DURHAM -- It's just another Thursday night at the S.J.G. Greater NC Pro-Am. Rodney Rogers is here in his wheelchair, raising money for his foundation. John Wall walks in, a month removed from his selection as the top pick in the NBA Draft, and the building buzzes.
And this is not a night when many of the top ACC players and recruits are even playing. Kyrie Irving is, though, and the incoming Duke point guard is putting on a show.
" 'Ree, Ree,' " Wall calls out to Irving from his seat behind the scorer's table. Irving, on the court, looks over. He smiles. He has been blessed.
This has been a good summer for the Pro-Am. The game earlier this month between a team featuring N.C. State's recruits and a team featuring North Carolina's recruits drew so many people to N.C. Central's McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium that fire marshals turned hundreds - maybe even thousands - away at the door.
In a mere three years, it has become the de facto summer destination on Tuesday and Thursday nights for an entire generation of the state's basketball players, those born and raised here and those who come here to play college ball alike.
Yet at its heart, at its core, are the exchanges between players such as Wall, who lit up the league last summer, and Irving. That's the point: Put the pros and the kids together, not just to play basketball, but to exchange a little knowledge. If anyone wants to come watch, they're welcome - admission, by NCAA rules, is free - and many, many people have come to watch.
For one thing, the gym is a great place to watch a game. It's small enough that there's energy in a half-full building for a 6 p.m. game, but it's big enough to cram in more than 3,000 people when the college stars - or NBA pros - are on the court. For another, the league's popularity among players means there's always some serious talent on the floor.
"Once the word got out, people love basketball here," said former UNC and NBA star Jerry Stackhouse, one of the league's co-founders. "The first year, we didn't have a big marketing plan. We just let the word of mouth spread. I think that's the best way. People come out and see the players and who's playing, and that fuels it."
Back home in New Jersey, Irving had never heard of the tournament until he saw the YouTube clips of Wall's star turn last summer. Playing on a team with fellow incoming Duke freshman Josh Hairston and Tyler Thornton, Irving has been surprised by the competition.
"It definitely exceeded my expectations. I was watching John Wall play in this last year, and now he's getting bombarded over there," Irving said, gesturing to where Wall was besieged by autograph-seekers. "It's a great pro-am. I'm really excited to actually be a part of this."
Stackhouse and his group are mindful of the fine line they walk, balancing their interests with those of the NCAA and its arcane and complicated rulebook. It wasn't long ago that Raleigh's Chavis Summer League was the summer league for ACC players and recruits, before a paperwork mix-up temporarily cost the league its NCAA certification in 2004.
When North Carolina point guard Raymond Felton was suspended for a game by the NCAA after playing in the Chavis League that summer, the top ACC players stopped going back. The league now has a number of mid-major and post-college players, including Shawan Robinson, P.J. Tucker and Courtney Fells. Incoming N.C. State freshman C.J. Leslie played a few games there this summer, but once the N.C. Pro-Am started, he was on his way to Durham.
So this kind of superiority can be a fragile thing, but there's no doubt that the N.C. Pro-Am has come a long way in only three years, reaching its peak when the State and Carolina recruits faced each other.
Even though so many fans were turned away from that game, Erroll Reese, the tournament's director of community development, said holding the tournament in Durham - and at McLendon in particular - is an important part of its mission. Any similarly anticipated future game will not be moved to a bigger venue.
Still, the attention the league has gotten this summer has brought it to a rubicon of sorts. Players want to come play, and fans want to come watch. The question now is, where do they go next?
"We're excited about where we are right now," Stackhouse said. "We talk about what we're doing, but it's really about the kids. They want to compete and showcase what they can do. We had the No. 1 pick in the draft play in this tournament last year, and from that alone kids want to come in and follow his path."
