there are several rules and
regulations they must follow. All the same basic rules of basketball apply in all levels
of basketball. There are some distinct differences. In professional basketball the
amount of fouls a player is able to commit is 6 while in college basketball it is 5. He
says there are certain rules off the court that the team has to follow, such as going to
all their classes. They also have a buddy system. They must workout and push their
buddies to their limits. Their buddy is usually the other individual that plays the
same position as they do.
JUCO
Daniel Duarte was a 63 American Cuban that had played basketball all his life. He
was the star for each and every team he played for. He had one or two division 1
offers when he was a senior at Monsignor Edward Pace. These were small division 1
colleges that Daniel was not interested in. He decided to play to go to State college of
Florida, a junior college that helps athletes become better developed to be noticed
by Division 1 colleges and universities. Daniel is a freshman now at this college. He
is as focused as ever and wants to prove why he should have deserved more offers
during his high school career.
Motives
I had the privilege to grow up with Daniel and play with him. He to this point is one
of the most skillful basketball players I have seen with my own eyes. He attended
Monsignor Edward Pace high school. He says coach Heard was his biggest literary
sponsor. HE pushed him and gave him the work ethic he has now. He stays in the

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gym at least an hour after every practice and workouts out on his own time along
with team workouts. Coach Heard made him into the basketball player he is today.
At the State College of Florida he has goals to set records. Hes level of
competitiveness is insane. He says that he gets frustrated a lot when it comes to
basketball but he loves every moment of it. His goal is to play overseas or in the
NBA. But first he says he has to focus on getting into a big name division 1 school. He
says he wouldnt be pushing himself to his limits everyday for a sport he didnt love.
Daniels motivation is to prove his dad wrong. His dad never had faith in his
basketball career and always pushed him to become an account much like himself.
He laughs when Daniels little sister refers Daniel in being in the NBA one day. This is
one of his primary motives.
Community and Rules
Daniel belongs to the sports community at the State College of Florida. He lives in a
building solely for athletes and rooms with two of his teammates. One rule he has to
follow are to go to all his classes or suffer a hard workout that happens every
Sunday for student athletes that dont attend class. Daniel attends all his classes but
goes to these workouts anyways just to push himself. Daniel must also report to the
coach with a progress report in all his classes to make sure he is passing all his
classes. When it comes to rules on the court the same rules for division 1 basketball
apply.
Intramural Basketball

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Alfredo Quiroga is a 61 Argentinean that loved playing basketball as a kid. He
played for his high school but during his sophomore year he broke his leg 4 times in
one year. This kept him off the court for a while. Just as his leg was getting strong
enough to compete he would break it. He decided to attend the University of Central
Florida and join a fraternity. He joined their intramural basketball team as well.
Motives
Alfredos dreams of becoming a professional were shut down because of injury. He
couldnt even try to attempt to make it. Instead he jus plays for fun. He plays at his
own competitive level. He says he just loves the competitiveness almost as much as
he loves the game. Alfredo knew he would never become disconnected from a sport
he loved so much. He always knew he would find a way to become competitive again
even if it was at his own playing level. He basically says the only reason hes playing
is because he grew up loving the game and there was no way a few injuries will keep
him away from it.
Community and Rules
The intramural basketball system at UCF is simple. You can get a group of friends
and make your own team. You belong to several communities. You belong to your
team community as well as the intramural basketball community. In this case
Alfredo is part of a more specific community. He is part of his fraternitys intramural
basketball team. This team only competes against other fraternities. They are
involved in a Greek Cup, which involves all intramural sports. Points are tallied up
and the fraternity with the most points at the end of the intramural seasons in

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crown winner of the Greek Cup. When it comes to basketball even though this is a
far less competitive environment rules stay the same.
Similar in Almost everyway
Through these interviews I researched that the basketball discourse community
over many different levels of play all have at least one common motive. Which is to
play basketball for the love of the game. At the more competitive stand point there
are more common motives, which are to go on to play professionally either here or
over seas. The communities they each belong to develop strong friendships and each
person in those communities share your common love.
Conclusion
The basketball community is end less. Dont think just because you didnt make it to
compete in the next level of basketball doesnt mean you have to give up your love
for the sport. Universities and colleges everywhere have amazing programs to keep
your love for the game alive. If you did make it to the next level remember the real
reason you when you are going through a rough practice or a bad game. You are
only doing in cause you feel in love with the game.