Trotting out the good guys

Want to join the renowned Harlem Globetrotters basketball team?

Start by being a good person.

The team, which turns 86 this year, has thrilled the world with ball-handling wizardry and basketball artistry since its inception.

Fans around the world have tried to emulate the team's dazzling skills.

Still, the first step to joining the franchise is trying to be a great person.

"Being a Harlem Globetrotter, it is more than just playing basketball," chief executive officer Kurt Schneider said during the launch of the team's youth clinics in Beijing on Monday.

"It's about being three things: A great person, a hoop player and an entertainer. We hope to find somebody with all three things in China. The Harlem Globetrotters have historically been very diverse, and signing the team's first-ever Chinese player has been a long-standing goal."

Players hailing from nearly 20 different countries and regions have been on the roster over the years.

The youth clinics, stressing basketball fundamentals, will take place at seven schools, including the elementary school affiliated with the Capital Normal University and the Western Academy of Beijing, from Monday to Thursday.

Debuting their Chinese clinics on campus, the Globetrotters hope to promote sports and education.

"Sports should be part of overall education, which will educate the whole person and the whole body," said Schneider. "It's not only about the schoolwork. We can commit to it in schools and show that it can be fun when you get outside"

Handles Franklin, the Harlem guard who appeared at the launch to instruct a group of students on passing skills, echoed that sentiment.

"He taught me that education was very important. He wouldn't let me play when my grades were poor, and that lesson changed my thought process," Franklin said of his high school coach, Bill Gaffey.

To further expand their reach in China, the Globetrotters have opened an office in Beijing and will stage up to 18 exhibition games in the country this summer from July 5-19.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn