Roundball Classic
Encyclopedia
The Roundball Classic, originally known as The Dapper Dan Roundball Classic (also known as Magic Johnson's Roundball, Sonny Vaccaro's Roundball Classic, Asics Roundball Classic) is well known in the sports world as the first national high school All Star basketball game. The inaugural game was played at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

 on March 26, 1965.

Founding

The cofounders of the game, Sonny Vaccaro
Sonny Vaccaro
John Paul Vaccaro is an American former sports marketing executive.Vaccaro is probably best known for his tenure with Nike, Inc., and signed Michael Jordan to his first sneaker deal. Vaccaro left Nike for Adidas, then Reebok...

 and Pat DiCesare
Pat DiCesare
Pat J. DiCesare Sr. is an American entrepreneur and rock concert promoter, whose career began at the early stages of rock and roll...

, were two boyhood friends from the small Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania consists of the western third of the state of Pennsylvania in the United States. Pittsburgh is the largest city in the region, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic and cultural center. Erie, Altoona, and Johnstown are its...

 town of Trafford
Trafford
The Metropolitan Borough of Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 211,800, covers , and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston...

. Vaccaro was a young school teacher and sports enthusiast who in the early 60s had organized local high school basketball tournaments throughout Pennsylvania. His friend and college roommate Pat DiCesare (future president of DiCesare-Engler Productions http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04301/402163-28.stm had made a name for himself by promoting major concert events in Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania consists of the western third of the state of Pennsylvania in the United States. Pittsburgh is the largest city in the region, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic and cultural center. Erie, Altoona, and Johnstown are its...

. Vaccaro wanted to do a basketball tournament in the Pittsburgh area, and asked DiCesare if he had interest in promoting the event. DiCesare, who had just brought the Beatles to the Pittsburgh Civic Arena, wanted the event to have national appeal and take place in a large venue. So, he encouraged his friend to recruit the best players in the country. The two friends decided that the game would feature high school All-Star players recruited from Pennsylvania against those recruited from the rest of the United States, and it would be played at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena.

Tim Tormey, a friend and business mentor to Pat DiCesare, initiated a meeting between DiCesare and Al Abrams.http://www.post-gazette.com/dapperdan/history.asp Abrams was the senior sports editor for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG," is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.-Early history:...

 and the president of the Dapper Dan Club, a charitable organization associated with the Post-Gazette. Having Abrams involved meant sponsorship for the game as well as months of sports coverage in the Post-Gazette leading up to the game. Abrams agreed to have the Dapper Dan Club sponsor the game, but DiCesare had to guarantee Abrams that he would cover any monetary losses and that a portion of the proceeds would go the Dapper Dan Club charities.http://ssbasketball.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=1132&CID=635969 DiCesare booked a date for the first game to be played on March 26, 1965 at the Civic Arena.

Many felt that the game would not do well in Pittsburgh as it was not known as a basketball town. The first game suffered a major recruiting loss when the premier recruit in the nation, Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a retired American professional basketball player. He is the NBA's all-time leading scorer, with 38,387 points. During his career with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers from 1969 to 1989, Abdul-Jabbar won six NBA championships and a record six regular season...

) declined their offer to play in the game. His coach would not allow him to play. Otherwise, Vaccaro had succeeded in getting big time high school talent from Pennsylvania and the rest of the United States. The format for the first game featured the National All-Stars vs. the Pennsylvania All-Stars at 9pm with a preliminary game that featured the Western Pennsylvania All Stars vs. City Catholic All-Stars game at 7pm. More than 10,000 fans attended the first game.

Growth

In the early years, the game quickly gained greater media coverage and a bigger fan following. The game was important for recruiting purposes as hundreds of colleges coaches and even pro scouts attended the game. It was known to be the "premier high school baskettball attraction in the entire nation".

