Those Amazing Harlem Globetrotters

Factual Questions
1

So, I’m chilling on the couch, and an ad comes on telling me that the world famous Harlem Globetrotters are coming to my town soon.

Then they showed some generic shots of the Globetrotters doing their various tricks.

One of those tricks was a half-court “potty shot” done with the shooter’s back to the basket.

Now, this isn’t a question about how they do that. That’s a matter of some talent and a hell of a lot of practice, I assume.

What I’m wondering is what they do in the show when they miss. No matter how good they are, they’ll miss that shot occasionally.

So…what then?

-Joe

2

Give the Globetrotters three points.

3

I saw them years ago when I was a wee Quack and I remember them missing and just playing along. The fans weren’t expecting 100% accuracy and the team wasn’t aghast when the shot didn’t fall. They went back to it later, but it wasn’t a big deal when they missed.

4

How come they never do those kinds of tricks in normal games? are they illegal moves or what?

5

I’d imagine they’re not terribly practical.

6

I went & saw them when they came to my town in February. During the pregame warmup, three 'trotters took shots from half-court about 20 times total - missed 'em all. There were a few attempts during the game, and none of those were made, either.

So I suspect it happens. :smiley:

7

I imagine the refs object to being pantsed as much as the Globetrotters do it to their refs.

Often lost in all the hijinks is that they play a pretty mean game of basketball when they stop screwing around. I went to a game where the Generals (who disbanded, if I remember right) actually were ahead (horror!). The Globetrotters quit screwing around and put on quite an exhibition of good, solid b-ball, until they got the lead again.

8

The Globetrotters are first-class basketball players, including some NBA veterans.
These days, they play the exhibitions for fun, but they also go against top college teams and dominate them. I saw them play Syracuse (the defending national champion at the time, and still ranked in the top 25) earlier this year, and it was no contest. The Orangemen never came within 10 points of the Trotters, and you’d see the Trotters just toss the ball downcourt to no one and expect their teammates to reach it (and they did). When Syracuse closed to within 12, the Trotters would just turn it on and leave them in their dust.

In the exhibitions, the point is to be entertaining, so the rules are not seriously enforced. If they miss that long shot, they have a line ready to cover for it.