WR Ruvell Martin takes a jump shot during Tuesday night's Green Machine basketball game at Green Bay Southwest H.S.
If you want to see a spirited debate amongst the Green Bay Packers, just get them talking about who the best basketball player is on the team.
It's something members of the "Green Machine," the charity basketball team of Packers players led and organized by wide receiver Ruvell Martin, discuss from time to time in the midst of their 24-game schedule, which began in early April and concludes in mid-June.
Here's a sample of one such discussion overheard in the locker room after the players had finished an offseason workout. It began when receiver Shaun Bodiford, drawing comparisons between Green Machine players and NBA stars, suggested fellow receiver James Jones was most like Kobe Bryant.
"No, I'm more like a LeBron (James), because I'm more power," Jones said. "Kobe is more finesse. I'm more ... take it to the basket, bump into you a little bit and lay it up."
Martin disagreed, slightly.
"But LeBron is more like ... take it to the basket, bump you, and DUNK on you. Like you said, you just lay it up."
"OK," Jones came back, "You know who I'm more like? I'm Baron Davis."
"No you're not," Bodiford retorted. "Baron Davis likes to pass the ball sometimes."
After which came howls of laughter, and the conversation was certain to be continued another day, and another.
But the fun the players have talking about basketball pales in comparison to the fun of playing it. Martin, who took over organizing the team's appearance schedule last season from Rob Davis, brings six or seven players to each game, usually played at high school gyms around the state to raise money for charity.
Some of Martin's mainstays on the team include Jones, Bodiford, and cornerback Tramon Williams. Others who play fairly regularly include offensive tackle Orrin Thompson and running back Noah Herron.
Whether it's booster clubs or fire departments arranging the games, Martin and his teammates try to accommodate as many requests as they can. Independent of their job as football players, they've traveled as far as four hours one night, to little Hammond, Wis., and played in front of 1,200 fans. (The small town near the Minnesota border has a population of roughly 1,600.) They've also played against teams with the likes of sixth graders on the court all the way up to former Wisconsin Badgers players.
Some games are more competitive than others, obviously, and a game in early May in Stoughton, Wis., near Madison, went to overtime against a team including recent Badgers senior Greg Stiemsma and 2000 Final Four team member Charlie Wills.
The Green Machine lost that one, only the second game it has lost all season, though Martin said the rumor was at their first defeat that the local scorekeeper was "helping" the home team.
"I didn't see it personally, but they said we would score and they'd give them points," Martin said. "We were taking crazy shots the whole time, though. It was fun."
{sportsad300}And that's far more the object than winning. The players do their share of dunks and alley-oops, and they take time at halftime to sign autographs and take pictures with kids in attendance.
Though the travel can get tedious at times, the players appreciate the chance to get out and compete in something other than their chosen profession.
"If it wasn't basketball, I don't think we'd be able to get guys to participate in events like this," Martin said. "The guys really love going out and playing.
"A lot of these guys played basketball back in their glory days in high school, so to get to do it again, it's fun for them."
So who really is the best player? Martin says the regulars all bring something different. He's a post-up player, Williams is a point guard with good ball-handling and vision, and Jones can create off the dribble.
"So I'd say it's pretty close between Tramon, myself and James," Martin said. "I think we all have our strengths, that's why it's good to have us playing together.
"We try to turn it into a Harlem Globetrotters deal, doing crazy passes and dunks and shots and everything. Just put on a good show and maybe they'll let you come back another year."
