PORT JEFFERSON STATION – The high-flying and show-stopping Harlem Wizards are making their rounds in Suffolk County again this basketball season. Along with dazzling basketball, they also serve comedy and a really fun evening for students. Their most recent stop was in the Comsewogue School District this past Friday evening, where they took on teachers and staff in some five-on-five hoops.
This event is extra special for the students of Comsewogue. It is a yearly tradition and a night out for children, youth, and their families to gather. Further, the event serves as a fundraiser to benefit the Parent Teacher Association and, ultimately, their students.
The Wizards are really fun to watch. They combine quick ball-handling, trick passing, and alley-oop dunks that are right from the famous basketball courts of New York City. They are experts at not only engaging the children in the audience but also including the teachers and staff playing against them. This annual night brought out several hundred excited students. It’s also a night that the Comsewogue community really looks forward to.
The Harlem Wizards basketball team was founded in the early sixties. Their vision was to use basketball as an avenue to display athleticism and positivity, be role models, and help local school districts raise money for their students. For the past several decades, they have been traveling the country and using basketball to help give back while also having fun.
Supervisor Dan Panico (R-Center Moriches) was invited by Sheila Ballato to participate and play with Comsewogue against the Wizards. He expressed a public thank-you on social media, saying, “I’m always happy to help our local school communities, and those parents who live in Comsewogue should know that they have absolutely awesome and spirited faculty and staff members.”
