By Pastor Mark Hopper

Pastor Mark Hopper

The highlight of the college basketball season is “March Madness.”  This is when 64 college teams are selected to participate in the annual NCAA basketball tournament.

During the month of March, these 64 teams will be reduced to the Final Four and only one will be crowned the champion.  It is an exciting month.

I have told you that when I was in high school, I played baseball and ran cross country; but, my favorite sport in school was playing basketball.

I am not very tall and I wasn’t very fast, but I loved to play basketball.  Unlike baseball and cross country, there were usually a lot of people at a high school basketball game.

There were cheerleaders, lots of fans, and usually a small “pep band” that filled our school gym with noise and energy.  It was loud and crazy and lots of fun.

I played point guard on the team.  My job was to set up plays and pass the ball to my teammates near the basket.  I was also expected to play defense and prevent the other team from getting a fast break and easy bucket at our end of the court.

Basketball is fluid; it keeps moving.  Plays and opportunities develop quickly and it was fun to work with other members of our team to score a basket.

Baseball is different.  It is a slow paced game where you wait for the pitcher to pitch and the hitter to hit.  A baseball game can last for hours.  A basket ball game is a lot faster and a lot shorter.

One of my favorite movies is, “Hoosiers.”  It is about a basketball team from a small town in Indiana that makes it to the state finals.  In one scene, the coach tells a player, “Don’t shoot the ball unless you are right under our basket and no one else is around!”

I think that is what my high school coach said to me.  I think he preferred that I pass the ball and shoot as little as possible.  I think I usually scored about 4 points a game.  I do remember scoring 13 points one time, but most of them were on free throws!

March Madness is almost here.  College teams from around the country will be competing for the national title.  For a few short weeks, basketball will capture the attention of the sports world and fill our TV screens with many memorable moments.

I hope you can enjoy it.  I know I will.

Pastor Mark Hopper is from the Evangelical Free Church of Diamond Bar, 3255 South Diamond Bar Ave. Sunday services are 9 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. For more information, call (909) 594-7604 or visit http://www.efreedb.org.