(BALTIMORE – August 10, 2026) – When I hear the word “legend,” I think back to Dunbar. The basketball players—particularly the starting five—were legends way back then. There was a mystique surrounding them. You could feel it in the hallways, in the gym, and throughout the school. But Poets know that mystique is earned through hard work. There are no shortcuts. You must outwork the competition. You must be mentally fit, and your spirit had better be right. Above all, you must be prepared—especially physically prepared. Your body must be conditioned to execute what your mind demands, even when you…

(BALTIMORE – August 8, 2026) – Baltimore basketball has a way of producing more than players. It produces builders—people who take what they learned on the blacktop and hardwood and turn it into something that outlasts the final buzzer. Keith Goodie is one of them. Ask around Baltimore’s basketball circles, and nobody begins with Goodie’s statistics. They talk about his humility, his knowledge and his willingness to serve. “He cares. He shows up.” That is how I would sum up Coach Goodie after speaking with people who know him. He understands the meaning of give-back. He shows up, assists, and…

How Easterwood-Troy Brailey Park produced champions, protected generations and helped save our lives (BALTIMORE – August 7, 2026) – When we got back from East Baltimore, I was about nine years old. I say “got back” because my mother had owned a house there the whole time—1526 Moreland Avenue, on a dead-end block facing Easterwood Park. My mother, Lillie Juanita Glover, was one of the first Black homeowners on that block back in the early 1950s, when the neighborhood around Moreland and Baker was still predominantly white. One of her first instructions to me was simple: Don’t go around Warwick.…

From three buses out of Cherry Hill to undefeated seasons at City College, a national championship and leadership of the Baltimore Police Department, Leonard Hamm’s life demonstrates what basketball can build. (CHERRY HILL, BALTIMORE – August 6, 2026) – I have known Commissioner Hamm and covered him in the news for years. I met him when he was Baltimore’s police commissioner, and that is how I have known him ever since. But I had no idea about the basketball player. No idea. Here is another man I have known for years, only to discover that there was an entire chapter of…

From Operation CHAMP and Easterwood Recreation Center to Cloverdale, the Legends Tournament and the Brunson League, BMORENews presents “Legends of Baltimore: Beyond the Game.” (BALTIMORE – August 5, 2026) – For much of my life, I did not understand the depth and significance of Baltimore’s Black basketball history. At 61 years old, I have spent all but two years of my life in Baltimore. Sports have always been a part of my journey. I played baseball, basketball and football. I wrestled, boxed, lifted weights, ran cross-country, swam and studied martial arts. I was not the greatest basketball player—not by far—but I…

The West Baltimore native became one of Bucknell University’s greatest basketball players, reached the doorstep of the NBA and discovered that a full life would require him to go beyond the game. (BALTIMORE – August 4, 2026) – Al Leslie shows up. That may sound like a simple statement, but the older I get, the more I understand how much it means. He shows up for Baltimore basketball. He shows up for Greg Branch’s Legends Tournament. He shows up for the people who remember him—and for those of us still discovering exactly who he is. That is how this story…

Michael Dukes: The Legend Behind Pikesville’s Dynasty | BMORENews.com Head coach Michael Dukes has led Pikesville High School’s girls’ basketball program to five straight Maryland state titles — but before he was building a dynasty, he was Southern High School and Towson basketball royalty himself, playing after the likes of Towson Hall of Famer Roger Dickens. In this Legends of Baltimore conversation with Doni Glover, Dukes talks about why the Dome at Madison is the true proving ground for Baltimore basketball, honors legends the city has lost like Jojo Parker, and breaks down what makes Baltimore hoopers different — the…

Legends of Baltimore: Beyond the Game (BALTIMORE – August 3, 2026) – Dwayne “Kosher” Wood was standing outside a basketball camp when I called him. That detail says almost everything. Decades after Baltimore basketball helped shape and protect him, Kosher is still around the game, still around the children, and still trying to provide the next generation with some of what his generation received. This time, however, the young people would not have to pay for it. “When we do stuff, I like for the kids to have no cost,” Wood said. “Because when we came up, everything—we didn’t have…

Mr. William Wells: Discover the inspiring journey of overcoming adversity to give back to inner-city youth. Learn how staying … Watch full video on YouTube

Introducing Legends of Baltimore: More Than a Game, a BMORENews series preserving the athletes, mentors, institutions, and hidden histories that shaped our city. (BALTIMORE – August 2, 2026) – Let’s get one thing straight from the start: I am not presenting myself as Baltimore’s leading sports statistician. I don’t claim to be a standard sports reporter. If you want somebody who has Baltimore sports on lock today, I refer you to Troy Hackley, the man behind Urban Sports Beat. Troy has spent years covering our athletes—from Little League and youth programs to high school, college and beyond. Back in the day,…