John “Mookie” Thomas helped lead N.I.K.E. 1 to a Pro City title this summer. Photo: Kevin Couliau.

The first time I heard John “Mookie” Thomas talk, I knew what he was about.

“Terrence! You were supposed to call me at 9. Now I gotta call you back,” is what he left on my voicemail.

He wasn’t really yelling nor was he really mad. The tone in his voice simply said, ‘Yo, young man. Handle ya B-I !’

With many of Crooklyn’s finest calling Mookie an older brother/uncle figure, I guess it was only right that I got the same treatment. Mookie’s all about responsibility and earning everything given to him, which was never more evident than at the Nike TOC. Read More »

Vintage EBC – Brandon Roy at 1:08

My man 40 Cal is tilting his lance at the corporate giants who have become involved in the streetball game, suggesting that ‘09 was the worst year in streetball because of their involvement. Don’t hate on 40, he’s passionate but mistaken in my opinion.

While I don’t agree with his statement, I would like to remind him that players make tournaments. The sponsors then go where the players are and for the most part, enhance the moment, not take away from it.

For many, the best moment this summer was the Dyckman Tournament Final at a park so packed, the crowd became the out-of-bounds lines. In it’s purest form for many hardcore playground observers, that’s streetball, but some don’t agree with that. Read More »

Photo: Erin Edwards

Who is your NYC Summer Player of the Year?

Summer of ‘09 is a wrap. Tri-State declared Lil Rah’s Sean Bell All Star’s the champions on a forfeit. Last time a major tournament went out like that was the Terror Squad vs S. Carter EBC forfeit back in ‘03. A straight-to-video account of the drama is available now for those who want to listen to Joe flow about how he always comes correct for the big moment.

Dyckman saw a chip played on 2/3 of a basketball court because of the “no-one-denied-access-to-the-chip-pass.” Dyckman remains “hood-deep,” as the song – “Shook Ones” – gets FunkFlex rotation uptown for those who understand what I’m saying…

St. John’s bound Dwight Hardy won two player of the year awards at Hoops in the Sun and Tri-State respectively, while Italian League star Sundiata Gaines had a strong summer too, winning the MVP at EBC and dominating at Pro-City. Adris “2 Hard 2 Guard” DeLeon closed the summer out at the Nike TOC like a terrorist on a mission, showing that he belongs among the elite scoring guards in summer city ball. Read More »