Obama shoots hoops in Election Day tradition

President Obama kept up his Election Day tradition of a pick-up basketball game Tuesday, traveling with friends and aides to a gym on Chicago's West side.



According to a White House aide, the president planned to play with "friends and staff," although a full roster was not made available. Among those known to be in attendance: Education Secretary Arne Duncan, former personal assistant Reggie Love, and longtime friends Mike Ramos and Marty Nesbitt.



It also appeared that former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen and teammate Randy Brown were involved in the game, based on a tweet from Obama friend Alexi Giannoulias.

Randy Brown, Scottie Pippen, etc, all here!Going to be a fun day!

— Alexi Giannoulias (@Giannoulias) November 6, 2012

Okay, good news: Pippen and B.O. are both on my team!Reggie, Sec Duncan- here we come...

— Alexi Giannoulias (@Giannoulias) November 6, 2012

The gym, a 65,000-square-foot facility, is owned by Tim Grover, an athletic trainer for NBA stars including Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

The games have taken on an air of superstition for the Obama campaign after Obama skipped out on a chance to play on the day of the 2008 New Hampshire primary, which he subsequently lost to Hillary Clinton.



"We made the mistake of not playing basketball once," senior aide Robert Gibbs told USA Today on Monday. "We won't make that mistake again."

But the game drew some criticism from Republicans, including Romney travelling press secretary Rick Gorka.

Obama would rather play basketball than be President, luckily for him, voters will free up his schedule... #VoteRomney

— Rick Gorka (@Rick_Gorka) November 6, 2012