Joe Cruz Jr.’s father, Joe “Pops” Cruz, was on a trip to California when it took just one walk around Venice beach for him to conceive of Hoops in the Sun. 

In describing his father’s perspective on the beachside courts of the late nineties Venice streetball scene, Cruz Jr. said, “He walked Venice Beach, California, saw the courts, saw the water, saw the palm trees, saw the sand. He saw a whole paradise, and I remember him telling Randy and I that his dream was to do basketball, but do it at a location that's prime real estate. He fell in love with Venice. He was like whoa, this mimics Orchard Beach … and when he came back from that trip he was highly motivated,”

Within a year, Hoops in the Sun was in full swing with a Bronx-based beachside Pro-Am mens league. In that first summer of 2000, HITS platformed players 18 years and older, including many current and former college standouts and professional basketball players. According to Cruz Jr., his father had many reasons for creating the event: “He just wanted the tournament for me to play in, because I wasn't able to get those calls to those top leagues when I was trying to really chase my dream. And he created a league because he wanted to bridge the gap between the Bronx and the other boroughs, and continue to give the Bronx a better representation of what we really do.” 

Cruz Jr. and his brother, Randy, took the helm of HITS when Cruz Sr. passed away in 2004. They were determined to continue the legacy their father had started, with an emphasis on showcasing Bronx talent and providing a supportive and safe place for skill development and high-level competition. Cruz Jr. acknowledges how rewarding it has been to provide opportunities to local kids who have big dreams and the talent to match. In fact, HITS has platformed many young players who eventually made their way to college and the pros. 

Elaborating on the many benefits of HITS, Cruz said, “My brother and I don't have any kids ourselves. And the reason being because our weekends were dedicated for the last 24 years to that park to give an opportunity for anybody that wants to cross that court and has a dream that wants to see it through. This may not be a neighborhood tournament, but it's somewhere you can really excel your skills, perform at the highest level, and give that person the opportunity to come out of their current situation…"

It doesn’t hurt that HITS is located on a beautiful stretch of boardwalk along Orchard Beach. According to the New York Daily News, over 700,000 people visit the beach on busy summer weekends. For these lucky beachgoers of all ages, HITS provides an excellent entertainment outlet. Sitting adjacent to the sand, there are two courts covered in the colors of the Phoenix Suns. As Cruz Jr. recounts, the color scheme relates back to his family’s love for the sun and for the Phoenix Suns. “The colors just drew us every time,” he said.

Under the passionate and capable guidance of the Cruz brothers, the twin courts now host over 50 teams with players ranging in age from 10 years old to high school, college and NBA players. While HITS is already a major success, Cruz has even loftier goals for its promotion. He says his biggest goal is “to maintain that name in the highest standards. My brother and I are really destined to continue doing this and hopefully get to year 25 next year. And then 30, and then after that is like hall of fame status.”

Cruz Jr. gives a lot of props to his brother for having expanded the brand with and without social media. He said, “My brother, Randy Cruz, is a wizard. He noticed the climate change. He noticed things were moving. He noticed some things ahead of time, and when we all were kind of not influenced as much as to what social media is about, he was ahead of the game. He's persistent in doing it, and he makes Hoops in the Sun look like what it is, and I take no credit in that.”

A natural division of labor has worked well for the brothers. For more than a decade of HITS’ life, Cruz Jr. was in school, working towards a Masters in Recreation Education and Childhood Psychology. He attended the City University of New York - Herbert. H Lehman College from 2001 through 2012. 

“I wish Hoops in the Sun was able to bring enough money for me to take the year off, and not work and do this full time, and that's actually going to be my goal moving forward. But within that time frame, I had to make sure I took care of my family. I had to make sure my brother was good. My dad passed at an early age, so I felt responsibility to make sure that I was able to provide,” Cruz Jr. said. 

Watching Cruz Jr. conduct himself in person at Hoops in the Sun, it is apparent that relationships are everything to him. If he isn’t filming the action for an Instagram live feed, he is walking around talking to a different person seemingly every minute. People are constantly approaching him and are always greeted with a smile and hug. 

Cruz Jr. said, “Staff and family mean a lot to me. I haven’t changed my staff in 20 years. Some come and go. But the core, the people who started with me, are still with me from 2000 to 2024.” 

Finally, Cruz Jr. believes that HITS is the ultimate test for all players as it challenges every aspect of one’s basketball ability. While it may be grueling in the moment, Cruz believes that what any player gets out of making the journey and hooping at orchard beach is all worth it.

“Winning a Hoops in the Sun championship is really about perseverance and grinding it out. If you play Hoops in the Sun, anywhere you go it’s going to be easy. The conditions and the temperature and the confines put you through a battle test and that's why we call it street balls’ Mount Everest,” Cruz Jr. said.