The Team Hollywood celebrity streetball game, sponsored by the Seldovia Village Tribe, tips off at 6 p.m. at the Susan B. English Gymnasium on Sunday.
Streetball, as Team Hollywood’s President Peter Adams explained, is an urban form of basketball played in playgrounds throughout the country.
In the National Basketball Association and in college, Adams said, winning is the goal of playing hoops. In streetball, however, entertainment is the goal, high-flying dunks, trick passes and ankle-busting moves are commonplace, and winning comes second, he said.
Still, Team Hollywood — comprised of former National Basketball Association and college players — has lost just one game in seven years.
“On a vulnerable night in Colorado, we lost at the buzzer,” Adams said.
According to the team’s Web site, its mission is to spread goodwill, promote strong character values and inspire the nation’s youth and entertain families. It spends most of the year traveling the country holding camps and exhibition games, like the one being played Sunday.
Adams and team captain Clay Johnson, member of the world champion 1982 Los Angeles Lakers, planted the seeds for the game in Seldovia last winter when they held a basketball camp there.
They were both impressed with the community, they said, and will bring four or five other team members to Seldovia for Sunday’s game. Those players will be visiting Alaska for the first time.
“It’ll be a culture shock in a good way,” Adams said. “I was really impressed with the quality of living (in Seldovia). It’s God’s property untouched.”
Johnson also said he was looking forward to the return trip.
“People in (Los Angeles, Calif.) are more into themselves. I had a better time with the people in Seldovia,” Johnson said. “It’s my way of giving back. I’ll do it as long as I can.”
Other players scheduled to attend include Jeff “Windchill” Coffman from the movie “Hoops” and Washington State Slam Dunk Champion; Jason “Pretty Boy” Pitts, a professional streetballer and actor; “DT” David Thornton, one of the first Native American professional streetballers; Brandon “Seldom Seen” Stewart, finalist in the NBA Slam Dunk Champion-ships; and Mark “Latino Heat” Ginithian, a professional streetball player and actor.
After the game, the players will be available for autographs and refreshments will be served.
Information on tickets can be found on the Web at www.seldoviafun.com or call Alene Hidecker at 234-7898 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Team Hollywood’s Web site is www.teamhollywoodstreetball.com.
Team Hollywood will also be signing autographs at H2Oasis Waterpark in Anchorage on Friday, from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The team will play the Seldovia community team Sunday and tickets are $4 per person or $10 per family.
Ben Stuart can be reached at ben.stuart@homernews.com.
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