Summer Hoops in Chicago

Many have claimed New York City is the basketball mecca of the world. Dime Magazine claimed Los Angeles is the new point guard capital of the world. They are wrong on both counts. New York City has the famous Rucker Park tournaments every summer but it reminds me of the And1 Streetball Mixtapes. Chicago has the Pro Amms in IIT and there motto is "Get Exposure of Get Exposed"!!!! That same theory applies to all outside parks in the city of Chicago.

Growing up in Da Chi I've always enjoyed that I can't go 1 mile without finding the nearest pickup games. This summer I've played at Foster Beach, Marquette Park, Hayes Drive, North Ave Beach, 43rd St Beach, and various X-Sports Fitness Centers.

Typical Chicago fashion everybody goes hard at one another (we're sore losers) and everybody wants to run the point. Ball hogs are everywhere but everywhere I played, some guys have talent while other guys had heart. The younger generation are more athletic but they lack fundamentals. The problem is players today are told they're the next coming of Kobe Bryant and they believe their own hype. Once they suffered the loss waiting to be picked up for the next run, they sit the sideline blaming their other teammates for the loss.

This summer players today travel to different parks with other ball players on their own 5. I travel alone just looking to get a good run and throw no look passes. Double rims are the new rims outside meaning this new generation will have a pure jump shot. I'm not a fan of the double rim because it's harder for shot to fall.

As the summer winds down, I'll still continue to play outside until Mother Nature tells us it's time to play indoors. When that time comes, you can find me in Foster Park or an X-Sports Fitness near you.