NBA, Knicks icons hold groundbreaking ceremony for Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School

MOTT HAVEN, The Bronx (WABC) -- New York Knicks legends and NBA officials took part in a special groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday for the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Charter Basketball School.

Earl "The Pearl" Monroe was joined by Walt "Clyde" Frazier, current Knick Julius Randle and head coach Tom Thibodeau, along with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and teenage students from the South Bronx to celebrate the soon-to-be-open 69,000, five-story building.

The school, founded in 2021, is the first of its kind in the nation: a purpose-built, specialized high school with an academic curriculum entirely designed around basketball and the many career paths associated with the global game.

Some of the career paths taught to students range from broadcast media to nutrition and venture capital business.

The institution is a charter, co-ed and tuition-free high school serving 400 students all from the Bronx.

The new building will also be an anchor tenant for a massive community economic development project in the Mott Haven neighborhood.

Monroe, a Hall of Famer, helped the Knicks to their last championship in 1972-73.

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