# Street Ball Legends



## universal! (Mar 5, 2006)

I'm mostly concerned with legit street/league players in the vein of Dr.J and Tiny Archibald. I've been getting irritated by And1 and these new generation street ballers who give street balling a totally erroneous image. Dr. J was tearing up Rucker Park back in the day, you couldn't say he wasn't street and those skills were the same ones he used professionally. I read somewhere- from PeeWee Kirkland I think- that the move Dr. J did against the Lakers, behind the backboard arm back float across underhand lay in, was a move Dr. J did may time at Rucker and Philly when he played on the streets.

I'd like to hear more about streetballers/NBA/ABA legends in this vein. For instance, I've heard Jason Kidd used to tear up the courts in Oakland. Kareem in NYC. Starbury in Coney Island. Lamar Goods Odom in Queens. I'm aware of today's Rucker Park league/EBC, but I'd like to hear about the players back in the day. Connie Hawkins? Earl Monroe?


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## lw32 (May 24, 2003)

I believe back in the day a lot of the old players use to play in New York during the summer. I know Wilt Chamberlain and co. did. I've got a book on it somewhere, I'll dig it up tonight and let you know what it's got.


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## kflo (Jun 28, 2002)

link 



> Earl "The Goat" Manigault - Known as the greatest player who never played in the NBA. Had great leaping ability and school the likes of Wilt, Connie, and Kareem on the Rucker playgrounds. The Goat held court against countless NBA pros and Hall-of-Famers. This sleek 6-2 court-acrobat ran like a gazelle and seemed to defy gravity when he took flight. The only thing that could bring The Goat down to earth were his own personal vices on the street. Earl will always be remembered as a playground legend of his day. He is perhaps the best basketball player ever to have played the game. A shade over 6 feet tall, he could dunk effortlessly with both hands. With a vertical leap of 52 inches, he had the ability to jump up and grab quarters off of the top of a basketball backboard. He played during the renaissance of New York City basketball in the 1960s, against other playground legends like Connie Hawkins, Lew Alcindor, Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, Herman "The Helicopter" Knowings and Jackie Jackson. Earl played in the famous Rucker League where the best playground players played with the pros every summer. The league showcased some of the best basketball players of all time. It was wide open, uncontrolled, showtime basketball where the beauty of a dunk or the speed of a pass was rewarded by the gasps of the packed sidelines. Manigault was a man-child on the blacktop, virtually unstoppable from the time he entered high school. At seventeen he had mastered the game and had been credited with creating several new dunks, the most famous of which was the double dunk. He was courted by hundreds of colleges. Instead, he started using heroin and his life quickly spun out of control. He wound up in prison for robbery, served his time, and in the most remarkable part of his story, he stayed clean, never returned to drugs or prison, and dedicated himself to helping kids stay in school and stay clean through his "walk away from drugs" tournaments. A park and tournament is named after him on the lower Eastside in Manhattan. Kareem Abdul Jabbar was asked on the day of his retirement as a Laker at the Forum in LA, who was the greatest player he had ever played against in his career. Kareem answered after a long silence, "It would have to be Goat, Earl 'the Goat' Manigault."


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## PauloCatarino (May 31, 2003)

universal! said:


> I'm mostly concerned with legit street/league players in the vein of Dr.J and Tiny Archibald. I've been getting irritated by And1 and these new generation street ballers who give street balling a totally erroneous image. Dr. J was tearing up Rucker Park back in the day, you couldn't say he wasn't street and those skills were the same ones he used professionally. *I read somewhere- from PeeWee Kirkland I think- that the move Dr. J did against the Lakers, behind the backboard arm back float across underhand lay in, was a move Dr. J did may time at Rucker and Philly when he played on the streets.*
> 
> I'd like to hear more about streetballers/NBA/ABA legends in this vein. For instance, I've heard Jason Kidd used to tear up the courts in Oakland. Kareem in NYC. Starbury in Coney Island. Lamar Goods Odom in Queens. I'm aware of today's Rucker Park league/EBC, but I'd like to hear about the players back in the day. Connie Hawkins? Earl Monroe?


