"Shooting the Rock with Barack- Part 2

This past Sunday, I was granted the opportunity to play basketball with the President of the United States, Barack Obama. I was on a short list of guys that President Obama requested to play with and while he was in Chicago and I was honored to join him.

We met at 10:30am and secret service people were everywhere. There were police setting barricades and helicopters flying around to secure the location for the president's arrival. President Obama arrived at 11:00am sharp with his Chicago White Sox hat on looking like a "true" south sider! He greeted everyone personally and proceeded to get ready to play basketball!

The teams were split and there were four groups of players. President Obama and I were not on the same team this time though. He and I started out playing on different courts and we both won our games. We would play against each other in the second game because both of our teams won in the first games.

We began playing the second game against the President's squad and it was tight! President Obama scored the first three baskets for his team. (A jump shot and two layups) We were down 3-1 early in the game. Our teams battled defensively through the game and that limited the open scoring opportunities for everyone. The score of the game was 10-10 and game point was 11. I brought the ball up the court on the dribble and passed it inside to my teammate for a layup which was blocked. The President's squad drove the ball down the floor and turned the ball over to one of my teammates. My teammate proceeded to throw me the ball as I ran toward our basket. I caught the basketball and dribbled it as my defender dropped back to defend the basket. I stopped and pulled up for a 19 foot jump shot and hit the bottom of the net! We beat the President's team by one basket! President Obama was one of the first people to congratulate me on making the shot. He also was fired up at his teammate for giving me an open look at the basket. President Obama called me the "bionic man" because I wear a knee brace due to my chronic knee problems. I thought it was hilarious and everyone shared in the laughter when he said it.

When we finished playing, President Obama thanked everyone for attending and told us he looked forward to playing with us again soon. We all thanked him as well. One of the the guys yelled to the President, "When will you fly us out to D.C. to play at Camp David?" President Obama replied, " It may be sooner than you think."

Stay tuned........

Yours in Basketball,


Coach Stewart