photo: thesunblog.com

Basketball, broken down to its simplest compound, is about scoring more buckets than the team you’re playing against. The Semi-Automatic refers to players who leave bodies in their wake with their innate ability to get buckets. And once upon a time, not too long ago, Jay Williams took the college game by the throat with some fierce offensive weaponry. Read More »

photo: cbssports.com

Basketball, broken down to its simplest compound, is about scoring more buckets than the team you’re playing against. The Semi-Automatic refers to players who leave bodies in their wake with their innate ability to get buckets. And no rookie since the All-Time greats Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Earl “The Pearl” Monroe and Wilt Chamberlain did what Brandon Jennings, aka The Takeover, did this weekend. Read More »

On Friday the 13th, I was involved in an unfortunate incident, where I was slashed across the face as you can see in the picture above, in my own area of the Lower East Side. Read More »

As a premier performer on the street, both as a chill out shoe and a ballers shoe, the Jordan brand rolls on and on after 25 years of strong game that only the Chuck Taylor and the Nike Air Force 1 have approached.

Now, D. Wade enters the Jordan house with an NBA title and a new shoe deal, joining an elite group of NBA performers who rock the Jordan brand. Finally, MJ has broken me down. My kids are laughing at me right now because they know I get my joints for free for the most part. After 25 years of watching the butters roll by like Benz’s on 24’s, I’m going to go out and get myself a pair. I know I must look like an alien to most of the basketball world right now, but I’m got. Read More »

photo: sculu.com

The Dunk! The Ram! The Slam! The Bong! Whatever you want to call it, it’s an art form, birthed on the playground, that has revolutionized the way the game is played. And few players excelled at it with the stealth and sizzle of Isaiah “JR” Rider. Read More »

photo: nbaloud.com

Toward the end of the summer, I hit up my man Miles Rawls, the commissioner of DC’s renowned George Goodman League. We talked about the summer highlights from Barry Farms, the seasoned vets and young boys on the come up, the standout performances, etc.

When I asked him if he’d been in touch with Agent Zero, who has come down to the Goodman League on the regular since arriving from Golden State, and is a crowd favorite due to his down to earth demeanor and strong playground love, Miles’ voice jumped an octave. Read More »

Clark “Mr. Backboard” Elie was born into the world on December 20, 1954. Growing up in Manhattan’s Upper West Side neighborhood, he played ball with his friends and wasn’t the best at it. At Brandeis HS, he ran intramurals, not varsity. In the early ’70s, the group of cats he rolled with all got recruited to play college ball outside New York. Left behind, he decided to attend City College. And that’s when the legend started . . .

“We used to tease him,” childhood friend Greg “Elevator Man #2″ Brown reminisced with me. “But when we all went away, that’s when Clark got 20 times better!” Elie wound up taking a couple of CUNY chips at CCNY, but his legendary tear in the parks began when Greg Brown returned home. The two, along with Clark’s little brother Mario, wound up terrorizing every playground in the vicinity. Read More »

Milton “UltraReady” Lee (back turned) and Sean “In Fin” Couch demonstrate closing out on a defender. Photo: Alton Ritter.

Baruch College turned into one big turntable early Sunday morning as players from NYC’s Public School Athletic League got into the rhythm of basketball conditioning on the run. Over 90 boys and girls representing 10 P.S.A.L teams came out to work on their conditioning for the upcoming season. With sneakers stuttering against waxy wood, the players got into our world-famous tap rebounding drill that takes players out of the gym, up staircases and back into the gym to catch a basketball on the far side of the court, tap it against the backboard and take off again. Trainer Milton Lee dropped cones like they were hot during the drill, turning the straight run into a defensive sliding, shuffle cutting, stutter-stepping frenzy that had the gym in a rhythm that lovers of straight ball and the street game appreciate. Read More »