It’s 9 p.m. You and your friends make the spontaneous decision to hop on the Blue Loop and go to the IM Building for some late-night hoops.

You get off and enter the building. You find a ball and get excited to play some low-stakes, chill basketball. You circle the floor, looking for an open court and don’t see one. No big deal — maybe you just missed one. You circle again. There are no open courts because each one is being taken up by a full-on five-on-five scrimmage.

To figure out the ethics of this scenario, two of our basketball-loving staffers decided to debate whether or not on-campus basketball scrimmages should be played full-court.

Oscar Orellana: Stick To One Half Of The Court

Man, it honestly gets really tiring when I just want to shoot some hoops with my boys, and every single court is taken. Pickup basketball games and scrimmages should ONLY ever be played on half-court. You and your bros are not playing in front of NBA scouts. There’s absolutely no need to use the entire court on an already limited number of them.

From my experience, basketball is definitely the most popular sport people play in the IM Building. There are just so many people playing no matter what day it is, and when people who are bad at basketball like me want to play, it creates an issue.

I might sound close-minded, but I am not interested in joining these full-court scrimmages. Like I said, I am not talented at the great game of basketball. I never have been, and I think that’s why I was cursed with the weekly desire to go play.

My point is that there’s no reason to use the entire court for these pickup games. Pickup games are only half-court. That’s the way it is. If you want to play full-court and really show your competitive edge and basketball skills, go try to join the club team. If it’s 10 p.m. on a Thursday, please just pack it up and use your allotted side of the court. I just want to shoot some hoops, too.

Even a five-on-five game shouldn’t use the full court. I understand why some would think it does, but once again, the Lakers aren’t scouting you right now. Five-on-five could easily be played on half-court with traditional pickup rules. Therefore, I see no instance in which there are no available courts at the IM just to play some ball.

Michael Siroty: Let ‘Em Play

Listen. I get Oscar’s point. He just wants to shoot hoops, and I respect it. However, a five-on-five on something other than full court is flat-out dangerous. Plus, full-court games at the IM Building are fun.

Last year, my friend and I often played basketball at noon on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. At that time, some middle-aged gentlemen got into some heated pickup games, so the two of us joined in many times. Those games were extremely fun. I don’t know a single one of those guys’ names, but I was tossing dimes to them on the regular.

If you really need a whole side of a court to yourself, go at a different time. I’m sorry to say it, but full-court five-on-fives are here to stay.

To Oscar, you should join in on those dudes’ pickup runs. They’re absolute barn burners.

Let’s continue hoopin’, folks.