Globetrotters world tour coming to Cedar Rapids

Trick shots and the Harlem Globetrotters go together like peanut butter and jelly.

But “Zeus,” aka Julian McClurkin, who nails the half-court Granny, an underhanded shot from mid-court, is a magician on and off the court. McClurkin recently made a ridiculous shot while on a zip line at the Mall of America in Minneapolis.

“I drained it,” McClurkin said. “I want to make the highest shot ever. I took a crazier shot from the roller coaster in Mall of America. The tough shots are what I’m all about.”

Like the iconic Michael Jordan, McClurkin failed to make his high school basketball team as a freshman.

“I didn’t make the team as a sophomore either,” McClurkin said. “The honest truth is that basketball wasn’t a sport that came naturally for me. I didn’t make my first basketball team until I was in the 11th grade. Forget about trick shots. When I was starting out, I tried to just make any shot. But I put the work in and played pretty well my last two years in high school.”

The modest hooper reached another level at North Carolina AT&T State University.

“I started developing my skill set during my college years,” he said. “I was fortunate that UNC AT&T took a chance on me. But when you're my size (6’8”) you might get a couple of looks and a chance to develop.“

When McClurkin joined the Globetrotters 13 years ago, the joke was that all he could do was smile and dunk. His dunking ability is legendary. He holds the Guinness World Record for most dunks in a minute, with 16.

“That’s pretty cool,” he said. “I enjoy dunking, but I pushed myself with this legendary team. It’s about making the shots and having fun.”

Every night the fans have certain expectations, one of which is that the team that once featured the iconic Meadowlark Lemon and Curly Neal and arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, Wilt Chamberlain, wins every night.

“We’re under some pressure every time we take the court, since the Globetrotters haven’t lost a game since 1971,” McClurkin said. “We do what we can to win and we try to do it with style. When you mention names like Meadowlark and Wilt — man, we’re standing on the shoulders of giants, so we have to play well.”

In Cedar Rapids

But the Globetrotters, who will face the Washington Generals on Jan. 4 at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, are more than about basketball. The team is about connecting and entertaining fans.

“We take the fun very seriously,” McClurkin said. “I love working the crowd. That’s more fun than I ever imagined. People come out to our games to have a good time, and we do the same. This is awesome.

“The Globetrotters pay me to be the person that I am. I do my best out there, but if I miss a trick shot, I just take another one. We play 320 days a year. I work on what I do and good things happen.”

McClurkin has been at Globetrotter camp in Georgia for a week.

“It’s what we do every year to get ready for our season,” he said. “I get to meet new players and do my favorite thing, which is work on trick shots.

“We’re getting it together now and we’ll be where we need to be by the time we get to Iowa. The fans there are in for a treat since the Globetrotters have to play up to a standard. That’s so with the game of basketball and with fun.”