The day after the Wizards won the lottery, I said on Twitter that now, the only thing left to happen is Kevin Durant vs. John Wall at the Goodman League, at Barry Farms in Southeast D.C. Fast-forward to this morning's Washington Post:
"He'll be really big for this city," said Miles Rawls, the commissioner of the George Goodman League at Barry Farm in Southeast, the District's outdoor-run answer to New York's Rucker Park. "The streets are talkin' 'bout him. ... Basically, the whole town is buzzin' about him."
Sam Cassell, the Wizards' assistant coach, might bring Wall down to Berry Farm on Monday to show him the atmosphere, the half-smokes, the card games inside the chain-link fence, and a summer pick-up run like none other, where Kevin Durant was scheduled to play Wednesday night.
"He know: The next stop after he gets drafted is inside them gates," Rawls said. "That's where we find out."
Who knows whether it'll happen next week, next month, or next year, but bottom line—at some point, John Wall's going to go "inside the gates" at Barry Farms. Maybe it's not so much a proving ground for the Wall, the player, but it's a definitely a way for D.C.'s newest superstar to profess his loyalty to his new home.
After the jump, check out some video from the Goodman League last summer.
Here, Miles sets the scene for a showdown last July:
We'll talk more about Barry Farms as the summer unfolds, but until then... Just know the dream for D.C. basketball fans is alive and well. John Wall, Kevin Durant. Barry Farms. And like that, it's "Welcome to the Big Show" for Wall. "Move 'em!" as Miles would say.