By Randy Millard
I remember growing up playing in various tournaments in my neighborhood of Brownsville, Brooklyn. This one hot summer day, I saw this kid by the name of LeVance Fields. I was coming from the store and my man said, “Lee Lee is killin’, son. He’s only in 7th grade too, son.” I said to myself, “He’s next from the hood to go.” As the years went by, his game only further expanded.
In high school, our teams would face-off in epic battles. The Brownsville Recreation Center 16 and under league was no joke back then. It was him and Eugene Lawrence (St. John’s alum and Brownsville native) in the back court. Just think about Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings and Brandon Jacobs of the New York Football Giants in the same back field. The games were always fun and exciting. Also another memory I have is when he shared the back court with Eugene Lawrence, and the front court was Antonio Pena (Villanova Wildcat), Saiquon Stone (Southern Mississippi University) and Terrence Portis (St Thomas Aquinas College) playing in S.T.A.Y. at The Cage on Mother Gaston and Sutter Ave. Fields came from a “crime-ridden” neighborhood where the game of basketball is a gateway for people to make it out. Every time he stepped on the floor as a Pittsburgh Panther, while donning the nickname “General Lee,” he put Brownsville on his back. Even though he went undrafted in this past year, he is still keeping the hood happy with his success on the court. Read More »
Tags: Brian McKenzie, Brownsville, Eugene Lawrence, Jessie Sapp, Levance Fields, Pitt, Pittsburgh Panthers, The Brooklyn Report
9 Comments » | Posted in Articles, Best of Playground, Community, Interview, The Brooklyn Report |
By Trevor Kapp
Steve Burtt Jr. scored 29 points to lead Gold’s Gym.
It might’ve been the Q.B. fan screaming, “You ain’t that nice. You gon’ get it tonight,” as loud as he could at NBA guard Mike James. It could’ve been watching brothers Mike and Anthony Glover talk trash as they played on opposite teams. Or maybe it was Keon Lawrence getting a nasty cut above his right eye and returning just moments later.
I don’t know what exactly caused me to get goosebumps at Pro City Thursday night. But the environment during the first half of the match up between unbeatens PDG Queensbridge and Gold’s Gym was as electric as any I’ve experienced in my two years at Bounce.
With the weight of Brooklyn on its shoulders, Gold’s Gym knocked off the defending champs, 113-108. Read More »
Tags: Anthony Glover, Gold's Gym, Gordy Malone, Jessie Sapp, Keon Lawrence, Mark McCarroll, Mike Glover, Mike James, PDG Queensbridge, Pro-City, Ryan-"Special FX"-Williams, Steve Burtt Jr.
21 Comments » | Posted in The Latest |
By Trevor Kapp
Steve Burtt. Jr., seen here after a game at Tri State last summer, led Gold’s Gym to victory. Photo: Sean Couch.
After confusion and conflict, uncertainty and unrest, another summer of Nike Pro City began Thursday night at its same location with the same tournament organizers patrolling the sidelines and the same marquee talent getting after it on the court. The rumors of the tournament no longer being sponsored by Nike: false. The speculation that games wouldn’t be played at Hunter College: false. The talk that there would be no league at all: just that. Arguably the best tournament in the city is back, and if Thursday night’s action was any indication of what this season will hold, we’re in for another great summer at 68th and Lexington. Read More »
Tags: Dyckman, Gold's Gym, Hunter College, Jessie Sapp, Miguel-Millien, Mike Glover, Nike Pro City, PDQ Queensbridge, Prime Time, Steve Burtt Jr., Sundiata Gaines
14 Comments » | Posted in The Latest |
