You have to get your form down. You have to practice and practice until it becomes a part of you. Then you can make free throws in basketball. It will become second nature.
That's what I learned from visiting on the phone this week with TNT Maddox. She's the only woman on the Harlem Globetrotters team coming to Grand Forks' Alerus Center Saturday night. I plan to watch her play because I so love basketball. Especially women's basketball.
My favorite player on the UND team this past year has been Madi Buck from Bismarck. She's a forward. And I kept thinking of her as I visited with TNT.
TNT says she has never been to Grand Forks, and she is excited about coming here. She is traveling on one of two buses of the Harlem Globetrotters with a team of 29 players. TNT says she is living out a dream as the only woman player. She says she feels like one of the family, though. At home growing up in Colorado, she had two brothers. Now she has about 30.
They are headquartered in Phoenix. They play around 120 games on a national tour. And TNT says they practice two hours before a game. "We rookies try to get in extra practice and we have extra duties. We do a little bit of everything -- including making sure all the balls are picked up after practice."
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They say TNT can burn up the basketball floor with her ball handling and crossover dribble. She discovered basketball when she was about 13. She didn't have a hoop to shoot balls through, but she managed to burn up the sidewalks and driveways with her basketball.
TNT will be 30 in December. Her home town is Colorado Springs, and she started playing college basketball at New Mexico before transferring to Temple. She feels lucky to have been coached by three-time Olympic gold medalist Dawn Staley.
Among the players she looks up to on her Globe Trotter team is Hammer Harrison. "Hammer," she says, "is a great guy, really good. He has an amazing touch. He's a thrill to watch."
I am not sure where the Globetrotters will eat in Grand Forks. But if she sees crab legs on the menu, TNT will order them. She also likes shrimp and fried chicken. And she admits she sometimes goes overboard when there are snickerdoodle cookies sitting around.
Rat Pack Show
The weekend rolls round with another Friday the 13th. And hardly anyone gets worried anymore about this day being unlucky.... Sandy Hackett's Rat Pack Show will be at the Chester Fritz tonight with classical songs... And the annual Gardening Saturday is set for Saturday in East Grand Forks Senior High... With the 2012 Prime Steel Car Show Saturday and Sunday in Purpur/Gambucci Arenas... Along with the Red River Valley Motorcycle Show at the Alerus Saturday and Sunday...
Big Ron Hunter, known as "the world's happiest man," will make his way from North Carolina to North Dakota to perform Saturday evening and at a Sunday brunch concert at North Dakota Museum of Art... And "Charlotte's Web" will unravel Sunday at the Chester Fritz... While Artwise is looming for next week... Along with the annual Time Out Wacipi Powwow....
Ask Marilyn
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Q. What on earth is Alpha Eta Rho?
A. It's the aviation fraternity at U of M Crookston that will host the annual Fly In/Drive In breakfast over there Sunday morning at the municipal airport.
Q. What can you do if your fingernails keep breaking off and splitting?
A. I wish I knew. There is a product called Knox for Nails but it's hard to find. Maybe you can go on the Internet. Maybe some readers know.
Q. Did you ever figure out what the vanity license plate BCKNBLK means?
A. With help from readers I know that should mean Back in Black, which is a song by the group AC/DC. It's a tribute to their lead singer, Bon Scott. Thanks to Dave Kildahl, Alma Helm and Erica in Emerado, N.D., for setting me on track.
Esther and Al
Cheerful persons of the week: Al Nipstad and Esther Hylden, Park River, N.D.
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Reach Marilyn Hagerty at mhagerty@gra.midco.net or at (701) 772-1055.
If you go
• What: The Harlem Globetrotters is bringing basketball entertainment.
• When and where: 7 p.m. Saturday at Grand Forks' Alerus Center. Doors open at 6 p.m.
• How much: Tickets start at $20.50 available at the Alerus Center, at (800) 745-3000 and www.ticketmaster.com .
