As summer hits its stride, blacktop basketball tournaments begin to pop up across New York City. The Urban Extraordinaires, in its fourth year, tips off next Friday. And for the first time, this year's tournament will be dedicated to an individual: hometown hero Big Punisher, who died in February of heart failure.

"It's because Pun was a Bronx native," says hip-hop producer Lord Finesse (Notorious B.I.G. , Noreaga and Fat Joe), who heads the tournament for the third year. "He didn't actually grow up in Forest [Houses], but he was always around Forest."

Finesse remembers the fallen rapper as a regular attendee at the tournament. "He always came and supported Fat Joe's team. He'd just come out and watch games. As large as he was, double-platinum Puerto Rican superstar, he always came back to the projects just to hang around. He was real, you could touch him and you could feel him. It gave kids that dream, that hope, 'Well boom I can do it. I can do it because he's from right here.'"

As usual, various hip-hop luminaries, Bronx natives and otherwise, will make the trek to the Anthony Behagan Park to watch teams battle it out for three months. Finesse himself will field a team again this year. "You always gotta have the home team," he says, laughing. "But there's no special favoritism because it's the home team. People come out to play and have fun. A lot of the ball players play in the tournament. You got guys who play in the Rucker [another Bronx tourney that kicked off last week with court appearances from Master P and Mase], you got college stars, you got future college stars playing in the tournament. As far as the rapper turnout, you got me, you got Fat Joe, you got Ruff Ryders, you got Sadat X , he has a team this year."

Finesse also thinks the tournament will be a bigger draw as the community gathers to remember the Big Punisher. Though the first tipoff was originally slated for June 30, he pushed the start date back to July 7, as the interest level this year seems higher than usual.

Teams looking to join the Urban Extraordinaires should contact Dash Entertainment at 917-322-6200 x290 and those interested in checking out the action should visit the park on Tinton Avenue between 165th and 166th in the Bronx.

ANDREW DANSBY
(June 28, 2000)