The world-famous basketball show-team the Harlem Wizards transformed the Southwestern Oregon Community College gym into New York’s Rucker Park on Monday night as the Wizards took on an all-star team made up of Southwestern students.

The court was home to alley-oops and trick dunks, as well as various other fancy ball handling in a night where fun and entertainment were more important than scoring points and winning.

Established in 1962, the Wizards are touted as one of the greatest basketball show teams (a basketball team that plays games with the main focus on entertaining a crowd).

The team is booked for a variety of events, such as corporate gatherings, celebrations, camps and clinics, tours, and games at high schools and colleges, like the event held at Southwestern. Many of the Wizards’ events see proceeds go to charity, with Monday’s game helping a canned food drive. The price to get into the game was one can of food per person.

“We did it for all those hungry people of the world,” said traveling Wizard emcee, Jamiel Thompson.

No matter what type of event, the Wizards need a team to play. These teams are usually made up of students, faculty, company employees, parents or other affiliates of the hosting organization.

Because the Wizards face a fresh team every show, each game is a little different. This leaves the teams open to improvisation, which the Wizards have mastered.

“We didn’t have no practice, we’re just kind of winging it,” said Southwestern player Matt Dance, a student at the college as well as a starting post on the Laker basketball team.

Joining Dance on the special Southwestern team were students Justin Hollingshead, Karlton Grant, Bobby Watkins, Christiaan Dickens, John Sutten, Jason Troxel, Emmanuel Olekaibe, Roland Watts, Bryan Kraynik and Chris Ragland.

While the Lakers did their best to put on a show, they were simply outdone by the “trick hoopz and alley oops” show put on by the Wizards.

With some help from Thompson, also known as “The Voice,” the packed gymnasium was amped to see some trick hoops. The Wizards dropped the jaws of spectators almost as soon as they stepped out on the court.

With The Voice’s words yelling out over blaring hip-hop music, Eric “Broadway” Jones, Arnold “A-Train” Bernard, Rashaan “Rocket” Barner, David “DP” Paul, Jermaine “Man-i-ac” Wright and Anthony Richardson walked out on the court. After a few laughs, the ball was tossed in the mix and the clinic had begun, with the ball bouncing through legs, off backs, heads and even rear-ends. Then came the dunks, which brought the audience to its feet before the game even started. With feats such as alley-oops from Bernard to Wright and between-the-leg dunks from Barner, the prospect of the excitement to come seemed promising.

After a humorous introduction, the two teams were ready for the tip. This is where “Broadway” Jones began to take the role of ringleader, starting with amusing altercations with the crowd, the other team, even referee Tom Bennett. Jones was out to make people laugh; even if it meant making the game as confusing as could be.

With the game finally under way, it was no more than three seconds before “Man-i-ac” Wright was soaring through the air and slamming the ball through the hoop.

After a few flashy plays from the Wizards, the Lakers finally were able to get on the scoreboard.

The Wizards began to build a lead that was never in danger until the second half.

“We got close to them at the end but then they pulled away,” said Olekaibe. “We let them get too many lay-ups. This was my last game here [Southwestern] and it went good.”

Olekaibe, Grant, Ragland and Watkins fit right in with the show-team as they danced up and down the court while throwing down some impressive moves.

Also showing some street skills was Roland Watts with his amazing long range shots. Dubbed MVP by “The Voice” Thompson, Watts made several consecutive 3-pointers from over three feet outside the arc.

“It was great being here for the kids,” said Watts.

Entertainment for the younger audience seemed to be a definite effort for the night, with the highlight said to be a halftime show featuring Jones and numerous select youth audience members. Adults and children alike seemed enthralled by Jones’ antics.

“It was fun at halftime, but it was kind of hard,” said Drake Chisolm, an 11-year-old halftime show participant.

Jones was aided in entertainment most notably by Thompson and “A-Train” Bernard. While Bernard would be in the stands kissing a lady on the cheek, Thompson would be yelling out crazy nicknames such as “Big Daddy” for Dance, “Shorty Doo-Wap” for Watkins, “Stick” for Ragland and “Wyclef Jones” for Olekaibe.

“He was good — real creative with the nicknames,” said Ragland.

Thompson said that it was his third visit to Coos Bay, and expressed how much he looked forward to visiting the town each year.

“On the way here I just looked around and wanted to dive in the lake, go hunting, chase some bears, I love Coos Bay,” said Thompson.

The general consensus was that Coos Bay loved the Wizards back, as most fans left with a smile on their face.

Jones puts smiles as a top priority for his performances.

“We had like 52 games in 57 days. The travel, hotels, flights, that’s the hard part. The easy part is the game,” said Jones, “when the lights come on, that’s fun.”

For more information on the Harlem Wizards, those interested can visit www.harlemwizards.com.