GOOD NEWS: LA Lakers finally sign Danny Green for $135 Million’s five years contract from 76ers… See More…
The Lakers play Friday night in Miami. They’ll take the court again on Sunday in Atlanta.
In between, starting forward Danny Green will fly up to be in Brooklyn on Saturday for the second annual Battle in the Apple showcase at Barclays Center, featuring six of the nation’s top high school basketball teams.
Green — and co-founders Darren Duncan and Kevin Spann Jr. — built the event on the shared concept of returning an elite-level high school tournament to his home.
“New York’s kind of lost its way. It’s a different generation. It’s a new age. Kids aren’t playing in the parks as much anymore.
The passion for it is not as deep as it was when we were growing up in our area. We’re trying to bring that back. I think each year it will get better and better and it will continue to grow.”
We want to bring New York City basketball back to where it was and where it should be,” said Green, a Long Island native. “We’re trying to bring basketball back to the city we grew up in and how great it was when we were kids, how competitive it was.
We seem to have lost that somewhat over the years. We felt the best way to try and bring it back is to do events like this, where kids, high schoolers, people in the circuit get excited about it.
Playing to a crowd expected to include multiple former NBA stars and entertainers, the three-game schedule opens with Core4 Prep (Atlanta) and potential 2020 draft pick Jimma Gatwech facing Putnam Science Academy (Conn.).
Brewster Academy (N.H.) and Kentucky commit Terrence Clark follow with a matchup against Hillcrest Prep (Phoenix) and Arizona commit Dalen Terry. The slate closes with Brooklyn’s South Shore High School taking on Mayfair High School (Calif.).
