Local Hoops --Harlem Wizards pay entertaining visit to Princeton High

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on January 12, 2018 5:53 AM

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PRINCETON -- The Harlem Wizards, a traveling basketball highlight reel that plays artfully either above the rim or to a teeming audience, staged a winning performance on Thursday night before a capacity crowd at Deacon Jones Gymnasium on the campus of Princeton High School.

Equal parts non-stop techno gathering and hoops symphony, the event served as a baseline-to-baseline fundraiser for the town's elementary, middle and high schools.

And yes, it was lively.

From the outset, Princeton's All-Star team -- comprised of parents, teachers and civic-minded volunteers -- was the subject of the Wizards' running, funning, good-timing approach to hoops.

Time and again, team members King Arthur Lewis, Jr., Rob "Smooth" Young, TJ "Tomahawk" Stukes, Jordan "Hang-Time" Hoose, Jimmy "Live Action" Bosque and Lamarvon "Showtime" Jackson thrilled the patrons with heavy doses of slick ball-handling, blinding three-man weaves, deft shooting from distance and well-timed alley-oops.

There were also door prizes galore, given away courtesy of a $1 raffle that included official Harlem Wizards gear and an autographed team ball.

"The proceeds will get split between schools," PHS assistant principal Steve Strickland said of the agenda. "And we have part of Four Oaks here... The idea is that it's (the proceeds) going to help (teachers) with those things they need in the classroom."

And if Thursday's packed house was any indication, supplies of any measure won't be very difficult  to find in Princeton next fall.