The Panhandle - San Francisco

[Photo Gallery: The Panhandle 9 photo's of 3 on 3 pickup games (San Francisco - April 2006)]

I am told the best streetball in San Francisco is in Oakland.

Unfortunately I am not allowed to go to Oakland because they will kill me.

Apparently there is a turf war going on between rival gangs (African Americans versus Hispanics) and any non-gang members are routinely killed on sight.

That's real dissapointing, however I was directed to the Panhandle as a substitue location where I was promptly elbowed solidly in the eye by a big hack (probably an Ostertag fan). Seriously, the talent here was terrible when I arrived at around 6pm on a Sunday: no full court runs, no understanding of the 'travelling' footwork and a foul first, show how bad your offense is later game philosophy.

Maybe I got unlucky (I am told it gets really good here and I turned up at the wrong time), but seriously, I got better pickup on the way to San Fran on a court in the middle of nowhere in Truckee near Lake Tahoe.

If you want to get to the Panhandle, catch the 5 bus from Market st to Masonic Ave & walk two blocks down.

The Panhandle Streetball Information:
Court Location: "The Panhandle" - 1702 Oak St, San Francisco, California 94117
Courts: 1 full, 2 half
Runs: 3 on 3 half-court
Best Time for Runs: Weekends, 4:30pm onwards

Venice Beach - Los Angeles

[Photo Gallery: Venice Beach - 49 photos of 3 on 3 & 5 on 5 pickup games (April 2006)]

Sun, Surf & Streetball - LA has it made! Being an Aussie who has dreamed of hooping it up at Venice Beach ever since Woody schooled Wesley, getting off the plane & straight onto this court has been on the cards for a long time now.

The first thing that hits you (apart from the obligatory introductory elbow from
some old black dude) is the athleticism - kids here have some jet-propelled hops. Watching a weekend game on the show court, I saw maybe half a dozen guys hammer it during full court runs, and a number of these blokes are sub 6ft!

Each of the past 7 days, I have been running in 3's & 5's both here at Venice and also at playgrounds in nearby Santa Monica. Against most competition I have been holding my own (and then some), but in the weekend games, a few ex-Division 1 College ballers have rocked up to kick my (and everyone elses) arse(s).

Venice Beach has 4 courts with varying standards of competition: from the court 4 no-talent, never-touched-a-ball, tourist-wannabe-hacks to the court 1 will-dunk-on-your-head-without-even-blinking-and-then-tell-you-all-about-it, high school & college ballers. I am told it really depends on the day, but it's safe to say that if there is light, there is quality pick-up ball to be found here!

Oh yeah, it's also worth mentioning that White Men Can't Jump portrayed a real authentic depiction of this place - especially the arguing. Guys here will break up a game for 10 minutes at a time to fight over a line call!

If you love basketball & you ever get a chance to visit LA, check out the playground - Venice rocks!

Streetball Dunk Video of me throwing down a one-hander at Venice Beach:

Venice Beach Streetball Information:
Court Location: The Boardwalk, Venice Beach, near Windward Avenue & the Boardwalk, Venice, California (90291)
Courts: 4
Runs: 3 on 3 half-court & 5 on 5 full-court
Best Time for Runs: Weekends, all day

MMBL Melbourne Uni vs. Chelsea, 29th March - Waverly Stadium

Lach Strong managed to film a couple of jams from my last MMBL game in Melbourne.

[Low Quality Video Footage of a post-game two handed super fly, main event with extra gravy, Darryl Dawkins commerative, strawberry flavoured I cant believe this white boy thinks he is worth watching self alley oop jam - 1.9mb .wmv Right Click link and choose save link as]