Rucker Park, the world’s most famous basketball park, is adding to its legacy by partnering with the Big 12 Conference.
Late last week, the conference announced a partnership with the iconic, Harlem-based playground that has raised and hosted many of the greatest basketball players on the planet.
The partnership will spread the park’s basketball tradition and legacy across the country. Most importantly to the Big 12, it will provide a pipeline of NYC-based talent to the conference.
“Rucker Park is one of the great landmarks in basketball and is a cultural icon – we are excited to be able to bring Big 12 Basketball to its court,” said Commissioner Brett Yormark in a statement. “We are committed to growing the Conference’s footprint in a variety of ways, and we want kids across New York City to experience Big 12 Basketball first-hand.”
The conference will operate youth clinics at Rucker Park for sixth graders and below in the community. The multi-day clinics will be hosted by both men’s and women’s head coaches from Big 12 basketball programs, the list of which will be released at a later date.
The announcement came during Kansas State’s heart-warming run in the tournament, one that was fueled by Harlem’s own, Markquis Nowell.
The 5’8 New York City point guard captured the hearts of tournament watchers, and brought the spotlight back on NYC basketball, particularly because he was balling out in his hometown fans at Madison Square Garden arena.
While the Wildcats’ bid for a Final Four berth came up three points short, the team has nothing to hang its head about. Especially Nowell, who showcased the importance of point guard play while setting the tournament’s new single-game assist record (19).
This is the type of talent the conference hopes to identify, foster and recruit. And Nowell, who only had a single college offer from Arkansas Little Rock coming out of high school, understands the importance of being seen, especially by one of the strongest basketball conferences in the country.
“Rucker Park is like a home away from home. Playing in that atmosphere is great. All the fans are watching you and you have to do your thing out there, so it’s a special place for me,” said Nowell. “I think this partnership between the Big 12 and Rucker Park will be beneficial to the culture – just all the little kids growing up and wanting to play there. Now, you bring all these great players from the Big 12 who are going to be pros and they get to show out in front of the fans. It’ll be special.”
Kansas State’s connection to the city was actually four-fold, as Nae’Qwan Tomlin, Tykei Greene, Ismael Massoud, and Nowell all hail from the City. Tomlin actually attended elementary school across from Rucker Park and grew up playing there.
“As a child living in Harlem, Rucker Park is where you hoop during the summertime. My favorite childhood memories of Rucker Park was going there right after school to shoot and play games,” said Tomlin. “It’s really cool the Big 12 is going there – there would be a lot of fans there wanting to watch, it would be a different environment. The Big 12 is a physical league and the best league in college basketball and is kind of like Rucker Park because of the physicality and how tough it is.”
This is a win-win for the Big 12, Rucker Park and all of Harlem.
