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A Star Is Born

When History Is Made
by Patrick Harris

When history is made, every one is attentive. Sitting on the edge of their seats in anticipation of what they just might see. On Wednesday June 20th at Rucker Park, a record was broken and history was made. On the one end you had the debut of the newest team to enter the EBC tournament, The EBC Dream Team. On the other end you had one of those rare scoring outbursts. How rare? So rare that a record was broken after standing for 21 years.

Day three was a very special day. The newly constructed EBC Dream Team was set to play against the Parish Nation. What’s so special about this Dream Team? This is a team made up of the fans. There was a series of open tryouts, and over 100 players showed up, trying and make this team. Only the strong were able to survive and make this team.

In the first quarter, the game was actually close and competitive. The Dream Team was lead by Mike Haynes and Mark Jarrell. In the early going, Jarrell was looking like a killer; his jump shot was as smooth as silk, and he didn’t miss. That’s when Steve Burt Jr. of Parish Nation began to work. The first quarter ended with a surprising 24-23 lead for The Dream Team.

The second quarter was as exciting as the first. Burt Jr. was getting to the lane whenever he felt like it and causing the Dream Team to foul him every time. If he wanted to shoot a jump shot, he could have done that as well. The Dream Team kept the game interesting; they showed heart, determination and skill. Unable to slow down Burt Jr. AKA “The Saga Continues”, the Dream changed their focus from defense to offense. If you can’t beat them, join them – in an attempt to beat them. The baller formally known as “Alimoe”, know known as “The Black Widow” played for Parish and was able to help Burt Jr. with the scoring to try and keep his team in the lead. That tandem was tormenting the Dream Team’s defense. Then again they didn’t have any defense to begin with. The score was 55-44 at the half.

The true show began in the second half. The preview was the first half; the main attraction was the second half. Jr. scored 29 points in the first two quarters. The lack of defense shown by the Dream Team proved to be their doom. Back to the action: The Dream Teams duo of Haynes and Jarrell proved to be a good tandem, but only when their shots were going in. When their shots didn’t fall, Parish ran with it and scored which allowed them to build an insurmountable lead. There was no answer for Burt Jr., who like his father, did wonders on the basketball court. Steve Senior played for the NBA for several different teams in the eighties and nineties, and was no slouch. Honestly, in the final frames of the game, it wasn’t about the game; it was about Steve Burt Jr.

In 1986 at 139th st. Park on Lenox ave, James “Pookie” Wilson put on one of those rare scoring shows. He scored 63 points in the EBC tournament. Forty points is hard to get. Fifty points means you worked hard for your points. What does 68 tell you? Sixty-eight points tells you, and the opposing team, that you can not be stopped. You can put any thing in front of the basket – a fence, a wall, a moat – and the ball will make it its business to break through and score. Burt didn’t have any obstacles in his way, like maybe defense, because the Dream Team played none. They did show heart and hustle, keeping the game somewhat close. They were able to pull within 7 and 10 points on different occasions, but Burt would not allow his team to lose. You don’t score 68 points and lose.

With 5:46 left in the 4th quarter, Burt Jr. had 53 points; this means he scored 15 points in the final four plus minutes of the quarter. He scored 39 points in the second half. Some people don’t score 10 points in a game. It is safe to safe to say that 39 points in a half and 68 for a game is great.
As far as the Dream Team, they showed heart and that they could score with the best of them. The problem with that is, in order to win, you need to play defense, or turn the basket around so the other team cannot score. Haynes and Jarrell scored 54 of the 92 points for their team, but they need help scoring and improved defense. The final score was 104-92 and Parish-Nation needed all Burt’s 68 points. If Burt Jr. scores 50 points, they lose the game. “ It wasn’t about being greedy, we needed every one of those points, in order to win, because they kept coming back. Anytime we made a run, they were right behind us” echoed both Steve Burt Jr. and Coach Jesse after the game.

The EBC Dream Team has work to do on their team, but not much. Don’t count them out just yet. A special record-breaking day; it was only day three of the long summer. If you missed it, that should tell you to come over to 155th street, before you miss the rest of the action.