Tracy McGrady is bringing back the Ones Basketball League (OBL) this summer, so what better place to set the season off than in the Mecca of basketball, New York City.
On a nice spring March evening, over 20 hopeful players gathered at a midtown gym to compete for the right to represent New York in the upcoming OBL tournament, which takes place May 15 to June 30 in Orlando.
This season not only are players repping their city, but they will be backed by big name athletes and celebrities who have been added to the league.
McGrady reached out to people such as his cousin Vince Carter (Team Orlando), Tim Hardaway Sr (Team Miami), Larenz Tate (Team Chicago) and John Wall (Team Raleigh) to lead the teams.
But Team New York had to have someone special.
Someone who repped the entire city, who is loved by the city and who knows basketball.
So who better to call than Mr. “Top five, dead or alive”, the man who Mayor Mamdami shouted out in his swearing in ceremony, and the only one everyone knows as “J to MWAH”, Jadakiss.
With McGrady and Team New York owner Jadakiss in the building, the Team New York hopefuls went at it in a tryout that exemplified what McGrady is seeking.
“We’re sticking to the essence of what basketball is,” McGrady told me back in 2022. “Individual talent and skills.”
That talent shined bright as players went at each other continuously, no one letting up for repping New York City is special honor, a position that can either cement your name in the streets or quickly make you a running joke or an afterthought.
Under the guise of McGrady, Jadakiss and 2022 New York winner and player captain, Isaiah “Leaky Roof” Brown, players threw everything they had into the tryouts until five finalists emerged:
Hagel Augustin– Prarie View…Averaged 9 PPG his one year there after a standout D2 career at Glenville St in WVA where he avereged 21.2 ppg. from Queens, all City selection at Springfield Gardens, has been playing overseas in Slovenia last two years.
Jawan Daniels– Prairie View… averaged 14.5 ppg in two seasons before sustaining a leg injury that forced him off the court his last season. New York, NY/Teaneck NJ HS
Darien Davis-Dowling– Davis attended and suited up for a year at Mohawk Valley Community College (NJCAA Region 3) before leaving to attend to family matters. Then, he returned and finished out his college playing career at the now-defunct Division II Dowling College, where he averaged more than 18 points per game in three years from 2012-15 for the Golden Lions….returning OBL third place. Longwood, NY/Middle Island HS
Tishsean Emmanuel– SUNY Postdam… averaged 5 ppg Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth HS
Jonathan Grimsley– Medgar Evers College…averaged 23 ppg his senior season…Queens, NY/Capital Christin HS
Larry Moreno– St. Francis College (NY)…Averaged 9 ppg for SFC in his four seasons before they folded the program… Brooklyn NY/Brooklyn Law and TQECH HS
So after a three year hiatus, OBL is back and these competitors will have the chance to represent New York against players from the four aforementioned cities as well as Baltimore, Atlanta and DC.
And McGrady isn’t stopping there, for he’s thinking globally.
“It’s really about just laying brick by brick and building it slow but successfully to where it’s sustainable,” said McGrady regarding the changes OBL has made. “I have global partners that have been talking about this and hopefully we can do something to have one-on-one basketball global.”
That would be amazing for everyone to see, but just remember where things started off for the league.
New York, the Mecca of basketball.
