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Harlem Ambassadors Impress Shakopee Crowd

It was a night of high-flying slam-dunks and comedy as the Harlem Ambassadors played a local team in a game of basketball where proceeds went to charity.

Inside Shakopee High School, the bleachers in the gym filled up fast as the Harlem Ambassadors took the court. This professional basketball team brings a family-friendly game to towns all over the U.S. With slam-dunks and fancy dribbling, the team showed the audience a good time for a good cause.

“All of us are here tonight because we love basketball and we love to give back,” Coach and player Lade Majic said. 

Thursday night the Harlem Ambassadors took on the Shako Dunkers, a team of local residents assembled by the Rotary Club. Within the first three minutes of the game fans were wowed when Lade Majic ran the length of the court for a layup, which was followed shortly by an impressive slam-dunk by the power forward Harold Williams.

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The game was filled with basketballs stunts that kept kids like Megan Hechanova laughing throughout the show. “I like the big jumps,” the seven year old said.  “But I’m rooting for the Shako Dunkers because they live here.”

She was just one of dozens of kids in attendance with their parents. “It’s quite an impressive show,” Megan’s dad Wayne Hechanova said.

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“We have extensive training camps to learn how to work together and how to perfect our tricks,” Lade Majic said. “We joked that everyday was Monday at camp because we worked just about all day everyday so we can perform at a high quality for every audience.”

Aside from mad basketball skills, every player on the team has a degree and played basketball at the college level. 

“We pride ourselves on being positive role models for kids,” Lade Majic said. “We are drug-free, educated and fun and that’s an image every student needs to see.”

This wholesome team has 250 games scheduled. For each game they partner with a community organization looking to host a unique fundraiser, like the Shakopee Rotary Club.  Any profit made from the game will be put right back into educational programs for the school.

“Since this is the first year we’ve done this, we’re not sure what to expect,” Rotary member and organizer Harold Armstrong said. “Whether we make a profit or not doesn’t really matter as long as we provide a fun night for the community because that in itself is giving back.”

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