What a great site.  Saw mentions of a couple of guys I balled with like Bread (Curtis Phaulls) and Bernard Boyd who I went to high school with - Nardo was a wizard with the ball.  And Bread has the best first step I ever saw.  But I see no mention of Carlton Green a/k/a Mr. Moto.  Pete Vescey has him rated as one of the top 50 NY high school players of all time.  I watched Carlton scorched ‘em at the Rucker Tournament.  Fly Williams could do nothing with him.  Then they actually tried to have David Russell guard him, no contest.  More importantly than being good ballplayers they are great people.  -  Cam (Neil), Northport, Florida

Yo, what up Game Over?  This is your main man old skool out of Manhattan Eastside.  I was just writing to let you know about your boy Kobe a.k.a. Russell Williams.  This kid is like ............ I don't know what to say there is no limit to what he can do it just outstanding.  I mean what is you people waiting for make this kid to legend, this my fourth time I've seen this kid play and trust me every time he plays he draws a crowd like he's some NBA player.  He's got talent.  He can jump, he was in a dunking contest last week in Manhattan and this kid wanted to go first and trust me he did not let the crowd down.  He downed the first try.  He made the dunk with out any problem.  He jumps like one step from the foul line and jumps over not two but five people in line, all of them like 6'0" tall.  He slam it so hard that he cut his wrist on the rim.  I saw it with my own eyes.  Trust me, I am 51 years old and I never seen any thing like that in my history.  -  anonymous

I am planning a reunion of my former ballplayers this upcoming July 15th.  Reaching out to the following Bed-Stuy Restoration Flyers & Eagles.  James Hayes, World B. Free, Raleigh "Money Dickerson, Sam Perkins, Sam Worthen, Melvin Davis, Albert King, Ronald Cook, Ron Bostic, Steven Niles, Ox, Roland Albright, Fly Williams, Henry Dillard, Ernest Myrick, Eric Short, Riley Clarida, Clarence Thornton, Bernard Boyd, Rick Jarvis, Steve Ruffin, Calvin Hawkins, Curt Artis, Eric Greene, Rashied Walker, Leon Cagle, Brian Smith, Jeffery McClean, James "Zeke" Parker, Darryll Baskerville, Rudy Johnson, Anthony "Bubs" Watson, George Berry, Albert Pierre, Russell Davis, Willie Davis, Russell Saunders, Grasshoper Williams, Keith Lewis, Anthony "Yams" Young, Bennie Solomon, Cornelius Lasane, Phil Seymore, Phil Sellers, Geoff Houston Jerry Abernathy, Dennis Miller, Jerry Fogle, James "Fluff" Colbert, Joe Gold, Johnny Mathis, Dwayne Cotton, Ernest Myrick, Ivan Young, Larry Fogle, Eric Greene, Leslie Miller, Craig Smoke and many more.  Eric Short "MVP" 1975 Rucker, Anthony "Yam" Young MVP 1975 Rucker Unlimited, Henry "Blue" Dillard MVP Rucker, Unlimited Div. Contact Coach, George Murden, "The Living Legends Of Brooklyn Basketball Inc" (718) 360-6644 cell or (718) 852-1014. Peace -  gmurden67, Brooklyn, NY

Lloyd E Gardner, Jr. played in the European league and briefly the NBA.  Approximately 1978-1983??..he's legally blind in one eye...he came from Jamaica Estates in Queens ( I think).  Anyway, any info on this man?   He runs a basketball league here in Florida and I am trying to "wow" my kid with old info about him...but can't seem to find anything.  -  linteresi

