One of the most famous basketball courts in the world, Rucker Park in Harlem, is set to be active again in June. The new boss of the Entertainers Basketball Classic, Cordell Marius is set to restart the whole operation on June 19 with eight men's teams, and eight high school teams. Cordell is actually the nephew of Greg Marius, who ran the court for over 30 years, but unfortunately died in late April of colon cancer.
The new Rucker League will start on the courts on 155th street and 8th Avenue, and the opening week, according to the new owner, will be in honor of the late Greg Marius and his legacy. It is expected that New York mayor Bill de Blasio will officially open the whole league on June 23.
The issue right now is that there are not many NBA players expected to play, and it is the focus of Cordell to attract more NBA talent back to streetball.
“I think the music changed and my uncle didn’t realize it,’’ Cordell told The New York Post. “We want to get back to having more NBA guys. We’d love to have that NBA atmosphere again.’’
He will try to use the influence of rapper Fat Joe, who actually owns one of the teams, to include more NBA players and more rappers to own teams. One of the players he reached out to is Lakers legend Shaquille O'Neal and he will invite current Golden State Warriors forward, Kevin Durant. Durant, during the 2011 NBA lockout, actually played in some Rucker Park games providing one of the most memorable moments in recent history scoring 66 points in a game there.
Along with Durant, out of better known players, current Wizards guard Brandon Jennings and Hornets guard Kemba Walker also joined for a couple of games.
We are looking forward for the reemergence of the streetball scene in New York, with more NBA talent and with even better rappers joining in for the party.
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