It was Peter Vecsey (sp?) telling that crap in a Slam! Streetball mag. 

About great NBA ballers and the street game: it's a moot point. Streetball is a different game. It's a game for solo artists and high-fliers. Story goes that guys like PeeWee, Joe Hammond, Sad-eye, Jumpin' Joe, Connie and a bunch of others could lay 40 on an Nba star. Still, it didn't matter.


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## kflo (Jun 28, 2002)

link 



> TOP BALLERS Not all of Chicago's best street-ballers went from the playgrounds to lucrative pro careers. Attitude, lifestyle, ignorance, poverty, substance abuse and just plain bad luck stymied the great majority. Here, in the opinion of an informal panel of former coaches and players, are Chicago's five best street-ballers of the last half-century. Billy "The Kid'' Harris, 6-2 guard: "Billy could do it all on the playground,'' former NBA veteran Eddie Johnson said. "He was the king of the court and had four brothers who were also outstanding players. He could adapt his game to the physical conditions of the court, his teammates and opponents to get a win. He could shoot, dribble, pass, rebound and defend beyond his size.'' Harris played four years at Northern Illinois and one season in the NBA. Lamar "Money'' Mundane, 5-11 guard: He starred at Marshall High School and Malcolm X Junior College, but he never made it to the pros. "If you wanted numbers, 'Money' was your man,'' former NBA star Mark Aguirre said. "They didn't have three-point baskets in those days, but that's what Lamar specialized in. He'd pull up from 25 or 30 feet and rain down jumpers.'' Art Hicks, 6-7 forward: "Art was like a Charles Barkley,'' veteran coach A.B. Stonar said. "He had a big 250-pound body, and he knew how to use it. He could run the court with the best, score whenever he wanted and dominate the backboard, rebounding and blocking shots. He reminded you a lot of Adrian Dantley, only he could shoot from outside. He went to Seton Hall, then got involved an a gambling scandal that ended his basketball career.'' Arthur Sivels, 6-1 guard: "He starred at Phillips and Crane in the late '60s and early '70s, and whenever he showed up on the playground, you wanted to be on his team,'' Chicago-based agent Henry Thomas said. "This guy was way ahead of his time as a shooter, a dribbler and a passer.'' He was so talented, Stonar said, that the Harlem Globetrotters tried to sign him straight out of high school, but his mother refused to let him sign because she wanted him to go to college. He didn't go to college and never did much in basketball after that. Art Weathersby, 6-2 guard: "Art was one of the best guards I've ever seen,'' Stonar said. "Whatever could be done with the basketball, he could do it. He starred at Wells High School and Du Sable High School before going to a college in New Mexico. He didn't have a nickname because he was one of these guys who didn't need one for you to know him. He could do all kinds of tricks with the ball, but he was fantastic at doing the fundamental things that kept his side out on the court winning." HONORABLE MENTION: Michael Johnson, Richard Bradshaw, Flynn Robinson, Kenny Battle, Kevin Porter, Rickey Green, Milton Williams, Jerome "Hook'' Freeman, Raymond Bullock and Ricky Wilson.


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## universal! (Mar 5, 2006)

Thanks for the links, though I'd like to hear more about the players that became legends professionally.

Yes, I believe it was in Slam magazine. There was mention in there how Dr.J(?maybe someone else) used to pluck quarters off the top of the backboard. You also make a good point about street VS pro ball, though what I was highlighting is that all pros start playing in the street first. However, it is interesting that a few of the street legends that became NBA legends were seen as exactly the way you put it: "solo artists and high-fliers."

Does anyone know where Pete Maravich picked up his moves? I couldn't see Press teaching them to him. Pete doesn't get credited with anymore than being the first most recognized for playing "fancy," but I've always wondered where he picked them up.


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## ninjarr (Jan 20, 2006)

universal! said:


> Yes, I believe it was in Slam magazine. There was mention in there how Dr.J(?maybe someone else) used to pluck quarters off the top of the backboard.


