One of the oldest touring sports entertainment teams in the world will entertain people from the Land of Logan Monday night while helping raise funds for
some of Logan County's youngest sports participants.
The Harlem Wizards will be at Russellville High School's Jim Young Gymnasium at 6:30 p.m. Monday to play a group of some of the biggest names in recent
Russellville/Logan County sports history. Profits from the game will benefit Logan County Little League.
The Wizards website says, “At the Wizards game fans see amazing basketball talent combined with hilarious comedy. The athleticism, tricks, fancy teamwork
and ball-handling wizardry, plus wild dunks not even seen in NBA games, engage and wow the most avid hoops fans. The comedy is for everybody. The Wizards
look to push the envelope on fun, combining pre-planned comedic acts with spontaneous humor that fans of all ages will find laugh out loud funny. The
halftime show with hundreds of kids on the court, plus the postgame interaction with the Wizards who stay until every autograph is signed, is the cherry on
top.”
Among the local guys expected to play:
Bubba Wells was
the only local player ever drafted by the NBA. After an outstanding career at Austin Peay State University in which he was the nation's unofficial scoring
leader, he was drafted by and played for the Dallas Mavericks. He later played on the Harlem Globetrotters' competitive team, and he has been a top
assistant coach for APSU for several years.
Otis Key
was Wells' teammate on both Russellville 1992 regional runner-up team and at APSU. He played professionally overseas several years and then was a member of
the Globetrotters for eight years, including serving as the miked 'Showman' and as the group's promotional frontman. He has also been a championship coach
in professional basketball.
Mark Thompson
is the only local player who has become a Major League baseball pitcher. After leading the Logan County Cougars to the state quarterfinals
in 1989, he pitched three years for the University of Kentucky before being the second-ever draft pick of the Colorado Rockies. He was the franchises'
first Pitcher of the Year and saved the first game the Rockies ever play at Coors Field. He also pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals and was in the
Cincinnati Reds system. He has also coached professionally.
Mikie Benton
, a standout in football, basketball and track for the Panthers, was the starting safety for the University of Kentucky Wildcats last year and will return
for his senior season this fall.
Craig Bailey, Montez Mason and Lonnie Mason
were key players on Logan County's 1993 regional finalist basketball team. Lonnie has also been an assistant coach for the Cougars under a variety of head
coaches.
Marcus Mason
was a standout basketball player for Brescia University in the early 90s after a stellar career at LCHS.
Jae Allison
, a member of Russellville's first state championship football team, is the founder of the Givin' Back sports program which helps point local youngsters in
the right direction.
Tyrone 'Iceman' Kennedy
, a key player on Auburn's 1982 regional finalist basketball team, is also in a leadership role with Givin' Back.
Brent Hinton
was the only varsity freshman on the 1984 Logan County state championship basketball team.
Bryan Fuller
is a former Cougar who earned ESPN attention for his ironman pitching performance in leading Campbellsville University to a berth in the NAIA World Series.
Billy Joe Coleman
was one of the top players on the 1976 Lewisburg High district champions, the last team coached by Bob Birdwhistell.
Timmy Hampton
was a key player for RHS football and basketball in the late 80s.
Lon Sosh
, the Hall of Fame broadcaster, will announce the lineup for the local stars.
Trey Turner
, a two-time Kentucky Nike HoopStar while playing for the Cougars and a Hanover College basketball letterman, will be one of the officials.
Barry Bilyeu,
a graduate of LCHS who joined Turner in being named co-Most Improved Official by the Southern Kentucky Basketball Officials Association, will also
officiate.
Tickets are for sale in advance for $7 at Roy's Bar-B-Q and Barrow Eye Center. They also can be obtained from Little League players and their parents. All
tickets will be $10 at the door.
Logan County Little League will be getting all the proceeds from the concessions and will receive a commission for selling Wizards souvenirs.
The Wizards, who are involved in Character Education, will make appearances at schools during the day Monday. They will do lunchroom visits at LCHS and
Olmstead along with assemblies at Lewisburg, Stevenson Elementary and RHS at 1:30 p.m.
