Player Spotlight: 5 Questions with James "Big Mike" Oliver
Player Spotlight: 5 Questions with James "Big Mike" Oliver
This week we like to put our player spotlight on James “Big Mike” Oliver from our Baybrook, TX league. Big Mike has played 13 seasons now in Ultimate Hoops.
What motivates you to never retire from basketball? Simply, I like to compete. To compete against others and against myself. Just the grind of competing with yourself and against others is what I enjoy the most. The payoff is when you make the effort and compete to earn the respect of others on and off the court. Used to race cars for quite a few years till it was too expensive and was not fun. Moved over to basketball and found that same competitiveness and stayed with it through the years.
What has been the most memorable basketball experience of your life? For me it's the camaraderie that is developed playing on different teams and in different leagues. the esprit de corps that is developed. Also the fact that I am still playing "somewhat" competitively at this age is also fun.
Who is the most underrated basketball player in your opinion? Its the player(s) that are 7th or 8th in the rotation of a team. They have role and play their role every time they enter the game. Normally, what they bring does not show up on the stat sheet, whether its to spell a top five players a few minutes of rest, to be a phyiscal presence in the line up when one is needed, to add speed, size or to even slow the tempo down in a game. The unsung players whose game does not show up on the stat sheet but are an integral part of any team as they do all the little things that allow a team an opportunity to win.
What is one advice you give to younger generation? Take care of your body, it tells you what you need to know. Also, its a game, its suppose to be fun. Competitive, yes, but also fun. It takes a team to to win, so be competitive and have some fun.
What has been you favorite place to travel in your lifetime? Each year for the last 35-years, a group of us that have been friends for since elementary school met up in central Texas to go bird hunting one weekend out of the year. All the families go and essentially everyone shuts the phone off, drops out and tunes out real life and enjoy what life has given us so far.