Few players have as much fun playing basketball as the Harlem Globetrotters. They also make sure the fans join in that fun.
Herb “Moo Moo” Evans, in his fifth season with the Globetrotters, said during a phone interview Friday that fans can count on being entertained.
“First and foremost expect the unexpected,” Evans said. “We have the high-flying dunks, dribblers sliding and dribbling. Fans will have a lot of fun. They might not even like basketball, but when they see us they will love us.”
The Globetrotters bring their Magical Memories World Tour to Kent at 7 p.m. Friday at the ShoWare Center. The Globetrotters sold out the arena last year.
The team mixes basketball, comedy and theater and includes a lot of fan interaction. Players will stay around to sign autographs after the performance.
Evans, 27, fell in love with the humor of the Globetrotters when he saw them with his father at about age 10 or 11 in his hometown of Memphis, Tenn.
“I saw all of their crazy moves and it was one of my best experiences seeing the funny side of basketball,” Evans said.
Now Evans, who wears No. 7, is part of that fun whether it’s dumping buckets of water or confetti, shooting half-court shots or many of the other antics that has made the team so popular.
“I’ve got to do everything,” Evans said. “But I’m known for my dunking. That’s why they brought me in.”
The 6-foot-3 Evans played at Troy University in Alabama and helped the Trojans earn their first NCAA tournament appearance in 2003. Evans graduated with a degree in business information systems and started to attend graduate school when a friend told him that the Globetrotters were holding a tryout in Memphis for new players.
Two weeks later, Evans played his first game with the Globetrotters.
“I took a break from grad school and I’ve been breaking ever sense,” he said.
Each player on the Globetrotters must have a nickname. Most players receive theirs after joining the team. But Evans actually got his nickname from an aunt who used to watch him as a kid because he would drink so much milk whenever he stayed with her. The aunt would tell the mother of Evans that she should buy a “moo moo cow.”
Other players to watch Friday include Flight Time Lang, Big Easy Lofton, Bull Bullard, Hi Rise Brown and Firefly Fisher.
Fans will notice that the team is using a camouflage basketball, specially designed by Spalding, to honor the sacrifices made by the men and women of the U.S. military.
Evans has traveled with the team to Italy, France, Sweden, Romania, Bosnia, Thailand, Israel and other countries.
The Globetrotters are in their 84th season. The team splits into two squads to cover 269 shows in 44 states, five Canadian provinces and Puerto Rico from December through May. They leave in the summer for an international tour that starts in South America.
The Globetrotters will play the Washington Generals, a traveling team of former college players who seldom win. They also perform Feb. 20 at Comcast Arena in Everett and Feb. 21 at KeyArena in Seattle.
“Just come out and have some fun with us,” Evans said. “Don’t worry about the score, just be part of the famous Globetrotters.”
For more information, go to www.harlemglobetrotters.com.
If you go
What: Harlem Globetrotters
When: 7 p.m. Feb. 19
Where: ShoWare Center
Cost: $74, $51, $30 and $23
Tickets: www.showarecenter.com or 253-856-6999
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