Jackie Robinson Gym on 147th St. and Bradhurst, Harlem USA.
Last Tuesday, it was in the 60s outside as I shot my first Bounce Magazine cover. Yes, I’m proud to say that my photography skills are improving! Mad proud about that, and shout-out to EIC Jesse Washington for giving a brother confidence and an op (even though he’s been scared to meet me for a 1-on-1 rematch for 2 years now since I dribbled the ball through his legs in front of all his A.P. co-workers–Jess, don’t front, you know it happened)! Of course, I can’t yet tell you who will be on the front page, however I can tell you that it was at West 4th St., and after we were done, the camera went to the side and I ran fulls for two hours! You know how Bounce do! Ha ha. Honestly, the comp was terrible, but it was nice to see that W4th announcer “Butta” actually had a decent game. Yeah, he’s hilarious on the mic, but he will box out a dude twice his weight and run like a madman on D. Love having dudes like that on your squad. We won all day. A passerby on the fence yelled to me, “Yo, Bob, why didn’t the Knicks keep you for the halftime reports?” I told him, “Yeah, man, they can fire me but not Isiah, right? Ha ha!” Everyone started rolling.
So later that day, www.bouncemag.com contributor Guy Ruffin invited me to meet “Jiggy” Josh up at the Jackie Robinson Gym in Harlem. Supposedly Josh turned down an $85,000 overseas offer to return to school. He averaged 20+ in both Kingdome and EBC last summer. Kid is tough. As tired as I was from West 4th, I couldn’t turn down an opportunity to run on the same court with him. You know how Bounce do! Ballplayers first, writers second. The ceiling was so low it smacked my long range jumper back in my face. Going strong to the hole is just not my strength, so I happily became a role player. I love gyms like these, reminds me why New Yorkers like Rod Strickland were so nice at taking it to the saucepan. You have no choice. “Jiggy” was impressive. Dribbles low through presses, changes directions at top speed no problemo. Nice kid, too. I’m just glad I didn’t have to check him!
Love playing ball. That was 4 and a half hours in one day. I’m 41 years old. And ain’t stopping . . .
January 16th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Jeremy Ripley says:
Kool Bob-Hopefully I’ll have the good fortune of being able to play healthily at age 41! Approx. how many gyms are there in the 5 boroughs?
January 16th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Bobbito Garcia a.k.a. Kool Bob Love says:
there are 500+ outdoor courts in NYC. i have no idea how many gyms, but imagine less that the amount of playgrounds.
January 17th, 2008 at 1:41 am
Saku 39 says:
There are a good number of recreation centers around NYC that are cheap to use and some of them have pretty nice gyms. The one in Brownsville, Al Smith in Chinatown, and St. Mary’s in the Bronx are nice if I recall.
Kinda interesting but I think “Fly” Williams works in Brownsville.
How old is “Jiggy” Josh? I saw him at the Tri-state Classic over the summer and he made some great plays and passes.
January 17th, 2008 at 8:24 am
Bobbito Garcia a.k.a. Kool Bob Love says:
i’m under the impression that jiggy josh is around 18-19 years old, but he has the strength of a 27 year old. ‘fly’ williams absolutely is still out there, runs a kid’s camp out of the brownsville rec. center on the weekends.
January 17th, 2008 at 11:17 am
Saku 39 says:
Thanks for the info. Jiggy looked young but the way he handled some of the older guys made me think he was a vet. I look foward to seeing more of him in the future.