The Scene

Quotable

We asked And1's John Humphrey, aka "Helicopter" what it's like having such an amazing vertical leap. He noted that he was born with the ability, and never does lower body or leg workouts for fear that doing so may impair his jumping. We pressed him further for tips on improving our vert.

GameSpot: So is there no hope for those of us who don't have the ups to dunk? I can only grab the rim.

Helicopter: (You) better learn to shoot.

We arrived at the McAfee Arena in Oakland to what appeared to be a carnival scene. Hundreds of spectators milled about an area of the parking lot outside the arena. There were various corporate sponsorships present, as evidenced by the giant, inflatable bucket of chicken, various local radio vans parked nearby, and a booth set up by a mobile phone company. The action centered on a single, full-court setup, which was ringed by dozens of spectators. The court announcer gave us a running play-by-play, his voice blaring out of large speakers, while a nearby DJ provided some bouncy hip-hop beats for the crowd and the players.

We were just in time to check out some of the "open run." Open run is when Mix Tape Tour officials give local players a chance to show their stuff in front of And 1 players and coaches a couple of hours prior to the scheduled game inside the arena. Teams are brought on to play five or 10 minutes of five-on-five basketball during the open run. There isn't a whole lot of time to catch the eyes of the officials, and there are no referees. It also doesn't seem like there is any prescreening done to learn of the players' skills and abilities beforehand. This resulted in some surprisingly ragged and hard-to-watch play, as many players end up ball hogging in order to show off. This resulted in the defenders resorting to fouling and grabbing in order to keep from getting shown up, since there's no real penalty for fouling. While there was an occasional highlight reel-type of play, the overall quality of the basketball during the open run was rather disappointing, especially if you've seen any of the And 1 shows on ESPN, which are carefully edited to show only the best action from the open runs.

The action during the open run wasn't always pretty.

In reality, the open runs are no better, and they're maybe worse than anything you've seen or played at an urban school yard or a college rec gym. It's not surprising that only three players from the Oakland open run were selected to join the preselected opposing team against the And 1 ballers. There was actually more-entertaining action to be had at some of the side courts, which were hosted by other sponsors. Games there ranged from shooting contests to one-on-one and dunk contests.

Oakland vs. And 1

The Oakland team was led by Santa Clause…who wears a Santa hat while playing.

While the free events outside left us wanting more, the actual game inside the McAfee Arena definitely lived up to our expectations. The brand of high-flying, freewheeling action you've seen on the Mix Tapes and on ESPN was definitely in effect throughout the game at Oakland. Prior to the game, the crowd got introduced to the And 1 ballers we all know and love, like AO, Go Get It, The Professor, and Fifty. The And 1 ballers had fun with their jersey numbers too. AO doesn't have a jersey number, for example. His jersey simply has "AO" on it. Spinmaster, who hails from Pasadena, California, reps his hometown area code with a "626" on his jersey. In a lot of ways, though, the Oakland team had even more personality than the And 1 team. There was Ballaholic, who has played and starred on the ESPN shows in the past, as well as other personalities like Bumpy Johnson, and a slippery, sharpshooting point guard named Santa Clause. And yes, he does play with a Santa hat on.

Team Oakland got easy layups and dunks at the outset.

The Oakland team started off the game on fire, jumping all over the And 1 team and building up an early 16-4 lead. Santa led the way for Oakland at the outset, breaking down defenders with a blur of red felt, and popping in a few treys from outside the arc. The And 1 team seemed rusty and listless, getting beaten to loose balls and misfiring on several alley-oop attempts. As the first half continued, however, the rust started shaking off the And 1 team, and they began to electrify the crowd with rim-rattling dunks and alley-oops from Spyda and Go Get It. The three-ball also started dropping in, courtesy of AO, among others. All of a sudden, the momentum clearly shifted away from Oakland, who seemed to lose a lot of energy after their early outburst, and the And 1 team went to the locker room at the half with a 46-40 lead. The overall vibe inside the arena was great, with hip-hop music blasting during the action and the on-court announcer getting the crowd hyped up and excited. During intermissions, much of the crowd would actually stand up and dance in place to the music--a fun scene you pretty much never see at an NBA or college game.

This alley oop to Go Get It helped energize an And1 comeback.

At the beginning of the second half, And 1 continued to feed off the momentum they built from the first half, racing out to their own 16-point lead. Included in the run was an amazing play by the Professor, who made his defender fall down with an amazing, ankle-breaking move. Main Event and Spyda took the ball to the rack repeatedly for dunks, while team Oakland continued to play with lethargy, missing out on their opportunities and getting beaten to loose balls. Though they managed to close the margin to eight points a couple of times, the And 1 team maintained control in the second half, right up until we had to leave abruptly before the end of the game.

The Professor sizes up an opponent before breaking him down.

We were filming part of the second half from the baseline when we got a call from upstairs. Apparently someone had gotten shot outside the arena, and police were arriving to evacuate the game. We left immediately, with And 1 well in the lead at 81-67 with three minutes to play. It was an unfortunate and senseless event, which marred an otherwise highly enjoyable night of street-style basketball. When you see the game in person, it's easy to appreciate the skills and talent of the players on the court, and we're hoping the upcoming And 1 Streetball game manages to capture the excitement of the real thing. Sans the gunplay, of course.