Above all else, wood floors need one thing to be happy and healthy: A consistent, controlled climate. This wild portable basketball court, built and installed by Connor Sport Court and sanded, painted and finished by Praters Inc., didn't even have a roof or walls to protect it from the rain and sun. It was the stage for the Entertainers Basketball Classic in Harlem's Rucker Park this summer. The annual streetball tournament, which started in 1982 as a friendly game between New York rap groups The Crash Crew and the Disco 4, has expanded into a three-month event drawing top local, collegiate, and professional basketball talent as well as celebrity coaches such as Jay-Z and P. Diddy. The floor was installed over the park's asphalt and features wild style graffiti designed by EBC's "marketing guy" Chris Latimer. The floor's only extra defense against the weather was a tarp when it rained. "The wood has expansion roads to take in the moisture, but it's kind of uncharted territory to have a floor out that long. They played on it the whole summer, and it made it through," said Connor's portables manager Gary Gray. Gray reported some gapping, but EBC CEO and Disco 4 member Greg Marius was impressed with how well it performed in the conditions. "Connor Floors did a great job. They were even surprised that it lasted. It did a hell of a job," he said. EBC plans to use the same floor with a new design for two more summers. Marius said they plan to have it repainted and back in the park around June 1, 2014, for the 2014 tournament. During the offseason, the floor gets to relax in a climate-controlled storage facility in New Jersey, out of the wind, the rain and the spotlight.
EBC Rucker Park 8:
