OT: Some Local Syracuse Hooping Stories

[JDubbin]

I feel as though the Basketball board is running a little slow these days, and I'm at 666 posts so I thought I'd better get something going to get off of that. I'm interested in hearing some local hoops stories from Syracuse, whether exciting, funny, unique, etc.

I grew up right right around Thorndon Park so that's where I played most of my recreational hoops, but I ended up playing some in Archbold before becoming an SU student... here's how. Back in the early 2000's, to get into Archbold all you needed was one friend with an SU ID. When facing the main entrance doors, there was a kind of loading dock door tucked away to the left, usually locked. So, myself and some friends would kind of hang out by that door and send one friend through the main entrance who had an SU ID. Instead of going up the stairs, the friend with ID would head to elevator. If you pressed the proper button, you could open the other set of elevator doors (still on the same level), and open the loading dock door from the inside! Myself and a couple of friends would then pile into the elevator and take it to the 2nd floor, avoiding any security/need for ID, and got our hoop on in the SU facilities. I thought it was rebellious and amazing at the time.

Just a little insight from a local Syracuse guy, before becoming a student at SU and getting that degree.

 

[Shark58]

ah...young Rambo missions. (btw, we long ago figured out that among the toughest rambo missions in the 315 would be stealing the big flag outside of Perkins on Erie)

anyway, back to local hoops stories. when I lived on Comstock near East Genny I played a bunch of pick up games in Thorndon. One day we had a pretty good run going and the next group up had some girl who was going to ball with them. Of course, I get the no-win situation of D'ing her up. She starts throwing elbows and boxing out like a madwoman, making dead on passes and lighting me up with her shot. I get demolished.

I'm no stud hoops player. Just another average white boy who once blocked the shiznit out of a Dave Siock shot, but I was flat out mortified that day I first met Felisha Legette.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

I was flat out mortified that day I first met Felisha Legette.

I graduated with Felisha from Nottingham in '84.

As classy a person as you will ever meet

 

[Shark58]

I graduated with Felisha from Nottingham in '84.

As classy a person as you will ever meet

I had heard the name before we played but had exactly 0.0 notion at the time that it was her on the court. Don't think I even caught her name that day. I put 2 + 2 together about a year later when she committed to SU and her pic was on the front page of the PS (or maybe HJ) sports section.

I've met up with her on a few occasions since and any other interactions have always been positive. Of course, I never played her again either.

 

[JDubbin]

I played in the Syracuse A.C.T.I.O.N. summer league at the McChesney Center one year. Myself, a friend of mine and some preppy kid were the only white players on our team. In the first half of the first game preppy white kid got swatted into like the 15th row of the stands. At halftime, he grabbed his girlfriend who was sitting in the gym, walked out and we did not see him the rest of the season. I still laugh about it, it was amazing. Jo-Lonn Dunbar from Corcoran (currently linebacker on the St. Louis Rams) played on that team as well. He was hilarious to watch play, super smooth and slow game... but just could not be stopped when he wanted a bucket.

 

[orangefog]

Anybody play pick up in the Utica area?

 

[TinyManInside]

I once played a pickup game on a Saturday morning at Archibold and somehow I ended up on Preston Shumpert's team. He was so hung over that I don't think he could even see straight - he literally airballed every 3 pointer he took over a 5 game stretch. He must have had about 12 dunks but I don't think he made a single shot that wasn't a dunk.

Best pick-up baller I ever saw was Ryan Blackwell. That dude looked like a future first-team All-NBA player when he played pickup against the rest of his '97-00 teammates.

 

[MaxFischer]

Ah the memories...as a fellow Ham grad I did my time on the blacktops at Thorndon and Barry Park. The double metal barred rims and chain nets at Barry really made you earn it. Having a professor as a parent got me an SU ID somehow, and I loved playing at Archibold and then Flannigan when it was brand new. Though playing against football players was a more common experience, I remember somehow being in a game that involved Lukie Jackson and Anthony Harris. At one point Harris gets a breakaway with just your intrepid narrator as the last line of defense. This being the Mason/Oakley Knicks era, I get it in my head that the way to play this is not to let him score without "earning" it. A hard foul ensues and needless to say Anthony was none too pleased about a scrawny white kid giving him the what for. As my life is flashing before my eyes, none other than Lukie Jackson steps in. (While giggling the entire time) he tells his AH to call his foul and keep playing. As memory serves there was no further incident. But needless to say my impressions of both those guys changed while watching them going forward. Good times...

 

[Full_Rebar]

I stared down Keith Bulluck on a fast break in intramurals. I was smart enough to fake a weak attempt at a steal so I didn't end up plastered against the Flanagan wall. I think a couple of the other fb guys on his squad were Dee Brown and Nunes.

 

[orangefog]

I stared down Keith Bulluck on a fast break in intramurals. I was smart enough to fake a weak attempt at a steal so I didn't end up plastered against the Flanagan wall. I think a couple of the other fb guys on his squad were Dee Brown and Nunes.

I picture Nunes dribbling around aimlessly for 20 seconds and then throwing the ball out of bounds.

 

[CusefanATL]

I feel as though the Basketball board is running a little slow these days, and I'm at 666 posts so I thought I'd better get something going to get off of that. I'm interested in hearing some local hoops stories from Syracuse, whether exciting, funny, unique, etc.

