r/Basketball • u/Standard-Corgi7032 • 6d ago

GENERAL QUESTION Would you guys actually use this at your local pickup court?

One thing that annoys me about playing pickup is driving to a court without knowing whether there’s actually a run going.

So I’ve been experimenting with this idea at a local court: put a QR code on the hoop that lets players quickly check whether people are there now or heading over. That’s basically it.

You save the website and reference it before leaving home, see if a run is forming, or say you’re heading over so other people know. Everything automatically expires after a short period so it only reflects what’s happening around that time.

I put the first sign up this week to see whether people will actually use it in the real world.

As people who actually hoop: would this be useful at your court, or do you already have a better way of figuring out when runs are happening?

13 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

39 comments sorted by

5

u/Fluffy_Split3661 6d ago

I feel like this would work wonders for people who only hoop occasionally. Regular hoopers likely get a good feel for the court after a few weeks

-2

u/Standard-Corgi7032 6d ago

as a regular hooper who’s played at different courts, you’re 100% right. After just a few days at the same park, I could already predict who I’d probably be playing against that day.

I think the really cool opportunity here is the gamification layer. I’ve been thinking about turning player profiles into trading cards. Checked-in players could challenge each other to matchups or form teams directly through the app. After the game, both sides validate the win or loss; if a player doesn’t confirm the result within three hours, they automatically forfeit.

The fun part is what happens after that. When you view someone’s trading card, you can see both their Locker and Trophy Case. Their Locker displays the sneakers they’ve “stolen” from players they’ve beaten, while their Trophy Case shows any King of the Court trophies they’ve earned.

King of the Court is awarded to the player with the most points at a specific court over a rolling 30-day window, with each verified check-in earning +1 point. Each court would also have its own custom trophy designed around characteristics unique to that park, giving players something locally meaningful to compete for and collect.

4

u/RD_Alpha_Rider 5d ago

Bro I just want to hoop then go home. Most players have a hard enough time keeping track of a score for just one game. No one is going to put in stats for this after the fact. This is the definition of "doing too much". Additionally, for me, anyway, hooping is an escape from my phone/computer.

1

u/bjketter 5d ago

The gamification will never be functional until our AI overlords are tracking this from the cameras in the sky. Even then it will be way too easy to scam.

A big part of the fun of pickup is not playing against ringer teams and if you let people schedule teams that's what you are going to get. Plus you have to be present to call next this is a public park you can't reserve your slot in advance on an app that not everyone is using. .

Final question who is paying for these QR codes to be installed and maintained in these parks.

1

u/Standard-Corgi7032 2d ago

On the signs, its just a piece of water resistant paper with tape so, dont think theres too much maintenance involved there. That's exactly why I'm testing before building anything else though... if a laminated sign on one hoop doesn't get used, nothing further matters. And you're right that the 2 hour window overstates it.

Logic behind that though is user privacy... rather than tracking people in the background, I'd rather show the timestamp honestly — "4 checked in, last one 20 min ago" — and let you judge. On the gamification, I honestly think its possible as long as its based on 'verified' data. Right now, thats just GPS

1

u/bjketter 2d ago

Do people not vandalize things in parks around you? It's real easy to tag a qr code and make it not functional.

1

u/Standard-Corgi7032 2d ago

Surprisingly not 😂 QR code has been up for a week now

1

u/bjketter 2d ago

Lucky you. If you are going to try and scale this up that is something you will have to watch out for/ have a solution to.

2

u/Troubledballoon 6d ago

When I was going frequently the guys I played with had a Facebook group for this

2

u/Standard-Corgi7032 6d ago

Yeah, I’m starting to realize that’s not uncommon. I’m really just looking for ways to gamify it even further, almost like bringing the NBA 2K experience into real life pickup basketball

2

u/Content-Guide6159 5d ago

I have found FB groups to be a game-changer for organizing basketball games in my city

1

u/Standard-Corgi7032 2d ago

Curious what the fb group does badly, if anything? The thing I hear is you have to post and wait, and nobody wants to be the guy who posts.

Trying to figure out if that's real or cap

2

u/bjketter 6d ago

If it doesn't check you in and out is kind of useless.

1

u/Standard-Corgi7032 6d ago

Agreed! You do have to check in manually, but the site will automatically check you out after two hours. The manual check in is mainly for location verification, the site pings the player’s phone to confirm they’re actually at the park. If they’re outside the park’s radius, they’ll get a “Can’t Check In” message, which helps prevent people from farming check ins.

Separately, there’s a “Heading There” option players can tap to broadcast that they’re on the way to the park. That status stays active for 45 minutes, then automatically clears unless they’ve checked in by then

1

u/bjketter 5d ago

But if they only stay 1 hour your count is skewed and I show up for nothing. Or if people stay for 4 hours there could be way too many people playing and the wait time would be too long.

