Harlem Wizards to face off against Cranbury school teachers and community leaders on Sunday.
By: Josh Appelbaum
After being thwarted by a January blizzard, the Harlem Wizards are again scheduled to bring their special brand of show-style basketball, with trick-hoops, acrobatic slam-dunks and unique personalities, to Cranbury.
Sponsored by the Cranbury School Parent Teacher Organization, the sold-out game is set for a 7 p.m. tip-off Sunday at the Cranbury School gym. The game had to be rescheduled after a blizzard forced its cancellation Jan. 23, and the PTO decided it wasn’t safe for people to travel to the school, according to Angie Cook, the PTO’s family night coordinator.
The Wizards will face off against a roster of school teachers and community leaders.
Although the Wizards have not lost a game in over 10 years their last came in a one-point defeat by the Zhalgiris Kaunas of Lithuania, a European Cup championship runner-up team, in 1990 Cranbury School teachers and community leaders will give it their best shot against the 42-year-old basketball institution.
Ms. Cook said the Wizards organization was cooperative in scheduling the makeup game.
"They were sympathetic to the situation and to the weather," Ms. Cook said. "We knew this definitely wasn’t going to happen, so we wanted make sure to reschedule as soon as possible, and they had Feb. 13 available."
While the Harlem Wizards play in the style originated by the Globetrotters’, the team mostly sponsors events as fund-raisers for nonprofit organizations and educational institutions.
Proceeds from ticket sales ($5 for children and $10 for adults), will go to the PTO, but Ms. Cook said the event is really meant to bring families together at an enjoyable event.
The school’s Student Council will run a tsunami relief fund-raiser prior to the game, and will sell sandwiches for $6 each, $4 of which will go to aid efforts. The remaining $2 will go to Hannah & Mason’s on Main Street to cover the cost of sandwich fixings.
For more information on the Harlem Wizards, visit their Web site at harlemwizards.com.

