Streetball: Grebb League takes it outside, strives to become ‘place to be’ again
CALIFORNIA – Bob Kennedy was on the sidelines coaching back when the Budd Grebb Summer Basketball League started in 2009.
The longtime Bentworth boys basketball coach had fond memories of the warm summer nights on the outdoor court at the Mechanic Street Playground in California.
Now he’s back making new ones.
Kennedy is in his second year back coaching in the league after taking a break.
“This was the place to be back when I first started coaching here,” said Kennedy. “We’re a couple years back into it. We’re getting there.”
In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the league didn’t play outdoors, but after that one year off has been going since.
This year, California grad Damani Stafford stepped in to run the league with the California Borough Recreational Authority. There’s six boys teams and four girls teams that have been playing on weeknights all summer as long as the weather has permitted.
The championship games for boys and girls are on Friday and run in conjunction with a block party carnival-style celebration open to the entire community.
There’s a fully-illuminated scoreboard and a pair of lights on each end of the court, so games can be held at night.
It’s an atmosphere Kennedy enjoys, especially seeing the players on the blacktop.
“It’s outdoor basketball and the kids are playing,” Kennedy said. “You ride past any park in the area, and they are empty. It’s a shame we have to organize it, but the kids have to play basketball. This is pretty much organized pickup basketball, but it’s where the game is learned.”
It may be summer basketball, but make no mistake the games can get pretty competitive.
A good example was the second game Thursday when Tri-County played StandFirm.
The game went down to the wire and as time ticked off the intensity picked up. Maybe some of the trash talking too, but that’s part of the charm of streetball.
In the end, Kennedy’s Tri-County team defeated StandFirm, 68-64.
Chris Harper, who will be a senior at Bentworth this fall, played a big part in the win by hitting a half-dozen three-pointers.
Though Kennedy coaches at Bentworth, he doesn’t have his entire Bearcats roster on the team. It’s a draft league, so players from different schools are mixed onto the different teams.
Tri-County has players from Bentworth, Laurel Highlands, Belle Vernon and Ringgold.
“It’s a lot of different competition,” Harper said. “I’ve been in this league three years now. It’s a lot different playing outdoors.”
Monessen’s TyVaughn Kershaw agreed with Harper. He was on the losing side Thursday, but enjoys the intensity that comes with the games.
“This is real competitive,” Kershaw said. “It gets real gritty out here. It has every school in the (Mon) Valley. The big schools get to play with the little schools. There’s a lot of heated rivalries.”
Kershaw likes playing the league so much he does so after going through several hours of football workouts. After football finishes up heads straight to the basketball games.
“It’s cool to play outdoors,” Kershaw said. “There’s some nice scenery. Other than coming here after football (practice) it’s pretty nice. It’s a long day, but I’m used to it.”
California basketball coach Brent Baker is in his first season coaching in the Budd Grebb League, but he’s no stranger to outdoor summer basketball.
Baker, a Fayette County native, played in outdoor summer leagues in Uniontown growing up.
“We played at East End and South Union Rec,” Baker said. “East End was outside so it was streetball like this is. It’s a cool atmosphere and I like it for the kids.”
Baker coaches Bee Graphix, the youngest team in the league. Most of the other teams have multiple incoming seniors who started on a varsity team or a recently graduated senior like Belle Vernon’s Zion Moore, or Uniontown’s Notorious Grooms and Calvin Winfrey, who starred in high school.
Grooms scored a league-record 83 points in a game last week.
Bee Graphix has one senior from Calvary Chapel and the rest are either incoming freshman, sophomores or going into eighth grade. It’s a mix from California, Brownsville, Monessen and Jefferson-Morgan.
This summer has provided them with an opportunity for development against much more experienced players.
“Any time you can play older players and get reps in the summer is a good thing,” Baker said. “I run open gyms and some of these guys on this summer league team have showed up to get in some work. They have the desire, but it’s that energy, effort and attitude that a young boy has to understand. High school basketball is a different speed. It’s a different animal. It may look like they are little bit intimidated, but these kids have improved immensely.”