Mosswood Park
| July 14, 2008
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3612 Webster St.
Oakland, California
Level of Competition:
Pickup ball: 4 of 5
League play: 5 of 5
Court Status: Legendary
Mosswood’s specs: 2 full courts
Surface: Asphalt, no painted lines
Backboard: White metal square
Rims: Single, bolted rims
Nets: Mesh
Lights: Yes
Hours of Operation: 10 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Pay to Play: No
League Play: There’s an annual 3-on-3 summer tournament that is frequented by some NBA locals. Brian Shaw and Antonio Davis were two parts of a team that took the ’chip a few years back. But it shuts down from the end of summer until late March.
Best time to run: During the spring and summer, from about 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The Deal:
Mosswood is situated in the corner of a family park, but the attitude on the court feels nothing like the rest of its surroundings. Gary Payton learned to play D and talk trash here, coming up mentoring a younger Jason Kidd. NBA-bound studs mix it up with college players and some regulars on summer afternoons. It’s no surprise that Mosswood was ranked as one of the top 25 best places to play pickup in the nation by Dime Magazine a few years back.
In addition to GP and J-Kidd, Mosswood reared Demetrius “Hook” Mitchell, a streetball giant whose wealth of unrealized potential, 48-inch vertical and ability to dunk over Caddillacs is still part of the banter around the court is still talked about to this day.
There’s also a rumor that White Men Can’t Jump was partially inspired by a Mosswood tandem known as Snake and Love in the late 1970’s. Snake was a 6-8 guy from New York and Love was a small 5-6 guard from Chicago. The story has it that they would pick up a third guy, usually Love’s brother and beat all comers in 3-on-3.
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I heard that dude Hook Mitchell used to run these courts. I think this is the one…?
Hook made his name at Mosswood. Every NBA player who came up there - GP, Kidd, Antonio Davis, Brian Shaw, Drew Gooden, etc. - all swear that Hook was better than all of them. If he didn’t get derailed by the streets, who know how far he could’ve gone.
The Glove’s homecourt is basketball holy ground for that reason alone.
Word has it that Hook Mitchell’s vertical was ridiculous! I heard something about him being able to jump over parked cars. CRAZY!