Dr. J returns to Roosevelt for basketball court dedicated in his honor, donated by fellow Olympian Nancy Lieberman

Julius “Dr. J” Erving returned to his hometown of Roosevelt Wednesday to the park where he got the call to be an alternate to the 1972 Olympic team.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and other Long Island officials honored Erving with a new basketball court at the Rev. Arthur Mackey Sr. Park dedicated in his name and donated by fellow Olympian and WNBA pioneer Nancy Lieberman and her charities.

Erving was honored for his Hall of Fame NBA career, including four MVPs, 16 all-star appearances and one world championship. He said his basketball career began in elementary school in Hempstead before joining the Hempstead Salvation Army Team when he was 11 in 1962.

“I just played because I liked playing,” Erving said, standing on the new court Wednesday.

His college coach from UMass called and asked him to go to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs with 40 other players on the U.S. Olympic Team. While other players spoke about their plans of joining the NBA, Erving said that was not something he had even considered.

“When we went into gym, it was a rude awakening,” Erving told a crowd including about two dozen young players. “I didn’t know these 40 guys, but I was better than all of them.”

Erving said he went on to lead the Olympic team in scoring before going on to play with the ABA New York Nets and eventually the Philadelphia 76ers. He said he left college after his junior year, but he kept his promise to his mother to finish his degree.

“Everywhere I went, I felt like I was representing my home community. Hopefully my friends and family derived something from me putting on a show for them.” Erving said. “I can’t stand in front of kids and tell them to graduate high school and college and finish what I started if I didn’t.”

He said it felt good to be home and with the Hempstead coaches who mentored him, including former Mayor Don Ryan and Al Williams. He recalled being a park worker there and receiving a phone call from his college coach saying he was picked as an Olympic alternate.

Erving signed basketballs and posed for photos with young players and Hempstead and Roosevelt residents while dignitaries including Lieberman and Blakeman made backward basketball shots behind their backs.

The new “Dream Court” was donated by Lieberman’s charity and Sport Court. It includes a hard plastic eco-friendly material laid over the previous concrete. It is a regulation high school basketball court with new glass backboards, rims and nets that can be lowered for younger players.

Lieberman has donated 122 courts around the country, including two in Long Beach, in honor of Billy Crystal’s hometown after Superstorm Sandy. She declined to disclose the cost of the donation, but the court was fully funded by her charity.

Standing on the court, she told the two dozen young players in front of her, half of which were young girls, to tune out any criticism and focus on their dreams and love of the game.

“Dr. J came back to where he grew up and never forgets his roots,” Lieberman said. “He came back for you because you're the future. And you have to take care of this court and honor this court. And there's going to be another Dr. J or Nancy Lieberman on this court. I can promise you this.”

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.