The Harlem Wizards, a professional entertainment basketball team, took on the faculty of Bernards Middle School and Bedwell in the high school lower gym, on Monday, March 17th. This event came with an amazing and fun atmosphere for all the players and crowd-watching. This is the first time that the Wizards basketball team has played against our faculty team, and we raised over $20,000 for Bedwell and the middle school.

The Harlem Wizards were founded in 1962 by Howie Davis. They have played in thousands of games across the world in five different continents. Throughout all these games, the Wizards have raised millions of dollars for schools and other organizations. Our school district was lucky enough to play to get the opportunity to play a game against the Wizards and it was an amazing experience.

Jack Martin ‘27 attended the game, and described the event as “highly energetic” and said, “The Wizards did a great job of entertaining the crowd.”

All of the Wizards played basketball at the college level and were highly skilled. They used this talent to put on an amazing show for the crowd.

Mr. Boudreau, a player for the Bernard’s faculty team says “From babies to grandmas, the crowd was energetic, engaged, loud, and having a great time for 2 straight hours.”

The Wizards do a great job keeping the crowd engaged throughout the full game. They put in a lot of effort and practice to keep the crowd going; for example, they brought multiple fans from the crowd down onto the court and had them participate in fun games. 

Mr. Boudreau’s favorite moment during the game was when “Mr. Mahlik took down the Wizards player, Lunatik, and then got chased out of the gym. When he came back in chasing him with a chair the crowd was stunned and cracking up at the same time.”

Lunatik, Smooth, Top Flight, Glitch, King Arthur were the players in the Wizards squad that the faculty took on. All of these players have a unique personality and playstyle that brings the team together. Whether it is making the audience laugh, throwing down crazy dunks, or having amazing dribbling skills, they all connect to make a great show for the audience.

Mr. Mahlik, another player on the Bernard’s faculty team says it was awesome “seeing all the laughs and smiles from all the students and staff in the building.” 

The Wizards brought laughter throughout the whole event, creating great memories for the kids and families watching. The event was a great way to bring the school and community together and help build school spirit.

In the end, the Harlem Wizards ended up taking the win against the faculty Bernards Middle school and Bedwell. While the score was not in their favor, the successful outcome was the memories and laughter shared by the students, teachers and families along the way. Beyond the excitement, this was a very successful event  and was a great way to bring the community together in a fun environment. Thank you to everyone who attended the event! Together, we raised over $20,000 for Bernard’s middle school and Bedwell!