Moonlighting draws crowd

Rain drops sprinkle the cracked, green court. The sky burns red from the sun’s rays as it sets over Providence. Thumps of hip hop from across the park fill the air that smells lightly of cigars.

Douglass Park has been filled with people all afternoon, but that hardly compares to the crowd gathered for the opening tip-off of Moonlight Hoops.

The players show up just in time. The court is cleared. People have been playing pickup games all day. Over the years the park has transformed from a place where the Columbia Police watched for drugs to a safe place for kids to play T-ball and hang out.

Moonlight Hoops began in the late 1980s as a spin off of Midnight Hoops in St. Louis, Kansas City, and other parts of the country.

The venue for the Columbia version jumped from the Armory to the Calvary Baptist Church gymnasium, before finally settling at Douglass Park in 2002.

“The city council has backed this program because they see the effect it has on the community,” said Cameron Cross, a supervisor with the parks and recreation department. “It provides a positive place and a fun thing to do for kids who would already be out on the streets.”

The eight adult teams play one night a week through July 27. Playoffs begin Aug. 1, and will conclude with a final four tournament and barbecue on Aug 10.

It is a unique brand of basketball.

“This is sandlot ball, (The way these kids play) they’re gonna get somebody killed,” said neighborhood resident Jerry Elis, laughing as he watched players fall to the pavement as they fight for a rebound.

The hoops sway after every ka-chink of the ball hitting the chain nets.

“This is street ball around here,” said Tremaine Wilkerson, a Douglass High School grad, who is back from Mineral Area Junior College in Park Hills, where he had the second highest field goal percentage in Region 16 of the NJCAA.

Compared to recreation hoops and other organized basketball leagues, Douglass Park is as different as the hamburgers are from the hotdogs grilling in the parking lot.

“This is where you gain your respect,” Wilkerson said. “You either bring it or you don’t, go hard or go home.”

The game was more than expected for league newcomer, Chris Horn. The O’Fallon High School graduate said he was set for an average recreational league.

“I expected that these people just wanted to play basketball,” Horn said. “But these people know how to play.”

Most of the players have received coaching on some type of level. Many of them have played for Columbia’s AAU Dream Team, a 19-and-under traveling team, which won the AAU national title in 2002.

“You’ll see some of the best players out here,” Tracy Edwards, the AAU Dream Team organizer, said.

Moonlight Hoops draws anywhere from 200-300 people.

As the game slows down, spectators trash talk the players they know, and the players fire right back.

“There were a lot of people out there. The crowd knew people’s names. You can tell people are following it,” Horn said.

The trash talking is normal, said Rob Kiesling, a Columbia Police Officer and referee of Tuesday’s game.

“Most of the players grew up together or at least know each other from playing basketball,” Kiesling said. “They’ve probably been trash talking since they were 10 years old. It’s part of the competitive edge.”

As the first game finally ends in double overtime the rain starts to pick up. A group of players gather at a basket on the adjoing court, which is scattered with spectators. Several show off their dunking skills.

On the playing court, opponents shake hands, many of them reminiscing about how this player got schooled, and that player should’ve dunked. They smile at each other knowing it’s all in good fun.