Holcombe Rucker's tools: compassion, books and basketball. In that order. Seventy years later, the seeds planted by this humble community servant have grown, flourished and covered the globe.

Rucker Park was a proving ground, a cultural furnace that cooked up streetball heroes and legends alike. And for Erving, it became the birthplace of something bigger than basketball.

"BOUNCE: The Basketball Opera" is rehearsing at John Jay College before taking centerstage at Holcombe Rucker Park in Harlem. CBS News New York's Steve Overmyer reports.

The NBA and NCAA have officially sanctioned Rucker Park Streetball for basketball players in both respective leagues.