North Side basketball court could win renovation from online contest

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Two brothers are asking for help renovating a historic public basketball court on the North Side. It's all by way of an online contest.  

We've had so many great football and baseball players come out of Pittsburgh but a lot of good basketball players as well, some of them getting their start on a historic court on the North Side. Two young men are trying to make this very special place even better through a contest that you can help them out with.

Off of Arch Street on the North Side, you'll find a 94 by 54 pad of asphalt that's seen better days. 

"We can get crack repairs, some new paint. We get new hoops, get new rims," said Cole McCloskey.

Cole and his brother Clay are trying to make that and more happen by winning a contest called Every Court Has a Story. 

"We really want to make sure it's safe and a better court for the community," Cole said.

The McCloskey brothers along with Emmy-nominated spoken word artist Diarra Imani and H'enri Wade-Chatman, a Pittsburgh native who plays pro basketball overseas, produced a film spotlighting the court, its history and basketball in Pittsburgh. It's competing against other groups spotlighting their courts. Right now it's down to a court in Brooklyn and Pittsburgh's blacktop proving ground affectionately known as "the jungle."

"You had all the best hoopers coming here, tournament after tournament. This was the place to play. If you were good, you were here," said Clay. 

"We just gotta do the best we can to try to win this court." 

Most recent tallies have the McCloskey brothers' efforts in a close fight with Brooklyn's but it's not over. Voting ends Wednesday, June 28 at 11:59 p.m. 

"I know we can win this. I'm not putting Pittsburgh down in any way. I know we can do this," said Clay. "We're the best."

If you want to help these young men's hoop dreams, click here.