Harlem Globetrotters continue tradition of fun basketball hijinks in 90th year on tour

Music pumped from the loud speakers. Lights dimmed and spotlights tracked in a rhythmic beat. A countdown: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and then came the iconic whistling tune of “Sweet Georgia Brown.”

The Harlem Globetrotters entered the packed gymnasium inside Coastal Carolina University’s HTC Center on Sunday afternoon to the roaring welcome of a cheering crowd. January marked a new decade for the team now in its 90th year and with the new decade came new opponents in a tour dedicated to the legends the Globetrotters lost last year.

Basketball Hall of Famer Meadowlark Lemon, who was dubbed the “Clown Prince of Basketball” and played with the Globetrotters over a span of two decades, died in his Scottsdale, Ariz., home on Dec. 27. He was 83.

The sad news came months after the team lost Marques Haynes, another one of its former stars whose ball-handling skills earned him a reputation as the world’s greatest dribbler. Haynes died on May 22 in Plano, Texas. He was 89.

A video tribute honoring both legends played on two courtside screens before the game. But the real tributes came on the court as The Harlem Globetrotters continued a tradition of basketball hijinks that propelled the team to worldwide fame long before the NBA or Michael Jordan.

“After all of these years The Harlem Globetrotters have a new opponent … and they claim to be the team to beat for the next 90 years,” the announcer said, as he cued up the Globetrotters’ newest nemesis – the World All Stars.

But the crowd went wild as the Globetrotters warmed up in center court with the passing, dribbling, rolling, spinning and masterful ball-handling skills that have wowed crowds for decades. The game was on.

Hi-Lite, the 6-foot-7 showman star from Greer, now bears the moniker the “Clown Prince of Basketball” and like Lemon, he lived up to the name with masterful tricks and comedic timing.

He was joined on court by Ace, the team’s 13th female player from Harrisburg, Penn.; Beast, the 6-5 forward from Royston, Ga.; Dragon, the 6-4 forward from Chicago, Ill.; Hammer, the 6-9, wild-haired forward from Brooklyn, N.Y.; Hawk, the 6-5 forward from Morehead City, N.C.; Rocket, the 5-6 guard from Chicago Heights, Ill.; Slick Willie Shaw, the 6-6 forward from Bronx, New York; and, Antonio “Squirrel” Murrell a 6-0 guard, who could climb a basketball goal with ease.

The game was stocked with thigh-slapping antics from the entire team from the traditional gag of confetti in a bucket to switching the opponent’s basketball with a helium-filled ball-oon to standing on the rim and kicking the opponent’s shot away. The World All Stars’ coach called foul, citing a rule book that had some of the Globetrotters kicked out of the game by the fourth quarter. But the Globetrotters were in for a climactic comeback with a last-second slam dunk to win 64 to 62 – or 64 to 52 for the fans who spotted the All Stars coach “fixing” the scoreboard.

Exhibiting the true essence of teamwork and perseverance, the “Goodwill Ambassadors” continued their call to spread joy through the crowd of smiling faces, who flooded the court for autographs after the game.

This story was originally published January 10, 2016 at 8:07 PM with the headline "Harlem Globetrotters continue tradition of fun basketball hijinks in 90th year on tour."