Making Real Run at Having Fun

Penny Hardaway of the Phoenix Suns scored 22 points last week. The Boston Celtics’ Paul Pierce had 35 in a game against a team led by Baron Davis of the Charlotte Hornets. Later this summer, Alonzo Mourning of Miami and Darius Miles of the Clippers are expected to drop by for some fun.

Passing up the slick, commercialized feel of other summer basketball circuits, these established players favor the often overlooked Carson summer league, the Real Run Summer Pro League, where fans watch for free as the pros play an up-tempo, flowing style reminiscent of East Coast street ball.

The Long Beach Summer Pro League, and others like it, mainly showcase rookies and free agents looking to earn professional contracts. The Carson league features seasoned pros looking for fun--and top competition.

“It’s just real players playing tough ball in front of some hyped fans, that’s what I like,” the Orlando Magic’s Bo Outlaw said.

Players who spend time in both leagues say they prefer Carson, despite the cramped quarters at the well worn Veterans Sports Complex.

“The games are real serious,” the Chicago Bulls’ Corey Benjamin said. “You gotta bring your game or you’ll get embarrassed. I like this league better, its not as slow . . . and the crowd is awesome.”

Loud hip-hop music blasts throughout the nightly games, adding to its distinctively urban feel. Fans pack the bleachers, rooting and yelling after each crowd-stopping dunk or a highlight-reel crossover.

And you never know who’s going to show up.

In years past, Laker teammates Derek Fisher and Rick Fox stopped by.

Hardaway, who is coming back from a knee injury,is scheduled to play again tonight. Sun teammate Shawn Marion also is playing on Davis’ team. Lamar Odom is set to play before the league ends Aug. 4 and, as in years past, more NBA players are expected as the playoffs draw closer.

Last year’s championship game matched teams led by Antoine Walker and Pierce.

The Real Run League has been around for four years and its loose style of play is a throwback to the legendary summer games at UCLA’s old men’s gym, where NBA stars often stopped by for pickup games.

“We give them more latitude to do a bit more,” said NBA referee Violet Palmer, who has worked the Carson league since its inception, getting in her own “summer workout.”

The league was started by DeAnthony Langston, a center at Long Beach State in the late ‘80s who later played professionally overseas. During summers at home, Langston played pickup games in Carson with a NBA players.

Games got so intense that they joked about starting their own league. Then they did it.

Despite the standing-room-only crowds they draw in Carson, league organizer Nate Bellamy Jr. said there are no plans to move the league to a larger venue.

Unlike other leagues that are financed by sponsors and make money from ticket sales, the Carson league struggles financially, more closely resembling a “family” endeavor.

Players who grew up playing in Southern California return to the Real Run to play in front of the fans who watched them grow up. Many involved have personal ties that go back years, which is why many NBA players and fans say it feels like coming home.

“I remember seeing some of these guys play in high school and now I can bring my kids,” said Terrance Wallace of Carson.

The only thing slick about this league is its misleading name, officially the Nike Real Run Summer Pro League. In fact, the shoe company does little more than donate a few jerseys and caps at the start of each summer.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ Tony Gonzalez, a former California basketball standout who has played well in his two summers at the Carson League, said he comes to the league mainly to get in shape for the NFL season--and predicts that someday it will be better known than Southern California’s “other” pro league.

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“It’s just a great environment,” he said. “Reminds me of those New York street games you see on TV. And slowly but surely, it’ll get that way here. . . . Every big player will come through to show their game.”

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Carson’s Summer

Pro League

* What: 4th annual Nike Real Run Summer Pro League.

* Where: Veterans Sports Complex, 22400 Moneta Ave., Carson

* When: Wednesday through Saturday, through Aug. 4. Games are at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

* Admission: Free, includes refreshments.

* For more information: https://www.realrun.com