The most popular years were in the 70s and early 80s with a record crowd of almost 17,000 fans in 1979. In the mid-80s, the matchup was slated as the East US All-Stars vs. the West US All-Stars. Some believed that changing the format and eliminating the Pennsylvania All-Stars compromised the attendance of the game. The attendance declined slightly in the mid to late 80s, but the game still received national attention. It was well represented by all of the major recruiting figures in college basketball, and well respected in the sport of basketball. ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

 continued to broadcast the game yearly. Ultimately, the game was hurt by the emergence of other high school All Star games that followed - most notably the McDonalds High School All-Star game (McDonald's All-American Team
McDonald's All-American Team
The McDonald's All-American Game refers to each of the all-star basketball games played each year for boys' and girls' high-school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top American and Canadian players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the conclusion of the high-school basketball...

http://www.mcdonaldsallamerican.com) that began in 1977. Also, the NCAA enacted a rule that restricted athletes to play in only two All-Star games.

End of an era

The game suffered two major losses in the early 90s when both Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...

 and the Dapper Dan Club pulled their sponsorship. With DiCesare's blessing, Sonny Vaccaro moved the game to Detroit in 1993. The 28th Annual Roundball Classic was the last to be played in Pittsburgh on April 11, 1992.

The demand for the game in Pittsburgh was great enough that the Civic Arena in cooperation with Pat DiCesare continued doing a high school All-Star basketball game with Asics
ASICS
ASICS is a Japanese athletic equipment company. ASICS produces professional footwear and sports equipment designed for football, running, netball, tennis, badminton, squash, martial arts, cricket, golf, wrestling, track & field, cross-training, volleyball, cheerleading, lacrosse, and for many other...

 as a sponsor and utilizing player recruiters from local colleges. As expected, the Pittsburgh game could not get the talent that Vaccaro was able to get in Detroit. The last game in Pittsburgh was played in April 1994.

Vaccaro took his game to Detroit in 1993 where it became known as Magic Johnson's Roundball. The game was played there for 7 years. It was moved to North Carolina for a few years until it finally was moved to Chicago in 2003 where it was simply named "The Roundball Classic". The game continued to have successful years after Pittsburgh. Most notably, it sold out the United Center
United Center
The United Center is an indoor sports arena located in Chicago. It is named after its corporate sponsor, United Airlines. The United Center is home to both the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League...

 in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 in 2003 when the game featured LeBron James
LeBron James
LeBron Raymone James is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association . Nicknamed "King James", he was a three-time "Mr. Basketball" of Ohio in high school, and was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while a...

. The last game was The 43rd Roundball Classic http://www.roundballclassic.net played in Chicago in 2007.

Alumni

Notable alumni include:

  • Calvin Murphy
  • Shaquille O'Neal
    Shaquille O'Neal
    Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...

  • Kobe Bryant
    Kobe Bryant
    Kobe Bean Bryant is an American professional basketball player who plays shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . Bryant enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School, where he was recognized as the top high school...

  • Chris Webber
    Chris Webber
    Mayce Edward Christopher "Chris" Webber, III , nicknamed C-Webb, is a retired American professional basketball player. He is a five-time NBA All-Star, a former All-NBA First Teamer, a former NBA Rookie of the Year, and a former #1 overall NBA Draftee...

  • Moses Malone
    Moses Malone
    Moses Eugene Malone is a retired American Hall of Fame basketball player who starred in both the American Basketball Association and the National Basketball Association...

  • Alonzo Mourning
    Alonzo Mourning
    Alonzo Harding Mourning, Jr. is a former American professional basketball player, who played most of his 15-year NBA career for the Miami Heat....

  • Kevin Garnett
    Kevin Garnett
    Kevin Maurice Garnett is an American professional basketball player who currently plays power forward for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association . After a high school basketball career at Farragut Career Academy which included winning a national player of the year award, he...

  • Vince Carter
    Vince Carter
    Vincent Lamar "Vince" Carter is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns. He is a shooting guard who can also play small forward....

  • Tracy McGrady
    Tracy McGrady
    Tracy Lamar McGrady, Jr., is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Detroit Pistons.Entering the league after graduating from high school, McGrady eventually became a seven-time All-Star. He led the league in scoring in 2003 and 2004. He has also played for the Toronto...

