I grew up in a concrete jungle, with buildings everywhere and playgrounds of cement. There are always rules regarding playgrounds: no jumping from slides or see-saws, etc. Beyond those rules, there are street, unspoken rules that must be followed. The inner city game is basketball. I’ve played on many teams and coached my son through elementary school and into high school. We had park rules and home court rules. I was never that good a basketball player; I had white man’s disease; and I can’t jump. On a good day, I could touch the rim. The first rule was that whoever was on the court first had to play in every game until they lost. I’d get there early to call “home court,” hoping the guys that should be up were good and I could continue my possession of the court. Even if you played in the South Bronx or Harlem, these rules were adhered to.

Greenwich Village has a main subway stop: West 4th Street. The cross street is 6th Avenue.

One block south is West 3rd Street, where there is a basketball court. Guys, professional players would travel downtown to play ball. I remember Dick Barnet of the Knicks, and Kareem Abdul Jabar was a local boy named Lew Alcindor. He went to Power Memorial Academy High School.

I tried my strategy early one Saturday morning on the West 3rd Street courts. Everything went fine the first few games; our team won the first two games, and that was it. When the big boys arrived, we were wiped off the court. To this day, the Saturday basketball games are a tourist attraction. They have also formed a league, “West 3rd Street Basketball League.” Teams have sponsors: Nike and Pepsi. I would have to wake up pretty early to play in that league.