I believe that it was Earl Manigault that did that trick, although the Doctor might have done it as well. This thread would be incomplete without mentioning Hook Mitchell. Run him through wikipedia or something- this was a guy that was taking on Jason Kidd and Gary Payton.


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## kflo (Jun 28, 2002)

PauloCatarino said:


> It was Peter Vecsey (sp?) telling that crap in a Slam! Streetball mag.
> 
> About great NBA ballers and the street game: it's a moot point. Streetball is a different game. It's a game for solo artists and high-fliers. Story goes that guys like PeeWee, Joe Hammond, Sad-eye, Jumpin' Joe, Connie and a bunch of others could lay 40 on an Nba star. Still, it didn't matter.


don't put connie hawkins in that group, who was also an aba and nba star as well.


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## kflo (Jun 28, 2002)

universal! said:


> Thanks for the links, though I'd like to hear more about the players that became legends professionally.
> 
> Yes, I believe it was in Slam magazine. There was mention in there how Dr.J(?maybe someone else) used to pluck quarters off the top of the backboard. You also make a good point about street VS pro ball, though what I was highlighting is that all pros start playing in the street first. However, it is interesting that a few of the street legends that became NBA legends were seen as exactly the way you put it: "solo artists and high-fliers."
> 
> Does anyone know where Pete Maravich picked up his moves? I couldn't see Press teaching them to him. Pete doesn't get credited with anymore than being the first most recognized for playing "fancy," but I've always wondered where he picked them up.


these days, it's almost impossible to be a streetball legend and a great pro prospect. today, they're mutually exclusive. back 30 years ago, they didn't have the same options as far as ways to showcase your skills against the best or even get competitive run on a regular basis. so you did it on the blacktop, at least in certain areas. so, most of the guys who came up through nyc or long-island (dr. j traveled in from long island) back then were streetball legends. cousy was one, pearl, tiny, hawkins, king brothers, dr. j, alcindor. but more recent guys like marbury, telfair, kenny a, it's less about streetball and more about organized ball. it's about the ticket out. streetball doesn't impress the college or pro scouts. unless maybe you're picking quarters off the backboard, like all the urban legends did.


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## lw32 (May 24, 2003)

universal! I found that book I mentioned earler. It's called _SOUL of the Game_ by John Huet. I got it a while ago, but it took me forever to find. It's really a great book though, it's mainly focused on poetry and pictures of streetball. It has a very good introduction by Pee Wee Kirkland, and some biographies on some other streetball stars. Streetball doesn't interest me too much, but it's just a great book.

First of all, it was Jackie Jackson who took the 50-cent pice off the backboard.

The one line that really sums it up from Pee Wee's intro is this, "The pros played in the NBA for salary; they played in Rucker to prove they were for real." Nowadays, that isn't the case. If you ask me the players today are too scared, and don't believe they have anything to prove. Too scared about getting injured, too scared about getting shown up. And all rightfully so.

I could go through the whole book, but I won't. It wouldn't do the book justice with the poetry and pictures. If you've got any interest in the game, this books great.

(No, I make no money off of endorsing the book)


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## kflo (Jun 28, 2002)

again, there are lots of claims of taking the money off the top of backboard.


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## lw32 (May 24, 2003)

kflo said:


> again, there are lots of claims of taking the money off the top of backboard.


Most would be myth, but I actually believe that Jackie Jackson did do it. I've read enough, and heard enough, from reliable enough sources to comfort me in believing it's been done by Jackie Jackson. His jumping ability was phenomenal with the Harlem Globetrotters too.


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## Cagee7 (Apr 23, 2006)

Some Other legends are Fly Williams he played at Austin peay averaging 28.5 points a game .It was also said Herman helicopter Knowings could touch the top of the backbaord and Joe Hammond scored 40 on Dr.J in a half


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## Gilgamesh (Dec 23, 2005)

Lloyd Daniels.

Monster in HS before he dropped out, NY playground legend, NBA scrub.


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