If I hear one more person talk about how great some of these "playground legends" could've been, I'm gonna puke.
You can have your legends and your And 1 street-ballers. I'll take a starting 5 of Ben Wallace, Andrei Kirilenko, PJ Brown, Eric Snow and Eddie Jones.
Lots of people can run and jump. But how many of them really understand how to play basketball?
You can have your legends and your And 1 street-ballers. I'll take a starting 5 of Ben Wallace, Andrei Kirilenko, PJ Brown, Eric Snow and Eddie Jones.
Lots of people can run and jump. But how many of them really understand how to play basketball?
Earl "the Goat" Manigault New York City playground legend who battled the likes of Lew Alcindor and Connie Hawkins in the 1960s, his heroin addiction cost him a professional basketball career, was featured in a 1996 HBO movie, called Rebound. Goat's domination of players at the 98th Street courts was so well known that it became nicknamed “Goat Park”. Goat played college ball at Johnson C. Smith University but fought with the coach about playing time and returned to the Harlem courts, was jailed in 1969-70 for drug possession and again in 1977-79 for a failed robbery, he later kicked his drug habit and had been working at a neighborhood recreation and counseling center when he died of heart failure in NYC, May 15th, 1998 at the age of 53.
wil.
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The story of Earl Manigault's life can easily be misinterpreted. It isn't the story of an incredible basketball talent wasted by drugs. It's a lesson of redemption, the story of a man who made huge mistakes but always overcame the problems that those mistakes caused.
As a child Earl Manigault seemed like just another black kid who would have to fight to survive on the tough streets of Harlem, but, as the rest of Harlem would discover a few years later, he was more than that, he was an unbelievable, inovative, and spectacular, once in a generation basketball talent.
By the time he was 17 years old, Earl Manigault's talent was already earning him notoriety and his lengend was born. He was playing in the famous Ruckers league against Connie Hawkins, Lew Alcindor(Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, Herman "The Helicopter" Knowings, Jackie Jackson and even ,then NBA star Julius Erving in front of packed sidelines. It's also during that time that he got his nickname "The Goat". He was barely over 6 feet tall and not very big, so his size wasn't very intimidating but his acrobatic moves, lightning quick dribbling and 52 inch verticle (at least) were. On the playground, he added to his legend by doing things that had never been done before. Of course there's the double dunk where he would dunk the ball with one hand then catch it with the other and dunk it again while still in the air. He was also seen stepping on an opponent's forehead while ascending for a dunk. He would also jump up to grab money off a basketball backboard. He also reversed dunked 36 straight times to win a $60 bet. He also made noise on his junior High School basketball team when he set a New York city junior High School record by scoring 52 points in a single game.
Unfortunatly, his problems began when he was kicked out of Harlem's Benjamin Franklin High School for being caught smoking marijuana. But he didn't give up, he finished High School at Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina. Then came college, he was courted by hundreds of colleges and received at least 75 scholarships including big names like Duke, Indiana and North Carolina. He opted for the smaller Jonhson C. Smith University, a predominantly black school. His grades plummet and he fought with the coach over playing time. He only lasted one semester before returning to Harlem. That is when he developped his heroine addiction. For years, he was reduced to stealing and begging to satisfy his habit. During that time, he served two prison termes. One in '69-70(16 months) for drug possession and one from '77-79 for a failed robbery attempt. Once again, Earl cleaned up his life and stopped using heroine cold turkey. Up to his death, on may 16th 1998 at 12:45p.m. ET of heart failure, he was orginizing the "walk away from drugs tournement" and getting involved in the Harlem community.
In 1996, when Earl Manigault was still alive, independent television company HBO made a movie called "Rebound. The story of Earl "Goat" Manigault". Director of the movie is Eric La Salle (Chicago Hope). The role of the basketball legend is played by Don Cheadle (Boggie nights, Mission to Mars, Swordfish).
To this very day street-ball playgrounds on 98th street in New York called "Goat Park".
As a child Earl Manigault seemed like just another black kid who would have to fight to survive on the tough streets of Harlem, but, as the rest of Harlem would discover a few years later, he was more than that, he was an unbelievable, inovative, and spectacular, once in a generation basketball talent.
By the time he was 17 years old, Earl Manigault's talent was already earning him notoriety and his lengend was born. He was playing in the famous Ruckers league against Connie Hawkins, Lew Alcindor(Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, Herman "The Helicopter" Knowings, Jackie Jackson and even ,then NBA star Julius Erving in front of packed sidelines. It's also during that time that he got his nickname "The Goat". He was barely over 6 feet tall and not very big, so his size wasn't very intimidating but his acrobatic moves, lightning quick dribbling and 52 inch verticle (at least) were. On the playground, he added to his legend by doing things that had never been done before. Of course there's the double dunk where he would dunk the ball with one hand then catch it with the other and dunk it again while still in the air. He was also seen stepping on an opponent's forehead while ascending for a dunk. He would also jump up to grab money off a basketball backboard. He also reversed dunked 36 straight times to win a $60 bet. He also made noise on his junior High School basketball team when he set a New York city junior High School record by scoring 52 points in a single game.
Unfortunatly, his problems began when he was kicked out of Harlem's Benjamin Franklin High School for being caught smoking marijuana. But he didn't give up, he finished High School at Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina. Then came college, he was courted by hundreds of colleges and received at least 75 scholarships including big names like Duke, Indiana and North Carolina. He opted for the smaller Jonhson C. Smith University, a predominantly black school. His grades plummet and he fought with the coach over playing time. He only lasted one semester before returning to Harlem. That is when he developped his heroine addiction. For years, he was reduced to stealing and begging to satisfy his habit. During that time, he served two prison termes. One in '69-70(16 months) for drug possession and one from '77-79 for a failed robbery attempt. Once again, Earl cleaned up his life and stopped using heroine cold turkey. Up to his death, on may 16th 1998 at 12:45p.m. ET of heart failure, he was orginizing the "walk away from drugs tournement" and getting involved in the Harlem community.
In 1996, when Earl Manigault was still alive, independent television company HBO made a movie called "Rebound. The story of Earl "Goat" Manigault". Director of the movie is Eric La Salle (Chicago Hope). The role of the basketball legend is played by Don Cheadle (Boggie nights, Mission to Mars, Swordfish).
To this very day street-ball playgrounds on 98th street in New York called "Goat Park".
