Over the weekend we brought you the news of Rajon Rondo and Red Bull doing big things for Beantown with Round 2 of Boston’s Got Wings.

Today, we have video of Rajon talking about the program and what growing up playing ball outside did for his game: Read More »

We’ve shown you Baltimore. We showed you the game at Boys & Girls High School earlier today. Now check out Brandon Jennings, Derrick Williams, Kemba Walker, Greivis Vasquez and Under Armour balling out at Lincoln High School during the latest stop on their “Are You From Here?” tour. Lincoln’s alumni team included guys like Lance Stephenson and Sebastian Telfair. And while Jennings (39 points) led all scorers, it wasn’t enough as the Lincoln alumni protected their house with a 101-83 win. Read More »

Not all NBA basketball has stopped. We still have Under Armour’s “Are You From Here?” Tour going on with Kemba Walker, Derrick Williams, Greivis Vasquez and Brandon Jennings going city to city and shutting gyms down. After doing their thing in front of some of the Dime crew in Baltimore, last week the NBA stars traveled by pimped-out bus to Boys & Girls High School in Brooklyn. Playing alumni from the school, the Under Armour team won 100-91 behind 43 points and six threes from Jennings. Read More »

Kevin Durant (photo. Michael Starghill)

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: The best thing to come out of the NBA lockout this summer was Kevin Durant dominating every game he played. Everywhere. And while he took his show on the road, KD always saved his best for the hometown fans at D.C.’s Goodman League. Perhaps our friends at The Mars Reel put it best: “Durant represents everything the Goodman League is about; hard work, undeniable talent, and most importantly, passion.” With that, check out his official 2011 Goodman League summer mixtape, exclusively from The Mars Reel. Read More »

It’s not just us, and it’s not just you. It’s everyone. Everyone is sick of charity games, of celebrity games and nights ending up 170-168. It was cool for a while. That got us through the summer of no basketball, trade rumors or signings: “Capital Punishment,” “The Big Payback,” and all the rest. But Jamal Crawford and Lou Williams are promising something different. Seattle and Atlanta are two consistently overlooked hoop hotbeds. But now we’ll have the chance to see which city is better. Expect it to be heated. Expect it to be real. Read More »

“Are you from here?”

No one’s walked up to me and asked me that – yet – but it could happen. It’s a rhetorical question, a prodding that’s on everyone’s mind simply because everywhere you look, it’s there. On the walls. On the scoreboard. On the DJ booth. On the bus. From here is St. Frances Academy, but not entirely. That’s just the setting. From here is rugged Baltimore, the streets, where ball is played until the rain gets so heavy you gain weight, where cement cracks go from being ant hill homes to stoned-feet defenders. Read More »

The playground isn’t the problem — it’s the solution. That is the mantra of Chain Link Fundamentals, which recently finished up a string of successful clinics in Brooklyn at the Navy Yard Clubhouse and the Thomas S. Murphy Clubhouse of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Thanks to the Barclays Nets Community Alliance, young ballplayers from all over the area flocked to community gyms to learn the game from some of the best coaches in the New York area, gaining important lessons both on the court and in life. Read More »

By now you need no introduction to the Goodman League. And as you’ve come to expect, their 2011 season took the game to new heights. The following mixtape features highlights from both the Goodman League and Goodman Coalition games, and after watching, you’ll realize why some call D.C.’s proving ground the best summer league in the nation.

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Have you ever wanted something so bad that time didn’t matter? The setting and rising of the sun did little to kill your drive. Your will was too great that it just slaughtered time. A few times when I was younger, I took upwards of 2,000 shots in one night. One night in particular stands out: freshman year of college. My roommate and I hit the gym after dinner. We were there so long the facility closed up because everyone thought it was empty. By midnight, a security guard kicked us out. Each of us had taken around 1,000 shots and yet we had been there for what seemed like forever. Well, Dave Cummings doesn’t fear time. Read More »

Have you ever wanted to get a run in with Derrick Rose? As we mentioned in Smack this morning, this weekend will be your chance. To celebrate the launch of Rose’s new signature sneaker – the adiZero Rose 2 – this Saturday, the MVP will run a pickup game at some random location in Chicago. So how will you get there? Follow along this week at adidas’ Facebook “Run with D Rose” page where clues will be unveiled each day to help you decipher the location. Read More »