Harlem Globetrotters set to perform in Cape

Harlem Globetrotter Wun "The Shot" Versher loves to bring joy where he performs and likes to interact with children.

"I like to see people happy and having fun, especially today with economic problems and people losing jobs and those things that are going on," Versher said.

The Harlem Globetrotters will perform at 7 p.m. March 24 at the Show Me Center.

Versher started his career at the Harlem Globetrotters in 1994.

"My family was all basketball, my uncle, aunts, mother, father, grandfather, everybody played basketball, so I started at a very young age ... when I probably was about 7," Versher said.

With his 15 years of experience, he cannot remember his funniest experience with the Globetrotters.

"There are tons of funny things," he said. "I don't think I can actually explain them, there are countless numbers."

The most exciting experience Versher ever had with the Globetrotters was meeting anti-apartheid activist and former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela.

"We went to the [former] president's palace, he invited us and we came out and had a chance to shake his hand and talk to him for a little bit," said Versher, who grew up and still lives in Los Angeles. He said he also met Pope John Paul II in Rome.

The Harlem Globetrotters tour in the U.S. as well as in Europe, China and Australia nine months a year, with seven days of performance a week and more than 400 games a year. During the tour, Versher said, the team feels like a fraternity where everybody is close and looking out for one another.

"[To be on tour] is very intense, and if you take a day off, you can feel it and you realize that you are not as fit as the other players, because you know that you've taken the day off and your body is kind of relaxed," he said.

Within a typical day of a Globetrotter on tour, Versher said it is important to get breakfast. After that, the team takes off to the next city with a bus and checks into the hotel.

The Harlem Globetrotter advises children to be willing to work hard if they want to become professional basketball players or a part of the Globetrotters.

"I mean, you can dream as high as your imagination goes, but you have to be willing to work hard at it, no matter what it is. Nothing is going to fall into your lap," he said. "So be prepared to work extremely hard."

He said that to being a Harlem Globetrotter takes more than just being a great basketball player.

"The Globetrotters expect you to be a great person, to have great morals, to have sort of a character about yourself ... as well as someone who can add some flair to the show."

Tickets are available at the box office 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and by calling 651-5000.