AND 1 and Rock Park

What is AND1?

Let me tell you:

1. A private American company, registered as The basketball Marketing Co. Inc. is an exclusive brand for professional basketball players and extreme enthusiasts, with products such as basketball shoes, basketball jerseys, warm-ups, T-shirts and other accessories. Personalized design and aggressive language are its characteristics.

2. is a basketball term that refers to the offense to score, the other side of the foul, plus a free throw.

The origin is:1993, Chicago, a sports merchandise show, three college students in their 20s, fighting their way through salesmen from NIKE, reebok and adids. Their names were Seth Berger, Tom Austin and Jay Gilbert. they weren't happy at all because they had come to the conclusion that there wasn't enough cool stuff in America anymore. So the three college students decided to take it upon themselves to create a brand for [people who were actually playing basketball], which they called The Player.

On the way home, they wrote some of their earliest trash talk (which grew into a line of gossipy T-shirts) on their napkin fingers and vowed to [kick NIKE's ass] (make NIKE look good). They say that within 10 years from now, people will be writing a book about us (The Player), just like someone has already written a Swooth for NIKE - and that's how AND1 started.

[The left foot exists for the right]

While other brands were investing a lot of money in market research, Seth and his partner, were visiting basketball court after basketball court with their sample shoes to show them to the people who actually played on the court. One time, at a court in Dallas, a young man saw Seth's AND1 "Coordinator" samples in his hand and wanted to buy them on the spot, Seth said, "But these are the only samples I have and they're only for the right foot! Seth said, "But this is the only sample I have, and it's only the right foot." Guess what the guy said? With a glint in his eye, he said, "That's okay, sell it to me and I'll find something to go with the left foot!" Still, he didn't buy it. It's a story that reinforces Seth's belief that there are a lot of basketball-playing young men in the US who are just like this one, and they need a different kind of Cool Stuff - the world needs something like AND1.

Who - who wears AND1?

[Fads are as dumb as uniforms]

The same organization is also known as notic in the US, and dime

and1 has now been released as a game for the ps2 platform

Most of the Gamers preferred him because he was freer, more fun, and faster than NBA.

Seth has little interest in mass-market fashion, and designs and produces merchandise for people who play basketball because he himself is a "basketball player". He went out of his way to scold consumers: "If you go out on the court wearing AND1 and you don't know how to play, you're going to look really stupid." He also warned dealers not to sell AND1 to vain people who don't take the game seriously or to wimps who don't have a clue what they're doing. AND1 should not be "worn to look cool" but "worn by people who are cool enough to wear it". Seth himself and his buddies eat, live, work, sleep and breathe basketball. For example, during interviews, in addition to the usual procedures, they usually play a game of basketball with the applicant. They hope that everyone who works at AND1 plays basketball, and if they don't, they offer basketball lessons and teach you until you become a master; because if not, how to sell AND1 to the masters.

[The man who exchanged souls with AND1]

Now there are young people all over the United States who have AND1's "The Player" logo tattooed on their bodies. At an adidas basketball camp, Jay Gilbert saw several young men with "The Player" and their initials tattooed on their arms, and at the McDonald's All-American High School Basketball Tournament in the spring of this year, at least six players had AND1 tattoos. Young people want to be treated like a real player, which is why they "absorb" AND1's "The Player" as part of their body, Jay Gilbert added: "You just can't find a person who doesn't work for NIKE who will have that little hook tattooed on their body!" Anyone who wears AND1 has "The Player" in their soul

How - how did AND1 come to be?

[Even if you eat canned food, you still want AND1]

Let's go back to 1993 and the three young men who created AND1. Since they made a vow to give young people something really cool and new, the trio ate canned fish for 2 years straight, wondering when they would get to eat really fresh fish. By the end of 1998, AND1 had 55 employees, and with a target turnover of 80 million dollars for 1999, Seth said, "Disgusting canned fish, I never want to eat it again!" But now, too, hardly anyone thinks they need to eat it anymore.

[The players were just along for the ride]

AND1 recorded a four hundred percent increase at a time when the U.S. sneaker industry as a whole was not selling well! Other well-known brands, such as NIKE, REEBOK, either early termination of contract with the player, or drastically cut the amount of money signed, in addition to Michael Jordan, of course. Seth said: "the real AND1 big seller, is the brand's own unique style, rather than signing the player, in fact, most of the AND1 products, are not designed for the signing of the player, and also the signing of the player. not designed for signed players, nor do they need them to endorse the products."