One of the best to come out of Hollis, Queens was Jeff Mo.  One of Jeff's favorite moves was to take the ball to the hoop on a fast break and leap high into the air, grab the rim with one hand and dunk it with the other.  Players on the other team would scream and holler that the play was no good and that Jeff couldn't do that.  Jeff would strut up the court yelling back "why not? basket good!"  With the fans yelling and the opposing team holding their heads down in humiliation, the basket would stay.  Oh any yeah, Jeff was only about 5 feet 10 inches tall.  Tough ballplayer, lot of potential and you did not want to check him because he was going to embarrass you if you were not on your game.  I saw Jeff dribble the ball upcourt with an opponent checking him tightly.  Jeff suddenly picked up his dribble and handed the ball to the other player.  As the defender stood there momentarily shocked ball in hand, Jeff snatched the ball back from him immediately and went around him and off to make a basket.  The dazed and embarrassed defender still standing there with that "I just been embarrassed look on his face."  Jeff was clutch with his shot.  He hit three shots from half court to beat us in one game.  His shot was a set shot and it looked odd but he could hit from half court.  You had fun watching Jeff play but if you were playing against him you were in trouble.  He was strong inside and the thing I most remember about him is he never took a break on the court, he was jumping hard every play.  -  math291hall, Hollis, Queens, NY

A few years back I happened to stop by a park across the street from where the GOAT tourney is played to watch a girls basketball game coached by my recently deceased cousin Guy Hughes.  At half time Goat passed by and the two of them got into a conversation about the old Rucker days.  Goat began telling me stories about what a hell of a player Guy was.  He spoke about when Dr. J. first came down to the Rucker how Guy threw his shot out of the park!  Goat said Huey, as we called him, had one of the deadliest jumpers in the league.  I've learned more about Guy and his playing days in the Rucker since his passing than I knew when he was alive.  At his funeral Pee Wee Kirkland also spoke highly of Guy's playing days.  If anyone out there from that era has any Guy Hughes stories please post them.  It would be great to know more.  - Kevin

Bone Collector is hands down the best.  About 5 years ago I played against him continuously for about 2 weeks.  He came up to my park with his homies in Azusa, California.  His old name use to be Speedy.  It still is when he's back home.  But I remember he used to always ask to borrow my friends’ ball.  His friends said he would smoke blacks and dribble all night. lol.  The dude is the truth.  There is nobody in the streetball game today that is better. Hot Sauce doesn't have a chance, nobody does.  -  anthernandez23

Hey, tell me more about James Cousar from Clinton in the BX I was in the Vernon at that time and now I remember the name but I was curious if he died before a cat named Sekke (Freaky Zeke).  Clarke transferred to Clinton as a 10th grader.  They had to be backcourt mates I think.  I never saw Cousar play but Zeke gave me fits - Andrew Toney style jumper from 20 ft in and herky-jerky handle style something like Steve Nash but more languid like Pearl W. and could finish strong w/ either hand.  5'10" as a 10th grader but grew to about 6' or 6'1". -  Lee, Bowie, MD

Hey, I saw an entry on another page on this site talking about James Cousar who went to Clinton in the Bronx in the early 80's.  I never saw him play but I remember the name.  Was he better than Rod Strickland? Also, do you remember Cousar's backcourt mate Zeke Clarke?  Zeke was from the Vernon but transferred as a 10th grader.  A PG who had SERIOUS game.  He was as good as any PG in my age group I ever played against and I played against Mark Jackson and Dee Mac.  Never played against Strick though.  Well, maybe not as good as Ernie Myers and I played against him as well although EM wasn't a true point. Zeke had an Andrew Toney style J and a Steve Nash style herky-jerky game with eyes in the back of his head.  He was about 5'10 but grew to be about 6'1"  -  swish526

There was a basketball legend out of Mineola (NY) named Bart Finkleburg.  Finkleburg would hit the playgrounds of Manhasset, Bellmore and Oyster Bay and built a name for himself.  He was the unsung hero for Mineola High with his signature set shot.  He stood 5'5 with thick glasses but was a force to be reckoned with.  The crowd would yell Finkleburg!! Finkleburg!!  I dont know why he never made it to the NBA.  Politics man...-  jgoldbaum