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Summertime in Boston celebrates another year of the Boston Neighborhood Basketball League, better known as the BNBL. Young men and women across the city form teams and play for the bragging rights of youth basketball. The league is the oldest of its kind in the United States. Former Celtic Satch Sanders, Deputy Mayor of Boston Clarence Jeep Jones and Mayor Raymond Flynn were among the founders.
Roger Roberts, program manager for the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, and current director of the BNBL, is a product of the 55-year-old league, which consists of over 70 teams from neighborhoods across Boston.
Former Iowa State and BNBL guard Will Blalock in action Photo: Iowa State athletics
In a recent interview, Roberts was quoted as saying, “Today’s competition is not as tough as it was in my day due to the AAU (Amateur Athletics Union) drawing so much of the top talent away from the BNBL. When I played for the Boston Titans, coached by street basketball godfather Al Brodsky, back in the early 1990s, we had some of the all-time great BNBL players, who took great pride in representing their neighborhoods. Guys like Will Blalock, Tony Lee, and so many others played some of the best basketball in this city.
Shabazz Napier, the younger brother of former NBA player Blalock, along with a list of star-studded talent, helped to build the Mission Hill Dynasty. “I’ll always cherish my BNBL experience,” said Napier. The two-time NCAA Division One basketball champion and Final Four Most Outstanding Player in 2014 at the University of Connecticut credits his development as a Division One college basketball player to knowledge he gained as a young BNBL player who always played “up,” excelling against older competition.
As a 12-year-old, Napier competed in the 15 and under division of the BNBL and dominated. By the time he was 15 he was a star player in the 18 and under competition. He was a champion at multiple levels of BNBL play, setting the stage for his rise to national recognition.
BNBL Mission Hill team Photo: BNBL
“I followed my older brother Will Blaylock and was taught to play by older guys, said Napier, adding, “It was a pride thing coming from Mission Hill. The older guys taught the younger guys. And you had to protect the reputation of Mission Hill basketball. My brother and I, along with many of our teammates, took that very seriously. When we stepped on the court, we knew that all the eyes of Mission Hill were on us, and that we had to give our best effort every minute of every game. Losing was not an option in our thinking. It wasn’t back in my day, and that holds true today. Mission Hill ballplayers walk with a sense of pride that comes from winning and dominating for so many years in BNBL competition.”
Before he stepped on the Storrs basketball court, Napier lead his Lawrence Academy high school team to a 29-0 season, topping it off with a 23-point game and a finals MVP performance.
BNBL alum Jonathan De Pina, playing for UMass Photo: UMass Amherst Athletics
Director Roberts makes a point stating, “AAU has taken so much of that kind of top-flight talent and put it on a higher profile stage, consequently taking so much away from what the BNBL was created to provide — a platform for Boston . . . youth to develop their basketball skills in front of people from their own neighborhoods.”
The three divisions that make up BNBL competition are 13 and under, 15 and under, and 18 and under.
Roberts took his skills and blended them with the likes of Monty Mack and Jonathon DePina (UMass Amherst), Hakeem Johnson, and other BNBL star players to form the nucleus of dominant South Boston High School teams that won city and state championships. “We were groomed from our days in the BNBL,’ said Roberts. “The Lee School and Mission Hill are also part of the rich legacy of the BNBL. The Lee School, one of the strongest opponents for our championship Titans teams, also won multiple BNBL titles.” Over the last decade, the young men of Mission Hill have been the dominant force, capturing BNBL titles in multiple divisions.
The Boston Showstoppers U18 BNBL team Photo: Boston Showstoppers
The Boston Showstoppers, coached by Clinton Lassitter, currently dominate the BNBL women’s division. Lassitter, who guided the Cathedral High School’s women’s basketball squad to the MIAA Division Five state title this past school year, extends his coaching legacy to the BNBL, winning championships in multiple divisions. Many people have told me the Showstoppers are so good they are feared by most teams. Much of the credit must go to Lassitter for that achievement.
In recent years, the young men from Mission Hill, along with the Lady Showstoppers, have ruled their respective divisions of BNBL competition. That theme is holding to form following the first three weeks of this year’s BNBL schedule. And despite losing so much talent to AAU competition, the BNBL continues to march forward.
“We are still a viable force in Boston City Summer League basketball”, says BNBL Director Roger Roberts. “We still have enough talented players to put on a good show. I hope true fans of Boston City Summer League Basketball continue their strong support for the BNBL.”