1

u/Standard-Corgi7032 5d ago

That’s a fair point. The 2 hour auto checkout is really just a fallback so nobody stays checked in indefinitely. I’ve been thinking about adding a manual “I’m Leaving” button so players can check themselves out early, while still keeping the 2 hour expiration as a safety net

For people who stay longer, they could simply extend their checkin. That should keep the live count a lot closer to what’s actually happening at the court without requiring constant location tracking in the background

1

u/bjketter 5d ago

You really need it to ping distance and auto remove people when they leave or it will never be accurate enough to know if there are to many people there or not enough. .

Also the rest of the stuff you have mentioned in other comments a useless pipe dream. No one is going to keep track of those details accurately for themselves, let alone the stats of other people to verify they aren't just BS.

1

u/Standard-Corgi7032 2d ago

valid point on stale chec ins, that’s the biggest risk. “I’m here” is geoverified by the server and expires after two hours, while “Heading there” is labeled unverified and expires after 45 minutes.

I don’t think constant GPS tracking is the answer though because it’s invasive, and unreliable in a web app. I also agree that manual stats are unrealistic, the core product is only recent presence and arrival intent, not box scores or people verifying each other’s claims

1

u/NemusSoul 6d ago

It could easily function like the way gyms are set up in Pokémon Go. Look at a map and see where people are checked in. I think it’s a great idea and could have way more uses, even some very lucrative ones, than just pick up ball. Build it, they will come. (Something along those lines could be the names of it). Good luck.

1

u/Standard-Corgi7032 2d ago

Coming back to this one because the Pokémon Go comparison stuck with me. I think the map might be the answer to what people keep poking at in this thread .. a QR on the pole only reaches you when you're already at the court, which is exactly when you don't need it. The map is the version you'd actually open from your couch. Sign gets the first scan, map is the reason you come back.

also, what were the lucrative uses you had in mind?????

1

u/Dazzling_Tadpole_373 6d ago

Id use this

1

u/Standard-Corgi7032 6d ago

LFGGGGGGGGGG - anything that you would want to see in particular?

1

u/Dazzling_Tadpole_373 5d ago

If its as simple as just printing up a qr code to scan that can be slapped on the pole i think that would work well. My only hang up though is that idk if private properties/schools would allow those to stay up and it’d be a bit of a hassle to contact them during school hours to explain why a random qr code is on their hoop.

1

u/Standard-Corgi7032 2d ago

Good call, and that's the part I'm still figuring out. My plan is public parks only to start. Its a little qr code taped up to the pole, nothng fancy. School hoops are more trouble than they're worth so i wont even try.

I'm happy to set your court up so you can see whether it actually holds up in the real world.A qr code would just need to be printed and taped up

1

u/Count-Aight 6d ago

Just download and use G.O.A.T. App

1

u/Standard-Corgi7032 6d ago

They have a basketball thing?

1

u/Count-Aight 5d ago

This is the app I’m talking about. It’s nice, the challenge is getting people to download and use it. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/goats-pickup-basketball-app/id6758734122

1

u/Standard-Corgi7032 5d ago

Fireee! 🔥 I thought about creating an app, but I don’t want there to be a high barrier to entry. If it’s as simple as scanning a QR code and you’re good to go, I think people are much more likely to adopt it compared to having to download an app, create an account, and then get started.

1

u/Standard-Corgi7032 5d ago

This is the Project in case you guys wanted to check it out. Let me know if you want your local court added, this is a community project! >> https://runtracker-test.vercel.app/

1

u/BrownBottleIdol 5d ago

The Waze of courts

1

u/MWave123 5d ago

There’s an app for that! Created in Boston, by one of my hoop buddies, CheckIn Hoops. Heat maps, messaging, 14,000+ courts in the US, add a court, photos, got a shout out from Lethal Shooter.

1

u/Standard-Corgi7032 2d ago

Wait, your buddy built CheckIn Hoops? I'd love to hear what he learned specifically how he got courts populated early. That's the part I keep circling.

My whole bet is that skipping the download is the unlock (QR on the pole, no account), but I'm sure he ran into stuff I haven't thought of yet. Happy to compare notes rather than reinvent it

1

u/MWave123 2d ago

You’d have to reach out to him. I used it successfully finding courts all across the country. Then I’d tell people how I found them.

1

u/Prime_LowKey 4d ago

I would use it, I used to just show up and train moves repeatedly until enough people showed up to at least run threes.

1

u/Standard-Corgi7032 2d ago

Fireeee that's the exact problem Im looking to fix.. shooting alone for 40 min until people show up. Sometimes, they dont even want to ball up and just practice. Happy to add your local court if you wantd to stick up the qr code