●Harlem is almost synonymous with street basketball, but it's the culture of "Rock Basketball" that's the essence of it.
This is the temple of street basketball, and even an NBA superstar like Kobe has to be humbled when he comes to Rock Park.
Dressed in a sleeveless gold T-shirt and knee-length shorts, R&B star Mary J. Billedge, leaning comfortably in her courtside seat, cheers enthusiastically for her team. It was a great feeling to be able to watch a top-notch basketball game on a leisurely evening.
Is this the front row section of the court at Hollywood's star-studded Madison Square Garden?NO, but it's no less famous than Square Garden, and when a friend asks where Billie Gee is, Billie Gee blurts out through the phone, in proud tones, that she's at the game at Holcombe-Rock Memorial Park.
Biligi, like the other 500 or so spectators, was already on her feet and dancing with excitement. Like a proud mother, she applauded a beautiful dunk by their team's center. The "Mary's All-Stars," named after her, were already well ahead of another team called "Tyson Ricketts.
Passion, for Biligi at this point, is definitely not about grandstanding.
"When I was a kid, there was nothing fun to do, almost nothing to do." Billie Gee spoke movingly of her reasons for sponsoring the tournament, "But Rock Basketball has changed everything, it gives kids fun, it gives them hope and confidence. If you love basketball, there's no doubt that this is the place for you."
She also goes to Plaza Gardens for NBA games, but perhaps it's a preference that Biligi thinks the Rock is more fun: "This is where the real basketball culture is expressed. It's now one of the most famous places in New York where you can see so many aspects of American culture."
The Mecca of World Street Basketball
It's a Monday night, and Rock Park is lit up.
Williams, RBK's "Bone Collector," used his incredible speed to shake off defenders, his crossover dribbling between his legs underneath his legs to fool defenders, and his behind-the-back passes that were as accurate as eyes behind his back, sending fans screaming for more... ...
The timeout was punctuated by hot, hard-hitting hip-hop music, just the right amount of melodrama from the DJ, and performances by rappers that kept the fans in a constant state of high spirits. A few black guys couldn't hold back their excitement and rushed onto the field to perform one of New York's most popular "street dances," with no security guards to stop them. A lot of restless asses were already wiggling along with the kids.
Mr. Holcombe Locker, the creator of street basketball in Rock Park, could only have dreamed that his "work" would be so respected and sought after today.
Forty years ago, the park was a huge dump without renovation, and when the wind blew, residents around the area could smell the stench of floating garbage.
In 1965, Locke, the director of the New York Parks Department of City Affairs, moved his longtime obsession with street basketball to the park's open court, which, despite some renovation, was still surrounded by abandoned buildings and paved with asphalt. If you fall hard in a collision, you leave a trail of blood.
But now it's a haven for street kids pursuing their dreams of freedom, and Rock Park has gradually established itself as the world's Mecca for street basketball from being New York's best street basketball spot and the nation's shrine to the game. It has the best reputation, the best players, the highest street culture, so that the Greenwich Village "Street Cage", Coney Island Gardens, Philadelphia Baker, and other famous street basketball location can not be expected.
The Coolest Lifestyle
If Holcombe Rock were still alive, he would have received New York's Medal of Honor. Rock Park is now the beating heart of millions of young kids in the world of avid street basketball, but the league was created to keep kids from going down bad paths.
He may not have been a great player, but he certainly was a brilliant innovator and the best life coach a kid could have. Mr. Rock always believed that the game in the park "wasn't a basketball league," and that he wanted to create a whole new culture that would show kids that basketball is a life worth pursuing for the rest of their lives.
"He made us feel like life had meaning and that we could totally dream and have goals." Said Charles Turner slowly, a big believer in the Rock culture who also played in park leagues for years. "He saved a lot of kids who would have been out on the streets fooling around with some lousy kid, robbing, doing drugs, and if they didn't get cut up, they were going to spend their lives in jail. But all of a sudden, they found a new part of their life on the basketball court."
In the past, New York's police department has had its head up its ass over the world's metropolis' oddly high crime rate, which has made it one of the biggest drug trafficking destinations. But after the prevalence of street basketball in Rock Park and elsewhere, many of the kids who would be delinquents tomorrow have become local basketball stars who are talked about, and more kids are talking about the mechanics of shooting a basketball and less about the access to drugs.
In 1974, nine years after Mr. Rock's death, local authorities honored him by naming the park, initially known as "P-S-156 Playground," after him. One New York media outlet went so far as to say, "If it weren't for Mr. Locke, New York might be a very different city right now."
Nowadays, buying a soda and a pack of hotdogs at the park's retail stand, spotting a good seat in the open air as fast as you can, and letting your body rock and relax for the night has become the coolest way to live for many New York teenagers. Spotting a big name coming to the game on a given night, such as Bill Clinton, Denzel Washington, etc., was a regular occurrence.
The kids are enjoying this basketball life. The league here runs from mid-June through mid-August and has been described by the New York Times as one of the biggest events of the summer in the area.
Choosing the NBA or the Rock
While some in the NBA dismissively refer to the Rock League as "playground basketball," with players playing wild-card games, the dazzling crossover dribbling, finger-spinning, devastating slam dunks and flawless aerials have influenced the NBA's style of play for years. style of play.
Entrepreneur Haniba Ward, 31, is a staunch Rock fan, and if he had to choose between an NBA game at the Plaza Gardens and street basketball here, he'd choose the latter without hesitation, "I'm always afraid to leave my seat when I'm watching a game here, even if your bladder's about to burst or you're starving and dying of thirst. Because as soon as you leave, you're going to potentially miss a great play, and people could be talking about that play for years."
And Wally Dixon, a 6-foot-4 guard for the Rock League's Bad Boys, thinks it offers the most basketball enjoyment. "A lot of people who go to the Sorry Garden for NBA games will come here to watch the games. As long as I'm on the court, I'll provide them with the purest entertainment from start to finish."
Playing like The Rock
Week 1: The tournament begins, and the players are mentally prepared to receive countless screams, cheers or boos and even spit.
Week 2: In addition to the normal games, some NBA stars are invited to play against league stars. Each participating player is given a nickname by tournament organizers, but Richardson of the Warriors, who was invited last year, performed so poorly that he didn't get any.
Week 3: The tournament reaches its climax.
Week 4: The Harlem All-Star Game is held, and the inductees are the area's best street basketball players, but not exclusive to NBA players, like the Pacers' O'Neal Jr. and the Suns' Marino and Marbury, all of whom were named to the All-Star Game last year.
Week 5: Last year at this time, it was Kobe who "drove the show," so maybe a big NBA star will pop up this year as well, but I wonder if it will be a humiliating situation again?
Week 6: It's the week of the guards, especially the organizational guards. A lot of NBA scouts will be here to watch the game in hopes of unearthing a decent defender, but only if the latter agrees.
Week 7: Playoff time and the culmination of the "showcase".
Week 8: It's the Finals. Two of the most talented teams in basketball and showmanship compete for the annual championship. Last year's champions were the Terrors.