Anxious to start the matchup with a heroic score, Darren Leggett lunged for a layup but tripped on a tire.
“I wasn’t expecting a giant car to be there,” the first-year business economics student said. “I just ran onto the court and did my thing; nobody told me the spots were made.”
The Hedrick Hall resident was joining friends for a usual pickup game when he, like others, realized that a chunk of the Saxon Suites basketball courts had been converted into parking spaces.
The five new spaces were created last week shortly after the construction of three spots near Saxon’s G Building, according to Barbara Wilson, the associate director for the Rooms Division of Housing and Hospitality Services.
The spots are intended for use only by the faculty and ORL staff who live in and work in Saxon, Rieber Vista and Rieber Terrace, Wilson said.
Because they are located closer to these residential zones, Wilson said the spaces will allow staff to operate with greater efficiency in emergencies.
“When (resident directors) are on call, we respond to all student-related emergencies on the Hill 24 hours a day,” said Saxon Resident Director Elissa Lappenga. “It is very helpful to have our vehicles accessible so we can speed up our response time.”
The new spaces replace Lot 13 spots currently occupied by trailers associated with the recently launched De Neve construction project, Wilson said.
Though creating the spots involved erasing one of the three Saxon courts, their baskets were moved to the previously empty end of the basketball area so the change would not result in a loss of court space, said Peter Angelis, assistant vice chancellor of housing.
Aside from Leggett’s stumble, Wilson said hoop-shooting students have reacted to the shift with tolerance.
Leggett said the change has not affected court crowding ““ he only wishes the area now occupied by baskets would be painted with official lines to make play flow more smoothly.
“We tried to make the impact as minimal as possible,” Wilson said.
“The re-configuration was discussed in advance with … staff and student leaders to try to minimize any negativity that may be associated with the change,” she added.
Lappenga said she has not seen evidence of any aforementioned negativity regarding the courts, which opened about a year ago.
“So far we have not received any complaints,” Lappenga said. “Students seem to be using the courts as much as ever.”