Paramus Camp Teaches More Than Just Basketball

For several weeks, a group of Bergen County kids have spent their summer days learning how to dribble, pass, and shoot from the Harlem Wizards, a comedic "tricks, hoops, and alley-oops" team known for their sense of humor and fundraising events for the past 50 years.

Inside a modest gymnasium at Bergen Regional Medical Center in Paramus, boys and girls, 5-15, were performing drills to high energy music while learning the basic fundamentals of basketball. Many of the kids know their coaches from fundraising events in their own communities. 

"Schools and organizations hire us for their fundraisers, bring us into their high schools, and form their own teams," said Micah Tucker, Harlem Wizards merchandise manager. "We'll play against teachers, students, alumni, coaches, police and firemen. It's a different opponent every night."

While many of the Harlem Wizards coaches at the Paramus camp such as Eric “Broadway” Jones, David "DP" Paul, and Dwayne “Swoop” Simpson are in their 20's, 30's, and 40's, long time coach Claude "ToJo" Henderson, 65, first started with the Wizards in 1967, and is still living the dream.

At 18, he left home to become a professional basketball player and joined the Harlem Diplomats. From Canada they traveled the world and played against legendary players such as Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Rick Barry, and Kareem Abdul Jabar. They also played against the Harlem Globe Trotters. 

In 1967, he had an opportunity to try out for the New Jersey Americans team, which was part of the former American Basketball Association. When he didn't make the cut, he joined the Harlem Wizards.

"We played a lot of competitive basketball against independent teams in Albany, Utica, and the Capital Bullets, a farm team for the Boston Celtics coached by K.C. Jones," said Henderson. "Then later we did more of the comedic, fundraiser type games."  

Henderson believes the Harlem Wizards have thrived in a weak economy because they bring entertainment with a cause to the community. 

"If you go to the Meadowlands or the [Madison Square] Garden, you have to pay gas and tolls," Henderson explained. "Instead, we can come into your community and we're charging the same price you pay to go see a movie. And you raise money for a good cause."   

The Harlem Wizards started with one team and later expanded into three, "ToJo", "Broadway", and "Swoop" units, to cover fundraisers in the northeast, mid-west, western, and southern states. 

Henderson knows he has been fortunate to travel the world getting paid to play the sport he loves.

But instead of encouraging kids to become professional basketball, football or baseball players, Henderson and the coaches put an emphasis on education, advising children to stay in school, away from drugs, and to stop bullying. 

"We talk to them about what it takes to take care of yourself so you can move around and do what you want to do when you reach my age," Henderson said.

"The chance to talk to these kids motivates me," Henderson added. "Hopefully one kid in every group will say, 'Tojo still plays basketball because he doesn't do drugs, he doesn't smoke cigarettes, and stays in shape."