  • Patrick Ewing
    Patrick Ewing
    Patrick Aloysius Ewing Sr. is a Jamaican-American retired Hall of Fame basketball player and current assistant coach for the National Basketball Association's Orlando Magic. He played most of his career with the NBA's New York Knicks as their starting center and played briefly with the Seattle...

  • Rasheed Wallace
    Rasheed Wallace
    Rasheed Abdul Wallace is a retired American professional basketball power forward and center who played from 1995 to 2010 in the National Basketball Association...

  • Stephon Marbury
    Stephon Marbury
    Stephon Xavier Marbury is an American professional basketball player.The , point guard was selected out of the Georgia Institute of Technology by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 4th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, but was traded shortly thereafter to the Minnesota Timberwolves.He was an NBA...

  • Joe Johnson
    Joe Johnson (basketball)
    Joe Marcus Johnson is an American professional basketball player, currently a member of the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA. Johnson stands at 6'7" and 240 lbs ....

  • Josh Smith
    Josh Smith
    Josh Smith is an American professional basketball player with the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA. Josh is one of five kids born to Paulette and Pete Smith. His siblings are Walter, Phebe, Kasola and Shanti. His popular nickname is "J-Smoove".Smith attended John McEachern High School. For his senior...

  • Paul Pierce
    Paul Pierce
    Paul Anthony Pierce , nicknamed The Truth, is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the NBA. He earned First Team All-America honors in his junior year at Kansas, and has been a starter every season since being selected by the Celtics with the 10th overall pick in the...

  • Jason Richardson
    Jason Richardson
    Jason Anthoney "J-Rich" Richardson is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association.A 6'6", 225 lb...

  • Juwan Howard
    Juwan Howard
    Juwan Antonio Howard is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association . The Heat were his eighth different NBA team. He was drafted fifth overall in the 1994 NBA Draft by the Washington Bullets...

  • Dwight Howard
    Dwight Howard
    Dwight David Howard is an American basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association . Howard, who usually plays center but can also play power forward, had an outstanding high school career at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy...

  • Shareef Abdur-Rahim
    Shareef Abdur-Rahim
    Shareef Abdur-Rahim is a retired American professional basketball player and current assistant general manager for the Sacramento Kings. He last played for the Kings of the National Basketball Association . On the basketball court, he played both forward or center positions. Abdur-Rahim was a...

  • Rashard Lewis
    Rashard Lewis
    Rashard Quovon Lewis is an American professional basketball player, currently with the NBA's Washington Wizards as a small forward and a power forward.-Seattle SuperSonics:...

  • Marvin Williams
    Marvin Williams
    Marvin Gaye Williams, Jr. is an American professional basketball player. He currently is playing for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association and is listed at 6' 9" and 240 pounds...

  • Glen Davis
    Glen Davis (basketball)
    Ronald Glen Davis , commonly known as Glen Davis and by his nickname Big Baby, is an American basketball player who last played for the NBA's Boston Celtics...

  • Kendrick Perkins
    Kendrick Perkins
    Kendrick Perkins is an American professional basketball player who plays as a center for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the NBA....

  • Leon Powe
    Leon Powe
    Leon Powe, Jr. is an American professional basketball power forward who last played for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association . Drafted in 2006 by the Denver Nuggets, Powe grew up in Oakland, California and played college basketball at the University of California, Berkeley...

  • Gabe Pruitt
    Gabe Pruitt
    Gabriel Michael Pruitt , commonly referred to as Gabe Pruitt, is an American professional basketball player.-High school:...

  • Matt Carroll
    Matt Carroll (basketball)
    Matthew Carroll is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Bobcats in the NBA.Carroll is tall and weighs . He played high school basketball at Hatboro-Horsham High School in Horsham, Pennsylvania under coach Walt Ostrowski. He played college basketball at the University of...

  • Raymond Felton
    Raymond Felton
    Raymond Bernard Felton, Jr. is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association . A point guard, Felton is listed at 6'1 and 205 lbs. Felton played college basketball for the North Carolina under head coach Roy...

  • Gerald Wallace
    Gerald Wallace
    Gerald Jermaine Wallace is an American professional basketball forward for the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA.- High school :Wallace attended Childersburg High School in Childersburg, Alabama, where he had a very successful career...