Where - where is AND1 going?

[The goal is disruption, the means is disruption]

For the past 40 years, sneakers have been one of the largest industries in the U.S., with annual sales of nearly $1.5 billion.In 1998 it was projected that Americans would buy more than 350 million pairs of sneakers, compared to 40 million pairs in the 1950s. The U.S. sneaker industry, which rotates about every 10 years to produce a new leading brand: CONVERSE in the 60's, ADIDAS in the 70's, REEBOK in the 80's, and in the 90's, thanks to Jordan, the throne has finally come to NIKE's hands.Seth Berger is going to make AND1 the king of the sneaker industry in the first decade of the 21st century. And looking at what was presented earlier, we can imagine that the approach he took was completely subversive.

[I Love Basketball]

While AND1 is making strides on its own, it also wants the American basketball community to move forward with the infusion of new blood. knowing that 98% of high school players will never get an athletic scholarship until they make it to the NBA, AND1 donates 5% of its profits each year to charity, with a special emphasis on basketball education programs for young people. AND1 currently sponsors Philadelphia Futures, Philadelphia Reads, The White Willams Scholars and The Penn VIPs Tutorial Program. In addition, AND1 offers a number of other large and small basketball camps, tournaments and team sponsorships. Put on AND1 and you'll have to get used to beating people

Who - Who are some of AND1's players on the tour?

[The New York Mob]

Team AND1's MixtapeVol.1 is all about clips from games in New York's Rock Park, and New York ballers make up the majority of Team AND1's roster, from the earliest known streetball kings Skip To My Lou, Harlem's unbeaten first and second men, Headache and Alimoe, the big brother of the Bronx, one of New York's greatest streetballers, Shane "The Dribbling Machine", New Jersey's arrival in New York, Rock Park god Main Event, Brooklyn's old school 1/2 Man 1/2 Amazing, Queens Bridge's #1 NYC center Escalade, and NYC legend Future, and newcomer Pharmacist in '04 to name a few.

[East Coast DC-Philly Group]

The American League of 3 Main Street Ball Cities, NYC, D.C., and Philadelphia, removing a whole bunch of people from New York, AND1 also recruited the real-world DC juggernaut Prime Objective, as well as 2003, 2004 Barry Farm Philadelphia's A.O., one of the oldest members of the AND1 team, is also a fan favorite for his flamboyant style of play, and once led his team to a championship in the NBDL and won the MVP!

[Atlanta's Pride]

Hot Sauce, 50, and Spyda. not recognize these three guys, a flashy, unbeatable dribbling skills, dazzling playmaker, a violent plus inside power dunker with a handful of mid-range shooting ability as an NBA-caliber player, and a 5'78" guard with a wild hanging shot, a wild alley-oop, and the ability to score and assist at the same time. The hometown of this great streetballer, Atlanta, let us always remember and let AND1 prosper.

[West Coast Tough Guy]

Sik Wit It, the first man in San Francisco's Bay Area, dominated the West Coast court for nearly 15 years, a top-notch dribbling demon with a superb three-point game, and a colorful figure in AND1.

Bad Santa and Assasin, the newest members of AND1 in 2005, one is Skip's college teammate and the other is one of the top 5 dunkers in California. Bringing new blood to AND1.

[Windy City Wanderers]

Chicago's greatest ballplayer Flash, a member of AND1, passed away in early 2004. And then Go Get It, the pride of Chicago, who filled in in 2003, held up AND1's aerial work.Baltimore's Silk, one of AND1's signings in 2005, was a super silky dribbler to behold, and AND1 unveiled his new sneakers on April 25, 2008.

Baltimore's Silk, one of the greatest players of all time, is now a member of the AND1 team, and is now a part of the team.

From Baseball to Basketball

Walking through the thick nighttime colors of Harlem, New York, turn right from 153rd Street and walk into 155th Street, where the former site of the Polo Grounds is located. That ballpark has been home to the New York Giants since 1891, and in 1911 its wooden bleachers caused a fire that leveled the entire stadium. Today there is a 17-story "pauper's building," which you might guess is called the Polo Grounds Apartments.

The terrace on the roof of the condo is empty, with only clotheslines and TV antennas sprawling about. Looking down on this former baseball mecca, you can see an asphalt basketball court painted red and green, and empty beer bottles in brown kraft paper bags, illuminated by a bleak white streetlight. It was another mecca: Rock Park.

