The untrained eye would never notice differences between playing team basketball and playing pick-up basketball. But I notice, and the differences are rather compelling.

I played on a high school basketball team for four years, and before that I played in other organized leagues like so many other kids do. But there is an interesting type of rebirth that occurs when a basketball player makes the transition from the hardwood to the pavement.

Not many high school basketball players have the privilege of playing for a college team. The Binghamton University men’s basketball team began its season with 16 members in a student body that contains over 11,000 undergrads. In all universities, bigger and smaller, that roster number stays relatively constant while the admission number varies. Suffice to say that it is very difficult for any basketball player to play at a college level, let alone at a Division I pace.

So what happens to all of the other basketball players? We play pick-up games.

When the weather gets warm, the outdoor basketball courts around campus fill up with all kinds of people, not just basketball players. The difference is that kids that come from the organized game play with a certain style that is not seen in a pick-up street ball star or an inexperienced athlete. The variation lies in the way that these players see the court and how they understand the game.

There is something humbling about this phenomenon. In a pick-up game, it never matters who’s more talented or who can dunk or who can score the most. The same is true in organized games. Therein lies the similarity among the multitude of differences. The purposes of playing basketball are the same: to enjoy the game and to win as a team. But basketball players do it differently, a point I’m sure other sports could justify as well.

Pick-up is a different world. There is no sport that has the propensity for rapid, random game generation that basketball does. Playing four-on-four with crappy rims amidst total strangers is a far cry from playing with a five-man team that you stick with for many seasons. In high school, you had a jersey with a number on it that proved who you were to a certain extent. Out there, you’re subject to the same kinds of preconceived judgment that the rest of the world employs before you prove them right or wrong.

But before proving worth and showcasing skills, those who hail from organized team basketball, as well as many who continue to play it, play for a different reason than others. The frequency of play and the vast amount of basketball that you learn in your past instill an irreversible quality within you. Basketball players play pick-up for the pure love of the game.

This is not, of course, universal, as there are guys who lose this message along the way, guys who feel that they need to outshine the rest of the bodies on the paved court to be the best. Many high school athletes have that attitude as well. That’s not basketball. So where do you draw the line?

Right on the pavement.

Sometimes you can tell where a basketball player has been just by playing in a game with him. There’s the under-appreciated big man with bad knees and ankles, the undersized guard that can beat you off the dribble, the trigger-happy ball hog who’s not as talented as he thinks he is, the skinny kid that has to make due among throngs of muscular power.

The unmistakable similarity in all of them that distinguishes them from everyone else on the court is their reverence for the game of basketball, not as a sport, but as an enduring part of their lives, and this is a sentiment that all sports can convey. The aforementioned transformation is held together by this glue that is the love of the game of basketball. It has a particular essence that other sports don’t have, though: an undeniable element of uniqueness in its competition, its athletes and its beauty.

Playing pick-up conveys a significant message for some young athletes. Some play to have fun, to release stress or just to hang out. But there is a noticeable trait inherent in all who are basketball players at heart, and through the change in setting from the hardwood to the pavement, that magnificent adoration of the game is more astonishing than ever.