March Madness is in full swing, so I thought, “Why not post a video of how I shoot a basketball?”

I’ve always loved playing basketball. You can see the joy on my face in this video from 1987. (I think this was the only time I ever played basketball with my prosthetic arm.) There’s just something about that “swish” as the ball goes through the net. Even better if the net is made out of chain. I’ve never played organized basketball, either for school or a rec league, but I’ve always played with my friends. Mostly we play 21 and I hold my own. Usually.

I remember once when I lived in Minnesota, I went to a park to play with my roommate. He was a black dude from Milwaukee who gave himself tattoos while we watched TV at home. I was the only white kid at the park. I called next game over and over, but they never let me in, so finally I just marched my little self out onto center court and stood there defiantly. “I’VE. GOT. NEXT,” I said sternly. A few of them laughed, but they could sense I was serious and they let me pick my team. I was so amped-up, I was flying around the court, making shots left and right. At the end of the game, they all gave “the white boy” his props…and I promptly left while I was on-top. Genius move, I think.

It was only on my way home that I thought, “Not only am I white, but I have one arm.” Not a single one of them mentioned it and Jehmel, my roommate, never said it was a factor, but part of me wonders.

Regardless, that day I proved I could hang with the big boys.

Literally. Every one of them was about a foot taller and at least 100 pounds heavier than I was.

(My only regret in the video below is that I didn’t block one of Sam’s shots and scream in his face. That would have been epic.)

Checkout Kevin Laue as an example of a guy with one hand who’s really good at basketball!

He’s got almost a foot and a half on me. Lucky.

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