Harlem Wizards dazzle sold-out crowd at Kennedy Middle School

By Bailey Scott
Waltham Times Contributing Writer

One, two, three, four, five, six lighting-fast passes in a row, and then a lob to the 6-foot-8 Tyler “Sky-Rise” Cronk, who dunks it over the head of a 5-foot-something middle school teacher.

The crowd goes wild. The other teachers on the opposing basketball team can only stand and watch as the dazzling sequence unfolds in front of them.

Scenes like that played out again and again as the Harlem Wizards put on a show last Friday for a fundraiser at John F. Kennedy Middle School in front of a sold-out crowd.

The Wizards faced off against the Waltham Hawkstars, a team of educators from across Waltham Public Schools.

The Wizards won by a score of 78-63.

The Wizards, a basketball team that travels around the country putting on shows and doing fundraising events for schools and nonprofits, played the Hawkstars as part of an event organized by the Kennedy Middle School PTO. This year marks the third year in a row and the sixth overall that the Wizards have come to Waltham.

The crowd of about 1,000 people was filled with parents and children – many sporting Wizards merchandise – who cheered raucously as the Wizards dunked and joked and made half-court trick shots all evening.

The Waltham Hawkstars, by contrast, spent the evening serving as a foil for the Wizards’ skill showcases and antics, a role they embraced wholeheartedly.

“I mean, we’re just a placeholder,” said Rob Howes, an assistant principal at MacArthur Elementary School who played for the Hawkstars. “It’s all about the Wizards, it’s all about the kids, but yeah, it’s so much fun.”  

Howes, who has played on the team for the past three years, said this event is the only time he ever plays basketball. 

“It’s great – it brings in great money for our PTO as well as providing great entertainment for the kids,” he said. “It’s so much fun. I look forward to signing up every year.”

$20,000 raised to enhance school programs

The teachers are recruited via email, with the sign-ups open to any teacher or educator who wants to play. Chad Mazza, an assistant superintendent, served as the team’s coach this year.

“We have a good portion of the players play every year, because those are the folks that seem to enjoy it,” said Jen Priore, head of the Kennedy Middle School PTO. 

The event is run by volunteers from every school in the district, with each school receiving a portion of the proceeds from ticket sales.

The Kennedy Middle School PTO raised just under $20,000 after making payments to the Wizards and to the other PTOs in the district, Priore said.

Priore said the money will fund various activities at the school – such as Teacher Appreciation Day – and help pay for buses for field trips. The money also helps pay for equipment for the school’s volleyball and ultimate Frisbee teams.

“When I started in the PTO four years ago, we had maybe $5,000 in the bank, and now we have $50,000 or so after expenses and these [basketball games],” she said. “It helps to have a little bit of a cushion so that the school can fund those activities for students.”

Mark Vanetten, a parent and ER nurse whose children attend Waltham Public Schools, said he and his family had come to the games both last year and the year before.

“It’s something for everybody to do to get out at night,” he said. “Everybody socializes, and the kids hang out and get to see each other.”

Other parents agreed with this sentiment.

“It’s just a great event for the community, it’s a fundraiser, and the kids get to come and have fun with their friends,” said Wendell Jean, a parent and nurse attending the game. 

The Wizards signed autographs and played games with the kids throughout the evening, including a relay race before the game started and a version of musical chairs at halftime that required the kids to make a shot before being able to sit in the chairs.

Devin Curry, known on the Wizards by the nickname “Livewire,” said he has always enjoyed entertaining the crowds. 

“I love big crowds,” Curry said. “They’re energized. They get it pumped up.”

Curry, who has been a member of the Harlem Wizards for 12 years, also talked about how these events expose kids to professional basketball, some for the first time.

“Some of these kids, they’ve never seen a professional basketball player before, live, so it’s always a good time to come out and showcase,” he said.

This story is part of a partnership between the Waltham Times and the Boston University Department of Journalism.