Rock Park has been a mecca for streetball for 60 years, as long as the NBA has been around, and in 1946, New York Parks Department employee Holcombe Locker, determined to find a way to entertain Harlem kids with nothing to do on sweltering summer nights, created a summer basketball league. A headache for the park, Rock Park's nets were always falling apart after less than two days, and eventually park administrators simply stopped replacing them, so that to this day bare basketball hoops are still a prominent feature of the street courts.

The purpose of the net is to slow down the fall of the basketball, and it is also an eye-catching symbol when it comes to long-distance shooting. As a direct result of the lack of a net, early streetball had very few long-range shots, and players preferred to score by dunking or laying up, for which they had to get past their defender. The fancy style of streetball was born, but there was no crotch dribble, and the best players were only good at change of direction dribbles.

In the 1960s, political instability in the United States caused a sense of despair in many people, especially young people, which was even more pronounced in Rock Park. It was a time of street heroes, "Destroyer" Hammond, "Goat" Manigat, "Pee Wee" Kirkland and other street ball legends in Rock Park, they were known as the "Destroyer" Hammond, "Goat" Manigat, "Pee Wee" Kirkland and other street ball legends in Rock Park. They were known as the "Poets of Streetball" or the "Gods of the Asphalt".

The presence of these legends made Rock Park famous, and many people traveled here to see them play. The hoods of cars parked courtside made for the best courtside seats, the bridge over 155th Street made for second-floor boxes, and the rooftops of the high-rise buildings surrounding the park made for cheap seats. the NBA's best players also came to compete with the streetballers, with Wilt Chamberlain, Irving, Nate Archibald, Cowens, and Jabbar all regulars at Rock Park.

"Those street heroes were never afraid of the pros," said the Duke of Tango, who was a commentator at Rock Park for many years, "and that made them even greater. They saw the pros as regular guys who were just lucky enough to play in a professional league. Outside of the NBA, those pros are no different than the poor kids in the surrounding neighborhoods."

●Rock Park, a place that makes New Yorkers proud. It is located on 155th Street in Harlem, New York, next to Frederick Douglass Boulevard. Locke is not a park in the usual sense of the word, and for those obsessed with black culture, New York culture, and even American culture, it's a place you can't afford not to visit.

● Harlem is almost synonymous with street basketball, but it's the culture of "Rock Basketball" that's at the center of it all.

● It's a shrine to street basketball, and even an NBA star 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's 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 asked where Billie Gee was, Billie Gee blurted out through the phone, in proud tones, that she was at the game at Holcombe-Rock Memorial Park.

Billie Gee, like the other 500 or so spectators, was already on her feet and dancing with excitement. Like a proud mother, she was applauding 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.

The excitement, for Billie Jean, 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 is no doubt that this is the place for you."

She also goes to Plaza Garden for NBA games, but perhaps as a favoritism, Biligi thinks the Rock is more fun: "It's here that 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."

[edit]Locke Park: the mecca of streetball

From baseball to basketball

Walk through the thick of the night in New York's Harlem neighborhood and take a right off 153rd Street into 155th Street, where the former site of the Polo Baseball Stadium is located. That ballpark has been home to the New York Giants since 1891, and in 1911 its wooden bleachers caused a fire that leveled the entire stadium. Today there is a 17-story "pauper's building," which you might guess is called the Polo Grounds Apartments.

The terrace on the roof of the condo is empty, with only clotheslines and TV antennas sprawling about. Looking down on this former baseball mecca, you can see an asphalt basketball court painted red and green, and empty beer bottles in brown kraft paper bags, illuminated by a bleak white streetlight. It was another mecca: Rock Park.

Rock Park has been a mecca for streetball for 60 years, as long as the NBA has been around, and in 1946, New York Parks Department employee Holcombe Locker, determined to find a way to entertain Harlem kids with nothing to do on sweltering summer nights, created a summer basketball league. A headache for the park, Rock Park's nets were always falling apart after less than two days, and eventually park administrators simply stopped replacing them, so that to this day bare basketball hoops are still a prominent feature of the street courts.

The purpose of the net is to slow down the fall of the basketball, and it is also an eye-catching symbol when it comes to long-distance shooting. As a direct result of the lack of a net, early streetball had very few long-range shots, and players preferred to score by dunking or laying up, for which they had to get past their defender. The fancy style of streetball was born, but there was no crotch dribble, and the best players were only good at change of direction dribble.