  • Chris Duhon
    Chris Duhon
    Chris Nicholas Duhon is an American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic. Duhon was a point guard for the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team from 2000 to 2004, the Chicago Bulls from 2004 to 2008, and the New York Knicks from 2008 to 2010, and presently plays for the Orlando...

  • Drew Gooden
    Drew Gooden
    Andrew Melvin "Drew" Gooden is an American professional basketball player in the NBA who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks. Gooden is a 6'10", 250 lbs...

  • Joakim Noah
    Joakim Noah
    Joakim Simon Noah is a professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association . Born in New York City to a Swedish mother and French father, he holds American, Swedish and French citizenship...

  • Aaron Brooks
    Aaron Brooks (basketball)
    Aaron Jamal Brooks is an American basketball player who is currently a point guard for the Guangdong Southern Tigers. He was selected 26th overall in the 2007 NBA Draft...

  • Gerald Green
    Gerald Green
    Gerald Green, Jr. is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Foshan Dralions of the CBA. He was selected by the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics with the 18th pick of the first round in the 2005 NBA Draft...

  • Steve Novak
    Steve Novak
    Steve Novak is an American professional basketball player who last played with the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association. He is listed as 6'10", 240 lbs. He played college basketball in the NCAA at Marquette University...

  • Maceo Baston
    Maceo Baston
    Maceo Demond Baston is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent.-College career:After graduating from Dallas' H. Grady Spruce High School, Baston played college basketball at the University of Michigan. At Michigan, he was part of an all-star recruiting class that...

  • Shawne Williams
    Shawne Williams
    Shawne Brian Williams is an American professional basketball player who last played for the New York Knicks of the NBA...

  • Paul Davis
    Paul Davis (basketball)
    Paul Davis is an American professional basketball player. Davis started his career at Reuther Middle School where his number has been retired. Davis played for Rochester High School, earning Mr. Basketball of Michigan honors in 2002. As a center for the Michigan State Spartans, he finished the...

  • Shaun Livingston
    Shaun Livingston
    Shaun Patrick Livingston is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks.-Early years:Livingston was born in Peoria, Illinois. He led Concordia Lutheran Grade School, coached by Mr. Tom Ruppert, to LSA state titles in 1999 and 2000...

  • Tim Thomas
    Tim Thomas (basketball)
    Timothy Mark "Tim" Thomas is an American professional basketball player, in the small forward position.-High school / College:...

  • Trevor Ariza
    Trevor Ariza
    Trevor Anthony Ariza is an American basketball player in the National Basketball Association who plays for the New Orleans Hornets. Primarily a small forward, he is listed at tall and 210 pounds.-Biography:...

  • Lamar Odom
    Lamar Odom
    Lamar Joseph Odom is an American professional basketball forward with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association.-Early life:...

  • Wilson Chandler
    Wilson Chandler
    Wilson Chandler is an American basketball player currently with Zhejiang Guangsha of the Chinese Basketball Association. He previously played in the National Basketball Association with the New York Knicks and the Denver Nuggets...

  • Eddy Curry
    Eddy Curry
    Eddy Curry is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. He was born in Harvey, Illinois...

  • Randolph Morris
    Randolph Morris
    Randolph Albert Morris is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association.-High school:...

  • Keith Bogans
    Keith Bogans
    Keith Ramon Bogans is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Chicago Bulls.-High school and college:...

  • Keyon Dooling
    Keyon Dooling
    Keyon Latwae Dooling is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks.-Basketball career:...

  • Josh McRoberts
    Josh McRoberts
    Joshua Scott McRoberts is an American professional basketball player who last played for the NBA's Indiana Pacers. He was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 37th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft...

  • Greg Oden
    Greg Oden
    Gregory Wayne Oden, Jr. is an American basketball player at the center position. Oden is a member of the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA....

  • Travis Outlaw
    Travis Outlaw
    Travis Marquez Outlaw is an American professional basketball player currently with the New Jersey Nets of the NBA.-NBA career:...

  • Joel Pryzbilla
  • Jason Hart
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