I grew up right right around Thorndon Park so that's where I played most of my recreational hoops, but I ended up playing some in Archbold before becoming an SU student... here's how. Back in the early 2000's, to get into Archbold all you needed was one friend with an SU ID. When facing the main entrance doors, there was a kind of loading dock door tucked away to the left, usually locked. So, myself and some friends would kind of hang out by that door and send one friend through the main entrance who had an SU ID. Instead of going up the stairs, the friend with ID would head to elevator. If you pressed the proper button, you could open the other set of elevator doors (still on the same level), and open the loading dock door from the inside! Myself and a couple of friends would then pile into the elevator and take it to the 2nd floor, avoiding any security/need for ID, and got our hoop on in the SU facilities. I thought it was rebellious and amazing at the time.

Just a little insight from a local Syracuse guy, before becoming a student at SU and getting that degree.

We used to sneak into the sheraton with a 30 pack and a couple of girls and hang out in the hot tubs. walk back to walnut in our bathing suit and towel in February.

1 of the managers thought it was hillarious. 1/2 the time he would buzz us into the pool area.

 

[ssbriefcase]

Man, the memories. Whoever said that is dead on. Some of my favorites of my teenage years. Our "circuit", was Meachem, Van Duyn, Onondaga park, Kirk park, the bricks, Thornden and Barry.

Favorite memory, Stevie Thompson dunking on my boy Martell at Thornden. I don't know if he's lived that down yet! At high school we'd reinact that almost every day by dunking on people when they walked under the fold out door hinges on the top pretending it as a rim, saying "who's this?"

 

[Shark58]

Anybody play pick up in the Utica area?

a couple of avg looking girls one time, thats about it

 

[cusefan88]

I've played at Barry Park quite a few times, some solid players. Tyvon Branch (Oakland Raiders) played once but he wasn't going too hard (understandable)

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Ah the memories...as a fellow Ham grad I did my time on the blacktops at Thorndon and Barry Park. The double metal barred rims and chain nets at Barry really made you earn it. Having a professor as a parent got me an SU ID somehow, and I loved playing at Archibold and then Flannigan when it was brand new. Though playing against football players was a more common experience, I remember somehow being in a game that involved Lukie Jackson and Anthony Harris. At one point Harris gets a breakaway with just your intrepid narrator as the last line of defense. This being the Mason/Oakley Knicks era, I get it in my head that the way to play this is not to let him score without "earning" it. A hard foul ensues and needless to say Anthony was none too pleased about a scrawny white kid giving him the what for. As my life is flashing before my eyes, none other than Lukie Jackson steps in. (While giggling the entire time) he tells his AH to call his foul and keep playing. As memory serves there was no further incident. But needless to say my impressions of both those guys changed while watching them going forward. Good times...

What year did u graduate from Nottingham?

Did you play lax there?

 

[Jeremy L.]

Not me, but my old basketball coach got dunked on my Brandon Triche in a 3 on 3 tournament (I think the one Hopkins was running up at LeMoyne).

 

[shandeezy7]

Used to play every single night in the summer over at the outdoor court at the JCC. Started out mostly as me, some high school buddies and some other neighborhood guys. The Triche brothers used to come play a lot. Brandon would always be around but was mostly hanging around on the sidelines with some other kids. Then one summer he showed up when I think he was 13 or 14 and came out onto the court and threw down a massive windmill dunk. That was around the time that the pick-up games would be a who's who of basketball talent from around the city. Every game was a battle and there was a ton of talent out there. Good times.

 

[AZOrange]

Played at archibold all day every day. Faves: hak by far (wasn't too regular), jmcneil (pretty regular). The football guys were real good. Freeney is easily the biggest athletic freak I've seen. I also remember nunes being pretty good and pretty athletic. But the real treat over there was Deshaun. Nothing compares to that dude. My cuz...!

 

[DoctorBombay]

ah...young Rambo missions. (btw, we long ago figured out that among the toughest rambo missions in the 315 would be stealing the big flag outside of Perkins on Erie)

anyway, back to local hoops stories. when I lived on Comstock near East Genny I played a bunch of pick up games in Thorndon. One day we had a pretty good run going and the next group up had some girl who was going to ball with them. Of course, I get the no-win situation of D'ing her up. She starts throwing elbows and boxing out like a madwoman, making dead on passes and lighting me up with her shot. I get demolished.

I'm no stud hoops player. Just another average white boy who once blocked the shiznit out of a Dave Siock shot, but I was flat out mortified that day I first met Felicia Legette.

Not a Syracuse native but if I recall correctly that whole Legette family had rep as athletes. I remember she had a brother, Ronnie(?), who was a big deal. Very nice player and she more than held her own on the Thornden courts.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Not a Syracuse native but if I recall correctly that whole Legette family had rep as athletes. I remember she had a brother, Ronnie(?), who was a big deal. Very nice player and she more than held her own on the Thornden courts.

Ronnie led 'Ham to state championship in '82 (i think) and Felisha led girls to two state championships (if my memory is correct).

Yes, they are one heck of an athletic family.

 

[OttoMets]

Ronnie led 'Ham to state championship in '82 (i think) and Felisha led girls to two state championships (if my memory is correct).

Yes, they are one heck of an athletic family.

And the younger Ronnie was a half-decent player at Nottingham a couple decades after that.

Played at archibold all day every day. Faves: hak by far (wasn't too regular), jmcneil (pretty regular). The football guys were real good. Freeney is easily the biggest athletic freak I've seen. I also remember nunes being pretty good and pretty athletic. But the real treat over there was Deshaun. Nothing compares to that dude. My cuz...!

DeShaun used to play at Barry quite a bit. Much more personable there than he was at 44s.