# Iguodala to coach Chicago team on Nike Battlegrounds show..



## Coatesvillain

> Lights. Cameras. Akron.
> 
> The city of Akron turned into Hollywood on Sunday night.
> 
> Basketball players were the stars. Cavaliers star LeBron James had a cameo. Akron residents served as the extras. And Perkins Park was transformed into a miniature Tinsel Town studio.
> 
> It was all a part of Nike Battlegrounds: King of the Court, a documentary-style show tracking two basketball teams from Chicago and New York. MTV sent its production crews to Perkins Park for the filming of the final episode of the show, which James was influential in bringing to Akron.
> 
> ``We've never had anything like this,'' said Scott Gooden, a city native who played basketball at the University of Akron and who served as one of three officials for the game. ``This is a great thing for Akron that LeBron is putting on, and it's a lot of good publicity that we need.''
> 
> Battlegrounds, now in its third season, is scheduled to begin airing on MTV and MTV2 in late August.
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> The show's concept has James issuing a challenge to fellow NBA players Ben Gordon of the Chicago Bulls and Andre Iguodala of the Philadelphia 76ers. Their mission: assemble two teams, one from Gordon's native New York and another from Iguodala's native Illinois. After weeks of training, trials and tribulation, players who made the two teams from open tryouts finally meet at Perkins Park to battle for playground supremacy.
> 
> James serves as the host and emcee of the highly anticipated and hotly contested game, which will air as an hourlong season finale in October.
> 
> ``You're going to give me an A. I'll get an A-plus,'' James said of his performance in the show. ``We're going to have to see about the teams. I think they are really well prepared. They're coached well. They've got great mentors in Andre Iguodala and Ben Gordon. It's going to be a great show.''
> 
> The filming of the show was the last event in a busy weekend for James and Perkins Park. On Friday, he and Nike dedicated five refurbished courts to community parks, including two at Perkins Park. King of the Court, a three-on-three basketball tournament, was held Saturday and Sunday at the park before MTV and Nike's event took place.
> 
> Thousands of residents from Akron and surrounding areas attended the weekend festivities.
> 
> ``It's wonderful,'' James said. ``The turnout is great. All these supporters who come out and support Akron and support LeBron James. It doesn't get better than this.''
> 
> Months of planning and a great deal of manpower was needed to make the park suitable for filming.
> 
> Studio-type lights were brought in, giving the renovated courts at Perkins Park a movie-set feel. A few sets of bleachers were also made available, but much of the crowd was forced to look on from afar.
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> The cities of New York and Chicago have a well-known history with their basketball rivalry. Trash talking from players on both teams dominated the days leading up to the game. Participants from both teams insist it's not just for show.
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> ``They're really serious,'' said Gordon, New York's coach. ``They're representing their city and this is about competition. None of this is fake. Nobody staged this or set this up.''
> 
> Aside from the rivalry, players seemed to be concerned with putting on a good show, and most important, winning. A mixture of street ball -- a more lenient style of play -- and more traditional organized five-on-five is likely to be seen on the show. Kiwan Smith, a Brooklyn native on New York's team, said he's willing to do whatever the fans want as long as his team wins.
> 
> ``You can expect a lot of highlights,'' said Smith, who is known as ``Mr. Buckets'' because all he does is score.
> 
> The game itself, the results of which cannot be reported, consists of four 10-minute quarters. The final team members were selected from more than 500 tryout participants attempting to make the cut.
> 
> ``The guys did a lot to get to this point,'' said Iguodala, the Chicago coach.


LINK

Iguodala is all over reality TV this year. :clown:


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## thaKEAF

I always thought this show was garbage because it was 1 on 1, but it could be good this time since they actually have teams. Hopefully we get to see Iggy throw down some dunks for the hell of it..


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