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The excitement can be felt in the air the instant you
step inside Kezar Stadium or the Potrero Hill Recreation
Center. Some of the best in the nation gather here
to play basketball. Inside is a heated war between
pros, amateurs, and local playground legends who battle
it out on the court. Added excitement comes from the
legendary war stories of how 10 men stepped onto this
same gym floor and battled in order for their team
to be crowned champion.Once inside, all eyes lock on 10 grown men intensely playing a child's game. This league plays at a much faster pace than most any high school or college game. The fancy "run and gun style" of the Pro-Am league is one of its major attractions. Some players are instantly recognizable men from pro basketball teams. Others aren't familiar at all. From watching these men, some old, some young, some in the prime of their professional careers, others with little chance of making it onto a professional basketball team, it's obvious that each is trying their hardest to make sure their team comes out a winner. Despite their differences in size, skill, height, age and place of residence they are all drawn together here by their common love of basketball.
Seventeen years ago, San Francisco resident Jon Greenberg started the popular, non-profit, non-paying, San Francisco Bay Area Pro-Am Basketball League at Hamilton Recreation Center and at Potrero Hill Recreation Center. Greenberg said he started it so that "players could come back to their roots and demonstrate their talents to the public at large free of charge."
While participating in this non-paying league, the professional and college players possibly risk ruining their careers through injury. Nevertheless, they continue to play without any hesitation, as if they were once again young children who only dream of making it to the pros. What is so intriguing about this league that pro players will come out and play.
According to Greenberg the reason that the pro players keep coming back is that the league is, "A very well structured, well-rounded league. It's a very competitive way and an opportunity for players to play before their friends, have some fun and stay in shape."
Jaha Wilson, 21, attended Archbishop Riordan High and now plays basketball for USC. He has been playing in the Pro-Am league for the past two years and enjoys playing because, "There's so much competition and it's a family tradition. The competition is the best in California. The intense level of play and having fun is what I enjoy the most."
The league has developed into an eight team, 12-to-15-player-league, that not only showcases talent from San Francisco but from other Bay Area cities such as Oakland, San Mateo and San Jose. The league also has nationwide appeal. NBA players such as Tim Hardaway of the Miami Heat, Brian Shaw of the Orlando Magic, and Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks have all participated in this summer league. Local college basketball players such as Kenyon Jones and Michael Stewart of Cal have played in Pro-Am games as well.
Since it's inception the league hasn't changed much, but the competition has improved. The men's league has become so successful that Greenberg developed a women's summer league in 1995. The women play on Saturdays at Kezar Stadium. Many of them who participate in the summer basketball league will be playing in the American Basketball League, a professional women's league that will be starting this fall.