How can you make one of the most entertaining sports even more fun and interactive with the fans? The Harlem Wizards have an answer to that question.
Founded in 1962 by Howie Davis in Moonachie, New Jersey, the Wizards take inspiration from the global sensation, Harlem Globetrotters, who take a different approach to basketball. They trade jump shots for backflips and layups for alley-oops in a showcase of athleticism and entertainment. While the Globetrotters take tours around the country and the world at different basketball arenas, the Wizards opt to work in fundraising for organizations and school systems by taking on teachers.
“Miss Kirby, who had seen the event before, thought it would be a good idea for seniors and she worked really hard to get the Wizards here in Malden and we’ve been able to get the entire city involved for such a fun night,” said senior class Advisor Jessica Webber. By collaborating with the entire public school community, the class of 2024 was able to pack the Finn Gym and generate important funds. “If the turnout is as strong as we expect it to be, costs for all of the end-of-year events like senior barbecue, caps and gowns, and prom tickets will be a lot lower,” commented Webber.
Malden High was well represented during the game by John Frigo, Caitlin Quinn, Dan Jurkowski, and Pamela MacDonald, as they were joined by staff members from Forestdale, Beebe, Salemwood, Linden, and even members of the Malden Fire and Police Departments
Mike Nicholson, a gym teacher at Beebe, spoke on how important it is for him to play in the game, representing the city he grew up in. “It means a lot as a kid from Malden to be able to show all the kids that we’re all here for them and to put on a show. We’re all here to play basketball, but the main draw is to connect to my community and give back to a city that gave me so much.”
“Basically, Shuyi (Chen) told me to play so whatever Shuyi wants, she’ll get from me,” said Jurkowski on his reason for suiting up against the Wizards. Jurkowski mentioned the uniqueness that the game against the Harlem Wizards possesses compared to more traditional fundraisers at Malden High, noting how “the fact that’s more than just teachers from the high school and we have teachers from all over the district, and even firefighters and police officers playing.”
Jurkowski kept his expectations for the game short and sweet: “I just hope I don’t get dunked on. Those guys are stupid athletic so if I see them coming down the lane, I’m making a business decision to get out of the way.”
Before the game started, the “Wiz Kids”, students who had purchased a certain ticket tier, got to participate in pregame warm-ups with the Wizards, including shoot-around and relay races on the court. With a tip-off at 5:00 pm, the energy started to swell as pregame introductions for Malden were backed by the song “Sirius” by The Alan Parsons Project, the same song used by the Chicago Bulls during their 1990s dynasty with Michael Jordan. While searching for someone to act as the referee for the game, Girls’ Basketball senior captain Victoria Gamon stepped up and donned the black and white stripes.
The starting five for the Wizards were Fresh Prince, King Arthur, Top Flight, Smooth, and fan favorite, Giant. As the game finally started, Christine Grillon came out of the gates on fire with a quick four points, four rebounds, and two assists as Malden looked to get the ball moving early. Fresh Prince and Top Flight would throw down some nasty dunks as the game was knotted up at 10 a piece. As they returned from the timeout, a fan in the stands had her purse taken by the Wizards, and King Arthur had her participate in a dance competition to get it back. As the woman went to open the box that contained her bag, out popped Giant as he then handed her back the purse.
Just before the first quarter concluded, it was not Jurkowski who was in the way, but Quincy Butter was the one to be caught in a poster by Fresh Prince as he elevated his way to the rim. With the first quarter coming to a close, the Wizards were leading 24-20.
The theatrics of the Wizards kicked up a notch during the second quarter with King Arthur having the ball stolen from him by Giant before hitting a half-court shot while sitting backward. The Wizards then broke out into a dance routine and Giant gave a fan sitting courtside a kiss on his head. After Nicholson nailed a quick five points with an array of jump shots, the Wizards lined up at half-court in a football-style formation as Smooth dropped a pass into the arms of Top Flight for an alley-oop.
In what was easily one of the funniest routines of the night, the entire Wizards team lifted Giant up to recreate the popular scene from Disney’s “The Lion King”, where Simba is raised up on the mountain, all with the song “The Circle of Life” playing in the background. The close of the first half had the Wizards now leading 40-35.
During halftime, the Wiz Kids had the opportunity to play a game of 4v4 full court and the crowd eagerly cheered them on as they hit each shot. Coming out of the break, Fresh Prince was on fire as he rained two three-pointers, but Butter and Frigo were not going to slow down as the pair started to build momentum with an intense defense that turned into layups at the other end. Their efforts looked to go uncapitalized as the Wizards started to run away with the game as their lead ballooned to seven by the end of the third quarter, marking the score 65-58.
DEAN
As the final quarter opened, Malden was able to get within two points off the Wizards as Jurkowski broke his cold streak and Rebecca Krigman took advantage of the holes left by the defense. The Wizards ended up putting the final nail in the coffin of Malden after going on a 10-0 run during the quarter which an off-the-bounce dunk by Top Flight punctuated.. At the game’s conclusion, the Wizards had triumphed with a final score of 93-78, and students from all ages were invited down to center court for a dance-along followed by a meet-and-greet with players.
Robert Young, known as Smooth for the Wizards, has had quite the journey for his professional basketball career and how he’s now working with the Wizards. “I was playing overseas in Germany after college and while I was working out at my old high school, a man named Eric ‘Broadway’ Jones came along and asked me to come and try out for the team and I’ve been here since 2013 now.” Young sees working with the Wizards as a way to “entertain people and raise money for great schools and programs: it means the world to me to have that be my job.”
Event coordinator Erika Macharia expressed how initially there was some uncertainty about the event that was shortly pacified as the day went on. “I didn’t know what to expect because none of us have ever planned to run something like this before and I was scared for what the fan turnout would look like. My nerves definitely calmed down after I saw the amount of people who had signed up for tickets before Sunday and as the day rolled around and more and more people started to trickle in, I was really excited to see how everything was going to play out.”
“I really wanted to get everyone together and get my students and even some of the kids I coach to have the opportunity to say ‘hey look at Ms. Krigman go!’ because it’s so much fun getting to represent your city this way,” Krigman shared on her motivation for playing in the game. Krigman finished with a team-high 13 points and four assists, while also snatching four rebounds and nabbing a steal.
The man named Giant, Jonte Hall, may not be large in stature, standing at 5’2”, but what he lacks in height he makes up for in spirit and heart. “Before I was with the Wizards, I was working with the Harlem Globetrotters for eight years. I had the opportunity to travel across the nation as well as 57 countries around the world, but after that, I felt my career as a basketball player was over. The Wizards gave me what feels like a second chance at life when my good friend Arthur Lewis (King Arthur), presented me with the opportunity to play again. Now I’m in my first year with the Wizards and I’m so blessed to have been put in this positionless would simply be an understatement. The crowd was encapsulated by the energy brought by the Wizards and the Malden players while raising thousands of dollars for the senior class which helped reduce cap and gown costs to only $15. Hopefully, this inspires future classes to create these city-wide fundraisers that strengthen community bonds.
Hall labels himself as a figure for kids who may be undersized or lacking self-confidence to look up to as a model to keep pursuing their dreams. “I hope that all the younger kids who may have low self-esteem or self-confidence look to me for inspiration. I want to give them that spark of hope and strength that they can believe in themselves no matter what they look like.”
To say that the event was a success would simply be an understatement. The crowd was encapsulated by the energy brought by the Wizards and the Malden players while raising thousands of dollars for the senior class which helped reduce cap and gown costs to only $15. Hopefully, this inspires future classes to create these city-wide fundraisers that strengthen community bonds.
