As is the case with any basketball game involving Allen Iverson, the smallest dude on the court was all over the place. Cornrows in place, diving in headfirst, crashing into the forest of big men. Completely reckless, yo. Iverson couldn't help but chuckle from his seat on the sidelines.

Oh yeah, the little guy was actor Larenz Tate of Menace II Society and Love Jones fame. All 5'2" of him. It wasn't exactly the NBA, rather Allen Iverson's Fourth Annual Celebrity Classic at the Liacouras Center on the campus of Temple University. Iverson didn't play 'cause his battered body is still recuperating from the season. So there he was on the sidelines "coaching", wrists and neck completely iced up. When Rasheed Wallace picked up the opening tip and fired a pass to Tate -- who promptly drove the lane and nailed a floater (it sounds a lot better than it looked) you felt he was in for a big game. He finished with 2 points.

Wallace, Tim Thomas and Larry Hughes treated the 5,000 fans to the usual allotment of highlight dunks and lazy summer three-pointers. I think they each finished with 42. In addition to the NBA types, Iverson's All-Stars also featured his rap mates from Cru Thik. They faced-off against the Crusaders, who were a bunch of no-names who could actually play. After being down most of the game, the All-Stars rallied to win 120-115.

A couple of guys from those Nike dribbling commercials were on hand to demonstrate their moves before the game. I would describe it, but I'd have to invent new words. Sick. The halftime dance team, Allen's Angels, almost made up for the fact that Jewelz didn't play.

Iverson's best coaching move of the game came when Alex Grodin of Cru Thik simply walked off the court and Philly playground genius Aaron Owens (AO) walked on. (This is the guy I told you about a couple weeks back. Played high school with Rasheed? The And 1 Mix Tapes? Good.) From that moment on, AO stole the show. He connected long-distance with a halfcourt lob to Tim Thomas. On the next play he lulled his man to sleep with his crossover then bounced the ball of the hypnotized dude's head.

Here's where it gets good: On a fast break, AO split two defenders with a behind-the-back dribble, got in the lane and threw the ball off the backboard, then caught it mid-air and touch no-looked it to Rasheed for the slam. The crowd went nuts. So did I. Couldn't help it, never seen anything like that before.

Chris Palmer covers The NBA Life for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at christopher.palmer@espnmag.com.