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 »
This past weekend, CNN aired a prime-time two-minute piece on me as a prelude to their upcoming Latinos In America documentary (scheduled to premiere 10/21 @ 9pm). While filming, I took them to my homeland Goat Park on 99th St to peep some pick-up games, and it made the final cut as well as my Anytime, Anyday/Bounce shorts by Shirts & Skins that I had on!
Nike reps, Bounce familia and the fans of NYC summer ball had waited for this day the way Lil’ Dez does when he sits outside Kobe and LeBron’s apartment– uncontrollably bopping around in excitement, just waiting to see their heroes.
The 1 train, The Village, Hunter College and Harlem World have all been watching and waiting to crown the team of the summer. After months of players getting after it on all surfaces in all locations, the city finally got its wish this weekend. Read More »
Unfortunately when you’re playing ball outside in NYC (or anywhere for that matter), you can’t always control the weather. So while we were set to have the 2009 Nike Tournament of Champions yesterday at Goat Park, Mother Nature thought otherwise. Nonetheless, if you’re still looking to see the winners of the four premier Nike summer leagues compete for the City Championship, head up to Gauchos Gym today. Read More »
As we mentioned earlier today, this weekend is the best basketball weekend of the summer, and we here at Bounce wanted to extend an invitation to the 2009 Nike Tournament of Champions. This Saturday, August 22 at Goat Park (99th & Amsterdam), TOC brings together the winners of the four premier Nike summer leagues (West 4th, Dyckman, Tri-State & Pro-City) to compete for the City Championship. There is also going to be a high school showcase game featuring some of the best players in the metro area, so don’t sleep. Gates open at 10:00 AM and admission is limited, so get there early!
After leaving a youth playoff game for the Entertainers Basketball Classic at Rucker Park, I walked down 8th Avenue in Harlem and noticed this:
Photo: Casey Lee
The asphalt mark signifies that the Nike Tournament of Champions (TOC) is coming to the Big Apple next Saturday at GOAT Park located on 99th & Amsterdam! Are you going to be there?
In your opinion, who will be the player to watch at the TOC and why do you think so?