In the 1960s, political instability in the United States caused a sense of despair in many people, especially young people, and it was even more pronounced in Rock Park. It was a time of street heroes, "Destroyer" Hammond, "Goat" Manigat, "Pee Wee" Kirkland and other street ball legends in Rock Park, they were known as the "Destroyer" Hammond, "Goat" Manigat, "Pee Wee" Kirkland and other street ball legends in Rock Park. They were known as the "Poets of Streetball" or the "Gods of the Asphalt".

The presence of these legends made Rock Park famous, and many people traveled here to see them play. The hoods of cars parked courtside made for the best courtside seats, the bridge over 155th Street made for second-floor boxes, and the rooftops of the high-rise buildings surrounding the park made for cheap seats. the NBA's best players also came to compete with the streetballers, with Wilt Chamberlain, Irving, Nate Archibald, Cowens, and Jabbar all regulars at Rock Park.

"Those street heroes were never afraid of the pros," said the Duke of Tango, who was a commentator at Rock Park for many years, "and that made them even greater. They saw the pros as regular guys who were just lucky enough to play in a professional league. Outside of the NBA, those pros are no different than the poor kids in the neighborhoods around them."

Difference between Fancy Basketball and Traditional Basketball

Traditional Basketball and Streetball are just different forms of interpreting the basketball as well as the culture, so it doesn't matter if traditional basketball and streetball are both part of basketball, formal and informal, because the rules are inherently different. Formal basketball: high efficiency, high speed, tactical cooperation is the main, is confrontational; while the street ball is the individual ability to reflect the extreme, in the attack with a large false move false attack or NO LOOK PASS to a friend to complete the final goal, it also has a confrontation, but the focus is still in the dribbling skills of the fancy.

[edit]The Mecca of World Street Basketball

It's a Monday night, and Rock Park is lit up.

RBK's "Bone Collector" Williams was using his incredible speed to shake off defenders, his crossover dribbling between his legs underneath his legs to trick defenders, and his behind-the-back passes that were as accurate as his backside eyes, had the fans screaming for more...

[edit]The Mecca of World Street Basketball

It was a brightly lit Monday night in Rock Park. ...

During the timeout, hot and powerful hip-hop music was playing, with just the right amount of melodrama from the DJ, and rap singers performing to keep the fans in a state of high emotion. 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 have been wiggling along with these kids.

Mr. Holkoby Rock, the creator of Rock Park Street Basketball, could only have dreamed that his "work" would be so respected and sought after today.

Forty years ago, the park was not remodeled, a huge dump, the wind blew, the surrounding residents can smell the stench of floating garbage. 1965, New York Parks Department of the Director of the City of Locke, he was obsessed with a long time of street basketball league moved to the park's open space, despite some renovation, but still surrounded by abandoned buildings, the court is asphalt pavement, if you fall heavily in a collision, you will not be able to find a place to play. If you fall hard in a collision, you leave a trail of blood.

But now it's a haven for street kids to pursue their dreams of freedom, and Rock Park has gradually established itself as the Mecca of world street basketball by being the best street basketball spot in New York and the temple of street basketball in the nation. 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.

[edit]Coolest Lifestyle

If Holcombe Locker 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 was certainly a brilliant innovator and the best life coach a kid could have. Mr. Rock always believed that the game in the park "is not a basketball league", he wanted to create a new culture, to show children that basketball is a life, worth pursuing for a lifetime.

"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 struggled with 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 became local basketball stars with a lot of buzz, and more kids talked about the mechanics of shooting hoops and less about the access to drugs.

In 1974, nine years after Mr. Rock's death, the local government 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, it's the coolest way to spend an evening rocking out and relaxing with a soda, a pack of hot dogs, and as fast as you can find a good seat in the open air at one of the park's retail stands. It's not uncommon to find a big name coming to the game on a given night, like Bill Clinton or Denzel Washington, to name a few.

The kids are having a blast with this basketball life. The league here runs from mid-June through mid-August and was described by the New York Times as one of the top local summer events.

[edit]NBA or Rock

Though some in the NBA dismissively refer to the Rock League as "playground basketball," with players playing wild-card games, the dazzling crossover dribbles, finger-spinning, devastating dunks and flawless aerials have influenced the NBA's style of play for years. influenced the NBA's 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 watch the game here, and I'm never afraid to get out of my seat, even if your bladder is 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 NBA games at the Garden 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."

