Someone starts hamboning.
Then someone else whistles Sweet Georgia Brown
Pulses start racing and funnybones start twitching.
For you just heard Brother Bones, and that provides the cue for the legendary Harlem Globetrotters to break into their “Magic Circle” of fancy passing, eye-popping dribbling, and general basketball wizardry before taking to courts the world over.
They’ve been doing it now for 90 years, since Abe Saperstein started up a bunch of talented barnstormers in Chicago, but gave them name “Harlem” to denote that they were African-American.
And next week, Wednesday, Apr. 19, the ‘Trotters take their hoops and hilarity to Barrie Molson Centre starting at 7 p.m.
“Everybody has their favourite Globetrotter story to tell Whether it’s the ‘water bucket’ that proves to be full of confetti, or the ball handling or the way we can slam dunk,” says senior statesman Herbert 'Flight Time' Lang. Of course there is also the banter they engage in with each other and the sheer skill of ball handling.
“It’s a great chance to share memories across the generations, bridge the gap,” says Lang, a ‘Trotter since 1999.
Lang, who graduated Louisiana’s Centenary College, having won a nationwide slam-dunk title, attributes the ‘Trotters popularity in recent years to become more interactive, being active on social media, and “keeping in touch with trends.”
The Harlem Globetrotters actually split off in the past into four units: one touring Canada, one gallivanting through Europe, and two making their way through the U.S.A. But Lang is particularly buzzed about coming to places like Barrie.
“We came from small towns ourselves,” says Lang, who grew up in the hamlet of Brinkley, Arkansas. “Unlike bigger cities, with massive stadiums, we find smaller towns more intimate and interactive."
Herbert Lang stood only 5’10” when he tried his first slam dunk back in high school, but fans will see for themselves why Lang, now 6’3”, is called “Flight Time”and why he specializes at the dunk.
He can create excitement off the court, too; along with teammate “Big Easy” Lofton, Lang took part in three seasons of The Amazing Race, making it to the finals one season. He has also appeared on Hell’s Kitchen, The Bachelorette, and Are you Smarter than a 5th-Grader? (hint: he is, and more, answering all the questions posed to him correctly).
Fans who are a little older will remember such Globetrotter immortals as Curly Neal, Goose Tatum, Meadowlark Lemon, Marques Haynes and Geese Ausbie.
Fans old and young likely be provided with fresh new memories by the likes of the current Harlem “holler-guy” Anthony “Ant” Atkinson.
This 5’9” product of Barton College in North Carolina is in the Guinness Book of World Records along with teammate Cheese Chisholm for most three pointers made by two players in one minute. Alternating between made shots, their 19 hits broke the record of 15 by none other than NBA superstars Kevin Durant and Dirk Nowitzki.
Proof there is hoops life beyond the NBA, Ant knew he would continue his basketball career when he finished college. “The fact that it’s with the Harlem Globetrotters makes it that much better,” he explains. “This is the most fun a person can have playing basketball, and bringing smiles and entertainment to kids and families is unbelievable.”
Ant, Flight Time, Big Easy, and all the merry men (and women) of the Harlem Globetrotters hit the court at Barrie Molson Centre Wednesday night, Apr. 19, at 7 p.m. To learn more, click here.
