Hoopwear for the Beach

Now that surfing, volleyball, skating and cycling have made their mark on beach culture and men’s fashion, former collegiate player Bob Capener says it is basketball’s turn.

“It hits on the California lifestyle just as much as surfing does,” he says.

He’s not just dribbling in the sand. There are courts on virtually every beach in Southern California, and they stay busy from early morning to dusk, especially on the weekends.

As with volleyball, oceanside basketball courts make certain concessions to the locale. They are generally smaller than indoor courts, so teams are usually composed of three, rather than five, players. Because the offshore wind changes the ball’s trajectory, players tend to drive more to the hoop than shoot long, three-point shots. And since this is the beach, where attitude is everything, the team that scores gets to keep the ball.

Capener hopes that hoopsters will soon rival their volleyball counterparts stylistically as well. Two years ago, he started Above the Rim Hoopwear, a San Diego-based line of shorts, tops and sweats addressing the beach players’ needs. Tank tops have extra large armholes for jump shots. The shorts are extremely baggy, for comfort, and long, for fashion.

Whether they wear his label or not, the beach basketball crowd has its own look. In Orange County and San Diego, players wear long baggy shorts over Lycra bike shorts--more for style than support.

They wear short socks or roll them down so just a hint pops over their Air Jordan shoes. This supposedly is for comfort, but more importantly, it hides telltale tan lines. And many of those in sunglasses choose Oakleys because the nosepiece keeps the glasses in place during play. There is a good chance of physical contact, however, so most players simply squint.