Columnist Dean Juipe: Neglected rims, nets inexcusable

Dean Juipe

Tuesday, March 21, 2000 | 10:07 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@vegas.com or 259-4084.

As a taxpayer, it's an offensive sight.

And as a recreational basketball player, it's demeaning.

Drive around this prosperous city and look at the condition of the outdoor basketball facilities at almost any school in the Clark County School District and you quickly realize that in most cases the administrators just don't care. To say the facilities are dilapidated understates the problem.

The guilty principals, no doubt, will cry poverty. But that's a sorry and inaccurate excuse, given the expense of maintaining an outdoor basket is extremely minimal.

Let's underscore the obvious intent of outdoor facilities like the courts that abut many local schools: They're there to provide cheap and easy entertainment for youngsters, and, after school hours, for interested adults. For those inclined to participate, the pluses include improved physical fitness and the sense of nirvana that can accompany an afternoon of fresh air and, perhaps, athletic competition.

The courts were built and the baskets erected with a wholesomeness in mind.

To see them now in almost complete disrepair is a poor reflection on the schools and the men and women charged with guiding young lives.

Because it's the governor's name on the building, the problem seems most egregious at Kenny Guinn Junior High (at Flamingo and Torrey Pines). Outside of Guinn J.H. are 10 basketball standards, yet only five have the bare necessity of a rim.

Of those with rims, none have the bare necessity of a net.

And, speaking here from firsthand experience, seemingly none of the backboards, rims or nets have been replaced in years.

These are courts that once routinely attracted dozens of enthusiasts and would again, if principal Tom Gifford would do something about it. (He wasn't in Monday to defend the shoddy condition of his courts, or to answer inquiries about how Guinn likes having his name plastered above an eyesore.)

A few miles away at James Cashman Middle School stand eight backboards, seven with rims and none with nets. At nearby Clark High School there are nine backboards but only six with rims and none with nets.

However unscientific, this sampling is indicative of the obstacles would-be basketball players encounter in Las Vegas. An exception: Hyde Park Junior High, across from the Sun, has all eight of its outdoor standards in working order.

So it can be done.

It isn't expensive either. At the Sports Authority on Decatur, a pristine net that can likely withstand six months' of steady use goes for $2. A new rim is $15.

The school district has this petty cash available, and, if it doesn't, those people applying for the soon-to-be-vacant superintendent's position should immediately withdraw in disgust.

Allowing these facilities to deteriorate is shortsighted and inexcusable. They blemish the school grounds and send a negative, not-so-subtle message to the students: "Find something else to do."

It's a minor issue, unless you're one of the thousands who want to play ball.

Maybe when Gov. Guinn is back in town he can spring for the spare change to spruce up the courts by the school that bears his name. It would be a worthwhile investment.