WASHINGTON DC — I grew up in Oklahoma, and now I live and work in Washington, DC. I also happen to have been roommates with Royce during our formative years in Norman. So naturally, when I heard that Kevin Durant occasionally plays summer league ball in DC, I took it as my moral duty to find out the details and attend.
After learning from twitter (@Inside_da_Gates) that KD would be playing in DC this week, I was able to clock out of work a bit early yesterday and attend last night’s session (Tuesday, June 7) of the George Goodman Basketball League. If you do not know, the Goodman League is a summer basketball league in the southeast Washington D.C. neighborhood of Anacostia/Barry Farms (to learn more about the league and its history – it is sponsored by Nike and is regularly billed as one of the nation’s top spots for summer ball – check out their website).
I arrived to the Barry Farms neighborhood around 6:50 p.m. (it’s a 4 minute walk, at most, from the Anacostia metro station), just in time to catch the tipoff of the first game – but there was no sign of KD. The scene was what you would imagine for a high intensity summer league – good basketball players, a standing room only crowd inside the caged basketball court, Gatorade and bottled water available for $2 a bottle, and a DJ spinning great music (opening song was the full length version of Rick James’ “Mary Jane”). In addition, the best part of the Goodman League is Commissioner Miles Rawls, who commentates on the games over a PA in real time.
Last night, KD made his return to the Goodman League in Washington D.C. Kevin uses the streetball league to help prepare himself for each NBA season. Take a look at some highlights from his first game there below:
We’re hearing whispers that KD will make his 2011 debut at the Goodman League down at Barry Farms tonight at 6pm D.C. time. Each summer, Kevin uses the streetball league to hone his skills and prepare for the upcoming NBA season. Here’s a look at what he did down at the Farms last summer:
What’s good everyone? Before I got out here to New York I was able to spend some quality time back home in the D.C. area. The biggest highlight was making it out to my old hangout, the Seat Pleasant Activities Center.
When I think back to that place, I just think back to my whole childhood. I used to spend all day, every day there. That gym was my home. That place was more than just me going to play basketball. The first time I got in the league, I wanted my first check to go to Seat Pleasant. The activities center just recognized me for a donation I made and I’ve got to thank Nike and some of my sponsors for doing a great job of helping me with that because I’m very blessed to have an opportunity to give back to a place that gave me so much.
I actually made the donation to them a little while back but they were waiting until they got something done to make an announcement. I never had a timetable for them to get something done but they wanted the best for the kids and that’s what I’m all about.
They actually named the gaming center and lounge area “Durant’s Den,†which was very nice of them. They put my name on the top of the glass, which was pretty cool. The actual room was there when I was a kid but it wasn’t that big of a space and there weren’t many games there. I remember there was a TV in there and a ping pong table. It was just a nice place to enjoy each other’s company when you couldn’t go in the gym. 90 percent of my time I was in the gym and the other 10 percent I was in the game room.
I also made a trip to Capitol Hill and the House of Representatives for the Congressional Fitness Caucus in late July. Gatorade and NBA FIT hooked me up with the event. It was pretty cool but I wasn’t dressed for the part! I ended up wearing some Dunks, a white t-shirt and some basketball shorts.
But I met a lot of nice people and there were some very important people there, too. I’m really not into politics but to go there really put everything into perspective for me. It was pretty cool to see. I know that fitness and nutrition is very important, especially for the younger kids. I just wanted to get that point across.
Whenever I’m in D.C. during the summer I make sure to get some runs in down at the Goodman League. It’s been a busy summer for me, so I haven’t been able to get down there as much as usual. But it was still fun too hoop a bit with my Goodman League fam. Check out this video from my time down there this summer:
Well, that’s it for now. I’ll try to get up some more blogs up for y’all over the next few days.
Published by admin in Blog on August 9th, 2010 | 15
KD has blogged about how special the Goodman League has been to him over the years. Despite a crazy summer schedule this summer, KD was still able to make a few appearances at the 2010 Goodman League. Take a look at a hot highlight mix of Kevin doing damage at this years Goodman. Thanks to themarsreel.com for putting it together!
What’s good everybody? Earlier in the year I blogged about my experiences playing in the Goodman League at Barry Farms. Nike Basketball’s “The Leap” followed me home to D.C. this summer to get a glimpse of me playing at Barry Farms. Check out the video and let me know what you think. I also debut the Velvet Hoop edition of my Zoom KD II in the video. So make sure to look out for that.
What’s going on everybody? We play Andre Iguodala and the Sixers tonight. Should be another tough game, so make sure you tune in and support us.
So have any of you guys heard of the Barry Farms Goodman League in D.C.? That place means a lot to me. It’s one of the best spots for street ball in the summer, but it’s not your typical street ball.
The first time I played at Barry Farms was when I was 16 years old. It was the finals, a three-game series and I played in that. It was the first time I stepped on the court and I was nervous because it’s right in the middle of the projects, a part of town I never really go to. I just used to go there to watch games and hurry up and leave before it got dark, but it was fun. I knew it was going to be a rough game. The refs don’t call fouls. I knew they were going to test me because I was tall and skinny. I never played there before but I stayed strong and held my own and ever since then I’ve been going back.
I went there with Ty Lawson. Me and him have been real close friends since ninth grade and he asked me to come play with his team. My mom was a little scared. She never let me play there before but now she let me go out there and play and it kind of let me show what I can do.
I have a lot of great memories from there. I had 62 points in a game down there and I had 55 this past summer down there in the playoffs. It was one of my memorable games because it was so packed. People were sitting on the gates and they were so close to the playing floor that if you go out of bounds you were stepping on somebody. That’s how close they were, that’s how intense it was. I remember going down, knocking three after three, going to the basket. I took one step across half court, I shot a jumper and I made it. I felt like I was on. The crowd kept hyping me up and telling me to shoot and they were giving me the ball. It made me feel good, gave me that confidence that I needed.
The best thing about it is it’s not regular street ball where you’re crossing them up and throwing it off people’s heads and just playing around. You really want to win. It’s for bragging rights for the whole city. Wherever I go, whether it’s Philly or Baltimore or L.A., people say, ‘are you playing down at the Farms this summer?’ It’s starting to become nationwide. A lot of people know about it. In D.C. we’re all about talking and bragging rights, so everywhere I go in the city people ask me when I’m playing again.
It’s fun because whenever I play it’s always crowded. It’s like the same fans every game. One time it was me, Michael Beasley, local legend Kurt Smith – many people don’t know who he is but he’s a local legend. It was all of us on one court. Then we had people on the sidelines…Shaq has been there, Nate Robinson has been there. We have a lot of music artists come down there and watch us play.
In the game with Mike and Kurt the Washington Mystics in the stands. They watched us play for the first time. It was just real intense. Energy was there from the beginning. It was a packed house. We put a show on for everybody to watch. I think I had 38, 39 that game. Just fun times.
I keep in touch with the people at Barry Farms all the time. I try to do my best to give back to them, since they’ve helped me become the player I am today as far as always supporting me, giving me confidence and letting me come down and play whenever I want. That’s just a blessing because not too many people can call them up and say, ‘I want to play today.’ They put me on any team. They let just let me play. They made a DVD for me, they made shirts. It just feels good to go down there and get that support from them. Any time I get a chance to talk to them or invite them to the games, I try to do that. You can find out more about the Goodman League on their facebook.
Also, here’s some video highlights of me playing at Barry Farms:
Well, that’s it for now. I hope you learned a little something about where I grew up playing ball. Have any of you guys been to the Goodman League? You guys know of any good places for street ball? Let me know in my comments section.
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