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Jerome Green

November 11, 2008

 

 

Recently I read a review, in the Los Angeles times on, “The First Basket” which documents the early stages of organized basketball. While reading this review I had to reflect back my basketball experiences as a black kid growing up in Rockaway New York. I learned very early on about northern-segregation, which was more based on economics and religion, than on the more southern issue of race. Race was a factor, but not as much as it was in the South. The North was more sophisticated. Outside of the Redfern Housing Projects there were conclaves of Jewish and Irish communities.

 

 It was on the basketball court where we all game together, be it at Beach 116^th street, Beach 9^th street or at school. The game was above the segregation of race, culture, religion and economics. We just all loved to play. CCNY, St Johns University, all had Jewish players and we loved to watch them play at the beach in the summer. The cable explosion would be 25 years away, so to see good ball, you had to get on the subway, or the bus and to the park where it was being played. Larry Brown, playing in the same game with Charlie Scott, was something you could only see if you lived in New York or North Carolina.

 

The real binding factors for all of us were the knicks.  Lead by head coach Red Holzman, a tiny, but powerful Jewish coach of the best team in the world. The knicks won the championship in 1970 and again in 1973, and while Clyde, Reed and Bradley had a lot to do with it, we all knew the Jewish coach, was most responsible to building a team and taking us to victory. We would watch the games and then all talk about them the next day at school. When the knicks won the championship in 1970, it was like we all did.

 

I haven’t seen the “The First Basket,” but look forward to seeing it this weekend. Read the Times review here.  Click here for the YouTube trailer.

 

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