The LoJo
From the Wizards' website;
The Wizards didn't invent show basketball, but their place in history, as a major player in this genre is undeniable. Started in 1962, by a determined
sports promoter, Howie Davis, the Wizards continue the tradition began in the thirties of great
basketball, and adding in some hot dog and mustard! Now in the 21st century, the Wizards, led by Todd Davis, have modernized show basketball, with their version called, Tricks, Hoops, And
Alley-Oops!
It is more than just their ability to excel on the court that has fueled their longstanding love affair with basketball fans. It is their utter commitment
to touching fans, and providing them with a basketball experience that is joyous, astoundingly skillful, exciting and sometimes so hilarious that they
leave fans laughing so hard that their boots come loose!
Howie Davis
felt that although the Globetrotters were legendary, they were not above competition! He felt that he could bring a fire and creativity to the Wizards to
do it even better!
Who knew then, that 50 years later, the Wizards would continue to carve out their own basketball legacy, and take the tradition of show basketball, and
evolve it into the trick-hoops & alley-oops of the 21st century?
Other than the Wizards and the Globetrotters, no other entertainment basketball team has survived the test of time and made worldwide fans like these two
storied franchises.
In 2002, Harlem Wizards "Speedy, "A-Train", and "Mr. Handles" and soon-to-be Wizard "Trikz" appeared in that groundbreaking NIKE commercial, and ex-Wizards
like "The Main Event" starred with And1.
But while the Wizards continue to break new ground, they have always had a rich tradition of attracting the games best and brightest. NBA Legends like
Connie Hawkins and Tiny Archibald have toured with the Wizards. Hawthorne Wingo, Mario Elie, Hollis Copeland and over 25 NBA'ers in total have played with
the Wizards.
Streetball Legends like "Sudden Sam" Worthen (Chicago Bulls), "SPEEDY" Williams (Current Wizard), "The Main Event" ,Frankie Bradshaw, Larry "Butterfly"
Cheatham, Ed "Czar" Simmons, Frank "Shake & Bake" Streety, "Headache", Guy Hughes, Clarence "MUGSY" Leggett and "Tojo" Henderson,(Current Wizards) Tom
"Sundance Kid" Chapin, Vincent White, James "Peanuts" Woolard and other greats have shown their various skills on tour with the Harlem Wizards.
THE FOUNDING OF THE HARLEM WIZARDS
In 1943, a Sports Promoter, and at the time, Sergeant and Recreation Director at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, in Dayton, Ohio, Howie Davis was called upon to provide an emergency 8th team for the World Championship of
Basketball Tournament in Chicago. In just one week, he put together the Dayton Dive Bombers Basketball team.
Their first round opponent was the Harlem Globetrotters. Howie Davis, 24, an admirer of the
Globetrotters and Abe Saperstein's fusion of Sports and Entertainment, was excited by the challenge. In one of the biggest upsets in sports history, the
Dayton Dive Bombers beat the previous World Champions in their first game ever played!
However, if Abe Saperstein hadn't refused to shake Howie Davis' hand after the game, would the
competitive fuel for starting the Wizards ever have happened? One thing is certain, Davis was
inspired that night, and nearly two decades later he launched his own traveling show team - the Harlem Wizards.
Todd Davis grew up in Far Rockaway, N.Y. in a sports household. His father scouted for The San Francisco Giants, and owned the Harlem Wizards. Meeting
Willie Mays, hanging out in the Giants' dugout and playing one on one with Connie Hawkins was all part of his childhood.
Weekends were usually reserved for traveling with the Wizards, helping out, practicing the tricks, bothering the players, and enjoying the games. At 15
Todd went on his first International Trip with the Wizards to Israel. Since the Wizards brought the opposition team, Todd was on the New York Stars roster,
and even made the Stars' first shot in front of 10,000 people in Tel-Aviv.
He joined his father with the Harlem Wizards after graduating from Albany State University in the early 1980s. He believed that the Wizards were amazing
and he wanted to capitalize on the business side, on their tremendous reputation as a legendary basketball and entertainment team. In 1992, when his father died, he took
over the presidents' role with the Wizards.
H has continued the legacy, and the Wizards now perform awe-inspiring shows for 500,000 fans a year, and counting.