A globe-trotting visit

Inside a room at WVU Children’s Hospital, Harlem Globetrotters basketball star Herbert “Flight Time” Lang spun a red, white and blue ball on his finger.

    He told patient Anthony Waddell how he was able to do it. Flight Time said the ball needs a lot of momentum as he patted it and kept it spinning. He then transferred the ball to Waddell’s finger and it kept spinning.

    As the ball spun, Anthony’s mother, Andrea, took a picture and then Flight Time provided an autographed card before moving to another part of the hospital.

    Anthony and his family, from Martinsburg, were among several patients and their families wowed by the famous skills of one of the Harlem Globetrotters.

    Flight Time was in town before the team plays at the Coliseum next week.

Anthony said he has spun a basketball on his finger before, but only for a few seconds — not as long as he did Thursday.

    Anthony said, “It’s pretty cool” to have a Globetrotter walk into his room.

    Flight Time said he and his teammates try to do some charity events when they are in town, such as visiting a school or hospital. At the hospitals, he said patients aren’t able to make it to the game. Often he hears that his visit is the first time a patient has smiled in weeks.

    The entire Globetrotters squad will be in Morgantown on Tuesday for a game at the Coliseum. Tickets can be ordered by calling or visiting Ticketmaster. Prices range from $18 to $102 depending on the seat. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

    Flight Time said the event can be enjoyable for people of all ages. The Globetrotters play a different kind of basketball — they’re known for their ball-handling skills and on-court shenanigans.

    On the court, Flight Time said, he is a ball-handler. But with a nickname like his, he is known to make a dunk or two.

    Flight Time has also appeared on the television shows “The Amazing Race” and “Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader.”

    While he grew up, playing professional basketball was his dream, Flight Time said. The Globetrotters weren’t part of the equation, but now it’s his passion.

    “For me to be a Globetrotter is more than a dream come true,” he said.

    While the Globetrotters have visited Morgantown in the past, and Flight Time has been on the squad for 13 years, he said this is his first trip to the city. He had a chance to walk down High Street and said it felt like a great area to go to school.

    He also said it reminded him of his home state of Arkansas, where there are no professional teams, so the state rallies behind the major college squad.

Ron Rittenhouse/ The Dominion Post Lang has a little fun on a car track Thursday with Jacy McGee, of Parkersburg, during his visit at the WVU Children’s Hospital.

Ron Rittenhouse/The Dominion Post Herbert “Flight Time” Lang, of the Harlem Globetrotters, shows Caden Wilson, 9, of Ritchie County, how to spin a basketball on his finger Thursday.