The Notic: Uncut & Unreleased
And1 vs. ATL All-Stars| They’re kings of a different court |
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| Written by Dan Duggan | |
| Sunday, 24 June 2007 | |
 Coaches shouted at players to get back on defense. Teammates engaged in a tightly contested scrimmage. The losing team had to run sprints. It could have been the scene at any high school, college or NBA gym, but this was no ordinary sight. That’s because it took place on the blacktop of a parking lot and featured players on the AND 1 streetball team.“We’re competing,†Troy “Escalade†Jackson said. “I played with the Harlem Globetrotters, and that was like a play. It was the same script night in and night out. Out here, it’s freelance. The difference here is it’s entertainment with no rehearsals.†Jackson and the rest of the AND 1 All-Stars will showcase their talents today at 3 p.m. (gates open at 2) against a team of local players outside the Bayside Expo Center. Tickets are $20. This is the second stop on AND 1’s 10-city Mix Tape Tour...  Showtime: ‘Hot Sauce,’ one of the stars of the AND 1 Mix Tape Tour, works the ball yesterday at the Bayside Expo Center. (Herald photo by Faith Ninivaggi) “These guys are all competitive,†said Kelly, who averaged 11.1 points as a senior at Northeastern last winter. “It gets pretty physical out here. It’s exciting to come out here and play against them.†A common misconception about AND 1 players is that they’re only capable of playground tricks. Yet while they’ve all honed their games in city parks, several also played Division 1 basketball. Jackson, for example, was on three NCAA tournament teams at Louisville in the mid-1990s. The players, meanwhile, are attracted to AND 1 for several reasons. One, it pays better - “in the six figures without side endorsements,†Jackson said - than any other league in the United States aside from the NBA, and is on par with the top European leagues. “I’ve spent my whole life playing this game, and like everybody else that ever touched a ball, I wanted to play in the league (NBA),†said Jackson, the brother of former NBA All-Star Mark Jackson. “When you fall short, it’s disappointing, but this is a nice consolation prize.†Two, it’s wildly popular. The Mix Tape Tour is shown on ESPN, the players have traveled around the world playing in packed arenas and - the official sign that an athlete has made it - AND 1 has its own video game. With that popularity at an all-time high, Jackson takes any criticism about AND 1 in stride. “If you criticize it, it’s not for you,†he said. “Everything that is great and new was chastised at one point. Until they realize you aren’t going anywhere, they’re going to chastise you. When they stop talking about us, that’s when I’m going to be upset.†BostonHerald.com |
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