When the Globetrotters come to town, they spend much of their time visiting within the community at schools, hospitals, soup kitchens and more. It's pretty awesome to be able to influence people in a positive way and not even speak their language." And now when we go around the world and go back to Peru there are people there old enough to remember that and who tell us stories. But that's just the type of impact the Globetrotters have. "Unfortunately, after they left, the war resumed. "They were having a Civil War (in 1954) and they stopped the Civil War for four days so the Harlem Globetrotters could play four games," said Blakes. One of Blakes' more inspirational stories is when an earlier team of the Globetrotters visited Peru to play for the country's leaders. "So when I go back with my teammates we're welcomed with opened arms because we've been introduced 50-60 years ago." "The team way before me, in the 1950s, were introducing the game around the world to places that had never heard of it before," said Blakes. READ: Bullrider risks life for 8 seconds of glory In 1950, Globetrotter Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton became the first black person to sign an NBA contract.Īnd they have taken the game of basketball to many who've never experienced it and left permanent imprints. The "goodwill ambassadors" have made their mark around the globe breaking cultural and societal barriers. Guys on my team were 6'8, 6'9, 6'10 and I can get more rebounds than them. "I led my team in rebounds my junior year (of college). "At 6'2, some people consider me a shorter guy for basketball, but I play big," he said. You have to stay abreast of which direction the company is going, as well as you have to stay in shape physically because every year there's new people trying to come in and take your spot." "There's no multi-year contracts so you have to stay on your Ps and Qs mentally and physically. "No matter how much older I get, you have to make the team every year," said Blakes. "They're scouting you on your athletic ability, basketball ability and they're looking fro a certain personality because we do a lot of things off the court as far as community outreach goes," he said. It takes athleticism and strength and serious skill to be a professional basketball player, but it takes much more to be a Globetrotter. They must fight for their position each season. There's also a European and world tour and overseas military tour through the rest of the year. The players practice for an hour and a half before each game. On their North American tour, Blakes said the Globetrotters will visit 250 cities, 48 states and nine Canadian provinces between last December and May. The trick to rebounding is to keep shooting - sometimes from full court - to make up the points. READ: 7 facts you didn't know about your local bartender "We're human beings and we miss, but we make a lot of shots." Everybody thinks we're perfect when we shoot," said Blakes. "We don't make every single shot that we take. People often are surprised to learn the players sometimes miss shots and lose games, Blakes said. Setting the high expectations comes with its drawbacks. Overtime they've evolved and continued to set the bar higher with techniques, like the four-point shot that's 35 feet from the basket. The shot is 12 feet further from the hoop than the NBA's three-point line. The three-man weave and alley-oop dunks are two signature moves from earlier years. The Globetrotters are trailblazers in basketball with the incomparable skill and inventiveness to create and perform difficult shots and passes. In his work, he's responsible for mentoring and developing the new generations of Globetrotters. Dunbar joined the comedic basketball team, Harlem Globetrotters, as a player and advanced his basketball career as a coach to the team.ĭunbar travels around the world with the team as the director of player personnel.
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