Slick" Willie Shaw, a nine year veteran who specializes in ball handling and the Globetrotter's unique "four-point shot," took a timeout to speak about his skills and the current tour.
Slick Willie Shaw of the Harlem Globetrotters
After 87 years, there is hardly person on the globe who hasn't at least heard of the Harlem Globetrotters.
But hearing about the flashy trick hoops team and seeing them are two different experiences. For those who have never witnessed the fun and talent the team brings, your chance is coming up at the MassMutual Center in Springfield on Feb. 22.
"Slick" Willie Shaw, a nine-year veteran who specializes in ball handling and the Globetrotter's unique "four-point shot," took a timeout to speak about his skills and the current tour.
You were a really good three-point shooter when you starred at St. John's College, but the three-point line in college is a lot closer than the Globetrotter's four-point line which is 35 feet out from the basket. How do you become proficient at something like that? It's obviously not something you would've practiced in college.
We play 300 games a year and so we are basically on the court seven days a week, so we have a lot of time to practice. So you get good at anything you do that much. But you're right, when you first start, it's not something that comes naturally. We're not used to shooting from that far out. So there's a little adjustment. But now we shoot them so much, it's like shooting a regular three-pointer.
You're currently doing a tour where the fans get to pick an odd rule to add to the game. What are the rules and which one is the most popular?
Yes, it's the first time in the history where fans get to make the rules. Whether it's playing with two basketballs at the same time, or making points are worth double–which means a two-point shot is worth four and a three-point shot is worth six–or adding the four-point shot, which is 35 feet from the basket. The most popular is either two basketballs or the four-point shot.
Speaking of handling two basketballs at once, you're famous for spinning two at once on either hand. That's not a skill that most people would need to develop because it's not used in the game. When you start developing it and how long did it take to do to it?
I was spinning a ball on my finger at an early age, but I didn't take it to a whole other level until I joined the Harlem Globetrotters. When I first started with them nine years ago, I was around all these veterans who had been there for 15 or 20 years, and I saw how exceptional their ballhandling skills were. I wanted to develop something that would get me an "ooh" or an "ahh" or standing ovation. So I've learned to spin a basketball and pass it around my body. And that became my niche. And then once I mastered one basketball, I learned to do the two basketballs. Next year, I'm probably going to take it to three basketballs.
Wait, how are you going to do that?
(Laughs) No, I'm just kidding.
You have two opponents that you beat soundly and regularly, The Elite and The Select. Do you ever get a chance talk to those guys?
No, those guys the enemy. We stay away from them. (Laughs.) No, I'm just kidding. They are a great group of guys. They come out each and every night and they're exceptional athletes. They can really shoot the basketball and jump out the gym as well. But we are the world famous Harlem Globetrotters. So we have to keep our winning streak alive.