Got Game? Major Players Hold Court in Rucker Tournament

There is more to basketball than the NBA. In fact, there is an infamous kind of ball played on the streets that is tougher and more raw than Allen Iverson on a bad day.

Street ball has been around since the early 1900s. Originating in the streets of Washington DC and New York City, street ball is now widely recognized as more than a game between neighboring kids, it's legitimate style of basketball.

After WWII, the population in major cities, like the ones aforementioned, began to grow and so did the popularity of street ball. Soon game promoters and organizers realized that street ball could be very profitable and the lines between street ball and professional basketball started to cross.

In the early 1950s, Holcomb Rucker, a former WWII veteran and NYC Recreation employee started a basketball tournament in Harlem, NY. Called the Rucker tournament, its reputation grew and soon it was so popular that many of the greatest basketball players to ever step foot on the court were first discovered playing on the courts at 155^th street and 8^th avenue in Harlem, NY.

And despite dominating on the court in the NBA, players like Wilt Chamberlain and Julius Erving, made it a point to play in the Rucker tournament every summer to prove they "still had game."

Street ball hit the mainstream through the NCAA. Teams like the Phi Slamma Jamma from Houston, the "Hoya Paranoia" from Georgetown, the Runnin' Rebels from UNLV and the Fab Five of Michigan showed style and charisma characteristic of the intensity seen on the streets.

And speaking of Allen Iverson, his "street" style is often criticized. Former NBA player Charles Barkley once called him the "Playground Rookie of the Year." In 2001, Iverson got validation for his "playground style" by taking the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA finals.

In addition, in 2001, The Street Basketball Association, LLC was established to create a professional "street basketball" league and a place to for talented players to show off their moves around the world.

The Rucker tournament has been growing in size and infamy since the 1950's. Its history has been put into a book called the "Asphalt Gods: An Oral History of the Rucker Tournament."

Got game?