Referees or not, there’s never a bad time to dribble for the joy of it. Bobbito Garcia photo.
What is the future of the And 1 and Ball 4 Real Tours? The summer of ‘07 wasn’t incredible for either, so we’re hoping our community continues to show support for these traveling showmen. Word is that the B4R may not even return for a second go ’round, and I’m sure you’ve realized that there hasn’t been a new And 1 Mixtape DVD available in two years . . . After a successful BET airing, Kingdome may be finally coming out with their own DVD for sale based on the ‘07 season . . . Former And 1 point god Tim “Headache” Gittens recently hit China along with Jack “Black Jack” Ryan to judge an ESPN City Slam-esque Dunk and Freestyle competition. He brought us back this little goodie . . .
361 “Crazy Handles” Jersey, available in China only.
Luis “Triks” DaSilva of Nike’s “Freestyle” commercial fame recently signed with the Harlem Globetrotters along with Project Playground and STREETGODZ freestyle battle NYC champion Kenny “The Blenda” Rodriguez. With those two, the ‘Trotters instantly become the most high-powered entertainment squad in the world. Can they return to the celebrated levels of the ‘Trotters of the ’60s and ’70s? . . . Jay Corbin of Rise Magazine showed some AF1 “Kool Bob Love” shine on his page:www.risemag.com/main.cfm?actionId=globalShowStaticContent&screenKey=LivinArticle&categoryKey=Kicks&articleId=11303…
TNP’s Charles Jones, formerly of the Chicago Bulls, recently showed up to the SBL @ Lab School (17th St. bet. 8th and 9th Ave.) to run for the 97th ST. crew. The league has been improving every winter. Catch the games on Sunday evenings from 4:30pm until 9:30pm . . . the Pelham Fritz 38 and over League in Harlem kicks off Sunday, November 4th from 8:30am until 4:30pm. Still the best place to see the game’s legends, including Gus Williams, “Master” Rob, “Dancing Doogie,” “Corky” Ortiz and others all while Mr. John Isaacs, the last remaining member of the original Harlem Rens, and Joe Hammond watch from the crowd . . .
October 29th, 2007 at 1:22 am
Bakar says:
I feel your point on dribbling for the joy of it, but kinda uncomfortable with the whole streetgodz thing. While I’m all for boogie cracizack moves on the bball court, it feels disconnected when you push it as an event by itself, na’mean? It’s like when Dirty South cats branched away from hip-hop and started bounce music… Anyway, we’re already seeing kids with stupid fresh dribbling skills but don’t even know how to bounce pass, and that’s just straight-up sad. Sorry if I opened up an old can of worms; but just my 2 cents.
October 29th, 2007 at 11:10 am
Bobbito Garcia a.k.a. Kool Bob Love says:
bakar-
‘preciate your honesty, but you’re way off course. there’s nothing wrong with a kid taking joy in ballhandling, similar to rodman specializing in rebounding and D but buttcrack for a jumper or anything else. not every kid is cut out for organized ball. freestyling increases the opportunity for more people to be included in our beloved sport. if i player gets cut from his school squad, is too short to get chosen for next at the pick-up, what’s wrong with him or herpracticing tricks in front of a mirror? and for those who can do both, practicing fun skills will only improve their overall hand speed. believe–i so appreciate those who can do everything, but they are few. many NBA players can’t even spin a ball on their finger or dribble with their opposite hand. now that’s ’straight up sad . . .’
October 29th, 2007 at 11:21 pm
Bakar says:
No disrespect, I get your point about Rodman focusing on boards; but one can argue that his skill still falls within the context of the game. Unfortunately, you can’t say that for most freestyle moves. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE seeing cats do magic with the pill. What I don’t agree about is people, especially kids, growing up solely on mixtapes and neglecting to develop their fundamentals. That’s like substituting a meal of chicken, greens, mac-and-cheese and yams with a couple of Twinkies. And everyone knows that you gotta finish your plate first before having dessert. That said, I agree that not all people are cut out play organized ball, and it takes a lotta hard work to master boogie moves. Much love.
October 31st, 2007 at 9:56 am
CCB says:
I think “purists” love to see the game in its most fundamental state and when they witness kids who can’t, ‘make a bounce pass, shoot a free throw,’ they become irritated with Basics to Boogie and blame the marketers of street culture. It is the same in Hip-Hop. We tend to see the underground, backpackers as the legitimate heirs to the throne of Poor Righteous Teachers and Digable Planets. But with this elitist idea all we do is widen chasm between generations and in doing so both Hip-Hop and Hoops suffer because we are unable to see that all elements exist to strengthen the genres. The only problem is when certain aspects are marketed a lot more than others. It is the idea that a kid knows what iTunes and not Sandbox.
Entertainment and hoops go together like babies and pampers. As long as the NCAA is alive and well fundamentals will always be discussed, taught and done. It is okay for guys to do both. I think elitism actually hurts both Hip-Hop and Hoops. Just my two cents.
October 31st, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Bakar says:
CCB, while it’s true that there are haters who use a “purist” and “elitist” view to split basketball (and hip-hop, for that matter) up, don’t forget that commercialism is doing the same exact thing, too. Young’ns nowadays already don’t know hip-hop beyond Lil’ Wayne, 50 and T.I. I’m sure we don’t want the same thing happening to hoops. If we let people promote freestyle ball at the expense of the rest of the sport, then we are hurting our beloved game as well.
All I’m saying is that we should love and enjoy basketball as a whole. Take pride in perfecting our handles, but work on passing, shooting and low-post moves too. If we can spend hours mastering variations of typewriter drills, then there’s no reason why we can’t put in the same effort to improve other aspects of our game. Do that,and then maybe we can justify ourselves when we say to the world that ‘the playground is not the problem; it’s the solution’. Word is bond.