No, I didn’t go on the court with this combo, but I sure did consider it for a second! I had everyone at the 14th St. Y hawking, though, particularly the older heads who, like me, grew up with Pro-Keds as premium brand of choice for the ’70s in New York. There has not been a day that I’ve worn these where I haven’t been stopped dead in my tracks by someone asking, “Where can I buy those?!” I was on a pay phone and this dude had the nerve to even ask me. I was like, yo, don’t you realize you’re wasting my quarter? Ha ha! Read More »
One of the best players in NYC streetball circuits, Corey ‘Homicide’ Williams did another great season in Australia. 187 was the star on his team one more time, but this year he got a special motivation in NBL: a dunk competition with his teammate Rosell Ellis. They bet to see who have the most dunks in the season. How much money? $1000…
I got a request from one of our loyal on-line responders to make a TOP 10 list of the greatest moments on the playground last summer. And so with some assistance from some playground experts, I’m about to set it off.
10. Brandon Jennings at EBC – Young Money plays in his first official EBC game.
09. Mike Glover scoring 100 points in 2 games at Hoops in the Sun.
08. John Wall’s left-handed dunk at Elite 24 @ Rucker Park – Came down with the left-hand and leapt like superman with the left-hand yoke that brought the park to its feet.
07. PR Pride scoring 178 points in an non-overtime game at Hoops in the Sun.
06. Mike Beasley at Pro-City – B-easy dropped 39 in the second half for Gold’s Gym.
05. “Sponge Bob” going for 52 against Kevin Durant and Mike Beasley in D.C.
04. Corey “Homicide” Williams’ week of 40 (four games straight). – Caught Artest and Smush at Pro-City for 2 games and then did it at Together We Chill and out in Queens.
03. Antawn “Anti-Freeze” Dobie scoring 88 points in two games at Nike Tournament of Champions.
02.Ron Artest – Everywhere, at every tournament in NYC last summer.
01. Kenny Satterfield scoring 68 at Hoops in the Sun breaking the scoring record. The “Cab Driver” scored 65 and Andre “3000″ Barrett had 66 in the same summer at Orchard Beach.
Bounce Edition #7 introduced an article called the “Playground Mentality” from my Street Dogma column. In it I explained what the column name – “Street Dogma“- meant in playground terminology. I defined “Street” as an adjective with the meaning – “Fashionable in the urban environment, especially to young people.” “Dogma” was defined as a noun, and the definition read – “A belief, or set of beliefs that a political, philosophical, or moral group holds to be true. While “Street” can be used to describe a personality, how can “Dogma” be a “thing?” When a generation or group creates something new that becomes “the thing to do and the place to be” it becomes a way of life. A Playground in New York has the “Dogma” when it’s filled with players that believe in the run. In essence “Dogma” in this case simply means – true ball. In the article, I spoke about how playground ball builds players and gives them the ability to become battle-tested competitors. Click on the subscription banner up top or on the side to order the back issue.In the meantime, check out 1 of my 10 Personal Rules of Playground Ball as we get a good start to the New Year.
1. A foul is non-existent during pick-up ball unless the defender smacks, pushes, or makes the call for the offensive player. Tell me what you think, and if you like, post a comment about how you deal with fouls at your local court.
For the past couple weeks I’ve been raving about the young talent the New Jersey Nets have accumulated. In particular, the acquisition of Devin Harris has made the Nets a fast team. To have a guard that can conduct a one-man fast break, generate steals, run the high-hash screen and roll, and knock down the open jump shot has given the Nets an All-Star caliber replacement for Jason Kidd. His rise is reminiscent of the Kevin “KJ” Johnson trade to the Suns after Georgia Tech’s Mark Price won the starting point position in Cleveland. Harris, like Johnson, creates easy offense off the transition and finishes strong at the cup. Read More »
