Few things say neglect quite like an unhinged, bent up, rusty-peely netless basketball hoop. It’s a sad sight, often evoking more than its own decay. The weathering, though, does hold great ...

The basketball courts that I grew up playing on were barebones: netless rims, blacktop asphalt that burbled in summertime, a chain-link fence that hugged the baseline like an extra defender. That didn ...