We Need More Outdoor Basketball

This blog is for the real diehards of hoops as it hit me on the drive home last night how to spin this into a post and what exactly I wanted to talk about and what I came up with was "we need more outdoor basketball." Let me expand. 

Thursday night while watching the NFL game, I saw this Instagram post about an upcoming event for Nike EYB (Elite Youth Basketball) which would feature some of the best HS Prospects in the country. 

The rosters would eventually come out and feature the sons of NBA Stars like Carmelo Anthony, Scottie Pippen, and Ron Harper 

Melo and Pippen were 100% in the building last night and I assume Harper was just didn't see him. 

Anyway, I thought the event was a decent way to spend a Friday night and decided to make the trek uptown. The fact that the game was being played in Lincoln Center was VERY intriguing to me. I thought it was an untraditional type of  layout, and when it comes to my social calendar at this age once it hits a certain date sitting at home and watching basketball is a top priority so I decided to change it up go outside and watch basketball while it was still nice out. 

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The event was a double header for both Boys and Girls teams broken up by region of the best prospects in the country. I made it up for  the 8:30 tip the finale of the night … The EAST vs West Boys game as I knew the prospects in this area more and wanted to watch that game the most. 

In terms of the game it was very much an all star game with limited defense, guys not trying to get hurt, 3 pointers and big dunks. The East won by like 15 advancing to a final tonight in which Devin Booker and Kevin Durant will coach. Also Ja Morant which I found bizarre given his last year off the court but I guess that's part of his rebuild. 

Anyway, the game itself wasn't what stood out to me. It was that it was an extremely unique EVENT. The minute I walked up the stairs to my (VIP area right off the baseline …#PowerBroker) section I was amazed with the game presentation. Musicians playing as a way to honor Lincoln Center. The lights. The uniforms. The on court announcers like Rucker. The whole thing stood out. You could tell the people at Nike didn't just throw up a half ass effort of having a showcase in September and really went in with a mindset of how can this stand out. And it did. 

Which brings me back to outdoor basketball. 

It might be a New York thing, or still being old enough to remember what it was before cell phones and what it was like to be 11 years old take your bike down to the park with a ball, a few bucks for Gatorade and disappear for a few hours playing pick up back when I still thought I could play Division 1 basketball. If you read into the history of NYC, the playgrounds were iconic and what shaped the way guys played. The quirks of a guy's game were developed at the park instead of this day and age where everyone pays $40-100 an hour for a "trainer" to "teach" player's how to look good for their instagram reels with moves that never translate to an actual game. Modern day thieves. Instead, at the park … the floater in the lane, the hesitation dribble, the "Shammgod" , no look passes, difficult shots, and a variety of things were started at The Park for most peoples games. It was a way to have product testing of your moves before going back to organized ball. The best at their craft always brought something back from the park for the next season. 

Additionally, The NYC Parks hold up as some of the most sacred courts in the world. The Cage at West 4th, Gersh, The Rucker, Dyckman you name it. Just look at some of the pictures and stories over the years in the parks. 

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The famous EBC game that never was between Jay Z and Fat Joe was something no indoor arena could ever replicate. 

Even Kobe pulled up to pay homage to NYC. 

There's just some special and different about playing in the park and playing outside. The wind, the toughness, the fact that if you dive for a ball you end up scraped up. The metal poles being a threat to take your teeth out underneath the hoop. The cracks in the pavement, the heat, the cold, and my favorite of all the most beautiful sound in sports … the ball going through the chain net. Everything. You aren't just playing basketball you are playing the elements. Some of the best players in the world dominated the parks but never made it past to the league, or even Division 1 yet their names live on forever because of what they did in the parks. Guys like  Earl “The Goat” Manigul, Joe “The Destroyer ” Hammond, Richard “Pee Wee” Kirkland, Ed “Booger” Smith, and Jack "Blackjack" Ryan . 

Somewhere along the line, the parks got less and less crowded and about 10 years ago I remember reading an article that the outdoor game of basketball essentially died. 

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If you notice now driving around your neighborhood I bet you notice the same. The parks are empty, no one's yelling "next" , and the sound of the chain nets are few and far in between. Things change, it happens. I also think people got more protective of their kids which is 100% a smart idea , but that means the days of "I'll be home for dinner" are long gone. I don't know if we'll ever get back to the parks being a haven for hoops like they were. It is what it is.

However, for now you still have people involved in positions of power that still remember the parks, and the EBC so fondly and try to incorporate that into events the best they can. Like the people at Nike did last night or the people who organized the Air Craft Carrier game … 

Or the game in a baseball stadium 

Or the Big 12 organizing clinics at Rucker to get kids off the couch and outside and remind them of how much a park can develop your game. 

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I realize that the NBA starts in October, and College Basketball starts in November, and that those arenas cost millions of dollars and people pay good money for season tickets and much rather be in a comfy seat than sitting (or standing) on metal bleachers to watch a game. I also understand the weather concerns, cancellation possibilities, that the wind will make games low scoring and uglier, that guys can get hurt. I get all of that. But a big part of me also knows that driving home from an event like that saying "that was awesome" means there has to be a way to work in more of these outdoor environments to meaningful games for big time basketball. I know how special it is, how rare it is, and sadly I wonder if I'm on the tail end of the age bracket that remembers how big the parks were and that much like the people in those decision making positions, are aging their way out of those positions. Part of me worries if those big time outdoor events for meaningful basketball games were only a product of old timers reliving the glory days, and instead of increasing the amount of those events in the future , instead are on their way out altogether as the decision makers get younger and younger and have less and less memories of taking their bike down to the park like I did. I guess that will all play out over the next 10-15 years, but if it was up to me I would find a way to replicate events like last night because basketball under the lights outside is beautiful and poetic. Enjoy it while you can …