Review Copyright Rose Cooper, 2000

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I know what you're thinking, My Bougie People: all We need is Yet Another movie about how basketball is The Only Way Out Of The Ghetto for Yet Another group of po' Black kids; like The Diva exclaimed before, "Oh LAWD here we go again"...right? Hmmm... How do I know what you were thinking? Nah, I'm not psychic; I know, because I thought that too. Until I watched the documentary On Hallowed Ground: Streetball Champions Of Rucker Park, that is. THE STORY On Hallowed Ground is the energetically-filmed story of Rucker Park - a world renown street basketball court in the heart of Harlem, New York - and of the b-ballers who have played on its hallowed grounds. Ably narrated by Andre Braugher and featuring appearances by NBA stars Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Mark Jackson, Vince Carter, Allen Iverson, Elton Brand, and WNBA star Theresa Whitherspoon, Hallowed explores the history of the unofficial training grounds of many of pro basketball's best players. It also proclaims that some of the best players you don't know, "live here" - like Pee Wee Kirkland, a player who's "got so many moves, I shook myself"; "Captain Happy", who is, as his tshirt states, "100% Game"; and "The Future", so named because "the moves he does on [Rucker's] courts today, will show up in the NBA in the future". Rucker Park - named after Holcomb Rucker, a man who wanted to provide neighborhood kids a means of getting off the streets - is the home of the Entertainment Basketball Classic (EBC), the most competitive streetball tournament going for the last twenty years. Through On Hallowed Ground, we see that "entertainment" is the keyword for these streetballers and their fans. THE UPSHOT To get the feel for what Rucker Park streetball is about, think Harlem Globetrotters - but more serious; or think NBA - but more intense. Or, think college ball - but less scholarly. [That is, if you really believe that college athletics has anything to do with academics. But that's Another Rant For Another Time...] Hallowed initially concentrates on the Sean "Puffy" Combs "Bad Boys" team (most of the teams are sponsored by entertainment companies), a team that went undefeated in EBC play for the three years prior to the 1999 tournament shown in the documentary. Many, if not all, of the Rucker players are professional-quality, and Hallowed relates the bittersweet stories of why some are not in college or the NBA. Most of them freely admit that they "just couldn't get with" the academic side college ball required, though others (Captain Happy, for instance) dismissed the NBA by saying that Rucker ball was better than anything played in the pros. And, glancing at the NBA playoffs lately, I can't say I disagree. I kept holding my breath, waiting for the Obligatory Ghetto Fight to break out; sure enough, one did, though because the EBC folks take precautionary security seriously, it amounted to "only" a fist fight. And much to my astonishment, the players, officials, and fans, acknowledged the high tempers and wanted to just enjoy the game. Greg Marius (CEO & founder of EBC) had an interesting take on violence in sport, stating that the relatively low level of fan violence during some EBC games compares favorably to the higher level of violence during European soccer games, for instance. Looking at it like that shook me right out of my prejudicial (against my own people, for shame!) stance. The athletics displayed in the documentary were dazzling; "The Future" wasn't just a nom de plume not by a longshot. But the most rewarding part of On Hallowed Ground for me was to see the commitment to community service, and especially to reaching back to the kids who emulate them, shown by the Rucker Park/EBC players. From "The Main Event" and his "Ball For Life" urban renewal program, to Pee Wee Kirkland's "School Of Skillz", it was great to see that life for these ballers was not just about what goes on on their court. It's no secret that I'm no sports fan, but Hallowed drew me in quickly with its breakneck speed; analogous to the streetball game itself, it kept comin' atcha. At 90 minutes, On Hallowed Ground seemed a wee bit long, though it does at least spend some time exploring the history of Rucker and its importance to the surrounding community, in addition to the EBC tournament itself. At times, I got somewhat lost in its fast paced intermix of stories; the quick cuts between the present and the past, and between Rucker and other NYC parks, threatened to leave me as bewildered as was the young player who looked away just for moment - and got taken to the hole by "The Future". Most documentaries, especially those of this nature, spend their time telling the viewer what happened; what I liked most about Hallowed is that it showed you. And though Braugher has a voice that's most def worth listening to, directors Kern and Kip Konwiser seemed to know that the "voices" most worth "listening" to, were the stories and actions of the players themselves. Beautifully filmed - watch the background action carefully, especially above the rims - On Hallowed Ground seemed less like a documentary, and more a lovingly, skillfully-related story. A BAMMER RANT Actually, an anti-rant: considering what I ranted about in my review of Whatever Happened To Micheal Ray, I was delighted to find that, in the span of this documentary, life was celebrated by its subjects, not wasted. And even if some of the b-ballers within the story are a little long-in-the-tooth to still be spending their time playing a boys' game on a stone playing field, long'as they're not hurting a soul doing so, more power to 'em. Considering the alternative, I'd say they were ahead of the game. And that said, I'll rant any old way: I'm in full agreement with Mark Jackson, who stated that [NBA Commissioner] David Stern should officially sanction Rucker and other such b-ball street parks, making them NBA minor leagues. It'd go a long way towards ending the hypocrisy that is college basketball - or, as it should be called, "gladiator school", where the "student" athletes are chewed up and spit out like so many unripe seeds. But don't get me started... BAMMER'S BOTTOM LINE With a sense of ironic wistfulness about many of the players on those hallowed grounds, I proclaim again: nuthin' but net. ON HALLOWED GROUND:   back to top And that's the way I see it. Rose "Bams" Cooper 3BlackChicks Review™ Copyright Rose Cooper, 2000 EMAIL: bams@3blackchicks.com    ICQ: 7760005 http://www.3blackchicks.com/