Pee Wee Kirkland

Pee Wee Kirkland
Personal information
Born (1945-05-06) May 6, 1945
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High schoolCharles Evans Hughes
(Manhattan, New York)
College
NBA draft1969: 13th round, 172nd overall pick
Drafted byChicago Bulls
PositionGuard
Stats at Basketball Reference 

Richard "Pee Wee" Kirkland (born May 6, 1945) is an American streetball player.[1] He was named in ESPN's "Elite 24: Rucker Park legends".[2]

Career

Basketball

Born in Manhattan, New York, Kirkland played varsity basketball at Charles Evans Hughes High School in Manhattan, New York, and was made an All-City guard. He was awarded a scholarship and attended Kittrell College, a community college in North Carolina, and was on the basketball team, averaging 41 points per game. He then attended Norfolk State University and played on the basketball team, teaming up with future NBA star Bob Dandridge.[3] The Spartans won the CIAA title in 1968 with a 25–2 record; they lost in the second round of the NCAA Division II Men's Tournament. The next year their record was 21–4, and they lost in the first round of the D-II tournament.

Draft and arrest

In 1969 he was drafted by the Chicago Bulls with the fourth pick in the thirteenth round. It is speculated that he turned the offer down because he was making more money in current ventures, including being a drug dealer, than he would in professional basketball.[4][5] At the time, the opportunities offered to him outside of the NBA were far more lucrative, in terms of financial gain and public recognition.[6][7] In 1971, he was arrested for tax evasion and conspiracy to sell narcotics, and served 11 years in prison.[8][9]

Motivational speaker

He presents his messages in the "School of Skillz"—a basketball and life skills campaign that is co-sponsored by Nike. The camps began in the 1990s on Saturdays in Harlem and have since become a nationwide endeavor. He has won championships as a high school coach at The Dwight School, a prestigious private school on the Upper West Side in New York City. One of his early breakthroughs involved reaching out to youth such as Hanif "Camel" Warren. As an educator and social worker, Kirkland utilizes the respect he receives from young people because of his gangster past to reach at-risk youth and break down their misconceptions about "keepin' it real" on the streets.[5]

Kirkland earned a master's degree in human services from Lincoln University.[5]

In the 1994 film Above the Rim, Kirkland appeared as Georgetown recruiter Phil Redd.[10]

Ja Rule mentions Kirkland as "Kirkland Pee Wee" in his 2001 song "Always On Time" featuring Ashanti.

Kirkland is referenced in the 2002 Clipse single, "Grindin", and appears in the track's music video.[11]

In 2012, he appeared in a documentary titled Doin' It in the Park, directed by Bobbito Garcia and Kevin Couliao.[12]

Late rapper Young Dolph refers to PeeWee Kirkland as a "legend" during his feature on Curren$y's 2019 song "All Work".

References

  1. ↑ Burgess, Michael (July 10, 2024). "Top 10 streetball players to dunk their way into the history books". Red Bull Basketball. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
  2. ↑ Flores, Ronnie (May 16, 2012). "Elite 24: Rucker Park legends". ESPN.
  3. ↑ Mallozzi, Vincent M. (January 12, 1997). "The Legend of Pee Wee Kirkland Grows". The New York Times Print Edition. Retrieved October 2, 2009.
  4. ↑ Maharaj, Gitanjali (1997). "Talking Trash: Late Capitalism, Black (Re)Productivity, and Professional Basketball". Social Text. 50 (The Politics of Sport). Duke University Press: 97–100. doi:10.2307/466817. JSTOR 466817.
  5. 1 2 3 ESPN.com Interview by Mary Buckheit "Pee Wee Kirkland: From American gangster to crossover legend"
  6. ↑ "Social Text", No. 50, The Politics of Sport (Spring, 1997), pp. 97-110
  7. ↑ Staff, VICE Sports (December 11, 2018). "Pee Wee Kirkland: The Streetball Legend Who Chose Drug Trafficking over the NBA". VICE. Retrieved June 29, 2026.
  8. ↑ Mallozzi, Vincent M. (January 12, 1997). "The Legend of Pee Wee Kirkland Grows". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 29, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Ex-Rucker star Kirkland has gone from dealing drugs to delivering hope". New York Daily News. March 16, 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Richard Ray Kirkland". IMDb.
  11. ↑ "Clipse - Grindin' (Official HD Video)". YouTube.
  12. ↑ Staff, T. H. R. (May 22, 2013). "Doin' It in the Park: Pick-Up Basketball, NYC: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 29, 2026.
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