Cordero 1

Michael Cordero
Dr. Steffen Guenzel
English 1101- 14
3 November 2014
Love and Basketball
A lot of kids dream of becoming professional basketball players someday.
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 they developed this love for
basketball much like Kobe and Michael once did. Soon this dream became either a reality
or a bust. College came closer and that kid that ice dreamt of becoming a professional
basketball player now has hard decisions to make. If he had several offers he had to pick
one. Or maybe he had an offer he didnt like so he decided to go a Junior College?
Maybe he did not receive an offer and decided to go to college leaving his dream of
becoming a professional basketball player behind. The college basketball community is
huge. Dont think just because that kid didnt make it to compete in the next level of
basketball doesnt mean he had to give up his love for the sport. Universities and colleges
everywhere have amazing programs to keep peoples love for the game alive.
Doing what you love
That kid was either chosen to play at the college level or not; its as simple as that. Where
he chose to play division 1? Division 1 basketball is the highest level of competition
within the college community. Or did a lower division college recruit him such as

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division 2 or 3 colleges, which are similar to division 1 but are significantly lower
competition levels. Or did he 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. Maybe he left his dream behind and decided to attend college where he now
plays 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.
Method
I will be interviewing one athlete from each level of college basketball. Researching the
college basketball 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. I chose these three players to get a wide variety of the college basketball
community. I want to show how the college basketball community can be analyzed under
the critical lens of an Activity Theory. According to Donna Kain and Elizabeth Wardle 's
Activity Theory: An Introduction for the Writing Classroom the activity theory is used
by researchers who want to understand the relationship among people participating in

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activities, the tools people used to accomplish their activities, and the goals people have
for their activities (279).
Case 1: 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 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 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

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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
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 Division I 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.
Case 2: 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.

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Motives
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
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.

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Case 3: Intramural Basketball
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 Sigma Pis 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 just 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

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at the end of the intramural seasons in 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 Every Way
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.

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Work Cited
Martin, Malik-Price. Telephone interview. 25 Oct. 2014.
Duarte, Daniel. Telephone interview. 23 Oct. 2014.
Quiroga, Alfredo. Personal interview. 20 Oct. 2014.
Wardle, Elizabeth, and Doug Downs. "John Swales: The Concept of Discourse
Community." Writing Bout Writing: A College Reader. 2nd ed. Boston/New
York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. 215-229. Print.
Wardle, Elizabeth, and Doug Downs. "Donna Kain and Elizabeth Wardle: Activity
Theory: An Introduction for the Writing Classroom." Writing About Writing: A
College Reader. 2nd ed. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. 273-283.
Print.