"Shooting the Rock with Barack"

Above is a picture of me, Larry Stewart, General Manager of Basketball Operations at the Chicago Bulls/White Sox Training Academy (far left black Bulls shirt). We took a group photo after playing basketball on Tuesday, December 9th at University of Chicago Labratory High School in Hyde Park on the south side of Chicago. It happens to be the neighborhood that President-elect Barack Obama lives in as well. It is a known fact that Barack is a basketball fanatic and even played on the day he was elected as our 44th president!

I was on my way to Lab School (the nickname for University of Chicago Labratory High School) to get my weekly basketball run with the Lab coaching staff and arrived early. I had planned to watch practice and stretch before I played. Upon my arrival, I was met by a secret service agent who was thoroughly patroling the gym. I thought it was odd but didn't ask any questions at the time. One of the secret service agents informed me that President-elect Obama was joining us to play basketball. I could not believe what was happening! They continued to secure the gym as the other players arrived. Fifteen minutes later, in walks Barack! He glided in with a Chicago White Sox cap on his head an spoke to each and every person that was in the gym. The group was in awe as Barack shot around and stretched. He immediately made us forget that he had just been elected President of the United States by cracking a joke. We all laughed because the joke was funny! He immediately showed his ability to connect with people and that something I have seen consistantly throughout his campaign.

We picked our teams and I ended playing on the same team with Barack Obama. This could be a good or bad situation depending on what the outcome of our games are. I assured Barack that he was playing with the correct team and he would leave the gym as a winner! We began playing and things began to fall in place. We won the first game 21-11!

In the second game, Barack began to settle in. He hit 2 three pointers from the right wing and had a beautiful drive to the basket and finished it with a left-handed fingeroll layup. As he drove the lane, it parted like the red sea! No one would want to be responsible for injuring the next President of the United States! Barack's response after driving the lane and scoring the layup was, "Is anyone going to guard me!" We all laughed but he continued to play aggresively with the team. He was encouraging, positive and vocal. He defended well and knew where to be on the floor. Barack's overall game was extremely smooth and he is fundamentally sound. He is a good shooter and makes shots when he is open. He is a very good passer as well.

When the 4th game had finished, Barack's team had won its 4th game. We did not lose a game! It was a great experience to have to the opportunity to play basketball with Barack Obama. It is one of those surreal moments that you cannot prepare for. This man is going to be our next president! The beautiful thing about the experience is we were playing basketball together. The game we both love and respect!