Nearly two decades after Julian “Zeus” McClurkin traveled the globe as a member of the Harlem Globetrotters, the Columbus native still hasn’t met Scooby-Doo. “No, I ain’t seen Scoob yet,” laughed McClurkin, who will return to Cleveland for the Harlem Globetrotters’ “100 Year Tour” on Dec. 28 at Rocket Arena. “A lot of people don’t know this: My introduction to the Globetrotters was on the ‘Scooby-Doo’ cartoon. But I didn’t think that it was a real team. “Like, Batman is on ‘Scooby-Doo.’ I’m like, ‘The Globetrotters don’t really exist, but it would be cool if they did because I saw these guys out there who look like me.’ They seemed to have, like, superhero ability, and they were basketball players. I thought it’d be cool if they were real, and it turned out they were.” When it comes to world-renowned ankle-breaking moves, jaw-dropping shots and rim-rattling dunks, the Harlem Globetrotters are as real as it gets, with the popular basketball ambassadors celebrating a century of entertaining audiences. “We’ve innovated so many different things in the game,” he said. “We invented the slam dunk, popularized the alley-oop, invented the three-point and the four-point line, which is also in our game. All of those came about from us just trying new things and trying stuff that’s off the wall — basically stuff that you would get subbed out for today if you try to do a regular game.” It turns out McClurkin is one of the most decorated athletes on the Globetrotters roster, holding six Guinness World Records titles — most basketball slam dunks in one minute with 16, most bounced three-pointers in one minute with five and most behind-the-back three-pointers with three. The veteran player’s relationship with basketball wasn’t always nothing but net, McClurkin for years getting cut from every team he tried out for, beginning in middle school. Finally, he made his high school team his junior and senior seasons. When it comes to the Harlem Globetrotters, dunking the ball can be a team project. (Courtesy of the Harlem Globetrotters) He played his first couple of years of college ball at a Division II program, but the departure of the head coach left Zeus on the outside looking in. Undeterred, he enrolled at North Carolina AT State University, and he made the basketball team as a walk-on, beating out 30 other hopefuls. The Globetrotter’s story mirrors that of Michael Jordan, who, after being cut from his high school team, put that chip on his shoulder and dribbled his way into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. “I tell everybody I’m a hall of famer after the Harlem Globetrotters got inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, like, 15 years ago,” he said. “But I don’t hold a grudge against my high school coach, who just did everything he knew to do. “I just make sure that when I’m teaching kids about this game, that I’m showing them that you still have to put the work in, but you still can be who you are. And you don’t have to be mean to make it in this world.” As for the upcoming “100 Year Tour” appearance, which includes the Harlem Globetrotters’ renowned rivals, The Washington Generals, audiences can expect what are called Golden Ball Moments, where the team will highlight its past. The Harlem Globetrotters engage in a bit of on-court fun. (Thea Moser) Having achieved quite a milestone, can the Harlem Globetrotters last another 100 years? “Oh, we’re burning brighter now more than ever,” he said. “People never forget the way that (we) make them feel. What I’m noticing is, even around here in Cleveland, whenever somebody sees the red-white-and-blue basketball jersey, they’re telling me a story about Curly Neal, Meadowlark Lemon or Handles Franklin. “The names — they just keep getting more and more recent. That shows me that we’re carrying that torch and we’re continuing to pass it on to the next generation.” Harlem Globetrotters What: “100 Year Tour.” When: 3 p.m. Dec. 28. Where: Rocket Arena, One Center Court, Cleveland. Tickets: $52 to $134. Info: Rocketarena.com. ...read more read less