Newark Mayor Cory Booker joins the WNBA Liberty mascot Maddie and embattled basketball player Cappie Pondexter after a game of one-on-one at the Prudential Center.Newark Mayor Cory Booker, sporting a bright royal blue tie, introduced himself to members of the Liberty — the Prudential Center’s latest tenant.
“We have a saying here in New Jersey,” Booker joked with the team Thursday. “No autopsy, no foul.”
Booker then took on current Liberty and former Rutgers star Cappie Pondexter in a one-on-one game that ended dismally for him with a 4-0 loss. He even missed a layup after the Liberty mascot, Maddie, set a pick on Pondexter.
“He didn’t think I was going to be serious,” Pondexter said. “My mom called me this morning to say ‘you better win.’ I had to do it for Mom.”
As Madison Square Garden undergoes renovations throughout the next three summers, the WNBA’s Liberty will call Newark home. The team was officially welcomed to the Prudential Center Thursday by Booker and Jeff Vanderbeek, the chairman and managing partner of the arena.
The Liberty, which made it to the Eastern Conference finals last season, play their first preseason game Wednesday against the Washington Mystics and have their regular-season home-opener June 11 versus the Indiana Fever.
Booker said he sees this as an opportunity to bring an exciting athletic product to the city, boost the economy and once again showcase Newark as a top-notch site for professional sports. The Prudential Center hosted the NCAA Tournament East Regional earlier this spring and will host the NBA Draft next month.
Booker said more than 15,000 game tickets will be given away to people in Newark.
“I don’t care if it’s Snooki or the Real Housewives, forget that; we now have Jersey women who will be role models for our children as models of character, honor, sportsmanship and excellence,” Booker said. “And that’s what I’m most excited about.”
The crossing of the river brings three former Rutgers standouts — Pondexter, Essence Carson and Kia Vaughn — back to New Jersey.
“When I was 12 years old I went to Madison Square Garden to watch the Liberty play,” said Carson, who is also originally from Paterson and played high school basketball at Paterson Eastside. “I was like, ‘Okay, this is my next dream. It’s not New Jersey but it’s close enough.’ And now I’m back in New Jersey.”
The Liberty’s contract with the Prudential Center will end after summer 2013 — and Booker said he wants to take on Pondexter again before they leave town.
“I’m going to work on my game,” Booker said. “I really want a rematch.
“We have something to show. We have pride here in New Jersey. When it’s time for them to go back (to Madison Square Garden), my goal is that they won’t want to go back.”
Jackie Friedman: jfriedman@starledger.com