Want a great Trivial Pursuit question?

What league boasts Steve Nash, Rick Barry, Kurt Rambus, Jason Kidd, Kevin Johnson, Gary Payton, Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Jim Barnett among its illustrious alumni?

The straight forward answer would be the NBA, but for brainiac Bay Area basketball connoisseurs the correct answer is the San Francisco Bay Area Pro-Am Summer Basketball League.

Since 1979, the Bay Area's finest basketball talent, both professional and amateur, congregate within the confines of Kezar Pavilion-which also serves as the home of the Academy of Art University Urban Knights and "ChickFight" female professional wrestling.

Kezar is far from glamorous-it has the feel, odor and look of an aging high school gym-but is full of local basketball history.

"I live here in the Bay Area and it's fun to have a place you can go play," perennial Pro-Am competitor and NBA center Adonal Foyle said. "This has been going on for such a long time. And right now I think it's important to just keep basketball alive in the bay."

The Pro-Am was founded with the two-fold intention of providing a showcase for budding young basketball talent and as a means of keeping professional and retired NBA and European league veterans in top physical condition.

"It keeps me in shape," Foyle continued. "You just want someone to play defense on you. They don't have to be in the NBA. You just want guys that will play hard and show you different things to get your game sharp."

But the culture surrounding the tournament has also become integral to the Pro-Am experience.

Teams with names ranging from Bay Pride to Budweiser play in an admission-free, round robin tournament kept running by league officials such as Anthony "Bones" Davis, whose title according to the program is "Bench Man, Music Man (Turn It Up-OG), Ice Man."

During timeouts, children flood the court to take jump shots while referees banter with fans.

The league is almost as eccentric as the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood that surrounds it. However, the level of basketball is a far cry from the lax and quirky atmosphere of the stands.

"Everybody here is strong," SF City and Cal senior point guard Jerome Randle said. "And so going against people bigger and stronger (than me) will help for the Pac-10."

Randle has captured the league's attention with unparalleled speed, dramatic spin moves and circus layups.

In one particular game against East Bay last Wednesday, Randle time and time again broke down bigger opponents bringing the crowd to its feet every time he touched the ball.

Randle's eye-popping 19 points culminated with a calm three-pointer with 3.2 seconds remaining, icing the game and improved SF City's record to 3-2.

"He's an amazing player," Foyle said, referring to his young teammate. "He has so much potential. I think now he's playing at such a high level. He has very good vision for the game, very good feel for the game, and he can do so many things on the floor. He deserves all the recognition he's getting."

Randle wasn't the only Cal player who took the floor that night. Sophomore D.J. Seeley, hoping to be Randle's backcourt running mate next year for the Bears, made forays into the game.

"We're just building that chemistry," Seeley said.

But while Seeley is simply looking for game experience and chemistry building, Randle's play might be foreshadowing larger venues in the future. Might Randle grace the floor of an NBA arena in the near future?

According to Foyle, it's hard to say just yet, especially considering Randle's diminutive 5-foot-10 frame.

"If you put the ball in the basket, make the right plays, (and) you have what a team needs, (then) you have a shot," Foyle said. "You just have to find the right situation for you. I always think if you have the game, you respect the game, you play the game the right way, someone is going to give you an opportunity."

So while Randle and many more young players like him competing this year have uncertain long-term futures in basketball, one thing is for certain: The San Francisco cultural gem that is the Pro-Am will persist and with it, so will local basketball.

Tags: CAL BASKETBALL, JEROME RANDLE