Wizards face celebs on Friday

Published 11:33 pm Saturday, April 25, 2009

If the Harlem Wizards are as talented as they say, who would want to play against them?

Well, how about a celebrity all-star team from Ironton and the Lawrence County area?

The famed Wizards will play at 7 p.m. Friday at Ironton High School’s Conley Sports Center. They have played in five continents and 22 countries including tours in China and Taiwan.

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The Wizards will be facing a team that includes Ironton’s all-time leading scorer and Northern Kentucky guard Dennis Gagai, former Ironton center and current assistant coach Kevin Hacker, Ironton mayor Rich Blankenship, attorney and assistant prosecutor Kevin Waldo, clerk of courts Mike Patterson, and former Rock Hill star and Western Southern life insurance salesman John Large.

Also scheduled to play for the celebrity team is Andrea Rudmann who led Ironton to a Final Four appearance in 2005 and signed with Shawnee State, Coal Grove basketball team’s Dane Haukendahl, WTCR disc jockey Judy Eaton, current Ironton students Tony Murphy and Michael Lamb, Ironton superintendent Dean Nance, Randy Drewyor of the Gus Macker tournaments and Gus Macker himself, Scott McNeal.

Tickets for the event are $6 in advance and $8 at the door. Tickets are available at Ironton High School and Bob Linn Sporting Goods.

There will be an autograph session with the Wizards after the game.

The Wizards are led by player-coach and former Globetrotter Eric “Broadway” Jones and the zany “Swoop” Simpson, a showman for the Globetrotters last year who is currently featured in NIKE Freestyle commercials.

Founded in 1962, the Wizards feature theatrics, tricks, and alley-oops as part of their show.

The event is sponsored by the Ironton City Schools and the Lawrence County Juvenile Court.