The legendary George C. Goodman Summer Basketball League is back in full effect this summer, serving local fans some of the best basketball action the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region has to offer.
Since the league’s season opener in June, good basketball has been played “Inside the Gates” in the Barry Farms community in Southeast D.C. every Monday through Saturday, barring bad weather. Former Morgan State University basketball star DeWayne Jackson mixed it up with street ball legends such as “J-Dubb” during an action-packed game between the Drew All-Stars and the Showstoppas on July 8. The game was played indoors in the Barry Farms community center due to rain.
Rainy weather has been a thorn in the league’s side all summer long. Rain washed out what was supposed to be the most exciting game of the summer so far, a hotly-anticipated matchup between the Goodman League All-Stars and Ball Up All-Stars scheduled for July 3. The game would have featured some of the best street ball talent ever, including former And1 stars such as the Professor, AO and the Goodman League’s own Baby Shaq.
Goodman League commissioner Miles Rawls is in the works of scheduling the annual Goodman League Roundball Classic, another showcase of premier talent. Rawls said the event is set for August 16, and will be played inside at either Georgetown or Henry Wise High School in Upper Marlboro, Md.
But for now, Rawls is focused on the Goodman League All-Stars’ upcoming trip to New York City, where they’ll face the Dyckman All-Stars of the Dyckman Summer Tournament. Similar to the Goodman Summer League, on any given night you’re liable to see a plethora of college and pro stars playing on the Dyckman playground.
“It’s scheduled for Saturday July 25th in New York City,” Rawls said. “It’s the Dyckman’s 25th anniversary and they asked us to come up there and play so I’m putting together a good, strong 10-man roster to go up there and do that on the 25th.”
Rawls didn’t leak any names of who he plans on putting on the 10-man road roster, but he did say “when you go out of town to play you have to take some straight hood street ballers.” Stay tuned.