• More Than a Game, It’s a Language

    More Than a Game, It’s a Language

    The language of Basketball is built on trust, sacrifice, energy, and emotion. It's knowing where your teammate will be before he gets there. Its understanding pain, pressure, confidence, and resilience through the bounce of a ball. Some people speak with their mouths. Hoopers speak through movement, passion, and heart.

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  • St. John’s Lets One Slip as Providence Steals a Win at the Garden

    St. John’s Lets One Slip as Providence Steals a Win at the Garden

    I made the trip to the world’s most famous arena to watch the St. John’s Red Storm take on the Providence Friars, and this one was a tough pill to swallow if you’re a Johnnie fan. St. John’s came into the game 9–4 overall and unbeaten at 2–0 in Big East play. On paper, they

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  • Brooklyn Built: Deron Rippey Jr. Takes NYC Hoops to Duke

    Brooklyn Built: Deron Rippey Jr. Takes NYC Hoops to Duke

    Deron Rippey Jr. is the latest example of New York City basketball at its finest. Raised in Brooklyn, NYC, his game was built in tough gyms, real competition, and a culture where respect is earned. That NYC edge has followed him everywhere he’s played. After coming up through New Heights NYC on the AAU circuit,

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  • Omar Cook: The Queens Point Guard Who Had NYC Basketball in a Chokehold

    Omar Cook: The Queens Point Guard Who Had NYC Basketball in a Chokehold

    Every now and then, a player comes along who’s just different. Not hype-different. Not internet-different. But truly special. For me, that player was a point guard from Queens, New York named Omar Cook. In the late 1990s, if you were tapped into NYC basketball culture, Omar Cook’s name was everywhere. The buzz around the city

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  • Remembering John “The Franchise” Strickland, NYC Streetball Legend

    Remembering John “The Franchise” Strickland, NYC Streetball Legend

    When I was about 15 years old, life was as simple and pure as it gets. Wake up, eat breakfast, play basketball. Eat lunch, play basketball. And if there was any time left in the day—or night—we were still playing basketball. Sun up, sun down, lights on or lights off, it didn’t matter. I lived

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