Bryant Nash shook a lot of hands and signed a batch of autographs during the Harlem Globetrotters’ just-completed 21-day Holiday Military Tour of the Middle East. Mingling with the U.S. troops before and after games proved a humbling experience for Nash, a former Kansas University forward in his first season as a member of the Clown Princes of Basketball.
“I heard comments like, ‘We’re so glad you are here. Thanks for bringing a part of home here,’” Nash said. “I’d say to them, ‘No, thank you for all you are doing, fighting for our freedom.’ I would congratulate them, encourage them in any way I could,” added Nash, a 2004 KU graduate, who survived a tryout camp and signed a one-year deal with the Trotters, terms undisclosed, last August.
The team’s minimum salary is $50,000, with travel one of the definite side benefits. “I never thought in a million years I’d get to do something like that in my life,” said the Carrollton, Texas, native. “To get to meet all those troops and people ... it was crazy.”
The Globetrotters played games against their nemesis — the New York Nationals — and conducted several “meet and greets” with U.S. troops at three bases in Kuwait and three stops in Iraq, including Camp Sykes in Tal Afar, Camp Warrior in Kirkuk and Camp Liberty in Baghdad. While in Baghdad, the Globetrotters toured Al Faw Palace, one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces.
The Trotters also played at military installations in Bahrain, Qatar, Djibouti, and a game aboard the U.S.S. Eisenhower, a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. Yes, Nash can now say he’s played basketball on a boat. “A few people on our team got motion sickness,” the 6-foot-6, 210-pound Nash said. “Standing on the free-throw line, I could see the boat leaning. I was on the lower end of the boat shooting and I could feel it moving. It was a different experience.”
Of course, most of the time was spent on dry ground. “It’s a lot different than the U.S. I could definitely say that,” Nash said. “It was totally flat, no hills at all. The geography is definitely flat. It was more about the people than the place. They all seemed like they were in good spirits for the holidays.”
Nash says he’s mentally prepared for the start of the Trotters’ 2007 “Nothing Like It” North American Tour, which begins today in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and will take Nash to Kansas City’s Kemper Arena for games Jan. 4 and 5. The Trotters will play in 193 cities across the U.S. and Canada the next several months.
“I like to travel, so I could see doing this for a while,” said Nash, who during his KU career made trips to Hawaii, New York, Nevada, California, Oregon, Louisiana, Arizona and North Dakota, as well as neighboring states.
He credits KU staff member Danny Manning for making it all possible. “Danny called me about a camp in Vegas,” Nash explained of a camp Nash worked last summer. “Before I left Vegas, I met a guy who told me he was an old coach for the Globetrotters.
“He had the coach of the Globetrotters call me and invite me to tryouts in Edwardsville (Ill.) I went up there last August and got to play three games. I played really bad the first two games. I was passive. Most people go there trying to make the team. I was trying to win the games.” Fearing he’d be cut, Nash, who played sparingly during his four-year KU career, turned it on in the third game.
“I was playing with some guys who had already signed. I was ready to get cut, then all of a sudden I couldn’t miss a shot. I must have scored 30 points. After that they moved me up and offered me a chance to sign.”
Of course, toiling for the Trotters isn’t all about actual basketball. There are ball handling, passing and comedy routines, including some timeless classics like players pretending to throw buckets of water on fans — bits of paper instead littering the seats and spectators. “Everybody has to do at least a little bit,” Nash said. “It’s pretty fun to tell you the truth. I kind of like the different type of passing drills we have.”
This marks the second straight year a Jayhawk has played for the Trotters. Michael Lee was a member of the team last season, this year electing to work out with buddy Aaron Miles’ pro team in Pau, France. “I am happy. I love working with my teammates,” Nash said. “It’s a different experience to play some ball and then again get the crowd into it. To see kids smile and laugh makes it all worthwhile.”