Globetrotters to entertain at TCC
It took a few seconds, but 42-year-old Wun (The Shot) Versher was eventually able to remember where he was during an interview with KTW last week.
“Where am I . . . I am in . . . somewhere in Massachusetts . . . Lowell, that’s where I am,” said Versher, a member of the Harlem Globetrotters for the last 18 years.
“Everything kind of jumbles together after a while.”
The Globetrotters will play 270 games on a North American tour that started on Dec. 26 and wraps up on April 21.
There are three Globetrotter teams out on the road, one of which will entertain a Kamloops crowd at the Tournament Capital Centre on Wednesday Feb. 13.
When the festivities get underway at 7 p.m., Versher, regarded as one of the best shooters in Globetrotter history, will be in Oregon.
Four years ago, he retired from playing and took over public-relations duties for the team. He is usually in a city a week before his high-flying teammates arrive.
With a wife and two children — a six-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter — life on the road can be tough on the Versher family.
“Sometimes, we’re on the road six to nine months of the year,” said Versher, who hails from Compton, L.A.
“You always want to get back to the kids.”
The Globetrotter gig, though, has provided the 6-foot-5 Arizona State University graduate with some incredible opportunities.
He has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Extra and Access Hollywood, and he was part of a group that visited the Vatican City in 2000 to name Pope John Paul II an honorary Globetrotter.
For Globetrotter players, the day-to-day grind can be tough physically and mentally, but the adrenaline rush provided by a big crowd has healing powers.
“As soon as you hit that floor and you hear the crowd cheering for you, everything that has happened before that game kind of melts away and you just want to give people a great show,” Versher said.
“The motivation really is the crowd. I don’t care what it is that’s been going on in your day, unless it’s death, it just goes away and you want to entertain.”
The transition from the court to media relations was seamless for Versher, who, after 18 years, knows the business inside and out.
“It was really cool for them to say we still need you and want to use you,” he said.
“I like this portion even more than actually performing. I’m actually out in communities across the U.S. and Canada and I’m up close and personal with kids and giving back personally, putting smiles on peoples faces.”
Versher might not be wowing crowds with trick shots or big jams anymore, but he is a valued member of the team and The Shot plans on being around for a while.
“I haven’t slowed down yet,” he said.
“I think I can go another 18 years now.”
Shine bright like a Dimond
The Globetrotters will be joined on the hardcourt by Michelle Dimond, a former member of the TRU WolfPack women’s basketball team.
“I don’t think we’ve had too many females participate in playing,” Versher said.
“I wish I was there to see that. She will likely play with the opposing team.
“We might make her look a little silly, but she’ll enjoy it.”
Tickets, priced at $28, are still available.
They can be purchased at the front desk at the TCC, at the ISC Box Office, on ticketweb.ca or by phone 1-888-222-6608.
On this tour, the You Write The Rules World Tour, fans will be able to have a say in the game’s final outcome by altering the rules.
This could be anything from playing with two basketballs at once, to getting double points for each basket made.
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