[EDITORIAL] Playing like The Rock

Week 1: The tournament begins, and the players are mentally prepared to receive countless screams and cheers or boos and even scorn.

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 the tournament organizers, but Richardson of the Warriors, who was invited last year, was so bad that he didn't get any.

Week 3: The tournament reaches its climax.

Week 4: The Harlem All-Star Game takes place, and the inductees are the area's best street basketball players, but not exclusive to the NBA, with the likes of the Pacers' O'Neal Jr. and the Suns' Marino and Marbury all being named to the All-Star Game last year.

Week 5: Last year at this time, it was Kobe's "arrival", maybe this year will also emerge as a big NBA star, but I wonder if it will be humiliated again?

Week 6: The week of the guards, especially the organizational guards. A lot of NBA scouts will be here to watch the game, hoping to unearth 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 battle it out for the annual championship. Last year's champions were the Terrors.

When it comes to streetball, you have to talk about Harlem, New York, and when it comes to Harlem, you have to talk about Rucker Park on 155th Avenue - a place that is considered the temple of streetball by streetballers all over the world. Rucker Park is not a park in the usual sense, but a Mecca for streetball that combines American, black and basketball culture.

[Edit]Rock Park rose from the dump

Forty years ago, Rock Park was still a dump, a smelly place that the residents around the area stayed away from. 1965, Holcombe Rock, a New York Parks Department of Labor worker, decided to make good use of the land, and made a series of improvements to the dump. , and so made a series of renovations to the dump, paving the court surface with asphalt and moving his favorite street basketball league to the park's open field at 155th Street in Harlem.

Rock Park at the time did more than just provide a place for neighborhood kids to play recreational sports; it saved a lot of ghetto teenagers who were at high risk of going astray. The free park gave kids who should have been hanging out in the community another place to play, and many of the delinquents are now proud local stars.

In 1974, nine years after Mr. Locke's death, the local government 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."

Now, Rock Park has its own basketball league, Entertainers Basketball Classic (EBC), and they have their own web page, LOGO, robes, etc. Unlike the NBA, the EBC is completely free, and the playoffs start right after the NBA finishes, usually early in the evening, so fans can sit in the outdoor seating, or climb a nearby railing or tree to get a better view of the action.

[edit]Rockers make Kobe a joke

NBA stars also patronize Rock Park when they're not playing, and if you hear of an NBA star who's had a run-in with a streetballer, it's at Rock Park. "Hook" Jabbar, Chamberlain, Dr. J, etc. have played in the Rock, and now the NBA stars such as O'Neal, Steve Mabry, Iverson, Mashburn, Marion, Kobe, Garnett are in the Rock "show" their skills.

Rock Park also has its own stars, all of them are loud and clear street ball player, and, the influence is not worse than any of the NBA stars. To put it politely, the ballplayers and fans here are not even averse to the likes of Kobe.

Some people compare Rock Park to the NBA's Bermuda, because many NBA players in the summer patronage of Rock Park, will be Rock Park players "insulted" a bit, but they will still be happy, still insist on appearing on the court in Rock Park.

In the summer of 2003, Kobe came to Rock Park and hinted that he wanted to break Hormond's record of 74 points in a game of street ball at the age of 25, but after playing with the local players, Kobe's rant became a quick "hit" in the park. "Kobe's rant became a quick joke in the park after the game with the local ballplayers - he scored only 14 points in the first half, and the second half was canceled due to heavy rain. To this day, recalling the experience of that year in Rock Park, Kobe still palpitating: "The players there are really great. If you don't play convincingly, they won't respect you at all. They'll 'kill' you on the court."

[edit]Rules of Rock Park

The only way you can really feel that Rock Park is the mecca of streetball is if you're standing under its green sign. Before you plan your visit, you're sure to be greeted with all sorts of warnings, especially for outsiders: don't look people in the eye or strike up a conversation with someone standing on the side of the road; never walk, always drive; carry a gun, and never come empty-handed. A little scary, I guess, but it's all true; maybe you'll be robbed of your designer sneakers, your video camera, or maybe you'll be beaten up wildly for inadvertently glancing at those Harlem neighborhoods. But if you do show up, it shows your respect for the Rock legend, and you're already worthy of it, but you have to be accompanied by guys who grew up in real Harlem neighborhoods and do everything they say, that's the rule

A holy place is a holy place.