Rural Routes: Pickup basketball game brings out friends' energy, competitiveness

Editor’s Note: Rural Routes is an ongoing photo feature series about Southeast Missouri residents.

CHAFFEE, Mo. — Eli Glueck and Craig Hanlon had a basketball game in a few hours, but that mattered less than the fact they were currently down by 2 in a different game and the deficit was growing.

Their neighbor, Jay Jeremiah, was eyeing the eighth-graders up again, dribbling the basketball slowly.

Even though they always played two-on-one, Jeremiah almost always proved too much for Glueck and Hanlon to handle.

Jeremiah split the pair to score. At the top of the key, Glueck urged Hanlon to play smart.

Jay Jeremiah, left, looks to put up a shot while being guarded by friends Eli Glueck, center, and Craig Hanlon, right, while playing pickup basketball Wednesday at the Glueck home in Chaffee, Missouri.TYLER GRAEF

“Remember, passing’s the name of the game,” Glueck said. “Or just shoot it.”

Their predictably disjointed possession ended with a missed layup and Glueck laid out flat on the damp concrete.

“Don’t get hurt before the game!” Glueck’s mom, Tammy, yelled from the sideline. “Play like you’re going to play tonight. No cheating.”

“What if we were planning on cheating?” Eli asked as Jeremiah feinted left.

She answered her son’s sarcasm by reminding him of the score, now 16-12.

Craig Hanlon climbs through the basketball hoop's net with a helpful boost from friend Eli Glueck (not pictured) after playing pickup basketball Wednesday at the Glueck home in Chaffee, Missouri.TYLER GRAEF

“(Jeremiah) is like the best kid at basketball in the City of Chaffee and everybody knows it,” Tammy explained.

Though the boys played basketball constantly, she said Hanlon and her son almost never beat Jeremiah.

“We’ve never even got within 10 points,” Eli lamented, watching a wayward pass from Hanlon sail into the bushes. “Craig, I hate you!”

Cackling with laughter, Hanlon fished the ball out and gave it back to Jeremiah.

“The game tonight is gonna be worrisome,” Tammy teased.

But despite their fast and loose approach, the boys eventually managed to tie the game.

“20-20,” Tammy announced. “Next basket wins.”

“Okay, Craig, get up here,” Eli told his teammate.

“So when he burns us there’s no one back there?” Hanlon countered.

“No, I’ll go and foul him,” Eli said.

As it happened, both sides then hit a dry spell. Tammy’s husband, Grayson, joined her in the driveway to watch the final point, which wouldn’t come for another 5 minutes.

“Its funny,” he said. “You could drive by today, tomorrow, whatever it would have been — basketball, baseball, football — they could have made something up and they’d be out here jackin’ around.”

Tammy agreed, marvelling at the boys’ boundless energy.

When Hanlon and Eli finally scored to end the game, both they and Jeremiah agreed to play again, but soon decided it would be more fun to lower the hoop to 7 feet and practice dunks.

“I hope you guys have some energy left tonight for the game,” Tammy said.

Eli told her it would be no problem.

“This,” he said, as Hanlon launched up for a dunk, “is better than pregame mac and cheese.”