Game Raises Money For Relief Effort
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
WINONA LAKE - On a night when Steve Hollar wore a pair of vintage basketball shoes, old-school hoops took a back seat to high-flying dunks, comedy routines and crowd participation.
And while the scoreboard showed one team 32 points better than the other, everyone one involved turned out to be the winner.
The Harlem Ambassadors, a show-basketball team similar to the Harlem Globetrotters, were in action Wednesday evening at Grace College's Lancer Gymnasium.
The Harlem Ambassadors, who are led by the Queen of Show Basketball, Lade Majic, waived all appearance fees and all proceeds from the show will be donated directly to hurricane relief efforts in the Gulf region.
After the game, a contest in which the Harlem Ambassadors beat the Indiana "Legends of the Hardwood" 77-45, first-year Grace College Athletic Director Roger Newton said approximatley $2,500 were raised.
"We were hoping we'd come close to filling the gym," said Newton. "We were pretty close tonight. We're pretty pleased."
Newton said Grace College got an e-mail from the Harlem Ambassadors, saying the show-basketball team would be traveling through the area and was looking to get in contact with some colleges.
Grace College, at the same time, was looking for a way to help out and donate to the hurricane relief effort.
Newton said things just fell into place.
"We were looking for a way to help out with the relief effort, and they were gracious enough to waive all appearance fees," said Newton. "And when you look at this area's love for basketball, it was just a good fit."
The Harlem Ambassadors brought six team members, led by Lade Majic, a coach/player who is the main attraction throughout the performance.
While her basketball skills alone are impressive (she starred collegiately for the Missouri Tigers and has been invited to WNBA camp by the New York Liberty), she entertains the crowd with humorous pranks.
At one point in the show she tackled and pinned Warsaw boys basketball coach Doug Ogle and came out wearing a championship belt.
Prior to the start of the game, she danced at center court with Bryon Weinstein.
And while her teammates - B.J. Patman, Will Weakley, Lydale Waller, Jamar Stokes and Dwight Nash - get in on the comedy routine, they spent the evening wowing the crowd with blocked shots and high-flying dunks.
"I enjoyed Lade Majic, she was very entertaining," said Ogle, who was among 16 "local legends," many of whom played for Warsaw Community High School or Grace College, that played against the Harlem Ambassadors. "There were a lot of good basketball players out there. This was a great cause. When you sit and watch TV and see what happened (in the Gulf region), it's devastating. This was just a small way for us to help out."
Joining Ogle and Hollar on the Indiana Legends of the Hardwood team were Brian Elliott, Jon Yeh, Jolie (Eckhardt) Miller, David Wayne, James Joiner Angie (Johnson) Anthony, Ron Brandenberg, Joe Graham, Dan Pacheco, Rob Irwin, Dale Miller, Tim Bailey, Jeff Grose and Scott Blum. [[In-content Ad]]
WINONA LAKE - On a night when Steve Hollar wore a pair of vintage basketball shoes, old-school hoops took a back seat to high-flying dunks, comedy routines and crowd participation.
And while the scoreboard showed one team 32 points better than the other, everyone one involved turned out to be the winner.
The Harlem Ambassadors, a show-basketball team similar to the Harlem Globetrotters, were in action Wednesday evening at Grace College's Lancer Gymnasium.
The Harlem Ambassadors, who are led by the Queen of Show Basketball, Lade Majic, waived all appearance fees and all proceeds from the show will be donated directly to hurricane relief efforts in the Gulf region.
After the game, a contest in which the Harlem Ambassadors beat the Indiana "Legends of the Hardwood" 77-45, first-year Grace College Athletic Director Roger Newton said approximatley $2,500 were raised.
"We were hoping we'd come close to filling the gym," said Newton. "We were pretty close tonight. We're pretty pleased."
Newton said Grace College got an e-mail from the Harlem Ambassadors, saying the show-basketball team would be traveling through the area and was looking to get in contact with some colleges.
Grace College, at the same time, was looking for a way to help out and donate to the hurricane relief effort.
Newton said things just fell into place.
"We were looking for a way to help out with the relief effort, and they were gracious enough to waive all appearance fees," said Newton. "And when you look at this area's love for basketball, it was just a good fit."
The Harlem Ambassadors brought six team members, led by Lade Majic, a coach/player who is the main attraction throughout the performance.
While her basketball skills alone are impressive (she starred collegiately for the Missouri Tigers and has been invited to WNBA camp by the New York Liberty), she entertains the crowd with humorous pranks.
At one point in the show she tackled and pinned Warsaw boys basketball coach Doug Ogle and came out wearing a championship belt.
Prior to the start of the game, she danced at center court with Bryon Weinstein.
And while her teammates - B.J. Patman, Will Weakley, Lydale Waller, Jamar Stokes and Dwight Nash - get in on the comedy routine, they spent the evening wowing the crowd with blocked shots and high-flying dunks.
"I enjoyed Lade Majic, she was very entertaining," said Ogle, who was among 16 "local legends," many of whom played for Warsaw Community High School or Grace College, that played against the Harlem Ambassadors. "There were a lot of good basketball players out there. This was a great cause. When you sit and watch TV and see what happened (in the Gulf region), it's devastating. This was just a small way for us to help out."
Joining Ogle and Hollar on the Indiana Legends of the Hardwood team were Brian Elliott, Jon Yeh, Jolie (Eckhardt) Miller, David Wayne, James Joiner Angie (Johnson) Anthony, Ron Brandenberg, Joe Graham, Dan Pacheco, Rob Irwin, Dale Miller, Tim Bailey, Jeff Grose and Scott Blum. [[In-content Ad]]